Family handout via WRTV(INDIANAPOLIS) -- The remaining five members of the close-knit family who were killed in last week's tourist boat accident were laid to rest Saturday.



An afternoon funeral service was held at Eastern Star Church in Indianapolis, Indiana, for Ray Coleman, 76; Horace Coleman, 70; Belinda Coleman, 69; Angela Coleman, 45; and Max Coleman, 2. The five coffins were adorned with flowers in front of a stage, where various people delivered remarks from the podium, sang songs and read passages from the Bible to commemorate each of their lives.



A funeral for the four other members of the Coleman family who were also killed -- Glenn, 40, and his three young children, Reece, 9; Evan, 7; and Arya, 1 -- was held at Grace Apostolic Church in Indianapolis on Friday afternoon.



Tia Coleman, who is Glenn's wife and the mother of their kids, was one of only two survivors among 11 family members who were aboard the tourist duck boat that capsized and sank near Branson, Missouri, on July 19. Tia's 13-year-old nephew, Donovan Hall, also survived.



A total of 31 people, including the Colemans and two crew members, embarked on the amphibious vessel that day for what was supposed to be a 70-minute tour of Table Rock Lake. But the fun outing turned into a nightmare when a storm struck, unleashing winds up to 73 miles per hour and waves that crested at 6 feet.



The rough water capsized the boat, causing it to sink. Seventeen people were killed, authorities said.



The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the incident.



An initial report from the agency that was released Friday afternoon revealed that the captain of the ill-fated boat had checked the weather reports and discussed safety procedures, including the location of life jackets, prior to the excursion.



"In the vicinity of the boat ramp, the captain began a safety briefing regarding the water portion of the tour," the report states. "The briefing included the location of emergency exits as well as the location of the life jackets. The captain then demonstrated the use of a life jacket and pointed out the location of the life rings."

ABC NewsDuring an emotional press conference last weekend, Tia Coleman recalled how the captain told passengers they wouldn't need the life jackets.



"He said, 'Above you are your life jackets. There are three sizes.' He said, 'I'm gonna show you where they are, but you won't need them. So, no need to worry.' So we didn't grab them," she told reporters.



Tia asked people to pray for her and to remember her nine lost family members "for the beautiful people they were." She described each of them, in between tears:



-- "I lost my husband. He was so loving and he didn't look like he was, but he was. He was so loving."



-- "My oldest son, Reece, was on the autism spectrum but he made every day worth living. And he was the happiest, sweetest little boy anybody would ever want to meet."



-- "My son Evan, who was 7, was extremely smart, quick and witty. He loved life and he was a great brother, big brother and little brother."



-- "And then my baby, Arya. She was only 1 and she had a thousand personalities wrapped up in her one. She would blow kisses and she would fight. She was a little fireball and my only girl."



-- "My father-in-law [Horace] had a heart of gold. He would give anything to anybody."



-- "My mother-in-law [Belinda] was like a second mom. She was always there with a supportive word."



-- "My sister-in-law [Angela], who I called sister because she was. She was so loving and she would do anything for her family."



-- "My uncle, Ray Coleman, was the oldest of the Colemans. He liked to laugh and have a good time.



-- "And my nephew, Max, was the sweetest baby ever. He loved big hugs and warm kisses."



Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Related Sisi to open sixth national youth conference on Saturday

Egypts President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi opened on Saturday the 6th National Youth Conference, which is taking place at Cairo University on 28-29 July.

During the opening session, the president promoted Defence Mnister Mohamed Zaki from the rank of lieutenant-general to general, the second-highest rank in Egypt's Armed Forces.

"We always speak about the very special relationship between the Armed Forces and the people  and it is crucial to focus on the meaning of this strong relationship," El-Sisi said before endowing Zaki with his new title in Cairo University's prestigious main hall.

Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said during the first session, titled 'The Strategy of Building the Egyptian Person,' that character-building will be the cabinet's priority in the coming period, and that this will be achieved through education and healthcare reform, strengthening cultural identity, and paying attention to sports.

"After four years of working on security and stability, our goal is to launch the 'Egypt Takes Off' programme, [which involves] building the Egyptian character to improve the standard of living for citizens through housing projects and eliminating slums, followed by economic development to create jobs and activate the system of entrepreneurship," explained Madbouly.

The Prime Minister added that the cabinet's four-year 'Egypt Takes Off' programme will include overhauling the education system.

During the session, Minister of Higher Education Khaled Abdel-Ghaffer said that there are 120,000 academics currently working in the scientific research field in the country.

Abdel-Ghaffer also said that the government is working on opening new public universities, adding that three are currently being built in the Marsa Matrouh, New Valley and Red Sea governorates.

He also revealed that there is a plan to build three other universities for technical education.

Minister of Youth and Sports Ashraf Sobhy said during the session that his ministry is working to attract more investments in the field of sports and to upgrade all sports facilities across the country.

Sobhy also announced that he has prepared a programme for enhancing physical education and training for all age groups.

El-Sisi speaks

At the end of the session, President El-Sisi commented on several questions of education, building the "Egyptian character", and reforming religious discourse; and responded to some critics.

"The challenge of building human character is the challenge of all humanity," he said.

"We do not want to "reclaim" the Egyptian character per se but to work develop it to keep up with the times," El-Sisi said.

"The Egyptian person has been targeted [for failure] for many years in direct and indirect ways. The consequences of this have been dire," the President said.

"Are we ready to pay the price for reform and to rectify this situation, or not?" El-Sisi asked the audience.

"Do you want real education or do you want your kids to just get 'degrees'? A real education reform is a harsh long trip that requires sacrifices from students, teachers and parents."

The President stressed that people should not be worried of the call for reforming the religious discourse, saying it is needed for the nation to develop.

"If we revive the religious discourse, are you scared of losing religion?"

"What we live through now is not the real religion," the president said.

"Becoming a nation with a perspective based on peace is the rule and war is the excepion - that is the crux of reforming the religious discourse."

The President then addressed moral and social questions.

"Are you ready to accept bad manners in TV, cinema and theatre under the pretext of "freedom of creativity" or do you want good morals? There is a thin line between the two."

"The divorce rate has reached 44% and there are 9 million children without two parents at home; 15 million children whose parents are [basically] seperated."

El-Sisi reminded the audience that he argued "for the need notarize and authenticate divorces in order to catch up with times that changed in 1400 years in order to protect children and society."

"I am trying to lead this nation out a state of economic, social, scientific and moral want and poverty to become a great nation," the president said.

"And then they launch a hashtag "#Sisi_leave"! " "Do not I then have the right to be upset?" he exclaimed.

"Rebuilding the Egyptian human's personality is a social process and responsibilty and not [just] a "government operation."

"We must join hands to do this," he said.

The president finished by saying that he wants an Egyptian national character that rises to the challenges of our times.

"That is the problematic which all religions have tried to address."

"The religious discourse has to adapt the text to keep up with the present inorder to build strong societies."

Conference continues

More than 3,000 university students, officials, ministers and MPs attended Saturday's sessions.

The event is also attended by top-scoring 2017/18 thanaweya amma graduates.

The first day of the conference featured a roundtable discussion led by Education Minister Tarek Shawky on the development of the country's education system.

The second day will feature a special session on developing the health insurance system, and will be attended by Minister of Health Hala Zayed and a number of medical school deans and young doctors.

A session called the 'National Project for the Information Structure of the Egyptian State' is also scheduled for the second day.

There will also be a question and answer session where the Egyptian president will answer queries from students as part of the 'Ask the President' online initiative.

This is the first youth conference to be held since El-Sisi started his second term in office in June, after winning 97 percent of the vote in the March 2018 elections.

The first National Youth conference was held in October 2016 in Sharm El-Sheikh.

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In a step toward ending a half-century of violence that has left as many as 120,000 dead, the Philippine president has signed a law to expand autonomy for a Muslim territory in the countrys south that has fought intensely for greater independence and control of its natural resources.

The Bangsamoro Organic Law will establish an autonomous region for 3.8 million people living on the southern island of Mindanao with greater local control, increased government funding and a bigger share of revenue from its natural resources, including its fossil fuels.

In exchange, the heavily armed Moro Islamic Liberation Front separatist group would disarm 30,000 of its fighters. The law also could tamp down any efforts in the restive region to reach out to militant groups, including Islamic State, for support in its quest for greater independence. Terrorism is an ongoing problem in the region.

I hope that the Bangsamoro law is the solution to the problems we are facing, said Annajar Aminnajar, 20, a university graduate from Marawi.

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Marawi, a city on Mindanao, was rocked last year by fighting between government troops and a Muslim separatist group. A section of downtown is still in ruins: strewn with rubble, dotted with the grey shells of buildings and off limits to all but the army. Aminnajar remembers fleeing campus for two months to escape the fighting that killed more than 1,100 people. Marawi will be part of the newly formed region called Bangsamoro.

A military vehicle passes by ruins in Marawi, southern Philippines. (Aaron Favila / Associated Press)

Now Aminnajar lives near Marawi and is looking for work as a sharia lawyer. If that law passes, there should be new jobs given to us, he said.

Muslims have lived in Mindanao and the outlying islands for more than 500 years, with many living in poverty while the largely Christian nations government controlled its natural resources.

Violence is so common in Mindanao that citizens from other countries are advised not to travel to the island, in turn stunting tourism and foreign investment. One rebel group has a reputation for kidnapping foreign tourists and occasionally beheading them.

The new law by itself may not settle all the differences, scholars warn. Indeed, some militants already want a greater voice in government.

Its a confidence-building process  I give you a little bit, you show me you can get along; then, no problems, we give you a little bit more, said Enrico Cau, a doctoral student in international affairs at Tamkang University in Taiwan.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, who is from Mindanao, pushed for the laws passage and told Congress this year to make it a priority. Legislators approved it earlier this week. Duterte pledged Monday not to allow [Islamic State] terrorists or allies to gain foothold in the country.

The region established by the law will span at least 4,840 square miles. Local elections are expected to be held within the next three months to decide whether more cities and villages can join.

A man and his son head to Eid al-Fitr prayers in June, past a sign proclaiming I love ISIS that was left behind by Islamic extremists who took over Marawi more than a year ago. (Aaron Favila / Associated Press)

The new region will automatically get government block grants equal to 5% of national tax and customs revenue, which would have come to roughly $2 billion in 2017. In the past, Muslim leaders needed to apply for the funding, with no guarantee of getting it. The central government also will give the Bangsamoro region $93.6 million annually for 10 years for rehabilitation of conflict areas.

Some of that funding might go toward creating jobs for young people, said Asec Felix Castro, a Mindanao-based field office manager with a government agency in charge of rebuilding after the violent clashes in Marawi. Muslim Mindanao faced unemployment of 8.8% in 2016.

The new law states that all income from development or use of natural resources will go to the Bangsamoro government, with exceptions for uranium and fossil fuels. Their revenues would be split with the Philippine government.

The new region should be able to levy taxes as well, said Habib Macaayong, president of the Mindanao State University System based in Marawi.

The powers of the local governments would be expanded, so the people will very happy, Macaayong said. These are powers that have not been enjoyed by local government units and are built into approval of the Bangsamoro Organic Law.

Whether the various Muslim groups and ethnic minorities in the Bangsamoro region can successfully share power may well determine whether the new law actually works, said Henelito Sevilla, assistant international relations professor at University of the Philippines. A single ethnic group dominated the previous autonomy process, irritating others, he said.

There was no real autonomy, Sevilla said. There was a very open division between and among leadership of tribes of Mindanao. With approval of the new Bangsamoro law, we hope it gives more inclusiveness to all tribes.

An armed rebel group that split from the liberation front has plotted attacks in Mindanao this year, and troops killed 44 of them in March. The splinter group could be a bigger problem again if the liberation front alone leads the Bangsamoro region, Macaayong said.

Cairona Alonto, 60, talks about the Bangsmoro Organic Law. She is at a camp in Marawi for people displaced by a 2017 war between rebels and the government. (Ralph Jennings / For The Times)

Any dissatisfaction in Mindanao with the governments role in the Bangsamoro Organic Law could push Muslims to side with Islamic State or spawn another rebel faction, Philippine scholars fear.

There is no stable decision in the world, said Cairona Alonto, 60, a Marawi war refugee who fumed about how long the law took to finalize. Only God can give us stable decisions.

Jennings is a special correspondent.
Kochi : The Kerala police on Saturday made the first arrest in connection with the malicious cyberattack on Hanan, a college student who sold for fish for livelihood.

The police has taken Vayanadu native Noorudheen Sheikh into custody. A non bailable offence was registered against him under IT act. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had earlier directed DGP Loknath Behra to take stringent action against the social media trollers who targeted Hanan.

The Ernakulam Assistant Commissioner recorded Hanan's statement and have taken the necessary action. Kochi city police have made it clear that cases will be registered against all those, who made malicious and derogatory comments against Hanan in social media.
A city court judge found businessman Cedric Lee, former model Deniece Cornejo and co-accused Jed Fernandez guilty of grave coercion, in a case filed against them by the Department of Justice in connection with the January 2014 mauling of comedian and television host Vhong Navarro inside a condominium in Taguig City. In a 50-page decision, Judge Bernard Pineda Bernal of Taguig Metropolitan Trial Court Branch 74 sentenced the accused to suffer the indeterminate penalty of six months of arresto mayor as minimum, to three years and six months of prison correccional medium as maximum. Meanwhile, Lees sister Bernice was acquitted for lack of evidence. In his sworn statement, Navarro claimed that after being mauled and detained at a condominium unit, the group forced him to sign a police blotter admitting he tried to sexually assault Cornejo. Apart from grave coercion, Navarro also filed a separate case of serious illegal detention against the three and two othersFerdinand Guerrero and Simeon Raz Jr. In September 2014, Judge Paz Esperanza Cortes of Taguig Regional Trial Court branch 271 decided to inhibit from handling the case after granting the bail petition of Cornejo, Lee and Raz in the serious illegal detention case. The court granted the petition for bail of the accused after the prosecution panel failed to provide strong evidence that said illegal detention is actually serious or actually for the sake of kidnapping.Prosecuting lawyer Alma Mallonga said they still have faith in the judicial system but admitted they were shocked with the decision of the court allowing the accused to post bail. Both cases (grave coercion and serious illegal detention) stemmed from the January 22, 2014 mauling of Navarro inside Forbeswood Heights Condominium Taguig City where Cornejo stays. Navarro also claimed the respondents mauled and tried to extort up to P2 million from him while he was inside Cornejos unit. Video footages showed Navarro in a bull cap leaving the building, with his hands tied behind his back, along with eight people including Lee and Cornejo around 11 pm. Navarro is currently out of the country along with his co-hosts in the noontime television program Showtime.
Social media has uncovered another apparent blunder by the Presidential Communications Operations Office.

The mistake? Someone put thephrases d ko alam eh and d ko din alam (I dont know either) instead of the telephone numbers for the Maritime Industry Authority and the Office for Transportation Security on the directory numbers section of the Freedom of Information website. A Twitter user with the handle @peepaubau shared screenshots of the error and a video of himself while viewing the FOI sitean initiative of the PCOO, which has drawn criticism over several gaffes during the Duterte administration. The official Twitter account of the agency, @FOI_ph, then told @peepaubau that it had since removed the error you have identified. We appreciate your continued support as we work towards improving our services in providing you more up-to-date and accurate information through FOI Philippines.Just last month, the PCOO mistakenly referred to the country Norway as Norwegia as its ambassador paid a courtesy call to President Rodrigo Duterte at Malacanang, drawing the ire and mockery of both Filipino and foreign netizens. The government communications arm also erroneously named the late National Security Adviser Roilo Golez as Rogelio and Senator Sherwin Gatchalian as Winston in separate occasions. Even during the Presidents third State of the Nation Address on Monday, the agency wasnt spared  a photojournalist scolded the PCOO for failing to properly attribute a photo that was used during the Sona broadcast.
Global warming is taking its toll on the Philippines. According to a 2013 World Bank report, our country is one of the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change-related weather events. The Philippines sits in a region with particularly harsh weather patterns and rapidly rising sea levels. While climate change doesnt cause individual storms, research has suggested that it could make storms stronger and more frequentas we have witnessed in the last few years.

Now, more than ever, theres a need to employ sustainable green growth strategies to avoid the harrowing effects that arise from the impacts of climate change. Until recently, sustainable development was simply a desire and an obligation so as to leave a healthy planet to future generations; today it is the only conceivable option. Many commercial trades and big businesses in the Philippines are trying to reconcile protecting the environment with an industrialized society. Widespread consciousness about the effects of climate change has encouraged savvy, forward-thinking businessmen and building owners to leverage investment in efficient, eco-friendly solutions that combat global warming and minimize carbon footprints. Pricey costs and installation requirements may pose a consistent challenge; fortunately manufacturing breakthroughs have made high-performance, energy-efficient technologies more affordable and accessible. LG Electronics was one of the first companies to invest in a multitude of solutions that support green building initiatives and energy management. The market is primed for air conditioning solutions that advance energy savings and reduce consumption, but utilize the latest technology as well. In response, LG is providing greener refrigerants, inverter-based designs and revolutionary innovations that optimize electrical efficiency to match with system performance.At the heart of LGs commercial air conditioning products is the cutting-edge Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) technology, which minimizes efficiency losses over time, resulting in long-term cost and energy savings for the building owner. LGs VRF systems also are designed to eliminate the added expense of duct work, resulting in a more efficient building infrastructure and, in turn, a more attractive aesthetic. VRF solutions have become increasingly sought after in a variety of settings, such as offices, condo developments, hotels, hospitals and schools. LGs newest VRF solution is the LG MULTI V 5, a solution that pushes boundaries with streamlined functionality, optimal energy efficiency and maximized user comfort. More compact and lightweight than other available HVAC models, this unit offers lower operational costs, minimal or no duct work to install, and superior efficiency while still maintaining architectural integrity. It is equipped with the Dual Sensing Control system that monitors temperature and humidity levels, and efficiently manages cooling and heating. This innovative system works alongside the Ultimate Inverter Compressor, which offers unrivaled efficiency and durability, and enhances the MULTI V 5s ability to quickly reach the desired temperature in a space. The long-term vision of how and where these energy-efficient technologies are applicable constantly evolves as manufacturers like LG continue to redefine what is possible. By constantly exploring new material applications and innovative approaches, LG commercial air conditioning solutions is capable of bringing significant energy savings, consequently reducing environmental impact, and changing the way we perceive climate control.
How to Arrange an Inexpensive Holiday with Online Dating

Andy Charlson writes: There are various misconceptions about dating sites which are bandied about. One of the most misleading is they only exist for people who have been unable to find a partner going through the more traditional routes. Another is they purely exist for meeting up for casual encounters. The truth of the matter is, relationship sites appeal to a diverse cross-section of people, single or otherwise. For many, the whole point of sites like https://www.beyondthecharter.com/ is not necessarily to flirt at all. It is more about engaging with a cross-section of interesting and exciting individuals in order to widen their social circle.

Where the ready communication can really come in handy is when it comes to planning a trip somewhere. This can be such an expensive activity to organize at the best of times. Travel brochures can only tell you so much about the actual state of the hotel you will be staying in, or the amenities surrounding your chosen resort. How terrific would it be to have some inside information?

Joining a matching resource

Signing up to a dating site is generally free and once you have become a member you will gain access to chat rooms. These are places which offer a completely informal environment where like-minded individuals can get together to indulge in friendly conversations. You can introduce yourself here and get to know a variety of other site users. You can begin getting familiair with them by participating in group discussions, or by posting your own topics. Over time, you will get to know a variety of people, from all walks of life.

Dating without frontiers

Another great aspect of Internet dating is there are no cultural or national boundaries. One minute you could be chatting to someone from France who is telling you all about the magnificent Parisien cuisine they're enjoying, the next a contact could be describing their experience of scuba-diving off the Gold Coast at the weekend.

As soon as you start cultivating friendships in an online situation, you are opening up your horizons. This could be especially useful for arranging getaways. It's one thing preparing for a foreign excursion by popping into your local bookshop and grabbing a couple of guidebooks to thumb through. But it's something altogether more meaningful to tap into the first-hand knowledge of a friend who lives in that location. You can glean valuable information about resorts, especially when it comes to places of interest. No travel guide is so up-to-date it will be able to inform you of tourist landmarks having been closed due to, say, a strike. Having access to your own personal reporter on the ground would be indispensable when it came to making your travel arrangements.

Meet your guide

Another fantastic aspect of having cultivated an international friendship is the prospect of actually meeting face-to-face. Just think of the saving on time and expenses when you have your very own tour guide to hand.

You could arrange to meet at the airport and from then on all the hassle traditionally associated with arriving in unfamiliar territory could be smoothed over. They would be able to take you around the tourist sites, advising you of the best ones in terms of offering value for money, or the most interesting destinations, so you're not wasting your time. But the biggest saving of all would come with your accommodation. There is every likelihood they won't hear of you booking into an expensive hotel and will insist on taking you under their wing. Knowing their goodwill will be reciprocated, they are likely to pull out all the stops when it comes to entertaining you and treating you to the finest in local dishes.

For all that social media is denigrated as being an aspect of modern life which can be a drain on our spare time, it can also connect us in intriguing ways.

Copyright 2018  Andy Charlson - All Rights Reserved

Disclaimer: This is a Paid Advertorial. 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.

 2005-2019 http://www.MarketOracle.co.uk - The Market Oracle is a FREE Daily Financial Markets Analysis & Forecasting online publication.




The MDT Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) Program encourages and supports the participation of companies owned and controlled by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals in transportation contracts.
Tribal college seeks to promote young STEM learners, increase ratio of Native American teachers

The American Indian College Fund administers the program, called "For the Wisdom of Children: Strengthening the Teacher of Color Pipeline." The initiative is funded by a two-year, $1.5 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and recipients were announced earlier this month.

By Myers Reece
Unfortunately, our website is currently unavailable in your country. We are engaged on the issue and committed to looking at options that support our full range of digital offerings to your market. We continue to identify technical compliance solutions that will provide all readers with our award-winning journalism.
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An Egyptian criminal court issued on Saturday preliminary death sentences to 75 members of the terrorist-designated Muslim Brotherhood group in the criminal case known as "the Rabaa Dispersal Case."

Those defendants sentenced to death include prominent Brotherhood members Essam El-Erian, Mohamed Beltagy and Wagdy Ghoneim.

The case dates back to the dispersal of the Rabaa sit-in by supporters of ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in August 2013.

The dispersal left hundreds dead including dozens of police officers.

The case includes 739 defendants including the former Supreme Guide of the Muslim Brotherhood Mohamed Badie.

The defendants were charged by the prosecution of several crimes including premeditated murder, attacking citizens, resisting authorities, destroying public property, and possessing firearms and Molotov cocktails

The court referred the preliminary sentences to the Grand Mufti for a non-binding consultation per the Egyptian penal code.

The court set 8 September as the date to issue the final verdict for all 739 defendants accused in the case.

A final verdict can be appealed.

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By Reuters

NEW DELHI: Indian state-owned miner NMDC is the highest bidder in a government e-auction for a gold mine in Andhra Pradesh, beating resources conglomerates Vedanta and Adani, NMDC Chairman Baijendra Kumar told Reuters.

NMDC is expected to invest about 4 billion rupees ($58.3 million) in the project, Kumar said without providing further detail on the company's bid. The mine has an estimated 2.2 million tonnes of gold.

The state government is likely to notify NMDC as the bid winner some time next week, said Sreenivas Chowdary, deputy director of mines for Andhra Pradesh, confirming that Adani and Vedanta Resources had also bid.

Both Adani and Vedanta did not immediately reply to a Reuters email seeking comments.

NMDC would get a 50-year lease to operate the mine, Chowdary said.

The project would be NMDC's first gold mine in India, Kumar said, adding that the company expects to start mining gold within two years of gaining licences.

The company already has a gold mine in Tanzania.
By Reuters

WASHINGTON: As trade tensions escalate between Washington and Beijing, the U.S. Senate quietly passed legislation on Thursday that would lower trade barriers on hundreds of items made in China.

With no debate, the Senate unanimously passed a bill that would cut or eliminate tariffs on toasters, chemicals and roughly 1,660 other items made outside the United States.

Nearly half of those items are produced in China, according to a Reuters analysis of government records.

The United States and China, the world's two largest economies, are increasingly at loggerheads over trade.

US President Donald Trump has announced a series of punitive tariffs on Chinese imports in a bid to halt a Chinese surge in high-technology industries that threatens to displace U.S. dominance. China has retaliated with its own duties on imports from the United States.

ALSO READ | Chinese man sets off homemade explosive outside US embassy in Beijing

The White House has not publicly taken a position on the so-called miscellaneous tariff bill, which has now passed both the Senate and the House of Representatives unanimously. The two chambers need to resolve minor differences before they can send the legislation to Trump to sign into law.

Supporters of the bill have said it would boost the economy by getting rid of tariffs set up to protect industries that no longer exist in the United States. The National Association of Manufacturers has said US businesses pay $1 million a day on such import duties.

ALSO READ | CIA says China waging 'quiet kind of cold war' against United States

"It makes no sense because it is a direct and punishing tax on making things in America and for creating jobs in America," the trade group's president, Jay Timmons, said in a prepared statement celebrating the bill's passage.

Among the beneficiaries are companies that have moved production offshore.

Hamilton Beach Brands Holding Co , for example, would pay reduced tariffs on Chinese-made toaster ovens, steam irons and other household appliances it used to make domestically.

Some domestic manufacturers have complained the bill would undercut their business by making it easier for rivals to bring in cheap foreign goods. They said the bill punished smaller firms that lack the ability to defend their interests in Washington.

The version of the bill that passed the House in January included 145 items that are made domestically, according to a Reuters analysis. [L2N1QN00P]

"There's no reason to block opportunity U.S. manufacturers might have for rebuilding our manufacturing base," Michael Korchmar, the head of a family-owned travel goods company in Florida, said in a phone interview earlier this month.

Korchmar earlier this year planned to hire up to 30 workers in his Naples, Florida, factory, but he put those plans on hold after being told by Reuters that the bill would lower tariffs on an insulated food bag that he planned to produce.

Korchmar said he may yet decide to expand production, because Democratic Senator Bill Nelson removed that item from the bill after Reuters wrote about it in March.

"We've got a good shot - we've lost a good bit of time and we have to re-evaluate the market," Korchmar said.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: The Indian Medical Association (IMA) has called for withdrawal of all non-emergency medical services, in protest against the tabling of the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill in the ongoing Parliament session. The strike call includes closure of outpatient departments, across the country on Saturday from 6am to 6pm. All state branches, local branches and individual members have been directed to implement the same. The Union health ministry has asked the state to invoke the Essential Services Maintenance Act, if needed.

"All elective procedures will be deferred. Critical services including deliveries, emergencies and in-patient care is to be provided. IMA Members should go in a procession to their respective Member of Parliament / District Collectors / Sub Collectors office and submit a Memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister," a circular from IMA national president Dr Ravindra S Wankhedkar read.

Manoj Jhalani, Additional Secretary and Mission Director, National Health Mission, in a circular, said, "The strike may involve participation of a number of medical professionals thereby adversely affecting healthcare services and causing inconvenience to patient care in hospitals. All necessary measures must be taken to ensure that the patient healthcare and emergency services are run smoothly during the strike/protest. Provisions of ESMA may be invoked, if necessary. These measures may be continued if the strike is extended."

"IMA Karnataka's 25,000 member doctors will support the protest. We have informed the police about the strike," said HN Ravindra, Karnataka IMA President. The state health department sent a circular asking government hospitals to function in full capacity so that no patients are inconvenienced. All medical and non-medical personnel were asked not to take leave on Saturday. However, not all private hospitals have agreed to shut their OPDs. Dr Madan S Gaekwad, Vice President, Sagar Hospitals, said, "Our OPDs will remain open on Saturday." Dr Sudarshan Ballal, Chairman, Manipal Hospitals, said.

What will be affected today?

l All OPD appointments

pre-scheduled with doctors may be postponed

l All emergency, deliveries, accident and trauma cases

will be attended to

What the IMA says?

l Elected representation to nine out of 29 members

of the NMC rejected by government

l Reservation of 50 per cent of the seats to the rich who can pay, is denial of equitable opportunities

l The concept of centrally administered final MBBS

exam will be highly detrimental to students from rural and tribal areas
By Express News Service

CHENNAI:Astart-up founded by Rajesh Kumar, an alumnus of IIT Madras, geniSIGHTS Private Limited, launched Flash, a first-of-its-kind artificial intelligence-powered dashboard with voice support, to enable businesses process big data. It understands the users voice commands and provides intelligence by analysing data. Lakshmi Narayanan, former chairman of National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM), launched Flash on Friday here.

Data analytics and business insight solutions have become mainstream now, with extensive use in mid-sized organisations. The next stage of evolution is to drive artificial intelligence (AI) to mainstream application. Flash is the first such attempt that provides a path for AI integration into analytics and business insights, said Narayanan.

geniSIGHTS is targeting enterprise customers, who would get insights just by speaking. The focus is on decision makers  both strategic and tactical. The market segment would primarily be mid-size and large companies in retail, e-commerce, travel and high-growth segments in the USA and Europe.

Talking about Flash, Rajesh, who has previously worked with Fortune 100 companies in the USA and Asia Pacific, said, Todays business insights provide good reports but do not go beyond the basics. Flash is an AI-driven product that empowers the business users to quickly experience advanced analytical insights thereby significantly bringing down the development time.

A user can command, for example Flash, get me the trend of three years, and it will produce the requested results. Users can get recommendations and insights based on past patterns, as Flash learns from users past search.

Parvathy Sarath, chief analytics officer, geniSIGHTS, said, It eventually understands the user and becomes their analytics assistant. Users can further upgrade/downgrade these AI learnings for the program to tune into the users choice. The AI also decides the type of charts, what level of detail is required for the business user.
C Shivakumar By

Express News Service

CHENNAI: Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority is assessing the value of 56 unsold shops at Koyambedu wholesale and foodgrain markets so that prices can be fixed for allotment.Knight Frank lead consultant Advisory Services Anand MK told Express that the firm has been selected to assess the value of 56 unsold shops and work in this regard will begin from mid-August.

Of the 56, 17 of them belong to vegetable market, three to flower market, 15 to food grains market, 14 to fruit market and seven other shops.The move by CMDA to assess the price fixation of unsold shops comes in the wake of Housing department constituting a high-level committee to bring out policy guidelines for price fixation.

It is learnt that CMDA has asked Tamil Nadu Urban Infrastructure Financial Services to hire consultant to assess the market value for the stocks of CMDA for outright sale. Initially, bids from top consultants were called for but Knight Frank was selected.

Anand said the firm is keen to participate with the State government in various projects. Under the terms of reference, the objective of the assignment is to prepare a report to assess the market value using appropriate valuation methodology besides suggesting best revenue model which would be beneficial in the long term.

The wholesale market complex was developed as part of the first master plan to decongest the central business district in an area of 296 acres to house perishable goods, food grain, textile and other allied activities. The perishable goods market is spread over an area of 51.09 acres housing shops for flowers and vegetables.

In the first phase 2,358 shops were constructed and their size varied from 150sqft to 2,400 sqft. In the second phase 321 shops were constructed for fruit merchants and later 492 shops under foodgrains market.

Factfile

 The study will assess value for the 56 unsold shops at Koyambedu market; It will identify best revenue potential model which would be beneficial to CMDA

 Of the 56 unsold shops, 17 of them belong to vegetable market, three to flower market, 15 to foodgrains market, 14 to fruit market and seven other shops
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Sentence Review Board (SRB) of the Delhi government has postponed the decision on release of Jessica Lal murder convict Manu Sharma lodged in the Tihar jail.

A meeting of the board held yesterday also deferred several other release applications, including that of Tandoor murder case convict Sushil Sharma, officials said.

The applications of release were deferred as the opinion of the board members were divided on it, a member of the board said.

The panel, chaired by Delhi Home minister, comprises principal secretary (Home), principal secretary (law), director general (prisons), joint commissioner of police (crime), chief probation officer and a district judge.

An earlier meeting of the board in April was postponed amid surfacing of a letter by Sabrina Lal, sister of Jessica, in which she had apprised the Tihar jail authorities that she had no objection over the release of Manu Sharma.

Jessica was shot dead in a south Delhi restaurant by Manu Sharma in 1999.
Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly said during the first session of the 6th National Youth Conference on 'The Strategy of Building the Egyptian Person,' that character-building will be the cabinet's priority in the coming period.

Madbouly, who assumed the premiership last month, said this will be achieved through implementing education and healthcare reform, strengthening cultural identity, and paying attention to sports.

The conference, which is held on 28-29 July at Cairo University, is being attended by President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisib along with 3,000 youth, students and officials.

"After four years of working on security and stability, our goal is to launch the 'Egypt Takes Off' programme, [which involves] building the Egyptian character to improve the standard of living for citizens through housing projects and eliminating slums, followed by economic development to create jobs and activate the system of entrepreneurship," explained Madbouly.

The Prime Minister added that the cabinet's four-year 'Egypt Takes Off' programme will include the start of the overhaul of the education system.

The new system would provide development and retraining programs for teachers, adoption of Japanese schools' models, and the development of curricula, and more emphasis on scientific research.

The prime minister then explained that the health system will be taken care of through the comprehensive health insurance program which has already been launched.

El-Sisi along with the cabinet are closely following up on the issue of waiting-lists, and the program of detection and treatment of the virus C, which targets treatment for 45 million citizens within two years, explained Madbouly.

On cultural issues, the prime minister said "Our goal is to create cultural beacons in each governorate in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports. We are currently working on a new opera house in the new administrative capital as well as an arts complex and a cultural centre in the new Alamein city."

Madbouly said he was proud to speak at his alma mater of Cairo University in the presence of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi.

Madbouly recalled the story of his perseverance as a son of a middle class family who graduated from the Faculty of Engineering then one day became prime minister.

"I am a graduate of June 1988, I still remember my departure from the Faculty of Engineering at Cairo University, If someone came to me then and told me that after 30 years "you will come here as prime minister, I would have told him you are dreaming."

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By IANS

NEW DELHI: As the Yamuna river water hit danger mark, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday held a review meeting with officials concerned on the preparedness to tackle flood-like situation in low-lying areas of Delhi.

The Delhi government also requested the Army to be on the stand-by for any emergency.

The meeting was held after neighbouring Haryana released 5 lakh cusecs of water from the Hathnikund Barrage into the river. In a tweet, Kejriwal said that the water is likely to reach Delhi by Sunday evening.

"Kejriwal, who met officials of Irrigation and Flood Control Department and other stakeholders, was informed by officials that they are prepared and on alert for any situation. They said that quick response teams have also been activated for emergency," an official statement said.

The Chief Minister directed that Control Room Emergency Number 1077 must be advertised to make more and more people aware of it.

"Departments concerned were asked to deploy officials at the flood control rooms round the clock for 3-4 days. All departments have been assigned respective duties and put on alert," a Delhi government statement said.

The officials told the Chief Minister that evacuation of residents of vulnerable areas had begun and they have started putting up tents to accommodate them.

"The supply of power, good food and drinking water to the people must be ensured and no stone left unturned to take care of them. Emergency medical teams will also be put on duty for evacuated people and to deal with any medical emergencies," Kejriwal told officials.

Kejriwal ordered the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) to activate and place their mobile toilets around the tents being put up.

He asked the Education Department and Municipal Corporations of Delhi to be ready to provide school premises in affected areas to house people if the situation so demanded.

Furthermore, power companies were asked to deploy officials at the Flood Control Room round the clock.

"All power companies have been asked to arrange power in these tents 24x7 once people are shifted there," Kejriwal asserted.

In the meeting, the availability of motorboats was discussed and all agencies having motorboats were asked to keep them ready for evacuation from affected areas.

The meeting was attended by the MLAs of vulnerable areas, Delhi Chief Secretary, officials of the Army, Delhi Police, DUSIB, Urban Development and Irrigation and Flood Control Departments, MCDs, and others.
Vijaya Pratap By

Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Healthy is in. Unhealthy is out. Drinking, smoking, binging is not just out; they have been dumped into the trash bin by the smart, super health conscious lot.

If you happen to be in Bengaluru and want a unique gastronomic experience coupled with loads of feel-good factor, head straight to Burma Burma Restaurant & Tea Room in Indira Nagar, an upmarket luxurious neighbourhood with tree-lined streets and broad alleys where many elegant residential bungalows have been transformed into classy commercial places: thats where the best cafes, pubs, breweries, multi-cuisine restaurants of the city are found.

A brainchild of Ankit Gupta and Chirag Chhajer, two committed vegetarians, the refreshingly different Burma Burma appeals especially to pure vegetarians; their spice levels satisfy the Indian palate and no one misses alcohol or meat.

Roman Pradhan, heading Burma Burma in Bengaluru tells me that the authentic taste comes from the treasured family recipes reflecting Burmese culture: their cuisine mirrors a history inspired by surrounding countries and ancient traditions. Burmese are mostly non-vegetarian and a lot of fish sauce is used in their cooking but here, fermented tea leaf pastes are used to promote healthy eating while chickpea flour is the base for many dishes.

From soups to salads to starters to desserts I find the cuisine familiar and friendly giving me a feeling of deja vu. The four colourful sauces on the table cater to individual tastes according to Vivek, who helps me understand Burmese cuisine: the spice levels of Tangy Tamarind and Black Bean Sauce are mild, that of Chilli Peanut is medium while Roasted Chilli and Jaggery combo is quite spicy. Indeed it is, it burns my tongue in spite of the sweetness of jaggery.

Soups

Their signature Samuza Hincho soup (a popular street food in Burma) with a flavourful broth reminds me of wonton soup: the samosa making up for the missing meat. It is true: pieces of meat or fish dont enhance flavours; spices do. Dunked in a tangy soup of cabbage, carrot and black gram the samosa takes a new avatar.

The Chick Pea Tohu Soup is delicious with the lemon added for a slightly sour taste. I get a brief lesson on Burmese tofu (also called tohu/to hpu), which is made by mixing chickpea flour (besan) with water, turmeric, and a little salt and heated, stirring constantly until it reaches a creamy consistency. It is then transferred into a tray and allowed to set. It may be eaten fresh as a salad or deep-fried. Despite the name, Burmese tofu/tohu is unrelated to Chinese tofu, which is made from soymilk with added coagulants.

Salads

Mandalay Laphet Thoke, the tea leaf salad has 16 ingredients: it is a sour mix of fermented tea leaves, fried garlic, nuts, roasted peanuts, sesame seeds, tomato, lettuce etc; an eclectic mix of flavours and textures. A large variety of Burmese salads are eaten as snacks at tea cafes. Laphet is so important to the culture that when the tea is harvested, the best of the crop is set aside for fermenting while the rest is dried and processed for drinking tea.

Tayat ti Thoke is shredded raw mango with roasted red chilly, brown onion, crushed peanuts, baby beetroot, lettuce, paprika, cabbage and a bit of honey. Just my kind-the raw mango surely wins!!

Mocktails

Oh No Tamarind is very refreshing with tamarind pulp, jaggery and coconut shavings while Seabuck Mary, a flower found in the Himalayas turns into a lovely orange coloured mocktail that transports me to the hills. Needless to say, the small bowl of salted sunflower seeds on the table is an addictive snack. No one can have just one!

Main Course

Black sticky rice, pickled vegetables, and butter fried white beans: the combination looks striking and tastes good.

Oh no Khao Suey, is an attractive yellow one-dish soup meal of noodles in coconut milk with veggies complemented by an array of toppings (like roasted chillies, peanuts, spring onion, lemon wedges, fried garlic & onion). Popular all over Burma, it is a full meal by itself: lemongrass, broccoli, coconut milk and roasted gram flour add flavours.

Desserts

Tagu Pyi An is sago (sabudana) cooked with Burmese palm jaggery and trapped in a white ring of coconut custard; coconut shavings and palm jaggery on the side. Served on a thick slate board  it is earthy, healthy and of course, delicious!

Is food the ultimate key to happiness?

(The author is a documentary filmmaker and travel writer; she blogs at vijayaprataptravelandbeyond.com)

Tea Ceremony

Conducted by Vivek, it is dramatic, visually appealing and Zen-like. I watch serenely as the tea climbs up through the syphon and flows down through something like an hourglass; finally, the pale golden infusion fills my small cup of happiness. It is certainly a new level of tea experience for the discerning palate: with exceptional taste and range of nearly 30 teas  black, white and herbal  they have a tea for every mood and occasion.

Starters

They steal my heart! The Burmese falafel is gram lentil roasted, made into cakes, and deep-fried: topped with tangy, garlic sauce and garnished with micro greens of beetroots. I sense an oriental twist to our masala vadas! The steamed buns (Paukse) look like innocent idlis from a distance but they are perfectly spicy, just right for the Indian palate, holding a crunchy deep fried pattice in between.
By Express News Service

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The State Institute of Languages, aka the Bhasha Institute, is celebrating its 50th year of birth by going mobile. The state government undertaking is set to introduce mobile bookshops in the state to cash in on the everything-at-your-doorstep trend. Initially, the book vans will tour busy junctions and educational institutions scattered around the capital city, institute director V Karthikeyan Nair said.

"Our idea is to take our books to the reader. For example, the van will drop anchor outside, say, the University College, for a day, so that the public and students can check out the collection. The Medical College junction, East Fort and Kerala University campuses at Palayam and Kariavattom are ideal locations," he said. The institutes book vans are expected to start rolling in Thiruvananthapuram by August.

The Bhasha Institute was established in 1968 for publishing textbooks in Malayalam for higher education and for reinventing the language to be in sync with the changing times and needs. For instance, equipping Malayalam to effectively handle the communication of modern scientific and technical knowledge.

The mobile bookshops arent the only projects designed by the institute to celebrate its 50th anniversary this year. For the first time in its history, the institute has begun organising book fairs outside the state.

The first one, recently in Chennai, was a big success. The second exhibition will be held in Bangalore in October. At the local level, the institute is taking book exhibitions to the mofussil towns, which is also a first. This programme has already been launched in Thiruvananthapuram district with a fair in Neyyatinkara municipality.

"It was a good experience which has encouraged us to look at similar, outlying towns," Karthikeyan Nair said. The second fair in this series, an eight-day exhibition at Nedumangand, will begin on August 3. In the meantime, the institute also plans to extend the mobile bookshop scheme to other districts in future.
By PTI

MUMBAI: Prateik Babbar would love to have a biopic on his mother Smita Patil and he even has a title in mind.

It should be called "Ek Thi Smita".

"People have talked about a biopic on my mother. And I am excited about it. In such a short span, it was one hell of a life lived. It is special. I would love to have a biopic made on her," Prateik told PTI.

Regarded as one of the finest actors in Hindi and Marathi cinema, Patil acted in over 80 films in her career that spanned over a decade.

"I am ok with it. I don't know if my family is I am not the only one to give a green signal to it has to be a collective decision of the family. It is a sensitive thing. But it is a beautiful thought," the actor said when asked whether there were any apprehensions in telling the story.

Patil, who was married to Raj Babbar, passed away in 1986 at the age of 31, barely two weeks after giving birth to Prateik due to some complications.

"I miss her a lot even today. She has been very inspiring. I have seen all her films, but I loved her the most in 'Bhumika'," the 31-year-old actor said.

Prateik is currently busy promoting his upcoming film "Mulk", directed by Anubhav Sinha.

It is set to release on August 3.
Sudhir Srinivasan By

Express News Service

Junga

Director: Gokul

Cast: Vijay Sethupathi, Sayyeshaa, Yogi Babu

Rating: 2.5/5 stars

Its really Vijay Sethupathis fault if you think about it. Hes spoiled us all by doing films like Iraivi and Aandavan Kattalai after attaining superstardom. Junga, much like his last Oru Nalla Naal Paathu Solren, is a reminder that hes quite fallible. This film that he is also the producer of, is at least a lot funnier  but its also scarier because it shows Vijay Sethupathi pandering to the sort of lazy song placements and mundane stunt choreography that are such a striking and frustrating part of routine mass entertainers. Two duets in Junga, in particular, are baffling.

The first one, Amma Mela Sathiyam, you could forgive as an attempt to set the mood of the film  or better, as an allowance for latecomers like the one who sat next to me and said, Paatu dhaane. Idhuvaraikkum enna nadandhuchu nu sollungalen? Its a song that has so much Telugu that a popular comment under its YouTube video is a person asking when the songs Tamil version will be released. The lyrics arent without reason though. Apparently, Madonna Sebastians character, who features in the song, is a Telugu girl from Nellore. Its only when her character gets dispensed off soon after that you wake up to Junga being the sort of alarming film to give its cameo character a song.

Its the second duet thats the real killer though. Its placed in the final act, and by then, Junga (Vijay Sethupathi, obviously) is in love with a different girl, Yazhini (Sayyeshaa)  which curiously enough is the name of the lead female character in his earlier film, Kadhalum Kadandhu Pogum. Both are somewhere on an icy landscape in France, and the camera glides over them like a bird; you instantly realise with trepidation that a duet is about to be detonated. Sure enough, you get Koottippo Koodave, a song in which the hero stands and walks around, as Yazhini performs a mating ritual dance near him. I suppose its my fault that I thought this hero was above such filmmaking.

But Junga isnt always this uninspired. Theres a point in the first half when theres genuine assurance from director Gokul that hes in control of this comedy, which uses material from Tamil cinema itself. Theres a spoof of the famous Mouna Raagam bike-in-front-of-bus scene. Theres a dig at the success meet-culture in our industry. The story from Jungas mum (Saranya) about how he got his name is hilarious too. Another joke I enjoyed is about the Qualis-Sumo gangster culture from our masala cinema. Even when Junga becomes a don, it happens over a single song  much like the many times we have seen it happen in our films. At that time, it feels like a self-aware dig. Slowly though, you see that Gokul ends up prey to those very same stale and tired ideas.

In a scene rather reminiscent of Annamalai  the film has quite a few references to Baasha too  Junga stops short of slapping his thigh as he delivers a passionate monologue at the villains mansion. Much like in Annamalai, here too, the heros big aim is to reclaim property that he believes has been unfairly wrenched away from his family.

The good bits are all in the first half, and mostly concern the jokes around his stinginess. Jungas definitive trait is his miserliness. Hes the sort to walk into a gathering of dons and frown about the number of ceiling fans running. Hes the sort to get his phone charged at a crime scene. These bits are when Gokuls at his best. A particular highpoint is when Junga lets out a throaty wail upon realising hes got to spend a bomb to get to France, and Gokul intersperses this with an Opera performance in Paris. You totally get what Vijay Sethupathi must have been attracted to when he accepted this project.

The fall of the film begins halfway, and coincides with the entrance of Yazhini. Before you know it, youre getting strange villains, inexplicable car chases, needless duets Dimly around the two-hour-mark (and theres stilll a further 30 minutes to go), you realise that this story of a stingy don in Chennai has transformed into a thriller about a don being caught in the crossfire between the French police and the Italian mafia. What?! An Italian curly-haired villain  and thats as much detailing you get about him  comes into the picture from nowhere. Suddenly, Jungas fighting off thugs with an umbrella, and by this time, its hard not to submit yourself to the whims of the film. My interest was piqued only for the small moment when Junga himself seemed to have figured out one of the problems of this film. He says: Don daavadikka koodadhu. And the crowd delivered thunderous applause.
Aditya Shrikrishna By

Express News Service

Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3

Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia

Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Jimmy Shergill, Mahie Gill, Chitrangada Singh

Rating: 1/5 stars

A royal prince is getting arrested, thanks to machinations of his own family, and before getting into the vehicle he asks a police constable if he has the luxury to make a phone call. The constable shoots back the most obvious of questions  dene ke liye kuchhai jeb main? Is there anything in your pocket to offer? Saheb Biwi Aur Gangsters third outing, with Tigmanshu Dhulia again, is set at a time when royalty is not merely frowned upon but has lost its sheen after repeated attempts at rejuvenation, numerous efforts at restoring old architecture both physically and metaphorically.

Aditya Pratap Singh (Jimmy Shergill) wont let go of it even after 70 years of independence and three films of struggle with his wife Madhavi Devi (Mahie Gill). Feudalism thrives in his veins and it is no different for now member of Parliament Madhavi. Dhulia wants to capture all this in a pulpy saga of intrigue, but the material here has long run out and Dhulia, out of tricks. He has misplaced item numbers, awkwardly placed sex scenes (In 2018, the prince loves to have sex on the haystack apparently), a meaningless detour to London and the worst use of Madan Mohans Lag Ja Gale.

So much that we get a line about Saheb having solved a 15-year-old case languishing in the courts in a matter of fifteen minutes. Tamil cinema fans might laugh at this indirect, unintentional reference to another 90s film that celebrated feudalism but most laughs in Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3 are of the same calibre  unintentional. The film runs like a long teaser for everything we have already watched in the first part. So, Dhulia follows a template. Sometimes edits occur such that they dont complete a song or a scene. We are just left there to fill in the details, only this is not writing or filmmaking of the good kind. There is no Randeep Hooda? There is Sanjay Dutt, an estranged heir to another royal.

There is no Soha Ali Khan anymore? There is Chitrangada Singh, a dancer. Dutt looks tired and admittedly unhappy to be there, wishing there was a part two of his biopic where he can fool the audience and the media at the same time once more. Soha Ali Khan looks happier lying on a hospital bed in coma than she was inebriated and dancing with Gill to Lag Ja Gale. And Shergill is honestly done with stereotypical role as the bad guy from the cow belt, threatening his wife, extracting revenge, reinforcing feudal mindsets. Get him into an infectiously-happy-middle-aged-single-father-rediscovers-his-romantic-side-again role already.
By Online Desk

DMK president M Karunanidhi is now reportedly stable after being admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of Kauvery Hospital at around 1:30 am on Saturday.

"Karunanidhi's health condition continues to remain stable with ongoing medical support. He is continuously being monitored by the panel of expert doctors in the ICU," said a Kauvery Hospital bulletin released at 8:00 pm on Saturday.

Kauvery hospital had earlier said in a bulletin he was brought there after his blood pressure had dropped.

Till Friday, Karunanidhi was being treated at home for a fever that he developed following tracheostomy tube replacement. Politicians, as well as actors, visited the ailing DMK chief after the news about his deteriorating health condition was announced on Thursday.

Karunanidhi entered the 50th year as DMK chief on Friday, becoming the first leader to enter the 50th year as the president of a political party. He has been chief minister five times, with the last one in 2006. He retreated from mainstream politics in 2016. By trumping his high-profile contemporaries and detractors in the party, he had taken on the reins on July 27, 1967 following the demise of the party's founder and late Dravidian great CN Annadurai.

(With inputs from Express News Service)

HERE ARE ALL THE UPDATES:
By PTI

MUMBAI: Even as Maratha outfits have revived the agitation for reservations, a Maharashtra Government official today said the state OBC Commission will take another four months to complete its survey of `social and economic backwardness' of the community.

The commission's findings are to be provided to the Bombay High Court, which is examining the legality of the quota in jobs and education for the Marathas.

The commission has statutory powers to recommend the inclusion of any community in the OBC category.

Social justice department's secretary Dinesh Waghmare told PTI that the commission is unlikely to submit the report by August 14, the next date of court hearing.

"Justice (retd) Maruti Gaikwad was appointed as chairman of the commission in November 2017, and five agencies were appointed to conduct division-wise surveys.

Surveys are being conducted in all districts.

Reports from all five agencies are expected by July 31," Waghmare said.

Therefore, compilation of the final report will take four months, he said.

Report of the Narayan Rane committee has been submitted to the court, but that committee had no power to recommend the inclusion of any community in the OBC category, he said.

"The OBC Commission had rejected the demand for Maratha reservations in 2008," the official added.

Subsequently, the previous Congress-NCP government set up a committee headed by Rane, then industries minister, to study the issue.

The Rane committee recommended 16 per cent reservation for the Marathas, barring the creamy layer (those earning Rs 6 lakh and above per year), and the government accordingly gave reservations to the politically influential committee.

The decision was stayed by the high court.
By IANS

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday spoke to DMK leaders M.K. Stalin and M.K. Kanimozhi to enquire about the health of party President M. Karunanidhi and offered necessary assistance.

"Spoke to Thiru M.K. Stalin and Kanimozhi. Enquired about the health of Karunanidhiji and offered any assistance required. I pray for his quick recovery and good health," Modi tweeted.

The Prime Minister's remarks came a day after it was revealed that the 94-year-old veteran leader was suffering from urinary tract infection and is being treated at home.

Modi is currently on his five-day, three-nation tour of Africa.

The Kauvery Hospital which is monitoring his health said in a statement on Thursday that there has been a slight decline in Karunanidhi's health due to age-related ailments.

"He is currently being treated... with intravenous antibiotics and fluids. He is being monitored and treated round the clock by a team of medical and nursing professionals, who are providing hospital-level care at his home," Kauvery Hospital's Executive Director Aravindan Selvaraj said.
Rajesh Asnani By

Express News Service

JAIPUR: The Vasundhara Raje governments meagre compensation for Rakbar Khan, the Alwar lynching victim, has created a row in Rajasthan. The Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has demanded that at least 25 lakh should be paid as compensation to Akbars family. The Rajasthan governments offer of just 1.25 lakh in compensation raises serious questions about the Raje governments intention to provide justice in the case, PUCL said.

Haryana Chief Minister Mohan Lal Khattar announced on Thursday that his government would pay 5 lakh as compensation to the family of Rakbar, who was a resident of Kol village in Haryanas Nuh district. The Haryana Waqf Board has also announced financial assistance of 3 lakh.

The compensation announced by the Rajasthan government is oont ke muh mein zeera or totally insufficient, PUCL said. The murder of Rakbar is the complete failure of the government in protecting Muslims, especially dairy farmers, from the killer gaurakshaks, who are basically extortionists.

When the government has accepted that there was gross police negligence in saving Rakbar, they have made a mockery of the relief given as compensation. We demand an immediate increase of compensation amount to `25 lakh, said Kavita Srivastava, secretary of PUCLs Rajasthan unit.

The Opposition Congress expressed surprise over the compensation announced by the government, and Archana Sharma, chief spokesperson of the state Congress media cell, said: Rakbar died in Rajasthan and the government has accepted that he died in police custody and a judicial inquiry has been announced. Then its strange why such a meagre compensation is being given. Raje government is trying to save the gaurkashaks, and now it is also trying to please right-wing outfits with such a petty compensation.

Rajasthan Home Minister Gulab Chand Kataria has ruled out any immediate increase in compensation. The state government has ordered a compensation of 1.25 lakh to Rakbars family and further compensation will be provided on the recommendations of the district legal committee.

NHRC issues notice to govt

The National Human Rights Commission has taken cognizance of the incident and issued notices to the Rajasthan government and sought a report within 15 days. The panel said the incident raised serious issues of human rights violation.
Iraqs Shia-led government of Prime Minister Haidar Al-Abadi has reacted swiftly and forcefully to quell street demonstrations in the largely Shia-dominated southern provinces of the country that were protesting against state dysfunction and corruption and demanding jobs and public services.

The problem is not simply that the security forces have ruthlessly cracked down on angry protesters, but that the demonstrations have highlighted growing reservations by Iraqs Shias towards their poor leadership more than 15 years after the majority Shias obtained power following the fall of the former Sunni-dominated regime in the US-led invasion in 2003.

The widening cracks within Shia ranks cast a long shadow over the political empowerment of Iraqs Shias, or what has long been touted as a Shia revival, and they reinforce speculation about the limitations of the communitys rise in state and nation-building in Iraq.

Moreover, the outcome of the standoff will determine the future of Shia rule in Iraq and will also have a huge impact on the sectarian power balance across the Middle East that has been inflicted by a deepening Shia-Sunni divide.

The protests in Iraq started on 8 July against politicians blamed for failing to deliver basic services and jobs to the oil-rich province of Basra and other largely Shia-populated southern cities that have been crumbling under years of corruption, mismanagement and neglect.

Several protesters were killed and hundreds of others were wounded in nearly three weeks of demonstrations as the government sent in US-trained anti-riot troops to quash the rioting which it blamed on infiltrators.

Shia militia leaders also accused the protesters of serving foreign agendas and trying to undermine the war against the Islamic State (IS) terror group.

Soon the public protests moved to the capital Baghdad as the demonstrators escalated their demands to include the ousting of the ruling political parties and broadening their resistance to the Shia-led government.

The moves come as Iraqs embattled political class grapples with one of Iraqs worst crises since 2003 over the controversial results of the 12 May elections, now being contested by several groups.

The elections saw a low turnout, especially in the Shia-populated provinces which signalled their increasing disillusionment with the Shia political elites that have been monopolising power since 2003.

The revolt in Iraqs southern cities has also underscored how the political shift in Iraq in favour of its Shia majority has failed to advance the Shias historic quest for justice primarily because of internal mismanagement and not necessarily because of resistance by others.

Historically speaking, Shia Muslims have been denied access to political power for centuries. In Iraq, the Shias narrative says that the community h Saddam Hussein as been treated as being made up of second-class citizens since the modern Iraqi state came into being after the First World War.

Iraqs Shia wheel of fortune, however, turned with the US-led invasion and the collapse of the Sunni-dominated regime of former dictator Saddam Hussein when the Shias seized the opportunity to take power in the country.

The Shia takeover in post-2003 Iraq also triggered a broader Shia rise in the Middle East that upset the regional sectarian balance and sparked Sunni rejection.

In the wake of the US-led invasion, however, important questions arose: would the newly empowered Shia leadership keep Iraq united and maintain its national identity and would it succeed in rebuilding Iraq as a modern state?

Would the new Shia rulers seize the opportunity to establish an egalitarian society rather than try to redress past injustices to the Shias alone?

The future of Iraq seemed to hinge on the answers to these questions. Yet, as more than a decade of Shia experience in government has showed, the Shia elites that drew on their communitys majority in power were ill-prepared for the job, let alone the gigantic task of state-building in Iraq.

Huge sums of money coming from oil resources and international aid continued to be squandered or siphoned off by corrupt politicians, and the Iraqi people stood to lose everything as a result of corruption and dysfunctions.

However, the ineffective Shia political class continued to grab as much authority as it could, circumventing the constitution and the principles of power-sharing and consensus democracy and marginalising the countrys Sunnis, Kurds, and even many in the Shia community.

The ethnic and sect-based quota system that was initiated after 2003 created a social environment favourable to political sectarianism, and this deepened communal divisions and triggered continued conflicts.

From their ghetto in the formidable government Green Zone in Baghdad, the Shia political elites used state resources and every instrument at their disposal, in particular the countrys huge oil money and massive security forces, to monopolise power and exclude the rest of Iraqs communities and individuals.

Power-grabbing and exclusion went hand-in-hand with wanton corruption and flagrant inefficiency to produce the worst governments Iraq has had since its foundation in 1921.

Despite billions of dollars pouring into the state coffers annually, Iraqis have been sinking into poverty, deprivation and unemployment. Public healthcare and other services have drastically declined owing to shortages of funding and corruption.

Electricity and drinking water supplies have been painfully scarce even in the capital Baghdad, while they are more severely lacking in the provinces and even in the Shia heartlands.

More importantly, the Iraqi Shia ruling elites have failed in their strategic management of post-Saddam Iraq. Since they came to power, they have showed that they have no strategic plans for state-building and have been improvising as they go along.

The manner in which the ruling Shia oligarchy has been handling the present revolt is raising serious doubts even among Shias as to whether it is perhaps aiming to rock the foundations of the first government the Iraqi Shias have managed to establish in their history.

The way Al-Abadis government has dealt with the movements in the southern provinces and the suppression of the protesters shows how the dysfunctional Shia-led regime has been incapable of morphing into a state that can represent the Shias and respect their voices and protect their rights.

After the Shia ruling groups, Iraqs mostly Islamic-oriented parties have imposed their own religiously and politically conservative agendas and alienated secularists and liberal Shias. They have also ordered their security forces and militias to turn their guns on the Shia protesters.

The results of turning against their own constituencies this time around could be fateful and have historic consequences as far as the Iraqi Shias are concerned.

Today, the question of the performance of the Shia leadership and its failure in state-building is fundamentally a matter of the Iraqi Shias future. The key question is whether the present leadership in fact constitutes a danger to the survival of the Iraqi Shias.

As the Iraqi Shia elites lose support from their constituencies and continue to lack legitimacy and fail to build consensus, their governmental mechanisms will be increasingly raked over the coals.

Some 56 per cent of eligible voters in Iraq, mostly in Shia-dominated constituencies, boycotted the May elections in a clear message of rejection of their political class that has dominated the parliament and the government in post-Saddam Iraq.

When the protesters come in throngs to the Shia-populated cities shouting slogans of down with the political parties, burning their offices and attacking local government premises, the stakes are high that frustration with the ruling elites has reached boiling point.

Put in a larger perspective, Iraqs Shia elites have not only failed in building a normal state but have also turned Iraq into a natural breeding ground for mismanagement, corruption and terrorism.

In a broader historical and geopolitical context, the empowerment of the Iraqi Shias after 14 centuries of Sunni rule, once hailed as a Shia revival, has now been put into reverse.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 26 July 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Is Iraqs Shia revival over?

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By PTI

NEW DELHI: The Congress today hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not raising the Doklam issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

"The truth is that Prime Minister Modi meets the Chinese president on the sidelines of the BRICS summit and holds talks, but forgets to talk about Doklam. When will this government show the 56-inch chest and red eyes and have the courage to raise the issues concerning security and nation's borders? The 132 crore people of the country want to know," Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.

He said the United States Congressional Committee has stated that China has made a headway in Doklam and was raising its infrastructure and Army strength there.

"This is a direct threat and challenge to national security," he said.

ALSO READ | China quietly resumes its activities in Doklam area: US officials

The Congress leader said the way Chinese Army strength of Brigade-level was there in north Doklam and in southern Doklam in the Siliguri corridor, China has constructed a road, but the "prime minister and defence minister did not speak anything on it".

"The truth is that the one who claimed having a 56-inch chest and dared to show 'red eyes' to China, has gone back on his promise and has turned silent on national security.

"The prime minister, who dared to show China his red eyes, gave swing rides to the Chinese president.

But when he goes to China with an agenda-less visit, he forgets to even raise the issue of Doklam which is linked to national security," Surjewala said.

The Congress leader said China, which does not have any diplomatic ties with Bhutan, visited the nation and discussed Doklam with Bhutan without involving India.

ALSO READ | No new developments in Doklam, status quo prevails: Government

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the 10th BRICS Summit agreed that the Chinese defence minister will visit India next month as part of the efforts to maintain the "momentum" generated by their recent meetings.

Modi, who is here to attend the BRICS Summit, met Xi for the third time in nearly three months last evening after their two-day informal summit in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late April and a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Qingdao, China in June.

"It is important to maintain this momentum and for this we should, at our level, regularly review our relationship and give proper instructions whenever required," Modi told Xi in his opening remarks.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: An address by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee due to have been made on Wednesday (August 1) to students of St Stephen's College in New Delhi has been cancelled. People familiar with the matter in Mamata's party  Trinamool Congress  have claimed that the college suspended the event because of growing "saffron pressure". Although, the reason for the cancellation by the college is yet to be confirmed, TMC has cited "protocol issues" as mentioned by the college in an apology written to Mamata, expressing regret for cancellation.

According to sources, the Bengali Literary Society of the college had invited Mamata for the event.

St Stephen's principal John Varghese could not be reached for a comment despite multiple attempts by the TNIE.

Mamata is scheduled to leave for New Delhi on Monday. This is the third event in recent weeks which Mamata was supposed to address but got cancelled.

"First, the Vivekananda event in Chicago. Then her China visit and now St Stephens! Mamata Banerjee is giving the BJP-RSS sleepless nights. Let them keep trying, she cannot be silenced. The Bengal CM's trip to Delhi is on schedule. She will be chief guest at the 'Love your Neighbour' conference organised by India's largest Christian body, The Catholic Bishops Conference of India, at 2.30 pm on July 31," a senior Trinamool MP said.
Harpreet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: Blackouts were reported in various parts of Himachal Pradesh and power supply to the northern states has been disrupted.

Four hydro projects in the hill state including the country's two mega hydro projects 1,500 MW Nathpa Jhakri plant and 412 MW Rampur Hydro Electric Project besides 300 MW Baspa Stage-II and 120 MW Bhabha have been temporarily shut down due to rise in slit levels in the Satluj river.

These four major power projects on Satluj have been temporarily shut due to heavy discharge of silt in Satluj river following flash floods due to heavy rains.

The silt level in Satluj rose to 60,000 particles per minute from 30,000 particles from midnight as there were a flash flood in the upper region between Nathpa and Baspa valley due to heavy rains in last forty eight hours thus these hydro projects have to be shut to prevent them from damage, said sources.

Sources said the Bhabha and Baspa hydropower projects were shut down due to high-silt level in the Baspa and Bhawa rivers which are tributaries of Satluj.

This in turn has resulted in blackout in parts of the state. As Himachal Pradesh needs about 1300 MW to 1500 MW power every day. It is facing an acute power shortage of 1000 MW from last evening, said sources. It is pointed out that the power to the industry has been totally cut off due to this shortage.

The state government has arranged 600 MW of power from different sources to meet the demand of domestic consumers but the power to industry is still a problem as there is 400 MW shortage. Sources said that the 1000 MW Karcham Wangtu project was still running.

As due to rains flash flood came in the belt between Nathpa and Baspa, not in the area above Karcham. Since morning the silt level has come down 10, 000 ppm and power situation is expected to be normal soon thus power projects will resume production.

The Nathpa Jhakri hydropower project is in Kinnaur district, while the Rampur Hydro Electric Project is located in Shimla district. Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited a joint venture between the central and the state governments runs both these power projects and supplies electricity mainly to Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Uand.

Due to rains many roads closed in Himachal

Due to heavy rains most roads in Himachal Pradesh remained closed thus commuters were strandered. The worst affected were Sirmaur and Kullu districts. The Mandi-Pathankot National Highway 20, which was closed for vehicles near Kotropi village in Jogindernagar was reopened partially but traffic beyond Ribba in Kinnaur district remained suspended since a large stretch of the Hindustan-Tibet Road was under debris owing to landslides.

The road nin the higher reaches of Kinnaur, Shimla, Chamba, Mandi and Kullu districts was worst affected.

Three people washed away

It is learnt that three people, including a woman were washed away near Kinner Kailash in Kinnaur. As around 60 devotees returning after paying obeisance at Kinner Kailash and were struck on the way. These three people were washed away as they were crossing a nullah.

Water has been released from Hathnikund barrage in Haryana into the Yamuna River

Excess water has been released from Hathnikund barrage in Haryana into the Yamuna river, posing a flood threat to New Delhi. Over 200,000 cusecs of water was released into the Yamuna from the Hathnikund barrage which provides drinking water to New Delhi.

The water level at the barrage along the Haryana-Uttarakhand border rose to high levels due to heavy rains in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

The water level in the Yamuna crossed the danger level. The villages along the Yamuna had been alerted about the release of the excess water. The Yamuna river passes through Yamunanagar, Karnal and Panipat districts in Haryana before entering New Delhi.
By PTI

INDORE: Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia today asked the media to focus on issues like farmer suicides and rapes instead of being concerned about party chief Rahul Gandhi's 'wink' in Parliament.

"Farmers are committing suicide, women are being raped, Dalits are being oppressed, lands of tribals are being snatched and unemployment is rising. In spite of all this, the fourth pillar of democracy (press) is more concerned about someone winking," he told reporters here, while responding to questions about Gandhi's wink in the Lok Sabha during a discussion on the no-confidence motion on July 20.

"Should the media focus on the issues raised by Rahul in Parliament or should winking be given priority? Was the wink such a big issue? Have you never winked in your life?" the Lok Sabha MP from Guna asked.

Scindia termed the recent increase in the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy and other crops by the Centre an "election bluff".

The MSP was arrived on the basis of an "improper" formula and, therefore, the farmers will not get the correct prices for their produce or labour, he alleged.

Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government over fuel prices, Scindia said, "Before the last general elections, Modi had said Rs 15 lakh would be deposited in the accounts of every citizen by bringing back black money stashed abroad. The government has instead realised Rs 15 lakh crore from the public through costly petrol and diesel".

Scindia, scion of the Gwalior royal family, also objected to being called "maharaja" by Madhya Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

"After Independence, the era of 'raja-maharajas' is over. As a politician, I should be assessed on the basis of my diligence in public life," Scindia said.

Hitting out at Chouhan, the Congress leader said, "If Shivraj is using words like raja maharaja for me, he should also answer why he did not use these words for my late grandmother (senior BJP leader Vijaya Raje Scindia also referred to as 'Rajmata') when he was a BJP worker 30 years ago".

He said Chouhan should be using these royal honorifics for Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje Scindia and Madhya Pradesh minister Yashodhara Raje Scindia as well.

The two, both party colleagues of Chouhan, are paternal aunts of Jyotiraditya.

"Shivraj, in his public statements, often describes himself as a backward. But he should know that there is no caste or religion for a chief minister. The Madhya Pradesh chief minister represents 7.5 crore people of the state," the Guna Lok Sabha MP said, taking a dig at Chouhan.

Speaking on the Congress' face (for CM) in the Madhya Pradesh Assembly polls, slated for later this year, Scindia said, "7.5 crore people of Madhya Pradesh are the party's face".

The Congress leader added that 30 tickets should be given to those party leaders who have never fought assembly polls, but have the experience of contesting local body polls.
Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: Ahead of PM Narendra Modis Lucknow visit for groundbreaking ceremony of new projects worth 60,000 crore, BJP chief Amit Shah reached Allahabad to connect with Hindu seers on Friday and sought their blessings for the general elections and the Kumbh Mela.

Shahs four-hour itinerary was packed with temple visits, religious functions, meetings with seers. He held a closed-door meeting at Baghambari Mutt with Mahants of Akhil Bharatiya Akhara Parishad (ABAP). Not only did he collect their feedback on the preparations for the Kumbh Mela scheduled for January 2019, Shah also discussed strategy for the big battle of 2019.

Notably, the Akahada Parishad and the saints had put their seal on the name of Narendra Modi as BJPs prime ministerial candidate at a Dharam Sansad during the 2013 Maha Kumbh. Political pundits, however, believe that Kumbh coinciding with general elections offers BJP an opportunity to connect with a huge and diverse chunk of humanity.

The RSS has already communicated to the Yogi Adityanath government to host the Kumbh on a scale like never before. Thats why the BJP government in UP has already decided to send out Kumbh invites to all the 70 lakh odd villages of the country, government officials confirmed.

Shah worshipped performing Arti at the Yamuna followed by the inauguration of the newly-constructed Siddh Baba Maujgiri Ghat at Siddh Baba Maujgiri Mutt. The BJP national president then proceeded to Bade Hanuman temple at the Kumbh Mela area where he worshipped and headed to Sangam for Arti.

The central government has already pumped in 1,500 crore for the projects and has planned to bring delegates from 192 countries in the Mela.
By PTI

JAIPUR: Criticising West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for accusing the BJP of trying to create an atmosphere of Talibani Hinduism in the country, a Rajasthan minister has said that she should give quit Hinduism.

She does not have the knowledge, and she does not love her country, Labour Minister Jaswant Singh Yadav said last evening.

He accused her of making the shameless statement that all Hindu organisations are extremists.

Then she should leave Hinduism her mental condition is not good, he told reporters at Behror in Alwar district.

After the recent lynching of 28-year old Rakbar Khan in Alwar district on suspicion of cow smuggling, the Trinamool Congress chief had accused the BJP of trying to create an "atmosphere of Talibani Hinduism and Talibani communalism".

Yadav said he stood by his earlier statement that Hindus will not tolerate the smuggling and slaughter of cows because the cow is like mother for them.

Referring to the recent lynching, he said, Taking the law in one's hand and beating or killing someone is condemnable but Hindus' religious sentiments are connected with cows.

I request Meo brothers to stop cow smuggling and slaughter in the interest of unity and harmony in the country, he said.

Khan, who was from the Meo community, was beaten by a group of people on the night of July 20 and declared brought dead at the community health centre in Ramgarh.

The police arrested three men who are now under judicial custody for the lynching.

An assistant sub-inspector and three constables were shunted to police lines for dereliction of duty over the delay in taking the victim to the nearby health centre.
Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: A Bill, passed by the Manipur Assembly, has virtually set a district in the state on fire.

After a bout of violence that left several people injured, the authorities imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 CrPC in the whole of Jiribam district for an indefinite period.

Trouble started brewing after the Assembly had passed the Manipur Peoples Protection Bill, 2018 three days ago. The Bill set 1951 as the base year to identify locals. The idea was to protect the identity of locals from the influx of outsiders. Once the Bill gets the Governors nod and becomes an Act, outsiders, who came to the state after 1951, will be viewed as foreigners. Also, the Bill states that such people will have no voting rights or land rights.

There has been a steady migration of people, mostly Bengali Muslims and Hindus from southern Assams Barak Valley, to Manipur, particularly Jiribam, for a long time. These people are now enraged. They argue as to how the Manipur government could fix 1951 as the cut off year to say who is a local and who is not when the state attained statehood in 1972.

The All Jiribam United Minority Peoples Joint Action Committee (JAC), which has been very critical of the Bill, demanded that the cut-off year be made 1972. It claimed that no proper documents were issued to the migrants in Jiribam by the government during the period of 1951.

At least ten people were injured when the protestors clashed with the police in Jiribam on Friday. The injured included Jiribam Superintendent of Police M Mubi Singh.

Hundreds of protestors, which included both Bengali Hindus and Muslims, took out a rally on Friday. Even as we were advising them that if they had any issue they should take it up with the government, they suddenly started attacking us by pelting stones. I myself got injured in my right hand and was briefly hospitalised. The officer-in-charge of the local police station was also beaten up by the protestors. A policewoman was also injured, Singh told TNIE.

He said the situation on Saturday was tense but under control. I learnt that they were mobilising in interior places of the district. If they try to be violent again, there will be serious consequences, he warned.
Aishik Chanda By

Express News Service

KOLKATA: A day after NC leader Omar Abdullah hinted Mamata Banerjee might be made the Prime Ministerial candidate of an anti-BJP federal front, senior TMC leaders on Saturday demanded that their supremo is made the Prime Ministerial candidate against Narendra Modi in 2019.

"Mamata didi has done a great job in West Bengal. When needed, we will take her to the top seat in Delhi. But these issues will be discussed after the elections are over," Omar had said.

Indirectly demanding that Mamata's name be officially declared as the PM candidate of the multi-party regional front, senior TMC leaders issued statements on Saturday justifying how only the TMC supremo could stop the BJP juggernaut across the country.

While Kolkata South MP Subrata Bakshi said that only Mamata can oust Modi in 2019, Serampore MP Kalyan Banerjee asserted that the TMC supremo will send the PM back to Gujarat.

TMC's prominent Muslim face Firhad Hakim said Mamata has to take the responsibility of saving the people from Modi. "Only Mamata has the power to speak up against the atrocities committed by the Centre. She doesn't have any greed but the people need her for their own well-being."

Transport minister Suvendu Adhikari claimed the TMC will win all 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal.

Mamata's nephew Abhishek Banerjee hit out at the BJP over Hindutva politics. "I am also a saffron-clad Hindu. But I believe the Hinduism of Swami Vivekananda and not that of Yogi Adityanath. My Hindutva does not teach division or destruction. We also have Ram Bhakts. However, unlike your Ram Bhakts who dance with swords, my Ram Bhakts live with the message of Hindu-Muslim communal harmony. BJP claims to work for Hindutva, I ask them what have they done for Hindutva in these past four years," he said.
By UNI

AGARTALA: While ordering CID inquiry into the demolition of the statue of former deputy chief minister and late CPI (M) stalwart Baidyanath Majumdar on July 24 last, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb today announced that the state government will rebuild the statue.

Police had arrested two youths of the locality Ranjit Das and Litan Sarkar yesterday in connection with the statue demolition.

However, the court released them on bail later.

The CPI(M) accused police of booking the youths in bailable sections to pave the way for their release and threatened to go for mass movement unless the accused persons were arrested in 48 hours.

Some unidentified miscreants demolished the statue of Baidyanath Majumdar at night and dumped it into the river, which triggered a massive reaction and all parties including BJP protested demanding an investigation.

The CPI-M party held rallies across the state accusing BJP cadres of the demolition incident.

Baidyanath Majumdar.

(Photo | cpimtripura.org)

While CPI-M accused BJP workers behind demolition of the statue, BJP leaders denied it and said that the CPI-M cadres did the mistake to create a controversy and malign the government.

Either, CPI-M cadres did this as outburst of their anger against the deprivation of the party to them for past 25 yrs or the party intentionally did it to divert the public attention from the series of development for cross-section of the society initiated by the BJP-IPFT government, said BJP vice-president Subal Bhowmik.

Meanwhile, Mr Deb spoke to DGP Akhil Kumar Shukla this morning and directed him to institute a time-bound inquiry into the forced dismantling of the statue and bring the culprits to book.

He has also directed the chief secretary to take initiative to reconstruction of the statue of Baidyanath Majumdar from the government.

Majumdar had been a five-time MLA of CPI-M from Chandipur assembly constituency under Kailashahar of Unokoti district from 1978 to 1998 and he was deputy chief minister of the state between 1993 and 1998.

He had died at the age of 88 in the year 2011 and his statue was erected in 2012.

Soon after BJP-IPFT government in Tripura came to power in March this year, two statues of Lenin had been demolished by unidentified miscreants in Belonia and Sabroom of South Tripura that earned severe criticism across the globe but police could not arrest the actual culprits.
After months of Ankara and Washington heading to the brink of collision, some signs are emerging of a softening of positions on both sides

Turkey is among the countries that most vehemently protest what pro-government media call the Oval Office dictates in connection with re-imposed US sanctions against Iran. It may have some logical reasons.

Unlike the ally across the Atlantic, Turkey is a neighbour of that rogue state with which it shares a 500-kilometre long border.

Secondly, Ankara has to meet some crucial daily needs for its economy and people.

Indeed, it had attempted to circumvent the sanctions obstacle before, ostensibly for this reason, and currently a Halkbank executive is serving out a 32-month sentence in the US in connection with a sanctions evasion scheme following a high-profile trial in New York slammed by Turkeys pro-government media as a farce. Foremost among its needs from abroad is fuel.

Currently Turkey imports about half of its energy requirements from Iran, noted for the high quality of its crude, which comes with the additional advantages of proximity and preferential prices.

How could Ankara possibly bow to Washingtons dictates on this? It must remain firm and tell Trump a resounding No, according to President Erdogans opinion pundits.

Ankaras relationship with the Trump administration has approached a brink and, until recently, there have been few signs of efforts to avert collision.

Much to Erdogans fury, Washington has not responded to his insistent demands to stop supporting the predominantly Kurdish Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Peoples Protection Units (YPG) which the regime in Ankara has branded terrorist.

Nor has the US moved a step closer to extraditing the Islamist preacher Fathullah Gulen whom the Erdogan regime claims masterminded the coup attempt in mid-July 2016.

So, when a group of US experts arrived in Anatolia, the welcome was grim and, according to leaks, their talks with Turkish officials were tense. Tempers may have even flared as, apparently, the Turks dug in their heels and insisted on maintaining their cooperation with Iran.

Nevertheless, there have been two significant developments in this regard.

First, Trump has suggested that some countries might be exempted from the USs rules on compliance with its anti-Iranian sanctions regime, so that they did not fall prey to the Kremlin.

Although not mentioned by name, it required little guesswork to deduce that Turkey, which had been drifting eastward for some time, was on the list of potential exemptions.

The Russian bear, for its part, has shown amazing flexibility in order to put past differences with the Erdogan regime behind it and bring it closer into its embrace.

According to Russian experts, the Kremlin has invested heavily in taking advantage of the growing fissure between the US and Turkey in the hope of precipitating the latters break from the Western security structure.

The second development is that Tupras, Turkeys largest oil refiner, has begun to reduce its purchases of Iranian crude.

This process already began in May, just after Trump announced his decision to re-impose sanctions. In the first four months of 2018, Tupras had bought more than 187,000 barrels per day of Iranian oil.

In April alone, according to Reuters, Tupras imported eight cargoes  equivalent to just over 240,000 bpd. Turkish media has cited experts as saying that the state-owned company will probably reduce purchases further in the coming months.

Clearly this indicates that, contrary to his feisty bravado, Erdogan wants to avoid pushing tensions with the US too far at this stage and that this gesture may be a sign of a desire to smooth things out in that relationship.

At the same time, Turkish diplomatic circles realise that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis are disinclined to clash with Turkey over Iranian oil.

It is difficult to imagine Turkey being able to end imports of Iranian hydrocarbon given the serious financial pain that would result, wrote the academic and former US foreign service officer Edward G Stanford in a column for AhvalNews on 16 July.

However, he adds, the US would probably adopt a tough approach, expecting much in return for not sanctioning Turkish companies or banks doing business with Iran.

In fact, Trump has already signalled that this might be his approach. In his phone call to Ankara following last months elections, he did not congratulate Erdogan on his electoral victory and proceeded directly to issues related to the recent NATO conference.

The question of the continued detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson, described by US Security Adviser John Bolton as unfair treatment of a US citizen, is also likely to remain a problem.

On the other hand, it appears that some form of arrangement has been reached over Ankaras purchase of the Russian S-400 missile system, which may take a long time to come through, if it comes through at all.

Of course, there remain perpetual differences over the Kurds. The US continues to insist on the distinction between the Turkish-based Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) which it, like Turkey, labels terrorist, and the Syrian-based SDF and YPG, and the Iraqi-based Peshmerga, which it does not regard as terrorist.

Turkey rejects the distinction and lumps them all in one convenient basket. But who knows? Ankara might just discover some room for subtlety if Washington exempts it from compliance with Iranian sanctions.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 26 July 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Keeping Turkey in line

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By UNI

NEW DELHI: Union Minister and a neo-Christian face of BJP K J Alphons has sought to put the row over 'ban' on confession of Christians to rest by asserting that "there is no connection to the Central government" on NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma making a recommendation for the same.

"This is the personal opinion of Mrs Sharma. In matters of religious belief, Narendra Modi's government has never interfered," Union Tourism Minister Mr Alphons said in a Facebook post.

The clarification from the Union Minister comes in the wake of reports that the Kerala Catholic Bishop Council (KCBC) has taken note of reports that the National Commission for Women Chairperson Rekha Sharma has made a recommendation to the Union Home Ministry to ban the Sacrament of Confession among Christians in India.

In a statement, the KCBC Deputy Secretary General Varghese Valikkat said the move is "shocking" for all who believe in the freedom of religion guaranteed by the Constitution of India.

"We strongly feel that the recommendation is unwarranted and violates the honour and credibility of the Christian community," it said adding "We suspect communal and political motives behind this unconstitutional interference into the internal spiritual affairs of the Church".

Kerala BJP leader George Kurian has also criticised the proposal of the National Commission for Women to ban confession in churches.
Ejaz Kaiser By

Express News Service

RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh has witnessed the most casualties of women Maoists than any other state in India.

The outlawed CPI (Maoist), that is believed to have a presence in 16 states, is the most active in Chhattisgarh where it has been waging war on the security forces for over three decades.

In Chhattisgarh, the organisational structure of Maoists is quite unusual as women constitute over 40 per cent of its strength, jungle warfare experts said.

How active the female cadres are in the state, can be gauged by the fact that out of the 69 rebels killed by the security forces this year, 27 were women, which is nearly 39 per cent of the casualties.

"In Maoist-affected zones around 45 per cent women are in different positions and many of them fight ferociously from the front. Sadly, they are misled Indian tribal women who have taken a wrong path, asserted Brigadier (Retd) B K Ponwar, Director, Counter Terrorism and Jungle Warfare College, Kanker.

Senior police officers, with long experience of working in the conflict zone of Bastar stated that as there is no gender discrimination among tribal communities, the same practice apparently percolated into the Maoist organisation.

In tribal dominated Bastar, the overall sex ratio is far better than the national average which stands at 940 females for every 1,000 males. For instance Jagdalpur district has 1,023 females, Dantewada has the sex ratio of 1,018.

"The demographic trends of tribal population has pervaded through the composition of Maoist organisation where apparently there is no gender disparity at the lower and middle level", said Dr Abhishek Pallava, Kondagaon district police chief, in Bastar zone.

The strength of women cadre in Chhattisgarh is much higher compared to adjoining states of Telangana, Maharashtra, Odisha, Jharkhand and Bihar.

However, even though women cadres have a presence of almost 40 to 45 per cent in the lower and middle order, they have no place in the top decision-making Central Committee of the CPI (Maoist).

Giving the reason for more casualties among the women cadre, police officials point to their placement on the front, for patrolling and external quadrants by the organization.

"Male Naxals are cowards who usually use the women as human shields. Of course female cadres, unlike their men, don't easily flee from the field," said DIG (Dantewada) Ratanlal Dangi, who has a long stint of working in several Naxal-affected districts.

In many instances, the women lead from the front and are more disciplined and dedicated. They are seen as indispensable for their organization," Pallava added.

Their roles too remain diversified besides fighting alongside their male counterparts.

"The rebel organisation interestingly keeps open the option for sensuous gratification of their cadres. Such promiscuity prevents the male Naxals from visiting prostitutes or committing sexual offences, which might result in them losing mass support. They also believe such practices will not let the attention of male cadres stray", said Dangi.

Women are equally engaged in the red brigades cultural troupe Chetna Natya Mandli, supply chains, keeping watch on their male counterparts.

In Bastar, women are economically independent and run their family. Maoists have an advantage as female cadres can conveniently penetrate villages and carry out recruitments. They can easily convince tribal women and children to join their ranks. The way Naxals have so successfully penetrated tribal society in Bastar is not replicated anywhere else.
Sujata Anandan By

Maaf karna, sahab. Mujhse galti ho gayi.

That remark by a Rajasthan policeman who stopped for tea and dropped cows off at a shelter and took three hours to bring dairy farmer Rakbar Khan, a victim of lynching, from Alwar to a hospital, brought a sense of deja vu.

How many times have we heard that dialogue on real-life based crime shows on television? Every criminal when caught says, Forgive me, sir. I made a mistake. To which the investigating officer inevitably replies, Yeh galti nahin, gunah hai. Iski koi maafi nahin mil sakti. Ab latko phaansi pur ya sado zindagi bhar is jail mein (This is no mistake. It is a crime. You can never be forgiven for it. Now you will hang for this or at least rot in this jail for the rest of your life).

Here the man admitting to his guiltAssistant Sub-Inspector Mohan Singhobviously knew he would not be hanged or jailed for life for he added, Pardon me or punish me. It is quite simple and straightforward (what must be done). He has been suspended as punishment, but with top cops describing it as an error of judgment, it is a foregone conclusion that he will eventually be pardoned. But what about Rakbar Khan, whose only crimein the eyes of his killerswas that he was a Muslim dairy farmer and depended on selling milk for his livelihood?

Soon after his killing, an RSS leader exhorted people to stop eating beef and promised that the lynchings in the name of the cow would stop automatically. But the issue now has gone beyond mere cow vigilantism and it is clear that it is only and only about being Muslim.

For, in a country where more than 71 per cent of people over the age of 15 (according to the 2014 baseline sample registration survey by the Registrar General of India) are non-vegetarians, it is ridiculous to presume that only Muslims eat beef. According to the National Sample Survey Office more than 80 million Indians consume beef, of which Hindus account for 12.5 million, the rest belonging to various other communities, including Muslims and Christians.

Moreover, according to 2015 figures, India has been the largest exporter of beef since 2014 and has been outpacing Brazil in that department steadily over the past few years.

Contributing quite a bit to these exports is Al-Dua, among the leading exporters of halal meat to Arab nations. According to the Registrar of Companies, one of its promoters was Sangeet Som, an anti-beef crusader from Uttar Pradesh, named in the Muzaffarnagar riots, who later ended up as a BJP MLA. Then, again, Goa allows beef consumption as does the Northeastboth Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju and Arunachal Pradesh Chief Minister Pema Khandu have openly admitted to their food preferences which includes beef. Yet none of the vigilanteswho are simply criminals sure of escaping the law because of the benign attitudes of policemen like Mohan Singh and their local leaderstarget these people simply because they are not Muslim.

So Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan, who abandoned his cowshe kept his buffaloes, thoughas soon as lynchings in the name of the cow began in India is wrong in his abject surrender to these criminals by exhorting his fellow Muslims to give up dairy farming to escape the lynchings.

The situation in this country is such today that even if every Muslim would give up eating beef (there is no pressure on the 12.5 million Hindus who do so) or even dairy farming , vigilantes and criminals would still find some or the other reason to attack the communitylike if they fall in love with a Hindu girl as happened this week in a Ghaziabad court where a young Muslim man wanted to register his marriage to his Hindu sweetheart. But when a Muslim man is terrorised into not even looking at a Hindu woman, the criminals could then target them, for sharing the same spaces as them.

For this is now no longer about just marginalising Muslims. It has gone way beyond that. It is about demonising the other community, driving fear into them, forcing them out of sight and eventually out of the country.

That is also the reason why Rahul Gandhi was demonised for saying something he never did. The Congress president has undertaken some quiet interactions of his own and met some Muslim intellectuals in New Delhi, where no journalists were present. An Urdu newspaper reported he had told them the Congress was a party for Muslims. That report was contradicted by virtually everyone present at the meeting, yet ministers attempted to demonise both Rahul Gandhi and Muslims without bothering to verify the truth of the report.

Their target was not so much Rahul Gandhi or the Congress party as the Muslims of this country, who would be targeted even if they were all well-established professionals who had greatly contributed to nation-building, not nation-breaking. Moreover, the garlanding and felicitation of convicted criminals who killed Muslims also sends out a wrong signal to other vigilantes. So whether a Muslim eats beef or not or marries a Hindu girl he will always be demonised.

Sujata Anandan

Senior journalist and political commentator

Email: sujata.anandan@gmail.com
S Gurumurthy By

Error, illegality and perversity all could be pointed out in the impugned trial court order. This one sentence in the judgment of Justice G Jayachandran [at para 52] in Maran brothers infamous telephone fraud case shames the trial court which had, by an unconscionable order, discharged the buccaneers. The High Court did not merely reverse the order of discharge. Not just at para 52, at para 79 too, Justice Jayachandran termed the discharge order by the trial judge as perverse. According to Merriam-Websters dictionary, the word perverse means turned away from what is right or good: corrupt.

A strong indictment indeed by judicial standards. Why did the High Court indict the trial court in such strong terms? The CBI had averred in its petition to High Court that the trial judge has acted in this case in a pre-decided manner and with the sole intention to discharge. Justice Jayachandran noted CBIs averment [para 28] and found [paras 77-79] that the trial judge perversely cited parts of the evidence that helped the discharge and ignored the parts that would not  impliedly accepting the CBI argument of premeditated intention to discharge the accused. The Marans, by their political, media and financial might, and by prevaricating to courts through highly paid lawyers, have been dodging the law for a decade. Justice Jayachandran has saved not only the prosecution against the Marans, but the credibility of the judiciary itself. Seeing the Marans game endlessly to delay the course of justice, the judge also directed that the trial be completed in 12 months. One honest judge has thus stopped the fraudsters escape in their tracks.

Marans lied to the public,Supreme Court and trial court

Now look at how the trial court destroyed a case that had the potential to convict the powerful Maran brothers and how the High Court saved it. In June 2011, citing the CBIs initial probe, The New Indian Express exposed the Marans secret telephone exchange with 300-plus high speed lines buried in the name of the Chief General Manager of BSNL Chennai at the palatial Boat Club home of the brothers  all the lines being found connected to Sun TV network a couple of kilometres away by a secret, private, underground cable and used for its show business. TNIE said that the CBI, which had asked for permission to probe the fraud in June 2007, was not given the go ahead. Reacting to TNIEs expose, Dayanidhi Maran lied that he had only one BSNL number 24371500, and no other, at his home.

Terming TNIEs story of 323 lines as false, Maran, like P Chidambaram did, threatened to sue the paper. When TNIE challenged him saying, Welcome Mr Maran, he ran away. As the UPA was in power, the CBI probe was not given the green light. This writer had to move the Supreme Court to force the CBI to act. In the third quarter of 2013, the CBI registered an FIR and began to probe. The CBI probe found that besides the 323 lines at the Boat Club residence of the Marans, there were 441 more telephone lines again secretly and fraudulently connected to the Gopalapuram home, taking the secret telephone exchange lines to 764. On media reports that the CBI might seek his custody, Dayanidhi Maran approached the Supreme Court like most powerful suspects do. The Marans told the same lie to the Supreme Court, which they had told the public in 2011  that they had only one line, not 323 or 764. They also lied that the loss to the exchequer was only Rs 1.73 crore. Believing the glib arguments of highly paid counsel, the Supreme Court denied the CBI custodial interrogation of Maran. Maran also lied to the Supreme Court that the CBI had woken up after a long time. The truth is that the CBI sought permission to register a case in 2007, which was granted after six years. That too under pressure from the Supreme Court. The CBI completed the probe and filed the chargesheet in December 2016. In the trial court Maran repeated the same lie, that he had only one line, not 764. In his perverse order, the trial judge accepted that lie without looking at the evidence that disproved it.

But High Court caught them

But the High Court exposed Marans lie of only one phone connection and slighted the trial court for accepting that lie. Justice Jayachandran found from the very evidence produced by the CBI, which the trial court had turned a blind eye to, that the Marans were lying. Justice Jayachandran wrote [para 53] that the trial court had wrongly concluded that Dayanidhi Maran had obtained only one phone connection adding that the evidence tendered by the CBI showed there were several connections with add-on benefits given to Marans and their business establishment illegally. The judge noted [para 82] that the Marans had obtained 764 telephone connections and used them for business. He found that by procuring high-end equipments and engaging private operators to lay exclusively lease line to premises of Sun TV, the fraudulently procured lines had been diverted for commercial exploitation.

To accomplish and suppress the fraud, the Marans had conspired with BSNL officials to commit a whole series of offences  breach trust, fabrication of documents, use the forged document as genuine and falsification of accounts. Maran lied to the public first in 2011 that he had only one line, but TNIE exposed him. He lied so to the Supreme Court through expensive lawyers in 2015 and got advance bail. He again lied to the trial court, which was more than willing to believe him. He got the discharge and laughed at the CBI. But one honest judge, Justice Jayachandran has stopped him in his tracks, forcing the fraudsters to face the law.

Loss not D1.73 crore, but several hundred crores

Another lie the Marans told the Supreme Court to get advance bail was that the loss to BSNL was just Rs 1.73 crore. This was a complete lie  in fact a fraudulent claim. The amount of Rs 1.73 crore was just installation charges of the 764 high-speed lines. That did not include user charges of 441 of the lines from 2004 to 2007 and of the 323 lines in 2006-07. The CBI in its original proposal for probe had estimated the loss at Rs 440 crore on just the 323 lines, that too for only six months. The charge for high-speed line per unit of call was 70 paise at that time. On that basis the CBI had originally estimated 630 crore units resulting in a loss of Rs 440 crore. But since the 764 illegal lines were kept out of the system as if they were for the own use of BSNL, the CBI was unable to get the exact user data. The Marans had committed theft of huge capacity of BSNL and it was not just stealing units of calls.

The 760 connections were put to commercial use by Sun TV. In para 74, the High Court noted the evidence tendered by the CBI that the illegal connections were used by Sun TV for its popular commercial programmes, like Pepsi Ungal Choice, Mirinda Comedy Time, Talk to your popular artist and other such catchy programmes and got huge revenue from advertisements at little cost. The cost of installation of Rs 1.73 crore mentioned in the chargesheet is peanuts as compared to the unaccounted user charges on the 764 stolen lines  which must be several hundreds of crores.

The Economic Times [22.1.2015] wrote that even after nearly three years of probe, the CBI was unable to calculate the total loss to the exchequer on the hundreds of high-speed broadband lines allegedly set up by BSNL officials at Marans home to benefit Sun TV network owned by his brother Kalanithi. The truth being this, the clever lawyers of the Maran brothers told the Supreme Court in 2015 that it was just a civil dispute and as law-abiding citizens, they were willing to pay up the amount. A judge of the Supreme Court even suggested why not the BSNL accept the offer and close the matter. But the very same Supreme Court in a judgment dated 24.2.2014  just a year before  had confirmed the conviction of a small time government servant for accepting a bribe of Rs 265  yes just rupees two hundred and sixty-five. Additionally, the court also enhanced the fine of Rs 5,000 on him to Rs 50,000, when the man, who had already undergone 45 days jail term, had retired and was 76 then. Yet, the judge suggested why not the Marans be let off on payment of Rs 1.73 crore! Hopefully, the CBI will get the details of the user charges from the national gateway and other records and tell the court the real loot by the use of the stolen exchange of 764 lines and not allow the Marans to underplay their fraud by saying that the loss was only Rs 1.73 crore.

Only presumption: Marans have committed offence

Now, with the resounding order of Justice Jayachandran who has brought into the open the CBI evidence and admonished the trial court, the Marans game of lying has been put an end to. When the trial court, by the perverse order discharged the Marans, Dayanidhi Maran proclaimed, I have stated from day one, these allegations [of fraudulent telephone exchange at his home] are politically motivated and foisted falsely, out of jealousy and business rivalry against my brother to defame me and my family and my party. Now I stand vindicated, It is unfortunate that lies were spread and liars were made to look like heroes, and I was made to look like a villain. The spurious victory is gone and the trial judge order, which the Marans proclaimed as victory, has been junked, forcing them to face trial.

A counsel told Justice Jayachandran that Dayanidhi Maran who took the broadband facility to every nook and corner was being haunted by the CBI for political reasons. To this shallow logic, the judge responded that his doing so did not mean Maran could claim the privilege of unlimited use of that facility for him, for his brother and his business free of costs adding that, in a democratic country, the judicial system cannot tolerate and entertain such a thought. He concluded that considering the CBI chargesheet and documents, the only opinion any judicial mind could form is that, there are grounds to presume all the 7 accused have committed offence and not otherwise. Now will begin the trial for a daring offence committed over a decade ago.



S Gurumurthy

(The author iswell-known commentator on political and economic affairs)
By Express News Service

GUNTUR: Police on Friday stopped a septuagenarian sadhu from burying himself alive to enter sajeeva samadhi to attain moksha (liberation from the birth-death cycle as believed by Hindus) in the nick of time at Gannavaram village of Macherla mandal in Guntur district.

Tatireddy Lachi Reddy, who was earlier a farmer, chose to be a monk after marrying off his children. He would seldom stay at home after that, instead wandering and meditating at various places in and around Andhra Pradesh. A year back, he dug a 10-feet-deep grave in his farmland at Gannavaram and has since then been living there.

He reportedly told villagers and relatives that Lord Anjaneya wants me to join him, before deciding to bury himself alive in the grave.

His wife Venkayamma and sons Ramakrishna Reddy and Anki Reddy, however, dismissed the idea and confined him to their house, following which he wrote a letter to Guntur district collector K Sasidhar seeking permission for sanjeeva samadhi.

The collector promptly ordered police and revenue official to arrange a counselling session for the monk. To their shock, Reddy was preparing for his funeral when they arrived at the farmland. The officials, however, managed to talk him out of suicide.

Macherla rural SI L Lokeswara Rao said the Police Department had received a letter from the sadhu seeking permission to perform sajeeva samadhi in the village on July 25. The officials have made Reddy promise in writing that he will not attempt samadhi.

Gurajala revenue division officer E Murali said Reddy showed no signs of mental illness and was financially well off.
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: The 12-hour OPD closure called for by the Indian Medical Association (IMA) from 6 am to 6 pm nationwide received mixed response in Karnataka.

Lesser known small hospitals and nursing homes kept their out patient departments (OPDs) open while a few bigger hospitals closed their OPDs with doctors staffing their emergency departments.

The protest is against the National Medical Commission Bill that will be tabled in the Parliament on Monday. IMA members took out a procession from IMA house in Chamarajapet to Bengaluru Urban Deputy Commissioner's Office to submit a memorandum addressed to the Prime Minister.

After television reports emerged of a one-day-old baby girl dying after she was allegedly turned away at a private hospital in Gokak and had to be brought to Belagavi, IMA Karnataka President Dr HN Ravindra said, "We do not know the facts of the case. I will enquire into the matter. If our strike is found to be the reason we will apologise. But we have asked all emergency services to function as usual.

"Apollo Hospital at Sheshadripuram was open but the doctors of the OPD are on strike. But the patients were being catered to at the emergency ward with one doctor and two nurses. The appointments that were taken in advance were cancelled in advance and a message was sent to the patients. For cases of emergency, special arrangements were made.

Apollo Hospital in Bannerghatta Road was functioning though OPD doctors were on strike. For outstation patients, a doctor in the emergency ward was made available with nurses.

A staffer said, "The doctors of OPD are on strike. For the patients in emergency, a doctor is made available, otherwise they are requested either to come after 6 pm or Monday, as per convenience."

SK Subramanya, 73, a patient said, "I didn't know that the doctors were on leave. When I approached the OPD section they directed me to the emergency ward, where I was checked and was advised to come and meet the doctors at the OPD on Monday."

Dr Rashmi Sanjay, Senior Manager, Operations, Manipal Hospital, said," At least 10 per cent of our 1,200 OPD appointments had to be rescheduled. For those who have come from outside Bangalore, other consultants were roped in.

At least one representative from each of the 60 specialties and sub-specialty OPDs are participating in the strike. For example, in the Medical OPD if there are five doctors, now there are three.

"Elsewhere in the state the effect of the strike was mixed as well. While hospitals functioned normally in Davangere, most private hospitals in Udupi closed their OPDs asking the patients to come back on Monday.

However, the Kasturba hospital in Manipal was not closed as there were many patients over the weekend.
By Express News Service

UDUPI : A nurse hailing from Udupi district, who was working at the Al Miqua General Hospital, run by the health ministry of Saudi Arabia, for the last six years, died under suspicious circumstances in that country. The deceased Hazel Jyotsna Mathias (28) was the wife of Ashwin Mathias, resident of Kuthyaru in Udupi and daughter of Robert Quadros and Helen Quadros from Agar Dande near Shirva. A close relative of Hazel Jyotsna, a lecturer, who did not want to be named, told TNIE on Friday that the Indian embassy in Saudi Arabia has not responded to their queries so far.

As Friday is a holiday in Saudi, government offices there could not be contacted by the Indian embassy. We know as she died under mysterious circumstances, the investigating team there will not release the body until their probe is over and that may take even 20 days, she said.

Hazel had last spoken to her husband over phone on July 19. Two days later, a co-worker informed Hazels family about her death. But Ashwin doesnt know even know where and how she died. The cause of her death seems to have been kept under wraps, and the family has not been told about it so far.

Hazels marriage took place four years back and her husband was working in Dubai in the past.

SRI Vishwavallabha Theertha of Sri Sode Mutt, Udupi has said that he is ready to go ahead and perform Araadhane, a ritual to be performed on the 13th day of death of Sri Lakshmivara Theertha of Sri Shiroor Mutt, Udupi who died in Udupi last week under suspicious circumstances. Sode seer said that the Shiroor Moola Mutt is under surveillance by the police team. As per customs, the Aradhane has to be performed on the 13th day of death of a seer. Shiroor seers Aradhane has to be performed on July 31. But police have restricted the entry of public to Shiroor Moola Mutt for conducting their investigation. I have spoken to the Superintendent of Police of Udupi district on this regard, he said.

After he returned to their village, the family had built a new house at Kuthyaru. Hazel had come home during the house-warming ceremony and again during the Ramzan holidays recently.The family has now contacted MLC Ivan DSouza and Udupi MLA Raghupati Bhat seeking their help in getting details of this case. Both of them have contacted Minister for External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, who has, in turn, promised to get in touch with the government in Saudi Arabia and convey the information.

Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Priyanka Mary Francis told TNIE that members of the Udupi district NRI forum tried to gather information from the family of Hazel, but they could not provide full details. Dr RavindranathShanbhag, member of Udupi district NRI Forum, told Express that he is prepared to help the family if they can give him the authorisation letter to talk to the hospital management in Saudi Arabia where Hazel worked.

We have a team of volunteers in Saudi Arabia and once we get the familys authorisation letter, we can contact the hospital authorityhe said. Unless we email them the familys authorisation letter, the hospital authorities where Hazel worked will not respond to us on Hazels matter, he said.
By Express News Service

ALAPPUZHA: The case of a missing woman was all set to end on a happy note before tragedy struck, resulting in three deaths. Three persons, including the missing woman and a civil police officer, were killed when their car rammed a lorry on NH 66 in Karoor near Ambalappuzha on Friday.

The deceased have been identified as Haseena, 30, of Cherikonam, Kollam; civil police officer Sreekala, 44, of Nedumana; and car driver Nouphal, 28, of Kottayam. Another civil police officer, Nizar, 42, sustained serious injuries and is undergoing treatment at a private hospital in Ernakulam.

Ambalappuzha CI Biju V Nair said the incident occurred around 5 am when the police team was bringing Haseena, who had gone missing, back to Kottayam police station. She had been missing since June 6. The Angamaly police located her and handed her over to the police team from Kottayam. They were returning in a private car when tragedy struck. Sreekala and Hasseena died on the spot, while Nouphal was rushed to the Alappuzha Medical College Hospital, but his life could not be saved, he said.

Haseena had gone missing from her house on June 6. Her husband registered a complaint on June 7 and the cops had launched an investigation. The police located her in Angamaly and informed the Kottayam police, who sent a team to bring back her.

Traffic on the NH was disrupted for more than one hour due to the accident. The drowsiness of the car driver could be the reason for the accident, police officers suspect. The lorry driver has been taken into custody.

The bodies of the victims were laid to rest on Friday. Sreekala was laid to rest at Sreedharam in Nedumpana. Scores of people, including Education Minister C Raveendranath, Kollam MP N K Premachandran, Mayor V Rajendrababu and police officers, came to pay homage. The body of Haseena was received by her relatives. The body of Nouphal was buried at Puthenvila Masjid in Kottayam.
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Vedanta Ltd on Friday said it was working with regulatory authorities to expedite restart of operations at its copper smelter plant at Thoothukudi, which the State government in May ordered permanent closure after 13 protestors, who were demanding its shutdown on environmental concerns, died in police firing.

In its Annual Report 2017-18, Vedanta Ltd said, At Tuticorin, our copper smelting operations were shut at the end of March, initially for scheduled maintenance activities. The shutdown has since been extended as the companys annual renewal of its consent to operate was rejected by the Tamil Nadu State Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), pending additional clarifications.

Vedanta has already moved National Green Tribunal (NGT) challenging the closure order and the tribunal has sought response from the State government and TNPCB.Vedanta has also put out a separate note on operation in Thoothukudi, which noted that the protests by communities living around the Sterlite Copper plant were based on misinformation around the perceived pollution caused by the plant.

The fears stem from historic incidents, for which the company received legal sanctions in 2013. However, it has since taken corrective measures to ensure that incidents of pollution are not repeated and the plant now operates well within regulatory limits for air emissions. It is also a zero liquid-discharge operation, which means that there is no possibility of effluents polluting local water sources, the note said.

Vedanta said the company was working with communities as well as the regulatory bodies to arrive at a solution to the questions raised. We are mindful that pollution will remain a key issue in the region, which is an industry cluster with more than 60 manufacturing units (including thermal power plants, dyeing units and other large-, medium- and small-scale industries), and we would like to play a key role in reaching long-term solutions that incorporate the views of all stakeholders. We are committed to running our operations responsibly and our door remains open for dialogue, the note says.
By Express News Service

One more PIL against Green Corridor project

Chennai: One more PIL petition has been filed in the Madras High Court challenging the proposed Chennai-Salem Green Corridor project. A division bench of Justices M Venugopal and M Nirmal Kumar, before which the PIL from S Gnanasekaran of Tambaram came up for hearing on Friday, issued notice to Assistant Solicitor-General Karthikeyan, returnable by August 9. Petitioner disputed the claim of the government that the new project would reduce the distance between Chennai and Salem by 70 km. It will only be a meagre 20 km, petitioner claimed. For saving just 20 km distance, the government need not spend a huge sum running to several thousand crores of rupees. It can very well think of improving the present NH 7 Bengaluru to Krishnagiri which can cater to the needs of all concerned. Further, for the new project, a huge tract of agricultural lands are to be acquired for reducing the distance by just 20 km which is unwanted.

Single judge order assailed by financier Bothra

Chennai: Financier S Mukanchand Bothra of Sowcarpet has moved the Madras High Court with an appeal assailing an order of a single judge, which went in favour of superstar Rajinikanth.Justice N Sathish Kumar on July 24 last had dismissed a civil suit from Bothra against Rajinikanth in connection with a money transaction dispute. Holding that the suit was an abuse of process of law and cheap publicity stunt, the judge had also imposed costs of `25,000 on Bothra. Challenging this order, Bothra filed the present appeal. He contended that the judge was carried away by the personality of the defendant, rather than looking at the allegations in the plaint. The suit was never meant for publicity and he was a reputed person with his own charm, he said.

PIL against tender for medical kits rejected

Chennai: A division bench of the Madras High Court dismissed a PIL seeking to quash a notification of the State government inviting tenders to supply over one lakh medical kits, to be distributed under a welfare scheme for kids. In his PIL Mohammed Rafik, of Ramanathapuram district, alleged that the authorities diluted tender rules to favour some companies that are close to people heading the government. He wanted the court to stall the tender process. When the plea came up before the bench on Friday, Advocate-General Vijay Narayan submitted that a third party, who had no connection with the process, could not be allowed to challenge it through a PIL. Accepting the submission, the bench dismissed the plea.
A Gaza teenager died of his wounds on Saturday after being shot by Israeli occupation troops during protests along the border, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory said.

A ministry statement identified him as Mohmen al-Hams, 17, and said he was shot in the chest during protests near the southern Gaza town of Rafah on Friday.

There have been persistent clashes between the Israeli occupation army and Palestinian protesters along the Gaza-Israel border since late March in which at least 157 Palestinians have been killed.

Occupation troops shot dead two Palestinians during Friday's protests.

The Gaza health ministry said that one of them was a 12-year-old boy, shot east of Rafah.

It also reported the killing of Ghazi Abu Mustafa 43, and said he was shot in head by Israeli soldiers east of the southern city of Khan Yunis.

The Israeli occupying military did not comment directly on the deaths but said about 7,000 Palestinian "rioters" threw rocks and rolled burning tyres at soldiers, and at the fence itself, at several locations along the border.

"Troops are responding with riot dispersal means and firing in accordance with the rules of engagement," an English-language statement said Friday evening, without elaborating.

Hamas has pledged revenge after Israeli air and artillery strikes on the coastal enclave killed a number of its members in recent weeks.

Israel launched three wars on Gaza since 2008.

A week ago a Palestinian gunman shot and killed an Israeli soldier at the border, sparking a fierce wave of Israeli bombing that ratcheted up fears of a new conflict.

A degree of calm was restored until Wednesday when Israel said its occupying troops came under fire again, with one soldier wounded.

It hit back with artillery fire which killed three Palestinians at a Hamas military base, east of Gaza City.

In response, the Hamas military wing warned that "the enemy shall pay a high price in blood for the crime which it commits daily against the rights of our people and our fighters".

Palestinians in Gaza have for months been demonstrating against Israel's decade-long blockade of the territory and in support of their right to return to lands they fled or were driven from during the war surrounding the creation of Israel in 1948.

In the wake of the Great March of Return demonstrations, which started on 30 March, Gazas already overstretched health sector has been struggling to cope with the mass influx of casualties.

At least 158 Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured by Israeli occupation forces during the recent protests near the border with Israel.

Israel has maintained a crippling blockade on Gaza which it argues is necessary to isolate Hamas.

The blockade is worsening humanitarian conditions in Gaza, which human rights advocates have described as collective punishment of the Palestinians living in the strip.

*This story has been edited by Ahram Online.

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By Express News Service

CHENNAI: A 23-year-old man got a new lease of life and is able to stand and walk after more than four years. Thanks to Apollo doctors, who performed a rare quadruple joint-replacement surgery.Amit Kar was leading a normal life until he was 16 years old, after which he started to develop joint pain in his neck, hips, knees and back. The condition rapidly worsened in the next few months, when his hips and knees became stiff, inflexible and extremely painful making him completely immobilised.

He was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis, a condition that destroys the spine and hips commonly and sometimes other joints like knees and shoulders. This condition is more common in males and occurs in the 20-30 age group which is the prime of ones life.

After being wheelchair-bound for more than four years and trying several therapeutic modalities in Bangladesh, Amit Kar was brought to Apollo Hospitals with completely destroyed and fused hip joints and severely damaged and deformed knee joints.

Amit Kars knee joints were bent at 90 degrees, making it impossible for him to walk.Dr Arun Kannan, orthopaedic surgeon, and a team of doctors at Apollo Hospitals decided to perform a rare quadruple joint- replacement surgery. Replacement of four joints (both hips and both knees) is termed as quadruple joint-replacement surgery. This significant procedure requires multidisciplinary care, meticulous surgery, safe anesthesia, ICU back-up and dedicated rehabilitation for a proper recovery.

Dr Kannan said, This surgery was performed in two stages in two weeks time. In the first stage, the right hip and right knee were replaced and in the second stage the left hip and left knee were replaced. Both stages required awake fibreoptic intubation- a specialised anesthetic technique where the airway tube is placed while the patient is awake.

The patient has now recovered and is undergoing rehabilitation therapy.Since Amit Kar had not walked for several years, his hip and knee muscles were weak and could not support him. Hence, specialised rehabilitation techniques were used to help him regain muscle-tone and strength. Initially he was walking with the support of a walker, and now he is able to walk independently.

Early diagnosis helps

Dr S Ramakrishnan, senior consultant rheumatologist, Apollo Hospitals, Chennai, said Ankylosing Spondylitis treatment requires a holistic approach with medications and a regular physiotherapy programme

Regular swimming is a very good exercise for these patients

A major problem in India with respect to the treatment of AS is delayed presentation to rheumatologist as the disease is already advanced

Patients with AS will lead a good quality of life with early diagnosis and regular treatment
By Express News Service

COIMBATORE: Husband of the Tirupur woman, who died after a professionally-unassisted home birth went awry, was arrested on Friday for causing her death due to negligence. Nallur police were acting on a complaint filed by the womans father Rajendran. However, as the incident happened with the consent of the deceased woman, police were exploring the legal possibilities of booking a case against the husband and two friends involved. Based on recommendations from the public health department officials, the case of suspicious death was altered to one under Section 304(A) (death caused due to negligence) of the Indian Penal Code, and J Karthikeyan, of Pudupalayam in Tirupur, was arrested.

It was Sunday when K Krithiga (28), a private school teacher, went into labour in her second pregnancy. Details of her pregnancy was not registered in any hospital as the couple had decided to have a natural home birth.

Friends Praveen and Lavanya were tasked with assisting them in delivering the baby. None of the party involved had any experience in home births or had any medical knowledge.All they had to go by were YouTube tutorial videos on the subject, informed the police. Soon after delivering a baby girl, Krithiga fell unconscious. She had lost a lot of blood through the placenta. She was then rushed to the hospital, where she was declared dead on arrival.It was a complaint from Krithigas father Rajendran that led to Karthikeyans arrest.

Question of choice

During the course of investigation, Karthikeyan told the police that he had not forced his wife to give birth at home and it had been her choice
B Satyanarayana Reddy By

Express News Service

BHADRACHALAM: Security has been beefed up at Telangana-Chhattisgarh border and in agency, areas keeping in view Maoist partys Martyrs Week Celebration from July 28 to August 3. As the Maoists have been threatening TRS leaders through wall posters, special party and CRPF forces have been deployed in the border areas and combing operations have been intensified.

Security forces have sealed the border and are not allowing any person into Telangana from Chhattishgarh forest area without identification proofs.

Intelligence department warned the police that Maoists may avenge the death of Arun, district committee member for Maoists, who was killed by the forces at Kurnavalli village forest in Cherla mandal on July 24. Cherla police also arrested one Maoist party militia member Rame in Cherla mandal on 25 July.

Taking intelligence departments inputs very seriously, the police officials have intensified combing operation and alerted former Maoists, ruling party leaders and police officials. Bhadrachalam assistant superintendent of police Sangram Singh Patil said We have taken all precautions and are ready to face any untoward incidents. We have shifted probable targets to safer places and also warned the police staff that they should not move alone.

Area domination, vehicle checking and combing operation are going on in the agency area and border places. He added that security has been beefed up at all government offices and police stations in the border areas.

On the other side, the Maoists have appealed to the people of the Bhadrachalam division to make Martyrs Week Celebration a success.

According to some local tribals, Maoists have been visiting villages for the last one week and appealing to them to participate in the celebrations. However, the situation in the border area is similar to one before a war and tribals, living in the grip of fear, are not coming out after 5 pm every day.
By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: Continuing operations for the third consecutive day, against suspected shell companies involved in money laundering, officials of Registrar of Companies inspected the head office of infrastructure company Navayuga Engineering Company Limited and reportedly seized documents.

However, officials refused to comment on the development. It also wasnt clear if any suspicious activity was found. When contacted, NECL refused to talk about it.

Express has learnt that the team, which was inspecting the office, received instructions from Delhi to abort the raid midway. Express had earlier reported that a politically well-connected individual was on RoC radar, which functions under MoC Affairs.

The High Court pulled up the secretaries of law and Assembly, saying they had deliberately violated the court order setting aside the expulsion of the two MLAs from Assembly and the gazette notification on a vacancy for Nalgonda and Alampur (SC) Assembly constituencies represented by Komatireddy and Sampath respectively.

Prima facie, the courts order has been willfully and deliberately violated by the Assembly secretary and law secretary. Contemnors have to appear before the court. Even the SPs of the two districts (Nalgonda and Jogulamba Gadwal) have indulged in contempt of court by not implementing the court order in providing gunmen to the two MLAs. The constitution is supreme to all.

Justice B Siva Sankara Rao came down heavily on both the secretaries for wilful disobedience.

Is it not the duty of the legislature secretary to ensure payment of salaries and perks to both the MLAs upon court direction. How can the orders be blatantly violated? Being a judicial officer, the law secretary is bound to prepare a note on the courts order and warn the government of the consequences of disobedience, he remarked.

The judge asked the petitioners counsel Jandhyala Ravishankar as to why he had not made the SPs as parties to the contempt case though they failed to implement the court order by restoring the gunmen to the two MLAs.

The judge further asked whether the names of the two MLAs figured in the list sent every month by the Assembly secretary to the Election commission. The counsel replied that their names were not on the list. The SPs AV Ranganath (Nalgonda) and Rema Rajeshwari (Gadwal) failed to restore the security cover, he said. Reacting, the judge said, How dare the SPs did not restore the security to both the MLAs. The court will examine impleading them as respondents to the case.

The judge said, Prima facie, I find there is disobedience of the court order. Nobody is higher than the court.
By PTI

BRUSSELS: Catalonia's deposed president Carles Puigdemont returns to Belgium today to keep pressing for his region's independence after a Spanish judge dropped a European arrest warrant for him.

"My political activity will be based in Belgium, of course with the aim of pursuing the mandate by the people" for an independent Catalonia, Puigdemont said in Berlin when he announced his return this week.

Four months after he was detained in Germany at Madrid's request, Puigdemont can return to Belgium as he no longer runs the risk of extradition to Spain after the Spanish court cancelled the warrant.

The 55-year-old former regional leader, with his signature shaggy Beatles-style mop, will continue to fight for Catalan independence south of Brussels in the town of Waterloo, which is known for another battle -- French emperor Napoleon's defeat by a mix of European forces in 1815.

Sacked as Catalan president after a failed secession bid on October 27, Puigdemont and several members of his executive fled to Brussels several days later.

He was then arrested in Germany at the end of March on his return from a trip to Finland.

Puigdemont was freed on bail around 10 days later and set about waiting for a German court decision on an extradition request by Spain, where he is wanted over his role in the independence drive.

But the German court ruled that he could be extradited only on possible corruption charges and not for "rebellion" as sought by Madrid but which is not recognised under German law.

Following that decision, Spain's Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena, in charge of the case against separatist leaders, dropped the international arrest warrant.

From Belgium, Puigdemont will be able to travel where he likes, save Spain where he is still wanted for rebellion, which carries up to 25 years in jail, and for misuse of public funds.

In theory, he could remain in self-exile for 20 years, which in Spain's legal system is the time limit after which the rebellion charge would no longer be valid.

Puigdemont is set to be greeted by a welcoming party comprising members of Catalonia's government as well as other pro-independence organisations.

Puigdemont will hold a news conference with his designated successor Quim Torra, who still considers him to be the "legitimate president" of Catalonia, at 11:00 am (0900 GMT) on Saturday.

He will then head to Waterloo for a ceremony at 4:00 pm. Puigdemont intends to set up a "Republican council" at his home in Waterloo, as well as an assembly composed of local officials to work in parallel with the Catalan government.

Although power is now officially in the Torra's hands, Puigdemont continues to exert strong influence in the region.

In an illustration of Puigdemont's influence, he managed to reverse his party's stance for greater openness for dialogue with Madrid.

"In Brussels, we will continue to develop activities linked to that which the people of Catalonia approved on October 1," said Puigdemont, in reference to the referendum that was banned by Spain's courts and marred by police violence.

"It's no longer a Spanish affair that can be resolved internally; a European view is necessary for the Catalonia question," said the region's former president, who expects to travel to other European countries to push his case.

Besides Puigdemont, five other leading members of his pro-independence movement are in Belgium, Switzerland and Scotland.

Torra met Spain's new Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in early July, with the socialist leader promising to find a way out of the crisis.

Puigdemont wants Sanchez to allow a referendum on the question of independence for Catalonia -- something that the prime minister has refused categorically.

He also wants Spain to release nine separatists."The change in Spain's government is supposed to come with a change in style and climate but it's not the time for gestures, it's the time for action," he said.
By IANS

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump is open to accepting an invitation from Russia's Vladimir Putin to visit Moscow, the White House said on Friday.

"President Trump looks forward to having President Putin to Washington after the first of the year, and he is open to visiting Moscow upon receiving a formal invitation," Efe quoted spokesperson Sarah Sanders as saying in a statement.

The Russian President said on Friday that he had extended an invitation to Trump to meet with him in Moscow and that he is equally disposed to travel to Washington, but "only if the appropriate conditions are created there".

"We are ready for such meetings, we are ready to invite President Trump to Moscow. He has an invitation already and I told him about it," Putin said in Johannesburg, where he attended the summit of the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) group.

Just a few days after the first bilateral summit between Putin and Trump, held July 16 in Helsinki, the White House revealed the US President's decision to have a second meeting with his Russian counterpart in Washington before the end of the year.

But after the deluge of criticism from both the Democratic opposition and his own Republican Party, Trump announced through his National Security Adviser John Bolton that he will not see Putin at least until early 2019.

"The President believes that the next bilateral meeting with President Putin should take place after the Russia witch hunt is over, so we've agreed that it will be after the first of the year," Bolton said on Wednesday in a statement.

The US President regularly uses the expression "witch hunt" to describe Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation of alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 US election and possible collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign.
By ANI

LAHORE: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) summoned former Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and his sister, Faryal Talpur, in connection with a money laundering case.

The two were summoned by the commercial circle of FIA, reported Geo News citing FIA authorities.

The FIA inquiry began in January this year when the financial monitoring unit of State Bank of Pakistan generated a 'suspicious transaction report' regarding ten bank accounts.

READ| Money laundering scam: Asif Ali Zardari declared absconder by FIA

Over 20 'benami' accounts at a private bank were opened over the years from where transactions worth billions were made.

According to FIA sources, the amount in the accounts is black money secured from several kickbacks, commissions, and bribes. Last week, Zardari and Faryal were declared as absconders by the FIA in connection with the aforementioned case.

A two-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar, took suo motu notice of the FIA's investigation into the Pakistani (Rs.) 35 billion money-laundering scam.

20 others, including Zardari's close aide Anwar Majeed and his son, were also declared as absconders by the FIA.
By ANI

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan will be sworn-in as the new Prime Minister of Pakistan before August 14, a party leader said on Saturday.

PTI leader Naeem-ul-Haq was quoted by Geo News saying that mainstream political parties agreed to attend the oath-taking ceremony. Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain would call for an assembly session, and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) would soon administer the oath to the newly elected representatives, Naeem-ul-Haq was quoted.

While asserting that PTI would form the government at the Centre, he claimed that the party would form a government in Punjab province also. He said, "Imran Khan is working day and night for this. We are in contact with independent candidates and today or until tomorrow the nation will hear a good news."

ALSO READ | Pakistan Election: Multi-party meet rejects results, demands 'transparent' re-election

Meanwhile, four independent candidates have joined the PTI, as the latter is staking claim to form the government in Punjab and is locked in a political battle with PML-N. In Punjab Assembly, PML-N bagged 127 seats, while PTI is not far behind and is second with 123 seats, as per the ECP's results of total 295 total seats, as per the report.

Haq underscored that Pakistan's economy was in a critical situation and all had to stand for the country to promote unity. He refuted allegations that there were tussles between senior PTI leaders Jahangir Tareen and Shah Mehmood Qureshi.

Asked whether disgruntled Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) leader and former Pakistan Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar would join the PTI, Haq replied that he is welcome to join the party.

ALSO READ | India hopes new Pakistan government will work towards safe, terror-free South Asia

The PTI emerged as the single largest party with 115 seats after the ECP on Saturday released the complete preliminary results for 270 of 272 National Assembly (NA) constituencies. The ECP completed the process after almost three days when the general elections were held.

The PML-N which won 64 seats came second, while the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) bagged 43 seats and finished third.

The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) which is an alliance of various religious parties in Pakistan garnered 12 seats while the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) won six seats. The Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) won four seats apiece whereas the Balochistan National Party (BNP) bagged three seats.

Other parties such as the Awami National Party (ANP), Awami Muslim League (AML), Jamhoori Wattan Party (JWP) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaniyat have garnered one seat each. Also, independent candidates won 12 NA constituencies. They are likely to play a crucial role in the formation of the government at the centre.

26/11 attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed's Allaha-u-Akbar Tehreek (AAT) which was contesting for the first time failed to win any seat.

Pakistan went to polls on Wednesday and the counting of votes began soon thereafter in the evening, which was marred by tedious counting and allegations of rigging by major political parties, including the PML-N and PPP.

On Friday, a multi-party conference was called for by the PML-N to prepare a strategy over the alleged rigging of the General Elections 2018.

Chaired by PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif and MMA President Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the all-party conference has rejected the poll results and demanded a transparent re-election in the country.
By IANS

NEW YORK: The United States has expressed concern over the participation of terrorist-affiliated people in Pakistan's elections but commended the voters for rejecting them.

In a statement on Friday afternoon, State Department Spokesperson Heather Nauert also noted with concern the "flaws in the pre-voting electoral process".

"The US also has deep reservations over the participation of terrorist-affiliated individuals in the elections, but we commend Pakistani voters for fully rejecting these candidates at the ballot box on Wednesday," she said.

READ| Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly hails legendary Pakistani cricketer Imran Khan

About the conduct of the election, she said that Washington shared the concerns of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan that the flaws "included constraints placed on freedoms of expression and association during the campaign period that were at odds with Pakistani authorities' stated goal of a fully fair and transparent election".

She said that the US also concurred with the European Union Election Observation Mission's findings "that while there were positive changes to the legal framework for elections in Pakistan, these were overshadowed by restrictions on freedom of expression and unequal campaign opportunities".

READ| Can Imran Khan say no to Pakistans army?

"The US commends the courage of the Pakistani people, including many women, who turned out to vote and showed resolve to determine their country's future," she added.

While avoiding any mention of the front-runner in the election, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Imran Khan, Nauert said, "As Pakistan's elected leaders form a new government, the US will look for opportunities to work with them to advance our goals of security, stability, and prosperity in South Asia."
By AFP

RAMALLAH: A Palestinian teenager jailed by Israel for slapping and kicking Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank is to go free on Sunday after eight months behind bars.

Ahed Tamimi was arrested on December 19, days after she was recorded on video with her cousin Nour Tamimi in the yard of their home in Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah, telling two soldiers to leave, then shoving, kicking and slapping them.

She was aged 16 at the time and turned 17 in prison.

She was refused bail throughout her detention and subsequent trial in an Israeli military court on charges including assault, stone-throwing, incitement to violence and making threats.

On March 21, the court agreed a plea bargain giving her an eight-month sentence including time already spent in custody.

The same court hearing freed Nour Tamimi immediately when she accepted a plea deal. Ahed comes from a family of prominent activists and has been involved in a series of previous incidents, with pictures of her confronting soldiers widely published.

But the December video went viral and turned her into a symbol of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

For Palestinians, she is a hero, jailed for standing up to soldiers occupying her land and intruding upon her family home. To many Israelis, she personifies how Palestinians encourage their children to hate and how they try to manipulate the media.

This week an Italian artist daubed a 14-foot image of her face and curly reddish hair on the Israeli separation wall in the occupied West Bank.

On Sunday she is expected to step back into the spotlight at a scheduled press conference at her home after her release.

When the video was originally published, many Israelis saw it as a symbol of the restraint displayed by their army.

As Ahed and Nour pummel the soldiers the two cousins simultaneously film the scene on their phones, apparently seeking to provoke them.

The soldiers do not react, however, backing away instead. Yet after the girls -- and Ahed's mother, who also recorded the incident -- were arrested and then hit with a list of charges, there was criticism even within Israel that military prosecutors were overreacting.

Critics compared her eight-month sentence to that of Elor Azaria, an Israeli soldier who served nine months in jail for shooting dead a prone Palestinian attacker.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas met with her family and hailed her courage.

With each court appearance, media attention grew and helped create a Palestinian icon.

"You cannot take a little terrorist girl and make her a hero, and this is what we did," Oren Hazan, an Israeli MP from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party, told AFP.

Yara Hawari, a Palestinian activist, and friend of the Tamimi family said the tough sentence helped build support.

"It was a symbolic image of a child confronting a heavily armed Israeli soldier at her home," she told AFP.

"The fact that what she did got her so long in prison is also something that drew a lot of attention."

Wider cause

The Tamimi case also highlighted other aspects of the Israeli military court system including its more than 99 percent conviction rate for Palestinians.

Omar Shakir, head of NGO Human Rights Watch in Israel, said her release on Sunday would be a moment to reflect on what he called the "endemic" ill-treatment of children in the Israeli legal system.

"Ahed Tamimi will soon be free, but hundreds of Palestinian children remain locked up with little attention on their cases," he said.

Many Israelis, however, still believe Tamimi poses a serious risk, accepting a military prosecutor's description of her as a threat to public security.

"The fact is that she is very dangerous," Hazan said, arguing that a slap one day can turn into a shooting or stabbing attack in the future.

"Most Israelis will tell you that they want to see her in jail for 20 years," he said.

How Tamimi will cope with her return to the public eye is unclear, but indications are she will be vocal.

Her father Bassem, who was not jailed in the incident, has been campaigning against Israel's military occupation of the West Bank for decades.

"I don't think any child can be totally ready to become a prominent symbol of the Palestinian struggle, but Ahed is a very strong child," Hawari said.

"We have seen from the interrogation videos, from how she behaves in court, that she is incredibly confident and resilient. So I think she will take this in her stride."
U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Saturday discussed American pastor Andrew Brunson, whose detention in Turkey has become a pressing issue for President Donald Trump, the State Department said.

The Trump administration has escalated the pressure campaign, including threatening sanctions, to free Brunson after a court this week ordered that he be moved to house arrest after 21 months in detention. He is on trial for terrorism charges.

Brunson, who is from North Carolina and has worked in Turkey for more than 20 years, has been accused of helping the group Ankara says was behind a failed military coup in 2016. The pastor, who has denied the charges, faces up to 35 years in jail if found guilty.

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By UNI

WASHINGTON: Vice President Mike Pence met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Friday and praised "the historic reform efforts" undertaken by Abiy since assuming power in April, the White House said in a statement.

Pence noted Abiy's efforts at "improving respect for human rights, reforming the business environment, and making peace with Eritrea," the statement said.

"The two leaders underscored their countries' shared values and their commitment to building an even stronger partnership in the days ahead," it said.

Under Abiy, Ethiopia has instituted reforms including releasing political prisoners, diluting state control of the economy and making peace with northern neighbor Eritrea after two decades of hostility.

A 41-year-old former intelligence officer, Abiy came to power after his predecessor resigned earlier this year amid protests against abuses by security forces and public anger over the perceived ethnic marginalization of many groups in the racially diverse country.

While in Washington Abiy was also scheduled to meet with members of Ethiopia's large diaspora community in the United States, whose remittances have helped prop up the economy.

Abiy is also due to visit Minneapolis and Los Angeles.

He met on Friday with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, who said they had "an engaging and productive meeting. I reiterated the IMF's commitment to work with the Ethiopian authorities to ensure that the economy achieves high rates of sustainable and inclusive growth to reduce poverty," she said in a statement.
By PTI

LONDON: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is likely to be expelled from his hideout at the Ecuador Embassy here, where he had sought asylum six years ago, after Ecuador President Lenin Moreno said that the Australian should go, according to a media report today.

Assange, 47, has been living in Ecuador Embassy in Knightsbridge in central London since 2012 when he was granted political asylum.

"I expect (Assange) to lose his asylum status imminently. This means he will be expelled from the embassy. When this will happen is impossible to say," a source related to the case was quoted as saying by "The Times" newspaper.

The Ecuador President had recently made a statement in Spain that nobody should remain in an asylum "for too long."

"I have never been in favour of Assange's activity," Moreno had said at an event in Madrid earlier this week.

"I have never agreed with the interventions in people's private emails in order to obtain information, however valuable it may be, to bring out certain undesirable acts of governments or people, not in that way.

There are correct and legal ways to do it," he had said.

An assistant of Assange, an Australian national - who fears being extradited to the US where he is wanted for leaking secretive documents via Wikileaks, has criticised the Ecuador President for ending the asylum status.

The crisis had prompted contingency plans for him to leave in "hours, days or weeks", one of Assange's team member was quoted as saying in the report.

Assange took refuge at the Ecuador Embassy after losing an appeal against extradition to Sweden for questioning on allegations of rape and sexual assault that went to the Supreme Court.

While the Swedish case has since been dropped, Assange is still wanted by Scotland Yard for breach of bail and faces arrest the moment he steps out of the diplomatically immune territory.

Assange had been granted asylum six years ago on the grounds that he feared extradition to America, where he faced a possible death sentence or torture.

Moreno indicated that negotiations with Britain might have resulted in a guarantee that he would not face the death penalty if he were extradited.

"What we want is for his life not to be in danger," he said.

This could clear the way for possible extradition of Assange to the US, once the threat of the death penalty is lifted.

Jeff Sessions, the US attorney-general, has made clear that the Donald Trump administration is seeking his arrest.

Meanwhile, Assange's medical condition has been aggravated in the ongoing heatwave in the UK amid growing reports of an increasingly uncomfortable relationship between embassy staff and the man they call "the guest".

Jennifer Robinson, Assange's lawyer in London, said that she met him earlier in the week and remained concerned for his health.

She said: "It's an untenable situation. He's under a huge amount of pressure. If they do remove his protection, we will go to the courts to protect him.

We are preparing to defend him in the British courts and will fight extradition to the US. We don't have any indication of timeframe.

This is a very serious situation, one that we are very concerned about.

It's a matter for Ecuador, the UK, the US and Australia.
By AFP

ATHENS: Funerals for the victims of Greece's lethal wildfire began Saturday with the burial of an elderly priest who drowned as he sought safety from the flames in the sea off the coastal community of Mati.

Hundreds of people attended Father Spyridon Papapostolou's funeral in his parish of Halandri, a northern suburb of Athens, the Greek capital.

Papapostolou, his wife and daughter were among hundreds who entered the water to protect themselves from the fast-moving flames. But the 83-year-old cleric passed out and drowned, while his wife and daughter survived.

ALSO READ | 'Serious indications' that arson started deadly wildfire that killed 82 people: Greece government

"Father Spyridon was certainly ready for this trip, but not in this way, he didn't deserve it," his niece, Ifigenia Christodoulou, told The Associated Press. "I hope that he prays for all us from up there, just as he has done all these years."

Dimitra Bavavea directed her anger at the "unjust" way that so many people  86  had lost their lives. The fire was the deadliest wildfire in Europe since 1900, according to the International Disaster Database run by the Centre for the Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters in Brussels.

Charred remains of belongings in Greece. (Photo | AP)

"My sorrow is great as is my rage for those who left people to burn to death so unjustly," she said. "I hope that those who died are in heaven and I thank you Father Spyridon for all that you have offered us."

Greece's public order minister continued to defend authorities' response to Monday's blaze. Minister Nikos Toskas told state broadcaster ERT it was impossible to evacuate the area's 15,000 people in the 90 minutes that Monday's blaze roared through the area.

ALSO READ | Greece counts cost of deadliest wildfires in memory

In more sad news, the bodies of twin girls who their father initially believed had survived the fire have been identified, private investigator George Tsoukalis told the AP. He said nine-year-old twins Sophia and Vasiliki Philipopoulos were found in the arms of their grandparents, who also perished in the fire.

A day after the fire, Yiannis Philipopoulos issued a public appeal to try to locate his missing daughters, saying that he had spotted them alive in TV news footage among a group of people getting off a fishing boat that had rescued them.

The twins' tragic death was also confirmed by Smile of the Child, an independent child welfare agency that also confirmed the death of 13-year-old Dimitris Alexopoulos, whose body was among those found by firefighters.

ALSO READ | Greece wildfire: Athletes pledge support to victims of deadly wildfires

Coroner Nikolaos Kalogrias told the AP that identification of the fire remains continues at a steady pace. Greek authorities haven't given an account of exactly how many people are still missing.

Toskas said fire crews did all they could to save as many lives as possible, but that town planning errors over the last 60 years had created conditions that made it difficult for fire crews to do their job.

Toskas said over half of buildings in the Mati area, 30 kilometers (19 miles) east of Athens, were constructed without permits. In addition, some beaches were fenced off, blocking people fleeing the flames from reaching the water.

He said the government's priority now is to take measures so that something like this never happens again.

Toskas did not appear to heed the call of his boss, Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, to follow his lead in accepting political responsibility for the disaster.

But locals in the stricken resort of Mati were unimpressed by Tsipras' declaration.

"I want to know what 'I accept political responsibility' means ... Will he go to jail? What's the payback?" Vissarion Pantelides, 79, said Saturday.
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Mary Schenk is a reporter covering police, courts and breaking news at The News-Gazette. Her email is mschenk@news-gazette.com, and you can follow her on Twitter (@schenk).
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This Might Be the Most

Expensive Thanksgiving Ever
(Newser)  Time to pay, Andre: California man Andre Pompey was ordered this week to pay his revenge-porn victim $5.15 million and fork out an additional $150,000 as punishment, USA Today reports. "She wanted to stand up for herself," says Katrina Saleen, attorney of the 35-year-old woman who accused Pompey, 49, of secretly recording them having sex and posting tagged images from the video on Facebook in 2016. "She testified she was shaking, felt numb. She threw up that day," says Saleen. "...She was suicidal the day of, but her best friend and family members talked her through it." Once the images were posted, her daughter testified that the victim withdrew and was "not even there," Saleen adds.

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Pompey, who worked in surveillance, pleaded no contest in criminal court to distributing sexually explicit materials without consent, reports KSBW. But he had a history: Another Pompey ex testified that he had broken into her home, rifled through her drawers, and tried to embarrass her online after they broke up, per Saleen. The attorney says Pompey also pleaded no contest in an earlier revenge-porn case but only got a "slap on the wrist." California in 2015 passed criminal laws against posting secretly recorded sex-act videos, but they are misdemeanors that often lead to light sentences. As for Pompey's victim, the effect is still there: "She still has crying spells, she still has nightmares about it," says Saleen. "She's still embarrassed to see people she knows have seen the post." (Read more revenge porn stories.)
(Newser)  It's illegal to grow marijuana in Georgia, meaning things didn't look good for Javonnie McCoy when police busted him with nearly a pound of home-grown pot in his residence. Things surely looked worse for him when he got in front of a jury in Dublin, Georgia, and flat-out admitted that the pot was his and, yes, he did grow it. The jury's decision was seemingly a no-brainer because the law is crystal clearand yet jurors found him not guilty last week. As Bill Torpy of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution explains, it may have been because of an unusual legal strategy used by McCoy's attorney called jury nullification. Essentially, attorney Catherine Bernard told the panel that a jury has the power to "nullify a law it disagrees withat least as it pertains to the specific case under consideration," per a post at FitsNews.

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In this case, she argued that it made no sense to send an otherwise law-abiding citizen to prison over some pot plants. As Marijuana Moment notes, the judge would have had no choice but to impose a mandatory one-year sentence if a guilty verdict had come back. McCoy had told the court that he was beaten into a coma in 2003 and that marijuana is about the only thing that helps with the lingering pain and trauma. "The jury appreciated his honesty throughout the case ... and recognized that a good, hard working man living a quiet life and not bothering anyone didn't deserve a felony conviction for his actions," writes Bernard in a Facebook post. For the record, she dislikes the term jury nullification. "It's simply part of being a jury," she says. "The jury judges the law and the facts." McCoy tells Torpy it helped that the jury was made up of working-class people like himself. "They saw I wasn't bothering nobody." (Read more marijuana stories.)
(Newser)  The Catholic Church's sexual abuse scandal has just claimed its highest-ranking American church official. Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of 88-year-old Cardinal Theodore McCarrick while an investigation into multiple allegations of abuse continues, reports the AP. McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington, DC, had been removed from public ministry in June after the Archdiocese of New York ruled that an accusation that he sexually abused a teenager in the 1970s was credible, reports Slate. That seemed to open the floodgates for more allegations, as recounted in the New York Times, the Washington Post, and Fox5DC.

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I have absolutely no recollection of this reported abuse, and believe in my innocence," wrote McCarrick after the first allegation emerged. However, he said he accepted the decision to step down from public ministry. The accusations against him involve both minors and adult seminarians. One of the accusers says he was 11 when the abuse first took place, and it led to a sexually abusive relationship for more than 20 years. Francis acted quickly after receiving McCarrick's resignation letter on Friday evening, and he ordered McCarrick to lead a "life of prayer and penance" until a church trial can take place.

(Read more Vatican stories.)
(Newser)  Excellent news for fans of Princess Leia. Or in this case, General Leia. The late Carrie Fisher will appear in the upcoming Star Wars film thanks to unused footage, reports People. Director JJ Abrams announced the move Friday, and he said it had the blessing of Fisher's daughter, Billie Lourd. Star Wars: Episode IX, which caps the latest trilogy in the series, is due in theaters late next year, reports CNN. "We desperately loved Carrie Fisher," said Abrams. "Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us," (and) "we were never going to recast, or use a CG character." Fisher died in 2016 at age 60 of cardiac arrest. (See more stories about Fisher here.)
(Newser)  Leslie Moonves has at least one high-profile defender in the wake of sexual misconduct allegations leveled against the CBS head honcho. It's his wife, Julie Chen, reports People. I have known my husband, Leslie Moonves, since the late 90s, and I have been married to him for almost 14 years," she tweeted. "Leslie is a good man and a loving father, devoted husband and inspiring corporate leader. He has always been a kind, decent and moral human being. I fully support my husband and stand behind him and his statement. The latter refers to her husband's acknowledgement that he made advances on women "decades ago," which he now sees as a mistake, but that he always abided by the principle that "no means no" and never retaliated against the women.

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The 48-year-old Chen, 20 years her husband's junior, is the host of Big Brother and a co-host of The Talk, both on CBS. Not everyone shares her sentiment. With Shari gunning for him, theres just no way he survives this, an exec at a rival network tells Variety. It just rings so true. The reference to "Shari" is Shari Redstone, the majority shareholder of CBS and Viacom, who is locked in a nasty legal fight with Moonves over her wish to reunite the two companies. In a statement to the Wrap, a Redstone representative denied the "malicious insinuation" that Redstone is behind the new accusations. Still, she "hopes that the investigation of these allegations is thorough, open, and transparent." (Read more Leslie Moonves stories.)
(Newser)  California's latest wildfire is only getting worse, and "firenadoes" aren't helping. That's the term used by a spokesman for the crews battling what is known as the Carr Fire in Shasta County, reports ABC News. Think winds of about 60mph fanning flames into a "fire tornadoes" that can overturn vehicles "like toys," explains Scott McLean. And this all started in a mundane way: Authorities say a vehicle broke down Monday afternoon by Highway 299 in Whiskeytown, reports the Sacramento Bee, triggering a brush fire that soon spun out of control.

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The blaze worsened overnight, expanding to 75 square miles, or about 48,000 acres, reports the AP. Authorities say 500 structures have been destroyed and another 50,000 are in danger. Two people fighting the wildfire have been killed and three others injured, reports CNN. One of those killed was a firefighter from Redding, Jeremy Stoke, and the other was a private bulldozer operator, unidentified. The fire has forced the evacuation of nearly 40,000 people so far. (An arsonist is blamed for a different wildfire.)
(Newser)  It involves a lampthat's all you need to know. For those reading on, serial killer Egifius Schiffer died in what appears to be an autoerotic sex act while serving life in a German prison, Oxygen reports. Schiffer, 62, was found last week hooked up to a lamp cable at Bochum prison in Germany's North Rhine-Westphalia. "He removed a cable from his bedside table lamp, then wound it around his nipples and his penis and stuck the end in a power socket," a prison spokeswoman tells the Times of London. A post-mortem found that Schiffer died from heart failure due to excessive electricity in his chest.

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Known as the "Aachen Strangler," Schiffer initially got away with murdering five female hitchhikers in the 1980s. But the former insurance salesman was picked up in 2007 for stealing scrap metal, and agreed to give up a DNA sample that linked him to the murders, per the Sun. A self-proclaimed sadomasochist, Schiffer then admitted his guilt because he was apparently excited about going to prisonbut later changed his mind and claimed innocence. Police say they doubt anyone killed Schiffer, and his lawyer says he wasn't at all suicidal. (Read more serial killer stories.)
(Newser)  A black man yelled at former White House press secretary Sean Spicer in a bookstore and accused Spicer of calling him a racial slur when they were students at a prep school decades ago, the AP reports. Spicer was "taken aback" by the man's "outrageous claim" and had no recollection of him or of being in school with him, his publicist said on Saturday. Spicer was at a book signing in Middletown on Friday to promote his new book reflecting on his time at the press podium for President Donald Trump. Alex Lombard, who was standing behind a small group of people waiting in line to meet Spicer and get him to sign the book, called out Spicer's name and said they went to Portsmouth Abbey School together. Spicer waved to him and said, "Hey. Yeah. How are you?"

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Lombard, a Newport native who now lives in Cambridge, Mass., then accused Spicer of calling him the N-word and trying to fight him when they were at school. "You don't remember that you tried to fight me?" Lombard asked. "But you called me a (N-word) first." A security guard approached Lombard and led him away as he kept talking: "I was 14 then. I was a scared kid then, Sean. I'm not scared to fight you now." A Newport Daily News video of the encounter doesn't show how Spicer, who was seated at a table signing books, reacted to being accused of using the racial slur. But his publicist said he was shocked by the allegation. Spicer "can't recall any incident like this happening" and was "not sure if this was just a stunt this man was pulling," his publicist says. (See the video here.)
Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- President Trump's legal team warned his former lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, both publicly and privately, that he's in violation of attorney-client privilege and has cautioned him against talking, Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani told ABC News.



"We've indicated to them that they should respect the client and attorney privilege in different ways," Giuliani said.



"We have complained to them that he's violated the attorney-client privilege, publicly and privately."



Lanny Davis, Cohen's attorney, said Saturday evening that Giuliani "seems to be confused."



"He expressly waived attorney-client privilege last week and repeatedly and inaccurately -- as proven by the tape -- talked and talked about the recording, forfeiting all confidentiality," he said.



Giuliani also said that they've hired multiple experts to review and analyze the recordings of conversations between Cohen and Trump. They've specifically looked into why the tape cuts off mid-conversation about a hush payment made to former Playboy model Karen McDougal who alleged an affair with Trump.



"We've had it analyzed by several experts, not just for audio," he said.



"But we've had it analyzed and there's no way to tell if he did it at the time or if he went back and edited out a portion, because it goes on to another subject and stops abruptly."



Giuliani says he's aware of the subject matter of 13 tapes, but only one affects the President.



"There's nothing on it that would concern us," he said.



He also confirmed that the joint defense agreement between Trump and Cohen has ended.



It was expected that they would stop sharing information and documents when Cohen retained new attorney Guy Petrillo in July, but Giuliani confirms that there has been no contact between the two teams.



"Usually you don't discuss joint defense agreements, but i think it's obvious there's been so much public discussion that there isn't one right now," Giuliani said.



"We wouldn't consider it in our best interest to share confidential information with them and they would feel the same way."



This comes as ABC News has learned that Cohen claims that President Trump knew about the infamous Trump Tower meeting in advance.



"The president was very disappointed in Michael Cohen as he's tweeted particularly because he was a friend but also because he was a lawyer and acting as a lawyer during that conversation," Giuliaini said.



"And he's in grave jeopardy of being disbarred."



He also defended his prior comments defending Cohen, calling him an "honest, honorable lawyer" on This Week in May.



"I don't know what happened to him," Giuliani said. "A few months ago he wasn't telling all of these lies" a few months ago, I didn't know he was a lawyer who recorded his clients secretly.



"I didn't know him very well."

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
(Newser) 

Glass cases being smashed during an attempted robbery at a jewelry store in a popular Texas mall on Saturday were misconstrued as gunfire and sent people running for the exits, according to the authorities and witnesses, the AP reports. All known suspects in the attempted robbery at the La Plaza Mall in McAllen were taken into custody, the city's police chief, Victor Rodriguez, says in a statement that the city government posted on Twitter . Madeline Madden, a 17-year-old from McAllen, tells the Monitor that she was inside Glitz and Glamour, a boutique just across from the mall, when she saw people rush out of the mall and into the parking lot. She says one frightened couple ran into the boutique seeking safety.

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"The man and his wife came in with their kids and asked if they were going to lock the door, and they told us what happened ... that there had been a shooting," Madden says. "They were trying to get away. ... Someone else came and had cuts all over them from falling." The story was initially reported as an "active shooting" at the mall near the border of Mexico. Several law enforcement agencies rushed to the scene, including officers from the McAllen Police Department, Hidalgo County sheriff's office, and Texas Department of Public Safety. Dispatchers with McAllen police and the Hidalgo County sheriff's office declined to answer questions when reached by phone. The mall is one of the primary shopping centers in the Rio Grande Valley. (See a quick video of the mall's mass hysteria here.)
(Newser)  The New Jersey school superintendent accused of repeatedly defecating on another high school's track has resigned, per the AP. The Star-Ledger reports the Kenilworth school board accepted Thomas Tramaglini's resignation Thursday. In an email and voicemail sent to staff, the board said it became clear his continued service became "too much of a distraction." Tramaglini is charged with public defecation, lewdness, and littering. A court hearing is pending. Authorities say surveillance video caught Tramaglini in late April following an early morning run at Holmdel High School (but his lawyer says he's only seen "snippets" of the video). Police said staff members were watching to see who had been leaving human feces on the property.

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His lawyer, Matthew Adams, issued a statement saying that Tramaglini will continue to fight the allegations and that his resignation should not "be construed as an acknowledgment of guilt." Neither Adams nor authorities have said why Tramaglini allegedly did the defecating. Adams also says Tramaglini plans to sue Holmdel police over the mug shot taken after his arrest, claiming they should not have photographed him at police headquarters because the public defecation, lewdness, and litter charges were low-level municipal offenses. "It's like getting photographed and fingerprinted for a speeding ticket," Adams tells the Star-Ledger. He has filed a tort claim notice that lists potential damages of more than $1 million due to loss of income, harm to his reputation, emotional distress, and invasion of privacy.

(Read more defecation stories.)
New Delhi:

The Yamuna water level crossed the danger mark in Delhi on Saturday, prompting authorities to issue an advisory to concerned officials and begin the evacuation of hundreds of people living on the river bed and law lying area.

Due to the incessant rains in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the Yamuna water level at the Haryanas Hathinikund barrage crossed the danger mark of 90,000 cusecs and reached 2.11 lakh cusecs by 9 am on Saturday.

"Over 10,000 persons have been affected. People earlier living on the river bed and low-lying areas are being shifted out," IANS quoted Preet Vihar Nodal officer Arun Gupta as saying.

The water level of the Yamuna at Delhi railway bridge is likely to rise further by Saturday night as more water was being released by Haryana, cautioned the East Delhi district administration.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh: Heavy rains claim 58 lives, injure 53

The water level of river Yamuna at Delhi Old Rly Bridge reached at 204.92 metres at 7 AM on July 28 (above the warning level) and having rising trend, the administration said in a statement.

On Friday, the authorities of the national capital had sounded a flood alert after the water level of the Yamuna river crossed the danger mark.

All the executive engineers/sector officers are directed to keep in close contact with the control room in relation to the discharge, water level at the Old Railway Bridge and the advisory or forecast from the Central Water Commission/MET, and requested to take appropriate measures/steps accordingly to avoid flood-like situation, it said.

Also Read | Saharanpur building collapse: Six of family killed as house falls
New Delhi:

In a breakthrough to the Munirka rescue case, one person had been arrested and a car had been recovered on Friday, according to sources.

Munirka rescue case: 1 person has been arrested & 1 car has been recovered. Delhi Commission for Women had rescued 16 girls from Munirka on July 25.  ANI (@ANI) July 27, 2018

The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) had on Wednesday (July 25) rescued 16 women from southwest Delhis Munirka area, believed to have been on their way to be trafficked to Gulf countries of Iraq and Kuwait.

Delhi Commission for Women rescued 16 girls from Munirka area earlier today. These girls were trafficked from Nepal. #Delhi pic.twitter.com/CgXp3JKL2x  ANI (@ANI) July 25, 2018

The DCW had alleged that the women were brought to Delhi on the pretext of employment and were kept in a small room for several days and added that their passports were taken away by the traffickers.

Also read | Self-styled godman held for raping female disciples

They were made to stay in the room for the past 20 to 22 days. The girls kept coming on different dates. They said in the last 15 days, seven girls have been sent to Iraq and Kuwait. One of the girls sent outside was pregnant, the DCW had said in a statement.
New Delhi:

At least 30 people were killed as heavy rains wreaked havoc in different regions of Uttar Pradesh, an official said on Saturday.

Thundershowers are likely to continue at several places across the state, the MET official stated.

Five people were killed in Agra, four deaths were reported in Mainpuri, three each in Muzaffarnagar and Kasganj, two each in Meerut and Bareilly and one each in Kanpur Dehat, Ghaziabad, Mathura, Jhansi, Hapur, Jalaun, Rae Bareli and Jaunpur, the government spokesperson said, adding that 12 others were injured in different parts of the state.

Three deaths were confirmed from Saharanpur on Saturday, SP Saharanpur (Rural) Vidya Sagar Mishra said.

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath ordered to launch relief and rescue work on war footing and directed district magistrate to provide monetary help immediately in the affected areas, as per rules, in cases of house collapse.

The chief minister warned the authorities that no complacency will be tolerated in relief works.

The MeT office said southwest monsoon was active over east Uttar Pradesh and vigorous over the western part of the state causing moderate to heavy rain and thundershowers at most places.

(With inputs from PTI)

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New Delhi:

Fresh medical reports reveal that 34 girls have been raped in Bihars government shelter home. Earlier, the medical reports confirmed that 29 of the 42 inmates of the shelter in Muzaffarpur district were raped for months.



Out of 11 accused ten have been arrested. After opposition pressure, Bihar government has handed over the investigation to Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). A Charge sheet has been filed against the ten who were arrested earlier.



The sexual assault came to light after the Tata Institute of Social Sciences submitted their report based on conversations with the victims of the state-run shelter home.



Brajesh Thakur, who ran the NGO has been arrested and his organization has been blacklisted. All the girls have been evacuated to homes in neighbouring districts.



Police have failed to recover the body of a minor allegedly buried in the shelter home.

Bihar has rakshasraj (demonic rule). Here, Ravan kidnaps Mother Sita. This is balatkar raj (rape culture)j, coward Duryodhan is disrobing Draupadi. In Bihar, the Ravan-Duryodhan pair has made it difficult for sisters and mothers to step out, tweeted Tejaswi Yadav attacking Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.

He also demanded immediate resignation of Nitish Kumars two ministers whose names have come up in the investigation.

For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps.
New Delhi:

BJP chief Amit Shah on Saturday arrived on a day-long visit during which he will hold an interactive session will party workers and also attend the special screening of Chalo Jeete Hain, a film based on Prime Minister Narendra Modis early life.

Reportedly, Shahs visit comes due to the fact that Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis called all-party leaders meeting on the issue of Maratha reservation.

However, it is not clear whether Shah will hold talks with senior leaders over the heated issue.

A BJP leader said that Shahs visit to the city was pre-planned and had nothing to do with the Maratha quota stir.

Shah is scheduled to watch the film Chalo Jeete Hain at a south Mumbai multiplex, where a special screening has been kept.

There is a special screening of the film on PM Narendra Modis early life. It has been organised for Amit bhai in the evening, the leader said.

The 32-minute film, directed by Mangesh Hadawale and presented by Aanand L Rai and Mahaveer Jain, will have its world premiere on Hotstar on 29 July.

The film is based on the early life of Narendra Modi and shows how he got inspired by Swami Vivekananda as he got exhibited towards the poor while growing up in Vadnagar in Gujarat.

(With inputs from PTI)

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New Delhi:

In a tragic incident, at least 30 people were killed after a bus carrying them skidded off a mountain stretch on the Mumbai-Goa highway on Saturday morning. The bus belonged to a Maharashtra agriculture university and was carrying 34 employees when it fell 500 ft down the mountain, the police said.

So far, eight bodies have been recovered from the accident site in Raigad district and the police and National Disaster Relief Force (NDRF) teams were carrying out the search and rescue operation.

Raigad district police informed reporters that the employees of Dr Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth were going towards Goa for a weekend picnic trip. The area of Raigad district where the accident took place had been receiving heavy downpour for past few days.

Also Read | Uttar Pradesh: Heavy rains claim 58 lives, injure 53

Soon after the incident, Maharashtra minister Vinod Tawde tweeted that he had ordered local officials to rush to the spot and start rescue operations as soon as possible.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi also directed his party workers in the area to provide all the possible help to the injured and families the deceased persons.

I'm sorry to hear about the terrible bus accident in Raigad, Maharashtra in which a large number of people have been killed and many others injured. I appeal to Congress party workers in the area to provide all possible assistance to the injured & families of those who have died, Gandhi tweeted.

Also Read | Saharanpur building collapse: Six of family killed as house falls

Apart from Gandhi, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Ram Nath Kovind also expressed their deep sorrow over the loss of life.

Pained by the loss of lives due to a bus accident in Maharashtra's Raigad district. My condolences to those who lost their loved ones: tweets PM Narendra Modi pic.twitter.com/hM6rUEVrxI  ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2018

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New Delhi:

The blood pressure of DMK supremo M Karunanidhi has beenA stabilisedA as he continues to get monitored by the doctors, a medical bulletin issued by the hospital said. TheA DMK chief, who has been suffering from ailing health due to urinary tract infection, was admitted to a private hospital in Chennai on Saturday, the party said.

aHis blood pressure has been stabilised with medical management and he continues to be monitored and treated by the panel of experts,a the hospital said.

"He was admitted to the hospital due to a sudden drop in blood pressure. He is stable now and doing fine. Please don't believe in rumours," DMK leader A Raja said.

His daughter MK Selvi had also reached the hospital early on Saturday, while his son and party working president MK Stalin termed his father as an aunshakeable forcea on his post on Twitter.

"He is better. His blood pressure has stabilised," said DMK leader Kanimozhi.

He is better. His blood pressure has stabilised: DMK leader Kanimozhi on DMK President M Karunanidhi's health condition. pic.twitter.com/2LeaiWdaGH a ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2018

Several top leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, President Ram Nath Kovind, Congress president Rahul Gandhi, Sitaram Yechury have inquired about DMK chiefas health.

He is now under the supervision of medical experts as he receives further treatment.

Karunanidhi (94) was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Kauvery Hospital at 1:39 am. He was rushed to the hospital after his blood pressure had dropped, the hospital said in a statement.

Chennai: DMK supporters gather outside Kauvery Hospital, where DMK President Karunanidhi is admitted following drop in blood pressure. #TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/WKEUU5Tqmn a ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2018

Several senior DMK leaders, including working president MK Stalin and his alienated elder brother MK Alagiri were present at the hospital. Other top leaders such as Duraimurgan, Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi and former Union Minister A Raja were also present on Friday morning.

Following Karunanidhias admission to the hospital, party workers poured in large numbers near the hospital complex and chanted along live Thalaivara (leader).

Chennai: DMK supporters continue to gather outside Kauvery Hospital, where DMK President M Karunanidhi is admitted. pic.twitter.com/vTd2ygzhwX a ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2018

The DMK leaders had earlier visited Karunanidhi at his residence in Gopalapuram region before he was rushed to the hospital. Alagiri, who was expelled from the party by the DMK supremo in January 2014 after a clash with Stalin, was also among the visitors.

Stalin had said the former Tamil Nadu chief ministeras health was improving, hours before Karunanidhi was shifted to the hospital. On Wednesday, he had assured people that there was nothing serious about his fatheras health.

For the past two years, the DMK president has not been making any public appearance due to his ill health, but he still holds the top post in the Dravidian party.

Karunanidhi, whose health has been a matter of concern since October 2016, entered his 50th year as party chief on Friday.

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New Delhi:

Justice Ranjan Gogoi, the second most senior judge of the Supreme Court and top claimant of for CJI Dipak Misras replacement, on Saturday raised issues in the change of the Chief Justice of India.

Justice Gogoi, who was one of the four judges who addressed the unprecedented press conference against CJI Misra, said that there were set norms for the elevation of judges in the judiciary but the real problem lied in the change of Chief Justice of India.

When it comes to the elevation of judges in the judiciary, we have some norms. The problem lies in the change of Chief Justice of India, ANI quoted Justice Gogoi as saying.

Gogoi also called for a consistent policy in the Indian judiciary system and emphasised on the need for elimination of pending cases.

The Indian judiciary should have a consistent policy, he said adding that our system is not prepared with the huge influx of the number of cases coming for disposal. There is a need for elimination of cases.

Also Read | NRC: The political hot potato in Assam

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A recent paper highlights the areas Egypt needs to focus on to keep on track with the UN Sustainable Development Goals

Though 2030, the deadline for implementing the UNs Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), may seem far off, it is not so far given the tasks in hand.

The SDGs encompass 17 goals and 169 targets covering the economic, social and environmental dimensions of development. What individual countries must do is translate their agenda into feasible and realistic development plans.

In an attempt to provide initial guidance on which SDGs focus on and to identify potential resources available to finance their attainment, a recent policy working paper called Sustainable Development Goal Diagnostics: The Case of the Arab Republic of Egypt was recently issued by the World Bank.

In the paper Egypts performance is compared to that of countries with gross national incomes (GNI) per capita similar to Egypts. GNI per capita reflects the average income of a countrys citizens.

According to the study, Egypt is performing better than expected on nine of the 15 SDGs. One of these SDGs is an end to poverty, according to the study where Egypt is performing well relative to its peers with respect to the percentage of the population living below the international poverty line (in 2011 $1.9 per day in purchasing-power parity dollars (PPP)).

The slightly decreasing trend in poverty between 1999 and 2015 is interesting given Egypts tumultuous period, the study said, noting that such progress may be attributed to the food-subsidy system. Despite Egypts many spells of instability, policy-makers have persistently prioritised food subsidies and the availability of affordable staples in an effort to achieve social equity.

Nonetheless, the study notes that national poverty rates increased from 16.7 per cent in 1999/2000 to 27.8 per cent in 2015. It said that though statistics showed that extreme poverty had been eradicated, it is of increasing importance to prioritise the needs of those living below the national poverty line.

Another area where Egypt has been performing well is education. According to the study, Egypt is performing well with respect to quantitative measures; however, it is underperforming in the provision of quality of education.

The study attests to the results of the World Economic Forums 2015-2016 Global Competitiveness Report, which gave Egypt a score of 2.1 out of 7 for the quality of its primary education, ranking 139th out of 140 countries on this indicator.

Among the areas where Egypt is performing worse than its peer countries is achieving zero hunger. Over the period 1998-2014, the proportion of wasting children in Egypt dramatically increased, according to the study.

Wasting or low weight for height is usually the result of malnutrition. As a lower-middle income country, Egypts high proportion of malnourished children is unusual as this is more typical of lower-income countries, the study said, adding that this could be because Egypts food production has not kept pace with rapid population growth.

Although Egypt has done well in decreasing the under-five mortality rate and the infant-mortality rate, the overall mortality rate due to cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes or chronic respiratory problems is significantly higher, suggesting that poor nutrition is a long-standing problem in Egypt across all age cohorts.

Decent work and economic growth is another area that needs attention. According to the study, the proportion of youth not in education, employment, or training is at a rate not commensurate with expectations for Egypt.

The speed of job creation is not sufficient to absorb the large cohort of individuals aged 15-24 entering the labour market, the study said. However, it added that recent measures by the government to address this gap, such as the provision of specialised financial products, could improve youth entrepreneurship, a vital factor for alleviating unemployment and improving living standards in the future.

On SDG 9, industry, innovation and infrastructure, the report noted that Egypt is seeking to expand its industrial base, with a concerted focus on developing the Suez Canal area into a hub for globally-linked manufacturing and high-tech services.

However, it stressed that the government should make sure that the benefits are not concentrated in certain areas.

The fact that domestic regional disparities in service delivery and standards of living remain considerable, especially between Upper and Lower Egypt, suggests that vigilance is necessary to target inputs related to SDG 9 to the countrys less-advantaged areas, it said.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 26 July 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Targeting the SDGs

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New Delhi:

The Sakal Maratha Samaj on Saturday demanded the resignation of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his minister Chandrakant Patil and threatened jail bharo andolan if their demands were not met.

We demand apology and resignation from CM and minister Chandrakant Patil. We also demand Rs 50 Lakh compensation for families of deceased and action against cops who baton charged at women. If these demands are not met we'll launch 'jail bharo andolan' from August 1, ANI quoted the Sakal Maratha Samaj as saying.

The Marathas in Maharashtra are demanding reservation in jobs and education for their community. They even held protests across the state over their demands. However, the protests turned violent after the deaths of two agitators, prompting them to call off their stir.

Also Read | Maratha reservation: 10 reasons Maratha Kranti Morcha stir turned violent

They were also angry with CM Fadnavis and demanding his apology for his false allegations 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 Maharashtra chief minister on Saturday called an all-party meeting on the issue of reservation to the Maratha community, which comprises 30 per cent of the states total population.

Reacting to the all-party meet, the Maratha Samaj said they didnt trust the BJP-led state government and wanted an immediate decision on the issue.

We don't trust the Govt. They should take a decision, we don't want any further discussions with them, the Maratha Samaj said.

Also Read | Five MLAs resign for Maratha quota cause

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New Delhi:

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday promised "pakka makaan" to all by 2022 and informed about his government's work done so far in achieving the target.

Addressing an event on Transforming Urban Landscape in Lucknow, Modi said that the Centre had approved 54 lakh houses in the cities and provided more than 1 crore houses in the villages to ensure that everyone has a house to live in by 2022.

The Transforming Urban Landscape event was held to mark the third anniversary of his governments three key initiatives related to urban development- Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY)- Urban, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation of Urban Transfornation (AMRUT), and the Smart Cities Mission in Lucknow.

By 2022 we will try to ensure that everyone has a house. In order to meet this target the government has approved 54 lakh houses in the cities & also provided more than 1 crore houses to people in villages: PM Narendra Modi at 'Transforming Urban Landscape' event in Lucknow pic.twitter.com/FyViBtBCgK  ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) July 28, 2018

Also Read | Highlights of PM Modi's Lucknow visit

Earlier, Modi arrived in the capital city of Uttar Pradesh on his two-day visit to the politically significant state. During the visit, the prime minister interacted with 35 beneficiaries of PMAY (Urban), one from each state or union territory, according to an official statement.

Modi also laid the foundation stones for as many as 99 developmenatl projects worth Rs 3,397 crore under Flagship Mission in Uttar Pradesh.

Addressing the gathering, Modi recalled the efforts of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and said that his vision to Transform the Landscape of Urban India was closely connected with Lucknow.

Also Read | Hope new Pakistan government will ensure terror free South Asia: India on poll outcomes

During the event, the prime minister also transferred funds worth Rs 606.85 to more than 60,426 beneficiaries in UP under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) via online transfer.

Hon'ble PM @narendramodi remotely transfers funds worth a606.86 crore to more than 60,000 beneficiaries in UP to enable them to realise their dream of owning a house of their own under #PMAYUrban #TransformingIndia pic.twitter.com/zLuF5aUKKU  MoHUA (@MoHUA_India) July 28, 2018

Meanwhile, Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Singh Puri said that India was undergoing the largest ever planned urbanisation in the world and added that Smart Cities Mission will revolutionize the country while AMRUT will make drinking water available to citizens.

On Sunday, Modi will attend a ground breaking ceremony of projects worth Rs 60,000 crore which had materalised following the UP Investors Summit in February 2018.

The summit led to the generation of investment intent worth more than Rs 4.28 lakh crore across sectors like Renewable Energy, Infrastructure, Power, IT & Electronic Manufacturing, Tourism.

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New Delhi:

In an inhuman gesture with an animal mind, eight sycophants in Haryanaas Mewat gang-raped a pregnant goat. A day after the unthinkable incident, the goat died. The police has registered a case against the accused under relevantA sections of IPC on owner's complaint.

The police said that it was investigating the matter and a medical examination of the dead goat will be conducted. A Meanwhile, all the eight accused were absconding after the incident.

"One person, Aslu registered a complaint on July 26 that his goat was gang-raped on the night of July 25 by Savakar, Haroon, Jaffar and five others whose identities are yet to be ascertained," ANI quotedA Nagina police station in charge (SI) Rajbir Singh as saying.

Haryana: Pregnant goat died a day after allegedly being raped by 8 men in Mewat. Goat's owner (in pic) registered a police complaint on July 26. Police says, 'all accused are absconding. Medical of the dead goat will be conducted. Investigation is underway' pic.twitter.com/Ejyc6u56WT a ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2018

The cases of cruelty against the animal were on the rise in India and this was not the first incident. Earlier in August 2017, a taxi driver in Delhi allegedly raped a female puppy, which later bled to death.

Later, the post-mortem report confirmed that rape and death due to excessive bleeding from private parts of the female puppy.

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New Delhi:

The simmering tension over the National Register of Citizens (NRC) issue in Assam has now boiled over, as the deadline for the publication of its final draft is upon us. The NRC will decide who is a genuine citizen and who is an illegal immigrant from neighbouring Bangladesh.



The issue is a political hot potato in Assam and has been for decades. The Congress party has always been suspected by the Assamese of relying on the votes of illegal migrants. And, as the general elections 2019 approaches, the politics over illegal influx is growing.

The BJP, right from the days of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani, had sided with the people of Assam in their fight to get rid of illegal Bangladeshi migrants. When the All Assam Students Union, launched a massive popular movement against influx of foreigners into Assam and into the electoral rolls, BJP leaders regularly visited the state to show their support.

The agitation ended with the signing of the Assam Accord in between the students, the Centre and the state government. All alleged Bangladeshi migrants who entered Assam before midnight of was accepted as Indian nationals. The cut off was chosen as was the start of Pakistani operations against the people fighting for independence. All those who came in after that date were to be regarded as foreigners.

Updating of the NRC was part of the accord. But there was no political will to implement any of this, till the Supreme Court finally stepped in.



In the 2014 national elections, Narendra Modi promised to send foreigner nationals packing to Bangladesh. The BJP now is in ruling in Assam and much of the support is due to the belief that a Hindutva government would be more inclined to solve the problem of Muslim migration from Bangladesh.

ALSO READ: NRC final draft release: Assam neighbours keeping police alert

At the heart of the problem is the latent fear of Assamese Hindus that they would be reduced to a minority in their own land and Assam would become the second Muslim majority state in the country after Kashmir.

Bengali-speaking Muslims, originally from across the border, but who have lived in Assam for generations are now living in fear. The British were the first to bring in Bangladeshi labourers to clean the malarial swamps of Assam and turn them into fertile agricultural land.



Since then there have been waves of migration from former East Pakistan, mainly for economic reasons. The problem is that the majority of the Bengali-speaking Muslims are both poor and illiterate. They have no papers to prove they are either Indians or Bangladeshis.



The revision and update of the NRC in Assam was ordered by the Supreme Court to settle the issue of citizenship. According to the Assam government notification, proof of a person being a genuine citizen can be established if a persons name appears in the NRC of 1951. Those whose names appear in the electoral rolls up to , people with land and tenancy records, citizenship certificates, government issued license, bank or post office

documents, birth certificate, educational certificates, court records, passport, government employment record and other such documents.



The problem is that most of the poor have none of this. They are running from pillar to post to get any of these papers but are coming up against a wall of sullen officials, who anyway believe that Bengali-speaking Muslims are Bangladeshis. Lakhs of people are afraid they will be dubbed as foreigners. In the absence of a clear picture, rumours are doing the rounds. There is talk of rounding up non-citizens and placing them in camps guarded by security personnel. None of this is true. But rumours have led to large-scale panic and fear of communal riots in certain areas.



The Congress, batting for potential voters, have written to Home Minister Rajnath Singh. The issue was also raised in Parliament. In an effort to assuage these anxieties, Home Minister Rajnath Singh said on that the NRC draft could be challenged and revised to ensure that all citizens would get justice.

Read | Assam's final NRC draft today; to decide fate of over 32 million population in the state

The government was there to see that every individual gets justice and is treated in a humane manner. All individuals will have sufficient opportunity for all remedies available under the law. He added that adequate opportunity for claims and objections will be available. All claims and objections will be duly examined, before the final list is published. Singh claimed that the entire revision and updating of the NRC was carried out transparently and with utmost care.

The question remains what happens to those declared foreigners? India has excellent ties with the Awami League government of Sheikh Hasina in Bangladesh. Yet, it is unlikely that Dhaka will accept the migrants as their citizens as they have no documents to support their case.



Bangladesh High Commissioner Syed Muazzem Ali said last month that the NRC is an internal matter and has nothing to do with his country. India has not spoken of deportation of illegal migrants. The mechanisms on the border are already in place, he said.



But the question remains how India should tackle those thousands declared illegal. A huge humanitarian crisis could unfold. Will these people be declared stateless, like the Rohingyas of Myanmar? The Centre needs to think through what it wants to and not make provisions as it goes along. The people of Assam are bracing for what unfolds after when the final draft will be released.
Manama : The increasing numbers of mongoose appearing in several residential areas in Riffa have caused a wave of panic among residents. Residents of Block 909, located near Hunainiya Valley in the southern parts of Riffa, have been complaining about large numbers of mongoose apparently entering their homes and attacking their pets.

The animals, locally known as Arais, are common in agricultural areas of the Kingdom such as the northern area and some parts of Muharraq, but the people of Riffa are unfamiliar with it, says Badr Al Tamimi, a Riffa resident and the municipal representative of the area. Mr Al Tamimi said, The appearance of these animals in Riffa is unusual. They normally grow in farms and agricultural areas. Block 909 and the surrounding blocks are located near Hunainiya Valley, which is known for its desert nature. We have never seen this animal in Riffa before. Its normal that people are panicking. The councillor said at least ten complaints from residents about mongooses invading their homes in the past few days.

Replying to the opinions stating that mongooses are harmless to humans and only eat rodents, birds, reptiles and smaller animals, Mr Al Tamimi firmly answered, Its a meat-eating animal after all. What if it doesnt find any rodents or birds to eat. It might attack humans, especially children, to feed its hunger. A resident recently told me his hens were attacked by mongooses.

Lets believe that the animal is harmless, but we cant deny the fact that the people are afraid of it and dont know how to act when they encounter one. We have communicated with Works, Municipalities Affairs and Urban Planning Ministry, Al Areen Wildlife Park and Reserve and the Environment Friends Society. We were given the same answer saying that the situation is natural and that the residents will have to coexist with it, Mr Al Tamimi said. The representative demanded the related authorities to take immediate action to limit the breeding of mongooses in the area, fearing that the issue would escalate, quite similar to the stray dogs dilemma.

We demand finding a solution to this problem before it expands to the surrounding areas, such as Awali, West Riffa and other residential blocks. Prevention is better than cure. We must act before the problem grows out of control and cost the government big amounts to tackle it. The stray dogs issue is a good example, Mr Al Tamimi added.
Manama : Heads of students councils in Bahraini universities have stressed the importance of training and rehabilitating Bahraini youth in order to participate effectively in serving their society, affirming that Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifas Award for Voluntary Work has contributed to encouraging various voluntary work initiatives, and to shed light on youths voluntary projects.

Abdulla Shawqi Al Mannai, Head of University of Bahrain (UoB)s student council, said that voluntary work reflects societies progress, noting that youngsters, the generation of the future, should adopt such humanitarian habits. He pointed out that his teams winning of the award has encouraged them and helped them to expand their activities and establish the first GCC voluntary educational platform, A Academy.

Head of the Kingdom Universitys student council, Mohammed Bader Budawas, indicated that voluntary work is essential in consolidating youths social role in advancing their communities. He pointed out that he had taken part in voluntary projects launched by his university, citing the Ramadan Basket aiming to support needy families. He stressed that the HH Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifas Award for Voluntary Work is a unique initiative that honours voluntary projects.

Abdulhadi bin Saleh Al Qahtani, Head of the Applied Science Universitys student council, affirmed that voluntary work is deep-rooted in Bahrain, which, he said, makes Bahrain a regional and international leader in this field, noting that voluntary work is an integral part of the Bahraini identity and society. He emphasised that the award has contributed to honouring voluntary work pioneers. The distribution ceremony of this years edition of the HH Shaikh Isa bin Ali Al Khalifas Award for Voluntary Work, organised by the Good Word Society will be held in September.
Manama : With the Kingdom set to hold elections to its parliament and municipal councils, social media has emerged the best platform for candidates to interact with their voters and vice versa. A good majority of candidates now have social media campaign team, updating their priorities and issues to be addressed on a daily basis. The number of likes would easily provide the probability of a candidates ability to win the minds of his voters.

However, on the flip side, hate or smear campaigns are also on the rise with many using the social media platforms to defame candidates. Speaking to Tribune, Ali Ahmed Sabkar, global co-chair of Social Media Club Inc, said social media has become the most effective medium for electoral candidates to communicate with their voters across the world.

Social media marketing is one of the most efficient ways to communicate with voters, especially the first-time and young voters. We have witnessed the role of social media in many national elections across the region. Best use of social media tools will help candidates establish direct connection with their voters. It will also help in creating an enthusiasm in them apart from increasing the voter turnout.

On the contrary, Mr Sabkar said what really worries is the emerging trend of using social media platforms to defame candidates. This is the disruptive aspect of social media. Hate speech is the perfect example of using social media in a negative manner. Thankfully we have adequate laws in the Kingdom to tackle hate speech.
Riyadh : Saudi Arabia has temporarily halted all oil shipments through a key waterway after Yemens Iran-aligned Huthi militia attacked two crude vessels, officials said .

All oil shipments through Bab al-Mandab Strait have been suspended temporarily until... maritime transit through the area is safe, Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said in a statement released by state media. Two oil tankers operated by the Saudi shipping group Bahri, each with a two million barrels capacity, were attacked by Huthi rebels in the Red Sea, state giant Aramco said in a statement.

One of the ships sustained minimal damage. No injuries nor oil spill have been reported, Aramco said. The oil giant said the decision to suspend shipments was in the interest of the safety of ships and their crews and to avoid the risk of oil spill. Earlier, the pro-Huthi Al-Masirah TV said that the militia had targeted a Saudi warship named Al-Dammam, without providing further details.

Condemned

Bahrain strongly condemned the Houthi militias attack on oil tankers belonging to the Saudi National Shipping Company while the vessels were crossing Bab Al-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea. The cowardly attack is a flagrant violation of international laws and norms and poses a serious threat to the freedom of international trade and maritime navigation in Bab Al-Mandab Strait and the Red Sea, the ministry of foreign affairs said in a statement.
Internet portal operator Yahoo Japan said Friday that it will start a mobile payment service this autumn, becoming the latest to join the cashless payment bandwagon.

The move is an attempt by the SoftBank Group affiliate to challenge Line, a popular chat app operator, which has championed mobile payment in Japan. Line last month unveiled plans to roll out a mobile payment system based on quick response (QR) codes in Japan.

The moves are in line with the Japanese government's policy of spreading cashless payment. According to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, cashless transactions account for only 18% of personal expenditure in Japan, compared with 45% in the U.S. and 60% in China. The ministry wants to raise that share to 40% in 10 years.

Yahoo Japan is currently owned 36% by SoftBank Group. Earlier this month, SoftBank said it will increase its stake in the Japanese portal to 48% by purchasing shares from Altaba, formerly Yahoo, of the U.S.

Yahoo Japan earns revenues from advertisements on its portal and from the operation of auction and e-commerce sites.

Yahoo Japan enters a crowded field. In addition to Line, several other Japanese startups, such as Origami and Infcurion, have already announced plans to provide mobile payment services. Japan's three largest banks -- MUFG, Sumitomo Mitsui and Mizuho -- have already agreed to develop a QR-code based payment system together.

These companies are trying to respond to the rapid spread of Chinese mobile payment services Alipay and WeChat Pay in Asia.
Thirteen out of the 23 local government chairmen in Benue State have defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Dem...

Thirteen out of the 23 local government chairmen in Benue State have defected from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).According to Channels tv, the chairmen announced their defection to the PDP at the Government House in Makurdi, the Benue State capital on Friday, two days after Governor Samuel Ortom left the APC for the PDP.Those who defected include Anthony Shawon of Guma Local Government Area (LGA), Justina Sorka of Buruku LGA, Mwuese Ubebe of Konshisha LGA, Blessing Unogwo of Ado LGA, Virginia Kpindi of Katsina-Ala LGA and George Alli of Otukpo LGA.Others are Comfort Echeoda of Agatu LGA, Francis Ayaga of Gwer West LGA, Uaah Vitalis of Gwer East LGA, Richard Nyajo of Logo LGA, Ibellogo Tor of Tyokaa- Ukum LGA, Adakole Abutu of Ohimini LGA and Peter Onche of Obi LGA.The decision of the 13 local government chairmen to follow Governor Ortom to the PDP is the latest in a series of major political decisions in the state over recent weeks.Seventeen days before defecting to the PDP, on July 8, Governor Ortom dissolved his cabinet, retaining only commissioners believed to be fully loyal to him.A day before his defection, the Benue State House of Assembly impeached Mr Terkimbi Ikyange, who had been the Speaker since Governor Ortom rose to power.On Wednesday morning, hours before the governor formally defected, protesting youths barred him from travelling to Abuja to attend an APC reconciliation meeting.In announcing his defection  a gathering of major political players in the state including the local government chairmen and councillors  the governor explained that the took the decision after consulting widely.
It seems that Israel got from the American-Russian summit the assurances it wanted. The Palestinians and the Arabs, so far, got nothing

In a joint press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, on Monday, 16 July, in Helsinki, US President Donald Trump startled the world and the American political establishment by defending President Putin, only three days after 12 Russian intelligence officers had been indicted for meddling into the 2016 US presidential elections.

Commenting on Putins remarks denying Russian interference, President Trump said: He [Putin] just said it is not Russia. I will say this, I dont see any reason why it would be.

This part of the joint press conference overshadowed the first American-Russian summit since Trump entered the White House 18 months ago.

The world was waiting to see if the summit would pave the way for finding solutions to some intractable international questions, including Syria and the Ukraine.

Until the time of writing, no official US readout of the summit talks had been issued, with some US congressmen considering subpoenaing the American interpreter who went to the summit with President Trump.

So, few know for sure what was agreed upon during the summit concerning three major topics; namely, Syria, counterterrorism and nuclear proliferation.

The only source of reliable information has been the Kremlin, which leaked bits and pieces of information about the summit.

President Trump said that his talks with his Russian counterpart covered a host of questions, including Syria, Iran, peace in the Middle East, fighting terrorism and nuclear proliferation, without providing substance or at least some ideas with regards to the areas of agreement between the two superpowers.

The Helsinki summit was the first and it will be followed by a second in fall in Washington DC. President Trump announced Thursday, 19 July that he had invited President Putin to meet him at the White House before years end.

It remains to be seen whether the second American-Russian summit will take place before or after the mid-term elections.

Between now and then many things could happen in the investigation led by Robert Mueller on Russian meddling in the 2016 US presidential elections.

Further indictments, for example, could lead to the postponement of the summit. Meanwhile, the two superpowers will have to deal with pressing international and regional questions that pose threats to international peace and security.

However, from Russian moves in the wake of the Helsinki summit, it seems that there have been some understandings reached, particularly on the situation in Syria and its bearing on the security of Israel, a matter that brings Iran into the equation.

Two days after the Helsinki summit, an official Russian emissary flew to Tehran to brief the Iranians on the conclusions of the Putin-Trump meeting concerning Syria, Iran and the future of the Iranian nuclear deal. He met with the assistant secretary-general of the Iranian National Security Council.

According to Iranian official and semi-official sources, Russian positions have not changed, in light of the Helsinki summit, concerning strategic relations between Russia and Iran.

Similarly, the Russian emissary assured the Iranians that Moscow still supports the Irans 2015 nuclear deal, and that President Putin made clear to President Trump that the latters decision to withdraw from the deal was not constructive.

In the meantime, the Russians emphasised that their cooperation with the Iranians in Syria remains unchanged in fighting terrorism and working for a political solution.

What was missing from official Iranian statements was what was most important: the future of Iranian presence in Syria, on the one hand, and the role of Irans military advisers and pro-Iranian militias operating with the Syrian army not far from the Golan Heights, on the other hand.

President Trump had said that his talks with President Putin in Helsinki had dealt with the security of Israel, and he expressed special satisfaction as to the agreement reached, in this regard.

This could explain why Russia has stressed the importance of respecting the 1974 Disengagement Agreement between Syria and Israel on the Golan Heights.

This Russian position gains in importance taking into consideration that both Russia and the United States have agreed to let the Syria army take full control of the south and the southwest in Syria.

In other words, after the withdrawal of all rebel forces from these parts of Syria, the situation between Syrian and Israeli forces would revert to the status quo ante on the Golan from 1974 to 2011. No alien forces would be permitted to deploy.

It seems the Iranians have gotten the message. It was no coincidence that after the visit of the Russian envoy to Tehran last Thursday, Israels Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, called President Putin on Friday, 20 July, to get an understanding of the outcome of the talks between the Russians and the Iranians a day earlier as regards Irans role in Syria.

Judging from the ferocity of Israeli retaliation against Hamas in Gaza on Friday, 20 July, a bombing campaign that lasted for hours until the Egyptians negotiated a ceasefire, it appears that Israel has received assurances from Moscow that Iran would respect the understandings between the United States and Russia, as agreed upon in Helsinki, concerning the security of Israel, at least for the foreseeable future.

As far as the Middle East is concerned, the only tangible result, so far, of the American-Russian summit is that the two superpowers would act in concert to provide for the security of Israel according to its own terms and conditions without a quid pro quo from the Israelis in the form of concessions to the Palestinians, who have gotten nothing to advance their national cause.

Maybe the next summit between President Trump and President Putin could bring a glimmer of hope for the Palestinians and the Arabs. But in the Middle East, from now until fall could be an eternity with Israel on the loose.

The writer is former assistant foreign minister.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 26 July 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Summit enigmas

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Following the massive defection that struck All Progressives Congress, (APC) this week, intandem with the statement credited to the minis...

Following the massive defection that struck All Progressives Congress, (APC) this week, intandem with the statement credited to the minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi wherein Amaechi said that noting would prevent President Muhammadu Buhari from winning the forthcoming 2019 general election, Rabiu Kwankwaso the former governor of Kano state on Saturday replied Amaechi.Kwankwaso through his spokesperson, Binta Spikin said that Buhari would lose in Kano even though he uses federal might. Even if the government puts whatever in place, there is no way President Buhari will win in Kano, theres no way, Binta said.Recall that Ameachi had said the following when he was inspecting Itakpe-Warri rail line on Friday, Do you honestly believe that the president will lose election in this country? Well nobody is God, but that is one of his comfort zones. The next person that left from Bauchi, if you bring president on a sick bed in Bauchi, he will win.He has never lost election in Bauchi. One thing about me in the political history of Nigeria, nobody has been in doubt on where I stand, one quality I have and Nigerians believe is that Im honest. I never hid my feelings.Nigerians will certainly reject a second looting, Nigeria cannot survive another looting, call me all the rich men in Nigeria, everybody depends on government. Sixty percent of Nigerian rich men depend on government.Only three years that they remove the breast milk everybody is complaining, he said. But reacting today, Mrs Spikin said Mr Kwankwasos defection will not only affect the votes in Kano State but has brought down the APC. Her words, I think his defection will greatly affect the votes in 2019. His defection will not only affect the chances of the APC in Kano, his defection has brought down APC.If you look across Nigeria today, not Kano alone, theres nowhere in Nigeria that you dont have the presence of Kwankwasiyya (supporters of Mr Kwankwaso). Kano is his home base and he is well grounded in Kano.Even without the government, he had a 60 percent of the voters, so what do you think will happen now that he has joined forces with people like Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau? Even if the government puts whatever in place, there is no way President Buhari will win in Kano, theres no way. He stands a very good chance to win Buhari. We are covered.
Pastor-Politician, Rev Chris Okotie finally broke his silence last week when he suddenly declared his intention to run for the office of President at a press conference in Lagos.His announcement came via two letters addressed separately to the chairmen of the ruling party, the All Progressive Congress, APC and the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in which Rev. Okotie asked the parties to adopt him as their consensus Presidential candidate for the 2019 Presidential election.The plausibility of this request is left to the two parties to decide but equally interesting is the Pastors Proposition for an interim government of National Reconciliation and Reconstruction, which he has proposed to head to fix Nigeria. What is his justification for this request? Lets read his position as stated in his letters:As we approach another election cycle, the prognosis for a national crisis coveys a reality of frightening proportions. We are confronted by existential threats that seek to engender the fragmentation and disintegration of our nation as a holistic entity. Nigeria has become a divided and segregated society like never before. We have become polarized by ethnicity; we have become Balkanized by religious fundamentalism. We have become fractured by political insensitivity and leadership disability.The advent of the Boko Haram insurgents and the ubiquitous Fulani herdsmen phenomenon have further exacerbated social insecurity and cast nebulous clouds over the viability of our union. The concentric arrangements of the WAZOBIA alliances have been a disaster; engendering the marginalization of the smaller ethnic units, thus, perforating the canopy of the Federalism under whose aegis we co-exist.The dream of a great Nigeria which flowered at Independence, the yearnings and aspirations of the people and the Nigerian brotherhood whose ensign dominated the political horizon at Independence has all been consigned to oblivion. The worrisome symptoms indicative of the restiveness signalling the preamble to the Civil War of the past have re-emerged in more definite configuration and now form a circadian rhythm which must be addressed immediately. We must act now to avert the manifestation of the great inevitable.Nobody can dispute the above facts as clearly stated by Rev. Okotie, especially with the rampaging Fulani herdsmen killings in some parts of the country. As never before, the polity is overheating even as 2019 seem to be looking like a hard road to travel.Former President Olusegun Obasanjos Third Force cant muster the force required to redeem the ship of state, which appears to be heading to the rocks. The political class cant hold together; no one is giving us a ray of hope. Rev Okoties proposition for an interim national government to reconcile and rebuild the nation before we go back to intense competitive politics is the way out of this conundrum. Idea like these should never be dismissed because it came from a man who thinks outside the box.Less than 200 days to the polls, the Nigerian state is obviously unsettled with no clear direction as to which way to go. Both the ruling APC and the main opposition PDP and its 30-plus alliance partners have not given us anything to consider as a viable alternative.OBJs third force is an assemblage of old tired politicians with jaded ideas. Most of the key figures in this alliance have occupied top positions in government in virtually all the administrations that have ruled this nation in recent past. They have not told us anything new. But Rev. Okoties proposition is truly revolutionary, no matter from the angle it is viewed. If given the chance to lead the country at a time like this he promised:My mandate, therefore, will be to set up an interim government which I have christened GOVERNMENT OF NATIONAL RECONCILIATION AND RECONSTRUCTION as the mechanical instrumentality for the crystallization of the new Nigeria of our dreams. It would be predicated on a new concept of Aboriginal democracy. Our current democracy has been hijacked by elitism, mysticism and Satanism.Aboriginal democracy will focus on cultural historicity, evolutional modernity and global relativity as the necessary ingredients of our evolutional political indigenisation. Under this system, the current legislature would merge with the judiciary to create a unique judicature that administers justice and shares the enactment of legislative responsibilities with the Presidency. This would save us the huge cost of running the National Assembly and obviate all the paralyzing debates that often stalled the passage of bills.The biggest challenge facing this country is our bloated overhead. Nigerians resources are being deployed to fund the civil service and pay the huge cost of running the National Assembly and the political class. If Aboriginal democracy can replace the current unproductive system of government, wed have enough money to develop the country. On this score, I cast my lot with the proposition for an interim government to really restructure our government and usher in a new dawn for Nigeria.
Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo on Friday said the Federal Government will commence the disbursement of the Basic Health Funds to states in August, next week.According to him, the Basic Healthcare Provision Fund, BHCF, was a key deliverable which the current administration must addressOsinbajo stated this at the third THISDAY Policy Dialogue on Universal Health Coverage (UHC) in Abuja.He said: For the federal government to achieve Universal Health Coverage by 2030, we designed the Saving One Million Lives Programmes for Results (SOMLPforR) as part of efforts to incentivise states to enable us reward their performance. And we appreciate those that have distinguished themselves in the provision of healthcare to their people,Considering the importance of this fund, we will commence the disbursement from August. Our administration have seen this as a key deliverable which we must address.He further urged the states to make prudent use of the fund, saying I will encourage every state to make good use of the funds. States without results will miss out in further disbursements.Vanguard reports that the federal government had in 2017 disbursed $1.5m to each state of the federation for the Saving One Million Lives Programmes for Results (SOMLPforR)Experts at the third THISDAY Policy Dialogue also pressed for more implementation of the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and private sector intervention as the best strategy to improve Nigerias healthcare system.Speaking at the event, Prof. Aliko Ahmed of Chatham House, London, United Kingdom explained that political leadership was critical in addressing the adequacies in Nigerias healthcare system.Ahmed stressed that the drive to meet the UHC target would only be possible if political leaders show more commitment to healthcare service delivery.He added that though there had been a progressive increase in the achievement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC), the talk about political leadership is a necessary factor needed to improve UHC.Ahmed maintained that the challenge confronting UHC goes beyond funding, arguing that perhaps the issue of corporate governance and leadership is also crucial as healthcare goes beyond the issue of funding.Health Specialist, Nigerian Governors Forum (NGF) Mrs Chinekwu oreh stated that the forum was committed to strengthening the primary health care system across the 36 states.Oreh stressed that the NGF are advocating for the mandatory health insurance, and are committed to state social health insurance scheme, with the need to serve as interface between the states and partners in providing adequate health care services.President Healthcare Federation of Nigeria, Clare Omatseye argued that the private sector was a strategic partner that could not be ignored by government.Omatseye added that there is no health without quality healthcare, we need collaboration, we need the private sector as a key player.The government is building ten thousand PHC across the country, but there is a disconnect between that and quality, policies are required to open up those opportunities for the private sector. The private sector is ready to work with states to change the narratives for health care.She expressed worries over Nigerias inability to use technplogy and imptove healthcare in the country.We are not use the opportunities of technology to leverage healthcare service delivery, to keep our vacxines cool, our drugs. But some people are dying not because the drugs are there, but because the wrong drugs are there.On the role of private sector, Omatseye cited the example of Lagos State, access to healthcare services had been created, including 43 PHCs in Lagos which have been taken over by private health care providers.On her part, Trina Haque of the World Bank commended the federal government on the new Basic Healthcare Fund (BHF), stating that,we are excited about what is being done with the basic healthcare fund. We are really at a transformation on healthcare, where healthcare financing is now from the federal, state and local government level.Haque called for the settibg up of a mechanism to really reduce the burden of out-of-pocket spending on low income earners.We want to congratulate Nigeria, the next step is to ensure that money reaches its target. If partners are to come in, we dont want to see different modalities been set up. We want to see a unified system and modality flowing down to the PHC, we dont want a fragmented and duplicated system.The third is that, if there is a lot of money, it has to ne accounted for, everybody has to account for this money, so that we will know where the money has gone and what its been used for.She tasked government to focus on maternal, child health, vaccination, ante-natal, pre-natal quality health care that is deliver to people who we need it.
The defection of the former governor of Kano state, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso alongside other parliamentarians, to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has been described by the governor of Kano state Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, as not being enough a reason to cause havoc to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).Ganduje made this known to newsmen on Friday, where he emphasised that the party is not scared of his exist.We are not scared by their exit. Their defection doesnt constitute any havoc to our great party, the APC, at all levels. People should keep eyes to what will happen during election.Our dear President has been doing the needful in terms of developing the nation, coupled with his efforts in efficient service delivery. Good governance at its peak. The war against corruption is successfully being waged, he added.I want you to go and study the situation on ground in Kano, his defection does not change the political mood in the state. Nobody cares to be disturbed by their action, Ganduje stated.The governor also said, when Kwankwaso was in the APC  his intention was to vie for presidency, but when it appeared to him, in black and white, that there is no vacancy in the Villa, he now decided to leave on his own.While believing that, Kwankwaso is entitled to his own political choice, Ganduje challenged him saying When he could secure a presidential ticket from the party he cross carpets, then he should wait and see how we can slug it out with him. He will fully understand how popular and loveable our President Muhammadu Buhari is.He insists that, the chances of the party in next years general election would not be affected because of Kwankwasos defection, challenging that, All chances of President Buhari, the party and our chances in Kano will not be affected because they leave the party.Kano will give more votes to our President, than what he got in 2015 election. From the 2015 election to date, those who could not vote because of age limit, are now grown up, meaning they will now be eligible to vote. Hence, Buhari stands the chance to get 5 million votes from Kano, Ganduje concludes.Assuring that Nigerians are ready to vote for APC at all levels come 2019 general election, They believe in what we are doing as a progressive party, he stated.Anwar is the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Kano state
Leader of the Kwankwasiyya movement and former Kano State Governor, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, has reacted to the comments by the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Adams Oshiomhole, berating members of the party who defected to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP.Oshiomhole had described the defectors before State House Correspondents in Abuja, as big masquerades with no electoral value in their constituencies.Kwankwaso, who was among the 14 senator that defected during the week, has asked the APC chairman to wait till 2019 to see what they could prove.However, speaking to newsmen in Abuja through one of his aides, Binta Sipikin, the senator said yesterday that Oshiomhole should not be in a hurry to test their political weight but should wait till the next general elections.Sipikin, who said her boss electoral values would speak out in 2019, said: Let me remind him on how Kwankwaso nearly emerged the APC presidential flagbearer in 2015, which clearly shows how popular Kwankwaso is.It is not a fiction that Kwankwaso in 2015 APC primaries in Lagos came second to Buhari which shows clearly in Nigerian politics he is a force to be reckoned with.She promised that Kwankwaso and his followers would surely show a political difference under the PDP, which he helped to form, Let me say clearly that by 2019, we will show to the whole world that Kwankwaso is truly a force to reckon with when it comes to Nigerian politics.
Ahead of the September 22 Osun governorship election, the traditional worshippers under the aegis of the Ancient Religion Societies of A...

Ahead of the September 22 Osun governorship election, the traditional worshippers under the aegis of the Ancient Religion Societies of African Descendants International Council (ARSADIC), have said only God could determine Governor Rauf Aregbesolas successor.He warned politicians against using violent and dubious means to get to power, saying doing so would give dire consequences.In a statement in Osogbo, the Osun State capital, ARSADIC President, Aare Sola Olalekan Atanda, charged the politicians to demonstrate high level sense of responsibility in pursuing their aspirations.Atanda, who is Asiwaju Awo Agbaye and Aare Alasa of Osogbo, warned against do or die ambition and campaign that promotes hate speeches.Let your campaign be issue-based. Engage the people in your interaction with them to know their minds. Instead of dolling out money to buy their conscience. Proof to the people that you are going into office to serve their best interest and they would submit their sovereignty to you, he advised.He also advised the electorate not to sell their votes to desperate politicians but to see beyond today and into the future with so much to benefit through good governance.According to him, it is imperative for people to demand accountability and keep the politicians on their toes at all times instead of looking for immediate pecuniary rewards.He prayed for successful governorship election and emergence of the best candidate that can serve public interest.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has claimed that the President Muhammadu Buharis presidency has become a citadel of liars where deceptive lies are churned out daily to beguile Nigerians.PDP said this while reacting a statement credited to the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Senator Ita Enang, claiming that members of the National Assembly, who defected from the All Progressives Congress, APC, have agreed to work for Buhari in the 2019 election.However, PDP, in a statement by its spokesperson, Kola Ologbondiyan while dispelling the submission as a hallucination of a failing government, said the Buhari presidency has become so  jittery over its imminent loss of the 2019 election that it now recourse to bare-faced lies and childish blackmail.PDP said, Such will not save the disintegrating All Progressives Congress (APC) from drowning.The statement said, the party maintains that those who deserted the sinking ship of APC did so in protest against the incomptences ofPresident Muhammadu Buhari, leading to the unabating killings, bloodletting and biting economic hardship across our nation in the lastthree years.We further say that the APC-led Federal Government has woefully failed to deliver on any of its promises and has nothing to showcase except a recourse to underhand tactics and intimidation of opponents and perceived enemies.Those who left the APC are therefore no longer prepared to continue living a lie that everything is okay with our nation, whereas under theleadership of President Buhari the drift towards anarchy as well as the indices of a failing state are very manifest.We, therefore, find it ludicrous that the Presidency can sit back and claim that compatriots who have seen ahead that President Buhari is taking our nation to nowhere will turn around and contemplate castingtheir votes for him in 2019.We, therefore, urge the Buhari Presidency to stop its fantasy game and be ready to confront the crushing defeat that awaits him and his party in the 2019 general elections.
Deputy Senate President, Chief Ike Ekweremadu, Friday, said the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government is persecuting him and some others because of their demand for true democracy in Nigeria.He spoke in Enugu after thousands of residents marched through the streets to show anger over the siege laid on his residence and that of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki.The crowd had marched in Enugu metropolis and terminated at Ekweremadus house where he addressed them upon his arrival from Abuja.He said the travails he had faced in recent times was over his insistence that the rule of law should prevail in the country.We need a country where court order will be obeyed. We are looking for a situation where people will be free to do their businesses anywhere in Nigeria without molestation, he said.Talking on the implication of keeping him indoors on Tuesday, Ekweremadu said that if they had succeeded in caging him and the Senate President, they would have tried to remove them.He added that the evil intent of the siege was to prevent the mass defection of the lawmakers that cross-carpeted.He spoke thus: You are aware of the removal of the Senate mace by hoodlums on the day I was presiding earlier this year.So, for my people, this is the second time this kind of assault on democracy happening. And for my people, they believe they needed to wake up and say that enough is enough.On Tuesday, my house was besieged by over 200 security personnel in just an purported attempt to deliver a letter from the EFCC. That was too many for such an exercise. I believe there was another sinister motive besides delivering the letter. So, I couldnt go to do the work my constituents sent me to do and which my colleagues elected me to do.So, I wasnt the only person affected. The constituents were also affected because the mission they sent me to do was also affected.So, when I came in this afternoon, I saw my people in their numbers. They felt they needed to demonstrate their unhappiness. And you can see it was a peaceful, there was no molestation. The solidarity march we saw this afternoon is indeed an example of how Nigerians should protest and pass across their message with maturity and without any kind of violence. We have had enough of violence. We have had enough of death; and we dont want to have it anymore.We need to peacefully have a change of this government so that Nigerians will have the full benefits of democracy. And the tenets of democracy will be all over the country. We want to see a country that is peaceful; that is united; where there is a rule of law; where there is a rule of law; no dividing line between the north and the south, between the Ijaw and the Igbo, between the Berom and Fulani. I fact, we want a country we can live in peacefully.We dont want a situation where people find it extremely difficult to go from Abuja to Kaduna. That is unacceptable. So, we are looking for a situation where Nigerians live happily and they should be conscious of the fact that there is a government that is responsible enough to protect them and ensure that the protection of their lives and property, as enshrined in the constitution, as a primary purpose of government is enthroned.We want it a country where court orders must be obeyed without any protest or people inducing it. You will believe me, this is not existing in Nigeria today.The whole world looks up Nigeria to be a leader in Africa, to show the way. That is why Mandela said that if we dont earn our respect as Nigeria, nobody would respect Africa. We cannot be leading from the back. That is why the struggle we are in now to ensure that democracy does not die is a worthy struggle.This, therefore, is an opportunity for me to advise the government that human rights must be respected; that there is justice to all; that there is fairness; and that there is equal opportunity for everyone in Nigeria. if we do that, Nigerians do not care whether you come from North or South. If you do that, Nigerians do not care where their president comes from.What Nigerians want is an environment where everybody can thrive. For the Igbos especially, who are egalitarian, who move about everywhere, what they want is an atmosphere an atmosphere where they can live in Kano, Kaduna, Maiduguri, and Sagamu and do their business and be sure no one would destroy their property or their lives. Right now, that is not in existenceWe believe that the people of Nigeria need to come together so that we enthrone order where these expectations will be met. That is what the call restructuring. We need to come back to the basic tenets of democracy and freedom that our fathers agreed on as the basic principles of government.Unfortunately, those of us, who are asking that the correct thing be done, are being hounded by the government. So, that is where we have the tragedy of the whole situation. Government must be open to advice and suggestions and must be able to dialogue. Instruments of democracy is dialogue and not force.Those who are advising the government must realise that this is a free society. Nigerians are entitled to their rights, their freedoms, they are entitled to the principles of democracy.There is no way you can continue to harass and chase and institution of government and expect peace to thrive. That is not possible.If you are ensuring that any part of Nigeria is cut off from government, we will have problem. These are little things that can be fixed. All we are asking for is for an opportunity for all of us to sit down and ask how Nigeria can be fixed.On whether he was being intimidated by the development, he said, I am 56 years old now. I have taken more than average life expectancy in Nigeria. I know it is not over, but I psychologically ready to go through this trauma. I refuse to be intimidated. I am going to the the work for which my people elected me.All I am saying is that there is no need overheating the system just because you want to bring down a system or bring down an institution or you want to bring down certain people in government. These should not be our worry because there are more challenges in the North East, in the North Central, and even in North West people are killed everyday in Zamfara State and it appears nobody is worried.The life of a Nigerians is no longer worth more than the life of a chicken. People die in their hundreds and we just shove our shoulders as if nothing has happened. It cannot in in other societies. I saw a little clip of a police dog that died in America. The dog was given a state burial.The problem with politicians is that sometimes they promise things they cannot deliver. So, they promised them that if they stopped me and the President of the Senate, they would go and remove us with their tiny number and then go ahead to begin to justify it. But this, for me, are crazy ideas, and it is not going to happen. Even if you do that and run away to stop the defection of our colleagues, one day you will resume and we will all come there and stop you from sitting, physically. So, it was such a stupid thing to think about and whoever paid for it must have wasted his money.In the last Senate, I was presiding over a situation where the current President of the Senate and his colleagues left us and the heavens didnt fall. I had a situation where one Senator Maitiam, I think in the 4th or 5th Senate, who was in All Nigerian Peoples Party, ANPP, said he was moving to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. We announced it. The next day, he came back and said he was going back to the ANPP because he discovered that the umbrella had scattered. We all laughed and he went back. But now it is like war because some people want to move.I think that the earlier we agree that this is democracy, the better for all of us. We are not in a military regime. You cans apply military tactics in a purely civilian environment.Earlier, speaking on why the people of the State came out in their numbers to demonstrate, the President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Enugu State, Chief Alex Ogbonna said, The Igbos are very patient, dynamic, persevering and tolerant set of people, but they should not be pushed to the wall. The highest person the Igbos have in government today is Senator Ike Ekweremadu, CFR and ever since he took up the office of the Deputy President of the Senate by election by his fellow senators, he has faced a lot of persecutions.In the first place, he was dragged to the court on the false allegation of forgery of Senate Standing Rule. Later on, they sent policemen to ransack his residence in May last year. The other time, they attacked him on the highway, and there have been a lot of other persecutions.We trouped out in our numbers to welcome him because we want the powers that be to know that Senator Ike Ekweremadu has a constituency. We want to let them know that when they make him unhappy, we are unhappy. We want to let them know that anything that happens to him, Igbos will not take it lightly.So, what you have seen here today is just like a sign that if anything happens to Senator Ekweremadu it will not be easy.To cordon his residence and restrict movement of any kind within his building is not the best. It is Gestapo-like. So, we have gathered, one, to give solidarity to him to let him know that we are solidly behind him, to let him know that wherever he is going we are with him, to let him know that he should continue to work hard as he had been doing to protect democracy by the way he has been doing it.He is already a strong voice not only in the National Assembly but he is the voice of Nigeria and we are in support of what he is doing in the National Assembly.
Did the collapse of the United Arab Republic between Egypt and Syria in 1961 cast a shadow across the next five decades of events, as prominent journalist Salah Montasser claims

One might agree or disagree with the eminent journalist Salah Montasser (85) on this issue or that. But what no one can deny is that throughout his extensive career he has remained independent and unaffiliated with any of the political regimes he has lived through.

From the regime of Nasser through those of Sadat and Mubarak, up to Al-Sisis today, he has followed and analysed events, but never placed his practice at their service.

Therefore, any criticism he levels at those regimes needs to be seen as detached, disinterested and emanating from his personal convictions.

Montassers recently published My Testimony on the Abdel-Nasser Era: Years of Victory and Defeat (Kitab Al-Youm series, Akhbar Al-Youm Publishing House) contains all his criticisms of the policies of President Gamal Abdel-Nasser who ruled from 1952 to his death on 27 September 1970.

The author kindly dedicated the book to me with the words, I know in advance that you will disagree with me. But I hope this does not diminish the affection in our friendship.

In fact, I would say that the realm in which our views overlap considerably exceeds the realm of divergence.

The book discussed at length the unprecedented nature of Abdel-Nassers leadership, the adoration he inspired in the masses across the length and breadth of the Arab world, and his unswerving commitment to the goals to which he dedicated his life, some of which he achieved while, according to the author, he failed to realise others.

Abdel-Nasser is famed for putting an end to 70 years of British colonial rule and nationalising the Suez Canal in 1956.

Montasser explains that although the canal was due to revert to Egypt 12 years later, which was when the franchise agreement with the British and French was due to end, that was no guarantee that the colonial powers would leave the canal of their own accord and hand over control to Egypt.

In fact, the tripartite invasion in 1956, secretly planned and carried out with Israel, was proof of the colonial powers intent to retain control over the canal.

If they were genuinely planning to leave anyway in few years time, they would not have gone to all the trouble and exorbitant expense to wage that military offensive.

But Montasser also explains that, to Egypt, the nationalisation of the canal was, above all, a battle for dignity. It was a response to the slap in the face delivered by the USs refusal to finance the Aswan High Dam project.

What increased the sting was that the US justified its refusal on the grounds that the Egyptian economy could not sustain such a mega project whereas shortly before that Washington had testified to the health of the economy and urged the World Bank to help fund it. Therefore, Montasser writes, when Abdel-Nasser announced the nationalisation of the Suez Canal on 26 July 1956, we did not sit down that day to perform profit and loss calculations on nationalisation versus the eventual reversion of the canal to Egypt after 12 years. Our calculations were based on the fact that this was a battle for dignity which outweighs all sacrifices for its sake.

As Montasser relates, Abdel-Nasser emerged victorious from the Suez War. Overnight, he was transformed from a national leader to a pan-Arab hero. He would not be eclipsed in this status for the rest of his life, in spite of the setbacks and defeats he faced during his 18 years in power.

On the other hand, Montasser takes issue with Abdel-Nassers socialist economic policies which, he argues, proved a failure in every country in which they were applied. Montasser believes that if Nasser had been fated to live longer, like other socialist leaders in the world, he would have reversed these policies just as they eventually reversed theirs.

The Committee for the Liquidation of Feudalism, which was headed by Field Marshal Abdel-Hakim Amer, also comes in for vehement criticism in the book, especially for the way it was run and the many crimes it committed.

Nevertheless, his spirit of objectivity compels him to cite the minutes of a high-level meeting in which Nasser reproached his aides for their failure to notify him promptly about the excesses committed by that committee.

As for the defeat in June 1967, Salah Montasser can find no justification for it or exempt Nasser from responsibility, even if he acknowledges that others were more directly at fault.

But he also testifies to Nassers determination to move beyond that defeat and his indefatigable drive to overcome the effects.

Nassers success in rehabilitating and rearming the Egyptian military was what would eventually enable Egypt to achieve victory in the October 1973 War, Montasser stresses, adding that the road to that victory began the moment that Nasser launched the War of Attrition with the sinking of the Israeli naval destroyer Eilat in October 1967.

The losses that accrued to Israel in the War of Attrition were so great that the US moved to intervene, dispatching Secretary of State William Rogers with a ceasefire initiative.

Although many of Montassers criticisms have been voiced by others, his Testimony explores a rarely discussed chapter in Egyptian history: the union with Syria from 1958 to 1961.

Montasser maintains that the wound that Nasser sustained from Syrian secession from the United Arab Republic in 1961 continued to bleed for years afterwards.

To it could be traced most of the crises that he would encounter until his death, which occurred on the same day of the year: 27 September. Montasser writes: The effects of the Syrian secession continued to be felt in all critical events and decisions Egypt experienced afterwards, from the Egyptian intervention in the civil war in Yemen to the decision to enter the 1967 War.

The implementation of socialist economic laws had its roots in the Syrian secession from the UAR, he argues. Moreover, according to Montasser, the effects of that event extended beyond Nassers death.

He holds that it was essentially responsible for the defeat in the battle of 14 October 1973, which created the breach in Egyptian forces in Sinai.

Montasser is also of the opinion that it was Syria that exported to Egypt the idea of introducing hereditary rule into the republican era, which was one of the causes of the 25 January Revolution.

I personally believe that the argument is forced, in this case. But there is no denying that it is an original idea, never before propounded with Montassers lucidity and thoroughness.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 26 July 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Salah Montasser

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Chinas commercial cooperation with the Arab world serves both parties economically, but the Arabs get to score a political win against Iran along the way

Chinas President Xi Jinping wrapped up his Middle East and Africa tour after visiting the United Arab Emirates, Senegal, Rwanda and South Africa. This is Xis first foreign tour since his re-election for a second presidential term in March.

Xi commenced his tour by landing in the UAE. For the past 29 years Abu Dhabi hadnt received a Chinese president.

The importance of the visit is derived from the fact that the UAE has become the first Gulf country to sign a strategic cooperation agreement with China, according to Xinhua, Chinas official state-run news agency.

In less than two decades, Beijing has become Abu Dhabis second biggest commercial partner and the first source for the UAEs imports, said WAM, the official news agency of the UAE.

Thanks to the investment-friendly laws at Jebel Ali Freezone, Dubai is the outlet for 60 per cent of Chinas exports to the Middle East, according to Reuters.

WAM reported that UAE Minister of Economy Sultan bin Said Al-Mansouri said that trade between China and the UAE has recorded a 10 per cent increase on last year, with $58 billion in 2018 and $53.5 in 2017.

The UAE is important to China, being the main source of oil consumed by Beijing. The UAE is also one of the worlds key trading hubs.

The two countries agreed to establish a new free zone at Dubai Port as part of the maritime route of the Belt and Road Initiative, also known as the Silk Road Economic Belt.

The initiative was launched in 2013 by President Xi with the aim of connecting China to the Asian, African and European markets.

Belt and Road is based on the trading routes of the Middle Ages  the Silk Road connecting China with the Islamic world and Europe, and through the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea.

According to Xinhua, eight Arab countries are party to the Belt and Road Initiative: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman.

The overland road of the initiative starts at Luoyang, north of China, and ends at Hamburg, the major city port in northern Germany.

The maritive route embarks from the Chinese coastal city of Chaozhou all the way to Rotterdam in the Netherlands, as reported on the initiatives Website affiliated to Xinhua.

The Silk Road Economic Belt, with its network of railroads and ports, may cost up to $2 trillion, according to Reuters.

At the end of Xis two-day visit to the UAE, the two parties signed 13 financial and trade agreements, including a $1.6 billion deal between the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and the China National Petroleum Corporation which allows China to conduct oil and gas exploration in an area measuring 53,000 square kilometres in the UAE.

China is the worlds biggest consumer of oil, gas and coal and the UAE is one of the top 15 exporters in these fields to the Asian economic giant.

President Xis visit to the UAE promises to be the beginning for a major Arab-Chinese economic cooperation, coming a few weeks after the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum held in Beijing in the attendance of Emir of Kuwait Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah.

The forum was established in 2004 during the visit of then president Hu Jintao to the headquarters of the Arab League.

The two events  Xis UAE visit and Kuwaits attendance at the forum  are strong indicators of Chinas utmost interest in Middle East oil wealth, which according to Arab reports will open the door wide open for more Arab-Chinese cooperation in the fields of construction and industry.

Many Chinese corportations are engaged in Arab projects, such as the business district in Egypts new administrative capital, and a Chinese industrial city in the Suez Canal Zone.

China is also participating in building dams to generate electricity in Sudan, as well as other projects in Algeria, Jordan and a number of Gulf countries.

In addition, China has decided to build its first offshore military base in Djibouti, to stand abreast with France, the UK and the US as a recognised force in the African continent.

Despite the major economic role China plays in the Arab world, it keeps a low profile when it comes to Middle East politics.

Nevertheless, China supports a number of Arab causes, such as the rights of Palestinians, and along with Russia it stands behind the Bashar Al-Assad regime in Syria.

The Arabs, however, dont want China to meddle in the Middle Easts political affairs, and they want Beijing  as well as Moscow  to separate their interests from the Arabs arch-rival, Iran.

Iran has long depended on Russia and China for support against the West. This is evident in the fact that Tehran envoys to Moscow and Beijing come from the Supreme Guides camp  the highest authority in Tehran  while Iranian envoys to Western countries come from President Hassan Rouhanis team, considered of a lesser degree of authority than those of the Supreme Guide.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE, which are the Arab worlds richest in oil production and export, have stepped in to fill the gap in world markets after the US imposed an embargo on Iran.

It looks likely Kuwaits attendance at the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum and President Xis visit to the UAE come within the same framework.

Parallel to economic cooperation with China, the Gulf is deeply engaged with Russia, especially in the field of energy and buying arms.

Looking East doesnt mean the Arabs have decided to do away with the West, the US in particular, but it is an attempt to diversify their connections, on the one hand, and to weaken Tehran by winning China and Russia over to their side, on the other.

Gulf countries are exploiting US President Donald Trumps embargo on Iran to exert more pressure on Tehran to oblige it to withdraw its influence from Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.

Along with Trumps tightening policies against Iran, Tehran has been suffering from the Grand Bazaar protests in which thousands demonstrated against the deflating economy, as well as protests in other parts of the country calling for exiting Syria and paying more attention to domestic issues.

The Gulf, Saudi Arabia and the UAE in particular, are trying to win over a Shia bloc from Iraq, Syria and Yemen to form a spearhead against Iranian religious and political influence in these three countries.

Maybe, after all, the Arab strategy to diversify its connections will ultimately lead to the weakening of the Ayatollah state and a decrease in Irans weight in the region.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 26 July 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Promising Arab-China collaboration

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Rest in Power: The Trayvon Martin Story is going to be released on Netflix on Monday, July 30, 2018. So get ready with some tissues, and maybe a stress ball, because you are going to feel all the feelings.



The series, produced by Jay-Z and Paramaount, will follow the story of Trayvon Martin, the 17-year-old high school student who was shot and killed by 28-year-old George Zimmerman, a watch captain in the suburban town of Sanford, Florida. Since the announcement of the docu-series, Zimmerman has also reportedly threatened Jay-Z, telling a local newspaper that "I would beat him as if I was Solange." He also said, "And he would find himself coming out of the south side of a gator if he comes to Florida and bothers my family."

This is Jay-Z's second documentary that talks about the injustices against African-Americans, focusing on a single character. His first was Peabody Award-winning TIME: The Kalief Browder Story, which focused on Browder, a teenager imprisoned after allegedly stealing a backpack. Browder committed suicide at 22. As PAPER has reported before, the film "features interviews with activists, Martin's parents, and archival footage of protests."

Make sure to catch this historically significant cinematic moment at 10pm on Monday.
Power is a tricky thing. Power can be strengthening. Imbuing its subject with confidence, authority, and agency. Power can also be corrupting. Warping its wielder into a sadistic tyrant. Power is fundamentally a force, exerted from one entity onto another. It creates a hierarchy of those who have power and those who do not. Power is something we aspire to posses regardless of whether it is physical, emotional, or political. It is a double-edged sword, intoxicating but not without consequences.

Berlin-based producer Lotic's debut album, Power, revolves around the concept of the title; exploring the artist's relationship to power, how they navigate existing structures of power, and forge their own. Lotic constructs of constellation of ideas playing with how power manifests in sexuality on "Hunted," the strength in perseverance on "Resilience," and vulnerability on "Heart (feat Moro)."

Sonically, Power draws from Lotic's background in deconstructed club and Berlin's musical identity folding in elements of trap, techno, and ambient electronic to create its overall profile. Industrial beats puncture rich tapestries of strings and caustic synths bristle between whispered words in an album that finds comfort in opposing forces. The album also sees Lotic's first foray into using their own voice in their work bringing in a whole new dimension of depth. Lotic's lyrical work offers a new emotional accessibility into their cerebral production work.

Power is the emergence of Lotic's voice. It is their most personal work to date and most vividly illustrates their evolution as an artist and as an individual. Power is the culmination of a vast personal growth, emerging out of a chaotic and tumultuous period of their life, that could break even the most stoic of spirits, Lotic is ready to move on.

We sat down with Lotic to talk about how the album came together:

Kasia Zacharko

What makes up your definition of Power? Lotic: Power is not brute. Power is soft. Power is love.

What idea were you playing with going into making Power? I wanted to portray strength from the perspective of marching bands and Black Lives Matter protests. That was the image that I started off with in making the album and I quickly realized that I couldn't have just 40 minutes of that. I also realized that I hadn't seen power portrayed in any other way besides that so I wanted to explore other definitions of power.

The impression that I got from the album was that its both very armored and vulnerable at the same time. Yes, that's very much me. I've always been known as the "deconstructing" person and that's not really me. The challenge was to show a different approach on the album and different side of myself as well.

"Hunted" is such a striking track, it has this sensual energy with a little bit of a venomous edge. Where did it come from?

I liked the idea of having a message about my gender expression and my experience with race but whispered - everyone loves to jump to the "why don't you just...." or the 'angry black person' stereotypes and, no, I'll tell you about MY lived experience, which obviously affects my art, myself. But since you think the messaging is aggressive, I'll whisper it!

How did you reconcile your previous more club-oriented work with some of the softer introverted pieces on Power? I found I wasn't allowing myself to go back to voice or sax or any of that stuff just focusing on rhythm which is kind of silly but now I'm glad that I have that experience and feel like I'm in a place where I can use them. I had stuff that I wanted to say, and it wasn't super deep or trying to be the best songwriter ever, but its just easier to get your message across with words. I try not to take that for granted even though as a DJ I do that and I've known that for years. I feel like that I might have had a little bit of arrogance when it came to my productions like "they're gonna get it and if they don't get it they're stupid" and its more like "no, you got to be clear about your intentions girl." I feel like there was no way that I would have been able to put this album together, I'm not sure it would have happened or made sense to me.

How did you approach putting lyrics to your productions?

i knew i wanted my voice present from the beginning. it's another way to inject myself into my work, make it unmistakably mine, and i knew it was time. i hadn't initially planned on writing full songs, but the main themes just really needed to be voiced in a way that i wouldn't have been able to without lyrics. the songs really wrote themselves, but i focused on these affirmative (and sometimes cocky) chants.

What were some of the roadblocks you faced in the process of making the album?

Pretty much every roadblock there is! Lack of resources, no studio equipment whatsoever, no stable place to live or work, dark state of mind, list goes on!

Kasia Zarchako

You talked previous about how your personal life was in chaos in the process of making this album. You were evicted from your apartment in Berlin without any notice, assaulted in a bar at one point. How did you recover from having all of that thrown at you?

I'm not sure I really have, honestly. I'm in a much more stable place now. I can begin to build a home. I can focus on me again. I suppose I always knew the album would be my way out, but then again I also kind of never thought the album would actually happen...

Now that the album is out does it feel cathartic or a relief that its done? I wouldn't say cathartic. Cathartic feels like a strong word, it feels good though. But it is nice because I am so done with it because of the state of mind I was it. I'm very proud of it but it was such a painful time its like "okay I know I have to play this live but as soon as that's done let me move on to the next thing."

Whats next then? Definitely putting the live show together. Also making the music that I wish I had had time to make for this record.

Matt Lambert

Communities and systems of support are so important for queer individuals, the track title "Distribution of Care" alone seems to address the dynamics of care being something that needs to be given and taken. What was it like finding your own circle of support and how did you nurture its growth?

I honestly didn't realize I had it until I had no choice but to rely on it. I am a very proud and independent person, so asking for help, asking for empathy or sympathy even, don't come naturally to me. I kind of give a lot and don't expect - and reject, to a certain extent - anything back. I am aware of this weakness and obviously it affects my relationships but it got to the point where if I didn't ask for that support I would literally end up on the street. Through that, I was softened immensely. I can see much clearer now what I have. And I can give more and better and I can accept that love in return, too.

Power is out now via Tri Angle Records

Cover Photo by Matt Lambert
Mr Ofori-Atta said in the mid-year budget review that Sinohydro Group Limited, is expected to provide US$2 billion of infrastructure including roads, bridges, interchanges, hospitals, housing, rural electrification, in exchange for Ghanas refined bauxite.



The house was earlier divided over the agreement. While the Majority said the facility was just a barter agreement, the Minority says it amounts to a loan that does not augur well for the economy.



Raising arguments against the motion for approval earlier, Deputy Minority Leader, James Avedzi had indicated that the terms of the agreement only pointed to the fact that it was a loan, adding that government was being untruthful.



Mr. Speaker, we have seen it before in this House under the tenure of President Kufuor where we took a loan from China to build Bui dam, where we took a loan from China to build the Atuabo gas plant. Why are we taking a loan to pay management fee, pay commitment fee and then this time, we will not make payments on both sides but it is rather a barter trade?



Earlier today [Saturday] the House also passed four tax amendments to reflect the reality of government policy as announced in the Mid-Year Budget Review.



The Bills are the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFund) Amendment Bill, The National Health Insurance Levy (NHIL) Amendment Bill, The Income Tax Amendment Bill and the Value Added Tax Amendment Bill.



A final Bill, the Luxury Vehicle Levy Bill, is expected to be passed later today [Saturday].







Source: citinewsroom.com









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There has been an increase in travel from Ghana to the United States in the last two years due to an increase in visas issued over the period, the outgoing United States Ambassador to Ghana, Mr Robert Porter Jackson has said.



He said in 2017 alone a total of 16,500 travel visas were issued to Ghanaians for study, business and tourism in the United States.



Mr Jackson added that although figures were not ready on the number of visas issued so far in 2018 he was sure that they will be more than 16,500 because applications had increased dramatically and the number of people denied visas has declined.



He said he also believed that Ghanaians immigrating to the United States would be in the vicinity of 4,000 as the number had been steady over the last few years.



Mr Jackson said these when he met some selected journalists at the United States Embassy today in a roundtable discussion on the partnership between the United States and Ghana, especially during his tenure which has ended.



He was sworn in as President Obamas new US Ambassador to the Republic of Ghana on November 30, 2015 after the US Senate had confirmed his nomination on October 22, 2015.















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Wife of late Vice President Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur is not taking things traditionally. Matilda Amissah-Arthur is angry and wants the world to know it.



On the occasion of the final funeral rites of her late husband, she looks around the large number of mourners and appears to have found among them people who should not now be saying good things about her late husband after painting him black while he lived, and as it were, gave it to them.



Mrs Matilda Amissah-Arthur, in the middle of her tribute to the fallen Vice President during a state funeral held at the Accra International Conference Centre, abandoned the sweet-coated script traditional protocol expects mourners in her situation to read.



And here is how it unfolded.



Did you know my Husband? she quipped, pouring scorn on the outpouring of condolences that had preceded her own address, for the lies and malignment dished out on her late husband.



She pointed out that she was surprised at the warm wishes of affection that she and the bereaved family had received since the passing of Mr. Amissah-Arthur.



Over the last few weeks Ive been amazed at the number of people who have come to show us love, and I ask myself is this Ghana, Are all this people in Ghana?



The Maligning, the lies, the treachery, the wickedness, the deliberately changing things to look so that we could look better than others and the mischievousness is this Ghana? she quipped.



What is traditional in Ghana is that no ill-communication is held about the dead, particularly in public.



Below is a copy of scripted Tribute by Matilda Amissah-Arthur



TO MY SOULMATE, MY BEST FRIEND, MY ROOMMATE AND MY PRAYER PARTNER

a tribute by Mrs. Matilda Amissah-Arthur



Forty years and five months we lived together. A thousand tears wont bring you back, know because I have cried. In the good times we we rejoiced and thanked the Lord. So, l have accepted this great loss and I thank God for your life and what he used you to do.



God has been good to us as a family and you always testified of Gods goodness in our lives. Every morning during our prayer time, you never ceased to thank God for His grace, mercy and favour.



You loved the Lord deeply and, whatever you did, you did it as unto the Lord. You spent time studying the Bible over and over. In recent years, you took to reading the not so popular books of the Bible and you enjoyed discussing them. During our Wednesday morning bible studies, you would come up with very deep insights to the passages we read.



Our relationship got better with age. So much so that, if the children asked one of us for advice without the other being there, often times our answers would be very similar. We shared a closeness that was a source of amusement to our friends and family. People wondered why we were always chit chatting when we went out to functions and even at church. Our children laughed at us often, remarking that, even at public functions, our heads were often together.



I will miss your great sense of humour -you could tease like nobodys business. With most people who knew you well, there is some story or some inside joke to share.



You were the life and soul of my book launch on Wednesday June, 27, 2018. As soon as you arrived at the venue, you began mingling and chatting with our guests. During the programme, you kept teasing me about how I had waited till my old age before writing a book.



At the reception after the launch you took photographs with anyone who asked, even though it is well known that you did not like taking photographs. When I asked that we go home, you were busily engaged in some banter with old friends and you asked me to go ahead, saying that you would follow shortly. You were one of the last to leave.



Many times you said that you did not go into politics, but that politics found you. As a technocrat, you took your work seriously and discharged your duties as best as you could. We discussed how we could get people to think about Ghana first, stop being partisan and also give back to society. Above all you proved to all that one could be a Christian and rise to the highest position without soiling ones hands. I will always remember how, at Apostle Jude Hamas book launch in May, you encouraged Christians to get into politics to help shape our country.



You were so many things to so many people, constantly giving selflessly to others. lf we needed a reminder of this, we have it in the outpouring of love shown us since June, 29, 2018.



People from all walks of life have come to visit and sympathise with us.



The way you were called by the Lord is befitting of how you conducted yourself in life quietly, privately, and without any fuss. You left your mark a simple, honest, principled, hardworking man of integrity. I am very proud of you. I know that in life you touched so many people, so I pray that your memory will also impact and empower generations.



As my heart bleeds, I am comforted by knowing that you finished your work on this earth and the Lord called you home to rest in glory. So, with Andrae Crouch, I say:



"I have had many tears and sorrows,



Ive had questions for tomorrow,



There's been times I didnt know right from wrong.



But in every situation, God gave me blessed consolation,



That my trials come only to make me strong.



Through it all, through it all,



Ive learned to trust in Jesus,



I've learned to trust in God.



Through it all, through it all,



Ive learned to depend upon His Word."



You are so wonderful to think of, and so ha to be without.



My dearest, we will surely meet again on Lord's side.

Source: Graphic.com.gh









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The Ghana Footwear Manufacturers Association has petitioned the government to come clear on its policy on the local footwear manufacturing industry.



We have been neglected for far too long as one of the nations most lucrative industries which employs more than 300,000 people along the value chain, Mr Addo Kuffour, Spokesperson and an Executive Member of the Association, said.



Addressing a meeting of the Association at the Jubilee Park, Kumasi, he explained that the local footwear industry which served the needs of countries in the West African sub-Region, including Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Cote dIvoire, Togo and Cameroun had taken a considerable nosedive.



We are no longer able to compete with the influx of imported and inferior products on the Ghanaian market, and this is a worry to all stakeholders, he noted, adding that this called for prompt intervention on the part of government to save the situation.



The Association, amongst others, is advocating the promulgation of comprehensive policies and regulations to revamp the industry.



They are proposing the setting up of a local footwear enclave with state-of-the-art facilities, creation of ready market for local products and certification of manufacturers in order to streamline their activities.



Additionally, the footwear makers are asking the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MoTI), to partner the National Board for Small Industries (NBSSI) and related agencies to roll out comprehensive training regime to build the capacity of footwear manufacturers for efficient work.



Mr Kuffour said if possible, the government should also issue a fiat to ban temporarily the importation of foreign footwear products for the benefit of the local industry.



Mr Kwame Buor, Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Association for Small-Scale Industries (ASSI), disclosed that the leadership was collaborating with the National Vocational Training Institute (NVTI) to train and award certificates to footwear manufacturers.



They had also contacted the Council for Technical and Vocational Education and Training (COTVET) to come to their aid, since contemporary footwear manufacturing had become knowledge-based.



The programme, which was to discuss challenges and the future of the footwear industry saw presentations by various resource persons of the ASSI, including Messrs Sampson Omane-Yeboah, Kwaku Duah, Mensah Bonsu and Kwabena Tinkorang.

Source: GNA









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The government is to establish a joint Tree and Industrial Crop Development Authority (TICDA) to regulate the buying and marketing of cash crops such as Cashew, Rubber, Oil Palm, Shea nut and others, beside Cocoa.



This move is in response to the incessant appeal on government to set up a Board like the Ghana Cocoa Board for Cashew for its price regulation, stability and other factors.



But a broad experts consultation by government has advised that an exclusive Board for Cashew is not the best since that would imply that there must be separate Boards for the other Tress and Cash Crops in the country.



Mr. Kennedy Osei Nyarko, a Deputy Minister of Agriculture said in an interview with Journalists after the opening of the second session of the Fifth Edition of the Master Training Programme (MTP) on Cashew Value Chain Promotion in Africa in Sunyani.



The programme organised by the Competitive Cashew (ComCashew) initiative in partnership with African Cashew Alliance (ACA) and support from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture (MoFA) and the Cocoa Research Institute of Ghana (CRIG) spanned Monday, July 23 to Friday July 27.



It was aimed at increasing the theoretical knowledge and practical skills of African Cashew Experts along the value chain and thus further promoted the competitiveness of the African Cashew sector and also focused on the development of improved planting material and Cashew pest and disease management.



Participants were 72 Cashew experts from 11 countries-Ghana, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cote dIvoire, Guinea Bissau, Mali, Mozambique, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Zambia to share knowledge, discuss best practices and lessons learnt as well as build national and regional networks for future collaboration.



Mr Nyarko said that Authority would be private sector-led with no government interference as the Board members and its Chair would even be proposed by the industry players.



In response to a question, he said as a private sector industry, the future of the Cashew industry was bright in Africa, citing that significantly its production in Ghana would be tremendously enhanced because of the governments joint Board, the TICDA policy initiative which had the flexibility for the best case scenario to get the respective industries to progress.

Source: GNA









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The Ghana Medical Association has threatened to withdraw outpatient services at public facilities from Monday, August 6, 2018 if the government fails to honour outstanding emoluments due doctors within a one-week window.



The Association says its members in the public sector would then withdraw all emergency services from August 20 if their demands are unheeded.



They have further threatened to withdraw all services rendered by medical doctors in the public sector from Monday, August 27 if the issues were not resolved by the time.



Addressing a news conference at Jirapa in the Upper West Region at their 4th National Executive Council Meeting, president of the Association, Dr Frank Ankobea, said the GMA will continue to give updates to its members and the general public on any development.



Dr Ankobea said the GMA had earlier in November 2017 given government up to the end of April 2018 to honour its obligation towards members of the Association as occasioned by a compulsory arbitration award by the National Labour Commission.



The outstanding debts owed by government towards members of the Association have been occasioned by doctors having suffered reduced pensions following migration onto the Single Spine Pay Policy, with the conversion difference unpaid since December 2011, Dr Ankobea said.



Dr Ankobea said: It is worth noting that government (through the Ministry of Health) did not engage GMA until a week to the expiration of the deadline, and only requested that the GMA grant a window period up to the end of May to get the matters resolved.



Dr Ankobea said the GMA even extended the grace period government requested to the end of June 2018.



He said it was disheartening that despite all these extensions, government has been lackadaisical in bringing closure to the outstanding issues.



Dr Ankobea's address was contained in a communique issued by the Association as it ended events of its 60th anniversary celebrations.

Source: Graphic.com









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The management of Midland Savings and Loans Company Limited has compensated Patience Osafo, the lady who was assaulted by a police officer, with a brand new house and an undisclosed amount of cash.



The worries of the woman who previously sells toffee on the streets to feed herself, her daughter and her grandchild, is now deciding what dignified trade to invest her new fortune in.



The intervention by Midland, which has been described by lawyers of the 36-year-old lady as generous, is to avoid a civil suit against the financial institution for the punches, trauma and embarrassment she suffered following the assault she went through at the hands of Lance Corporal Frederick Amanor Skalla.



A video of the policeman in an altercation with the woman, Patience Osafo, 36 at the Shiashie branch of Midland Savings and Loans Limited, sent outrage across social and mainstream media.



In the video, the policeman is seen using an umbrella to hit the woman, who is carrying her two-month-old baby.



The policeman then hit her with his hand and dragged her on the floor. The woman wailed bitterly while she went through her ordeal at the financial institution.



The victim had vented her frustration at the staff of the savings and loans company where she had gone to withdraw her GHS 250.00 that she had with them.



The Midland staff told Patience she could not withdraw due to network challenges.



She then asked them to allow her to withdraw just GHS 105.00 to pay her debtors and get some food for her grandchild but instead, staff the company asked the police officer to drive her out.



Well, to avoid a civil suit against Midlands Savings and in compensation for the punches, trauma and embarrassment, we just closed a rather generous deal that removes her from the kiosk to owning a brand new house and from the streets hawking toffee to a woman now with multiple bank accounts, her lawyer, Samson Lardi Anyenini announced Saturday.



Yes, her worries no longer include how to feed her family and provide healthcare for the two months old baby. Her 270-Cedis savings account now holds a six-figure sum, Samson added while reading Samsons Take on Newsfile on Joy News TV.



Patience Osafo is certainly overflowing with gratitude for the opportunity of a dignified life for herself and dependants.



VIDEO-

Source: myjoyonline.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 wife of the late former Vice-President, Mrs Matilda Amissah-Arthur, defied the usual Ghanaian culture of calmness at funeral grounds, especially as a widow, to hit hard at critics of her husband.



In an emotional tribute to her husband, whom she described as a rare gem, at the about three-hour funeral service held in his honour at the Accra International Conference Centre, she said her husband was not given the opportunity to prove himself to Ghanaians.



With a tinge of anger in her voice, Mrs Amissah-Arthur, while reading the tribute, which she had titled, To my soul mate, my best friend, my roommate and my prayer partner, said she was amazed in the last few weeks, following her husband's death, at the show of affection from the public.



Lies



I ask myself is this Ghana? Are all these people in Ghana? she asked and explained her shock that her husband's public life was met with maligning, false accusations, treachery, the deliberate change of things to make others look good; lies, wickedness and false accusations.



She said she had been forced to ask herself if it was her husband that people had come to pay tribute to and wondered whether people really knew him and took time to know him?



In the touching tribute, Mrs Amissah-Arthur, whose son, Kwesi Nyan, was seen trying to probably comfort his mother and impress upon her to tone down, rather poured her heart out to Ghanaians.



She said she was happy that those who cared to know him gave him the opportunity to prove his good nature, an attribute which resonated in the tributes of her husband as a humble, hardworking, time-conscious, man of integrity and one who loved to serve his country.



My dearest, me and your children and grandchildren knew who you were. You were a rare gem and we treasure you. You made your mark in this country and beyond. Your memory will impact on generations.



Life together



Mrs Amissah-Arthur recounted that she had lived together with her husband for 40 years and five months but thousand tears wont bring you back, l know because I have cried, she said.



In a sermon after the tributes, the Presiding Bishop of the Methodist Church, the Most Rev. Titus Kofi Awotwi-Pratt, eulogised the selfless lifestyle of the late Vice-President and blamed African leaders for the woes of the continent.



"The shame of it is that, despite the long years of being politically self-determining, the greed and shameful practices of some unpatriotic African leaders have kept us impoverished in the midst of plenty.





"When they are drawing up their budgets, they go cap in hand begging and when the money is brought, they share and loot to themselves," he said.



He said if that money was properly applied, "we would have had more classrooms for what is yet to be introduced now in this country".



Politics



The Most Rev. Awotwe-Pratt described Amissah Arthur as a fine gentleman who never stole state money, saying the type of politics he knew and played was the politics of respecting others' views, which encompassed all.



"The type of politics that he knew and played was politics of respecting each others views, politics of behaving and that we are educated and cultured; politics that we are human beings that are higher than animals, politics that means well and good, politics that praises God, politics that is great and stands firm even in the face of challenges, " he stated.





He added that the former Vice-President, whom he described as a fine gentleman, "will never die, he will live on".



Homosexuality



On homosexuality, the Most Rev. Awotwe-Pratt expressed concern over attempts to impose same sex on Africa and blamed it on African leaders who submitted them to the Western World because of selfish personal gains.



He underscored the importance of the family and the union between man and woman as God's institution.



The Most Rev. Awotwi-Pratt charged religious bodies to check the seeming threat of emerging alternative sexual orientation seeking to "dilute our social norms".



The Presiding Bishop, therefore, charged African leaders to rise up and kick against any attempt to impose a sexual orientation which was an affront to the African society.



"May the leaders of Africa rise up and love their nations. May our politicians and those who go into politics never say that I am going in there to make wealth, but to serve," he stated.





Source: Daily Graphic









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Veteran journalist, Abdul-Malik Kwaku Baako, wants government to concede that it did not properly brief parents on the difficulties associated with its flagship education policy, the free Senior High School (SHS) programme.



The Editor-in-Chief of the New Crusading Guide newspaper says, had parents been made aware of funding and logistical challenges weighing down the effective implementation of the policy, the controversy that has been generated by the roll-out of the programme would not have cropped up.



Speaking Saturday on Joy FM/MultiTV news analysis programme, Newsfile, Kwaku Baako said despite the current challenges, he still backs government on the education policy that aims at removing the financial barriers to access to secondary education.



The points about parents not being fully made awareI am prepared to concede that there might have been a gap in terms of making them understand what the issues were about and what the pressures and challenges would be relative to their children. Perhaps we must concede to that, he said.



His comments follow suggestions that in the face of funding challenges, government should allow parents who are able and willing to pay for their wards education.



Well-read economists, and Presidents own Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, are among proponents of the position to allow some parents to support government.



The government will spend GHS453 million ($103million) of the countrys oil revenue to fund the free senior high school programme in 2018. The amount is more than twice the figure it spent on the programme last year, some GHS198 million ($45million).



Free SHS challenges



The implementation of governments campaign promise in the heat of the 2016 elections to make senior high school education free for all Ghanaians has been battling funding, infrastructural and logistical challenges.



The programme is being impeded by inadequate classroom block and accommodation at many public schools due to huge enrolment figures.



Last year, for instance, first year free SHS beneficiaries at the Vitting SHS and Kalipohini SHS had to sleep to in the open due to lack of space, exposing them to attacks from both reptiles and robbers.



The recent controversy about the policy has been generated by plans to institute a dual-track semester system to deal with ballooning enrollment figures.



The system, set to begin in September this year, divides the entire student body and staff into two different tracks. So while one track is in school, the other is on vacation.



The rotation sequence will depend on the year-round calendar being used. In Ghana, the school calendar starts from September and ends in April with three different terms. The first term is from September to December, the second term starts in January and ends in April while the third term is from April/May to July.



Furthermore, every semester will be 80 days for the two tracks. For one semester, every track will be in school for 40 days then go for a break for 40 days. Teacher motivation has been increased from 20 hours for the year to 70 hours for the year. Teachers will be increased so every group goes on break with the track they teach.



Wrong timing



Despite governments justification that the double-track system is meant to reduce pressure on infrastructure and admit more students in the short-term, some educationists and the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) see the new initiative as a testament to poor planning by government and a sign that quality education will be sacrificed.



The Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, recently proposed that in a bid to deal with the funding challenges of the free SHS programme, the government must begin to discriminate on the Free SHS programme, suggesting that parents who can afford to pay the fees of their wards should be made to pay.



Many have interpreted the Finance Minister's proposal as a signal that the free SHS budget is unbearable and the Ken Ofori-Atta, having a deeper knowledge of the country's finances has compelled to make the suggestion candidly.



The Education Ministry has since renounced the proposal, stating categorically that the policy will remain free across board.



Speaking on Newsfile, Abdul-Malik Kwaku Baako said the Finance Minister chose a wrong time to make the suggestion that parents should be involved in dealing with funding challenges.



"He [Finance Minister] is not the government. The President is the government. He [Minister] can be reshuffled tomorrow and there will be a new Finance Minister," Mr Baako reminded the Finance Minister.





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Because of this, there is a suggestion she does not qualify to be appointed as the head of the Electoral Commission, since she cannot be a neutral arbiter.



But reacting to the suggestion on Joy FMs news analysis programme, Newsfile, on Saturday, Mr Kweku Baako said: Jean Mensa, I have done some few [sic] checks, is not the sister-in-law of Akufo-Addo.



She is also not the niece of Rebecca Akufo-Addo. Her mother was also not the niece of Rebecca Akufo-Addos father, full stop, that is what it is. These are the facts, the senior journalist said.



Mr Baako said the speculation was started by former deputy Minister, Murtala Mohammed on Facebook and a newspaper picked it up.



Mr Baako has expressed disagreement with the manner and the processes under which the petition for Mrs Charlotte Osei's removal was handled by the committee and the subsequent recommendation for removal on grounds of stated misbehaviour and incompetence.



Even though he has said President Akufo-Addo did no wrong acting on the recommendations, Mr Baako has subsequently proceeded to court challenging the removal.



The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has protested Jean Mensa's nomination and hinted of a press conference to provide evidence on why they think she cannot be neutral if appointed as EC chair.



Already some leading members of the NDC, including the General Secretary, Johnson Asiedu Nketia and his deputy, Koku Anyidoho as well as Director of Elections Samuel Ofosu Ampofo have all said their interactions with Jean Mensa as head of IEA have pointed to the fact that she has sympathies for the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP) and dislikes the opposition NDC.



In terms of competence, none of them has challenged her competence for the job except to say she was politically tainted in favour of the NPP more than the NDC.



They have also argued that President Akufo-Addo promised to do a wider consultation before the nomination but the NDC was never consulted.



Baako defends Jean Mensas nomination



Commenting on the development however, Mr Baako said there was no problem with Jean Mensa's nomination as well as the processes leading to the nomination.



Mr Baako said, he has looked at the constitution very well, relative to the Act on the appointment and eligibility of an EC chair, and he found none of the things the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) has raised objecting to her nomination.



Im saying Im looking at, on what basis do we appoint Electoral Commissioners and their deputies and their members. There is an enabling Actotherwise some of these things were also said about Charlotte [Osei], that, she is too temperamental, those things mean nothing relative to the core legislation and the basis on which the appointment is taking place."



"I still stand by that position, I checked the constitution and I didnt find that, I checked the Act, and I didnt find that, yes so what are you talking about, but there is no human being around there that we wont have something against, if we are talking of character and personal human relations and aggregate them, we should consider that?" he questioned.



Baako argued that when Charlotte Osei was appointed, some NPP members made a similar argument.



When he was interjected by co-panellist on the show, Mr Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa on whether or not "bias was not important" in the consideration for an EC chair and questioned whether Freddie Blay [chairman of governing NPP] could be appointed as EC chair, Mr Baako said when the NDC is cornered relative to the principles, the premises that the law allows, then they bring in an absurdity, and declined to respond to that



He said because she [Jean Mensa] had a problem with the NDC in one or two or three instances and yet they continued to colloborate with her, "you did some many things together, the great Prof Mills had the occasion in Parliament in 2009 and [2010] State of Nation address to highlight the role of the IEA and what it had done to our democratic consolidation under her [Jean Mensa] stewardship.



Baako argued that when he does a balance sheet of the negatives and positives, many of her initiatives in charge of affairs at IEA are in the positives.



Responding to the clarification by deputy Chief of Staff, Samuel Abu Jinapor that President Akufo-Addo never considered or approach Prof Henrietta Mensah Bonsu as a replacement Charlotte Osei, Kweku Baako said: I believe what Abu is saying.





He has been very direct, very categorical on a public platform, so Im going along with him. Im sure if Madam Henrietta Mensah Bonsu has to also complement it, she may do so. She is somebody I have huge respect for, womanof impeccable integrity.







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Telecom regulators have ordered Charter Communications to unwind its 2016 merger with Time Warner Cable in New York, revoking the combined company's permission to operate in the state in a decision published Friday.

The order from the New York Public Service Commission accuses Charter of "persistent actions demonstrating bad faith," claiming that the company has repeatedly failed to live up to promises it made during the merger approval process to connect more New Yorkers to high-speed internet.

The decision cuts against a broader nationwide trend of consolidation in the telecom and media industries, although it is limited to New York state and does not cover the more than 40 other states in which Charter does business, including Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The combined Charter-Time Warner Cable operation is the second-largest cable company in the country.

Under the order, Charter has 60 days to come up with a "transition" plan complying with the commission's decision. But the order contains few specifics, and the company could still seek to challenge it in court.

Charter had agreed to bring its broadband network to 145,000 unserved or underserved homes in New York as a condition of its acquisition of Time Warner Cable. But, the commission said, Charter soon missed its first deadline to expand its network to an additional 36,250 homes by May 2017.

Charter agreed to a series of revised targets with regulators. But when it provided its next update in December, commission officials said Charter did not deserve credit for more than 18,000 households it said it had connected, in part because many of them appeared to be located in New York City and not a hard-to-reach, less densely populated area.

Charter objected, saying that the commission was seeking to add new requirements the company had never agreed to and that the effort to disqualify the homes was groundless.

In a statement Friday, Charter  which offers service in New York state as Spectrum  implied that the commission's order may have been politically motivated. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has not shied away from criticizing Charter for its delays; in May, he foreshadowed regulators' decision by saying the public service commission had initiated "legal action" against the company. Cuomo faces off against challenger Cynthia Nixon in the Sept. 13 Democratic gubernatorial primary.

"In the weeks leading up to an election, rhetoric often becomes politically charged," Charter said in its statement. "But the fact is that Spectrum has extended the reach of our advanced broadband network to more than 86,000 New York homes and businesses since our merger agreement with the PSC. Our 11,000 diverse and locally based workers, who serve millions of customers in the state every day, remain focused on delivering faster and better broadband to more New Yorkers, as we promised."
3 Discard the outer two sheets of paper, and erase the unneeded guidelines. Notice the thin strips of color added to the top of the books. This is the back cover of each book. The pages of the books are a light color with a slight indication of pages (brown lines). We have also added [] Read more

Using perspective will make your drawings look more realistic by making objects recede into space. It looks hard, but if you follow these directions you can do it!

But first, here's some 2-point perspective vocabulary that will come in handy:

The vanishing point is the point on the horizon where parallel lines meet and disappear.

The vantage point is where the viewer enters the picture. In our drawing, the viewer is looking down at the books.

We'll use three sheets of paper. Our finished drawing will be on the center sheet. The other two sheets will help us draw important guidelines.

The reason for using the extra sheets of paper is to allow our vanishing points to be farther apart, which will reduce distortion. A good explanation of why this is so can be found by Googling "cone of vision."

Follow the directions below to draw some books using 2-point perspective, and you'll have a chance to see your artwork published in the Philadelphia Inquirer and Daily News on Sept. 1, 2018. Details for submission are below. Happy drawing! We'll post another art lesson next week.

How to submit your artwork

Children are invited to send or email copies of their work to us at the address or the email below. Phone pictures are fine. One drawing weekly will be selected for publication on Sept. 1 and the selected artists will receive a prize.

Be sure to include your name, age, mailing address, and email or phone number.

Send to:

Arts Editor Becky Batcha

Philadelphia Inquirer

801 Market St.

Phila., PA 19107

Email: batchab@phillynews.com
A man from the Camden Public Works Dept (left) tells residents Karen Williams and Robert Shaffer that Public Works will be back the next morning to board up 1303 Browning St. (on right) on July 26, 2018. Browning Street residents are waiting for Camden officials to clean up a mess left at an abandoned house where dogs  dead and alive  were removed earlier this month. So bad were conditions in the house, that the Post Office suspended delivery after a letter carrier was bitten by fleas. It's an usual step for the Postal Service that is citing a health concern. ELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff Photographer Read more

For weeks, residents of one Camden street have had their mail delivered not to their homes, but to boxes at the end of the street. The reason? Fleas.

A severe flea infestation in the 1300 block of Browning Street stopped letter carriers in their tracks and led the post office to make the unusual decision to suspend door-to-door mail delivery in the city's blighted Whitman Park neighborhood.

Residents said they complained for months to city officials about the house at 1303 Browning St., where they said several pit bulls were abandoned, a pipe was leaking, and bugs were out of control. They sought help from the county and beyond. One neighbor, Karen Williams, said she went as far as calling the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  to no avail.

In mid June, animal control officers, responding to neighbors' complaints about the dogs, went to the house to investigate. As the officers approached the two-story gray stone rowhouse, they found flies swarming, according to a June 20 incident report. Neighbors said the dogs had been whimpering because they had no food or water, nor anyone to care for them. The animal welfare officers said they found a dead dog and five others with severe wounds and malnutrition in rooms covered with urine and feces  and swarming fleas. The dogs were taken to Blackwood Animal Hospital for evaluation and treatment.

"They were nothing but bones," said Robert Shaffer, who lives across the street and saw two adult dogs and some pups removed from the house. Shaffer and other neighbors said they repeatedly complained to city officials, who initially failed to address the flea infestation  a health concern that grew so serious that the government suspended door-to-door mail delivery.

In late June, the city hired an exterminator to treat the property.

"I closed that day because of the fleas," said Thomas Valdez, who owns the food mart next to the abandoned rowhouse. In addition to the fleas, he said, water leaking from the building damaged his store. Large portions of his wall had to be taken down to the lath and plaster and replaced. Basement joists are growing mold and rotting. The fleas only made things worse, said Valdez and his neighbors.

"They have to get inside that house and clean it and close it," he said.

This week, city officials moved to do just that. On Thursday, after the Inquirer and Daily News began asking questions about the condition of the property, an official from the city Department of Public Works arrived on the block for an inspection, and on Friday morning, the city boarded up the house.

"The city is taking responsibility for the property," said Camden city spokesman Vincent Basara.

According to the animal control reports, officers cited Russell Walker, who neighbors said lived in the house, for failing to care for the dogs, failing to properly license and spay or neuter them, and failing to maintain the property in a sanitary manner. Efforts to reach Walker were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, the flea problem lingered, neighbors said. It got so bad that the post office suspended door-to-door mail delivery July 11.

Ray Daiutolo Sr., a spokesman for the U.S. Postal Service, said that decision was not made lightly, but was necessary because of health concerns. A former carrier who has spent 32 years with the Postal Service, Daiutolo said this was the first time he could recall a flea infestation so serious that it interfered with mail delivery. Locked boxes were placed at the end of the block so residents could get their mail. Home delivery will resume, he said, when Camden officials send a letter advising that the fleas are gone.

Neighbors are growing weary of the wait.

"The city is taking its sweet old time," Shaffer said in an interview earlier this week as he stood with his neighbors near the abandoned rowhouse. A lifelong Camden resident, Shaffer said he has talked to local officials "for years" about the house and other blighted properties on the block.

For decades, the house has been owned by Charles Thomas, who bought it in 1978 for $13,500, property records show. In time, he and his wife, Wanda, now in their 90s, fell behind on their mortgage, records show. Efforts to reach the couple were unsuccessful.

In 2002, delinquent utility bills forced a tax sale, and Ocwen Loan Servicing LLC paid $1,100 to settle those bills and become the holder of the property. Ocwen, in turn, allowed bills to go unpaid, and at another tax sale, in 2016, US Bank & Sterling National replaced Ocwen as holder of the property, records show. Sterling officials were not immediately available for comment.

The Thomases, meanwhile, moved out years ago. For a time, neighbors said, a woman lived there with her grown children, but she fell ill and moved out. Those who stayed behind bred dogs and destroyed the property, neighbors said.

Inside the trash-strewn house on a recent day, vintage furniture and artwork stood as a reminder of what the house once was.

Basara said the city had been in touch with the bank about the condition of the house and had sent a letter advising that the property had to be cleaned and boarded up.

The inside of 1303 Browning St. remains littered with old furniture and garbage.

Generally, Basara said, owners have 30 days to clean and secure a property once it is cited for a code violation. In this case, Basara said, he was unsure what steps the city took to try to force the bank to act before the city boarded up the house this week.

The flea-infested house is not the only eyesore on the street. At least seven other properties sit abandoned and boarded up on that block, some by the city's Department of Public Works. An abandoned sedan remains curbside across from 1303 Browning, its tires flat. Some of the properties have been boarded up so long that weeds have grown into trees and the houses are barely visible from the street.

Neighbors have grown accustomed to the surroundings, but the lack of mail delivery has rankled them. Williams said she would like to see delivery restored. The block is home to some frail and elderly residents who either can't collect their own mail, or have a difficult time making their way to the boxes at the end of the street, she said. And for others, it is an inconvenience.

"Some people work and don't get home until after dark," Williams said. "They should not have to go down the street at night. It's not safe."
The home of Daniel Burnside in Ulysses, Pennsylvania, displays Nazi and other white-supremacist symbology. NSM stands for the National Socialist Movement. The slogan "Free Tommy Robinson" refers to a British far-right figure jailed by a British judge in May for contempt of court. Read more

ULYSSES, Pa.  The traffic sign that greets visitors on the south side of Ulysses, a tiny town in rural far north-central Pennsylvania, is suitably quaint  a silhouette of a horse-drawn cart reminding drivers that the Amish use the roads, too. But on the north side of town, along the main thoroughfare, is a far different display: a home dedicated to Adolf Hitler, where star-spangled banners and Nazi flags flutter side by side and wooden swastikas stand on poles.

White supremacy has had a continuous presence in Ulysses and surrounding Potter County since the Ku Klux Klan arrived a century ago, giving the town  with a population today of about 650  improbable national significance. In the mid-2000s, it hosted the World Aryan Congress, a gathering of neo-Nazis, skinheads and Klan members.

This year, after a sting operation, federal prosecutors charged six members of an Aryan Strike Force cell with weapons and drug offenses, contending that they had plotted a suicide attack at an anti-racist protest. A terminally ill member was willing to hide a bomb in his oxygen tank and blow himself up, prosecutors said. The group had met and conducted weapons training in Ulysses.

Neo-Nazis and their opponents here say that white extremists have grown more confident  and confrontational  since the rise of Donald Trump. Two months before the 2016 presidential election, the KKK established a "24 hour Klan Line" and sent goody bags containing lollipops and fliers to hundreds of homes. "You can sleep tonight knowing the Klan is awake," the message read. A regional newspaper ran Klan advertisements saying, "God bless the KKK."

Local police said the group had not openly recruited in years.

Two weeks later, the area's two neo-Nazi groups, the National Socialist Movement and Aryan Strike Force, held a "white unity meeting" in Ulysses to discuss their response to Trump and plan joint action. One organizer would not say when the groups had last met, simply commenting: "It's just a good time."

Potter County is staunchly Republican and has voted Democratic once since 1888; Trump received 80 percent of the vote, tying with Herbert Hoover for the highest percentage won.

"I can tell you with certainty that since November 2016, activity has doubled, whether it's feet on the street or money orders or people helping out," said Daniel Burnside, 43, a woodcarver who owns the Nazi-themed home and directs the state chapter of the National Socialist Movement, a far-right group that was founded in Detroit in the mid-1970s. It has a presence in many states, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist groups, and the NSM was among the groups taking part in the violent August 2017 rally in defense of Confederate statues in Charlottesville.

"We have meetings every 30 days," he said. " There's more collaboration."

Burnside, who declined to say how many local residents were involved in his group, was born in Ulysses and raised there by a grandfather who he said was a Nazi sympathizer who fought in the U.S. Army in Europe during World War II. Burnside said his beloved grandfather drank himself to death because of the war's impact on him.

The younger Burnside said he joined NSM four years ago but has long harbored anti-Semitic views and is a practicing Odinist  the pagan religion Odinism is popular among some neo-Nazis. Burnside does not see Trump as a leader of the NSM cause but as a politician who amplified long-standing white-nationalist views at the right time.

"Personally, I don't know about Trump," he said. "You won't necessarily see MAGA hats at an NSM meeting. We're anti-Semitic. Something's off about Trump with the Jews. That said, we're strategically aligned. When Trump says something that aligns with us  close the borders, build the wall, look after your own  that's good: We've been saying this for 25 years, but he has made it mainstream."

"We're still a white nation, and I respect that he supports that,' Burnside added. "He's also highlighted social problems. The kids who go to bed hungry, people who can't pay their bills, the damage being done to society."

Joe Leschner, 38, a white restaurant manager, fled the county this year because of what he said was abuse aimed at him and his wife, Sashena, who is black, after Trump's election.

After he discovered a KKK leaflet outside their home, Leschner organized an anti-racism gathering in Ulysses. "And these guys drove by us and gave the gun signal, like they're gonna shoot us," he said.

One of those who Leschner said made a pistol gesture had previously been jailed for 10 years for an aggravated assault on a black man. This year he was convicted of possession of firearms he was not legally allowed to own and intent to sell drugs.

Photographs of the Leschners were circulated on VK, a Russian-run social media site, with users posting death threats, he said.

"A guy came up to us in a restaurant and said, 'You have got to be kidding me.' I wanted to say something, but just couldn't. This was where I grew up, at the restaurant where I got my first job. My wife was almost in tears," he recalled.

"We had to leave," said Leschner, who now runs a restaurant in Frederick, Maryland. "Most people aren't racist, but there are enough that are and enough who let it happen."

Kathleen Blee, a University of Pittsburgh sociology professor and expert on white extremism, said Ulysses came to be a nexus of such thinking as like-minded residents gravitated to one another.

"Modern white extremism is different to the KKK in the 1920s or Nazi Germany in that it is exclusively produced through small networks. It is not a mass movement," she said. "It's just one person recruiting another. Somebody knowing somebody. . . . You get an extremist in an area, they attract other extremists."

Ulysses' most famous resident may have been August Kreis III, 63, a neo-Nazi from New Jersey who moved to town in the 1990s and left about 10 years ago. Kreis made Ulysses the national headquarters of the Aryan Nations group and organized events such as the Aryan World Congress. In 2015, he was sentenced to 50 years in prison on a child-molestation conviction.

Pennsylvania has 36 racial hate groups, more than Alabama, Arkansas or Kansas, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

"This area is well known for white supremacy. It's got a rich history and the right conditions to thrive," said Heidi Beirich of the SPLC. "It's as significant as many areas in the South usually associated with white supremacy."

Rural Appalachia, which includes Ulysses's Potter County, has a wary attitude to outside forces  especially the state  that is often cited as a reason that anti-government militia groups and white extremists have prospered here. "There is also an extreme mind-your-own business approach and a belief in individual rights," Blee said.

Months before the Leschners fled the area, another controversy erupted after a sheriff's deputy from a neighboring county entered Burnside's front yard and confiscated a Nazi flag. Burnside called his local police force, demanding that the deputy return the flag and record a video apology. When that did not happen, he went to state police and pursued a theft case. The 23-year-old deputy was forced to return the flag and pay damages. Local police confirmed that he was suspended and left his position shortly after the trial's conclusion.

Many locals suggested that they were more upset by the deputy's actions than by the neo-Nazism. One man, an Army veteran who spoke on the condition of anonymity out of fear of being branded a racist, said there was no comparison between World War II Nazis and Ulysses residents.

"World War II was a totally different time period. It's part of history," he said. "He can do what he wants. . . . Everyone has their own thing."

One day recently, Burnside, accompanied by a reporter, drove around town dressed in a shirt featuring Hitler's face as the main design. None of the locals he chatted with objected to his attire.

City council president Roy Hunt insisted that this reflected the town's generous spirit.

"We're a laid-back town, and we're gonna be nice to everybody," Hunt said. "I've known Danny for twenty years. If you were in town and you walked around with him, you're right, he'll be welcome in every store. . . . If you're nice, people will be nice to you 98 percent of the time."

"If he were to put something up that said kill all members of a race, in my opinion that would be crossing the line, but he doesn't have that sign up," Hunt said.

He added that the town's Nazi presence had been exaggerated by the news media and opposing groups.

Burnside said he serves the community. "I do fundraisers for American Legion with my artwork. Boys and Girls Clubs, regardless of race or ethnicity, I do fundraisers. . . . The only way I can help white people is by helping everyone."

Other residents disagree about the impact of the white supremacists' presence. As he shopped among Burnside's carved wooden bears and eagle sculptures, some of them signed with a swastika, Tom Lee, a road construction manager, said that he supports the First Amendment and that the Nazi presence "ain't nothing to do with me. It's a free country."

"After a while, you're not what you were anymore," he added. "It is America out here, but not in the inner cities anymore."

William Fish, a 72-year old carpenter, recalled as a child accompanying his mother as she delivered blankets and shoes to the shacks where black field workers lived.

"We're not a racist town, but there are people who will turn a blind eye when they see racism happening. That's why we have this history," he said. "I think it has got worse since Trump, I honestly do. I also think our young people do not today share the same rotten values as older people."

Belinda Empson, 59, said it pained her that veterans in the Memorial Day parade had to march past Nazi signs.

"My grandson is 8 years old and he's already asking about the Nazi flags," said Empson, a retired waitress. "And I don't want to explain to my grandson what it means, what they're about. We should have settled this stuff years ago."

Empson said Ulysses had been divided since Trump's victory: "I think Trump has opened the gate and said, 'It's OK.' It was not a license, but a subtle, 'It's OK.' I think we are seeing that now."

"It bothers me," she added, "because we have good people in this town."

Wanda Shirk, 68, an English teacher who worked at a Potter County school for 28 years, joked that the town had become LGBT  "Liberty, Guns, Bible, Trump."

"I don't think everyone here is racist, but I think a lot are racially insensitive," she said, "and Trump has allowed that to grow."
Protesters are camped out on the eastern side of the Thomas Paine Plaza at the Municipal Services Building (near Broad & Arch Streets) July 29, 2018. They moved from the apron of City Hall Saturday, ahead of a city-imposed deadline, protesting the federal Immigration and Custom Enforcement agency (ICE). TOM GRALISH / Staff Photographer Read more

Protesters who had camped on the concrete apron of Philadelphia City Hall for three weeks to protest the federal Immigration and Custom Enforcement agency (ICE) on Saturday removed their belongings, took down a makeshift wooden kitchen and beach umbrellas, hauled away metal filing cabinets, and swept up ahead of a city-imposed deadline for them to leave.

Deborah Rose, 33, of West Philadelphia, one of the activists and organizers, said outside City Hall that the protesters were complying with the deadline because Mayor Kenney on Friday announced that Philadelphia will end a data-sharing agreement with ICE.

But, she noted: "We have a long fight ahead of us."

Rose would not specify where all the signs, filing cabinets, umbrellas, and other belongings would be taken. "They will probably be used for a variety of things as the 'Abolish ICE' campaign continues," she said.

But on Sunday, @no_ice_PHL, the Twitter account that's been giving regular updates on the protest over the course of the past couple of weeks, said that the group moved just across the way to Broad and Arch Streets.

"The struggle continues," the group wrote Saturday evening, sharing photos of protesters gathered near the Municipal Services Building.

In addition to asking that the city end its database-sharing agreement with ICE, protesters have been demanding for ICE to be abolished, an end to stop-and-frisk in Philadelphia, and a closure of the Berks County family detention center, which holds parents and children who are awaiting immigration decisions or asylum hearings.

Kenney on Friday said that he won't renew the controversial city contract that allows ICE agents to access the key law enforcement database, known as PARS, and use that information against undocumented but otherwise law-abiding immigrants in Philadelphia. "I cannot in good conscience allow the agreement to continue," the mayor said.

The decision had no bearing on Saturday's deadline for protesters to vacate the City Hall encampment, city spokesperson Mike Dunn said in a Saturday email.

PARS is an acronym for a real-time computer database of arrests, operated by the city and shared via contract with ICE, the federal agency responsible for finding and deporting people in the country without documentation. The contract expires Aug. 31.

About 50 people had stayed at the City Hall "Occupy Ice" encampment overnight since July 6, Rose said. In total, the mini-village had attracted about 300 people over three weeks. Protesters were initially given a 2 p.m. deadline Saturday to vacate the encampment, but that was then pushed back to 3 p.m. The last protester who had been camped out at the site packed up her belongings and removed them in a red shopping cart just a few minutes before 3 p.m.

Soon after she left, city crews began clearing away any remaining dust from the east side of City Hall.

Dunn said that the protesters were told to decamp because of a planned construction project outside City Hall. "The notice to decamp is due to the construction project, which expands to that area starting Monday," he said. "Crews need time over the weekend to prepare that location for the work. The group has been aware of this deadline for two weeks. In fact, the original deadline was last weekend, and we agreed to extend and work around them."

He said the project was part of planned reconstruction around City Hall that began in 2015. "It includes replacement of concrete on the northeast corner, replacement of a water-service line, new ramps for the north portal and new landscaping," he said.

Anti-ICE protesters had first set up an encampment outside the local ICE office at Eighth and Cherry Streets on July 2, but were evicted from that location on July 5. The protesters then set up the encampment outside City Hall.

On Saturday, the protesters were complying with the city's deadline to leave. In the morning and early-afternoon hours, about 40 people helped take down the makeshift encampment.

Connor Ney, 29, of Wichita, Kan., packed away food and cleaning supplies from the makeshift kitchen that had been covered with a blue tarp. He said he had left Kansas because of the bad economy and came to Philadelphia on July 1 on a Greyhound bus. After arriving in the city, he decided to join the protesters, he said.

Anthony Novotny, 58, of Havertown, said he had participated with the protesters during the day "to save our immigrants."

"Immigrants have the right to be here. That's what the Statue of Liberty stands for," said Novotny, dressed in a red "Impeach Trump" T-shirt.

Atena Jeretic, 25, watched solemnly Saturday as her fellow protesters removed the last remnants of the encampment and packed them onto a silver metal truck and private cars parked on the east side of City Hall as police and city workers oversaw the process.

A native of Paris, she said she had lived in the Philadelphia area for six years, from 2011 to 2017, and attended Haverford College. Calling herself a homeless "traveler," she said she had been part of the Occupy ICE encampment for the last two weeks after coming to Philadelphia from the Occupy ICE protest in New York.

Asked where she would go next, she said she didn't know. "Where the wind takes me," she said.

Outreach workers with the One Day at a Time Recovery community organization, working with the city, were at City Hall on Saturday to see if anyone needed assistance finding housing.

Before the 3 p.m. deadline, Philadelphia Police Inspector Roland Lee said he was overseeing the encampment removal "to see this comes through with a peaceful resolution."

While there were police officers seen on standby in areas around City Hall, and several police vehicles were parked outside the Municipal Services Building across the north side of City Hall, police were not needed Saturday afternoon as protesters took down the encampment.

Jane Slusser, Kenney's chief of staff, happened to walk outside City Hall close to the 3 p.m. deadline Saturday. "Everything's going fine," she said. "It's been a very smooth transition today."

Kenney said he had grown concerned that ICE was using the database "in inappropriate ways," including to conduct investigations of undocumented immigrants who had not broken any other laws. That sows fear and distrust in immigrant communities, he said, with the effect of discouraging crime victims and witnesses from coming forward.

The mayor has been outspoken in support of immigrants, including filing a federal "sanctuary city" lawsuit against the Trump administration over the right to limit police cooperation with ICE. Last month, a federal judge ruled for Philadelphia, saying the city's position was based on policies that were reasonable, rational, and equitable.

Staff writer Patricia Madej contributed to this article.
Jeremy Nowak, 66, a prominent civic investor, advocate, and commentator who founded the Philadelphia-based Reinvestment Fund, later led the William Penn Foundation, and chaired boards of organizations including the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, Mastery Charter Schools, and Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation, died Saturday at Lankenau Medical Center of complications from a heart attack.

Mr. Nowak, of Lower Merion, suffered the heart attack July 11, said Jessica Cohen-Nowak, 31, his daughter. She was among the relatives with him when he died.

A passionate and relentless advocate for Philadelphia, Mr. Nowak had most recently been serving as a distinguished visiting fellow at Drexel University's Lindy Institute for Urban Innovation and running a consulting business. Last year, he cowrote a book about urban development, titled The New Localism: How Cities Can Thrive in the Age of Populism, and had begun traveling the country to speak with mayors about the ideas it promoted  a project his daughter said he considered his "new adventure."

His coauthor, Bruce Katz, called Mr. Nowak "a giant in community development financing, known throughout the U.S. and the world."

His dedication to solving complex community problems earned him recognition from some of the city's most important officials during his decades at the center of civic life.

Ed Rendell, the former governor and Philadelphia mayor, said he spoke to Mr. Nowak almost weekly when he led the city, calling him a "brilliant adviser and trusted by everyone."

"He understood what community development needed as well as anybody I ever met," Rendell said Saturday.

Mayor Kenney tweeted Saturday night that Nowak "made this city a better place."

John Fry, president of Drexel University, called Mr. Nowak "a ferocious advocate for the displaced and the disenfranchised."

"His greatest contribution was the way he held everyone's feet to the fire," Fry said. "He was a moral conscience."

Mr. Nowak was perhaps best known for his decades-long association with the Reinvestment Fund, which he founded with a $10,000 grant in 1985 to lend money to projects in struggling neighborhoods. By the time he left in 2011, the organization  which provided access to capital along with private-sector expertise  had allocated more than $1 billion toward housing, small businesses, and community facilities.

"Our idea was that with technical help, regular people could organize money like a community organizer does with people," he told the Inquirer in 1995, when he was named winner of the Philadelphia Award, the city's highest civic honor. "The money could be the catalyst that makes things happen."

Mr. Nowak was born in Strawberry Mansion in 1951, the son of Lillian Kovnat, a seamstress and human resources professional at the former Central Penn Bank, and Albert Nowak, a jeweler and grocer. He graduated from Central High School and, in 1973, from Pennsylvania State University, where he majored in philosophy, his daughter said. In 1986, he earned a Ph.D. in cultural anthropology from the New School for Social Research in Manhattan.

In the 1980s, Mr. Nowak worked as a community organizer in Logan, he told a PBS interviewer, but realized that "working in an inner-city neighborhood  the issue of capital was critical." Armed with a $10,000 grant, he launched what became the Reinvestment Fund, a vehicle for trying to make life better in some of the region's poorest areas.

Projects included providing loans to community groups to build housing, distributing money to struggling schools, and helping launch small businesses, such as a launderette started by Nueva Esperanza in North Philadelphia after it had been unable to find other funding to get off the ground.

"The presence [of the Reinvestment Fund] has created a consciousness of the need to provide alternative financing in the region," the Rev. Luis Cortes Jr., executive director of Nueva Esperanza, told the Inquirer in 1995. "They make things work."

After making his mark at the Reinvestment Fund, Mr. Nowak in 2011 was named executive director of the William Penn Foundation, the philanthropic powerhouse established by Otto Haas, a founder of the Rohm & Haas chemical-manufacturing company, and his wife, Phoebe, in 1945.

Mr. Nowak's tenure there lasted just 18 months, with foundation officials citing "differences in approach" over the implementation of a new strategic plan for the organization. News stories at the time said Mr. Nowak was viewed as too outspoken and aggressive at an institution known for its reserve and caution. On his watch, the foundation also attracted controversy by funding a multimillion-dollar plan to restructure the ailing Philadelphia School District by adding charter schools.

After he left the foundation, Mr. Nowak continued seeking out ways to impact the community, serving on a variety of boards in the region and, in his latest career turn, becoming a book author and consulting cities on attracting investments. He also wrote commentary for publications including the Inquirer, and chaired the Philadelphia Citizen, an online news outlet where he also served as a columnist.

"Following his career has just been kind of breathtaking to watch," said Jano Cohen, his wife of 36 years. "I was just astonished the way he would grasp a concept and information and do problem-solving."

His daughter, Jessica Cohen-Nowak, said that intellect even translated to fatherhood.

"He was someone that we sort of relied on as our North Star, our conscience for things," she said. "He was an amazing father and an amazing mentor to everyone, not just us."

In addition to his wife and daughter, Mr. Nowak is survived by his son, Adam Cohen-Nowak, 24; a brother, Edward Nowak; and a sister, Nancy Nowak.

Fry said that services would be Friday, Aug. 3, at 10 a.m. at Drexel's Behrakis Grand Hall, Creese Student Center, 3210 Chestnut Street. A reception will be on campus afterward. Details were pending Saturday.

Donations can be made to the Mastery Charter Foundation  Jeremy Nowak Scholarship; Lankenau Hospital Fund #5121 for the Cardio-thoracic Intensive Care Unit; and Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation.
District Attorney Larry Krasner, in his first financial disclosure report as an elected official, said he owed money to a former business partner whom he subsequently hired for a $160,000-a-year advisory position in the prosecutor's office.

Krasner listed Michael Giampietro as a personal and business creditor in his statement of financial interests, which he filed in May and which covers his finances for 2017. Krasner's wife, Common Pleas Court Judge Lisa Rau, also listed Giampietro as a creditor in her statement.

The disclosure form did not require Krasner to report how much he owed Giampietro. He did not list him as a creditor in his financial disclosure that covered 2016.

Krasner, a former defense attorney who was elected on a progressive reform platform, declined to be interviewed. He would not reveal the nature or amount of the debt, or when or how it was settled.

Through a spokesman, Krasner said this week that the "business-related financial obligation" to Giampietro "has since been completely satisfied."

"Thanks to being in court nearly every day for 35 years, [Giampietro] has tremendous insight into and relationships with judges, police, prosecutors, sheriffs, defense attorneys, and court administration officials," Krasner spokesperson Ben Waxman said in an email. "He has had a longstanding personal and business relationship with  Krasner and therefore is uniquely qualified to serve as a Senior Advisor in the Philadelphia District Attorney's Office."

Waxman said Giampietro, who started in his position in February, is a "roving supervisor" in the Criminal Justice Center who assists less experienced prosecutors. He also conducts job interviews, manages staffing issues, and handles juvenile resentencings, among other duties, Waxman said.

Giampietro did not respond to requests for comment.

Waxman said Krasner's office "reviewed the city code and found no ethics violations, including the conflict of interest section." He said the review was conducted by Richard Glazer, who is Krasner's ethics officer and the former chairman of the city Board of Ethics. Waxman would not say when the review was conducted, share its findings, or make Glazer available for an interview.

Samuel C. Stretton, a lawyer and legal ethics expert, said he did not believe ethics rules prohibit the city's top prosecutor from hiring a creditor  as long as the loan and job weren't part of a quid pro quo.

"The fact that he owes Michael money, by itself, wouldn't be" a conflict, Stretton said of Krasner and Giampietro.

Stacy Hawkins, an employment attorney and professor at Rutgers Law School, said such an arrangement could interfere with a manager's ability to supervise and evaluate a subordinate's performance.

"It does raise, I would say, some cautionary flags, some yellow flags," Hawkins said, adding: "It may be that you are considering things outside of his job performance in keeping him in employment."

Eric Meyer, an employment partner at the FisherBroyles law firm and president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association's Labor and Employment Law section, said there was nothing inherently wrong with hiring a creditor.

But, Meyer asked, "what happens if that person is not the most qualified candidate? What if that person is not being hired because of a skill set, but because the decision-maker owes money to that person?"

"It's odd," said David Thornburgh, president and CEO of the Committee of Seventy government watchdog group. "I would think, in any setting  public, private, or nonprofit  the boss borrowing money from a subordinate creates the possibility for some odd dynamics in the office."

Krasner's real estate businesses have repeatedly failed to pay taxes over the last decade. In March, the Inquirer and Daily News, WHYY, and City & State PA each reported on separate cases in which the city went to court seeking a total of $177,000 in unpaid taxes from businesses in which Krasner is a partner.

Krasner has criticized the hiring practices of previous district attorneys, saying they were too often "more interested in politics than  in professionalizing things."

"If there is any legacy that this administration leaves, its most important legacy will be the people we bring in," Krasner said in testimony before City Council in April, later displaying a map of the United States and highlighting aspirations to recruit more heavily from California, Texas, Florida, and Illinois.

Giampietro's listed address is in Delaware County, but Waxman said he moved into a Philadelphia apartment this month, in accordance with the residency requirement for city employees.

Krasner also has hired several close campaign advisers as part of his inner circle.

Campaign chair Mike Lee became interim director of legislation, a new position with a salary of $75,000.

Arun Prabhakaran, a longtime friend who said he informally advised Krasner's campaign, left his job as a vice president at the nonprofit Urban Affairs Coalition in Center City to become the district attorney's chief of staff, which pays $160,000 per year.

Movita Johnson-Harrell, a former community organizer who endorsed Krasner's candidacy, was hired as the interim supervisor of victim services with a salary of $96,000.

And Waxman, the campaign spokesperson, was named communications director, with a salary of $90,000.
HARRISBURG  The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Friday ordered the release of a redacted copy of a highly anticipated grand jury report on clergy sexual abuse, one the court said identifies more than 300 "predator priests" but would conceal the names of a handful of clergy members who contend it is inaccurate or unfairly maligns their reputations.

The order by the seven-member high court provided a temporary victory for about two dozen current and former clergy members who have waged a furious legal fight to prevent their names from being publicly disclosed. The high court's decision will allow them to remain unidentified for weeks, if not months, while the justices weigh their arguments.

Some critics said that even a slight delay in publicly identifying any of the accused priests could enable them to escape criticism because public interest will wane.

In their 31-page order, the justices agreed that the case  and complaints by clergy implicated in the investigation  raises due-process issues. In doing so, they signaled frustration with both the Attorney General's Office, which led the two-year inquiry, as well as Judge Norman A. Krumenacker III, who supervised the grand jury's work and has said the full, unredacted report should be made public.

"There can be no doubt that the subject matter of the report is incendiary, and therefore, the stakes for individuals reproached therein are substantially heightened," Chief Justice Thomas Saylor wrote on behalf of the high court.

But the justices said they were not "of one mind" on the best way to address concerns raised by the petitioners who are seeking to block or limit the report's release, and scheduled legal arguments on those issues in September.

In the interim, they directed the office of Attorney General Josh Shapiro to begin removing identifying information about the petitioners from the more than 800-page document, which chronicles decades' worth of allegations of abuse and cover-ups in six of the state's eight Catholic dioceses.

A limited version of the report could be made public as early as Aug. 8 if all parties agree to the redactions. If not, a special master will be appointed to resolve differences, with an Aug. 14 deadline to release the redacted version, the court ordered.

"Our intent is to facilitate the publication  as expeditiously as possible  of as full a final report as may be released consistent with the protection of the petitioner-appellants' fundamental rights," said the opinion.

The clergy challenging the document's release represent a small fraction of those named. The high court's order confirmed for the first time that it identifies or implicates more than 300 "predator priests" who served in the six dioceses.

Jim VanSickle, a Pittsburgh-area man and grand jury witness who said he was abused as a teen by a priest who taught him in high school, said he was pleased to learn that nearly 300 abusers still could be publicly exposed. But VanSickle was conflicted over the fact that some accounts of abuse will remain shielded  possibly forever.

"It is a victory, although I still have a tear in my eye," he said.

Lawyers for some petitioners seeking to block the report's full release said they felt gratified by the justices' decision.

"The Supreme Court recognized that it was both possible and necessary to protect the constitutional due-process rights of a small group of wrongly accused individuals without undermining the public's legitimate interest in this grand jury report," said Stephen Stallings, who represents two such petitioners. He said the ruling presents "a path forward that protects everyone's interests."

Another petitioner lawyer, David Berardinelli, echoed Stallings' remarks and said he was "pleased that the court gave such detailed and reasoned consideration to our arguments raising matters of constitutional concern with regard to the grand jury process employed here."

The grand jury's investigation and conclusions have been at the center of a fierce legal battle that has played out for months, largely under court seal. The report is expected to document allegations involving clergy, their superiors, and others in the Dioceses of Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, and Scranton. The state's two other dioceses  Altoona-Johnstown and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia  have already been scrutinized in past investigations.

Court documents made public in recent weeks show that the nearly two dozen former and current clergy members claim the Attorney General's Office trampled on their due-process rights during its investigation. Many also contend that the grand jury's report is based on unsubstantiated accusations that will unfairly sully their reputations, a violation of the state constitution.

Shapiro's office has pushed for the full report to be released and echoed that stance after the Supreme Court ruling.

In a statement Friday, the attorney general praised the court's order but said he would "continue to fight to ensure every single victim is heard and every priest, bishop, and church official is held accountable for their abhorrent conduct."

"No one victim's truth is any less important than another and no one's criminal conduct any less loathsome," he said. "Today is a victory for the survivors but our work is not yet done."
Morgan Waller and fiancee the Rev. Corey Johnson at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church, 2800 W. Cheltenham Ave., Philadelphia on Wednesday, July 25, 2018. The couple will get married in front of between 3,000 and 5,000 people. Read more

You'd better believe it's news when the daughter of the pastor at the state's largest Baptist megachurch not only decides to get married, but marries outside her religious tradition.

Hundreds of guests are expected to pack the pews at Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church in East Mount Airy for the Aug. 5 fairy-tale nuptials of Morgan Waller and Corey Johnson.

He's a Seventh-day Adventist minister. She's the daughter of the Rev. Alyn E. Waller, senior pastor at Enon.

Even if it weren't newsy, I'd find an excuse to write about it.

We need something to be happy about. We spend so much time wringing our hands over awful things that happen in Philly and the craziness in Trump's Russian-infused Washington, D.C., politics. It's important that we do that, but we need to spend just as much time celebrating the triumphs in life.

And this is a story of a young couple deeply in love and bucking trends by getting married  and by doing so across faith traditions.

They met seven years ago when both were 20. Johnson, who was raised Seventh-day Adventist, visited Enon and spotted Waller. An undergraduate at Oakwood University in Huntsville, Ala., he reached out to her via Facebook and they struck up a friendship. At the time, she was a student at Auburn University, also in Alabama.

"We just became really good friends for about five years," Johnson told me. "I think at year six, I was finishing seminary [at Andrews University] in Michigan, and we had a conversation and I was, like, 'OK, I think this may be a transition in our friendship.' And then from that point on, you know, we began talking a little bit more seriously."

They began dating in October 2016. By then, Morgan had obtained a master's degree in mental-health counseling from Johns Hopkins University and was working in Annapolis, Md., as a licensed family therapist. He's an assistant pastor at Trinity Temple SDA Church in Newark, N.J.

While he was in Michigan and she was in Maryland, their relationship developed slowly during FaceTime chats as they asked each other important questions about their expectations and core values.

The couple insist that their faith traditions aren't all that different. Seventh-day Adventists consider Saturday their main day of worship. Members typically refrain from shellfish and pork, among other things. Morgan already has made the switch.

"I was raised with the understanding that when you grow up and you get married, you join your husband," she told me. "If Corey was pastoring a Baptist church, I still would have joined his church and I would be fellowshipping at his church."

Rev. Waller was all for it. He will co-officiate at the wedding. After a honeymoon in St. Lucia, the couple will live in New Jersey.

"My dad was Team Corey before Corey and me were even dating," Morgan said. "Seriously, that's how close of a friendship we had.  There was one weekend two or three summers ago when I was in Maryland and he spent the day here with my parents and my sister and they went and got food. That's how kind of close we were as friends. So when we made the shift, our friends and family were like, 'What took you so long?' "

Johnson proposed on his birthday, Nov. 27, inside 30th Street Station  after all, the couple had spent so much time in train stations during their courtship.

The bride and groom will each have eight attendants, and the couple has extended an open invitation to the members of Enon and also those of Johnson's church in Newark for the wedding ceremony scheduled for 3:30 p.m.

It should be quite a day.
Friends and relatives of students from the Tyler School of Art summer programs stroll through the gallery at which the students' work was displayed Friday. Read more

Patrice Davis always knew his daughter Treasure had artistic promise.

The 15-year-old had taken art classes in school, but wanted to do more. That's why she was ecstatic when her art teacher nominated her for Art Start, one of two four-week, full-scholarship summer art programs held in July at Temple University's Tyler School of Art.

In the Davises' Mount Airy neighborhood, such opportunities are rare, the father said.

"Other than school  she didn't really have the opportunity to go to any place to learn more about art," Davis said. "We really don't have that in most urban neighborhoods. This [program] is very good."

"She should be real proud of herself," he said Friday at Tyler, admiring a drawing by his daughter on display in a one-day exhibition of the work of 60 students for families and friends to view.

The exhibition was the finale of Art Start and DigiStart, created for high school juniors and seniors with artistic promise, who don't often have opportunities to improve their art skills outside class.

Laura Hricko, who leads Tyler's pre-college programs, said she wants students to know "this is a space for you, and going to school for art is a real thing," even if life circumstances dictate otherwise.

"And it can be really fulfilling," Hricko said. "We just feel so proud that we're able to welcome them into the school."

Many of the kids in the 26-year-old program are of color, come from underserved neighborhoods, and go to schools with limited or no art programs. Across the city, schools have uneven opportunities to participate in arts and music programs.

A 2017 analysis of city schools' arts programs showed that 90 percent of the Philadelphia School District's 220 schools have full-time art or music education, and 60 percent have both. Some schools have no arts program at all.

READ MORE >>> Some Philly schools have rich arts programs, and others have none. How do you fix it?

Without the scholarship, the program would cost about $1,200 per student, to cover tuition and supplies.

A December 2017 study by Eleanor Brown, a professor of psychology at West Chester University, found that "high-quality arts programming can decrease stress levels for children facing economic hardship."

In Philadelphia, where nearly 400,000 people live in poverty, arts camps can be seen as a luxury, available only to those who can pay the price. But the camps are an effort to break that accessibility barrier, Hricko said.

Ideally, she said, the program also would feed students into the art programs at Temple. On average, about three program alumni end up at the school each year, she said.

Art Start and DigiStart

In Art Start, about 40 students take a program that mirrors a freshman year at Tyler. They learn drawing, painting, sculpture, and other skills. In DigiStart, about 20 students learn animation, Adobe programs, photography, and more digital skills.

Most teens leave the program more confident and more prepared for life, said Rebekah Flake, an instructor at DigiStart for three years.

"It's really good career training," Flake said.

Each year, the program gets about 70 applications. Students must be nominated by an art teacher or guidance counselor.

The program runs on revenue brought in from Tyler's other tuition-based pre-college programs, Hricko said, but she hopes to fund-raise enough money to expand the program.

Janiyah Jordan, 15, a rising junior at Mastery Charter School-Shoemaker in West Philadelphia, plans to pursue art in college, but even if she doesn't, she says, "art will always be a part of my life."

For the exhibition, Jordan recreated half of a silver heart necklace she shares with her mother, using cardboard, hot glue, X-Acto knives, charcoal, and paint. When she saw it hanging in the gallery Friday, she was speechless.

When Jordan's art teacher told her about the program, she didn't hesitate. "Of course I applied," she said.

When she was accepted, she said, "it was like a college acceptance letter."

READ MORE >>> How can the arts benefit kids from disadvantaged neighborhoods?

As a child, Anthony Benedetto-Russ drew what he saw on television. He's wanted to do art ever since. In the fall, the 17-year-old will be a senior at MaST Community Charter School in Northeast Philadelphia.

Benedetto-Russ was nominated for DigiStart by his graphic design teacher.

"I like creative freedom, so I'd rather do something that I like.  And I can get paid for it, too," Benedetto-Russ said. "I don't want to work an office job, sitting in a cubicle being like, 'Man, I wish I was drawing right now.' "
Machine inspector Murray Costin, right, closes the curtain as Kym Rosen enters a voting booth at a polling place near 7th and Wolf streets in South Philadelphia. TIM TAI / Staff Photographer Read more

Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly implied that 11,198 initial records identified for review were potentially not citizens when they registered. That is the number identified for further confirmation of eligibility, not necessarily related to citizenship status.



After reviewing voter records to determine how many people  including those who were not U.S. citizens  may have been ineligible to vote when they registered, the state has narrowed the list to 8,698 people for further review, according to an analysis by the Pennsylvania Department of State.

The analysis was triggered by the discovery last year of an oversight in the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's motor-voter system.

The review first uncovered 11,198 potentially ineligible voters on the rolls, prompting the agency to undertake a process of confirming registrations. That resulted in 2,500 people being removed from the list recently. But about 8,700 of those registrants remain on the rolls across 64 counties, and those counties will now be tasked with confirming their eligibility or removing them from the rolls.

Allegheny County has the second-highest number of potentially ineligible registrants at 700, behind only Philadelphia County, which has more than 2,000 pending.

Of the 2,500 individuals removed from the list in the first rounds of verification by the State Department, 1,915 were certified eligible to vote, 215 registrations were canceled, and 286 had already been canceled.

It is not yet clear if any  or how many  of the more than 11,000 registrants cast an illegal vote in an election, or if any illegal ballots were cast in the May primary, which the department indicated beforehand it was trying to prevent.

"The counties will complete the process of confirming eligibility of the remaining registrants using the information provided by the Department of State," agency spokesperson Wanda Murren said. "It is premature to estimate the county findings, because many of the registrants may be eligible voters."

Murren said the agency has "no further information" about illegal votes beyond figures released last fall, when the State Department announced that noncitizens may have cast 544 ballots illegally out of more than 93 million ballots from 2000 through 2017. Those illegal ballots  one in every 172,000 votes  were revealed after the ineligible registrants reported themselves as having mistakenly registered, the department has said.

According to the State Department, the noncitizen immigrants registered to vote at PennDot centers while getting their driver's licenses  which legal residents, like lawfully present non-U.S. citizens, are allowed to obtain.

But during the process of getting their photos taken, their names were put through the motor-voter system  which was installed in the mid-1990s to simplify registration  and "inadvertently" registered to vote even though they weren't legally allowed, the agency said in a statement.

The state was alerted to the problem in 2017, and PennDot started to fix the system by altering the software so the screens at the licensing center don't give people the option to register if they have an indicator on their record signifying they're not citizens. PennDot finished its fixes in December 2017.

When the State Department was alerted to the problem, its goal "was to protect the integrity of elections," it said in a statement, and said the issue spanned several decades and multiple administrations.

"The Department takes seriously its duty to make sure that only eligible voters can cast ballots, and we believe that this extensive process was the best path to restoring full confidence in our elections," the department's statement read. "Upholding the integrity of Pennsylvania elections is a core mission of the Department of State and one we work toward every day."

The problem came to light in July 2017, when the department learned that some registered voters were canceling their registration because they were not citizens. Officials from Philadelphia met with the State Department that month because the city had been receiving "hundreds of letters from people canceling their voter registration because they were not eligible," said Philadelphia City Commissioner Al Schmidt.

The department then hired an expert to analyze registration data and compare voter rolls with several other databases, which yielded a "responsible" list of individuals requiring further confirmation, the statement said. It wasn't enough to match raw data from the registration database to PennDot records because those who had an INS indicator when they registered may have become citizens since, and many had.

The agency used the list to call and mail letters to the potentially ineligible voters, in an effort to affirm their eligibility. The process  which the agency described as careful  started in May, before the primary election, when the department mailed letters to more than 7,000 people who registered to vote and were still active, reminding them of voter-eligibility requirements.

On June 12, the department sent letters to the more than 11,000 registrants  both active and inactive  asking them to confirm their eligibility or submit a request to cancel their registration. The department sent another round of letters to those who had not yet responded, and robocalls were made to those with a telephone number on their voter registration records, the department said.

The remaining 8,698 records  those who didn't respond or had an undeliverable address  have been passed to the 64 counties who had at least one unconfirmed individual. On Thursday, the department sent the counties information about those individuals, and advised them "to handle the registrants according to their normal processes" to verify addresses and confirm eligibility, the State Department said.

The department does not have the authority to remove voters from the rolls.

The department's goal, the statement read, was to ensure that no eligible voters were disenfranchised in the process.

"That is why we resisted efforts to bring about a careless and wholesale removal of all registrants initially identified as potentially ineligible," the statement read, adding that many would turn out to be eligible voters after confirmation.

There are more than 8.4 million registered voters in Pennsylvania.

Of the about 8,700 ineligible voters pending confirmation, about 2,500 are inactive  meaning they haven't voted in at least two general elections. The rest  about 6,100 in total  are considered active registrants.

The department is facing a lawsuit from the conservative Public Interest Legal Foundation, which claimed the state was violating the National Voter Registration Act by blocking its access to records of their efforts to address the problem of ineligible voters on the rolls. When they filed the lawsuit in February, the group claimed there were more than 100,000 noncitizen immigrants registered to vote, which the State Department said wasn't an accurate figure.

State Rep. Daryl Metcalfe, chairman of the House State Government Committee, has also sought records under the state's Right-to-Know Law, and in a Facebook post last week blasted the State Department for "dragging their feet at every turn to keep records regarding foreign nationals illegally registering to vote in Pennsylvania hidden from the public."
The Defense Department announced Friday that it has accounted for the first of more than two dozen black aviators known as Tuskegee Airmen who went missing in action during World War II.

Capt. Lawrence Dickson, a fighter pilot who had trained at the Tuskegee Army Flying School, was 24 when his plane went down over Austria on Dec. 23, 1944, while on a mission.

The Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency (DPAA) had been investigating the possibility that human remains and other items found at a crash site in Austria this past summer were Dickson's.

On Friday morning, the DPAA informed his daughter, Marla Andrews, 76, of East Orange, N.J., that the remains were those of her father.

"I feel great!" she said in a telephone interview. "I really do feel a relief . . . I had a good crying jag."

Dickson is probably the first missing Tuskegee Airman found since the end of World War II, the DPAA has said.

There were 27 Tuskegee Airmen missing from the war. Now there are 26.

DPAA investigators said the crash site was a few miles from where his P-51 Mustang was reported to have gone down. Debris at the site was from a P-51. And German records report a lone P-51 crash there the same day Dickson disappeared.

Historically, the site was a match, Joshua Frank, a DPAA research analyst, said earlier this year.

Last summer, the site was excavated by the DPAA and a team from the University of New Orleans, and human remains were recovered.

Dickson was among the more than 900 black pilots who were trained at the segregated Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama during the war.

They were African American men from all over the country who fought racism and oppression at home and enemy pilots and antiaircraft gunners overseas.

More than 400 served in combat, flying patrol, and strafing missions, and escorting bombers from bases in North Africa and Italy. The tail sections of their fighter planes were painted a distinctive red.

Two days before Christmas 1944, Dickson took off from his base at Ramitelli, in southern Italy, in a sleek P-51D nicknamed "Peggin," headed for Nazi-occupied Prague.

Dickson was on his 68th mission and had already been awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for meritorious service.

He was leading a three-Mustang escort of a fast but unarmed photo reconnaissance plane, according to the account of a wingman, 2nd Lt. Robert L. Martin, many years later.

(Martin died Thursday morning at the age of 99 at his home in Olympia Fields, Ill.)

The four planes headed over the mountains for Prague. About an hour into the trip, at an altitude of 26,000 feet, Dickson radioed that he was having engine trouble and began losing speed.

His wingmen stayed with him as he dropped back. The twin-engine reconnaissance plane sped on and was soon out of sight.

Dickson decided to turn for home in his crippled plane, and his buddies stuck with him.

The trio gradually descended, as Dickson looked for a spot to land or bail out. Martin thought they were near the town of Tarvisio, in a mountainous area of northeastern Italy.

He saw Dickson jettison the canopy of his cockpit before bailing out, and swerved to avoid Dickson's plane. But when he looked again, Dickson was gone.

The two wingmen circled, looking for a parachute, a column of smoke or burning wreckage. There was nothing but an empty, snow-covered valley.

Lawrence Dickson had married Phyllis Constance Maillard in November 1941. (She died Dec. 28, 2017, in Nevada at the age of 96.)

On July 14, 1942, in Harlem's old Sydenham Hospital, they had a daughter they named Marla.

After the war, the Army searched for Dickson near Tarvisio and nearby Malborghetto. Other crashed planes and remains were found, but not his.

In 1949, the Army recommended that his remains be declared "nonrecoverable."

Last August, Andrews got a phone call at her home from the Army's Past Conflict Repatriations Branch, saying experts were actively investigating her father's case anew.

A few weeks earlier, based on new information, the archaeological team in Austria had excavated the crash site. The team had found pieces of a P-51, the human remains, and other artifacts, including airplane bullet casings.

Last November, the human remains were sent for analysis to the DPAA laboratory at Offutt Air Force Base, outside Omaha.

The Armed Forces Medical Examiner's DNA operations branch extracted DNA from a bone from the crash site. And Timothy McMahon, the DNA operations director, said earlier this year that scientists were at work amplifying and sequencing it.

Andrews has said she wants her father to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
Jim Reis looks through his collection of historical deeds. Read more

In his 45 years as a real estate broker, James J. Reis has developed a keen eye for undervalued treasures.

Not the bricks-and-mortar variety, but paper: yellowed, wrinkled, torn, stained, and steeped in so much American history that a single sheet might bring thousands at auction.

Reis, 73, is a collector extraordinaire of old local deeds, having amassed a trove of 2,000 documents in which every neighborhood in Philadelphia, every township in the Pennsylvania suburbs and South Jersey is represented. But the collection's value doesn't lie in its size so much as the famed names and places that pop up in it.

There is a deed, on parchment, to George Washington's presidential mansion on Market Street near Sixth, and one to the house a block west where a 33-year-old Thomas Jefferson wrote the first draft of the Declaration of Independence. There are deeds dotted with flattened red circles of stamped wax, the old-school way to seal a deal. There are deeds to grassy tracts with rocks and oak trees and, if the buyer was lucky, a clean stream. But depending on what those lands eventually became, and under whose ownership, seemingly mundane conveyances unfold into rich stories of a developing nation.

Reis, of Ambler, began collecting seriously in the late 1980s, when "all of a sudden, I started making money" in real estate, he said. "I always wanted a weird or unusual hobby."

He bought from manuscript dealers and in bulk at auctions, spending $6,000 in a single day at Freeman's. He scoured old bookstores, at one point picking up a collection stacked in boxes floor-to-ceiling at a West Chester shop. The deeds, plus sundry historic papers he found along the way, were an investment. But Reis was undeniably drawn to the characters living in them, and researched their names at the library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

"What these represent," he said of the deeds, "is priceless."

Yet, they do indeed have a price. After devoting decades to the collection, Reis has decided to sell. It's the same old story: He's getting up in years. His kids aren't interested.

"I'm at a point, he said, "where I gotta get rid of them."

The first White House

On a recent July day, Reis laid out two pieces of priceless parchment for inspection.

"National," he said, holding up an index finger and pausing for dramatic effect. "National significance."

The two deeds belonged to the original White House, which was in Philadelphia when the city served as the new nation's first capital.

In May 1772, 36-year-old Richard Penn, grandson of William Penn, married 16-year-old Mary "Polly" Masters. Her mother gave them a 5-year-old, 3-story brick mansion at the corner of present-day Sixth and Market Streets  just in time for the young Penn, a British loyalist, to return to London in the summer of 1775. The Revolution ensued, and over the course of the conflict, the home saw many tenants, including traitor Benedict Arnold during the British occupation of Philadelphia.

In 1785, Penn sold the property through a lawyer to Robert Morris, the father of the United States financial system, who renovated and expanded the house and then leased it to George Washington. It served as Washington's executive mansion from 1790 to 1797, and was also occupied by John Adams until he moved into the current presidential digs in Washington in 1800.

Reis' two documents include the mother's surrender of the deed and the receipt for the "deed of the gift" to the newly married couple, both dated 1775.

Another gem leads to Thomas Jefferson  at least the red-brick home where he ensconced himself in two rented second-floor rooms in June 1776 to write the first draft of the Declaration of Independence.

Graff House, as it is now known, was first built in 1775 by bricklayer Jacob Graff (it was torn down but later rebuilt). He owned the structure, but the Physick family owned the tract and charged Graff a ground rent.

The land deed, dated 1804, is a conveyance of the ground rent to another Physick family member, who then collected the 85 1/3 Spanish dollars from subsequent building owners. The parchment was signed by Philip Syng Physick, often called the father of American surgery.

Reis also has a 1774 deed signed by a Continental Congress delegate conveying a swath of land that would eventually be occupied by the Philadelphia International Airport.

Among his other finds: a pro-Lincoln silk ribbon from the election of 1864; a colonial IOU note from Indian-fighter brothers; a bill of sale for the 125-acre farm that is now part of Valley Forge National Historical Park, and  perhaps his favorite acquisition  letters written by the colonial financier Morris to his children about his ascent to wealth and descent into debtor's prison.

Auction houses

Just how much can a deed fetch?

Reis says he has had some interest, mostly from academics and universities, genealogical societies and religious groups, but he scoffs at many of the offers. He claims to have sold one deed to a Quaker group for more than $10,000.

In 2012, Freeman's auction house in Center City sold a land patent, dated March 6, 1788, for 400 acres in Washington County. It was signed over to Revolutionary War hero Peter Muhlenberg, at the time the vice president of the Supreme Executive Council of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, of which Benjamin Franklin was president.

Darren Winston, head of the Books, Maps & Manuscripts Department at Freeman's, said the value in otherwise run-of-the-mill deeds lies in the signatures.

"The value here, first and foremost, is Franklin," Winston said, "but that fact that it was Muhlenberg makes it a double-whammy."

The deed sold at auction for $12,000.

"You can drill down and look up what they were both doing at the time, what their council was doing," Winston said. "That's the historical part that's fun. Even if it's a nobody, it's fun."

Another document bearing Franklin's signature, a real estate indenture from May 1763, sold for $5,000 in 2004.

"People go and buy a box of 100 [deeds] with the hope of snagging someone as great as Franklin, and those people are often rewarded because there's a wealth of material," he said. " If you know what you're looking for, you can never stop collecting. And that's just Philadelphia."

Most deeds are printed on vellum, a fine parchment made from the skin of a calf or baby goat.

"It's kind of indestructible," Winston said.

But, as Reis learned, not waterproof.

Lesson learned

Reis was working in the real estate trust department at the former Girard Bank in the late 1980s when his boss, an elderly Jewish man, took a liking to the Irishman from Hunting Park. One day, he gave Reis a well-preserved real estate deed from 1850. Reis took it home and began tearing through encyclopedias in a vain attempt to piece together the story behind a Philadelphia man's deed to land in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Years later, after moving his business from Horsham to Ambler, he randomly decided to take the deed out of its frame.

"Every now and then, the building would flood," he said. "I had all of these documents on the floor, went to the Shore, and when I came back, they were soaked."

Among the 20 ruined were a few dating to the 1600s.

"I threw many of them out. I should have kept the Russian one," he said.

"The worst is, I didn't realize what it was until afterward," when Reis was watching a TV special about an innovative railroad system first laid out in St. Petersburg, Russia, by a Philadelphia engineer. That man's name had been on the discarded deed.

"It was the same guy," Reis said, shaking his head. "That's another reason why I want to get rid of these, so someone else can take care of them.  If you put these in the hands of the right person, it's found treasure."
Michele Wellard and Rick Schubert prepare to anesthetize a cooper hawk at Philadelphia Metro Wildlife Center in King of Prussia, Pa., on Tuesday, July 24, 2018. Read more

The Cooper's hawk, a juvenile, was skinny and dehydrated. He'd spent the morning in a box, where the dark and quiet might soothe him. As Rick Schubert, 47, pulled him out on a recent Tuesday, the bird became agitated, biting at the foreign hands now prodding at his mouth, searching for signs of disease or parasites.

Michele Wellard, 47, slipped a small mask over the bird's face, administering anesthesia. Soon the bird lay still, and Schubert began feeling his way across the hawk's skeleton, searching for fractured bones and damaged tissue.

"I close my eyes when I do this, because eyes are of no help," said Schubert, a certified wildlife rehabilitator of 21 years. He confirmed that the clavicle, scapula, coracoid, shoulder joint, and humerus were intact. "It's all sense of touch. Eyes just distract you."

As he worked, the doorbell rang. Wellard, a wildlife rehabilitator of 10 years, left to greet the visitor as Schubert finished the exam. No fractures, diseases, or external parasites. Dehydration, definitely. Head trauma, likely. The bird would need fluids, pain medication, and close observation before being released into the wild.

In the next room, Wellard ushered in Bob Gallagher, 62, an instructor at a nearby summer camp holding a Canada goose he'd spotted limping around the grounds.

This was a typical 10 minutes in the life of the Philadelphia Metro Wildlife Center, which treats sick and injured wild animals from Philadelphia, Montgomery, Delaware, and Chester Counties  all in a King of Prussia apartment.

Ten or 12 hours a day, seven days a week, Schubert and Wellard tend to a seemingly endless array of birds, mammals, and reptiles brought in by animal control, local police, and members of the public. More than 60 volunteers help feed, wash, and clean up after the animals.

The phone rings constantly. A bird on a porch. A turtle in a net. A lone fawn, no mother in sight. It was hardly noon, and already five animals awaited treatment: a robin, cottontail rabbit, kestrel, mourning dove, and a house finch.

"We just do this all day long," said Schubert, the clinic's executive director, placing the hawk back into his box and getting ready for the goose.

The wildlife center operates out of a few rooms on the first floor of a small house off Route 202. Feathered and furry patients are first brought through an intake space, where Schubert or Wellard, the assistant director, take down as much information as possible from the human making the delivery.

Off this room is a narrow examination space and ICU, lined by cages, a table, and anesthesia machine. Here, animals receive emergency fluids, medication, bandages, and stitches. In the back, a former living room, replete with fireplace and crown molding, there are incubators for baby songbirds and orphaned opossums, birdcages and snake tanks, and shelves containing every imaginable food supply and vitamin.

Yogurt tubs, not nests

At a table in the center, Bruce Bowers, 71, of East Falls, fed baby chimney swifts and robins. The tiny creatures, nestled against one another in yogurt containers, chirped shrilly as Bowers gently squeezed eyedroppers of formula into their gaping mouths.

A retired teacher, Bowers began volunteering six year ago, when Schubert was head of wildlife rehabilitation at the Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education's wildlife clinic.

Schubert was fired this January, after 13 years in the role. The circumstances of his departure were heated. Schubert contends he was retaliated against for testifying on behalf of a coworker in an employment lawsuit.

"The Schuylkill Center strongly disagrees with Rick's allegation regarding his termination, but cannot comment further in deference to the privacy of third parties and in light of ongoing litigation," a spokesperson said in a statement to the Inquirer and Daily News.

After Schubert's firing, his staff and volunteers resigned in protest, effectively closing the Schuylkill clinic. (In the same statement, the Schuylkill Center said it has hired a new director for the clinic, and "greatly looks forward to reopening the facility as soon as we can.")

Meanwhile, Schubert's team searched for a new building. On April 1, the doors opened at 400 East Dekalb Pike, in King of Prussia. Within an hour, before every box had been unpacked, the first patient arrived: a great horned owl.

Since then, Wellard and Schubert estimate they have received 1,500 animals. That's proportional to the 40,000 animals Schubert's team treated in the last decade, he said. "The need here is overwhelming," Schubert said.

A huge diversity of wildlife resides in the habitat that the clinic serves. Coyotes, red foxes, raccoons, raptors, hawks, and all kinds of songbirds have been spotted in Fairmount Park. Hundreds of species make their home in the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge at Tinicum, out by the airport. Deer, bears, and bald eagles live in the suburbs. Peregrine falcons nest at City Hall.

This clinic works closely with Aark Wildlife Rehabilitation and Education Center in Bucks County, and others that service specific species, like Tristate Bird Rescue in Newark, Del.

These are all organizations that step in when animals are hurt, injured, or orphaned because of human activity.

"We don't take care of the bunny that gets attacked by the fox," said Wellard. "We take care of the bunny that gets attacked by a lawnmower."

Veteran volunteers

Volunteers are "the life of this place," Schubert said. Many have been around for more than 10 years, building up a bevy of knowledge in their own right. Bowers, for example, expertly alternates between wet food and berries and insects for the birds he feeds.

At another table in the main room, Marianne Navarro, 69, was trying to tube-feed a baby possum more interested in climbing the syringe than eating.

"My philosophy is you have to protect our wildlife, because we're part of nature," said Navarro, a Mount Airy resident, retired teacher, and volunteer of nearly 20 years.

Next to her, Fay Stanford, 68, an artist and grandmother from Narberth, dabbed at another possum's belly, trying to stimulate its bowels. Rescued after their mother was killed, the babies are kept in an incubator, warm like the mother's pouch, and fed formula with the same balance of nutrients as mother's milk.

Stanford began volunteering more than 10 years ago, after she brought in an injured bird. The best part of volunteering, she said, is releasing the animal at the end of its treatment.

"You get to take it out and open the box or open a cage and watch it fly off or swim off or scurry off," she said. "That's the closest I come in my life to some kind of spirituality."

Release is the "singular purpose" of rehabilitation, Schubert said. Proper preparation for that moment is both an art and a science. Poor rehabilitation leaves an animal too reliant upon humans, no longer able to survive in the wild on its own.

"Once you let it go, it has to take care of itself, fend for itself, feed itself. There's no one else to take care of it."

The task is made harder in a space so small. A volunteer committee is hunting for a permanent home for the organization, at least three acres  preferably five  in a natural area of Southeastern Pennsylvania, accessible to the metro area but surrounded by woods and fields and streams.

In the meantime, they're building up capacity as a brand-new nonprofit. This year, their operating budget is $109,000, said development director Steve Wasserleben. They hope to boost that budget to $250,000 by next year, and hire more staff.

The two rehabbers are licensed by the state, Schubert to work with all birds, reptiles, and mammals, including rabies-vector species, and Wellard for all birds.

Wide-ranging skills are required for wildlife rehabilitation. Every animal requires an exam and diagnosis, and usually first aid, followed by a regimen of food, medication, caging, and activity that must match the specific needs of the species, according to its size, age, and the scope of its injuries or illness. But other needs crop up, too. Recently, Schubert used wire cutters and needle-nose pliers to surgically remove a fishing hook from the throat of a snapping turtle that "had probably been around since the Carter administration."

The phone rings 50 to 100 times a day. Often, the caller is told to leave an animal alone. Baby rabbits and fawns found alone are nearly always meant to be that way. Young birds sometimes struggle to fly because they're learning, not because they're hurt.

"A baby human on its own is wrong, but a baby animal on its own is very normal," Wellard said.

If the animal is in trouble, the rehabbers instruct the person on how to safely transport it to their facility. (A box with holes cut out usually suffices, which may seem obvious, but they once received a kestrel stuffed into a Wawa cup.)

No names, please

A little after noon, Schubert received a phone call from someone inquiring after a rabbit he'd brought in. Schubert told the caller that the animal, mangled under a speeding car's wheels, had been euthanized. In accordance with a national code of ethics for this profession, euthanasia is used if an animal's suffering is beyond hope, or if it cannot be reintegrated into its wild existence.

"We respect the dignity of wild animals in life and in death," said Schubert.

The center takes pains not to impose human norms onto wild creatures. That's also why the animals don't get names. They're referred to only by case numbers.

Still, an emotional current runs through the wildlife center. The volunteers are gentle with the animals, and jovial with one another. Schubert takes a moment before he examines each patient, doing what he calls a mental ritual with each animal that passes through his hands.

"Whether I'm helping it or I'm putting it down, which is helping it, in my mind, I'm saying, 'You matter,' " he said.

Two kestrels and two screech owls were due for release Tuesday. Philip Rush, a member of the clinic's five-member board, arrived with his two grandsons, Jackson, 10, and Weston, 7, to take the birds to Houston Meadow. A retired lawyer, Rush has volunteered his woodworking skills to the clinic since 2009.

Releasing animals is "a special treat I get for building cages," said Rush.

"There's something about their wildness," he said, of the moment he opens the cage doors. "All of a sudden they discover freedom again."
The Thomson Reuters Foundation has launched a powerful new Toolkit designed to help financial institutions fight human trafficking using data. The Toolkit is the product of the United States Banks Alliance, a multi-stakeholder working group convened in 2017 by the Thomson Reuters Foundation. The Alliance includes leading financial institutions operating in the region: American Express, Bank of America, Barclays, BNY Mellon, Citi, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, PayPal, Standard Chartered, U.S. Bank, Wells Fargo, and Western Union. The Alliance, which worked closely with FinCEN, also includes Homeland Security Investigations, the Manhattan District Attorney's Office, Barry M. Koch PLLC and expert anti-trafficking NGOs Polaris and Stop The Traffik.

The Toolkit responds to rising concerns about the growth of human trafficking operations across the United States and around the world. According to estimates by anti-slavery NGO Walk Free Foundation and the International Labour Organisation (ILO), 40.3 million people are trapped in modern slavery worldwide. The trafficking and exploitation of men, women, and children is a vast, complex, and highly profitable global business generating illegal profits of $150 billion a year (ILO, 2014).

"Follow the money and you will get to the traffickers. Financial institutions have a crucial role to play in the fight against modern slavery," says Thomson Reuters Foundation CEO, Monique Villa. "Banks have a lot of data and can provide evidence that will help law enforcement to prosecute those responsible for the most shameful of crimes. Cyrus Vance and I launched the first Banks Alliance in 2013 and we have updated all the potential indicators of human trafficking to make them more relevant to the world today. Traffickers exploit the most vulnerable among us with almost total impunity. This needs to stop."

"There is perhaps no greater disruptive impact on traffickers than through their wallet," says Polaris CEO, Bradley Myles. "The financial fight against human trafficking must be a collective undertaking between diverse stakeholders. Polaris is honored to participate in such a collaborative and interdisciplinary initiative like the United States Banks Alliance. Through this exemplary leadership, traffickers' motivating force  greed  can be turned into a powerful weapon against them."

The Toolkit will be shared on a confidential basis with financial institutions, expert anti-trafficking NGOs, and other key stakeholders, including financial crime compliance standard-setting bodies, national Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs), and law enforcement agencies. It includes a set of potential indicators of human trafficking tailored specifically to different types of financial institutions operating in the United States. The Toolkit also contains an extensive collection of case studies of human trafficking-related investigations and additional resources designed to help financial institutions detect suspicious patterns in financial transactions, customer data and behavior that may be linked to human trafficking and to report them to law enforcement (consistent with all applicable data privacy laws).

"The global economic cost of financial crime is estimated to be in the trillions of dollars, and there's also the incalculable toll on human lives," says John Panagopoulos, US Head of Financial Crime Compliance, HSBC. "Banks have the ability to spot indicators of human trafficking, and that ability is enhanced when banks work together and in collaboration with law enforcement and other organizations. The United States Banks Alliance Against Trafficking Toolkit will help us take action collectively and to greater effect."

"Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) understands the importance of dismantling criminal organizations by tracing and seizing the profits earned from their illicit activities. By preventing these groups from laundering the lifeblood of their criminal schemes, HSI can protect victims of trafficking and, in many cases, provide restitution and offer support services," says Mark Selby, Special Agent in Charge for HSI in Miami. "Partnerships with the private sector and expert non-profit organizations - like the United States Banks Alliance Against Human Trafficking - are crucial to these efforts. Through information sharing and assisting with anti-money laundering efforts, HSI can help the financial sector build typologies focussed on activities associated with human trafficking, which greatly enhances prevention, prediction, and enforcement efforts".

The United States Banks Alliance Against Human Trafficking builds on the success of the original Banks Alliance, established in 2013 by the Thomson Reuters Foundation in partnership with Manhattan District Attorney, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., and a subsequent European Banks Alliance established in 2015. The original Banks Alliance published a set of red flag indicators in 2014 which provided the basis for an influential Advisory by FinCEN and led to an increase in the number of suspicious activity reports filed by financial institutions relating to human trafficking. In 2017, the European Banks Alliance launched a similar Toolkit which was widely endorsed by industry standard setters, including the Wolfsberg Group.

"This Toolkit empowers financial institutions to leverage the vast amount of data at their disposal to identify red flags and help end human trafficking. Instead of allowing the proceeds of these despicable crimes to move through their institutions unchecked, these banks are choosing to tackle trafficking proactively in what could be a life-saving act of good corporate citizenship. Together with our law enforcement and advocacy partners, I am thrilled to work alongside these institutions to stymie the flow of illicit profits and put traffickers out of business," says Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance Jr.
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'Are you so scared for your own skin that you will not help a lady or a weak man from attack?' asks an anguished A Ganesh Nadar.

Illustration: Dominic Xavier/Rediff.com.

In broad daylight, inside the collectorate complex in Tirunelveli, a man pours kerosene on his wife, two kids and himself and sets them all on fire.

A man rapes a woman in broad daylight in Visakhapatnam while a passerby shoots a video.

In the enlightened city of Mumbai a young boy assaults an underage girl and keeps beating her till she loses consciousness. He walks away and then comes back to make sure she is still unconscious. This too is caught on camera.

How come there was no human being in sight to help them?

Have we lost our humanity?

I have seen elephants attacking lions to free a young elephant.

I have seen elephants chasing away wild dogs who were attacking a deer.

I have seen baboons attacking a leopard who was attacking a deer.

Don't we have even this feeling of protecting the weak that animals have?

In 1976, when I was a student at Mumbai's Elphinstone College, we were eating pav-bhaji at CST (then VT station) after the last show of Poseidon Adventure at Sterling cinema, when I saw a young girl being slapped by a man.

I intervened and stopped him. He turned on me in anger, but fled when he saw there were half a dozen of us.

In 2002, in Kurumbur bazaar, Thoothukudi district, Tamil Nadu, I saw a man beating up a girl and again stopped him. He did not dare to even look at me, as this was my village.

The girl at VT station turned out to be a prostitute and the man beating her, her pimp.

The man in Kurumbur turned out to be the girl's brother-in-law. He had then told me, "I hit her after she hit my younger brother who is her husband."

At Barnes School, the motto of my Spence House was 'Unity is Strength'.

I was the scout troop leader and we took the pledge, 'On my honour, I will do my best. To do my duty to God and my country and to obey the Scout Law; To help other people at all times; To keep myself physically strong, mentally awake and morally straight.'

To help other people at all times and also women, chivalry was taught to us in school.

To help girls carry their desk to the exam hall because it is heavy.

To give them an umbrella to reach their dormitory in the rain, even if you got wet yourself.

And to prevent anyone from attacking them at all costs.

I am sure that if I was present, the Mumbai girl would have not been attacked, the Vizag woman would not have been raped and the Tirunelveli family would not have died in flames.

I am 60 years old and if I can do it, why can't you?

Are you so busy with your pursuit of material wealth to provide your family with roti, kapda aur makaan that you don't have 10 minutes to serve humanity?

Are you so scared for your own skin that you will not help a lady or a weak man from attack?

Are you so insensitive to another's cry for help that you choose to ignore anyay happening right in front of you?

In the Mahabharata, when Balarama is upset at the manner in which Bhima kills Duryodhana, Lord Krishna chides his elder brother with, 'When evil and good clash you have to take the side of good; if not, you are also a sinner.'

One of the greatest scientists of the 20th century, Albert Einstein, said, 'The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.'

Rise, my dear countrymen, rise from the squalor of insensitivity you have sunk into.

If you can get angry over a cow being ill-treated, can't you get angry when a human being is in trouble and step in?

You get angry when a girl talks about using condoms but you won't help the same girl if she is being attacked in your presence. And worse, you will shoot a video of it.

India is said to have taught the world yoga, our philosophy is revered by scholars around the world. We talk about worshipping and do worship more female goddesses than any country in the world.

Our Kali has 10 avatars. We have 33 crore gods, half of whom are women. Yet we don't come forward to help when a woman needs our help.

Hear her cry, my countrymen, let us rediscover our humanity, something we lost somewhere along the way.
Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code, which was struck down by the Supreme Court, managed to be anti-women even while it appeared to be throwing a protective arm around them, says Shuma Raha.

*IMAGE: Bipasha Basu and Karan Singh Grover in the song Katra Katra from the movie, Alone.

Adultery is a great subject for books and movies.

It bristles with possibilities -- of love, lust, jealousy, fear, rage and so on. And it has huge potential for drama -- for tragedy or even the darkly tragi-comic (think Gone Girl).

In India, though, adultery, looked at from the legal standpoint, verges on comedy.

Section 497 of the Indian Penal Code, the law that deals with adultery, is so astonishingly absurd that it would be hilarious if it weren't outrageous.

Section 497 criminalises adultery -- a legal stricture that most civilised countries dispensed with years ago.

It also puts the burden of guilt on the man who is in an adulterous relationship.

The woman in question is considered innocent.

Naturally, men feel that this is unjust and that both parties -- the man and the woman -- should be held equally liable for the act.

They have a point.

However, the beauty of this dinosaur legislation (it was instituted by the British in 1860) is that it manages to be anti-women even while it appears to be throwing a protective arm around them.

By assuming that the adulterous woman is blameless, it infantilises her, as though she were a helpless plaything in the hands of her home-wrecking lover.

It's a brilliant, curveball piece of sexism, which happens to be unfair to men as well.

But theres more.

The law says that if a man has sexual intercourse with another man's wife 'without the consent or connivance of that man' he will be held guilty of adultery.

Which is really another way of saying that a wife is her husband's property and, if he sanctions it, some other man can go ahead and have sex with her.

Also, while a man can bring charges against his wife's paramour, the law does not grant the same privilege to a wronged wife.

If her husband cheats on her, she must lump it -- she can sue neither him nor his lover.

In other words, both the crime and its punishment can only be initiated by men.

In the eyes of the law, women -- adulterous or aggrieved, faithless or furious -- are entirely without agency.

*IMAGE: Shah Rukh Khan, Preity Zinta, Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukerji in the film, Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna.

Hence, Section 497 is absurd not merely because it criminalises adultery, which is an act between two consenting adults.

It is also a horrendous example of gender discrimination, and one wonders how it continues to survive in our statute books at a time when the powers-that-be are tireless in trumpeting their support for 'women's empowerment'.

But survive it does, having weathered multiple attempts to get it struck down in different courts around the country. In fact, the Supreme Court is currently hearing a petition challenging the Constitutionality of Section 497.

Throwing its weight behind the antiquated law, the government submitted an affidavit to the court, stating, 'Adultery should remain an offence. Diluting adultery law will impact the sanctity of marriages.'

When will we stop hearing these homilies about the 'sanctity of marriage'? And their implied sermon that we need to put up with all sorts of injustices for its sake?

The same old shibboleth is also cited each time there is a demand for a law against marital rape.

You can't criminalise a man who rapes his wife, so goes the argument, because marriage is a sacrament.

So the husband enjoys impunity, the wife has no rights over her body and it's all said to be for the good of their sacred marital bond.

The point is that the law should punish violence and coercion -- not acts of free will between two consenting adults.

And, no matter where adultery figures in your moral universe, it is undoubtedly a consensual act.

The Supreme Court has also been hearing a plea to decriminalise gay sex.

After years of moral panic and pusillanimity on the part of the executive and the judiciary, it now appears that the LGBTQ community may finally get their human right.

This raises the hope that the apex court will hand out a progressive judgment on Section 497 too.

In a modern society there is no place for a law that criminalises adultery and is staggeringly sexist to boot.

*Images published only for representational purposes.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is likely to be expelled from his hideout at the Ecuador Embassy in London, where he had sought asylum six years ago, after Ecuador President Lenin Moreno said that the Australian should go, according to a media report on Saturday.

Assange, 47, has been living in Ecuador embassy in Knightsbridge in central London since 2012 when he was granted political asylum.

I expect (Assange) to lose his asylum status imminently. This means, he will be expelled from the embassy. When this will happen is impossible to say, a source related to the case was quoted as saying by The Times newspaper.

The Ecuador president had recently made a statement in Spain that nobody should remain in asylum for too long.

I have never been in favour of Assanges activity, Moreno had said at an event in Madrid earlier this week.

I have never agreed with the interventions in peoples private emails in order to obtain information, however valuable it may be, to bring out certain undesirable acts of governments or people, not in that way. There are correct and legal ways to do it, he had said.

An assistant of Assange, an Australian national-- who fears being extradited to the US where he is wanted for leaking secretive documents via WikiLeaks, has criticised the Ecuador president for ending the asylum status.

The crisis had prompted contingency plans for him to leave in hours, days or weeks, one of Assanges team member was quoted as saying in the report.

Assange took refuge at the Ecuador embassy after losing an appeal against extradition to Sweden for questioning on allegations of rape and sexual assault that went to the Supreme Court.

While the Swedish case has since been dropped, Assange is still wanted by Scotland Yard for breach of bail and faces arrest the moment he steps out of the diplomatically immune territory.

Assange had been granted asylum six years ago on the grounds that he feared extradition to America, where he faced a possible death sentence or torture.

Moreno indicated that negotiations with Britain might have resulted in a guarantee that he would not face the death penalty if he were extradited.

What we want is for his life not to be in danger, he said.

This could clear the way for possible extradition of Assange to the US, once the threat of the death penalty is lifted.

Jeff Sessions, the US attorney-general, has made clear that the Donald Trump administration is seeking his arrest.

Meanwhile, Assanges medical condition has been aggravated in the ongoing heat wave in the United Kingdom amid growing reports of an increasingly uncomfortable relationship between embassy staff and the man they call the guest.

Jennifer Robinson, Assanges lawyer in London, said that she met him earlier in the week and remained concerned for his health.

She said: Its an untenable situation. Hes under a huge amount of pressure. If they do remove his protection, we will go to the courts to protect him.

We are preparing to defend him in the British courts and will fight extradition to the US. We dont have any indication of timeframe. This is a very serious situation, one that we are very concerned about. Its a matter for Ecuador, the UK, the US and Australia.

Photograph: Jack Taylor/Getty Images
Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M Karunanidhi, who is being treated for fever due to urinary tract infection, was shifted to a private hospital from his residence in Chennai early on Saturday, the party said.

IMAGE: DMK supporters with portraits of party president M Karunanidhi, wait outside a private hospital, where DMK chief was admitted due to a sudden drop in blood pressure, in Chennai. Photograph: PTI Photo

The 94-year-old leader was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of Kauvery Hospital around 1:30 am. The hospital, in a statement, said he was brought there after his blood pressure had dropped.

His blood pressure has been stabilised with medical management and he continues to be monitored and treated by a panel of experts, it said.

Several senior DMK leaders, including party working president and Karunanidhis son M K Stalin, and other frontline leaders such as Duraimurugan, Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi and former Union minister A Raja were present at the hospital.

The DMK leaders had also visited the nonagenarian leaders house in Gopalapuram area before he was taken to the hospital.

IMAGE: DMK working president MK Stalin along with senior leaders and relatives of party president M Karunanidhi, who suffered a health setback past midnight, at Gopalapuram residence in Chennai. Photograph: PTI Photo

Karunanidhis estranged son and former Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader M K Alagiri, who was expelled from the party by the DMK chief in January 2014 after a prolonged struggle for power with his younger brother Stalin, also visited his fathers house and the hospital.

After receiving the news about Karunanidhi being admitted to hospital, party cadre from various parts of the state poured in there chanting long live Thalaivar (leader).

Hours before Karunanidhi was moved to the hospital, Stalin had said the former Tamil Nadu chief ministers health was improving. On Wednesday, he had assured people that there was nothing to worry about his fathers health.

Security was tightened at the former Tamil Nadu chief ministers residence as DMK cadres kept pouring in there as well.

IMAGE: Former Union IT Minister A Raja addresses media outside a private hospital, where DMK chief M Karunanidhi is admitted. Photograph: PTI Photo

Governor Banwarilal Purohit visited the hospital and enquired about the health of Karunanidhi with the hospital authorities, Stalin and other members of the DMK chiefs family.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister K Palaniswami told reporters in Salem that the Tamil Nadu government was ready to provide all possible medical assistance to ailing Karunanidhi, who was a five-time CM, if it was approached.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, My prayers for Sh Karunanidhis fast recovery. State Health Minister C Vijayabaskar too wished the DMK supremo a speedy recovery.

Later in the day, senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mukul Wasnik visited the family members of Karunanidhi and spoke to doctors at the hospital.

Karunanidhiji is totally stable... he is improving... we are praying for his speedy recovery, Azad told reporters, adding the Congress high command had directed them to enquire about the health of nonagenarian leader.

IMAGE: Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi arrives to inquire about the health of her father and DMK Supremo M Karunanidhi. Photograph: PTI Photo

State Congress leaders including EVKS Elangovan, TNCC chief Su Thirunavukkarasar, were present at the hospital.

Actors including Prabhu and Nasser also paid a visit to the hospital.

For the past two years, the DMK president has not been making any public appearance owing to his ill health, but he still holds the top post in the Dravidian party.

A few days ago, he underwent a procedure to change his tracheostomy tube to help him in breathing.

Karunanidhi, who is addressed as Kalaignar (artiste) by his supporters, followers and some politicians, entered his 50th year as party chief on Friday.
(Agencia CMA Latam) - The one-day interbank deposit futures rates (DI rates) in Brazil are trading mixed. The shorter maturities trade higher, while the longer ones fall tracking the locally traded U.S. dollar.

According to the chief economist of SulAm?rica Investimentos, Newton Rosa, the enthusiasm with the U.S. GDP for having grown less than expected has lost its breath, giving rise to a more rational approach that the rise of 4.1%, according to preliminary data, is still consistent and gives room for stronger actions by the Federal Reserve Bank.

The proximity of the meetings of the U.S. Fed and the Brazilian Central Bank (BC) monetary policy committee scheduled for next week also increases the degree of caution in the market.

Near the end of the session, the January 2019 DI contract rate was stable at 6.63%, from 6.625% in the previous settlement, while the January 2020 DI rate was at 7.92%, from 7.91%. The January 2021 DI contract rate was at 8.92, from 8.94%.

by Agencia CMA Latam

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(Agencia CMA Latam) - The one-day interbank deposit futures rates (DI rates) in Brazil ended lower Friday, tracking the locally traded U.S. dollar.

While the U.S. grew less than forecast by the market in the second quarter, despite having recorded strong performance, in domestic politics, Geraldo Alckmin's improvement in an election poll also boosted the domestic market.

Quantitas' fixed income analyst Matheus Gallina pointed out that the longest end of the curve was the one that lost strength throughout the session, "falling less" in the second part of the compared to the morning move.

In addition to U.S. GDP, Gallina added that the policy left the mood of the market more positive after XP Investimentos-Ipespe's voting intention survey pointed to the growth of pre-candidate Geraldo Alckmin (PSDB).

The shorter maturities are showing little swing, being accommodated over the previous closings.

About Selic rate, the economist at Renascen?a Corretora, Cesar Garritano, said that the rate is expected to remain unchanged at 6.50% per year.

The January 2019 DI contract rate closed at 6.62%, from 6.625% in the previous settlement, while the January 2020 DI rate was at 7.91%, from 7.92%. The January 2021 DI contract rate settled at 8.90%, from 8.94%.

by Agencia CMA Latam

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Tyson Foods Inc. (TSN) is close to acquiring Keystone Foods LLC, a U.S. supplier of chicken nuggets to McDonald's Corp. (MCD), the Bloomberg reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

Tyson is in exclusive talks with Keystone's owner, Brazil's Marfrig Global Foods SA, the report stated. Marfrig is reportedly selling Keystone for about $3 billion to help pay for U.S. deal.

Representatives of Marfrig and Tyson declined to comment on the talks.

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Make Pankaja Munde CM for an hour to clear Maratha quota: Shiv Sena (file photo) The Shiv Sena on Saturday sought to embarrass its Bharatiya Janata Party ruling ally by suggesting that Pankaja Munde, a minister in the Maharashtra cabinet, be unanimously anointed as "Chief Minister for an hour to clear the Maratha quotas file". The Sena's advice came after Women and Child Welfare Minister Pankaja Munde -- daughter of late Union Minister Gopinath Munde -- created a political flutter in Beed by claiming on Thursday that "if the Maratha reservations file had come to her table, she would have cleared it in a jiffy, but the matter was now sub-judice".



Willy-nilly targeting incumbent Devendra Fadnavis by his cabinet colleague's statement, the Sena harped that if Munde is made Chief Minister for an hour, there would be no hurdles, she would sign the file in a wink, and the raging Maratha reservation issue could be resolved.



"Questions have arisen in the minds of the Marathas... whether the state government deliberately wants to keep the Maratha quota issue hanging... Has the CM been isolated on this matter?



"If Munde can do something as she claims, why not Fadnavis," the Sena asked.



The Shiv Sena's caustic comments came in an edit in the party mouthpieces "Saamana" and "Dopahar Ka Saamana" even as Fadnavis prepared to host an all-party meeting on Saturday afternoon to hammer out a solution to the vexed issue.



Elaborating on Munde's statement that she would even approach Prime Minster Narendra Modi, the Sena asked why cannot Fadnavis also do the same.



"Modi is away from Delhi most of the time... He has lost interest in the problems of the country or the states... Many a times he is abroad. So Fadnavis must be wondering which wall to bang his head against after going there (to Delhi)," the edit said sarcastically.



Under such circumstances, the Sena contended that the government policy is "to simply crush all agitations", as they did in Gujarat when Hardik Patel led the campaign for the Patidar reservations.



"Hardik Patel was arrested under serious charges of sedition and jailed after he led the Patidar agitation... But in Maharashtra, the entire Maratha community leadership is agitating so the state government's problems have compounded. Otherwise, they would have tried to stamp it out," the Sena said.



It said the Centre could have attempted to resolve the issue and save Maharashtra from the crises, but the Centre apparently has no solutions, so only Fadnavis alone, cannot be held responsible for the fallout of the Maratha stir.



"The BJP had given very big assurances before elections to grab power -- to the Marathas, the Dhangars. Now it is payback time, and all those poll promises have to be fulfilled... This is the crux of the problem," the Sena noted.



The need of the hour is for Fadnavis to take immediate measures to resolve these crises before they further escalate, the Sena advised.




Learning about genealogy helps people better understand themselves.

It is the reason a group from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints are helping church members and non-members to connect with their ancestors through easy access to historical records.

Sister Schwenke is a Temple Family History Consultant. Yesterday in Pesega, they held an information session for their church members to increase awareness of this online resource available for Samoans all over the world to use.

The website, Familysearch.org, which was historically known as the genealogical society of Utah, is dedicated to preserving the records from all around the world, including Samoa.

The church has access to all of these informations, said Sister Schwenke. Our familys church too they have catalogues that have all this information at family search in Utah. Headquarters in Utah will send out all these information to family histories so you can view all those things and you can gather information that you need.

According to Sister Schwenke, there are family history consultants at every chapel in Samoa who can help people put together their family genealogy.

We are out here to reveal to the families that there are resources thats available to them and we just want to teach them how to tap into those resources.

For some of us, we dont know who our grandparents or great grandparents are so this will help them search for their family members and so every Chapel has their own family history consultant and thats the responsibility of the consultant to help those individuals. This information is not only available to members of the church but non-members are welcome to use it.

In order to start your family tree and have access to informations to build your genealogy, people must register on the familysearch.org website to ensure privacy.

However, once your family tree starts to go back several generations, it will link to other members family trees that you are connected with.

As you fill in the family members that you know, a lot of our families are doing this and so once youve gone three or four generations back, automatically your tree will connect with other relatives who around the world are doing this, next thing you know youll have 15-20 generations. So what happens is youre going to start pulling your family tree sideways.

All of Samoa is included, Manua, Tutuila and Savaii. The church have massive amount of information but we cant be going out there and giving out peoples information because there is sensitivity around the information especially because our people are fighting over lands, the church does not make this information available on Google, you will have to register before you can see all of it.

Photographs, documents and digital films are available through the family search website and Sister Schwenke says this genealogy library is going to be a valuable resource especially with family disputes over land in Samoa.

Were fighting for our lands and this could be a resource and bridges for this, a lot of families overseas are reaching out to find out about missing generations. The Mormon Church and the Government worked together over generations in Samoa to collate the information and the church were able to digitise all these films; its all in the vault in Utah, a mountain of information thats in there for safe keeping.

Sister Schwenke is aware of the sensitivity around sharing of information regarding genealogy but she encourages those who feel that way to come forth and have a consultation because its important for the younger generation to know who their biological relatives are.

We will be more than happy to meet those people and then we can talk about it. Theres secrecy because firstly its about land. Secondly, title and third reason is because there are lots of out-of-wedlock family members and people not wanting to have information out there in the open to reveal names of the father. There are grandparents who had many marriages, some of them dont want that information out there but what they dont realise is that there are children involved.

There is a new generation who are very open and longing to claim their identity, people want to know who am I? Where did I come from? Who is my mother, who is my father? They have that right to find out their background because they are old enough.

Before it went digital, FamilySearch was historically known as the Genealogical Society of Utah which was founded in 1894.
Scenery, culture and the people attract Erin Daldry to Samoa.

Its her second time to Samoa and she told the Dear Tourist team that she falls in love with Samoa every time she visits.

She is from Wellington, New Zealand and her recent visit to Samoa this year; she stayed at the Seabreeze Resorts, Aufaga.

The last time she has been on the island, she had the opportunity to go to Savaii.

I absolutely loved the blow holes in Savaii and the To Sua Ocean Trench was awesome, Erin said.

In Upolu, there seems to be a lot more infrastructures and the town is more like a town in New Zealand, whereas in Savaii it is a bit more rural.

The roads have been better in Savaii; it was easier to drive because the roads were nice and smooth. I guess the road is not as good in Upolu because there are more cars using the roads.

Erin said minimizing the careless dumping of rubbish plays a huge role in attracting tourists, and he says this can be achieved through more awareness.

Because the country is so beautiful, you dont want to put your rubbish anyhow.

When tourists come here, they are expecting a nice country; you dont see rubbish on the advertising pictures. It is the same for the people who live here.

I have been really pleased to see the number of rubbish bins around the Taumeasina Island Resort, she shared.

Erime said so far, Seabreeze Resort is one of the best restaurants shes eaten in compared to places shes travelled around the world.

If you go into Apia, sometimes you go to a place a cafe and they be like fish and chips and Chinese food, when you are in Samoa I personally would prefer to eat oka and local food, what I think other tourists would like that too as part of the experience and culture.

The people in general are very polite. People at the Seabreeze were really friendly. They would remember things we want, for example we didnt want any plastic straws.

Erin said Samoa has kept its culture very well and that is what she enjoyed the most. I really like Samoa, I am really pleased I came here, she said.
The city will face off Monday against activist attorney Cory Briggs in a trial over the financing and deal-making associated with an $80 million Balboa Park makeover that would remove cars entirely from the Plaza de Panama.

The pedestrian-friendly Plaza de Panama project seeks to divert traffic from the Cabrillo Bridge and displace cars from two plazas in the center of the park. The plan, championed by Qualcomm co-founder Irwin Jacobs and backed by Mayor Kevin Faulconer, also calls for a bypass bridge and an 800-space underground garage, topped by landscaping. It was initially approved by the City Council in 2012.

The court action, brought by Briggs on behalf of San Diegans for Open Government, challenges the bonds the city proposes to sell to cover about $50 million of the project; the remaining $30 million is being raised privately. The complaint contends that the bonds require voter approval. It also disputes the legality of the contract between the city and the privately run Plaza de Panama Committee, a non-profit group established by Jacobs. Part of the contention is that the committee is illegally receiving the naming rights for several park facilities as part of its arrangement with the city.

SDOG is agnostic about the merits of the (Balboa Park) makeover, states the pre-trial brief Briggs filed Friday. SDOG does care about San Diego taxpayers, the excessive public debt that the Citys politicians keep racking up, and the no-bid contracts that those politicians keep handing out. Those concerns are what motivated this lawsuit.

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Monday, Briggs will argue his side in San Diego Superior Court. Ultimately, hes asking Judge Gregory Pollack to block the city from issuing bonds to finance the plazas overhaul.

Plaza de Panamas status has been in limbo for years. Before the Briggs case, a separate suit from preservationist group Save Our Heritage Organisation also sought to kill the deal. Progress picked up in late 2016, however, when City Council authorized lease-revenue bonds to finance costs associated with development. However, the San Diegans for Open Government suit, initially filed in early 2017, once again suspended activity.

Meanwhile, the repeated delays have jeopardized the viability of the Plaza de Panama project, according to court documents.

The longer the project is delayed, the more construction costs will increase, Gordon Kovtun, the project manager, said in a declaration filed earlier this month. Given the estimated $66 million cost of construction  every month of delay increases the projects cost by approximately $115,500.

Even still, Faulconer contends that the now nearly decade-old design to turn 6 acres of space into parkland is more than a dream.

The Mayor continues to work closely with proponents and remains committed to getting this once-in-a-generation project across the finish line, said Craig Gustafson, a spokesman for the mayors office. Anyone can file a lawsuit regardless of the merits, but the fact is this project enjoys broad public support and we are confident the City will prevail in court.

The revitalization of the Plaza de Panama is going to be the biggest investment Balboa Park has seen in decades and transform the plaza to its original splendor with acres of new park space for the public to enjoy.

The City Attorneys office declined to provide a statement on the case.

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jennifer.vangrove@sduniontribune.com (619) 293-1840 Twitter: @jbruin
A free digital mapping tool could help fishermen zero in on swordfish, while steering clear of endangered leatherback turtles and other protected animals.

EcoCast, designed by researchers with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and San Diego State University, generates daily maps that plot the best areas to catch swordfish without snaring unwanted species.

Its part of a suite of technical advances that seek to harness big data in support of fisheries, and could bolster Californias dwindling swordfish sector, which is now based mostly out of San Diego.

EcoCast has really developed because we saw a problem of a fishery targeting a highly migratory species, swordfish, and yet avoiding a species that travels almost as much, which is sea turtles, said Elliott Hazen, a marine ecologist with NOAA Fisheries and co-developer of the program. We wanted to see if we could give fisherman access to species they want, while avoiding the animals they need to remain sustainable.

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Users can visit the EcoCast website and see color-coded maps that show the best and worst places to fish for swordfish without the risk of bycatch. Since the maps refresh daily, the tool could offer a more flexible way of managing fisheries amid shifting ocean conditions than seasonal fishing closures do, Hazen said. If the swordfish program is successful, scientists envision using the tool for tuna and other migratory fish.

I like to describe EcoCast as a climate-ready tool, because it is adjusting to climate variability automatically, he said. A dynamic model such as EcoCast does a much better job adjusting for seasonal conditions than any static closure would.

The daily maps are the user interface for complex models that predict the position of swordfish, as well as the locations of leatherbacks, sea lions and blue sharks. To develop them, researchers pulled figures on swordfish and blue sharks collected by observers on fishing boats, as well as monitoring data on the movement and location of tagged leatherbacks, sea lions and blue sharks. They also collected satellite data on ocean conditions, including sea surface temperatures, chlorophyll, sea surface height, and the position of marine fronts and eddies.

With a $900,000 grant from NASA and about $300,000 in other funds, researchers built models that match marine conditions to the animals locations, map where each species is likely to be, and compare where their locations overlap or diverge.

This is one of the first attempts to build a multi-species model; how do you look at a suite of five species at the same time? Hazen said. Computing power was critical to allow us to build these more complex models.

The challenge of disentangling swordfish from bycatch  or accidental catch  of other species, has nearly wiped out the swordfish fishery on the West Coast. Swordfish are currently caught mainly with drift-gillnets  vast sheets of netting that float below the surface, capturing swordfish and other commercial species, but also entrapping other species they hope to avoid. Those include critically endangered leatherback turtles; sea lions, which are safeguarded by the Marine Mammal Protection Act; and and blue sharks, which pose a nuisance to fishermen and can damage their nets.

Leatherbacks are globe-traveling leviathans that can weigh up to a ton. Born in the nesting beaches of Indonesia, the animals cross the Pacific in the California Current, where they were often snared in gillnets in the past. To prevent that, federal regulators close a large swath of the Pacific from Central California to Oregon for three months a year

That precaution has substantially reduced accidental catch of turtles and other protected species. Proposed regulations could also mandate the use of specialized rigs called deep set buoy gear, which could further reduce bycatch.

But the closures, gear requirements and other regulations enacted to protect the leatherback have made it hard for boats to turn a profit. The swordfish fleet, with about 200 vessels off the West Coast in the 1980s and 1990s, has dwindled to just 10 to 15 boats. Most are based in San Diego and operate in the Southern California Bight, the only part of the coast not restricted by the closures, Hazen said.

Gary Burke, a gillnet fisherman who collaborated with researchers on EcoCast, said fishermen have their own interest in avoiding bycatch. Theyve improved fishing techniques during the 46 years that he has been fishing, but welcome tools to salvage what remains of their fishery.

As you know, weve been under the gun, and scrutinized for the bycatch weve got, said Gary Burke, a gillnet fisherman who collaborated with researchers on EcoCast. Weve improved a hell of a lot but were always looking for new methods. As fishermen, bycatch doesnt help us, and destroys a lot of your gear. Were always looking for anything new that can help us.

Researchers are hopeful that sophisticated computing tools can fine-tune fishing industries and management. Elsewhere, for instance, theyre developing video fish monitoring systems that use artificial intelligence technology borrowed from the military to automatically count and identify species through a system theyve nicknamed fishal recognition, said Steve Murawski, a fisheries biologist and marine ecologist with the University of South Florida.

Americans currently import about 90 percent of the fish we eat, according to NOAA, so scientists believe that deploying technology to manage our wild stocks can enhance local fisheries such as the West Coast swordfish industry and others.

In addition to supporting a particular fishery, this is providing a working model, saying we can do it better, said Rebecca Lewison, a biology professor at San Diego State University and co-developer of EcoCast. We can manage fish smarter. We can manage our ocean smarter if we use the data that we have, because were getting reams of it from our satellites. We can manage our oceans in a dynamic way, rather than a static way.

deborah.brennan@sduniontribune.com Twitter@deborahsbrennan
The City Council in National City split this week on a resolution that condemned the separation of immigrant families at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Councilmen Albert Mendivil and Jerry Cano opposed the resolution, which called on the Trump administration to immediately reunite all detained and separated families and to release them to community settings to await processing of their immigration cases.

Mayor Ron Morrison, who said he did not support the resolution, abstained from the 2-2 vote on Tuesday.

Councilwomen Alejandra Sotelo-Solis and Mona Rios did support the resolution, which also condemned the use of local law enforcement resources for the purpose of engaging in federal agency roundups and immigration enforcement operations.

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Hundreds of children remained separated from their parents on Thursday, the court-imposed deadline for the Trump administration to reunite families.

Sotelo-Solis said hearing stories within our community motivated her to put forward the resolution, which was written based on a draft from the ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties.

Cano, who noted hes an American citizen, said he believes the government did the right thing by separating families because it kept children in a secure environment.

When those families decided to come to the United States, they knew the consequences they were going to be exposed to, he added.

Mendivil labeled the resolution symbolic and said its just politics.

It doesnt help families, he said.

He added: I believe Congress is to blame for this situation.

He then turned his attention to another issue.

Where is the outrage about human trafficking? he asked. Open borders and weak immigration policies contribute to human trafficking.

Rios said it was unfathomable children would be separated from their parents without a reunification plan.

Some people may call this symbolic, she said. This is real life.

Morrison said he could not support the resolution because he did not consider it a city-related issue.

I dont think any of us like the idea of families being separated, the mayor said before the council voted.

The city has grappled with the issue of immigration in the past.

In response to the Trump administrations crackdown on illegal immigration, the City Council considered a resolution last year to proclaim National City a welcoming city.

The City Council settled on the label compassionate community under the final resolution, which declares, in part, that residents can access city services regardless of their immigration status.

Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

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With more than 1,800 migrant families now reunified under a court-ordered deadline, the question turns to how fast immigration authorities can deport those with final orders of removal.

It looks increasingly likely those families will remain in limbo, at least for now.

Lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union have asked U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego for a seven-day reprieve for all parents to consult with their children and attorneys to determine if there is any further recourse. That could result in a parent deciding to leave a child in the U.S. to fight an asylum case alone.

But the judge seemed reluctant to grant such a blanket delay. Instead he focused on a narrower subset of parents who might have just been reunited in the last day or so, or the 120 parents who waived their right to reunification but may have been confused.

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Currently, about 300 reunified families are being detained in a pair of facilities in Texas, and 1,100 families have been released on parole into the community while their immigration cases are pending, government attorneys in the San Diego case said. Another 145 parents are also detained, but without their children due to ineligibility such as criminal records.

About 1,000 families have executable orders of removal.

But the families at imminent risk of being deported are the ones in detention with travel documents already prepared  a group that government lawyers could not immediately quantify during a Friday hearing.

Sabraw halted family deportations nearly two weeks ago to hear more argument on the issue, and now he expects to rule over the weekend.

The hearing Friday afternoon was the first following the one-month deadline Sabraw had set to reunify the more than 2,500 children age 5 and older separated at the border. About 57 children under 5 were reunited under an earlier deadline.

The government deserves great credit, Sabraw said, applauding the massive undertaking. But he also blamed the government for its lack of foresight and communication in implementing its hardline stance on criminally prosecuting illegal border crossings, saying the government is at fault for losing several hundred parents in the process.

The parents hes referring to include the more than 400 who are believed to have been deported without their children and were not able to be reunified by the deadline. At least 35 other parents have been released from immigration custody into the U.S. and still have not been located.

Those parents will be the focus of the next chapter in the legal challenge to the family separations. Sabraw on Friday urged the government to identify and locate those parents as quickly as possible for reunification.

How that will happen, however, is the subject of dispute.

The ACLU lawyers have offered to utilize a vast network of advocacy groups to help find the parents around the world  mostly in Central America  but are asking for as much detail as possible from government immigration files to aid in the detective work. Those might include the name of a relative, an address or a destination mentioned to a case worker.

Deputy Assistant Atty. Gen. Scott Stewart countered that a court order to produce such data would be overly burdensome and detract from the effort to reunify families.

We want to move as swiftly as possible, Stewart assured the judge.

In a phone call with reporters a day earlier, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security official contended that many, if not all, of those previously deported parents were given the option to reunite with their children before removal but gave up that right knowingly, apparently believing it was in the childs best interest.

But ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt questioned that reasoning, pointing to affidavits filed Wednesday from pro-bono attorneys working in detention centers along the Southwest border who have found at least 27 parents who said they unknowingly signed away their right to reunification.

The attorneys described parents who had little to no time to speak with their children, who didnt understand the legal documents they had been asked to sign  sometimes due to language barriers or their inability to read and write  and who were confused over their own immigration cases.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a New York attorney at the American Immigration Council, supervised a team of volunteers whod interviewed more than 90 parents in Texas detention facilities since last week, including 52 whod been identified as having waived reunification with their children.

Many of these individuals indicated that they felt coerced into relinquishing their rights, he wrote in an affidavit. Still others appeared totally unaware that they had done so. Indeed, some individuals were adamant that they had signed a paper that said they chose to be reunited with their children.

Problem is, many of the parents said they were not given copies of the forms, leaving attorneys unable to immediately verify what had actually been signed, the affidavits said.

Gelernt argued the affidavits were evidence for the need for a seven-day waiting period before reunited families can be deported.

But Sabraw pointed to a 48-hour notice form that clearly lays out a parents options and noted that many families reunited over the past few weeks have had long enough to figure out their next steps.

He also questioned if continuing to stay removals falls within the scope of the case, which at its core is about reunification, not affording a parent greater time to then decide whether to re-separate.

Going forward, Sabraw also warned the government that the case is not over after the reunifications.

This problem cannot repeat, Sabraw warned. He said criminal prosecution of illegal border crossings will continue, and families will be separated as a result.

In what he sees as a Stage 3 to the litigation, the judge indicated he will require a future process that ensures government agencies share information, track parents and children better, and have a plan to reunify them once the criminal prosecution is finished.

Under the terms of a 1997 court settlement called the Flores agreement, which limits the amount of time children can be held in immigration custody, parents in detention will have the option to stay with their child in a family facility or to release their child to a shelter or the care of a sponsor.

The conditions of family detention centers will also be more closely monitored.

On Friday, a Los Angeles federal judge in the Flores case said she will appoint an independent auditor to oversee the treatment of children in immigrant detention facilities.

Peter Schey, lead counsel and director of the Los Angeles-based Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, said the monitor will oversee all three family detention centers run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement  two in Texas and one in Pennsylvania  as well as Border Patrol facilities in the Rio Grande sector along the Texas border.

Scheys group filed a scathing report last week that included testimony from more than 200 parents and children held in California, Texas and other states who described cramped cells without enough bedding, cold or frozen food and a lack of basic hygiene products.

A Mexican woman said her daughter had wet herself on their first night because there were so many people sleeping in the room that she couldnt get to the toilet. A Guatemalan boy told attorneys that he had no soap, towels or toothbrush.

These are problems that appear to be pervasive, Schey said Friday. Were hoping that that has a salutary effect on Border Patrol operations throughout the southern border. Hopefully they wont wait until we bring a new motion to expand the special monitor before they will learn from this and correct their ways.

The interviews were done through a 1997 court settlement called the Flores agreement that governs how long migrant children may be held in custody and under what conditions. The settlement allows attorneys to periodically inspect detention facilities that children are held in.

This month, U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee rejected the federal governments request to renegotiate the terms of the Flores agreement to hold children for longer than 20 days.

She ruled in 2015 that the government had breached the agreement by allowing rooms that were cold and overcrowded as well as inadequate nutrition and hygiene.
Redding seemed to be holding its collective breath Friday as night fell, with winds appearing relatively calm but a grainy, orange sky looming over the communitys western neighborhoods from the deadly and still expanding Carr fire.

With at least 500 structures lost and more than 48,000 acres burned, Redding residents either decided to pack their belongings and head out of town along Interstate 5, which bisects the city, or nervously wait out the blaze, which is only 5% contained.

Sometimes, people do not heed the recommendations to leave, said Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko. We cannot force them, but it causes problems when people try to come in and rescue them.

Even so, cars loaded with kids, pets and personal belongings were a common site throughout the early evening.

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Bosenko said that as of Friday afternoon, there were no confirmed reports of missing persons, though officials opened a hotline for family members to notify authorities.

We expect there will be missing persons, and even unreported deaths ... as people find out where their loved ones are, he said.

READ MORE: 500 structures lost in Northern California brush fire that kills 2 

By early evening, Reddings downtown was all but deserted. Law enforcement blockades of streets in the path of the erratic blaze left drivers scrambling for ways around the danger.

Fast-food restaurants away from downtown, however, were the site of massive traffic jams throughout the evening.

In a Friday night update, officials said 500 structures have been destroyed and nearly 5,000 more are threatened.

A number of official shelters remained open and accepting evacuees, while others in the Redding community opened their own doors to do what they could as the second straight night of frayed nerves descended on the city. Suggestions of impromptu welcome mats being laid out were shared throughout the evening on local talk radio. Space for a few livestock here, extra room for a few people there.

News of the magnitude of destroyed houses was just filtering through the impromptu community of evacuees at Shasta College, located northeast of the city center and away from the fire.

Ash occasionally floated down on the hundreds who had fled their homes. The community colleges gym was full of people, cooled with portable generators. Others camped in their cars in the parking lot or on cots laid out on one of the campus open lawn areas.

Dena Balding and Claire Lillian were sharing a domed camping tent, and preparing for their second straight night at the evacuation site.

We might be here for days, Lillian said. A police officer drove her away from her apartment Thursday night, as she had no other means of travel. She said she appreciated the efforts of first responders, as well as the services at the college being provided by the Salvation Army and the American Red Cross.

Theyre doing the best they can, she said.

Rory Gentry, who lives only blocks away from Lillian, stopped by to say that he had driven back to the neighborhood near Lake Boulevard, on the northwest side of Redding and near some of the most heavily scorched areas.

He described ashes on the ground that were like newfallen snow under his feet.

Its not looking good, Gentry told the women.

Nearby, James Thayer was trying to settle in for a second night of sleep on an iron park bench. The shelters had only standard beds, and he said he needed a bariatric bed designed for heavier people.

Im tired, Thayer said as he wiped sweat from his brow with a cloth. I only slept about 15 minutes last night.

Thayers apartment complex remains deep inside the mandatory evacuation zone. And though he wished he wasnt preparing for a second night on a bench, at least it would be better than the night before.

This time, they gave me all these blankets, he said with a slight smile.

At Hope Center, a church on the east side of the city, parishioners opened their building to any who needed help.

Were a small congregation, but were doing what we can, said Aaron Schmidt, one of the volunteers staffing the operation.

At Reddings iconic Sundial Bridge, which crosses the Sacramento River, visitors were turned away as night fell and the smell of smoke settled in.

We has this all planned, said Sharon Pentek of Sheboygan, Wisc., whose family was huddled around their car in the parking lot, a paper map and a cellphone in hand to check for hotel rooms to the north of the city. A number of hotels were sold out hours earlier.

Pentek and her husband had come to visit their daughter, who works in Redding. The couple had no idea she had been forced to evacuate.

We thought this would be the perfect time to come visit, Pentek said.

john.myers@latimes.com

Twitter: @johnmyers

UPDATES:

10:15 p.m.: This article was updated with interviews with evacuees.

This article was originally published at 8:50 p.m.
Firefighters battling a 13,100-acre wildfire in Riverside County continued to make steady progress Saturday against the stubborn blaze, which has forced the evacuation of thousands of residents in and around Idyllwild.

The Cranston fire was 29% contained as of Saturday evening, with more than 13,100 acres burned. Authorities say it was started by an arsonist Wednesday morning.

For the record: This article states that Yosemite National Park was closed due to the fire. Only parts of the park, including Yosemite Valley, are closed. This article also states that Cal Fire bulldozer operator was killed battling the Ferguson fire on the day it erupted. He died the following day.

Evacuations remained in place for 7,000 people, including residents and campers at Mt. San Jacinto State Park.

Firefighters Saturday concentrated on the south ridge east of Idyllwild to keep the fire from spreading to Fern Valley, said Rebecca Miller, a spokeswoman with the U.S. Forest Service. She said the strong, upslope winds could affect suppression efforts, with timber, brush and chaparral acting as fuels.

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Fire-control resources are stretched thin by other fires around the state. Still, more than 1,300 personnel were helping battle the blaze, including from the Cal Fire Riverside unit, the Idyllwild Fire Protection District and Riverside County Fire Department.

Two firefighters were treated for minor injuries, Miller said.

Fire officials credited years of pre-planning for helping to divert a major disaster. Efforts included the removal of thousands of dead and dying trees, construction of miles of firebreaks, and detailed evacuation plans.

The communitys disaster plan was based on a variety of fire scenarios that identified staging areas for firefighters, equipment and safety zones, as well as escape routes for evacuees, officials said.

Brandon N. McGlover, the Temecula man authorities say started the Cranston fire, was charged Friday with starting nine separate fires. All nine were set Wednesday in the Idyllwild, Anza and Sage areas. He faces 15 felony counts: one of aggravated arson, five of arson of an inhabited structure and nine of arson of forest or wildland.

McGlover, 32, pleaded not guilty to all 15 charges and a judge set his bail at $3.5 million, according to the Riverside County district attorneys office. If convicted on all counts, he faces up to life in prison.

Authorities estimate the fire could be contained by Aug.9.

Meanwhile, Yosemite National Park remains closed as the Ferguson fire burns well into its second week, taking a firefighters life and consuming 51,600 acres. The vegetation fire, which started July 13, continues to threaten thousands of structures.

A Cal Fire bulldozer operator was killed battling the fire on the day it erupted and seven others have been injured since, officials said.

Firefighters were working on a new containment line along the northern perimeter of the fire that has shrunk the amount of available fuel for the fire, officials said. As of Saturday, the fire was 30% contained.

Full containment is expected Aug. 15. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.

Times staff writer Marisa Gerber contributed to this report.

andrea.castillo@latimes.com | Twitter: @andreamcastillo

UPDATES:

8:20 p.m.: This article was updated with the latest containment and acreage figures for the Cranston and Ferguson fires.

This article was originally published at 12:25 p.m.
A suspect is in custody after a Los Angeles police officer was shot in the leg late Friday night.

About 10:14 p.m., police received a help call for shots fired in the area of Plummer Street and Noble Avenue in the North Hills neighborhood, LAPD Officer Drake Madison said. Both the officer and suspect were struck by gunfire.

We do not have their conditions at this time, the department tweeted.

Theres been an Officer-Involved Shooting in the area of Plummer Street and Noble Avenue in the North Hills neighborhood of LAPD Mission Division. A Public Information Officer will be responding to the scene and we will bring you more details as they become available  LAPD HQ (@LAPDHQ) July 28, 2018

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brittny.mejia@latimes.com

Twitter: @Brittny_Mejia

UPDATES:

10:55 p.m.: This article was updated with details about the suspect also being struck by gunfire.

This article was originally published at 10:45 p.m.
Patrick Reitz cant say his isolated, mile-high community of Idyllwild was fully prepared for the Cranston fire, a blaze authorities say was caused by an arsonist and which continued to burn out of control Friday.

But in a place where fire authorities have been sounding alarms for years about the buildup of tinder-dry trees and brush on all sides, residents had learned that an important part of facing a wildfire is getting ready for it.

Idyllwild was saved by years of pre-planning, said Reitz, chief of the Idyllwild Fire Protection District. That includes removal of thousands of dead and dying trees, construction of miles of firebreaks, and evacuation plans drafted by at least a dozen mountain camps that cater to thousands of young people, town organizations and fire authorities.

Before we pulled the cord on a formal mandatory evacuation shortly after the Cranston fire began, he said, most of the youth camp folks were already off the mountain.

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Following close behind were an estimated 6,000 residents who found themselves on traffic-choked, two-lane roads that wind down the ragged northern flanks of the San Jacinto Mountains, where suburbia meets the wilderness  a classic Southern California landscape that has long lured people to build homes in forests and brushlands despite the threat of wildfires.

The communitys disaster plan was based on a variety of fire scenarios that identified staging areas for firefighters, equipment and safety zones, as well as escape routes for evacuees, officials said.

By Friday morning, the Cranston fire had scorched 11,500 acres, destroyed at least five homes and forced the evacuation of more than 4,000 residences. The fire is only 3% contained.

Brandon N. McGlover was charged with 15 felony counts connected to Riverside County fires, including the Cranston fire. (Riverside County Sheriffs Department / TNS)

Brandon N. McGlover, the Temecula man authorities say started the Cranston fire, was charged Friday with starting nine separate fires. All nine were set Wednesday in the Idyllwild, Anza and Sage areas. He faces 15 felony counts: one of aggravated arson, five of arson of an inhabited structure and nine of arson of forest or wildland.

McGlover, 32, pleaded not guilty to all 15 charges and a judge set his bail at $3.5 million, according to the Riverside County district attorneys office. If convicted on all counts, he faces up to life in prison.

By Friday evening, the Cranston fire appeared to be spreading east of Mountain Center and into the San Jacinto Wilderness.

The blaze was expected to keep growing, especially in the wilderness and the Rattlesnake Spring areas, according to Chad Cook, operations section chief with the California Incident Management Team.

The fire is laying down now, Riverside County Fire Chief Dan Talbot said during a briefing Friday. But it looked like that yesterday morning too, and then it roared back to life.

Response teams are keeping a close eye on the communities of Apple Canyon and Vista Ranch, which are threatened by the spreading flames. Fire-control efforts have been hampered by the extreme heat and low humidity, as well as resources stretched thin by other fires around the state.

This isnt the first time that Idyllwild  a community known for its schools, and art and music foundations  has been shaken by fire. The first time the town was totally evacuated was in July 1996, when the Bee fire crept up the mountain. Residents returned to their homes on the Fourth of July weekend and held a parade led by local firefighters.

A decade later, the arson-caused Esperanza fire triggered an explosion of heat and flames that killed four local firefighters and critically injured another. Relatives and neighbors in Idyllwild responded to their loss with strong emotions, flags at half-staff and an army of volunteers to help the affected families.

The town was evacuated again in 2013 because of the Mountain fire.

Friday morning, authorities were cautiously optimistic that the Cranston fire had moved on, away from the community and into sparsely populated areas, Reitz said. The preparations we did with the U.S. Forest Service, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, Riverside County and others enabled us to get defensive lines in place ahead of this fire.

He worried, however, about the safety of stragglers who defied the evacuation order to leave the tourism-driven communitys tightly packed cottages, modest chalets, gift shops, restaurants and watering holes.

We cut the power in Idyllwild due to the approaching fire, Reitz said. A few hours later, the main power lines into town were downed by the blaze. So, the whole community is without power, and were working off generators.

Fire authorities expressed guarded optimism Friday afternoon that the alpine resort had been spared three days after it was forced to evacuate.

RELATED: Everything you need to know about Californias catastrophic year of wildfires 

In the next day or two, we should have full containment of this fire in the community of Idyllwild, said Lee Beyer, a spokesman for the San Bernardino National Forest. But we still have a ton of work to do before  residents and visitors can return safely.

He added: Firefighters are doing heavy mop-up operations in hot spots. Power poles and power lines need to be replaced. Highway guardrails are in need of repair.

As he spoke, helicopters and air tankers doused flames on ridgelines a few miles north of Lake Hemet, and about 15 miles south of Idyllwild. Much of the black smoke that had filled the air a day earlier had turned to more benign shades of gray.

Idyllwild and all its charms will still be there when the evacuation is lifted, he said. But the views along Highway 74 will be different because a lot of the green is gone.

Sahagun and Newberry reported from Idyllwild, Panzar from Los Angeles. Times staff writers Jaclyn Cosgrove and Joseph Serna and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

louis.sahagun@latimes.com

laura.newberry@latimes.com

javier.panzar@latimes.com
The fire came out of the dry pines of the Trinity Mountains with such intense heat that it created its own wind pattern.

Evacuating his neighbors in the River Ridge neighborhood, Redding Police Chief Roger Moore saw a towering coil of fire sucking debris in the sky like a tornado.

It was just destroying everything in its path, he said. It was making a sound like a jet engine.

As the Carr fire raced eastward, driven by fierce wind, it rushed down brushy canyons, up dry-grass ridges, through neighborhoods thick with trees and across the Sacramento River.

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By Friday, two people  a firefighter and bulldozer operator  had been killed and 500 structures destroyed, including Moores. Officials identified one of the victims as Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke.

By nightfall, the Carr fire had burned more than 48,000 acres, with only 5% containment, officials said. About 38,000 people were evacuated in Shasta County.

This fire was whipped up into a whirlwind of activity, uprooting trees, moving cars and dislocating parts of roads, said Ken Pimlott, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Northern California will see high heat and low humidity over the next week to 10 days, he said, which will increase the likelihood of new fires starting and firefighters wearing out as they battle new and existing blazes. The agency has more than 7,000 firefighters working across the state, battling 45 to 50 fires per day, he said.

 The Carr fire destroyed an untold number of homes in Shasta County Thursday night.

Firefighters struggle to contain fires when they face steep terrain, hot weather, dry brush and other vegetation that can fuel a fire, said Greg Bertelli, an incident commander at Cal Fire.

Any one of those factors will make containing a fire extremely difficult, Bertelli said. The Carr fire, at times, experienced all three combined. This fire is moving, at times, three or four different directions.

Three Marin County firefighters were trapped when a stand of pinyon pines lit up.

Holed up in the fire engine as the fire roared through, they suffered minor to moderate burns to their hands, face, ears and nose, said Marin County fire Chief Jason Weber. One was taken to UC Davis Medical Centers burn center.

Temperatures in Redding were expected to hit 110 degrees Saturday before a slight dip to 105 degrees by Tuesday, meteorologist Chris Hintz said.

The fire continues the most destructive span of fires in California history.

RELATED: Firefighters capture video of fire whirl during destructive Shasta County blaze 

In October, the states deadliest firestorm hit Northern Californias wine country, killing 44 people. In December, the Thomas fire became the states largest fire on record, burning 281,893 acres in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Few parts of the state have been unaffected this year.

Yosemite National Park is closed as the Ferguson fire burns well into its second week, taking a firefighters life and consuming 45,000 acres. And the Cranston fire has forced the evacuation of thousands of people in and around Idyllwild in the San Jacinto Mountains.

In Redding, the searing summer heat rising from the Sacramento Valley has been pulling coastal air over the mountains, creating a hard westerly wind.

Wade Brilz looks at his burned home with his family during the Carr fire in Redding, Calif. (JOSH EDELSON / AFP/Getty Images)

The fire started in the Trinity Mountains on Monday and didnt cause much alarm until Wednesday night, when dry wind drove it to Whiskeytown Lake, burning boats in a marina.

The next night it was poised to run into the west edge of Redding, a city of 90,000 just south of Shasta Lake.

Erica Bade and her family didnt think they were in danger as they sat at the dinner table after watching the news. The fire was on the other side of the Sacramento River, about a mile away.

Then the power went out, an eerie sign the fire was coming.

Erica, a 17-year-old incoming freshman at UC Santa Barbara, started grabbing whatever clothes she saw and shoving them in a suitcase. She looked out the window.

I see flames, theres fire! she screamed.

She loaded the car in a cloud of smoke as ash drifted down.

Police officers shouted at residents to leave immediately.

Frantically, Erica and her family kept packing, making sure to take important documents, laptops and the family computer that stored many childhood photographs. Finally, an officer walked into their home through the garage and told them they had to go.

The Bade family drove away in tears, watching their rear-view mirrors as the flames reared up behind their home.

Erica figured it would be the last time she saw it standing. It was just huge flames, she said. It did not look good at all.

Flames tower above firefighters during the Carr fire near Whiskeytown, Calif. (JOSH EDELSON / AFP/Getty Images)

Just a few hours later, a Redding detective and family friend sent a photograph and called the family to deliver the news  save for a front porch pillar, the home was gone.

We dont really know what were going to do, Erica said Friday. Were just trying to get through the day. Its surreal to us all. Were just going through the day, taking it as it comes.

After evacuating the night before, Ron Mhoon, 44, went back to the neighborhood Friday to check on the home he bought five months ago.

He called his son on FaceTime and showed him what was left: a gas main, still burning, and the tiled shower stall from the master bathroom. Mhoon tried to comprehend why the fire had destroyed his home and his neighbors but left the homes just next door untouched.

In the River Ridge Park subdivision, Austin Bramson, 16, had spent months working with his father in the garage to restore a 1965 Chevrolet Nova. The classic car was almost finished, ready for the coat of paint to make it look new. They had to leave it behind in the garage as they evacuated.

All that work  gone, Austin said, almost in tears, as he looked over the shell of his home.

Like many in a fire country, Rick Plummer, director of marketing for Dignity Healths Mercy Medical Center, had imagined evacuating so many times before but couldnt believe how hard it was.

I dont think you can 100% appreciate walking through your home and deciding what to take and what not to take, Plummer said, his voice cracking with emotion.

He drove to work, where he watched doctors, nurses and hospital administrators work through the night even as they got word their own homes had burned.

The fire was still moving through other parts of the city on Friday. In southwest Redding, a spot fire broke in the hills above Cedars Road. Residents watched nervously as they packed in the 101-degree heat. Helicopters thrummed as a voice from the loudspeaker of a police cruiser told residents to get out.

I just kept watching things, said Crystal Harper, who stood in her driveway with the car packed. And its time.

This is the worst Ive ever seen, said Steve Rice, who has lived here for 55 years.

Rice watched as a young man kept driving and stopping  unsure of how to proceed.

Theres all kinds of people walking around that shouldnt even be here, said Rice, who had left garden hoses watering down his RV camper alongside his house.

A nearby resident could be heard yelling at a neighbor, wondering why he hadnt made preparations to leave.

Rice had family members sitting in a nearby vehicle ready to caravan away with him. He didnt have time to get all he wanted from his home.

But he left one item intentionally  an American flag flying on a pole by his front door, a plea of sorts to firefighters.

Hopefully theyll see that and protect it, he said.

Myers and Willon reported from Redding, and Mozingo and Serna from Los Angeles. Times staff writers Laura J. Nelson and Alejandra Reyes-Velarde in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

john.myers@latimes.com

@johnmyers

phil.willon@latimes.com

@philwillon

joe.mozingo@latimes.com

@joemozingo

joseph.serna@latimes.com

@josephserna

UPDATES:

8:20 p.m.: This article was updated with an increase in the size of the fire, as well as structures destroyed.

This article was originally published at 4:50 p.m.
A First Amendment rights organization on Friday filed a lawsuit to force the San Diego County District Attorneys Office to release records involving claims of sexual misconduct or harassment by employees.

The First Amendment Coalition is asking a judge to order prosecutors to turn over records of investigations, evidence, interviews, correspondence and discipline related to complaints against the district attorneys staff since 2013.

The office (of the district attorney) has enormous discretion to pursue criminal prosecutions, or not, and the people are entitled to see and understand how the office investigates misconduct by those who carry out this solemn mission, the lawsuit says.

It further said that these kinds of records are of significant public interest, given the prominence of the #MeToo Movement and allegations of sexual misconduct by celebrities and public officials.

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The non-profit coalition, based in San Rafael, filed a petition in San Diego Superior Court asking a judge for a writ of mandate ordering District Attorney Summer Stephan to comply with the California Public Records Act.

Stephans office has responded that details sought by the coalition are exempt from disclosure under the records law, because of privacy interests and personnel file confidentiality.

The District Attorneys Office is fully committed to transparency and to fulfilling our responsibilities every time we receive a request under the California Public Records Act, as we have done for each of the 145 requests weve received in the past year, the agency said in a statement.

Further, the District Attorneys Office takes all allegations of sexual misconduct seriously, moves quickly to investigate such claims and takes disciplinary action when appropriate.

The suit says that in response to two records requests in April, the coalition received brief summaries from Deputy District Attorney Elizabeth Renner instead of actual documents on six incidents.

The summaries noted male employees who resigned or were disciplined after incidents including a supervisor who made sexual remarks to a female subordinate, an investigator who made unwelcome physical contact with a female co-worker and a deputy district attorney who sent nude photos of himself at the office to another person.

Renner said in a letter to coalition attorney David Snyder that none of the six complaints resulted in monetary claims or awards.

Her summaries were as follows:

 In 2013, a male staff supervisor made verbal statements to a female subordinate of a sexual nature. The male employee resigned prior to discipline being imposed.

 In 2016, a male staff supervisor commented on the propriety of a female subordinates work attire and body, and made an inappropriate joke to the female employee. The male employee was disciplined.

 In 2016, a male employee, in a non-supervisorial position, made a gender offensive comment to a female co-worker after she received a promotion. The male employee was disciplined.

 In 2017, a male staff supervisor made comments of a sexual nature to a female subordinate and made unwelcome physical contact with the employees hair. The male employee was disciplined.

 In 2015, a District Attorney Investigator made unwelcome physical contact with a female co-worker after work hours at a non-work location. The District Attorney Investigator was suspended and transferred to a different location. The disciplinary information was previously made public by this Office with the Investigators consent.

 In 2016, it was reported that a Deputy District Attorney took explicit photos in his office and sent text messages and photos during work hours. Although there was no sexual harassment or misconduct complaint, an investigation was conducted. The Deputy District Attorney resigned prior to discipline being imposed.

In a May letter, Renner provided more details on the incidents, but still did not include actual documents.

Renner said, in part, that further disclosures would violate the employees right to privacy and that documents disclosing names of those involved would not further the publics interest in knowing about the allegations.

In a prepared statement, prosecutors said, The DAs Office provided three responses to the (First Amendment Coalition) comprising 20 pages, which met our obligations under the public records act.

She added that disclosing further details (of one particular complaint) would cause a chilling effect on reporting of future sexual harassment incidents because the complaining employees would know that the information they provide is subject to public disclosure.

Snyder said in an interview that if summaries were legal substitutes for documents, the California Public Records Act would be gutted.

pauline.repard@sduniontribune

Twitter: @pdrepard
Its main campus is 2,300 miles away. But Penn State University is on the prowl in San Diego, searching for students willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars to earn a degree online.

The University of Maryland is doing the same. So are Purdue, Old Dominion, Colorado State, Arizona State, the University of Arizona, Southern New Hampshire University and Grand Canyon University.

Theres a feeding frenzy going on in San Diego and other California cities, where big out-of-state schools are trying to capitalize on the promise of online education, largely to offset a huge drop in college enrollment thats most acute in the Northeast and Midwest.

The competition is hard to miss.

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Penn State and Old Dominion have plastered commuter trains with bold ads. Purdue is using TV to promote its new program for adult learners. Southern New Hampshire also is using TV and has made so much progress it held a commencement exercise in Anaheim this year.

Southern New Hampshire Universitys online program is growing so fast it held a commencement in Southern California this year, for the first time. (Courtesy of Southern New Hampshire University)

The University of Arizona has touted its courses on a billboard near San Diego State University, a school that has nearly tripled its own online enrollment in five years.

The advertising onslaught comes as the California Community College system is creating a virtual college that will specialize in online education, heavily targeting the 2.5 million Californians who are aged 25 to 34.

Prospective students are being offered a smorgasbord of options, from self-paced bachelors programs to speed to degree MBAs, and nanodegrees, certificates that can be earned quickly and easily promoted on LinkedIn and other job-related social media sites.

The universities also are targeting younger learners, assuring them that they can do a lot of their course work on smartphones.

Im not surprised that these out-of-state schools are blanketing California with ads, said Scott Jaschik, editor of Inside Higher Ed, an online news site.

Arizona State Online roughly quadrupled the number of online students it has in California from 2014 to 2017. (ASU Online)

The state has had difficulty meeting all of the student demand its had at its public universities.Theres a market for this.

Jaschiks comments come as SDSU is seeking the right to create a new satellite campus in Mission Valley, and as UC San Diego begins building a $627 million complex that will provide housing for 2,000 students, as well as academic towers, stores and parking.

California is the beneficiary of extraordinary demographic and technological change thats occurring across the country.

In less than a decade, enrollment at the nations 4,700 degree-granting colleges and universities has dropped by about 1.2 million and is expected to slide further. Initially, the drop mostly involved community colleges, as well as for-profit schools who were accused of exploiting students financially and academically.

But over the past year, the decline has spread to four-year institutions, causing alarm throughout higher education.

Analysts attribute the drop to many things, ranging from a historic decline in the birth rate to stagnation in high school graduation figures to the thriving economy, which has led many people to skip college and go straight into the workforce.

Some analysts also believe there are too many colleges, and that the seemingly endless hikes in tuition and fees are unbearable.

Harvard business professor Clay Christenten says these and other problems could force half of the nations colleges and universities to go bankrupt or close. Other educators say thats a gross overstatement.

But everyone agrees the problems are real, especially in the college-rich Northeast and Midwest where a lot of the demographic problems run deep.

Online education isnt seen as a cure-all. Theres lingering skepticism about the quality and usefulness of many online courses. Gallup surveyed nearly 2,400 college faculty last year and found that roughly half of them dont believe that for-credit courses can match the effectiveness of those taught face-to-face, on campus.

An online education also can be expensive. Students can pay upwards of $56,000 to earn an MBA at Penn State.

But online education is on the rise.

About one-third of the countrys 19.6 million college students took at least one online course in 2016. The figure has been increasing for years and mostly involves older learners who are trying to improve their careers.

College recruiters are targeting California hard.

The states population will hit 40 million this year and is expected to keep growing. The number of high school graduates also is on the rise, especially among Hispanics and Latinos. And the state  led by San Diego  is home to more than 180,000 military personnel, a sector that strongly promotes online education.

California has the worlds fifth largest economy and has lots of students who are interested in online courses, said Phil Regier, an executive who helps oversee Arizona States online offerings. Were there to stay.

ASU has been making rapid progress. In fall 2014, the school had 3,411 online students in California, including 231 in San Diego. In fall 2016, it had 12,000 students, 600 in San Diego.

Penn States presence is modest by comparison; it has about 1,500 online students in California, including 250 in San Diego.

But we have 20,000 alumni in the state. People know who we are, said Clarabelle Lin, senior director of marketing at Penn State. And theres a demand for the kind of high quality degree that we provide.

Theyll have to compete with Southern New Hampshire University, whose California enrollment increased from 2,500 in 2014 to 8,000 this year.

Such competition presents students with lots of options. Sorting through it all can be difficult. Its important to read the fine print and know the jargon  something that was apparent recently when Minneapolis-based Capella University placed an ad on Facebook.

The ad said: Pay 1 flat tuition and complete as many courses as you want in 12 weeks (up to 2 at a time) with FlexPath.

A reader shot back: As many as you want is not 2 at a time.

That led to a confusing chatter about how Capella markets programs, and what theyre called. Prospective students were urged to go online to learn more.

That wasnt a surprising request; about 80 percent of students use a mobile device to search online for courses.

Things dont always turn out well. The 2017 Online College Students survey says that many students fail to do a thorough job of examining their options, including when it comes to checking on tuition and financial aid packages.

Students also can get tripped up by out-of-date information. San Diego-based Coleman University was still advertising its online courses Friday, one day after the school announced that its going out of business.

US News and World Report is trying to help educate consumers about the market. Earlier this year, it ranked hundreds of online programs, grading schools on such things as how well they prepared their instructors to teach remotely, and how well the institutions serve students.

San Diegos National University and Irvine-based Brandman University, which has a campus in Mission Valley, generally fared poorly in the rankings.

But the rankings dont fully size up how students, employers and philanthropists feel about the schools.

Walmart, the countrys largest private employer, recently announced that it will enable many of its employees to earn a college degree online at Brandman by underwriting their tuition and fees.

A short time later, La Jolla billionaire Denny Sanford donated $100 million to National to support a program that will cultivate civility and critical thinking in school children across the country. National also just acquired Northcentral University, a San Diego school that specializes in online graduate education, a hot field.

The announcements will bolster the finances of two schools that suddenly find themselves competing with famous out-of-state schools who are operating big marketing campaigns.

If the new entrants into the San Diego adult learner sector find themselves spending inordinately on marketing, it will be very difficult for them to reduce cost in a price war, said National President David Andrews.

But difficult days are ahead.

The schools that offer the best education and service are the ones that will survive, said Phil Arnold, who managers Brandmans San Diego campus. This is going to get Darwinian. But I think were going to do fine.
With more than 1,800 migrant families now reunified under Thursdays court-ordered deadline, the question turns to how fast immigration authorities can deport those with final orders of removal.

It appears they will remain in limbo, for now.

Lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union have asked U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego for a seven-day reprieve for all parents to consult with their children and attorneys to determine if there is any further recourse  a decision that could end with a parent deciding to leave a child in the U.S. to fight an asylum case alone.

But the judge on Friday seemed reluctant to grant such a blanket delay, instead focusing his questions on a narrower subset of parents who might have just been reunited in the last day or so, or the 120 parents who waived their right to reunification but may have been confused.

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Currently, about 300 reunified families are being detained in a pair of facilities in Texas, while 1,100 families have been released on parole into the community while their immigration cases are pending, government attorneys in the San Diego case said. Another 145 parents are also detained, but without their children due to ineligibility such as criminal records.

About 1,000 families have executable orders of removal.

But the families at imminent risk of being deported are the ones in detention with travel documents already prepared  a group that government lawyers could not immediately quantify Friday.

Sabraw halted family deportations nearly two weeks ago to hear more argument on the issue, and now he expects to rule on it over the weekend.

The hearing Friday afternoon  which was more contentious than usual  was the first following the one-month deadline Sabraw had set to reunify the more than 2,500 children age 5 and older separated at the border. About 57 children under 5 were reunited under an earlier deadline.

The government deserves great credit, Sabraw said, applauding the massive undertaking. But he also blamed the government for its lack of foresight and communication in implementing its hardline stance on criminally prosecuting illegal border crossings, saying the government is at fault for losing several hundred parents in the process.

The parents hes referring to include the more than 400 who are believed to have been deported without their children and were not able to be reunified by the deadline. At least 35 other parents have been released from immigration custody into the U.S. and still have not been located.

Those parents will be the focus of the next chapter in the legal challenge to the family separations. Sabraw on Friday urged the government to identify and locate those parents as quickly as possible for reunification.

How that will happen, however, is the subject of dispute.

The ACLU lawyers have offered to utilize a vast network of advocacy groups to help find the parents around the world  mostly in Central America  but are asking for as much detail as possible from government immigration files to aid in the detective work. Those might include the name of a relative, an address or a destination mentioned to a case worker.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Scott Stewart countered that a court order to produce such data would be overly burdensome and detract from the effort to reunify families.

We want to move as swiftly as possible, Stewart assured the judge.

In a phone call with reporters a day earlier, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security official contended that many, if not all, of those previously deported parents were given the option to reunite with their children before removal but gave up that right knowingly, apparently believing it was in the childs best interest.

But ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt questioned that reasoning, pointing to affidavits filed Wednesday from pro-bono attorneys working in detention centers along the Southwest border who have found at least 27 parents who said they unknowingly signed away their right to reunification.

The attorneys described parents who had little to no time to speak with their children, who didnt understand the legal documents they had been asked to sign  sometimes due to language barriers or their inability to read and write  and who were confused over their own immigration cases.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a New York attorney at the American Immigration Council, supervised a team of volunteers whod interviewed more than 90 parents in Texas detention facilities since last week, including 52 whod been identified as having waived reunification with their children.

Many of these individuals indicated that they felt coerced into relinquishing their rights, he wrote in an affidavit. Still others appeared totally unaware that they had done so. Indeed, some individuals were adamant that they had signed a paper that said they chose to be reunited with their children.

Problem is, many of the parents said they were not given copies of the forms, leaving attorneys unable to immediately verify what had actually been signed, the affidavits said.

Gelernt argued the affidavits were evidence for the need for a seven-day waiting period before reunited families can be deported.

But Sabraw pointed to a 48-hour notice form that clearly lays out a parents options and noted that many families reunited over the past few weeks have had long enough to figure out their next steps.

He also questioned if continuing to stay removals falls within the scope of the case, which at its core is about reunification, not affording a parent greater time to then decide whether to re-separate.

Going forward, Sabraw also warned the government that the case is not over after the reunifications.

This problem cannot repeat, Sabraw warned. He said criminal prosecution of illegal border crossings will continue, and families will be separated as a result.

In what he sees as a Stage 3 to the litigation, the judge indicated he will require a future process that ensures government agencies share information, track parents and children better and have a plan to reunify them once the criminal prosecution is finished.

Under the terms of a 1997 court settlement called the Flores agreement, which limits the amount of time children can be held in immigration custody, parents in detention will either have the option to stay with their child in a family facility or to release their child to a shelter or the care of a sponsor.

The conditions of family detention centers will also be more closely monitored.

On Friday, a Los Angeles federal judge in the Flores case said she will appoint an independent auditor to oversee the treatment of children in immigrant detention facilities.

Peter Schey, lead counsel and director of the Los Angeles-based Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, said the monitor will oversee all three family detention centers run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement  two in Texas and one in Pennsylvania  as well as Border Patrol facilities in the Rio Grande sector along the Texas border.

Scheys group filed a scathing report last week including testimony from more than 200 parents and children held in California, Texas and other states who described cramped cells without enough bedding to sleep, cold or frozen food and a lack of basic hygiene products.

Los Angeles Times reporter Andrea Castillo contributed to this report.

kristina.davis@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @kristinadavis
A neighborhoods legal fight against cell towers in community parks came to an unsuccessful end this month when the California Supreme Court declined to review a March appellate court ruling that vindicated the city of San Diego.

But the residents, who have spent three years fighting a large Verizon cell tower installation proposed for Ridgewood Park in Rancho Penasquitos, say they will continue to fight for public votes before cell towers can be erected in city parks.

Their litigation focused on whether the city can continue to lease park land to cell phone companies without following a city charter provision requiring a public vote when park land is shifted to commercial use.

The residents say the charter language clearly requires a public vote because a cell tower is a non-park use of parkland.

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San Diego officials, who receive more than $1 million a year from roughly three dozen leases with cell companies for city park land, say adding a cell tower doesnt make parkland commercial if it doesnt interfere or conflict with park use.

Attorneys for San Diego say its up to the discretionary decisions of city administrators whether a wireless communications facility interferes or conflicts with park use, not San Diego voters in a citywide election.

The citys position was vindicated by the Superior Court and again by the Fourth District Court of Appeal in litigation filed on behalf of the Rancho Penasquitos residents by a nonprofit group called Dont Cell Our Parks.

The group successfully fought two cell tower installations in La Jolla before its unsuccessful effort on behalf of the Rancho Penasquitos residents.

The appeals court ruling said installing cell towers in parks does not violate Section 55 of the citys charter, which reads:

All real property owned in fee by the city heretofore or hereafter formally dedicated in perpetuity by ordinance of the Council or by statute of the State Legislature for park, recreation or cemetery purposes shall not be used for any but park, recreation or cemetery purposes without such changed use or purpose having been first authorized or later ratified by a vote of two-thirds of the qualified electors of the city voting at an election for such purpose.

In its ruling, the appeals court said:

We conclude that the project does not constitute a changed use or purpose that required voter approval under Charter 55 and that Dont Cell Our Parks has not presented evidence showing that the city failed to follow the law in permitting the project.

Dont Cell Our Parks sought state Supreme Court review of the ruling, but the court declined this month to take the case.

Marc Kuritz of Dont Cell Our Parks said by phone on Friday that city officials and the courts have joined together to thwart the will of the people and their right to vote on whether dedicated parkland can be re-purposed for commercial projects.

Its very cozy and quite regrettable, Kuritz said. This ruling opens the floodgates for other commercial uses in city parks.

Craig Sherman, a downtown San Diego attorney who filed the lawsuit, said by phone on Friday that city officials dont want to give up the lease revenue while City Council members dont want to stop getting generous campaign donations from cell phone companies.

Despite the court rulings, Sherman said San Diego officials should allow residents to vote on individual cell tower proposals in parks because its part of the charter and the right thing to do.

He said city officials could also schedule a vote to let San Diego residents determine whether they would support a citywide policy banning cell phone towers in parks.

Sherman said those are the only options with legal options exhausted.

There really is no other recourse for this project at this point, he said.

Alisa Cassell, a Rancho Penasquitos resident who has spearheaded efforts against the cell tower proposed for Ridgewood Park, launched a petition drive calling for public votes that has received more than 300 signatures.

They dont want us to vote on this, she said in a phone interview. The charter says very clearly that if its a dedicated park and its a non-park purpose, the people have to vote.

Cassell said she gets frustrated when critics portray the neighborhood as NIMBYs, which stands for not in my back yard.

This is not a NIMBY issue, she said. Its about the city of San Diego stealing dedicated deed-restricted parkland and turning it into a commercial wireless cell facility. Its about the city of San Diego ignoring the citizens and saying it is up to them and its OK to deny the public the opportunity to vote on the matter.

Cassell contends the city has twisted the meaning of Charter Section 55 and that city officials have improperly used administrative policies to get around the charter.

A spokesman for City Attorney Mara Elliott didnt respond to requests for comment.

david.garrick@sduniontribune.com (619) 269-8906 Twitter:@UTDavidGarrick
Oceanside police were investigating a shooting that wounded a 26-year-old man in the leg early Saturday.

The injured man called police about 4:30 a.m. after he drove to his home on Calle de Retiro near Avenida Descanso, not far from Libby Lake Park. He was taken to a hospital for treatment and was expected to survive, police said.

The man shared few other details with police.

Hes kind of uncooperative, so hes not giving us information, said Sgt. Marco Mendoza.

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Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

Phone: (619) 293-1876

Twitter: @D4VIDHernandez
SAN PASQUAL VALLEY  A wildfire that erupted Friday near San Diego Zoo Safari Park was holding at more than 300 acres, with evacuation orders lifted Saturday afternoon, fire officials said.

More accurate mapping showed the fire to have burned 360 acres by Saturday afternoon, according to Cal Fire Capt. Issac Sanchez. The fire had been estimated at 240 acres and 15 percent containment as of 6 a.m. Saturday.

Crews will remain in the area through the weekend, getting lines of containment around all the charred terrain and making sure all hot spots are snuffed out, Sanchez said.

The blaze started for unknown reasons off state Route 78 in the San Pasqual Valley between Ramona and the Safari Park shortly before 1:30 p.m. Friday, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

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Within 90 minutes, the blaze had burned across more than 200 acres, forcing residential evacuations and the shutdown of part a rural highway, as ground and airborne crews scrambled to corral the fast-moving flames.

As the flames spread rapidly to the southeast, authorities shut downstate Route 78 between Bandy Canyon and Ramona Highlands roads as a safety precaution and to expedite the fire fighting operations in the rural area. State Route 78 is expected to remain closed between Bandy Canyon and Haverford roads until further notice, according to Cal Fire and state transportation officials.

Sheriffs deputies cleared people out of homes potentially in the path of the fire. Vacated areas include neighborhoods along Via Cuesta; Via Vista Grande; Prestige Street; Day Star Way; Oak Grove, Rancho Villa, Rangeland, Rustic Villa and Weekend Villa roads; and Cinque Terre, Corniglia, Highland Hills, Horizon View and Rio Maggiore drives.

The displaced residents were encouraged to wait out the fire at Ramona High School.

Administrators at San Pasqual Academy, a secondary school for foster teens near the origin point of the fire, decided on their own to evacuate the campus Friday, police said.

By 7:30 p.m. Friday the fires progress was halted and most of the active flames were doused, Cal Fire reported.

There were no reports of any structural damage or injuries.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.
San Diego police used bean-bag rounds to subdue and arrest a man suspected of vandalizing vehicles in University Heights early Saturday.

It was unknown if the bean-bag rounds struck the 23-year-old suspect. He was taken to a hospital for treatment, then booked into jail on suspicion of felony vandalism and obstructing police.

A resident called police to report the vandalism about 12:20 a.m. Multiple vehicles parked on El Cajon Boulevard and a nearby alley off Alabama Street were damaged, police said.

Officers, who were directed to the suspect by witnesses, confronted the man near the intersection of El Cajon and Park boulevards. The suspect dropped a small rock he was holding, but did not comply with officers instructions, Officer Steven Bourasa said.

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Officers eventually used bean-bag rounds to subdue the suspect, then took him into custody without a struggle, Bourasa said.

In a separate incident Thursday night in El Cajon, police officers used bean bags and a stun gun to subdue and arrest a 39-year-old, knife-wielding assault suspect. The victim in that attack  a 75-year-old man  was hospitalized with multiple stab wounds but was expected to survive.

El Cajon resident Lester Riley was taken into custody on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon. Further details were not immediately available.

U-T staff writer Alex Riggins contributed to this report.

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Email: david.hernandez@sduniontribune.com

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ISLAMABAD  A senior Taliban official says the insurgent group has held the first direct talks with a U.S. official in a preliminary discussion about future plans for peace negotiations.

This weeks meeting with Alice Wells, the U.S.'s top diplomat for South Asia, was an attempt to jump-start talks on ending Washingtons longest military engagement, a senior Taliban official told The Associated Press early Saturday.

U.S. officials neither confirmed nor denied a meeting took place.

The Taliban have long demanded direct talks with Washington.

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The discussion was preliminary, initial and both discussed a future meeting and contacts, said the official on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

It wasnt clear when the next meeting would be held or with whom, but he was certain one would be held.
Dash cam video shows a Toledo police officer shoot and kill a 25-year-old armed robbery suspect Friday evening.

Multiple units were tracking Lamar Richardson Jr., of Toledo, in a vehicle pursuit, but lost him in the Citys North End neighborhood.

Special Operations canvassed the area for the suspect, wanted in connection to four armed robberies in the area, police said.

Richardson had apparently ditched his stolen vehicle by the time officers spotted him on a bicycle at around 5:25 p.m.

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Dashcam video from the patrol car shows the suspect drop his bicycle and flee on foot, before stopping and turning toward the officers.

Richardson produced a weapon, at which point an officer fatally shot him.

Update: Officer-Involved shooting included members of #toledopolice Special Ops conducting surveillance on a robbery suspect. Officers shot when suspect presented this S&W Shied 9mm firearm. pic.twitter.com/YcqxC5Qa97  Toledo Police (@ToledoPolice) July 27, 2018

Richardson Jr. never fired his weapon, Lieutenant Kevan Toney said.

He was pronounced dead on the scene.

The department put out an alert on Twitter confirming the scene was safe and that no officers were injured.

Hundreds of people converged on the scene expressing outrage at the officers actions.

The police are supposed to be preventing crime but theyre making crime, the suspects uncle, Leonard Richardson, told the Toledo Blade.

That was my nephew, he said. He was here, now hes gone. Hes gone.

Toledo Police Chief George Kral and City of Toledo Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz conducted a news conference Friday addressing uproar from the community.

Chief Kral reiterated his commitment to transparency and to build trust within our community.

In conducting a news conference and releasing the dash-cam footage within several hours, my hope is to quell any misinformation and provide answers.

We dont yet know all the facts in the case but we know anytime a human life is lost, it is a tragedy, Mayor Kapszukiewicz said. A thorough and transparent investigation is already underway.

Social media users at first suggested the man whod been shot was just 16 years old.

Initial Facebook speculation, emotional anger at the scene, reported all sorts of things that we now know to be inaccurate. There were rumors the individual was 16 years old. He was not. He was 25...There were rumors he didnt have a gun. All those rumors can now factually be dismissed, the mayor said.

Both of the officers involved are on paid administrative leave.
The Trump administrations decision to separate more than 2,500 children from immigrant families detained at the border continues to be a humanitarian disaster. Government lawyers on Friday said that about 650 children are still separated, meaning the U.S. missed the Thursday deadline for reunification set on June 26 by San Diego-based federal Judge Dana Sabraw. Some 430 of them remain in the U.S. because their parents are believed to have been deported. Many may never see their parents.

The federal government generally seems to be trying to comply with Sabraws order. But the more journalists look into border officials execution of the policy change, the crueler it looks. Some parents say they were asked to sign paperwork they didnt understand that led to their children being taken away. Others say they couldnt get straight answers about the fate of their kids.

None of this seems to matter to the immigration hard-liners who flocked to Donald Trumps campaign in 2015 when he launched his bid for the White House with crude salvos against Mexicans. But what Sabraw wrote in his June ruling should matter to every American: how these families were treated violated the concept of due process enshrined in our Constitution. It reflects terribly on our nation.

Twitter: @sdutIdeas

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The readers rep received an email from a reader that brought up issues of reputation and adjusting a news item about one of the most significant events in county history.

The event is known as the Lemon Grove Incident, which has been called the first successful school desegregation court decision in U.S. history.

The incident began in early January 1931. About 75 Mexican schoolchildren were barred from attending the Lemon Grove Grammar School. Instead they were ordered to attend an Americanization school. The Mexican parents revolted. They held their children back from school and successfully sued. San Diego Superior Court Judge Claude Chambers ruled in March that the children must be admitted to regular classes at the Lemon Grove Grammar School.

A sentence in the U-Ts recently published 2018 Community Almanac caught the attention of Joyce Earickson of Oceanside.

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The sentence appeared in the Lemon Grove profile under the heading Did You Know, a small feature with interesting facts about a community.

One of the facts read, In 1931, the principal of the Lemon Grove Grammar School barred 75 Hispanic children from attending and was taken to court.

The principal was Jerome Green, Earicksons grandfather.

Earickson wanted the sentence to be amended online to read: In 1931, the principal of the Lemon Grove Grammar School, acting under instruction from school trustees, barred 75 Mexican children from attending, and the school board was taken to court. She noted that the Wikipedia entry about the Lemon Grove Incident includes that wording about the trustees.

Although the Almanac sentence does not identify Jerome Green, his name appears in accounts of the historic incident. Earickson is understandably concerned about his reputation and his place in history. Also she said her and her familys background does not match what could be a negative, and erroneous, perception of Green.

Jerome Green ... was a Professor ... at Notre Dame, Earickson wrote in an email to the U-T. His young son (my uncle) had terrible asthma, so he ... moved to Alpine so his son could breathe well. Shortly after arriving ... he was hired as principal at the Lemon Grove Grammar School.

As a new principal, he did not want to turn the children away; quietly in the evening, he encouraged the Hispanic families to organize and resist the Boards decision; (nevertheless, he still obeyed the School Boards instructions since they had authority over him.) The School Board learned of his actions and did not renew his contract for the following year, she wrote.

Grandfather Green was a remarkable man; he was a profoundly spiritual, egalitarian, honest, and intelligent man. He was definitely not a racist, Earickson wrote.

She added that she and her mother (Greens daughter) followed Greens footsteps into education. Earickson said she and her mom taught in communities with high numbers of Hispanic students; Earickson at Fallbrook High, and her mother in Brawley.

An account of the incident in the spring 1986 edition of the San Diego Historical Society Quarterly written by Robert Alvarez Jr. reads: On January 5, 1931, Jerome T. Green, principal of the Lemon Grove Grammar School, acting under instructions from the school trustees, stood at the door and admitted all pupils except the Mexican students.

An interesting sidenote  Robert Alvarez Jr. is a professor emeritus of education at UC San Diego. His father, a student at the Lemon Grove school in 1931, was the lead plaintiff in the case.

A 2004 Union-Tribune article that looked back at the case said Green barred the children. Then it followed with this paragraph: Lemon Groves all-white school board earlier had decided that ... children of Mexican descent should be separated and sent to their own school.

A San Diego Union story from Jan. 9, 1931, uses a school trustee as the source of information on why the students were sent to a different school. An Evening Tribune article from Feb. 13, 1931, said school officials tried to segregate the students. The same story says Green was named in the suit along with trustees.

Should the Almanac reference online be amended? Its a slippery slope. The item is technically accurate but could be clarified. However, can a news organization realistically go back into countless online stories to add and subtract words according to requests while also researching years old stories to verify the changes would be correct?

Some editors believe that unless an item is clearly wrong, then leave it alone. Others, like myself, believe it can be considered case by case, but in general dont tweak.

In the case of the small almanac item that mentions the historic incident, I would say its acceptable to amend. If confirmed, thats what the U-T will do. What do you think? Email the readers.rep@sduniontribune.com
A new report from City Auditor Eduardo Luna about erroneous water bills serves as a clear indictment of the citys Public Utilities Department. It detailed how 2,750 water bills sent to residents in 2017 were incorrect, often by hundreds of dollars, and that the problem stemmed from mistakes made by the citys 36 meter readers  10 of whom were to blame for 71 percent of the errors. Lunas audit noted that just in the month of December, one meter reader was responsible for about 330 mistakes.

That person no longer works for the city, which is a relief. Other chronic mistake makers should also no longer be meter readers. But the problems go beyond these workers. Managers who arent able to differentiate between good and bad employees when metrics are available to assess their performance arent doing their jobs. It shouldnt take a public uproar over inflated bills for managers to notice and stop problems with specific meter readers.

On Thursday, Mayor Kevin Faulconer promised sweeping changes in the Public Utilities Department to help it regain the trust it has lost. He said San Diegans can expect improvements in how the department monitors meter readings and deals with customer complaints and that he has tasked Johnnie Perkins, the citys new deputy chief operating officer for infrastructure and public works, with ensuring problems are addressed.

Having someone from outside the Public Utilities Department lead the cleanup makes sense. After this mess, theres no reason to expect those within the department would be up to the challenge.

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UPDATE July 28, 1:30 p.m.  Due to more accurate GPS mapping, officials updated the size of the Pasqual fire to 365 acres. The fires is about 40 percent contained, and firefighters continue to focus on constructing containment lines and mopping up, Cal Fire Capt. Issac Sanchez reported.

UPDATE July 28 a.m.  Overnight crews increased containment to 15 percent. Area burned remains at 240 acres.

No structures were destroyed or damaged, and no injuries were reported. Firefighters are focusing on constructing containment lines and mopping up, Cal Fire Capt. Issac Sanchez reported.

UPDATE 4:46 p.m.  The Pasqual fire is at 240 acres and 5 percent contained, Cal Fire reports. People living in the areas affected by the fire can call 211 for the latest information. Cal Fire asks that all others follow on social media.

Officials expect SR-78 from Haverford to Bandy Canyon roads to be closed throughout the night.

UPDATE 4:20 p.m.  Cal Fire added the following streets to the evacuation order: Prestige Street. Rancho Villa Road, Weekend Villa road, Day Star Way and Rustic Villa Road.

UPDATE 3:38 p.m.  Evacuees are being directed to Ramona High School, 1401 Hanson Lane.

UPDATE 3:31 p.m.-- Evacuations have been ordered for the following streets: Rangeland Road, Oak Grove Road, Highland Hills Drive, Horizon View, Rio Maggiore Drive, Cinque Terre Drive, Corniglia Drive, Via Cuesta and Via Vista Grande.

UPDATE 2:55 p.m.: Fire spreading in southeasterly direction and has grown to 225 acres, Cal Fire Capt. Issac Sanchez said. SR-78 is closed between Haverford and Bandy Canyon roads.

UPDATE 2:26 p.m.: The brush fire off the 18500 block of state Route 78 in San Pasqual Valley has grown to an estimated 20 acres, a dispatcher says. There are no immediate reports of structural threats, according to the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department.

Authorities have closed SR-78 between Bandy Canyon and Ramona Highlands roads due to the blaze.

ORIGINAL REPORT July 27, 2:15 p.m.: Crews are at scene of a 3-acre vegetation fire near the 17000 block of San Pasqual Valley Road, Cal Fire reports on Twitter.

San Diego Fire-Rescue Department reports fire is off the 18500 block of San Pasqual Valley Road.

Officials are considering closing the road to westbound traffic at Weekend Villa Road.
Youngsters can escape summer hear next month while enjoying a free day of fishing on San Diego Bay. Kids from 6 to 15 are invited to participate in the 16th annual Young Anglers Tournament on Aug. 11.

The event is hosted by the San Diego Sportfishing Council with support from the International Game Fish Association, the Port of San Diego Tidelands Activation Program and the County of San Diego Community Enhancement Program.

The tournament is held at the Shelter Island Pier, 1776 Shelter Island Drive.

Youngsters do not need to be experienced, and fishing tackle, bait and experienced anglers will be available. Advanced registration can be done online at www.sportfishing.org.

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Advanced registration saves time the morning of the tournament, however, on-site registration the day of the tournament will begin at 7:30 a.m. Fishing begins at 8:30 a.m. and ends at noon. Prizes will be awarded by 1 p.m.

A complimentary lunch, provided by Major Market, Tommy Gomes of Catalina Offshore Products and Specialty Produce, will be served to all registered anglers.

The kids compete through a points system that allows them to catch and release different species of fish valued at varying points.

One winner in each age category will be determined by the highest number of points earned. The angler who earns the overall highest point total will be recognized on the tournaments perpetual trophy.

The San Diego Sportfishing Council is a California nonprofit corporation established in 1979 to promote San Diego saltwater fishing as an attractive marine recreational activity, to increase awareness and availability of how, when and where information on sportfishing opportunities. The Young Anglers Tournament is part of a larger Youth Fishing Program produced by the Sportfishing Council.

For more information, contact the San Diego Sportfishing Council at (619) 234-8793 or visit its website.

Oceanside anglers

Guest are welcome at the Aug. 7 for the meeting of Oceanside Senior Anglers, starting at 9 a.m. at the Oceanside Senior Center, 455 Country Club Lane.

Guest speaker will be Chugey Sepulveda, Ph.D., director of research and education at the Pfleger Institute of Environmental Research (PIER) in Oceanside.

PIER us a non-profit research group dedicated to the advancement of sustainable fisheries management.

Sepulveda has concentrated on addressing important questions related to the sustainable management of several marine fish species. In particular, Sepulveda is focused on the use of pelagic fish movements and physiology to design and develop alternative gear options for pelagic species.

He has a long history of working with fishermen and researchers to address sustainable fishing options.

For additional club information, visit www.OSAnglers.org.

Firearm safety

A monthly three-hour familiarization and safety class is being offered Aug. 12 for anyone anticipating the purchase of, or who already owns, a handgun.

The class is offered from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Escondido Fish and Game Association shooting range, 16525 Guejito Road, east of Lake Wohlford. Cost is $60.

Participants will learn the basics of handguns, home firearm safety and the responsibilities of firearm ownership. Handguns and ammunition are provided for the class, but participants are encouraged to bring their own handgun if they already own one.

For additional information or to register, contact Jack Bryson at 760-746-2868.

Natural Wonderfest

Nature lovers are invited to a free outdoor event in Julian from 3 to 11 p.m. Aug. 11.

The Julian Natural Wonderfest celebrates nature by day and by night and will include wildlife encounters, music, art and a nighttime star party during the peak of the Perseid Meteor Shower. The event will be Jess Martin Park, and shuttles will be available to take visitors from events in the park to Julian for dinner or supplies.

Sponsors include the town of Julian, The Julian Night Sky Network, Volcan Mountain Foundation, and the Wildlife Research Institute.

Activities will include a family-friendly hike along Santa Ysabel Creek, tours of the Wolf Center, and encounters with barn owls, hawks and other native animals, stage shows and exhibitor booths.

There will be presentations about preservationist work at the Wolf Center, along with information about the Julian Dark Sky Network, the Mountain Lion Project, Wildlife Research Institute, and night sky viewing of the Milky Way.

Local astronomers will have telescopes set up for night viewing of the heavens, and conditions for the 2018 Perseid Meteor Shower are expected to be excellent.

For additional information, visit www.naturalwonderfest.com.

Ernie Cowan is a freelance columnist. Contact him Packtrain.com or follow https://erniesoutdoors.blogspot.com/
Before an elbow impingement sent him to the disabled list in June, Bryan Mitchell had thrown 170 curveballs.

There were good ones in that lot.

Just not all that often.

Getting that pitch on track, the 27-year-old right-hander believes, is the key to turning around his season and Mitchell reported progress in that department during Fridays three-inning simulated game.

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The last month or so has been almost similar to spring training as far as the build-up, Mitchell said. Its about getting a feel for those (off-speed) pitches and everything felt really sharp today.

Mitchell added: Today was the best (the curveball) has felt as far as the progression back.

The curve was Mitchells calling card when the Padres agreed to take on Chase Headleys $13 million salary for an up-close look at Mitchell in their rotation.

The results have not been pretty.

He owns a 7.08 ERA, more walks (35) than strikeouts (23) and has yielded a .533 slugging percentage to opposing hitters. The batting average against the curveball (.244) is a career-low, but largely because inconsistencies with his command of the pitch have hitters sitting on his harder pitches.

Opponents are slugging .536 against his four-seamer and .595 against his cutter. The 8.8-percent whiff rate hes fetching with his curve is his lowest since 2014.

If I have the ability to throw that curveball for strikes and expand down, it opens up so many doors, Mitchell said. It really is a night and day difference.  If Im able to locate it for strikes and put guys away with it, I can get a lot of early-contact with the fastball because they dont want to battle the curveball with two strikes.

If Im not throwing it for strikes, they are just sitting on fastball all the time.

Mitchell isnt sure why hes been without the best version of his curveball, but the ones he threw Friday felt like a step in the right direction.

Padres manager Andy Green, too, liked what he saw.

You definitely see the shape of it, Green said. The goal is the consistency. You can have a great curveball. If it comes out three out of 10 times the way you want it to, its not going to be as effective. Hes got it in him. We just want to move that percentage to seven out of 10 times. I definitely thought it was closer today.

Mitchell will throw again in the bullpen on this homestand before joining an affiliate for what will likely amount to a handful of rehab starts.

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RHP Jordan Lyles , who has a 17.47 ERA in 5 2/3 innings through two rehab starts with Triple-A El Paso, will get at least one more rehab start before rejoining the team. Both Lyles and Mitchell are options for the rotation, Green said. He felt good health-wise, Green said of Lyles. The results havent been good. Because of that and kind of where we are, we want him to have another one. Go attack and pitch like you would in the big leagues. Not just work on your stuff. Go compete and pitch well.

, who has a 17.47 ERA in 5 2/3 innings through two rehab starts with Triple-A El Paso, will get at least one more rehab start before rejoining the team. Both Lyles and Mitchell are options for the rotation, Green said. He felt good health-wise, Green said of Lyles. The results havent been good. Because of that and kind of where we are, we want him to have another one. Go attack and pitch like you would in the big leagues. Not just work on your stuff. Go compete and pitch well. LHP Jose Castillo (hamstring) rejoined the team Friday after pitching back-to-back days with Triple-A El Paso, the last hurdle in his rehab assignment. The 22-year-old Castillo could be activated this weekend. He struck out four batters in three scoreless innings with El Paso.

Padres Videos  On Now Padres pitcher Chris Paddack on start vs. Mariners and possibility of making rotation On Now Meet the Padres: Ian Kinsler 5:18 On Now Catching up with Padres OF Franmil Reyes 5:18 On Now Meet The Padres: Greg Garcia 5:11 On Now Catching up with Padres reliever Craig Stammen 5:33 On Now Meet the Padres: Logan Allen 6:23 On Now Meet The Padres: Manny Machado 9:08 On Now Meet The Padres: Chris Paddack 5:08 On Now Three things that stood out from Machado's first day with the Padres 1:53 On Now Padres manager Andy Green on Machado joining his roster

jeff.sanders@sduniontribune.com; Twitter: @sdutSanders
The Breeders Cup has a legacy at Del Mar now.

Wins and losses, hopes and heartache, will be associated with last Novembers first staging of horse racings Super Bowl here.

That recall will become sharper as Del Mars summer meet goes on and the stakes get bigger. It gets ratcheted up a couple of notches this weekend.

On Saturday, Breeders Cup Sprint champion Roy H and two other competitors from that race will run in a deep field of 11 in the first Grade I stakes of the meet  the $300,000 Bing Crosby.

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Then comes the Sunday performance of Unique Bella in the Grade I $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes.

The 2017 Eclipse-winning, 4-year-old filly has won three of four graded stakes (two at Grade I) since her seventh-place finish in last years Breeders Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.

The first big race for the weekend figures to be quite the battle, and the second possibly a walkover, with Unique Bella, at morning-line odds of 3-5, scaring off all but five challengers.

Throw in the on-track parade of Triple Crown champion Justify on Saturday, and theres a big-time feel to the proceedings.

Trainer Bob Hess Jr., the Chula Vista native who ran American Pastime in the BC Sprint and has him entered in the 6-furlong Crosby, said, Its almost like a mini Breeders Cup Sprint. Just a super deep field. I think anyone could win, although Roy H is the obvious favorite.

Roy Hs victory, with Kent Desormeaux riding, in the BC Sprint was part of a tremendous feel-good story last November. Local trainer Peter Miller scored his first-ever BC triumph with Stormy Liberal in the Turf Sprint, and Roy H followed a few hours later by capturing the Sprint.

This week, Miller ranked the experience behind only his marriage and the birth of his two sons.

Del Mar has always been a special place for me, he said.

Roy H, the morning-line favorite for the Crosby at 2-1, has been in recovery mode since he was shipped to Dubai for the March 31 Golden Shaheen and finished third behind winner Mind Your Biscuits. In February, in his first start since the Breeders Cup, he won the Grade II Palos Verdes at Santa Anita.

Its the first step back to the Breeders Cup for Roy H, Miller said. So this isnt the be-all, end-all. But I think I got him about 90 percent cranked up and hopefully thats enough.

Beyond American Pastime, who was fourth in the BC Sprint, the other returner is Ransom the Moon, the Phil DAmato-conditioned 6-year-old who won last years Crosby (helped by Roy Hs bad trip), but finished fifth in the Breeders Cup race.

Ransom the Moon is sharing the morning lines second choice at 5-2 with American Anthem. The Bob Baffert 4-year-old colt, ridden by Mike Smith, won two races in June  an allowance at Churchill Downs and the Grade II San Carlos Stakes at Santa Anita.

In Sundays Hirsch  which has featured such notable winners as Zenyatta, Beholder and Stellar Wind  Unique Bella, with Smith riding, drew a high weight of 123 pounds, four more than her competitors. Thats thanks to her eight wins in 11 career starts.

Its Unique Bella and everybody else, said trainer John Sadler, who has two horses in the race  Shenandoah Queen and Yuvetsi.

Favorite wins Real Good Deal

Take the One O One, the even-money favorite who paid $4.20, won Fridays feature race  the $150,000 Real Good Stakes over 7 furlongs on dirt.

Trained by Brian Koriner and ridden by Joe Talamo, the 3-year-old captured a second straight stakes after winning the 1 1/8 miles Snow Chief Stakes at Santa Anita on June 2.

Garcia, Frey take spills

There was a frightening incident in the first race when 3-year-old filly Back Beauty, who was lugging outside at the top of the stretch, clipped the heels of Magicalchic and tumbled down with jockey Matt Garcia.

Garcia stayed on the ground for a short time, but got up and walked to the nearby ambulance. Back Beauty, trained by Elmer January, quickly got up and ran down the outside of the track toward the finish line. She stopped to be taken care of by handlers and walked off the track with no obvious injuries.

Garcia was examined by track physicians and rode as scheduled in the eighth race aboard A Day at the Races, which finished a distant last.

Before the eighth, in front of the grandstand, Beat the Chalk flipped and jockey Kyle Frey was injured. He was put on a stretcher and loaded into an ambulance. There were no immediate reports on his injuries.

The race was delayed 10 minutes so the backup ambulance could get on the track.

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tod.leonard@sduniontribune.com; Twitter: @sdutleonard
China will further increase pension allowances and subsidies for veterans, families of martyrs and other personnel who have served the country in dangerous jobs, which experts say will boost their social status.

Pension allowances for disabled soldiers, police officers, state officials, and militia members as well as for family members of martyrs and deceased soldiers will increase by 10 percent from China's Army Day which falls on Wednesday, according to an announcement made jointly by the Ministry of Veterans Affairs and the Ministry of Finance.

Living subsidies for Red Army veterans will also be raised. Increased spending in this regard will be subsidized by central authorities, the announcement said, according to the Xinhua News Agency. Red Army is the forerunner of the People's Liberation Army.

After the adjustment, yearly pension allowances for veterans disabled in war and in the line of duty will reach as much as 80,140 yuan ($11,780) and 77,610 yuan per person respectively.

Raising pension allowances for military personnel is to pay respects to heroes and to recognize their social status, Song Zhongping, a military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Friday.

It doesn't matter whether the veterans had never fought in a war, as they all made personal sacrifices and supported the nation and the people. Raising allowances for them is an important way to assure them that they are still revered by the public after they retire, Song said.

This is the 25th improvement of the disabled veterans' pension system and the 28th improvement in pension standards for families of deceased soldiers and Red Army veterans since 1978.

An increase in the veterans' pensions is usually made in October but this year's notice comes two months early, according to the Xinhua report.

The pension increases on Army Day demonstrates the affection and care that the Party and the government have for military personnel and veterans, observers said.
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London, July 28, 2018 (SPS) - The United Kingdom has reiterated its position of respecting the decisions of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) regarding the EU-Morocco trade agreements, which excludes Western Sahara and its adjacent waters from the agreement.



In response to questions from parliamentarians of opposition parties, the State Secretary in charge of North Africa and the Middle East also stressed that the UK has always been clear that the recommendations of the Council of the European Union must be in conformity with international law.



He reaffirmed that the UK accepts and respects the decisions emanating from the CJEU. The British Foreign Office also confirmed that imports originating from Western Sahara region bear the EH code. (SPS)



062/SPS/TRA
English27/07/2018

GOOD COOPERATION CONFIRMED

BANJALUKA, July 27 /SRNA/ - Minister of Internal Affairs of Republika Srpska Dragan Lukac and EUFOR Commander Major-General Martin Dorfer confirmed that the Ministry and EU Forces have good cooperation.



During their Friday meeting in Banjaluka, they discussed the general state of security in Republika Srpska, as well as the future joint activities within the EUFOR mandate, reads a press release of the Srpska Government press office.



Major-General Dorfers, who took over as EUFOR Commander four months ago, paid a second visit to the Ministry on Friday. The meeting was also attended by Dorfers associates. /end/ds
English27/07/2018

OFFICIALS LAY WREATHS AT PARTISAN CEMETERY

KOZARSKA DUBICA, July 27 /SRNA/ - Officials from Republika Srpska, numerous delegations and representatives of associations that emerged after the 1990s defence and homeland war laid wreaths at the Partisan Cemetery in Knezica outside Kozarska Dubica on Friday marking July 27, the Day of the Uprising Against Fascism in 1941.



Wreaths were laid by the envoy of the Srpska President Pantelija Curguz, a Government delegation including Minister of Labour and Veterans Affairs Milenko Savanovic and Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining Petar Djokic, a delegation of the National Assembly and the envoy of the Serb member of the Presidency of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Radislav Doncic.



In addition, wreaths were laid by representatives of the Srpska and Montenegrin SUBNORs /Federal Association of WWII Veterans/, delegations of the municipalities gravitating towards Mt Kozara, Veterans Association of Republika Srpska and other associations that emerged after the 1990s war, representatives of the Third Infantry /Republika Srpska/ Regiment of the BiH Armed Forces and others.



According to the official programme for marking the day, officials are expected to deliver the address in Milica Gaj at 6.45 p.m.



The uprising of the people of BiH against fascism broke not far from the Partisan cemetery in Knezica outside Dubica, when a group of patriots attacked a gendarmerie station.



On the occasion of marking the 77th anniversary of the uprising, an annual gathering of the people takes place in Milica Gaj on Friday.



Organisers of the event are the SUBNOR of Republika Srpska, the Government committee in charge of nurturing the tradition of liberation wars, and the municipality of Kozarska Dubica. /end/ds
WASHINGTON, July 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said Friday that he would travel to Hawaii on Aug. 1 to receive the remains of U.S. soldiers who died in the Korean War.

In an announcement, Pence said President Donald Trump had asked him to travel to Hawaii "to participate in the Honorable Carry Ceremony and receive the remains as they return to American soil."

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) "committed to return the remains," he said. "This agreement was deeply meaningful to so many families across America."

He added that it is deeply humbling to be part of this "historic" moment.

Earlier on Thursday, the White House said a military aircraft carrying the remains of U.S. soldiers had left the DPRK and was transferring the remains to the U.S. Osan Air Base in South Korea, where a formal repatriation ceremony is scheduled on Aug. 1.

Also on Friday, U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said that the move is a "coordination effort" over the last month.

For his part, Trump thanked the top leader of the DPRK, Kim Jong Un, for returning the remains.
In late June Shuren Qin, a Chinese citizen and permanent resident of the United States was arrested in the United States and indicted for purchasing 78 high-end hydrophones and illegally shipping them to NPU (Northwestern Polytechnical University), a Chinese research institute identified by in 2001 by the U.S. government as undertaking research in marine technologies for both commercial and military uses. That meant certain American technology, like the high tech hydrophones, could not be sold to NPU. Starting in 2015 Shuren Qin used a company he owns in China to import the hydrophones in a manner that avoided the American prohibitions and then transferred them to NPU. By 2017 Shuren Qin had delivered 78 of the hydrophones. Because of the illegal methods he used to do this, he is being prosecuted for conspiracy to violate U.S. export laws as well as visa fraud. This case is of particular interest to the U.S. Navy which has noted that Chinese submarine detection technology was advancing particularly fast, especially in areas that use underwater systems of underwater hydrophones to monitor large areas, like the South China Sea. In light of that since early 2017, the U.S. government ordered a more vigorous investigation of these continuing technology thefts by Chinese living in the United States. This caught several smuggling operations that were illegally obtaining American tech for Russia and Iran, as well as China. In fact, some of those caught were obtaining tech wanted by all three of those nations.

For example, in January 2018 a Texas businessman (Peter Zuccarelli) was sentenced to 46 months in prison for conspiring to smuggle radiation hardened integrated circuits (microchips that can operate despite the increased radiation found outside the atmosphere) to China and Russia. These microchips were falsely labeled as touch screen components as the activities went on from June 2015 to March 2016. There were others involved, including a Pakistani man who is a naturalized U.S. citizen and was described as the middleman for this deal and similar schemes with others. The Pakistani agent apparently sought out Americans in a position to legitimately buy equipment that require an export license that the foreign customer knew they could not get. Zuccarelli owned an eyeglass lens coating company that was having financial problems and the Pakistani middleman got in touch and arranged the deal, which included paying Zuccarelli $1.5 million to cover the cost of the chips and profit for undertaking the illegal transaction.

These radiation hardened microchips were apparently needed for Chinese and Russian space probes that spend long periods in deep space. Similar Chinese microchips proved unable to handle the radiation for long periods. Russia had much less ability to design and manufacture these items and has to smuggle them in or do without. These microchips are also needed in ICBM guidance and control systems. Some of the mislabeled microchips shipped to China were also being sought by Russia and any other country needing such export restricted components for space systems or other types of advanced military technology. In the case of China, the hardening technology could be developed and manufactured in China but that would be very expensive and time consuming and it was simply cheaper to use the existing network of smugglers to obtain the components faster and at much less cost. The Chinese government is shielded from involvement via the use of Chinese companies that have contracts to deliver certain components for larger projects and as part of Chinas new (since the 1980s) market economy these firms are free to get it done any way they can. At the same time, the Chinese government is not particularly cooperative in assisting foreign governments investigating these smuggling schemes.

There continues to be a lot of this smuggling via China in part due to the role China has played as a smuggling conduit for all sorts of illegal tech going to a large number of countries. Heavy users of the China Connection included North Korea, Iran, Pakistan and Russia. Citizens of all those countries were often found (and frequently arrested) by Western nations that were being plundered for export restricted tech.

Until 2015, when most economic sanctions were lifted, Iran was a heavy user of the Chinese Connection. Even as Iran was negotiating the mid-2015 treaty they were still actively smuggling tech and that is one of the reasons the U.S. decided in early 2018, to withdraw from the 2015 agreement. For example, at the end of 2014 a Chinese citizen (Sihai Cheng) flew into Boston from Britain, under guard, and was arrested for organizing a smuggling operation to obtain thousands of components (mostly American pressure transducers) Iran needed for enriching uranium (for nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons). Sihai Cheng was caught attempting to buy these items for a Chinese company and then smuggle them into Iran. Sihai Cheng was arrested in Britain in early 2014 and indicted for espionage in the U.S. two months later. Cheng fought the American extradition effort but lost and was sent to America for trial. Cheng was accused of working with an Iranian citizen and two Iranian companies to carry out the plan. The Iranians told Cheng that the transducers (made in China by an American company) were to be smuggled into Iran for a secret project. Cheng was caught, in part, because of help from the U.S. firm that makes the transducers. By 2014 the U.S. and Western nations had become well aware of the Chinese Connection and cooperated with each other to spot and shut down these smuggling operations.

Because of decades of economic sanctions Iran came to depend on China to help smuggle forbidden items into Iran. China opposed the sanctions but went through the motions of observing them. Despite official sanction support, China has always been the ultimate source of forbidden military and nuclear research items for Iran. This included Western gear, especially stuff from the United States that the rapidly growing Chinese economy had legitimate buyers for. These American items are usually obtained by Chinese trading companies, who served as a one-stop-shopping source for many countries. The trading companies break American laws when they ship some types of restricted (by American regulations) gear to embargoed nations. This is done using forged documents and bribes that can mask these operations for years.

These Chinese exporters have little fear of punishment at home because the Chinese government refuses to discipline its wayward firms. But these trading/smuggling companies can be hurt in other ways. Thats because U.S. regulators can reach just about every other country (even China) using the enormous U.S. presence in the international banking system. But the Chinese traders consider occasional fines and business interruption a cost-of-doing-business and pass these extra costs onto customers like Iran. Thus as the sanctions on Iran grow more formidable, prices Iran must pay go up and the Chinese profits increase even more.

This kind of smuggling employs techniques that Iran has used successfully for a long time and apparently shared with some allies. Many Western suppliers will simply charge a much higher price to cover the risk of being found out and prosecuted. There are, as the Iranians know well, a lot of Western suppliers who are willing to take the risk. But as the risk of getting caught, and the penalties, increase a growing number Westerners abandon this lucrative business to the Chinese.

The war on Iranian arms smuggling had been intensifying in the decade before the 2015 treaty. Most countries cooperated, but not all. While Turkey has been getting cozy with Iran, the Turks still enforced international trade sanctions against Iran. But as Turkey encourages its companies to do more business with Iran, there are more opportunities to smuggle forbidden goods to assist Iranian nuclear weapons and ballistic missile projects. Iran takes advantage of this whenever possible.

Ever since the U.S. embargo was imposed in 1979 (after Iran broke diplomatic protocol by seizing the American embassy), Iran had sought, with some success, to offer big money to smugglers who can beat the embargo and get needed industrial and military equipment. This soon became a risky business, and American and European prisons are still full of Iranians, and other nationals, who tried, and often failed, to procure forbidden goods. The smuggling operations are currently under more scrutiny, and attack, because of Irans growing involvement in wars throughout the region and Islamic terror operations worldwide. The Iranians have found they can still profit from this smuggling network they have nurtured over the decades and continued access to an international smuggling network is useful to keep the goodies (tech or information) coming. With the Americans withdrawing from the 2015 treaty, many major suppliers in the West (not just the United States) will no longer deal with Iran because these firms fear losing their American connections, which are more important than a little extra business from Iran.
The growing unrest in southern Iraq is spreading and in early July became more anti-corruption than anti-Iran. This switch in the target was not encouraged by senior Shia clerics and most of them were slow to give public support to the protestors. Tribal leaders were more in touch with how most Iraqis live and did not encourage protests but also refused government requests that tribal chiefs call for calm. The chiefs point out that the government does nothing for the unemployed tribesmen and if those tribesmen, especially the younger ones, complain, government officials accuse them of working for Iran, Israel. Saudi Arabia or the hated (by Shias) Saddam government. So far the violence has left fifteen dead and over 700 wounded.

This outbreak of violent protests is not unexpected. Similar protests are going on in Iran and for the same reasons. There are differences though because Iraq has not been under any sanctions and is a democracy compared to the religious dictatorship in Iran. Yet its been fifteen years since the decades of Iraqi Sunni minority dictatorship was overthrown and democracy gave the Shia Arabs (60 percent of the population) control of the government. This was supposed to make life better for the Shia majority, and the Kurdish minority (20 percent of Iraqis). It hasnt, mainly because of corruption.

When the Sunni dictatorship was in power they got 80 percent of the oil income and could, so to speak, afford corruption. Nearly all the best government jobs went to Sunni Arabs. The Sunnis were always the best-educated group in Iraq and that gave them opportunities to put that education to work and make a good living. The security forces were dominated by the Sunni minority because the main job of the security forces was to keep the Shia Arabs and Kurds under control and that was done using terror and just enough resources to survive.

When the Shia took power after the first free elections were held in 2005 things were supposed to change. The Shia politicians who took power proved as corrupt as the Sunni ones and even though the Shia Arabs now got most of the government jobs, and lavished more oil income on the Shia Arabs that period of widespread prosperity for the Shia did not last because the Shia politicians got greedy and allowed many of the Shia to fall into poverty after a few years. Senior Shia clerics who were also politicians warned of the damage the corruption was doing to the Shia ability to rule the country at all. The violence in Basra, which has spread to the many Shia neighborhoods in Baghdad, is all about the Shia Arabs suffering higher unemployment (over 20 percent) and poverty (over 25 percent) rates than they did a decade ago. Unemployment and poverty rates are even higher in Basra province, where most of the oil comes from. There is a sense of desperation because most of these impoverished Shia Arabs know that a religious dictatorship like Shia Iran has, is no better than their corrupt Shia Arab politicians. The Shia Arabs are also not accepting excuses, like the need to repair the massive damage that (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) did to Iraq between 2014 and 2017. The areas that suffered the most were largely Sunni Arab and other minorities and those Iraqis are also angry at how reconstruction money is blatantly stolen by corrupt officials.

In addition to being anti-corruption, the current Shia unrest is critical of Iran as well. In Iraq, many senior Shia clerics have openly encouraged the protestors and approved of their cause. One of the complaints the protestors have was the way Iran interfered in the recent (May) national elections. Because of that, the Iraqi government is in worse shape. The current parliament ended on June 30 and a newly elected parliament was supposed to take its place. That did not happen and it will be a few months before results of the disputed election are agreed on. At that point, the members of the new parliament have to form a new government.

The two largest Shia coalitions (anti-Iran Sadr and pro-Iran Amiri) agreed to form a coalition that would control over 30 percent of the seats in parliament and make it possible, with a few minor coalitions added, to form a government. The Amiri faction control pro-Iran PMF (Popular Mobilization Force) forces and is seeking to repeat the Iranian success in Lebanon with the creation of a Hezbollah type organization. Amiri has used violence against those who oppose, secure in the fact that the police are controlled by a pro-Iran politician (who runs the Interior Ministry). These police are suspected of instigating political violence rather than containing it. Police are never around when groups hostile to Iran are attacked and police are the primary suspects in the recent warehouse fire that destroyed half the ballot boxes used in Baghdad. The fire makes it impossible to recount these disputed votes. All this contributed the outbreak of Shia protests in early July.

The real reason for the disputed election results is popular anger at corruption. One thing that united all Iraqi voters was anger at the persistent and crippling theft by government officials. Moqtada al Sadr, who was the unexpected winner, had been openly and actively anti-corruption for years and that was why his victorious coalition contained so many non-Shia groups (including communists, who are anathema to Iran). Despite that many Iraqis (and foreign allies) believe Sadr is secretly allied with Iran because the Sadr family has long had ties with Iran and members of the Sadr clan often took refuge in Iran. But that was because the Sadrs were respected Shia clerics and Iran was where the best schools and scholars were. Yet the Sadrs, like most Iraqi Shia Arabs, are Arabs and Iraqis first and that has been proven time and time again. Moqtada al Sadr has seen up close and frequently how a Shia clerical dictatorship works in Iran and was not impressed. He largely kept quiet about this but it was no secret that Sadr did not want a religious dictatorship in Iraq, mainly because it would make the country even more difficult to rule.

Sadr also noted that Iranian Arabs (and Arabs in general) are despised by most Iranians. Meanwhile, Iraq will demonstrate, over the next few months (or more) why it is considered the most dysfunctional country in the Middle East. Iraqi politicians will argue and negotiate in a lengthy effort to form a governing coalition and then for that coalition to select a prime minister and all the subordinate ministers.

Sadr is often described as anti-American but he is generally anti-foreigner in general but is willing to work with other nations if it helps Iraq. Thus there was a recent visit by Sadr to Saudi Arabia to meet with Saudi leaders. The Saudis had long supported the Sunni minority rule in Iraq because it worked and helped contain Iran. With that Sunni minority government gone and not likely to return anytime soon Sadr believes the Saudis still want an Arab government in Iraq that will help keep Iran out of Arabia. Sadr and the Saudis agree on that as do the majority of Iraqis, including most Kurds and Sunni Arabs.

Oil Production Surges

July production has surged and looks live it will average over 4 million BPD (barrels per day). The rate at which production is growing could mean production of nearly 5 million BPD in the next month. The 2016 OPEC limits set on Iraqi production are 4.35 million BPD. Since late 2017 oil production from the southern oil fields has averaged 3.5 million BPD. In early 2017 Iraq, as a founding member of the OPEC oil cartel, had agreed to reduce its oil production by over a million BPD to help increase the world price for oil. Iraqi production hit a peak 3.51 million BPD at the end of 2016. Iraqi production increased in 2017, often to take advantage of the production cuts the Saudis had agreed to and were making. But the October offensive against the Kurds in Kirkuk shut down most of the oil production up there.

The surprise Iraqi government attacks on Kirkuk in mid-October 2017 led to a sharp reduction in oil exported from the north by the Kurds. The Kurds were exporting 500,000 BPD before October and now that is running at about 200,000 BPD. Iraq has ten percent of the world's oil reserves and 2017 exploration efforts have that increased by 10 billion barrels. That makes 153 billion barrels, which more than a third larger than it was after the resumption of oil exploration a decade ago. Iran has reserves of 158 billion barrels, Saudi Arabia 266 billion and Venezuela 300 billion. These four nations have the largest reserves which are about 60 percent of the world total. What is keeping the world oil price low is fracking. The new American technology is making much more oil and gas available and it is expected that the U.S. and Canada will soon have proven reserves equaling a third of the current world total. The fall in oil prices since 2013 (from over $100 a barrel to as low as $30) cut foreign currency reserves to about $48 billion by the end of 2017, compared to $53 billion in mid-2016. By early 2018 the price of oil had climbed to $60 a barrel mainly because OPEC members were not cheating on their quotas and several members were producing less than their quota because of internal security problems. The ISIL crisis forced Iraq to be more prudent with its finances, and government operations in general. The Americans are no longer being blamed for all that goes wrong. Taking responsibility does indeed make it easier to deal with problems. But many Iraqi leaders and politicians still prefer to blame all the problems on America, Israel and so on.

ISIL Goes Full Guerilla

ISIL began switching to guerrilla tactics even before they lost control of Mosul and other Iraqi towns by the end of 2017. In the last few months, ISIL has increased its guerilla-type attacks and it is having an impact, especially in the area north of Baghdad (Kirkuk, Diyala, and Salahuddin provinces). This can be seen by the growing number of attacks, especial along the main roads north from Baghdad to Kirkuk and the border with the Kurdish controlled north. Attacks involving kidnapping and murder (mainly to terrorize the population into not interfering with or reporting on ISIL activity) are more frequent. In March there were seven of these attacks. That increased to 30 during May and 83 in June. This increase shows how effectively ISIL has established base areas to operate from. Most of the bases are in the Hemrin Mountains, which extend from Diyala province through northern Salahuddin province and into southern Kirkuk province. About 500 ISIL members are believed to be operating in the Hemrins and another 500 in desert areas near the Syrian border from west of Mosul south to include Anbar province. ISIL is also trying to reestablish itself in Mosul and in the last few days, police arrested 18 members, including a known leader, in a town west of Mosul.

July 24, 2018: The government sent $18 million from the emergency fund to Basra province to hasten the construction of 52 schools as well as emergency repairs on drinking water facilities. Kuwait sent seventeen mobile power generators and 18,000 tons of fuel to power the generators as well as existing power plants in Basra. Saudi Arabia is sending help as well.

The U.S. revealed that several air strikes on ISIL targets in April and June had killed six ISIL members who were planning and supporting attacks in Saudi Arabia, the United States, and Sweden.

July 21, 2018: In the autonomous Kurdish north (Sulaymaniyah Province) across the border in Iran (Kermanshah Province) PJAK Iranian Kurdish separatists attacked a border patrol base killing eleven Iranian border guards and destroying much of the facility. The PJAK attackers then fled back to their base in Iraq and apparently got across the border before Iranian troops pursuing them could catch up. Kermanshah Province is also largely Kurdish and frequent scene for clashes like this. Iran complained to the Kurdish government in northern Iraq but was told that the limited Kurdish security forces are concentrating from the continuing threat posed by ISIL and other Islamic terror groups.

July 19, 2018: Senior Shia cleric Moqtada al Sadr openly urged the government to quickly address the demands of the demonstrators in Basra and Baghdad. The Sadr coalition was the unexpected winner of the national elections in May. For years Sadr has been openly and actively calling for more vigorous and effective anti-corruption measures. This has had little impact, which is why the anti-government protests in Basra continue.

Sunni tribal leaders in Anbar province went public with support for the Shia demonstrators in Basra and Baghdad. Sunni and Shia both get treated badly by corrupt politicians.

July 18, 2018: In the northwest (Nineveh province) the military was alerted by an informant that a large (about 60 vehicles) ISIL convoy had crossed the border from Syria near Baaj (160 kilometers southwest of Mosul, near the Syrian border). In mid-2017 Shia militias declared the border town of Baaj clear of ISIL forces and now occupied by government forces to keep it that way. Iraqi ground and air forces went searching for the convoy but it had apparently already dispersed after crossing the border and reinforced various ISIL cells operating in Nineveh province.

July 17, 2018: In the northeast (Erbil province) artillery across the border in Iran fired on two DPIK (Iranian Kurdish separatists) bases just across the border in Iraq. Two DPIK separatists were killed. The firing continued overnight and into the next day causing hundreds of Iraqi Kurdish civilians to flee their homes.

July 14, 2018: In the northwest (Nineveh province) the police chief in the city of Mosul banned the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages. This gives Islamic conservatives and most residents of Mosul one less thing to complain about. Corrupt politicians, criminals of all sorts and some foreigners account for most of the alcohol consumed in the city and while alcohol has long been legal in Iraq its use has come to be associated with unpopular people. Similar bans were recently imposed in several Salahaddin province (between Baghdad and Mosul) towns. The alcohol ban in Mosul is part of an effort to prevent the unhappy population from getting violent (as in Basra). Reconstruction in Mosul has been slow and even more than Basra public services, especially medical, are in short supply. Corruption is seen as the main cause of all this. Billions have been pledged to rebuild Mosul and too many Iraqi politicians see that as an opportunity to steal, rather than make the reconstruction projects get done ahead of schedule and under budget. About a third of the pre-2014 population are homeless and many of the homes that are livable are either damaged or have little or no access to water, sewage and electrical services.

July 13, 2018: The anti-government riots have not only spread (from Basra) to Baghdad but are spreading inside Baghdad. To deal with that the government has ordered Internet access in most of the capital blocked. This Internet ban was soon applied to the rest of the country and has caused even more popular anger and is harming the economy at the rate of over half a billion dollars a month. Demonstrators have also blocked the roads to Kuwait.

July 12, 2018: The United States is building a third base in Anbar Province, near the Syrian border, to support counter-terror operations in western Anbar as well as across the border in the Euphrates River Valley of Syria. The other two American Anbar bases are at the Al Asad airbase and near the city of Ramadi.

July 8, 2018: In the south (Basra) protests broke out over the unreliable electrical supply, poor government services and high unemployment. A protest near an oil field led to police opening fire on the unruly crowd, killing one and wounding three. The demonstrators were not violent and word (and cell phone images) of what happened quickly spread so that the next day even larger crowds of protesters appeared all over Basra. Pro-Iran political parties and militias were also attacked. The demonstrations did not stop and within a week had spread to Baghdad. Demonstrators also blocked the border crossings to Kuwait and Iran.

July 7, 2018: In the northwest, Iraqi and American artillery near the Syrian border (west of Mosul) fired into Syria and hit three buildings in the town of Sousa (Deir Zor province). These buildings were used by ISIL as safe houses and the artillery fire killed the ISIL head of security along with up to twenty other Islamic terrorists, some of them foreigners (not from Iraq or Syria). There is apparently a combined Iraqi/U.S. 155mm artillery unit operating on the Syrian border and regularly firing on targets inside Syria. It is not known if the Iraqis are also using the GPS guided 155mm shells American artillery has used regularly in Iraq and Syria. GPS guided shells would make sense if trying to hit a few buildings and destroy them before the people in them can flee to take shelter.

July 6, 2018: Iran shut down electricity deliveries to the southern Iraqi provinces of Ziqar (west of Basra) and Meysan (just north of Basra), exacerbating the anger of people in Basra and other southern areas. While the timing was embarrassing the power was cut off because the Iraqi officials in charge of importing electricity refused to pay for it. The money for the electricity was probably stolen before it could reach Iran.

July 2, 2018: In June 76 civilians and policemen died due to Islamic terrorist violence. A quarter of the deaths occurred in Baghdad. Areas north of Baghdad (Diyala and Kirkuk) accounted for 34 percent of the dead. In May 95 died which was an increase from the 68 April deaths. March, when 104 died had been the deadliest month so far in 2018. That was up a bit from the 91 killed during February. The government has still not resumed reporting casualties among the security forces (military and militias).

June 26, 2018: In Iran large demonstrations in the capital (Tehran) continued into their second day, triggered by a collapse in the value of the Iranian currency. People are also protesting the poor state of the economy and most Iranians. Israeli officials issued Farsi (Iranian) language messages on social media pointing out the Iranian government had agreed to spend at least $2.5 billion in 2018 supporting foreign terrorists like the Shia rebels in Yemen, the Assads in Syria, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Islamic Jihad in Gaza, and Shiite militias in Iraq. This is in addition to over $14 billion Iran admits it has already spent on supporting the Assads in Syria since 2012. The Iranian protestors need little encouragements as they have been shouting Down With The Palestinians and criticism of the Syrian War as well. This unrest, which has been occurring more frequently since late 2017, was noted by Shia Arabs in Iraq.
The first Chinese combat aircraft built specifically for aircraft carrier use, the J-15, has apparently been found inadequate as the main carrier warplane for the growing Chinese carrier fleet. Although the J-15 entered mass production in 2013 fewer than 30 have been built and the main reason for that is a growing list of reliability and capability problems the aircraft is having as those in service spend more time at sea and operating off carriers. China now has two carriers operational. The second one is still undergoing sea trials but that means the J-15s assigned to it are getting a workout as well. A third carrier, that will use a catapult instead of the current ski-jump design, will enter service in five or six years. Together these three carriers will require a total of about 200 J-15s to support operations and training (on land and at sea).

The problems with the J-15 are not surprising when you realize that the J-15 is an illegal copy of the Russian Su-33 carrier aircraft. But the Russians themselves declared the Su-33 inadequate and replaced it with a navalized version of the MiG-29, which is now in use by Russia and India.

China thought it could fix the flaws in the Su-33 where the Russians had failed but now it appears China is hustling to come up with a new aircraft design to replace the J-15 and get into production in time to equip their expanding carrier fleet with an adequate number of reliable jet warplanes. An alternative plan involves persisting in fixing the J-15 problems. China has been successful when doing that but their approach takes time, often more than a decade (as in the case of building Russian jet engines). The Chinese are now learning a lesson the Americans accepted back in the 1960s; for best results carrier warplanes should be designed and built for carrier operations. These aircraft can still be used as land-based warplanes but the carrier version begins as a carrier version. Thus the land and carrier-based American F-35s may look similar but both versions were designed and built for those two different missions.

This decision to replace the J-15 comes after four years of Chinese efforts to tinker with the J-15 to turn it into a reliable carrier aircraft. For example, by early 2014 the J-15 was equipped with an in-air refueling pod. These pods contain additional fuel and the hose and drogue refueling gear for getting the fuel to other fighters. Thus when a carrier launches four fighters, two can be equipped with the refueling pod and transfer their fuel to the other two, providing those two with more range and time in the air. This reflects the fact that carrier aircraft can carry more weight in the air than they can when taking off.

This refueling system is particularly useful for carriers (like the Chinese one) that use the STOBAR (short take-off but arrested recovery) system that substitutes a ski jump flight deck to replace the catapult. The CATOBAR (catapult) system is used by American carriers and allows aircraft to take off carrying more weight (of fuel or weapons) than STOBAR launched aircraft. The U.S. and Russia have such a pod system but it has never been seen on Chinese aircraft before. This is the reason why China finally decided to switch to CATOBOR starting with their third carrier. But that would mean more problems for the J-15 which was already considered a bit too heavy for a carrier-based jet fighter. Taking off heavier via CATOBAR would put more stress on the J-15 and it was becoming obvious that the J-15 would encounter more reliability problems because of that. China will have to keep using J-15s until the new aircraft appears. China could build a hundred more J-15s, while adjusting and tweaking the aircraft to fix flaws and be able to continue operations on the two STOBAR carriers while having five years to come up with a superior carrier fighter.

The J-15 officially started mass production in late 2013, a year after some J-15s were seen making touch and go landings on the new carrier Liaoning. After that several J-15s have were seen at Navy air bases painted as combat (gray), not development (yellow), aircraft. By the end of 2013, about twenty J-15s had been built for testing. The first five were exclusively for testing while those built after that were apparently intended to become service aircraft once they had all the tweaks and modifications (for problems discovered during testing) applied. This allowed China to get moving with training pilots and deck crews to handle actual carrier operations. This process could take up to a decade in order to create a core of experienced officers and NCOs (petty officers) who can safely and efficiently supervise these inherently very dangerous operations. When the number of J-15s in service expanded very slowly after 2014 it was a sign that the Chinese were not happy with the J-15 and were tinkering with the existing ones in an effort to fix the problems.

Its long been noted that the J-15 cant take off from the Liaoning carrying a lot of bombs or anti-ship missiles because of its STOBAR launching system. Ski jump decks are okay for fighters flying air defense missions but not anything requiring heavy loads. In contrast, the new second Chinese carrier under construction appears was designed for catapult (flat, not ski jump deck) operations. Moreover, the front wheel of the J-15 is of the type required to handle catapult launches. Meanwhile, the Liaoning J-15s can use the refueling pods if they have to carry out some long-range attack mission (with smart bombs or anti-ship missiles).

For most of the last decade, China has been developing the J-15, which is a carrier version of the Russian Su-27. There was already a Russian version of this, called the Su-33. Russia refused to sell Su-33s to China, when it was noted that China was making illegal copies of the Su-27 (as the J-11) and did not want to place a big order for Su-33s but only wanted two, for "evaluation." China eventually got a Su-33 from Ukraine in 2001, which inherited some when the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991. Ukraine never used these Su-33s but put them in storage in anticipation of eventually finding a buyer.

The first prototypes of the J-15 were under construction for two years, and the aircraft made its first flight in 2010. The Russians were not happy with this development. Russian aviation experts openly derided the J-15, casting doubt on the ability of Chinese engineers to replicate key features of the Su-33 much less improve on them. The Russian criticisms were not unwarranted, as the Chinese have screwed up copying Russian military tech in the past. But the Chinese have a lot of experience stealing foreign technology, so the J-15 was believed to have a chance of turning out to be at least as good as the Su-33. One could say the J-15 was as good as the Su-33 but then the Chinese discovered why the Russians eventually rejected the Su-33. China openly boasted of the J-15 being the equivalent of the 30 ton American F-18E. That seemed excessive the truth was that the 33 ton J-15 appeared more like the earlier 23 ton F-18A (a similar looking but quite different design from the F-18E). In the end, the J-15 failed to be as reliable or capable as the F-18A, which is why China concentrates on copying less Russian aircraft rather than American ones.

Meanwhile, Russia itself has stopped using the Su-33 in favor of the cheaper MiG-29K (which is also being used by India). The 33 ton Su-33 and the 21 ton MiG-29K were both designed to operate from the three 65,000 ton Kuznetsovs the Soviet Union was building in the 1980s. But when the Cold War ended in 1991, only the Kuznetsov was near completion. The second ship in the class, the Varyag, was sold to China and was rebuilt as the Liaoning. The smaller Gorshkov was rebuilt and sold to India (who believed the smaller MiG-29K was more suitable for this carrier). The Russians still use the Kuznetsov, which never underwent much needed refurbishment, until recently, to keep it operational.

Basic aircraft design is not the only problem he J-15, and Chinese warplanes in general have. China continues to have problems with its locally produced military jet engines. The biggest problems are with the WS-10 series, which was designed and produced in China and the government has been pressuring the aircraft manufacturers to use Chinese made engines like this instead of Russian imports. This has not been working out as the government wants. For example, the Chinese carrier fighter, the J-15, is supposed to have a more powerful Chinese made engine so that it can carry more weight using the ski jump deck on the first two new Chinese carriers. One disadvantage of the ski jump deck is that it cannot launch aircraft as heavy as a catapult can. China developed a more powerful version of their WS-10 engine (the WS-10H) for the J-15 but has only been seen in a few J-15s. Until recently J-15s were still using Russian AL-31Fs but apparently more are receiving WS-10s, but apparently not the more powerful H version. China keeps details of its WS-10 development secret, but they cannot hide which of their aircraft are using the WS-10 and which the Russian made AL-31s that the WS-10 is based on and is supposed to replace. It is obvious that WS-10s have been slow to show up and that indicates the quality control and reliability problems of the WS-10 persist despite government denials.

The Chinese went ahead and built nearly 300 WS-10s for J-11 (which the J-15 is based on) type aircraft and found the engines reliable enough to keep using. The WS-10 is still a work in progress but it is still less reliable than the Russian ones and China is willing to undergo the hassle of maintaining and replacing the WS-10s more frequently as they learn how to design and build sturdier engines of this type. The first WS-10s began showing up in J-11s back in 2004. In 2010 China revealed that it was replacing the Russian engines in its J-10 fighter, installing Chinese made WS-10A in place of the Russian made AL-31FN. Shortly after that announcement China ordered another 123 AL-31FNs, to be delivered by 2012. More AL-31s have been ordered but at the same time, more Chinese fighters were being seen with WS-10s. Despite that, the demand for AL-31s, based on the number of modern jet fighters China wants to build, is exceeding the Russian engine building capacity.

The Chinese claim the WS-10A is superior to the AL-31F, even though the WS-10A copied a lot of the Russian technology. The Chinese say they have improved on that. For example, as delivered from Russia, the original AL-31 was good for 900 hours of operation. The Chinese claim their engineers figured out how to tweak the design of the engine so that it would last for 1,500 hours. Russia has since improved their basic AL-31 lifetime to 1,500 hours, and, most recently, 2,000 hours. When pressed, the Chinese claim that they simply cannot produce enough WS-10As for all the new airframes they are building. But the reality is that the WS-10As have some serious, unpredictable and persistent reliability problems that limit the number of reliable (enough for regular use) engines available.

Back in 2011, China believed it would be free from dependence on Russia for military jet engines by 2016, which implied that Chinese engine manufacturers still had a way to go. Now the most the Chinese will admit to is that there will be no need for Russian engines by the end of the decade, maybe. Meanwhile, China continues to import AL-31s and the RD-93 (a version of the MiG-29's RD-33) for the JF-17 (an F-16 type aircraft developed in cooperation with Pakistan) from Russia. These engines are expensive, with the RD-33 going for about $3 million each and the AL-31 for about a third more.

Since the 1990s Chinese engineers have managed to master the manufacturing techniques needed to make a Chinese copy of the Russian AL-31 engine. This is part of a program that has also developed the WS-13, to replace the RD-93 as well. While the Chinese have been able to build engines that are durable, they are still having problems with reliability. Apparently, it is still worth buying more Russian engines because the Chinese models are out of action too often, which keeps the jets grounded for repairs or, worst of all, an engine change.

China has long copied foreign technology, not always successfully. But since the 1990s China has poured much money into developing a jet engine manufacturing capability. The Chinese encountered many of the same problems the Russians did in the beginning. Developing the necessary engine design and construction skills is difficult. But China has several advantages. First, they knew of the mistakes the Russians had made, and so were able to avoid many of them. Then there was the fact that China had better access to Western manufacturing technology (both legally and illegally). Finally, China was, unlike the Soviets, able to develop their engine manufacturing capabilities in a market economy. This was much more efficient than the command economy that the Soviets were saddled with for seven decades. The Chinese consider all this part of the learning process and they do learn from their mistakes. Despite all that, every year more Chinese fighters are seen with the WS-10 and there does not appear to be any sharp increase in accidents (because of engine problems). China perseveres.

Meanwhile, the Chinese can build more Su-27 clones than they can reliable engines for them, and they keep developing more Su-27 variants. The Chinese J-11 jet fighter is an illegal Chinese copy of the Russian Su-27. It all began legally in 1995 when China paid $2.5 billion for the right to build 200 Su-27s. Russia would supply engines and electronics, with China building the other components according to Russian plans and specifications. But after 95 of the Chinese built aircraft were built Russia canceled the agreement. Russia claimed that China was using the knowledge acquired with this Su-27 program to build their own copy of the Su-27, the J-11. The Chinese claimed that the J-11 was designed and built using only Chinese technology. China also has a stealthy version (J-17) of the Su-27. There is also an aircraft carrier version of the Su-30 (the Su-33, obtained from Ukraine) that became the J-15. In 2013 J-16s were spotted. This is a two-seat fighter-bomber similar to the American F-15E and nearly identical to the Russian Su-30MKK. China insists these are all Chinese designs that just happen to bear some resemblance to Russian fighters.

A replacement for the J-15 will probably an existing fighter design, especially not obviously stolen. China has several of these designed in China designs, mainly the 19 ton J-10 (similar to the F-16) and the more recent 36 ton J-20 stealth fighter. In an ideal world, the J-20 would be the ideal candidate but the J-20 employs more new technique and has not been in use that long. There is another Chinese stealth fighter, the 28 ton J-31 that is supposed to enter service in 2019. So China has options, but not a lot of time to create a reliable and effective carrier fighter. That might encourage them to try unmanned combat aircraft. As the old saying goes, desperation is the mother of invention.
Field fire advice sheets are now available for farmers.

AS farmers start harvesting this summer, there is always the risk of fire from a number of sources and this is especially relevant this year with the very hot weather and dry ground that we have at present.

In order to help and support farmers in Warwickshire, North Warwickshire Rural Crime Co-ordinator Carol Cotterill has been working with local policing teams, Warwickshire Fire & Rescue Service and the NFU to produce an advice sheet packed with tips and ideas on how to reduce the risk of fire.

Among the recommendations are making sure that there easy access to farm buildings and other key areas for emergency services vehicles, with the name of the property clearly shown at the road entrance in both directions to aid speedy arrival should a fire or other emergency be reported. Its also important to ensure all farm staff know where the nearest water supply is to these areas.

With arson always a possibility on farms due to their often isolated locations, open boundaries and readily ignitable hay and straw, advice has also been included from the fire services Arson Reduction Team. This includes removing hay and straw from fields as soon as possible and storing it separately from other buildings, particularly those housing fuels, agrochemicals and machinery. Petrol, diesel and other fuels should also be kept in secure areas, within tanks which have padlocked outlets and alarms fitted.

Rural Crime Co-ordinator Carol Cotterill said: While there is always the possibility of a fire in agricultural premises or on farmland, there are some simple steps that farmers can take to both reduce their risk and also aid emergency services should a fire break out. Id urge farmers to visit the Rural Watch website and download the info sheet, and then do a quick and simple survey around the farm to identify vulnerable areas and how you can improve them. If you are unsure on any areas speak to your local fire officer who will be happy to help.

Fire and Arson Advice for Farms is one of a large number of advice sheets available on the Warwickshire Rural Watch website at www.warwickshireruralwatch.co.uk, which is funded by Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe as part of the Rural Crime Project.

Reducing arson on agricultural property remains a priority for both Warwickshire Police and Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service and it is hoped that encouraging farms to take these simple steps will also reduce the likelihood of farms being targeted.
99X Technology ranked among SLs Best Workplaces for 6th consecutive year View(s):

99X Technology has been ranked among Sri Lankas 25 best workplaces for the sixth consecutive year by the Great Place To Work Institute Sri Lanka. Additionally, it received honours at a regional level when it was listed among Asias Best Workplaces for 2018, the only

Sri Lankan company among the 25 enterprises in the Small and Medium Enterprises category, the company said in a media release.

The company, along with 24 others, were felicitated earlier this month at an awards ceremony hosted at the Hilton, Colombo. Here, 99X Technology received further commendations, as it swept up the Excellence Award in Inspiring Employees and the Gold Award in the Small Enterprise Category.

Its one thing to say you want a great culture and quite another to be able to shape your peoples beliefs around the vision the company has. Our culture is driven and enhanced by our people themselves thanks to the empowerment that they receive, and this is something that is recognised time and time again by the Great Place To Work Institute. As in previous years, it is truly an honour to be ranked among these companies who are leading the way in creating great workplaces, noted 99X Technology Co-Founder and CEO Mano Sekaram.

Over 115 companies in Sri Lanka from over 20 key sectors participated in this years survey, representing nearly 62,000 employees in the country. Data accumulated over the six years of conducting the Great Place To Work study in Sri Lanka displays an overall improvement within the top 25, with all dimensions scoring in the 80th percentile in 2018. These dimensions consist of credibility, respect, fairness, pride and camaraderie. When considering overall dimension scoring, the 25 best workplaces have maintained a positive trend in each dimension with an overall lead of 17 points over the rest of the workplaces in the country.
Government steps up anti-money laundering efforts View(s):

The Sri Lanka government has stepped up anti-money laundering efforts to prevent bank frauds, investment scams and other such suspicious financial transactions and also to crack down on terrorist financing, official sources disclosed. The Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Central Bank has directed the countrys Designated Non-Finance Businesses (DNFBs) to report any suspicious financial transactions to the unit.

Casinos, real estate agents, dealers in precious metals, and precious stones, lawyers, notaries, accountants, auditors and company secretaries are among the host of non-finance businesses required to report any suspicious transactions, the FIU said. Publishing an important notice in newspapers recently, the Director of the FIU informed the DNFBs of their obligation to report any transaction where there is reasonable ground to suspect that the transaction may be related to commission of any unlawful activity or criminal offence.

This notice has been issued under the Designated Non-Finance Business (Customer Due Diligence) Rules, No. 1 of 2018 and Extraordinary Gazette Notification, No. 2015/56 dated April 21, 2017 on Suspicious Transactions (Format) Regulations of 2017, in terms of the Financial Transactions Reporting Act, No. 6 of 2006 (FTRA).

DNFBs have been made mandatory to implement proper policies and procedures; under the FTRA in order to prevent the use of such businesses and professions as an avenue to carry out illegal financial activities, a senior Central Bank official said. According to the newspaper notice, the DNFBs should appoint a compliance officer at the senior management level who will be responsible for ensuring the entity meets the anti-money laundering/countering financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) requirements in terms of the FTRA and other related rules.

The identification and verification of customer identity should be carried out using a reliable source, at the point of entering into a business relationship, the CB notice revealed. When the DNFB has reasonable grounds to suspect that any transaction may be related to the commission of any unlawful activity under the FTRA, it must submit a suspicious transaction report (STR) to the FIU, allowing it to carry out further investigations.

Further, records of transactions, correspondence relating to transactions and all reports furnished to the FIU should be retained for a period of six years from the date of transaction, correspondence and furnishing of the report. Records of identity obtained should also be retained for six years from the date of closure of the business relationship. Where any record is subject to an on-going investigation, such records should be retained until such time the institution is informed by the relevant authority.
Parable of talents and spending free money View(s):

If you receive a few millions of dollars free, what would you choose to do? Some of you might decide to distribute it among the poor, thinking that it is the best thing to do with free money. Some of you might dig a hole in the ground and hide it. There might be some others, I believe a very few, who may think of investing it to create more wealth.

If you belong to the first group, you might want to show your generosity and compassion towards the poor; your decision might be politically correct, but at the end of the day you would have achieved nothing either for you or even for the poor. Besides, all that money that you got free would have got evaporated too.

If you belong to the second group that hid the money in a hole or somewhere else as if there was nothing happened, no one will have any benefit. You might live the rest of your life as poor as you were before you got money, although you have the ability to change it; at the end everybody would have lost it, unless someone else discovered it by accident.

If you belong to the third group of people, who are very few I guess, you know that investment multiplies your money and creates wealth, not just one time but a flow of wealth; and that flow of wealth brings about sustainable benefits not just for you but also for others, including the poor.

Parable of talents

One day, a wealthy master who had to go on a long journey, called his three faithful servants and gave them free money in the units of measurement called talents at that time: He gave five talents to the first servant, two talents to the second and, one talent to the third and, went on his journey.

After several days he returned and called his three servants to settle the accounts: The first servant had invested what he got and had doubled the five talents. The master was very pleased with him, and decided to give him more responsibilities. The second servant had also done the same and, doubled the two talents he got from the master. The master was pleased with him too, and decided to give him more.

The third servant had hidden the one talent he got digging a hole in the ground; he got it back and returned it to the master. Although he seemed to be faithful enough to protect his masters money, the master considered him wicked. He was angry with the servant and said that if you had saved it in a bank, I would have got it at least with an interest for it. He got the talent back and gave it also to the first servant.

Economics of the parable

1. Ability, not equality

The first economic lesson that we can extract from this parable is related to the notion of equality that is loaded with so much politics today. The master did not distribute his free money equally among the three servants; he distributed it according to each ones ability and capacity.

It is worthwhile exploring whether equal distribution makes people better off than they were before. Besides, I have seen more inequality in societies where equality is promoted as an economic and political ideology than in other societies where it didnt receive much emphasis.

2. Wealth creation

The second economic lesson is about the value of investment. The first two servants were wise enough to make an investment from the free money that they received. It is noteworthy that, however, the first servants ability to handle money was greater than that of the second.

For this reason, the first servant got five talents, while the second one got two talents. Even the one talent grabbed from the third servant was given to the first servant, and not to the second servant. Had he received more, he would have failed, as the parable implicitly reveals. However, they both succeeded according to their abilities.

3. Prosperity is a process

The third lesson is about the process. As the first two servants succeeded in small things, they got more responsibilities to do big things. The progress is a process and, not a jump from poverty to prosperity.

That is why, even after receiving free money, the third person was unable to make any change to himself or to anyone else. Probably, it would have been better for him to have not received anything free!

4. More will attract more

Finally, a shocking lesson from the parable is that the one who had more will have even more while the one who had little will lose even that little he got. The first servant got the highest amount of talents because he was the best according to the ability; the parable shows that he got even more responsibilities.

The third servant who got the least, did not make any progress and, finally he lost even the little money he possessed. This is why, some people and even some nations should not have money or resources more than they can handle. Perhaps, it is better for them to remain poor.

There is no free lunch

By the way, in economics there is no free lunch although in politics some may seem to think so. The master gave free money to the three servants, but that money was actually not free. The master had earned it; therefore, the free money that they got was absolutely not free.

Probably, what you got free must be the money paid by the people of the country as taxes. In a country where people anticipate and leaders encourage so much from the government to the people, there is a tendency to believe that it is free money flowing out from the Treasury. But it is not; it is the money that people willingly or grudgingly give to the government as taxes so that there should be a cautious approach in spending someone elses money rather than someones own money.

Even if you win a lottery, it is not free money. Millions of many people have spent their own money (hopefully with disappointment) for the lottery prize you won. Even for you, it comes with a responsibility. Whether you progress or not is determined by you. This is why we do not hear much about the people who thrived with free money they got.

Nations ability to handle free resources

Nations dont thrive with what they have got. If it was the case, we will have no explanations as to why some nations blessed with so much resources continue to remain poor. Africa is the worlds richest region with mineral resources, but many African nations continued to remain poor. The inverse is also true: You may find some nations in Asia that have got little resources but have flourished.

Donald Snodgrass, an economist who wrote much about Sri Lankas development history, made an interesting discovery as far back as in the 1950s and the 1960s and noted down in his book titled Ceylon: an Export Economy in Transition (1966): Whenever there were economic upturns (due to favourable world market conditions), both private and government spending rose; yet this spending was irreversible, when the economic cycle changed into downturns.

What a profound discovery on the Sri Lankan economy about half a century ago! Its validity remains equally applicable for todays affairs as well.

(The writer is a Professor of Economics at the Colombo University. He can be reached at sirimal@econ.cmb.ac).
The ubiquitous midwife View(s):

The rain had ceased and Kussi Amma Sera and her two amba yahaluwo (mango friends) were seated under the margosa tree chatting about events in their village and so on. Nangi, ara midwife nona hariyata udaw karanawa apey gamme kattiyata (that midwife Madam is very helpful in our village), Kussi Amma Sera was telling Serapina with Mabel Rasthiyadu listening intently.

KAS was referring to the public health midwife (PHM) and responding to a comment by Serapina on how the family of a migrant worker in West Asia was being helped by the local PHM. Eya saukhya-ta vada boho deval walata udaw karanna danna-wa (apart from health, there are many others things that she helps with), Serapina had been saying, explaining how the public health midwife was not only checking on the care and attention given to the children of the female migrant worker but also providing them psychosocial support.

Coincidental or what, when the phone rang at that moment, it was Koththamalli Perera, the Kokatath Thailaya (oil for any ailments) expert who has a remedy for any health issue, wanting to discuss the same topic. I say  there was this interesting discussion on digital health and one of the most interesting points was how the public health midwife is enhancing the health delivery service in rural areas, he was saying.

Oh  is that so? I replied.

Yep, some of them have smart phones and they are collecting a lot of data  in many ways, going beyond the call of duty, continued Koththamalli.

Ah  I smile and then gently tell him: I was also present at that discussion.

Ah  what? Where? he stuttered and then, saying our goodbyes, we parted company.

Koththamalli was not the only one impressed by the role of the public health midwife; I and many others in the audience at the Forum on Digital Health organized by Sri Lanka Telecom and held at the Jetwing Colombo hotel, too, were amazed by the role of this ubiquitous worker.

Unlike many years ago going on bicycles, trained public health midwives today travel on mopeds or scooters with some armed with smartphones.

The discussion itself was a voyage of discovery on how far Sri Lanka is grasping new technology in building skills and collecting key health sector data.

Earlier known as e-health and now moving to digital health, experts in health informatics (a new area of specialty) spoke on the digital health eco-system focusing on how information is gathered, development of a central health data system and role of the public health midwife in the data collection process.

Once the data are collected  in the current case in 10 major hospitals covering 25 per cent of the population  it is recorded on a central Hospital Information Management System (HIMS). While this system collects data  inserted by 1,500 medical officers in hospitals collected from 6 million patients per year entering hospitals for in-house or OPD care  data from public health midwives through smart phones help to check on the mother-and- child nutrition status in rural areas, among other matters.

The smart phone device is used to collect data which go into a central system and provides a continuous flow of information from the health worker which goes right up to the policymaker, one expert said.

The entire digital health ecosystem allows government hospitals to enter data of patients on registration and on discharge. The systems also help the back end and when hospital pharmacies run out of stocks there are alerts giving such an indication, far ahead of expected shortages.

OPDs have queue management systems while, in some instances, mobile apps containing patient details are also available for doctors doing ward rounds.

At the forum, Professor Vajira Dissanayake, President of the Health Informatics Society of Sri Lanka, and specialists, Dr. Nishan Siriwardena, Dr. Pamod Amarakoon and Dr. Buddika Dayaratne lamented on how difficult it was to build this health information system since many of the big IT software players were more interested in overseas clients than local ones. Eventually, the team, after mobilising local developers, created an information system that cost Rs. 900,000 compared to Rs. 90 million if undertaken by a corporate developer!

The information flow at the forum was amazing in the context that apart from Sri Lanka being often praised for its effective public health system, the technology being used to gather information on the health status of the country was a new plus.

At the end of the session, I was not the only one who was moved by the brilliance of these doctors, the audience too was. But to many the role of the public health midwife, earlier known as family health worker, was striking and in particular how effective this system is  not only dealing with maternal and child care but also being a shoulder to cry on and a listening post.

What it means is that PHMs are often called upon to settle non-health family issues when a drunken husband abuses a wife, a child has been playing truant in school or a mother is close to taking her own life, etc.

Searching for more information on PHMs, we are told that the system began in the late 1920s and over the years the midwife has been offering a package of services including counselling and family planning unlike in countries like India where health workers do different things. In fact, many countries are looking at the Sri Lanka model owing to its efficiency.

In addition to handling maternal and child health, the 6,500 midwives who fan out across the country, each handling 6,000 homes, also engage in tackling gender based violence and drunken husbands.

Respected in the village, these workers also deal with women who are prone to depression after pregnancy. They look into the care of children of migrant mothers as this segment is high risk.

Many are unaware that the midwife, who is trained to deliver a baby among other skills, is also present in urban areas but in cities like Colombo, they face many challenges. In Colombo, the women are mostly at work and not at home, when PHMs go visiting. Another challenge is that these households close the gate or shut the door in the face of the PHM thinking its below their dignity to use this free and efficient public health service, one expert explained.

Many of the international accolades coming to Sri Lanka like the low rate of maternal and infant mortality, the country having nearly 100 per cent of births in hospitals and high levels of immunisation are all due to the efforts of public health midwives. Their services are seen as very valuable in rural Sri Lanka where resources are scarce.

Tuesdays discussion on digital health ecosystem also provided a platform to profile not only the importance of the public health midwife but the need to improve the dignity of this silent workforce. And in an era where the remaining links between local government authorities and a village household is the postman or the grama sevaka which would likely end in the next 50 years, the role of the public health worker is rapidly being re-defined and has come to stay, hopefully, for good.

Mahattaya, e-gollange padi wedikaranna ona, Kussi Amma Sera interjects, having heard me earlier talking to Koththamalli, as I furiously type this piece on the computer.

Ov (yes), I nod in agreement. Not only should their wages be increased but also their dignity to a level where they are also welcome in affluent urban settings.
While GL Peiris was foreign minister during the Rajapaksa era, Monitoring MP wasvirtually running the show

Powerful minister, known as Mr. Money Bags arranged STF protection

Standards Committee including laypersons needed to maintain discipline in our Parliament as in the British House of Commons

Sajin de Vass Gunawardena, Monitoring MP for the Foreign Ministry in the previous government, was no ordinary politician. He was a man of many parts and a fixer of good many things which were beyond the realm of others.

He posted or transferred Sri Lankan diplomats to serve in overseas missions. He literally ran the Foreign Ministry leaving Minister G.L. Peiris to deal with international or bilateral issues and deliver speeches at events. He chose popular movies on CDs for former President Mahinda Rajapaksa to enjoy on flights overseas. Once a wharf clerk in Dubai, he developed a penchant for good living. He employed a Kenyan butler at his Colombo home to serve VVIP guests.

He was so powerful that he sent hand written chits to the Central Banks then Governor Ajit Nivard Cabraal. These chits triggered CBSL remittances of a total of US dollars 872 million to different lobbying companies in the US. There was no approval by any ministry or agency. One such remittance was to Pakistan born US citizen Imad Zuberi who lived in Los Angeles. He did not represent a firm but was said to be a broker or more pointedly an influence peddler.

Zuberi had traded on his acquaintance with former US President Barrack Obama and bandied photographs of the duo. This was after serving in his fundraising committee for the presidential election. These remittances were ostensibly to soften the United States government or to change its mind over a resolution Washington was to move then against Sri Lanka over alleged human rights violations and war crimes when the separatist war ended in May 2009. These funds, which could have been put to better public use in Sri Lanka, went down the drain.

The Sunday Times has made a string of disclosures over this colossal waste. These notwithstanding, the US not only moved a strongly worded resolution at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva but Sri Lanka, which was under the current coalition government, co-sponsored it. If nothing else, in doing so, the Government acknowledged the official US position on Sri Lanka  one which Vass Gunawardena was ostensibly trying to change with state funds. Those at the Sri Lanka Embassy in Washington DC was so ineffective, diplomats there played little or no role. It is only now there is a lot of finger pointing on who gave the final approval for the co-sponsorship. One is reminded of the saying that victory has many fathers and defeat is an orphan. The mystery remains.

Zuberis business has been the subject of an investigation by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In Sri Lanka, both the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and the Financial Crimes Investigation Division (FCID) probed a number of cases involving Vass Gunawardena. So did a Commission of Inquiry. These included the remittances of money to US public relations agencies and a number of other alleged irregularities. That was the time when there was a detente between former Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) backers led by ex-President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the United National Party (UNP) led by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe.

A senior UNPer, who spoke on grounds of anonymity, confessed that despite polls pledges, this detente meant that the investigative machinery was not accelerated at high speed over major cases of bribery, corruption and other abuses. This was in the belief that the SLFP and its leader Maithripala Sirisena would have become stronger overshadowing the UNP. It boomeranged. Even President Sirisena raised issue at weekly ministerial meetings over protracted delays and accused a UNP minister of being responsible. Now, the senior UNPer admitted, we are forced to move at high speed in view of the impending elections, both presidential and parliamentary. A senior Police investigator lamented, It was politics that slowed us. It is politics that is speeding us now.

In this honeymoon between two ostensibly hostile political parties, one of the luckiest and biggest beneficiaries was Vass Gunawardena. Instead of being taken to task, he received preferential treatment. He moved around like a Cabinet Minister even under the present coalition government.

This was possible only because of a very powerful UNP Minister, mischievously named Mr Money Bags by some of his own colleagues. He ensured that Vass Gunawardena received personal protection from the Police Special Task Force (STF) commandos  a rare privilege even among ministers. They escorted him wherever he travelled including public functions. Police investigators saw a veiled message in it for them  traverse carefully. Today, even members of the Cabinet receive protection mostly from the Ministerial Security Division (MSD) which is a marked contrast. There are a few exceptions like in the case of Sarath Fonseka, the former Army Commander and Chief of Defence Staff. Vaas Gunawardena enjoyed the STF security detail until it came to the attention of President Sirisena. He ordered that it be withdrawn immediately.

Last week brought bad news not only for Vass Gunawardena but generated adverse publicity to the country. The British House of Commons, whose hallowed model and traditions are followed in Sri Lanka in the conduct of what remains as a democracy, one of the former Monitoring MPs prized acquisitions, for whom millions of state funds had been spent, fell from grace. He is Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, MP for North Atrium (Northern Ireland) in the House of Commons. He is from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

Paisley is one of ten DUP MPs on whose majority the fate of the Conservative Party minority government of Prime Minister Theresa May now rests. He remained just an MP; he has been suspended for 30 (sitting) days from the Commons and his own party has suspended him pending inquiry into his conduct. Paisley is also likely to face a by-election which he says he will contest. His father Ian Paisely Snr. was a protestant religious leader from Northern Ireland and served as founder leader of the DUP. He was also First Minister for Northern Ireland.

The House of Commons Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Sir Kevin Barron, a Labour MP, held that Paisely was guilty on three different counts. Barron heads the 14-member committee, which, interesting enough, comprises seven laymen. They probed Paisely after disclosures made in a Daily Telegraph report in September 2017. Other members are MPs from different political parties. The counts, which make clear that the previous government spent money to purchase influence and failed miserably on the diplomatic front, are:

Paisely breached the House of Commons rule on paid advocacy (lobbying in return for reward or consideration) by writing to British Prime Minister David Cameron on March 19 2014 to lobby against supporting a UN resolution on Sri Lanka. This amounted to asking for an exclusive benefit for Sri Lanka, when he had received personal benefit and hospitality from the Sri Lankan government within the previous twelve months;

Note: This letter, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards said, was sent after Paisely was prohibited from lobbying for the exclusive benefit of the Sri Lankan government for a year. It was established that he had accepted financial benefits from the Sri Lankan government. This episode reveals that those in the Sri Lanka High Commission in London had not even cultivated a single MP there to espouse the countrys cause. They had to purchase his support. This is despite millions of Sterling Pounds being spent for their upkeep every year and incompetent persons posted there often as political rewards. It is no different now.

At the same time, Paisely breached the Houses rules on declaration by failing to declare the personal benefit and hospitality from the Sri Lankan government in his letter to the Prime Minister on March 19, 2014;

Breached the Houses rules on registration of interests by failing to register within 28 days as agreed by the House the two visits made to Sri Lanka with family members in March/April and in July 2013.

Note: Another visit made by Paisley from November 11 to 15, 2013 was not the subject of an inquiry. This is because it was properly recorded in the Register of Members Finance Interests and related to the Commonwealth summit in Colombo in November 2013. Vass Gunawardena had extended an invitation through the Foreign Ministry. Paisley had, however, not registered the two previous visits.

Pro-Mahinda Rajapaksa supporters who are in the majority in the Joint Opposition could not explain the Paisely affair, at least their position, in Parliament. As is known now, top rungs of the Joint Opposition, barring a few firebrands in their ranks like Wimal Weerawansa and other young MPs, are very soft on their opposite side  the government benches  and let many a key political issue quietly slip by without a murmur. Whether this is out of fears over their own misdemeanours in the past, issues with their own leadership or the result of any tacit understanding is not clear.

There have been numerous instances where they have not been defending their own cause or playing the rightful role of an Opposition to ensure checks and balances like in other democracies. With both the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) virtually backing the UNP on most issues, the JOs ineffectiveness is a contributory cause for a performance imbalance in Parliament. Political issues surface largely at news conferences and at talk shows on television channels. Thus the era of an aggressive government and a fierce opposition is long gone and has been replaced by compromises or being non-committal.

This is notwithstanding the JO demands on Speaker Karu Jayasuriya to recognise it as the main opposition. This week, one of its stalwarts, Dullas Allahapperuma wrote to the Speaker on the matter. It has been a cause for concern for formidable sections within the group, in the light of particularly the scheduled presidential election in 2020. This has been one of the main causes for former Foreign Minister G.L. Peiris, now the President of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Party (SLPP), to conduct regular news conferences at the N.M. Perera Centre in Cotta Road, Borella, and speak out on issues. This week, he dwelled on the Paisely affair and declared he was invited after the separatist war ended in May 2009, suggesting that it was for possible visits to the former battle areas or on related matters. There was none. The truth is completely different. The only two visits  April and July 2013  were the subjects of investigation by the House of Commons Committee on Parliamentary Standards.

Paisley and family arrived in Colombo from London by SriLankan Airlines flight UL 503 and departed by UL 502 on their first visit. A helicopter picked them up from close to the apron of the Bandaranaike International Airport for the flight to Colombo. Once again, they landed in a helicopter near the apron to board their return flight. The Sunday Times is able to reveal the facts leading to the two different visits.

VISIT TO SRI LANKA FROM MARCH 30 TO APRIL 5, 2013

The courtesies extended to Ian Paisely and his family on this visit were fit enough for a visiting head of state. It all began after Vass Gunawardena, accompanied by a relative, had a dinner meeting in London with Paisley and a friend on January 30, 2013. Paisley later e-mailed the Monitoring MP thanking him for his hospitality. He said, I want to follow up on your kind offer of a visit for myself and my family. Given family commitments and school holidays would it be possible to visit between 30th March returning on 6th April. I trust this would be possible. If so I can send you passport details

Paisley also raised another unusual issue in the same e-mail. He said, At dinner we discussed a potential oil purchase. I have two significant arrangements with national oil suppliers in either Oman or Nigeria. I understand from your conversation you require a regular supply and are currently changing your filters on the refinery to take other than Iran oil. If you can let me know the quantity and quality specifications of oil requirements I can certainly make this happen very quickly.. This reference clearly shows that Vass Gunawardena wielded power to negotiate deals though the subject of fuel procurements came under a Cabinet Minister.

On Vass Gunawardenas instructions, Majintha Jayasinghe, the then Chief of Protocol in the Foreign Ministry e-mailed Paisley on February 1, 2013. He said the dates are fine and we can go ahead with those dates. As for Nigeria, please kindly propose two sets of dates in order to co-ordinate the travel accordingly. By February 23, 2013, Paisley replied the then Chief of Protocol re-confirming the dates and giving passport numbers of the Paisley family. Shocking enough there were two others not connected to the family. Here are the details:

Ian Richard Kyle Paisely (205536156), Fiona Margaret Elizabeth Paisely, wife (509907893), Emily Fiona Elizabeth Paisely, daughter (652497104), Lucy Jayne Paisley, daughter (6524970099), Thomas Ian James Paisley, son (510062732) and Mathew Ian Richard Paisley, son (801324801). In their application for visas submitted to the Sri Lanka High Commission in London, all six declared that the purpose of their visit to Sri Lanka was official.

That is not all. There was Aidan Burley (094285917), a friend of Ian Paisleys son Thomas and his girlfriend Jodie Louise Jones (510655737) who were also invited by Vass Gunawardena to visit Sri Lanka.

The Protocol Division in the Foreign Ministry made the ticketing arrangements with SriLankan Airlines. An e-mail to them said the six from the Paisely family were members of a British delegation. The two who were not Ian Paisley family members, the message said, however, would arrive on May 22 and depart on May 31, 2013. For these two passengers, SriLankan Airlines first quoted Rs 109,145 each for a four months valid economy ticket and later changed it to one year valid Rs 156,445 per ticket. The six members of the Paisley family were given Business Class tickets each worth Rs 585,035. A Mercedes Benz and a luxury van were assigned to the family for ground transport with English speaking drivers.

This is how the programme for the Paisley family went on:

Saturday March 30, 2013  Arrival at the Bandaranaike International Airport. Transfer to VIP Lounge Laksri. Fly by helicopter to Defence Ministry grounds and drive to Colombo Hilton. Shopping in Colombo.

Sunday March 31, 2013  Leave for Pasikudah by helicopter. Arrive at Amethyst Hotel (Note: This was a hotel owned by Vass Gunawardena and later sold). Spend the day at hotel.

Monday April 1, 2013  Spend the day at Amethyst Hotel.

Tuesday April 2, 2013: From Amethyst Hotel in Pasikudah leave by road to Minneriya National Park, Kaudulla National Park, Huruluwewa National Park and return to hotel. Spend night there. En route to hotel lunch at the Lodge in Habarana.

Wednesday April 3, 2013  Spend the day at Amethyst Hotel, Pasikudah.

Thursday April 4, 2013  Leave Amethyst Hotel, Pasikudah by helicopter to Heritance Hotel, Ahungalla. Spend night at hotel. He occupied the Presidential suite at Heritance Hotel.

Friday April 5, 2013  Leave Heritance Hotel, Ahungalla by helicopter to Colombo. Arrive at Colombo Hilton. Leave for 1305 hrs departure fight to the Bandaranaike International Airport. Land near the apron area and board flight.

At the Colombo Hilton, the Paisley family occupied three double rooms. At the Heritance Hotel in Ahungalla, they were given the Presidential suite and two double rooms. At the Amethyst in Pasikudah, they were given three double rooms. The Protocol Officer accompanying them had also to be allotted a room in three of these hotels to be on hand to attend to the needs of the Paisleys.

Vass Gunawardena had arranged for Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) helicopters to fly the Paisley family. The SLAF that flew a Bell 412 helicopter (Colombo  Pasikudah  Galle  Colombo) charged the Foreign Ministry US dollars 8,866.66. The rupee equivalent according to the SLAF Helitours Charter forwarded by the Officer-in-charge Squadron Leader K.A.P.S. Kuruwita on April 8, 2013, was more than Rs 1.208 million.

Here is how the second visit to Sri Lanka by Ian Paisely and his family went:

VISIT TO SRI LANKA FROM JULY 2 TO 11 2013

Vass Gunawardena invited the Paisley family again. Thereafter, on June 12, 2013, Paisley sent an e-mail to then then Chief of Protocol Majintha Jayasinghe that he would wish to travel to Sri Lanka from July 2 to July 10/11. He said he would be accompanied by wife Fiona, sons Thomas and Maththew. SriLankan Airlines charged Rs 468,422 for a Business Class ticket for each member of the family. They arrived together with a little child by flight UL 504, an Airbus 330-200 at the BIA at 12.50 p.m. and departed by UL 503 on July 11 to London in the same type of aircraft.

Here is how their programme went through:

Sunday July 2, 2013  Arrival at BIA and transfer to VIP Lounge Laksri Leave by helicopter from near apron area to Heritance, Kandalama. Spend night.

Monday July 3, 2013  Leave Heritance, Kandalama after lunch by road to Dambulla Rock Temple. Return to the hotel and night stay.

Tuesday July 4, 2013  Leave Heritance, Kandalama after lunch by helicopter to Kandy. Land at Pallekele Army grounds. Travel by road and check in at Earls Regency.

Wednesday July 5, 2013  Leave Earls Regency Hotel after breakfast by road to Dalada Maligawa. Return to the hotel.

Thursday July 6, 2013  Leave after breakfast by road to the Pinnawela Elephant Orphanage. Lunch at the Pinnalanda Restaurant. Leave by helicopter to Heritance, Ahungalla. Dinner and stay. He occupied the Presidential suite.

Friday 7th July to Saturday 10th July (Four days)  Leisure days at Heritance, Ahungalla. Private visits to places of interest were arranged and transport provided. Sunday 11th July  Leave by helicopter from Heritance Ahungalla to the BIA for departure to London.

At the Heritance, Kandalama, the Paisleys were given the Presidential Suite for triple occupation on a full board basis. This was for US$ 540 per room night. At Earls Regency, a junior suite was given for triple occupation at US$ 400 per night. At Heritance, Ahungalla too they were given the Presidential Suite for triple occupancy at US$ 450 per night.

The helicopter rides provided by Helitours, the commercial arm of the SLAF, cost a total of US$ 14,750. It was made up as follows: BIA to Kandalama US$ 3,950, Kandalama-Kandy US$ 3,950 and Ahungalla to BIA US$ 3,200. There were other costs too. An E-Class Mercedes Benz was hired for ground trips with an English speaking driver when they were at the three hotels.

As is clear from these details, former Foreign Minister Peiris is either wholly unaware of what his Monitoring MP was doing then, or makes a misleading statement that the conclusion of the separatist war prompted the Paisley invitation. Why such paid holidays for a person who served only as an ordinary MP in the House of Commons? Why negotiate oil deals with such persons? Are there Paisley colleagues who have also been influenced by Vass Gunawardena? Those familiar with the issue claim there were at least three others. This is besides the administrative head of a highly coveted organisation whom Vass Gunawardena allegedly won over with his own brand of charm offensive.

During his visits to Sri Lanka, Paisely has been a very outgoing personality. He made friends with mostly hotel staffers. When some of them visited Britain, Paisely not only showed them around the House of Commons but also hosted them for a meal. He also showered them with presents. One of them, a hotel manager, received a wrist watch with a picture of the House of Commons on the dial. Another received a pen with the name House of Commons embedded on it.

During hearings before the Parliamentary Committee on Standards, Paisely repeated the same views expressed at the news conference by former Foreign Minister Peiris. Paisley said his visits to Sri Lanka had enabled him to gain wider knowledge of the political and social situation on the ground in Sri Lanka. He said he was sure that his knowledge and experience of post-conflict resolution added a dimension to (the Sri Lanka governments) desire to properly inform me about the issues. I do not believe that the (Sri Lanka) government did this as a gift to me solely because it liked me..if others want to inform me during times that I have set aside for my family and can accommodate my family, I will certainly ensure my family travels with me.

Paisleys suspension is the longest in the House of Commons since 1949. After the Standards Committees findings were made known, he extended an unconditional apology for his error of judgement.

The Paisley saga provides perhaps only a glimpse of how the conduct of Sri Lankas foreign policy had gone on during the previous regime. Those misadventures  when there are diplomatic missions which could have carried out their tasks more effectively  are lessons learnt. Ironically not much has changed under the tutelage of the present coalition government. Heads of some diplomatic missions overseas still remain vacant, more importantly in Washington DC, the US capital. In the Foreign Ministry corridors, the story doing the rounds is the view of an all-important bureaucrat who says he could run the mission from Colombo. Why then have an embassy and spend money for its upkeep? On the other hand, appointments of envoys, contrary to pledges made during presidential and parliamentary elections, remain political rewards. Some of them have been gifted to those who are grossly incompetent and do not even know where the country of their positing is located on the world map leave alone their leaders.

Perhaps, there is a lesson Sri Lanka could take from the practice in the House of Commons. More so when it follows the traditions of Westminster. That is the setting up of a Standards Committee with not only MPs but also including laypersons who are eminent including retired judges. That would ensure checks and balances not only in the legislature. There is also a need for such a body to govern the conduct of members of local authorities and even the Provincial Councils. It is no secret that PC members have now become prone to study tours overseas spending public funds. Others go on trips on invitations extended by foreign diplomatic missions in Colombo. There are lessons to be learnt still, from the Mother of Parliaments as the House of Commons is popularly known.
Tackling Sri Lankas torturers from Point Pedro to Dondra Head View(s):

There is little doubt that the findings of United Nations Special Rapportuer on Countering Terrorism, Ben Emmerson on the sorry fate of Sri Lankas justice system, particularly in regard to the continuance of a culture of impunity are significantly troubling.

A fate worse than death

Reporting to the Human Rights Council earlier this week, the Special Rapportuer reflected on a recent visit to Sri Lanka with angst. He expressed serious apprehensions that the most senior judge responsible for terrorism cases in Colombo informed the Special Rapporteur that in over ninety per cent of the cases he had dealt with so far in 2017, he had been forced to exclude essential evidence because it had been obtained through the use or threat of force (at paragraph 25). It was also pointed out that the National Human Rights Commissions (HRCSL) view was that torture in custody was widespread, systemic, institutionalised and formed a major priority in its work.

A particular focus was that Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) pre-trial detainees languish in prison for years without being actually tried for an offence. According to the Emmerson report (at paragraph 15), reflecting statistics provided by the Office of the Attorney General, out of 81 prisoners at the time in the judicial phase of their pretrial detention, 70 had been in detention without trial for over five years and 12 had been in detention without trial for over ten years.

As he rightly notes, such lengthy administrative detention without judicial review violates rights. The risk of torture in these cases is correspondingly higher with eighty per cent of of those arrested under the PTA in late 2016 complaining of torture and physical ill-treatment (at paragraph 25).

Alarming subversion of the judicial system

These concerns are, of course, nothing really new. Persistent continuance of the countrys impunity culture violates Sri Lankas own law and the Constitution. Injustices caused to detainees in the nether-world of administrative detention have been a persistent focus for decades. But the sheer force of the percentages disclosed in the Emmerson report testifies to the alarming subversion of an under-resourced judicial system staggering under the strain of built-in impunity.

Criticism of the abhorrent admittance of confessions by detainees to senior police officers has also been historic, which the report focuses on. The burden of proving that confessions made by them are coerced is borne by the detainees. This is an impossible burden to fulfil in many instances given the secretive and skilled manner in which torture and ill-treatment occurs in official detention centres, let alone those that were unofficially run. Other common Rule of Law failures include the fact that examination of detainees by a Judicial Medical Officer has been neither a deterrent nor an effective way to substantiate allegations of torture and ill-treatment. Access to lawyers for individuals in detention under the PTA is categorized as being patchy and far from systematic.

These all constitute fair warning to this Government not to proceed in a haphazard manner with the proposed Counter-Terrorism Act (CTA), meant to replace the PTA but which has been meticulously detailed in this column as being far worse than the PTA in many of its aspects. The Government must put the CTA draft in whatever stage that it is currently in, before the public without allowing various unauthenticated versions to float around. It must undertake a thorough and independent scrutiny of its contents for rights-compliance, including sending it to the HRCSL.

Extreme swings of the pendulum

That being said, screaming headlines over-exaggerating the Emmerson findings by imputing that the very same levels of impunity that existed prior to 2015, also exist now without any discernible difference in intensity are misleading. Indeed, the dangers of swinging violently to either side of the pendulum in assessing the manner in which the Sri Lankan State protects citizens (or fails to, as the case may be) cannot be over-emphasized.

It was repeatedly warned in these column spaces within a few months of the yahapalanaya Government assuming office that, over effusiveness in celebrating supposed gains made in the protection of civil liberties following the 2015 change was not only silly but also counter-productive. Unremitting applause by overseas missions in Colombo and high-level delegates on whistle-top tours to the country, the respective offices of the United Nations and the European Union along with wildly cheering civil society had majorly negative repercussions.

First, it allowed a new Government feeling its cautious way after the electoral defeat of the Rajapaksas to relax, complacent that it need not do overmuch except to engage in the superficialities of ticking the box. Secondly even what was accomplished was not with the inclusive participation of Sri Lankas communities at village level, quite unlike the broad-based and over-arching thrust of South Africas post-apartheid transitional justice process led by individuals of esteem and repute, whether religious leaders, constitutional lawyers or judges as the case may be.

Systemic abuses then and now

Here, it was manifestly different. Whether constitutional reforms or transitional justice, the aim seemed more directed towards political party maneuvering with a dreadful loss to the credibility of the entire effort. We can see the consequences of this dysfunction continuing to the present day, with the Joint Opposition delightfully capitalizing on friction within the committees seemingly established to advise on the constitutional reform process with the very credentials of those involved being challenged (and inevitably so, as it must be said). This was a sadly blinkered exercise, now winding down to a splutter and a sigh.

But despite its ugly warts, continuation of systemic abuses under the yahapalanaya administration in relation to PTA detainees or protection of rights in general cannot be equated to the blatant and openly horrific manner in which the Rajapaksa regime violated the Rule of Law. There are important differences between the two. And if the Rajapaksas are in fact, enabled to return mostly due to the idiocies of the current administration admittedly, the frontline victims will be ordinary Tamil people in the former war theatre, with insidiously motivated and well-oiled propagandists having the means and the ability to seek refuge abroad. That is undisputed.

Further, the link between torture of PTA detainees (of Tamil ethnicity) and torture during routine law enforcement (of Sinhala detainees) documented in thousands of cases, must not be lost sight of. Torturers are certainly no respecters of ethnic lines even though the motivation and intention may differ. And justice for those who have suffered in this country must cross ethnic and racial boundaries without a doubt.

If the intention is to actually change Sri Lankas impunity culture from Point Pedro to Dondra Head, recognising that common truth is pivotal. In the alternative, we can continue using this as a favourite whipping boy on social media and for campaigns in front of the United Nations but to what effect?
Blank cheques for paid advocacy View(s):

The recent mea culpa by British MP Ian Paisley for not disclosing to the House of Commons that he and his family accepted a freebie holiday in Sri Lanka, and the punishment meted out to him by the Standards Committee of that countrys Parliament seem to have excited some local MPs. He was found guilty of paid advocacy.

One of these local MPs from the ruling coalition called for an inquiry on the matter to embarrass the previous Government which had engaged the British MP at the time. Some of these Sri Lankan MPs will go to any lengths to take a jab at their political opponents even if it means hanging to dry an MP who spoke on behalf of Sri Lanka before a multitude of MPs beholden to the Pro-Eelam lobby.

Freebies are offered by all countries, and Sri Lankan legislators accept them with both hands. One would have thought Sri Lankan Governments were not capable of such things. Therefore, one could give the previous Government some credit if they realised the need to lobby foreign legislators to speak up on behalf of this country, especially against a tide of negative comments triggered by anti-Sri Lanka groups in those countries.

Dr. Liam Fox, former British Secretary of State for Defence, also fell into difficulties of a similar nature. Though in that case it did not directly involve Sri Lanka, there were indirect references to his visits to this country. The pro-Eelam lobby actively involved itself in the targeting of Dr. Fox, who was, and remains, a friend of Sri Lanka. He was forced to resign from the Cabinet and abandon his quest at the time for the leadership of the Conservative Party, but has since bounced back as the Secretary of State for International Trade.

Local MPs mouthing platitudes about Governments in Colombo (which were their opponents) soliciting in questionable ways the support of foreign MPs comes in the very backdrop of foreign Governments doing exactly that with the political leaders in this country. All major political parties accepting Chinese lucre on the eve of the last Presidential election is an open secret now.

The fact that in Britain and many other advanced democracies, Parliaments have their own Standards Committees with powers to punish MPs for indiscretions and breaking their rules is something missing in Sri Lanka. That is quite apart from the lack of voluntary resignations or indictments in a Court of Law, despite overriding evidence that MPs have been for hire  paid advocacy, as the British have called it  and taking kickbacks from interested parties, especially businessmen and foreign Governments.

The case of the British MP does not mean the previous Government got it right in lobbying foreign Governments and its legislators, the right way or the wrong way. It seems to have only rubbed them the wrong way. The pro-Eelam lobby at the time, and even nowadays, though arguably less intense, was streets ahead of the initiatives by Colombo which were largely Government-centric. In Washington and London, the key diplomatic posts have been without heads of mission for months, giving the rump pro-Eelam campaigners a free run on their turf.

Presidents and Foreign Ministers felt that meeting their counterparts, making speeches at forums abroad, photo opportunities with their counterparts and media statements for home audiences and local consumption were sufficient to win world opinion in their favour and kudos at home. On the contrary, the previous Government made enemy after enemy with its brusque, undiplomatic approaches, and its sheer incompetence to reach out when it mattered.

It did not galvanise the Sri Lankan Diaspora that was fighting a rearguard battle with a vastly outnumbered opposition lobby that was complaining of a fashionable issue that wins hearts easily  the systematic violation of minority rights abroad by a wicked, oppressive majority claiming superiority.

The unfortunate Mr. Paisleys case was probably a solitary feather in that Governments cap. But one swallow does not make a summer. The bigger issue that is worrying as far as Sri Lanka is concerned is not whether the likes of Mr. Paisley did their bidding on behalf of this country, but whether the authority to dispense blank cheques was abused to the extent of personally benefiting those who had that authority. Apartments in Arlington, USA and Gregorys Road, Colombo 7 and campaign funds for electioneering seem part of the exercise.

This newspaper published how for three consecutive years, the Auditor General queried the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) about nearly Rs. 2 billion paid in fees for foreign lobbyists, consultants and public relations agencies, especially in the United States. In 2014 alone, Rs. 1.4 billion was spent. Where did all this money go? Even the US Justice Department is investigating if there was money laundering that took place, with the funds often skirting through the Sri Lanka embassy in Washington DC.

The Central Bank was supposed to be the regulator of foreign exchange going out, but it became the perpetrator. One of the consultants retained was the scandal-hit former Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) hired by the Central Bank. Just a few weeks back, the same Frenchman was in Sri Lanka and seen in the company of the same Central Bankers who hired him at the time. Where are the Government investigations on these connections?

Some of the public relations agencies hired merely wrote mundane media statements for embassy Avurudhu celebrations and the ambassadors speeches. Recently, we had occasion to point out how a US firm was hired to obtain Congressional support for, inter-alia, foreign investment to Sri Lanka. The problem was that the firm was hired at a time when Congress was virtually on vacation as the US Presidential campaign was in full swing and no business was being conducted in Congress. It was the hard-earned money of the Sri Lankan worker in West Asia gone down the drain.

The Central Bank was the preferred channel for such payments in the past because its accounts do not go before Parliament. The paper trail covers the Central Bank at the time because orders for these transfers have been endorsed by higher authorities  the same source that looked after Mr. Paisley.

We also have the case of the dubious Pakistani-US national and influence peddler who was hired and monies sent to his personal account by the Central Bank. If Mr. Paisley performed, as the British Parliamentary committee referred to it paid advocacy, the problem is his for non-disclosure  not Sri Lankas. Sri Lankas problem is whether those who were authorised to recruit legitimate lobbying agents used the monies for the purpose it was meant, or did only part of their assignment and put the balance into their own pockets.
An emotional journey View(s):

Playing the lead role in the smash-hit musical Mamma Mia! which comes to Colombo this December is Scottish actress Shona White. Here she talks to Yomal Senerath-Yapa with Associate Producer of the show Nick Grace

Shona White looks very much in her element in the sun, fluttering happily around the Cinnamon Grands pool, hat in hand, having developed a slightly golden tan. It is easy here to see her running a taverna in a bleached Greek island- as does her legendary character, Donna Sheridan, in Mamma Mia!, the smash-hit musical.

Shona White is here along with a few co-stars for the launch of Mamma Mias first South Asian show, which will happen in December this year at the Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa theatre. We sat down with Nick Grace, the Associate Producer, and Shona, in the run-up to this epic Broadway and West End musical, unanimously held to be the worlds sunniest and most exhilarating smash-hit musical.

Mamma Mia! The jukebox musical that debuted in 1999, is based on the songs by ABBA composed by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. It is the seventh longest-running show in West End history and the ninth longest in Broadway, 60 million people around the world having viewed this ultimate feel-good show so far. It has been running for nearly 20 years and the international tour has so far performed in 38 countries since the premiere in Dublin in 2004.

The story of Sophie Sheridan, determined to find her real father on the eve of her wedding so he can walk her down the aisle, and of her mother Donna, a strong, independent woman running a taverna and nursing a broken heart, owes its popularity to the fact its a believable family story whose characters you can immediately recognize and relate to. But it is also a brilliant, glittering, colourful celebration of friendship, love and family that makes your heart brim over.

Nick Grace explains that they will be bringing to Colombo the whole production exactly as on West End, which means a company of 56 people: performers, musicians and backstage crew. For Shona, the leading lady, playing Donna Sheridan is a massive highlight. This Scotswoman has a big voice, nurtured in church when a young girl, where during Easter and Christmas services she always did a solo. In a glittering career in musicals she played such iconic roles as Elphaba in Wicked at the Apollo Victoria, Eponine and Cosette in Les Miserables, and Florence Vassy in the Award Winning UK Tour of Chess. She is also the only actress to have played the character of the daughter Sophie and the mother Donna, having done Sophie more than 16 years ago.

Donna is talking for the rest of the cast as well when she says she loves the family feel of the show. Its a great show to be part of, she says, revealing that Helen Anker and Nicky Swift who play her best friends on stage are her closest friends in real life as well. Its such good fun. However it is not exactly a paid holiday. The main challenge the cast has to face is playing eight times a week, which, Shona says, requires enormous stamina- seeing as it is a very emotional journey, and a challenging sing.

That sense of glorious exhilaration bred by Mamma Mia!, testimony of an unusually great show, is not inspired by a few elements that were accidentally knocked together. It all seems quite simple, but it is not, Nick says, Its very cleverly put together- the direction, and the acting, the choreography, the lighting and the sounds- not forgetting, of course, the music of ABBA that transcends generations; the heady Dancing Queen, The Winner Takes it All and Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!

A lot of the beauty of the West End show can be attributed to the state-of-the-art technicality. Nick says, I think it is a very select show and the audience likes the quality of the presentation as well as watching the show. The lighting, sound, scenery and beautiful costumes- they are all part and parcel of what you see and its exactly like the show in London.

But you need a heart at the centre, and that heart is the story. It takes a very talented company to convince you this is a believable story. And we have a fantastic company, Nick assures.

Prior to arriving in Sri Lanka, Mamma Mia! will play in several venues including Toronto, Taipei, Singapore and Manila. Nick who has experienced Sri Lanka three decades ago says it was long ago that he fell in love with the islands paradisical beauty while Shona along with the cast are impatient to explore the country probably taking precious spare time off during the December tour.

Mamma Mia is brought to Sri Lanka by Cinnamon Life, as part of their goal to create and support new initiatives that will assist and enhance Colombos overall offering, in line with the vision of making Sri Lanka a sought-after destination in the region. Nick promises that this is just the first West End production they will be bringing in to Sri Lanka with Cinnamon Life.

As Mamma Mia! will be on for a limited run of 10 shows in Colombo, it is advisable that music lovers book their tickets well in advance. Nick with his veterans experience of tours across the world says book early to avoid disappointment.

Presented by Cinnamon Life, Mamma Mia! is produced by Judy Craymer, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Richard East, and directed by Phyllida Lloyd. The book is by Catherine Johnson, choreography by Anthony Van Laast and the production by Mark Thompson.

The musicals eight-day run with 10 shows will be from December 22 to 30 at the Nelum Pokuna Mahinda Rajapaksa theatre. Tickets are priced at Rs. 7500, Rs. 10,000, Rs. 15,000 and Rs. 20,000. Tickets can now be booked online at www.cinnamonboxoffice.com and at the ticket office at Cinnamon Lakeside Colombo.
Mobile-home travel, an evolving vacation getaway View(s):

Booking a hotel is probably the first thing one does when it comes to a vacation getaway. Another evolving travel concept in Sri Lanka is the mobile-home travel, where you hire a motorhome and drive to your vacation hotspot. The motorhome will be your hotel room from the beginning till the end of the tour. This is one of the booming travel concepts that is gaining popularity in Sri Lankan.

The Mirror Magazine recently caught up with the only caravan and motorhome renting company in Sri Lanka, GoOutdoors to talk about their unique concept of a mobile home travel vacation. The companys General Manager, Dilhan Gunatunga shared a glimpse of the potentially evolving industry. GoOutdoors, being a local company incorporated in September 2014, a subsidiary of Fairway Holdings, the group has ventured into the leisure sector with a view of providing people affordable, unique and eco-friendly holiday experiences. We are the only company in Sri Lanka and South East Asia to offer this type of mobile motor-home travel. Our motorhomes and caravans are purpose built by leading manufacturers in the UK, Germany and Italy.

Local and foreign travellers, companies that promote outdoor activity and adventures, media and movie production companies and caravan and motorhome clubs are some of the clients of GoOutdoors, Mr. Gunatunga said.

A motorhome can accommodate up to five guests and is rented out at Rs. 25,000 per day including a driver. Caravans in Nuwara Eliya are rented at Rs.12,500.00 for two guests and Rs.15,500.00 for four guests while caravans in Wilpattu are Rs. 8,500.00 for two guests and Rs.10,500.00 for four guests. There are two static parks for GoOutdoors caravans in Nuwara Eliya and Wilpattu that provides water and power facilities. Also anyone who owns a caravan or motorhome can use any of the locations by paying a rental fee.

Mr. Gunatunga stressed, You need a special license to tow a caravan which is not allowed in Sri Lanka where we have placed our caravans at these locations for people to rent once they arrive. There are no restrictions for motorhomes to be parked in public locations however Sri Lankans by nature are curious to find out everything and that your privacy can be restricted. Habarana and Pasikudah are new locations we are looking at for static parks for caravans. There are also drive-in parks for motorhomes in Anuradhapura, Kandy, Kirinda, Mannar, Sigiriya and Tangalle.

A motorhome is always rented out with a driver which ensures peace of mind for guests. They could also be driven on highways with no restrictions. All vehicles are comprehensively insured and have a public liability cover. The caravans and motorhomes are of two international brands; Hobby, a German brand and Roller Team, an Italian brand.

The scope for mobile home travel in Sri Lanka is endless, it gives guests the freedom to travel in their own time and pace. Given that more travelers are seeking an experience or experiential travel, we are confident this mode of holidaying will catch on, noted Mr. Gunatunga.

He also mentioned that outbound tour organisers are given the opportunity to let tourists know the option of using caravans or motorhomes as part of their travel experience. Having four individuals share a motorhome of caravan can make for a positive team building experience. Even when it comes to meals, we have done research on what is available in the local supermarkets today and can suggest menus to guests not familiar with outdoor living but want to experience it. This is possible since our team have spent extensive time traveling around the country in motorhomes.

For more information visit www.gooutdoors.lk
The Voice From Beyond View(s):

As usual the local Jim Reeves Fan Club will be hosting a special radio programme on SLBC to commemorate Jim Reeves 54th death anniversary on July 31st. Seen above is perhaps the only picture of that kind to have reached Sri Lanka, with Jim Reeves and his wife Mary Reeves together. It was personally autographed by Mary Reeves, which is now a treasured item of the local Jim Reeves Fan Club.

Mary Reeves once said, being such a loving couple, both of them went on a honeymoon every year since they were married it was Mary who kept Jim Reeves legacy alive, after his untimely death in that fatal air crash on July 31st, 1964, few miles away from Nashville, Tennessee airport, instantly killing him and his manager, the only two passengers in the plane, piloted by Jim himself.

Even after 54 years of his death, Jim is still the most popular and most requested artiste among Sri Lankan music fans. Not a day passes by without at least one song by Jim Reeves being played over the airwaves. For more details call, Jayaratne Perera on 2795997.
Govt. doctors demand massive allowances, schools for children By Shaadya Ismail View(s): View(s):

Non-emergency surgeries will not be done, clinics will not be held, and out patient departments will not function from next Friday, when government doctors halt work to demand million rupee annual allowances, school privileges for their children, and solutions to nine other gripes, including the approval of the Singapore free trade agreement.

The Government Medical Officers Association says discussions have been sought with the government. The group also says the government is now even taxing sick people. The GMOA president, Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya also claimed that the Association of Medical Specialists, private sector consultants and university consultants will join the token strike.

Dr Haritha Aluthge, Secretary of the Association said special hospitals will be excluded from the strike. Paediatric hospitals, maternity hospitals, the Maharagama Cancer hospital and the renal units of hospitals will function. Awareness campaigns are being carried out to inform the public.

The GMOA is fighting for 10 demands: approve Disturbance Availability and Transport allowance revision; gazette the minimum standards of medical education by the Sri Lanka Medical Council; the negative impact of the taxation policy on professionals including doctors; rectify gross violation of national wage policy; formulate a national trade policy to ensure the safety of service sectors of the country before signing the Singapore Free Trade Agreement; hold SLMC elections as planned, formulate a National Allowance Policy for government sector and increase allowances according to a policy; rectify the anomalies in the grade promotion scheme of medical officers; providing schools for doctors children, and finally, and adhere to Medical Service Minute provision.

However, the president of the Independent Medical Specialists Association Dr Maiya Gunasekara told the Sunday Times that it is highly unlikely that the group will join. The association which represents 30 to 40 consultants from the private sector is not a trade union but a forum to exchange ideas on matters relating to the medical field and patients, such as the taxation policy on professional fees, he said.

It is very unfair to have a price ceiling for channeling and consultation only for the medical professionals. The government has not attempted to put a system in place for other professionals and monitor them, he said. Dr Gunasekara suggests 15% to 16% tax on professional fees would have been reasonable but not 24%.

The association will meet next week, and these issues will be discussed.

The deputy director of the Colombo North Teaching Hospital said emergency cases will be attended to.She said that despite the strikes, some consultants report to work. The secretary of the Private Hospital Association said it had not been informed officially of any strike, but if private sector doctors are involved, channel practice will not be held in private hospitals

MONEY, MONEY, PUBLIC MONEY

By once again going on strike, here is what is at the core of the clamour made by more than 18,000 government doctors: # A transport allowance of Rs 100,000 a month, including Rs 20,000 for driver, Rs 50,000 vehicle and maintenance allowance, and Rs 30,000 for fuel for their rides. These expenses are demanded from the public purse under a category that requires doctors to report to work, or Disturbance, Availability and Transport Allowance. This package itself will cost the public Rs 1.2 million a year for a single doctor. Rs 30,000 special allowance for medical administrators Taxes- no more than 12% for them; the doctors say that high taxes under the new Inland Revenue Act is an effort to drive out professionals. Note: Rs 100,000 monthly profit from job is exempt from tax, according to information on the GMOA website. If monthly profit exceeds Rs 350,000, the tax is 24% less Rs 54,000. The monthly profit includes allowances, housing, telephone bills, and insurance.

Tax free allowance: Rs 41,667 a month; Rs 58,333 special tax free allowance for employment income.
Kuwaiti couple in BIA pet drama get bail View(s):

A Kuwati couple were arrested and released on bail on Friday after they turned abusive and assaulted five Customs officers at the Bandaranaike International Airport following an argument over the quarantine procedure concerning their pet dog. Police said they were produced before Negombos additional magistrate on Friday and released on Rs 200,000 surety bail each while their passports were detained by the courts. The case will be taken up tomorrow.

The couple was identified by the police as Ibrahim Dnyalfraish (29) and Sarahaam Lalduaij (32). Customs media spokesman Sunil Jayaratne said the couple arrived on a Kuwait Airways flight 363 on Friday morning and were allowed to feed the pet which was brought to Colombo in the same flight. But the couple took possession of the dog, disregarding the Customs quarantine process.

They were told to fill up a form and proceed to the quarantine section to clear the pet, but they began to argue with Customs officials. They threw objects at them and assaulting them. A female officer sustained an eye injury, the spokesman said. Mr Jayaratne said the couple was to be picked up by a police officer in civvies, but when the situation became violent the officer came in police uniform and spoke in support of the couple.

An officer at the Air Port police denied an officer in civvies had helped the couple. However, video footage shows a person in civvies trying to help the couple and later turning up in uniform. Other custom sources said the policemen had spoken to the Kuwati male in Sinhala and subsequently it was revealed that his mother was a Sri Lankan. They said the Kuwaiti man had spoken disparagingly about Sri Lanka, describing the country as a housemaid exporter to Kuwait.

Mr Jayaratna said the couple had not paid clearance duty, failed to respect the law of the country and caused obstruction to the Custom officials on duty.

In the melee, the couple carrying the dog walked up to the departure gate, but the Customs officers alerted the airport police and arrested them.
Lending companies to bear losses incurred by writing off interest on microfinance loans View(s):

The losses incurred from writing off interest on microfinance loans granted to women qualifying for debt relief under a new Government scheme will have to borne by the respective finance companies or microfinance institutions, the Cabinet decided this week.

It was not immediately clear how much these losses would amount to. Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera presented a Cabinet paper which proposed the granting of microfinance debt relief to women in the drought-affected districts of Trincomalee, Ampara, Batticaloa, Jaffna, Mullaitivu, Kilinochchi, Vavuniya, Mannar, Kurunegala, Puttalam, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa. Women who obtained non-consumption microloans amounting to Rs 100,000 and below can apply for a complete write-off of interest and capital payments, it said.

The total due interest amount shall be written off by the lenders and loss incurred should be borne by the respective finance companies or microfinance institution, the Cabinet paper said. The capital component will be written off by the Government and the loss be reimbursed to the finance company or microfinance institution by the General Treasury within a five-year period in equal semi-annual instalments.

The Government will allocate Rs 500 million for the balance period of this year to initiate this scheme, the Cabinet paper proposed. After writing off the loans under the debt relief programme, several actions are proposed to sustain the initiative.

First, persons who benefited from the programme will be prioritised for a new loan facility from interest subsidy loan schemes implemented under Enterprise Sri Lanka with a maximum two years of grace period. Launched in June this year, 15 different loan categories have been proposed under this new credit scheme in areas of agriculture, fisheries and small and medium enterprises.

Second, during the grace period of two years, the capital need not be repaid and it will provide space for heavily indebted persons to rebuild livelihoods and increase income streams. Finally, persons who benefited from debt relief are also to be prioritised in Government subsidised programmes and other rural livelihood schemes implemented through cooperative societies.

The proposal also introduced an interest cap of 30 percent a year for future microfinance loans by finance companies registered with the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) and microfinance institutions registered with the Lanka Microfinance Practitioners Association. This is to be monitored by the CBSL and the Ministry of Finance.

Further, social mobilisation and awareness campaigns will be launched throughout the country to ensure people do not take loans above 30 percent a year from microfinance companies and institutions, the Cabinet paper said.

The request to write off the capital component of eligible borrowers must be submitted by the respective companies and institutions to the General Treasury in consultation with the respective District Secretariats.
More talks on tea-for-oil deal with Iran View(s):

Tea Board and Commerce Department officials will meet next week to discuss payment modalities for tea sales to Iran. The discussions come in the wake of the Foreign Affairs Ministry regulations in keeping with United Nations Security Council Resolution 1737 of 2006 and 2231 of 2015.

Several proposals will be discussed at the meeting on how a payment structure can be worked out so that international sanctions are not breached, the Sunday Times learns. The Sunday Times exclusively reported last week that the Sri Lanka Tea Board had made a proposal that the payments due from Iran for tea purchases from Sri Lanka be set off against the US$ 250 million that the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) owes to Iran for oil.

The sanctions regulations were issued last week by Foreign Affairs Minister Tilak Marapana. These prohibit certain financial dealings with Iran and provide for the appointment of a Competent Authority to ensure compliance with the sanctions. The Competent Authority and the Central Banks Financial Intelligence Unit will be providing guidelines and directions to institutions on their obligations and duties under these regulations.

Iran is Sri Lankas fourth largest tea buyer. In 2016, Sri Lanka exported 33,929 metric tonnes of tea to Iran but this fell to 27,419 in 2017.
SLFP makes soft launch of media campaign for polls By Anthony David View(s): View(s):

With drinks and dinner for journalists on Tuesday night, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) backing President Maithripala Sirisena had a soft launch of its media campaign for upcoming elections.

The venue was the official residence of Minister and United Peoples Freedom Alliance General Secretary Mahinda Amaraweera. SLFP General Secretary Rohana Lakshman Piyadasa and Deputy Media Minister Lasantha Alagiyawanna were among those present. Noting that Joint Opposition stalwarts like Wimal Weerawansa and Udaya Gammanpila were planning to hold 50 news conferences a week, Mr Amaraweera told some 40 media personnel that they discussed this matter in detail.

Every week, we will have a special news conference to keep the public informed, he said. Mr Ameraweera accused the Joint Opposition of spreading misleading propaganda. When a grenade had exploded near Diyatalawa, former Navy officer Sarath Weerasekera had charged it was the work of the terrorists. National Freedom Front leader Wimal Weerawansa had said that the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) was rising again. They turned out to be wrong, he pointed out.

Dr Piyadasa contended that that SLFP was a media-friendly party. He pointed out that the first journalist had been murdered during a UNP government and 36 had been killed since then. We do not say mistakes have not been made. But there have been no brutal killings now, he said.

Dr. Piyadasa said he regretted that sensational journalism had come into play, partly due to the separatist war. We have not been able to get over that situation. said Dr Piyadasa, who was head of the Media Department at the Kelaniya University. He said that as suggested by President Sirisena positive things also should be highlighted.
SLTB, Hungarian firm to run 2,000 electric and hybrid buses By Damith Wickremasekara View(s): View(s):

Some 2,000 electric and hybrid buses are to be operated under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project involving a Hungarian company, a senior Transport Ministry official said. Transport Ministry Secretary G.S. Withanage told the Sunday Times Cabinet approval was being sought for the project which will be totally handed over to the Sri Lankan government in ten years.

We will not have to invest money in the project and the buses will operate on a profit sharing basis with 85 percent of the profits going to the Hungarian company and the rest to Sri Lanka during the 10-year period, secretary Withanage said. An electric bus is estimated to cost Rs 50 million while a hybrid bus will cost Rs 30 million. As part of the project, which will come as a joint venture with the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB), the local depots will be used for the parking of the buses and maintenance work.

Local drivers will be trained while the Hungarian company will maintain the buses with their technicians. Under the project the Hungarian company will install charging points for the electric buses, free of charge. Under the first stage the government plans to import 750 hybrid buses and 250 electric buses. An order for another 1,000 buses will be placed thereafter.

SLTB Chairman Ramal Siriwardena said the buses would be mostly deployed in the Western Province, in main towns, and on the expressway. He said the buses also would replace some of SLTBs outstation buses and plans were afoot to set up new bus roots.
Tale of woe behind a perahera statue By L.B. Senaratne Centuries old temple on verge of collapse View(s): View(s):

As the perahera proceeded along Kandys roads on Friday, carrying the statue of a monk who died 240 years ago, it also carried the tale of official apathy in honouring his contribution to Buddhism and preserving a historic temple on the verge of collapse.

The statue that was paraded through the streets was of the Ven. Sangharaja Weliwitiya Sri Asarana Sarana Saranankara Thera. Born in the month of Poson  June  in 1698 at Weliwita in Tumpane or the present Galagedra electorate, the thera hailed from a famous Kulatunge family.

The monk devoted his life to preaching the Dhamma. He lived in a temple built by his parents. His mother later built a viharage in the temple. He died on the Esala Poya day in 1778. The annual perahera, held for the 71st year on Friday, was the idea of the Ven. Aluthgama Dhammananda Thera, a senior member of the Malwatte Karaka Sangha Sabha Maha Upadaya. The monk had to overcome several obstacles to conduct this perahera as an annual event.

The perahera was started in 1947 from the Dalukgolla Raja Maha Viharaya, where the ashes of the Ven. Sangharaja Thera had been interred in a dagoba. The monks statue was unveiled by the then Maha Vishnu Devalaya Basnayake Nilame T.B. Pannanwela. The perahera from Ampitiya proceeded to the Sri Dalada Maligawa to be joined by another perahera organised under the direction of the then Diyawadana Nilame T.B. Nugawela. Thus began the Sangharaja perahera.

A society was formed under the name of Sri Sangharaja Commemoration Society to continue the perahera as an annual event, under the guidance of the Ven. Dhammananda Thera.

As time went on, the aging Ven. Dhammananda Thera found it increasingly difficult to conduct the perahera due to rising costs. On the instructions of the 101 year-old monk, a committee was formed in 2005 under the chairmanship of the then Central Province Governor Tikiri Kobbekaduwa. The Governor made an initial donation of Rs. 25,000 from his personal funds and requested the Provincial Council to provide necessary assistance to conduct the perahera. The committee complemented the task of the Sri Sangharaja Commemoration Society.

Today, the viharage built by the Ven. Sangharaja Theras mother is in a dilapidated condition. Since the building has been taken over by the Archaeological Department, the temple committee says it cannot repair the temple. The temples present incumbent, the Ven. Aluthgama Medananda Thera, said the Archaeological Department took over the building a year ago and promised to renovate the temple in a manner that would preserve the archaeological significance of the temple. But very litte had happened since then, the thera said. The chief incumbents living quarters in the temple is also in a state of disrepair. The Ven. Medananda Thera said the Central Provinces then governor, Niluka Ekanayake, once gave Rs. 700,000 to repair the roof of the living quarters, but the work was not properly done. As a result, the living quarters becomes a waterhole when it rains.

When the Archaeological Departments Kandy office was contacted, an official said they were still waiting for approval to allocate funds.

Devotees urge the Government to intervene and save the temple from going into ruin. They also call on the Government to declare the area a sacred city and incorporate within its perimeter the nearby cultural centre built with the funds allocated by former President Ransinghe Premadasa. This area has two Bo-trees said to have been planted by King Kirthisri Rajasinghe and the Ven. Sangharaja Thera.
The smart three-wheeler that doesnt tuk-tuk By Malaka Rodrigo Japanese knowhow brings a cleaner, safer trishaw to Lanka View(s): View(s):

An electric three-wheeler with a Lankan heart and a Japanese soul is planning to make travelling eco-friendly

A plan to manufacture an electric three-wheeler in Sri Lanka was revealed this week, with its prototype showcased in Colombo for the first time. The Samurai three-wheeler, built with Japanese technology and currently being tested in Sri Lanka, could be launched in 2020.

The vehicle is powered by two batteries. It has a maximum speed of 60kph with test results showing a more powerful thrust than the normal fuel-powered three-wheeler. At normal cruising range, its batteries could last for about 80km.

The new kid on the block will be silent so the traditional tuk-tuk sound will be absent if it is introduced to the roads. Currently being tested at the University of Ruhuna, the Samurai will move to Peradeniya University for test runs on mountain terrains.

Designed by T-Plan Inc., a Japanese engineering consulting company that provides technical support for automobile giants such as Toyota, Daihatsu and Subaru, the Samurai is slightly larger than a conventional tuk-tuk and is designed differently.

The first notable difference is that it has two wheels in front and two at the rear. Japanese engineers say this design is a safety feature that gives the driver more control of the three-wheeler. Sudden turns while driving often result in conventional three-wheelers toppling over but the new design would be more stable. The two wheels in front would hinder reckless and haphazard turns, the designers said.

The changed front shape also provides more space for the drivers legs, which will help reduce leg injuries in crashes.

One of the major advantages of the electrical three-wheeler is that it is emission-free, which would help achieve climate change-related emission targets. Sri Lanka pledged to make a 10 per cent reduction of emissions in the transport sector, yet the country has large fleet of vehicles that consume fossil fuels. There are more than a million three-wheelers according to the Department of Motor Traffic, and this number is rising.

Electrification of transportation is an urgent task for Sri Lanka because the country spends a huge portion of its foreign reserves on importing fossil fuels, pointed out Professor Monte Cassim, an academic based in Japan who helped initiate the Samurai project. While some question the Samurais environmental benefits if electricity is largely generated from fossil fuel, Prof. Cassim has an answer. Demand for electricity goes down from 10pm-5am and in this period the excess capacity for electricity generated from hydro power etc. goes wasted, he said.

Hence this time should be utilised for charging the batteries of vehicles to get the maximum eco-friendliness from the electric vehicles. A basic problem with electric three-wheelers is the time it takes to recharge the batteries, with the Samurais batteries taking six hours to fully charge. The Samurai team came up with a unique solution: a battery exchange system.

According to this plan, pre-charged batteries would be kept in strategically located exchange stations. Drivers could exchange their used batteries for fully-charged units at these stations in a matter of minutes, in the time it takes to fill up a three-wheeler with petrol.

For the battery-swapping model to be successful a mechanism was needed to inform the driver when the battery is running low and where the nearest exchange station is located.

Fujitsu Group, a well-known, innovative company in Japan, proposed customising its existing cloud-based information exchange system for the Samurai. The Samurai project is one of the initiatives nurtured through the Japan-Sri Lanka Comprehensive Partnership (JCP) set up with a mandate to stimulate science, technology, and innovation-led development in Sri Lanka through Japanese technology.

All-Island Three-Wheeler Drivers Union head Lalith Dharmasekara is positive about the electric vehicle. The drivers are happy about most of the features and if practical issues can be minimised, the new three-wheeler would be popular, he said.
Trace City dispute: UDA says IT park wont be shifted View(s):

The Governments IT Park, the Trace Expert City, will not be moved out of its current location at Maradana in Colombo, despite railway trade unions demand that the land be given back to the Railways Department to build a control tower, Urban Development Authority Chairman Jagath Munasinghe said yesterday.

He told the Sunday Times that this land should be used for activities that bring economic benefits to the country, and the purpose of Trace Expert City was just that.

We have been talking to Railway sDepartment officials since May and we told them we are prepared to come to a mutually acceptable solution, Dr. Munasinghe said.

On Thursday, Railway trade unions launched a lightning strike after their efforts to fence off an area from Trace Expert City land failed. The unions claimed the land belonged to the Railways Department and it was required to build a control room for the Railways.The Railways Department has many under-utilised lands in the vicinity to build the control tower. I know the hassle they may face with some of these lands, but Im sure if they do their homework they will realise that they can make-do with one of the alternative lands, he said.

Dr. Munasinghe said Transport Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva submitted the Cabinet paper for approval while talks were going on between the UDA and the Railways Department. This was also confirmed by National Policies and Economic Affairs State Minister Harsha de Silva.The State Minister said the Transport Minister had told him that when he submitted the Cabinet paper, he did not know that Trace had several projects lined up to be launched in the land.

He said the Transport Minister would arrive at a fair decision after his discussion with the Prime Minister.Deputy Transport Minister Ashoka Abeysinghe said the Railways Department also required the land for several projects, but the dispute should be sorted out through talks instead of strikes. He said he had explained to Railway officials what the Prime Minister wanted him to convey  wait patiently till Wednesday for a decision.
His most daring, yet By Purnima Pilapitiya Known for his provocative productions, Paraya and Blowhards Arun Welandawe-Prematilleke is once again ready to shake up the theatre scene with The One Who Loves You So View(s): View(s):

Provocative may be the best way to describe any of Arun Welandawe-Prematillekes work. The actor/playwright has carved his own niche in the local English theatre scene with his passion for challenging, close to home themes which are explored, disproved and understood in the distinctive productions he has spearheaded. Those who have had the chance to literally immerse themselves in productions such as Paraya and Blowhards know that the young dramatist is most at home when he and his audience arent. Instead, his performances are uncomfortable, thought provoking and unafraid to break more than a fourth wall and physically incorporate the audience into another dimension where art meets reality and the lines between audience member and actor wear thin.

This August, Arun is preparing for his bravest (by his standards as well) dramatic piece yet, titled, The One Who Loves You So. On the surface the play sounds like an attempt to grapple at the infinite complexity of love and relationships. But the play is more than a two-hour long epiphany mingled with romance. If it was, it could not possibly be Aruns brainchild. A passion project that encompasses his own personal experiences with love, The One Who Loves You So is a closer look into the world of casual encounters, short-term intimacy and the eternal human struggle for connection. Narrated through the casual encounter between two young men- a wealthy, trust fund Colombo native and a British expat, Arun invites audiences to look at 21st century love. His characters are unfamiliar to the Sri Lankan stage while still being utterly real and fleshed out.

While the play is steadily coming together, the idea for The One Who Loves You So took shape years ago as an idea pitched to Arun by his friend; actor Brandon Ingram who also takes on one of the two leads. We wanted to do a show about the hook-up culture,explains Arun. The story itself while close to Aruns heart was doubly challenging. Not only was he exploring themes not readily explored on the local stage but the love story at the heart of the play is one that he felt needed its own voice.

I knew that I didnt know what to expect, Arun thinks. Always ready to take on a scriptless read, this play is a departure from the established playwrights style, reverting to the more conventional form of script writing. Arun hardly calls it going back to his roots, with his successful productions on the familiar ground of divisive and immersive theatre. Set against a skeleton of an apartment where the story progresses, Arun felt that the vulnerable script required nothing else save equally raw, real performances to complement the explosive dialogue.

Yet an early reading between his leads left Arun himself questioning his project. I was terrified as he felt his own experiences with relationships echo through the dialogue, but the place of being uncomfortable is where any artist should be.

Entwined in the coming out story is also a glimpse of modern romance and courtship. Theres an argument that the hook-up culture takes away from old fashioned courtship, observes Arun. A coming out story of sorts, the play is a timely one and written for a generation and community that lacks the space- both physical and social that allows them to form connections. The characters- written from a familiar point of view also allow Arun to be accountable for his own privilege and give a voice to the otherwise ghettoed love story which has become a cliche both on screen and stage.

But this brave new venture also came with its own challenges. It hasnt been an easy road to go on with many doors that were once open for the playwrights work now closed. But the challenge only whet his resilient and positive attitude.

An exploration of love, the spectrum of sexuality and the dynamics of new relationships the play is subtly revolutionary- like all Aruns work. A play that is both unapologetic and powerful-I want people to know that you are not alone in your experiences, he adds thoughtfully.

The One Who Loves You So goes on the boards from August 15-17 at the Punchi Theatre at 7.30 pm. Tickets for reserved seating will be available at the Punchi Theatre from August 1. For online ticket details check out The One Who Loves You So on Facebook and Instagram.
Nalandians shine at young scientists research tournament in Kuala Lumpur View(s):

A group of Nalandians brought pride to Sri Lanka by winning top awards at the Young Scientists Research tournament held in Kuala Lumpur recently.

Competing with participants from 30 countries, the Sri Lankan representatives at the competition were Nalandians M. M. Tharindu Deepaloka Manasinghe, Maneesha Pramuditha Rajapaksha, Senith Nimenka Rajapaksha, Ayodya Panchala de Silva, Dinera Susiriwardhena, Akila Dulsara and Januka Dharmarathne.

Tharindu Deepaloka introduced a special barrel to combat the garbage problem in Sri Lanka. As fumes emanated when burning polythene is a huge contributory factor for environmental pollution, Amilas invention is capable of burning even 1 kilo of household polythene without releasing fumes to the air.

Reacting to the incidents of people being trapped when vehicles fall into rivers, Senith Rajapaksha had introduced a system whereby a message is immediately sent to life saving authorities when an accident occurs. The new system enables doors and shutters to open automatically and thereby passes the message to the authorities that have been connected by the system.

Maneesha Pramuditha Rajapaksha of Year 12 and Ayodya Panchala de Silva of Year 10 won a Silver medal for their low-cost mechanism introduced to separate chemicals from drinking water and purify it using solar power. The benefits of this can be obtained by placing this equipment on a household water tank. This can even be utilized to purify a small quantity of water.

Dineru Susiriwardhena, Akila Dulsara and Januka Dharmarathne of Year 10 had come up with a technique to obtain maximum benefits from scraped coconut. Coconut blended at a lower speed for a longer time, can yield thicker coconut milk they found.

Principal of Nalanda College, Thilak Watthuhewa said that Nalanda College does not gear their students only towards classroom education, but guides them towards many extra curricular activities simultaneously. He said that the Research Guild of the School deserves credit for all these achievements.

The Research Guild of Nalanda College was begun in 2011 by former principal Ranjith Jayasundera. Upeksha Abesekera who is in charge of the guild at present said it was started in 2011. Each year we take a batch of 50 and pool their ideas. Then we act in cooperation with the resource persons and direct students for national competitions. Those who are successful in national competitions will be selected for international competitions. By now our students have achieved many victories. Their achievements must be given due recognition.
Revolutionary faculty, a stepping stone for Bhikkhunis By Randima Attygalle View(s): View(s):

Herein our main goal is to revive our own system of education which has gone amiss, proclaims a placard at the entrance to the Dekanduwala Bhikkhuni Training Centre and the Faculty of Buddhist Studies which is to be unveiled to the entire sasana of bhikkunis on August 4.

I never see what has been done; I only see what remains to be done, said Lord Buddha.

A true Buddhaputhra of our times, Ven. Kirama Wimalajothi Thera, is a living embodiment of the words of the Awakened One. Having set up the Buddhist Cultural Centre in Nedimala single-handedly to revive Buddhist canon in English, Ven. Wimalajothi Thera steered the Sambuddhathwa Jayanthi Mandiraya in Colombo- a one-stop shop for many a need of Buddhists- both local and foreign. A rebel in robes for all the right reasons, Ven. Wimalajothi Thera became a catalyst of gender equality in Buddhism in Sri Lanka and spearheaded the setting up the Dekanduwala Dhamma Training and Meditation Centre for Bhikkunis in 1993.

The sprawling 20-acre dense jungle, he took under his wing 25 years ago is today a spiritual oasis. Affiliated to the Dhamma Training Centre, the newly built Bhikkhuni Training Centre and the Faculty of Buddhist Studies (housed in the same compound) is pledged to mould a generation of global ambassadors of Dhamma.

The Faculty, as Ven.Wimalajothi Thera explains, is an attempt to revamp the monastic education or piriven tradition which as he charges was destroyed by social and political evils which engulfed the country. The place for the bhikkhu or bhikkhuni is not the university but the traditional piriven system which enabled a holistic upbringing for those ordained. The whole purpose of this venture is to promote Dhamma and Dhamma studies and not to get a passport to obtain a government job or sit a government exam, reflects the Chief Prelate, whose latest spiritual labour envisages producing fully-fledged bhikkhunis. The staff, as the prelate explains will comprise both resident and visiting bhikkhunis and also other lay experts for IT and language skills.

The beautiful white three-storeyed building, entailing an investment of Rs. 80 million is cradled by the lush green environs of Dekanduwala. Merely sitting on the stiles surrounding the building is meditation for a visitor. The natural rock built into the pond and surrounding flora, intensifies its balmy effect.

Complete with fully equipped lecture rooms, an IT lab, lodging facilities for resident bhikkhunis and visiting scholars and a well-stocked library, the Bhikkhuni Training Centre is ready to usher a new era moulding leaders conversant in Dhamma discourses, correct intonation of pirith stanzas, counselling and communication of Dhamma.

The Chief Bhikkhuni of the Dhamma Training and Meditation Centre, Mainnaluwe Dharmashanthi bhikkhuni who will also give leadership to the new Faculty has been a community leader for the past 13 years. A trained counsellor and mentor to both lay women and bhikkhunis, several of them have flown from India, Thailand, Indonesia and China to receive upasampada from her. Dharmashanthi Bhikkhuni notes that a fully-fledged bhikkhuni should be a catalyst of social change by providing leadership to the community and also managing Dhamma institutional affairs, all of which the newly put up Faculty aspires to achieve.

At a time when bhikkhunis like us who have received upasampada are not eligible to our identity as a bhikkhuni but only referred to as dasa sil maatha, this revolutionary exercise of our Nayaka Thera is a means of upholding the real teachings of the Lord Buddha, she says.

The Buddhist Faculty which will also impart language skills, including English and Tamil is a gift to the entire region, says Patittadhasana bhikkhuni from Thailand and novice bhikkhuni Buddhadhari from India. It is a motif of sharing and giving upheld by Buddhism, they say.

The peal of a temple bell announces the time for the alms. As the bhikkhunis, with paaththara in their hands, take measured steps and descend to the danasalawa from their meditation huts, one is reminded of Lord Buddhas words: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity..
Somalatha Subasinghe Play House brings back those classics By Hiranyada Dewasiri View(s): View(s):

Presenting its annual theatre festival for children and youth  Somalatha Subasinghe Theater Festival for Young Audiences, the Somalatha Subasinghe Play House (SSPH) brings four well-known plays to the Lionel Wendt from August 9  12. The plays will be staged at 3.30 p.m. and 6.45 p.m.

Celebrating its 36th anniversary, the late veteran playwright and director Somalatha Subasinghes Vikurthi (Distortion), a prescribed play for Grade 11 Drama and Theater studies, will be staged on August 9. The plays based on international folk and fairy tales, Ratmalee (Red Riding Hood) and Punchi Apata Dan Therei (Little Red Hen), a prescribed play for Grade 6 Drama and Theatre and Grade 9 Sinhala Language and Literature will be staged on August 10. The final two days of the festival will feature Walas Pawula (The Three Bears and Goldilocks) written by Somalatha Subasinghe and directed by Chandana Aluthge.

Vikurthi is a play that targets young adults from around the age 14 to 17. To date, it has been performed by about 20 different casts, says Kaushalya Fernando, an Artistic Director of SSPH and daughter of Somalatha Subasinghe. Vikurthi came to the public stage in 1982 as a 30-minute play for a school theatre competition by St. Pauls Girls School, Milagiriya, written and directed by Mrs. Subasinghe when she was teaching there. Leading actresses Chandani Seneviratne and Nilmini Sigera, who were students there at that time, embarked on their theatrical journeys with Vikurthi.

Back then, life and theatre were much simpler, recalled Chandani who played Hilda in that maiden production of Vikurthi. We were so passionate and committed, she says, adding that all that she is now, she owes to Mrs. Subasinghe. She used to always tell us that to be sharp, we must face our obstacles and clash against them. She remembered how they used to handle their own sets with the spirit of team work, something she practises to-date. Artistes who dont enter the field of acting through theatre are not exposed to this experience, she said.

Somalatha Subasinghes childrens theatre group was started in 1979. Kaushalya recalled that at rehearsals, the young members would talk of how their families pressurized them to follow science streams and attend tuition classes even though their interests were different. My relatives were ashamed that I was following the art stream, she recalled. Witnessing the experiences of these young people, Mrs. Subasinghe wrote Vikurthi.

Many critics had said that Vikurthi is a workshop production that would lose substance when these issues died out. It has been 36 years but the crisis in education has only worsened, points out Kaushalya. Working with young people in theatre and having children of her own, she noted that todays education system is fatiguing and allows no time for creativity. Like a factory, we try to mould identical children and forget that they have different talents and capacities.

Nadie Kammallaweera played the role of Priyangani from 1997 to 2006. Joining the production right after leaving school, she recalled the passion and energy of the young cast members. We were crazy about theatre and were eager to learn anything to put up a better show, she said reminiscing how she had to learn dancing for Priyanganis role when she hadnt danced before.

A childs world is different from an adults and they are still in the process of understanding it. We should make theatre with this in mind, says Nadie. She thinks that art is what cultivates human values and emotional intelligence in children. Through art, children learn about human relationships, conflicts and through this they learn empathy. As a mother, she said that when children are raised without art, they struggle to handle situations and control their emotions. Theatre gives value to collective experience and team work. Whether you are a part of a cast or a member of the audience, the experience is collective and highly imaginative, said Nadie. Putting aside time to go watch a play teaches children to value the work of others.

The Somalatha Subasinghe Theatre Festival for Young Audiences started in the latter part of the 1980s. We used to hold the festival during the August school vacation but for the past three years we have held it in December too,said Chandana Aluthge,also an Artistic director of SSPH. As a practice, SSPH takes their plays to schools in different parts of the island. Although Vikurthi is a prescribed text, he said that schools are instructed to have the plays staged in a way that does not hinder studies. Some principals are reluctant to have the play staged during school hours which takes away the opportunity for children to watch it in their school at a low rate, he added.

The Somalatha Subasinghe Play House invites parents who grew up with these classic plays to introduce them to their children during the August holiday. The Theatre Festival for Young Audiences is presented in partnership with Peoples Bank.

Tickets priced at Rs. 400,

Rs. 600, Rs. 800, Rs. 1000 and

Rs. 1500 will be available at the Lionel Wendt from August 1.
V awards back with a bang after 2015 By Yomal Senerath-Yapa View(s): View(s):

V Awards is back for 2018 after the highly successful editions in 2011, 2013 and 2015. The fellowship and the launch of awards took place at Hilton Colombo Residences. The event was attended by Minister of Social Welfare and Primary Industries, Daya Gamage, the Secretary to the ministry Bandula Wickramarachchi, the Resident Coordinator of the United Nations Sri Lanka Terrence Jones, and the Country Director of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Mohammad Younes. Actress Pooja Umashankar once again pledged her support for V- Awards at the event.

V awards is a joint venture between UN Volunteers, the Ministry of Social Welfare and Primary Industries, and News 1st/ MTV, supported by the National Steering Committee on Volunteering (NSC-V). The venture aims to recognise individuals who make extraordinary and selfless contributions to society at large and rewards the most outstanding Volunteer of the Year at national level.

In addition, each edition has a thematic award, which focuses on recognizing an individual volunteering for a specific thematic area. This year the thematic award will be for Volunteering for Peace building with a special focus on youth, peace and security.

Mohammad Younes, Country Director of UNDP, pointed out at the event that 56% of Sri Lankas population engage in volunteerism, contributing significantly to the nation. Addressing volunteers he said We know that you chose to volunteer selflessly and without expectation of being recognized or rewarded. However the United Nations Volunteers wanted to recognize and appreciate your dedication as we believe it is important for you to know that what you do makes a difference.

This years V Awards is scheduled to take place in December.

Nominations for V Awards will be open till August 20. Nominations can be forwarded to V Awards Secretariat, UN Volunteers Sri Lanka, 201-204 Bauddhaloka Mawatha, Colombo 7. For more information contact V Awards through vawards@unvlk.org or visit http://vawards.lk/
Senior journalist Latheef Farook honoured with Siddi Lebbe award View(s):

Senior journalist Latheef Farook was awarded the first ever Siddi Lebbe award in recognition of his achievements in journalism by the Siddi Lebbe Research Forum on Sunday July 22 at the Moors Islamic cultural Home at Lilly Avenue, Colombo 6.

Held under the theme Challenges faced by Sri Lankan Muslims in the era of neo-colonialism, a number of research papers submitted by leading intellectuals from Sri Lanka, South India, Malaysia and Qatar dealing with burning issues were discussed during the two-day national research conference.

Senior journalist Latheef Farook began his career with the now defunct Independent Newspapers in 1966 before joining the Lake House in 1971 where he worked for the Ceylon Daily News and the evening Observer, covering politics, foreign affairs, finance and economic beats.

He also worked as correspondent for Middle Eastern news agencies.

In 1976, the Daily News nominated him for the United Nations Dag Hammarskjold scholarship for Third World journalists. The same year, he led a group of Sri Lankan journalists to Dubai to relaunch the English language daily Gulf News.

A year later, he joined the Khaleej Times where, for seven years, he covered almost every aspect of the United Arab Emirates development programme, besides covering the Indian elections of 1979, which brought Indira Gandhi to power. Rejoining the Gulf News in 1987, he worked as the Gulf News Bureau Chief in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia.

After almost a quarter century living and working in the Gulf, he returned to Colombo in March 2003 and began supplying feature articles on Sri Lanka, catering to Sri Lankan expatriates in the Gulf region, Europe, the Americas and the Far East.

He also wrote several books on local and international issues. His first book War on Terrorism-The Untold Truths published by Malaysia-based Strategic Information and Research Development deals in detail with the myth of associating terrorism with Islam and Muslims under the guise of fighting a war on terrorism.

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamed wrote the foreword for the book which contains comments by well-known British playwright Nobel Laureate Harold Pinter. It was later published in Colombo.

His second book Nobodys People-The Forgotten Plight of Sri Lankan Muslims highlights the sufferings and the ethnic cleansing of Sri Lankan Muslims by the LTTE, during the ethnic war.

His third book Americas New World Order- EXPORTING WARS deals in depth with the Israeli-sponsored and United States-led British, European and Russian invasions and destruction of Muslim countries since the collapse of the former Soviet Union and the planned massacre of millions of Muslims which continues to date with the mass killings of Muslims in Syria.

This book has comments from Nobel Laureate Tawakkul Karman, well known American journalist Paul Craig Roberts who was former assistant secretary of the Treasury during Ronald Regans presidency, Chicago-based journalist Stephen Lendman, former British Prime Minister Tony Blairs Secretary of State for International Development Clair Short, Malaysian intellectual Dr Chandra Muzaffar and Indian writer Ram Punyani.

The book documents the genocides committed in Muslim countries from the never ending Israel atrocities in Palestine, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Kosovo, Chechnya, Iraq, Libya, and Algeria to Somalia and Syria.

His book Muslims under Siege deals with the atrocities committed against the Muslims during the Mahinda Rajapakse regime.

He also compiled a book titled Mayhem during Curfew and it deals with the attacks on Muslims at Aluthgama, Dharga Town and Beruwala in June 2015.

India lost Kashmir is another book compiled by him. This is a collection of articles on the freedom struggle of the Kashmiris.

The pinnacle of his career was when the Sri Lanka Press Institute awarded him the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award for journalism at a glittering ceremony at Mount Lavinia Hotel in July 2015.

In addition he maintains a website  Latheeffarook.net supplying regular feature articles on local and international affairs especially dealing with the plight of Muslims in Sri Lanka and the atrocities committed against Muslims worldwide . This website is widely read by Sri Lankan and other Muslim expatriates in Canada, Britain, the Middle East, the Sub Continent, Malaysia and Australia to New Zealand.

His latest book Genocide of Rohingya Minorities is a collection of articles on the genocide of Muslims by Myanmar government.
Member of the European Parliament, Clara Aguilera Garcia, visited the Costa del Sol last week to participate in a conference concerning the UK's troubled withdrawal agreement from the EU. The conference was held at the Palacio de Congresos in Torremolinos and was chaired by the town's mayor, Jose Ortiz. The talk focused on the possible effect Brexit could have on the town's tourism and hotel industry, and its large British expat community.

The meeting, which was attended by travel agencies, hotel representatives, local traders and residents' associations, highlighted topics like the recognition of the rights of British citizens residing in EU member countries and the thousands of Europeans living and working in the UK. However, as Aguilera pointed out, the full effects of Brexit will not be known until the UK and the EU agree on the conditions under which that exit will occur; the deadline of which is 31 December 2018.

"So far there has been a flow of countries wanting to enter this club, but this is the first time someone has left, which makes it difficult to manage because it is a new experience. However, the European Parliament's first priority is to guarantee the rights of the expat populations of both Spain and the UK," Aguilera explained.

"At the moment the situation is complicated and the ambience is not very good"

Highlighting the current problems the British government is facing with regards to its withdrawal policy, she went on to say that there were "difficult and dangerous" times ahead.

Mayor Ortiz shared the concerns expressed by the tourism sector, with fears that the UK becoming a third country (non-European) would result in British citizens needing to obtain visas to enter Spain and the other member countries of the EU.

"Torremolinos has a strong connection with the UK and we are committed to continuing these links, while strengthening ties and dialogue with the foreign residents. We face the challenge of addressing the possible common, or specific, problems that they may arise. Given the uncertainty of Brexit, aspects related to passports, taxes, employment, pensions or legal procedures are impossible to judge," Ortiz stressed.

The mayor referred to the demographics of Torremolinos, where 12 per cent of the population is British. "Torremolinos received 185,000 British tourists in 2017, which is nearly 20 per cent of the one million tourists who chose to visit our town last year. There has been a continual rise in visitors from the UK and we want to make sure this continues after Brexit. Both tourism and the expat community are very important for the town's commerce," he said.

Clara Aguilera concluded by saying: "We still don't know the full effect Brexit will have, but we know that it will not be easy. At the moment the situation is very complicated and the ambience is not very good. We can only hope that both parties can reach an agreeable solution to the current deadlock, because the outcome could have repercussions in all of Europe."
At home on the range

With hunting season now in full swing throughout the State of Iowa, a new business in the Tama-Toledo area looks to ...
Emma Thompson is suddenly feeling her age.

The change sweeping Hollywood in the wake of the Harvey Weinstein scandal and the #MeToo movement has left the British actress and director musing on the "primitive model" males that women of her age have had to grapple with.

"I feel like I was still part of a really backward generation, which was very binary in its views on males and females," said the double Oscar winner whose film performances include star roles in Love Actually, Nanny McPhee, Sense and Sensibility and the Harry Potter series.

"I feel like I grew up surrounded by quite primitive, raw models," she told AFP.

But the Weinstein scandal has been a massive catalyst for change.

"We've got a long way to go. But it is very interesting at the moment, there is a lot of changes occurring," said Thompson, who has long campaigned for equal rights and pay.

"I think the generation below mine, and with my daughter's generation (her daughter Gaia is 18) you are going to see quite a lot of changes soon, because they are writing new stories," she added.

That said, Thompson who plays a judge struggling to fight her corner in the male-dominated higher courts in her new film, The Children Act, insisted that women are still excluded from large parts of the movie industry.

"I think I've seen (only) one woman electrician. You try to be an electrician as a woman, impossible!" she said.

A human rights activist as well as a feminist, Thompson, 59, made her name playing strong and enigmatic women in the 1990s when she and former husband Kenneth Branagh were the golden couple of British cinema.

Read also: Eight months on, #MeToo conquering the US

- 'We can't have it all' -

But the feminism of that time, "that dreadful period of 'Women can have it all'" appalled her. "I screamed loudly at the top of my voice in public, 'No we can't!'

"The whole point is there's an imbalance. When men were going out to work, they didn't do the domestic work as well. When women go out to work they still have to do all of that," she added.

"It's not about everybody having everything. it's about us understanding what our priorities are, how we are going to change the world of work."

For Thompson that means first all not falling in the trap "about us being like men. Forget men. We've been talking about men for centuries, they need to come to us. It's for us to bring the feminine into the world, and to rebalance all this shit...

"Those old men, they're all going now, they're all dinosaurs. Thank God."

Thompson -- the daughter of "The Magic Roundabout" creator Eric Thompson and renowned actress Phyllida Law -- is well aware of her own privilege.

"I had access to a drama career, to some very great feminist literary critics and all of that. So you know, I was lucky, much luckier that my mother's generation."

Outside her "small bubble of privileged, white, highly-educated women", she said there "is a long way to go for very many. For the women of color, it is very hard."

And the problems women face go deeper than gender discrimination, Thompson argued.

Read also: Queen honours Emma Thompson, Kenny Dalglish

- Husband asks for affair -

"People don't want to work all the time, they want to do a job that they can live on. It would be really nice if the word job actually meant what it used to mean. It used to mean that you could also have time for yourself and you would earn enough to live.

"Now people have to do two or three jobs in order to survive. Both parents. It's impossible... but it suits our political structures at the moment. And it's not working."

Her character Fiona Maye in The Children Act -- which is adapted by Ian McEwan of Atonement fame from his own novel -- is "not someone who went into a posh school or a posh university... She has had to be better than a man, she has had to be twice as brilliant, just to get where she is."

Directed by Richard Eyre, the former director of Britain's National Theatre, it turns on a legal dilemma over whether she has the right to force a teenage boy in the Jehovah's Witnesses to have a blood transfusion that would save his life.

Thompson said that decision comes as the judge's own life is falling apart, with her husband asking her permission to have an affair with a younger woman.

"In her private life she has developed a kind of blindness, because in the family court in which she works every day you witness some terrible suffering, cruelties, stupidities, brutalities, really awful things. And you have to create a barrier between you and this suffering."

The film is released in the UK and much of Europe in August and in the US and South Africa in September.
The 86th edition of international footwear exhibition MICAM Milano will be held on Sept. 16-19 in Fiera Milano in Milan, Italy.

Themed Envy, the biannual event will preview Spring/Summer 2019 designs and footwear trends.

The exhibition is not limited to Italian or European footwear manufacturers, but will also feature international shoe designers, Matteo Scarparo, a business manager from the Italian Footwear Manufacturers Association, said on Thursday.

MICAM [is] open for worldwide players, he told The Jakarta Post, explaining that Indonesian shoes designers or manufacturers are also welcome to participate in the event.

Read also: 5 local shoe brands you can brag about

Scaparo said international designers could participate in the Emerging Designers Area, but must first apply and go through a selection process.

We [select] 20 to 25 designers [for each exhibition], Scaparo said, adding that the Indonesian government or fashion council could also get an area to showcase local designers.

He added that the event previously provided a similar concept for Japan, India and Ethiopia.

MICAM is a 360-degree exhibition that showcases various footwear trends and styles, from luxury, contemporary and urban to sports, meaning that every footwear designer has the opportunity to join the exhibition. (asw)
Well-known lawmaker Ha Tae-kyung has criticized the current military exemption law, perhaps giving reason to hope to global megahit boy band BTS.

All able-bodied men in Korea are conscripted in the military for around two years. Exemptions can be granted, however, to those who rank atop certain international competitions designated by the government.

The list of the designated international competitions is unfair, Ha said in an interview with a local radio show Friday.

There are classic music competitions, such as violin, but pop music is excluded. Pop music No.1 is not included, making BTS who topped the Billboard chart irrelevant (to military exemption), he said. There are dance competitions (on the list), but not for B-Boying. Theater is included, but film isnt.

Read also: Will BTS and Charlie Puth collaborate?

Ha continued, arguing that the law should be revised.

The list was made in 1973, we need to investigate why the list of international competitions for military service exemption is limited. Its not an issue of whether the list is long or short. It should be fair. We should make a fair list, he said.
Following a break of about two years, newlywed couple Song Hye-kyo and Song Joong-ki will each star in their own TV dramas, in their respective returns to the small screen.

Song Joong-ki confirmed Thursday his upcoming production will be a tvN period-fantasy drama tentatively titled Asadal Chronicles. He will star as a character with a tragic fate who tries to revolt against the fabled kingdom of Asadal.

The drama series is expected to be a blockbuster production with other big-name cast members such as Kim Ji-won and Jang Dong-gun. It will be Song and Kims second time working together, following Descendants of the Sun in 2016.

Song Hye-kyo is also to star in a tvN series, tentatively titled Boyfriend. She will play the daughter of an influential politician who marries into a wealthy family. She is cold and ignorant, but is to change, meeting the male lead character.

Read also: Big day: Song Joong-ki, Song Hye-kyo wed in private ceremony

Her partner will be national heartthrob Park Bo-gum. The casting, confirmed earlier this month, grabbed the publics attention as Park is known to be close to Song Joong-ki, as they had starred together in an ad campaign.

Though shooting for Asadal Chronicles and Boyfriend both is to start soon, Asadal Chronicles is set to air next year, as the production involves a great deal of computer graphics post-production. Boyfriend will air later this year.
When getting to know someone in South Korea, there is a good chance that at one point or another, you will be asked, Whats your blood type?

To outsiders, blood type may mean nothing more than information needed to find a match for a blood transfusion.

But in Korea, a persons blood type -- either A, B, O, or AB -- is widely believed to be predictive of personality and temperament, similar to horoscopes in the West.

Under the blood type personality theory, a person with Type A blood is diligent and caring toward others, but also overly anxious and perfectionistic. Those with Type B blood are optimistic and passionate, but can be forgetful and self-centered.

The theory, clearly based on pseudoscience yet still commonly referred to, works its way into romance as well.

The worst match, for example, is said to be a couple in which the woman is Type A and the man is Type B. The best romantic match is between a Type A woman and a Type O man.

Despite a lack of scientific basis, the blood type personality theory has grown to become a cultural norm here since the concept emerged in the late 1990s.

According to a 2017 poll by Gallup Korea, around half of the population (58 percent) said they believed the blood type personality theory to some degree, while the remaining 42 percent said they did not.

In terms of demographics, around 34 percent of the Korean population are Type A and 28 percent are Type O, while 27 percent are Type B. Type AB accounts for the remaining 11 percent, according to the pollster.

Scientifically, blood type differs according to the type of proteins in the blood. It is a genetic trait that is determined by your parents, with no evidence-based links to personality. Nonetheless, the theory remains popular to this day.

As for its history, the ABO blood group system itself was developed by Austrian physician Karl Landsteiner, who in 1901 discovered general variations in human blood, defined by the presence or absence of two antigens A and B. His Nobel-winning work paved the way for safer blood transfusions.

The slightly different notion of dividing populations by blood type initially originated from Nazi Germany, where research in the 1910s and 1920s sought to prove racial superiority by examining blood type distribution.

The idea was later picked up by Japanese academic Takeji Furukawa, who published a paper proposing a link between blood type and personality in 1927, also in a bid to explain perceived racial traits. In the 1970s, the theory rose to mass popularity through a series of books published by Masahiko Nomi, who had no medical background.

Soon after, the blood type personality theory arrived in neighboring Korea, initially gaining popularity with the younger population. The idea became more mainstream in around 2004, when many pop songs, films and TV programs exploring the theory shot to popularity.

An iconic example is the 2005 romantic comedy My Boyfriend is Type B, which pursued the idea that a Type A woman and a Type B man are incompatible as a couple due to their blood-defined personalities.

Read also: What blood types are really about

At the time, the film was criticized for creating and spreading false stereotypes about Type B men, who were depicted as callous, selfish and incompatible with Type A women.

Though years have passed, the blood type personality theory continues to persist in Korea as one of many potential ways to learn about the characteristics that define you and those around you.

As for the question of why? There is no clear answer. But one theory is that the notion bodes well with a culture of self-development that was forged by the competitive nature of Korean society, according to local culture critic Lee Taek-gwang.

The popularity of the blood type personality theory in Korea is fueled by a general desire to learn more about ones own traits and the traits of others for the sake of self-development, said Lee, who is also a professor of global communication at Kyung Hee University in Seoul.

People are interested in figuring out their strengths and weaknesses so they can be successful in life, be it in your career or a romantic relationship. And the blood type personality theory steps into the picture as an easy, simple method of assessing yourself and others, even if its not to be taken seriously, he said.
Around a month since her successful spooky performance on Americas Got Talent, that has attracted more than 8.2 million views, Indonesian magician The Sacred Riana returned to the show with another terrifying act.

Published on the reality shows YouTube channel on Friday, the performance saw her summoning an imaginary friend to play with Mel B, who clearly appeared even more scared than before as she was once again chosen by Riana to participate in her act.

Read also: The Sacred Riana gets US offers

Now donning a black dress, though still refusing to utter a response to whatever questions asked by the judges, Riana actually performed a quite similar act during the semifinal stage of Asias Got Talent 2017, as pointed out by some YouTube users on the comment section of the channel. Nevertheless, the judges and audience, as well as the other participants watching from backstage, could be seen enjoying the show, with Simon Cowell commenting, I actually want this to end, right now, to which Mel B replied, Me too, followed by a scared Howie Mandel telling Riana, Well thank you; go away now, go away now.

The "Leak"-titled video did not reveal any decision being made about whether the magician would go through to the next round  only showing Mel B walking off the stage, clearly frightened, and even more scared when she realized she was being followed by her new friend.
In some East Asian countries, a persons blood type is believed to determine personality traits including temperament and compatibility with others.

However, the scientific community dismisses the blood type personality theory, citing a lack of evidence. They say blood types are maintained as a classification system for safe transfusions of blood in emergency situations.

Known as the ABO blood group system, different blood types were first discovered by Austrian Physician Karl Landsteiner in 1900. He found that blood sera from different people would clump together when mixed in test tubes, and some human blood agglutinated -- a term for clump in immunology -- with animal blood.

The ABO grouping system was officially announced in 1901, comprising A, B and C types. In the following year, AB was additionally found, and C was replaced with O.

Under the ABO group system, there are eight common blood types and many rare ones.

The four major blood groups are A, B, AB and O, determined by the presence or absence of antigens A and B on the surface of red blood cells.

Group A has only the A antigen on red cells and B antibody in the plasma. Group B has the B antigen on red cells and the A antibody in the plasma.

Group AB has both A and B antigens on red cells but neither A nor B antibodies in the plasma. Group O has neither A nor B antigens on red cells, but both A and B antibodies in the plasma.

ABO blood types are the most important ones in terms of transfusion, said an official at the Korean Society of Blood Transfusion. The ABO antigens exist not only on red cells but also in other organs and body fluids, playing an essential role in organ transplants.

However, the exact role of the antigens remains scientifically unproved, which cannot help provide evidence for differences in personalities, body shapes or correlations with diseases by each blood type, the official said.

Read also: Blood type may be linked to heart disease, study suggests

In addition to the A and B antigens, the protein Rh factor -- found also by Landsteiner in 1940 -- can be either present (+) or absent (-), creating the eight most common blood types: A+, A-, B+, B-, O+, O-, AB+ and AB-.

But in recent years, experts are making increasing efforts to find statistical significance in the correlation between each blood type and some critical illnesses and infections.

In 2012, we found that Korean women who have blood type A have 20 percent higher risk of getting stomach cancers than those with other blood types, said Duck Cho, professor at Samsung Medical Center.

Cho embarked on the research at the time based on results that those with blood type A are vulnerable to stomach cancers in Western countries.

A type blood has more blood coagulation elements than other types, especially compared to type O that is vulnerable to bleeding, he said. Considering the characteristics, people with type A blood could have more chances of blood clots developing into cancers, while those with type O have a higher chance of having ulcers.

And there are more than 600 other antigens whose presence or absence creates rare blood types.

Certain blood types are unique to specific racial and ethnic groups, according to the Red Cross.

U-negative and Duffy-negative blood types are known as unique to African-Americans. The Diego-negative type is reportedly found in the Hispanic group, while its positive type is found only among East Asians and Native Americans.
One month to the premiere of Wiro Sableng: Pendekar Kapak Maut Naga Geni 212, slated for Aug. 30, production company Lifelike Pictures released the official trailer for the much-anticipated Indonesian film on Saturday.

In a statement, producer Sheila Timothy expressed her hope that the 1-minute-58-second trailer would satisfy the public's great enthusiasm for the film. "We have conducted research on the topics being discussed by the audience following the release of the film's pre-teaser and official teaser trailer. Hopefully this official trailer will be able to provide a satisfying answer for them," said Sheila, adding that among the things offered by the trailer was a significant enhancement in quality, including computer-generated imagery (CGI). "Weve continued to make improvements to increase the quality of this film, which can be seen from the trailer."

Meanwhile Vino G. Bastian, the star of the film and son of the late Bastian Tito, the author of the Wiro Sableng novel, said his father's birthday was in August, the same as the film's premiere. "We want to make the month of August a month of celebration for Wiro Sableng together with our very enthusiastic fans. This celebration kicks off with the launch of this trailer," he added.

Read also: Wiro Sableng in Deadpool 2 trailer: Possibility of future collaboration?

Among the highlights of the trailer are action sequences choreographed by Yayan Ruhian.

The company also released on Saturday character posters of the film's royal family and villains, including Raja Kamandaka (portrayed by Dwi Sasono), Werku Alit (Lukman Sardi) and Panglima Kalasrenggi (Teuku Rifnu Wikana). (kes)
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Linkedin Callistasia Anggun Wijaya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, July 28, 2018 08:08 1186 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df500a58f 1 City civil-servants,Jakarta-administration,dismissal,anies-baswedan Free

The State Civilian Bureaucracy Commission (KASN) has urged Jakarta Governor Anies Baswedan to reinstate 16 civil servants he fired, on the grounds that procedures and regulations were violated during the dismissal process.

The KASN came to the conclusion that violations had occurred after questioning the dismissed officials, Anies, the city secretary Saefullah and the acting head of the Jakarta Employment Agency (BKD).

Should there be new evidence regarding violations conducted by the dismissed officials, [the city administration] should submit the evidence within no later than 30 working days to the KASN, KASN head Sofian Effendi said in a statement on Friday.

Sofian said civil servants could be assessed after one year working in a certain position. After that, the city administration should give the civil servants a chance to improve their performance within a period of six months.

He went on to say evaluation of the civil servants performance should be written on assessment reports.

Citing Article 33 (1) of Law No. 5/2014 on the state apparatus, Sofian said the KASN would ask the president to punish the acting head of the BKD or the related officials who failed to fulfill the KASNs recommendation.

The governor would also be violating Law No.23/2013 on the regional government should he disregard the KASNs recommendation, Sofian said.

Earlier in June, Anies dismissed three agency heads amid problems surrounding his flagship programs, namely the zero down-payment housing program and the Jakarta Smart Card Plus program.

On July 5, Anies dismissed more officials, including mayors and a regent, as they had reached retirement age.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, July 28, 2018 08:49 1186 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df500b70e 1 City kali-item,Jakarta-administration,pollution,river-pollution Free

An expert with the Public Works and Housing Ministry, Firdaus Ali, has said the Jakarta administration has yet to make maximum efforts to clean the Sentiong River ahead of the Asian Games.

The smelly river has been covered by a huge nylon net to supposedly prevent it from emanating a foul smell that could offend international athletes, who will stay at the athletes village across from the river in Kemayoran, Central Jakarta, during the Asian Games.

It [the Jakarta administration] has yet to make significant efforts to clean the river even though the event is only 24 days away. We dont want to show this face [the dirty and smelly river], Firdaus said on Friday.

Firdaus said the ministry would assist the Jakarta administration to clean the river, such as by providing pumps and dredging the river.

Previously, the ministrys Ciliwung-Cisadane Flood Control Office (BBWSCC) provided 28 portable pumps to help the city administration divert the flow of the Sentiong River to the Sunter River in the hope of reducing the smell.

Meanwhile, a staff member at PT HAS Environmental, a company working with the administration to clean the river, has said the administration would procure more equipment to clean the river as soon as possible.

The administration is currently trying to clean the water by using a nano bubble generator, an aerator, a surface aerator and a blower.

The technology is being used to increase the oxygen level in the river, which may reduce the smell and clean the polluted water.

Diki, PT Has Environmental staff member, said the process to clean the river with existing equipment could be lengthy because a nano bubble generator, for instance, could only filter 20 cubic meters of water per second, way below the rivers discharge level.

Why does it takes a long time to clean the water? Its because the equipment is insufficient, given the river discharge, Diki said on Friday as quoted by kompas.com.
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Indonesia  Sat, July 28 2018

Indonesian Military (TNI) Commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto met his Australian counterpart Gen. Angus Campbell on Friday for the sixth annual Australia-Indonesia High Level Committee meeting in Darwin, Australia.

In their first encounter since they assumed their roles, Hadi and Campbell agreed to an extensive program for navy, army, air force and joint exercises and engagement activities for 2019 and 2020.

They also recognized that people-to-people ties were critical in developing a strong and mutually beneficial relationship and agreed to establish a regular program of contacts and exchange visits between young officers.
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarts  Sat, July 28, 2018 15:00 1186 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df501adc0 1 City eclipse,praying,Islam,Muslims,jakarta Free

A number of people performed eclipse prayers at Istiqlal Grand Mosque, Central Jakarta in the wee hours of Saturday morning.

The largest mosque in Southeast Asia hosted the eclipse prayers at 3:15 a.m., Syamsuri, a mosque staff member, said as quoted by antaranews.com. At that time, the moon was at its total eclipse and appeared in a deep red color.

Seen among the prayers was Akhdiat, a resident of Pasar Baru, Central Jakarta, who said he had taken his family to the mosque to witness the eclipse and pray.

After the eclipse prayer,s we went to see the eclipse again while waiting for morning prayers, he said.

He also said watching the rare astronomy phenomenon was a nice weekend pastime.

People also performed eclipse prayers at Amir Hamzah Mosque within the Taman Ismail Marzuki compound, where thousands of Jakartans gathered to observe the eclipse hosted by the Jakarta Planetarium and observatories.

The blood moon eclipse was the longest total eclipse in the 21st century. The eclipse lasted six hours and 17 minutes, while the total eclipse lasted 103 minutes.

It was forecast that the next and longer eclipse would occur on June 9, 2123. (gis)
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Linkedin Stefanno Reinard Sulaiman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, July 28, 2018 12:53 1186 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df5014128 1 Business mineral-resources,coal-price,power-plant,Indonesia Free

The government plans to revise its domestic market obligation (DMO) on coal price next week during a high-level meeting with President Joko Jokowi Widodo, with among considerations being to increase state revenue from coal, the efforts of which are currently hampered because of the formula.

Deputy Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Arcandra Tahar said on Friday that the ministry would lead a team to find a new formula for the DMO on coal policy.

We didnt cancel the policy [DMO for coal], but the government has decided to cancel the price cap [selling price for power plants] and to find another formula, he said.

The DMO is a policy that obliges coal miners to allocate 25 percent of production for the domestic market and to cap the selling price at no higher than US$70 per ton for state-electricity firm PLNs coal-fired power plants.

However, the price cap for coal has resulted in state revenue taking a hit, as the selling price of coal is lower than the market price, which is currently around $100 per ton.

It has been reported that the new formula will be similar to incentives for biodiesel.

Indonesian Coal Mining Association chairman Pandu Sjahrir said previously that the policy was confusing as not all miners produced coal in accordance to the needs of PLNs power plants.

Hence, more than six months since the implementation of the policy, not all coal miners have realized their obligation to sell coal under the market price to PLN. (dmr)
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Linkedin Dian Septiari (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, July 28, 2018 13:15 1186 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df5018d66 1 National defense,defence-cooperation,Indonesia,Australia Free

Indonesian Military (TNI) commander Air Chief Marshal Hadi Tjahjanto met his Australian counterpart Gen.Angus Campbell on Friday during the sixth annual Australia-Indonesia High Level Committee meeting in Darwin, Australia.

In their first encounter since assuming their roles, Hadi and Campbell agreed to an extensive program of navy, army and air force joint exercises and engagement activities for 2019 and 2020 period.

They also recognized that people-to-people ties were critical to developing a strong and mutually beneficial relationship and agreed to establish a regular program of contacts and exchange visits between young officers.

We emphasized the importance of increasing the complexity of bilateral military exercises, enhancing information sharing and growing practical maritime security cooperation in the Indian Ocean, Hadi and Campbell said in a joint statement on Friday.

This year marks the 25th anniversary of Indonesian and Australian special forces cooperation.

Following the meeting, the two chiefs signed a joint letter of endorsement for the Indonesian Australian Defense Alumni Association (Ikahan), which plays an essential role in deepening people-to-people links between the two defense forces.

The two chiefs noted the participation of Indonesias Air Force F-16 aircraft in Exercise Pitch Black as one of the many examples of Australian-Indonesian Defense cooperation.

Hadi also visited Australian Defense facilities hosting the US Force Posture Initiatives (US FPI), where he talked with Australian and United States officials about the important contributions the US FPI makes to security and stability in the Indo-Pacific region. (dmr)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, July 28, 2018 16:38 1186 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df501dc35 1 National MigrantWorkers,Jordan,abuse,HumanRights Free

A migrant worker from Lampung will finally return to her hometown after being held captive by her employer for 15 years.

The migrant worker in question, identified as 42-year-old Sarisih, went to Jordan to work as a domestic servant in 2003.

However, during her first year there, Sarisih said she only received US$ 100. She also claimed that her employer never got her a residence permit. Moreover, the employer did not renew her passport when it expired in 2008.

The Indonesian Ambassador to Jordan Andy Rachmianto said that his team would soon return Sarisih to her home and ensure that all of her rights were fulfilled.

We will return Sarisih to her family soon. However, before we return her, we will make sure that all of her rights are already fulfilled, Andy said, in a written statement received by kompas.com on Saturday.

Sarisih herself is currently staying at the Indonesian Embassys shelter in Jordan. She said that her employer had threatened her any time she expressed the wish to contact the embassy.

Ive wanted to go home for such a long time, but my employer held me back, she said.

Previously, Sarisihs 21-year-old daughter, Ferdina Nur Fitria, sent a letter to President Joko Jokowi Widodo requesting his help in finding her mother.

I beg you, please help my mother. Bapak Jokowi, please help me to return my mother home, isnt my mother an Indonesian citizen too? I beg for your help, Pak Jokowi, Ferdina wrote in her letter. (dpk)
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Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, July 28, 2018 13:30 1186 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df5019d66 1 Business West-Nusa-Tenggara,Mandalika,tourism,hotel-expansion Free

Property developer PT PP Properti is building a five-star plus rated hotel in the Mandalika special economic zone (SEZ) in West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) with investment of Rp 1 trillion (US$69.59 million).

Director S. Linda Gustina said on Friday that the hotel was a joint venture between the firm and United States-based real estate and infrastructure developer EBD Paragon. The hotel would be operated by hospitality firm Paramount Hotels and Resorts.

She said the company had started construction in April on a 7.6-hectare plot of land. The 1,500-room hotel named Paramount Lombok Resort and Residences was expected to be fully operational by 2021.

The hotel is not the only one being developed by PP Properti in NTB. Linda said the company was also developing Park Hotel Lombok in Mataram, which was expected to be finished in the same year.

Besides developing hotels, she said, the subsidiary of state-owned construction firm PT PP was developing lifestyle malls in cities such as Bekasi in West Java, Surabaya in East Java, and Balikpapan in East Kalimantan under its commercial property division.

These projects, Linda added, would hopefully increase the recurring income contribution to the firms revenue.

As of March 2018, PP Properti booked an increase of 13.9 percent in sales to Rp 642.23 billion. However, its recurring income only contributed to 5.01 percent of its total revenue. (ris/dmr)
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Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, July 28, 2018 11:37 1186 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df500f995 1 Politics Prabowo-Subianto,Jokowi,presidential-election,Islamists,Rizieq-Shihab Free

In a rare statement, Gerindra Party chairman and presumptive presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto said he was ready to throw support behind other eligible people to run for president in next year's election.

Prabowo delivered the statement before hundreds of participants of an ulema gathering spearheaded by the National Movement to Safeguard Ulema Fatwa (GNPF), During the three-day event, ulemas are set to discuss national issues, including the 2019 election.

In his speech at the opening of the event on Friday, Prabowo said the country needed a change of leadership, especially to improve social justice and welfare for Indonesian citizens, most of whom were Muslims, who suffered from economic injustice.

"Thus I declare before you that I am ready to become the tool of change and a tool for the Muslim community and Indonesian citizens," Prabowo said on Friday.

"However, if I am no longer needed and there is someone else who is better, I am ready to throw my support behind them for the sake of the people," he went on to say.

In the event, the ulemas and national figures, including from the political parties, are set to discuss the presidential and vice presidential candidates for 2019, which would result in a recommendation.

Besides the Gerindra chief patron, the opening was also attended by chairmen of political parties in the opposition, including Prosperous Justice Party (PKS) chairman Sohibul Iman and National Mandate Party (PAN) chairman Zulkifli Hasan.

Berkarya Party chairman Hutomo Mandala Putra, also known as Tommy Soeharto, and Crescent Star Party (PBB) chairman Yusril Ihza Mahendra also attended the event. The two parties, which currently do not hold any legislative seats, are set to take part in the 2019 general election.



Indonesian presidential candidate Prabowo Subianto gestures to journalists following a meeting with Islamic organizations in Jakarta on July 15, 2014. (AFP/Romeo Gacad)

Before Prabowo, Islam Defenders Front (FPI) leader Rizieq Shihab, who is currently in Saudi Arabia, provided a speech through a recording, in which he urged the participants of the gathering to push the political parties to unite and challenge the parties backing President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo's reelection.

Rizieq and activists grouped under the GNPF were among the staunchest critics of Jokowi. They also spearheaded several sectarian rallies in the past in which they demanded the prosecution of then-Jakarta governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama for blasphemy.

"We must embrace new parties like the Idaman Party, which has joined PAN and Berkarya Party, as well as big parties such as the Democratic Party," Rizieq said in his speech.

Gerindra and the Democrats recently indicated that they may form a coalition in 2019, as a result of a meeting between Prabowo and Democratic chairman Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Tuesday. At the time, Prabowo also signaled that he was leaning toward Yudhoyono's son, Agus Harimurti, as a running mate.

In his speech, Prabowo said the coalition of Gerindra, PKS and PAN was de facto and already working. He went on to say, "[Rizieq] has also said that we must invite the Democrats here."

The gathering comprises discussions over economic, Islamic and political issues on Saturday. It will end on Sunday, during which they will issue a press statement expected to include the names of presidential and vice presidential candidates for the 2019 election. (ahw)
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Linkedin Ary Hermawan (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Sat, July 28, 2018 12:33 1186 b147f6715e2195e5246e701df50112b0 1 City odong-odong,truck,accident,children Free

A truck hit an odong-odong amusement ride in Cakung, East Jakarta, injuring 11 children on board the ride on Friday afternoon.

Mulyana, the odong-odong driver, said he was taking a number of children and their mothers on a ride, passing through the busy Jl. Dr. Rajiman Widyodiningrat, when suddenly a speeding truck hit them from behind.

I had seen from my rear view mirror that there was a truck going at very high speed from behind. I had tried to avoid it turning left. However, because the truck was speeding it still hit my vehicle, Mulyana said as quoted by kompas.com.

The crash sent the odong-odong rolling and it eventually fell into a waterway by the street. Eleven children on board were hurt and rushed to Islam Hospital, Pondok Kopi, East Jakarta for treatment.

Ajd. Comr. Agus, the head of traffic accidents at the East Jakarta Police, said there were no casualties.

The [truck] driver was careless. His truck was in good condition, with working breaks, he said.

Agus added that the truck driver was being investigated by the East Jakarta Police. (gis)
Jonah Hill has turned his hand to directing with Mid 90s, while The Inbetweeners star Joe Thomas leads The Festival with the show's creators behind the helm.

Summer nostalgia is making a comeback, as teased in the first official trailer for Jonah Hills directorial debut, Mid 90s.

Making a surprise yet casual announcement via the Jimmy Kimmel show, Jonah Hill announced that he wrote and produced an 90s-era coming-of-age skateboarding culture debut film titled Mid 90s. Written and directed by Hill, Mid 90s follows Stevie, a thirteen-year-old who spends his summer navigating between his troubled home life and a group of new friends that he meets at a Motor Avenue skate shop. The trailer follows a group of teenagers navigating their way through the trials and tribulations of growing up in a nostalgic Los Angeles.

Mid 90s is set to hit cinemas in October, right during the Oscar film season, it looks like it could go all the way. Alongide being a multi-genre award winning actor, there are high hopes for this debut.

Mid 90s arrives in cinemas on October 19th.

To prepare for the drop of the British comedy The Festival that's set to be out in less than a month, Channel 4 have released a new extended trailer.

Joe Thomas (who famously played Simon) reunites with creators of iconic British series Joe Thomas (who famously played Simon) reunites with creators of iconic British series The Inbetweeners . The trailers shows Joe as Nick, a man that recently broke up with by his girlfriend (Hannah Tointon, also in the Inbetweeners). To cheer him up, his friends take him to Leeds Music Festival where he wounds up in an abundance of wild scenarious such as stripping in front of a large audience, waking up in a random families' car and getting his nipple pierced without recalling.

An Evening with Beverly Luff Linn Along with Joe Thomas and Hannah Tointon, comedians Claudia O'Doherty, Jermaine Clement (), Nick Frost and Noel Fielding. Inbetweeners 2 co-director Iain Morris contributes with directing. With the release of the film being during peak festival season, it may be an ideal escapism film if you can't afford to go to an actual festival!

The Festival hits cinemas on August 14th.
Image credit: Matt Cardy/Thermae Bath Spa

This open-air rooftop pool lets you bathe in the naturally warm water, whilst being able to soak up gorgeous views of Baths historical architecture. Although ticket prices are a little steep, your ticket also allows you to make the most of additional spa features. Plus, theres currently a discount for local residents that live in Bath or North East Somerset.

Image credit: Andre Pattenden

Although first opened during the Victorian era, this outdoor lido recently underwent major re-development in 2006 and is now a glamorous looking spot, perfect for a hot summers day. If youre looking to treat yourself and make a day of it, the complex also houses a restaurant and spa too.

Image credit: Lynette and Malcolm Johnson

10pm

Despite being threatened with closure in the 90s, a local organisation managed to save the pool and has since ensured the pool is maintained and kept at a high standard. This Olympic sized pool even opens fromuntil midnight every Wednesday, giving you the exciting option of a swim beneath the stars.

Image credit: Onlybyland

Situated at the very bottom of the Yorkshire Dales, Ilkley pool is for those wanting to swim against a lusciously green backdrop. With picnic benches dotted around the pool and a cafe too, youre set for a real summers day out.

Image credit: Tom Page via Flickr

Kown as being the only stainless steel lined outdoor pool in the UK, this 60-metre long pool proves an ideal escape from the sweltering streets of London.

Image credit: diamondgeezer via Flickr

An iconic 1930s art deco building lies at the heart of the lido, unsurprisingly making this pool a hotspot for locals and tourists alike. After undergoing some work, this pool is almost brand new after re-opening again in 2017. Although the lido appears to be far from complete, its 4million grant waiting in the wings will see stunning new improvements.

Image credit: Robert Pittman via Flickr

Often penned as one of Europes top 10 outdoor pools, here you have the chance to swim in a pool that overlooks the sea. This Grade II-listed pool is perfect for those wanting to stay close to the shore, yet not wanting to run the risk of swimming amongst unwelcome sea creatures!

Image credit: Lee via Flickr

As this pool is actually part of the Cornish sea, it offers the bonus of being free for visitors to swim in. The general idea is that it offers swimmers a safer place to swim than in the sea. The pool is open 24 hours a day, however, their website suggests you should stick to low tide.

Image credit: better.org.uk

Located on Jesus Green, this pool provides an escape from Cambridges bustling streets and offers a chance to cool off in the sunny weather. Constructed in the 1920s, the pools length is a lot greater than its width, as it was intended to create the atmosphere of swimming in the River Cam.

Image credit: Dave Johnson via Flickr

Overlooking the beautiful Devonshire coastline, Shoalstone pool makes for a relaxing summer swim. What's better, is that this pool is easy on your bank balance, as it's completely free to take a dip. If swimming isn't your thing, then there's the chance to go zorbing too.
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$71.3 billion deal

Source: Fox and Disney Shareholders Vote to Approve .3 Billion Merger

Disney acquiring some of Fox's film and TV assets just got one step closer today as the shareholders of both companies gave their approval for the process to happen. This deal seemed to have been going well until earlier this year when Comcast stepped in to get some of that Fox goodness, outbidding Disney's $52 billion in stock offering with $65 billion in cash.

Disney later upped their offer to $71.3 billion to which Comcast declined to counteroffer. Today's approval does not make it a done deal, but does overcome a major hurdle. The deal still needs to go through some regulatory matters but barring any problems, should go through.

Disney's CEO Bob Iger had this to say about the progress on the deal:

"We're incredibly pleased that shareholders of both companies have granted approval for us to move forward, and are confident in our ability to create significant long-term value through this acquisition of Fox's premier assets"  "We remain grateful to Rupert Murdoch and to the rest of the 21st Century Fox board for entrusting us with the future of these extraordinary businesses, and look forward to welcoming 21st Century Fox's stellar talent to Disney and ultimately integrating our businesses to provide consumers around the world with more appealing content and entertainment options."

What this mean for us comic fans is not yet clear. With Sony playing nice with the Spider-Man license and the potential for Marvel to start producing their own Fantastic Four and X-Men films (and TV) in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is an interesting prospect though

If everything goes well, the deal is expected to close in the first half of 2019.
Hopes are rising that Royal Bank of Scotland will this week pay its long-suffering shareholders their first dividend since the days of former chief executive Fred Goodwin.

A payout would delight the City and pave the way for the Government to further reduce the taxpayer's stake by selling off another chunk of shares later this year.

The bank has not paid a dividend since the early months of 2008. It was bailed out with 45billion of public money in the thick of the financial crisis just months later.

Analysts said the bank now has enough cash to comfortably pay a dividend

Several City experts are predicting a dividend will be announced when RBS releases its half-year results on Friday.

Analysts at investment bank Morgan Stanley said it could pay 2 pence per share, which would net shareholders a total of 240million.

Such a payout would represent a boost of almost 150million to the public finances as the Treasury still holds a 62 per cent stake.

It is believed the bank feels it can pay dividends again because it has now settled with the US Department of Justice over sub-prime mortgage issues.

RBS is paying a 3.6billion fine over its sale of financial products linked to risky mortgages.

There had been fears that the fine would be much larger, meaning the bank would not want to funnel cash into dividends.

Analysts said the bank now has enough cash to comfortably pay a dividend. Morgan Stanley said RBS's core capital ratio  a measure of its financial strength  will be 15.6 per cent when it reveals its numbers this week.

Chief executive Ross McEwan is aiming to keep the ratio at 14 per cent, meaning it will have an excess to use for a dividend.

The announcement of a dividend could make it possible for the Chancellor to sell more shares.

Under the terms of the last sale in June at 271p per share, the Treasury cannot launch a new offering until September. The shares are trading at 249.6p, but the price is likely to rise if the dividend returns as they will then become attractive to investors keen on earning an income.

But some observers believe shareholders will have to wait longer as Ewen Stevenson  the bank's chief financial officer who would lead any decision to make a payout  is leaving to join HSBC.
Facebook is braced for a $5.7billion tax bill in the US over its Irish subsidiary  and tax changes in Europe could force it to overhaul its business, the company said.

Last week, the social media giant disclosed the litany of tax issues it is facing in its first half results.

Its shares fell on Thursday by more than 20 per cent, wiping $120billion (90billion) off its market value as growth at the firm slowed.

Tax affairs: Facebook UK paid just 2.5million in corporation tax last year

The US company, led by Mark Zuckerberg, is being pursued by the tax authorities in the US over its Irish arm, which owns the global rights to the income from Facebook's business outside America.

US tax officials believe these were handed to the Irish division at a knockdown price to minimise tax liabilities and are seeking payments of $5billion for 2010 and $680million for 2011 to 2013. Facebook contests the bills.

The arrangement had implications in Britain. Under the structure, UK advertisers placing ads aimed at UK users paid the Irish business  a structure that kept payments to the Revenue at a minimal level.

Demands: Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg, pictured with wife Priscilla Chan

The firm has since moved many UK payments onshore following a British Government crackdown.

Facebook says this will increase its UK corporation tax bill. Facebook UK paid just 2.5million in corporation tax last year.

The Internal Revenue Service, America's equivalent of Revenue & Customs, is investigating Facebook's US tax returns for 2014, 2015 and 2016.

The Irish tax authorities are investigating its tax returns between 2012 and 2015.

Facebook said changes to tax regimes for digital firms could 'require us to change the manner in which we operate' and it warned that the European Commission's investigations into tax breaks awarded by EU member states could affect the company.

Competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager has ordered Apple to pay the Irish tax authorities 13billion, saying it struck an unfair deal with the US tech giant.

Facebook declined to comment.
Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi expressed his sincere condolences for the many deaths in the fires in Attica in a telephone conversation with Greek President Prokopios Pavlopoulos on July 26 ANA reports.

Earlier the same day, the Egyptian foreign ministry had also expressed its deepest condolences, noting that Egypt fully supports the friendly people and the government of Greece in overcoming this ordeal.

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: Fitzcarmalan License: CC-BY-SA
Recalling the joy of our visit and the welcome we received from the Greek people, we can only assure you of our affectionate thoughts and special prayers at such a heartbreaking time

The Royal Family of the United Kingdom sent their sympathies to Greece after the fires that destroyed a large part of East Attica.

Queen Elizabeth sent a message to Greeces President Of the Republic Prokopis Pavlopoulos:

Prince Philip and I offer our deepest sympathies to the people of Greece in the wake of the devastating fires in Attica and across Greece.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the victims of this terrible tragedy and to all those who have lost their homes.

I pay tribute to the courage and dedication of the Greek emergency services and the volunteers that have provided support.

Charles, Prince of Wales, sent the following message to the president:

Having been with you in Athens only recently, and recalling the joy of our visit and the welcome we received from the Greek people, we can only assure you of our affectionate thoughts and special prayers at such a heartbreaking time.

Read more at greekreporter.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: Photo by Aaron McCracken / Harrisons License: CC-BY-SA
Canadian government has expanded its air transport agreements with two of the Middle East and North Africa region's key aviation markets - UAE and Egypt

From visiting friends and family to getting goods to markets around the world, Canadians rely on a robust aviation industry with diverse international air services, said senior Canadian officials.

Expanding Canada's existing air transport relationships allows airlines to improve their service offerings, which means more options and convenience for passengers and businesses, they stated.

Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport said: "These expanded agreements were reached under Canada's Blue Sky policy, which encourages long-term, sustainable competition and the development of international air services."

"Under the Blue Sky Policy, the government has concluded new or expanded air transport agreements covering 104 countries," he stated.

The expanded Canada-UAE air transport agreement allows each government to allocate 68 per cent more capacity among its designated air carriers (i.e. the number of seats that carriers can sell).

This agreement also now contains four dedicated frequencies for all-cargo flights for the first time, said the minister.

"The Canada-Egypt air transport agreement has been expanded to allow designated airlines to operate up to seven passenger flights per week, up from four. In addition, designated airlines now can serve any city in the other country's territory," stated Garneau.

The new rights under the expanded agreements are available for use by airlines immediately, said the Canadian minister.

"These expanded air transport agreements with Egypt and the UAE are a positive development for air transport relations between our countries. We are pleased to expand these relationships with additional flexibility for airlines to serve these growing markets," he stated.

"These will continue to facilitate tourism, trade and investment between Canada and these countries and help our businesses grow and succeed," he added.

Canadian Minister of International Trade Diversification Jim Carr said: "Our commercial relationships with Egypt and the UAE are strong and growing. These expanded agreements will help Canadian firms grow and diversify their markets by making the movement of goods and people faster and easier."

Two-way merchandise trade between Canada and Egypt was valued at $1.3 billion in 2017.

In 2017, bilateral merchandise trade between Canada and the UAE totalled $1.8 billion, he added.-TradeArabia News Service.
Cambodia: UN chief calls for pluralistic political process

United Nations, July 28 (UNI) As Cambodians prepare to vote in general elections on Sunday, the United Nations Secretary-General has issued a statement calling for an inclusive and pluralistic political process saying that it remains essential for safeguarding the progress made by Cambodia in consolidating peace.

Through his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, he called on all political actors to reduce tensions and political polarisation.

Prime Minister and leader of the Cambodian Peoples Party, Hun Sen, has ruled the country for more than 30 years, and last November the rival Cambodia National Rescue Party was dissolved, by court edict, according to reports.
19 more party and youth office bearers expelled by BJP 27 Oct 2021 | 3:09 AM Shimla, Oct 26(UNI) As many as 19 office bearers of ruling BJP and Yuva Morcha were expelled for the period of six years for indulging in anti party activities, party press releases issued here said. see more..

Chaudhary Charan Singhs birth anniversary to be celebrated as Kisan Samman Diwas in UP 27 Oct 2021 | 3:08 AM Lucknow, Oct 26(UNI) In honour of the Annadata, December 23, which is also the birth anniversary of the fifth Prime Minister of India, Chaudhary Charan Singh, will be observed as the Kisan Samman Diwas in Uttar Pradesh. see more..

LawSikho collaborates with ICFAI University to launch blended legal courses 27 Oct 2021 | 3:06 AM Lucknow, Oct 26(UNI) LawSikho, a leading ed-tech startup focused on legal education has collaborated with the ICFAI University through the ICFAI Foundation for Higher Education. see more..

Chamba to Kilar via Sach Pass road closed for vehicular movement 27 Oct 2021 | 3:06 AM Hamirpur/Chamba (HP) Oct 26(UNI) Deputy Commissioner, Chamba, DC Rana, in exercise of the powers conferred under Section 115 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 has issued an order to close the Chamba to Kilar via Sach Pass road for all types of vehicular movement with an immediate effect. see more..
Two US Senators urge Biden to waive CAATSA curbs on India over S-400 missile purchase 27 Oct 2021 | 1:22 AM Washington, Oct 26 (UNI) US Senators and India Caucus Co-Chairs Mark Warner (Democrat) and John Cornyn (Republican) wrote to President Joe Biden on Tuesday urging him not to impose the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) sanctions against India for buying the S-400 Triumf missiles from Russia. see more..

Indian-origin Anita Anand is Canada's new defence minister as PM Trudeau reshuffles cabinet 27 Oct 2021 | 12:47 AM Ottawa, Oct 26 (UNI) Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau undertook a major overhaul of his cabinet on Tuesday, and in one of the biggest changes replaced long-time Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan with Procurement Minister Anita Anand, an Indian-origin Canadian politician. see more..

Chinese FM, Taliban hold talks in Doha, Beijing seeks 'clean break' from ETIM 26 Oct 2021 | 11:54 PM Doha/Kabul, Oct 26 (UNI) China and the Afghan Taliban wrapped up two days of talks in the Qatari capital on Tuesday, with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi assuring help to the Afghan people to overcome their difficulties and in turn pressing the interim government to make a clean break with the East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM) and other terrorist organisations. see more..

All Flights to, from Khartoum Airport in Sudan suspended from October 26-30 26 Oct 2021 | 8:52 PM Khartoum, Oct 26 (UNI/Sputnik) The Sudanese Civil Aviation Authority suspended all flights to and from Khartoum from October 26-30, the Khartoum International Airport said on Tuesday. see more..
Johannesburg, July 27 (UNI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said developing countries should be ready to make opportune use of the digital technology and key aspects like big data analysis and artificial intelligence.

"The revolution in digital technologies has opened new opopportunities. We are again at a historical point as we missed out on first phase of industrial revolution," Mr Modi said addressing BRICS-Africa outreach and the BRICS plus outreach here.

The 10th BRICS Summit, themed BRICS In Africa aims to foster inclusive growth, shared prosperity and the fourth industrial revolution.

The meet was also addressed among others by Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Prime Minister lauded the efforts being made in Africa for regional economic cooperation.

He also underlined the need for higher investment for improving digital infrastructures and said issues like workers mobility and improved skilled workers should also be addressed.

UNI DEVN AE 1452
Kathmandu, July 28 (UNI) India has extended 2 point 1-billion Nepalese Rupee (NR) aid to Nepal as reimbursement of the first tranche of housing support to 42,086 government of India-supported beneficiaries in Nuwakot and Gorkha districts, according to the reports here.

Indian Ambassador to Nepal Manjeev Singh Puri handed over the amount to Nepal's Finance Secretary Rajan Khanal.

As part of India's commitment towards Nepal's post-earthquake reconstruction, the two countries had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for $100-million grant to support reconstruction of 50,000 private houses in the Himalayan nation's Nuwakot and Gorkha districts.

In September 2016, both countries had agreed to utilise an additional amount of $50 million from the $750 Line of Credit towards payment of third tranche of housing grant to 50,000 hosing beneficiaries supported by the government of India.

As per those previous commitments, India on Friday provided the first tranche to the Nepal government.

UNi XC-SNU 1037
Heavy monsoon rains have pounded the southeast of the country and show no sign of abating, raising fears that the worst might be yet to come. (Photo: AFP/Saw Kyaw San Oo)

Heavy monsoon rains have pounded Karen state, Mon state and Bago region in recent days and show no sign of abating, raising fears that the worst might be yet to come.

Photos and videos showed residents of Karen's state capital Hpa-an boating down streets that had turned into rivers while others were forced to escape on foot through waist-deep water.

Vast swathes of the surrounding land lay submerged while 11 temporary camps have been set up around the city.

"There are more than 6000 people displaced in Hpa-an and about 4000 in Myawaddy," the head of Karen State police force Kyi Linn told AFP, referring to a second town on the border with Thailand.

A social welfare ministry official previously said 16,000 people had been displaced across eight townships in Karen State.

The number of affected in Mon State and Bago Region has not yet been confirmed.

State-run media published pictures on Friday of civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi visiting Karen State the day before, talking to victims, relief workers and volunteers.

The Global New Light Of Myanmar said her government had freed up 200 million kyat (US$140,000) to help those displaced and that rebuilding destroyed bridges would be a priority.

"We are now delivering food to flood victims who don't want to leave their homes," said volunteer Ni Ni Aung in Kyonedoe town, adding they would have no choice but to leave if the rains worsened.

So far no casualties have been reported.

Like its neighbours, Myanmar faces severe flooding every year and climate scientists in 2015 even ranked it top of a global list of nations hardest hit by extreme weather.

That year more than 100 people died in floodwaters that also displaced hundreds of thousands across the country.

Some 138,000 people were killed in 2008 when Cyclone Nargis lashed vast stretches of Myanmar's coast.
Apax English's recent graduation ceremony

The company (ticker IBC on the Ho Chi Minh City Stock ExchangeHoSE) has completed its extraordinary general shareholders meeting on July 27, 2018, where a representative of South Korean investment fund management company Valuesystem was approved to join the companys Board of Management.

The meeting also approved the plan on convertible bond issuance (second round for 2018) to raise sufficient capital for the Apax English training centre and Steame kindergarten chain expansion plans.

New resources to bolster strength

In April 2018, Vietnamese Minister of Finance Dinh Tien Dung and leaders of the Vietnamese financial and securities sectors presided over a major conference promoting investment to Vietnam in Seoul, South Korea.

The event was attended by more than 400 investors from diverse Korean investment funds, investment and leading insurance groups. On the occasion, Korean investors delivered the clear message that they want to seek for investment opportunities in Vietnamese peers to help realise the two governments common goal of scaling up Vietnamese-Korean trade to $100 billion by 2020.

Shortly after the event, Valuesystem Investment Management Limited and Korean investors under the companys management finalised acquiring VND207 billion ($9.15 million) worth of convertible bonds issued by Apax Holdings issued in the first round of its 2018 bond sale, which was completed this June.

The company executives shared that if things go smoothly, the investor of the companys second round of bond sale this year will also come from Korea. Thus, besides its major Korean shareholder Chungdahm Learning at the Apax chain of English teaching centres, Apax Holdings will have more Korean partners joining for shared future sustainable development.

IBC chairman Nguyen Ngoc Thuy said that he was quite impressed with the working style as well as the development story of Korea when he first met the executives of several Korean groups.

Apax Holdings aims to enable the Vietnams younger generations to grow into global citizens and avail themselves of support from international investors.

In his words, education is one of the crucial factors in Koreas development success. Vietnamese people, like Korean ones, are very studious, which has brought Apax closer to its target of building a high-quality education ecosystem in Vietnam through the development of the Apax English training centre system, Steame kindergarten system, and the online training system that provides US-certified high school certificates.

Apax Holdings aims to enable the Vietnams younger generations to grow into global citizens and avail themselves of support from international investors.

Enhancing corporate governance

IBC chairman Nguyen Ngoc Thuy

Since the first cautious steps, the number of Apax English teaching centres has grown to 60, leading the Vietnamese market and set to hit 100 by the end of this year to match the growing need for quality English courses of children across the country.

Besides the number of its centres, Apax English has made constant efforts to improve teaching and teacher quality to retain its top position across Asia.

When it comes to corporate governance, driving towards professionalism, transparency, and efficiency is core to operational sustainability. IBC, henceforth, always pays due attention to leadership development.

Right after receiving the investment from Valuesystem, on July 27, 2018 the company held an extraordinary general shareholders meeting to add a member of Valuesystem Ltd.Sung Ho Jung, director of the Trusted Investment division at Valuesystem Limitedto join the companys Board of Management.

Having an executive with significant foreign experience on IBCs board to work on corporate governance will help the corporation reach international standard management practices.

Ambitions to train a generation of global citizens for Vietnam

A multitude of factors stand behind Koreas development miracle. One of the top factors is philosophy: education changes destiny.

Former Korean President Lee Myung Park once said he saw many similarities, from traditional culture to life philosophy, between Vietnamese and Korean people. Korea is very good at applying hi-technology in education for quality control and system expansion.

Korea has learnt from and been teaming up with the worlds leading education systems and then tried to acclimatise the system to fit Korean and Asian children. That is also the key IBC wants to use to build a world-class training network in Vietnam.

Recent results of student training courses at the Apax English centre system, a subsidiary of Apax Holdings, have made founders overjoyed.

The graduation ceremony held for 400 Apax English trainees early this month saw the children and their families were joyful for having had the chance to attend the English courses of Apax English to master the language on their journey to global citizenship.

Calling the fresh Apax English graduates Apaxers, chairman Nguyen Ngoc Thuy encouraged the students thirst for learning and moving forward. If you have a dream, dream big! he said, adding that the quality of education is always a top priority at Apax English, as it is a responsibility towards students and is essential for the companys development.

Vietnams population now exceeds 93 million. There are about 22 million students, according to figures from the Ministry of Education and Training. Provided that 10 per cent of them could afford paying $1,000-1,500 per English courses a year, the potential customer market might reach 2.2 million.

That is quite a fertile land for Apax English to expand its English teaching network across Vietnam, and the results are apparent.

At the companys annual general shareholders meeting earlier this year, IBCs leaders said its partner Chungdahm is Koreas largest English training group with products promoted in many countries, including the US.

In the long-haul, Apax Holdings is set to lead Vietnams English teaching segment before reaching regional markets.

With a long-term vision, the capital flow from Korea has been and will support Apax Holdings plans to reach new heights in development. Once setting a solid foothold in the Vietnamese education system, the financial gains will be more inspiring.

"In the long-haul, Apax Holdings will not stop at building a high-tech education ecosystemwe are also looking forward to constructing a wholesome and comprehensive ecosystem where education is fundamental to human development and health. Having a safe and healthy lifestyle is vital for individual happiness. This path would be full of challenges, but with youth and commitments to transparent development, we will go ahead with the spirit of 'Lets dream big, lets strive,' gradually materialising the set targets," said IBC chairman Nguyen Ngoc Thuy.
The real estate sector in the central province of Quang Ngai has strong potential to grow, thanks to its geographic attributes but still-low property prices that appeal to investors.-Photo cafef.vn

Quang Ngai Province is strategically located in the central region and along the East-West economic corridor. It has convenient transport infrastructure and easy links with neighbouring economic zones and neighbouring countries by road, air and waterway systems. Because of this, its industrial, tourism and marine economic sectors are expected to boom in the next few years.

At present, the Dung QuatQuang Ngai deep-water port can receive ships of up to 100,000 tonnes, making it an important gateway for importing and exporting goods. In terms of industry, Quang Ngais Dung Quat economic zone has an area of over 45,000ha. It is one of the five coastal economic zones that have been prioritised by the Government to receive investment in infrastructure and offer the strongest incentive schemes in Viet Nam today.

By the end of the second quarter of 2018, Quang Ngais regional domestic product (GRDP) was estimated to rise 9.23 per cent over the same period last year. The industrial sector increased by 16.15 per cent and service sector grew by 7.14 per cent.

In terms of tourism, total visitors to Quang Ngai in 2017 reached 810,000, including 69,000 international visitors, equal to 108 per cent of the years target and representing a year-on-year increase of 12 per cent. Total tourism revenue reached VND710 billion (US$30.4 million), up 10 per cent from 2016.

Big jump

According Quang Ngai Citys plans for 2016 to 2020, economic development will proceed in two basic directions: the urban economy and the marine economy. The exploitation of marine and island areas will become one of the citys key economic sectors.

That orientation focuses on the provinces 130km-long coastline, with beautiful beaches such as Binh Chau, My Khe and Sa Huynh, as well as Ly Son Island. The province also possesses many unique cultural heritages and unique marine geographical features, which are a great foundation for the development of the citys marine tourism economy.

To become a dynamic and friendly tourist city, Quang Ngai has concentrated its investment resources in urban planning. It intends to expand the city towards the sea, upgrade the transport infrastructure system. Some key strategic projects have been implemented, such as the dam upstream of Tra Khuc River, the Cua Dai Bridge linking the central coastal provinces, the Da NangQuang Ngai Highway and the Hoang Sa and Truong Sa routes along the banks of Tra River.

A number of key projects for tourism are also in the works, such as the Van Tuong Ecotourism Area, Emerald Island project, Anh Van Ecological Resort project in My Khe beach area and the 150ha Central Park project in Tinh Khe Commune.

Quang Ngais investments have created momentum for the real estate market in the province with series of new projects mainly on the two sides of the Tra Khuc River. An area of 252ha along the river has been the focus of detailed planning by the provincial Peoples Committee.

Most of the land plots in this area have been handed over to investors for exploitation in accordance with the citys plans.

Tran Xuan Thong, general director of Dat Xanh Da Nang, said the real estate market in Quang Ngai is still in the early stages of development and is far from its full potential, so real estate prices are much lower than in the neighbouring cities of the central region.

In the near future, the development of transport infrastructure and a series of new projects, including the launch of Quang NgaiDa Nang Highway at the end of July 2018, will be the driving forces for Quang Ngai to become a major economic and tourist province of central Viet Nam. This is also the lever for the breakthrough of the real estate market in Quang Ngai, Thong told the cafef.vn.

In terms of obstacles facing the provincial real estate sector, Nguyen Phong, director of Quang Ngai Provinces Construction Department, said the most difficult step is compensation and the land clearance process. As the local people ask for land compensation equivalent to the market prices, investors must reach agreements with residents before they can start the projects.

Quang Ngai Province has been providing favourable policies to attract investors in order to develop the property sector as well as enhance urban development overall. The province is ready to support investors in planning and administrative procedures to boost the real estate segment in the upcoming time, Phong told Viet Nam News.
The evacuation of the White Helmets which had been requested by the United Kingdom, was debated by the Summit of the Heads of State and the governing body of NATO on 11 June 2018.

In the final analysis, it was the Organization of the Atlantic Alliance that coordinated the evacuation of 422 White Helmets and their families with the help of Israel and Jordan, both of which have an office which is linked to Nato headquarters in Brussels.

Although the Alliance supervised the jihadists for seven years from LandComs base in the Turkish city of Esmirna, it seems to be the first time that the Alliance is admitting that it played a role in Syria.

This evacuation of the White Helmets included, clearly, strict supervision by the Western Special Forces principally the British SAS.

This operation could only take place because Russia did not intervene against the convoy.

It appears that President Trump gave the green light to the Alliance to evacuate all Western personnel involved in the secret war against Syria.
One of President Emmanuel Macrons collaborators, Alexandre Benalla [1], is on a mission to set up the French equivalent of the US Secret Service.

The US Secret Service, linked to the Department of Homeland Security, is tasked with protecting the US President and other officials. It also plays a key role in the fight against terrorism (and the fight against counterfeit money).

President Macron had already established in the Elysee a Task Force (sic) to fight terrorism. This is led by Prefeito Pierre Bousquet de Florian.

Despite his youth (26 years old), Mr Benalla, presented by the Algerian press as being linked to the Moroccan Secret Services, is destined to lead the future Secret Service of the presidency of the French Republic.
Photo: Gabriel Olsen/Getty Images for AFI

On Friday afternoon, reporter Ronan Farrow published his latest investigation in the New Yorker: a report on decades of sexual-misconduct allegations against CBS chairman and CEO Les Moonves. The article looks into the broader culture at CBS and includes claims of unwanted kissing and touching by Moonves that span more than two decades.

The report is the latest blow against the embattled CBS  which Moonves first joined in 1995  as the network found itself in hot water following similar accusations against legendary anchor Charlie Rose. After the allegations against the now-former CBS This Morning co-host emerged, the Washington Post published a follow-up that looked into how CBS reportedly mishandled the allegations internally.

Below, some of the biggest bombshells against Moonves from Farrows report:

Six women accuse Les Moonves of sexually harassing them:

Farrow speaks to six women who describe instances where the CBS CEO sexually harassed them, four of whom describe what seemed to be a practiced routine of forced touching and kissing in the workplace. His accusers include actress Illeana Douglas, producer Christine Peters, and a prominent actress who played a police officer on a long-running CBS program. In a statement, Moonves said: I recognize that there were times decades ago when I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances. Those were mistakes, and I regret them immensely. But I always understood and respectedand abided by the principlethat no means no, and I have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyones career.

Ileana Douglas, who starred in Martin Scorseses Cape Fear and Goodfellas and later won an Emmy for Six Feet Under, describes Moonves grabbing her and violently kissing her during a business meeting in 1997. What it feels like to have someone hold you downyou cant breathe, you cant move, she said. The physicality of it was horrendous. Soon after, Moonves fired Douglas from the CBS sitcom she had been cast in and that she would never work at this network again.

When she told Scorsese about the incident and said that she wanted to sue Moonves, he urged her to be cautious about taking legal action against such a powerful person but then did refer her to his lawyer. Ultimately, under threat of lawsuits, the network backed down, offering her a $125,000 settlement as well as $250,000 to appear in a new mini-series. Since then, she has never had a TV deal at CBS deal and believes the harassment derailed any future career I would have had at CBS.

Moonves had a habit of ruining the careers of women who rebuffed him:

Writer Janet Jones describes how Moonves threw himself on top of [her] and tried to forcibly kiss her back in 1985. Jones told a producer about the incident and he confronted Moonves. Later, Moonves called her and berated her, saying: Im warning you. I will ruin your career. You will never get a writing job. No one will hire you. Do you understand what Im saying to you?

Two women who did not detail harassment but describe Moonves making unwanted advances on them in professional environments say that Moonves jeopardized their careers. One, Julie Kirgo, met with Moonves about a TV deal; later, Moonves called her to ask her on a date, and she turned him down. She never heard anything from Moonves again, and later her agents said they had been told she was difficult to work with.

The culture at CBS was toxic:

The piece then delves into how Moonvess conduct as CBSs top dog bled into the company as a whole. Thirty current and former CBS employees talk about being harassed and discriminated against at the network, while male staffers accused of misconduct saw no repercussions and were often promoted. Farrow details many of the allegations that have emerged against the men of CBS in the past year: sexual-harassment allegations against Brad Kern, producer of NCIS: New Orleans; a lawsuit against an executive director at CBS Evening News who encouraged a staffer to have sex with a co-worker; and of course, the many allegations against network star Charlie Rose. Many women described CBS News as having a frat house atmosphere.

60 Minutes is a focal point of allegations:

The piece concludes by detailing the situation at 60 Minutes, where one producer describes the environment as a very toxic culture toward women. Farrow also publishes new allegations against the executive producer of 60 Minutes, Jeff Fager, who was previously the chairman of CBS News from 2011 to 2015. According to six former employees, Fager would touch women inappropriately at company parties. Others alleged that Fager shielded men beneath him who were accused of misconduct and even promoted them into leadership roles. Said one former employee: Fager seemed to encourage that climate. It wasnt even that he turned a blind eye toward it.

A lot of my memories of 60 Minutes are of other women coming into my office, closing the door, and just breaking down because of working as a woman at CBS, said another woman who eventually left the network. Toward the end of my time there, I thought, God, I love the stories, I love the work, but this has to be easier somewhere else.
Claire Foy. Photo: Robert Viglasky / Netflix

Despite a heavily circulated report from The Daily Mail a few months ago that stated Claire Foy, The Crowns titular crown, would be paid about $250,000 in back pay following the shows gender pay gap scandal, the actress is now saying there was no truth to the report and she wasnt offered additional money for her role as Queen Elizabeth II. In a new interview with Al Arabiya, Foy disputed how the outlet came to that conclusion. That was what was reported that I was back-paid. Ive never mentioned anything about it and neither have the producers. The fact that that is fact is  not quite correct, she said. Yes, its Netflix, but its a British production company. It happened at the same time as it was coming out with a lot of other people that there was a lot of pay inequality across the board  in the music industry, in journalism, in every industry. Its across the board that it became part of a bigger conversation, which is an odd place to find yourself in.

In March, one of The Crowns producers, Suzanne Mackie, admitted during a panel discussion that Foy was paid less than Matt Smith, a supporting character, for their two seasons of work on the show. (Smith played Prince Philip.) Going forward, no one gets paid more than the queen, Mackie clarified. Smith later publicly supported Foy by saying we should be paid equally and fairly, while Foy opined how she found it odd to find herself at the center [of a story] that you didnt particularly ask for.
Julie Chen. Photo: CBS Photo Archive/CBS via Getty Images

On Friday afternoon, a new New Yorker report written by Ronan Farrow revealed allegations of sexual harassment against CBS CEO Les Moonves, spanning from the 1980s into the early 2000s. Six women say the network chairman forcibly touched or kissed them in the workplace, physically intimidated them and/or threatened their careers. After rejecting him, all allege their careers were negatively affected. Moonves issued a statement denying their claims that he had misused his position, while admitting that there were times decades ago when I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances. Said Moonves, Those were mistakes, and I regret them immensely. But I always understood and respected  and abided by the principle  that no means no, and I have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyones career. Now, Julie Chen, Moonvess wife and host of Big Brother on CBS, has tweeted a statement of support for her husband.

I have known my husband, Leslie Moonves, since the late 90s, and I have been married to him for almost 14 years, The Talk co-host tweeted on Friday. Leslie is a good man and a loving father, devoted husband and inspiring corporate leader. He has always been a kind, decent and moral human being. Chen concluded, I fully support my husband and stand behind him and his statement.
It's an issue that law enforcement agencies across the Tennessee Valley are dealing with staffing issues.

Over the past few weeks WAAY 31 has learned about several local groups finding new ways to add to their force.

Friday the Decatur Police Department added 5 new officers.

The department said they are still looking to hire eight more police officers, even after swearing in five officers.

Those five will go into the patrol rotation around the city, which officials said will improve their response times, which is exactly what families in Decatur neighborhoods want to hear.

Lakesha Snow of Decatur said the city is relatively safe, but she still sees crime.

"The neighborhood I live in we don't see too much crime. There might be an occasional break in," said Snow.

The department could not give specific call response time numbers, but they said the five additional officers will allow them to take more calls and have a better response time.

"That's a good thing," said Snow.

She likes the idea of the officers being added to the patrol rotation.

"I think it just all depends on where they're at," said Snow.

James Hughes has lived in Decatur since 1959.

He would like to see the officers patrol more in neighborhoods.

"To increase their presence and help people to know for sure that they are around," said Hughes.

Overall, the people told WAAY 31 more police is never a bad thing.

"The city as a whole needs to have more police in terms of allowing their residents to feel safer," said Snow.

The Decatur Police Department said they are actively accepting applications to become an officer.

Depending on the quality of the applicants, and how many they get, they could have another group go through the academy in the fall.
A storm safe room could soon be coming to Owens Cross Roads. It would be located at the town hall there that's right off US Highway 431. Currently, there are seven FEMA compliant storm shelters in Madison County. The closest one to Owens Cross Roads is more than 5 miles away.

WAAY 31 learned the Madison County Commission and the Alabama Emergency Management Agency are working to change that. They've applied for a federal grant to allow for a safe room to be built at Owens Cross Roads Town Hall.

One woman told us being able to take shelter out of her home during a dangerous storm could save lives.

The Madison County commissioner for the area and the town's mayor are both staying tight-lipped on the project until federal funding is approved.

WAAY 31 is still waiting to learn how big this safe room would be and where exactly it would be located at the town hall.
By Richard Nelson, Commonwealth Policy Center Jul. 28, 2018 | 02:00 PM | CADIZ

This is traditional news media mind youthe professionally trained journalists, the ones with codes of conduct and ethical guidelines. Do we really believe that they are reporting stories that are factually incorrect and provably false? Not exactly.



According to the Monmouth poll 65 percent of respondents believe traditional news outlets push "fake news" through editorial decisions regarding what topics to cover. Only 25 percent of respondents define it as the spread of factually incorrect and provably false information, which is the standard definition.





Biased reporting isn't "fake news" but it contributes to distrust of the news media. Consider front page online stories in Kentucky's two largest newspapers which recently showed an undercover video of cruel treatment of pigs at a Franklin, Kentucky pork farm. Yet another controversial undercover video a few years ago exposing Planned Parenthood executives making deals over fetal remains didn't make it onto either platform.





Bad reporting also contributes to a climate of distrust. The Cadiz Record ran a headline story on April 18 that insisted that state workers had a "difficult week" due to HB 151 "significantly cutting health care and pensions." That might have been a talking point from the Kentucky Education Association but the actual bill did no such thing. Many view this as "fake news." At best, it's sloppy journalism.





Then there's the heart-wrenching photo of the two-year-old Honduran girl crying as her mother is detained by border patrol agents. Time reported she was separated and taken away from her mother by the border patrol. The girl's father disputed the story but Time's cover photo of the crying toddler under the glare of Pres. Trump is forever seared in our minds. This is "fake news."





The glut of information carried through a multitude of websites and social media platforms all vying for our attention creates a climate amenable to fake news. The competition is fierce, so sensational and salacious headlines scream for our attention. This sometimes pushes mainstream news media to cut corners with attention-grabbing headlines that border on misleading.





Legitimate news sites are peppered with clickbait ads: "Celebs Who Went Into Seclusion After Botched Plastic Surgeries." This is under the Suggested Stories for You at the end of a Lexington Herald-Leader article on Mayor Jim Gray's Accomplishments.



Ads might pay the bills but juxtaposing such mindless attention grabbing irrelevancies with serious news stories as a mayor's accomplishments muddies the primary mission of news outlets which is to accurately inform the public about important issues and events, including politics.





Interestingly, the Monmouth poll found that 42 percent of Americans believe that major news outlets deliberately misinform the public in order to push a political agenda.



Political affiliation is eschewed by journalists today but media outlets have a long history of identifying with political brands. Consider the name of Butler County's paper of record: the Butler County Banner Republican. Adjoining Logan County to the south has the News Democrat & Leader.



News shouldn't be partisan. There is no such thing as Republican news or Democrat news. There is news. When news media ignore major stories of importance because they don't fit a news outlet's preferred political narrative; when partisan or ideological bias muscles out the other side to the detriment of the truth; when a particular agenda overrules objectivity, then fairness becomes a casualty and credibility is lost. And this loss of credibility is a looming crisis for mainstream news outlets.





Our trust in the established news media continues to decline. A major culprit? "Fake news." According to a Monmouth University poll conducted in March, 77 percent of Americans believe that traditional news media outlets report "fake news." This is up by 14 percent from last year.
Three teens cited for "egging" vehicles near Lone Oak
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By Mike Cooper

Jul. 27, 2018 | MURRAY

By Mike Cooper Jul. 27, 2018 | 07:59 PM | MURRAY

Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin held a community forum at Murray City Hall on Friday morning.



The governor took questions and discussed several topics for nearly two hours in front of a standing room only crowd.



Bevin discussed the importance of Kentucky being a right-to-work state and how that played a key role in the new Korean-based plant coming to Calloway County. He said he expects this to be something that will be happening all over the Commonwealth.



On the subject of tax reform, Bevin talked about how important it is to have the proper reforms and the results that can come from a consumption-based tax system, rather than one that is production based on production. His example was the State of Tennessee. He said that such moves will take time and could not be done all at once.



The state pension issue was brought up and he explained how that, in the past, the people of Kentucky have been lied to, and told things just to make them feel good. His explanation was that he feels they would rather have someone tell them the truth, especially about this issue, than to do what has been done for years. He stressed that if something isn't done about this problem, the first pension plan failure will occur in three to five years.



On the topic of public education and charter schools, Bevin pointed to the Jefferson County School System. He said that most charter schools that will come to Kentucky will be located in Jefferson County due to the fact that the school system there has not been able to produce what should have been. He pointed out that too many children in the Jefferson County School System can't read on grade level, which he said is unacceptable, and that "we can do better than that."



When asked about tariffs and the current negotiations with President Trump and other nations, the governor explained that he feels the best situation is a no tariff, fair trade policy. He appreciates the help that the Federal government will give farmers and others during this time, but he feels in the long run, that what the Trump Administration is doing will help everyone, as he believes it will much improve the trade imbalance.



He was asked about energy, and in particular, renewable energy. He said he is very much in favor of such energy sources, as long as they do not require government subsidies in order to operate.



In closing, Governor Bevin again stressed the importance of tax reform. He said that less tax money in the hands of the government would mean more prosperity for local communities, and thus for individuals.
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By West Kentucky Star Staff

Jul. 27, 2018 | EDDYVILLE

By West Kentucky Star Staff Jul. 27, 2018 | 08:40 PM | EDDYVILLE

First District Congressman James Comer held a Congressional hearing in Eddyville Friday on the Asian Carp problem in Kentucky waters.



WKDZ radio reported that the hearing at the Lee Jones Convention Center was standing room only, with more than 375 in attendance.



Speaking at the hearing were representatives from the US Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Geological Survey, Kentucky Division of Fisheries, Tennessee Fish and Wildlife, and the Kentucky Lake Convention and Visitors Bureau. Also, on hand were city and county officials from Trigg, Christian, Marshall, Calloway and surrounding counties. Representatives of congressional members from Kentucky, Tennessee, and Arkansas also attended.



Comer said that the hearing will help speed up the war on the invasive species, and will need to be fought in the lakes.



Lyon County Judge Executive Wade White advocated more funding to fight the problem.



Kentucky Fisheries Director Ron Brooks said that incentives for commercial fishermen will also make a big difference.



Kentucky Lakes Convention and Visitors Bureaus Randy Newcomb said the hearing will help change a negative perception.




#government S. Korea to cut fuel taxes by record 20 pct amid soaring oil prices South Korea said Tuesday it will temporarily cut fuel taxes by a record 20 percent in a bid to ease upward pressure on consumer inflation as oil prices have surged amid the global ...

#Roh Tae-woo Parties praise, criticize mixed legacy of late leader Roh South Korean political parties expressed condolences Tuesday over the death of former leader Roh Tae-woo, extending both praise and criticism over the mixed legacy of the general-t...
PLANS ARE COMING TOGETHER FOR THIS YEAR'S NORTH CAROLINA APPLE FESTIVAL...WITH AN ALL NEW LOGO THIS YEAR

THIS YEAR'S FESTIVAL IS AUGUST 31ST THROUGH SEPTEMBER 3RD

MAIN STREET IS CLOSED TO TRAFFIC FOR THE DURATION OF THE FESTIVAL

The North Carolina Apple Festival Board of Directors has worked hard all year long putting together this years Labor Day weekend celebration of Henderson Countys premier crop, the apple---according to festival Executive Director David Nicholson.

This years Apple Ambassador for the festival was announced several weeks ago. She is Alivia Nix, a rising senior at North Henderson High School and the daughter of Tammy and Brent Nix. Shes represent Henderson County apples at special events all over the state, and among other things, shell receive the Evelyn Lutz Hills Memorial Scholarship to advance her education.

David Nicholson points out the festival has a huge impact each year on the local economy. A recent study showed the total impact of the four day festival, figuring in all thats spent on motels, hotels, restaurants, shopping, etc. is in the $12 million range.

He says best estimates are that last years festival drew about 235,000 people over the four days of the event. That number, he says, will probably be higher this year because people will be coming into the area for the World Equestrian Games in Tryon which will begin a short time after the Apple Festival.

Nicholson says the festival annually receives hundreds of applications from vendors, but he points out that most of the vendors...over 60 per cent...are from the 287 zip code. As for those participating vendors that are not local, Nicholson says the festival is careful to select only the best of the best

The festival ends on Monday Labor Day with the big King Apple Parade down Main Street, after which Main Street is re-opened to traffic.

Of course there will be plenty of Henderson County apples. Nicholson says the local crop is coming in a bit early this year, which means all the favorite varieties will be available.
The Trump administration is looking into lifting sanctions against a major Russian aluminum company founded by one of Vladimir Putin's closest allies.

The Treasury Department is considering relieving Rusal of penalties even though its former owner, oligarch Oleg Deripaska, was sanctioned this year by the US in an attempt to punish the Kremlin for interfering in the 2016 US presidential election.

The possible relief for Rusal comes as President Donald Trump continues to deal with the fallout from his Helsinki summit with the Russian president. Democrats and Republicans urged Trump to ramp up sanctions -- not dial them back -- and strike at even more sectors of the Russian economy.

The US imposed sanctions on Rusal in April because of its ties to Deripaska. But the Treasury Department said a few weeks later that it was considering removing sanctions against the massive aluminum company after a surge in aluminum prices.

In an interview with CNN, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the US government knew the impact sanctions would have on Rusal. The company's founder, Deripaska, has since stepped down from his role as a non-executive director on its board.

"It wasn't a surprise that Rusal was going to get picked up if we sanctioned Deripaska," Mnuchin said on the sidelines of the G-20 meeting of finance ministers in Buenos Aires on Saturday. "We evaluated the impact. We made a decision."

Representatives from Rusal could not be reached for comment.

Related: US signals it would consider some exemptions on Iranian oil

By targeting Deripaska and six other prominent Russian oligarchs the Treasury specifically hit members of Putin's inner circle.

The Treasury said Deripaska had been accused of bribery, extortion, racketeering, ordering the murder of a rival businessman and having links to organized crime. Deripaska has denied "the alleged basis" of US sanctions, according to statements he provided to London's High Court, the Telegraph reported in May.

At the time, Mnuchin said the sanctions were intended to punish Russia for aggressive behavior around the world, which also included Russia's annexation of Crimea and its military campaign in Syria. But the move wound up roiling global aluminum markets.

Mnuchin said the priority of the Trump administration was to enforce sanctions against Russia, including Rusal, as required under a law passed by Congress last summer to punish Russia for interfering in the US election.

"We were going to enforce the Russia sanctions," said Mnuchin not put Rusal out of business. "The objective was to impact the oligarchs, not to impact the hardworking people of Rusal as a result of the sanctions."

Related: Defense bill offers harsh words for Russia and China

The law passed by Congress last year gives Treasury new powers to go after Russian oligarchs. Trump reluctantly signed the bill, which was passed with a veto-proof majority, despite criticizing the legislation and previously questioning the effectiveness of US sanctions against Russia.

While seeking sanctions relief, Rusal has taken steps to water down Deripaska's involvement in the company. Deripaska has previously agreed to reduce his stake to below 50% and resign from the firm's board in order to give Rusal a shot at getting off the sanctions list. Seven other members of the board, nominated by a Deripaska-owned company, also resigned in May.

Deripaska also has financial ties to Paul Manafort, who was Trump's campaign chairman in 2016 and is now awaiting trial on a slew of financial crimes related to his work for the Russia-friendly government of Ukraine. Manafort was charged by special counsel Robert Mueller, who is tasked with investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 election and related matters.

None of the recent sanctions against Deripaska are related to his ties to Manafort.
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - A western New York business owner and a subcontractor are accused of abusing a New York law that protects women- and minority-owned businesses.

The owner and an office manager at Nichter Construction of Lancaster and the owner of McClendon Asphalt Paving of Niagara Falls now face felony fraud charges.

State Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott and Erie County District Attorney John Flynn say the case stems from a $350,000 state contract for work at the former Buffalo Psychiatric Center.

They say Christopher Nichter and William McClendon falsely claimed that McClendon's business did work on the project to satisfy a requirement that some of the work be done by a minority-owned business.

The phone number for McClendon's Asphalt wasn't working Friday. Nichter didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Lafayette, IND. (WLFI) - This year marks the 72nd Annual Buck Creek Fire Department fish fry. Organizers spend thousands of dollars to get this event off the ground, especially on their fliers.

They pay for the printing and postage of their fliers to the tune of nearly $4,000.

But recurring problems with the U.S. Postal Service allegedly not mailing all their fliers is impacting the event.

The purpose of the fish fry is to raise money for the volunteer firemen and women in Washington Township.

They are volunteers, event organizer Lisa Spitznagle emphasized. They are working 365 days, seven days a week, 24 hours a day. This is the least we can do.

And this is an event the entire community has gotten behind for decades.

"Every year we serve well over 2,500 people and we have hundreds of volunteers," said Spitznagle.

The money raised helps the fire department to cover expensive costs.

"It takes like $10,000 just to equip one firefighter," she said. "And we are instrumental in getting them the equipment they need, the radios they need, the training they need

Part of raising the funds is through mailing fliers across the entire Lafayette area.

According to an invoice from 2017, organizers ordered 6,335 fliers to be printed and paid postage for all of them. Coming to a grand total of $3,913.33.

But according to Spitznagle, a sizeable portion of these fliers never reached their destination. And she said this has been happening for the past three years.

Now the fish fry organizers are turning to the United States Postal Service for answers.

Certain people are not getting these fliers and this is years in the making, she said. They are just not getting them delivered and multiple people in the same area.

The area she is referring to is just east of the downtown Lafayette area, near 900 East and 775 East.

The fliers include raffle tickets that are crucial to raising funds for the volunteer firefighters.

"People send in their raffle tickets and will send donations as well, she said.

But according to Spitznagle, when people dont get their fliers, the amount of money they are able to raise suffers.

Organizers have done their own bit of investigation into the issue. Even filing formal written complaints with the Post Office on South Street in Lafayette where they send the fliers from.

But they have received no answers from the Postal Service.

"We're paying for them to be delivered and we are paying to have them printed," she said. I just want the post office to deliver these fliers to everyone on their route.

The fliers for this years fish fry will be mailed next week. Spitznagle wants everyone who is expecting a flyer to get one.

"We just love our firefighters and we want this to go better this year, she said.

We stopped by the post office on South Street today and they were not able to comment.

We also reached out to the Postal Service Headquarters located in Indianapolis and have yet to get a response.

Spitznagle encourages anyone who is not receiving fliers that should to either reach out through the Washington Township Fire Department Facebook page or reach out to her at A Fires Place. That number is 765-446-949.

Click here to learn more about the 72nd Annual Buck Creek Fish Fry.




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Birthday card delivered to hospital as people of Wrexham say a big thank-you to NHS

This article is old - Published: Saturday, Jul 28th, 2018

Staff at Wrexham Maelor Hospital have taken delivery of a very special birthday card.

Ian Lucas MP and members of the Wrexham Labour Party called into the hospital to hand over the card, which is filled with well-wishes from members of the public.

Hundreds of signatures were collected at a street stall event marking the 70th birthday of the National Health Service. The event was hosted by the towns Labour branch and members were joined on the day by Mr Lucas, MP for Wrexham, Lesley Griffiths, Assembly Member for Wrexham, Vaughan Gething, the Welsh Governments cabinet secretary for health, and local NHS staff.

Mr Lucas said: The street stall event was a great day and I was especially struck by how strongly the people of Wrexham felt about the NHS. Everyone was so supportive on the day and it showed just what a much-loved and valued institution the NHS is.

It was a pleasure to visit the Maelor with my local Labour Party colleagues and hand the card over.

The NHS was launched by then health secretary Aneurin Bevan on July 5, 1948 and provided universal healthcare to all, free at the point of use.

The Wrexham street stall event was held in the town centre two days after the NHS 70th birthday, on Saturday, July 7th .
The publication by Britains three leading Jewish newspapers of a joint statement describing a Labour government led by Jeremy Corbyn as an existential threat to Jewish life is the low point of a despicable right-wing slander campaign led by an alliance of Labours Blairite right wing, Zionist groups linked directly to the State of Israel and the Conservative Party.

This right-wing alliance has three interrelated objectives:

The attack on Corbyn and his supporters centres on measures that would criminalise criticism of the State of Israel for its persecution of the Palestinians as a form of anti-Semitism, shifting political discourse sharply to the right in line with US President Donald Trumps aggressive policies in the Middle East.

Secondly, with the prospect of an early general election precipitated by the possible meltdown of Prime Minister Theresa Mays bitterly divided government, Labours right wing is working directly with the Tories to ensure the electoral defeat of their party.

Thirdly, a definition of anti-Semitism that includes criticism of Israel provides a legal mechanism for censoring, silencing and criminalising left-wing views and organisations, while whipping up and legitimising anti-Muslim sentiment.

It will, in addition, fuel the anti-Semitism it purports to oppose by linking Jews to the crimes perpetrated by the Israeli state.

Amid the feigned outrage and slanders targeting Corbyn and the left, including the apocalyptic warning that Jews would have to emigrate from the UK if he came to power, the joint editorial, United We Stand, by the Jewish Chronicle, Jewish News and Jewish Telegraph makes clear this underlying political agenda.

It speaks of a Corbynite contempt for Jews and Israel to create an amalgam between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionist critiques of Israel. It also declares, With the government in Brexit disarray, there is a clear and present danger that a man with a default blindness to the Jewish communitys fears, a man who has a problem seeing that hateful rhetoric aimed at Israel can easily step into antisemitism, could be our next prime minister.

The clear and present danger that truly exercises the right wing is their understanding that Corbyns rise to leadership was the product of growing popular left sentiment among workers and youth that must be combated.

Bogus charges of anti-Semitism have been a feature of the campaign by Labours right wing to remove Corbyn since he was swept to leadership by a flood of new members into the party in 2015.

Dozens of ordinary members supportive of Corbyn were removed from membership through the simple expedient of trawling through their online accounts for criticisms of Israel. Most notably, the campaign claimed the political scalps of two of Corbyns leading allies, Ken Livingstone and Marc Wadsworth.

Corbyn has no intention of fighting the right wing and therefore no genuine intention of honouring his pledges to oppose austerity and militarism.

As on so many previous occasions, he has done nothing other than seek to placate his right-wing opponents, defending none of those who have been witch-hunted. But every concession made has only ceded the political initiative to a vicious anti-working-class cabal.

In line with his policy of retreat, then retreat again, Corbyn agreed to adopt the definition of anti-Semitism drawn up by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) in Labours new code of practice. This definition describes criticism of Israel as anti-Semitism, most notoriously in a list of eleven examples including describing the establishment of Israel as a racist endeavour.

The Corbyn leadership adopted the IHRA definition in its entirety but balked at the racist endeavour example that would likely lead to the expulsion of thousands of Labour members.

Amid wall-to-wall supportive media coverage of those demanding the full and unconditional acceptance of the IHRA definition, there is scarcely any mention of the fact that Israel has just passed the nation-state law. This makes explicit what has long been implicit, that Israel is a nation-state for the Jews alone, with the declaration, The right to exercise national self-determination in the State of Israel is unique to the Jewish people. It demotes Arabic as an official language, while sanctioning the construction of yet more Jews-only communities and proclaiming Jewish settlement on Palestinian land a national value.

Moreover, no one cares to mention that Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu has no qualms about associating with the most rabid and genuine anti-Semites, most recently welcoming Hungarys Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who praised Miklos Horthy, Hungarys ruler during World War II, who introduced anti-Semitic laws and collaborated with the Nazis.

In the context of such measures and Israels decades of brutal subjugation of the Palestinians, numerous legal sources have rejected the IHRA definition. Even its lead author, Kenneth S Stern, a US attorney and special advisor to the defence in the David Irving v. Penguin Books and Deborah Lipstadt trial, repudiated it as the legal basis for anti-Semitism in 2013 that would curtail free speech.

Writing in the Guardian, a newspaper that stands four-square behind the witch-hunt, Geoffrey Bindman, QC, described the IHRA definition and examples as poorly drafted, misleading, and in practice [having] led to the suppression of legitimate debate and freedom of expression

Clearly, hostility to Jews could be the motivation for criticism of Israel and the fact that Israel identifies itself as a Jewish state no doubt encourages antisemites to attack Jews through their association with Israel. It is equally clear, however, that the policies and practices of Israel, a sovereign state, must be open to criticism and debate.

The howls of outrage that greeted Labours proposed code of practice came from forces including Blairite Labour MP Margaret Hodge, who cornered Corbyn behind the Speakers chair in Parliament and screamed in his face, Youre a fucking anti-Semite and a racist.

It was Hodge, a supporter of Labour Friends of Israel, who triggered the 2016 failed bid to oust Corbyn as Labour leader by submitting the motion of no confidence that led to a leadership contest, which he won with an increased majority. This multimillionaire did not seek the renewal of her position as chair of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee after it became known that her familys company pays just 0.01 per cent tax on 2.1bn of business generated in the UK, and that she had benefited from transactions effected through the tax haven of Lichtenstein.

The day after Hodges outburst, arch-warmonger John Woodcock resigned as a Labour MP to stand as an independent. Woodcock, who is suspended and faces allegations of sexual harassment, wrote that he had become an MP to promote a credible alternative government  through strong defence and national security. I now believe more strongly than ever that you [Corbyn] have made the Labour Party unfit to deliver those promises and would pose a clear risk to UK national security as prime minister.

His militarist tub-thumping was combined with the claim that Antisemitism is being tolerated and Labour has been taken over at nearly every level by the hard left

Instead of rejecting the Jewish newspapers slanderous editorial out of hand, Labours response was to issue a pusillanimous statement recognising the concerns raised by the Jewish community.

Labour has promised a review of its new code of conduct, while Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell has called for the investigation into Hodges slanderous attack on Corbyn to be dropped. Trying to kick the dispute into the long grass, a vote on whether to adopt the full IHRA definition has been delayed until parliament resumes in September. But the internal warfare continues unabated. The Jewish Labour Movement is reportedly still weighing up whether to take legal action against the Labour Party under the European Convention on Human Rights and the Equality Act.
The Trump administration proposes to expand its cuts to a drug discount program that benefits some hospitals that serve indigent people, elderly and the poor. Last year, the administration slashed by nearly a third the rate it pays for drugs used in hospital outpatient settings, resulting a $1.5 billion loss to many hospitals in the program.

The administrations latest proposal centers on the so-called 340B program, which requires drug makers to give some safety net and nonprofit hospitals discounts on nearly all drugs. Federal programs reimburse these hospitals for the same medicines at a higher rate. Hospitals contend that they use the balance after reimbursement to pay for charity care and other services.

The Trump administration is proposing to expand the cuts in 340B to other off-campus departments, such as separate clinics owned by participating hospitals. Earlier this month, a federal judge denied a bid by a collection of hospital groups to roll back the cuts. There are currently more than 12,000 hospitals and facilities in the program.

Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma claims that the cuts will help patients at these facilities. This will ensure that seniors at these locations get access to these savings, she said in a call with reporters.

The Trump administration contends that because Medicare beneficiaries coinsurance payments are a percentage of what Medicare pays, a lower reimbursement rate will mean lower out-of-pocket costs for patients.

The administration claims that beneficiaries will save $320 million in 2018 because of its initial cut to 340B rates and that the change proposed Wednesday could save an additional $10 million in 2019.

Drug makers have been calling on Congress to clarify the intent of 340B in an effort to limit the number of hospitals seeking the discounts and to limit how they use those discounts. Meanwhile, hospitals have pushed for changes that would ensure the pharmaceuticals dont break the rules and overcharge them.

The pharmaceutical industry, including its major lobbying group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, has been vigorously lobbying for an end to the drug discounts altogether, which it claims cuts into funding for drug research and development. They also contend there is not adequate oversight over hospitals use of the excess reimbursement funds. In reality, they have fought the 340B program because they oppose any measures that would impinge on their profits.

There is undoubtedly corruption in how hospitals make use of excess federal funds, by diverting some of them to other hospital costs. However, it is clear that the Trump administration and pharmaceuticals opposition to the 340B program is based on boosting the profits of the drug companies and clawing back any government regulations on them.

Verma told reporters that beneficiaries will save $320 million in 2018 because of last years cut to 340B rates and an additional $10 million in 2019. However, hospitals say the proposal would affect clinics and other centers that help people access lifesaving treatments such as infusion therapy, which is often expensive.

304B Health, a group representing hospitals, said in a statement, Todays proposal would threaten access to care for millions of patients who live with low incomes or in rural communities. Clearly, the losers in the cutback of the program are the patients, especially seniors and the poor, who have benefited from 340B and many of whom will now not have access to care.

Both Democrats and Republicans in the Senate have called for ramped-up oversight of the 340B program.

At a hearing in May, Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and other Republicans expressed concern over how hospitals are using the program. There is a lack of agreement on how much of the savings hospitals and clinics receive from discounted drug prices are used to reduce the price of drugs and treatments for patientsand how much is spent on other activities, Alexander said.

Top Senate Democrats have criticized the Trump administration for delaying the implementation of rules that could enable federal watchdogs to audit drug companies that might be acting illegally. In early 2017, the Trump administration withdrew a Health Resources and Services Administration rule that would have authorized more oversight tools and has several times delayed another rule related to ceiling prices for drug used in the program.

When it comes to these drug companies, if no one can check their work, they can cheat, charge more, and no one could catch them, said Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts. If the president is truly worried about the connection between high drug prices and the 340B program, he could start by implementing the law that Congress wrote to actually stop drug companies from cheating on their discounts.

While posturing as an opponent of Big Pharmas cheating, Warrenlike all those lawmakers calling for curbs on the drug companies and accountability for the hospitals receiving 340B fundsdoes not challenge the profit motive of the drug makers.

The pharmaceutical companies bemoaning the drain on their profits from the 340B program have raked in record profits in the decade since the 2008 financial crisis. According to IgeaHub, which describes itself as a hub for pharmaceutical professionals, researchers, policymakers and patient advocates, six US drug makers rank among the top 10 global pharmaceuticals based on factors including revenue, revenue growth and total income per employee.

The six companiesPfizer, AbbVie, Johnson & Johnson, Merck & Co., Gilead Sciences and Amgenbrought in more than $200 billion in revenue from their pharmaceutical segments in 2017.
Ontario's new Conservative government, led by the right-wing populist Doug Ford, is mounting a reactionary anti-immigrant campaign. Since taking power last month, Ford and other leading government officials have been accusing desperate refugees fleeing the Trump administrations anti-immigrant witch hunt of taxing provincial services and imperiling Ontarians' access to them.

Shortly before his first official meeting with Canadas Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on July 5, Ford announced his government was withdrawing its support for a resettlement agreement signed last year between the Ontario and federal governments that provided minimal support to the asylum-seekers who have fled the United States for Canada out of fear of persecution and deportation.

Ontario will no longer provide any support for the refugee-claimants. All costs must now be borne by Ottawa and its assistance to refugees must be provided without access to provincial facilities or expertise.

The Progressive Conservatives' xenophobic campaign is aimed at diverting attention away from their right-wing, pro-big business agenda and whipping up racism and chauvinism to divide the working class. Since coming to power on June 29, the Ford government has vowed to drastically cut social spending, slash taxes for big business and the rich, and pursue a tough on crime agenda.

The Trudeau governments attempt to pose as a friend of the refugees and a principled opponent to Ford is hypocritical and fraudulent. Trudeau and Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale regularly boast about Canada's intimate and expanding collaboration with the US Department of Homeland Security and American immigration authorities, which are currently mounting nationwide raids on workplaces to seize undocumented immigrants and refusing to reunite families they cruelly separated at the border.

The Liberals pro-refugee and humanitarian rhetoric is all the more cynical given the fact that they and the Canadian ruling class are directly responsible for the growing number of refugees fleeing war, persecution, and economic dislocation. The Liberal Party has always been a fierce defender of Canadian imperialism. From the Chretien government in the 1990s through the current Trudeau government, the Liberals have supported Canada assuming a leading role in virtually every US-led war and military-security offensive, including those that have ravaged North Africa, the Middle East and Afghanistan, and are staunch supporters of IMF structural adjustments programs that have caused social dislocation across Africa and Latin America.

Trudeau responded to Fords harsh criticisms of the Liberals for having created a mess at the border by appointing Bill Blair, as part of a cabinet shuffle, to a newly created post of minister of border security and organized crime. Toronto's chief of police from 2005 to 2015, Blair presided over the vicious crackdown on protests against the 2010 Toronto G20 summit.

The refugee resettlement agreement between Ontario and Ottawa was signed by the previous provincial Liberal government following a spike in the number of refugees coming to Canada via the US. Numbers increased following Trumps announcement that his administration would end Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Haiti, El Salvador and Honduras. The deal, while underfunded and inadequate, provided some aid to refugees and helped relocate some of the refugeeswho were mainly crossing into Canada through Roxham road in St-Bernard-de-Lacolle, Quebecto Ontario.

In announcing and defending his government's scrapping of the resettlement deal, Ford and Community and Social Services Minister Lisa Macleod have used the chauvinist tropes of Trump, France's National Front, the Alternative for Germany (AfD), and other European far-right forces. They have denounced refugee claimants as illegal immigrants and accused them of undermining Ontarians access to social services.

Fords press secretary, Simon Jefferies, complained, The federal government encouraged illegal border-crossers to come into our country, and the federal government continues to usher people across the US-Quebec border into Ontario. He added, this has resulted in a housing crisis, and threats to the services that Ontario families depend on.

The claim that there is no money to help migrants is a lie. In fact, there are resources aplenty, but they are monopolized by big business and the super rich. The social and housing crises in Ontario are the result not of desperate refugees, but decades of social spending budget cuts carried out by successive NDP, Conservative, and Liberal governments, at both the federal and provincial level.

Ford merely expresses more bluntly what an important section of the ruling class believes: that any government spending dedicated to refugees is an intolerable drain on their bank accounts and stock portfolios. Their attempts to scapegoat refugees go hand in hand with calls for the accelerated destruction of public services for the working class and tax cuts for the rich. For the ruling elite, the only acceptable immigration system is one entirely controlled by the state and tied to big business' labor market needs.

Organizations that assist refugee claimants say they fear the impact of the Ford governments anti-refugee rhetoric. Debbie Douglas, executive director of the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, said, "We know from experience that whenever any population is demonized or belittled, it affects public opinion." Debbie Hill-Corrigan, executive director of Sojourn House in Toronto, told the Chronicle Journal that Fords policies and the idea that migrants drain social resources "pits (Canadians) against refugees."

Fords attack on asylum-seekers has the full support of the federal Conservatives and a significant section of the corporate media. In a statement, the federal Conservatives declared Ford was protecting the interests of taxpayers and the integrity of our asylum system.

The Conservatives are pressing the Trudeau government to expand application of the reactionary Canada-US Safe Third Country Agreement, under which refugee claimants who cross into Canada from the US at an official entry point are immediately returned to the US. To prevent asylum-seekers from exercising their right under international law to apply for refugee status when they cross the border outside an official checkpoint, the Conservatives are urging the government to declare the entire Canada-US border an official entry point. Ottawa, they contend, would then be able to circumvent international law and immediately apprehend and return to the US all refugee claimants.

Thus far the Liberals have insisted that this is not necessary, because under Canada's reactionary immigration laws the vast majority of asylum-seekers will soon be expelled.

Fords racist diatribe is not unique. In Quebec, the political establishment has been whipping up anti-immigrant sentiment for some time. The leader of the pro-independence Parti Quebecois, Jean-Francois Lysee, has denounced the asylum seekers as Trudeau's guests, complained about the supposedly large sums being spent on assisting them, and called for a border fence and the deployment of more police at the border. The Coalition Avenir Quebec, a right-wing populist party that is leading the polls in the run-up to the October 1 Quebec election, is proposing to deny citizenship rights and ultimately expel immigrants who fail a French-language test.

Trudeaus response to Trumps anti-immigrant measures is two-faced. While posturing as pro-refugee, his government has let only a tiny number of carefully selected and vetted Syrian refugees come to Canada and is deporting the vast majority of asylum-seekers who are crossing into Canada from the US. According to Immigration Minister Ahmed Hussen, of the Haitian asylum-seekers whose claims have been processed, 90 percent have been sent back to what is the Western hemispheres poorest country.
On the 25th anniversary of the death of Joy Gardner, the Socialist Equality Party extends its sympathy and solidarity to her family, especially her mother, Myrna Simpson, and son, Graeme Burke.

Joy Gardner

Joy, a 40-year-old Jamaican mother of two, was the victim of a brutal state murder.

At 7.40 a.m. on July 28, 1993, officers from the secretive Aliens Deportation Group (ADG)part of Scotland Yards SO1(3), specialist operations brancharrived at her home unannounced to deport her and Graeme, then five years old.

Forced to the floor, she was restrained with a body-belt, handcuffs, leather straps across her thighs and ankles, and gagged.

By 8.04 a.m., police had called an ambulance because she had collapsed and stopped breathing. Taken to hospital, she was taken off life support four days later, on August 1, 1993.

Behind the actions of the police officers involved, Joys killing was the result of deliberate government policy.

Joy was born in Jamaica on May 29, 1953nine years before the British colony was granted independence on August 6, 1962.

When Joy was seven, her mother, Myrna, had joined the tens of thousands of Caribbean worker migrants thatbetween the 1940s and 1970swere to answer appeals from the mother country to fill labour shortages caused by the Second World War. Like other mothers in her situation, Myrna left Joy to be looked after by her own mother.

It was not until 1987, when Joy was a mother herself and about to give birth to her second child, Graeme, that Joy joined Myrna in England.

Changes in immigration law meant that, while Joy had entered the country legally, her status was precarious. Up until 1981, Joy would have had the right to British citizenship through her mother, but this had been removed by the British Nationality Act of that year.

Joy consistently sought leave to remain but was rejected. In 1990, she and Graeme were first threatened with deportation and a long appeals process began. Joy, now studying journalism, had to regularly report to police. Her appeal for compelling compassionate circumstances, including that many of her family were in the UK and her son had been born here, was also finally rejected.

It subsequently emerged that the day of the raid, two letters had been sent to Joys solicitor from the Home Office. Dated July 26, the first said that arrangements to deport mother and son would be made shortly. The second, dated only a day later, said the arrangements would be made now. The letters had been timed to arrive after the raid, to prevent further legal appeals.

In May 1995, three of the police officers involved stood trial for Gardners manslaughter. Detective Constable John Burrell was acquitted on the directions of the judge, and the two other officersDetective Sergeant Linda Evans and Detective Constable Colin Whitbywere found not guilty.

No disciplinary action was taken against them. There has never been a coroners inquest or a public inquiry in Joys death.

The International Communist Party (ICP), forerunner of the Socialist Equality Party (SEP), took up the fight to uncover the truth about Joys death and its broader ramifications through a Workers Inquiry. It fought for this against the Labour and trade union bureaucracy, who not only refused to lift a finger to get justice for Joy and her family but whose own support for immigration controls had emboldened the then Tory governments anti-migrant measures.

At the same time, the ICP opposed the proponents of identity politics, especially those organised around Bernie Grant, then Labour MP for Tottenham, with the support of the Nation of Islam, the African Reparations Movement and the Socialist Workers Party. Their promotion of racial politics expressed the interests of the upper-middle class and served only to confuse and divide the working class.

On November 4-5, 1995, the Workers Inquiry convened. The two-day public hearing reviewed the events that had occurred in Joys home, the medical and police evidence and heard powerful testimony from Myrna refuting the campaign of lies against her daughter.

It also examined the wider context of Joys deathespecially the changes in immigration law and their connection to the overall strengthening of state repression. Submissions to the inquiry included:

Grace Nnalue, originally from Nigeria, whose husband Joseph died during an immigration raid on their London home in October 23, 1993.

Olamide Lapite, also from Nigeria, whose husband Shiji died in police custody on December 16, 1994. Cause of deathasphyxia.

Sarah Ewin, whose husband David, was shot on February 28, 1995 by officers in Metropolitan Polices SO19 firearms unit and died 17 days later.

Marge Harris, whose son Mark died in police cells on July 9, 1994.

The account of the Workers Inquiry, published as A State Murder Exposed: The truth about the killing of Joy Gardner, is of enormous contemporary relevance.

In one of her statements, Myrna Simpson had called for unity to Stop this barbaric thing that is happening in this country. They are building racism from the top  It is regenerating. It is regenerating across Europe. Thats why they have these laws.

Twenty-five years on, the powers-that-be have gone much further in their orchestrating and regenerating of racism and xenophobiaincluding the return of concentration camps to European soil.

The deliberate creation of a hostile environment against migrants has even ensnared the so-called Windrush generation. Despite having lived, worked and raised children in the UK for decades, an untold number of Caribbean workers have been denied health, housing, education, pensionsand even deported.

The Findings of the Workers Inquiry published December 14, 1995 warned:

Workers must reject the notion of illegal immigrants. They must regard every attack on foreign workers, asylum seekers and refugees as an attack on the democratic rights of all workers. The working class must take responsibility for the defence of immigrants; fighting for the closure of all detention centres and for full citizenship rights for all peopleirrespective of country of originincluding full access to welfare, health and education.

A State Murder Exposed: The truth about the killing of Joy Gardner can be purchased here for 10, including postage (in the UK).
Sergio Marchionne, the Italian-born CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) who collaborated with the trade unions in brutally attacking the jobs, wages, and working conditions of autoworkers throughout the world, died Wednesday at age 66.

Marchionne had reportedly been undergoing treatment at a hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, for over a year. According to the Italian site Lettera43.it, he suffered an embolism during shoulder surgery for cancer several weeks ago and slipped into a coma, from which he did not recover. On Saturday, FCA announced that Mike Manley, head of the companys profitable Jeep and Ram brands, had been appointed to replace Marchionne as CEO.

Marchionne has received glowing eulogies in the corporate media for, among other things, saving Chrysler when Fiat took over the bankrupt US automaker in 2009. The auto executive, who had duel Italian and Canadian citizenship, was a brutal cost cutter who knew the value of paying off the unions to beat back the resistance of workers to the slashing of jobs, plant closures and destruction of the hard-won achievements by workers in Europe and North America.

Marchionnes death comes in the midst of an unprecedented crisis for the United Auto Workers (UAW) union. An ever-widening corruption scandal has revealed that FCA executives funneled bribes to UAW officials in order to secure company friendly agreements since at least 2009, when Fiat took control of Chrysler.

Just Monday, a plea deal by Nancy Johnson, an aide to since-resigned UAW Vice President Norwood Jewell, stated that a high-level UAW official issued the order to siphon off FCA training center funds. According to unnamed sources close to the investigation cited by the Detroit News, Johnson told investigators now retired UAW President Dennis Williams authorized the payments.

A year before Marchionne joined Williams to express shock and disgust over the money-laundering scheme, federal prosecutors had questioned Marchionne in downtown Detroit in July 2016. It strains credulity to believe FCA chief had no knowledge that FCA Vice President Alphons Iacobelli was handing out bribes to leading UAW negotiators to make them dumb, fat and happy, according to the criminal indictment.

The UAW, which was handsomely rewarded, both legally and illegally, for working with Marchionne to restructure the auto industry and decimate workers living standards, has rushed to issue fawning tributes to their late partner.

Gary Jones, who was recently appointed president of the UAW at the unions constitutional convention in June and who saw the salary for his position rise 30 percent to $199,000, wrote in a statement Wednesday:

Our thoughts and prayers are with Sergios family. And when history looks back at his legacy, despite bumps and bruises along the way, in the end, the sun wasnt setting when he left the company, the sun was rising. That will long be remembered.

Cindy Estrada, former-UAW vice president for General Motors, now for Fiat Chrysler, who has also been linked to the bribery scandal, wrote separately:

UAW FCA members recognize that Sergio Marchionne helped build a growing company that provides job stability and certainty for their families every day We may have had some tussles along the way at the bargaining table. But Sergio Marchionne never abandoned his commitment to the collective bargaining process even when he disagreed with membership. For our members the success of his vision changed peoples lives. That is a rich legacy. (Emphasis added).

Dennis Williams, infamous among autoworkers for warmly embracing Marchionne on stage at the opening of the 2015 contract negotiations, has yet to issue a statementeither on the executives death or the accusations made by Johnson.

An FCA worker in Kokomo, Indiana, where workers recently voted almost unanimously to authorize a strike over numerous health and safety grievances and the abuse of temporary part-time workers, rejected Estradas statement, stating that Marchionne in reality attacked peoples wages, got rid of pensions for new-hires, added AWS [the Alternative Work Schedule, which eliminated the eight hour day], and created a three-tier wage system.

In its gushing statements on Marchionnes passing, the UAW is mourning the loss of a patron, a man who saw the benefits of satisfying the corrupt appetites of the union bureaucracy, in order to beat back opposition and impose managements dictates.

What was Sergio Marchionnes rich legacy?

Sergio Marchionne was born in 1952 in Chieti, Italy. His father was a Carabiniere, a member of Italys military police. His maternal grandfather, Giacomo Zuccon, suspected of fascist sympathies, was killed by Yugoslav partisans in 1943.

Marchionne moved to Canada at 13, attended university in Toronto, studying philosophy and later law. After working as a tax specialist and accountant, he served as a senior manager and later chief executive at a number of Swiss companies, cultivating an image as a chain-smoking, hard-driving turnaround specialist.

Marchionne joined Fiats board of directors in 2003 and was appointed CEO in 2004. As the WSWS wrote in 2009, as Fiat was planning a wave of plant closures throughout Europe, Sergio Marchionne is a typical representative of the layer of financial managers who run industrial enterprises as if they were hedge funds, i.e., buying up enterprises, slashing labor costs and then selling them again in order to pay back the debts of the investment funds and increase the wealth of the financial backers.

In the 1970s, Fiat employed over 125,000 workers in auto plants in Italy; by 2014, the number had fallen to roughly half that.

In carrying out his attacks on jobs and wages, Marchionne found compliant partners in the Italian trade unions. Marchionne does not fit the pattern of managers to which we are accustomed in Italy, Guglielmo Epifani, leader of the Italian General Confederation of Labor (CGIL), said in 2009, adding that Marchionne did not make him feel he was superior.

Following the collapse of the auto industry as a result of the financial crash of 2008, Marchionne engineered the takeover of US automaker Chrysler by Fiat. The company, which along with General Motors had been forced into bankruptcy by the Obama administration, was essentially handed over to Fiat.

In the course of the negotiations, in which the UAW agreed to reopen the 2007 contract, Marchionne, the Obama administration, and the union worked together to impose historic and far-reaching concessions on autoworkers, including the expansion of the two-tier system and halving of wages for all new hires.

Obamas auto czar, Steven Rattner, a multi-millionaire Wall Street investor, wrote in his account of the auto bailout that Marchionne told then-UAW President Ron Gettelfinger in April 2009 that US autoworkers had to accept a culture of poverty rather than expect a culture of entitlement.

In the book Mondo Agnelli: Fiat, Chrysler, and the Power of a Dynasty, author Jennifer Clark, described the ease with which Marchionne secured the UAWs acceptance of the World Class Manufacturing system, a quality improvement scheme, which entails the imposition of relentless speed-up, greater labor flexibility and the erosion of work rule protections.

World Class Manufacturing seemed to be different, [UAW Vice President General] Holiefield had thought as he looked over the manual that Marchionne had brought. It had a culture attached to it that workers could buy into. It looked empowering. Holiefield knew Chrysler wouldnt survive if it didnt improve the quality of its products. If this is what you want, you can have it, Holiefield said. I will give it to you without a fight.

The late Holiefield referred to, who led the UAW Chrysler department from 2006 to 2014, emerged as a key figure in the UAW bribery case, spending hundreds of thousands in illegal funds on luxury goods and travel for himself and his wife, Monica Morgan. The money was siphoned from the UAW-FCA National Training Centerone of the numerous labor-management partnerships set up by the union and auto companies in the 1980sand funneled into fake companies and Holiefields phony charity, the Leave the Lights on Foundation.

Throughout the contract battles during Marchionnes tenurein 2009, 2011, and 2015only the Socialist Equality Party and the WSWS Autoworker Newsletter called for a break with the UAW and the formation of independent rank-and-file factory committees to oppose the sellouts and unite autoworkers in the US and internationally in a common struggle against the global auto giants and banks. The development of an industrial counter-offensive, the SEP and Autoworker Newsletter explained, had to be combined with political counter-offensive by the working class for a socialist alternative to concessions, layoffs and plant closures.

In 2014, Marchionne, once again revealing his class arrogance, bluntly expressed his determination to purge the factories of higher-paid senior legacy workers, telling investors, We need to freeze the tier ones and make them a dying class I object violently to the notion of entitlement in the wage structure.

While Marchionne repeatedly objected to the entitlement of workers to decent paying jobs, by early 2018, he held hundreds of millions in stock value alone. Marchionne owned $362 million worth of Fiat Chrysler shares, $190 million of Ferrari NV shares, and $169 million of shares in CNH, the truck and tractor manufacturer, according to a February report by Bloomberg. As the article noted, The dramatic rise in Fiat Chryslers stock has had a multiplier effect on Marchionnes wealth, putting the 65-year-old executive in the ranks of the mega-wealthy who typically found and own companies, not those hired to run them.

In recent years, Marchionne eliminated small and mid-size car production in the US, and repeatedly (and unsuccessfully) sought to engineer a merger between FCA and another major auto company. In a presentation to investors titled Confessions of a Capital Junkie, he argued that auto industry consolidationthat is, the elimination of redundancies through mergers, plant closures, and mass layoffswas the only way for FCA to maintain profitability.

FCA and Ferrari, the luxury brand, which was spun off from FCA under Marchionne, are now worth nearly 10 times as much as they were when he joined them. The colossal growth in the companies stock prices, far from being the product of Marchionnes business acumen, was fundamentally based on the impoverishment of hundreds of thousands of workers and the suppression of the class struggle by the unions.
By an overwhelming bipartisan vote Thursday, the US House of Representatives approved the largest military authorization bill in American history. The National Defense Authorization Act approves $716 billion to fund US military aggression around the world, and gives President Trump the power to order cyberwarfare attacks on Russia, China, Iran and North Korea without further congressional action.

The NDAA passed on a roll-call vote of 359 to 54. House Republicans backed the legislation by a near-unanimous vote of 220-5. House Democrats supported it by the margin of 139-49. The entire House Democratic leadership backed the military authorization bill: Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Minority Whip Steny Hoyer, Deputy Minority Whip James Clyburn, and Adam Schiff, the ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee.

Debbie Dingell, the multimillionaire Democrat from the 12th Congressional District of Michigan, was one of the representatives voting for the military authorization bill. The Socialist Equality Party filed nearly 6,000 signatures last week to place our candidate, Niles Niemuth, on the ballot against Dingell in the November 6 election. One of the central issues being raised by Niemuth is opposition to militarism and war.

The final form of the NDAA was approved by a House-Senate conference committee on Monday. A statement issued by the conference committee leaders, including Democratic Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island and three Republicans, hailed the bill, claiming, This legislation will strengthen our militarys 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.

Among the costliest provisions are:

A 2.6 percent pay increase for uniformed military personnel, the largest in a decade

An increase of 15,000 active-duty troops

One new US nuclear-powered aircraft carrier

Two new Virginia-class nuclear-powered submarines armed with atomic weapons

13 other new warships

77 new joint strike fighters

Adam Smith of Washington state, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, played a key role in the conference committee. During the brief floor debate on the bill Thursday, he said, This bill does step up to confront our adversaries in Russia and China, adding that it contained provisions to enhance the absolutely critical work of pushing back against President Putins ongoing campaign to undermine U.S. alliances, partnerships, and democratic values around the world.

The bill restates our commitment to NATO and our partners, Smith said. It extends the prohibition on military cooperation with Russia. It declares that Russia violated the Chemical Weapons Convention  It strengthens the prohibition on funding for activities that would recognize the sovereignty of Russia over Crimea. It requires a whole-of-government response to malign foreign-influence operations and campaigns, it improves our cyber and counter-influence infrastructure, and a good deal more.

Among the anti-Russia and anti-China provisions are the largest funding to date for the European Deterrence Initiative, which builds up NATO forces in Eastern Europe, along the borders of Russia. New NATO units have been deployed in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, aimed at ensuring that NATO will be involved immediately in the event of any conflicts fomented by the rabidly nationalistic and anti-Russian governments of the four countries.

The bill would also lead to the creation of a new position on the White House National Security Council, devoted to countering supposed Russian interference with US elections. Smith portrayed this and other provisions as a victory for the Democratic Partys anti-Russian campaign, which has been aimed at portraying Trump as a Russian puppet.

However, the White House issued a statement Thursday hailing the passage of the bill, and declaring, The Administration commends the House of Representatives for passing the Conference Report to accompany H.R. 5515, the John S. McCain National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2019, and encourages its swift passage in the Senate. The statement noted the NDAA fully authorizes US aid to Israel, including co-development and co-production of missile defense systems.

The NDAA also authorizes Trumps unprecedented request to stage a military parade in Washington D.C. shortly after the November 6 election, an exercise that will be used to promote the dominant role of the military in American public life.

Anti-China provisions in the NDAA include requiring a public report on Chinese military and coercive activities in the South China Sea and elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific region, and a five-year extension of the Maritime Security Initiative, under which the US provides military assistance to countries in the Asia-Pacific region, the main arena for US-China competition. The bill also requires the secretary of defense to draft a five-year plan for an Indo-Pacific Stability Initiative.

The NDAA authorizes $235 million to expand air base systems to enhance the combat power of U.S. forces in the Indo-Pacific region, the conference committee said. While the bill prohibits the federal government from doing business with any company using telecommunications equipment or services supplied by Chinese firms Huawei Technologies or ZTE, it stops short of measuresopposed by the White Housewhich would effectively force ZTE into bankruptcy by cutting off its supplies of US-built components.

Particularly ominous are the sections of the NDAA on cyberwarfare. The bill authorizes the Pentagon to conduct unattributed cyber operations without having to comply with the usual restrictions on covert operations, such as requiring a Presidential Finding which is submitted to key leaders of Congress. According to the bill clandestine military activity or operation in cyberspace shall be considered a traditional military activity.

Section 1642 of the bill is described by one analyst as a mini-cyber AUMF, referring to the Authorization for the Use of Military Force passed by Congress in 2001 before the invasion of Afghanistan and in 2002 before the invasion and occupation of Iraq. It pre-authorizes US military cyber operations if the president determines that (1) there is an active, systematic, and ongoing campaign of attacks against the Government or people of the United States in cyberspace, including attempting to influence American elections and democratic political processes and (2) that Russia, China, North Korea or Iran are responsible. In that event, the president may order US cyberwar forces to take appropriate and proportional action in foreign cyberspace to disrupt, defeat, and deter such attacks.

This provision effectively gives Trump and any successor, Democrat or Republican, the power to launch a full-scale cyberwar without further congressional authorization, merely on his own declaration that the United States is under attack. Moreover, the language is so broad that the activities of WikiLeaks, for example, could be construed as an attack requiring cyberwar retaliation, given the claim by the US intelligence agencies that WikiLeaks published material stolen from the Democratic National Committee by Russian government hackers.

So pervasive is the embrace of militarism in US ruling circles that the passage of the biggest military authorization bill in US history is barely considered to be news. It was not reported by the New York Times at all, while the Washington Post reported the bills passage only in its online edition, but not in print. No evening television news program reported the House vote.

The brief report in the Post emphasized the congressional unanimity. The article noted, The 359-to-54 vote on the $716 billion measure, which the Senate is expected to take up late next week, comes after one of the shortest negotiation processes for the behemoth defense bill in recent historyan indicator of how few politically controversial issues arose during the debate.
Niles Niemuth is the Socialist Equality Partys candidate for US Congress in Michigans 12th Congressional District. To sign up to get involved in the SEP campaign, visit niles2018.com.

The vote for democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in last months Democratic Party primary in New York reflects growing interest in socialist politics and hostility to capitalism, particularly among young people. However, Ocasio-Cortezs campaign is based on a fundamental lie that is fatal to all those who are seeking to oppose inequality, war and the attack on immigrants, namely that anything can be achieved through the Democratic Party.

Workers and young people have already gone through the experience of Bernie Sanders, who in the 2016 elections spoke of a political revolution against the billionaire class. The real purpose of Sanders campaign, however, was realized in his decision to back Hillary Clinton, the candidate of Wall Street and the military. Sanders now occupies a leadership post in the Democratic Party caucus in the US Senate.

The campaign of Ocasio-Cortez, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, is in the same mold. Her program consists of mild reforms that are inadequate to address poverty and inequality. Her demand for a $15 minimum wage, for example, would still leave millions struggling to survive, and many low-wage employers, such as those at UPS, are already beginning to pay this to part-time workers.

While she says little about foreign policy, she does not oppose the US wars in the Middle East and Central Asia that have already killed more than 1 million people.

Even mild social reforms, however, are impossible without a frontal assault on the wealth of the corporate and financial elite and an economic system, capitalism, based on the exploitation of the vast majority to ensure the profits of a tiny minority.

Ocasio-Cortez does not challenge private ownership of the corporations and banks, the economic basis for the stranglehold of the corporate-financial oligarchy over every aspect of life in America and around the world. She does not call for public ownership and democratic control of industry, finance, transport, telecommunications, energy, etc. She does not advocate industrial democracy or workers control over production.

The DSA seeks to give a left cover for a thoroughly right-wing party. Far from advancing the interests of workers, the eight years of the Obama administration saw the multi-trillion-dollar bailout of the banks, which has produced soaring stock markets and record social inequality. Obama continued the wars of the Bush administration while expanding the police-state spying apparatus. This paved the way for the victory of Trump.

Since the 2016 elections, the Democrats have focused their criticism on the claim that Trump is in the pocket of Russia. The purpose has been to divert mass anger over the administrations attack on immigrants and on the working class behind the foreign policy agenda of the military-intelligence apparatus.

Ocasio-Cortez is quickly adapting her rhetoric to the requirements of the Democratic Party. Almost immediately after winning her primary election, she began reassuring the media that she would do nothing to oppose the Democratic congressional leadership. She disavowed a tweet criticizing the murder of unarmed Palestinian protesters by the Israeli military, saying she was not the expert on the issue and was willing to learn and evolve.

Challenged on her campaign call to abolish ICE, the Gestapo-like agency that oversees the mass detention and deportation of undocumented immigrant workers, she gave assurances that she supported border securitya euphemism for the militarization of the border and criminalization of immigrant workers.

The ruling class understands very well that there is no conflict between Sanders and Ocasio-Cortez' democratic socialism and their policies of war and social inequality. This is why the corporate media has promoted both figures. Ocasio-Cortez appeared on CBS alongside Sanders last week, nodding her head while Sanders parroted the anti-Russia rhetoric of the Democrats and the intelligence agencies, calling him an agent of Russia while saying nothing about his attacks on immigrants.

The Democratic Party has recruited ex-intelligence operatives and military officers to run for office in 2018 in record numbers. Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders traveled to Kansas last week to stump for one such candidate, James Thompson, an Army veteran who pledges to fight for America.

Ocasio-Cortezs visit to Michigan this weekend to promote Abdul El-Sayed for governor is along the same lines. While El-Sayed, the former health director of the city of Detroit, has struck a populist tone in his campaign, the Democrats bear the primary responsibility for the social devastation of Detroit, including their role in driving the city into bankruptcy in 2013.

The politics of Ocasio-Cortez and the politics of the DSA reflect the interests of a privileged layer of the upper-middle class. They do not speak for the aspirations and needs of the working class and the broad mass of young people.

I am running for Congress in Michigan's 12th District as a member of the Socialist Equality Party to fight for genuine socialismthat is, the independent political mobilization of the working class against the capitalist system. My campaign is organized around the following principles:

The building of a mass anti-war movement based on the working class. The fight against war, and the danger of world war, is inseparable from the fight against its source, the capitalist system.

Placing the banks and major corporations under international social control, democratically run by the working class, the vast majority of mankind. This will place the trillions of dollars hoarded by the capitalist class at the disposal of society, so the money can be used for the abolition of unemployment, social inequality, poverty, hunger, homelessness, illiteracy and other social evils.

The disbanding of ICE and Customs and Border Protection. The SEP calls for a policy of open borders. This includes an immediate end to deportations, the reunification of all families separated by Trump and the release of all immigrants detained by immigration authorities. In a globally-integrated world society, workers have the right to live and work in the country of their choice.

The growth of the class struggle in the United Statesexpressed in the teachers strikes this springmust be expanded and developed through the formation of workplace and neighborhood committees, which will unite the struggles of workers across various industries and throughout the world. The formation of these committees will enable workers to prevent the sabotage of their struggles by the trade unions, such as the United Auto Workers and the Teamsters, which are agents of management and the government.

We call for an immediate end to all forms of censorship, government surveillance and blacklisting, including Googles throttling of search results for left-wing publications such as the World Socialist Web Site and similar measures enacted by Facebook and Twitter. Control over the Internet must be taken out of the hands of giant telecommunications and social media corporations that are tied to the military-intelligence apparatus.

We call as well for the mobilization of working people and youth to defend Wikileaks editor Julian Assange, who is in immediate danger of being expelled from the Ecuadorian embassy in London so that he can be extradited to the United States, where he faces frame-up espionage charges that could result in his execution.

I urge all of those who support this perspective to contact the SEP and join my campaign today by visiting niles2018.com.
Australian Labor Party deputy leader Tanya Plibersek last month convened a panel, featuring prominent business representatives, to conduct a proposed once in a generation review of post-secondary education. It will purportedly be launched within 100 days of a Labor government taking office.

Pliberseks language should be a warning to all educators and students. Labor is preparing yet another pro-business offensive against public education.

This is not the first once in a generation review carried out by a Labor government in the interests of the corporate elite. Almost 10 years ago, the Rudd Labor government released the report of its Review of Australian Higher Education under the title Transforming Australias Higher Education System.

The 2008 review, conducted by a panel of two senior academics and two business executives, headed by Professor Denise Bradley, became the platform for Labors market-driven education revolution, which has devastated the conditions of education staff and students alike.

Labors blueprint has turned the countrys public universities into business-dominated institutions, heavily dependent on corporate partnerships and engaged in competitive struggles to enrol both international and domestic students in business and vocational courses. Public Technical and Further Education (TAFE) colleges have been decimated by the proliferation of profiteering private vocational colleges, many of which have since collapsed, having ripped-off thousands of students.

The entire sector has become highly casualised and blighted by soaring fees, and large class sizes and workloads for teachers and professional staff. Under both Labor and Liberal-National governments, the education trade unions have blocked any unified struggle against this offensive. Instead, they have policed the gutting of conditions via enterprise agreements designed to deliver what employers require to survive in the education market place.

Union-negotiated enterprise agreements have helped managements casualise their workforce. Only 6.4 out of every 100 new positions created at Australian universities between 2009 and 2015 were tenured teaching or research jobs. At the same time, universities generate more than $22 billion a year in revenue for the wealthy elites, mainly by charging exorbitant fees to Asian and other international students.

Labors latest review will take this situation to a new level. It will seek to further transform universities and technical colleges into corporate entities, tied closely to the needs of business, and churning out graduates tailor-made for major employers. It will also try to push students away from university education altogether and into Vocational Education and Training (VET) courses.

The make-up of the panel indicates its agenda. A key member is Business Council of Australia (BCA) chief executive Jennifer Westacott. She delivered a National Press Club address last year demanding an integrated university-vocational college system joined at the hip to industry.

In her speech, Westacott outlined a corporate vision for the future of education, in which the majority of young people would only be trained to meet the skill specifications required by employers. She said employers were complaining that they were getting graduates that arent ready for work.

Westacott called for an end to what she called a cultural bias, reinforced by a funding bias, that a VET qualification is a second-class qualification to a university one. She announced that the BCA, which represents the largest corporations in Australia, wants a full voucher-style education system, in which students would purchase courses from competing public and private operators.

The Business Council is proposing that every Australian receive a new Lifelong Skills Account to use throughout their adult life, she said. The Account would be made up of a taxpayer subsidy and an income contingent loan that could be used to pay for courses at any approved VET or higher education provider.

Labors panel includes Rod Camm, chief executive of the Australian Council of Private Education and Training, representing private education providers, and James Pearson, the CEO of the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, another employer group.

The education employers will be represented by Universities Australia chief executive Catriona Jackson, two TAFE Directors Australia chiefs, Mary Faraone and Craig Robertson, and former University of Technology Sydney vice-chancellor Ross Milbourne.

Also on the panel is former Deputy Prime Minister Brian Howe, a key figure in the Hawke and Keating governments of 1983 to 1996, and Brotherhood of St Laurence research general manager Shelley Mallett, representing charities and NGOs.

Just as they did with Labors education revolution, the unions are enthusiastically backing the process. In fact, three top union officials will be on the panelAustralian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU) secretary Sally McManus, National Tertiary Education Union (NTEU) president Jeannie Rea and Australian Education Union (AEU) TAFE division secretary Pat Forward.

Their task is to corral the mounting opposition of educators and students to the destruction of their conditions behind the return of yet another Labor government and to then enforce the dictates of that regime.

Plibersek herself emphasised the central thrust of the review, brushing aside any conception of education as a critical all-round preparation for life, and for social and political engagement. Labor wants prospective students to see TAFE and uni as equally attractive study options, she said. She told Sky News on June 19: The type of jobs people are doing is changing. We need an education system that gives them the skills and knowledge to do those jobs of the future.

While the education unions promote Labor and the Greens as progressive alternatives to the Liberal-National Coalition, it was Labor that began the creeping privatisation of the tertiary sector. The Hawke government reintroduced student fees in the 1980s, first for international students, then domestic students. This was part of its restructuring of the economy, dictated by the corporate and financial elites, at the direct expense of the working class.

With the support of the NTEUthe main union covering universitiesthe Rudd and Gillard governments of 2007 to 2013 extended this transformation throughout the tertiary education sector. While boasting of having lifted caps on enrolments, the Greens-backed Gillard government cut $2.7 billion from tertiary funding in 2013, initiating a cost-cutting drive that has intensified ever since.

The NTEU is now, once again, trying to drum up support for Labors plans. The NTEU applauds the strong emphasis on developing a cohesive and coherent post-school public education system rather than seeing vocational education and training (VET) and higher education as separate endeavours, NTEU national president Jeannie Rea enthused in February, when Plibersek first foreshadowed the review.

This echoes the NTEUs praise for Labors revolution as a critical part of the nation building agenda. Like the rest of the union movement, the NTEU has become an instrument for enforcing cutbacks on its members in order to render Australian capitalism globally competitive in a world dominated by ever more ruthless financial markets.

To fight for the basic social right of all young people to a free, first-class education and the right of all staff to decent, well-paid and secure positions, university and school employees need to make a decisive political break from the NTEU, along with all the other education unions, and from Labor and the Greens.

Such a struggle requires a socialist perspective, aimed at the complete reorganisation of society in the interests of all, not the profits of the wealthy few. We urge all those who want to take forward this fight to contact the Committee for Public Education, established by the Socialist Equality Party.

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[20 June 2018]
Britains House of Commons Standards Committee has suspended Ian Paisley, Jr., Member of Parliament for the North Antrim constituency in Northern Ireland, for 30 days from September 4. Paisley was found to have committed serious misconduct by actions of a nature to bring the House of Commons into disrepute. Paisley is only one of three MPs to be suspended for this length of time since 1949.

The move imperils the fragile British government of Theresa May, dependent as it is for a parliamentary majority on Paisleys party, the right wing pro-Brexit Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Paisley has even been suspended from the DUP itself, pending further investigation.

He is also likely to be the first sitting British MP ever to face a recall by-election challenge. Under the terms of the Recall of Parliament Act, recall petitions must be available for his constituents in North Antrim to sign for six weeks. If 10 percent of voters favour a recall by-election, it must be held unless a general election is less than six months away.

The standards committee found that Paisley failed to register two lavish holidays paid for by the Sri Lankan government. According to the committee, the 2013 trips involved business-class air travel, accommodation at first-class hotels, helicopter trips and visits to tourist attractions for Mr. Paisley and his wider family.

Following this, Paisley was amongst the signatories to a letter to then Prime Minister David Cameron in 2014 criticising British support for a resolution to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for an investigation into human rights violations during the final phases of the bloody civil war in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lankas decades long conflict culminated in 2009, with government forces massacring tens of thousands of mainly Tamil civilians, along with members and leaders of the Tamil Tigers (LTTE) separatist movement. The UNHRC resolution authorised an international investigation which will uncover the truth about alleged violations on both sides of the conflict.

The British MPs 2014 letter noted with alarm the decision by HMG [Her Majestys Government] to internationalize the internal affairs of Sri Lanka, and its post conflict process.

Paisley knows whereof he speaks. Paisley is the son of the Protestant demagogue, hard-right sectarian bigot and former Northern Ireland First Minister, the Reverend Ian Paisley. Paisley senior founded the DUP as a political ally and voice for pro-British loyalist paramilitary groups assisting British imperialisms sectarian dirty war in Northern Ireland. His entire career was based on whipping up Protestant prejudice against Catholics to reinforce religious divisions in the working class of Ireland.

Over decades, British armed and intelligence forces conducted a war of great brutality and unparalleled skullduggery, which cost over 3,000 lives. The Troubles only ended in 1998 with the Good Friday Agreement that paved the way for both unionists and nationalists to share power in the British-controlled administration in Northern Ireland.

The MPs letter noted merely that the UK has correctly and steadfastly opposed internationalization of the conflict in Northern Ireland. The same approach, they insisted, should be adopted in Sri Lanka.

The letter pointed out that the former British colony has been a friend of the UK for decades, whose Government supported the UK in its defence of the Falklands and we should tread more consistently with them.

They have emerged from 40 years of conflict, the letter continued, and must be given space to come to terms with the past and encouraged to pursue conflict resolution not brow beaten as appears to be the UN way.

In other words, investigation of the bloodbath organised and implemented by the Sri Lankan government of Mahinda Rajapaksa in the final stages of the war should have been left to the then Sri Lankan government of Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The UNHRC report the MPs wanted to avoid was published in 2015. The conclusions to its 261 pages noted harrowing descriptions ... of the carnage, bloodshed and psychological trauma of bombardments in which entire families were killed.

No full estimate of the number of dead civilians was possible, but likely tens of thousands lost their lives. The report described patterns of commission of gross human rights violations and serious violations of international humanitarian law, the indications of their systematic nature, combined with the widespread character of the attacks as pointing to the possible perpetration of international crimes.

Post conflict, the report warned of extensive and endemic patterns of extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, abductions, unlawful arrests and arbitrary detention, torture and sexual violence committed with impunity by the Government forces over many years, as well as by paramilitary organisations linked to them.

Paisley was only one of several British parliamentarians apparently junketed during and after the final phases of the civil war. One of the most active was Lord Naseby (Michael Morris), former RAF and NATO pilot, Islington councillor, Tory MP and now a life peer. Naseby has systematically sought to downplay the scale of the Sri Lankan killings and the brutality of the weaponry deployed, which included cluster bombs.

Another leading British Tory involved was Liam Fox, Defense Secretary in the Cameron government and currently Secretary of State for International Trade. Fox was hosted a number of times by the Rajapakse government. He spoke in support of the Sri Lanka government in Westminster. He told the BBC, which investigated his role, that his trips in the midst of the governments slaughter of Tamil civilians were to promote peace and reconciliation. Former British Labour MP Andy Love played a similar role.

Other current and former MPs who have registered expenses paid trips to Sri Lanka, according to the Tamil Guardian, included Tories James Wharton, Aidan Burley, Matthew Offord and David Morris.

The Independent wrote that by 2012, the then 28-year-old Wharton had clocked up four trips to Sri Lanka and met Rajapaksa. Wharton claimed that his lack of any prior connection to Sri Lanka meant he could take an objective view. Nevertheless, he asked the House of Commons regarding an earlier UN report detailing human rights violations, Is it not clear that, while the report sets out a narrative and raises legitimate concerns, it must not be taken as a factual account?

Paisley, of course, was not suspended for trying to suppress an international investigation into the Sri Lankan governments war crimes but for not declaring his holidays. MPs are required to register gifts and perks over the value of 660. Paisleys two Sri Lankan trips are estimated to have been worth over 100,000.

The Northern Ireland politicians deeply corrupt activities are of a piece with the role of the DUP in Northern Ireland. The party has been mired in a series of financial scandals since coming into power, alongside Sinn Fein in 2007.

Underscoring the complicity of British imperialism in Sri Lankan war crimes, media coverage of Paisleys suspension focused almost entirely on his shifting claims to parliament as to when he needed to register interests. Very little mention was made of the atrocity Paisley was being paid to cover over. The Telegraph gently chided Paisley to be more candid with the voters than he was with this newspaper or his fellow parliamentarians.

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Lenin Moreno, the president of Ecuador, made it clear on Friday that his government is actively negotiating the handover of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the British authorities, whose police are waiting outside the Ecuadorian embassy to grab him the moment he sets foot on the London sidewalk.

If he were to fall into the clutches of the British authorities, he would be subjected to lengthy imprisonment pending extradition to the US, where he could face life imprisonment or even the death penalty on espionage and conspiracy charges.

Moreno, who is conducting a European tour seeking to ingratiate himself and his government with the major imperialist powers, went out of his way on Friday to vilify Assange.

Ive never agreed with the activity Mr. Assange performs, Moreno said. Ive never agreed with the intervention in peoples emails to obtain information despite how valuable it is to shed light on some undesirable acts by governments and people There are correct and legal ways to it.

Previously, Moreno called Assange a hacker, an inherited problem and a stone in our shoe.

There is no evidence whatsoever that Assange or WikiLeaks hacked into anyones emails or violated any law, for that matter. Assange has carried out invaluable work as a courageous and resourceful journalist, making available to the people of the world information kept secret from them about imperialist war crimes, mass surveillance and anti-democratic machinations and conspiracies carried out by Washington and other governments and transnational corporations.

Assange was granted asylum by the previous Ecuadorian government of President Rafael Correa in 2012 because of the clear evidence that he faced political persecution for exposing these crimes.

Announcing Quitos decision to grant Assange asylum, Ecuadors foreign affairs minister, Ricardo Patino, had declared that Washingtons retaliation for Assanges exposures could endanger his safety, integrity and even his life. Patino added, The evidence shows that if Mr. Assange is extradited to the United States, he wouldn't have a fair trial. It is not at all improbable he could be subjected to cruel and degrading treatment and sentenced to life imprisonment or even capital punishment.

What has changed since then? Assange has spent the past six years trapped in the Ecuadorian embassy. The Trump administration has only made US intentions more explicit, with former CIA Director and current Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declaring WikiLeaks a non-state hostile intelligence service often abetted by state actors like Russia, and proclaiming that its reporting is not protected by the First Amendment to the US Constitution.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has insisted that bringing Assange to the US in chains to face a rigged prosecution is a priority for the US Justice Department.

In his statement on Friday, Ecuadorian President Moreno said: The only thing we want is a guarantee that his life will not be in danger. We have spoken to, and, of course, we are dealing with this with Mr. Assanges legal team and with the British government.

It would appear that the only condition being laid down by the Ecuadorian government in return for withdrawing Assanges asylum and handing him over to his persecutors is a worthless promise from the British and US authorities that Assange will not be executed. The other threats to Assange cited by the Ecuadorian authorities in 2012, including cruel and degrading treatment and life imprisonment, are apparently now acceptable.

In addition to his talks with the British government, Moreno has visited Spain, signing a security agreement with the right-wing Socialist Workers Party (PSOE) minority government led by Pedro Sanchez, while guaranteeing Spanish capitalists unfettered access to Ecuadors markets, resources and cheap labor.

It was reportedly Spains protests over Assanges condemnation of Madrid for the arrest of former Catalonian regional President Carles Puigdemont that led the Moreno government to cut off Assanges access to the Internet and prevent him from receiving phone calls or visitors, reducing him to a state of incommunicado detention with fewer rights than a prisoner.

What is involved here is a sharp turn to the right, not only by the government of Lenin Moreno, but by all of the governments of Latin Americas so-called Pink Tide and their pseudo-left satellites.

Moreno is the hand-picked successor to former president Rafael Correa, who proclaimed himself a partisan of the Bolivarian Revolution of Venezuelas late Hugo Chavez. While Moreno and Correa have had a bitter falling out, the right-wing policies of rapprochement with imperialism and escalating attacks on the working class were initiated under Correa, whose government was the first to cut off Assanges Internet access in retaliation for WikiLeaks publication of emails exposing the Democratic Partys rigging of the 2016 primary campaign to assure the victory of Hillary Clinton and defeat of Bernie Sanders.

Meanwhile, other governments identified with the so-called turn to the left in Latin America have been thoroughly discredited. Chavezs successor, Nicolas Maduro, has placed the full burden of Venezuelas desperate economic crisis onto the backs of the working class, while assuring the wealth and privileges of the countrys oligarchs and military commanders, as well as the debt payments to the international banks.

Nicaraguas Sandinista President Daniel Ortega has unleashed a bloodbath to crush popular protests against austerity measures, resulting in over 400 deaths. And in Brazil, Lula, the former president of the Workers Party (PT), is in jail, while the PT has been thoroughly discredited by its own antidemocratic measures and attacks on workers rights, opening the path to the most right-wing government since the military dictatorship and to the openly fascistic candidate Jair Bolsonaro.

The Latin American pseudo-leftdominated by petty-bourgeois nationalism and oriented to the national labor bureaucracies, the pursuit of parliamentary posts and adaptation to identity politicshas largely ignored the attacks on Assange, refusing to lift a finger in his defense and failing to inform Latin American workers of the decisive democratic and social interests that are bound up with his fate.

Typical is the reactionor, more accurately, lack of reactionof the main pseudo-left parties in Argentina, the PTS (Partido de los Trabajadores Socialistas) and the PO (Partido Obrero), which, whatever their differences, are united in an unprincipled electoral Front of the Left and the Workers (FIT).

The last major article on Assange posted on the PTSs website, Izquierda Diario, was on April 3, 2017. It proclaimed in its headline: With the victory of Lenin Moreno, Julian Assange has avoided his expulsion from the Ecuadorian embassy. Sowing illusions in the right-wing bourgeois politician Moreno and complacency about the dangers posed to Assange, the PTS actually undermined the defense of the WikiLeaks editor.

As for the PO, it has completely ignored the question of Assange, writing nothing about his case for more than five years. This party, oriented toward an alliance with the Peronist union bureaucracy at home and the extreme right-wing forces of Russian Stalinism abroad, exemplifies the reactionary outlook of Latin American petty-bourgeois nationalism, which in the Assange case, as on every other major political question, serves as conduit for imperialist pressure upon the working class.

The task of defending Julian Assangeand more broadly the defense of the social and democratic rights of working people, together with the liberation of Latin America from imperialist oppression, social inequality and povertycan be achieved only through the political mobilization of the working class independently of all of the supposedly left bourgeois parties and the petty-bourgeois pseudo-left groups that support them.

The working class constitutes the only genuine constituency for the defense of democratic rights, which can be secured only as part of the fight to unite workers internationally to put an end to the capitalist system, which threatens humanity with world war and dictatorship.

Latin American workers must join ranks with workers all over the world in coming to the defense of Assange, demanding that the government of Ecuador halt its reactionary bid to rescind his asylum, fighting for his immediate freedom from persecution by US and British authorities and preparing mass protests and strikes against any attempt to arrest or extradite him.
The International Communist Party calls on all workers and youth to support the Workers Inquiry it has initiated into the death of Jamaican mother, Joy Gardner, during an immigration raid at her home on Wednesday July 28, 1993.

The cover of A State Murder Exposed: The truth about the killing of Joy Gardner

The trial of three police officers charged with her manslaughter, which ended with their acquittal on Wednesday, June 14 this year, has shown that the same capitalist state responsible for her death will not, and cannot, establish the truth.

For justice to be done, the working class must intervene on its own independent agenda. Workers and youth, black and white, must take responsibility for clearing the name of Joy and her family and exposing the facts of this case.

This is the purpose of the Workers Inquiry. It will reveal the truth about how Joy Gardner died and who is responsible. It will carefully gather all the evidence and take testimony from those who knew Joy and all those who face similar attacks.

For the first time ever, working people will be able to hear the truth about a death at the hands of the police. They will gain an insight into the workings of the capitalist state and its role. For the first time ever, workers will be able to examine the conditions facing immigrant workers, particularly the state repression directed against them. They will be able to investigate the relationship between this and the situation facing working people as a whole.

Above all, the Workers Inquiry will deal a powerful blow against attempts to divide workers and youth along racial and national lines. It will strike at the heart of the right-wing course being taken by the ruling class, epitomised in its anti-immigrant and racist legislation. This will contribute to changing the political atmosphere and show the political strength of the working class, when it is organised as a united and conscious force. In this way it will provide the working class as a whole with the means to end all forms of state repression.

What are the facts?

On Wednesday, July 28, 1993, at 7.40 a.m., two van loads of police arrived outside Joys first floor flat in Crouch End, north London to deport her and her five-year-old son, Graeme, to Jamaica that day. Twenty minutes later, the 40-year-old mother of two was dead.

Six officerstwo local policemen, one immigration official and three members of Scotland Yards secretive Alien Deportation Group, SO1(3)cut through the security chain and forced their way into her home. One officer, PC Whitby, shouted deck her and, in full view of her child, Joy was forced, face down, to the floor, breaking both a chair and her watch. She was then turned on her back and leather restraint belts were wrapped around her ankles, waist and thighs and her wrists handcuffed. Finally, some 13 feettwo reelsof adhesive tape was wound around her mouth as a gag. Joy was left lying face down in this position, as police officers began to bundle up some of her possessions. She rapidly lost consciousness. Within five minutes, police checked her pulse and found none.

At 8.46 a.m. she was admitted to Whittington Hospital, Hornsey. Throughout the next three days Joy remained brain dead, her life only maintained through a ventilator. On Sunday, August 1, when it was clear that there was no hope of improvement, her life support was ended. She was finally buried five months later on Friday, December 17, 1993.

The three police officers involved in her attempted deportation were not charged until more than one year later, on November 23, 1994. Finally, some 23 months after her life was ended, they were cleared of all charges and returned to duty.

A womans life has been ended in the most brutal way; a son has lost his mother; nobody is to be held responsible.

How and why did this happen? What is the broader significance? Only to the extent that the fundamental causes become clear, will the means of preventing this from ever happening again also become clear.

The trial has proved the necessity for an independent Workers Inquiry. The acquittal of PCs Whitby and Burrell and Detective Sergeant Evans is simply the end product of a cover-up that began the moment Joy was admitted to hospital almost two years ago. Throughout, all the mechanisms of the capitalist state have been employed to exonerate those implicated and conceal the truth.

No action has been taken against either the immigration department or the Home Office responsible for deportations. Even the three police officers involved were initially just suspended on full pay while a police inquiry was put into motion! Then the results of this fake investigation were held up for more than seven months. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Paul Condon stated that he had always known that there would be a very small number of the most difficult deportations where the exercise of force would be necessary and that the three Scotland Yard detectives would not be sacrificed to political correctness.

The media played an essential role in the whitewash. From the very start, they conducted a systematic character assassination of the dead woman. Right-wing Tory MP, Teresa Gorman, stated on BBC radio that Gardner was a scrounger who had cost taxpayers thousands of pounds. Joy was vilified as a dangerous and violent person. This slanderous campaign was aimed at shifting the question on to whether such force was reasonable in the circumstances, not whether it should ever have happened at all. Its purpose was both to stifle any outcry and create a political atmosphere conducive to the state, should the case be forced to trial. Any person or organisation that even criticised the police or immigration department was denounced as a political provocateur, intent on causing trouble. Even before any investigation had begun, Joy Gardner had been found guilty of causing her own death! One of the first tasks of a Workers Inquiry must be to expose this tissue of lies.

Who was Joy Gardner?

Joys family have lived in Britain for more than 30 years. Her mother, Myrna, arrived in London from Jamaica on New Years Day, 1961. She was one of the thousands of West Indians who came to Britain for work. They had been encouraged to enter by the British government, which was trawling its former colonial possessions for a plentiful supply of cheap labour. Like many other young women in similar circumstances, Myrna had to leave Joythen seven years oldbehind with her grandmother.

Joy entered Britain legally on a six-months visitor pass in 1987, to join her mother. Her son, Graeme, was born in Britain in 1987. She married a British subject and applied for permission to stay. In 1990 this application was rejected, and a deportation order was served. The Home Office stated that although her son was born in Britain, he would not be entitled to citizenship and would be included in the deportation. Joy sought to challenge the order. In the meantime, she attended college, studying to be a journalist. Neither Joy nor her solicitor were informed in advance that her challenge had failed, and the deportation would be enforced.

Her terror at being confronted, without warning, by six officers intent on immediately bundling her and her son out of the country can only be imagined. But the use of special deportation snatch squads is not unusual. Although it was the first time that a gag was applied in a persons home, Home Office figures show that this method was used in at least six previous deportation cases in the preceding two years. The Alien Deportation Group (ADG), just one of the squads involved in deportation, had used body-belts and handcuffs in 27 cases during the previous 12 months. In 102 of 139 cases, handcuffs were applied.

Death during restraint is not unusual. On the same day that officers raided Joys home, an inquest into the death of asylum seeker Oliver Lumumba, from Zaire, was being heard. Lumumba, like many other asylum seekers, had been held in jail awaiting expulsion. The inquest found that he was unlawfully killed whilst being forcibly restrained and stripped by seven prison officers. No one has ever been charged for his death.

Joys death was not an unfortunate accident. It was the inevitable result of the anti-immigration policy of the British ruling class that depends upon the use ofnow legally sanctionedstate violence.

What are the causes?

Joy was a victim of the capitalist profit system which is creating a social catastrophe across the globe. She left the poverty of Jamaica to try and find a better life for herself and her son. Millions more leave in similar circumstances and worse. Of a world population of 5.6 billion, 1.1 billion are in absolute povertydefined as living on just over 75p a day. In addition, huge numbers of people are turned into refugees through civil war or political persecution. According to the United Nations more than 43 million people, 10,000 every day, have been driven from their homes and become refugees since 1992.

Faced with the colossal scale of human misery and suffering which its system has created, the ruling class is adopting increasingly brutal and repressive measures. Just two days before Joy died, the Immigration and Asylum Bill, 1993 became law. This legislation effectively ended the right to appeal against refusal of entry into Britain. It was passed by Parliament in record time with a margin of just 50 votes. Since then the number of refugees held in camps or prisons has risen by 250 percent. Some 5,000 people were deported in 1993 and in the 15 months following the passage of the Asylum Act, 75 percent of all applications were rejected.

In every country the most vicious measures are being introduced. The policy of the European Union was summed up by French Prime Minister Eduard Balladur as zero immigration. John Major has called for Fortress Europe to have a strong perimeter fence. In March this year, the Schengen Treaty became effective in Europe. While apparently lifting border controls between seven of the 15 European Union countries, it creates an inner ring of fortifications against immigrant workers. To police this, a continent-wide electronic surveillance network has been established which already contains data on two million people. Britain only opposes this treaty because it is not restrictive enough!

The ADG functioned as a secretive group, with virtually unlimited powers. The dangers posed by the existence of such bodies and these developments to the democratic rights of all working people are only too obvious.

Why is the state being strengthened?

In his summing up, the trial judge stated that the case did not have a political, nor even a racial dimension. This is a lie.

Capitalism has proved itself incapable of providing increasing numbers of workers and youth with secure and well-paid jobs or training. Basic services such as health and education are being gutted. The source of these attacks lies in the economic crisis of the profit system. Today the profits of the bankers and transnational corporations are made only by destroying the social conditions of the working class. Unable to provide a future for millions of working people, the ruling class are turning to the methods of state terror and repression to preserve their rule.

Black and immigrant workers make up the most oppressed section of the working class. It is for this reason that state repression is directed initially against them. But this is just the precursor of state violence against the entire working class.

In the two years since Joys death, laws normally associated with military dictatorships have been passed. The Prevention of Terrorism Act, supposedly passed to combat terrorism in Ireland, was made permanent. In November 1994, the Criminal Justice Act became law. This effectively criminalised all gatherings not sanctioned by the state; made it a punishable offence to disobey the instructions of a senior police officer and removed the right to silence. It sanctioned the opening of child jails for those aged 10 and up and enabled the police to mount indiscriminate stop and search operations modelled on the old notorious SUS laws. This, combined with the introduction of new police batons, led to 30-year-old Brian Douglas being beaten to death by police in south London earlier this year.

New measures being proposed against immigrants will see teachers, doctors and civil servants turned into a second tier of the Home Office Immigration Department. They will have to report on anyone they believe is not in the country legally.

Vicious immigration laws are only the most open expression of the nationalist agenda of the British ruling class, denouncing foreigners as enemies, rivals and a threat to the nation. This propaganda serves several purposes. It is used to divide the working class and tie it to the trade and, ultimately, military war preparations of the ruling class. By scapegoating black and immigrant workers for the social crisis, it aims at mobilising backward forces as shock troops against all those deemed to be the enemies of societyimmigrants, workers, the unemployed, the poor and capitalisms political opponents. One month before Joys death, Tory MP Winston Churchill made the first of his racist tirades against immigrants flooding Britains cities and sympathising with the native English as an ethnic minority in their own land. Three months later the fascist British National Party (BNP) won their first council seat in Londons east end.

Who is responsible?

The Labour Party and the trade unions have a double responsibility for this situation. Firstly, their refusal to defend workers hard-won gains and their servile defence of the capitalist nation-state has created the social and political climate for these attacks. Secondly, they are at the forefront of demanding Britain be defended against foreign rivals, whilst spreading the poisonous lie that workers in other countries are responsible for unemployment, factory closures, etc. Not once have they ever defended the democratic rights of immigrant workers. On the contrary, Labour introduced the racist Immigration Act of 1968 and sanctioned those introduced by the Tories.

A critical role in enabling the whitewash to proceed this far has been played by Labour left MP for Tottenham, Bernie Grant and middle-class radical groups such as the Socialist Workers Party.

Just two hours after Joy was admitted to hospital, the Metropolitan Police were on the phone to Grant for help. They were terrified that Joys death would ignite an explosion of anger similar to that which shook the north London area in 1985 when another West Indian mother, Cynthia Jarrett, was killed during a police raid on her home. The police hoped to use Grants reputation for making radical sounding noises to defuse this anger and give them the time to bring the situation under control. They were right. While Grant made critical statements about Joys death, he was participating in meetings with Commissioner Condon, for which he earned the name the man the Met can do business with.

Grant has no problems combining this with his position as a Labour MP, his image as defender of the black community and his espousal of racial politics. His politics accepts the permanence of the capitalist profit system and the racial divisions it creates. He is therefore incapable of opposing the state forces which defend it.

Similarly, the Socialist Workers Party made demagogic speechesNo Justice. No Peacewhilst diverting workers and youth down the bankrupt channel of protest politics. They spread the lie that justice could be achieved by appeals to the very capitalist state responsible for repression. Finally, they sought to drag outraged youth behind the TUC and its various protest marches against the BNP, diverting attention away from both the states attacks on immigrant workers and the TUCs responsibility for allowing this to take place.

All these organisations and individuals portray state violence as a racial, not a class question. This divides the working class and prevents it from establishing an independent class perspectivea socialist solution to state repression. It disarms the entire working class as to the real significance of the attacks on immigrant workers. The end result of this can be seen, not only in that there is no justice for Joy Gardner, but in the ongoing intensification of repressive legislation and technique.

Why a Workers Inquiry?

A public inquiry organised by the Home Secretary or any other representative of the capitalist state cannot win justice for Joy Gardner. Every state-organised inquiry has not only covered up the truth but prepared even sharper state repression. The Royal Commission on Justice, for example, was set into motion in 1993 following the exposure of a whole number of frame-ups: the Guildford Four, Birmingham Six and Broadwater Farm Three. This supposedly independent investigation recommended the removal of the right to trial by jury and the establishing of a central DNA bank! The May Report in 1994, again supposedly established to investigate the frame-up of the Guildford Four, exonerated the legal system that had imprisoned them for nearly 15 years. A trial of some of the police officers involved ended with their acquittal.

No judge, police officer or state official can establish the truth, nor can any capitalist politician, including Labour politicians. They are all part of the system which killed Joy Gardner and terrorises many more immigrant workers every day. They all support immigration laws and defend deportations. Workers must reject all illusions that the capitalist state and its political apparatus are an instrument for achieving justice.

Only to the extent that workers do thisbreak with the old organisationsand rely instead on their own independent, class strength, can a way forward be found.

The convening of a Workers Inquiry is a vital step in this direction. We call on all those with evidence to contact the Committee for a Workers Inquiry and prepare to testify at the inquiry itself. We urge all those with professional knowledge of medicine, police operations, the legal system, the circumstances facing immigrant workers or social conditions to come forward and make statements.

A State Murder Exposed: The truth about the killing of Joy Gardner can be purchased here for 10, including postage (in the UK).
The collapse of Laos dam that triggered massive flooding and devastation was due to "substandard construction," the country's Minister of Energy and Mines said Thursday.

According to the state-run Laos News Agency, Minister Khammany Inthirath told reporters at a news conference the dam "did not function well" after southern Laos was inundated with heavy rainfall, which caused waters to rapidly rise.

CNN's calls to the minister were not returned.

Referring specifically to the companies that constructed the dam, Inthirath said "they will not be in a position to deny its responsibility for the incident."

In a statement to CNN, South Korea's SK Engineering & Construction, which was part of the joint venture to build the dam, said it was too early to say what had caused the accident.

"We're focusing on the relief effort. The cause of the accident will be investigated. The cause of the accident will be revealed, so for that we cannot give a response," the company said.

It's been almost a week since the Xepian Xe Nam Noy Dam collapsed, swallowing the villages and towns downstream in more than 5 billion cubic meters of water.

Roads were destroyed, houses eradicated and lives lost as the enormous wave of water swept over the southern Laotian province of Attapeu on Monday evening.

As of Thursday afternoon, the death toll stood at 26, with at least 131 others still unaccounted for. Of the survivors, another 6,000 have lost their homes, with aerial images during the week showing residents stranded on roofs, possessions in hand.

Inthirath said the Laos government had formed a special task force with various companies involved in the dam's construction, among other parties, "to seek a cause for the dam incident."

Worst disaster in decades

With the rescue effort ongoing, Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith said it was the worst disaster faced by the small Southeast Asian country in decades.

"The strong tide of water from the broken dam immediately flowed through the community and washed away houses and villagers; many people were unable to move to the highland," Sisoulith said at a news conference Wednesday after visiting the affected areas.

The damage wasn't just limited to Laos. On Thursday, the Cambodian government announced it was attempting to evacuate 25,000 people from their northern border with Laos as floodwaters washed into the country.

Water was rising to 12 meters in places in Stung Treng province, across the border from Laos, on Thursday, according to Cambodia's state news agency.

The dam was built on a tributary of the Mekong River, the longest river in Southeast Asia. The Mekong, which runs from the Tibetan Plateau through China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, is an important regional resource, providing fish stocks and electricity -- in the form of hydropower -- to the people who live along it.

Construction on the dam began in February 2013 and was due to cost an estimated $1.02 billion. Four companies were in charge of the venture: Ratchaburi, Korea Western Power Co. Ltd., SK Engineering & Construction Co. Ltd and Lao Holding State Enterprise, a state-owned firm, according to a website that appears to belong to the consortium building the dam.

The flooding in southern Laos was expected to cause water levels to rise downstream, according to the Mekong River Commission, the joint Lao-Cambodian-Vietnamese organization that manages the shared resources of the Mekong.

Lao authorities criticized

International Rivers, a US-based nongovernmental organization that has campaigned on behalf of residents who have opposed the dam's construction, laid the blame with the Laos authorities for not providing more oversight of the construction process.

"Many dams in operation or planned are not designed to be able to cope with extreme weather events," the group said in a statement.

"Communities were not given sufficient advanced warning to ensure their safety and that of their families. This event raises major questions about dam standards and dam safety in Laos, including their appropriateness to deal with weather conditions and risks."

Daovong Phonkeo, director-general of Laos' Department of Energy Policy and Planning, told CNN earlier in the week there would be an inquiry into whether the private companies building the dam had abided by regulations.

The collapsed dam isn't the only one being built in the Mekong Delta. Two of Attapeu province's most important industries are hydropower energy and electricity generation, according to the Laotian government.

But critics of the project said dams have an outsized impact on the environment and local ecosystems.
A Missouri newspaper is apologizing after publishing a syndicated editorial cartoon regarding the duck boat tragedy at Table Rock Lake.

'The Missourian' issued an apology Friday morning after an image showing a hearse with "Ride the Ducks" on the side of it in water was published in Wednesday's paper.

"The cartoon alone is viewed as insensitive by many people. When accompanied with the text of the artist, it shows the intent was to bring awareness to unsafe touring vehicles," read a portion of paper's apology.

The artist of the cartoon, Tom Stiglich, posted the image on his Facebook page July 22 with the text: "Another duck boat tragedy. How many more people need to die before they ban these floating death traps?"

The caption was not included with the photo in The Missourian.

"It's pure sickness. It's tasteless and not appropriate and didn't need to be put in the paper," said Amanda Loudi.

Loudi was shocked when she saw the cartoon in Wednesday's paper. Her family was at Table Rock Lake the day of the tragic duck boat accident and were planning to ride the duck boat that day.

"Something came over me and I decided this is not a good idea, we brought our own boat and we decided to do that instead of pay money to ride a boat and we're glad we made that decision," said Loudi.

In its apology, 'The Missourian' wrote that Stiglich, a cartoonist in Philadelphia, released a statement in response to the backlash:

I drew the Duck Boat cartoon with the intention of trying to save others from the horrific grief Tia Coleman must be enduring. She is, without a doubt, in my thoughts and prayers.

In Philadelphia (my hometown), two tourists were killed when a duck boat was hit by a barge in 2010. In 2015, five people were killed and 69 others were injured when a duck boat collided with a bus carrying a group of students in Seattle. Just one year later, there were three separate crashes. One took place in Philadelphia, while two happened in Boston, prompting officials to increase safety regulations. I feel not enough is being done.

It's not a fun, humorous topic, and in no way was I trying to make light of this horrible tragedy.

The image also ran in The Dyersburg State Gazette in Tennessee. According to WMC, the cartoon was published in Tuesday's edition of the paper and was pulled from a service. The paper's general manager later issued an apology for running the cartoon.

Below is the complete apology from 'The Missourian':

The Missourian apologizes for publishing a syndicated editorial cartoon on the duck boat tragedy.

The cartoon alone is viewed as insensitive by many people. When accompanied with the text of the artist, it shows the intent was to bring awareness to unsafe touring vehicles.

The cartoon should not have run in the paper.

Not all editorial cartoons are meant to be humorous. In this case, it was meant to be informative of the dangers of the boats as stated by the artist.

Cartoonist Tom Stiglich in Philadelphia released this statement Thursday night in response to the backlash:

I drew the Duck Boat cartoon with the intention of trying to save others from the horrific grief Tia Coleman must be enduring. She is, without a doubt, in my thoughts and prayers.

In Philadelphia (my hometown), two tourists were killed when a duck boat was hit by a barge in 2010. In 2015, five people were killed and 69 others were injured when a duck boat collided with a bus carrying a group of students in Seattle. Just one year later, there were three separate crashes. One took place in Philadelphia, while two happened in Boston, prompting officials to increase safety regulations. I feel not enough is being done.

It's not a fun, humorous topic, and in no way was I trying to make light of this horrible tragedy.
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro was in Wyoming County Friday, commending officials in the region for their work to combat the opioid crisis, specifically, their help is passing a new law.

The attorney general thanked State Senator Lisa Baker and Wyoming County Coroner Tom Kukuchka for their efforts in getting Act 69 passed.

The new law pertains to the prescription opioid medications left behind when someone in hospice care dies. Instead of family members disposing of the medications, it will now be the responsibility of health care workers.

Officials in Wyoming County are pleased with a new law that they believe brings Pennsylvania one step closer to defeating the opioid crisis.

"One, it's going to reduce the access to the medications. Second, it's going to reduce the addictions," said Michael Donahue, Wyoming County Human Services.

Act 69 was sponsored by Senator Lisa Baker and spearheaded by Wyoming County Coroner Tom Kukuchka. It allows home health care or hospice workers to dispose of opioid prescription drugs left behind following the death of patients.

Previously, it was illegal for health care providers to dispose of the meds. Officials say in some cases, families did not dispose of the medications and that contributed to the opioid problems in the area.

"What a big problem it was," Donahue said. "That's a lot of people, a lot of medications that are going to be out of the mainstream and off the streets."

Kukuchka said this new law is a major step getting opioid prescription drugs off the streets at the ground level.

"This way, when the caregiver leaves, the family signs off that they took the drugs and so it's back in the lap of the people that are dispensing them."

Hospice workers say this is something they have been waiting for.

"It takes the burden off families. The nurses then can destroy them and there's no risk and as the attorney general referred to, it's going to save lives and that's a wonderful thing," said Diane Baldi, Hospice of the Sacred Heart.

Officials tell Newswatch 16 this bill started as an idea from the Wyoming County coroner and became a law within six months, which is a relatively short time for legislation. Officials in Wyoming County say they are proud of it and hope it saves lives in Pennsylvania.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Watching a loved one struggle with a disease that they can't control. Its hard to imagine. But, that's the reality for a Terre Haute woman. Now, shes found a way to incorporate a walk-a-thon to not only benefit her family, but several others who need help.

The bond between a mother and a daughter, as they flip through years of photo albums, they reminisce on a much simpler time. All of the smiles through the years, wouldn't prepare Amy Hutson for the challenge ahead.

Hutson said, Ii was the one bawling, she's incredible. Two years ago, Amy Hutson's mother, Chris Roy, was diagnosed with ALS. A disease that affects nerve cells in your brain and spinal cord.

"You don't want to accept the diagnosis, said Roy.

A devastating disease with no cure or treatment. But for Roy, she said, its all about living in the moment and not letting it get to you. "If you don't have a positive attitude, you're not going to get any stronger."

Huston wanted to find a way to give back to the woman, who has been there for her, her entire life. "You've been strong for me for so long, and I want to give that back."

That's when Huston came up with the idea. Fight 4 my Mom ALS Walk-a-Thon. "All proceeds are being donated to the ALS Association Indiana Chapter," said Hutson.

It's not just about the money, it's about providing resources and showing families they're not alone.

Hutson added, "She's the reason I started it. She told me she wants to leave feeling hopeful. She wants to have fun, and we can make this fun."

For this family, it's all about hope.

Hutson told her mother, "Who wouldn't want to fight for her? She's amazing. She's so strong, Roy added, "And you're a wonderful daughter."

Fighting 4 her mom each step, or walk of the way.

Mark your calendars for August 4th. The Fight 4 my Mom ALS Walk-a-Thon will be at Indiana State Universities Memorial Stadium.

Registration is going on right now. For a complete list of event details, including prices and race day times click here.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI)- Hundreds attended the statewide opioid summit on Wednesday. In attendance was Doctor Jennifer Hutchens. She is the Acting Chief of Addiction Services at Hamilton Center.

Dr. Hutchens said she wished to learn more on how to improve the Wabash Valley.

"I think it was a good start, you know it's a great start in giving individuals information as to where their counties need to go," said Dr. Hutchens.

In the state of Indiana, there are currently eighteen centers that provide medication-assisted treatment, one of those being in Terre Haute.

The message many health care providers want to be heard is there is more that needs to be done than treating with methadone.

Secretary for the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration Dr. Jennifer Walthall says the first step is doing so is working closely with the community.

"This is not a one-way conversation, it's bi-directional. We learn from each other and we take that relationship and knowledge back to our community and that's where solutions happen," said Dr. Walthall.

Thats why Hamilton Center helps with various programs like relapse prevention and re-entry classes for those in jail.

They are also working alongside Vigo County Community Corrections. With the help from Hamilton Center, they will provide special treatment for those in need of recovery.

"its going to be a ninety-day program. Its going to be very intense treatment. So they have a better chance of making it in recovery and turning their life around when they are released from that program," said Hutchens.

The opioid epidemic will be brought up again at another event in Indianapolis. That one will be the Indiana Health and Wellness Summit. That will be in September
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - A business owner told News 10 she's excited to be coming to Terre Haute's Honey Creek Mall.

On Friday, Shewey's announced it would be opening its newest location at the mall.

The business allows customers to buy and then hand paint sculptures.

Owners say it appeals to all audiences...young and old.

She told us the interactive experience is the type of business that can truly flourish in today's economy.

They hope to be open in October.
REDDING, Calif. (AP)  A wildfire that roared with little warning into a Northern California city claimed two lives as thousands of people scrambled to escape before the walls of flames descended from forested hills onto their neighborhoods, officials said Friday.

Residents who gathered their belongings in haste described a chaotic and congested getaway as the embers blew up to a mile ahead of flames and the fire leaped across the wide Sacramento River and torched subdivisions in Redding, a city of 92,000 about 100 miles south of the Oregon border.

Ive never experienced something so terrifying in my life, said Liz Williams, who loaded up two kids in her car and then found herself locked in bumper-to-bumper traffic with neighbors trying to retreat from Lake Redding Estates. She eventually jumped the curb onto the sidewalk and booked it.

I didnt know if the fire was just going to jump out behind a bush and grab me and suck me in, Williams said. I wanted out of here.

The blaze leveled at least 125 homes, leaving neighborhoods smoldering and 37,000 people under evacuation orders. Redding police chief Roger Moore was among those who lost their homes, the Los Angeles Times reports.

A firefighter walks past a home destroyed by the Carr Fire on Sunriver Lane in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

The flames moved so fast that firefighters working in oven-like temperatures and bone-dry conditions had to drop efforts to battle the blaze at one point to help people escape.

The fire, which created at least two flaming tornados that toppled trees, shook firefighting equipment and busted truck windows, took down everything in its path, said Scott McLean, a spokesman for Cal Fire, the state agency responsible for fighting wildfires.

Fire officials warned that the blaze would probably burn deeper into urban areas before there was any hope of containing it, though it either changed direction or was stopped before it could burn into the core of the city.

The fire was likely to regain strength later in the day when temperatures were forecast to spike around 110 degrees (43 Celsius) and winds were expected to kick up.

Redding sits at the northern end of the agricultural Central Valley, surrounded by a scenic landscape. Rivers channel abundant winter rainfall into massive reservoirs used for boating and fishing. The areas stunning mountains, including snow-capped Mount Shasta, topping 14,000 feet (4,265 meters), are a playground for outdoor enthusiasts.

Lightning and even a lawnmower have sparked devastating fires in the forests that ring the peaks and lakes. The blaze that broke out Monday was caused by a mechanical issue involving a vehicle, officials said.

The fire rapidly expanded Thursday when erratic flames swept through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and nearby Keswick, then cast the Sacramento River in an orange glow as they jumped the banks into Redding.

Steve Hobson, a former firefighter, said flames on the distant hillside looked like solar flares on the sun.

He had planned to stay behind to save his house on Lake Redding Drive. But the heat burned his skin, and smoke made it hard to breathe. He could feel the fire sucking the air from around him, whipping up swirling embers in a fire tornado, he said.

He had to drive through walls of flaming embers on both sides of the street when he finally fled. A tree fell right in front of him.

I didnt know if Id make it so I just got in the middle of the street, went down the middle of the street through the embers and the smoke and made it past, Hobson said.

When he returned Friday, his fence had burned along with a backyard shed and everything inside it  Christmas ornaments, china and old televisions. But his house made it through the harrowing night.

Others homes in the haphazard path of destruction were not so lucky. Where some houses stood unscathed, single walls or chimneys were all that remained of others. Burned-out skeletons of pickup trucks and VW beetles sat on tireless rims in the ash.

A Volkswagen Beetle scorched by a wildfire called the Carr Fire rests at a residence in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

An Associated Press survey found 66 homes destroyed in Hobsons neighborhood and another 60 gone in Keswick Lake Estates. About 5,000 other buildings were threatened, fire officials said.

Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke was killed in the blaze, though no details were offered on what happened to him. Another firefighter hired to try to contain the flames with a bulldozer was killed Thursday, authorities said.

Fire crews in Redding for a time abandoned any hope of containing the flames and instead focused on saving lives.

Were not fighting a fire, said Jonathan Cox, battalion chief with Cal Fire. Were trying to move people out of the path of it because it is now deadly, and it is now moving at speeds and in ways we have not seen before in this area.

Late Thursday, crews found the body of the bulldozer operator who had been hired privately to clear vegetation in the blazes path. He was the second bulldozer operator killed in a California blaze in less than two weeks.

Elsewhere in the state, large fires continued to burn outside Yosemite National Park and in the San Jacinto Mountains east of Los Angeles near Palm Springs.

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Melley reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers Noah Berger in Redding; Olga Rodriguez, Janie Har and Lorin Eleni Gill in San Francisco; Don Thompson in Sacramento; John Antczak in Los Angeles; and Alina Hartounian in Phoenix also contributed to this report.
TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - Two local children spent Friday quenching your thirst for a great cause.

Meet 11-year-old Aubree Stephens and four (and a half) year-old Nora Cross.

These two young ladies are learning at a very young age what it's like to give back to your community.

The duo set up a lemonade stand outside of the Advantage Plus of Indiana Federal Credit Union.

All of the money from Friday's sales will go to the Terre Haute Police Department K-9 Unit.

The girls say it feels good to give back.

"Just to see the smiles on the faces of people to come in you know...because there's a lemonade stand there...and a popcorn machine stand," the girls said.

They had a personal goal to raise $130, but they ended up making $356.

The credit union matched each dollar, bringing the grand total to $712.
NEW YORK (AP) - A huge lake of salty water appears to be buried deep in Mars, raising the possibility of finding life on the red planet, scientists reported Wednesday.

The discovery, based on observations by a European spacecraft, generated excitement from experts. Water is essential to life as we know it, and scientists have long sought to prove that the liquid is present on Mars.

"If these researchers are right, this is the first time we've found evidence of a large water body on Mars," said Cassie Stuurman, a geophysicist at the University of Texas who found signs of an enormous Martian ice deposit in 2016.

Scott Hubbard, a professor of astronautics at Stanford University who served as NASA's first Mars program director in 2000, called it "tremendously exciting."

"Our mantra back then was 'follow the water.' That was the one phrase that captured everything," Hubbard said. "So this discovery, if it stands, is just thrilling because it's the culmination of that philosophy."

The study, published in the journal Science, does not determine how deep the reservoir actually is. This means that scientists can't specify whether it's an underground pool, an aquifer-like body, or just a layer of sludge.

To find the water, Italian researchers analyzed radar signals collected over three years by the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft. Their results suggest that a 12-mile-wide (20 kilometers) reservoir lies below ice about a mile (1.5 kilometers) thick in an area close to the planet's south pole.

They spent at least two years examining the data to make sure they'd detected water, not ice or another substance.

"I really have no other explanation," said astrophysicist Roberto Orosei of Italy's National Institute of Astrophysics in Bologna and lead author of the study.

Mars is very cold, but the water might have been kept from freezing by dissolved salts. It's the same as when you put salt on a road, said Kirsten Siebach, a planetary geologist at Rice University who wasn't part of the study.

"This water would be extremely cold, right at the point where it's about to freeze. And it would be salty. Those are not ideal conditions for life to form," Siebach said.

Still, she said, there are microbes on Earth that have been able to adapt to environments like that.

Orosei said, "It's tempting to think that this is the first candidate place where life could persist" on Mars.

He suspects Mars may contain other hidden bodies of water, waiting to be discovered.

Our planetary neighbor has been a popular target for exploration, with rovers on its surface and other probes examining the planet from orbit. In May, NASA launched another spacecraft, the InSight Mars lander, that will dig under the surface after it reaches a flat plain just north of the Martian equator in November.

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Follow Emiliano Rodriguez Mega on Twitter: @mapache_rm

___

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.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
1. Blockbuster profits: The trade war has cast a shadow over parts of Corporate America, but it is bringing a bit of good fortune to the steel industry.

President Donald Trump's metal tariffs have sent steel prices surging and sparked blockbuster profits for steel manufacturers.

Reliance Steel & Aluminum hauled in record sales, thanks to an 18% spike in prices. Nucor recorded the best second quarter in its history. Its profit more than doubled.

"All in all, we're very happy with tariffs," Nucor CEO John Ferriola told analysts earlier this month.

Those words haven't been uttered by many other corporate bosses, who are grappling with sticker shock.

Tariffs levied by the United States and major trading partners are eating into the profits of Harley-Davidson, General Motors, General Electric, 3M and hundreds of other companies. CEOs are scrambling to raise prices and reshuffle their supply chains.

Unsurprisingly, steel companies are feasting on a price spike from Trump's 25% steel tariff. The benchmark price of US-made steel has zoomed 41% higher since the start of the year to $917 per short ton, according to S&P Global Platts.

Related: Corporate America is caught in the crossfire of trade war

Tariffs aren't the only factor. Steel demand is strong in an economy that just clocked its fastest growth since 2014.

Following the booming profits from Nucor and Reliance, US Steel and AK Steel are scheduled to report results this week.

Both steel makers are expected to reveal a jump in revenue, though not by as much as their rivals. That's because US Steel and AK Steel are locked into annual contracts that have fixed pricing. Those contracts expire later this year, potentially allowing them to capitalize on the price hikes.

Nucor is seizing on the momentum to plow $1 billion back into its business, a huge increase that will mostly go toward expansion.

"What will happen to our great country if we continue to operate with a massive trade imbalance?" Ferriola asked. "We agree with the administration's efforts to address this issue."

Of course, steel customers are less than thrilled.

Material costs have risen by as much as 50% at FJM Ferro, a Brooklyn company that fabricates steel used in Manhattan skyscrapers.

Steel companies may have record profits, but it does hurt the mom-and-pop shops," said Joe Casucci, FJM Ferro's founder and CEO.

Even large companies are getting squeezed. GM slashed its profit outlook last week, warning of a $300 million jump in commodity costs linked to higher steel and aluminum costs.

"You have to be careful with tariffs because there's always a cost," said Philip Gibbs, a steel analyst at KeyBanc Capital Markets.

He pointed out that spiking US steel prices threaten to make American businesses less competitive. Some companies may eventually try to find other ways to get steel into the country.

"It feels good in the short run as prices go up," Gibbs said. "But then all the customers complain."

Related: How the US economy is doing now in four charts

2. Jobs report: Economists are expecting another solid month of gains when the Labor Department reports Friday on job growth for July.

The US economy has cranked into high gear, growing at the fastest pace in almost four years, and unemployment is 4%, near the lowest in a half-century.

Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect 195,000 jobs were created in July, roughly in line with the average for this year.

3. Fed watch: The Federal Reserve is not expected to raise interest rates when it meets on Tuesday and Wednesday. But investors will be watching the Fed's statement closely for its read on the economy and clues about interest rates.

The Fed has signaled that it plans two more rate hikes this year and three in 2019.

4. Critical moment: This may be the most closely watched earnings report in Tesla's history.

The electric car maker reports results on Wednesday. Tesla just hit an important target for production of the Model 3, its most accessibly priced car. But Tesla is trying to stop mounting losses, and Elon Musk keeps making headlines with bizarre tweets.

5. Apple earnings: Apple will release is quarterly results on Tuesday, and a strong report could push the most valuable company in America to a milestone  a $1 trillion market cap.

Analysts may question Apple executives on whether the trade war its hurting the bottom line. And Apple fans will be hunting for hints about the next iPhone.

6. Coming this week:

Monday  Caterpillar earnings

Tuesday  Eurozone second-quarter GDP; Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Apple earnings

Wednesday  Fed statement; Humana, Sprint, Tesla earnings

Thursday  Bank of England meets; Berkshire Hathaway, Yum Brands, Aetna earnings

Friday  US jobs report; Kraft Heinz, Toyota earnings
Scientists are proposing the radical evolutionary step of genetically engineering the white-footed mice of Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket to rid the islands of Lyme disease.

The nasty bacterial infection can cause fevers, fatigue, and rashes -- reason enough to want it eradicated. But left undetected, Lyme disease can spread to the joints, heart and nervous system. As many as 300,000 people contract the illness each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Folks living on the idyllic summer getaways off the coast of Massachusetts are especially eager to be rid of the scourge, because as many as 40% of the people living on Nantucket have been infected with Lyme disease at some point, according to the local health department.

"On the West Coast, when it comes to natural disasters, they have earthquakes. The heartland has tornadoes. The South has hurricanes. Here in the Northeast, our natural disaster is Lyme disease," said Kevin Esvelt, who specializes in a field called evolutionary and ecological engineering at MIT Media Lab.

Everyone associates deer with Lyme disease, but the chain of transmission starts when an adolescent tick bites a white-footed mouse carrying the Lyme bacteria. Eliminate Lyme from mice and you've gone a long way toward solving the problem.

Enter Mice Against Ticks, Esvelt's campaign to do just that by tinkering with the animals' genetic code. "We want to heritably immunize the local white-footed mice," Esvelt said. "The idea is fewer infected ticks means fewer infected kids."

Some mice develop an immunity to Lyme naturally, much like your body gains immunity when you catch a cold. But that immunity isn't passed along to offspring without some help from science.

That's where Duane Wesemann, an immunologist at Harvard's Brigham and Women's Hospital, comes in. Once he's isolated the genetic code for Lyme immunity, Wesemann can edit it into the genome of many more mice. Those mice will pass the immunity on to their offspring. Raise a few hundred thousand of these mice, release them into the wild, wait a few generations, and, in theory, no more mice with Lyme. "These mice would be expected to be resistant to Lyme for decades, and that will lead to less ticks infected, which will lead to less humans infected," he said.

At this point, all of this is theoretical. Although Wesemann is working on isolating Lyme antibodies in wild mice, releasing lab-modified mice remains years away.

Oh, and no one's ever turned a genetically-modified mammal loose in the wild before. Doing that will require more than time. It will require a vote. A majority of residents of the two islands must approve the plan.

Jason Bridges, a parent who owns Handlebar Cafe on Nantucket, is open to the idea. Ticks and the diseases they carry are an acceptable risk for now, he says, but "if it were to get worse, I'd say we're kinda done for."

Not everyone thinks meddling with nature is the best idea. "My worst fear is that we're gonna make a modification that effects a whole chain of reaction in this environment," said Danika Conners, an herbalist and vocal critic of Mice Against Ticks. "No matter how much they test this, we do not know how this is gonna affect the environment five years from now, 10 years from now, 15 years now, 20 years from now."

Esvelt is sympathetic to such concerns, but he takes exception to any argument that he's playing God. "I can't see how a benevolent god would want us to let our children suffer and perish from diseases that we could prevent," he said.

Still, he's eager to have that conversation, and consider everyone's perspective. "I firmly believe that this kind of community decision-making is the only ethical way forward," he said.

Esvelt and Wesemann plan to test their idea by releasing about 1,000 genetically modified mice on an uninhabited private island and, well, seeing what happens. Wesemann likened it to NASA preparing for a mission. "They're going to send something in space, and then they're not going to be able to retrieve that again," he said. "All the preparation and all the modeling has to occur beforehand."

Still, there's no way of anticipating every possible outcome. But Esvelt believes the benefits outweigh any risk. "There's always a cost to doing nothing, and we need technology not just to keep the world running, but also to make it better," he said.

Even if the residents of the two islands approve the project, it still has to clear federal scrutiny from the Environmental Protection Agency and perhaps the Food and Drug Administration. All of which is to say it could be at least eight years before the first genetically modified mouse scurries through the seagrass.
OKOLONA, Miss. (WTVA) - Okolona police are searching for a shooting suspect after shots were fired near a woman's car while she was inside the vehicle.

The police chief says the shooting happened Saturday morning near the National Guard Armory.

The woman tells WTVA she was about to drive home after a community cleanup event when she saw a male subject standing beside the car in front of hers. She says he was shooting at other vehicles. She says the male then made eye contact with her and drove away.

The eyewitness then adds, the suspect rolled down his window and fired random shots through the neighborhood.

She tells WTVA she was frightened and called her father who advised her to go to the safest place. The woman, who's a teacher, says she went to Okolona Elementary School.

Assistant Police Chief Jermandy Jackson says a vehicle similar to the one described in the teacher's encounter has possibly been spotted.

Police are continuing to investigate. If you have any information regarding this case, you are asked to contact the Okolona Police Department.
PRENTISS COUNTY, Miss. (WTVA) - An Alcorn County man was charged with enticement of a child to meet for sexual purposes by law enforcement in Prentiss County on Friday.

According to a post on the Prentiss County Sheriff's Department's Facebook page, a bond was set at $5,000 for Cory Nicholas Fourthman, 25, of Corinth.

The case will be presented to the next Prentiss County Grand Jury by Investigator Torie Jumper.

Jumper and Investigator Brian Taylor worked the case with assistance from the Mississippi Attorney General's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force according to the Facebook post.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-27 22:07:57|Editor: xuxin

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ULAN BATOR, July 27 (Xinhua) -- The burden of hepatitis in the Western Pacific region is heavy, a regional director of the World Health Organization (WHO) said here Friday, calling for strengthening the testing and treatment of the disease in the region.

"Two in every five people living with hepatitis B and C in the world are in this region, many of whom will eventually die from liver cancer and cirrhosis," Shin Young-soo, WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, said during an event held here to mark World Hepatitis Day.

Viral hepatitis B and C affect 325 million people in the world, Shin also said, adding that of those, only one in ten has been tested, and only one in five has received appropriate treatment.

He called on countries to increase hepatitis testing and treatment in a bid to eliminate viral hepatitis by 2030.

Viral hepatitis slowly and silently degrades a person's health, leading to liver cancer and cirrhosis, which result in 1.3 million deaths every year, he said.

"There are new medicines that can cure hepatitis C in three months or less. Now, testing and treatment are important to eliminate hepatitis and save lives," the regional director said.

The event is organized by the WHO in cooperation with the Mongolian government to mark World Hepatitis Day.

World Hepatitis Day is observed on July 28 every year with an aim to raise awareness of viral hepatitis. The day is an opportunity to highlight one of the world's most pressing public health issues.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 01:53:57|Editor: huaxia

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MADRID, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Sporting Club de Portugal confirmed on Friday that they have officially complained to FIFA over Atletico Madrid's signing of winger Gelson Martins.

The Spanish club confirmed on Wednesday that they had signed the 23-year-old Portugal international on a six-year deal and that he had arrived at the club as a free agent.

However, Sporting claim that Atletico owe them up to 100 million euros for the player.

"Given the unacceptable behaviour of Atletico Madrid in the case of Gelson Batalla Martins... the board of directors at Sporting Club de Portugal... have decided unanimously to submit a complaint to FIFA to request compensation from the player and the club and the application of sporting sanctions for both," reads the statement on the Sporting website.

The disagreement comes over the request made my Martins and six other players at the club for their contracts to be terminated after they were attacked at the Sporting training ground by around 50 of the club's 'ultra' supporters in May.

Shortly after the attack, Atletico moved to sign Martins, offering up to 32 million euros before his contract was finally rescinded in June, however, Sporting claim that before the contract was terminated the player's buyout clause had risen to 100 million euros. Enditem
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 04:04:27|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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KINSHASA, July 27 (Xinhua) -- At least five people died on Friday morning after an Antonov aircraft crashed in central Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), according to local authorities on the spot.

The plane, belonging to Air Kasai, was flying from the city of Tshikapa in Kasai province to the border areas with Angola.

According to the assistant administrator of Tshikapa territory, Anacletus Muswa Kapinga Safia, the plane crashed 3 kilometers from Kamako, Kasai, and caught fire.

This crash is the second in a month in Tshikapa after that of a small PAM carrier, which caused a few casualties.

The province of Kasai with the capital Tshikapa is one of five provinces that make up the Grand-Kasai area, which was shaken last year by armed conflict between the militia Kamuina Nsapu and government forces.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 04:49:42|Editor: Chengcheng

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QUNEITRA, Syria, July 27 (Xinhua) -- For the people of Quneitra city in southern Syria, returning to their homes brings indescribable happiness that almost left them speechless.

Scores of people gathered on Friday at the Tahrir Square in the old part of Quneitra city, holding the Syrian flags and chanting for the Syrian army and President Bashar al-Assad.

The crowds included people who have just returned home after Quneitra was declared liberated from the rebels, who accepted a deal to evacuate toward rebel-held areas in northern Syria.

Yaser Karim, a man who had been forced out of Quneitra for seven years, told Xinhua that he misses his home and is happy to have returned.

"I left the city seven years ago, and my feelings today are indescribable. It's the feeling of succeeding in coming back to my land," he said.

The Syrian man described the day he returned home as a new chapter of his life.

"We are opening a new page to restore the country to what it used to be and for the displaced people to return home. Today is the beginning of a new life," Karim said.

Meanwhile, Tamer Haj Ahmad, another man from the city, said the last seven years were the toughest in his life.

"Life was so difficult but now with the return of people to their homes, we are extremely happy and we hope that all other areas get liberated to make other people feel the same happiness," Ahmad said.

Muhammad Dahouk from Quneitra also expressed his happiness for returning home for the first time in nearly eight years.

"It's been nearly eight years since I left here ... we have hoisted the Syrian flag and this is an indescribable happiness for us," he said.

Located near the Israel-occupied Golan Heights, Quneitra has almost fully returned to the government's control after a deal was reached with the rebels for their departure from the province.

The deal over Quneitra came in the light of the recent summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, who met last week in Finland's capital Helsinki, where they discussed the situation in Syria, mainly in the southern region near the Golan Heights.

Putin highlighted the need to defeat terrorists in southwestern Syria while keeping the forces of Syria and Israel separated.

He referred specifically to the treaty of 1974, which officially ended the 1973 Arab-Israeli war and designated the lines of separation between Israel and Syria.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 05:39:51|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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DUBAI, July 27 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) top diplomat on Friday dismissed Qatar's demand for a Washington summit on the current Gulf crisis as "wishful thinking."

Earlier this week, Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani paid a two-day visit to Britain, where he asked for a U.S.-sponsored summit to solve the Gulf crisis that erupted in June 2017.

"Through my conversation with some observers, it appears the visit of the Qatari emir to Britain is dim ... Tamim looked weak in his attitude toward the Iranian issue and pessimistic about the crisis of his country," said UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash on his Twitter account.

By demanding a summit in Washington, Qatar tried to convince its citizens of an upcoming breakthrough in the crisis, he added.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt have severed ties with Qatar economically by imposing a trade, land and air traffic embargo since June 2017.

The Arab quartet accuse Qatar of supporting terrorism and aligning with non-Arab Gulf state Iran against pan-Arab interests.

As allies of both Qatar and the Arab quartet, Britain and the U.S. have offered to mediate between the disputing parties in an attempt to end the Gulf crisis.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 07:20:10|Editor: ZD

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NAIROBI, July 27 (Xinhua) -- The second edition of Chinese singing competition was held on Friday in Kenya's second largest institution of higher learning, Kenyatta University amid thrilling performance by students.

More than a dozen contestants performed a rich collection of contemporary Chinese music in front of dignitaries including the Counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, Wang Xuezheng.

"The promotion of China-Kenya relations requires us to further enhance the mutual understanding and friendship between our two peoples, and strengthen cultural and people to people bonds," said Wang.

"As a comprehensive and high-level university, Kenyatta University has been doing so a lot in this regard," he added.

Kenyatta University's Confucius Institute that was established in 2008 organized the second version of Chinese singing competition that showcased outstanding grasp of music and dance from the Asian Nation by local students.

"Today's Singing Competition is a good way to allow more people to enjoy the good voices of Kenya and the good voices of China-Kenya friendship and cooperation," said Wang.

Kamau Wango, the Kenyan Director of Kenyatta University's Confucius Institute said it has become a hub for cross-cultural exchanges that are bearing positive results.

"We have been hosting many events to promote Chinese culture to young learners. Majority of them find Chinese music, language and folklore interesting," Wango remarked.

The contestants who performed songs covering diverse themes like patriotism, romance and harmonious co-existence demonstrated high degree of proficiency in vocals, rhythm and tone.

Judges noted that this year's Chinese singing competition had improved remarkably in all aspects.

"The contestants demonstrated a remarkable degree of confidence and ability to connect with the audience. Their vocals were refined and stage presence was captivating too," said Pricilla Gitonga, a music lecturer at Kenyatta University.

Nyambura Githaiga, a female contestant scooped the overall prize totaling 150 U.S. dollars after a thrilling rendition of a Chinese patriotic song called Me and My Country.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 08:01:22|Editor: ZD

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A worker loads confiscated illegal drugs into an incinerator during the destruction of illegal drugs in Cavite Province, the Philippines, July 27, 2018. The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) destroyed chemicals, laboratory equipments, and illegal drugs confiscated during government operations here on Friday. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali)
Syrian children play amid the rubble of destroyed buildings being removed by a bulldozer in Harasta, on the outskirt of the Syrian capital Damascus on July 15, 2018. (Xinhua/AFP PHOTO)

UNITED NATIONS, July 27 (Xinhua) -- UN Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict Virginia Gamba said Friday that the UN have verified more than 7,000 children killed or maimed as a result of the Syria conflict since its start in March 2011.

Briefing the UN Security Council, Gamba said the number was obtained through a verification system called Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism, or MRM, established in Syria only in 2013. She further cited unverified reports as reflecting numbers that go way beyond 20,000 child casualties in the crisis.

The MRM reports on six grave violations against children: recruitment and use, killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence, attacks on hospitals and schools, abductions, and denial of humanitarian access.

Gamba told the Security Council that since the beginning of 2018, the MRM has verified over 1,200 violations against children. These include more than 600 children killed or maimed, more than 180 recruited and used by forces in conflict.

In addition, she said in the same period, more than 60 schools have been attacked while over 100 attacks on hospitals and medical facilities or personnel were verified.

She noted the first quarter of 2018 saw an increase of 25 percent in recruitment and use of children and a jump of 348 percent in killing and maiming compared to the last quarter of 2017.

In terms of sexual violence and abduction, although figures for the beginning of 2018 include few verified cases, cases have been reported across all the years since 2013.

Attacks on schools and medical facilities were one of the persistent features of the conflict in Syria, the UN envoy pointed out. "One in three schools are estimated to be out of use... An estimated 2.1 million children are out of school inside Syria."

In addition, Gamba said a report on children and armed conflict in Syria will be published in the coming months, covering almost five years of the conflict.

She urged the Security Council to put pressure on parties to the Syria conflict to comply with their obligations under international law, so as to ensure children are no longer subject to violations of their rights.
WASHINGTON, July 27 (Xinhua) -- U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis said Friday that his country is considering sending military personnel to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to search for the remains of U.S. soldiers who died in the 1950-1953 Korean War.

Mattis struck a confirmative tone when asked by the media whether he foresees the possibility of sending military personnel to conduct additional search missions in the DPRK.

"That is certainly under consideration. Absolutely," he said.

Earlier on Thursday, the White House said a military aircraft carrying the remains of U.S. soldiers had left the DPRK and was transferring the remains to the U.S. Osan Air Base in South Korea, where a formal repatriation ceremony is scheduled for Aug. 1.

Mattis said the move is a "coordination effort" over the past month.

"Clearly what we have here is something that has been frozen for -- for years now, and so that's warmed up," he said, noting that returning the remains was agreed upon by President Donald Trump and the DPRK's top leader Kim Jong Un at the Singapore summit in June.

"When you have that sort of communication going on, it sets a positive environment, a positive tone for other things, more important things in terms of international diplomacy," he added.

U.S. Vice President Mike Pence said earlier that he would travel to Hawaii to receive the remains.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 11:20:42|Editor: Shi Yinglun

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UNITED NATIONS, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Friday expressed its concern about the "continued insecurity" in the Colombian peace process, while acknowledging the progress already made.

In a press statement, the council said its members are concerned about "continued insecurity, drug trafficking and violence in some conflict-affected areas, including the surge in killings of community and social leaders" in Colombia.

The members noted the mechanisms established to address these challenges and urged the government of Colombia and all responsible security and civilian institutions to redouble their efforts to expand their presence in these areas.

They welcomed the signing of the national pact rejecting violence by President Juan Manuel Santos and President-elect Ivan Duque as well as key state institutions and political parties earlier this month.

The members reiterated the importance of a full political, legal and socio-economic reincorporation of the former Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army (FARC-EP) members.

The security council reaffirmed its commitment to continuously working with Colombia as it implements the peace agreement in order to secure lasting peace in the months and years ahead.

The Colombian government reached a peace agreement in August 2016 with the FARC rebels, once the country's largest guerrilla group, after four years of negotiations.

However, the implementation of the peace deal has been facing challenges from many issues such as politics, security, development and social integration of former fighters.

The Colombian government also resumed earlier peace talks this year with the National Liberation Army, now the only remaining rebel force in the country, after months of suspension.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 11:30:43|Editor: Xiang Bo

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SANAMXAY, Laos, July 28 (Xinhua) -- A medical contingent from the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) has began working on epidemic containment in shelters for victims after a dam burst triggered flash flood in southern Attapeu province, the contingent said late Friday.

The 32-member team has been working in a makeshift shelter set up inside the Sanamxay District Middle School, such as checking drinking water, hygiene and cleanliness of portable toilets, and preventing potential epidemic outbreaks by killing mosquitoes and insects, and disinfection.

The dam that collapsed on Monday is part of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy hydroelectric power project which involves Lao, Thai and South Korean corporations.

Six villages in Sanamxay district of Attapeu were flooded.

There would be cases of enteric infections, insect-borne diseases and food poisoning after a disaster like this, Guo Jinpeng, head of the emergency response team of the disease control and prevention contingent, told Xinhua.

"The work to prevent any outbreak of diseases among victims should begin as soon as possible, or no later than 72 hours after the disaster," he said.

Until late Friday, some 3,000 displaced villagers have been sheltered in the Sanamxay District and the number is still increasing.

The Chinese contingent said there were cases of fever and diarrhea, which implied the possibility of an outbreak so they had to work with local authorities to prevent it and they had already submitted a proposal on disease prevention to the Lao government and Lao army.

The PLA medical contingent included medics specialized in epidemic prevention, pest control and food and drinking water hygiene, who are equipped with a disease control and prevention vehicle capable of sterilization.

The contingent, which was on the "Peace Train-2018" Humanitarian Medical Rescue Joint Training Mission in the Lao capital of Vientiane, was dispatched to the flood-hit area on Wednesday.

Lao authorities said they could only confirm one death and 131 people missing, though the Lao News Agency had reported that 26 people were killed.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 11:35:44|Editor: Xiang Bo

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LILONGWE, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Five Malawian cabinet ministers called for the resignation of the country's vice president, Saulos Chilima, on Friday after he formed an opposition United Transformation Movement (UTM).

By forming an opposition political movement, Chilima had put himself in a political dilemma and had to choose between serving as vice president or resign and serve as a member of the opposition, the ministers argued while addressing local journalists in the capital city of Lilongwe.

He ought to realize that he cannot practice opposition politics within the government he is part of, they said.

The five cabinet ministers who are also top officials in the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) include Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Sameul Tembenu, Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe, and Minister of Information and Communications Technology Nicholas Dausi.

Meanwhile, General Secretary for Chilima's UTM Patricia Kaliati, who has held various ministerial positions in the cabinet, has trashed the resignation calls, saying Chilima is legally mandated to serve as vice president until the end of his term. ( Similar calls were made in 2012 when former Malawian President Joyce Banda formed the People's Party while serving as vice president to then President Bingu wa Mutharika.

Banda did not resign until Mutharika died of cardiac arrest in office on April 5, 2012, making Banda his automatic successor as stipulated by the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 11:35:45|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BEIJING, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The combined revenue of the top-100 Chinese internet companies surged 50.6 percent in 2017, contributing significantly to China's economic growth, a report showed.

Their total revenue stood at 1.72 trillion yuan (about 253 billion U.S. dollars), according to the report jointly unveiled Friday by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology information center and the Internet Society of China.

Profits of those companies rose 82.6 percent year on year to 270.71 billion yuan last year, with 83 of them making a profit and 11 seeing profit margins of more than 40 percent, the report said.

Alibaba and Tencent, the two largest internet companies on the list, accounted for more than a quarter of the total revenue and nearly 60 percent of the profits.

Other big names on the list include Baidu, Jingdong, NetEase, Sina, and Sohu.

The top-100 companies invested 106 billion yuan into research and development in 2017, up 41.1 percent year on year, the report said.

The report on China's top-100 internet companies has been released annually since 2013. Revenue from internet businesses of companies on the list rose from less than 400 billion yuan in 2014 to 1.72 trillion yuan last year.
CANBERRA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government is unlikely to win any additional seats in Saturday's by-elections, leaving it with a tenuous grip on power.

Hundreds of thousands of Australians have headed to the polls to vote in five by-elections on what has been dubbed "Super Saturday."

According to the latest Newspoll, released on Saturday, the opposition Australian Labor Party (ALP) is expected to retain four of the seats, including Longman in Queensland and Braddon and Tasmania - two seats where the governing Liberal National Party (LNP) posed a significant threat.

The poll of more than 2,000 voters in the two marginal electorates found that 51 percent of voters in both seats preferred the ALP over the LNP on a two-party preferred basis.

The news was worse for the LNP in the South Australian seat of Mayo where the Centre Alliance, a minor party which currently holds the seat, led 59-41 over the government.

Retaining all four seats currently held by the party would be a significant boost for ALP leader Bill Shorten with many referring to the by-elections as a referendum on the leadership of Shorten and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

Failing to win a single seat would leave the LNP with a narrow one-seat majority in parliament and only barely hanging on to power.

If the LNP is able to cause an upset it would be the first time an Australian government has won a seat off the opposition at a by-election in 98 years.

Turnbull's biggest hope is in Longman where preferences from the right-wing One Nation Party, which is expected to garner 14 percent of first preferences, could see the government overcome the two-party preferred deficit.

Four of the five by-elections were triggered when the sitting Members of Parliament (MPs) in those seats were forced to resign after it was found that their dual citizenship rendered them ineligible to serve in parliament.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 12:20:51|Editor: Xiang Bo

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LUSAKA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Zambia's governing party has retained the mayoral seat in Lusaka, the country's capital, after Thursday's elections, results released on Friday have shown.

Patriotic Front candidate Miles Sampa was declared winner of the polls in the early hours of Friday with 81,936 votes.

Kangwa Chileshe, candidate for the main opposition United Party for National Development, gained 36,754 votes.

Altogether eight candidates contested in the elections.

The new mayor is to succeed late Wilson Kalumba who died in May.

Sampa served as a lawmaker for a constituency in Lusaka from 2011 to 2016, during which he was also appointed deputy minister of finance and later of commerce, trade and industry.
MEXICO CITY, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto on Friday said he was "optimistic" that a new North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) would be reached by August.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an industry event, the president said his optimism was based on the fact that the three parties to the deal, including Canada and the United States, have all pledged to speed up the negotiations.

Pena Nieto said that even though some clauses pending there were unacceptable, he still believes "there is a frankly very promising horizon."

"What is clear is that today, the three governments have committed to seeking the possibility of speeding up. We will reach an agreement as long as the conditions are favorable for all three countries," he added.

Negotiating teams on Friday wrapped up two days of negotiations in Washington in a bid to reach consensus on issues that have slowed the talks since they began in August of last year.

Mexico's business sector also expressed optimism that the talks were moving in the right direction, after disagreements led to a lull in negotiations in May.

The president of Mexico's Business Coordinating Council, Juan Pablo Castanon, told reporters in a conference call there was a clear interest in reaching an accord by August.

"The atmosphere is good. There is reason to think that we are walking along the right path," he said, adding "the belief is that this window of opportunity would close in August," so "there is a willingness" to speed things up.

Both Mexico and Canada have so far refused to accept U.S. demands for substantial changes to existing rules of origin in the automotive industry, among others.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 13:35:59|Editor: Chengcheng

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COLOMBO, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka is a key component of China's 21st Century Maritime Silk Road with Hambantota Port and Colombo Port City as the two flagship projects of cooperation between China and Sri Lanka under the Belt and Road Initiative, Chinese Ambassador Cheng Xueyuan said.

In a signed article released by the Chinese Embassy in Colombo on Friday, Cheng said the Belt and Road Initiative was a major initiative proposed by the Chinese government and it was aimed at upholding the global free trade system and an open world economy.

He said under the guidance of consensuses reached by leaders from the two countries, China-Sri Lanka economic and trade cooperation will inject new vigor to Sri Lanka's economic and social development, enable development achievements to better benefit its two peoples, and let ordinary people get more sense of gain.

Cheng further said that in November, China will hold its first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, which is the world's first import-themed expo and a major measure of China to further open its market to the world.

He said Sri Lanka attaches great importance to this event and will send a high-level delegation to China.

"Sri Lanka's black tea, rubber, gems textiles and other featured products will come to Shanghai, exhibiting the charm of Sri Lanka to the huge Chinese market. We believe that China-Sri Lanka traditional friendship will continue to deepen on this new platform," the ambassador said.
MANILA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- A search was underway for 15 prisoners who escaped from police jail in Cavite province south of Manila, police said on Saturday.

Cavite Provincial Police Director Supt. William Segun said that eight of the 23 escapees have been recaptured and returned to the Bacoor City Custodial Center.

The 23 inmates, detained for illegal drug-related charges, escaped on Friday from a jail in Bacoor City while a jail guard was taking a mug shot of a new prisoner.

Segun said the detainees saw an opportunity to escape when the jail guard opened the cell. "They took advantage of it," he said, adding that the prisoners rushed out of the opened cell gate.

Segun said several checkpoints have been set up in the province to recapture the convicts. Already, he said villages in the province and nearby provinces have been alerted.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 14:01:03|Editor: Xiang Bo

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BEIJING, July 28 (Xinhua) -- A report on the quality of China's compulsory education, which covers primary and junior middle schools, said the students' abilities in music and art appreciation need to be improved.

While praising the sound academic performances among the students, the report, released by the National Assessment Center for Education Quality under the Ministry of Education, found that the students were weaker in basic music and aesthetic understanding and appreciation.

The report was based on monitoring conducted by the center between 2015 and 2017, which assessed 572,314 fourth-grade and eighth-grade students in 973 county-level regions across China. It also surveyed 19,346 primary and secondary school headmasters and 147,610 teachers.

Most of the students -- 82.6 percent in fourth grade and 86.1 percent in eighth grade -- were able to sing songs in full fluently, it said.

However, when it came to the discerning of the rhythm, tempo, and timbre of music, only about half of the students gave the right answers.

Only 60 percent of the students could correctly recognize the genres, forms, and emotional elements of the music.

Those who can accurately identify the colors, lines, symmetries and spatial elements of artworks only accounted for about 60 percent of the students assessed.
NEW DELHI, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi returned home Saturday morning after wrapping up his five-day Africa tour, during which he attended the BRICS summit in South Africa.

"Gratitude to President @CyrilRamaphosa and the people of South Africa for the excellent organisation of the BRICS Summit. The deliberations in the Summit were fruitful. I also got the opportunity to interact with other world leaders and discuss bilateral relations," he tweeted.

Modi's first stop was Rwanda, where he held talks with the country's President Paul Kagame. He also witnessed the inking of several pacts between the two countries and interacted with the Indian community in capital Kigali.

His two-day Rwanda visit was the first-ever by an Indian prime minister.

From Rwanda, the Indian premier flew to Uganda. Apart from holding talks with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni in the capital Kampala, Modi addressed the country's Parliament.

His last stop was South Africa, where he attended the BRICS summit and interacted with several world leaders on the sidelines.

At the summit, Modi stressed on the need for BRICS cooperation for global portable social security framework intended to benefit nearly 215 million people who were working outside their nations, according to the Indian External Affairs Ministry. Enditem
KABUL, July 28 (Xinhua) -- At least nine militants were killed and 13 others wounded in two northern Afghan provinces, authorities said Saturday.

Five Taliban militants were killed and seven others wounded after Afghan army launched artillery firing against Taliban hideouts in Imam Tarakai village of Chimtal district of Balkh province on Friday, Hanif Rezai, spokesman of army Corps 209 Shaheen based in the region, told Xinhua.

On the same day, four Taliban militants were killed and six others wounded in an army cleanup operation in Dasht-i-Qala district of neighboring Takhar province, he added.

Fighting has escalated in Afghanistan as the Taliban insurgency spreads from its traditional strongholds in the south and east to the once peaceful region in the north, where Taliban have been recruiting from among the youth.

The Taliban has yet to respond to the report.
NEW DELHI, July 28 (Xinhua) -- A dreaded left-wing Naxalite rebel has surrendered to police in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, a senior official said Saturday.

"The Naxalite who carried a reward of 300,000 rupees (4,200 U.S. dollars) on his head has given up his arms before the police chief of Kondagaon. He was wanted in 22 cases," he said.

Chhattisgarh is often hit by Naxalite violence, but it also has a policy to rehabilitate surrendered rebels.

The left-win insurgency began in the eastern state of West Bengal in late 1960s, spreading to more than one-third of India's administrative districts.

Though major offensives by security forces in recent years have pushed the rebels back to their forest strongholds, but hit-and-run attacks are still common, killing mostly security personnel.

Former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had described Naxalite insurgency as the country's biggest internal security threat.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 15:46:20|Editor: xuxin

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Photo taken on July 28, 2018 shows the smoke rise from the site of an attack in Jalalabad, Afghanistan. An explosion ripped through a road in Jalalabad, an eastern town in Afghanistan, on Saturday, causing panic among the residents, witnesses said. (Xinhua/Saifurahman Safi)

JALALABAD, Afghanistan, July 28 (Xinhua) -- An explosion ripped through a road in Jalalabad, an eastern town in Afghanistan, on Saturday, causing panic among the residents, witnesses said.

"We heard a huge blast in the Police District 3 of the city at around 11:30 a.m. local time. The incident occurred near a public health ministry's office and the whole place has now been sealed off," witness Matiullah Khan told Xinhua.

Several warning shots were also fired by the security forces following the sound of the blast, he added.

"The initial police findings showed that three persons were affected by Saturday's blast in Jalalabad. So far, we have no more details, but we will try to get more information and share with media the outcome of the ongoing investigation," said a police officer who declined to be named.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

Taliban militants and militants of the extremist Islamic State (IS) have presence in the province

The city, 120 km east of Afghan capital of Kabul, has been hit by series of terror attacks over the past couple of years.
HOUSTON, July 27 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has started to investigate recent telephone fraud that involved scammers posing as local Chinese Consulate General staff to obtain money or sensitive information, a senior official there told Xinhua Friday.

Chinese Deputy Consul General in Houston Liu Hongmei met with officials from the Office of Foreign Missions' Houston Regional Office under the U.S. Department of State, and listened to updates on the investigation.

The suspects, who spoke Chinese or English in their phone calls, impersonated staff of the Chinese Consulate General in Houston, with tampered caller IDs appearing to have originated from the consulate general, according to U.S. officials.

"There is no minor matter in consular protection," Liu said, noting that the consulate general is paying close attention to the fraud cases, and has urged relative parties to solve the cases as soon as possible.

The consulate general has also posted a public notice on its website to remind people to protect their personal information.

In recent months, the Chinese Consulate General in Houston has received numerous calls to verify the authenticity of phone calls or texts claiming to be from the consulate general. Upon learning of the scam, the consulate general reported the cases to local police.

Similar fraud has recently happened in other Chinese diplomatic bodies overseas, such as the consulate general in Sydney and that in London. Last week, the Chinese Ministry of Public Security called on Chinese citizens traveling and living abroad to be alert to telecom fraud.
SHANGHAI, July 28 (Xinhua) -- China and India, both among the BRICS countries, should enhance cooperation in trade and investment, an Indian banker said.

"India and China are the two most populous countries in the world. We can be strong trading partners," Hitendra Dave, head of Global Banking and Markets for HSBC India, said here in an interview with Xinhua.

Dave believed that the consumption power of India's population will attract more investment from Chinese companies.

"India has 18 percent of the world's working population and is expected to have 550 million middle class by 2025, which makes the opportunity for Chinese investments in India quite clear," Dave said.

The Indian bank also expected that the shared vision of clean energy will provide more trade opportunities between India and China.

"Greater cooperation and collaboration between them in creating green economies will also go a long way in lowering carbon emissions globally," Dave said.

Moreover, he saw great potential for China and India to cooperate on infrastructure.

"China is highly experienced in infrastructure construction such as airports, highways and subways. India will need that capital as well as the technology and should learn from China's execution capability to advance its infrastructure development," Dave said.

Last year, Indian exports to China went up by nearly 40 percent to 16.34 billion U.S. dollars, while overall bilateral trade hit a historic high of 84.4 billion dollars, up 20.3 percent year on year, according to statistics from China's Ministry of Commerce.

"Bilateral trade will keep strong growth. I won't be surprised if the volume is above 100 billion U.S. dollars this year," said Dave.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 16:11:24|Editor: Li Xia

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SUVA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Top leaders of Vanuatu, expressed appreciation for a Chinese naval hospital ship's visit, saying it demonstrated the profound friendship between Vanuatu and China.

The Chinese naval hospital ship Ark Peace, which is on Mission Harmony - 2018, arrived in Port Vila, capital of Vanuatu on Monday for humanitarian medical service.

"As many citizens of Vanuatu are unable to afford the medical cost, they cannot be effectively treated even if they are very sick. The arrival of Ark Peace has bestowed health upon the people of Vanuatu," said President Tallis Obed Moses while meeting with commanders of Mission Harmony - 2018 and their entourage in his office on Friday.

Moses extended thanks to the Chinese government and its navy on behalf of the government and people of Vanuatu, looking forward to Ark Peace's arrival once more.

Both President Moses and Prime Minister Charlot Salwai came aboard the Chinese hospital ship to visit medical staff and local inpatients and joined a deck reception hosted by Ark Peace.

On Monday, Salwai went to the wharf to welcome the Chinese naval hospital ship. He also received a courtesy call by the mission commanders and their entourage.

Salwai said that Ark Peace's visit will improve the lives of the citizens of Vanuatu and make new contributions to their medical care. He acknowledged that both education and primary healthcare are enlisted as one of the priorities of the government as healthcare of Vanuatu is under great challenge due to limited medical budget.

During the visit on July 23-30, medical service is provided onboard Ark Peace as the major platform. In the meantime, medical teams are also dispatched to local hospitals, villages, communities as well as schools and center of the disabled for round of medical visit.

Till Friday, Ark Peace has completed medical consultation and treatment for 3,572 persons, auxiliary examinations, such as CT, DR, ultrasound and ECG, for 1,774 persons and 20 cases of surgical operations and received 21 inpatients.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 16:16:25|Editor: Li Xia

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BEIJING, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Eight choirs from China, United Kingdom, Austria and Slovenia will meet audiences at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing from Aug. 2 to 10 for the NCPA August Chorus Festival 2018.

Themed "Ode to Youth," the NCPA August Chorus Festival 2018 has invited well-known junior choirs from at home and abroad to present choruses of different styles, regions and genres.

The Beijing Philharmonic Choir will kick off the festival under the baton of Chinese conductor Yang Hongnian, performing classic Chinese melodies, such as "Let's Paddle Together" and "Dance of the Youth".

The 500-year-old Oxford College Choir will present the closing performance for the festival at the NCPA on August 10th, singing excerpts of George Handel's work "Hercules", traditional British folk music, as well as highlights of film soundtracks.

The festival will also feature several chorus classes and meet-and-greets, offering opportunities for music fans to communicate with the artists face-to-face and accept professional guidance.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 17:41:33|Editor: xuxin

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BEIRUT, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Around 900 Syrian refugees gathered in Shabaa in Lebanon Saturday morning to return to their homeland through Masnaa border crossing.

"The Lebanese General Security supervised the process by carefully checking the names of the returnees using lists prepared ahead of time for this purpose," the Lebanese National News Agency (NNA) reported.

It added that the return of refugees is done using buses offered by the Syrian government.

This is the fourth round of refugees to go back to Syria in a one month period.

On June 28, the first round of 400 refugees returned to their homeland from Arsal to Qalamoun via Wadi Hmayyed.

Meanwhile, around 400 refugees returned to their homeland on July 7 from camps in Arsal to Qara, Jarajir and Ras al-maara in Syria.

On July 23, around 850 Syrian refugees from Arsal in Lebanon returned to their homeland through Zemrani border crossing.

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 be 1.5 million.

To facilitate the return of Syrian refugees to their homeland, Russia drafted a strategy for this purpose and presented it to the Lebanese authorities.

The strategy, drafted by the Russian Defense Ministry and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, came after a meeting in Helsinki, Finland between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump earlier this month.

According to the strategy, a Russian-Syrian-Lebanese security committee will be formed to facilitate the legal return of Syrian refugees from Lebanon to their homeland.

The strategy aims at securing the return of 890,000 refugees to Syria.
KUALA LUMPUR, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's Minister of Human Resources M. Kula Segaran has called on Nepal to reconsider its decision to ban workers coming to Malaysia, saying the ban would have major effects on sectors such as plantation and construction, the official news agency Bernama reported on Saturday.

Nepal, as one of Malaysia's largest source of immigrant workers, barred its workers from going to Malaysia, citing "restrictive" immigration requirements imposed on its workers by the Malaysian government.

It is reported that the Nepalese government was particularly not happy with its workers going through a private company for security and medical check-ups as part of the visa requirement.

When attending an event in Ipoh, Kula Segaran said many industries in Malaysia need Nepalese workers, who are well-known for their bravery and honesty. He called on Nepal to ease its ban on the matter and reconsider the decision.

The minister added that he will also seek the help of the Nepalese high commissioner in Malaysia on Monday and take the matter to the cabinet.

Sin Chew Daily, a Malaysian local newspaper, reported on Saturday that there are at least half a million Nepalese workers in Malaysia, most of whom are security guards and construction workers.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 18:06:37|Editor: ZX

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GAZA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- An open military confrontation between the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and Israelis is looming amid regional and international efforts to reach a long-term settlement agreement and avoid bloody conflict.

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.

On Wednesday, three militants belonging to Islamic Hamas movement, which rules the Gaza Strip, were killed in an Israeli bombardment along Gaza-Israel borders.

Israel said the shelling came in response to an earlier fire from Gaza at an Israeli army force stationed at the border fence, where an Israeli soldier was injured.

On Thursday, Hamas's military wing, al-Qassam Brigades, announced that it is on high alert, urging all armed factions in Gaza to be at the highest readiness level for any possible developments.

Last Friday, four Palestinians, including three Hamas militants, and an Israeli soldier were also killed in one of the most violent rounds of tension between the two sides since Israel's recent war on the Gaza Strip in the summer of 2014.

These developments have pushed Egypt, Qatar and the United Nations to exert intense efforts to restore calm in the Israeli-blockaded territory.

"The field developments in Gaza show that we are facing a state of intermittent rounds of escalation and continued tension," Gaza-based political expert Adnan Abu Amer told Xinhua.

Abu Amer said he believes that both sides are not interested in an open field confrontation because it will be too expensive for them.

However, the expert said, this situation of repetition of limited confrontations may lead them to a decisive stage that will in the end require either a strong truce deal or a large-scale military action.

Tension in Gaza has been high since the Palestinians launched the ongoing "Great March of Return" on March 30, which demands the lift of the blockade Israel has imposed on Gaza since 2007.

About 148 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli gunfire during the rallies which peak every Friday.

To avoid collapse of an already shaky truce in Gaza, there has been widespread talk of international and regional efforts to mediate an agreement between Israel and Hamas to reach a strong cease-fire deal.

According to media reports, the agreement is supposed to include humanitarian facilities from Israel to improve the dire situation in the Gaza Strip, especially in the economic field, in return for the establishment of the cease-fire agreement for several years.

However, the recent developments in Gaza have ensured that Israel has tightened its blockade on the coastal enclave after imposing additional restrictions on the entry of goods, particularly raw and construction materials, which threatens an unprecedented escalation of the humanitarian crisis.

The Israeli decision came in response to the Palestinian arson kites and helium balloons flying from Gaza into Israel, which caused large fire and losses in the Israeli territory.

Hamza Abu Shanab, another political observer and writer from Gaza, believes that the field behavior of both sides has become the main determinant in escalating or decreasing tension.

He pointed out that both sides do not have political goals for a new war, stressing that Israel is more occupied with the growing threats on the northern front with Syria where it is attempting to impose a different reality on the Golan front.

Gaza has been placed under a tight Israeli blockade since Islamic Hamas movement seized the territory after routing forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas in 2007.

The blockade has pushed Gaza's two million people deeper into poverty with unprecedented unemployment rates.

In the recent nine years, Israel and Hamas movement have been engaged in three major wars that claimed the lives of thousands of Palestinians and Israelis.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 18:16:38|Editor: ZX

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CAIRO, July 28 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced 75 members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood to death over charges of violence and murder, official news agency MENA reported.

The case, publicly known as "Breaking up Rabaa Sit-in," dated back to 2013. The convicted were charged with causing deaths of policemen, attempted murder and vandalism.

The court referred the sentence to Grand Mufti, the country's highest Islamic official who will give the religious judgment of all preliminary death sentences.

The Mufti's opinion is non-binding as it is usually considered a formality, but his final opinion could reduce the penalty.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 18:46:43|Editor: xuxin

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GENEVA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- A decision by civil aviation authorities this week to limit nighttime flights for planes at Switzerland's main airport in Zurich could curb its competitiveness with other European hubs, an airport spokesperson and business leaders have said.

"The Federal Office of Civil Aviation has for the first time enacted measures to combat air traffic exceedance of night-time noise levels," the FOCA said in a statement on July 25.

The office said it had ordered a freeze on landings after 9 p.m. and on take-offs after 10:20 p.m. to reduce the noise for residents living near the airport.

An official report in September found that the noise was sometimes considerably above permitted levels between 10 p.m. and midnight.

Residents around Zurich airport had for years complained about noise emissions and increasing flight traffic.

The controversy over airport noise has also spilled over into neighboring Germany.

Switzerland and Germany have for decades sought to reach an agreement over noise emissions, the Swiss News Agency, SDA-ATS reported, as Zurich airport is just 20 kilometers south of the German border.

But, the decision is regrettable, airport spokesperson Sonja Zoechling, told the German-language daily newspaper Tages-Anzeiger,"The restrictions will put us at a disadvantage in the future with other airports in Europe," she said.

The Zurich Chamber of Commerce criticized the FOCA decision saying it makes it impossible to include much-demanded intercontinental night flights, for example to South America.

"In the long term, Switzerland's international accessibility will be jeopardized," said the chamber.

The Zurich cantonal minister in charge of airports and economics, Carmen Walker Spaeh, however, welcomed the order.

"For three years I have consistently campaigned for a seven-hour shutdown," she said.

There may, however, be a loophole for the airport, commented Anzeiger-Zeitung, as the decision is subject to appeal.

The FOCA said that in order to allow Zurich Airport to develop in accordance with an aviation policy report and aeronautical infrastructure plan, it plans to redefine nighttime noise exposure limits.

For that, the FOCA will require the airport to provide it with new air traffic noise calculations.
KABUL, July 28 (Xinhua) -- At least two Taliban militants were killed after an Afghan special force-related airstrike targeted a running vehicle in eastern Logar province Friday night, the command of special forces said Saturday.

"The incident occurred in Logar's Mohammad Agha district. The targeted militants were responsible for a string of terrorist attacks and bombings in the district," Afghan National Army Special Operations Corps said in a statement.

The targeted vehicle was also destroyed in the sortie.

The Afghan security forces and U.S. and NATO-led coalition troops have increased ground and air offensives against militants in the last few months as the militants frequently attacked government interests across the country.

The Afghan Special Forces killed over 6,100 militants, injured about 3,200 and detained 443 others throughout 2017. They also destroyed 15 militants' command and control posts and 352 bunkers in different places over the period, according to official figures.
Essam el-Erian (R), one of high-ranking leaders of Egypt's banned Muslim Brotherhood, is seen alonside other members inside a glass dock during their trial in the capital Cairo on July 28, 2018. (AFP photo)

CAIRO, July 28 (Xinhua) -- An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced 75 members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood to death over charges of violence and murder, a judicial source said.

The case, publicly known as "Breaking up Rabaa Sit-in," dated back to 2013. The convicted were charged with causing deaths of policemen, attempted murder and vandalism, the source told Xinhua.

The court referred the sentence to Grand Mufti, the country's highest Islamic official who will give the religious judgment of all preliminary death sentences.

The Mufti's opinion is non-binding as it is usually considered a formality.

The defendants included Essam El-Erian, the deputy leader of the Brotherhood's freedom and Justice Party, Moahmed al-Beltagi, secretary general of the party, Safwat Hegazi, prominent preacher of the Brotherhood, and Assem Abdel Maguid, prominent member of the group's Shura Council, as well as other Islamists leaders.

Rabaa was one of two sites where supporters of the ousted Islamist President Mohamed Morsi gathered in the weeks following his overthrow by the army in July 2013 in response to mass protests against his one-year rule.

The sit-in was dispersed violently by security men, after many warnings by the government. The protesters have been accused of hindering traffic, causing public disorder, terrifying the residents as they possessed weapons.

Morsi's Brotherhood group was banned by the government and most of his group have received verdicts varied from death, to life sentences over violence, killing and espionage.

Morsi is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence over inciting deadly clashes between his supporters and opponents in late 2012 and a 25-year jail term over leaking classified documents to Qatar.

The verdicts can be appealed.

Ahmad Ban, expert with Cairo-based Nile Center for religious movement affairs, and a Brotherhood dissident, said the verdicts could be appealed several times, predicting president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will pardon several figures including Morsi when if finally comes to execution.

"The pardon will be focused mainly on the Islamists who weren't involved directly in killing security men or civilians," he said.

He added both the country and the Brotherhood group will seek reconciliation, but each side is waiting for more concessions.

Sentencing for more than 660 other Islamists in another case was set for Sept. 8, according to state-run Ahram news website.

The case involves the Muslim Brotherhood's Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie and a photographer Mahmoud Abu Zeid. Charges range from murder to damaging public property.

Since Morsi's ouster, Egypt has been facing a wave of terror attacks that have killed hundreds of policemen and soldiers as well as civilians.

A Sinai-based militant group affiliated with the Islamic State (IS) regional terrorist group has claimed responsibility for most of the attacks in Egypt over the past few years.

Meanwhile, the Egyptian forces have killed hundreds of terrorists and arrested thousands of suspects during the country's anti-terror war declared by newly re-elected President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, the army chief then, following Morsi's ouster.
SUVA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- An Air Vanuatu ATR-72 aircraft carrying 39 passengers and four crew members made an emergency landing at Bauerfield airport in Port Vila, capital of Vanuatu on Saturday.

According to the Vanuatu Daily Post, the aircraft, which was inbound to Port Vila from Tanna, an island in Tafea Province of Vanuatu, made the emergency landing shortly before 11 am local time after one of its engines lost power as it overflew the island of Erromango, about 20 minutes away from Bauerfield airport in Port Vila.

After running a significant distance, the plane landed, but it veered to the left, into an area in which several small charter aircraft were parked. One plane belonging to Unity Airlines was a "write off" according to its owner. The nose section of the plane was obliterated, and there is a visible dent in one engine enclosure. Another aircraft, operated by Air Taxi, suffered significant damage to its tail section.

Witnesses said that the plane's cabin was filled with smoke from a fire below and they cut off the starboard engine during flight.

No one was seriously injured, but 13 people reported discomfort due to the smoke, and requested further medical assessment.

Air Vanuatu Ltd later confirmed that the airport had reopened, and one flight, from Port Vila to Fiji's third largest city of Nadi, was cancelled. All other flights were going ahead according to schedule.

Civil Aviation Authority in Vanuatu is investigating the cause of the incident.
MANILA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has invited the country's most radical Islamist extremist Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) to have a dialogue with his administration, saying it is about time to stop war.

In a speech in Jolo in Sulu province late on Friday, Duterte said that peace will soon reign in Mindanao in the southern Philippines with the signing of the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL).

"Let's talk," Duterte told the Abu Sayyaf militants. "What do you want to do? Do you want us to just kill each other? You can kill me anywhere. But what will you gain by that?" he asked.

"Let's just give it time. Let's stop making war," Duterte said.

He warned that if war continues, more will die.

Duterte went to Jolo to check on the condition of some 5,000 families or 30,000 residents who were left homeless after a fire broke out on Tuesday in one of the villages there.

The Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG) is a small, violent, faction-ridden Muslim group that operates in the western fringes of the southern Philippine island of Mindanao and on the Sulu islands extending from Mindanao. The group is notorious for the killings, kidnapping for ransom and a series of bombings in Mindanao.

The ASG has pledged allegiance to the Islamic State (IS) militants and helped the Maute militants in attacking Marawi City in May last year, triggering a fierce battle that left more than 1,200 dead.

Government security forces continue to wage war against the Muslim extremist groups, including the Abu Sayyaf and the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF), a group that broke up with the larger Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) that signed a peace deal with the government.

The BOL that Duterte signed on Friday is originally called Bangsamoro Basic Law (BBL).

As an organic act, the BOL aims to abolish the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) and provide for the basic structure of government for the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region, following the agreements set forth in the Comprehensive Agreement of the Bangsamoro peace agreement signed between the government and the 11,000-strong Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in 2014.

The new Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao will have greater fiscal autonomy, a regional government, parliament, and justice system. The Philippine government hopes it will put an end to the decades-old war that ravaged Mindanao.
COLOMBO, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Over 3,300 people were arrested in islandwide raids conducted by the Sri Lankan Police which began Thursday and ended Saturday, police said.

Those arrested had been taken in for various crimes such as driving under the influence of alcohol, evading courts and those involved in drug smuggling and peddling.

Over 16,000 police officers took part in the raids, police said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 21:42:08|Editor: ZX

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FUZHOU, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The seaborne assault contest of the International Army Games 2018 will open Sunday in Quanzhou city in east China's Fujian Province.

Some 200 contestants from Iran, Russia, Sudan, Venezuela and China will compete in three areas -- obstacle course, survival trail and relay race -- from July 30 to August 10, said Senior Colonel Chen Weidong, the contest spokesperson, at a press conference on Saturday.

"This is the first time China has hosted the seaborne assault contest, and all sections, imitating actual combat, will be extremely fierce and challenging," said Chen.

Participants will use Chinese equipment during the event, with training provided by the organization committee, Chen said.

Activities such as cultural exchanges and displays of equipment will be held and several Chinese naval vessels will be open for visit to both contestants and the public until Aug. 11.

The International Army Games, initiated by the Russian Ministry of Defense, started on July 28, with 28 competitions in total this year. It is co-organized by China, Russia, Belarus, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Iran.

China has been invited to take part in games for five years in a row, and started to host some of the competitions last year.

Three other competitions will be held in Korla in northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.
COLOMBO, July 28 (Xinhua) -- China's Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), trade and infrastructure initiatives and investments in Sri Lanka's ports could be seen as an opportunity and not a threat, local media reports, quoting head of Sri Lanka's biggest business chamber, said Saturday.

Rajendra Theagarajah, Chairman of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce said Sri Lankan businesses could not afford to ignore the evolving international trade patterns and the most visible of the two or three which are currently happening around Sri Lanka is the Maritime Silk Road initiative of China.

Commenting on the Belt and Road Initiative, Theagarajah said, "It is actually a necklace which the Chinese government is intending to embrace, one in terms of the road connecting the eastern part of China with Western Europe. They will complete the necklace which they intend to cover through Sri Lanka."

He further explained that Pakistan was already making use of China's Maritime Silk Road, despite the internal conflicts they are currently facing.

Pakistan has allowed the Belt and Road Initiative to go through their country and have managed to get two bids for key infrastructure for the benefit of their country, Theagarajah said.

Sri Lanka should follow suit, he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 22:12:12|Editor: Li Xia

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NANCHANG, China, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese second-seed Wang Qiang beat Polish third seed Magda Linette 7-5, 6-2 to move into the final of the 2018 WTA Jiangxi Open here on Saturday.

It took the Chinese player an hour and 38 minutes to secure the victory over her Polish opponent.

In the first set of match, the two players were well-matched but Wang played more steadily and won it 7-5. In the second set, Linette made several faults, while Wang became more aggressive and scored an easy win over her opponent 6-2.

In another all-Chinese affair, Zhu Lin lost out 3-6, 6-1, 2-6 to sixth seed Zheng, failing to advance to the final.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 22:17:15|Editor: xuxin

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SARAJEVO, July 28 (Xinhua) -- A Saturday auto show featuring "Fico", a car that used to be a symbol of the former Yugoslavia, evoked feelings of nostalgia among Bosnia and Herzegovina's (BiH) fans.

Fico, a license-produced version of the Italian Fiat 600, was one of the most common cars driven in all six republics of the former Yugoslavia, including BiH. Produced from 1955 until 1985, Fico cars are still driven today.

Fadil Cerimagic, with the association of car-lovers Fico, said the Fico car celebrated its 63rd birthday this year.

This specific festival, or Fico Fest, gathers fans of Fico cars from BiH and countries of former Yugoslavia, reminding them of the old times, he said.

"Interest in this festival is enormous because Fico car is a favorite car of many people. They are emotionally attached to it," Cerimagic said, adding that visitors had the opportunity to see 63 Fico cars of different colors and years of production.

Some 200 participants from Austria, BiH, Croatia, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Serbia and Switzerland, gathered at the main square in the Old Town Sarajevo, according to Cerimagic.

The one-day festival will be ending with Fico cars passing through main streets of Sarajevo.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 22:27:21|Editor: ZX

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Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua (2nd L) visits Wanxiang Group in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province, July 26, 2018. Hu made an inspection tour on foreign trade in Zhejiang on July 26-27. (Xinhua)

HANGZHOU, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Hu Chunhua has stressed the need to work in a down-to-earth way to facilitate stable and healthy development of foreign trade.

Hu, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the remarks during a trip to east China's Zhejiang Province from Thursday to Friday.

He voiced determination to continue opening-up and implement the existing opening-up policies as soon as possible.

He visited several trade, electronics, mechanics, energy and textile companies in the cities of Hangzhou and Ningbo to learn about their situations regarding production, marketing and innovation.

Asking about problems and challenges facing the enterprises, Hu encouraged them to improve product quality, strengthen global cooperation and explore diversified markets, to foster global product chain and trade and services network.

The vice premier asked local authorities to closely follow changes in foreign trade conditions and help enterprises deal with business problems.

He also ordered them to further reform government administration, enhance protection of intellectual property rights, improve business environment and ease enterprises' burdens.
Photo taken on July 27, 2017 shows two Chinese locomotives to be assembled at the Transnet Engineering Koedoespoort Plant in Pretoria, South Africa. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan)

by Xinhua Writer Wang Xiaopeng

JOHANNESBURG, July 28 (Xinhua) -- On the 40th anniversary of its reform and opening-up this year, China's overtures of opening up further as it enters a new stage of development are a positive signal to the market, said a South African business leader on Friday.

In an interview with Xinhua, Martin Kingston, vice president of the Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) and chief executive officer of Rothschild (South Africa) Proprietary Limited, said investors want safeguards and assurances, so the emphasis on protecting intellectual property while also adopting a market-friendly stance will ensure that China remains competitive.

At the annual conference of the Boao Forum for Asia this year, China outlined a new policy that highlights more measures for free trade and investment, including lower tariffs for automobiles and other imports.

The commitment made by China might also open opportunities for greater economic collaboration within BRICS, according to Kingston.

Kingston hailed the great success of China's economic transformation through the reform and opening-up policy, saying that China's remarkable growth, manifest on its rising living standards, bears tangible testament to the success and efficacy of its opening up policy.

"Out of all the BRICS countries, China has attracted investment from top Fortune 500 companies, with some home-grown successes making it on the elite group of companies whose market capitalisations exceed some countries' GDP."

China on Friday announced the 100-day countdown to the opening of the China International Import Expo (CIIE), which will be held in Shanghai on Nov. 5-10. More than 2,800 companies from overseas will participate in the expo, including over 200 businesses on the Fortune Global 500 list.

Commenting on significance of the event, Kingston said it is a welcome move of reassurance from China, as it is a key player in global trade.

"Opening up its markets and collaborating in these areas will further enhance its economic potential," he said.

According to Kingston, it is a positive and reassuring statement that China remains ready to work and collaborate with its trade partners for mutual benefit, stressing that in the BRICS context, China is South Africa's biggest trade partner and South African business circle welcome China's commitment to these objectives.

Amid trade protectionism rising in the West, Kingston said, "the efficacy of the global economy, and by extension world trade, is premised on multilateralism."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 22:32:22|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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DOHA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Qatar on Saturday strongly condemned the Israeli forces for clashing with the Palestinian prayers at the holy Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, state-run Qatar News Agency reported.

"The Israeli occupation forces ... deliberately chose the holiest times and places in order to provoke the feelings of 1.5 billion Muslims," Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The Qatari ministry also condemned the recently approved Israeli Nation Law, describing it as "racist" against the Palestinians.

According to the new Israeli law, the Palestinian people on the Israel-occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, have no right to self-determination.

The Qatari statement called on the international community to take urgent action to stop Israel's human rights violations and to protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque and other holy sites in Palestine.

On Friday afternoon, at least 50 Israeli policemen raided the Al-Aqsa Mosque, attacking Palestinian worshippers and arresting 24 of them, according to the Jordanian Islamic Waqf Ministry, religious authority that governs the site.
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Global experts discussed key issues in higher education and research at Brunei Dialogue 2018 hosted here by the country's most renowned education institution Univesiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD), local media reported on Saturday.

According to the Borneo Bulletin, themed "Universities as Drivers of Lifelong Learning and Enterprise", the Brunei Dialogue 2018 brought together over 80 university presidents, rectors, vice-presidents and participants from Asia.

UBD Vice-Chancellor Anita Binurul Zahrina said that UBD launched the first Brunei Dialogue in 2013 with the aim to bring in key institutional leaders from top universities to hold high-level global dialogues around key issues in higher education and research.

The dialogue comprised a keynote speech and three panel discussions. Sixteen speakers from top universities in Asia utilized the platform to meet and exchange ideas on current and vital topics including lifelong learning, innovation and enterprise, the digital landscape as well as the development and cultivation of collaboration among universities, industries, the public sector and the community.

According to UBD, the Brunei Dialogue has provided a platform for university presidents to exchange ideas and brainstorm on issues pertinent to future universities.

UBD has also hosted similar events such as the President's Lecture and the Future Forum. The next Brunei Dialogue is scheduled to be held in 2020.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 23:17:28|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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RAMALLAH, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Saturday that a Palestinian delegation will head to Cairo on Sunday to convey the Palestinian official position on Palestinian national reconciliation.

"The Palestinian delegation has no response to anyone, because when we talk about this issue, we are talking about the Palestinian position we took on Oct. 21, 2017," said Abbas at the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) meeting at his office in the West Bank city of Ramallah.

Last October, Abbas' Fatah party and Islamic Hamas movement reached an Egypt-sponsored agreement, based on which the national unity government began to take over the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.

However, the process of power transfer was interrupted after less than two months, as the Palestinian government said it was not allowed to fully control Gaza as per the agreement.

More than one agreement on Palestinian national reconciliation was reached under the sponsorship of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt, but none of them reached a tangible breakthrough to end the division since Hamas violently seized control of the coastal enclave in 2007.

The PLO meeting also discussed several other issues, including the recently approved Israeli nation-state bill, and the cooperation with the Syrian government in the reconstruction of Yarmouk refugee camp in Damascus.

Meanwhile, the Palestinian president vowed to spare no efforts to thwart Israel's plan to displace the entire Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar in East Jerusalem.

Regarding the U.S. "Deal of the Century," Abbas said "it is over for us now."

He concluded his speech by asserting "crucial serious decisions in the next two months" over "important issues," without revealing details.

"We have already discussed in the National Council and these issues will be take to the next Central Council and then to the UN to be decided upon," Abbas noted.
OSLO, July 28 (Xinhua) -- An unidentified man was attacked and hurt by a polar bear on Norway's Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, newspaper Aftenposten reported Saturday.

The polar bear was shot and killed after the attack, the report said. The man is in stable condition, according to the Norwegian rescue services (HRS).

The incident occurred when tourists left the cruise ship MS Bremen in a dinghy before they landed on Parry Island, which is the part of Svalbard.

"We do not know anything about the size of injury, but the man is taken aboard MS Bremen and is receiving treatment at the infirmary there, while waiting for the helicopter to arrive on site," Rune Danielsen, rescue leader from HRS told Aftenposten.

Personnel from the governor of Svalbard's office will be arriving with the helicopter to investigate the incident, the report said.

According to Danielsen, it is unknown who shot and killed the polar bear or if the injured person is a part of the tourist group or the crew on the ship. The nationality of the hurt man is also unknown.

MS Bremen is a 111-meter-long cruise ship that can take up to 155 passengers. The vessel specializes in expensive expedition tours in the Arctic regions, which is the highest classification for traffic in the ice-covered regions that a passenger ship can get.

The vessel is on a nine-day expedition around Svalbard, which started on July 23. The passengers have paid between 5,990 and 10,550 euros to participate in the luxurious journey.

This is not the first time people are attacked by polar bears on Svalbard. In 2015, Czech Jakub Moravec was pulled out of the tent by a polar bear, but escaped with slight damage.

Four years earlier, 17-year-old Horatio Chapple from Britain was killed and four others injured when a polar bear attacked them at Von Postbreen, about 40 kilometers from Longyearbyen.

In 1995, Nina Jeanette Olaussen, 22, from Oslo was attacked and killed by polar bear on Platafjellet, just west of Longyearbyen, and just five months later Helmer Kristian Kristensen from Tromso was exposed to the same fate, Aftenposten wrote.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-28 23:47:31|Editor: xuxin

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Afghan security force members carry the body of a victim from the attack site in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad, the capital city of Nangarhar province, July 28, 2018. Five people were killed and 63 others rescued after a terrorist attack in Jalalabad on Saturday, provincial governor office said in a statement. (Xinhua/Saifurahman Safi)

JALALABAD, Afghanistan, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Five people were killed and 63 others rescued after a terrorist attack in Jalalabad, capital of eastern Afghan province of Nangarhar on Saturday, provincial governor office said in a statement.

The killed included two security guards and a driver of the midwifery training center and two assailants.

Two workers of the entity, three passersby civilians and three soldiers were also wounded in the explosion and ensuing gun firing that lasted more than five hours, the statement added.

The attack started at midday after one attacker detonated his explosive vest at the gate of the building and the second attacker was shot dead by the Afghan Special Operations Forces.

Sixty-one women, including several students, and two children were rescued by Special Operations Forces.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack yet.

Taliban militants and militants of the extremist Islamic State (IS) group both have presence in the province but the Taliban outfit has denied its involvement in the incident.

The city has been hit by series of terror attacks over the past couple of years.
HO CHI MINH CITY, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam on Saturday launched a national campaign on cleaning up the sea this year, according to the Vietnam Youth Union, one of the organizers.

The campaign, launched in the southernmost province of Kien Giang, is mainly aimed at raising public awareness about the sea's importance to human life, reducing use of plastic and nylon bags, encouraging abstention of discharging rubbish in undesignated places, and cleansing polluted areas.

Youths from 28 coastal cities and provinces nationwide have mapped out specific plans to effectively protect the sea environment, said the union.
NEW DELHI, July 28 (Xinhua) -- India on Saturday welcomed Pakistan's general election results and said that it desired a peaceful and stable Pakistan.

In an official statement, the External Affairs Ministry said, "We welcome that the people of Pakistan have reposed their faith in democracy through general elections."

"India desires a prosperous and progressive Pakistan at peace with its neighbours," it added.

It hoped that the new Pakistani government would work constructively to build a "safe, stable, secure and developed South Asia free of terror and violence."
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-29 00:02:34|Editor: Chengcheng

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by Nathan Morley

NICOSIA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Observers remain cautious and skeptical after the European Union (EU) and the United States claim to have averted a trade war with an agreement to "work together towards zero tariffs."

The reasons are mainly related to the U.S. President Donald Trump administration's unpredictability, the rough relationship endured by Brussels and Washington lately, and most importantly the fact that nothing concrete has been agreed on.

On Wednesday, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and Trump hailed a "new phase" in relations during their meeting at the White House.

For his part, Trump shelved a threat to slap tariffs on European cars; whilst in return, Juncker promised that the EU would buy more liquefied natural gas and soybeans from America.

But away from the back-slapping and smiles, caution and skepticism remain, as details of any firm agreement are glaringly short in supply.

"Of course you have to have the caveat that the devil will be in the details," European parliamentarian Richard Corbett told Xinhua. "It's an agreement to start a process and with Trump you can never be sure whether that will be followed up properly."

And given the Trump administration's unpredictable track-record, there are fears that any new talks could quickly unravel. Despite that, both Trump and Juncker vowed to address the steel and aluminum tariffs which kicked off the dispute earlier this year.

"It was started unilaterally by Trump without foundation really and using the security argument on products that really have nothing to do with security. Taking unilateral action like that is not the proper way of doing things," Corbett said, adding that Brussels and Washington had endured an uncomfortable relationship lately.

"I can understand people feeling uncomfortable when they are with Trump," Corbett added.

Experts and commentators on both sides of the Atlantic urged caution after the talks, as Juncker arrived in Washington without a specific trade offer, nor was one agreed.

"Some of the heat seems to have gone out of the situation for now, but unfortunately with this president what he says one week, might be contradicted by what he says the following week, so you can't really take anything for granted," Chris Horseman, a journalist specializing in agriculture and trade policy, told Xinhua.

"I don't think anything concrete has been achieved, as of today the same tariffs are in place throughout -- it's basically an agreement to talk, but it's fairly loosely formulated. It's really just a promise to talk rather than a commitment to ultimately do anything," Horseman added.

Over the last few weeks, Trump has faced increased domestic criticism as American agricultural goods such as soybeans, sugar and fruit become pricier in foreign markets due to retaliatory tariffs -- and thus less attractive to consumers.

"The truism is that nobody wins from a trade war," Horseman said.

"Certainly with the agricultural products, I think Trump has got himself into some problems domestically, with the knock-on effect of Chinese retaliatory tariffs on soybeans and some meat products, and this was starting to rebound on him," Horseman said.

"I think that is certainly why soybeans were specifically mentioned in the context of his press conference with Juncker," Horseman said.

Corbett said it is in the interests of all sides to avoid a spiral of retaliation, which would harm exporters and threaten jobs.

"It is, at first sight, a welcome development because we were facing, indeed the world is facing, the big risk of an escalating trade war with tit-for-tat measures and countermeasures leading to a downward spiral," Corbett added.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-29 00:12:36|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Chinese Premier Li Keqiang (C), also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee, visits local residents of a village in Nyingchi, southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, July 25, 2018. Li made an inspection tour to Nyingchi, Shannan and Lhasa in Tibet Autonomous Region on July 25-27. (Xinhua/Huang Jingwen)

LHASA, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Premier Li Keqiang has stressed sustainable development and the improvement of people's livelihood while visiting southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.

During his visit from July 25 to July 27 to Nyingchi, Shannan, and Lhasa, Li talked with officials and residents, learning about local economic and social development, and extending his good wishes to people of all ethnic groups in Tibet.

In a village of Nyingchi, where residents enjoy better housing and more incomes thanks to poverty alleviation programs, Li said development is key to increasing people's wealth and achieving prosperity in Tibet.

People's livelihood should be improved through sustainable development, which should be based on actual conditions of Tibet, he said.

At the confluence of the Yarlung Zangbo River and its tributary Nyang River, Li was briefed on the conservation of water resources and eco-system. He said that the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the "water tower" of China and Asia, where ecological conservation should be strengthened to support sustainable development in the whole country.

At the construction site of the Lhasa-Nyingchi section of the Sichuan-Tibet railway, Li stressed the importance of the project to the development of Tibet and to ecological protection.

The railway project is beneficial for Tibet to cultivate new growth drivers, and it is the right thing that must be done. Full construction work should be accelerated, Li said.

At present, infrastructure development in the country's central and western regions is relatively weak, and promoting effective investments to improve weak links will not only narrow the gap in regional development but also helpful for the country to cope with economic downturn, he said.

China should avoid strong stimulus and take targeted measures that are beneficial in both short and long terms, Li said.

At Tibet Autonomous Region People's Hospital in Lhasa, Li said that the government will step up support to hospitals in Tibet and colleges for traditional Tibetan medicine to meet the needs of local residents.

In Lhasa, Li also interacted with young makers at a startup base.

The premier said entrepreneurship and innovation in Tibet are very important to high-quality growth. The country will create better environment to support the education of skilled workers and train more talented workers that are in high demand.

While visiting Jokhang Temple, a renowned temple for Tibetan Buddhism in Lhasa, Li said Tibet has been an inalienable part of China ever since ancient times and he hoped that religious circles will continue to make contributions in safeguarding national unity and promoting ethnic solidarity as well as social harmony.

At the Potala Palace, a UNESCO world heritage site, Li said that the government will step up support for the research on precious documents and push cultural inheritance and exchanges.

Li expressed the hope that Tibet can stick to strategies and policies of the Communist Party of China to achieve development and prosperity, safeguard national unity, enhance solidarity among ethnic groups, promote social and economic development, and maintain lasting peace and stability in Tibet.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-29 01:02:41|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIJING, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Zhang Yongguang, one of China's most wanted graft fugitives, returned to China Saturday, surrendering to the police and returning bribes he had taken, the anti-corruption authority said Saturday.

Zhang was among China's top 100 fugitives listed on an Interpol Red Notice. He used to be a policeman at a police station affiliated to the Nanshan Branch of the Shenzhen Municipal Bureau of Public Security in south China's Guangdong Province, suspected of receiving bribes.

He fled to the United States in 2010 and was listed on an Interpol Red Notice in August 2013.

So far a total of 54 fugitives on the notice have been seized.

"We will make persistent effort in fighting against corruption and recovering stolen assets, leaving no room for corrupt fugitives to hide and no hope for those who want to flee," said an official with the office in charge of fugitive repatriation and asset recovery under the central anti-corruption coordination group.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-29 01:22:43|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Li Zhanshu (3rd R, back), a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee and chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), visits members of the standing committee of the local people's congress in Zhenghe County of Nanping, southeast China's Fujian Province, July 27, 2018. Li made an inspection tour to Fujian Province on July 25-28. (Xinhua/Shen Hong)

FUZHOU, July 28 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Li Zhanshu has called for giving full play to the important role of the people's congresses in advancing law-based governance in all fields, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

Li, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, stressed the significance of people's congresses in providing rule of law measures for high-quality development, reform and opening-up, and socialist modernization.

Li, who is also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, made the comments during a tour in east China's Fujian Province from Wednesday to Saturday.

Visiting cities of Quanzhou, Fuzhou and Nanping, Li looked into the development of reform and opening-up and the work of people's congresses in these cities.

The first stop of Li's tour is Jinjiang, a city administered by Quanzhou. He visited the Jinjiang City Exhibition Hall and a number of private enterprises, holding talks with officials, the people and entrepreneurs to gain an in-depth understanding of the "experience of Jinjiang" summarized by comrade Xi Jinping.

When Xi worked in Fujian between 1985 and 2002, he inspected Jinjiang seven times. Summarizing Jinjiang's success story in 2002, he said the city's achievements were due to a localized market-oriented economy, hard-working locals, honest market players and effective local government.

"The 'experience of Jinjiang' summarized by Xi serves as a guide to the reform and development of Jinjiang and Fujian as a whole, and is still playing a guiding role at present," Li said, calling for more efforts in learning Xi's theories and practices during his work in Fujian.

Li also visited new material and new energy enterprises, the Internet-of-Things industrial base and the big data industrial park, trying smart products and learning the development of digital economy.

He encouraged the enterprises to accelerate industrial transition and upgrading, and raise the ability of making innovations.

During his tour, Li visited staff of the provincial people's congress and heard advice of officials and deputies to people's congresses at provincial, city, county and township levels.

"As the organs of state power, people's congresses and their standing committees are at the forefront in developing democracy and the rule of law, playing a major role in advancing law-based governance in all fields," Li said.

"We must ensure the Party's leadership over lawmaking and the leading role of people's congresses in lawmaking, adapt to the needs for reform, development and stability, and make constant efforts to improve the system of laws," Li said.

Li told lawmakers at local levels to make laws according to actual conditions and feature local characteristics while taking the overall interests into account.

Encouraging lawmakers to exercise the right of oversight endowed by the Constitution to crack hard nuts, Li urged them to ensure that the Constitution and laws be implemented effectively, and that all work be carried out in accordance with law.

Li called for efforts to vigorously promote education of rule of law, carry forward the spirit of the Constitution and increase the public's awareness of rule of law.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-29 01:32:45|Editor: Chengcheng

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TEHRAN, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif will visit Singapore soon to sign documents on Iran's joining the Treaty of Amity and Cooperation in Southeast Asia (TAC), official IRNA news agency reported Saturday.

Ministers of foreign affairs of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will convene in Singapore on Monday for six days to discuss regional and trans-regional issues related to ASEAN and the TAC.

According to IRNA, there is a consensus among Southeast Asian countries to accept Iran as a party to the treaty.

This is an indication of the significance of interaction with Iran as an influential country in regional and international equations, it said.

Iran is an observer state in the TAC and part of the upcoming meeting will be about the full membership of the observer states including Iran.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-29 01:42:46|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Chinese President Xi Jinping delivers a speech titled "Turn Our Vision into a Reality" at the Plenary Session of the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, July 26, 2018. The session, hosted by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, was also attended by Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

PORT LOUIS, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping is leaving Mauritius on Saturday, the last stop of his visit to the Middle East and Africa.

During his 11-day trip, Xi paid state visits to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Senegal, Rwanda, South Africa and a friendly visit to Mauritius during a stopover. He also attended the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

The visit opens new prospect for the South-South cooperation and promotes the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, said Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

ENHANCE CHINA-ARAB TIES

Xi's visit to the UAE brings bilateral ties to a higher level and gives a demonstration for cooperation between China and Arab countries, Wang said.

It is Xi's first visit to the UAE, and the first by a Chinese head of state in 29 years to the Arab state.

During the visit, the two countries issued a joint statement on establishing a comprehensive strategic partnership, which provides political guidance and overall plans for the development of bilateral relations in the next stage.

They signed a memorandum of understanding on implementing the Belt and Road Initiative, and decided to dovetail their development strategies and strengthen communication on industrial policies.

China and the UAE will accelerate the establishment of the first Belt and Road international exchange in Abu Dhabi, which will provide financial services to the construction of Belt and Road in the Middle East and the Gulf region.

Earlier this month, Beijing hosted the eighth ministerial conference of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum at which China and Arab countries agreed to establish a "future-oriented strategic partnership of comprehensive cooperation and common development."

Xi told the conference that China is willing to join hands with Arab states to build the Belt and Road, and to build a community with a shared future for China and Arab countries.

Xi's UAE visit is a lively interpretation and a successful roadshow of China's policy toward Arab states, Wang said.

DEEPEN CHINA-AFRICA FRIENDSHIP

Xi has attached great importance to China-Africa relations. He chose Africa as the destination of his first foreign visit both after he was first elected Chinese president in 2013 and after his re-election this year.

China and Africa are sincere partners on their path of development and natural allies in international affairs, Wang said.

During his African tour, Xi emphasized that it is China's long-term and firm strategic choice to develop ties with African countries.

No matter how the international situation changes, 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.

During the visit, China and the four African nations have agreed to strengthen the alignment of their development strategies, further tap their economic complementarities and expand the scope of cooperation.

Another key achievement of Xi's African tour is the signing of cooperation documents regarding the Belt and Road Initiative. Senegal and Rwanda respectively signed memorandums of understanding with China on the initiative and Mauritius reached agreement with China to sign the cooperation accord on the initiative at an early date.

Senegal is the first West African country to sign a Belt and Road cooperation document with China, and it is expected to have a driving effect in the region, said Wang.

During his visit, Xi and his African hosts have seen the signing of some 40 cooperation documents, he added.

At every stop of his African tour, Xi was given grand welcome ceremonies by the governments and was received with exceptional hospitality by the local people, which is a valid proof that China's role in Africa is by no means neo-colonialism, according to the Chinese foreign minister.

EXPAND BRICS COOPERATION

During his visit to South Africa, Xi attended the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg, which opened up the second "Golden Decade" for BRICS cooperation.

The summit of the bloc of emerging market economies from Wednesday to Friday gathered leaders from its members -- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- to discuss ways in seeking common development and prosperity amid new global challenges.

While addressing the BRICS Business Forum at the summit, Xi said that the next decade will be a crucial one in which new global growth drivers will take the place of old ones, seeing faster changes in the international landscape and the international alignment of forces, and witnessing a profound reshaping of the global governance system.

Xi also called for building an open economy, rejecting unilateralism and protectionism, boosting international exchanges and cooperation in innovation, easing the impact of application of information technology, automation and smart technology on traditional industries, as well as pursuing inclusive growth to deliver benefits to people of all countries and promoting international development and cooperation.

He also urged to uphold multilateralism, support multilateral trade regime and fully observe collectively adopted international rules.

"A trade war should be rejected, because there will be no winner. Economic hegemony is even more objectionable, as it will undermine the collective interests of the international community; those who pursue this course will only end up hurting themselves," Xi said, in response to the rising unilateralism and trade protectionism.

The Johannesburg summit has yielded fruitful outcomes, with the BRICS countries confirming to forge a partnership on the new industrial revolution.

The establishment of such a partnership will become a flagship project that will push forward cooperation among the BRICS countries, Wang said.

Meanwhile, he said, the Johannesburg Declaration voiced the bloc's determination to pursue common development, preserve equity and justice, stick to multilateralism and improve global governance, injecting positive energy to the world amid great uncertainties.

The BRICS summit also invited other developing countries including other emerging market economies and African nations to participate in the "BRICS Plus" dialogue, further expanding the BRICS circles and strengthening the partnership between the BRICS and African countries, Wang added.

It is a historic visit during which China has strengthened strategic cooperation with developing countries and emerging economies, and which will have significant and positive impact on the transformation of international landscape and the progress of mankind, Wang said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-29 01:42:46|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CHICAGO, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning youth are more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes, be obese and engage in less physical activity and more sedentary activities than heterosexual youth, a Northwestern University Medicine study has found.

This is the largest study to date to report differences in levels of physical activity, sedentary behavior and obesity by sex and sexual orientation among high-school-aged students.

The researchers used national data from 350,673 U.S. high-school students, predominantly ranging between 14 and 18 years old, collected by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as part of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey to detect disparities in diabetes risk factors by sexual orientation.

The study found that on average, sexual minority and questioning students were less likely to engage in physical activity than heterosexual students. They reported approximately one less day per week of physical activity and were 38 to 53 percent less likely to meet physical activity guidelines than heterosexual students.

The number of hours of sedentary activity among bisexual and questioning students was higher than heterosexual students, with an average of 30 minutes more per school day than heterosexual counterparts.

And lesbian, bisexual and questioning female students were 1.55 to 2.07 times more likely to be obese than heterosexual female students. Obesity and sedentary activity may be higher in this population because lesbian, gay, bisexual and questioning youth are subjected to minority stress.

"Many of these youth might be taking part in sedentary activities like playing video games to escape the daily stress tied to being lesbian, gay, bisexual or questioning," said lead study author Lauren Beach, a postdoctoral research fellow at NU Institute for Sexual and Gender Minority Health and Wellbeing. "Our findings show that minority stress actually has a very broad-ranging and physical impact."

Cultural and environmental factors may also be at play.

Teachers, parents and physicians should work together to ensure these youth have the tools they need to stay healthy, Beach said. Family support and identity affirmation: developing positive feelings and a strong attachment to a group, have been consistently linked to better health among LGBQ youth.

The study has been published in the journal Pediatric Diabetes.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-29 01:52:47|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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CHICAGO, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) agricultural commodities closed higher over the trading week which ended July 27, with wheat futures surging nearly 3 percent, supported by concerns about crop shortfalls in key production areas around the globe.

The most active corn contract for December delivery rose 7.25 cents weekly, or 1.96 percent, to 3.7625 dollars per bushel. September wheat delivery surged 14.5 cents, or 2.81 percent, to 5.305 dollars per bushel. November soybeans added 20.5 cents, or 2.05 percent, to 8.8525 dollars per bushel over the week.

CBOT corn futures rallied 7.25 cents on the week. The market has largely been following wheat, but major exporter corn supply and demand is historically tight. Most importantly, a new record U.S. yield will only marginally change global stocks and use.

Argentina will compete with the U.S. for expect demand in the next 45 days or so. However, there's little doubt the U.S.Department of Agriculture (USDA)'s U.S. export forecast is 150-300 million bushels low. This will offset any U.S. yield gain.

Close attention will be paid to Pro Farmer's annual crop tour in mid-August following disappointing spring wheat yields, despite high crop ratings. And like wheat, the world needs 7-8 million more corn acres in 2019/20 to prevent further declines in world exporter stocks. Seasonal lows have been forged in CBOT corn.

U.S. wheat futures ended the week sharply higher, led by European markets and spring wheat futures in the United States. The Northern Hemisphere harvest has turned out worse than expected and with additional cuts made to crops in North Europe this week, the world exporter balance sheet is tightening.

And Ukrainian yields are running below USDA's July forecast. Spring wheat yields in the U.S. were capped by early and mid-summer heat. Canadian harvest estimates are declining. And crippling drought continues across the East Australia.

Soybean futures rallied over 20 cents this week, and November delivery price is now 60 cents above it's early July low. Analysts fully expects these lows to hold on record large U.S. demand.

But unlike grains, soybean outlook remains rigidly neutral. Europe stated this week it aims to buy more U.S. soybeans in 2018/19 in order for U.S. tariffs on EU goods to be eased. Traders note that Europe already was going to buy soybeans exclusively from the U.S. amid steep discounts to South American origins.

U.S. weather needs to be monitored with pockets of new dryness emerging and heat projected to return to the Central U.S. August weather will determine U.S. soybean yields.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-29 01:57:49|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BEIJING, July 28 (Xinhua) -- China's disaster relief authorities has launched a level IV emergency response plan to help flood victims in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, according to the Ministry of Emergency Management Saturday.

About 761,000 people in Inner Mongolia in north China were affected by floods caused by heavy rains that hit the region since the beginning of this month. As of 7 a.m. Friday, 12 people were reported dead and two others missing. Nearly 100,000 people have been evacuated.

According to regional civil affairs authority, 2,528 houses collapsed while 3,152 houses were badly damaged. The direct economic losses in the region were estimated at 5.3 billion yuan (about 780 million U.S. dollars).

The Ministry of Emergency Management has sent relief work teams to flood-hit regions to guide relief efforts.

The ministry has sent 3,000 tents, 5,000 folding beds and other supplies to flood-hit regions.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-29 02:17:52|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi meets with Mauritian Foreign Minister Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo in Port Louis, Mauritius, July 28, 2018. Wang Yi accompanied Chinese President Xi Jinping in his friendly visit to Mauritius. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

PORT LOUIS, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said here on Saturday that President Xi Jinping's visit to Mauritius is of milestone significance in the history of the bilateral relations.

Wang, who accompanied Xi in his friendly visit to Mauritius, made the remarks when meeting with his Mauritian counterpart Vishnu Lutchmeenaraidoo.

The Chinese president visited Mauritius in his first overseas trip after he was re-elected Chinese president in March, which shows that China has attached great importance to developing relations with Mauritius, Wang said.

The friendly visit will increase mutual trust and boost bilateral cooperation between China and Mauritius, Wang said.

He called on the two countries to strengthen contacts to make sure that the consensus reached between the two countries' leaders is implemented, and to promote the sustainable and in-depth development of the bilateral relations.

Mauritius' active participation in the construction of the Belt and Road will create new space for the mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries, Wang said.

China expects to work with the African countries that will attend the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), including Mauritius, to ensure the upcoming Beijing summit a complete success, Wang said.

For his part, Lutchmeenaraidoo said his country is ready to implement the outcomes of Xi's visit with China.

He said Mauritius firmly upholds the one China policy, fully supports the Belt and Road Initiative and is willing to negotiate and sign a bilateral free trade agreement with China at an early date.

Mauritius looks forward to attending the upcoming FOCAC Beijing summit, he said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-29 03:02:58|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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TEHRAN, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Iran exported 15.45 billion U.S. dollars of non-oil products during the four-month period from March 21 to July 22, registering 14.69 percent rise compared to the same period last year, Tehran Times daily reported on Saturday.

Major exported items included gas condensate valued at 1.86 billion dollars, liquefied propane worth 691 million dollars, and low-density oils and their byproducts except for gasoline valued at 555 million dollars.

Among the exports, polyethylene film grade valued at 411 million dollars, and methanol worth 470 million dollars.

China, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Iraq, Afghanistan and South Korea were the main export markets of Iranian non-oil goods during the four-month period.

In the meantime, Iran imported 15.18 billion dollars of non-oil products in the mentioned time span, with 4.05 percent fall from the figure compared to the corresponding period last year.

Auto parts worth 726 million dollars, corn as livestock food valued at 711 million dollars, rice worth 675 million dollars, and soy bean valued at 492 million dollars were the major imported products from China, UAE, South Korea, India and Germany.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-29 03:38:03|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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JOHANNESBURG, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The business community on Saturday voiced support for the BRICS resolution to oppose protectionism and embrace rules based on multilateralism.

This came out at a high-level discussion in Johannesburg by government officials and captains of industry.

South Africa's Department of Trade and Industry Invest South Africa CEO Yunus Hoosen reiterated that protectionism should be rejected.

"We support the outcomes of the BRICS summit with a commitment to work with partners to work together supporting multilateral to protect our policy space," said Hoosen.

He also noted that in the past 16 years there has been a shift in the global trade from the North to the South. BRICS is now a force to reckon in the global trade calling for other friendly countries to collaborate with them to build a better world.

He said, "We must be able to consolidate our position in the international world with fellow partners to accelerate our agenda on the multilateral system."

Hoosen mentioned that BRICS are collaborating in intellectual property, regulations and trade promotion. "We have to work with BRICS members and emerging economies on common positions like the WTO, inclusive agenda that seek to protect our policy space and promote industrialization."

The meeting was attended by officials from high commissioners and embassies of countries including Russia, India, South Africa, Indonesia, Malaysia and Syria.

Hoosen invited the countries to exploit the opportunities which exist in the collaboration with BRICS countries.

South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SACCI) President Zeph Ndlovu stated that multilateralism and open market is the way to go.

Addressing the gathering, he said they will never support unilateralism and protectionism.

"We are part of BRICS and G20 and it is important for us to espouse multilateralism. We do not support protectionism as seen in the U.S. It is counterproductive, counterrevolutionary and counter progressive. No man is an island and we dare not promote that. Let us hold our hands together," said Ndlovu.

He said that as part of the "league of nations" and business they promote interrelations with other countries of the world.

Ndlovu pointed out that they respect the open free market system espoused in the UN protocol.

He also pointed out that as SACCI they are members of the International Chamber of Commerce, UN and other international organizations and they support the rules based on open market system.

Ndlovu did not mince his words saying "protectionism has to be dismissed with the contempt it deserves."

Pan African Chamber of Commerce marketing and communications Director Kudzai Muchechetere also supported multilateralism.

"We do not support policies which are inward looking. Protectionism is selfish. We support open market. We want Africa to trade with itself and the world to allow the economies to grow," she said.

She also expressed support for rules based on global trade with countries of the world.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-29 04:03:06|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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JERUSALEM, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Bank Leumi, one of Israel's biggest banks, agreed in a deal Saturday to sell its credit card sector "Leumi Card" company to the U.S. private equity firm Warburg Pincus at a price of 2.5 billion new shekels (685 million U.S. dollars).

Leumi Card, founded in 1996, issues both Visa and MasterCard credit cards.

The two largest banks in Israel, Leumi and Hapoalim, were required under a new Israeli law, enacted in January 2017, to sell their holdings in credit card companies to encourage competition between banks.

According to the law, the two banks must sell their entire holdings in the credit card companies before January 2021.

The law was passed following advice from an Israeli public committee, which was set up by Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon, to increase competition in common banking and financial services.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-29 04:33:10|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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NAIROBI, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Energy experts from Eastern and Southern Africa including Indian Ocean region are set to meet in Nairobi from Monday to seek ways of enhancing energy market sustainability, organizers said on Saturday.

The four-day meeting organized by Africa's largest trading bloc, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) will review progress on the implementation of the project's first-year work program (2017-2018) and adopt the work plan and budget for the second year 2018-2019.

The meeting comes as five regional economic communities have begun implementing a new project on enhancing energy market sustainability.

The Enhancement of a Sustainable Energy Market in Eastern Africa, Southern Africa and Indian Ocean (EA-SA-IO) region (ESREM) is a 7 million euros project funded by the European Union.

"The overall objective of the project is to create a regional energy market that is conducive to investment and sustainable energy development," COMESA said in a statement issued in Nairobi.

"ESREM is a 7 million euros project funded by the EU to address market governance and regulatory related challenges affecting the implementation of energy development projects in the region," it said.

The project will run for four years since the signing of the grant delegation agreement with COMESA in May 2017.

Members of the Project Steering Committee that will meet in Nairobi comprise of energy experts from five participating regional economic communities (RECs) - COMESA, the East African Community (EAC,) Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) and the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC).

Others are the regional associations of energy regulators, the Regional Power Pools, Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Centres and the European Union Delegations to the three sub-regions.

According to the bloc, prior to the energy experts meeting, an awareness training for regional journalists and communication experts from the participating organizations will be conducted on Monday as part of the project's communication and visibility strategy.

"Communication experts from the RECs, ministries of energy, energy associations and power pools will participate in the one-day training and visit a renewable energy project. Journalists from Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, and Burundi will also attend the training," it said.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-29 04:43:11|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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BAGHDAD, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi security forces Saturday killed two Islamic State (IS) militants during an operation in villages near Iraq's northern city of Kirkuk, the Iraqi military said.

The federal police launched an operation to clear cluster of villages from remnants of IS militants in west of Kirkuk, some 250 km north of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasoul, spokesperson of the Iraqi Joint Operations Command, said in a statement.

The operation resulted in the killing of two IS militants, one was a local IS leader in the town of Hawijah before the Iraqi forces liberated the town in September 2017, the statement said.

The troops destroyed two IS hideouts and defused three roadside bombs, along with arresting 10 IS suspects for interrogation, the statement added.

During the past few months, dozens of IS militants fled their former urban strongholds in Mosul, Salahudin province and Hawijah area in the west of Kirkuk after the Iraqi forces cleared these areas through major anti-IS offensives.

However, many IS remnants have resorted to hideouts in mountainous and rugged areas near the rivers of Tigris and Zab, as well as Himreen mountain range that extends to neighboring Diyala province in eastern Iraq.

On Dec. 9, 2017, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi officially declared full liberation of Iraq from IS militants. But small groups of IS militants regrouped in the rugged areas and have been carrying out attacks against the security forces and civilians despite the repeated Iraqi military operations to hunt them down.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-29 04:53:13|Editor: Chengcheng

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DAMASCUS, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) announced on Saturday that it has agreed with the Syrian government on forming negotiation committees to end the current war.

In a statement, the SDC, the political wing of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), declared that an agreement has been reached "to draw a roadmap that would lead to a democratic, decentralized Syria."

Such a declaration came after a delegation of the SDC arrived in Damascus on Thursday and held talks with representatives of the Syrian government, according to the pan-Arab al-Mayadeen TV.

According to the SDC statement, the meeting in Damascus aimed at laying the foundations that will pave the way for embarking on broader negotiations to resolve "lingering problems."

The meetings in Damascus had been preceded with meetings between both sides in the city of Tabqa in the countryside of Raqqa province, according to the statement.

Sihanouk Debo, advisor to the joint presidency of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, told al-Mayadeen TV Saturday that the meeting with the Syrian government was a "first good step."

He noted that the meeting has "turned the table on all those betting on fragmented Syria."

Debo said the SDF, the armed wing of the SDC, "has always seen itself as part of the future Syrian army."

The talks marked the first public dialogue between the SDC and the Syrian government to look into the future of the Kurdish-controlled areas in northern Syria.

Meanwhile, the Qatari al-Jazeera TV on Saturday cited Riad Darar, the co-chairman of the SDC, who said that the SDF will hand over areas under its control to the Syrian army.

Darar said that the meeting in Damascus came upon the invitation of the Syrian government.

The Syrian Kurds in northern Syria seemed to be more willing to negotiate with Damascus after President Bashar al-Assad's remarks about opening door for negotiations last month.

The pro-government al-Watan newspaper said last month that the Syrian Kurds in northern Syria wanted to negotiate with Damascus without preconditions.

Mays Kreidi, the spokeswoman of the National Democratic Front, Syrian opposition group, said recently that the atmosphere is positive in the predominantly Kurdish areas in northern Syria about negotiating with Damascus, citing Kurdish figures.

Last month, Kreidi said that a delegation of her group met with Elham Ahmad, co-chair of the SDC, in the northern city of Qamishli. She added that the council agreed to send a delegation to negotiate with Damascus without preconditions.

Darar stressed that the negotiation with the Syrian government is the best way to reach results that serve Syria, according to the al-Watan newspaper.

He said that the SDF has prepared itself to fight Islamic State (IS), and the SDF is ready to be a part of the Syrian army after a settlement, adding that the SDF alliance with the foreign forces was to get rid of terrorism.

This came as the Syrian government forces have been making strides in the battles against the rebels in key Syrian areas nationwide. Assad has recently stressed the Syrian army's determination to capture all Syria areas and said that the United States must withdraw from Syria.

The SDF has spearheaded the war on the IS in the northern province of Raqqa, which was the de facto capital of the terror-designated group.

Observers believe that the positive interaction came apparently after Kurdish political groups in predominantly Kurdish areas in northern Syria sensed the risk of keeping on reliance on the United States after such dependency made them lose the Afrin enclave to the Turkish-backed rebels earlier this year.

Also, the Russians, Syrian government's main ally, have been active diplomatically to reach a formula to put the foundations for a political solution to Syria's seven-year-long war.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-29 04:58:14|Editor: Chengcheng

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HOUSTON, July 28 (Xinhua) -- The number of active drilling rigs in the United States increased by two to 1048, or 90 more than this time last year, showed weekly data collected by Baker Hughes released on Friday.

The price of the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) and Brent increased by 0.6 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively in the week ending on July 20.

The Houston-based oilfield services company reported that the number of active oil rigs increased by three to 861 this week with more than half of oil rigs, or 480, were located in Permian Basin region of western Texas and southeastern New Mexico. The number of gas rigs dipped by one, hitting 186, and miscellaneous rig count remained the same as one this week.

Canada gained 12 oil rigs this week. Canada's gas rig counts remained the same. Canada's oil and gas rig count is now just up three year on year. Oil rigs were up by 25 year on year in Canada, while the number of gas rigs was down by 22.

Analysts attributed the increase in the Canadian oil rig counts to cyclicality. In spring, the ground becomes too muddy due to melting snow. The industry calls that snow melt the spring break up. In summer, the Canadian oil and gas producers start adding more rigs as the ground dries up.

Oil prices were pressured on Friday as data showed that U.S. energy companies this week added more oil rigs despite the pipeline bottlenecks. Furthermore, Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak's statement has put additional pressure on the oil prices, in which he said, "We do not rule out an increase in oil production in excess of 1 million barrels a day."

Another negative factor that pressures the oil prices was the stronger U.S. dollar. U.S. dollar index which is a measure of the value of the U.S. dollar relative to a basket of foreign currencies. Oil is mostly traded in U.S. dollars all over the world and a stronger U.S. dollar pressures the oil demand.

Anas Alhajji, an energy economist based in Dallas, U.S. state of Texas, told Xinhua that "the main threat for growth in global demand this summer is the rising U.S. dollar."

The WTI for August delivery added 0.42 dollar to settle at 68.69 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, reporting a gain of 0.6 percent in the week.

Brent crude September delivery added 1.22 U.S. dollar to settle at 74.29 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange, reporting gain of 1.7 percent in the week.

According to the Weekly Petroleum Status Report by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) on Wednesday, U.S. commercial crude oil inventories, excluding those in the Strategic Petroleum Reserve declined by 6.1 million barrels during the week ending July 20.

In the previous week ending July 13, EIA reported an increase of 5.8 million barrels.

U.S. crude oil refinery inputs averaged 17.29 million barrels per day during the week ending July 20 which was 46,000 per day more than the previous week's average.

U.S. crude oil imports averaged 7.8 million barrels per day last week, down by 1.3 million barrels per day from the previous week. Over the past four weeks, crude oil imports averaged 8.33 million barrels per day, 6.1 percent higher than the same four-week period last year.

Total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 2.3 million barrels last week and are about 1.4 percent above the levels of the same week last year.

Distillate fuel inventories decreased by 100,000 barrels last week are 19 percent below the levels of the same week last year. Total commercial petroleum inventories declined by 9.7 million barrels last week.

Total products supplied over the last four-week period averaged 21.05 million barrels per day, down by 0.6 percent from the same period last year. Over the past four weeks, motor gasoline supplied averaged 9.68 million barrels per day, down by 0.5 percent from the same period last year.

Distillate fuel supplied over the last four-week period averaged 4.06 million barrels per day, down by 3.9 percent from the same period last year. Over the past four weeks, jet fuel supplied averaged 1.87 million barrels per day, maintaining the same levels of the same period last year.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-29 05:38:18|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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Chinese President Xi Jinping (L) meets with Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth during his friendly visit to the country in Port Louis, Mauritius, July 28, 2018. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

PORT LOUIS, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said here on Saturday that China is willing to always be a good friend and a good partner of Mauritius and promote the bilateral friendly cooperative ties to continuously reach new heights.

Xi made the remarks when meeting with Mauritian Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth during his friendly visit to the country.

Xi spoke positively about the remarkable achievements Mauritius has made since it gained independence 50 years ago, and expressed appreciation for the friendly policy the successive Mauritian governments have followed toward China.

He pointed out that the two countries and two peoples enjoy profound friendship and cherish a close bond of affection for each other.

Since China and Mauritius established diplomatic ties 46 years ago, the two sides have witnessed increasingly deepened political mutual trust and fruitful results in exchanges and cooperation in various areas, Xi said.

Both as developing countries, China and Mauritius have similar development processes and tasks, he said.

The two countries now face new important opportunities for the development of their relations, Xi pointed out.

The Chinese president said that the two countries should maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges, strengthen exchanges between government departments, legislative bodies and at sub-national level, and continue to understand and support each other on issues involving respective core interests and major concern.

The two sides should explore the potential for practical cooperation, improve the standard of bilateral trade and investment liberalization and facilitation, negotiate about and sign a bilateral free trade agreement at an early date, leverage the unique geographical advantage of Mauritius in participating in the Belt and Road Initiative, strengthen communication and aligning, and deepen cooperation in a wide range of areas, Xi said.

The two countries should also enhance people-to-people exchanges and mutual understanding, he said.

China stands ready to strengthen South-South cooperation on climate change with Mauritius, increase coordination in international affairs and safeguard the common interests of developing countries, he said.

On China-Africa relations, Xi said that China and Africa are a community with a shared future in which the two sides go through thick and thin together, and are also a community of shared interests in which the two sides carry out win-win cooperation.

No matter how the international landscape changes, and no matter how much progress China has made in development, China will always stand together with Africa and other developing countries, and will be a sincere friend and reliable partner of Africa forever, Xi said.

He said that China and Africa have decided to hold the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) in September, and he looks forward to discussing the China-Africa cooperation plan in the new era with African leaders including Prime Minister Jugnauth.

Jugnauth again extended his warm welcome for President Xi's stopover in and historic friendly visit to Mauritius, saying that the two countries enjoy a long history of friendship based on historical inheritance and people-to-people bond.

He said that since the two countries established diplomatic ties, the two sides have developed a close and vigorous relationship on the basis of mutual trust and mutual respect.

Mauritius thanks China for its long-term strong support and assistance, pays high attention to China's development in the new era, admires China's tremendous achievements, and speaks positively of President Xi's proposal to build a community with a shared future for mankind, he said.

Mauritius will continue to firmly uphold the one China policy, welcomes the Belt and Road Initiative, and is willing to deepen mutually beneficial and friendly cooperation with China, Jugnauth said.

The prime minister said that he eagerly looks forward to attending the FOCAC Beijing Summit to jointly build an even closer Africa-China partnership.

Mauritius is the last stop of Xi's five-nation Middle East and Africa tour. He has visited the United Arab Emirates, Senegal, Rwanda and South Africa, and attended the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg.
Source: Xinhua| 2018-07-29 05:48:21|Editor: Mu Xuequan

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by Mahmoud Fouly, Ahmed al-Afyouni

QENA, Egypt, July 28 (Xinhua) -- "Vendetta is better than shame" is a common saying in Upper Egypt, the tribal southern part of the country, which indicates how Upper Egyptian families think of the chronic tradition of blood feuds as "an honor."

The phenomenon has been prevailing in the tribal side of southern Egypt for decades or even generations, where family revenge killing equals honor, dignity and manhood, although most of the causes that triggered the enmity are often trivial, such as a quarrel about fighting kids, or a dispute over a phone recharge card.

The norm in Upper Egypt is that when a family member is killed, the family buries the body but never holds a funeral until they kill the murderer or one of his dearest family members in revenge, and the blood feuds go on.

In Upper Egypt's Qena province, Nag Ma'alla of Hugairat village is referred to as "the village of widows" for there is almost no home without a widow who has lost her husband in a blood feud or without bullet holes or traces in the walls.

Most of the village men involved in blood feuds live in the nearby mountains to escape either murder or arrest.

Widows usually dress only in black for long years as a sign of mourning and they breastfeed their babies the desire for blood revenge, said Fathiya al-Essaily, a 70-year-old woman from "the village of widows," who lost both her husband and elder son in vendetta feuds.

"A widow here would push her son for killing in revenge regardless of the consequences and the possible murder or escape of her son, because only then she would be no longer living in shame," the old lady told Xinhua at her one-storey home in Nag Ma'alla of Hugairat village in Qena.

62-year-old Mohamed Owais, also from Nag Ma'alla, lost both his brother and his 15-year-old nephew in a similar feud that represented "the most difficult moments" in his life.

"When my brother saw his boy smeared with blood and breathing his last, he lost consciousness and died and we buried them both together," Owais said while sitting outside his two-floor raw-brick house.

The blood feud, Owais continued, went on for several years until the Owais family accepted a reconciliation brokered by security authorities and popular reconciliation committees one and a half years ago.

The tradition of reconciliation in a blood feud is a kind of ceremony watched by all villagers, where the one whose turn is to be killed walks to the family whose turn is to take revenge carrying his death shroud, a white garment, in his arms.

He submissively and apologetically lies down in front of the man who is supposed to kill him as a sign of seeking forgiveness. His apology is always accepted because it is considered in Upper Egypt as shame for him and honor for the other family.

Lawmaker Hamza Abu Sehli from Qena, who lost his elder son in a blood feud with a big family, said that the recently reached reconciliation put an end to a wave of bloodshed between the two families and restored his inner peace.

"I convinced my family to accept the reconciliation urged by official and popular efforts to stop the killing circle between the two families, and my reconciliatory attitude was respected by everyone," the parliamentarian told Xinhua in the Upper Egyptian province.

Mahmoud Abdel-Mo'ez, a 65-year-old retired employee at the Ministry of Education, recalled the tragedy of losing his son during his wedding ceremony due to a vendetta feud and losing his wife who died out of grief over her son's death a few months later.

An elementary school student in Hugairat village, whose parents conditioned not to mention his name, lamented that most teachers are reluctant to show up at school due to the many surrounding feuds, noting that most students drop education at some stage.

"A lot of boys here learn how to carry guns since childhood," the boy continued with a sad tone. "I hope that we all carry pens rather than guns for the best interest of our village and nation."

Despite the cancerous tradition, the authorities, in cooperation with wise people through special committees, managed to achieve dozens of reconciliations and end bloodshed between big families over the past few years.

"The security department in Qena, in cooperation with the governorate and the reconciliation committees, managed to achieve 100 reconciliations between feuding families in the past four years," said Qena's Deputy Security Chief Alaa al-Ayyat.

In the last two years, the police also seized more than 3,000 unlicensed guns with over 20,000 bullets in Qena province, which is known as "the capital of Upper Egypt's tribes."

For his part, Governor of Qena Abdel-Hamid al-Haggan said that the political leadership puts the elimination of blood feuds as one of its priorities in Upper Egypt, particularly in Qena.

He stressed that such disputes negatively affect the nation's struggle for progress and development.

"The good traits and values of Upper Egyptians, including forgiveness, contributed to the rising number of reconciliations that reflects a positive change in Upper Egyptian cultures and thoughts," the governor told Xinhua.
The Socialist Party has said the motto of the 29th Balvanyos Summer University in Baile Tusnad (Tusnadfurdo), in central Romania, should be transition from democracy to dictatorship.

Socialist MEP Istvan Ujhelyi told MTI that his party would hold events at five locations in Transylvania and Szeklerland over the next two days.



He said the tour presented an opportunity to meet with leaders of Hungarian organisations beyond the borders in Miercurea Ciuc (Csikszereda), Targu Mures (Marosvasarhely) and Oradea (Nagyvarad), so they could share their aspirations concerning policy for Hungarian communities beyond the border.

Referring to a speech Prime Minister Viktor Orban made at the Baile Tusnad event four years ago, he said the place reminded Hungarians of the establishment of an illiberal, anti-democratic system.

Ujhelyi insisted that the nations reunification would be possible in the coming decades only within a united, strong and borderless Europe. He added that the ruling Fidesz party, which has always emphasised its Hungarianness, wanted to dismantle the European Union.

Zsolt Molnar, the partys deputy leader, accused Fidesz and the government of giving aid only to Hungarian organisations that cooperate and sympathise with them.



Whereas it is right to support cross-border Hungarian groups, the funding should be decided by an independent body, he argued.



MTI Photo: Veres Nandor
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ISLAMABAD: Hours after Pakistan's PM-designate and PTI chief Imran Khan's announcement to 'rebuild' Pakistan, a report on dreaded terrorist outfit Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) building a new terror training academy has come to fore.

According to the 'First Post' report, the Masood Azhar-led outfit is said to be constructing a massive 15-acre complex on the outskirts of Bahawalpur city in Punjab province where thousands of its young recruits will be trained for jihad and anti-India purpose.

The construction of the building is being carried out in a clandestine manner, the report said.

If the report is to be believed, the complex being built by the JeM will be a massive one - five times the size of its existing headquarters in the city.

The shocking report about the JeM's new terror academy comes at a time when the PTI chief has elaborated on his plans to weed out corruption and make Pakistan a respectable nation in the world.

JeM is also among several Pakistan-based terror outfits which are carrying out jihad in Kashmir with an aim to merge it into Pakistan.

In the run-up to the parliamentary polls, the Massod Azhar-led group had strongly campaigned against former PM Nawaz Sharif's PML-N, putting its entire weight around Imran Khan's Tehreek-e-Insaf.

JeM and several terror groups had vociferous campaigned against PML-N and labelled Nawaz Sharif as a ''traitor to Pakistan and Islam.''

Since the banned terror outfit is believed to have aided in the landslide victory of Imran Khan-led PTI, it would be interesting to see what action the new government in Pakistan will take against the group if it is serious about maintaining cordial ties with India.

In view of growing international pressure on Pakistan to act against non-state actors, the political establishment has chalked out a 26-point action plan to rein in terror financing.

The sanctions imposed by the government against the banned terror groups are likely to come into effect from September next year.

According to local government records, cited by the report, the land for the new JeM terror academy was purchased directly by Masood Azhar.

It is to be noted that JeM has carried out several terror attacks in India, including the December 2001 attack on Parliament and the Pathankot IAF airbase in January 2016.

The JeM leadership, which hopes to make the Bahawalpur academy as the center of all its Jihadi operations, is reaching out to people, especially in the Punjab province, to raise funds by addressing mosque congregations.
DHAKA: A Bangladeshi photographer was criticised, thrashed and eventually fired from his job for clicking a passionate young couple kissing in the rain.

According to reports, photojournalist Jibon Ahmed had posted the steamy picture on Facebook which soon went viral.

Jibon Ahmed had clicked the picture on the campus of the University of Dhaka, which witnessed a series of protests and violent incidents in recent months.

While the picture evoked positive reactions from several social media users in Bangladesh, Jiban had to bear the brunt for clicking what he called ''artistic photo''.

According to the Bangladesh News 18 website, Jibon was roughed up by fellow photographers and asked to surrender his ID and laptop, without giving him a reason.

Ahmed, on his part, claimed that the couple did not object to him taking the photograph, and refused to be a victim of moral policing in the Islamic country.

He told Washington Post that he was roaming around on the university campus when he spotted the couple "lip kissing" in the rain and decided to click the young lovers.

However, his editor praised him for the ''artistic photograph'' and also vowed to take legal action against those who thrashed him.

Ahmed has, however, been "absent from office from July 24," Khujista Nur-e-Naharin, editor of the news portal Purboposhchimbd, was quoted as saying.
ISLAMABAD: A multi-party conference (MPC) and Pakistan Peoples Party late on Friday rejected the just-concluded Pakistan election results, demanding a transparent and free and fair re-election.

A multi-party conference (MPC), called to devise a joint strategy over alleged rigging in the 2018 general elections of Pakistan, demanded a "transparent" re-election and said the polls were "rigged massively" and the results were manipulated.

Attended by leaders of various parties, the MPC was chaired by PML-N President Shahbaz Sharif and Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) President Maulana Fazlur Rehman. It was held at the Islamabad residence of MMA leader Mian Aslam, Dawn reported.

"The APC (all parties conference) has completely rejected the July 25 elections with consensus," announced Rehman while addressing the media after the conference concluded.

A multi-party conference was called for by the PML-N to concoct a strategy over the alleged rigging of the Pakistan General Elections 2018 Read @ANI story | https://t.co/tX3hmtLw5I pic.twitter.com/zbb8pSZj8g  ANI Digital (@ani_digital) July 27, 2018

"We do not consider this election to be the mandate of the public."

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) had earlier on Friday decided not to attend the conference, with a spokesperson saying its leadership will devise its own strategy regarding alleged poll irregularities.

The chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari rejected the election process and claimed the General Election 2018 was not free and fair, Geo News reported.

Bilawal, while addressing a press conference on Friday, demanded the resignation of the chief election commissioner over failure to conduct transparent polls.

He said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is responsible for carrying out transparent polls and that the electoral body failed in its task.

"We don't accept the results of the elections," he said.

In attendance at the MPC were Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Senator Sirajul Haq, Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair, Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Hafeezur Rehman, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider, Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, Qaumi Watan Party chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, National Party's Senator Mir Hasil Bizenjo and several MMA leaders.

PML-N leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ayaz Sadiq, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Chaudhry Tanveer and Khurram Dastagir and Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) leaders Mustafa Kamal, Raza Haroon and Waseem Ahmed also participated.

Interestingly, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM-P) leader Farooq Sattar also showed up to the conference, despite reports that his party has agreed to join the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government in the centre after a contact between PTI leader Jehangir Tareen and Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.

Speaking at the MPC, Sattar alleged that the July 25 polls were "rigged massively" and the results were altered.

"Results of their choice were devised and the party of their choice was made to win," he claimed.

The MMA had on Thursday rejected the poll results outright, calling for declaring the entire electoral exercise "null and void".

The recently revived alliance of five religio-political parties suffered a drubbing in the elections and even its chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and JI chief Sirajul Haq tasted defeat in their native constituencies.

The PML-N too had decided to take all major parties, including the PPP and obviously excluding the PTI, on board to formulate a joint strategy to take up the rigging issue that it believes has deprived it of majority in the coming National Assembly.
New Delhi: The Congress on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not raising the Doklam issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

"The truth is that Prime Minister Modi meets the Chinese president on the sidelines of the BRICS summit and holds talks, but forgets to talk about Doklam. When will this government show the 56-inch chest and red eyes and have the courage to raise the issues concerning security and nation's borders? The 132 crore people of the country want to know," said Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala.

He said the United States Congressional Committee has stated that China has made a headway in Doklam and was raising its infrastructure and Army strength there.

"This is a direct threat and challenge to national security," he added.

The Congress leader said the way Chinese Army strength of Brigade-level was there in north Doklam and in southern Doklam in the Siliguri corridor, China has constructed a road, but the "prime minister and defense minister did not speak anything on it."

"The truth is that the one who claimed of having a 56-inch chest and dared to show 'red eyes' to China, has gone back on his promise and has turned silent on national security.

"The prime minister, who dared to show China his red eyes, gave swing rides to the Chinese president. But when he goes to China with an agenda-less visit, he forgets to even raise the issue of Doklam which is linked to national security," Surjewala said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the 10th BRICS Summit agreed that the Chinese defense minister will visit India next month as part of the efforts to maintain the "momentum" generated by their recent meetings.

PM Modi, who attended the BRICS Summit, met Xi on Thursday for the third time in nearly three months after their two-day informal summit in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late April and a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Qingdao in June.

"It is important to maintain this momentum and for this, we should, at our level, regularly review our relationship and give proper instructions whenever required," Modi told Xi in his opening remarks.
New Delhi: The wet spell in the capital city and adjoining areas is all set to continue well into the weekend with the met department predicting moderate showers here through Saturday and Sunday.

Delhi witnessed heavy showers in the last two days leading to waterlogging in several areas and traffic snarls at major road junctions. With office rush in the morning and evening adding to the on-road chaos, commuters found going tough under an overcast sky.

While the intensity of the rains was especially strong on Thursday, Friday saw light but continuous showers for most parts of the morning. Saturday could see similar weather activity ensuring pleasant weather here.

Here are the live and latest updates on Delhi weather:

This water likely to reach Del by tomo eve. Wherever administration evacuating people, they r requested to cooperate. All depts put on high alert. For any flood related emergency, control room no is 1077. https://t.co/JI2ADxACMW  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) July 28, 2018

Haryana has released 5 lakh cusec water. Called an emergency meeting to discuss the situation.  Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) July 28, 2018

* Delhi govt has called for an emergency meeting in light of the water being released from Haryana's Hathini Kund Barrage.

* Haryana releases more than 6,00,000 cusecs of water at 1800 hours Haryana's Hathini Kund Barrage. Yamuna River is currently 47 cms above the danger level.

* Did you know? In the last 40 years, Yamuna has crossed 'danger' mark in 1967, 1971, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1988, 1995 and 2013.

* Locals being urged to get to upper ground as Yamuna's water level rises:



We're asking people to not let their children&cattle near the river & move to areas in the upper level. We've asked people not to enter into Yamuna river for swimming. We will also set up tents at 10 vulnerable locations & make all arrangements: SDM (East) Arun Gupta #Delhi pic.twitter.com/aDQpHBgJ0r  ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2018

* Security officials patrol the banks of Yamuna, use loudspeakers to warn locals to stay away from the river.

* Haryana released 3,11,190 cusec water from Hathini Kund Barrage at 1100hrs today. Yamuna levels continue to rise.

* After a lull morning, many parts of Delhi-NCR receive light showers from noon.

* News agency ANI reports that 43 boats have been deployed on Yamuna for rescue and relief operations.

* Yamuna flowing at 204.92m. The 'danger' mark is 206m.

* Reports suggest there is a threat of flooding in low-lying areas. (Full report here)

Delhi: Water level in Yamuna river increases following rainfall; Visuals from Yamuna Ghat. Yesterday, 1,15,000 cusec of water was released from Haryana's Hathini Kund Barrage. pic.twitter.com/3PieLj1blz  ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2018

* Yamuna touches 'warning' level, currently flowing at 204.83m. People residing in low-lying areas moved to safer locations. Rescue teams on alert.

* Saturday, being the start of the weekend, could see less chaos on city roads as compared to what was witnessed in the previous two days.

* Several parts of the city received light overnight showers.

* The city woke up to an overcast morning with clouds threatening to unleash rain once again.
New Delhi: CK Bose, grand-nephew of Subhash Chandra Bose, recently tweeted about how Gandhi ji used to revere goats and called for Hindus to give up eating mutton. On Saturday, he clarified that it was his 'subtle take' on increasing violence in the country in the name of cow protection.

Bose, in a tweet on Thursday, had said that Gandhi ji used to treat goats as cow and that Hindus should stop eating the animal's meat. "Gandhi ji used to stay in my grandfather-Sarat Chandra Bose's house at 1 WoodburnPark in Kolkata.He demanded goat's milk! Two goats brought to the house for this purpose. Gandhi protector of Hindus treated goats as Mata by consuming goats milk. Hindus stop eating goat's meat," he had written on the micro-blogging site.

Gandhi ji used to stay in my grandfather-Sarat Chandra Bose's house at 1 WoodburnPark in Kolkata.He demanded goat's milk! Two goats brought to the house for this purpose. Gandhi protector of Hindus treated goats as Mata by consuming goats milk. Hindus stop eating goat's meat  Chandra Kumar Bose (@Chandrabosebjp) July 26, 2018

On Saturday, he told news agency ANI that it was a sarcastic reaction to rising instances of lynchings in the name of cow protection. "One has to understand the subtlety of my tweet. The entire nation is shocked to see the kind of violence & lynching taking place right across the country," he said.

One has to understand the subtlety of my tweet. The entire nation is shocked to see the kind of violence & lynching taking place right across the country:

CK Bose on his tweet"Gandhi protector of Hindus treated goats as Mata by consuming goats milk.Hindus stop eating goat's meat" pic.twitter.com/VnHC7qqows  ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2018

Stringent laws must be enacted to protect the animals- under the law of the land the guilty must be punished & not by #Lynching.No citizen has the right to take law into one's hands.Please don't see #Bharatiyas through the colour of any religion,caste or creed. Treat all as equal  Chandra Kumar Bose (@Chandrabosebjp) July 28, 2018

Not many though have comprehended the 'subtlety of the tweet.' Tripura governor Tathagata Roy slammed Bose for his tweet. "Neither Gandhiji nor your grandfather ever said goats were Mata  thats your conclusion. Nor did Gandhiji (or anyone else) ever proclaim that he was the protector of Hindus. We Hindus regard the cow as our mother, not the goat. Please dont peddle such rot," wrote Roy on his own Twitter handle.

A flurry of exchanges ensued between Bose, a BJP party vice president for the state of West Bengal, and Roy on the matter.

Neither Gandhiji nor your grandfather ever said goats were Mata-that's your conclusion. Nor did Gandhiji (or anyone else) ever proclaim that he was the protector of Hindus. We Hindus regard the cow as our mother,not the goat.

Please don't peddle such rot. https://t.co/xfLb3fDSxM  Tathagata Roy (@tathagata2) July 26, 2018

And while the jury is still out on if the sarcasm was well intended, there is no denying that incidents of cow vigilantism has risen across the country with even Supreme Court taking a grim view of it.
SRINAGAR: India could be faced with another partition if cow vigilantism doesnt stop, senior PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig has warned. He also called for action to prevent these mistakes that happen every day.

Baig, the PDPs Lok Sabha MP from Baramulla raised the spectre of Partition in 1947 while warning against another one. If the killing of Muslims in the name of cows or buffalos is not stopped the consequences will not be good. There has already been one Partition in 1947, he said. (Gai aur bhains ke naam par musalmano ka katal bandh karein warna naateje achhe nahi honge. 1947 mein ek partition pehle hi ho chuka hai.)

Baigs comments came during his speech at a rally in Srinagar to mark the 19th anniversary of the founding of the PDP. He stood by his warning later, in an interview of news agency ANI.

"I said something which was very right. Had I not said it, I would have felt very guilty and cowardly, he said. The problem of Kashmir is due to partition. We can't undo the mistake of 1947 but we can do something about mistakes taking place daily," Baig added.

In an incident on July 21, a 28-year-old man was allegedly lynched by a group of people on suspicion that he was smuggling cows in Alwar district of Rajasthan.

Akbar Khan and another man were taking two cows to their village in Haryana through a forest area near Lalawandi when a group of people severely thrashed Khan. The other man accompanying Khan managed to escape.

Khan was rushed to a government hospital where doctors declared him brought dead.

Reacting to the incident, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee accused the BJP of trying to create an atmosphere of "lynching, hatred and violence".

"The BJP is trying to create an atmosphere of Talibans, lynching, hatred and violence. We don't believe in their concept of Hinduism. Those who now rule the country have bloodstains on their hands," she said.

"Everyday people are being lynched. They (BJP) have unleashed religious terrorism. Before lecturing the states to take steps against those involved in lynching they should ask their own leaders to behave," said Banerjee.

The Congress also accused the BJP of transforming the country into a land of lynchings. "The shocking incident in Alwar has once again proved that the BJP is working overtime and aggressively to transform Hindustan into Lynchistan," said Congress spokesperson Jaiveer Shergill.

(with inputs from agencies)
BHOPAL: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday allotted government bungalows to three former BJP chief ministers of the state. The allocation was made after the Madhya Pradesh High Court ordered the former CMs to vacate government property.

Chouhan used his 'discretionary powers' to allow Uma Bharti, Kailash Chandra Joshi and Babulal Gaur to retain the government bungalows provided to them during their term. However, the courtesy has not yet been extended to Congress's Digvijaya Singh.

Reports say the three BJP ex-CMs applied for the re-allotment of their government bungalows. The Chouhan government then allotted them the bungalows on the basis of these applications. It is not clear from the reports if Digvijaya Singh too had applied for such a re-allotment.

Chouhan's move comes after the Madhya Pradesh High Court had on June 20 ordered the former CMs to vacate the government property. The MP High Court had given a month to comply with the order. However, the bungalows were still not vacated.

The HC order to vacate is in line with the Supreme Court's ruling for former elected officials to vacate government properties in Uttar Pradesh. The apex court had on May 7 held that former UP chief ministers cannot retain government accommodation after demitting office.

(With agency inputs)
New Delhi: Myanmar Army has been moving closer to the border with India in operations directed against NSCN (K), a banned rebel Naga group. Recent days have seen the country's military crackdown on several insurgent groups in the area but NSCN (K) has reportedly been the main target.

An Indian intelligence report submitted to the country's home ministry, it is cited that NSCN (K) fears growing presence of Myanmar Army around its main headquarter in TAGA. The group apparently fears that Myanmar could possible arrest its top cadre and hand them over to Indian authorities.

As per reports, Myanmar Army has already restricted the movement of NSCN (K) chairman Khango Konyak beyong Hangsen. Many of the group's top leaders have gone into hiding in undisclosed locations to avoid getting arrested. Intercepts of the group also suggest that NSCN (K) is finding operating against India along the border with Myanmar increasingly difficult.

The group's spokesperson - Isak Sumi - recently said in a Facebook post that while NSCN (K) has made a tactical withdrawal, there is no immediate danger and that members are safe.

NSCN (K) - operating from Myanmar's territory - is believed to be responsible for supporting and training several militant outfits in north-east India, including ULFA (Independent), NDFB (S) and PLA. In fact, many of these groups have also floated a banner organisation called United Liberation Front of Western South East Asia which plans to launch joint-attacks on Indian security forces.
KOLKATA: The Congress has a critical role in building opposition unity against the BJP, and efforts on this front could not hope to succeed without the Grand Old Party, National Conference chief and former Jammu and Kashmir CM Omar Abdullah has said.

"It (forming a Federal Front) is an ongoing process and as we get closer to general elections of 2019, I am sure it will take greater shape," he said. "You have seen a number of efforts were made by Sonia Gandhi to bring opposition parties together," he added, on the sidelines of a conclave on federalism in Kolkata on Saturday.

Abdullah's comments came a day after he met Trinamool chief and West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee. "We were discussing how best the regional parties can come together to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the forthcoming general elections," he said of the meeting, according to news agency IANS.

Abdullah also seemed to hint that the efforts at the so-called 'Federal Front' might not end up being the 'non-Congress, non-BJP' grouping that some leaders have been trying to pitch. "Obviously, no effort towards opposition unity will really succeed unless the Congress is also able to take the fight to the BJP the way we hope," he said.

A number of political leaders have expressed hope of building a 'non-Congress, non-BJP' political alliance ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) chief and Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao has to this end held talks with a number of leaders, including Banerjee, JD(S) leader and former prime minister HD Deve Gowda, AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi and JMM leader Hemant Soren.

KCR also refused to rule out the possibility of tying up with the Telugu Desam Party of Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu. The TDP and TRS have for long been on opposite sides of the highly-polarising demand for a separate Telangana. Now, with a separate state created, and with the TDP out of the NDA, the old foes could turn allies.

KCR had said there would be no significant change even if the Congress replaces the BJP in power, and that only the names would differ.

(With inputs from IANS)
Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed an event in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, on 'Transforming Urban Landscape' which marks the third anniversary of three key government initiatives on urban development. They are--Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation of Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and the Smart Cities Mission.

The PM reached Lucknow on Saturday on his two-day visit to the state. The Prime Minister visited an exhibition on Flagship Missions of Urban Development. He interacted with 35 beneficiaries of PMAY (Urban), one from each state or union territory, the statement said.

Here is what the PM said:

* Due to Integrated Command and Control Centre, there has been a drop in crime rates in Rajkot in last two quarters. Discarding and burning garbage in public places has seen a drop due to CCTV

* The Centre used to send letters and plead with the previous government to do something for the people. But they had had a one-point programme and that was to decorate their bungalows.

* The India that is currently moving ahead at a speed of 7.5 percent will do move faster in the coming time.

* We are bound to build a system for future generations, where life is based on 5 Es: Ease of Living, Education, Employment, Economy & Entertainment

* Our goal is that when the country celebrates its 75 years of independence then there should be no person in the country who does not have a house.

* Smart city is not a project but a mission for the government.

* I've been alleged that I'm not a guard (chowkidaar) but a partner (bhaagidar). I accept this as a prize. I'm proud to be a partner in the pain of the people.

* The houses that are being built today they have been provided with toilets. Under the Saubhagya Scheme, LED bulbs are also being provided. It means that an entire package is being given. The government has offered relief from interest for these houses. The area of the houses has now been increased further than the earlier one.

* The extension of the Metro is underway in Lucknow. PM Atal Behari Vajpayee was the first to bring this system in Delhi. The success of Delhi Metro today is being repeated in the whole country

* The government is trying to provide a roof over every head by 2022. Keeping this in mind, 54 lakh houses have been sanctioned in urban areas in the last three years. More than one crore houses have been handed over to the public even in villages not only in cities.

* Lucknow has been the workplace of the great man former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee. It has been his parliamentary area for a long time.

* Our resolve to make the life of millions of people simple, easy and safe has been strengthened three years later.

* PM Modi is speaking at an event to mark the third anniversary of PMAY(U), Amrut & Smart Cities Mission.

The PM will address the gathering and return to the capital in the evening.
Police in Haryanas Mewat region have received a truly bizarre complaint. A man has alleged that his pregnant goat has died after it was gang-raped by eight men on Friday night.



The shocking complaint was filed in the Nagina Police Station by Alsu, the owner of the allegedly abused goat.



Alsu told the police that he knew some of the rapists. He has identified them as Savarkar, Haroon and Jaffar, Nagina Police Station in-charge Rajbir Singh said. However, the identities of the remaining five alleged rapists are yet to be ascertained.



All eight men accused of the alleged gang rape are currently absconding, the police claimed.



The police say that a medical test of the goat will be conducted and an investigation has been launched.

(With ANI inputs)
(Reported by Vihang Thakur)

Pune: In a shocking case in Maharashtra, the Maulana of a Madrasa allegedly sexually assaulted his minor students in Pune's Katraj suburb area. More than 36 students who studied in the Jamiatul Khairiya al-Islamiya madrasa were rescued on Friday and kept in remand homes. The Maulana, Rahim Shaikh, was also arrested.

According to the police, a case has been registered against the accused under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. Further investigation is underway.

On Saturday, the police conducted a search and recovered certain things from the Madrasa. In the view of the seriousness of the situation, a special investigation team has also been set up.

The Maulana used to sexually exploit the children at night and when they protested he would beat them up. Unable to bear any more, two children, aged 1o, ran away and reached the railway station. After the Railway Protection Force (RPF) with the help of an NGO questioned them, they revealed their plight.

Rahim had started teaching at the Madrasa only a week ago. For the last 9 months students from the state of Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Maharashtra have been staying in the Madrasa.

Earlier this year in January, a minor girl was allegedly raped and three others sexually assaulted in a Madrasa in Nanded, Maharashtra.

The first case against the madrasa was filed by the mother of the minor girl on January 14. According to the complainant, her 11-year-old daughter was allegedly raped while her other daughter was sexually assaulted.

On January 15, another case was filed against the madrasa wherein it was alleged that girls face sexual exploitation in the institution. The madrasa schooled over 100 students and was taught by Maulana Saber Farooqui.

In December 2017, 51 girls were allegedly held hostage and sexually abused by the manager of a madrasa in Lucknow's Shahadatganj area. More than 125 girls studied at the madrasa, said the police.

Some girls filed a complaint against the manager for sexually harassing them. At the time of the raids conducted by a joint team of Lucknow police, 51 girls were held hostage in the premises of the madrasa, all of whom were rescued.
Mumbai: After a tragic bus accident killed 33 people in Maharashtra's Raigad on Saturday, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assured that the state government will provide help to the kin of the deceased and announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the kin. He also added the government will bear the medical expense of the injured.

The CM said the victims were employees of an agricultural university. CM Fadnavis said that the state government will also take steps to ensure such incidents don't take place in the future.

A bus carrying Dapoli Agriculture University students and teaching staff slipped off the road and fell into a deep gorge in Maharashtra's Raigad near Mahabaleshwar killing 33 people.

The bus slipped off the road at it was passing through the mountainous region in Ambenali Ghat near Mahabaleshwar in the Raigad district and fell into a 250-300 feet deep gorge.

The bus was carrying at least 34 people who were going for a picnic when the mishap took place. NDRF teams carried out the relief and rescue work.

Earlier this month, a total of 48 people were killed and 12 injured in a bus accident in Uttarakhand's Pauri Garhwal district.

Forty-four people died on the spot while four succumbed to injuries after being taken to a hospital in Dhumakot. The injured were rushed to a local hospital from where they were flown to Rishikesh.

The 22-seater bus was carrying 60 people, none of which escaped unhurt. The deceased include 22 men, 16 women and 10 children.
Coming down hard on Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, an editorial in Saamna - the mouthpiece of Shiv Sena - has questioned why he and the BJP government in New Delhi cannot resolve the ongoing crisis related to the Maratha reservation issue.

Protests across Maharashtra this week by members of the Maratha community led to large-scale violence, arson and vandalism. There were incidents of stone pelting from protestors who were also lathicharged by police officials. The worst of such incidents was in Navi Mumbai where 150 vehicles - including police buses - were torched.

Urging Fadnavis to stand up and act, the editorial in Saamna accused the state and central government of looking away. "Why can't CM Fadnavis go to Delhi, meet the Prime Minister and find a solution to the Maratha reservation issue. PM Modi is often not in Delhi and he is not interested in matters related to the state and the country. To crush protests has become the policy of the government."

Saamna has been extremely critical of BJP's policies - yet another sign of spiralling ties between Sena and BJP.

The issue of Maratha reservation may have come as another opportunity for Sena to turn its guns towards its one-time ally.

People from the Maratha community have been demanding reservation in government jobs and in the education sector. An influential community, they form around 30 per cent of the state's population and want 16 per cent reservation.
SRINAGAR: The Jammu and Kashmir policeman who was abducted by some unidentified terrorists in the Pulwama district of South Kashmir returned home on Saturday night after being released by terrorists, said IGP (Kashmir) SP Pani.

Earlier on Saturday, it was reported that the policeman identified as Shakeel Ahmad Lone was abducted in Chan Kitar Tral of Pulwama district. He is a Special Police Officer in the J&K Police and employed as a cook.

Speaking to reporters, J&K DGP SP Vaid had said his family has claimed that he had gone to visit a relative.

The abduction of Lone came after nearly a week when the bullet-riddled body of a police constable, who was abducted by a group of terrorists linked to Hizbul Mujahideen from his residence in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district, was found by the security forces.

Constable Saleem Shah, who was on leave, was abducted from his residence in Mutalhama area of Kulgam in south Kashmir. Shah's body was recovered from a nursery near Redwani Payeen village.

His killing was severely condemned by the J&K Police and top political leaders of the state.

Former J&K chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah too condemned Shah's brutal killing. ''The murder of Mohd Saleem is barbaric & unacceptable. I condemn his killing in the strongest possible terms. May his soul rest in peace & may his family find strength at this difficult time,'' Abdullah tweeted.

Shah's body bore severe injury marks, indicating that he was brutally tortured by the terrorists, the spokesperson said.

He had joined the services in 2016 and, after completing his basic training, was posted to DPL Pulwama.

The slain cop is survived by aged parents, two brothers and one sister and was the lone bread-earner for his family.

Sometimes back, Army rifleman Aurangzeb was abducted and killed in the cold-blood by terrorists to avenge the killing of one of their aides in an encounter earlier.

In a related development, the J&K Police on Friday arrested four people in connection with their alleged involvement in the killing of a police constable and snatching his weapon from the residence of a separatist leader earlier this year.

Constable Farooq Ahmad was killed while he was guarding Hurriyat conference leader Fazal Haq Qureshi's residence in Soura area of the city on February 25.

The four accused - Umar Noor Bhat, Waseem Ahmad Sofi, Ubaid Zoji and Adil Majid Bhat - were apprehended on Friday, a J&K Police spokesperson said.
JAMMU: Days after she warned the Centre against breaking her party People's Democratic Party (PDP), former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti has now pressed for the inclusion of Hurriyat Conference leaders in talks over Kashmir.

Addressing a rally, Mehbooba Mufti said, ''The PDP took initiative for the ceasefire during Ramzan. I appeal to the Centre to show a positive attitude towards Hurriyat and aim to bring them to the table to start a dialogue.''

PDP took initiative for ceasefire during Ramzan. I appeal to the Centre to show positive attitude towards Hurriyat & aim to bring them at the table to start dialogue: Former J&K CM Mehbooba Mufti pic.twitter.com/q9S0BRI1YF  ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2018

The PDP leader had sometimes back warned the Centre of serious consequences if attempts were made to break her party.

''If Delhi, tries to dismiss the voting rights of people like 1987, if it tries to create divisions and interfere like that then I think just like a Salahuddin and a Yasin Malik were born in 1987...if it tries to break PDP like that then outcomes will be dangerous,'' the PDP leader had said.

#WATCH: Former J&K CM M Mufti says'Agar Dilli ne 1987 ki tarah yahan ki awam ke vote pe daaka dala, agar iss kism ki tod fod ki koshish ki,jis tarah ek Salahuddin ek Yasin Malik ne janm liya...agar Dilliwalon ne PDP ko todne ki koshish ki uski nataish bahut zyada khatarnaak hogi' pic.twitter.com/LmC7V4OwN2  ANI (@ANI) July 13, 2018

Mehbooba Mufti made these remarks weeks after the BJP severed its ties with the PDP and pulled out of the ruling coalition government in J&K.

Though the PDP leader did not name BJP, her comments were seen as a direct warning to the saffron party.

Reacting to her statement, BJP said that ''Delhi joins, not breaks.''

The saffron party also attacked the PDP leader of glorifying separatists like Salahuddin and a Yasin Malik and dubbed them as her 'political heroes'.

Mufti had earlier warned the BJP soon after it ended its ties with PDP and said that any attempt to engineer defections in her party will erode the trust of the Kashmiris in Indian democracy.

If Delhi intervenes and breaks our party, and makes Sajad Lone or whosoever as the Chief Minister, it will erode the trust of the Kashmiris in Indian democracy. Any intervention from Delhi will be taken seriously, the PDP chief had said.

She said this amid reports of BJP trying to engineer a split in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after breaking away from its erstwhile ally, in order to form a government in the J&K.

It (any attempt to break the parties) can have serious repercussions and will strengthen the forces calling for the boycott of elections, as it will send out a message that mandate of the people is not being respected, PDP chief had said.

After sharing power for nearly three years with PDP in J&K, BJP decided to pull out of the coalition government owing to the former's soft posturing towards separatists and stone-pelters.

Mufti's party was also reportedly against the Centre's decision to revoke and not extend the temporary suspension of anti-terror operations during the holy month of Ramzan.

After the BJP pulled out of the coalition government, Governor's Rule was imposed in the state and the assembly was put under suspended animation. The PDP leadership has since faced rebellion from at least six MLAs and an MLC.
JAMMU: Days after the abduction and brutal killing of constable Saleem Shah, another J&K policeman has been abducted by some unidentified terrorists in the Pulwama district of South Kashmir, reports said on Saturday.

The abducted policeman has been identified as Shakeel Ahmad Lone. He is a Special Police Officer in the J&K Police and employed as a cook.

Lone is believed to have been abducted by terrorists during the night in Chan Kitar Tral of Pulwama district.

The J&K Police has formed several teams to trace his location and ascertain crucial details about him.

Speaking to reporters, SP Vaid, DGP, J&K, said, ''We are verifying the information. His family has said that he had gone to visit a relative.''

We are verifying the information. His family has said that he is visiting a relative: SP Vaid, DGP, J&K on reports of a J&K Police SPO abducted by terrorists in Pulwama district's Tral pic.twitter.com/Liv1TDjJUe  ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2018

Nearly a week ago, the bullet-riddled body of a police constable, who was abducted by a group of terrorists linked to Hizbul Mujahideen from his residence in Jammu and Kashmir's Kulgam district, was found by the security forces.

Constable Saleem Shah, who was on leave, was abducted from his residence in Mutalhama area of Kulgam in south Kashmir.

Shah's body was recovered from a nursery near Redwani Payeen village.

Shah's killing was severely condemned by the J&K Police and top political leaders of the state.

Our colleague Salem Ahmed Shah was abducted and killed by terrorists in #Kulgam. We condemn this cowardly act. We all stand by his family at this critical juncture.@JmuKmrPolice pic.twitter.com/pTtuIUraf4  Kashmir Zone Police (@KashmirPolice) July 21, 2018

Former J&K chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah too condemned Shah's brutal killing.

''The murder of Mohd Saleem is barbaric & unacceptable. I condemn his killing in the strongest possible terms. May his soul rest in peace & may his family find strength at this difficult time,'' Abdullah tweeted.

The murder of Mohd Saleem is barbaric & unacceptable. I condemn his killing in the strongest possible terms. May his soul rest in peace & may his family find strength at this difficult time. https://t.co/mzZDxEMeCn  Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 21, 2018

Shah's body bore severe injury marks, indicating that he was brutally tortured by the terrorists, the spokesperson said.

Shah had joined the services in 2016 and, after completing his basic training, was posted to DPL Pulwama.

The slain cop is survived by aged parents, two brothers and one sister and was the lone bread-earner for his family.

Sometimes back, Army rifleman Aurangzeb was abducted and killed in the cold-blood by terrorists to avenge the killing of one of their aides in an encounter earlier.

In a related development, the J&K Police on Friday arrested four people in connection with their alleged involvement in the killing of a police constable and snatching his weapon from the residence of a separatist leader earlier this year.

Constable Farooq Ahmad was killed while he was guarding Hurriyat conference leader Fazal Haq Qureshi's residence in Soura area of the city on February 25.

The four accused - Umar Noor Bhat, Waseem Ahmad Sofi, Ubaid Zoji and Adil Majid Bhat - were apprehended on Friday, a J&K Police spokesperson said.
Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi: Kerala bishops' body has petitioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the National Commission for Women's (NCW) recommendation to abolish confessions by women in the church.

The Kerala bishops argued that the NCW's ''shocking'' proposal could lead to blackmailing of women.

During the Kerala Catholic Bishops Conference on Friday, the NCW proposal was severely criticised and the gathering unanimously appealed to the Prime Minister to reject it.

In their letter to the PM, the priests suspected a 'hidden agenda' by the NCW chief Rekha Sharma and asked her to withdraw her statement.

We have written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to reject the panels recommendations. This is the question of the existence of the minorities. On what basis has the panel made such a suggestion? What is its motive behind such an act? Father Varghese Vallikkatt, the spokesperson for the Kerala Catholic Bishops Conference, said.

Meanwhile, reacting to the issue, Union Minister Alphons Kannanthanam also "outrightly rejected" the NCW's recommendation.

Alphons, a Kerala native and a Christian, insisted that the Modi government should not interfere in religious beliefs of people.

"It is not the official stand of the government. The Union Government has no connection with the stand taken by the NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma. It is a personal opinion of Rekha Sharma," Kannanthanam, Union Minister of State for Tourism, wrote in a Facebook post.

"The Narendra Modi government would never interfere in religious beliefs," he insisted.

Expressing his views on the NCW proposal, Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council president Archbishop Soosa Pakiam said, "It was shocking not only for the Christian community but also to everyone who stands for the freedom of religion.''

Pakiam said this while addressing a separate press conference in Thiruvananthapuram.

He said a memorandum has been sent to the Prime Minister against the NCW recommendation.

Accusing the NCW of misusing its powers, Pakiam said the NCW had submitted a "one-sided" report to the Centre without consulting the church.

Pakiam called it an "irresponsible" act done by the NCW "with ulterior motives".

Pakiam also wrote to George Kurian, Member Secretary of National Commission for Minorities, requesting him to raise before appropriate authorities the concerns of the church.

NCW chief Rekha Sharma had triggered a political storm by recommending to abolish the practice of "confessions" in churches, saying that it can lead to blackmailing of women. Sharma also pressed for a central agency to investigate the incidents of rape and sexual assault in the churches of Kerala.

"The priests pressure women into telling their secrets and we have one such case in front of us, there must be many more such cases and what we have right now is just a tip of the iceberg," she said.

The recommendation by the NCW was made in the backdrop of a rape case against four priests of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church who were accused of sexually exploiting a married woman by using her confession made before a clergyman.

The issue came to the fore after the victim's husband wrote to the church, alleging that the priests blackmailed and abused his wife.

The NCW also constituted an inquiry committee to look into incidents of alleged sexual assault of women in churches and send its findings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi and the police chiefs of Kerala and Punjab for necessary action.

(With PTI inputs)
MUMBAI: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has said all parties in the state have decided to take a unanimous stand on the raging issue of reservations for the Maratha community. His comments came after an all-party meeting on the issue, which could well lead to prolonged court battles.

"All parties have the same opinion on the Maratha reservation issue, and we have decided to take unanimous stand on the matter," Fadnavis said, according to news agency ANI. "We are ready to cooperate with colleges if they have any practical problem. But if they deliberately try to trouble Maratha students over fee concessions, the education department will cancel their registration," he added.

Fadnavis had called the all-party meet on Friday, to discuss the law and order situation that has risen after the protest by some Maratha outfits turned violent on Thursday. He had called the for the all-party consultation after meeting with his own party leaders over the issue.

The issue has precipitated in the resignation of five MLAs from different parties so far. The MLAs expressly said they were resigning from the Assembly in solidarity with the Maratha reservation struggle.

The Bombay High Court in 2014 stayed implementation of the previous Congress-NCP government's decision to provide reservation to Marathas. It also stayed the decision to provide five percent reservation to Muslims in government service, but allowed quotas for them in educational institutions.

Similar reservation stirs have taken place by so-called 'intermediate communities' in different parts of the country over the past decade, like the Patidar demand in Gujarat and the Jat quota stir in Haryana. In most cases, attempts to provide different communities with reservation have run into trouble in the courts, thanks to the constitutional cap on reservations to below half.
New Delhi: King of rap Yo Yo Honey Singh and Deep Kahlon's new music video Ambarsar garners more than 3 million views on Youtube soon after its release.

This peppy number features Daljeet Kalsi from the upcoming Punjabi movie Jagga Jiunda E. This particular track from the movie has been creating a buzz since its release for its foot-tapping music and catchy lyrics.

This time Honey Singh only gave the music and did not feature in the video.

After 'Dil Chori' and 'Chote Chote Peg' this is the second song of Yo Yo Honey Singh since his comeback and his fans have recieved it pretty well. His first song after his sabbatical was 'Dil Chori' from 'Sonu ki Tittu ki Shaadi' garnered more than 60 million views on YouTube.

Sung by Deep Kahlon and music produced by Yo Yo Honey Singh this chartbuster has already become the party anthem.

The music video is directed by Harry Chahal. Lyrics of the song have been penned Deep Kahlon.
PATNA: The alleged sexual abuse of girls at a government-funded shelter home in Bihars Muzaffarpur may be worse than earlier believed. Medical examinations have revealed that five more girls had suffered sexual abuse at the shelter home, taking the total number of victims to 34.



Medical reports had earlier indicated that 29 of the 44 girls living at the shelter home had either been raped or molested. The results of the medical examination that showed wider abuse were revealed on Saturday by Tirhut Zone Inspector General (IG) Sunil Kumar.



Bihars Director General of Police (DGP) KS Dwivedi had earlier said 10 of the 11 accused have been arrested. He also said four girls were reported missing from the shelter home since December 2013.



The abuse at the shelter home came to light on Monday after a girl alleged that her fellow inmate had been beaten to death and buried on the premises. Police efforts to dig up the compound and find the body have so far not turned up the alleged body.



Muzaffarpur SSP Harpreet Kaur had on Monday said that the area of excavation might be enlarged after further examination of the girl who had levelled the allegation.



More than 40 girls had been lodged at the shelter home and medical reports suggest that over half of them may have had sexual intercourse at some point of time, she said. The NGO running the shelter home has been blacklisted and all the girls have been moved to shelter homes in other districts while the premises has been sealed, she said.
Mumbai: Director Tigmanshu Dhulia who is receiving positive reviews for his film "Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3" has said that he had great experience working in filmmaker Aanand L. Rai's forthcoming film 'Zero' along with superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

Dhulia, who will be seen playing Shah Rukh's father in "Zero", was interacting with media to promote "Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3', on Friday.

"I am playing Shah Rukh Khan's father in Aanand L. Rai's 'Zero'. It was great experience working on that film. I had so much fun while shooting for it. I was dialogue writer for 'Dil Se' which featured Shah Rukh so, after many years; I got opportunity to work with him," he Dhulia.

Dhulia said that he wanted to work in "Zero" because he wanted to gain first-hand experience of making a film with special effects.

"So, there was not any better opportunity for me, where I can do fun and gain some education and money," he said.

Asked Dhulia what was his experience working with SRK in "Zero" like, he said: "I got to learn a lot from Shah Rukh. Despite being such big and successful actor, he is so modest and humble. He gives respect to everyone present on the set right from light men, spot boys to his co-actors and directors which is a really endearing quality of him."

"Zero", which is slated to release in December, also stars Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif.

Dhulia also has "Milan Talkies" in his kitty.

Talking about "Milan Talkies", he said: "I am shooting for 'Milan Talkies' which I am trying to make from many years. We have almost completed the shooting of that film and only 16-17 days of shooting is remaining which we will complete in August. Apart from that, I am writing few stories and working for digital platform as well."
New Delhi: Bollywood's 'Desi Girl' and Hollywood's 'Alex Parrish', Priyanka Chopra is making headlines these days. The actress left everyone surprised yesterday when reports regarding her backing out of the film 'Bharat' floated on the internet. PeeCee's exit was confirmed by the director of the film, Ali Abbas Zafar in a rather cryptic manner. The director wrote on Twitter, Yes Priyanka Chopra is no more part of @Bharat_TheFilm & and the reason is very very special, she told us in the Nick of time about her decision and we are very happy for her ... Team Bharat wishes @priyankachopra loads of love & happiness for life

Well, from his Tweet it was confirmed that Priyanka backed out of 'Bharat'. However, we can't help but notice how optimistic Ali Abbas Zafar is in his tweet and the way he wronte 'Nick of time' just says that there is more than what meets the eyes.

Soon after this, reports regarding PeeCee's engagement started doing rounds. Rumour mills are rife that PeeCee got engaged to Nick on her birthday, which was last week.

Now, as per a Bollywoodlife.com report, Priyanka and Nick might be heading towards an October wedding! Not only this, the report further says that Priyanka already has her wedding gown finalised.

Priyanka almost confirmed her relationship with Nick when she commented that the international singing sensation and she were 'getting to know each other'.

Well, looks like the 'getting to know' phase is over and the two are planning to take the big step!

However, we wouldn't get too excited until Priyanka or Nick confirm the engagement rumours.
New Delhi: Bollywood's royal Khan, Saif Ali Khan has finally joined the photo-sharing app Instagram on Saturday. Saif's elder son Ibrahim Ali Khan Pataudi took to his Instagram handle to announce the same, writing, "Finally! @Saifpataudi"

Saif's account is currently private and a document attached to the profile states that the actor won't handle his account, it would be managed by his Public Relations Team. The report also revealed that the Cocktail actor will have a live session with his fans once every month.

Both Saif and his wife Kareena Kapoor Khan are not on any social media platforms. With the nawab joining the platform we can hope for his Begum Kareena to join social media soon.

On the professional front, Saif's first Netflix outing 'Sacred Games' has proved to be a newsmaker and earned rave reviews. Next, he will be seen in a project where he will play a Naga Sadhu and has to sport dreadlocks. He will be seen playing a baba who is a bounty hunter too.

The film by Navdeep Singh has been titled 'Hunter' and will be set at the backdrop of Rajasthan.
New Delhi: Bollywood's Desi Girl Priyanka Chopra left everyone surprised when she backed out of Ali Abbas Zafar's 'Bharat'. As per reports, Priyanka left the project owing to her engagement with Nick Jonas that took place on the actress's birthday. US Media is reporting that the international singing sensation had proposed to Priyanka on her birthday last week. However, an official confirmation for the same is awaited.

In an exclusive interview with Zee, Bollywood actress Kangana Ranaut was asked about her views on the engagement. Kangana, while laughing, said that if the engagement did take place then she is upset that the actress didn't invite her.

Priyanka and Kangana have starred together in the super-hit movie 'Fashion'.

Kangana will be next seen in 'ManikarnikaThe Queen of Jhansi'. The film stars the actress in the role of the valiant Rani Laxmibai. The teaser of the movie will be released on August 15, 2018.

Kangana recently wrapped up the shoot of Balaji Telefilms' Mental Hai Kya' in London in which she will be seen alongside Rajkummar Rao. Post her Manikarnika schedule, the actress will start working on Ashwini Iyer Tiwarys next where she will essay the character of a kabbadi player.

'Manikarnika' will release in January 2019 while 'Mental Hai Kya' will hit the screens in February 2019.
CHENNAI: Ailing DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi was shifted from his Gopalapuram residence to the Kauvery Hospital after his blood pressure declined in the wee hours of Saturday.

According to reports, the five-time Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Karunanidhi was brought to the hospital around 1.30 AM. The DMK chief was admitted to the hospital`s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) around 1:30 AM after a sudden drop in blood pressure, a top official of the hospital said.

His condition is said to be stable as of now.

DMK President Karunanidhi has been admitted to the ICU of the hospital following a drop in blood pressure. His BP has been stabilised with medical management. He is being monitored and treated by a panel of expert doctors: Kauvery Hospital, Chennai #TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/qsLW12C0c3  ANI (@ANI) July 27, 2018

He is currently being treated for fever due to urinary tract infection and age-related ailments.

Speaking to reporters, DMK leader A Raja said Karunanidhi's blood pressure went down and hence he was shifted to the hospital.

"His blood pressure is now normal and there is nothing to worry," Raja said.

Chennai: MK Stalin, Kanimozhi, A Raja leave Kauvery Hospital, where DMK President Karunanidhi is admitted following a drop in blood pressure. #TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/vtwBncfRST  ANI (@ANI) July 27, 2018

A team of doctors had reached Karunanidhi's home about midnight and reviewed his condition.

They then decided to shift him to the hospital after discussions with Karunanidhi's family members.

On Friday, DMK leader and Karunanidhi's son MK Stalin said there is a significant improvement in the health condition of Karunanidhi as the infection had come down a lot.

A statement issued by the Kauvery Hospital on Thursday said that the 94-year-old DMK patron was suffering from urinary tract infection and he was being treated at his home.

Kauvery Hospital's Executive Director Aravindan Selvaraj said there has been a slight decline in Karunanidhi's health due to age-related ailments.

"He is currently being treated for fever due to urinary tract infection with intravenous antibiotics and fluids. He is being monitored and treated round the clock by a team of medical and nursing professionals, who are providing hospital-level care at his home," Selvaraj had said.

On July 18, Karunanidhi was admitted to Kauvery Hospital in the city for a tracheotomy procedure.

Top political leaders from Tamil Nadu including Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam and actor-politician Kamal Haasan had paid a visit the residence of ailing DMK chief M Karunanidhi to enquire about his health on Friday.

Deputy CM O. Panneerselvam along with other ministers met DMK's MK Stalin to inquire about DMK chief M. Karunanidhi's at latter's residence in Chennai. DMK chief is being treated for fever due to urinary tract infection& is being given hospital level treatment at home. #TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/DaAPpIWXzR  ANI (@ANI) July 26, 2018

The leaders have been making a beeline at the DMK chief's Gopalapuram residence ever since the doctors attending him described a "slight decline" in his health.

O Panneerselvam, Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar, Electricity Minister P Thangamani, Minister for Municipal Administration SP Velumani and Kamal Hassan were among those who visited the 94-year-old leader.

The leaders met DMK working president MK Stalin to inquire about the health of his ailing father M Karunanidhi.

On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi too enquired about the health of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief M Karunanidhi and prayed for his quick recovery.

The Prime Minister also spoke to Karunanidhi`s son MK Stalin and daughter Kanimozhi regarding the same.

"Spoke to Thiru @mkstalin and Kanimozhi Ji. Enquired about the health of Kalaignar Karunanidhi Ji and offered any assistance required. I pray for his quick recovery and good health," he tweeted.

A large number of DMK cadres have gathered outside the hospital.

(With Agency inputs)
CHENNAI: DMK chief M Karunanidhi is in the ICU, but his condition is stable, a statement from the hospital has said. Karunanidhi's condition has hogged attention over the past couple of days, with political leaders from across the spectrum lining up to visit him. He was re-admitted to the hospital on Friday night.

Karunanidhi had been suffering from a fever from infections he contracted around the time he underwent a procedure to replace his tracheostomy tube on July 18.

"DMK President and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Kalaignar Dr M Karunanidhi's health condition continues to be remain stable with ongoing active medical support. He is continuously being monitored and treated by the panel of expert doctors in the Intensive Care Unit," read a medical bulletin from Chennai's Kauvery Hospital, where the veteran leader has been receiving medical treatment for a couple of years now.

Sources in the hospital have said all of Karunanidhi's vitals are now under control. But reports have said he is suffering from a urinary tract infection that is not responding to medical intervention. This information however has not been confirmed by the hospital.

Karunanidhi, who turned 94 in June, was admitted to hospital in Chennai on July 18. The hospital had said he had undergone a procedure to replace his tracheostomy tube. He had the tube placed in December 2016 to help improve his breathing. Karunanidhi had been discharged after the procedure two days ago.

He had been taken to the hospital in that instance with breathing difficulty caused by a throat and lung infection that doctors said had been caused by some of the medication he had been taking.

Just days ago, Karunanidhi began his 50th consecutive year as president of the DMK. He was known to visit his party office every day to meet cadre and issue statements. However, he has hardly been active since mid-2016, when his health began taking a turn for the worse. Since then, his DMK has retained him as its president, with Karunanidhi's son MK Stalin running things as working president.

The five-time Tamil Nadu Chief Minister has been confined to a wheel chair for close to a decade now, and last held office in 2011, when his party lost the election to the AIADMK.
Imphal: At least 10 people including four police personnel were injured when a mob attacked the cops in Manipur Jiribam district in Manipur.

Six protesters were also injured in the clash at Lalpani area of the district on Friday, police said.

They said a large number of protesters tried to stage a sit-in demonstration protesting against the Manipur People's Protection Bill 2018 which was passed by the state Assembly recently.

The bill seeks to protect the identity of indigenous people of the state taking 1951 as the base year for treating people as natives of the state. The protesters have been demanding a change in the base year to 1972.

"Since Section 144 of CrPC have been imposed in the district on Saturday, the police had asked the protesters to get permission for their sit-in from the district administration," said a senior police officer.

The protesters hurled stones at the police forcing the cops to retaliate with tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the agitators.

During the clash, four personnel including the SP and a woman personnel received minor injuries. Six of the protesters were also injured, they said.

Later, reinforcements comprising of state police commandos and Indian Reserve Battalion personnel were rushed to the site to bring normalcy and establish law and order.

The issue began on Wednesday after the Joint Action Committee (JAC) took out a rally to denounce the Manipur People's Protection Bill 2018 which was passed unanimously by the Assembly on Monday.

JAC spokesperson Md Ali had earlier denounced the Bill as "unconstitutional" and claimed it deprived them of their constitutional rights.

The Bill had sought to regulate the entry and exit of the outsiders in the state. It maintains that those who are not ethnic Meiteis, the Pangals Muslim and STs recognized by the state will be considered as non-Manipuris.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who returned home after concluding the 5-day tour of East Africa in the wee hours of Saturday, will visit Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow to lay the foundation stone of several development projects, including one on urban development.

This will be PM Modi`s third visit to Uttar Pradesh in a month, which also highlights the importance being attached to the state, which sends 80 MPs to Parliament, by the BJP in run-up to the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

        pic.twitter.com/NNeDmBE3gY  BJP Uttar Pradesh (@BJP4UP) July 27, 2018

The PM's UP visit has again put the spotlight once again on Western Uttar Pradesh as nearly 53% of the investment to be announced by the Centre to be used for the development of the region while around 23% of the investment will be for the eastern Uttar Pradesh.

With the PM launching projects to the tune of Rs 60,000, infrastructure development in western Uttar Pradesh is also likely to get a major boost.

Of the total investment to be done in the state, nearly 21% of the same will be utilised for Central UP, while the Bundelkhand region is expected to get only 3% of the total investment, according to the official data.

Development of ''neglected'' Bundelkhand region along with Eastern Uttar Pradesh has always been on the political agenda of several political parties. The region is now expected to witness growth and development in the aftermath of key announcements by the PM.

PM Modi will launch around 99 projects during the first ground-breaking ceremony at the state capital's Indira Gandhi Pratishthan.

Around 80 of the 1,045 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) signed during Uttar Pradesh Investors Summit 2018 held in February will also be released on the occasion.



According to the party sources, the PM will attend an event on "Transforming Urban Landscape" on Saturday to mark the third anniversary of three key government initiatives related to Urban Development - Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation of Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and the Smart Cities Mission.

PM Modi will visit an exhibition on Flagship Missions of Urban Development and interact with 35 beneficiaries of PMAY (U) - one from each state and union territory. He will also receive feedback from PMAY beneficiaries, via video link, from different cities of Uttar Pradesh.

Besides laying the foundation stone for various projects under the flagship missions, the PM will also address a huge gathering of party supporters.

On July 29, the Prime Minister will attend a ground-breaking ceremony for projects involving an investment of Rs 60,000 crore which has materalised following the UP Investors Summit earlier this year.

According to an official release, the summit had led to the generation of investment intent worth more than Rs. 4.28 lakh crore across sectors such as renewable energy, infrastructure, power, Information Technology, electronics and tourism.

Modi had visited Varanasi, Azamgarh and Mirzapur districts of Uttar Pradesh on July 14 and 15. He had visited Sant Kabir Nagar on June 28.

(With IANS inputs)
It is finally official. The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Saturday released the tally of seats in the 2018 Pakistan elections, three days after it began the process of counting the votes. The results show Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaaf (PTI) confirmed as the biggest party in the new National Assembly, but with numbers still short of forming the government on its own.



The ECPs final tally gave PTI wins in 115 seats in the 270-seat National Assembly (NA). The Pakistan Muslim League - Nawaz (PML-N) was second with 64 seats and Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) third with 43. Other parties to win seats in the NA race were Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) with 12 seats, Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) 6, Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and PML-Qadri at 4 each each, Balochistan National Party (BNP) at 3, Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) 2 and Awami National Party (ANP) with 1. Independent candidates won in 12 seats. The election to two seats were postponed by the ECP and will be determined by by-polls later.



PTIs 115 seats makes it largest party, but it is still 17 seats short of the 132-seat halfway mark that it needs to form a stable government. The party will now have to cobble together support from the smaller parties or independents to reach the halfway mark.



The PPP has already announced that it is not interested in joining a coalition government. And the PML-N is loath to join hands with the PTI, which it is battling to form the provincial government in Punjab.



Multi-party conference to reject election results

Imran Khan seems moments away from becoming the next Prime Minister of Pakistan. But other political parties held a multi-party conference (MPC) on Friday rejecting the election results. They alleged that the elections had been rigged by the military establishment and claimed that the PTI had received favours throughout the election process. The MPC has demanded a re-election with more transparency.



The MPC was headlined by PML-N chief Shehbaz Sharif, and saw the participation of MMA, ANP, QWP, NP, PSP and MQM-P.



Results of elections to four Provincial Assemblies

PTI gained control over 66 out of 97 provincial seats in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and is currently competing with PML-N in Punjab. PML-N has won 129 out of the 295 Provincial Assembly seats in Punjab, while PTI is not far behind with 123 seats. A Dawn report suggests that PTI can also claim to bring its own chief minister with the support of 28 independent candidates.



Bhutto's PPP clearly dominated the Sindh Assembly with 76 out of 130 seats. Balochistan saw BAP emerging as the largest party with 15 Provincial Assembly seats.
1. Donbas conflict in Ukraine

2. Downpours in Ukraine

3. 1030th anniversary of Christianization of Kievan Rus

4. Deadly car accident: Hummer vehicle runs over a girl

5. Gryb: court hearings kick off

6. Chlorine deficit







Donbas conflict in Ukraine

No major breakthroughs are observed in the conflict zone in Donbas this week. However, in terms of policy and casual statements made by high-level officials, theres still a thing or two to report.

Russia sent another humanitarian convoy to Donbas. The representatives of the Russian State Border Service ensured that all of the convoy vehicles were checked by the representatives of the customs and border service. It is noted that the convoy had more than 500 tons of the humanitarian cargo, including childrens food packages, medication and medical equipment.

The first meeting of political directors of foreign ministries of Normandy Four member countries took place in Berlin. Ukrainian foreign ministry's press service reported that on July 26. The authority reported that the substantive discussion about the prospects of the future peacekeeping operations under UN mandate took place. The ministry added that despite significant disagreements with the Russian side, Ukraine, Germany, France and Russia came to the conclusion that the basic principles of the peacekeeping operation in the conflict area will be defined further.

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 local referendums in occupied Donbas as it will not be legitimate as he claimed to 112 Ukraine. 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.

The U.S. official also offered the Ukrainian government to extend the law about the special status of Donbas. 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 the militant-controlled areas could vote for the status of this region.

Russias military command sees to it that the local militants continue to serve after their contracts expire, so they cant resign. Ukrainian Defence Ministry reported that on Friday.

The Russian command is taking additional measures to prevent the decrease of the manning of the occupation troops units. In particular, the mercenaries among the locals, who serve in the First Army corps of Russian Armed Forces (there are two Russias Army Corps in Donbas, - ed.) were banned from resigning the military service after their contracts expire or under health condition, the message said.

Thomas Greminger, OSCE Secretary General arrived in Donbas on Friday to inspect the current developments in the area that borders the conflict zone in eastern Ukraine. The updates on his visit will follow.

Ukraines Government adopted a strategy of informational reintegration of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The respective decision was made at the Governments session. The information strategy foresees that the full restoration of the broadcasting of the Ukrainian TV and radio companies is possible only if the occupied territories of Donbas are completely released.

Downpours in Ukraine

A downpour occurred in Kyiv again followed by a thunderstorm and even hailstorm. The streets were flooded, the cars were literally drowning in water, the underground walkways were flooded. Huge traffic jams occurred in the capitals downtown. A bridge partially collapsed among other damages.

Heavy rains hit many other Ukrainian cities. Due to the bad weather, the trenches of the Ukrainians soldiers in Donbas also became flooded.

1030th anniversary of Christianization of Kievan Rus

As we 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.

Kyiv police reported about 100,000 people, parishioners of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of both Kyiv and Moscow Patriarchates, participated in the sacred procession

On July 27, eight holy relics reached Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra - the main shrine of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate). The holy relics will be available for the worshippers at Kyiv Pechersk Lavra on July 27 and 28, around the clock. They will also be seen publicly during the procession in Kyiv, which is slated for Friday. The worshippers will walk across the downtown city.

Also, there is information about the celebration of the Christianization of Kievan Rus, its history, peculiarities of the holiday.





Deadly car accident: Hummer vehicle runs over a girl

A deadly car accident occurred in Kyiv on July 25: Hummer vehicle ran over a girl, which resulted in her death in the ambulance car.

Hummer driver mowed down a little girl who was using the crosswalk to pass the street. After that, the car driver fled the scene, Kyiv police reported.

On the same day, the Prosecutor's Office intended to serve additional charges to the perpetrator of the deadly car accident in Pechersk district of Kyiv if his attempt to flee the scene is confirmed. Nadiya Maksymets, the spokesperson of the Kyiv Prosecutor's Office, said that the motion on the choosing of the restrictive measure for the perpetrator in the car accident was prepared.

Later, driver of Hummer Kyrylo Ostrovsky has partially pleaded guilty during the session of Shevchenkivsky court. The suspect claimed that he did not attempt to flee site and regretted the accident. He added that his family was helping the family of the deceased girl. Ostrovsky also said that two kids accidentally ran out in the road that evening: the first one successfully crossed the road and he ran over the second.

On July 26, the court arrested the driver. The jury granted the motion by the prosecution, which means that Ostrovsky will remain behind the bars for 60 days.

The investigation goes on.

Chlorine deficit

The situation with supplies of liquid chlorine has stabilized, all companies operate in normal mode without limiting the water supply. Chlorine prices have tripled after Dniproazot, the only producer in Ukraine, resumed its operation.

Hungary sent 3 tons of chlorine to Zakarpattia as a humanitarian aid.

Besides, Ukraine will buy liquid chlorine for the water utilities in Uzbekistan and Romania.

Dniproazot, the only manufacturer of liquid chlorine in Ukraine terminated its operation due to the increase of the price of gas. Clean water supply was threatened in a number of cities. Ukraines Security Service began the check of the actions of the Dniroazot officials that led to the deficit of liquid chlorine, the main reagent for the continued provision of the drinking water for the population.

Gryb: court hearings kick off

Russian court started considering the case on the Ukrainian Pavlo Gryb in Rostov. Ukrainian political prisoner, kept in Russia, pleads not guilty in fostering terrorism, insisting that there were some critical errors made during the investigation. The case was returned to the prosecutors for the review.

Ihor Gryb, father of Pavlo Gryb claimed that he is not aware of the actual health condition of his son. He said that Ukrainian doctors are still not allowed to his son. Due to the absence of information on his health condition, it is difficult to guess, if there is any point to convey medicine to him.
Open source

From 7:00 a.m. through 6:00 p.m. nine shells by the militants in Donbas were recorded. As a result of the explosion, one Ukrainian soldier deceased. The press office of JFO headquarters reports this on Facebook.

Occupants were opening aimed fire from heavy machineguns, grenade launchers, small arms, and ICV weapons at the positions of JFO in the districts of the settlements: Krymske, Zolote, Maiorska, Avdiivka, Mariinka, Lebedynske Hruntove, Pavlopil, and Shyrokyne, reads the message.

It is noted that one Ukrainian soldier of the Joint Forces deceased during combat engineer reconnaissance.

Reportedly, the illegal armed formations opened fire 32 times at JFO positions during the last day on 26 July. Heavy weapons werent used. One Ukrainian soldier died and one wounded during the hostilities
censor.net.ua

Russia violated international law by annexing Crimea. This is stated in a document published on the website of the Government of Canada.



"Canada reaffirms its continued commitment to the territorial integrity of Ukraine and condemns the actions taken by Russia to forcibly integrate the Crimean Peninsula into Russia, including through the opening in May 2018 of a bridge across the Kerch Strait," the statement said.



In Canada, they recalled the "serious violations of human rights" in the occupied Crimea. Including, it is a question of suppression of a freedom of speech, arrests, tortures and detention.



In addition, the Canadian government called for the release of all illegally detained Ukrainian citizens.



Earlier, Canadian Defense Minister Harjit Sajjan, Minister of National Defense of Canada claimed that Canada continues to support Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. He claimed this after his visit to Latvia, according to Ukrinform.

'Canadian support of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression is unwavering,' the Minister noted.



Harjit Sajjan added that together with the partners are working on the development of safe, successive and democratic Ukraine. He noted that Canada had provided the Ukrainian Armed Forces with non-lethal military equipment costing over 16 million dollars.

'Our commitment isn't limited only by training soldiers. As part of a comprehensive support of Ukraine, Canada provided the Armed Forces of Ukraine non-lethal military equipment costing over 16 million dollars, and more equipment will be provided by the of March of 2019,' he said.



Related: 12 sailors from arrested vessel Mekong Spirit return to Ukraine from Greece
Open source

Harjit Sajjan, Minister of National Defense of Canada claimed that Canada continues to support Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression. He claimed this after his visit to Latvia, according to Ukrinform.

'Canadian support of Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression is unwavering,' the Minister noted.

Related: The White House endorses allocation of 250 million dollars for Ukraine's security

Harjit Sajjan added that together with the partners are working on the development of safe, successive and democratic Ukraine. He noted that Canada had provided the Ukrainian Armed Forces with non-lethal military equipment costing over 16 million dollars.

'Our commitment isn't limited only by training soldiers. As part of a comprehensive support of Ukraine, Canada provided the Armed Forces of Ukraine non-lethal military equipment costing over 16 million dollars, and more equipment will be provided by the of March of 2019,' he said.

Related: EU declares support of Crimea Declaration
Open source

The head of the Pentagon, James Mattis, said he was considering a meeting with Defense Minister of Russia Sergei Shoigu. He added that the final decision on this has not yet been taken. This is reported by AFP.



"It is very important that we talk with those countries with which we have the biggest disagreements," the US Secretary of Defense stressed.



After the Donald Trump summit with Vladimir Putin, the US Senate feared that the American president would take a course toward improving relations with Russia. Trump was also criticized in the media that he was too soft with the president of the Russian Federation. However, according to James Mattis, after the meeting of the two leaders there were no "political changes" towards Russia.



Also, the head of the Pentagon assured that no cooperation with the Russian military in Syria is yet to be foreseen.



"We will do nothing until the Secretary of State (Mike Pompeo) and the President (Donald Trump) find out exactly when we together with our allies will start working with Russia in the future," Mattis said in a press conference in California.

Related: Poroshenko: Tomos on autocephaly will complete assertion of Ukraine's independence
Thomas Greminger noted that participants of the mission are representing the International Organization OSCE in the first place but not a certain country

Open source

Thomas Greminger, Secretary-General of OSCE claimed that the representatives of the Russian Federation have a right to participate in OSCE Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine. He claimed this at the briefing in Kramatorsk, according to Donbas News.

'From 44 participating countries of OSCE SMM, from 700 monitors working in the field, 37 are from the Russian Federation. This is the position of the mission because Russia is a participating country. They have a right to represent themselves here,' Greminger said.

He added that every member of the mission has to sign the OSCE Code.

The Secretary-General also noted that the participants of the mission are representing the International Organization OSCE in the first place but not a certain country, and this is why their activities should be guided by the principles and values of the organization.

Reportedly, Thomas Greminger, Secretary-General of OSCE within the work visit to JFO area, visited Maiorske control point and met with the command.

Earlier, the representatives of Ukraine in Trilateral Contact Group addressed OSCE with a request to undertake an investigation of the messages about the possible stealing of the personal data of OSCE SMM participants.

On July 17 it turned out that Russian intelligence could get internal documents of Ukrainian team of OSCE. According to ARD, an officer of OSCE mission could refer the documents to the Russian side.

Although, Oleksandr Hug, Principal Deputy of the Head of Mission in Ukraine assured that OSCE SMM mission hadn't been collecting personal and financial information of their officers.
First, the draft law on the budget of the USA for 2019 for the national defense needs has to be endorsed by the Senate, then referred to Donald Trump for signature

The White House endorses the draft of the defense budget of the USA, which describes the provision of assistance to Ukraine in the amount of 250 million dollars. Sarah Sanders, the White House Press Secretary claimed this, according to Voice of America.

Generally, the draft law on the budget of the USA for 2019 for the national defense needs provides 717 billion dollars.

Related: Government to allocate $3,8 for every family of political prisoner

The draft has support in the Senate and may be endorsed by the senators the next week, according to Politico outlet. After that, the document will be sent to Americal President Donald Trump for signature.

Reportedly, the House of Representatives of the US Congress endorsed the allocation of 250 million dollars for Ukraine's security and defense. 50 million of the amount has to be allocated for lethal arms.

Related: HIGHLIGHTS OF THE WEEK: JULY 23 - 27

Ukraine news on 112.international
112 Agency

12 sailors, who were detained in Greece more than a year ago on suspicion of smuggling weapons, returned to Ukraine according to Hromadske.



It is reported that relatives met sailors at the Odesa airport.



"We are tired, we want to go home, rest, I hardly saw my son for a year and a half, he does not even remember me," said one Ukrainian sailor and added that the condition for their return is the monthly check-in at the consulate of Greece in Odesa.



The other crew members - the captain, his assistant and sailors will be in Greece until all the circumstances are clarified, according to the decision of the court.



We recall, the container ship Mekong Spirit was detained by the Greek police on May 25, 2017 on suspicion of transporting military goods. Its members are 17 citizens of Ukraine, including the captain.

Related: Religious procession for single local church starts in Kyiv
From 65 to 150 thousand people took part in prayer for Ukraine and for its single local church. This was written by the Press Secretary of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of Kyiv Patriarchate, Evstratiy Zorya on Facebook.



He recalled that in his speech after the moleben on the Volodymyr hill, Patriarch Filaret called the event "The largest religious procession in the history of Ukraine."



"According to various estimates, 65 to 150 thousand people gathered in the center of Kyiv, or even more believers - it was difficult to count the human sea. Until then, so many patriotic citizens who pray for the victory of truth and peace in Ukraine gathered only on Maydan during the Revolution of Dignity, "wrote Evstratiy Zorya.

We recall that the festive events dedicated to the 1030th anniversary of the baptism of Rus-Ukraine, are held in 2018 in accordance with the presidential decree of August 8, 2017. In addition to the processions and solemn molebens, a number of other festive events are taking place in the capital.



Let's note, yesterday, on July, 27th, the Religious procession of the UOC took place, during which eight world shrines were brought to Kyiv. It is the relics of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, the head of the holy martyr Clement, Bishop of Rome, the footstep of the Apostle Andrew, the icon of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called with a part of his relics and cross on which he was crucified, the icon "Zimnenskaya", the relics of the Great Martyr George the Victorious, an icon with a part of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov.



According to the estimates of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, about 250 thousand people took part in the religious procession of the UOC.

The autocephalous church is one of the backbones of Ukraines national security, as Petro Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine, said in his speech in Ternopil region, broadcasted by 112 Ukraine.

The autocephaly is not a concern of just Ukrainian orthodox Christians. It is a question of our Ukrainian independence. It is one of the backbones of the Ukrainian state, Ukrainian nation, Ukrainian national security. And, finally, of the entire worlds geopolitics, he noted.

According to the head of the state, because of this, the idea of the autocephaly is not supported by Moscow and its fifth column inside Ukraine.

Counterwork is large-scale and systematic. There are no reasons to think that we got the tomos. We have two things to do to get it  pray and fight, he said.

At the same time, Poroshenko believes that Ukraine should have the autocephaly.

Related: 12 sailors from arrested vessel Mekong Spirit return to Ukraine from Greece
Such a statement the head of the Ukrainian state made during events on the celebration of the 1030th anniversary of the baptism of Kievan Rus - Ukraine.





"Tomos on autocephaly will complete the assertion of independence of our state, strengthen religious freedom, interfaith peace, and the rights and freedoms of citizens, especially those who are now out of communion with the universal Orthodoxy," Poroshenko said.





The President stressed that autocephaly is a matter of Ukrainian independence, the issue of Ukrainian national security and the issue of the whole world geopolitics.





Let us note that yesterday the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew confirmed the intention to grant autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.





On April 19 Verkhovna Rada with 268 votes of people's deputies supported the appeal of the President of Ukraine to the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to provide a tomos about the autocephaly of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.

Later it became known that the Ecumenical Patriarchate was beginning consultations with sister churches on the issue of granting autocephaly to the UOC.





Note that since the early 90's in Ukraine there are several jurisdictions that call themselves Orthodox local and autocephalous churches.





The canonical status is held by the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate and the Bessarabian Metropolitanate of the Romanian Orthodox Church.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate is canonically unrecognized.





In addition, Ukraine also has an unrecognized Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church (UAOC).
112 Agency

Believers of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate began the religious procession for a single local church as part of the celebration of the Baptism of Rus anniversary. This is reported by the press service of the Kyiv Administration press service.



So, the procession began from the Volodymyrsky Cathedral, the column was escorted by law enforcers.



In the center of Kyiv, security measures are strengthened, traffic is blocked, pedestrians are checked through metal detectors.



Believers go in the direction of the Volodymyr hill.

112 Agency



We recall that the festive events dedicated to the 1030th anniversary of the baptism of Rus-Ukraine, are held in 2018 in accordance with the presidential decree of August 8, 2017. In addition to the processions and solemn molebens, a number of other festive events are taking place in the capital.



Let's note, yesterday, on July, 27th, the Religious procession of the UOC took place, during which eight world shrines were brought to Kyiv. It is the relics of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Vladimir, the head of the holy martyr Clement, Bishop of Rome, the footstep of the Apostle Andrew, the icon of the Apostle Andrew the First-Called with a part of his relics and cross on which he was crucified, the icon "Zimnenskaya", the relics of the Great Martyr George the Victorious, an icon with a part of the relics of St. Seraphim of Sarov.



According to the estimates of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, about 250 thousand people took part in the religious procession of the UOC.

The autocephalous church is one of the backbones of Ukraines national security, as Petro Poroshenko, the President of Ukraine, said in his speech in Ternopil region, broadcasted by 112 Ukraine.

The autocephaly is not a concern of just Ukrainian orthodox Christians. It is a question of our Ukrainian independence. It is one of the backbones of the Ukrainian state, Ukrainian nation, Ukrainian national security. And, finally, of the entire worlds geopolitics, he noted.

According to the head of the state, because of this, the idea of the autocephaly is not supported by Moscow and its fifth column inside Ukraine.

Counterwork is large-scale and systematic. There are no reasons to think that we got the tomos. We have two things to do to get it  pray and fight, he said.

At the same time, Poroshenko believes that Ukraine should have the autocephaly.

They say, one can not stop the idea which time has come. And it is about the idea of the autocephaly. The logic of the historical process leads us to the tomos, the logic of the development of our nation and country, he noted.

According to the President, such church should be independent.

Related: Eight suspects detained for cooperation with Donetsk People's Republic
This is not the first time the border police of State Border Guard Service reinforces the state borders

Group of border police of the Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine will reinforce the security of the state borders with the countries of the European Union in Zakarpattia region. The press office of State Border Service of Ukraine reports.

The guard is reinforced because the cross of illegal migrants, excise goods including usage of stashes, small aircraft through the state border is not diminishing.

This is not the first time the border police of State Border Guard Service reinforces the state borders with the EU countries. According to the preliminary results of the reinforce, the number of offenses, which are connected with illegal activities at the state border are diminishing at the time of strengthening, Major General Yurii Hresko, Director of the Department of States Border Security claimed.

Members of the Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine will show up for the duty in the most threatened areas and will carry out tasks to protect the state border, to prevent the mobility of illegal migrants, corruption, and smuggling, and administrative violations.

The department notes that 23 people were taken in for the illegal cross of the border during the same experiment at the end of the last year when 400 km of the border was checked. Furthermore, 20 thousand cigarette packs and goods for 14 thousand USD were seized. Five instances of preparation to commit illegal activities were identified.

As it was reported earlier, foreigners crossed the border 6.3 million times from the beginning of the year. Citizens of Great Britain, China, Croatia, Denmark, Austria, Estonia, Norway and Israel increased visits to Ukraine in 2018.
In this sense, Google honors Peru by depicting the national flag fluttering in the wind, alongside a picture that represents the Andean region's beauty, where the letters of the logo are set below, being enclosed in a dark-green frame box.

This way, the world's most important browser joins once again the celebrations marking the Inca country's Independence.

#FiestasPatrias: Google celebra Independencia del Peru con vistoso "doodle" https://t.co/GxG1k7uhky #LoQueNosUne pic.twitter.com/6bXAnobJ5d
"This Government has undertaken a series of actions aimed at redirecting the country," the statesman pointed out.





"These measures seek to implement, in the shortest time possible, the pillars of economic growth: to boost public and private investments, as well as to improve the incomes of all households," he added.





In his address to the nation , the Head of State recalled his administration inherited a stagnant economy along with a political polarization that generated an environment hit by uncertainty. Said situation led to a decrease in terms of growth and investments.





"For the first time in this millennium, poverty increased . This is an indicator that should worry us all, and we cannot remain indifferent to this situation (...). It is our responsibility to reverse that trend," he expressed.





Nevertheless, the first results of measures implemented by the Government have started to emerge. According to the latest reports, Peruvian economy is on a solid growth path





"Nowadays, we can be sure we will achieve a growth rate of around 4% this year, well above the 2.5% growth in 2017 . Public investment grew 18.6% in the first half of 2018, thus becoming one of the economy's (growth) engines," he noted.





Remarks were made at Congress headquarters on the occasion of Peru's 197th Independence Day anniversary celebrations.





(END) CNA/JJN/JAA/MVB
Presidente @MartinVizcarraC: No vamos a darles la espalda! A traves del Referendum que hoy propongo, todos los peruanos van a poder ser parte y decidir el cambio que el pais necesita. #MensajeALaNacion pic.twitter.com/6VEP1R9kcr
JLM said: Since when is a provincial politician allowed to stick his nose into civic politics? What has one got to do with the other? Click to expand...

The Constitution divides power between the Federal and Provincial governments. Municipal governments don't even exist at the constitutional level. They are a creation of the province, with the province conferring however much power it wants to a municipality. In theory, a provincial government could disband all municipal ones and take over all municipal functions onto itself. It would make for very inefficient governance, but a province could do that or even appoint a municipal governor if it wanted to.
El presidente @MartinVizcarra asiste a la Misa y Te Deum, que brinda el cardenal Juan Luis Cipriani por el 197. aniversario de la independencia del Peru. #LoQueNosUne pic.twitter.com/Sp8H47lhcX
Young Grammarians

Hope Meadows rejoices in millennial readers.

by Anita LeBlanc

From the July, 2018 issue

"It's just such a surprise about the millennials," says Hope Meadows. "They're readers!"



Meadows knows this because her Ann Arbor-based business, Fly Paper Products, sells literary and grammar-themed stationary and gifts through roughly 500 retailers in the U.S. and Canada. Her customers include the New York and Seattle public libraries, museum shops, and college bookstores; locally, Fly Paper products are sold at Found, Nicola's Books, and the Dixboro General Store. If you've seen a pencil embossed with the warning "I'm silently correcting your grammar" or a mug that commands "Drink coffee. Read books. Be happy," you've seen her work.



Meadows credits the library in her native Saginaw and her mother's insistence on proper grammar for her love affair with literature and the properly written word. She opened retail shops in Texas, then sold them, only to open another one in Toulouse, France. Following the birth of her son in 2001, she closed that shop and began creating greeting cards for expats, both as a creative outlet and as a way to earn money at home as a single mother. Ann Arbor's Falling Water became her first U.S. client in 2003.



She moved here in 2006 to take a job at the South U gift shop Middle Earth. She praises Cynthia Shevel, the store's co-owner, for teaching her "the power of buttons and magnets." She left in 2009 to run her greeting card venture full-time out of her home.



Her popular retro-themed 1950s and 60s "snarky women" greeting cards and products quickly became a hit. But she eventually realized that while the collection was fun, "my real passion was literary- and grammar-themed." She and her husband christened her new business Fly ("as in cool") Paper Products, with a paper airplane as the logo.



Along with mugs and pencils, Fly Paper makes greeting cards, note pads, and journals (some incorporating old Dewey Decimal System library cards); bookmarks; wineglasses and rocks glasses; and candles. Meadows also sells online, through etsy.com and her own website, flypaperproducts.com.



"I think book lovers have always been out there," she says--and contrary to stereotypes, they're not going to die out with the baby boomers. Millennials, she says, "love nostalgic images. They love old typewriters.



"You can tell from Literati--and I love Literati--you can tell when you go in there, there's a lot of young people. My son, who is seventeen years old, buys his own books [there]. And he reads them. He actually reads them!"



[Originally published in July, 2018.]









In an article about writing, "stationEry" should be spelled correctly! "StationAry" means "not moving."

On July 28, 2018, Mary wrote:
YEREVAN, JULY 28, ARMENPRESS. Human Rights Defender Arman Tatoyan visited second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan who is remanded into custody over the 2008 March 1 case, the Ombudsmans Office told Armenpress.

Arman Tatoyan had a private talk to Robert Kocharyan and examined the detention conditions. After the private talk the issues voiced were discussed with the staff of the correctional facility and received solutions.

Kocharyan didnt make any complaints over the attitude of officers of the correctional facility.

The Ombudsmans Office is ready to fully cooperate with Robert Kocharyans attorneys.

2nd President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan has been remanded into custody on July 27 by a Yerevan court. Kocharyan has been charged under the Article 300.1 part 1 of the Criminal Code for breaching the constitutional order during the March 1-2 events in 2008 in conspiracy with others.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan






YEREVAN, JULY 28, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on July 28 held a telephone conversation with President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko during which they discussed a number of issues relating to the bilateral cooperation and their expansion, the PMs Office told Armenpress.

The officials also touched upon the mutual partnership within the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) and the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO).

The phone conversation was held by the initiative of the Armenian side.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, JULY 28, ARMENPRESS. Human Rights Defender of Armenia Arman Tatoyan has applied to international structures over the case of Armenian citizen Karen Ghazaryan who is currently in Azerbaijani captivity, the Ombudsmans Office told Armenpress.

On July 15, 2018 the Azerbaijani defense ministry announced that it pushed back, with the formulation of the Azerbaijani media, a sabotage group of the Armenian Armed Forces in the direction of Qazax region, and one of the group members was taken captive.

Immediately after this statement Armenias defense ministry announced that that person is Karen Ghazaryan, a resident of Berdavan village of Armenias Tavush province, who faces mental problems, doesnt serve and has never served in the Armenian Armed Forces.

The next day after the incident Karen Ghazaryans parents and relatives applied to the Ombudsman of Armenia. Based on these applications, the Ombudsmans representative on July 17 visited Berdavan village and met with Karens parents. The parents insisted that their son didnt serve in the army and provided respective documents proving his health problems. The parents said they are looking forward to the return of their son.

In recent days Karens parents repeatedly applied to the Ombudsman expressing their concern that till now they have no information about the location of their son. They also expressed concern over their sons life, health and physical safety. They asked for the Ombudsmans support on receiving information about their son.

Taking into account the applications received, the Human Rights Defender draws the attention of international human rights organizations and structures on this issue and asks for support on receiving information about the location and physical safety of Karen Ghazaryan, as well as his return.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, JULY 28, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian culture and art with its unique traditions, song and music, architectural monuments, beautiful landscapes have been presented in one video, the Armenian foreign ministry said.

A video discovering Armenia with its entire magic and essence was shot as a result of the cooperation of the Armenian Embassy in Latvia (residence in Vilnius) and Travelblog.lv.

By the assistance of Armenias State Tourism Committee and Radisson Blu Yerevan, Travelblog.lv representatives have fixed everything possible and impossible for a week  the Armenian culture and art with its unique traditions, song and music, architectural monuments, such as churches, monasteries, cross-stones and etc.

One should watch the film in order to see and understand this, but in order to discover the treasures of the Armenian world left out of cameras, one should visit Armenia and see it in his/her own eyes, the ministrys statement said.

Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
YEREVAN, JULY 28, ARMENPRESS. Russian President Vladimir Putin said he is ready to travel to Washington D.C. to meet with US President Donald Trump, if appropriate conditions are in place for their work, TASS reports.

Putin said the Russian side is ready to invite Trump to Moscow. We are ready to invite President Trump to Moscow, where, by the way, he had already been invited to, and I have already told him about this, the Russian leader said.

Putin added that both he and President Trump share the intention of holding another meeting following this months Helsinki summit.



Edited and translated by Aneta Harutyunyan
Voters in the Comoros go to the polls on Monday for a politically explosive referendum overshadowed by a clampdown and an attempted assassination just days before the vote. Burdened by a long history of turbulence, the Indian Ocean archipelago is being asked to vote on changes to the constitution put forward by President Azali Assoumani. Critics say that Assoumani's scheme is to retain power beyond 2021, when his currently non-renewable single term would otherwise end. Under the current constitution adopted in 2001, power rotates every five years between the country's three main islands as a means of balancing power in the coup-prone country. If the government wins the referendum, this arrangement would be scrapped and replaced by a president who would be elected for a five-year tenure, renewable for one term. Assoumani would also gain the power to scrap the country's three vice-presidencies, another checks-and-balances feature of the present constitution. In addition, a constitutional clause on secularism would be scrapped and replaced by text saying "Islam is the religion of state" and "the state draws from this religion the principles and rules of Sunnite observance." Ninety-nine percent of the Comoran population are Sunni Muslim. Opposition parties have lashed the referendum as illegal and the process as murky. "When the law is trampled on, you cannot organise a credible vote... we cannot take part in an election or any kind of referendum which has been branded by illegality," Ahmed el-Barwane, head of the Juwa party, warned ahead of the ballot. In June, one of the country's trio of vice presidents, Ahmed Said Jaffar, urged Comorans to "reject the dangerous abuse" of power. He was later stripped of all but one of his ministerial portfolios. - Early elections? - If Assoumani wins the referendum, he is expected to stage early elections next year to try to extend his term in office. If he loses, he will step down, according to his spokesman, Mohamed Ismailla. A group of three islands between Mozambique and Madagascar and one of the world's poorest countries, the Comoros has endured coups and political turmoil, including intervention by mercenaries, ever since it gained independence from France in 1975. Assoumani, a 59-year-old former colonel, was president between 1999 and 2002, coming to power after ousting acting president Tadjidine Ben Said Massonde in a military coup. He won the country's first multi-party elections in 2002, stepping down in 2006 to democratically hand over power to Ahmed Abdallah Sambi. In May 2016, he returned again as president after an election marred by violence and allegations of voting irregularities. - Clampdown - In April this year, Assoumani suspended the Constitutional Court -- his spokesman said the institution had become "useless, superfluous and incompetent" as the eight-seat panel only had three judges and thus could not constitute a quorum. The following month, former president Sambi -- reputed to be close to Shiite Muslim Iran -- was placed under house arrest shortly after returning from a six-month absence abroad, and Assoumani outlawed demonstrations. Last Sunday, one of the vice presidents, Moustoidrane Abdou, who holds the portfolios of production and energy, escaped an assassination attempt. He was travelling to his home village of Sima in the west of Anjouan island when assailants on a motorcycle raked his car with automatic gunfire near the island's biggest town of Mutsamudu. The three main islands of the Comoros -- Grande-Comore, the largest, and from which Azali hails, Anjouan and Moheli -- have a population of around 800,000 people. A fourth island in the group, Mayotte, remains part of France. Opposition supporters demonstrate against the referendum in the streets of Moroni, the Comoran capital Azali, a former colonel, has been in power three times -- critics say he wants to extend his time in office by reworking the constitution
A young New Zealand boy has had a birthday party hell never forget after a group of off-duty police officers took him up on his unconventional invitation to come along.

Zachary, from Auckland, tried inviting officers to his fifth birthday party by calling the national emergency line, 111, after telling his mother he was desperate for a police-themed bash.

Yet when she received a call back from an operator to make sure everything was OK, she was forced into an embarrassing apology.

Zachary was met with several surprise guests to his birthday party last weekend. Source: Auckland District Police

Two officers even came dressed in riot gear to the delight of partygoers. Source: Facebook/ Auckland District Police

I didnt realise he was going to phone through! she can be heard saying in a recording of the conversation.

The operator managed to see the funny side of Zacharys audacious attempt to bring officers along and said shed let several know of his birthday plans.

And to his surprise, on July 21, the day of his party, Zachary received an unexpected knock at the door from officers donned in full uniform, including two in riot gear.

Guests couldnt hide their joy as they were invited to check out the officers vehicles. Source: Facebook/ Auckland District Poilice

Zachary and friends even got to try on sets of handcuffs. Source: Facebook/ Auckland District Police

Hey Zachary, weve got something for you, an officer says in bodycam footage released on Auckland District Polices Facebook page beforehe handing him a police dog soft toy.

Another officer then asks Zach and his friends if they want to head outside and play with some of their gear.

I might! Zachary responds, still in shock at the unexpected arrivals.

Zach waves to a police helicopter that flew past for another surprise from the force. Source: Facebook/ Auckland District Police

As the party guests warm to the idea, adorable footage shows the children playing inside police vehicles and trying on uniforms. A police helicopter even flies by at one point to the delight of the party.

While the video says the officers were more than happy to make Zachs day, they advised against others making the same call to their emergency line.

While our off-duty staff were happy to bring Zacharys birthday wish to life, we dont encourage kids calling 111 to invite police to their birthdays, they said in the video.
A woman has died in hospital taking the death toll from Greece's worst wildfires to 88, many of them children, officials said Saturday. The unnamed woman in her 40's had been in hospital since fire ravaged the seaside village of Mati, east of the capital Athens, on Monday. The Health Ministry said a dozen other people remained in hospital with serious injuries. Forensics experts have faced a difficult task trying to identify the bodies of those who perished, many completely charred. A private detective employed by one family which lost three children and their grandparents told reporters Friday night that nine year-old twins Sophia and Vassiliki had been identified. They were found wrapped in the embrace of their grandparents among 26 bodies outside a villa near the sea at Mati. Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras said Friday he assumed "political responsibility" for the tragedy as a bitter debate raged over who was to blame. The opposition earlier accused the government of refusing to take responsibility after it said arson was suspected. Officials citing information from satellite maps have said that 13 fires broke out Monday at the same time across the Attica region. At a cabinet meeting broadcast live, Tsipras said he wanted "to assume completely before the great Greek people the political responsibility for this tragedy". "I believe that is what the prime minister and the government should do," he added. The government has come in for strong criticism over its response to the disaster despite a 40-million-euro relief fund. Experts have said that a mix of poor urban planning, including a lack of proper access routes and the construction of too many buildings next to combustible forest areas, contributed to what were Europe's worst wildfires this century. The fires struck coastal villages popular with holidaymakers and burned with such ferocity that most people fled to the safety of the sea with just the clothes on their backs. Foresnic experts face a difficult time trying to identify those who perished as the death toll climbed to 88 in Greece's worst ever wildfires
Humberto Ortega, the ex-head of Nicaragua's military, urged his brother President Daniel Ortega in a TV interview to disband the pro-Sandinista paramilitary forces blamed for deadly violence in months of unrest. "If the government has a profound sense of responsibility, in the first place it should end the presence of these armed people," who act "as if they were a military or police authority," Humberto Ortega said in a late Friday interview on the CNN En Espanol program "Con Camilo." More than 300 people have been killed in Nicaragua in more than three months of unrest against Daniel Ortega's administration. The protests have been brutally countered by police and armed pro-government paramilitaries. Rights groups say more than 2,000 people have been wounded since the clashes erupted in mid-April. Humberto Ortega blamed the armed irregular forces for many of the protester deaths. "We cannot accept the existence of parapolice or paramilitary forces," he told CNN, complaining that the paramilitaries "operate openly next to national police." Humberto Ortega, 71, fought alongside his brother Daniel, 72, in the 1979 Sandinista revolution that toppled dictator Anastasio Somoza. He was head of Nicaragua's military until the Sandinistas lost power in the 1990 election. Since then he has focused on business and writing. Humberto's brother Daniel was re-elected in 2007, and has remained in power since. Many of Daniel Ortega's Sandinista comrades from the 1979 revolution however no longer support the president. Humberto Ortega blamed the government for the "indiscriminate repression" of protesters, but refused to directly blame his brother. He says that he has a "very respectful and fraternal" relationship with the president, but that they do not have direct communication. The ex-military leader supports government talks with the opposition mediated by the Catholic Church, as well as a proposal to hold early presidential elections next year to solve the ongoing crisis. Humberto Ortega in 1994, when he was head of Nicaragua's armed forces
The Force India Formula One team said Saturday that they feel no animosity towards leading driver Sergio Perez for taking legal action that led to them going into administration. The team's deputy principal Bob Fernley made this clear when drivers Esteban Ocon and Perez qualified 18th and 19th for Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix. "There can't be any animosity," Fernley told www.autosport.com. "Whatever happens, like everybody else, 'Checo' (Perez) is entitled to be paid. "Unfortunately we were not in a position to be able to pay him, and patience runs out for everybody. So, that's a process. "I don't think we in any way look negatively at him. The responsibility for payment is on the team, not on Checo. "He's been put in a difficult position. I think we have to respect his position, and not criticise it." Perez's Mexican sponsorship has been a mainstay of the team's operations since he joined in 2014 and helps to ensure he is paid his salary. However, delays in payments led him, through his management company, to take part in the winding-up order that was heard in London's High Court on Friday. No hard feelings: Force India's Sergio Perez at the Hungaroring on Saturday
The authorities on the idyllic Greek holiday island of Santorini have decided to offer protection for the donkeys who carry tourists up a steep cliff, after facing protests and adverse publicity. The town hall issued a statement Saturday saying a meeting had been held with animal rights groups and animal owners to ensure "respect for the rights and well-being of donkeys". After a video of an owner beating a donkey aired on social networks, four campaigning groups held a protest Friday which ended in scuffles. The town hall said all parties had accepted a series of measures including keeping the animals in the shade during rest periods and ensuring plenty of water and food. The load and hours of the donkeys would also be limited while owners who mistreat their animals would be banned. The statement said the rights activists "declared themselves satisfied with these measures, as long they are followed". Santorini, perched hundreds of metres above a bay in a volcanic crater, has struggled to cope with huge numbers of tourists who have flooded in over recent years. The town hall has imposed limits on the numbers of cruise liners and people allowed onto the island. Authorities on the idyllic Greek holiday island of Santorini have decided to offer protection for the donkeys who carry tourists up a steep cliff after animal rights activists held a protest Donkeys and mules line up to give tourists a ride on the island of Santorini
A grieving Queensland mum is calling on the government to provide a free Meningococcal B vaccine following the death of her daughter.

Zoe McGinty, 20, died from meningococcal in September, 2017.

Her mum, Kirsten, said on the day of her death she went to the gym, ate protein pancakes and then felt unwell with symptoms similar to gastro.

The 20-year-old deteriorated around bedtime.

Zoe McGinty, 20, died from Meningococcal B in September, 2017 and now her mum wants free vaccine to be provided to fight the strain of the illness. Source: 7 News

Ms McGinty said her daughter held her hand out, begging her to stay by her side.

Mummy please dont leave me, and she was holding out her hand and after that she never spoke again, Ms McGinty said.

The young woman had no rash or fever and no one knew she had meningococcal, including doctors.

The 20-year-olds mum, Kirsten, wants vaccine for all ages, all strains. Source: 7 News

By 2am the following morning, Zoe was dead.

Her devastated mum now wants all ages, all strains vaccinated.

Meningococcal B strain cases have doubled in five years but the $400 vaccine isnt on the immunisation schedule.

The Federal Government cant legally add it to the program until the independent Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee recommends it.

The young Queensland woman had no rash or fever. Source: 7 News

It has knocked back the vaccine three times because the group of doctors and health economists wasnt satisfied it would be effective for everyone.

Instead, it recommended a trial.

Currently, all Australian babies are entitled to free vaccines for strains A, C, W and Y.

However, the South Australian government will provide the B strain vaccine for free for babies from October.

There are calls for the Queensland government to follow suit but the health department said the best policy is a nationally consistent vaccination program.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Friday said in an interview he did "not want a European Union led by France", adding that May 2019 elections to the European Parliament would be "decisive". "We have never been faced with such a decisive election," Orban told the German Bild newspaper in comments published online. "The Germans should above all be vigilant. There is a French concept, which fundamentally means: French leadership of Europe, paid for by German money," he said, without mentioning French President Emmanuel Macron by name. "This is something I reject. We do not want a European Union under French leadership... The Europeans must be heard and we must wait for the European elections before taking some important decisions" on matters such as immigration and the budget, he added. Orban won a third consecutive term in April on a fiercely anti-migration platform and his government has repeatedly clashed with the European Commission, the EU's executive arm, especially since the migration crisis erupted in 2015. The EU is currently intensifying legal action against Hungary in a bid to make it comply with EU asylum rules, amid broader fears that Hungary, Poland and other eastern countries from the former Soviet-bloc are turning away from the values on which the EU is built. Orban regularly accuses German Chancellor Angela Merkel of having encouraged the 2015 influx of migrants by declaring them welcome. 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. Orban also said in Montenegro earlier this week 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 said. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban won a third consecutive term in April on a fiercely anti-migration platform and his government has repeatedly clashed with the European Commission, the EU's executive arm
Iraq will put on trial five election officials in connection with fraud, including vote buying, during the country's May legislative elections, a judicial official said on Saturday. Judge Laith Hamza said the suspects were the heads of election offices in Salaheddin, Kirkuk and Anbar provinces as well as those who oversaw the voting in neighbouring Jordan and Turkey. All five have been sacked "and will appear before the courts" in connection with allegations of fraud, Hamza said. The decision to put them on trial has been taken following recommendations made by a ministerial committee, which issued a 28-page report after reviewing a series of complaints. Hamza said the committee recommended they be tried after coming across "(election) violations, fraud and corruption" in the districts which the five suspects headed. According to the ministerial report, a copy of which has been seen by AFP, some of the alleged fraud involved "vote buying" on behalf of the Minister of Commerce Salman Ali and his brother Issam. Iraq's May election were marred by allegations of fraud which prompted the supreme court to order a manual recount in several districts, including in the northern multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk. The election was won by populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr's joint list with communists, as long-time political figures were pushed out by voters seeking change in a country mired in conflict and corruption. The results were contested mainly by the old guard. The supreme court also ratified a decision by the outgoing parliament to dismiss Iraq's nine-member electoral commission and replace them with judges. The ministerial committee additionally recommended in its report that a new law be passed to ensure that in the future independent judges -- rather that an electoral commission -- oversee elections. A man votes in parliamentary elections at a polling station in Arbil, the capital of the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq, on May 12, 2018
Tiffany Joh remained out in front at the Scottish Ladies Open at Gullane on Friday as she went in search of her first title in a decade on the LPGA Tour. The 31-year-old did see her lead trimmed by a shot after a second-round 67. Unsurprisingly, the American was unable to match her stunning first-round 62, a course record, but still hit five birdies for a total of 13-under par. "I had pretty low expectations for today, to be honest," Joh told the Tour's official website on Friday. "I honestly probably would have taken anything under par, but on the first hole right away we made a 45-footer, and I just started laughing. "I didn't even know what to say. So yeah, it was a really good start, and I guess I just kept rolling with it." Meanwhile, US Open champion Ariya Jutanugarn posted a bogey-free 65 to get within three of the lead. She was joined on 10 under by South Korea's Amy Yang who shot 66. Germany's Caroline Masson equalled Jutanugarn's 65 to move into fourth. Tiffany Joh, pictured in 2017, hit five birdies for a total of 13-under par
At least five people were killed and three others wounded in a late Friday shootout between police and criminals near the resort town of Cancun, a magnet for tourists on Mexico's Caribbean coast, local officials said. Around 9pm (0200 GMT Saturday) unidentified gunmen opened fire after breaking into an enclosure next to a restaurant in Puerto Juarez, located some 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of the Cancun tourist area, the Quintana Roo state prosecutor's office said in a preliminary report. "Of the five killed, one was a ministerial police agent," the statement said, adding that the four others killed apparently worked at the site. A police commander was among the wounded, and there were no reports of tourists at the site of the shooting, the statement said. Millions of foreign tourists, especially from the United States and Europe, visit Cancun and other nearby resorts such as Playa del Carmen and Tulum each year. Since early 2017 however there has been an increased turf war between drug gangs in Quintana Roo. In the first half of 2018, 279 people were murdered in the southern Mexican state in drug-related violence, according to Semaforo Delictivo, an NGO that follows drug-related crime. A Mexican federal police officer stands guard at the site where at least five people, including a ministerial police officer, were killed in Puerto Juarez, in Quintana Roo state
Five years after an international military intervention designed to restore peace, Malians will vote Sunday with the vast West African nation still confronting the threat of jihadist and ethnic violence. While polls suggest President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, 71, is favourite to see off 23 rivals in the poll, the main Al-Qaeda-linked jhadist alliance made its presence felt on the final day of campaigning Friday, dubbing the election a "mirage" that would do nothing for the Malian people. "These elections are nothing other than the pursuit of a mirage and our peoples will reap nothing but illusions, as they are used to doing," said alliance leader Iyad Ag Ghaly. Ag Ghaly was the linchpin of the jihadists' operation to take control of much of the north of the country in 2012 who leads the Group to Support Islam and Muslims (GSIM), formed from a merger of several militant groups. The international community expects the winner to relaunch a peace accord signed in 2015 by the government and mainly Tuareg former rebels but whose application remains out of reach. Despite the accord, jihadist violence has continued and also spread out from the north towards the centre and south of the country amid repeated states of emergency, the unrest permeating neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger. - Sole female - Keita's chief rival according to polls is Soumaila Cisse, 68, a former finance and economy minister, who lost by a large margin in the second round in 2013. Djeneba N'Diaye, who has no political background, is the only female standing, urging voters to give a woman a chance "because the men have failed." More than eight million Malians are due to vote in the poll with provisional official results due August 3 at the latest with a second round on August 12 if required. Inter-ethnic communal violence has only added to a volatile mix in the Sahel nation. A midweek flare-up in central Mali saw 17 ethnic Fulani killed in an attack community associations and local authorities blamed on traditional hunters. On July 17, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) said at least 289 civilians had died in "inter-communal violence" since the start of the year, mainly in the central region of Mopti. - 'Minimal' security conditions - According to the security ministry, some 30,000 security personnel, including foreign troops, have been drafted for election day. But UN mission chief Mahamat Saleh Annadif urged vigilance in a radio interview in which he found only "minimal (security) conditions" were in place. In northern regions where the government has little say in local affairs, armed groups who signed the peace accord will also guard ballot boxes. Baba Mahamane Toure, a resident of Timbuktu, told AFP that "from 1990 until now, little effort has been made in terms of infrastructure for northern regions," adding he didn't know who to vote for. Top challengers to Keita, elected in 2013, aside from Cisse, include former transitional prime minister Cheick Modibo Diarra, an astrophysicist who held that office for eight months in 2012, and Aliou Boubacar Diallo, a businessman. Turnout is traditionally less than 50 percent in a country where less than one third of those aged over 15 are literate. The governor of the central region of Mopti (centre), General Sidi Alassane Toure, said he was "very optimistic" regional participation would be high, with more than three-quarters of voters having procured a voter's registration card. Not everyone shared his optimism. "We are going to vote but we are very afraid, afraid for our children, our husbands, our brothers, sisters, for everything," said Hawa Cisse, of the "Let's Save Mopti" platform. "We can't even go to the market, we can't go beyond the river" Niger, she complained, reflecting on a campaign that has seen rows over electoral lists and opposition claims of ballot rigging owing to differences between the physical voter list and the online variant. The government says there is only one list and any anomalies are down to an IT glitch. Bamako baker Moussa Diombele says he will reserve judgement. "The elections must first take place before we can speak of (electoral) fraud," he opined. Seeking re-election, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita addresses a final campaign rally as Malians head for the polls against a backdrop of ongoing jiahdist violence and ethnic unrest Supporters of Malian presidential candidate Cheick Modibo Diarra hold a placard in the shape of the country during Friday's final campaign rally in Bamako Map of Mali showing its main ethnic groups, locations of refugees and internally displaced people and sites of major inter-ethnic attacks along with zones where jihadist groups operate
An hours-long militant attack on a midwife training centre in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday killed at least two people and wounded five, police said, as the latest assault in the country was brought to an end by security forces. Nearly 70 people, including students and teachers, were inside the centre in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, at the time of the attack. Nangarhar police chief Ghulam Sanyee Stanikzai told AFP two people -- a guard and a driver -- were killed and five others wounded. Provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani put the casualty toll slightly higher at three dead and eight wounded. Afghan officials often give conflicting tolls in the aftermath of an attack. Some of the people inside the centre escaped while others were taken hostage by the gunmen. "They were freed by the police during the operation," Stanikzai said. One attacker was wearing a suicide vest and blew himself up, while the other was killed by security forces, Khogyani said. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack, but most of the recent assaults in the city have been carried out by the Islamic State group, which has a stronghold in Nangarhar. The Taliban denied involvement in a WhatsApp message sent to reporters. Provincial health department spokesman Inamullah Miakhil said 48 women from remote districts of the province were enrolled in the two-year midwifery course. The training facility, which is near the centre of Jalalabad in an area where several international organisations and consulates have offices, is funded by the Ministry of Public Health. "We don't know why the midwife centre came under attack," Miakhil told AFP, adding all NGOs and government bodies in Jalalabad were at risk. A witness in a nearby department told AFP he heard several explosions and then saw three gunmen enter the street where the midwife centre is located. Some of the security forces earlier appeared to dismantle improvised explosive devices apparently planted in the street by the militants, a witness told AFP. Jalalabad has been the scene of several attacks in recent months that have killed dozens, as US and Afghan forces continue offensive operations against IS and Taliban militants. - Health workers a target - Government buildings are a common target for insurgents, including hospitals and medical facilities. It is not known why the gunmen targeted the midwife training centre. Midwives have been attacked in the past for providing reproductive health services to women, though such attacks appear to be rare. Islamist groups -- and many ordinary Afghans -- also oppose women working outside the home. While thousands of women have been trained as midwives since the 2001 US-led invasion, Afghanistan still has one of the highest maternal and child mortality rates in the world. The last major attack in Jalalabad happened on July 11 when gunmen raided an education department compound in the city, sparking an hours-long battle with security forces. At least 11 people were killed in the attack. All were employees of the education department branch and included the director. A suicide bomb attack claimed by IS on a crowd of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus in Jalalabad on July 1 killed at least 19 people and wounded 21. The Taliban is Afghanistan's largest militant group and IS has a relatively small but potent presence, mainly in the east and north of the country. It first emerged in Afghanistan in 2014 and quickly established a stronghold in Nangarhar. Intensified aerial and ground operations against the militants have failed to dislodge them. An unprecedented three-day ceasefire involving Afghan security forces and the Taliban last month did not include IS. The first formal nationwide truce since 2001 was marred by two IS suicide attacks in Nangarhar. While the Afghan government and its foreign backers are seeking to strike a peace deal with the Taliban, US forces have repeatedly said they plan to annihilate IS. Smoke rises as Afghan security forces arrive at the scene of the attack in Jalalabad
The controversial hunt for minke whales in Iceland has come to end after declining profits led to the local industry closing, the International Fund for Animal Welfare said on Friday. Only six minke whales were caught in June and none in July -- usually the peak month for hunting -- out of a quota of 262, the IFAW said in a statement. It was the smallest number since Iceland resumed whaling in 2003, with 17 animals caught last summer, and 46 in 2016. The head of whaling company IP-Utgerd Ltd, Gunnar Jonsson, confirmed to AFP that hunting has stopped. "We need to go much farther from the coast than before, so we need more staff, which increases costs," he told the Morgunbladid newspaper. Iceland, along with Norway, openly defies the International Whaling Commission's 1986 ban on whale hunting. The practice has drawn fire from numerous corners including the European Union and the United States, which in 2014 threatened Iceland with economic sanctions. Japan also hunts whales, but uses a legal loophole that allows it to continue catching the animals in order to gather scientific data. Icelandic whaling company Hvalur drew ire earlier this month when marine conservationists claimed it had killed a rare blue whale. However it turned out to be a hybrid between a blue whale and a fin whale, which are possibly even rarer than blue whales but have no laws to protect them. Iceland openly defies the International Whaling Commission's 1986 ban on whale hunting
Around 200 flights had to be cancelled and two terminals evacuated at Munich airport on Saturday after an unidentified person entered a secure area, police and the airport said. The person -- a woman -- made it into a secure area of Terminal 2 without being checked and then disappeared without trace despite an extensive search, police said, adding that they did not believe she represented an "extreme danger". Several thousand people at the airport on a busy weekend of holiday departures had to be evacuated. Sixty flights were also delayed. Travellers gather in front of information boards in the Munich airport after hundreds of flights were cancelled and thousands of people evacuated when an unidentified person entered a secure area
Peru will hold a referendum to "legitimize" judicial reforms, including the creation of an anti-corruption office and sanctions on corrupt judges and lawyers, following reports of judges offering lenient sentences for a price, President Martin Vizcarra said Saturday. "The system for administering justice has collapsed," Vizcarra said in remarks delivered on Peru's Independence Day. "We will open a referendum process for judicial reform." Vizcarra, an engineer by training, took office four months ago after his center-right predecessor, Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, resigned amid a swirl of corruption allegations. The president said Peruvians would also vote on constitutional changes to set term limits for legislators, re-establish a bicameral Congress for the first time since 1993 and increase transparency in court decisions. "With these measures we will significantly reduce corruption in the administration of justice," Vizcarra said. "Enough with the pardons in exchange for money." Analysts said there was some doubt Vizcarra would be able to carry out the full slate of ambitious reforms, since he lacks a strong base of support in Congress, which is dominated by the far-right opposition party of Keiko Fujimori, daughter of former president Alberto Fujimori. The nation's judiciary has been mired in scandal since investigative website IDL-Reporteros early this month released more than 20 tapes on which several judges appear to discuss arranging lenient treatment for defendants in exchange for cash or favors. The scandal has led to the resignation of the president of the Supreme Court, Duberli Rodriguez, of Justice Minister Salvador Heresi and of Orlando Velasquez, head of the National Council of Magistrates, which appoints judges and prosecutors. Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra announced plans for a referendum to "legitimize" proposed judicial reforms, following a scandal over crooked judges
Rescuers battled thick mud and flood waters across a swathe of remote southern Laos to find survivors of a deadly dam burst that submerged entire villages, as an official suggested faulty construction may have led to the disaster. The exact number of dead and missing from Monday's dam collapse remains a mystery because of the complexity of the rescue operation in an inaccessible area and the secretive reflexes of Laos's Communist authorities in the face of an unprecedented crisis. "The search is very complicated, many areas cannot be accessed by cars or boats. Also we have limited modern equipment to bring to the field," deputy secretary of Attapeu province committee Meenaporn Chaichompoo told reporters Friday. The head of the rescue mission Kumriang Authakaison said Saturday that eight people are confirmed dead, down from 27 reported by officials earlier this week. He added that 123 were confirmed missing. But conflicting information swirled about how many remain unaccounted for after Chaichompoo said Friday "we can't find 1,126 people", without elaborating. Makeshift shelters are packed with thousands of people who fled their homes in panic with just a few hours' notice of the impending disaster, now spending their days on plastic mats waiting for news of missing neighbours. All karaoke bars and entertainment venues were ordered tone down loud music and celebrations in the province as the nation mourned the calamity, the most devastating to hit Laos's contentious hydropower sector. A stretch of land dozens of kilometres long and wide was submerged when the Xe-Namnoy dam collapsed after heavy rains. Slowly retreating floodwaters have cut off access to villages and covered much of the area with thick, sticky mud. "This is one of the worst (disasters) I've ever seen. Especially because we're not a very strong country in terms of rescue operations," a volunteer rescue worker told AFP, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to media. - Poor construction? - Days into the treacherous search for survivors, questions are being raised about the quality of the construction of the $1.2 billion dam, a joint venture between South Korean, Laotian and Thai firms. Operators said it burst after heavy rains in a country regularly battered by monsoons. But Laos Minister of Energy and Mines Khammany Inthirath said poor design may have contributed to the accident, according to state media and Radio Free Asia. "It might be construction technique that led to the collapse after it was affected by the rain," he told RFA in an interview broadcast Friday. One of the Korean firms involved in the project, SK Engineering & Construction, said it was investigating the cause of the dam break and would donate $10 million in relief aid. The accident has kicked up criticism of Laos' ambitious dam-building scheme as it bids to become a major power exporter, billing itself the "battery of Asia" with more than 50 projects set to go online by 2020. The majority of energy generated in the tiny, landlocked country is sold to its neighbours, mostly to Thailand where much of it is sucked up in the sweaty, energy-hungry capital Bangkok. Villagers have complained of being relocated -- sometimes repeatedly -- while river waters crucial for fishing and farming have been diverted, destroying livelihoods in one of Asia's poorest countries. Downstream countries like Cambodia and Vietnam also fret that their waterways and fishing stocks could be damaged by the hydopower boom in Laos. The accident has prompted fears over the safety of other dams in the country. "Most of the dams are built by foreign companies and Laos authorities don't have expert knowledge and management to check for weaknesses or problems, that's our worry," villager Si Wonghajak told AFP. Slowly retreating floodwaters have left much of the affected area in remote southern Laos covered with thick, sticky mud, hampering rescue efforts
Thousands of Nicaraguans marched through their capital on Saturday in a show of support for the country's bishops whom President Daniel Ortega has accused of aiding an attempted "coup" against him. The rally brought together Catholics, evangelicals and non-Christians under images of the Virgin Mary and Nicaraguan flags, and cries of "freedom" and "Bishop, buddy, the people are with you." It was another display of popular opposition to Ortega, who has become reviled by large sections of Nicaragua's population of six million for a brutal three-month crackdown on anti-government protests in which more than 300 people have been killed. The president has been able to impose a period of relative calm on the country after police and loyalist paramilitaries firing weapons crushed opposition hubs in Managua and the nearby city of Masaya this month. One of the raids targeted youths taking shelter in a church in the capital, killing two. After those operations, Ortega this week declared "the turmoil is over." He also accused the country's bishops, who have been trying to bring about a peaceful solution by mediating talks between the government and the opposition, of helping those challenging him, whom he called "coup-mongers" and "terrorists." - Persecution - "Given this supremely critical situation, (the church) has, yesterday, today and forever, given life and voice to those who have no voice," said one priest taking part in Saturday's march, Silvio Fonseca. An evangelical, Henry Aguilar, 55, told AFP that non-Catholic churches had joined the "pilgrimage" demonstration in support of the Catholic bishops "because we are Nicaraguans, and the same system attacking them is also attacking us." Daily protests continue against Ortega, demanding he step down and early elections be held. While the violence has diminished, at least four deaths have been reported since the security blitzes. Rights groups say state-sponsored persecution of people suspected of taking part in the protests, or of helping them, has been stepped up, forcing thousands to flee over the southern border into Costa Rica. Doctors at a state-run hospital in the northwest city of Leon told AFP on Friday that more than a dozen medics, nurses and technical personnel have been fired for treating wounded protesters and, in some cases, voicing opinions that "freedom" and dialogue was needed in the country. - Call for early polls - The bishops, through their Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua, support elections being brought forward from 2021 to next year. The United States and the Organization of American States back that call, with Washington warning of further sanctions on Nicaragua if Ortega does not yield to the demand. But Ortega, 72, has rejected early polls, saying they would only increase insecurity. He accuses the United States of financing opposition militia he says are intent on toppling the government he leads with his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo. The leftwing leader, who first came to power in 1979 after his Sandinista guerrillas swept aside a US-backed dictatorship, has ruled Nicaragua for 22 of the past 39 years. The unrest is posing the biggest challenge to his authority since he returned to office in 2007, not least because the business sector that had underpinned previous economic stability is now spurning him over the violence. A masked anti-government demonstrator takes part in a pilgrimage in Managua on July 28, 2018 Daily protests are taking place against President Daniel Ortega, demanding he step down and early elections be held The unrest is posing the biggest challenge to Ortega's authority since he returned to office in 2007
NEW YORK, July 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of CBS Corporation (CBS or the Company) (NYSE:CBS). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888-476-6529, ext. 9980.



The investigation concerns whether CBS and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

[Click here to join a class action]

On July 27, 2018, media outlets reported that The New Yorker would shortly publish an article detailing allegations of sexual misconduct by CBS chairman and chief executive officer Leslie Moonves. That same day, CBS announced that it will investigate the allegations against Moonves, stating that [a]ll [allegations] of personal misconduct are to be taken seriously. On this news, CBSs stock price fell $3.52, or 6.12%, to close at $54.01 on July 27, 2018.

The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com.

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Tamim Iqbal's second hundred of the series and a quickfire unbeaten half-century by Mahmudullah paced Bangladesh to a formidable 301 for six against the West Indies in the decisive third and final one-day international at Warner Park in St Kitts on Saturday. It is Bangladesh's highest total in an ODI against the West Indies. With the series all-square following the hosts' thrilling three-run win in the second match under lights in Guyana on Wednesday, the tourists have set the pace in this fixture with their top-order batting justifying the decision by captain Mashrafe Mortaza to bat first after he won the toss for the third consecutive time. Tamim's confident 103 off 124 balls with seven fours and two sixes again provided his team with a solid foundation in pursuit of their first series win away from home in nine years. His innings lifted his tally in the three matches to 287 runs at an outstanding average of 143.5. As in the first two ODIs he found a reliable partner in Shakib Al Hasan, the pair putting on 81 runs for the second wicket after West Indies captain Jason Holder removed Anamul Haque to a catch by Kieran Powell running back from mid-off in the tenth over. Powell was one of two changes to the West Indies team as he replaced Jason Mohammed in the middle-order while left-arm fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell, drafted into the squad due to Andre Russell's knee injury, came in for lanky pacer Alzarri Joseph. Bangladesh retained the same eleven from the two previous matches. Anamul's dismissal came with the score just on 35, but Tamim and Shakib picked up the pace in the manner of their previous second-wicket partnerships -- a record 207 in the first match in Guyana followed by 97 in the second encounter at the same venue. Shakib eventually departed off the bowling off Ashley Nurse, who together with fellow spinner Devendra Bishoo put a brake on Bangladesh's progress through the middle of the innings. However they were able to cut loose over the final 20 overs as 150 runs were plundered in that period, thanks in the main to the unbridled aggression of Mahmudullah. He had come to the crease when Nurse took his second wicket in bowling Mushfiqur Rahim and immediately went into attack mode, his adventurous knock of 67 not out occupying 49 deliveries and embellished with five fours and three sixes. Tamim was prepared to play the supporting role to Mahmudullah's assault and eventually reached his 11th ODI hundred in the 38th over but didn't get much further as a miscued sweep off Bishoo offered a catch to Powell at backward square-leg. Big-hitting Mashrafe promoted himself up the order in a clear statement of intent, his frenetic 36 off 25 balls putting the West Indies under immense pressure during the final ten overs until his opposite number, Holder, dismissed him. But with Mahmudullah still blazing away Bangladesh were able to cross the 300-run mark in the final over of the innings and set the West Indies a daunting target in pursuit of Holder's first ODI series win as West Indies captain since he was handed the job as an untried 23-year-old at the start of 2015. Ton up Tamim: Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal celebrates his century
A Turkish teacher targeted in a suspected kidnap attempt thwarted by Mongolian authorities Saturday thanked his supporters as he left hospital after a checkup following his ordeal. When asked who had attempted to abduct him, Veysel Akcay simply said "I don't know." The drama unfolded Friday as Mongolian authorities grounded a suspected Turkish air force jet after witnesses said assailants snatched a Turkish man associated with a religious group Ankara has branded as terrorists. In recent weeks, Turkey's intelligence agency has conducted operations abroad against associates of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen -- who Ankara says was behind a 2016 failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. As many as five men grabbed Akcay from outside his home in Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar Friday morning and threw him into a minibus, according to friends and eyewitnesses. The 50-year-old is director of a school in Mongolia that is alleged to be associated with Gulen, although teachers there denied the connection in response to questions by AFP. When he failed to show up for work, concerned family and friends notified the police. Meanwhile, Akcay's abductors had taken him to Genghis Khan international airport, where a small passenger jet landed around 1:00 pm (0500 GMT). The plane -- with call sign TT4010 -- is operated by the Turkish Airforce, according to data on flight tracking site flightradar24.com. It was the beginning of a more than eight-hour standoff between the captors and Mongolian authorities, who refused to allow the plane to leave the runway. As authorities summoned Turkish officials from their embassy in Mongolia, parliamentarians and hundreds of protestors clutching signs demanding Akcay's release gathered at the airport. As the standoff dragged on, Mongolian vice foreign minister Battsetseg Batmunkh warned Turkish embassy officials that any attempt to abduct a person from Mongolia's territory would constitute "a serious violation of Mongolia's independence and sovereignty". Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu denied the accusations during a telephone call to his Mongolian counterpart Tsogtbaatar Damdin, according to the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But officials were not convinced: "We are an independent nation. Do you think anyone can do abductions in our country?" parliamentarian Baasankhuu Oktaybri wrote on Twitter. The plane took off at 9:25 pm Friday without Akcay, who was taken for questioning by police and later sent to a hospital for medical checks. "I thank you all," he told his supporters as he left hospital. - Ankara's relentless hunt - Sandwiched between China and Russia, Mongolia was once described by former US Secretary of State John Kerry as an "oasis of democracy". However the incident "might turn into a full diplomatic crisis between Mongolia and Turkey, a relationship that has been active and vibrant for some years," said Julian Dierkes, an expert on Mongolian politics at the University of British Columbia. The Turkish aid agency "has undertaken many projects in Mongolia, many Mongolian students have studied at Turkish universities", a relationship that could be "damaged," he said. Since the failed coup in July 2016, Turkey has been relentlessly tracking down those it suspects of being supporters of Gulen, who denies being behind the attempted overthrow of Erdogan. Gulen's movement built up significant influence in Turkey and overseas, particularly in Central Asia, Africa and the Balkans, especially via its education network. Ankara has outlawed the movement as a terror organisation but followers insist they promote peace and moderate Islam. Turkey has carried out a series of overseas operations against suspected members of the movement in places such as Kosovo, Gabon and more recently Ukraine. Last week a Turkish blogger accused of links to Gulen was deported from Ukraine as part of an operation by MIT while another individual was detained in Azerbaijan recently and sent back to Turkey. In Turkey more than 77,000 people were arrested over alleged links to the movement during a two-year state of emergency imposed after the coup bid in a crackdown criticised by Ankara's Western allies. A passenger jet believed to be operated by the Turkish Air Force was grounded at the airport in Ulaanbaatar after a suspected kidnap attempt Students hold up banners in support of their teacher, Turkish school director Veysel Akcay, at the airport in Ulaanbaatar
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko on Saturday condemned the influential Russian Orthodox Church, which counts millions of believers, as a threat to national security. The influence of the Russian Orthodox Church is a "direct threat to the national security of Ukraine", Poroshenko said during ceremonies marking 1,030 years since conversion to Christianity, adding that "this obliges us to act". The Orthodox Church in Ukraine is split between the largest branch whose clerics pledge loyalty to the head of the Russian church, Patriarch Kirill, and one that is overseen by Kiev-based Patriarch Filaret. Poroshenko joined a procession of tens of thousands of believers organised by the Kiev church after the Moscow-based church held a similar procession on Friday. "I believe it is absolutely necessary to cut off all the tentacles with which the aggressor country operates inside the body of our state," Poroshenko said of the Russian church. He complained that it is "separated from the state only on paper" while in reality it "fully and unconditionally supports the Kremlin's revanchist imperial policy." In Moscow on Saturday, President Vladimir Putin headed a procession of worshippers with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, underlining their close relations. Kirill even drew attention to the fact that Putin shares a first name with Prince Vladimir, who brought Christianity to the pagan Slavic state of Kievan Rus in 988. "I think there is no such thing as a coincidence, especially when we are talking about people whose actions truly change the world," the Patriarch told Putin. He prayed for peace among those fighting in the conflict between Kiev's forces and Russian-backed separatists in eastern Ukraine. The conflict has exacerbated tensions between the two churches, with Ukranian Patriarch Filaret once saying Putin was "possessed by Satan". The Kiev-based church supported the bloody popular uprising in 2014 that ousted a Kremlin-backed government in Ukraine. Kirill on Friday warned against attempts to drive a wedge between the two churches. "Attempts to artificially tear the Ukrainian Orthodox Church away from the Moscow Patriarchate can lead to a catastrophe," he said. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko condemned the influential Russian Orthodox Church, which counts millions of believers, as a threat to national security In Moscow, President Vladimir Putin headed a procession of worshippers with Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, underlining their close relations
Sebastian Vettel remained hopeful, if not confident, that he and Ferrari can bounce back and triumph at the Hungarian Grand Prix despite qualifying only fourth on Saturday. The championship-chasing German looked to be sure of success until heavy rain affected qualifying and handed the initiative to Lewis Hamilton and Mercedes who secured a front row lockout. "I don't think there was an awful lot missing, but we weren't quick enough," he explained. "It was difficult in the wet and difficult to squeeze everything out of the car. "I think the laps that I had were fine, but just not quick enough. In the wet conditions, we are not as confident as in the dry, so there's work to do. "It was a tricky session and it could have been anything. I think in the dry, we were pretty much in control. Obviously, it wasn't dry this afternoon, so it wasn?t meant to be. "But we will see tomorrow. It's not easy. It's better if you start from first, but we're starting from fourth so we're focussed on winning from fourth." Vettel was out-qualified by Ferrari team-mate Kimi Raikkonen for only the third time this year, but the Finn was also not happy. "There was definitely a chance I could have put it on pole in these conditions," said Raikkonen, who has had eight podium finishes at the Hungaroring. "I was unlucky with the last run. We changed tyres and there was a lot of grip, but we got stuck behind the Haas -? there was a lot of spray and it was impossible to see or improve." Hamilton leads Vettel by 17 points in the drivers championship. Rain pain: Ferrari's Sebastian Vettel in qualifying
Offering some of the warmest year-round weather and prettiest beaches in the United States, it's no surprise visitors flock to Florida throughout the year. Choosing where to go in the Sunshine State can be difficult, though, as most cities have slightly different vibes and appealing factors  from the array of amusement parks in central Florida to the Caribbean-like beaches found farther south. To help you better plan where to go, check out our cheat sheet to the top destinations in Florida.

MIAMI

Beautiful white-sand beaches, delicious Cuban cuisine and late-night clubs are just a handful of the reasons travelers head to Miami. The sunny, southeastern city offers something for everyone  vacationing families, party-hearty bachelorette groups and international jet-setters  with its vibrant South Beach, more peaceful North Beach and business-centric Downtown. Colorful art deco architecture offers a nice contrast to modern high-rise hotels, while world-renowned dining and designer shopping are mixed between inexpensive stores and bars slinging cheap fishbowl margaritas. Expect public beaches only, sweltering humidity in the summer and the potential for hurricanes, as evidenced by September's Irma.

Those looking to be in the thick of the action should head to sexy South Beach, which isn't the most kid-friendly location, but provides a convenient setting for experiencing everything the city is known for. Families will likely prefer an amenity-packed resort like the Acqualina Resort & Spa on the Beach in quieter Sunny Isles.

Our hotel pick: COMO Metropolitan Miami Beach

FLORIDA KEYS

The Florida Keys are an archipelago off Florida's coast that stretches to the southernmost point in the United States. Being the closest travelers can get to the Caribbean, the Keys have become a favorite travel destination for those wanting warm weather, calm waters (particularly on the gulf side), and access to one of the largest reef systems in the world. The drive along Highway 1 can be done in three hours, with many worthwhile stops along the way. Key Largo offers excellent scuba diving and snorkeling spots; Islamorada is the most upscale area; and Key West is packed with kitsch and gay-friendly nightlife. Unfortunately, much of the Keys were devastated by Hurricane Irma, though many once-closed hotels are back open for business, like Cheeca Lodge & Spa.

Key West, the most popular key, is home to rowdy bars and tacky souvenir shops, but there's a lot to love about this destination, including quaint bed-and-breakfasts and its laid-back vibe. For a less-touristy spot, try Marathon, which is known for world-class fishing, numerous Caribbean-like beaches and seafood restaurants.

Our hotel pick: Sunset Key Cottages

ORLANDO

There are two main reasons over 60 million annual tourists head to Orlando: Disney World and Universal Studios. Disney's whopping 43 square miles  an area roughly the size of Boston  house four main theme parks (Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios and the Animal Kingdom), providing children and adults with an endless array of character-themed fun. Guests at all Disney resorts get a range of free perks and privileges, including free shuttles to the parks, free transportation to and from the airport and extended-hours access to certain parks on certain nights. A 20-minute drive north leads to Universal's three main parks  one housing The Wizarding World of Harry Potter  a pleasant outdoor shopping mall, and generally nicer-looking hotels.

While Orlando may be the happiest place on earth for Disney enthusiasts and amusement park-lovers, the city itself is an hour from beaches and lacking in real natural beauty. Disney-themed fare, kid-centric attractions, affordable restaurants with kids' menus and activity-packed resorts make this arguably the most kid-friendly destination around, but the abundance of chain eateries and lack of non-theme-park-related cultural sights may be downsides for some.

Our hotel pick: Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort

DESTIN

Situated on Florida's Emerald Coast, Destin is famous for its sugar-sand beach and green-blue waters. Its well-populated waters attract anglers, and fishing charters to catch amberjack, snapper, marlin and more are available. A water park and bustling boardwalk lined with eateries and shops add some buzz, but most visitors to Destin are content plopping a lounge chair on the sand, sunbathing and grilling hot dogs outside. Free outdoor summer concerts and Fourth of July fireworks, and its setting nearly equidistant from the charming town of Seaside and popular Pensacola Beach, make it an attractive Gulf Coast option. Expect lots of souvenir shops selling neon tank tops and chain eateries like Taco Bell and Whataburger, though there are also ample upscale restaurants and boutique shops. It's undoubtedly worth paying for a beachfront room.

Our hotel pick: Henderson Park Inn

TAMPA

Situated in the middle of Florida's western coast, Tampa is a family-friendly destination that attracts spring breakers and sports enthusiasts. It's popular for its emerging foodie scene, baseball stadiums (one of which acts a as spring training facility for the New York Yankees) and Busch Gardens, a huge theme park with roller coasters, animal encounters and year-round events. Its bayside setting means more waterfront walkways than beaches, but lovely stretches of sand can be found within a 45-minute drive, including Clearwater and St. Pete Beach. Foodie itineraries should include authentic Cuban food from Columbia Restaurant, ribs and macaroni and cheese from Al's Finger Licking Good Bar-B-Que, and a beer flight from Cigar City Brewing.

Our hotel pick: Epicurean Hotel

FORT LAUDERDALE

A 40-minute drive north of Miami and 25 minutes south of Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale has swapped its previous spring break persona for a more sophisticated beach getaway image. It has been dubbed the "Venice of America" due to its extensive network of canals (there are 165 miles of waterways within the city), which are lined with eye-catching mansions and yachts. The 23 miles of wide, sandy beaches are fantastic, and lined with luxury hotels, delicious seafood restaurants and lots of bars to grab a pina colada. Sailing on a catamaran, shopping along Las Olas Boulevard and exploring unique museums such as the Antique Car Museum are all top activities for visitors.

Our hotel pick: Sonesta Fort Lauderdale

ST. AUGUSTINE

Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, St. Augustine lays claim to being the oldest continuously occupied European settlement in the United States. Today, it offers historic sights and horse-drawn carriages next to fine-dining Italian eateries and gift shops. The Castillo de San Marcos fortress, grass-covered Plaza De La Constitucion and Ponce de Leon's Fountain of Youth Archaeological Park are great tourist attractions for history buffs, while St. Augustine Beach and Anastasia State Park provide areas for recreation. Travelers can choose between a setting in the historic center or by the beach. St. Augustine is an hour's drive south from Jacksonville.

Our hotel pick: The Saint Augustine Beach House

PALM BEACH

For travelers who don't love the public-only beaches in destinations such as Miami and Panama City, Palm Beach's mostly private beaches may be the answer. Wide, pristine and uncrowded, the beaches here are a major selling point, as are the luxury hotels lining them. The five-pearl Italian Renaissance-inspired Breakers resort is an attraction in its own right, having opened in 1896 by Standard Oil founder Henry Morrison Flagler. Flagler's 73-room mansion is now a frequently visited museum. Art museums, the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens, well-manicured golf courses, CityPlace shopping center resembling a European square, and drama theaters add to the upscale feel of this city. Cheap hamburger spots can be found here, but expect mostly fine-dining fare throughout the area. As Palm Beach attracts a largely older, well-heeled crowd, nightlife and budget-friendly spots are limited.

Our hotel pick: Four Seasons Resort Palm Beach

PANAMA CITY BEACH

Panama City Beach was once the premier spring break destination for booze-fueled college kids, until 2015 when the city banned alcohol consumption on the beach. Now, it's trying to change its party-hearty reputation to a family-friendly spot along the Florida Panhandle, and largely succeeding. Kids and adults are kept entertained with 27 miles of white-sand coastline, multiple amusement parks (Shipwreck Island Waterpark is a favorite), convenient shopping and dining options that little ones will like, and ample water-based activities (sailing, fishing and dolphin watching, to name a few). There are lots of beachfront properties to choose from and they're largely affordable (don't expect a Four Seasons property here).

Our hotel pick: Palmetto Inn & Suites

___

At Oyster.com our special investigators visit, photograph, review and rate each hotel. We uncover the truth, before it's "uh-oh" time.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

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SUSSEX, New Brunswick, July 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- James K. (JK) Irving today planted the companys one billionth tree since 1957. He was joined by sons Jim and Robert  co Chief Executive Officers of J.D. Irving, Limited (JDI). One billion trees planted is a national record in Canada for a private company. Over 400 employees and retirees from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Maine attended the official tree planting and unveiling of the commemorative rock that was followed by a BBQ celebration.



The JDI tree planting program had small beginnings with 3000 trees planted in Black Brook, New Brunswick in 1957. In 1958 the company started the tree nursery in Juniper, N.B. Originally the goal was to produce one million trees. Eleven years later, the tree planting program had grown to over four million seedlings planted in 1968. In 1986, K.C. Irving planted the 200 millionth tree.

The forests owned and managed by JDI today will absorb 92 million tonnes of carbon dioxide over the next 50 years  equal to 350,000 cars off the road per year for the next 50 years.

When the tree planting program began in 1957 the company had two sawmills and a pulp mill. Today, over 20 million trees a year are planted and there are over 4600 direct employees in Canada and the US operating 10 sawmills and 1.5 million tonnes per year coming out of the pulp, paper and tissue mills. The company is one of a handful left in North America today that sustains a value chain from the seedling in the forest to the tissue products on the store shelf.

I want to thank everyone  past and present who played a part in achieving this great milestone. It has been a very rewarding journey to see these trees planted, said JK Irving, Chairman of J.D. Irving, Limited. From the very beginning weve always seen caring for the forest as an important responsibility. This commitment goes back generations and continues today.

On behalf of my brother Robert and myself, we want to thank our father for his leadership and support over his past 70 years in the forest products business, said son Jim (JD) Irving. The timberlands are the foundation for new growth of jobs and capital investment to expand and modernize our facilities to compete. We are not just growing trees, were growing opportunities for great people. We are committed to continuing what my father started. And with the help of everyone here today were on the move towards planting the 2nd billionth tree.

All of the lands owned and managed by J.D. Irving, Limited are environmentally certified through independent audits under the Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) in Canada and US as well as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) in Maine. In 2017, the company was honoured with the SFI Leadership in Conservation Award for North America.

Media Contact:

Mary Keith, Vice President Communications

J.D. Irving, Limited

(506) 632-5122, (506) 650-8209

Keith.mary@jdirving.com



A photo accompanying this announcement is available at

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/62bece50-864e-4fae-979f-8892f02224b5

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at

http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/87aa30e4-9161-4f8b-8abd-4e35f06cd77c

A PDF accompanying this announcement is available at

http://resource.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/34c77031-dc1c-4549-af79-92be987cb6b3

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Right after the 2016 elections, I observed that the combination of Donald Trump's rise and continuing GOP strength across the landscape of American politics had yielded three distinct Republican parties: a populist and personality-driven White House party, a more traditionally conservative but often ineffective Capitol Hill party, and a grassroots party of results-oriented governors, legislators, and other politicians and policymakers who have amassed an impressive record of conservative reform at the state and local levels, including right here in North Carolina.I think this remains a useful model for interpreting the political and policy developments of the past two years.When the White House and Capitol Hill parties have been in alignment, on such issues as tax reform and judicial appointments, the result has been conservative victories. And to the extent Washington Republicans have either stayed out of the way or actively cooperated with the grassroots, states have moved forward - on welfare reform for example. On the other hand, when the various factions have been out of alignment, on such issues as trade and foreign policy, the results have alternated between calamity and chaos.There is one big exception to my model: federal spending. Unfortunately, all three Republican factions appear to agree that the issue isn't particularly important.Tax reform was enacted without significant budget savings to offset the fiscal impact. Neither Congress nor the administration has proposed a serious budget to bring expenditures in line with projected revenues. Irresponsibly, President Trump has said that reforming entitlements, which constitute most of federal spending, is off the table. Also irresponsibly, congressional Republicans haven't really argued the point. For their part, Republican governors and legislators have irresponsibly chosen not to push Washington on fiscal restraint but instead to seek and spend more borrowed federal money - on Medicaid, education, roads, and other programs.This is all foolishness. It is bad governance and even worse politics. Remember the Tea Party rallies of 2009 and 2010? Protesters were outraged about annual federal deficits approaching and then exceeding $1 trillion a year. They properly blamed presidents and lawmakers of both parties.Just a few days ago, the Trump administration released its midyear budget adjustments . The federal deficit is now expected to reach $890 billion, or 4.4 percent of gross domestic product, by the end of the 2018 fiscal year. Next year, the deficit will rise to $1.085 trillion, or 5.1 percent of GDP, and then stay above the trillion-dollar mark for at least two more years.Recent spending increases and tax cuts help to explain the short-term trend, but the truth is that Washington's finances would be in shambles without them. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and other entitlements were growing faster than the revenue needed to finance them even before the 2017 tax cuts.Long-term forecasts of rapidly declining deficits as a share of GDP are unrealistic. They assume no significant economic downturn, and that vague promises of future (but not current) spending restraint will actually be kept. Congress and the Trump administration need to take concrete steps now to bring the federal budget into balance within years, not decades.You've heard that before, I'll wager, but given my usual focus on state rather than federal affairs, I'll add this less-familiar observation: state politicians have a critical role to play in addressing the issue. Did you know that federal funds make up nearly a third of North Carolina's total state budget? In other states, the proportion is larger than that.State policymakers should resist the urge to treat "Washington" as a cash machine. It has no money to spit out unless it first taxes us or borrows against future tax hikes. Rather than playing along with fiscal delusions, state leaders should pledge to support some kind of structural constraint on federal deficits, such as a balanced-budget amendment, and in the meantime learn to say no to offers of "free" federal money - which includes, yes, the idea of expanding Medicaid in its current form.It's time the grassroots party picked a fight.
Consumers will continue to have fewer choices as independent family farm agriculture declines, says Mike Callicrate (pictured above), who has served on the HSUS National Agriculture Advisory Council for the past three years.

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What many commentators have cast as President Trumps predilection for trade wars has certainly caused consternation and even outrage as it has became clear that more tariffs on exports of American farm products would result in major losses for the agricultural sector. That was especially true for meat products exported to China, such as pork and chicken. Responding to the outcry, the president announced a $12 billion relief package  what we might rightly call a bailout  to offset the effects of tariffs on American farm products. But its become clear that the money in play wont benefit independent American family farmers, including those who embrace high standards of animal welfare and environmental sustainability. Rather, the funds will largely benefit the major players of industrial agriculture, including multinational corporations, industry associations and their lobbyists, and operators of large factory farms that confine thousands of animals in miserable conditions and pollute the environment.

Today, Ive asked two leaders of our National Agriculture Advisory Council, Carrie Balkcom and Mike Callicrate, to weigh in with their views on the presidents move and what it means for family farmers and the animals they raise. Mike is the owner of Callicrate Cattle Company and Ranch Foods Direct, a company that sells high-welfare food products. He has served on the HSUS National Agriculture Advisory Council for the past three years. Carrie has worked in agriculture for most of her life, and she serves as executive director of the American Grassfed Association. She is also the current chair of the HSUS National Agriculture Advisory Council.

How was President Trumps escalation with China affecting livestock producers who count on the export markets for their bottom line? Are they typically producers who reject industrial animal agriculture?

Carrie Balkcom: Traditionally, the farmers and ranchers that we represent do not qualify for this bailout, nor do they want to, since they are focused on feeding their communities, not the world at large.

Mike Callicrate: Family farm producers dont benefit from export markets. If their production is exported, they dont receive additional value because there is no market. The high welfare producers we support need fair market access in the U.S., not access to what are most often lower priced export markets.

Will the independent family farmer, who values animal welfare and sustainability, benefit from the program?

CB: Not that Im aware of.

MC: No. Because there is no market, only the multinationals will benefit through their ability to siphon off the bailout money through charging higher input costs to farmers and/or either lowering or maintaining low output prices paid.

What does this have to do with the welfare of animals raised for food?

CB: Nothing.

MC: Its a bailout that advantages the biggest industrial producers in supporting lower inputs in the way of corn and soybean costs. A case of supporting what high animal welfare advocates do not want. The producers we advocate for dont feed much industrially produced corn and soy.

What are its implications for consumers who want to support humane animal husbandry with their dollars?

CB: The bailout is coming from tax dollars, so all consumers should delve into the ramifications of what their dollars are paying for.

MC: They will continue to have fewer choices as independent family farm agriculture declines.

This is targeted not just to animal products, but other commodities as well. Will that translate into lower costs for independent family farmers when they go to buy feed and other necessities?

CB: No.

MC: Not necessarily. The companies that buy and sell commodities that are processed into feed are like the big retailers. They dont lower prices when costs are reduced.

I think most family farmers would happily pay other farmers more for the grain they produce if they had access to a profitable market for the livestock they raise.

A Chinese counter tariff on pork has no impact on our biggest pork company, Smithfield. Its Chinese owned. China imposes the tariff, which goes right back into their own pocket. But it sure does hurt Smithfields competitors.

Until a fair, open and competitive marketplace is restored, any bailouts (subsidies) will go to the same companies that have been plundering and pillaging up to now.
ProPublica's Michael Grabell and Topher Sanders obtained police reports and call logs from more than 70 of the 100 shelters housing immigrant children.

What the documents reveal: "If you're a predator, it's a gold mine."

The reports show hundreds of allegations of sexual offenses, fights, and missing children. Something to consider: most abuse probably goes unreported, because the kids are fearful of doing anything to jeopardize their chances of seeing their moms or dads again.

Excerpt:

"If you're a predator, it's a gold mine," said Lisa Fortuna, director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Boston Medical Center. "You have full access and then you have kids that have already had this history of being victimized." Southwest Key wouldn't discuss specific incidents, but said in a statement that the company has a strict policy on abuse and neglect and takes every allegation seriously. HHS declined ProPublica's requests to interview the refugee resettlement program's director, Scott Lloyd. The agency released a statement saying it "treats its responsibility for each child with the utmost care" and has a "zero-tolerance policy for all forms of sexual abuse or inappropriate behavior" at the shelters. But the reports collected by ProPublica so far show that in the past five years, police have responded to at least 125 calls reporting sex offenses at shelters that primarily serve immigrant children. That number doesn't include another 200 such calls from more than a dozen shelters that also care for at-risk youth residing in the U.S. Call records for those facilities don't distinguish which reports related to unaccompanied immigrants and which to other youth housed on the property. Psychologists who've worked with immigrant youth said the records likely undercount the problems because many kids might not report abuse for fear of affecting their immigration cases.

RELATED, in The Arizona Republic, July 25, 2018: "Police reports tell of sexual abuse, harassment at Arizona facilities for migrant children."

Employees at two Arizona facilities housing migrant children separated from their parents at the border have been accused of inappropriate contact with minors on at least two occasions since 2015, including an incident that led to a conviction for sexual abuse, police records show. The reports were made at Southwest Key's Glendale and Tucson facilities and predate the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy that led to the separation of families that illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border.

The documents speak about forced oral sex, fondling, sex with employees, hundreds of runaways, abuse, and attempted suicides  These are the shelters in which our country is placing unaccompanied immigrant youth. From myself and @MichaelGrabell https://t.co/IBhizcsSmO  Topher Sanders (@ReporterTopher) July 27, 2018

1/ This is a thread about what we know about the 11 facilities in Chicago and the suburbs that house immigrant minors. This info comes from interviews with children, parents, lawyers, current and former employees, and police and inspection reports. https://t.co/rHuLAGYKCV  ProPublica Illinois (@ProPublicaIL) July 27, 2018

We obtained police reports and call logs for more than 70 of the 100 shelters housing immigrant children. My latest w/ @ReporterTopher @ProPublica https://t.co/jag9xDpsWR  Michael Grabell (@MichaelGrabell) July 27, 2018
Unused footage of Carrie Fisher from The Last Jedi will be put to use in Episode IX, reports Hollywood Reporter. Mark Hamill will return as Luke Skywalker, as will Billy Dee Williams as Lando Calrissian.

In January 2017, Lucasfilm issued a statement assuring fans that there were no plans for a digital re-creation of Leia, after reviving late actor Peter Cushing's Grand Moff Tarkin for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. In April 2017, Lucasfilm head Kathleen Kennedy said Fisher would not appear in Episode IX. Abrams took over as director of Episode IX in September 2017 after the exit of Colin Trevorrow, and penned a new script himself with Chris Terrio, and it seems plans changed sometime after that point.

Also back: Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Lupita Nyong'o, Domhnall Gleeson, Kelly Marie Tran and Joonas Suotamo. Richard E. Grant is joining the cast, as is Naomi Ackie.
Our world is dominated by mobile devices, some of which can even outperform laptops. When it comes to tablets, in particular, no one can seem to get their eyes off Apple's iPad. Whether the Mini or the Pro, iPads have long been some of the bestselling tablets to date. But as with all Apple products, READ THE REST
TORONTO, July 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Alexandria Minerals Corporation (TSX-V:AZX) (OTCQB:ALXDF) (Frankfurt:A9D) (AZX or the Company) announces that it has made a grant of 1,000,000 stock options under its stock option plan to Mark Ashcroft in recognition of Mr. Ashcroft joining the board of directors of the Company on July 24, 2018. The Company also granted 750,000 stock options to its Chief Financial Officer and 100,000 options to an employee of the Company as part of the Company's regular review of compensation. All of the options are exercisable at a price of $0.05 per share and have a term of 5 years. The options vest 1/3 on granting; 1/3 on the first anniversary of the grant date and 1/3 on the second anniversary of the grant date. Following the grant of these options, a total of 16,060,000 options are outstanding under the Companys stock option plan and 31,796,000 options remain available for issuance.



The Company also announced that Robert Geis has resigned as a director of the Company, effective as of July 26, 2018. The Company would like to thank Mr. Geis for his services as a director.

Further information about the Company is available on the Companys website, www.azx.ca, or our social media sites listed below:

About Alexandria Minerals Corporation

Alexandria Minerals Corporation is a Toronto-based junior gold exploration and development company with strategic properties located in the world-class mining districts of Val dOr, Quebec, Red Lake, Ontario and Snow Lake-Flin Flon, Manitoba. Alexandrias focus is on its flagship property, the large Cadillac Break Property package in Val dOr, which hosts important, near-surface, gold resources along the prolific, gold-producing Cadillac Break, all of which have significant growth potential.

WARNING: This News Release may contain forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements address future events and conditions and therefore involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from those currently anticipated in such statements. Alexandria Minerals Corporation relies upon litigation protection for forward-looking statements. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For More Information:

PLEASE CONTACT

Walter Henry Chair, Special Committee (416) 414-5825

www.azx.ca

info@azx.ca




One of California's remaining GOP stalwarts, Congressperson Dana Rohrabacher (CA48) has resorted to calling on police to stop citizens asking questions about his deeply suspicious ties to Russia.

Accused of being on on Putin's payroll by Republican House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Rohrabacher is in a vulnerable position this November. Rather than opening up and reaching out to the public, and his constituents, Rohrabacher is going Trumpista and calling the cops on them.

Via The Daily Banter:

Ivy Perlman (name changed) is an activist from Los Angeles who currently lives in another state. Last week, she repeatedly called Rohrabacher's offices with questions concerning these recent developments. Although any citizen is within their First Amendment rights to call a congressperson's office, regardless of whether or not they live in their district, the Rohrabacher office refused to answer her questions and hung up on her multiple times, occasionally sending her straight to voicemail. When Ivy called again, she found that the office had redirected her to the Capitol Police, who then placed a report with the LAPD's Threat Assessments Unit and informed the Washington and Huntington Beach offices that they'd done so. Using her cell phone's area code, they traced Ivy's call back to the LA suburb where she was raised. Around 11:45 AM on Wednesday, July 18th, Ivy's mother, Jen, found a card from the LAPD on her doorstep that read, "Ivy Perlman, please call me. Thank you." Jen's first instinct upon receiving the card was to call the Huntington Beach office. She recalled that when they answered, "I didn't even identify myselfand they['d] already pegged me as being related to her," she said. This led her to believe that his office had reported her daughter to the LAPD. The Washington office treated her the same way, hanging up on her mid-conversation after threatening to report her. The LAPD did not respond to her call. Eventually, Ivy talked with them, and said that the woman on the phone was "not very nice." The Los Angeles Police Department says that the card left on Ms. Perlman's doorstep was "for communication purposes only" and that no crime report was filed. The Capitol Police and the Rohrabacher office have not commented on the story.

Rorhabacher's opponent is Harley Rouda. I have given money to his campaign and suggest you do as well.


The Clickhole is in incredible form with Step Right Up And Feast Your Eyes On The Unfathomable Comey, The Man Who Is Both Good And Bad! The Beautiful Monster Who Makes Resisters' Minds Spin! Betrayer Of Hillary! Enemy Of Trump! Behold This Freak Of Nature! It's a timely reminder that the FBI is a domestic surveillance agency with a long, dishonorable history of antidemocratic suppression of justice movements, and that nice guys with a commitment to decency and shared prosperity do not get appointed to head such institutions.



Ah, yes! Democrats, gawk in wide-eyed stupefaction of Comey, the creature of paradox, as our nation's Congress calls on him to answer for his baffling duality, a task of pure futility! To ask whether Comey will save America or is responsible for its ruin is to ask God himself, "Why are your creations so?" As tall as he is perplexing, Comeyliving puzzle who is neither Angel nor Devil, or perhaps both at once!comes into view and one cannot help but wonder how one man can wield Anthony Weiner's inbox to such disastrous effect, yet ignite Trump's fury in utterly exultant fashion!



Step Right Up And Feast Your Eyes On The Unfathomable Comey, The Man Who Is Both Good And Bad! The Beautiful Monster Who Makes Resisters' Minds Spin! Betrayer Of Hillary! Enemy Of Trump! Behold This Freak Of Nature! [Resistancehole/Clickhole]





(via Naked Capitalism)
I hate using a dirty pipe or bong. Randy's Black Label gets glassware clean as new, with very little effort.

With all the fantastic strains of marijuana available in today's flowering recreational market it makes no sense to smoke through a dirt old pipe. I prefer a water bong to a pipe, but they get nasty so quickly that cleaning one, even with more former favorite bong cleaning solution, Formula 420, was a pain. Randy's Black Label has made things even easier.

After rinsing whatever I'm cleaning out with hot water, all I need to do is simply squirt some of Randy's solution, and the accompanying scouring "crystals", out of the bottle and into my pipe or bong. A short and vigorous shake should take place, and then let the item sit for 60 seconds. Rinse it out very well, I find Randy's take several rinses and to get any residual odor or film out of the smoking device. Literally all the goop, resin, and nasty wash clean and even hard to reach corners and nooks will be clear.

I don't use a bag like the gentleman in the video, I just cover the openings with my hands. I also shake less. I do enjoy his soundtrack, it is the right one for cleaning a bong.

On stems and other really narrow areas I'll dip a pipe cleaner in the solution and scrub thru a bit. Stuff comes loose instantly, and usually with 1 pass. I use these Zen brand pipe cleaners, they are abrasive and really do the job.

I still use Formula 420 on lighter cleaning jobs. I prefer how it smells and it takes less rinsing out  but the Randy's gets stuff much cleaner.

Randy's Black Label Glass, Metal, Ceramic Cleaner, 12 fl. oz. via Amazon

Previously on Boing Boing:

I like Formula 420 for cleaning my 'glassware'

Awesome pipe cleaners also work with vaporizers
- Disgraced SABC CEO plans to run the country one day

- He is dissatisfied with the current crop of leaders at the helm of the country

- He also threw his weight behind the Zulu king and promised his support

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Former SABC CEO Hlaudi Motsoeneng has bold ambitions and his recent setback of being removed as the SABC boss has not stopped him from dreaming big.

He plans to become the president of the Republic of South Africa. He announced his plans to run for the highest office during the 70th birthday of King Goodwill Zwelithini and siad that his decision was informed by the lackluster leaders South Africa currently has.

He promised that when he became president people would see real change in their lives. He accused the current leaders of "just playing games".

READ ALSO: Security officer hailed a hero after he saved an abandoned baby

Briefly.co.za learned that he particularly singled out members of parliament without naming any specific person. He bemoaned the fact that the country allowed parliament to remove Jacob Zuma from power according to the sowetanlive.co.za.

Motsoeneng praised King Zwelithini and promised to support the Zulu king in an apparent reference to the ongoing debate over the Ingonyana Trust and land reform.

READ ALSO: Sofa Slahlane serves up another weird relationship: Sangoma loves snake more than his friends

For more amazing, funny and informative videos, please visit Briefly South Africa's YouTube Channel.

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Source: Briefly.co.za
- The US has proposed to enforce new tariffs on car imports as the global trade war escalates

- "Interested groups" in South Africa are prepared to take the US to court for violating South Africa's rights under the African Growth and Opportunity Act

- South Africa has also threatened to cancel chicken and meat quotas from the US if the tariffs on car imports is imposed

The United States's proposed tariffs on cars imported from South Africa has resulted in SA preparing to take USA to court as the tariffs violate the rights of SA under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

Rob Davies, SAs Trade and Industry Minister, reported that a group of "interested" people were preparing to challenge the US's decision which is a result of the trade war which has gripping the globe.

During the BRICS Forum in Sandton, Davies said that the trade war launched by Donald Trump is no longer a "phony war".

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Hlaudi Motsoeneng aims to become president of South Africa

South Africa is not a direct participant in the global trade war but nevertheless is being affected and already beginning the feel the effects of the imposed import duties on steel and aluminium.

Briefly.co.za learned that the next salvo being fired in the trade war is a planned tariff on vehicle imports and Davies pleaded with the US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross not to impose the tariffs on SA car imports which only make up 0.4% of US car imports according to the dailymaverick.co.za.

Rosss response must not have been what Davies had wanted as the planned lawsuit is going ahead.

As a response the South Africa government was threatening to cancelling chicken and meat import quotas from the US if the US proceeded with the import tariffs on cars.

READ ALSO: Pearl Thusis new whip is sexy, sleek and has her looking fine

BRICS countries have agreed to work more closely together to reduce the negative affects of the trade war on their economies.

Another way South Africa is planning on reducing the impact of the trade war was to increase trade within the African continent. Currently South Africa exports close to 25% of its good to Africa with 56% of these being finished goods.

For more amazing, funny and informative videos, please visit Briefly South Africa's YouTube Channel.

Do you have a story to share with us? Inbox us on our Facebook page and we could feature your story.

To stay up to date with the latest news, download our news app on Google Play or iTunes today.

Source: Briefly.co.za
Shashi Naidoo has finally opened up about her horrendous experience in Israel and the treatment that she received at the hands of the Israeli authorities.

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Her trip which was just short of 48 hours included a two hour interrogation while she was on her way to Palestine.

The Israeli authorities accused her of working for the South African branch of the BDS which they say wants to cause "harm" to Israel.

Naidoo maintains that her trip was planned for by the the South African Council of Churches and South African Jews for a Free Palestine and that she was travelling at her own expense.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Hlaudi Motsoeneng aims to become president of South Africa

She has been barred from entering Israel for 10 years after her trip which she had gone on to see for herself how the people of Palestine were being treated.

READ ALSO: Boity has big plans as she ventures into the world of music with a new single

Naidoo was welcomed back by Nelson Mandela's grandson, Chief Mandla Mandela, who called her personally to encourage her.

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Source: Briefly.co.za
Wellington Bibi Cenenda has been arrested in a stolen car on Thursday night outside a Bloemfontein shopping mall. He had been linked to 23 cash in transit heists which results in R46-million being stolen in the last two years.

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Cenanda was arrested when police thought a car looked suspicious and when they checked the officers realised the car was stolen. When the questioned the driver they discovered it was none other than the alleged mastermind of over 23 cash in transit heists.

Briefly.co.za learned that his arrest comes after the police caught 23 of his gang members, one of them being Errol Velile Present who was employed at the ANC headquarters, Luthuli House as well as being an ANC branch secretary in Dobsonville according to timeslive.co.za.

READ ALSO: BREAKING: Hlaudi Motsoeneng aims to become president of South Africa

Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi, the Hawks spokesperson, has confirmed that Cenenda has been arrested in relation to the cash in transit robberies dating back to 2016.

READ ALSO: Boity has big plans as she ventures into the world of music with a new single

Cenenda has been hard to catch and has evaded the Hawks efforts in the ast and narrowly escaped arrest when they raided his safe houses in Tembisa Gauteng and Tzaneen Limpopo.

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Source: Briefly.co.za
News / National

by Staff reporter

TOP MDC-T politician and legislator Eddie Cross says President Emmerson Mnangagwa was headed for a thumping defeat of his main rival, Nelson Chamisa of MDC Alliance.Cross was speaking to NewZimbabwe.com in Redcliff at a Friday commissioning ceremony of ZimCoke, a coking company within Ziscosteel."We will see that on Monday, but I think Emmerson will get a majority."I think Chamisa has done a good fight, but he is not going to win the majority," Cross said.The MDC legislator is retiring from active politics end of his tenure this month aged 78.Since his shock seizure of power from his former boss and President Robert Mugabe, Mnangagwa, Cross said, has restored sanity in the troubled country."Mnangagwa has made a good beginning; this country was lost."The country was in the wilderness; the corruption was endemic. There was no investment. People had no confidence, but I think confidence is coming back now," he said.Before the first vote is even cast, the MDC-T legislator and businessman already had advice for Mnangagwa, telling the 75-year-old leader he must staff his next cabinet with competent individuals."I think that what Emmerson has got to do is to appoint competent executives. We don't want corrupt people in government," he said.
News / National

by Stephen Jakes

Harare West independent candidate Jessie Majome has expressed concerns over glaring anomalies on the voters' roll in the constituency as the nation goes to polls on Monday."As candidate for the Harare West constituency National Assembly seat, I am concerned with the glaring anomalies I state below on the voters' roll which stand in the way of a free and fair election on 30 July 2018. 2622 people on the roll reside at non existent addresses e.g. Nos. 1 Mabelreign Harare, 4538 people live at addresses where more than 6 people live. 33 people are said to reside at 10 Mabelreign which is an non existent address," she said."The sloppy capturing of addresses, roads and suburbs which has disenfranchised Harare West voters who have been assigned a different constituency e.g. Warren Park constituency. The shifting of the following traditional polling stations which will cause confusion among voters: I.Masaisai Primary School  voters moved to Acacia open space II.Cornelius Hope School  voters moved to Marere farm house open space III.Broken Arrow Shopping Centre  voters moved to Marlborough District Office"She said the unconstitutional placing of a ZANU PF election billboard inside Marlborough Police Station, yet Police Commissioner Matanga made an undertaking to remove it on 18 July 2018."In fact there is now new ZANU PF elections billboard which was erected after.I wish to engage you on the above issues in person and seek audience before the 30 July election and request as a matter of urgency that you: Demonstrate to me where the 2622 people actually live so they do not vote if they do not reside at real Harare West addresses, Demonstrate to me the voter education and information means that you will employ to ensure that voters know the exact directions,streets, sites of their polling stations in the affected areas and Ensure that the ZANU PF billboard inside Marlborough Police Station is remove," she said.
News / National

by Staff reporter

The MDC Alliance leader Advocate Nelson Chamisa says they are working closely with the former president Robert Mugabe because he was rejected by his own party.The government-controlled ZBC reported that Chamisa said he doesn't care who passes the ball to him and Mugabe has passed the ball to him and he will be the second president of the Republic of Zimbabwe.Addressing thousands of party supporters at the Robert Mugabe Square in the capital this afternoon, Chamisa said journalists working in the state media need re-orientation in the second republic.He also said investors are going to come in droves following reports from his emissaries who were in South Africa where BRICS was having its summit and met officials from the British country who promised them more money injected into the economy.Chamisa said he addressed 82 rallies and witnessed a surge of support for his party in the new dispensation.Meanwhile, the MDC Alliance members continued with their call for supporters to picket polling stations after voting.The message came out when the Alliance held its final rally at the Robert Mugabe Square.Deposed former Zanu-PF members Kudakwashe Bhasikiti and Sandi Moyo as well as other Alliance members took turns to remind supporters that they must return to polling stations after voting.Alliance partner Tendai Biti who ironically pulled out of MDC blaming Tsvangirai for being a dictator carried the message of praising Tsvangirai post humously.The MDC Alliance rally was attended by its different leadership including supporters from beyond Zimbabwe's borders.
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, July 27, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Glance Technologies Inc. (CSE:GET.CN / OTCQB:GLNNF / FKT:GJT) (Glance or the Company) today announced financial results for the second quarter ended May 31, 2018.



Our second quarter involved a difficult proxy contest and I want to reiterate my appreciation to our shareholders for their patience and support as the company emerges from the impact of this contest, said Glance CEO Desmond Griffin, now that this is behind us, we are reinvigorated and concentrating our energy and efforts on our long-term strategy of building and enhancing our technology and growing an ecosystem of engaged merchants and users. Further, with the recent change in management, we have progressed to a more cost-conscious and performance-based culture and we are focused on executing on our strategy.

We firmly believe that mobile devices are the future of payments and consumer engagement, and that blockchain is a fundamentally transformative technology, said Griffin, We believe we are positioned to take advantage of these two powerful trends as we continue to focus on:

growing the Glance Pay network,

expanding our target market to additional verticals and geographies,

allowing merchants to download an app (Glance PayMe) to be up and running quickly,

improving capacity for monetization with a strengthened product offering,

preventing fraud through our anti-fraud technology,

building out a blockchain technology platform,

developing our Glance Coin rewards platform and cryptocurrency, and

maintaining a strong balance sheet.

Q2 2018 Financial Highlights:

(all figures are rounded to the nearest thousand)

Revenue of $229,000, compared to $127,000 in Q2 2017. The current period includes licensing revenue of ($51,000) and marketing revenue ($25,000), in addition to application and service fees ($153,000). As anticipated, licensing revenues have fluctuated significantly in recent quarters due to certain license agreements specifying large initial payments and fluctuations may continue in future quarters depending on the nature of any new deals signed.

Operating expenses of $3,851,000 compared to $1,264,000 in Q2 2017, reflecting the significant ramping of the business over the past year.

Software development costs were $745,000 compared to $130,000 in Q2 2017, reflecting the expansion of the development team and the Companys move into the blockchain space.

A notable expense change was corporate communication and investor media expenses, which were $347,000 compared to $150,000 in Q2 2017. However, this was a significant decrease from the $2,353,000 which was spent in Q1 2018 and was consistent with the Companys previous indications that it intended to reduce spend in that category as it works to spread awareness efficiently and effectively.

Another notable expense item was proxy contest costs which the Company does not expect this to be a recurring expense and which are not within the normal course of business. Glance has gathered publicly available information and reported costs from some other Canadian public companies that had proxy contests and completed an analysis of the proxy fees. The results show that, on average, the proxy contest cost in 2017 and 2016 for a Canadian public company was approximately $2 million. Glances anticipated total cost of its proxy contest is expected to be $1.33 million, of which $998,000 was incurred during Q2 2018.

Overall, the Company continues to work improve to expense efficiency in many categories and has made significant changes to better utilize its cash resources going forward.

Net loss was $4,567,000 or $(0.03) per share, compared to $1,142,000 or $(0.02) per share in Q2 2017.

As at May 31, 2018, the Company had $10,667,000 of cash ($10,294,000 at November 30, 2017) and no long-term debt ($nil at November 30, 2017).

Q2 2018 Highlights:

Launched the ability to pay parking tickets  demonstrating the ability to use the mobile payment application in another vertical.

Hosted a full-day Blockchain Summit in May 2018 called The Future of Blockchain, featuring industry experts speaking on potential applications for blockchain and what businesses can do to prepare.

Significant customer announcements included the Companys first live locations in the U.S., its first U.S. restaurant chain and the signing of Vancouver-based Freshslice Pizza -the largest restaurant chain in the Glance Pay network.

Announced the opening of offices in Melbourne, Australia and London, U.K., furthering the Companys global presence.

Subsequent to the quarter, Glance published a white paper describing the Companys plans for a blockchain-based rewards platform utilizing smart contracts intended to enable merchants to reward, incentivize, and provide deals to their customers using the Glance Coin cryptocurrency token.

The Companys complete financial results for the second quarter of 2018 are available in its Condensed Consolidated Interim Financial Statements and Managements Discussion and Analysis, each of which have been filed with Canadian securities regulators at www.sedar.com.

Outlook

Management intends to pursue a number of technology, product and marketing initiatives to continue to drive growth in 2018. The Companys strategic priorities include:

Grow monthly recurring revenue through a tiered Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) subscription model by adding new merchants and consumers, and generate new revenue from advertising, promotions and consumer fees for premium features;

Launch a new downloadable merchant app that enables merchants to quickly set up Glance Pay on their own devices and facilitates our migration towards a higher-volume digital sales model;

Establish Glance as a leader in the blockchain space by developing innovative applications and pursuing opportunities to monetize our blockchain platform;

Further the development of the Glance Coin reward token, which is intended to simplify and enable the adoption of cryptocurrency into everyday life;

Leverage the Companys superior anti-fraud technology to expand into online purchases, e-commerce and other markets;

Expand into new vertical markets through both direct sales and joint efforts with our licensing partners;

Continue Glance Pays international expansion through the launch of our apps in several new markets; and

Broaden our geographic footprint across more North American cities, building on its existing presence across Canada and its recent launch in California.

IFRS

The operational and financial information in this release is based on the consolidated figures in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS).

About Glance Technologies Inc.

Glance owns and operates Glance Pay, a streamlined payment system that revolutionizes how smartphone users choose where to shop, order goods and services, make payments, access digital receipts, redeem digital deals, earn great rewards & interact with merchants. Glance offers targeted in-app marketing, geo targeted digital coupons, customer feedback, in-merchant messaging and custom rewards programs. The Glance Pay mobile payment system consists of proprietary technology, which includes user apps available for free downloads in IOS (Apple) and Android formats, merchant manager apps, a large-scale technology hosting environment with sophisticated anti-fraud technology and lightning-fast payment processing. Glance has also recently purchased a blockchain solution and is working on a rewards-based cryptocurrency (the whitepaper for which can be found on its website).

For more information about Glance, please go to www.glance.tech.

For more information, contact:

Paola Ashton

VP Business Development

604-839-0337

investors@glancepay.com Laura Burke

Chief Financial Officer

604-694-6502

laura@glancepay.com



Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.



Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking information or forward-looking statements (collectively "forward-looking information") within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking information is typically identified by words such as: may, "believe", thinks, "expect", exploring, expand, could, "anticipate", "intend", "estimate", plan, pursue, "potentially", projected, should, will and similar expressions, or are those, which, by their nature, refer to future events. These forward-looking statements, which involve risks and uncertainties, relate to, among other things, the discussion of Glances business strategies and its expectations concerning future operations (including advancing its technological roadmap), the expectation that Glance will grow its Glance Pay network, reduce its expenses in future quarters, growing monthly recurring revenue, launching a new downloadable merchant app, establishing Glance as a leader in blockchain space, furthering the development of the Glance Coin rewards token, building a rewards-based cryptocurrency platform using blockchain technology, leveraging Glances anti-fraud technology to expand into online purchases, e-commerce and other markets, continuing international expansion, improve its capacity for monetization, maintain a strong balance sheet, develop a software-as-a-service model, monetize its blockchain platform, expanding into new vertical markets, and broadening geographic footprint across more North American cities. Although Glance considers these forward-looking statements to be reasonable based on information currently available to it, they may prove to be incorrect, and the forward-looking statements in this release are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such risk factors include, among other things, the risk that Glance is unable to continuously add new merchants as planned, the risks related to the development of Glance Coin and integration into the Glance Pay app, risks related to expansion, both internationally and in North America, and risks related to, the business of Glances licensing partners. The forward-looking information in this press release is also based on certain estimates, forecasts and projections, as well as expectations, beliefs and assumptions, including, among other things, that Glance will be able to achieve its business objectives, that Glance will be able to develop proprietary software to implement its plans, Glance will be successful in obtaining and retaining clients and licensees for its software, that the new downloadable merchant app will enable merchants to quickly set up Glance Pay on their own devices, the blockchain platform will continue to develop and grow in utilization and adoption in the world, and that Glance will be able to expand its operations successfully in new geographic markets and new industries. For additional information with respect to these and other factors and assumptions underlying the forward-looking statements in this press release, see the section entitled Risk Factors in the most recent Annual Information Form and Prospectus of Glance, which may be accessed through Glance's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Glance cautions investors that any forward-looking information provided by Glance is not a guarantee of future results or performance, and that actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements. Undue reliance should not be placed on such forward-looking information, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are based will occur.




News / National

by Staff reporter

Julius Malema has urged all Zimbabwean political parties to accept the results of the democratic process.The leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters, Julius Malema, has called on Zimbabwe's ruling Zanu-PF, to ensure a free national election on Monday.The elections are the first in Zimbabwe's history where Robert Mugabe will not be seeking a mandate to lead.Malema was addressing EEF members at the Sisa Dukash Stadium at Mdantsane near East London in the Eastern Cape, at the party's fifth birthday celebrations.The opposition MDC's Nelson Chamisa has claimed it would be impossible for his party to lose the election.Malema has urged all Zimbabwean political parties to accept the results of the democratic process."On Monday Zimbabweans must stand for peace. No intimidation, no rigging if elections are free and fair. If MDC loses it must accept results and not resort to violence.""We want a free and fair election. We hope to see a new working Zimbabwe that will become a good partner to South Africa. Conduct a peaceful election. We don't want history to repeat itself in Zimbabwe."
News / Regional

by Stephen jakes

Mthwakazi Republic Party President Mqondisi Moyo, took along, a Spanish Journalist to his campaign program in Kezi which took them to the infamous Bhalagwe.The journalist, who is a professional photographer for AFP, showed great interest in capturing and seeing the Bhalagwe graves in person. The president gave detailed information on the Gukurahundi genocide, much to the amazement of the visiting journalist.It is really encouraging to see the world's interest in the Gukurahundi massacres. It gives the Gukurahundi genocide victims hope and a prospect for justice.
Opinion / Columnist

Like many people, I had been looking forward to attending the MDC final rally in Freedom Square. To enjoy the atmosphere, hear the music and to listen to the inspirational final words before polling day.I have had concerns about Chamisa for a while - unlike some on social media I have never deified him and have always been aware of his flaws  but on balance, he still had my vote.And then I woke up on Saturday morning to the read one of the most shocking sentences I have ever read. The headline in Newsday, being shared all over my Facebook and Twitter, simply read "Mugabe Endorsed Me: Chamisa".Words cannot describe how I felt reading this. Like a dagger through the heart.For months there have been rumours of the Mugabes backing Chamisa, and they have always been vigorously denied. We were told the rumours were a smear campaign and an anti-Chamisa ZANU-PF plot, all designed to make him unelectable.And so when it was written that Chamisa and Grace met in Dubai, we ignored it. When we saw the grainy footage of Grace handing Chamisa money in a hotel room, we laughed it off. It couldn't be true, we told our friends. Chamisa has promised us.But then this. After months of denials, this sordid deal has been confirmed, by the horse's mouth. And not only confirmed, but boasted about. As if the support of these two criminals is a badge of honour.Has he become so power hungry that he has become deaf to the feelings of his supporters? Blind to what they did to us?I want to shout so loud that he will hear me. Nelson, you are being played. The Mugabe's don't endorse. They don't support. They control, they manipulate, they dictate! That is what they do. You may think they are just supporting you, but wait and see. Once they have you in their pocket, they will never let you out. You cannot outsmart them  they are ten times more cunning than you. If you do become president, we will find that out for ourselves, but by then it will be too late.And Nelson, what were you thinking? Did you really believe you could work with Bob and not get Grace too. Haven't you followed the last few years? He is 94, weak and senile. She controls him. Everything he does is for her. The Mugabes are a package deal. Buy one and the other comes too. But while he has no more left to offer, she will stick around. She will leech onto you and destroy you, just like she did to him.One last thing Nelson, you are being used. You may pretend to yourself that they are endorsing you for your youth and talent, but deep down you must know the truth. For them, this is about revenge and power. You are just a useful tool. They want to take revenge on ED, and get back into power. And once they do, they will never let go. Not a second time!So Nelson, I am sorry to say that today, while you gained two votes in the Blue Roof, you lost mine and all my family's. And the problem for you is that for every Blue Roof resident, there are millions of ordinary Zimbabweans who hate them.Today was the day you lost my vote. It was probably the day you lost the election.
Opinion / Columnist

- Diminish Development in Rural Areas

- Purloin 15 Billion

- Corruption in Government

- Destroyed Health and Educational Institution

- Marginalisation of Matabeleland

Knowledge Hakata is a political analyst and a co-founder of Demos Cratos. He can be contacted on knowledgehakata@yahoo.com

With less than 5 days before Zimbabweans cast their votes for the make or break presidential elections on July 30, it is important especially for those in the rural areas to punish Emmerson Munangagwa and his regime for marginalising them in terms of development. There is no one good reason why a resident in Nkayi District would believe Zanu Pf now on its promises to develop the district neither does anyone with common sense in Binga or Mberengwa choose to elect a party that has been promising development in these regions for the past 38 years while failing to fulfil its promises and mandate as a government. It's high time that our rural folks should join their urban counterparts in sending Mnangagwa and Zanu Pf into the political dustbin. For the past 38 years Zanu Pf have only managed to rig elections while undermining development in the country. In South Africa they is no major difference between a location and a rural area as rural areas are well developed with shopping malls plus critical social services while Nkayi have no proper roads and clinics are 10 kilometres away from the closet communities. Mr President you and your party has failed the citizens of Zimbabwe and its time you pass the baton stick to New Change' in Nelson Chamisa.There have been no meaningfully development in most parts of rural Zimbabwe to the extent that up to now some places cannot even have access to radio signals. Most of the rural folks are second fiddle towards their urban counterparts in almost everything. They are no roads, electricity, running water even proper clinics and yet Mnangagwa wants another mandate to continue marginalising development in Nkayi, Mberengwa, Binga, Muzarabani, and Uzumba just to name a few. Surely rural people deserve a sound and caring government just like the one in South Africa where social services can also be accessed even in rural areas and rural folks have access to electricity and running water not even mentioning shopping malls.The former president Robert Mugabe was not crazy when he said the nation lost 15 billion in diamond mining, with many people pinning ED and his close allies in the security sector for plundering the money that could have maybe transformed the economy and with no doubt where could a presidential candidate get 200 million for campaigning. Mnangagwa and his demagogues should never be trusted to govern Zimbabweans after Monday as the regime has proven beyond reasonable doubt that it is deeply rooted in corruption. The economy is in tatters while they is no cash in banks yet some individuals shared amongst then 15 billion.It's so amazing that corruption kingpins such as Obert Mpofu are still walking free while former Minister Udenge was jailed for the ZESA 12 000 scandal issue .Mnangagwa is not and will never be serious about corruption considering that he is also a product of corruption. The ZRP during Mugabe's era was so corrupt but people like ED never castigated the Chihuru formerly led organisation for stealing from the poor their hard earned money. Corruption at ZIMRA, NETONE and ZBC crippled the economy but the perpetrators were never docked and are still walking free. Zimbabweans needs a new government that doesn't tolerate corruption at all.The Zanu Pf government utterly destroyed the once thriving health sector. Most of the government hospitals are operating below par. The incumbent president and his team prefers to seek medical attention in neighbouring South Africa while the poor are left to die at Mpilo and Harare Hospitals. Recently Zanu Pf Chairperson Opah Kashiri Muchinguri and Vice President Kembo Mohadi were flown to South Africa while some of their counterparts from the Bulawayo bombing were anguishing at Mpilo.The marginalization of Matabeleland and the silence over the Gukurahundi issue by the ED government should propel the people in Matabeleland to kick out the crocodile and its allies from the Munhumutapa Building. The Ndebele people continue to suffer from serious marginalization and such issues can only be addressed if Zimbabweans vote in a competent leader in the capacity of Hon Nelson Chamisa. President Mnangangwa was part of the Zanu Pf that lied to the Zimbabweans about 2 million jobs and the same man is uttering the same nonsense again everywhere he goes whenever he is addressing the long overdue suffering Zimbabweans. Zanu Pf wants to continue to take a ride on the people of Zimbabwe. In Manicaland the voters should kick this regime out of power considering that of all the diamond that have been mined in the province they have been no tangible development while most of the people in deep rural Manicaland are walloping in stinking poverty. In Mash West many voters in that area will always recount the violence that came prior to the runoff election of 2008, how innocent citizens were brutalized and murdered for voting for change surely a leopard will never change its spots', Mnangagwa and his military cabal should be shown the original exit door from Zimbabwean politics come July 30. In the major towns Zimbabweans especially educated citizens have been reduced to the platforms such as vending while the big cows in Zanu Pf continue to squander state resources. #Vote Wisely and Vote for Spaghetti Roads#
Opinion / Columnist

In early December, less than two weeks after the people of Zimbabwe had ousted the Mugabes, three men made their way to Washington DC.They had seen the enthusiasm in the streets of Harare. They had felt the excitement around the country at the new dispensation. And they had heard the glowing praise around the world for President Mnangagwa's inauguration speech, which was seen as conciliatory, forward looking and representing a clear break from the past.Unlike the millions of excited Zimbabweans, Nelson Chamisa, Tendai Biti and Dewa Mavhinga were worried. Very worried. With elections coming up, they could see that they would be up it, facing a popular leader with a reformist agenda. The public had embraced him and the international community were set to follow suit.They knew they had one last chance of avoiding electoral obliteration. Zimbabwe needed foreign investment and support in order to get out of the ditch it was in, and while the investors were encouraged by ED's vision, sanctions were still in place, making investment difficult and condemning millions of Zimbabweans to poverty.Chamisa knew that if sanctions were removed, as was being mooted, he was finished.And so, he and his partners in crime made the pilgrimage to their masters in Washington to beg for the continuation of sanctions. They were begging for their futures.The impact of their trip has been huge. Not only did the US opt not to remove sanctions, but a new sanctions bill was passed by Congress on Friday, just three days before Election Day.If anyone wants to argue that sanctions are not political, how can they explain why a new bill was passed three days prior to the elections?His US paymasters gave Chamisa a lifeline as requested. They sent a clear message to the Zimbabwean people. Don't you dare vote for ED. If you do, you will be punished.So Chamisa's plan worked up to a point.But here is the flaw in it. The Zimbabwean people do not like to be dictated to. They don't like to be told who to vote for.What's more, unlike in the past, today these voices in the Senate pushing for more sanctions are a minority. We are now accepted and welcomed around the world.On the same day as the US Senate was seeking to undermine Zimbabwe's democracy, ED was attending the BRICS Summit as a guest of honour.For those that do not know, BRICS is a grouping of five of the biggest and fastest growing economies in the world  Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. They represent over 40% of the world's population, and one third of the world's GDP. An invitation to the BRICS Summit, to address the world's leaders and have one on one meetings with Vladimir Putin among others is a new thing for Zimbabwe, a significant step for our economy, and should not be taken lightly.What this means is that the voters have a clear choice on Monday. It is a choice between a man whose selfishness means he calls for new sanctions that will harm the people of Zimbabwe, all to help him to get into power; and a man who is working tirelessly to bring in investment to boost our economy and create jobs.It's between a job destroyer and a job creator  its that simple.
Opinion / Columnist

At a secret location after the revolutionary party launched what they termed a Union of Mthwakazi Parliament. The launch was supposed to take place at City Hall in Bulawayo, but the partisan and scared zanu pf aligned police force blocked the way into the hall after having first given permission for the launch occasion to go ahead.Our impeccable and reliable sources have revealed that the reasons why the police blocked the Mthwakazi Parliament launch were in two fold, firstly, there was a rumour or rumours that Chief Nhlanhlayamangwe Ndiweni, who was to supposed to preside over the swearing in of the Mthwakazi Members of Parliament was bringing Prince Bulelani Khumalo to preside over the event and to be the one to officially administer the oath taking service of each and every Mthwakazi Member of Parliament. The other rumour was that he was actually bringing Stanley Khumalo to overseer the process as he is local. This was said to have sent shivers down the ZANU PF spineless spines and immediately ordered the police to abort the proceedings. One ZANU PF official who wanted to remain anonymous revealed that this was going to give the MRP too much power, exposure and the oxygen to propel it to victory in Matabeleland in the forthcoming elections.Mbonisi Gumbo speaking at the official launch of the Union of Mthwakazi Parliament explained that the initiative is at bringing political power to Mthwakazi. He pointed out that whether they lose in the coming elections it does not matter as they are from today Mthwakazi Members of Parliament. Over the years, particularly since 1980, the people of Mthwakazi have never had any positive institutional representation at parliament level. During early years of the so called independence some ZAPU MPs worked hard, however, they lacked clarity, strategic thrust as they pushed the nationalist politics which saw Zimbabwe as a nation while it stealthily took away their citizenship rights and humanity. Since ZAPU became defunct, there has been any individual or political party which stood for the aspirations and interests of Mthwakazi people. A certain political analyst once said a great people like the people of Matabeleland, a people with a clear history of heroism can not be suppressed forever. That is true, look at the Mthwakazi Republic Party's initiatives particularly its Union of Mthwakazi parliamentary concept, which Mr Mqondisi Moyo said would be an inclusive concept which is alive to the composition of the Mthwakazi nation. Mr Mqondisi Moyo is the President of MRP who has ably led the party since its inception in 2013. He unveiled the Union of Mthwakazi Parliament Coat of Arms (UMP), which has the elephant at the centre as its core symbol surrounded by 13 shields. He explained that each shield represents each ethnic group in the nation of Mthwakazi. The Mthwakazi parliament will clearly deliberately structure and compose its parliament in an exclusively inclusive fashion, where at all the times all ethnic groups in Mthwakazi will be represented and encouraged to defend their nationhood for example, Sothos will be encouraged to defend and promote the interests of the Sotho people.This Mthwakazi Parliament initiative is one of the most excitement news since the formation of the Mthwakazi State. It will definitely expose those goons in other political formations who work against the interest of the people of Mthwakazi. Those who call themselves nationalists. Mqondisi pointed out that the UMP will comprise of the broad spectrum of Mthwakazi people, be it artists, academics, business people, politicians etc. Nobody will be part of Mthwakazi Parliament who does not swear to work for the interests of the people of Mthwakazi. Interesting times are upon us Mthwakazi.The fundamental existence of the Mthwakazi Parliament is to spearhead development in Mthwakazi and pushing back the boundaries marginalisation, discrimination and tribalism.Mr Moyo also announced yet another interesting initiative and development, the International Lobby Committee. This committee is long overdue, this is the committee which will embark on a diplomatic onslaught, they will lobby international organisations such as SADC, AU, UN etc. There is enough evidence out there that Britain has billions worth of Mthwakazi treasures stolen from King Lobengula, also remember Thomas Meikles' looting committee, they stolen the King's herd in excess of 600 000. If you were to multiply these cattle by number of years since they were stolen, they amount to a great number and this is the amount due to the Matabeles. This committee will unearth all the evidence.On a parting shot Mr Moyo said that Pick and Pay was given 14 days to respond to their memorandum but they chose to ignore it. He vowed that it will be better for Pick and Pay to close business than to continue with its tribal agenda in Mthwakazi. People should get ready to take decisive action.
Opinion / Columnist

This weekend marks the end of the campaigning period for Zimbabwe's watershed harmonized elections to be held on Monday the 30th of July 2018. Two of the major and arguably the contesting parties ZANU PF and the MDC Alliance held their final rallies in Harare on Saturday. The journey has been long and many promises were made along the way.These two major contesting parties have made their position with regards to the election results very clear. While ZANU PF are confident of victory they have said they will accept the results and President ED Mnangagwa is on record saying he will hand over power in the event that he loses the election. On the other hand Nelson Chamisa of the MDC Alliance is saying he will not accept anything short of his victory and on Saturday he says he will get more than 65%. So confident he is that he even made a wager and placing his 18 year old sister as a wager he will give to ED in the even that ED gets 5% of the total votes cast. According to Chamisa any result that is contrary to his desires it is an illegitimate result. One then ask what is the point of getting into an election when all he wants is one result?Many polls and studies are saying these elections are too close to call but not to the MDC Alliance and its candidate. A precedent was even set when the lawyer of a contesting candidate called a press conference to declare that they will not accept any result short of victory of its candidate. This has never happened anywhere in the world. Advocate Thabani Mpofu, a lawyer speaking on behalf of Nelson Chamisa insinuated that any result that show a defeat of Nelson Chamisa will not be accepted and they have put in place what he termed "anti-rigging mechanisms." Now imagine if these statements were being made by Mnangagwa or even by the army? Who will be crying the loudest?In 2002 the army then being led by the late General Vitalis Zvinavashe made pronouncement that the army will not salute anyone with no liberation credentials. The statement was insinuated to mean the late Morgan Tsvangirai who was leading the opposition then. The statement by General Zvinavashe was said to be undermining the ballot. Chamisa and Mpofu's statements are to be seen in the same light. They are undermining the ballot and are meant to incite the masses for an uprising. And with Chamisa's reputation as espoused by the nickname Wamba dia Wamba (a rebel leader from the DRC) as he is popularly called by his supporters, these statements are to be condemn by all peace loving and progressive Zimbabweans.With advent of new media, many conspiracy theories have been thrown around mainly to undermine and to discredit the electoral process. The commissioners running the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) especially the chairperson were attacked left right and centre to the extent of being labeled "hure" (a woman of loose morals). This according to some observers was part of a well thought out plan to discredit the electoral process. Threats were even made to picket at the ZEC office in the last week towards election to try and arm twist the ZEC to accept their demands.Every day in the run up to the election, the MDC Alliance would come up with different demands from the voters roll, to one with pictures to be given a ballot paper to go and test to prove their theory of migrating ballot. Where they were say an X marked against the name of Chamisa will magically move and be converted to be a vote for Mnangagwa. Some of these demands were they deemed "unreasonable" by the group of eminent persons known as The Elders led by Koffi Annan the former Secretary General of the United Nations. All these demands were made in an attempt to discredit the elections and thrown the country into a crisis. The idea was also to delegitimize the process giving the winner legitimacy challenges. Many observers have labeled Chamisa's way of politics as childish, characteristic of student politics at university colleges.The MDC Alliance even threatened to boycott the election if their demands are not met. ZEC accepted the lawful demands such as not changing the voting booth to maintain the old designs which gave the voter total secrecy. Other unreasonable demands were thrown out.The MDC Alliance chose to fight the electoral process, to discredit it, and undermine the ballots while Zanu PF was focused on voter mobilization. This will be reflective on the 30th. With Chamisa threatening not to accept the results and to mobilize his supporters to "protect their vote" anarchy is on the horizon. MDC Alliance are being advised to camp at the polling station soon after voting to "protect their vote." This is contrary to the Electoral Act that forbids people to gather in groups within the 300m radius of the polling station. Polling officials are now under threat especially if they announce results that is contrary to the wishes of the MDC Alliance.These reckless statements by Chamisa is a testimony of him resorting to default settings that earned him the nickname Wamba dia Wamba. If not to create a crisis, incite violence, create legitimacy crisis what can be taken from these statements by Chamisa and his legal team? Zimbabwe is headed for interesting times ahead and what is left is to hope for peace and not anarchy as being desired by Wamba and others.
By Rod Nickel SASKATOON, Saskatchewan (Reuters) - Canadian farmers were on track to reap slightly larger wheat and canola yields, despite dry conditions and a wide discrepancy in growth rates, a crop tour estimated on Thursday. The inaugural Grain World crop tour, organized by FarmLink Marketing Solutions, toured the Canadian Prairie provinces on Tuesday and Wednesday. Moisture conditions vary widely across the Prairies, resulting in highly variable crops, the tour found. "We saw some short (crops), tall ones, thin ones, fat ones," said FarmLink senior market analyst Neil Townsend. "But we didnt see much that would measure out as a disaster." FarmLink is an advisory service for farmers. The crop tour estimated an average Canadian wheat yield, excluding durum, of 54.4 bushels per acre in the 2018/19 crop marketing year, up from the previous year's 53.8 bushels, and surpassing the five-year average. Durum yields also looked bigger, rising to an estimated 39.01 bushels per acre from 35.3 bushels, but falling short of the five-year average. Spring wheat yield prospects in northern North Dakota are better than a year ago but lag the five-year average, scouts on the second day of an annual U.S. crop tour said on Wednesday. The Grain World tour estimated an average Canadian canola yield of 41.9 bushels per acre in 2018/19, up from 41.1 bushels a year earlier and larger than the five-year average. The tour yield estimate is a "game-changer" for canola, changing sentiment from bullish about supply and demand to a key question of how much canola China will buy, Townsend said. Wheat and canola looked lush in Manitoba, but in Alberta, canola was so immature that scouts could not count pods, Townsend said. In general, crops need rain, and soil moisture is insufficient, he said. Two crop futures traders who were not on the tour said the results looked bearish. ICE Canada November canola futures were up 0.6 percent, but pared their gains slightly after the tour estimates were released. Much of southern Alberta and central Saskatchewan has received well below normal rainfall in the past month, while most of Manitoba's growing area has received roughly average amounts, according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Canada is the world's biggest producer and exporter of canola, also called rapeseed, and a major wheat shipper. Statistics Canada is scheduled to report its first estimates this year of crop yields and production next month, using a farmer survey. (Reporting by Rod Nickel in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; Editing by Marguerita Choy, Matthew Lewis and Diane Craft)
CBC

RCMP are investigating what they believe to be a case of arson in central P.E.I. The report of a fire in a house at 371 Nelson St. in Crapaud came in at about 2 a.m. Sunday. RCMP Const. Mathieu Aubin said there was no one living in the house, and no one was inside when firefighters arrived. "We were told that nobody lived there for at least 12 years," said Aubin. "We're looking into it right now, though the evidence suggests that the house was intentionally set on fire." Most of the house appear
HONG KONG (Reuters) - ZTE Corp revised its first-quarter results to a net loss on Friday, after China's second-biggest telecommunications equipment maker took into account the impact of a crippling U.S. supplier ban that has now been lifted. ZTE said net loss for the three months through March was 5.4 billion yuan ($790.62 million), compared to a net profit of 1.2 billion yuan a year earlier. Revenue rose 6.9 percent on year to 27.5 billion yuan. The company will set up an export compliance committee with company Chairman Li Zixue as one of the five members, ZTE said in a filing to the Shenzhen stock exchange. In April, ZTE posted a 39 percent rise in first-quarter profit, but said at the time it was difficult to assess the impact of the supplier ban, imposed in mid-April in relation to its violation of U.S. export restrictions. ZTE, which makes smartphones and networking gear, said in its latest statement it expected to record a net loss for the first six months of the year due to the $1.4 billion it paid in penalties to have the ban lifted. Earlier in July, ZTE estimated a first-half loss of 7.0 billion yuan to 9.0 billion yuan, versus a profit of 2.3 billion yuan a year earlier. The U.S. government lifted ZTE's supplier ban after the firm deposited $400 million in a U.S. bank escrow account and paid a $1 billion penalty, as part of a settlement agreement. The ban was imposed for reneging on an earlier settlement reached after ZTE was caught shipping U.S. technology to Iran and North Korea in violation of U.S. sanctions on those countries. The ban forced ZTE to cease major operations as it relies on U.S. components for both its smartphones and networking gear. ZTE this week said major business had resumed. The ban had been a source of friction between the United States and Chinese governments at a time of escalating trade tension involving tit-for-tat tariffs. Last week, U.S. lawmakers cut measures from a defense bill that would have reinstated sanctions on ZTE. (Reporting by Sijia Jiang, Twinnie Siu and Meg ShenEditing by Christopher Cushing and Edmund Blair)
Opinion

UAE effectively harnesses AI potential

The UAE just does not go all out for full-on care of its residents, it also maps new frontiers in futuristic technology. Artificial intelligence is the order of the day. The UAE is moving towards an artificial intelligence economy.


Cadillac Fairview, the company that owns CF Polo Park in Winnipeg, is using facial recognition software in malls across Canada to profile shoppers without notification or consent.

The company confirmed the use of this technology in malls nationwide after a shopper came across an open browser in a Calgary mall's digital directory sign.

The company would not confirm whether digital directories at CF Polo Park have the software, but said the technology is used to gauge mall traffic, and more recently, the age and gender of shoppers.

"The cameras in our digital directories are there to provide traffic analysis to help us understand usage patterns and continuously create a better shopper experience," a spokesperson said in an email. "These cameras do not record or store any photo or video content."

Ann Cavoukian, Ontario's former privacy commissioner and expert-in-residence on privacy and data analytics at Ryerson University, said she is appalled.

'Extremely privacy invasive'

"I cannot believe they're doing this without any consent from the customers," she said. "It is extremely privacy-invasive, because your facial image and biometrics are among the most sensitive types of personal information that exists."

Because the software is not storing images, the company said it does not require consent from customers. Cavoukian said she disputes that and said facial tracking should not be happening without permission.

"I don't know how it's being used in these malls but most facial recognition software can be adapted to collect additional data points," she said.

"I'm not going to take their word for it that they're not keeping it and not doing anything. They're certainly capturing the facial image and they're making some use of it and I have no idea where it might go."

Use of facial recognition on the rise

Glenn Tinley, president of Mexia One, a Winnipeg-based biometrics company which provides facial recognition systems to the airport, retail and event industries internationally, said the use of this kind of technology is on the rise.

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"It's definitely being used more and more for multiple different purposes," he said, adding your face can now be used as a ticket to an event.

"At the same I would also suggest it's in its infancy  in terms of how well systems work, how accurate they are, and how information is captured, used, saved and deleted."

Although he can't speak to the way Cadillac Fairview is using the technology, Tinley said the way the software generally works is that a camera sees a face and captures data points to make an estimate of different data such as a gender, age-range and even sentiment.

"You know happy, sad, angry those type of things." he said, adding all of that is then loaded into a file that is used to then extract that data to be reported on later.

Transparency recommended

All of the systems his company creates are designed specifically to identify people, with their consent, he said.

He understands why malls and retailers would want to collect information to monitor the changing demographics of shoppers because it allows them to select stores and events to cater to those shoppers. However, even if a company is not required to provide consent because the images are not being stored, Tinley said most privacy organizations would expect transparency.

"It doesn't have to be a big banner but signage to say this is happening," he said. "Otherwise consumers think it's being done behind their back or they think that there is some ulterior motive and most cases it isn't."

Meanwhile, Cavoukian said customers who are concerned about the mall's potential use of this technology should speak up.

"If people speak out against this, they'll stop doing it," she said.
Ecologists are warning people in Fredericton that a blue-green algae bloom may be behind the sudden deaths of three dogs who died after swimming in the St. John River.

New Brunswick's provincial veterinarian, Dr. Jim Goltz, said there's no definitive answer, but given the time of year, he suspects toxins from blue-green algae are the cause of death.

"We're pursuing that angle as our first investigation into the potential for toxins," he said.



Elsewhere in the province, Moncton is contending with a blue-green algae problem of its own.

Nicole Taylor, director of utilities, said the city is working with two consultants to address the algae, which has also been detected in the Turtle Creek watershed, the city's source of drinking water.

New Brunswick isn't the only province contending with the potentially deadly microbe. At least 246 Canadian bodies of water have been shown to have high concentrations of blue-green algae at various times in the last 15 years

Here's what you need to know about blue-green algae and its troubling consequences.

What is blue-green algae?

Although it's commonly referred to as blue-green algae, it's actually bacteria (scientific name: Cyanobacteria) that can produce toxins harmful to people and animals.

A photosynthetic bacterium, it produces energy through photosynthesis, according to the British Columbia Ministry of Environment website. That's why it wreaks havoc mostly in the sunny summer months and early fall.

At one point, biologists grouped the bacteria with algae  possibly because they are similar in appearance. But blue-green algae is now recognized as its own phylum.

Where do you find it?

The bacteria is present in almost all lakes in Canada, says David Schindler, a professor of ecology at the University of Alberta.

But blue-green algae is a bigger problem in the Prairies, where a lot of the soil has naturally high levels of phosphorous, which help the bacteria grow, Schindler said.

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Still, blue-green algae has become a problem in waterways across Canada. "It's not that they've invaded, but that they've increased  from nearly undetectable levels to nuisance levels," said Schindler.

What causes the bacteria?

Blue-green algae typically grows rapidly in areas where there is an abundance of nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen, according to the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks.

Blooms can also be created from polluted storm water run-off, run-off from agriculture, fertilizer, lawn waste or septic systems, or other materials that wash into lakes and decompose.

How do you recognize blue-green algae?

Blue-green algae is not normally visible in the water, but under the right conditions, the bacteria increase in number and form blooms  a soup-like layer on the water's surface that can actually be seen from space, said Diane Orihel, a freshwater ecologist who teaches at Queen's University.

The bacteria form in water that is shallow, warm and slow-moving or still. They are typically more common in the late summer and early fall, but may be present in deeper, cooler water.

And although they are often blue-green, the bacteria can range in colour from olive green to red.

Fresh blooms often smell like newly mown grass, while older blooms may smell like rotting garbage.

What harm can it cause?

Harmful toxins are mainly released from the blue-green algae when the cells of the bacteria break open or die. This can happen because of cooler weather, rainfall and windy conditions.

Contact with blue-green algae blooms can be lethal to pets. Goltz, New Brunswick's head vet, said it "can kill animals within half an hour of exposure and after the toxin has been ingested."

Human reactions range in severity. While some toxins can attack the liver or the nervous system, others may just irritate the skin and eyes.

Health Canada said it is rare to be exposed to the toxins through ingestion because water sources are monitored for blue-green algae levels.

That's a good thing, because if water containing blue-green algae is consumed, it can cause headaches, fever, diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting.

Swimming in water containing the toxin can irritate the skin and eyes. Eating fish from water contaminated by the bacteria or using products with blue-green algae has similar effects, too.

Not all kinds of blue-green algae are toxic. In fact, one variety is used as a food supplement, often in tablet or caplet form. Companies advertise spirulina as both a potential source of protein and a weight-loss agent.

Health Canada cautions that the safety of these products has not been firmly established, although supplements made with spirulina blue-green algae have been shown to be harmless.

What should I do to prevent algal blooms?

"Reduce external nutrients going into the lakes," said Paul Frost, a Trent University biologist and algae expert.

Ontario's Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks recommends using phosphate-free products, avoiding fertilizers, maintaining a natural shoreline on lakes and riverfront properties, reducing run-off and checking septic systems.

Frost says people need to focus more on "diffused nutrient sources"  and not just in places next to lakes and streams.

"These are sources of nutrients coming from scattered places in the catchments, like storm water treatment ponds or from farm land," he said.

"Fertilize less. Keep a natural shoreline. Pick up your pet waste. It all has a positive value to reduce nutrient load into lakes"

What should I do if I find blue-green algae?

If you suspect you've come across blue-green algae, don't drink the water, or bathe or swim in it. Make sure to keep your pets out of it, too.

With files from Elizabeth Fraser, Tori Weldon and Kathryn Weatherley
And Now Patrick Brown Is Running For Brampton Mayor Former Ontario PC leader Patrick Brown in the Ontario legislature in Toronto on March 28, 2018.

Patrick Brown, former leader of Ontario's Progressive Conservative party, is running for mayor of Brampton, Ont., CBC Toronto has learned.

Brown showed up at Brampton City Hall on Friday  the last day of registration  to put his name forward. He will be running against incumbent Linda Jeffrey and five other candidates.

"I really want to help families, I want to continue to public service," Brown told CBC Toronto.

"Despite everything I've been through, I really believe that politics is a vehicle to help people and I think there's a real opportunity here in Brampton."

Brown was expected by many to be Ontario's next premier until he was forced to resign as PC leader and was kicked out of caucus amid allegations of sexual misconduct.

Brown sued CTV for $8 million for defamation after it reported allegations by two women dating back to when he was a federal MP. CTV is standing by its reporting and the lawsuit. The case is still before the courts.

His departure led to the arrival of Doug Ford as party leader and, after June's provincial election, Ontario's new premier.

Brown cited escalating crime, "suffocating" gridlock and a lack of well-paying jobs as some of the current challenges facing the city.

The surprise move comes after Ford announced plans Friday morning to "pause" the election of chairs in Peel, York, Niagara and Muskoka regions; positions that have long been appointed but, under the previous Liberal government, were set to be elected.

Brown was previously running for the chair of Peel and said he was "surprised" to hear of the premier's plans.

"I think it's unheard of to circumvent an election midway through that election process," he said.

"That hasn't happened in Canada."

Immediate criticism

Despite Ford's move, Brown said he can still be useful in Brampton  a diverse, suburban community of some 570,000 people northwest of Toronto and, he said, the "heart of Peel Region."

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The key planks of his campaign are economic development, more resources for police and more health-care funding, he said.

Brown faced immediate criticism over his candidacy.

Jeffrey, the incumbent, questioned his roots in the city, saying in a tweet that "the ink barely dried on [Brown's] lease before he decided to seek our city's highest office."

Brown's roots are in Barrie, Ont., a city of about 145,000 further north of Toronto. Brown represented the area in both the Ontario Legislature and as an MP.

Ontario NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, who faced off against Brown when he was PC leader, joked that Brown had been listening to Bruce Springsteen songs because was "born to run."

"No matter where he wants to run, he's born to run," said Horwath at a news conference.

Brown told reporters gathered at city hall that he had "deep connections" to the city, saying he practised law there before and after his time in provincial politics.

Brampton goes to the polls on Oct. 22.
The death of a 5-year-old Tajik girl who was killed in Russia has caused outrage in Tajikistan and among the hundreds of thousands of Tajiks working in Russia.

According to a press release and video report by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the girl, Huvaido Tillozoda, was the daughter of a pair of Tajik migrants living in Serpukhov, which is about 65 miles south of Moscow. She disappeared on July 22 and her body was discovered stuffed into a bag the following day.

A 27-year-old neighbor of the girls family was detained and charged with rape and murder after Huvaidos fingerprints and shoes were found at his apartment. He had been previously reported to the police in 2017 for sexual abuse but had not been arrested, and four Russian officers in Serpukhov, as well as the citys police chief, were dismissed for failing to apprehend him at the time.

This footage shows Huvaidos family attending her funeral in Kulob, Tajikistan.

Huvaidos father, Abdusalom Saidov, can be heard in the latter section of the video: Ill bury her, then Ill go back. I want to see the arrest and trial for myself.

The Tajik Foreign Ministry issued a note to the Russian Foreign Ministry demanding that the crime be solved and the person responsible should receive severe punishment. Credit: RFE/RL via Storyful
In a country where Vancouverites get heat warnings at 29 C, but some in Ontario don't get the same alert until it feels like 42 C with humidity, it's easy to think West Coasters are weather wimps.

But there's science behind those differences, says Environment Canada.

And the system it uses to alert the public to dangerous heat has been quietly changing, prompted by health officials studying the impact of deadly heat waves.

"It gave us the sense that we really needed to move forward with having more evidence-based heat warnings," said Melissa MacDonald, acting senior policy officer and meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada.

What was once a single threshold for nearly everywhere across the country now differs from region to region, about 20 in all, with criteria that considers duration, nighttime lows and local health impacts.

The new system has been rolled out slowly, but its purpose is urgent: to warn people as early as possible that heat can kill and is on its way.

Deadly B.C. heat wave

Even before the change from Environment Canada, B.C.'s Lower Mainland had its own threshold for heat warnings, designed after a deadly heat wave in 2009.

Over seven days that summer, the normally balmy South Coast had temperatures that reached 40 C in areas and stayed higher for longer than authorities thought possible there.

That week, 110 more people died than would be seen in an average summer week in the region, according to a 2012 study by the B.C. Centre for Disease Control.

But for the rest of the country, Environment Canada was using a single measure to decide when to warn about heat, whether people were in Whitehorse, St. John's, or Parry Sound, said MacDonald.

"For the remainder of the country, we did use the single criteria  developed in Southern Ontario to begin with and then expanded nationally," she said.

The threshold was a forecast of a humidex value of 40 for an hour, said MacDonald, meaning temperatures so humid they feel like 40 C.

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It's a limit that drier and cooler parts of Canada were unlikely to see much of, and one that health officials were learning didn't capture how our bodies respond.

Heat risk varies by region

Now, with the exceptions of Quebec and Nunavut, heat warnings are issued when the high temperatures are expected to last two days  rather than an hour  and the threshold varies not just by province but zones within a province.

In Ontario, which piloted the new system in 2015, three different thresholds apply; Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan have two zones; and there's just one for Newfoundland and Labrador.

B.C., with its mountains and sea, has four  ranging from 28 C on the North Coast to 35 C in the Fraser Valley and Southern Interior.

That's partly based on the highest five per cent of temperatures a region is likely to see, said MacDonald.

But it's also based on health data  because if you're not used to heat, it truly is more dangerous, said Kathleen McLean, an environmental health scientist with the B.C. Centre for Disease Control, which worked with Environment Canada on the new criteria in B.C.

"People definitely become physiologically adapted to the temperatures in the place that they live in," said McLean.

Nighttime relief

Finally, the new criteria factor in what anyone struggling with a sweaty summer sleep knows well: our bodies need to cool down at night.

If the nighttime low between hot days doesn't drop below 13 C  or 16 C, or 18 C, depending where you live  then that's part of the heat warning.

"From a physiological perspective, when temperatures don't cool down at night, people just don't get any relief ... and that makes it harder to deal with the heat," said McLean.

Overall, the goal is to give the public  and authorities with heat response plans  as much notice as possible, she said.

"This helps the most vulnerable people ... cope with the extreme hot weather."
By Panu Wongcha-um and James Pearson KOKHONG, Laos (Reuters) - The first warning came at 4.00 p.m., one hour later the water started to flow through the village, and by late evening it was a torrent. Inpon Sivatan was at home on Monday afternoon when the village chief knocked on his door to warn that their remote hamlet in the southern tip of Laos was about to be flooded. "The water came really fast. It just rushed through the village," said Inpon, 55, as he tidied his house in Khokong, one of seven villages that was all but obliterated when a nearby hydropower dam collapsed on Monday, sending a wall of water crashing across mountains, jungle and rural communities. "I've lived here for 32 years and I've never seen anything like this," Inpon said. A medical official in a nearby settlement, who asked not to be named, said locals received an alert about three to four hours before the dam burst but few took it seriously and did not expect the water to rise as high as it did. The Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy Power Company, a hydropower project that involves Laotian, Thai and South Korean firms, on Monday told local officials in a letter written in English that one of its subsidiary dams was "unsafety" and had started to overflow, and requested that they inform downstream villages. It was not clear what time the letter, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, was delivered. At 8:00 p.m. that evening, according to state media, Saddle Dam D - part of a network of two main dams and five subsidiary dams - failed, and the deluge began. The scale of the disaster in the southern province of Attapeu was still unclear on Friday, in part because of the inaccessibility of the area but also because reports from the isolated and poverty-stricken country's state media have been scant, sketchy and sometimes inconsistent. But in Khokong, the scale of the damage was palpable. Every inch of this sleepy farming community was covered in a swamp of viscous, burnt-orange mud. A dead baby water buffalo lay motionless, its head buried in the thick clay. Dogs still trapped in wooden stilt houses howled for their owners. "I lost everything," said Inpon, who tried in vain to rescue his car by driving it to the highest point in the village - a nearby petrol station. "There was not enough time to get out". "My pigs, my crops. My house is ruined". (For a graphic "How the Laos dam disaster unfolded", click - https://tmsnrt.rs/2JXKU9g) RAG-TAG ARMADA OF BOATS The unstoppable force of the water released from the dam devastated the meager road between Khokong and its nearest big town, Attapeu, complicating rescue efforts to bring food and water across dangerous, muddied, roads and the search for trapped survivors. The Lao army has set up checkpoints to filter the deluge of well-wishing volunteers who have driven overland from other parts of Laos and from neighboring Thailand into the secretive communist country. Some of those volunteers have donated a rag-tag armada of wooden fishing boats, jet-skis and inflatable banana boats to navigate the sea of mud so rescuers can ferry drinking water to villages like Khokong. As Inpon fruitlessly mopped the porch of his waterlogged house, a young family evacuated their stilt home in the rain. Outside, two young girls used a broken oar to steer mud-sodden mattresses like rafts. Initial reports had suggested the death toll from the burst dam could climb to several hundred, and on Wednesday the Vientiane Times reported some 3,000 people were still waiting to be rescued from swirling floodwaters, many of them on trees and the rooftops of submerged houses. But official media reported on Thursday that 27 people were confirmed dead, 131 were missing, and all those who were stranded had been plucked to safety. On Friday, the Vientiane Times reported that the official death toll had risen to four. "I heard some people died but I haven't seen any bodies," said Inpon. "I just stayed with my house". (Additional reporting by Jiraporn Kuhakan, Soe Zeya Tun and Artorn Pookasook; Editing by Michael Perry; Editing by John Chalmers and Michael Perry)
By Stephen Nellis and Liana B. Baker (Reuters) - Qualcomm Inc Chief Executive Officer Steven Mollenkopf sought government help to block an acquisition of the U.S. chip maker on fears of China's technological ascendance, only to see his biggest deal thwarted by China. Now the 49-year-old former electrical engineer is under investor pressure to show that he can go it alone. Several Qualcomm shareholders interviewed by Reuters said they were willing to give Mollenkopf, who has been CEO since March 2014, only one to two more years to show he can diversify the company's business beyond the fiercely competitive mobile phone sector that now accounts for the vast majority of its business, and settle disputes with Apple Inc and Huawei Technologies Co Ltd. "Mollenkopf is in the 'show me' phase of his tenure. I think he has about two years," said Tom Plumb, founder of Wisconsin Capital Management, which has 2 percent of its equity portfolio allocated to Qualcomm. Mollenkopf faces the consequences of a bold gambit. Earlier this year, Qualcomm asked the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which scrutinizes deals for potential national security risks, to review a $121 billion hostile bid for Qualcomm by rival Broadcom Ltd . It was an unusual move, because typically only agreed deals are submitted for CFIUS review. If CFIUS took this up, it would be the U.S. government, not Qualcomm shareholders, that would decide its fate. Qualcomm's maneuver worked. President Donald Trump blocked the deal in March, citing CFIUS's concerns over a shift to Chinese dominance in 5G wireless technology, even though Broadcom, which at the time was based in Singapore, was not a Chinese company. Amid growing tensions with the United States over trade disputes, China responded by stalling on its antitrust review of Qualcomm's $44 billion acquisition of NXP Semiconductors NV , which the two companies had agreed in October 2016. On Thursday, frustrated with Chinese regulators' seemingly endless delays, Qualcomm let the merger agreement with NXP expire and paid it a $2 billion breakup fee. NXP's strength in the automotive market had been expected to help Qualcomm reduce its dependence on the smartphone market. Qualcomm now faces an uphill struggle in carrying out a transformative acquisition such as NXP in the near term, given that all major semiconductor peers have a footprint in China that would subject any acquisition to a China review. Mollenkopf has acknowledged this, but told analysts on Wednesday that he believed big acquisitions would be possible again after this "unusual window" of trade tensions between the United States and China passed. Without NXP, Mollenkopf will have to find ways to expand Qualcomm's chip offerings on its own into sectors such as automobiles, internet connectivity and network processing on its own, investors say. "Qualcomm has a lot to prove and the markets are not giving it the benefit of the doubt," said Neuberger Berman associate portfolio manager Shawn Trudeau. Neuberger Berman's equity income fund owns $10 million in Qualcomm stock and has been an investor in the company for close to three years. A Qualcomm spokeswoman said the company's earnings demonstrated "that the execution of the company has been very strong in a period of great distraction" and that it had received positive feedback from investors from its standalone plan. Mollenkopf has already faced questions internally about his leadership. In March, his predecessor, Paul Jacobs, stepped down from Qualcomm's board of directors to pursue a long-shot acquisition bid for Qualcomm, which has a market capitalization of $93 billion. His exit followed disagreements with Mollenkopf over his strategy, sources said at the time. Jacobs has yet to secure the funds to put together that offer. Later in March, investor frustration spilled over into Qualcomm's annual shareholder meeting, when Mollenkopf was re-elected to the company's board with only 45 percent of the shares outstanding. Shareholder advisory firms such as Egan-Jones Proxy Services said that anything less than 80 to 90 percent of the vote would undermine the authority of Mollenkopf and other board directors. Mollenkopf got a partial reprieve on Thursday, when Qualcomm shares closed up 7 percent, at $63.58, as investors cheered the $30 billion share buyback Qualcomm announced to make up for the loss of the NXP deal and celebrated the end of uncertainty. However, Qualcomm's stock is still below the roughly $76.00 level it was hovering at when Mollenkopf became CEO about 4-1-2/ years ago, and way below the $82-per-share offer from Broadcom that it rejected in February. Hal Eddins, chief economist at Qualcomm shareholder Capital Investment Counsel, said this puts Mollenkopf under new pressure to improve performance. "We obviously got caught up in something that was above us, so I don't know if I would conclude anything about our own business, our ability to invest [in China] or partner with Chinese companies," Mollenkopf told Reuters on Wednesday. SETTLING WITH APPLE Mollenkopf's immediate challenge is meeting Qualcomm's goal for up to $7.50 in adjusted earnings per share by fiscal 2019, compared with $4.28 in fiscal 2017. That hinges on resolving its licensing disputes with Huawei and Apple, as well as continuing to diversify revenue. Parts of Qualcomm's global court battle with Apple are expected to come to a head in the fall and early next year, while Qualcomm and Huawei remain in talks to try to resolve their dispute. Only 13.4 percent of Qualcomm's $22.3 billion in revenue in fiscal 2017 was not tied to mobile phones. This year, Mollenkopf expects Qualcomm's non-mobile revenue to hit $5 billion, or about 22 percent of the $22 billion in overall revenue at the low end of the company's guidance. Mollenkopf "is on the clock for sure, and I'm not certain that the NXP buy would have changed that," Eddins said. (This version of the story has been refiled to drop extraneous word 'whose' in paragraph 9) (Reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco and Liana B. Baker in New York; Editing by Greg Roumeliotis and Leslie Adler)
Remarkable ride: Edmonton cowboy's journey from a small ranch in Brazil to the top of the bull riding world

Marcos Gloria wanted to be the champion in the first round but he had to wait until the second to earn Calgary Stampede glory.

After getting bucked off Happy Camper  getting slightly injured in the process  the 27-year-old cowboy rode to victory on July 15 in the second round atop Rattler, taking the $100,000 top prize by hanging on while his competitors were tossed into the dirt.

As journalists huddled around him in the winner's circle, the young cowboy who officially represents Edmonton in competition gave an interview.

Entirely in Portuguese.

Gloria is actually a Brazilian who has made Alberta home for a little more than two years. But his journey  from a modest cattle ranch more than 10,500 kilometres away to the top of the Stampede podium  isn't one he could have done alone.

"There's no way to explain it other than just happiness," Gloria said in his native Portuguese. "It's the biggest dream of any competitor to win the Stampede. And I had the opportunity my first year competing to be the champion.

"It makes me really happy."

Gloria arrived in Edmonton in May 2016. Home is in a quiet new development of Leduc county where his Stampede trophies and oversized cheque decorate the fireplace mantel. Simply furnished, the new suburban house is well beyond anything he could have afforded in Brazil.

Born and raised near the small town of Itabirinha in the country's southeast, Gloria comes from humble beginnings. As a teenager on the ranch, he joined his friends in trying to ride bulls.

His move to Canada, done with hopes of becoming a bull rider in the professional arena, was made possible thanks to his sponsor, best friend and soon-to-be-roommate, Andre Portes.

Two men, a shared dream

Portes' family lives in the same area where Gloria grew up. Like Gloria, he started bull riding when he was young and made the big move to North America where, for seven years, he lived in Canada and the United States, competing in the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) circuit with moderate success.

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In 2008, Portes returned home for a visit and his father introduced him to Gloria.

Gloria's natural talent for bull riding was clear to Portes.

They maintained a friendship across borders and years, and then Portes made an offer that would change Gloria's life: to sponsor the younger man to ride bulls professionally in Canada, based out of Portes' own home in Edmonton.

"I come from nothing. I know where we came from. I know that you don't have a lot of opportunities," said Portes, 39.

"And I just had a desire to help him. And see if he could accomplish something riding bulls here."

'He opened his doors to me'

There's a popular saying in Brazil: It's not for beginners. And it's truer now more than ever before as Latin America's largest nation suffers from its worst economic and political crises in decades.

The political corruption has nearly choked the economy, leaving Brazil in the worst economic recession in over 80 years. Unemployment is sitting around 12 per cent. Crime, which was already bad, has started to spike.

Gloria is grateful for Portes' invitation to come to Canada, and considers him family.

"He opened his doors to me. If it wasn't for him, none of this would be happening in my life today," Gloria said. "He always says that I'm living a dream that he had always wanted. But I carry it the other way that I'm part of him as well."

Including Gloria, Portes has tried to sponsor six bull riders from Brazil to come to Edmonton over the years, only three of whom have been approved.

Gloria's success has surpassed all of them  and has filled Portes with immense pride.

"I was surprised. I was very happy. For a moment I couldn't even talk. I was very emotional," Portes said about the moment when Gloria was named the champion at the Stampede.

"I always tell him that everything he's accomplished is what I always wanted for me. So I'm happy to see that he's accomplishing that."

Hitting the rodeo circuit in a VW Golf

The two travel from rodeo to rodeo in Gloria's Volkswagen Golf, the most popular vehicle among the middle-class in Brazil  though certainly not the typical cowboy ride of choice in Alberta.

In his short time in Canada, Gloria has accomplished a lot on the PBR circuit. This year alone, his prize money totals just over $145,000, with most coming from the Stampede win.

Gloria is the third-ranked bull rider in the PBR Canada National standings and 27th in the world  accomplishments that would have been almost impossible to achieve in his native Brazil where rodeos are highly competitive and tend to work based on invitation rather than qualifying merits.

Gloria's calendar is full as he seeks to maintain his global ranking, but his biggest dream is just a few months away. In October, he's expected to compete in Las Vegas at the World Bull Riding championships, where he'll once again be vying for the top prize.

Grateful to the city 'where everything started'

For Gloria, Edmonton has been a fresh start and that is the reason he lists Alberta's capital  instead of his native Brazil  as his hometown.

"Here's where everything started in my life," Gloria said, his Portuguese carrying the slight country accent that would be the equivalent of an English speaker with a southern drawl.

"All the opportunities that I've had have been here. And that's why I put down Edmonton. It's my city."
Rideau Centre mall owner won't say if it uses facial recognition

Cadillac Fairview, the real estate company that owns the Rideau Centre, is refusing to say whether it uses facial recognition software to track the age and gender of visitors at the Ottawa mall.

The activity came to light after a shopper at the Chinook Centre in Calgary, another Cadillac Fairview property, spotted a browser window seemingly accidentally left open on one of the mall's directories, exposing facial-recognition software running in the background of the digital map.

They took a photo and posted it to the social networking site Reddit on Tuesday.

Cadillac Fairview owns 23 shopping centres across Canada.

In a statement emailed to CBC Ottawa, the company's communications director, Janine Ramparas, said Cadillac Fairview is "not sharing details of the program, including locations, as we view this as proprietary.

"But to clarify, this software was being tested. We have not rolled it out."

The technology tries to predict approximate age and gender. Ramparas said no videos or photos are recorded or stored, and that the data is being used "to further understand the usage of our directories."

"We don't require consent, because we're not capturing or retaining images," a Cadillac Fairview spokesperson told CBC News.

'Treating people like guinea pigs'

John Lawford, executive director of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, said it shouldn't matter if the technology is in the testing stage  if consumers aren't informed they're being recorded, they're being spied upon.

"There is privacy legislation that requires you to ask first and describe what information you're collecting, and if that's not being done, then I think that's illegal," he said.

"Using a public population to test is like treating people like guinea pigs, and that's not fair."

He said management should post how and why they're collecting the data to give people a chance to walk away from the electronic mall directories.

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The Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada said it's also concerned with how Cadillac Fairview is using facial recognition.

In an email, a spokesperson said it has the "potential to be the most highly invasive of the current popular biometric identifying technologies."

Staff with the commissioner's office plan to follow up on the company's assertion that it's not collecting any personal information, the statement said.

The office also intends to reach out to its provincial counterparts.

Ottawa's Bayshore Shopping Centre considered using facial recognition software three years ago after renovations, but decided against it. But general manager Denis Pelletier said the mall does have sensors on its doors to track how many people visit.
Saskatoon water skiers ready to take on world in Spain

It's appropriately utilitarian, and so unless you've got business there, Saskatoon's north end industrial area isn't exactly inviting and it's probably not a place you'd likely go for a Sunday drive.

But if you are up around 58th Street and you listen carefully, mixed in with the industrial soundscape, you might catch snippets of waves, boats and stoked teenagers.

It's all coming from a big storm water retention pond, an unlikely practice centre for two teenage boys getting ready to head to Spain to compete in the World Junior Water Ski Championships.

"It's scary," said Norm Lucas, as he watched from the shore.

Lucas is a proud dad, and is the vice-president of the Saskatoon Water Ski Club. Norm's son, Carter Lucas, 15, and his friend Josh Edwards, 16, are off to Spain next month.

"There is a certain comfort zone that you have and to go far you push the limits of that comfort zone," Norm continued.

When CBC Radio's Saskatoon Morningpaid the boy's a visit they were practicing ski jumping, hitting ramps at high speeds, and launching themselves into the air to soar across the water's surface before landing with what looks like an uncomfortable splash.

The early years

Josh and Carter have been doing this for a long time. Josh recalled his first time out on water skis; it's an early memory of a cold lake.

The inevitable wipe out came, followed by a decision to hang onto the tow rope, as a way to avoid having to wait around for the boat in that cold water. Josh quickly realized the error of his little boy logic, as he was dragged along in the water.

"I didn't ski for a couple of years after that," he said.

Memories of that bad experience eventually faded, and Josh fell in love with the sport. It was also a young start for Carter.

"I have pictures of him riding off the side of the boat in just diapers and no shirt on just riding on a pair of trainer skis," said the elder Lucas.

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"I found it fun just going around on two skis," recalled Carter.

Practice makes perfect

Now, the two boys spend hours each day, zipping around behind a boat in a Saskatoon storm water pond perfecting their skills as they get set to join Team Canada in Spain next month.

They spoke about the event in that typical, teenaged boy, no-big-deal kind of way.

"I'm a little nervous, but I am mostly excited," said Josh.

"It means a lot to me, it has been my goal for two years now," added Carter.

The competition runs from Aug. 2-5 and will be hosted at the Sesena Waterski and Wakeboard Complex in Sesena, Spain.
By Trevor Hunnicutt and Michelle Price NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on Thursday stood by a decision blocking an exchange-traded fund that would have tracked bitcoin, citing concerns about market manipulation. The securities regulator found "unpersuasive" arguments that the bitcoin ETF proposed by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, the twin brothers who founded crypto exchange Gemini Trust Co LLC, would be sufficiently protected from manipulation, it said in a 92-page analysis https://bit.ly/2K3GoWG posted on its website. "Regulated bitcoin-related markets are in the early stages of their development," the SEC said, saying that it "cannot...conclude that bitcoin markets are uniquely resistant to manipulation." But the agency did not completely shut the door to such products coming to market once the bitcoin market has matured, offering some hope for at least five other bitcoin ETF proposals that are still pending before the regulator. Bitcoin turned negative after the SEC's ruling, and last traded down 2.9 percent. The virtual currency can be used to move money around the world quickly and with relative anonymity, without the need for a central authority, such as a bank or government. A fund holding the currency could attract more investors and push its price higher. The SEC said there was not enough evidence that efforts to thwart manipulation of the ETF's price or that of the underlying bitcoin market would be successful. The SEC had blocked the Winklevoss ETF from coming to market in March 2017, but then faced an appeal from CBOE Holdings Inc's Bats exchange, which applied to list the ETF. The parties can appeal the SEC's decision in federal court. CBOE and Gemini did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Winklevoss twins are best known for their feud with Facebook Inc founder Mark Zuckerberg over whether he stole the idea for what became the world's most popular social networking website from them. The former Olympic rowers ultimately settled their legal dispute, which was dramatized in the 2010 film "The Social Network." The SEC's decision to block the ETF was voted for 3-1 by its sitting commissioners, with Republican commissioner Hester Peirce voting against. In a statement, Peirce said she believed the product met the legal standard. "More institutional participation would ameliorate many of the Commission's concerns with the bitcoin market that underlie its disapproval order," she said, adding that the ruling "sends a strong signal that innovation is unwelcome in our markets." (Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt in New York and Michelle Price in Washington; additional reporting by Anna Irrera in New York; editing by Phil Berlowitz and Leslie Adler)
Abdi today, after escaping from the al-Shabab terrorist organization in Somalia. (Illustration by Noah MacMillan for Yahoo News)

MOGADISHU, Somalia  By the time Abdi (not his real name) was 9 years old, he had already joined al-Shabab, the al-Qaida-affiliated terrorist organization in Somalia. He had taken part in several attacks, witnessed an assassination, and left the body of a young friend by the side of a road.

Then he escaped the group. And ever since, against the odds, hes been trying to rebuild his life.

I interviewed Abdi, now 16, in a small, dreary conference room of a hotel in the Bulo Hubey neighborhood of the Somali capital of Mogadishu. Clad in an orange sports jersey, he was energetic, alert and full of stories that he peppered with Arabic phrases and Somali proverbs that belied his age. Language aside, Abdi seemed like any teenager you would encounter anywhere in the world  until he started telling his incredible life story.

When I joined [al-Shabab] I was 7 years old. I was not forced. I joined willingly, Abdi told me. He paused for a moment as if hearing the absurdity of what he was saying. After all these years, I now realize that I was brainwashed, he added.

Abdi is just one of thousands of Somali children who over the years have fallen into the clutches of al-Shabab. From the very start of the groups reign of terror across much of Somalia, al-Shabab used Quranic schools to procure young recruits. During al-Shababs heyday, when it controlled vast swaths of the country, persuasion was enough to ensure a steady supply of young fighters. However, as the group lost more and more territory, it has turned toward coercion and abduction.

And defectors like Abdi often encounter hostility and suspicion as they try to rebuild their lives.

In the past 10 years, Somali National Armed Forces and African Union troops have degraded the strength of the insurgent Islamist group. And since the election of Donald Trump, U.S. African Command, or Africom, has stepped up its airstrikes and drone attacks against suspected Shabab fighters. Africom has also expanded its presence in the country with a buildup of military bases and personnel.

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In the years since former leader Ahmed Abdi Godane was killed in a U.S airstrike in 2014, al-Shabab has continued to lose territory that was once firmly in its control, and suffered several high-profile defections. In 2017, one of the groups founding members and deputy leader Mukhtar Robow defected to the federal government. Though its difficult to gain an accurate picture of Shababs current size, security analysts estimate the group to have about 5,000 fighters.

Politically, al-Shabab continues to lose support, especially since the deadly car-bomb attack last October that killed over 500 civilians. But despite those setbacks, the organization maintains an uncanny ability to strike. In the first two weeks of July alone, the group conducted separate attacks in the capital that targeted the ministry of interior and security headquarters and the presidential palace.

Al-Shabab has always maintained a surprisingly sophisticated online and social media presence through which it issues decrees on various moral and social issues, including its recent directive banning the use of plastic bags on the grounds that they are harmful to the environment. The ban was met on social media with derision by many Somalis noting the irony that a group responsible for killing and maiming thousands of innocent civilians suddenly cares about the welfare of the environment.

For lucky minors like Abdi, who manage to defect from the group, suspicion and hostility not just from the government but often from their own communities await them as they try to rebuild their lives.

We are seeing more and more youths escaping and defecting because its dawning on them that they have been lied to, Abdirashid Ibrahim Mohamed told me when I met him in Mogadishu recently. He is director of the National Programme for the Treatment and Handling of Disengaged Combatants. Those who were told they were fighting the infidels have realized that is not true. Those who have been promised money have realized they were deceived. He said that in just the last four months, government centers have taken in 140 underage fighters who have either escaped al-Shabab or who were rescued the national army.

Abdi was born in 2002 in Wanlaweyn, a farming town about 55 miles northwest of the capital.

At the age of 7, his keen intelligence had distinguished him from other kids at the local dugsi (Quranic school), where he excelled in memorizing the Quran.

It wasnt long before he was singled out by his teacher, who complimented him on his intellect and told him that he was special. The teacher soon developed a habit of asking his star pupil to stay behind after other children were dismissed for the day. Soon, the teacher was telling him about the glory that awaited him in the afterlife if devoted himself to protecting his religion and homeland from the infidels who had invaded their country.

Eventually, the teacher persuaded Abdi to join seven other boys, ages 7 to 17, leaving town to join al-Shabab. Abdi was the youngest. It was 2009, the height of al-Shababs insurgency against the weak, Western-backed government in the capital, which was supported by African Union troops from neighboring countries.

Abdi and six other boys were taken by pickup truck to an al-Shabab camp. (Illustration by Noah MacMillan for Yahoo News)

The day Abdi left home was a Friday. He remembers that detail because he was wearing his special khamis, a pristine white robe that he only wore to Friday prayers. After prayers, his teacher of Quran took him and the seven other boys in a Toyota pickup truck. They traveled for much of the day to a small camp in the bush by a river. This would be his home for the next two years, the place where he would learn to become a soldier for one of the most ruthless terror organizations in the world.

Comprehensive national statistics of child recruitment by al-Shabab, either by force or by indoctrination, is scant, since so many towns and villages where the group operates remain too dangerous to visit. However, according to the United Nations Report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict, published in May of this year, al-Shabab recruited 1,770 children in 2017 alone. The group used detention, violence and threats to force family members, teachers and elders to hand over their children, causing families to flee or to send their children, often unaccompanied, out of areas controlled by Al-Shabab, in order to ensure their protection.

Most of al-Shababs abductions and recruitment rarely get coverage in the international news. But every once in a while, the world gets a glimpse of the extent to which al-Shabab exploits children as soldiers.

On March 13, 2016, a convoy of about 400 Shabab militants descended on the semi-autonomous state of Puntland in northern Somalia. Puntland forces engaged them in a long, deadly battle. Hundreds of Shabab forces were killed, while some fled and many more surrendered. Among the latter, according to state officials, were 54 minors, some as young as 13.

On the face of it, recruiting pre-pubescent boys doesnt seem to make much military sense, since the boys can barely lift a gun. But child soldiers are useful to al-Shabab for two reasons: They make for a disposable and protective frontline on the battlefield, shielding more experienced fighters; and minors who survive become the foundation of a future force of battle-hardened fighters.

A young childs brain is like a fresh recording tape. Whatever you put in there will stick. Once they get them that young, its hard to erase whatever they learned, says Hussein, who runs a school for orphans in a farming town 20 miles outside of Mogadishu. Many of his students come to him with views on Islam that have been distorted and warped by al-Shababs religious indoctrination. What we do [at the school] is to introduce other recordings to counteract what they have been taught, he said, continuing his analogy.

Hussein is a 55-year-old educator with a masters in biochemistry and a perpetually world-weary expression. In addition to the school for orphans, he also runs a residence where he covertly houses defectors from al-Shabab. He told me that there are currently 120 at the center, but previously had as many 520. The center is located in a village thats a two-hour drive from the capital. (Hussein told me the name of the village off the record, to protect defectors from al-Shabab operatives as well as government officials who might arrest them.)

The son of a civil servant during the Mohamed Siad Barre dictatorship, Hussein studied math and physics at Lafoole University, the countrys premier teachers college. After the civil war destroyed the countrys school system, Hussein says, he felt a deep sense of responsibility to pass down his knowledge to disadvantaged children.

Hussein bemoans rampant government corruption, Somalias deeply entrenched clan system, and the mistreatment of marginalized communities. He told me that one of the reasons he opened the center for defectors is that he was enraged by the plight of the countless young men he had met over the years. He said that even long after their defection, youngsters continued to suffer for their earlier mistake of falling for al-Shababs deceptive messages and tactics, which include promises of wages in return for defending their land from invaders, and appeals to their religious idealism through martyrdom.

The child soldiers trained daily in shooting and other military exercises. (Illustration by Noah MacMillan for Yahoo News)

For about two years, from the age of 7 to 9, Abdi lived in a run-down training camp in the bush, populated by about three dozen men, most of them much older than him. Only the leader of the camp, Amir Ali, slept in a tent. Everyone else slept outside at night in the cold and rain.

Abdis days at the camp were heavily regimented, with four hours of sleep a night, limited food, and many hours of physical exercise, such as running and jumping over obstacles, followed by shooting lessons in the afternoons. Abdi told me that by the time he was 8, he knew how to use a gun and drive a car.

Life in the camp would have been bearable had it not been for Amir (Prince) Ali, an ill-tempered leader whom Abdi described as a khumay, a Somali word that loosely translates to malevolent. I rarely saw his face except for his eyes, which were big and often red, Abdi said.

Ali, a heavyset man with a long beard, covered his face with a black-and-white scarf, a garment al-Shabab had appropriated as a signature element of its uniform. He was always yelling, always demanding us do things for him, even simple things he could do for himself, Abdi said.

Talking back often resulted in a blow from one of Alis underlings. But every so often, the amir did his own dirty work, like the time he hit Abdi hard with the butt of his gun after he ran a car into a tree during one of his driving lessons. Abdi showed me a small round scar just above his cheekbone. I was bleeding a lot so I took some sand and held it against the wound to stop the bleeding, he said.

In the two years he spent with al-Shabab, Abdi was taken on two fighting missions. The first was to the nearby village of Darussalam Mubarak. The mission: to abduct locals accused of un-Islamic activities. Abdi recalled that one of the men tried to escape. The second in command, who was leading that mission, shot the man dead with three bullets to the back. It sent a message to all of us, Abdi said.

Have you ever killed anyone? I asked him. No. Abdi said emphatically. I fired shots but I never hit anyone. Abdi told me that one of the older guys at the camp carried out a suicide attack in the town of Leego. He drove a car full of explosives and rammed it into a building. He was 25 when he died. He was very good at making explosives, Abdi added.

I asked Abdi if he ever made explosives. Not everyone got to do that, he said. That special task was reserved for only a couple of well-chosen older boys. They had to be trained for a long time and they had to be good at it, Abdi explained.

I asked him if he missed his family in those two years. Every day, he replied. Every once in a while, when we got access to a cellphone, I would call home and my mother would cry, telling me to come back.

It was on one of those rare phone calls to home that he found out that his father, who had mental health problems, had been hit and killed by a car. On another call Abdi learned that his 23-year-old brother, who chewed khat (a mild narcotic) and smoked cigarettes, had been killed by al-Shabab officers after he refused to comply with their morality edicts. Finding out that his own brother had been killed by the same group he was fighting for planted the idea of escape in Abdis mind.

One night about three months after his brothers murder, Abdi made his daring escape from the camp. On that night, he was on the second guard shift, which ran from 12 a.m. to 4 a.m. Shortly after 1 a.m., Abdi did what he had thought about for weeks. Wearing only a T-shirt and a dirty pair of pants, he placed the pistol he was given for guard duty on the ground and quietly slipped into the bushes near the camp.

For three days, Abdi trudged through brush and farmland to avoid being seen on roads, often getting lost. He didnt eat for three days and relied on drinking water that he was lucky to find along the way. On the third day of his walk home, he met Adulqadir Jeele, another boy at the camp who had also escaped. Abdi said Abdulqadir was sick and severely dehydrated. The boy died later that day. He was 13.

During his escape, Abdi encountered another young defector, but the boy was sick and died before he could reach safety. (Illustration by Noah MacMillan for Yahoo News.)

I tried to carry his body but he was too heavy for me, Abdi said, his eyes distant, his face expressionless. He said he dragged Abdulqadirs body as far as he could to a nearby dirt road hoping someone would find him. Thats where I left the body.

After Abdi managed to get back to his hometown, he went straight home and had an emotional reunion with his mother and siblings. However, he was too afraid to stay there, fearing that al-Shabab members might come looking for him. His uncle suggested he stay at his aunts house for several days until they could figure something out more permanent.

After defecting from al-Shabab, most boys continue to live in political and legal limbo, sometimes for years. Feared and mistrusted by the communities from which they were recruited, they often face the danger of being recaptured by al-Shabab, or they take the chance of potential prosecution if they turn themselves over to the government. Sometimes even their own families dont want them back.

As if to illustrate the dilemma many defectors face, Hussein let me listen in on a phone call from a Mr. Hassan, a father whose 18-year-old son Ibrahim recently escaped the group and wanted to come back home. The father was not convinced that his son had really changed and feared he would indoctrinate his other sons. I could hear Mr. Hassan on the phone repeating that he doesnt want to lose his other sons to al-Shabab.

Hussein explained to me that some of the boys who currently live at his center have never been educated because their parents were either too poor or al-Shabab closed their local schools. Many of the illiterate boys who come to the center opt to learn trade skills instead. But the center doesnt have the resources to teach them much, so Hussein has to visit farms or tailor shops and make a pitch to the owners, asking them to take the boys as apprentices.

Its time-consuming work that requires a great deal of networking and trust, especially since many business owners are leery of taking in former al-Shabab members without a known and trusted elder vouching for them. Hussein said that in the last year or so he has taken 10 young men to coastal towns to learn how to become fishermen; he placed six boys with auto shops, three boys in furniture stores and 18 boys in tailor shops.

One aspect I found puzzling about Husseins work was how hes able to trust these boys himself  and vouch for them  when so many others are suspicious. He explained that the center takes many precautions. For instance, no young man ever comes directly to the center, since few know that it even exists. He relies on a trusted network of 23 men scattered around the country who refer youngsters to him. These men never bring anyone to the center who has not been carefully vetted. But Hussein told me that, ultimately, he just made a choice to trust these boys.

Abdi and another al-Shabab survivor with Hussein, an educator who runs a school for orphans and shelters young defectors from the terrorist group. (Illustration by Noah MacMillan for Yahoo News)

What about those who have committed serious crimes while they were with al-Shabab? I was expecting Hussein to hedge and equivocate. Instead, he gave me surprising answer: Our mandate is to change minds, to take all the bad things they learned and replace it with something good, he said. We believe that all human beings can change, can improve, so we dont give up on them.  I believe in forgiveness.

In this way and others, what Hussein is doing wildly diverges from a similar rehabilitation program, called the National Programme for the Treatment and Handling of Disengaged Combatants, run by the federal government with the help of UNICEF, the International Organization for Migration, and select Somali NGOs. That program uses a strict screening process, and only takes in what it calls low-risk defectors.

If a defector is deemed to be of high intelligence value or high risk, he given over to the government and potentially put on trial. The screening is conducted by the National Intelligence and Security Agency, or NISA, as its commonly known in Somalia. This is the part that scares off many would-be defectors.

And for good reason. For years, NISA has been accused of committing abuses against al-Shabab suspects and defectors. In February 2018, Human Rights Watch published a report titled Its Like Were Always in a Prison: Abuses Against Boys Accused of National Security Offenses in Somalia.

The report alleges many abuses, including due process violations, forced confessions, long periods of detention without charge, and, in some instances, torture. Perhaps most worrying is the regular use of military courts, where multiple defendants are often tried together in speedy proceedings that are shielded from the scrutiny of local journalists and international human rights advocates.

After his daring but successful escape from the al-Shabab camp, Abdi hid in his aunts house for almost a week. Through a friend of the family who vouched for him, he was eventually brought to Husseins center. He then started taking some classes and learning practical skills on a large farm next to the camp, where the boys grew corn and other grains to supplement the limited food they had at the center.

Abdi is now back in his hometown of Wanlaweyn. Despite occasional attacks by al-Shabab, the town is firmly in the control of the government and African Union forces. Abdi credits Hussein with being a trusted mentor when he needed it most, and for giving him a second chance at life.

In Mogadishu, I also interviewed several other boys who credit Hussein with transforming their lives. Yusuf, now 20, joined al-Shabab in 2015, when fighters came to his neighborhood in Janaale, a small farming village by the Shabelle River. They took him and 10 other boys by force. A few months later, he escaped in the middle of the night, and was eventually taken to Husseins center. Yusuf now lives in Mogadishu, where he just finished high school. He hopes to be the first in his family to go to university to study public heath.

Mohamud, 19, joined al-Shabab in 2013 when he was 14. Five years ago, he sought refuge in Husseins center after defecting from the group. He now lives in Afgoye, where works as a teacher in a religious school. He told me he wants to make it his mission to warn other young Somali boys about the lies and deceptions of al-Shabab so they never join the group.

Before our interview ended, I asked Abdi how he felt, now that the al-Shabab chapter of his life is behind him. He was quiet for a moment, then said it never feels like its behind him. He told me me he still has nightmares, but not as often as he did in the first year after he escaped. Back then, he used to have nightmares about Amir Ali almost every night.

Abdi told me he thinks more about the future these days than about the past. And when he does think about those awful days, he feels grateful to have survived it all. He knows he is one of the lucky ones.

_____

Reporting for this story was supported by a grant from the Pulitzer Center.

Hassan Ghedi Santur is a SomaliCanadian journalist and novelist. He is the author of Maps of Exile, a nonfiction account of African migration to Europe.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
An engineering consulting firm being sued by the City of Winnipeg for alleged mistakes in design and construction of the city's police headquarters denies the allegations, and has launched its own suit against the project's construction firm.

The construction firm, Caspian Projects Inc., is also being sued by the city over the $214-million project, and it has fired back with a suit against the city.

In a statement of defence filed on Monday, engineering firm Adjeleian Allen Rubeli Ltd., known as AAR, says it's not responsible for any loss or damage to the city resulting from the headquarters.

When the city filed its lawsuit in May, Winnipeg chief administrative officer Doug McNeil estimated the cost of dealing with all the deficencies in the building would be "north of $10 million."

The city's statement of claim describes dozens of shortcomings, including water leaks, a broken concrete floor, drainage issues, inadequate air flow, insufficient asbestos abatement, a lack of temperature control and no catwalk on the fifth floor.

A deteriorated structural slab and dislodged concrete are compromising the building's structural integrity, it adds.

None of the allegations in any of the suits has been proven in court.

City started work knowing design wasn't complete: AAR

In its statement of defence, AAR says there were no defects or deficiencies in the design work it completed for the project.

It also alleges the city initially contracted Caspian and ordered it to start working on the project, despite knowing the design wasn't yet complete.

"The city commenced the work on the project and continued the work on this basis when it knew or should have known that there was a potential for delays, changes to the work and changes to the overall cost of the project," AAR alleges.

The firm says Caspian and the city met and agreed on the contract price without AAR's participation.

AAR is suing Caspian for "complete contribution to and indemnity for any damages" awarded to the city against the firm.

Story continues

Winnipeg city council approved the purchase and renovation of a former Canada Post warehouse on Graham Avenue in downtown Winnipeg in 2009, with an original budget of $130 million.

The procurement and construction of the police headquarters has been the subject of two external audits and remains under RCMP investigation.

The city alleges it didn't become aware of many of the problems with the project until it was completed.

A city spokesperson said the city wouldn't comment on the matter as it remains before the courts.

A Caspian employee who answered the phone Thursday said the firm declined to comment.
An example dashboard for GCP services that groups metrics by service, method and response code. You can also view latency charts on a log scale to quickly find outliers.
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New York, July 27, 2018Chilean authorities should immediately drop all criminal proceedings against a journalist charged with defamation, and lawmakers should act swiftly to repeal all criminal defamation laws, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The journalist, Javier Ignacio Rebolledo Escobar, could face up to three years in prison if convicted next month.

Rebolledo, an investigative magazine journalist and author of two books, is charged with defamation for damaging the honor of a former military officer convicted of human rights abuses in his most recent book, Camaleon, published in August 2017, according to Rebolledo and news reports. In May, a judge dismissed the initial complaint against Rebolledo, but an appeals court in June overturned the decision and last week set a court date for August 16, Rebolledo told CPJ by phone.

We urge Chilean authorities to immediately drop all criminal defamation charges against Javier Rebolledo, said CPJ Central and South America Program Coordinator Natalie Southwick. Its absurd that Chiles defamation laws allow for a journalist to be imprisoned for describing crimes that have led to a conviction.

According to reports, Carolina Paz Quintana Poblete sued Rebolledo on April 30 for damaging the reputation of her father, Raul Quintana Salazar, a former lieutenant colonel who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for crimes against humanity committed during the 1973-1990 dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet. On May 8, a judge in a criminal court in the capital, Santiago, ruled in Rebolledos favor. However, a Santiago appeals court overturned the decision on June 13, determining that the content that drives the grievance can be considered under criminal charges, Rebolledo read from the ruling on the phone with CPJ. On July 18, Rebolledo was notified that his court date was set for August 16.

Rebolledo has centered his work around uncovering crimes committed by the National Intelligence Directorate (DINA) torture and extermination centers (Tejas Verdes). In Camaleon, he gives a detailed account by Mariano Jara, a former member of the military junta, about crimes committed under Pinochets rule, including one incident in which Salazar allegedly sexually assaulted and tortured a Uruguayan female prisoner, according to Rebolledo.

In response to this reporting, Quintana Poblete filed a criminal defamation suit against the journalist, citing Article 416 of Chiles criminal code and claiming that recounting the events involving her father brought dishonor to the former officer and his family, according to news reports.

El Colegio de Periodistas in Chile and regional press freedom group Instituto Prensa y Sociedad (IPYS) have released statements condemning the case.

Criminal sentences for defamation suits can range from 61 days to 3 years, but recently courts in Chile have tightened their parameters for defamation suit decisions and other suits involving freedom of expression, according to Rebolledos lawyer, Paulo Olivares, who spoke to CPJ over the phone.

Anyone has the right to file a lawsuit, but the judicial system must take these cases carefully, and follow strict parameters, Olivares told CPJ. The most important thing is that the criminal justice system in Chile doesnt transform into a tool for censorship.

CPJ has previously documented the use of outdated criminal defamation laws to restrict critical reporting in Latin America. In February 2016, CPJ released a comparative study of defamation laws in the Americas at a conference in Peru. Although criminal defamation cases have been less common in Chile, the countrys criminal code still contains provisions that allow for jail sentences of up to three years for defamation.
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New York, July 27, 2018Yemeni authorities should credibly investigate the attack on Mazen al-Shaabi, a reporter for United Arab Emirates-funded Sharjah TV, and ensure that journalists operating in areas under their control can work freely and safely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. Al-Shaabi was attacked by unknown assailants the evening of July 23 while driving home to Aden, according to al-Shaabi, the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate, and local news reports.

Al-Shaabi told CPJ that he was driving to his home in Adens Inma neighborhood and noticed that a car was following him. When he reached an unlit portion of the road the car tried to overtake him, and al-Shaabi said that he heard gunfire followed by the sound of bullets striking the side of his car. Al-Shaabi said that when he sped up to get away from the assailant, he lost control of his vehicle and it overturned at which time the assailants drove away from the scene.

Al-Shaabi told CPJ that he was lightly injured when he hit his head on the cars windshield and also suffered a mild injury to his left foot.

The brazen attack on Mazen al-Shaabi highlights the dangers journalists in Yemen face, no matter where they are working or for whom, CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour said from Washington, D.C. Authorities in Aden should thoroughly investigate the attack on al-Shaabi and ensure the safety of journalists working in areas under their control.

The journalist reported the attack to authorities who told him that they are investigating.

Yemens Interior Ministry did not reply immediately to CPJs request for comment sent via their website.

Al-Shaabi had not previously received threats; however, four months ago unknown assailants shot out the window of his car. The journalist said he was not in the car at the time.

Al-Shaabi said that he started working for Sharjah TV this year and covers the UAEs humanitarian role in Yemens ongoing civil war as well as the latest political and civil developments in the conflict.

Yemen is currently embroiled in a civil war between the internationally recognized government based in Aden and the Ansar Allah movement, known as the Houthis, which controls the countrys north and west and the capital Sanaa, according to news reports cited by think tanks. The UAE is part of the coalition fighting alongside the government to retake control of the country, though it has also backed forces that are in conflict with the government in Aden, according to the same sources.

The journalist previously worked for five years at the privately owned Yemeni TV channel Saeeda, which broadcasts from Cairo, and for half a year at the Emirati-based Akhbar Al-An TV, as well as for two years with state-run Kuwait state TV.

At least two journalists have been killed this year in Yemen, according to CPJ research. Several other attacks against journalists have been documented in areas of Yemen under the control of the government, while the Houthis have abducted several current and former journalists.
Indian Railways had organised a programme on Ethics in Public Governance and launched Mission Satyanishtha at a day-long event held at National Rail Museum, New Delhi. It was first of its kind event organised by any government organization in the country.

Mission Satyanishtha

The issue of ethics, integrity and probity in public life has been matter of concern all over government sector across the country. In this context, it is also extremely important that all railway servants adhere to impeccable conduct and integrity at all times.

Mission Satyanishtha aims at sensitizing all railway employees about need to adhere to good ethics and to maintain high standards of integrity at work. Under it, talks and lectures on subject were organised all over Indian Railways for this purpose.

Objectives of Mission Satyanishtha
Assange took refuge in London embassy in 2012





(CNN) - British and Ecuadorian authorities have held discussions over the future of Julian Assange, the Ecuadorian president said on Friday, fueling speculation that the WikiLeaks founder may soon be stripped of the country's diplomatic protection in London.





Speaking in Madrid, President Lenin Moreno suggested Ecuador was seeking guarantees that whatever Assange's eventual fate, he would not face the death penalty.





Assange took refuge in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012 when he was facing allegations of sexual assault in Sweden. The case was eventually dropped but Assange has always feared being extradited to the US, and in the past his lawyers have claimed he could face execution there.





Moreno said the previous Ecuadorian government granted Assange asylum because it agreed his life was in danger. "The death penalty does not exist in Ecuador, and we knew that possibility existed... The only thing we want is a guarantee that his life will not be in danger," Moreno said.





In a statement Friday, Moreno's communication's office stressed the President "hasn't ordered, at any moment, the removal of Julian Assange from the Ecuadorian embassy in London."





Ecuador's government has no desire that Assange remain "in asylum his whole life" and urged "a solution to a problem we inherited," the statement said.





Assange's lawyers claim that, for the past eight years, US officials have maintained a secret grand jury investigation into WikiLeaks, which published a trove of secret US diplomatic cables in 2010.





In 2011, arguing against a Swedish extradition request, Assange's lawyers said he feared execution in the US, although they did not give any legal basis for the claim.





Moreno, who was in London earlier this week for a disability summit, confirmed talks had taken place with British authorities over Assange's fate.





"We are continually speaking with the British government, with the ambassador, their representative in Ecuador. The only person I have never spoken to is Mr. Assange," Moreno said.





Moreno made it clear that he did not support Assange's work. "I have never agreed with what Mr. Assange does. I have never supported the interception of private emails to be able to obtain information, regardless of how valuable it may be, to bring to light certain undesirable actions carried out by governments on people."





The government of British Prime Minister Theresa May played down any suggestion of an imminent change in Assange's status. A Downing Street spokesperson told CNN that discussions were "ongoing" but that a time frame for Assange's departure from the embassy had not been discussed. Discussions had not taken place during Moreno's recent visit to the UK, the spokesperson said





Swedish investigators dropped their case against Assange last year but he chose to remain at the embassy as British authorities could still detain him for violating bail conditions.





US Attorney General Jeff Sessions said last April that the Department of Justice was preparing charges against Assange, and that his arrest was a "priority."





Under the terms of an extradition treaty between the US and the UK, US authorities could request Assange's detention in London. British authorities have refused to say whether the US has submitted a formal extradition request.





Moreno has been under pressure from the US to expel Assange, sources told CNN earlier this year.





In March, Ecuador cut his internet access, accusing him of failing to commit to an agreement not to release messages interfering with other nations' affairs.





His communications had previously been cut in October 2016 after a dump of WikiLeaks documents that Ecuador said targeted the 2016 US presidential election campaign.





In a television interview in January, Moreno described Assange's stay as an "inherited problem" and "more than a nuisance."

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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

CNN, Lauren Said-Moorhouse, July 27, 2018
Rating:

Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3

(A) 140 min

Cast: Mahi Gill, Jimmy Shergill, Sanjay Dutt, Chitrangada, Kabir Bedi, Deepak Tijoria, Nafisa Ali, Deepraj Rana

Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia

Not all gangsters are exciting. And one had safely assumed that writer-director Tigmanshu Dhulia knew this very well since hes the one who gave us a dazzling goonda in 2011 (Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster) without whom the saheb and his biwi would have been nothing more than quibbling malcontents. Randeep Hoodas Babloo made both of them pant.

It was because of the audacious raunchiness which Babloo brought to Deogarh haveli that Choti Rani held a gun while making out with the help in the open. Thats also the reason why weve since been happy to return to the saheb, biwi and their haveli.

But for out third outing the film, written by Sanjay Chauhan and Tigmanshu Dhulia, seems to have an ulterior motive vis-a-vis the gangster  not to try and spice things up, but to try and resurrect the bad boy image of Sanjay Dutt without actually making him do anything thats morally wrong.

Uday Singh (Sanjay Dutt), an outcast from another royal family, is only peripherally a spanner in the works of Madhvi (Mahie Gill) and Aditya Pratap Singh (Jimmy Shergill).

Hes actually not at all interested in the sahib or his biwi. He stews in a parallel plot of his own making which is too cliched and dull.

Because of this, Sahib, Biwi aur Gangster 3 operates not just in two places with two different sets of people and problems, but also at two sharply distinct IQ levels.

The haveli, which is now back to its splendour, is still the place where murders are easily plotted and assigned.

Its a cunning, cerebral world of devious intrigue, while Uday Singhs Boondi Nagar palace is a collection of heavily botoxed dimwits who are too inept to see through even a carefully planned, simple murder.

Sahib, Biwi aur Gangster 3 toggles between these two worlds, and the distressing result can best be summed up with this Urdu couplet:

Na Khuda hi mila, na viaasl-e-sanam,

Na idhar ke rahe, na udhar ke rahe

The film opens in London where Uday, wearing a hoodie, plays many rounds of Russian Roulette a deadly game that involves vodka, ek goli in a gun that is passed from one man to another who try their luck by pulling the trigger.

Like his great grandfather, Uday is a master of this game. And so, soon after his opponents shoot themselves in the head, he collects wads of foreign currency, stopping only when he has enough cash to set up a nightclub, Lords of the House.

Uday, however, remains a character about whom we learn just few, basic titbits to establish that hes morally sound, daring and unhappy married because hes in love with another. Oh! And he also keeps maun vrats.

On one such maun day we watch him smash a bottle on a mans head, and Madhvi, who is hanging around with her friends, makes note of his anger.

Uday skips with joy when hes told that hes being deported to India.

The thought of being with his mistress, Suhani (Chitrangada), are pleasing.

But theres also his dad, Maharaj Hari Singh (Kabir Bedi), and brother Vijay (Deepak Tijori) who run their ancestral palace in Boondi Nagar as a hotel and want nothing to do with him.

Madhvi is now a powerful, confident MLA who runs the Jan Vikas Party.

Shes also a fixer, doling out favours in return for favours.

She also randomly picks up men but then forgets they are waiting for her in the guest room.

Her focus is on ensuring that Aditya Singh, who is in jail, remains there. And so she doesnt flinch when she has to pull the trigger on someone rather helpless and sad.

Adityas old servant Kanhaiya has now been replaced by his daughter. But Deepal (Pamela Bhutoria), who arrives with promise, is soon reduced to a useless hangeron.

Uday wants money to buy property. Madhvi can help him get that, but in return she wants him to play one round of Russian Roulette.

There is a very filmy exchange in Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3 which, dripping with in jokes that are kinda funny, doubles up as an open arm welcome to Sanjay Dutt into the free world, and Aditya welcoming him into his world of Rajwara intrigue.

And, every single time Sunjay Dutt is on the screen, the background score breaks into a rousing, filmy chant Aaya tera baap.

But Dutt is too expressionless and lumbering. Though that fits in well with the people in his part of the world, it drags the film down to imbecile levels.

The films dialogue, especially the ones where people are insulting each other, are sharp and fabulous.

Chitrangada Singh gets the best one: Naam ke ilawa kuch bachca na ho toh, naam ko bacha ke rakhna chahiye.

Chitrangada is gorgeous. And shes a decent actor. But now that one part of her face is frozen into one, perpetual sexy expression, its unfair to expect too much from her.

But she is also a horrible dancer and yet we are subjected to a full song.

There are moments in the film, especially when Kabir Bedi is in the frame, which seem like we are watching one of those nightmarish, freakish videos about cosmetic surgery gone horribly wrong.

There wasnt much expression or emotion in these faces at any time in the past, any way. And now that they are frozen forever, we have to rein in our expectations.

Tigmanshu Dhulia is a very sharp, very talented writer director. And his women characters are especially exciting.Ambitious and driven, they are mostly in pursuit of happiness, either through men or power, or both.Often more than his men, they use guile, charm, chaploosi, sex to get what they want.And over three films he has carefully honed the characters of Madhvi and Saheb to sexy sharpness.

As portraits of booze-guzzling royalty in decay, their humanity stripped down to the most basic instincts of survival and power grabbing, they are perfect.

They stand out, distinctly, and since they are channelled by two excellent actors, the suspense of what they will do holds the film.

Mahie Gill is just fabulous. Her Madhvi is like a glass of frozen martini whose rims have tiny, sweetened shards of glass. She lifts the film every time she is on the screen.

Mahie has the ability to up the temperature with her quick-changing mood. And here, in a cracking scene, she goes from mundane to tense to funny with lightning speed.

Jimmy Shergills Aditya Pratap Singh is always one step behind Madhvi. Hes slightly decent, but also puffed up on his own ego and significance.

Hes at once lonely, wasted and pitiable. But also delightfully narcissistic and self-serving.

When Saheb, Biwi aur Gangster 3 is with them, it rises. When it moves away from them, towards the single-note stars, it annoys and irritates.
Most recently Chinese and Indian troops faced off on the disputed Doklam plateau between Bhutan and China after the Chinese People's Liberation Army began building roads through the area. (Representational Image)

Washington/New Delhi: China has quietly resumed its activities in the Doklam area and neither Bhutan nor India has sought to dissuade it, a top US official has said while comparing Beijing's actions in the Himalayan region with its manoeuvres in the disputed South China Sea.

China claims sovereignty over all of South China Sea. Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan have counterclaims.

China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. Beijing has built up and militarised many of the islands and reefs it controls in the region. Both areas are stated to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources and are also vital to global trade.

"I would assess that India is vigorously defending its northern borders and this is a subject of concern to India," Alice G Wells, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing while responding to a question on China's increased road building activities along the Indian border.

"As (India) ahead to its own strategic stability, it certainly helps drive and is a factor in driving closer partnership that we enjoy with India," Wells said in response to a question from Congresswoman Ann Wagner.

India and China have clashed repeatedly over territories in the Himalayas. Most recently Chinese and Indian troops faced off on the disputed Doklam plateau between Bhutan and China after the Chinese People's Liberation Army began building roads through the area, Wagner said.

"Although both countries back down, China has quietly resumed its activities in Doklam and neither Bhutan nor India has sought to dissuade it. China's activities in the Himalayas remind me of its south China Sea policies. How should our failure to respond to the militarisation of the South China Sea inform the international response to these Himalayan border disputes?" Wagner asked.

As the US looks to the Indo-Pacific strategy put forward by the Trump administration, Wells said it has been taken in light of the 'South China Sea's Strategy'. "How do we maintain the region to be open, to have maritime security, to not have militarisation that would imperil the 70 per cent of global trade?" she asked.

"We need to do that by giving authority to sovereign nations to have choices in how they develop, to have choices in their partnerships," Wells said.

Congressman Ted Yoho, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee on Asia and the Pacific, raised the issue of China's aggressive posture in South Asia. "What are your thoughts on what is the best way to counter China in that region?" Yoho asked.

US should not be seeking to compete with China dollar for dollar, Wells responded, adding that instead of a state lending on terms that may not be to the benefit of countries or their citizens, the US and its companies are providing USD 850 billion in foreign direct investment in the region, which is far more than what has been injected by China.

"We're trying to gather likeminded countries who can bring resources to the table, who can coordinate assistance and an effort so as to provide countries with meaningful alternatives," Wells said.

Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day-long standoff in Doklam from June 16 last year after the Indian side stopped the building of a road in the disputed tri-junction by the Chinese Army.

Bhutan and China have a dispute over Doklam. The face-off ended on August 28.
19-year-old Rita Mudi's climb to stardom started after the picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi giving her an autograph as she was being treated at the hospital went viral. (Photo: Twitter | ANI)

Bankura: For this Bankura girl, who was among those injured after a portion of tent collapsed during a public meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in West Bengal's Midnapore, an autograph by the Prime Minister made her a celebrity in her Salgera village in Bankura's Ranibandh, 230 kms from Kolkata.

The second year student of Bankura Christian College, Rita Mudi, has also received two marriage proposals in the last ten days.

19-year-old Rita Mudi's climb to stardom started after the picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi giving her an autograph as she was being treated at the hospital went viral.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi's autograph to Rita Mudi. (Photo: Twitter | ANI)

Talking to The Times of India (TOI) over the phone, Rita Mudi said that for the last 10 days her life has been hectic. She added, "That day at the hospital when the PM came to my bedside, I told him how happy I was to see him."

On July 16, Rita along with her mother and sister travelled to Midnapore to hear Prime Minister Narendra Modi speak. They sat below the canopy that collapsed and were rushed to hospital. PM Modi later visited those injured and also spoke to Rita, among others.

Elated Rita said, "I requested for an autograph. I saw him hesitate a bit. But I insisted. He then smiled and wrote, 'Rita Mudi tum sukhi raho (Stay well, Rita Mudi). Narendra Modi.' The paper was provided by a person who was standing next to him (PM Modi)."

Prime Minister Narendra Modi gives autograph to Rita Mudi in hospital. (Photo: PTI)

"We started having a stream of visitors, including people who would talk to us till the other day. We were recuperating but that didn't stop people from coming to see the autograph. The sudden attention was slightly disconcerting," Rita told TOI.

"I think my photograph in social media and newspapers made me famous," she added.

Rita's mother Sandhya said, "It isn't only visitors. In the last 10 days, we received two marriage proposals for Rita. The first was from Jharkhand's Tatanagar. They said the groom has his own business and they had no demands. They also invited us to visit their home first before we decide."

"The second proposal was from Bankura, from Chatna. The groom owns agricultural land. Both my daughters (Rita's sister Anita has taken admission to a general undergraduate arts course in Bankura's Saradamani Mahila Mahavidyapith) want to study. So we didn't show much interest," Sandhya added.

According to TOI, earlier, the family had received one marriage proposal for Rita but the groom had asked for Rs 1 lakh dowry. Rita's father Subhas Chandra Mudi, who tills his own land, didn't have the means to provide the dowry. Rita said, "Marriage will happen when my parents decide but I want to study now."
The training is part of a program aimed to enhance nursing care and social welfare to aging Asian societies. Photo by VnExpress/Duong Ngoc

Over the next two years, Vietnam will send 10,000 caregivers to Japan, where demand remains very high.

According to Nikkei Asia Review, Vietnam and Japan will sign the memorandum of understanding on this deal this year.

Japan will provide financial assistance for language training for the first 3,000 Vietnamese trainees this year, and the rest by 2020.

The program will allow workers with conversational Japanese skills to get a five-year residency.

The Japanese government is also planning a new program that offers an additional residency of five years for those who complete their technical training in nursing and social welfare. The training is part of the Asia Health and Human Well-being Initiative program in which trainees will able to acquire knowledge of providing nursing care and social welfare to aging Asian societies. These caregivers will receive the same remuneration as their Japanese peers, it has been reported.

Japans Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has said that with the manpower from Vietnam, the sector will still face a shortage of 30,000 staff. The ministry projects that the nation will need an additional 790,000 caregivers in 2035.

Japan has also offered similar proposals to Cambodia, Indonesia and Laos.

Japan's shrinking and aging population is causing severe labor shortages in the worlds third largest economy.

From 2008 to 2017, Japan had welcomed 3,500 foreign caregivers into the nation via the economic partnership agreement, Nikkei reported.

Since 2014, Vietnam has been sending trainee nurses and caregivers to Japan under an agreement between the two countries. It is estimated that about 470 Vietnamese medical staff members were working in Japan as of February 2017.
The Song Tranh 2 Hydropower Plant in Nam Tra My District, Quang Nam Province. The dam is suspected of having caused a series of minor earthquakes in recent years. Photo by VnExpress/Dac Thanh

Two earthquakes occurred in the area of the notorious Song Tranh 2 Hydropower Plant in Quang Nam Province on Saturday morning.

A 3.7 magnitude earthquake occurred at 0.19 a.m. in Bac Tra My District with its epicenter at a depth of 11 kilometers, according to a statement from the Earthquake Information and Tsunami Warning Center at the Institute of Geophysics.

Three minutes later, another earthquake reaching 3.0 on the Richter scale hit the district, with its epicenter at a depth of 10 kilometers.

Local authorities have reported no human casualties or property damage, thus far.

Local residents said the quakes sounded like explosions and that they were worried about the increasing frequency with which these were occurring in the area.

Two days ago, four other earthquakes jolted Nam Tra My and Bac Tra My districts near the hydropower dam within the space of an hour.

Nguyen Hong Phuong, deputy director of the center, said the epicenters of most earthquakes are around 10 to 12 kilometers (seven miles) from the hydropower plant.

Nam Tra My and Bac Tra My are the two districts most vulnerable to earthquakes, which usually occur in July and August every year, Phuong said.

Over the past few years, the central province has experienced several earthquakes and seismologists believe the hydropower dam is to blame for many minor earthquakes that shake houses and terrify villagers.

According to scientists, the extra water pressure has created fissures in the ground under the reservoir. When the pressure of the water increases, it acts to lubricate faults which are already under tectonic strain, but are prevented from slipping by the friction of the rock surfaces.

Seismologists have said that Vietnams geographic location near fault lines put it at risk of moderate earthquakes, and that the country should take due precautions.
Several days after a hydropower dam collapsed in southeastern Laos, hundreds of villagers are struggling with its aftermath.

The flash floods unleashed by the collapse of the Xepian-Xe Nam Noy hydropower dam have so far killed 27 people, left 131 missing and more than 3,000 people stranded. These are official figures released till date. The actual toll could be much higher.

Khok Kong Village, around 30 kilometers (18 miles) from the collapsed hydropower dam, lost several houses, rendering hundreds residents homeless. They have been evacuated to a nearby school.

Remote villages in the Attapeu province, the southernmost part of Laos, are still submerged in muddy waters, paralyzing traffic around the area and obstructing rescue efforts.

A little girl walks in the rain with a mat she picked up when water levels receded on Thursday.

Two women take their belongings and move to a shelter. According to Laos officials, the dam collapse had affected the lives of 6,000 people in six villages, with more than 3,000 residents losing their homes.

A couple wade through a street with their children. Many households have to move to safe shelters for fear of heavy rain and disease epidemics.

Soldiers and rescue teams take a break in the afternoon. Weather stations in Laos have predicted heavy rain and gusty winds in the coming days. Therefore, rescue forces are racing against time to look for those still missing.

Thousands of residents have been evacuated to schools in the downtown district to flee away. Each room is able to accommodate around 50 to 60 people and the affected residents are living together in the big family.

The affected residents have been given relief packages, including clothes and noodles.

At night, while some kids and adults sleep, others stay awake in the corridor.

A medical team from the University Medical Center of the Hoang Anh Gia Lai (HAGL) group rushed to the site to provide medical care for victims. The unhygienic living conditions increase the risk of epidemics breaking out, said Nguyen Thanh Cong (1st, L), deputy director of the center and head of the rescue team.

As of Thursday, there has been no report of Vietnamese casualties and no Vietnamese is listed among the missing people. 15 Vietnamese families living in the affected area have all been evacuated to safety, and a group of 26 Vietnamese stranded in a plantation in the area were rescued by helicopter on Wednesday.

Vietnams agriculture officials have warned that water levels in the border province of An Giang to rise seven to 10 centimeters this weekend.

The dam is part of a hydropower project being built by the Vientiane-based Xe Pian Xe Namnoy Power Company, or PNPC, a joint venture between Laos, Thailand and South Korea formed in 2012.

Work on the $1.02 billion dam had 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.

Lives thrown into disarray, Lao citizens struggle to cope Laos dam tragedy toll still being counted

Photos taken by Thanh Nguyen from Attapeu province in Laos
Hundreds of Vietnamese army officers, including medics, are assisting Laos in relief efforts following Mondays dam collapse.

Remote villages in the Attapeu province, the southernmost part of Laos, are still submerged in muddy waters, paralyzing traffic around the area and obstructing rescue efforts. Photo by VnExpress/Thanh Nguyen

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc has instructed the country's disaster relief committee and the defense ministry to assist Laos in dealing with the aftermath of the disaster.

Acting on the PMs instructions, the Ministry of National Defense directed Military Region 5 to assemble a group of over 100 officers with nine cars, VND450 million ($19,500) in relief goods like food and bottled water, as well as enough medicines and equipment to provide medical treatment for 500 people.

Upon arriving in Laos, army medics on Friday provided medical support for 200 people living in the affected area while Military Region 5's officers joined their Lao peers in searching for missing people and directing traffic.

The National Committee for Disaster Response and Search and Rescue has requested 150 tents from the National Reserve to be sent to Attapeu Province to aid disaster victims.

The Central Highlands-based 3rd Corps has donated LAK10 million ($1,186) to Laos's Attapeu Province, while authorities in the Central Highlands' Kon Tum Province have given VND550 million in cash and VND200 million in relief goods to Attapeu Province.

According to official reports, flooding triggered by the collapse of a partially-constructed hydropower dam in Laos's southeastern Attapeu Province on Monday night have so far killed 27 people, left 131 missing and more than 3,000 people stranded.

The collapsed dam is part of a hydropower project being built by the Vientiane-based Xe Pian Xe Namnoy Power Company, or PNPC, a joint venture between Laos, Thailand and South Korea formed in 2012.

Work on the $1.02 billion dam had 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.
What the rat race has done to the Rats Wedding

Dong Ho painting, a uniquely Vietnamese art that carries the nations traditional values, is hanging on to existence by a paper-thin margin.
When paddy fields cast a golden glow in northern Vietnam

As harvest season nears, Bac Son in Lang Son Province weaves a colorful tapestry that is not to be missed.

Bac Son Town nestles in the heart of a valley formed by large limestone mountains. It is an arresting sight at any time of the year, but adds spectacularly to its charms during the harvest season. 160 kilometers north of Hanoi, the place is also blessed with climatic conditions that allow farmers to cultivate two rice crops a year and these are harvested in July and November. The valley becomes a yellow vastness with hints of green and other tints as July approaches. Since all fields are not harvested at the same time, other colors like green and rusty brown and black weave themselves into the yellow tapestry. Needless to say, a two-day trip to Bac Son at this time would be an unforgettable experience.

In the Bac Son valley, the fields do not ripen simultaneously; some are harvested and burned earlier than others. Photos by Huong Chi, Hachi8.

Heres a guide for the 2-day trip to Bac Son: Transportation Buses to Lang Son Province leave frequently from the My Dinh, Gia Lam, Nuoc Ngam, Giap Bat bus stations in Hanoi. Ticket prices range from VND100,000  200,000 ($4-9). From the Lang Son bus station, take a taxi to Bac Son valley for VND500,000 ($20). Of course, there are trekkers and photographers who drive their motorbikes or cars all the way from Hanoi via Nhat Tan bridge  Highway 3  Thai Nguyen, turning right at Highway 1B and driving for another 75 kilometers more to reach the destination. Accommodation You can look for hostels or homestays near the foot of the Na Lay mountain, in Quynh Son village for VND90,000  200,000 ($3-8) per night. To save time moving down the mountain, you can camp overnight on top of the mountain. Remember to bring tents, canvas, food, blankets, flashlights, lighters, etc.

Mobile broadcasting station at the top of Na Lay Mountain in Bac Son. Photo by Thuan Bui

Travel schedule Since Bac Son is not too far from Hanoi, a two-day-one-night tour fits a weekend nicely. Day 1: Visit Quynh Son Village on the way to Bac Son, climbing the Na Lay Mountain for sunset and night sky views. Day 2: Enjoy dawn on Na Lay, swim in the Dang Mo waterfall before returning to Hanoi. Note  Take a thin jacket along for temperatures may drop early in the morning and at night.  You should wear good climbing shoes.  Mosquito repellents, insect repellants and sunscreens will be really useful.  You can take some fast food, snacks or lightweight cooking utensils to cook along the way.  If you are driving a motorbike to Bac Son, take a basic motorcycle repair kit, motor patch, spare tire, mini pump, etc.

Quynh Son Village has homogeneous architectural features with hundreds of rooftops facing the south. Photo by Hachi8

Day 1

Traveling to Bac Son from Hanoi takes 3.5  4 hours. If you depart early in the morning, you can arrive at Bac Son at noon, after having lunch on the way and visiting Quynh Son Village. There are many local specialties to enjoy, like black rice cake, wormwood cake, purple sticky rice and stream fish. Quynh Son Village has become a cultural tourism destination since 2010. It can accommodate hundreds of visitors. The village, with hundreds of stilted roofs facing the south, spacious living spaces and natural harmony developed by the Tay ethnic minority is something that has to be seen and experienced.

Twilight in Bac Son as the lights come on and smoke rises from kitchens. Photo by Hachi8

After a walk in Quynh Son Village, you may take on something more adventurous by climbing the Na Lay Mount at 600 meter altitude. This is the perfect place to capture the magnificient yellow seasons of rice fields. The steep trekking route mixed with stone steps and earthy hang may seemingly discourage climbers, but it is only a 30 to 60 minute climb.

The Na Lay Peak has a mobile broadcasting station which creates a flat space for people to comfortably get a panoramic view of the Bac Son Valley with its rice fields. If you want to camp there, get permission from the station staff first. Overnight camping, eating food that you cook yourself with friends and spending time together under a starry sky in a special treat that Bac Son offers.

Na Lay Peak is often surrounded with clouds to create a heavenly scene. Photo by Thuan Bui
The total lunar eclipse was witnessed across Vietnam, but inclement weather spoilt the clarity in many provinces and cities.

A partial lunar eclipse at 1:30 a.m. on Saturday seen from the southern province of Tra Vinh, when only a portion of the noon enters Earth's umbra. Moongazers from around the country stayed up all night to see the total lunar eclipse, the longest of the 21st century. However, only some central provinces like Binh Dinh and southern provinces like Tra Vinh and Binh Duong could watch the entire phenomenon. Rain played spoilsport in other areas. Photo by Nhat Vinh

The moon turns red as the event gets underway. Photo by Nhat Vinh

A blood moon reached its bloodiest at 3:21 a.m. as the moon got closest to the center of the shadow. Photo by Nhat Minh

Several astronomy enthusiasts in Binh Dinh Province were able to observe the event in full. Photo by Thanh Huy

In some northern provinces including Dien Bien, images of the lunar eclipse were not as striking as expected due to rainy and cloudy weather. Photo by Thanh Huy

An astronomy club in the central city of Da Nang rushed to a site in the neighboring Quang Nam Province to watch the blood moon. However, it suddenly rained at 1:30 a.m., and dark clouds covered the lunar eclipse, obstructing many observers. Photo by Tan Phuong

A group of 20 members of the club set up a telescope for the not-to-be-missed event of the year. The eclipse lasted five hours, from 0:14 a.m. to 6:28 a.m., with the total eclipse extending from 2:30 a.m. to 4:13 a.m. in Vietnam. Photo by Tan Phuong

This was the second lunar total eclipse of the year. The first happened on January 31, when the Earth witnessed the first blue moon total lunar eclipse in over a century.

Those who missed the opportunity on Saturday will have to wait until May 2021 to see another lunar eclipse.
A soldier carries a casket containing the remains of a U.S. soldier who was killed in the Korean War during a ceremony at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, July 27, 2018. Photo by Reuters/Kim Hong-Ji/Pool

North Korea on Friday handed over 55 boxes carrying remains thought to be of U.S. soldiers killed in the 1950-53 Korean War.

The handover of the boxes, draped in the blue and white flag of the United Nations, represents a modest diplomatic triumph for U.S. President Donald Trump from his June 12 summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore that was aimed primarily at persuading North Korea to give up a nuclear weapons program that threatens the United States.

I want to thank Chairman Kim for keeping his word, Trump said at a White House event, at which he hailed great fallen heroes from America.

We have many others coming. But I want to thank Chairman Kim in front of the media for fulfilling a promise that he made to me. And Im sure that he will continue to fulfill that promise as they search and search and search, Trump said.

The transfer of the remains coincided with the 65th anniversary of the 1953 armistice that ended fighting between North Korean and Chinese forces and South Korean and U.S.-led forces under the U.N. Command. The two sides remain technically at war because a peace treaty was never signed.

More than 7,700 U.S. troops remain unaccounted for from the Korea War. About 5,300 were lost in what is now North Korea.

The pledge to transfer war remains was seen as a goodwill gesture by Kim at the summit. While it has taken longer than some U.S. officials had hoped, the handover will rekindle hopes for progress in nuclear talks, which so far has appeared scant.

Kim committed in a broad summit statement to work toward denuclearization but Pyongyang has offered no details, raising doubts about whether he is willing to give up his weapons unilaterally, as Washington has demanded.

In a statement on the remains handover, the White House said it was encouraged by North Koreas actions and the momentum for positive change. South Korea called it meaningful progress that could contribute to fostering trust between Pyongyang and Washington.

A U.S. military transport plane flew the remains from North Koreas northeastern city of Wonsan to Osan air base in South Korea.

At Osan, soldiers in dress uniforms with white gloves slowly carried the 55 cases to waiting vans.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters the remains would be reviewed initially in Korea before being flown to Hawaii for forensic identification.

While there was no indication of anything amiss, he said, it was still not known who was in the boxes.

You noticed there was a U.N. blue flag on each of the boxes. Many of the U.N. nations with us also have missing, he said.

As we discover it, theyll be returned and they could go to Australia; they have missing. France has missing. America has  theres a whole lot of us, he said.

We have families when they got the telegram have never had closure. Theyve never gone out and had the body returned. What were seeing here is an opportunity to give those families closure, to make certain that we continue to look for those remaining.

Joint searches

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on July 15 that Washington and Pyongyang had agreed to recommence field operations in North Korea to search for the thousands of Americans who never returned home from North Korea.

Mattis said the U.S. military was absolutely considering the possibility of sending personnel to North Korea for this purpose. He told reporters Fridays handover set a positive tone for broader diplomatic negotiations.

The United States and North Korea conducted joint searches from 1996 until 2005, when Washington halted the operations, citing concerns about the safety of its personnel as Pyongyang stepped up its nuclear program.

More than 400 caskets of remains found in North Korea were returned to the United States between the 1990s and 2005, with the bodies of some 330 other Americans also accounted for, according to the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency.

The program helped bring in vital hard currency to North Korea, which has been under U.S.-led sanctions for decades. However, reviving it could complicate U.S. efforts to persuade countries around the world to maintain economic pressure on Pyongyang.

Pyongyang has renewed calls for a declaration of the end of the Korean War, calling it the first process for peace and an important way Washington can add heft to security guarantees it has pledged in return for North Korea giving up its nuclear weapons.

The U.S. State Department says Washington is committed to building a peace mechanism to replace the armistice when North Korea has denuclearized.

Pompeo said on Wednesday North Korea was continuing to produce fuel for nuclear bombs despite its pledge to denuclearize, even as he argued that the United States was making progress in talks with Pyongyang.

Pompeo said North Korea had begun to dismantle a missile test site, something Kim also promised in Singapore, and called it a good thing, steps forward.

However, he said North Korea needed to follow through on its summit commitments to denuclearize and stressed the need to maintain sanctions until it did so.
Turkish and Ukrainian officials have agreed that the next step of the talks will involve a visit by Turkish delegation to Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, to inspect the Antonov production line.

Turkish and Ukrainian aerospace and procurement officials made "notable progress" in negotiations for the co-production of the Antonov An-188 military cargo aircraft, an advanced version of Ukraine's An-178, Turkish officials said.

"This is a complex program for which both sides are keen," said one Turkish aerospace official. "We are positively discussing several aspects of an optimal modality for co-production," Defense News reported.

Parties involved in negotiations include Turkey's defense procurement office, SSB in its new acronym, Tusas Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), Antonov and Ukraine's umbrella defense entity Ukroboronprom.

Read alsoUkraine plane maker turns West with Boeing tie-up  Reuters

Turkish and Ukrainian officials have agreed that the next step of the talks will involve a visit by Turkish delegation to Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, to inspect the Antonov production line.

Antonov, maker of the An-188 and part of Ukroboronprom, showcased the short take-off and landing aircraft for the first time at the EurAsia Show 2018 aerospace exhibition in Antalya, Turkey, April 25-28.

For any co-production deal to go ahead the aircraft must be brought to full compliance with NATO standards, Turkish officials said.

A TAI official said that discussions focused on what each country's industries would take up, work share, technology transfer and know-how, licensing and exports to third countries.

The An-188-100 will be equipped with four D-436-148FM three-shaft high by-pass turbofan engines developed by the Ukrainian company Ivchenko-Progress. The variant with four AI-28 new-generation engines also developed by the Ivchenko-Progress will be called the An-188-110. An-188-120 will be equipped with four LEAP high-bypass turbofan aircraft engines made by CFM International (CFMI).

All new aircraft of the An-188 family would be capable of basing on different airfields, including air strips, and landing on short runways of only 600-800 m in length.

The aircraft will have an advanced glass cockpit with the newest flight navigation and communication equipment. The An-188 features a flight distance of up to 7,700 km, a cruising altitude of up to 12,100 m, and a speed of up to 800 km/h depending on aircraft and engine type and variant.
The pension fund for the first time in many years failed to ensure the timely payment of pensions, the government once again refused to raise gas prices for the households, while a long-awaited start was given to privatization of smaller-scale state companies - these are the main economic news of the outgoing week.

This week, Ukrainians unexpectedly encountered delays in the payment of pensions for July. On average, this month the delays were from three to four days only but they immediately provoked unrest in most socially sensitive part of society, creating negative associations with the 1990s, when social payment delays were traditional and extensive. The July situation also sparked rumors of significant problems with state finances. The anxiety was somewhat fueled as a result of late reaction on the part of authorities: only after a few days after the issue emerged did the authorities manage to come up with a clear public explanation.

Only late Wednesday did the Pension Fund publish on its website an appeal to Ukrainians, stating that the delay was due to cash gaps in the receipts from single social contribution. At the same time, the Fund assured that the payment of pensions in July will be covered in full.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman also delivered a response. At the meeting attended by top officials of the Pension Fund, State Treasury, Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Social Policy, the head of government ordered an official investigation into the activities of the PF head, as well as its heads of its regional offices.

According to Groysman, top managers of the Pension Fund are personally responsible for the delays that arose with the payment of pensions.

He drew attention to the fact that the state, for its part, provides all budget transfers to the Pension Fund on time.

"The central budget has no debt before the PFU. We're fully funding it. We're taking all measures to prevent the situation from repeating. Pensioners should receive respect and protection," Groysman said.

The finance ministry confirmed the PM's words, assuring that all the expenses of the state budget for the payment of pensions for July had been financed on time. At the same time, the Ministry of Finance recalled that the Pension Fund, in accordance with the Budget Code, must request from the State Treasury loans for the payment of pensions to cover temporary cash gaps. At the same time, the ministry did not specify why this time the PF failed to immediately request such a loan.

Pension Fund chief Oleksiy Zarudnyi, apologized and promised to prevent such failures in his future work.

According to the official, the situation with the payment of pensions has normalized, and from August 2 the PF promises to start financing of pensions and their payment - from August 4, in regular mode, in line with the schedule.

According to experts, pension payment delays in July, especially given the pre-election year and the struggle for public support ratings, can indicate systemic problems with the proceeds to the Pension Fund and the inability to overcome in the next five years the PF's UAH 140 billion deficit.

In addition, according to the senior financial analyst of ICU Group, Taras Kotovych, in the previous months there was more money on the single treasury account, so the loan would be taken earlier to be later returned, but in July, the Treasury was accumulating funds for debt repayments and VAT refunds.

"And until they reached the needs of the reserve, they did not give loans to the PFU," the expert believes.

Government's gas maneuvers

In the outgoing week, the government once again chose not to raise the price of gas for the population, retaining it unchanged until September 1. However, earlier they would extend the term for two months, not just one. This may indicate that the Cabinet already has a vision of resolving the issue with pricing of gas for the population, which is one of the key topics of Ukraine's negotiations with its key lender, the International Monetary Fund.

Concerning the IMF, the government notes that the talks are ongoing, emphasizing that the price of gas is too sensitive a topic to be approached exclusively in a mathematical way.

Meanwhile, acting finance minister Oksana Markarova assured that the government is counting on the rapid resumption of IMF funding. In her opinion, negotiations on the terms of the new tranche - budget execution and gas tariffs - are constructive.

"We're doing everything possible on our part to do this quicker. You know, the tranche goes to the NBU reserves and not to the budget, but our other budget financing is dependent on that so we are doing everything possible to do it as quickly as possible. I wouldnt name a date right now but I hope it's going to be soon," Markarova stressed.

This week, the Financial Stability Council, which includes heads of all financial regulators in Ukraine, also recalled of the need to fulfill tasks set by the IMF to continue cooperation with the key lender.

"The Council stressed that the implementation of structural reforms envisaged by the program of cooperation with the IMF is extremely important for macrofinancial stability and access to financing from the IMF and other international partners. This is especially important for maintaining the demand for Ukrainian sovereign bonds amid the global trend of investors' withdrawal from assets of emerging markets, and taking into account the need to make significant payments on external public debt within the next two years," the Council said.

And while negotiations on gas and budget are underway, the government took the important decision to ensure the country's energy independence, on making trnsparent all geological data and starting from September 1 a pilot project for holding e-auctions for the use of subsoil.

According to the Prime Minister, the step will allow Ukraine increasing own gas production and halting gas imports it, which in turn will make it possible to significantly reduce gas prices inside the country.

"As soon as we refuse from imports, we will immediately decisively reduce gas prices and will not be influenced by the international gas price environment. This is our strategic task. It's not about handouts and discounts, but about a systemic final price reduction, which is possible only if we produce gas in volumes necessary for the population and industry," Groysman stressed.

Small-scale privatization launched

The outgoing week saw a long-awaited start of the sale of small-scale state-owned companies that are not among the strategic ones for the Ukrainian economy.

"Our government started this process for the first time. I am interested in making everything open, transparent and competitive. I'm saying this to the whole country. For ages, it was like this: facilities that are not strategic for the economy were maintained to maybe sell them one day and buy something else. We are changing this, breaking the old system and entering the data into ProZorro [e-procurement system]. Now, any entrepreneur will be aware of what's been put on sale, so they will be able to buy the right building or some facility without contacting district or regional authorities," PM Groysman said, commenting on the privatization start.

According to Groysman, effective sales of state assets mean great support for small and medium-sized businesses as they give impetus to the development of economy and communities.

"I see my task in supporting the [ProZorro] team with all tools available, so that we shift the layers of problems that had not been addressed for a decade making the country weaker. Now we have an excellent opportunity. Let the sales start from the first 18 lots. Then there will be thousands of them. Our task is to make the 'future' come as soon as possible," Groysman said.

A list of more than 700 smaller-scale companies (whose value is under UAH 250 mln) put up for was prepared by the State Property Fund. Their privatization, as a rule, will be carried out through the ProZorro system. According to SPF acting head Vitaly Trubarov, now all SOEs that are put for sale in 2018 are being introduced into the system, while first bidding announcements will appear on July 27-31.

In spite of the fact that starting auctions can be held only in early September, since applications from those interested in acquisition will be accepted within 35 days, it is still a positive signal both for the state budget (real funds will be attracted to the treasury) and for the enterprises (they will be acquired by new owners for their further development).

The next week also promises to be rich in economic events - the National Bank will publish preliminary data on budget performance in 1H 2018, the Treasury will report on the balance of funds in its single account, as well as report on the budget filling for July, which will help analyze whether there are systemic problems in public finance and whether the government will have to cut spending to stay in line with the program of cooperation with the IMF.

Ksenia Obukhovskaya

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After many meetings and debates, the Chicago delegation succeeded in working with the New York United Federation of Teachers, Local 2 (UFT) to push the AFT to take stronger stands on charter school accountability and school closings  though many delegates from Chicago would have liked the language to have been even stronger.

Generally speaking, the New York delegation represented organizing charters as the best model for handling their role in reshaping unions, despite the fact that according to many reports few charter schools in New York have been organized as is the case in Chicago. This logic is the same touted by the Progressive Caucus of the AFT. The few that have been organized are a part of the UFT local though they have separate contracts negotiated with the help of UFT. The Chicago delegation reflection the mindset that allowing new charters to continue to proliferate while attempting to organize existing charters is an end game in which public schools and the union lose.



Jen Johnson, CTU, Local 1 in Substance


OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger during his visit to Donbas familiarized himself with the work of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (OSCE SMM) to Ukraine, as well as with the economic, social and security situation.

"On visit to eastern Ukraine, OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger discussed social, economic and security concerns on the ground. He also saw first-hand the everyday work of OSCE SMM teams in the field, including the Patrol Hub in Kramatorsk and the Forward Patrol Base in Svitlodarsk," the OSCE SMM wrote on Twitter on Friday.

The SMM also posted photographs of Greminger's meetings, including with OSCE SMM Chief Monitor Ertugrul Apakan.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko said he sees the Russian Orthodox Church as a threat to Ukraine.

"I guarantee that the authorities will not interfere in purely ecclesiastical affairs. But I declare that they won't allow other states to do so, either. To this end, I believe it is absolutely necessary to cut off all tentacles with which the aggressor country operates inside our state organism," Poroshenko said at ceremonies celebrating the 1030th anniversary of the Christianization of Kyivan Rus-Ukraine in Kyiv on Saturday.

The church in Russia "is separated from the state only on paper," but in reality, it "fully and unconditionally" supports "the Kremlin's imperial policy," he said.

"Moreover, the very doctrine of the 'Russian world' was born in the luxurious cells of the Russian Orthodox Church," Poroshenko said.

This situation is "a direct threat to Ukraine's national security," which "obliges us to act," he said.

"The tomos of autocephaly will complete the establishment of Ukraine's independence and self-rule, will strengthen religious freedom and inter-faith peace. It will strengthen the people's rights and freedoms," he said

Millions of Ukrainians expect the soonest possible recognition of an autocephalous Orthodox church in Ukraine and are prepared for this, he said.

Autocephaly is a factor of Ukrainian independence and national security, Poroshenko said.
One soldier killed in 34 attacks on Ukrainian positions over past day

Militants have violated the ceasefire in Donbas 34 times over the past 24 hours, killing one serviceman of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the press center of the headquarters of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) has said.

"The enemy opened fire on the positions of our troops 34 times, including twice from heavy weapons [...] One Joint Forces serviceman was killed during the fighting over the past day," the JFO HQ said in a report posed on its Facebook page on Saturday morning.

According to the report, militants fired from grenade launchers, heavy machineguns and small arms on the defenders of Krymske, Zhovte, Novotoshkivske, Zolote, Mayorsk, Maryinka, Avdiyivka, Novomykhailivka, Krasnohorivka, Lebedynsker, Hnutove, Shyrokyne, Pavlopil and Vodiane.

"At the same time, invaders used 120mm and 82mm mortars near Lebedynske and 82mm mortars near Vodiane," reads the report.

During the current day militants opened fire four times on the positions of Ukrainian defenders near Krymske, Svitlodarsk, Lebedynske and Shyrokyne.

According to Ukrainian intelligence, two militants were killed and five more were injured over the past day.
Germany has called on Russia to provide medical assistance to imprisoned Ukrainian film director Oleh Sentsov without delay, according to a statement made by Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the German Federal Foreign Office Barbel Kofler.

"The fact that the European Court of Human Rights called on Russia to immediately provide the necessary medical care to Oleh Sentsov underscores widespread concern for his health. It has intensified again since the start of his hunger strike in May," reads a statement posted on the website of the German Federal Foreign Office on Friday, July 27.

Kofler expressed hope that the Russian government will make a decision and urgently ensure Sentsov's full access to medical care.

"I sincerely hope that the Russian government will take the decision into account and urgently ensure full access to medical care. I also hope for the speedy release of Mr. Sentsov and his fellow inmate, Mr. Kolchenko," he said.

As reported, Kolchenko and Sentsov were detained by Russian special services in Crimea in May 2014. They were accused of organizing terrorist attacks on the peninsula. In the summer of 2015, Kolchenko was sentenced to ten years in a high-security colony and Sentsov was jailed for 20 years. Both of them deny their guilt.

In late May 2018, Kolchenko went on a hunger strike, demanding the release of Sentsov. After a while he was forced to stop such a protest because of weakness. Sentsov, in turn, declared a hunger strike on May 14, demanding the release of all 64 Ukrainian political prisoners held in Russia.
The White House supports the draft U.S. defense budget for 2019, which foresees the provision of $250 million in security assistance to Ukraine, White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders has said.

"White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders expressed support for a consolidated draft U.S. defense budget, which was adopted on Thursday by the House of Representatives of the Congress by an absolute majority of 359 to 54," reads a report posted on the website of the Ukrainian service of the Voice of America on Friday, July 27.

In general, the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019 envisages $717 billion.

"The draft already has support in the Senate, according to Politico, and can be backed by senators as early as next week. Then the document will be submitted to President Donald Trump for signature," the Voice of America reports.

It notes that the document includes clauses on the extension of cooperation with Ukraine in the issue of cybersecurity, which provides for assistance to Kyiv in strengthening its own capabilities to protect against cyberattacks.

The section on "enhancing deterrence against Russian aggression in Europe" mentions the strengthening of the security policy in helping Ukraine and supporting defense sector reforms.

"The draft budget for 2019 proposes to 'develop and implement a comprehensive security cooperation strategy that rationalizes and prioritizes support for allies and partners in Europe, including Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Moldova, and Georgia' and 'explore increasing the frequency, scale, and scope of NATO and other multilateral exercises in the Black Sea with the participation of Ukraine and Georgia'," the report says.

As reported, on July 23, the U.S. Congress recommended extending financial assistance to Ukraine for defense needs in the fiscal year 2019.

According to a report on the defense budget for next year, which was published on July 24, the Congress recommended providing $250 million in security assistance to Ukraine.

On July 27, the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress adopted the draft defense budget, which foresees $250 million in security assistance to Ukraine.
OSCE Secretary General Thomas Greminger during his visit to Donbas discussed the expediency of the functioning of the Zolote checkpoint in order to facilitate the work of other checkpoints on the contact line, Ukraine's State Border Guard Service has said.

According to a report published by the border agency on Saturday, Greminger on Friday visited the Mayorsk checkpoint, where he got acquainted with control operations for persons crossing the contact line in Donbas, and also spoke with citizens.

The head of the Donetsk-Luhansk regional directorate of the State Border Guard Service, Volodymyr Bondar, who accompanied the OSCE delegation, noted that all checkpoints in Donetsk and Luhansk regions were operating as normal.

"The expediency of the functioning of the Zolote checkpoint, which would significantly relieve the existing control points on the contact line, was also noted," the report says.
Servicemen of the National Guard of Ukraine have detained in the area of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) in Donbas eight individuals suspected of cooperating with the so-called Donetsk People's Republic (DPR).

"The citizens were detained by a group of servicemen of the National Guard at mobile and stationary checkpoints near the city of Mariupol and the village of Blahodatne in Donetsk region. The reason for the detention was information from the database of the National Police, according to which these persons are suspected of collaborating with illegal armed formations of the so-called DPR," reads a report posted on the Facebook page of the JFO HQ on Saturday.

The detainees were handed over to employees of the National Police on suspicion of committing a crime envisaged by Article 260 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (the creation of paramilitary or armed groups not provided by law).
Up to 150,000 believers take part in UOC-KP procession in Kyiv

From 65,000 to 150,000 believers have participated in a religious procession of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP) dedicated to the 1030th anniversary of the Christianization of Kyivan Rus-Ukraine.

"About 65,000 people participated in the march as of 13.00. The situation is calm and controlled," First Deputy Interior Minister Serhiy Yarovy said the Interior Ministry's page on Facebook on Saturday.

According to him, bomb disposal experts and dog handlers checked the route along which the column of pilgrims moved in order to prevent terror attacks and provocations.

The safety of citizens was ensured by the police, the National Guard and the State Emergency Service.

The head of the information department of the UOC-KP, Archbishop Yevstratiy (Zoria), said that up to 150,000 parishioners had taken part in the events.

"'The biggest religious procession in Ukraine's history'  this is what Patriarch Filaret said in his speech after a prayer service on Saint Volodymyr Hill. According to various estimates, from 65,000 to 150,000 believers or more gathered in the center of Kyiv for a prayer service," Yevstratiy (Zoria) wrote on his Facebook page after the religious procession.

He noted that prior to this day "only the Maidan during the Revolution of Dignity brought together so many patriotic citizens who pray for the victory of truth and peace in Ukraine."
By RFE/RL

The United States is not after regime change in Iran, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said.

Asked whether the U.S.administration had created a regime change or collapse policy, Mattis said on July 27 "There's none that's been instituted."

He said the goal of the United States was to change Irans behavior, as stated by other U.S. officials.

"We need them to change their behavior on a number of threats that they can pose with their military, with their secret services, with their surrogates and with their proxies," Mattis said during an off-camera briefing at the Pentagon.

Mattis' remarks came following high-level discussions at the White House that included the issue of Iran.

They came amid increased tensions and exchange of threats between Washington and Tehran, including a July 22 all-capital-letters post on Twitter by Trump in which the U.S. president warned Iran not to "threaten the United States again or you will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before."

Trump's tweet came following comments by Irans President Hassan Rohani who said: "America should know peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars."

In May, Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and announced that the United States is moving to reimpose tough sanctions.

The move was harshly criticized by Iran.

With reporting by Reuters
Militants have attacked a midwife training center in the city of Jalalabad in eastern Afghanistan, officials said.

A number of explosions have been reported and gunshots could be heard in the area of a dormitory for trainee midwives, reports said.

RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan quoted witnesses as saying that a suicide bombing had taken place in the area.

Attaullah Khogyani, the provincial government spokesman, said some of the students had been evacuated from the building. Others were still trapped in the building, reports said.

He said the explosion was reported in the third police district of Jalalabad in the eastern province of Nangarhar.

Khogyani said three wounded civilians have been taken to hospital.

"The Afghan security forces have cordoned off the area and [have] launched an operation to gun down the attackers," he added.

Provincial health department spokesman Inamullah Miakhil confirmed its midwife center had been attacked.

No one claimed responsibility for the attack.

Both the Taliban and the Islamic State (IS) extremist group have carried out numerous attacks in Nangarhar Province.

The last major attack in Jalalabad happened on July 11 when gunmen attacked an education department compound in the city, killing at least 11 people.

Based on reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan, Reuters, AFP and Tolonews
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 28

Trend:

Over the past 24 hours, Armenias armed forces have 104 times violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said July 28.

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 28

Trend:

Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev has sent a congratulatory letter to King of Morocco Mohammed VI.

"Dear brother,

On behalf of the people of Azerbaijan and on my own behalf, I extend my sincerest congratulations to you and through you to all the people of your country on the occasion of the national holiday of the Kingdom of Morocco, the Day of Throne.

I believe that we will continue our joint efforts to comprehensively develop and strengthen Azerbaijan-Morocco bilateral relations and deepen our bilateral cooperation in accordance with the best interests of our peoples.

On this joyous day, I wish you the best of health and happiness, and the brotherly people of Morocco everlasting peace and prosperity", Ilham Aliyev said in his letter.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 28

Trend:

The "Tank Biathlon" contest started within the framework of the "International Army Games-2018" competitions on July 28, the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry said.

On the first day of the contest, Azerbaijani tankmen competed with tank crews from Zimbabwe, India and the South African Republic, which are part of the same group.

According to the terms of the contest, the Azerbaijani tank crew, having destroyed the hypothetical targets with accurate fire, overcame the distance established by the route for a short period.

Thus, on the first day of the competition our tank crews, being considerably ahead of the rivals on points, became the first in their group.

It should be noted that this year tank crews from 23 countries take part in the "Tank Biathlon" contest.
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 28

By Ali Mustafayev - Trend:

The Viking train route, the participants of which include Lithuania, Belarus and Ukraine, can be connected to the Transport Corridor Europe Caucasus Asia (TRACECA), and this will positively affect the increase in the volume of freight transportation across Azerbaijan, TRACECA National Secretary in Azerbaijan Akif Mustafayev told Trend.

We are working on the integration of several international routes to TRACECA, including Viking train route, Mustafayev said. We fully support the joining of the Viking route to TRACECA via the Black Sea.

He also noted that the flow of goods transported via the Viking route through the Azerbaijani segment of TRACECA is still hard to be implemented, due to the need for multimodal transportation for this purpose and the use of several modes of transport.

However, the integration of Viking route to TRACECA in Northern Europe can increase cargo turnover through the Azerbaijan segment of the corridor, Mustafayev said.

Azerbaijan joined the Viking project in 2016. The operator on the Azerbaijani side is Karvan Logistics.

However, the Lithuanian Railways noted that no supplies from and to Azerbaijan have been implemented within the project.

The Viking train began to run in 2003. Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania and Latvia are participants of the project. Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey joined the project later. The total length of its Ilyichevsk (Ukraine)-Minsk (Belarus)-Draugiste (Lithuania) route is 1,766 kilometers.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @Ali_Mustafayev_
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 28

By Fikret Dolukhanov  Trend:

Uzbekistan and Russia may hold the first inter-regional forum in October 2018, Uzbek media reported.

The talks were held on July 27 by Foreign Trade Minister of Uzbekistan Jamshid Khodjaev and the adviser-envoy, charge d'affaires of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the Republic of Uzbekistan Vadim Mitrofanov.

Today's meeting is very timely, and such a large event requires careful preparation, the first Uzbek-Russian interregional forum will serve as an impetus for a significant intensification of cooperation between business circles of the two countries, Mitrofanov underlined.

The parties expressed interest in development of direct cooperation between the regions of the two states in business, transport and development of cooperation ties.

In 2017, within the framework of the state visit of Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the Russian Federation, an intergovernmental agreement was signed to promote interregional cooperation.

Over the past year and a half, delegations from several regions of Uzbekistan visited the Russian Federation: the delegations of the Tashkent region to the Leningrad Region and St. Petersburg, the Andijan Region to the Novosibirsk Region and Krasnoyarsk, the Namangan Region to the Sverdlovsk and Chelyabinsk Regions, the Samarkand Region to the Republic of Tatarstan and the Republic of Bashkortostan.

Also, last year visits were made to Uzbekistan by delegations from the Republic of Tatarstan, Chelyabinsk and Smolensk regions, St. Petersburg and the Chechen Republic. Since early 2018, representatives of the Moscow city, the administration of the Novosibirsk, Orenburg, and Sverdlovsk regions have visited in Uzbekistan.

As a result of these visits, a number of interregional agreements were reached to increase trade turnover and strengthen cooperation. In particular, there is an intensive dialogue between the cities of Tashkent and Moscow: a program of cooperation between the capitals of the two countries for 2018-2020 is being drawn up, which envisages cooperation on such concepts as "safe city", "smart city", and development of an electronic platform for the urban environment .

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Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 28

By Fikret Dolukhanov  Trend:

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide Uzbekistan with a $300-million loan to help improve economic governance in the republic, the ADB stated.

The agreement, signed with the government of Uzbekistan, will contribute to ensuring macroeconomic stability and high level of economic growth in the country.

The Economic Management Improvement Program was approved by ADB's Board of Directors on June 26, 2018 and aims to support the government's efforts to ensure financial sustainability, as well as to improve the administration of state-owned enterprises that dominate almost all key sectors of Uzbekistan's economy and ensure their more financially efficient operations.

In addition to the loan, ADB will also provide technical assistance to Uzbekistan in the amount of $1 million to strengthen the government's capacity to implement reforms, in particular, budget mechanisms, public-private partnerships, internal audit, risk-based supervision and capital adequacy assessment, sensitivity of the public expenditure program.

Earlier, ADB approved allocation to Uzbekistan of a $145-million loan to improve water supply and sanitation services in Karakalpakstan in the north-western part of Uzbekistan.

The project will cover about 388,000 residents, half of whom are women and children.

Modernization of water supply and sanitation systems will improve quality of life of people, in particular 178,000 women and children, who will have access to uninterrupted centralized water supply.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov
Baku, Azerbaijan, July 28

By Fikret Dolukhanov  Trend:

In June 2018, Uzbekistan Airways once again became the most punctual air carrier, ranking first among foreign airlines that fly to/from Moscow's Domodedovo airport, the Uzbek company stated.

Uzbekistan Airways is currently operating 36 scheduled flights a week from the cities of Uzbekistan to the Domodedovo airport, including 16 flights a week from Tashkent. In the autumn-winter period, the national air carrier plans to increase the frequency of flights from the capital to Moscow to 21 flights a week.

The Uzbek air carrier is planning to transport over 3 million passengers in 2018 thanks to the active advertising company, reducing a number of tariffs and expanding the geography of flights, especially in the CIS countries.

In addition, Uzbekistan Airways plans to equip its entire aircraft fleet with Wi-Fi. The work on the aircraft retrofitting will be carried out on the basis of Uzbekistan Airways Technics.

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Follow the author on Twitter: @FDolukhanov
The Green Economy strategy presented to public by the Prime Minister of Georgia yesterday evening focuses on environmental protection to improve the ecology across the country and save natural resources for the next generations, Agenda reports.

The government has two priorities in this strategy: neutralise the results of previously careless environmental management and preserve existing natural resources in a way to ensure that Georgia is perceived as a country with a green economy.

"I would say this is a new way of life which means we are taking care of the environment and share responsibilities while receiving fresh air, water and quality food instead, PM Bakhtadze said adding the government is going to step by step tighten the environmental regulations to become closer to EU standards.

Improving the quality of atmospheric air is one of the top priorities.

The government of Georgia has already approved the atmospheric air standard, which will enter into force starting from August 1, 2018, allowing state bodies to measure the quality of the air in accordance with European standards. The evaluation system will be based on an already developed automatic monitoring network which is going to be widened.

At the same time a special web-portal will be launched where citizens will be able to get information about air quality in certain locations online.

Another initiative by PM Bakhtadze is to appoint an environmental ombudsman and sustainable transport policy aiming to replace the faulty and deprecated public transport infrastructure.

Moreover, tighter regulations will be applied to petrol and diesel fuels in terms of measuring the contamination rate.

"As you know, diesel consumption is quite high in Georgia. Our proposal is to move to "Euro 4" from 1st of October and to "Euro 5" from 2020 meaning the sulfur content will be reduced 10 times in the fuel imported to Georgia, PM said.

As for car imports, the government plans to introduce a taxation preference system for eco-friendly transport. For cars with large engines (more than 3,5 liters) accounting for almost 10 percent of the total number of transport vehicles in Georgia, taxes will be increased to stimulate the purchase of hybrid and electric cars.
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Saturday that European parliament elections next year could bring about a shift toward illiberal Christian democracy in the European Union that would end the era of multiculturalism.

The right-wing nationalist Orban, re-elected in April to a third consecutive term, has spearheaded eastern European resistance to EU moves to have member states accept asylum seekers and migrants under a quota system.

Along with Polands nationalist government, he has been in constant conflict with the European Commission, the EUs executive, over what Brussels calls an erosion of democratic institutions in formerly communist east European countries.

In an annual speech to ethnic Hungarians in Baile Tusnad in neighboring Romania, Orban portrayed the 2019 European parliamentary vote as decisive for the future of Europe.

He said the Western political elite of the EU had failed to protect the bloc from Muslim immigration and it was time for them to go. The European elite is visibly nervous, Orban told hundreds of cheering supporters.

Their big goal to transform Europe, to ship it into a post-Christian era, and into an era when nations disappear - this process could be undermined in the European elections. And it is our elementary interest to stop this transformation.

Orban said the European parliamentary vote must prove that there was an alternative to liberal democracy, which he said worked in undemocratic ways in Western Europe by being intolerant of alternative views.

Christian democracy is not liberal...It is illiberal, if you like, Orban said.

Unlike liberal democracy, he said, Christian democracy rejects multiculturalism and immigration while being anti-communist and standing for Christian values.

We are facing a big moment: we are saying goodbye not simply to liberal democracy ... but to the 1968 elite, he said, alluding to an international wave of leftist, liberal protest that upended the ruling conservative order in many countries.

On Friday, Orban welcomed the founding of the anti-EU Movement group by Steven Bannon, a far-right former aide to U.S. President Donald Trump, to boost the nationalist, anti-immigrant vote for the European Parliament next year.

Orbans Fidesz party, which firmly leads opinion polls, has also demonized Hungarian-born U.S. billionaire George Soros and the liberal charity groups he supports. Fidesz has pushed through legislation to restrict the activity of civil society groups that it accuses of encouraging illegal migration.

Orban accuses Soros of promoting mass immigration to undermine Europes Christian culture.
The Ministry of Finance has begun pushing for the hiring of Israelis in temporary jobs in multilateral international banks all over the world. This new venture is designed to both enhance Israeli influence on international financial institutions and to expose the Israeli economy to these banks. A first group of six Israelis will begin a year of training next month at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in London and another Israeli will begin training at the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Globes reports.

The initiative came about because of the absence of Israeli involvement in the activity of banks managing $100 billion in investments in infrastructure, health, and cyber ventures, mainly in developing countries. A survey by the Israel Ministry of Finance chief economist published this week found that of 8,000 tenders totaling $14 billion published by the World Bank in 2015, an Israeli company won one tender worth $1 million.

Israeli involvement in international financial institution has also waned with time. At the International Monetary Fund (IMF), where Governor of the Bank of Israel Dr. Karnit Flug and former Ministry of Finance chief economist Michael Sarel once worked, three out of 3,600 employees are Israelis, less than the number of Palestinians.

According to Matan Lev-Ari, who manages the Ministry of Finance's international organizations unit, jobs have become available in EBRD and IDB, two of the four financial institutions of which Israel is a member. The other two institutions, the World Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), have no relevant training programs.

The Ministry of Finance initiated the project and managed the search for candidates and the preliminary selection processes. The main threshold requirement was a degree in subjects, such as economics, water, or economic agriculture, that are relevant to projects in developing countries. The three days of preparation concluded with a meeting with the Israeli president, business groups, and scientists, who talked to them about the advantages that Israel had to offer developing countries in various areas.

"We realized that we want to learn more about the banks' activity and for there to be an Israeli presence enabling these institutions to become better acquainted with what Israel can offer," Lev-Ari said. "What we were unsure about was whether to take two high-level officeholders and get them jobs in the bank or a larger group of young people who have just finished university or have served in a junior position. We chose the second option and devoted thought to selecting jobs in departments at the banks in which the people involved can also influence - those that have the highest interface among the bank's employees."

Candidates selected for the program from the government sector included Shani Breslauer, 33, a banking and finances team leader in the economic department at the Israel Antitrust Authority (who was also selected by "Globes" as one of 40 promising young people for 2017). She will work in the agri-business department. Other interns will be placed in the chief economist business development departments and the policy planning department. EBRD President Sir Suma Chakrabarti, who visited last March, expressed enthusiasm about the idea and asked one of the Israeli interns to work in his office. The person selected for the job is a former economist in the National Economic Council who left that position to be an intern for a promising job at Google. Getting jobs at IDB, on the other hand, was difficult due to the need for someone who speaks Spanish at a mother tongue level; the job was eventually left unfilled.

The job terms are not especially attractive, certainly in comparison with the relocation terms offered by large high-tech firms. Interns with families will have to get along in London, one of the world's most expensive cities, with a monthly salary of 2,000. They can take comfort in the professional guidance they will receive from Yael Mevorach, Israel's permanent representative on the EBRD board of directors, who will be the group's mentor. The bank's main theaters of activity are Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. EBRD is active in agriculture, water, infrastructure, health, and recently also cyber. "You are getting a foot in the door in an international financial institution and experience in investments on a scale almost unknown in Israel," Lev-Ari says.
The skies over Australias northern coastline were filled with air force pilot top guns from 16 nations on Saturday in one of Asia-Pacifics largest air force training exercises, Reuters reported.

The tropical northern city of Darwin is hosting 4,000 personnel and 140 aircraft over the next three weeks as air forces from around the world take part in Exercise Pitch Black.

The training includes night flying and aerial refueling and enables different nations a chance to learn from each other and improve their force integration using one of the largest training airspace areas in the world.

The biennial Pitch Black exercise began in 1990 between Australia and Singapore, and features a range of realistic, simulated threats which can be found in a modern battle-space environment, the Royal Australian Air Force said in a statement on its website.

Activities such as Exercise Pitch Black recognizes the strong relationship Australia has with its participant nations and the high value it places on regional security and fostering closer ties throughout the Asia Pacific region, the Royal Australian Air Force said.

The air forces involved are from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, Philippines, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, New Zealand and Australia.
A Yerevan court today decided that former Armenian deputy defense minister Yuri Khachaturov, charged with usurping state power during the March 1-2, 2008 public protests in Yerevan, can be released from pre-trial detention if he pays AMD 5 million ($10,400) bail.

Khachaturov, who was present in court, again denied the charge.
Militants stormed a midwife training center in Jalalabad's PD3 shortly after 11am Saturday, and hours later clashes were still ongoing, TOLO News reported.

Security forces eventually brought the situation under control more than five hours later.

Attaullah Khogyani, the spokesman for the Nangarhar governor, confirmed the target and said at least two staff members had been killed and five others wounded.

However there were no details on how many militants had been involved nor had any group immediately claimed responsibility.

Suicide attackers entered the building. They martyred the guard at first and then a driver was martyred. They (attackers) were faced resistance by police. We rescued at least 62 people from the attack scene, said Brigadier General Sanaee Stanikzai, the police chief of Nangarhar.

Security forces cordoned off the area soon after the attack was launched and most of the residents in nearby houses fled their homes.

TOLOnews journalist Ziar Yaad who was reporting from the scene said a number of explosions had been heard coming from the scene of the attack and that sporadic gunfire was also heard.

Plumes of black smoke were seen rising from the compound for much of the day.
A bus fell into a deep gorge near Raigad district in India's western state of Maharashtra on Saturday, killing 30 people, Vinod Tawde, a minister in the Maharashtra government said, Sputnik reported.

"30 people, including students of Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, fatally injured after a bus falls down a mountain road on Mumbai-Goa highway near Raigad. Rescue operation underway," Tawde said on Twitter.

The passengers were reportedly heading to the town of Mahabaleshwar for a weekend picnic.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed his condolences over the tragic incident.
The Russian Foreign Ministry hopes that a bilateral meeting between National Security Advisor of the United States John Bolton and Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev will take place by the end of this summer, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said, TASS reports.

"We confirm on our behalf that we are working on the perspective of this meeting and hope that it will take place as soon as possible," Ryabkov told journalists. "I believe that the meeting can take place by the end of this summer."

"The date and the possible venue of the meeting are still subjects for further discussions," the diplomat added.

White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said on Monday that Bolton expected to hold talks with Patrushev and "European allies" in August.

On July 25, Russian Presidential Aide Yury Ushakov announced that members of the national Security Council have been scheduled to meet with the US national security adviser in August.

First Deputy Secretary of the Russian Security Council Yury Averyanov met for talks with Bolton in Moscow on June 27. Both parties discussed prospects for security cooperation between Russia and the United States.
The U.S. Justice Department on Friday said that Switzerlands Mirelis Holding S.A., a financial and asset management firm, will pay $10.25 million to the United States in order to avoid prosecution for tax-related criminal offenses, Reuters reported.

In a statement the Justice Department said the non-prosecution agreement and fine were part of an ongoing U.S. crackdown on citizens using Swiss bank accounts to avoid having to pay taxes.
Police are currently responding to reports of an active shooter at Texas mall, Sputnik reports.

At the same time, the Hidalgo County Constable Precinct's office has warned the locals to avoid the area.

Police haven't provided any further information on the incident, though some eyewitnesses said seeing five men in custody and suggested that the incident was an attempted robbery.
KYODO NEWS - Jul 28, 2018 - 19:42 | All, World

Mongolian Foreign Minister Damdin Tsogtbaatar has expressed his intention to play a role in realizing a summit between Japan and North Korea.

In a recent interview with Kyodo News in the Mongolian capital, Tsogtbaatar said he hopes to help the two countries share some perceptions regarding the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by the secluded state decades ago.

In February, the Japanese government asked the foreign minister of Mongolia, which traditionally maintains friendly ties with Pyongyang, to cooperate in resolving the abduction issue.

Tsogtbaatar also said Mongolia will contribute to nonproliferation of nuclear weapons as well as the peace and stability of the region as a responsible member of the international community.

He called on countries to hold dialogue with North Korea, saying dialogue is the only way to resolve problems.

Diplomatic sources said in March that the Japanese government had conveyed to North Korea its desire to hold summit talks between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Abe wants Kim to resolve the issues of past abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea as well as Pyongyang's nuclear and missile development programs, saying that implementing the Japan-North Korea Pyongyang Declaration signed in 2002 will bring economic benefits to Pyongyang, the sources said at the time.

The declaration calls on the two countries to establish "a fruitful political, economic and cultural relationship" between them through the settlement of "unfortunate past" between Tokyo and Pyongyang and the "outstanding issues of concern."

(Mongolian Foreign Minister Damdin Tsogtbaatar)
KYODO NEWS - Jul 28, 2018 - 22:04 | Arts, All

World-renowned conductor Seiji Ozawa made a comeback Saturday after undergoing surgery for heart valve disease, pleasing his fans who have not seen him conducting for about nine months.

[Photo taken by Michiharu Okubo, supplied by 2018OICMA]

The 82-year-old returned to conducting at a concert in Nagano Prefecture, central Japan, by students of the Ozawa International Chamber Music Academy. His conducting was unannounced, providing a pleasant surprise to the audience of about 300 people.

Ozawa directed the third movement of Beethoven's String Quartet No. 16 in F Major. He sat in a chair prepared on the stage but sometimes stood up during important parts of the performance.

"I was worried about his health, so I was glad to see him looking fine," said Michiko Minami, a 67-year-old housewife from Nara Prefecture.

After conducting last October in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, Ozawa had been replaced in subsequent concerts amid health concerns. He underwent valve disease surgery in April.
KYODO NEWS - Jul 28, 2018 - 17:13 | All, Japan

A large majority of the survivors of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki believe Japan should join a U.N. treaty to ban nuclear weapons, according to a Kyodo News poll, underscoring discontent with the government's opposition to the agreement.

The poll, released on Saturday ahead of the 73rd anniversary of the bombings next month, also showed that more than 60 percent of the survivors do not discuss their experiences due to old age or reluctance to recall the tragedy.

The issue of passing on the memory of the 1945 bombings has become more urgent, with those who witnessed the horrors firsthand declining in numbers.

The world's first nuclear attack on Hiroshima on Aug. 6, 1945, and the atomic bombing of Nagasaki three days later resulted in the deaths of an estimated 214,000 people by the end of that year.

In response to the questionnaire survey sent to about 6,000 survivors nationwide in June, which received valid responses from 1,450 people, 80.8 percent urged the Japanese government to sign the landmark treaty, citing Japan's unique position as the only nation to have suffered atomic bombings.

In July last year, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was approved, with a reference to the "unacceptable suffering" of victims of the atomic bombings. The global accord had the support of 122 countries.

However, it was not backed by any of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- all nuclear powers.

Japan, which relies on U.S. nuclear deterrence for its security, also did not sign it.

One of the respondents, a 76-year-old man, said the government's position "ignores the atomic bomb victims' years of efforts" to rid the world of nuclear weapons.

While 80.2 percent welcomed the treaty, 4.8 percent said otherwise, with many skeptical about its effectiveness given the absence of nuclear weapons states including the United States.

More than seven decades on, 950 survivors, or 65.4 percent, stated they do not discuss the bombings, with a 92-year-old man saying, "I do not want to remember the hell I saw that day, that moment."

Among the 440 survivors who said they do discuss the bombings, a majority expressed concern that their efforts to convey their experience to younger generations could be halted by failing health.

Tensions over North Korea's nuclear weapons program have been easing in the wake of the historic inter-Korean summit in April and 35.4 percent of the respondents said they were hopeful that the goal set at the summit of denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula would be achieved.
Armenias Human Rights Defender (HRD) Arman Tatoyan today visited Robert Kocharyan, the countrys second president, who is being held in pre-trial detention on the charge of usurping state power during the March 1-2, 2008 public protests in Yerevan.

The HRDs office, in a press release, says that Kocharyan voiced no complaints regarding how hes being treated by the staff at the Yerevan-Kentron Correctional Facility.

After conversing with Kocharyan, Tatoyan did raise one or two issues with facility staff regarding the conditions in which the ex-president is being detained.

Photo (from left): Arman Tatoyan, Robert Kocharyan
KYODO NEWS - Jul 28, 2018 - 09:03 | Feature, All

North Korea has established a team to negotiate with Japan, which itself is seeking direct talks to settle many matters, sources familiar with bilateral relations said Friday.

The negotiating team was apparently established sometime between April and the historic U.S.-North Korea summit on June 12, reflecting a move by Pyongyang to explore dialogue with Tokyo in the midst of a rapid change in the geopolitics of the Korean Peninsula.

North Korea judged earlier this year that mending ties with Japan would become a future task if it moves to improve ties with the United States, South Korea, and China, the sources said.

At a plenary meeting in April of the central committee of North Korea's ruling party, the policy of pursuing active dialogue with surrounding countries was adopted, they added.

Tokyo has long sought answers about the abduction of Japanese by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s. Japan officially lists 17 citizens as abduction victims and suspects the North's involvement in many more disappearances.

But no substantial progress has yet been made despite exchanges via the team, according to the sources, and prospects for making progress are clouded by the murky outlook for the ongoing denuclearization talks between the United States and North Korea.

It is not known who heads the negotiating team, but Kim Yong Chol, a close aide to the North Korean leader and vice chairman of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, is among the names being floated.

Japan is exploring the possibility of a summit between Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on the occasion of international gatherings in September, either in the Russian far eastern city of Vladivostok or New York.

After U.S. President Donald Trump met with Kim in Singapore in June, Abe, placing priority on resolving the abduction issue, expressed a willingness to hold direct talks with North Korea.

North Korea's negotiating team is believed to be playing a role in handling Pyongyang's response to Japan.

So far, the North Korean side has conveyed to Japan that it has not abandoned a 2014 bilateral agreement to reinvestigate the whereabouts of abducted Japanese nationals. But the easing of Japan's unilateral sanctions on North Korea is necessary for Pyongyang to agree to resume doing so.

In 2014, the two countries agreed that Pyongyang would reinvestigate the fates of all abduction victims. But North Korea disbanded the panel and effectively abandoned the bilateral agreement in 2016.

For its part, Japan maintains that it is ready to normalize ties and extend economic support if the abduction and other issues of concern are resolved and has relayed its willingness to hold summit talks.

But as matters now stand, North Korea officially takes the view that the abduction issue has been settled, the sources said.
The Kerala team reminded the Tamil Nadu team of the 139.99 ft recommended by the Supreme Court in 2018. 'The situation now is worse than what it was then,' Roshy Augustine said.
The Armenian government has sent a formal request to the CSTO (Collective Security Treaty Organization) head office in Moscow to replace Yuri Khachatryan, a former Armenian deputy defense minister charged with usurping state power in March 2008, as secretary general.

Armenia is a member of the Russia-led security body that was formed in 1992.

Armenian Foreign Ministry Press Spokesman Tigran Balayan confirmed the news to Hetq but gave no details as to the replacement protocol and whether Armenia could nominate its own candidate.

Armenian Prime Minister today called Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko and the two discussed the charge levied against Khachatryan.
AMHERST, Mass. - Astronomer Daniel Wang at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has received a Fulbright Scholar award to make what he calls "an astronomical pilgrimage," to Chile, the "world capital of ground-based astronomical observation" and home to more than half of the world's largest radio and optical telescopes. He plans to collaborate with colleagues there to study the massive black hole and its environment at the center of the Milky Way.

"I am an observational astronomer, and my collaborator at the Institute of Astrophysics at Pontificia Universidad Catolica, professor Jorge Cuadra, is a theorist," Wang explains. "We want to complement each other to reach a better understanding of black hole accretion and how our galaxy's outflow interacts with the galactic center environment, to see better how this system works. Another goal is to develop a stronger, wider collaboration with the Chilean astronomy community."

The Fulbright award will pay for his travel and local support in Chile for the semester from August to December. Wang's visit will also be supported by Cuadra's university after their proposed collaboration was selected in a competition for programs that will strengthen the international academic network. As the host country, Chile provides its astronomers about a 10 percent share of observing time on its telescopes, Wang says, offering a generous and valuable opportunity.

"They have a unique observing opportunity in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile; it's the best in the world," he says. There are five astronomical institutes in Santiago alone. He adds, "I'll have a chance to visit a few of these observatories and institutes, for an unusual extended visit. Usually people go for an observation and then leave, but the Fulbright offers special opportunities for longer research collaboration, mentoring and teaching, guest lecturing, a departmental colloquium and public talks. It potentially means more opportunities for my students in the future, too."

Wang says, "Cuadra is a leading expert on computer simulations, I am primarily an observer. We share a common research interest in the galactic center. One goal of my visit to Chile is to establish a strong, long-term collaboration on high-energy astrophysics education and research and, in particular, on a comprehensive observational and theoretical study of the heart of our galaxy."

The galaxy's center is "full of interesting astronomical objects and phenomena," including the closest known massive black hole, known as Sgr A*, Wang explains. It is surrounded by a population of young massive stars with strong, fast winds and a cusp of old stars accumulated over the history of the galaxy, and by a ring of cold gas, all within a radius no more than a few times the average distance between stars in the galaxy and all strongly interact with each other.

Wang, with a long-standing research interest in the galactic center, led the first large-scale surveys of the region with the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope and more recently with the Large Millimeter Telescope, a joint facility of Mexican institutions with UMass Amherst. The research on Sgr A* started about four years ago during his visit to the Institute of Astronomy at Cambridge University, where he began the collaboration with Cuadra.

"We were both members of an international team working on the 3-megasecond Chandra observation of the 'X-ray visionary project' on Sgr A*," he notes. "Now some of the big questions we'll be asking is how this black hole interacts with the galactic ecosystem, whether these interactions have cycles, how the black hole affects star formation and how much the central region affects the entire galaxy."

Over the past five years, Wang says that their work has demonstrated that joint theoretical and observational studies can effectively provide insights into the working of various complicated physical processes in the center of the galaxy. He says, "I envision that the results of our work will be of broad interest to both the galactic center research community and to those trying to understand the intimate relationships of galactic nuclei with various galaxy-wide properties."

At UMass Amherst, he has developed and taught classes including extragalactic astronomy, stellar astrophysics and high-energy astrophysics at the graduate level, and has mentored many undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

The Fulbright Scholar program, sponsored by the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, was established in 1946 and emphasizes science diplomacy and international research collaborations between American researchers and their colleagues around the world.UM

###
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP)  Like roughly a quarter of Haiti's children, 11-year-old Franchina has spent much of her short life without parents.

Her mother dead, her father in prison, Franchina was placed in a state-run orphanage as a toddler, remaining illiterate year after year and seemingly destined for a hard life in the Western Hemisphere's poorest nation.

But this year, Franchina's fortunes took a hopeful turn.

She has benefited from the newfound resolution of Haiti's government to improve the deplorable status of the country's children, and more specifically from a partnership between the state child welfare agency and several international child-service organizations.

In a country and region with no tradition of formal foster-care systems, they are recruiting and training Haitians who buy into the idea that being a foster parent is a noble mission.

"There's a certain satisfaction to it," said Jeannes Pierre, 61, a Baptist pastor in Port-au-Prince who is now Franchina's foster father. "It's doing something extraordinary."

In her orphanage, Franchina shared a bunkroom with many other children. Now she has a bedroom to herself, small and simple but enlivened by a colorful stack of books. To her delight, her foster parents taught her how to read within weeks of her arrival.

"It's like removing the darkness from the eyes of a child," Pierre said.

The Pierres do not know how long Franchina will be with them. "We want to keep her as long as possible," Pierre said. And Franchina, it seems, would agree.

Asked what she likes best about her new life, at first she was too shy to respond.

Then she confided: "I like everything."

Story continues

___

Many of Haiti's youths live on the streets; hundreds of thousands are domestic workers in other families' homes. Franchina was among the 30,000 or so consigned to orphanage-like institutions ranging in quality from adequate to abominable.

By itself, foster care won't come close to resolving the plight of Haiti's children. Long-term solutions are needed that for now are beyond the government's financial reach  notably, better educational opportunities and social supports so poor families don't feel compelled to place their children in orphanages or domestic servitude in the first place.

But the new program is cited by Haitian and foreign experts as evidence of the government's determination to modernize and strengthen an array of child-oriented policies and practices  and lessen reliance on foreign-based charities and mission groups.

"There's no magic bullet, no one solution," said Marc Vincent, who heads UNICEF's operations in Haiti. "But it's important to recognize the steps the government is taking  it is passionate about making things better."

Some of the changes derive from the island's devastating 2010 earthquake, which fueled a surge of international adoptions, primarily to the United States. Some Haitian children were airlifted to the U.S. even though they were not approved for adoption; an Idaho church group leader was convicted of arranging illegal travel after trying to take other children out of Haiti without government approval.

Such incidents prompted Haitian authorities to sign an international convention setting ethical standards for international adoptions. Regulations were tightened and the number of international adoptions from Haiti fell sharply, from more than 1,300 a year to around 300 or 400.

The child welfare agency  known by its French initials, IBESR  also is trying to beef up oversight of Haiti's roughly 750 orphanages. Most are privately run and financed, operating with little or no government regulation to rein in abuse and neglect.

Thus far, just a few of the orphanages have been shut down, but IBESR officials say about 400 are targeted for closure unless they meet a deadline for swift improvements. Large-scale closures will increase pressure on the government to reunify affected children with their biological parents, and to find foster homes when reunification proves impossible.

"We can't go on placing kids in institutions," said Vanel Benjamin, IBESR's foster-care coordinator. "The answer is family."

UNICEF estimates that 80 to 90 percent of the children in orphanages have one or two living parents. Lumos, the nonprofit founded by Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling, is among several groups seeking to reunite some of those children with their biological families, but the work is slow and the orphanage operators  often recipients of donations from well-meaning foreigners  are not always cooperative.

"They don't want to change," said Eugene Guillaume, the Haiti program manager for Lumos. "Orphanages are their business."

___

Even at competently run orphanages accredited by IBESR, heartbreak is the norm, as Dallye Telemaque Bernard, director of the Nest of Hope home in Port-au-Prince, makes all too clear.

She oversees the care of about 50 children, ranging in ages from 5 months to 13 years. Some are brought in by government social workers, or by police who find them in the streets. But most are dropped off by their impoverished parents.

"Some children come here very sick, from families in very bad economic situations," said Bernard. "Ideally, there should be a program to help the children stay with their own families, but there isn't."

Sections of her orphanage are cheerful, including a courtyard where children take art classes around brightly colored plastic tables. But the upstairs bedrooms, with sets of four or five bunk beds lining the walls, are spartan  including one bedroom set aside for infants.

Bernard said the babies generally arrive from Port-au-Prince's largest shantytown, Cite Soleil, dropped off by heartbroken mothers.

"It's difficult for them," she said. "But they don't have a choice."

Over the years, the goal for most children at the orphanage has been to arrange their adoption by families in Europe or North America. On a bulletin board in the entryway, there are photos of children posing with their adoptive families in France, Canada and elsewhere.

With Haiti now cutting back on such adoptions, Bernard wishes there were ways to reunify more children with their biological families  and she's also intrigued by the new foster-care program.

One recent visitor was a 23-year-old woman from Cite Soleil who had placed her son in the orphanage six years ago, when he was 2. He was adopted by a family in France last year, and the mother, Kenia Tunis, came by to see some photographs of her son sent to Haiti by his new family.

Tunis began to cry as she told her story, glancing at the photographs. Someday, she said, she hoped she might see her son again in person.

Would she have preferred him to be adopted by a Haitian family? She chose not to reply.

___

The foster-care program began three years ago in Port-au-Prince and the southern city of Les Cayes. This month, at a modest resort hotel, about 100 government officials and social-service providers gathered to extend the program into the northern region around the city of Cap Haitien.

"Today is a day of victory," declared Antonio Jean Louis of Children of the Promise, a Christian-oriented mission. "There's now an option besides international adoption."

Among the attendees was IBESR's Vanel Benjamin, who said the program will keep expanding to other regions of Haiti, with a goal of having 200 foster families accredited by the end of this year.

International adoption "should be the last resort," he said. "Foster care is a better alternative."

In the United States, there's a constant struggle to recruit foster parents even though they're generally paid many hundreds of dollars a month. In Haiti, the plan is to build a foster care system exclusively with parents willing to take on the task at their own expense.

One of the groups recruiting and training foster parents is Bethany Christian Services, which for decades has been a leading adoption agency in the United States. Recently, it has helped countries such as Ethiopia and Haiti develop their own foster-care systems.

Bethany's recruiting in Haiti focuses on a network of Protestant churches where pastors extol foster-parenting as a Christian act of love.

"People in the churches have responded positively even if they don't have a lot of financial resources," said Vijonet Demero, head of Bethany's Haiti operations. "For them, it's a calling, not a job."

Jeannes Pierre and his wife Nelia have an adult daughter who recently became a physician. Over the years, they have provided a temporary home to other children on an informal basis. Never had they received the type of formal training that was required to become foster parents.

As the foster-care program took shape, some advocates for children expressed concerns related to Haiti's huge population of child domestic workers. UNICEF estimates that roughly 400,000 children  called "restaveks" by many Haitians  live away from their parents in households where they're expected to perform work on a regular basis in return for lodging and food.

Some of these children are treated well and included in the family life of the home; others suffer various forms of abuse, prompting some advocacy groups to depict such arrangements as "child slavery."

Aspiring foster parents are screened to ensure they're psychologically and economically capable of caring for foster children without exploiting them. Demero said the foster families recruited by Bethany are visited at least every three months  and in some cases every week  by social workers from Bethany or IBESR.

Terre des Hommes, a Swiss-based nonprofit also working on the foster-care program, said the lack of payment to the foster parents complicates recruitment efforts but serves as a deterrent to families who otherwise might sign up for financial gain.

Even in the absence of regular payments, foster families can be provided with emergency funds to meet medical needs or cover the costs of school uniforms and supplies.

Among the earliest batch of new foster parents were Ezekial Isme, 32, and his wife, Guerna, who heard about the program at their Port-au-Prince church, where Vijonet Demero is pastor.

"Our hearts were opened," said Ezekial Isme, who teaches at a church-run school.

Two and a half years ago, when the Ismes took in a girl from a troubled orphanage being closed by the government, they had no children of their own. They now have two sons, 1 and 2 years old, along with Michelene, who's now 10.

According to Isme, Michelene was 3 when her parents gave her to the orphanage. She was the youngest of her family's nine children.

When Michelene arrived in her new foster home, she was very withdrawn and had a bothersome skin disease. With attentive care, she's healthy now, and doing well at school, although still not up to the normal grade level for her age.

The Ismes would be willing to adopt Michelene, but don't know if or when the government would allow that sometimes difficult process to begin.

"She's our girl  she feels at home with us," Isme said. "Our hearts have already adopted her."
Baby jaguars in Mexico.

Scientists are not activists. It goes against their grain and training to make political statements, says Robert Peters, a scientist himself and the senior southwest representative at the conservation nonprofit Defenders of Wildlife. So when 2,700 of them sign a letter opposing the [US-Mexico] border wall, you know the wall is an ecological disaster.

Peters is the lead author of a paper (pdf) that appears today (July 24) in the journal Bioscience documenting the ecological harms of fence and barrier construction along the 2,000 mile US-Mexico border over the past decade, and the further damage that would be incurred by Trump administrations proposed continuous wall. The paper is co-signed by 2,700 scientists from 47 countries. Fences and walls erected along international boundaries in the name of national security have unintended but significant consequences for biodiversity, they write. In fact, according to Defenders of Wildlife senior scientist Jenni Miller, the border barriers threaten the health of 1,5000 species of plants and animals, including 62 endangered or vulnerable species.

National heritage and national security

Debates about the border wall typically focus on immigration, economics and national security, but the harm to Americans natural heritage is an outcome rarely discussed, says Jennie Miller. Do we really want to trade our natural heritage for national security?

Its a rhetorical question, she says: Theres no need to make such a stark tradeoff. We could avoid hurting ecosystems if we simply take care to consider and mitigate impacts to wildlife and their habitats when implementing border infrastructure and operations.

Instead, according to Miller and her colleagues, the US is bypassing environmental laws to build barriers. As a result, they construction undergoes no review processes or ecological assessments, and will end up degrading and fragmenting environments that conservationists and governments have invested a lot of time and money in. Like any large-scale development, construction of the wall and associated infrastructure, such as roads, lights, and operating bases, eliminates or degrades natural vegetation, kills animals directly or through habitat loss, fragments habitats (thereby subdividing populations into smaller, more vulnerable units), reduces habitat connectivity, erodes soils, changes fire regimes, and alters hydrological processes (for example by causing floods), the paper explains.

Story continues

The construction endangers not only plants and animals, but scientists themselves. Both American and Mexican scientists have been harassed, deterred, and detained at gunpoint by Department of Homeland Security agents while going about their business of studying local flora and fauna, Peters explains.

As of 2017, the Department of Homeland Security had constructed more than 650 miles worth of barriers along the border serviced by nearly 5,000 miles of roads, and thousands of miles of undesignated routes created by off-road patrol vehicles. All that action is ecologically harmful, according to the paper. The scientists write, Human activity, light, and noise associated with the wall further displace wildlife, making additional habitat unavailable.

Sunk costs, lost

Consider the example of the Santa Ana National Wildlife Refuge on the Rio Grande, for examplethe last and best remnant of riparian forest in the region. Only three acres of this unique forest, adjacent to a river, still stand where once there were thousands of wooded acres. Its like an environmental museum, Peters says.

Last year, however, the Trump administration wanted to build a wall right through the reservewhich would have not only cut off passage for all migrating animals except some lizards who could scramble over it, Peters explains, but also caused flooding and drown creatures during rains. The wall would have also caused serious harm to the local communitys economy, which relies on the $30 million a year that eco-tourism brings in, he adds. Most notably, the action would have destroyed the last portion of this once-vast riparian forest.

Outcry over the proposal blocked the plan, and the Santa Ana reserve is now technically safe thanks to protestors who convinced their representatives to bar funding for a wall there when they passed a spending bill in March. But the adjacent National Butterfly Center wont be protected.

The same appropriations bill that barred building on the 2,088 acre Santa Ana reserve allocated $1.6 billion to build 33 miles of barriers through the center, a state park, and other tracts of land in the national wildlife refuge system. That will fragment the dwindling wildlife habitat on the border and create around 6,500 acres of no mans land, cutting off human access to nature and trapping wildlife when the Rio Grande floods.

The gray wolf and the jaguar

Nearly a fifth of the border area contains protected lands. Its an ecologically rich terrain with six different climates and a wide array of animals that must traverse the territories. Physical barriers prevent or discourage animals from accessing food, water, mates, and other critical resources by disrupting migration and dispersal routes, the paper states.

For example, continuous walls could constrain endangered Peninsular bighorn sheep, block the reestablishment of already dwindling populations like the Mexican gray wolf and Sonoran pronghorn, cause decreased genetic diversity generally among the 350 species found there, including jaguars and ocelots, and raise extinction risks for all local creatures. Border barriers also affect low-flying species like the endangered Quino checkerspot butterfly and the ferruginous pygmy-owl.

To-do list

We urge the US government to recognize and give high priority to conserving the ecological, economic, political, and cultural value of the US-Mexico borderlands, the letter explains. National security can and must be pursued with an approach that preserves our natural heritage.

Miller says scientists have a responsibility to use their knowledge to help politicians make smart decisions. As for the rest of us, the scientist advises, We can all call our representatives and senators, or write opinion pieces in our local newspaper to share our voicesit all makes a difference! If Congress doesnt know we care about biodiversity, just as much as national security, they will trade it away by extending the wall.

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[This unedited press release is made available courtesy of Gamasutra and its partnership with notable game PR-related resource Games Press.]

Frankfurt, Germany, 27/07/2018 - Deck13 and Parallel Circles are proud to announce that the amazing Flat Heroes will release on Nintendo Switch and PC on 2nd August. With the upcoming release we are also proud to announce that a playable Demo will be released on the Nintendo Switch as well. The playable demo is already available in North America and will release together with the main game in the rest of the world. About Deck13: Founded in 2001, Deck13 Interactive is a leading German game developer and publisher with more than 60 employees across its Frankfurt and Hamburg studios. The company has developed more than 20 titles -- including major releases such as Lords of the Fallen. In 2014, the Deck13 Games label was created to help independent developers bring their projects to wider audiences. Deck13 Games aids developers in production, localization, quality assurance, public relations, and distribution. So far, the company has helped bring more than 10 titles to market. About Parallel Circles: Founded in 2016, after a few years working for the big guys (TTGames) the components of Parallel Circles decided to leave the premier league to start a new adventure on their own, giving their projects the polishing, care and love that the AAA industry can rarely deliver. Media contact: Michael Hoss Mail: [email protected] Twitter: @CrashOberbreit
U.S. and Taliban officials met this week for direct talks aimed at setting up peace negotiations to end 17 years of war in Afghanistan, a Taliban official said.

The meeting, which happened in Qatar on July 23, came amid growing momentum in Washington, Kabul, and elsewhere to find some way to end the violence.

The Taliban official, who asked not to named, told RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal that Taliban representatives met with U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Alice Wells in Doha.

The meeting was very preliminary and the aim was to prepare for future contacts. The atmosphere was very good. Useful exchanges were made, the official said on July 28.

U.S. officials have not commented on the meeting, but The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the talks, quoted a State Department official as saying that the Afghan government was aware of the effort.

Any negotiations over the political future of Afghanistan will be between the Taliban and Afghan government, The Wall Street Journal quoted the official as saying.

Afghans recently enjoyed a brief respite from the persistent violence when the Kabul government and the Taliban declared a three-day cease-fire connected to the holiday ending the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Though fighting has resumed, the respite gave many optimism that the sides could reach some final peace deal.

The United States has bolstered its forces in Afghanistan amid the fighting. There has been an uptick in attacks from other extremist groups, too, like Islamic State militants.

Meanwhile, in the eastern Afghan city of Jalalabad on July 28, militants attacked a midwife training center. RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan quoted witnesses as saying that a suicide bombing had taken place in the area.

It was not immediately clear how casualties there were.
A Gazette investigation shows an increasing number of soldiers, including wounded combat veterans, are being kicked out of the service for misconduct, often with no benefits, as the Army downsizes after a decade of war.
A new Air Force Academy policy shields sexual assault victims from punishment for misconduct charges like underage drinking that could be associated with the attack.

The safe to report policy replaces a previous standard that faced heavy criticism called lighter, later that put off dealing with the misconduct of sexual assault victims until their abuse case was adjudicated. Victims complained that they faced trauma twice  when they were attacked and when commanders punished them for misconduct they were forced to admit when reporting the attack.

Absent of egregious circumstances, they wont be punished for collateral misconduct, the schools commandant of cadets, Brig. Gen. Kristin Goodwin, told the schools Board of Visitors last week.

The board, which reports to the president and Pentagon on academy issues, has focused on sexual assault at the school since last year when the academy shut down its Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office amid a sweeping investigation that found the office was derelict in care of victims.

The offices top manager was fired in the wake of the investigation, and the staff of the office was largely replaced. In February, the Pentagon determined the academy was out of compliance with sexual assault guidelines and the school remains under investigation by the Defense Department Inspector General for the offices problems.

The move to shield victims has had an impact, Goodwin told the board. The academy this month announced sexual assault charges against junior cadet Armis Sunday.

Goodwin said a second female cadet came forward with allegations against Sunday after she was assured that her drinking before the incident wouldnt result in punishment.

The second accuser has filed a report with the Office of Special Investigations in a case that could result in more trouble for Sunday.

Goodwin said the example shows that the academy will have an easier time rooting out sexual assault if victims dont fear reprisals for admitting misconduct.

Were able to get more information and take care of that situation, Goodwin said.

In the February Pentagon report, the academy was the only program found to be operating outside Defense Department guidelines, but for the first time in a decade saw its sexual assault numbers fall below one of its peers. Air Force had 33 reported sexual assaults, with Army tallying 50  nearly doubling its numbers in a year. Navy had 29 reported sexual assaults.

Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria said hes worried about falling report numbers because sexual assault is one of Americas most under-reported crimes.

He said the policy change and the way cadets have responded to it show him that cadets are gaining trust in the school and are more likely to report sexual assault.

We can put out a lot of policies, but this one has been believed and trusted, Silveria said. The responsibility is on us now to implement the policy in a manner that continues to convey that trust.

The academys board showed enthusiasm for the change.

Nebraska Republican U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, whose district includes Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha, said hes seen sexual assault victims in his district get punished, including loss of rank, after reporting sexual assault.

This should be the standard  safe to report, Bacon said of the academys policy. I think this is the right thing to do and this should be the military policy.

The academy overall saw its number of misconduct cases spike in the academic year that ended in June, with 163 cadets facing punishments for misdeeds, up from 126 the previous year. Goodwin attributed the spike in misconduct to hazing investigations involving the schools lacrosse and swimming teams.

The academy has confirmed that athletes and coaches faced discipline in the incidents, but hasnt described what happened or said how many cadets were involved.

Trevin Campbell, who heads the academys revamped sexual assault response office, said the academy is recovering from problems with the office over the past year.

Weve had time to settle ourselves in, Campbell said.

Theres more work to do, though, as scars remain from the 2017 scandal, Campbell said.

We need to build trust in the community, he said.

Contact Tom Roeder: 636-0240 Twitter: @xroederx
Sale of Rougier Afrique International

subsidiaries in Cameroon and the Central African Republic

The Rougier Group is announcing the sale of its forest and industrial activities in Cameroon and the Central African Republic.

In connection with Rougier Afrique International's court-ordered receivership proceedings, Poitiers Commercial Court authorized, during its hearing on 13 July, the entire process for the sale of Societe Forestiere et Industrielle de la Doume (SFID), Cambois and Sud Participation in Cameroon and Rougier Sangha-Mbaere (RSM) in the Central African Republic.

The companies SFID, Cambois, Sud Participation and RSM have been acquired by Sodinaf (Societe de distribution nouvelle d'Afrique) following the definitive agreements signed on 16 July in Douala. This Cameroon-based company has been chosen for the quality of its project, which will help ensure the sustainability of the activities sold.

This sales operation has enabled the Group to rationalize its portfolio of operations. Rougier, which intends to continue to be a major player within its industry, will be able to continue moving forward with its geographical realignment under better conditions.

For reference, since 12 March 2018, the listed holding company Rougier SA has been placed in safeguard proceedings and RAI has been subject to court-ordered receivership proceedings with a view to rolling out extensive restructuring actions. The Group's other French and African companies are not concerned, and the French import subsidiary Rougier Sylvaco Panneaux is notably economically and financially independent.

Following the hearing on 13 July 2018, Poitiers Commercial Court has taken into consideration the restructuring operations carried out and the progress made by both Rougier SA and Rougier Afrique International. The Court has authorized a continued observation period for the two companies in order to allow them to finalize the proposed plan and submit it to their creditors.

Trading in ROUGIER S.A. shares on EURONEXT GROWTH PARIS will continue to be suspended until further notice.
English French

Michelin Luxembourg SCS (CSSF number E-0102):

publication of the Half-yearly Financial Reports

(07.27.2018 2:00pm CET)

Press Release Regulated Information

The Half-yearly financial reports of Michelin Luxembourg SCS, comprising the non-audited half-yearly accounts, the management declaration and the management report are available on the internet site of the Michelin Group at the following address: www.michelin.com/eng, under the heading  Finance ,  Regulated Information - Michelin Luxembourg SCS - CSSF .
akash2703 wrote:

Hi Guys,



I will be starting my Gmat prep from August and I am targeting to give the exam by September end.

Target score 750+ in 2 months with 4-5 hours per day study.



1. Can you guys suggest how should I start and is this time sufficient to crack Gmat with above score?



I am not planning to do any online courses since I can see lot of materials which are available in Gmat club.

I have few questions in terms of my preparation within above timeline:-

I am targeting to finish these many questions during 2 months time along with free and official mocks ->

DS- 500+

PS - 500+

SC- 100+

CR- 200+

RC- 120+ passages



2. Does it look fine or I need to work more on above?



3. Study plan- There is a monthly plan of and one self study plan shared by Gmat club.

Any reviews about these two ?

If I will go thru one, then I will be referring to the same study plan with my reference materials.

What do you think will it be fine or I should definitely go for some online courses ?



4. I feel that the key area which I need to improve is my reading skills with lore focus either for quant or verbal. To achieve this I had started to read some novels over fiction and philosophy like One Indian gal, Charles Darwin,Immortals of Meluha ,The Secret of Nagas, The oath of Vayuputras, You can win, Sophies World.

Do you think that I should still continue reading any such novels for increasing my reading speed ? Or should I go for journals, newspapers and articles from different genre?





A few pointers from my experience:1. As already mentioned, take a mock first to understand where you currently stand and what are the areas of improvement. FOr a 750+ score, you cannot neglect any part. You'll have to do well on all fronts.2. Moving ahead with a fixed target of solving X questions might not be the optimal way. You might take 2X questions to master one thing and X/2 to master another. The key is continuous monitoring of your progression.3. There are several study plans available in GMATClub and on other websites. However, don't take a plan to be the pill for success. your requirements are unique. It is important to be self-aware and put the effort in the right direction to generate optimum results.4. Besides a study plan, also take regular mocks to keep track of your progress. Take at least one mock on alternate weeks initially and then move to one per week and two per week later.Good luck!
Hi Team,Can you please evaluate my profile and let me know my likelihood of getting into one of the B-Schools listed below.I am a Technology consultant from PwC. I currently hold 3 years 8 months of experience, which will become 4+ before entering b-School. There is a employment gap, where i studied for my previous GMAT, scoring 700, and Applied for various B-Schools. Rejecting two b-schools joined PwC as a Technology consultant (Retail). My Goal is to become a Management Consultant and am open to any culture or demography.My past Scores:540(Q46 V19 IR4) - Cancelled August 2016690(Q50 V33 IR4 AWA3.5) - Accepted April 2017680(Q49 V32 IR5) - Cancelled April 2017700(Q50 V33 IR7 AWA6) - Accepted July 2017730(Q51 V38 IR7 AWA?) - Accepted July 2018My Alma-mater:National Institute of Technology, Warangal (Top 10 in India at the time of joining) - CGPA: 6.59, UG in Mechanical Engineering.Vijaya Ratna Jr. College : 91.8%Kendriya Vidyalaya No1 : 80.6%I don't know whether taking tests repeatedly affect my profile. Though i took it as a challenge to score more than 720, persisting and not giving up.My work experience include:2 years 8 months as a Software developer- Worked in different Technologies - .Net , Java; My role included developing mobile Marketing e-commerce WAP portals for various Mobile operators including, Idea, Airtel, Viva, Vodafone.1 year as a Technology Consultant - Working at Client location. Client is India's largest Retail Garment Giant. Working as a support and Techno-functional role at client cite in Retail. As a Technology consultant had to learn a complete new technology Dynamics AX Retail and shifted gears from website building to Managing Retail POS.Schools am aiming for:ISB -Kellogs -Rotman -WP Carey -Erasmus -Schulich -please i do require a honest grading from ambitious to inside my strike zone. I know that Kellogs is a bit far fetched. Can you please suggest some schools that are under my wing so that it can lay in line with my future goals and aid me in becoming a better Management Consultant(Strategy).Please note that: My nationality is Indian: I know this is the biggest drawback. Can't change it rightWaiting with fingers crossed.Thank you,Best RegardsA normal MBA Aspirant(Age: 25).
deloitter wrote:

Hi all!



Finally bit the bullet and sat for the big bad wolf yesterday! For reference, my first diagnostic was at 540 ( ), and my /Manhattan right before taking the exam were sitting at 710/720, respectively.



My composite was 45 Q, 41 V. Its clear that verbal is more second nature to me.



I want to start studying immediately because I dont want to forget all that Ive worked so hard to learn over the past 3 months. However, Im thinking of devoting more time to perfecting my verbal, as I was able to achieve 41 without any study, and think I could get to 45 if I really pushed myself.



Math is just over my head sometimes, though I did have to guess on a few so I will start working on timing.



I was also thinking of possibly pursuing money back guarantees?



Thanks!

Deloitter

Glad you reached out and Im happy to help! At this point, it makes sense to try to improve both quant and verbal, so that you can bring up your score as much as possible. Regarding quant, with some more dedicated prep, I believe that you can greatly improve your GMAT quant skills and drive up your quant score, and even be able to tackle those questions you feel are over your head.So, while a 700 is a great starting point, to increase your quant and verbal scores to a more advanced level, you need to study each topic "with a fine-toothed comb" to determine your exact weaknesses.For example, if you are reviewing Number Properties, be sure that you practice 50 or more questions just on Number Properties: LCM, GCF, units digit patterns, divisibility, remainders, etc. Once complete, do a thorough analysis of each incorrect question. If you got a remainder question wrong, ask yourself why you got it wrong. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not properly apply the remainder formula? Was there a concept you did not understand in the question? By properly analyzing your mistakes, you will be able to more efficiently fix your weaknesses and in turn improve your GMAT quant knowledge. Number Properties is just one example; follow this process for all quant and verbal topics.Each time you strengthen your understanding of a topic and your skill in answering questions of a particular type, you increase your odds of hitting your score goal. You know that there are types of questions that you are happy to see and types that you would rather not see, and questions that you take a long time to answer correctly. Learn to more effectively answer the types of questions that you would rather not see, and make them into your favorite types. Learn to correctly answer in two minutes or less questions that you currently take five minutes to answer. By finding, say, a dozen weaker quant areas and turning them into strong areas, you will make great progress toward hitting your quant score goal. If a dozen areas turn out not to be enough, strengthen some more areas.In the case of verbal, lets say you are reviewing Critical Reasoning. Be sure that you practice a large number questions just from that topic: strengthen and weaken the argument, resolve the paradox, find the conclusion, must be true, etc. Once complete, do a thorough analysis of each incorrect question. If you got a weakening question wrong, ask yourself why you got it wrong. Did you make a careless mistake? Did you not recognize the specific CR question type? Were you doing too much analysis in your head? Did you skip over a keyword in an answer choice? Again, you must thoroughly analyze your mistakes and seek to turn weaknesses into strengths by focusing on the question types you dread seeing and the questions you take a long time to answer correctly.When you do dozens of the same type of question one after the other, you learn just what it takes to get questions of that type correct consistently. If you aren't getting close to 90 percent of questions of a certain type correct, go back and seek to better understand how that type of question works, and then do more questions of that type until you get to at least around 90 percent accuracy in your training. If you get 100 percent of some sets correct, even better.So, work on accuracy and generally finding correct answers, work on specific weaker areas one by one to make them strong areas, and when you take a practice GMAT or the real thing, take all the time per question available to do your absolute best to get right answers consistently.The GMAT is essentially a game of seeing how many right answers you can get in the time allotted. Approach the test with that conception in mind, and focus intently on the question in front of you with one goal in mind: getting a CORRECT answer.In order to follow the path described above, you may need some new verbal and quant materials, so take a look at the GMAT Club reviews for the best quant and verbal courses You also may find it helpful to read my article for more information regardingFeel free to reach out with any further questions._________________
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This tweet followed three days later:

US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley emphasizes how #Irans horrendous regime faced massive protests in the Dec/Jan period. And yet the UN Human Rights Council remained silent.#IranProtests

Iranian media outlets responded in a fashion that may have been coordinated by the Ministry of Intelligence. Insulting remarks were made against Ambassador Haley and senior US officials. It appears that this retweet touched a soft spot for the regime.

They referred to the recent Iranian opposition convention in Paris in which international officials from the U.S. and other countries participated. During that convention, an Iran-sponsored plot to target the PMOI/MEK rally was foiled, resulting in the arrests of their Vienna-based diplomat and operatives in France and Belgium.

The text was prepared by the regimes Intelligence Ministry. It has been fully or partially posted in several media outlets and contains the following in different wording:

 Ambassador Haleys retweet shows close relations between the US foreign policy team and the PMOI/MEK

 This group-let was considered a terrorist until 2012 and the US supports this entity despite claiming to fight terrorism.

 This group-let pays large sums of money to bring politicians to their sessions.

 Previous US administrations refused to establish overt relations with this organization. The Trump administration, however, has violated this law and is vividly supporting this terrorist group-let.

It has been proven that the Clinton administrations blacklisting of the PMOI/MEK during Mohammad Khatamis tenure in Iran was part of an appeasement policy.

Lies were spread by the regime from 1997 to 2012, about the PMOI/MEK in an attempt to justify allegations with the terrorist designation.

The reality is, the Iranian regime itself is the source of terrorism and threats in the US and Europe.

The PMOI/MEK gained the trust and support of hundreds of international figures. The Iranian regime claimed that these individuals were paid large sums of money. However, the Iranian regimes tactics are now familiar to all.

A retweet by Ambassador Haley seems to have churned up mayhem among the regimes leadership. This seems to point to the legitimacy of the alternative to the regime, the PMOI/MEK.
Maria Legarra Urquides, wearing a saintly smile

A recent photo of Diego Navarrette in a voluteer role with the nonprofit, Southwest Medical Aid

Maria L. Urquides was an extraordinary educator at a time when few Hispanic women had the opportunity to exhibit their unique gifts. She was born in Tucson in1908 and obtained a teaching certificate in 1928 from ASU. She first taught in elementary schools and then went to teach at Pueblo High School when it opened in 1956. By then she had gained national recognition, having been appointed by President Truman to the White House Conference on Children and Youth in 1950.She was appointed by five presidents (Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, and Nixon) to serve on national panels and conferences concerning children and education. In 1965, the League of Mexican American Women, organized by Francesca Flores and Ramona Morin in Los Angeles, California, recognized Maria Urquides for her outstanding achievementsBeto Guerrero told me that she was a passionate advocate of bilingual education but forbade her students to speak Spanish at school, having a staunch belief that Students needed to be proficient in English in order to succeed. On the surface that might seem to some like a contradiction but I met Latinx students graduating from High School whose command of English was very poor because their peer group spoke only Spanish and consequently they had little practice of their second language.Starting in the early 1960s, Tucson because of its leadership in Bilingual Education and because Maria Urquides was the regional representative of NEA, held a series of conferences and symposiums focused on improving pedagogy in Bilingualism. From their success grew summer institutes in Guadalajara Mexico. In 1965 Maria was asked to form a committee to look for superior programs in bilingual Education in the Southwest of the United States. On this committee were Rosita Cota, Martin Garcia, Paul Allen, Hank Oyama and Beto Guerrero. They visited schools throughout the Southwest and found the very best one in Laredo Texas in an elementary school classroom taught by Dolores Victor Cruz.The information gathered by that committee led to the publication of the seminal report The Invisible Minority. Below is the summary in ERICREPORTED HERE ARE THE MAJOR FINDINGS OF A SURVEY TEAM THAT INVESTIGATED THE FIVE-STATE AREA OF THE SOUTHWEST FOR PROGRAMS ON TEACHING SPANISH TO THE SPANISH-SPEAKING. AFTER A DISCUSSION OF THE PROBLEMS OF THE MEXICAN-AMERICAN, CAPSULE DESCRIPTIONS ARE GIVEN OF SOME OF THE MORE PROMISING PROGRAMS. OBJECTIVES VARY, DEPENDING ON THE LITERACY (IN SPANISH) AND PRIDE OF HERITAGE (WHICH CAN BE JUST AS IMPORTANT) OF THE SPANISH-SPEAKING GROUPS INVOLVED. THE TEAM'S RECOMMENDATIONS SUGGEST THAT SELECTION AND PLACEMENT OF NATIVE SPEAKERS IN SPECIAL HIGH SCHOOL SPANISH CLASSES MUST BE MORE CAREFUL, ORAL AND WRITTEN TESTS OF SPANISH ABILITY MUST BE EVALUATED AND MODIFIED FOR LOCAL USE, AND INSTRUCTION IN THE EARLY GRADES SHOULD BE IN BOTH SPANISH AND ENGLISH. A READING LIST FOR AN ADVANCED LITERATURE COURSE FOR NATIVE SPEAKERS ON THE 11TH OR 12TH GRADE LEVEL IS SUPPLIED, AS WELL AS A BASIC SYSTEM FOR LITERARY CRITICISM IN ADVANCED COURSES. SUGGESTIONS ARE MADE ON TEACHER EDUCATION AND SELECTION, AND A LIST OF SCHOLARSHIPS IS INCLUDED.Beto was no longer at Pueblo High School, having departed for the University of Arizona but he and Maria continued their strong collaboration. Beto admired Maria for her selflessness in pushing him and others into roles of leadership. Thus when the Invisible Minority Report was to be released with press coverage in Washington D.C. in June, 1966, she asked Beto to go in her stead. Again in the summer of 1967, Maria asked Beto to attend a Senate committee and an essential part of Betos presentation is that he spoke to the committee in Spanish, showing them by example, the frustration that a Spanish speaking child endures in an all English classroom.Below I quote from Gloria Stewner Manzanares "The Bilingual Act 20 Years Later".We now turn to the founding of Pima Community College involving some of the same people that have been previously mentioned. In 1969 a committee was formed to establish the guiding principles for the college. Among those on the committee were Henry Hank Oyama, Diego Navarrette, Adalberto Beto Guerrero, Rudy Melone, Fern Ramirez and Maria L Urquides. It was this group of individuals that decided that the college was to be responsive to the community. This meant establishing an open door policy that would accept all students regardless of their educational background. It meant establishing a Bilingual Department where a Spanish Speaking student could take classes in Spanish. They used as a model the classroom of Fred Sanchez, a teacher at Roosevelt High School in East Los Angeles, who had been teaching students math and science in their native language, along with intensive classes in English.Additionally the college was not only to prepare students to enroll in a four year college but to offer vocational programs that would lead to employment. The college opened for students on 1969. Maria Urquides was asked to serve on the governing boar of the college. Hank Oyama became the head of the Bilingual Department and Diego Navarrette became the head of the bookstore but eventually ascended to the presidency of the college.Next week in Part III the story of Dr. John Garcia, professor of Political Science at the University of Arizona, during this monumental era, concludes this series.
A new report says killings of land and environmental activists rose in 2017.

The environmental and human rights group Global Witness reports that Mexico and the Philippines registered sharp increases in such murders last year. And it says Brazil had the most ever registered killings of activists in a single country.

Global Witness said at least 207 people protecting land and resources from business interests were killed last year. This was up from 201 killed in 2016, it noted. That makes 2017 the deadliest year since the group began recording deaths of land and environmental activists in 2015.

Global Witness said that the numbers were probably higher because of the difficulties of identifying and confirming such killings.

Consumer demand has often pressured agricultural businesses to expand production of crops like coffee, palm oil, and sugar cane. For the first time, more activists were killed in conflicts with agribusiness instead of mining, Global Witness said.

Ben Leather prepared the report for the group. He told the Associated Press that the rising number of killings is clear evidence that governments and businesses are not serious about solving the problem.

Leather added that having more deadly conflicts tied to agriculture "should serve as a wake-up call to those businesses and to those investing in large-scale agriculture that they need to be better, too, and ensure that their money isn't funding this violence.

The struggle to control the Amazon's natural resources often leads to conflict in Brazil. It remained the deadliest country for land activists, with 57 people killed last year. This is the highest number in a single year in any country since Global Witness began counting.

But there were also surprising increases in other countries. The Philippines had 48 land activists killed. That is the most ever for any Asian country and represents a 70 percent jump from 2016 levels. In Mexico, the number rose from three to 15. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, 13 people were killed. Twelve of them were park rangers protecting wildlife.

The deadliest country in Asia for activists

In the Philippines, 20 killings were linked to conflicts with agricultural businesses, and there were signs of military involvement. The Global Witness report linked the deaths to President Rodrigo Duterte's campaign to expand industrial agriculture, especially on the island of Mindanao. Eight of those killed were reported to be ethnic Taboli-manubo people. They were resisting expansion of a coffee farm.

A Philippine military commander, Benjamin Madrigal, said the armed forces does not support extrajudicial killings  attacks carried out in violation of the law. He said soldiers are needed to enforce environmental laws and ensure that companies work with rural communities.

President Duterte has said he is ready to stand up to large businesses even if the government loses money.

Getting away with murder

In Mexico, murders rose to their highest number since observers began keeping records in 1997. Global Witness linked the rise to organized crime and the governments failure to punish criminals.

Ben Leather said that as time passes, those responsible for the crimes feel they, have more and more evidence that they're simply going to get away with murder.

Leather urged Mexican President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to make fighting crime a goal of his administration. The new president takes office on December 1.

Rodrigo Santiago Juarez is a member of the Mexican government's National Human Rights Commission. He says he agrees with the report's main findings. Many activists in Mexico face not only "attacks, threats, killings and disappearances," but also public discrimination for their work, he said.

Santiago said the Commission has campaigned to support the work of civil society. He said that since 2012, the government has operated what is known as the mechanism -- a program that provides protective measures, such as home security systems. In addition, guards were deployed to protect about 400 activists and 300 media workers.

Santiago said these services will help many people, "But we also know that the mechanism ... on its own cannot solve everything. The best way to resolve this situation is, first, punishing the attackers."

Removing protections

The Global Witness report also criticized the administration of Brazilian President Michel Temer. It accused his administration of reducing environmental protections and financial support for groups that protect rights of native people and small land owners.

Native groups say these actions have led to farmers, businesses and other outsiders seizing their land.

In a statement late Tuesday, Temer's office called the reports criticism "fake news." It also noted that some of the killings in the report were related to drug-trafficking disputes, and Temer had worked to defend the environment.

Im Phil Dierking. And I'm Dorothy Gundy.

Peter Orsi and Sarah DiLorenzo reported this story for the Associated Press. Phil Dierking adapted their story for VOA Learning English. George Grow was the editor.

Do you think land activists should be protected by the government? Write to us in the Comments Section or on our Facebook page.

_________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story

consumer - n. a person who buys goods and services

fake - adj. not true or real

funding - n. available money

park - n. a piece of public land in or near a city that is kept free of houses and other buildings and can be used for pleasure and exercise

ranger - n. a person in charge of managing and protecting part of a public forest

resource - n. something that a country has and can use to increase its wealth

mechanism - n. a process or system that is used to produce a particular result
Our story today is called "The Last Leaf." It was written by O. Henry. Here is Barbara Klein with the story.

Many artists lived in the Greenwich Village area of New York. Two young women named Sue and Johnsy shared a studio apartment at the top of a three-story building. Johnsy's real name was Joanna.

In November, a cold, unseen stranger came to visit the city. This disease, pneumonia, killed many people. Johnsy lay on her bed, hardly moving. She looked through the small window. She could see the side of the brick house next to her building.

One morning, a doctor examined Johnsy and took her temperature. Then he spoke with Sue in another room.

"She has one chance in -- let us say ten," he said. "And that chance is for her to want to live. Your friend has made up her mind that she is not going to get well. Has she anything on her mind?"

"She -- she wanted to paint the Bay of Naples in Italy some day," said Sue.

"Paint?" said the doctor. "Bosh! Has she anything on her mind worth thinking twice -- a man for example?"

"A man?" said Sue. "Is a man worth -- but, no, doctor; there is nothing of the kind."

"I will do all that science can do," said the doctor. "But whenever my patient begins to count the carriages at her funeral, I take away fifty percent from the curative power of medicines."

After the doctor had gone, Sue went into the workroom and cried. Then she went to Johnsy's room with her drawing board, whistling ragtime.

Johnsy lay with her face toward the window. Sue stopped whistling, thinking she was asleep. She began making a pen and ink drawing for a story in a magazine. Young artists must work their way to "Art" by making pictures for magazine stories. Sue heard a low sound, several times repeated. She went quickly to the bedside.

Johnsy's eyes were open wide. She was looking out the window and counting -- counting backward. "Twelve," she said, and a little later "eleven"; and then "ten" and "nine;" and then "eight" and "seven," almost together.

Sue looked out the window. What was there to count? There was only an empty yard and the blank side of the house seven meters away. An old ivy vine, going bad at the roots, climbed half way up the wall. The cold breath of autumn had stricken leaves from the plant until its branches, almost bare, hung on the bricks.

"What is it, dear?" asked Sue.

"Six," said Johnsy, quietly. "They're falling faster now. Three days ago there were almost a hundred. It made my head hurt to count them. But now it's easy. There goes another one. There are only five left now."

"Five what, dear?" asked Sue.

"Leaves. On the plant. When the last one falls I must go, too. I've known that for three days. Didn't the doctor tell you?"

"Oh, I never heard of such a thing," said Sue. "What have old ivy leaves to do with your getting well? And you used to love that vine. Don't be silly. Why, the doctor told me this morning that your chances for getting well real soon were -- let's see exactly what he said  he said the chances were ten to one! Try to eat some soup now. And, let me go back to my drawing, so I can sell it to the magazine and buy food and wine for us."

"You needn't get any more wine," said Johnsy, keeping her eyes fixed out the window. "There goes another one. No, I don't want any soup. That leaves just four. I want to see the last one fall before it gets dark. Then I'll go, too."

"Johnsy, dear," said Sue, "will you promise me to keep your eyes closed, and not look out the window until I am done working? I must hand those drawings in by tomorrow."

"Tell me as soon as you have finished," said Johnsy, closing her eyes and lying white and still as a fallen statue. "I want to see the last one fall. I'm tired of waiting. I'm tired of thinking. I want to turn loose my hold on everything, and go sailing down, down, just like one of those poor, tired leaves."

"Try to sleep," said Sue. "I must call Mister Behrman up to be my model for my drawing of an old miner. Don't try to move until I come back."

Old Behrman was a painter who lived on the ground floor of the apartment building. Behrman was a failure in art. For years, he had always been planning to paint a work of art, but had never yet begun it. He earned a little money by serving as a model to artists who could not pay for a professional model. He was a fierce, little, old man who protected the two young women in the studio apartment above him.

Sue found Behrman in his room. In one area was a blank canvas that had been waiting twenty-five years for the first line of paint. Sue told him about Johnsy and how she feared that her friend would float away like a leaf.

Old Behrman was angered at such an idea. "Are there people in the world with the foolishness to die because leaves drop off a vine? Why do you let that silly business come in her brain?"

"She is very sick and weak," said Sue, "and the disease has left her mind full of strange ideas."

"This is not any place in which one so good as Miss Johnsy shall lie sick," yelled Behrman. "Some day I will paint a masterpiece, and we shall all go away."

Johnsy was sleeping when they went upstairs. Sue pulled the shade down to cover the window. She and Behrman went into the other room. They looked out a window fearfully at the ivy vine. Then they looked at each other without speaking. A cold rain was falling, mixed with snow. Behrman sat and posed as the miner.

The next morning, Sue awoke after an hour's sleep. She found Johnsy with wide-open eyes staring at the covered window.

"Pull up the shade; I want to see," she ordered, quietly.

Sue obeyed.

After the beating rain and fierce wind that blew through the night, there yet stood against the wall one ivy leaf. It was the last one on the vine. It was still dark green at the center. But its edges were colored with the yellow. It hung bravely from the branch about seven meters above the ground.

"It is the last one," said Johnsy. "I thought it would surely fall during the night. I heard the wind. It will fall today and I shall die at the same time."

"Dear, dear!" said Sue, leaning her worn face down toward the bed. "Think of me, if you won't think of yourself. What would I do?"

But Johnsy did not answer.

The next morning, when it was light, Johnsy demanded that the window shade be raised. The ivy leaf was still there. Johnsy lay for a long time, looking at it. And then she called to Sue, who was preparing chicken soup.

"I've been a bad girl," said Johnsy. "Something has made that last leaf stay there to show me how bad I was. It is wrong to want to die. You may bring me a little soup now."

An hour later she said: "Someday I hope to paint the Bay of Naples."

Later in the day, the doctor came, and Sue talked to him in the hallway.

"Even chances," said the doctor. "With good care, you'll win. And now I must see another case I have in your building. Behrman, his name is -- some kind of an artist, I believe. Pneumonia, too. He is an old, weak man and his case is severe. There is no hope for him; but he goes to the hospital today to ease his pain."

The next day, the doctor said to Sue: "She's out of danger. You won. Nutrition and care now -- that's all."

Later that day, Sue came to the bed where Johnsy lay, and put one arm around her.

"I have something to tell you, white mouse," she said. "Mister Behrman died of pneumonia today in the hospital. He was sick only two days. They found him the morning of the first day in his room downstairs helpless with pain. His shoes and clothing were completely wet and icy cold. They could not imagine where he had been on such a terrible night.

And then they found a lantern, still lighted. And they found a ladder that had been moved from its place. And art supplies and a painting board with green and yellow colors mixed on it.

And look out the window, dear, at the last ivy leaf on the wall. Didn't you wonder why it never moved when the wind blew? Ah, darling, it is Behrman's masterpiece  he painted it there the night that the last leaf fell."

To download a lesson plan to accompany this part of the story, click here.

Now it's your turn to use the words in this story. How much would you risk to help another person? Let us know in the comments section or on our Facebook page.

_________________________________________________________________

Quiz

Quiz - The Last Leaf Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz

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Words in This Story

apartment  n. a usually rented room or set of rooms that is part of a building and is used as a place to live

pneumonia  n. a serious disease that affects the lungs and makes it difficult to breathe

carriage  n. a large vehicle with four wheels that is pulled by a horse and that carries people

drawing  n. a picture, image, etc., that is made by making lines on a surface with a pencil, pen, marker, chalk, but usually not with paint

leaf  n. one of the flat and typically green parts of a plant that grow from a stem or twig

ladder  n. a device used for climbing that has two long pieces of wood, metal, or rope with a series of steps or rungs between them
Tangipahoa Parish, LA - The physical and psychological abuse of an autistic woman held captive for a year in Tangipahoa Parish included forcing her to eat both dog feces and her mother's ashes, attempted sex trafficking and numerous beatings, according to charges issued Thursday against five Amite residents in federal court in New Orleans.

When deputies found the 22-year-old woman, identified in the court documents only as D.P., June 30, 2016 she was malnourished, covered in insect bites and living in a 6-by-8-foot chicken-wire cage outside a Rushing Lane home in Amite.

The arrests of Raylaine Knope, 42, and Terry J. Knope II, 45, who are married, and their three adult children  21-year-old Bridget Lambert and 23-year-old Jody Lambert, the children of Raylaine Knope, and 20-year-old Taylor Knope, the daughter of Terry Knope  were announced a week later by the Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office.

Investigators said the abuse started after the death of D.P.'s mother, when the 22-year-old had moved to a mobile home at 57509 Rushing Lane in August of 2015. D.P. is related to Raylaine Knope, according to court records.

Terry Knope became the payee for D.P.'s Supplemental Security Income payments, which she received because of her disabilities. Before his arrest, he had received $8,796 in SSI payments that he was supposed to use exclusively for D.P.'s living expenses. Prosecutors allege he kept the money for himself.

The family initially allowed D.P. to sleep on a mattress on the floor of the home, but then moved her to a shed or outdoor tent, which Taylor Knope and Jody Lambert locked every night, prosecutors said. In the spring of 2016, the family then built a cage out of chicken wire and a plastic tarp, forcing her to live there.

They kept her there "to maintain control over her and to prevent her from escaping" while they forced her to do house and yard work, prosecutors allege.

If she didn't complete the work to their satisfaction, Raylaine Knope and Terry Knope would not give her food, court documents say.

At one point, Raylaine Knope forced D.P. to dump an urn of her mother's ashes into a bowl of milk and eat them with a spoon, prosecutors said. The family watched and laughed as she then vomited onto the table.

If D.P. did not complete the work, members of the family would physically attack her: Terry Knope choked and kicked her while Raylaine Knope threw canned goods at her, according to the documents.

During one attack, Bridget Lambert hit D.P. on the head with a wood board, cutting her so deep that her blood dripped on her clothes and the floor, according to the documents. Family members refused to take her to a doctor because they were afraid someone would find out they were abusing her, so a family member used glue to close the wound.

Bridget Lambert once held D.P.'s arm while Terry Knope burned her hand with a cigarette lighter as punishment for "talking back" to Raylaine Knope. Terry Knope shot D.P. with a pellet gun at close range on another occasion because of her disability, telling her she was a "retard" who "deserved to die," according to the documents. In a third instance he hit D.P.'s hand with a hammer, fracturing multiple bones.

At other times, prosecutors said, family members held her head underwater in a bath tub, threatened to shoot her if she tried to escape, and dumped buckets of urine and feces on her.

They also forced her to eat dog feces on bread, simulate sex acts with a jalapeno pepper and remove her clothing to make sexual advances towards men, prosecutors said in the documents. Some of the family members forced D.P. to ingest methamphetamine and prescription painkillers, then threatened to turn her in to police for using them if she didn't obey them.

After her rescue, D.P. was taken to a hospital and then later was put in the custody of the Louisiana Department of Healths Adult Protective Services. Deputies also removed four minor children from the home and placed them with the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services.

Raylaine Knope was indicted by a federal grand jury on conspiring to obtain forced labor, forced labor, using force and threats of force to interfere with federal Fair Housing Act rights, and attempted sex trafficking.

Terry Knope was indicted on conspiring to obtain forced labor, forced labor, using force and threats of force to interfere with federal Fair Housing Act rights, attempted sex trafficking and a hate crime.

Jody Lambert, 23, and Taylor Knope, 20, were indicted on conspiring to obtain forced labor, forced labor, and using force and threats of force to interfere with federal Fair Housing Act rights.

Bridget Lambert, 21, was separately charged in a one-count Bill of Information on conspiring to obtain forced labor, which has a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment.

Raylaine Knope, Terry Knope Jody Lambert and Taylor Knope could face a maximum penalty of life imprisonment, if convicted as charged, according to a Thursday Department of Justice press release. Raylaine Knope and Terry Knope also face 15 years to life in prison, if convicted of the sex trafficking charges.
Tatmadaw (read the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar) has reportedly resumed military operations against the National Socialist Council of Nagaland  Khaplang (NSCN-K) in the Sagaing division of the country (read Myanmar). With the Tatmadaw reportedly resuming military operations, the earlier ceasefire between the Myanmar Army and the NSCN-K has come unstuck.

According to sources, several camps of the NSCN-K came under heavy attacks on Wednesday as the Myanmar armed forces attacked the camps where the NSCN-K rebels have been taking refuge for a long time now. Senior NSCN-K leader Isak Sumi has reportedly admitted that they have indeed come under fire from the Tatmadaw but, all their cadres are safe but had to temporarily withdraw from their camps.

The ongoing standoff between the Myanmar armed forces and the Naga army has temporarily been resolved without untoward incident but the Naga army had to make a tactical withdrawal. The overall situation is still tense but the Naga army is entrenched again and safe, Sumi stated.

Recently, NSCN-K rebels laid an ambush along the Nagaland-Myanmar border killing two Assam Rifles jawans and leaving several hurt. In retaliation, the Indian Army personnel crossed over to Myanmar and reportedly attacked NSCN-K camps. The rebel outfit had, however, claimed that the Indian Army had failed in its operation.

A senior Indian Army officer, requesting anonymity, stated, The very fact that the Tatmadaw is carrying out operations against the NSCN-K despite the ceasefire points to the fact that the Indian Government has successfully pressurised its Myanmarese counterpart to take action against the rebels taking shelter in Myanmar after the recent wave of attacks on Indian security forces by the NSCN-K in Nagaland.

Earlier, it was also reported that India may ask Myanmar to call off its ceasefire agreement with NSCN-K and during a bilateral meeting between both sides, a list of over 20 camps, operating in Myanmar, few kms from the Indian border, was also handed over to Myanmar by India.

The Tatmadaw is administered by the Ministry of Defence and composed of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.




It also does not reflect the views of the Firm of which the Author is working for.





Since the inception of this blog, the Author has avoided writing views and opinions of his clients or views and opinions which third parties has paid him to write.





The Author has maintained editorial independence since Day One.





Any individual or group affected by the opinions and views of the Author can write the author thru mangubat.patricio@gmail.com.

Opinions and views expressed in this blog are personal views of the Author and does not involve organisations and companies being serviced by the Author as part of his profession as a Strategic Communications professional.
Istanbul changes name of street named after famous Armenian engineer again

US supports Taiwan's participation in the United Nations' system

Armenia's economic activity indicator continues to decline

Armenia President Armen Sarkissian pays historic visit to Saudi Arabia

Turkey's Erdogan: If Armenia "solves problems with Baku", there will be no other obstacle for normalization of relations

Honorary Citizen of Yerevan title bestowed upon cultural figures on occasion of city's 2,803rd birthday

Yerevan Council of Elders decides to place memorial plaques for four famous people

Mayor: There are three times more vaccinated citizens in Yerevan than in the whole country

Yerevan mayor: There is no alternative to conservation of trash chutes in apartment buildings

Latvia President recovers from COVID-19

Armenia Health Ministry: Foreigners and stateless persons can receive AstraZeneca and Sputnik V vaccines

Tert.am: Resident of Armenia's Goris: Azerbaijanis stopped my car, hit it and used swear words

Australian MP talks about Azerbaijan's aggression, calls for maintenance of ceasefire

Yerevan mayor says he has never made exception for anyone since first day of office

Armenia Deputy PM presents Government's Action Plan to ambassadors and representatives of international organizations

Trade turnover between Eurasian Economic Union countries grows by 31.3% in eight months of 2021

armtimes.com: Armenia ruling party's candidate in Vedi is ex-governor of Ararat Province Garik Sargsyan

MP says only 7% of Armenia's population is vaccinated

Turkish FM threatens to resign due to scandal over ambassadors

Armenia opposition MP: 11% increase of military budget is rather low indicator in post-war period

Armenia removed from list of countries whose citizens are permitted to enter Italy

Armenia emergency situations minister receives Poland Ambassador

New generation business is founded in Armenia

Ameriabank and HSBC Armenia to provide their customers access to each others ATMs without additional fees

Armenian legislature speaker meets with Cyprus-Armenia parliamentary cooperation committee chair

Aliyev, Erdogan attend groundbreaking of Zangezur corridor in occupied territories of Artsakh

Driver of Armenia MOD truck runs over female pedestrian in Yerevan who dies at hospital

China FM calls on US to lift sanctions against Afghanistan

Armenia legislature concludes closed discussion of situation on line of contact with Azerbaijan

Armenia former deputy PM, now MP Gevorgyan not ruling out petitioning to international courts to protect his rights

Armenia Police: Criminal case is launched in regard to police beating citizen in front of his children's eyes

Dollar stable in Armenia

How 2 sisters died in Armenias Aragatsotn Province?

Armenia opposition MP candidate not elected vice-chairman of parliamentary committee for ninth time

Armenia 2nd President Kocharyan, ex-deputy PM and now MP Gevorgyan criminal case judge denies self-recusal motion

Substitute for General Affairs of Holy See to visit Armenia

Armenia PM sending deputy environment minister to Great Britain for 16 days

Armenia Gegharkunik Province governor has new deputy

Armenia PM dismisses head of one of divisions of Office of High Commissioner for Diaspora Affairs

Armen Sarkissian: Armenia-Uzbekistan cooperation will be further strengthened through joint efforts

Fotis Fotiou: Armenia-Cyprus-Greece trilateral relations are one of Cyprus' priorities

Armenia parliament holding closed discussion on situation on Armenian-Azerbaijani line of contact

Aliyev, Erdogan launch international airport in Artsakhs occupied Varanda-Fizuli

Tense situation in Armenia parliament

Government proposes to reduce Armenia citizenship application review period

World gold prices dropping

Armenia ex-President Kocharyan, former deputy PM and now MP Gevorgyan criminal case court hearing resumes

2 more persons die of coronavirus in Artsakh

Dead body of Armenia village girl, 11, taken to hospital

Lawyer: Armenia military given time to either submit vaccination certificate or resignation from service

World oil prices going up

1,517 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia

State minister: It will be possible to reach final settlement of Karabakh conflict through long, difficult struggle

Armenia official on reducing New Year holidays: I saw every day how unprepared we were for war

Azerbaijan border issue to be discussed in Armenia National Assembly behind closed doors

Russia MFA: Moscow is optimistic about prospects of investing in Armenia

Armenia opposition MPs greet released fellow opposition lawmaker with applause in legislature

2 foreigners get lost in forest near Armenia lake

3 dead, 1 injured after SUV falls into gorge in Armenia

Armenia parliament kicks off regular sessions

Elephant tramples poacher to death in South Africa's famed Kruger National Park

Newspaper: Amnesty to be declared in Armenia

Newspaper: Opposition Armenia bloc to run in Vanadzor local elections?

Famous Istanbul Armenian linguist is deported from Greece

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

Iran, Armenia reach agreement on use of alternative routes for transport of goods

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
The United States has consistently called for Armenian authorities to conduct an earnest, credible, and independent investigation into the events of March 1, 2008.

An official representative of the US Department of State told about the aforementioned to the Voice of America Armenian Service. The representative noted this in response to the request to comment on the charge of breaching the constitutional order that has been brought against second President Robert Kocharyan of Armenia, and along the lines of the ongoing criminal case into what had occurred in Armenias capital city of Yerevan on March 1 and 2, 2008.

The official representative of the State Department added that they continue stressing to their Armenian associates that it is important to respect the internationally recognized standards for carrying out jurisprudence.

As reported earlier, court has remanded Second President Robert Kocharyan in custody along the lines of the ongoing criminal case into what had occurred in Yerevan on March 1 and 2, 2008.

Kocharyan was questioned at the Special Investigation Service, and in connection with the aforesaid case. Subsequently, criminal charges were brought against him for breachingand with prior agreement with other personsthe constitutional order of the country.

On March 1 and 2, 2008, the then authorities used force against the opposition members who were rallying in downtown Yerevan, and against the results of the recent presidential election. Eight demonstrators as well as two servicemen of the internal troops were killed in the clashes. But no one had been brought to account for these deaths.
The Malta Financial Services Authority is currently involved in a consultation exercise to ensure that all stakeholders are well informed on what the three blockchain and crypto laws that were passed recently, entail.

Reports in the local media have interpreted this situation as a stalling on the MFSAs part but this is quite a normal procedure according to sources in the industry who spoke to CCN.

Speaking to CCN, Joseph F Borg, a senior partner at WF Partners explained that this was the usual manner in which laws in the financial services sector were enacted.

He stated:

Although the laws where published last week, they are expected to come into force in October of this year. This will give time for industry players to adjust accordingly to benefit from the transitory provisions as well as well as the authorities to cater the large amount of applications that will be submitted in the first few months.

The MFSA has told the blockchain sector to wait because although the laws have been passed, they are not yet in force. Although the three crypto and blockchain bills were passed into law on Friday 20th July, consultations with the MFSA are still ongoing for these bills to actually become law. In fact, the MFSA, the Malta Financial Services Authority, said that the framework for these laws was still in a creation phase.

It has been announced, however, that the laws will become effective on 1st. October. MFSA advised the operators to wait for a public announcement from the authority before sending requests for approvals and authorizations. Earlier this month, Maltese MPs passed the Virtual Financial Assets Act. This is one of the three bills which is focused on introducing regulation for the blockchain sector.

Malta has arguably become the first country in the world to develop a regulatory system which is custom made for blockchain-based businesses. The MFSA is still consulting with various service providers and is expected to publish a Rule Book by the end of the month.

Story continues

The VFA Act introduced a new regulatory body which will be responsible for overseeing the sector, the Malta Digital Innovation Authority Act (MDIA) and the Innovative Technology Arrangement and Services Act. (ITAS) The Maltese Parliament has been instrumental in introducing a financial instrument test which determines whether a DLT asset qualifies as electronic money, s financial instrument, a virtual financial asset or a virtual token.

The MDIA Act is responsible for the certification and supervision of technology arrangements (which include DLT platforms) and related service providers who apply voluntarily for registration under the Innovative Technology Arrangements and Service Act.

Publication of the laws in the government gazette has to wait until regulators have developed a framework underlying the VFA Act. The MFSA, in the meantime, has been busy gathering stakeholder opinions on regulations. These range from exemptions to fees and administrative penalties which are related to the VFA Act. The consultation period ends on Friday 27th July. Once these consultation periods are over, the MFSA will then be issuing final rules and regulations for the VFA Act.

Featured image of Malta from Shutterstock.



The post Malta Regulator Opens Consultation after Publishing Cryptocurrency, Blockchain Bills appeared first on CCN.


Male Hassan Mabirizi Kiwanuka, one of the petitioners who challenged the 'age limit' Constitutional Amendment Act of 2017, has filed a notice of appeal challenging the verdict of the Constitutional court.



The notice of appeal was filed on Friday - a day after a Constitutional court decision that upheld the amendment by parliament to lift the cap on the presidential age, which was initially limited to persons aged between 35 and 75.



Four of the five members of the Constitutional court; Cheborion Barishaki, Elizabeth Musoke, Alphonse Owiny-Dollo and Remmy Kasule, upheld the amendment when they said that it did not contravene the Constitution and neither did it contravene parliament's rules of procedure.

But Justice Kenneth Kakuru declared that the entire process was flawed and asked that the entire amendment Act be purged from the Constitution of Uganda.

Male Mabirizi Kiwanuka is to appeal against the Constitutional court

In his judgment, Kakuru pointed out that out of a population of close to 40 million Ugandans, only 22 individuals, eight government ministries, 15 commissions or agencies including the prime minister in his official capacity, four political parties, the leader of the opposition in parliament and one district local government official were able to give their views on the bill before the legal and parliamentary affairs committee of parliament.



He stated that the rest appeared to be a collection of obscure and amorphous groups that include Fronasa veterans, Uganda Association of Uneducated Persons, Kick Age Limit Out of the Constitution and others.



On Friday evening Mabirizi who was praised by the Constitutional court for his research and submissions in the petition, rushed to Court of Appeal where he presented 80 reasons for challenging the verdict of the Constitutional court.

Part of the reasons he says that he was denied a right to a fair hearing, was discriminated in a manner that is not justifiable in a democratic society and was denied a chance to respond to the contribution of the attorney general.



Mabiriizi contends that the court did not decide the fate of the two affidavits of Keith Muhakanizi the Secretary to the Treasury and Gen David Muhoozi, the commander of the defence forces, which allegedly contained hearsay. Mabiriizi adds that he was also denied a chance to cross-examine Muhoozi.

"But since am appealing just part of the judgement that is why am giving the grounds to which I dont agree with in that judgement. Of course I dont agree with retaining some provisions of the Act of age limit and others because of procedure. Court is saying procedure was okay. Had they found that the procedure wasnt okay, then the entire Act had to fall. But they are saying the procedure was okay yet it was not okay," Mabirizi stated.



Mabirizi, after filing the notice of the Appeal rushed to the Supreme Court registry amidst a tight deadline to avail them with copies as the legal procedures require.

The procedures include the requirement to state all reasons for the appeal and inform the Supreme court as soon as possible in instances where one is not appealing against the whole judgment of the Constitutional court.



Although armed police personnel attempted to block his access to the Supreme court, on grounds that he arrived beyond office time, Mabirizi later succeeded after introducing himself and the motive for his 'visit'. He now wants the Court of Appeal to declare the entire law as null and void.

"Were building a country on shaky ground which cannot stand. I have given 80 reasons, actually 80 disagreements with the judges.if you can be able, in just a day to pick 80 mistakes to be challenged, then I dont know what will happen after 60 days. I want the entire law to be annulled to be declared null and void."
I wish I saved my blockbuster card, that shit is iconic.

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I saved mine. It's still in my wallet. Lol

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Ugh I have a fear of being a hoarder so I threw it out. I'm kicking myself for it tho bc I'm sure I still hate late fees on my account.

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I have mine. I should post it on Instagram and title it #tbt because so many of these kids have no idea what a good time a Blockbuster card was.

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I was so bummed when my local video rental store closed (it was only a couple of years ago, it lasted so much longer than I would have expected). Growing up, it was such a ritual to get pizza and pick out a movie. First, with your family, then with your friends when you were older. The video store was the place to see people on the weekends.

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Same! My friends and I would go to each other's houses, rent movies, and buys pizza and junk food every Friday. We were really sad when it closed down.

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I think the only part I truly miss - if I take off the nostalgia goggles - is wandering the aisles and discovering movies based on the box cover art. That's how I found so many of my favorite movies back in the day. That's what got me to watch movies I'd never heard of.

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This is depressing.



There's a video store in my town that is still open. It's not in the greatest location but they show no sign of closing. It used to be JUST an adult video store and then they changed to all movies. I've never gone in though.





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I think we all are.

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lmao basically

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yep

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and in my case, not worrying about carbs lol

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lmao yup me too

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My mom would take me every Friday, too!

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Blockbuster always sucked, Hollywood video was superior. I too miss pizza and movie night, especially with Pizza Hut Cinnamon sticks! My mom and I always rented horror movies so Ive probably seen every horror movie that came out in the early 2000s lol. Funny, I used to genuinely enjoy/get creeped out at even the stupidest d-list horror movies but now I cant watch any horror movie on Netflix without turning it off 10 minutes in out of boredom.

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Hollywood video was the spot, but then 2 people were murdered in the one my parents used to take us to and we never went back

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Holy shit. Lol

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i always liked hollywood video bc they had a "classics" section which i had never seen before lol

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my mom helped close down a hollywood video (thanks mom) and we got all their computers and monitors LMAO

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I was all about Movie Gallery (~play on!~).

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I loved our Hollywood Video as a teen, because they had all sorts of Foreign and Indie Horror movies that I couldn't find anywhere else at the time!

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I moved to a small city in Maine and our local video shop closed last year. There were in a tiny spot in a cellar, basically, but in the main shopping complex in town. The landlord decided he'd rather use the space for storage.



so now this bodunk city doesn't have a movie theater or a rental place :(

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I feel like they were able to maintain some longevity even after going bankrupt. They filed for bankruptcy almost ten years ago, so the fact they still had a few locations up until a few months ago is pretty incredible tbh-versus businesses like Toys R Us, which filed Chapter 11 and closed all locations a few months later



Edited at 2018-07-28 05:10 pm (UTC)

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We still have a family video in town and I go there often, it's dirt cheap and tbh I'm really indecisive so I like just standing there with a finite number of movies to choose from.

It's downsized location wise three times in the past few years but still there's always a lot of people there. Lotta 80s kids bringing their children for nostalgias sake, tbh.

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we had a mom n pop rental store for the longest time, and i thought it was gonna last bc it was also a tanning salon (lol) but they recently liquidated their DVD inventory and now it's just tanning. :\

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Lol the video store in my hometown had a tanning area too! It closed a long time ago though.

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We had a mom and pop video store just down the street. It's been at least 16 years since they were around and I STILL miss it. They would let me take home the movie posters when they were done with them. They had only just started getting DVDs when they decided to pack up and move up north. I was devastated with them leaving.

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We still have a Family Video as well, but I've never been inside.



Edited at 2018-07-28 06:16 pm (UTC)

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when my best friend turned 21 (*cough 12 years ago cough*) we all piled into the car and headed to Blockbuster to rent a movie. I have a picture I took of everyone headed in. I love it; it's like an artifact.

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Echoing the sentiment that pizza and movie night was the best. I miss the ritual of walking through Blockbuster, browsing through everything, talking to the employees, trying to convince your parents to let you rent a game or pick up some Red Vines at checkout.



I'm also sad that now it's more difficult to (legally) find and get into older films - there's so much that's just not on Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime. Maybe with MoviePass going kaputt I'll try reallocating that budget to FilmStruck but it's not quite the same without the human element of talking to the store people and having them rec you stuff.

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Have you checked your local library's selection?



Just this weekend, I've rented The Great Ziegfeld, Ben-Hur, and other movies from the 40s/50s/60s. All for free.

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Oh, that's a good reminder! I'm so behind on the books that I've purchased that I haven't been to the library in forever.

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omg yeah why was candy and soda so much more exciting from the checkout line at blockbuster lol

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Ugh, I've subscribed to FilmStruck and I find it really disappointing. There's not a vast collection on there either.

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we still have a rental store where i live (oklahoma) and i love it!!!!! its called family video LMAO



i love looking through all the movies and feeling the nostalgia



i miss blockbuster. they dumb for not buying netflix

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I used to love the foreign film selection at Blockbuster...especially the older stuff and the cheesy Asian Horror films. Blockbusters was so much fun!

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does redbox not exist in alaksa?

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In the previous article, Asias Insatiable Oil Demand, I covered global and regional oil consumption numbers according to the recently-released 2018 BP Statistical Review of World Energy.

To recap, global oil consumption rose to a new record high in 2018 and has now increased in 31 of the past 34 years. Over the past decade, global oil consumption has increased by 11.1 million barrels per day (BPD). The primary driver behind the past decades demand jump is the Asia Pacific region, which was the source of 77 percent of the worlds demand growth over that time.

Today, I want to discuss the source of the worlds new oil production in recent years.

A decade ago, in the summer of 2008, the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude was racing toward $150 a barrel. Over the previous three years, the world had only increased oil production by 1.2 million BPD, and it essentially all came from OPEC.

Many analysts, including me, were extremely concerned about the future hold OPEC would maintain over the worlds oil supplies. It appeared that there would an enormous transfer of wealth from those countries dependent upon oil imports  like the United States  to OPEC countries. In many cases, these countries have interests that are hostile to those of the U.S., so this was very much an issue of national security.

But the future played out differently than it seemed it would in the summer of 2008. Unbeknownst to most people, oil producers were experimenting with a marriage between two established oil drilling technologies  horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

The success of this marriage would unlock oil in tight oil and shale oil deposits that had previously been too expensive to recover, and would result in one of the greatest oil booms the world had ever seen. In fact, the fracking revolution caused U.S. oil production to turn upward in 2009, and then rise over the next seven years at the fastest rate in U.S. history.

While it is still true that OPEC produced 42.6 percent of the worlds oil in 2017, the majority of new oil production since 2008 has come from the U.S.

Oil Supply Growth 2008-2017

Of the 10.3 million BPD of new oil production since 2008, the U.S. supplied 6.2 million BPD (60 percent). The worlds two other major oil-producing countries, Saudi Arabia and Russia, saw their production increase by 1.7 million BPD and 1.2 million BPD respectively since 2008.

OPEC overall increased its production by 3.6 million BPD since 2008, primarily as a result of production growth in Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Iran. But OPECs gains were limited by production declines in Venezuela, Libya, and Nigeria. There were also regional production declines in Europe, Asia, Africa, and South and Central America. Related: Oil Prices Slip As Rig Count Inches Higher

Also notable is that Canada and Mexico are major oil producers (although Mexicos production has been declining). Overall, North America supplied 20 million BPD of the worlds oil in 2017 (22 percent). This was ahead of every other region of the world except for the Middle East, which produced 31.6 million BPD, or 34.1 percent of the worlds total.

According to the BP Statistical Review, the U.S. now leads both Saudi Arabia and Russia in crude oil production. This is in part because BPs definition of oil includes natural gas liquids (NGLs), which grew by about two million BPD in the U.S. as natural gas production boomed. Without the NGLs, the U.S. would probably have been behind Saudi Arabia, but probably not Russia, in total oil production.

It is hard to overstate the consequences of the fracking revolution, because the U.S. oil production surge broke OPECs stranglehold on global oil prices. But U.S. tight oil production will inevitably slow and once again begin to decline. The key questions are how soon this will happen, and whether a return to >$100/bbl oil  and in turn OPECs stranglehold  awaits that inevitability.

By Robert Rapier

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While Ford has been emphasizing trucks and SUVs over passenger cars, that may soon be changing over to a new business model.

On Tuesday, the Detroit automaker launched Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC to accelerate the growth of its autonomous vehicle business and to capitalize on market opportunities. The new subsidiary will receive a $4 billion investment to oversee all its AV research and the self-driving car network the automaker plans to launch in 2021.

In April, Ford's new CEO, Jim Hackett, announced the company would be focusing on big sellers like the Ford F-Series pickups and would pretty much be abandoning the car business. Low gasoline prices and strong sales of trucks and SUVs helped drive the decision.

Now the global automaker is adding another move  to become a leader in electrified, autonomous ride services targeted to become its own profitable business. The company aims to be competitive in the newly emerging mobility industry, which is expected to dominate the auto industry in decades to come.

Ford Autonomous Vehicles LLC, will include Fords self-driving systems integration, autonomous vehicle research and advanced engineering, AV transportation-as-a-service network development, user experience, business strategy and business development teams. The new business unit will be based at Fords Corktown campus in Detroit and includes Argo AI, a Pittsburgh-based partner for AV system development. The $4 billion investment includes $1 billion going to Argo AI.

Sherif Marakby, currently Ford vice president, Autonomous Vehicles and Electrification, has been appointed CEO of the new subsidiary. Marakby is handing over electrification duties to Tedd Cannia, global director, electrification, will lead Fords Team Edison. The automaker said that Team Edison is responsible for developing and bringing to market next-generation electric vehicles. Related: The Three Best Oil Majors Of 2018

Ford Autonomous Vehicles and Team Edison are part of Fords strategy to rethink the ownership experience. Investing in mobility companies in recent years has been part of that strategy. Another division, Ford Smart Mobility LLC, is part of that long-term business plan. That unit is dedicated to emerging mobility products and services such as Chariot, a San Francisco-based shuttle service.

Ford follows close behind General Motors launching GM Cruise, which recently helped that automaker secure $2.25 from Softbank for a stake in the new subsidiary. That makes for three dedicated AV technology companies joining Alphabet's Waymo.

German automaker Daimler has become a leading player in the mobility side of the business.

The Daimler Mobility Services GmbH financial holding company manages its mobility services  including Car2go, Moovel, MyTaxi, and Ride4Hire.

The automated, electric, sharing business model has been years in the making for Ford.

In April, Ford took more steps to operate its own robotaxi network at scale by 2021 to transport people and goods in the most ambitious details yet revealed by an automaker for anything like it. For years, Ford executives have been articulating the companys move to reinvent itself into a personal mobility company. Thats been expanded to include fleet networks serving corporate and government leaders interested in managing autonomous passenger and cargo vehicles.

Fords business model ties into expectations that cities around the world are becoming increasingly crowded and traffic intensive. City and national governments are becoming strict about carbon emissions and want to see vehicles switched over from gasoline and diesel to electricity and, for a few of them, hydrogen fuel cells.

Government policy is also being adopted to reduce traffic jams, fatality rates, and to downsize the number vehicles on streets to open up space for pedestrians and bicycles.

Related: The Most Important Waterway In The Oil World

Ford has committed to bring thousands of new electrified vehicles to China to support the governments new energy vehicle policy and growing market demand for electric vehicles in the market. The fleet side of the business has also been important to Ford, including the launch of hybrid police cars last fall.

Corporate mergers and partnerships are being forged by automakers and technology companies to lead the way in autonomous, electrified mobility networks in the near future. In May, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) announced an expanded partnership with Waymo that will add up to 62,000 more Chrysler Pacifica minivans to Waymos self-driving car fleet later this year.

In September, Cruise Automation and its owner, GM, announced that theyre ready to mass produce a vehicle designed to become fully autonomous. The automated vehicle will be based on a third-generation Cruise self-driving platform, using the Chevrolet Bolt. It will be manufactured at GMs Orion, Michigan plant, where the company previously announced it would be producing their Bolt autonomous test cars.

By Jon LeSage for Oilprice.com

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In this Thursday, July 26, 2018 file photo, a structure burns as the Carr fire races along Highway 299 near Redding, Calif. In the last year, fires have devastated neighborhoods in the Northern California wine country city of Santa Rosa, the Southern California beach city of Ventura and, now, the inland city of Redding. Hotter weather from changing climates is drying out vegetation, creating more intense fires that spread quickly from rural areas to city subdivisions, climate and fire experts say. But they also blame cities for expanding into previously undeveloped areas susceptible to fire. AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

A fire that started in a rural community in Northern California underscored a new reality in the state when days later it suddenly roared through neighborhoods on the edge of the city of Redding: Urban areas are increasingly vulnerable to wildfires.

In the last year, neighborhoods in the Northern California wine country city of Santa Rosa and the Southern California beach city of Ventura have been devastated.

Hotter weather attributed to climate change is drying out vegetation, creating more intense fires that spread quickly from rural areas to city subdivisions, climate and fire experts say. But they also blame municipalities that are expanding housing into previously undeveloped areas.

"There are just places were there should not be subdivisions," said Kurt Henke, a former fire chief in Sacramento who now serves as a consultant to fire organizations. "We're not talking about a single family who wants to build a house in the woods. I'm talking about subdivisions encroaching into the wild land urban interface that put them in the path of these destructive fires."

Henke wants more funding from the state legislature to deploy firefighters to areas where conditions are ripe for fast-moving fires, so they can be respond quickly if a blaze breaks out.

The fire that affected Reddinga city of about 92,000 people about 250 miles (400 kilometers) north of San Franciscostarted Monday about 10 miles (16 kilometers) west of the city before sweeping Thursday through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and nearby Keswick. It then jumped the Sacramento River and took out subdivisions on the western edge of Redding.

This Oct. 14, 2017 file photo shows an aerial view shows the devastation of the Coffey Park neighborhood after the Tubbs swept through in Santa Rosa, Calif. In the last year, fires have devastated neighborhoods in the Northern California wine country city of Santa Rosa, the Southern California beach city of Ventura and, now, the inland city of Redding. Hotter weather from changing climates is drying out vegetation, creating more intense fires that spread quickly from rural areas to city subdivisions, climate and fire experts say. But they also blame cities for expanding into previously undeveloped areas susceptible to fire. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

Redding sits at the northern end of the agricultural Central Valley, surrounded by a scenic landscape. It has a downtown with a theater and wine bar and homes spread out in subdivisions.

Two firefighters were killedone from the Redding Fire Department and the other a bulldozer operator hired for the fire. Hundreds of homes were destroyed and nearly 40,000 people were under evacuation orders.

Like the fires in Santa Rosa and Ventura last year, wind was a major contributor to the blaze's spread.

"It's ripping trees off the ground and throwing them across the street into homes," Chad Carroll, a spokesman for CalFire said Friday. "That's pretty strange and unusual."

Calfire Director Ken Pimlott described the fire activity at a news conference on Friday as almost like a "tornado."

This Oct. 13, 2017 file photo shows row of chimneys stand in a neighborhood devastated by the Tubbs fire near Santa Rosa, Calif. In the last year, fires have devastated neighborhoods in the Northern California wine country city of Santa Rosa, the Southern California beach city of Ventura and, now, the inland city of Redding. Hotter weather from changing climates is drying out vegetation, creating more intense fires that spread quickly from rural areas to city subdivisions, climate and fire experts say. But they also blame cities for expanding into previously undeveloped areas susceptible to fire. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

"What we're seeing not just here in Shasta County but literally statewide, fires that are growing exponentially," he said.

While touring Ventura County neighborhoods ravaged by fire last year, Gov. Jerry Brown said drought and climate change mean California faces a "new reality" where lives and property are continually threatened by fire.

The state is experiencing longer periods of warm temperatures and dry conditions that are making major fires nearly a year-round possibility, said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles.

"What we're seeing with some of the most dangerous fires is that they're spreading quickly, burning very hot or producing their own weather," he said.

Still, he agreed with other experts that say the destruction was also the result of more people living closer to fire-prone areas.

In this Oct. 14, 2017, file photo, the Tubbs wildfire burns behind a winery in Santa Rosa, Calif. In the last year, fires have devastated neighborhoods in the Northern California wine country city of Santa Rosa, the Southern California beach city of Ventura and, now, the inland city of Redding. Hotter weather from changing climates is drying out vegetation, creating more intense fires that spread quickly from rural areas to city subdivisions, climate and fire experts say. But they also blame cities for expanding into previously undeveloped areas susceptible to fire. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

"Over the years, we're putting more people in harm's way," he said. "More people living in high fire risk areas than usual."

The fire in Santa Rosa in October 2017 destroyed nearly 2,700 homes, including in one neighborhood with expensive new subdivisions on a hillside at the edge of the city. The blaze in Ventura two months later destroyed more than 500 buildings.

In this Dec. 5, 2017, file photo, a wildfire threatens a home in Ventura, Calif. In the last year, fires have devastated neighborhoods in the Northern California wine country city of Santa Rosa, the Southern California beach city of Ventura and, now, the inland city of Redding. Hotter weather from changing climates is drying out vegetation, creating more intense fires that spread quickly from rural areas to city subdivisions, climate and fire experts say. But they also blame cities for expanding into previously undeveloped areas susceptible to fire. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)

Jacque Chase, an urban planning expert at California State University, Chico, said U.S. government statistics show more homes are going up across the country in areas that sit on the boundary of urban areas and undeveloped land. That increases the risk of fires caused by human activity. It also means firefighters have to change their approach.

"They have to deal with actually saving lives and saving property," she said.

In this Oct. 14, 2017 file photo, an aerial view shows the devastation of the Coffey Park neighborhood after the Tubbs wildfire swept through Santa Rosa, Calif. In the last year, fires have devastated neighborhoods in the Northern California wine country city of Santa Rosa, the Southern California beach city of Ventura and, now, the inland city of Redding. Hotter weather from changing climates is drying out vegetation, creating more intense fires that spread quickly from rural areas to city subdivisions, climate and fire experts say. But they also blame cities for expanding into previously undeveloped areas susceptible to fire. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

In this Dec. 5, 2017 file photo, smoke rises behind a destroyed apartment complex as a the Thomas wildfire burns in Ventura, Calif. In the last year, fires have devastated neighborhoods in the Northern California wine country city of Santa Rosa, the Southern California beach city of Ventura and, now, the inland city of Redding. Hotter weather from changing climates is drying out vegetation, creating more intense fires that spread quickly from rural areas to city subdivisions, climate and fire experts say. But they also blame cities for expanding into previously undeveloped areas susceptible to fire. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

Explore further Thousands flee new California blaze, governor asks aid

 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
Environmental activists drop off an old mechanised armoured personnel carrier provided by the Lebanese Armed Forces into the Mediterranean Sea, about three kilometres off the coast of the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon, on July 28, 2018

Lebanese environmentalists on Saturday sank 10 old tanks and armoured vehicles to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea in a novel attempt to attract divers and create new habitats for marine life.

Three kilometres off the coast of the city of Sidon, a huge crane on the back of a ship manoeuvred the military hardware into place over the water before dropping them down to the seabed one after the other.

The initiative to create an "underwater park" is spearhead by a local group, Friends of the coast of Sidon, which got the Lebanese army to hand over some of it old vehicles for the project.

"This will be a paradise for divers and a place where we can develop underwater life," said NGO representative Kamel Kozbar, who hopes seaweed will soon cover the vehicles.

Lebanon boasts some 200 kilometres of Mediterranean coast but beaches have not been spared from a waste and garbage crisis that has plagued Lebanon for years.

In Sidon, a mountain of smelly trash has scarred the shoreline, despite the presence of a new waste management facility.

In a region fraught with tensions the latest project also has some political undertones.

The tanks have been placed with their turrets facing towards Lebanon's southern foe Israel "out of solidarity for the Palestinian people", Kozbar said.

Environmental activists drop off an old battle tank provided by the Lebanese Armed Forces into the Mediterranean Sea, about three kilometres off the coast of the southern Lebanese port city of Sidon, on July 28, 2018

Explore further Concrete weighs heavily on the Mediterranean coast

 2018 AFP
Iceland openly defies the International Whaling Commission's 1986 ban on whale hunting

The controversial hunt for minke whales in Iceland has come to end after declining profits led to the local industry closing, the International Fund for Animal Welfare said on Friday.

Only six minke whales were caught in June and none in Julyusually the peak month for huntingout of a quota of 262, the IFAW said in a statement.

It was the smallest number since Iceland resumed whaling in 2003, with 17 animals caught last summer, and 46 in 2016.

The head of whaling company IP-Utgerd Ltd, Gunnar Jonsson, confirmed to AFP that hunting has stopped.

"We need to go much farther from the coast than before, so we need more staff, which increases costs," he told the Morgunbladid newspaper.

Iceland, along with Norway, openly defies the International Whaling Commission's 1986 ban on whale hunting.

The practice has drawn fire from numerous corners including the European Union and the United States, which in 2014 threatened Iceland with economic sanctions.

Japan also hunts whales, but uses a legal loophole that allows it to continue catching the animals in order to gather scientific data.

Icelandic whaling company Hvalur drew ire earlier this month when marine conservationists claimed it had killed a rare blue whale.

However it turned out to be a hybrid between a blue whale and a fin whale, which are possibly even rarer than blue whales but have no laws to protect them.

Explore further Outrage as Iceland fishermen kill rare whale

 2018 AFP
In this photo taken on Thursday, July 26, 2018, a visitor looks at the restored Peter Paul Rubens self portrait from 1628 in the Rubenshouse in Antwerp, Belgium. Belgian museums are uniting in protest against Facebook since they cannot promote Flemish masters like Rubens at will for falling foul of the social media site's adult content rules. Facebook says it has more restrictive rules when it comes to advertising which "must not contain adult content. This includes nudity, depictions of people in explicit or suggestive positions, or activities that are overly suggestive or sexually provocative."(AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

For four centuries, the opulent, exuberant nudes of Peter Paul Rubens have been known to shock and delight in sometimes equal measure. And now, even in 2018, his Baroque paintings are still jolting the internet.

Belgian museums are uniting in protest against Facebook since they cannot promote Flemish Masters including Rubens at will for fear of falling foul of the social media site's adult content rules and automatic censorship.

"The bare breasts and buttocks painted by our artist are considered by you to be inappropriate. We have noticed that Facebook consistently rejects works of art by our beloved Peter Paul Rubens," over a dozen top Belgian art officials wrote to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

The Visit Flanders tourist board even produced a mock news video where security officials prevent visitors from seeing nudity in the Rubens House museum. In it, one even spreads his arms in front of the "Adam & Eve" painting, where the biblical figures are covered only by the proverbial fig leaf. Instead they divert them to other paintings where everyone is properly dressed.

Point made, they hope.

"Twenty percent of the (Facebook) posts that we dedicated to the Flemish Masters couldn't be shown to our audience, our cultural audience worldwide," said spokeswoman Tama d'Haen of Visit Flanders.

In this photo taken on Thursday, July 26, 2018, visitors look at the painting "Adam and Eve" by Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens in the Rubenshouse in Antwerp, Belgium. Belgian museums are uniting in protest against Facebook since they cannot promote Flemish masters like Rubens at will for falling foul of the social media site's adult content rules. Facebook says it has more restrictive rules when it comes to advertising which "must not contain adult content. This includes nudity, depictions of people in explicit or suggestive positions, or activities that are overly suggestive or sexually provocative."(AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

"It's really embarrassing for Visit Flanders that we cannot show one of our main assets to the world. That's why we came up with the idea of a video," she said.

Facebook says it understands the issue. Yet even if it allows paintings like those from Rubens to be posted, it has more restrictive rules when it comes to advertising, which "must not contain adult content. This includes nudity, depictions of people in explicit or suggestive positions, or activities that are overly suggestive or sexually provocative."

The Facebook rules go on to say that it includes "nudity or implied nudity, even if artistic or educational in nature."

And that is where Rubens and other masters get caught in the act.

In this photo taken on Thursday, July 26, 2018, visitors look at the painting "The Martyrdom of St. Andrew" by Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens in the Rubenshouse in Antwerp, Belgium. Belgian museums are uniting in protest against Facebook since they cannot promote Flemish masters like Rubens at will for falling foul of the social media site's adult content rules. Facebook says it has more restrictive rules when it comes to advertising which "must not contain adult content. This includes nudity, depictions of people in explicit or suggestive positions, or activities that are overly suggestive or sexually provocative."(AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

D'Haen said Belgian officials want Facebook to "make a difference between nudity in general, pornographic nudity, which is of course not allowed on their platform, and the nudity which is part of many paintings hanging in Flanders and worldwide."

She said they never get complaints from museum goers about the nudity.

Both sides have agreed to a meeting to discuss the topic in detail. Facebook wrote to The Associated Press on Friday saying that "as part of a longer running and continuous review process, we want to make sure that museums and other institutions are able to share some of their most iconic paintings."

"We are thus currently reviewing our approach to nudity in paintings in ads on Facebook," the statement said.

In this photo taken on Thursday, July 26, 2018, visitors look at the painting "Adam and Eve" by Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens in the Rubenshouse in Antwerp, Belgium. Belgian museums are uniting in protest against Facebook since they cannot promote Flemish masters like Rubens at will for falling foul of the social media site's adult content rules. Facebook says it has more restrictive rules when it comes to advertising which "must not contain adult content. This includes nudity, depictions of people in explicit or suggestive positions, or activities that are overly suggestive or sexually provocative."(AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

The issue of censorship wouldn't be unfamiliar to Rubens, who died in 1640. After all, the Roman Catholic church in his time already asked him to paint loincloths over body parts of his Venus figures, although he preferred the natural concourse of muscle, skin, and fat.

It was always thus, said Paolo Grossi of the Italian Cultural Institute in Brussels.

"Everyone knows the story of Il Braghettone, the famous Daniele da Volterra who was asked to paint loincloths over Michelangelo's nudes in "The Last Judgment,'" in the Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Grossi said.

That directive was driven by moral concerns. Grossi, however, wondered if Facebook was now driven "by the need to deliver a politically correct message ... and comply with Facebook's ad and business model to avoid any ripples."

In this photo taken on Thursday, July 26, 2018, visitors look at the painting "The Martyrdom of St. Andrew" by Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens in the Rubenshouse in Antwerp, Belgium. Belgian museums are uniting in protest against Facebook since they cannot promote Flemish masters like Rubens at will for falling foul of the social media site's adult content rules. Facebook says it has more restrictive rules when it comes to advertising which "must not contain adult content. This includes nudity, depictions of people in explicit or suggestive positions, or activities that are overly suggestive or sexually provocative."(AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

In this photo taken on Thursday, July 26, 2018, visitors look at the painting "The Raising of the Cross" by Flemish master Peter Paul Rubens in the Our Lady Cathedral in Antwerp, Belgium. Belgian museums are uniting in protest against Facebook since they cannot promote Flemish masters like Rubens at will for falling foul of the social media site's adult content rules. Facebook says it has more restrictive rules when it comes to advertising which "must not contain adult content. This includes nudity, depictions of people in explicit or suggestive positions, or activities that are overly suggestive or sexually provocative."(AP Photo/Olivier Matthys)

Explore further Facebook apologises for censoring prehistoric Venus statue

 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
An historic schoolhouse burns as the Carr Fire tears through Shasta, Calif., Thursday, July 26, 2018. Fueled by high temperatures, wind and low humidity, the blaze destroyed multiple homes and at least one historic building. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Heat waves are setting all-time temperature records across the globe, again. Europe suffered its deadliest wildfire in more than a century, and one of nearly 90 large fires in the U.S. West burned dozens of homes and forced the evacuation of at least 37,000 people near Redding, California. Flood-inducing downpours have pounded the U.S. East this week.

It's all part of summerbut it's all being made worse by human-caused climate change, scientists say.

"Weirdness abounds," said Rutgers University climate scientist Jennifer Francis.

Japan hit 106 degrees on Monday, its hottest temperature ever. Records fell in parts of Massachusetts, Maine, Wyoming, Colorado, Oregon, New Mexico and Texas. And then there's crazy heat in Europe, where normally chill Norway, Sweden and Finland all saw temperatures they have never seen before on any date, pushing past 90 degrees.

So far this month, at least 118 of these all-time heat records have been set or tied across the globe, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The explanations should sound as familiar as the crash of broken records.

"We now have very strong evidence that global warming has already put a thumb on the scales, upping the odds of extremes like severe heat and heavy rainfall," Stanford University climate scientist Noah Diffenbaugh said. "We find that global warming has increased the odds of record-setting hot events over more than 80 percent of the planet, and has increased the odds of record-setting wet events at around half of the planet."

Visitors rest in the shade in the midday heat at Cheonggye stream in downtown Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 23, 2018. The temperature in a city north of Tokyo reached 41.1 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday, the highest ever recorded in Japan, as a deadly heat wave gripped a wide swath of the country and nearby South Korea. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Climate change is making the world warmer because of the build-up of heat-trapping gases from the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil and other human activities. And experts say the jet streamwhich dictates weather in the Northern Hemisphereis again behaving strangely.

"An unusually sharply kinked jet stream has been stuck in place for weeks now," said Jeff Masters, director of the private Weather Underground. He says that allows the heat to stay in place over three areas where the kinks are: Europe, Japan and the western United States.

The same jet stream pattern caused the 2003 European heat wave, the 2010 Russian heat wave and fires, the 2011 Texas and Oklahoma drought and the 2016 Canadian wildfires, Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann said, pointing to past studies by him and others. He said in an email that these extremes are "becoming more common because of human-caused climate change and in particular, the amplified warming in the Arctic."

Climate scientists have long said they can't directly link single weather events, like a heat wave, to human caused climate change without extensive study. In the past decade they have used observations, statistics and computer simulations to calculate if global warming increases the chances of the events.

A study by European scientists Friday found that the ongoing European heat wave is twice as likely because of human-caused global warming, though those conclusions have not yet been confirmed by outside scientists. The World Weather Attribution team said they compared three-day heat measurements and forecasts for the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland with historical records going back to the early 1900s.

A man cools off in a water mist along the Las Vegas Strip, Thursday, July 26, 2018, in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas valley is in it's third day of a an excessive heat warning issued by the National Weather Service. (AP Photo/John Locher)

"The world is becoming warmer and so heat waves like this are becoming more common," said Friederike Otto, a member of the team and deputy director of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford.

Erich Fischer, an expert on weather extremes at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich who wasn't part of the analysis said the authors used well-established methods to make their conclusions, adding "their estimates may even be rather conservative."

Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb said the link between climate change and fires isn't as strong as it is with heat waves, but it is becoming clearer.

A devastating fire in Greecewith at least 86 fatalitiesis the deadliest fire in Europe since 1900, according to the International Disaster Database run by the Centre for the Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters in Brussels, Belgium.

In the United States on Friday, there were 89 active large fires, consuming nearly 900,000 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. So far this year, fires have burned 4.15 million acres, which is nearly 14 percent higher than average over the past 10 years.

The first major science study to connect greenhouse gases to stronger and longer heat waves was in 2004. It was titled "More intense, more frequent and longer lasting heat waves in the 21st century." Study author Gerald Meehl of the National Center for Atmospheric Research said Friday that now it "reads like a prediction of what has been happening and will continue to happen as long as average temperatures continue to rise with ever-increasing emissions of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels. It's no mystery."

This Wednesday, July 25, 2018 aerial photo shows burnt houses and trees following a wildfire in Mati, east of Athens. Frantic relatives searching for loved ones missing in Greece's deadliest forest fire in decades headed to Athens' morgue on Thursday, July 26, 2018 as rescue crews and volunteers continued searches on land and at sea for potential further victims. (Antonis Nikolopoulos/Eurokinissi via AP)

The Carr Fire burns along Highway 299 in Shasta, Calif., on Thursday, July 26, 2018. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Explore further Heat wave shattered records this past week in US, elsewhere

 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
The Carr Fire burned properties including these near the Lake Keswick Estates area in Redding, California

Thousands of people in Southern California had fled a deliberately set blaze southeast of Los Angeles by Saturday morning, after the state's governor requested federal aid to help battle a deadly fire elsewhere.

A blaze known as the Cranston Fire, and the Northern California Carr Fire in which two firefighters have lost their lives, are among the most serious of several blazes burning in the most populous US state.

A third major blaze, the Ferguson Fire, has encroached upon the Yosemite National Park in central California, forcing the partial closure of the popular attraction and leading to the death of a firefighter several days ago.

More than 1,300 firefighters were battling the fast-moving Cranston Fire, which began on Wednesday and forced the evacuation of about 7,000 people, the US Forest Service said.

It added that the hazards created by Cranston and another fire have caused the temporary closure of all US Forest Service lands within the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument.

A 32-year-old man has been arrested and charged with 15 arson counts, including for the Cranston Fire.

"Fire dangers continue to rise throughout CA. Make sure your family and friends are prepared to evacuate. Be alert," warned California's Office of Emergency Services.

Governor Jerry Brown on Friday asked for federal assistance "to save lives and to protect property," his office said in a statement. He asked for help including military aircraft, shelter supplies and water for 30,000 evacuated residents in Shasta County, in north-central California, where the Carr Fire has grown "uncontrollably," the statement said.

Brown declared a state of emergency in Shasta and ordered National Guard forces to assist the 3,400 fire personnel already trying to contain the Carr Fire, which has destroyed 500 structures and more than 48,000 acres (19,400 hectares).

A large cloud of smoke explodes outward during the Carr fire near Redding, California

On Friday an official announced the death of a firefighter battling the inferno.

"Two firefighters have been killed in the Carr Fire. A private contractor (operating) a bulldozer died yesterday and a Redding City firefighter was killed in the evening," a spokesman for Cal Fire, the state's Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, told AFP.

Cal Fire had announced hours earlier the death of the bulldozer driver.

The Carr Fire outside Redding swept across a river late Thursday and engulfed the western part of the city of 90,000 people, said Bret Gouvea, a Cal Fire commander.

Scott McLean, a spokesman for the department, said law enforcement colleagues were "doing evacuations as fast as we can" because the fire was moving so fast.

"There have been some injuries to civilians and firefighters," he said.

"Continued hot dry weather is forecasted for the remainder of the weekend with triple-digit temperatures," Cal Fire said on its website.

"The winds, high temperatures and dry vegetation still have the potential to fuel fire growth."

Last year was the worst on record for wildfire devastation in California, with more than 40 deaths and around 9,000 structures destroyed, following fires that ravaged the Napa and Sonoma wine regions.

Explore further Firefighters injured as blaze near Yosemite grows

 2018 AFP
The moon turns red during a total lunar eclipse in Bernkastel-Kues, Germany, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. (Harald Tittel/dpa via AP)

Curiosity and awe have greeted a complete lunar eclipse, the longest one of this century and visible in much of the world.

The so-called "blood moon," when it turns a deep red, was visible at different times in Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and South America when the sun, Earth and moon lined up perfectly, casting Earth's shadow on the moon.

The total eclipse lasted 1 hour and 43 minutes, with the entire event lasting closer to four hours.

Rio de Janeiro's spectators cheered when the blood moon emerged from the fog. Hundreds of people watched at a fort overlooking the iconic Copacabana beach and Sugarloaf Mountain. The local planetarium set up telescopes for astrology fans.

"These telescopes are fantastic. It's one thing to see pictures of the planets in a book and another to see it in real life," said Ana Selma Ferreira, a 46-year old lawyer who brought her children to the spectacle.

Across Africa people turned to the sky, watching the reddish shadow slide up the moon's surface. In Somalia, some hurried to mosques for special prayers. In South Sudan, some dared to take photos in a war-torn country where using a camera in public is discouraged.

A full moon rises next to the Colosseum during a complete lunar eclipse, in Rome, Friday, July 27, 2018. The so-called "blood moon" Friday, when it turns a deep red, will be visible at different times in Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and South America when the sun, Earth and moon line up perfectly, casting Earth's shadow on the moon. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

In Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa, people at an open-air restaurant admired a rare clear view during the rainy season, comparing a live NASA webcast to what they saw above. Then clouds rolled in.

"Dem yelebesech chereka," some murmuredAmharic for "blood moon."

"The reason that the moon turns red is because atmospheric scattering causes red light to pass through the atmosphere and the composition of the atmosphere can change if volcanic eruptions or forest fires occur," said Tom Kerss, an astronomer with the Royal Observatory Greenwich.

The moon turns red during a total lunar eclipse, behind the Saentis in Luzern, Switzerland, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. (Christian Merz/Keystone via AP)

"And the density of dust increasing in the atmosphere can cause the moon to appear a particularly deep red, and indeed it has the same effect on our sunsets and sunrises."

In a special treat, Mars is also at its closest approach to Earth this week since 2003, making it appear bigger and brighter.

Excited skywatchers on social media shared photos of the bright planet just to the right of the moon.

North America missed out on Friday's lunar eclipse but can look forward to the next one on Jan. 21, 2019, according to NASA.

The moon turns red during a total lunar eclipse, as seen from Dresden, Germany, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. (Sebastian Kahnert/dpa via AP)

The moon turns red during a total lunar eclipse in Giv'atayim, Israel, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A blood moon rises over Turkish capital Ankara, Turkey, late Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. The so-called "blood moon" Friday, when it turns a deep red, will be visible at different times in Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and South America when the sun, Earth and moon line up perfectly, casting Earth's shadow on the moon. (AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)

People watch the moon turn red during a lunar eclipse in Giv'atayim, Israel, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A full moon sets over Petronas Twin Tower during a complete lunar eclipse in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Saturday, July 28, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century.(AP Photo/Yam G-Jun)

The moon turns red during a total lunar eclipse, as seen from Lucerne, Switzerland, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone via AP)

Clouds obscure the view for people gathered to see the 'blood moon', the longest total eclipse of the moon this century, on Primrose Hill in London, Friday, July 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

The moon turns red over Sydney during a lunar eclipse Saturday, July 28, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. (AP Photo/Rick Rycroft)

A full moon rises over a Christian Orthodox church during a complete lunar eclipse in Ergates village near capital Nicosia, Cyprus, late Friday, July 27, 2018. The complete lunar eclipse Friday when the sun, Earth and moon line up perfectly to cast Earth's shadow on the moon, will be the longest this century. It's called a "blood moon" because it turns a deep red and will be visible at different times around the world. Additionally, Mars and the sun will be on exact opposite sides of the Earth and will shine its best. (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

A full moon sets over Petronas Twin Tower during a complete lunar eclipse in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Saturday, July 28, 2018.Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. (AP Photo/Yam G-Jun)

The moon is seen through spires of the Duomo gothic cathedral during a complete lunar eclipse, in Milan, Italy, Friday, July 27, 2018. The so-called "blood moon" Friday, when it turns a deep red, will be visible at different times in Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and South America when the sun, Earth and moon line up perfectly, casting Earth's shadow on the moon. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

The lunar eclipse is shown on a screen at the Al Thuraya Astronomy Center in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

A blood moon rises over Gaza City, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. The so-called "blood moon" Friday, when it turns a deep red, will be visible at different times in Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and South America when the sun, Earth and moon line up perfectly, casting Earth's shadow on the moon. (AP Photo/Hatem Moussa)

Young people sit on the bank of the Tagus river in Lisbon during a lunar eclipse Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. (AP Photo/Armando Franca)

A blood moon is seem with Mars on the bottom right (white dot), in Nairobi, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. The so-called "blood moon" Friday, when it turns a deep red, will be visible at different times in Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and South America when the sun, Earth and moon line up perfectly, casting Earth's shadow on the moon. (AP Photo/Sayyid Abdul Azim)

People line up to watch the lunar eclipse through a telescope at the Children's Civilization and Creativity Center in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

People line up to watch the lunar eclipse through a telescope at the Children's Civilization and Creativity Center in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

A full moon rises over a Christian Orthodox church during a complete lunar eclipse in Ergates village near capital Nicosia, Cyprus, late Friday, July 27, 2018. The so-called "blood moon" Friday, when it turns a deep red, will be visible at different times in Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and South America when the sun, Earth and moon line up perfectly, casting Earth's shadow on the moon (AP Photo/Petros Karadjias)

A man watches the lunar eclipse through a telescope at the Al Thuraya Astronomy Center in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)

The moon is partly covered during a lunar eclipse in Giv'atayim, Israel, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

The moon turns red during a total lunar eclipse, as seen from Zurich, Switzerland, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. (Ennio Leanza/Keystone via AP)

The moon turns red during a total lunar eclipse in Giv'atayim, Israel, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

The moon rises past the Colosseum during a complete lunar eclipse, in Rome, Friday, July 27, 2018. The so-called "blood moon" Friday, when it turns a deep red, will be visible at different times in Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and South America when the sun, Earth and moon line up perfectly, casting Earth's shadow on the moon.(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

The moon is framed by the Colosseum during a complete lunar eclipse, in Rome, Friday, July 27, 2018. The so-called "blood moon" Friday, when it turns a deep red, will be visible at different times in Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and South America when the sun, Earth and moon line up perfectly, casting Earth's shadow on the moon.(AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

The moon turns red during a total lunar eclipse, as seen from Lucerne, Switzerland, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. (Urs Flueeler/Keystone via AP)

A full moon rises next to the Colosseum during a complete lunar eclipse, in Rome, Friday, July 27, 2018. The so-called "blood moon" Friday, when it turns a deep red, will be visible at different times in Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and South America when the sun, Earth and moon line up perfectly, casting Earth's shadow on the moon. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)

A full moon rises behind the ancient temple of Poseidon in cape Sounio, about 65 kilometers (40miles) south of Athens, Friday, July 27, 2018. The complete lunar eclipse Friday when the sun, Earth and moon line up perfectly to cast Earth's shadow on the moon, will be the longest this century. It's called a "blood moon" because it turns a deep red and will be visible at different times around the world. Additionally, Mars and the sun will be on exact opposite sides of the Earth and will shine its best. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

Full moon rises over the ancient temple of Poseidon in cape Sounio, about 65 kilometers (40miles) south of Athens, Friday, July 27, 2018. The complete lunar eclipse Friday when the sun, Earth and moon line up perfectly to cast Earth's shadow on the moon, will be the longest this century. It's called a "blood moon" because it turns a deep red and will be visible at different times around the world. Additionally, Mars and the sun will be on exact opposite sides of the Earth and will shine its best. (AP Photo/Thanassis Stavrakis)

People watch the lunar eclipse at the Children's Civilization and Creativity Center in Cairo, Egypt, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

A blood moon rises Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. The so-called "blood moon" Friday, when it turns a deep red, will be visible at different times in Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and South America when the sun, Earth and moon line up perfectly, casting Earth's shadow on the moon. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A blood moon rises over Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. The so-called "blood moon" Friday, when it turns a deep red, will be visible at different times in Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and South America when the sun, Earth and moon line up perfectly, casting Earth's shadow on the moon. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A blood moon rises over Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. The so-called "blood moon" Friday, when it turns a deep red, will be visible at different times in Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and South America when the sun, Earth and moon line up perfectly, casting Earth's shadow on the moon. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit) (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A blood moon rises over Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. The so-called "blood moon" Friday, when it turns a deep red, will be visible at different times in Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and South America when the sun, Earth and moon line up perfectly, casting Earth's shadow on the moon. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A blood moon rises over Tel Aviv, Israel, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. The so-called "blood moon" Friday, when it turns a deep red, will be visible at different times in Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and South America when the sun, Earth and moon line up perfectly, casting Earth's shadow on the moon. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)

A blood moon rises over the TV tower of France 3 in Marseille, southern France, Friday, July 27, 2018. Curiosity and awe have greeted a complete lunar eclipse, the longest one of this century. (AP Photo/Claude Paris)

People gather atop a hill to watch a red moon during a complete lunar eclipse at the Tio Pio park in Madrid, Friday, July 27, 2018. The so-called "blood moon" Friday, when it turns a deep red, will be visible at different times in Australia, Africa, Asia, Europe and South America when the sun, Earth and moon line up perfectly, casting Earth's shadow on the moon. (AP Photo/Francisco Seco)

A blood moon rises over Marseille, southern France, Friday, July 27, 2018. Curiosity and awe have greeted a complete lunar eclipse, the longest one of this century. (AP Photo/Claude Paris)

The moon is seen during a complete lunar eclipse over Marseille, southern France, Friday, July 27, 2018. Curiosity and awe have greeted a complete lunar eclipse, the longest one of this century.(AP Photo/Claude Paris)

A blood moon rises at Arpoador beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Friday, July 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Silvia Izquierdo)

A blood moon rises in front of the statue of the founder of the federal capital, President Juscelino Kubitschek, during a complete lunar eclipse in Brasilia, Brazil, Friday, July 27, 2018. Skywatchers around much of the world are looking forward to a complete lunar eclipse that will be the longest this century. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Explore further Complete lunar eclipse begins, the longest of this century

 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
A new startup, DIANA Biotechnologies, has been founded at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences (IOCB Prague) to develop a unique technology created by postgraduate student Vaclav Navratil with the potential to significantly improve disease diagnostics and accelerate the development of new drugs. The startup has earned the trust of investors at bpd partners, who are putting more than 3 million EUR into the project.

The new company will develop a technology known as DIANA, or DNA-linked Inhibitor Antibody Assay, which was developed by Navratil and colleagues in Jan Konvalinka's laboratory at IOCB Prague. The unique method allows for ultrasensitive quantification of enzymes and other proteins in a solution, e.g. human blood, urine, or saliva. In practice, it should help doctors diagnose certain diseases (cancer and various infectious diseases, for instance) at an earlier stage than is possible with existing methods. Moreover, the technology has a second important application: It enables screening of large numbers of chemical substances for enzyme inhibitors and the identification of suitable compounds for further development as drug candidates.

"Our technology allows for the detection of enzymes in blood with sensitivity up to several orders higher than that of contemporary methods, and that's why we see a range of new and important applications for it," explains Navratil, CEO of the new startup. "DIANA Biotechnologies will continue to advance the technology and also offer a variety of services and products for diagnostics and drug discovery. Thanks to support from investors, we'll also be able to start our own drug development program. In collaboration with universities, the Czech Academy of Sciences, and other companies, we want to become a regional drug development center connecting academic research and industrial development."

DIANA Biotechnologies is being set up with support from the academic incubator of biotechnologies i&i Prague as well as from investors at bpd partners, who plan to provide over 3 million EUR in the next few years.

"For some time now, our group has been investing in startup projects and providing direct support for certain projects in the fields of biotech and medtech," says bpd partners representative Miroslav Tvrznik. "DIANA Biotechnologies isn't our first joint project with the IOCB Prague. It's one of our most interesting undertakings, and we sense a lot of potential in it. We're pleased that we succeeded in establishing cooperation with the team at DIANA Biotechnologies and with the IOCB, and we believe that in addition to support for innovative research, our participation in the project will give rise to an interesting synergy with other projects that our group is involved in both here in the Czech Republic and elsewhere in the world."

The DIANA technology was developed at IOCB Prague, the same place the great discoveries of Antonin Holy were made. The institute is known for its efforts to systematically advance the results of basic research applicable in practice and facilitate their transition to the world of business, which is overseen by the institute's subsidiary IOCB Tech (formerly IOCB TTO).

DIANA is a multiwell-plate based sandwich ELISA-like dual recognition assay, suitable for protein detection and screening of protein ligands that employs a fully synthetic detection probe. This probe is constructed from small molecule active site ligand and it consequently binds into the active site of the target protein. Credit: IOCB Prague

"It's fantastic to see that among the successful projects originating in our laboratories and attracting the interest of large commercial partners, achievements are also being made in research conducted as part of postgraduate studies," says Martin Fusek, head of IOCB Tech and deputy director of the IOCB Prague. "The technology developed by Vaclav Navratil and his colleagues is currently protected by two international patent applications. We've also provided a leading American university and a global pharmaceutical company with one-time licenses. And a positive result of this, of course, is the entry of investors from bdp partners into the company we've founded."

The founding of the new company to develop the results of basic research was also welcomed by the president of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Eva Zazimalova: "At the Czech Academy of Sciences, we consider collaboration with the sphere of application an inseparable part of research. I see the DIANA Biotechnologies project as another excellent example of fulfilling this important aspect of our work."

The quality and potential of the DIANA project is reflected in the prestigious Werner von Siemens Award for the most significant result in the field of development and innovation, which was recently awarded to Navratil and his team.

The CEO of Siemens Czech Republic, Eduard Palisek, had the following to say about the founding of the DIANA Biotechnologies startup: "The goal of the Werner von Siemens Award is to demonstrate to young scientists, students and their teachers that the work they do is immensely valuable and worthy of recognition. I'm delighted that only six months after Vaclav Navratil and his team won the Werner von Siemens Award, their exceptional technology is being given an opportunity for professional development. I trust that this superb example will motivate other students and young scientists to submit applications to the Werner von Siemens Award competition this year."

DIANA Biotechnologies website: www.dianabiotech.com

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How DIANA works - with Vaclav Navratil's commentary Credit: IOCB Prague

DIANA (DNA-linked Inhibitor Antibody Assay) is a novel analytical method suitable for diagnostics and drug discovery developed by Vaclav Navratil and colleagues in Jan Konvalinka's laboratory at the Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS. DIANA allows for ultrasensitive enzyme detection and can detect zeptomoles of targets in complex biological matrices. The sensitivity is up to several orders of magnitude greater than that of other contemporary methods. It should, therefore, facilitate timely diagnostics in the early stages of various illnesses, such as infectious and cancerous diseases, which in turn could lead to dramatically improved therapy possibilities. At the same time, DIANA enables the highly efficient identification of biological substances (e.g. enzyme inhibitors) that can form the basis for development of new drugs. DIANA overcomes the limitations of current state-of-the-art methods with its sensitivity, accuracy, linear range, and applicability to difficult medicinal targets, thus it is best suited for early phases of drug development. Other team members working on the development of the DIANA technology were Pavel Sacha, Jiri Schimer, Jitka Zemanova, Pavel Majer, and Jan Konvalinka. Martin Dienstbier and Jaromir Zahradka of i&i Prague handled the commercialization of the technology, and the success has been made possible with the support of Martin Fusek and Zdenek Hostomsky, director of the IOCB Prague.

Scientific article on the DIANA technology: Vaclav Navratil, Jiri Schimer, Jan Tykvart, Tomas Knedlik, Viktor Vik, Pavel Majer, Jan Konvalinka, Pavel Sacha; DNA-linked Inhibitor Antibody Assay (DIANA) for sensitive and selective enzyme detection and inhibitor screening, Nucleic Acids Research, Volume 45, Issue 2, 25 January 2017, Pages e10, doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkw853.

The DIANA technology will undergo further development at DIANA Biotechnologies, which was founded in July of 2018.

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Vaclav Navratil has a degree in biochemistry and theoretical chemistry from the Faculty of Science at Charles University, where he is currently completing his doctoral studies. His primary area of research in the laboratory of Jan Konvalinka at IOCB Prague has been the development of various bioanalytical methods, which led to the development of DIANA. Navratil is now moving to the newly founded DIANA Biotechnologies, where he will serve as the company's CEO.

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The Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the Czech Academy of Sciences / IOCB Prague is a leading internationally recognized scientific institution whose primary mission is the pursuit of basic research in chemical biology and medicinal chemistry, organic and materials chemistry, chemistry of natural substances, biochemistry and molecular biology, physical chemistry, theoretical chemistry, and analytical chemistry. An integral part of the IOCB Prague's mission is the implementation of the results of basic research in practice. Emphasis on interdisciplinary research gives rise to a wide range of applications in medicine, pharmacy, and other fields that make life better.

More information:

Vaclav Navratil, Jiri Schimer, Jan Tykvart, Tomas Knedlik, Viktor Vik, Pavel Majer, Jan Konvalinka, Pavel Sacha; DNA-linked Inhibitor Antibody Assay (DIANA) for sensitive and selective enzyme detection and inhibitor screening, Nucleic Acids Research, Volume 45, Issue 2, 25 January 2017, Pages e10, doi.org/10.1093/nar/gkw853

For more information contact Dusan Brinzanik, IOCB Prague - Communications: dusan.brinzanik@uochb.cas.cz

Provided by Institute of Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry of the CAS
Astronomer Daniel Wang at the University of Massachusetts Amherst has received a Fulbright Scholar award to make what he calls "an astronomical pilgrimage," to Chile, the "world capital of ground-based astronomical observation" and home to more than half of the world's largest radio and optical telescopes. He plans to collaborate with colleagues there to study the massive black hole and its environment at the center of the Milky Way.

"I am an observational astronomer, and my collaborator at the Institute of Astrophysics at Pontificia Universidad Catolica, professor Jorge Cuadra, is a theorist," Wang explains. "We want to complement each other to reach a better understanding of black hole accretion and how our galaxy's outflow interacts with the galactic center environment, to see better how this system works. Another goal is to develop a stronger, wider collaboration with the Chilean astronomy community."

The Fulbright award will pay for his travel and local support in Chile for the semester from August to December. Wang's visit will also be supported by Cuadra's university after their proposed collaboration was selected in a competition for programs that will strengthen the international academic network. As the host country, Chile provides its astronomers about a 10 percent share of observing time on its telescopes, Wang says, offering a generous and valuable opportunity.

"They have a unique observing opportunity in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile; it's the best in the world," he says. There are five astronomical institutes in Santiago alone. He adds, "I'll have a chance to visit a few of these observatories and institutes, for an unusual extended visit. Usually people go for an observation and then leave, but the Fulbright offers special opportunities for longer research collaboration, mentoring and teaching, guest lecturing, a departmental colloquium and public talks. It potentially means more opportunities for my students in the future, too."

Wang says, "Cuadra is a leading expert on computer simulations, I am primarily an observer. We share a common research interest in the galactic center. One goal of my visit to Chile is to establish a strong, long-term collaboration on high-energy astrophysics education and research and, in particular, on a comprehensive observational and theoretical study of the heart of our galaxy."

The galaxy's center is "full of interesting astronomical objects and phenomena," including the closest known massive black hole, known as Sgr A*, Wang explains. It is surrounded by a population of young massive stars with strong, fast winds and a cusp of old stars accumulated over the history of the galaxy, and by a ring of cold gas, all within a radius no more than a few times the average distance between stars in the galaxy and all strongly interact with each other.

Wang, with a long-standing research interest in the galactic center, led the first large-scale surveys of the region with the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope and more recently with the Large Millimeter Telescope, a joint facility of Mexican institutions with UMass Amherst. The research on Sgr A* started about four years ago during his visit to the Institute of Astronomy at Cambridge University, where he began the collaboration with Cuadra.

"We were both members of an international team working on the 3-megasecond Chandra observation of the 'X-ray visionary project' on Sgr A*," he notes. "Now some of the big questions we'll be asking is how this black hole interacts with the galactic ecosystem, whether these interactions have cycles, how the black hole affects star formation and how much the central region affects the entire galaxy."

Over the past five years, Wang says that their work has demonstrated that joint theoretical and observational studies can effectively provide insights into the working of various complicated physical processes in the center of the galaxy. He says, "I envision that the results of our work will be of broad interest to both the galactic center research community and to those trying to understand the intimate relationships of galactic nuclei with various galaxy-wide properties."

At UMass Amherst, he has developed and taught classes including extragalactic astronomy, stellar astrophysics and high-energy astrophysics at the graduate level, and has mentored many undergraduate and graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

The Fulbright Scholar program, sponsored by the U.S. State Department's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, was established in 1946 and emphasizes science diplomacy and international research collaborations between American researchers and their colleagues around the world.UM

Provided by University of Massachusetts Amherst
WASHINGTON -- RFE/RL colleague Ulanbek Egizbaev, 28, one of the brightest investigative journalists in Kyrgyzstan, died suddenly on July 22 having apparently drowned while on holiday at Kyrgyzstans Lake Issyk-Kul.

Venera Djumataeva, director of RFE/RLs Kyrgyz Service, said Egizbaev had dedicated his life to being a voice for ordinary people -- for those who could not stand up and speak up for themselves. He reported regularly and passionately about these unsung heroes -- be it a teacher in a desolate mountain village, a young woman overcoming the consequences of a botched operation that left her blind and in need of dialysis, or a young disabled teenager staying optimistic despite difficult challenges in his life. For this last story, Egizbaev and RFE/RL video producer Mykola Nemchenko won a 2016 Webby Peoples Voice Award and traveled to New York to accept the prize.

Egizbaev was also a dogged investigator, whom Djumataeva said had become the biggest threat to all corrupt politicians in Kyrgyzstan. He reported on corruption cases in government, the Customs Service, various ministries, public-land distribution, and even a major corruption scheme at cemeteries.

He was recently awarded a Golden Pen by a jury of veteran Kyrgyz journalists in recognition of his contributions to Kyrgyz journalism.

Kyrgyz President Sooronbai Jeenbekov expressed condolences in response to news of Egizbaevs death, praising his investigative reports on corrupt government officials, and declaring that Kyrgyzstan "has lost a talented journalist who selflessly fought against the ills of our society."

The government has announced that Interior Minister Kashkar Junushaliev will personally lead an investigative commission of criminologists, medical experts, a representative of RFE/RL's Kyrgyz Service, and one of Egizbaev's relatives to ascertain the causes of his death. Prime Minister Mukhammedkalyi Abylgaziev told his cabinet during a July 23 meeting that clear and transparent results from the investigation must be obtained and made public to prevent any speculation.

Born on February 12, 1990 in Kyrgyzstans Kochkor district, just west of Lake Issyk-Kul, Ulanbek Egizbaev earned a degree in communications from the Kyrgyz-Turkish "Manas" University in Bishkek in 2013, and obtained a Masters degree from Bishkek State University in 2015. He joined the Bishkek bureau staff of RFE/RLs Kyrgyz Service in 2013. He leaves behind his wife, Sapargul, whom he married in the fall of 2017, who is expecting their first child.
Trump was forecasting a 5-percent increase in GDP for todays economic report ahead of the fact, with actual numbers coming in at 4.1 percent increase for the second quarter, according to the Department of Commerce, up from a first-quarter increase of 2.2 percent.

Even if they didnt match Trumps projection, 4.1-percent GDP growth represents the largest gain since the third quarter of 2014 thanks to Americans who are spending more as exports rise sharply and business investment soars.

But its also slightly lower than economists had been predicting, on average. Most were settled on a GDP increase of 4.2-4.4 percent.

Weve accomplished an economic turnaround of historic proportions, Trump declared.

The Department of Commerce seemed to agree.

Todays release of the United States GDP growth of 4.1% for the second quarter shows that President Trumps economic plan is working. President Trump is keeping his pledge to restore our economy. His vision is revitalizing communities across the country and letting American families keep more of their hard-earned dollars, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said in a statement.

In addition to the 4.1-percent growth, the first quarters growth was revised up in todays announcement to 2.2 percent from 2 percent, the Department of Commerce noted.

(Click to enlarge)

According to the Department of Commerce, the acceleration in real GDP growth in Q2 reflected accelerations in PCE [personal consumer expenditures] and in exports, a smaller decrease in residential fixed investment, and accelerations in federal government spending and in state and local spending. Related: Is A Global Economic Crash Looming?

Exports grew at a 9.3-percent annual rate, up from the lackluster 3.6-percent growth of the first quarter.

Current-dollar GDP increased 7.4 percent ($361.5 billion) in the second quarter to a level of $20.4 trillion, compared to an increase of 4.3 percent or $209.2 billion in Q1.

While impressive, there may be a fair amount of smoke and mirrors here, according to some.

U.S. businesses had been ramping up exports in the quarter in fear of Trumps tariffs: The trick was to get as much in as they could before tariffs rain on the parade.

With tariffs going into effect, the next quarter might not look anything like the most recent one. Tariffs, after all, are typically not an engine of growth.

Growth for the entire year isnt expected to reflect these Q2 numbers. Growth this year is on track to be just above 2.9 percent, similar to the growth of 2015.

Overall investment actually fell compared to the first quarter, according to Quartz, with feeble growth in equipment investment suggesting that tax cuts havent yet brought forth a US manufacturing revival. The magazine also noted that residential investment had fallen by 1.1 percent, continuing the housing spending decline.

Trump disagrees, saying the numbers are very, very sustainable, and this isnt a one-time shot.

I happen to think were going to do extraordinarily well in our next report, he said.

Even more bombastically, Trump noted: Weve accomplished an economic turnaround of historic proportions. Once again we are the economic envy of the entire world.

By Fred Dunkley for Safehaven.com

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Atmospheric and haunting, director Sawada Thunders Dream of Illumination, tells a story of a Japan that is changing, whether it wants to, or not. At Japan Cuts, Director Sawada, star Takagawa Yuya, and Producer Kitaki Kazuyuki, spoke to me about the value of a life, and toxic relations.

The Lady Miz Diva: What inspired DREAM OF ILLUMINATION?

Sawada Thunder: The script, I wrote myself. I actually won the grand prize for a very famous Japanese independent script competition. Through that, I was able to win some production money, and I was able to fund my movie that way.

Regarding the content, in Japan, as well, we actually have something very similar to what happened with Lehman Brothers, the financial crash that happened. That happened in Japan in the early 2000s. During that time, I was actually a real estate agent, and I was working on getting rid of bad properties, and that was my job. During that time, I met somebody whos just like the main character, Uedas character. I always thought that if the opportunity arises, I would love to be able to create a work around this.

LMD: Thats interesting, because I wasnt sure what time or exact place the film was set in. Currently, in many places in America, including New York, we are undergoing gentrification, and losing our old neighborhoods. I wasnt aware that was happening in Japan, and I wondered if making people aware of that issue was part of your mission in making the film?

ST: Regarding your question of gentrification, and whether that was part of my aim, that is actually why I have a foreign person come into the story as a character. So, yes, that is part of it.

But, the other part of it is I wanted to talk about the things that are hiding behind money, and that is a big part of Japanese society, and I wanted to develop a character that is close to that subject, to the idea of money. That in reality, there are people who are able to make a living out of putting a price on a human being.

LMD: What was the idea behind filming DREAM OF ILLUSION in black and white? The cinematography is almost a character in itself.

ST: Regarding black and white; there are colors that I didnt want in the movie: Those two colors for me were red and green. I thought that those two colors didnt suit the film. The other reason I used black and white was to get rid of certain details; to get rid of the idea of time, and to give a sort of timeless feeling. The other reason we got rid of some details is that depending on the person who is watching the film, if they have the knowledge, they are able to understand the price of a place that we were shooting in. I wanted to try and sort of get rid of those ideas, as well.

LMD: What drives Ueda? Why is he so relentless in his work?

Takagawa Yuya: I believe that when people are harsh towards other people, they are often trying to save something. I think Ueda himself thinks through his actions here, he is actually trying to save his daughter, and keep her safe. The other thing is that possibly he thinks that in order to live, this is something he has to do, and its to save himself. That is what I think is driving Ueda.

LMD: Producer Kitaki, youve produced several films that Takagawa-san has appeared in {ROLLING, LOST SERENADE}, did that help pave the way to his being cast as the main character?

Kitaki Kazuyuki: Of course, there is that reason of having worked with him for a long time. But the other thing is that Takagawa-san is the one actor who is signed to my production company, and it doesnt mean that all the films that we produce have Takagawa-san in them, however, I believe that he is a highly skilled actor, and a wonderful actor. So, it is true to some extent that when I am reading scripts, I am immediately thinking about what Takagawa-san can play.

But regarding the script, there was no question, I knew immediately that Takagawa-san would be perfect for this character that he played. So, I discussed it also with the director, and it worked out very well.

LMD: Director Sawada, Ueda is a character who always seems to wear a mask, like Elen says, Of course, hes a good guy. He has to be. Its a very delicate performance. How did you and Takagawa-san create those delicate notes for Ueda?

ST: This is sort of an indirect answer to your question, however, Takagawa-san was the first person we cast for the movie. After he was cast, we had eight months of preproduction, and during that time, we went drinking once a month, and we created the character that way. I dont quite remember the specific details of what specific changes were made during those drinking times, but changes to the script were also made at the same time.

LMD: Takagawa-san, can you elaborate a little more on what went on during those drinking sessions?

TY: {Laughs} I also dont remember too many of the specifics, however, there were three books that I was asked to read, and I read, that were written by a real person called Mr. Ueda, who was actually a real estate agent, and who had written these books. So, I was reading and drinking, and we would talk together about the various things that surround these people in the story, and thats how Mr. Ueda was built.

ST: I do believe that through these discussions together, we were able to create something that is very much of today, and of its time. These are very minute details, but we even discussed about what kind of glasses Ueda would wear, or the working clothes that he wore. Those things were actually discussed at this time.

LMD: I wondered about Uedas psychology; if he was a deeply angry and vengeful person? He is buying homes from people who have lived there forever, and changing their neighborhood, and creating a lot of chaos. I thought perhaps part of the reason he does that, and seems to have no feelings about it, was because his own home life was turned upside down when his wife left him, and he had to take care of his child on his own?

ST: This is a difficult question  and I knew I was going to get asked something like this  but my intention with the film here, was I often am thinking about Freemasons, or different conspiracy theories, and things that happen. I often wonder why these people exist. But I did start to think that often people who are doing harsh, or possibly mean things, that there is usually a human motivation behind it, and perhaps that person is actually living quite a normal human life. So, I wanted to project those ideas onto the screen.

LMD: What is Nanas place in the film? She sort of floats through the film, like a light in the darkness, but there is no gravity to her. Why doesnt she seem surprised by her fathers monstrous revelation? Yet, even before he reveals his secret, she is intending to separate from him. What does she represent?

ST: So, one thing that I knew about this character in the beginning, was that this person was going to be a young character, so, I had that in mind. But then, the other part is that, the father may be doing horrible things, however, they have that bond of child and father that they cannot get away from, whether that be economically, or the fact that they share blood. And so, by creating those complications, I wanted to also give a little bit of lightness to the reality.

And I do believe that there is a reality to their relationship, which is that because Ueda is her father, she has to forgive to some extent.

LMD: Theres one moment when hes talking about the incident from the past, and he insists to Nana that he knew from experience something would happen. What did that mean?

ST: This relates to a book that I read, a book about data. One of the things that the book talks about is what leads to an army leaving a place? For example, in the US, the book said that it counted one mans life to be worth 20 million, as opposed to in the Middle East: Their calculations is that one mans life is worth 7 million. Different countries make these calculations of how much money needs to have been lost for the Army to decide to have to leave, and call it quits.

And so, there was a conclusion to the book that basically said, that these calculations actually lead and connect back to the advertising industry, as well. So, that gave me a good shock to the brain. When I read it. It really made me think, okay, I want to somehow represent this within a story, within a film. Im not entirely sure whether this is quite communicated, but that was some of the ideas behind it.

LMD: Its an interesting film because Ueda gets to walk away happily from his chaos. I was a bit angry when the film was over. Was that your intention for the viewer?

ST: I knew I was risking that, to have the audience feel that way. This may sound like a sort of excuse when I say this, however, I do believe that in humans, in general, when they acquire a new skill, just historically speaking, they dont get rid of that new skill, and go back in time. I wanted to express that, as well.

LMD: Takagawa-san, one thing that I felt when watching Ueda, was that he has no friends. He has no one in his life, but his daughter. Did you spend any time filling in the blanks in his life?

TY: I grew up around the 60s and 70s, where there was a very similar thing to the Lehman shock, where the economy went down. Then after that, in the postwar period, there was the Japanese economic boom that also happened. So, I saw these things, and I have it in my own background. And so, through that, I did really understand and see sales tactics being at work through society, and how its also repeated oftentimes. That was already in my background.

ST: Something that we talked about often, was that a lot of developing cities happen. Even though they admit to having suburbs, and oftentimes, the people who are outside of the cities are often disregarded in return of having the city built up.

LMD: Director, earlier you spoke of the foreign characters who were moving into the neighborhood. Who were those foreigners were coming from that you mentioned were moving into Japan?

ST: We did speak about China, but in reality, actually more people from Taiwan and Australia are buying more land. There are also a lot of Indonesians that are buying land in Japan. I do feel that perhaps there are less and less people from China coming in, even though at some point, there was a lot more.

TY: Its happening everywhere, basically. Its a timeless thing. Throughout history, as well, everybody is always migrating and moving around, not just through Japan.

LMD: What would each of you like the Japan Cuts audience to take away from DREAM OF ILLUMINATION?

ST: I do believe that Japan and the US have worked together somewhat to build an economy together. However, now with China becoming a very big powerhouse in that arena, this film is sort of my attempt at addressing the changing times.

TY: The US is, of course, a very big place, in terms of land size. Japan is much smaller. Various countries of different sizes exist. This film is about land, after all, and so I think depending on peoples views and where theyre from, they might have different standards, and feel differently.

However, regarding human relationships, whether they be horizontal or vertical relationships, there are also good and bad relationships that exist everywhere. Everybody is doing things that sometimes they cant take back. And so, you spoke about anger earlier on, I hope that if people feel angry, and have those feelings, I hope that people continue to chew on those feelings, and feel, perhaps the changes in the emotions that they may feel over time.

KK: We spoke about it earlier, and Im sort of repeating a few things the others have said, but China is a big power that is coming at Japan, right now. It is true that they are buying up a lot of land in Japan, as we speak, and that is often going out into the suburbs of Japan.

Regarding the anger that you spoke of earlier; to be honest, I was a little surprised that you felt so angry. I do feel like depending on how you see Uedas character, he also does have a kind side to him; there is a kindness to him that exists, but I do believe that it will depend on whos watching to feel differently, depending on where theyre coming from. So, in that way, Im purely excited and looking forward to finding out how people, in fact, react to the film.

And the other hope that I have is that after this screening at Japan Cuts, this film could get screened in other theaters in New York, as well.
Which MBA in Singapore Offers the Best Return on Investment?

MBAs with the Highest Return on Investment

Pursuing a Master's in Business Administration (MBA) can be an expensive and time consuming endeavor. However, earning an MBA can allow individuals to build marketable skills and greatly increase their salary. This cost-benefit trade-off can be difficult to conceptualise. To that end, we analysed the return on investment for Singapore's top MBA programs in order to give students a starting point as they begin to compare schools.

Return on Investment from Singapore's Top MBA Programs

1. NUS Business School

Based on our calculation, the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School offers the highest return on investment of the top MBAs in Singapore. Graduates can expect to see a return of 2.85 times their total tuition cost. Not only that, but it is also one of the most highly regarded MBA programs in the world. In 2018, the Financial Times ranked the school as the 18th best Global MBA. While NUS graduates work in wide variety of professional fields following graduation, the program places a higher percentage of students in financial services than other programs in Singapore, which means that it could be a good option for individuals seeking a career in finance. Additionally, the school's graduates have the second highest employment rate at 3 months following graduation, at 96%, which means you'll spend less time looking for a job after graduation compared to other schools.

2. Nanyang Business School

Nayang Business School's MBA program also offers a great return on investment. Not only do students from Nayang earn high salaries compared to the cost of attending the university, but the school has the highest employment rate upon graduation of any of Singapore's MBA programs at 98%. This clearly has major appeal to prospective students who are seeking a business school degree in order to further their career ambitions as quickly as possible.

Employment Rate of Graduates from Singapore's Top MBA Programs

3. SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business

The SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business offers the third best return on investment for MBAs in Singapore. The school is also receiving more recognition as a great place to earn an MBA, as it made its first appearance on the Financial Times Global MBA Rankings in 2018. Additionally, the program appears to prepare its students well for careers in the tech industry. For example, 37% of graduates from the SMU Lee Kong Chian School of Business are employed in the technology or telecommunications industries, which is significantly more than any of the other schools in our review. These factors make it a great option for individuals seeking an MBA that could lead to an exciting career in the tech world.

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4. INSEAD

While INSEAD, a global MBA program with locations in France, Abu Dhabi and Singapore, is the most expensive MBA program in Singapore, with a total cost of S$132,518, it reports the highest average salary among its graduates. The school also has a great reputation and is ranked #21 by the Economist for all full time MBAs. Prospective students may appreciate the schools' international reach and those who want to work in management consulting may appreciate the fact that 49% of 2017 graduates received placements management consulting companies.

Salary of Graduates from Singapore's Top MBA Programs

How to Finance an Investment for Your Career

While MBAs are known to be very expensive, there are several ways to make an MBA program financially feasible. For instance, universities tend to offer scholarships to their top MBA applicants. INSEAD is a prime example of this as it provides average scholarship amount of S$26,425 to approximately 31% of its students. Scholarships can also affect more than just your ability to get into an MBA, they can also shift the return on investment rank among these schools. Because of this, it can help figuring out which schools will provide you with the best financial aid, based on your educational and professional background. However, if you are not fortunate enough to obtain a scholarship for your preferred MBA program, you may need to consider an education loan in order to finance your tuition and make your MBA aspirations a reality.

The article Which MBA in Singapore Offers the Best Return on Investment? originally appeared on ValuePenguin.

ValuePenguin helps you find the most relevant information to optimise your personal finances. Like us on our Facebook page to keep up to date with our latest news and articles.

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Renowned Russian writer and former Soviet dissident Vladimir Voinovich has died from a heart attack at the age of 86, his relatives announced on Saturday.

The novelist, who spent a decade exiled by the Soviet authorities, was best known for his series of satirical novels about a hapless Soviet soldier called Ivan Chonkin.

"Vladimir Nikolaievitch (Voinovich) is dead," a member of his family told public news agency TASS.

Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinski praised Voinovich as a "talented writer" whose work always gave a "sharp vision of reality" and helped "strengthen freedom of expression" in Russia.

Born in 1932 in Stalinabad, Soviet Tajikistan, Vladimir Voinovich first became known as a satirical author.

Close to other dissidents of the time, he was expelled from the Union of Soviet Writers in 1974 and later stripped of his citizenship and forced into exile from the Soviet Union in 1980. He returned in 1990.

Vladimir Putin gave Voinovich a state prize shortly after becoming president in 2000.
A study by scientists at Nagoya University has found that elderly drivers are significantly more likely to express anger and aggression when they have to stop at a red traffic light, a discovery that may go some way towards explaining the soaring number of crashes caused by older drivers in Japan.

A team led by Nobuyuki Kawai, an associate professor of cognitive science, used a driving simulator to monitor levels of anger and annoyance among two groups of people when they had to stop at four consecutive red lights. One of the groups was aged between 19 and 31 and the second group from 65 to 74 years old.

In the study, published in the journal Japanese Psychological Review, the researchers noted that there were no changes in the level of irritation  determined by measuring increases in oxyhaemoglobin in the left frontal lobe  when the drivers encountered a series of green lights.

While the 22 younger drivers remained relatively calm when they had to stop at red lights, the 20 subjects in the older test group experienced significantly greater activity in the left frontal lobe and showed signs of frustration and anger.

Previous studies have suggested that age-related declines in cognitive abilities, such as selective and divided attention, contribute to road accidents in elderly people. The new study says older drivers are further irritated by being restricted from driving freely. That tallies with last years figures on car crashes caused by people over the age of 75.

The annual report on vehicle accidents in 2016 released by the National Police Agency in February revealed that there were 418 incidents involving a driver over the age of 75 causing a road fatality during the year. That translates as 7.7 road deaths per 100,000 drivers, more than double the number of road deaths caused by drivers under the age of 75.

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Drivers aged 75 or older accounted for nearly 13 per cent of all road accidents throughout the year, while 168 of the 418 accidents in which someone died were single-vehicle incidents, such as a car being driven into a pylon. Among elderly drivers, single-vehicle accidents accounted for 40.1 per cent of the total, significantly higher than the 22.9 per cent of all other drivers.

The police statistics do not identify cases in which an elderly driver was involved in an accident involving traffic lights, although a number of cases have been reported.

In May this year, a 90-year-old woman drove through a red light in the town of Chigasaki, southwest of Tokyo, and hit a group of pedestrians on a crossing before swerving onto the pavement. A female pedestrian was killed and three others sent to hospital.

The elderly woman was arrested on charges of negligent driving resulting in death and injury.

This article Is age-fuelled road rage responsible for increase in fatal car crashes in Japan? first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.
On Friday, musical artist Bobby Brown spoke at the Television Critics Association Press Tour for his upcoming biopic, The Bobby Brown Story, which will air on BET. The annual TCA event is held at the Beverly Hills Hotel, where his ex-wife Whitney Houston was found unconscious and submerged in a bathtub. The Los Angeles County Coroners Office reported that her death in 2012 was caused by drowning and the effects of atherosclerotic heart disease and cocaine use.

Actor Woody McClain, left, and musician Bobby Brown of the television show The Bobby Brown Story speak during the Viacom segment of the Summer 2018 Television Critics Association Press Tour at the Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 27, 2018, in Beverly Hills, California (Photo: Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Viacom)

During Browns appearance at the TCA press tour, a person allegedly asked the R&B singer what it was like to be on a panel at the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Someone just asked Bobby Brown what it's like to be paneling at the Beverly Hilton in the most respectable way possible. Thanks, #TCA18.  Whitney Friedlander (@loislane79) July 27, 2018

Brown reportedly replied that he didnt feel creeped out to be there. He added, The spirit of my ex-wife is probably still here.  It just feels good to be here and to promote this movie and to be able to smile and to be here with my wife and my kids.

Bobby Brown doesn't feel "creeped out" being at the Beverly Hilton where Whitney Houston died. "The spirit of my ex-wife is probably still here It just feels good to be here and to promote this movie and to be able to smile and to be here with my wife and my kids." #TCA18  Lindsay MacDonald (@lindsayjoane) July 27, 2018

Lindsay MacDonald, a staff editor at TV Guide, said that the panel came to an abrupt end when questions about domestic violence came up.

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Brown denied that there was ever an incident of domestic violence between him and Houston. When a reporter said that such incidents were a matter of public record, Brown replied: The public record is wrong.

He added: What people dont understand is the stories told about me are untrue  are false. Were correcting everything the press has believed about me. Im able to tell my story from what I know, my truth. Thats the basic reason we did this film. We did this film to tell my side of the story. What me and Whitney went through is what we went through.

In 2003, Brown was charged with battery that stemmed from an altercation with Houston. When Brown went to turn himself in, Houston stood beside him with a bruise on her cheek.

At the time of the incident, Houstons publicist issued a statement that read, Bobby Brown is very apologetic about what happened and hopes his wife forgives him.

In a 20/20 interview with Robin Roberts in 2006, Brown admitted that he hit the singer, but said that he was not a violent person. During the same interview, Brown said that he had a sexual encounter with a ghost.

I bought this mansion in Georgia  this was a really, really spooky place, Brown said. But yes, one time, I woke up, and yeah, a ghost. I was being mounted by a ghost.

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By Angel Krasimirov

SOFIA (Reuters) - Bulgaria's top court ruled on Friday that a European treaty to combat violence against women violates the constitution, likely eliminating any chance the treaty can be ratified.

The centre-right government of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov submitted the Istanbul Convention to parliament for ratification in January only to withdraw it a few weeks later because of an uproar over its language about gender roles.

Its critics include the influential Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the opposition Socialist party and the nationalist alliance United Patriots, which is in government. All said it could encourage young people to identify as transgender or third sex and lead to same-sex marriage.

The Constitutional Court said the treaty used vague language and explained some concepts poorly. It said its ruling had taken into account the views of President Rumen Radev, several ministers, the state child protection and non-government groups.

Seventy-five lawmakers from Borissov's GERB party had asked the court to determine if the treaty was in conflict with the constitution.

The 81-article treaty was drawn up by the Council of Europe, the continent's leading human rights organisation. The government signed it in 2016 and ratification was the next step.

Debate centres on its definition of "gender" as "social roles, behaviours, activities and characteristics that a particular society considers appropriate for women and men".

Human rights groups and senior EU officials have urged the Bulgarian authorities to ratify the treaty quickly, as 32 European countries have done.

Radev has said voiced concerns over ratification, saying loose textual language allowed for multiple interpretations. He also said the treaty does not prevent violence, arguing it persists in countries that have already ratified it.

Socially conservative countries such as Hungary, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Britain and Ireland are yet to ratify the treaty.

(Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg)
With his own son leading an election monitoring group that is strong-arming villagers to vote for him, its clear Prime Minister Hun Sen now owns a rigged election  a pyrrhic victory in the making  unless he can somehow claim legitimacy through a healthy-looking turnout at the polls.

Radio Free Asia has reported that members of the Union of Youth Federation of Cambodia (UYFC), chaired by Hun Sens son Hun Many, threatened villagers in the rural Mondulkiri province, claiming that government services would be withheld from boycotters.

Rather than a contest between two parties, Cambodias election seems to be shaping up to be a competition between the ruling party and those hoping to tarnish the contests legitimacy by reducing participation. But with Japan the latest country not to send election monitors, there are no credible outside observers, making it difficult to even accurately measure voter turnout.

Going into this weeks election, there is also no viable opposition party, no neutral National Election Committee (NEC), and the US has already warned that it might not accept the results.

Human Rights Watch issued a statement declaring the elections not genuine before the poll took place.

By contrast, the 2017 commune elections were widely seen as the freest and fairest polls in the countrys history. While there were some irregularities, numerous independent election observers, a neutral NEC, the opposition party and the international community all signed off on the results.

But a lot has changed in a year.

The opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which won nearly 44 per cent of the popular vote and made unprecedented gains in 2017, was dissolved for allegedly attempting to overthrow the government. Its leader, Kem Sokha, was imprisoned on treason charges.

After the dissolution, three of the CNRPs four representatives in the NEC resigned. One of their replacements has strong ties to the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party, giving the CPP five seats in the nine-person election body.

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Only three nations  China, Myanmar and Singapore  accepted an expressed invitation and sent a few representatives to monitor the vote. Cambodias main local independent election observers  Comfrel, Nicfec, and Transparency International  all said they would not be observing the election.

Election expert Yoeurng Sotheara, formerly with Comfrel, said this vote is unlike any he has seen before in Cambodia. The atmosphere of the election is totally different from previous elections from 1998, he said.

He believes the CNRPs dissolution is the main reason so many regular monitors are withdrawing this year, but added that civil society actors are also fearful of being caught in the governments crackdown.

Its maybe a question of their reputation in the future, he added, saying that local monitors would have a hard time explaining to the public why they participated in such an unfair vote.

At a rally on Friday, Hun Sen predicted victory and boasted of a successful campaign to eliminate traitors.

Meanwhile, Japan joined the United States and the European Union in announcing that it would not send monitors this year.

Japan has been caught in the middle of the Wests power struggle with China over Cambodia. Japan is the only Western nation continuing to fund Cambodias election, but even it will not bother monitoring the vote.

Japan is taking a very balanced position, said Sotheara, claiming that Japan doesnt want to cede Cambodia entirely to Chinas influence, but also must protect its image in the democratic world.

The US has been Hun Sens strongest critic, and this week a bill imposing sanctions passed the House of Representatives. If approved by the Senate, the bill will ban individuals deemed responsible for undermining Cambodias democracy from entering the US and freeze any American assets they might possess.

In a statement, Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce said Hun Sen completely dismembered the political system in Cambodia.

Along with Hun Sen, the statement recommended individual sanctions against many other top Cambodian politicians, including Interior Minister Sar Kheng, Defence Minister Tea Banh, Foreign Affairs Minister Prak Sokhonn, and the prime ministers children Hun Manet and Hun Mana.

The lack of credible observers might seem irrelevant given that the outcome of the election is virtually guaranteed, but as Hun Sen struggles to maintain legitimacy both domestically and abroad, voter turnout has taken on more importance.

CNRP co-founder Sam Rainsy, who lives in exile in France, has asked his supporters to boycott the election to further damage its integrity.

Without the participation of the CNRP as the only credible opposition party, the election will already lack legitimacy. A second and fatal blow to legitimacy would be an abnormally low voter turnout, he said.

While there will be no independent observers, monitors hand-picked by the government will attend. This includes Hun Manys UYFC.

In an interview with Reuters, Australian academic Lee Morgenbesser said the UYFC was pro-government and Hun Sen was dependent on voter turnout for legitimacy.

In response, government spokesman Phay Siphan blasted him as an enemy to the Cambodian people.

Morgenbesser, who specialises in authoritarian regimes and unfair elections, has not retracted his analysis.

The overarching emphasis on voter turnout is unusual for Cambodia elections. The goal is to reposition citizen participation as the primary foundation for legitimacy, thereby replacing party competition, he said in a recent email.

Morgenbesser added that while ballot stuffing is not common in Cambodian elections, the NEC might simply inflate the turnout figures arbitrarily.

Sotheara expects the election monitors invited by the government to simply rubber stamp the results rather than evaluate the election critically.

But Hun Manys UYFC is probably more than just an illegitimate election monitoring team. Having agents affiliated with the prime ministers family in every voting booth could instead be construed as a form of intimidation. Hun Many insists, however, that nothing untoward is happening.

I do not believe that in any country it is right to pressure people to vote and it is not happening in Cambodia, he said in a recent interview.

Political parties are also allowed to send their own observers to polling stations, but just as the CNRP was the only party that could realistically challenge the CPP, it was also the only group with the manpower to observe the polls.

While the CPP will have almost 23,000 observers on election day, the next most represented party, Funcinpec, will have just 12,818.

They could do whatever they want, including ballot stuffing, at the polling stations without the presence of credible observers or CNRP agents, said Rainsy. 

This article Cambodias election: against Hun Sen, only way to win is to not vote first appeared on South China Morning Post

For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2018.
Another day, another cringe-worthy video clip to talk about. In the lead up to National Day, theres a competition that pits various government agencies, local corporations and school groups for the best cheer. The public is invited to cast their votes on the best cheer video by slamming the Like button on Facebook.

While most of em  including the ones by the Singapore Armed Forces, OSIM, and more  are your typical exhibitions of unbridled enthusiasm, none have elicited as much response as the effort put forward by the employees of offshore and marine group Keppel Corporation.

Its a potent concoction of cringe made up of crossfade effects, imperfect synchronization, the questionable choice of a Haka war dance, and awkward hand slaps. Among other things.

Poor disrespectful imitation

As if being cringe-worthy isnt enough, netizens are not happy that the Keppel staffers are using a cheer thats rooted in the culture of New Zealands native Maori people. Cultural appropriation alert: folks are not down that the traditional war dance adopted and popularised by the New Zealand national rugby team is being (badly) performed for Singaporean National Day cheer.

Is it disrespectful though?

Obviously, we cant speak on behalf of Maori culture because none of us are indigenous New Zealanders. The thing about the Haka is that its a traditional war cry originally performed (with much ferocity) by Maori warriors meant intimidate their opponents. The performance is also used in welcoming ceremonies and other celebratory occasions  as well as to honor the fallen in funerals. Christian missionaries who arrived in New Zealand in the 19th century tried to stamp out the ritual for good but failed to do so.

Being a ritual rooted in indigenous traditions  especially so for a custom that reflects postcolonial cohesion  clearly the Haka should be performed with the utmost respect. The Keppel employees in the video may not be in tune with what the war cry represents, but itd probably do them well to not look as goofy as they do when performing it.

The post Cringeworthy Haka cheer for National Day sparks outcry about cultural appropriation appeared first on Coconuts.
At long last, Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has signed into law new autonomous powers for his countrys restive and poverty stricken Muslim-majority south, which observers hope will defuse one of Asias long-running conflicts, stem extremism and kick-start a vital economic revival.

Thursdays signing of the Bangsamoro Organic Law is the culmination of a drawn-out process that had appeared on the verge of collapse on multiple occasions, including in the immediate aftermath of last years jihadist occupation of the town of Marawi.

Some in the mainly Catholic nations political elite had expressed scepticism about autonomy for southern Muslims after that episode, but Duterte, who hails from the region and is Christian, said it was the only way forward.

In every conflict, the victims are the innocents, the children, the women, so try to think it over, he said in comments on Thursday that appeared aimed at critics of the new law.

The law establishes the region of Bangsamoro (Moro Nation) on parts of the Philippines second-biggest island, Mindanao, and smaller islands where stop-start fighting between Islamist rebels and governments have claimed more than 120,000 lives over five decades.

The Moro, a name coined by Spanish colonialists for Philippine Muslims, are unique in the country for having resisted the influence of Spanish and American colonisation between the 16th and early 20th centuries. They consider Mindanao their ancestral homeland.

Observers say the autonomy to be granted compares with the devolved powers granted by Indonesia to its Muslim-majority province of Aceh in 2006.

While Moro-occupied Mindanao already has some autonomy as part of a 1996 deal, that pact is widely seen as having failed to give the local government crucial powers to spearhead economic development.

The new law will grant Bangsamoro its own parliament, a guaranteed 5 per cent grant of national internal revenue, and the right to impose sharia law on Muslim residents. It will also get to keep 75 per cent of taxes collected in the area. Security and policing will remain in the hands of the central government.

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Bangsamoro will only be formed once the new law is ratified by a plebiscite later this year, but the regions 5 million people are widely expected to approve the changes. A transition authority will subsequently take charge until an election scheduled for 2022.

With multiple guerilla groups involved and the spectre that it could yet be derailed by jihadis, the creation of Bangsamoro ranks among the most complicated power devolutions that Asia has ever witnessed. Heres a rundown of three key issues surrounding the new autonomous region:

Peace for good?

There is reason to be sceptical about whether the new autonomy will bring about a lasting peace.

After all, a series of previous agreements  the earliest in 1976  have failed.

Disaffection over enforcement of the agreements partly caused prolonged violence as disgruntled guerillas, who had signed up for peace, later went on to form more hardline splinter groups.

The Marawi episode, meanwhile, raises the threat of hardline Islamists jeopardising peace painstakingly negotiated by the government and the main guerilla group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF).

It is a major moment in Philippine history  there is real support from the MILF leadership and most advocates as well are seeing this as a very good beginning, even though its not perfect, said Teresita Quintos Deles, who served as the chief peace adviser in the government of former President Benigno Aquino.

Murad Ebrahim, chairman of the MILF, said on Thursday that the Bangsamoro Organic Laws widespread public acceptance  unlike past frameworks for autonomy  meant splinter separatist groups were unlikely to seek alliances with foreign jihadis.

All these splinter groups are a result of the frustration with the peace process. The moment the small groups no longer accept the foreign elements, they can no longer come [to the Philippines], he said.

Ramon Casiple, executive director of Manilas Institute for Political and Electoral Reform think tank, said even if jihadism is neutralised, another source of further problems could come from political clans in the region who will feel threatened by the entry of rebel groups into governance and electoral areas.

MILF disarmament

Mayong Aguja, a sociology professor at Mindanao State University, said one of the immediate problems for Bangsamoro was the disarmament of MILF guerillas.

The big challenge is how they are handled, what economic opportunities they will have when they disarm, Aguja told This Week in Asia. You need to understand that for many of these men, they have spent more time with their guns than with their families.

The MILF leadership claims about 30,000 guerillas. Ebrahim has said six of the largest MILF camps were being converted into productive civilian communities. On Thursday, he said the group was decommissioning immediately 30 per cent all combatants and weapons.

Deles said successful disarmament depended on whether the national government followed through with promises to revitalise the regions ravaged economy and create new jobs for the rebels. It is not a simple thing  the government must know that the signing of the law is not the end of its job, she said.

Whats in it for Duterte?

Observers say Duterte has gained significant political cachet by signing the Bangsamoro Organic Law.

Even though the heavy lifting for negotiations started during the era of Aquino, the current president pushed hard to have the final agreement ratified by his allies in the legislature, some of whom were sceptical about granting the region vast autonomous powers.

The Bangsamoro Organic Law presents a major achievement for Duterte, said Casiple.

Lasting peace with Muslim rebels in the south would mean the government could focus on neutralising its other major headache: the long-running insurgency by communists, according to Casiple.

A successful implementation of the law could also strengthen the presidents plan to shift the country towards a federal system  a key plank of his campaign.

Duterte, a native of Mindanao and formerly mayor of its biggest city Davao, has long championed federalism as a way to empower far-flung provinces.

At the end of the day, federalism will receive a boost since the Bangsamoro Organic Law is a possible model for federated regions under the proposed constitution, Casiple said. 

This article Will Dutertes sharia gift bring lasting peace to southern Philippines? first appeared on South China Morning Post

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Humberto Ortega, the ex-head of Nicaragua's military, urged his brother President Daniel Ortega in a TV interview to disband the pro-Sandinista paramilitary forces blamed for deadly violence in months of unrest. "If the government has a profound sense of responsibility, in the first place it should end the presence of these armed people," who act "as if they were a military or police authority," Humberto Ortega said in a late Friday interview on the CNN En Espanol program "Con Camilo." More than 300 people have been killed in Nicaragua in more than three months of unrest against Daniel Ortega's administration. The protests have been brutally countered by police and armed pro-government paramilitaries. Rights groups say more than 2,000 people have been wounded since the clashes erupted in mid-April. Humberto Ortega blamed the armed irregular forces for many of the protester deaths. "We cannot accept the existence of parapolice or paramilitary forces," he told CNN, complaining that the paramilitaries "operate openly next to national police." Humberto Ortega, 71, fought alongside his brother Daniel, 72, in the 1979 Sandinista revolution that toppled dictator Anastasio Somoza. He was head of Nicaragua's military until the Sandinistas lost power in the 1990 election. Since then he has focused on business and writing. Humberto's brother Daniel was re-elected in 2007, and has remained in power since. Many of Daniel Ortega's Sandinista comrades from the 1979 revolution however no longer support the president. Humberto Ortega blamed the government for the "indiscriminate repression" of protesters, but refused to directly blame his brother. He says that he has a "very respectful and fraternal" relationship with the president, but that they do not have direct communication. The ex-military leader supports government talks with the opposition mediated by the Catholic Church, as well as a proposal to hold early presidential elections next year to solve the ongoing crisis.
Eight killed, 17 injured in bus-truck collision

Eight people were killed and 17 others injured after a passenger bus collided with a truck at Chumlingtar in Ichhyakamana-3, Chitwan, on Prithvi Highway on Friday.
Orca carrying her baby. (Photo: AP)

Researchers can do nothing but watch as an endangered orca mother carries her dead calf for what is now the fourth straight day in the Salish Sea.

J35, as the orca is known, is being observed as she carries her dead calf on her rostrum, an area of her head just behind the nose. The baby was born on Tuesday near Victoria, British Columbia, which is about 75 miles northwest of Seattle, and died shortly after.

Members of the Soundwatch Boater Education Program, which is run by the Whale Museum in Olympia, Wash., and educates boaters on marine mammal safety, will not remove the baby until the mother leaves it after her mourning period. Then, after an extended period of time, the team will attempt to recover the calf to examine it in hopes that they can prevent deaths like this in the future.

According to the Center for Whale Research via USA Today, orca mothers are known to have strong bonds with their offspring and, in the case of death, will sometimes carry a dead calf for up to a week.

Its tough to watch and hard work, but we wont give up as long as she doesnt, Taylor Shedd, program coordinator for Soundwatch, told the Seattle Times.

Shedd said that the mother orcas breaths are deep and long, and she is slower to rise to the surface than the others in her family, who remain within 400 yards of her. The family, which includes her other calf, are foraging, and Shedd hopes that the others are feeding her fish while she grieves.

Barbara King, professor emerita of anthropology at the College of William and Mary and author of the book How Animals Grieve, told the Seattle Times that J35 is experiencing intense grief. Grief and love dont belong to us, we share it with other animals, King explained.

According to CTV News, it was the first calf born in three years in the Pacific Northwest. The population of the endangered orcas is at its lowest in over three decades.

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Hong Kong prepares to usher in virtual banks, as 60 firms apply to be pioneers in financial revolution

When SagaDigits, a HK$2 million (US$254,820) start-up, wanted to add post-merger shareholders and signatories to its corporate bank account, its chief executive approached a Hong Kong bank for help.

What happened next turned into many months of back-and-forth paperwork and arguments with the lender, said the companys chief executive officer, Arthur Chan. He even spent a month tracking down his bank relationship manager after the staff was relocated to another branch.

It took six months to fix what I thought was a simple matter, Chan said in an interview with the South China Morning Post, declining to name his bank. The way that traditional banks handle their small and medium-sized clients is too difficult and simply unsatisfactory.

Chinas tech giants have a bold plan to monetise their user base -- become their banker

Chan, whose very business is engaged in using big data to help companies enhance their services and products, is gunning for a revolution in Hong Kongs banking and finance industry.

Good news may be at hand for him, as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is poised to issue the citys first virtual banking licence by years end to promote fintech and offer customers a new kind of experience.

Virtual banking, which provides every aspect of a modern retail banks services through the internet, goes a step further than the current online banking services, which are already ubiquitous for all but the smallest financial institutions on the market.

For starters, virtual banks will not need to maintain any bricks-and-mortar presence, although they do have the option of having customer service centres. They can provide loans, operate savings accounts with no minimum account balance or low-balance fees. They can also issue credit cards, or offer online payment services.

When will Hong Kongs next Octopus moment occur?

Overseas experience shows that virtual banks could be successful in certain areas, including in the US and in Europe, said KPMG Chinas partner for banking and capital markets, Paul McSheaffrey, who has been based in Hong Kong since 2004. Customers do not need to queue up at the branch, but can simply use their smartphones or desktop computers to transfer money electronically.

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In mainland China, the marriage between banking and internet technology has already spawned several ventures with loans that number in the hundreds of billions of yuan since 2017.

In Hong Kong, which is lagging mainland China in the adoption of smartphone-enabled payment systems, virtual banking is still the vanguard of a revolution.

Already, 60 companies including Standard Chartered Bank, payment operator Yedpay! and online lender WeLab have said they are interested to be among the pioneers of this banking revolution, ahead of an August 31 deadline for applications.

The new virtual banks will add to the 154 local and overseas lenders that are already licensed in Hong Kong, where they operate a combined 1,129 branches and 3,300 automated teller machines (ATMs) at the end of last year.

That makes Hong Kong, on a per capita basis, one of the worlds best-served cities in banking, with the number of ATMs per 100,000 people higher than the global average, behind only Singapore, according to World Bank data. You could even say Hongkongers get more banks for their bucks.

The next generation of bank customers may never need to visit a branch, said Deloitte China partner Tim Pagett. Through the use of existing e-identity, biometric recognition and other verification techniques, virtual banks can establish a customer relationship that is just as meaningful and lasting as a physical contact.

In a densely packed urban centre like Hong Kong, with the worlds most expensive residential and commercial real estate, the migration of bricks-and-mortar banks to a virtual presence has implications for the demand of prime space.

A typical 2,000 sq ft street-level bank branch in the city costs HK$1 million to rent every month on average. A branch of that size typically needs about 40 cashiers, bankers, accountants and security personnel to maintain, which adds up to another HK$1 million in monthly staff costs.

On top of that, the bank requires operational services in the back office, including accounting, compliance, cybersecurity and technology.

That partly explains why the average bank in Hong Kong would not be interested in any loan smaller than HK$200,000 because it just would not be that profitable to manage. Hence smaller customers are pushed to the back of the queue, where opening a new account may take up to six months.

HSBC exploring smoother process for opening company accounts in Hong Kong

On top of that, major banks have been penalised into tightening their anti-money-laundering procedures to comply with tougher regulations, which require banks to go through elaborate process of background checks to know their customers.

They have a lot of paperwork and compliance, which made the life of small enterprises and start-ups difficult, said SagaDigits Chan. Many start-ups simply find it impossible to open a bank account through a traditional bank. Virtual banks may not be perfect, but at least they give start-ups like us a choice. I have suffered enough of the pain of the traditional banks.

The minimum capital required to establish a bank is HK$300 million in Hong Kong, which raises the barrier to entry to all but the deepest corporate pockets. That creates a niche market for virtual banks, said Oracles regional managing director Karen Yip.

Were seeing a trend in Hong Kong where digital, virtual banks are using open application programming interfaces to create a niche and respond to a demand that traditional banking models could not possibly fulfil  meeting the needs of previously underserved customers, such as millennials without credit history as well as small- and medium-sized enterprise lending, she said, citing an Oracle survey that showed 69 per cent of consumers prefer to have their entire financial needs served entirely online.

The era of the one-stop financial institution is ending. Many banks will transform their operating model from simply providing products and services, to offering a platform which customers turn to for all sorts of lifestyle needs.

Pots of gold await in Chinas gig economy - how mobile technology is transforming the worlds biggest jobs market

The pervasive use of online payments also has implications for the use and circulation of cash, and would, over time, reduce the need for such ancillary services as on-site security and cash trucks for transferring money from head office to branches.

With the massive promulgation of online payments, the use of e-wallets and vast array of stored value options, there is much less need for physical currency and more outdated modes of payment such as cheques and bank transfers, Deloittes Pagett said. It is inevitable that, as with many traditional services, we will see an almost complete move to the virtual world in the coming years.

Still, not everybody is convinced.

The idea is too new, said Clara Chan Yuen-shan, the chief executive of Lee Kee Holdings, a distributor of non-ferrous metals and electroplating chemicals. Im not sure about its security and services. I would take a wait-and-see approach on this.

The risk of a start-up virtual bank would also be very different, KPMG said in its April 2018 report.

While a successful cyberattack is a serious matter for a traditional bank, it could strike a fatal blow to a virtual bank with technology at the core of its brand, KPMG said. Mobile apps need to balance simplicity and ease of use with the need to ensure that risks and contractual terms are properly explained. Given the greater use of open application programming interfaces (APIs) and partnerships with third parties, data protection is another area which needs to be carefully addressed.

And some bank customers prefer the personal touch or counsel of their relationship managers.

Any wealthy person would prefer to be served in person, said veteran stockbroker Au Son-Yiu, who counts many of the citys tycoons among his trading clients. They like a nice cup of tea when they show up at a branch. For large transactions, they would also prefer to have a human overseeing it, instead of relying on a telephone line or a computer.





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NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India on Saturday said it hoped the new government of Pakistan would "work constructively" to end militancy in South Asia, in its first comments following this week's general election in Pakistan.

Cricket star-turned-politician Imran Khan, who won the disputed election, has called for better ties with India.

"We hope that the new government of Pakistan will work constructively to build a safe, stable, secure and developed South Asia free of terror and violence," India's foreign affairs ministry said in a statement.

India accuses Pakistan of backing several anti-India militant groups and helping them to infiltrate the divided Kashmir region to stoke violence. Pakistan denies the charge.

On Thursday, as he declared victory in the election, Khan said India and Pakistan should resolve the Kashmir dispute through talks.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since their independence in 1947, two of them over Kashmir, which they both claim in full but rule in part. Clashes between their forces in Kashmir largely stopped after a 2003 ceasefire but exchanges of fire have been more common in more recent years.

India's foreign affairs ministry did not directly comment on Khan's call for talks, but said it welcomed that "the people of Pakistan have reposed their faith in democracy through general elections".

"India desires a prosperous and progressive Pakistan at peace with its neighbours," the statement said.

On Saturday Khan opened coalition talks with at least one smaller party and independent politicians, a spokesman said, after the announcement of the full results of the election.

(Reporting by Aditya Kalra; Editing by Sanjeev Miglani and Andrew Bolton)
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday backed President Hassan Rouhani's suggestion that Iran may block Gulf oil exports if its own exports are stopped and said negotiations with the United States would be an "obvious mistake".

Rouhani's apparent threat earlier this month to disrupt oil shipments from neighbouring countries came in reaction to looming U.S. sanctions and efforts by Washington to force all countries to stop buying Iranian oil.

"(Khamenei) said remarks by the president ... that 'if Iran's oil is not exported, no regional country's oil will be exported,' were important remarks that reflect the policy and the approach of (Iran's) system," Khamenei's official website said.

Iranian officials have in the past threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a major oil shipping route, in retaliation for any hostile U.S. action.

Khamenei used a speech to foreign ministry officials on Saturday 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 programme.

"The word and even the signature of the Americans cannot be relied upon, so negotiations with America are of no avail," Khamenei said.

It would be an "obvious mistake" to negotiate with the United States as Washington was unreliable, Khamenei added, according to his website.

The endorsement by Khamenei, who has the last word on all major issues of state, is likely to discourage any open opposition to Rouhani's apparent threat.

Khamenei also voiced support for continued talks with Iran's European partners in the nuclear deal which are preparing a package of economic measures to offset the U.S. pullout from the accord.

"Negotiations with the Europeans should not be stopped, but we should not be just waiting for the European package, but instead we should follow up on necessary activities inside the country (against U.S. sanctions)," Khamenei said.

Story continues

France said earlier this month that it was unlikely European powers would be able to put together an economic package for Iran that would salvage its nuclear deal before November.

Iran's oil exports could fall by as much as two-thirds by the end of the year because of new U.S. sanctions, putting oil markets under huge strain amid supply outages elsewhere in the world.

Washington initially planned to totally shut Iran out of global oil markets after Trump abandoned the deal that limited Iran's nuclear ambitions, demanding all other countries to stop buying its crude by November.

But it has since somewhat eased its stance, saying that it may grant sanction waivers to some allies that are particularly reliant on Iranian supplies.

(Reporting by Dubai newsroom; Editing by Andrew Heavens and Ros Russell)
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi sacked five local election officials on Saturday on charges of corruption during the May 12 parliamentary election, a spokesman for the Independent High Elections Commission (IHEC) said.

The move comes as Iraq conducts a manual recount of the ballots - a move likely to speed up the ratification of the final result and the formation of a new government.

Abadi had appointed a special committee to investigate claims of vote-rigging in several regions, and on Saturday he approved its recommendation to dismiss local election chiefs in Kirkuk, Anbar and Salahuddin, Judge Laith Jabr Hamza said in a statement.

Those in charge of overseas election offices in Turkey and Jordan were also dismissed.

"The decision to sack the officials was approved by the prime minister after they committed violations, manipulation and financial corruption," said Judge Laith Jabr.

The announcement comes the day after Iraq's top Shi'ite cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani urged for government action to fight corruption amid further protests sweeping the southern provinces - Iraq's Shi'ite heartland - over the lack of proper government services and jobs.

Vote-rigging allegations centered on the city of Kirkuk, although there have been reports of irregularities in multiple provinces.

Opposition politicians have claimed that the tabulation system in electronic voting machines that were used for the first time during the election were not secure enough from tampering.

In response to the claims, the outgoing parliament in June ordered a nationwide manual recount of the votes.

The law also called for IHEC's leadership to be replaced by a panel of judges.

(Reporting by Ahmed Rasheed; Editing by Clelia Oziel)
Iraq will put on trial five election officials in connection with fraud, including vote buying, during the country's May legislative elections, a judicial official said on Saturday. Judge Laith Hamza said the suspects were the heads of election offices in Salaheddin, Kirkuk and Anbar provinces as well as those who oversaw the voting in neighbouring Jordan and Turkey. All five have been sacked "and will appear before the courts" in connection with allegations of fraud, Hamza said. The decision to put them on trial has been taken following recommendations made by a ministerial committee, which issued a 28-page report after reviewing a series of complaints. Hamza said the committee recommended they be tried after coming across "(election) violations, fraud and corruption" in the districts which the five suspects headed. According to the ministerial report, a copy of which has been seen by AFP, some of the alleged fraud involved "vote buying" on behalf of the Minister of Commerce Salman Ali and his brother Issam. Iraq's May election were marred by allegations of fraud which prompted the supreme court to order a manual recount in several districts, including in the northern multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk. The election was won by populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr's joint list with communists, as long-time political figures were pushed out by voters seeking change in a country mired in conflict and corruption. The results were contested mainly by the old guard. The supreme court also ratified a decision by the outgoing parliament to dismiss Iraq's nine-member electoral commission and replace them with judges. The ministerial committee additionally recommended in its report that a new law be passed to ensure that in the future independent judges -- rather that an electoral commission -- oversee elections.
Former Mediacorp actress Julie Tan. (PHOTO: Julie Tan/Facebook)

In the wake of her love life being thrown into the spotlight following a public spat between veteran Channel 8 actresses Hong Huifang and Pan Lingling, actress Julie Tan revealed that she experienced an abusive relationship in the past.

Speaking to Singapores Chinese media on Tuesday (24 July), Tan, 25, said that she was abused physically and verbally by the unnamed boyfriend whom she dated in 2016.

The Singaporean businessman, who was older than her by 11 years, even cheated on her during the relationship, she said.

That was the lowest point in her life, said Tan, and she developed an anxiety disorder and resorted to self-harm because of the abuse she suffered.

Tan was responding to the media about her past relationships after it came to light that Pan allegedly advised Hongs son, 18-year-old Calvert Tay, to get vaccinated against sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) as he was thought to be dating Tan.

Pan allegedly told Tay to get inoculated against STDs because Tan had a Caucasian boyfriend.

Hong angrily renounced her longtime friendship with Pan after finding out what she had said to Tay, sending shockwaves through Singapores entertainment industry.

Julie Tan (right) and her Turkish ex-boyfriend (left) with famous Turkish Salt Bae restaurant owner Nusret Gokce in Istanbul, Turkey in April 2017. (PHOTO: Julie Tan/Instagram)

Tan had kept her boyfriend anonymous in 2016 as she did not want to reveal his identity until their relationship became stable or they got married. However, they broke up in July 2016 after half a year of dating.

Tan brought up her past trauma to underscore the point that just because she had been through a few unsuccessful relationships did not mean that she was a promiscuous woman as Pan had implied.

I envy her (Pan) for being lucky enough to fall in love and have a happy marriage with her first boyfriend, said Tan. But I wasnt so lucky. I had to go through a few relationships to understand myself and find a right partner.

Tan said a womans reputation was very important, adding, Women still face a lot of discrimination, why should women bring other women down?

Tan said that she had been forthcoming about her love life with the media and had nothing to hide, but did not imagine that her frankness would be used against her by Pan.

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Tan had previously discussed her three past relationships in interviews, including those with local model Ng Yuze in 2013, and her Turkish boyfriend in 2017, who is sometimes referred to as Caucasian.

She once described the abusive boyfriend from 2016 as not romantic, but caring.

She broke up with the Turk at the end of 2017 after dating for a year because he said while proposing to her that he wanted her to be a housewife after marrying him. She declined as she wanted to focus on her career.

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Flipping the feminist narrative

In October of 2009, I went on a four-day school field trip to Bhairahawa and Lumbini. It was my first time outside the Valley and as our school bus passed along busy southern towns next to the highway, I noticed women in saris riding bicycles with their heads covered with dupattas.
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Landslides in northern Thailand, triggered by days of heavy downpours, killed seven people on Saturday and left one missing, an official said.

All of the victims lived in the mountainous district of Bo Kluea in Nan province, where the landslides have also caused damage to houses and roads, Prasit Dussadeewong, a district security official, told Reuters.

"It's because of nearly two weeks of heavy rains. We've warned people of such landslides but did not expect they would be this big," he said.

Landslides and flooding in Thailand usually occur during the May-November rainy season.

Widespread floods in 2011 killed more than 900 people and caused major disruption to industry and dented economic growth.

(Reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
The umpire was on his side and the field had been set in his favour  there was little that stood between Imran Khan and power. And China took no chances. Even as Khan was taking his run-up to this weeks much discredited election, Beijing took its guard, preparing against any nasty inswingers the former pace bowler might spring on Pakistans staunchest ally.

The prospects for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), the flagship of President Xi Jinpings B elt and Road Initiative, has triggered widespread speculation amid the Wests repeated hype of Chinas debt traps, said Chinas state-run Global Times. Beyond doubt, Beijing expects a higher degree of engagement by the new Pakistani government in the CPEC, wrote Liu Lulu, described as a Chinese expert in retweets posted on election day by Lijian Zhao, the deputy chief of mission at the Chinese embassy in Islamabad.

Beijing has long been suspicious of Khan. His party, known as the PTI after its Urdu-language acronym, staged a five-month sit-in in the government district of Islamabad in 2014, forcing a one-year postponement to the scheduled visit of President Xi Jinping at which he was to unveil the CPEC master plan to connect Xinjiang to the Arabian Sea.

Chinese diplomats have lobbied the PTI intensely since, but with limited success. The master plan for CPEC was expanded in 2015 in response to complaints that it ignored northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, administered by a coalition led by Khans party. By then, however, PTI activists had joined prominent Pakistanis questioning whether CPEC was a modern-day equivalent of the East India Company, which ruled the Indian subcontinent in the 19th century.

The PTI subsequently toned down its rhetoric, but indirectly attacked CPEC by persistently criticising Chinese-funded mass transit projects in three cities of the populous eastern Punjab province, governed by chief minister Shahbaz Sharif, brother of the recently ousted prime minister, Nawaz Sharif. The PTI characterised the projects as a waste of money that should have been spent on education and health care, and insinuated that corruption was rife in the CPEC projects.

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PTI politicians also seized on a fake news story about corruption in a CPEC-funded bus project in the central city of Multan last year, drawing an angry public riposte from China. Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, a close ally of Khan, has declared he intends to investigate a CPEC power generation project for evidence of corruption by Shahbaz Sharif.

The politics over CPEC can only intensify in the coming months as the Sharif brothers Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has joined hands with most of the countrys other established political parties to protest against the alleged rigging of this weeks election bringing Khan to power. Election staff are said to have slowed the process at many polling stations by limiting the number of voters allowed into the premises and denying the long queues of people the opportunity to cast their ballots. The counting process has been similarly tainted, with claims that opposition polling agents in key constituencies had been forced out and votes stolen blatantly. Provisional results released by the Election Commission of Pakistan showed Khans PTI had won 116 of the 260 declared seats (in a house of 270).

Ive been covering elections for 30 years. Never seen anything as disgusting as this, tweeted editor Aamer Ahmed Khan. If I was part of an institution tasked with rigging an election, I would be seriously worried about my own competence after tonights performance.

Maulana Fazal-ur-Rehman, the chairman of a group of Pakistans most influential Islamist parties, has launched efforts to form an opposition alliance to seek a fresh general election without military interference, making a campaign against the PTI government inevitable.

China is central to the first governance challenge facing Asad Umar, the PTIs finance minister in waiting. What he will have to address is a balance of payments crisis sparked, in part, by record imports of Chinese machinery for CPEC projects. The crisis has been held at bay by a series of emergency loans from Chinese state-owned banks.

A leading critic of the last governments borrowing levels, Umar would have to reach an understanding with China about remedial measures, including a probable bailout application to the International Monetary Fund. That would entail close examination in the US of the terms of the CPEC financing in the middle of Washingtons trade war with Beijing.

As an austerity programme looms, the Khan administrations relationship with China will largely be determined by its future spending plans. Mindful of its corruption narrative about Chinese-funded projects, the PTI government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province decided last year to develop a bus project in Peshawar with financing from the Asian Development Bank, turning down Beijings offer to add it to CPEC.

In his televised victory speech, however, Khan tried to reassure China; it was the first country referred to in the foreign policy portion of his speech and he repeatedly referred to Chinese governance policies as desirable models. I will send a team to China to learn how it brought 660 million people out of poverty, he said. He also said he would seek to leverage CPEC to attract wider foreign direct investment and generate employment for young Pakistanis.

Still, Khans messaging suggests his views on China and CPEC could diverge a bit from the army, as well as the previous Sharif administration, said Michael Kugelman, an associate at The Wilson Centre think tank. That said, I cant imagine the PTI trying to take its China policy in a direction that could provoke tensions with Beijing. There is a deep political consensus in Pakistan to maintain and even deepen its embrace of China, particularly as Pakistans relationship with Washington goes south.

In any case, were China ever to find itself at odds with Khan, it does have recourse to the Pakistani military, the ultimate umpire and Khans benefactor. If the military, which has the final say on foreign policy, feels the PTI is going astray, it would likely rein it in, Kugelman said. 

This article What will Pakistans new leader Imran Khan deliver for China? first appeared on South China Morning Post

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Australia's political leaders made last-gasp bids to sway voters Saturday as polls opened in five by-elections that could see the conservative government boost its wafer-thin parliamentary majority. The seats are being contested following a string of forced resignations in the opposition Labor party after the High Court reaffirmed an obscure provision in the 1901 constitution that bars dual citizens from elected office. Picking up just one of them will double Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's parliamentary majority to two. The outcome is also being seen as a barometer on Turnbull's re-election prospects and whether opposition Labor leader Bill Shorten should potentially be replaced ahead of national polls due by May next year. Half a million people are eligible to vote. Two of the five seats are considered Labor strongholds while another looks likely to remain with the independent Centre Alliance. The others -- Longman in Queensland state and Braddon in Tasmania state -- are too close to call, although an opinion poll in Saturday's The Australian newspaper suggested Labor could cling on. Should Turnbull's Liberal coalition win a seat, it would be the first time a government has clinched one from the opposition at a by-election in 98 years. Turnbull has framed the polls as a referendum on the government's "jobs and growth" agenda while Labor is campaigning on better health funding. "All of our candidates are standing for stronger economic growth, lower taxes, more jobs, higher wages, guaranteed funding for essential services that comes from a stronger economy," Turnbull said during a final pitch in Braddon. "Labor is a threat to all of that." "We're saying to Australians voting today; don't put your essential services at risk. Don't put your jobs at risk. Don't put stronger economic growth at risk." While the government continues to trail Labor in opinion polls, the deficit has been narrowing and Shorten's personal popularity has been waning. "I accept that when these campaigns started, Labor was the underdog in both Braddon and Longman. But Labor never gives up," said Shorten, also campaigning in Braddon. "The critical question to ask yourself when you cast your vote in these by-elections, is whether or not you want more of the same? Or do you want to see this government do better? "Do you want to see better for our hospitals and schools? Better for our wages? Or do you just want to see more tax cuts for the top end of town?"
Russia on Friday urged world powers to help Syria's economic recovery and the return of refugees as its Damascus ally pressed on with a campaign to re-take territory in the seven-year war. Russian Deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyansky appealed for an end to unilateral sanctions against Syria and said countries should not link aid to political demands for changes to President Bashar al Assad's regime. Moscow's 2015 military intervention in support of Assad was widely seen as a turning point in the war, which has killed more than 350,000 people and displaced millions. Addressing the UN Security Council, Polyansky said the "revival of the Syrian economy" was a "critical challenge", with Syria facing an acute shortage of construction material, heavy equipment and fuel to rebuild areas destroyed by war. "It would be wise for all international partners to join assistance in Syrian recovery efforts, to eschew artificial linkages to political momentum," Polyansky told the council meeting on Syria. France, however, made clear there will be no reconstruction aid for Syria unless Assad agrees to a political transition that would include a new constitution and elections. - No EU aid - Eight rounds of UN-sponsored peace talks on Syria have failed to yield a breakthrough while a new Russian-backed committee to rewrite the Syrian constitution has yet to begin work. Since the last round of peace talks broke down in December, Assad's forces have retaken Eastern Ghouta, near the capital Damascus, and brought most of Daraa province in the south under their control. French Ambassador Francois Delattre told the council that Assad was scoring "victories without peace" and that political talks were needed on a final settlement. "We will not take part in the rebuilding of Syria unless a political transition is effectively carried out with constitutional and electoral processes" conducted "in a sincere and meaningful way," said Delattre. A political transition is a "sine qua non" condition for stability, he said, adding that without stability, "no reason can justify France and the European Union's financing of reconstruction efforts." Russia this month presented the United States with proposals for the return of refugees from Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt that would involve international financial support. New legislation, known as law number 10, would allow the Syrian government to confiscate the property of refugees and displaced Syrians unless they register ownership with the authorities in 30 days. Polyansky shot back at criticism of the new law, saying the measure was the target of an "information campaign" and that Syrian authorities were ready to hold talks with UN experts on the issue. Refugee return will be discussed at a meeting next week in Russia's Black Sea resort of Sochi between Russia, Iran and Turkey.
Tan Cheng Bock (left) and Chee Soon Juan at a working lunch for opposition parties organised by the Singapore Democratic Party to discuss forming a political coalition during the next general election. (PHOTO: SDP)

Former presidential candidate Dr Tan Cheng Bock said he was open to leading a coalition of opposition parties at a meeting hosted by the Singapore Democratic Party (SDP) on Saturday (28 July).

The working lunch attended by several opposition parties was organised by the SDP to discuss the possibility of working together as a unified front at the next general election, said the SDP in a statement on its website.

The SDP proposed that Tan, a former Peoples Action Party MP, lead the effort in building such a coalition. Tan said in response, If you want me to lead, then we must think of country first. If we go in, we must go in as a team.

Tans spokesperson, when contacted by Yahoo News Singapore, confirmed that he was open to the idea of leading an opposition coalition.

Besides the SDP, the event was attended by leaders and representatives of six other political parties: the Democratic Progressive Party, the National Solidarity Party, the Peoples Power Party, the Peoples Voice, the Reform Party and the Singaporeans First Party.

The largest opposition party, the Workers Party, was not in attendance.

Tan, who is not a member of any political party, attended the event as an observer, said the SDP.

The parties present welcomed the idea of Tan leading a coalition, according to the SDPs statement.

The SDPs Secretary-General, Dr Chee Soon Juan, said he was confident that Tan would be able to lead such an alliance, given his experience and leadership.

Tan Cheng Bock contested Singapores four-cornered presidential election in 2011, during which Dr Tony Tan was elected as president. Tan Cheng Bock lost to Tony Tan by a mere 0.34 percentage points, or 7,382 votes.




Thai rescue teams assisted local emergency crews in Laos on Thursday, July 26, as the region suffered flooding in the aftermath of a dam collapse in Attapeu province.

The Bangkok Post reported on Friday that at least 13 people had been rescued in the joint operation.

This footage was shared by Ple Jaosua Siam, a Thai rescue worker who assisted in the efforts. Credit: Ple Jaosua Siam via Storyful
Rescuers battled thick mud and flood waters across a swathe of remote southern Laos to find survivors of a deadly dam burst that submerged entire villages, as an official suggested faulty construction may have led to the disaster. The exact number of dead and missing from Monday's dam collapse remains a mystery because of the complexity of the rescue operation in an inaccessible area and the secretive reflexes of Laos's Communist authorities in the face of an unprecedented crisis. "The search is very complicated, many areas cannot be accessed by cars or boats. Also we have limited modern equipment to bring to the field," deputy secretary of Attapeu province committee Meenaporn Chaichompoo told reporters Friday. The head of the rescue mission Kumriang Authakaison said Saturday that eight people are confirmed dead, down from 27 reported by officials earlier this week. He added that 123 were confirmed missing. But conflicting information swirled about how many remain unaccounted for after Chaichompoo said Friday "we can't find 1,126 people", without elaborating. Makeshift shelters are packed with thousands of people who fled their homes in panic with just a few hours' notice of the impending disaster, now spending their days on plastic mats waiting for news of missing neighbours. All karaoke bars and entertainment venues were ordered tone down loud music and celebrations in the province as the nation mourned the calamity, the most devastating to hit Laos's contentious hydropower sector. A stretch of land dozens of kilometres long and wide was submerged when the Xe-Namnoy dam collapsed after heavy rains. Slowly retreating floodwaters have cut off access to villages and covered much of the area with thick, sticky mud. "This is one of the worst (disasters) I've ever seen. Especially because we're not a very strong country in terms of rescue operations," a volunteer rescue worker told AFP, requesting anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to media. - Poor construction? - Days into the treacherous search for survivors, questions are being raised about the quality of the construction of the $1.2 billion dam, a joint venture between South Korean, Laotian and Thai firms. Operators said it burst after heavy rains in a country regularly battered by monsoons. But Laos Minister of Energy and Mines Khammany Inthirath said poor design may have contributed to the accident, according to state media and Radio Free Asia. "It might be construction technique that led to the collapse after it was affected by the rain," he told RFA in an interview broadcast Friday. One of the Korean firms involved in the project, SK Engineering & Construction, said it was investigating the cause of the dam break and would donate $10 million in relief aid. The accident has kicked up criticism of Laos' ambitious dam-building scheme as it bids to become a major power exporter, billing itself the "battery of Asia" with more than 50 projects set to go online by 2020. The majority of energy generated in the tiny, landlocked country is sold to its neighbours, mostly to Thailand where much of it is sucked up in the sweaty, energy-hungry capital Bangkok. Villagers have complained of being relocated -- sometimes repeatedly -- while river waters crucial for fishing and farming have been diverted, destroying livelihoods in one of Asia's poorest countries. Downstream countries like Cambodia and Vietnam also fret that their waterways and fishing stocks could be damaged by the hydopower boom in Laos. The accident has prompted fears over the safety of other dams in the country. "Most of the dams are built by foreign companies and Laos authorities don't have expert knowledge and management to check for weaknesses or problems, that's our worry," villager Si Wonghajak told AFP.
Govt launches apprenticeship programme

The government launched apprenticeship, an industry-based skills training programme in Province Number 1, on Thursday.
By Munkhchimeg Davaasharav

ULAANBAATAR (Reuters) - A Turkish teacher, who was allegedly kidnapped in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar and taken to the city's airport, has been released after authorities temporarily grounded an airplane, according to local media and a social media posting by the man.

Veysel Akcay, who thanked Mongolians for their support on Saturday, was abducted in front of his apartment on Friday morning according to friends and family, who circulated details of the abduction on social media.

Ackay, who has lived in Mongolia for 24 years, is associated with the network of U.S.-based Muslim cleric, Fethullah Gulen, which Turkish authorities hold responsible for a failed 2016 coup in Turkey.

Ankara has branded the group as terrorists, and sought to detain those involved as part of a wide-ranging operation this year.

Supporters of Akcay accused Turkish authorities of having hand in his abduction. The Turkish Embassy and Ambassador denied any involvement, according to the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement.

Groups of supporters gathered at Genghis Khan airport holding signs demanding Ackay's release on Friday, and human rights activists in the country spoke out publicly, urging the government to take action against the abduction, which they believed was politically motivated.

The plane was grounded by authorities, and later left the country without Akcay at 9:15pm in the evening.

Mongolian authorities said they do not have specific knowledge of the abduction, and are conducting an investigation.

Mongolian deputy Foreign Minister Battsetseg Batmunkh said that if the accusations were true "it is an unacceptable act of violation of Mongolia's sovereignty and independence and Mongolia will strongly object it."

Batmunkh made the comments during a meeting with a diplomat from the Turkish Embassy on Friday.

Akcay is currently a general manager at the Empathy Worldwide Educational Institution, which runs Turkish-Mongolian joint schools established by the Gulen Movement 25 years ago.

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Turkey has urged Mongolia to shut down the Turkish schools since 2016.

Human rights activists warned that any involvement by Mongolian authorities in Ackay's abduction would be in direct violation of constitutional laws that bar the torture, forced abduction and other human rights crimes.

"If Mongolia was really involved, then this is a national shame," said Bolorsaikhan Badamsambuu, Chairperson at Amnesty International in Mongolia.

(Reporting by Munkhchimeg Davaasharav; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
A Turkish teacher targeted in a suspected kidnap attempt thwarted by Mongolian authorities Saturday thanked his supporters as he left hospital after a checkup following his ordeal. When asked who had attempted to abduct him, Veysel Akcay simply said "I don't know." The drama unfolded Friday as Mongolian authorities grounded a suspected Turkish air force jet after witnesses said assailants snatched a Turkish man associated with a religious group Ankara has branded as terrorists. In recent weeks, Turkey's intelligence agency has conducted operations abroad against associates of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen -- who Ankara says was behind a 2016 failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. As many as five men grabbed Akcay from outside his home in Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar Friday morning and threw him into a minibus, according to friends and eyewitnesses. The 50-year-old is director of a school in Mongolia that is alleged to be associated with Gulen, although teachers there denied the connection in response to questions by AFP. When he failed to show up for work, concerned family and friends notified the police. Meanwhile, Akcay's abductors had taken him to Genghis Khan international airport, where a small passenger jet landed around 1:00 pm (0500 GMT). The plane -- with call sign TT4010 -- is operated by the Turkish Airforce, according to data on flight tracking site flightradar24.com. It was the beginning of a more than eight-hour standoff between the captors and Mongolian authorities, who refused to allow the plane to leave the runway. As authorities summoned Turkish officials from their embassy in Mongolia, parliamentarians and hundreds of protestors clutching signs demanding Akcay's release gathered at the airport. As the standoff dragged on, Mongolian vice foreign minister Battsetseg Batmunkh warned Turkish embassy officials that any attempt to abduct a person from Mongolia's territory would constitute "a serious violation of Mongolia's independence and sovereignty". Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu denied the accusations during a telephone call to his Mongolian counterpart Tsogtbaatar Damdin, according to the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. But officials were not convinced: "We are an independent nation. Do you think anyone can do abductions in our country?" parliamentarian Baasankhuu Oktaybri wrote on Twitter. The plane took off at 9:25 pm Friday without Akcay, who was taken for questioning by police and later sent to a hospital for medical checks. "I thank you all," he told his supporters as he left hospital. - Ankara's relentless hunt - Sandwiched between China and Russia, Mongolia was once described by former US Secretary of State John Kerry as an "oasis of democracy". However the incident "might turn into a full diplomatic crisis between Mongolia and Turkey, a relationship that has been active and vibrant for some years," said Julian Dierkes, an expert on Mongolian politics at the University of British Columbia. The Turkish aid agency "has undertaken many projects in Mongolia, many Mongolian students have studied at Turkish universities", a relationship that could be "damaged," he said. Since the failed coup in July 2016, Turkey has been relentlessly tracking down those it suspects of being supporters of Gulen, who denies being behind the attempted overthrow of Erdogan. Gulen's movement built up significant influence in Turkey and overseas, particularly in Central Asia, Africa and the Balkans, especially via its education network. Ankara has outlawed the movement as a terror organisation but followers insist they promote peace and moderate Islam. Turkey has carried out a series of overseas operations against suspected members of the movement in places such as Kosovo, Gabon and more recently Ukraine. Last week a Turkish blogger accused of links to Gulen was deported from Ukraine as part of an operation by MIT while another individual was detained in Azerbaijan recently and sent back to Turkey. In Turkey more than 77,000 people were arrested over alleged links to the movement during a two-year state of emergency imposed after the coup bid in a crackdown criticised by Ankara's Western allies.
By Natalia Zinets and Matthias Williams

KIEV (Reuters) - President Petro Poroshenko joined thousands on the streets of Kiev on Saturday on an anniversary marking the start of the conversion of Ukrainians to Christianity, amid a push to remove what he says is a lever of Kremlin influence in Ukrainian affairs.

Poroshenko wants to establish a so-called national 'autocephalous' church in the majority-Orthodox country, which he says would be vital to tackling meddling by Moscow.

Religious divisions came to the fore in Ukraine after the 2014 annexation of Crimea by Russia and conflict between Ukrainian and Moscow-backed separatist forces in the east.

Two competing strands of the church, known as the Moscow Patriarchate and the Kiev Patriarchate, vie for influence in the eastern European country.

The Moscow Patriarchate considers its rival illegitimate, and opposes Poroshenko's proposal. The Kiev branch, which broke away in 1992 after the fall of the Soviet Union, supports it.

Critics of the Moscow Patriarchate say it is under the thumb of the Russian Orthodox Church. They see it as a fifth column for the Kremlin, used to harbour separatist fighters, store weapons and justify Russian expansionism.

The Moscow Patriarchate rejects such accusations. It says it is autonomous from Russia.

NATIONAL SECURITY

During the day Poroshenko addressed priests, officials, lawmakers and members of the public on a hill by the statue of Volodymyr the Great, the prince whose baptism led to the christianisation of the region in 988.

"Autocephaly is an issue of our independence. This is an issue of our national security. This is an issue of the entire world geopolitics," Poroshenko said.

"Dear friends, the time of autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has definitely come."

He then joined a procession of thousands of people waving Ukrainian flags, along with priests in golden robes and soldiers.

Poroshenko said it was "absolutely necessary to cut off all the tentacles used by the country-aggressor within our state body".

Story continues

Winning formal approval from the global Orthodox community for such a church could boost Poroshenko's chances of re-election in a tight presidential race next year.

Representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, global spiritual leader of Orthodox Christians, boosted Poroshenko's hopes of securing approval for an autocephalous church.

"The Ecumenical Patriarch cannot remain blind and deaf to the appeals that have been repeated for more than a quarter of a century," said Bartholomew's representative, Metropolitan Emmanuel, in an address alongside Poroshenko.

The church was working towards "achieving the ultimate goal - to provide autocephaly to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church," he said.

(Editing by Andrew Bolton)
This article is published through a partnership with New York Medias Strategist. The partnership is designed to surface the most useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change. Every editorial product is independently selected by New York Media. If you buy something through our links, Slate and New York Media may earn an affiliate commission.

The secret about cold brew is that its actually not that complicated to make, even if a glass of it costs $5 at your favorite coffee shop. It just takes time and the right tools, says Claire Chan, owner of the Elk in Manhattans West Village. And as our colleagues at Grub Street have wisely pointed out, using a cold-brew coffee maker at home is the cheapest way to get your fix. To help you master the art of making your own at home (and maybe save some cash while its still iced-coffee season), I talked with seven New York City baristas, roasters, and coffee-shop owners about their favorite cold-brew makers and iced-coffee-making methods. These are the best ones for home brewers of any level.

Best Cold-Brew Coffee Makers

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Shaak Shatursun, general manager of retail at Cafe Grumpy, likes the Filtron brewer. I personally own one and use it to make cold brew in the summer, especially just before going on a road trip, he says, adding that you can spot Filtron brewers in Cafe Grumpy itself. Its how they make decaf cold brew. Mike Jones, retail manager at Variety Coffee Roasters, also recommends the Filtron. The Filtron is very easy and very consistent, which are key factors in brewing good coffee at home.

Plus, you dont need all that much gear to make it work. There are measuring lines for how much water to add based on how much coffee you are using (12 ounces or one pound), Shatursun explains, which means you dont have to use a scale. The glass carafe in which you brew also serves as a storage container.

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BUY: Filtron Cold Water Coffee Concentrate Brewer

$40, Amazon

Another popular, and cost-effective, cold-brew coffee maker is the Toddy. At the Elk, it is our preferred method because we make such large quantities, and the Toddy container and filters not only make our lives easier, but it also produces a very consistent product, explains Chan. Steven Sutton, CEO of Devocion in Williamsburg, likes this method for round, balanced coffees. It will extract for hours (depending on the size of the batch, anywhere from 7 to 16 hours) and is probably your most common method out there.

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BUY: Toddy Cold Brew System

$35, Amazon

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Just be sure to get filters for your Toddy as well.

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BUY: Toddy Filters (2-Pack)

$5, Amazon

Best Cold-Brew Coffee Maker for Big Batches

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The brewers at Sweatshop in Williamsburg use the Brewista system, says co-owner Luke Woodward. Its great because it has a stainless-steel filtration system, which reduce waste, and also has an extra filter built into the spigot that provides a second filtration process to give the cleanest cold brew we can produce. The one downside of the Brewista Cold Pro for home brewers is that its large and makes several gallons at a time. But then again, for some people, that might actually be a good thing.

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BUY: Cold Pro 2 Commercial Brewing System  Complete Kit

$70, Amazon

Best Cold-Brew Coffee Maker for Complex Flavor

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If youre using rarer, single-origin beans or just desire a more complex flavor, Sutton of Devocion recommends investing in a Kyoto-style cold-brew drip. This method drips cold water in the coffee instead of submerging the coffee in water, he says. The outcome is a coffee that you dont have to cut with water and is extremely complex in flavor. This wood-and-glass drip-cold-brew maker from Amazon, initially recommended by writer Sierra Tishgart, is a little splurgy, but will certainly help you craft those more nuanced flavors.

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BUY: Yama Glass 6-8 Cup Cold Drip Maker Straight Black Wood

$250, Amazon

Best Iced-Coffee Maker for People Who Dont Like Cold Brew

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However, for all of the hype about cold brew, there were a couple of experts who maintained that its not the best way to enjoy cold coffee. Many coffee makers believe the benefit of cold brew is its tendency to be less acidic, but we actually think that is a negative of cold brew, says Kris Wood, coffee director at Black Fox Coffee. Acid gives coffee its wonderful character of the seed of a fruit that it is. For that reason, both Wood and Lance Schnorenberg, co-founder and head roaster at Sey Coffee, recommend the ColdWave.

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What we recommend to our customers is to brew coffee hot at a slight concentratea 1:15 ratio [of grounds to water]to get a full extraction with a slightly higher strength, says Schnorenberg. From there, cool it as quickly as possible to minimize the amount of oxidation, which results in well-extracted non-oxidized coffee. Thats where the ColdWave comes in. You pour the coffee into the frozen ColdWave, which cools it down quickly. By instantly chilling the hot coffee, you can taste those marvelous flavors that coffee hasbut cold, Wood says.

BUY: The ColdWave

$30, Amazon
Theres nothing like a dose of wedding drama to get people riled up. As one of our very own former Prudies, Emily Yoffe, used to frequently write, a little bit of low-key drama is actually good for a wedding itselfit gives guests something to remember as long as its not too serious. But we all know that a large portion of the drama takes place before the big day even arrives. And on Friday, a fired bridesmaid managed to up the drama quotient of some impending nuptials significantly with a single tweet.

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SOS @JetBlue! Booked my X-C flights for a wedding, then was asked "to relinquish" my "duties as a bridesmaid" & mail my bridesmaid outfit X-C so another girl could fill in and wear it (Happy bday to me!) I am laughing & crying & must avoid this wedding at all costs. Pls help? pic.twitter.com/OrZUptt34w  Courtney Duffy (@cduffy90) July 27, 2018

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Asking a bridesmaid to step down is such a potentially fraught situation that it makes breaking off an engagement look like a breeze. As seen in the tweets screenshot above, a woman named Alex took her chances on it anyway, and the email she wrote to the bridesmaid at hand, Courtney, who posted it, is a spectacular etiquette breach and one of the most passive aggressive documents of our time.

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Why is this email public for us to analyze in the first place? Because Courtney screenshotted it and tweeted it at JetBlue, asking for the airline to refund her ticket. (The airline responded, and seemed receptive!) Let us now attempt to discern who is in the right and who is in the wrong in this modern farce of a situation where everyone seems sort of awful:

 There are pretty much no circumstances under which its OK to ask a bridesmaid to step down from her duties. Unless your bridesmaid ran away with your betrothed, in which case the wedding is probably off anyway, dont do it. You may think youre looking out for the sanctity of your big day, but in reality it is incredibly rude and will mar the occasion for both bride and bridesmaid.

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 The above is especially true when the bridesmaid in question has already bought her outfit and booked her flight.

 Any duties required of a bridesmaid beyond wearing the specified outfit (/jumpsuit), being present and pleasant during the ceremony, and participating in photos should be strictly optional.

 If you must ask a bridesmaid to step down, you should not do it over email. It is a situation that requires the deftnessand lack of paper trailof a phone call. If you are worried you may lack that deftness, refer back to Point No. 1.

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 That said, brides should choose bridesmaids carefully from the beginning. Just guessing here, but was there possibly friction in Alex and Courtneys friendship independent of the bridesmaid thing? Has Alex secretly thought this whole time that Courtney wasnt up to the task? Or maybe Alex downplayed how much would be involved in being a bridesmaid in her wedding because she wanted to seem like a chill bride? It seems like these are two friends with wildly different expectations of what it means to be in a wedding, and this likely should have been discussed honestly before any jumpsuits were purchased.

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 Come to think of it, should the bridesmaid jumpsuits have been the first red flag for Courtney?

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 Imagine what the first draft of this email was.

 Frankly, though, this email could have been a lot worse. But thats part of what makes it so tragic: Its trying so hard to be nice while doing something that is definitely not nice. The sentence I need to ask you to relinquish your duties as a bridesmaid is, on its own, clear evidence that this sentiment never should have been committed to type. Consider, also, the implications behind, [T]his is one of the hardest things Ive ever had to ask anyone.

 The many reassurances that the bride isnt mad and doesnt feel let down make it very clear that the bride is mad and feels let down.

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 Just the catastrophe of the subject line Hey Court!: devastating.

 If the bride absolutely had to ask a bridesmaid to step down, she should live with one less bridesmaid, even if it creates a disparity in the number of bridesmaids and groomsmen. Theyre already wearing jumpsuits, so tradition has gone out the window.

 Who is the Courtney-sized bridesmaid-in-waiting, anyway?

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 Courtney should have just sucked it up and attended, bridesmaid or not. Theres a high possibility that Alex will be back to normal after the wedding is over.

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 If the bride is insistent on full attendance to the bitter end, its tough to have the wedding on a Sunday night. Thats an inconvenient time to hold a partypeople have work the next day. If its the Sunday of a holiday weekend, the bride should acknowledge that she is already asking people to devote one of their few holiday weekends to her celebration.)

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 Courtney should not have tweeted this. The wedding, I take it, hasnt happened yet. Was her friendship really worth setting on fire for a refund (and a viral tweet)?

 Courtney should not have @-ed JetBlue; @-ing an airline is thirsty and another thing that should almost never be done. Did she even try calling first?

 If JetBlue is going to respond to peoples airline problems on Twitter, should this really be its priority?

 OK, it kind of sucks that Courtney got this email on her birthday, but who really cares about birthdays?

Honestly, what Alex and Courtney both need is a little perspective. Maybe Courtney was being a genuinely bad bridesmaid, the one who kept flaking on the Google Hangouts and never opened the planning spreadsheet. If that was the case, why did Alex not address the problem earlier instead of letting it simmer for what was probably months? She could have given Courtney an out by posing it as a genuine question, something like, Would you feel less stressed if you didnt have all these bridesmaid responsibilities hanging over your head?provided Alex was accepting of whatever answer she got.

But the real reason Alex and Courtneys expectations diverged so sharply here? Weddings turn people into monsters, whether its the bride trying to put on a highly produced pageant that society tells her is an intimate reflection of her value as a woman, or the guests, who have to pay exorbitant amounts of money for the privilege of watching an event turn their friends temporarily into lighting- and centerpiece-obsessed fools. Both Courtney and Alex would be fully within their rights to plead temporary insanitythe guiltiest party here is the wedding-industrial complex.
A six-year-old girl who had been separated from her mother as part of the Trump administrations policy of splitting up children from their parents at the border was twice sexually abused at an immigrant detention center, reports the Nation. More shocking still is that the facilitys administrators made the six-year-old sign a form that essentially made her responsible for protecting herself from future abuse.

The girls father, who is an undocumented immigrant in California, was told that a boy had fondled his daughter along with other girls. The instance of abuse allegedly occurred on June 4, and the father was contacted on June 11. Then, one day later, on June 12, the girl was made to sign a form in which she allegedly recognizes she was told to maintain my distance from the other youth involved and had been educated on good touch bad touch. The forms signature only shows a single letter, D, next to a characterization in parenthesis (tender age) that apparently didnt prevent her from taking on the responsibility to follow the safety plan that was outlined. Despite this plan, on June 22, authorities in the facility told the girls father that the same boy had again abused his daughter.

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A "tender age" six-year-old girl was forced to sign this document after being sexually abused in an immigrant detention center while separated from her mother. https://t.co/5besh6AOzI pic.twitter.com/LBMF4fboEU  The Nation (@thenation) July 27, 2018

I felt really horrible. I couldnt do anything for her, because we were separated, the girls mother said. It was a nightmare. When my husband told me what happened, I felt helpless. She was so little, she was probably so scared, probably afraid to say anything to anyone. It was a total nightmare for me.

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Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas took to Twitter to link to the Nation piece and ask Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen a question: A few days ago I asked you whether any of the separated children in government care had died or been seriously injured. You said, Not to my knowledge. Did you know about this? Do you consider sexual abuse a serious injury?

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This instance of sexual assault also illustrates how the shelters for immigrant kids have long been rife with abuse. And that predates Trumps zero tolerance policy that resulted in parents being separated from their kids. ProPublica reviewed police logs and found that law enforcement officers have responded to at least 125 calls in the past five years alleging sex offenses at shelters that primarily house immigrant children. Experts say the real numbers are likely far higher because many kids dont report abuse out of fear of retaliation. If youre a predator, its a gold mine, said Lisa Fortuna, director of child and adolescent psychiatry at Boston Medical Center. You have full access and then you have kids that have already had this history of being victimized.
Govt mulls two options for temporary workers

To adjust the temporary civil servants in the new federal set-up, the government is planning to either delegate them to different offices under the three layers of the government or lay them off with severance packages.
A black man accused former White House press secretary Sean Spicer of calling him the N-word and trying to fight him when they were both students at Portsmouth Abbey School in Rhode Island. It all happened at a book singing in Middletown, Rhode Island, where Spicer was promoting his book, The Briefing. In a video of the encounter, Alex Lombard, a resident of Cambridge, Massachusetts, yelled out at Spicer and the former press secretary seemed to recognize him. Hey, Spicer said. Yeah. How are you?

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Lombard quickly made clear that he wasnt there for pleasantries, although at first it seems people thought he was trying to be funny because some people can be heard laughing in the video posted by Newport Daily News. You dont remember trying to fight me? Lombard asked. But you called me a nigger first, right? Remember? Remember?

Thats when security quickly moved in and dragged Lombard away. I was 14. I was a scared kid then, Sean, Lombard said as he was removed from the store. Im not scared to fight you now. A publicist said Spicer was taken aback by the mans outrageous claim and claims the former White House spokesman didnt recall being in school with him. The video of the encounter doesnt show how Spicer reacted to Lombards claims.
Slates expanded voting rights coverage is made possible by the support of Slate Plus members and readers like you.

The master Republican mapmaker Tom Hofeller is among the visionaries who understood how sophisticated new GIS software and powerful new data sets provided an opportunity for the GOP to gerrymander itself decadelong advantages in the U.S. House of Representatives and state legislatures nationwide. Hofeller trains state legislators and junior line-drawers, however, with a PowerPoint so old-school that it looks like it might have been designed on a Commodore 64. There are no special effects to clutter Hofellers most important laws of redistricting: Avoid recklessness. Always be discreet. Avoid email.

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In case that message does not sink in, Hofeller repeats and underlines this advice. Emails are the tools of the devil, he cautions. RememberA journey to legal HELL starts with but a single misstatement OR a stupid email! Remember, the court record is already open. Remember recent email disasters!!!

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Time and again, Hofellers political allies have failed to heed his advice. The most recent example: newly disclosed emailspart of a federal court challenge to the constitutionality of the Michigan map by the League of Women Votersthat reveal just how determined GOP operatives, mapmakers, and congressional staffers were to design maps that would provide Republicans with a full decade of dominance. (Emails and correspondence between Hofeller and Michigan Republicans, who have worked together in the past, have also been requested as part of discovery.) Those who are dejected about the Supreme Courts refusal to put an end to extreme partisan gerrymandering should take heart. The next verdict on partisan gerrymandering will come this fall from voters in Michigan and three other states where meaningful reform is on the ballot. Even if these damning emails dont move the high court, theyre almost certain to anger American voters.

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Michigan Republicans have long denied that partisanship had anything to do with the congressional districts they drew after the 2010 census, a map that has locked in nine of the states 14 congressional seats for the GOP in every election since, even in years when Democrats earn many more statewide votes. They have insisted that Voting Rights Act requirements and the states political geographyDemocratic voters are clustered in Detroit and Ann Arbor, while Republicans are spread more efficiently throughout the statebaked in its red edge naturally and inevitably.

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Behind the scenes, they were making very different claims. In a glorious way that makes it easier to cram ALL of the Dem garbage in Wayne, Washtenaw, Oakland and Macomb counties into only four districts, wrote Jack Daly, the chief of staff to then GOP congressman Thaddeus McCotter, in a note to mapmaker Jeff Timmer and longtime strategist Robert LaBrant. Daly asked Timmer to swap neighborhoods in predominantly black Wayne County for suburban voters in West Bloomfield to meet the obvious objective of putting dems in a dem district and reps in a GOP district.

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Another email celebrated a vulgar contour on the map that looked like an extended middle finger, and the likely impact that feature would have on a Democratic incumbent. Perfect, a colleague wrote Timmer. [I]ts giving the finger to sandy levin. I love it.

In another email, discovered in trial documents by both the Bridge and the Detroit News, LaBrant told Timmer that national Republicans had suggested a map with 10 Republican seats and just four for the Democrats. That seemed too reckless for LaBrant, who counseled that we needed for legal and PR purposes a good looking map that did not look like an obvious gerrymander. LaBrant later observed that weve spent a lot of time providing options to ensure we have a solid 9-5 delegation in 2012 and beyond.

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This push to turn Michigan red was part of a national movement. Savvy GOP strategists at the Republican State Leadership Committee, led by Chris Jankowski and Ed Gillespie, carefully orchestrated the GOPs 2010 redistricting play, an audacious comeback move after being wiped out in 2008 by Barack Obama and losing control of both chambers of Congress. They named it REDMAP, short for the Redistricting Majority Project. By the time Democrats woke up and realized what the GOP was up to, Republicans had redrawn 193 of the 435 U.S. House districts. The lines, drawn by Hofeller, Timmer, and other GIS geniuses, held back the Democratic surge in 2012. The GOP held the House of Representatives 234201 that year despite winning 1.4 million fewer votes nationwide.

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Trouble is, some mapmakers forgot email was the tool of the devil. While the gerrymanders they crafted have yet to be undone at the ballot box, their partisan braggadocio has offended judges of all ideologies and provided the proof that something more than politics as usual was afoot during the 2010 redistricting cycle.

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In Florida, despite the overwhelming passage of two 2010 state constitutional amendments demanding nonpartisan redistricting, GOP legislators ran sham public hearings while operatives drew the real maps in the shadows and funneled them into the public process. They left such a voluminous paper trail of draft maps and talking points that an outraged federal judge demanded that several Republican congressional districts be redrawn. [T]his group of Republican political consultants did in fact conspire to manipulate and influence the redistricting process, Judge Terry Lewis ruled in 2014.

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Emails from Ohio revealed how GOP operatives charged with redistricting moved the entire process away from the Capitol and into a suite at the Doubletree Hotel that they dubbed The Bunker. On their personal Gmail accounts, strategists and politicians shared increasingly partisan indexes and algorithms, made last-minute fixes to aid campaign contributors, pledged fealty to national GOP goals, and shared virtual high-fives when they finished.

These emails strip aside wonkish debates and make it extremely clear that politicians are doing all they can to choose their voters.

These map-makers didnt run afoul of any lawspartisan gerrymandering is not illegal. Also, the impact of their work hasnt been a secret. Multiple studies have demonstrated the historic, durable nature of the Republican gerrymanders in Wisconsin and North Carolina. And just last month, the Citizens Research Council of Michigan used several statistical tests to show the tilt embedded into the states maps, conclusively dismissing natural clustering or the states geography as the cause, and finding that the Michigan legislature has gone beyond justifiable factors in drawing districts to advantage one political party.

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These sorts of emails, and the very clear intent behind them, also failed to convince the Supreme Court in the Wisconsin or Maryland cases this springthough, to be clear, they punted those cases back to the lower courts on standing, specifically declined to rule on the merits and clearly expressed outrage and distaste over the obvious partisanship. In Benisek v. Lamone, which challenged Marylands Democratic gerrymander, Justice Stephen Breyer beseeched his colleagues to act in part because of the email record, arguing that well never have such a record again. I mean, the people who do the gerrymandering are not stupid.

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The public isnt stupid either. These emails strip aside wonkish debates and make it extremely clear that politicians are doing all they can to choose their voters, and to make elections less meaningful and competitive. It shows that redistricting is not a geographic inevitability but rather a series of specific choices, made by committed partisans armed with precise data, wedded to a goal of decadelong domination.

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When the Supreme Court dodged the Maryland and Wisconsin cases, the fight for fair maps shifted from the courts to the ballot box. Earlier this year, a petition drive forced Ohio legislators to agree to a new bipartisan process for drawing congressional lines in 2021. This November, redistricting reform will be on the ballot in Colorado, Utah, Missouri, and, yes, Michigan. These emails may not shift the U.S. Supreme Court, but they reveal the kind of political hypocrisy that infuriates Americans of all ideological stripes. Well see in November whether voters punish mapmakers who failed to avoid recklessness, werent discreet, and didnt avoid email.
President Trumps new lawyer has a warning about President Trumps old lawyer: Dont trust him. According to CNN and NBC News, Donald Trumps previous lawyer, Michael Cohen, has said hes prepared to tell investigators that in June of 2016, he witnessed Donald Trump Jr. tell Trump about a Russian offer of dirt on Hillary Clinton. The offer led to the now-infamous meeting at Trump Tower, which Trump claims to have known nothing about. If Cohens story is true, then Trump colluded with Russia.

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Trumps new lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, says Cohen is lying. He points out that Cohen has changed his storyCohen previously said he had never seen any sign of Trump colluding with Russiaand that Cohen is under investigation himself, which means he might be concocting a tale to bargain his way out of a jam. But in a Thursday night interview with CNNs Chris Cuomo, Giuliani laid the groundwork for several fallback defenses in case Cohens story is confirmed. The interview is a sign of unease in the Trump campand a potential preview of what lies ahead.

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Giuliani projected complete confidence as he trashed Cohens character. But he seemed uncertain when he was pressed about what happened in the conversation Cohen claims to have witnessed. Giuliani said that one or two months ago he had talked to the corroborating witnesses, the people in the room with the president when the conversation supposedly occurred. Giuliani implied that their accounts would contradict Cohens. But when Cuomo asked Giuliani whether these witnesses would say different things from what Cohen was saying, Giuliani hedged a bit: Im pretty comfortable about that. I havent had a chance to go back and look at all of it, but I remember it pretty well.

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Indeed, Giuliani seemed prepared for a surprise. When Cuomo asked what would happen if Cohens telling the truth, Giuliani said he didnt want to entertain that scenario because its so contrary to all the facts that I know up until now. That I know and up until now are odd caveats to add if you trust your client. But if youve been misled by your client several times, as Giuliani has, theyre perfectly understandable. In the Trump family, statements are, at best, provisionally true.

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During the interview, Giuliani brought up Trumps former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, whose trial in the Russia investigation is scheduled to begin next week. Giuliani raised the same concern about Manafort that he expressed about Cohen: The target might flip against Trump. Theyre putting Manafort in solitary confinement  to get him to break, Giuliani protested. And maybe theyve succeeded in cracking this guy and getting him to lie. I dont know. Im not sure of that. I havewell, I shouldnt say it. At that moment, sadly, Cuomo discouraged Giuliani from finishing his thought. It seemed that Giuliani was about to offer an explanation for a hypothetical Manafort flip.

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Giuliani said Cohen was walking into a trap, presumably because other witnesses would contradict him. But a few minutes later, Giuliani worried that Trump was the one facing a trap. I dont want him to testify, because I dont want him to be put up against liars, said Giuliani. Even if there are three witnesses that corroborate Trump, Giuliani argued, the investigators might recommend [a charge of] perjury because one guy, a proven liar, says the opposite. Thats not how prosecutions work, of course, and Giuliani, a former U.S. attorney, knows it. If the testimony is three against one, with no corroboration, you dont get charged with perjury. But Giulianis comments about perjury and refusing to testify, as well as his curious use of the plural, liars, make perfect sense if hes afraid that someone or something will back up Cohens story.

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That something could be notes, emails, or an audio recording. Cohen has no recording of the conversation, according to CNN, and in the interview, Giuliani pounced on that admission.

Why didnt he tape it? Giuliani demanded. He taped everything else. Hes got a hundred tapes. Why didnt he tape that? If the story were true, Giuliani implied, then Cohen should have made and kept a recording. But if Cohen does have a recording, Giuliani has an answer for that, too: Cohen has betrayed Trump by taping some of their phone calls, Giuliani told Cuomo, and therefore Cohen is a weasel whose testimony cant be trusted. Trump and Giuliani have already field-tested this line of attack against former FBI Director James Comey, who took notes after his conversations with Trump. Youre damned if you record what Trump says, and youre damned if you dont.

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Giuliani is endlessly creative in his speculations about what is or isnt on tape. Cohen has already produced one incriminating tape, which indicates that shortly before the 2016 election, Trump discussed payments to quash a story about his extramarital affairs. But this might be just one of many tapes Cohen made around that time, says Giuliani, and Cohen might have destroyed others that exonerated Trump. When Cuomo pointed out that Trump seemed familiar with the payments Cohen discussed on the tapecontradicting Giulianis earlier description of the conversationGiuliani speculated that Cohen had planted the idea in a previous, unrecorded chat. Giuliani also claimed that Cohen cut off the recording just as Trump was about to say something that proved Trumps innocence. As to the conversation in which Trump Jr. ostensibly told his father about the Russians, Giuliani suggested that Cohen might have recorded it and then destroyed the recording because it didnt match Cohens story.

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If recordings should be expected from anyone disputing what was said in a conversation, as Giuliani implies, then youd expect Trump to have recorded the conversation about the Russians himself. But Trump is too honorable to have done such a thing, says Giuliani. The president doesnt go around taping people, he told Cuomo. When Cuomo pointed out that Trump had once threatened Comey with precisely such a recordingJames Comey better hope that there are no tapes of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press, Trump tweeted in May 2017Giuliani replied that Trump had issued that threat only as a test of Comey. Giuliani then moved on to other topics, neglecting to mention that Comey passed the testand Trump failed itsince Trump hasnt come up with any evidence, much less a recording, to show that Comeys notes are inaccurate.

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If all other defenses collapse, Giuliani has two final arguments. One is that the whole Russia investigation is illegitimate. In the CNN interview, Giuliani claimed that the investigators were all Democrats  not a single Republican. When Cuomo pointed out that Comey, special counsel Robert Mueller, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein were Republicans, Giuliani dismissed them as fakes. Oh, yeah, theyre some Republicans, Giuliani snarked. When Cuomo noted that Rosenstein was a Trump appointee, Giuliani called his appointment a very serious mistake of judgment. When Cuomo noted that Trump had personally interviewed Mueller as a potential FBI director, Giuliani said that was only because Trump didnt know all the bad things about Mueller.

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The other argument is that collusion is OK. If Cohens account turns out to be true, Giuliani told Cuomo, I honestly dont think its that significant. After all, Giuliani asked: Did Trump ever meet with Russians? Did he ever agree with them? What do you mean, he colluded? The Russians hacked. Nobody thinks the president was involved in the hacking. Did he get the fruits of it unknowingly? No. But if he did, thats not a crime.

Thats where Giuliani will end up if Trump turns out to have lied about everything. For now, Giuliani isnt going there. But when Trump is your client, you have to be ready to change your story. Just ask Michael Cohen.
President Donald Trumps former lawyer, Jay Goldberg, harshly criticized Rudy Giuliani for hurting his case against longtime fixer Michael Cohen. All the back-and-forth about whether Cohen could be trusted ultimately essentially cancels out the evident effort to discredit the man who was Trumps trusted adviser for years. I knew as soon as Giuliani spoke that he was damaging Trumps case immeasurably, Goldberg, who was Trumps divorce lawyer, told CNN.

It ranks near 100 in terms of damage.

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"I knew as soon as Giuliani spoke, that he was damaging Trump's case immeasurably ... it ranks near 100, in terms of damage." - Jay Goldberg, President Trump's personal friend and long-time attorney, on Giuliani's initial support of Michael Cohen's honesty https://t.co/hbKgLaovO6 pic.twitter.com/cbEMnhJ7XI  OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) July 27, 2018

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The switch from trustworthy individual to liar seems to have happened rather quickly. On July 8, Giuliani told ABC News that he had no concerns that Michael Cohen is going to do anything but tell the truth. Now the tune is markedly different with Giuliani saying on Thursday that Cohen is a proven liar. That transition seems to suggest that Trumps legal team believes at least part of the case on Russian meddling could come down to Cohens credibility, notes the Washington Post.

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Giuliani on whether he is concerned that Michael Cohen will flip on Pres. Trump: "I have no concerns that Michael Cohen is going to do anything but tell the truth and if he does, as I said, there's no suggestion that anything happened" https://t.co/LEjDQ0Nhtt #ThisWeek pic.twitter.com/qHJUrgM7Fc  ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) July 8, 2018

The early statements of confidence on Cohens credibility and trustworthiness will end up canceling the later doubts and illustrate why Giuliani isnt right for the job of defending the president, Goldberg said. The early defense of Trumps fixer strips the defense of its main weapon of claiming that he is coloring his testimony to favor the government, so he can get a letter of cooperation, Goldberg said. The presidents divorce lawyer added that no defense lawyer would say that.

Goldberg said he had long been skeptical of whether Giuliani was appropriate for the job, saying that he told the president not to hire him. I didnt think Giuliani knew how to handle a case from the defense perspective. He was a long-time prosecutor and he didnt know how to set a case up for the possible impeachment of a witness such as Cohen, Goldberg said.
Why so many guys?: Trumps judicial nominees have been overwhelmingly conservative, and overwhelmingly white and male. Mark Joseph Stern and Sofie Werthan wonder if theres any good explanation for this gender gap beyond standard-issue sexism.

I love Hindu: You might have thought President Trump would get along quite well with the like-minded government in India. But, James Crabtree writes, Trumps approach to foreign policy and trade has seriously soured the relationship.

Wouldnt be great: A rebooted Frasier, if faithful to the trajectory its characters would logically take, would be tough to watch, Lili Loofborouw writes. The titular lead would definitely be a Fox Newsloving granddad by now.

Here he is again: Drake replaced himself at No. 1 with In My Feelings last week. How, Chris Molanphy wonders, does the songs virality as an Instagram meme contribute to its success? (Those memes are fun, though.)

For fun: Being in eighth grade makes you good at judging Eighth Grade.

Hard-won knowledge,

Rebecca
Todays slablike, big-screened smartphones are useful, but theres something to be said for the flip-phone designs of the past. The hinged style made the device more compact, better for stashing in a purse or pocket. With the screen folded inward against its keyboard, chances of scratching the devices display were minimal. While the days of the mechanical keyboard and number pad seem to be over, at least in flagship phone models, the idea of a folding phone has been resuscitated. Samsung is working on a folding-screen smartphone set to debut next year, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

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Code-named Winner, Samsungs prototype device combines the portability of a smartphone with the screen size of a tablet. It features a 7-inch diagonal display and folds in half, much like a wallet. When folded, it has a small display bar on one outer side of the device and camera lenses exposed on the other half. For Samsung, the device would mark a third flagship product category for the company, joining its Galaxy S and Galaxy Note lines, but its initial launch would be limited. Samsung will likely target a specific marketlike high-end gamerssince the devices price tag, expected to be about $1,500, might be hard for general users to swallow. (However, its worth noting the $1,000 iPhone X ended up selling better than expected; as long as the device has solid performance and compelling use cases, consumers may forgive the price.)

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For those who appreciate the larger screen size of a tablet but dont find one practical to carry around on a regular basis, a foldable phone could be a perfect solution.

Samsungs reported foldable smartphone is the latest case of electronics manufacturers having folding-display ambitions. Last year, Chinese phone maker ZTE came out with the Axon M, a smartphone with two 5.2-inch, 1080p displays that open up to form a larger 6.75-inch diagonal screen. The innovation didnt quite work out practically. TechCrunch called it a fascinating mess. Companies such as LG have also toyed with bendable and foldable displays over the years. The company first demoed folding-screen prototypes in 2016. At CES 2018, it showed off a 65-inch OLED TV capable of rolling up like a poster. Years before either of these products became reality, Microsoft had started working on a dual-screen, productivity-focused tablet called the Courier. Microsoft shelved the 2010-era idea as it eventually switched its efforts to the Surface, but the dream never died: Microsoft eventually wants to develop a pocket-friendly, dual-screen Surface device that would blur the distinction between mobile and desktop.

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Samsungs device, however, would reportedly differ from these earlier products and prototypes in one important way: Rather than featuring two separate displays that fold into one another, it has one single display capable of folding in half. It could be beating Apple on this innovationin 2017, reports suggested that Apple had begun work on a folding-screen smartphone for 2020. The bezelless device would use a display from LG, and following in the iPhone Xs example, would have no home button. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office granted Apple a patent (originally filed in 2016) for a foldable display on July 10. Microsoft, internal emails reveal, has also been working on its dual-screen project for the past two years.

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Of course, theres a chance these products never come to market: Companies file for intellectual-property protection on nearly any idea that seems vaguely marketable. And as we saw with the Courier, logistics, changes in company strategy, and other factors can derail a project. Still, the technology seems to be at a point where its finally viable, and consumers are getting complacent with the current smartphone and tablet landscapethe timing is right for something different.

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For those who appreciate the larger screen size of a tablet but dont find one practical to carry around on a regular basis, a foldable phone could be a perfect solution. For productivitytyping out memos, working with two apps on a split screen, or manipulating spreadsheets or data setsa larger display is preferable. By folding in half, it becomes something you can also easily pocket. Samsungs rendition looks like it will arrive first, but if reports and leaks prove accurate, Apple and Microsoft could follow with versions of their own. After more than a decade of sketches, prototypes, and predecessors, 2019 could finally be the year the folding screen smartphone arrives.
There will be a sauna near Spissky Hrhov- for free

It will be built in the traditional Scandinavian way.

More information about travelling in Slovakia

Please see our Please see our Spectacular Slovakia travel guide

There will be sauna not far away from Spissky castle on the edge of the forest. Project co-creator Martin Liptak from the civic association Cierne diery (OZ Black Holes) stated that the sauna will be free for everyone who makes a reservation.

It should be located only a few minutes by walking from Spissky Hrhov, at the edge of the old orchard, he said, as quoted by the TASR newswire.

Enthusiasts for monuments in OZ Cierne diery, architects from Woven, activist Livia Gazova and the local municipality are behind the project. They are working for free and started crowd-funding campaign on startlab.sk to raise money for the needed material.

Thousands of tourists head to Spissky castle but they stop only rarely in the village of Spissky Hrhov, Liptak noted, as cited by TASR. The small village harbors precious monuments and it is well-known by people who make their dreams come true. Many families from the surroundings have moved in and the Roma community is doing well there, Liptak explaining why they decided to help the village.

Reservation first

The forest sauna will offer its visitors a view of Spissky castle and Drevenik hill. Being in a natural sauna is an experience, according to Liptak.

A person is all alone at the foothill in a forest beneath the stars near an ice-water stream; it is undisturbed relaxation, he said for TASR.

The forest sauna will be built by a local company from Spissky Hrhov and citizens of Hrhov will take care of its operation based on reservations.

A local man will prepare the sauna for the agreed time and required temperature, Liptak explained, as quoted by TASR. However, the sauna is designed so as to also work in other places in Slovakia and on its own, thanks to online reservations and a lock requiring a code, added Liptak.

No electricity or civilization

The sauna in Spissky Hrhov will be made from a wooden core and semi-transparent shell. The central sauna part will offer space to calm the senses. It should contain only the visitor, a small stove and wood, no electricity or other signs of civilization. The wood and polycarbonate shell will serve as a dressing room and for the storage of wood.

Sauna will turn into a paper lantern in the evening with the lit candles thanks to semi-transparent material, said Liptak for TASR, adding that they are also planning to install some art pieces.

The creators worked on the project for a year and discussed it with Finnish sauna expert Ransu Helenius, technicians, architects and sauna enthusiasts. So the sauna will be built in the traditional Scandinavian way.

We are trying to drag attention to the less visible places on the Slovak map, said Liptak for TASR, adding that the natural sauna in Dubravica village is visited by people from various corners of Slovakia.

We believe in the creation of a unique experience in Spissky Hrhov, he summed up, as cited by TASR.

video //www.youtube.com/embed/sRmQLJAwOYA

28. Jul 2018 at 9:30 | TASR, Compiled by Spectator staff
Hold your tongues!

We all know where this country is heading when we have sexist folks like our former Law Minister and the mundrey byapari who has studied only until the eighth grade but has managed to amass a fortune worth hundreds of Karods are engaged in politics.
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IBN to give ultimatum to China Three Gorges

The government is planning to offer one last chance to China Three Gorges Corporation (CTGC), the potential developer of the West Seti Hydropower Project, to start work on the reservoir-type scheme located in the countrys far western region.
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.
Gold Coast  the 6th largest city in Australia and a popular holiday destination in Queensland, has for long been known for its beaches. If you have been reading my earlier posts on this city, you know that it is much more than its gorgeous beaches. There is just so many Gold Coast attractions that even a week might feel too short. And given, the queries that I have been getting on Gold Coast, I thought it is best if I share them all in one single post on  Things to do in Gold Coast.

Gold Coast City from the Sea Plane enroute to Lady Elliot Island

In this post, I will not just share Things to do in Gold Coast but also, travel tips on how to get there, what to expect, where to stay etc. In some way, you can refer to this as your mini Travel Guide to Gold Coast. So, without further ado  lets get started.

Things to do in Gold Coast

1) Hit the Beaches

The obvious thing to do in Gold Coast  right? However, this list would not be complete without mentioning that upfront. Just pick one of the many Gold Coast beaches I have shared and lets get started on your favorite activity.

Along the rocky U bend of the Kirra Beach  One of the beaches of Gold Coast

Surfing, of course, is the most popular on these beaches. And if you dont know how to, just join one of the many Surf Schools on their beaches. Try some Snorkeling and Scuba Diving at Kirra Beach. Head out on a cruise for some whale watching. Or maybe, you should try cruising those waves on a Jet Ski. There is just so much to do along those beaches. They are even perfect for a quiet evening stroll.

Lunch with a view at Surfers Club at Currumbin Beach  One of the Beaches in Gold Coast

Dont forget to try out the lovely food joints along these beaches. I highly recommend the Surf club at Currumbin beach or the Cafe D Bar at Coolangatta. The sea breeze and the views do at that extra flavor to the food here.

2) Explore the Great Barrier Reef

The Epic Reef that spans over 2300 kilometers of coastline off Queensland definitely needs to be explored if you are in Gold Coast. The best part of it is that you not just get to explore the waters but experience a lovely seaplane ride with some mind blowing views. Plan a day or two at the Lady Elliot Island. Swim with the turtles while you snorkel or dive to see the homeland of the Nemos. Trust me when I say that it is a colorful world down there.

Things to do in Gold Coast  Visit the Great Barrier Reef

Check my own experience at the Lady Elliot Island through this post. It will also, give you information on how to get there.

3) Try Hot Air Ballooning

The first preview to the statement that Gold Coast is much more than just beaches is what you get when you go Hot Air Ballooning in Gold Coast. A birds eye view of the stunning Hinterland  with its green fields, sun rays lighting up the various lakes, Kangaroos hopping around and dreamy colors  there is nothing that you will not like when you are on that Hot Air Balloon.

Things to do in Gold Coast  Hot Air Balloon over the Hinterland

One of my most popular posts, anyone who has seen it has already signed up for this activity. Go on  check it out to know more details on how you can book yourself for a Hot Air Balloon Ride is definitely one of the key Gold Coast Attractions.

4) Explore the Gold Coast Hinterland

The Natural Bridge Cavern in Springbrook National Park

Take a day trip to discover what lies on the other side of the coastline of Gold Coast. Go hiking or bird watching at one of the national parks of Gold Coast. The beautiful mountains, green valleys, umpteen waterfalls and amazing biodiversity will refresh and delight you. I discovered some of this at the Springbrook National Park. You can also, try Mount Tamborine or the Lamington National Park. There are camping options also, available for those who are keen to spend more time here. It might be worth doing those nocturnal excursions if you are camping  you might even stumble on glow worm caves like that at the Natural Bridge.

5) Pick a Theme Park in Gold Coast

Things to do in Gold Coast  Visit a Theme Park

Get some thrill into your excursions by visiting one of the many theme parks in Gold Coast. For those who love the Wet and Wild  try the Sea World or the Wet N Wild park. If you fancy snow, try the Mini Snow Park. As for me, I went to the Dreamworld  complete with a wet and dry section as well as a fun animal section too. Dreamworld also has a movie section with characters like the Shrek and Puss in Boots. Incidentally, it is Australias largest theme park. 

6) Cuddle a Koala at Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary

I know that you are all going  Aww! as you look at this picture. Well, instead of me, that could be you. All you have to do is head to the Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary, The place is a treat with all the unique Australian animals. You can feed the Kangaroos or see the pretty Australian birds in action in the bird show. The Sanctuary has a lot of fun activities like a Treetop hunt. I could not get enough of it when I visited the Currumbin Sanctuary.

7) Hire a Fire Truck

Things to do in Gold Coast  Fire4Hire

It was my childhood fantasy to be able to don a helmet and ride a fire truck. There is something about those bright red engines that make them so attractive. Or maybe, in some way it is about being able to play with those fire hoses. Well, I got to do just that in Gold Coast. You can too  you just have to book a Fire4Hire. The company uses retired fire engines to take people on tours, halts at a lovely open park where you can hose down everything in sight (including your friends ;-)) A very unique thing to do in Gold Coast and definitely worth it, especially if you have a special occasion to celebrate.

Me playing the Fireman (Ahem  Woman)

8) Go Jet Boating

Paradise Jet Boating_ One of the Things to do in Gold Coast

Speed boating with a difference. The difference being that while you ride over those waves, you are dunked in water. The sudden twists and 360-degree spins are made deliberately to add those chills and thrills to your ride  eventually soaking you from top to bottom. The Jetboating tour takes you along the many canals of Gold Coast and showcases the lovely sights hidden amid them  like the mansions of the rich and famous and mangrove vegetation on tiny isles. I loved everything about it, except that I wish I was allowed to ride it  like the Seakart in Mauritius. Ah well! Guess I have to train for that. 

9) Climb the Highest Building in Gold Coast

Stepping out at the SkyPoint Climb

Not from within  but from the outside! You got to get through that glass door and step out of it on the 77th floor of the highest building in Gold coast. Dont worry, it is all safe as I discovered when I did my Skypoint Climb at Q1. The initial butterflies that I had given way to awe as I experienced the most mindblowing views of Gold Coast City. You can even try a dusk or a night climb. The climb also, initiates you to the layout of the Gold Coast City. Not sure of this Gold Coast attraction  read this post on my experience. It will throw some light on what to expect and also, how to go about booking this activity.

10) Try some shopping in Gold Coast

Pacific Fair Mall in Gold Coast

Whether you are a mall enthusiast or a Street shopper, there are enough options for you to indulge in Gold Coast. Head to the popular Pacific Fair for not just those branded stores but some fun, play and relaxation for the mall is quite like a resort. If you stroll down Surfers Paradise at night, you can visit the lovely flea market along the beach. From Beaded Jewelry to pretty purses, there are some lovely wares that will tempt you. You might even see some bands playing around. Given this kind of a vibe, it is not unusual to note that the Surfers Paradise Markets is one of the key things to do in Surfers Paradise.

Night Market at Surfers Paradise in Gold coast

One of the other markets that I enjoyed was the NightQuarter markets. The place is like a carnival with games, craft stores and tons of food stalls. I highly recommend the dessert stalls  especially those donuts. Yummy! 

The Donut corner at Night Quarter in Gold Coast

Well, that ends my list of things to do in Gold Coast. Which one would be your favorite? Comment in and let me know. Wont be surprised if you say  All of them! ;- )

Getting to Gold Coast

Gold Coast City has an international airport with a decent connectivity, You can directly land here through flights like Flyscoot.

Stay in Gold Coast

Hotel QT in Gold Coast

Gold Coast has a plethora of hotels, hostels and resorts that suit all kinds of budgets. Any of these hotels in Gold Coast can be booked online.

Surfers Paradise is central to the Gold Coast city and a good location to stay in. I stayed at the QT Gold Coast and The Island during my visit to the Gold Coast. Both of these are close to the beach and are very comfortable.

You can even stay at Currumbin or Coolangatta for the beaches. However, these are a little away from the main city,

The Gold Coast Hinterland too, offers stays in camps and small home stays for those interested in staying around the mountains.

Visas for Australia

Check your eligibility for Visa through this website. For certain countries, you will be able to apply for your Australian Visa through the same website.

If you are an Indian, you will need to apply for the Australian Visa at least a month before you head to the country.

For the Visas, you will need to submit the following documents to the Australian Consulate  either directly or through an agent, You can even apply through VFS Global Website. A passport with a validity of at least 6 months All the old passport copies 3 passport sized photos Income Tax returns for the last 3 years Original and Updated Bank statements for the last 6 months. You will need to have a bank stamp on the same. Business Proof by way of company registration certificate or articles of the memorandum or VAT registration certificate If you are an employee, you will need to submit 6 months of Pay slips, your appointment letter and leave letter If you own a property, please submit copies of your property papers Any FD receipt copies Your Hotel and Flight ticket copies.

Once you get the Visa, you will need to take a copy of the same and carry it with you.

General Travel Tips for Gold Coast

There are plenty of Traveler SIM cards available at the airport for Gold Coast. All of them work well.

Carry Australian Dollars for your transactions. Most of the places in Gold Coast also, accept cards.

You can use UBER Cabs for internal transport. Alternately, you can book with companies like Australian Meet And Greet that pick and drop you from different locations based on your itinerary. I experienced them during this travel and loved the punctuality and comfort that they offered.

Please do not forget to carry an Australian Adapter. This is different from the regular travel adapters you get. I got a shock of my life when I realized that I could not use my universal one here. I had to rush and buy one for 7 AUD on arrival 

P.S: I visited Gold Coast by invite from Queensland Tourism in collaboration with Flyscoot Airlines

Disclaimer: This article includes affiliate links. This means that at no cost to you, I will receive a small commission if you purchase through my link. Thank you for supporting me with this.

Popularly referred to as a Restless Ball of Energy. My Mom refuses to entertain my complaints about my equally restless daughter & assures my husband that I was born with a travel bug. I am a Post-Graduate in Marketing by qualification and a travel blogger by passion. Besides travel, I enjoy photography and if you dont find me at my desk, I would be out playing badminton or swimming or just running. I believe in planning for every long weekend through the year. And when I cannot travel physically, I travel virtually through this travel blog. My travel stories have also, got published on various websites and magazines including BBC Travel, Lonely Planet India and Jetwings. I have recently published my first book  When Places Come Alive  a collection of stories that are based on legends, landscapes, art and culture of a place which is available in both ebook and paperback format.
This site focuses on Republican politicians and conservatives that rip off their constituency. We have the Tea Party, fundamentalist churches, the corruption of ALEC and other special interests groups. But the site also supports progressive Democrats and the local Democratic Socialist of America. We must have ideas on how to replace regressive and corrupt politicians with something better. For comments steveotto2001@yahoo.com or ottozero2001@yahoo.com.
Mountain Shadows in Wayanad is just the place for a dreamy vacation
In two minds

Pahenlo Batti Muni, an indie band known for its alternative music which ranges in genre from folk to heavy rock, has been gaining momentum of late. When you attend their gigs its not difficult to tell how quickly their fan base is growing. The five-member band, which occasionally expands to a seven-member band, has already dropped four of their songs, and many fans have had the exclusive ticket to hear four to five more.
Prolific producers Ryan Murphy & Brad Falchuck recently turned their attention to the drama of first responders.

Its a busy landscape currently covered with such titles as Chicago Fire, Chicago PD, SWAT, Station 19, NCIS, and Hawaii Five-0 amongst others. In 9-1-1 they link fire / paramedics and policing with the LA emergency call centre, personified through the character of operator Abby Clark (Connie Britton).

Abby is 42 and single with an ailing mother at home battling late stage Alzheimers. Juggling all kinds of distress calls at work, she asks, Is it weird that I feel more comfortable dealing with these kinds of emergencies than the one I have to deal with when I leave work and go home? Pointedly, her role also entails the ultimate cliffhangers. Callers usually hang up once help arrives. Its usually for the best I dont know how it ends she reveals.

9-1-1 inserts a chapter graphics as plot point emergencies land, as if to punctuate the next current crisis. The first is a teaser, a poolside drowning, while the second begins when a man telephones to report a baby crying inside the walls of his apartment block.

The local LA Fire Department is headed up by Captain Bobby Nash (Peter Krause) a recovering alcoholic who admits We all find ways to cope with the pressure of the job: drinking, gambling, drugs, sex addicts. He is already challenged by arrogant and horny young gun Buck (Oliver Stark), who also seems to have the nickname Hose (go figure).

Upon arrival at their emergency they discover somebody has flushed a newly-born baby into the plumbing system. If these stories are inspire by fact, then America is in a whole lotta trouble one drama cant possibly address.

Meanwhile LAPD patrol sergeant Athena Grant (Angela Bassett), who has her own crisis on a domestic front, also has issues with fireman Buck.

Opening episode emergencies also include a suicide jumper and one involving a killer python before the climactic crisis surrounding a home break-in and a desperate call from the sole occupier, a 9 year old girl. Here Abby will draw on all her best skills to provide assistance and assurance as danger mounts.

For a Murphy / Falchuck production, 9-1-1 is as network as they come. Heavily action-driven, its broadly entertaining with a multicultural cast and hints of raising deeper issues usually avoided by network television. Its not 1958 anymore we work with women side by side, Captain Bobby will tell hot-headed himbo, Buck.

The cases aim for bizarro and quirky just as legal dramas LA Law and Boston Legal have done before and the star cast, grounded by having Angela Bassett front and centre, is solid.

Yet there are occasional lapses into melodrama and unrealistic reactions in the middle of a crisis, usually involving attraction or flirting when experienced first responders supposedly know what the priority is. Thankfully, its a minor quibble in what is an attempt to strike an action drama, with touches of character, for a wide audience. Seven has managed to nab the drama as a result of changes to FOX output deals in Australia.

Im hoping Connie Britton (Nashville, American Horror Story) isnt wasted being tied to the screens like an NCIS or Criminal Minds supporting character, but I have faith Murphy has plans to develop her role, likely on the domestic front. Fleshing out the flaws of these heroes will be what gives this longevity.

9-1-1 doesnt match the theatrics of American Horror Story, The Assassination of Gianni Versace nor the sheer drama platform of Feud, but neither are these its brief. Buckle up for broad fun.

9-1-1 airs 8:30pm Wednesday on Seven.
Tom Cruise was interviewed on The Late Late Show by British comedian James Corden, where Corden jokingly made light of Cruises stunts in his latest Film, Mission Impossible - Fallout. Those stunts included what is termed a halo drop, where the actor fell free from 25,000 feet, only opening his parachute once he was close to the ground.

After James joked about his stunts, Cruise asked Corden to put his money where his mouth is and go skydiving with him.

Tom Cruise and his stunts

As noted by the Metro, during the show, Cruise was asked by James Corden why he risks his life in his films, doing his own stunts, to which he replied that he wants to entertain his audience.

He said they come up with great stories for the movies and they are able to place a camera in spots you normally cant get to. He said its not just the stunts, its all about character and storytelling. Tom said he cant help it. He feels hes 100 percent when he does something and he wants to give the moviegoers the very best, so that is what he tries to do.

Corden then joked, saying its just falling through the sky, adding that he thinks everyone is getting carried away. Cruise replied by saying it is a bit more than that. He said it took 106 jumps to get where he is and if James was interested, he was happy to take him, if he wants to try it.

Purely for clarity, Corden asked what he was saying, to which Cruise replied that if it is so easy, Corden could go with him.

He then asked again if James would like to do it. Corden laughed, but looked a tad nervous, saying, yes, sure, hell do it, adding that he was serious. Tom and James then shook hands on the deal, meaning there was no way Corden could back out of it.

Corden and Cruise go skydiving

Corden posted the video below to his Facebook page, where the duo head out to Perris Valley, California for the skydiving stunt.

They go up to 15,000 feet and James starts looking really nervous, while Tom is all smiles, saying how amazing it is. There are a lot of censor bleeps over James words as they prepare to jump.

Prior to the skydiving jump, Cruise said that he was amazed that James was joining him, saying he fully expected to receive a text message from him, cancelling the jump.

James said he had been trying to get hold of Tom for two days to cancel, but couldnt get a response. He then realized he had Toms number saved wrongly on his phone. He went on to apologise to Tom Hiddleston for all his messages about a case of food poisoning.

Variety notes that midflight, James had joked with Cruise saying next time he interviews him, can they just talk. However, jokes aside, Tom and James did indeed go skydiving together and the results can be seen in the video included below.
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Landslides in northern Thailand, triggered by days of heavy downpours, killed seven people on Saturday and left one missing, an official said.

All of the victims lived in the mountainous district of Bo Kluea in Nan province, where the landslides have also caused damage to houses and roads, Prasit Dussadeewong, a district security official, told Reuters.

"It's because of nearly two weeks of heavy rains. We've warned people of such landslides but did not expect they would be this big," he said.

Landslides and flooding in Thailand usually occur during the May-November rainy season.

Widespread floods in 2011 killed more than 900 people and caused major disruption to industry and dented economic growth.

(Reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)

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India presents Rs 2.1 billion housing grant to Nepal

On behalf of the Indian Government, Ambassador Manjeev Singh Puri on Friday presented a cheque of Rs 2.1 billion to the Ministry of Finance Secretary Dr Rajan Khanal.
Atlanta Police officers smashed through a window to rescue a baby trapped inside a hot car outside a grocery store on July 25. Police said the childs grandmother accidentally locked the keys inside while loading groceries into the car.

While the grandmother of the baby was loading groceries into the car, her keys accidentally fell inside the car and when she closed the door the car automatically locked her out. The grandmother called 911 and our officers responded, carefully breaking the car window and rescuing the baby. The grandmother and baby were reunited and Atlanta Fire Rescue arrived on the scene to give the child medical attention, the baby was determined to be in good health, the Atlanta Police Department said. Credit: Atlanta Police Department via Storyful
Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May visits the Royal Welsh Show in Llanelwedd, Wales, July 26, 2018. Christopher Furlong/Pool via Reuters

Thomson Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Theresa May will holiday in Switzerland and Italy this summer, after narrowly surviving a bitter row within her government over Brexit as the country's departure from the European Union looms.

May, a keen hill-walker, also visited northern Italy and Switzerland with her husband last year.

The holidays come after a bruising few weeks in which her cabinet agreed a plan for Brexit negotiations with Brussels, before spectacularly falling out over it - culminating in two senior ministers resigning and a rebellion in parliament that threatened to bring down her government.

Having made it to the end of the parliamentary term this week, May has sought to sell her Brexit vision across the country, addressing the concerns of a nation which remains bitterly divided over whether leaving the EU is a good idea.

That charm offensive, which saw her discussing her love of cookery books and police dramas in stilted exchanges with the public, must resume when she gets back from her holiday if she is to win support for a deal at home and across the EU.

(Reporting by William James; editing by Stephen Addison)

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macau china greyhound dogs

REUTERS/Bobby Yip

The company that ran the only dog-racing track in the world's largest gambling hub until last week joined hands on Friday with animal rights group Anima to announce plans for a center to rehouse more than 500 greyhounds.

The animals are to live at the center until they find new homes, and the public a chance to interact with them.

Rights groups had said the greyhounds had been subject to cruel and inhumane conditions.

HONG KONG (Reuters) - An official of Macau's Yat Yuen, the company that ran the only dog-racing track in the world's largest gambling hub until last week, joined hands on Friday with animal rights group Anima to announce plans for a center to rehouse more than 500 greyhounds.

The animals, temporarily adopted by authorities after being abandoned by Yat Yuen, which ran Macau's Canidrome Club until the track closed, are to live at the center until they find new homes, allowing the public a chance to interact with them.

"We are performing our social responsibility and also doing what we promised," Angela Leong, the executive director of Yat Yuen, told a news conference, held jointly with Macau-based Anima, that was streamed live on Facebook.

Leong, the fourth wife of billionaire gaming magnate Stanley Ho and a long-standing Macau legislator, has faced criticism from rights groups that said the greyhounds had been subject to cruel and inhumane conditions.

Yat Yuen has repeatedly rejected cruelty claims and declined requests for comment.

Last week the government vowed to punish the company under the Animal Protection Act. It has previously said Yat Yuen failed to provide a responsible solution for the dogs, despite knowing since early 2016 that its lease would expire.

"It is important for the international community to see that Macau loves the animals," said Anima head Albano Martins, who has played a key role in demanding better treatment for the greyhounds.

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"We would not just abandon them," she told the news conference.

Leong said Friday's announcement had been delayed because it took a long time to find the best location to settle the dogs.

Leong manages tycoon Ho's family businesses, including Yat Yuen, its casino operations via SJM Holdings, and operates the Macau Jockey Club horse racing franchise.

The July 21 closure of the greyhound track marked the end of yet another of the often grubby old-time gambling businesses that long defined Macau before the arrival of luxury casinos.

NOW WATCH: Inside Qatar Airways' $45 million private jet that costs $160,000 to fly from New York to London

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A British man is celebrating after becoming the first person to unicycle around the world.

Ed Pratt left Curry Rivel, near Taunton, Somerset, in March 2015 to embark on a 21,000-mile one-wheeled adventure when he was 19.

Carrying nothing more than a tent, sleeping bag, camping stove and kit in panniers attached to his 36-inch Nimbus Oracle unicycle, he completed the challenge without any support.

His journey involved unicycling through Europe, Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan before travelling across China and through South East Asia to Singapore.

He then took on Australia and New Zealand and then on to the US, and finally flew from New York to Edinburgh to begin the final 500 miles home to Somerset.

Mr Pratt's efforts have raised more than 300,000 for School in a Bag, a charity that delivers educational equipment to poor and vulnerable children around the world.

Mr Pratt unicycled through a finish line at the charity's headquarters in Somerset, where he was cheered on by family, friends and fans.

His parents, Nick and Roxanne Pratt, said: "He left school in search of a challenge and adventure.

"Anyone who has followed his journey around the world will know that he has created just that."

Mr Pratt has documented his unicycling journey with updates on Facebook, videos on YouTube and through a website tracking his progress.

He has also learnt how to operate a drone that captured footage of his trip that has been viewed by hundreds of thousands of people.

But it has not always been a smooth ride and has lasted one year and four months longer than he had originally planned.

Mr Pratt was only able to clock up seven miles on the first day after breaking his pannier zip when trying to cram egg sandwiches inside.

In November 2015, he had to put the trip on hold after he was almost hit by a car in sub-zero temperatures near Aktobe in Kazakhstan.

Luke Simon, founder and chief executive of School in a Bag, said: "Back in 2014, we received an email from a chap called Ed saying he was unicycling around the world, that he wanted to do it for charity, and why should he choose us?

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"We were naturally intrigued and got straight back to him, explaining a bit more about the work that we do, before suggesting he unicycle over for a meeting."

Mr Simon said the charity was thrilled to have been part of Mr Pratt's "epic journey".

He added that funds raised from his trip would directly help more than 15,000 children.

Mr Pratt learned to unicycle just two years before beginning his challenge and set up a club at his former school.

During the tour he has taught others how to master the one-wheeled contraption and has been joined by people on two wheels for parts of the trip.
FILE PHOTO: Dragoslav Ognjanovic, adviser to Slobodan Milosevic, is surrounded by media during a break on the second day of the trial against Milosevic at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at The Hague, February 13, 2002. REUTERS/Paul Vreeker

BELGRADE (Reuters) - A prominent Belgrade lawyer who in the past helped to defend late Serbian strongman Slobodan Milosevic was shot dead, gangland-style, in front of his home on Saturday, police said.

Dragoslav Ognjanovic, 57, was gunned down in front of his apartment building in the Novi Beograd neighbourhood and his 26-year-old son was wounded in the right arm, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

As a prominent criminal lawyer, Ognjanovic served in the early 2000s on a legal team that helped to defend Milosevic at his war crimes trial before the U.N. tribunal for former Yugoslavia in The Hague. Milosevic died in the tribunal's detention unit in 2006 before a verdict was reached.

Over the years, Ognjanovic also defended some of Serbia's leading underworld figures.

Several prominent members of Serbian and Montenegrin organised crime networks have been killed in Belgrade in the past two years in what police describe as a turf war over the illegal drugs market.

(Reporting by Aleksandar Vasovic; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
Storyful

A vigil was held in Burbank, California, on October 24, for director of photography Halyna Hutchins, who was fatally shot on the set of Rust after Alec Baldwin discharged a prop firearm.Hutchins, 42, died from her injuries at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Thursday, October 21, according to the Santa Fe Sheriffs Department.According to court records seen by the Associated Press, Baldwin was handed a gun and told it was safe, when in fact it was loaded with live rounds. In a statement, Baldwin said there were no words to convey my shock and sadness regarding the tragic accident that took the life of Halyna Hutchins, a wife, mother and deeply admired colleague of ours.On Friday, the International Cinematographers Guild said: "The details are unclear at this moment, but we are working to learn more and we support a full investigation into this tragic event. This is a terrible loss, and we mourn the passing of a member of our guilds family.Footage by jesshopperpole shows crowds gathered outside the IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees) Local 80 headquarters in Burbank on Sunday evening. Credit: jesshopperpole via Storyful
Lebanese Druze leader Walid Jumblatt leaves the Elysee Palace in Paris following a meeting with French President Francois Hollande, February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Philippe Wojazer

BEIRUT (Reuters) - The main leader of the Druze sect in Lebanon on Friday attacked the Syrian government for failing to stop an Islamic State massacre of Druze in Syria, saying it should have noticed the militants gathering to attack.

"No one can tell me that the squadrons of many American, Russian and foreign planes did not see this gathering which suddenly took the regime by surprise and raided Jebel al-Arab," said Walid Jumblatt.

Islamic State's assault on the city of Sweida and nearby villages in the Jebel al-Arab area on Thursday killed more than 200 people, many of them civilians.

Syrian state media said the army had intervened and battled the militants with both ground forces and air strikes.

Jumblatt, who heads the largest Druze political party in Lebanon, is a strong critic of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Other Druze parties are pro-Damascus.

He also accused Assad of wanting to send Druze from the Jebel al-Arab area including the city of Sweida to fight in a future offensive against rebels in Idlib province in northern Syria.

Many community leaders and top Druze religious leaders have refused to sanction enlistment in the army during Syria's seven-year conflict.

"They want to sacrifice the youths of Jebel al-Arab in Idlib," Jumblatt said.

He asked Assad's main ally Russia to help prevent that.

"We want its (Russia's) guarantee to the people of the Jebel that they will remain in the Jebel and not be used by Bashar as fodder, living or dead, for his personal ends."

(Reporting By Laila Bassam and Angus McDowall, Editing by William Maclean)
Kangaroo Edu Fair on Aug 1

The Kangaroo Education Foundation (KEF) is organising a one-day education fair for students seeking to pursue higher studies in foreign countries. The fair will take place on August 1 at Kangaroo Foundations central office in Putalisadak.
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP)  Florida student Tyah-Amoy Roberts says that after spending a week in New Zealand, she's strongly considering moving to the country for college.

The 17-year-old is one of one of 28 students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, who have embraced the South Pacific nation during a trip here to learn how to keep a youth movement going long after a tragedy fades from the headlines.

The school in February was attacked by a gunman who killed 17 students and staff members.

Roberts says she knew almost nothing about New Zealand before the trip, other than it was near Australia, got cold and windy at times, and has no natural predators. But she came away impressed with the emphasis on indigenous Maori culture.

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U.S. Vice President Mike Pence is seen ahead of U.S. President Donald Trump introducing his Supreme Court nominee in the East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S., July 9, 2018. REUTERS/Leah Millis

Thomson Reuters

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Vice President Mike Pence met with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed on Friday and praised "the historic reform efforts" undertaken by Abiy since assuming power in April, the White House said in a statement.

Pence noted Abiy's efforts at "improving respect for human rights, reforming the business environment, and making peace with Eritrea," the statement said.

"The two leaders underscored their countries' shared values and their commitment to building an even stronger partnership in the days ahead," it said.

Under Abiy, Ethiopia has instituted reforms including releasing political prisoners, diluting state control of the economy and making peace with northern neighbor Eritrea after two decades of hostility.

A 41-year-old former intelligence officer, Abiy came to power after his predecessor resigned earlier this year amid protests against abuses by security forces and public anger over perceived ethnic marginalization of many groups in the racially diverse country.

While in Washington Abiy was also scheduled to meet with members of Ethiopia's large diaspora community in the United States, whose remittances have helped prop up the economy.

Abiy is also due to visit Minneapolis and Los Angeles.

He met on Friday with International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde, who said they had "an engaging and productive meeting."

"I reiterated the IMF's commitment to work with the Ethiopian authorities to ensure that the economy achieves high rates of sustainable and inclusive growth to reduce poverty," she said in a statement.

(Reporting by Eric Beech; Editing by Sandra Maler)

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Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's Queen Elizabeth carried out her first official engagement on Tuesday since spending a night in hospital and being ordered to rest by her doctors. The 95-year-old queen, the world's oldest and longest-reigning monarch, stayed overnight at London's King Edward VII private hospital last Wednesday after undergoing "preliminary investigations" for an unspecified but not COVID-19 related ailment. It was Elizabeth's first overnight hospital stay for years, but royal officials said she was in good spirits and she returned to her Windsor Castle home the following day where she got back to carrying out light duties.
FILE PHOTO: Opposition lawmaker Jose Manuel Olivares shouts next to others, as they clash with riot security forces during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas FILE PHOTO: Opposition lawmaker Jose Manuel Olivares (C) shouts next to others, as they clash with riot security forces during a protest against Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government in Caracas, Venezuela June 5, 2017. REUTERS/Marco Bello/File Photo

By Alexandra Ulmer

CARACAS (Reuters) - Opposition lawmaker and oncologist Jose Manuel Olivares, who led protests over Venezuela's crumbling health sector, has fled for neighbouring Colombia after being told that his relatives could be arrested unless he quit politics.

Olivares said the SEBIN intelligence service grew increasingly aggressive after his brother was arrested last year and detained for several months in what Olivares called an arbitrary detention meant to intimidate him.

At the end of last week, Olivares received a phone call from a man who identified himself as a member of the SEBIN.

"He said I had not learned my lesson with my brother, and informed me that they had arrest warrants against my wife, my mother, and my brother," Olivares told Reuters on Friday, adding that SEBIN patrols were also regularly visiting his relatives' homes.

After that phone call, the 32-year-old lawmaker who represented the coastal state of Vargas decided to flee.

Over the weekend, Olivares and his wife, brother, and three-month-old son drove 18 hours to the Colombian border, which they crossed illegally because the baby had not been granted a passport.

Colombia's centre-right government, a fierce critic of leftist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, has allowed them in despite the child's lack of papers and the family is now in the capital Bogota, Olivares said.

"We left the country in a traumatic way. I am going to have to work now, hopefully as a doctor but I might have to do anything, like so many other Venezuelans around the world," Olivares said in allusion to impoverished Venezuelan immigrants who increasingly wait tables, construct buildings and sell street food across Latin America.

Olivares' departure further swells the ranks of opposition activists forced into exile, arrested, or barred from politics during Maduro's crackdown on dissent.

The lawmaker had been at the forefront of protests decrying medicine shortages, crumbling health infrastructure, and a mass emigration of doctors. He also helped organise research into the state of hospitals after the Health Ministry stopped publishing key data on disease and infant mortality.

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"Maduro's government thinks that with this persecution they hurt me or weaken me, but it is the complete opposite," Olivares wrote on Thursday night in a letter posted on Twitter announcing his departure. "They are the ones exposing themselves, because of their evil and cowardice as they persecute my family and newborn son, as well as because of the fear they have of people protesting and demanding their rights."

Venezuela's Information Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Maduro says the opposition is a coup-plotting elite seeking to topple him by sabotaging the economy. Most economists instead blame Venezuela's creaking state-led system for shortages, hyperinflation, and five years of economic contraction.

(Reporting by Alexandra Ulmer; Additional reporting by Vivian Sequera; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and James Dalgleish)
Kathmandu to host Nepal-India Think Tank Summit on Tuesday

The Nepal-India Think Tank Summit 2018 is taking place in Kathmandu on Tuesday.
Fresh from starring as the title character in "Deadpool 2," actor Ryan Reynolds, known for his social media popularity, is ready to produce a new parody from Fox called "Stoned Alone," according to Deadline. The comedy is a sort of remake, with a stoner twist, of the John Hughes holiday classic "Home Alone," which grossed over $470 million and made a star out of child actor Macaulay Culkin at the time. "Stoned Alone" will be directed by Augustine Frizzell, scripted by Kevin Burrows and Matt Mider, and based on a concept from Fox executive Matt Reilly.

The concept basically takes "Home Alone" and puts it on drugs.

'Stoned Alone' follows the plot line of 'Home Alone'

"Home Alone" depicts the child of a large family inadvertently left alone at home during the holidays and then forced to defend his house during a robbery. It is also punctuated by cheesy holiday moments. In a drug-addled departure from the original, "Stoned Alone" will depict a stoner who misses a ski trip and returns home alone. During a fit of pot-induced paranoia, he believes his house is subject to a robbery, too. Then, he discovers it's not just paranoia. The robbers are real and he, like Macaulay Caulkin of Christmas past, will have to defend his home from criminals. The film has the potential for some comic moments reminiscent of Harold and Kumar's trip to White Castle, with some holiday nostalgia in the mix.

Deadline suggests that the film is likely to be rated R.

'Stoned Alone' brings a new comic voice to the table

Deadline reports that director Augustine Frizzel is a new comic voice in film and is gathering some momentum. Frizzel directed "Never Goin' Back," a comic look at female friendship with some madcap sequences, which premiered at Sundance and will be released by A24.

Discuss this news on Eunomia

She is also directing HBO's "Euphoria," a bold look at the life of teenagers in the 1990s. With new talent and a pothead take on an old theme, "Stoned Alone" may have audiences laughing uncontrollably, or yearning with nostalgia for the innocence of the classic "Home Alone" Movies, or both.

According to The Week, the first "Home Alone" film came out nearly 28 years ago, directed by Chris Columbus, from Warner Bros.

Just about three decades later, we will get to see a paranoid stoner in the Macaulay Caulkin role, setting traps about his house for the burglars -- a special comic treat for audiences from Fox. The "Stoned Alone" project is currently in the early stages of development.
The latest updates for "The Flash" Season 5 reveal new details about Killer Frost and the next main villain Cicada. Cast member Danielle Panabaker talks about Caitlin Snow's journey to bring back her powers during her interview with Cinemablend. Caitlin has been a long-standing member of Team Flash as both medical doctor and her icy alter-ego, Killer Frost.

As for Cicada, Express UK reported that he will fight the Scarlet Speedster and his anger towards metahumans will be explored within the show. The fifth season will focus on Barry Allen and Iris West-Allen's daughter, Nora, who seeks their help to go back home to the future after she did something wrong in the present timeline.

Caitlin to bring back Killer Frost

According to Cinemablend, Danielle Panabaker stated that Caitlin Snow's arc will revolve around getting her powers back and how she became Killer Frost in the first place after the events of season 4.

"Well she's gone right now, so I think the first thing is for Caitlin to find her and understand more about how she came to be, Panabaker told Cinemablend. "And if she can get her back. . . . I think what was revealed was that Killer Frost has been a part of Caitlin for longer than just when the particle accelerator exploded."

Killer Frost made her debut in season 2 as the Earth-2 version of Caitlin who joined Zoom's metahuman army. The Earth-1 Caitlin then became Killer Frost after Barry changed the timeline in season 3.

However, it was revealed that Caitlin first manifested her powers when she was a child and it had something to do with her father's experiments and questionable death.

The ice-powered metahuman became an ally of Team Flash and she is treated as a separate entity to differentiate herself from Caitlin.

Cicada hates metahumans

According to Express UK, Cicada is described as an everyday blue-collar guy whose family has been torn apart by the emergence of metahumans in Central City.

Discuss this news on Eunomia

His main goal right now is to eradicate every single metahuman in the city including The Flash.

Cicada has the ability to disable the powers of every meta he encounters and he will have like-minded followers to help him purge them. "American Pie" star Chris Klein has been cast to play the villain in the show. His presence has something to do with Nora's mistake in the present timeline.

Aside from Nora and Cicada, Tom Cavanagh announced at San Diego Comic-Con a new Harrison Wells in the show named Sherloque Wells. The new Wells is described as shady and untrustworthy.
Iranian Foreign Ministry has said the US government should forget talks with Iran under sanction threats.

"Iran will never accept one-way negotiations that are based on excessive demands," Spokesman of Foreign Ministry Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying on Wednesday by IRNA news agency.

"Iran has never hesitated to defend the people's rights, territorial integrity, or independence of the country," said Qasemi, Xinhua reported.

US President Donald Trump hinted on Monday that Washington was open to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Tehran ahead of looming deadline for Washington to snap back gold and oil sanctions on Iran.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday said that any negotiation with the US to solve the existing mutual problems was an "obvious mistake".

However, Khamenei stressed that negotiations with the Europeans should continue to secure Iran's interests from the 2015 international nuclear deal following the US withdrawal from it on May 8.

--IANS

pgh/

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


Although Tamil star Karthis latest film, Chinna Babu, disappointed his Telugu fans, the Tamil version went on to become a huge hit. With this much-needed boost, Karthi is channeling all his energies to Dev, the most expensive film in his career. The film is being made with a budget of over Rs 50 crores.

Dev is a romantic entertainer and it stars Rakul Preet as the leading lady. The films next schedule will be held in Ukraine. Dev will also be shot in the US, apart from Chennai. Debutant Rajat Ravi Shankar is directing the film and Lakshman Kumar is bankrolling it. Harris Jayaraj is the films music composer. Dev is slated for release in December last week.









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Med edu bill tabled after govt commits to deal

After two weeks of bickering, the National Medical Education Bill was presented to the House of Representatives on Friday after the government assured the opposition of executing the nine-point agreement it reached with the fasting Dr Govinda KC through amendment.
Lauren Groff in The New York Times:

There are books that enter your life before their time; you can acknowledge their beauty and excellence, and yet walk away unchanged. This was how I first read Elizabeth Hardwicks Sleepless Nights, after it was recommended in David Shields Reality Hunger, a thrilling manifesto that tries to make the case that our contemporary world is no longer well represented by realist fiction. While I loved Sleepless Nights on that first read  it is brilliant, brittle and strange, a book unlike any preconceived notion I had of what a novel could be  I moved on from it easily. Ive lived two thousand and some odd days since, read hundreds of other books and published three of my own, all in a bright, hot landscape of somewhat-realist fiction.

The middle of the night has become a lonely stretch of time, especially in the past few years, with vastly increased anxiety  over climate change and politics and what lies in wait in my little sons future. I normally salve insomnia with reading, but few new books have felt so revolutionary or so brave as to be able to rock my tired brain to attention. Only the great ones remain: George Eliots infinite wisdom in Middlemarch, Jane Austens gracious and low-stakes sublimity, Dantes The Inferno, which makes our world above seem downright kind. And strangely, of all the books I have reread to comfort myself, I have turned most often to Hardwicks Sleepless Nights, not without a little bitter tang of irony because of its title. The book didnt dovetail with my heart on the first reading, but the world has changed around me, and now I find myself hungering for its particularity, the steady voice of Elizabeth Hardwick a balm to my aching, vulnerable mind.

Elizabeth Hardwick grew up in Kentucky, a charming young woman with a dagger of a mind. She left for New York City after college and took up with the Partisan Review crowd, becoming best friends with Mary McCarthy and writing for The New York Review of Books from its inception. Sleepless Nights, her third novel, is unambiguously her chef doeuvre; it was published when she was 63, after a career of writing sharp, ingenious pieces of criticism and after her long marriage to (and divorce from, then reunification with) the poet Robert Lowell, whose profound psychological struggles and infidelities and plagiarism of Hardwicks letters in his books must surely have tested her strength. As a result, Sleepless Nights feels elemental, an eruption of everything that had been slowly building up over decades. Though there are books that are distant kin to it  Renata Adlers Speedboat, Maggie Nelsons Bluets  I have read nothing close enough to be called a sibling. This is rare; a feat of originality.

More here.
A federal judge this week denied a request to make an age discrimination case against PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) into a nationwide collective action, an important ruling in litigation that advocates for older workers are watching closely.

The lawsuit centers on whether PWCs recruiting strategies, while not specifically age-based, are likely to disproportionately prevent older candidates from getting hired. Steve Rabin and John Chapman, who brought the suit, applied for jobs at PWC and were not hired, even though they met the minimum requirements for the positions they sought. Their lawsuit says that PWCs hiring practices focus on recent college graduates at the expense of older workers. Rabin applied for a job as an associate when he was 50 years old; Chapman sought various positions with PWC when he was between the ages of 45 and 48.

Rabin and Chapmans lawyers, who include AARP Foundation Litigation, wanted to get the case certified as a collective action suit  which is similar to a class action lawsuit  that would cover as many as 14,000 people over age 40. But U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar of the Northern District of California ruled that Rabin and Chapmans experiences were not similar enough to those of some of the people they wanted as part of the collective. The collective action would have been open to people over 40 who, unlike Rabin and Chapman, did not apply for PWC positions or who may not have met qualifications listed in PWC job postings.

Rabin and Chapmans lawyers have 30 days to respond to the judges ruling, leaving open the possibility that there could ultimately be a narrower nationwide collective suit. While denying the collective element of the lawsuit for now, Tigars ruling did note that the plaintiffs had shown that PWCs hiring practices, in essence, apply to all company hiring nationwide and that there was substantial evidence of age disparities in hiring. Both arguments are significant elements of the case.

The keys to a successful age discrimination case are there, says Laurie McCann, senior attorney at AARP Foundation Litigation.
SANTA FE  Flooding from Thursday nights rain storm washed out railroad tracks on pueblo land between Bernalillo and Santa Fe, forcing the New Mexico Rail Runner Express commuter train to suspend service north of the Sandoval County/U.S. 550 station on Friday.

A spokeswoman for the Rio Metro Regional Transit District on Friday said repairs were being made along about a half-mile stretch of track on San Felipe and Santo Domingo pueblos and the entire route from Belen to Santa Fe should be back in operation Saturday.

It looks like well be good to go, said Augusta Meyers, Rio Metro spokeswoman.

She said flooding from Thursdays storm misaligned the track about a mile north of Hagen Road on San Felipe Pueblo, almost pushing the rails off a bridge in one spot.

We do continuing maintenance on these culverts in our 100-mile corridor, but we cant plan for a 100-year flood, she said. When you get hit by a flash flood  with that amount of water and the force of that water  its going to do some damage.

Damage to the track also affected Amtraks Southwest Chief, which uses that section of track as part of its daily passenger service between Chicago and Los Angeles. An Amtrak spokesman said hundreds of passengers had to board a charter buses to make the connection between Lamy, southeast of Santa Fe, and Albuquerque.

Meyers said the Rail Runner stopped running north of Bernalillo about 7 p.m. Thursday after a late afternoon rainstorm caused flash floods. She said about 100 train passengers left stranded by the washout had to be bused between Bernalillo and Santa Fe Thursday night.

As much as 1.50 inches of rain fell in parts of Albuquerque and Rio Rancho Thursday night, according to the National Weather Service office. Bernalillo got 1.24 inches. Parts of Santa Fe  hit with its own flooding after a massive storm Monday night  got about a half inch Thursday evening.

Friday was the third time in four years that Rail Runner service between Bernalillo and Santa Fe had to be suspended due to flooding. In July 2015, flooding washed out about 100 feet of track on the bridge at Arroyo Maria Chavez north of Algodones. A bridge was also washed out near Budaghers in 2014.
PYONGYANG, North Korea  North Korea made good on another promise to President Donald Trump by returning dozens of sets of remains of American GIs killed during the Korean War. But it expects something in return  a peace treaty, or something very much like it.

Until thats on the table, real progress toward denuclearization will likely have to wait.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un agreed in his summit in Singapore with Trump last month to resume returning remains.

But the North chose the most symbolic day to actually turn over the first batch. Friday was the 65th anniversary of the end of the 1950-53 Korean War, which concluded not in a formal peace treaty but in an armistice agreement that was supposed to be temporary but has stayed in effect ever since.

That, to North Korea, says it all.

North Koreas demand all along has been that improved relations between the two countries must begin with the creation of a stable peace on the Korean Peninsula, not with the unilateral abandonment of the Norths nuclear weapons that the Trump administration has been pushing for. North Koreas logic is that both sides need to take simultaneous action to gradually improve the security climate.

Denuclearization, if it will come at all, will only come once that hurdle has been cleared.

The adoption of the declaration on the termination of war is the first and foremost process in the light of ending the extreme hostility and establishing new relations between the DPRK and the U.S., the Norths Korean Central News Agency said in a statement on Tuesday, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea.

Peace can come only after the declaration of the termination of war, it said.

To keep the ball rolling in the meantime, North Korea has announced a moratorium on nuclear tests and long-range missile launches. It has demolished structures and the entrances to buildings on the site of its underground nuclear testing facility in Punggye-ri, and appears to have begun dismantling some of its missile testing facilities at Sohae. It has also returned three Americans who were being held in jail and has significantly toned down its anti-U.S. propaganda.

All should be seen as significant, positive steps  certainly when compared to last year, when the U.S. and North Korea were trading insults and threats of nuclear war.

But none of the Norths actions so far have much to do with actual denuclearization.

North Korea has yet to declare what its nuclear program consists of  how many bombs it has, where they are built  information that must be revealed to Washington before any credible denuclearization process can even begin. The moratoriums could easily be rescinded if Kim chooses to do so, and experts believe new underground testing tunnels and missile test sites could be rebuilt in a matter of months.

Fridays repatriation of the American remains was also fairly low hanging fruit for North Korea.

The remains of more than 5,000 American soldiers are believed to be recoverable in the country, and it is possible the North already has collected hundreds of remains that it could turn over at any time. The remains issue is clearly not directly linked to denuclearization, but shifts the focus back to trust-building and goodwill measures.

This isnt the first time the North has cooperated with repatriating remains.

Such missions had been held from 1996 until they were canceled by President George W. Bush amid heightening tensions over the Norths nuclear program in 2005. The remains returned Friday are believed to be some of the more than 200 that North Korea has held in storage for some time, and were likely recovered from land during farming or construction.

The vast majority of the war dead has yet to be located and retrieved from cemeteries and battlefields across the countryside.

Following an honors ceremony next Wednesday, the remains are to be flown to Hawaii for scientific testing. A series of forensic examinations will be done to determine if they are human and if the dead were American or allied troops killed in the conflict. North Korea has had problems with identifying remains in the past, famously sending a set to Japan that it claimed were of an abducted Japanese citizen, but which Tokyo said turned out to be dog bones.

Trumps immediate response, nevertheless, was gratitude.

After so many years, this will be a great moment for so many families, he tweeted. Thank you to Kim Jong Un.

The repatriation of remains could be followed by stronger North Korean demands for fast-tracked discussions to formally end the war. South Koreas Defense Ministry has announced the North agreed to general-level military talks next week at a border village to discuss reducing tensions across the countries heavily armed border.

Experts say a declaration to officially end the war, which could also involve Seoul and Beijing, would make it easier for North Korea to steer the discussions with Washington toward a peace treaty, diplomatic recognition, security assurances and economic benefits. Some analysts believe that North Korea would eventually demand that the United States withdraw or dramatically reduce the 28,500 troops it keeps in South Korea as a deterrent.

Washington has maintained that North Korea wont get sanctions relief and significant security and economic rewards unless it firmly commits to a process of completely and verifiably eliminating its nuclear weapons.

North Koreas actions, however, appear to be aimed at chipping away support for that hard-line position.

___

EDITORS NOTE  Talmadge is the APs Pyongyang bureau chief. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram: @EricTalmadge

Eds: An AP News Analysis.
SANTA FE  A prominent figure in the classical music world wont continue his performances in Santa Fe this summer after the Washington Post reported allegations of sexual harassment against him.

Violinst William Preucil, concertmaster for the Cleveland Orchestra for 23 years, had already taken the stage for concerts at the 2018 Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. But he has been replaced for the remaining concerts he was schedule to play, said festival spokeswoman Alexis Tappan on Friday.

Preucil was to be part of ensembles for concerts scheduled for Sunday, Monday and Wednesday. He has been a regular at the Chamber Music Festival, a major mainstay of Santa Fes summer cultural offerings, dating back at least to 2011.

In a Post article earlier this week, violinist Zeneba Bowers said that Preucil tried to assault her in his hotel room after a lesson at the New World Symphony, a leading training orchestra for young professionals, in 1998. Other musicians confirmed Preucils reputation for inappropriate advances, according to the Post.

The Post story also mentioned an article that ran in 2007 in the publication Cleveland Scene, in which it was alleged that Preucil made an unwanted advance to a student at the Cleveland Institute of Music, where he is a teacher. The student subsequently transferred to a different school, at CIMs expense. At the time, Preucil responded to the Cleveland Scene reporter, Rebecca Meiser, in an email that the issue was fully reviewed by the institution and was resolved to everyones satisfaction.

Preucil told the Post through the Cleveland Orchestra that he was unavailable for comment.

On Friday, the orchestra announced that it had suspended Preucil until further notice and opened an investigation into the sexual harassment allegations, the Post reported.

Cleveland Orchestra director Andre Gremillet said that this was his first time hearing the allegations. There was no blind eye turned, he told the Post No allegations were made; no one came forward to anyone in management. I need to know about it to do something about it.

The Grand Teton Music Festival in Wyoming, where Preucil was one of four listed concertmasters this summer, has uninvited him, the Post reported. This sort of behavior has no place in our organization, said Andrew Palmer Todd, the festivals president and CEO, in a statement. A scheduled recital at the University of Texas at Austin in October was also canceled, according to the Post.
RUIDOSO DOWNS  John Andreini, of San Mateo, California, died following a brain aneurysm on Friday morning. He was 90.

Andreini was one of four partners in All American Ruidoso Downs Racing, LLC (AARD) and All American Ruidoso Horse Sales, LLC (AARHS). These companies operate Ruidoso Downs Race Track, the Billy the Kid Casino, and the Ruidoso Horse Sale Company. They purchased AARD and AARHS in October, 2017.

The remaining partners are Stan Sigman, Narciso Chicho Flores and Johnny Trotter. John was a force of nature and had a lot of fun owning this track with the partnership.

He was a great American, a great family man and a true friend who will be missed, stated Sigman, for the partnership.

Andreini was the founder, Chairman of the Board, and CEO of Andreini & Company, which he established in 1951. He built his company into one of the largest, privately held insurance brokerage firms in the United States. The company has 11 offices located throughout California as well as, Oklahoma, Texas and North Carolina. Today his company employs over 200 insurance professionals. The company consistently ranks in the top 50 independently owned insurance brokers and in the top 100 of all United States Insurance Brokers.

Since 1968 Andreini was active in the quarter horse business and served as a director of the American Quarter Horse Association, and a member of the AQHA racing council. He was also a former Board Director Emeritus member of the Pacific Coast Quarter Horse Racing Association (PCQHRA) and a partner in the Los Alamitos Equine Sale.

Andreini owned the 2600-acre JL Ranch in the Diablo Mountain Range of Californias north coast. He has bred and raced a wide range of exceptional quarter horses and his consignments are always highly regarded at the major sales. Horses he has bred include $435,000 earner Volcom (sire of All American Futurity winner JM Miracle), $331,000 earner Lindas Dasher, PCQHRA broodmare of the year Imjumpn and many more important stakes horses.

-30-
Last Monday, Elin Ersson, a young Swedish student, boarded a plane at the airport in Gothenburg, Sweden, bound for Istanbul. The plane was crowded as its crew prepared to take off. Ersson stood up in the aisle, protesting that a fellow passenger, an Afghan refugee, was being deported. She was livestreaming as she spoke: Im not going to sit down until this person is off the plane, because he will most likely get killed if he is on this plane when it goes up. The government officials accompanying the refugee tried to force her away from them. Turkish Airlines flight attendants tried to take her phone. But she persisted.

The tension on the plane, in her voice and on her face was palpable. The pilot has the right to say that he is not allowed to be on the plane. And as long as he is not on the plane, then I will comply. As she waited for the captains decision, she calmly continued her live narration. She was accosted by an angry man who grabbed her phone, which she recovered. I am very sorry that a man is going to die and you are more worried about missing your flight, she told him. When told that she was inconveniencing passengers, she replied, But theyre not going to die; hes going to die.

In the background, a mans voice can be heard explaining the situation to other passengers in Turkish. Suddenly the cabin is filled with applause. She panned her camera around to show that the cabin was now filled with people standing as well. Erssons eyes teared as she continued to describe the reasons for her protest. Word came that the refugee was being removed through a door at the back of the plane. Elin Ersson stood at the front door, refusing to disembark until she could confirm that the refugee was actually on the ground. The protest only took 15 minutes, but might have saved an asylum-seekers life.

The plight of migrants and refugees, in both Europe and the United States, has become one of the central controversies of our time. Wars, violence, climate change and growing global inequality are driving people to leave their home countries seeking safety. In Europe, most refugees come from Syria and Afghanistan. Violence in the Central American nations of El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala are driving refugees north to the U.S. The journeys are long and dangerous.

Protests against the cruel anti-immigrant policies of President Donald Trump are diverse and fierce. From the airport protests against Trumps Muslim ban in his first weeks in office, to vigils and sit-ins at the offices of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facilities, to the halls of Congress, people have been putting their bodies on the line to oppose the ongoing persecution of migrants.

Opposition to harsh immigration policies is resonating in electoral politics. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic candidate for Congress in New York who upended the Democratic Party with her recent primary victory over a powerful incumbent, said in a recent interview with Democracy Now!, responding to Trumps zero tolerance policy that separated nearly 3,000 children from their immigrant parents, We need to occupy every airport, we need to occupy every border, we need to occupy every ICE office, until those kids are back with their parents, period.

This week, the nattering nabobs of nativism over at Fox News got their comeuppance when they tried to book Ann Kirkpatrick, a Democratic congressional candidate in Arizona who is pro-ICE. They mistakenly booked a different candidate, from Massachusetts. She knew her airtime was limited:

Good morning. Im actually here to speak directly to Donald Trump. I feel that whats happening at the border is wrong. Im a mother of four, and I believe that separating kids from their parents is illegal and inhumane. Im actually Barbara LItalien, Im a state senator representing a large immigrant community. Im running for Congress in Massachusetts. I keep thinking about what were putting parents through, imagining how terrifying that must be for those families, imagining how it would feel not knowing if Id ever see my kids again. 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. She was soon cut off by the befuddled co-hosts.

Creative protests and acts of solidarity, in concert with the determination and courage of the refugees themselves, are changing politics in the U.S and abroad. When Elin Ersson was reprimanded in the midst of her action, told that the Afghan man was being deported according to Swedish law, she replied, Im trying to change my countrys rules. Rulebreakers, troublemakers, dissenters: resistance is in the air.

Amy Goodman is the host of Democracy Now!, a daily international TV/radio news hour airing on more than 1,400 stations. She is the co-author, with Denis Moynihan and David Goodman, of Democracy Now!: 20 Years Covering the Movements Changing America. Distributed by King Features Syndicate.
Editors note: This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of Chief Public Defender Bennett Baurs name.

Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

The 2nd Judicial District Court is slashing the number of grand juries impaneled each month in what it says is an effort to save money and move toward criminal justice best practices.

The court is instead encouraging prosecutors to initiate new cases using preliminary hearings, which the district attorney says will make launching new criminal cases more challenging and resource intensive.

Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller also opposes the change, and police worry the system may mean officers are spending more time waiting in courtrooms and less time patrolling.

But the chief public defender says he strongly supports the move and believes it will lead some cases to earlier resolutions.

Most District Court cases are initiated in one of two ways: a grand jury proceeding before a group of citizens, or a preliminary hearing before a judge. The jury or judge then decides whether there is probable cause to support formal charges.

In a grand jury hearing, the panel of citizens makes its determination based, in general, on the testimony of a primary case agent during a secret and relatively short proceeding. The defendant may or may not be present, and a defense attorney cannot attend.

Substantially more witnesses  often including multiple law enforcement officers and the crime victim  testify in a preliminary hearing, which like a sort of minitrial, is open to the public and held before a judge. A defendant must be present and represented by an attorney who is allowed to question witnesses and present evidence.

Prosecutors in Bernalillo County currently use grand juries to indict a vast majority of felony cases.

In a news release announcing the change, the court says that, beginning Oct. 1, a grand jury panel will be available six days a month, down from five days a week, every week.

In a letter sent to District Attorney Raul Torrez on July 20, the court says it spent about $75,000 to conduct grand juries between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2017, and those costs are on the rise. Jurors and their employers also incur costs, including lost wages and lost productivity.

A report detailing the Legislative Finance Committees review of Bernalillo Countys criminal justice system cites the National Center for State Courts recommendation that the District Attorneys Office consider prosecuting more felony cases using preliminary hearings.

Chief Judge Nan Nash said this week that such hearings mean a case is vetted at the front end, and a defendant will face only charges that a judge deems appropriate, which creates a more efficient system.

Five of New Mexicos 13 judicial districts have done away with grand juries altogether, according to a news release announcing the change. And in her letter to Torrez, Nash wrote that two states have abolished the practice.

Defense attorney Michael Stout said preliminary hearings offer far more protections to the accused, and because different systems are at work in different New Mexico judicial districts, a case is handled differently depending on where a person is arrested.

The people in Deming essentially have more rights than the people in Albuquerque do, he said, pointing out that Deming no longer uses grand juries. Why should a prosecutor get to decide that you have fewer rights than the people in the next county? That has never made sense to me.

Chief Public Defender Bennett Baur said the preliminary hearing also offers a chance for all sides to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a case early on. The LFC reported that 310 of the 504 felony preliminary hearings that took place in 2017 resulted in a plea during the hearing, meaning the case is essentially concluded.

Baur said thats because all of the parties are in the same place at the same time. Although its more work up front, he said, it will lead to earlier dismissals and guilty pleas when appropriate, sending fewer cases on a path to trial. Its a way, he said, to clear the underbrush.

It allows us to, I think, spend more time looking at the serious cases later on, he said.

But Torrez says preliminary hearings are more financially and administratively burdensome. Coordinating the appearance of a defendant and multiple witnesses is complicated, and if one person doesnt show up, the hearing must be rescheduled.

When it happens, it does afford the possibility of an earlier resolution, so that is true. The problem is, what it doesnt account for is the extremely low rate at which cases actually get to that point, he said. So you resolve a much, much lower number of cases at the expense of not initiating substantially more.

Torrez said that far more procedural hurdles are associated with preliminary hearings, and the system doesnt have the resources or personnel to channel more cases through that process.

Currently, the cases that are routed through preliminary hearings are those involving lower-level charges and lower-risk defendants in cases with few witnesses. He says the stakes and penalties in violent cases are much higher, and its rare that both parties are in a position to consider a plea agreement.

Under the current system, Torrez said, the DAs Office can carefully schedule grand jury hearings to ensure that police officers, who often testify at these hearings, spend little time waiting. He worries this shift toward more preliminary hearings will mean more officers are waiting in courtroom hallways to testify in hearings that could ultimately be rescheduled.

This is going to have a dramatic impact on (the Albuquerque Police Department) specifically and their ability to engage in community policing, he said. You have to take multiple officers off the street for hours at a time to attend a full evidentiary hearing, when they could be out in the community answering calls for service and responding to public safety needs.

Nash said the court has proposed scheduling modifications that will let judges and lawyers determine whether a hearing will take place early in the day so that officers wont have to come to court when it isnt necessary.

APD says it is aggressively recruiting new officers while shifting personnel schedules in order to let officers spend more time engaged in community policing.

The more time officers spend in court, the less time they are out fighting crime, an APD spokesman said in a statement. We are aggressively recruiting more officers and we plan to shift to four, 10-hour days to allow officers to spend more time engaged in community policing. Any shift that requires additional time waiting in courtrooms will hurt those efforts and lead to more overtime costs.

A spokeswoman for the mayors office said Keller is drafting a response to the court to voice his support for the current grand jury system.

This is a simple and effective way to help address the revolving door issue that has been severely hampering our citys crime fighting efforts, Keller said in a statement to the Journal earlier this week.

Torrez said he is preparing a detailed response to the courts letter and ultimately may ask the Supreme Court to weigh in.
A man was taken into custody after officers and police dogs scoured a southeast Albuquerque neighborhood looking for him Saturday morning, a spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department said.

Officer Tanner Tixier said police arrested Dehaven Caldwell, 20, after searching the area near Kathryn and Georgia SE, after he ran from a short vehicle chase.

Caldwell is being treated for a dog bite and will be booked on felony charges, Tixier said.

He said police were called out to an apartment complex around 9 a.m. after residents reported a man banging on doors with a handgun.

Tixier said when officers arrived they found the man in violent domestic dispute with a woman inside a vehicle.

The man was still armed with a handgun and the female was yelling for help, he said.

Tixier said the man drove off and officers gave chase, stopping the vehicle a few minutes later with a PIT, or pursuit immobilization technique, at Kathryn and Dakota SE.

He said the woman was uninjured and is safe.

The subject exited the vehicle and ran northbound into a neighborhood, Tixier said.

He said police set up a perimeter and used a police airplane to circle the area and try to locate the suspect from above while police dogs and officers searched for him on the ground.
DENVER  Police say a Castle Rock man shot his wife because he mistakenly believed that she was a home intruder.

The Denver Post reports the woman is expected to survive after being shot in the abdomen on Friday night.

Castle Rock police spokesman Joe Cybert said Saturday that he did not know the womans condition.

No charges have been filed in the shooting in the town about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Denver, and police have ruled out foul play.

Police have not identified the couple.

___

Information from: The Denver Post, http://www.denverpost.com
Metro board agrees to consensus decision

Kathmandu Metropolitan City (KMC) board on Friday agreed to take a consensus decision on entrusting Rani Pokharis reconstruction to Nepal Army (NA). The board concluded discussions with culture experts, heritage conservationists and architects is the best way forward on the historic pond.
SAN DIEGO  With more than 1,800 migrant families reunified under a court-ordered deadline, the question turns to how fast immigration authorities can deport those with final orders of removal.

It looks increasingly likely those families will remain in limbo, at least for now.

Lawyers with the American Civil Liberties Union have asked U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego for a seven-day reprieve for all parents to consult with their children and attorneys to determine if there is any further recourse. That could result in a parent deciding to leave a child in the U.S. to fight an asylum case alone.

But the judge seemed reluctant to grant such a blanket delay. Instead he focused on a narrower subset of parents who might have just been reunited in the last day or so, or the 120 parents who waived their right to reunification but may have been confused.

About 300 reunified families are being detained in a two facilities in Texas, and 1,100 families have been released on parole while their immigration cases are pending, government attorneys in the San Diego case said. Officials are also detaining 145 parents, but without their children because of ineligibility such as criminal records.

About 1,000 families have executable orders of removal.

But the families at imminent risk of being deported are the ones in detention with travel documents already prepared  a group that government lawyers could not immediately quantify during a hearing Friday.

Sabraw stopped family deportations nearly two weeks ago to hear more argument on the issue, and now he expects to rule over the weekend.

The hearing Friday was the first after the one-month deadline Sabraw had set to reunify the more than 2,500 children ages 5 and older separated at the border. About 57 children under 5 were reunited under an earlier deadline.

The government deserves great credit, Sabraw said. But he also blamed the government for its lack of foresight and communication in implementing its hard-line stance on criminally prosecuting illegal border crossings, saying the government is at fault for losing several hundred parents in the process.

The parents he referred to include the more than 400 who are believed to have been deported without their children and were not reunified by the deadline. At least 35 other parents have been released from immigration custody into the U.S. and still have not been found.

Those parents will be the focus of the next chapter in the legal challenge to the family separations. Sabraw urged the government to identify and find those parents as quickly as possible for reunification.

How that will happen, however, is the subject of dispute.

The ACLU lawyers have offered to use a vast network of advocacy groups to help find the parents around the world  mostly in Central America  but are asking for as much detail as possible from government immigration files to aid in the detective work. Those might include the name of a relative, an address or a destination mentioned to a caseworker.

Deputy Assistant Attorney General Scott Stewart countered that a court order to produce such data would be overly burdensome and detract from the effort to reunify families.

We want to move as swiftly as possible, Stewart told the judge.

In a phone call with reporters a day earlier, a Department of Homeland Security official contended that many, if not all, of those previously deported parents were given the option to reunite with their children before removal but gave up that right knowingly, apparently believing that it was in their childrens best interest.

But ACLU attorney Lee Gelernt questioned that reasoning, pointing to affidavits filed Wednesday from pro bono attorneys working in detention centers along the Southwest border who have found at least 27 parents who said they unknowingly signed away their right to reunification.

The attorneys described parents who had little to no time to speak with their children, who didnt understand the legal documents they had been asked to sign  sometimes due to language barriers or their inability to read and write  and who were confused over their own immigration cases.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a New York attorney at the American Immigration Council, supervised a team of volunteers who interviewed more than 90 parents in Texas detention facilities since last week, including 52 whod been identified as having waived reunification with their children.

Many of these individuals indicated that they felt coerced into relinquishing their rights, he wrote in an affidavit. Still others appeared totally unaware that they had done so. Indeed, some individuals were adamant that they had signed a paper that said they chose to be reunited with their children.

The problem is that many of the parents said they were not given copies of the forms, leaving attorneys unable to immediately verify what had been signed, the affidavits said.

Gelernt argued the affidavits were evidence for the need for a seven-day waiting period before reunited families can be deported.

But Sabraw pointed to a 48-hour notice form that clearly lays out a parents options and noted that many families reunited over the past few weeks have had long enough to figure out their next steps.

He also questioned if continuing to stay removals falls within the scope of the case, which at its core is about reunification, not affording a parent greater time to then decide whether to re-separate.

Sabraw also warned the government that the case is not over after the reunifications.

This problem cannot repeat, Sabraw said. Criminal prosecution of illegal border crossings will continue, and families will be separated as a result, he said.

In what he sees as a third stage to the litigation, the judge indicated he will require a future process that ensures government agencies share information, track parents and children better, and have a plan to reunify them once the criminal prosecution is finished.

Under the terms of a 1997 court settlement called the Flores agreement, which limits how long children can be held in immigration custody, parents in detention will have the option to stay with their children in a family facility or to release their child to a shelter or the care of a sponsor.



(Los Angeles Times reporter Andrea Castillo contributed to this report.)
Copyright  2018 Albuquerque Journal

SANTA FE  An internal investigation into allegations that state Rep. Carl Trujillo sexually harassed a lobbyist in 2014 found sufficient credible evidence to move forward with a formal charge against the Democratic lawmaker and start public hearings that could result in discipline.

In a report published Saturday, a bipartisan group of lawmakers found probable cause that Trujillos conduct toward a lobbyist  on two occasions in 2014  had violated the Legislatures anti-harassment policy.

However, they found no probable cause that Trujillo had retaliated against the lobbyist.

Trujillo, in any case, lost his re-election bid in last months Democratic primary and is set to leave office at the end of the year.

He has repeatedly described the allegations as politically motivated lies, timed to hurt his campaign.

Travis Jackson, an attorney representing Trujillo, said the investigation itself was fundamentally unfair from the outset and designed to arrive at a predetermined outcome.

The goal is not to find the truth, but rather to set an example, Jackson said of the investigation. While it is right to protect against genuine sexual harassment, here, this new legislative anti-harassment policy is being used as a political weapon to destroy the reputation and career of a good man for political reasons and political gain.

The investigation centered on allegations levied by Laura Bonar of Animal Protection Voters. In a public letter released in May, Bonar accused Trujillo of propositioning her, touching her inappropriately and retaliating when she rejected his advances.

She called on him to resign.

Trujillo, a business owner and scientist from Nambe, vigorously disputed the allegations and accused the internal House panel conducting the investigation of failing to follow legislative rules and policy.

Nevertheless, the House panel  with help from two attorneys hired as special counsel, Thomas Hnasko and Theresa Parrish  said it found enough evidence to proceed with a formal charge and ethics hearings on two specific accusations:

 An encounter Jan. 28, 2014, in a House committee hearing. Bonar reported that Trujillo made a suggestive comment to her when she asked whether she could sit in an open seat next to him.

Bonar said Trujillo leaned close and responded quietly, You can sit next to me anytime, Laura, at dinner, by the fire, in the pool.

She said she could feel his breath on her neck and that he touched her thigh. Investigators found probable cause to support the allegation of verbal harassment, but no probable cause that he touched her thigh.

 An incident Feb. 5, 2014, in a hallway outside the House chambers. Bonar accused Trujillo of grabbing her arm, pulling her close and asking when they could meet.

In both cases, the investigation found sufficient credible evidence that Trujillo had violated the Legislatures anti-harassment policy by interfering with Ms. Bonars work and creating an intimidating, hostile or offensive working environment.

Jackson, Trujillos attorney, said the two remaining claims are false and slanderous.

The investigation against Rep. Trujillo was both politically motivated and fundamentally unfair from the outset, Jackson said. No formal complaint was ever filed. The lawyers hired to act as investigators are not independent, and withheld the basic facts of the complaint and the identities of witnesses  all while taking the incredible position that an elected representative accused of misconduct has no due process rights.

The investigation, meanwhile, rejected the allegation that Trujillo had retaliated against Bonar. Instead, the panels report found evidence that Trujillo continued working to find state funding for spay-neuter services for pets and worked with Animal Protection Voters on other animal issues.

The ethics subcommittee, composed of two Democrats and two Republicans, adopted its findings and recommendations Friday. Signing the resolution were Republican Reps. Cathrynn Brown of Carlsbad and Kelly Fajardo of Belen and Democratic Reps. Joanne Ferrary of Las Cruces and Javier Martinez of Albuquerque.

Their probable cause finding, after weeks of closed-door investigatory hearings, triggers a new phase  open hearings on the remaining allegations to be held by an eight-member House hearing committee.

That committee, after holding its hearings, could then recommend disciplinary action against Trujillo to the full Legislative Ethics Committee. But it would be up to the full 70-member House to ultimately vote on reprimand, censure or expulsion from the body.

And that appears unlikely to happen, because the full Legislature isnt scheduled to reconvene in Santa Fe until January 2019.

Trujillo was defeated in the primary election by fellow Democrat Andrea Romero of Santa Fe.

Top-ranking lawmakers adopted a revised anti-harassment policy this year, just ahead of the 30-day session. It came after allegations of sexual harassment shook up capitols across the country, including the Roundhouse in New Mexico, amid the #MeToo movement.

Trujillo is the first lawmaker to face a formal investigation under the new policy.
An investigation is underway into a deadly shooting in downtown Birmingham.

Police and firefighters responded to the scene about 2:15 p.m. Saturday at First Avenue North and Carraway Boulevard, according to Sgt. Bryan Shelton.

Police Saturday evening identified the victim as Herman Gordon Jr. He was 18.

Friends said he graduated from Huffman High School in May and recently became a father to a young son.

Gordon was found shot in a vehicle which had crashed. He was pronounced dead on the scene.

Shelton said it appears the shooting happened in the northbound lanes of Elton B. Stephens Expressway. The victim then exited onto First Avenue North where he was found.

A Birmingham teen was killed Saturday, July 28, on Elton B. Stephens Expressway.

Police shut down the expressway but it was reopened by 3:45 p.m.

Shelton said investigators do not believe the shooting was random or the result of any kind of road rage. "It was intentional,'' he said. "I don't know if they were looking for him or just saw him."

He said they don't yet have a description of the suspect vehicle and don't know how many people were inside that vehicle. The shots, he said, were fired from the vehicle into the victim's car. There is no evidence the victim returned fire.

"Clearly this was a reckless act by a reckless person,'' Shelton said. "It is our job as investigators to help the family deal with this tragedy. This (the suspect) is someone who doesn't belong on the streets."

This were multiple broad-daylight shootings Saturday. The first happened about 9:30 a.m. when at least two people opened fire in the city's Baby Kingston neighborhood, injuring a 14-year-old girl and hitting multiple cars and houses. At least two other people were shot in separate incidents but their injuries were not life threatening.

Gordon is Birmingham's 62nd homicide victim in 2018 and the 94th in all of Jefferson County, including the 62 in Birmingham.

Anyone with information on the deadly shooting is asked to call Birmingham homicide detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
With an estimated 130,000 annual visitors, the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve in Pinson is one of the Birmingham area's most popular outdoor recreation spots for a free swim in cool spring waters, as well as hiking and mountain biking trails.

More than 3,000 students per year --ranging from elementary school to graduate school -- also participate in educational programming at the preserve, learning about ecology and water conservation issues or conducting research on numerous threatened or endangered species found in the creek.

However, the preserve is running up against serious funding issues, according to Roald Hazelhoff, manager of the Southern Environmental Center at Birmingham-Southern College, which manages the preserve.

Hazelhoff said the group is trying to raise $500,000 to construct a pavilion capable of holding 150 people, plus indoor bathrooms, that would allow the preserve to host weddings, reunions and larger educational programs that will help generate enough revenue to keep the preserve open to the public free of charge.

Currently, the preserve hosts students in groups of about 50, but has to turn away larger groups. Hazelhoff said the revenue from additional school groups is needed to avoid fundamental changes in the way the preserve operates for all visitors. According to its web site, the preserve has enough funding to continue the current arrangement for about eight more months.

"We are facing real deficits," Hazelhoff said. "And with that comes the threat of potentially having to just end our role there."

Funding jig-saw puzzle

Like the endangered bats and darters that call Turkey Creek home, the preserve itself exists as an amenity thanks to a delicate balance of multiple forces at work: governmental support, non-profit conservation groups, and education groups. That balance might be shifting.

The most popular area, around the falls, was purchased by the state of Alabama through the Forever Wild program. The tract just outside the gates was purchased by the Freshwater Land Trust, a non-profit land conservation group. The entire 466-acre property is managed by the Southern Environmental Center and manager Charles Yeager, who also leads the educational programs.

The preserve runs on a budget of about $80,000 per year, Hazelhoff said. About half of that is provided by various government and private entities including the Alabama state lands division, the city of Pinson, Jefferson County, and the non-profit Friends of Turkey Creek, which sometimes collects donations on busy weekends and hosts the popular annual "Float Your Boat" event at the preserve. The rest is covered by the Environmental Center through its annual Darter Fest event and grants received several years ago.

Hazelhoff said the preserve is going into its eighth year on those funds that were meant to last five years.

Charging admission to the preserve is likely not an option. Primarily because the main tract of the preserve is owned by the state, Hazelhoff said any entry fees charged would have to go to the state general fund and chances are slim that a significant amount would find its way back to the preserve.

$300,000 raised already

Through a "Growing Impact" capital campaign, Turkey Creek has raised more than $300,000 already from more than 80 individuals and businesses, about two-thirds of the way to the $500,000 goal.

Once that total is reached, the plan is to construct an ADA-compliant pavilion that can accommodate 150 seated guests for educational programming, plus restrooms and a 50-space permeable parking area to reduce runoff into the creek. These facilities will be constructed on Freshwater Land Trust property, outside the main gates to the preserve.

That will allow the preserve to host larger school groups, as well as private events such as weddings, corporate retreats, or reunions. The project includes funds to hire two additional part-time staff to handle scheduling and other issues involved in running an event space.

Hazelhoff said a strategic analysis performed for the SEC suggested expansion to the preserve was the best way to shore up its financial situation. The vision is to make enough from weddings, events, and school groups to fund the entire preserve operation, but the capital campaign is intended to provide a three-year funding cushion.

One example

On a hot and muggy Tuesday morning in July, 50 students from Birmingham-area high schools are ankle deep in the clear water of Turkey Creek and up to their elbows in learning about the area's ecological diversity and water conservation issues.

Half the group lines up, arm-in-arm across the creek, ready to march in unison, shuffling their feet across the bottom and hopefully chase some fish into waiting seine nets held by their classmates. The other half wades upstream with hand-held leaf nets and trays, dipping leaf litter from the banks of the creek to look for insects, crayfish and other invertebrates hiding in the decomposing leaves.

Yeager, who runs the educational programs at the preserve, said the program is designed to teach the students about the ecosystems that are, in many cases, right in their back yards.

"The main thing is, I think opening up students' eyes to how amazing the biodiversity is here and how amazing our ecosystems are here and just seeing how cool these critters are," Yeager said. "Seeing all these amazing creatures and getting a close up look at them and encouraging critical thought about what's going on in their habitats.

"The next thing is to understand and appreciate how these resources affect them. Why is clean water important? What are the roles these creatures play towards helping us all have clean water and have the resources that we need for our survival."

Yeager gave an introductory talk about the fish and wildlife species found at the preserve, including seven threatened or endangered species, and afterwords showed off the fish, crayfish, insects and snails collected by the students during the program.

The group, members of the Birmingham Water Works Board's Young Water Ambassadors program, had to be split in two because it was too large. Half the 100 students visited on Monday, the other half on Tuesday.

With a pavilion, the entire group could have visited on the same day, and the students wouldn't have to wait in line to use a portable toilet during breaks in the program.

Yeager said the public interest is there for the preserve to do more than it is currently.

"In the seven years that I've been here, I watched preserve go from 40,000 annual visitors to 130,000 annual visitors," Yeager said. "That is a huge jump.

"People are becoming aware that this place is very special. We're just asking folks to give back and help us keep this place open."

Those who wish to donate to the capital campaign can do so through the Turkey Creek Nature Preserve web site.
It's a $1 billion bet they call "The Great Longevity Wager," and an Alabama scientist is sure he'll win. Or his descendants will, because Dr. Steven Austad doesn't really expect to collect in 2150.

Austad, chairman of the biology department at the University of Alabama in Birmingham, is betting that the first person to reach 150 is alive today. If he proves right, his heirs will collect the earnings of an investment account set up with a $150 wager in 2000.

"It's not going to happen, as much as Steve wants to be optimistic," Dr. Jay Olshansky of the University of Illinois at Chicago said this week.

Olshansky, a professor of public health, is the other bettor. And while he shares Austad's belief that lifespans will keep growing because of advances in aging science, he's confident, "It can't produce a 150-year old person."

The bet has gotten a lot of publicity, and that's great with the two scientists and friends. "We've had a good time with it," Olshansky said this week, "and it's actually very instructive to communicating some of these concepts of aging and longevity."

Neither Austad nor Olshanksy believes the average human lifespan will reach 150 "or anything close to it," as Austad puts it. But both believe humans will be able to slow our rate of aging.

"I don't think it's going to lead to radical life extension," Olshansky said. "It might lead to radical health extension."

He's talking about "an intervention," a medicine, so that it takes 80 years for your body to reach the state of a 50-year-old today. Or 70 years to become a 40-year-old.

Olshansky and Austad aren't the only scientists convinced that aging can be slowed. A special issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association devoted to the topic will be published in the next few months, and both scientists will have articles in it.

"Mine is saying it's time to start human trials for some of these things that we've seen have such dramatic success in mice," Austad said. "These things are already being used for different purposes."

Austad thinks metformin will be one of the first drugs tested for effects on human aging. It's used now to treat Type 2 diabetes. "There's evidence to suggest it delays Alzheimer's disease, cancer and heart disease," Austad said. "We'd like to see it tried in non-diabetics."

Rapamycin is another drug that has impressed scientists in animal trials and a few short-term human trials, Austad said. It has boosted immune response and lowered infection rates, he said, "and that's just skimming the surface of what it does in mice, which is prevent Alzheimer's disease, cancer, osteoporosis and cardiac diseases of various sorts."

But Autstad added, "Mice aren't people." So no one knows until we try it.

Olshansky said slowing the rate of aging "would have a cascading effect on everything we don't like about growing old." He calls it the "longevity dividend" and considers "the successful effort to slow aging to be more important in terms of its overall impact on health and the quality of life than the introduction of antibiotics."

That's why "this number of 150 isn't that important," he said. "It's a way for you and I to get on the phone and talk about what's really important."

"Steve and I share the optimism," Olshanksy said. "I think it's going to happen in time to influence the lives of most people today."
An Alabama death row inmate who was convicted of capital murder for fatally shooting a Montgomery police officer during a traffic stop has been denied an application for rehearing, according to the Alabama Department of Corrections.

Mario Dion Woodward, 45, was convicted and sentenced to death in 2008. He recently appealed his conviction, arguing his attorneys failed to present certain evidence during the guilty and penalty phases of his trial. His conviction and sentence had already been upheld in a previous appeal.

The Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals upheld Woodward's conviction and death sentence in April.

Woodward's application for rehearing was denied Friday, the ADOC said.

Evidence presented at Woodward's trial in 2008 showed he fatally shot Montgomery police officer Keith Houts during a traffic stop on Sept. 28, 2006.

Officer Houts stopped Woodward, who was driving a gray Impala, around 12:30 p.m. When Houts approached the vehicle, Woodward shot him in the jaw, severing Houts' spine. He shot the officer four more times, according to evidence presented at trial.

After the shooting, Woodward asked his girlfriend and a friend of hers to take him to Birmingham. During that ride, he told them he had shot a police officer during a traffic stop. He also made a phone call, asking someone to get rid of the Impala and threw a gun from the car they were riding in.

Woodward then met up with another friend, destroyed evidence and confessed his act to another person as he fled the state.

Woodward was arrested by a deputy federal marshal at an Atlanta gas station.

"This case is a tragic reminder of the debt we owe to law enforcement officers who put their lives on the line every day," Attorney General Steve Marshall said in April. "Officer Houts was carrying out his routine duties and during the course of a simple traffic stop, he was viciously murdered. Even after the killer's first shot cut down his victim, he proceeded to shoot the fallen officer four more times. The death penalty is fitting punishment for Mario Woodward's evil actions."
The Alabama Secretary of State's probe into absentee voting irregularities during the July 17 primary runoff could be expanded to include more Black Belt counties.

Secretary of State John Merrill said that Wilcox and Perry counties, initially named last week in a state investigation into potential absentee voter fraud, may be joined by other counties.

"We started with those two but we're not ending with those two," said Merrill on Thursday.

His comments come after an election that saw some of the state's smallest, and poorest counties experience a surge in voter turnout that nearly doubled or - in the case of tiny Wilcox County -- tripled the state's approximately 14 percent turnout rate.

Both counties are majority black and typically lean Democratic. Merrill said the turnout surge is attributed to a spike in absentee balloting.

In Wilcox County, 4,167 of 9,383 registered voters or 44.4 percent, turned out to vote. The Democratic contest for probate judge drew 4,061 votes, while fewer than 100 voters cast ballots in the high profile, statewide Republican runoffs.

Perry County saw a 36.35 percent turnout during the runoff race, with most of the 2,982 votes cast in a Democratic contest for Circuit Clerk. Only 200 votes were cast in the Republican contests for lieutenant governor and attorney general.

Perry and Wilcox counties each have around 10,000 residents.

Other Black Belt counties saw a turnout spike: Dallas County at 34.4 percent, Lowndes County at 25.47 percent, and Macon County at 21.95 percent.

Also notable was Greene County, where 11 people were convicted of absentee voter fraud 20 years ago, saw 34.08 percent turnout.

'Identifying the concern'

In 1998, voters in Greene County turned to black leaders like Martin Luther King III and raised concerns about being "terrorized" by state and federal investigators.

Their concerns stemmed from a federal and state investigation into the heated 1994 election in Greene County. That election saw inordinate amount of absentee ballots flood in, altering a county commission race.

Nearly a dozen conspirators were convicted, and the case has been pointed to by conservative groups like The Heritage Foundation as evidence that voter fraud in Alabama is a real concern.

Much like in the 1990s in Greene County, state investigators are claiming they are facing pushback during their initial inquiry into Perry County's turnout spike. Merrill said an election observer was threatened by a Perry County official during the July 17 election.

Merrill said it could take some time before the investigation ends. He said that the district attorneys in both counties have been contacted to assist in furthering the investigation. The Secretary of State's Office does not have prosecutorial authority.

"It may be a while before we get what we need," said Merrill. "The biggest problem we have with a situation like this is not identifying the concern, but having people in the community stand up and say, 'I'll be a witness and speak out in a deposition about what occurred.'"

'Certainly unusual'

Alabama, as the Greene County case illustrates, has a history of voting irregularities especially in its Black Belt region which are among the poorest counties in the country.

Richard Fording, a political science professor at the University of Alabama, said he's heard directly from Perry County community leaders who complain about political corruption. Fording said he's involved in a university program that does service work in Perry County.

"The spike in absentee ballots is certainly unusual," Fording said. "I think Secretary Merrill is doing the right thing to look into this, but I think he must be careful to conduct this investigation in a way that does not serve to intimidate people from voting in the future."

Said Fording: "And I think he must also be sure that he is enforcing the law equally across the state and not focusing on counties that are largely African American. It seems doubtful that it is only the African-American majority counties that have suspicious voting practices."

Josh Douglas, an election law expert at the University of Kentucky, said the initial facts suggest that Merrill has a legitimate concern.

"The facts here certainly suggest that it's reasonable for Merrill to look into it," said Douglas. "Anytime you have a much larger number of absentee votes than in-person votes, when that doesn't track historical patterns, then it's worthwhile to investigate."

Merrill said last week that over 500 people voted absentee in Wilcox County.

Douglas added, "That doesn't mean that there has been voter fraud, but instead that there are sufficient factors to look closer."

'Tool of choice'

Throughout the country, absentee ballots are often cited as an area where abuse can occur. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, for instance, once concluded that the lack of in-person, at-the-polls accountability makes absentee ballots a "tool of choice for those inclined to commit fraud."

Douglas said that absentee ballot fraud prompted court intervention and reversed the outcome of the 1997 mayoral election in Miami.

But as Douglas and other election law experts point out, most voter identification laws approved in recent years are meant to curb in-person voter fraud. And the experts are skeptical whether in-person voter fraud even exists.

The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, in 2007, investigated the potential of voter fraud and concluded that people were more likely to be struck by lightning than be impersonated by another voter at the polls.

Voter fraud, despite the lack of evidence, became a heated political debate following the 2016 presidential election. President Donald Trump led the charge by forming a controversial voter fraud commission, which he later dismantled, and claimed that 3 million to 5 million voted illegally during the presidential election. Democrat Hillary Clinton won the popular vote.

Trump has also pushed for more voter identification laws.

Republicans generally support such laws, and argue that they prevent instances of voter fraud. Democrats, who tend to oppose strict laws, claim that voter fraud is a non-issue but that the laws pushed by conservative lawmakers can disenfranchise minority voters, who are generally less likely to possess the identifications that ID laws require.

Thirty-four states have some sort of law that requires voters to produce some form of identification at the polls. Of those, seven are considered "strict" laws that require a photo ID.

Alabama does require a photo ID, but is not labeled as "strict," according to an analysis by the National Conference of State Legislatures. The state, instead, is labeled as "non-strict" because it has a provision in its law that allows someone without an ID to cast a ballot if two election officials can sign a sworn statement saying they know the voter.

Douglas said that voter ID laws do not go after the absentee abuses that do occur.

"While there's virtually zero evidence that in-person impersonation exists, there's at least some evidence that absentee balloting fraud, while still rare, has occurred occasionally," he said.

'Increase public confidence'

Alabama has attempted to clamp down on absentee balloting fraud, which can exist in many different forms. Merrill claims that the incidents in Wilcox and Perry counties involve some sort of absentee vote brokerage, in which services or cash are exchanged for blank absentee ballots.

In the recently-completed legislative session, one such bill addressing absentee ballot fraud did not advance out of the Alabama State Senate. That bill - SB228 - required someone to provide a copy of their photo ID with their absentee application, removed the posting of absentee voter information at a county's absentee election manager's office, and allowed for commercial mail carriers to be used in returning an absentee ballot.

The bill was carried by state Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham. He said the bill was initially written to address early voting, but was later amended at the recommendation of Merrill's office to address absentee voting issues.

Merrill, who said he plans to reintroduce legislation next year, said the biggest issue the bill attempted to stop was posting absentee voter names inside courthouses. He said that vote brokers in some counties can look at the names requesting an absentee ballot, approach them at their mailing addresses, and offer them money, cigarettes, or whiskey for their ballot.

Smitherman said he's supportive of actions that can help nip absentee ballot fraud, but he said no one expressed to him about fraudulent activities that may or may not be occurring in the Black Belt counties.

"You don't want any problems in an election," he said. "If there is something we need to do to make them better, that is what we should do."

Nancy Worley, chairwoman of the Alabama Democratic Party and a former Secretary of State from 2003-2007, said she can recall "one or two letters" sent to her office in years past concerning Black Belt counties and problems with absentee voting irregularities.

But, she said, it's "overblown to talk about fraud" at a time when Trump and other Republican leaders decry fraudulent elections with little proof.

Hans von Spakovsky, a senior legal fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation and a former Justice Department lawyer under President George W. Bush, said an investigation into counties where absentee voter fraud is occurring can actually help, not suppress, future turnout.

Von Spakovsky, who analyzed the 1994 Greene County case, said public confidence in the voting process increased after convictions were handed out in 1998.

"These kinds of investigations have to be done carefully," he said. "But if they find fraud, it will help turnout because it increases public confidence."
With public schools readying to open for the new school year, Gov. Kay Ivey and her legal team are defending a program allowing administrators to be armed in schools without a full-time school resource officer.

Ivey created the Alabama Sentry Program on May 30 as a stop-gap security measure until a plan to put a school resource officer, or SRO, in every Alabama school could be created.

Two memos obtained by AL.com, both dated July 26, lay out legal protection arguments for those who choose to participate in the program.

One memo, from Ivey to Alabama Department of Finance Director Clinton Carter, orders expansion of the state's educator liability coverage to include sentries. That coverage, funded primarily with revenue from the Education Trust Fund, protects educators from legal claims made against them when they are carrying out required duties.

The second memo, from Ivey's legal team to Education Policy Advisor Nick Moore, answers questions about how the program can legally operate under current state law.

Addressing questions from "members of the education-association community here in Montgomery," Ivey's lawyers state the Sentry Program does not conflict with any current state law, does not create a new program needing new administrative rules, does not require State Board of Education approval, and does not run afoul of current law banning guns on school campuses.

Administrators who participate as sentries can still search students and their property on school grounds without a warrant, according to the memo. "An administrator participating in the Sentry Program," the memo reads, "will ordinarily be acting as an administrator under the reasonableness standard---not as a reserve deputy sheriff subject to the probable-cause standard."

The memo also states that the Alabama Open Meetings Act and the Alabama Public Records Act do not apply to actions taken and records kept by a school board regarding the Sentry Program under a statutory exemption for anything related to a school's security plan.

That includes any discussion during the creation and approval of the policy, the purchasing of the specialized gear, and any other decisions that need to be made by the board regarding the program. That discussion can be held during an executive session and receipts for purchases do not have to be disclosed.

Both memos are dated one day before State Superintendent Eric Mackey's memo to school superintendents statewide with instructions on how to participate in the Sentry Program if they choose to do so.

It is not clear how many Alabama schools do not have a full-time SRO and might choose to train an administrator as a sentry.

The most recent reliable data, collected at the federal level, shows about half of Alabama's 1,400 public schools do not have either a full- or part-time SRO.

That data, now four years old, does not reflect the school districts who have added SROs since the tragic shooting deaths of 17 students and faculty at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., on Feb. 14 and the 10 shooting deaths at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Tex., on May 18.

All three memos point to a county's sheriff as the initial pathway through which an administrator can be considered for and ultimately deputized as a sentry. In her announcement of the creation of the Sentry Program, Ivey said the Alabama Sheriff's Association fully endorsed the program.

Mackey's memo said local boards of education will foot the bill for the gun, the biometrically-secured safe where the gun must be stored, and the specially-designed bulletproof vest worn by the Sentry during an armed intruder event.

Officials originally said they hoped the summer break could be used to train sentries, but it is unclear when the training program, developed by the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and provided at no local cost to sentries, will be completed.

Seven school districts start the 2018-2019 school year next week, while the vast majority start the week of Aug. 6.

Related coverage

Educator Liability Trust Fund coverage under the Alabama Sentry Program by Trisha Powell Crain on Scribd

Alabama Sentry Program - Legal Underpinnings Memo by Trisha Powell Crain on Scribd
Prattville police are searching for a man accused of killing his wife Friday night, authorities said.

Derico Houser, 39, is accused of entering his ex-wife's home and fatally shooting here around 6:03 p.m., police said. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

He left the home in a black 2018 Toyota Camry with Alabama Disabled Veteran tag DV57551, police said. His direction of travel is unknown. Derico is considered armed and dangerous.

Derico is a black male with black hair and brown eyes. He stands 5-feet 8-inches tall and weighs about 180 pounds. He was last seen wearing camouflage shorts and a black shirt, officials said.

He was last seen at or near Highway 14 East and Interstate 65, officials said.

If you see Derico, do not approach him. Contact Prattville police at 334-595-0208 or call 911.
MPs want Prasai punished

The Nepali Congress (NC) lawmakers have demanded action against Durga Prasad Prasai, executive director of Jhapa-based B&C Medical College Teaching Hospital and Research Center, for making denigrating remarks about Nepali women students studying in Bangladesh.
The Southern Baptist Convention, under new president, J.D. Greear, launched a "study group" that will focus on sexual harassment and abuse in the church.

The announcement came one month after Paige Patterson was fired as president of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, a subgroup of SBC, for brushing off rape allegations presented to him and then denying it to the SBC.

"The group's purpose will be to consider how Southern Baptists at every level can take discernible action to respond swiftly and compassionately to incidents of abuse, as well as to foster safe environments within churches and institutions. This group will study both how Southern Baptists are currently engaging these issues and develop recommendations in consultation with relevant SBC entities on strategies and resources for ministering to victims and protecting people and churches from predators," Greear said in a statement.

The Sexual Abuse Presidential Study Group will consist of local pastors, outside experts and Southern Baptist leaders, in partnership with the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission division of the SBC.

Thousands of SBC women signed a petition calling for Patterson's to be held accountable for his lack of action around the #metoo movement. The letter called to light the SBC's repressive theology.

"The Southern Baptist Convention cannot allow the biblical view of leadership to be misused in such a way that a leader with an unbiblical view of authority, womanhood, and sexuality be allowed to continue in leadership," the letter states.

"Sexual assault and sexual abuse are Satanic to the core, and churches should be the ones leading the way when it comes to protecting the vulnerable from predators," Russell Moore, president of the ERLC, said in a statement.

Alabama has witnessed cases of abuse within the church, especially in recent years. In March, Christopher Stutts, a youth pastor at Westwood Baptist Church in the Forestdale area, was convicted of sexually abusing a child. In May, an Irondale deacon faced felony charges amid accusations he sexually abused two young church members. In 2016 Jeff Eddie was convicted of child molestation at Highland Park Baptist in Muscle Shoals.

The study group will convene over a one year period and report back with findings and recommendations to Greear.
European imperial values laid the foundation of the ICC and have caused its many problems.

This month marks the 20th anniversary of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The inauguration of the first permanent international criminal tribunal of its kind tasked with the solemn duty to prosecute, judge, and punish those responsible of perpetrating the most egregious atrocities was widely hailed as a landmark achievement that would help preserve the global public order.

During the signing ceremony of the Statute of the Court (the Rome Statute), the then-secretary-general of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, described the court as a gift of hope to future generations, and a giant step forward in the march towards universal human rights and the rule of law.

Cherif Bassiouni, the Egyptian American jurist widely regarded as a leading expert in modern international criminal law and the architect of the ICC, described the foundation of the tribunal as the end of a historical process, but also the beginning of a new phase in the history of international criminal justice.

The 20th anniversary of the court offers an important opportunity to take stock of the courts journey so far, and to reflect on the challenges facing the institution, particularly its alleged Africa bias, calls for withdrawal and non-cooperation, and lack of support from the major players in the international order.

Writing for Al Jazeera Opinion on the 20th anniversary of the court, Liechtensteins Foreign Minister Aurelia Frick offered a passionate defence of the ICC, emphasising its positive legacy as a global watchdog against impunity and its innovative role in expanding the canon of international criminal law to bring about cultural shifts that would strengthen and sustain the rules-based international order.

Frick valorised the ICC as the embodiment of the world in which [she] wants to live and serve and called upon states to support and defend it.

While Frick is right to point out the legacy of the court and the need to defend it from populists, nationalists and those who want to roll back the achievements of multilateralism, she appears to dismiss its alleged Africa bias as insignificant and presents the ICC as the achievement of multilateralism.

In doing so, she repeats the rosy teleological narrative of the great uninterrupted and irreversible progress of a global system of justice told by the defenders of a multilateral order that is not multilateral at all.

The problem with this line of thought is not that it is necessarily wrong but that it obfuscates the complex colonial legacies of the international legal order, and its alienation and erasure of the Global South from the history and story of the global public order.

The ICCs Africa bias

Of the 11 situations being investigated by the ICC, 10 involve African countries. Of those 10, five are self-referrals  the state refers itself to the ICC to investigate a situation within its territory because it is unable to prosecute perpetrators of crimes that fall within the jurisdiction of the ICC  genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

All arrest warrants and indictments so far issued by the ICC are for Africans, including two sitting heads of states  Omar Hassan al-Bashir of Sudan and Uhuru Kenyatta of Kenya.

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This curious and disproportionate focus of the court on Africa, particularly the cases against al-Bashir and Kenyatta, angered African leaders, leading to accusations of racist bias. In October 2013, the African Union called upon African states not to cooperate with the ICC, after the Security Council refused to defer the proceedings against the two leaders.

The former Ethiopian PM Hailemariam Desalegn accused the tribunal of being a racist institution hunting Africans while Burundi, who became the first country to withdraw from the court, criticised it for being a political tool used by [foreign] powers to remove whoever they want from power on the African continent.

The accusations of simple and overt racism are somewhat exaggerated. They are clearly part of a self-serving ploy by the continents abusive leaders who oversaw atrocities of unimaginable magnitude and are seeking a get-out-of-jail-free card.

As the African Union and several African leaders have shown, it is easier to dismiss the courts fight against impunity as a neo-colonial attempt by the West to pursue Africans in the name of justice than to explain their own horrendous and intolerable human rights records. In fact, there is something rotten about the very people responsible for overseeing some of the most shocking atrocities against their own people invoking colonialism and racism to avoid responsibility and accountability.

However, the disproportionate number of investigations against Africans cannot simply be explained away by the sheer scale and magnitude of atrocities in Africa. The point is not that the court is racist, nor is it that it lacks objectivity in the sense that it is biased against Africa.

The point is that the ICC, just like the larger international legal order within which it operates, is Eurocentric and the world views, perspectives and stand points it reflects and embeds are uncompromisingly European. International institutions, and the norms, categories, priorities and theories dominant in international law come from a particular place and reflect the stand points of that place.

International law, the postcolonial theorist Antony Anghie argues, is part and parcel of the imperial knowledge system, encapsulating European imperial values, experiences and perspectives. As an integral part of this knowledge system, the ICC represents the European stand point because its theories, principles and norms were formed in the heartland of Europe, crafted in European intellectual and cultural milieus.

While there is no conclusive evidence to suggest that the ICCs Africa focus is driven by racist bias, it is nevertheless critical to recognise that even seemingly innocent theories of accountability and justice bear the imprint of this imperial standpoint and are closely tied to the world views and interests of the place and culture from which they come.

ICC as a multilateral institution

The ICC, like all other multilateral international institutions, is not genuinely multilateral. International law and international organisations first emerged not as an intellectual project, but instead as a colonial knowledge project in the service of the empire.

Distinctively Euro-American ideals and narratives determine the perspectives and standpoints of international organisations, including the ICC. As Finnish international lawyer Martti Koskenniemi points out, Europe is [the] geographical, political, and conceptual epicentre of international legal thought and it served as the origin, engine and telos of international legal knowledge.

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When the ICC and its defenders delineate its functions as the fight against impunity, responsibility to protect, and advancing accountability and justice, they deploy the analytic frameworks, normative languages, and vocabularies that are intrinsically European, whose experts and advisers hail from European and American universities, think-tanks and NGOs.

In so doing, the ICC sadly reinforces Western perspectives and standpoints as universal maxims valid for all people and all nations, and re-enacts racialised metaphors of savages, victims and saviours in the name of truth and justice.

These metaphors further reaffirm the sharp divisions between the West and non-West, whereby the atrocities perpetrated by savages against victims should be prosecuted, judged and punished by the civilised West according to Western standards.

This is best exemplified by two points: one, the fact that some of the most powerful states responsible for the establishment and maintenance of the global public order, namely the US, Russia, and China, are not parties to the ICC, creating a two-tiered standard of accountability for the powerful and the powerless; and two, the principle of complementarity, which provides that the ICC intervenes only when national jurisdictions are either unable or unwilling to prosecute.

As the US and German representatives to the Rome Conference bragged repeatedly, the judicial systems in the West will never be found to be unable or unwilling to prosecute whereas the ICC can make out such a case easily against non-Western states.

Beyond the immediate concerns of accountability and fighting impunity, painting a rosy picture of international institutions, including the ICC, carries the complex and horrific risk of reinforcing the unequal global knowledge order by establishing some standpoints and perspectives as inferior while valorising others as superior.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
UNRWA is not a political organisation and should not be used in political games.

A bipartisan group of seven former US ambassadors to the United Nations this month sent a letter to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo asking that the Trump administration restore its funding to UNRWA, the UN agency that provides humanitarian assistance to Palestinian refugees.

While the world waits to learn the details of White House adviser Jared Kushners so-called peace plan, millions of Palestinians suffer from the US governments decision to freeze vital humanitarian assistance to Palestinian refugees  a decision that is putting an already marginalised population in a desperate situation.

According to the UN, Gaza will be completely uninhabitable in two years as the 11-year economic blockade, coupled with successive military operations, have shattered the coastal enclaves ability to export or produce for the domestic market, ravaged its already debilitated infrastructure, and left no time for reconstruction and economic recovery.

The restrictions have left 80 percent of the enclaves two million population dependent on international assistance and have contributed to an astounding 44 percent unemployment rate.

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If there has been one source of hope for the five million Palestinian refugees living in camps inside Gaza, the West Bank, and across Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, it has been UNRWA  the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

For seven decades, while Palestinian refugees have been waiting for a political solution, UNRWA has been providing essential food assistance, emergency relief, education, healthcare, microfinancing and employment opportunities.

In a place like Gaza, where electricity is limited to four hours a day, clean water sources have been virtually depleted, movement and access out of the enclave is allowed only for a select few and at limited times, and where hospitals and clinics are chronically underfunded and under-resourced, young people would rather risk their lives than experience one more day of humiliation that comes from living under these conditions.

Without UNRWAs schools, hundreds of thousands of refugee children in Gaza would go without an education. The 13,000 jobs that UNRWA provides in the health, education and service sectors are an indispensable source of income for families.

Scrambling to make up the shortfall

Despite the tremendous work UNRWA does in Gaza and throughout the region to provide Palestinians with some measure of dignity, it is in danger of shuttering schools and scaling back its programmes.

The Trump administration has cut more than 80 percent of the US governments expected $365m in contributions to the agency. This has left UNRWA scrambling to make up the shortfall while also continuing to provide emergency services needed in the aftermath of the protests in Gaza.





What is motivating the Trump administrations funding cuts to UNRWA and to the Palestinian refugees it serves isnt clear. If the aim is to force Palestinians back to negotiations with Israel, the US decision to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem has rendered it an unfit broker.

All that will be achieved by denying Palestinians humanitarian relief is that US policy towards Palestinians will be exposed as ham-handed and hopelessly biased in favour of Israel.

As a humanitarian actor, UNRWA is neither involved in politics, nor is it in a position to impact politics. Quite simply, punishing a civilian population because of the decisions of political leaders is immoral.

US funding cuts to UNRWA are virtually guaranteed to produce exactly the type of desperation that has encouraged so many Palestinians to protest, despite the risks. As more Palestinians are maimed while US officials grotesquely praise Israeli restraint, international law and the legal mechanisms established after World War II will be challenged to the detriment of us all.

The US response to a stalled peace process should not be to cripple UN agencies mandated to provide dignity to refugees in the absence of a political solution.

It should be to support and strengthen both the organisations that provide humanitarian relief and the international bodies responsible for international peace and security. This is the way towards a durable solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict that will end the senseless loss of life and limb in the Gaza Strip and in the region.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.
Reports say bodies of Fulani civilians were thrown into a well by Dogon hunters after deadly raid on Somena village.

At least 17 civilians were killed in ethnic violence in central Mali in one of a long series of attacks before a presidential election on Sunday.

Armed men described as traditional hunters attacked the village of Somena on Wednesday, marking the latest flare-up between nomadic Fulani and farmers from the Bambara and Dogon communities.

Abdoul Aziz Diallo, president of Tabital Pulaaku, the main Fulani association in Mali, said 17 people had died in the village, about 400km from the capital, Bamako.

We recovered all the bodies of the Fulani civilians who were killed and thrown into a well by Dogon hunters, he said.

The death toll of 17, inflicted by armed men, was confirmed independently by a Malian government official who gave no further details.

Diallo said the attack was retaliation for an earlier landmine explosion they blamed on the Fulani.





Election violence

Malians will vote on Sunday in the election contested by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita and two dozen challengers. But intercommunal violence and attacks have cast doubt on prospects for a smooth election day.

Authorities have repeatedly insisted the vote will go ahead despite the worsening ethnic violence, which has killed almost 300 people this year, according to the United Nations.

Experts, however, fear the violence could discourage turnout, which already tends to be low in Mali.

Tensions erupted in Mali in 2012 following a failed coup and a Tuareg rebellion that ultimately allowed al-Qaeda-linked groups to take over the northern half of the country.

French forces intervened the following year, but the groups have regrouped and launched attacks across West Africa, inciting tensions between ethnicities.

In 2015, a peace deal was signed between the government and some armed groups, but political and community disputes continue to create tensions in northern Mali, undermining the implementation of the peace agreement.
Officials say gun battle between attackers and security forces ends inside midwife training facility in Jalalabad.

Security forces have battled for hours a group of gunmen who stormed a medical training centre in eastern Afghanistan, in an attack that killed at least two people and wounded eight others, including five civilians, according to officials.

A series of explosions went off late on Saturday morning in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, before the attackers rushed the school for trainee midwives. Afghan special forces arrived to confront them and heavy gunfire ensued.

After a battle lasting for about six hours, sending clouds of black smoke spiralling into the sky, all the attackers were dead, according to a statement by Attaullah Khogyani, the provincial government spokesman.

One of the attackers died early in the operation after detonating a suicide bomb, but a second held out for several hours before being killed by security forces, said Khogyani.

He put the death toll at three  two security guards and a driver  while Ghulam Sanyee Stanikzai, Nangarhar police chief, told AFP news agency that two people  a guard and a driver  were killed.

Eight people  five civilians and three police officers  were also wounded.

Al Jazeeras Charlotte Bellis, reporting from Afghanistans capital, Kabul, said 69 people were inside the school, including midwives, teachers and students.

There was some intelligence prior to the attack that gave them a bit of a heads up and they managed to get into safe rooms and secure themselves, said Bellis.

She added that about halfway through the gun battle, special forces managed to extract 57 of the 69 people who were inside and the remaining 12 were also secured after the end of the operation.

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Security forces appeared to be dismantling improvised explosive devices apparently planted in the street by the attackers.

No immediate claim of responsibility was made. The Taliban denied involvement in a WhatsApp message sent to reporters.

Provincial health department spokesman Inamullah Miakhil said 48 women from remote districts of the province were enrolled in the two-year midwifery course.

We dont know why the midwife centre came under attack, Miakhil said.

Jalalabad has been rocked by a number of attacks within recent weeks.

At least 10 people were killed and another 10 wounded during an assault on a government building in the city on July 11, a day after 12 people were killed and four others hurt by a suicide bombing at a security checkpoint.

A separate suicide attack carried out by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS), killed 19 people on July 1.

Both ISIL and the Taliban are active in Jalalabad with Afghan security forces struggling to battle both groups after the US and NATO officially concluded their combat mission in the country four years ago.

The Taliban is Afghanistans largest rebel group and ISIL has a relatively small, but potent presence, mainly in the east and north of the country. ISIL first emerged in Afghanistan in 2014 and quickly established a stronghold in Nangarhar province.

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Last year, US President Donald Trump pledged the United States would continue fighting in Afghanistan in a bid to avoid the predictable and unacceptable results of a premature withdrawal from the country.

A hasty withdrawal would create a vacuum that terrorists, including ISIS and al-Qaeda, would instantly fill, Trump said.

Following Trumps speech, US Defence Secretary James Mattis announced the deployment of 3,000 additional troops to Afghanistan  taking the overall tally to about 14,000  where the US has been at war since 2001.
Controlling more than one-quarter of Syria, SDF agrees to work with the regime towards a decentralised Syria.

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) say they have agreed to work with the Syrian government towards a democratic, decentralised Syria, in an attempt to cement their autonomy in the war-ravaged country.

The SDFs political wing, the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), issued a short statement on Saturday saying they would form committees to develop negotiations and chart a roadmap to a democratic, decentralised Syria.

There was no immediate confirmation from Damascus, but Sihanouk Dibo, a leftist Kurdish politician, said he expected the negotiations to be long and arduous.

It is still very early to talk of an agreement, but we are working on it, he said.

Founded in 2015, the SDF was formed to defend Syrias northeastern region from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) and other armed groups.

Using American weapons and equipment, the SDF managed to seize control of between 25-30 percent of Syria, including areas which hold the bulk of the countrys oil and gas reserves.

Their political wing has pressed for Syria to be divided along federal lines and made up of autonomous cantons in various regions.

The SDC has set up cantonal administrations in areas it controls which raise their own revenues and operate their own police and other services.

But in recent months, a military intervention by Turkey in Syria, and conflicting statements by the United States over its military plans, have left the Kurds extremely wary about their future.

They lost the city of Afrin in northwestern Syria to Turkish-backed rebels in January, and only intervention by Washington has prevented Turkish troops from seizing the hard-won town of Manbij from the SDF, whose Kurdish units have pulled back.

No autonomy

Marwan Kabalan, the head of policy analysis at the Arab Centre for Research & Policy Studies, said fears of being attacked again by Turkey may have prompted the Kurds to turn to Damascus, but was unlikely the Syrian government would deliver them autonomy as they expected.





With US President Donald Trump saying he wants to withdraw his forces from northeastern Syria, the Kurds fear this could put them in direct confrontation with Turkey, Kabalan said.

And with Damascus yet to comment, it appears both the Kurds and the Syrian government have two separate visions for the country, he added.

Its unlikely the Syrian regime will deliver the Kurds autonomy.

Rather, what it will probably give them is local governance according to Law 107 that was passed in 2012.

This will give them [greater] powers, not decentralisation, or autonomy. The Syrian regime will never accept autonomy.

Open to negotiations

The Syrian government has been open to negotiations with the SDF since last year, with Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem saying Damascus could sit with the Kurds and listen to their demands once ISIL was defeated.

This topic is open to negotiation and discussion and when we are done eliminating Daesh (ISIL), we can sit with our Kurdish sons and reach an understanding on a formula for the future, he said at the time.

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Saturdays announcement comes as forces loyal to President Bashar al-Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, have taken back most of the countrys rebel-held areas including the city of Deraa, which was the birthplace of Syrias uprising seven years ago.

Alongside the military offensive, the government has also struck reconciliation deals  essentially a negotiated capitulation of a number of villages that have been in rebel hands for years  to restore government control there.

The Syrian civil war started as a largely peaceful uprising against Assad in March 2011, but quickly developed into a full-scale conflict after the Syrian leader refused to concede power.

The UN special envoy to Syria, Staffan de Mistura, estimated at least 400,000 people had died over the first five years of conflict. The current death toll is unknown.
Vehicle carrying university workers in Maharashtra state plunges off a mountain road into a valley.

A total of 33 people have died after a bus fell into a deep gorge in western India, an official has said.

The vehicle was carrying 34 employees of Dapoli Agriculture University on Saturday when it plunged off a mountain road in Raigad district of Maharashtra state.

It was heading to the popular hill station in Mahabaleshwar for a picnic, Vijay Suryawanshi, a senior Raigad district administrator, told AFP news agency.

The bus rolled down a mountain road in Ambenali Ghat, near Poladpur town. A team from the National Disaster Response Force was sent to help victims.

According to local media reports, a dozen ambulances and 15 doctors arrived at the scene of the accident.

[ A total of] 34 people were present in the bus, 33 people died  and only one person survived miraculously who informed the officials about the accident, Suryawanshi told Anadolu Agency over phone.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his grief over the accident on Twitter.

Pained by the loss of lives due to a bus accident in Maharashtra's Raigad district. My condolences to those who lost their loved ones: PM @narendramodi  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 28, 2018

Chief Minister of Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis also gave his condolences and said the government was doing everything it could do to help.

Pained to know about the loss of lives in Mahabaleshwar bus accident.Administration taking all efforts to provide required assistance.

Senior officials&emergency management systems in place.

My thoughts are with families who lost loved ones&prayers for speedy recovery of injured.  Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) July 28, 2018

India has the worlds deadliest roads, with more than 110,000 people killed annually.

Early this month, 48 people were killed and 11 injured when an overcrowded bus spun off a slippery road and fell into a deep ravine in the northern Indian state of Uttarakhand.

Most crashes are blamed on reckless driving, poorly maintained roads and ageing vehicles.
Independent media sites taken offline for 48 hours as Cambodians prepare to vote on Sunday in a controversial election.

Phnom Penh, Cambodia  The government blocked access to independent media websites just hours before polling in the countrys controversial national election begins.

Phos Sovann, director general of information and broadcasting at the Information Ministry, confirmed a total of 17 websites  including Voice of America, Radio Free Asia (RFA), Voice of Democracy, and the Phnom Penh Post  had been targeted.

We requested to our committee members, along with the Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Telecommunications, to close those websites down, he said.

The National Election Committee requested political parties and media outlets to remain silent for a 24-hour period in advance of election day on Sunday.

The government edict comes a week after a sudden proliferation of WhatsApp groups, in which potentially hundreds of Cambodians found themselves added to chats through the Facebook-owned messenger service.

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Sovann requested internet service providers to block the sites for 48 hours, while other news sites friendly to strongman Prime Minister Hun Sens regime remained accessible online.

We observed that the contents of those new media are provocative. Those contents are very political in their tendencies, and they are restricting to the election, he said.

I dont think its unfair  Its just for 48 hours before the election.

Clamping down

The move comes during a political and media crackdown in Cambodia.





Opposition leader Kem Sokha was arrested on questionable allegations of treason in September last year and his party was dissolved by the Supreme Court  led by a member of the ruling party  leaving some three million voters disenfranchised and the election without a viable opposition.

More than 30 radio frequencies were taken off-air and the Cambodia Daily was forced to shut down after being slapped with an exorbitant tax bill. Former RFA journalists have been jailed and the Phnom Penh Post was sold to a businessman with government links, while Cambodias press-freedom rankings dropped 10 places to 142nd globally.

Human rights group Licadho confirmed on Saturday several internet service providers and mobile companies were actively blocking independent media outlets.

This is the first web censorship since the release of the prakas (government edict) on media in late May 2018, Licadhos Naly Pilorge told Al Jazeera.

We are outraged that private companies would block access to individual media outlets while charging full prices for their services to their clients. Its neither good business practices or in line with international rights or standards of promoting freedom of expression, opinions and beliefs.

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The Cambodian Center for Independent Media expressed grave concern over the move.

CCIM considers the blocking of the websites by the government as politically motivated and counterproductive, the group said in a statement.

WhatsApp?

Meanwhile, in the past week, Cambodians appear to have been systematically added en masse to a variety of WhatsApp groups, which can host 256 people each.

For now, the groups remain dormant, but their presence has sparked concerns they could be used to rapidly spread information, misinformation or propaganda.

Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch said the move could be a two-step method of controlling the information flow: blocking websites unfriendly towards the government, while setting up a WhatsApp infrastructure to flood desired messages to the public.

It really shows how theres a tremendous amount of manipulation of mobile accounts, he said. It raises some real issues of privacy and human rights.

Additional reporting by Kong Meta
Cambodias banned opposition party calls election a sham

Prime Minister Hun Sens victory is practically assured after the party that nearly defeated him five years ago was dissolved and no credible replacement has emerged.
Humberto Ortega has urged his brother to disband the pro-Sandinista paramilitary forces and end violence

Humberto Ortega, the former head of Nicaraguas military, has urged his brother, President Daniel Ortega, to disband the pro-government paramilitary forces blamed for deadly violence in months of unrest.

He made the comments in a TV interview broadcast late on Friday on a CNN En Espanol programme.

If the government has a profound sense of responsibility, in the first place it should end the presence of these armed people, who act as if they were a military or police authority, he said.

More than 300 people have been killed in Nicaragua in over three months of unrest, which began when the government proposed reducing pension benefits to ease budgetary pressures. Though the plan was later dropped, it provoked large demonstrations and calls for Ortega to step down.

The anti-government protests have been brutally countered by police and armed pro-government paramilitaries.

Rights groups say more than 2,000 people have been wounded since mid-April. Humberto Ortega blamed the armed irregular forces for many of the deaths of protesters.

We cannot accept the existence of parapolice or paramilitary forces, he told CNN, complaining that the paramilitaries operate openly next to national police.

He also highlighted the governments responsibility in violence.

Here we have to point out that the main responsible for the situation we are living in is the state of Nicaragua, and the state of Nicaragua has a government, and the government should have taken all measures to not reach to this bloodshed, he added.

On Friday, eight public hospital doctors said that they had been fired after violating alleged orders not to treat wounded anti-government protesters.

Translation: Humberto Ortega has made responsible the state and the government of his brother for the violence and repression, presenter Camilo Engana wrote.

Humberto Ortega acaba de responsabilizar al estado y al gobierno de su hermano por la violencia y la represion.  Camilo Egana (@camilocnn) July 28, 2018

Sandinista revolution

The two brothers fought in the 1979 Sandinista revolution that toppled dictator Anastasio Somoza.

Humberto Ortega was head of Nicaraguas military until the Sandinistas lost power in the 1990 election. Since then he has focused on business and writing.

Daniel Ortega, who was president from 1985 to 1990, was re-elected in 2007 and has remained in power since. Many of his Sandinista comrades from the 1979 revolution however no longer support him.

Humberto Ortega blamed the government for the indiscriminate repression of protesters but refused to directly blame his brother.

He says that he has a very respectful and fraternal relationship with the president, but that they do not have direct communication.

The ex-military leader supports government talks with the opposition mediated by the Catholic Church, as well as a proposal to hold early presidential elections next year to solve the ongoing crisis.
NC for honest execution of deal

The main opposition, Nepali Congress, has welcomed the agreement reached between the government and Dr Govinda KC.
Senior members of outlawed Muslim Brotherhood among those ordered executed by the Cairo Criminal Court.

An Egyptian court has sentenced 75 people to death for participating in a 2013 protest against the overthrow of the countrys democratically elected president, Mohamed Morsi.

Senior members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood organisation were among those ordered executed by the Cairo Criminal Court on Saturday for their involvement with the sit-in demonstration at Rabaa Square in the Egyptian capital, Cairo.

The rulings will be referred to Egypts chief Islamic legal authority, the Grand Mufti, for a non-binding opinion.

Egyptian law requires any capital sentence to be referred to the Grand Mufti before any execution can take place.

The Muftis decision is rarely ignored by the courts. In 2014, the Mufti rejected a death sentence proposed for the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie, who is part of the same case. Badie has since been sentenced to life in prison.

A final verdict is expected by September 8.

Accusation list ludicrous

The case is part of a mass trial being conducted by the court involving 739 defendants alleged to have been involved in the 2013 sit-in, which was violently broken up.

International human rights groups condemned the use of force and criticised the ongoing trial, alleging it violates Egypts constitution.

Amnesty International, a UK-based human rights organisation, says the dispersal of the sit-in killed more than 800 protesters. Egypts government said many demonstrators were armed and 43 police officers were killed.

Husain Baoumi, an Egypt campaigner for Amnesty International, told Al Jazeera the courts decision was shocking and completely unfair  [as] not a single member of the security service has been held to account.

He added: The court is likely to hand this sentence down, its just a technicality [for it] to go through the Grand Mufti.

Political analyst Maged Mandour agreed, saying there is little hope the sentence will be overturned as the accused have not been given a fair trial.

I think its very clear that the judiciary has been heavily politicised, the accusation list is ludicrous and its very hard to actually prove, he told Al Jazeera from Zurich, Switzerland.

Its not the only case where clear biases have been shown.

Cairo, meanwhile, has repeatedly defended the approach taken by the security services, saying authorities allowed protesters the opportunity to leave peacefully, and armed elements within the Muslim Brotherhood initiated the violence.

The Muslim Brotherhood was banned following Morsis overthrow in July 2013 in a coup led by General Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who became the countrys president a year later.

Sisi was re-elected in March this year.
Sundays vote has been widely criticised as rural voters fear reprisals for going against Hun Sens long-ruling CPP.

Treang, Cambodia  Damo zipped up the canvas door tight and squatted on the concrete floor of the empty building in the middle of his rice fields. He said he did not trust his neighbours if they overheard what he was about to say.

Damo, who asked his real name not be used fearing reprisals, wants political change in Cambodia  an extremely dangerous aspiration. He is worried about authorities from the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) persecuting his family.

They have spies everywhere, he said. They find out what party people support and report back to the CPP. The ruling party controls everything and can make life very difficult for us.

He and several other opposition supporters interviewed for this story said their passport applications could be rebuked, marriage registrations delayed, and the legal system weighted against them.

The Cambodian election on Sunday has been widely denounced by rights groups.

Human Rights Watch said it was meaningless because the CPPs leader, Prime Minister Hun Sen  who has ruled the country for 33 years  had effectively eliminated all political opponents and dissolved the main opposition party.

A young CPP supporter at a rally in Phnom Penh on July 22 [Nathan A Thompson/Al Jazeera]

Ousting the opposition

The now-defunct opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) won 44 percent of the vote in the last elections in 2013, and followed up with a similarly strong performance in the 2017 commune elections.

Then CNRP leader Kem Sokha was jailed for treason and the party dissolved by a court packed with government allies.

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Some 19 opposition parties remain, the largest being the Grassroots for Democracy Party, which won five seats in the commune elections  compared with 5,007 for the CNRP and 6,503 for the CPP. Its cofounder, Kem Ley  known for roasting both parties on popular radio shows  was shot dead while drinking his morning coffee in 2016.

The other parties are so small there is a phrase for them in the Khmer language: ambul ambik, which means fireflies, as theyre here today and gone tomorrow. But Kong Monika, president of the fledgeling Khmer Will Party, disagreed.

Whenever a small party is created they call it a firefly, he told Al Jazeera. But they said the same when Kem Sokha created the Human Rights Party in 2007. They said it was a puppet of the CPP, but he combined with the Sam Rainsy Party to create the CNRP in 2012  and made a big difference.

The 36-year-old said hes hoping to get a foot in the door this election and grow his influence from there. But hes struggling to get his message to the voters because the CPP has a stranglehold on the nations media.

Kong Monika, president of the new Khmer Will Party, said it is not a non-entity [Nathan A Thompson/Al Jazeera]

Sam, who withheld his last name for security reasons, from the Prey Sloek commune in Takeo province is completely in the dark.

I heard there are a lot of parties that joined this mandate. But I dont have any information about them, he said.

For people in the countryside, it doesnt matter which party wins or loses; they are still in the rice field. This is the problem, Sam said.

Propaganda of fear

For Samedy Mon, an official from the Council of Ministers, Sam and Damo are victims of propaganda spouted by exiled CNRP leaders. The CPP is like a parent. The parent still loves their child, even if they vote for another party.

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People dont need to be scared, Mon continued. People who are not pro-government spread the propaganda of fear so people will not trust the government, but in fact, there is no threat.

Phay Siphan, spokesman for the Council of Ministers, echoed his staffers sentiments.

Intimidating voters is illegal. Any CPP official who is doing that should be dealt with, he said.

The CPP has millions of supporters in Cambodia who credit the party with dragging the country from the pits of war and growing the economy at a rate of 7.6 percent per year over the last two decades. However, much of this wealth has been redirected to leader Hun Sen and his close circle of cronies, according to a recent report from rights watchdog Global Witness.

[Hun Sen] has presided over a kleptocratic system of state looting that has involved the forced and violent eviction of Cambodians to free up land for tycoon-dominated industries, it said.

Cambodia has a Muslim minority, many of whom are from the Cham ethnic group [Nathan A Thompson/Al Jazeera]

Punishing abstainers?

Damo is afraid of being similarly victimised if he does not vote. Hun Sen said if we do not vote, we will be put in prison, he said.

The Cambodian prime minister has not issued this exact threat, according to English-language reports.

However, in a recent speech, Hun Sen said boycotting the election would be illegal under Article 142 of the Cambodian Criminal Code  though that provision only carries fines as punishment.

Whether or not he understands the technicalities, Damo does understand of the crux of the situation.

Whatever Hun Sen says, he can do. He can do everything, he said.
Effort to forge the Middle East Strategic Alliance with Sunni Muslim allies will likely raise tensions with Shia Iran.

The United States is quietly pushing ahead with a bid to create a new security and political alliance with six Gulf Arab states, Egypt and Jordan in part to counter Irans expansion in the region.

The White House wants to see deeper cooperation between the countries on missile defence, military training, counterterrorism, and other issues such as strengthening regional economic and diplomatic ties, four sources told the Reuters news agency.

The plan to forge what officials in the White House and the Middle East have called an Arab NATO of Sunni Muslim allies will likely raise tensions between the US and Shia Iran, two countries increasingly at odds since President Donald Trump took office.

The administrations hope is that the effort, tentatively known as the Middle East Strategic Alliance (MESA), might be discussed at a summit provisionally scheduled for Washington on October 12-13, sources said.

The White House confirmed it was working on the concept of the alliance with our regional partners now and have been for several months.





Saudi officials raised the idea of a security pact in advance of Trumps visit last year to Saudi Arabia, where he announced a massive arms deal, but the proposal did not get off the ground, a US source said.

MESA will serve as a bulwark against Iranian aggression, terrorism, extremism, and will bring stability to the Middle East, a spokesperson for the White Houses National Security Council said, cautioning it remains uncertain whether the security plan will be finalised by mid-October.

Destabilising the region

Similar initiatives by previous US administrations to develop a more formal alliance with Gulf and Arab allies have failed in the past.

Washington, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi accuse Iran of destabilising the region, fomenting unrest in some Arab countries through proxy groups, and increasingly threatening Israel.

The alliance would put emphasis on Gulf heavyweights Saudi Arabia and the UAE working closer together with the Trump administration on confronting Iran.

It is unclear how the alliance could immediately counter Tehran, but the Trump administration and its Sunni Muslim allies have joint interests in the conflicts in Yemen and Syria, as well as defending Gulf shipping lanes through which much of the worlds oil supplies are shipped.

A senior Iranian official said, Under the pretext of securing stability in the Middle East, Americans and their regional allies are fomenting tension in the region. He said the approach would have no result beyond deepening the gaps between Iran, its regional allies, and the US-backed Arab countries.

Qatar quarrel

Potentially a big obstacle to the planned alliance is a 13-month-old rift pitting Saudi Arabia and the UAE against Qatar, home to the largest US airbase in the region.

While one source said the administration is concerned the quarrel could be an obstacle to the initiative, he and an Arab official both said Riyadh and Abu Dhabi had assured Washington the rift would not pose a problem to the alliance.

The NSC spokesperson denied the rift was a hurdle.

As Trump pursues his America First policy, the White House is eager to have US allies worldwide shoulder more of the burden in confronting regional security threats.

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The UAE is ready to deploy more troops across the Middle East to counter its foes as it believes it can no longer rely on Western allies such as the US and Britain, UAE minister Anwar Gargash said on Thursday.

Setting up a regional anti-missile defence shield, which the US and Gulf countries have discussed for years without result, would be a goal for the alliance, a source familiar with the plan said, as well as training to upgrade the countries militaries.

Tension with Iran has increased since Trump announced in May that the US was pulling out of a 2015 international deal to limit Tehrans nuclear ambitions.

On Monday, Iran dismissed a warning from Trump that it risked dire consequences the likes of which few throughout history have suffered before if it made threats against the US.
Theodore McCarrick, who faces allegations he abused a boy in the 1970s, had already been suspended from ministry duties.

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of a prominent cardinal in the United States who is accused of sexually abusing a teenager nearly five decades ago.

Theodore McCarrick, the 88-year-old former archbishop of Washington, was suspended from public ministry duties in June after a review board found there was credible evidence that he had assaulted a 16-year-old boy while working as a priest in New York in the early 1970s.

The Vatican said in a statement on Saturday that the pope had received a letter in which McCarrick presented his resignation as a member of the College of Cardinals.

Pope Francis accepted his resignation from the cardinalate and has ordered his suspension from the exercise of any public ministry, together with the obligation to remain in a house yet to be indicated to him, for a life of prayer and penance until the accusations made against him are examined in a regular canonical trial, the statement added.

Kurt Martens, a canon law expert at Catholic University of America, said this was the first time an order of penance and prayer had been issued before a church trial takes place, according to The Associated Press news agency.

It is, at least in the Catholic Church in this country, an unprecedented rebuke to someone who was one of the most powerful men in the church. And again, still more punishments may follow, pending a canonical trial.  James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) July 28, 2018

McCarrick is one of the most prominent American cardinals active on the international stage and the charges make him one of the most high-profile Catholic leaders to face abuse claims.

The accusation against him was made public in June by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the current archbishop of New York.

Dolan said an independent forensic agency thoroughly investigated the allegation.

A review board that included jurists, law enforcement experts, parents, psychologists, a priest and a religious sister then found the allegations credible and substantiated and the Vatican ordered McCarrick to stop exercising his priestly ministry.

At the time, McCarrick released a statement maintaining his innocence but added that he fully cooperated in the investigation.

While I have absolutely no recollection of this reported abuse, and believe in my innocence, his statement read, I am sorry for the pain the person who brought the charges has gone through, as well as for the scandal such charges cause our people.

Chile scandals

Over the past few years, the Catholic Church has been rocked by thousands of allegations of child sexual abuse by its clergy in many countries.

In Chile, a new investigation was launched earlier this week against 158 members of the Church  both clergymen and non-clerics  for perpetrating or concealing the sexual abuse of children and adults, according to AFP news agency.

The cases relate to incidents dating back as far as 1960 and involving 266 victims, including 178 children and adolescents.

Since 2000, about 80 Catholic priests have been reported to authorities in Chile for alleged sexual abuse.

In May, 34 Chilean bishops offered to resign over a different sexual abuse and cover-up.

In a letter to Chileans released in May, Pope Francis voiced shame that the Catholic Church failed to listen and react in time to the allegations of sexual abuse by Chilean clergy.
The 40-year-old is the main challenger of President Emmerson Mnangagwa in Zimbabwes first post-Robert Mugabe elections.

At 40, Nelson Chamisa, the leader of the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) alliance, is Zimbabwes youngest ever presidential candidate.

He was born in Masvingo, south of the capital, Harare, on February 2, 1978.

A lawyer, Chamisa studied law and political science at the University of Zimbabwe and holds a degree in theology. He is also a pastor.

He is just a few months over the constitutional minimum age limit to run for president.

Chamisa is hoping to unseat President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the leader of the ruling ZANU-PF party, in Mondays landmark elections  the first without long-time President Robert Mugabe on the ballot form.

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During the election period, Chamisa was able to draw big, enthusiastic crowds in the rural heartland  which accounts for 60 percent of the more than 5.5 million voters and is a stronghold of ZANU-PF, which has ruled Zimbabwe since independence in 1980.

Chamisa hopes that his message of change will resonate with the countrys youthful population.

But to become president, Chamisa also has to overcome rivalries from his own political side.

Following the death of leader Morgan Tsvangirai, the MDCs internal rivalries sparked a damaging leadership battle that Chamisa is still struggling to repair.

Chamisa has also been accused of working closely with Grace Mugabe, wife of Zimbabwes former president and at one time seen as his potential successor.

The MDC leader has dismissed the allegations, describing them as a smear campaign. Still, this could hurt his chances, given that the unpopular former first ladys political ambitions were a major catalyst for a military intervention in November 2017 that led to Mugabes resignation.

Chamisa faces an uphill battle but believes that the shock ousting of Mugabe has reshaped national politics, giving him the chance of victory through the ballot box on Monday.

Political career

Chamisa joined the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) as a student when it was founded in 1999.

As head of the Zimbabwe National Students Union in the late 1990s, he was among the organisers of massive demonstrations against Mugabes government that resulted in the closure of colleges and universities.

Chamisa rose very fast through MDC party ranks. He held a number of posts, leading the partys youth wing as well as being its spokesperson.

The slightly-built Chamisa experienced first hand the dangers of opposing Mugabe and has been arrested several times for his political activities.

In 2007, he was severely beaten with truncheons and an iron bar and left for dead. He spent five days in hospital after the attack, which was widely blamed on ZANU-PF party members.

In the troubled power-sharing government after the 2008 election, he was the youngest member of cabinet, serving as information and communication technology minister.

Tsvangirai, who died from cancer in February, was Chamisas mentor.

Over the years, Chamisa has earned a reputation for delivering passionate speeches spiced with humour.

We are the winners. No doubt. There is no runoff in Zimbabwe. There is a run over Mnangagwa, he told an enthusiastic crowd as he held his final election campaign rally on Saturday in Harare.

People are voting for change, people are voting for the new, people are voting for the young, people are voting for a new Zimbabwe in authentic and genuine terms.
Refugees flee violence in Cameroon into neighbouring Nigeria

Since separatists declared an independent Ambazonia state in south Cameroon, tens of thousands have fled violence into Nigeria and relief workers are struggling to keep up.
A US-backed alliance of Kurdish and Arab fighters says it has agreed to work with Syrian President Bashar al-Assads government towards a democratic, decentralised Syria after preliminary talks in Damascus.

A delegation of the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC)  the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance  arrived in Syrias capital earlier this week, in what was their first official visit there, at the invitation of the government.

In a bid to cement their autonomy in the war-torn country, the Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) said on Saturday they would form committees and chart a roadmap in coordination with the Assad government.

There was no immediate confirmation by Damascus, and the negotiations are expected to be lengthy.

The SDCs statement comes after al-Assad, who is backed militarily by Russia, threatened to recover the swath of northern and eastern Syria controlled by the alliance  a development the SDF has said will only lead to more devastation and destruction for Syrians.





The SDF was formed in 2015 to defend Syrias northeastern region from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, also known as ISIS) and other armed groups. Using American weapons, it managed to seize control of between 25 and 30 percent of Syria, including areas with rich oil and gas reserves.

Their political wing has long pressed for Syria to be divided along federal lines to form autonomous cantons in various regions.

In January, the SDF lost the city of Afrin to Turkish-backed rebels. Despite Washingtons intervention, which prevented Turkish troops from further seizing the hard-won town of Manbij, the group has remained unsure about US support due to conflicting statements over its military plans in the country.

Riad Darar, co-chair of the SDC, spoke to Al Jazeera about the reasons behind their decision to engage in dialogue with the Syrian government.

Darar, who hails from Syrias Deir Az Zor, said the SDC is looking to set up a new state and a new system through negotiations with the government.

Al Jazeera: Why did the SDC meet with the Syrian government?

Riad Darar: The meeting that we, the Syrian Democratic Council, had with the Syrian regime was based on the request of the government in Damascus. What took place was the outcome of an initiative that we took after Assad said that it is time for the SDF to get ready for dialogue or to fight. We know that we are not ready to combat the Syrian government forces because our battle was against ISIL.

We run these areas [under SDC control] with the help of our people and the local administrative councils. These areas are all secure, peaceful and stable. The main objective of these talks is to work together towards a new, democratic, decentralised Syria with a new system and a new form.

Despite all of this, we made it clear  we headed towards the dialogue without any conditions. What happened was preliminary talks; we want to make sure to plant the seed for trust so we can move ahead and show good faith.

Riad Darar is co-chair of the Syrian Democratic Council [File: Rodi Said/Reuters]

Al Jazeera: Will the SDF hand over areas it seized back to the Syrian government?

Darar: The areas that we liberated are all stable and peaceful and are under our control.

One day, we want to return them to a Syrian state and not to the Syrian regime. The regime is one thing and a new Syrian state is something else. We will only return these lands to the Syrian state once we are done with setting up a new state, a new system that we will build all together through negotiations. This is what returning land to the state means.

Al Jazeera: When will the SDC and the Syrian government meet again?

Darar: We did not set a date yet. After the delegation left, we agreed to start forming committees to prepare for the next round of talks. We agreed to a roadmap.

What these committees will do is to set up the base for more dialogue and we will go over all the details needed. We want to reach concrete results and not just talks for the sake of it.





Al Jazeera: Was the meeting prompted by a request from the US or Russia?

Darar: As you know, the US-led coalition supported our people in the fight against ISIL. We do not have political coordination with the US; our decision to move ahead with these talks is independent, based on the high interests of our people and our nation.

We have clear objectives in order to bring back stability to Syria and this is why we took our decision without asking anyone for permission.

We initiated dialogue because we want the best interest of Syria as a whole. We see the other Syrian opposition factions negotiating in Geneva more than three times.

The reason they failed was the regime  the government sabotaged these talks and we can say the mismanagement of these talks by the opposition itself. We, on the other hand, want to be more positive in our approach to achieve the best outcome for our own people.

Al Jazeera: Are you optimistic that Syria is heading in the right direction?



Darar: Syria must move towards stability and peace. It is time for the current authoritarian system to change  we want a new democratic, decentralised Syria. We will negotiate for that purpose and we will not give in to anything unless it is something that can benefit Syria as a whole.
Toronto gun violence: Politicians call for ban on all handguns

Some are beginning to describe a summer of the gun in Toronto as murder and gun crime rates are double what they were the previous year.
Trump denies knowing about Russia meeting in Trump Tower

Michael Cohen, Donald Trumps former personal lawyer, says that the then-candidate knew about the meeting between his son and Russians with ties to the Kremlin, allegations the president denies.
Malian opposition frontrunner Soumaila Cisse has lost to incumbent President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita in a second-round runoff vote held on August 12.

Cisse, a former finance minister, finished second  with 32 percent of votes  behind Keita, who secured 67 percent, in the repeat presidential polls.

The two rivals also went to a runoff vote in 2013, which was decisively won by Keita.

Cisse, 68, is a native of Timbuktu, Malis northern region, which is famous for its historic sites but which has also been rocked by political violence.

A software engineer by training, Cisse was born in a small city near Timbuktu called Nianfuke. He was a top presidency official and served as a minister for much of the 1990s, including a stint in charge of the finance portfolio.

Cisse has earned respect as an economist although he has faced accusations of mismanagement and was accused of corruption by the military officials who seized power in the March 2012 coup.

His public pronouncements and his participation in a broad anti-coup coalition, the United Front for the Defence of the Republic and Democracy (FDR), led to him being attacked by soldiers loyal to Captain Amadou Sanogo, the leader of the March 2012 coup.

He was badly wounded as the men stormed his home in the capital Bamako on April 17, and fled to France, convalescing between Paris and Senegal for several months before returning to Mali.

A no-nonsense enforcer in the regime of ex-head-of-state Alpha Oumar Konare and a former president of the Commission of the West African Economic and Monetary Union (CWAEMU), Cisse has called for a clearing of the junta from the political scene.

He was beaten in the 2002 presidential election by Toure. In 2013, he was defeated by a large margin in the second round by President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita.

As he approaches Sundays vote, he is trying again to garner votes to defeat President Keita with vague buzzwords like change and new hope, but does not explain how he is planning to achieve those goals.

Earlier this week, Cisses campaign team was attacked by gunmen in the northern city of Timbuktu. According to local reports, cars, phones and personal belongings of Cisses team were damaged or stolen.

Cisses origins

Cisse comes from the town of Niafunke in the Timbuktu region, part of the vast northern desert occupied for nearly 10 months by an al-Qaeda-linked group, but he has been married since 1978 to Astan Traore, who comes from a prominent family in the south.

He was a high-flying student, graduating with a science degree from the University of Dakar in 1972, before enrolling at the University of Montpellier in southern France, where he obtained a masters in computational methods applied to management.

After his studies, he worked in France for major corporations including IBM, aluminium conglomerate Pechiney and the domestic airline Air Inter, before returning to Mali in 1984 to join the Malian Company for Textile Development (CMDT).

When Alpha Oumar Konare was elected as president in 1994, he appointed Cisse as his secretary-general of the presidency and then, finance minister.

Cisse held this position until 2000, when he was made cabinet member for public works, the environment and town and country planning  a sweeping portfolio which earned him the nickname super minister.
NC President Deuba urges party leaders to be united

Nepali Congress President Sher Bahadur Deuba has said the reason behind the weakness of NC was that it seemed like two parties.
Hundreds have been expelled after being convicted of crimes, but some say they never knew they were not US citizens.
A few decades ago, Scott McKenzie sang one of the classic hippie anthems, San Francisco, back in 1967. It was sung during the heyday of sex, drugs, and rock and roll. Flower power was the rage. Peace, love, and understanding were the mantras of the day, in response to the Viet Nam War and the oppression of The Man.

McKenzie sang, If you're going to San Francisco, be sure to wear some flowers in your hair. Back then, the flowers were for decoration, to match the tie-dyed clothing and sandals.

Flash forward fifty years, and residents of San Francisco may need to wear flowers, not only in their hair, but also covering their entire bodies. Not for decoration, however, but to mask the odor of a new feature of the streets of San Francisco.

Excrement.

And it's been making the national news, a veritable emblem of what the city has become. The newly inaugurated San Francisco mayor is London Breed, who, as an aside, has a perfect 1960s name. Interviewed after her inauguration, the Daily Caller noted that she observed that the streets of her city "are flooded with the excrement of the homeless.

In other words, San Francisco has become Poop City.

Apparently this is not a new problem. The famous chronicler of the city, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen, occasionally would use the phrase in his daily screeds during the 1980s and 1990s, but it's far worse now. As the Daily Caller had the new mayor noting: There is more feces on the sidewalks than Ive ever seen growing up here. And not just poop. Added to the mix is a dangerous mix of drug needles, garbage, and feces.

Lovely. In 1967, If you're going to San Francisco, you're gonna meet some gentle people there. Now you will meet a garbage dump mixed with a cesspool.

San Francisco has about 7,500 homeless individuals and is spending $280 million on homeless services for them. Some simple math reveals that the city could give each homeless resident just over $37,000 per year, a figure well above the minimum wage in most other places, and call it a day.

If you take out the salaries of all the bureaucrats administering these homeless services, there would likely be more than $100,000 available for each homeless person. But you know that wont happen in a Democrat-run city, an administrative state, like San Francisco.

How can the city discourage the homeless from using the sidewalks as their toilets? In their minds, spend more money. The mayor assured her fellow progressives: Harsher penalties for offenders are not on the table. Instead the typical liberal solution, as the mayor promised, came to: I work hard to make sure your programs are funded. I wonder if well see toilet paper dispensers popping up on the sidewalks?

This situation might seem to be a cross between funny and absurd, but it has economic consequences far beyond the necessary clean-up. Who might not be going to San Francisco because of the citys pungent new attractions?

Start with conventions? San Francisco has always been a popular convention destination due to its fairly pleasant weather, its tourist attractions, its world-class restaurants, and of course, the cable cars. But in its current state, the bloom is off the San Francisco rose.

A major medical association recently cancelled its annual meeting which would have brought 15,000 attendees and $40 million to the San Francisco economy, according to the SF Chronicle. This, after many years of coming to the city. Think of that. A group of doctors, quite familiar with feces, needles, and the downtrodden, have said "enough."

These are things doctors can see in the medical ward and prefer to avoid when away from work, often with family, at a medical conference. Its likely that other trade groups and industries will stay away from San Francisco as well.

Can you blame them? How many U.S. cities provide visitors with a public defecation map to help tourists steer clear of piles of poop littering the citys sidewalks? Or which other city can boast of the 20-pound bag of poop found a few weeks ago on a city sidewalk?

How did things get this bad for the city that Tony Bennett left his heart in? When Tony recorded that song in the 1950s, San Francisco had a Republican mayor. Their last Republican mayor, George Christopher, left office in 1964, when the Beatles arrived in America. Since then, its been a hard days night for San Francisco, with nearly sixty years' worth of Democrats running the show.

At a national level, San Francisco is represented by House minority leader Nancy Pelosi, Senator Dianne Feinstein, and Senator Kamala Harris, all of whom are hard-core liberals. I am quite confident that there are no piles of poop on the sidewalks in front of their homes.

San Francisco is just another of many U.S. cities run by Democrats, and into the ground. Even liberal film maker Michael Moore observed about his home city in Michigan: Flint has voted for Dems for 84 straight yrs. What did it get us?

San Francisco is left with virtue-signaling in the name of compassion, tolerance and all the other liberal claptrap in a bid to try to hide third world conditions on city streets. Aside from visitors choosing to go anywhere but San Francisco, what about the residents living in such conditions?

Warm summer temperatures and open sewers become a microbiology laboratory. Toss in a bunch of undernourished and unhealthy homeless persons, sharing hypodermic needles, and pestilence follows. Such a shame for a once-magnificent city.

Rather than cleaning up its mess, San Francisco has just this week banned plastic straws. Poop and hypodermic syringes littering the sidewalks is just fine, but watch out for those nasty little plastic straws.

Once upon a time Scott McKenzies words rang true, For those who come to San Francisco, summertime will be a love-in there. Now its simply Americas version of a s***hole.

Brian C. Joondeph, MD, MPS, a Denver based physician and writer. Follow him on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.
Twitter, like its Facebook cousin, now claims to have fixed the error involving the failure of prominent conservatives such as Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., to not appear in Twitters search box and denies it engages in the practice known as shadow banning:

Twitter has denied shadowbanning, saying that the apparent suppression of autocomplete search suggestions for Republican congressman Matt Gaetz is an error. A Twitter spokeswoman denied shadowbanning exists, and told Breitbart News that the issue with Matt Gaetzs search results is being fixed: As we have said before, we do not shadowban. We are aware that some accounts are not automatically populating in our search box, and [are] shipping a change to address this. The profiles, Tweets and discussions about these accounts do appear when you search for them.

Yes, Virginia, shadowbanning exists as Twitter plays trick or tweet with conservatives. As a shadowbanned Twitter user, I have seen my tweets suddenly become unavailable, followers suddenly unfollow en masse, Twitter analytics stats suddenly flatline and set to zero, and attached photos or explanatory graphics suddenly become unavailable. If you are a prolific Twitter conservative, you will be accused of automated behavior and have your account locked or even suspended. Once I was suspended for aggressive following behavior just for following all conservative accounts Twitter suggested I should follow.

Users on Twitter have the option of blocking accounts they do not wish to hear from or find offensive. Liberals intent on shutting down debate on Twitter, just like they have done at major universities, find a willing accomplice in Twitters algorithms, enabling them to get Twitter to do their dirty work. As Jim Hanson writes at Fox News Opinion:

When I check I often find that a user who has blocked me is someone I have never interacted with. So why the block? Often, its due to being on a block list created by a liberal activist group. Twitter supports block lists and makes it easy for users to mass-block entire universes of people they dont even know. But Twitter now uses factors such as the number of people who have blocked an account to determine whether to classify it as low quality content. The company also uses the number of complaints or reports on the account. If the number of these exceeds certain thresholds, an account can be deemed low quality and access to tweets from that user are severely diminished.

Shadowbanning takes many forms and, as social media icons Diamond and Silk can attest, is only fixed when prominent names get caught up in the censorship. Tens of thousands of not-so-famous conservatives on Twitter and Facebook can attest to disappearing tweets, mysteriously static or dwindling follower and friend numbers and the uncertainty that once a tweet or post is made anybody is allowed to see them.

The error affecting conservative lawmakers such as Gaetz, Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows, and Devin Nunes appears to be in retaliation for the increased focus on the censorship of conservatives by social media giants such as Twitter and Facebook:

Twitters censorship goes beyond just targeting pro-Trump accounts, they are now actually targeting lawmakers who support the President. Last week, Rep. Gaetz shredded Twitter during a hearing about the censorship of conservatives on social media in the House Judiciary Committee. So now hes wondering if this is why the social media giant moved to shadowban his account. Gaetz tweeted: BREAKING: @Twitter deliberately targeting @RepMarkMeadows, @Jim_Jordan, @DevinNunes, & me to be #Shadowbanned. Is it only a coincidence that these allegations would arise the week following my heated exchange with Twitter Executives before the Judiciary Committee??

Coincidence? I think not. Twitter co-founder Evan Williams has apologized for any role Twitter may have had in President Trumps victory and accumulating evidence suggests that ever since Twitter has been trying to make amends:

The co-founder of Twitter apologized Saturday for the social media platforms role in Donald Trumps rise to the White House. In an interview with the New York Times, Evan Williams said that he recently learned that President Trump said he believes Twitter put him in the White house. Its a very bad thing, Twitters role in that, he said. If its true that he wouldnt be president if it werent for Twitter, then yeah, Im sorry.

Gaetz has suggested that the biased treatment of conservative politicians on Twitter and errors that do not seem to affect progressive socialist Democrats may amount to an in-kind political contribution:

Rep. Matt Gaetz is considering filing a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) over Twitters alleged suppression of his account, the Florida Republican told The Daily Caller News Foundation on Wednesday. Gaetz was one of several prominent conservatives, including members of Congress and the chair of the Republican National Committee, whose accounts Twitter suppressed by making it harder to find in the sites search function, a Vice News investigation published Wednesday found. Democrats are not being shadow banned in the same way, the report concluded, noting: Not a single member of the 78-person Progressive Caucus faces the same situation in Twitters search. Twitter announced in May that the company would rely on behavior-based signals to boost the visibility of some accounts and to suppress the visibility of others as part of a step to improve the health of the public conversation on Twitter.

And what behavior-based signals would Twitter use? Conservative pro-Trump hash tags or themes perhaps? Indications of conservative support may already be employed in triggering shadowbans:

Covert (and overt) censorship of conservatives and right-wingers has been a reality on Twitter for some time. In January, Twitter employees were caught on camera discussing shadowbanning some conservative accounts, and classifying others as bots if they made too many tweets about God, guns, and America.

Thanks to James OKeefe of Project Veritas, we know some of the details of, methods, and reasons for Twitters pro-active censoring of conservatives:

Twitter direct messaging engineer Pranay Singh admitted to mass-banning accounts that express interest in God, guns, and America, during a Project Veritas investigation.

Just go to a random [Trump] tweet and just look at the followers. Theyll all be like, guns, God, Merica, and with the American flag and the cross, declared Singh, who was secretly recorded by Project Veritas reporters. Like, who says that? Who talks like that? Its for sure a bot. So if theres like American, guns, [in the account bio] can you write an algorithm to just take all those people out? asked one undercover reporter. Umm, yeah, its actually how we do it, Singh replied. You look for Trump, or America, or any of, like, five thousand, like, keywords to describe a redneck, and then you look, and you parse all the messages, all the pictures, and then look for stuff that matches that stuff You assign a value to each thing, so like Trump would be .5, a picture of a gun would be like 1.5, and if the total comes up above a certain value, then its a bot.

Well, I do all of that, and I am not a bot. I am a conservative who supports Trump. Would Twitter shadow ban users who constantly say Impeach 45 or Trump is Putins puppet? Planned Parenthood and its ilk are not affected so why should pro-life Christians who support the Second Amendment?

Daniel John Sobieski is a freelance writer whose pieces have appeared in Investors Business Daily, Human Events, Reason Magazine and the Chicago Sun-Times among other publications.
Procurator-General of the Soviet Union Roman Rudenko, who presided over a wave of trials and executions during Stalins terror, used to say that the most important thing during an investigation is not to implicate ourselves.

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and special counsel Robert Mueller were obviously unaware of Rudenkos professional dictum when they indicted 12 Russian intelligence officers. According to the indictment, the Russians had interfered in the 2016 presidential election by hacking Democratic political organizations and releasing troves of stolen files in an effort to aid the Donald Trump campaign.

The indictment has no law enforcement value; it is strictly political move designed to offer evidence of Russian meddling in the elections and therefore provide more weight to the Mueller investigation based on the questionable anti-Trump dossier.

And yet, it would be absurd and impolitic for Putin to support Trump. The Clintons were in Putins pocket, they sold him 20% of American uranium production. In the process, according to the FBI, the Russian officials were engaged in bribery, kickbacks, extortion, and money laundering and routed a hundred fifty million dollars to the Clinton Foundation in an attempt to influence the deal. During the same period, Bill Clinton was making obscene fees for speaking engagements in Moscow. The Clintons and Putin had been partners in business or crime, whichever one prefers, during her tenure as Secretary of State. So, why would Putin dump his reliable partner for Trump, whose chances to be elected were close to zero?

On July 2015, the Atlantic wrote, Donald Trump will not be the 45th president of the United States. Nor the 46th, nor any other number you might name. The chance of his winning nomination and election is exactly zero.

The Washington Post: The election is in 15 days. And the electoral map just keeps looking grimmer and grimmer for Donald Trump. No one expected Donald Trump to win, probably including Donald Trump.

Moreover, Hillary subordinated many of her policies to Russian interests. Contrary to Trump, who was a proponent of energy independence, Hillary was a strong opponent of hydrocarbons; she planned to shut down coal production and curb oil and gas production in this country. Those policies would result in the sharp rise of oil and gas prices, which would greatly benefit Russia.

Hillary was an architect of the Reset Button Policy which gave Putin a free ride as regards his international adventures. Trump, on the other hand, was going to substantially increase American military power to maintain its world dominant position. Hence, whether it is economically or geopolitically, Trump was not good news for Putin.

Against this background, the infamous anti-Trump dossier should be viewed as a political tool taken directly from the centuries-old manual of the Russian statecraft.

The Washington Post has confirmed this assertion: the Fusion GPS dossier relied on senior Russian government officials for much of the dirt it compiled, including a senior Russian Foreign Ministry figure and a former top level intelligence officer still active in the Kremlin.

Now the Russians who helped the Democrats cook up the anti-Trump phony dossier are accused of hacking DNC computers for the purpose of getting Trump elected. This contradiction should repudiate any accusation of the Russian hacking because those two actions serve mutually exclusive objectives. Putin could not be complicit in opposing and supporting Trump during the same election cycle.

Incidentally, this election hacking is not a new event. Foreigners have been regularly hacking U.S. government computers, stealing confidential information, personal data of government employees and other secret government documents. By virtue of the indictment, Mueller inadvertently exposed a pathetic frailty of the FBI, CIA and the other 16 intelligence agencies going back for decades.

Why it is different this time? This time the hackers have done CNNs job -- kept them honest and exposed rampant corruption within the DNC and the U.S. government.

Muellers investigation became an effort to divert attention from the scope of corruption to the hackers. It also provides comfort to the Democrats -- blaming an outside influence as the only politically acceptable alibi for their defeat. Impelled by conviction, Mueller is neglecting logic and defies common sense in order to implement of what the FBI disgraced agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page called an insurance policy against Trump.

We probably will never know who hacked the DNC computers and whether the revelations of the DNCs offenses affected the outcome of the elections. But what we do know is that the truth is a pillar of our democracy. The truest test of democracy is accepting the truth regardless of its origin. Whoever made the DNC emails public provided a great service to this nation, helping the electorate make an informed decision. This is the truth, which the Democrats cannot accept.

Alexander Markovsky is a senior fellow at the London Center for Policy Research and author of Anatomy of a Bolshevik and Liberal Bolshevism: America Did Not Defeat Communism, She Adopted It.
The State of Michigan is asking a federal district court to dismiss an ACLU lawsuit seeking to shut down the State's faith-based adoption agencies. The case, Dumont v. Lyon, was brought on behalf of two same-sex couples who claim they suffered discrimination from Christian child-placement agencies who told them they didn't handle same-sex adoptions. The lawsuit demands that Michigan stop contracting with any faith-based adoption agency that "employs religious criteria" in its screening decisions  decisions, the ACLU alleges, that harm "vulnerable children by denying them access to loving families."

Significantly, the complaint fails to mention that its same-sex plaintiffs remained at all relevant times free to seek adoption services from other available agencies. In other words, no one denied access to anybody.

That detail would undermine the ACLU's intended narrative, the one attorney for the case Leslie Cooper presents in an online post as "Same-Sex Couples Are Being Turned Away from Becoming Foster and Adoptive Parents in Michigan. So We're Suing." As with the lawsuit she filed, nowhere does her post describe any same-sex couple actually being stopped from fostering or adopting. That's because not obtaining a license from a particular adoption agency doesn't stop any couple from being licensed by others.

A misleading Detroit News headline, "Same-sex couples fight to adopt in Michigan," detracts from an otherwise accurate article that fairly summarizes the Dumont facts and also happens not to mention any actual same-sex couples needing to "fight to adopt." In fact, the ACLU's own factual statement to the court relates that when one of the plaintiffs was told by Bethany Christian Services that the organization doesn't work with same-sex couples, the agency representative willingly offered her recommendations to two other agencies. The same thing happens at the other faith-based agency mentioned in the suit, St. Vincent Catholic Charities. "St. Vincent isn't trying to prevent any couple from adopting," explains attorney, Stephanie Barclay. "They are saying we cannot provide a written endorsement of your relationship that contradicts with [sic] our religious beliefs."

Further, the ACLU complaint quotes St. Vincent's director of clinical services testifying in a House hearing that "[i]f they let us know that they're unmarried, or they're gay or lesbian, we immediately recommend, make a referral to another agency."

Those facts notwithstanding, the ACLU is arguing the practice still hurts the foster-care children, who are harmed by these "[e]xclusions":

Each time a prospective parent who is able to provide a loving and caring family for a child is turned away by a child placing agency because of a religious objection to their sexual orientation (or any other religious objection), the pool of families available for the children in the child welfare system diminishes, reducing children's options for an appropriate placement, or any placement at all.

But this isn't the case. If a child placement agency declines to work with a family  for any reason, religious or secular  and then directly recommends that family to another child placement agency, the pool is going to be diminished only if that family disregards the referral, terminates its pursuit of adoption, and chooses to exclude itself.

Documents submitted by the defendants suggest that the Dumont plaintiffs themselves chose to call only two Christian agencies; identified themselves as same-sex couples; and, when they were referred elsewhere, "simply stopped."

Considering what an uphill climb the adoption process can be, this doesn't show much perseverance.

Regardless, it makes no difference to Leslie Cooper that her clients could always have gone to other agencies. "It doesn't sort of change the injury," she told Michigan Public Radio  "the harm that happens of being told your kind is unacceptable to be a parent."

Not that there's any evidence of anyone at Bethany or St. Vincent ever uttering any such words. For the ACLU, a charitable recommendation to another agency is speech pregnant with homophobic animus. As Cooper says, "[t]he message they get is your kind is unsuitable to be parents," and "[t]he stigma that follows the rejected same-sex couples is hard to bear."

So the only injuries identified in the case came when mind-reading same-sex couples "got a message" and felt a "stigma."

Dumont plaintiff Erin Busk-Sutton told the Detroit News that being referred by Bethany to two different agencies was "devastating and frustrating." According to Busk-Sutton's lawsuit, the Bethany representative had told her that "same-sex couples aren't our area of expertise" and, when Busk-Sutton persisted, added that she "didn't think they would have a good experience with [Bethany]."

Devastating.

Faith-based child placement agencies have been casualties of the redefinition of marriage ever since same-sex couples were legally granted the benefits of marriage in Massachusetts in 2004. By 2006, Catholic Charities of Boston, one of the oldest adoption agencies in the country, was forced to shut down rather than violate its sincerely held religious beliefs by placing children with homosexual couples. The state refused the simple solution to the resulting loss of vital adoption services: an exemption for faith-based agencies. Soon the same thing happened in San Francisco; Washington, D.C.; and elsewhere.

Because Michigan legislators saw what was happening and passed a law in 2015 protecting the free exercise rights of faith-based agencies, charities like Bethany and St. Vincent have been able to remain open and able to provide services without violating their religious beliefs. Other states passed similar laws, and still others are trying to pass them now.

As seen in the Dumont case, there is no credible evidence that the Michigan law has been an obstacle to same-sex adoptions in the state. Also, if the Dumont plaintiffs prevail and religious agencies close, it won't do one thing to increase the rights of people sexually attracted to members of the same sex, or to improve the odds of any child finding a home. In fact, it will reduce the odds.

It certainly won't eliminate stigma.

What it will do is wreak the LGBT community's vengeance on Christian organizations that, in obedience to their faith and protected by the First Amendment, dare to charitably stand aside from the same-sex carnival and withhold, as St. Vincent's attorney said, "endorsement of your relationship that contradicts ... our religious beliefs."

Dumont v. Lyon is transparently vindictive. Its cause of action is contrived in the fashion of Masterpiece Cakeshop, Memories Pizza, and similar cases where same-sex "victims" pre-select their victimizers, then goad courteous demurrals they promptly trot into court as civil rights violations.

If the ACLU still retained a speck of regard for free speech and the rights of religious believers, it wouldn't have touched this case with a barge pole. All the Dumont case proves is that the LGBT community is willing to sacrifice the best interest of Michigan's 13,000 foster care children for a society where the only views tolerated are its own.
Most Cuban-Americans from the Historic Exile (those who left between 1959 and 1979) traveling to communist Cuba do so for one primary reason. Out of nostalgic feelings, they go back to search for the way things were  which, of course, is delusional, because the Castro Brothers turned one the most successful and advanced countries in Latin America into a totalitarian hellhole with a failed socialist economic model after gaining power in 1959.

The house where their parents once lived is most likely occupied by strangers who may not want to let them inside. After Cuban-Americans emigrated to the United States or elsewhere, Cuban authorities confiscated their homes without providing them any compensation and, in the majority of cases, turned them over at greatly subsidized prices to Cubans who stayed behind. So there is a great fear shared by these Cubans that the Cuban-American visitors are there to reclaim their former homes.

Even if they let them in, they do so with great reservations and never let their guard down. And, generally, the condition of the homes that once belonged to their parents leaves a lot to be desired. The exterior and interior of these homes are vastly dilapidated because of the shortage of construction and painting materials. The images of the homes that their parents showed them in old photographs bear no resemblance to the ones that they are visiting nowadays. Rather than a pleasant experience, they take away painful memories.

And there is a high probability that these Cuban-Americans will not find their parents' homes. The decrepit conditions of most buildings and homes in Cuba are no match for the ravages of frequent hurricanes that tear through the island. Many have collapsed. So they could leave empty-handed and more depressed than before they came.

Another important ritual for these Cuban-Americans is to visit the cemeteries where their relatives are buried. But, once again, they may be in for a bigger surprise that will aggravate their already depressed mindset.

There are reports that thieves have been targeting Cuban necropolises and ransacking tombs for metal and Carrara marble objects to sell in the black market  including human bones used in occult ceremonies. Some inscriptions have been removed from the gravesites, leaving relatives clueless as to where their loved ones were buried. Vaults and other grave ornaments from Cubans who emigrated to the United Sates are specially targeted for this illicit trade.

The modus operandi in communist Cuba is a concept called "resolver." In the vernacular, it means doing whatever you have to do to live a comfortable life. Stealing from your employer, your family, and tourists is all part of the resolver attitude. With the average monthly salary of a Cuban worker being $30, and that of a cemetery worker at $12, taking matters into your hands is a safe bet for survival of the fittest.

It is important to distinguish the religions that trade in human bones in Cuba. Most would automatically conclude that it is those who practice Santeria, but they are wrong. Instead, it is the practitioners of an Afro-Cuban religion called Palo Mayombe. Palo priests believe that bones contain the energy of the dead and ancestors. They highly value the skulls, arms, and legs and are willing to pay a lot of money for them for use in their rituals and offerings.

Because of these challenges, many Cubans have opted to cremate their loved ones. This may be the smartest option available for Cuban-Americans visiting the gravesites of their deceased relatives  if they are still around. Considering the risks involved in a country where the economic outlook remains dire, it is best to take back the cremated ashes to the United States and safeguard them in a place that was meaningful to them: a forest, an ocean, a beach, or a Willy Chirino dance.

Cuban authorities welcome Cuban-American tourists  as long as they spend their U.S. dollars on government-owned businesses. Grupo Empresarial S.A. (GAESA) is managed by the Revolutionary Armed Forces and includes a conglomerate of more than 50 companies  most of which cater to foreign tourists. So when Cuban-Americans are drinking Havana-Club drinks or smoking Cohiba cigars, they are supporting the Cuban government business ventures and prolonging the day when Cuba will become a free country.

It is a different thing when these Cuban-Americans delve into matters related to the time prior to their departures to the United States. All of a sudden, the welcoming "mi casa es su casa" attitude is transformed into demeaning chants of gusanos (counterrevolutionary worms), scoria (trash), and Miami Mafia  regardless of the fact that some Cuban-Americans do not reside in Miami. This is congruent with Fidel Castro's famous quote: "dentro de la Revolucion, todo; contra la Revolucion, nada" (all within the state, nothing outside the state, nothing against the state"). Calls to find missing gravesites go unanswered. To Cuban government officials, Cuban-Americans have no rights in Communist Cuba  only an obligation to help bankroll the Cuban Revolution.

Thus, I must ask, why oblige and support those who have oppressed the Cuban population for close to sixty years? Why assist a totalitarian regime that refuses to provide true freedom, prosperity, and civil rights to average Cubans?

These government apparatchiks continue to play games for the gullible liberal media outlets by announcing that they've left out from a draft of the Cubans' 2018 constitution the aim of building a " communist " society, while keeping the Communist Party as the guiding force of the one-party system. Nothing has changed to better the lot of the Cuban people.

So I urge you to spend your hard earned money on tourist attractions that help the U.S. economy. Support the country that gave you shelter from the Cuban Gulag! And if you plan to travel abroad in the future, keep communist Cuba off your list.
Was John Podesta a Russian dupe? At a minimum, he was a Russian dupe, based on information from a long, interesting article today titled "How Silicon Valley Became a Den of Spies," from Politico magazine.

Politico points out that the very firm that Podesta was involved with, Rusnano USA (via its Joule subsidiary), is the likely new vehicle for Russian spying these days, effectively replacing the now shuttered Russian consulate in San Francisco. Politico writes (emphasis mine):

But even with the consulate shuttered, there are alternative vehicles for Russian intelligence-gathering in Silicon Valley. One potential mechanism, said three former intelligence officials, is Rusnano USA, the sole U.S. subsidiary of Rusnano, a Russian government-owned venture capital firm primarily focused on nanotechnology. Rusnano USA, which was founded in 2011, is located in Menlo Park, near Stanford University. "Some of the [potential intelligence-gathering] activities Rusnano USA was involved in were not only related to the acquisition of technology, but also inserting people into venture capital groups, in developing those relationships in Silicon Valley that allowed them to get their tentacles into everything," one former intelligence official told me. "And Rusnano USA was kind of the mechanism for that." Rusnano's interests, said this former official, have extended to technology with both civilian and potential military applications. U.S. intelligence officials were very concerned about contacts between Rusnano USA employees and suspected Russian intelligence officers based at Russia's San Francisco Consulate and elsewhere, this person said. "The Russians treated [Rusnano USA] as an intelligence platform, from which they launched operations," said another former U.S. intelligence official. (Rusnano USA and the Russian Embassy in Washington, did not respond to requests for comment.)

Rusnano, eh? That's the one former Clinton campaign chief John Podesta was involved with, though Politico doesn't mention it. Remember when John Podesta got his board seat on a green energy company called Joule? Here is what the Daily Caller reported back in 2017:

Podesta  Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign chairman and former President Bill Clinton's White House chief of staff  first made contact with the Russian firm in 2011, when he joined the boards and executive committees of three related entities: Boston-based Joule Unlimited; Rotterdam-based Joule Global Holdings; Joule Global Stichting, the company's controlling interest. All are high-tech renewable energy enterprises. Three months after Podesta's arrival, Joule Unlimited accepted a 1 billion ruble investment from Rusnano, amounting to $35 million in U.S. currency. The firm also awarded a Joule board seat in February 2012 to Anatoly Chubais, Rusnano's CEO, who has been depicted as a corrupt figure.

So what we have is the main Russian spying vehicle, Rusnano, just coincidentally, getting involved with John Podesta's green energy company, where he sat as a board member, plopping down its Russian CEO, Anatoly Chubais, into a board seat next to him, and, oh, what a coincidence, rolling a billion rubles ($35 million) into the operation as an "investment." This sounds like dupe-itude to me. The Russians don't throw $35 million around without knowing what they are doing. Here is what I wrote at the time:

Chubais didn't have any problem forging ties with the politically connected Podesta, then an obscure if capable campaign operative, as the two got seats on the board of a green energy company called Joule in 2011, and $35 million in Russian capital flowed in. Podesta's time on the board with Chubais coincided exactly with his friend Hillary Clinton's term as Secretary of State. Podesta ended up with 75,000 shares of Joule, and 'forgot' to mention them when he joined the Obama administration in 2014.

Podesta's entry into the White House would have included a top-secret security clearance. Think his forgetfulness was really memory loss?

Maybe he didn't know at the time what this vehicle, Rusnano, also known as "Putin's baby," was up to or capable of. But does anyone out there think Podesta is a naive guy? Naive in some ways, yes, given that in his later hacked emails, his password was "password." Possibly naive on how espionage works. But would he really be naive on something involving how money and influence work? It's his stock in trade, and he's at the pinnacle of it.

The Politico report raises many troubling questions about how the Russians utilized Podesta. It says Rusnano focuses on "inserting people" in key places for the purpose of spying, which could include Chubais in that board seat next to Podesta. Podesta himself, in turn, could lead them to more introductions, which in turn could lead to more places to insert people. Podesta would also be useful for knowing what went on in the White House.

Politico's report also says the company is all in for getting its hands on military-applicable dual technology, which could have led to loss of secrets. Worst of all, the report says U.S. intelligence people knew about it and found it worrying. Did they ship warnings to FBI headquarters to be blocked by Peter Strzok, or maybe the White House, only to find Russia'ed-up Podesta on the other end of the line? And what of the quid pro quo around the support Hillary Clinton gave to Russia's Silicon Valley development as cash flowed into the Clinton Foundation? Peter Schweizer has the story on that. Was Podesta's hand in that, too? Lastly, what of the involvement of Tony Podesta, Podesta's brother, with Rosatom which got hold of 20% of America's uranium supply, courtesy of Hillary Clinton again, as well as his involvement with the same pro-Russia Ukrainian think-tank Paul Manafort is in so much legal trouble for? It raises questions, given the amount of compromising that could have gone on, with this guy who "forgot."

One can only hope Podesta was only a "dupe" and not something worse.
United Airlines, the airline that famously dragged a paying passenger off a flight, stuffed a dog into an overhead compartment and killed it, and junked a priceless guitar in its baggage handlers' tender care, has come up with a new one for us: free flights for unscreened illegals, sitting right there next to the paying passengers in those newly shrunken seats. In the name virtue-signaling, of course.

Here's the news item:

United Airlines is donating flights to help reunited immigrant [sic] families that were separated at the U.S.'s southern border. The San Francisco Business Times reported Thursday that the pro-immigration lobbying group FWD.us announced United's donation in a Facebook post, calling it "needed, timely, and critical." "A growing community of support is coming together to reunite families who were separated at the border," the group posted Wednesday. "We are so thankful and happy to announce that United Airlines is jumping in and helping. Thanks to this partnership with United, we are able to provide travel to the recently reunited immigrant [sic] families to get to their next destination with dignity."

Now, I'm all for an airline showing compassion. Kids separated from their parents due to their parents' prison problems and kids separated from their parents due to divorce ought to get free flights, too. But this is from the airline that just a few days ago refused to refund the ticket of a woman who got stuck sitting next to a masturbator, and then got the treat of hearing United's flight attendants joking about it. Here's the "customer service" she got from United, as she posted it on Instagram:

So as United tightwads this woman who had a repulsive, traumatic experience on one of its flights, and then offers her a fake apology, coupled with a disgusting assumption that she'd actually want to ride again, the company break out the free stuff for illegals, offering $3 million in free flights to people who have thumbed their noses at U.S. immigration law and can't be bothered to apply for entry legally, though, as Howie Carr notes, they certainly have no problem jumping in for the benefits. Who'd want to come here legally with so much free stuff being showered on those who don't?

And more to the point, who pays for this? We pay. Through higher airline ticket costs, which can certainly add up, as a protected class gets more free stuff and the rest of us cover for them, both through our taxes and our inflated costs for airline tickets.

And if one of those illegals brings a disease and in close quarters infects a paying customer, let alone conducts MS-13 activities, you can bet Lauren Michaels will be on the case, apologizing and refusing a refund.

The whole thing shows a bad pattern, making illegal immigration increasingly lucrative, much more attractive, in fact, than emigrating legally, which is actually getting harder. Who needs a coyote when United Airlines gives it away for free? Call it another perverse incentive.

Why is this going on? The news account says United is distributing its free flights for illegals through Mark Zuckerberg's pro-illegals activist group, FWD.com. As if Zuck needs the money. What it looks like is some kind of one-hand-washes-the-other instance of crony capitalism, on top of the insult to paying customers, in order to virtue-signal good intentions. Maybe United needed something from Zuck, and this amounts to the everyone-wins solution  everyone except the paying customer and the law-abiding citizens and residents who pay full fare.

Graphic montage by Monica Showalter. Jetliner image by Alan Wilson via Flickr, CC BY-SA 2.0.
Democratic socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appeared on The Daily Show with Trevor Noah and was asked a simple question that any politician worth his salt would hit out of the park for a home run.

How was she going to pay for the trillions of dollars in spending for all the free stuff she was proposing?

Daily Caller:

"This is an excellent, excellent question," she replied. "I sat down with a Nobel Prize economist last week  I can't believe I can say that, it's really weird  But one of the things that we saw is, if people pay their fair share, if corporations and the ultra wealthy  for example, as Warren Buffett likes to say, if he pays as much as his secretary paid, 15 percent tax rate, if corporations paid  if we reverse the tax bill, raised our corporate tax rate to 28 percent ... if we do those two things and also close some of those loopholes, that's $2 trillion right there."

Two trillion a year? Over five years? Ten? Just two of her agenda items  taxpayer-funded college tuition for all ($75 billion a year) and Medicare for all ($1.4 trillion a year) would cost more than the GOP tax cuts save over the next year. And that's not including all the other free stuff she wants to hand out.

She also said it would take $3 trillion to $4 trillion and a carbon tax to create a "renewable energy economy" and claimed the Trump tax cut bill prevents the wealthiest Americans from paying "their fair share." "One of the wide estimates is that it's going to take $3 trillion to $4 trillion to transition us to 100 percent renewable economy," she continued.

Not even the most radical greens believe we can get anywhere near 100% renewable for decades.

"So we've got $2 trillion from folks paying their fair share, which they weren't paying before the Trump tax bill," she said. "They weren't paying that before the Trump tax bill. If we get people to pay their fair share, that's $2 trillion in 10 years. Now if we implement a carbon tax on top of that, so that we can transition and financially incentivize people away from fossil fuels, if we implement a carbon tax  that's an additional amount, a large amount of revenue that we can have."

You can almost hear her salivating at the prospect of that "large amount of revenue."

Her revenue estimates are wildly, insanely off base. One need only look at France and how the socialist's dream of making the rich pay their "fair share" worked out.

Francois Hollande's unpopular tax changes that imposed a 75% rate on earnings above 1m (780,000) will quietly disappear into the history books from Thursday. The French socialist president announced plans for the controversial measure during his 2012 election campaign as a means of forcing the wealthiest to help dig the country out of economic crisis. Although supported by the left, the reform sparked accusations of an anti-business agenda. After the "supertax" was announced in September 2012 the government was accused of shooting itself in the foot by risking an exodus of high-profile personalities. Business leaders expressed fears that investors would pull out of France.

That exodus actually occurred. Not surprisingly, the estimated revenue of 30 billion euros never materialized:

Finance ministry studies showed that despite all the publicity, the sums obtained from the supertax were meagre, standing at 260m in 2013 and 160m in 2014, and affecting 1,000 staff in 470 companies. Over the same period, the budget deficit soared to 84.7bn.

Missed it by that much.

Socialists as a group are clueless about economics anyway, but Ocasio-Cortez demonstrates she is particularly dumb.
PM Oli tells lawmakers not to obstruct Parliament

Prime Minister KP Oli has directed his party lawmakers to make sure that Parliament proceedings are not obstructed in the coming days, as there are lots oflaws to be endorsed by September 18.
Call the irony police while staring at the mirror, Bret!

Bret Stephens, who hates President Trump so vigorously that he left the Wall Street Journal for the New York Times, is worried about his new buddies in the Democratic Party succumbing to the same mental condition that afflicted him: Trump Derangement Syndrome. Of course, he has no perspective on his own situation, but at least he does manage to recognize it in others, and he even sees how dangerous to his cause the madness can be. In others, anyway.

NewsBusters captured the moment on Katry Tur's MSNBC show. It will take less than a minute of your time:

Summary via NewsBusters (emphasis in original):

So I think Democrats may be  Donald Trump may be doing what I  doing his greatest disservice, which is he may be making Democrats lose their marbles. If Democrats are gonna win, they need message focus, they need an optimistic strategy for the American people, and they want  they need to show that theyre not just interested in humiliating Trump, theyre interested in making things better for Americans. Tur then laughably asked: Why would a Democrat listen to Bret Stephens, conservative columnist? Well, I know how conservatives think and Ive seen many of these elections before. Look, one of the reasons Im at The New York Times is Im a never-Trumper....I do not want to see Donald Trump re-elected. I want to make America sane again. I want a president that I can respect. And Im offering genuinely friendly advice.

As J. Marsolo notes today, Trump has already accomplished many of the goals conservatives have fought for, yet a faction of former conservatives care little about the policies they formerly endorsed and declare Trump unacceptable on style or aesthetic grounds. He is vulgar, a "lowlife from Queens," in George Will's very revealing criticism. They reveal that they care more about the opinion of the left-dominated elites than about implementing the policies they recognize as superior.
Normally, suing police for failing to prevent crime is not allowed by courts. But a three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has just allowed a lawsuit against the City of San Jose and its police department to proceed, despite this general presumption (called "qualified immunity") that police cannot be held responsible for failing to prevent crime.

News media, both local and national, watched and recorded as San Jose police stood aside as people leaving a Trump rally in San Jose were heinously assaulted by anti-Trump thugs. The Washington Post at the time (June 2016) reported:

Protests outside a Donald Trump rally in downtown San Jose spun out of control Thursday night when some demonstrators attacked the candidate's supporters. Protesters jumped on cars, pelted Trump supporters with eggs and water balloons, snatched signs and stole "Make America Great" hats off supporters' heads before burning the hats and snapping selfies with the charred remains. Several people were caught on camera punching Trump supporters. At least one attacker was arrested, according to CNN, although police did not release much information.

Bob Egelko of the San Francisco Chronicle explains the Ninth Circuit's logic in allowing the lawsuit to proceed:

If the allegations are true, "the officers acted with deliberate indifference to a known and obvious danger" and violated the Trump supporters' constitutional rights," said the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco. After the rally at the McEnery Convention Center, police directed those in attendance to leave from a single exit. There, according to the lawsuit, they were ordered to head out onto a street where hundreds of anti-Trump protesters were waiting, even though a safer route and other exits were available.

They funneled the Trump-supporters into a space dominated by hostile demonstrators who already had been violent. In my opinion, this constitutes collaboration in the violence.

The court decision wrote:

[T]he attendees alleged sufficiently that the officers increased the danger to them by shepherding them into a crowd of violent protesters and that the officers acted with deliberate indifference to that danger. The district court therefore correctly denied the officers qualified immunity.

While San Jose may appeal to the Supreme Court, delaying the lawsuit from proceeding, once court proceedings begin, the extensive documentation of the violence with police watching will be powerful and persuasive evidence. Here is a screen grab illustrating that point from a YouTube video (hat tip: Breitbart):

The lawyer for the plaintiffs is Harmeet Dhillon, a hero of mine. In addition to being the Republican national committeeman from California, she represents James Damore in his lawsuit against Google for firing him over critical views expressed about diversity. She richly deserves a large contingency fee if these lawsuits succeed and result in substantial judgments against wealthy defendants who discriminate on the basis of political preferences.

I have to wonder: given two sensible decisions of late (this is the other one, affirming a Second Amendment right to open carry), has the Ninth Circuit been affected by the need to wade through poop and dirty drug needles getting to its courthouse in San Francisco and decided that leftist madness has gone too far?
In keeping with its sanctuary city policies, Philadelphia mayor Jim Kenney announced that he was terminating a contract with the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) that gave the federal government access to arrest records.

The Hill:

"I cannot in good conscience allow the agreement to continue," Kenney told the paper. Kenney's decision comes after several incidents that he says gave him reason to be concerned that the agency was using its access to the Preliminary Arraignment Reporting System, or PARS, in "inappropriate ways."

What troubles Kenney's conscience so? Apparently, enforcing our immigration laws is too much for him.

According to the mayor, Philadelphia ICE officials confirmed earlier this month that the agency's access to the database could result in immigration enforcement against residents without criminal convictions. The database, which is a real-time database of arrests, does not list immigration status, according to the Inquirer, but does include country of origin and Social Security number. ICE has come under scrutiny nationwide, as arrests of immigrants [sic] without criminal convictions have spiked under the Trump administration. Immigration advocates and some progressive Democrats have called for the agency to be abolished, accusing the president of abusing it to target more immigrants [sic] for deportation. Kenney, who has been an advocate for Philadelphia's "sanctuary city" policies, has faced repeated calls to terminate the contract. City Solicitor Marcel Pratt wrote a letter notifying ICE officials of the decision to end the contract, in which he wrote that the partnership "has created the false perception that the city is willing to be an extension of ICE," according to the Inquirer.

I had not heard that Philadelphia had declared its independence from the United States, but I was on vacation recently and may have missed it.

It's become commonplace for the media to forget to include the term "illegal" when reporting on the deportation of aliens. It's just too much of an inconvenient truth to identify the reason why ICE is doing land office business. The agency is actually enforcing laws that have been on the books for decades  laws passed by Congress and signed by the president, who is responsible for enforcing the law.

If you don't like the law, change it.

That's the democratic way. Unfortunately, it's just too hard to amend the law or pass a new one liberals might see fit to obey. And, of course, democracy is soooo hard. Simply ignoring the law is much easier. Besides, defying the law gives a liberal the golden opportunity for virtue-signaling. Kenney's "conscience" is bothered by enforcing the law, so speaking truth to power earns him plaudits from all the right media outlets and pundits.

I have a secret fantasy that politicians like Kenney who enable illegals to evade deportation are arrested and perp-walked in front of City Hall. But then I wake up and realize that that will never happen.
Yesterday's Wall Street Journal headline, blared loudly, was "How Juncker Sold Trump on Trade Deal." The paper has since changed it, but here we are.

Juncker is Jean-Claude Juncker, the arrogant, sniveling Luxembourgish president of the European Commission so well regarded by anyone who's in love with the European Union.

Maybe the Journal changed it because enough readers protested. Because why wasn't the headline: "How Trump Sold the EU and Juncker the Value of Lowering Trade Barriers to the U.S."?

That was what really happened.

It is truly sad how one-sided the WSJ has gone on trade. No matter what Trump has done on trade, it is bad.

If something comes out good on trade, like the E.U. deal, it is the E.U. that gets the credit. Not Trump. Essentially, the WSJ is not at all different from CNN, MSNBC, the Huffington Post, the New York Times, and the Washington Post on trade. They are all worthless.

My guess is that Canada, Mexico, and China will all come to the table now, having seen what just happened with Europe, because they realize we finally have a president who is actually serious about opening up trade, instead of just another president who gives in. They've seen a lot of those. T he lack of vision by the WSJ (and others) is astonishing.

When Trump gets done, we will be much closer to zero tariffs and taxes across the board than before he took office. Trump is the one for open and free trade, not a guy like Juncker.

The Journal is little better on immigration, or rather, open borders. The paper seems to have little or no regard for actually enforcing the laws Congress passes.

Maybe the WSJ should just can all its journalists and replace them with fax machines and robots. When everyone repeats the same talking points, is it any wonder that readership goes down?
Lloyd Billingsley runs an interesting reminder of recent American history in the FrontPageMag.com issue of 27 July 2018. The article shows that Russia has meddled in U.S. elections ever since 1924 by having its own candidate in presidential elections, either a socialist or communist. Talk about collusion! This never bothered anybody until Donald Trump became president, and only then because the Democrats lost.

It's beginning to look like the Mueller "investigation" is really just a jobs program for a bunch of hard-left D.C. ambulance-chasers. Mueller himself is so discredited that only a smoking gun with Trump's fingerprints all over it would even have a chance of rescuing the tatters of his dubious program, much less his dubious reputation. By now everyone knows that Mueller isn't disinterested. Everyone knows his report will be slanted every possible way to reach its predetermined conclusion. And everyone, once the report is issued, will cut loose with a lengthy yawn.

One can hope that Mueller's futile chase after his own tail will result in the demise of the special counsel statute. While it isn't clear that Kenneth Starr's effort to nab Bill Clinton ran as far off the rails as the Mueller probe has, both investigations were constitutionally problematic and ended up exacerbating tensions between the two parties.

As if exacerbation were needed. Maxine Waters and Cory Booker busily call for in-your-face confrontation with Trump officials. This thinly disguised call for racial violence will get just that if something isn't done to shut up these black racialists.

Shut it down, Mr. Mueller. The whole country is fed up. You are the Vietnam war all over again, the Establishment doing something the people do not support, something that embitters foes, ruins lives, and threatens to run completely out of control in America's streets. Wrap it up and let it go. Your side lost. You lost. Deal with it.
Facebook has been hard at work trying to eliminate hate speech from its platform lately, and has apparently removed 262 posts between January and June of this year that specifically fell in violation of a German law against online hate speech and fake news law known as NetzDG. During that time frame, Facebook received 1,704 complaints about posts that may have violated that law or community guidelines. This means that 1,442 of those posts were either determined to fall within community guidelines and left standing, or determined not to be in violation of NetzDG and were thus removed, but not counted in the official number.

To be clear, there is a heavy overlap between NetzDG and Facebooks community guidelines concerning hate speech, though NetzDG is slightly more strict and specific. It covers all sorts of hate speech, including insults and inciting violence or crime, along with false statements passed off as true to the mass public, also known as fake news. The law prescribes fines running all the way up to $50 million if speech that falls under it is not removed in a timely manner by the service in charge of moderating whatever forum the hate speech or fake news is posted to. In Facebooks case, the company is taking no chances, and has a team of 65 people dedicated solely to reviewing and acting on requests linked to NetzDG and similar laws.

Many European countries have some sort of law on the books meant to pressure social media and web giants into taking heavy-handed action against hate speech, fake news and other unwelcome user contributions on their services. NetzDG was coloquially referred to as the Facebook Law when it was introduced back in 2017, and even managed to draw criticism from human rights groups, saying that it stood to potentially limit basic rights to free speech freedom of the press on a global scale. This is not the first in a long line of European laws meant mainly to address the actions and responsibilities of giant American tech firms, and it almost certainly wont be the last. It joins a long list of laws such as the Right To Be Forgotten and the recent and somewhat controversial General Data Protection Regulation.
Samsung is hosting an event on August 1 and AndroidHeadlines can confirm the event will be to unveil and launch the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4. The confirmation on this was provided by a person familiar with Samsungs plans. As a result, Samsung will not be waiting until IFA to unveil the tablet, or even until Samsung Unpacked on August 9 (when the Galaxy Note 9 is set to be announced), but instead will launch its latest tablet addition on Wednesday, August 1.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 has leaked extensively over the past few weeks, and therefore there is not a lot left to know about the device. An official render of the device revealed by AndroidHeadlines at the start of July and since then more images  including real-life photos  have emerged. As well as details on the general specs and features. For example, its largely now expected the Galaxy Tab S4 will feature a 10.5-inch display along with a 16:10 aspect ratio (resulting in thinner bezels and the removal of the fingerprint sensor) and a 2560 x 1600 resolution. In addition to a core combination of 4GB RAM, 64GB storage, and a Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC. The tablet will also feature a 13-megapixel camera on the back, along with an 8-megapixel camera on the front. The rest of the main features will be padded out with a 7,300 mAh capacity battery, Bluetooth 5.0, an iris scanner, support for Samsung DeX, and Android 8.1 (Oreo). Color options are thought to include, but not necessarily be limited to, black, white and/or grey.

The timing of this August 1 announcement is interesting considering the company has a high-profile event scheduled for the very next week. So it remains unclear why Samsung has opted to announce the Galaxy Tab S4 only a few days before that event. Although, there has been speculation that Samsung is also planning to unveil its new watch (Galaxy Watch) at the same event as the Galaxy Note 9, so this might simply be more of a case of increasing exposure and attention ahead of the Galaxy Note 9 launch. Instead of trying to further dilute the media attention with too many products on the same day, or having to resort to another product launch during the initial Galaxy Note 9 pre-order and sales period.
A group of Angelo State students traveled a long way this summer to go to McDonalds, but they werent hunting burgers and fries.

Instead, they were immersed in a month-long social work and psychology study abroad experience in Unique Europe  with a major highlight of the trip being a visit to the Ronald McDonald House in Bucharest, Romania.

Dr. Tom Starkey The 14 students were led on the trip by Dr. Tom Starkey, chair of the Social Work Department, and Dr. Crystal Kreitler, associate professor of psychology. Prior to their departure, Starkey reached out to the Ronald McDonald House in Lubbock.

They actually sent four hand-quilted afghan blankets with us, Starkey said, as well as some pictures that the kids in the Ronald McDonald House in Lubbock had made, saying Get Well, Thinking of You, and things like that. That was really neat because they were done by the kids.

The folks in Bucharest were really excited about building a relationship with a Ronald McDonald House here in the U.S., he added. So were going to collaborate with the Lubbock RMH to help the foundation in Bucharest by sharing our knowledge and best practices. We plan to go back next year and increase the amount of time we spend with them.

A Look at Unique Europe















In addition to visiting the Ronald McDonald House, the students met with social work faculty and students at the University of Bucharest, Hogeschool van Amsterdam in the Netherlands and FH Campus Wein in Vienna, Austria. They also visited an elder daycare facility in Amsterdam and the Foundation for Children in Distress in Bucharest that takes in abandoned infants, many with birth defects.

After that visit, Starkey said, our social work students decided that wed take them on as a philanthropy project. So each long semester, we are going to do a fundraising drive and send them the money. It was the students idea, so I think its good that the visit got them thinking about how they can make a difference in other parts of the world.

There are things we can learn from these other countries, so our trip is really an exchange of ideas. Dr. Tom Starkey

As with all ASU study abroad trips, this one also had a cultural component. The various cultural excursions included the Anne Frank Museum, a windmill museum and a canal ride in Amsterdam; the Sigmund Freud and Mozart museums in Vienna; and the Palace of Parliament in Bucharest, which is the second-largest building in the world behind the U.S. Pentagon.

Our tour was an hour and a half, Starkey said. When we got done, our guide said that we had just walked 1.5 kilometers and only seen four percent of the building.

The group also visited Brasov, Romania, where they went on a castle tour that included Bran Castle  reputed to be Castle Dracula.

The students really enjoyed that, Starkey said. Plus, I think the high temperatures were in the mid-60s and it got down into the 40s at night. We were looking on our phones at the temperatures back in San Angelo, and it was like 105 degrees! So we were happy where we were.

The ASU group at Peles Castle in Romania This was the second summer for Starkey to offer the Unique Europe study abroad trip. Austria was added after the first year, and there are thoughts of adding Rome to the itinerary, as well as stops at Ronald McDonald Houses in Amsterdam and Vienna.

We want the students to see how social work and psychology are done in other countries and see the similarities and differences with the U.S., Starkey said. All the universities we visit have a social work program, but Romania didnt even have social workers until the 1990s. They are still learning the discipline, so we are hoping we can help them as we also learn.

We had three students who had never left Texas, Starkey said. We had two who had never been on a plane and one who had never been on a boat. We want to expose them to different cultures because in social work and psychology, we are about diversity and learning how other people think. There are things we can learn from these other countries, so our trip is really an exchange of ideas.

The Unique Europe trip is not reserved for social work and psychology majors. Students interested in this or other study abroad opportunities should keep a close eye on the Study Abroad Programs website.
Rajman Singh: A Lost Nepal found in London

Nepali art took a radical turn from the traditional to a contemporary European vein towards the mid 19th century and the earliest known Nepali artist to have incorporated western realism in his work was a local artist from Patan, Rajman Singh Chitrakar.
Secretaries team to visit provinces

Amid charges from provincial governments that the government at the Centre has not been cooperating with them, the federal government is set to dispatch a team of secretaries to all the state capitals.
Bruce Landsberg, who is well known in GA circles thanks to 22 years with the AOPA Foundation and Air Safety Institute, has been confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a member and vice-chair of the NTSB. Landsberg was nominated to the position last September by the White House. He will serve two years as vice-chair, and his term as a member extends through 2022. Bruce Landsberg is one of the most knowledgeable and passionate safety proponents our industry has ever seen, said NBAA President Ed Bolen in a news release this week. His expertise across several aspects of aviation safety will make him a valued addition to the NTSB.

Landsberg, who lives in South Carolina, served as executive director and then president of the ASI, from 1992 to 2014. His depth of experience, serving alongside NTSB chairman Robert Sumwalt, who worked as a pilot for 32 years, suggests the board will have a strong presence on aviation safety issues. Its both exciting and humbling to join this group, Landsberg told AVweb last year. I have worked with them for almost three decades. The mission hasnt changed, just the organization, to help pilots and the traveling public get where theyre going  safely!
Image: BBC

Mary Ellis, who flew Spitfires and bombers during World War II, has died at age 101. Ellis was one of 168 women who flew for the Air Transport Auxiliary, which employed civilians to deliver planes from factories to airfields. Nearly 10 percent of the ATAs pilots were killed during the war, including aviation pioneer Amy Johnson, according to the BBC. After the ATA was disbanded in 1945, Ellis flew for the Royal Air Force, where she was one of the first women to fly the Gloster Meteor, Britains first jet fighter. After leaving the service, she became manager of the Sandown Airport, on the Isle of Wight, and lived there with her husband, Don, a fellow pilot, who died in 2009.

Ellis continued to live at the airport and was still driving daily to the local shops at age 101. Being an ATA pilot was fantastic, she said in 2016, when she and fellow ATA pilot Joy Lofthouse were honored by the royal family in London. Up in the air on your own. And you can do whatever you like. I flew 400 Spitfires. And occasionally I would take one up and go and play with the clouds. I would like to do it all over again. There was a war on, but otherwise it was absolutely wonderful.
The California Carr wildfire has claimed the lives of two firefighters over the last three days, destroyed 500 structures swept into the flames, and remains only 5% contained according to Cal Fire.

Why it matters: The Carr fire is one of 22 fires blazing through California this weekend. Though 3,410 fire personnel have been battling over 80,000 acres of flames from the Carr fire alone, the fire could reach more heavily populated areas before firefighters are able to control it as it remains mostly uncontained.

Our thought bubble, from Axios Science Editor Andrew Freedman: A long-lasting heat wave and drought conditions are making the fire especially severe and difficult to contain. Long-term climate change is also behind a trend toward larger, longer-lasting wildfires in the West, along with fire seasons that in some cases are lasting all year.

Burned down vehicles sit at a property under a deep orange sky during the Carr fire near Redding, California on July 27, 2018. Photo: JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images

The details: Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke and a bulldozer operator were the firemen who lost their lives in the blaze. Three firefighters have lost their lives battling fires just this month, the New York Times reports.

A tweet previously embedded here has been deleted or was tweeted from an account that has been suspended or deleted.

Threat level: Nearly 37,000 people are under evacuation orders, reports the Associated Press, and about 5,000 are being threatened.

The weather is making it more difficult for firefighters to contain the blaze with high temperatures and dry conditions in the surrounding area.

The temperature in the area was in the hundreds on Friday, with wind gusts reaching 25 miles per hour in the area.

Flames from the Carr Fire burns through trees along highway 299 on July 27, 2018. Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Just this year, nearly 37,000 wildfires have burned more than 4.25 million acres across the country.
China has begun importing natural gas from just above the Arctic circle at Russia's Yamal plant, reports CGTN.

Why it matters: China is on pace to be the world's leader in natural gas imports in large part due to the Yamal plant. It owns nearly a 30% stake in the Russian operation and believes that, in the next 10 years, its trade of natural gas with Russia will exceed 70 billion cubic meters, making Russia the largest natural gas supplier to China.
American companies eager to enter Chinas massive market brace themselves for potential intellectual property theft or forced technology transfers. But theres another threat at play: their technology is being used for surveillance.

The big picture: China has sophisticated systems of state surveillance, and elements of these systems have long been powered by technologies developed by American companies. Beijing has used U.S. tech to surveil its citizens, violate human rights and even modernize its military.

The entanglement

Companies doing business in China often get caught in a web: Beijing uses its economic leverage to draw them in and then uses their technology for police-state tactics. As a result, "there are American companies enabling or complicit in major human rights abuses," says Elsa Kania, a technology and national security expert at the Center for a New American Security.

Another concern is American universities and research institutions partnering with Chinese companies that work with state security, she says.

Thermo Fisher Scientific, a Massachusetts company, has supplied the Chinese government with DNA sequencers that it is now using to collect the DNA of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, Human Rights Watch reports. At a Thursday hearing, Sen. Marco Rubio called Thermo Fisher's operations in Xinjiang "sick."

a Massachusetts company, has supplied the Chinese government with DNA sequencers that it is now using to collect the DNA of ethnic minorities in Xinjiang, Human Rights Watch reports. At a Thursday hearing, Sen. Marco Rubio called Thermo Fisher's operations in Xinjiang "sick." iFlyTek is a Chinese company that recently launched a 5-year partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Beijing has used iFlyteks voice recognition technology "to develop a pilot surveillance system that can automatically identify targeted voices in phone conversations," according to Human Rights Watch.

is a Chinese company that recently launched a 5-year partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Beijing has used iFlyteks voice recognition technology "to develop a pilot surveillance system that can automatically identify targeted voices in phone conversations," according to Human Rights Watch. Cisco, in 2011, participated in a Chinese public safety project that set up 500,000 cameras in Chongqing, according to the Wall Street Journal.

in 2011, participated in a Chinese public safety project that set up 500,000 cameras in Chongqing, according to the Wall Street Journal. Yahoo, in 2005, gave the personal information of a Chinese journalist to China's government. That information was used to put the man in jail.

Tech giants, like Facebook, Apple and LinkedIn, have faced scrutiny in the past for censoring or reportedly offering to censor content in China.

"Not all of these companies realize the extent to which their activities could be exploited," Kania says.

Companies often take on projects for the Chinese government in the name of curbing crime, according to Scott Kennedy of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, but "the boundary between promoting public safety and protecting the state is increasingly blurred with these types of technologies."

The other side: Axios reached out to all of the companies listed above. The responses we received by deadline:

Thermo Fisher Scientific: " We design our products with great care and work with governments to contribute to good global policy. We are proud to be a part of the many positive ways in which DNA identification has been applied  from reducing human trafficking to exonerating the unjustly accused."

We design our products with great care and work with governments to contribute to good global policy. We are proud to be a part of the many positive ways in which DNA identification has been applied  from reducing human trafficking to exonerating the unjustly accused." Cisco said it "has never custom-tailored our products for any market, and the products that we sell in China are the same products we sell everywhere else ... We do not and will not supply video surveillance cameras or video surveillance monitoring software in our public infrastructure projects."

it "has never custom-tailored our products for any market, and the products that we sell in China are the same products we sell everywhere else ... We do not and will not supply video surveillance cameras or video surveillance monitoring software in our public infrastructure projects." Oath, which now owns Yahoo: Were deeply committed to protecting and advocating for the rights to free expression and privacy of our users around the world."

which now owns Yahoo: Were deeply committed to protecting and advocating for the rights to free expression and privacy of our users around the world." LinkedIn: "[A]s we said at the time of our launch in February 2014, its clear to us that in order to create value for our members in China and around the world, we will need to implement the Chinese governments restrictions on content, when and to the extent required."

The stakes

"A lot of people wanted very much to believe that once China had exposure to the outside world, political liberalization would come with economic liberalization," Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch, tells Axios. "They're getting a lot richer and a lot more powerful and no more politically liberal."

What's next:

Some companies have pulled out of China of their own accord in the past. Google refused to censor its search engine in China in 2010, leading to its ouster from the country. Other companies may follow suit if they realize their technology is being misused, says Kania.

have pulled out of China of their own accord in the past. Google refused to censor its search engine in China in 2010, leading to its ouster from the country. Other companies may follow suit if they realize their technology is being misused, says Kania. If companies cannot be held accountable by internal ethics guidelines, shareholders or users, the government may need to step in through export controls or limits on funding to researchers that collaborate with China, she says.

by internal ethics guidelines, shareholders or users, the government may need to step in through export controls or limits on funding to researchers that collaborate with China, she says. Worth noting: There's already a U.S. law that prohibits the export of crime-control products to China, but the sale of cameras and other dual use technologies that could be used for surveillance are not banned, reports the Wall Street Journal.

Go deeper: The rise of AI-powered surveillance
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is under investigation as part of a probe from the United States for his alleged involvement in a $1.2 billion money laundering scheme, reports the Miami Herald.

Why it matters: If Maduro is found guilty, he likely won't be charged. However, it will add to the political tension for Maduro in his own country as well as with President Trump and the United States.

The details: Maduro has not been formally charged with anything to this point. He and other government officials are being investigated for links to a network that prosecutors say has funneled "vast amounts" of money into European and U.S. banks from Venezeula's national oil company.
A top British official has given the U.S. permission to pursue the death penalty against "The Beatles," two British ISIS fighters responsible for the 2014 execution of American journalist James Foley, The Telegraph reports.

Why it matters: The decision by the United Kingdom's home secretary, Sajid Javid, has drawn the ire of human rights groups and politicians for breaking the U.K.'s longstanding policy of opposing extradition of criminals that could face the death penalty. It's one of several capital punishment debates that have sprung up recently in countries all over the world.

What's happening:

In the United States, Nevada's plan to execute convicted murderer Scott Dozier using fentanyl, the drug at the heart of the opioid crisis, has been postponed after a pharmaceutical company filed a lawsuit. Anti-death penalty activists have made it difficult to obtain the necessary drugs for lethal injections, forcing the 31 states in which capital punishment is legal to seek alternatives, often in secrecy.

Nevada's plan to execute convicted murderer Scott Dozier using fentanyl, the drug at the heart of the opioid crisis, has been postponed after a pharmaceutical company filed a lawsuit. Anti-death penalty activists have made it difficult to obtain the necessary drugs for lethal injections, forcing the 31 states in which capital punishment is legal to seek alternatives, often in secrecy. In Sri Lanka, President Maithripala Sirisena has vowed to end a 42-year moratorium on capital punishment for drug smugglers, citing public demand for executions in response to rising gang violence and narcotics abuse, reports the AP. The European Union and other countries have warned Sri Lanka that an end to the moratorium will prompt trade retaliation.

President Maithripala Sirisena has vowed to end a 42-year moratorium on capital punishment for drug smugglers, citing public demand for executions in response to rising gang violence and narcotics abuse, reports the AP. The European Union and other countries have warned Sri Lanka that an end to the moratorium will prompt trade retaliation. In Kenya, where the last execution was conducted in 1987, a former beauty queen has been sentenced to death for stabbing and killing her boyfriend, reports Independent Online. Kenya's mandatory death sentence for murder and armed robbery was declared unconstitutional last year, but courts still have the ability to use capital punishment at their discretion.

where the last execution was conducted in 1987, a former beauty queen has been sentenced to death for stabbing and killing her boyfriend, reports Independent Online. Kenya's mandatory death sentence for murder and armed robbery was declared unconstitutional last year, but courts still have the ability to use capital punishment at their discretion. In Japan, which is one of three OECD members (along with the U.S. and South Korea) that still use capital punishment, the execution of seven members of a deadly cult has renewed questions about the transparency of the death penalty system, reports The Japan Times. Japan's Justice Ministry has a history of keeping its process veiled in secrecy, and even today refuses to disclose how death row inmates are chosen for execution.

The bottom line: The number of countries that have executed criminals each year for the past decade has wavered between 18 and 25. Even in 2018, with all that has been done to improve human rights advocacy worldwide, the death penalty debate rages on.

Go deeper: American support for the death penalty jumps in 2018
In Secretary of State Mike Pompeos congressional testimony on Wednesday, he was asked when we would know if North Korea would choose to follow through on its pledge of complete denuclearization. I dont know. I dont know the answer to that was his stark response.

Why it matters: After his summit with Kim Jong-un, President Trump said on Twitter that there is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea. In breaking from his boss on this critical point, Mike Pompeo made clear that, more than two months after the summit, no concrete steps have been taken to address North Koreas nuclear threat, making the administration's transparency on the negotiations all the more crucial.

The details: Pompeo confirmed that North Korea continues to produce fissile material, the key ingredient of its growing nuclear weapon stockpile. When senators asked for additional details on the state of Pyongyangs nuclear programs, he offered to provide a response only in a classified setting.

Reports since the Singapore summit underscore that there has been no fundamental change in North Koreas nuclear program, which may include as many as 60 nuclear warheads. If anything, North Korea may be expanding production at secret nuclear sites. Shortly after the hearing, news emerged that the Central Committee of North Koreas ruling Workers Party decreed that North Korea will never relinquish its nuclear arsenal, marking another break with Trumps assessment.

Whats next: Its too soon to write off the Singapore process entirely. But North Korea seems to be shrewdly dribbling out small steps on non-nuclear issues  like the return of presumed American remains from the Korean War  while continuing to build its nuclear arsenal. The danger is that Trumps premature declaration of victory has been read by China and others in the region as a green light to ease up on sanctions and pressure, reducing U.S. leverage and making eventual denuclearization less likely.

The bottom line: What's most needed is an accurate assessment, divorced from politics, of whether Trumps North Korea diplomacy is making progress toward denuclearization. Pompeo and his team should regularly provide both classified briefings and public updates  at Congress's insistence if necessary.

Jeff Prescott is executive director of National Security Action, a senior fellow at the Penn Biden Center and a former deputy national security advisor to Vice President Biden.
1. Yes. It makes me wonder why Killeen is having the problem and other cities arent.

2. Yes. The city also had water issues after the winter storm, so this is rather troubling.

3. No. Its good that the city is dealing with the problem and playing it safe with consumers.

4. No. Its more of an annoyance than a concern. The city will take the necessary steps.

5. Unsure. Its hard to say until more information about the issue becomes available.

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Trend:

Despite an agreement between Azerbaijan and Egypt about the launch of direct flights, this process is delayed for some reasons, Egyptian ambassador to Azerbaijan Adel Ibrahim Ahmed Ibrahim said at a press conference in Baku July 27.

So, the airlines think they can face big financial losses as a result of launching direct flights, which is leading to a delay in this process, he added.

Moreover, the diplomat stressed that relations between the two countries should be promoted in tourism sector, the flow of tourists should increase and thereby a ground for launching direct flights should be created.

"There must be a big tourist flow between the two countries, he said. Moreover, the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Egypt is not at a high level due to the lack of direct flights."

Then, the ambassador said that mutual high level visits between the two countries are expected in the near future to be made.

He added that preparation for these visits is currently underway.

"The relations between Azerbaijan and Egypt are at a high level, he said. I have been entrusted with a great responsibility in further strengthening the bilateral relations."

The diplomat added that the relations between Azerbaijan and Egypt are developing on the basis of agreements signed during a meeting of the interstate commission in Cairo in February.

For five months of my activity in Azerbaijan, political relations between the two countries have reached a good level, he said. "Presently, work is underway to expand trade relations between Azerbaijan and Egypt."

According to the Azerbaijani State Customs Committee, trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Egypt amounted to $8.05 million in 2017, of which $1.48 million accounted for the export of Azerbaijani products to Egypt.

Egypts Air Cairo launched a direct Baku-Sharm El Sheikh-Baku flight in June 2016, thereby creating conditions for increasing the flow of tourists from Azerbaijan.

However, later the airline decided to temporarily suspend the flight from this resort city to Baku, explaining its decision by the insufficient number of passengers.
Trend:

The US should respect the laws of Turkey, Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey Binali Yildirim said, Turkish media reported July 27.

"President Donald Trump thinks that by threatening Ankara, he can affect Turkish justice. Trump should give up on statements about sanctions against Turkey," Yildirim said.

Trump promised earlier to impose "large sanctions" against Turkey for the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson, who is accused of aiding the coup attempt in Turkey in 2016.

"The United States will impose large sanctions on Turkey for their long time detainment of Pastor Andrew Brunson, a great Christian, family man and wonderful human being. He is suffering greatly. This innocent man of faith should be released immediately!" Trump tweeted.

Vice President Mike Pence stated the possibility of imposition of sanctions previously.

A court in the Turkish province of Izmir decided July 25 to transfer under house arrest American pastor Andrew Brunson, whom Ankara suspects aiding the coup attempt in 2016. Branson was prohibited to leave the territory of Turkey by a court decision dated July 25. The same court a week ago rejected the motion for release of the pastor. The next hearing on Brunsons case has been scheduled for October 12.
An Armenian court ordered former President Robert Kocharyan should be detained on charges of usurping power, Kocharyans lawyer Aram Orbelyan said, Reuters reported.

Kocharyan, who served as Armenias second president from 1998 to 2008, was in court and taken into custody, the lawyer added.

Investigators have charged Kocharyan with attempting to overthrow the constitutional order after 2008 elections, when his ally Serzh Sarksyan was elected his successor.

Kocharyan has dismissed the charges as politically motivated.
Central Oregon Coast Lighthouse Closure, Newport Beach Declared Safe

Published 07/26/2018 at 4:52 PM PDT

By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Newport, Oregon)  One reopening and one continued closure. Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has declared one central Oregon coast beach safe after a water advisory was issued last week, while a famed lighthouse near Florence has its closure extended.

At Newports Nye Beach, on the central Oregon coast, the public health advisory was lifted after OHA said the marine waters might not be safe for contact due to higher-than-normal levels of fecal bacteria. That advisory was issued on July 18 after various tests.

Recently, however, results from samples taken by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) showed lower bacteria levels at marine water sample locations. Contact with the marine water no longer poses a higher-than-normal risk. However, officials recommend staying out of large pools on the beach that are frequented by birds, as well as runoff from those pools, because the water may contain increased bacteria from fecal matter.

Some inland bodies of water close to the beach  even within a block or two  are not subject to health advisories, the OHA warns, and thus could still have some elevated levels. Caution should be observed with those.

For more information, visit the Oregon Beach Monitoring Program website at http://www.healthoregon.org/beach or call 971-673-0440, or call the OHA toll-free information line at 877-290-6767.

Farther down on the central Oregon coast, the Heceta Head Lighthouse near Florence has been under a temporary closure because of repair work and was set to reopen on July 31. Several unexpected issues have hindered the repair work, pushing the closure beyond its original end date, extended now to September 30.

Crews will continue to repair several cracked interior metal columns on the upper floor of the lighthouse. The lighthouse lens will be covered and out of service during the repair work.

The grounds surrounding the lighthouse will remain open to visitors. Interpretive programs will continue as regularly scheduled, but no visitors will be allowed to enter the lighthouse.

The historic assistant lighthouse keepers house, which the U.S. Forest Service operates through a concessionaire as a bed-and-breakfast, will remain open. Oregon Coast Lodgings in these areas - Where to eat - Maps - Virtual Tours



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A Newton man has been charged with capital murder after his girlfriend's body was found inside a burning house Thursday.

Darrell Huffman, 57, was arrested and booked into the Newton County Jail on Friday, the Sheriff's Office said.

"The investigation so far has indicated that Darrell Huffman caused the death of Dora Johnson by fire," NCSO said.

Johnson, 59, was found dead inside the house on County Road 3038 on Thursday afternoon.

Dispatchers received a call at about 2:30 p.m. from a woman who reported hearing an explosion before seeing flames engulf her neighbor's house. She said she did not know if anyone was inside.

The woman then called back and told the Sheriff's Office that a man who lived at the home said his girlfriend was inside, Sheriff Billy Rowles said.

Newton Fire Department and Trout Creek Fire Department responded, and found Johnson's body once they were able to enter the home.

An autopsy has been ordered, and the Newton County Sheriff's Office, Newton Police, State Fire Marshal and Texas Rangers are investigating.

Huffman's bond was set at $1 million.

He is the second Southeast Texan charged with capital murder after allegedly lighting a house on fire this summer.

Cedric Ramon McGill, 26, of Jasper, is accused of setting his grandmother's house on fire on June 4.

Jasper Police believe he set fire to Bertha McGill's home on Othello Street. She had to be rescued from the home by firefighters, suffered severe smoke inhalation and later died.

LTeitz@BeaumontEnterprise.com

Twitter.com/LizTeitz
In Hunterville, Ala., the opioid epidemic has decreased life expectancy by two years, leading community organizers and health professionals to demand more comprehensive addiction treatment, according to WZDX News.

"We need affordable treatment. It does not need to be ran by Big Pharma or pushed by drug company manufacturers," Lori Moore with Not One More Alabama, a support group for families affected by addiction, told WZDX News. "The studies show that 90 days minimum is how long they need to be in treatment the first time."

But most insurances do not consider 90 days 'short-term' and will not cover treatment.

"They get 12 to 14 days of treatment," substance abuse specialist Keith Watts told WZDX News. "We try to supplement that with outpatient treatment. It's not enough. You're talking about people, a lifetime of bad ideas, bad thinking, behaviors around substance abuse. You can't fix it in two weeks."

Ms. Moore talks to parents all the time who are cannot afford addiction treatment, which is usually a 12-step program for patients seeking long-term recovery.

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Hospital officials at Parole, Md.-based Anne Arundel Medical Center view gun violence as a public health crisis and want physicians to hold nonjudgmental talks about the gun safety with their patients, according to Capital Gazette.

"We have a moral obligation to address this problem," David Moller, MD, chief of clinical and organizational ethics at Anne Arundel Medical Center, told the Capital Gazette. "Because it is so contentious and so divisive, its going to take sustained moral courage to build a lasting initiative to address and resolve."

Officials discussed the issue with about 100 hospital employees and community members during a July 26 panel discussion, although physician talking points and literature for patients are still under development.

The idea of physicians talking about gun safety with patients emerged after Anne Arundel physicians treated survivors of The Capital Gazette newsroom shooting in June, where five employees were killed.

Barry Meisenberg, MD, director of medicine at Anne Arundel, categorizes the hospital's planned discussions as harm reduction, which, is not the same as gun control.

This is not political advocacy, but rather patient advocacy," Dr. Meisenberg told the Capital Gazette.

More articles on clinical leadership and infection control:

USA Today: US most dangerous place to give birth

Viewpoint: How hospitals can avoid anesthesiologist-related medication errors

How Catholic hospitals may restrict healthcare access for rural Americans
CMS released a proposed plan July 27, which would affect approximately 40 percent of Medicare payments physicians receive, NPR reports.

Here are eight things to know:

1. The "Patients Over Paperwork" plan combines four levels of paperwork required for reimbursement and four levels of payments into one form and one flat fee per appointment.

2. There would still be separate filing systems for new and established patients under the plan.

3. The plan is open for public comment until early September.

4. The CMS plan offers a flat fee per office visit with a patient regardless of the physician's specialty.

5. According to rheumatologist Angus Worthing, MD, who chairs the government affairs committee for the American College of Rheumatology, the plan may lead fewer medical students to opt for specialties that require complex patient management.

6. Under the proposed system, physicians who need to spend more time with patients can file for an "add-on" payment of $67 per appointment.

7. If the Medicare payment changes take effect, private insurers may follow suit to use common billing procedures. Some Medicare advocates such as Medicare Rights Center President Joe Baker are urging CMS to postpone the changes and do a trial run.

8. CMS plans to enact Medicare fee schedule changes Jan. 1, 2019.

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How a savvy online presence can attract patients: 3 steps for an online media reboot

TriStar Health's $96M joint replacement institute is ready for surgery: 5 key notes
Brandon Ousley joined Anchorage (Alaska) Fracture & Orthopedic Clinic as CEO.

Here are three things to know:

1. Mr. Ousley previously served as CEO of Medical Park Family Care in Anchorage.

2. He holds a master's of business administration degree with a focus in health services from Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage.

3. Anchorage Fracture & Orthopedic Clinic employs 13 physicians.

More articles on practice management:

Sanford Health to develop standalone orthopedic hospital: 5 things to know

Physician Partners of America to partner with orthopedic, spine specialists to open ASC: 5 highlights
Here are five spine and neurosurgeons making headlines:

In a $50 million lawsuit, former neurosurgery resident Rylan Brantl, MD, alleges N. Scott Litofsky, MD, created a hostile work environment and subjected him to abusive behavior as a MU resident from 2008 through 2013.

A judge ordered James Chappuis, MD, and his practice to pay a $8,970 over their personal injury business model.

The co-founder and manager of Dallas-based Forest Park Medical Center agreed to plead guilty to bribing physicians, including spine surgeons Douglas Won, MD, and Shawn Henry, MD, to perform high volume and lucrative surgeries.

Boca Raton (Fla.) Regional Hospital welcomed Timothy Miller Jr., MD, to its Marcus Neuroscience Institute.

More articles on spine:

Spine surgeon joins Boca Raton Regional Hospital: 4 takeaways

Dallas hospital owner pleads guilty to bribing spine surgeons in $200M healthcare fraud scheme: 9 things to know
Kensho The Second outside Titanic Belfast, where the 5th Titanic International Tattoo Convention is being held

A Japanese tattoo artist appearing at an international convention in Belfast this weekend has called for a change in the law of his home country.

Kensho The Second (38), from Saitama, has been a professional for 14 years, specialising in traditional Japanese art.

The strict laws surrounding the practice of tattoo art in the Land of the Rising Sun meant he had to qualify as a medical professional or risk jail.

As an act of defiance, he never sought the medical qualification, and now plies his trade in Amsterdam.

He said: "I never tried to get the doctor's licence because it is for medical act, not for tattooing and it will have the same meaning as blasphemy to Japanese traditional tattoos if I accept that wrong law."

Kensho will showcase his work for the first time at the fifth annual Titanic Tattoo convention today.

He currently has a visa to work in Holland, where he has more freedom.

He added: "Now it is a very serious situation in Japan. The government says it is necessary to have a doctor's licence for tattooing. It means we have to become a doctor, it is crazy.

"We can open the studio and pay tax as a tattoo artist, but we will be arrested if someone calls the police.

"One young tattoo artist filed a lawsuit against the government last year, but he lost."

According to Kensho, almost all cases fail, prompting other Japanese tattoo artists to move abroad.

His work includes depictions of frogs, tigers, traditional theatre masks known as hannya masks, a phoenix and some smaller tattoos.

Instead of using a tattoo gun, Kensho prefers to use the traditional Japanese 'hand-poke' tattoo instrument known as the sashibo.

This method, known as Tebori, is when a bundle of needles are at the tip of the sashibo and the skin is stretched with one hand and the other uses the sashibo to create the design.

Kensho added: "The Tebori is less pain and causes less skin damage than the tattoo machine, it is strong and deep colour, and the ink never comes out."

He is high demand for his art, having been invited to more than 20 tattoo conventions worldwide.

Revealing why he came to Belfast, Kensho added: "Some of my friends participated several times already and they told me that Titanic convention is a good event, that's why I decided to attend.

"I am very happy to be attending Titanic tattoo convention this time. I appreciate the organiser for this opportunity."

In Japan tattoos have long been stigmatised for their association with organised crime gangs, such as the Yakuza, who pledge their allegiance with full-body markings.

It means anyone with tattoos, regardless of their profession, cannot use public swimming pools, hot springs, beaches, gyms or enter some public places.

Kensho has multiple tattoos covering his body which he has to hide when he is at home.

The Titanic tattoo convention runs today and tomorrow at the Titanic building in Belfast.
A South Korean military aircraft carrying relief supplies has left for Laos, the foreign ministry said Saturday, following the government's announcement that it will provide help with recovery from the deadly flooding that resulted from the collapse of a dam that was under construction.

The military jet took off at 8 a.m. from an airport in Seongnam, just south of Seoul, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

The relief supplies include 1,200 blankets, clothing and sanitation items provided by the government, the South Korean Red Cross and SK Engineering & Construction Co., the ministry said.

The government announced Friday it would dispatch a disaster relief team to Laos and provide US$1 million worth of emergency assistance.

The Korea Disaster Relief Team, comprising 15 medics and five support staff, is to leave for Laos on Sunday.

SK Group also has offered to donate $10 million. Its building unit, SK E&C, has been part of the dam construction with a 26 percent stake in the $1.02 billion project to build two main hydroelectric dams and five auxiliary dams.

The government said earlier it plans to provide $500,000 in cash and $500,000 worth of materials to assist recovery from the disaster that swept away villages. (Yonhap)
Belfast-born actress Laura Donnelly won an Olivier award this year for her role in The Ferryman, a play inspired by the story of her uncle, who was shot and secretly buried by the IRA. As she takes to the stage in Donegal at the Brian Friel Festival, she talks to Laurence White about how her family coped with the tragedy and why she was inspired to pursue a career in acting.

When Belfast-born actress Laura Donnelly stepped forward to collect a prestigious Olivier award for best actress earlier this year, it was the ultimate triumph of joy over tragedy.

For the play which was the platform for her success was inspired by a very personal trauma for her family.

Before she was born, her maternal uncle, 26-year-old father-of-three Eugene Simons, was snatched by the IRA on New Year's Day 1981 from his home near Castlewellan in Co Down, taken away, shot and secretly buried. He was one of the Disappeared.

The award-winning play, The Ferryman, which has run to great acclaim in London and is to open in New York in October, was inspired by Eugene's story and written by Laura's partner, playwright Jez Butterworth.

Laura is delighted with the play's success - Jez (for best new play) and Sam Mendes (for best director) collected awards and there were also five nominations for best supporting actor, best supporting actress (twice), best actor and best set design:

"It is great for the play to get the recognition it did. It was an astonishing achievement by Jez. It was a tremendous achievement to get three top awards. It is still sinking in. I never dared dream that I would get an Olivier Award. I always hoped that I would make a living as an actor and anything else coming after that would be a bonus," Laura says.

"It is wonderful to be recognised by your peers in such a public way. Awards are not the be all and end all, and not why we do this job, but it is a lovely pat on the back."

But the recognition she really wanted came from her mother, Angela.

"We kept her up to date with the development of the play the whole way through. But there was something which only occurred to me when I was going into rehearsals for the play - I had never had an open and honest discussion with her about Eugene's death."

Although she was not born at the time, Laura was later shielded from the truth. Initially, she was told her uncle had died in a car crash. In fact, he had been buried in a bog near Dundalk, and his body was only discovered by accident by a dog walker in 1984.

Laura remembers: "I gleaned some information from mum over the years but, typically of families in Ireland, and particularly Northern Ireland, we never sat down and talked about things in depth. There was a sort of vague silence about his death which existed in my family for so long.

"When Jez had the idea of writing the play, we had some in-depth discussions with my mum about how she felt at the time her brother disappeared and what it means to her. In lots of ways that was very cathartic for her.

"I don't know if mum was even aware of how she coped. She agrees that at time of great trauma, people don't realise how they got through it. In this case it was not knowing what had happened to Eugene which stretched out the time. That means that the nature of coping or just carrying on changes all the time changes all the time, yet stays the same because nothing is being solved.

"It is the same for the family in the play - they muddle their way through and find a new version of their lives."

But while the family may have shielded Laura from the full truth of her uncle's death as she grew up, his killers were engaged in disinformation. "People were sent to his home saying that he had been seen some place or other or had been involved in a fight with someone. The purpose of that was simply to keep the wound alive, but obviously the family learned the truth when his body was found."

The death of her brother led Angela to volunteer with trauma group WAVE. "Her way of helping herself was to help other people going through the same thing as she had. She knew she could be of help because of her own experience," Laura says.

She met Jez when she turned up for an audition of his play The River, which opened at the Royal Court Theatre in 2012. Two years later, Laura went with it to Broadway, where she won rave reviews playing opposite Hugh Jackman.

The couple went to upstate New York to go fly fishing, and it was Laura's proud boast that she was the first one to land a fish. It was also, she said, a great way to get in the zone for the play.

It was in New York that she had one of her greatest experiences - being photographed along with her co-stars Jackman and Cush Jumbo by Annie Leibovitz for the front cover of Vogue. She thought that the shoot would be complicated but found it was one of the easiest she ever took part in. She says Leibovitz has a way of making people feel at ease in front of the camera.

Turning back to her relationship, she doesn't exactly say that her and Jez's eyes met over the footlights, but they have been together ever since and have a young daughter.

Their partnership as well as Jez's heritage - he comes from Irish parentage - have given him an affinity with Ireland. He is also a great admirer of this part of the world. "There is no country in the world which, for its size, has so many incredible playwrights and brilliant plays, and that is something Jez can relate to," she says.

While her family endured a horrific experience, for Laura growing up in Belfast during the Troubles - she was born in August 1982 - was quite a pleasant time. "I lived in north Belfast with my father, Martin, my mum and three siblings (two older sisters and a younger brother). My father had a medical practice in that area of the city," she says.

"I did not have any really negative experience of the Troubles in the way that some of my friends had. When I look back, I wasn't aware of the effect the violence and security would have in the longer term. That was true of anyone growing up in Northern Ireland at that time. You could not help but be affected by the searches going into town, the security force patrols or the helicopters buzzing overhead with their searchlights probing the ground. Yet I feel blessed from being protected from the worst of the Troubles."

Originally educated at Dominican College in north Belfast, she later switched to Rathmore Grammar School in the south of the city. It was there that she fell in love with the work of Brian Friel.

"I studied Dancing at Lughnasa as part of my A-level course at Rathmore, and adored the play. I went on to perform in it at the Lyric, I think around 2008. I am certainly a long-term fan of Mr Friel," she says.

Laura will be appearing in Friel's four-act monologue Faith Healer in Donegal on August 17, 18 and 19. The action takes place in three village halls, with the audience travelling between them by bus. There will be an interval barbecue on Portnoo Pier and the final act will take place in the ballroom of the Highland Hotel in Glenties, the place where the playwright went on holidays as a child and where he is now buried.

It might seem a long way from the glitter of the West End and an Olivier Awards ceremony to appearing in village halls in Donegal next month, but Laura certainly does not see it that way.

"I couldn't wait to take part when I read the email about this staging of the play. I thought it was the best way to do it and thought it seemed like a magical idea. It is better than staging it in some grand theatre with 1,000 people sitting all around," she says.

"I spent many summers in Donegal when I was growing up and I cannot wait to get back".

Laura confesses to being the black sheep of her family, but only in a joking manner. What she means is that she is the only one to enter the notoriously insecure world of acting.

"There was an element of amateur dramatics in our family, and the extended family is very musical.

"But acting or singing were only hobbies. No one, apart from me, has gone into either professionally. Why did I do it? My answer to that changes regularly but my desire to perform started very early.

"I was inspired by Patricia Mulholland, my Irish dancing teacher, who brought her version of Irish ballet to Northern Ireland and beyond. It was essentially performances of Irish myths and legends through the medium of dance.

"I was involved with her from about the age of six, and that made me realise how much I loved being in the theatre. Miss Mulholland taught us festival Irish dancing, which was a very relaxed version of the traditional feis Irish dancing. Her type of dancing later evolved into Riverdance."

After school Laura enrolled in the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and made her television debut in Sugar Rush, a semi-autobiographical comedy drama based on a book of the same name by Julie Burchill.

Other roles included Barbara Best, sister of George, in Best: His Mother's Son, and parts in Casualty, The Bill, and The Fall, where she was one of the women murdered by the serial killer played by Jamie Dornan.

She broke into American TV with a part in Missing, which was critically acclaimed but less popular with audiences. She later won a role in time travel fantasy Outlander.

Some years ago, when interviewed for the Belfast Telegraph, she expressed the desire to play one of the great female roles from Shakespeare such as Lady Macbeth. She hasn't played that part but did get to star as Juliet in a performance in Regent Park.

"It was an incredible experience, magical, because of the surroundings. I adored that experience, but how do I feel now about doing Shakespeare? I did that and now I do almost entirely new writing when it comes to the theatre."

And there is no doubt in her mind that the stage is her favourite acting medium. "Don't get me wrong, I love doing television and I love the opportunity to chop and change from one to the other, but it is without question that my favourite is the theatre.

"I love the connection with the audience. Everyone is in a joint experience at that particular moment in their lives and everyone is required to be present. You don't get that feeling from filming. It can feel sterile by comparison at times. There is just something about the soul in the theatre.

"The audience's experience of a television drama is a very separate one from the actors; they are having their experiences at different times and there is no connection between the filming and the audience."

Is there anywhere she would really love to work? "For me I will go wherever the work is especially if it is a great play which I was dying to do."

One place where she wants to spend more time is Belfast. "I have aunts and cousins there and I want to be able to go home and spend some proper time with them. Living and working in London, and even in New York on occasion, means that I only get to spend fleeting periods in my home city."

Tickets to see Laura in Faith Healer at the 3rd Lughnasa FrielFest Brian Friel Festival can be booked at www.artsoverborders.com

The Ferryman will run at the Bernard B Jacobs Theatre, NYC, from October
Ed Balls is discussing the dos and don'ts of donning a leotard. No, he's not referring to his Strictly Come Dancing days (in case you missed it, he was the unexpected star of the 2016 series). The former politician actually wears a skimpy Union flag number to enter the wrestling ring in new BBC Two show Travels in Trumpland with Ed Balls.

"I'm not someone who previously had bikini line concerns, but they wanted me to wear a really tight-cut leotard and I thought it would be unflattering," says the 51-year-old father-of-three, who's married to Labour MP Yvette Cooper.

"I had a pair of black boxers under it. Had I only worn the bikini line, that might have ruined it for the viewer."

He decided not to shave his legs and torso, like his fellow wrestlers did. "My kids think dads should be embarrassing, but that I substantially overachieve," he says.

"I could explain to my 13-year-old why it was important to do the wrestling, but if I'd have been waxed and shaved, she would have said it was too much."

The series sees the ex-shadow chancellor walk in the shoes of a variety of supporters of US President Donald Trump to try and understand why they voted for him.

"Lots of people will assume they're either deluded and don't understand, or extreme and dangerous, but we just met really nice, ordinary people," he says.

"I thought that, after the first year, Trump would be losing support, but we didn't find that at all, and it wouldn't surprise me if he was given a second term."

The three episodes look at different issues facing Americans, such as the gun control movement, immigration policies and how they feel about their country since the former reality star was elected in 2016.

It's obviously very timely, especially because it's airing so soon after Trump's first official visit to the UK, which led to tens of thousands of people protesting through the streets of London.

"I thought he'd drop the wild persona and become a more reasonable, centrist president but he hasn't at all," Balls says.

"You assume it can't get worse, but it actually does."

As well as being an insightful and entertaining series, what might surprise viewers is how emotional it is to watch.

In the first episode, Balls stays at a farm with a group of war veterans and, as well as hearing their thoughts on Trump, he joins them round a campfire for a toast to friends who lost their lives in service.

He asks to toast late Labour MP Jo Cox, a mum-of-two who was murdered by a far-Right extremist outside her constituency surgery in Birstall, near Leeds, a week before the EU referendum.

"The only thing which felt comparable to me was Jo, who I knew very well," Balls says of the moving scene.

"I did a lot of campaigning and fundraising with her.

"From a personal point of view, Jo losing her life is a terrible thing, obviously.

"I'm somebody who has three kids and a partner who does exactly the same kind of surgeries every Friday, so it could absolutely have been us. I could think about what it's like to be Jo, but I also think about what it's like to be her family."

Balls agrees that competing on Strictly - where he won fans over with his memorable salsa to Gangnam Style - showed the public a different side to him.

"People kept saying to me, 'We always knew you were a politician, but it's great to see you're a human being as well'."

With presenting this documentary series taking him out of his comfort zone once again, he says we can expect to see even more of his personality.

"It's impossible to be in a character for so many hours of filming each day, so it's impossible to conceal who I am," Balls elaborates.

"It's entirely unscripted, so it ends up being very honest. I let it all hang out - literally and figuratively."

Did he look to an experienced documentary maker like Louis Theroux for inspiration?

"I took a decision that I shouldn't watch anyone else doing this kind of thing until we had made the first episode. I didn't want to try and be someone else.

"If you asked me what the genre is, it's a mix of old-style, early Louis Theroux meets The Real Marigold Hotel and little bit of Ruby Wax.

"I tried to let the characters do the talking. I reveal my opinions to camera, but not to the people I'm with."

After tough days of filming, Balls knew he would be able to turn to his wife for support.

"The second episode deals with the Parkland shooting," he says, referring to the horrific shooting at a Florida high school in February, when a gunman killed 17 students and staff.

"We thought the pain was going to be talking to the 18-year-old in the class who was shot in both legs and face, but actually, it was talking to her mother.

"After, I rang Yvette because it was so hard and you need a bit of empathy.

"Our kids are 19, 17 and 13 - they go to school each day and you assume they will come home."

Going back to politics, it's an undeniably difficult time for the UK Government right now, too, what with the ongoing Brexit negotiations.

Discussing why people voted to leave the EU, Balls suggests: "Some were anti-European, and the world, but maybe it was a roll of the dice.

"People think, 'The status quo's not worked for me, let's roll the dice and try something new', which is a very challenging thing for a politician."

It was during the 2015 General Election that Balls lost his seat in the Morley and Outwood constituency, in West Yorkshire. He doesn't seem to envy those currently working as an MP.

"I'm regretful politics is so chaotic at the moment and I look back at better times wistfully," he says.

"But if you said to me, 'You could be in Parliament, or you could do this show at the moment', I'd definitely choose this show."

Travels in Trumpland with Ed Balls, BBC Two, tomorrow, 9pm
Restoring powersharing in Northern Ireland is crucial to preventing a drastic worsening of Anglo-Irish relations post-Brexit, former Stormont first minister Peter Robinson has warned.

In a stark message to the current generation of politicians in the region, Mr Robinson stressed the need to put their differences aside, claiming it was intolerable some of them appeared to have turned their backs on the electorate.

In a speech in Co Donegal, the ex-Democratic Unionist leader said there was the potential for a marked deterioration in the relationship between the UK and Irish governments once the kinship fostered by their respective membership of the European Union was gone.

Mr Robinson said already fraying relations between politicians north and south of the border in Ireland would also worsen once Brexit occurs and cautioned that communities within Northern Ireland had become more polarised due to the hysteria whipped up over the UKs exit from the EU.

Expand Close Organiser of the MacGill Summer School in Co Donegal, Dr Joe Mulholland, left, and Peter Robinson (PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Whatsapp Organiser of the MacGill Summer School in Co Donegal, Dr Joe Mulholland, left, and Peter Robinson (PA)

Addressing the MacGill summer school in Glenties, he said tensions had been exacerbated by the collapse of Stormont, highlighting that the implosion of powersharing had also put associated north-south and east-west political structures bodies into cold storage.

Central to protecting the helpful and cordial set of relationships, that have been built up over many years, is the rebirth and smooth operation of the Northern Ireland Assembly, its Executive, along with the North-South and East-West institutions, he said.

Without each and all of those parts being in place, and working, relationships will suffer  perhaps drastically.

The absence of the complete network of connections leaves us all vulnerable to a downward spiral which may lead to toxicity.

On the risks to Anglo-Irish relations, Mr Robinson said the EU had provided a common room where the UK and Irish Republic had kept in regular contact, fostering a sense of friendship and conviviality.

The former East Belfast MP said there was comradeship of being part of the same team, adding: Distance and detachment will inevitably cool the kinship.

It is easy to imagine circumstances, in the future, where the Republic takes up cudgels alongside the other EU states which are hostile to the United Kingdoms interestsPeter Robinson

There is no question that the two governments will continue to claim everlasting friendship and affection complete with copious commitments to maintaining their unique bond, but any lucid thinker will realise that the more remote the new relationship becomes the more it will involve a greater level of competition which will cause the gap to grow.

He said a shared outlook on certain issues would give way to more competition and greater protection of separate national interests and warned that such rivalry would undoubtedly lead to clashes and struggles in the future.

It is easy to imagine circumstances, in the future, where the Republic takes up cudgels alongside the other EU states which are hostile to the United Kingdoms interests, he said.

It is just as easy to envisage the impact that the resultant resentment will have on the ties between the two nations, particularly if a pattern of opposition develops.

Mr Robinson said the network of arrangements and structures linked to the devolution settlement  such as the North South Ministerial Council and the British Irish Council  were finely balanced.

The arrangements have allowed unionists and nationalists to participate fully within a framework of relationships  and do so in a relaxed manner with mutually beneficial outcomes, he said.

It worked, and moreover, no-one felt threatened by it.

Mr Robinson said unionist relations with the Dublin government had undoubted worsened throughout the disruptive, distracting and wearisome Brexit process.

Unionists believe Dublin has been completely self-serving and unnecessarily bellicose during this process, he said.

I believe the absence of a working North-South institution has exacerbated the situation.

If, at the end of the negotiations, there is the potential of UK and RoI relationships cooling and a worsening in unionist relationships with Dublin the spill-over consequences on relationships within Northern Ireland are clear and alarming.

He added: Unquestionably the parties and traditions in Northern Ireland have become more polarised as a result of the Brexit hysteria  much of it was avoidable but an absence of the political cohesion that a functioning Executive has provided in the past has intensified the division.

Mr Robinson did not single out any of the present day leaders in Northern Ireland as he expressed frustration at the failure to find a way forward.

It is intolerable that there are politicians who appear to have turned their backs on the will and needs of the community they are elected to serve, he said.

It does not matter which section of the community I talk to, the views are identical.

The message is clear: the public believe that the consequences of not having a functioning Assembly  the impact on our health service and education system, the infrastructure projects that need to be started, the needs of those who have suffered institutional abuse and await action, those who need ministers to be searching for jobs and investment to get the country buzzing again and the countless other priorities  are far more urgent and of greater importance than any of the given reasons for refusing to operate the Assembly.

Mr Robinson suggested that if the differences dividing the DUP and Sinn Fein could not be overcome prior to restoring Stormont, they should be resolved in a parallel process, with devolution returning in the interim.

There is no more important task for Assembly Members to perform than working to restore the institutions, he said.

I contend that the revival of the Assembly and Executive is an imperative in a post-Brexit era. It represents our best hope of peace, stability and reconciliation.
A Northern Ireland-born Labour MP has pledged to fight efforts to deselect her after her local Labour Party unanimously passed a vote of no confidence in her.

They want pro-Brexit Kate Hoey to lose the party whip and for the national executive not to allow her to be reselected for the Vauxhall seat.

The MP defied Labour whips and voted with the Government on key Brexit votes earlier this month. Ms Hoey, who has born in Mallusk, Co Antrim, has a strong relationship with many unionist politicians.

Last night she was backed by TUV leader Jim Allister. Its disappointing, but not surprising, that virulent Remainers are targeting one of the champions of Brexit, he said.

Kate Hoey has taken a courageous and principled stand in accordance with that which she laid before the electorate.

I therefore trust that the attempt to unseat her will be unsuccessful, just as the concerted attempt in 2017 fell on its face.

In last years general election the Liberal Democrats targeted the south London seat, publishing a leaflet showing Ms Hoeys face merged with Nigel Farages.

Ms Hoey had campaigned with the former Ukip leader during the Brexit referendum.

Her constituency recorded a 78% Remain vote. The Labour MP was returned with a 20,000-strong majority. Her critics accuse her of propping up a failing Tory Government.

Ms Hoey said she was not surprised by the challenge and wouldnt be changing her position on Brexit. She told The Guardian: My local party activists are solid EU remainers. I will always put my country before my party and helping my constituents is a priority.

After 29 years as an MP, I am quite relaxed about the vote and it wont influence in any way how I vote in future.

The motion, passed at a meeting of the local Labour Party on Thursday night, carries no official weight but Vauxhall activists can seek a trigger ballot to deselect their MP.

A total of 42 members voted against Ms Hoey, with three abstentions and no one supporting her. She is currently in Zimbabwe as an election observer.

The MP put her name to an amendment to the Customs Bill ruling out a customs border in the Irish Sea. It was supported by the DUP and the pro-Brexit European Research Group (ERG) headed by Jacob Rees-Mogg. She was also one of four Labour rebel MPs to support Theresa Mays Government in defeating an amendment calling for a post-Brexit customs union.

The motion also criticised the MP for her support of fox hunting and her views on grammar schools. It accepted that MPs could defy the whip and vote with their conscience, but said this cannot extend to collaborating with the ERG and DUP. Vauxhall Labours disability officer Fran Springfield said she felt betrayed by Ms Hoeys actions, which showed that in the MPs eyes Brexit was more important than having a Labour Government.

Ms Springfield said she disagreed with Ms Hoey, who claimed voting with her party on the Trade Bill would not have led to a general election.

This was certainly what Tory whips were telling their MPs, she said.

Any Labour MP who supports this austerity-driven government should have the whip removed.

Why, when Kate is such a good constituency MP, did she choose to condemn us to more of this dreadful government when we could have had a general election and Jeremy Corbyn as Prime Minster?

Ms Springfield said she hoped the national executive would listen to the views of Vauxhall members.

We dont yet know when a trigger ballot is likely to be and at this point in time there have been no formal discussions about possible candidates, she added.
The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee called for the Government to review the way UK laws on digital campaigning are defined

Shocking discoveries about the extent of Russian interference in overseas elections are just the "tip of the iceberg", a committee warned.

MPs also uncovered "disturbing" evidence about the activities of companies involved in a number of foreign political campaigns since 2010, including the use of hacking, disinformation and voter suppression.

The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee called for the Government to review the way UK laws on digital campaigning are defined.

MPs said they heard evidence of co-ordinated campaigns by Russian agencies to influence how people voted in elections around the world.

"This includes running adverts through Facebook during elections in other countries and in breach of their laws," committee chairman Damian Collins explained.

"Facebook failed to spot this at the time, and it was only discovered after repeated requests were made for them to look for evidence of this activity."
Seized: Some of the cigarettes

An Armagh man who was part of a gang that attempted to flood the streets of the United Kingdom with millions of smuggled cigarettes has been jailed for five years.

Sean Dolan (43), from Annaghmare Road near Crossmaglen, and three other men from England smuggled more than 17 million non-UK duty paid cigarettes and 1.4 tonnes of hand-rolling tobacco from Southeast Asia from January 2014.

It is estimated that the duty and VAT evaded totalled more than 4 million.

Cigarettes and tobacco were seized at the Port of Felixstowe in September 2014, when two shipping containers were stopped by Border Force officials.

The goods were described as furniture on paperwork.

During a search of Dolan's home, 949,600 American Legend brand cigarettes were found in the garage.

The fraudsters tried to hide the profits by buying high-value vehicles and selling them on.

They set up and fronted a UK-based business and hijacked the identity of a legitimate firm in order to launder the proceeds and avoid paying VAT.

The gang bought 102 vehicles totalling 1,138,029 - more than 500,000 of which was paid in cash.

The money was then deposited into the businesses.

One of the firms received a further 308,000 in cash over a seven-month period in 2015.

Dolan and the other men - Ian Pritchard (51), Paul Smith (47) and Ian Hindle (39) - were jailed yesterday at Liverpool Crown Court.

Antony Capon, assistant director, Fraud Investigation Service, HMRC, said: "This gang was aiming to undercut legitimate retailers with this large quantity of smuggled cigarettes and tobacco.

"They thought that by setting up a fake business and funneling cash through it they would somehow stay under HMRC's radar.

"They were wrong and it was foolish of them to believe they could get away with committing such a large-scale fraud."
Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 28th July 2018 Members of Britain First gather at Ards Leisure Centre in Co. Down where they redirected supporters to another location for a private meeting. They were met by a counter protest and a small police presence. The counter protest pictured outside Ards Leisure centre. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 28th July 2018 Members of Britain First gather at Ards Leisure Centre in Co. Down where they redirected supporters to another location for a private meeting. They were met by a counter protest and a small police presence. Britain First members talk to the police outside Ards Leisure centre. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 28th July 2018 Members of Britain First gather at Ards Leisure Centre in Co. Down where they redirected supporters to another location for a private meeting. They were met by a counter protest and a small police presence. The counter protest pictured outside Ards Leisure centre. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 28th July 2018 Members of Britain First gather at Ards Leisure Centre in Co. Down where they redirected supporters to another location for a private meeting. They were met by a counter protest and a small police presence. A Britain First supporter takes a video of people involved in a counter protest. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Press Eye - Belfast - Northern Ireland - 28th July 2018 Members of Britain First gather at Ards Leisure Centre in Co. Down where they redirected supporters to another location for a private meeting. They were met by a counter protest and a small police presence. UUP MLA Mike Nesbitt pictured outside Ards Leisure centre. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Members of Britain First gather at Ards Leisure Centre in Co. Down where they redirected supporters to another location for a private meeting. They were met by a counter protest and a small police presence. Picture by Jonathan Porter/PressEye

Controversial Belfast City Councillor Jolene Bunting has left far-right group Britain First following a row over finances.

Britain First leader Paul Golding said in a statement that Councillor Bunting had been "proscribed" from the group.

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Speaking on Twitter, Councillor Bunting thanked people for their support and said she was taking legal advice following the row.

The development came as Britain First held their first official meeting in Northern Ireland on Saturday.

Party leader Paul Golding was in attendance after his recent release from prison.

A number of members gathered in Newtownards on Saturday to direct people to the meeting.

They were met by a counter protest of around 40 people including UUP MLA Mike Nesbitt.

Councillor Bunting had appeared with Golding and his deputy Jayda Fransen at a number of events in Northern Ireland over the past year.

Fransen 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.

She is currently serving a nine month prison sentence for religiously aggravated harassment and along with Golding, faces further charges in Northern Ireland.

Expand Close Britain First leader Paul Golding (centre) at a rally outside Belfast City Hall. / Facebook

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Whatsapp Britain First leader Paul Golding (centre) at a rally outside Belfast City Hall.

Golding and Fransen are being prosecuted over speeches delivered in Belfast.

The pair were charged with using threatening, abusive or insulting words.
Peter Robinson sounded a warning yesterday that the Brexit process could have a toxic impact on relations within Northern Ireland - and between London and Dublin.

Addressing the MacGill Summer School in Glenties, Co Donegal, the former First Minister said that the stable connections of the last two decades will "unalterably change" as the UK leaves the EU.

He said unionists believe Dublin has been "completely self-serving and unnecessarily bellicose", while the UK believes Irish ministers had adopted a "rigid, if not antagonistic" posture.

The former DUP leader said: "I believe the absence of a working North-South institution has exacerbated the situation.

"If, at the end of the negotiations, there is the potential of UK and RoI relationships cooling and a worsening in unionist relationships with Dublin, the spill-over consequences on relationships within Northern Ireland are clear and alarming.

"Dublin taking any decision in the EU which would have a detrimental impact on Northern Ireland will add bile to the mix.

"It's not a pretty picture and not a positive vision for the future."

Mr Robinson also told the gathering that there was potential for a marked deterioration in the relationship between the UK and Irish Governments once the kinship fostered by their membership of the EU was gone.

He said already fraying relations between politicians north and south of the border would deteriorate once Brexit occurs and cautioned that communities within Northern Ireland had become more "polarised" due to the "hysteria" whipped up over the UK's exit from the EU. Mr Robinson said tensions had been intensified by the collapse of Stormont, highlighting that the implosion of power-sharing had also put north-south and east-west political structures bodies into cold storage.

"Central to protecting the helpful and cordial set of relationships, that have been built up over many years, is the rebirth and smooth operation of the Northern Ireland Assembly, its Executive, along with the North-South and East-West institutions," he added.

"Without each and all of those parts being in place, and working, relationships will suffer - perhaps drastically.

"The absence of the complete network of connections leaves us all vulnerable to a downward spiral which may lead to toxicity."

Mr Robinson said the collapse of Stormont had also increased "polarisation" here.

"Unquestionably, the parties and traditions in Northern Ireland have become more polarised as a result of the Brexit hysteria.

"Much of it was avoidable but an absence of the political cohesion that a functioning Executive has provided in the past has intensified the division."

Mr Robinson expressed his frustration at failure to find a way forward.

"It is intolerable that there are politicians who appear to have turned their backs on the will and needs of the community they are elected to serve," he said.

The former First Minister said that all sections of the community told him that issues such as the health service and education were more important than any of the reasons given for refusing to operate the Assembly.

He backed a suggestion that if the differences dividing the DUP and Sinn Fein could not be overcome prior to restoring Stormont, they should be resolved in a parallel process, with devolution returning in the interim.

"There is no more important task for Assembly Members to perform than working to restore the institutions," he said.

"I contend that the revival of the Assembly and Executive is an imperative in a post-Brexit era.

"It represents our best hope of peace, stability and reconciliation."

The Assembly had its detractors, he said, but "it proved that politicians from very different backgrounds and views could work together and do so to the benefit of the entire community".
Posted Saturday, July 28, 2018 6:05 am

Horror Movie Pageant

$10, 21 and up

Saturday, July 28, 8 p.m. to 1 a.m.

The Avenue Cafe

2021 E. Michigan Ave.

Click here for event page

See Frankenstein do burlesque, Dracula show some skin and the Wolfman do the boogie.

Vendors at the event: Salvador La Strange Emporium, Subversive Image, Macabre Creations, Freakshow Friends, The Underground Unleashed, Electronic Kitty, Ralphies Reverie, Wax Witch and Punks With Lunch.

We are a gender neutral pageant, which a lot of people don't realize, said Tiesha King, founder of the Dark Art of Michigan. You can be unique as a performance artist. There is a new birth of drag since RuPauls Drag Race has made it more mainstream.

With Lansing drag queen legend Delicious, as well as burlesque performer Cinna Moan as co-judges, King said she is grateful for the experience they bring to this event.

Once everybody runs through their initial performance, we will score them and the top four will be invited to lip sync for their afterlife. They get on stage with another contestant facing elimination and perform together, said King. Whoever does the best performance will move on to the final round.

Putting on the horror movie theme is a good way to incorporate dark arts into a pageant, said King.

When you are a kid, those were the first things that scared you, and mom kept you safe. I just think those kind of things can be timeless, because it takes you back to a time when you were vulnerable.

Since winning the title last year, Tater Tot Noxious drag career has expanded.

Hes got opportunities and hes been booked out of town a he never thought being a drag queen in his first year would get those opportunities, said King.

King said each contestant competes for the crown differently, and thats part of the fun. Putting on this show is important to foster a greater understanding of this community, said King.

I like that it is actually being paid attention to by people that arent necessarily into the dark stuff. They see the value in what were doing and accept it.
A DUP MLA has urged the PSNI to investigate a social media message from a dissident activist that appears to gloat over the IRA murder of three RUC officers in Newry in 1986.

Newry and Mourne MLA William Irwin says the tweet posted by republican Stephen Murney was "clearly intended to cause offence and glorify the actions of the IRA".

In the tweet posted yesterday, Mr Murney, a member of the Saoradh, wrote: "32 years ago today the IRA carried out an audacious & deadly attack on the hated Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) in Newry, involving two active service units (ASUs).

"Two Vols flung open the doors of the heavily armoured car & killed the 2 armed members of the RUC/PSNI militia."

Condemning the online message, Mr Irwin said: "The tweet by Stephen Murney is clearly intended to cause offence and glorify the actions of the IRA especially as he uses the words 'hated RUC' and 'RUC/PSNI militia' in his outburst.

"This is clearly hate speech and should be investigated by the PSNI.

"Stephen Murney is seeking to besmirch the good name of Karl Blackbourne, Charles Allen and Peter Kilpatrick, who were amongst the finest RUC officers who wore the uniform and were coldly and callously murdered by the IRA as they sat in their vehicle in Newry during the darkest days of the troubles.

"The memory of those brave RUC officers will forever live on and stands in very stark contrast to the sickening, gloating behaviour of Stephen Murney."

Mr Irwin said he had already raised his concerns with the Chief Constable.

But last night the PSNI said that no complaint had yet been received.

Mr Murney strongly defended his tweet, saying he had copied it from a 2007 edition of An Phoblacht/Republican News, the Sinn Fein publication

"The article, and tweet, is merely an example of republicans remembering a successful operation in which brave IRA volunteers successfully engaged enemy forces, resulting in the killing of three RUC gunmen," he said.

"The republican community in Newry are immensely proud of the actions of the IRA in Newry and further afield during the freedom struggle."

He also hit out at the DUP, claiming the party engaged in "selective condemnation" of violence.

"They are bloodthirsty cheerleaders of violent British imperialism, who are complicit in the mass murder of civilians, based only on their Catholic religious affiliation, via Ulster Resistance and several other loyalist terror gangs," he added.

"Myself and Saoradh won't be lectured to by cowardly hypocrites."
An arson attack to a boardwalk near the historic Battle of the Boyne site is being investigated by police in the Republic

An arson attack to a boardwalk near the historic Battle of the Boyne site is being investigated by police in the Republic.

Firefighters attended the scene at Oldbridge, Co Meath, on Thursday night and battled the blaze until after midnight.

The boardwalk starts close to the entrance to the Battle of the Boyne site and is popular with tourists and locals.

The fire damaged a section of the walk some 400 metres from the site, near the canal and the lock gates.

Garda confirmed that it believes the fire was started deliberately.

Local independent councillor Kevin Callan hit out at those behind the blaze, saying it "was nothing short of arson".

"This act has seriously damaged a section of our local infrastructure which is enjoyed by locals and tourists and would be a key part of the upcoming Fleadh in allowing visitors enter the Boyne Valley," he told RTE.

"I have seen the extent of the damage which has been done and I am now going to make contact with Meath County Council to see if the section can be repaired by August, even if temporarily.

"The council should not have to be dealing with this at all.

"I am also getting in touch with the EPA (the Republic's Environmental Protection Agency) to check that no damage has been caused by smoke to the island in the centre of the river, which is a special area of ecological conservation."

Irish Labour senator Ged Nash also condemned the vandalism at the walkway.

He posted on Twitter: "Completely sickened by the act of naked, wanton vandalism that has destroyed our beloved boardwalk at Oldbridge."

Garda confirmed it was treating the incident as criminal damage. It said: "Gardai in Laytown are investigating criminal damage by fire to a boardwalk on River Boyne at Oldbridge, Drogheda.

"It was reported on the evening of July 26, 2018, a number of units from the fire brigade attended. Investigations are ongoing."
It's a lasting legacy for a brave little girl who will never be forgotten.

Nadezda Laporionok was born with a cleft palate and a range of other health issues.

But she was responding well to treatment - so much so that the youngster was set to start playgroup.

However, shortly before she was due to go, her family noticed that the pupil of one of her eyes was bigger than the other.

They say they took her to the doctors but that medics told them they didn't know what was causing it at that stage.

Tragically, Nadezda was diagnosed with rhabdomyosarcoma, an aggressive cancer, at the beginning of October 2016. Just five months later in March 2017, aged two and a half, she passed away.

Now her family have donated money that had been raised for her treatment to a children's cancer charity - helping others and creating a wonderful legacy for Nadezda.

Parents Aleksandr and Olesia (both 35), originally from Lithuania, have lived in Kesh, Co Fermanagh, for many years and have another daughter, six-year-old Leila.

Aleksandr said little Nadezda was incredibly brave.

"She was independent and mature for her age," he said.

"She was very clever and it felt like she understood everything that was happening and accepted everything that was happening. And she was so brave.

"During her life she was a happy child and very curious child."

Aleksandr recalled the lead-up to his daughter's diagnosis.

"When we booked the playgroup place - about a month before that we noticed that one of her pupils was larger than the other one.

"We were going to the doctors, but the doctors said 'we don't know what it is, we'll wait, we'll wait'. So if action had been taken two or three months before that, we probably could have saved her."

The family had never faced a cancer battle before and were searching for any option to try and help save their little girl.

They began to look in other countries for treatment options and found a clinic in Israel that offered surgery.

But as they began fundraising to try to cover the costs - and as Nadezda's condition worsened - the costs kept rising.

Aleksandr said: "It was unbelievable. The price was growing not monthly but every week." Tragically, their daughter lost her battle with cancer. However, the couple decided to direct the funds raised for her to other children in need.

Aleksandr said: "When we started fundraising we said the money is only for Nadezda and if we can't use it for her treatment, all the rest of the money will go to other kids.

"When Nadezda passed away we started to give money to the other families who we met in the hospital with similar problems."

A couple of weeks ago the family decided to donate the rest of the money to the Children's Cancer Unit Charity to create a lasting legacy for Nadezda.

Overall they had raised almost 30,000 and more than half was donated to the charity.

Aleksandr said: "We just wanted to donate it to the Children's Cancer Unit Charity - they know better what to use it for and what support they need."

The family told how they were overwhelmed by the generosity of the public who gave up so much of their time to help them.

"I've been shocked the way everything was done and people were using their own time," said Aleksandr.

"They were doing raffles, they were doing some activities and fundraising nights out, or skydives."

Nadezda's family are still struggling to come to terms with the passing of their daughter. Aleksandr said they still have lots of items around the house that remind them of her.

He said each day brings different emotions, but he is heartened that Nadezda will always be a part of their family. "We have another daughter, Leila, and when she is drawing pictures of the family she includes us, the dog, and Nadezda as the angel in the sky.

"It's not that she is being separated, we are still all together, but Nadezda is an angel - she is still in our family."

The funds donated in Nadezda's name will go a long way to help the Children's Cancer Unit Charity, which is fundraising for a new ultrasound scanner.

The family met with Jacqueline Wilkinson from the charity to hand over the money.

She said: "It was a pleasure to meet with Olesia, Aleksandr and Leila to hear some of their fondest memories and stories about Nadezda.

"During their journey and time at the Children's Cancer Unit they received remarkable support and generosity from friends, family and all those who knew of what they were going through.

"The charity is currently fundraising for a new ultrasound scanner, but we will need to raise over 100,000 to purchase one and ensure that the relevant facilities are in place to allow for its arrival to the hospital. The donation that the Laporionok family have made in Nadezda's name will go a long way in helping us reach that target."
A 38-year-old man has been charged with a number of offences after three people were injured in an incident in Belfast.

He has been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and grievous bodily harm with intent and is due to appear before Belfast Magistrates Court on Saturday.

Shortly after 8.30pm on Thursday police received a report a man and two women had been injured following an incident at a house in the Heatherbell Street area.

All three were taken to hospital for treatment to their injuries which are not believed to be life threatening.
A Sinn Fein councillor has slammed the DUP after the party confirmed it is considering a move to block the Pride flag from being erected on civic buildings in Co Armagh.

Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council was praised last week after it passed a historic motion which will see the rainbow flag raised on three public buildings for the first time.

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But the DUP has threatened to use the 'call in' process to block the significant gesture towards the LGBT+ community.

Sinn Fein councillor Liam Mackle, who seconded the motion introduced by his party colleague Darren McNally, warned that such a move would have an adverse impact.

"At the moment it's just talk," he said.

"They have until 10am on Tuesday and if they go ahead then the flag will not be flown - even though their argument is totally without merit."

If the mechanism is triggered it will mean legal advice must be sought through the chief executive's office and discussed at the next council meeting on August 20.

"It simply means the flag will not fly regardless of the outcome," Mr Mackle said.

"I would advise the party against doing it because it will only be interpreted as a blatant attack on all members of the LGBT community.

"It will also make a complete nonsense of Arlene Foster's outreach work."

Rainbow Project policy officer Gavin Boyd previously hailed the motion, which was narrowly passed at a full council meeting on Monday, as a major milestone.

He welcomed the move as "one of the most phenomenal things I've heard taking place to mark Pride this year" and said visibility is key to those in the LGBT+ community who face isolation or difficulties.

However, in a statement the DUP said it "outrightly condemns any act of hate or violence against any member of the community" but branded the motion to fly the flag as divisive.

The party expressed concerns that it was submitted "very late in the day", which it said could have "far-reaching" implications. "Due process hasn't been followed, no call for an equality impact assessment as is custom and practice when displaying flags and emblems, and we are going against our policies and procedures," it said.

"We as a party fear that this result will open the floodgates for all groups to suggest flying all types of flags from civic buildings."

The DUP said it believes that official local authority flagpoles should only be used to fly the nation's flag or the armed forces flag and vowed to object "in the strongest possible terms" to any other flag being flown.

"We will on this occasion have to consider taking legal advice and utilising the call in process," it said.

The motion was backed by Sinn Fein and the SDLP but the DUP and Independent Unionist Davy Jones voted against it. The Ulster Unionist Party did not vote.

The council will be the only local authority to fly the rainbow flag, although Belfast City Hall will be lit up in rainbow colours next Saturday to coincide with the Pride parade.

A Sinn Fein spokesperson said there is "clearly more to be done for the cause of full equality" and branded the DUP threat as a distraction and "further evidence of their continued denial of rights enjoyed by citizens elsewhere on this island and in Britain".
Sinn Fein will unveil its Irish presidential election candidate in September.

Chairman of the party's presidential election committee David Cullinane outlined the selection process yesterday.

Nominations will open on August 20 and close on September 10, with the party's ard chomhairle meeting six days later to select the candidate.

No one has yet officially put their name forward.

The candidate will challenge President Michael D Higgins after he announced his intention to seek a second term in office earlier this month.

"Sinn Fein is in this campaign to win," Mr Cullinane said.

"We want this to be a contest. We want this to be about the future of Ireland and a discussion about what type of society, what type of country we want."

He added that the candidate will embody the changes that were seen in the same-sex marriage and abortion referendum.

"A lot of women came out in big numbers in the last (abortion) campaign," he said.

"There are still massive issues in relation to gender pay and the patriarchal society women still live under.

"Women and men are demanding more social change and we want to see that.

"We want a candidate who can embody that, can reach out and speak to those people."

He denied that unveiling the candidate just six weeks before the election - proposed for October 26 - was an attempt to avoid full scrutiny.

"There will be plenty of time to put any and every question to that prospective candidate, we are not in the business of hiding," he said.

While Fine Gael, Fianna Fail and Labour have all backed Higgins, a number of others have expressed an interest in running for the presidency.

Senator Gerard Craughwell indicated his interest saying it was important that an election would take place, however he withdrew from the campaign earlier this week.
Saturday, July 28, 2018

July 23, 2018 (TIME): Massachusetts Passes Repeal of 173-Year-Old Abortion Ban Amid Fears for Future of Roe v. Wade, by Samantha Cooney:

Earlier this month, Massachusetts became the first state to formally respond to the possibility of Roe v. Wade being overturned in the world of a two-Trump-nominee Supreme Court. Although abortion is already legal in the state, Massachusetts still has a 173-year-old law on the books banning the procurement of a miscarriage.

The bill is called the NASTY Women Act (Negating Archaic Statutes Targeting Young Women) and passed in a landslide. While abortion has technically been legal in the state since 1981, state legislators were driven to quick action to further protect these rights after Justice Kennedy announced his retirement.

A Masschusetts State Democrat said:

I think people are beginning to realize these are strange times we live in. Nothing is impossible, and weve got to have a plan B. If these laws are enforced, what do we do? Were not willing to sit back and say, Well, its not going to happen here. The word for that is denial.

New Mexico and New York each have efforts underway to protect abortion rights as well.

While some critics accuse the NASTY Women Act and other similar bills of unnecessary political posturing, supporters cite that the rights we may take for granted are not always guaranteed. Rebecca Hart Holder, the president of NARAL Pro-Choice Massachusetts, says "the reality is any state can have a threat to abortion care.

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/reproductive_rights/2018/07/massachusetts-passes-repeal-of-173-year-old-abortion-ban-amid-fears-for-future-of-roe-v-wade.html
The son of renowned Irish road racing 'Flying Doctor" Fred McSorley was taken to hospital on Saturday by air ambulance following a non-racing incident at the Armoy Road Races in Co Antrim.

Allister McSorley was involved in a non-racing collision on the Lagge Road with a van and was treated at the scene by medics attending the races before being taken to the Royal Victoria in Hospital in Belfast by air ambulance.

He was at the races to work as a member of the MCUI Medical Team.

Mr McSorley is now recovering at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast and his injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.

His colleague John Hinds was killed in an accident at the Skerries 100 in 2015.

The Lurgan medic's well-known father Fred McSorley retired from his role as a doctor at Irish road racing events last year.

Racing was then abandoned due to the weather conditions after heavy rainfall across Northern Ireland.

"A decision has been made in the interest of safety to abandon this meeting," an Armoy Road Races spokesperson said.

"The Club would like to thank and acknowledge the support of the competitors, sponsors, volunteers and public. We can only look forward to next years event."
The charity watchdog is demanding an explanation from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust over claims that it gave 275,000 to an organisation linked to a banned Irish republican group.

The Quaker trust's website shows a grant of 149,915 to Teach Na Failte in November 2014 and another of 125,000 in March last year.

According to the Times, the organisation is linked to the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), a paramilitary splinter group responsible for some of the most infamous attacks of the Troubles, including the killing of Conservative MP Airey Neave in 1979.

The Charity Commission is seeking a response from the Rowntree trust to the claims made in the paper.

Michelle Russell, the commission's director of investigations and enforcement, said: "Our guidance makes clear that charities need to take steps to carry out appropriate due diligence on organisations applying for grants, must ensure grants are only for activities and outcomes that further the charity's purposes and decisions made are in charity's best interests.

"Charities should be able to explain and justify their funding decisions. We have asked the charity to do this."

The commission added that it would "not hesitate" to take action if needed.

It previously stepped in to urge the Rowntree trust - which is in no way connected with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation - to stop funding the controversial advocacy group Cage following a public outcry over Islamic State killer "Jihadi John" in 2015.

Cage's then research director Asim Qureshi claimed the executioner - widely identified as London student Mohammed Emwazi - was an "extremely kind" and "extremely gentle" man.

The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust said it has worked to end violence in Northern Ireland for more than 40 years and funds groups "transitioning from violence in loyalist and republican communities".

The organisation insisted it "has no relationship with any armed groups or proscribed organisations, including the INLA".

A statement said: "Teach na Failte is recognised by HMRC as a charitable body. It provides a range of peace-building community initiatives including support for INLA ex-prisoners and their families.

"Teach na Failte has been a key player in the INLA ceasefire and decommissioning process.

"It has been recognised for its positive contribution to peacebuilding and the re-integration of former prisoners in Northern Ireland.

"INLA declared their armed struggle over in October 2009 and publicly confirmed they had decommissioned their weapons in February 2010.

"In November 2014 JRCT awarded a grant of 149,915 specifically for the 'Transition Initiative' project.

"In March 2017 the trust awarded a further grant of 125,000 to Teach na Failte to continue this work.

"This grant was for the 'Transitional Initiative' project to support peacebuilding, dialogue and conflict transformation strategies in the Bellaghy and Strabane area.

"We are content with the progress being made by the project which is subject to strict monitoring processes by the trust.

"Teach na Failte in Bellaghy and Strabane are undertaking important transitional peacebuilding work and have recently begun a new collaborative project funded under the EU's Peace IV funding stream."
The Belfast Trust has apologised for the treatment of some patients at Muckamore Abbey Hospital

A union representing staff at Muckamore Abbey Hospital has claimed that the care and welfare of both patients and staff at the facility has been compromised due to staffing levels.

In a statement, Nipsa criticised the "apparent inability" of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust to "deliver a safe and appropriate working environment for these very vulnerable, but often challenging patients, to have the care delivered that they and their families are entitled to expect".

It came after the Belfast Trust issued an unreserved apology for the treatment of some patients at the hospital, which caters for adults with severe learning disabilities, mental health needs or challenging behaviour.

On Thursday it revealed that a safeguarding operation has been under way since September, and 13 members of staff have been suspended, with 10 more being interviewed as witnesses.

The Belfast Trust said that, due to a review of archived CCTV footage, "a further number of past incidents have been brought to our attention in the last week".

The reports of inappropriate behaviour and alleged physical abuse centred on two wards, one of which was the psychiatric intensive care unit.

Police said yesterday that they are currently investigating 42 incidents.

Three staff members have been interviewed and reports sent to the Public Prosecution Service.

The PSNI investigation is continuing.

Separately, an expert panel is to independently review the standard of care at Muckamore Abbey.

A woman whose brother is a patient at the hospital told BBC Evening Extra she hoped the issues would be "fully and thoroughly investigated".

"It does cast a shadow, there's no doubt about it, it does knock your confidence," said the relative, a member of the Society of Parents and Friends of Muckamore Abbey Hospital.

The Nipsa branch yesterday said it had been raising concerns over staffing levels "for some time".

It said: "Many staff across Muckamore Abbey Hospital have suffered emotional and psychological distress as well as significant, and on occasion, lifelong injuries intervening in incidents to try and ensure the safety of patients, other staff and members of the public.

"This is not to condone staff stepping outside established protocols and policies that are in place to contribute to the management of challenging behaviours when they arise."

The union said it supports a "transparent and effective investigation" but felt resource and training issues "lie at the root of much of these scenarios".

Nipsa officials said they had been raising concerns over staffing levels with the Belfast Trust "for some time".

They continued: "In our view, the care and welfare of both patients and staff has been compromised, as the trust has not fully staffed Muckamore Abbey Hospital at the required level for some years.

"There has been an over-reliance on bank and agency staff across wards and the removal of staff from day care services to shore up shortages elsewhere in the hospital.

"This has led to staff teams being depleted and a loss of practice experience among many staff groups in this hospital.

"The failure of the trust to deal with these staffing issues has always had the potential to lead to the situation currently unfolding."

Unison said it had met with its members at the hospital to discuss concerns.

It said: "Ensuring the safety of all patients and service users at Muckamore Abbey must be a priority."

Health watchdog the RQIA said it was "aware of the allegations of abuse of patients in Muckamore Abbey Hospital".

It added: "Under the Protocol for the Joint Investigation of Alleged and Suspected Cases of Abuse of Vulnerable Adults, led by the Belfast HSC Trust and the PSNI, RQIA is kept informed of current and ongoing investigations."

RQIA declined to comment further due to the ongoing investigation.

PSNI Superintendent Ryan Henderson said police were "working closely with the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust regarding a number of allegations into the ill-treatment of patients at Muckamore Abbey hospital".

The Belfast Trust declined to add to its statement from earlier in the week.
Police have called for an end to organised fighting in Belfast. (Joe Giddens/PA)

Police have called for an end to organised fighting in Belfast after a youth was knocked unconscious on Friday night.

A PSNI spokesperson said that the fighting took place on the Crumlin Road and asked parents to take responsibility for their children's whereabouts.

The spokesperson said that young people involved in the fighting were risking criminal records.

"Enough is enough. We had another organised fight last night. This is not acceptable, you are responsible for your children," the spokesperson said.

"We do not want to put any youth into the judicial system but be under no illusion, we will not accept this type of behaviour and will deal with it robustly.

"Speak to your kids, tell them the dangers of this behaviour before we have to, and know where they are and what they're up to."
The Liverpool 2018 team arrives at the finish line after a sprint finish to conclude the Clipper 2017-2018 Round the World Yacht Race outside the Royal Albert Dock in Liverpool (Peter Byrne/PA)

A female skipper who has sailed into the history books by becoming the first woman to win a race across the worlds oceans said she never set out to achieve the title.

More than 11 months after leaving Liverpools Albert Dock, a fleet of 11 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race vessels returned to the city on Saturday after completing their full circumnavigation.

It was Australian skipper Wendy Tuck who clinched overall victory on board Sanya Serenity Coast, followed closely by female British skipper Nikki Henderson on Visit Seattle.

Ms Tuck, who is originally from Sydney, spoke to the Press Association shortly after she had been thrown in Albert Dock as her crew celebrated their victory.

Expand Close Australian sailor and skipper Wendy Tuck (Andrew Matthews/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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The 53-year-old, who began sailing at the age of 24, said she never started the competition hoping to achieve the record of being the first woman to win an around-the-world yacht race.

When we set out as a team we wanted to finish on the podium or the top four, and then to win and to find out the other result as well  I didnt even think about that, it wasnt on the radar at the start at all, she said.

With women clinching first and second place in the overall standings, Ms Tuck said the result has got to be nothing but positive.

Asked how she was feeling about picking up the title and win, she said: I am really happy, it still hasnt sunk in just yet, it is pretty amazing.

Describing winning as being way up there, she said it is definitely the highest moment in her sailing career so far.

It has been tough, it has been fun, it has been heartbreaking  I think every emotion you can think of, I have felt it at some stage, she said.

Moments before she went on stage to lift the Clipper Race trophy following a parade of sail, she said she was so proud of her crew, adding that they are the most amazing team.

The race officially ended with a sprint finish up the River Mersey to the Royal Albert Dock, won by Garmin, with throngs of spectators lining the waterside to welcome the fleet home.

Expand Close The Garmin team, centre, during a sprint finish to conclude the Clipper 2017-2018 Round the World Yacht Race on the River Mersey in Liverpool (Peter Byrne/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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With Ms Tuck finishing on 143 overall points, 25-year-old Ms Henderson, the daughter of Conservative MP for Guildford Anne Milton, was hot on her heels with 139 points overall.

Portsmouth-based Ms Henderson, the youngest ever skipper in the Clipper Race, said she feels she can walk away from the competition with her head held high.

It was always really important for me to have a good balance between doing well, but also having a happy crew and a crew that respected each other and were a good team and a good family, she said.

I really feel like overwhelmingly that is what I achieved.

Describing the Clipper Race as being the hardest thing she has ever done in her life by far, Ms Henderson said she has come on a journey and that the race will stand out forever.

The 70ft Clipper yachts were raced across the planet by 712 amateur sailors  led by professional skippers  in the eleventh edition of the biennial race.

Split into eight legs, the first was from the UK to Punta del Este, Uruguay, and at more than 6,400 nautical miles made it the longest opening leg in the 21-year history of the race.

Across the 40,000 nautical miles as they crossed the worlds oceans, the race also visited other cities around the world including Seattle, Cape Town, Sanya and Qingdao.

Co-founder of the Clipper Race and the first person to sail solo and nonstop around the world, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston, said it was a brilliant finish to the competition.

Not long now until the #ClipperRace fleet sprints into @CultureLPool and while we wait here's what @VisitSanya Skipper Wendy Tuck thinks of her overall win. And don't forget you can watch the finish live https://t.co/gudPus4RVI #raceofyourlife pic.twitter.com/fRdpowJpbo  The Clipper Race (@ClipperRace) July 28, 2018

Asked how momentous the win by a woman is, Sir Robin said: It is not just this race, it is any around-the-world race  it is the first time ever a female has won.

It is bigger than people think. The fact we have first and second with both lady skippers is quite remarkable.

Sir Robin praised the way the crews had handled a particularly difficult storm in the Pacific Ocean during the race, and said he is very, very proud of all the participants.

But this edition of the Clipper Race was not without incident.

In November the Greenings yacht, one of 12 which originally left Liverpool, ran aground off the coast of South Africa, forcing the vessel to be withdrawn due to the damage caused.

And in the same month, 60-year-old retired solicitor Simon Speirs, from Bristol, was killed on the leg from South Africa to Australia while racing on board the GREAT Britain yacht.

He had been on the foredeck of the vessel to help change a sail when the incident happened.

Mr Speirs became separated from the boat, which was in the Southern Ocean in what were rough seas, with 20 knots of wind and gusts at 40.

An investigation into why his tether failed to keep him attached to the boat is currently under way.
The Home Bargains store on the Shrub Hill Retail Park in Tallow Hill, Worcester (Matthew Cooper/PA)

A sixth man has been charged in connection with a suspected acid attack on a three-year-old boy in Worcester.

Saied Hussini, from London, was arrested on Thursday night at an address in Wrottesley Road, Harlesden, West Mercia Police said.

He was charged on Friday night with conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm between July 12 and July 22.

Hussini is due to appear at Kidderminster Magistrates Court on Saturday.

Five other men including the injured youngsters 39-year-old father appeared in court on Wednesday, charged over the incident on July 21.

Adam Cech, 27, and Jan Dudi, 25, both from Birmingham, Norbert Pulko, 22, from London, and Jabar Paktia, 41, from Wolverhampton, all appeared at Kidderminster Magistrates Court alongside the fifth man, who cannot be named for legal reasons.

A sixth man has been charged after suspected acid attack in Worcester. https://t.co/2rG1LsCzRt  West Mercia Police (@WMerciaPolice) July 27, 2018

The five have all been charged with conspiring between July 16 and July 22 to cause grievous bodily harm to the youngster with intent.

The boy suffered serious burns to his face and an arm at the Home Bargains store in Worcester on Saturday afternoon and was discharged from hospital the following day.

The boy and his mother are now in a place of safety, according to prosecutors.

It is not yet known whether the youngster has suffered longer-term implications as a result of his injuries.

The suspected attack occurred in the Tallow Hill area of Worcester while the boy was out with his mother and other children.

The boys father, together with Cech, of Farnham Road, and Dudi, of Cranbrook Road, both in Handsworth, Paktia, of Newhampton Road, Wolverhampton, and Pulko, of Sutherland Road, Walthamstow, were remanded in custody to appear at Worcester Crown Court on August 28.
The Home Bargains store on the Shrub Hill Retail Park in Tallow Hill, Worcester (Matthew Cooper/PA)

A sixth man has been remanded in custody charged in connection with a suspected acid attack on a three-year-old boy.

Afghan national Saied Hussini, from London, was arrested on Thursday by officers investigating burn injuries caused to the child at a Home Bargains store in Worcester on Saturday July 21.

Hussini, 41, of Wrottesley Road, Harlesden, has been charged with conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm between July 12 and July 22.

Justices sitting at Kidderminster Magistrates Court remanded Hussini to appear alongside five other defendants, including the injured youngsters father, at Worcester Crown Court on August 28.

A sixth man has been charged after suspected acid attack in Worcester. https://t.co/2rG1LsCzRt  West Mercia Police (@WMerciaPolice) July 27, 2018

Hussini, wearing a grey sweatshirt, spoke only to confirm his name, address, date of birth and nationality during Saturdays nine-minute hearing.

There was no application for bail on his behalf.

The five other men were remanded in custody last Wednesday.

Adam Cech, 27, and Jan Dudi, 25, both from Handsworth, Birmingham, Norbert Pulko, 22, from Walthamstow, London, and Jabar Paktia, 41, from Wolverhampton, and the childs father  who cannot be named to protect his sons identity  are also charged with conspiring to cause grievous bodily harm.

The boy suffered serious burns to his face and arm but was discharged from hospital the following day.
A teenager has been charged with the murder of Frank Lennon, who was found dead at his home in Manchester (Greater Manchester Police/PA)

An 18-year-old has been charged with the murder of a man described by his family as loving, caring and sensitive, with a heart of gold.

Frank Lennon, 53, was found dead at his home in Hamerton Road, Collyhurst, Manchester, on the afternoon of Sunday July 22.

On Saturday, Greater Manchester Police said Daniels Kurmelov, of Dalton Road, Middleton, has been charged with Mr Lennons murder.

A man has been charged with murder after the body of a man was found in #Collyhurst https://t.co/bEkUW6XTIV  Greater Manchester Police (@gmpolice) July 28, 2018

Kurmelov was due to appear from custody at Manchester Magistrates Court later, added police.

Paying tribute to Mr Lennon earlier this week, his family said: Frank was a loving, caring and sensitive man with a heart of gold, who wouldnt hurt a soul.

We dont understand who would want to hurt such a kind and funny man who would do anything for anyone.

All of our family are devastated beyond belief.
Carrie Fisher attending the Star Wars: The Force Awakens European Premiere in Leicester Square, London (Anthony Devlin/PA)

JJ Abrams has said he will use unreleased footage of the late Carrie Fisher in the next Star Wars film to give the latest trilogy a satisfying conclusion.

Lucasfilm and writer-director Abrams announced on Friday that footage of Fisher shot for 2015s Star Wars: The Force Awakens will be used in the ninth film in the space operas core trilogies about the Skywalker family.

Filming is scheduled to begin on Wednesday in London.

Expand Close Mark Hamill will appear in the new film (Ian West/PA) PA Wire/PA Images / Facebook

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Fisher died in 2016 after she finished work on The Last Jedi.

Fridays announcement also confirmed that Billy Dee Williams will be returning to the franchise as Lando Calrissian, a hero of the rebellion who has not been seen in the latest trilogy.

Mark Hamill, who plays Luke Skywalker, will also appear in the film.
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'This fires getting so big': Huge Northern California fire grows by 35 percent silversides

The bare necessities of life

User ID: 148291

07-28-2018 08:37 PM



Posts: 30,339









Post: #1 'This fires getting so big': Huge Northern California fire grows by 35 percent

Advertisement

July 28, 2018





The Carr Fire burned properties including these near the Lake Keswick Estates area in Redding, California



Thousands of people in Southern California had fled a deliberately set blaze southeast of Los Angeles by Saturday morning, after the state's governor requested federal aid to help battle a deadly fire elsewhere.



A blaze known as the Cranston Fire, and the Northern California Carr Fire in which two firefighters have lost their lives, are among the most serious of several blazes burning in the most populous US state.



A third major blaze, the Ferguson Fire, has encroached upon the Yosemite National Park in central California, forcing the partial closure of the popular attraction and leading to the death of a firefighter several days ago.



More than 1,300 firefighters were battling the fast-moving Cranston Fire, which began on Wednesday and forced the evacuation of about 7,000 people, the US Forest Service said.



It added that the hazards created by Cranston and another fire have caused the temporary closure of all US Forest Service lands within the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument.



A 32-year-old man has been arrested and charged with 15 arson counts, including for the Cranston Fire.



"Fire dangers continue to rise throughout CA. Make sure your family and friends are prepared to evacuate. Be alert," warned California's Office of Emergency Services.

Governor Jerry Brown on Friday asked for federal assistance "to save lives and to protect property," his office said in a statement. He asked for help including military aircraft, shelter supplies and water for 30,000 evacuated residents in Shasta County, in north-central California, where the Carr Fire has grown "uncontrollably," the statement said.





Read more at:

https://phys.org/news/2018-07-thousands-...d.html#jCp Voodoo'd

Thousands flee new California blaze, governor asks aidJuly 28, 2018The Carr Fire burned properties including these near the Lake Keswick Estates area in Redding, CaliforniaThousands of people in Southern California had fled a deliberately set blaze southeast of Los Angeles by Saturday morning, after the state's governor requested federal aid to help battle a deadly fire elsewhere.A blaze known as the Cranston Fire, and the Northern California Carr Fire in which two firefighters have lost their lives, are among the most serious of several blazes burning in the most populous US state.A third major blaze, the Ferguson Fire, has encroached upon the Yosemite National Park in central California, forcing the partial closure of the popular attraction and leading to the death of a firefighter several days ago.More than 1,300 firefighters were battling the fast-moving Cranston Fire, which began on Wednesday and forced the evacuation of about 7,000 people, the US Forest Service said.It added that the hazards created by Cranston and another fire have caused the temporary closure of all US Forest Service lands within the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument.A 32-year-old man has been arrested and charged with 15 arson counts, including for the Cranston Fire."Fire dangers continue to rise throughout CA. Make sure your family and friends are prepared to evacuate. Be alert," warned California's Office of Emergency Services.Governor Jerry Brown on Friday asked for federal assistance "to save lives and to protect property," his office said in a statement. He asked for help including military aircraft, shelter supplies and water for 30,000 evacuated residents in Shasta County, in north-central California, where the Carr Fire has grown "uncontrollably," the statement said.Read more at: (This post was last modified: 07-28-2018 10:46 PM by silversides .) LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 370697

07-28-2018 08:46 PM











Post: #2 RE: Thousands flee new California blaze, governor asks aid

Um, they don't want to follow the laws of the U.S. and talk about Calexit, but when the chips are down they come with their hat in their hand asking for a handout. Uppity Me

Registered User

User ID: 449159

07-28-2018 09:05 PM



Posts: 37,529









Post: #3 RE: Thousands flee new California blaze, governor asks aid

this never used to happen

even Swartzenegger used to declare a state of emergency and took this very seriously



A 32-year-old man has been arrested and charged with 15 arson counts, including for the Cranston Fire Quote: Les pauvres n'ont-ils des Euros ?

Alors laissez les pauvres 'sh*t' dans les rues (This post was last modified: 07-28-2018 09:08 PM by Uppity Me .) LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 412093

07-28-2018 09:08 PM











Post: #4 RE: Thousands flee new California blaze, governor asks aid

OL' Pinko Jerry will fix it for you. Uppity Me

Registered User

User ID: 449159

07-28-2018 09:08 PM



Posts: 37,529









Post: #5 RE: Thousands flee new California blaze, governor asks aid

LoP Guest Wrote: (07-28-2018 09:08 PM) OL' Pinko Jerry will fix it for you.

it's getting worse it's getting worse Quote: Les pauvres n'ont-ils des Euros ?

Alors laissez les pauvres 'sh*t' dans les rues silversides

The bare necessities of life

User ID: 148291

07-28-2018 10:48 PM



Posts: 30,339









Post: #6 RE: 'This fires getting so big': Huge Northern California fire grows by 35 percent





Doug Stanglin,Jenny Espino and Jim Schultz, USA TODAY Published 8:31 a.m. ET July 28, 2018 | Updated 3:26 p.m. ET July 28, 2018





The hellish Carr Fire has charred the northern California communities of Redding and Shasta Lake. USA TODAY



REDDING, Calif.  The winds driving a tornadic wildfire in Northern California temporarily aided firefighters Saturday by keeping it from more populated areas, but also unleashed the flames at a frightening pace into communities dotting the southwest of Redding, forcing chaotic overnight evacuations.



At the same time, fire officials warned, winds were likely to shift again, driving the runaway flames back toward Redding, with a population around 92,000.



Were not getting a break with the weather, said Chris Anthony, a spokesman for Cal Fire, the state agency responsible for fighting wildfires. It just continues to be really hot, really dry and we continue to get those winds.  This fires getting so big and there are so many different parts to it.



To communities southwest of the city, the message overnight from the Igo Ono Fire Department was blunt: "Time to go now. Leave Igo take your pets time to go."



With the wind-whipped fire bearing down on Igo, an unincorporated community of around 600 people, law enforcement officials posted the warning on Facebook and also went door to door to urge residents to clear out.



Igo, and nearby Ono and Gaspoint were just three more communities caught in the path of the voracious wildfire in Northern California that has destroyed 500 structures, making it unofficially one of the top 20 most destructive California wildfires.



The fire, driven by howling winds, grew by about 35 percent overnight to 127 square miles as its fiery tentacles spread to the communities of Ono, Igo and Gas Point.

...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018...topstories 'This fires getting so big': Huge Northern California fire grows by 35 percentDoug Stanglin,Jenny Espino and Jim Schultz, USA TODAY Published 8:31 a.m. ET July 28, 2018 | Updated 3:26 p.m. ET July 28, 2018The hellish Carr Fire has charred the northern California communities of Redding and Shasta Lake. USA TODAYREDDING, Calif.  The winds driving a tornadic wildfire in Northern California temporarily aided firefighters Saturday by keeping it from more populated areas, but also unleashed the flames at a frightening pace into communities dotting the southwest of Redding, forcing chaotic overnight evacuations.At the same time, fire officials warned, winds were likely to shift again, driving the runaway flames back toward Redding, with a population around 92,000.Were not getting a break with the weather, said Chris Anthony, a spokesman for Cal Fire, the state agency responsible for fighting wildfires. It just continues to be really hot, really dry and we continue to get those winds.  This fires getting so big and there are so many different parts to it.To communities southwest of the city, the message overnight from the Igo Ono Fire Department was blunt: "Time to go now. Leave Igo take your pets time to go."With the wind-whipped fire bearing down on Igo, an unincorporated community of around 600 people, law enforcement officials posted the warning on Facebook and also went door to door to urge residents to clear out.Igo, and nearby Ono and Gaspoint were just three more communities caught in the path of the voracious wildfire in Northern California that has destroyed 500 structures, making it unofficially one of the top 20 most destructive California wildfires.The fire, driven by howling winds, grew by about 35 percent overnight to 127 square miles as its fiery tentacles spread to the communities of Ono, Igo and Gas Point.... Voodoo'd

silversides

The bare necessities of life

User ID: 148291

07-28-2018 10:50 PM



Posts: 30,339









Post: #7 RE: 'This fires getting so big': Huge Northern California fire grows by 35 percent





REDDING, Calif.  A 70-year-old woman and her two great-grandchildren have died in a rural trailer home leveled by a wind-driven wildfire ravishing Northern California, the woman's family confirmed Saturday. The fatalities raised the death toll to five from the six-day-old Carr Fire.



The deaths of Melody Bledsoe and her grandson, 5-year-old James Roberts and 4-year-old Emily Roberts wre confirmed by the children's mother, Sherry Bledsoe, and the Shasta County sheriff's office.



Family members had been desperately searching for the three since flames destroyed the home where they had been stranded on Thursday.



Bledsoes husband was out getting supplies at the store when the boy called him and said he needed to get home because the fire was approaching.



The two earlier fatalities were Jeremy Stoke, a fire inspector for the Redding Fire Department, and a private bulldozer operator.



The Carr Fire, driven by howling winds, grew by about 35 percent overnight to 127 square miles as its fiery tentacles spread to the communities of Ono, Igo and Gas Point.

...

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/2018...854565002/ 2 children and great-grandmother dead as death toll jumps to 5 in huge California fireREDDING, Calif.  A 70-year-old woman and her two great-grandchildren have died in a rural trailer home leveled by a wind-driven wildfire ravishing Northern California, the woman's family confirmed Saturday. The fatalities raised the death toll to five from the six-day-old Carr Fire.The deaths of Melody Bledsoe and her grandson, 5-year-old James Roberts and 4-year-old Emily Roberts wre confirmed by the children's mother, Sherry Bledsoe, and the Shasta County sheriff's office.Family members had been desperately searching for the three since flames destroyed the home where they had been stranded on Thursday.Bledsoes husband was out getting supplies at the store when the boy called him and said he needed to get home because the fire was approaching.The two earlier fatalities were Jeremy Stoke, a fire inspector for the Redding Fire Department, and a private bulldozer operator.The Carr Fire, driven by howling winds, grew by about 35 percent overnight to 127 square miles as its fiery tentacles spread to the communities of Ono, Igo and Gas Point.... Voodoo'd

LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 453357

07-28-2018 11:00 PM











Post: #8 RE: 'This fires getting so big': Huge Northern California fire grows by 35 percent





Then complain about getting destroyed by fire





Not very smart

So you killed the rain makerThen complain about getting destroyed by fireNot very smart LoP Guest

lop guest

User ID: 453327

07-28-2018 11:08 PM











Post: #9 RE: 'This fires getting so big': Huge Northern California fire grows by 35 percent

Ring of fire and now this. Is this the summer fire?
















It is well-known that the suicide rate here is high, but the figures from the Northern Irelaand Statistics and Research Agency are shocking by any measure. File image posed by model

It is well-known that the suicide rate here is high, but the figures from the Northern Irelaand Statistics and Research Agency are shocking by any measure.

The overall suicide rate has risen from 73 in 1970 to 297 in 2016.

There were many more suicide deaths among men than women.

In the corresponding period, there were 11 suicides in 1970 among people in the 15-29 age bracket. By 2016 this figure had risen to 82.

Inspirational teacher Gary Clarke has left messages of hope on Londonderry's Foyle Bridge in an attempt to cut the city's spiralling suicide rate.

As a supply teacher at several local schools, he was touched by the young people with whom he was in contact, and who were affected by mental health problems, or who knew someone who was.

Initially he set up a Facebook page called 'Messages of Hope-Foyle Bridge', as a way of reaching out to anyone feeling suicidal.

He has now expanded this initiative to include the bridge itself.

The public have responded positively, and individuals have left messages letting people know that they are not alone.

Gary says: "If something simple like leaving a message on the Foyle Bridge saves a life and changes even one person's mind, then I have achieved what I wanted."

Suicide is such a modern day scourge, particularly in parts of Derry and Belfast, that anything that might mitigate its effects is worth trying.

The fact that more people have died here through suicide since the republican and loyalist ceasefires than during the decades of the Troubles is a truly shocking indictment of our society.

Gary knows well that he will not solve single-handedly the huge problem of suicide in Derry, and indeed how could he?

However, if there were more people like him, it would definitely be a good start.
Hepatitis is most commonly caused by viruses, which is called viral hepatitis. There are other causes of hepatitis, which include the following:

Types Of Hepatitis

Hepatitis virus A, B, C, D and E are responsible for causing viral infections of the liver. Hepatitis A and E is an acute form of hepatitis, while hepatitis B, C and D are a chronic form of hepatitis. If hepatitis resolves in less than six months, it is called acute hepatitis and if it lasts longer than six months, it is called chronic hepatitis.

Hepatitis A

Hepatitis A is an RNA virus that belongs to the Picornaviridae family. Hepatitis A is usually transmitted by consuming contaminated food or water contaminated with faecal matter.

Cases of hepatitis A are high in poverty-stricken areas and areas where there is a lack of access to safe drinking water.[6]

Hepatitis B

Hepatitis B is a DNA virus that is a member of the Hepadnaviridae family. It is often transmitted through infected bodily fluids like blood, semen and vaginal secretions.

People who are the carriers of hepatitis B tend to develop chronic hepatitis, liver cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma.[7]

Hepatitis C

Hepatitis C is an RNA virus that belongs to the Flaviviridae family. It is mainly transmitted through sharing of contaminated needles among drug users. Sexual contact is less common cause of hepatitis C. [8]

Hepatitis D

Hepatitis D is an RNA virus of the Deltavirus genus. It is transmitted through contact with infected blood. Hepatitis D occurs if you have already been infected with hepatitis B.[9]

Hepatitis E

Hepatitis E is a RNA virus of the Hepevirus genus. Eating or drinking contaminated food or water contaminated with faecal matter is the most common mode of hepatitis E transmission. Hepatitis E is common in areas where there is lack of clean water and sanitation and poor hygiene. [10]
Gangsters Want This Police Dog To Be Killed For 50K! Pulse oi-Syeda Farah

Getting threats from goons is something that we see mostly in movies or hear about, but this is often related to people who seem to be highly influential or politicians or officers or those whom the goons feel to be a hurdle when it comes to their criminal matters.

However, do you know that a dog has been threatened as well? Also, a prize amount of 50K will be given to the person who would kill this particular dog who is known to be a police dog!

Check out for more details about this unusual threat which is not a joke but a fact as the dog has been given police protection as well!

When A 94-Year-Old Indian Grandma Sang British National Anthem

This Dog Is Special!

This police sniffer pooch has discovered a record amount of illegal drugs when compared to other dogs. Currently, the dog has been moved from her post after one of Colombia's most significant drug gangs have put a bounty on her head.

The Dog Is

The dog is Sombra, which means shadow in English, and had been living in Turbo in the Uraba district of Colombia. According to police records, this is a vital point for traffickers with easy access to the ocean.

Her Work

Over the most recent couple of years, the German Shepherd's work has explicitly driven to 245 arrests. It is said that Colombia's most significant drug group, the Urabenos, have put a cost on Sombra's head after she had sniffed over 10 tons of their cocaine this year. The goons are offering people worth 53,000 for any individual who will murder her.

Her Earlier Employment

She was redeployed recently from the Urabenos heartland to the nation's primary air terminal. It is reported that Bogota's El Dorado is considered to be more secure as the area is outside the influence of the drug dealers.

However, The Cops Are Playing Safe!

The cops do not wish to take any risk with her life; hence, they are playing it safe. Moreover, additionally, her usual handler, Sombra is presently joined by additional officers who are taking other measures regarding for her security.

About The Gang

The Urabenos, who are otherwise called the Gulf Clan, are viewed as Colombia's greatest criminal association. The pack's manager, Dairo Antonio Usuga, otherwise called Otoniel, is one of Colombia's most needed men.

The Dog Is A Real Threat For Them

The fact that they wish to hurt Sombra and offer such a high reward for her catch or death reveals how desperate the drug gangs are as it demonstrates the effect she's had on their benefits!

Beautiful Video Of Sons' Surprise To Ailing Mother On Her Birthday

More About The Drug Mafia Of Columbia!

Colombia is one of the world's driving makers of cocaine, with a yield of around 910 tons for each year, as indicated by the U.S. Medication Enforcement Administration.
Reciba en su email: noticias de ultima hora, analisis tecnicos o el cierre de mercado

Email no valido Nombre requerido Recibira las informaciones mas relevantes del dia en tiempo real Que informacion desea recibir? Noticias de Ultima hora Boletin Cierre de Mercado Boletin analisis tecnico Boletin Fundsnews Debe seleccionar un tipo de boletin Acepto la Politica de privacidad Debe aceptar la politica de privacidad Responsable EMPRESAS DEL GRUPO WEB FINANCIAL GROUP Finalidad La remision de informacion, novedades y promociones Establecimiento o mantenimiento de Relaciones Comerciales. Legitimacion Consentimiento del interesado. Interes legitimo en el desarrollo de la relacion comercial Destinatario Empresas del Grupo WEB FINANCIAL GROUP Derechos Acceso, rectificacion, supresion, limitacion, oposicion y portabilidad Informacion adicional Politica de Privacidad de nuestra pagina Web + INFORMACION
Posible, the countrys leading community digital transactions provider, has officially launched an exciting new package aimed towards aspiring young Filipino entrepreneurs. Dubbed Posible Generation 2, the revised business package and all its accompanying features were revealed at the opening of the Franchise Asia Philippines Expo 2018 at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay City. We recognize that our millennial entrepreneurs have the drive and the capability to attain their goal of economic independence, said JG Puzon, chief executive of Posible. We are now offering Posible as a viable alternative for them to achieve that goal. Posible Generation 2 offers a significantly upgraded device package from its previous counterpart. Its centerpiece is a sleeker device capable of more digital transactions than ever before. The second-generation Posible machine offers the usual repertoire of its comprehensive services including utility bills payment, select government fees, money services, micro-insurance, mobile loading, online gaming credits, and ticketing. With its larger touchscreen display, Posible Gen 2 now offers inventory management for small and medium businesses. It is now also possible to create and implement loyalty and rewards programstools essential for growing existing and start-up businesses. On top of this is the opportunity to own and operate an online retail store, right within the device itself. The Posible shopbox feature offers access to a variety of online and traditional retailers and instantly converts a business location into an online shopping hub for the community.What we want for this new generation of Posible devices is to give our young entrepreneurs the tools they need to succeed in the marketplace, Puzon said. Giving our second generation package more customer-friendly features means more possibilities that we can offer kanto-preneurs and micro-syantes not only in the future but even today. Of course, this new feature will also be available to our existing Ka-Posibles using the first-generation device, he said. With their energy and optimism, we want to partner with young entrepreneurs so we can achieve the vision of a financially-inclusive Philippines, Puzon said. Their business acumen and digital-savvy will help connect more Filipinos to an increasingly digital financial system. More so, with Posible Shopbox we want to enable the Filipino consumer in the barrio to enjoy online retail shopping, connecting them to the digital economy and spurring local economic growth, Puzon said. Currently, Posible offers more than 300 digital services to over a million Filipino consumers and has already generated close to P5 billion worth of transactions. With over 2,000 retailers nationwide to date, Posible is on-track to achieve its goal of connecting every Philippine town and city to the digital economy within the next five years.
Oppo Find X

Oppo Find X, one of the most futuristic smartphones, has finally arrived in the Philippines.We are very excited to officially launch our newest flagship smartphone in the country. Beauty and user experience are some of the things that Filipinos look for and appreciate in a smartphone, and the Find X definitely elevates these basic needs with its premium, pioneering features, Jane Wan, Oppo Philippines vice president for marketing, said. Oppo Find X made its global debut on June 19 at Louvre Museum in Paris. The launch marks a massive milestone for the technology giant as it reintroduces the premium Find Series. After years of future-forward concepts, consumer behavioral research and meticulous product development, Find X has finally surfaced and there is nothing ordinary about itit is geared to rival any other flagship smartphone in the industry and succeed. Find X carries the user-centric integrity of OPPO smartphones, yet it transcends any other smartphone in terms of overall design and performance, Wan said. Eason de Guzman, Oppo Philippines public relations manager, said demand for Oppo Find X in the Philippines is encouraging. It is encouraging both internal and external because this is the first time that we have a flagship smartphone after four years, De Guzman said. In terms of consumer perception, we actually gained a lot of traction due to our launch in Paris, he said. De Guzman said Oppo is currently number two in the smartphone market in the Philippines.We are currently gaining around 17-percent market share in the Philippines, he said. The Find X carries the purposefully crafted features and user benefits found in all Oppo smartphones, but its elevation is credited to its seamless combination of distinctive art and front-line technology. Its unrivaled sophistication, perceived at first glance, is complemented by innovative concepts which Oppo has developed through the years to come together in one powerhouse device. Fit for an aspirational, digitally-driven lifestyle, Oppo Find X embraces its role as the global smartphone brands newest flagship model. The body of the Find X is a stunner, raising the bar for premium smartphone design. It exhibits a sleek 6.4-inch panoramic arc screen and is the first smartphone to achieve a 93.8-percent screen-to-body ratiothe highest in its class, allowing for the most expansive viewing experience possible. A driving force for this feature is the breakthrough 3D stealth camera, which has a sliding structure to be able to hide the camera when not in use. When the camera is needed, it discreetly slides up to take photos. With strong photography game becoming a norm among digitally-savvy consumers, photography is levelled up as the Find X incorporates a 25MP front camera and 16MP+20MP dual rear cameras. Its other camera components that allow for the most flattering photos and controlled picture quality are the 3D structured light module, flood illuminator, infrared camera, proximity sensor, dot projector, receiver and RGB camera.

Oppo Find X also pushes boundaries with its performance, another vital part of any smartphone experience. The device is powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 platform and backed up by 8GB of RAM and a massive 256 GB internal storage. Battery problems are a thing of the past with Oppos signature VOOC flash charge technology for 4x faster charging than slower-charging smartphones. The flagship Oppo Find X will be available nationwide starting Aug. 11 for P 49,990.
Police have made an arrest in the death of a 31-year-old man from Canupawakpa Dakota First Nation

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This article was published 27/7/2018 (1187 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Police have made an arrest in the death of a 31-year-old man from Canupawakpa Dakota First Nation

The RCMP has charged Cassidy Eagle, 31, also of Canupawakpa, with second-degree murder in relation to the death of Clarence Eastman Jr., who died last weekend in Virden.

Eagle has since been remanded into custody and is scheduled to appear in Brandon provincial court on Aug. 9.

Virden RCMP found Eastman Jr. at a home on Oxford Street after receiving a report at approximately 1:15 p.m. on Saturday of a man in medical distress.

The man, whom police have not named but has since been confirmed to be Eastman Jr., was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The circumstances surrounding Eastman Jr.s death remain unclear and the only reference police have made regarding what happened to him was provided in a news release on Tuesday.

The release said several people were on scene when officers arrived and the victims injuries were consistent with "being in an altercation."

In response to questions about the involvement of drugs or alcohol, if a weapon was used, whether further charges against Eagle were expected, or if any other suspects were being sought out by police, RCMP spokesperson Tara Seel provided a statement saying: "This continues to be an active homicide investigation and now court processes are involved. We wont be providing any further statement at this time."

 The Brandon Sun
Leading experts within the field of urban sustainability around the globe have proclaimed Pasig City as the Philippine National Capital of the 2017-2018 edition of World Wide Fund for Natures One Planet City Challenge. The OPCC is a biennial global challenge that recognizes cities for developing infrastructure, housing, transport, and mobility solutions to power the global transition to a low-carbon, climate-resilient future. This edition saw 133 countries representing 23 countries accepting the Challenge. An awarding ceremony for the OPCC national winner, finalists, and qualifiers of the Philippines will cap off a two-day workshop to be held at Marco Polo Ortigas from Aug. 9 to 10. Pasigs concrete and comprehensive actions to reduce its carbon emissions, particularly its plan to reduce traffic emissions and congestions, as well as its targeted actions around renewable energy and energy efficiency, truly reflected the sustainable transport and mobility theme of this run of the OPCC. This made the city eligible for the Global OPCC Prize, which will be awarded in September. The jury also particularly appreciated the citys strong community engagement and its adaptation actions, such as the cleaning of the Pasig River and its firm alignment of actions to emissions reduction and execution of these actions.Seven other Philippine citiesBatangas, Catbalogan, Makati, Paranaque, San Carlos, Tagum, and Zamboangahave successfully qualified to join the 2017-2018 OPCC based on the criteria announced early in 2017. The cities of Makati, Pasig, and San Carlos went on to become national finalists and participated in the We Love Cities global campaign from May 7 until the end of June 2018. The City of Jakarta bagged the top plum in the campaign, which is a social media contest that is aimed at inspiring and engaging the respective citizens of the national finalists across the globe for support, votes, and ideas for improvement while Pasig came in second. Launched in 2011 as the Earth Hour City Challenge, the OPCC highlights the crucial role that cities play in the transition toward a low-carbon and sustainable future. Since then, over 400 countries from five continents have heeded the call to sustainably address fast and large transformations in population, consumption patterns, resource use, and waste management. The Philippines joined the Challenge in its 2015-2016 run. Visit www.panda.org/opcc and http://www.welovecities.org/ for further details.
SOURIS  One of the most-recognized attractions in Souris is headed by a man whose efforts can be considered volunteer, despite it being set up as a for-profit business.

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This article was published 26/7/2018 (1188 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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SOURIS  One of the most-recognized attractions in Souris is headed by a man whose efforts can be considered volunteer, despite it being set up as a for-profit business.

Frank Grabowski purchased The Rock Shop approximately 10 years ago was a means of both keeping the longtime business running and to provide him with a constructive means of passing the time.

He said that its previous owners decide to leave after failing to produce a decent income out of it, which he said wasnt a concern of his, with The Rock Shop "strictly a hobby."

Retired from the military as a result of getting "crippled up" and unable to work, Grabowski took on the business as a retirement project.

"Im a tinkerer, so instead of sitting at home in front of the TV, this gives me something to do," he said. "I needed hands-on things to do, so figured it was a perfect fit."

What has spurred him on the most is the businesss ability to inspire children who visit the shop, he said, adding that he also tries to rope his own daughters, aged 13 and 15, into the fold as much as possible.

Although unique rocks and trinkets are among the first things visitors see upon entering The Rock Shop, after store mascot Tanner the mutt welcomes them at the front door, Grabowski said that its the back of the shop that makes it unique.

TYLER CLARKE/THE BRANDON SUN Fossils of Cephalopods, which lived between 300 and 400 million years ago, are seen in the back of The Rock Shop. These pieces were uncovered from a nearby quarry.

When kids come in, Grabowski leans down on his cane next to them an asks; "Hey, want to see something cool? Follow the creepy old man to the back," which he said elicits laughs from the parents and intrigue from children.

The back room is full of minerals of all shapes and sizes, which were all discovered at a nearby quarry.

The most interesting part about it, Grabowski said, is that none of them actually originated in the area.

Glacial flows deposited them in Westman, with pieces originating throughout much of North America, except for the north, since it appears as though glaciers did not flow into Westman from that area.

Among the more unique finds that kids and adults alike get a kick from include a partial woolly mammoths tooth and a sabre-toothed cat claw, which have both been verified.

The shop also includes a collection of cephalopod fossils small marine mammals that lived some 300 to 400 million years ago.

Theres also a "special box" in the back of the shop that kids can peer into, whose interior is lit by a black light that brings out the fluorescent colours of certain rocks.

While various rocks are for sale, Grabowski said that people get the greatest kick out of finding them for themselves at the nearby quarry, for which he sells permits at $22.60 per carload of people.

TYLER CLARKE/THE BRANDON SUN Store mascot Tanner guards The Rock Shop in Souris.

Grabowski also takes on school groups, and provides them with a lecture on geology prior to taking them out to the rock quarry where he helps them identify minerals.

"Every class, you find three or four decent fossils and some jasper and agates," he said, adding that kids are free to take whatever they find.

"I wont take a fossil from a kid," he said. "If it sparks something, we could have future scientists."

Once taking on as many as 60 school groups per season, things dropped off significantly around the time of the 2011 flood event.

As keen as ever to feed youths passion for geology, Grabowski said that hes eager to take on more classrooms than the approximately 20 he currently gets.

Although the first several years were touch and go as a result of a dispute with Veterans Affairs Canada, Grabowski said that things ended up working out and hes now found an equilibrium with The Rock Shop that hes intent on maintaining.

"Were in a good position, and it will be here as long as Im alive."

Open from May to the end of September, Grabowski said that he posts his phone number on the door and is always keen to pop by to accommodate visitors whenever he happens to be around.

 tclarke@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @TylerClarkeMB
Former Brandon Sun reporter Ian Hitchen still remembers the evening he got the call.

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This article was published 28/7/2018 (1186 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

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Former Brandon Sun reporter Ian Hitchen still remembers the evening he got the call.

He was getting into his pyjamas and settling in for the evening on July 30, 2008. "Two and a Half Men" was on television in the background when the phone rang.

"I got on the phone and it was (colleague) Perry (Bergson). He said, Ian, theres a guy who has cut a persons head off on a bus," Hitchen said. "I couldnt believe what I was hearing  I was just dumbfounded."

Hitchen met up with former Brandon Sun photographer Colin Corneau and the two sped off toward MacGregor.

"I remember the rain, the wet roads  there was a thunderstorm rolling in  and we were just zooming out to the scene," Hitchen said.

Carol de Delley with her son Tim McLean in a 2007 family photo.

They were stopped by a lone firefighter blocking the eastbound lane of the Trans-Canada Highway, Hitchen said, but got a tip the service roads were still open.

They ventured along a service road until they were parallel to the bus across the highway.

"All we could see was one light, it may have even been the headlights. It was very shadowy  the windows were dark. The officers on scene were quite calm," Hitchen said.

Eventually, Hitchen made his way along the road to where other media had gathered, waiting to be given more information.

"It was a bit eerie, you knew he was still on the bus  There was no discussion, just intense waiting and watching to see what was going to happen next."

It has been 10 years since 22-year-old Tim McLean was brutally killed and beheaded in an unprovoked attack by Vince Li on a Greyhound bus west of Portage la Prairie.

THE CANADIAN PRESS/JOHN WOODS Vince Li was found not criminally responsible in 2009 for the killing. In 2017, Vince Li, now known as Will Baker, was granted an absolute discharge.

Suffering from untreated schizophrenia and psychotic delusions at the time, Li reported hearing commands from God ordering him to kill the sleeping McLean, whom he apparently viewed as a demon.

It was an incident that shook the country to its core, making national and international headlines that continued into the year that followed.

Li was found not criminally responsible in 2009 for the killing, sparing him from a criminal record and a prison term. He was put under the control of a provincial review board, which met annually to decide what type of care and supervision he should receive.

Each year, Li was granted a little more freedom, from escorted passes out of the Selkirk Mental Health Centre to unescorted absences and eventually the transition to independent, community-based living in a Winnipeg supervised group home. Every step of the way, critics and supporters would clash.

In 2017, Li, now known as Will Baker, was granted an absolute discharge, freeing him of any court-ordered responsibilities, including any conditions or monitoring to ensure he takes his medication.

"I dont believe for one second that Will Baker poses no threat," McLeans mother, Carol de Delley, read outside the Winnipeg courthouse when the decision was made last February.

KEN GIGLIOTTI/WINNIPEG FREE PRESS RCMP crime scene investigators surround the bus where Tim McLean was killed. The bus was en route to Winnipeg on July 30, 2008, when the incident occurred west of Portage la Prairie.

"He will be a risk to public safety for the rest of his life. What if he chooses to stop his medication again? In a nutshell, I don't believe that should be his choice to make anymore."

In the last 10 years, the case has had positive and negative effects on how the community views mental illness, said Chris Summerville, executive director of the Manitoba Schizophrenia Society.

"The positives have been when people have been willing to learn and understand, and I think we have a lot more people now who understand what not criminally responsible means," Summerville said. "Unfortunately, though for some people it has solidified the myth that if you have schizophrenia or psychosis, youre violent and you cant be treated."

After a public outcry on the verdicts of Lis case as well as that of Allan Schoenborn, a B.C. father found not criminally responsible for killing his three children during a psychotic state, the Conservative federal government made amendments to the Criminal Code with respect to individuals found not criminally responsible, a spokesperson for Manitoba Justice said.

Bill C-54 came into effect in July 2014, introducing a "high risk" designation for those deemed not criminally responsible for committing a particularly violent offence.

Those given a high-risk designation are now barred from obtaining a conditional or absolute discharge allowing them to live freely in the community, unless that designation is revoked by the courts on the recommendation of a provincial mental health review board.

FILE Vince Li sits in a Greyhound bus as police surround the vehicle after the Edmonton man stabbed and decapitated Tim McLean on the evening of July 30, 2008.

In terms of science and what is known about low recidivism rates, Summerville said this was a step backward, although there havent been many "high risk" cases since the bill was introduced.

"The review boards do their job and put public safety first; thats their priority," Summerville said. "The new legislation resulted in making it harder for the person to experience different levels of freedom. Its intended to keep people in detention longer."

Like most people who are given an absolute discharge, Will Baker has tried to fade into the background, Summerville said, always cautious and concerned that he might be identified or become the brunt of some form of altercation.

Summerville said that he keeps in contact with Baker, who volunteers with several mental health organizations.

Baker has had no setbacks, incidents, or negative mishaps, Summerville said.

"Hes doing exceptionally well, as well as anybody I know with schizophrenia ... but it doesnt matter how well hed doing, people wont believe it," he added. "For a lot of people, he still deserves to spend eternity in hell."

To this day, whenever Hitchen drives to Winnipeg he remembers the exact spot the bus was that night, where the media was standing and where Corneau captured the photo of Lis silhouette inside the bus.

"Its one of those things you encounter a lot as a reporter," Hitchen said. "Its one of those stories that is always on the back shelf of your mind. When you think about your career, its one of those disturbing events that you never lose.

"I dont think that Ill ever be able to fully comprehend what actually happened, because its so horrific. Theres still disbelief after all these years."

 edebooy@brandonsun.com

 Twitter: @erindebooy
By Eamon Quinn

Some SMEs are struggling and lending volumes to exposed firms havent picked up as quickly as anticipated, according to Bernard Byrne, the chief executive of AIB.

Mr Byrne said the overall picture is of some pressure bearing down on SMEs as they continue to restructure, particularly in parts of fast-changing retail, while other firms are doing quite well.

He was talking to reporters after AIB posted pre-tax profits for the first six months to the end of June of 762m, little changed from a year earlier. The earnings were dominated by a writeback of 130m in provisions and a net gain of 140m from the sale of troubled loans.

The shares, which fell 1% to 4.85, have risen only slightly from a year ago.

Analysts said AIB is making progress towards its goal of returning a significant chunk of its underlying earnings to shareholders. The process could, however, be drawn out, and depends on the approval of regulators who are monitoring the levels of crisis-era soured loans on the books of banks.

Helped by a healthier-than-anticipated economy, AIB said it is on course to meeting the targets for costs and building capital it set ahead of the sale of the initial sale of shares last summer.

The Government still owns about 71% in the bank.

SME lending has become a matter of concern this year. Industry group Isme last month said its regular survey on lending showed a significant increase in refusal rates by banks for loans to small firms, even as demand for credit was unchanged.

Mr Byrne said while some SME sectors are doing quite well, others, including the retail sector outside the prime retail business, was facing longer-term structural issues. None of which suggests there is any change in terms of economic activity, but certainly some of the sectors are experiencing some difficulty.

On economic growth, he said: It is much more broadly based as a general principle but sectoral themes will still play out regardless of that economic buoyancy.

Mr Byrne suggested AIB would be in no hurry to cut its standard variable and fixed home loan rates following recent mortgage cuts by Ulster Bank and KBC. He said rivals are competing with teaser offers, or short-term fixed-rate home loans, to attract new business volumes.

There is some competitive pressure there. We are not chasing market share at this stage. We are comfortable with our position and comfortable that we are getting the growth that we would expect to see given the strong underlying characteristics, said Mr Byrne.

On the industry-wide tracker-mortgage scandal, AIB reiterated it will have compensated all affected customers in the next six weeks, but that customers retain their right to appeal.

Owen Callan, an analyst at Investec Ireland, said the earnings came without surprises.

Investec is keeping its share price target unchanged at 5.40 despite the two negatives in the results, in SME loan growth and the mortgage market, which is a little more competitive than a year ago, he said.

The bank is aiming to increase payouts to 50%-60% of annual underlying earnings from the 25% paid out last year, he said.

Headwinds to securing a standard level of dividend payouts include regulators scrutiny and wage costs rising to 3% a year, said Mr Callan said.
The UK's charity watchdog is demanding an explanation from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust over claims that it gave 275,000 (approx. 308,000) to an organisation linked to a banned Irish republican group.

The Quaker trust's website shows a grant of 149,915(approx. 168,000) to Teach Na Failte in November 2014 and another of 125,000 (140,000) in March last year.

According to the Times, the organisation is linked to the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), a paramilitary splinter group responsible for some of the most infamous attacks of the Troubles, including the killing of Conservative MP Airey Neave in 1979.

The Charity Commission is seeking a response from the Rowntree trust to the claims made in the paper.

Michelle Russell, the commission's director of investigations and enforcement, said: "Our guidance makes clear that charities need to take steps to carry out appropriate due diligence on organisations applying for grants, must ensure grants are only for activities and outcomes that further the charity's purposes and decisions made are in charity's best interests.

"Charities should be able to explain and justify their funding decisions. We have asked the charity to do this."

The commission added that it would "not hesitate" to take action if needed.

It previously stepped in to urge the Rowntree trust - which is in no way connected with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation - to stop funding the controversial advocacy group Cage following a public outcry over Islamic State killer "Jihadi John" in 2015.

Cage's then research director Asim Qureshi claimed the executioner - widely identified as London student Mohammed Emwazi - was an "extremely kind" and "extremely gentle" man.

The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust said it has worked to end violence in Northern Ireland for more than 40 years and funds groups "transitioning from violence in loyalist and republican communities".

The organisation insisted it "has no relationship with any armed groups or proscribed organisations, including the INLA".

A statement said: "Teach na Failte is recognised by HMRC as a charitable body. It provides a range of peace-building community initiatives including support for INLA ex-prisoners and their families.

"Teach na Failte has been a key player in the INLA ceasefire and decommissioning process.

"It has been recognised for its positive contribution to peacebuilding and the re-integration of former prisoners in Northern Ireland.

"INLA declared their armed struggle over in October 2009 and publicly confirmed they had decommissioned their weapons in February 2010."

"In November 2014 JRCT awarded a grant of 149,915 specifically for the 'Transition Initiative' project.

"In March 2017 the trust awarded a further grant of 125,000 to Teach na Failte to continue this work.

"This grant was for the 'Transitional Initiative' project to support peacebuilding, dialogue and conflict transformation strategies in the Bellaghy and Strabane area.

"We are content with the progress being made by the project which is subject to strict monitoring processes by the trust.

"Teach na Failte in Bellaghy and Strabane are undertaking important transitional peacebuilding work and have recently begun a new collaborative project funded under the EU's Peace IV funding stream."

PA
Dublin's first-ever Trans Pride Parade takes place today.

Dozens of organisations will gather at Liberty Hall at 2pm, before marching to Fairview Park where the first Pride protest took place 35 years ago.

The initial Pride march took place following the murder of Declan Flynn in 1983 when 200 people took to the streets of the capital to protest violence against members of Ireland's LGBT community.

All our posters are up around Dublin City! Thank you so much to the volunteers who put them up! #DublinTransPride #TakeBackPride pic.twitter.com/9UsYKZAhnx  Trans & Intersex Pride Dublin (@DubTrans) July 26, 2018

Record numbers attended last month's Pride Parade in Dublin.

However the co-organiser of today's march, Thomas White, says there is a need for a separate event to deal with ongoing issues.

He said: "Dublin Trans Pride is specifically a trans orientated event.

"We feel the trans community needs a space and voice and a platform to be able to express the needs that the community has...

"We felt Dublin Pride itself is an extremely corporatised event that doesn't reflect the needs of the community as a whole very well."

Here is our official poster design that you can print off and display at your workplace/bar/cafe/etc! #DublinTransPride pic.twitter.com/32fsNWsMTU  Trans & Intersex Pride Dublin (@DubTrans) July 23, 2018

The demands of Trans Pride Dublin are:

Free Trans Healthcare based on the informed consent model

An End to IGM (Intersex Genital Mutilation).

Legislation for Non-Binary People

An End to Violence Against Trans People

Funding for Trans-Inclusive Mental Health Services

An End to Direct Provision

Increase to the amount of LGBTQAI+ refugees being accepted into Ireland

Funding for Social Housing

A Reformed Justice System that treats Victims of Hate Crimes, Transphobic Violence and Sexual Assault with respect and dignity.

Hate Crime Legislation that includes gender identity.

Free Access to PrEP

A Ban On Conversion Therapy

An End To The Blood Ban

Decriminalisation of Sex Workers

Separation of Church and State

Digital Desk
A pro-administration lawmaker on Saturday pushed for the passage of a bill creating the Philippine Center for Diabetes and Endocrinology to enable the government to fight against the so-called silent killer diseasediabetes. Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte, author of House Bill 7861, said the creation of the PCDE is necessary for the country to have primary institution in the treatment of an estimated five million Filipino diabetics. In filing the bill, Villafuerte said the proposed PCDE, which will be under the Department of Health, shall serve as the lead tertiary-level center in the screening, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of diabetes in the country. While diabetes is generally preventable and treatable, it has grown into a silent and fatal disease that has cost our people and this government so much in healthcare expenses, said Villafuerte, vice chairman of the House committees on appropriations, and local government. Citing data, Villafuerte said among the countries in the Western Pacific region, the Philippines ranks fifthbehind China, Indonesia, Japan and Thailandin the number of diabetics. This makes the Philippines an official diabetes hotspot, he said. This bills target the prevention of certain types of diabetes, and its early detection to reduce the number of affected individuals and to provide treatment as soon as possible. It also seeks to provide support to diabetics and their loved ones in coping with this disease, he added. Under the measure, the PCDE shall also ensure that there is an organized, comprehensive, and optimal system of care and treatment for patients with diabetes and other endocrine problems among hospitals and other medical institutions in the country, he said.Villafuerte said the PCDE is also authorized to design programs that shall promote, encourage and engage in medical and scientific research on the prevention and treatment of diabetes and other endocrine diseases and gather, compile, and publish the findings of such researches for public dissemination. The National Nutrition and Health Survey showed that the prevalence of diabetes mellitus in the Philippines for the last 10 years has grown from 3.9 percent to 17.8 percent, or by nearly 20 percent, which means that one out of every five Filipinos could potentially have diabetes mellitus or pre-diabetes. If nothing is done to stem the alarming trend, the prevalence of diabetes is expected to soar to 20 percent by the year 2045, and more than 100,000 Filipinos would be dying every year arising from its complications, Villafuerte said. While the disease is emotionally taxing to patients and their families, it is also a massive financial burden to the government, he added. Last year, PhilHealth spent around P8 billion to assist patients undergoing dialysis, the majority of whom were diabetics.
Ryanair has apologised to customers after they were forced to cancel a number of flights at Stansted due to the Thunderstorms.

The knock-on effect caused further delays and cancellations today.

Affected customers have been advised of their options of a refund or free move to the next available flight.

Thank you @Ryanair and #StanstedAirport for being the most disorganised and unhelpful people ever. Because of the insane backlog of people at bag drop we missed our flight and in our whole time queuing up, not one member of staff was anywhere to be seen. Disgraceful! pic.twitter.com/zgjaXuKEhC  Aaron Barriscale (@abarr3000) July 28, 2018

Aaron Barriscale from Limerick was meant to fly to Venice from there this morning - but couldn't.

He said: "Not a single member of staff was there to direct people where to go, to explain the situation and why there were such delays.

"It was quite chaotic, to be honest, and everybody was getting angry - you had small children, elderly people, people in wheelchairs all trying to cram in the same direction.

"It was a mess."

Was trying to get to Berlin from #stansted to spend the weekend with boyfriends family. They suggested we should go to zone E for more information about @Ryanair flight. Couldnt get there. This was the queue pic.twitter.com/fp7NPCaXY7  Joe Allen (@jsjallen) July 27, 2018

In a statement issued by the airline this afternoon, they said: "Due to thunderstorms in Stansted last night (27 July), Ryanair were forced to cancel a number of flights.

"The knock-on effect of this and ATC staff shortages has caused further disruptions today (28 July) including delays and cancellations.

"Affected customers have been notified by email and SMS text message and advised of their options of a refund or free move to the next available flight.

"Ryanair sincerely apologises for these weather and ATC disruptions which are entirely beyond our control."
Police in Australia have launched a hunt for an Irish teenager who has gone missing while heavily pregnant.

18-year-old Katie Cash was last seen leaving a hospital in Sydney over two weeks ago.
Three men remain in custody this morning after a drugs seizure in the North.

It is after the search of a car in north Belfast on Thursday night.
Three people have been rescued from the sea off the coast of Dun Laoghaire in Dublin.

They were on board a 47-foot yacht when their sail got caught around the rudder, five miles east of the town.
Growing up in Bolton, not so far from Manchester, Maxine Peake was just the right age to see northern lasses Victoria Wood and Julie Walters start appearing on television.

"That's what made me want to go into acting," she says. "Seeing those two and the characters and situations they created and thinking, 'Oh, if only I could do that'."

Maxine Peake plays a 1970s female stand-up succeeding against the odds in Funny Cow.

A decade later and straight out of drama school, she was on Wood's phenomenally successful sitcom Dinner Ladies, playing fat, stroppy Twinkle: her dream job. Incredible how, just sometimes, things can work out.

Stand-up, though: that was a step beyond the possible. Even now, aged 44, no longer fat but still a bit stroppy and largely indifferent to mockery, Peake doesn't think she could do it. "I'd love to think I could, but I don't know how I'd deal with that sort of rejection," she says. "It's very different from going on stage. I know it's a bit corny to say, but you do hide behind a character."
Bec Riley, 31, is a Newcastle mum and a nutritionist by trade. Currently on extended maternity leave with her third child, she's hoping the "executive salary" she's earning through Tupperware will mean she never goes back to her day job. Bec Riley is hoping the executive salary shes earning through Tupperware will mean she never goes back to her day job. It all started in December 2014 when Bec hosted a Tupperware party while she was on maternity leave with her second child. Like most people who start hosting the parties, she wasn't looking for a job, just a lot of Tupperware. "I wanted to add to my collection, and I wanted more than I could afford," says Bec. "So I decided to take up the Tupperware opportunity, not for career reasons as such, but just to be able to get what I wanted at a discounted price." Initially, she says, the income "was an added bonus", but it "ended up completely changing our lives". About a year after becoming a consultant, Bec went to a conference and saw that the company was offering its managers a free trip to Hawaii. She signed up, qualified for the holiday, and the rest is history.

Though she returned to her job part time, Bec worked on building up her Tupperware business on the side until she reached what she describes as "an executive full-time income". That's when she decided to have a third baby. "We weren't going to have any more children  we just couldn't afford childcare. Being able to earn that income, with flexible work hours, gave us the freedom to have another baby." Of all the direct-selling, multi-level marketing businesses out there, Tupperware is probably the brand most strongly and successfully associated with party-hosting. The Tupperware party, according to Bec, is "really just catching up with the girls, where a demonstrator will come and do a little cooking demonstration, teach people about how the products work and how to save time and money in the kitchen". THE AVON LADY

Dianne Hartshorne won't state her exact age, but admits she's in her early 70s. "I like to keep it a secret," she says, chuckling, "although I tell the fellas I'm 45." Dianne Hartshorne worked for Avon. A former teacher, Dianne first started using Avon products in the 1960s. "An Avon lady used to come to the kindergarten where I taught and leave a book," she says. "I used all their products for my wedding in 1968." She even remembers her favourite perfumes from those days. "They were To a Wild Rose and Here's My Heart. They were beautiful. I just loved them." It wasn't until the mid-'70s that Dianne thought of becoming an Avon lady herself. After the kindergarten she worked at closed, a friend suggested Avon. So she gave it a go and found she liked it. "I did a lot of walking around and knocking on doors, going, 'Ding, dong, the Avon lady', leaving brochures in letterboxes and trying to build up clients. I'd leave my phone number and see if any would ring me, or go back and see if they wanted anything. I got a little business: it wasn't a great big one, just enough for me to enjoy."

Avon became a big part of her life, but less for the money than the social connections it brought her. "I did make a little bit out of it, but not much. It was a hobby. People get to know you; I've even visited people in hospital." Which made it difficult for Dianne to tell her regular clients that Avon was closing down its Australian operations and that she had to call it a day. "It's mostly the older generation who relies on someone coming to their door and giving them their product," says Dianne. "You go in there and you're making their day. I had one lady last night nearly in tears. She likes Avon products, the 24-hour deodorant and everything, because she's not allergic to them." After 42 years with the company, Dianne says she'll miss being an Avon lady, though she thinks she'll find the transition easier for her than for some. "The people who made it their job, I feel sorry for them. I've got other things. I do work at the lost dogs home, I teach swimming, and I've got church and everything. But I'm still going to be lost without buying up my Avon." THE INTIMO SALESWOMAN

Fay Chiotis, who is in her 40s, was "a corporate person" until she had her second child and started investigating more flexible alternatives. After her second child, Fay Chiotis started investigating more flexible alternatives. Fay says she wasn't driven to working in direct sales  indeed she describes her former employer as very flexible and family-oriented. "I just couldn't manage having a three-year-old and a six-month-old," she says. Fay wanted to spend more time with her family but still make use of her "business sense", so started looking around. She discovered Australian lingerie company Intimo, and while she'd never even seen its products, she was immediately impressed. "The marketing, catalogue and everything online looked beautiful." She also liked the brand's community messaging around breast cancer and domestic violence, and while she was wary of "network marketing", she was comfortable with Intimo's business model.

"For me it ticked all the boxes," she says. "It was really inexpensive. It was also really low risk. It had to be low risk, and it had to be something that I didn't have to explain to someone." With a bra, she points out, you can put it on and see straight away whether it fits. "I'd never done anything like this before, so I just wanted that flexibility. I didn't want anyone telling me what to do." When her second son acquired a serious brain injury at the age of three, that flexibility became even more crucial. "Matt was in intensive care for four months," she says. "I always wondered if [my former colleagues] would have given me their pay cheques, but these ladies, my team members and customers, they were like, 'What can we do for Fay?' I thought, 'This is a really good gig.' " A decade on, she says the job is still a good fit. "I get to do what I want, go as hard as I want, and earn as much as I want, based on my performance. It's not based on my manager giving me a pay rise. I can really dictate my income, and I love the fact I can choose my hours and work at the capacity I want to work at and still have a really great lifestyle."

Best of all, it's enjoyable. "We make it really fun, an opportunity to catch up with the girls and have a few drinks. "It's sort of like being a hairdresser, you get quite intimate details. People do tell you things: about their body, about their family, about their husbands. A lot of stuff happens!" SELLER BEWARE Sarah Agar, of consumer advocate organisation Choice, says people considering joining a multi-level scheme should be wary. "You could lose your own money in upfront costs and damage close friendships and family relationships because of the way some of these schemes rely on you using your social networks to sign up more people," she says. "It's also worth thinking about how much time you'll need to spend trying to make money from these schemes." Here are some red flags to look for:  You have to pay money to the company upfront to get in.  You're told it's a "special opportunity", a "private club", a "secret investing group" or that it's "not a pyramid scheme".
If you know the time-bomb stress of trying to use everything in your fridge before it goes off, you'll appreciate what is achieved at OzHarvest Cafe By Gratia.

The pop-up eatery  a fundraising event for the food-rescue organisation OzHarvest  is a creative showcase of preventing otherwise good ingredients going to landfill.

The harvest ramen with fried chicken on the side. Credit:Louise Kennerley

Here, bagged salad, which is one of the most wasted ingredients in Australia, is cleverly turned into pesto for an avocado toast dish. The leftover yolks from the 16,000 strawberry watermelon cake portions that Black Star Pastry makes every week? The cafe transforms them into pancake-accompanying banana curd.

Bread, which is the most-binned food in Australia because it's cheap and people expect it fresh daily, is intercepted from the rubbish and creatively reworked as Lazarus fried bread (which are deep-fried puffs resembling Indian puri snacks) and ramen noodles. Executive chef Travis Harvey toasts excess Brasserie Bread sourdough breadcrumbs, adds them to dough, then magically turns it all into springy, ramen noodles. They're flavoured by an understated broth, pickled shiitake mushrooms, braised cabbage, chilli sesame oil, and  if you feel like incurring an extra protein hit  fried chicken.

Given OzHarvest's waste-minimising and environmentally conscious approach to the menu, not much meat is served at the cafe. Beef, lamb and other protein guilty of big carbon footprints are deliberately left off the menu.
The Bureau of Customs seized some P25 million worth of smuggled rice in a raid of a warehouse in Calamba, Laguna. Customs Commissioner Isidro Lapena said that more than 10,000 sacks of rice imported from Thailand and Vietnam were found in a warehouse in J.P. Rizal Street, Calamba, Laguna. The BOC-Enforcement and Security Service conducted a surveillance to validate the presence of the alleged smuggled rice. Upon confirmation of the presence of rice, I immediately issued a letter of authority to inspect and visit the said warehouse, Lapena said. The smuggled rice is consigned to the Marcelo Rice Trading while the warehouse is owned by a certain Henry Uy and Jason Feng. The warehouse owner and the consignee were not on the premises during the raid. ESS agents found the company accountant, identified as Janice Peng. No documents were presented to show evidence of payment of duties and taxes and the corresponding import permit, the BoC chief said.The interested party is given 15 days to prove or show the source of the goods and the payment of duties and taxes. If they fail to do so, the goods will be seized and subjected to forfeiture proceedings, he said. Lapena said the National Food Authority did not issue import permit to Marcelo Rice Trading. Despite the need to address the rice shortage in the country, it is also our mandate to protect the interest of the government and the people especially our own rice farmers. I will not let these smugglers and their protectors manipulate the prices of rice and let the Filipino people be at a disadvantage. Our President Duterte is already rallying for the rice tariffication bill so our importers will be given much more freedom to import the staple food of the country, Lapena said. The rice tariffication bill seeks to remove quantitative restrictions on the importation of rice.
Here koala numbers are now stabilising and slowly increasing while on the rest of the Tweed Coast they are declining. Koala Beach near Pottsville where koala numbers are slowly increasing. Tweed Shire biodiversity expert Scott Hetherington is disappointed Queenslands koala planners seem to be trying to reinvent the wheel. They are both talking about starting afresh and we have been jumping up and down saying, hey this is working, this is what we are doing'," he said. Mr Hetherington said Tweed Shire Council would love to talk to Queensland koala planners.

That is definitely what they should be doing and seeing what we are doing and improving on that, rather than starting afresh. Five ugly facts of the Queensland koala The population of koalas in the Koala Coast, which includes the Moreton Bay, Noosa, Ipswich, Brisbane, Redland, Logan and Gold Coast councils dropped by 80 per cent between 1996 and 2014. The population of koalas in the Pine Rivers Shire, near Moreton Bay, dropped by 54 per cent between 1996 and 2014. Queensland does not have a better idea of the koala population since the August 2015 South East Queensland Koala Population Modelling Study. That report showed they were already effectively extinct in some areas of south-east Queensland. The koala survey data suggests that there are already a number of areas in which koalas may become locally extinct or are at such low densities that they are effectively extinct. The amount of Queenslands koala habitat in south-east Queensland has dropped by 10 per cent since 2015. Is there any good news for the koala in south-east Queensland? In May 2017 three koala experts released  almost 12 months after it was promised  a report promising a new direction for the conservation of koalas in Queensland.

In its summary, it said that to protect koalas the state needs to preserve their habitat, prevent dogs and cats from killing them, design roadways to avoid cars from hitting them and punish developers from clear-felling habitat inside Queenslands urban footprint. And just over the New South Wales border near Pottsville, between Tweed Heads and Brunswick Heads there appears to a viable model. It is called Koala Beach Estate between Pottsville and Hastings Point. Is Koala Beach a model community for koala and homes in south-east Queensland? There are now about 550 homes in a small purpose-built koala community near Pottsville, which was started in 1994 by Gold Coast developer Brian Ray and the Australian Koala Foundation.

The homes were built on 270 hectares of bushland, which has swelled after 100 hectares were added by the New South Wales government in 2017 and in 2018 extra land was added for a chlamydia vet centre. A 2011 Australian Senate inquiry heard the Property Council of Australia viewed it as a model development for koalas and humans to live together. Today it is overseen by Tweed Shire Council and managed by Mr Hetherington. What impact has it had on land values? According to the Office of the New South Wales Valuer-General, from July 1, 2014, to July 1, 2016, the Koala Beach Estate increased in land value by 31 per cent compared to the overall Pottsville increase of 23 per cent. Between July 1, 2016, to July 1, 2017, Koala Beach land values increased by 14.6 per cent compared to an overall increase in Pottsville of 16 per cent.

Why is Koala Beach Estate different? Dogs and cats are banned. Streets are traffic calmed and motorists must drive slowly. Residents pay a $75-a-year levy to plant eucalypts and repair habitat. There are wildlife rangers to check if dogs or cats appear in homes. These planning guidelines are set by Tweed Shire's council bylaws. Two types of housing are recommended, each offering alternatives to maximise green space on the allotment. Koala Beach near Pottsville Credit:Tony Moore Koala Beach Estate is a smaller patch of bushland around Pottsville within the larger Tweed Coast koala zone, which stretches all the way from the Tweed River south to the Brunswick River. The larger Tweed Coast koala population was about 150 in 2011, but that number is declining.

However, in Koala Beach the number of koalas is stabilising and koalas are found in areas of bushland that have been planted over the past two to three years. Our repeated studies in 2011 and 2015 and (about to be repeated in 2018) have shown that, despite the broader decline in koala numbers (in the Tweed Valley) there is a consistent level of koala activity in Koala Beach, Mr Hetherington said. I mean there are dozens, probably two dozen, 20 or 25 sightings of koalas around Koala Beach since June last year, he said. Plus, we know they are now using new areas that we have planted. And we have also been able to reduce the impact of cars on koalas in the areas and we are able to measure a positive outcome there.

Increasing koala numbers shown in yellow at Koala Beach near Pottsville in northern NSW. Is Koala Beach working overall as a model for living in koala habitat? What we are seeing here at Koala Beach and in some parts of the Tweed Coast, we appear to be slowing that decline in koalas, Scott Hetherington. It doesnt mean they are going to recover to the full amount, but its a great first step, he said. If you want to turn something around, well you have to slow it down first and point it in the opposite direction.

He is positive that despite some flaws, Koala Beach is now remarkably good model for residential estates in koala habitat. I think as far as strategies go, what Koala Beach demonstrates is that you have to be serious about reducing threats, he said. However, if you are not prepared to seriously look at the threats of dogs, cats and habitat retention and keeping the best stuff, he said. If not, then it is a waste of time. Mr Hetherington said hard decisions have to be made along the way.
A man accused of stabbing another man to death following an argument north of Brisbane on Friday night has been unable to face court and instead been taken to hospital.

Darren James Lawler, 36, was taken from the Brisbane watchhouse to a hospital following his arrest for stitches and scans after he allegedly stabbed another man three times.

The crime scene in Mango Hill. Credit:Mitch Baker - Supplied

Emergency services were called to a unit complex on Brushwood Court in Mango Hill about 8.40pm on Friday after reports of a stabbing.

They found a man with three stab wounds to the left side of his torso. They tried to revive him but the 41-year-old Deception Bay man died at the scene.
Queensland pharmacists have warned strongly about the potential for rural and regional pharmacies to close and for job losses if the sector is deregulated.

The state's Legislative Assembly is holding an inquiry into the potential establishment of a pharmacy council, the roles of pharmacists and their assistants, models of regulation in other jurisdictions, and the past two years of pharmacy business ownership transfers.

The Pharmacy Guild wants to see pharmacists given more freedom to prescribe repeat prescriptions. Credit:Rohan Thomson

Owners of Queensland pharmacies at present must be registered pharmacists, preventing large corporations from taking over.

The Pharmacy Guild is seeking a broader expansion of pharmacist powers, including the ability to write repeat prescriptions for low-risk medications.
But for this story, we dont have either. We have two sets of remains and two forensic experts desperate to find out who they are. Dr Dadna Hartman and Dr Soren Blau. Credit:Justin McManus The Sandy Point skeleton The institutes senior anthropologist, Dr Soren Blau, knows a well-preserved skeleton when she sees one. And this one was in extraordinary condition. When someone dies at sea, they dont often remain whole and so body parts often wash up  a leg one day, a torso the next  rather than a whole body at once.

But this was a complete skeleton. There were no fractures, few bones missing, no soft tissue left and not a skerrick of clothing. Virtual reconstruction of skeleton found at Sandy Point. Credit:Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine A snorkeller found him  or the remains of a man  about 25 metres from the Sandy Point coastline, near Wilsons Promontory, in December 2017. His skull was sitting on the seabed and the rest of his skeleton was covered in more than 20 centimetres of sand. What on earth was this person doing there? asked Dr Blau.

Dr Blau, with molecular biologist Dr Dadna Hartman and one of the institutes dental experts, was able to piece together some clues. They know he is a Caucasoid male, although that doesnt narrow it down much, because it means he could be from anywhere from North Africa to Europe or South Asia. He was in his 20s when he died. But he does have something distinctive: some interesting dental work, specifically a gold filling in his front tooth. The skull found at Sandy Point. Credit:Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine The forensic dentist said the dental work is not typical of Australian contemporary dental work," Dr Blau said.

She says it was possible the skeleton itself is much older;that it's not someone who has lived in the past 50, 60 or even 70 years. He also had some staining on the back of his skull, which means he was in the one spot for some time, but it's possible he could have died far away, and the tides laid him to rest at Sandy Point. The skull found at Sandy Point. Credit:Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine His skull itself, Dr Blau said, could also tell a story. Using whats called cranial morphology  judging someones ancestry by the shape of their head  the scientists were told he was closely linked with someone from Italy.

But the database they worked from contains no data from other northern Mediterraneans, so its safer to assume he may have originated from somewhere in the general region. Then Dr Hartman extracted an almost complete DNA profile  amazing considering the potential for salt water degradation  from a part of his bone. But that will only be useful when she can find a match. The lack of clothing is also interesting. Did he have clothes on and they have simply degraded? Or did he take a midnight skinny dip and run into trouble? Again, we have no hypothesis on who this person is or why they should be there, Dr Blau said.

The purple scarf Dr Hartman and Dr Blau know this man by just one identifying feature: a purple scarf. This is a desperately sad cold case. The remains were found in 2006 near a tree during clearing for fire control in bush at Ferny Creek, in the Dandenongs. A noose was hanging nearby, wrapped in a purple scarf. Testing confirmed he was a man in his 20s. He was found wearing Country Road pants and socks with sandals.

Labels found on the clothing of remains at Ferny Creek. Credit:Victorian Institute of Medicine. Police have no reports of missing people that match him. There were no sightings of anyone going into the bush at the time and he had no personal items on him, except for his purple scarf. Every now and then police would come to Dr Hartman with DNA from a family who was missing their loved one in the hope of finding a match. There were nine targeted inquiries like this and none have come back positive. This, Dr Hartman said, was an example of an instance where a national database for missing people could provide answers. Victoria has its own database and its considered one of the best in the country. It has the DNA profiles of from relatives of the missing, along with dental records and photographs to go along with some of the cases.

A national database is close to starting, but scientists still cant easily run their missing people through other state holdings. Clothing found on unidentified remains at Ferny Creek in 2006. Credit:Victorian Institute of Forensic Medicine Dr Blau and Dr Hartman said if they had a system that required authorities to collect relatives DNA, dental records and photographs and input these details in a national system, it would help solve cases. We are now on the cusp of being able to do that. Some of these cases will be solved because were now going to be able to compare them to interstate, Dr Hartman said. Judge Hinchey agrees.

If there was a national database, with a clear set of standards for all cases to be entered and searchable, then of course, number one, itd be quicker and easier, and number two, all relevant information is captured and these searches can be done in a really timely way for these families, she said. The man with the purple scarf man was entirely identifiable, Dr Hartman said. We wait in the hope that a reference sample from a family is provided, she said. He had still not been identified, after more than a decade. Does his family know he has died? Did they realise he was missing? Do they even care? One assumes he took his own life, but is that what really happened? It is incredibly sad that such a young man ... dies like this. Its terrible, Dr Blau said.
After hearing stories from residents in affected areas such as the Mornington Peninsula, I re-evaluated my own booking habits. I now try to stay in places where the owners actually live there  returning it to a human transaction rather than a solely financial one.

New York City and several other cities around the world are requiring Airbnb to provide contact lists to local councils for people listing properties. Interestingly, Airbnb sees this as a gross breach of privacy  but they dont seem concerned about the privacy of neighbouring tenants who are suffering.

Some cities are limiting the number of nights certain properties can be let per year and are allowing body corporates to vote on whether short-term rentals are allowed in their buildings suburban streets should be given the same option too. Governments could limit people to one short-term rental property. Police and councils should have increased rights to step in and close down properties that have track records of bad rentals. It should be a privilege, not a right, to operate.

A friend who rents out an investment property through a short-term stay platform had a phone call from police in the lead-up to last years schoolies period. They had apparently been monitoring the area and had discovered that his property was going to be the location for the "party of the year". He was understandably horrified and was counselled to cancel the booking, which he did. Luckily for him he had forewarning. This is not possible for every situation and it is the locals who are left to deal with the fallout from badly behaved guests.

Which seems to be the main issue with the whole short-term rental platform and possibly for current society as a whole  that some people seem to have lost any form of respect and civility. Instead they think it is acceptable to behave like louts, particularly when on holiday. So now their disgraceful behaviour is going to spoil the entire industry of short-term rentals for everyone else who uses it properly.
Bill Shorten has a democracy sausage in Devonport on Saturday morning with Braddon Labor candidate Justine Keay. Credit:AAP

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Labor appears set to hold its four seats as almost half a million voters go to the polls in a Super Saturday of byelections.

Despite earlier signs the Liberal Party could end a 98-year drought of governments winning seats from oppositions at byelections, polls are pointing to Labor retaining the knife-edge seats of Longman and Braddon, while comfortably hanging on to Perth and Fremantle.

But Labor leader Bill Shorten, whose position may depend on the outcome, was underplaying the latest Newspoll figures published on Saturday.
I am signing off. Here is a wrap of the results as they stand, just before 10pm, in the five byelections.

BRADDON: Labor's Justine Keay retains the seat with a two-party preferred swing to her of 0.02 per cent, after 75 per cent of preferences were counted.

LONGMAN: Labor's Susan Lamb has retained the seat with an increased primary vote and a swing to her of 4.2 per cent, after 43 per cent of preferences were counted.

MAYO: Centre Alliance's Rebekha Sharkie easily holds her old seat of Mayo, increasing her primary vote by 10 per cent, with 75 per cent of preferences counted.

PERTH: Labor's Patrick Gorman will easily win the seat, which was not contested by the Liberals.

FREMANTLE: Labor's Josh Wilson will comfortably win back the seat, increasing his primary vote by about 10 per cent.

To summarise: Labor performed strongly in Longman and much better than expected. In Braddon, the popular independent Craig Garland complicated matters, bleeding votes from both Labor and the Liberals. But in the end, Keay's margin will probably end up unchanged or a little thinner after postal votes. The outcomes in the other three seats were as expected.

Thanks and goodnight.
The Liberal Party didnt bother fielding candidates in the seats of Perth and Fremantle, leaving Labor candidates to stroll in to parliament. The byelection in Perth might have been deemed relatively interesting if anyone had noticed. It was the only one of the five polls not caused by the dual citizenship fiasco. There, the Labor MP, Tim Hammond, had resigned from parliament, declaring his long-haul travel to and from Canberra was too wearing on his young family. Labor candidate for Perth Patrick Gorman arrives at Highgate polling station on Saturday with his wife Jess and their son Leo. Credit:AAP Labors candidate to replace him, Patrick Gorman, is unlikely to suffer burnout - he was Kevin Rudds closest adviser for years, when sleep itself was barely allowed by the workaholic Rudd.

More recently Gorman, as the WA Labor Party secretary, is credited with getting Labor back into government in WA. His campaign-winning techniques last year are likely to be discussed with some vigour in Canberra as the federal election approaches. Loading In the nearby seat of Fremantle, Labors previously sitting dual national, Josh Wilson, was on a cake-walk, facing candidates only from Christians, Greens, Animal Justice and Liberal Democrats parties, plus an Independent. The toughest job in Perth and Fremantle was to get people to vote. Pre-polling, compared with the 2016 election, was down about 40 per cent, and business was so slow at polling stations on Saturday that volunteers were sent door-knocking to encourage people to vote. In South Australias green Adelaide Hills and windblown coast, everyone had known for weeks what was likely to happen.

Rebekha Sharkie, second from left, led a grass-roots campaign in Mayo. Credit:Tony Wright The Liberal Partys plan to install a Downer in the seat of Mayo - held for 24 years from 1984 by Alexander Downer - had gone skew-whiff. Alexanders daughter Georgina, despite having spent her formative years in the area, had been away for years pursuing her law and diplomatic careers, trying and failing to get a crack at a Melbourne-based electorate and honing particularly conservative views as a research fellow at the Institute of Public Affairs. Little of it went down especially well in Mayo, despite - or amplified by - numerous blow-in visits by Turnbull government Ministers, from Turnbull down. The term Out-of-Towner Downer took hold and stuck. Rebekha Sharkie, formerly of the Xenophon Team and now of the Centre Alliance, employed a down-home, community-first strategy in Mayo, aided by more than 800 volunteers. The approach sewed up a return to the federal parliament for Sharkie, her dual citizenship apparently forgiven or forgotten by substantial numbers of voters. Labor and The Greens handed over their preferences to seal the deal. Which left two much hyped cliff-hangers: Braddon in the wild west of Tasmania and Longman on Queenslands Sunshine Coast.

Former One Nation senator Malcolm Roberts arrives at a polling station in Caboolture, in the Queensland seat of Longman, with a carboard cutout of senator Pauline Hanson. Credit:AAP Neither the Liberal Party nor Labor were particularly popular with grumpy voters in either electorate. That meant Pauline Hansons One Nation Party would decide a winner in Longman, and the preferences of a fisherman named Craig Garland who appears to have been blown in at the last minute by Tasmanias Roaring 40s would play an outsized role in Braddon. In the peculiar logic of politics, Labor leader Bill Shortens career was judged to be on the line. The reasoning? An Opposition candidate hadnt lost a byelection to a government candidate for 98 years. A Labor loss in one seat would thus be historic, and in the unlikely event of two, so dreadful it would indicate Labor would lose the coming national election. Thus, Shorten was in Braddon during the morning, furiously chomping on a democracy sausage and trying to drum up support, then on a plane to Longman for the same purpose during the afternoon. I never give up, he told anyone who would listen.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has resisted calls for ministers to stand down. Credit:AAP

The Victorian Premier says there is "simply no need" for six of his ministers implicated in a Victoria Police investigation to step down.

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Daniel Andrews was peppered with questions on Saturday about the rorts-for-votes scandal during the 2014 state election campaign, in which 21 Labor MPs were found to have misused $388,000 of taxpayer money.

"The Department of Justice has received an assurance from Victoria Police that the work of Victoria Police is well and truly at arms' length from ministers, ministers' offices and the department itself," Mr Andrews said.
Labor's Patrick Gorman has claimed victory in the Perth byelection.

"There has never been a more exciting time to be an Australian Labor Party member," he said.

Labor's Patrick Gorman claims victory in the Perth byelection. Credit:Kate Hedley

He thanked supporters telling them that there was nothing more important in a democracy than volunteers.

"We ran a positive campaign about a fair go, because a fair go is in the DNA of the Australian Labor Party," Mr Gorman said.

"If we can do what the great Australian Labor Party did here tonight across the country, then watch out Malcolm Turnbull."

Mr Gorman thanked Premier Mark McGowan and his staff, WA Labor state secretary Matt Dixon and unions who supported his campaign.
Here is the Q and A provided by the Scott campaign as part of the governor's financial disclosure. Note that even some of their own questions didn't get answers.

Our updates and context are in blue italics:

"TALLAHASSEE, Fla.  Today, the Scott for Florida campaign released Governor Rick Scotts annual financial disclosure report, as required by federal law for U.S. Senate candidates. Following the Governor signing the federal financial disclosure report, his assets were immediately placed back into a blind trust. The use of a blind trust avoids even the appearance of a conflict of interest for an elected official, protects the people of Florida from an elected official making decisions based on personal finances, and is recommended by the Florida Commission on Ethics."

Update: Scott's campaign staff clarified that the governor has not decided whether or not to continue the use of a blind trust if he were to be elected to the U.S. Senate.

"A blind trust has been used by Florida elected officials such as Jeb Bush and Alex Sink, and even now, a majority of the democratic primary candidates for governor have committed to using a blind trust. Blind trusts are also used by governors in other states, both republicans and democrats. The Governors blind trust has also been upheld multiple times by the State Commission on Ethics and the court system."

Scott is being sued for violating the blind trust statutes by shifting assets for shifting millions of assets into his wife's name and retaining control as the beneficial owner. A motion to dismiss the case has been rejected by the circuit court and is now on appeal in the First Circuit Court of Appeal.

"Governor Scott has worked tirelessly to protect taxpayer dollars by selling the state plane, which has saved the state $2.4 million each year since 2011, and declining to take a salary throughout his time as governor. When elected to the U.S. Senate, Governor Scott will continue to decline a salary and will instead propose that all members of Congress have their taxpayer-funded salaries halted if they fail to pass a budget and appropriations bills on time."

CLICK HERE for Governor Scotts Federal Disclosure Report

CLICK HERE for Governor Scott's Notice to the Florida Commission on Ethics of his Blind Trust

Please see the below FAQ and timeline for more information:

Q: What is Governor Rick Scotts net worth?

That information is thoroughly provided in the financial disclosure.

No, it is not thoroughly provided. The governor has provided his liabilities but his assets are not clear because it is unknown how many assets held in the name of his wife, Ann, are also controlled by Scott. SEC documents show Scott has been the beneficial owner of many of the assets held in Ann Scott's name. Scott's worth may include the millions held by his wife, but the value of Ann Scott's assets are listed only as a range, with as many as 150 investments listed as "over $1 million."

"Governor Scott grew up in a family that struggled financially. After attending high school and community college, Governor Scott enlisted in the United States Navy, then used the GI Bill to continue his education and ultimately open his first small business. He and his wife Ann, his high school sweetheart, have been able to live the American Dream thanks to the opportunities they had in this country, and now, Governor Scott is working to make sure every child in Florida will have these same opportunities.

"Governor Scott has also worked tirelessly to protect taxpayer dollars by selling the state plane, which has saved the state $2.4 million each year since 2011, and declining to take a salary throughout his time as governor. When elected to the U.S. Senate, Governor Scott will continue to decline a salary and will instead propose that all members of Congress have their taxpayer-funded salaries halted if they fail to pass a budget and appropriations bills on time."

Q: Why has Governor Scotts net worth increased over his years as governor?

When Governor Scott was elected, he put all of his assets in a blind trust, which is managed by an independent third party to shield his investments from his direct control and to avoid any potential conflicts of interest. As such, the Governor has no control of what is bought or sold in the blind trust.

A blind trust has been used by Florida elected officials such as Jeb Bush and Alex Sink, and even now, a majority of the democratic primary candidates for governor have committed to using a blind trust. Blind trusts are also used by governors in other states, both republicans and democrats. The Governors blind trust has also been upheld multiple times by the State Commission on Ethics and the court system.

This doesn't answer the question. The reason Scott's net worth has increased is because the investments in his blind trust have done well. For example, a company that he and his wife were majority owners, Continental Structural Plastics, was struggling when he became governor, but sold for $825 million in 2017. The investment company controlled by Rick and Ann Scott received $550 million in revenue from the sale. It is unknown how much they had in liabilities. Prior to the sale, CSP made several beneficial partnerships, including with companies in China and France. During this time, Scott's long-time investment advisor and former son-in-law sat on the board.

Q: Governor Scott is currently the only elected official in Florida who has placed assets in a blind trust  why not let Floridians be able to see what the Governor has investments in?

The Florida Commission on Ethics has recommended blind trusts be used to protect the people of Florida from having an elected official make decision for their own financial benefit. The blind trust is managed by an independent financial professional who decides what assets are bought, sold or changed and who is prevented from sharing this information with the Governor.

A blind trust has been used by Florida elected officials such as Jeb Bush and Alex Sink, and even now, a majority of the democratic primary candidates for governor have committed to using a blind trust. Blind trusts are also used by governors in other states, both republicans and democrats. The Governors blind trust has also been upheld multiple times by the State Commission on Ethics and the court system.

Q: Governor Scott has personally known Alan Lee Bazaar, CEO of the trustee of the blind trust, Hollow Brook Wealth Management LLC, for many years  how can he claim information is kept confidential?

Alan Lee Bazaar is an independent financial professional who meets all the requirements defined in the state law. The rules of the blind trust prevent Bazaar from disclosing any specific assets or the value of those assets within the trust to the Governor, and those requirements have always been followed.

Q: Will Governor Scott use a blind trust as Senator? If yes  who will run it?

As always, Governor Scott will follow all of the rules and guidelines required of an elected official. Right now, Governor Scott is focused on winning this campaign so he can reform Washington so that it works for Floridians  not career politicians. The Governor will work out these details after he is elected.

Q: Governors Scott blind trust includes assets in interests that are specific to Florida  doesnt that hinder his ability to govern/ create a conflict of interest?

Absolutely not. The Florida Commission on Ethics has recommended blind trusts be used to protect the people of Florida from having an elected official make decision for their own financial benefit. The blind trust is managed by an independent financial professional who decides what assets are bought, sold or changed. The rules of the blind trust prevent any specific assets or the value of those assets within the trust from being disclosed to the Governor, and those requirements have always been followed.

For questions on specific investments, please contact the Scott for Florida campaign at press@scottforflorida.com or 850-631-0322.

Q: Why are the First Ladys investments just now being disclosed?

First Lady Ann Scott is not an elected official. The full investments are being released today to comply with all rules and requirements for running for federal office.

Q: Governor Scott last terminated his blind trust and disclosed assets in 2014  how can the Governor assure Floridians he did not use that knowledge to increase his net worth?

Every decision by Governor Scott has been made in the best interests of the Floridians he serves. In the interest of full transparency, in 2014 the Governor terminated his blind trust in order to disclose assets. After the disclosure, the assets were immediately placed back in a blind trust and those assets remained under the management of an independent financial professional who decides what assets are bought, sold or changed. The rules of the blind trust prevent any specific assets or the value of those assets within the trust from being disclosed to the Governor, and those requirements have always been followed.

Q: Have the Governors assets been placed back in a blind trust?

Yes. Governor Scott terminated the blind trust to meet federal guidelines to run for federal office. After the required disclosure, the assets were immediately placed back into a blind trust, and those assets remain under the management of an independent financial professional who decides what assets are bought, sold or changed.

Q: Many assets and transactions involving those assets are visible to the public through U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission reports  has Governor Scott reviewed any of his blind trusts SEC filings?

No. Governor Scott personally chose to put his assets in a blind trust when he was elected to prevent any potential conflicts of interest, and he has remained committed to that decision.

The blind trust is managed by an independent financial professional who decides what assets are bought, sold or changed. The rules of the blind trust prevent any specific assets or the value of those assets within the trust from being disclosed to the Governor, and those requirements have always been followed.

The SEC reports, including those that showed that Rick Scott is the beneficial owner of investments held by Ann Scott, were signed by the governor. The income taxes the governor has chosen to release show they are jointly filed with his wife and indicate the income from the investments each of them has. The income taxes show they were also signed by the governor.

Q: Why does the federal filing show different income than the state filing?

The state and federal filings each have different rules, requirements, and timelines. As always, Governor Scott followed all of these requirements.

Q: Governor Scott invested in mosquito control services and supported Miami-Dade County spraying for mosquitoes during the Zika epidemic  isnt that a conflict of interest?

Every decision made by the Governor was made in the best interests of Florida families.

During the Zika epidemic, Governor Scotts sole focus was doing everything possible to protect the residents and visitors of our state, specifically pregnant women and their unborn children. Any assertation otherwise is completely false. Under Governor Scotts leadership, the State of Florida aggressively and tirelessly worked to combat this dangerous disease in order to keep families safe. As well as assisting with mosquito spraying, which was recommended by the CDC, Governor Scott also directed the state to extensively expand mosquito traps, provide bug repellant to travelers at international airports, launch targeted door-to-door educational and testing campaigns and signed executive orders authorizing more than $61 million in state funds for Zika preparedness, preparation and research.

The blind trust is managed by an independent financial professional who decides what assets are bought, sold or changed. The rules of the blind trust prevent any specific assets or the value of those assets within the trust from being disclosed to the Governor, and those requirements have always been followed.

Q: Governor Scott received a significant amount of money from the sale of one company, Continental Structural Plastics  Did he know about the sale? Did he meet with Japanese investors during the economic development mission to Japan? Did he personally work to secure the sale?

Governor Scott was not aware of the sale and had no role in the sale.

The Governors 2013 economic development mission to Japan was solely focused on strengthening Florida and Japans trade relationship and encouraging further investment and job creation in Florida. Japanese companies account for more than 20,000 Florida jobs and the state maintains a sister-jurisdiction relationship with Wakayama Prefecture and nine Florida cities partner with sister cities in Japan.

The blind trust is managed by an independent financial professional who decides what assets are bought, sold or changed. The rules of the blind trust prevent any specific assets or the value of those assets within the trust from being disclosed to the Governor, and those requirements have always been followed.

Scott's long time advisor, Gregory Scott, and his former son-in-law served on the board of Continental Structural Plastics, prior to and during the discussion about the sale of the company.

Q: Governor Scott invested in many energy companies that have direct ties to Florida  isnt that a conflict of interest?

No. The whole purpose of the blind trust is to prevent such conflicts of interests. Furthermore, Governor Scott does not unilaterally decide how state contracts are awarded  there are thorough processes and rules that state agencies can provide to you. Any state contract awarded was done so in accordance with Florida law.

Opponents have suggested that Scott's investments have been influenced by policy choices he has made as governor. For example, the governor and his wife invested in Gilead, a company the state contracts with for Hep C drugs. Because of his limited disclosure, it is not known whether the investments were made before or after negotiations began for the state contract.

The blind trust is managed by an independent financial professional who decides what assets are bought, sold or changed. The rules of the blind trust prevent any specific assets or the value of those assets within the trust from being disclosed to the Governor, and those requirements have always been followed.

Timeline on Blind Trusts in Florida

2009 Annual Report: In its annual report, the Florida Commission on Ethics called on the Legislature to enact laws to allow cabinet officers to use blind trusts to avoid conflicts of interest.

December 2010: Floridas 19th Statewide Grand Jury, who was tasked to develop specific recommendations to improve Floridas ethics laws, recommended that blind trusts be used by public officials to avoid conflicts of interests.

2010 Annual Report: In its annual report, the Florida Commission on Ethics called on the Legislature to enact laws to allow cabinet officers to use blind trusts to avoid conflicts of interest.

April 2011: Gov. Scott voluntarily follows precedent and puts his assets into a blind trust.

May 2011: The Florida Commission on Ethics concluded that the Governors blind trust was an appropriate way to avoid conflicts of interests.

2011 Annual Report: In its annual report, the Florida Commission on Ethics called on the Legislature to enact laws to allow cabinet officers to use blind trusts to avoid conflicts of interest.

Legislative Session 2011, 2012: No bills regarding blind trusts were filed.

2012 Annual Report: In its annual report, the Florida Commission on Ethics called on the Legislature to enact laws to allow cabinet officers to use blind trusts to avoid conflicts of interest.

Legislative Session 2013: Senate Bill 2 is passed which established uniformed standards for qualified blind trusts for elected officials.

This bill passed both chambers unanimously and was signed by the Governor.

Legislative Session 2014: No bills regarding blind trusts were filed.

June 2014: In the interest of full transparency, Governor Scott terminated his blind trust and publicly disclosed its contents. The same day, Governor Scott established a new blind trust to continue to avoid conflicts of interests.

August 2014: A Tallahassee trial court upholds the constitutionality of Floridas blind trusts law.

Legislative Sessions 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018: No bills regarding blind trusts were filed.

April 2017: The Florida Commission on Ethics upholds the Governors use of a blind trust to prevent conflicts of interests.

June 2017: The Florida Commission on Ethics again upholds the Governors use of a blind trust to prevent conflicts of interests.

October 2017: The Florida Commission on Ethics again upholds the Governors use of a blind trust to prevent conflicts of interests.
Reflecting on the decades of turmoil that have beset her country, she says I only have peace in the 1960s, in the Sangkum regime [under Norodom Sihanouk from 1953 to 1970]. It was the only regime that was peaceful and in harmony, after that it is not good. When the Vietnamese controlled Cambodia it was a bad regime. This regime, Hun Sens, it is still under the influence [of Vietnam] but that was worse than now. Sokhom, who is a long-term supporter of the banned CNRP and who has served as an elected official for the party in her local district, says her family supports her activism. But they are still worried about my safety. Personally, I never received any direct threats, she says. Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen pictured on Friday at his last rally before the election. Credit:Kate Geraghty

She isnt afraid of Hun Sens warning not to boycott the poll, or the prospect of punishment by the authorities for speaking out. I used to feel intimidated in the past, these days I no longer feel scared. There are always these kinds of threats. Hun Sen has intimidated the people for a long time, I think its enough. Bou Sokhom, 65, in the streets of Phnom Penh. Credit:Kate Geraghty Sokhom also dismisses the idea of voting for one of the 19 other parties that will contest the poll on Sunday, many of which have only been set up in recent months and which have been linked to the regime. The CNRP, which very nearly won the 2013 election, is widely considered to be the only party that could have beaten Hun Sens Cambodian Peoples Party.

Those who go to vote tomorrow are the ones who are killing the country, killing democracy, she says bluntly. Thats not a view, however, that is shared by every supporter of democracy in Cambodia. Mam Sonando holds up six fingers to represent his party, the Beehive Social Democratic Party. Credit:Kate Geraghty Seventy-six-year old Mam Sonando is a high profile radio broadcaster who has previously been arrested by Hun Sens regime. He also leads the Beehive Social Democratic Party, which is not linked to the regime, and thinks Hun Sens 33 years as prime minister should end.

I admit I want to become prime minster, I dont want just one or two seats, he says. But he is just as critical of Sam Rainsy, the long-time former leader of the CNRP, as he is of Hun Sen because of the formers support for a boycott of the poll. After the Khmer Rouge we demanded and wanted to participate in elections, to choose a leader if he [Rainsy] is a real democrat, why appeal to people not to vote? According to officials, approximately 250,000 people attended the Cambodian Peoples Party rally on the last day of campaigning in Phnom Penh. Credit:Kate Geraghty Rainsy and Hun Sen, he argues, once worked together but in recent years have been locked in a personal feud. That feud has hurt Cambodia and both men are now obstacles to Cambodias progress towards a more prosperous and more democratic future, he asserts.
Egypts state-run media says a court has sentenced 75 people to death, including top figures of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, for their involvement in a 2013 sit-in.

Saturdays decision in Cairo Criminal Court will now be referred to the Grand Mufti  the countrys top theological authority  for his non-binding opinion on the sentences. He usually approves the courts decision.

The case involves Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, who was arrested for taking photos at the Rabaa massacre. Credit:El Shorouk Newspaper via AP

Sentencing for more than 660 others was set for September 8, according to state-run Al-Ahram news website.

The case involves 739 defendants, including the Muslim Brotherhoods Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie and photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid. Charges range from murder to damaging public property.
New York: Police are investigating a report of a "suspicious item" inside US President Donald Trump's high-rise home in New York City.

Trump Tower. Credit:Sasha Woolley

They noticed the item at Trump Tower about 4.30pm on Friday local time (6:30am AEST).

Authorities did not give further details about what kind of item was found and a beefed-up police presence was at the building on Friday evening.

PA
Two researchers from the University of Bristol have been awarded almost 3M in European Research Council (ERC) Starting Grants in recognition of their excellent science and potentially ground-breaking research.

The ERCs Starting Grants support exceptional researchers, between two and seven years from PhD completion to become fully independent research leaders.

They are particularly intended to enable the researcher to create or strengthen their own research team or programme. The grants are awarded under the 'excellent science' pillar of Horizon 2020, the EU's research and innovation programme.

The grantees at Bristol will pioneer research on photonics and philosophy.

University of Bristol recipients of the ERC Starting Grants are:

Professor Nishan Canagarajah, the Universitys Pro Vice Chancellor for Research and Enterprise, said: The sole criterion for a European Research Council Starting Grant is excellence. We are very pleased that Johannes and Jonathan have been recognised by the ERC and that both have been successful.

These grants recognise exceptional researchers transitioning to research leaders in their fields. The two grants awarded to Johannes and Jonathan have a combined value of almost 3M  a significant amount that will enable them to pursue their ground-breaking research for which the University is renowned.
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Digital Editor
Vedobroto (Ved) Roy is friendly and loquacious and it is not hard to understand why he was such a successful advertisement man. He started his career at Ogilvy Mumbai, joined JWT Delhi, went to Cheil Communications, Delhi, and then worked for Leo-Burnett, Dhaka.

One day he and his artist wife Chetana decided to give it all up. I knew I was selling poison when I sold soft drinks. There is a special room in hell reserved for people in advertising, different from the one reserved for lawyers, he said. Life was an 18-hour day  not that I was forced into it, ...
All critical personal data on people in India should be processed within the country, a government panel said on Friday. The recommendation comes at a time when data breaches are becoming common globally and there is heightened scrutiny by governments on how companies handle user data. The panel, headed by former Supreme Court judge BN Srikrishna, also presented a draft bill that will go before parliament designed to enhance data protection. The legislation could affect how global companies store data in India. The panel said "personal data determined to be ...
October 25, 2021, Monday

Tamil Nadu has no faith in the test to select students for medical colleges, data shows there is little reason to chuck out the ...
Militants attacked a midwife training centre in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, officials said, in the latest violence in the war-torn country.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province. It was not clear if there were any casualties.

A witness near the scene told AFP he could hear sporadic gunfire, suggesting the attack may be ongoing.

Several midwives have been rescued, provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said.

Provincial health department spokesman Inamullah Miakhil confirmed its midwife centre had been attacked.

A witness in a nearby department told AFP he heard several explosions and then saw three gunmen enter the lane where the midwife centre is located.

Jalalabad has been the scene of several attacks in recent months that have killed dozens.

Most of the attacks were claimed by the Islamic State group.
Extremist and banned groups, including Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-backed Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek, have been rejected outright by the Pakistani voters in the just-concluded general elections whose final results were announced on Saturday by the

According to the of Pakistan (ECP), not a single candidate of the Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek party, supported by the banned (JuD) chief, could win a seat.

The ECP results show the party candidates got just 171,441 votes, just a drop in the ocean when compared with more than 100 million registered voters and more than 50 per cent turnout in the polls.

Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf emerged as the single largest party in the general elections, winning 116 National Assembly seats out of the contested 270 parliamentary constituencies, the ECP said.

The little-known Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek party name was adopted after the ECP rejected Saeed's bid to register Mili Muslim League.



Tehreek-i-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), another party with clear sectarian mindset, had fielded more than 150 candidates at the National Assembly seats and hundreds more on provincial assemblies.

The party got 2,191,679 votes and just two of its candidates were elected for the Sindh provincial assembly, the ECP results showed.

The TLP is representative of Sunni Brailvi sect, the largest in Pakistan, and also believes in Sufi Islam.

The party lately exhibited signs of aggression when its supporters laid siege to the capital Islamabad last year.

The party, however, has not been involved in any kind of terrorism in Pakistan or beyond its borders.

The parties propagating moderate Islam had contested the polls from the platform of Muttahida Majlis-e-Aml Pakistan (MMAP).



They got 13 seats while getting 2,530,452 total votes. MMAP is the fifth biggest party in term of total votes, while TLP followed it at number six, according to the results.

Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Sami (JUI-S) got only 24,559 votes, it added.

Rejection of JUI-S' candidates is significant as its head is Maulana Samiul Haq, known as godfather of Taliban and his seminary is called as 'University of Jihad'.

There were other religious parties contesting the polls and they also fared poorly.

While Tehreek-i-Laibak Islam got just 68,022 votes, Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen Pakistan of Shiites received 9,606 votes. Sunni Ittehad Council got 5,939, the ECP said.



Pakistan faced a great deal of criticism both from the and local media and human rights groups as well as political leaders for having hundreds of individuals with clear links to extremists openly campaigning in the election.

The voters of Pakistan have rejected the candidates with ties t extremist or banned groups and scuttled their move to join mainstream
The PTI, which emerged as the single largest party in the National Assembly elections but fell short of securing majority, was on Saturday involved in hectic lobbying to win support from Independents and smaller parties to form a ruling combine and pave the way for its chief to head a coalition government.

According to the figures provided by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won 115 out of the 270 seats on which the elections remained. The party, however, was short of 22 seats for simple majority.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which completed its government's tenure in May, this time won 64 seats, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) reamained at the third place with 43 seats.

Khan, the Prime Minister-in-waiting, himself continued to hold meetings with prominent leaders on Saturday. Former Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Mehmoodur Rasheed also met Khan at his Bani Gala residence.

Rasheed apprised the chief about establishing contact with Independents. Both leaders also discussed possible candidates for the post of Punjab Chief Minister, where the is scouting for Independents to form the provincial government.

The PML-N, which has ruled Punjab for two consecutive tenures, again emerged as the largest party in the province, winning 129 of the 295 provincial assembly seats on which elections were held on July 25.

However, the party was not certain to form the government as the was close behind with 123 seats and with the likely help of 28 Independents can form the government.

Given the current stalemate in Punjab, the importance of Independent candidates increased significantly in determining which party forms the government.

The Election Commission while revealing results on all 270 seats said that the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), an alliance of multiple religious parties, has managed to win only 12 seats, whereas Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) garnered just six seats.

PML-Quaid and the newly formed Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) won four seats each, while Sindh-based Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) won only two.

Akhtar Mengal's resurgent BNP bagged three berths for itself in the lower house of the parliament, while Awami National Party's (ANP) tally stood at just one.

Awami Muslim League (AML), Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaniyat and Jamhoori Wattan Party (JWP) also grabbed a seat each.

Twelve independent candidates also triumphed in their constituencies and were likely to play an important role in formation of the federal government.

Recounts on at least five seats, however, mean that the final result may differ from the count released by the commission on Saturday.

Elections on two seats were also postponed by the ECP and will likely be held with the by-elections on seats vacated by leaders who have won more than one seats.
The Trump administration is quietly pushing ahead with a bid to create a new security and political alliance with six Gulf Arab states, Egypt and Jordan, in part to counter Iran's expansion in the region, according to US and Arab officials. The White House wants to see deeper cooperation between the countries on missile defense, military training, counter-terrorism and other issues such as strengthening regional economic and diplomatic ties, four sources said. The plan to forge what officials in the White House and West Asia have called an "Arab NATO" of Sunni ...
Google, Twitter and Facebook have taken significant steps to expunge Islamic State propaganda and other terrorist content from their platforms.

But taking no chances, the European Union is set to propose a tough new law anyway  threatening internet platforms, big and small, with fines if they fail to take down terrorist material, according to people familiar with the proposals that could be unveiled as soon as September. While the details of the measures are still being thrashed out, they would likely be based on the EU guidance from earlier this year, said the people, ...
Two Sri Lankan refugees were arrested in Rameswaram on Saturday.

The coastal security police arrested Sayinson (26) and Jayakumar (27) in Gulf of Mannar Sea Single Island near Pamdan in Rameswaram island.

Sayinson was from Puduppatti SLR camp in Vilupuram while Jayakumar was an outstaying refugee at Thiruchirappalli.

The Mandapam costal security wing police arrested them for unlawful travel to Sri Lanka in an Illegal boat.

The coastal security wing police have put the refugees under interrogation.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Three people have sustained injuries and are shifted to the hospital after terrorists stormed inside a midwife training centre on Saturday. The training centre belongs to Afghanistan's Ministry of Public Health.

TOLO news quoted the spokesperson for Nangarhar governor, Attaullah Khogyani as saying that an unknown number of people are still trapped inside the compound.

Meanwhile, eyewitnesses said that a number of explosions and gunfire shots can be heard from the scene of the attack. As the gunfight is still underway, more casualties are feared.

The security forces have cordoned off the area.

The latest attack came two days after four National Directorate of Security force members were killed in a suicide attack carried out by the Taliban in Afghanistan's capital city Kabul.

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Thirty-six cows were found dead in a cow shelter in Ghumanhera village near Dwarka on Friday.

Local police, who visited the said Gaushala, noted that there were about 1400 sheltered in the gaushala, out of which 36 were found dead.

A letter was then sent to Kuldeep Singh Gangar, Special Development Commissioner, for the constitution of a team of veterinary doctors for inspection and further postmortem to establish the cause of death.

A team of doctors from the veterinary hospital of Kakrola, Goyla Dairy, Najagarh, Dichaun Kalan, Chhawla and Nangli Dairy reached the Gaushala.

The inquiry into the cause of death of all the cows is being conducted.

The Gaushala is run by Acharya Sushil Gosadan Trust at village Ghumanhera in Chhawla area.

The land for the 20-acre gaushala was allotted in the year 1995.

Legal action will be taken in accordance with the prevalent laws, once the report is submitted.

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Apple wants to help Japan flood victims in its own way possible. The company is promising to fix any repairable Mac, iPhone, Apple Watch, or iPad damaged during the disaster.

Apple will fix these devices at no cost. Customers need to call Apple Support to get their devices picked up for repair, Cnet reported.

It is to be noted that Apple typically does not cover liquid damage, however, it has made an exception in case of its affected Japanese customers who can get their devices fixed until the end of September.

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Scores of people gathered outside Bengaluru's Town Hall on Friday to stage protest opposing the weird practices followed during eclipses.

The crowds were promoting the scientific reason behind the occurrence of an eclipse and asked people to turn down the superstitious belief followed during the phase of the eclipse.

While protesting they also ate food, which is prohibited as per the Hindu tradition, during the phase of an eclipse.

Talking to ANI, a protestor said, "We are here to celebrate and welcome lunar eclipse. Some pundits and astrologers claim that the day should not be celebrated. We want beliefs like not drinking water or eating food during eclipses to end."

The world witnessed Blood Moon or total lunar eclipse, the longest of the 21st Century on Friday.

The century's longest total lunar eclipse, which began on July 27, lasted till the early hours of July 28.

According to the Hindu tradition, no religious or auspicious practices are performed at the time of a lunar eclipse.

Going by this tradition, many famous temples across the country also remain closed for darshan during the period. People performing puja are instructed to do it before or after the eclipse.

People following the Hindu religion are also advised to take bath before and after a lunar eclipse. They also avoid cooking or consuming food during that period.

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After the All-India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) called off its nationwide strike, Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways, Nitin Gadkari, lauded the organisation for the decision.

Gadkari further said the government was "sensitive" to the demands of the transporters, adding that a high-level committee was constituted to look into the unfulfilled demands.

"The decision of All India Motor Congress to end the strike is commendable. They have withdrawn their strike following the government's appeal. The government is sensitive to the demands of transporters. We had already accepted several demands. We have constituted a high-level committee to discuss the remaining demands," he tweeted in Hindi.

Furthermore, Gadkari, while addressing a press conference here, assured the AIMTC of working on the things that have been decided.

"I am happy that they have called off the strike. Minister of Finance Piyush Goyal has been very helpful. I assure them that we will work on the things that have been decided," he said.

Road Transport Secretary YS Malik also thanked the AIMTC for ending the strike.

"Their role in keeping the economy on track is integral. We'll try our best to solve their problems at the earliest," he said.

Transport unions, led by the AIMTC, began the nationwide strike on July 20 over several demands including a cut in diesel prices and highway tolls.

The strike was announced after the talks of negotiation between the AIMTC and the Union government did not yield the desired result.

Goods and Service Tax (GST) compliance, practical problems with e-way bills were some other issues which the transport unions were protesting against.

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After Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerged as the single largest party in the Pakistan general elections, India on Saturday expressed hope that the newly elected government would work constructively to build a safe, stable, secure and developed South Asia which will be free of terrorism and violence.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in a statement said that "India desired to have a prosperous and progressive Pakistan at peace with its neighbours."

In response to questions from the media regarding the general elections in Pakistan, MEA official spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said, "We welcome that the people of Pakistan have reposed their faith in democracy through general elections. India desires to have a prosperous and progressive Pakistan at peace with its neighbours."

The PTI emerged as the single largest party with 115 seats, after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Saturday released the complete preliminary results for 270 of 272 National Assembly (NA) constituencies. However, the party fell short of the 137-majority mark. The ECP completed the process after almost three days when the general elections were held.

In his first speech after the elections, Imran on Thursday said he would like to have good relations with India and work to resolve all outstanding issues through dialogue. Mentioning Kashmir as the core issue of dispute between the two nations, he said that it was time the two countries sat across the table and discussed the issues of concern.

"We should sit across and resolve the issues instead of we blaming India for problems in Balochistan and they blame us for problems in Kashmir. I can say that if you (India) will take one step forward, we will take two steps forward. The relationship between the two countries has been one-sided so far and Pakistan has been blamed for all sorts of terrorism in the We want friendship with India and want to resolve all issues through dialogue," Imran asserted.

The already souring ties between India and Pakistan have taken a sharp plunge ever since ceasefire violations by Pakistani forces have increased along the Line of Control (LoC) and terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir have seen a rise in the last few months.

India has stated repeatedly that it would not engage in talks with Pakistan unless the latter stopped supporting and harbouring terrorism.

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At least three people were killed and five others injured after terrorists stormed inside a midwife training centre on Saturday. The training centre belongs to Afghanistan's Ministry of Public Health.

TOLO news quoted the spokesperson for Nangarhar governor, Attaullah Khogyani as saying that two staff members were killed in the attack that lasted for five hours.

Khogyani earlier said that three people were injured and more casualties were feared.

The police chief of Nangarhar, Brigadier General Sanaee Stanikzai said, "Suicide attackers entered the building. They killed the guard first and then a driver was killed. They (attackers) faced resistance by police. We rescued at least 62 people from the attack scene."

The security forces cordoned off the area as soon as the terrorists stormed inside the compound of the training centre. Eyewitnesses said that a number of explosions and gunfire shots can be heard from the scene of the attack.

Huge layers of black smoke were also seen during the assault.

So far, it is unclear as to how many terrorists were present and whether any group claimed responsibility for the attack.

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Lelectricite est devenue, de nos jours, un besoin dune importance majeure, et cela, dans tous les domaines dactivite. Que ce soit dans les maisons ou []
As many as 30 people were killed on Saturday after a school bus fell down a mountain road in Ambenali Ghat of Maharashtra's Raigad district.

The students were on their way to Mahabaleshwar for picnic when the incident took place.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra Minister Vinod Tawade took to Twitter to confirm the incident and said that officials have been instructed to take prompt action.

"30 people, including students of Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, fatally injured after a bus falls down a mountain road on Mumbai-Goa highway near Raigad. Rescue operation underway. Instructed officials on prompt action," Tawde tweeted.

Taking congnisance of the matter, the Disaster Response Force team and police rushed to the spot to carry out rescue operation.

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Former Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari and his sister Faryal Talpur on Saturday failed to appear before the joint investigation team of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) in connection to a money laundering case.

The brother-sister duo was summoned to the FIA office by 11 am (local time) to record their statements. However, their lawyers appeared on their behalf and submitted replies to the joint investigation team, Samaa TV reported.

The counsel said that Talpur could not come to the FIA office, as she was appearing before a banking court in connection to the Pakistani (Rs.) 35 billion money-laundering scam and was securing an interim bail.

Meanwhile, Talpur filed a petition asking for more time to appear before the joint investigation team.

Last week, Zardari and Faryal were declared as absconders by the FIA in connection with the aforementioned case. A two-member bench, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Saqib Nisar, took suo motu notice of the FIA's investigation into the money-laundering scam.

At least 20 others, including Zardari's close aide Anwar Majeed and his son, were also declared as absconders by the FIA.

On July 18, the names of Zardari and Talpur were removed from the Exit Control List (ECL) by Pakistan's Interior Ministry, according to sources. Prior to this, Zardari and Talpur's names were placed on the ECL on the orders of Pakistan's Supreme Court, sources told Geo TV earlier.

However, on July 12, the country's apex court had refuted reports that it did not place the brother-sister duo on the ECL and did not issue directives to prevent them from leaving the country in connection to their alleged involvement in the money-laundering scam.

In January this year, the FIA inquiry began when the State Bank of Pakistan's financial monitoring unit issued a "suspicious transaction report" on ten bank accounts. Transactions worth billions were made over the years when over 20 'benami' accounts were opened at a private bank.

At least, 32 people are under legal scanner by the FIA for laundering money from fictitious accounts. Zardari, however, has denied such allegations.

On July 6, the FIA had arrested Stock Exchange of Pakistan chairman Hussain Lawai, who is considered to be Zardari's close aide.

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People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig on Saturday drew wrath from various political parties over his lynching remark.

Baig, while addressing a gathering in Srinagar today said the killings of Muslims in the name of cows and buffaloes should be stopped otherwise the outcome will not be good. There has already been a partition in 1947, he added.

Criticising PDP leader's "irresponsible" statement, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Nalin Kohli said that creating a narrative on Hindu-Muslim bases is unacceptable.

"What kind of statement is this? It has to be rejected; first of all trying to create narrative on Hindu-Muslim bases is unacceptable. This is a very irresponsible statement given by a leader. In every incident of lynching, action needs to take place," Kohli told ANI.

"In 1947, during the partition which took place, the Muslims who wanted an Islamic country made Pakistan. But if he says that partition can happen again, then his words must be condemn," Kohli added.

Meanwhile, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) ideologue Rakesh Sinha hit out at Baig for giving religious angle to the lynching incidents and said, "When a terrorist is killed at the borders of Kashmir then we don't see his caste or sect but when a man is lynched in the country then we add religion to it...Why? These are the ones who can only criticise Prime Minister Narendra Modi and blame him on all wrong charges."

Reacting on Baig's remark, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad said that the PDP is complaining against the BJP as they are not alliance partner anymore.

"Since three and a half years, BJP and PDP have been destroying Kashmir in all aspect. From the very beginning, we had warned PDP not to join the BJPP but they wanted to enjoy the power and fame. Both equally took the benefits from the state and currently have left the city in shackles," Azad told ANI.

"Now that they have been separated from each other they are complaining about each other's mistakes and blunders," Azad added.

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34 of 40 girls rescued from a state-funded shelter home in Muzaffarpur, were raped or molested claimed police.

Inspector General (IG) Tirhut zone, Sunil Kumar on Saturday told ANI, "Earlier medical reports indicated that 29 out of 42 girls encountered sexual contact. The fresh reports suggest that a total of 34 girls were raped or molested."

Gory details emerged from a state-funded shelter home in Muzaffarpur on July 23 where more than 40 minor girls were allegedly sexually assaulted over a period of time.

Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday directed the State officials to conduct a CBI inquiry into the alleged rape of minor girls.

Eleven employees of the shelter home have been arrested in this regard.

The issue of alleged sexual exploitation of more than 40 girls was uncovered more than a month ago by a Mumbai-based social science institute.

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Two accused police officers - sub-inspector Muhammad Yaseen and ASI (assistant sub-inspector of police) Sapurd Hussain were granted bail by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) on Saturday in connection to the murder of Naqeebullah Mehsud.

The court directed both policemen to pay (Pakistani) Rs. 0.2 million in bail bonds. The ATC further said that it would decide the bail plea of former Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Qamar Ahmed of Malir district on August 18, Geo News reported.

As of now, four police personnel accused in the murder case, including former senior superintendent of police (SSP) of Malir district, Rao Anwar, have secured bails from the ATC.

Earlier on July 10, Anwar, the main accused in the case, was granted bail. Anwar and other police officers are in the dock for killing at least four men, during what they claimed was a raid on a suspected Taliban hideout in Karachi, as per the Geo News report.

Relatives of Naqeebullah, a 27-year-old shopkeeper from South Waziristan tribal district rejected claims of him having militant links and maintained that he was an aspiring model who had been a resident of Karachi since 2008. They added that Naqeebullah was looking for a job and had been running a shop in the city.

Naqeebullah and two others were killed in January this year in what was later termed as a 'fake encounter' by the police. His killing evoked a national outcry in Pakistan and triggered protest rallies in several cities.

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Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah on Saturday urged the regional parties to come together to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the forthcoming 2019 general elections.

Speaking to reporters here, Abdullah said, "The question you asked about Mamata didi's proposal, is what we are discussing- how best can regional parties come together to take on BJP in general elections."

He further said that no effort towards opposition unity will succeed unless Congress is able to fight the BJP.

Praising United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi's efforts to bring opposition parties together against the BJP, Abdullah said, "It is an ongoing conversation. You have seen a number of efforts made particularly by Sonia Gandhi to bring opposition parties together. As we get closer to the general election in 2019, I'm sure it will take on a greater shape."

Abdullah's statement came a day after he met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Howrah to discuss the prevailing situation in the country.

Further taking a dig at the NDA government, Abdullah said that a strong Union is required for a strong country.

"A strong Union is required for a strong country but a strong Union cannot come at the cost of the states," Abdullah said.

"Today India isn't as strong as it could be as we're facing problems in numerous states such as, Maoist insurgency in parts of the country, problems in north-east or Jammu and Kashmir. States that have been weakened have held Union back from progressing the way we ought to have done," he added.

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People's Democratic Party (PDP) leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig on Saturday warned of dire consequences if lynching of Muslims continues.

"The killings of Muslims in the name of cows and buffaloes should be stopped otherwise the outcome will not be good. There has already been a partition in 1947 (Gai aur bhains ke naam par musalmano ka katal bandh karein warna naateje achhe nahi honge. 1947 mein ek partition pehle hi ho chuka hai)," he said while addressing a gathering in Srinagar.

Baig was reacting to various incidents of mob lynching and killings in the name of cow vigilantism.

On July 21, a 28-year-old man Akbar Khan was allegedly beaten to death in Rajasthan's Alwar district by an agitated mob on suspicion of cow smuggling. He was taking some cows to his village through a forest near Lalawandi area when the locals thrashed him brutally.

Earlier, in a similar incident, a 50-year-old man named Pehlu Khan was beaten to death last year by cow vigilantes in Alwar district.

However, speaking in the lower house, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged all the state governments to take stringent action against those involved in mob lynching incidents and punish them to curb the menace prevailing in the country at the earliest.

The incidents of mob lynching have been on a rise in the country. As per data compiled by the Ministry of Home Affairs, 45 persons were killed in 40 cases of mob lynching across nine states between 2014 and 3 March, 2018. The Supreme Court on July 17 asked the Centre to enact a law to deal with incidents of lynching and take action on mob violence.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in the capital after completing a five-day tour to three African nations.

Prime Minister Modi departed from Air Force Base Waterkloof in Johannesburg on Friday, after attending the 10th annual BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) summit.

As part of his five-day official tour, Prime Minister Modi first visited Kigali, Rwanda on Monday. He did a one-on-one meeting and delegation-level talks with the President of the Republic of Rwanda, Paul Kagame. He also interacted with the Indian community there.

India and Rwanda signed eight agreements in an effort to bolster bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Prime Minister Modi also 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 President 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.

Later, Prime Minister Modi arrived in Kampala, Uganda and held delegation-level talks with Ugandan President, Yoweri Museveni. The former had said India would continue to play a stable partner in Uganda's journey towards development.

While addressing the Parliament of Uganda, the Prime Minister said that India felt "proud" to be Africa's partner as India's story of freedom struggle was "intimately" linked to the continent.

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Modi arrived in South Africa to participate in the BRICS summit.

India signed several MoUs in the fields of education, skill, health, and agriculture with South Africa.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Prime Minister Modi stressed on the need for BRICS cooperation for global portable social security framework, intended to benefit nearly 215 million people who were working outside their nations.

On the second day of the summit, Prime Minister Modi said that India intended to closely work with BRICS nations on the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

The Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR) is the fourth major industrial era after the initial Industrial Revolution of the 18th century. It is characterised by a fusion of technologies that is blurring the lines between the physical, digital and biological spheres.

Prime Minister Modi also held separate bilateral meetings with Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the summit.

On the last day of the BRICS summit, Prime Minister Modi re-affirmed India's support to African countries. He emphasised the need for fostering peace and development in the African counties.

The theme of this year's BRICS summit was - 'BRICS in Africa - collaboration for inclusive growth and shared prosperity in the Fourth Industrial Revolution'.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday expressed grief over the Raigad bus accident.

At least 30 people were killed on Saturday after a school bus fell down a mountain road in Ambenali Ghat of Maharashtra's Raigad district.

"Pained by the loss of lives due to a bus accident in Maharashtra's Raigad district. My condolences to those who lost their loved ones," the Prime Minister tweeted.

Meanwhile, Congress president Rahul Gandhi also took note of the incident and appealed to his party workers in the area to provide assistance to the injured and deceased's families.

"I'm sorry to hear about the terrible bus accident in Raigad, Maharashtra in which a large number of people have been killed and many others injured. I appeal to Congress party workers in the area to provide all possible assistance to the injured & families of those who have died," Rahul tweeted.

The students were on their way to Mahabaleshwar for a picnic when the incident took place.

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The Imran Khan-led Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerged as the single largest party with 115 seats, after the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Saturday released the complete preliminary results for 270 of 272 National Assembly (NA) constituencies.

The ECP completed the process after almost three days when the general elections were held. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) which won 64 seats came second, while the Pakistan People's Party (PPP) bagged 43 seats and finished third.

The elections to the remaining two NA constituencies, which were previously deferred due to multiple issues, would take place soon, The Dawn reported.

The Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) which is an alliance of various religious parties in Pakistan garnered 12 seats while the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) won six seats. The Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) and the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) won four seats apiece whereas the Balochistan National Party (BNP) bagged three seats.

Other parties such as the Awami National Party (ANP), Awami Muslim League (AML), Jamhoori Wattan Party (JWP) and Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaniyat have each garnered a seat respectively. Also, independent candidates won 12 NA constituencies. They are likely to play a crucial role in the formation of the government at the centre.

26/11 attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed's Allaha-u-Akbar Tehreek (AAT) which was contesting for the first time failed to win any seat.

Meanwhile, the ECP has ordered the recounting of votes in at least five NA constituencies which may affect the overall final results.

Coming to the provincial assemblies of Pakistan, the PML-N emerged as the single largest party in Punjab, garnering 129 seats in the 295-seat Punjab assembly. However, the PTI is not far behind, as they have clinched 123 seats and could stake a claim to form the government in the province, according to The Dawn report.

The PML-Q finished third in the electoral race with seven seats, while the PPP won six seats. The BAP and Pakistan Awami Raj have clinched one seat each.

In Sindh, the PPP bagged 76 seats out of the 130 seats in the provincial assembly and will form the government without any coalition partners. The PTI came second and won 23 seats, while MQM-P clinched 16 seats. The Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), comprising smaller regional parties, had aimed to give the PPP a tough competition but managed to bag only 11 seats.

Hardline leader Khadim Rizvi-led Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), which made its electoral debut in this year's general elections won two seats, whereas the MMA managed one seat.

The PTI put up a good show in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), where it clinched 66 seats in a house of 97. The MMA emerged as the second largest party with 10 seats, while the ANP garnered six seats. The PPP managed four seats, while six seats went to independent candidates, The Dawn reported.

In the 65-seat Balochistan provincial assembly, the BAP was the single largest party with 15 seats. The MMA and BNP took the second and third positions, with nine and six seats respectively. Other parties such as the PTI, BNP-Awami and Hazara Democratic Party (HDP) managed four, three and two seats respectively.

The PML-N, JWP and Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) all won one seat each. Five independent candidates also won from Balochistan.

Pakistan went to polls on Wednesday and the counting of votes began soon thereafter in the evening, which was marred by tedious counting and allegations of rigging by major political parties, including the PML-N and PPP.

On Friday, a multi-party conference was called for by the PML-N to prepare a strategy over the alleged rigging of the General Elections 2018.

Chaired by PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif and MMA President Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the all-party conference has rejected the poll results and demanded a transparent re-election in the country.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin is ready to visit the United States of America.

According to CNN, the Russian President has also invited his US counterpart, Donald Trump, to Moscow.

"We are ready for such meetings, we are ready to invite President Trump to Moscow. He has this invitation already and I told him about it", Putin said at the BRICS summit, as quoted by CNN.

On the other hand, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders, in a statement, said that Trump was "open to visiting Moscow", but suggested that he is yet to receive a formal invitation from his Russian counterpart.

"President Trump looks forward to having President Putin to Washington after the first of the year, and he is open to visiting Moscow upon receiving a formal invitation," she said.

Putin on Friday appreciated Trump, saying the US President's "great virtue is that he always wants to keep his promises to his voters."

"You can critique him for what he does and many people do that but one thing is clear -- he is willing to fulfill his campaign promises," he said.

Putin also said that his earlier meeting with Trump at Helsinki, Finland, was "useful".

Last week, Trump had asked his national security advisor John Bolton to invite his Russian counterpart to Washington D.C. for a potential second summit.

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The Union Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Ramdas Athawale on Saturday said former Supreme Court judge Justice A.K. Goel had given a wrong judgment on the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and hence, his appointment as NGT chairman is not appropriate.

"Justice Goyal had given wrong judgment on SC/ST Atrocities Act. I don't think it is appropriate to appoint him as NGT chairman. I am a part of NDA, but I demand that he should be removed from that post. He has hurt feelings of Dalits," Athawale told ANI.

The retired apex court judge was on July 6 appointed as the chairperson of the NGT for five years.

On March 20, the Supreme Court bench led by Justice Goyal and UU Lalit introduced the provision of anticipatory bail in the SC/ST Atrocities Act and also directed that there will be no automatic arrest on any complaint filed under the Act.

Many political parties and people belonging to Dalit community opposed the judgement, perceiving it as the dilution of the Act.

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The request for recounting of votes in NA-249 (Karachi constituency) by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shahbaz Sharif was rejected by the returning officer (RO) of the constituency.

According to unofficial results, Shahbaz has lost to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf's Faisal Vawda, with a narrow margin of 718 votes.

PML-N leader Rana Mashood had filed the appeal on behalf of Shahbaz Sharif with the returning officer of NA-249 from where PTI candidate Vawda has been unofficially announced elected with 35,344 votes.

Sharif emerged as the runner-up as he bagged 34,626 votes, while Mufti Abid Mubarak of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan secured the third position with 23,981 votes, The Dawn reported.

Mashood said in his application that Vawda had won the seat with the winning margin of only over 600 votes, while over 3,000 votes were rejected during the counting.

Reacting to the decision of the returning officer, senior leader of the PML-N Mushahidullah Khan said, "The returning officer would have accepted Shahbaz's request for recounting of votes, instead of 'summarily' rejecting his application."

He added that the PML-N would file an appeal with the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) against the call of the returning officer whose conduct "has proved that the party is not being provided a level playing field".

Meanwhile, a number of applications for recount of votes were filed on Friday in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by the losing candidates in the general elections.

However, the returning officers of two NA constituencies in Lahore has allowed applications of PML-N leader Khwaja Saad Rafiq and PTI leader Abdul Aleem Khan for holding recount in their own constituencies.

PTI chairman Imran Khan has won NA-131 against Rafiq, while PML-N leader Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has beaten Aleem Khan in NA-129. Both Rafiq and Khan have raised questions on discrepancies during the vote counting process.

In Multan, the returning officer for NA-158 has rejected former prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani's application for recounting or re-examination of ballot papers.

On Friday, a multi-party conference (MPC) was called for by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) to concoct a strategy over the alleged rigging of the General Elections 2018.

Chaired by PML-N president Shahbaz Sharif and Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) president Maulana Fazlur Rehman, the MPC rejected the poll results and demanded a transparent re-election.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
National Award-winning actress Kangana Ranaut on Saturday hailed Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said he deserves to come in power again in the upcoming 2019 Lok Sabha elections as he is the "rightful leader of the democracy."

Kangana attended the screening of short film 'Chalo Jeete Hain', which is reportedly inspired by the early life of Prime Minister Modi.

"The film has been made beautifully. It shows how Prime Minister Modi being a sensitive child went through such extreme circumstances. But I feel this film is not about him. Rather it is about us - how the society needs to be together to rise. This film is just a small part of his life," Kangana said after the screening.

When asked to analyse the last four years of the Prime Minister Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, Kangana said: "He (Prime Minister Modi) is the most deserving candidate. It's not like he has reached this place because of his mother and father. He is the rightful leader of the democracy. We have voted him as our Prime Minister. This cannot be taken away from him. This is his well deserved place which he has earned after sheer hardwork. So, there shouldn't be any doubt about his credibility as a Prime Minister."

Does she want Prime Minister Modi to be in power again?

Kangana said: "Ofcourse. Why not? Five years are very less to take the nation out of a pit. Our country is in a pit, we need to pull it out."

Co-directed by Aanand L. Rai and Mahaveer Jain, 'Chalo Jeete Hain' invited a lot of praise from ministers after it was screened at the Rashtrapati Bhavan Cultural Centre on Tuesday.

The trailer reveals the story of a young boy, who keeps on asking his parents and other people as to what it is that they live for after reading a phrase 'a winner is one who lives for others'.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council took a series of decisions in its 28th meeting held on July 21.

Ujwal Lahoti, Chairman of The Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) said, "the decisions taken by the GST Council are in the right direction which will promote the growth of the textiles sector."

A very significant decision taken by the GST Council is to provide a refund of accumulated input tax credit on account of the inverted duty structure to the fabrics manufacturers.

"This facility will certainly lead to a reduction in the prices of fabrics which in turn will make Made ups and Garments competitive in the export markets," he said.

The TEXPROCIL Chairman thanked Smriti Zubin Irani, Union Textile Minister, and Piyush Goyal, Union Minister for Railways, Coal, Finance and Corporate Affairs for this very important decision which will go a long way in the growth and development of the textiles sector and will make India a global trading hub for fabrics.

The GST Council has reduced the GST rates on certain textiles items like chenille fabrics, handmade lace, hand-woven tapestries, hand-made braids and ornamental trimming in the piece, handmade carpets and other handmade textile floor coverings from 12 to 5 per cent. According to Lahoti, the reduction in the GST rates will give a boost to the SME sector as these products are mainly manufactured in this sector.

The GST Council also simplified the tax filing for 93 per cent of the assesses by raising the annual turnover threshold under which businesses can file quarterly returns from Rs. 1.5 crores to 5 crores. Certain decisions have been taken which will lead to procedural simplifications.

Another significant change was the deferment of the reverse charge mechanism until September 2019. Lahoti complimented the GST Council for the overall direction to lower rates and ensure ease of compliance.

However, there are some areas, pointed out by Lahoti, which need to be addressed such as the refund of input tax credits related to capital goods on exports, payment of IGST on exports in the case of domestic procurements under deemed exports, refund of transitional credits on exports. If these issues are also addressed, most of the problems faced by the textiles sector will get resolved, he added.

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The United Nations (UN) is reeling under alarming financial crisis and is also appealing to its member to pay up to the international body, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said.

As per Fox News, Guterres, in a letter, said he has warned member states of a "troubling financial situation facing the United Nations," which he stated is caused due to late payments by member states to the UN.

"Our cash flow has never been this low so early in the calendar year, and the broader trend is also concerning; we are running out of cash sooner and staying in the red longer," Fox News quoted Guterres' as stating in the letter.

Guterres further said that the UN will take some measures for reducing costs and will also propose several ways to states in order to improve financial stability at the UN.

United States President Donald Trump threat to deduct funding is not being considered as the reason of the cash crunch as the US has not made any delay in payments to the budget.

Earlier this year, the US cut off the financial aid to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday called an emergency meeting to discuss the situation arising from release of 5 lakh cusec of water in the Yamuna by neighbouring Haryana.

'Haryana has released 5 lakh cusec water. Called an emergency meeting to discuss the situation,' Kejriwal tweeted.

Water level at Old Yamuna Bridge has gone up to 205.16 meters, 0.33 meters higher than the danger mark of 204.83 meters.

In another tweet, Kejriwal added, "this water is likely to reach Delhi by tomorrow evening. Wherever administration is evacuating people, we request them to cooperate. All departments should be put on high alert. For any flood-related emergency, control room no is 1077," he added.

Earlier today, the Delhi government have issued flood warning and asked the people living in low-lying areas to evacuate.

Speaking to ANI, District Magistrate K. Mahesh said that they are prepared for the situation and are making people aware.

"We have 17 boats in the boat club of East district, and there are 34 boats with our irrigation and flood control department. Yesterday, we asked people to evacuate. We are making people aware of what they should do during a situation like this. As far as relief is concerned, we are prepared in case any such situation arises we would provide food and tent to people," said K. Mahesh.

The District Magistrate also said that they are already closely monitoring the situation.

"The Chief Minister has issued the flood control order of 2018. We have a central control room which is working round the clock from June 15, and it will continue to work till October 15. We get the information from the Central Water Commission, which we further disseminate. We have been working since 7 AM," he added.

Arun Gupta, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, East Delhi said that the water level is expected to rise to 205.40 metres.

"Yamuna has breached the danger mark. It is expected to reach to the level of 205.4 meters as water is being continuously released. We have taken precautionary measures", Gupta told ANI.

The river level is checked at old Yamuna Bridge. The flooding would affect six districts of Delhi.

The water discharge from Haryana's Hathini Kund barrage on Friday night was 1,87,272 cusec.

On Friday, Delhi and adjoining areas experienced heavy rainfall, followed by severe water-logging and traffic jams in several areas.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Around 1,000 families who were reunited after being separated as part of the US administration's approach to undocumented immigrants have standing deportation orders, the government has said.

At a court hearing in San Diego, lawyers for the Department of Justice (DoJ) said that 392 families remained in the custody of immigration authorities, while the rest had been freed, albeit with electronic ankle monitors.

DoJ lawyer Sarah Fabian added that 650 minors were ineligible to be reunited with their families, including 431 whose parents are no longer in the country.

In accordance with judge Dana Sabraw's order, the US government had until July 26 to reunite 2,551 undocumented minors, aged five to 18, with their parents.

Authorities confirmed on Thursday that over 1,800 families that were considered eligible had been reunited.

Following a complaint by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the judge said he would rule that immigrant families not be deported until they had been reunited for at least seven days.

The ACLU has said that immigrant families need more time to decide whether to begin the long and complicated migration or asylum process in order to stay in the US or return to their home countries.

--IANS

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At least 10 passengers were killed when a private bus carrying nearly three dozen university staff plunged into a ravine in Raigad district of Maharashtra on Saturday morning, an official said.

Raigad Police Control official P.D. Patil said that around 35 staff of Konkan Agriculture University in Ratnagiri, including some women, were on way for a weekend picnic to popular tourist destinations of Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani when the bus fell 500 feet down into the ravine around 9 a.m. near Poladpur.

Rescue efforts were severely hampered by heavy rains lashing the Western Ghats, besides poor connectivity in the remote hills in the area.

"As per preliminary information, at least 10 bodies have been recovered and efforts are underway to rescue others or retrieve more bodies," Patil told IANS.

The accident came to notice after one of the injured passengers managed to climb up and alerted the authorities.

National Disaster Relief Fund teams from Pune were en route to help villagers and others involved in search and rescue operation.

--IANS

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Militants in Jammu and Kashmir on Saturday evening released the special police officer (SPO) they had abducted on Friday evening, police said.

SPO Mudasir Ahmad Lone, who was abducted by militants from Chantakar village in Tral area of Pulwama district, was released alive and has reached his home, police sources said.

The mother of the abducted SPO had made a passionate appeal to the militants through a video that went viral to spare her son's life who was her only male child.

The SPO was working as a cook in Awantipora Police Lines and had no role in anti-militancy operations.

--IANS

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With so much so happening around, turning old is not limited to sticking at home, under four walls with pair of glasses and newspaper or just chitchatting with your friend for that matter. There is much more that one can explore other than these cyclic activities.

You can always think of adventurous activities which are specifically meant for senior citizens and are also not very difficult to follow. With changing generation, people are ready to experiment and here is a quick handy list of the destinations by Aditya Loomba, Jt. Director Eco Rent a car and Raman Narula, Managing Director, Formula Group basis the traction/booking they get on their platform on things that one can explore:

* Wildlife Safari in Jim Corbett: Jim Corbett National Park is few of the best getaways that one must explore to bring out their adventurous side. With a Jungle safari in the wild, and a visit to the Corbett waterfalls, the mesmerizing experience makes a memory, which one can always to cherish. Further if you have interest in temple and like to invest time in history, a visit to Garjia temple and Corbett Museum is must.

* Rafting tour : Kullu, being a prime holiday destination, situated on the banks of River Beas, Kullu offers many interesting adventure activities, including river rafting, trekking, river crossing to name a few. People who enjoy or find solace in water, rafting would be an experience in itself for them as it adds refreshing and dauntless time in your life. Plus, there is no age bar or any particular requirements except the deep instinct and of course, life jacket!

* Camping at the river side: Khouduang waterfalls in Manipur is a must visit as you can camp under the stars by the bank of Barak River. One can't afford to miss the euphoric moments to enjoy the view of concave cut-outs of rocks, created by the massive flow of white water. It's a delightful opportunity to break away and breathe around in lap of mother- nature.

* Hot air balloon Ride: Imagine, you are on this ride and you can literally feel the meaning of - being on top of the world. There are many places across India like Pushkar in Rajasthan; Kamshet near Lonavala in Maharashtra; Damdama Lake in Delhi/Haryana; Karnataka; Goa where one can try this ride. The only requirement is that you should be over 4 feet tall, with enough stamina to remain standing throughout the ride. Smooth gliding journey through the sky is certainly worth the experience!

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Mining, banned in Goa since March, can resume immediately if the Centre amends a 1987 law to convert perpetual leases to ancestors of current leaseholders into leases for 50 years from 1987 onwards, former Mining Engineers Association of India President T. Victor said on Saturday.

Victor, who was member of a delegation that on Saturday submitted suggestions to the state on resumption of mining, said that amending the Goa, Daman and Diu (Abolition of Concession and Declaration as Mining Leases) Act, 1987, will help ensure quick resumption of mining in Goa.

A 2012 ban was lifted by the apex court in 2014, but the apex court imposed another ban on extraction and transportation of iron ore from 88 leased mines this year while criticising the Goa government for messing up the lease renewal processes. The state was asked to re-issue the leases.

Before Goa was liberated by the Indian armed forces in 1961, mining leases in Goa were perpetual concessions granted by the Portuguese colonisists for exploration and exploitation of mines.

The Supreme Court, in its February 2018 order, held that any mining carried out since 2007, the year the Act of 1987 lapsed, was illegal.

Victor claimed that by amending the retrospective effect clause in the 1987 law and issuance of leases from 1987 itself would ensure that the current mining leases are valid till 2037.

He said that under international laws, it was not a correct practice on part of the government of India to "snatch away" the perpetual mining concessions granted by the Portuguese colonists.

"The government cannot snatch away such rights. The mining concessions were given in perpetuity. There was a time when (Goa) had to fall in line with other parts of the country, so the government wanted that (mining concessions) as mining leases," he said.

--IANS

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At least three people were injured as militants attacked an Afghan midwife training centre in Jalalabad city on Saturday, officials said.

The attackers set off explosives and fired gunshots at the centre in Nangarhar province. Several midwives were rescued from the centre, provincial government spokesman Attaullah Khogyani was quoted as saying the BBC.

Several people were still trapped inside the compound, according to reports.

The attack began at around 11.30 a.m. and and there was no immediate information as to the number of casualties.

"The Afghan security forces cordoned off the area and launched an operation to gun down the attackers," the spokesman added.

Smoke could be seen rising from the compound. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.

--IANS

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Filmmaker Ali Abbas Zafar announced he will announce the leading lady for his upcoming directorial "Bharat" soon.

"Yes yes yes... We will announce the leading lady of 'Bharat' soon. We have been shooting non-stop and simultaneously preparing for international schedules," Zafar tweeted on Saturday.

The filmmaker on Friday announced that actress Priyanka Chopra has opted out of the Salman Khan starrer for a "very special" reason.

The first schedule included shooting for a grand circus sequence.

The director previously worked with the "Dabangg" star in blockbusters like "Sultan" and "Tiger Zinda Hai"

The film is an official adaptation of a 2014 South Korean film "Ode To My Father". It is produced by Atul Agnihotri's Reel Life Production Pvt Ltd and Bhushan Kumar's T-Series.

"Bharat", which will be shot across locations in Abu Dhabi and Spain, besides Punjab and Delhi, is slated for an Eid release in 2019.

--IANS

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The BJP will reconstruct the razed statue of Tripura's communist leader Baidyanath Majumder and the police are probing the incident, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said here on Saturday.A

Majumder's life-sized statue was knocked down late on Wednesday in Unakoti district headquarters Kailashahar.

Freedom fighter-turned-politician, Majumder was a founding member of the communist base in Tripura in early 1940s. He was Deputy Chief Minister of the state from 1993 to 1998.

"I have asked our party leaders in Kailashahar to rebuild the statue from the party fund. State government will support the initiative.

"This is not the culture of BJP to tear down the statue of a man like Baidyanath Majumder," Deb told the media here.

He said: "I have asked the Director General of Police (Akhil Kumar Shukla) to send the DIG (northern range) to the spot and inquire into the matter. No body behind the incident would be spared.

"I have also asked the DGP to see whether this is a part of the conspiracy to tarnish the image of the BJP government."

Deb, also the president of ruling BJP Tripura Pradesh Committee, said : "I knew him (Majumder) when I was a student. He was a very good man."

The Chief Minister's reaction came after widespread criticism of the demolition of the statue of Majumder, who began his political career in 1942.

Majumder was also a member of the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) central committee.

All political parties, including the ruling BJP and opposition Congress, earlier strongly condemned the demolition.

The police so far have arrested two persons in this connection. However, the detainees got bail on Friday.

The CPI-M organised protest rallies over the past three days in different parts of the state, including here, demanding action.

Accusing "BJP goons" of pulling down the statue, CPI-M leader Biswarup Goswami has said that the BJP activists earlier bulldozed the statues of Lenin, Marx, Bhimrao Ambedkar, former Tripura Chief Ministers and father-figures of Communist movement in Tripura, Dasaratha Deb and Nripen Chakraborty.

The BJP has, however, denied the charges.

Majumder, who died in 2011, was actively associated with the freedom movement and was a close associate of renowned freedom fighter Surya Sen, who led the Chittgong armoury raid in 1930.

--IANS

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The "MeToo" movement in China is facing some unique difficulties as other than being ignored or accused of lying, they are also urged to keep silent for fear of helping the government crack down on activists and dissidents.

"Women working in human rights (or) civil society in China are under pressured not to expose sexual abuses by male leaders so as not to jeopardise 'the cause'," journalist Yaqiu Wang has tweeted.

"Women's rights are constantly undermined, even belittled, in the presence of the 'higher cause' of 'democracy' and 'freedom'," CNN quoted Yaqiu as saying. This is beside the fact they are under huge societal pressure to not risk maligning their own reputations.

Xiong Jing, director of the Beijing-based Women's Media Monitor Network, told CNN that many men in the activist sphere have been able to take advantage of their reputation as do-gooders.

However, there are signs of a shift underway with a new wave of #MiTu reckoning in China.

This is combined with a new freedom to discuss the matter online, as the previously pervasive censorship of the issue has given way somewhat, leading the conversation around sexual harassment and assault to explode, the CNN said.

"They are famous, they are powerful, and they make great contributions (to society), that's exactly what makes them think they have the power to sexually harass women," Xiong said.

In July, a spreadsheet of accusations against prominent men within NGO, activist and media circles was shared widely by Chinese women online in a manner similar to the US "media men" list. CNN has reviewed a copy of the list and is examining the unverified claims within.

The #MiTu activism first took hold on the Peking University campus, when student Yue Xin received widespread attention after administrators attempted to shut down a petition by her and other students over an alleged rape case, sparking significant outrage.

But women have not stopped speaking out against predatory professors and students since, Xiong told CNN.

--IANS

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The Congress on Saturday demanded a Supreme Court-monitored CBI inquiry into the rape of 34 minor girls in a shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district.

Calling him 'Kushashan babu', the Congress asked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar if this was the good governance (sushashan) model of the Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal-United government in the state.

"The opportunistic BJP-JDU alliance in Bihar has just completed one year in power. It is a year marred by misgovernance and anarchy," said AICC incharge of Bihar Shaktisinh Gohil.

The Bihar government on Thursday announced a CBI probe into the case.

The shelter home was sealed after the sexual abuse of girl inmates came to light during a social audit by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

The Congress also demanded that an FIR should be filed against 14 other such homes which were mentioned in the TISS report under "grave concerns".

Gohil claimed that action had been taken only against one home shelter in Muzaffarpur, while the outrageous crime committed in remaining 14 have been conveniently ignored.

"Bihar is in the grip of complete lawlessness as horrifying incidents have shaken public conscience," he said.

He said that the family of arrested Child Protection Officer (Ravi Roushan) has made sensational claims that Social Development Minister Manju Verma's husband Chandrashekhar Verma regularly visited the shelter home.

"This has raised several uncomfortable questions regarding the role of the Minister and her husband," the Congress leader said.

"A government and a Chief Minister known for empowering women and girl child through bicycles, prohibition of liquor and reservation presides over a regime where girls in shelter homes are being sexually exploited."

"All thanks to the anti-women mindset of BJP and its leadership," he added.

The Congress leader also claimed that key accused Brajesh Thakur was getting support from BJP youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader Sudhanshu Pathak, who has demanded his release.

"Instead of seeking justice for the victims and demanding punishment for the guilty, the BJP is brazening it out and is busy protecting the predators," said Gohil.

--IANS

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An Egyptian court on Saturday sentenced 75 members of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood to death over charges of violence and murder, official news agency MENA reported.

The case, publicly known as "Breaking up Rabaa Sit-in", dated back to 2013. The convicted were charged with causing deaths of policemen, attempted murder and vandalism, Xinhua news agency reported.

The court referred the sentence to Grand Mufti, the country's highest Islamic official who will give the religious judgment of all preliminary death sentences.

The Mufti's opinion is non-binding as it is usually considered a formality, but his final opinion could reduce the penalty.

--IANS

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With a flood threat looming large due to a swollen Yamuna river crossing the danger mark in Delhi, authorities on Saturday began to evacuate hundreds of persons affected by the rising water level, officials said.

The river water level rose as heavy rains continued in Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, with authorities releasing more water at Haryana's Hathnikund barrage during the day.

The Yamuna in Delhi was flowing above the danger mark at 205.06 metres by 10 a.m., an Irrigation and Flood Control Department official told IANS.

"Over 10,000 persons have been affected. People earlier living on the river bed and low-lying areas are being shifted out," Nodal officer (Preet Vihar) Arun Gupta told IANS.

The officer cautioned that the Yamuna water level is expected to go up by tonight.

"On Saturday morning, over 200,000 cusecs was released into the Yamuna from the barrage -- which provides drinking water to New Delhi," an official told IANS in Chandigarh.

The official said that residents of villages along the Yamuna river have been alerted on the release of excess water.

The official said that water at the Hathnikund barrage along the Haryana-Uttarakhand border had risen to alarming levels owing to overnight downpour in catchment states, making authorities release the extra water.

The Yamuna passes through Yamunanagar, Karnal and Panipat districts in Haryana before entering New Delhi.

The Met Department predicted hill states in Haryana's neighbourhood will continue to experience heavy rains.

--IANS

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Gujarat health officials on Saturday said they have received reports about four children dying after they were given measles rubella vaccination.

A Central investigating team has, however, ruled out any linkage between these deaths and the vaccination process.

Deputy Commissioner, immunization, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, said: "As per preliminary investigation, we don't see the cause of death to be vaccination. Two of the children showed signs of acute abdominal problems, one child of viral encephalitis and one of some kind of drug reaction. A definite cause of death would be known after the post-mortem reports."

While parents of two of the victim children agreed to undergo the post-mortem of their children, the parents of the other two refused. The cases of these deaths were reported after the victims underwent the vaccination carried out by the state government under a drive to eradicate measles and rubella in the nation.

The drive began from July 16.

After the reports of four deaths, a Central team comprising health officials from the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare arrived in the state. The team is led by Dr. Haldar.

The other officials are the Assistant Commissioner Arti Garg, Dr. Deepak Polpagare, the national team head of the Adverse Event Following Immunization (AEFI) and Dr. Sugandha Arya, a pediatrician and the national AEFI member.

"The deaths of four children were recorded between 30 to 115 hours after the vaccination. If there was any anomaly, they would have been affected within an hour. Because of this, children are kept under observation for 30 to 45 minutes post vaccination," Haldar said.

He added post vaccination, 14 other deaths too were reported in 21 of the

states where the vaccination drive was carried out. All of those deaths were due to other medical conditions and none of them due to the measles rubella vaccines.

Haldar said the vaccination was approved by World Health Organization (WHO).

The MR vaccination project was initiated on February 7, 2017 and it would be over by April 2019. The vaccination has been completed in 17 states. It is continuing in four states -- Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Against the target of vaccinating 41 crore children across the nation, 9.62 crore are already covered.desai/prs

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Four persons have been killed and three others injured, including a six-year-old child, in the US state of Georgia, authorities said.

The incident took place in Bartow county on Friday, according to Georgia State Patrol, Xinhua news agency reported.

The car reportedly failed to halt at a stop sign and was hit by another car. While all four occupants of one car were killed, three in the other one suffered minor injuries.

--IANS

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Chief Minister K Palaniswami on Saturday said the government is ready to render medical assistance to the ailing President M

Speaking to reporters the Chief Minister said the state government is ready to provide medical assistance to the five-time former Chief Minister and now a legislator if requested by his family.

Meanwhile, Governor Banwarilal Purohit visited Kauvery here on Saturday to enquire about the 94-year-old leader's

early on Saturday was admitted into the intensive care unit (ICU) of the after his blood pressure dropped, said the

In a statement issued by the hospital it said was admitted into ICU at 1.30 am.

"His blood pressure has been stabilised since with medical management. He continues to be monitored and treated by a panel of expert doctors," Kauvery Hospital's Executive Director Aravindan Selvaraj said.

The patriarch has been suffering from urinary tract infection and age-related ailments and was earlier under treatment at his home.

A large number of cadres have gathered outside the hospital and a huge contingent of policemen was deployed for security.

Speaking to reporters here DMK leader A. Raja urged the party cadres to remain calm and said: "There is nothing to worry".

A team of doctors had reached Karunanidhi's home about midnight and reviewed his condition. They then decided to shift him to the hospital after discussions with the family members.

On Friday the ailing leader's son M.K. Stalin said there "is good improvement in the condition of Kalaignar" as the infection had come down a lot.

On Thursday, the hospital statement said he was on intravenous antibiotics and fluids. "He is being monitored and treated round the clock by a team of medical and nursing professionals, who are providing hospital-level care at his home," Selvaraj said.

Earlier Karunanidhi was admitted to the same hospital for change of the tracheostomy tube.

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Director Tigmanshu Dhulia who is receiving positive reviews for his film "Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster 3" has said that he had great experience working in filmmaker Aanand L. Rai's forthcoming film "Zero" along with superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

Dhulia, who will be seen playing Shah Rukh's father in "Zero", was interacting with media to promote "Saheb, Biwi Aur Gangster 3', on Friday.

"I am playing Shah Rukh Khan's father in Aanand L. Rai's 'Zero'. It was great experience working on that film. I had so much fun while shooting for it. I was dialogue writer for 'Dil Se' which featured Shah Rukh so, after many years; I got opportunity to work with him," he Dhulia.

Dhulia said that he wanted to work in "Zero" because he wanted to gain first hand experience of making a film with special effects.

"So, there was not any better opportunity for me, where I can do fun and gain some education and money," he said.

Asked Dhulia what was his experience working with SRK in "Zero" like, he said: "I got to learn a lot from Shah Rukh. Despite being such big and successful actor, he is so modest and humble. He gives respect to everyone present on the set right from light men, spot boys to his co-actors and directors which is a really endearing quality of him."

"Zero", which is slated to release in December, also stars Anushka Sharma and Katrina Kaif.

Dhulia also has "Milan Talkies" in his kitty.

Talking about "Milan Talkies", he said: "I am shooting for 'Milan Talkies' which I am trying to make from many years. We have almost completed the shooting of that film and only 16-17 days of shooting is remaining which we will complete in August. Apart from that, I am writing few stories and working for digital platform as well."

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Calcutta High Court has ordered a petitioner to pay Rs 10,000 to the West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department as compensation for making a false complaint of forgery, a CID release said.

The court passed the order earlier this week after it was established that the complainant's allegation that his step grandmother had forged the signature of his maternal grandfather after the latter's death to get hold of a property, was not true.

Panchanan Mondal, a resident of Babua village in East Midnapore district, had filed a complaint at Kolaghat police station that after the death of his maternal grandfather Kalipada Ponra, his (Panchanan's) step grandmother Chandana Panra had made a "false and duplicate register deed of entire landed property" of the deceased in her name though a afalse signature on the said registered deed'.

Chandana claimed that she and her son Kartick Ch. Alu are the owners of the land, according to the complainant, who alleged that she has committed fraud and cheated him and his mother Parul Bala Mondal - the last named being the "legal heir of the entire landed property".

During investigation, the CID seized the original deeds and sent the documents for an expert opinion.

Both the finger prints and questioned signatures were said to be of the same person."Thus during investigation, it was established that contrary to the allegation by the complainant, the signatures and the finger prints on the gift deed of Kalipada Ponra were not forged," the CID release said.

The CID submitted its report before the high court, which passed order on Wednesday that the writ petitioner should pay Rs 10,000 to the CID as it has been established that forgery had not been committed by the accused.

The judge also said the CID would be entitled to execute and enforce the order on default of payment by the petitioner.

--IANS

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Justice Ranjan Gogoi - the seniormost judge of the top court after Chief Justice Dipak Misra - on Saturday dismissed the suggestion for fixed tenure of the Chief Justice of India so as to give them enough time to push the reforms in the judicial system.

Addressing the issue of fixed term, he said that in judiciary when it comes to elevation of judges, there are some norms, particularly seniority and it may not be a good idea to deny a person the chance of becoming CJI merely because his tenure would be short.

The problem in pushing reforms is not with the length of the tenure as CJI - whether short or long - but with the change in priorities with the change of CJIs, Justice Gogoi said priorities once set had to be consistently adhered to by the successive CJIs.

"Problem does not lie with the short tenure. Problem lies with the change of priority with the change of Chief Justice. We must have consistent policy. Tenure does not matter," he said, responding to the suggestion of fixed tenure for the CJIs by Prof N.R.Madhava Menon - former Vice Cancellor of National Law School of India, Bengaluru.

Citing the fixed tenure of the Cabinet Secretary, service and police chiefs, Menon advocated a fixed tenure of CJIs, wondering what would happen to the defence of the country if service chiefs were to have short tenures running into a few months.

Addressing the number of issues that emerged during day long deliberation on "National Initiative to Reduce Pendency and Delay in Judicial System", Justice Gogoi said there "was no radical solution of the problem of the huge backlog of over three crore cases. They will not disappear overnight".

It is a "gradual process with a multi-pronged approach and acting immediately on the solutions that have emerged in the daylong deliberations", he said, apparently urging the High Court judges and judicial officers to get on with the task.

Addressing the issue of vacancies, Justice Gogoi said that the vacancies in the High Courts can be taken care of by the CJI and his team but the cause of concern was 5,984 vacancies in lower judiciary with Uttar Pradesh with 1,344, Bihar with 825 and Madhya Pradesh with 748 vacancies topping the list.

Pointing to the long time that is taken in the recruitment of judicial officers in different states, and urging to look at the issue with a different perspective, he said: "What we are looking for is that a man or a woman has outstanding merit and ability, utmost integrity and of absolute commitment to work. Three qualities I would look for before a person becomes a judge."

Referring to the report of a committee that had said that the entire process for the recruitment of judges in lower judiciary should be completed in 273 days, Justice Gogoi said that Delhi took 762 days, J&K took 900 days and Pondicherry did it in 99 days.

It can happen in 99 days, and "If you have a right man at right place (then) rest will follow", he said.

In his valedictory address, Chief Justice Misra, summing up the daylong proceedings, called for "self-discipline", "self enhancement" and "developing a culture of work atmosphere".

Not favouring ex-parte stay of the proceedings of the trials at lower courts, he said that they should be a "dated stay".

Saying that standing still was "negation of life", Chief Justice Misra said that the courts should decide the matters in a time bound manner while he drew distinction between enthusiasm, perseverance and obsession.

Dwelling on judicial statesmanship, judicial leadership and judicial discipline, he said that every case should be decided skilfully and lawfully with impose one's own views.

On judicial discipline, he said that lawyers should not be allowed to take court's time more than necessary.

--IANS

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About 20,000 private doctors from across Karnataka were on strike since Saturday morning supporting the 12-hour nationwide protest by Indian Medical Association (IMA) against the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, 2017.

"At least 20,000 private doctors from across 25,000 hospitals and clinics in the state have abstained from their duties in protest against the NMC Bill," the Secretary of Karnataka chapter of IMA B. Veeranna told IANS here.

The emergency services of the hospitals and clinics, however, remained open, while the out-patient departments have been shut starting 6 a.m. to end at 6 p.m.

The NMC Bill, introduced in Lok Sabha on December 29, 2017 by the Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda, aims to repeal the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956, and dissolve the Medical Council of India (MCI).

The Bill, in the form it was proposed, aims to regulate the medical education in India. It has provision for granting permission to doctors under Indian systems of medicine, like Ayurveda, to be allowed to practice allopathy after clearing a bridge course.

After widespread protests across the country that the Bill allows the door wide open for corruption, it was referred to a Parliamentary standing committee for revision.

The revised Bill contains only marginal modifications and still remains "anti-people", and "anti-poor", Veeranna added.

As per the Bill, the central government will make the decision of appointing the chairperson of the NMC, and also determine the fees for upto 40 per cent of seats in private medical colleges.

"The Bill has a draconian character which will cause irreparable damage to the interests of all stakeholders and would reduce regulatory mechanism to a puppetry with its strings attached to the government," said the IMA in Delhi while calling for the strike.

The doctors' body will intensify the protests if the Bill is passed in the Parliament in its present form, Veeranna said.

The doctors have been demanding the Bill to be either scrapped, or modified so as to ensure it is comprehensive in monitoring the quality of healthcare in the country, with minimum government interference.

--IANS

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Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday held an emergency meeting with the Chief Secretary and the Flood Control Department on the possibility of flood in the national capital due to the release of 5 lakh cusecs water from Haryana's Hathnikund barrage.

Kejriwal said that this water is likely to reach Delhi by Sunday evening and that people can call the control room at 1077 for any flood-related emergency.

"This water likely to reach Delhi by tomorrow evening. Wherever administration evacuating people, they are requested to cooperate. All departments put on high alert. For any flood-related emergency, control room no is 1077," he said in a tweet.

The authorities in Delhi have already begun to evacuate hundreds of people living in the Yamuna catchment area as a flood threat loomed following a sharp rise in the river's level.

"Over 10,000 persons have been affected. People earlier living on the river bed and low-lying areas are being shifted out," Nodal Officer, Preet Vihar, Arun Gupta said.

He cautioned that the Yamuna water level is expected to go up further by Saturday night.

"On Saturday morning, over 200,000 cusecs was released into the Yamuna from the barrage -- which provides drinking water to New Delhi," an official told IANS in Chandigarh, adding villagers living along the river have been alerted on the release of excess water.

The official said that water at the Hathnikund barrage along the Haryana-Uttarakhand border had risen to alarming levels owing to overnight downpour in catchment states, making authorities release the extra water.

The Army has been put on alert along with a team from the National Disaster Management Authority.

The Yamuna passes through Yamunanagar, Karnal and Panipat districts in Haryana before entering Delhi.

--IANS

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The CBI has told the Supreme Court that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who was discharged from all criminal and corruption charges in the SNC Lavalin case, "should face trial".

In an affidavit filed in the court, the Central Bureau of Investigation questioned the discharge of Vijayan and two others, saying the Kerala High Court orders in this regard was "not correct".

The CBI has challenged the High Court's August 23, 2017, order to discharge Vijayan, K. Mohanachandran, former Principal Secretary in Department of Power, and A. Francis, then department Joint Secretary. The High Court had given the go-ahead for the trial of remaining three accused, who are Kerala State Electricity Board officials.

Objecting to the High Court's decision to discharge certain accused and making remaining charge-sheeted persons to face trial, the CBI said: "Vijayan should also face trial for the same set of offences".

"The specific acts and omissions of each accused can only be decided in a properly conducted trial and the discharge of some accused may adversely impact the outcome vis-a-vis those tried in court," said the CBI affidavit.

Reacting to the fresh development, Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala told the media that it had now been proved right what they had been saying all along. "Vijayan should now react to this... we have been saying all through that he has a role in it."

Vijayan, however, has not responded so far.

The case pertains to an agreement with Canadian firm SNC Lavalin in 1997 for the renovation and modernisation of Pallivasai, Sengulam and Panniar hydroelectric projects in Idukki district of Kerala, which allegedly caused a loss of Rs 266 crore to the exchequer.

Vijayan was then the Power Minister in Kerala.

The three accused directed to face trial too had approached the apex court, asking why they were not treated on par with Vijayan and two co-accused discharged in the case.

The CBI maintained that the High Court order was "bad in law" and its findings that Vijayan and two others need not to face the trial amounts to "clear differentiation" between two sets of accused.

"Without the knowledge of Vijayan and two others, the consultancy agreements would not have been converted into supply contracts on fixed rates on February 10, 1997, when Vijayan was (Power) Minister and had gone to Canada along with Mohanachandran (also discharged in the case) as a guest of Lavalin and during the visit the decision to sign the supply contract was taken by Vijayan," the affidavit added.

"The wilful omissions and commissions on the part of the public servants provided the opportunity to SNC Lavalin for deriving wrongful gains, casing corresponding loss to the KSEB," it added.

A bench of Justice N.V. Ramana and Justice Abdul Nazeer had earlier stayed the trial of the case and sought the CBI's response.

On November 5, 2013, a CBI court in the state capital exonerated all the accused, without taking up the case for trial.

However, a year later, the CBI approached the High Court against the CBI court's exoneration, which ordered the trial against three persons and discharged three others, including Vijayan.

A criminal case was registered on February 12, 2007, and the CBI filed its charge sheet on June 12, 2009.

--IANS

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The Shiv Sena on Saturday sought to embarrass its Bharatiya Janata Party ruling ally by suggesting that Pankaja Munde, a minister in the Maharashtra cabinet, be unanimously anointed as "Chief Minister for an hour to clear the Maratha quotas file".

The Sena's advice came after Women and Child Welfare Minister Pankaja Munde -- daughter of late Union Minister Gopinath Munde -- created a political flutter in Beed by claiming on Thursday that "if the Maratha reservations file had come to her table, she would have cleared it in a jiffy, but the matter was now sub-judice".

Willy-nilly targeting incumbent Devendra Fadnavis by his cabinet colleague's statement, the Sena harped that if Munde is made Chief Minister for an hour, there would be no hurdles, she would sign the file in a wink, and the raging Maratha reservation issue could be resolved.

"Questions have arisen in the minds of the Marathas... whether the state government deliberately wants to keep the Maratha quota issue hanging... Has the CM been isolated on this matter?

"If Munde can do something as she claims, why not Fadnavis," the Sena asked.

The Shiv Sena's caustic comments came in an edit in the party mouthpieces "Saamana" and "Dopahar Ka Saamana" even as Fadnavis prepared to host an all-party meeting on Saturday afternoon to hammer out a solution to the vexed issue.

Elaborating on Munde's statement that she would even approach Prime Minster Narendra Modi, the Sena asked why cannot Fadnavis also do the same.

"Modi is away from Delhi most of the time... He has lost interest in the problems of the country or the states... Many a times he is abroad. So Fadnavis must be wondering which wall to bang his head against after going there (to Delhi)," the edit said sarcastically.

Under such circumstances, the Sena contended that the government policy is "to simply crush all agitations", as they did in Gujarat when Hardik Patel led the campaign for the Patidar reservations.

"Hardik Patel was arrested under serious charges of sedition and jailed after he led the Patidar agitation... But in Maharashtra, the entire Maratha community leadership is agitating so the state government's problems have compounded. Otherwise, they would have tried to stamp it out," the Sena said.

It said the Centre could have attempted to resolve the issue and save Maharashtra from the crises, but the Centre apparently has no solutions, so only Fadnavis alone, cannot be held responsible for the fallout of the Maratha stir.

"The BJP had given very big assurances before elections to grab power -- to the Marathas, the Dhangars. Now it is payback time, and all those poll promises have to be fulfilled... This is the crux of the problem," the Sena noted.

The need of the hour is for Fadnavis to take immediate measures to resolve these crises before they further escalate, the Sena advised.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday expressed grief over the death of at least 10 passengers in a bus accident in Maharasthra's Raigad district.

"Pained by the loss of lives due to the bus accident. My condolences to those who lost their loved ones," Modi said in a tweet.

Gandhi too condoled the deaths and urged state Congress leaders to provide all assistance to the injured.

"I'm sorry to hear about the terrible bus accident in which many persons were killed and others injured. I appeal to area Congress workers to provide all possible assistance to the injured and bereaved families," Gandhi said in a tweet.

According to police, around 35 staff of Konkan Agriculture University in Ratnagiri, including some women, were on way for a weekend picnic to popular tourist destinations of Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani when the bus fell 500 feet down into the ravine around 9 a.m. near Poladpur.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Actor Pierce Brosnan does not think the #MeToo movement will affect the James Bond franchise.

Brosnan has portrayed the character of Bond in "Goldeneye", "Tomorrow Never Dies", "The World is Not Enough" and "Die Another Day". He hopes there will be more "respect between the genders" but though the iconic character has been criticised for being chauvinistic, he doesn't think the current climate will bring his former alter ego to an end.

Asked if he thinks Bond can survive #MeToo, he told heat magazine: "Well, I have no idea if the new films are going to address these social issues. I think Bond will continue in the same vein. I would suspect so, because men will continue to be men and women likewise.

"One hopes there will be more respect between the genders. You hope that good things will come out of this #MeToo movement."

The #MeToo movement was started last year by actresses and models and other powerful women in Hollywood against sexual misconduct at work against celebrities like disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

Despite playing such an iconic character, Pierce said it was not something that ever particularly impressed his kids, though his youngest two have now taken more of an interest, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

He said: "It was never really a big issue. Dad played James Bond - I think they just accepted it. It was probably a little abstract to them. Now that they are older and they have seen the movies, I think they look back at it with greater interest."

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana K.P. Singh has written to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj over Canada declining entry to two AAP legislators.

"All legislative bodies of India and Canada are branches of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and members of the legislative bodies in both the countries are members of CPA," the Speaker wrote.

"On the one hand, we strive for increasing CPA activities and, on the other, our MLAs or public representatives are treated differently and humiliated," he said.

The Speaker said when the public representatives had disclosed their identity at the Ottawa Airport, the Canadian authorities must have facilitated them.

"I request you to take cognizance of this incident and take up this matter with the appropriate authorities of the Canadian government so that public representatives from our country are not subjected to such type of untoward and humiliating incidents in future."

Refused entry to Canada, both Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Amarjit Singh Sandoa returned home this week.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Saturday claimed that the due to the Rafale fighter jet deal, Indian taxpayers will have to pay the "Prime Minister's friend's joint venture Rs 1 lakh crore over five decades to maintain the aircraft.

Taking a dig, he said that Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will as usual hold a press conference to deny this charge.

"Over the next 50 years, Indian taxpayers will pay Mr 56's (Modi) friend's JV, (Rs) 100,000 crore to maintain 36 #RafaleScam jets, India is buying," Gandhi tweeted.

"Raksha Mantri (Defence Minister) will address a press conference to deny this, as usual. But the truth is in the presentation I'm attaching," he said, tagging along a Reliance Infrastructure Investors Presentation.

It said that "Reliance Defence Limited has secured the offset contract from Dassault Aviation for Rs 30,000 crore and a consequent 'Lifecycle opportunity' is estimated at Rs 1 lakh crore over 50 years."

The Congress on Friday accused Sitharaman of "lying" on Reliance Defence Limited's offset contract", and said it didn't have experience in manufacturing fighter jets.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday urged the US to abandon steps to beef up its missile defences in space, which could hamper the global strategic stability.

"Apparently... the preparations for the creation of the anti-ballistic missile (ABM) space grouping are another step towards the realization of the task of ensuring 'American dominance in space'," Xinhua quoted the Ministry as saying in a statement.

On Thursday, the US House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, which stipulates the "development and deployment of persistent space-based sensor architecture" by the end of 2022 to ensure the effectiveness of Washington's missile defences, according to the bill published on the US Congress website.

"We carefully analyze the possible consequences. We call on the US side to show prudence and not to repeat mistakes of the past," the Foreign Ministry said, adding that armed confrontation in space can be as dangerous as nuclear arms race unleashed by Washington in the middle of the last century.

It said that Russia stands against such adventures and give priority to the exploration of outer space for exclusively peaceful purposes.

"We count on the fact that Washington will nevertheless refuse steps that have the most negative impact on the state of international security," the Ministry 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 Supreme Court will hear, on July 31, a plea of Bombay Lawyers Association seeking a review and recall of its judgment that held that Special CBI Court Judge B.H. Loya had met with natural death and that a PIL was misused for advancing political agenda and to scandalise the judiciary.

A bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra, which had earlier rejected the plea for a SIT probe into the judge's death, will hear the plea on Tuesday.

The top court in its April 19 judgment had said: "It gives a sense of anguish that the proceedings were converted to scandalise the judiciary bordering on contempt."

The Bombay Lawyers Association was one of the petitioners who pleaded for a Special Investigation Team probe into the death, which the Supreme Court declined.

When Judge Loya died of a cardiac failure on December 1, 2014, he was conducting a trial in a case related to the alleged staged shootout killing of Sohrabuddin Sheikh in November 2005.

Now Bharatiya Janata Party President Amit Shah was one of the accused in the case but was later discharged.

The recall plea filed by senior counsel Dushyant Dave said that the "judgment and order passed by this court requires serious reconsideration and upon such reconsideration deserve to be recalled in the interest of justice and in larger public interest".

He contended that the top court committed an error by relying on the report of Commissioner, Intelligence -- a police officer -- who had conducted an enquiry and reached the conclusion that Judge Loya died of natural causes and that the case did not require an independent investigation.

"It is submitted that in this country, statements made before police officers are not admissible in the eyes of law. Therefore, the inquiry report could not have been placed on a higher pedestal than what law permits and demands," said the plea.

Holding as "erroneous" the finding that the Maharashtra government was authorised to hold an inquiry, the review plea contended that it was a "purely internal administrative inquiry" which was "secretive" and without any legal footing.

The death of Judge Loya demands an "independent inquiry" under the Commission of Enquiry Act, 1952, or ordered by the High Court or Supreme Court in exercise of its extraordinary powers.

Such an "open and transparent" inquiry, the review plea said, should be in accordance with the principles of natural justice, involving the summoning of witnesses, cross-examining them, recording evidence and permitting parties to adduce evidence.

This point was advanced before the top court in the course of the hearing of PILs that sought SIT probe into Judge Loya's death but were rejected.

That the judgment needs to be recalled, the review plea says "in as much as it proceeds on the premise that once statements of the judges are recorded by the Commissioner Intelligence, the same must be accepted and cannot be questioned by anybody".

Questioning the veracity of the statements of the judges in the Judge Loya death case, the plea maintained that "such questioning does not amount to either disrespect of the judges, much less a wanton attack on the independence of judiciary".

The inquiry report prepared by the Commissioner Intelligence, the review plea said, "when viewed in the light of freely recorded video interviews of Judge Loya's father and sisters, appears to be a sham and a clear attempt to obstruct justice".

"The father and the sisters had spoken about the pressure on late Judge Loya (and) the offers of bribe to him," said the review petition.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An Indian Army soldier was injured on Tuesday in a ceasefire violation by the Pakistani Army on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, police said.

The violation took place in Kupwara district's Tangdhar sector.

"The soldier was injured due to sniper fire from the Pakistani. He has been shifted to an Army base hospital," the police added.

--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 national executive of the Samajwadi Party (SP) has authorised party president Akhilesh Yadav to take a call on prospective alliances for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, party spokesman Rajendra Chowdhary said on Saturday.

The party meeting took place in the state capital on the weekend, but the patron of the party, Mulayam Singh Yadav, and his younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav did not turn up.

A party leader present at the meeting told IANS that Akhilesh Yadav's would be the final word on seat-sharing with other parties as the SP braces to be a part of a grand alliance of opposition parties.

Party leaders indicate that the SP would also press for ballot papers instead of the electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Rajya Sabha member Ram Gopal Yadav, the uncle of Akhilesh Yadav, said the SP chief would also be the final authority on tie-ups with other secular parties in the state assembly elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Sri Lanka is a key component of China's 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, with Hambantota Port and Colombo Port City as the two flagship projects of cooperation between the two countries under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), Chinese Ambassador Cheng Xueyuan said.

In a signed article released by the Chinese Embassy in Colombo on Friday, Cheng said the BRI was a major initiative proposed by the Chinese government and was aimed at upholding the global free trade system and an open world economy, Xinhua news agency reported.

He said that leaders from the two countries reached a consensus on injecting new vigour to Sri Lanka's economic and social development, enabling development achievements to better benefit its peoples and letting ordinary people get more sense of the gain.

Cheng further said that in November, China will hold its first China International Import Expo (CIIE) in Shanghai, which is the world's first import-themed expo and a major measure of China to further open its market to the world.

The Ambassador said that Sri Lanka attaches great importance to this event and will send a high-level delegation to China.

"Sri Lanka's black tea, rubber, gems textiles and other featured products will come to Shanghai, exhibiting the charm of Sri Lanka to the huge Chinese market. We believe that China-Sri Lanka traditional friendship will continue to deepen on this new platform," 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.)
Ahead of the general elections next year, senior Congress leader and former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Saturday urged his party cadres in Karnataka to strengthen their presence in every poll booth.

"It is a booth-wise election ahead, which is why the party needs our people in every booth. We (Congress) must have enough people with feet on every booth," Chidambaram said addressing party members here.

The senior Congress leader was in the city to launch the party's "Shakti" app to strengthen the party cadres in the state by connecting them across each booth, village, town and district in Karnataka.

Of the 28 Lok Sabha constituencies in the southern state, the Congress had won nine seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 17 and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) two in the 2014 general election.

The mobile phone-based project aims to build a direct link between the party's booth-level workers and its senior leadership. A party worker can enroll himself/herself on the platform by registering through their voter card number.

A few months ago, party President Rahul Gandhi had interacted with Congress workers in Rajasthan through the application, which has already been unveiled in Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

Shakti will enable the booth-level workers of the party to interact with the local leadership on various issues, Chidambaram said.

Though the party lost in the May 12 Karnataka assembly election, Chidambaram claimed that Congress had higher vote percentage than of the BJP.

"Congress had 2 per cent advantage in the vote share in the election, as we got 38 per cent of the votes, while the BJP got 36 per cent," Chidambaram said.

In the election for the 224-member assembly, the BJP emerged as the single largest party winning 104 seats, Congress 79 and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) 37 seats, including one seat of its alliance partner Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and two other seats -- one each won by an Independent and a regional outfit.

Two seats remain vacant in the state as Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy was elected from both Ramanagara and Channapatna assembly segments and Jamkhandi seat in Bagalkot district fell vacant after the legislator's death on May 28.

--IANS

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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Kanwar Yatra, which draws millions of Shiva devouts to walk bare-foot for miles to fetch pales of holy Ganga water and then pour it on Shiva Lingas at prominent temples, began across Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand on the first day of the Hindu holy month Shrawan on Saturday.

Thousands of devotees took to the streets in Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Gorakhpur, Barabanki, Kanpur and other districts.

The holy trip is likely to peak on August 3 as the inauspicious "panchak' where in people don't start good works will fall between July 29-August 3.

In Haridwar, elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure a hassle-free trip. A 50-km separate corridor has been made to ensure that there is smooth to and fro passing of the Kanwariyas.

Para-military and police personnel have been deployed on the route of the Yatra, which will conclude on August 9.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Haridwar, Krishna Kumar VK said that more than 2.5 crore Kanwariyas are expected to converge in the holy city, and that arrangements have been made for their safety.

--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 Friday denied that he knew in advance about the meeting his son had with a Russian lawyer ahead of the 2016 US presidential election.

The President reacted via Twitter to a CNN report that Trump's one-time personal attorney, Michael Cohen, claimed the real estate mogul approved Donald Trump Jr.'s plan to meet with the attorney, who ostensibly had damaging information about Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.

"I did NOT know of the meeting with my son, Don jr.," Trump said in the first of a sequence of tweets. "Sounds to me like someone is trying to make up stories in order to get himself out of an unrelated jam (Taxi cabs maybe?)."

The President was alluding to Cohen, who faces a federal criminal investigation over his personal business dealings involving the taxi industry in New York, Efe reported.

Prosecutors are also looking at Cohen's efforts to quash negative news about Trump during the 2016 campaign, which are of interest to Robert Mueller, the special counsel heading the probe into alleged Russian meddling in the election and possible collusion between the Kremlin and the Trump campaign.

Cohen recently turned to prominent attorney and lobbyist Lanny Davis, a long-time associate of Bill and Hillary Clinton, to represent him.

"Cohen) even retained Bill and Crooked Hillary's lawyer," Trump wrote on Twitter. "Gee, I wonder if they helped him make the choice!"

Friday's tweet storm from the President included another denunciation of Mueller's investigation as "the rigged Witch Hunt".

--IANS

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A new study by scientists with the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Forest Service suggests that what people tweet in areas affected by wildfire can be a reliable indicator of air quality conditions.

Tweets originating in California during the state's 2015 wildfire season suggested that social media could improve predictions of air quality impacts from smoke resulting from wildfires and had the potential to improve rescue and relief efforts, according to the new research published recently by the International Conference on Social Media and Society.

Whether it is caused by wildfire or prescribed fire, smoke can have serious health ramifications, including aggravating respiratory and cardiovascular conditions, Xinhua reported.

"With wildfire seasons becoming longer and more people living in fire-prone areas, smoke is becoming a greater public health concern," researcher Sonya Sachdeva of the Forest Service's Northern Research Station said.

"Models for predicting the extent and range of impact of smoke dispersion from wildfire events can be a critical tool in safeguarding public health, and we're finding that information people share in social media has great potential for improving those models," Sachdeva said.

In a previous study, Sachdeva looked at 700 tweets related to the King Fire in California and found that they were a reliable predictor of air quality related to that fire.

In the new research, Sachdeva and Sarah McCaffrey of the Rocky Mountain Research Station evaluated 39,000 tweets that included the names of California's most destructive wildfires of the 2015 season.

Researchers combined ground-based monitoring of fine particulate air pollution levels obtained from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) AirData air quality database with a topic model mapping the content of citizens' tweets.

The research also found that Twitter offered insight into people's perspective on wildfire. When people were near a fire, their tweets were often focused on the status of the firefighting effort, concern for firefighters, and the status of evacuation orders. Further away, people were interested in the cause of fire.

The study suggested that social media could help predict air quality in remote areas that are not monitored for air quality, and that tweets could also have the potential in linking people who need help with people who have the resources to offer assistance.

--IANS

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A controversy has erupted over a uniformed police officer bowing before Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath in Gorakhpur, applying 'tika' on his forehead and garlanding him.

However, an official posted at the Chief Minister's office made light of the issue on Saturday.

The pictures, which found their way to the social media, kicked off a debate on the "unprofessional" conduct of Circle Officer (CO) Praveen Kumar Singh of Gorakhnath area on 'Guru Purnima' that fell on Friday.

Adityanath still is the chief priest of the Gorakshnath Peeth and has represented Gorakhpur Lok Sabha seat five times.

In two pictures, which Praveen Kumar posted on the social media, he is seen applying vermillion on the Chief Minister's forehead and also garlanding Adityanath.

"There is no issue involved. Where is the question of right or wrong?" he asked while maintaining that the pictures only showed a disciple offering respect to a 'guru', who is also the Chief Minister," the official at the CMO said.

He, however, refused to comment when asked if it should not have been down by a uniformed police officer.

In the past, police officials picking up footwear of ruling party politician or carrying a purse of a former Chief Minister have come to the fore.

--IANS

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As the Yamuna river water hit danger mark, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday held a review meeting with officials concerned on the preparedness to tackle flood-like situation in low-lying areas of Delhi.

The Delhi government also requested the Army to be on the stand-by for any emergency.

The meeting was held after neighbouring Haryana released 5 lakh cusecs of water from the Hathnikund Barrage into the river. In a tweet, Kejriwal said that the water is likely to reach Delhi by Sunday evening.

"Kejriwal, who met officials of Irrigation and Flood Control Department and other stakeholders, was informed by officials that they are prepared and on alert for any situation. They said that quick response teams have also been activated for emergency," an official statement said.

The Chief Minister directed that Control Room Emergency Number 1077 must be advertised to make more and more people aware of it.

"Departments concerned were asked to deploy officials at the flood control rooms round the clock for 3-4 days. All departments have been assigned respective duties and put on alert," a Delhi government statement said.

The officials told the Chief Minister that evacuation of residents of vulnerable areas had begun and they have started putting up tents to accommodate them.

"The supply of power, good food and drinking water to the people must be ensured and no stone left unturned to take care of them. Emergency medical teams will also be put on duty for evacuated people and to deal with any medical emergencies," Kejriwal told officials.

Kejriwal ordered the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) to activate and place their mobile toilets around the tents being put up.

He asked the Education Department and Municipal Corporations of Delhi to be ready to provide school premises in affected areas to house people if the situation so demanded.

Furthermore, power companies were asked to deploy officials at the Flood Control Room round the clock.

"All power companies have been asked to arrange power in these tents 24x7 once people are shifted there," Kejriwal asserted.

In the meeting, the availability of motorboats was discussed and all agencies having motorboats were asked to keep them ready for evacuation from affected areas.

The meeting was attended by the MLAs of vulnerable areas, Delhi Chief Secretary, officials of the Army, Delhi Police, DUSIB, Urban Development and Irrigation and Flood Control Departments, MCDs, and others.

--IANS

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BJP president arrived in on Saturday on a day-long visit during which he will interact with party workers and also attend a special screening of a film based on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's early life.

Shah's visit assumes significance against the backdrop of a meeting of all-party leaders called by Chief Minister here this afternoon on the issue of Maratha reservation.

However, it is not clear whether Shah will hold talks with senior leaders over the Maratha issue.

A BJP leader said Shah's visit to the city was already planned and it had nothing to do with the Maratha quota stir.

Shah is scheduled to attend the screening of the film titled 'Chalo Jeete Hain' at a south multiplex in the evening.

"There is a special screening of the film on PM Narendra Modi's early life. It has been organised for Amit bhai in the evening," the leader said.

The 32-minute film, directed by Mangesh Hadawale and presented by Aanand L Rai and Mahaveer Jain, will have its world premiere on Star Network and its OTT platform on July 29.

Produced by Bhushan Kumar of T-Series, the film is based on the early life of Modi and shows how he is inspired by Swami Vivekanand and the empathy he exhibits towards the poor while growing up in Vadnagar in Gujarat.

The BJP leader said during his visit, Shah would also interact with the party workers.

The Fadnavis-led state government has come under severe flak over its handling of the agitation by the influential Maratha community that is demanding 16 per cent reservation in government jobs and education.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut had created a flutter when he recently said there were "talks within the BJP" to replace Fadnavis, in the backdrop of the violent Maratha quota agitation.

Senior BJP ministers, however, had rubbished Raut's claim, saying there was no such talk within the party.
Two policemen posted at New Usmanpur police station in northeast Delhi have been arrested for allegedly demanding Rs 1 lakh from a man accused in several criminal cases, police said today.

Head constable Jitender and constable Mohit were arrested and dismissed from service yesterday, they said.

They are currently in judicial custody, Atul Kumar Thakur, Deputy Commissioner of Police (northeast) said.

The matter came to the fore after the man's wife registered a complaint on July 26.

The complainant alleged that the policemen demanded



Rs one lakh from her husband. The reason for the extortion bid is yet to be ascertained, police said.

Police added that the man, a resident of Harsh Vihar, has over seven criminal cases of snatching and theft registered against him.

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A Central government committee probing the death of four children during the ongoing Measles-Rubella (MR) vaccination drive in Gujarat today said that the deaths were not caused by the vaccine.

A four-member Adverse Effect Following Immunisation (AEFI) Committee, headed by the Deputy Commissioner (Immunisation) of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, is in the state to investigate the deaths.

The five-week long drive, to vaccinate 1.6 crore children in the state between the ages of nine months and 15 years, started on July 16.

Sneha Rathod (14) from Sabarkantha district, Mukesh Gameti (7) from Arvalli district, Dimple Maheshwari (13) from Kutch district and Sunil Thakor (12) from Ahmedabad district had died within five days of being administered the MR vaccine.

"The MR vaccination programme is safe and the death of four children after they were administered the vaccine was due to reasons that are not related to the vaccination," Deputy Commissioner (Immunisation) Pradeep Haldar told reporters here.

"The children died within five days after they were given the vaccination. They showed acute abdomen symptom, acute gastritis, viral encephalitis and drug reaction, which are not related to vaccination," he said.

"Their deaths were sporadic. None of the 100-200 other children vaccinated along with them had any complaints. So, in our primary report, we conclude that the deaths are not related to the MR vaccination," he said.

Haldar said that the families of two of these children had agreed for post mortem on the deceased, reports of which are awaited.

Additional Chief Secretary of Gujarat's Health and Family Welfare department, Poonamchand Parmar, also seconded the findings of the AEFI probe committee.

Parmar said that around 61.36 lakh children have been vaccinated in Gujarat since the campaign was launched.

He informed that Gujarat was the 21st state that had started this drive under the aegis of the Union government's National Health Mission (NHM).

Over 9.5 crore children, across 20 states and union territories, have already been vaccinated, Parmar added.

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Four persons, including a woman, were arrested for their alleged involvement in trafficking of a 16-year-old girl, the police said today.

The accused have been identified as Ravi (32), Rinki (20), Rohit (22) and Mukesh (25), they added.

On July 30, a case of kidnapping of a 16-year-old was registered in outer Delhi's Sultanpuri police station by her family, Seju P Kuruvilla, Deputy Commissioner of Police (outer Delhi) said.

During investigation, it was learnt that the victim was with by one Abhishek (18). On July 21, the victim contacted her mother and informed that she was in Rohini. Her mother visited the place and brought her to the police station. She was medically examined and her statement was recorded, he said.

In her statement to the police, the victim alleged that she was lured by Abhishek who took her Haridwar, where he sexually exploited her. After four days, they returned to Delhi and stayed at Old Delhi railway station platform where they met one Ravi who assured them a job and shelter.

He then took them to his house in Ghaziabad. Next day, Abhishek went with Ravi for job and never returned. Ravi then came home and informed the victim the he has arranged a job for Abhishek and that he would return the next day.

The same night, Ravi's wife Rinky left the house, leaving the victim alone with her husband. Ravi then sexually exploited the victim at his house. The next morning when Rinky returned, the victim narrated her the incident but she ignored and gave her food.

After consuming food, the victim became drowsy following which two other men identified as Intezar and Heena reached there. They then took her to Rohini where they handed over her to one Ashok Goyal who allegedly confined her in his spa and massage centre in Rohini with the help of his two associates Rohit and Mukesh. Goyal allegedly sexually exploited her and forced her to make relationship with his clients, the DCP said.

On the basis of victims statement, a police team was formed, following which Abhishek was apprehended.

During investigation, Abhishek admitted that he took the victim to Haridwar and even made sexual relationship with her.

Ravi and Rinky were arrested from their residence in Ghaziabad who admitted that they had "sold" the victim with the help of Intezar, his wife Heena and one of his relative Vicky, the officer said.

Subsequently, a police team reached at Goyal's said spa and massage centre where the victim was confined and allegedly raped and arrested his two associates Rohit and Mukesh, he added.

Police has been trying to trace the other accused -- Goyal, Vicky, Intezar and his wife Heena -- who are still absconding, he said.

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Four persons including two women devotees of ISKCON temple here were injured during an eviction drive carried out in the city today, police said.

Trouble broke out when the eviction squad attempted to demolish a "Samadhi Peeth" near the International Society for Krishna Consciousnesses (ISKCON) temple, allegedly installed on encroached land near the National Highway-16 at Nayapalli here.

A group of devotees and locals pelted stones at the police and enforcement officials, who were removing the encroachments.

The police resorted to lathicharge to disperse the agitators.

The eviction drive was jointly carried out by Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) and Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) along with National Highway Authority of India (NHAI).

BMC authorities said that the BMC had issued show-cause notices to the ISKCON temple and a nearby hotel two days ago in connection with waterlogging problem on NH-16.

The NH-16 in front of ISKCON temple at Nayapalli witnessed severe waterlogging and traffic jam following incessant rainfall, recently.

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Around 50,000 patients are suffering from hepatitis in Punjab, state Health Minister Brahm Mohindra said here on the World Hepatitis Day today.

The minister said viral hepatitis (Hepatitis B and C) remained a major challenge affecting approximately 325 million people globally.

"It is the root cause of liver cancer, leading to 1.34 million deaths every year," Mohindra said.

The minister called upon healthcare workers to not only generate awareness amongst masses but also to work towards the goal of 'Eliminating hepatitis'.

Addressing a gathering here today, he stated around 50,000 patients had been suffering from this disease in Punjab.

Mohindra said free treatment of hepatitis was available in 25 government hospitals in the state.

Nearly 10,000 children die of liver failure in India every year, Sonal Asthana, an eminent liver surgeon from Bangalore, said.

Liver transplant is a safe and effective treatment for liver failure and is now well established in India, she added.

The major problem in India is the cost of treatment. Although the technology and skills are available, most Indians are unable to afford the cost of a liver transplant, doctors said.

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Eight public hospital doctors in Nicaragua said today that they have been fired after violating alleged orders not to treat wounded protesters opposing President Daniel Ortega's government.

The Associated Press saw several of the dismissal letters signed by the director of the Oscar Danilo Rosales Arguello hospital in the western city of Leon, and they did not specify a cause.

But Javier Pastora Membreno, who was head of surgery and endoscopy for the hospital before he was among those let go, said that "our crime is having tended to the wounded from the protests or having supported the marches in some way, asking for justice, freedom and a real democracy." "We are doctors, not terrorists," he said.

There have been complaints for weeks that anti-government protesters were being turned away from public medical facilities, but Ortega and his government insist no such order ever existed.

"It is totally false that anyone has been denied attention in the hospitals," the president said in an interview with Fox broadcast this week.

Health Minister Sonia Castro also said previously that Nicaragua's health system "has never, at any time, been closed to any treatment." The hospital director declined to be interviewed.

Pastora, who had worked for the Health Ministry for 33 years, spoke Friday at a demonstration outside the hospital to protest the firings. The other fired doctors were there along with a hundred or more demonstrators.

Those sacked worked in diverse fields such as pediatrics, spinal medicine, gastroenterology, oncological surgery and pediatrics. They included the only doctor in the municipality specializing in infectious diseases.

"I do not know if the ministry authorities are clear on what this decision means for the quality of attention to the people and for the training of doctors," Pastora said.

At least 448 people have been killed, most of them protesters, since the protests began in April. Demonstrators were initially upset over proposed social security cuts but are now demanding Ortega leave office after a deadly crackdown by security forces and armed pro-government civilians.

Aaron Delgado said he was performing surgery on a breast cancer patient when he was interrupted and told to report to human resources. There he received his dismissal notice.

"They did not even let me finish the operation," Delgado said. "All this because a month ago outside the hospital we treated the wounded from a massacre perpetrated by the government's paramilitaries against citizens who were at barricades in the neighborhoods of Leon."



Yesterday, police reported the arrest of a 42-year-old man in the killing of Rayneia Lima, a young Brazilian medical student who was shot dead while riding in a vehicle in Managua on Monday night.

A police statement identified the suspect as a security guard and said it seized an M4 rifle from him.

That kind of weapon is not commonly used by private security firms.

The rector of the American University of Managua, where Lima was a student, said earlier this week that she had been attacked by pro-government forces.

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Aditi Ashok bounced back from a disastrous triple-bogey start in as many holes to card an impressive 3-under 69, making a midway cut in the second round of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Ladies Scottish Open.

Aditi, who shot 1-under 70 in the first round, was 4-under through 36 holes and lying tied 17th but nine shots behind leader Tiffany Joh (62-67).

Joh, 31, holds a three-shot lead at the halfway point. She is 13-under through 36, and holds the 36-lead for the first time in her career.

Aditi bogeyed the first three holes and was in danger of going down further and missing the cut, which ultimately fell at 2-over.

However, the Indian, playing in her second season on LPGA, which co-sanctions the Scottish Ladies Open, bounced back strongly. She parred the next five holes from fourth to eighth. After that she went on a birdie spree as she found six birdies in the next eight holes from ninth to 16th. She had four birdies in a row from 13th to 16th.

She did drop a shot on Par-3 17th, but ended with a par for a 69 that gave her a chance to make a bid for a good finish over the weekend.

Ariya Jutanugarn, who will reach No 1 in the world rankings with a win, and Amy Yang are tied for second at 10-under. Caroline Masson is in fourth place at 9-under.

Meanwhile, Sung Hyun Park, who will also grab the top spot in the world with a win, is tied for fifth at 8-under along with Su Oh, who made one of the few afternoon charges with a 66.

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All Rajasthan BJP MPs will tour each assembly segment of their respective Lok Sabha constituency in the state ahead of Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje's 40-day long 'Gaurav Yatra' scheduled from August 4, a party leader said.

BJP state president Madan Lal Saini said that the MPs, through their visits to the constituencies, would give detailed information to the people about the chief minister's rally.

The direction was given to the MPs at a meeting here in which the preparations of the yatra were reviewed in detail, he said.

BJP chief Amit Shah will flag off Raje's mega rallyfrom Charbhuja Nath temple in Rajsamand district of the poll-bound state.

Theyatrawill cover all divisions of the state and the concluding public event in September will be addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Starting from Udaipur, theyatrawill traverse through Bharatpur, Jodhpur, Bikaner, Kota and Jaipur divisions before culminating in Ajmer.

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Wikileaks founder Julian Assange is likely to be expelled from his hideout at the Ecuador Embassy here, where he had sought asylum six years ago, after Ecuador President Lenin Moreno said that the Australian should go, according to a media report today.

Assange, 47, has been living in Ecuador Embassy in Knightsbridge in central London since 2012 when he was granted political asylum.

"I expect (Assange) to lose his asylum status imminently. This means, he will be expelled from the embassy. When this will happen is impossible to say," a source related to the case was quoted as saying by "The Times" newspaper.

The Ecuador President had recently made an statement in Spain that nobody should remain in asylum "for too long".

"I have never been in favour of Assange's activity," Moreno had said at an event in Madrid earlier this week.

"I have never agreed with the interventions in people's private emails in order to obtain information, however valuable it may be, to bring out certain undesirable acts of governments or people, not in that way. There are correct and legal ways to do it," he had said.

An assistant of Assange, a Australian national - who fears being extradited to the US where he is wanted for leaking secretive documents via Wikileaks, has criticised the Ecuador President for ending the asylum status.

The crisis had prompted contingency plans for him to leave in "hours, days or weeks", one of Assange's team member was quoted as saying in the report.

Assange took refuge at the Ecuador Embassy after losing an appeal against extradition to Sweden for questioning on allegations of rape and sexual assault that went to the Supreme Court.

While the Swedish case has since been dropped, Assange is still wanted by Scotland Yard for breach of bail and faces arrest the moment he steps out of the diplomatically immune territory.

Assange had been granted asylum six years ago on the grounds that he feared extradition to America, where he faced a possible death sentence or torture.

Moreno indicated that negotiations with Britain might have resulted in a guarantee that he would not face the death penalty if he were extradited.

"What we want is for his life not to be in danger," he said.

This could clear the way for possible extradition of Assange to the US, once the threat of the death penalty is lifted.

Jeff Sessions, the US attorney-general, has made clear that the Donald Trump administration is seeking his arrest.

Meanwhile, Assange's medical condition has been aggravated in the ongoing heatwave in the UK amid growing reports of an increasingly uncomfortable relationship between embassy staff and the man they call "the guest".

Jennifer Robinson, Assange's lawyer in London, said that she met him earlier in the week and remained concerned for his health.

She said: "It's an untenable situation. He's under a huge amount of pressure. If they do remove his protection, we will go to the courts to protect him.

"We are preparing to defend him in the British courts and will fight extradition to the US. We don't have any indication of timeframe. This is a very serious situation, one that we are very concerned about. It's a matter for Ecuador, the UK, the US and Australia.

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The body of a 65-year-old woman who died in Pakistan could not be brought to India today, even as the Thar Express was halted at Khokhrapar railway station of Pakistan for repatriating her mortal remains, an official said.

The woman, Reshma, from Rajasthan's Barmer district had gone to Pakistan with her son Syab Khan on June 30. She passed away on July 25.

External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had assured help to the elderly woman's family members.

The weekly Thar Express, linking India and Pakistan, was halted for over an hour at Khokhrapar station in Pakistan in the evening. But the body could not be taken to the railway station, therefore, the train left for India without the body, the official said.

Barmer District Collector Shivpasad Madan Nakate said formalities have been completed at the level of the high commission of India in Pakistan for the repatriation of Reshma's mortal remains.

He said other options were also being explored to bring the body to India.

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Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanasamy today hit out at Lt Governor Kiran Bedi for her remarks that certain regions of the union territory were not in favour of statehood, and said she should refrain from making political comments.

Narayanasamy said Bedi had no locus standi to oppose the statehood claims.

He said Bedi was an "outsider", who would return to Delhi after her tenure at Puducherry, adding that she should concentrate only on administrative work.

Bedi had said it was a decision of the Parliament and a complex matter.

"Karaikal, Yanam and Mahe (enclaves of the union territory) don't want to be part of it. So within the elected representatives, there is no unanimity nor among the people...," she had told reporters recently at Chennai.

Speaking to reporters here, Narayanasamy reiterated that statehood demand was for all four regions (Puducherry, Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam) together and there was no question of leaving any region separate.

He said all major political parties of the union territory, including the Congress, NR Congress, DMK and AIADMK were supporting the demand for statehood.

Narayanasamy asserted that the people of Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam were all supporting statehood for Puducherry.

He said full statehood for Puducherry would enhance the financial health of the region.

"At present, the union government's grants cover only about 25 per cent of the expenses.If we get statehood, we would be getting up to 42 per cent share from the union government," he said.

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The upcoming Bengali flick 'Uronchondi' will be screened with subtitles after the CBFC Kolkata in a fresh development mentioned the two words in the certification.

The makers had claimed on Friday that the CBFC Kolkata office had only issued certification for the film without any mention of subtitles.

The film's associate producer Srijoni Roy told PTI that the CBFC Kolkata later contacted the films producers to inform that the two words 'with subtitles' will be added with the original certification copy.

"We have also received the certification card where the words 'with subtitles' have been included. The film can now be screened with subtitles from August 3," Roy said.

In the earlier certification card CBFC Kolkata office had only mentioned 'Uronchondi (Bengali) (Colour) (2-D)' despite the makers having submitted the subtitled version of 'Uronchandi' for online certification on July 11/12.

"We are happy over the developments since yesterday and we will not suffer financially any more as a large segment of non-Bengali audience will now be able to watch the film in theatres and the film can be distributed digitally," Roy said.

'Uronchondhi', a Prosenjit Chatterjee production, revolves around the journey of three women in search of freedom and has been directed by Abhisek Saha.

Chatterjee had earlier shot off a letter to the CBFC and the Eastern India Motion Pictures Association (EIMPA) over the issue, Roy said.

The EIMPA had also urged CBFC to issue the certification including the words "with subtitles" before the film's release on August 3.

The producers had earlier been asked to give it in writing in stamp paper that they wanted the words 'with subtitles' written in the Censor card. "We had done accordingly and got acknowledgement receipt of the written letter" Roy had said.

Chatterjee today said he was happy with the latest developments, before the film's release.

"Now we can run the subtitled version in halls and plexes. Our increasing non-Bengali audience will not be deprived of watching the film," Chatterjee said.

CBFC Regional Officer East Partha Ghosh could not be contacted.

As per Rule 22(3) of the Cinematograph (Certification) Rules, 1983, only the final version of a film is to be shown to the examining committee for certification purposes.

The rule stipulated that all the applicants must submit an undertaking along with the application clearly stating either that subtitles are included or subsequently no subtitles will be added once the film is certified by the CBFC.

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Customs sleuths at the international airport in Kozhikode have foiled a bid to smuggle gold weighing 1 kg, concealed in a nebuliser by a "professional smuggler" who arrived from Dubai.

A search of his baggage on suspicion led to the seizure of 24 carat gold hidden inside a nebulizer, in the form of 38 silver coated plates, Customs Commissioner Sumit Kumar said here yesterday.

He said the seized silver coated gold plates totally weighing 1,008 grams was worth Rs 31 lakhs.

The passenger, a professional smuggler from Dubai, was arrested and further investigation is in progress, he added.

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The Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership today sniffed a BJP-RSS hand behind the cancellation of party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's engagement by St Stephen's College in New Delhi and said her voice "cannot be silenced".

St Stephen's College has withdrawn an invite extended to Banerjee to attend an event and interact with the students of the famed institute.

The event, planned by one of the societies of the college, is scheduled to be held on August 1.

Banerjee was supposed to attend the event, but the principal denied permission and the invitation was withdrawn yesterday, a source said.

Reacting to the development, TMC national spokesperson and leader of the party in the Rajya Sabha Derek O'Brien said, "First, the Vivekananda event in Chicago, then her China visit and now St Stephens. Mamata Banerjee is giving the BJP-RSS sleepless nights. Let them keep trying, she cannot be silenced."



Banerjee will go to Delhi as scheduled. She will be the chief guest at the "Love your Neighbour" conference organised by the Catholic Bishops Conference of India on July 31, O'Brien said.

Last month, Banerjee had cancelled a scheduled visit to China at the last moment over non-confirmation of "political meetings at an appropriate level" by the Chinese government. She was slated to visit Chicago in August to address a gathering of seers on the anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's historic Chicago address in 1893. That event too was cancelled.

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Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Ashok Singh called on city police commissioner Subodh Kumar Jaiswal today and demanded compensation for the family of a 17-year-old youth who died at Sion Hospital last week.

A mob had attacked security personnel after the death of Sachin Jaiswar (17) at Sion Hospital on July 22, blaming "police torture" and doctors' negligence.

His family alleged that Jaiswar had been detained by police earlier and tortured.

However, police cited medical records showing that Jaiswar died due to suspected leptospirosis, a bacterial disease, and not due to any injuries.

According to the officials, Jaiswar was questioned by the Dharavi police on July 13 in connection with a mobile phone theft and later allowed to go home.

The next day he ran fever and went to the hospital. He was sent home after medication. He was admitted again on July 16 for fever, and died on July 21.

Singh demanded "strict action" if any official was found responsible for Jaiswar's death, and compensation for his family.

He also condemned the subsequent violence at the hospital in which two police constables and three personnel of the Maharashtra State Security Corporation (MSSC), including a woman, were injured.

Police commissioner Jaiswal as well as Joint Commissioner (Law and Order) Deven Bharti assured him that the incident will be investigated by the Crime branch, the BSP leader said.

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In a twist in the case involving the death of the son of a prominent charitable body chief, a forensic report has said the bullet that killed him did not match the one fired from his weapon.

Earlier, it was suspected that the deceased, Inderpreet Singh Chadha, the son of former Chief Khalsa Diwan president Charanjit Singh Chadha, had committed suicide.

During the court proceedings in the case here today, Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) experts P S Sehgal and Sandeep Singh Sahota submitted their report to the judge.

The report stated: "No definite opinions could be offered with regard to the badly deformed lead bullet as to whether it had been fired through 0.32 inch Webley & Scott revolver bearing No. B-74402 due to lack of individual characteristic marks."



It further said four swabs each on paper tapes were taken from the right as well as the left hand of the deceased.

"During the chemical examination, the firing discharge residues could not be detected on either of the swabs. Therefore, it was not possible to form any definite opinion regarding the presence of the firing discharge residues in the swabs on the paper tapes," the report said.

Chadha had allegedly committed suicide in his SUV when he had gone to meet his family friend at the DR Enclave colony, located near the Sri Guru Ramdass Jee International Airport here, on January 3.

He was rushed to a private hospital nearby, where he was declared brought dead.

The deceased, along with his father, was booked by the police on charges of criminal intimidation.

Charanjit Singh Chadha was removed as the Chief Khalsa Diwan president by the trust members after an objectionable video clip featuring him and a female principal went viral on social media.

However, Charanjit Singh Chadha had claimed that the video was "concocted" to tarnish his image.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Firefighters say 500 structures have been destroyed in a raging Northern California wildfire and another 5,000 are threatened.

Cal Fire released the updated figure yesterday, though the number of homes burned in the so-called Carr Fire is expected to increase.

Earlier yesterday, fire officials said 65 structures had been destroyed by the fast-moving blaze in Shasta County.

The blaze grew to 194 square kilometers by last night. It began Monday with a mechanical failure of a vehicle. It grew completely out of control on Thursday, tearing through two small communities and reaching the city of Redding.

Tens of thousands of people fled the city in fear of their lives from the blaze, which has killed two firefighters.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Congress's Mumbai unit today put up posters across the city, calling Prime Minister Narendra Modi a "bhagidar" (partner) in the Rafale "scam".

The party's Mumbai chief, Sanjay Nirupam, said the city unit put up about 100 posters, targeting the prime minister over the controversial deal.

The BJP-led Union government was doing everything possible to avoid disclosing the price of 36 Rafale aircraft purchased from France, he alleged.

The Congress's city unit will stage a protest over the issue on Monday, Nirupam said.

"The prime minister is not just a partner in the sorrows and dreams of people, but also in this scam where he is planning to buy 36 Rafale aircraft at three times the price finalised by the UPA government in 2012," he alleged.

"Chowkidaar Nahi, Bhaagidaar (not watchman but partner)," the posters, with a photo of Modi hugging industrialist Anil Ambani, read.

Nirupam questioned the government's decision to give the contract for Rafale jets to Ambani's Reliance Defence, saying the company has no experience.

Anil Ambani had written to Congress chief Rahul Gandhi earlier this week, refuting allegations of lack of experience, and stating that the government had no role in French Group Dassault picking up his company as a local partner.

Gandhi has been attacking the government on the deal which he claims was inked at a much higher price than the one the UPA regime had negotiated.

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The Congress will hold protests over the issue of Rafale deal on August 2 in all the 12 district headquarters of Himachal Pradesh, HPCC president Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said.

He said the Congress would submit memorandums to deputy commissioners in the name of the president, whereby Prime Minister Narendra Modi would be urged to explain to the nation why his government paid exorbitant price for the purchase of fighter jets as compared to the same deal struck by the previous Manmohan Singh-led UPA government.

Reiterating the allegations levelled by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi in Parliament during debate on no-confidence motion, Sukhu said, "The nation wants to know why Modi government paid Rs 60,145 crores for the purchase of 36 Rafale fighter jets whereas, UPA-II had struck a deal of just Rs 18,940 crores for the same."



The Congress has been targeting the government over the fighter jet deal, alleging wrongdoings in it. The government has strongly rejected the charge.

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The Opposition Congress in Assam will launch a mass-contact campaign in the state against the alleged failures of the BJP-led Narendra Modi government, party leader Harish Rawat said today.

"We have our strategy worked out to launch a massive mass campaign to expose before the people how the BJP-led NDA government has failed to keep its poll promises," said Rawat, the AICC general secretary.

He was talking to reporters here after his appointment as Congress in-charge of Assam.

The former Uttarakhand chief minister said Congress will be strengthened from the grassroots level with the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) deciding that each leader will hold booth committee meetings once in two weeks to discuss the issues of the area with people.

"We believe that the turnaround in 2019 will be through the booth committees," Rawat asserted.

He said each Congress worker will maintain contact with 100 voters and should be available for any kind of assistance.

Every party leader has to submit a monthly report on the progress of entrusted assignments for evaluation, he said.

Asked if the Congress would have an alliance with like-minded political parties at the state level, Rawat said, "Let the time come, we will decide then".

"Congress is always ready to welcome like-minded individuals, even those who had left the party earlier, into its fold," he said.

During a review meeting on the state party affairs yesterday, Rawat had said that two issues were identified in Assam assess organisational strength and the ways to augment it, and the need for a proper socio-economic-political strategy.

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The Congress today warned party leaders against making irresponsible statements after a former Union minister suggested that Ashok Gehlot should be the chief ministerial candidate in the next Rajasthan elections.

Ex-MP Lalchand Kataria recently said former chief minister Ashok Gehlot should be projected as the party's CM face in the state, which goes to polls later this year.

In a sharp reaction today, AICC general secretary and party affairs in-charge for Rajasthan Avinash Pande said those making such remarks will be barred by the Congress from contesting the coming elections.

The party high command is very serious about such irresponsible statements and is taking cognisance of all such remarks, he said.

All leaders having faith in and loyalty to the party should refrain from making such statements because this gives an issue to the rival parties and lowers the morale of the party workers, he added.

Pande said the upcoming elections will be contested under the leadership of party president Rahul Gandhi with the collective contribution of all senior leaders.

Gehlot himself was cautious when questioned by reporters in Udaipur, saying he will fulfil the responsibilities the party gives him.

When asked who will become the chief minister if the Congress wins, he said this was decided by the party high command.

We need to see that how the party wins. All decisions are made at the right time, he said.

However, the Congress leader also said he will not keep away from the people of Rajasthan.

Gehlot said when he was in Karnataka, Gujarat and Karnataka, there were rumours that he had left the home state.

I reiterate this that I am not away from the people of Rajasthan. Wherever I am, till my last breath I shall serve Rajasthan, he said.

BJP leaders picked on the row within the Congress.

There is infighting and confusion in Congress. Its trailer was seen in their Mera booth mera gaurav' programmes earlier and now this is among senior leaders, Union minister and Jodhur MP Gajendra Singh said today, referring to a Congress outreach programme.

Union minister and Pali MP P P Chaudhary made a similar comment about infighting in the Congress, which he said could not decide on its chief ministerial candidate.

They are well aware of the fact that BJP is going to form the government again, he said.

The BJP has already named Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje as its candidate for the same post again.

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NCP chief Sharad Pawar today said reservations for the Maratha community could be brought about with an amendment in the Constitution.

The veteran leader added that he could hold a dialogue with the Opposition parties to seek support for the amendment if the Union government showed its willingness.

Speaking at a press conference here, Pawar said, "Giving reservations to the Maratha community is possible by bringing about necessary amendment to the Constitution."



"If the Centre is willing, then I can speak to opposition parties to support such an amendment," he added.

When the NCP was in power, it had taken a decision to grant reservations to Marathas but the courts rejected it, he said.

Pawar also hit out at Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Revenue Minister Chandrakant Patil and warned them to not add fuel to the fire by claiming that some people were out to disturb the peace in the state in the garb of Maratha stir.

"If Fadnavis or Patil have recordings of people talking about creating disturbances and riots (in the garb of Maratha reservation stir), then they should make these recordings public," Pawar said.

Patil had yesterday claimed that the government had an audio clip in which some "big leaders" were allegedly conspiring to let loose snakes amid the devotees gathered at Pandharpur on July 23. Fadnavis had made the same allegation earlier.

Attacking Patil further, Pawar said that the minister should be "responsible while criticising" him.

"Patil should remember that I successfully contested general elections 14 times. He has not faced a single general poll so far," he said.

The NCP leader also visited the Dasara Chowk here where Maratha community representatives are on an indefinite protest demanding reservations for the community.

Announcing that the NCP and the Congress would fight the 2019 Lok Sabha polls jointly, Pawar said discussion on seat sharing will gather speed after the Monsoon session of Parliament.

"Mallikarjun Kharge and Ashok Gehlot will represent the Congress while the NCP's side will have (Maharashtra unit chief) Jayant Patil and Praful Patel," Pawar said.

Speaking at another function here, Pawar supported the demand by party MPs Dhananjay Mahadik and Supriya Sule to bestow Bharat Ratna upon Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj and social reformer Jyotiba Phule.

"Discussions on these demands are going on in Delhi. Many people in the ruling party are saying that these demands cannot be turned down," Pawar said at an event to launch a book on Shahu Maharaj



"Bharat Ratna to Chhatrapati Shahu Maharaj and Mahatma Jyotiba Phule will be an honour for the award itself," he added.

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A 12-year-old Dalit girl was allegedly raped by two persons in Birbhum district, police said today.

The incident happened on Thursday at a village under the jurisdiction of Suri police station, they said.

The family of the girl, a resident of Hatzanbazar locality, alleged that the miscreants took her to a place near the Suri town and raped her, a police officer said.

She has been admitted to a hospital, the officer said.

The accused were arrested today after her family lodged a complaint with the police, he said.

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The unrest coincides with the first anniversary of the al-Aqsa protests in July 2017 when tens of thousands of Palestinians prayed outside the compound for almost two weeks, protesting against the new metal detectors installed by Israeli authorities.

Israeli police forces stand guard the al-Aqsa mosque compound in the Jerusalem's Old City after it was closed off by Israeli authorities following clashes with Palestinian worshippers, July 27, 2018.

It added police were still seeking to arrest a number of suspects who had fled into the Al-Aqsa mosque inside the compound.

"After being in touch with the religious leadership, they called for non-violent action/protest and prayed in front of lions gate until they open the Al-Aqsa mosque", Omar Alkeswani, manager of Al-Aqsa mosque complex said in a statement.

Over the last week, an Israeli soldier was killed and another wounded by what the army said were Gaza snipers, and seven Hamas gunmen died in air strikes.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008.

Sheikh Ekrem Sabri, an imam of the mosque, told MEE that Israeli forces had given no warning.

"The attack caught people by surprise". It is administered by the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, which is funded by Jordan.

Mohammed Sadiq, a Jerusalem-based journalist, said that Israeli forces had attacked medical teams attempting to help people injured from the tear gas.

Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinians during Friday protests at the Gaza-Israel border, the health ministry in Gaza said.

An Israeli police spokesman said firecrackers and stones were lobbed at police "for an unknown reason".

"Police entered the site and began evacuating the Temple Mount compound".

The Waqf published videos showing police firing tear gas at Palestinians inside the mosque compound, which also includes the Dome of the Rock.

Dozens of Palestinians were injured in the clashes, according to the Palestinian Information Center.
Leaving the legacy of the Left behind, Tripura wants to develop its system free from politics, Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said here today.

Addressing an interactive session with B Ed candidates who have been sponsored by the state governemnt for their studies outside the state, Deb said his government has adopted a positive approach towards developing the state.

He said ideal state should belong to its people and merit should be valued above everything else.

We dont believe in old politics. One should grow up with confidence with a mindset for development. We want meritorious students. There is no caste divide in merit. The ersthwhile (Left Front) government played politics with the teachers, students and education, he said.

Deb urged the aspiring teachers to involve in community welfare activities and said the state can develop only when a society and community changes.

We know we are human but for development and changing the state, we must know about ourselves, our family, neighbours and the society. The state will change when the society changes, Deb said.

In a bid to support candidates aspiring for teaching jobs, the state government earlier announced to sponsor 150 Scheduled Tribe (ST) candidates for 2 year B Ed courses in West Bengal.

The Department of Tribal Welfare will bear all expenses of course fee for selected beneficiaries, who would study in two colleges of West Bengal.

The chief minister said syndicate raj has been active in Tripura for several years and blamed the successive Left Front governments for promoting the practice.

He said Tripura did not develop as a modern state due to stress on syndicate practice.

We want a state of humanity and will not tolerate any syndicate raj here, Deb said.

minister Ratan Lal Nath, who also interacted with the students, warned against any compromise with quality in teacher posts.

He said his government would support poor students in availing bank loans to fund their studies.

"We will try to arrange loans for poor students from different banks. They can pay back the loan after landing jobs," he said.

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Delhi Finance Secretary Renu Sharma has expressed concern over less than 10 per cent expenditure of the budget allotted to the public works department in executing various government's projects in the first quarter.

According to a PWD official, an explanation regarding the less expenditure will be sent to the government.

The finance secretary held a review meeting of the expenditure on July 25, where project-wise status was discussed.

Projects like remodelling of hospitals, construction of poly clinics, ITO Skywalk and strengthening of Ring Road from Ashram to AIIMS, among others, were taken up for discussion, drawing ire of the finance secretary.

In a written communication to its officials, the PWD said it appears that the construction of skywalk at ITO is likely to miss its July deadline and the work should be expedited and the fund be utilised fully.

"The principal secretary (finance) expressed concern over less utilisation of the budget allotted to PWD expenditure is less than 10 per cent on an average in the first quarter," it stated.

It stated the sanction of several projects were issued in the last three-four months, but the tenders for the same are yet to be called by the department, whereas some of the projects are delayed resulting in less utilisation of funds.

"The sanction of eight hospitals have been issued by the Cabinet, but still no tender for the same has been invited. The project manager (health) should indicate timelines for pre-construction activities," it stated.

About construction of polyclinics, it also stated that the approval of expenditure finance committee of the Delhi government has been issued, but tenders have not been invited.

"Principal secretary (finance) also pointed out that in most of the schemes, the expenditure is less than 10 per cent on an average.

"The reason for this less expenditure may be given by chief engineers/chief project managers for these ongoing schemes," it added.

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Catalonia's deposed president Carles Puigdemont returns to Belgium today to keep pressing for his region's independence after a Spanish judge dropped a European arrest warrant for him.

"My political activity will be based in Belgium, of course with the aim of pursuing the mandate by the people" for an independent Catalonia, Puigdemont said in Berlin when he announced his return this week.

Four months after he was detained in Germany at Madrid's request, Puigdemont can return to Belgium as he no longer runs the risk of extradition to Spain after the Spanish court cancelled the warrant.

The 55-year-old former regional leader, with his signature shaggy Beatles-style mop, will continue to fight for Catalan independence south of Brussels in the town of Waterloo, which is known for another battle -- French emperor Napoleon's defeat by a mix of European forces in 1815.

Sacked as Catalan president after a failed secession bid on October 27, Puigdemont and several members of his executive fled to Brussels several days later.

He was then arrested in Germany at the end of March on his return from a trip to Finland.

Puigdemont was freed on bail around 10 days later and set about waiting for a German court decision on an extradition request by Spain, where he is wanted over his role in the independence drive.

But the German court ruled that he could be extradited only on possible corruption charges and not for "rebellion" as sought by Madrid but which is not recognised under German law.

Following that decision, Spain's Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena, in charge of the case against separatist leaders, dropped the international arrest warrant.

From Belgium, Puigdemont will be able to travel where he likes, save Spain where he is still wanted for rebellion, which carries up to 25 years in jail, and for misuse of public funds.

In theory, he could remain in self-exile for 20 years, which in Spain's legal system is the time limit after which the rebellion charge would no longer be valid.

Puigdemont is set to be greeted by a welcoming party comprising members of Catalonia's government as well as other pro-independence organisations.

Puigdemont will hold a conference with his designated successor Quim Torra, who still considers him to be the "legitimate president" of Catalonia, at 11:00 am (0900 GMT) on Saturday.

He will then head to Waterloo for a ceremony at 4:00 pm. Puigdemont intends to set up a "Republican council" at his home in Waterloo, as well as an assembly composed of local officials to work in parallel with the Catalan government.

Although power is now officially in the Torra's hands, Puigdemont continues to exert strong influence in the region.

In an illustration of Puigdemont's influence, he managed to reverse his party's stance for greater openness for dialogue with Madrid.

"In Brussels, we will continue... to develop activities linked to that which the people of Catalonia approved on October 1," said Puigdemont, in reference to the referendum that was banned by Spain's courts and marred by police violence.

"It's no longer a Spanish affair that can be resolved internally; a European view is necessary for the Catalonia question," said the region's former president, who expects to travel to other European countries to push his case.

Besides Puigdemont, five other leading members of his pro-independence movement are in Belgium, Switzerland and Scotland.

Torra met Spain's new Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in early July, with the socialist leader promising to find a way out of the crisis.

Puigdemont wants Sanchez to allow a referendum on the question of independence for Catalonia -- something that the prime minister has refused categorically.

He also wants Spain to release nine separatists.

"The change in Spain's government is supposed to come with a change in style and climate... but it's not the time for gestures, it's the time for action," he said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
About 35,000 doctors and 4,500 hospitals across Tamil Nadu today joined a 12-hour nation-wide strike call of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) against the introduction of the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill.

The Tamil Nadu government, while calling for addressing the concerns of the association, however, said most medical services were not affected as its hospitals were working as usual.

However, elective surgeries and outpatient services were withdrawn between 6 AM and 6 PM while demonstrations were held in many parts of the State, Dr J A Jayalal, president of Indian Medical Association (IMA), Tamil Nadu Branch, told PTI.

He warned of intensifying the protests if the NMC Bill was passed in Parliament.

Tamil Nadu has objected to certain provisions in the NMC, he said, adding that the concerns of the IMA have to be addressed.

The IMA had called for suspension of all non-emergency services, including OPDs, for 12 hours today to observe the 'Dhikkar Diwas - no to NMC Bill' to protest against the Bill which seeks to replace the Medical Council of India (MCI) with a new body.

The Union Health Ministry had in March approved amendments to the NMC Bill, including removing the contentious provision of a "bridge course" which would have allowed practitioners of alternative medicines to pursue allopathy, after stiff resistance from the IMA and the Opposition.

The IMA had earlier said the Bill in its current form remained anti-poor, anti-people and anti-federal law which, if passed, would have adverse consequences on not only the health sector but also on the federal structure of the country.

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National Conference leader Omar Abdullah today lauded the efforts by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to bring the opposition parties together and said they will only be successful if the Congress takes the fight to the BJP.

He said the opposition parties are also discussing TMC chief Mamata Banerjee's proposal for a "federal front" under which the regional parties will unite to take on the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

"We have seen a number of efforts (being) made by Sonia Gandhi to bring the opposition parties together and recently we saw the opposition coming together during the swearing-in of the Karnataka chief minister," he said.

"Obviously no effort for towards opposition unity will really succeed unless the Congress is able to take the fight to the BJP in the way we hope," Abdullah said on the sidelines of a programme here.

The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister is in the city to take part in a forum discussion, titled 'Think Federal Front', and met Banerjee yesterday.

Speaking about the present situation in Kashmir, Abdullah reiterated that it is not conducive for polls.

"We (National Conference) have demanded that the assembly be dissolved...It is no use talking about elections in the present situation. We can only talk of elections once the state goes back to the situation it was in during 2014, when the (last assembly) election was held," he said.

Abdullah also criticised the erstwhile PDP-BJP government over its failure to stop the youth from joining militancy.

He said the number of terrorists killed in the last three years is much higher, as the BJP claims, because a larger number of youths is now joining militancy, which is actually a failure on the part of the government.

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Hailing AIMTC's decision to call off truckers' strike after eight days, automobile industry body Siam today said the action has given respite to all its affected members who had a difficult time over the last few days.

"The immediate action has given respite to all our affected members who had a difficult time during last one week. The quick action has averted further deterioration of the situation and we are extremely grateful to all stakeholders for their efforts,"it said.

Siam would like to thank all the stakeholders and government who came together to resolve the truckers' strike, Siam said.

Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had also yesterday hailed the All India Motor Transport Congress's (AIMTC)decision to call off its strike.

H said a high-level committee under the chairmanship of the secretary, Ministry of Road and Transport, will be set up for expeditious resolution of transporters' demands.

The panel will submit its recommendations to the government within three months, he added.

AIMTC, that claims the support of 93 lakh truckers across the country, had gone on an indefinite strike on July 20 to press demands such as reduction in diesel prices, low third-party insurance premiums and a favourable toll collection system.

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Former IAS couple Arvind Joshi and Tinoo Joshi have been sent to prison in connection with a money laundering case after they surrendered before a court here.

Judge Alok Awasthi of the special court for Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) sent the Joshis in judicial custody last evening.

The court granted bail to Arvind Joshi's parents--Nirmala Joshi (88) and H M Joshi (92)--against a surety of Rs 50,000 each in view of their old age, said an Enforcement Directorate (ED) official.

Joshi's parents are co-accused in the case.

The court had issued a warrant against the accused on July 19 in connection with a case filed by the ED under the PMLA.

Arvind and Tinoo, both IAS officers, were dismissed from service in 2014 for allegedly amassing wealth disproportionate to their known sources of income.

During a raid at their house in Bhopal in 2010, the Income Tax officials allegedly found Rs 3.03 crore in cash. The Madhya Pradesh Lokayukta Police also filed a separate case against the couple for allegedly amassing assets worth a whopping Rs 41.87 crore.

The couple has not been convicted in these cases yet.

The ED, in its charge sheet, has accused them of laundering some of the ill-gotten wealth through dubious transactions.

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Expressing grief over the death of 33 people in a bus accident in Maharashtra's Raigad district today, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the administration was trying to provide all the necessary assistance.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi also expressed sorrow over the accident.

Fadnavis said he was pained to know about the loss of lives in the accident.

"Administration taking all efforts to provide required assistance. Senior officials & emergency management systems in place," Fadnavis tweeted.

"My thoughts are with families who lost loved ones & prayers for speedy recovery of injured," he added.

Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "I'm sorry to hear about the terrible bus accident in Raigad, Maharashtra in which a large number of people have been killed and many others injured. I appeal to Congress party workers in the area to provide all possible assistance to the injured & families of those who have died."



State Congress chief Ashok Chavan said, "Extremely sad to hear about the accident of a bus near Poladprur in Raigad district carrying 33 employees of Konkan Agriculture University. My heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this horrifying accident."



Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde said the accident was very unfortunate.

"I pay my homage to those who perished," he said.

A bus, on its way to a hill station, fell into a gorge in Raigad district of Maharashtra this afternoon killing 33 passengers, senior officials said.

The passengers were on their way to Mahabaleshwar, a hill station in Satara district, for a picnic, when the driver lost control over the vehicle while negotiating a turn and fell into the gorge.

All passengers of the bus were all staff of Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth in Dapoli town.

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A fire broke out at a paint godown in west Delhi's Basai Darapur area today, officials said.

A call was received at 10:40 am about the incident and five fire tenders were rushed to the spot, a senior officer of the Delhi Fire Service said.

The officer said the fire spread throughout the godown having an area of 800 square feet. It was covered with a tin shed, which collapsed, he added.

Nobody was injured and the blaze was doused by 2.10 pm, the officer said.

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A number of Canada's provinces also provide some leave for domestic violence, while Australia's Labor party leader Bill Shorten has promised 10 days paid leave for victims if his party wins the next election.

New Zealand passed legislation Wednesday granting paid leave to domestic violence survivors, a groundbreaking measure aimed at helping people get out of abusive situations.

Logie, who worked in a women's refuge before she became a politician, teared up when her bill was passed but it was not without opposition.

She said one of the key provisions of the proposed legislation would ensure that victims of domestic violence were given paid leave to enable them...

New Zealand has one of the world's highest rates of domestic violence - a phenomenon that has been blamed on a range of factors, including high levels of alcohol and drug use as well as societal attitudes towards the status of women.

The new law will come into force on 1 April, 2019.

New Zealand has the highest rate of reported partner violence in the developed world.

"An employer with a family violence policy and practices, such as paid leave, can provide a forward path for family violence victims to gain confidence and break the abusive cycle", she said.

The group's chief executive Katie Ghose said women often lose their jobs when they flee domestic abuse, while many stay with abusive partners due to 'financial concerns'.

The landmark bill requires employers to grant survivors up to 10 days leave, separate from annual holiday or sick leave, according to the Guardian.

"They have offered a model to anyone, internationally, who wants to really raise awareness about domestic violence and make their workplaces healthy", Ruth Glenn told "Good Morning America". That's about $2.7 billion to $4.7 billion in US dollars.

It's "about changing the cultural norms and saying "we all have a stake in this and it is not OK", she said.

"Businesses without a domestic violence programme are not playing their part to stop domestic violence, and there's also a cost in lost productivity and additional staff recruitment", said Holly Carrington, the communications manager of the domestic violence service provider Shine, according to Stuff. A similar measure was adopted by the Philippines in 2004.

New Zealand is known for becoming the first self-governing country to grant women the right to vote, in 1893, and takes pride in seeing itself as a "social laboratory".
The first 'Nepal-India Think Tank' summit will begin here on Tuesday to foster greater collaboration and knowledge-sharing among the think tanks of the two countries.

Former Prime Miniter and Co-chairman of Communist Party of Nepal (CPN) Prachanda will inaugurate the summit jointly hosted by Asian Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs (AIDA) and Nehru Memorial Museum Library, the organisers have said.

BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav will deliver the keynote speech at the summit.

"Nepal has for the first time to address the need for greater collaboration and knowledge-sharing among Nepali and Indian think tanks, as well as the specific problem of bridging the gap between think tanks and policymakers in the region," said AIDA CEO Sunil K C.

The summit, proposed to become an annual feature for the participating organisations, will be hosted alternatively each year in Nepal and India.

"The objective of the summit is to support the networks and promote mutual understanding through institutional collaboration on resource sharing for joint events/publications among think tanks of the two countries," Sunil said.

The summit aims to facilitate cooperation and knowledge-sharing among think tanks, and to reflect on the work of think tanks and the challenges they are facing, Sunil added.

Policymakers, government representatives, diplomats, academicians, businesses and media personnel will participate in the summit.

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The Force India Formula One team said today that they feel no animosity towards leading driver Sergio Perez for taking legal action that led to them going into administration.

The team's deputy principal Bob Fernley made this clear when drivers Esteban Ocon and Perez qualified 18th and 19th for Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix.

"There can't be any animosity," Fernley told www.autosport.com.

"Whatever happens, like everybody else, 'Checo' (Perez) is entitled to be paid.

"Unfortunately we were not in a position to be able to pay him, and patience runs out for everybody. So, that's a process.

"I don't think we in any way look negatively at him. The responsibility for payment is on the team, not on Checo.

"He's been put in a difficult position. I think we have to respect his position, and not criticise it." Perez's Mexican sponsorship has been a mainstay of the team's operations since he joined in 2014 and helps to ensure he is paid his salary.

However, delays in payments led him, through his management company, to take part in the winding-up order that was heard in London's High Court yesterday.

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The Force India Formula One team went into administration, as expected, late Friday evening in London following a High Court hearing brought by a winding-up order.

Deputy team principal Bob Fernley confirmed the action, telling reporters that an "administrator was appointed by the court for Force India this evening".

There was no further immediate comment from the team, which, on Friday, had said it hoped to resolve its critical cash-flow difficulties with the help of new investment, while under administration.

The team's senior driver Sergio Perez on Thursday said the situation was "critical". The Mexican driver is reportedly owed more than four million dollars while engine suppliers Mercedes are owed more than 15 million dollars.

The team's second driver Esteban Ocon, who is under contract until the end of 2019, is expected to leave the team to join Renault for next year in a transfer that may help alleviate the problems.

Both drivers and the rest of the team are in Budapest preparing for this weekend's Hungarian Grand Prix.

Main shareholder and team principal Vijay Mallya is fighting extradition to India from Britain as a result of actions taken by Indian banks following the collapse of his Kingfisher Airlines.

The team's chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer told a conference Friday at the Hungaroring circuit that he was optimistic a solution was about to be found.

"I think it's imminent. There's discussions going on in the background and I am not privy to those because it is a shareholder issue... But it will be very soon."



Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll, father of Williams' teenager driver Lance Stroll, has been linked with the team as an investor in a move that would also see his son move teams.

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Inspector General (IG) of CRPF (Jammu sector) Abhay Vir Chauhan said the force would always remain indebted to the families of bravehearts who sacrificed their lives for the nation.

He was speaking at an event at CRPF camp Dheerti Dharore paying tributes to Havildar Harvinder Singh, who died while saving a pilgrim from falling stones.

Chauhan said Singh was awarded Prime Minister Jiwan Raksha Padak for his brave act.

"The force will always remain indebted to the families of martyrs and our bravehearts who gave the supreme sacrifice for the nation," he said.

The celebrations of Raising Day commenced with paying tributes to the martyrs and were followed by a series of programs.

About 1,000 saplings were planted by CRPF officers and personnel at Dheerti Dharore camp, reiterating commitment of the force towards environment protection and afforestation.

The IG felicitated those officers and personnel who were awarded the Director General's Commendation Discs and Commendation Certificate for their outstanding performance in operational and administrative fields.

In another event at the CRPF camp, Bantalab, officers and personnel paid homage at the 'Martyrs memorial'.

The chief guest of the event, IG CRPF (Jammu and Kashmir Zone) K Vijay Kumar recalled the prestigious history of the force and appealed to the personnel to perform their duties and responsibilities with full honesty and conviction.

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Freight rates for the nine-metric tonne pay load remained unchanged at the local truck transport market after truckers called-off their eight-day old strike.

Truckers yesterday called off their eight-day old strike after the government's assurance to look into their demands, according to a statement.

In a joint statement released yesterday, the Road Transport and Highways Ministry and AIMTC said the strike has been called off.

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A fresh batch of 663 pilgrims today left for the cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas, officials said.

The 60-day yatra commenced from the twin routes of Pahalgam in Anantnag district and Baltal in Ganderbal district.

Over the past week, the number of pilgrims joining the yatra has marked a sharp dip.

The pilgrims, which included 485 males, 85 females and 93 sadhus left in a convoy of 21 vehicles under tight security arrangements and are expected to reach the twin base camps of Nunwan in Pahalgam and Baltal later in the day, the officials said.

Earlier, a smaller batch of 667 pilgrims left Jammu for the ongoing yatra on July 26.

The yatra is scheduled to conclude on August 26 coinciding with 'Raksha Bandhan' festival.

The annual Amarnath yatra yesterday crossed 2.50 lakh mark as 2,776 pilgrims paid obeisance at the cave shrine of Lord Shiva.

"On the 30th day of the ongoing Amarnath Yatra yesterday, 2,776 yatris paid obeisance at the holy cave. Till date 2,51,996 yatris had the darshan of the Shivling at the holy cave," official said.

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A Gaza teenager died of his wounds today after being shot by Israeli troops during protests along the border, the health ministry in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory said.

A ministry statement identified him as Mohmen al-Hams, 17, and said he was shot in the chest during protests near the southern Gaza town of Rafah yesterday.

There has been persistent violence between the Israeli army and Palestinian protesters along the Gaza-Israel border since late March in which at least 157 Palestinians have been killed.

Troops shot dead two Palestinians during yesterday's protests.

The Gaza health ministry said that one of them was a 12-year-old boy, shot east of Rafah.

It also reported the killing of Ghazi Abu Mustafa 43, and said he was shot in head by Israeli soldiers east of the southern city of Khan Yunis.

The Israeli military did not comment directly on the deaths but said about 7,000 Palestinian "rioters" threw rocks and rolled burning tyres at soldiers, and at the fence itself, at several locations along the border.

"Troops are responding with riot dispersal means and firing in accordance with the rules of engagement," an English-language statement said Friday evening, without elaborating.

Hamas has pledged revenge after Israeli air and artillery strikes on the coastal enclave killed a number of its members in recent weeks.

Israel and Hamas have fought three wars since 2008.

A week ago a Palestinian gunman shot and killed an Israeli soldier at the border, sparking a fierce wave of Israeli bombing that ratcheted up fears of a new conflict.

A degree of calm was restored until Wednesday when Israel said its troops came under fire again, with one soldier wounded.

It hit back with artillery fire which killed three Palestinians at a Hamas military base, east of Gaza City.

In response, the Hamas military wing warned that "the enemy shall pay a high price in blood for the crime which it commits daily against the rights of our people and our fighters".

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Karnataka Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy today said he was an ardent devotee of Lord Ayyappa and he got the chief ministership of Karnataka because of the god's blessings.

"It was because of the blessings of Lord Ayyaappa Swamy, I became the Chief Minister of Karnataka," he told at a function organised by Janata Dal (S) state committee here to felicitate him.

Recalling his Sabarimala visits in the past along with party leaders including Kerala Water Resources Minister Mathew T Thomas, Kumaraswamy said he believed that he got the chief ministership in 2006 also because of blessings of Lord Ayyappa.

"Even in 2006---after visiting Sabarimala in 2005--I became Chief Minister. Now, second time it has happened.

With the blessings of Swamy Ayyappa, I have become the Chief Minister, I think, even without the sufficient numbers (for JD-S)," he said.

JD(S) national secretary general Danish Ali and Kerala party leaders also attended the function.

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Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia advised the media today to focus on issues like farmer suicides and rapes instead of being concerned about party chief Rahul Gandhi's wink in Parliament.

"Farmers are committing suicide, women are being raped, Dalits are being oppressed, the lands of tribals are being snatched and unemployment is rising. In spite of all this, the fourth pillar of democracy (press) is more concerned about someone winking," he told reporters here, while responding to questions about Gandhi's wink in the Lok Sabha during the discussion on the no-confidence motion on July 20.

"Should the media focus on the issues raised by Rahul in Parliament or should winking be given priority? Was the wink such a big issue? Have you never winked in your life?" the Lok Sabha MP asked.

Scindia described the recent increase in the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy and other crops by the Centre as an "election bluff". The MSP was arrived on the basis of an "improper" formula and, therefore, farmers will not get correct prices for their produce or labour, he added.

Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government over fuel prices, Scindia said, "Before the last general elections, Modi had said that Rs 15 lakh would be deposited in the accounts of every citizen by bringing back black money stashed abroad. But the government has realised Rs 15 lakh crore from the public through costly petrol and diesel.

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The Madras High Court made it clear that candidates cannot get a medical seat in Tamil Nadu under reserved category on the basis of a community certificate obtained from any other state.

Justice S Vaidyanathan dismissed a petition by S Geetha, belonging to the Schedule Caste, seeking direction of the court to the Directorate of Medical Education, Tamil Nadu, to consider a seat under the reserved category for her on the basis of a community certificate issued in Andhra Pradesh



The judge referred to an apex court order saying a Scheduled Caste/Tribe person who has migrated from the state of origin to some other state for education, employment etc. would be deemed to be a Scheduled Caste/Tribe of the state of origin and would be entitled to derive benefits from that state and not from the state to which he or she has migrated.

Dismissing the petition, the judge said, "However, her candidature can be considered only under the open category and not under the reserved category.

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The Saudis announced the suspension of oil shipments through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait - the entrance to the Red Sea as they head for Europe via the Suez Canal - after Houthi rebels attacked two of its oil tankers in Yemen.

While Saudi Arabia is busy launching military factories and importing weapons, the UAE has built a formidable force of mercenary recruits, using its oil wealth to purchase arms from, among others, South Africa.

Brent crude oil futures rose 0.6% to $US74.35 per barrel on Thursday at 6 48 GMT, after a gain of 0.7% on Thursday, and U.S. oil reserves fell to a three and a half year low, Reuters reported.

The commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Quds force, Qassem Soleimani, criticised the US role in the Red Sea.

The Houthis have previously threatened to block the strait while Iran has threatened to block another strategic shipping route, the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia said it was "temporarily halting" all oil shipments after an attack on two oil tankers by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

Falih's statement said the two Very Large Crude Carriers (VLCCs) attacked were operated by Saudi shipping company Bahri, which identified the damaged vessel as the Arsan.

But the alliance did not make major gains in its offensive and on July 1 it called a halt to operations to give the United Nations efforts a chance.

The United Arab Emirates' minister of state for foreign affairs, Anwar Gargash, said on Twitter the attack showed the need to take back the key port of Hodeida.

James Dorsey, an expert on Middle East affairs, said the attacks on oil tankers would draw global attention to Yemen.

An estimated 4.8m barrels per day of crude oil and refined petroleum products flowed through Bab al-Mandeb in 2016, according to data from the US Energy Information Administration.

The spike came after Saudi Aramco, the kingdom's oil giant, said it was stopping all oil shipments through the Bab El-Mandeb Strait, raising supply concerns.

The Bab al-Mandeb strait is only 18 miles wide making hundreds of ships potentially an easy target.

A flame from a Saudi Aramco oil installation known as "Pump 3" is seen in the desert near the oil-rich area of Khouris, 160 km east of the Saudi capital Riyadh, on June 23, 2008.

The Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which runs close to the shoreline of Yemen, is the main shipping lane linking the Red Sea with the Indian Ocean. The statement said nobody was injured and the damage posed no threat to the environment.

On Thursday, Houthi leader Mohammed Ali al-Houthi claimed the group's navy had the capacity to reach the high seas and Saudi ports.

The coalition has carried out a campaign of thousands of air strikes and restricted imports into Yemen.

The UN World Food Programme said four in every 10 children under five were now acutely malnourished, and put the number of people displaced since the Hodeidah offensive began at 200,000.

2 million sailing from Europe into the Middle East and Asia.

"A close U.S. ally, Saudi Arabia has been raising production partly in response to calls from President Donald Trump to bring oil prices down, given the Iran sanctions", said FT.
The Madras High Court has dismissed an appeal filed by Hyundai Motor India Ltd, assailing the decision of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) to investigate the company for alleged anti-competitive practices related to spare parts sale and after-sale service.

A division bench of justices Huluvadi G Ramesh and RMT Teekaa Raman recently dismissed the appeal filed by the company, challenging the February 4, 2015 order of a single-judge bench of the court.

The judge had held that a permission to expand the scope of inquiry into the allegations could not be construed as a suo motu (on its own motion) initiation of investigation by the Director General of the CCI.

The matter relates to a complaint lodged with the CCI in 2011 by one Shamsher Kataria of New Delhi, alleging anti-competitive practices by three car-makers in the country.

Following a direction, the additional director general of the CCI had in 2011 conducted a probe, which had revealed that similar practices were adopted by a few other car manufacturers, and sought the CCI's permission to expand the scope of inquiry into the matter.

When Hyundai's name was included in the list of car manufacturers which indulged in such practices, the company had challenged it in the high court, saying the additional director general, CCI did not have the powers to include other companies that were not mentioned in the complaint.

However, the contention was rejected by the single-judge bench.

Subsequently, the company had filed the writ appeal.

Upholding the order of the single-judge bench, the division bench said, "If the CCI had not issued a direction on April 26, 2011, the director-general could not have proceeded against all other manufacturers. The direction issued by the commission on April 26, 2011, would be tantamount to a direction."



"Therefore in our considered view, the question of overstepping of jurisdiction does not arise," it added.

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The district administration



of Yamunanagar has sounded a high alert as the water level in the Yamuna river crossed the five lakh cusecs mark following continuous rainfall in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

Insisting that the situation was under control, the district administration, however, said all the necessary arrangements have been made to tackle the flood-like situation.

"The water level in the Yamuna river has reached 5.25 lakh cusecs mark as of now and we are continuously monitoring the situation," said Yamunanagar Deputy Commissioner Girish Arora.

"We have put over 70 villages in the district on alert. Besides, the district administration in Karnal, Panipat and Sonepat have also been informed about the rise in water level in the Yamuna river," he said.

The authorities have cautioned the Delhi administration about the rise in water level.

A warning has also been issued to people living in areas surrounding the Yamuna river.

"In some areas like Lapran village here, people living near the river were even forcefully rescued," the deputy commissioner said.

Arora said he was also in constant touch with the Army and Airforce.

A team of the State Disaster Management Force (SDRF) has already been put on alert, he said.

A flood control room has already been set up at the district level for fast response to deal with any flood-like situation, he added.

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Prime Minister on Saturday hit back at Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his 'chowkidar-bhagidar' remarks, saying he took the remark as a compliment.

"These days I am dubbed as 'bhagidar' (partner) and not 'chowkidar' (watchman). I feel honoured to be a 'bhagidar' of the problems of the poor," the prime minister said, referring to Gandhi's insinuation that he was a collaborator' in graft.

"I take this allegation as a an honour, I am proud to be a 'bhagidar' of the pain suffered by the poor, the hard working labour class, the agony of a sad mother, a poor farmer whose crops get destroyed by natural calamities, of soldiers who brave bone-chilling weather as well as scorching heat," he said.

Modi was speaking at an event here to mark the third anniversary of three government initiatives related to urban development.

In his 30-minute address, Modi said by 2022, the government will provide a roof to all homeless people.

"I am a 'bhagidar' of that poor family which is forced to sell his land for medical treatment, of the homeless, of illiterate children, and of the unemployed," he said.

In a attack on Modi on a range of issues, including the controversial Rafale jet deal, Rahul Gandhi said during the recent debate on the no-confidence motion against the government that the prime minister had promised to be a 'chowkidar' but had become a 'bhagidar'.

Modi was speaking at a programme on "Transforming Urban Landscape", marking the third anniversary of three key government initiatives related to urban development -- (Urban), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation of Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and the Smart Cities Mission.

He also went around an exhibition on Flagship Missions of Urban Development and interacted with PMAY(U) beneficiaries and launched various projects related to urban housing and infrastructure and the Smart City scheme.

In his 30-minute address, Modi said by 2022, the government will provide a roof to all homeless people.

He slammed the previous non-UP governments before Yogi Adityanath took over as the chief minister for their work culture.

"I know how people used to live earlier. That is because they (those in power) had a one-point programme, which was how to decorate their bungalows," Modi said, apparently referring to a row after former CM vacated his official accommodation.
The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has launched a system that provides information of lightning strikes across the country every 15 minutes, a senior official said today.

The information is updated on the IMD website based on data from satellite INSAT-3D, IMD Additional Director General Mritunjay Mohapatra said.

Occurrences of lightning strikes are divided in the system into three time slots of 10, 20 and 30 minutes and are marked on a map with different colours.

"It is updated every 15 minutes. However, the data is provided by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) every two minutes," A K Mitra, the coordinator of the project, said.

IITM Pune, an institute under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, has a network of ground stations to detect lightning.

According to the IMD data, in 2015, of the 1,600 people killed due to extreme weather events, 415 had died due to lightening, with most of the cases occurring in eastern India. Maharashtra also witnesses a high number of deaths due to lightning every year.

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Former president A P J Abdul Kalam's relative Sheik Dawood Kalam today urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to direct the owner of 'Kalam Center', a twitter page, to hand over the twitter account to his family as information from had allegedly been stolen from it.

In a representation to the Prime Minister, Dawood said the former president's family, after his death in 2016, had been asking Srijanpal Singh who had assisted Kalam to start the account to hand it over to his brother.

But, Singh, who was a part-time worker with Kalam and a student of the Indian Military Engineering College, did not and started a new Twitter page by naming it Kalam Center, he said.

Singh had stolen information from Kalam's twitter account and recorded them in the centre's account, Dawood claimed.

This was illegal, hence the government should initiate action against Singh and also take steps to hand over the late Kalam's Twitter account to his family, he said.

Abdul Kalam was running the account with over 20 lakh youngsters and students.

Dawood said a representation in this regard had been made to the Defence Ministry, IT Ministry and to the police too.

The bio of @KalamCenter twitter handle says it is a not-for-profit organisation with a #mission to continue on the visions and works of Dr Abdul Kalam.

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International Road Federation (IRF) today urged all political parties to come together for early passage of Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill in the Rajya Sabha during the ongoing session of Parliament.

"Given that Indian roads witness over 5 lakh accidents each year resulting in about 1.47 lakh fatalities, the Motor Vehicles Amendment Bill is an important step towards strengthening the legal framework for improving road safety in India," IRF Chairman K K Kapila said in a statement.

The Bill which has already been passed by the Lok Sabha was introduced in the Upper House in April 2017 but was referred to a select panel.

"The passage of Bill will help close major gaps in the legislative framework that governs road safety in the country. India, as a signatory to the United Nations Brasilia Declaration, is committed to reducing road traffic fatalities by 50 per cent by 2020," Kapila said.

Higher penalties for traffic offences will help in reducing fatal road accidents in India, which accounts for maximum number of road accident deaths in the world.

"Stronger law and stricter deterrent penalties have worked in curbing road accidents worldwide," Kapila added.

After taking into account the panel's recommendation, the Bill was re-introduced in Rajya Sabha.

IRF is a global body working for safer roads.

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The Congress today demanded a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe into alleged sexual exploitation of inmates at a government-funded shelter home in Muzaffarpur and 14 other such institutions in Bihar and asked if it was an example of "good governance model" of the ruling JD(U)-BJP alliance.

It also questioned Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's silence on the issue.

Attacking Kumar, who has recommended a CBI probe into the alleged sexual exploitation of girls at Muzaffarpur shelter home, the party claimed young boys and girls were also sexually exploited and beaten in the 14 other shelter homes, but such "outrageous crimes were conveniently ignored".

Congress leader Shaktisinh Gohil told reporters that the alleged sexual exploitation of inmates at the shelter home had come to light in a social audit report of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, which also expressed "grave concern" over "shocking details of sexual abuse" in 14 other state-funded institutions.

After a lot of pressure from the opposition in Bihar, the state government has been forced to recommend a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the issue, he said.

Gohil also questioned as to "why they have not even filed an FIR in case of the rest of the 14 home shelters and institutions" mentioned in the TISS report.

"We demand a Supreme Court-monitored CBI inquiry in the alleged cases of sexual abuse in all the 15 shelter homes," he said.

"We want to ask Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his partner in crime, Nitish Kumar when will they speak a word on this gruesome (Muzaffarpur) incident," he said.

Taking a dig at Kumar, Gohil said he is termed as "sushan babu" (good governance man) and asked,"Is this the good governance model of the BJP-JDU?"



Gohil claimed, "Instead of seeking justice for the victims and demanding harsh punishment for the accused, the BJP, like in other similar cases, is busy protecting the predators."



BJP leaders have become "repeated offenders in exploiting women and then shamelessly, brazenly defending themselves. The recent gruesome crimes of Unnao and Kathua are a testimony to that," he said.

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An Israeli Arab lawmaker resigned today and branded the parliament "racist" after it passed a controversial new law which declares Israel the nation state of the Jewish people.

The new legislation speaks of Israel as the historic homeland of the Jews and says they have a "unique" right to self-determination there. It also revokes the longstanding status of Arabic as an official language alongside Hebrew.

Zouheir Bahloul, of the opposition Zionist Union party, said he could not face telling his grandson that he remained part of the same chamber which passed the law.

"I am resigning from the Knesset," he said on Reshet TV, in reference to Israel's parliament.

"The nation state law officially, constitutionally, removes the Arab population from the path of equality in Israel," he said in Hebrew.

"Should I sit on the fence? Should I give legitimacy to this destructive, racist, extremist parliament?" Bahloul said that his resignation would officially take effect when parliament returns from its summer recess in September, but he pledged not to reconsider in the meantime.

"I faithfully promise that I shall not go back," he said. After the law was approved earlier this month Arab members of parliament branded the legislation "racist" and ripped up copies of the bill in the Knesset chamber.

Arab citizens make up some 17.5 per cent of Israel's more than eight million population.

The law makes no mention of equality and Israel's democratic character, implying the country's Jewish identity takes precedence.

Leaders of Israel's 130,000-strong Druze Arab community, which unlike Muslims and Christians is subject to the military draft, has filed a challenge to the law with the country's Supreme Court.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with Israeli Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Muafak Tarif and a retired Druze general.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu made no commitment and said that he would continue to hold consultations," the premier's office said in a statement.

Also present at the meeting was Communications Minister Ayoob Kara, a member of Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party.

He voted in favour of the law and has since reportedly received death threats.

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Veteran rally driver Jagat Nanjappa from Karnataka emerged as the champion in the week-long Isuzu RFCIndia 2018, an off-road competition, which concluded here today.

Nanjappa (co-driver Chetan Changappa), who had retained the top position after stages21, emerged as the winner, scoring a total of 2,006 points.

He represented the team V5 Off Roaders.

The competition is the India chapter of the Rainforest Challenge (RFC) of Malaysia.

The last stage of the competition was held today at the Rajiv Gandhi IT Habitat here and literally was a walk in the park for the drivers, who had overcome a series of challenging hurdles in the event conducted in different parts of Goa.

The stages 22-25 were held yesterday at Quepem, South Goa, and it included a water challenge.

Malaysian driver Mervyn Lim (co-driver Alex Tan), who is driving for team G O A Fairmont, bagged the second position after scoring 1,849 points.

DefendingRFCIndia winner Gurmeet Virdi (co-driver Kirpal Singh Tung), from Chandigarh, had to content with the third spot with 1,800 points.

Already out of contention for a win, the sole woman driver Shruti Ranjan Pai (co-driver Sara Fanning), from Bengaluru, however, won the hearts of the spectators, with her performance through out the race.

Nanjappa, who hails from Coorg, told reporters that he came to fight in the competition for the podium finish.

"My jeep is basic, so we (me and my co-driver) proved that with the basic vehicle also we could beat the best (in the business)," Nanjappa said.

According to Nanjappa, they will now go to Malaysia for the "mother event" the Rainforest Challenge to be held in November.

Mervyn Lim said the race was tougher than the last year.

"Without my co-driver I couldn't have been on the podium," added Lim.

This was the fifth edition of the RFC India.

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Amid a spike in terror attacks on security forces in Kashmir, the police are set to purchase 50 bullet-resistant bunker (BRB) vehicles with a higher level of protection from gunfire.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police has recently floated tenders for the purchase of the 50 BRB 4X4 vehicles with NIJ-III level protection that would shield them against fire from SLR and AK-47 rifles.

The NIJ-III level is a standard set by the US-based National Institute of Justice (NIJ) for body armour.

Hundred militants and 43 security personnel were killed in Jammu and Kashmir in the first six months of this year, the government informed the Rajya Sabha recently.

Sixteen civilians were also killed during this period, which saw 256 incidents of violence.

The Jammu and Kashmir Police will get 50 bullet-proof bunker vehicles for protection of security personnel against terror attacks in insurgency-hit areas of Kashmir, a senior police official said today.

The BRB vehicles should have specifications to give protection (NIJ level-III) against fire from SLR and AK-47 rifles on four sides at 90 degree angle of attack from 10 metres (NATO ball ammunition) and roof at 45 degree of the attack from 10 metres, the official said.

NIJ standard "Ballistic Resistance of Body Armour" is a minimum performance standard developed in collaboration with the Office of Law Enforcement Standards (OLES) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).

The NIJ level-III protection is tested to stop 7.62mm Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) lead core rifle ammunition.

The bullet resistant glasses should have the required thickness with finest optical quality minimum distortion to be used as transparent armours, which must be capable of withstanding NIJ level-III protection, he said.

The official said the vehicle must give protection against 8 kg of TNT and equivalent and its underbelly shall be protected against blasts of two hand grenades.

The vehicle must be able to accommodate 10 people in a bullet-proof single cabin, the official said.

As per the specifications, the fuel tanks of the vehicles should also be bullet-proof.

When Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Jammu and Kashmir last year, he had announced a package of Rs 500 crores for the modernisation of the Jammu and Kashmir Police under the prime minister development programme and that is under procurement.

Union Minister Hansraj Gangaram Ahir recently said in Rajya Sabha that in 2017, 342 incidents of "violence" were reported in Jammu and Kashmir, in which 213 militants were killed. A total of 80 security personnel and 40 civilians were killed last year, Ahir said.

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MDC leader, Nelson Chamisa addressed a press conference on Wednesday, 25 July 2018 where he rejected the idea of boycotting the polls, despite labeling the Zimbabwean Electoral Commission (ZEC), the official poll authority, as a biased organisation.

Chamisa, however, maintained his rhetoric on ZEC's failure to conduct transparent processes but said he would not boycott when it was evident that his party will prevail.

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.

Monday's vote is the first without Mr Mugabe on the ballot since independence from white minority rule in 1980.

"It appears everybody wants to create sufficient democratic space and (we) have a high level confidence that they are being treated fairly", Mr Mahama told journalists in Harare.

"Mnangagwa knows defeat is staring in his face..."

But said his MDC party would not boycott the vote. Past votes have been marred by violence and irregularities.

Addressing a ZANU-PF campaign rally at Mubaira growth point in Mhondoro, Mnangagwa said the law would deal with any malcontents bent on disturbing the peace obtaining in the country ahead of the polls.

In 2008, Tsvangirai pulled out of the presidential run-off vote after attacks orchestrated by the state and ZANU-PF claimed the lives of at least 200 of his supporters.

Since the removal of Robert Mugabe who remained in power for almost 20 years, both parties will be facing its very first election. Western observers, banned during the Mugabe era, are invited.

In a statement, the United Nations human rights office said it welcomed the "widening of the democratic space" in Zimbabwe since Mr Mugabe's removal from office.
Supreme Court judge Ranjan Gogoi today said that Indian judiciary must have a consistent policy in matters relating to pendency of cases and



batted for appointment of ad hoc judges given the shortage in lower courts.

As on date, there are 5984 judicial vacancies in district courts across the country, Justice Gogoi, the puisne judge of the apex court, said.

"The problem does not lie in the short tenure (of judges). It lies in the change of priorities with change of chief justices. The Indian judiciary must have a consistent policy," he said.

"Then if you have a policy and if you implement it, then the tenure will not be a matter," Justice Gogoi said.

He was speaking on the concluding day of the two-day conference on 'National Initiative to Reduce Pendency and Delay in Judicial System', organised by the Supreme Court of India in collaboration with the Indian Law Institute.

After day-long sessions on various topics related to pendency of cases and alternative dispute redressal (ADR) mechanisms, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra said that the congestion of matters in courts could be tackled with a modern and progressive approach.

"The deliberations in this conference have substantially focused on strengthening the promotion of methods of ADR for facilitating timely settlement of disputes and that too in a cost-effective manner. However, I may add a caution, that never impose your views on mediation or settlement in Lok Adalat and judicial settlement," he told the conclave, attended by high court judges from various states.

Justice Misra said,"We should never send a wrong message. I would like to say-be enthusiastic but never be obsessed. Perseverance and enthusiasm are to be distinguished from obsession with an idea."



He said, "The court congestion and delays do require a modern and progressive approach where every judge takes the burden of judicial leadership and managerial skills of his court and the cases before him. That will help the system in promptitude and I am certain, we will see an effective result."The chief justice also lauded the e-committee of the apex court and said that it was one of the most successful steps taken by the Indian judiciary.

Apex court judge Kurian Joseph had yesterday asked the Centre not to delay appointments to the higher judiciary and sought clearance of names by it in a time-bound manner after getting Collegium recommendations.

Amid speculation that the Centre was mulling increasing the age of superannuation of judges of the apex court and the high courts, Justice Joseph had suggested at the conference that the age of retirement be raised to 70 years.

At present, apex court and high court judges demit office at the age of 65 and 62 years respectively.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
DMK president M Karunanidhi, who is being treated for fever due to urinary tract infection, was shifted to a private hospital from his residence in Chennai early today, the party said.

The 94-year-old leader was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of Kauvery Hospital around 1:30 am. The hospital, in a statement, said he was brought there after his blood pressure had dropped.

"His blood pressure has been stabilised with medical management and he continues to be monitored and treated by a panel of experts," it said.

Several senior DMK leaders, including party working president and Karunanidhi's son M K Stalin, and other frontline leaders such as Duraimurugan, Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi and former Union minister A Raja were present at the hospital.

The DMK leaders had also visited the nonagenarian leader's house in Gopalapuram area before he was taken to the hospital.

Karunanidhi's estranged son and former Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader M K Alagiri, who was expelled from the party by the DMK chief in January 2014 after a prolonged struggle for power with his younger brother Stalin, also visited his father's house and the hospital.

After receiving the about Karunanidhi being admitted to hospital, party cadre from various parts of the state poured in there chanting "long live Thalaivar" (leader).

Hours before Karunanidhi was moved to the hospital, Stalin had said the former Tamil Nadu chief minister's health was improving. On Wednesday, he had assured people that there was nothing to worry about his father's health.

Security was tightened at the former Tamil Nadu chief minister's residence as DMK cadres kept pouring in there as well.

Governor Banwarilal Purohit visited the hospital and enquired about the health of Karunanidhi with the hospital authorities, Stalin and other members of the DMK chief's family.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister K Palaniswami told reporters in Salem that the Tamil Nadu government was ready to provide all possible medical assistance to ailing Karunanidhi, who was a five-time CM, if it was approached.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, "My prayers for Sh Karunanidhi's fast recovery."



State Health Minister C Vijayabaskar too wished the DMK supremo a speedy recovery.

Later in the day, senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mukul Wasnik visited the family members of Karunanidhi and spoke to doctors at the hospital.

"Karunanidhiji is totally stable... he is improving... we are praying for his speedy recovery," Azad told reporters, adding the Congress high command had directed them to enquire about the health of nonagenarian leader.

State Congress leaders including EVKS Elangovan, TNCC chief Su Thirunavukkarasar, were present at the hospital.

Actors including Prabhu and Nasser also paid a visit to the hospital.

For the past two years, the DMK president has not been making any public appearance owing to his ill health, but he still holds the top post in the Dravidian party.

A few days ago, he underwent a procedure to change his tracheostomy tube to help him in breathing.

Karunanidhi, who is addressed as 'Kalaignar' (artiste) by his supporters, followers and some politicians, entered his 50th year as party chief yesterday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
DMK chief M Karunanidhi, being treated for fever due to urinary tract infection, was shifted to a private hospital from his residence here early today due to dip in blood pressure and is now stable, the hospital said.

The 94-year-old leader was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit of Kauvery Hospital around 1:30 am.

A bulletin issued at 8 pm said "former Chief Minisiter Karunanidhi's health condition continues to remain stable with ongoing active medical support.

He is continuously being monitored and treated by the panel of expert doctors in the ICU."



Earlier the hospital said he was admitted after his blood pressure had dropped.

"His blood pressure has been stabilised with medical management and he continues to be monitored and treated by a panel of experts," the 2.30 am bulletin said.

Karunanidhi's family members discussed the treatment modalities with hospital authorities.

DMK leaders, including party working president and Karunanidhi's son M K Stalin, and other frontline leaders such as Duraimurugan, Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi and former Union minister A Raja were present at the hospital.

The DMK leaders had also visited the nonagenarian leader's house in Gopalapuram area before he was taken to the hospital.

Karunanidhi's estranged son and former DMK leader M K Alagiri, who was expelled from the party by the DMK chief in January 2014 after a prolonged struggle for power with his younger brother Stalin, also visited his father's house and the hospital.

Governor Banwarilal Purohit and Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman visited the hospital and enquired about the health of Karunanidhi with hospital authorities, Stalin and other members of the DMK president's family.

Chief Minister K Palaniswami told reporters at Salem that the state government was ready to provide all possible medical assistance to the ailing Karunanidhi, who was a five-time CM, if it was approached.

Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan, wishing a quick recovery, tweeted: "Kalaignar M Karunanidhi is a born fighter. I am sure he will fight back and return fast to good health. Wish him a speedy recovery."



Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, "My prayers for Sh Karunanidhi's fast recovery."State health minister C Vijayabaskar too wished the DMK supremo a speedy recovery.

After receiving the about Karunanidhi being admitted to hospital, party cadre from various parts of the state poured in there chanting "long live Thalaivar" (leader) and "meendu vaa thalaiva," (come back leader).

Hours before Karunanidhi was moved to the hospital, Stalin had said the former chief minister's health was improving.

On Wednesday, he had assured people that there was nothing to worry about his father's health.

Security was tightened at the former chief minister's residence as DMK cadres thronged the area.

Later in the day, senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mukul Wasnik visited members of Karunanidhi's family and spoke to doctors at the hospital.

"Karunanidhiji is totally stable... he is improving... we are praying for his speedy recovery," Azad told reporters, adding the Congress high command had directed them to enquire about his health.

State Congress leaders, including EVKS Elangovan, TNCC chief Su Thirunavukkarasar, were present at the hospital.

Actors including Prabhu and Nasser also paid a visit to the hospital.

Meawnhile, Hashtag #KarunanidhiHealth is trending on Twitter.

For the past two years, though Karunanidhi did not make any public appearance owing to ill-health, he had visited the party headquarters and still holds the top post in the Dravidian party.

On July 18, the leader had underwent a procedure to change his tracheostomy tube to help him in breathing.

Karunanidhi, who is addressed as 'Kalaignar' (artiste) by his supporters, followers and some politicians, entered his 50th year as party chief yesterday.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal held an emergency meeting today with top officials of his government, including Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, to take stock of the situation after the Yamuna crossed the danger mark here.

The water level reached 205.30 metres at 7 pm today, prompting authorities here to evacuate people from low-lying areas, officials said.

Kejriwal said all departments have been put on high alert.

"Haryana has released 5 lakh cusec water. Called an emergency meeting to discuss the situation. This water likely to reach Del by tomo eve. Wherever administration evacuating people, they r requested to cooperate. All depts put on high alert. For any flood related emergency, control room no is 1077 (sic)," he tweeted.

The Yamuna water level at the Hathinikund barrage has crossed the danger mark of 90,000 cusec and till 7 pm, 5,63,186 cusec of water was released.

The water level of the Yamuna river at the Old Delhi Railway Bridge rose to 205.30 metres by 7 pm and is expected to rise even further, an official said.

"The water level of river Yamuna at Delhi Old Rly Bridge reached at 204.92 metres at 7 am on July 28 (above the warning level) and having rising trend," a statement issued in the morning had said.

An alert was sounded yesterday by the Delhi government after the water level of the Yamuna crossed the danger mark, an official said.

"All executive engineers/sector officers are directed to keep in close contact with the control room in relation to the discharge, water level at the Old Railway Bridge and the advisory or forecast from the Central Water Commission/MET, and requested to take appropriate measures/steps accordingly to avoid flood-like situation," an advisory from the authorities said.

"The CWC, Upper Yamuna Division, New Delhi has issued flood forecast for the Delhi Railway Bridge (North Delhi Dt NCT, Delhi). The water level of river Yamuna at Delhi Rly Bridge was 205 metres at 9 am on July 28 (warning level 204.00 m)," the advisory said.

A low pressure persists over western Uttar Pradesh and its neighbouring areas.

This system will bring widespread rainfall with isolated 'heavy to very heavy rainfall' over Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and northwest Madhya Pradesh during the next two days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Maharashtra government justified its decision to remove a special public prosecutor from Khwaja Yunus custodial death case, for seeking to arraign four policemen as accused in it, and told the Bombay High Court that it was not trying to protect the police officials.

The government, through a notification in April this year cancelled advocate Deepak Mirajkar's appointment as special public prosecutor in the case.

The government's decision came after Mirajkar filed an application before a sessions court, which is presently conducting the trial in the case, seeking summons to be issued against retired police officer Praful Bhosale and three other policemen and make them face trial on murder charges.

The application was filed after key prosecution witness, Mohammed Abdul Mateen, had deposed before the court claiming that he had seen Bhosale, then assistant police inspector Hemant Desai and two other policemen assault 2002 Ghatkopar blast accused Yunus in police lock-up.

Yunus's mother Asiya Begum approached the high court earlier this month challenging the government's decision.

Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni yesterday told a division bench of Justices R M Savant and Revati Mohite-Dere that the decision to remove Mirajkar was not to shield the four police officials.

"The decision was taken as Mirajkar's move to file the application was contradictory with the state government's view. The government had already in the past refused sanction to prosecute these four policemen," Kumbhakoni said.

"The government's sanction refusal was challenged by Yunus's mother Asiya in the high court. A division bench of high court had dismissed the petition and upheld the government's decision. Asiya then appealed in the Supreme Court and the matter is still pending," he said.

Hence, in such a situation, Mirajkar should not have filed such an application seeking for the four police officials to be arraigned as accused in the case, the AG said.

Justice Savant said, "The division bench of the high court in its order has clearly said there is no evidence against these four policemen. Now the matter is pending before the Supreme Court. The impact of the high court judgement is such that it has curbed the trial court's powers under section 319 of the Code of Criminal Procedure."



Under this section, the trial court has powers to arraign as accused any person against whom there is prima facie evidence of having committed the offence in question.

"In the light of the high court order, was the prosecutor (Mirajkar) justified in filing such a plea?" Justice Savant said.

The court, however, asked the government to consider giving Mirajkar another opportunity.

"Try to resolve the issue. Maybe the government could now make its view on the subject clear to the prosecutor and see if he is willing to withdraw his application," the court said posting the petition for further hearing on August 9.

Yunus (27) was detained soon after the December 2002 Ghatkopar bomb blast.

While the police claimed that he escaped when he was being taken to Aurangabad for questioning, a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) inquiry ordered by the high court on a petition filed by his father revealed he had died in police custody.

The inquiry had indicted 14 policemen, but the government sanctioned prosecution for only four, who are on trial.

Four police officials - Sachin Waze, Rajendra Tiwari, Rajaram Nikam and Sunil Desai - are facing trial on charges of murder, voluntarily causing grievous hurt to extort confession, fabricating evidence, and criminal conspiracy in the case.

Trial in the case began in May last year.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Karnataka Water Resources Minister D K Shivakumar today accused BJP of trying to fuel separatist sentiments, as he termed the demand for separate north Karnataka state as a "conspiracy" for political gains.

The senior Congress leader also said the coalition government was committed for the all round development of "akhanda Karnataka" (united Karnataka).

"There is no question of Congress or JD(S) supportingseparate state demand, it is united Karnataka.

BJP is trying to do it. I appeal....this is a progressive state, the statecommands respect at the national and international level," Shivakumar said.

Speaking to reporters here, he said "Some people for political gains are speaking about it as they are getting opportunity to speak in front of media. It is a conspiracy todivide the state.I condemn it."



Shivakumar's comments comes a day after BJP MLA Sriramulu backed those demanding separate statehood for North Karnataka, but subsequently retracted,saying he never supported division of the state.

A day-long bandh has been called by some outfits in 13districts of north Karnataka on August 2 demanding statehood or the region, alleging discrimination by successivegovernments towards it.

Shivakumar said some BJP leaders from Belagavi had earlier spoken about separate state, which was condemned.

The minister came to Kumaraswamy's defence over his allegedremarks questioning people and farmers of north Karnataka for not voting his party, by saying "the chiefminister was analysing about where JD(S) did not get votes."



"Whether it is budget or programmes for the poor, it is for united Karnataka. This coalition government is for the all round development of the state and we will work together for it," he added.

Accusing BJP of viewing things with "jaundiced eyes," Shivakumar dubbed BJP's ongoing padayatra(march) demanding complete waiver of all farm loans as a move aimed at "misleading" the people.

Claiming that outsiders and not real farmers were part of the march, he said "just by wrapping themselves with green towel, people cannot become farmers."



BJP is on a three-day padayatra from Ramanagaram district to Bengaluru since Thursday, demanding waiver of all farm loans.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Taxi drivers in Madrid went on strike today in solidarity with Barcelona cabbies protesting against "unfair competition" from Uber and Cabify.

The federation of Madrid taxis claimed all 15,000 drivers in the capital had joined the movement and that it would spread to other cities.

"All taxis have spontaneously and progressively stopped work, paralysing services in the capital, at the airport, around bus and railway stations", federation secretary Santiago Simon Vicente told AFP.

"The main problem is the proliferation of VTC licences," he said.

"There are more and more of them, thousands, and it's unfair competition." The federation called on the authorities to enforce legislation under which there should be 30 traditional taxis for every VTC (tourism vehicle with chauffeur).

Today there are only five for every VTC, said Santiago Simon Vicente.

Taxi drivers cut access to central Barcelona on Friday after the Spanish government appealed a ruling approved by Barcelona authorities that limited the number of licences for Uber-style services.

"Today everything is blocked in Barcelona, the airport, the stations, etc," the head of Taxis Companys, Luis Lopez, told AFP.

Violence erupted in Barcelona where the strike began on Wednesday. Drivers threw stones at the vehicles of Uber-style licensed private chauffeurs, with some ending up with flat tyres.

The attacks prompted Uber and Cabify to suspend their services in Barcelona for as long as the taxi strike lasts.

Unauto, which represents Uber and Cabify, today urged the Spanish government to "take back control of the streets saying "violent" taxi drivers were trying to defend a monopoly.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah today expressed satisfaction over his meeting with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the issue of a probable federal front.

The National Conference vice-president, who called on Banerjee at the state secretariat here yesterday, said he was looking forward to working closely with her and other like-minded leaders in the next Lok Sabha elections.

"It was a pleasure meeting @MamataOfficial in #Kolkata yesterday evening. I look forward to working closely with her & other like minded leaders as we gear up for the fight in 2019," he wrote on Twitter. Banerjee replied back to Abdullah saying, "Thank you Omar. It is always a pleasure meeting you. Yes, we will work closely together."



The Trinamool Congress supremo, after the meeting with Abdullah, had said no name should be picked as the prime ministerial candidate of the probable federal front in the next Lok Sabha polls, as it would divide the unity of the regional parties fighting the BJP.

The federal front proposes to unite regional parties to take on the BJP in the next parliamentary elections.

Echoing Banerjee, Abdullah had said it was too early to choose the Opposition's prime ministerial name. "Our main focus should be to come together and put up a good fight against the BJP and then, we can decide on that."



Abdullah was in the city to take part in a forum discussion titled 'Think Federal Front' today. Thanking the organisers for the event, Abdullah tweeted, "Thank you very much for including me in your event today. It was a pleasure to have been able to join you in Kolkata to discuss federalism and the need to strengthen the states so as to strengthen the union.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Criticising West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for accusing the BJP of trying to create an atmosphere of Talibani Hinduism in the country, a Rajasthan minister has said that she should give quit Hinduism.

She does not have the knowledge, and she does not love her country, Labour Minister Jaswant Singh Yadav said last evening.

He accused her of making the shameless statement that all Hindu organisations are extremists.

Then she should leave Hinduism her mental condition is not good, he told reporters at Behror in Alwar district.

After the recent lynching of 28-year old Rakbar Khan in Alwar district on suspicion of cow smuggling, the Trinamool Congress chief had accused the BJP of trying to create an "atmosphere of Talibani Hinduism and Talibani communalism".

Yadav said he stood by his earlier statement that Hindus will not tolerate the smuggling and slaughter of cows because the cow is like mother for them.

Referring to the recent lynching, he said, Taking the law in one's hand and beating or killing someone is condemnable but Hindus' religious sentiments are connected with cows. I request Meo brothers to stop cow smuggling and slaughter in the interest of unity and harmony in the country, he said.

Khan, who was from the Meo community, was beaten by a group of people on the night of July 20 and declared brought dead at the community health centre in Ramgarh.

The police arrested three men who are now under judicial custody for the lynching.

An assistant sub inspector and three constables were shunted to police lines for dereliction of duty over the delay in taking the victim to the nearby health centre.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A 25-year old man allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself at his house at nearby Madanapalle, seeking special category status for Andhra Pradesh, police said.

N Sudhakar, working in a local weaving unit, was found hanging and a note purportedly written by him read "Special Status to Andhra Pradesh is our right and none is responsible for my death," the police said.

President of Telugu Desam Party's Chittoor district unit Pulivarthi Nani told PTI the party would give the bereaved family a sum of Rs 5 lakh while the state government would give another Rs 5 lakh.

Local leaders would give Rs 2.5 lakh, he added.

YSR Congress Party president Y S Jaganmohan Reddy expressed his condolences to the kin of Sudhakar and appealed to the people not to resort to suicides and instead fight for special category status.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Its close enough right now that either party could prevail on November 6, but give the donkey the edge. Photo: John Lund/Corbis via Getty Images

One hundred days from right now, the 2018 midterm elections will finally occur (or conclude, with early voting starting as many as six weeks out in some states). And while all sorts of congressional, state, and local contests will be on the ballot, the struggle for control of the U.S. House remains the marquee match. Democrats are now, by most accounts, a slight favorite to win the net 23 seats they need to regain the House. This has been the top betting line off and on since the beginning of the 2018 cycle, though last autumn Democrats looked almost certain to build an irresistible wave and this spring it appeared that Republicans might be recovering enough to survive with a reduced majority.

The current big-picture indicators show Democrats right on the brink of the numbers they would need to win back the House. All along, the conventional wisdom has been that Democrats need a lead of seven or eight points in the generic congressional ballot, an approximation of the House national popular vote, to feel reasonably confident of their chances. Their lead on the generic ballot is currently at 7.3 percent in the RealClearPolitics polling averages (it was as high as 13 percent last December and as low as 3 percent in the late spring), and 7.7 percent in the FiveThirtyEight averages (which weight polls according to their assessed quality and make adjustments for partisan bias). Typically the party that does not control the White House is likely to get a late breeze in its favor unless the presidents favorability markedly improves. At this point in 2014, Democrats led in most generic congressional polls, but then lost the national House popular vote by nearly 6 percent.

And while the presidents approval rating is in the low 40s as opposed to the high 30s where he was in autumn 2017, it appears to have stabilized, and theres no reason to believe it will drift up toward 50 percent between now and November. Presidential approval below 50 percent is the single best red flashing arrow pointing to a bad midterm for his party, as Charlie Cook points out:

[I]n six of the seven midterm elections since 1966, when presidential approval ratings hovered below 50 percent, his party has lost two dozen or more seats in the House, giving the opposition party a majority the next year. The lone exception was 2014 in President Obamas second term. Democrats lost only 13 seats, but they had been all but destroyed in the 2010 midterms and hardly gained seats in 2012, so they had few competitive districts to lose in 2014.

The most recent precedent is grim for Republicans: going into his first midterm elections, Barack Obamas approval rating was a bit higher than Trumps is now (45 percent in July of 2010, 44 percent on election day), and his party lost 63 House seats.

Nobody thinks a landslide that immense is going to occur, partly because Democrats were more exposed after big 2008 gains, and even more because Republicans did a great job entrenching an advantage in the last redistricting cycle. But Trumps own ability to win in 2016 (in the electoral college, at least) despite mediocre approval numbers wont likely be transferable to congressional Republicans.

Retirements, resignations, and a court-ordered re-redistricting in Pennsylvania have combined to produce 42 open or vacant Republican House seats  the highest number for either party since 1930. Exactly half of those seats are in districts where Trump either lost in 2016 or received less than 55 percent of the vote, and in nearly half, the Democratic candidate has been raising more money than the Republican in the most recent filings.

Speaking of fund-raising, Republicans have clearly lost a lot of the usual advantage the party in power enjoys on the money front, as David Wasserman reported last week:

[D]onors desperation to thwart the president helped Democratic candidates out-raise a jaw-dropping 55 GOP House incumbents in the last three months. And 18 Democrats in GOP-held seats raised more than $1 million (not including self-funders).

In 37 GOP-held districts  including 16 held by Republican incumbents  a Democrat entered July with the most cash on hand (in 2010, only eight incumbent Democrats trailed a Republican at this point).

And on top of everything else, various indicators continue to show Democrats are more enthusiastic about voting than Republicans, which is an important trend given the GOP turnout advantages that played a big role in the 2010 and 2014 midterms. Indeed, the consistent overperformance of Democrats in 2017 and 2018 special elections suggests that the turnout advantage might be even larger than standard measurements (based on past voting behavior and expressed interest in voting) would predict.

But with Trump and congressional Republicans focused intensely on rousing their own base with attacks on the media, Robert Mueller, undocumented immigrants, and foreign governments (other than Russia), turnout will be hard to guess. And there are growing signs that while Democratic-trending groups like college-educated women (attracted in part by an impressive wave of Democratic women running for the House), interest in voting remains tepid among two traditionally Democratic groups: young voters and Latinos. This affects where Democrats have the best chance of picking up seats, and explains why, as Wasserman notes, the blue wave is gathering more strength in professional, upscale suburban districts where women are mobilized against Trump than in young, diverse districts where Democratic base turnout is less reliable.

And that leads to the question of identifying the specific House battlefields for November. One leading prognosticator, Sabatos Crystal Ball, shows no fewer than 33 Republican-held seats in toss-up races, and another seven leaning Democratic to one degree or another. Six of these most vulnerable GOP districts are in California; five are in Pennsylvania; three are in Virginia; and two each are in Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, New York, Ohio and Texas. Sabato has another 16 Republican-held seats in the competitive Lean Republican category. By contrast, there are only three Democratic-held seats that are either toss-ups or Republicantilting, and just three more than are Lean Democratic. So the battleground is almost entirely on GOP turf, and Republicans will have but sparse opportunities to make up for losses with countervailing gains.

The Cook Political Report shows 10 Republican seats already likely to flip and another 24 in toss-up races, and then 26 more in the competitive lean Republican category. Cook shows only 3 Democratic seats as being in much peril, with two more in competitive races. Again, Republicans are on the defensive nationwide, and one thing to watch for is how many GOP-held seats that are now Likely Republican (27 in the Cook accounting and 34 in the Sabato list) become competitive. If its more than a handful, the GOP is clearly in big trouble.

What can affect the races down the stretch? Well, theres obviously a thousand local factors that could matter in very close races, from scandals to debates to sudden infusions of money. Perhaps the murkiest consideration is late spending by independent groups who will (allegedly without coordination) be following parallel paths to the most competitive races  traditionally an important source of hidden strength for Republicans, but not necessarily in a year like this.

As for external factors  well, theres a large tendency to exaggerate the effects of twists and turns in the daily news cycle. One thing that Republicans will almost certainly tend to over-value is economic good news; this matters significantly more in presidential races, and to the extent it affects midterms it is mostly via its impact on presidential approval ratings. The economy was actually improving about as steadily in the last half of 2014 as it is today, and that didnt make Obamas second midterm a good one for Democrats. The increasing prevalence of early voting (and for that matter, voting at home) reduces the potential importance of October surprises from, say, Mueller.

So the suspense will be over soon  though possibly not as soon as we think. Thanks to Californias many competitive House districts and its voting rules allowing ballots mailed by election day but received later to be counted, we could be waiting for a number of days to find out which party controls the gavel.
A man was today taken into custody here for allegedly launching an abusive propaganda on social media platforms against 21-year old Hanan whose story of selling fish to raise money for her studies and to take care of her family went viral, police said.

Nooruddin Sheikh, hailing from Wayanad, was taken into custody by the city police after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan came out in support of the college student.

Police indicated that more persons who had trolled her viciously will be questioned.

The Chief Minister had directed police to initiate action against those who launched the abusive propaganda on social media platforms against the girl after a Malayalam daily reported about her struggles.

Meanwhile, Vijayan said today that those who are engaged in the cyber space should be very cautious and try to understand things.

Facts should be presented before the people, he said here.

CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan condemned the cyber attack on Hanan and said those who had attacked her world should be punished.

A final year B.Sc (Chemistry) student at a private college in Thodupuzha, Hanan's touching story was widely shared on social media by several people, including film artistes and politicians.

But, a section of social media users expressed doubts about her story and termed it as "fake", after which she was viciously trolled.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A former Maoist supporter has been gunned down by the banned group at Chukagoyya near here on the suspicion of him being an informer, police said today.

The group entered the house of Vanthala Jairam (24) at Chukagoyya village last night, dragged him out despite his wife's pleas, and shot him dead, they said.

Jairam, who was a farmer, had joined the militant group in 2013 and quit the outfit six months later.

Jairam was targeted by maoists as they suspected him to be behind the death of one of their leaders, Gemmeli Narayan Rao in an encounter with security forces in 2017, police said.

Sub-inspector B Chandrasekhar said he had advised Jairam to move to a safer place hours before commencement of 'Martyrs week being observed by the outlawed group, but he ignored the advice.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Industry body Mining Engineers' Association of India (MEAI) today urged the Centre and Goa government to take steps to resume mining operations in the state.

In its February 7, 2015 judgement, the Supreme Court had quashed the second renewal of iron ore mining leases given to 88 companies in Goa.

Speaking at 'Mining in Goa at Crossroads Way forward' conference held here to discuss and find a solution for resumption of mining activity in the state, MEAI President Arun Kumar Kothari said: "It has been over four months and no steps have been taken by the state or the Central government to resolve the issue".

MEAI represents professionals serving the minerals and mining industry in India. It has a membership strength of more than 5,000 mining experts.

The members include mining engineers, geologists, metallurgists, geo-scientists, environmental engineers, allied engineers serving the mining industry, educators, researchers and students.

The situation in Goa is getting from bad to worse day by day, the government must step in now to find a solution to the issue. It has left lakhs of people in the state jobless, Kothari said.

Rajan Sahai, Former Controller General, Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM), suggested that for the time being the state government can restart mining operations so that at least those dependent on the sector, number of which is in lakhs, can get back to work and start earning money to meet their daily needs.

Another solution could be auctioning of mines, suggested Puti Goankar, President of Goa Mining People's Front (GMPF), an umbrella organisation of people associated with mining.

However, it would not take less than 5 years to complete the entire process, he said.

Ever since mining operations have been stopped, political and labour union leaders from the state are running from pillar to post to find a solution to the problem.

Many leaders from the state have submitted their requests with the office of Goa Chief Minister and Union ministries of Mines and Road and Transport to find a solution to the problem.

Earlier, Goa Mineral Ore Exporters' Association (GMOEA) had said that stopping of mining operations can result in large-scale job loss and about Rs 3,400 crore revenue loss to the state exchequer.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Militants have abducted a policeman from his home in Tral area of Pulwama district in Jammu and Kashmir, police said today.

Special police officer (SPO) Mudasir Ahmad Lone was abducted by the militants from his home at Chainattar village last night, a police official said.

Security forces have launched an operation to rescue the abducted policeman, he said.

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The body of a minor girl was found lying in a field here today with injury marks on her neck suggesting that she was strangulated after being raped, the police said.

The seven-year-old girl went missing last evening while playing outside her home in Jhalawar district's Mogiyabhiya village, SHO of Kamkheda police station Dharmaram said.

The minor's father lodged a police complaint today morning and a case was lodged under section 363 (kidnapping) of the IPC, he added.

Her body was found around 4:30 pm in a maize field, about 250 to 300 metres from her home, following a search operation by police teams, the SHO said.

The police suspect the minor was strangulated to death after being raped sometime last night as her body bore injury marks on the neck.

No injury marks were found anywhere else on her body, Dharmaram said.

The exact cause of her death and rape, however, will only be confirmed after the post-mortem report comes, he added.

No suspects have been identified so far and the deceased's family has also not named anyone, Dharmaram said.

A case will be registered under relevant sections of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and POCSO Act, he added.

The girl's body was handed over to her family today evening after a post-mortem examination, he said.

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The CPI today charged the Narendra Modi government with making "attempts to undermine the basic structure of the country", which had led to a "severe attack" on constitutional ideals like secularism, democracy, sovereignty and socialism.

CPI national secretary Binoy Viswam asserted that the no-confidence motion recently moved against the government in Parliament was successful in exposing the BJP regime's failures, despite having been defeated numerically.

"The Modi government has forgotten all its promises to the common people. It is performing as the chief executive of the super-rich in India and abroad. The Rafale deal reveals that the country's security is compromised. Such a government has no right to continue in power. In 2019, the people of the country will teach a lesson to the RSS-BJP," he told a press conference here.

The MP said the political developments in the country underlined an urgent necessity for a united fight against the rule of the "RSS-controlled" BJP.

"CPI being the first party to call for a broad platform of secular, democratic and Left forces to fight this menace is naturally eager to further strengthen such a people's resistance movement," he added.

Viswam said in the 2019 general election, the CPI will work to oust the BJP from power and ensure the success of the secular and democratic forces, while at the same time, strengthen its own presence as well as that of the Left as a whole in Parliament.

"We will form alliances or work out pre-poll understandings with various parties in states across the country. As a result, the scenario will vary from state to state. In Bihar, we are on our way to arrive at an understanding with the Congress-RJD combine. Similar arrangements may be in place with the DMK-Congress in Tamil Nadu, the BJD in Odisha and the Congress in Telangana and Punjab," he added.

Viswam stressed that the CPI will not go for a pre-poll understanding with any non-Left party in Kerala and West Bengal, where it has a sizeable presence of its own.

Asked, he said it would be premature to say whether the CPI would like to be part of a post-poll formation that included Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC).

"We will be taking out four jathas (marches) in as many corners of the country -- Manipur, Mumbai, Kanyakumari and Jammu and Kashmir -- in September to galvanise and sensitise the masses. All the four jathas will converge in New Delhi, where we plan to hold a huge rally of the Left Front on October 12," Viswam said.

Bihar CPI secretary Satya Narayan Singh told the press conference that the party's talks with the Congress-RJD combine in the state was in an "advanced stage", but there was no talk of seat-sharing so far.

The Left party had lent moral support to a statewide cycle rally of the RJD in protest against a spurt in sexual crimes in Bihar, he said, adding that on the other hand, it had sought the opposition alliance's support to a statewide bandh called by the Left parties on August 2 on the issue of crimes against women and atrocities against Dalits.

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A month after the Madhya Pradesh High Court asked it to get houses of four former chief ministers in the capital vacated, the state government has re-allotted bungalows to three former BJP CMs under a new category.

On June 19, a division bench of Chief Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice AK Shrivastava had held that Section 5 (1) of the Madhya Pradesh Mantri Vetan Thatha Bhata Adhiniyam 1972 (MP Ministers Salaries and Allowances Act), incorporated last year, was "unconstitutional".

The bench also said that the four bungalows occupied by former chief ministers-- Uma Bharti, Kailash Joshi, Babulal Gaur (BJP) and Digvijay Singh (Congress) were to be vacated within a month.

Using his discretionary powers, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has re-allocated houses to the three BJP CMs, a senior state Home department official said today.

He said that the bungalows were allocated under the category of social workers and dignitaries after the three former CMs of the ruling party applied for it.

However, Digvijay Singh did not put in any such request, the official informed.

The state government had earlier last week, cancelled the allotment of houses to the four chief ministers.

The HC order came in the wake of the Supreme Court striking down an amendment to the Uttar Pradesh Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1981, saying it violated the principle of equality.

Petitioner Raunaq Yadav had approached MP HC and drawn its attention to the SC order.

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Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu today again lashed out at the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre for not according special category status for the state.

Refuting Prime Minister Narendra Modis reported statement that he had taken a 'U-turn' on the special category status issue, Naidu maintained that he had only taken the "right turn."



"Neither did I take a U-turn nor did I fall into the YSR Congress trap. It was the BJP that took the U-turn after promising SCS to AP for 10 years," Naidu said at a public meeting in Ongole town this evening.

The meeting was part of a series being organised in every district by the ruling TDP in the state in its fight against the Centre over denial of special category status.

Naidu also thanked opposition parties for 'unconditionally" supporting the TDP sponsored no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha on July 20.

"We have to whole-heartedly thank the congress party for unconditionally supporting our no-confidence motion even though we never requested it," Naidu told the gathering.

The chief minister claimed that he could enlist the support of all political parties in the country in the fight for AP's rights.

"Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, JD (U), AIADMK, BJD, RJD, DMK, JD (S), CPI, CPI-M, Shiv Sena, NCP, Akali Dal, Kerala Congress, PDP and even TRS have unconditionally supported us.

TDP is the only party in the entire country that has left the Narendra Modi government totally shaken," the TDP president said.

The no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government was decisively defeated after an acrimonious debate in the Lok Sabha on July 20.

A total of 325 MPs opposed while 126 MPs supported the no trust motion moved by the TDP, a former BJP ally.,



While AIADMK MPs voted against the no-confidence motion, members of BJP ally Shiv Sena, BJD and TRS abstained.

The TDP has been demanding that the Centre accord special category status for the state.

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The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) today strongly opposed the National Commission for Women's (NCW) recommendation for abolishing the practice of confessions in churches, saying it was an integral part of Christianity and cannot be interfered with.

The assertion by the NCM comes a day after the NCW chief Rekha Sharma recommended the ban saying the practice can lead to blackmailing of women.

Sharma made the recommendation after allegations against four priests of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in Kerala of using a married woman's confession to sexually abuse her came to light last month.

"The minority commission outrightly rejects the recommendation and is opposed to it," NCM chairperson Syed Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi told PTI.

"The practice of confession is an integral part of the religion of Christianity, so it cannot be banned. There can be no interference with religious practice," he said.

Yesterday, Union minister Alphons Kannanthanam, a native of Kerala and a Christian, too dismissed the NCW's recommendation, saying the Modi government would never interfere with people's religious beliefs.

"It is not the official stand of the government," Kannanthanam, the Union Minister of State for Tourism, said in a Facebook post.

"It is the personal opinion of the NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma," he added.

Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council president Archbishop Soosa Pakiam, at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram yesterday, said a memorandum had been sent to the Prime Minister against the recommendation which was shocking not just for Christians, but for everyone who stands for freedom of religion.

Pakiam has also written to NCM vice chairman George Kurien requesting him to raise the Church's concern before the appropriate authorities.

Kurien is learnt to have forwarded Pakiam's letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

The NCW had constituted an inquiry committee to look into alleged sexual assaults against women in churches and has sent its findings to Modi, Singh, Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi and the DGP of Kerala and Punjab.

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In the midst of a raging debate in India and abroad over data privacy, the most awaited and delayed report on data protection by the Srikrishna committee has delivered a whimper. For one, the report - The Personal Data Protection Bill 2018 - has totally ignored the Trai recommendation that ownership of data must rest with the individual. Everybody else is a mere custodian of that data. Instead, who owns the data of the individuals is a question not answered by the Srikrishna Committee.

Here are a few other shortcomings:

NO RIGHT TO BE FORGOTTEN

Globally, the right to be forgotten refers to the right to erase data. Srikrishna panel, however, has invented a new definition instead. It says "...data principal shall have the right to restrict or prevent continuing disclosure of personal data by a data fiduciary related to the data principal where such disclosure-has served the purpose for which it was made or is no longer necessary; was made on the basis of consent...and such consent has since been withdrawn; was made contrary to the provisions of this Act or any other law made by Parliament or any State Legislature."

This essentially implies that the data collector or processor will only be required to restrict or stop sharing data rather than erase it.

CLASSIC BABUDOM

If your data is breached, worldwide the breach is required to be reported to the subject of the breach (the person whose data has been breached) instantly. Sri Krishna Committee in its wisdom recommends that such a breach must first be reported to the Authority. It is an outrageous suggestion. It is the authority that will decide whether the person whose data has been breached needs to be informed or not: "Upon receipt of notification, the Authority shall determine whether such breach should be reported by the data fiduciary to the data principal, taking into account the severity of the harm that may be caused to such data principal or whether some action is required on the part of the data principal to mitigate such harm," says the report.

INDIVIDUAL LIABILITY

"Where the data principal withdraws consent for the processing of any personal data necessary for the performance of a contract to which the data principal is a party, all legal consequences for the effects of such withdrawal shall be borne by the data principal," the report says. That individuals will be liable when they withdraw their consent is an outlandish clause. By implication it means the individual has no right over his or her data. This is also a clause that will be misused widely by inserting the conditions of a contract in fineprint and then invoking it at the time when the individual wishes to withdraw consent. Such a clause has no locus standi and must be struck off.

THE LOCAL STORAGE LOOPHOLE

Propriety demands that data on Indians must be stored within India's geographical expanse and within the jurisdiction of Indian laws. Over 80 countries have mandated this. India isn't one of those. Data residing in foreign shores is governed by their local laws and can be blocked by a foreign entity or individual, preventing legitimate access to Indian authorities. And though Srikrishna Committee recommends data on Indians to be stored in India, it has left a loophole: "Every data fiduciary shall ensure the storage, on a server or data centre located in India, of at least one serving copy of personal data to which this Act applies." This implies that while a copy is stored in India, the data may actually reside in another nation which gives rise to its own set of complications, including accessing it even if Indian authorities require it.

WHY SO LENIENT?

Srikrishna Committee's penal provisions appear to have been inspired by the European GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) and have identical two-stage process. "Whereis the data fiduciary contravenes any of the following provisions, it shall be liable to a penalty which may extend up to five crore rupees or two per cent of its total worldwide turnover of the preceding financial year, whichever is higher, as applicable," it says.

Lesser violations involve a fine or a maximum penalty of 2 per cent of global turnover of the preceding year (whichever is higher) while graver violations invite a fine or a maximum penalty of 4 per cent of global turnover. The Bill has recommended 5 crore or 2 per cent (whichever is higher) and also 15 crore or 4 per cent, respectively, for lesser and graver contravention. Given the general size of companies involved run billions of dollars in revenue, these penalties are not deterrent enough. Violations need to be penalised prohibitively and not generously. Unlike Srikrishna panel's recommendation, besides the GDPR the EU law provides for a maximum fine of up to 10 per cent of global turnover.

And while the Bill rightly recommends setting up the Data Protection Authority of India, the Appellate Tribunal as well as data protection officers, it appears the report has laid far greater emphasis on the architecture of the data protection framework than on data privacy and protection itself. After all, more than half of the 62-page report is dedicated to the governance architecture.

The report appears to be a massive patchwork of laws collated from across the world adopted for Indian conditions. Devoid of new ideas, it has lax and lenient clauses and is a missed opportunity of creating a path-breaking law. Centre must reject it and adopt the Trai recommendations instead for a stringent law on data privacy and protection that is the need of the hour. Time is of essence. Setting up another panel is not an option any more.
An NGO, which has been working in the field of culture, tourism and road safety, has been accorded the highest status that is granted by the United Nations to non-governmental organisations.

The UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) granted the "special consultative status" to the Punjab-based Patiala Foundation after concurrence by representatives of all the member countries, a Punjab government release said today.

The UN headquarters informed the decision to the NGO authorities yesterday. So far, 3,974 NGOs across the globe have got this recognition, the release said.

With this special status, the NGO will have special privileges like providing expert information to the ECOSOC -- one of the six principal organs of the UN. It can engage with the secretary-general of UN, receive information about provisional agenda of the ECOSOC and place items of special interest in the agenda, the release added.

Patiala Foundation, which began its operations in 2009, has been actively working in the field of livelihood, culture, tourism and road safety. It is actively engaged in fulfilling the millennium development goals (MDG) of the UN.

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A Goa-based NGO would be launching an online channel where victims of commercial sexual exploitation will be sharing their stories.

Anyay Rahit Zindagi (ARZ), the NGO, will launch a YouTube channel on July 30, the World Day Against Traffickingin Persons.

The channel will broadcast audio recordings of experiences narrated by women who are victims of trafficking, said Arun Pandey, director of ARZ.

"The general perception is these women are in the trade to make money or they are enjoying what they do. Their true stories are never put in the public domain," he said.

As much as 80 per cent of women are pushed into the flesh trade when they are less than 16 years old, he said.

ARZ has compiled narrations of women from the red light areas of Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi and Goa.

The audios will also have ordinary people's views, and the women's responses to them.

ARZ has worked with Goa Police for rescue of victims of trafficking in the past. According to Pandey, there are organised gangs which push young girls into flesh trade.

While cases of rape get public and media attention, exploitation in the flesh trade is largely ignored, he noted.

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Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today formally handed over two types of indigenously built high-power multi-fuel engines to the Army.

The engines manufactured by the Engine Factory, Avadi -- a unit of Ordnance Factory Board, Department of Defence Production -- were fully indigenised for the first time under the Centre's Make in India programme.

At a function held at the factory, Sitharaman formally handed over the documents of the two types of engines to Vice Chief of Army Staff Devaraj Anbu.

The first engine of 1000 HP engine -- V92S2 engine -- powers T-90 Bhisma Tank, the second engine -- V-46-6 engine -- powers the T-72 Ajeya Tank and its variants.

Though these engines were manufactured based on Russian design, India was depending on Moscow for its supply of critical assemblies like turbocharger, supercharger, fuel injection pumps.

The Engine Factory under the Make in India programme manufactured the two engines with 100 per cent local parts.

Earlier localisation level was about 73 per cent, officials said.

The indigenisation efforts by the Engine Factory would save Rs 80 crore of the exchequer every year.

It also exhibits the self-reliance of the Ordnance Factory Board in manufacturing these engines in India without any import support, the officials added.

The Engine Factory has manufactured more than 12,000 engines since its inception in 1987.

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A nurse from Udupi district, who was working at a hospital in Saudi Arabia for the last six years, died in the Gulf nation under mysterious circumstances, according to information received by her family.

Hazel Jothsna Quadros (28) last spoke to her husband Ashwin Mathias on July 19, the family said.

Two days later, her co-worker informed Mathias about her death giving no other details, they said.

He contacted Ivan DSouza, MLC, and Raghupathi Bhat, Udupi MLA, seeking their help.

They, in turn, got in touch with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj who has promised to raise the matter with Saudi Arabia, the family said.

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Odisha police has stepped up security and put the force on high alert in Malkangiri district as Maoists observe Martyrs Week from today.

"Tight security arrangement has been made across the district keeping in view the Maoists's Martyrs' Week," Malkangiri district superintendent of police Jagmohan Meena said adding that the police personnel have been issued advisory to check movement of suspicious persons.

The authorities have stopped operation of government buses in several southen districts including Malkangiri.

This apart, the police have also asked BSF camps and other police troops to stay on alert. Operational teams like special operation groups, district voluntary force, and BSF have jointly intensified the combing operations in the interior areas of the district, SP said.

The district voluntary force formed in 2009 is a special constabulary unit of the Odisha Police and they are primarily used in anti-Maoist operations.

Police have recovered Maoist pamphlets and posters at some places in Malkangiri, Kandhamal and Rayagada districts.

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Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik today announced that the state government would implement its own food security act from October 2 this year.

Odisha's own food security act would cover nearly 34.44 lakh people who have been left out from the National Food Security Act (NFSA), he said.

Patnaik made this announcement while participating in the 'Ama Mukhyamantri, Ama Katha' (Our Chief Minister, Our Issues) programme here.

"My government has always given importance to the food security of the poor. We have been providing rice at Rs 2 per kg since 2008. The success of the programme prompted the decision to launch rice at Re 1 per kg for people living below poverty line in 2013. This was a big step towards food security in the country," Patnaik said.

Patnaik said lakhs of poor were being deprived of benefits under NFSA as the ration was being provided as per the 2011 census.

From 2011 to 2018, the number of beneficiaries population has increased, he said.

"Not a single poor man will be deprived of his rights once the new Odisha Food act is implemented on Gandhi Jayanti," Patnaik said.

The chief minister said though he had taken up the matter relating to the left out population several times with the Centre, but no step was taken to address this concern.

Patnaik had written a letter to Prime Minister in this regard on May 23, 2018.

"In 2011 Census data, the rate of growth of population of Odisha was 14 per cent in the last decade. In 2018, the population of Odisha has increased by 10.22 per cent as compared to 2011. It is estimated that the total population of Odisha in 2018 would be 4,62,63, 983.

"Allowing the same percentage of coverage as was decided when the Act came into force, we are entitled to cover 3,60,85,907 beneficiaries under the NFSA Act," Patnaik had said in his letter to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Patnaik had also requested the prime minister to sanction additional food for 34.44 lakh beneficiaries.

He said in 2014, the ruling BJD had promised to implement state's own food security scheme. Accordingly, it will launch its own Food Security Act from Gandhi Jayanti on October 2.

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The Odisha government today approved a proposal for setting up a riverine port on river Mahanadi in Kendrapara district, officials said.

The port will come up under the public-private-partnership mode on build, own, operate, share and transfer (BOOST) basis.

The proposal was approved at a meeting of the High Level Clearance Authority (HLCA) held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. The project would come up at Akhadasali village under Mahakalpada block in Kendrapara district.

Official sources said that in response to the Request for Qualification (RFQ) floated for the purpose, four developers have submitted their applications.

"It has been decided in the meeting to issue RFQ to all the four applicants to participate in RFQ stage and give in-principle approval to the project, as well as to the Draft RFP, Draft Concession Agreement, Land Lease Agreement," Chief Secretary A P Padhi said.

As per the proposal, the port will be set up in two phases.

In the first phase, two berths will be established for transportation of 18.43 million tons cargo per annum for which expenditure is estimated to be to the tune of Rs 2,110 crore. The requirement of land for the initial phase development of the port has been estimated at 175 hectare.

The proposed riverine port will be connected to National Highways-53 and Haridaspur-Paradip Railway Line for transportation of cargo.

The capacity of transportation of cargo will increase from 18.43 million tons per annum to 45.88 million tons per annum, and an additional 125 hectare of land will be required, Padi said.

On commissioning, the port will provide about 4,300 direct and indirect employment opportunities in the first phase, and about 10,700 in the second phase.

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A man was killed and three others, including two of his family members, suffered severe injuries after their car rammed into a truck from behind on NH-27 near Gadepan plant in Rajasthan's Kotadistrict, police said today.

The accident took place last night under Simliya police station limits when the three members of a family were on the way to their home in Deoli town of Tonk district, they said.

Paras Jain (45), a resident of Deoli in Tonk district died in the accident while two of his family members -- Uttam Chand Jain and Chetan Jain -- and the car driver Harlal Meena were injured, Simliya SHO Prahalad Singh said.

The injured are undergoing medical treatment at a hospital in Kota city while the body was handed over to the family members this afternoon after postmortem, he said.

The truck driver suddenly slowed down his vehicle but the car driver could not control the speed of his vehicle due to which it rammed into the truck, the SHO said.

A case of negligent driving was registered against the truck driver who has been detained and his vehicle seized, Singh said.

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A panel of senior government officers today deliberated over the possibility of enacting a new law to check the increasing incidents of lynching in different parts of the country.

Tehseen Poonawalla, who petitioned the Supreme Court and got a string of directives issued to the government on prevention of the crime, appeared before the Committee of Secretaries and strongly pitched for a new law with punishment of life imprisonment to those found guilty.

Poonawalla, who is pressing for an anti-lynching bill or Masuka (Manav Suraksha Kanoon), told PTI that he had a fruitful meeting with the panel headed by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and explained the difference between riots and mob violence, "all of which together can be called lynching".

He said an incident of lynching can take place due to factors like anger, hate, fear etc. and hence, there is a need to define every such crime separately.

Poonawalla said he conveyed to the panel that whenever a special law was enacted, the incidents of the crime concerned have come down.

He gave the examples of dowry deaths and atrocities on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to drive his point home.

He also suggested that a minimum of Rs 25 lakh should be given as compensation to the families of victims of lynching.

The committee is expected to deliberate further on the matter before submitting its report to a Group of Ministers headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh within four weeks.

The GoM will submit its report to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Those who attended today's meeting include secretaries of law, legal affairs and social justice and empowerment.

The member of the GoM are External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot.

Thirty-one deaths due to lynching have been reported from nine states in the last one year.

The most recent case was reported from Alwar district of Rajasthan, where a man named Akbar Khan was beaten up allegedly by a group of villagers over suspicion that he was a cow smuggler.

Earlier this week, following the Supreme Court's directives to check incidents of lynching, the Home Ministry had issued advisories to states and Union territories.

The Centre asked them to appoint an officer in each district at the level of Superintendent of Police, set up a special task force to gather intelligence, and closely monitor social media contents to prevent mob attacks on suspicion of being child-lifters or cattle smugglers.

In its communique to states and UTs, the ministry had said, Incidents of violence and lynching by mobs in some parts of the country fuelled by various kinds of rumours and unverified 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.

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Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana K P Singh today wrote to Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, seeking action in the matter of "refusal" of entry into Canada to two AAP MLAs from the state.

He said the "rude and discourteous" behaviour shown to the Punjab legislators -- Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Amarjit Singh Sandoaby -- by the Canadian authorities was unbecoming on their part, which was a "matter of grave concern".

In a statement issued here, the speaker said when the public representatives had disclosed their identities at the Ottawa Airport in Canada, the authorities should have facilitated them as they were having valid visas.

He said the Indian government does not allow such type of treatment to public representatives from Canada or other countries when they visit India.

"All legislative bodies of India and Canada are branches of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and members of the legislative bodies in both the countries are members of the CPA.

"On the one hand, we strive for increasing CPA activities like brotherhood, mutual understanding and cooperation, exchange of experiences and improvement of ties between the members of legislative bodies of both the countries, but on the other hand our MLAs/public representatives are being treated differently and humiliated," Rana K P Singh wrote to Swaraj.

He urged Swaraj to take up the issue with appropriate authorities of the Canadian government so that the public representatives from India are not subjected to "such type of untoward and humiliating incidents in future."



The Canadian authorities had, on July 22, reportedly denied Sandhwan and Sandoa entry into Canada after they landed at the Ottawa international airport. Both the MLAs had then returned to India.

A delegation of Aam Aadmi Party led by the Leader of Opposition Sukhpal Singh Khaira had met the Punjab Assembly speaker on July 24 and sought his intervention into the matter.

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A hardcore Peoples Democratic Council of Karbi Longri (PDCK) militant was apprehended today in Assam's Karbi Anglong district, police said.

A release from the police here said that based on specific input regarding presence of the hardcore PDCK cadre in Sarpo Terang gaon, under Diphu PS, an operation was launched today by a team from Diphu Police Station.

In the operation spanning over six hours, which involved crossing five steep mountains, the police team succeeded in apprehending the PDCK cadre identified as Horen Bey.

After interrogation, the insurgent led the team to a dense location named 'ATUR THEPI hillock' and showed the team objectionable items he had buried under the ground, the release said.

The items recovered included one muzzle loaded gun (hand-made), one magazine (made of steel) of AK-series rifle, 139 live AK series ammunition, five mobile SIM cards, one micro SD memory card and an Internet Dongle, it added.

Earlier on July 21, police in the district in a gunbattle with PDCK was successful in causing serious damage to the armed outfit at Bokaram Tokbi Gaon under Dolamara Police station wherin armed cadres of the PDCK, formed in October 2016, were chased successfully.

During search operation in the area, one HK 33 rifle, 70 rounds ammunition, two magazines of the rifle, two mobile phone sets, one knife, torch and a bag were recovered.

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Claiming that the Chenab Valley had been discriminated against by successive governments, PDP MLC Firdous Tak today demanded that a separate administrative division be created for the mountainous region to overcome the development deficit.

Like the National Conference and Congress, the BJP also betrayed the mandate of Chenab Valley comprising of Ramban, Doda and Kishtwar districts," he said.

The interests of the region and its people have been sacrificed by the elected representatives, plunging the region further into poverty and backwardness, Tak said at a day-long party convention in Kishtwar's Paddar area.

The development of far-off and backward areas is not possible in the present administrative structure, he claimed, as the divisional administration operating from Jammu city could not reach these inaccessible areas.

A new structure has to be devised where sub-regions shall be the new administrative units for overall development of the state, he said.

Tak said the Chenab region is one of the major contributors to the state revenue but it received very little in return.

The state gets hundreds of crores as water cess from NHPC besides 2 per cent royalty on the power generation. The timber extracted from the region (Chenab Valley) is sold in the entire region fetching crores to the state exchequer, he said.

Despite being one of the largest districts area-wise, Kishtwar continues to get less than Rs 10 crore per year for infrastructure development in the state capex budget, he said, adding that this is around 40 per cent of what the other districts in the plains of Jammu region get.

He said it the appropriate time for the political leadership of the region to come together, cutting across party lines, and seek an end to the step-motherly treatment meted out to the Chenab valley.

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The Central government was formulating a plan to lay LPG pipeline in 13 districts of Punjab, Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan today said.

The facility would be first provided in Mohali district, the minister said after laying the foundation stone of the new campus of National Skill Training Institute (NSTI) here, an official release said.

The minister ensured that the project would be executed with state-of-the-art equipment and highlighted that gas supply through pipelines would lessen the economic burden on people.

The Union government would also extend cooperation to the skill development university at Chamkaur Sahib to enhance the professional skills of the youth of Punjab, he further said.

He promised support to Punjab government in this regard and announced that Mohali would be made the hub of employment in the state.

Earlier, while welcoming the Union Minister, Punjab Technical Education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said that the state government was undertaking path breaking measures in the sphere of skill development.

However, each year approximately 80,000 youth were migrating to foreign shores leading to an annual capital drain of Rs 20,000 crore, he said.

Channi said in most cases, the youth were duped on reaching abroad by travel agents.

He urged the Union minister to ensure that the Centre enacts a special law to end this "loot" or launch a portal where those wanting to go abroad and the foreign companies can be brought on the same platform.

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Four people died when their light aircraft crashed into the summit of a glacier in the Swiss Alps, police said today, in the latest fatal accident to hit the popular tourist region.

The plane went down 3,300 metres (10,800 feet) above sea level at 4:45 pm (1445 GMT) yesterday in an area known as the Dunand Pass, police in southern Valais canton said in a statement.

They identified the plane as a four-seater made by the French firm Robin and which had taken off from Sion airport for "a pleasure flight".

After receiving an alert, authorities dispatched rescue teams to the summit but found the pilot and three passengers dead at the scene.

"The circumstances of the accident have not yet been determined," police added.

The victims have not yet been formally identified.

The accident comes after an unusually deadly winter season in the Swiss Alps that saw multiple hikers killed in a series of avalanches.

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Photographs of a police officer in uniform kneeling down at the feet of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, on the occasion of Guru Purnima at the Gorakhnath temple here, went viral on social media.

Adityanath is also 'Peethadishwar' and 'Mahant' (head priest) of the Gorakhnath Math.

The photographs of the police officer, Pravin Singh, kneeling down at Adtiyanath's feet with folded hands, went viral on the social media, forcing him to clarify his stand.

"I was deployed at the temple for security duty and I went there after completing my work with full dedication, when most of the disciples were seeking blessings. Out of my devotion and after removing my belt, cap and other accessories and covering my head with a handkerchief, I took blessings of Peethadishwar Mahant Yogi Adityanath," Singh said.

"My shirt was wet with sweat and I had not ignored my work. Mahant Yogi sits in the position of a guru on two occasions in the temple - one at the time of Dussehra and other on Guru Purnima. I always pray at the temple for serving the country honestly and with dedication. It was just out of my devotion towards Baba Gorakhnath and nothing else," he explained.

Singh is posted as Circle Officer, Gorakhnath in Gorakhpur.

IG, Civil Defence, Amitabh Thakur (IPS) said the police manual is not very clear on this count.

"This is a grey area and can be interpreted either way. But, a police officer needs to uphold the dignity of his uniform," Thakur pointed out.

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Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan today laid the foundation stone of the National Skill Training Institute (NSTI) for Women here.

At present, the NSTI operates out of a temporary campus in Rajpura.

The people of Punjab were naturally gifted in skills of various kinds and the state was a leader in many fields, the minister for petroleum and natural gas, skill development and entrepreneurship said.

"The challenge is to match the skills with the needs of the time and latest economic necessities," he said, adding that the Mohali centre would be developed into 'Trainers Training Institute'.

It would go a long way in setting the skill standards in the country and creating skilled youth suitable for employment, he added.

Pradhan said the NSTI scheme was planned in 2015 and was being implemented in almost all parts of the country.

The institute would not only be imparting training in traditional fields for women like beauty care, cosmetology and fashion design but also in other areas.

The land for the Mohali NSTI was given by farmers of village Saneta and the cost of the project was Rs 17 crore, the minister said.

Besides, the minister also launched the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) that would impart education to differently-abled people.

Pradhan said it was the endeavour of the Central government that each district of the country should have a PMKK centre.

At the Mohali PMKK, differently-abled as well as able-bodied people will get access to education, the minister said.

The NSTI and PMKK were launched as part of the 'Skill India' campaign under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Pradhan said.

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Health care services at several private hospitals across the country are likely to be hit as the IMA has called for suspension of all non-emergency services, including OPD for 12 hours, to protest against the Medical Commission (NMC) Bill Saturday.

The Indian Medical Association will observe "Dhikkar Diwas - no to NMC Bill" to protest against the proposed legislation, which seeks to replace the Medical Council of India (MCI) with a new body.

The Union Health Ministry has said the strike may involve participation of a number of medical professionals, thereby, adversely affecting the health care services and causing inconvenience to patient care in the hospitals.

The ministry has thus asked the additional chief secretaries and health secretaries of all states and Union Territories to put in place all necessary measures to ensure that the patient health care and emergency services are run smoothly during the strike.

"Provisions of the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) may be invoked, if necessary. These measures may be continued if the strike is extended," a communique said.

The IMA had earlier said in a statement that while all elective procedures will be deferred, critical services, including deliveries, emergencies and in-patient care will be provided.

"A general body meeting of all local branches will be convened at 9 am on Saturday to pass a resolution against the NMC Bill. The 'Call for Action' to defend the autonomy of the medical profession is hereby given to each and every member of the medical profession," it had said.

"Inspite of the deep resentment and opposition of the medical profession of the country, the government is going ahead with the enactment of the Medical Commission Bill-2017. We are left with no choice but to resist the move with determination and resolve," Dr Ravi Wankhedkar, President, IMA had said.

He has said that the bill will be stopped at any cost.

On Saturday, IMA members will hold a procession and go to their respective MPs, district collector's/sub collector's office and submit a memorandum addressed to the prime minister, the statement has said.

Branches with medical colleges have an additional responsibility to coordinate with the action in the medical colleges involving the medical students, Wankhedkar had said.

In March, the Health Ministry had approved amendments to the NMC Bill, including removing the contentious provision of "bridge course", which would have allowed practitioners of alternative medicines to pursue allopathy, after stiff resistance from the IMA and the opposition.

The IMA had earlier said the Bill in its current form remained "anti-poor, anti-people and anti-federal law" which, if passed, "will have unforeseen consequences on not only the health sector but also on the federal structure of the country."



Doctors belonging to the IMA had gone on a 12-hour strike as part of a nationwide stir against the NMC Bill in January.

The statement had said that the Bill would make medical education inaccessible to the poor and downtrodden and doctors would come only from the rich sections of the population.
Private hospitals here paid no heed to the 12-hour national strike called by the IMA against the introduction of the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill with the Delhi Medical Association also refusing to take part in the protest.

All healthcare services, including OPDs, functioned smoothly at the private hospitals today.

"We did not support the IMA's call for strike as the government, after our last strike, had incorporated several changes in the Bill that we had asked for. Even now the government is open to discussion and interaction with us and we will review the Bill again," Delhi Medical Association (DMA) executive member Dr Harish Gupta said.

He added that an emergency general body meeting was called to decide the future course of action.

The Indian Medical Association (IMA) had called for suspension of all non-emergency services, including OPDs, for 12 hours to observe the "Dhikkar Diwas - no to NMC Bill" today as a protest against the bill, which seeks to replace the Medical Council of India (MCI) with a new body.

In a statement issued today, the IMA said doctors across the country responded to its call and the withdrawal of non-emergency services affected patients in almost all major states, especially in tier 2,3,4 cities and towns.

However, a Health Ministry source said no strikes were reported from majority of the states.

Meanwhile, in view of this, the Health Ministry had asked the additional chief secretaries and health secretaries of all states and Union Territories yesterday to put in place all necessary measures to ensure that healthcare and emergency services run smoothly during the strike.

"Provisions of the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) may be invoked, if necessary. These measures may be continued if the strike is extended," a communique sent yesterday read.

IMA national president Dr Ravi Wankhedkar said the call against the NMC Bill generated awareness among the doctors and amongst common people. Many ordinary people identified themselves with the cause for which the doctors were fighting. "The struggle will continue," he said.

"Actually, withdrawal of non-emergency services was only a warning to the government. The IMA will intensify its agitation if the government tries to bulldoze this pro-rich, anti-democratic, anti-federal NMC Bill. We appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene to protect the interests of marginalised and underprivileged sections of the society," Wankhedkar said.

The IMA had earlier said in a statement that while all elective procedures will be deferred, critical services, including deliveries, emergencies and in-patient care will be provided today.

"In spite of the deep resentment and opposition by the medical professionals of the country, the government is going ahead with the enactment of the National Medical Commission Bill-2017. We are left with no choice but to resist the move," he had said.

The common final year EXIT exam is a conceptional flaw violating the Universities Act. Between the EXIT exam and the NEET, students will become cannon fodder. More so the students from OBC, SC and ST, he said.

Also, IMA members will hold a procession and go to their respective Members of Parliament, district collector's/sub collector's office and submit a memorandum addressed to the prime minister, a statement issued on Friday said.

In March, the Health Ministry had approved amendments to the NMC Bill, including removing the contentious provision of a "bridge course", which would have allowed practitioners of alternative medicines to pursue allopathy, after stiff resistance from the IMA and the opposition.

The IMA had earlier said the Bill in its current form remained "anti-poor, anti-people and anti-federal law" which, if passed, "will have unforeseen consequences on not only the health sector but also on the federal structure of the country".

Doctors belonging to the IMA had gone on a 12-hour strike as part of a nationwide stir against the NMC Bill in January.

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Torrential rains continued to batter parts of north India today, with worst-hit Uttar Pradesh recording 31 rain-related deaths and the Yamuna breaching the danger mark in the national capital, prompting authorities to evacuate people from low-lying areas.

Fifty-eight people have died and 53 suffered injuries in rain-related incidents in UP since Thursday, officials said today. Till yesterday, the number of deaths stood at 27.

Eleven people lost their lives in Saharanpur, 10 in Meerut, six in Agra, four in Mainpuri, three each in Muzaffarnagar and Kasganj, two each in Amroha, Bareilly, Baghpat and Bulandshahr and one each in Kanpur Dehat, Mathura, Ghaziabad, Hapur, Rae Bareli, Jalaun, Jaunpur, Pratapgarh, Banda, Firozabad, Amethi, Kanpur and Pilibhit districts, they said.

About 23 cm of rainfall was recorded in Meerut, 13 cm each in Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar, 10 cm in Bijnore, 8 cm in Moradabad, 7 cm in Etawah, 6 cm each in Hardoi and Baheri, 5 cm each in Kannauj, Gautam Budhnagar, Pilibhit and Bareilly since yesterday.

The weatherman has forecast "heavy to very heavy rains" in Sonebhadra, Mirzapur, Chandauli, Varanasi, Ghazipur, Ballia, Maunath Bhanjan, Azamgarh, Deoria districts, a spokesperson of the Relief Commissioner's Office said.

In Delhi, the Yamuna's water level crossed the danger mark, prompting authorities to evacuate people from low-lying areas.

"The Central Water Commission, Upper Yamuna Division, New Delhi, has issued a flood forecast for the Delhi Railway Bridge. The Yamuna's water level there reached 205 metres at 9 am (warning level 204m)," a Delhi government advisory read.

The water level at the Delhi Railway Bridge is expected to rise to 205.40m between 9 pm and 11 pm today, the East Delhi district administration said in a statement.

At the Hathinikund Barrage here, the river water level crossed the danger mark of 90,000 cusecs and touched the 2.11 lakh-cusec mark at 9 am.

The water level of the Yamuna at the Delhi Old Railway Bridge rose to 205.20 metres at 5pm and is expected to rise further with more rains predicted, an official said.

"All the executive engineers/sector officers are directed to keep close contact with the control room in relation to the discharge, the water level at the Old Railway Bridge and the advisory or forecast from the Central Water Commission/MeT, and requested to take appropriate measures/steps accordingly to avoid flood-like situation," the advisory read.

In Haryana, the Yamunanagar district administration issued a high alert as the water level in the Yamuna crossed the five lakh-cusec mark due to a downpour.

Officials said the situation was at present under control and all necessary arrangements have been made to tackle any contingency.

The authorities have cautioned the Delhi administration about the rise in the river water level.

A team of the State Disaster Management Force has been put on alert, the officials said.

In Himachal Pradesh's Kinnaur district, two pilgrims were swept away by flash floods triggered by heavy rains, a government spokesperson said.

The Himachal Police and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police have so far rescued 251 out of the 286 Kinner Kailash devotees who were stranded due to flash floods, he said.

Meanwhile, the Union home ministry's National Emergency Response Centre said that 537 people have lost their lives in six states due to floods and rains in the monsoon season this year.

According to the NERC, 139 people have died in Maharashtra, 126 in Kerala, 116 in West Bengal, 70 in UP, 52 in Gujarat and 34 in Assam due to floods and rains.

Heavy rains have hit 26 districts in Maharashtra, 22 in West Bengal, 21 in Assam, 14 in Kerala and 10 in Gujarat and large swathes of UP so far.

In Assam, 10.17 lakh people have borne the brunt of rains and floods, of which 2.17 lakh have taken shelter in relief camps, while in West Bengal 1.61 lakh people have been marooned.

In Kerala, the floods have impacted 1.43 lakh people.

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Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje has said the messages of Karni Mata, worshipped widely in the state as an incarnation of Goddess Durga, on environment protection and good governance hold relevance today.

During her visit to Bikaner, Raje said Karni Mata had given the messages of environment protection as well as to remove social discrimination which are very true and relevant today.

The temple of Karni Mata in Deshnok, around 30 km away from Bikaner, is also known as the "Temple of Rats". It is a famous religious place in the state where thousands of rats are fed.

The chief minister was in the city to dedicate 'Karni mata panorama'.

She also visited Hanumangarh district and held a "Jan samvad" (public dialogue) in Nohar Assembly constituency.

The chief minister said here government's schemes and programmes have benefitted lakhs of people in the state.

Cooperative minister Ajay Singh, MLA Abhishek Matoria and other public representatives, officials, and BJP workers attended the "Jan samvad".

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Rajasthan Congress president Sachin Pilot today alleged rape cases were rising in the state amid a "poor" law and order situation under the BJP government.

He condemned the alleged rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl, whose body was found today in a field not very far away from her home in Jhalawar district's Mogiyabhiya village.

The police suspect the minor, who went missing last evening, was strangulated to death after being raped as injury marks were found on her neck.

Pilot accused the Vasundhra Raje-led government of not being serious towards such cases.

"Cases of rape are on the rise due to negligence of the government. Criminals are getting a conducive environment in the state due to the poor law and order situation," he said in a statement here.

Pilot said though the name of Raje's pre-poll yatra had been changed from 'Suraj Gaurav Yatra' to 'Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra', people want to know how and when the state's 'gaurav' or pride grew under the BJP rule.

Raje's 40-day yatra to seek the people's mandate in the upcoming assembly elections will be flagged off by BJP president Amit Shah from Charbhuja Nath temple in Rajasthan's Rajsamand district on August 4.

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National Conference president Farooq Abdullah today said the Centre should reciprocate "positively" to the peace offer from Imran Khan, who is likely to be the new Pakistan prime minister, following his party's victory in elections.

Addressing gatherings in Qazigund and Bijbehara in Anantnag district of south Kashmir, Abdullah welcomed the message of reconciliation and engagement from Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan, saying "the Central government should reciprocate positively and without wasting any time".

A sustained Indo-Pak friendship was imperative for peace in the sub-continent and would also go a long way in the resolution of the Kashmir issue, Abdullah, who is the Lok Sabha member from Srinagar, said.

"The people of Kashmir have suffered far too long and far too much due to hostility between the two neighbours. The time now has come to tread a new path of mutual cooperation, peace and friendship so that both the countries could reap the dividends of peace and progress," he said.

The common challenges of poverty, lack of education, inadequate healthcare and violence need to be tackled in an atmosphere of trust and friendship between the two countries, Abdullah added.

The NC leader said Imran Khan's remarks deserved appreciation and were a welcome indication of a yearning for peace in Pakistan.

"We hope that the new government in Pakistan takes concrete steps to peacefully address all outstanding issues with the Central government, including that of Kashmir. Both India and Pakistan owe the people of Kashmir a sense of responsibility to find a solution to this impasse and we hope and pray that the future holds the key for an end to our sufferings," he said.

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Five members of a family were injured today when the roof of their house came down on them in Ghaziabad's Patla village, police said.

The roof collapsed this morning in Patla village under the Niwari police station limits, they said.

The police, with the help of villagers, pulled out the family members from under the debris and rushed them to hospital.

The injured were identified as Gyanesh (40), his wife Manju (34), their children -- Siva (8), Muskan (12), and Shivani (6).

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Realty firm SCC Builders will invest Rs 300 crore to develop an affordable housing project at Rajnagar Extension in Ghaziabad.

The company would construct around 1,000 flats in this 4.5 acre project. This includes 300 flats for economically weaker section (EWS).

The project will be developed under the Affordable Housing in Partnership under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.

The total investment on this project would be Rs 300 crore and the same would be funded through internal accrual and bank loans, the Ghaziabad-based company said in a statement.

A school, nursing home and a commercial tower is also proposed in this project.

SCC Builders CEO Vipul Giri said the housing demand has increased in Rajnagar Extension on the back of infrastructure development like long elevated road connecting this area with Delhi and other parts of NCR.

This project will help government achieve its objective of Housing for All by 2022, he added.

SCC Builders has so far delivered over 1,500 housing units across three projects in Ghaziabad.

Affordable housing has gained momentum after the government accorded infrastructure status to this segment. The Centre is also providing interest subsidy to homebuyers and levying lower GST rate of 8 per cent to boost demand of affordable housing.

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Texas authorities say five people have been killed following separate shootings that included a nursing home in a Corpus Christi suburb.

Robstown City Secretary Herman Rodriguez says via Twitter that three people were killed yesterday following a shooting at the Retama Manor nursing home.

Two additional men were found dead in a home linked to that shooting.

Rodriguez says officers responded to the nursing home about 7 pm yesterday and found two men and a woman dead.

He says a phone call from family members prompted police to visit the residence of one of the nursing home victims, where two more men were found dead.

The shooter was among those killed.

Rodriguez said authorities believe the shootings are related but have not identified the victims or established a possible motive.

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Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today formally handed over two types of indigenously built high-power multi-fuel engines to the Army.

The engines manufactured by the Engine Factory, Avadi -- a unit of Ordnance Factory Board, Department of Defence Production -- were fully indigenised for the first time under the Centre's 'Make in India' programme.

"Earlier, we were importing some of the components for defence. Now, with these two engines produced by you, you have proved that the Army does not look outside (other countries) than to look at you," she said at a function in the factory, 35 km from here.

The first engine of 1000 HP engine -- V92S2 engine -- powers T-90 Bhisma Tank, the second engine -- V-46-6 engine -- powers the T-72 Ajeya Tank and its variants are manufactured with '100 per cent Made in India' parts, officials said.

Earlier,local content of the two engines was upto 73 per cent, they said.

Sitharaman formally handed over the documents of the two types of engines to Vice Chief of Army Staff Devaraj Anbu.

Sitharaman said the Engine Factory General Manager, Anil Kumar has said the factory would be producing fully indigenised engines for the BMP-1 tank as well.

"You have made us proud," she said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been encouraging the Make in India programme since there was a thought that products engaged in country's security need to be locally sourced, she said.

Though these engines were manufactured based on Russian design, India was depending on Moscow for its supply of critical assemblies like turbocharger, supercharger, fuel injection pumps, Defence (Production) Secretary Ajay Kumar said.

"By localising the components for engine manufacturing, the country can save around Rs 800 crore for the next 10 years," he said.

Sitharaman appealed to the employees to produce products that are 'world class' so that such defence public sector undertakings need not await orders from the government, but can attract good business in domestic and overseas.

The indigenisation effort also exhibits the self-reliance of the Ordnance Factory Board in manufacturing these engines in India without any import support, officials said.

The Engine Factory has manufactured more than 12,000 engines since its inception in 1987.

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Six members of a family, including a baby, were killed and a boy was injured after a building collapsed due to incessant rains in Saharanpur district of Uttar Pradesh, police said today.

The incident took place last night under Gangoh police station limits, they said.

According to SP (rural) Vidya Sagar Mishra, the deceased were residents of Ilahi Baksh colony.

They were identified as Faizan (40), his wife Israna (35), their two sons -- Faisal (13) and Jainab (one-and-a-half-month-old), and daughters Saina (11) and Rani (9), he said.

The locals woke up to a loud thud after the building collapsed. The police, with the help of the neighbours, pulled out the family from under the debris and rushed them to hospital.

Six of the family members succumbed to their injuries, Mishra said, adding that the couple's son is the lone survivor and is undergoing treatment.

The bodies have been sent for postmortem, the police said.

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Somalia's president has begun a visit to Eritrea in another possible diplomatic thaw in the restless Horn of Africa region.

A spokesman said President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed had departed this morning.

"Somalia is ready to write a new chapter of its relations with Eriteria," Abdinur Mohamed announced on Twitter.

The two nations have not had diplomatic relations for nearly 15 years.

Eritrea's information minister has said the three-day visit comes at the invitation of longtime leader Isaias Afwerki.

Eritrea, one of the world's most closed-off nations, remains under United Nations sanctions after alleged support for the Somalia-based al-Shabab extremist group, which continues to carry out high-profile attacks in the capital, Mogadishu.

Eritrea denies supporting armed groups such as al-Shabab.

The visit by Somalia's leader follows a stunning diplomatic thaw in recent weeks between Eritrea and Ethiopia after more than two decades.

Ethiopia under reformist new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed already has asked that the UN sanctions on Eritrea be dropped.

The UN secretary-general has indicated that the sanctions could be obsolete.

The changing relations in the Horn of Africa region are of interest to the wealthy Gulf states just across the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Already they have been jostling for influence in the African nations along one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, including both Somalia and Eritrea.

The United Arab Emirates, which set up a military base at Eritrea's post of Assab after a Saudi-led coalition launched its war against Shiite rebels in Yemen in 2015, has played a role in mending relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia, in recent days hosting the leaders of both countries and praising their "bold" gestures.

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The Samajwadi Party national executive today authorised party president Akhilesh Yadav to take decision on alliance and seat sharing for the general elections next year, an SP leader said.

Senior SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said, "The main decision taken in the national executive is that party president Akhilesh Yadav has been authorised to take a decision on alliance and seat sharing for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls."



"The executive is of the view that elections should be held through ballot papers and not through EVMs," he told reporters here.

Asked to elaborate on the discussions at the meeting about the political scenario, Yadav parried a direct reply, saying, "I am telling you about the decisions not the discussions."



About absence of some party leaders, including Mohd Azam Khan from the meeting, he said, "Is it necessary that all should remain present? Ninety per cent of the members were present. Party president Akhilesh Yadav was also there."On being asked as to what the party would do if the Election Commission did not accept their demand for polls through ballot papers, Ram Gopal Yadav said SP leaders would sit at the doors of the EC and resort to satyagrah.

Asked about possibilities of his contesting from Sambhal Lok Sabha seat, he said, "It is up to the party to decide whether I will contest or not...If it directs me, I will contest. If it doesn't, I will not."



To a question on to who will lead the alliance if it is formed, Ram Gopal Yadav said, "The government at the Centre is running with 17 parties. ...Their leader is only (Narendra) Modi. Every party has its leader."



To another query as to whether there was any discussion about Akhilesh Yadav's warring uncle Shivpal Yadav, he replied in the negative.

When his attention was drawn towards the frequent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Uttar Pradesh, Ram Gopal Yadav said, "This is just the beginning. As elections approach, he will have to come here on a daily basis."



At the meeting, the attendees condoled the death of poet Gopal Das Neeraj and some other eminent personalities, and observed silence as a mark of respect to them.

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The executive on Saturday authorised party president Akhilesh Yadav to take decision on alliance and seat sharing for the general elections next year, an SP leader said.

Senior SP leader said, "The main decision taken in the executive is that party president Akhilesh Yadav has been authorised to take a decision on alliance and seat sharing for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls."



"The executive is of the view that elections should be held through ballot papers and not through EVMs," he told reporters.



ALSO READ: Akhilesh Yadav says BJP conspiracy behind bungalow damage row

Asked to elaborate on the discussions at the meeting about the political scenario, Yadav parried a direct reply, saying, "I am telling you about the decisions not the discussions."



About absence of some party leaders, including Mohd Azam Khan from the meeting, he said, "Is it necessary that all should remain present? Ninety per cent of the members were present. Party president Akhilesh Yadav was also there."



On being asked as to what the party would do if the did not accept their demand for polls through ballot papers, Yadav said SP leaders would sit at the doors of the EC and resort to Satyagrah.
APC demanded re-election

ISLAMABAD: A all-parties conference (APC) convened on Friday to formulate a joint strategy over alleged rigging in the 2018 general elections rejected the results of the recently held polls and demanded a transparent re-election in the country.



The all-parties conference unanimously rejects the July 25 elections, Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) President Maulana Fazlur Rehman told media at the end of the conference hosted by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N).



PML-N President Shehbaz Sharif chaired the conference held at the Islamabad residence of MMA leader Mian Aslam and attended by leaders of various parties.



People have been robbed of their mandate, Fazl said.We do not consider this election to be the mandate of the public  but a theft of peoples mandate. We do not accept the majority of those claiming to have won the majority, he added.



We want democracy. We have sacrificed so much for democracy to prosper in the country, Fazl said, adding that people who think they have won fairly should know that they have no real power.We will not let these thieves even enter the parliament, he warned.



Fazlsaid the elected candidates of the parties who attended the APC will not take oath. However, he clarified, that Shehbaz Sharif had requested to be allowed to consult his party over the move first.



The MMA leader said a movement will be started and protests will be held to demand re-election in the country. The schedule of the movement will be decided by a committee within a day or two, he said, adding the APC will also approach other parties who have concerns over the election results but could not attend the meeting.



Fazl said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had failed to command the results of the elections despite wasting Rs 20 billion of the public money. Returning officers, presiding officers and other officials remained a hostage to the army personnel and did not hand over results to the polling agents, he alleged, adding, We will not let democracy be held hostage by any establishment.



Shehbaz said the July 25 elections saw the worst irregularities the examples of which are not found in countrys history. He alleged that the election was rigged and that his party will strongly protest the results in the National Assembly. He further said that PML-N would also take up legal proceedings against the poll results.



It is pertinent to note that main political parties such as Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) did not attend the APC.APPP spokesperson earlier said partys leadership will devise its own strategy regarding alleged poll irregularities.



In attendance at the APC were Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq, Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair, Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Hafeezur Rehman, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider, Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali, Qaumi Watan Party Chairman Aftab Sherpao, National Partys Senator Mir Hasil Bizenjo, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party Chairman Mehmood Khan Achakzai and several MMA leaders. PML-N leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ayaz Sadiq, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Chaudhry Tanveer and Khurram Dastagir and Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) leaders Mustafa Kamal, Raza Haroon and Waseem Ahmed also attended.



Interestingly, MQM-P leader Dr Farooq Sattar also showed up at the conference, despite reports that his party has agreed to join the PTI-led government in the centre after a contact between PTI leader Jehangir Tareen and Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.



Speaking about his appearance, Sattar said that he was not in contact with the Rabita Committee. I wasnt aware of the decision to boycott the APC, he said.
A special session of the Maharashtra legislature would be convened to pass "a law or a resolution" regarding reservation for the Marathas, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said today as political parties pledged support for a quota in jobs for the influential community.

Fadnavis appealed for peace in the state, rocked by violent protests over the quota issue this week, and announced withdrawal of certain cases against the members of the community, seeking a 16-per cent reservation in government jobs and education.

Speaking to reporters after chairing an all-party meeting on the quota issue, Fadnavis said the special session of the House would be called after the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission submitted its report to the state government.

The commission, headed by Justice (retired) M G Gaikwad, is carrying out a survey to ascertain the economic and social backwardness prevailing among the Marathas, a land-owning community that constitutes 30 per cent of the state's population.

The panel is expected to submit its report in four months.

"We will pass a law or a resolution in the legislature, based on the recommendation of the commission, to fulfil a Constitutional requirement. The government has already requested the commission to complete its survey on the economic and social backwardness of the community at the earliest," Fadnavis said, adding that there was no delay on the part of the government.

He said the government would also try to rectify the lacunae in the earlier law (passed during the Congress-NCP rule) that granted reservations to the Maratha community and which was stayed by the Bombay High Court.

Fadnavis said police cases registered against the quota agitators, except those related to serious offences like assault on police personnel, violence and arson, would be withdrawn.

The chief minister, who also holds the Home portfolio, said the director general of police was directed to look into the matter and review the cases.

"The grievances of the Maratha community can be addressed through deliberations on the judicial and legislative platforms. Nothing can be achieved by resorting to violence," he said.

The BJP leaded added that the 57 "mook morchas" (silent protests) taken out by the community across the state in the past in support of the quota demand were hailed as a model form of protest.

He assured the Maratha community that a mega recruitment drive would be carried out to fill up government posts and this would be done by ensuring that the existing quota for the scheduled castes and scheduled tribes was not affected.

A fee-waiver scheme in professional courses for the students of economically backward classes, including those from the community, would be strictly implemented, the chief minister said.

"If a college does not admit Maratha students by charging 50 per cent fees (as part of the fee-waiver scheme), it would be de-recognised. We are willing to talk to the colleges if they have any difficulties," he added.

"The government will take up with the State Level Banking Committee (SLBC) the complaints that the banks are asking for collateral security for granting financial assistance to those from the backward communities under a scheme of the Annabhau Sathe Development Corporation," the chief minister said.

He informed that construction of hostels for Maratha students was nearing completion in Pune and Kolhapur, while eight more such facilities were being built in other districts.

Meanwhile, a joint statement of all the political parties, released after the meeting, appealed to the community to maintain peace. It was signed by Assembly Speaker Haribhau Bagde, Council Chairman Ramraje Naik Nimbalkar and leaders of all other political parties.

Against the backdrop of some agitators trying to end their lives during the quota stir, the statement urged the protesters not to resort to such acts.

"There is a consensus among the political class regarding reservation to the Marathas. The government will take the necessary steps and the opposition parties will fully cooperate in all endeavours," the statement said.

"It was decided to appeal to the State Backward Class Commission to submit its report at the earliest. And to fulfil the Constitutional requirement, a special session (of the legislature) would be convened," it added.

Opposition leaders such as Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal, Dhananjay Munde of the NCP and the Congress's Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil stated that the all-party meeting should have been convened earlier.

Pawar said the opposition leaders would approach the commission with a request to submit its report at the earliest.

A large part of Maharashtra, including Mumbai, Navi Mumbai and the Marathwada region, saw widespread violence during the protests by the Maratha community this week.

Half a dozen MLAs from different political parties have announced their resignation to express solidarity with the community.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
St Stephen's College has withdrawn an invite extended to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to attend an event and interact with the students of the institute.

The event, planned by one of the societies of the college, will be held on August 1.

Banerjee was supposed to attend the event, but the principal denied permission and the invitation was withdrawn yesterday, a source said.

The college's Planning Forum had submitted a request online to the authorities to invite her, but the request could not be processed due to some "server issues".

Later, they wrote a letter seeking permission to invite her, but the principal denied permission, the source said.

College Principal John Varghese could not be contacted for a comment.

Banerjee is scheduled to arrive in Delhi on July 31.

She will be in the national capital for three days to personally invite opposition leaders to the "federal front" rally she plans to hold in January in Kolkata, according to party sources.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Veteran filmmaker Steven Zaillian and 20th Century Fox are developing a movie about the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks.

According to Deadline, Fox has acquired feature rights to "The Mirage Man: Bruce Ivins The Anthrax Attacks, And America's Rush To War", the 2011 book by Pulitzer winning journalist David William about the hunt for the anthrax killer who terrorised America in the days that followed the 9/11 attacks.

The anthrax attacks began on September 18, 2001, a week after the 9/11 attacks, with letters sent surreptitiously from a mailbox in New Jersey to media and political figures in New York, Florida, and Washington D C. Exposure to anthrax killed five people and infecting 17 others.

Authorities first focused on bio-weapons expert Steven Hatfill, who was eventually exonerated. Bruce Edwards Ivins, a scientist who worked at the government's biodefense labs, became a suspect in 2005 and committed suicide by overdosing on acetaminophen in 2008.

The book focuses on the faulty investigation that led to the public smearing of Hatfill and details Ivins as a deeply troubled scientist who for more than 20 years had unlimited access to the U S Army's stocks of deadly anthrax.

Willman won the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting for his expose of seven unsafe prescription drugs that had been approved by the Food and Drug Administration.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
The Taliban held their first direct contact with a US official in a preliminary discussion about future peace talks on Afghanistan, a senior official with the insurgent group said today.

It marked one of the most significant developments amid efforts to find a negotiated end to the country's protracted war.

The official described as "useful" a meeting with Alice Wells, the US's top diplomat for South Asia, earlier this week. He said the meeting was held in the small Middle Eastern country of Qatar, where the Taliban have maintained a political office since 2013.

"The environment was positive and the discussion was useful," the Taliban official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

US officials neither confirmed nor denied a meeting took place. However, Wells was in Doha, the Qatar capital, this week.

In a statement following her return, the State Department said only that Wells had been in Doha, had met with the ruling family and "the United States is exploring all avenues to advance a peace process in close consultation with the Afghan government."



Any talks about a future political setup would be between the Taliban and the Afghan government, the statement said.

The Taliban have long demanded direct talks with Washington, saying they do not want to talk politics with the US but instead meet face to face to discuss Washington's concerns - particularly its security concerns - about the Taliban and Taliban involvement in Afghanistan's future. They also say they want a time frame for the withdrawal of the roughly 15,000 US and NATO troops still in Afghanistan.

It wasn't clear when the next meeting would be held or with whom, but the Taliban official who spoke to The AP was certain one would be held.

A former Taliban minister and ex-head of their political committee, Aga Jan Mohtism, who has maintained close contacts with the insurgent group, also confirmed a meeting in Doha between US officials and the Taliban took place earlier this week.

"The Taliban want to solve their problems with the Americans to end the invasion," he said.

The Taliban have argued that the Afghan government cannot act independent of Washington. They also say that unless they can allay US concerns about the group, an agreement with Kabul would be meaningless.

During the Taliban's five-year rule that ended with the 2001 US-led invasion, leader Mullah Mohammed Omar said regardless of whatever concessions they agreed to, including allowing girls to attend school, it would not gain them international recognition as long as the US refused to accept them.

The current leadership, most of whom are Mullah Omar's contemporaries, still believe their future in Afghanistan can be guaranteed only if the United States' concerns are addressed.

Until now, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's national security team has said it is ready to hold talks with the Taliban at any time and that their allies, including the United States, should participate only as observers.

In Kabul today, Shah Hussain Murtazawi, deputy spokesman for Ghani, repeated the government's oft-stated position that peace talks should be "Afghan owned and Afghan led, any assistance the allies provide (would be in) a supportive role."



Murtazawi did not comment directly on the meeting in Doha or say whether Ghani's government was aware that the meeting had been held.

A previous attempt at direct talks between Washington and the Taliban in 2013 also in Doha, was scuttled when then-Afghan President Hamid Karzai objected to the Taliban calling its office the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan __ the name of its government __ and flying the flag the movement flew when they ruled Afghanistan.

At the time the direct talks, which the Taliban also said would be restricted to US concerns about the movement and troop withdrawal, was to be followed by talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

There was also a suggestion at the time that the talks would include the freedom of five Taliban held in the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay and the release of captured US soldier Bowe Bergdahl. His release was eventually secured in May 2014 in exchange for the five Taliban prisoners, who are living in Doha.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Tens of thousands of Russians today took part in rallies across the country organised by Communists to protest against highly controversial plans to hike the pension age.

In Moscow, organisers said up to 100,000 people gathered for a permitted rally against the government-backed reform, which is currently going through parliament.

However, reporters put the turnout much lower at around 10,000.

Protests took place in dozens of cities and towns in far eastern Russia, Siberia and western Russia.

Around 1,200 people protested in the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, TASS state agency reported, citing city hall.

Demonstrators in Moscow chanted "Pension-off Putin!" and carried banners with slogans including "We want to live on our pensions and not die at work."



In Russia's second largest city of Saint Petersburg, around 1,000 people took part in a Communist rally, with some waving red flags and holding portraits of Stalin.

The rare show of public opposition to a reform backed by President Vladimir Putin's ruling party has seen 2.9 million sign a protest petition and the often compliant Communist Party vote against it.

Putin, who did not mention the issue ahead of his re-election in March and had previously vowed not to raise the pension age, has seen public trust in his presidency fall to 64 per cent this month, down from 80 per cent in May, according to VTsIOM state pollster.

"Many believed Putin when he said there would be no pension reform. It turns out that was demagoguery. I'm very disappointed in him," protester Irina Ivanova, 49, told AFP in Saint Petersburg.

The draft law calls for the pension age to be gradually raised to 63 for women and 65 for men, up from the current Soviet-era norms of 55 for women and 60 for men.

Putin last week said he disliked the idea of raising the pension age but that doing nothing was not an option, insisting "we will have to take some crucial decisions".

"Tens of thousands have gathered here to say no to this pension reform," Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov told the Moscow rally.

"This is a blow to every citizen in our country."



Those who oppose the reform argue that many Russians, particularly men, will not live to enjoy their pensions. Currently, Russian men on average die in their early 60s, Zyuganov said, and "they will all get their pension in their coffins".

In addition, many Russians say that employers are reluctant to hire older people.

"How will we live? I don't know. They don't hire anyone over 50," said 59-year-old Galina Nikiforova in Saint Petersburg.

The speaker of the lower house of parliament, representing Putin's United Russia ruling party, said yesterday that such protests were pointless.

"You can't resolve these questions at demonstrations," Vyacheslav Volodin told the Communist faction in parliament.

Opposition leader Alexei Navalny has called on his supporters to attend an authorised rally against the pension reforms in Moscow tomorrow, organised by the little-known Libertarian Party.

"We all understand perfectly: the only real aim of this 'reform' is to rob the public," he wrote on his blog.

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Three suspected wildlife poachers and traders were arrested and the skin of a leopard and other body parts were seized from them in Chhattisgarh's Mahasamund district, police said today.

Acting on a tip-off, the police arrested the alleged wildlife poachers and traders, identified as Anjan Singh, Mithlesh Bariha and Lalit Dhruv, from Patewa police station limits yesterday, Mahasamund Superintendent of Police Santosh Singh told PTI over the phone.

The police had information that the three, natives of different villages of the district were looking for prospective customers to sell a wild animal's body parts, he said.

A joint team of the Local Crime Branch and police swung into action and a group of personnel, posing as customers, fixed the deal with them at Rs 40,000, he said.

When the trio arrived in Gogal forest in Patewa, about 80km from the state capital Raipur, they were apprehended, Singh said.

The skin of a leopard, its teeth and jaws, bow, arrow and two knives were recovered from their possession, the SP said.

Their interrogation revealed they had allegedly poached the leopard in the Barnawapara wildlife sanctuary located close to Patewa, he said.

The police were yet to ascertain the exact value of the seizure.

A case has been registered in this connection and further investigation is on, Singh said.

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Trinamool Congress MP from Jhargram constituency, Dr Uma Soren today appealed to all labourers, who have left West Bengal in search of work, to come back to the state as it has made "arrangements" for their return.

"The state government has made all the arrangements. There will be no dearth of rice and clothes," Soren said, while visiting the Uporkatmundi village in Jhargram, where Benu Singh, the mother of the three girls, who died allegedly due to starvation in east Delhi, used to reside before marriage.

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's had last year promised support and opportunities for migrant labourers from the state, if they felt unsafe in other states and wanted to come back.

Soren spoke to her brothers and relatives and assured them the the state will be by their side in their hour of crisis.

Benu's brothers requested the MP to make necessary arrangements to bring their sister back to the village, located under the jurisdiction of Sankrail police station in the Jhargram district, officials said.

All help and support will be given to the family, Soren said.

Mangal Singh, the father of the girls, is untraceable since Tuesday, when they were declared dead by doctors of a Delhi hospital.

A day after a preliminary magisterial probe report sought a "deeper investigation" into the conduct of Mangal, a police team was today sent to his native place in West Bengal to trace him, a senior officer said.

A magisterial probe report had said he had given some "unknown medicine" to his daughters by "mixing it in hot water" on the night of July 23, and went missing since the morning of July 24.

Police said they were awaiting the viscera report, which would help determine whether the girls were given any medicine that could have led to their death.

The initial autopsy reports had suggested that they died due to starvation. A medical board at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital had conducted a second autopsy at the request of police, which had corroborated the first post-mortem report.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
An all-out war erupted on Twitter after TRAI chairman R S Sharma today disclosed his Aadhaar number on the microblogging site and challenged everyone to show how mere knowledge of the unique number could be used to harm him, triggering a deluge of tweets that claimed to disclose his personal details from PAN to mobile number.

The challenge by Sharma evoked an immediate response from the Twitterati, with some users claiming to have dug up his mobile number, photographs, residential address, date of birth and even chat threads using the information, while others warned him about the perils of throwing such a dare on the social media platform.

While much of the information that was dug out may already be in the public domain, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) official did not verify whether the details pertaining to his PAN were indeed correct.

When contacted by PTI earlier in the evening, Sharma declined to make any detailed comment on the matter by saying, "Let the challenge run for some time".

Giving out his full Aadhaar number, the TRAI chairman had tweeted: "Now I give this challenge to you: Show me one concrete example where you can do any harm to me!"



The challenge by Sharma has got over 2,850 retweets, and 3,364 likes, and the numbers continued to climb well into the night.

Sharma himself continued to engage in the verbal duel with the Twitterati till late hours, dismissing much information being revealed as 'public information' and seeking to debunk the theory that "Aadhaar compromises the privacy of the person".

"...Yeh details koi state scret nahin hain (These details are no state secret)...," retorted Sharma at one point, even chiding one of the users for disclosing an address that was old and asking if he (the user) would like to have his latest address.

A French security expert who goes under the pseudonym Elliot Alderson, (@fs0c131y) wrote, "People managed to get your personal address, dob (date of birth) and your alternate phone number. I stop here, I hope you will understand why make your #Aadhaar number public is not a good idea."



While many on Twitter claimed victory over 'leaking' Sharma's personal details post the challenge, the TRAI chief asserted through multiple tweets and replies that the challenge had never been about phone numbers and other information, but for causing harm using knowledge of his Aadhaar number.

"No I did not challenge them for phone number and other info. I challenged them for causing me harm! So far no success. Wish them luck," Sharma wrote on Twitter.

The high drama played out on the microblogging platform just a day after Justice Srikrishna committee came out with its report on data protection where it mooted changes in the Aadhaar Act and proposed new safeguards to protect information of Aadhaar holders.

Sharma, former UIDAI (Unique Identification Authority of India) director general, has been an ardent supporter of the Aadhaar program, vouching for the safety of the system, and dispelling privacy concerns surrounding Aadhaar even during his current tenure as TRAI Chief.

"Data privacy is a big and very important issue in a digital world. I am one of the most vociferous supporter of that. However, the only thing I am saying is that Aadhaar does not violate privacy," Sharma tweeted today.

Meanwhile, Justice Srikrishna panel on data protection has recommended that the Aadhaar Act be amended "significantly" to bolster privacy safeguards, and mooted that only public authorities discharging public functions approved by the UIDAI or entities mandated by law be given the right to request for identity authentication.

The report, submitted yesterday, assumes significance given that public and private sectors are collecting and using personal data on an unprecedented scale and for various purposes, and instances of unregulated and arbitrary use, especially that of personal data, have raised concerns about privacy and autonomy of an individual.

Over the last one year, there have also been reports of personal information being allegedly compromised with increasing use of biometric identifier Aadhaar in an array of services. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has reserved its judgement on a clutch of petitions challenging the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar Act.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
A militant attack on a midwife training centre in eastern Afghanistan today killed at least two people and wounded five, officials said, after the more than six-hour assault was brought to an end by security forces.

At least 67 people, including students and teachers, were inside the centre in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, at the time of the attack, provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP.

Nangarhar police chief Ghulam Sanyee Stanikzai told AFP two people -- a guard and a driver -- were killed and five others wounded.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack, but most of the recent assaults in the city have been carried out by the Islamic State group, which has a stronghold in Nangarhar.

The Taliban denied involvement in a WhatsApp message sent to reporters.

Provincial health department spokesman Inamullah Miakhil said 48 women from remote districts of the province were enrolled in the two-year midwifery course.

The training facility, which is near the centre of Jalalabad in an area where several international organisations and consulates have offices, is funded by the Ministry of Public Health.

"We don't know why the midwife centre came under attack," Miakhil told AFP, adding all NGOs and government bodies in Jalalabad were at risk.

A witness in a nearby department told AFP he heard several explosions and then saw three gunmen enter the street where the midwife centre is located.

Some of the security forces earlier appeared to dismantle improvised explosive devices apparently planted in the street by the militants, a witness told AFP.

Jalalabad has been the scene of several attacks in recent months that have killed dozens, as US and Afghan forces continue offensive operations against IS and Taliban militants.

Government buildings are a common target for insurgents, including hospitals and medical facilities.

It is not known why the gunmen targeted the midwife training centre. Midwives have been attacked in the past for providing reproductive health services to women, though such attacks appear to be rare.

Islamist groups -- and many ordinary Afghans -- also oppose women working outside the home.

While thousands of women have been trained as midwives since the 2001 US-led invasion, Afghanistan still has one of the highest maternal and child mortality rates in the world.

The last major attack in Jalalabad happened on July 11 when gunmen raided an education department compound in the city, sparking an hours-long battle with security forces.

At least 11 people were killed in the attack. All were employees of the education department branch and included the director.

A suicide bomb attack claimed by IS on a crowd of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus in Jalalabad on July 1 killed at least 19 people and wounded 21.

The Taliban is Afghanistan's largest militant group and IS has a relatively small but potent presence, mainly in the east and north of the country.

It first emerged in Afghanistan in 2014 and quickly established a stronghold in Nangarhar.

Intensified aerial and ground operations against the militants have failed to dislodge them.

An unprecedented three-day ceasefire involving Afghan security forces and the Taliban last month did not include IS. The first formal nationwide truce since 2001 was marred by two IS suicide attacks in Nangarhar.

While the Afghan government and its foreign backers are seeking to strike a peace deal with the Taliban, US forces have repeatedly said they plan to annihilate IS.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Two sisters were killed and another member of their family were injured when a wall of their home in a slum in the steel city collapsed this morning, police said.

It is suspectded that the wall collapsed due to heavy rain over the past few days, the police said.

The incident took place early this morning at Malgodown slum area and the two sisters killed were aged five and seven years.

Their father said the collapsed when the family was sleeping in their house. He got up at the sound of the collapse and found the two girls under the debris in a serious condition. They were declared brought dead when rushed to the hospital.

Rourkela additional district magistrate Manisha Banerjee said Rs 50,000 would be given to the family from the chief ministers fund on compassionate ground.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
Army troops deployed at polling stations did not take over the polling process: EU-Commonwealth 28 July, 2018



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Hand Wash and Toiletries in Pakistan And the Role of DUPAS in Reshaping the Industry

Woke Bingo ISLAMABAD: Two international election observation missions  one from the European Union and the other from the Commonwealth  on Friday observed that the army troops deployed at polling stations did not take over the polling process and only assisted the presiding officers in the general elections.



The heads of the EU and Commonwealth missions, however, expressed concern over the environment in which the elections were held and highlighted the need for improvement in the procedure for counting of ballot papers.



Speaking at a press conference, EUs election observation mission chief Michael Gahler while presenting the missions preliminary report said the troops did not take over the process that was conducted by the presiding officers, but the environment in which the elections were held was of a major concern.



A number of violent attacks, targeting political parties, party leaders, candidates and election officials, affected the campaign environment. Most interlocutors acknowledged a systematic effort to undermine the former ruling party through cases of corruption, contempt of court and terrorist charges against its leaders and candidates. The electorally sensitive timing, as well as the content of decisions of courts investigating or adjudicating on matters related to high-profile Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) candidates, were perceived by several stakeholders as an indication of the politicisation of the judiciary. These cases reshaped the political environment ahead of the elections. Of further concern was the emergence of extremist parties with affiliations either to terrorist groups, or individuals linked to organisations that have used, incited or advocated violence, stated the report of Gahler-led mission.



Mr Gahler said positive changes to the legal framework were overshadowed by restrictions on freedom of expression and unequal opportunity to campaign. Media outlets and journalists suffered from restrictions, which resulted in self-censorship, he remarked.



He noted that the electoral process of 2018 was negatively affected by the political environment.



The report stated polling day was orderly with a preliminary turnout of 52 per cent despite the two deadly attacks on polling stations in Balochistan and regional clashes between party supporters. The EU mission observed the presence of security personnel inside and outside the polling stations and noted that they checked voters identity cards at times and directed voters to the right queue.



During counting, the troops also recorded and transmitted the results, giving the impression of an ongoing parallel tabulation, the mission observed. Party agents were present at almost all polling stations, they observed. Voting was assessed as well-conducted and transparent though counting was sometimes problematic, with staff not always following the procedures. Difficulties were also observed in completing result forms. The Result Transmission System (RTS) encountered serious technical problems in submission of results from polling stations and thus returning officers were not able to receive original result forms and report in a timely manner to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on the progress of results. The ECP explained that the RTS had not been tested in Pakistan before. The ECP did not meet the legal deadline to announce provisional results received via RMS by 2am.



The report noted that technical aspects of the election process were well-administered. The ECP met key operational deadlines. However, due to court decisions on the validity of candidate nomination forms, the ECP twice extended candidate nomination and scrutiny deadlines. Petitions to higher courts relating to candidacy resulted in delayed printing of ballot papers in some 100 constituencies.



It stated the legal requirement to nominate at least five per cent of female candidates was not met by 7.4pc parties. But due to unclear provisions on sanctions, the ECP took no action. Women were reportedly restricted from voting in at least eight constituencies in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab upon agreements between local elders and political parties. Female candidates were largely invisible. Of the 3.3 million persons with disabilities, only 165,927 were registered to vote and only three disabled candidates contested the elections.

ISLAMABAD: Head of the Commonwealth mission retired Gen Abdulsalami Abubakr addresses a press conference regarding general elections 2018 at local hotel on Friday.Online



The head of the European Parliaments delegation to the election observation mission, Jean Lambert, fully endorsed the preliminary statement of the EUs election observation mission. She then discussed a number of issues including access of voters with disabilities to polling stations and womens participation in the elections.



We appreciate the efforts made by the Election Commission to aim for greater inclusion in the electoral process, particularly through the Gender and Disabilities Working Group, said Ms Lambert. We look forward to further progress. After all, the five per cent quota for women candidates is just a starting point, and more in winnable seats would be welcome.



Unlike the pervious election observation missions to Pakistan, the EUs mission this time faced unprecedented delay in the deployment of its observers. According to Mr Gahler, this had repercussions on the missions ability to observe and thoroughly assess some areas of the electoral process.



Addressing a separate press conference, Gen Abdulsalami A. Abubakar, chairperson of the Commonwealth Group and former military head of the state of Nigeria, said the 2018 general election was an important milestone in strengthening democracy in Pakistan. We commend people of Pakistan who have shown commitment to exercising their right to vote, he said while reading out a preliminary statement at a press conference.



He said the ECP did a laudable job in terms of the short timeframe it had to implement its mandate for holding transparent elections on schedule. We urge those who have grievances to seek redress through the established channels of dispute resolution, he remarked.
The workers' union of Minera Escondida, the Chilean copper mine that is the highest-producing in the world, threatened an "imminent" strike after rejecting the latest proposal from controlling firm

"The strike is imminent, we have not been able to meet with the company," Carlos Allendes, a union spokesman, told AFP Saturday.

The stoppage would affect production at a mine where 5 per cent of the world's copper is produced.

After nearly six weeks of negotiations with Anglo-Australian company BHP, the nearly 2,500 members of the mine's largest union on Saturday began voting on whether to reject or approve the firm's latest proposal.

Balloting is to continue until August 1, but union leaders have recommended rejecting it.

If the workers do reject the offer, mediation will begin. If an agreement is still not reached, the union could strike again, as happened last year, paralysing the company for 44 days.

"We have made an effort as a company and we are confident that our workers will consider it," Patricio Vilaplana, Escondida's vice president for corporate affairs, said after the company delivered its latest proposal.

The union is calling for a five per cent salary increase and a conflict termination bonus of four per cent of dividends received by shareholders last year, or about USD 34,000 per worker.

The company has increased its initial offer of 13.5 million Chilean pesos to 15 million (USD 23,000) per worker as a bonus for ending the negotiation.

The mine is located in the Atacama desert at an altitude of about 3,100 metres (10,100 feet).
A woman has approached the Madras High Court seeking a compensation of Rs five lakh and action against doctors of a government hospital here who allegedly misdiagnosed a tumour in her abdomen as pregnancy.

Justice T Raja, before whom the petition came up yesterday, sought some clarifications from the government pleader with regard to the woman's medical reports and posted the matter for further hearing after two weeks.

In her plea, the petitioner, who got married in 2009, said she went to the hospital in March 2016 as she was experiencing menstrual irregularities.

Post examination, the doctors told her she was pregnant and that she was due for delivery in November, the petitioner said.

As months went by, she did not experience labour pain. So the woman went back to the hospital where the doctors conducted a scan and told her that the baby was fine. She was asked to wait a few more days.

The petitioner said she developed an abnormal abdominal pain on November 21 and was rushed to the hospital.

To her shock, she was informed by the doctors that she was not pregnant and it was only a small tumour in her abdomen, the plea said.

The petitioner then went to a private scan centre where it was confirmed that she had developed a small fibroid in the anterior wall of her uterus and that she was not pregnant.

The petitioner also alleged that all her papers, including medical reports, were removed from a book where details of regular check-up are noted.

She submitted that she was wrongly declared pregnant by the doctors and unnecessarily put on medication for pregnancy.

She said her husband, a daily-wage labourer, had approached the hospital authorities seeking compensation and action against the erring doctors, but received no response.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - Agriculture ministers from the G20 countries said they were concerned about the increasing use of protectionist non-tariff trade measures inconsistent with World Trade Organization (WTO) rules, according to a communique released on Saturday. The ministers, in Buenos Aires for the G20 meeting of agriculture ministers, said they had affirmed their commitment to refrain from adopting unnecessary obstacles to international trade, and affirmed their rights and obligations under WTO agreements. (Reporting by Scott Squires and Luc Cohen; editing by Diane Craft)(This story ...
By Maximilian HeathBUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - The trade relationship between the United States and Europe is improving, German Agriculture Minister Julia Kloeckner said on Saturday, but there is no guarantee the bloc will buy the quantity of soybeans that Washington expects.U.S. President Donald Trump and Jean-Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, the EU's executive body, struck a surprise deal on Wednesday that ended the risk of an immediate trade war between the two powers.After the talks, Trump highlighted benefits for U.S. farmers. "The European Union is going to start, ...
MUMBAI/NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian truckers have called off their strike after eight days as the government agreed to consider their demands to cut levies on diesel fuel, an official of the protesting group said on Saturday.The All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC), an organisation of transporters that organised the strike, had demanded a cut in federal and state levies on diesel by bringing the fuel under the scope of the nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST).India's Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari late on Friday said the government was sympathetic towards truckers' concerns and had ...
Ursula Gather, head of the Thyssenkrupp foundation, ruled out a break-up of the German steel-to-submarines conglomerate and rejected allegations she is responsible for a leadership crisis, Der Spiegel newsmagazine reported. Thyssenkrupp's chief executive and chairman quit this month citing a lack of support from "major shareholders" at a time when activist investors Cevian, which holds an 18 percent stake, and Elliott, are pushing for a deeper restructuring. Gather finds such allegations "unjustified and painful," Der Spiegel said, quoting ...
BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) - U.S. farmers could receive cash payments from a planned $12 billion aid package as soon as late September, United States Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told Reuters on Saturday.Perdue said in an interview on the sidelines of the G20 meeting of agriculture ministers in Buenos Aires that the plan would include between $7 billion and $8 billion in direct cash relief.The aid plan, a response to retaliatory trade measures on U.S. farm exports, is intended only for the 2018 crop cycle, he said. (Reporting by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by Sandra Maler)(This story has not ...
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Its a freezing weekday morning in a Canberra winter, but over at the zoo, a pair of Sumatran tigers are lounging happily in the frost. Theyve grown extra-thick pelts, and prefer the winter sunshine to their specially heated dens. Zoo founder and owner Richard Tindale says he can sympathise with the majestic cats; he, too, gets grumpy when the mercury rises, preferring to stride about in the cold. Unlike the tigers, though, Tindale has spent most of his life in Canberra. And although he regularly travels to Africa, Asia and South America, its the place hell always come back to. More specifically, the zoo that he and his wife, Maureen, have built pretty much from the ground up, is what keeps him here. They even live here, in an apartment close to their former family digs, once home to the couple and their six kids, now the luxury Jamala Lodge, a favourite with celebrities and other well-to-do folk who love the idea of sleeping and lounging just a pane of glass away from a tiger, bear or giraffe. For the first time in many years the couple are empty-nesters - if you can call premises with at least 100 separate mammals, countless fish and birds "empty". The now-much-lauded National Zoo and Aquarium is the result of a serious gamble the Tindales took as they set off on something of a second life 20 years ago. Tindale was once one of Canberras property titans, a young real estate agent made good. As a teenager - he moved to Canberra with his family at the age of six - he had dreams of becoming a journalist, even taking a job as a copyboy at The Canberra Times when he finished school at 17. He didnt make the cut for a cadetship that year, and so took a job in the public service instead, spending four years in the Department of Treasury before casting his eye further afield. I applied for a real estate job when I was 22, started selling, and then when I was 25 I took over running the company, Tindale says. We were very small, we were the smallest agency in Canberra at that stage. It was called Reg Daly real estate, and it was just a little agency on the second floor of Hobart Place. Very nondescript. Were sitting in Tindales equally nondescript office just off to the side of the Jamala entrance. Unlike the lodge itself - which, with its $2000-a-night accommodation packages, keeps the zoo up-and-running - the office is typically unflashy, much like Tindale himself. And, in keeping with this image, he sums up his property career in no more than a couple of sentences, really. There were two shareholders in and I became the third shareholder in it, and then I eventually bought out the other two, and sold those shares to all the senior people in the company at that time, he says. The firm merged with another, R.O. Wellsmore, and eventually became Independent Property Group, still one of Canberras biggest property and real estate companies. I stayed there effectively until 1994, and then decided that I wanted to do something different, he says. I saw a lot of people in business who just got consumed, wanting to do more and more, whether it was building the business or build the profit or the assets. "I just thought, there's something different to do, something more. So I sold up and Maureen and I travelled around a lot and tried to see the big cats in the wild. We went everywhere from Alaska to Patagonia to Nepal Mongolia, Siberia, Africa. We loved all animals but cats were my passion, and I realised that other than in Africa, most of the cats were going to get wiped out in the wild. So the original intention was to set up a big cat breeding facility for endangered species. Their plan - audacious even today - was to do that right here in Canberra. Tindale had begun talks with the then minister for tourism about a land grant for a large-scale cat-breeding program, when the site of the citys former aquarium came onto the market. Nestled in urban bushland 15 minutes from the city centre, the enterprise had, by then, gone into receivership twice. At the time, Tindale seemed tainted even by considering taking it over. Because it had gone broke twice, and I had no background in zoology, and I was a developer and a builder and a real estate person, that they thought I was buying this to develop into apartments, he says, chuckling. Just dealing with the government here was very awkward for a period. Dealing with the zoo industry was very awkward, so for the first couple of years we got nothing other than a few emu chicks. Gradually, they began consulting with other zoos, bringing in the experts and building up some credibility. Local staff were trained, the site expanded and the initial three zookeepers eventually became 20. Most of those are home-grown, he says, not to mention several of his children involved in running the place. The keepers come through the ranks as volunteers. We've got to see them for a period of time, worked with them before we've given them part-time work, and they're trained the way that we want them trained, and they're all here for the right reasons. It's a terrific base of staff. And, as we wander the paths past some of the enclosures, looking for a perfect photo set-up, Tindales admiration and deference to the staff - not to mention his awe of the animals - is evident. The whole concept of the zoo wasn't necessarily to give something back to Canberra because - I think we have, but I think that's more of a by-product, he says. It was more that we wanted to do something for animals, and by doing that, we could create something that could be great for Canberra as far as education, as far as recreation and as far as tourism is concerned. We think that's a consequence of wanting to do something for the animals. He says it took a good five years before anyone started taking the zoo seriously. In the meantime, he, Maureen and their brood of animal-loving kids set about building a conservation community. We took on a lot of ex-circus animals, and no one else would take them on other than [South Coast zoo] Mogo, he says. Once they've finished performing, they go from being an asset to a liability. He recalls, with a surprising amount of tenderness, how anxious he was when the first pair of circus bears arrived. The first night that the bears arrived, I slept down there with them because I was worried about them, he says. I'd had advice on it, but everything we'd built here, every single thing, Maureen and I have designed and fitted out. We've used people to put the drawings on to paper, but we've given them the drawings first. So when you're starting to talk about dens, bear dens, you've got to make sure you get it right. In the early days, he stayed close to the circus animals and other newcomers as they settled in, even while he let the experts do their job. Now I don't worry about it - I know that whatever happens, they're well looked after, he says.

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ECP released complete election results

The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) on Saturday released the complete preliminary results, more than 56 hours after the conclusion of voting for the 11th General Elections in the country.



According to the figures provided by the ECP, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) has emerged as the largest political party in the country, winning 115 of the 270 National Assembly seats on which the elections were held. The PML-N, which completed its government's tenure in May, has this time won 64 seats, while the PPP is in third place with 43 seats to its name.



Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), an alliance of multiple religious parties, has managed to win only 12 seats, whereas Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) has garnered just six seats.



PML-Q and the newly formed Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) have won four seats each, while Sindh-based Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) has won only two.



Akhtar Mengal's resurgent Balochistan National Party (BNP) has bagged three berths for itself in the lower house of the parliament, while Awami National Party's (ANP) tally stands at just one.



Awami Muslim League (AML), Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaniyat and Jamhoori Wattan Party (JWP) have also grabbed a seat each. Twelve independent candidates have also won the elections and are likely to play an important role in formation of the central government.
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Serious questions have been raised about security at Canberra Hospital, after witnesses recalled a police officer ordering a wardsperson to picked up a dropped gun during last week's shooting incident. Fairfax Media can reveal a nurse was allegedly assaulted by a man under police guard in a separate incident only days earlier. There have been calls for police to leave their guns in locked safes before entering the hospital, a policy unions said existed up until a few years ago. James William Shearer, 26, was in police custody in the hospital's emergency department last week when he allegedly wrestled a gun off a police officer and shot it a number of times. He has since been charged with attempted murder, charges his lawyer suggested were an "overreaction to circumstances". According to witness reports, the shots narrowly missed two staff and the accused was Tasered a number of times before dropping the gun to the ground. An officer yelled at a wardsman responding to the code black to get "me my f---ing gun", before the accused was restrained by a number of people, according to witness statements collected by the Health Services Union. ACT Policing did not answer a series of questions relating to carrying guns in the hospital and proper protocol. Health Services Union secretary Gerard Hayes has written to hospital chief Chris Bone urging an urgent review of ED-specific workplace health and safety policies. He also asked for a roundtable discussion about issues including firearm protocols within the hospital. Nursing and Midwifery Union ACT secretary Matthew Daniel said he had been trying to clarify what the policy and practice was around guns in the hospital, but had not received a clear answer. He said members who had worked at the hospital for more than two years recalled it was previously common for police to leave their guns in a lock box provided. "Here and in NSW in some mental health facilities guns aren't taken in, so what's the difference between an ED and mental health facility?" Mr Daniel said. In a separate incident, only days earlier, a man in police custody is alleged to have assaulted a nurse. It is understood the prisoner had been under police guard, and secured to the bed using soft restraints, when he allegedly threw water at an officer and nurse. The nurse was using a towel to clean up the water when the prisoner allegedly kicked him in the stomach. The force of the alleged blow knocked the nurse backwards and into the computer stand, before he fell to the floor. The prisoner had to be sedated after he continued to be aggressive and abusive towards hospital staff and police. An emergency department worker, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said code blacks were an almost daily occurrence at the hospital, and wards-people, nurses and even cleaners were forced to step in to contain the situation. He said the de-escalation rooms were a serious concern for many staff, especially since the renovations of the hospital. Staff said the padded rooms and lack of windows were far from a calming environment and made patients more volatile and escalated situations. Two to six police officers usually bring patients - often violent and volatile - into the room and then leave them with support staff to deal with. The worker said little or no support had been offered by management to staff who witnessed the events or were concerned about their colleagues' safety. The accused was believed to have become violent as his sedation wore off. "There was a short de-briefing some staff got to which was an absolute joke," he said. "We're not here to cop-bash, they have a hard job to do. "But a lot of systems fell down to create the situation that could have ended in disaster." Australian Federal Police Association president Angela Smith said police should be commended for their bravery and "swift and measured" actions, which meant no one had been seriously injured or killed at the hospital. "[Last week's] incident, that could have easily resulted in someone being killed, regrettably is not an isolated one," she said. "The lengths that some people will go to, to avoid arrest, is a real concern." An ACT Health spokesman said secure storage for firearms was provided in some areas of the hospital but police were permitted to carry guns. "Patient and staff safety at our hospitals is extremely important, and everyone has a right to feel safe within our hospital and health services," he said. "ACT Health works closely with unions and other staff representatives to ensure staff are supported and that their work environment is safe. As part of this, the interim director-general of ACT Health is establishing a new joint consultative committee with unions where matters such as this are able to be discussed."

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Aldi is locked in a legal battle with the body corporate that administers the property it occupies at Gungahlin Square, which the supermarket chain plans to leave. The company needs consent from the body corporate to apply for changes to the crown lease purpose clause for Units Plan 2995, which specifies that a supermarket must fill the premises Aldi currently occupies at Gungahlin Square. Aldi wants the terms changed to allow for a supermarket or shop to take on the lease when it leaves, but the body corporate that administers the property has voted unanimously against providing consent. The body corporate's opposition prompted Aldi to take the dispute to the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal, which has ordered the parties to participate in mediation on September 14. Body corporate chairman Stef Pashalidis said if something other than a supermarket filled the space, it would damage the liveability of Gungahlin Square for its residents, and the commercial viability of the centre for the other retailers. "They've gone about it in a big business sort of way without any consideration," Mr Pashalidis said. "... [Aldi's] pockets go deeper than ours, so they can [pursue legal action] for longer than us, and they know that." An Aldi Australia spokesperson denied the supermarket chain was trying to change the terms of the crown lease in order to prevent another supermarket operator from moving into Gungahlin Square. The spokesperson said Aldi planned to leave because it had a growing range of products that it would not be able to accommodate in the store at Gungahlin Square, because there were no viable options to extend those premises. Aldi is set to open a store at the Marquee development in Amaroo, just a few kilometres from Gungahlin Square, late next year, but the spokesperson said that store was not a replacement for the Gungahlin Square supermarket. "We are currently weighing up options in the broader area," the Aldi spokesperson said. "At this stage, the local community can shop at our established stores in Gungahlin and Casey." An Aldi representative told a February general meeting of the body corporate the current terms of the crown lease were making it difficult to find prospective tenants to fill the premises, and that opening it up to shops other than supermarkets would help find a replacement tenant. At a directions hearing in the ACT Civil and Administrative Tribunal on Wednesday, barrister Kristy Katavic, representing Aldi, said the company did not see the benefits of mediation. "They feel like they've exhausted explaining the reasons behind it [to the body corporate]," Ms Katavic said. "My client feels as though they need to get on with it." Lawyer Maurice Falcetta, representing the body corporate, said he believed mediation would be an effective way to reach a compromise that worked for everyone. "There are a lot of different interests that need to be considered," Mr Falcetta said, referring to the fact the body corporate was made up of 101 residential owners and 45 commercial unit owners. The tribunal ordered both parties to attend mediation on September 14. If they are unable to reach an agreement, a two-day hearing will be held on October 22-23, with the tribunal to decide whether Aldi can lodge an application for changes to the lease.

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Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has released an employment notification calling out aspirants to apply for the post of Trainee under the NEEM (National Employability Enhancement Mission) scheme.

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 10775 per month.

The application process is online only. The last date to apply for the government job is Aug 5, 2018. At the time of the written test, candidates must produce proof such as 10th std/SSLC marks card, degree/diploma certificate and caste/PWD certificate, if applicable. Also, print and fill the hall ticket form before attending the exam. Attach your passport size photo too.

BEL Recruitment 2018 For Senior Engineers

BEL Recruitment 2018 Vacancy Details

CRITERIA DETAILS Name Of The Posts Trainee Organisation Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) Educational Qualification BCom, BBA, BBM, BPharmaBSc (Electronics) and Diploma (CP) graduates Experience Not required Skills Required Technical skills Job Location India Salary Scale INR 10775 per month Industry Electronics Application Start Date July 25, 2018 Application End Date August 5, 2018

Shortlisted Candidates List Aug 16, 2018 Maximum Age Limit 25 years Selection Process Written test and interview Training Period One to three years

Also Read: BEL Recruitment 2018 For Security Guards For The Ministry Of Defence

How To Apply For BEL Recruitment 2018

In order to apply for BEL Recruitment 2018, follow these steps:

Step 1: Log on to the BEL official website.

Step 2: The application form will be displayed on the screen. Enter your details in the fields provided.

Step 3: Click Submit and complete the registration process.

Step 4: Login with your credentials and complete the application process.

Click here to read the detailed official notification.
Elections not being free and fair: Bilawal Bhutto

KARACHI: The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Friday rejected the July 25 general elections for not being free and fair, but ruled out any possibility of boycotting the parliament.



We dont accept the results of the elections, PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto told a press conference here. Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is responsible for carrying out transparent polls  but they failed to deliver, he lamented, and demanded that the chief election commissioner must resign over failure to conduct a transparent election in the country.



We are democracy-loving people, but cannot accept this result. I pay tribute to PPP workers, ticket holders and candidates for performing better than the last elections, but we cannot accept these results, Bilawal said. Expressing serious concerns over what he called pre- and post-poll rigging, the PPP chief said the party will form a fact-finding committee and make its findings public.



Bilawal said that PPP will play its role as an opposition in the parliament setting an example for others on how opposition politics is done. Free and fair elections are every Pakistanis right and on that front we are not willing to compromise, he said, adding that PPP will take the matter forward in the parliament.



About the APC statement regarding not taking oath, the PPP chief said that his party will not boycott parliament and will urge other parties too to take the issue to parliament. We will talk to other parties as well and urge them not to quit the parliamentary politics despite their serious grievances. We will try to convince them to be in favour of the parliamentary process, he remarked. Despite the hurdles created for us, PPP performed better than the last elections. But, we will not allow these rigged elections mar the democratic process in the country, he added.



The PPP chief also rejected all the rumours of an alliance with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) to form a coalition government in Centre. PPP will sit in opposition in the Centre, he said.



Commenting on staying away from the all-parties conference held in Islamabad, Bilawal said the PPP decided against attending the APC as it has to set its own direction. Commenting on his defeat from Karachis Lyari neighbourhood, Bilawal said, Residents of Lyari are my people and I will continue my efforts for their well-being.
MQM to join PTI in forming govt

KARACHI: With only six seats in the National Assembly, the Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan is inching closer to forge a coalition with the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf which lacks a simple majority in the lower house of parliament, it emerged on Friday.



The MQM-P, which only a day before had rejected the election results, also chose not to side with the parties complaining of massive rigging in the general elections. The partys announcement that it was not attending the multi-party conference convened by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman in Islamabad is being seen as an attempt to appease the establishment and keep its door open for negotiations with the PTI.



Once estranged parties, the MQM and PTI had developed a working relationship in September last year when PTIs senior leader Shah Mehmood Qureshi made an attempt to replace then leader of the opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Ahmed Shah. The two parties also supported each others candidates in the July 25 elections in various constituencies in the interior of Sindh.



Although the PTI has emerged as the single-largest party in the National Assembly with 115 seats, it still requires 22 more votes to get a simple majority. Even if all 13 independents join the PTI, the party still needs nine more MNAs.



Against this backdrop, PTI chief Imran Khans point man Jahangir Tareen telephoned MQM-P convener Dr Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui on Friday to pave the way for future negotiations on forming a coalition at the Centre.



MQM-P spokesperson Aminul Haque told Dawn that Mr Tareen congratulated Dr Siddiqui on his partys success in the election.



He said both sides accepted each others mandate and agreed on having a meeting soon. Mr Haque said nothing had been decided about formation of a future government.



But sources said the MQM-P was ready to support the PTI at the Centre but wanted Imran Khan to visit its Bahadurabad headquarters to seek its support. Besides, it wanted a package for Karachi and Hyderabad and funds and powers for the local bodies in the two cities.



In the past, the MQM-P had extended unconditional support to former prime ministers Yousuf Raza Gilani, Raja Pervez Ashraf, Nawaz Sharif and Shahid Khaqan Abbasi.



Also on Friday, cracks reappeared in the MQM-P when senior leader Dr Farooq Sattar, who lost Wednesdays election to PTI candidates from two NA seats, attended the multi-party conference in Islamabad against the decision of the partys coordination committee.
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After almost two years of an investigation initiated with a false campaign hit piece, the Democrat party continues its valiant quest to slay a dragon that doesn't exist. In fairness, when your party's midterm campaign strategy is rooted in the abolition of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), what else do you have to go on?

The inception of the fake Russia collusion investigation immediately following the election of President Donald Trump was infuriating, but unsurprising. How else would the Democrat party and mainstream media (one in the same) explain away the all-out rejection of their narrative and worldview?

While the idea of Donald Trump becoming president was initially met with humor within the leftist bubbles of D.C., Manhattan and Los Angeles, come election night in 2016, the joke was on them.

Suddenly the humor and self-importance leftist politicians and pundits enjoyed on a nightly basis while mocking, slandering and ridiculing then-candidate Trump was transformed into embarrassment and anger. The solution? Apparently, blame it on Russia.

Wait, Russia? Why Russia? To quote Barack Obama, "The Cold War's been over for 20 years."

Is Russia the only country "meddling" in our political system? Hardly.

As Tucker Carlson recently pointed out, Mexico has been far more successful at "meddling" in U.S elections than Russia has by encouraging its citizens to illegally enter the United States.

As Mexico's President-elect Lopez-Obrador stated during his campaign, he believes migrating to the United States is "a human right we will defend."

But the so-called "meddling" done by Russia or Mexico pales in comparison to the explicit infiltration of our political system by the terrorist organization known as the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Muslim Brotherhood is the oldest and most sophisticated Islamic terrorist organization in the world, with devotees including Osama bin Laden, ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, and current al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

The Brotherhood devised a plan to destroy the United States not from abroad, but from within, and have successfully done so through front groups that currently yield enormous power on Capitol Hill, most notably the Council for American-Islamic Relations and the Islamic Society of North America.

Both CAIR and ISNA enjoy legitimacy from politicians in both parties, as well as the mainstream media, despite both having proven financial ties to the Palestinian terrorist network Hamas.

In fact, in 2008, both were named as unindicted co-conspirators in the largest terrorist financing trial in world history known as the Holy Land Foundation trial.

The Islamist front groups continue to raise millions of dollars unfettered and maintain access to politicians at the highest levels of government.

So where is the outrage from the media? Where is the investigation from our so-called leaders?

Following President Trump's recent meeting in Helsinki with President Vladimir Putin, retiring Speaker Paul Ryan was quick to tweet about how crucially important it was for President Trump to recognize that the House Intelligence Committee has also found that Russia "interfered" in our election.

This begs a few important questions.

One, was this the first time they "interfered" in our election or did they also "interfere" during 2012 to combat a particularly anti-Russia then-candidate Romney in support of a potentially very "flexible" post-election then-President Obama.

Secondly, would acquiring U.S uranium production and interests in exchange for a substantial donation to a certain Secretary of State's foundation constitute "interfering?"

Also, given that the greatest threat to Western civilization has been Islamic terrorism since the collapse of the Soviet Union more than 25 years ago, could we maybe also have a House Intelligence investigation into Islamist collusion within our government through established terrorist front groups such as CAIR or ISNA?

So why the left and establishment right's obsessive focus on Russia and blatant blind eye to the most critical threats?

In case you hadn't noticed, the radical left doesn't exactly consider radical Islamic terrorism the highest of priorities, which is both terrifying and shocking in a post-9/11 world.

Not only does Islamic terrorism threaten their multi-cultural worldview, but focusing on ghosts of the past such as the evil Soviet empire gives globalist alliances such as NATO, which were specifically established to defend the West against communism, a chance to flex their muscles of self-importance again.

President Trump puts America first and threatens the entrenched ways of old, both domestically and internationally, and as such, he has made enemies with both the radical left and globalist right.

The good news is, as was true during his campaign, if President Trump stays focused on securing the border, draining the swamp and putting America first, the citizens of this nation will back him up, no matter the onslaught of attacks he faces from either direction.
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What would cause Christian parents to withhold medical care from their children? Or, for that matter, what would cause Christians to withhold care from those who are in need of medical intervention?

I read a 2003 article written by C. W. Booth in response to a three-year-old dying because the parents withheld needed antibiotics in the hope that God would heal the child. In it he wrote, "Biblical doctrine results in righteous behaviors of faith, whereas the end of faulty doctrine is unrighteous behavior; whether the world understands the difference is another matter. The key is not whether one has faith, but in what and in whom has that faith been placed?" As we shall see, misplaced faith can lead to fanaticism.

According to the Associated Press (AP), two members of the religious community called Followers of Christ Church pleaded guilty on Monday, July 9th, 2018 to "negligent homicide and criminal mistreatment in the death of their newborn daughter, who struggled to breathe for hours as family and friends prayed over her but did not seek medical care." The Oregon Church is known to shun "traditional medicine in favor of prayer and anointing the sick with oils." The members "believe in a literal translation of the Scripture, which states that faith will heal all and if someone dies, it is God's will." That is religious fanaticism writ large.

Sadly, the couple's daughter was the fifth child to die under similar circumstances in that religious community. Mercifully, the couple's other twin daughter was saved by a deputy medical examiner who after being called to the house for her sister's death, noticed that she too was struggling to breathe. The AP found that 78 children have been buried in the church's graveyard since 1955, and at least 21 children have been saved by medical intervention.

The first clause of Mark 2:17 says, "And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick.'" Clearly, and there is nothing written in scripture to the contrary, Jesus understood the need for physicians: they tend to the sick. Jeremiah 8:22 says, "Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then has not the health of the daughter of my people been restored?" We can safely deduce from this question that there was an understanding in ancient Israel that physicians tend to the medical needs of the sick.

Especially coming from the Healer - that he would recognize the usefulness of medical interventions - it should make us accept their usefulness as well. In fact, the knowledge to heal through medicine is a gift from God, and is therefore something he has provided for us to use when we need it. The word translated "physician" is actually "healer". It goes without saying, then, that if we are sick it is not undermining of our faith to seek help from a doctor.

The account of the woman with the issue of blood for twelve years mentioned that she could not be helped by any physician at the time (Luke 8:43-44). This tells us that even as Jesus walked and healed, there were doctors practicing the art of healing by physical means. It is often what the doctors cannot heal by their practices and methods, or when the sick cannot reach a doctor in time, that Jesus heals miraculously.

Hezekiah asked God to heal him, and God instructed the physicians through Isaiah to "Make an ointment from figs and spread it over the boil, and Hezekiah will recover" (Isaiah 38:21). When Timothy was having stomach problems, Paul advised him to drink wine, a form of medication, to relieve his illness (1 Timothy 5:23). Both instances were acts of real faith in which men received healing by believing that God can accomplish it through medical intervention.

What would cause parents to withhold medical care from their children? It may seem to some that by relying on God to heal their daughter rather than relying on man's ability, albeit a trained medical professional, the parents were courageously extending their faith and ought to be commended and, for that matter, proves that it was God's will that the child should die. But the truth is, they really did not believe God, and consequently did not use what He provided for them.

Jonas Salk developed the successful inactivated vaccine for polio, and now the disease is virtually wiped out. Before Salk's effective vaccine, thousands of people in the United States were paralyzed from the disease each year, and thousands also died. But thanks to the effort of the government and healthcare services, this feared disease of the mid-twentieth century is of little concern in the twenty-first century.

Today we have the resurgence of some diseases that were virtually wiped out. But because of the refusal of some parents to have their children vaccinated against them, diseases such as whooping-cough, measles, mumps and chicken pox are resurgent in the United States. These are easily preventable diseases with the use of vaccines. These parents and people who refuse useful vaccinations are called anti-vaxxers. Sadly, we have a significant number of anti-vaxxers in the Christian community with many claiming religious exemption, and are being accommodated by the States.

The religious rejection of life saving vaccination is based on the objection to abortion by some, notably in Australia, claiming that "use of vaccines containing fetal material violates the teaching of pro-life religions such as Christianity." They protest any government mandate on that basis because it would violate their religious freedom. However after the outbreak in the US of "measles and other diseases once nearly eradicated, legislators in 19 states have introduced legislation to tighten or eliminate those exemptions."

Often, though, this rejection of vaccinations and other medical interventions are based on ignorance, and perhaps worse, on conspiracy theories and urban legends that many Christians have come to sincerely believe. Unfortunately, it is the children who most often suffer the consequences of this sincere but misguided faith of their parents. This faith is not based upon a sound doctrine balanced by the corpus of biblical teachings about the providence of God and his operation in the world, but on a narrow, self-righteous interpretation of isolated texts.

A warning is warranted for those who gravitate to these isolationist religious sects, and for those who embrace extreme so-called faith practices. Withholding necessary and needed medical intervention from children or anyone is indeed "unrighteous behavior" based on "faulty doctrine." It is not real faith, but self-righteousness and fanaticism disguised as faith. Jesus said to those religious people who thought they were in the faith "Depart from me... I was sick and...you did not look after me" (Matt. 25:41-43). Real faith leads to choices that provide care to the sick and needy; fanaticism leads to choices that bring harm to others in the name of religious faith.

Marvin G. Thompson has, over the past 38 years, served as youth leader, church officer, assistant Sunday School Superintendent and teacher, and presently as a deacon and preacher, serve men's and small group ministry leadership and. Started the Berean Fundamentals blog on Christian Post to challenge Christians to live consistently with the teachings of Scripture.
Shahbaz Sharif recounting request rejected in NA-249

KARACHI: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Shahbaz Sharifs request for recounting of votes in NA-249 was rejected by the returning officer (RO) of the constituency on Friday.



In a first-ever contest seeing a top leader of the PML-N in Karachis electoral arena, Mr Shahbaz, according to unofficial results, has lost to the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insafs Faisal Vawda with a narrow margin of 718 votes.



PML-N leader Rana Mashood had filed the request on behalf of Mr Sharif with the returning officer of NA-249 from where PTI candidate Wadya has been unofficially declared elected with 35,344 votes. Mr Sharif emerged as the runner-up as he bagged 34,626 votes and Mufti Abid Mubarak of the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan secured the third position by obtaining 23,981 votes.



In his application requesting for recounting of the votes, Mr Mashood said that Mr Vawda had won the seat with a the winning margin of only over 600 votes while over 3,000 votes were rejected during the counting.

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Commenting on the decision of the RO, Mushahidullah Khan, a senior leader of the PML-N, said had the election process been fair and transparent, the returning officer would have accepted Mr Shahbazs request for recounting of votes, instead of summarily rejecting his application.



It appeared that in many constituencies PML-N candidates were in winning position but they had been defeated through rigging and now their applications for vote recount were being rejected under pressure, Mr Khan alleged. He said that the PML-N would file an appeal with the election commission against the decision of the RO whose behaviour has proved that the party is not being provided a level playing field.



As the process of filing of appeals for vote recount by losing candidates in Elections-2018 began on Friday, a number of applications for recount were filed in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.



The returning officers of two National Assembly constituencies in Lahore allowed applications of PML-N leader Khwaja Saad Rafiq and Abdul Aleem Khan of the PTI for holding recount in their respective constituencies  NA-131 and NA-129.



PTI chairman Imran Khan has won NA-131 against Mr Rafiq while the PML-Ns Sardar Ayaz Sadiq has defeated Aleem Khan in NA-129. Both runner-up candidates Mr Rafiq and Mr Khan have alleged discrepancies in the vote count process.



Meanwhile, the RO for PP-162 issued a notice to returned candidate Yasin Sohail of the PML-N on another identical application of Aleem Khan, who has lost from the provincial assembly constituency.



In Faisalabad, former minister Abid Sher Ali (NA-108), former MPA Malik Nawaz (PP-110), former MNA Dr Nisar Jutt of the PTI (NA-106) and Masood Nazir, an independent candidate (NA-105), filed applications for vote recount.



In Multan, the returning officer for NA-158 rejected former prime minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilanis application for recounting/re-examination of ballot papers.



The ROs for NA-154 and NA-157, however, accepted similar applications submitted by Abdul Qadir Gilani and Ali Musa Gilani, sons of the former premier. The recount will be held in the presence of all the candidates on Saturday.



In Sahiwal, Mian Farrukh Manika of the PTI retained his winning position in PP-191, Pakpattan, after a recount.



Muhammad Tufail Jutt of the PML-N, a runner-up in NA-149 Chichawatni filed an application for a recount and the RO decided to take up the application on Monday.



Mian Tufail Jutt has been defeated by Rai Murtaza Iqbal of the PTI. Mr Iqbal obtained 137,236 votes against 111,552 of Mr Jutt.



In Okara, the RO rejected the application filed by the PTIs Chaudhry Muhammad Abdullah Tahir for recount in PP-188.



From PP-190, the PTIs runner-up Rai Hammad Aslam Kharal submitted an application for a recount and the RO issued notices for Saturday to all the 13 candidates, including the winner.



In Gujrat, PTI candidate for NA-71 (Sara-i-Alamgir-Kotla) Muhammad Ilyas Chaudhry filed an application for a recount after the seat was won by Abid Raza Kotla of the PML-N.



The returning officer fixed Saturday to listen to both the parties after which a decision would be made.



In Jhang, the RO fixed Saturday for recount of NA-114 votes on the application of Faisal Saleh Hayat.



The recount applications of the PTIs Muhammad Nawaz Bharwana (PP-127) and independent candidate Madhu Lal Hussain (PP-129) were also accepted.



In Gujranwala, PTI candidate for PP-54 Rizwan Aslam Butt submitted his application for recounting of votes and the returning officer summoned the contesting parties on Saturday.



In Toba Tek Singh, PTI candidate from in NA-112 Chaudhry Muhammad Ashfaq submitted a similar application.



In Mansehra, the retuning officer of NA-13 ordered recounting of votes on the application of the losing aspirant of the PML-N, Sardar Shahjehan Yousuf.



In Haripur, PML-N candidate for NA-17 Babar Nawaz submitted an application for recounting and the decision on his application will be made by the RO on Monday.
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Did you know that Jesus was a rabbi, not a reverend? That Christ wasn't His last name but the Greek way of saying "Messiah"?

Did you know that Jesus' original, Hebrew name was Yeshua and that His mother's name was Miriam, not Mary? That His first followers were Jewish men with names like Yochanan and Ya'akov and Yehudah?

Did you know that the Letter of James was actually the Letter of Jacob and that the Letter of Jude was actually the Letter of Judah?

Did you know that the big controversy in the early Church was not whether Jews could follow Yeshua and remain Jewish but whether Gentiles had to become Jews to follow Him? After all He was the Jewish Messiah!

And did you know that Yeshua didn't come into the world to establish a new religion called "Christianity" as much as He came to fulfill what was written in Moses and the Prophets?

How, then, did we end up with two totally distinct religions, Judaism and Christianity? How did we end up with two totally distinct calendars, with Judaism celebrating Passover and Christianity celebrating Easter?

We answer these important questions in our latest Consider This video. You might be in for some surprises! Watch here.
Clorox wipes, Kleenex, dry erase markers, and boxes of pencils, colored pencils and crayons are on the list of items requested by teachers for an inaugural school supply drive launched by a Kingwood retirement community.

Residents and staff of Watercrest at Kingwood joined forces to organize the drive in order to gather supplies for teachers at Bear Branch Elementary School.

Lake Houston area community members are invited to help with the effort by bringing donations to the Watercrests lobby. The drive will end on Friday, Aug. 3, when at 4 p.m., the supplies will be presented to Bear Branch Elementary School representatives during a celebration hosted at the retirement community.

Watercrest is located at 24109 Kingwood Place Drive.

Drive coordinators hope to collect 150 of each of the requested supplies in order to produce 30 school supply packs, which is the number of classrooms at Bear Branch Elementary. Monetary donations can also be made and will be used to purchase supplies for the drive.

Past and present educators are among the residents who live at Watercrest at Kingwood. Also among the residents is the mother of Kakie Palmer, principal of Bear Branch Elementary School.

Our teachers pay for a lot out of their own pockets to prepare their classrooms, and we are deeply appreciative of any assistance received to provide children the best educational experiences, Palmer said in a press release.

Watercrest residents Jim and Sharon Bridges, whose daughter-in-law is a teacher in Austin, agreed that educators often spend their own money for the sake of their students.

Jim recently learned of one of his own teachers who purchased a classmates graduation dress because she could not afford one, Sharon Bridges said. Little things like that demonstrate the lengths teachers go to for their students.

It is for this reason that the retirement community may start hosting this event every year during back-to-school season.

Teachers sacrifice for their students each year and prepare them for the years ahead, said Terri Lowery, executive director of Watercrest. Ensuring they have the materials to make that possible is the least we can do.

mfeuk@hcnonline.com
For many working parents, the start of the new school year also comes with the requirement of finding a safe and worthwhile place for their children to spend a few hours after school lets out each day. Fortunately, there are various options around the greater Houston area that will not only ensure your child is watched over, they also will help them build key skills to round out their education.

The Afterschool Alliance is a national organization dedicated to raising awareness of the importance of after-school programs to ensure that all children have access to affordable, quality after-school programs regardless of their family's income or their place of residence. It partners with more than 26,000 programs nationwide to give them tools and resources to advocate and improve what they're doing. This includes organizations such as the YMCA, the Boys and Girls Club, 4H, Campfire, After-School All-Stars, Save the Children and others.

According to the Afterschool Alliance, 11.3 million U.S. children currently take care of themselves after the school day ends. School days from 3-6 p.m. are the peak hours for juvenile crime and experimentation with drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and sex.

"After-school programs are a much better alternative to kids staying home staring at a computer all afternoon," said Jodi Grant, executive director of the Afterschool Alliance. "These programs help kids get out of their comfort zone while learning in academic and nonacademic environments and learning the importance of being on a team, and building social and professional skills to set them up to be successful in the workforce in the future."

After-school programs usually vary among ages, Grant said. For high school-age kids, after-school programs can include cooking classes, jobs and internships, as well as other areas such as theater, digital music, coding, computer science and robotics. They also often offer students the opportunity to be mentored in small groups.

"The curriculum is getting more sophisticated as these organizations are partnering with institutions such as colleges, libraries and science centers," she said.

The YMCA of Greater Houston also offers a variety of after-school care programs that are licensed by the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services, Child Care Licensing Division. These programs offer students 30 minutes each day to work on their homework with trained YMCA staff members, as well as social time with peers to form lasting friendships that enhance their development, growth and self-confidence. Through the YMCA's programs, school-age kids also have the opportunity to participate in STEAM activities (science, technology, engineering, arts and math), as well as reading, healthy eating and physical activities such as youth sports. The YMCA's after-school programs cover students from kindergarten through sixth grade, Monday through Friday, on regular school days.

"These programs give students the opportunity to grow within their community as leaders, while also providing a safe place to learn, have fun and get active," said Tunde Lawal, community executive director, Alief Family YMCA.

Other after-school programs in Harris County are available through the Harris County Public Library, which provides children's reading programs, and Houston Independent School District, which provides community learning centers to prepare students for the workforce after graduation, and an after-school achievement program, which serves children ages 5-14 and allows participating schools set their own curricula with input from parents, students, teachers and partners.

To learn more about the programs the YMCA of Greater Houston offers, visit www.ymcahouston.org/programs/after-school-care. For more information about the Afterschool Alliance, visit www.afterschoolalliance.org. For Harris County Public Library, visit www.hcpl.net/category/tags/afterschool-programs and for HISD, visit www.houstonisd.org/Page/32720.
At the future headquarters of the Spring ISD Police Department at 420 Lockhaven Drive in north Houston, the board of trustees put on hardhats and picked up hammers.

President of the board Rhonda Newhouse was the first one to slam the hammer against a wall to make room for the new police dispatch center at the new building.

"(It's) exciting to break through the wall, to break through to the other side, to know we are breaking through to better facilities. It's about time we move up to a first class facility and that's what this will be," she said.

The remodeling is one of several projects the district is working on over the summer as part of the $330 million bond, which will focus on major construction projects.

The current police department offices are located at 210 North Forest Drive inside an 8,000 square foot, one-story building.

Crossing guards, dispatch and clerical staff along with sworn officers make up the district's police force. Not all officers are located in the same building.

Due to the smaller size of the current headquarters, other officers are located in a satellite location, said Spring ISD police chief Victor Mitchell.

"(It's) so that we don't have two different locations we're trying to communicate with in order to work with any issues that we have," he said.

The current headquarters is also located in a flood plain and makes it difficult to enter or leave in case of high water, Mitchell said.

The new building at Lockhaven has two stories and will also house the district's tax office, risk management and technology departments.

It will feature 41,664 square feet of offices, workstations and storage space.

The remodeling is expected to cost about $1.8 million and be completed in late August, after the school year has begun, said chief operations officer Mark Miranda.

"This is our biggest project for this summer. We have a bunch of projects underway," he said.

Spring ISD also broke ground on the new Roberson Middle School in June that expects to house up to 900 students.

The current Roberson will be converted into a ninth grade center and is expected to cost about $33 million.

The construction for the new Roberson Middle School is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2019 and will be located on a 22-acre site at the corner of Veterans Memorial Drive and West Richey Road.

In November, the district implemented technology upgrades to its computers and laptops. As part of the bond, it replaced more than 3,500 old and bulky computers for $2.5 million.

It also purchased 60 new buses.

Earlier this year, Spring ISD also unveiled plans for another unnamed middle school as well a new stadium. Construction dates have not been announced for the additional construction projects.

In June, the district also voted to approve its 2018-2019 budget for $397 million.

"We are anticipating that this budget will be supported by a $1.51 tax rate per $100 of taxable value," chief financial office Ann Westbrooks said.

The tax rate will be $1.51 for homeowners with $1.06 going to the general fund. The remaining 45 cents will go to the interest and sinking portion to pay off the bond, which is estimated to be $58.4 million.

The budget will prioritize academic projects and employee retention.

The general operating budget will be made up of $312.4 million and $26.5 million going to the child nutrition fund.

The general fund will provide a one-time $1,500 supplement for full-time employees and $750 for half-time employees as part of a retention strategy.

The supplement will be paid in November to employees who have been with the district beginning on June 30, 2018.

The district will also invest in special education, performing and visual arts, gifted and talented materials, professional development for faculty and additional staff.

Spring ISD will also launch dual language programs at Northgate Crossing Elementary, Hirsch Elementary and Clark Primary schools.

mayra.cruz@chron.com
The Woodlands Fire Department will hire several new back-up, temporary emergency radio dispatchers after The Woodlands Township Board of Directors unanimously approved the request during a meeting on Wednesday, July 25.

Deputy Fire Chief Doug Adams of The Woodlands Fire Department presented the request for more back-up dispatchers to the board, explaining the need and answering questions from directors. The approval of the request means the department will be able to hire at least four back-up dispatchers from other area agencies who will be able to help fill-in during times of need, such as vacations, sick leave or other reasons for the absence of dispatchers.

Weve had an unusually large number of turnovers in dispatch. We had some anticipated retirements, and then we had some unanticipated employees leave where they sought other opportunities. We have seven new dispatchers in the dispatch office. So what were asking is to hire some dispatchers that work for other agencies to help fill in. On their probationary period, (new dispatchers) cannot perform all duties, Adams explained. So we need to have at least two of our full time employees (on duty). Right now, we at about 50 percent  seven of our 15 are probationary. What were asking to do is have the ability to hire some temporary dispatchers. This would fill in the gaps.

Adams said one dispatcher left the township fire department for a promotion to supervisor at another nearby agency, while another took a job at a different communications center.

Director Carol Stromatt asked Adams why the dispatcher jobs in The Woodlands are not as desirable as those in other communities or agencies.

I would like to know a little more about what led to this being so short and having so many people leave. I know you said retirement, but we know when people are retiring, right?, Stromatt asked. What makes our positions less favorable or desirable?

Adams said it is a challenge to fill communication jobs, and he said East Harris County has opened a new communications center that was seeking employees. Three long-time dispatchers with about 90 years combined experience retired from the department in the first quarter of 2018 and two others left for different jobs. The department also has seven new dispatchers, who are required to be mentored by a certified, fully-credentialed dispatcher for as long as one year before they can be left alone on duty.

One employee, he got promoted. He was relatively new (in The Woodlands), and he went to be a supervisor in Harris County, Adams said. It is a challenge to fill communications positions and there is a lot of competition. We do very well. The sheriffs department struggles to fill the positions they have.

Director Bruce Rieser told Stromatt that, You cant just put someone on dispatch, it takes over a year to certify.

To be honest with you, I dont think we have a retention problem in communications, per se, Rieser added.

Adams added that the department has worked hard to promote retention within the communication dispatch center.

We have taken a lot of steps to promote retention. We had some problems several years ago, but we have really taken some steps to maintain the staff we have, Adams added.

The fire department dispatch center, Adams said in an interview on July 27, is a 24-hour operation that requires at minimum three fully certified and credentialed dispatchers to be on duty. If trainee dispatchers are working, too, then they need to be supervised and mentored by a fully licensed dispatcher, he added. The back-up, temporary dispatchers will help cope with the training duties and also balancing serving the public at the same level.

The department will seek to hire about four extra dispatchers with the township approval, however the group will only fill in as needed and not be considered full time employees, Adams said.

(New hires) Are very familiar with the systems we use, he said. It allows for our trainers to focus on training and maintains our service levels. Theyll help out if we have to cover our off time when a dispatcher takes time off or is sick.
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
Houston may have come down with a nasty case of pink eye.

A spike in area cases has prompted concern, said Dr. Christina Weng, assistant professor of opthamalogy at Baylor College of Medicine.

Typically, we see a surge during the flu season, so its a little unsual to see it in July, she said.

Pink eye, or conjunctivitis, is caused by a virus, the same one that triggers the common cold. Symptoms include red eyes, mild blurring of vision, itchiness, tearing, discharge and sometimes a swollen lymphnode in front of the ear.

TYPHUS: Was once thought eradicated, but is now spiking in Texas

Pink eye is often prompted by a cold or flu, Weng said. It is highly contagious, transferring from person-to-person quickly and lasts from one to two weeks.

Since it is caused by a virus, pink eye is not treatable with antibiotics. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology, antibiotics can make symptoms worse. A 2017 study showed most people with pink eye get the wrong treatment, as nearly 60 percent of doctors prescribe antibiotic eye drops even though they are rarely necessary.

Its generally self-resolving, but the best precaution is washing your hands all of the time, Weng said. We dont realize we touch our faces numerous times a day.

In addition to frequent hand washing, Weng recommended changing out pillowcases, towels and mascara. She urges anyone with suspected pink eye or eye issues to see a doctor.

Recent news reports have linked Houstons pink-eye outbreak to a superbug involving a molecular alteration that the human immune system can no longer recognize, but Weng said there is no evidence of that.
A male was found dead on University of Houston's downtown campus Saturday morning, the Houston Police Department said.

Officers were sent to the school around 7:30 a.m. It was not immediately clear if the male was a student or how he died.
The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo filed a lawsuit against a consulting firm Friday regarding an open-records request connected to a 2017 rape lawsuit.

A 24-year-old originally sued the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and Los Vaqueros for $10 million in 2017 after she was brutally raped at a Los Vaqueros trail ride event in 2012. The organization was negligent in providing security during the event, she argued.

Wayne Dolcefino, a investigative consultant working on behalf of the rape victim, submitted an open-records inquiry asking the rodeo to provide records about its finances, sexual assault and harassment claims, as well as details about the security provided during rodeo events. The rodeo filed a countersuit earlier this month, asking a Harris County judge to determine which records it must produce under the Texas Non-Profit Act.

Judge Steven Kirkland of the 334th Civil Court said Friday that he didn't want to conflate the open records claim with the rape suit. If the Rodeo wanted to fight the release of business records, it would need to do so in a separate lawsuit.

By Friday evening, the rodeo had filed that new suit.

Lawyers described the counterclaim as an attempt to circumvent a judge's ruling requiring it to release records, saying it was "disgusting" and "irresponsible" to sue a rape victim.

A previous statement by rodeo officials said that the rodeo isn't an appropriate party for the woman's legal claim, which occurred at an unrelated event. They wanted to shut down the inquiry about their business records, according to the statement.

A new statement on Friday repeated those claims, calling the Los Vaqueros trail ride "completely unrelated to any Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo event."

"Today's hearing simply involved whether the rodeo's compliance with the law can be determined in this case or in a separate stand-alone case," rodeo officials stated Friday. "The Rodeo has nothing to hide. There are no sexual assault settlements."

Dolcefino described the countersuit Friday as an attempt to withhold records.

"They like being a charity when they get to brag about what they do, but they don't like the part of charity that says you've got to share your records," he said Friday afternoon. "I'm not going to let them get away with it."
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- A man was rushed to the hospital Friday night after he was wounded in a shooting at a Cleveland bar, police say.

The 26-year-old was shot in his left leg at Malibu Joe's bar on East 71st Street in the city's Broadway-Slavic Village neighborhood. His name has not been released.

No other details were released on the incident report.

To comment on this story, please visit Saturday's crime and courts comment section.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Our brunch and breakfast series continues as we check out Fat Cats. Here's a look at what to expect:

Location + hours: 2061 W. 10th St., Cleveland, 216-579-0200. Brunch is 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Small designated parking lot and street parking.

Menu or buffet? Menu.

About the place: The charming eclectic American bistro has been around for more than 20 years, tucked into a mostly residential neighborhood with a clear view of downtown. Classic rock played in the background on our visit.

About its patio: Half a dozen tables, including two 10-seaters, share space along with a pair of colorful rain barrels. Vines creep gently over a wall but are not intrusive.

For the pooches: The dog-friendly covered patio is great for a weekend brunch jaunt, and $2 for each dog-menu-item order will go to the Cleveland Animal Protective League.

About the drinks: You can order a Bloody Mary or Mimosa, but here's a fun one for several people: A Mimosa kit for $30 comes with a bottle of cava (Spanish sparkling wine and a great value), as well as grapefruit or orange juice.

About the food: The menu covers more than 30 mostly non-traditional offerings. You'll find French Toast but not a lot of other standard dishes. Fat Cats embraces meat (brunch burger, buckeye burrito) as well as vegetable and vegan (sweet potato tacos, quinoa bowl) offerings. We ventured out of the breakfast-brunch norm and tried a salmon bowl with tasty vegetables mixed with a generous piece of fish coated with an amazingly delicious, slightly peppery and herbal chermoula sauce. A hearty melted cheese sandwich was loaded: We added ham to its already packed Tilamook cheddar, house slaw and fried egg. The slaw added a zesty punch. Potatoes on the side were tasty and generous, with enough left over to bring home to add to dinner.

Dough! Bread is from The Stone Oven.

Specials: More than half a dozen specials included a wildly eclectic list including bahn bao, orecchiette and crab melt.

Have a brunch spot you've wondered about and want us to visit? Email me.

Previous eats: Northeast Ohio breakfast-brunch spots we've tried:

111 Bistro - Medina

35 Brix - Green

Akron Family Restaurant - Akron

Alley Cat - Cleveland

Bay Diner - Bay Village

Beau's on the River - Cuyahoga Falls

Big Al's Diner - Cleveland

Blue Canyon Kitchen & Tavern - Twinsburg

Blue Door Cafe - Cuyahoga Falls

Bonefish Grill - Independence

Brim Kitchen + Brewery - Willoughby

Burntwood Tavern - Brecksville

Check Please Cafe - Grafton

The City Diner - Cleveland

The Eye Opener - Akron

First Watch - Fairlawn

Flour - Moreland Hills

Flury's Cafe - Cuyahoga Falls

Flying Fig - Cleveland

Fred's Diner - Akron

Fresh Start Diner - Twinsburg

Gabe's Family Restaurant - Cleveland

The Girves Brown Derby - Medina

Hofbrauhaus - Cleveland

Jennifer's - Strongsville

Kelly's cafe - Brunswick

Lamp Post - Akron

Luxe Kitchen & Lounge - Cleveland

Michael's A.M. - Akron

Mom's Deli & Grille - North Royalton

Mustard Seed Market & Cafe - Fairlawn

Tartine Bistro - Rocky River

Tony's Family Restaurant - Parma

Urban Farmer - Cleveland

Valley Cafe - Akron

Village Diner - Orange

Wally Waffle - Akron

Yours Truly - Mentor
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Cuyahoga County officials on Friday announced they were implementing several changes to the Division of Children and Family Services that were recommended by a panel of child-welfare experts reviewing the death of 4-year-old Aniya Day-Garrett.

The changes include:

* Housing a deputy sheriff at DCFS and hiring 10 retired law enforcement officers to help with DCFS investigations

* Hiring extra DCFS staff to reduce caseloads. The goal will be to hire 12 more case workers within 90 days to bring the total number of child-protection specialists to 500. Staff levels will be continuously monitored.

* Having newly hired case workers work with experienced case workers for 6 months before handling cases on their own.

* Making efforts to include all family members in investigations, including interviews with mothers, fathers and children.

* Working closely with local police, community members. Also using geographically-related case assignments where possible.

* Participating in a program meant to educate people required by law to report suspected abuses, such as day-care center workers, about their obligations.

County Executive Armond Budish assembled the panel following Aniya's March 11 death. The girl suffered a stroke triggered by what police said was blunt force trauma to her head while in the care of her mother, Sierra Day, and Day's boyfriend, Deonte Lewis. Day and Lewis are charged with aggravated murder in the girl's death.

At the time she died, the girl appeared to be emaciated, had scald marks on her feet and legs, a large bruise near her eye and a cut on her face, according to a police report.

The case prompted Aniya's father, Mickhal Garrett, to call for reforms at DCFS, which had received three reports of abuse against Aniya in 2017, but did not find cause to remove her from Day's home.

Budish announced a series of changes to the division in the wake of Aniya's death, including the hiring of more social workers and the formation of the panel, a community listening tour and an advisory committee.

The five-person expert panel concluded its work earlier this summer and issued its final report, which the county is not releasing until the conclusion of Day's and Lewis' criminal proceedings, county spokeswoman Mary Louise Madigan said.

"I remain deeply disturbed by the death of Aniya Day Garrett and want to protect any child in our County from coming to harm," Budish said in a news release. "Child safety must always be our first priority. We are following all of the recommendations of the panel."
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Courtesy works, even in rock 'n' roll. Just ask Lucas Gregetz, who managed to wangle his way onto the Blossom Music Center stage with Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters Wednesday night.

Lucas, 17, was in the pit with his dad, Steve, and flashing a sign that said, "Let Me Jam Monkey Wrench Please.''

"It said 'Please' because we're Canadian and we're polite,'' Lucas said Friday in a call from his home in Essex, Canada, outside Windsor, Ontario.

The Foos traditionally invite a fan onstage to jam to the song "Monkey Wrench. Most recently, a fellow dubbed "KISS Guy" - real name Yayo Sanchez - took to the stage with the band in Austin, Texas, in April and "blew Dave's mind.''

Wednesday night, Grohl warned Lucas he'd have to meet or beat KISS Guy if he pulled him up onstage.

Mission accomplished.

Canadian teen Lucas Gregetz got his wish when Foo Fighters founder and frontman Dave Grohl brought him onto the Blossom Music Center stage to play guitar on the band's hit "Monkey Wrench'' on Wednesday, July 25. Joshua Gunter, Cleveland.com

"I practiced that song, but I hadn't practiced it in two weeks before [the show],'' Lucas said. "My dad didn't tell me we had seats in the pit.

"But I listened to it twice before we went in,'' said Lucas, who jams around his hometown with a bunch of musicians, but is not currently with a formal band.

As good as KISS Guy was - and he was - Lucas was hardly intimidated, and Grohl was suitably impressed.

"There was a time when he was looking at me and he said it really loud: 'Look at all the (expletive) people!' '' Lucas recalled.

"I thought I'd be nervous, but once I was up there, I was ready to go,'' Lucas said.

Grohl wanted to chat a little before the song, but Lucas would have none of it.

"I said 'Let's do this! You can ask me (stuff) later,' '' said, laughing.

For those who've never played a venue like Blossom, the biggest issue is the inability to hear yourself onstage. It sounds ironic, but that's the case. The amplified sound is piped out to the crowd. Onstage, while it's hardly whisper-quiet, musicians have to use wedge monitors or - more commonly now - in-ear monitors to hear themselves and their bandmates.

"I could barely hear me,'' said Lucas, who learned his first chords from a friend of his dad only five years ago. "I wanted to make sure I was in the right scale (key) doing the solo.

"Taylor (drummer Taylor Hawkins) was pretty much leading the song,'' said Lucas. "It was pretty much me and him going at it. I could hear him best with that big kit, so I was trying to follow him.''

The Foos' penchant for doctoring a song onstage triggered his desire to join them, Lucas said.

"They improvise a lot, and I like not knowing and trying to follow along,'' said the teen, who added that "Monkey Wrench" is his favorite Foo Fighters song.

In the end, KISS Guy Sanchez has gotten nearly 5 million views of his moment in the Foos spotlight on YouTube. Already, Lucas has almost 2,000 views of his starring role. There's been some other media attention in his hometown - local radio and TV stations and a few print outlets have talked to him.

He asked Grohl if he could keep the big Gibson he played during the set, but was turned down.

"I didn't expect him to give it to me,'' Lucas said.

So did he get anything, anything at all? A pick? An autograph? A signed shirt?

"No, nothing,'' Lucas said. He knows those things can be lost or misplaced. But a memory? That will last forever.

And no one can throw a "Monkey Wrench'' into that.
CLEVELAND, Ohio - Destination Cleveland, the agency charged with bringing more visitors to town, has issued a call to action to area residents: Help us meet our goal of attracting 20 million visitors by 2020.

Among the ways to help: Participate in the organization's new Visit Me in CLE campaign, by encouraging friends and families to come visit. The new campaign launches next week, with the first of two planning events to help residents get acquainted with the effort.

The campaign culminates in June 2019, with an inaugural Visit Me in CLE weekend, filled with events, discounts and uniquely Cleveland experiences.

"We're not asking much, but what we're asking can have a big effect on our area,'' said Colette Jones, vice president of marketing and communications at Destination Cleveland.

The goal of 20 million visitors by 2020 would be an increase of 11 percent in four years. Cuyahoga County welcomed 18 million visitors in 2016, an increase of 2.6 percent over 2015. Figures for 2017 have not yet been released.

A 2016 survey commissioned by Destination Cleveland found that 77 percent of Greater Clevelanders said they would recommend the city as a place to visit. Additional research found that recommendations from residents are among the most used resource for would-be visitors planning a trip to Cleveland.

But Jones said that residents don't always know what to tell friends about Cleveland or where to find information. This new campaign aims to inform and encourage them. Among its components:

* Two kick-off events, at Edgewater Live on August 2 and Wade Oval Wednesday on August 15, where residents can access information about the campaign, resources to explore the city, and start to make some plans. Residents can fill out postcards with fun sayings ("Greetings from that place you never visit," "You owe me a beer in Cleveland") and mail them to their friends via snail mail or email (to access the postcards online: visitmeincle.com). Locals also are encouraged to share photos on social media using the hashtag #VisitMeinCLE, tagging a friend to come to Cleveland. Photos will be printed and used to create an exhibit of enthusiastic Clevelanders, which will travel around the region over the next year.

* On March 20-24, Destination Cleveland will host "Be a Tourist in Your Hometown," a weekend for residents to get to know more about the region's attractions and experiences, with special events and discounts. Details are still being worked out, but there will be an emphasis on discovering the places in Cleveland that you might not know much about. "People have a tendency to stay close to home," said Jones. "How do we encourage them to get out and explore more? How do we make sure that people know all of Cleveland?"

* And then, on June 21-23, the agency will host its first "Visit Me in CLE" weekend, with still-to-be developed Cleveland experiences, discounts and attractions.
The typical American driver spends no more than an hour a day behind the wheel, effectively paying to let that vehicle sit idle most of the time, when they could be making $500 or more a month sharing it with strangers, according to General Motors.

The Detroit automaker is using its car-sharing service Maven to pilot a new peer-to-peer service in three Midwest cities. It allows GM owners to share their Buicks, Chevys and Cadillacs with other GM customers.

Maven already has 150,000 registered subscribers that it serves with a fleet of GM-owned cars, trucks and crossovers. As part of its plan to expand, Maven wants to sign up GM owners with vehicles from the 2015 model year or newer and give its customers access to those, as well, splitting the rental fee.

"It's time to put your car to work," said Julia Steyn, vice president of GM Urban Mobility services and Maven, adding that "your car is one of the most expensive things you own. Sitting idle, it is a wasted asset."

Indeed, considering that data service Edmunds estimates the average new 2018 model went for around $34,000 last month, that's a lot of money tied up in a vehicle you don't use all that much.

With the sharing economy, there's growing demand for transportation alternatives. For some folks, the answer is simply to tap a smartphone app and call for an Uber or some other ride-hailing service. But others prefer to drive themselves, and ride-sharing services provide an alternative to traditional car rental companies for those who might only need a set of wheels for an hour or two.
Matt Maloney, founder and CEO of Grubhub. Adam Jeffery | CNBC

Here's a roundup of the most important deals in venture capital in the last week.

Exits

Food ordering platform GrubHub soared more than 24 percent on Wednesday, following a strong second-quarter earnings report and the company's announcement it would acquire LevelUp, a mobile ordering and payments platform, for $390 million in an all-cash deal. Earlier investors in the LevelUp included JP Morgan, Alphabet's GV (formerly known as Google Ventures), Highland Capital Partners, and Discover Card founder Phil Purcell via his fund Continental Advisors. Founded by Seth Priebatsch, LevelUp also graduated from DreamIt Ventures accelerator.

Bloom Energy went public with shares spiking 75 percent on Wednesday, the company's first day of trading. The company makes fuel cells that are used to power office buildings, data centers and college campuses, among other facilities. Bloom priced its shares at $15 and closed the day at $25. It sold 18 million shares, raising $270 million. Facebook announced the acquisition of messaging start-up called Redkix for $100 million. Redkix employees will join the Facebook team behind Workplace, which is the company's subscription-based platform for businesses. The deal was announced in the middle of Facebook's worst trading week in history. The stock lost around 20% in a single day, wiping out around $120 billion in shareholder wealth.

Anne Wojcicki

British drug giant GlaxoSmithKline is investing $300 million in 23andMe, the consumer genetics company, and forging a four-year collaboration to discover medicines using human genetics as a guide. The partnership establishes GSK as 23andMe's exclusive collaborator for drug target discovery, the companies said Wednesday. Under the company's new Chief Scientific Officer Hal Barron, GSK is focusing its research strategy on the immune system, genetics and advanced analytics and technology. Temasek led a $100 million investment in Flywire, a cross-border payments firm formerly known as PeerTransfer. Flywire started out helping international college students pay tuition, room and board, but of late is also involved in real estate, travel and international healthcare payments across borders. A "pay-by-the-mile" auto insurance company, MetroMile, raised $90 million in a growth round of funding led by Tokio Marin, Intact Financial, along with Bill Maris' Section 32, NEA, Index and Steve Jurvetson's Future Fund.
The tables finally turned on the investors of ABC's hit show "Shark Tank." For The Discovery Channel's popular Shark Week-themed programming, which continues through Saturday, "Shark Tank" cast members Mark Cuban, Kevin O'Leary, Daymond John and Barbara Corcoran swam with actual sharks for a chance to win a $50,000 donation to their chosen shark conservation organization. The special episode, "Shark Tank Meets Shark Week," which aired Wednesday, was the first-time ever team up for the shows, scoring a 0.7 rating in adults 18-49 with 1.60 million viewers. Viewers got to see the investors' pitching skills in action (each star pitched the others as to why their charity should win the money), as well as their shark dives, with each investor traveling to a different gorgeous locale. These are the four destinations where Sharks went diving with sharks.

Eluethera, Bahamas

Daymond John was the first investor to get in the water, choosing the Bahamas National Trust in Eleuthera, Bahamas as his conservation group. Before the show aired on Wednesday, John Tweeted "Wait for it.. hear that nervous laugh? I'm clearly saying "what the hell am I about to do?" But the adventure was worth it: John won the $50,000 donation for his charity, as selected unanimously by his co-stars. The island to which John traveled, Eleuthera, is known for its pink-sand beaches, colorful reef system, unique New England architecture (influenced by Loyalist settlers in the 1700s) and pineapple farming. It's also one of the most well known islands for shark diving, where visitors can head out to open waters with Shark School, an interactive shark diving and education organization, where they can feed blacktip and reef sharks and freely swim with them.

Ocean Fox Cotton Bay, a boutique resort, partners with Shark School and offers a seven-night package (including 5 days of lecture and shark dives) for $2,100.

Atlanta, Georgia

"Mr. Wonderful" Kevin O'Leary traveled to the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, Georgia, to swim with 40-foot whale sharks. On the episode, O'Leary says: "This is an endangered species. If we don't do something about this, your grandchildren will never experience these fish." O'Leary explains that the whale shark population dropped in half in the past 75 years, and the Georgia Aquarium supports whale sharks through ticket sales. The $290 million aquarium, near Centennial Olympic Park, features exhibitions over 13 acres and in more than 10 million gallons of water, and it's the largest aquarium in the Western Hemisphere. There are more than 120,000 animals representing 500 species, and can be viewed in 12,000 square feet of viewing windows.

More than 2 million people visit every year. A ticket for entrance is $26.95 after 4 p.m.; $35.95 between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m.; and $30.95 before 11 a.m.

Miami, Florida

Miami, Florida, is one of the places in America everyone should visit at least once  it's even home to the top two food experiences in the world, according to TripAdvisor users. And it's where "Shark Tank" investor Barbara Corcoran joined University of Miami shark expert Neil Hammerschlag off the coast of Miami's Biscayne Bay to help tag sharks for the school's Shark Research & Conservation Program. "For once, I'M the one getting into the water with the sharks," Corcoran Tweeted on Tuesday. "You won't want to miss this!"

Shark enthusiasts can get up close and personal with sharks with Miami Shark Tours, which offers shark viewing trips from a boat ($95 per person/ 4 hours), where they can see lemon, bull and blacktip sharks, and shark cage diving trips ($195 per person/ 4 hours) with hammerhead, bull, reef and tiger sharks.

Oahu, Hawaii
On the surface Elon Musk and Donald Trump's core demographic audiences couldn't be more different. Musk, the Tesla CEO and co-founder, represents dreamy ambitions for a better world centered on renewable energy. Trump appeals to a more conservative America, with hopes of making the country "great again" by reviving 20th-century manufacturing and energy industries, including steel and coal, and reversing decades of environmental legislation. But however idealistically different, the two billionaires share a mastery of one thing: A mass psychology effect that has been studied for decades by researchers and is now being retested through the online laboratory of Twitter. It's called tribalism.

Jaap Arriens | NurPhoto | Getty Images

While some would argue that the billionaires' eruptions on Twitter are counterproductive  limiting their reach rather than finding the largest possible audience  psychology experts suggest the strategy works exactly as it should, and Twitter is merely the latest and largest study group for a phenomenon that has long been known to scientists. Experts who study the psychological dynamics of "tribes"  groups that hold a family-like, emotional connection and ideology  say Musk and Trump have used similarly strong and extreme online rhetoric to galvanize massive and unwavering fleets of supporters. "It goes all the way back to pretty basic studies of group behavior, where people would join together with a mob of people and do things they wouldn't normally do, that weren't right, that were too extreme," said social and personality psychologist Don Forsyth of the University of Richmond's Jepson School of Leadership Studies. "Now that same process, that kind of mob behavior, is playing out on the internet." Studies have shown that human beings have an evolutionary drive to form distinct social groups as part of self-identification. Individuals discern themselves as members of many groups or tribes: their families, race, religion, political parties, gender, social organizations and residence. Not surprisingly, evidence also shows that individuals respond more positively to group members versus out-group members in order to strengthen their sense of belonging.

Social media just puts our tribal psychology on steroids. Jay Van Bavel associate professor of psychology and neuroscience at New York University

The politics, at least when it comes to Musk, remain somewhat murky. In a recent tweet, he described himself as "a utopian anarchist of the kind best described by Iain Banks," a Scottish novelist who published science fiction. Less than a week prior to the 2016 presidential election, Musk criticized Trump, saying "He doesn't seem to have the sort of character that reflects well on the United States." But in the months following the president's victory, Musk accepted an offer to join the Trump administration's economic advisory council, drawing large criticism. Musk defended his decision, saying that his access to the commander-in-chief could help change Trump's mind on issues where they disagreed. But the tech mogul's gig at the White House lasted till June 2017, following the president's decision to withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Agreement. "Am departing presidential councils. Climate change is real. Leaving Paris is not good for America or the world," Musk tweeted. More recently, Musk was criticized for donating $38,900 last month to Protect the House, a committee with the goal of preserving a Republican majority in the U.S. House of Representatives. Musk didn't flat deny the donations, but took to Twitter to recuse himself of being a "top donor" to the GOP. He stressed his environmental and human rights positions and that he has donated to both parties as an "independent" who wants to maintain an "open dialogue."

For psychologists, Musk's political beliefs matter less than the medium and the mass mobilization, and experts say Musk's extreme rhetoric is working to galvanize his following, mirroring Trump. Psychologists believe social media has intensified this phenomenon by connecting individuals on a previously impossible scale of millions. "At the click of their cellphone, people can signal their identity to hundreds or thousands of people by rewarding in-group members or punishing out-group members," said associate professor of psychology and neuroscience Jay Van Bavel of New York University, in an email. "Social media just puts our tribal psychology on steroids." Last week Musk made headlines when he lashed out at British cave diver Vernon Unsworth, calling him "pedo guy" on Twitter. Unsworth was one of the foreign rescuers who played a critical role in saving the 12 boys trapped in an underwater cave in Thailand. Musk had offered support for the rescue mission, sending a kid-size submarine, which Unsworth said in a CNN interview "has absolutely no chance of working," sparking Musk's Twitter outburst. One key group that Musk needs to retain was not at all happy: institutional investors who hold a majority of Tesla shares. The now-deleted tweets spooked investors, sending Tesla shares tumbling, and investors issued public comments upbraiding Musk and pleading with him to use social media less, as has been the case with White House advisors counseling Trump, according to many press reports. But in order to feed and grow an immense cultlike following, that advice may be as difficult for Musk to adhere to as it is for the president. "The success of Tesla is influenced substantially by people's faith in Musk. And in this day and age  and with our own president leading the way  Twitter is the way to create that public presence." Forsyth said. "Important people use Twitter and they have many, many followers."

A 'literal' defense that supporters offer for Musk and Trump
Most of us do not look forward to our annual physical. It's something to be endured, rather than enjoyed. But that could change, if Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City has its way. Over the past few years, Mount Sinai has been incubating a program called Lab100 that aims to reinvent the health checkup. The idea is to incorporate the latest consumer technologies, like virtual reality and 3-D body scanners, while maintaining a close relationship between the patient and their practitioner. Lab100 hasn't launched yet to the general public, but the team of doctors, designers and researchers behind it invited me in to give it a try. So earlier this month, I spent a few hours at the clinic to get an assessment of general health, and interviewed the team behind it. Here's how it went down:

Before I came in, I filled out an online assessment about my sleep habits, medical history and food preferences. So they knew a little about me and my health and wellness goals before I arrived. I was told that the visit would take about 90 minutes, which is far longer than the typical 20-minute annual checkup. I was also cautioned that Lab100 wasn't designed as a replacement for my family doctor, as they wouldn't be diagnosing me with any disease. I arrived on a Thursday afternoon and greeted immediately by a physician -- in this case, the pediatric neurologist David Stark. Dr. Stark told me right away that it wouldn't feel like a "normal experience." He was right about that. After they snapped a picture of me to personalize the experience, the on-site nurse took my standard measurements, like height, weight, blood pressure, labs and so on.

CNBC's Christina Farr gets ready for a blood draw as part of the CNBC

After that, I changed into tight clothing and stepped onto a high-tech body scanner, which measured my body composition by spinning me around while I held on to a handle. Our next station measured my strength using a virtual reality headset to motivate me to push harder. I stood on a raised mat with my eyes closed to gauge my gait and balance.

CNBC's Christina Farr getting a futuristic medical check-up at Mt. Sinai CNBC

And I did a bunch of cognition tests to get a better sense of my brain health.

Here's what I learned

My recent commitment to working out at the gym two or three times a week appears to have paid off. My resting pulse rate was in the fifties, which Dr. Stark told me was indicative of an "athlete." That's probably the first time I've heard anyone refer to me that way (I've never been particularly adept at sports) and it felt like a real achievement.

My balance isn't terrible, but there's definitely some room for improvement. I do a lot of cardio, but neglect core-strengthening activities like yoga and pilates. So Dr. Stark suggested that I mix up my workout routine, as having a strong core will prove beneficial as I get older.

The cognition testing, which I've never done before, indicated that I'm not a very visual learner. I already suspected that, as I tend to retain information more easily if I hear a word spoken aloud, rather than see it written down. But I wish I had done this sort of testing at a younger age, while in school.

Data is great, but not perfect

Throughout the process, all of my data was blown up immediately on an interactive screen. That gave us an opportunity to talk about what it all meant, rather than having to wait a few days for the results.

Seeing the data -- and having someone explain the implications to me -- made a big difference. I feel energized after a workout, but actually seeing my effort pay off was powerful. If I take Dr. Stark's recommendations seriously, I'd be curious to see if there would be any further changes in 3 to 6 months.

There were a few instances where Dr. Stark told me that he wasn't confident in the results. And he suggested that we redo the test. As medical experts know, not every test is guaranteed to be totally accurate. There's always a risk of a false positive, or false negative result -- so the best doctors are trained to avoid getting a patient overly concerned or reassured by a data point that seems off.

Incidental findings are always a possibility when you're testing a lot of different things. The group has thought a lot about this -- what to do if they find a strong signal of a disease in the data that the patient isn't aware of -- and say that they'll closely integrate with the traditional medical system so that they can deliver the right followup care.

Scaling out
China's President Xi Jinping shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump (L) during a business leaders event at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Nov. 9, 2017. Nicolas Asfouri | AFP | Getty Images

The U.S. and China just can't seem to bridge their differences on trade, even as the world's largest economy's discussions with Europe and its North American neighbors appear to be making progress. This week, President Donald Trump stood side by side with European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker to announce talks and a truce on tariffs. The administration also met with Mexican negotiators, and officials are planning more talks aimed at wrapping up a deal for a revised North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) by September. But when it comes to China, there are no talks underway. Within the next few days, the U.S. is expected to release a final list of another $16 billion of Chinese goods that will subject to a 25 percent tariff, and China is expected to retaliate in kind. These tariffs are part of a bigger, $50 billion package that had been put in place earlier this month. Washington has sent several signals this past week that the stalemate with Beijing won't be resolved quickly. Top White House economic advisor Larry Kudlow told reporters to look for discussions to bear fruit in the next "six to 12 months." Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin suggested China still had yet to make the type of qualitative offer that would satisfy the president. "There continue to be some quiet conversations, but we're prepared if they're going to make serious moves to negotiate," he said. China's message, meanwhile, has not been subtle. Just after Trump stood in the Rose Garden with Juncker Wednesday, U.S. chipmaker Qualcomm revealed that a plan to buy NXP Semiconductors for $43 billion had become a casualty of the trade war. The deal died as the deadline expired without China approving it, and analysts see no immediate end in sight to the impasse. "The U.S. has no incentive to do this until after midterms. China has no incentive to do this until after the midterms," noted Daniel Clifton, head of policy research at Strategas Research. "That's why months and months is probably a better case. Could there be an event that pushes this forward? Both parties would need something big to change," he added.

Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm. Adam Jeffery | CNBC

While there are promising signs with Europe and NAFTA, the failure of the Qualcomm deal is symbolic of core issues with China. The U.S believes the relationship is on a one-way street to benefit from American technology while China limits access to its own market. Mnuchin said he had personally spoken to Chinese officials about Qualcomm, but they still did not grant approval for the deal. "I'm very disappointed they didn't get regulatory approval. I specifically had conversations. Unfortunately, I think this is another example of where it was approved in every single other territory. We're just looking for U.S. companies to be treated fairly," Mnuchin told CNBC's "Squawk Box." China's inaction on Qualcomm was seen as a chilling signal for other deals. But it also may have impacted the fate of ZTE, the Chinese communications that was banned by the Commerce Department from buying American products this year because it violated U.S. sanctions. The administration was trying to lift penalties on the company to smooth relations with Beijing. Congress is expected to pass a defense bill that would allow ZTE to acquire some U.S. components. However, Clifton said some senators suggested they may seek to put new limits on the company later on. "What it's done is it's changed the appetite toward ZTE so some senators who were reluctant to put ZTE out of business are now starting to take an interest in maybe including that provision in another piece of must-pass legislation later on," said Clifton.

The progress in talks with Europe also comes as Congress has become more adamant about the collateral damage from Trump's trade tactics  including the hit to farmers that the administration tried to soothe this week with a $12 billion USDA bailout package. Companies like General Motors and other automakers, are making it clear that costs are rising as a result of tariffs. Meanwhile, business lobbies have sought to stop further tariffs, particularly on automobiles, which could have a wider, more significant impact on the economy and jobs. Trump is clearly concerned about the economic pain from tariffs, and analysts say it is clear he needs a win on the trade front. As a result, they expect the U.S. may show more flexibility on NAFTA and with Europe. The president, while standing with Juncker, also made a point of discussing how Europe has agreed to buy U.S. liquefied natural gas and soybeans, a crop that could be hit hard by tariffs already imposed by China. Trump also agreed to hold off on all tariffs on European goods for now: Those include autos, which was seen as one the most economically damaging proposals he has made for industry and consumers. "I'm sure they're also feeling a lot of pressure from the news that we had recently about the beef producers and the ag producers," said Juan Carlos Hartasanchez, senior director at Albright Stonebridge, referring to reports of U.S. beef piling up in cold storage. "When you have to put together a bailout package for your producers because of the impact of your trade negations had, I think that's the moment when the administration steps back and thinks ... 'These things are having an effect on U.S. jobs and on the U.S. economy,'" he said. " For them it's also a way to say we're making progress. We're not only losing, we're also winning," Hartasanchez added. But if the U.S. economy starts to suffer from the trade dispute with China, Strategas ' Clifton said that would motivate Trump to restart talks. In the case of China, it too might come to the table sooner, if it suddenly appears as though Republicans would make a strong showing in the November mid-terms, retaining both houses of Congress, he said. The U.S. has so far slapped tariffs on $50 billion worth of Chinese products, and aluminum and steel. China has taken similar actions on U.S. goods. Tariffs on the first $34 billion of the $50 billion went into effect earlier this month by both countries, with the rest yet to be implemented. However, there are bigger threats in the balance, with Trump proposing $200 billion more in an effort to get China to ease its position on U.S. intellectual property and tariffs.Clifton said that revamping the World Trade Organization (WTO) would be an important step that could resolve some U.S. concerns. "The WTO reform is the essence of what Trump is trying to fix with China," said Clifton. China is the world's second-largest economy, but is considered a developing nation, a status that gives them more leeway to impose trade restrictions, the analyst explained. "They're allowed to have tariffs on average of 9 percent," Clifton added, while a developed country would only be able to have tariffs in low single digits. Separately, Trump has "gotten buy in from Europe that maybe the World Trade Organization needs to be reformed. ... If we're reforming the WTO, we're doing it to make China play by a better system of rules," he said. Meanwhile, Canada on Friday said it plans to host a meeting of trade ministers to discuss how to reform the WTO, but it left the U.S. and China out of the meetings for now. A spokesman for Canadian trade minister Jim Carr said the meeting would take place in Ottawa in October, and invitees include Japan, the European Union, Mexico, South Korea, Australia, Brazil, Chile, Norway, New Zealand, Switzerland, Kenya and Singapore.

Deals, deals, deals
Editors note: This is the second of a four-part series on the state of government school education, based on the latest study by Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (CBGA) and CRY. The study focusses on six states  Bihar, Maharashtra, UP, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu.

In his speech at the state assembly this budget session, Maharashtra education minister Vinod Tawde started off by quoting the poet Galib, Umra bhar Galib yahi bhool karta raha, dhool chehre pe thi, aur aina saaf karta raha.

The minister was referring to the focus of his education policy.

Since Maharashtra has a no detention policy till the eighth standard, he said, we must emphasise on quality of education over gross enrolment ratio.

He went on to say that out of every rupee the state receives, it spends 25 paise on education. Hence, the investment in education should give returns in the form of excellence.

The states high allocation to education over decades, does establish that it gives priority to education.

Centre for Budget & Governance Accountability (CBGA) says that the share of school education in the total budget of Maharashtra shows a steady picture in the last five years.

The per child spending on school education was Rs 21,100 in FY18, second highest out of the six states CBGA studied.

Tamil Nadu is the biggest spender at Rs 23,460 per student per year.

The government school teachers in Maharashtra are also among the highest paid in the country, with 82 percent of resources going into teachers salaries, allowances, pensions and incentives to both teachers and their children.

The high spending on teacher salaries and students is natural considering that Maharashtra is the richest state in India with a GDP of $380 billion.

Shalu Rathore, a cook living in Mumbais Saki Naka area, says government schools have certainly been helpful to her three daughters.

Till the primary level, she had to pay no fees and her daughters got school bags, uniform, books and mid-day meals all from school.

In secondary school, she paid less than Rs 150 a year as fees but had to provide other things.

But I am finding it very difficult to pay my sons education; he attends at private school. I pay over Rs 1,000 a month in addition to exam fees and computer class fees, said Shalu.

Her eldest daughter Mohini scored 76 percent in SSC this year.

Shalu says her in laws who wanted to get Mohini married off five years ago, now want her to pursue a higher education. Mohini wants to be a fashion designer.

Her younger sister Pooja, who consistently scores high marks in exams, aims to be a doctor.

The girls say that teachers at school arent bad but in the same breath they add that without private tuition classes, it is impossible to understand concepts.

Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu are two states which have reported no untrained teachers.

But CBGA says only 23% upper primary schools have subject-specific teachers in the state.

Schools have one teacher teaching all subject hence need for subject teachers is getting reduced. Hence states are not even appointing subject teachers. There is a lack of English, Science and Maths teachers, said CBGA researcher Protiva Kundu.

The shortage of subject-specific teachers has led to a grave situation in the state as Maharashtra has over 12,000 primary schools run by a single teacher.

The states education minister Tawde told the state assembly they are looking to merge schools with few students and teachers if they are within 1 km distance from each other.

Asadullah, programme director, CBGA, who worked at the union HRD ministry before, said, "The situation arises because there is not much of a career in teaching. Those who study science are becoming engineers.

The other problem students of Maharashtras government schools face, including Shalus children, is that first to seventh standards are taught in one school and eight to tenth in another.

It often gets difficult for the students to commute to the new school, which may not always be nearby, and adjust to a new environment even as the level of studies becomes more difficult in high school.

Sparsh, an NGO affiliated with 16 Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) schools, has filed a petition with CRY urging all schools in Maharashtra to conduct classes in one school, at least till the tenth standard.
Leigh Higgins: Post-Chequers, we need to explain more clearly what leaving the EU will now look like

Leigh Higgins is Regional Chairman for the East Midlands and Deputy Leader of Melton Borough Council.

In the East Midlands region, an area that voted largely to leave the EU, many grassroots members and Party officers got in touch about how they felt on the Chequers plan. I do not feel it is unreasonable to say that the majority in our region were unconvinced of the proposals, but wanted to know more about what they actually mean and the impact that they would have.

Those of you who are activists or elected politicians will know better than anyone else the importance of canvassing opinion and not being afraid of what we get back. This is why I firmly believe that hosting Association Chairmen and senior officers on calls or at Number Ten by the Party Chairman and by the Prime Minister was a valuable exercise for all sides and indeed for our Party.

Many people, inside and outside of the Party, have said to me that we seem to be talking more about technical language and in legalese. One Association Chairman said that we sound like a bunch of defence barristers trying to confuse the jury not to convince it  and I have some sympathy with that.

Conservative members and the public want us to get on with it, and to provide what we promised in our manifesto. Conservatives are in the strongest position to deliver Brexit; yet we have more to lose should we not meet the public expectations. However, we should also set the tone of what the public can expect of Brexit from the Conservatives.

We need to start to talk the language of leaving the EU, and assess what this would look like for our residents, their communities and our country. Conservative Party members, and indeed members of the public, are not just focussed on our relationship with the EU but with the rest of the world, too; this is the part we sometimes miss.

An example of this would be Freedom of Movement. We are committed that it will end, but we are not shutting ourselves off from the world. We will want a skills-based immigration system that meets our needs. It could mean that we welcome more doctors and nurses to relieve pressure at local surgeries, so that people can access a GP quicker.

However, it will mean, by definition, that we have tighter restrictions on unskilled workers. But these could work even better by devolving, or at least consulting, local councils on what their areas skills needs are. If we allow local councillors, who hear acutely what labour requirements local businesses need while also recognising the pressures on services and housing, then immigration will have a better positive relationship with the community that it impacts..

Business rate growth will also provide an incentive to be positive on the local needs. It will mean not only taking back control of national immigration policy but, crucially, local communities taking control of supporting their own workforce requirements (i.e. farming, manufacturing, construction ,etc).

Equally it could mean when we sign new trade agreements with Canada, Australia or the US that jobs in those markets are open to British people.

Having trade agreements with the outside world will brings huge opportunity for us. Free trade tends to help consumers access goods and services at a lower price. What will change look like for the price of food and goods in our shops? Will we see lower prices, and in effect a reduction to the cost of living for people? We have to be explicit, and explain what it will mean.

We want a deal with the EU, but not at any price. And if we end up with a No Deal situation in which EU and WTO tariffs come in, then how will Government support our businesses? The Government has fiscal policy at its disposal, and we may need to be radical about how we use such a powerful tool in the Governments armoury: cutting tax rates can see a higher tax take. The UK will also collect its own tariffs from EU imports. We would be free to reduce taxes on business to offset such tariffs  for example, employer NI rates or corporation taxes, so businesses see as frictionless tax change as possible. Free trade Britain will support jobs, and may even suck in investment from the rest of Europe  which leads to my final point: the voters.

The tax burden is recognised at being its highest for decades namely due to Labour completely trashing the public finances. It should not be understated how Conservatives, nationally and locally, have worked on tackling the deficit. However, in any transition period post-March 2019 we may want to look at personal taxation to support families with the cost of living, in order to keep the economy growing.

While we have done a lot for the lowest earners we may want to consider raising the rate at which national insurance starts to target workers rather than including people with income; or, otherwise, cutting the basic rate of income tax while freezing the threshold at 12,500 to widen the base. On the 40p band, we should strongly look at increasing the threshold, which has been pulling in more and more people it was never intended for, removing their incentive to earn more or invest back into their businesses and grow the economy (which in the 1980s we as Conservatives recognised). As the economy grows the deficit, as a percentage of GDP, falls  all things being equal.

By putting more money in the pockets of people and UK businesses, as we leave the EU and enter a new economic relationship with the world, we can ensure that, as the UK voted Leave to take back control, we as Conservatives are ensuring that people are taking back control themselves.

If we are open and transparent, and talk the language of leaving, and what the future may look like, I am certain people will trust the Conservatives to deliver it.
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In Iceland, Akureyri is expecting 141 calls and 120,000 guests, marking an additional 15 calls from 2017. The trend continues for 2019, with around 150 calls scheduled and more coming in, according to Petur Olafsson, port director.

Akureyri is a great base camp if you are interested in exploring the many natural wonders of the north of Iceland, Olafsson said. The area surrounding Akureyri has waterfalls, volcanic areas and canyons as well as numerous exciting activities.

Locally, there is a new high-powered tugboat, and plans call for rebuilding the pier in the heart of the town center in time for the 2020 cruise season. The berth will accommodate smaller ships, while further plans call for extending the Tangabryggja pier from 200 meters to 350 meters, also in time for the 2020 season.

All of the infrastructure in Iceland has to follow this growth, not only the ports, Olafsson said. We need more buses and guides and I am optimistic that it will happen.
American Queen Steamboat Company participated in a mass rescue exercise in conjunction with the U.S. Coast Guard and greater Louisville river community on July 23, according to a company announcement.

Federal, state and local authorities collaborated with the American Queens crew as well as the corporate incident response team to test their ability to respond to a collision involving a large passenger vessel and a tug and barge and to coordinate the evacuation of passengers and the treatment of injuries from remote locations.

The exercise helped first responder agencies enhance interagency communications, evaluate search and rescue procedures and test interagency incident command system response capabilities.

American Queen Steamboat calls at ports along the Ohio, Mississippi, Tennessee, Columbia and Snake Rivers.
Norwegian Cruise Line announced in a statement it is partnering with the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF) and Nova Southeastern Universitys (NSU) Guy Harvey Research Institute to host the second annual ocean conservation-themed cruise on Norwegian Escape this fall.

Departing October 21 from New York, guests who sail on thecruise will experience a week full of opportunities to meet Guy Harvey, marine artist, scientist, conservationist, entrepreneur and hull artist of Norwegian Escape, as he hosts specially-planned events about ocean conservation.

Were honored to continue our relationship with Guy Harvey, as one of the leaders in conservation education, and to further showcase the importance of preserving the beauty and well-being of marine life for future generations to enjoy, said Andy Stuart, president and chief executive officer of Norwegian Cruise Line. His passion for the ocean is inspiring and extends beyond his canvases. Were thrilled to be partnering with him and the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation once again on this special cruise on Norwegian Escape.

Guests will learn about the GHOFs efforts to conserve the ocean environment and hear from a panel of marine life experts and scientists from NSU about the importance of continued support for cleaner and safer waters through conservation and sustainability efforts.

At each port of call, Guy Harvey and the team of experts will lead interactive presentations at local schools, educating children on a variety of marine life and ocean conservation topics with the ultimate goal of inspiring environmental awareness for the future of our oceans, Norwegian said.

Featuring Guy Harveys marine life artwork on her hull, Norwegian Escape is the first of the Breakaway-Plus class.

The conservation cruise will depart from New York on October 21 with calls to Port Canaveral; Great Stirrup Cay, Norwegians private island in the Bahamas; and Nassau.
On July 10 Dominica celebrated the long awaited return of Carnival Cruise Line as the Carnival Fascination sailed into the islands capital Roseau, bringing 2,669 cruise passengers.

Prior to this call Carnival Cruise Line last called to Dominica during the 2015-2016 season, and prior to that, in 2010.

During the ship's second call on July 24, the Ministry of Tourism and Culture, Discover Dominica Authority, and local ship agent  HHV Whitchurch made special presentations to Captain Renato Denbendinelly during a plaque exchange ceremony held at the Dominica Museum.

A crew lounge with internet access located at the Museum to was also unveiled to the captain and crew members of the Fascination.

The Ministry of Tourism and Culture through the Permanent Secretary Careen Prevost reiterated the need and continuation for excellent and professional delivery of quality customer service, and proper organization of tours; while Benoit Bardouille, Chief Executive Officer of the Dominica Air and Seaport Authorities, expressed his satisfaction based on the feedback received on the ground from both local stakeholders, and passengers.

As part of the welcome visitors were also entertained by an array of cultural performances at the Roseau Cruise Ship Berth, while a live mural painting, created on-site by the Waitukubuli Artists Association added to the visitors experience, creating photo opportunities for the disembarking passengers.
Business Networking Breakfast slated

The Connecticut Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce will hold its August Business Networking Breakfast from 8-9:30 a.m. Aug. 2 at the Connecticut Humane Society, 701 Russell Road, Newington. Register at http://members.ctglc.org/events.

Housatonic River Job Network to meet

ORANGE  The Housatonic River Job Network will hold its next meeting Aug. 4 at Case Memorial Library, 176 Tyler City Road.

At the 11 .m. morning session, guest speaker will be Kimberly Saltus, founder and managin director of Breathe, and the topic will be How to stand out in your job search  Be Yourself.

At the 1:30 p.m. session, guest speaker will be Tom Speake, owner and president of Speake Software, and the topic will be Craft your resume with Word/Microsoft Office: Top 10 Tips & Tricks.

For information, email alexy56@hotmail.com.
When Colorado first legalized recreational marijuana in 2014, it opened the doors for new entrepreneurs to capitalize on the budding industry. In the past four years, many new stores have opened, numerous products have been created, and more businesses continue to emerge and flourish-- generating more than $1.5 billion in revenue in 2017, according to the Colorado Department of Revenue.

To date, there are more than 500 dispensaries spread across Colorado-- more in Denver than Starbucks, McDonald s, and 7-Eleven stores combined. But while many of these dispensaries are thriving, a good handful of them are generating revenues far below the industry average.

The question is why? Being in the early stages of legalization, the nascent cannabis industry is alluring many to cash in on the so-called green rush. Heck, thats why I launched my dispensary, Green Man Cannabis, nine years ago. But this industry offers unique challenges to entrepreneurs you might never expect. Here are some of the top things you need to know before diving in and opening your own dispensary.

Related: These Pot Store Names Are Just the Greatest

1. Just because you smoked marijuana for years or ran a business, doesnt make you an expert.

I entered the cannabis industry with all the confidence in the world, having more than a decade of experience as a successful serial entrepreneur. Because I wasnt new to smoking marijuana and running a business was second nature to me. I figured: how hard could it be?

Answer: Pretty darn hard. Ive lost millions due to costly mistakes, missed opportunities, and outright failure of some ideas. Had I sought counsel from the start, much of these errors couldve been avoided.

When it comes to accounting, taxes, security, compliance, insurance, banking, legal protections, marketing, and government affairs, there are special considerations that are unique to the cannabis industry. I cant emphasize to newcomers enough that you need to partner with the right people who have a deep amount of industry contacts and have actually owned, operated, or worked with a successful dispensary or grow. You can't just hire any old accountant. Yours should have already been through an IRS audit or two with a marijuana company.

Related: Do These Things Before Opening Your Doors for Business

2. Attaining a dispensary license is tough.

Most applications are merit-based and require an ability to demonstrate that you are going to be a good operator. This means that people on the application should have industry experience or must show that they have the ability to execute a well-thought-out dispensary business plan, primed for success.

Again, you can't do this on your own. If you are new to the cannabis industry, youre going to want to seek expert counsel to gain the necessary insight. Throughout the application, you are asked to demonstrate and have answers to tough questions surrounding the operation of the business. For example, you need to share how you are going to handle security and how you are going to handle product storage. You need to have real, legitimate answers or you wont win the license.

Related: Is Your Cannabis Business Properly Licensed?

3. You need significant capital and patience.

If you are in a state thats new to legalization, whether its medicinal-only or also recreational use, you need to temper your green rush enthusiasm. It's fine to remain optimistic, but you also need to be realistic and pragmatic in your approach.

It may take a few years before new markets get their feet on the ground. The rollout can be significantly delayed or enrollment of medicinal patients could be much lower than expected. Ive been part of legal cannabis businesses in nine states, shortly after each of them first legalized marijuana, and one of these scenarios I just mentioned has happened in seven of those states.

A lot of people think they are going to get rich quick, they're wrong. You are not going to be an immediate cash-flow business. Plus, you need about half a million dollars or more to fully launch a dispensary.

Related: What Better Conditions to Raise Money for Cannabis Businesses Means for Marijuana Entrepreneurs

4. You CAN get a bank account

I just got kicked out of another bank this morning. In my nine years in the cannabis industry, this is the ninth time Ive been kicked out of a bank. Sometimes my relationship with the bank is good for a year or two, and sometimes I'm seeking a new banking partner every few months. You really become a persona nongrada to the banks when you operate in the cannabis industry.

But, banking IS possible. Ive been able to bank successfully in several states, and haveonly operated in cash for two years.

In order to secure a bank account, you need to find those few banks that identify themselves as willing to bank with cannabis businesses. Dont bother with big banks like Wells Fargo or Chase; theyre not going to touch your business. You need to look for smaller credit unions and regional banks.

Ideally, they are already open about their willingness to bank with cannabis accounts. If not, be honest with them about your business. Theres a fine line you need to walk, if you dont want to get kicked out of a bank, but its more important to be truthful.

And, know that they might accept your dispensary in the offset, but a few months later decide they need to cancel your account. It happens. We were kicked out because they just decided that they couldnt touch our money because it will void their FDIC insurance. Got it. Now, onto the next.

5. Few vendors want to work with you

Since cannabis is not federally legal, many suppliers are wary of working with businesses in the industry. They fear it could hinder their reputation or get them into trouble. Youll find this with nearly every type of vendor your dispensary could need.

To combat this, you can do two things: work with someone who has been in the industry for years and has vetted connections theyre willing to introduce you to or be upfront with the supplier. In order to run a successful dispensary, you need to be compliant and profitable -- in that order. Part of compliance is being truthful. Lying is not complying.

Final thoughts

Don't let all these factors dissuade you from getting into the cannabis business. The momentum is on your side. More states are legalizing recreational and medical cannabis each year at an accelerating pace. As this continues and the publics perception of the nations most controversial plant normalizes, I believe the marijuana industry could be seeing revenues nearing $300 billion annually.

You just need to be smart and seek the right partners to help you compliantly and profitably realize your vision of becoming a cannabis entrepreneur.

Related: New Numbers Reveal the Marijuana Industry Boom Has Only Just Begun

Related:

5 Things You Need to Know Before Opening a Dispensary

6 Essential Security Tips for Dispensary Owners

5 Ways to Create a Better Cannabis Customer Experience



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
LONDON - The "very future of democracy" is being threatened by fake news, a British Parliamentary committee is warning, and the government response should include making tech companies legally liable and subject to algorithm auditing.

That's the conclusion after a lengthy probe by Britain's digital, culture, media and sport committee.

The plucky little committee, led by Conservative lawmaker Damian Collins, has covered issues including Facebook data mining, Russian election meddling and questionable Brexit financing. Witnesses who testified before it - Christopher Wylie, Arron Banks, Alexander Nix, to name a few - have generated some of the biggest political stories of the year.

It's interim report was made available to news organizations, stakeholders, politicians and individuals for review before its official publication on Sunday. After several British news organizations broke the embargo, The Washington Post decided to publish also.

The report concludes that an even bigger concern than obviously false information is the manipulation and misuse of personal data and the deliberate stoking of fears and prejudices - by state-sponsored actors, private companies and other groups with an agenda - in order to influence voting.

In an interview with The Post last month, Collins said that after interviewing U.S. tech companies and researchers in Washington in February, the commitee realized that fake news based on lies was only a small part of the problem.

"One of the bigger areas, the much more difficult area, is the relentless targeting of people with hyper partisan content, that's not necessarily fake, but it's highly skewed to a particular point of view," Collins said. "The issues there is: Do people understand why they are receiving this information? And also where is it coming from?"

He added: "One of the big issues with the Russian activities is it's not just that they are doing it, but they are masquerading as people in your country."

Among commitee's recommendations are that the government should update electoral law to account for modern campaigning techniques, consider new restrictions of political advertising on social media and "establish clear legal liability for the tech companies to act against harmful and illegal content on their platforms."

The report suggests that companies should be responsible for both "content that has been referred to them for takedown by their users, and other content that should have been easy for the tech companies to identify for themselves."

It cites some free speech concerns related to a German law that fines companies 20 million euros if they don't remove hate speech from their sites within 24 hours. But the report also notes: "As a result of this law, one in six of Facebook's moderators now works in Germany, which is practical evidence that legislation can work."

The report also proposes that the government should have the power to audit non-financial aspects of tech companies, including their algorithms.

In a statement, Facebook's vice president of policy, Richard Allan, said, "We share their goal of ensuring that political advertising is fair and transparent and agree that electoral rule changes are needed."

He noted that Facebook has already made advertising on its network more transparent and has been investing in people and technology to detect and remove bad content, but that it would go further still.

"We are working on ways to authenticate and label political ads in the UK and create an archive of those ads that anyone can search," he said. "We will work closely with the UK Government and Electoral Commission as we develop these new transparency tools."

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has declined to testify before the committee, sending his chief technology officer and two policy staffers in his sted. Lawmakers have threatened to issue him with a formal subpoena when he next steps foot in Britain.

The wide-ranging report also highlights concerns over the funding of one of the campaigns that pushed for Britain to leave the European Union.

"Arron Banks is believed to have donated 8.4m (8.4 million pounds) to the leave campaign, the largest political donation in British politics, but it is unclear from where he obtained that amount of money," the report says. "He failed to satisfy us that his own donations had, in fact, come from sources within the UK."

The committee heard evidence from 61 witnesses and received over 150 written submissions. It held 20 oral evidence sessions, including one in Washington - the first time a select committee has held a live broadcast session in another country. A second report is expected to be published in the fall.

Collins said that during the 18-month probe, "what blew the doors off was when (Christopher) Wylie came forward." That was the moment that "started to show the interconnectedness" of various digital advertising companies, such as Cambridge Analytica, SCL and AggregateIQ.

When asked if he thought micro-targeting based by data analysis firms on sites such as Facebook actually influenced behavior, Collins said: "You wouldn't spend millions of pounds doing it if you didn't think it worked."

---

The Washington Post's Elizabeth Dwoskin in San Francisco contributed to this report.
The closer India moves towards the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the more controversies Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members seem to be courting. That making foot-in-the-mouth statements is a fairly regular feature of members of the ruling party has been established. But the latest such statement has implications so dire, it cannot and should not be ignored.

On July 26, at a Kargil Vijay Diwas" event in his Assembly constituency Vijayapura (formerly Bijapur) in Karnataka, senior BJP MLA and former Union Minister Basanagouda Patil Yatnal remarked that he would have ordered the police to shoot all intellectuals if he were the home minister of the state.

"These people [intellectuals] live in this county and use all the facilities for which we pay tax. Then they raise slogans against the Indian Army. Our country faces grave danger from intellectuals and seculars than anyone else. If I become the Home Minister, then I will order to shoot all of them," he told a cheering crowd.

Aaj Ka MLA. (Photo: Indiatoday.in)

According to reports, this remark was made in reference to former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah's media advisor Dinesh Amin Mattu, who had said in February 2016, that people join the Army more out of poverty than for patriotism  that was, in fact, a comment on governance, and not the Army itself.

This is, of course, is not the first time the MLA in question has made a questionable remark. Last month, in a video clip that went viral, Patil Yatnal was seen giving his cadre strict instructions to not work for Muslims. He had said: "I made it clear that burkha-clad women and men with skullcaps should not follow me during elections," adding, I never asked Muslims to vote for me, I had faith in Hindus that they would vote for me. Hindus are the one who ensured my win in the elections. I will work to develop the Hindu community, not the Muslims.

Reports suggest that both the Congress and JD(S)  the two parties governing Karnataka  have asked for action against Patil Yatnal. Speaking to India Today, Dinesh Gundu Rao, president of the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), said: "This is a reflection of the BJPs mindset. This is actually what they believe in and what they think, that to achieve their goals any amount of deaths and violence is a given and they will use any method to propagate their ideology.

He also added that the Modi government is to be blamed, as they had given these leaders full support, thus letting them get away with such provocative statements. He demanded that the BJP and the state government take immediate action against Yatnal for this kind of open threat.

But it is not just a question of how provocative the statement is, or how the BJP should punish the offending MLA, for Patil Yatnals words are worryingly symbolic of what has been called the BJPs stance on liberal dissenters, a section of whom are considered the intellectual elite. And while other instances of BJP members slamming "the intellectuals have been less violent, it is hardly surprising that such sentiments are expressed by members of a party that has mainstreamed, or at least, normalised slurs like presstitute, "urban Naxals and anti-national.

Journalist Gauri Lankesh was shot dead. In Basanagouda Patil Yatnal's state. (Photo: DailyO)

One of the premier universities in India, Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), and its students, have been systematically demonised and portrayed as a 'liability' to the country  many now view JNU students as depraved urban Maoists or urban Naxalites, who leech the taxpayers hard-earned money, spending years at the university as they hatch seditious plots about the separation of Kashmir or the destruction of India.

There is also the grave despoiling of words like liberal and intellectual. And finally, parts of the liberal media have been painted as villains with claims of a Congress-backed, Leftist agenda against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Hindutva, RSS and the BJP regime. Patil Yatnals words, when viewed in this context, make sense as the logical next step in an ideological war that has only been escalating since 2014.

Patil Yatnals statements assume added sinister significance when, just last year, journalist and rationalist Gauri Lankesh was gunned down in Karnataka by those who opposed her views. The probe into her murder also revealed the presence of a hit-list of writers and intellectuals that includes names as prominent as Girish Karnad.

Karnataka Congress spokesperson Aiyshwarya Mahadev, speaking to India Today, said that, "Mr Yatnal is going to get away with almost no sort of rap on the knuckles or anything, and that is more or less what the reality is, and it doesnt matter. Whether the BJP publicly condemns his statements or not (and it seems unlikely they will), the underlying issue here is not one of the partys optics, but of what message  whether through covert moves or overt declarations (even if from supposedly fringe hardliners)  the party wants the public to hear:

The dissenters are the enemy.

Also read: Three girls dying of hunger in Delhi shows rats in India have a better life
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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..
The following companies are subsidiares of HCA Healthcare: 2490 Church LLC, 360 Community Alliance LLC, 4600 Waters Avenue Professional Building Condominium Association Inc., 52 Alderley Road LLP, AC Med LLC, ACH Inc., ADC Surgicenter LLC, AOGN LLC, AOSC Sports Medicine Inc., AR Holding 1 LLC, AR Holding 10 LLC, AR Holding 11 LLC, AR Holding 12 LLC, AR Holding 13 LLC, AR Holding 14 LLC, AR Holding 15 LLC, AR Holding 16 LLC, AR Holding 17 LLC, AR Holding 18 LLC, AR Holding 19 LLC, AR Holding 2 LLC, AR Holding 20 LLC, AR Holding 21 LLC, AR Holding 22 LLC, AR Holding 23 LLC, AR Holding 24 LLC, AR Holding 25 LLC, AR Holding 26 LLC, AR Holding 27 LLC, AR Holding 28 LLC, AR Holding 29 LLC, AR Holding 30 LLC, AR Holding 31 LLC, AR Holding 4 LLC, AR Holding 5 LLC, AR Holding 6 LLC, AR Holding 7 LLC, AR Holding 8 LLC, AR Holding 9 LLC, ASD Shared Services LLC, Acadiana Care Center Inc., Acadiana Practice Management Inc., Acadiana Regional Pharmacy Inc., Access 2 Health Care Physicians LLC, Access Health Care Physicians LLC, Access Management Co. LLC, Ace Leasing II LLC, Acute Kids Urgent Care of Medical City Childrens Hospital PLLC, Acworth Immediate Care LLC, Administrative Physicians of North Texas PLLC, Advanced Bundle Convener LLC, Advanced Plastic Surgery Center of Terre Haute LLC, Advanced Practice Providers of Gulf Coast PLLC, Alaska Regional Medical Group LLC, Albany Family Practice LLC, Aligned Business Consortium Group L.P., All About Staffing (India) Ltd., All About Staffing Inc., All About Staffing Philippines Inc., Alleghany General and Bariatric Services LLC, Alleghany Hospitalists LLC, Alleghany Primary Care Inc., Alleghany Specialists LLC, Alliance Surgicare LLC, Alpine Surgicenter LLC, Alta Internal Medicine LLC, Alternaco LLC, Altitude Mid Level Providers LLC, Ambulatory Endoscopy Clinic of Dallas Ltd., Ambulatory Endoscopy Holdco LLC, Ambulatory Laser Associates GP, Ambulatory Services Management Corporation of Chesterfield County Inc., Ambulatory Surgery Center Group Ltd., American Medicorp Development Co., Anchorage Surgicenter LLC, AppleCare/Memorial Immediate Care Joint Venture LLC, Appledore Medical Group II Inc., Appledore Medical Group Inc., Appomattox Imaging LLC, Arapahoe Surgicenter LLC, Arlington Diagnostic South Inc., Arlington Neurosurgeons PLLC, Arlington Primary Care PLLC, Arlington Primary Medicine PLLC, Arlington Surgery Center L.P., Arlington Surgicare LLC, Arthritis Specialists of Nashville Inc., Ashburn ASC LLC, Ashburn Imaging LLC, Athens Community Hospital Inc., Atlanta Healthcare Management L.P., Atlanta Home Care L.P., Atlanta Market GP Inc., Atlanta Outpatient Surgery Center Inc., Atlanta Surgery Center Ltd., Atlantis Surgicare LLC, Atrium Surgery Center L.P., Atrium Surgicare LLC, Augusta CyberKnife LLC, Augusta Inpatient Services LLC, Augusta Management Services LLC, Augusta Multispecialty Services LLC, Augusta Primary Care Services LLC, Augusta Specialty Hospitalists LLC, Augusta Urgent Care Services LLC, Aurora Endoscopy Surgicenter LLC, Austin GI Surgicenter LLC, Austin Heart Cardiology MSO LLC, Austin Medical Center Inc., Austin Physicians Management LLC, Austin Urogynecology PLLC, Aventura Cancer Center Manager LLC, Aventura Comprehensive Cancer Research Group of Florida Inc., Aventura Healthcare Specialists LLC, Aventura Neurosurgery LLC, BAMI Property LLC, Backlogs Limited, Bailey Square Ambulatory Surgical Center Ltd., Bailey Square Outpatient Surgical Center Inc., Bannerman Family Care LLC, Barrow Medical Center CT Services Ltd., Basic American Medical Inc., Basil Street Practice Limited, Bay Area Healthcare Group Ltd., Bay Area Surgical Center Investors Ltd., Bay Area Surgicare Center Inc., Bay Area Surgicenter LLC, Bay Hospital Inc., Bayonet Point Surgery Center Ltd., Bayshore Family Practitioners PLLC, Bayshore Multi-Specialty Group PLLC, Bayshore Occupational and Family Medicine PLLC, Bayshore Partner LLC, Bayshore Radiation Oncology Services PLLC, Bayshore Surgery Center Ltd., Bayside Ambulatory Center LLC, Bedford-Northeast Community Hospital Inc., Behavioral Health Sciences of West Florida LLC, Behavioral Health Wellness Center LLC, Bellaire Imaging Inc., Belleair Surgery Center Ltd., Belton Family Practice Clinic LLC, Big Cypress Medical Center Inc., Blacksburg Family Care LLC, Blossoms Healthcare LLP, Blue Ridge-TKC LLC, Bone & Joint Specialists Physician Group LLC, Bonita Bay Surgery Center Inc., Bonita Bay Surgery Center Ltd., Bountiful Surgery Center LLC, Boynton Beach EFL Imaging Center LLC, Bradenton Cardiology Physician Network LLC, Bradenton Outpatient Services LLC, Brandon Imaging Manager LLC, Brandon Regional Cancer Center LLC, Brentwood ASC LLC, Brigham City Community Hospital Inc., Brigham City Community Hospital Physician Services LLC, Brigham City Health Plan Inc., Brighton Surgicenter LLC, Brookwood Medical Center of Gulfport Inc., Broward Cardiovascular Surgeons LLC, Broward Healthcare System Inc., Broward Neurosurgeons LLC, Brownsville Specialists of Texas PLLC, Brownsville Surgery PLLC, Brownsville Surgical Specialists PLLC, Brownsville Surgicenter LLC, Brownsville-Valley Regional Medical Center Inc., Buford Road Imaging L.L.C., Byron Family Practice LLC, C. Medrano M.D. PLLC, C/HCA Capital Inc., C/HCA Development Inc., C/HCA Inc., CAREOS Surgicenter LLC, CC Clinic PLLC, CCBH Psychiatric Hospitalists LLC, CCH-GP Inc., CFC Investments Inc., CH Systems, CHC Finance Co., CHC Holdings Inc., CHC Management Ltd., CHC Payroll Agent Inc., CHC Payroll Company, CHC Realty Company, CHC Venture Co., CHC-El Paso Corp., CHC-Miami Corp., CHCA Bayshore L.P., CHCA Clear Lake L.P., CHCA Conroe L.P., CHCA Mainland L.P., CHCA Pearland L.P., CHCA West Houston L.P., CHCA Womans Hospital L.P., CHCK Inc., CJW Infectious Disease LLC, CJW Wound Healing Center LLC, CLASC Manager LLC, COL-NAMC Holdings Inc., COSCORP LLC, CP Surgery Center LLC, CPS TN Processor 1 Inc., CRMC-M LLC, CUC PLLC, CVMC Property LLC, Calder Immediate Care PLLC, California Imaging Center Manager LLC, California Urgent Care LLC, Calloway Creek Surgery Center L.P., Calloway Creek Surgicare LLC, Cancer Centers of North Florida LLC, Cancer Services of Aventura LLC, Capital Anesthesia Services LLC, Capital Area Cardiology, Capital Area CareNow Physician Associates, Capital Area Multispecialty Providers, Capital Area Neurosurgeons, Capital Area Occupational Medicine PLLC, Capital Area Primary Care PLLC, Capital Area Primary Care Providers, Capital Area Providers, Capital Area Specialists PLLC, Capital Area Specialty Providers, Capital Area Surgeons PLLC, Capital Division - CCA Inc., Capital Division Inc., Capital Network Services Inc., Capital Professional Billing LLC, Capital Regional Healthcare LLC, Capital Regional Heart Associates LLC, Capital Regional Psychiatry Associates LLC, Cardiac Surgical Associates LLC, Cardio Vascular Surgeons of North Texas PLLC, Cardiology Associates Medical Group LLC, Cardiology Clinic of San Antonio PLLC, Cardiology Specialists of North Texas PLLC, Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons of Texas PLLC, Care for Women LLC, CareNow, CareOne Home Health Services Inc., CarePartners HHA Holdings LLLP, CarePartners HHA LLLP, CarePartners Rehabilitation Hospital LLLP, CareSpot Professional Services of Middle Tennessee LLC, CareSpot of Brentwood (210 Franklin Road) LLC, CareSpot of Cool Springs (100 International Drive) LLC, CareSpot of Donelson (2372 Lebanon Road) LLC, CareSpot of Hendersonville (280 Indian Lake Boulevard) LLC, CareSpot of Hermitage (5225 Old Hickory Boulevard) LLC, CareSpot of Lebanon (1705 West Main Street) LLC, CareSpot of Mt. Juliet (S. Mt. Juliet Road) LLC, CareSpot of Murfreesboro (1340 Broad Street) LLC, CareSpot of Nashville (2001 Glen Echo Road) LLC, CareSpot of Nashville (West End Avenue) LLC, Career Staffing USA Inc., Carlin Springs Urgent Care LLC, Carolina Forest Imaging Manager LLC, Carolina Regional Surgery Center Inc., Carolina Regional Surgery Center Ltd., Cartersville Medical Center LLC, Cartersville Occupational Medicine Center LLC, Cartersville Physician Practice I LLC, Catalog360 Limited, Cedar Creek Medical Group LLC, Cedars International Cardiology Consultants LLC, Cedars Medical Center Hospitalists LLC, Centennial Cardiovascular Consultants LLC, Centennial CyberKnife Center LLC, Centennial CyberKnife Manager LLC, Centennial Heart LLC, Centennial Hospitalists LLC, Centennial Neuroscience LLC, Centennial Psychiatric Associates LLC, Centennial Surgery Center L.P., Centennial Surgical Associates LLC, Centennial Surgical Clinic LLC, Centennial Womens Group LLC, Center for Advanced Diagnostics LLC, Center for Advanced Imaging LLC, Center for Digestive Diseases LLC, Center for Occupational Medicine LLC, Centerpoint Cardiology Services LLC, Centerpoint Clinic of Blue Springs LLC, Centerpoint Hospital Based Physicians LLC, Centerpoint Medical Center of Independence LLC, Centerpoint Medical Specialists LLC, Centerpoint Orthopedics LLC, Centerpoint Physicians Group LLC, Centerpoint Womens Services LLC, Central Florida Cardiology Interpretations LLC, Central Florida Division Practice Inc., Central Florida Health Services LLC, Central Florida Imaging Services LLC, Central Florida Management Services LLC, Central Florida Obstetrics & Gynecology Associates LLC, Central Florida Physician Network LLC, Central Florida Regional Hospital Inc., Central Health Holding Company Inc., Central Pasco LLC, Central San Antonio Surgical Center Investors Ltd., Central Shared Services LLC, Central Tennessee Hospital Corporation, Central Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia Physicians PLLC, Centrum Surgery Center Ltd., Charleston CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Chatsworth Hospital Corp., Chattanooga ASC Acquisition Inc., Chattanooga Diagnostic Associates LLC, Chattanooga Healthcare Network L.P., Chattanooga Healthcare Network Partner Inc., Chelsea Outpatient Centre LLP, Chesterfield Imaging LLC, Chicago Grant Hospital Inc., Childrens Multi-Specialty Group LLC, Chino Community Hospital Corporation Inc., Chippenham & Johnston-Willis Hospitals Inc., Chippenham & Johnston-Willis Sports Medicine LLC, Chippenham Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Chippenham Pediatric Specialists LLC, Chiswick Outpatient Centre LLP, Christiansburg Family Medicine LLC, Christiansburg Internal Medicine LLC, Christina Cano-Gonzalez M.D. PLLC, Chugach PT Inc., Church Street Partners, Citrus Memorial Hospital Inc., Citrus Memorial Property Management Inc., Citrus Primary Care Inc., Citrus Specialty Group Inc., Citrus Surgicenter LLC, City of San Antonio H2U Employee Health and Wellness Center PLLC, Clarksville Surgicenter LLC, Clear Creek Surgery Center LLC, Clear Lake Cardiac Catheterization Center L.P., Clear Lake Cardiac GP LLC, Clear Lake Family Physicians PLLC, Clear Lake Medical Tower Owners Association Inc., Clear Lake Merger LLC, Clear Lake Multi-Specialty Group PLLC, Clear Lake Regional Medical Center Inc., Clear Lake Regional Partner LLC, Clear Lake Surgicare Ltd., ClinicServ LLC, Clinical Education Shared Services LLC, Clinishare Inc., Coastal Bend Hospital CT Services Ltd., Coastal Bend Hospital Inc., Coastal Carolina Home Care Inc., Coastal Carolina Multispecialty Associates LLC, Coastal Carolina Primary Care LLC, Coastal Healthcare Services Inc., Coastal Imaging Center L.P., Coastal Imaging Center of Gulfport Inc., Coastal Inpatient Physicians LLC, Coliseum Health Group Inc., Coliseum Health Group LLC, Coliseum Medical Center LLC, Coliseum Park Hospital Inc., Coliseum Primary Care Services LLC, Coliseum Primary Healthcare - Macon LLC, Coliseum Primary Healthcare - Riverside LLC, Coliseum Professional Associates LLC, Coliseum Same Day Surgery Center L.P., Coliseum Surgery Center L.L.C., College Park Ancillary LLC, College Park Endoscopy Center LLC, College Park Radiology LLC, Colleton Ambulatory Care LLC, Colleton Diagnostic Center LLC, Colleton Medical Anesthesia LLC, Colleton Medical Hospitalists LLC, Colleton Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery LLC, Collier County Home Health Agency Inc., Collin County Diagnostic Associates PLLC, Colorado Health Systems Inc., Columbia ASC Management L.P., Columbia Ambulatory Surgery Division Inc., Columbia Arlington Healthcare System L.L.C., Columbia Bay Area Realty Ltd., Columbia Behavioral Health Ltd., Columbia Behavioral Healthcare Inc., Columbia Behavioral Healthcare of South Florida Inc., Columbia Call Center Inc., Columbia Central Florida Division Inc., Columbia Central Group Inc., Columbia Champions Treatment Center Inc., Columbia Chicago Division Inc., Columbia Coliseum Same Day Surgery Center Inc., Columbia Development of Florida Inc., Columbia Doctors Hospital of Tulsa Inc., Columbia Eye and Specialty Surgery Center Ltd., Columbia Florida Group Inc., Columbia GP of Mesquite Inc., Columbia Good Samaritan Health System Limited Partnership, Columbia Greater Houston Division Healthcare Network Inc., Columbia Health System of Arkansas Inc., Columbia Healthcare System of Louisiana Inc., Columbia Healthcare of Central Virginia Inc., Columbia Hospital Corporation at the Medical Center, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Arlington, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Bay Area, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Central Miami, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Corpus Christi, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Fort Worth, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Houston, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Kendall, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Massachusetts Inc., Columbia Hospital Corporation of Miami, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Miami Beach, Columbia Hospital Corporation of North Miami Beach, Columbia Hospital Corporation of South Broward, Columbia Hospital Corporation of South Dade, Columbia Hospital Corporation of South Florida, Columbia Hospital Corporation of South Miami, Columbia Hospital Corporation of Tamarac, Columbia Hospital Corporation of West Houston, Columbia Hospital Corporation-Delaware, Columbia Hospital Corporation-SMM, Columbia Hospital at Medical City Dallas Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Hospital-El Paso Ltd., Columbia Integrated Health Systems Inc., Columbia Jacksonville Healthcare System Inc., Columbia LaGrange Hospital LLC, Columbia Lake Worth Surgical Center Limited Partnership, Columbia Medical Arts Hospital Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center Dallas Southwest Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center at Lancaster Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center of Arlington Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center of Denton Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center of Las Colinas Inc., Columbia Medical Center of Lewisville Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center of McKinney Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Center of Plano Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Medical Group - Centennial Inc., Columbia Medical Group - Daystar Inc., Columbia Medical Group - Parkridge Inc., Columbia Medical Group - Southern Hills Inc., Columbia Medical Group - Southwest Virginia Inc., Columbia Medical Group - The Frist Clinic Inc., Columbia Midtown Joint Venture, Columbia North Alaska Healthcare Inc., Columbia North Central Florida Health System Limited Partnership, Columbia North Florida Regional Medical Center Limited Partnership, Columbia North Hills Hospital Subsidiary L.P., Columbia North Texas Healthcare System L.P., Columbia North Texas Subsidiary GP LLC, Columbia North Texas Surgery Center Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Northwest Medical Center Inc., Columbia Northwest Medical Center Partners Ltd., Columbia Ocala Regional Medical Center Physician Group Inc., Columbia Ogden Medical Center Inc., Columbia Oklahoma Division Inc., Columbia Palm Beach GP LLC, Columbia Palm Beach Healthcare System Limited Partnership, Columbia Park Healthcare System Inc., Columbia Park Medical Center Inc., Columbia Parkersburg Healthcare System LLC, Columbia Pentagon City Hospital L.L.C., Columbia Physician Services - Florida Group Inc., Columbia Plaza Medical Center of Fort Worth Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Primary Care LLC, Columbia Psychiatric Management Co., Columbia Resource Network Inc., Columbia Rio Grande Healthcare L.P., Columbia Riverside Inc., Columbia South Texas Division Inc., Columbia Specialty Hospital of Dallas Subsidiary L.P., Columbia Specialty Hospitals Inc., Columbia Surgery Group Inc., Columbia Surgicare of Augusta Ltd., Columbia Tampa Bay Division Inc., Columbia Valley Healthcare System L.P., Columbia West Bank Hospital Inc., Columbia Westbank Healthcare L.P., Columbia-CSA/HS Greater Canton Area Healthcare System L.P., Columbia-CSA/HS Greater Cleveland Area Healthcare System L.P., Columbia-Georgia PT Inc., Columbia-Osceola Imaging Center Inc., Columbia-Quantum Inc., Columbia-SDH Holdings Inc., Columbia/Alleghany Regional Hospital Incorporated, Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation of Central Texas, Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation of Northern Ohio, Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corporation of South Carolina, Columbia/HCA Heartcare of Corpus Christi Inc., Columbia/HCA International Group Inc., Columbia/HCA John Randolph Inc., Columbia/HCA Middle East Management Company, Columbia/HCA Physician Hospital Organization Medical Center Hospital, Columbia/HCA San Clemente Inc., Columbia/HCA of Baton Rouge Inc., Columbia/HCA of Houston Inc., Columbia/HCA of New Orleans Inc., Columbia/HCA of North Texas Inc., Columbine Psychiatric Center Inc., Columbus Cardiology Inc., Columbus Cath Lab Inc., Columbus Cath Lab LLC, Columbus Doctors Hospital Inc., Commonwealth Perinatal Services LLC, Commonwealth Specialists of Kentucky LLC, Community Hospital Family Practice LLC, Comprehensive Radiation Oncology LLC, Comprehensive Radiology Management Services Ltd., Concept EFL Imaging Center LLC, Concept West EFL Imaging Center LLC, Congenital Heart Surgery Center PLLC, Conroe Hospital Corporation, Conroe Montgomery Physicians Group PLLC, Conroe Orthopedic Specialists PLLC, Conroe Partner LLC, Conroe Specialists of Texas PLLC, Continental Division I Inc., Coral Springs Surgi-Center Ltd., CoralStone Management Inc., Corpus Christi Healthcare Group Ltd., Corpus Christi Heart Clinic PLLC, Corpus Christi Primary Care Associates PLLC, Corpus Christi Psychiatric Specialists PLLC, Corpus Christi Radiation Oncology PLLC, Corpus Christi Surgery Center L.P., Corpus Christi Surgery Ltd., Corpus Christi Surgicenter LLC, Corpus Surgicare Inc., Countryside Surgery Center Ltd., Crewe Outpatient Imaging LLC, Cumberland Medical Center Inc., Cy-Fair Medical Center Hospital LLC, DFW Physicians Group PLLC, DOMC Property LLC, DS Real Estate Holdings LLC, Daleville Imaging L.P., Daleville Imaging Manager LLC, Dallas CardioThoracic Surgery Consultants PLLC, Dallas Cardiology Specialists PLLC, Dallas Hand Surgery Center PLLC, Dallas Medical Specialists PLLC, Dallas Neuro-Stroke Affiliates PLLC, Dallas Pediatric Neurosurgery Specialists PLLC, Dallas/Ft. Worth Physician LLC, Davie Medical Center LLC, Daytona Medical Center Inc., Dean 4641 LLC, Deep Purple Investments LLC, Del Sol Bariatric Clinic PLLC, Delray EFL Imaging Center LLC, Denton Cancer Center PLLC, Denton County Hospitalist Program PLLC, Denton Pediatric Physicians PLLC, Denton Regional Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Denver Clinic Surgicenter LLC, Denver Mid-Town Surgery Center Ltd., Denver Surgicenter LLC, Derry ASC Inc., Diagnostic Breast Center Inc., Diagnostic Mammography Services G.P., Diagnostic Services G.P., Dickson Surgery Center L.P., Doctors Bay Area Physician Hospital Organization, Doctors Hospital (Conroe) Inc., Doctors Hospital Columbus GA-Joint Venture, Doctors Hospital Surgery Center L.P., Doctors Hospital of Augusta LLC, Doctors Hospital of Augusta Neurology LLC, Doctors Osteopathic Medical Center Inc., Doctors Same Day Surgery Center Inc., Doctors Same Day Surgery Center Ltd., Doctors-I Inc., Doctors-II Inc., Doctors-III Inc., Doctors-IV Inc., Doctors-IX Inc., Doctors-V Inc., Doctors-VI Inc., Doctors-VII Inc., Doctors-VIII Inc., Doctors-X Inc., Doctors Memorial Hospital of Spartanburg Limited Partnership, Dominion Hospital Physicians Group LLC, Dublin Community Hospital LLC, Dublin Heart Specialists LLC, Dublin Multispecialty LLC, Dura Medical Inc., E.P. Physical Therapy Centers Inc., EASTSIDE URGENT CARE LLC, EHCA Diagnostics LLC, EHCA Eastside Occupational Medicine Center LLC, EHCA LLC, EHCA Metropolitan LLC, EHCA Parkway LLC, EHCA Peachtree LLC, EHCA West Paces LLC, EIRMC Hospitalist Services LLC, EMMC LLC, EP Health LLC, EP Holdco LLC, EPIC Development Inc., EPIC Diagnostic Centers Inc., EPIC Healthcare Management Company, EPIC Properties Inc., EPIC Surgery Centers Inc., EPSC L.P., East Falls Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery LLC, East Falls Family Medicine LLC, East Falls Plastic Surgery LLC, East Florida - DMC Inc., East Florida Behavioral Health Network LLC, East Florida Cardiology Network LLC, East Florida CareNow Urgent Care LLC, East Florida Division Inc., East Florida Emergency Physician Group LLC, East Florida Healthcare LLC, East Florida Hospitalists LLC, East Florida Imaging Holdings LLC, East Florida Primary Care LLC, East Houston Primary Care PLLC, East Houston Specialists PLLC, East Layton Internal Medicine LLC, East Orthopedics PLLC, East Pointe Hospital Inc., Eastern Idaho Brachytherapy Equipment LLC, Eastern Idaho Brachytherapy Equipment Manager LLC, Eastern Idaho Care Partners ACO LLC, Eastern Idaho Care Partners Holdings LLC, Eastern Idaho Care Partners LLC, Eastern Idaho Health Services Inc., Eastern Idaho Regional Medical Center Inpatient Services LLC, Eastside Behavioral Health Associates LLC, Eastside General Surgery LLC, Eastside Heart and Vascular LLC, Eastside Medical Center LLC, Eastside Surgery Center LLC, Edmond General Surgery LLC, Edmond Hospitalists LLC, Edmond Physician Hospital Organization Inc., Edward White Hospital Inc., El Paso CareNow Urgent Care PLLC, El Paso Healthcare Provider Network, El Paso Healthcare System Ltd., El Paso Healthcare System Physician Services LLC, El Paso Nurses Unlimited Inc., El Paso Primary Care PLLC, El Paso Surgery Centers L.P., El Paso Surgicenter Inc., Eldridge Family Practitioners PLLC, Elite Family Health of Plano PLLC, Elite OB-GYN Services of El Paso PLLC, Elite Orthopaedics of El Paso PLLC, Elite Orthopaedics of Irving PLLC, Elite Orthopaedics of Plano PLLC, Elstree Outpatient Centre LLP, Emergency Physicians at Wesley Medical Center LLC, Emergency Providers Group LLC, Emergency Psychiatric Medicine PLLC, Encino Hospital Corporation Inc., Endocrinology Associates of Lees Summit LLC, Endoscopy Surgicare of Plano LLC, Endoscopy of Plano L.P., Englewood Community Hospital Auxiliary Inc., Englewood Community Hospital Inc., Envision Stakes LLC, Eye Care Surgicare Ltd. a Missouri limited partnership, FHAL LLC, FMH Health Services LLC, Fairfax Surgical Center L.P., Fairview Medical Services LLC, Fairview Park GP LLC, Fairview Park Limited Partnership, Fairview Partner LLC, Family Care Partners LLC, Family Care of E. Jackson County LLC, Family First Medicine in Brownsville PLLC, Family Health Medical Group of Overland Park LLC, Family Health Specialists of Lees Summit LLC, Family Medicine of Blacksburg LLC, Family Practice at Forest Hill LLC, Family Practice at Retreat LLC, Family Practitioners of Montgomery PLLC, Family Practitioners of Pearland PLLC, Fannin MOB LLC, Fannin MOB Property Management LLC, Far West Division Inc., Fawcett Memorial Hospital Inc., Florida Care Partners LLC, Florida Care Partners Orlando LLC, Florida Home Health Services-Private Care Inc., Florida Outpatient Surgery Center Ltd., Flower Mound Surgery Center Ltd., Focus Hand Surgicenter LLC, Foot & Ankle Specialty Services LLC, Forest Park Surgery Pavilion Inc., Forest Park Surgery Pavilion L.P., Fort Bend Hospital Inc., Fort Chiswell Family Practice LLC, Fort Myers Market Inc., Fort Pierce Immediate Care Center Inc., Fort Pierce Orthopaedics LLC, Fort Pierce Surgery Center Ltd., Fort Walton Beach Medical Center Inc., Fort Worth Investments Inc., Forward Pathology Solutions LLC, Four Rivers Medical Center PHO Inc., Frankfort Hospital Inc., Frankfort Wound Care LLC, Freeport Family Medicine LLC, Fremont Womens Health LLC, Frisco Surgicare LLC, Frisco Warren Parkway 91 Inc., Frist Clinic Express LLC, Ft. Pierce Surgicare LLC, Ft. Walton Beach Anesthesia Services LLC, G. Rowe M.D. PLLC, G. Schnider M.D. PLLC, G. Voorhees M.D. PLLC, G.P. Martin Fletcher & Associates LLC, GA PHYSICIAN SERVICES LLC, GA Urgentcare Holding LLC, GHC-Galen Health Care LLC, GI Associates of Denton PLLC, GI Associates of Lewisville PLLC, GME Services of Osceola LLC, GPCH-GP Inc., GYN-Oncology of Southwest Virginia LLC, Gainesville GYN Oncology of North Florida Regional Medical Center LLC, Gainesville Physicians LLC, GalTex LLC, Galen (Kansas) Merger LLC, Galen BH Inc., Galen Center for Professional Development Inc., Galen College of Nursing, Galen Diagnostic Multicenter Ltd., Galen GOK LLC, Galen Global Finance Inc., Galen Health Institutes Inc., Galen Health Partners Limited, Galen Holdco LLC, Galen Hospital Alaska Inc., Galen Hospital of Baytown Inc., Galen Hospital-Pembroke Pines Inc., Galen International Holdings Inc., Galen KY LLC, Galen MCS LLC, Galen MRMC LLC, Galen Medical Corporation, Galen NMC LLC, Galen NSH LLC, Galen Property LLC, Galen SOM LLC, Galen SSH LLC, Galen Virginia Hospital Corporation, Galen of Aurora Inc., Galen of Florida Inc., Galen of Illinois Inc., Galen of Kentucky Inc., Galen of Mississippi Inc., Galen of Virginia Inc., Galen of West Virginia Inc., Galen-Soch Inc., Galencare Inc., Galendeco Inc., Galichia Anesthesia Services LLC, Galichia Emergency Physicians LLC, Garden Park Community Hospital Limited Partnership, Garden Park Hospitalist Program LLC, Garden Park Investments L.P., Garden Park Physician Group - Specialty Care LLC, Garden Park Physician Group Inc., Gardens EFL Imaging Center LLC, Gastroenterology Specialists of Middle Tennessee LLC, General Hospitals of Galen Inc., General Medical Clinics Limited, General Surgeons of Houston PLLC, General Surgeons of North Richland Hills PLLC, General Surgeons of Pasadena PLLC, General and Cardiovascular Surgeons of Conroe PLLC, Generations Family Practice Inc., GenoSpace LLC, Georgia Health Holdings Inc., Georgia L.P., Georgia Psychiatric Company Inc., Glemm SA, Good Samaritan Hospital L.P., Good Samaritan Hospital LLC, Good Samaritan Surgery Center L.P., Goppert-Trinity Family Care LLC, Grace Family Practice LLC, Gramercy Eye Surgicenter LLC, Gramercy Surgery Center Ltd., Grand Strand Regional Medical Center LLC, Grand Strand Senior Health Center LLC, Grand Strand Specialty Associates LLC, Grand Strand Surgical Specialists LLC, Grandview Health Care Clinic LLC, Grant Center Hospital of Ocala Inc., Grayson Primary Care LLC, Greater Gwinnett Internal Medicine Associates LLC, Greater Gwinnett Physician Corporation, Greater Houston Preferred Provider Option Inc., Greater Tampa Bay Physician Network LLC, Greater Tampa Bay Physician Specialists LLC, Greater Tampa Bay Physicians - Pinellas LLC, Green Oaks Hospital Subsidiary L.P., Greenview Hospital Inc., Greenview PrimeCare LLC, Greenview Specialty Associates LLC, Gulf Coast Division Inc., Gulf Coast Electrophysiology Associates PLLC, Gulf Coast Inpatient Specialists LLC, Gulf Coast Medical Center Primary Care LLC, Gulf Coast Medical Ventures Inc., Gulf Coast Multispecialty Services LLC, Gulf Coast Physician Administrators Inc., Gulf Coast Provider Network Inc., Gwinnett Community Hospital Inc., Gynecology Specialists of Utah LLC, H2U Wellness Centers - Del Sol Medical Center PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers - Las Palmas Medical Center PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers - Medical City Dallas PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers - St. Davids Medical Center PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers LLC, H2U Wellness Centers  Clear Lake Regional Medical Center PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers  Conroe ISD PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers  Conroe Regional Medical Center PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers  Corpus Christi PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers  El Paso PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers  PISD PLLC, H2U Wellness Centers  San Benito CISD PLLC, HBP Lone Star Inc., HCA - IT&S Field Operations Inc., HCA - IT&S Inventory Management Inc., HCA - IT&S PBS Field Operations Inc., HCA - IT&S TN Field Operations Inc., HCA - Information Technology & Services Inc., HCA - Raleigh Community Hospital Inc., HCA - Viera ALF LLC, HCA - WHS Progressive LLC, HCA - WHS Services LLC, HCA ASD Financial Operations LLC, HCA ASD Sales Services LLC, HCA American Finance LLC, HCA Carenow Limited, HCA Central Group Inc., HCA Central/West Texas Physicians Management LLC, HCA Chattanooga Market Inc., HCA Development Company Inc., HCA Eastern Group Inc., HCA Global Capital LLP, HCA Gulf Coast GME PLLC, HCA Health Services of California Inc., HCA Health Services of Florida Inc., HCA Health Services of Georgia Inc., HCA Health Services of Louisiana Inc., HCA Health Services of Miami Inc., HCA Health Services of Midwest Inc., HCA Health Services of New Hampshire Inc., HCA Health Services of Tennessee Inc., HCA Health Services of Texas Inc., HCA Health Services of Virginia Inc., HCA Health Services of West Virginia Inc., HCA Healthcare Mission Fund LLC, HCA Healthcare UK Limited, HCA Holdco LLC, HCA Human Resources LLC, HCA Imaging Services of North Florida Inc., HCA Inc., HCA International Holdings Limited, HCA International Limited, HCA LewisGale Regional Cancer Centers Clinical Co-Management Company LLC, HCA Long Term Health Services of Miami Inc., HCA Luxembourg 1 Sarl, HCA Luxembourg 2 Sarl, HCA Luxembourg Equities Sarl, HCA Luxembourg Finance Limited, HCA Luxembourg Investments Sarl, HCA Management Services L.P., HCA Medical City Limited, HCA Medical Services Inc., HCA Midwest Comprehensive Care Inc., HCA Outpatient Clinic Services of Miami Inc., HCA Outpatient Imaging Services Group Inc., HCA Patient Safety Organization LLC, HCA Pearland GP Inc., HCA Physician Services Inc., HCA Plano Imaging Inc., HCA Property GP LLC, HCA Psychiatric Company, HCA Purchasing Limited, HCA Realty Inc., HCA Richmond Cardiac Clinical Co-Management Company LLC, HCA SF LLC, HCA SFB 1 LLC, HCA Sarasota Orthopedic and Spine Clinical Co-Management Company LLC, HCA Squared LLC, HCA Staffing Limited, HCA Swiss Capital 1 LLP, HCA Swiss Capital 2 LLP, HCA Switzerland Finance GmbH, HCA Switzerland Holding GmbH, HCA Switzerland Limited, HCA UK Capital Limited, HCA UK Holdings Limited, HCA UK Investments Limited, HCA UK Limited, HCA UK Services Limited, HCA Wesley Rehabilitation Hospital Inc., HCA Western Group Inc., HCA-Access Healthcare Holdings LLC, HCA-Access Healthcare Partner Inc., HCA-California Urgent Care Holdings LLC, HCA-EMS Holdings LLC, HCA-EmCare Holdings LLC, HCA-Georgia Urgent Care Holdings LLC, HCA-HBPS Holdings LLC, HCA-HealthONE LLC, HCA-Solis Holdings Inc., HCA-Solis Mammography Service Holdings of Continental LLC, HCA-Solis Mammography Service Holdings of Gulf Coast LLC, HCA-Solis Mammography Service Holdings of North Texas LLC, HCA-Solis Mammography Service Holdings of TriStar LLC, HCA-Solis Mammography Services LLC, HCA-Solis Master LLC, HCA-Urgent Care Holdings LLC, HCAPS Anesthesia Manager LLC, HCAPS Conroe Affiliation Inc., HCOL Inc., HD&S Corp. Successor Inc., HDH Thoracic Surgeons LLC, HHBY Holdings LLC, HHNC LLC, HICCH-SCL LLC, HM Acquisition LLC, HM OMCOS LLC, HMMG 1226 LLC, HPG Energy L.P., HPG Enterprises LLC, HPG GP LLC, HPG Solutions LLC, HSS Holdco LLC, HSS Systems LLC, HSS Virginia L.P., HTI Gulf Coast Inc., HTI Health Services of North Carolina Inc., HTI Hospital Holdings Inc., HTI MOB LLC, HTI MSO LLC, HTI Memorial Hospital Corporation, HTI Physician Services of Utah Inc., HWCA PLLC, Hamilton Memorial Hospital Inc., Hamsard 3160 Limited, Harley Street Clinic @ The Groves LLP, Hathor Chelsea Ltd., Healdsburg General Hospital Inc., Health Care Indemnity Inc., Health Insight Capital LLC, Health International Billing Partners Limited, Health Midwest Medical Group Inc., Health Midwest Office Facilities Corporation, Health Midwest Ventures Group Inc., Health Partners of Kansas Inc., Health Service Partners Inc., Health Services (Delaware) Inc., Health Services Merger Inc., Health to You LLC, HealthCoast Physician Group LLC, HealthONE Aurora Investment LLC, HealthONE Care Partners LLC, HealthONE CareNow Urgent Care LLC, HealthONE Clear Creek LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Bariatric Medicine LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Behavioral Health LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Cancer Care LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Cancer Specialties LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Cardiovascular LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Medical Specialties LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Neurosciences LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Obstetrics and Gynecology LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Occupational Medicine LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Oncology Hematology LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Orthopedic Specialists LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Otolaryngology Specialists LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Pediatric Cardiovascular Surgery LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Pediatric Specialties LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Primary Care LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Spine Specialists LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Spine Surgeons LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Surgery Neurological LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Surgical Specialties LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Transplant Services LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Womens Services LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services - Youth Rehabilitation LLC, HealthONE Clinic Services LLC, HealthONE High Street Primary Care Center LLC, HealthONE IRL Pathology Services LLC, HealthONE Institutes for Clinical Research LLC, HealthONE Lowry LLC, HealthONE Radiation Therapy at Red Rocks LLC, HealthONE Radiation Therapy at Thornton LLC, HealthONE Ridge View Endoscopy Center LLC, HealthONE Surgicare of Ridge View LLC, HealthONE Urologic LLC, HealthONE at Breckenridge LLC, HealthONE of Denver Inc., HealthOne Heart Care LLC, HealthOne Lincoln Investment LLC, HealthOne Westside Investment LLC, HealthTrust Europe Company Limited, HealthTrust Europe LLP, HealthTrust Locums Inc., HealthTrust Workforce Solutions LLC, Healthcare Oklahoma Inc., Healthcare Purchasing Alliance LLC, Healthcare Sales National Management Services Group LLC, Healthcare Technology Assessment Corporation, Healthco LLC, Healthnet of Kentucky LLC, Healthserv Acquisition LLC, Healthtrust Inc. - The Hospital Company, Healthtrust MOB Tennessee LLC, Healthtrust Purchasing Group L.P., Healthtrust Utah Management Services Inc., Healthy State Inc., Heart Specialist of North Texas PLLC, Heart of America ASC LLC, Heart of America Surgicenter LLC, Heartcare of Texas Ltd., Hearthstone Home Health Inc., Heartland Womens Group at Wesley LLC, Heathrow Imaging LLC, Heathrow Internal Medicine LLC, Hendersonville Hospital Corporation, Hendersonville Hospitalist Services Inc., Hendersonville OB/GYN LLC, Hendersonville ODC LLC, Hendersonville Primary Care LLC, Henrico Doctors Hospital - Forest Campus Property LLC, Henrico Doctors Neurology Associates LLC, Henrico Doctors OB GYN Specialists LLC, Henrico Surgical Specialists LLC, Heritage Family Care LLC, Heritage Hospital Inc., Heritage Medical Care LLC, Hermitage Primary Care LLC, Hidalgo County Family Practitioners PLLC, Hidden Lakes Health Center PLLC, Highlands Regional Medical Center, Hip & Joint Specialists of North Texas PLLC, Homecare North Inc., Hometrust Management Services Inc., Horizon Orthopedics LLC, Horizon Surgical LLC, Hospital Corp. LLC, Hospital Corporation of America, Hospital Corporation of Lake Worth, Hospital Corporation of Tennessee, Hospital Corporation of Utah, Hospital Development Properties Inc., Hospital Partners Merger LLC, Hospital Realty Corporation, Hospital-Based CRNA Services Inc., Hospitalists at Centennial Medical Center LLC, Hospitalists at Fairview Park LLC, Hospitalists at Greenview Regional Hospital LLC, Hospitalists at Horizon Medical Center LLC, Hospitalists at Parkridge LLC, Hospitalists at StoneCrest LLC, Hospitalists at Wesley Medical Center LLC, Hospitalists of the Wabash Valley LLC, Houston - PPH LLC, Houston CareNow Urgent Care PLLC, Houston Healthcare Holdings Inc., Houston NW Manager LLC, Houston Northwest Concessions L.L.C., Houston Northwest Operating Company L.L.C., Houston Northwest Surgical Partners Inc., Houston Obstetrics and Gynecology for Women PLLC, Houston Pediatric Specialty Group PLLC, Houston Urologic Surgicenter LLC, Houston Womans Hospital Partner LLC, ICU Associates of West Houston PLLC, IMX Holdings LLC, IRL Pathology Services MidAmerica LLC, Idaho Behavioral Health Services LLC, Idaho Physician Services Inc., Illinois Psychiatric Hospital Company Inc., Imaging Realty LLC, Imaging Services of Appomattox LLC, Imaging Services of Jacksonville LLC, Imaging Services of Louisiana LLC, Imaging Services of Louisiana Manager LLC, Imaging Services of Orlando LLC, Imaging Services of Richmond LLC, Imaging Services of Roanoke LLC, Imaging Services of West Boynton LLC, InVivoLink Inc., Independence Neurosurgery Services LLC, Independence Regional Medical Group LLC, Independence Surgicare Inc., Indian Path Hospital Inc., Indianapolis Hospital Partner LLC, Institute for Womens Health and Body LLC, Institute of Advanced ENT Surgery LLC, Integrated Regional Lab LLC, Integrated Regional Laboratories LLP, Integrated Regional Laboratories Pathology Services LLC, Intensive Care Consortium Inc., Internal Medicine Associates of Huntsville PLLC, Internal Medicine Associates of Southern Hills LLC, Internal Medicine of Blacksburg LLC, Internal Medicine of Pasadena PLLC, Internist Associates of Houston PLLC, Isleworth Partners Inc., J. M. Garcia M.D. PLLC, JCSH LLC, JDGC Management LLC, JFK Internal Medicine Faculty Practice LLC, JFK Medical Center Limited Partnership, JPM AA Housing LLC, Jackson County Medical Group LLC, Jackson County Pulmonary Medical Group LLC, Jacksonville CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Jacksonville Multispecialty Services LLC, Jacksonville Surgery Center Ltd., James River Internists LLC, John Randolph Family Practice LLC, John Randolph OB/GYN LLC, John Randolph Surgeons LLC, Johnson County Neurology LLC, Johnson County Surgery Center L.P., Johnson County Surgicenter L.L.C., Jordan Family Health L.L.C., Jupiter EFL Imaging Center LLC, KC Pain ASC LLC, KC Surgicare LLC, KPH-Consolidation Inc., Kansas CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Kansas City Cardiac Arrhythmia Research LLC, Kansas City Gastroenterology & Hepatology Physicians Group LLC, Kansas City Neurology Associates LLC, Kansas City Pulmonology Practice LLC, Kansas City Surgery Center Properties LLC, Kansas City Vascular & General Surgery Group LLC, Kansas City Womens Clinic Group LLC, Kansas Healthserv LLC, Kansas Pulmonary and Sleep Specialists LLC, Kansas Trauma and Critical Care Specialists LLC, Kathy L. Summers M.D. PLLC, Kendall Healthcare Group Ltd., Kendall Regional Medical Center LLC, Kendall Regional Urgent Care LLC, Kennedale Primary Care PLLC, Kingwood Multi-Specialty Group PLLC, Kingwood Surgery Center LLC, Kingwood Surgicenter LLC, Kissimmee Surgicare Ltd., Kyle Primary Care PLLC, L E Corporation, LAD Imaging LLC, LGMC Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, LOC @ The Christie LLP, LOC @ The London Bridge Hospital LLP, LOC Partnership LLP, LPN TeleBehavioral Health PLLC, Lafayette OB Hospitalists LLC, Lafayette Urogynecology & Urology Center LLC, Lake City Imaging LLC, Lake City Regional Medical Group LLC, Lake Forest Family Health PLLC, Lakeside Radiology LLC, Lakeside Womens Services LLC, Lakeview Cardiology Specialists LLC, Lakeview Hospital Physician Services LLC, Lakeview Internal Medicine LLC, Lakeview Medical Center LLC, Lakeview Regional Medical Center Inpatient Services LLC, Lakeview Regional Physician Group LLC, Lakeview Urology & General Surgery LLC, Lakewood Surgicare Inc., Laredo Medco LLC, Largo Medical Center Inc., Largo Physician Group LLC, Las Colinas Primary Care PLLC, Las Colinas Surgery Center Ltd., Las Encinas Hospital, Las Palmas Del Sol Cardiology PLLC, Las Palmas Del Sol Internal Medicine PLLC, Las Palmas Del Sol Urgent Care PLLC, Las Vegas ASC LLC, Las Vegas Surgicare Inc., Las Vegas Surgicare Ltd. a Nevada Limited Partnership, Lawnwood Cardiovascular Surgery LLC, Lawnwood Healthcare Specialists LLC, Lawnwood Medical Center Inc., Layton Family Practice LLC, Leaders in Oncology Care Limited, Leadership Healthcare Holdings II L.P. L.L.P., Leadership Healthcare Holdings L.P. L.L.P., Lees Summit Family Care LLC, Leslie Cohan M.D. PLLC, Lewis-Gale Hospital Incorporated, Lewis-Gale Medical Center LLC, Lewis-Gale Physicians LLC, Lewisville Primary Care PLLC, Lewisville Surgicare LLC, Lincoln Surgery Center LLC, Live Oak Immediate Care Center LLC, London Oncology Clinic LLP, London Pathology Limited, London Radiography & Radiotherapy Services Limited, Lone Peak Hospital Inc., Lone Star Intensivists at Gulf Coast PLLC, Lonestar Provider Network, Longview Regional Physician Hospital Organization Inc., Lorain County Surgery Center Ltd., Los Gatos Surgical Center a California Limited Partnership, Los Robles Regional Medical Center, Los Robles Regional Medical Center MOB LLC, Los Robles SurgiCenter LLC, Loudoun Surgery Center LLC, Louisiana Psychiatric Company Inc., Loveland Surgicenter LLC, Low Country Health Services Inc. of the Southeast, Lowry Surgicenter LLC, M. Jamshidi D.O. PLLC, MCA Investment Company, MCA-CTMC Holdings LLC, MEC Endoscopy LLC, MFA G.P. LLC, MFM Fact PLLC, MGH Medical Inc., MH Anesthesiology Physicians LLC, MH Angel Medical Center LLLP, MH Asheville Specialty Hospital LLC, MH Blue Ridge Medical Center LLLP, MH Eckerd Living Center LLLP, MH Highlands-Cashiers Medical Center LLLP, MH Hospital Holdings Inc., MH Hospital Manager LLC, MH Master Holdings LLLP, MH Master LLC, MH McDowell Imaging LLLP, MH Mission Hospital LLLP, MH Mission Hospital McDowell LLLP, MH Mission Imaging LLLP, MH Physician Services LLC, MH Transylvania Imaging LLLP, MH Transylvania Regional Hospital LLLP, MHS Partnership Holdings JSC Inc., MHS Partnership Holdings SDS Inc., MHS SC Partner L.L.C., MHS Surgery Centers L.P., MMC Sleep Lab Management LLC, MOSC Sports Medicine Inc., MOVCO Inc., MP Management LLC, MRT&C Inc., MSL Acquisition LLC, MVH Professional Services LLC, Macon Healthcare LLC, Macon Northside Health Group LLC, Macon Northside Hospital LLC, Macon Psychiatric Hospitalists LLC, Madison Behavioral Health LLC, Mainland Family Medicine PLLC, Mainland Multi-Specialty Group PLLC, Mainland Primary Care Physicians PLLC, Management Services Holdings Inc., Manatee Surgicare Ltd., Marietta Outpatient Medical Building Inc., Marietta Outpatient Surgery Ltd., Marietta Surgical Center Inc., Marion Community Hospital Inc., Mark Gottesman M.D. PLLC, Martin Fletcher & Associates L.P., Martin Fletcher Associates Holdings Inc., Mary Alice Cowan M.D. PLLC, Maternal Fetal Medicine Specialists of Corpus Christi PLLC, Maternal Fetal Services of Utah LLC, Maury County Behavioral Health LLC, Mayhill Cancer Center LLC, McAllen Comprehensive Upper Extremity Center PLLC, McKinney Surgeons PLLC, Mechanicsville Imaging LLC, Mecklenburg Surgical Land Development Ltd., Med City Dallas Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., Med Corp. Inc., Med Group - Southern Hills Hospitalists LLC, Med-Center Hosp./Houston Inc., Med-Point of New Hampshire Inc., Medi Flight of Oklahoma LLC, MediCredit Inc., MediPurchase Inc., MediStone Healthcare Ventures Inc., MediVision Inc., MediVision of Mecklenburg County Inc., MediVision of Tampa Inc., Medical Arts Hospital of Texarkana Inc., Medical Associates of Ocala LLC, Medical Care America Colorado LLC, Medical Care America LLC, Medical Care Financial Services Corp., Medical Care Real Estate Finance Inc., Medical Care Surgery Center Inc., Medical Center - West Inc., Medical Center Imaging Inc., Medical Center Surgery Associates L.P., Medical Center of Baton Rouge Inc., Medical Center of Plano Partner LLC, Medical Center of Port St. Lucie Inc., Medical Center of Santa Rosa Inc., Medical Center of Southwest Florida LLC, Medical Centers of Oklahoma LLC, Medical City Dallas Hospital Inc., Medical City Dallas Partner LLC, Medical City Dallas Primary Care PLLC, Medical City Frisco, Medical City OB-GYN PLLC, Medical City Pediatrics PLLC, Medical City Specialty Surgicenter of Dallas LLC, Medical City Surgery Center of Alliance LLC, Medical City Surgery Center of Frisco LLC, Medical City Surgery Center of Lewisville LLC, Medical City Transplant PLLC, Medical Corporation of America, Medical Group - Dickson Inc., Medical Group - Southern Hills of Brentwood LLC, Medical Group - Southern Hills of Nolensville LLC, Medical Group - StoneCrest FP Inc., Medical Group - StoneCrest Inc., Medical Group - Stonecrest Pulmonology LLC, Medical Group - Summit Inc., Medical Imaging Inc., Medical Imaging of Colorado LLC, Medical Office Buildings of Kansas LLC, Medical Oncology Associates LLC, Medical Partners of North Florida LLC, Medical Plaza Ambulatory Surgery Center Associates L.P., Medical Specialties Inc., Memorial Family Practice Associates LLC, Memorial Health Primary Care at St. Johns Bluff LLC, Memorial Healthcare Group Inc., Memorial Neurosurgery Group LLC, Memorial Satilla Specialists LLC, Memorial University Medical Center, Menorah Medical Group LLC, Menorah Urgent Care LLC, Mercy ASC LLC, Metairie Primary Care Associates LLC, Methodist Ambulatory Surgery Center of Boerne LLC, Methodist Ambulatory Surgery Center of Landmark LLC, Methodist Cardiology Physicians, Methodist CareNow Physician Associates, Methodist CareNow Urgent Care PLLC, Methodist Healthcare System of San Antonio Ltd. L.L.P., Methodist Inpatient Management Group, Methodist Medical Center ASC L.P., Methodist Physician Alliance, Methodist Physician Practice Services LLC, Methodist Physician Practices PLLC, Metroplex Surgicenters Inc., Metropolitan Multispecialty Physicians Group Inc., Miami Beach EFL Imaging Center LLC, Miami Beach Healthcare Group Ltd., Miami Dade Surgical Specialists LLC, Miami Lakes Surgery Center Ltd., Miami-Dade Cardiology Consultants LLC, Michael Mann M.D. PLLC, Mid-America Surgery Center LLC, Mid-America Surgery Institute LLC, Mid-Cities Surgi-Center Inc., Mid-Continent Health Services Inc., MidAmerica Division Inc., MidAmerica Oncology LLC, Middle Georgia Hospital LLC, Middle Georgia Urgent Care Services LLC, Middle Tennessee Neurology LLC, Midtown Diagnostics LLC, Midwest Cardiology Specialists LLC, Midwest Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery LLC, Midwest Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgeons of Kansas LLC, Midwest Division - ACH LLC, Midwest Division - CMC LLC, Midwest Division - LRHC LLC, Midwest Division - LSH LLC, Midwest Division - MCI LLC, Midwest Division - MMC LLC, Midwest Division - OPRMC LLC, Midwest Division - RBH LLC, Midwest Division - RMC LLC, Midwest Division Spine Care LLC, Midwest Doctors Group LLC, Midwest Heart & Vascular Specialists LLC, Midwest Holdings Inc., Midwest Infectious Disease Specialists LLC, Midwest Medicine Associates LLC, Midwest Metropolitan Physicians Group LLC, Midwest Oncology Associates LLC, Midwest Trauma Services LLC, Midwest Womens Healthcare Specialists LLC, Mikrod Services Inc., Mill Creek Outpatient Services LLC, Millenium Health Care of Oklahoma Inc., Mission Bay Memorial Hospital Inc., Mission Community Anesthesiology Specialists LLC, Mission Employer Solutions LLC, Mission Health, Mission Health Partners Inc., Missouri Healthcare System L.P., Mobile Corps. Inc., Mobile Heartbeat, Mobile Heartbeat LLC, Montgomery Cancer Center LLC, Montgomery Hospitalists LLC, Montgomery Regional Hospital Inc., Montgomery Surgery Associates LLC, Mountain Division - CVH LLC, Mountain Division Inc., Mountain View Hospital Inc., Mountain View MRI Associates Ltd., Mountain West Surgery Center LLC, MountainStar Behavioral Health LLC, MountainStar Brigham General Surgery LLC, MountainStar Canyon Surgical Clinic LLC, MountainStar Cardiology Ogden Regional LLC, MountainStar Cardiology St. Marks LLC, MountainStar Intensivist Services LLC, MountainStar Medical Group - Cache Valley LLC, MountainStar Medical Group - Ogden Regional Medical Center LLC, MountainStar Medical Group - St. Marks Hospital LLC, MountainStar Medical Group Neurosurgery-St. Marks LLC, MountainStar Medical Group Timpanogos Primary Care LLC, MountainStar Medical Group Timpanogos Specialty Care LLC, MountainStar Specialty Services LLC, MountainStar Urgent Care LLC, MountainView GME Primary Care LLC, Mountainstar Brigham OBGYN LLC, Mountainstar Cardiovascular Services LLC, Mountainstar Ogden Pediatrics LLC, Movement Disorders of North Texas PLLC, Mt. Ogden Utah Surgical Center LLC, NPAS Inc., NPAS Solutions LLC, NT Urgent Care PLLC, NTGP LLC, NTMC Management Company, NTMC Venture Inc., NTX Pathology Program PLLC, Nashville Psychiatric Company Inc., Nashville Shared Services General Partnership, Nashville Surgicenter LLC, Natchez Medical Associates LLC, Natchez Surgery Center LLC, National Association of Senior Friends, National Contact Center Management Group LLC, National Patient Account Services Inc., National Transfer Center Management Services LLC, Navarro Memorial Hospital Inc., NeighborMD Management LLC, Network MS of Florida Inc., Network Management Services Inc., Neuro Affiliates Company, Neuro-Hospitalist of Clear Lake PLLC, NeuroHospitalist of McAllen PLLC, Neurological Eye Specialists of North Texas PLLC, Neurological Specialists PLLC, Neurological Specialists of McKinney PLLC, Neurology Associates of Hendersonville LLC, Neurology Associates of Kansas LLC, Neurosurgery Atlanta LLC, Neurosurgery of Kingwood PLLC, Neurosurgical Associates of North Texas PLLC, Neurosurgical Specialists of El Paso PLLC, Neurosurgical Specialists of North Texas PLLC, Nevada Surgery Center of Southern Hills L.P., Nevada Surgicare of Southern Hills LLC, Nevada Urgent Care Holdings Inc., New Iberia Healthcare LLC, New Iberia Holdings Inc., New Port Richey Hospital Inc., New Port Richey Surgery Center Ltd., New Rose Holding Company Inc., Niceville Family Practice LLC, North Augusta Imaging Management LLC, North Augusta Imaging Services LLC, North Augusta Rehab Health Center LLC, North Austin Plastic Surgery Associates PLLC, North Austin Surgery Center L.P., North Brandon Imaging LLC, North Central Florida Health System Inc., North Central Methodist ASC L.P., North Charleston Diagnostic Imaging Center LLC, North Florida Cancer Center Lake City LLC, North Florida Cancer Center Live Oak LLC, North Florida Cancer Center Tallahassee LLC, North Florida Division I Inc., North Florida Division Practice Inc., North Florida GI Center GP Inc., North Florida GI Center Ltd., North Florida Immediate Care Center Inc., North Florida Neurosurgery LLC, North Florida Outpatient Imaging Center Ltd., North Florida Physician Services Inc., North Florida Physicians LLC, North Florida Radiation Oncology LLC, North Florida Regional Company Care LLC, North Florida Regional Freestanding Surgery Center L.P., North Florida Regional Investments Inc., North Florida Regional Medical Center Inc., North Florida Regional Psychiatry LLC, North Florida Regional Trauma LLC, North Florida Rehab Investments LLC, North Florida Surgical Associates LLC, North Georgia Primary Care Group LLC, North Hills Cardiac Catheterization Center L.P., North Hills Catheterization Lab LLC, North Hills Orthopaedic Surgeons PLLC, North Hills Surgicare L.P., North Houston - TRMC LLC, North Miami Beach Surgery Center Limited Partnership, North Miami Beach Surgical Center LLC, North Palm Beach County Surgery Center LLC, North River Physician Network LLC, North Shore Specialists of Texas PLLC, North Suburban Spine Center L.P., North Tampa Imaging LLC, North Texas - MCA LLC, North Texas Cardiology PLLC, North Texas Craniofacial Fellowship Program PLLC, North Texas Division Inc., North Texas General L.P., North Texas Geriatrics PLLC, North Texas Heart Surgery Center PLLC, North Texas Internal Medicine Specialists PLLC, North Texas Medical Center Inc., North Texas Neuro Stroke OP PLLC, North Texas Pulmonary Critical Care PLLC, North Texas Sports and Orthopedics Center PLLC, North Texas Stroke Center PLLC, North Texas of Hope PLLC, North Transfer Center LLC, Northeast Florida Cancer Services LLC, Northeast Methodist Surgicare Ltd., Northeast PHO Inc., Northern Utah Healthcare Corporation, Northern Utah Healthcare Imaging Holdco LLC, Northern Utah Imaging LLC, Northern Virginia CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Northern Virginia Community Hospital LLC, Northern Virginia Hospital Corporation, Northern Virginia Surgicenter LLC, Northlake Medical Center LLC, Northlake Physician Practice Network Inc., Northlake Surgical Center L.P., Northlake Surgicare Inc., Northside MRI Inc., Northwest Fla. Home Health Agency Inc., Northwest Florida Healthcare Systems Inc., Northwest Florida Multispecialty Physicians LLC, Northwest Florida Primary Care LLC, Northwest Medical Center Inc., Notami (Opelousas) Inc., Notami Hospitals LLC, Notami Hospitals of Florida Inc., Notami Hospitals of Louisiana Inc., Notami Hospitals of Missouri Inc., Notami LLC, Notco LLC, Nuclear Diagnosis Inc., OB Hospitalists of Womans Hospital PLLC, OB/GYN of Brownsville PLLC, OB/Gyn Associates of Denton PLLC, OBS Diagnostic and Treatment Centre LLP, ODP Holdings LLC, ODP Manager LLC, ODP Properties LLC, OHH Imaging Services LLC, OPRMC-HBP LLC, Oak Hill Acquisition Inc., Oak Hill Family Care LLC, Oak Hill Hospitalists LLC, Oakwood Surgery Center Ltd. LLP, Ocala Health Company Care LLC, Ocala Health Imaging Services LLC, Ocala Health Primary Care LLC, Ocala Health Surgical Group LLC, Ocala Health Trauma LLC, Ocala Regional Outpatient Services Inc., Ocala Stereotactic Radiosurgery LLC, Ocala Stereotactic Radiosurgery Partner LLC, Occupational Health Services of PRH LLC, Occupational and Family Medicine of South Texas, Ogden Imaging LLC, Ogden Internal Medicine & Urology LLC, Ogden Regional Health Plan Inc., Ogden Regional Medical Center Professional Billing LLC, Ogden Senior Center LLC, Ogden Tomotherapy LLC, Ogden Tomotherapy Manager LLC, Okaloosa Hospital Inc., Okeechobee Hospital Inc., Oklahoma Holding Company LLC, Oklahoma Outpatient Surgery Limited Partnership, Oklahoma Physicians - Medical Specialties LLC, Oklahoma Physicians - Obstetrics and Gynecology LLC, Oklahoma Physicians - Primary Care LLC, Oklahoma Physicians - Surgical Specialties LLC, Oklahoma Surgicare Inc., Old Fort Village LLC, On-Site Primary Care PLLC, Oncology Services of Corpus Christi LLC, Oncology Services of Corpus Christi Manager LLC, OneSourceMed Inc., Online Pathology Services Limited, Orange County Healthcare LLC, Orange Park Hospitalists LLC, Orange Park Medical Center Inc., Orlando CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Orlando Outpatient Surgical Center Inc., Orlando Outpatient Surgical Center Ltd., Orlando Surgicare Ltd., Orthopaedic Specialty Associates L.P., Orthopaedic Sports Specialty Associates Inc., Orthopedic Hospital Ltd., Orthopedics Specialists LLC, Osceola Neurological Associates LLC, Osceola Physician Network LLC, Osceola Regional Hospital Inc., Osceola Regional Hospitalists LLC, Osceola Surgical Associates LLC, Outpatient Cardiovascular Center of Central Florida LLC, Outpatient GP LLC, Outpatient Services - LAD LLC, Outpatient Services Holdings Inc., Outpatient Surgical Services Ltd., Outpatient Womens and Childrens Surgery Center Ltd., Overland Park Cardiovascular Inc., Overland Park Medical Specialists LLC, Overland Park Orthopedics LLC, Overland Park Surgical Specialties LLC, Oviedo Medical Center LLC, Ozarks Medical Services Inc., P&L Associates, P/SL Hyperbaric Partnership, PET CT LLP, PMM Inc., POH Holdings LLC, PSG Delegated Services LLC, PTS Solutions LLC, Pacific Partners Management Services Inc., Palm Beach EFL Imaging Center LLC, Palm Beach General Surgery LLC, Palm Beach Healthcare System Inc., Palm Beach Hospitalists Program LLC, Palmer Medical Center LLC, Palms West Gastroenterology LLC, Palms West Hospital Limited Partnership, Palms West Surgery Center Ltd., Paragon Physicians Hospital Organization of South Texas Inc., Paragon SDS Inc., Paragon Surgery Centers of Texas Inc., Paragon WSC Inc., Paragon of Texas Health Properties Inc., Parallon Business Solutions LLC, Parallon Enterprises LLC, Parallon Health Information Solutions LLC, Parallon Holdings LLC, Parallon Payroll Solutions LLC, Parallon Physician Services LLC, Parallon Revenue Cycle Services Inc., Park Central Surgical Center Ltd., Park Ridge Surgery Center LLC, Park South Imaging Center Ltd., Park View Insurance Company, Parkersburg SJ Holdings Inc., Parkland Hospitalists Program LLC, Parkland Oncology LLC, Parkland Physician Services Inc., Parkridge East Specialty Associates LLC, Parkridge Hospitalists Inc., Parkridge Medical Associates LLC, Parkridge Medical Center Inc., Parkridge Professionals Inc., Parkside Surgery Center Inc., Parkway Cardiac Center Ltd., Parkway Hospital Inc., Parkway Surgery Services Ltd., Parthenon Insurance Company Limited, Pasadena Bayshore Hospital Inc., PatientKeeper, PatientKeeper Inc., Patients First Neurology LLC, Pavilion 2 Condominium Property LLC, Pavilion 2 Medical Office Building Condominium Association Inc., Pavilion Surgicenter LLC, Peach State Anesthesia Partners LLC, Pearland Institute for Womens Health PLLC, Pearland Partner LLC, Pediatric Anesthesia Consultants of San Antonio PLLC, Pediatric Cardiac Intensivists of North Texas PLLC, Pediatric Critical Care of Clear Lake PLLC, Pediatric Hospitalists of Conroe PLLC, Pediatric Intensivist Group LLC, Pediatric Intensivists of El Paso PLLC, Pediatric Intensivists of North Texas PLLC, Pediatric Specialists of Clear Lake PLLC, Pediatric Specialty Clinic LLC, Pediatric Surgicare Inc., Pediatrics of Greater Houston PLLC, Pensacola Primary Care Inc., Physician Associates of Corporate Woods LLC, Physicians Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Physicians West Surgicenter LLC, Pinellas Medical LLC, Pinnacle Physician Network LLC, Pioneer Medical LLC, Plains Healthcare System Inc., Plano Ambulatory Surgery Associates L.P., Plano Heart Institute L.P., Plano Heart Management LLC, Plano Surgery Center - GP LLC, Plano Surgery Center Real Estate LLC, Plano Surgicenter Real Estate Manager LLC, Plano Urology PLLC, Plantation General Hospital L.P., Plaza Medical Specialists PLLC, Plaza Primary Care PLLC, Plaza Transplant Center PLLC, Podiatry of Clear Lake PLLC, Poinciana Medical Center Inc., Port St. Lucie Surgery Center Ltd., Portland Primary Care LLC, Portsmouth Regional Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Portsmouth Surgicenter LLC, Preferred Hospitals Inc., Preferred Works WC LLC, Premier ASC LLC, Premier Medical Management Ltd., Primary Care Medical Associates Inc., Primary Care Plano PLLC, Primary Care Services of Orlando LLC, Primary Care South PLLC, Primary Care West PLLC, Primary Care of West End LLC, Primary Health Asset Holdings Ltd., Primary Health Group Inc., Primary Health Inc., Primary Health Network of South Texas, Primary Health Physicians PLLC, Primary Medical Management Inc., Proaxis Therapy HealthOne LLC, Provident Professional Building Condominium Association Inc., Psychiatry Services of Osceola LLC, Pulaski Community Hospital Inc., Pulaski Urology LLC, Pulmonary Renal Intensivist Group LLC, Putnam Community Medical Center of North Florida LLC, Putnam Hospital Inc., Putnam Radiation Oncology LLC, Putnam Radiation Oncology Manager LLC, Putnam Surgical Group LLC, Quantum/Bellaire Imaging Ltd., Quick Care Centers LLC, Quivira Internal Medicine Inc., RCH LLC, RMC - Pulmonary LLC, RMC Transplant Physicians LLC, RMCA Professionals Mgmt LLC, ROi CPS LLC, Radford Family Medicine LLC, Radiation Oncology Center of Thornton LLC, Radiation Oncology Manager LLC, Raleigh Community Medical Office Building Ltd., Rapides After Hours Clinic L.L.C., Rapides Healthcare System L.L.C., Rapides Regional Physician Group LLC, Rapides Regional Physician Group Primary Care LLC, Rapides Regional Physician Group Specialty Care LLC, Rapides Surgery Center LLC, Raulerson GYN LLC, Raulerson Gastroenterology LLC, Raulerson Primary Care LLC, Raymore Medical Group LLC, Red Rock Holdco LLC, Red Rock at Smoke Ranch LLC, Red Rocks Surgery Center LLC, Redmond Anesthesia Services LLC, Redmond Hospital Services LLC, Redmond Neurosurgery LLC, Redmond Park Health Services Inc., Redmond Park Hospital LLC, Redmond Physician Practice Company, Redmond Specialty Services LLC, Regional Hospital Healthcare Partners LLC, Research Cardiology Associates LLC, Research Family Physicians LLC, Research Internal Medicine LLC, Research Neurology Associates LLC, Research Neuroscience Institute LLC, Resource Optimization & Innovation L.L.C., Reston Hospital Center LLC, Reston Hospitalists LLC, Reston Surgery Center L.P., Retreat Cardiology LLC, Retreat Hospital LLC, Retreat Internal Medicine LLC, Retreat Surgical Associates LLC, Rhodes Limited-Liability Company, Richmond Imaging Employer Corp., Richmond Multi-Specialty LLC, Richmond Pediatric Surgeons LLC, Ridgeline Surgicenter LLC, Rim Building Partners L.P., Rio Grande Healthcare MSO Inc., Rio Grande NP Inc., Rio Grande Regional Hospital Inc., Rio Grande Valley Cardiology PLLC, Rio Grande Valley CareNow Urgent Care PLLC, Rio Grande Valley Urology PLLC, Riverside CyberKnife Manager LLC, Riverside Healthcare System L.P., Riverside Holdings Inc., Riverside Hospital Inc., Riverside Imaging LLC, Riverwalk ASC LLC, Roanoke Imaging LLC, Roanoke Neurosurgery LLC, Roanoke Surgery Center L.P., Roanoke Valley Gynecology LLC, Robotic Radiosurgery LLP, Rocky Mountain Pediatric Hematology Oncology LLC, Rocky Mountain Surgery Center LLC, Rome Imaging Center Limited Partnership, Roodlane Medical Limited, Rose Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Rose Health Partners LLC, Rose Medical Plaza Ltd., Rose POB Inc., Rosewood Medical Center Inc., Rosewood Professional Building Ltd., Round Rock Hospital Inc., Round Rock Trauma Surgeons PLLC, Royal Oaks Surgery Center L.P., S.A. Medical Center Inc., SAPN LLC, SCRI Global Services Limited, SCRI Holdings LLC, SCRI Scientifics LLC, SJMC LLC, SSHR Holdco LLC, SSJ St. Petersburg Holdings Inc., STPN Manager LLC, SWMC Inc., Sahara Outpatient Surgery Center Ltd., Salem Hospitalists LLC, Salem Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Salt Lake City Surgicare Inc., Samaritan LLC, San Antonio Division Inc., San Antonio Regional Hospital Inc., San Antonio Surgicenter LLC, San Bernardino Imaging LLC, San Joaquin Surgical Center Inc., San Jose Healthcare System LP, San Jose Hospital L.P., San Jose LLC, San Jose Medical Center LLC, San Jose Pathology Outreach LLC, San Marcos ASC LLC, San Marcos Surgicenter LLC, Sante Fe Family Practitioners PLLC, Sarah Cannon Development Innovations LLC, Sarah Cannon Research Institute LLC, Sarah Cannon Research Institute UK Limited, Sarasota Doctors Hospital Inc., Savannah Behavioral Health Associates LLC, Savannah Health Network LLC, Savannah Health Services LLC, Savannah Inpatient Services LLC, Savannah Multispecialty Associates LLC, Savannah Pediatric Care LLC, Savannah Primary Care Associates LLC, Sebring Health Services LLC, Selma Medical Center Hospital Inc., Senior Health Associates LLC, Short Pump Imaging LLC, Silicon Valley Health Holdings LLC, Silicon Valley Surgery Center L.P., Silicon Valley Surgicenter LLC, Sky Ridge Spine Manager LLC, Sky Ridge Surgery Center L.P., Skyline Medical Group LLC, Skyline Neuroscience Associates LLC, Skyline Rehab Associates LLC, Skyline Specialty Associates LLC, Smith Laboratories Inc., Solis Mammography at Bayshore Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Clear Lake Regional Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Conroe Regional Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Denton Regional Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at HCA Houston Tomball LLC, Solis Mammography at Kingwood Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Las Colinas Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical Center Alliance LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical Center Arlington LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical Center of Lewisville LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical Center of McKinney LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical Center of Plano LLC, Solis Mammography at Medical City Dallas LLC, Solis Mammography at Pearland Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Rose Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Skyline Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at StoneCrest Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at West Houston Medical Center LLC, Solis Mammography at Womans Hospital of Texas LLC, Solis Mammography of Cedar Hill LLC, Solis Mammography of CyFair LLC, Solis Mammography of Dallas LLC, Solis Mammography of Flower Mound LLC, Solis Mammography of Frisco LLC, Solis Mammography of Garland LLC, Solis Mammography of Grand Prairie LLC, Solis Mammography of Houston NW LLC, Solis Mammography of Katy LLC, Solis Mammography of Louetta/249 LLC, Solis Mammography of Mainland LLC, Solis Mammography of Mansfield LLC, Solis Mammography of Mesquite LLC, Solis Mammography of Montgomery LLC, Solis Mammography of North Cypress LLC, Solis Mammography of North Loop LLC, Solis Mammography of Sugar Land LLC, Solis Mammography of West Plano LLC, Solis Mammography of Womans Place LLC, South Atlantic Division Inc., South Austin Surgery Center Ltd., South Austin Surgical Management LLC, South Austin Surgicenter LLC, South Brandon Imaging LLC, South Florida Division Practice Inc., South Texas Surgicare Inc., South Transfer Center LLC, South Valley Hospital L.P., Southeast Georgia Health Services LLC, Southern Hills Medical Center LLC, Southern Hills Neurology Consultants LLC, Southern Kentucky Medicine Associates LLC, Southern Kentucky Surgicenter LLC, Southern Texas Physicians Network, Southpoint LLC, Southtown Womens Clinic LLC, Southwest Florida Health System Inc., Southwest Florida Regional Medical Center Inc., Southwest Medical Center Family Practice LLC, Southwest Medical Center Multi-Specialty Group LLC, Southwest Medical Center Surgical Group LLC, Southwest Medpro Ltd., Southwest Surgical Clinic Inc., Southwest Virginia Orthopedics and Spine LLC, Spalding Rehabilitation L.L.C., Specialists in Obstetrics and Gynecology PLLC, Specialty Associates of West Houston PLLC, Specialty Physicians of Northern Virginia LLC, Specialty Surgicare of Las Vegas LP, Spotsylvania Condominium Property LLC, Spotsylvania Medical Center Inc., Spotsylvania Multi-Specialty Group LLC, Spotsylvania Regional Surgery Center LLC, Spring Branch Family Practitioners PLLC, Spring Branch Medical Center Inc., Spring Hill Hospital Inc., Spring Hill Imaging LLC, Spring Hill Physicians LLC, Springview KY LLC, Spruce Pine Healthcare LLC, St. Davids Austin Area ASC LLC, St. Davids Cardiology PLLC, St. Davids CareNow Urgent Care PLLC, St. Davids Healthcare Partnership L.P. LLP, St. Davids Heart & Vascular PLLC, St. Davids Neurology PLLC, St. Davids OB Hospitalist PLLC, St. Davids Ortho Neuro and Rehab PLLC, St. Davids Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation PLLC, St. Davids Quality Alliance LLC, St. Davids Specialized Womens Services PLLC, St. Davids Trauma Surgeons PLLC, St. Lucie Hospitalists LLC, St. Lucie Medical Center Hyperbarics LLC, St. Lucie Medical Center Walk-In Clinic LLC, St. Lucie Medical Specialists LLC, St. Lucie West Primary Care LLC, St. Marks Ambulatory Surgery Associates L.P., St. Marks Gynecology Oncology Care LLC, St. Marks Investments Inc., St. Marks Physician Billing LLC, St. Marks Professional Services LLC, St. Marks South Jordan Family Practice LLC, St. Martins Healthcare Limited, St. Martins Ltd., St. Martins Medical Services Limited, St. Petersburg General Surgery LLC, Stafford Imaging LLC, Statland Medical Group LLC, Steamboat Springs Surgicenter LLC, Sterling Primary Care Associates LLC, Stiles Road Imaging LLC, StoneCrest Surgery Center LLC, StoneSprings Medical Office Building Property LLC, StoneSprings Surgicenter LLC, Stonecrest Medical Group - Family Practice of Murfreesboro LLC, Stonecrest Medical Group - SC Murfreesboro Family Practice LLC, Stones River Hospital LLC, Suburban Medical Center at Hoffman Estates Inc., Sugar Land Surgery Center Anesthesia LLC, Sugar Land Surgery Center Ltd., Sullins Surgical Center Inc., Summit Convenient Care at Lebanon LLC, Summit General Partner Inc., Summit Heart LLC, Summit Outpatient Diagnostic Center LLC, Summit Research Solutions LLC, Summit Surgery Center L.P., Summit Surgical Associates LLC, Summit Walk-in Clinic LLC, Sun Bay Medical Office Building Inc., Sun City Hospital Inc., Sun City Imaging LLC, Sun Towers/Vista Hills Holding Co., Sun-Med LLC, Sunrise Flamingo Holdings LLC, Sunrise Flamingo Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Sunrise Hospital and Medical Center LLC, Sunrise Mountainview Hospital Inc., Sunrise Mountainview Multi-Specialty Clinics LLC, Sunrise Outpatient Services Inc., Sunrise Physician Services LLC, Sunrise Trauma Services LLC, Surgery Associates of NTX PLLC, Surgery Center of Atlantis LLC, Surgery Center of Aventura Ltd., Surgery Center of Bay Area Houston LLC, Surgery Center of Greenview L.P., Surgery Center of Independence L.P., Surgery Center of Overland Park L.P., Surgery Center of Port Charlotte Ltd., Surgery Center of Rome L.P., Surgery Center of the Rockies LLC, Surgical Associates of Southwest Virginia LLC, Surgical Care Medical Group LLC, Surgical Center of Irving Inc., Surgical Facility of West Houston L.P., Surgical Park Center Ltd., Surgical Specialists of Clear Lake PLLC, Surgical Specialists of Conroe PLLC, Surgical Specialists of Corpus Christi PLLC, Surgicare America - Winter Park Inc., Surgicare Merger Company of Louisiana, Surgicare Outpatient Center of Baton Rouge Inc., Surgicare Outpatient Center of Jackson Inc., Surgicare of ADC LLC, Surgicare of AGI LLC, Surgicare of Alpine LLC, Surgicare of Altamonte Springs Inc., Surgicare of Anchorage LLC, Surgicare of Arapahoe LLC, Surgicare of Arlington LLC, Surgicare of Ashburn LLC, Surgicare of Augusta Inc., Surgicare of Aurora Endoscopy LLC, Surgicare of Aventura LLC, Surgicare of Bay Area Endoscopy LLC, Surgicare of Bay Area LLC, Surgicare of Bayonet Point Inc., Surgicare of Bayside LLC, Surgicare of Bountiful LLC, Surgicare of Brandon Inc., Surgicare of Brentwood LLC, Surgicare of Brighton LLC, Surgicare of Brooksville LLC, Surgicare of Brownsville LLC, Surgicare of Buckhead LLC, Surgicare of CAREOS LLC, Surgicare of Central Florida Inc., Surgicare of Central Park Surgery Center LLC, Surgicare of Central San Antonio Inc., Surgicare of Chattanooga LLC, Surgicare of Chippenham LLC, Surgicare of Citrus LLC, Surgicare of Clarksville LLC, Surgicare of Corpus Christi LLC, Surgicare of Countryside Inc., Surgicare of Dallas Specialty LLC, Surgicare of Denton Inc., Surgicare of Denver Clinic LLC, Surgicare of Denver LLC, Surgicare of Denver Mid-Town Inc., Surgicare of Dickson LLC, Surgicare of Eastside LLC, Surgicare of Evans Inc., Surgicare of Fairfax Inc., Surgicare of Florida Inc., Surgicare of Flower Mound Inc., Surgicare of Focus Hand LLC, Surgicare of Fort Worth Co-GP LLC, Surgicare of Fort Worth Inc., Surgicare of Ft. Pierce Inc., Surgicare of Good Samaritan LLC, Surgicare of Gramercy Inc., Surgicare of Greenview Inc., Surgicare of Hanover Inc., Surgicare of Houston Kingwood LLC, Surgicare of Houston LLC, Surgicare of Houston Womens Inc., Surgicare of Indianapolis Inc., Surgicare of Kansas City LLC, Surgicare of Kingwood LLC, Surgicare of Kissimmee Inc., Surgicare of Lakeview Inc., Surgicare of Las Vegas Inc., Surgicare of Laurel Grove LLC, Surgicare of Lorain County Inc., Surgicare of Los Gatos Inc., Surgicare of Los Robles LLC, Surgicare of Loveland LLC, Surgicare of Madison Inc., Surgicare of Manatee Inc., Surgicare of McKinney Inc., Surgicare of Medical City Dallas LLC, Surgicare of Memorial Endoscopy LLC, Surgicare of Merritt Island Inc., Surgicare of Miami Lakes LLC, Surgicare of Mountain West LLC, Surgicare of Mt. Ogden LLC, Surgicare of Nashville LLC, Surgicare of Natchez LLC, Surgicare of Newport Richey Inc., Surgicare of North Austin LLC, Surgicare of North San Antonio Inc., Surgicare of Northeast San Antonio Inc., Surgicare of Orange Park II LLC, Surgicare of Orange Park Inc., Surgicare of Orange Park Ltd., Surgicare of Orlando Inc., Surgicare of Overland Park LLC, Surgicare of Palms West LLC, Surgicare of Park Ridge LLC, Surgicare of Pasadena Inc., Surgicare of Pavilion LLC, Surgicare of Physicians West El Paso LLC, Surgicare of Pinellas Inc., Surgicare of Plano Inc., Surgicare of Plantation Inc., Surgicare of Port Charlotte LLC, Surgicare of Port St. Lucie Inc., Surgicare of Portsmouth LLC, Surgicare of Premier Orthopaedic LLC, Surgicare of Reston Inc., Surgicare of Ridgeline LLC, Surgicare of Riverside LLC, Surgicare of Riverwalk LLC, Surgicare of Roanoke LLC, Surgicare of Rome Inc., Surgicare of Rose LLC, Surgicare of Round Rock Inc., Surgicare of Royal Oaks LLC, Surgicare of Silicon Valley LLC, Surgicare of Sky Ridge LLC, Surgicare of Sky Ridge Womens Center LLC, Surgicare of South Austin Inc., Surgicare of Southeast Denver Inc., Surgicare of Southern Hills Inc., Surgicare of Southern Kentucky LLC, Surgicare of Southwest Houston LLC, Surgicare of Spotsylvania LLC, Surgicare of St. Andrews Inc., Surgicare of St. Andrews Ltd., Surgicare of St. Davids Austin LLC, Surgicare of Steamboat Springs LLC, Surgicare of StoneCrest LLC, Surgicare of StoneSprings LLC, Surgicare of Stuart Inc., Surgicare of Sugar Land Inc., Surgicare of Swedish LLC, Surgicare of Tallahassee Inc., Surgicare of Terre Haute LLC, Surgicare of Thornton LLC, Surgicare of Travis Center Inc., Surgicare of Tulsa Inc., Surgicare of Utah LLC, Surgicare of Wasatch Front LLC, Surgicare of West Hills Inc., Surgicare of Westlake Inc., Surgicare of Wichita Inc., Surgicare of Wichita LLC, Surgicare of Willis LLC, Surgicare of Wilson County LLC, Surgicare of Winchester LLC, Surgicenter of East Jefferson Inc., Surgicenter of Johnson County Ltd. a Kansas limited partnership, Surgicenter of Kansas City L.L.C., Surgico LLC, Swedish MOB Acquisition Inc., Swedish MOB I Ltd., Swedish MOB II Inc., Swedish MOB III Inc., Swedish MOB IV Inc., Swedish MOB LLC, Swedish Medpro Inc., TBHI Outpatient Services LLC, TCMC Madison-Portland Inc., THN Physicians Association Inc., TUHC Anesthesiology Group LLC, TUHC Hospitalist Group LLC, TUHC Physician Group LLC, TUHC Primary Care and Pediatrics Group LLC, TUHC Radiology Group LLC, Tallahassee Community Network Inc., Tallahassee Medical Center Inc., Tallahassee Orthopaedic Surgery Partners Ltd., Tampa Bay Health System Inc., Tampa Surgi-Centre Inc., Tarrant County Surgery Center L.P., Tchefuncte Cardiology Associates - Lakeview LLC, Teays Valley Health Services LLC, Telehealth Physician Services LLC, Tennessee Healthcare Management Inc., Tennessee Valley Outpatient Diagnostic Center LLC, Terre Haute Hospital GP Inc., Terre Haute Hospital Holdings Inc., Terre Haute MOB L.P., Terre Haute Obstetrics and Gynecology LLC, Terre Haute Regional Hospital L.P., Texas CareNow Physician Associates, Texas HSS LLC, Texas Institute of Medicine and Surgery, Texas Psychiatric Company Inc., The Austin Diagnostic Clinic PLLC, The Cancer Care Center of North Florida LLC, The Cardiovascular Partnership for Quality LLC, The Charter Cypress Behavioral Health System L.L.C., The Christie Clinic LLP, The Glynne Medical Practice Limited, The Harley Street Cancer Clinic Limited, The London Breast Institute UK Ltd, The Medical Group of Kansas City LLC, The Neurohealth Sciences Center LLC, The Physicians Clinic Limited, The Prostate Centre Limited, The Rankin Foundation, The Regional Health System of Acadiana LLC, The Wasatch Endoscopy Center Ltd., The West Texas Division of Columbia Inc., Timpanogos Pain Specialists LLC, Timpanogos Regional Medical Services Inc., Total Imaging - Hudson LLC, Total Imaging - North St. Petersburg LLC, Total Imaging - Parsons LLC, Town Plaza Family Practice LLC, Travel Medicine and Infections LLC, Travis Surgery Center L.P., Tri Cities Health Services Corp., Tri-City Multi-Specialty LLC, Tri-County Community Hospital Inc., Tri-County Surgical Specialists LLC, TriStar Bone Marrow Transplant LLC, TriStar Cardiovascular Surgery LLC, TriStar Family Care LLC, TriStar Gynecology Oncology LLC, TriStar Health System Inc., TriStar Joint Replacement Institute LLC, TriStar Maury Behavioral Healthcare LLC, TriStar Medical Group - Centennial Primary Care LLC, TriStar Medical Group - Legacy Health LLC, TriStar Medical Network LLC, TriStar OB/GYN LLC, TriStar Orthopedics LLC, TriStar Physicians LLC, TriStar Radiation Oncology LLC, Trident Ambulatory Surgery Center L.P., Trident Behavioral Health Services LLC, Trident Eye Surgery Center L.P., Trident Medical Center LLC, Trident Medical Services Inc., Trident Neonatology Services LLC, Tulane Clinic LLC, Tulane Professionals Management L.L.C., Tuscan Imaging Center at Las Colinas LLC, U.S. Collections Inc., Ultra Imaging Management Services LLC, Ultra Imaging of Tampa LLC, University Healthcare Specialists LLC, University Healthcare System L.C., University Hospital Ltd., Uptown Primary Care Associates LLC, Urgent Care Enterprise LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Ann & Simmons LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Cactus & Southern Highlands LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Charleston & Decatur LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Charleston/Sloan LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Craig & Clayton LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Craig & Decatur LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Durango & Cheyenne LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Durango & Flamingo LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Eastern & Horizon Ridge LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Rainbow/Mardon LLC, Urgent Care Extra - Warm Springs & Green Valley LLC, Urgent Care Extra Silverado & Maryland LLC, Urgent Care Extra-Tropicana & Jones LLC, Urgent Care Nevada LLC, Urological Specialists of Arlington PLLC, Urology Associates (London) Limited, Urology Center of North Georgia LLC, Urology Services of El Paso PLLC, Urology Specialists Devonshire LLP, Urology Specialists London LLP, Urology Specialists of Kingwood PLLC, Urology Specialists of Richmond LLC, Urology Surgery Center of Colorado LLC, Utah CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Utah Imaging GP LLC, Utah Medco LLC, Utah Surgery Center L.P., VH Holdco Inc., VH Holdings Inc., VHSC Plantation LLC, VIP Inc., Valify, Valify Inc., Value Health Holdings Inc., Value Health Management Inc., Vascular and Endovascular Specialists LLC, Venture Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Venture Medical Management LLC, Village Oaks Medical Center Inc., Virginia Care Partners ACO LLC, Virginia Gynecologic Oncology LLC, Virginia Hematology & Oncology Associates Inc., Virginia Hospitalists Inc., Virginia Psychiatric Company Inc., Virginia Quality Care Partners LLC, Vision Consulting Group LLC, Vision Holdings LLC, W & C Hospital Inc., WCP Properties LLC, WHG Medical LLC, WHMC Inc., WJHC LLC, Walterboro Community Hospital Inc., Warren County Ambulance Service LLC, Wasatch Front Surgery Center LLC, Washington Holdco LLC, Waterway Primary Care LLC, Weatherford Health Services LLC, Weatherford Mammography JV LLC, Weatherford Regional Medical Center, Welbeck Street Diagnostic Centre LLP, Wellington Diagnostic Services LLP, Wesley Cath Lab LLC, Wesley Manager LLC, Wesley Medical Center LLC, Wesley Physician Services LLC, Wesley Physicians - Anesthesiologist LLC, Wesley Physicians - Cardiovascular LLC, Wesley Physicians - Medical Specialties LLC, Wesley Physicians - Obstetrics and Gynecology LLC, Wesley Physicians - Primary Care LLC, Wesley Select Network LLC, Wesley Urgent Care LLC, West Boynton Beach Open Imaging Center LLC, West Creek Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, West Creek Medical Center Inc., West Florida - MHT LLC, West Florida - PPH LLC, West Florida Behavioral Health Inc., West Florida Cardiology Network LLC, West Florida Cardiology Physicians LLC, West Florida CareNow Urgent Care LLC, West Florida Division Inc., West Florida Gulf Coast Primary Care LLC, West Florida HealthWorks LLC, West Florida Imaging Services LLC, West Florida Internal Medicine LLC, West Florida PET Services LLC, West Florida Physician Network LLC, West Florida Professional Billing LLC, West Florida Regional Medical Center Inc., West Florida Specialty Physicians LLC, West Florida Trauma Network LLC, West Florida Urgent Care Network LLC, West Hills Hospital, West Hills Surgical Center Ltd., West Houston ASC Inc., West Houston Healthcare Group Ltd., West Houston Internal Specialists PLLC, West Houston LLC, West Houston Medical PLLC, West Houston Outpatient Medical Facility Inc., West Houston Surgicare Inc., West Jacksonville Medical Center Inc., West Jordan Hospital Corporation, West LPN Fort Worth Oncology PLLC, West LPN Inc., West Los Angeles Physicians Hospital Inc., West McKinney Imaging Services LLC, West Paces Services Inc., West Park Surgery Center L.P., West Valley Imaging LLC, West Valley Medical Center Inc., West Valley Medical Group LLC, West Valley Medical Group Specialty Services LLC, West Valley Therapy Services LLC, Westbury Hospital Inc., Western Plains Capital Inc., Westlake Surgicare L.P., Westminster Community Hospital, Westside Surgery Center Ltd., Wichita CareNow Urgent Care LLC, Wildwood Medical Center Inc., Willis Surgicenter LLC, Wilson County Outpatient Surgery Center L.P., Womans Health Group PLLC, Womans Hospital Merger LLC, Womans Hospital of Texas Incorporated, Women Practitioners of Houston PLLC, Women Specialists of Bayshore PLLC, Women Specialists of Clear Lake PLLC, Women Specialists of Mainland PLLC, Womens & Childrens Center LLC, Womens & Childrens Pediatric Hematology/Oncology Center LLC, Womens & Childrens Pulmonology Clinic LLC, Womens Center at Brookside LLC, Womens Health Center of Central Florida LLC, Womens Health Center of SWVA LLC, Womens Hospital Indianapolis GP Inc., Womens Hospital Indianapolis L.P., Womens Link Specialty Obstetrical Referral Clinic PLLC, Womens Multi-Specialty Group LLC, Womens Surgical Specialists of Texas PLLC, Womens and Childrens Professional Management L.L.C., Womens and Childrens Specialists LLC, hInsight-Airstrip Holdings LLC, hInsight-BMA Holdings LLC, hInsight-Customer Care Holdings LLC, hInsight-Digital Reasoning Holdings LLC, hInsight-Healthbox Holdings LLC, hInsight-I2 Holdings LLC, hInsight-InVivoLink Holdings LLC, hInsight-LS Holdings LLC, hInsight-Loyale Healthcare Holdings LLC, hInsight-Mobile Heartbeat Holdings LLC, hInsight-NX LLC, hInsight-PWS I Holdings LLC, hInsight-Procured Holdings LLC, and hInsight-VAI Holdings LLC.
Parkland Corporation operates as a marketer, distributor, and refiner of fuel and petroleum products in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through Canada, International, USA, Supply, and Corporate segments. The Canada segment supplies and supports a coast-to-coast network of 1,860 retail gas stations under the Ultramar, Esso, Fas Gas Plus, Chevron, Pioneer, and Race Trac as well as operates convenience stores under the On the Run/MarchA Express brand. Additionally it offers bulk fuel, bulk and cylinder exchange propane, heating oil, lubricants, and other related products and services to commercial, industrial, and residential customers in various industries, such as oil and gas, construction, mining, forestry, fishing, and transportation under the Ultramar, Bluewave Energy, Pipeline Commercial, Chevron, Columbia Fuels, and Sparlings Propane brands. The International segment operates retail service stations under the Esso, Shell, and Sol brands; and delivers and supplies gasoline, diesel, fuel oil, propane, and lubricants to customers in various sectors, including power, oil and gas, and mining. The USA segment operates a network of gas stations; and delivers bulk fuel, lubricants, and other related products and services under the Farstad Oil, Rhinehart Oil, Tropic Oil, Superpumper, Harts, and On the Run brands. The Supply segment manufactures transportation fuels; transports, stores, and markets fuels, crude oil, and liquid petroleum gases; and manufactures and sells aviation fuel to airlines. This segment also engages in the wholesale, supply, and distribution business. The company was formerly known as Parkland Fuel Corporation and changed its name to Parkland Corporation in May 2020. The company was founded in 1977 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Owens Corning: 0979301 B.C. ULC, AS Paroc, Asahi Glass - Composites Business, Crown Mfg. Inc., Deutsche Foamglas GmbH, Dutch OC Cooperatief Invest U.A., European Owens Corning Fiberglas SPRL, FOAMGLAS (Italia) SRL, FOAMGLAS (Nordic) AB, FiberTEK Insulation, Fibreboard Corp., Finefiber (Shanghai) Building Material Co. Ltd., Finefiber Insulation Co. Pte. Ltd., IBCO SRL, IPM Inc., InterWrap, InterWrap (Hong Kong) Ltd., InterWrap (Qingdao) Trading Co. Ltd., InterWrap Corp., InterWrap Corp. Private Ltd., International Packaging Products Pvt. Ltd., Inversiones Owens Corning Chile Holdings Limitada, Northern Elastomeric, OC Canada Finance Inc., OC Canada Holdings General Partnership, OC Celfortec Company, OC Latin American Holdings GmbH, OC NL Invest Cooperatief U.A., OC PRO CV, OC Steklovolokno AO, OCCV1 Inc., OCCV2 LLC, OCV (Thailand) Co. Limited, OCV Chambery France, OCV Chambery International, OCV Finance LLC, OCV Intellectual Capital LLC, OCV Italia Srl, OCV Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., OCV Servicios Mexico S.A. de C.V., OOO Paroc, Owens Corning (Australia) Pty Limited, Owens Corning (China) Investment Company Limited, Owens Corning (Guangde) Rock Wood Manufacturing Co. Ltd, Owens Corning (Guangzhou) Fiberglas Co. Ltd., Owens Corning (India) Private Limited, Owens Corning (Nanjing) Building Materials Co. Ltd., Owens Corning (Shanghai) Fiberglas Co. Ltd., Owens Corning (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Owens Corning (Tianjin) Building Materials Co. Ltd., Owens Corning (Xian) Building Materials Co. Ltd., Owens Corning Alloy Canada GP Inc., Owens Corning Alloy Canada LP, Owens Corning Argentina Sociedad de Responsabilidad Limitada, Owens Corning Automotive LLC, Owens Corning BM (Korea) Ltd, Owens Corning CV GP LLC, Owens Corning Canada GP Inc., Owens Corning Canada Holdings B.V., Owens Corning Canada Holdings ULC, Owens Corning Canada LP, Owens Corning Cayman (China) Holdings, Owens Corning Celfortec Canada GP Inc., Owens Corning Celfortec LP, Owens Corning Composite Materials Canada GP Inc., Owens Corning Composite Materials Canada LP, Owens Corning Composite Materials LLC, Owens Corning Composites (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Owens Corning Composites (China) Co. Ltd., Owens Corning Construction Services LLC, Owens Corning Corporate Services LLC, Owens Corning Elaminator Insulation Systems LLC, Owens Corning Enterprise (India) Pvt. Ltd., Owens Corning Fabrics (Changzhou) Co. Ltd., Owens Corning Fiberglas (U.K.) Pension Plan Ltd., Owens Corning Fiberglas A.S. Limitada, Owens Corning Fiberglas Espana SL, Owens Corning Fiberglas France, Owens Corning Financial Services ULC, Owens Corning Finland Oy, Owens Corning Foam Insulation LLC, Owens Corning GlassMetal Services (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Owens Corning Global Holdings II Limited Partnership, Owens Corning Global Holdings Limited Partnership, Owens Corning HOMExperts Inc., Owens Corning HT Inc., Owens Corning Holdings 1 CV, Owens Corning Holdings 3 CV, Owens Corning Holdings 4 CV, Owens Corning Holdings 5 CV, Owens Corning Holdings Holland B.V., Owens Corning Hong Kong Limited, Owens Corning Industries (India) Private Limited, Owens Corning Infrastructure Solutions LLC, Owens Corning Insulating Systems Canada GP Inc., Owens Corning Insulating Systems Canada LP, Owens Corning Insulating Systems LLC, Owens Corning Intellectual Capital LLC, Owens Corning InterWrap Canada GP Inc., Owens Corning InterWrap Canada LP, Owens Corning International Holdings C.V., Owens Corning Japan LLC, Owens Corning Kohold B.V., Owens Corning Korea, Owens Corning Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Owens Corning Mineral Wool LLC, Owens Corning Non-Woven - Blythewood LLC, Owens Corning Non-Woven Technology LLC, Owens Corning Receivables LLC, Owens Corning Reinforcements (Hangzhou) Co. Ltd., Owens Corning Remodeling Systems LLC, Owens Corning Roofing S. de R.L. de C.V., Owens Corning Roofing and Asphalt LLC, Owens Corning Sales LLC, Owens Corning Science and Technology LLC, Owens Corning Supplementary Pension Plan Limited, Owens Corning Technical Fabrics LLC, Owens Corning Treasury Services LLC, Owens Corning U.S. Holdings LLC, Owens Cornings (Hangzhou) Fiberglass Co. Ltd., Owens-Corning Britinvest Limited, Owens-Corning Cayman Limited, Owens-Corning Fiberglas Deutschland GmbH, Owens-Corning Funding Corporation, Owens-Corning Veil Netherlands B.V., Owens-Corning Veil U.K. Ltd., Paroc AB, Paroc GmbH, Paroc Group, Paroc Group Oy, Paroc Limited, Paroc Oy Ab, Paroc Polska Sp. z o.o., Pittsburgh Corning, Pittsburgh Corning (United Kingdom) Limited, Pittsburgh Corning (Yantai) Insulation Materials Co. Ltd, Pittsburgh Corning Asia Limited, Pittsburgh Corning CR S.R.O., Pittsburgh Corning Europe N.V., Pittsburgh Corning France, Pittsburgh Corning Gesellschaft m.b.h., Pittsburgh Corning LLC, Pittsburgh Corning Nederland B.V., Pittsburgh Corning Singapore Pte. Ltd, Pittsburgh Corning Suisse SA, Qingdao Novia Polymer Co. Ltd., SIA Paroc, Soltech Inc., The Modulo /ParMur Group, Thermafiber, Thermafiber Inc., Transandina de Comercio S.A., UAB Paroc, UC Industries, and Vitro Fibras.
Premium Brands Holdings Corporation, through its subsidiaries, manufactures and distributes food products primarily in Canada and the United States. It operates in two segments, Specialty Foods and Premium Food Distribution. The company provides meat products and snacks, deli products, beef jerky and halal, sandwiches, pastries, specialty and gourmet products, salads and kettle products, entrees, panini, wraps, subs, hamburgers, burgers, muffins, breads, pastas, and baking and sushi products, as well as processed meat products. It is also involved in the distribution of food products, including meat, seafood, and halal food products, as well as operation of retail/convenience store and concessionary, and provision of food and seafood processing services. The company operates under the brand names of Harvest Meats, Hempler's, Grimm's Fine Foods, Piller's, Freybe, Isernio's, Expresco, SJ Fine Foods, McSweeney's, Made Rite, Fletcher's, Deli Chef, Belmont Meats, Conte Foods, SK Food Group, Oven Pride, Hygaard, Quality Fast Foods, HQ Fine Foods, Creekside Custom Foods, Stuyver's Bread, Bread Garden Express, Audrey's Patisserie, Duso's, Gourmet Chef, Island City Baking, Skilcor, Leadbetter's, Mclean Meats, Buddy's Kitchen, Raybern's, Partner's Crackers, Shaw Bakers, Oberto, Concord Meats, Country Prime Meats, The Meat Factory, and Golden Valley Farms. It serves chains and large format retailers, independent and specialty retailers, foodservice operators, foodservice distributors, and other food manufacturers and food brokers. The company was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Richmond, Canada.

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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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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.
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 Avery Dennison: ADC PHILIPPINES INC., ADESPAN S.R.L., ADHIPRESS BANGLADESH LTD., AVERY CORP., AVERY DE MEXICO SRL DE CV, AVERY DENNISON (ASIA) HOLDINGS LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (CHANGZHOU) FILMS TECHNOLOGY CO. LTD, AVERY DENNISON (CHINA) COMPANY LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (FUZHOU) CONVERTED PRODUCTS LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (GUANGZHOU) CO. LTD., AVERY DENNISON (GUANGZHOU) CONVERTED PRODUCTS LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (GUANGZHOU) INTELLIGENT LABELS CO. LTD., AVERY DENNISON (HONG KONG) LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (INDIA) PRIVATE LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (IRELAND) LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (KENYA) PRIVATE LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (KUNSHAN) COMPANY LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (MALAYSIA) SDN. BHD., AVERY DENNISON (QINGDAO) CONVERTED PRODUCTS LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (SUZHOU) CO. LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON (THAILAND) LTD., AVERY DENNISON (VIETNAM) LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON AUSTRALIA GROUP HOLDINGS PTY LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON AUSTRALIA INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS PTY LTD., AVERY DENNISON AUSTRALIA PTY LTD., AVERY DENNISON BELGIE BVBA, AVERY DENNISON BELGIUM MANAGEMENT SERVICES SPRL, AVERY DENNISON BENELUX BVBA, AVERY DENNISON BV, AVERY DENNISON C.A., AVERY DENNISON CANADA CORPORATION, AVERY DENNISON CENTRAL EUROPE GMBH, AVERY DENNISON CHILE S.A., AVERY DENNISON COLOMBIA S. A. S., AVERY DENNISON COMMERCIAL EL SALVADOR S.A. DE C.V., AVERY DENNISON CONVERTED PRODUCTS DE MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., AVERY DENNISON CONVERTED PRODUCTS EL SALVADOR S. A. DE C. V., AVERY DENNISON DE ARGENTINA S.R.L., AVERY DENNISON DO BRASIL LTDA., AVERY DENNISON DOMINICAN REPUBLIC S.R.L., AVERY DENNISON EGYPT LLC, AVERY DENNISON ETIKET TICARET LIMITED SIRKETI, AVERY DENNISON EUROPE HOLDING (DEUTSCHLAND) GMBH & CO KG, AVERY DENNISON FINANCE GERMANY GMBH, AVERY DENNISON G HOLDINGS I LLC, AVERY DENNISON G HOLDINGS III LLC, AVERY DENNISON G INVESTMENTS III LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON G INVESTMENTS V LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON GROUP DANMARK APS, AVERY DENNISON GROUP SINGAPORE PTE LTD, AVERY DENNISON GULF FZCO, AVERY DENNISON HOLDING & FINANCE THE NETHERLANDS BV, AVERY DENNISON HOLDING FRANCE, AVERY DENNISON HOLDING GMBH, AVERY DENNISON HOLDING LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON HOLDING LUXEMBOURG S. A. R. L., AVERY DENNISON HOLDINGS LLC, AVERY DENNISON HONG KONG B.V., AVERY DENNISON HONG KONG HOLDING I B.V., AVERY DENNISON IBERICA S.A., AVERY DENNISON INNOVATIONS LLC, AVERY DENNISON INTELLIGENT HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS LLC, AVERY DENNISON INTELLIGENT LABELS EUROPE S.R.L., AVERY DENNISON INTELLIGENT LABELS HK LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON INVESTMENT LUXEMBOURG II SARL, AVERY DENNISON INVESTMENTS LUXEMBOURG III SARL, AVERY DENNISON INVESTMENTS LUXEMBOURG IV SARL, AVERY DENNISON ISRAEL LTD., AVERY DENNISON ITALIA S.R.L., AVERY DENNISON JAPAN KK, AVERY DENNISON JAPAN MATERIALS COMPANY LTD., AVERY DENNISON KOREA LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON LABEL LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON LANKA (PRIVATE) LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON LUXEMBOURG S.A.R.L., AVERY DENNISON LUXEMBOURG SALES SARL, AVERY DENNISON MANAGEMENT GMBH, AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS BELGIUM SPRL, AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS EUROPE B.V., AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS EUROPE GMBH, AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS FRANCE S.A.R.L., AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS GMBH, AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS IRELAND LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS NEDERLAND BV, AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS NEW ZEALAND LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS PTY LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS ROM SRL, AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS RUSSIA LLC, AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS SALES BELGIUM SPRL, AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS SALES FRANCE S. A. S., AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS SALES GERMANY GMBH, AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS SDN BHD, AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS U.K. LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON MATERIALS UKRAINE LLC, AVERY DENNISON MAURITIUS LTD., AVERY DENNISON MEDICAL LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON MOROCCO SARL, AVERY DENNISON NETHERLANDS INVESTMENT I BV, AVERY DENNISON NETHERLANDS INVESTMENT II B. V., AVERY DENNISON NETHERLANDS INVESTMENT III BV, AVERY DENNISON NETHERLANDS INVESTMENT VII B.V., AVERY DENNISON NETHERLANDS INVESTMENT VIII BV, AVERY DENNISON NETHERLANDS INVESTMENT X BV, AVERY DENNISON NETHERLANDS INVESTMENT XI COOPERATIEF U.A., AVERY DENNISON NETHERLANDS INVESTMENT XII BV, AVERY DENNISON NORDIC APS, AVERY DENNISON NTP A. S., AVERY DENNISON OFFICE PRODUCTS COMPANY, AVERY DENNISON OFFICE PRODUCTS HOLDINGS COMPANY, AVERY DENNISON OFFICE PRODUCTS MANUFACTURING U.K. LTD., AVERY DENNISON OVERSEAS CORPORATION, AVERY DENNISON PENSION TRUSTEE LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON PERU S. R. L., AVERY DENNISON POLSKA SP. Z O.O., AVERY DENNISON PRAHA SPOL. S R. O., AVERY DENNISON R.I.S. FRANCE S. A. S., AVERY DENNISON R.I.S. IBERIA S.L., AVERY DENNISON R.I.S. ITALIA S.R.L., AVERY DENNISON RBIS (CAMBODIA) CO. LTD, AVERY DENNISON RBIS (CAMBODIA) TRADING CO. LTD, AVERY DENNISON RBIS PTY LTD, AVERY DENNISON RETAIL INFORMATION SERVICES (PTY) LTD, AVERY DENNISON RETAIL INFORMATION SERVICES COLOMBIA S. A. S., AVERY DENNISON RETAIL INFORMATION SERVICES DE MEXICO S. A. DE C.V., AVERY DENNISON RETAIL INFORMATION SERVICES EL SALVADOR LTDA. DE C. V., AVERY DENNISON RETAIL INFORMATION SERVICES GUATEMALA S. A., AVERY DENNISON RETAIL INFORMATION SERVICES HONDURAS S. DE R.L., AVERY DENNISON RETAIL INFORMATION SERVICES LLC, AVERY DENNISON RETAIL INFORMATION SERVICES PERU SAC, AVERY DENNISON RETAIL INFORMATION SERVICES UK LTD., AVERY DENNISON RFID COMPANY, AVERY DENNISON RIS KOREA LTD., AVERY DENNISON RIS TAIWAN LTD., AVERY DENNISON RIS VIETNAM CO. LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON S.A. DE C.V., AVERY DENNISON S.R.L., AVERY DENNISON SCANDINAVIA AB, AVERY DENNISON SCANDINAVIA APS, AVERY DENNISON SECURITY PRINTING EUROPE APS, AVERY DENNISON SHARED SERVICES INC., AVERY DENNISON SINGAPORE (PTE) LTD., AVERY DENNISON SOUTH AFRICA (PROPRIETARY) LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON SUPPORT SERVICES, AVERY DENNISON SYSTEMES D'ETIQUETAGE FRANCE S.A.S., AVERY DENNISON TEKSTIL URUNLERI SANAYI VE TICARET LIMITED SIRKETI, AVERY DENNISON TRADING COMPANY LTD, AVERY DENNISON TREASURY MANAGEMENT BV, AVERY DENNISON U.K. II LIMITED, AVERY DENNISON U.K. LIMITED, AVERY GRAPHIC SYSTEMS INC., AVERY LLC, AVERY OFFICE PRODUCTS PUERTO RICO L.L.C., AVERY PACIFIC LLC, AVERY PROPERTIES PTY. LIMITED, AWESOME PROFITS LTD, BEST COURAGE INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, CHOICE CLEVER PROFITS LTD, CREATERO GMBH, DENNISON INTERNATIONAL COMPANY, DENNISON MANUFACTURING COMPANY, DM Label Group, Dunsirn Industries, EUSTON FINANCIAL LIMITED, EVERGREEN HOLDING SARL, EVERGREEN HOLDINGS V LLC, Finesse Medical, HANITA COATINGS (KUNSHAN) CO. LTD, HANITA COATINGS EUROPE B.V., HANITA COATINGS USA LLC, HANITA EUROPA GMBH, HEBEI YONGLE TAPE CO. LTD., Hanita Coatings, INK MILL LLC, JAC ASIA PACIFIC SDN BHD, JAC CARIBE C.S.Z., JAC DO BRASIL - LOCACAO DE EQUIPAMENTOS INDUSTRIAIS LTDA, JACKSTADT FRANCE S.N.C., JDC Solutions, JINTEX LIMITED, Jackstadt GmbH, L&E AMERICAS SERVICIOS S. A. DE C.V., L&E Packaging, MACTAC ASIA-PACIFIC SELF-ADHESIVE PRODUCTS PTE LTD, MACtac Europe S.A., MARKSTAR INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, MODERN MARK INTERNATIONAL LIMITED, NINGBO AVERY DENNISON SHENZHOU EMBELLISHMENT CO. LTD., P. T. PACIFIC LABEL INDONESIA, P. T. PAXAR INDONESIA, PAXAR (CHINA) LTD., PAXAR B.V., PAXAR BANGLADESH LIMITED, PAXAR CANADA CORPORATION, PAXAR CORPORATION, PAXAR DE EL SALVADOR S. A. DE C. V., PAXAR DE GUATEMALA S. A., PAXAR DE MEXICO S. A. DE C. V., PAXAR DO BRASIL LTDA, PAXAR FAR EAST LIMITED, PAXAR PACKAGING (GUANGZHOU) LTD., PAXAR PAKISTAN (PRIVATE) LIMITED, PLYMOUTH YONGLE TAPE (SHANGHAI) CO. LTD, PT AVERY DENNISON INDONESIA, PT AVERY DENNISON PACKAGING INDONESIA, RVL AMERICAS S DE R.L. DE C.V., RVL CENTRAL AMERICA S. A., RVL PACKAGING FAR EAST LIMITED, RVL Packaging Inc., RVL SERVICE S. DE R. L. DE C. V., Rinke Etiketten GmbH, SECURITY PRINTING DIVISION INC., SKILLFIELD INVESTMENTS LIMITED, Stimsonite Corp, TIGER EIGHT GROUP LIMITED, WORLDWIDE RISK INSURANCE INC., YONGLE TAPE LTD, and Yongle Tape Co.
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Guwahati, July 28 : At least 10 persons including four police personnel were injured in a clash that broke out between the protesters of minority people in Manipur and police in Manipurs Jiribam over the Manipur Peoples Bill 2018.





According to the reports, All jiribam United Minority Peoples (comprising Bengali and Bengali Muslim community people) have been protesting against the Manipur Peoples Bill 2018, which was passed by the Manipur legislative assembly with 1951 as base year.





In view of law and order situation, the Deputy Commissioner of Jiribam district had clamped CrPC 144 in Jiribam district from 7am of Friday, but the protesters violating it.





Protesters of minority people in Manipur had staged protest at Lalpani Bazar area at around 1-30pm on Friday protesting against the bill.





When Manipur police had tried to disperse the agitators, a mob attacked the police personnel by pelting stones and situation turned violent.





The Jiribam police had resorted lathi charge and fired tear gas shells to control the situation.





During the clash six protesters and four police personnel including Superintendent of Police (SP) of Jiribam Nongmaithem Mubi were injured.





The Manipur Peoples Bill 2018 seeks to protect the identity of indigenous people of Mnaipur from the influx of outsiders.





Meanwhile, additional security forces have been deployed at various places in Jiribam district.




Avient Corp. engages in the business of thermoplastic compounds. It specializes in polymer materials, services, and solutions with operations in specialty polymer formulations, color and additive systems, plastic sheet and packaging solutions and polymer distribution. The firm is also involved in the development and manufacturing of performance enhancing additives, liquid colorants, fluoropolymers and silicone colorants. It operates through the following segments: Color, Additives and Inks; Specialty Engineered Materials; and Distribution. The Color, Additives and Inks segment provides custom color and additive concentrates in solid and liquid form for thermoplastics, dispersions for thermosets, speciality inks, plasticols, and vinyl slush molding solutions. The Specialty Engineered Materials segment makes polymer formulations, services, and solutions for designers, assemblers, and processors of thermoplastic materials. The Distribution segment distributes engineering and commodity grade resins, including PolyOne-produced solutions, principally to the North American, Central American, and Asian markets. The firm's products include polymer distribution, screen printing inks, and thermoplastic elastomers. Its services include IQ design and color services. The company was founded on August 31, 2000 and is headquartered in Avon Lake, OH.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Colgate-Palmolive: 887357 Ontario Inc., COLGALIVE S.A., CP GABA GmbH, CP International Holding C.V., CP West East Investment Limited, Cleaning Dimensions Inc., Colgate (BVI) Limited, Colgate (Guangzhou) Company Limited, Colgate (U.K.) Limited, Colgate Business Services of the Americas S.C., Colgate Flavors and Fragrances Inc., Colgate Global Business Services Private Limited, Colgate Holdings, Colgate Inc., Colgate Oral Pharmaceuticals Inc., Colgate Palmolive Ghana Limited, Colgate Palmolive Holding S.Com.P.A., Colgate Palmolive Nouvelle Caledonie Sarl, Colgate Palmolive Tanzania Limited, Colgate Sanxiao Company Limited, Colgate Venture Company Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (America) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Asia) Pte Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive (Blantyre) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Brunei) Sdn Bhn, Colgate-Palmolive (Central America) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Central America) Inc. y Compania Limitada, Colgate-Palmolive (Centro America) S.A., Colgate-Palmolive (China) Co. Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive (Costa Rica) S.A., Colgate-Palmolive (Dominica) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Dominican Republic) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (East Africa) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Eastern) Pte. Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (Egypt) S.A.E., Colgate-Palmolive (Far East) Sdn Bhd, Colgate-Palmolive (Fiji) Pte Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Gabon) S.A., Colgate-Palmolive (Guyana) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (H.K.) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Hellas) S.A. I.C., Colgate-Palmolive (Hong Kong) Holding Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Kazakhstan) L.L.P., Colgate-Palmolive (Latvia) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Colgate-Palmolive (Middle East Exports) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (Myanmar) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (New York) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Poland) Sp. z o.o., Colgate-Palmolive (Proprietary) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Research & Development) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Romania) SRL, Colgate-Palmolive (Thailand) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (UK) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Uganda) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive (Vietnam) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive (Zambia) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive (Zimbabwe) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive A.B., Colgate-Palmolive A/S, Colgate-Palmolive Adria Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive Argentina S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Asia Pacific Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Asia Pacific Treasury Services Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Belgium S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Bolivia Ltda., Colgate-Palmolive Canada Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Caricom Service Co. Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Central European Management Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Chile S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Cia., Colgate-Palmolive Comercial Ltda., Colgate-Palmolive Commercial (Hellas) SP LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Commerciale S.A.S., Colgate-Palmolive Commericale S.r.l., Colgate-Palmolive Compania Anonima, Colgate-Palmolive Company Distr. LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Company GmbH, Colgate-Palmolive Cote dIvoire S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Cyprus Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Development Corp., Colgate-Palmolive East West Africa Region (Pty) Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive Enterprises Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Espana S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Europe (Holdings) Sarl, Colgate-Palmolive Europe Sarl, Colgate-Palmolive Finance (UK) plc, Colgate-Palmolive Global Trading Company, Colgate-Palmolive Holding Argentina S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Holding Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Hungary Kft Limited Liability Company, Colgate-Palmolive IHQ Services (Thailand) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Inc. S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Industrial Ltda., Colgate-Palmolive Industriel S.A.S., Colgate-Palmolive International Holding LLC, Colgate-Palmolive International LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Investment Co. Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Investments (BVI) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive Investments (PNG) Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive Investments (UK) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Investments Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Israel Ltd., Colgate-Palmolive Italia S.r.l., Colgate-Palmolive JSC, Colgate-Palmolive Lanka (Private) Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Latin America Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Limited, Colgate-Palmolive Manufacturing (Poland) Sp. z o.o., Colgate-Palmolive Marketing Sdn Bhd, Colgate-Palmolive Maroc S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Mocambique Limitada, Colgate-Palmolive NJ Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Nederland B.V., Colgate-Palmolive Norge A/S, Colgate-Palmolive Participacoes e Investimentos Imobiliarios Lda., Colgate-Palmolive Peru S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Philippines Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Pty Ltd, Colgate-Palmolive Retirement Trustee Limited, Colgate-Palmolive S.A. de C.V., Colgate-Palmolive S.p.A., Colgate-Palmolive Senegal S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Services (Hellas) LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Services (Poland) Sp. z o.o., Colgate-Palmolive Services CEW GmbH, Colgate-Palmolive Services S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Slovensko s.r.o., Colgate-Palmolive Support Services, Colgate-Palmolive Temizlik Urunleri Sanayi ve Ticart S.A., Colgate-Palmolive Transnational Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Ukraine LLC, Colgate-Palmolive Unipessoal Lda, Colgate-Palmolive de Paraguay Sociedad Anonima, Colgate-Palmolive de Puerto Rico Inc., Colgate-Palmolive del Ecuador S.A.I.C., Colgate-Palmolive del Peru (Delaware) Inc., Colgate-Palmolive Eeska republika spol. s r.o., Colpal CBS S de R. L. de C. V., Consumer Viewpoint Center Inc., Cotelle S.A., Dimac Development Corp., Dominica Coconut Products Limited, EKIB Inc., ELM Company Limited, Elta MD Holdings Inc., Elta MD Inc., EltaMD, Filorga Americas Inc., Filorga Asia Limited, Filorga Benelux SA, Filorga Cosmetiques Polska, Filorga Middle East DMCC, Filorga Portugal Unipessoal Lda., Filorga RU Limited Liability Company, GABA Europe Holding GmbH, GABA International, GABA International Holding LLC, GABA Schweiz AG, GABA Therwil GmbH, Gamma Development Co. Ltd., Global Trading and Supply LLC, Hamol Ltd., Hello Products, Hello Products LLC, Hills Funding Company, Hills Pet Nutrition (NZ) Limited, Hills Pet Nutrition (Thailand) Co. Ltd., Hills Pet Nutrition Asia Limited, Hills Pet Nutrition B.V., Hills Pet Nutrition Canada Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition Denmark ApS, Hills Pet Nutrition Espana S.L., Hills Pet Nutrition GmbH, Hills Pet Nutrition Holding B.V., Hills Pet Nutrition Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition Indiana Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition Italia S.r.l., Hills Pet Nutrition Korea Ltd., Hills Pet Nutrition Ltd., Hills Pet Nutrition Manufacturing B.V., Hills Pet Nutrition Manufacturing s.r.o, Hills Pet Nutrition Norway AS, Hills Pet Nutrition OOO, Hills Pet Nutrition Pty. Limited, Hills Pet Nutrition S.p.A., Hills Pet Nutrition SNC, Hills Pet Nutrition Sales Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition South Africa Proprietary Limited, Hills Pet Nutrition Sweden AB, Hills Pet Nutrition Switzerland GmbH, Hills Pet Nutrition Taiwan Ltd, Hills Pet Nutrition Trading (GZ) Co. Ltd, Hills Pet Nutrition de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Hills Pet Nutrition de Puerto Rico Inc., Hills Pet Nutrition s.r.o., Hills Pet Products (Benelux) S.A., Hills Pet Products Inc., Hills Veterinary Companies of America Inc., Hills-Colgate (Japan) Ltd., Hopro Liquidating Corp., Hygiene Systemes et Services SA, IES Enterprises Inc., Inmobiliaria Colpal S. de R.L. de C.V., Inmobiliaria Hills S.A. de C.V., Innovacion Creativa S.A. de C.V., Kolynos Corporation, Laboratoires Filorga Cosmetiques Espana S.L.U., Laboratoires Filorga Cosmetiques Italia S.R.L., Laboratoires Filorga Cosmetiques S.A., Laser Brand Toothpaste, Lournay Sales Inc., Mennen Company, Mennen Interamerica Ltd., Mennen Limited, Mennen South Africa Ltd., Mennen de Chile Ltd., Mennen de Nicargua S.A., Mission Hills Property Corporation, Mission Hills S.A. de C.V., Norwood International Incorporated, Olive Music Publishing Corporation, PCA SKIN, Paramount Research Inc., Penny LLC, Pet Chemicals Inc., Physicians Care Alliance LLC, Productos Halogenados Copalven C.A., Purity Holding Company, Purity Music Publishing Corporation, Refresh Company Limited, Samuel Taylor Holdings B.V., Sanex, Sanxiao Company Limited, Services Development Co. Ltd., Societe Generale de Negoce et de Services (GENESE) S.A., The GDN - The Global Distributive Network SAS, The Lournay Company Inc., The MPDP - The Medical and Pharmaceutic Distributive Platform SAS, The Murphy-Phoenix Company, Tom's of Maine, Toms of Maine Holdings Inc., Toms of Maine Inc., Veterinary Companies of America Inc., Vipont Pharmaceutical Inc., and XEB Inc..
The following companies are subsidiares of POSCO: 2015 POSCO New technology II Fund, BLUE O&M Co. Ltd., Brazil Sao Paulo Steel Processing Center, Busan E&E Co. Ltd., DAESAN (CAMBODIA) Co. Ltd., DAEWOO INTERNATIONAL GUANGZHOU CORP., Daewoo Amara Company Limited, Daewoo Global Development. Pte. Ltd, Daewoo International, Daewoo Power and Infra (PTY) Limited, Daewoo Precious Resources Co. Ltd., Future Creation Fund Postech Early Stage account, GOLDEN LACE POSCO INTERNATIONAL CO. LTD., GRAIN TERMINAL HOLDING PTE. LTD., Growth Ladder POSCO K-Growth Global Fund, HONG KONG POSCO E&C (CHINA) INVESTMENT Co. Ltd., HOTEL LAONZENA, HUME COAL PTY LTD, Hunchun Posco Hyundai Logistics, JB CLARK HILLS(*1), Korea Fuel Cell, LA-SRDC, Mapo Hibroad Parking Co. Ltd., MegaAsset Co. Ltd., Myanmar POSCO C&C Company Limited., Myanmar POSCO Engineering & Construction Company Limited., Myanmar POSCO Steel Co. Ltd, Mykolaiv Milling Works PJSC., PGSF L.P., PNR, POS-CD PTY LTD, POS-GC PTY LTD, POS-LT Pty Ltd, POS-Minerals Corporation, POS-NP PTY LTD, POS-ORE PTY LTD, POSCAN Elkview, POSCO (Thailand) Company Limited, POSCO A&C, POSCO AFRICA (PROPRIETARY) LIMITED, POSCO AMERICA ALABAMA PROCESSING CENTER CO. LTD., POSCO AMERICA COMERCIALIZADORA S DE RL DE CV, POSCO ASSAN TST STEEL INDUSTRY, POSCO AUSTRALIA GP PTY LIMITED, POSCO AUSTRALIA PTY LTD, POSCO America Corporation, POSCO Argentina S.A.U., POSCO Asia Co. Ltd., POSCO CHEMICAL CO. LTD., POSCO COATED STEEL (THAILAND) CO. LTD., POSCO Canada Ltd., POSCO Center Beijing, POSCO ChengDu Processing Center, POSCO China Dalian Plate Processing Center Co. Ltd., POSCO Coated & Color Steel Co. Ltd., POSCO DAEWOO E&P CANADA CORPORATION, POSCO DAEWOO WAIGAOQIAO SHANGHAI CO. LTD, POSCO E&C (THAILAND) CO. Ltd., POSCO E&C CHINA Co. Ltd., POSCO E&C HOLDINGS CO. Ltd., POSCO E&C Mongolia, POSCO E&C SMART S DE RL DE CV, POSCO E&C Vietnam Co. Ltd., POSCO ENERGY CO. LTD., POSCO ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION DO BRAZIL LTDA., POSCO ENGINEERING & CONSTRUCTION. CO. LTD., POSCO ENGINEERING (THAILAND) CO. LTD., POSCO ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION AUSTRALIA (POSCO E&C AUSTRALIA) PTY LTD, POSCO ES MATERIALS CO. LTD., POSCO Engineering and Construction India Private Limited, POSCO Europe Steel Distribution Center, POSCO Family Strategy Fund, POSCO GEM 1th Fund, POSCO Gulf SFC LLC, POSCO Humans, POSCO ICT, POSCO ICT BRASIL, POSCO ICT VIETNAM, POSCO ICT-China Co. Ltd, POSCO INDIA PROCESSING CENTER PRIVATE LIMITED, POSCO INTERNATIONAL (CHINA) CO. LTD, POSCO INTERNATIONAL AMERICA CORP., POSCO INTERNATIONAL AUSTRALIA HOLDINGS PTY. LTD., POSCO INTERNATIONAL Corporation, POSCO INTERNATIONAL Deutschland GMBH, POSCO INTERNATIONAL INDIA PVT. LTD, POSCO INTERNATIONAL ITALIA S.R.L., POSCO INTERNATIONAL JAPAN CORP., POSCO INTERNATIONAL MALAYSIA SDN BHD, POSCO INTERNATIONAL MEXICO S.A DE C.V., POSCO INTERNATIONAL MYANMAR CORPORATION LIMITED, POSCO INTERNATIONAL POWER (PNGLAE) LTD., POSCO INTERNATIONAL POWER(PNGPOM) LTD., POSCO INTERNATIONAL SHANGHAI CO. LTD., POSCO INTERNATIONAL SINGAPORE PTE. LTD., POSCO INTERNATIONAL TEXTILE LLC., POSCO INTERNATIONAL UKRAINE LLC., POSCO INTERNATIONAL VIETNAM COMPANY LIMITED, POSCO India Steel Distribution Center Private Ltd., POSCO JAPAN Co. Ltd., POSCO Japan PC CO. LTD, POSCO M-TECH, POSCO MAURITIUS LIMITED, POSCO MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., POSCO MPPC S.A. de C.V., POSCO Maharashtra Steel Private Limited, POSCO NCR Coal Ltd., POSCO O&M CO. Ltd. (formerly POSMATE), POSCO Philippine Manila Processing Center Inc., POSCO Processing&Service, POSCO RU Limited Liability Company, POSCO Research & Technology, POSCO Research Institute, POSCO SINGAPORE LNG TRADING PTE. LTD., POSCO SS VINA JOINT STOCK COMPANY (Formerly POSCO SS VISA CO. Ltd.), POSCO SUZHOU PROCESSING CENTER CO. LTD., POSCO TMC INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, POSCO TNPC Otomotiv Celik San. Ve Tic. A.S, POSCO Thainox Public Company Limited, POSCO VST CO. LTD., POSCO Venture Capital Co. Ltd., POSCO Vietnam Processing Center. Co. Ltd, POSCO WA PTY LTD, POSCO WOMANS FUND, POSCO(Chongqing) Automotive Processing Center Co. Ltd., POSCO(Dalian) IT Center Development Co. Ltd., POSCO(Guangdong) Automotive Steel Co. Ltd., POSCO(Guangdong) Coated Steel Co. Ltd., POSCO(Liaoning) Automotive Processing Center Co. Ltd., POSCO(Suzhou) Automotive Processing Center Co. Ltd., POSCO(Wuhu) Automotive Processing Center Co. Ltd., POSCO(Yantai Automotive Processing Center Co. Ltd., POSCO-CFPC Co. Ltd., POSCO-CTPC Co. Ltd., POSCO-China Holding Corp., POSCO-China Qingdao Processing Center Co. Ltd., POSCO-India Private Limited, POSCO-India Pune Processing Center. Pvt. Ltd., POSCO-Indonesia Jakarta Processing Center, POSCO-Italy Processing Center, POSCO-MKPC SDN BHD, POSCO-Malaysia SDN. BHD., POSCO-Mexico Villagran Wire-rod Processing Center, POSCO-Poland Wroclaw Processing Center Sp. z o. o., POSCO-South Asia Company Limited, POSCO-TISCO (JILIN) PROCESSING CENTER Co. Ltd., POSCO-Terminal Co. Ltd., POSCO-VIETNAM Co. Ltd., POSMATE-CHINA CO. LTD, PSC Energy Global Co. Ltd., PT KRAKATAU BLUE WATER, PT. Bio Inti Agrindo, PT. KRAKATAU POSCO, PT. KRAKATAU POSCO ENERGY, PT. POSCO E&C INDONESIA, PT.Krakatau Posco Chemtech Calcination, PT.Krakatau Posco Social Enterprise, PT.MRI, PT.POSCO ICT INDONESIA, PT.POSCO INDONESIA INTI, Pohang Scrap Recycling Distribution Center Co. Ltd., Pos-Sea Pte Ltd, Posco Group University, Posco e&c Songdo International Building, Qingdao Pohang Stainless Steel Co. Ltd., SANPU TRADING Co. Ltd., SPH Co LTD., SUZHOU POSCO-CORE TECHNOLOGY CO. LTD., Songdo Development PMC (Project Management Company) LLC., Suncheon Eco Trans Co. LTD, TANCHEON E&E (formerly POSCO E&E), Ventanas Philippines Construction Inc, Yuzhnaya Stevedoring Company Limited LLC., ZHEJIANG POSCO-HUAYOU ESM CO. LTD, Zhangjiagang BLZ Pohang International Trading, Zhangjiagang Pohang Refractories Co. Ltd., Zhangjiagang Pohang Stainless Steel Co. Ltd., Zhangjigang Pohang Port Co. Ltd., and eNtoB Corporation.
Guwahati, July 28 : After published the first part draft of the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) by including names of 1.90 crore people out of the total 3.29 crore applicants of Assam recognising them as legal citizens of India, the NRC state coordinator office is now preparing to publish the final draft of NRC.





Assam is going to witness a historical moment on July 30 as the final draft of the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) to be published on that day.





Ahead of the final draft of NRC publication, adequate security measures in the state have been taken by the Union Home Ministry.





The Union Home Ministry had already sent over 22,000 central paramilitary troops in order to beef up security in Assam and adjoining states to ensure peace and maintain law and order.





Security has been beefed up in all NRC Seva Kendras (NSKs).





Assam Director General of Police (DGP) Kuladhar Saikia said that, Assam police have already gone for sectoral plans as districts of the state have been divided in different sectors and zones.





We have seen the sensitive areas and accordingly security forces have been deployed. Numbers of companies have arrived in the state and we are deploying them in different areas, Kuladhar Saikia said.





The Assam DGP further said that, if any will take law in hand then Assam police will take stern action against them.





On the other hand, a senior official of Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) said that, a large number of companies have arrived in Assam to maintain law and order situation ahead of final draft of NRC publication.





The Union Home Ministry had sent the companies to maintain law and order situation. I appeal to the people of Assam that dont believe the rumours spread out through Whatsapp, Twitter, Facebook, the CAPF official said.





On the other hand, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on July 26 night had reviewed law and order situation and held a crucial meeting with all Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Superintendents of Police (SPs) of all districts in Guwahati.





Sonowal reviewed with the DCs and SPs the law and order situation as well as measures being taken to tackle any untoward situation.





The Assam CM had ordered the DCs and SPs to maintain peace in their concerned districts and to take adequate measures to tackle any eventuality.





Assam DGP Kuladhar Saikia, Home Commissioner of Assam government LS Changson, state NRC Coordinator Prateek Hajela and other top officials of Assam police, state home department also present in the meeting.





Taking with India Today, Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal said that, the meeting was held with the senior officials of districts of Assam and also DCs, SPs ahead the publication of final draft of NRC.





With help of the people of Assam, we want to maintain peace and tranquillity in the districts of Assam. The NRC draft will be published as per direction of the Supreme Court on July 30 and this should be a historic moment for the people of Assam. To make NRC reality, the people of Assam have extended their whole support, cooperation. We are grateful to the people of Assam that they have always been cooperative. We are hopeful,

everybody going to participate in this particular noble endeavour, Sonowal

said.




Lincoln National Corp. is a holding company, which operates multiple insurance and retirement businesses through its subsidiary companies. It provides advice and solutions that help empower people to take charge of their financial lives with confidence and optimism. The company operates through the following segments: Annuities, Retirement Plan Services, Life Insurance, Group Protection, and Other Operations. The Annuities segment provides tax-deferred investment growth and lifetime income opportunities for its clients by offering fixed and variable annuities. The Retirement Plan Services segment includes employers with retirement plan products and services, primarily in the defined contribution retirement plan marketplaces. The Life Insurance segment focuses on the creation and protection of wealth for its clients by providing life insurance products, including term insurance, both single and survivorship versions of universal life insurance, variable universal life insurance, and indexed universal life insurance products. The Group Protection segment offers group non-medical insurance products, which includes term life, disability, dental, vision and accident and critical illness

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The following companies are subsidiares of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft: 87 Leonard Development LLC, ABFS I Incorporated, ABS MB Ltd., Acacia (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., Accounting Solutions Holding Company Inc, Alex. Brown Financial Services Incorporated, Alex. Brown Investments Incorporated, Alfred Herrhausen Gesellschaft mbH, Amber Investments S.a r.l., Ambidexter GmbH, Ambidexter GmbH i.L., Argent Incorporated, BHW - Gesellschaft fur Wohnungswirtschaft mbH, BHW Bausparkasse Aktiengesellschaft, BHW Holding GmbH, BHW Kreditservice GmbH, BNA Nominees Pty Limited, BT Globenet Nominees Limited, BTAS Cayman GP, BTD Nominees Pty Limited, Baincor Nominees Pty Limited, Bainpro Nominees Pty Ltd, Baldur Mortgages Limited, Bankers Trust Investments Limited, Barkly Investments Ltd., Bayan Delinquent Loan Recovery 1 (SPV-AMC) Inc, Bayan Delinquent Loan Recovery 1 (SPV-AMC) Inc., Berkshire Mortgage Finance, Betriebs-Center fur Banken AG, Biomass Holdings S.a r.l., Birch (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., Blue Cork Inc, Blue Cork Inc., Borfield Sociedad Anonima, Breaking Wave DB Limited, Cape Acquisition Corp., CapeSuccess Inc., CapeSuccess LLC, Cardales UK Limited, Cardea Real Estate S.r.l., Career Blazers LLC, Career Blazers Management Company Inc, Career Blazers Management Company Inc., Career Blazers Personnel Services Inc, Career Blazers Personnel Services Inc., Career Blazers Personnel Services of Washington D.C. Inc. Washington D.C., Caribbean Resort Holdings Inc, Caribbean Resort Holdings Inc., Carpathian Investments Designated Activity Company, Cathay Advisory (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Cathay Advisory (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Cathay Asset Management Company Limited, Cathay Capital Company (No 2) Limited, Cedar (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., Centennial River 2 Inc., Centennial River Corporation, Chapel Funding, Charlton (Delaware) Inc, China Recovery Fund LLC, China Recovery Fund LLC, Cinda - DB NPL Securitization Trust 2003-1, City Leasing (Thameside) Limited, City Leasing Limited, Consumo S.p.A., Consumo Srl in Liquidazione, Cyrus J. Lawrence Capital Holdings Inc., Cyrus J. Lawrence Capital Holdings Inc., D B Investments (GB) Limited, D&M Turnaround Partners Godo Kaisha, D.B. International Delaware Inc., D.B. International Delaware Inc., DAHOC (UK) Limited (in members' voluntary liquidation), DAHOC Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, DB (Barbados) SRL, DB (Malaysia) Nominee (Asing) Sdn. Bhd., DB (Malaysia) Nominee (Tempatan) Sendirian Berhad, DB (Pacific) Limited, DB (Pacific) Limited New York, DB (Pacific) Limited New York, DB Abalone LLC, DB Alex. Brown Holdings Incorporated, DB Alps Corporation, DB Aotearoa Investments Limited, DB Asia Pacific Holdings Limited (in voluntary liquidation), DB Asset Finance I S.a r.l., DB Asset Finance II S.a r.l., DB Aster II LLC, DB Aster III LLC, DB Aster Inc., DB Aster LLC, DB Beteiligungs-Holding GmbH, DB Boracay LLC, DB Capital Investments Sarl, DB Capital Markets (Deutschland) GmbH, DB Capital Partners Inc., DB Capital Partners Inc., DB Cartera de Inmuebles 1 S.A.U., DB Cartera de Inmuebles 1 S.A.U., DB Chestnut Holdings Limited, DB Commodity Services LLC, DB Consorzio S. Cons. a r. l., DB Corporate Advisory (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., DB Covered Bond S.r.l., DB Credit Investments S.a r.l., DB Delaware Holdings (Europe) Limited, DB Direkt GmbH, DB Elara LLC, DB Energy Commodities Limited (in members' voluntary liquidation), DB Energy Trading LLC, DB Enfield Infrastructure Holdings Limited, DB Equipment Leasing Inc., DB Equipment Leasing Inc., DB Equity Limited, DB Finance (Delaware) LLC, DB Finance (Delaware) LLC, DB Finance International GmbH, DB Ganymede 2006 L.P., DB Global Markets Multi-Strategy Fund I Ltd., DB Global Technology Inc., DB Global Technology Inc., DB Global Technology SRL, DB Group Services (UK) Limited, DB HR Solutions GmbH, DB Holding Fundo de Investimento Multimercado Investimento no Exterior Credito Privado, DB Holdings (New York) Inc., DB Holdings (New York) Inc., DB Holdings (South America) Limited, DB IROC Leasing Corp., DB Immobilienfonds 1 Wieland KG, DB Immobilienfonds 2 KG i.L., DB Immobilienfonds 4 KG i.L., DB Immobilienfonds 5 Wieland KG, DB Impact Investment (GP) Limited, DB Impact Investment Fund I L.P., DB Impact Investment Fund I L.P., DB Industrial Holdings Beteiligungs GmbH & Co. KG, DB Industrial Holdings GmbH, DB Intermezzo LLC, DB International (Asia) Limited, DB International Investments Limited, DB International Trust (Singapore) Limited, DB Investment Managers Inc., DB Investment Managers Inc., DB Investment Partners Inc., DB Investment Partners Inc., DB Investment Resources (US) Corporation, DB Investment Resources Holdings Corp., DB Investment Services GmbH, DB Io LP, DB Litigation Fee LLC, DB London (Investor Services) Nominees Limited, DB Management Support GmbH, DB Managers LLC, DB Municipal Holdings LLC, DB Nexus American Investments (UK) Limited (in members'voluntary liquidation), DB Nexus Investments (UK) Limited (in members' voluntary liquidation), DB Nominees (Hong Kong) Limited, DB Nominees (Singapore) Pte Ltd, DB Omega BTV S.C.S., DB Omega Holdings LLC, DB Omega Ltd., DB Omega S.C.S., DB Operaciones y Servicios Interactivos Agrupacion de Interes Economico, DB Overseas Finance Delaware Inc., DB Overseas Finance Delaware Inc., DB Overseas Holdings Limited, DB PWM, DB Portfolio Southwest Inc., DB Print GmbH, DB Privat- und Firmenkundenbank AG, DB Private Clients Corp., DB Private Wealth Mortgage Ltd., DB RC Holdings LLC, DB Re S.A., DB Service Centre Limited, DB Service Uruguay S.A., DB Services Americas Inc., DB Services Americas Inc., DB Servizi Amministrativi S.r.l., DB Strategic Advisors Inc., DB Strategic Advisors Inc., DB Structured Derivative Products LLC, DB Structured Derivative Products LLC, DB Structured Finance 1 Designated Activity Company, DB Structured Finance 2 Designated Activity Company, DB Structured Holdings Luxembourg S.a r.l., DB Structured Products Inc., DB Structured Products Inc., DB Trustee Services Limited, DB Trustees (Hong Kong) Limited, DB U.S. Financial Markets Holding Corporation, DB UK Bank Limited, DB UK Holdings Limited, DB UK PCAM Holdings Limited, DB USA Core Corporation, DB USA Corporation, DB Valoren S.a r.l., DB Value S.a r.l., DB VersicherungsManager GmbH, DB Vita S.A., DBAB Wall Street LLC, DBAH Capital LLC, DBAH Capital LLC, DBCIBZ1, DBCIBZ2, DBFIC Inc., DBFIC Inc., DBNZ Overseas Investments (No.1) Limited, DBOI Global Services (UK) Limited, DBOI Global Services Private Limited, DBR Investments Co. Limited, DBRE Global Real Estate Management IA Ltd., DBRE Global Real Estate Management IB Ltd., DBRE Global Real Estate Management IB Ltd., DBRE Global Real Estate Management US IB L.L.C., DBRMS4, DBRMSGP1, DBUK PCAM Limited, DBUKH No. 2 Limited, DBUSBZ1 LLC, DBUSBZ1 LLC, DBUSBZ2 S.a r.l., DBUSBZ2 S.a r.l., DBX Advisors LLC, DBX ETF Trust, DBX Strategic Advisors LLC, DBO Vermogensverwertung GmbH, DEBEKO Immobilien GmbH & Co Grundbesitz OHG, DEE Deutsche Erneuerbare Energien GmbH, DEUFRAN Beteiligungs GmbH, DEUKONA Versicherungs-Vermittlungs-GmbH, DEUTSCHE BANK A.S., DG China Clean Tech Partners, DI Deutsche Immobilien Treuhandgesellschaft mbH, DIB-Consult Deutsche Immobilien- und BeteiligungsBeratungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., DISCA Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, DNU Nominees Pty Limited, DSL Portfolio GmbH & Co. KG, DSL Portfolio Verwaltungs GmbH, DTS Nominees Pty Limited, DWS Alternatives France, DWS Alternatives Global Limited, DWS Alternatives GmbH, DWS Asset Management (Korea) Company Limited, DWS Beteiligungs GmbH, DWS CH AG, DWS Distributors Inc., DWS Distributors Inc., DWS Far Eastern Investments Limited, DWS Group GmbH & Co. KGaA, DWS Group Services UK Limited, DWS Grundbesitz GmbH, DWS International GmbH, DWS Investment GmbH, DWS Investment Management Americas Inc., DWS Investment Management Americas Inc., DWS Investment S.A., DWS Investments Australia Limited, DWS Investments Hong Kong Limited, DWS Investments Japan Limited, DWS Investments Shanghai Limited, DWS Investments Singapore Limited, DWS Investments UK Limited, DWS Management GmbH, DWS Real Estate GmbH, DWS Service Company, DWS Trust Company, DWS USA Corporation, De Heng Asset Management Company Limited, De Meng Innovative (Beijing) Consulting Company Limited, DeAM Infrastructure Limited, Deloraine Spain S.L., Delowrezham de Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Deposit Solutions, Deutsche (Aotearoa) Capital Holdings New Zealand, Deutsche (Aotearoa) Foreign Investments New Zealand, Deutsche (Mauritius) Limited Port, Deutsche (New Munster) Holdings New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Access Investments Limited, Deutsche Aeolia Power Production Societe Anonyme, Deutsche Alt-A Securities Inc., Deutsche Alt-A Securities Inc., Deutsche Alternative Asset Management (France) SAS, Deutsche Alternative Asset Management (UK) Limited, Deutsche Asia Pacific Holdings Pte Ltd, Deutsche Asset Management (India) Private Limited, Deutsche Asset Management (Japan) Limited, Deutsche Asset Management (Korea) Company Limited, Deutsche Asset Management S.A., Deutsche Asset Management S.G.I.I.C. S.A., Deutsche Australia Limited, Deutsche Bank (Cayman) Limited, Deutsche Bank (Chile), Deutsche Bank (China) Co. Ltd., Deutsche Bank (China) Co. Ltd., Deutsche Bank (Malaysia) Berhad, Deutsche Bank (Suisse) SA, Deutsche Bank (Uruguay) Sociedad Anonima Institucion Financiera Externa, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft, Deutsche Bank Americas Holding Corp., Deutsche Bank Bauspar-Aktiengesellschaft, Deutsche Bank Capital Finance LLC I, Deutsche Bank Capital Finance Trust I, Deutsche Bank Europe GmbH, Deutsche Bank Financial Company, Deutsche Bank Holdings Inc., Deutsche Bank Holdings Inc., Deutsche Bank Insurance Agency Incorporated, Deutsche Bank Insurance Agency of Delaware, Deutsche Bank International Limited, Deutsche Bank Investments (Guernsey) Limited, Deutsche Bank Luxembourg S.A., Deutsche Bank Luxembourg S.A. - Fiduciary Deposits, Deutsche Bank Luxembourg S.A. - Fiduciary Note Programme, Deutsche Bank Mutui S.p.A., Deutsche Bank Mexico S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple, Deutsche Bank Mexico S.A. Institucion de Banca Multiple, Deutsche Bank National Trust Company, Deutsche Bank National Trust Company Los, Deutsche Bank Nominees (Guernsey) Limited, Deutsche Bank Nominees (Jersey) Limited, Deutsche Bank Polska Spolka Akcyjna, Deutsche Bank Representative Office Nigeria Limited, Deutsche Bank S.A. - Banco Alemao, Deutsche Bank S.A. - Banco Alemao Sao, Deutsche Bank SPEARs/LIFERs Series DBE-8011 Trust, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc., Deutsche Bank Securities Limited, Deutsche Bank Services (Jersey) Limited, Deutsche Bank Sociedad Anonima Espanola, Deutsche Bank Sociedad Anonima Espanola, Deutsche Bank Societa per Azioni, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Americas, Deutsche Bank Trust Company Delaware, Deutsche Bank Trust Company National Association, Deutsche Bank Trust Company National Association, Deutsche Bank Trust Corporation, Deutsche CIB Centre Private Limited, Deutsche Capital Finance (2000) Limited, Deutsche Capital Hong Kong Limited, Deutsche Capital Management Limited, Deutsche Capital Markets Australia Limited, Deutsche Capital Partners China Limited, Deutsche Cayman Ltd., Deutsche Colombia S.A.S., Deutsche Custody N.V., Deutsche Domus New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Equities India Private Limited, Deutsche Finance Co 1 Pty Limited, Deutsche Finance Co 2 Pty Limited, Deutsche Finance Co 3 Pty Limited, Deutsche Finance Co 4 Pty Limited, Deutsche Finance No. 2 Limited, Deutsche Foras New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Immobilien-Leasing mit beschrankter Haftung, Deutsche Gesellschaft fur Immobilien-Leasing mit beschrankterHaftung, Deutsche Global Markets Limited, Deutsche Group Holdings (SA) Proprietary Limited, Deutsche Group Services Pty Limited, Deutsche Grundbesitz Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Deutsche Grundbesitz Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., Deutsche Grundbesitz-Anlagegesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Deutsche Holdings (BTI) Limited, Deutsche Holdings (Grand Duchy), Deutsche Holdings (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., Deutsche Holdings (Malta) Ltd., Deutsche Holdings Limited, Deutsche Holdings No. 2 Limited, Deutsche Holdings No. 3 Limited, Deutsche Holdings No. 4 Limited, Deutsche Immobilien Leasing GmbH, Deutsche India Holdings Private Limited, Deutsche International Corporate Services (Ireland) Limited, Deutsche International Corporate Services Limited, Deutsche International Custodial Services Limited, Deutsche Inversiones Dos S.A., Deutsche Inversiones Limitada, Deutsche Investments (Netherlands) N.V., Deutsche Investments India Private Limited, Deutsche Investor Services Private Limited, Deutsche Knowledge Services Pte. Ltd., Deutsche Leasing New York Corp., Deutsche Mandatos S.A., Deutsche Master Funding Corporation, Deutsche Mexico Holdings S.a r.l., Deutsche Morgan Grenfell Group Limited, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell Group Public Limited Company, Deutsche Mortgage & Asset Receiving Corporation, Deutsche Mortgage Securities Inc., Deutsche Mortgage Securities Inc., Deutsche Nederland N.V., Deutsche New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Nominees Limited, Deutsche Oppenheim Family Office AG, Deutsche Overseas Issuance New Zealand Limited, Deutsche Postbank, Deutsche Postbank Finance Center Objekt GmbH, Deutsche Postbank Funding LLC I, Deutsche Postbank Funding LLC II, Deutsche Postbank Funding LLC III, Deutsche Private Asset Management Limited, Deutsche Securities (India) Private Limited, Deutsche Securities (Proprietary) Limited, Deutsche Securities (SA) (Proprietary) Limited, Deutsche Securities Asia Limited, Deutsche Securities Australia Limited, Deutsche Securities Inc., Deutsche Securities Israel Ltd., Deutsche Securities Korea Co., Deutsche Securities Mauritius Limited, Deutsche Securities Menkul Degerler A.S., Deutsche Securities S.A., Deutsche Securities S.A. de C.V. Casa de Bolsa, Deutsche Securities S.A. de C.V. Casa de Bolsa, Deutsche Securities Saudi Arabia, Deutsche Securities SpA, Deutsche Securities Venezuela S.A., Deutsche Securitisation Australia Pty Limited, Deutsche Services Polska Sp. z o.o., Deutsche StiftungsTrust GmbH, Deutsche Strategic Investment Holdings Yugen Kaisha, Deutsche Trust Company Limited Japan, Deutsche Trustee Company Limited, Deutsche Trustee Services (India) Private Limited, Deutsche Trustees Malaysia Berhad, Deutsche Wealth Management S.G.I.I.C. S.A., Deutsches Institut fur Altersvorsorge GmbH, Durian (Luxembourg) S.a r.l., EC EUROPA IMMOBILIEN FONDS NR. 3 GmbH & CO. KG i.I., Elba Finance GmbH, Elizabethan Holdings Limited, Elizabethan Management Limited, Emerald Asset Repackaging Designated Activity Company, Erste Frankfurter Hoist GmbH, European Value Added I (Alternate G.P.) LLP, Exinor SA, FARAMIR Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungs GmbH, FRANKFURT CONSULT GmbH, Fiduciaria Sant' Andrea S.r.L., Finanzberatungsgesellschaft mbH der Deutschen Bank, Franz Urbig- und Oscar Schlitter-Stiftung Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Freddie Mac Class A Taxable Multifamily M Certificates Series M-037, Freddie Mac Class A Taxable Multifamily M Certificates Series M-039, Freddie Mac Class A Taxable Multifamily M Certificates Series M-040, Freddie Mac Class A Taxable Multifamily M Certificates Series M-041, Freddie Mac Class A Taxable Multifamily M Certificates Series M-043, Freddie Mac Class A Taxable Multifamily M Certificates Series M-044, Freddie Mac Class A Taxable Multifamily M Certificates Series M-047, Funfte SAB Treuhand und Verwaltung GmbH & Co. Suhl "Rimbachzentrum" KG, G Finance Holding Corp., G.O. IB-US Management L.L.C., G918 Corp., GAC-HEL Inc., GWC-GAC Corp., Galene S.a r.l., Gemini Technology Services Inc., German American Capital, German American Capital Corporation, Gladyr Spain S.L., Global Markets Fundo de Investimento Multimercado, Global Markets III Fundo de Investimento Multimercado - Credito, Greenwood Properties Corp., Grundstucksgesellschaft Frankfurt Bockenheimer Landstrae GbR, Grundstucksgesellschaft Kerpen-Sindorf Vogelrutherfeld GbR, Grundstucksgesellschaft Leipzig Petersstrae GbR, Grundstucksgesellschaft Wiesbaden Luisenstrae/Kirchgasse GbR, HTB Spezial GmbH & Co. KG, Hollandsche Bank-Unie, IOS Finance EFC S.A., ISTRON Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungs-GmbH, IVAF I Manager S.a r.l., IVAF I Manager S.a r.l., Immobilienfonds Buro-Center Erfurt am Flughafen Bindersleben I GbR, Immobilienfonds Buro-Center Erfurt am Flughafen Bindersleben II GbR, Immobilienfonds Mietwohnhauser Quadrath-Ichendorf GbR, Immobilienfonds Wohn- und Geschaftshaus Koln-Blumenberg V GbR, J R Nominees (Pty) Ltd, Joint Stock Company Deutsche Bank DBU, Jyogashima Godo Kaisha, KEBA Gesellschaft fur interne Services mbH, Kidson Pte Ltd, Konsul Inkasso GmbH, Kradavimd UK Lease Holdings Limited, LA Water Holdings Limited, LAWL Pte. Ltd., Latitude Australia Secured Personal Loans Trust, Leasing Verwaltungsgesellschaft Waltersdorf mbH, Leonardo III Initial GP Limited, Lindsell Finance Limited, London Industrial Leasing Limited, MEF I Manager S. a r.l., MEF I Manager S. a r.l., MHL Reinsurance Ltd., MIT Holdings Inc., MIT Holdings Inc., MPP Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Maher Terminals Holdings (Toronto) Limited, Morgan Grenfell & Company, MortgageIT, MortgageIT Inc., MortgageIT Inc., MortgageIT Securities Corp., Motion Picture Productions One GmbH & Co. KG, NCW Holding Inc., Navegator - SGFTC S.A., Navegator - SGFTC S.A., New 87 Leonard LLC, Nordwestdeutscher Wohnungsbautrager Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, OOO "Deutsche Bank TechCentre", OOO "Deutsche Bank", OPB Verwaltungs- und Beteiligungs-GmbH, OPB Verwaltungs- und Treuhand GmbH, OPB-Holding GmbH, OPB-Nona GmbH, OPB-Oktava GmbH, OPB-Quarta GmbH, OPB-Quinta GmbH, OPB-Septima GmbH, OPPENHEIM Capital Advisory GmbH, OPPENHEIM Flottenfonds V GmbH & Co. KG, OPPENHEIM PRIVATE EQUITY Manager GmbH, OPPENHEIM PRIVATE EQUITY Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, OPS Nominees Pty Limited, OVT Trust 1 GmbH, OVV Beteiligungs GmbH, Opal Funds (Ireland) Public Limited Company, PADUS Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, PARTS Funding LLC., PB Factoring GmbH, PB Firmenkunden AG, PB International S.A., PB Spezial-Investmentaktiengesellschaft mit Teilgesellschaftsvermogen, PBC Banking Services GmbH, PCC Services GmbH der Deutschen Bank, PT Deutsche Sekuritas Indonesia, PT. Deutsche Verdhana Sekuritas Indonesia, Pan Australian Nominees Pty Ltd, Peruda Leasing Limited, Plantation Bay Inc., Plantation Bay Inc., Postbank Akademie und Service GmbH, Postbank Beteiligungen GmbH, Postbank Direkt GmbH, Postbank Filialvertrieb AG, Postbank Finanzberatung AG, Postbank Immobilien GmbH, Postbank Immobilien und Baumanagement GmbH, Postbank Immobilien und Baumanagement GmbH & Co. Objekt Leipzig KG, Postbank Leasing GmbH, Postbank Service GmbH, Postbank Systems AG, QR Tower 2 LLC, Quantiguous, R.B.M. Nominees Pty Ltd, REO Properties Corporation, RREEF, RREEF America L.L.C., RREEF China REIT Management Limited, RREEF European Value Added I (G.P.) Limited, RREEF Fund Holding Co., RREEF India Advisors Private Limited, RREEF Management L.L.C., RTS Nominees Pty Limited, Reference Capital Investments Limited, RoPro U.S. Holding Inc., RoPro U.S. Holding Inc., Route 28 Receivables LLC, Route 28 Receivables LLC, SAB Real Estate Verwaltungs GmbH, SAGITA Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, SAPIO Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, SCUDO Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., SEDO Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., SENA Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. Objekt Kamenz KG, SIFA Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, SOLIDO Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, SP Mortgage Trust, SPINO Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., SPV I Sociedad Anonima Cerrada, SPV II Sociedad Anonima Cerrada, STATOR Heizkraftwerk Frankfurt (Oder) Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Sal. Oppenheim, Sal. Oppenheim Alternative Investments GmbH, Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. AG & Co. Kommanditgesellschaft auf Aktien, Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. Beteiligungs GmbH, Sal. Oppenheim jr. & Cie. Komplementar AG, Sechste Salomon Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH, Sechste Salomon Beteiligungs- und Verwaltungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., Service Company Four Limited, Sharps SP I LLC, Singer Island Tower Suite LLC, Somkid Immobiliare S.r.l., Stelvio Immobiliare S.r.l., Structured Finance Americas LLC, Structured Finance Americas LLC, Swabia 1. Vermogensbesitz-GmbH, Suddeutsche Vermogensverwaltung Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, TAKIR Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, TELO Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, TEMATIS Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., TERRUS Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH i.L., TESATUR Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. Objekt Halle I KG i.L., TESATUR Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH & Co. Objekt Nordhausen I KG i.L., TOSSA Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, TRIPLA Grundstucks-Vermietungsgesellschaft mbH, TRS Aria LLC, TRS Leda LLC, TRS Maple II LTD, TRS Oak II LTD, TRS SVCO LLC, TRS Scorpio LLC, TRS Tupelo II LTD, TRS Venor LLC, TRS Walnut II LTD, Tagus - Sociedade de Titularizacao de Creditos S.A., Tasfiye Halinde Deutsche Securities Menkul Degerler A.S., Tempurrite Leasing Limited, Thai Asset Enforcement and Recovery Asset Management Company Limited, Tianjin Deutsche AM Fund Management Co. Ltd., Treuinvest Service GmbH, Triplereason Limited, UKE Beteiligungs-GmbH, UKE Grundstucksgesellschaft mbH, UKE s.r.o., Ullmann - Esch Grundstucksgesellschaft Kirchnerstrae GbR, Ullmann - Esch Grundstucksverwaltungsgesellschaft Disternich GbR, Ullmann Ullmann Krockow Krockow Esch GbR, VCJ Lease S.a r.l., Vesta Real Estate S.r.l., VOB-ZVD Processing GmbH, WEPLA Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, WEPLABeteiligungsgesellschaftmbH, Wealthspur Investment Ltd., Whale Holdings S.a r.l., World Trading (Delaware) Inc., World Trading(Delaware)Inc., Zumirez Drive LLC, db PBC, and norisbank GmbH.
The following companies are subsidiares of Dominion Energy: 96WI 8me LLC, Alamo Solar LLC, Align RNG Arizona LLC, Align RNG Arizona-Snowflake LLC, Align RNG California LLC, Align RNG California-Corcoran LLC, Align RNG Grady Road LLC, Align RNG LLC, Align RNG Magnolia LLC, Align RNG North Carolina LLC, Align RNG North Carolina-Bowdens LLC, Align RNG Utah LLC, Align RNG Utah-Milford LLC, Align RNG Virginia LLC, Align RNG Virginia-Waverly LLC, Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC, Azalea Solar LLC, BOE Holdings Inc., Blackville Solar Farm LLC, Blue Ocean Energy Marine LLC, BrightSuite Home LLC, BrightSuite Inc., BrightSuite Solar CT Inc., BrightSuite Solar SC Inc., BrightSuite Solar VA Inc., Buckingham Solar I LLC, CEA Americus LLC, CEA CO-Fort Morgan LLC, CEA Clovis LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Colorado LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Georgia LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Idaho LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Nevada LLC, CEA Dairy RNG New Mexico LLC, CEA Dairy RNG Texas LLC, CEA Greely LLC, CEA Mason LLC, CEA TX-Dimmitt LLC, CID Solar LLC, CNG Coal Company, CNG Power Services Corporation, Carolina Gas Transmission Corporation, Catalina Solar 2 LLC, Clean Energy Asset USA LLC, Clean Energy Enterprises Inc., Clipperton Holdings LLC, Consolidated Natural Gas Company, Correctional Solar LLC, Cottonwood Solar LLC, Cove Point LNG LP, Cove Point LNG Limited, DE Arlington Solar LLC, DE Fluvanna Solar LLC, DE Hanover Solar LLC, DE Henrico Solar LLC, DE King William Solar LLC, DE Louisa Solar LLC, DE Newport News Solar LLC, DE Powhatan Solar LLC, DE Virginia Beach Solar LLC, DECP Holdings Inc., Dairy RNG Holdings LLC, Dairy RNG NY LLC, Dairy RNG NY-Curtin LLC, Dairy RNG OH LLC, Denmark Solar LLC, Dominion ACP Holding Inc., Dominion Alternative Energy Holdings Inc., Dominion Atlantic Coast Pipeline LLC, Dominion Capital Inc., Dominion Cogen WV Inc., Dominion Energy Fuel Services Inc., Dominion Energy Gas Distribution LLC, Dominion Energy Generation Marketing Inc., Dominion Energy Inc., Dominion Energy Kewaunee Inc., Dominion Energy Marketplace LLC, Dominion Energy Nuclear Connecticut Inc., Dominion Energy Overthrust Pipeline LLC, Dominion Energy Payroll Company Inc., Dominion Energy Questar Corporation, Dominion Energy Questar Pipeline LLC, Dominion Energy Questar Pipeline Services Inc., Dominion Energy RNG Holdings II Inc., Dominion Energy RNG Holdings Inc., Dominion Energy Services Inc., Dominion Energy Solar CA LLC, Dominion Energy Solutions Inc., Dominion Energy South Carolina Inc., Dominion Energy Southeast Services Inc., Dominion Energy Technical Solutions Inc., Dominion Energy Technologies II Inc., Dominion Energy Technologies Inc., Dominion Energy Terminal Company Inc., Dominion Energy Wexpro Services Company, Dominion Equipment III Inc., Dominion Equipment Inc., Dominion Fairless Hills Inc., Dominion Fowler Ridge Wind LLC, Dominion Gas Projects Company LLC, Dominion Generation Inc., Dominion Greenbrier Inc., Dominion High Voltage Holdings Inc., Dominion High Voltage MidAtlantic Inc., Dominion Investments Inc., Dominion Keystone Pipeline Holdings Inc., Dominion Keystone Pipeline LLC, Dominion MLP Holding Company III Inc., Dominion Mt. Storm Wind LLC, Dominion Nuclear Projects Inc., Dominion Oklahoma Texas Exploration & Production Inc., Dominion Person Inc., Dominion Privatization Florida LLC, Dominion Privatization Georgia LLC, Dominion Privatization Holdings Inc., Dominion Privatization Kentucky LLC, Dominion Privatization Maryland LLC, Dominion Privatization Pennsylvania LLC, Dominion Privatization South Carolina LLC, Dominion Privatization Texas LLC, Dominion Privatization Virginia LLC, Dominion Products and Services Inc., Dominion Projects Services Inc., Dominion Resources Capital Trust III, Dominion Retail Gas Holdings Inc., Dominion Solar Construction and Maintenance LLC, Dominion Solar Gen-Tie LLC, Dominion Solar Holdings I LLC, Dominion Solar Holdings II LLC, Dominion Solar Holdings III LLC, Dominion Solar Holdings IV LLC, Dominion Solar Projects A Inc., Dominion Solar Projects B Inc., Dominion Solar Projects C Inc., Dominion Solar Projects D Inc., Dominion Solar Projects I Inc., Dominion Solar Projects II Inc., Dominion Solar Projects III Inc., Dominion Solar Projects IV Inc., Dominion Solar Projects V Inc., Dominion Solar Projects VI Inc., Dominion Solar Projects VII Inc., Dominion Solar Services Inc., Dominion State Line LLC, Dominion Voltage Inc., Dominion Wholesale Inc., Dominion Wind Development LLC, Dominion Wind Projects Inc., ESCT-SA-Suffield LLC, Eagle Holdco Solar LLC, Eagle Solar LLC, Eastern Shore Solar LLC, Enterprise Solar LLC, Escalante Solar I LLC, Escalante Solar II LLC, Escalante Solar III LLC, Four Brothers Solar LLC, Fremont Farm LLC, Granite Mountain Holdings LLC, Granite Mountain Solar East LLC, Granite Mountain Solar West LLC, Greenbrier Marketing Company LLC, Greenbrier Pipeline Company LLC, Greensville County Solar Project LLC, Hardin Solar Energy LLC, Hecate Energy Cherrydale LLC, Hecate Energy Clarke County LLC, Hope Gas Inc., Imperial Valley Solar Company (IVSC) 2 LLC, Indy Solar Development LLC, Indy Solar I LLC, Indy Solar II LLC, Indy Solar III LLC, Innovative Solar 37 LLC, Iron Springs Holdings LLC, Iron Springs Solar LLC, Louis Dreyfus Natural Gas, Maricopa West Solar PV LLC, Moffett Solar 1 LLC, Moorings Farm 2 LLC, Mulberry Farm LLC, Mustang Solar LLC, PSNC Blue Ridge Corporation, PSNC Cardinal Pipeline Company, Pavant Solar LLC, Phone House, Pikeville Farm LLC, Prairie Fork Wind Farm LLC, Public Service Company of North Carolina Incorporated, QPC Holding Company LLC, Questar Corporation, Questar Energy Services Inc., Questar Field Services LLC, Questar Gas Company, Questar InfoComm Inc., Questar Southern Trails Pipeline Company, Questar White River Hub LLC, RE Adams East LLC, RE Camelot LLC, RE Columbia Two LLC, RE Kansas LLC, RE Kent South LLC, RE Old River One LLC, Richland Solar Center LLC, Ridgeland Solar Farm I LLC, SBL Holdco LLC, SCANA, SCANA Communications Holdings Inc., SCANA Corporate Security Services Inc., SCANA Energy Marketing LLC, SCANA Pharmacy LLC, SRFI LLC, Scana Corporation, Scott-II Solar LLC, Seabrook Solar LLC, Selmer Farm LLC, Siler Solar LLC, Sol Madison Solar LLC, Somers Solar Center LLC, South Carolina Fuel Company Inc., South Carolina Generating Company Inc., Southampton Solar LLC, Summit Farms Solar LLC, Sussex Drive Solar Project LLC, TA - Acacia LLC, TWE Myrtle Solar Project LLC, The East Ohio Gas Company, Trask East Solar LLC, Tredegar Solar Fund I LLC, VP Property Inc., Virginia Electric And Power Company, Virginia Power Fuel Corporation, Virginia Power Nuclear Services Company, Virginia Power Services Energy Corp. Inc., Virginia Power Services LLC, Virginia Solar 201 Projects LLC, Wakefield Solar LLC, Wexpro Company, Wexpro Development Company, Wexpro II Company, Wilkinson Solar LLC, Wrangler Retail Gas Holdings LLC, and Yemassee Solar LLC.
The following companies are subsidiares of UnitedHealth Group: 1031387 B.C. Unlimited Liability Company, 1070715 B.C. Unlimited Liability Company, 1st Avenue Pharmacy Inc., 310 Canyon Medical, 310 Canyon Medical LLC, 4C MSO LLC, 4C Medical Group PLC, 5995 Minnetonka LLC, ABCO International Holdings LLC, ACN Group IPA of New York, ACN Group IPA of New York Inc., ACN Group of California, ACN Group of California Inc., AHJV, AHJV MSO, AHN Accontable Care Organization LLC, AHN Central Services LLC, AHN Target Holdings LLC, AMIL International, AMIL International S.a.r.l., APS  Assistencia Personalizada a Saude Ltda., ARC Infusion, ASC Holdings of New Jersey LLC, ASC Network LLC, ASI Global, ASI Global LLC, Access Administrators Inc., Access HealthSource Administrators Inc., Access HealthSource Inc., Access I.V., Administradora Clinica La Colina S.A.S., Administradora Country S.A., Administradora Medica Centromed S.A., Advanced Care, Advanced Care Pharmacy, Advanced Pharma Inc., Advanced Surgery Center of Clifton LLC, Advanced Surgical Hospital LLC, Advantage Care Network Inc., Advocate Condell Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Advocate Sherman Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Advocate Southwest Ambulatory Surgery Center LLC, Advocate-SCA Partners LLC, Alere Health, Alere Health Improvement Company, Alere Healthcare of Illinois, Alere Wellbeing, Alere Wellology, Alere of New York, Aliansalud Entidad Promotora de Salud S.A., All Savers Insurance Company, All Savers Life Insurance Company of California, Alliance Surgical Center LLC, Aloha Surgical Center LLC, Ambient Healthcare, Ambient Healthcare Inc., Ambient Healthcare of Central Florida, Ambient Healthcare of Georgia, Ambient Healthcare of Northeast Florida, Ambient Healthcare of S. Florida, Ambient Healthcare of West Florida, Ambient Holdings, Ambient Holdings Inc., Ambient Nursing Services, AmeriChoice, AmeriChoice Corporation, AmeriChoice Health Services, AmeriChoice of Connecticut, AmeriChoice of New Jersey, AmeriChoice of New Jersey Inc., American Health Network of Indiana Care Organization LLC, American Health Network of Indiana II LLC, American Health Network of Indiana LLC, American Health Network of Ohio Care Organization LLC, American Health Network of Ohio II LLC, American Health Network of Ohio LLC, Amico Saude Ltda., Amil, Amil Assistencia Medica Internacional S.A., Amil Lifesciences Participacoes Ltda., Antelope Valley Surgery Center L.P., Analisis Clinicos ML S.A.C., Apothecary Holdings Inc., Apothecary Shop of Phoenix Inc., AppleCare Medical Management, AppleCare Medical Management LLC, Aquitania Chilean Holding SpA, Arise Physician Group, Arizona Physicians IPA, Arizona Physicians IPA Inc., AssuranceRx, AssuranceRx LLC, Athens ASC Holdings LLC, Audax Health Solutions, Audax Health Solutions LLC, Austin Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., Avella Patient Access Program Inc., Avella Specialty Pharmacy, Avella of Austin Inc., Avella of Columbus Inc., Avella of Deer Valley Inc., Avella of Denver Inc., Avella of Gilbert Inc., Avella of Las Vegas II Inc., Avella of Orlando Inc., Avella of Phoenix III Inc., Avella of Sacramento Inc., Avella of Scottsdale Inc., Avella of St. Louis Inc., Avella of Tampa LLC, Avella of Tucson II Inc., Avella of Tucson Inc., Aveta Arizona, Aveta Health Solutions Inc., Aveta Inc., Aveta Kansas City, Aveta Tennessee, AxelaCare Health Solutions, AxelaCare Intermediate Holdings, AxelaCare Intermediate Holdings LLC, AxelaCare LLC, B.R.A.S.S. Partnership in Commendam, Banmedica Colombia SpA, Banmedica Internacional SpA, Banmedica S.A., Beach Surgical Holdings III LLC, Behavioral Healthcare Options, Behavioral Healthcare Options Inc., Belleville Surgical Center Ltd. an Illinois Limited Partnership, Benefit Administration for the Self Employed L.L.C., Benefitter Insurance Solutions Inc., Birmingham Outpatient Surgical Center LLC, Blackstone Valley Surgicare GP LLC, Blue Ridge GP LLC, Bordeaux (Barbados) Holdings I SRL, Bordeaux (Barbados) Holdings II SRL, Bordeaux (Barbados) Holdings III SRL, Bordeaux Holding SpA, Bordeaux International Holdings Inc., Bordeaux UK Holdings I Limited, Bordeaux UK Holdings II Limited, Bordeaux UK Holdings III Limited, Bosque Medical Center Ltda., Brandon Ambulatory Surgery Center LC, BriovaRx, BriovaRx, BriovaRx Infusion Services, BriovaRx Infusion Services 102 LLC, BriovaRx Infusion Services 200 Inc., BriovaRx Infusion Services 204 Inc., BriovaRx Infusion Services 209 Inc., BriovaRx Infusion Services 305 LLC, BriovaRx Infusion Services 402 LLC, BriovaRx Infusion Services Inc., BriovaRx Specialty LLC, BriovaRx of California, BriovaRx of California Inc., BriovaRx of Florida, BriovaRx of Florida Inc., BriovaRx of Georgia, BriovaRx of Georgia LLC, BriovaRx of Hawaii, BriovaRx of Indiana, BriovaRx of Louisiana, BriovaRx of Louisiana L.L.C., BriovaRx of Maine, BriovaRx of Maine Inc., BriovaRx of Massachusetts, BriovaRx of Massachusetts LLC, BriovaRx of Nevada, BriovaRx of New York, BriovaRx of New York Inc., BriovaRx of Texas, BriovaRx of Texas Inc., CDC Holdings Colombia S.A.S., CLISA  Clinica de Santo Antonio S.A., CMO  Centro Medico de Oftalmologia S/S Ltda., CMS  Central de Manipulacao e Servicos Farmaceuticos S.A., CNIC Health Solutions Inc., COI Participacoes S.A., COI  Clinicas Oncologicas Integradas S.A., Cabin Enterprises LLC, Cabin Holdings LLC, California MedTrans Network IPA LLC, California MedTrans Network MSO LLC, California Medical Group Insurance Company Risk Retention Group, Camp Hill-SCA Centers LLC, Capital City Medical Group L.L.C., Cardio Management, Cardio Management Inc., Care Improvement Plus Group Management, Care Improvement Plus Group Management LLC, Care Improvement Plus South Central Insurance Company, Care Improvement Plus Wisconsin Insurance Company, Care Improvement Plus of Texas Insurance Company, Casa de Saude Santa Therezinha Ltda., Casa de Saude Santa Therezinha S.A., Castle Rock SurgiCenter LLC, Catalyst360, Catalyst360 LLC, Catamaran Finance (Ireland) Unlimited Company, Catamaran Health Solutions, Catamaran Holdings I, Catamaran IPA III, Catamaran Mail, Catamaran PBM of Illinois II, Catamaran PBM of Puerto Rico, Catamaran PD of Pennsylvania, Catamaran PD of Puerto Rico, Catamaran Rebate Management, Catamaran S.a.r.l., Catamaran Senior Services, Catamaran of Pennsylvania, Cedar Park Surgery Center LLC, Cemed Care - Empressa de Atendimento Clinico Geral Ltda., Cemed Care  Empresa de Atendimento Clinico Geral Ltda., Central Indiana Care Organization LLC, Central Ohio Care Organization LLC, Central de Compras SpA, CentriHealth Corporation, CentriHealth UK Limited, CentrifyHealth LLC, Centro Medico Hospitalar Pitangueiras Ltda., Centro Medico Odontologico Americano S.A.C., Centro Medico PJ Ltda., Centro de Entrenamiento en Reanimacion y Prevencion Limitada (CERP), Centro de Servicios Compartidos Banmedica S.A., Centromed Quilpue S.A., Centros Medicos y Dentales Multimed Ltda., Centurion Casualty Company, Channel Islands Surgicenter L.P., Channel Islands Surgicenter Properties LLC, Charleston Surgery Properties LLC, Charlotte-SC LLC, Childrens Surgery Center LLC, ChinaGate (Hong Kong) Limited, ChinaGate Company Limited, Citrus Regional Surgery Center L.P., Clinica Oftalmologica Danilo de Castro Sociedade Simples, Clinical Partners of Colorado Springs LLC, Clinica Alameda S.A., Clinica Bio Bio S.A., Clinica Ciudad del Mar S.A., Clinica Davila y Servicios Medicos S.A., Clinica Medico Cirurgica de Santa Tecla S.A., Clinica San Borja (La Esperanza del Peru S.A.), Clinica San Felipe S.A., Clinica Santa Maria S.A., Clinica Sanchez Ferrer S.A., Clinica Vespucio S.A., Clinica del Country S.A., Coachella Valley Physicians of PrimeCare, Coachella Valley Physicians of PrimeCare Inc., Coalition For Advanced Pharmacy Services, Coalition for Advanced Pharmacy Services Inc., Coastal Physicians Management Inc., Collaborative Care Holdings, Collaborative Care Holdings LLC, Collaborative Care Services, Collaborative Care Services Inc., Collaborative Care Solutions, Collaborative Realty, Collaborative Realty LLC, Colmedica Medicina Prepagada, Colonial Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Colorado Innovative Physician Solutions Inc., Colorado Springs Surgery Center Ltd., Comfort Care Transportation, Comfort Care Transportation LLC, Commonwealth Administrators, Connecticut Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Connecticut Surgery Properties LLC, Connecticut Surgical Center LLC, Connextions, Connextions HCI, Constructora e Inmobiliaria Magapoq S.A., Consumer Wellness Solutions Inc., Country Scan Ltda., Crescent Drug Corp., Cypress Care, Cypress Care Inc., DBP Services of New York IPA, DBP Services of New York IPA Inc., DTC Surgery Center LLC, DWIC of Tampa Bay, DWIC of Tampa Bay Inc., DaVita Magan Management Inc., Danbury Surgical Center L.P., Day-Op Surgery Consulting Company, Day-Op Surgery Consulting Company LLC, Definity Health, Dental Benefit Providers, Dental Benefit Providers Inc., Dental Benefit Providers of California, Dental Benefit Providers of California Inc., Dental Benefit Providers of Illinois, Dental Benefit Providers of Illinois Inc., Derry Surgical Center LLC, Diagnostico Ecotomografico Centromed Ltda., Diasnostico por Imagenes Centromed Ltda., Dilab Medicina Nuclear Ltda., Diplomat Pharmacy, Distance Learning Network, Distance Learning Network Inc., Doctor + S.A.C., Dry Creek Surgery Center LLC, Dublin Surgery Center LLC, Duncan Printing Services, Duncan Printing Services LLC, E Street Endoscopy LLC, ELG FZE, EP Campus I, EP Campus I LLC, East Brunswick Surgery Center LLC, Electronic Network Systems, Electronic Network Systems Inc., Elual Participacoes S.A., Empire Physician Management Company, Empire Physician Management Company LLC, Employers Health Choice PPO Inc., Empremedica S. A., Endoscopy Center Affiliates Inc., Enterprise Life Insurance Company, Equian, Equian LLC, Equian Parent Corp., Esho  Empresa de Servicos Hospitalares S.A., Etho  Empresa de Tecnologia Hospitalar Ltda., Evercare Collaborative Solutions, Evercare Collaborative Solutions Inc., Everett MSO Inc., Excellion Servicos Biomedicos Ltda., Excellion Servicos Biomedicos S.A., Excelsior Insurance Brokerage Inc., Executive Health Resources, Executive Health Resources Inc., Executive Surgery Center LLC, Eye Clinic Oftalmologia Clinico Cirurgica e Diagnostico Ltda., FMG Holdings, FMG Holdings LLC, FOR HEALTH OF ARIZONA, Family Health Care Services, Family Home Hospice, Family Home Hospice Inc., First Rx Specialty & Mail Services, Florida MedTrans Network LLC, Florida MedTrans Network MSO LLC, For Health, For Health Inc., For Health of Arizona Inc., Fortified Provider Network Inc., Fortify Technologies Asia LLC, Fortify Technologies LLC, Foundation Financial Services Inc., Franklin Surgical Center LLC, Freedom Life Insurance Company of America, Freeway Surgicenter of Houston LLC, Frontier MEDEX Limited, Frontier Medex Tanzania Limited, FrontierMEDEX, FrontierMEDEX (RMS), FrontierMEDEX (RMS) Inc., FrontierMEDEX Government Services, FrontierMEDEX Government Services LLC, FrontierMEDEX Inc., FrontierMEDEX Kenya Limited, FrontierMEDEX US, FrontierMEDEX US Inc., Fundacion Banmedica, GRANTS PASS SURGERY CENTER LLC, Gadsden Surgery Center LLC, Gadsden Surgery Center Ltd., Gainesville Surgery Center L.P., Gainesville Surgery Properties LLC, Genoa, Genoa Healthcare Inc., Genoa Healthcare LLC, Genoa QoL Wholesale LLC, Genoa Technology (Canada) Inc., Genoa Technology Inc., Genoa Telepsychiatry Inc., Genoa of Arkansas LLC, Glenwood Surgical Center L.P., Glenwood-SC Inc., Golden Outlook, Golden Outlook Inc., Golden Rule Financial Corporation, Golden Rule Insurance Company, Golden Triangle Surgicenter L.P., Grapevine Finance LLC, Greater Hartford ASC LLC, Grove Place Surgery Center L.L.C., Guardian Health Systems Limited Partnership, H&W Indemnity (SPC), H&W Indemnity (SPC) Ltd., H.I. Investments Holding Company LLC, HCP ACO California LLC, HCP ACO Nevada LLC, HCentive Technology India Private Limited, HMI NewCo LLC, Harken Health Insurance Company, Hayes-Strub LLC, Health Business Systems, Health Care-ONE Insurance Agency Inc., Health Inventures Employment Solutions LLC, Health Inventures LLC, Health Net Insurance of New York, Health Net Services (Bermuda) Ltd., Health Plan of Nevada, Health Plan of Nevada Inc., Health Technology Analysts Pty Limited, HealthAllies, HealthAllies Inc., HealthCare Partners ASC-LB LLC, HealthCare Partners Management Services California LLC, HealthCare Partners RE LLC, HealthFirst IPA Inc., HealthMarkets Group Inc., HealthMarkets Inc., HealthMarkets Insurance Agency Inc., HealthMarkets LLC, HealthMarkets NewCo Inc., HealthMarkets Services Inc., HealthSCOPE Holdings Inc., HealthScope Benefits Inc., Healthcare Partners Plan of Nevada Inc., Healthcare Solutions Inc., Heartland Heart and Vascular LLC, Help S.A., Help Service S.A., Highlands Ranch Healthcare, Highlands Ranch Healthcare LLC, Home Care I.V. of Bend, Home Infusion With Heart, Home Medical S.A., Hospice Inspiris Holdings, Hospice Inspiris Holdings Inc., Hospitais Associados de Pernambuco Ltda., Hospital Alvorada de Taguatinga Ltda., Hospital Ana Costa S.A., Hospital Maternidade Promater Ltda., Hospital Samaritano de Sao Paulo Ltda., Hospital Santa Helena S.A., Hospital de Clinicas de Jacarepagua Ltda., Humedica, Humedica Inc., Hygeia Corporation, Hygeia Corporation (Canada), Hygeia Corporation (DE), Hygeia Corporation (Ontario), INOV8 Surgical at Memorial City LLC, INSPIRIS of New York IPA, INSPIRIS of New York Management, INSPIRIS of New York Management Inc., INSPIRIS of Texas Physician Group, IRX Financing I LLC, Illinois Independent Care Network, Imed Star  Servicos de Desempenho Organizacional Ltda., Impel Consulting Experts, Impel Consulting Experts L.L.C., Impel Management Services L.L.C., Indian River Surgery Center Ltd., Indian River Surgery Properties LLC, Indiana Care Organization LLC, Infusource, Ingram & Associates, Ingram & Associates LLC, Inmobiliaria Apoquindo 3001 S.A., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo 3600 Ltda., Inmobiliaria Apoquindo S.A., Inmobiliaria Clinica Santa Maria S.A., Inmobiliaria Vinamed Ltda., Inmobiliaria e Inversiones Alameda S.A., Inspiris, Inspiris Inc., Inspiris Services Company, Inspiris of Tennessee, Instituto do Radium de Cammpinas Ltda, International Psychological Services Pty Limited, Inversiones Clinicas Santa Maria S.A., Isapre Banmedica S.A., Isapre Vida Tres S.A., Johnston Surgicare L.P., Joliet Surgery Center Limited Partnership, LHI, Laboratorio ROE S.A., Laboratorios Medicos Amed Quilpue S.A., LifePrint Health, LifePrint Health Inc., LifeStyles Marketing Group Inc., LifeWell Ltd. Co., Lifeprint Accountable Care Organization, Lifeprint Accountable Care Organization LLC, Lifeprint East, Lifeprint East Inc., Logistics Health Inc., Lotten-Eyes Oftalmologia Clinica e Cirurgica Ltda., Louisville S.C. Ltd., Louisville-SC Properties Inc., Loyola Ambulatory Surgery Center at Oakbrook Inc., Lusiadas - Parcerias Cascais S.A., Lusiadas A.C.E., Lusiadas S.A., Lusiadas SGPS S.A., MAMSI Insurance Resources, MAMSI Life and Health Insurance Company, MD Ops, MD Ops Inc., MD-Individual Practice Association, MD-Individual Practice Association Inc., ME AHS UC LLC, MEDEX Insurance Services, MEDEX Insurance Services Inc., MGH/SCA LLC, MHC Real Estate Holdings, MHC Real Estate Holdings LLC, MIAMI SURGERY CENTER LLC, MSLA Management LLC, MXMD Centros De Cancer, Mamoeco  Mamografia e Ecografia Centro de Diagnostico, Managed Physical Network, Managed Physical Network Inc., March Holdings, March Holdings Inc., March Vision Care, March Vision Care Inc., Marin Surgery Holdings Inc., Maryland Ambulatory Centers, Maryland-SCA Centers LLC, Massachusetts Assurance Company Ltd. PIC, Massachusetts Avenue Surgery Center LLC, Mat-Rx Development, Mat-Rx Fort Worth GP, MedExpress Development, MedExpress Development LLC, MedExpress Urgent Care Alabama LLC, MedExpress Urgent Care Inc. - Ohio, MedExpress Urgent Care Maine Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care New Hampshire Inc., MedExpress Urgent Care of Boynton Beach, MedExpress Urgent Care of Boynton Beach LLC, MedSynergies, MedSynergies LLC, MedSynergies North Texas, Medalliance Net Ltda, Medalliance Net Ltda., Medica Health Plans of Florida, Medica Health Plans of Florida Inc., Medica HealthCare Plans, Medica HealthCare Plans Inc., Medical Clinic of North Texas PLLC, Medical Hilfe S.A., Medical Preparatory School of Allied Health, Medical Support Los Angeles Inc., Medical Surgical Centers of America Inc., Medical Transportation Services, Medical Transportation Services LLC, Medication Management Systems Inc., Melbourne Surgery Center LLC, Memorial City Holdings LLC, Memorial City Partners LLC, Memphis-SC LLC, Memphis-SP LLC, Mesquite Liberty LLC, Metro I Stone Management, Metropolitan Medical Partners LLC, Metropolitan Medical Transportation IPA LLC, Mid Atlantic Medical Services, Mid-West National Life Insurance Company of Tennessee, Midwest Center for Day Surgery LLC, Mile High SurgiCenter LLC, Mississippi Surgery Holdings LLC, Mississippi Surgical Center Limited Partnership, Mobile Medical Professionals, Modern Medical Inc., Monarch Management Services, Monarch Management Services Inc., Montgomery Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Mountain View Medical Group LLC, Mt. Pleasant Surgery Center L.P., Multiangio Ltda., Muskogee Surgical Investors LLC, Mustang Razorback Holdings, Mustang Razorback Holdings Inc., My Wellness Solutions LLC, NAMM Holdings, NAMM Holdings Inc., NSC Fayetteville LLC, NSC Greensboro LLC, NSC Lancaster LLC, NSC Seattle Inc., NSC Upland LLC, Nashville-SCA Surgery Centers Inc., National Foundation Life Insurance Company, National MedTrans LLC, National Pacific Dental, National Pacific Dental Inc., National Surgery Centers LLC, Neighborhood Health Partnership, Neighborhood Health Partnership Inc., Netwerkes, Netwerkes LLC, Nevada Medical Services LLC, Nevada Pacific Dental, New Orleans Regional Physician Hospital Organization L.L.C., New West Physicians Inc., Newton Holdings LLC, North American Medical Management - Illinois, North American Medical Management California, North American Medical Management California Inc., North Puget Sound Center for Sleep Disorders LLC, North Puget Sound Oncology Equipment Leasing Company LLC, Northern Nevada Health Network, Northern Nevada Health Network Inc., Northern Rockies Surgicenter Inc., Northwest Surgicare LLC, Northwest Surgicare Ltd., Nutritional/Parenteral Home Care, Nutritional/Parenteral Home Care of Huntsville, OC Cardiology Practice Partners LLC, OSB  Tecnologia e Servicos de Suporte Ltda., Omesa S.A., OmniClaim LLC, Oncocare S.A.C., OneNet PPO, OneNet PPO LLC, Optimum Choice, Optimum Choice Inc., Optum, Optum Bank, Optum Bank Inc., Optum Biometrics, Optum Biometrics Inc., Optum Care Inc., Optum Care Services Company, Optum Clinical Services, Optum Clinics Holdings, Optum Clinics Holdings Inc., Optum Clinics Intermediate Holdings, Optum Clinics Intermediate Holdings Inc., Optum Digital Health Holdings LLC, Optum Finance (Ireland) Unlimited Company, Optum Global Finance (Ireland) Unlimited Company, Optum Global Solutions (India) Private Limited, Optum Global Solutions (Philippines), Optum Global Solutions (Philippines) Inc., Optum Global Solutions International B.V., Optum Government Solutions, Optum Government Solutions Inc., Optum Growth Partners LLC, Optum Health & Technology (Australia) Pty Ltd, Optum Health & Technology (Hong Kong) Limited, Optum Health & Technology (India) Private Limited, Optum Health & Technology (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Optum Health & Technology (UK) Limited, Optum Health & Technology (US), Optum Health & Technology (US) LLC, Optum Health & Technology FZ-LLC, Optum Health & Technology Holdings (US), Optum Health & Technology Holdings (US) Inc., Optum Health & Technology Servicos do Brasil Ltda., Optum Health Services (Canada) Ltd., Optum Health Solutions (Australia) Pty Ltd, Optum Health Solutions (UK) Limited, Optum Health and Technology FZ-LLC, Optum Healthcare of Illinois, Optum Healthcare of Illinois Inc., Optum Hospice Pharmacy Services, Optum Hospice Pharmacy Services LLC, Optum Inc., Optum Infusion Services 100 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 101 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 103 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 201 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 202 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 203 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 205 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 206 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 207 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 208 Inc., Optum Infusion Services 301 LP, Optum Infusion Services 302 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 308 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 401 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 403 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 404 LLC, Optum Infusion Services 501 Inc., Optum Insurance of Ohio, Optum Insurance of Ohio Inc., Optum Labs, Optum Labs Dimensions, Optum Labs Dimensions Inc., Optum Labs Inc., Optum Labs International (UK) Ltd., Optum Life Sciences (Canada) Inc., Optum Management Consulting (Shanghai) Co., Optum Management Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Optum Networks of New Jersey Inc., Optum Nevada Accountable Care Organization LLC, Optum Operations (Ireland) Unlimited Company, Optum Palliative and Hospice Care, Optum Palliative and Hospice Care Inc., Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Pennsylvania, Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Pennsylvania Inc., Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Texas, Optum Palliative and Hospice Care of Texas Inc., Optum Perks LLC, Optum Pharmacy 701 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 702 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 703 LLC, Optum Pharmacy 705 LLC, Optum Public Sector Solutions, Optum Public Sector Solutions Inc., Optum Rocket, Optum Rocket Inc., Optum Senior Services LLC, Optum Services, Optum Services (Ireland) Limited, Optum Services (Puerto Rico) LLC, Optum Services Inc., Optum Solutions UK Holdings Limited, Optum Solutions do Brasil  Tecnologia e Servicos de Suporte Ltda., Optum Technology, Optum Technology LLC, Optum UK Solutions Group Limited, Optum Women's and Children's Health, Optum Women's and Children's Health LLC, Optum of New York Inc., Optum360, Optum360 LLC, Optum360 Services, Optum360 Services Inc., Optum360 Solutions LLC, OptumCare ACO Florida LLC, OptumCare ACO Holdings LLC, OptumCare ACO New Mexico LLC, OptumCare Clinical Trials LLC, OptumCare Colorado ASC LLC, OptumCare Colorado LLC, OptumCare Colorado Springs LLC, OptumCare Endoscopy Center New Mexico LLC, OptumCare Florida CI LLC, OptumCare Florida LLC, OptumCare Health Plan of California Inc., OptumCare Holdings Colorado LLC, OptumCare Holdings LLC, OptumCare Holdings New Mexico LLC, OptumCare Management LLC, OptumCare New Mexico LLC, OptumCare New York IPA Inc., OptumCare South Florida LLC, OptumHealth Care Solutions, OptumHealth Care Solutions LLC, OptumHealth Financial Services, OptumHealth Financial Services Inc., OptumHealth Holdings, OptumHealth Holdings LLC, OptumHealth International B.V., OptumInsight, OptumInsight Holdings, OptumInsight Holdings LLC, OptumInsight Inc., OptumInsight India Private Limited, OptumInsight Life Sciences, OptumInsight Life Sciences Inc., OptumRx, OptumRx Administrative Services, OptumRx Administrative Services LLC, OptumRx Discount Card Services, OptumRx Discount Card Services LLC, OptumRx Group Holdings, OptumRx Group Holdings Inc., OptumRx Health Solutions LLC, OptumRx Holdings, OptumRx Holdings I LLC, OptumRx Holdings LLC, OptumRx Home Delivery of Illinois, OptumRx Home Delivery of Ohio, OptumRx Home Delivery of Ohio LLC, OptumRx IPA III Inc., OptumRx Inc., OptumRx NY IPA, OptumRx NY IPA Inc., OptumRx PBM of Illinois, OptumRx PBM of Illinois Inc., OptumRx PBM of Maryland, OptumRx PBM of Maryland LLC, OptumRx PBM of Pennsylvania, OptumRx PBM of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumRx PBM of Puerto Rico LLC, OptumRx PBM of Wisconsin, OptumRx PBM of Wisconsin LLC, OptumRx PD of Maryland, OptumRx PD of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumRx Pharmacy, OptumRx Pharmacy Inc., OptumRx Pharmacy of Nevada, OptumRx Pharmacy of Nevada Inc., OptumRx of Pennsylvania LLC, OptumServe Technology Services Inc., Orlando Center for Outpatient Surgery L.P., OrthoNet Holdings, OrthoNet Holdings Inc., OrthoNet LLC, OrthoNet New York IPA, OrthoNet New York IPA Inc., OrthoNet Services, OrthoNet Services Inc., OrthoNet West, OrthoNet West Inc., OrthoNet of the Mid-Atlantic, OrthoNet of the South, OrthoNet of the South Inc., Ovations, Ovations Inc., Oxford Benefit Management, Oxford Benefit Management Inc., Oxford Health Insurance, Oxford Health Insurance Inc., Oxford Health Plans (CT), Oxford Health Plans (CT) Inc., Oxford Health Plans (NJ), Oxford Health Plans (NJ) Inc., Oxford Health Plans (NY), Oxford Health Plans (NY) Inc., Oxford Health Plans LLC, P2 Lower Acquisition, P2P Link LLC, PCCCV, PCCCV Inc., PCN DE Corp., PHC Subsidiary Holdings, PHC Subsidiary Holdings LLC, PHYS Holding Corp., PHYSICIANS DAY SURGERY CENTER LLC, PMI Acquisition, PMI Acquisition LLC, PMSI, PMSI Holdco II, PMSI Holdings, PMSI Holdings LLC, PMSI LLC, PMSI Settlement Solutions, PMSI Settlement Solutions LLC, POMCO Inc., POMCO Network Inc., PPH Holdings LLC, PacifiCare Health Systems, PacifiCare Life Assurance Company, PacifiCare Life and Health Insurance Company, PacifiCare of Arizona, PacifiCare of Arizona Inc., PacifiCare of Colorado, PacifiCare of Colorado Inc., PacifiCare of Nevada, PacifiCare of Nevada Inc., Pacific Casualty Company Inc., Pacifico S.A. Entidad Prestadora de Salud, Paoli Ambulatory Surgery Center, Paoli Surgery Center L.P., Parkway Surgery Center LLC, Pasteur Plaza Surgery Center GP Inc., PatientsLikeMe, PatientsLikeMe LLC, Patrimonio Autonomo Nueva Clinica - PANC., Payment Resolution Services, Payment Resolution Services LLC, Peoples Health, Peoples Health Inc., Pharmaceutical Care Network, Pharmacy Review Services, Pharmacy Software Holdco Inc., PhyServe Holdings, Physician Alliance of the Rockies LLC, Physician Care Partners, Physicians Health Choice of Texas, Physicians Health Choice of Texas LLC, Physicians Health Plan of Maryland, Physicians Health Plan of Maryland Inc., Physicians Plaza Holdings LLC, Plano de Saude Ana Costa Ltda., Plus One Health Management Puerto Rico, Plus One Health Management Puerto Rico Inc., Plus One Holdings, Plus One Holdings Inc., Polar II Fundo de Investimento em Participacoes, Polar II Fundo de Investimento em Participacoes Multiestrategia, Polo Holdco, Polo Holdco LLC, Pomerado Outpatient Surgical Center Inc., Pomerado Outpatient Surgical Center L.P., Precision Dialing Services Inc., Preferred Care Partners, Preferred Care Partners Holding, Preferred Care Partners Holding Corp., Preferred Care Partners Inc., Preferred Care Partners Medical Group, Preferred Care Partners Medical Group Inc., Premier Choice ACO, Premier Choice ACO Inc., Premier Surgery Center of Louisville L.P., Prime Health, Prime Health Inc., PrimeCare Medical Network, PrimeCare Medical Network Inc., PrimeCare of Citrus Valley, PrimeCare of Citrus Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Corona, PrimeCare of Corona Inc., PrimeCare of Hemet Valley, PrimeCare of Hemet Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Inland Valley, PrimeCare of Inland Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Moreno Valley, PrimeCare of Moreno Valley Inc., PrimeCare of Redlands, PrimeCare of Redlands Inc., PrimeCare of Riverside, PrimeCare of Riverside Inc., PrimeCare of San Bernardino, PrimeCare of San Bernardino Inc., PrimeCare of Sun City, PrimeCare of Sun City Inc., PrimeCare of Temecula, PrimeCare of Temecula Inc., ProHEALTH Fitness of Lake Success, ProHEALTH Fitness of Lake Success LLC, ProHEALTH Medical Management LLC, ProHealth Medical Management, ProHealth Physicians, ProHealth Physicians ACO, ProHealth Physicians ACO LLC, ProHealth Physicians Inc., ProHealth Proton Center Management, ProHealth Proton Center Management LLC, Procura Management, Procura Management Inc., Progressive Enterprises Holdings, Progressive Enterprises Holdings Inc., Progressive Medical, Progressive Medical LLC, Progressive Solutions, Promotora Country S.A., Pronetics Health Care Group, Pronounced Health Solutions Inc., Prosemedic S.A.C., Prospero Management Services LLC, Pueblo-SCA Surgery Center LLC, Pulse Platform LLC, QoL Acquisition Holdings Corp., Quality Software Services, QuarterMaster Newco LLC, R&H Family Fitness Unlimited LLC, Rally Health, Rally Health Inc., Real Appeal Inc., Recaudacion y Cobranzas Honodav Ltda., Redlands Ambulatory Surgery Center, Redlands-SCA Surgery Centers Inc., Reliant MSO LLC, Research Surgical Center LLC, River Valley ASC LLC, Riverside Electronic Healthcare Resources Inc., Riverside Medical Management, Riverside Medical Management LLC, Riverside Surgical Center of Meadowlands LLC, Riverside Surgical Center of Newark LLC, Rocky Mountain Health Maintenance Organization Incorporated, Rocky Mountain HealthCare Options Inc., SC Affiliates LLC, SCA Alaska Surgery Center inc., SCA Athens LLC, SCA Austin Holdings LLC, SCA BOSC Holdings LLC, SCA California Surgical Holdings LLC, SCA Capital LLC, SCA Cedar Park Holdings LLC, SCA Clifton LLC, SCA Danbury Surgical Center LLC, SCA Development LLC, SCA EHSC Holdings LLC, SCA EWASC Holdings LLC, SCA Hays Holdings LLC, SCA Heartland Holdings LLC, SCA HoldCo Inc., SCA Holding Company Inc., SCA Holdings Inc., SCA IEC Holdings LLC, SCA Indiana Holdings LLC, SCA Nashville ASC LLC, SCA Pacific Holdings Inc., SCA Pennsylvania Holdings LLC, SCA Premier Surgery Center of Louisville LLC, SCA ROCS Holdings LLC, SCA Rockledge JV LLC, SCA SSC Holdings LLC, SCA SSSC Holdings LLC, SCA Sage Medical LLC, SCA Sage Medical MSO LLC, SCA Southwestern PA LLC, SCA Specialists of Florida LLC, SCA Stonegate Holdings LLC, SCA Surgery Center of Cullman LLC, SCA Surgery Holdings LLC, SCA Surgery Partners LLC, SCA Surgicare of Laguna Hills LLC, SCA Teammate Support Network, SCA eCode Solutions Private Limited, SCA of Clarksville Inc., SCA-Albuquerque Surgery Properties Inc., SCA-Alliance LLC, SCA-Anne Arundel LLC, SCA-Applecare Partners LLC, SCA-Bethesda LLC, SCA-Blue Ridge LLC, SCA-Bonita Springs LLC, SCA-Brandon LLC, SCA-Castle Rock LLC, SCA-Central Florida LLC, SCA-Charleston LLC, SCA-Chatham LLC, SCA-Chevy Chase LLC, SCA-Citrus Inc., SCA-Colorado Springs LLC, SCA-Connecticut Partners LLC, SCA-DRY CREEK LLC, SCA-Davenport LLC, SCA-Denver LLC, SCA-Denver Physicians Holdings LLC, SCA-Derry LLC, SCA-Doral LLC, SCA-Downey LLC, SCA-Dublin LLC, SCA-Encinitas Inc., SCA-Eugene Inc., SCA-First Coast LLC, SCA-Florence LLC, SCA-Fort Collins Inc., SCA-Fort Walton Inc., SCA-Franklin LLC, SCA-Frederick LLC, SCA-Freeway Holdings LLC, SCA-Ft. Myers LLC, SCA-GRANTS PASS LLC, SCA-Gainesville LLC, SCA-Gladiolus LLC, SCA-Grove Place LLC, SCA-Hagerstown LLC, SCA-Hamden LLC, SCA-Hilton Head LLC, SCA-Honolulu LLC, SCA-Houston Executive LLC, SCA-IT Holdings LLC, SCA-Illinois LLC, SCA-JPM Holdings LLC, SCA-Kissing Camels Holdings LLC, SCA-MC VBP Inc., SCA-Main Street LLC, SCA-Marina del Rey LLC, SCA-Mecklenburg Development Corp., SCA-Memorial City LLC, SCA-Merritt LLC, SCA-Midlands LLC, SCA-Midway Management LLC, SCA-Mobile LLC, SCA-Mokena LLC, SCA-Mokena Properties LLC, SCA-Morris County LLC, SCA-Mt. Pleasant LLC, SCA-ND VBP Inc., SCA-Naperville LLC, SCA-Naples LLC, SCA-New Jersey LLC, SCA-Newport Beach LLC, SCA-Northeast Georgia Health LLC, SCA-PORTLAND LLC, SCA-Palm Beach LLC, SCA-Palm Beach MSO Holdings LLC, SCA-Paoli LLC, SCA-Phoenix LLC, SCA-Pocono LLC, SCA-Practice Partners Holdings LLC, SCA-River Valley LLC, SCA-Riverside LLC, SCA-Riverside Partners LLC, SCA-Rockville LLC, SCA-Sacred Heart Holdings LLC, SCA-San Diego Inc., SCA-San Luis Obispo LLC, SCA-Sand Lake LLC, SCA-Santa Rosa Inc., SCA-Shelby Development Corp., SCA-Somerset LLC, SCA-South Jersey LLC, SCA-Sparta LLC, SCA-Spartanburg Holdings LLC, SCA-St. Louis LLC, SCA-St. Lucie LLC, SCA-SurgiCare LLC, SCA-Swiftpath LLC, SCA-VERTA LLC, SCA-Wake Forest LLC, SCA-Western Connecticut LLC, SCA-Westover Hills LLC, SCA-Wilmington LLC, SCA-Wilson LLC, SCA-Winchester LLC, SCA-Winter Park Inc., SCA-Woodlands Holdings LLC, SCAI Holdings LLC, SCP Specialty Infusion, SCP Specialty Infusion LLC, SHC Atlanta LLC, SHC Austin Inc., SHC Hawthorn Inc., SHC Melbourne Inc., SPINETRACK 20/20 Inc., SRPS LLC, SXC Comet, Sacred Heart ASC LLC, Saden S.A., Salem Surgery Center LLC, Salveo Specialty Pharmacy, Salveo Specialty Pharmacy Inc., Sand Lake SurgiCenter LLC, Santa Cruz Endoscopy Center LLC, Santa Helena Assistencia Medica S.A., Santos Administracao e Participacoes S.A., Savvysherpa Administrative Services LLC, Savvysherpa Asia Inc., Savvysherpa LLC, Scanner Centromed S.A., ScripNet, ScriptSwitch Limited, Seisa Servicos Integrados de Saude Ltda., Senate Street Surgery Center LLC, Senior Benefits L.L.C., Senior Care Partners, Serquinox Holdings LLC, Serquinox LLC, Servicios Integrados de Salud Ltda., Servicios Medicos Amed Quilpue S.A., Servicios Medicos Bio Bio Limitada, Servicios Medicos Ciudad del Mar Ltda., Servicios Medicos Santa Maria Limitada, Servicios Medicos Vespucio Ltda., Servicios de Entrenamiento en Competencias Clinicas Ltda., SharedClarity LLC, Shelby Surgery Properties Inc., Sierra Health Services, Sierra Health Services Inc, Sierra Health Services Inc., Sierra Health and Life Insurance Company, Sierra Health and Life Insurance Company Inc., Sierra Health-Care Options, Sierra Health-Care Options Inc., Sierra Home Medical Products, Sierra Home Medical Products Inc., Sierra Nevada Administrators, Sierra Nevada Administrators Inc., Sirona Infusion, Sistema de Administracion Hospitalaria S.A.C., Small Business Insurance Advisors Inc., Sobam  Centro Medico Hospitalar S.A., Sociedad Editorial para la Ciencia Limitada., Sociedad de Inversiones Santa Maria S.A., Somerset Outpatient Surgery L.L.C., Southwest Medical Associates, Southwest Medical Associates Inc., Southwest Michigan Health Network Inc., Southwest Surgery Center LLC, Southwest Surgical Center of Bakersfield L.P., Space Coast Surgical Center Ltd., Specialists in Urology Surgery Center LLC, Specialized Pharmaceuticals Inc., Specialty Benefits, Specialty Benefits LLC, Spectera, Spectera Inc., Spectera of New York IPA, Spectera of New York IPA Inc., Spotlite, Spotlite Inc., St. Cloud Surgical Center LLC, StoneRiver P2P Link, StoneRiver Pharmacy Solutions, Stonegate Surgery Center L.P., Streamlines Health LLC, Summit Home Infusion, SunSurgery LLC, Surgery Center Holding LLC, Surgery Center at Cherry Creek LLC, Surgery Center at Kissing Camels LLC, Surgery Center of Boca Raton Inc., Surgery Center of Clarksville L.P., Surgery Center of Colorado Springs LLC, Surgery Center of Des Moines LLC, Surgery Center of Easton LLC, Surgery Center of Ellicott City Inc., Surgery Center of Louisville LLC, Surgery Center of Maui LLC, Surgery Center of Muskogee LLC, Surgery Center of Rockville L.L.C., Surgery Center of Southern Pines LLC, Surgery Center of Spokane LLC, Surgery Center of Summerlin LLC, Surgery Center of The Woodlands LLC, Surgery Center of Vero Beach Inc., Surgery Center of Wilmington LLC, Surgery Center of Wilmington Properties LLC, Surgery Centers of Des Moines Ltd. an Iowa Limited Partnership, Surgery Centers-West Holdings LLC, Surgical Care Affiliates, Surgical Care Affiliates LLC, Surgical Care Affiliates Political Action Committee, Surgical Care Partners of Melbourne LLC, Surgical Center of South Jersey Limited Partnership, Surgical Center of Tuscaloosa Holdings LLC, Surgical Health LLC, Surgical Health of Orlando LLC, Surgical Hospital Holdings of Oklahoma LLC, Surgicare LLC, Surgicare of Belleville LLC, Surgicare of Jackson LLC, Surgicare of Joliet Inc., Surgicare of La Veta Inc., Surgicare of Minneapolis LLC, Surgicare of Mobile LLC, Surgicare of Oceanside Inc., Surgicare of Owensboro LLC, Surgicare of Salem LLC, Surgicenters of Southern California Inc., Symphonix Health Holdings, Symphonix Health Holdings LLC, Symphonix Health Insurance, Symphonix Health Insurance Inc., THE SURGICAL CENTER OF THE TREASURE COAST L.L.C., TeamMD Holdings Inc., TeamMD Iowa Inc., TeamMD Physicians of Texas Inc., TeamUP Insurance Services Inc., Tecnologias de Informacion en Salud S.A., The Advisory Board (Chile) SpA, The Chesapeake Life Insurance Company, The Lewin Group, The Lewin Group Inc., The Magan Medical Group, The Outpatient Surgery Center of Hilton Head LLC, The Polyclinic MSO LLC, Thomas Johnson Surgery Center LLC, Thousand Oaks Endoscopy Center LLC, Three Rivers Holdings, Three Rivers Holdings Inc., Three Rivers Surgical Care L.P., Tmesys, Tmesys LLC, Topimagem Diagnostico por Imagem Ltda., Touchpoint Health Plan, Trails Edge Surgery Center LLC, Travel Express Incorporated, TriMed LLC, Trinity Infusion, Trio Motion LLC, Tucson Arizona Surgical Center LLC, U.S. Behavioral Health Plan, U.S. Behavioral Health Plan California, UHC Finance (Ireland) Unlimited Company, UHC Global Health Services BC Ltd., UHC International Services, UHC International Services Inc., UHC of California, UHCG Holdings (Ireland) Limited, UHCG Services (Ireland) Limited, UHCG  FZE, UHG Brasil Participacoes S.A., UHIC Holdings, UHIC Holdings Inc., UICI Funding Corp. 2, UMR, UMR Inc., USHEALTH Academy Inc., USHEALTH Administrators LLC, USHEALTH Advisors L.L.C., USHEALTH Career Agency Inc., USHEALTH Funding Inc., USHEALTH Group Inc., USMD Administrative Services, USMD Administrative Services L.L.C., USMD Affiliated Services, USMD CT (Mo), USMD Cancer Treatment Centers, USMD Cancer Treatment Centers GP, USMD Diagnostic Services, USMD Holdings, USMD Holdings Inc., USMD Inc., USMD PPM, USMD PPM LLC, USMD of Arlington GP, Ultima Rx, Unidad Medica Diagnostico S.A., Unimerica Insurance Company, Unimerica Life Insurance Company of New York, Unison Administrative Services, Unison Health Plan of Delaware, Unison Health Plan of Delaware Inc., United Behavioral Health, United Behavioral Health of New York I.P.A., United Behavioral Health of New York I.P.A. Inc., United Group Reinsurance Inc., United Health Foundation, United HealthCare, United HealthCare Services Inc., United Management Services Inc., United Resource Networks IPA of New York, United Resource Networks IPA of New York Inc., UnitedHealth Advisors, UnitedHealth Advisors LLC, UnitedHealth Group Finance Inc., UnitedHealth Group Global Healthcare Services Limited, UnitedHealth Group Global Services, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, UnitedHealth Group Information Services Private Limited, UnitedHealth Group International Finance (Ireland) Unlimited Company, UnitedHealth Group International GP, UnitedHealth Group International L.P., UnitedHealth International, UnitedHealth International Inc., UnitedHealth Military & Veterans Services, UnitedHealth Military & Veterans Services LLC, UnitedHealth UK Limited, UnitedHealthcare, UnitedHealthcare Benefits Plan of California, UnitedHealthcare Benefits of Texas, UnitedHealthcare Benefits of Texas Inc., UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of California, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of California Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Georgia, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Georgia Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Ohio, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Ohio Inc., UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Texas, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Texas L.L.C., UnitedHealthcare Consulting & Assistance Service (Beijing) Co., UnitedHealthcare Consulting & Assistance Service (Beijing) Co. Ltd., UnitedHealthcare Europe S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare Europe S.a.r.l., UnitedHealthcare Global Canada Limited, UnitedHealthcare Global Medical (UK) Limited, UnitedHealthcare Inc., UnitedHealthcare India Private Limited, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of Illinois, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of New York, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company of the River Valley, UnitedHealthcare Insurance Designated Activity Company, UnitedHealthcare Integrated Services, UnitedHealthcare Integrated Services Inc., UnitedHealthcare International Asia, UnitedHealthcare International Asia LLC, UnitedHealthcare International I B.V., UnitedHealthcare International I S.a.r.l., UnitedHealthcare International II B.V., UnitedHealthcare International II S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International II S.a.r.l., UnitedHealthcare International III B.V., UnitedHealthcare International III S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International III S.a.r.l., UnitedHealthcare International IV S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International IV S.a.r.l., UnitedHealthcare International V S.a.r.l., UnitedHealthcare International VI S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International VII S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International VIII S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare International X S.a r.l., UnitedHealthcare Life Insurance Company, UnitedHealthcare Plan of the River Valley, UnitedHealthcare Plan of the River Valley Inc., UnitedHealthcare Service LLC, UnitedHealthcare Services Company of the River Valley, UnitedHealthcare Specialty Benefits, UnitedHealthcare Specialty Benefits LLC, UnitedHealthcare of Alabama, UnitedHealthcare of Alabama Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Arizona, UnitedHealthcare of Arizona Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Arkansas, UnitedHealthcare of Arkansas Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Colorado, UnitedHealthcare of Colorado Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Florida, UnitedHealthcare of Florida Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Georgia, UnitedHealthcare of Georgia Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Illinois, UnitedHealthcare of Illinois Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Kentucky, UnitedHealthcare of Kentucky Ltd., UnitedHealthcare of Louisiana, UnitedHealthcare of Louisiana Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Mississippi, UnitedHealthcare of Mississippi Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New England, UnitedHealthcare of New England Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New Mexico, UnitedHealthcare of New Mexico Inc., UnitedHealthcare of New York, UnitedHealthcare of New York Inc., UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina, UnitedHealthcare of North Carolina Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Ohio, UnitedHealthcare of Ohio Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Oklahoma, UnitedHealthcare of Oklahoma Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Oregon, UnitedHealthcare of Oregon Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Pennsylvania, UnitedHealthcare of Pennsylvania Inc., UnitedHealthcare of South Carolina Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Texas, UnitedHealthcare of Texas Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Utah, UnitedHealthcare of Utah Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Washington, UnitedHealthcare of Washington Inc., UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin, UnitedHealthcare of Wisconsin Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Mid-Atlantic, UnitedHealthcare of the Mid-Atlantic Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Midlands, UnitedHealthcare of the Midlands Inc., UnitedHealthcare of the Midwest, UnitedHealthcare of the Midwest Inc., UpFront Insurance Agency LLC, Upland Holdings LLC, Upland Outpatient Surgical Center L.P., Urgent Care Holdings, Urgent Care Holdings Inc., Urgent Care MSO, Urgent Care MSO LLC, Urology Associates of North Texas, Urology Associates of North Texas P.L.L.C., VERTA MANAGEMENT SERVICES LLC, Valley Hospital L.L.C., Valley Physicians Network, Valley Physicians Network Inc., Vida Tres Internacional S.A., Vidaintegra S.A., Vivify Health Canada Inc., Vivify Health Inc., WESTMED Practice Partners LLC, Wauwatosa Outpatient Surgery Center LLC, Wauwatosa Surgery Center Limited Partnership, Wayland Square Surgicare Acquisition L.P., Wayland Square Surgicare GP Inc., WebInsure Benefits LLC, WellMed Medical Management, WellMed Medical Management Inc., WellMed Medical Management of Florida, WellMed Medical Management of Florida Inc., WellMed Networks  DFW, West Coast Endoscopy Holdings LLC, Western Connecticut Orthopedic Surgical Center LLC, WillowB Labs LLC, Wilmington ASC LLC, Winchester Endoscopy LLC, Winter Park LLC, XLHealth Corporation, XLHealth Corporation India Private Limited, Your Health Options Insurance Services, Your Health Options Insurance Services Inc., Your Partner in Health Services, divvyDOSE, eCode Solutions LLC, gethealthinsurance.com Agency Inc., hCentive Inc., inPharmative, inPharmative Inc., and ppoONE.
Kathmandu, Nepal: The Nepali Congress (NC) lawmakers have demanded action against Jhapa-based B&C Medical College Teaching Hospital and Research Centers executive director Durga Prasad Prasai for making discourteous remarks about Nepali female students studying MBBS in Bangladesh.





Speaking at the Parliament meeting on Monday, NC lawmakers demanded immediate action against Prasai. The NC lawmakers also questioned to the government about the nature of action with time table.





B&C Medical College Teaching Hospital and Research Centers executive director Prasai had said that Nepali women studying MBBS in Bangladesh were forced to sleep with their professors to get medical degrees. The controversial remark is widely circulated in different social media.





The demand of the NC lawmakers for the action against B&C Medical College Teaching Hospital and Research Centers executive director Prasai has come at the mean time when the people in general have also been demanding actions against Prasai through various social media.




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 Growth 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 Growth ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.
The following companies are subsidiares of Hewlett Packard Enterprise: 3Com International Inc., 3PAR Inc., Apogee, Aruba Networks Inc., Aruba Networks International Cayman, Aruba Networks International Limited, BlueData Software, Cloud Cruiser, Cloud Technology Partners, Cloud Technology Partners Inc., Compaq Computer (Mauritius), Compaq Trademark B.V., Cray, Cray Inc., EDS World Corporation (Far East) LLC, EYP Mission Critical Facilities Inc., H3C Holdings Limited, HP Enterprise Services Australia Pty Ltd, HP Financial Services (Australia) Pty Limited, HP Financial Services (Chile) Limitada, HP Financial Services (Japan) K.K., HP Financial Services Arrendamento Mercantil S.A., HP Financial Services Company (Korea), HP Financial Services International Holdings Company, HPE Government LLC, HPFS Global Holdings I LLC, HPFS Global Holdings II LLC, HPFS Rental S.R.L., Hangzhou H3C Technologies Co. Ltd, Hewlett Packard Caribe BV LLC, Hewlett Packard Colombia Ltda., Hewlett Packard Enterprise (China) Co. Ltd., Hewlett Packard Enterprise B.V., Hewlett Packard Enterprise B.V. Amstelveen Meyrin Branch, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Canada Co., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Canada Co. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Canada Cie, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Costa Rica Limitada, Hewlett Packard Enterprise GlobalSoft Private Limited, Hewlett Packard Enterprise India Private Limited, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Ireland Limited, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Luxembourg SCA, Hewlett Packard Enterprise Polska sp. z o.o., Hewlett Packard Pathfinder LLC, Hewlett Packard Taiwan Ltd., Hewlett-Packard (Israel) Ltd., Hewlett-Packard (M) Sdn. Bhd., Hewlett-Packard (Nigeria) Limited, Hewlett-Packard (Schweiz) GmbH, Hewlett-Packard (Tanzania) Limited, Hewlett-Packard (Thailand) Limited, Hewlett-Packard ApS, Hewlett-Packard Argentina S.R.L., Hewlett-Packard Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Australia Pty Ltd, Hewlett-Packard Belgium SPRL/BVBA, Hewlett-Packard Bermuda Enterprises LLC, Hewlett-Packard Brasil Ltda., Hewlett-Packard Bulgaria EOOD, Hewlett-Packard Caribe B.V., Hewlett-Packard Caribe Y Andina B.V. LLC, Hewlett-Packard Chile Comercial Limitada, Hewlett-Packard Cyprus Ltd, Hewlett-Packard Ecuador Cia. Ltda., Hewlett-Packard Egypt Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Financial Services (India) Private Limited, Hewlett-Packard Financial Services Canada Company, Hewlett-Packard Financial Services Company, Hewlett-Packard France SAS, Hewlett-Packard G1 SPV (Cayman) Company, Hewlett-Packard Gesellschaft mbH, Hewlett-Packard Ghana Limited, Hewlett-Packard GmbH, Hewlett-Packard Guatemala Limitada, Hewlett-Packard HK SAR Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Hellas EPE, Hewlett-Packard Holdings Ltd., Hewlett-Packard International Bank Designated Activity Company, Hewlett-Packard International Bank Public Limited Company, Hewlett-Packard International Sarl, Hewlett-Packard Italiana S.r.l., Hewlett-Packard Japan Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Korea Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Leasing Limited, Hewlett-Packard Limited, Hewlett-Packard Luxembourg Enterprises LLC, Hewlett-Packard Macau Limited, Hewlett-Packard Manufacturing Ltd, Hewlett-Packard Marigalante Ltd., Hewlett-Packard Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Hewlett-Packard Middle East FZ-LLC, Hewlett-Packard Mocambique Limitada - Sociedada em Liquidacao, Hewlett-Packard Nederland B.V., Hewlett-Packard New Zealand, Hewlett-Packard Norge AS, Hewlett-Packard OY, Hewlett-Packard Operations Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Hewlett-Packard Peru S.R.L., Hewlett-Packard Philippines Corporation, Hewlett-Packard Portugal Lda., Hewlett-Packard SARL, Hewlett-Packard SIA, Hewlett-Packard Servicios Espana S.L., Hewlett-Packard Singapore (Sales) Pte. Ltd., Hewlett-Packard South Africa (Proprietary) Limited, Hewlett-Packard Sverige AB, Hewlett-Packard Technology Center Inc., Hewlett-Packard Teknoloji Cozumleri Limited Sirketi, Hewlett-Packard The Hague B.V., Hewlett-Packard Venezuela S.R.L., Hewlett-Packard Vision Limited, Hewlett-Packard d.o.o., Hewlett-Packard s.r.o., Limited Liability Company Hewlett Packard Enterprise, MapR Technologies, New H3C Technologies Co. Ltd., Niara Inc., Nimble Storage, Nimble Storage Inc., Nimble Storage Israel Ltd, Nimble Storage Japan GK, Nimble Storage UK Limited, Plexxi, RedPixie, SGI (Silicon Graphics), Sapphire Holding Co, Scytale, Shanghai Hewlett-Packard Co. Ltd., Silver Peak, SimpliVity, Sinope Holding B.V., Trilead, UAB ES Hague Lietuva, and Unis Huashan Technologies Co. Limited.
Fortis Inc. operates as an electric and gas utility company in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean countries. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 433,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona; and 98,000 retail customers in Arizona's Mohave and Santa Cruz counties with an aggregate capacity of 3,233 megawatts (MW), including 59 MW of solar capacity. The company also sells wholesale electricity to other entities in the western United States; owns gas-fired and hydroelectric generating capacity totaling 65 MW; and distributes natural gas to approximately 1,048,000 residential, commercial, and industrial customers in British Columbia, Canada. In addition, it owns and operates the electricity distribution system that serves approximately 572,000 customers in southern and central Alberta; owns 4 hydroelectric generating facilities with a combined capacity of 225 MW; and provides operation, maintenance, and management services to five hydroelectric generating facilities. Further, the company distributes electricity in the island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador with an installed generating capacity of 143 MW; and on Prince Edward Island with a generating capacity of 130 MW. Additionally, it provides integrated electric utility service to approximately 67,000 customers in Ontario; approximately 270,000 customers in Newfoundland and Labrador; approximately 31,000 customers on Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands; and approximately 15,000 customers on certain islands in Turks and Caicos. The company also holds long-term contracted generation assets in Belize consisting of 3 hydroelectric generating facilities with a combined capacity of 51 MW; and the Aitken Creek natural gas storage facility. It also owns and operates approximately 91,000 circuit Kilometers (km) of distribution lines; and approximately 49,500 km of natural gas pipelines. Fortis Inc. was founded in 1885 and is headquartered in St. John's, Canada.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Mohawk Industries: A&S Energie NV, A&U Energie NV, Aladdin Manufacturing Corporation, Aladdin Manufacturing Of New York LLC, Aladdin Manufacturing of Alabama LLC, Alsace Logistique S.A., Avelgem Green Power CVBA, Avon Pacific Holdings Ltd, B&M NV, BGE Mexico S. de R. L. de C.V., Berghoef GmbH, Berghoef-Hout B.V., Bienes Raices y Materiales del Centro S. de R.L. de C.V., C.F. Marazzi S.A., Canterbury Spinners Ltd, Carpet Foundation Ltd, Cevotrans BV, Ceramus Bahia S/A  Produtos Ceramicos, DT Mex Holdings LLC, DTM/CM Holdings LLC, Dal Italia LLC, Dal-Elit LLC, Dal-Tile Chile Comercial Limitada, Dal-Tile Colombia S.A.S., Dal-Tile Distribution Inc., Dal-Tile Group Inc., Dal-Tile I LLC, Dal-Tile Industrias S. de R.L. de C.V., Dal-Tile International Inc., Dal-Tile Mexico Comercial S. de R.L. de C.V., Dal-Tile Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Dal-Tile Operaciones Mexico S. De R.L. De C.V., Dal-Tile Peru SRL, Dal-Tile Puerto Rico Inc., Dal-Tile Services Inc., Dal-Tile Shared Services Inc., Dal-Tile Tennessee LLC, Dal-Tile of Canada ULC, Daltile, Daltile, Dekaply NV, Durkan, Dynea NV, Eliane Argentina Sociedad Anonima, Eliane S/A - Revestimentos Ceramicos, Emilceramica India Pvt Ltd., Emilceramica S.r.l, Emilgermany GmbH, Emilgroup Asia Ltd, Explorer S.r.l., F.I.L.S. Investments Unlimited Company, Feltex Carpets Ltd, Feltex Carpets Pty Ltd, Feltex New Zealand Ltd, Fibremakers Australia Pty Ltd, Flooring Foundation Ltd, Flooring Industries Limited S.a r.l., Flooring XL B.V., Floorscape Limited, Godfrey Hirst & Co Pty Ltd, Godfrey Hirst (Singapore) Pte Ltd, Godfrey Hirst Australia Pty Ltd, Godfrey Hirst Group, Godfrey Hirst NZ Ltd, Hytherm (Ireland) Limited, IVC BVBA, IVC Far-East Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., IVC France S.a r.l., IVC GROUP LIMITED, IVC Green Power NV, IVC Group, IVC Group GmbH, IVC Luxembourg S.a r.l., IVC Rus OOO, IVC US Inc., International Flooring Systems S.a r.l., International Vinyl Company - Vostok OOO, KAI Group, KAI Keramica Ltd, KAI Mining EOOD, KERAMA CENTER OOO, Kerama Baltics OOO, Kerama Export OOO, Kerama Marazzi OOO, Kerampromservis (LLC), Khan Asparuh - Transport EOOD, Khan Asparuh AD, Khan Omurtag AD, Koninklijke Peitsman B.V., Kraj Kerama OOO, MG China Trading Ltd., MI Finance SRL, MUD (Holding) Brazil Ltda., Management Co EAD, Marazzi Acquisition S.r.l., Marazzi Deutschland G.m.b.H., Marazzi France Trading S.A.S., Marazzi Group, Marazzi Group F.Z.E., Marazzi Group S.r.l., Marazzi Group Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Marazzi Iberia S.L.U., Marazzi Japan Co. Ltd., Marazzi Middle East FZ LLC, Marazzi Schweiz S.A.G.L., Marazzi UK Ltd., Mohawk Assurance Services Inc., Mohawk Australia Pty Ltd, Mohawk Canada Corporation, Mohawk Capital Finance S.A., Mohawk Capital Luxembourg SA, Mohawk Carpet Distribution Inc., Mohawk Carpet Foundation Inc., Mohawk Carpet LLC, Mohawk Carpet Transportation Of Georgia LLC, Mohawk Commercial Inc., Mohawk ESV Inc., Mohawk Europe BVBA, Mohawk Factoring II Inc., Mohawk Factoring LLC, Mohawk Finance S.a r.l., Mohawk Foreign Acquisitions S.a r.l., Mohawk Foreign Funding S.a.r.l, Mohawk Foreign Holdings S.a r.l., Mohawk Foreign Investments Inc., Mohawk Global Investments S.a r.l., Mohawk Holdings International B.V., Mohawk Industries Inc., Mohawk International (Europe) S.a r.l., Mohawk International (Hong Kong) Limited, Mohawk International Capital N.V., Mohawk International Financing S.a.r.l, Mohawk International Holdings (DE) LLC, Mohawk International Holdings S.a r.l., Mohawk International Luxembourg S.a r.l., Mohawk International Netherlands B.V., Mohawk International Services BVBA, Mohawk KAI Luxembourg Holding S.a r.l., Mohawk KAI Luxembourg S.a r.l., Mohawk Luxembourg Capital S.A., Mohawk Luxembourg Financing S.a r.l., Mohawk Luxembourg Holdings S.a r.l., Mohawk Luxembourg Investments S.a r.l., Mohawk Luxembourg Pacific S.a r.l., Mohawk Marazzi International BV, Mohawk Marazzi Russia BV, Mohawk New Zealand Limited, Mohawk Operaciones Mexicali S. de R.L. de C.V., Mohawk Operations Luxembourg S.a r.l., Mohawk Pacific Investments S.a r.l., Mohawk Resources LLC, Mohawk Servicing LLC, Mohawk Singapore Private Limited, Mohawk Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Mohawk Unilin Luxembourg S.a r.l., Mohawk United Finance B.V., Mohawk United International B.V., Mohawk Vinyl Financing S.a r.l., Molber Beheer B.V., Monarch Ceramic Tile Inc., P.F. Onroerend Goed B.V., PF Beheer B.V., Pergo, Pergo (Europe) AB, Pergo Holding BV, Pergo India Pvt Ltd, Polcolorit S.A., Premium Floors Australia Pty Limited, RR Apex LLC, Rata International Pty Ltd, Recubrimientos Interceramica S. de R.L. de C.V., Riverside Textiles Pty Ltd, S.C. KAI Ceramics SRL, Sibir Kerama OOO, SimpleSolutions USA LLC, Soft Step (Australia) Pty Ltd, Spano Group, Spano Invest BVBA, Spano NV, Stroyagromekhzapchast ChaO, Stroytrans OAO Orelstroy, Summit Wool Spinners Ltd, The Flooring Federation Ltd, Tiles Co OOD, Unilin (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Unilin ApS, Unilin Arauco Pisos Ltda., Unilin BVBA, Unilin Beheer BV, Unilin Distribution Ltd., Unilin Distribution Ukraine LLC, Unilin Finland OY, Unilin Flooring India Private Limited, Unilin Flooring SAS, Unilin GmbH, Unilin Holding BVBA, Unilin Insulation BV, Unilin Insulation SAS, Unilin Insulation Sury SAS, Unilin Italia S.R.L., Unilin North America LLC, Unilin Norway AS, Unilin OOO, Unilin Panels SAS, Unilin Poland Sp.Z.o.o., Unilin SAS, Unilin Spain SL, Unilin Swiss GmbH, Unilin s.r.o., World International Inc., Xtratherm, Xtratherm Limited, Xtratherm S.A., and Xtratherm UK Limited.
Novan, Inc., a clinical development-stage biotechnology company, provides nitric oxide-based therapies to treat dermatological and oncovirus-mediated diseases. Its clinical stage dermatology drug candidates include SB204, a topical monotherapy for the treatment of acne vulgaris; SB206, a topical anti-viral gel for the treatment of viral skin infections; SB208, a topical broad-spectrum anti-fungal gel for the treatment of fungal infections of the skin and nails, including athlete's foot and fungal nail infections; and SB414, a topical cream-based gel product candidate for the treatment of inflammatory skin diseases. The company also develops SB207, an anti-viral product candidate for the treatment of external genital warts; WH602, a nitric oxide-containing intravaginal gel to treat high-risk human papilloma virus (HPV); WH504, a non-gel formulation product candidate to treat high-risk HPV; and SB019 for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2. Novan, Inc. has a license agreement with Sato Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.; and a strategic alliance with Orion Corporation. The company was incorporated in 2006 and is headquartered in Morrisville, North Carolina.

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The following companies are subsidiares of PerkinElmer: Analytica of Branford, Applied Biosystems, Arnel Inc., ArtusLabs, Beijing Huaan Magnech Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., Beijing Longrun Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., Beijing Meizheng Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., Beijing Meizheng Testing Lab Co. Ltd., Beijing OUMENG Biotechnology Co. Ltd., Bio Evolution SAS, Bioo Scientific Corporation, Biosense Picolabs Inc., Biosense Technologies Pvt Ltd., Caliper Life Sciences, Caliper Life Sciences Inc., Cambridge Research & Instrumentation Inc., CambridgeSoft, Ceiba Solutions, Chengdu PerkinElmer Medical Laboratory Co. Ltd., Chromo G.A. SAS, CisBio US Inc., Cisbio Asia Pacific Ltd, Cisbio Bioassays SAS, Cisbio China Ltd., Cisbio Group SAS, Cisbio KK, Cisbio.com, DNA Laboratories Sdn. Bhd., Dani Analitica S.r.l., Dexela, EUROIMMUN (Hangzhou) Medical Laboratory Diagnostics Co. Ltd., EUROIMMUN (South East Asia) Pte Ltd., EUROIMMUN (Tianjin) Medical Diagnostic Technology Co. Ltd., EUROIMMUN AG, EUROIMMUN Brasil Medicina Diagnostica Ltda., EUROIMMUN Diagnostics Espana S.L.U., EUROIMMUN France SAS, EUROIMMUN Italia Diagnostica Medica S.r.l., EUROIMMUN Japan Co. Ltd., EUROIMMUN Medical Diagnostics (China) Co. Ltd., EUROIMMUN Medical Diagnostics Canada Inc., EUROIMMUN Medical Laboratory Diagnostics South Africa (Pty) Ltd., EUROIMMUN Medizinische Labordiagnostika AG, EUROIMMUN Polska Spolka z o.o., EUROIMMUN Portugal Unipessoal Lda., EUROIMMUN Schweiz AG, EUROIMMUN Turkey Tibbi Laboratuar Teshisleri A.S., EUROIMMUN UK Ltd., EUROIMMUN US Inc., EUROIMMUN US Real Estate LLC, Geospiza, Guangzhou EUROIMMUN Medical Diagnostic Products Co. Ltd., Hangzhou EUROIMMUN Medical Diagnostic Products Co. Ltd., Horizon Discovery, Immunodiagnostic Systems, Integromics S.L., Jiangsu Meizheng Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., LabMetrix Technologies, Labtronics, ManCell SAS, Nexcelom Bioscience, NovaScreen Biosciences Corporation, Opto Technology, Orchid Biomedical Systems Pvt Ltd., Oxford Immunotec, Pediatrix Medical Group - Newborn Metabolic Screening Business, Perkin Elmer Chile Ltda., Perkin Elmer Italia SpA, Perkin Elmer Sdn. Bhd., Perkin Elmer Yuhan Hoesa, Perkin Elmer de Mexico S.A., Perkin-Elmer Argentina S.R.L., Perkin-Elmer Instruments (Philippines) Corporation, PerkinElmer (Hong Kong) Ltd., PerkinElmer (India) Pvt Ltd., PerkinElmer (Ireland) Ltd., PerkinElmer (Schweiz) AG, PerkinElmer (Shanghai) Equity Investment Fund L.P., PerkinElmer (Shanghai) Equity Investment Fund Management Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer (UK) Holdings Ltd., PerkinElmer Analytical Solutions B.V., PerkinElmer Automotive Research Inc., PerkinElmer BVBA, PerkinElmer CV Holdings LLC, PerkinElmer Cellular Technologies Germany GmbH, PerkinElmer Danmark A/S, PerkinElmer Diagnostics Global Holdings S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Diagnostics Holdings Inc., PerkinElmer Espana S.L., PerkinElmer Finance Luxembourg S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Finland Oy, PerkinElmer Genetics Inc., PerkinElmer Germany Diagnostics GmbH, PerkinElmer Global Diagnostics S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Global Financing S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Global Holdings S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Health Sciences (Australia) Pty. Ltd., PerkinElmer Health Sciences B.V., PerkinElmer Health Sciences Canada Inc., PerkinElmer Health Sciences FZ-LLC, PerkinElmer Health Sciences Inc., PerkinElmer Health Sciences Pvt Ltd., PerkinElmer Healthcare Diagnostics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer Holding Luxembourg S.a r.l., PerkinElmer Holdings Inc., PerkinElmer Holdings Pty. Ltd., PerkinElmer IVD Pte Ltd., PerkinElmer Inc., PerkinElmer Informatics Inc., PerkinElmer Instruments (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer International C.V., PerkinElmer Investments Ky, PerkinElmer Israel Ltd., PerkinElmer Japan Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer LAS (Germany) GmbH, PerkinElmer LAS (UK) Ltd., PerkinElmer Life Sciences International Holdings, PerkinElmer Limited, PerkinElmer Ltd., PerkinElmer Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., PerkinElmer Nederland B.V., PerkinElmer Norge AS, PerkinElmer Oy, PerkinElmer Polska Sp z o.o., PerkinElmer Pty. Ltd., PerkinElmer SAS, PerkinElmer Saglk ve Cevre Bilimleri Ltd., PerkinElmer Shared Services Sp z o.o., PerkinElmer Singapore Pte Ltd., PerkinElmer South Africa (Pty) Ltd., PerkinElmer Sverige AB, PerkinElmer Sweden Health Sciences Holdings AB, PerkinElmer Taiwan Corporation, PerkinElmer VertriebsgmbH, PerkinElmer chemagen Technologie GmbH, PerkinElmer do Brasil Ltda., Perten Instruments, Perten Instruments (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Perten Instruments AB, Perten Instruments France SASU, Perten Instruments GmbH, Perten Instruments Italia S.r.l., Perten Instruments of Australia Pty Ltd., RHS Ltd, RayAl Ltd., Shandong Meizheng Bio-Tech Co. Ltd., Shanghai Haoyuan Biotech Co. Ltd., Shanghai Spectrum Instruments Co. Ltd., Shanghai Spectrum Instruments Co. Ltd., Signature Genomic Laboratories, Solus Scientific Solutions Inc., Solus Scientific Solutions Ltd., Surendra Genetic Labs, Suzhou PerkinElmer Medical Laboratory Co. Ltd., Suzhou Sym-Bio LifeScience, Suzhou Sym-Bio Lifescience Co. Ltd., Tulip Diagnostics, Tulip Diagnostics Pvt Ltd., Vanadis Diagnostics, Vanadis Diagnostics AB, ViaCell, ViaCord LLC, VisEn Medical, VisEn Medical Inc., Wallac Oy, Wellesley B.V., Xenogen Corporation, ZeLab SAS, and chemagen Biopolymer-Technologie AG.
The following companies are subsidiares of Quest Diagnostics: AmeriPath, AmeriPath Cincinnati Inc. (OH), AmeriPath Cleveland Inc. (OH), AmeriPath Consolidated Labs Inc. (FL), AmeriPath Florida LLC (DE), AmeriPath Hospital Services Florida LLC (DE), AmeriPath Inc. (DE), AmeriPath Indianapolis PC (IN), AmeriPath Kentucky Inc. (KY), AmeriPath Lubbock 5.01(A) Corporation (TX), AmeriPath New York LLC (DE), AmeriPath Texas Inc. (DE), AmeriPath Tucson Inc. (AZ), American Medical Laboratories, American Medical Laboratories Incorporated (DE), Associated Clinical Laboratories L.P. (PA), Associated Clinical Laboratories of Pennsylvania L.L.C. (PA), Athena Diagnostics, Athena Diagnostics Inc. (DE), Blueprint Genetics, Blueprint Genetics FZ-LLC (UAE), Blueprint Genetics Inc. (DE), Blueprint Genetics Oy (Finland), California Laboratory Associates, Cape Cod Healthcare - Business, Celera, ClearPoint Diagnostic, Clearpoint Diagnostic Laboratories LLC (TX), Cleveland HeartLab, Cleveland HeartLab Inc. (DE), Clinical Laboratory Partners, Colorado Pathology Consultants P.C. (CO), ConVerge Diagnostic Services, Consolidated DermPath Inc. (DE), DFW 5.01(a) Corporation (TX), DGXWMT JV LLC (DE), Dermatopathology of Wisconsin S.C. (WI), Diagnostic Laboratory of Oklahoma LLC (OK), Diagnostic Pathology Services Inc. (OK), Diagnostic Reference Services Inc. (MD), ExamOne Canada Inc. (New Brunswick), ExamOne LLC (DE), ExamOne World Wide Inc. (PA), ExamOne World Wide of NJ Inc. (NJ), Focus Diagnostics, HemoCue, Hoffman M.D. Associated Pathologists Chartered (NV), Institute for Dermatopathology Inc. (PA), Isabella Street Urban Renewal LLC (NJ), Kailash B. Sharma M.D. Inc. (GA), Kilpatrick Pathology P.A. (NC), LabOne, LabOne LLC (MO), LabOne of Ohio Inc. (DE), Laboratorio de Analisis Biomedicos S.A. (Mexico), Lancet Labs, MACL, Med Fusion LLC (TX), Med fusion, MedPlus, Mid America Clinical Laboratories LLC (IN), Nomad Massachusetts Inc. (MA), Nuclear Medicine and Pathology Associates (GA), Ocmulgee Medical Pathology Association Inc. (GA), Pathology Building Partnership (MD) (gen. ptnrshp.), PeaceHealth Laboratories, PhenoPath Laboratories, PhenoPath Laboratories PLLC (WA), Q Squared Solutions Holdings LLC (DE), Q Squared Solutions Holdings Limited (UK), Quest Diagnostics (Shanghai) Co. Ltd. (China), Quest Diagnostics Brasil Holdings Ltd. (UK), Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories, Quest Diagnostics Clinical Laboratories Inc. (DE), Quest Diagnostics Domestic Holder LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics HTAS India Private Limited (India), Quest Diagnostics Health & Wellness LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Holdings Incorporated (DE), Quest Diagnostics Holdings Ltd. (UK), Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (MD), Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NV), Quest Diagnostics India Private Limited (India), Quest Diagnostics Infectious Disease Inc. (DE), Quest Diagnostics International Holdings Limited (UK), Quest Diagnostics International LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Investments LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Ireland Limited (Ireland), Quest Diagnostics LLC (CT), Quest Diagnostics LLC (IL), Quest Diagnostics LLC (MA), Quest Diagnostics Massachusetts LLC (MA), Quest Diagnostics Mexico Holding Company Trust (Mexico), Quest Diagnostics Mexico S de RL de CV (Mexico), Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute (CA), Quest Diagnostics Nichols Institute Inc. (VA), Quest Diagnostics Receivables Inc. (DE), Quest Diagnostics Subsidiary Holdings Ltd. (UK), Quest Diagnostics TB LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Terracotta LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics Venture LLC (PA), Quest Diagnostics Ventures LLC (DE), Quest Diagnostics do Brasil Ltda. (Brazil), Quest Diagnostics of Pennsylvania Inc. (DE), Quest Diagnostics of Puerto Rico Inc. (PR), Quest HealthConnect LLC (CA), ReproSource, Reprosource Fertility Diagnostics Inc. (MA), Solstas Lab Partners, Sonora Quest Laboratories LLC (AZ), Specialty Laboratories Inc. (CA), Summit Health, UMass Memorial Medical Center - Anatomic Pathology Outreach Laboratory Business, Unilab Corporation, and Unilab Corporation (DE).
The following companies are subsidiares of Barnes Group: AS Monterrey S. de R.L. de C.V., Adval Tech - Foboha Mold Making Business, Associated Spring (Tianjin) Company Ltd., Associated Spring (UK) Ltd., Associated Spring Asia Pte. Ltd., Associated Spring Corporation, Associated Spring Mexico S. de R.L. de C.V., Associated Spring Raymond (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Associated Spring Raymond GmbH, Associated Spring do Brasil Ltda., Barnes Airmotive Malaysia SND. BHD., Barnes Financing Delaware LLC, Barnes Group (Bermuda) Limited, Barnes Group (Delaware) LLC, Barnes Group (Germany) GmbH, Barnes Group (Scotland) Limited, Barnes Group (Thailand) Ltd., Barnes Group (U.K.) 2 Limited, Barnes Group (U.K.) Limited, Barnes Group Acquisition GmbH, Barnes Group Canada Corp., Barnes Group Finance Company (Bermuda) Limited, Barnes Group Finance Company (Delaware), Barnes Group Holding LLC, Barnes Group Luxembourg (No. 1) S.a r.l., Barnes Group Luxembourg (No. 2) S.a r.l., Barnes Group Spain S.R.L., Barnes Group Suisse Industries GmbH, Barnes Group Switzerland GmbH, Barnes Industrial Group India Private Limited, Barnes Korea Ltd., Barnes Molding Solutions (Jiangsu) Co. Ltd., Blitz F16-34 GmbH, Curtis Industries, Curtiss Industries (U.K.) Limited, Di-Dro Manifold System Product Line, Euro Stock Springs & Components, Foboha (Germany) GmbH, Foboha Holding GmbH, Forward Industries LLC, GF Controls GmbH, Gammaflux, Gammaflux Controls Inc., Gimatic, Gimatic Automation Engineering (Changshu) Co. Ltd., Gimatic Automation India Pvt Ltd. , Gimatic Automation Technology (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Gimatic Balkan d.o.o. Beograd  Savski Venac, Gimatic Czech Republic s.r.o., Gimatic France S.a.r.l., Gimatic Japan Limited, Gimatic Korea Limited, Gimatic Nordic A.B., Gimatic Otomasyon Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, Gimatic Polska sp. z o.o, Gimatic S.r.l., Gimatic Sisteme RO SRL, Gimatic Sistemi industrijska avtomatizacija d.o.o., Gimatic Spain S.L., Gimatic Vertrieb GmbH, Gimatrade S.r.l., Heinz Haenggi Gmbh Stanztechnik, Industrial Gas Springs, Industrial Gas Springs Group Holdings Limited, Industrial Gas Springs Inc., Industrial Gas Springs Limited, Kar Products, Kratz-Wilde Machine Co, MTM S.r.l., Manner Hong Kong Limited, Manner USA Inc., Orflam - Nitropush Product Line, Otto Manner, Otto Manner GmbH, Otto Manner Immobilien GmbH, Otto Manner Innovation GmbH, Premier Farnell - KENT Division, Priamus System Technologies, Priamus System Technologies GmbH, Priamus System Technologies LLC, Raymond Distribution-Mexico S.A. de C.V., Resortes Argentina S.A., Ressorts SPEC SAS, Seeger-Orbis GmbH & Co. OHG, Service Plus Distributors, Sign Holdings Limited, Spectrum Plastics Molding Resources, Stromsholmen AB, Synventive Acquisition B.V., Synventive Acquisition GmbH, Synventive Acquisition Inc., Synventive Acquisition UK Ltd., Synventive Acquisition Unlimited, Synventive B.V., Synventive Fertigungstechnik GmbH, Synventive Holding B.V., Synventive Holding Limited, Synventive Holding SAS, Synventive Molding Solutions, Synventive Molding Solutions (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Synventive Molding Solutions B.V., Synventive Molding Solutions Canada Inc., Synventive Molding Solutions Co. Ltd., Synventive Molding Solutions GmbH, Synventive Molding Solutions Inc., Synventive Molding Solutions JBJ Private Limited, Synventive Molding Solutions K.K., Synventive Molding Solutions LDA, Synventive Molding Solutions LLC, Synventive Molding Solutions LTDA., Synventive Molding Solutions Limited, Synventive Molding Solutions Pte Ltd., Synventive Molding Solutions SAS, Synventive Molding Solutions SL, Synventive Molding Solutions s.r.o., Synventive Parent Inc., Teledyne Fluid Systems, The Wallace Barnes Company, Thermoplay, Thermoplay Brasil Sistemas de Injecao Ltda, Thermoplay Deutschland GmbH, Thermoplay France S.a.r.l., Thermoplay Hot Runner Systems (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Thermoplay India Private Limited, Thermoplay Portugal Unipessoal LDA, Thermoplay S.p.A., Thermoplay U.K. Ltd., Toolcom Supplie, Windsor Airmotive Asia Pte. Ltd., and manner Japan Co. Ltd..
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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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TAKKT AG operates as a B2B direct marketing company for business equipment in Germany, rest of Europe, and the United States. The company operates in two segments, Omnichannel Commerce and Web-Focused Commerce. The Omnichannel Commerce segment offers pallet lifting trucks, universal cabinets, desk chairs, environmental cabinets, and containers to hazardous materials for transport, plant, warehouse, and office equipment; transport packaging solutions, such as collapsible boxes, package padding, shipping pallets, and stretch films; desk chairs, desks, conference tables, and furniture for reception areas that are used in automotive suppliers, service and retail companies, public institutions, government agencies, health care sector, schools, and churches; and serving platters and food baskets, as well as kitchen stoves and freezers. The Web-Focused Commerce segment provides desks, shelves, and advertising banners; display stands, and mobile exhibition stands and displays; and office furniture, such as chairs and cabinets in its web shop. It offers its products through catalog, web shops, telephone, and telemarketing sales. The company was founded in 1945 and is based in Stuttgart, Germany. TAKKT AG is a subsidiary of Franz Haniel & Cie. GmbH.

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The following companies are subsidiares of The Kroger: 84.51 HQ Building Company, 84.51 LLC, Agri-Products, Alpha Beta, Alpha Beta Company, Ansonborough Square Investors I, Ansonborough Square Retail, Ardrey Kell Investments, Bay Area Warehouse Stores, Beech Tree Holdings, Bell Markets, Bleecker Ventures LLC, Bluefield Beverage, Bluefield Beverage Company, Box Cutter, Brier Creek Arbors Drive Retail, CB&S Advertising Agency, Cala Co., Cala Foods, Cheeses of All Nations, Country Oven, Crawford Stores, Creedmoor Retail, Dillon Companies, Dillon Real Estate Co, Dillon Real Estate Co., Dillons, Distribution Trucking Company, Dotto, Edgewood Plaza Holdings, Embassy International, FM, FMJ, Farmacia Doral, Food 4 Less GM, Food 4 Less Holdings, Food 4 Less Merchandising, Food 4 Less of California, Food 4 Less of Southern California, Fred Meyer, Fred Meyer Jewelers, Fred Meyer Stores, Gerbes Supermarkets, Glasswing Labs, Glendale/Goodwin Realty I, Grubstake Investments, HT Fuel DE, HT Fuel MD, HT Fuel NC, HT Fuel SC, HT Fuel VA, HTGBD, HTP Bluffton, HTP Plaza, HTP Plaza LLC, HTP Relo, HTPS, HTTAH, Harris Teeter, Harris Teeter LLC, Harris Teeter Properties, Harris Teeter Supermarkets, Harris-Teeter Services, Healthy Options, Healthy Options Inc., Henpil, Home Chef, Hood-Clayton Logistics, Hood-Clayton Logistics LLC, Hughes Markets, Hughes Realty, I.T.A., IRP, ITAC 119, ITAC 265, Infusion Solutions of Puerto Rico, Inter-American Foods, Inter-American Products, J.V. Distributing, Jondex Corp, Jondex Corp., Jubilee Carolina, Junior Food Stores of West Florida, KCDE, KCDE  2012, KCDE  2013, KCDE-2 LLC, KCDE-3 LLC, KCDE-4 LLC, KCDE-5 LLC, KGO, KGO LLC, KP Sourcing, KPF, KPF Insurance Services, KPF Insurance Services LLC, KPS, KPS AG, KRGP, KRGP Inc., KRLP, KRLP Inc., Kee Trans, Kessel FP, Kessel Pharmacies, Kessel RCD, Kessel Saginaw, King Soopers, Kiosk Medicine Kentucky, Kirkpatrick West Retail, Kroger, Kroger Community Development Entity, Kroger Dedicated Logistics Co, Kroger Dedicated Logistics Co., Kroger Fresh Fare, Kroger G.O., Kroger G.O. LLC, Kroger Limited Partnership I, Kroger Limited Partnership II, Kroger MC Holdings, Kroger MTL Management, Kroger Management Co, Kroger Management Co., Kroger Management  Corryville, Kroger Management  NMTC Athens I, Kroger Management  NMTC Champaign I, Kroger Management  NMTC Champaign II, Kroger Management  NMTC Cincinnati I, Kroger Management  NMTC Dallas I, Kroger Management  NMTC Danville I, Kroger Management  NMTC Griffin I, Kroger Management  NMTC Logansport I, Kroger Management  NMTC Missouri I, Kroger Management  NMTC Oak Ridge I, Kroger Management  NMTC Olney I, Kroger Management  NMTC Omaha I, Kroger Management  NMTC Portsmouth I, Kroger Management  NMTC Starkville I, Kroger Management  NMTC Topeka I, Kroger Management  NMTC Warrenton I, Kroger NMTC Fremont I, Kroger OZ1 Inc., Kroger OZ1 LLC, Kroger OZ2 Inc., Kroger OZ2 LLC, Kroger OZ3 Inc., Kroger OZ3 LLC, Kroger Opportunity Fund I, Kroger Prescription Plans, Kroger Specialty Infusion, Kroger Specialty Infusion AL, Kroger Specialty Infusion CA, Kroger Specialty Infusion Holdings, Kroger Specialty Infusion TX, Kroger Specialty Pharmacy, Kroger Specialty Pharmacy CA, Kroger Specialty Pharmacy CA 2 LLC, Kroger Specialty Pharmacy FL 2 LLC, Kroger Specialty Pharmacy Holdings, Kroger Specialty Pharmacy Holdings 2, Kroger Specialty Pharmacy Holdings 3, Kroger Specialty Pharmacy Holdings I, Kroger Specialty Pharmacy LA, Kroger Specialty Pharmacy TN, Kroger Texas L.P., LCGP3 Home Cooking, Local Mkt LLC, Main & Vine LLC, Matthews Property 1, Mega Marts, Michigan Dairy, ModernHealth LTC, Murrays Cheese LLC, Murrays LIC LLC, Murrays Table LLC, Pace Dairy Foods Company, Paramount Logistics, Pay Less Super Markets, Peytons Fountain, Peytons-Southeastern, Plum Labs LLC, Pontiac Foods, Queen City Assurance, RBF, Ralphs Grocery Company, Relish Labs LLC, Rocket Newco, Roundy's, Roundys, Roundys Acquisition Corp., Roundys Illinois, Roundys Supermarkets, Second Story, Shop-Rite, Smiths Beverage of Wyoming, Smiths Food & Drug Centers, Southern Ice Cream Specialties, Stallings Investors I, Sunrise R&D Holdings, Sunrise Technology LLC, THGP Co., THLP Co., TLC Corporate Services LLC, TLC Immunization Clinic LLC, TLC of Georgia LLC, The Kroger Co. of Michigan, The Little Clinic LLC, The Little Clinic Management Services LLC, The Little Clinic of Arizona LLC, The Little Clinic of Colorado LLC, The Little Clinic of IN LLC, The Little Clinic of Kansas LLC, The Little Clinic of Mississippi LLC, The Little Clinic of Ohio LLC, The Little Clinic of TX LLC, The Little Clinic of Tennessee LLC, The Little Clinic of VA LLC, Topvalco, Turkey Hill, Ultimate Mart, Ultra Mart Foods, Vine Court Assurance Incorporated, Vitacost, Vitacost.com, Woodmont Holdings, and YOU Technology.
The following companies are subsidiares of Vodafone Group: 360 Connect S.A., [email protected] Telecom, A-ccelerator B.V., A-ccelerator Holding B.V, AAA (Euro) Limited, AAA (MCR) Limited, AAA (UK) Limited, Acorn Communications Limited, Africonnect (Zambia) Limited, Ag Mercantile Company Private Limited, Al-Amin Investments Limited, Amsterdamse Beheer- en Consultingmaatschappij B.V., Apollo Submarine Cable System Limited, Array Holdings Limited, Asian Telecommunication Investments (Mauritius) Limited, Aspective Limited, Astec Communications Limited, Autoconnex Limited, Aztec Limited, BelCompany BV, Bluefish Apac Communications Pte. Ltd, Bluefish Communications, Bluefish Communications Limited, Business Serve Limited, C&W Worldwide Nigeria Limited, C.S.P. Solutions Limited, CCII (Mauritius) Inc., CGP India Investments Ltd., CGP Investments (Holdings) Limited, COOP Mobil s.r.o, CT Networks Limited, CWGNL S.A., CWW Operations Limited, Cable & Wireless Access Limited, Cable & Wireless Americas Systems Inc., Cable & Wireless Aspac Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless CIS Services Limited, Cable & Wireless CIS Svyaz LLC, Cable & Wireless Capital Limited , Cable & Wireless Communications Data Network Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Communications Starclass Limited, Cable & Wireless Communications Technical Service (Shanghai) Co. Ltd (Beijing Branch), Cable & Wireless Europe Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless GN Limited, Cable & Wireless Global (India) Private Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Business Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Holding Limited, Cable & Wireless Global Telecommunication Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Holdco Limited, Cable & Wireless Networks India Private Limited, Cable & Wireless Trade Mark Management Limited, Cable & Wireless UK Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless UK Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Waterside Holdings Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Pension Trustee Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Services Limited, Cable & Wireless Worldwide Voice Messaging Limited, Cable & Wireless a-Services Inc, Cable & Wireless a-Services Limited, Cable and Wireless (India) Limited, Cable and Wireless (India) Limited Indian Branch Office, Cable and Wireless Nominee Limited, Cable and Wireless Worldwide South Africa (Pty) Ltd, Cavalry Holdings Ltd, Celfocus  Solucoes Informaticas Para Telecomunicacoes S.A, Cellops Limited, Cellular Operations Limited, Central Communications Group Limited, Central Telecom (Northern) Limited, Centurion GSM Limited, Chelys Limited, City Cable (Holdings) Limited, Cobra do Brasil Servicos de Telematica ltda., Commnet Cellular Inc., Complete Network Technology, Connect (India) Mobile Technologies Private Limited, Cornerstone Telecommunications Infrastructure Limited, Dataroam Limited , Device Insight, Digital Island (UK) Ltd, Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited, East Africa Investment (Mauritius) Limited, Emtel Europe Limited, Energis (Ireland) Limited, Energis Communications Limited, Energis Holdings Limited, Energis Local Access Limited, Energis Management Limited, Energis Squared Limited, Erudite Systems Limited, Esprit Telecom B.V., Eudokia Limited, Euro Pacific Securities Ltd., Eurocall Holdings Limited, Europolitan Holdings AB (now Europolitan Vodafone AB), FB Holdings Limited, FM Associates (UK) Limited, FinCo Partner 1 B.V., FireFly Networks Limited, Flexphone Limited, GS Telecom (Pty) Limited, Gateway Communications Africa (UK) Limited, Gateway Communications Tanzania Limited, General Mobile Corporation, Generation Telecom Limited, Ghana Telecommunications, Ghana Telecommunications Company Limited, Global Cellular Rental Limited, Globe Limited, GrandCentrix GmbH, Grupo Corporativo ONO S.A.U., H3ga Properties (No 3) Pty Limited, HBO Nederland Cooperatief U.A., HBO Netherlands Channels sro, HBO Netherlands Distribution B.V., Hellas Online, How2 Telecom Limited, Hutchison Essar Ltd, Indus Towers Limited, Intercell Communications Limited, Internet Network Services Limited, Invitation Digital Limited, Ipergy Communications NV, Isis Telecommunications Management Limited, Jaguar Communications Limited, Jaykay Finholding (India) Private Limited, Jupicol (Proprietary) Limited, KABELCOM Braunschweig Gesellschaft Fur BreitbandkabelKommunikation Mit Beschrankter Haftung, KABELCOM Wolfsburg Gesellschaft Fur BreitbandkabelKommunikation Mit Beschrankter Haftung, Kabel Deutschland, Kabel Deutschland Holding, Kabel Deutschland Holding Erste Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Holding Zweite Beteilgungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Neunte Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabel Deutschland Siebte Beteiligungs GmbH, Kabelfernsehen Munchen Servicenter GmbH & Co. KG, LG Financing Partnership, LGE HoldCo V B.V., LGE HoldCo VI B.V., LGE HoldCo VIII B.V., LGE Holdco VII B.V., LLC Vodafone Enterprise Ukraine, Le Bunt Holdings Limited, Legend Communications Limited, Liberty Global, Liberty Global Content Netherlands B.V., London Hydraulic Power Company, M-PESA Foundation, M-PESA Holding Co. Limited, ML Integration Group Limited, ML Integration Limited, ML Integration Services Limited, MV Healthcare Services Private Limited, Mannesmann AG, MetroHoldings Limited, Mezzanine Ware Proprietary Limited (RF), Mirambo Limited, Misrfone Trading Company LLC, MobiFon S.A., Mobile Commerce Solutions Limited, Mobile Phone Centre Limited, Mobile Wallet VM1, Mobile Wallet VM2, Mobile by Sainsburys Limited, Mobiles 4 Business.com Limited, Mobileworld Communications Pty Limited, Mobileworld Operating Pty Ltd, Mobilvest, Motifpros 1 (Proprietary) Limited, Multi Risk Indemnity Company Limited, Multi Risk Limited, ND Callus Info Services Private Limited, Nadal Trading Company Private Limited, Nat Comm Air Limited, National Communications Backbone Company Limited, Navtrak Ltd, Netforce Group Limited, Netgrid Telecom SRL, Number Portability Company (Proprietary) Limited, ONO, Omega Telecom Holdings Private Limited, Oni Way  Infocomunicacoes S.A, Oskar Mobil S.R.O., Oxygen Solutions Limited, P.C.P. (North West) Limited, PPL Pty Limited, PT Network Services Limited, PTI Telecom Limited, Peoples Phone Limited, Pinnacle Cellular Group Limited, Pinnacle Cellular Limited, Plex Limited, Plustech Mercantile Company Private Limited, Prime Metals Ltd., Project Telecom Holdings Limited, Quickcomm Software Solutions, Radio Opt GmbH, Rian Mobile Limited, SBC SMART CITY 1517 B.V., SMMS Investments Pvt Limited, Safaricom Limited, Safenet N.P A., Sarmady Communications, Scarlet Ibis Investments 23 (Pty) Limited, Scorpios Beverages Pvt. Ltd, Silver Stream Investments Limited, Singlepoint (4U) Limited, Singlepoint (4U) Ltd., Singlepoint Payment Services Limited, Siro Limited, Spar Aerospace (Nigeria) Limited, Sport TV Portugal S.A, Starnet, Stentor Communications Limited, Stentor Limited, Storage Technology Services (Pty) Limited, T.W. Telecom Limited, T3 Telecommunications Limited, TKS Telepost Kabel-Service Kaiserslautern Beteiligungs GmbH, TKS Telepost Kabel-Service Kaiserslautern GmbH & Co. KG, TNAS Limited, TSM NZ Limited, Talkland Airtime Services Limited, Talkland Australia Pty Limited, Talkland Communications Limited, Talkland International Limited, Talkland Midlands Limited, Talkmobile Limited, Tele2 Italia SPA, Tele2 Spain, Telecom Investments India Private Limited, Telecommunications Europe Limited, Ternhill Communications Limited, The Cobra Group, The Eastern Leasing Company Limited, The Old Telecom Sales Co. Limited, Thus Group Holdings Limited, Thus Group Limited, Thus Limited, Thus Profit Sharing Trustees Limited, TnT Expense Management LLC, Tomorrow Street GP S.a r.l., Tomorrow Street SCA, Torenspits II B.V., Townley Communications Limited, Trans Crystal Ltd., UMT Investments Limited, UPC Nederland Holding I B.V., UPC Nederland Holding II B.V., UPC Nederland Holding III B.V., Unified Communications, Uniqueair Limited, Urbana Teleunion Rostock GmbH & Co.KG, Usha Martin Telematics Limited, VAPL No. 2 Pty Limited, VBA (Mauritius) Limited, VBA Holdings Limited, VBA International (SL) Limited, VBA International Limited, VEI S.r.l., VM SA, VND S.p.A, VSSB Vodafone Shared Services Budapest Private Limited Company, Verwaltung Urbana Teleunion Rostock GmbH, Victus Networks S.A., Vizzavi Finance Limited, Vizzavi Limited, Voda Limited, Vodacall Limited, Vodacash s.p.r.l., Vodacom (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Business (Angola) Limitada, Vodacom Business (Ghana) Limited, Vodacom Business (Kenya) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa (Nigeria) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa Group (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Business Africa Group Services Limited, Vodacom Business Cameroon SA, Vodacom Business Cote Divoire S.A.R.L., Vodacom Congo (RDC) SA, Vodacom Financial Services (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Group Limited, Vodacom Insurance Administration Company (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Insurance Company (RF) Limited, Vodacom International Holdings (Pty) Limited, Vodacom International Limited, Vodacom Lesotho (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Life Assurance Company (RF) Limited, Vodacom Payment Services (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Properties No 1 (Proprietary) Limited, Vodacom Properties No.2 (Pty) Limited, Vodacom Tanzania Limited Zanzibar, Vodacom Tanzania Public Limited Company, Vodacom UK Limited, Vodafone (NI) Limited, Vodafone (New Zealand) Hedging Limited, Vodafone (Scotland) Limited, Vodafone 2, Vodafone 4 UK, Vodafone 5 Limited, Vodafone 5 UK, Vodafone 6 UK, Vodafone Albania Sh.A, Vodafone Alternatif Telekom Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Americas 4, Vodafone Americas Virginia Inc., Vodafone And Qatar Foundation L.L.C, Vodafone Asset Management Services S.a r.l., Vodafone Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Automotive Deutschland GmbH, Vodafone Automotive Electronic Systems S.r.L, Vodafone Automotive France S.A.S, Vodafone Automotive Iberia S.L, Vodafone Automotive Italia S.p.A, Vodafone Automotive Japan K.K, Vodafone Automotive Korea Limited, Vodafone Automotive SpA, Vodafone Automotive Technologies (Beijing) Co Ltd, Vodafone Automotive Telematics Development S.A.S, Vodafone Automotive Telematics S.A, Vodafone Automotive UK Limited, Vodafone Belgium SA/NV, Vodafone Benelux Limited, Vodafone Bilgi Ve Iletisim Hizmetleri AS, Vodafone Business Services Limited, Vodafone Business Solutions Limited, Vodafone Canada Inc, Vodafone Cellular Limited, Vodafone Central Services Limited, Vodafone China Limited (China), Vodafone China Limited (Hong Kong), Vodafone Connect 2 Limited, Vodafone Connect Limited, Vodafone Consolidated Holdings Limited, Vodafone Corporate Limited, Vodafone Corporate Secretaries Limited, Vodafone Czech Republic A.S., Vodafone DC Pension Trustee Company Limited, Vodafone Dagitim Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Data, Vodafone Distribution Holdings Limited, Vodafone Egypt Telecommunications S.A.E., Vodafone Elektronik Para Ve Odeme Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Empresa Brasil Telecomunicacoes Ltda, Vodafone Empresa Mexico S.de R.L. de C.V., Vodafone Enabler Espana S.L., Vodafone Enterprise Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Austria GmbH, Vodafone Enterprise Bahrain W.L.L., Vodafone Enterprise Bulgaria EOOD, Vodafone Enterprise Chile SA, Vodafone Enterprise Communications Technical Services (Shanghai) Co. Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Corporate Secretaries Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Denmark A/S, Vodafone Enterprise Equipment Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited  Czech Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Europe (UK) Limited  DubaiI Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Finland OY, Vodafone Enterprise France SAS, Vodafone Enterprise Germany GmbH, Vodafone Enterprise Global Businesses S.a r.l., Vodafone Enterprise Global Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Global Network HK Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Global Network Pte. Ltd., Vodafone Enterprise Hong Kong Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Italy S.r.L, Vodafone Enterprise Korea Limited, Vodafone Enterprise Luxembourg S.A., Vodafone Enterprise Netherlands BV, Vodafone Enterprise Norway AS, Vodafone Enterprise Regional Business Singapore Pte.Ltd., Vodafone Enterprise Singapore Pte.Ltd, Vodafone Enterprise Spain S.L.U.  Portugal Branch, Vodafone Enterprise Spain SLU, Vodafone Enterprise Sweden AB, Vodafone Enterprise Switzerland AG, Vodafone Erste Beteiligungsgesellschaft mbH, Vodafone Espana S.A.U., Vodafone Euro Hedging Limited, Vodafone Euro Hedging Two, Vodafone Europe B.V., Vodafone Europe UK, Vodafone European Investments, Vodafone European Portal Limited, Vodafone Finance Limited, Vodafone Finance Luxembourg Limited, Vodafone Finance Sweden, Vodafone Finance UK Limited, Vodafone Financial Operations, Vodafone Financial Services B.V., Vodafone Fixed Ltd, Vodafone Foundation, Vodafone Foundation Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Gestioni S.p.A, Vodafone Ghana Mobile Financial Services Limited, Vodafone Global Content Services Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise (Hong Kong) Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise (Italy) S.R.L., Vodafone Global Enterprise (Japan) K.K., Vodafone Global Enterprise (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd, Vodafone Global Enterprise Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise Russia LLC, Vodafone Global Enterprise Taiwan Limited, Vodafone Global Enterprise Telecommunications (Hellas) A.E., Vodafone Global Network Limited, Vodafone Global Network Limited  Slovakia Branch, Vodafone Global Services Private Limited, Vodafone GmbH, Vodafone Group (Directors) Trustee Limited, Vodafone Group Pension Trustee Limited, Vodafone Group Services GmbH, Vodafone Group Services Ireland Limited, Vodafone Group Services Limited, Vodafone Group Services No.2 Limited, Vodafone Group Share Trustee Limited, Vodafone Hire Limited, Vodafone Holding A.S., Vodafone Holdings (Jersey) Limited, Vodafone Holdings (SA) Proprietary Limited, Vodafone Holdings Europe S.L.U., Vodafone Holdings Luxembourg Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Australia Pty Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Finance Pty Limited, Vodafone Hutchison Receivables Pty Limited, Vodafone IP Licensing Limited, Vodafone India Digital Limited, Vodafone India Limited, Vodafone India Services Private Limited, Vodafone India Ventures Limited, Vodafone Institut fur Gesellschaft und Kommunikation GmbH, Vodafone Intermediate Enterprises Limited, Vodafone International 1 S.a.r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone International 1 S.a r.l., Vodafone International 2 Limited, Vodafone International Holdings B.V., Vodafone International Holdings Limited, Vodafone International M S.a r.l., Vodafone International Operations Limited, Vodafone International Services LLC, Vodafone Investment UK, Vodafone Investments (SA) Proprietary Limited, Vodafone Investments Australia Limited, Vodafone Investments Limited, Vodafone Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l., Vodafone Investments Luxembourg S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone Ireland Distribution Limited, Vodafone Ireland Ltd., Vodafone Ireland Marketing Limited, Vodafone Ireland Property Holdings Limited, Vodafone Ireland Retail Limited, Vodafone Italia S.p.A., Vodafone Jersey Dollar Holdings Limited, Vodafone Jersey Finance, Vodafone Jersey Yen Holdings Unlimited, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland Field Services GmbH, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland GmbH, Vodafone Kabel Deutschland Kundenbetreuung GmbH, Vodafone Kenya Limited, Vodafone Leasing Limited, Vodafone Libertel B.V., Vodafone Limited, Vodafone Luxembourg 5 S.a r.l., Vodafone Luxembourg 5 S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone Luxembourg S.a r.l., Vodafone Luxembourg S.a r.l. Luxembourg Zweigniederlassung Bern, Vodafone M-PESA SH.P.K., Vodafone M-Pesa S.A, Vodafone M.C. Mobile Services Limited , Vodafone Magyarorszag Mobile Tavkozlesi Zartkoruen Mukodo Reszvenytarsasag, Vodafone Malta Limited, Vodafone Marketing UK , Vodafone Maroc SARL, Vodafone Mauritius Ltd., Vodafone Mobile Commerce Limited, Vodafone Mobile Communications Limited, Vodafone Mobile Enterprises Limited, Vodafone Mobile NZ Limited, Vodafone Mobile Network Limited, Vodafone Mobile Operations Limited, Vodafone Mobile Services Limited, Vodafone Multimedia Limited, Vodafone Nederland Holding I B.V., Vodafone Nederland Holding II B.V., Vodafone Nederland Holding III B.V., Vodafone Net Iletisim Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Network Pty Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Foundation Limited, Vodafone New Zealand Limited, Vodafone Next Generation Services Limited, Vodafone Nominees Limited1, Vodafone ONO S.A.U., Vodafone Oceania Limited, Vodafone Old Show Ground Site Management Limited, Vodafone Overseas Finance Limited, Vodafone Overseas Holdings Limited, Vodafone Panafon International Holdings B.V., Vodafone Panafon UK, Vodafone Partner Services Limited, Vodafone Payment Solutions S.a r.l., Vodafone Portugal  Comunicacoes Pessoais S.A., Vodafone Procurement Company S.a r.l., Vodafone Property Investments Limited, Vodafone Pty Limited, Vodafone Qatar Q.S.C., Vodafone Retail (Holdings) Limited , Vodafone Retail Limited, Vodafone Roaming Services S.a r.l., Vodafone Romania S.A, Vodafone Romania M - Payments SRL, Vodafone Romania Technologies SRL, Vodafone Sales & Services Limited, Vodafone Satellite Services Limited, Vodafone Servicios SL.U, Vodafone Servizi E Tecnologie S.R.L, Vodafone Servicos Empresariais Brasil Ltda., Vodafone Shared Services Romania SRL, Vodafone Specialist Communications Limited, Vodafone Stiftung Deutschland Gemeinnutzige GmbH, Vodafone Technology Solutions Limited, Vodafone Teknoloji Hizmetleri A.S., Vodafone Tele-Services (India) Holdings Limited, Vodafone Telecel-Comunicates Pessoais S.A., Vodafone Telecommunications (India) Limited, Vodafone Telekomunikasyon A.S, Vodafone Towers Limited, Vodafone UK Content Services Limited, Vodafone UK Investments Limited , Vodafone UK Limited1 , Vodafone US Inc, Vodafone Ventures Limited1 , Vodafone Vierte Verwaltungs AG, Vodafone Worldwide Holdings Limited, Vodafone Yen Finance Limited , Vodafone m-pesa Limited, Vodafone-Central Limited Vodaphone Limited, Vodafone-Panafon Hellenic Telecommunications Company S.A., VodafoneZiggo Group Holding B.V, Vodata Limited , Vouchercloud SA (Pty) Ltd, Wataneya Telecommunications S.A.E, Waterberg Lodge (Proprietary) Limited, Wayfinder, Wheatfields Investments 276 (Proprietary) Limited, Wireless Interactions & NFC Accelerator 2013 B.V., Woodend Cellular Limited, Woodend Communications Limited, Woodend Group Limited, Woodend Holdings Limited, XB Facilities B.V, XLink Communications (Proprietary) Limited, Your Communications Group Limited, ZUM B.V., ZYB, Zelitron S.A., Zesko B.V., Ziggo B.V., Ziggo Bond Company B.V., Ziggo Deelnemingen B.V., Ziggo Finance 2 B.V., Ziggo Financing Partnership, Ziggo Holding B.V., Ziggo Netwerk B.V., Ziggo Netwerk II B.V., Ziggo Services B.V., Ziggo Services Employment B.V., Ziggo Services Netwerk 2 B.V., Ziggo Zakelijk Services B.V., and Zoranet Connectivity Services B.V..
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The following companies are subsidiares of Crane: "CPI-Kiev" LLC, ARDAC Inc., AeroHose, Alfa Laval - The Industrial Flow Group, Armature d.o.o., Automatic Products (UK) Ltd., Automatic Products international - Assets, B. Rhodes & Son Ltd., Barksdale GmbH, Barksdale Inc., CA-MC Acquisition UK Ltd., CR Holdings C.V., CashCode Co - Assets, Coin Controls International Ltd., Coin Holdings Ltd., Coin Industries Ltd., Coin Overseas Holdings Ltd., Coin Pension Trustees Ltd., Conlux Matsumoto Co. Ltd., Consolidated Lumber Co, Corva Corp, Crane (Asia Pacific) Pte. Ltd., Crane Aerospace Inc., Crane Australia Pty. Ltd., Crane Canada Co., Crane Composites Inc., Crane Composites Ltd., Crane Controls Inc., Crane Currency, Crane Electronics Corporation, Crane Electronics Inc., Crane Environmental Inc., Crane European Financing LLC, Crane Fengqiu Zhejiang Pump Co. Ltd., Crane Fluid & Gas Systems (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Crane Global Holdings S.L., Crane GmbH, Crane Holdings (Germany) GmbH, Crane International Capital S.a.r.l., Crane International Holdings Inc., Crane International Trading (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Crane Ireland Ventures Designated Activity Company, Crane Ltd., Crane Merchandising Systems Inc., Crane Merchandising Systems Ltd., Crane Merger Co. LLC, Crane Middle East & Africa FZE, Crane Ningjin Valve Co. Ltd., Crane North America Funding LLC, Crane Nuclear Inc., Crane Overseas LLC, Crane Payment Innovations GmbH, Crane Payment Innovations Inc., Crane Payment Innovations International Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Pty Ltd., Crane Payment Innovations Sarl, Crane Payment Innovations Srl, Crane Pension Trustee Company (UK) Limited, Crane Process Flow Technologies (India) Pvt. Ltd., Crane Process Flow Technologies GmbH, Crane Process Flow Technologies Ltd., Crane Process Flow Technologies S.P.R.L., Crane Process Flow Technologies S.r.l., Crane Pumps and Systems Inc., Crane Resistoflex GmbH, Crane SC Holdings Ltd., Crane Stockham Valve. Ltd., Crane Yongxiang (Ningbo) Valve Company Ltd., Croning Livarna d.o.o., Cummis-Allison Corp, Delta Fluid Products, Delta Fluid Products Ltd., Dixie Narco, Donald Brown (Brownall) Ltd., ELDEC Corporation, ELDEC Electronics Ltd., ELDEC France S.A.R.L, Edlon - PSI division, Environmental Products USA, Etex Group - Business, Flow Technology Inc., Friedrich Krombach GmbH Armaturenwerke, General Technology Corp., Hattersley Newman Hender - Assets, Hattersly Newman Hender Ltd., Hydro-Aire Inc., Inta-Lok Ltd., Interpoint S.A.R.L., Interpoint U.K. Limited, Kessel (Thailand) Pte. Ltd., Kontron America - Mobile Rugged Business, Laminated Profiles - Assets, Lasco Composites, Liberty Technologies, MCC Holdings Inc., MEI Australia LLC, MEI Auto Payment System (Shanghai) Ltd., MEI Conlux, MEI Conlux Holdings (Japan) Inc., MEI Conlux Holdings (US) Inc., MEI Payment Systems Hong Kong Ltd., MEI Queretaro S. de R.L. de CV, MEI de Mexico LLC, MOVATS - Nuclear Valve Division, Merrimac Industries, Merrimac Industries Inc., Mondais Holdings B.V., Money Controls, Money Controls Argentina SA, Money Controls Holdings Ltd., Multi-Mix Microtechnology SRL, NABIC Valve Safety Products Ltd., Nippon Conlux Co. Ltd., Noble Composites, Noble Composites Inc., Number One Supply, Owens Corning - FRP Panel Business, P.L. Porter, P.T. Crane Indonesia, Pegler Hattersly Ltd., Resistoflex, Sequentia Holdings, Signal Technology, Sperryn & Company Ltd., Stentorfield, Streamware, Telequip, Terminal Manufacturing Co., The Dow Chemical - Plastic-Lined Piping Products division, The Krombach Group, Triangle Valve Co. Ltd., Unidynamics / Phoenix Inc., Ventech Controls, Viking Johnson Ltd., W.T. Armatur GmbH, Wade Couplings Ltd., Wask Ltd., Westlock Controls, Xomox, Xomox Chihuahua S.A. de C.V., Xomox Corporation, Xomox Corporation de Venezuela C.A., Xomox France S.A.S., Xomox Hungary Kft., Xomox International GmbH & Co. OHG, Xomox Japan Ltd., Xomox Korea Ltd., Xomox Sanmar Ltd., and Yilme Holdings B.V..
The following companies are subsidiares of Sealed Air: A.P.S. (Holdings) Limited, AFP Trading (China) Co. Ltd., AFPTOH LTD, APS Automated Packaging Systems GmbH & Co. KG, APS Verwaltungs-GmbH, Air Ride Pallets Hong Kong Limited, Austin Foam Plastics Inc. (dba AFP Inc.), Automated Packaging Systems, Automated Packaging Systems Asia Holding Company Limited, Automated Packaging Systems Comerciale Importacao do Brasil Ltda., Automated Packaging Systems Europe, Automated Packaging Systems LLC, Automated Packaging Systems Limited, Automated Packaging Systems Southeast Asia Co. Ltd., B+ Equipment, B+ Equipment SAS, Beacon Holdings LLC, Biosphere Industries, BluPack (New Zealand), Blue Dot Packaging Pty Ltd., Cactus (Shanghai) Trading Co. Ltd., Cryovac (Malaysia) SDN. BHD, Cryovac Brasil Ltda., Cryovac Holdings II LLC, Cryovac International Holdings Inc., Cryovac LLC*, Cryovac Leasing Corporation, Cryovac Londrina Ltda., Cryovac Packaging Portugal  Embalagens Ltda., Cryovac-Sealed Air de Costa Rica S.R.L., DELTAPLAM Embalagens Industria e Comercio, Diversey, Diversey J Trustee Limited, Diversey Trustee Limited, Entapack Pty. Ltd., Fagerdala (Chengdu) Packaging Co. Ltd, Fagerdala (Shanghai) Foams Co. Ltd., Fagerdala (Shanghai) Polymer Co. Ltd., Fagerdala (Suzhou) Packaging Co. Ltd., Fagerdala (Thailand) Limited, Fagerdala (Xiamen) Packaging Co. Ltd., Fagerdala Leamchabung Limited, Fagerdala Malaysia Sdn Bhd, Fagerdala Mexico S.A. de C.V., Fagerdala Mexico Supply Chain S.A. de C.V., Fagerdala Packaging Inc. (Indiana), Fagerdala Singapore Pte Ltd, Fagerdala Singapore Pte. Ltd., Getpacking.com GmbH, Invertol S. de R.L. de C.V., JSC Sealed Air Kaustik, KRIS Automated Packaging Systems Holding Company, Kevothermal LLC, Kevothermal Limited, Nelipak Holdings, Pack-Tiger GmbH, Polyrol Limited, Polyrol Packaging Systems LLC, ProAseptic Technologies S.L., Producembal- Producao de Embalagens LTDA, Reflectix Inc., SLD Air Packaging Paketleme Malzemeleri Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Saddle Brook Insurance Company, Sealed Air (Asia) Holdings BV, 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) 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 (Ukraine) 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. Limited, Sealed Air Australia Real Estate Pty Ltd, Sealed Air B.V., Sealed Air Belgium N.V., Sealed Air Central America S.A., Sealed Air Chile SpA, Sealed Air Colombia Ltda., Sealed Air Corporation (US), Sealed Air Cyprus Ltd., Sealed Air Denmark A/S, Sealed Air Finance B.V., Sealed Air Finance II LLC, Sealed Air Finance Luxembourg S.a.r.l., Sealed Air Funding LLC, Sealed Air General Trading LLC, Sealed Air GmbH (Germany), Sealed Air GmbH (Switzerland), Sealed Air Hellas SA, Sealed Air Holding France SAS, Sealed Air Holdings (New Zealand) Pty. Ltd., Sealed Air Holdings South Africa Proprietary Limited, Sealed Air Holdings UK I Limited, Sealed Air Holdings UK Limited, Sealed Air Hong Kong Limited, Sealed Air Hungary Ltd., Sealed Air Investment and Management (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Sealed Air Japan G.K., Sealed Air LLC, Sealed Air Limited (Ireland), Sealed Air Limited (UK), 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 V B.V., 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 S.L.U., Sealed Air Peru S.A.C., Sealed Air Polska Sp. Zoo, Sealed Air Pty Limited, 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 UK Limited Partnership, Sealed Air US Holdings (Thailand) LLC, Sealed Air Uruguay S.A., Sealed Air Verpackungen GmbH, Sealed Air de Mexico Operations S. de RL. de C.V., Sealed Air de Venezuela S.A., Sealed Air s.r.o., Shanklin Corp, Shanklin Corporation, TTS-Ciptec, TXAFP Asia Pacific Ltd., TXAFP GP LLC, and Trigon Industries.
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. 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The United Nations (UN) is reeling under alarming financial crisis and is also appealing to its member to pay up to the international body, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said. (Photo: Pixabay)

Washington: The United Nations (UN) is reeling under alarming financial crisis and is also appealing to its member to pay up to the international body, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said.

As per Fox News, Guterres, in a letter, said he has warned member states of a "troubling financial situation facing the United Nations," which he stated is caused due to late payments by member states to the UN.

"Our cash flow has never been this low so early in the calendar year, and the broader trend is also concerning; we are running out of cash sooner and staying in the red longer," Fox News quoted Guterres' as stating in the letter.

Guterres further said that the UN will take some measures for reducing costs and will also propose several ways to states in order to improve financial stability at the UN.

United States President Donald Trump threat to deduct funding is not being considered as the reason of the cash crunch as the US has not made any delay in payments to the budget.

Earlier this year, the US cut off the financial aid to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
Salman Khan and Anshka Sharma at the trailer launch of their film 'Sultan'.

Ever since Priyanka Chopra has quit Bharat, there have been talks about who will be the next actress in the movie.

Most news reports suggest that it could be Katrina Kaif, who is quite close to both director Ali Abbas Zafar and of course, Salman Khan himself!

In fact when the movie went on floors, Kat was the first one to congratulate her good friend Ali and it only makes sense to cast her since they gave a hit in Tiger Zinda Hai recently.

But then, Katrina might also be part of Tiger movies third instalment, and repeating her again for a movie might not appeal to Ali.

In the running next reportedly is Jacqueline Fernandez, who has become quite close to Salman post Race 3 and Dabangg Tour holiday in Dubai.

However we feel Anushka Sharma might be the perfect choice for the movie considering she has already very successfully pulled off the role of Salmans wife in Alis movie Sultan.

The actress is also seen ageing in an advertisement which might just make the work easier for the makers.

Also, the actress doesnt have any issues working with other actresses as she was seen in Dil Dhadakne Do with Priyanka Chopra and Shefali Shah and will also soon appear in Zero with Katrina Kaif.

So do you think Anushka should make it to Bharat with Salman Khan, Disha Patani, Tabu and Nora Fatehi?
Priyanka Chopra has left the team of Bharat even before she began shooting for it, and director Ali Abbas Zafar hinted towards her marriage to Nick Jonas.

However another actress from the film Disha Patani has gone on to reveal her name from the film in a unique way.

We caught hold of a photo of the actress holding a cloak with her character name Radha.

Hearing the name, all that we want to do is sit up and dance, considering how the song  be it from Student Of The Year, Jab Harry Met Sejal or for that matter even Kisna, has always made us groove.

Disha Patani plays a trapeze artist in the movie and she reportedly is also playing Salman Khans sister.
Late Carrie Fisher will be back in the next Star Wars movie, using previously unseen footage she recorded before her death, Disney informed.

According to reports on USWeekly.com, Carrie will appear in Star Wars: Episode IX. We desperately loved Carrie Fisher, returning director and script cowriter J.J. Abrams revealed in a Lucas Films blog post.

Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast, or use a CG character. With the support and blessing from her daughter, Billie, we have found a way to honour Carries legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII, Abrams added.
The female lead in Santhanams horror comedy Dhillukku Dhuddu 2, a sequel to his earlier hit, is finally out. Directed by Rambhala, who wielded the megaphone for the first part, Shirtha Sivadas from Gods own country will be seen as the lead girl.

Talking about roping in Shritha Rambhala, he says, Unlike the stereotypical means of importing heroines from Kerala, the script demanded a Malayalam speaking girl. Apart from horror and humour blended, there will be a serious premise as the backdrops, which is completely based on a female character. We found a perfect match in Shirtha.

He adds, Theres a misconception that second part of any film of successful franchise can easily draw crowds to theatres. It is not so. It is a huge responsibility and we have to put double the efforts to pull it off.

A host of comedians including Motta Rajendran, Urvashi, Bipin of Jil Jung Juk fame, Ramar and Dhanashekar of Kalakapovathu Yaaru fame, standup comedian Ayyapa Baiju are in the cast.
The shooting of That Is Mahalakshmi, (the Telugu version of Bollywood film Queen) featuring Tamannaah is complete and post-production is already underway.

The shooting of the Telugu remake had to be halted due to production constraints. However, the films director Prasanth Varma has managed to wrap up the entire shooting in a couple of months.

Since the film is being simultaneously remade in Kannada, Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu languages, the films producer Manu Kumaran is planning to release all the four versions simultaneously.

Yes, thats the plan as of now! Its a record that a film is releasing simultaneously in four languages. I give the credit to my production crew for completing the film in record time. We are planning to release all the four versions in the third week of October, he says.

HT00
Marine areas that can be considered pristine are becoming increasingly rare as fishing and shipping fleets expand their reach. (Photo: Pixabay)

Melbourne: The first comprehensive map of ocean wilderness has revealed that just 13 per cent of the world's oceans remain untouched by the damaging impacts of human activities, scientists said today.

The researchers from the University of Queensland (UQ) in Australia and international colleagues identified marine areas devoid of intense human impacts by analysing 19 stressors including commercial shipping, sediment runoff and several types of fishing.

They said most of the remaining marine wilderness was unprotected, leaving it vulnerable to being lost.

"Marine areas that can be considered pristine are becoming increasingly rare as fishing and shipping fleets expand their reach across almost all of the world's oceans, and sediment runoff smothers many coastal areas," said Kendall Jones, a PhD candidate at UQ.

"Improvements in shipping technology mean that even the most remote wilderness areas may come under threat in the future, including once ice-covered places that are now accessible because of climate change," said Jones.

In the study published in the journal Current Biology, the researchers found little wilderness remaining in coastal habitats such as coral reefs, because of nearby human activities.

Most marine wilderness was located in the Arctic and Antarctic or around remote Pacific island nations such as French Polynesia.

The findings highlight an immediate need for conservation policies to recognise and protect the unique values of marine wilderness.

"Marine wilderness areas are home to unparalleled levels of life, holding massive abundances of species and high genetic diversity, giving them resilience to threats like climate change," said James Watson, a professor at UQ.

"We know these areas are declining catastrophically, and protecting them must become a focus of multilateral environmental agreements. If not, they will likely disappear within 50 years," said Watson.

Jones said preserving marine wilderness also required regulating the high seas, which had proven difficult historically, as no country had jurisdiction.

"Late last year the United Nations began developing a legally binding high seas conservation treaty, essentially a Paris Agreement for the ocean," he said.

"This agreement would have the power to protect large areas of the high seas and might be our best shot at saving some of Earth's last remaining marine wilderness," said Jones.
A complaint was filed with the Nagina police station where the station in charge (SI) Rajbir was recorded as detailing that they were approached by the goats owner. (Photo: ANI)

In another shocking case of animal abuse, a pregnant goat was allegedly gang raped by 8 men in Mewat town of Nuh district in Haryana.

Three of the eight men have been identified thus far.

The goat died after being raped by the eight men.

According to reports, the eight accused who are believed to drug addicts and alcoholics, raped the goat in a deserted house, following which she died.

A complaint was filed with the Nagina police station where the station in charge (SI) Rajbir was recorded as detailing that they were approached by the goats owner named Aslu on Thursday, who accused eight people of stealing and raping his goat.

Taking to social media, Meet Ashar, Emergency Response Coordinator at PETA India, worte, A FIR has been registered under Sections 34, 377 and 429 IPC, Section 11(1)(a) & (l) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.

Ashar, who further wrote that he is in touch with the Superintendent of Police, Nuh and SHO Nagina Police Station went on to add that there has been a steep increase in cases of sexual abuse against animals.

He further added, People who are violent often start with animals as victims and then move on to humans. This case should, therefore, worry everyone.

The post-mortem report of the goat is awaited.
The no-confidence motion led to a trust vote may have, predictably, been won by the government of the day. It was the optics of the event that kept the eyeballs glued for hours together for a day. The surprising hug, better known as Pappu ki Jhappi, the handshake offered by Narendra Modi and then the Rahul wink made the event so theatrical it is still being talked about.

What emerged out of the no-trust exercise was the ultimate projection of Rahul Gandhi as the clear challenger to the Prime Ministers gaddi. Several netas are known to nurse the ambition and they reside outside New Delhi, in UP, Bengal and elsewhere. The Gandhi scion is, however, the one being celebrated now as The Alternative.

The TINA (there is no alternative) idea may appeal to the ruling party but the Twitterati are not buying it after four years of the Modi rule. There is no question that the gauntlet was thrown that day in parliament. Tweeple would have it that there are plenty of alternatives and the 2019 polls are by no means a one horse race as the ruling party would like to believe. The depth of feeling about the present day scene is reflected in how the two sides are rating the prospects of the incumbent and the challenger. There is a clear divide on who should be king even as new nicknames are being invented for both. If the temperature is already hot, imagine what 2019 is going to be like.

Tavleen Singh @tavleen_singh

Why dont you give me a few suggestions for a better bet Richard? So far the choice is: Rahul, Mayawati, Akhilesh and more of the same. Under which of these fine leaders do you think India will do better??

The lynchings have been in mostly BJP states. In Alwar the killers of Pehlu Khan were released on bail. In Dadri a case was tried to be made against the victim's family. If Modi spoke loudly against mob violence it would have huge impact

Rahul Aggarwal @rahulagg1

I dont know about the high level politics, but at least I know that being Non-Aligned, Human Rights crusader and etc. did not help India against terrorism. Its better to be feared than to be loved. China has taught us that

Ajit Hegde @ajitrkhegde

Like most of ruling elites Tavleen thinks Mayawati and Akhilesh are not classy enough for her taste and Rahul is anyway son of her arch-nemesis (at least in Tavleens mind, if nowhere else) Sonia. She is a second rate or third rate right wing publicist. Nothing more

Tony Joseph @tjoseph0010

None of them run lynch mobs. None of them garland lynch mobs. None of them have a Twitter army issuing rape & death threats. None of them have Photoshop factories producing hate propaganda. None of them have TV channels spreading hatred. They all pass the most basic test

Krishna Kumar Lal@lal997

What about lynching of Kashmiri pandits and Sikhs and all culprits are walking freely, open an eye on Kerala & Bengal and dare to talk about all crimes against humanity

richard holkar @holkarmaharaj

It has been a long time now that it is clear that Modi has no intention of castigating these extremists. As such he is as complicit in their actions as Trump was in the matter of the white supremacists. Stop supporting him and try to find a better bet

Weakest LINK @rachitsharma0

#India existed before #Modi and will fly high post his tenure. INDIA is bigger than any individual. And this hold true for every politician. Instead of chosing a PM, lets all pick a good MP/MLA as that could bring real change at the local level.

JayEnAar@GorwayGlobal

This is the usual sterile If not Modi, then who argument. It has always been trotted out whenever a strongman leader starts to look shaky. But it is always shown up to be what it is  an argument of desperation

aayeff@aayeff1

Behaviour trumps everything else. Disregard for human lives & inability to speak to protect citizens disqualifies a leader. We saw it in 2002. Its a pattern. Theres great emphasis on self promotion, thru speeches, events, empty slogans. Modi is no good choice. Others are better

S M Jalageri@smjalageri

Modi is no good choice. Others are better. Other person is always better. In Hegde days, DeveGowda looked so innocent & humble

Mr HMP@GhodaDuke

Lineal descendants of monarch are batting for out of form aspiring monarch. What a pity! Both of u has anything other than encashing the ancestral repute?? (I presume you to be the successor of great Malharba)

Vikram Singh @cynicalVS

Clearly living in Bihar and UP under Lalu, Mulayam and Maya were great experiences. They never had any goon armies. They were not kidnaping capitals of the world. And Mulayam was called Daku for

nothing by the people of UP

Rajesh Nagar@iamrajeshnagar

And now not only in Uttar Pradesh but in few more states also, where you, me or for that matter anyone, can be ruthlessly killed at any moment and that too without any reason... should we rejoice this new normal of a disturbed nations tag?

Dharmasthapana@jaysusri1

Any day under leader other than Narendra Modi or any safronite India surely will be far far better economically, socially and security-wise

Booby Prize

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy attacked Rahul Gandhi, saying that the Prime Minister must get a medical test after receiving a hug from the Congress president. If Rahul felt so emotional then he should have shook hands with Prime Minister Narendra Modi instead giving him a hug, said Subramanian.

Subramanian Swamy

He also went on to say that Rahul Gandhi has several girlfriends and these people (Gandhi family) are not known to be emotional. He also said that this particular act should not be encouraged in future as several leaders have been killed by such proximity in foreign countries.

HT08
Hyderabad: LB Nagar police has nabbed an inter-state gang on Friday for cheating people by diverting their attention and giving them fake currency. Officials recovered fake currency worth Rs 47 lakh and also seized original currency amounting to Rs 3 lakh.

The police identified the accused as Racha Raju, 28, and Nenavath Shanker, 42. The gang also included Doosa Jangaiah, 41, a driver and Shiva Rathod, who is absconding.
The RMC Yard police have registered a case and have produced them before a court. (Representational image)

Bengaluru: The RMC Yard police have arrested two interstate women robbers who stole valuables from women passengers in BMTC buses. The police have recovered gold valuables worth Rs 35 lakh.

The accused have been identified as Lakshmi Devi alias Vani and Meenakshi alias Meena, both aged around 30, and are residents of Byappanahalli. They hail from Chittoor in Andhra Pradesh.

According to the police, they used to travel all over city in BMTC busses and steal valuables from passengers. With their arrests, the police have cracked 28 cases which were reported in different police stations in the city.

The police said they used to travel in buses during peak hours and after identifying their target, mostly lone woman, holding their bag or wallet, the two would stand next to them and steal valuables.

The RMC Yard police have registered a case and have produced them before a court.
Similarly, two bike-borne men snatched a two-sovereign gold chain from Saradha (50) of MGR Nagar in Puzhal when she stepped out to dump trash in front of her house on Friday evening.

Chennai: In two different incidents in the city, two women were relieved of their gold chains by two-wheeler-borne chain snatchers, on Friday.

The first incident reported at Ambattur in which two persons in a two-wheeler snatched a seven sovereign gold chain from Seetha (50), a resident of Kallikuppam near Ambattur when she was on her way to a temple in her neighbourhood on Friday evening. Seetha's husband Moorthy, an employee of Avadi Tank Factory, lodged a complaint at Ambattur police and investigation is on.

Similarly, two bike-borne men snatched a two-sovereign gold chain from Saradha (50) of MGR Nagar in Puzhal when she stepped out to dump trash in front of her house on Friday evening.

Based on her complaint, police have launched a hunt to nab the snatchers. Meanwhile, S.Sharuk, a resident of Royapet was snatched off his mobile on Friday afternoon near Doctor Besant Road by a duo.

Based on the complaint lodged by Sharuk, Ice House police have arrested P.Sivaraj (21) of Pudupet and searching Meganathan, who fled the spot.

K. Vikram (28) of MGR Nagar was arrested by KK Nagar police for snatching a purse from Masarbee (62) of KK Nagar while walking on the 6th street of KK Nagar on Saturday.
The police arrested three of the six member gang, who rented a place in Zaheerabad and were solely targeting those visiting banks. (Representational Image)

Hyderabad: Bag snatchers are now targeting women travelling in bikes, autos and other public transports in the city, fleeing with expensive mobile phones, cash and other valuables. Hyderabad city police maintained a tight vigil and deputed anti-snatching teams to curb the chain snatchers but the men fleeing with womens handbags is the new modus operandi.

This method of operation surfaced after the Sangareddy Police busted an inter-state gang involved in 14 cases of snatching bags from unsuspecting people visiting banks earlier in January this year. The police arrested three of the six member gang, who rented a place in Zaheerabad and were solely targeting those visiting banks.

The six members Banala Chinna, Banala Michael, Pitla Premkumar, Akula Vijay, Ajit and Chinna hail from Kapparaltippa in Bitragunta mandal of Nellore district. They had committed crimes in Sangareddy and various parts of Andhra Pradesh as well as in Karnataka and Maharashtra, robbing people to the tune of `16 lakh.

Earlier this month, H. Parveen, was returning home with his family in an auto rickshaw after attending a wedding at Rajendra Nagar when two bike-borne men snatched their bag. While the family was heading back home after crossing Bandlaguda, two bike-borne men approached the auto, which was crowded and the bag was hanging slightly out, and snatched away the bag, which contained gold and Rs 4,000 cash, said the police inspector of Chandrayangutta, Y. Prakash Reddy, adding that the gang seems to be from the northern states of the country.

Revealing their modus operandi, police further said that while a couple of members of the gang divert the attention of their victims, the other associates snatched their cash bags and flee or they simply snatch away the bags from women.

While the city police has taken an initiative to curb chain snatchings in the city by deploying teams, an action on this new method is officially yet to be taken.

The police also gave some tips to avoid such incidents.

People have to be alert and aware and pay attention to who is around when they are in public place. Avoid text messaging and talking on the phone while walking alone, they said.

People should also avoid displaying and carrying large sums of money or valuable jewellery in public places.

At night, people should avoid taking shortcuts through deserted areas such as parks, playgrounds and vacant lots. Do not allow a stranger to follow you to your doorstep, the police said.
The IESM and others have challenged the government's policy of periodic review of pension once in five years. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: The Centre on Friday told the Supreme Court that it has taken a "policy decision" on the implementation of One Rank-One Pension (OROP) for ex-servicemen and sought dismissal of pleas seeking automatic annual revision of pension, instead of current policy of periodic review once in five years.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and justices AM Khanwilkar and DY Chandrachud was told by Additional Solicitor General Maninder Singh, appearing for the Centre, that the government has taken a "policy decision having financial impact" and this be not reviewed on judicial side.

"We will not revise the OROP formula. The government has already gone out of its way. More than Rs 10,000 crore has been sanctioned after much deliberation. This has huge ramifications on the exchequer and any interference would further burden us," the law officer said and sought dismissal of the petitions.

Senior advocate Vivek Tankha, appearing for Indian Ex-servicemen Movement (IESM), said that he was ready to argue on both maintainability and merits of the petition.

"Let the matter be listed for final disposal after four weeks. Pleadings shall be completed from all spectrums by then," the bench said in its order.

Earlier, the court had sought the response of the Centre on the plea of the ex-servicemen's body seeking implementation of OROP as recommended by the Koshyari Committee with an automatic annual revision, instead of the current policy of periodic review once in five years.

The IESM and others have challenged the government's policy of periodic review of pension once in five years, saying such an approach was dilution of the February 26, 2014 announcement by which the revision in pension was to automatically pass on to the past pensioners on an annual basis.

They have contended that five-yearly periodic review did not meet the demand of the ex-servicemen seeking OROP for the service personnel who had retired with same length of service in the same rank.

"OROP is the uniform desire of all three defence services. Ex-servicemen are presently drawing pension that is not consistent with their rank and/or length of service. In fact, some ex-servicemen are even drawing lesser pension than other ex-servicemen who retired with a subordinate rank or (in the same rank) which is unjust and unconstitutional," the petition said.

It said that the Centre's February 3, 2016 letter sent to the chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force on OROP was "unjust, arbitrary and violative of Article 14 and 21 of the constitution".

The plea sought a direction to the Centre "that the pension of past pensioners be automatically and contemporaneously enhanced, whenever there is any future increase or enhancement in the rates of pension."

It further said the government should be directed to fix the pension on the basis of highest pension of financial year 2014-15 and not 2013.

IESM in its petition has referred to the December 19, 2011, report of Rajya Sabha's Petition Committee then headed by Bhagat Singh Koshyari which rejected all reservation advanced by the government while "strongly recommending" OROP.

In its 142nd report, the Koshyari Committee had said, "the Committee strongly recommends that Government should implement OROP in the defence forces across the board at the earliest".
We are happy that the Indian market has great opportunity for growing the business, and we are especially looking forward for long term business opportunities in Tamil Nadu, as well, says says Zhuang Jin, deputy director in the commerce ministry of the Zhejiang province.

Chennai: Zhejiang province, China, which sees good scope for business opportunities in the state in the field of medical equipments, hopes to make a mark in the Tamil Nadus healthcare sector.

We are happy that the Indian market has great opportunity for growing the business, and we are especially looking forward for long term business opportunities in Tamil Nadu, as well, says says Zhuang Jin, deputy director in the commerce ministry of the Zhejiang province.

Already popular Zhejiang companies have set up their offices in India and they would showcase their prowess as leading manufacturers of superior quality medical equipments, she said on Friday.

We look forward to establishing our presence in Tamil Nadu. For the first time, 56 companies specialising in medical equipments have come from Zhejiang to display their range of products in Chennai and to take things forward, she added.

Zhejiang is participating in the 20th edition of Indias largest medical equipment trade fair: Medicall being held under the aegis of Medexpert Business Consultants Pvt Ltd in association with Dr Manivannan S, joint managing director of Kauvery hospital, here. The expo is on at the Chennai Trade Centre till July 29.

In an informal chat with reporters here on Friday Ms. Jin said her government and trade association would also explore scope for possible tie-up in Tamil Nadu.

Earlier, inaugurating the Zhejiang Export Fair-2018 (India) at the Chennai Trade Centre here, she said with over 70 per cent imported medical appliances, the expenses in health care of India remains an average annual growth rate of 12 per cent and it has been predicted that five lakh medical beds will be in need in the next five years, she said and added that due to Indias limitation, there is a great demand for imported medical appliances.

Apart from 100 stalls from Zhejiang Province displaying innovative products, more than 6,000 products from 20 countries, including Germany, Japan, China, Taiwan, Malaysia, South Korea, Portugal, Italy, UK and USA would display their products. The fair focusses on all the hospital needs right from surgical cotton to the latest imaging equipment and surgical tools, says Dr Manivannan.
'The tragic part is that the Modi government has been lacking, bordering on complicity, in ensuring that the Indian fugitives who have duped the banks of thousands of crores of rupees are brought back within the ambit of law,' Surjewala said. (Photo: PTI | File)

New Delhi: The Congress on Friday said there were doubts over the seriousness and bona fides of the Narendra Modi government in bringing back Mehul Choksi, who is accused of committing frauds of crores of rupees and has fled the country.

Congress's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also alleged complicity on the part of the government in ensuring that the fugitive was not brought back to the country.

"The tragic part is that the Modi government has been lacking, bordering on complicity, in ensuring that the Indian fugitives who have duped the banks of thousands of crores of rupees are brought back within the ambit of law," he said.

Surjewala said the prime minister, who had good relations with his Antiguan counterpart in March, needed to answer why did he not pick up the phone and call the latter, asking him to detain and arrest Mehul Choksi and hand him over to India through the normal process of deportation of criminals followed in international diplomacy.

"The very fact that the prime minister is not doing so raises a doubt in our mind about the seriousness and bona fides of the Modi government," he added.

Surjewala asked PM Modi and the "BJP's departmental organisations of the CBI and the ED" as to how Mehul Choksi was allowed to travel to Hong Kong, UAE, Belgium, UK, USA and Antigua and yet, till today, no red-corner notice was issued against him by the Interpol.

"Was it on account of some complicity on the part of the CBI and ED that he was permitted to take care of his business all over the world and to ensure that whatever money was sent through whatever channels was appropriately consumed in a manner that it would never be discovered and to finally secure the citizenship of Antigua?" the Congress leader asked.
The sisters were declared brought dead at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital on July 24. The initial autopsy reports suggested that they died due to starvation. (Representational Image)

New Delhi: A preliminary magisterial probe report on Friday sought "deeper investigation" into the conduct of the father of three girls, who allegedly died due to starvation in east Delhi, and said he had given them some "unknown medicine".

He has been untraceable since Tuesday when the sisters were found dead. According to the report which was submitted to the government, it is pertinent to mention an amount of Rs 1,805 was also available in the bank account of the eldest deceased child.

It also said that the girls were suffering from loose motion and vomiting which may have been due to some kind of stomach infection, but they were not provided adequate oral rehydration solution (ORS) and proper medication that might have caused dehydration.

It said that the father, Mangal Singh, gave some "unknown medicine" to his daughters by "mixing it in hot water" during the night of July 23 and he has not returned since the morning of July 24.

Also Read: Acute malnutrition led to death of 3 sisters in Delhi, say doctors

The conduct of the man "raises an element of doubt in the matter and requires further investigation", it said. The report said that the "nutritional condition of the deceased children was not quite well" although they were getting "some food items regularly".

"The DCP (East) may be directed to conduct proper and deeper investigation," it said.

The sisters were declared brought dead at the Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital on July 24. The initial autopsy reports suggested that they died due to starvation.

A medical board at the Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital had conducted a second autopsy at the request of the police which corroborated the first post-mortem report.

The viscera reports from the GTB Hospital were also awaited. The police said their teams were visiting places outside Delhi, including Noida, where the father of the girls had worked earlier.

The police had recovered some bottles of medicines from the place they were putting up.
DMK supporters raise a placard outside the hospital where DMK chief M Karunanidhi is being treated for fever due to urinary tract infection, in Chennai. (Photo: PTI)

Chennai: DMK president M Karunanidhi, who is being treated for fever due to urinary tract infection, was shifted to a private hospital from his residence in Chennai early on Saturday, the party said.

The 94-year-old leader was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Kauvery Hospital around 1:30 am.

The hospital, in a statement, said he was brought there after his blood pressure had dropped. "His blood pressure has been stabilised with medical management and he continues to be monitored and treated by a panel of experts," it said.

DMK President Karunanidhi has been admitted to the ICU of the hospital following a drop in blood pressure. His BP has been stabilised with medical management. He is being monitored and treated by a panel of expert doctors: Kauvery Hospital, Chennai #TamilNadu pic.twitter.com/qsLW12C0c3  ANI (@ANI) July 27, 2018

Several senior DMK leaders, including party working president and Karunanidhi's son M K Stalin, and other frontline leaders such as Duraimurugan, Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi and former Union minister A Raja were present at the hospital.

The DMK leaders had also visited the nonagenarian leader's house in Gopalapuram area before he was taken to the hospital.

Karunanidhi's estranged son and former Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam leader M K Alagiri, who was expelled from the party by the DMK chief in January 2014 after a prolonged struggle for power with his younger brother Stalin, also visited his father's house and the hospital.

After receiving the news about Karunanidhi being admitted to hospital, party cadre from various parts of the state poured in there chanting "long live Thalaivar" (leader). Hours before Karunanidhi was moved to the hospital, Stalin had said the former Tamil Nadu chief minister's health was improving.

Also Read: Amid prayers for DMK chief, son Stalin says Karunanidhi's health improving

On Wednesday, he had assured people that there was nothing to worry about his father's health.

Security was tightened at the former Tamil Nadu chief minister's residence as DMK cadres kept pouring in there as well.

Governor Banwarilal Purohit visited the hospital and enquired about the health of Karunanidhi with the hospital authorities, Stalin and other members of the DMK chief's family.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister K Palanisamy told reporters in Salem that the Tamil Nadu government was ready to provide all possible medical assistance to ailing Karunanidhi, who was a five-time CM, if it was approached.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, "My prayers for Sh Karunanidhi's fast recovery."

State Health Minister C Vijayabaskar too wished the DMK supremo a speedy recovery.

Later in the day, senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mukul Wasnik visited the family members of Karunanidhi and spoke to doctors at the hospital. "Karunanidhiji is totally stable... he is improving... we are praying for his speedy recovery," Azad told reporters, adding the Congress high command had directed them to enquire about the health of nonagenarian leader.

State Congress leaders including EVKS Elangovan, TNCC chief Su Thirunavukkarasar, were present at the hospital.

Actors including Prabhu and Nasser also paid a visit to the hospital.

For the past two years, the DMK president has not been making any public appearance owing to his ill health, but he still holds the top post in the Dravidian party. A few days ago, he underwent a procedure to change his tracheostomy tube to help him in breathing.

Karunanidhi, who is addressed as 'Kalaignar' (artiste) by his supporters, followers and some politicians, entered his 50th year as party chief on Friday.
New Delhi: Supreme Court judge Kurian Joseph on Friday asked the centre not to delay appointments in higher judiciary and clear the names in a time-bound manner after getting the recommendations from the collegium.

Amid speculation that the Centre was mulling increasing the age of superannuation of judges of the top court and the high courts, Justice Joseph suggested that the age of retirement be raised to 70 years.

At present, top court and high court judges demit office at the age of 65 and 62 years respectively.

"Just making a passing observation -- as far as appointment to high courts are concerned, once the high court has sent some request, or the high court collegium creates an appointment of a judge, to high court, there should not be a delay of three months.

"As far as the Supreme Court is concerned, since it is an appointment from among the judges serving in the country for quite a long time, there must not be a delay of more than two weeks," Justice Joseph, who has been vocal about the delay in elevation of Uttarakhand High Court Chief Justice KM Joseph to the top court, said.

He was speaking at a conference on 'National Initiative to Reduce Pendency and Delay in Judicial System' organised by the Supreme Court of India in collaboration with the Indian Law Institute.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra, who made the inaugural address, said shortage of judges was a factor responsible for pendency but at the same time some courts are functioning and performing better in same conditions.

Justice Misra asked the high courts and districts across the country to share ideas and suggestions to perform better.

"Shortage of judges is a factor responsible for pendency but at the same time some courts are functioning and performing better in same conditions. Take such courts as models. This conference is for learning and sharing. Take suggestions and ideas. Conditions may be different but ideas may work over there," he said.

While discussing over the various factors of pendency, the CJI said he is of the view that adjournment is a disorder.

He suggested that since the legal aid advocates are paid by the courts, they should take up matters to argue in the summer vacation to reduce the pendency.

"High courts may form think tanks with judges, lawyers, academicians etc., so that they can discuss innovative modes and initiatives to reduce delays," Justice Misra said.

Justice Joseph, in his address, also said, "My suggestion to government is to increase the retirement age of high court and Supreme Court judges should be made the same and should be 70. It's the more productive years as far as the experience of a judge is concerned, we can well utilise them up to the age of 70."

Justice Ranjan Gogoi, who made a special address at the function attended by all high court judges and many district court judges from across the country, said that the trial length needs to be cut short to make use of the judicial time.

"Substantial time is taken on procedural matters like summons, adjournments, recording of evidence and statements etc. He asked the lower judiciary to make use of the technology and said that most of the district courts don't even have a wi-fi," Justice Gogoi said.

Justice MB Lokur observed that over 2.5 crore cases are pending in district courts where as HC have a pendency of 43 lakh and hence the focus must be on district courts as the concentration on grass root level will help the litigants.
Bengaluru: In a frank admission, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge revealed that he missed a golden chance to become chief minister of a Congress-JD(S) coalition in 2004 primarily because of his straight forward approach. Presiding over the first death anniversary programme of former chief minister N. Dharam Singh here on Friday, Mr. Kharge disclosed details of a conversation between him and former prime minister H.D. Deve Gowda before formation of coalition government in 2004. Just before government formation, Mr Gowda told me in Delhi that you are a straight forward leader and cannot easily take the advice of others in your stride. He told me that I had been critical of him as Opposition leader and so he had decided to name my friend Dharam Singh as CM since he was an adjustable leader, Mr Kharge said.

The publication of a book by H.K. Patil (Congress leader and former RDPR minister) at that time also had an adverse impact on my prospects. Mr Gowda referred to the book which had content criticising the JD(S), before the formation of the coalition government, Mr Kharge recalled. Looking at Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy who was on the dais, he said, This incident happened in Delhi in 2004, I am not telling a lie, if you (HDK) want, you can check this with your father.

The veteran leader was all praise for the large heartedness of Dharam Singh. After Gowda suggested his name, Singh informed me that, he had a chance to become CM and sought my cooperation. After all we had worked together for more than 50 years for the states interests, Mr. Kharge said. Dharam Singh had friends in all parties. It is not always possible in politics to agree with all. But my friend has this unique quality of respecting the opinion of all which was why he earned the name, Ajatashatru (someone with no enemies), he said.

Mr Kumaraswamy, who is often portrayed as a villain for unseating Dharam Singh in 2006 and becoming CM with BJP support, said that unavoidable circumstances forced him to withdraw support to Singh. Though I took the decision to withdraw support, Singh did not feel bad, in fact he advised me to give good governance and be patient while discharging my duties, Mr. Kumaraswamy said.
CBI pointed out that the changes in the terms of contract were made when Pinarayi Vijayan was in Canada as the guest of Lavalin in February 1997. (Photo: File)

New Delhi: In a move which has political overtones, the CBI on Saturday informed the Supreme Court that the Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has to face the trial in SNC Lavalin case and his discharge order should be set aside.

In January this year the apex court had stayed the trial and had sought the response of the CBI, which was filed today.

In its affidavit, the CBI said SNC Lavalin had obtained huge wrongful gain on account of contracts awarded to them and this fact is an important aspect, which the Kerala High Court failed to consider while discharging him.

It pointed out that the changes in the terms of contract were made when Pinarayi Vijayan was in Canada as the guest of Lavalin in February 1997.

It said the high court did not consider these facts while letting him and two others off the case.

Clarifying its stand on the petition filed by KG Rajasekharan, R Sivadasan and Kasturi Rangan against the high court verdict, the CBI maintained that the SNC-Lavalin Kerala hydroelectric scandal is a financial scandal related to a hydroelectric infrastructure contract between the Indian government and Canadian company SNC-Lavalin in 1995 which resulted in an alleged net loss to the Indian exchequer of Rs 375 crores.

The CBI faulted the Kerala High Court for acquitting the Chief Minister of all corruption charges in August last year citing insufficient evidence against him.

It said the SNC-Lavalin case relates to the award of a contract to a Canadian company for the renovation and modernization of three hydel power projects in the state in 1997. Pinarayi Vijayan was then the power minister of the state.

The CBI alleged that Pinarayi Vijayan wrongly entered into contracts with SNC Lavalin in February 1997 without any expert feasibility study or technical reports.

It had alleged that there was neither any global tender called for the projects nor fixation of rates.

It has pointed out that Pinarayi Vijayan and two others were exonerated in the case without a clear finding to point out the reasons for their discharge.

The CBI said its chargesheet pointed to a collective responsibility of all the accused persons, including Pinarayi Vijayan.

The agency said it was extraordinary that Pinarayi Vijayan and two other accused people were discharged from all charges in the case even before the commencement of the trial, while the high court ordered the prosecution of the remaining accused.

The High Court had dismissed the discharge petitions of KG Rajasekharan Nair, then Member (Accounts) of the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), R Sivadasan and Kasthuriranga Iyer, who was Chief Engineer (Generation) in the Board and they filed appeals against this order.

The CBI, said there was ample material to show the involvement of Pinarayi Vijayan in the Lavalin deal. The CBI said the high court accused it of adopting a pick and choose policy in naming certain persons as accused. But in fact, the CBI countered, it was the court that employed such a policy by discharging certain accused persons while leaving the rest of the charge-sheeted persons to face trial.

The CBI said all decisions were taken with the knowledge of all the accused people named in the chargesheet and discharge of the accused may lead to miscarriage of justice and delay the trial.

The petitioners who were not discharged in their appeals said two important questions of law arise in the facts of the present case, on the nature and manner of exercise of the power of a revisional court under Section 397 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The first question is whether it is permissible for a High Court to reverse an order of discharge without finding fault with the correctness, legality or propriety of the order and without arriving at a prima facie finding that a case is made out against the accused for the purpose of framing charges and whether a High Court can apply differential standards in respect of two sets of accused.
A commission has been tasked with collecting data about the socio-economic condition of the Maratha community. (Photo: File)

Mumbai: Amid the ongoing Maratha quota agitation that sparked violence in parts of Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has decided to convene a meeting of leaders of all parties in Mumbai today to discuss the issue.

The decision was taken at a meeting chaired by the chief minister at his cabinet colleague Vinod Tawde's residence late on Thursday night which was attended by BJP ministers Chandrakant Patil, Girish Mahajan, Subhash Deshmukh, the party's state unit chief Raosaheb Danve, among others.

The meeting started around 11 pm and continued for about three hours.

"Invitation for Saturday's meeting, to be held at Vidhan Bhavan, will be sent across on Friday. We will try and come up with a solution to the issue of Maratha reservation," Revenue minister Chandrakant Patil had said after Thursday's meeting.

Danve said the BJP government in the state was committed to providing reservation to the Maratha community and hence has passed an ordinance to the effect.

"However, the court had put a stay on the government's decision. We will submit the report of the state Backward Classes Commission to the court and request it to decide on the issue soon," he said.

Slamming the Opposition, the state BJP chief claimed that the Congress and the NCP "dilly-dallied" over the issue for years, but the present government has taken steps to provide reservation to the Marathas.

According to a source in the government, "To ensure that its decision (to give 16 per cent reservation to the Marathas) stands scrutiny in the court, the government will provide all possible assistance to the Backward Classes Commission to expedite its survey work."

The government will provide additional manpower and technical support to the commission so that it can submit its report by the end of August, a month before the scheduled date, the source said.

The commission has been tasked with collecting data about the socio-economic condition of the Maratha community.

Six MLAs in the state have so far offered to resign over the Maratha reservation issue.

After Shiv Sena MLA Harshawardhan Jadhav and NCP legislator Bhausaheb Chikatgaonkar offered to quit on Wednesday, four others -- Seema Hirey and Rahul Aher (both BJP), Bharat Bhalke (Congress) and Ramesh Kadam (NCP) offered to resign over the issue on Thursday.

The Marathas, a politically influential community that constitutes around 30 per cent of the state's population, have been demanding 16 per cent reservation.

The community had been taking out silent marches across the state to highlight their demands, prominent among them being that of reservation.

The agitation turned violent on Wednesday as Maratha outfits called for a bandh (shutdown)in Mumbai and surrounding areas.

Around 20 policemen, including eight officers, were injured in stone-pelting by protesters at Kopar Khairane and Kalamboli in Navi Mumbai on Wednesday during the bandh.
CHIKKAMAGALURU: Superstitions can sometimes drive the God-fearing to extreme lengths but who would believe that a village priest would be able to drive an entire nomadic community out of the hamlet they had been living in for years and flee fearing they would fall prey to death? It happened at Bale village in Narasimharaja Pura of Chikkamagaluru with the panic stricken Haavu Golla community abandoning the village fearing they would die if they continued to stay there.

It all happened after a local priest asked them to shift immediately if they did not want to die! The priest reportedly told the villagers that the deity they worshipped was unhappy and someone from a neighbouring state had performed black magic which would spell disaster for them. To add to their fears, two members of the community had died in a month's time So acting on the priest's advice, 23 families deserted the place with their belongings in autorickshaws.

Ironically, the nomads have shifted from Bale at a time when the authorities were about to allot them residential plots with a proposal sent to the NR Pura tahsildar. A Bale gram panchayat official told Deccan Chronicle We made an appeal to them not to shift but they did not heed our request. Members of other communities including Christians, Vokkaligas and fishermen have no such fear and continue to live in the village.
Omar Abdullah noted, 'There will be other attempts made in other states as well. It is an ongoing process. As we get closer to the General Elections in 2019, I am sure it will take on a greater shape.' (Photo: PTI)

Kolkata: National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah has asserted that the Congress would be indispensable in the unity of all the anti-BJP parties to take on the BJP in the Lok Sabha (LS) elections next year.

Hailing UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi for leading initiatives he also made it clear that the opposition's unity would not be successful sans the Congress. Abdullah however sounded optimistic about the formation of a concrete platform by the anti-BJP parties ahead of the LS polls.

The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister's comments came a day after he met Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee at the state secretariat, Nabanna, on Friday and discussed the prospect and strategies of Federal Front floated by the West Bengal chief minister to oust the BJP from power. On Saturday he attended a seminar on federalism called Think Federal in the city.

"The question you asked about Mamata Didi's proposal it is exactly what we are discussing that how best can the regional parties come together to take on the BJP in the forthcoming General Election. Obviously no effort towards opposition unity will really succeed unless the Congress also is able to take the fight to the BJP in the way which we hope. So this is an ongoing conversation," Abdullah told the media on the sidelines of the event.

Asked about the ongoing talks between the anti-BJP parties to come under one umbrella he elaborated, "You have seen a number of efforts made particularly by Sonia Gandhi to bring the opposition parties together. Most recently you have seen all the opposition parties coming together for the swearing-in of the chief minister of Karnataka."

Abdullah noted, "There will be other attempts made in other states as well. It is an ongoing process. As we get closer to the General Elections in 2019, I am sure it will take on a greater shape."
People's Democratic Party (PDP) President Mehbooba Mufti addresses her first public rally after stepping down as Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, at Sher-e-Kashmir Park, in Srinagar. (Photo: PTI)

Srinagar: Speaking at her first public meeting since losing the chief ministerial status last month, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) supremo Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday said she had reservations about joining hands with the BJP right from the beginning but her worries were overruled by her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed. He had argues that the coalition was not meant to build infrastructure in the state but to rather end the sufferings of the Kashmiris.

Mehbooba Mufti became Jammu and Kashmirs first woman chief minister in March 2016 with the death of her father and continued to helm the state until recently when the BJP pulled the plug on their alliance.

The alliance, it turned out caused PDP a lot of political harm in Kashmir, particularly after she had to give much space to her alliance partner that was already pushing ahead strongly. This was not taken kindly by many Kashmiris.

Mehbooba Mufti's speech at the foundation day of the party her father founded was aimed at recouping some of the lost political ground.

The "unholy alliance", as the Congress described the 2015 pact between the rivals went on to create a political vacuum in Kashmir.

Speaking about the alliance Mehbooba Mufti finally revealed it was akin to consuming poison.

"It was like drinking a cup of poison," she said about the BJP-PDP alliance, but for all the extreme hardship that the PDP leader says she went through, Mufti made it a point to underline that it had done Kashmir some good.

The ex-chief minister of the state took credit for the Centre not dabbling with Jammu and Kashmirs special status, the Ramzan ceasefire etc.

Mehbooba Mufti also spoke about her conversations with Prime Minister Narendra Modi about improving relations with Pakistan and how, the economic packages that the centre announces for Kashmir, could not address a political problem.

She said, I told PM Modi that even if we make roads of gold, just one killing brings the situation back to square one.

Welcoming overtures by Imran Khan after his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) emerged as the single largest party in Pakistan, Mehbooba Mufti appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reciprocate and bring two countries together.
The madrasa houses children from Bihar, the officer said, adding that all of them have been now shifted elsewhere. (Representational Image)

Pune: A total of 36 students were rescued by the police from a Madrasa in Pune on Friday evening after reports of sexual assault surfaced.

The Madrasa Maulana, 21-year-old Rahim, was also arrested on charges of sexual assault in Pune's Katraj suburb soon after.

Two 10-year-old children, who recently managed to run away, said that that one of the clerics who visited the institution used to sexually abuse another inmate.

"Maulana of a Madarsa has been arrested for sexually assaulting his students in Katraj, Pune. Total 36 students have been rescued. We have registered a case against him. Further investigation is underway," said Kondhwa police inspector, Milind Gaikwad.

The Madrasa reportedly houses students between the age group of 5 to 14 years.

"A committee member asked them why they ran away. They revealed that one Maulana Rahim sexually abuses a brother of one of them and they were scared," said a police officer.

Dr Yamini Adbe, a child rights activist, then lodged a police complaint.

The madrasa houses children from Bihar, the officer said, adding that all of them have been now shifted elsewhere.

"Rahim, who also hails from Bihar, has been booked under the relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code and Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act," he added.

Statements of all the inmates will be recorded at the Child Welfare Committee office to find out if any other child faced sexual abuse, the officer said.
Hyderabad: Senior Congress leader V. Hanumantha Rao on Friday termed the Rafale deal as the biggest scam in NDA government. He said Congress will take up extensive campaigning in all districts to create awareness among the people on Rafale scam. He recalled how the BJP and other Opposition parties raised a hue and cry over Bofors deal during the Congres regime which was worth just Rs 40 crore.

Now, the Modi goverment has indulged in huge corruption worth over Rs 40,000 crore in Rafale deal to benefit Reliance Group and the BJP national president Amith Shah's son, Mr Rao alleged. He questioned why the Modi government showed favouritism towards Mr Anil Ambani, when his group has nothing to do with defence manufacturing. This shows there is a shady deal between Anil Ambani and the NDA government, he said.
'Chief Minister Nitish Kumar must break his silence on the issue. His silence can be termed as criminal', RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav said. (Photo: File | PTI)

Patna: The number of victims in Muzaffarpur shelter home case has gone up to 34 after medical examination report confirmed sexual assault on five more girls.

The RJD which has been protesting against rising crime graph and rampant incidents of rapes in the state on Saturday demanded an explanation from Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on the issue.

Speaking about the rise in crimes against women, RJD leader Tejashwi said on Saturday,Not only Muzaffarpur shelter home where minor girls became victims of sexual assault but we have also been receiving reports of similar incidents from shelter houses located in Banka, Darbhanga, Hajipur, Saran, and Gopalganj.

Chief Minister Nitish Kumar must break his silence on the issue. His silence can be termed as criminal, he further added.

While terming the JD (U)  BJP led government as Duryodhan and Ravan regime Tejashwi Yadav said, Duryodhana is disrobing Draupadi. Ravan is kidnapping mother Sita and girls are scared to step out of their homes as Ravan and Duryodhan have now joined hands. This is Rakshas raaj (demonic regime).

Sources claim that the opposition RJD is planning to intensify their campaign against Nitish Kumar and his government on the issue of crimes against women.

Tejashwi Yadav along with other RJD leaders has launched a cycle rally with an NDA Bhagao Beti Bachao tagline in protest against the Muzaffarpur issue.

Tejashwi Yadav had earlier blamed leaders associated with ruling NDA of influencing the police probe to save big people involved in the case. He had also targeted Chief Minister Nitish Kumar for the delay in handing over the case to CBI.

Tejashwi Yadav says that the case was transferred to CBI after he visited Muzaffarpur shelter home to assess the situation and demanded Nitish Kumars resignation on moral grounds.

Sources say that the opposition parties here are not satisfied with the arrest of ten persons including Brajesh Thakur whose NGO Seva Sankalp evam Vikas Samiti was in agreement with the state welfare department to run the Muzaffarpur shelter home.

Muzaffarpur shelter home issue had surfaced in March after Mumbai based Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) found sexual assault victims. An audit report was submitted to the social welfare department by the Institute following which authorities registered an FIR and rescued girls from the shelter home and shifted them to other places.
Further, the reservoir last received around 0.5 tmc feet of Krishna water last January and it was also excessive water, as Kandaleru dam was brimming, after which AP irrigation officials stopped release of water citing demand to the Andhra.

Chennai: The public works department has sought Andhra Pradesh irrigation officials to release Krishna water from Kandaleru reservoir under Telugu Ganga Project to Poondi reservoir, which has completely dried up. Also officials of Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (CMWSSB) have pinned their hopes on release of Krishna water.

Sources said the level of Poondi reservoir at present is merely 60 million cubic feet (mcft) against its full capacity of 3,231mcft. Further, the reservoir last received around 0.5 tmc feet of Krishna water last January and it was also excessive water, as Kandaleru dam was brimming, after which AP irrigation officials stopped release of water citing demand to the Andhra.

As per pact, the AP government should release 12 tmc feet of water every year in three spells. Speaking to DC, M. Mani, superintending engineer, Palar Basin Circle, Chennai region, said, We are continuously in touch with our counterparts and wrote a letter to AP irrigation department seeking release of water. The AP last year received 2.5 tmcft of water.

The SE also stressed that they will keep insisting AP to get Krishna water this year at any cost. Similarly, K. Vijaya Kumar, executive engineer, Kosasthalaiyar basin, admitted that Poondi reservoir has became bone dry.

The main water source to Poondi reservoir is Krishna water supply. However, storage in Kandaleru reservoir is considerably low at present and water can only be released once the reservoir is fill, he said, adding that till then, rain is the only one hope to raise the level in Poondi reservoir. Meanwhile officials from CMWSSB keep their finger crossed to get Krishna water.

Although we can easily manage water crisis in the city till onset of north-east monsoon, Krishna water supply will add a shot in the arm for us to supply water without interruption, said an official, preferring anonymity. The current storage in Chennai lakes will be enough to meet drinking water supply this year, the official maintained.
A police officer grabs a woman protester by her hair and shoves her towards the vehicle. (YouTube | Screengrab)

Allahabad: At a time when the country is reeling under unprecedented crimes against women, the incident of two female students of Allahabad University being dragged, one of them grabbed by her hair and beaten by a male police for waving black flags at the convoy of BJP president Amit Shah, has left many reeling from shock.

A video that is being widely shared on social media shows two women students and a male student blocking the lead vehicle of Amit Shahs convoy who was on a visit to the city. The students were seen waving black flags.

Male policemen then rush in and drag the three protesting students away. As the three are pushed into a police vehicle, a man from the convoy can be seen hitting one of the women students with his baton. Another police officer grabs her by her hair and shoves her towards the vehicle.

Click here to watch the video.

In a video shot from another angle, a senior police officer can be then seen rushing in to intervene and shouting, "no beatings".

Police said the students - 25-year-old Neha Yadav, 24-year-old Rama Yadav and Kishan Maurya - will be produced before court today.

According to reports, the three of them are part of Samajwadi Party's student wing, the Samajwadi Chatra Sabha.

According to the police, Neha Yahav is a pursuing her PhD and Rama Yadav is doing her postgraduate studies at Allahabad University.

The Uttar Pradesh police have banned black flags, handkerchiefs or clothes from the rallies of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath after a series of incidents where black flags were shown to him in rallies across the state.
 "Who Killed Habeas Corpus?" | Main | Highlighting comments, commentary and consequences from state sentencing of mass molester Larry Nassar 

January 24, 2018

Notable new initiative, Safe Streets & Second Chances, taking "evidence-driven approach to the chronic issues of recidivism"

As reported in this new article from The Hill, the "donor network helmed by billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch is putting $4 million behind a pilot program aimed at reducing recidivism rates among former prisoners." Here is more:

The effort, called Safe Streets and Second Chances, launches Wednesday in four trial states  Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania and Louisiana. The 1,000 participants will come from a mix of rural and urban communities and will receive individualized reentry programs and have their progress tracked. The program is led by the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Dr. Carrie Pettus-Davis, an author and professor who says the U.S. prison system is focused too much on punishment and not enough on rehabilitation. This unique initiative marries research-driven policy and reentry services reforms, Pettus-Davis said in a statement. Even though incarceration and reentry impacts millions of peoples lives in our country, there is a huge void in research on creating a successful transition of people from prison back home to our communities. Were closing the gap.

The webpage announcing the launch of the new Safe Streets & Second Chances initiative provides this additional information:

Today, a new initiative is being launched to reduce the high rate of recidivism by effectively rehabilitating and equipping incarcerated individuals with the tools they need to return home and become productive members of our communities. Called Safe Streets & Second Chances, the new effort uses proven approaches underpinned by academic research to develop comprehensive reentry activities for those releasing from prison to ensure they are successful once home in our communities. Nearly 700,000 Americans will be released from prison this year, yet close to 70 percent of them are expected to return to prison within five years. This alarmingly high rate of recidivism endangers Americas communities, traps individuals  many of them non-violent offenders  in a cycle of incarceration, and costs taxpayers billions of dollars each year. Its a problem largely due to criminal justice policies that focus on punishment, but too often fail to implement effective interventions that correct people both in prison and upon release. Safe Streets & Second Chances takes an evidence-driven approach to the chronic issues of recidivism. This initiative crafts individualized reentry approaches informed by the latest academic research to shift the outcome focus of our criminal justice system from whether individuals are punished to whether they are improved, rehabilitated, and capable of redemption. Led by author and renowned scholar Dr. Carrie Pettus-Davis, the research component of the new effort will include a four-state, eight-site, randomized controlled trial involving more than 1,000 participants in a mix of urban and rural communities. The four states being examined include Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania and Louisiana.

DISCLOSURE : As detailed in this prior post, the new Drug Enforcement and Policy Center (DEPC) I am helping to get started at The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law was made possible by a gift from the Charles Koch Foundation.

January 24, 2018 at 09:48 PM | Permalink

Comments

Congratulations to Prof. Berman on his leadership of this new program. I hope he will post the specific research protocol for review by outside people.

Posted by: David Behar | Jan 25, 2018 12:08:09 AM

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Members of CPI-led Kerala Mahila Sanghom take out a march to Raj Bhavan to protest against anti women policies of the Narendra Modi-led government in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. National Federation of Indian Women (NFIW) national general secreatry Annie Rajai inaugurated the march.(Photo: A.V. MUZAFAR)

Thiruvananthapuram: Outpatient services in private hospitals were badly hit across the state following the 12-hour strike called by IMA against the implementation of the new National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill.

Hundreds of doctors across the state boycotted OP wings. However, emergency services, in-patient services, intensive care units, labor room and emergency surgery were exempted from the strike.

IMA Medical Student Network, KGMOA and KGMCTA also participated in the protest. Over 3,000 doctors owing allegiance to Kerala Government Medical Officers Association (KGMOA) wore black badges to express solidarity with the strike.

The IMA state leadership claimed that its strike call had received widespread support from the doctors. The association leadership said the agitation would be intensified in the coming days.

The IMA will intensify its agitation if the government tries to push the anti democratic, anti federal NMC bill which will promote corruption. We want the government to reconsider the current bill. We appeal to the Prime Minister to intervene to protect the interests of the marginalised and under privileged sections of the society, IMA said.

IMA pointed out that 50 per cent of seats in the private medical colleges will go to the highest bidder. Besides, the cost of medical education in the country will escalate manifold, and will become unaffordable to even the upper middle classes.

Dr A. Marthanda Pillai, Action committee chairman said, NMC will function as an extended government department. Autonomy of regulation is the right of medical profession. Allowing bureaucrats and non medical persons to trample upon the regulation of medical education and practice is unthinkable.

Though the existing MCI mainly plays the role of a watchdog, from time to time it has opposed and intervened in government decisions to maintain high standards of medical education. But the proposed commission looked more like another wing of the government.

IMA has made it clear that two issues are non-negotiable - bridge course to allow Indian System of Medicine (ISM) doctors to practice modern medicine and the exit test after MBBS course.

It has also raised objections to various clauses of the NMC Bill which are anti-poor and aimed at legalising corruption and quackery.

Separate registration for ISM doctors was unacceptable. The exit test which is totally unfair to the students cannot be agreed upon under any circumstances. The IMA has also opposed the lack of elected representatives in the proposed commission which it says will seriously jeopardise the autonomy of the regulatory body.

There are clauses which heavily favour managements. For instance, the Bill has proposed just one inspection within five years and there will be no annual inspections to check the standard of education, infrastructure and other facilities. They are free to conduct inspections even four years after the start of the medical college.

This means the students will have to study in sub-standard conditions till then. Another clause allowed managements to increase the number of seats for under graduate and post graduate courses.
Chennai: Madras high court has appointed Justice K. P. Sivasubramanian, a retired judge of the Madras high court, as the judge-commissioner to hold the extraordinary general body meeting (EGM) of the Andhra Social and Cultural Association, known as Andhra Club, in T Nagar.

Justice N. Sathish Kumar, when a batch of civil suits and applications from S. Seshadri and three others, came up for hearing has appointed Justice K. P. Sivasubramanian.

The petitioners had leveled various allegations including induction of new members, against the office-bearers of the association. On hearing submissions of advocate S. Thankasivan and others, Justice N. Sathish Kumar said that all is not well and not acted according to the law. Therefore, I am of the view that admittedly 89 members were made as members as the son or son-in-law of the existing members. But, in fact, they are neither son nor son-in-law of the members.

The judge said therefore, when such people become members in utter violation of by-laws, they cannot have any say in this suit until a proper extraordinary general body meeting is conducted in a proper manner to take a decision as to whether or not to regularise those members. The right of the members, who are inducted under the children's quota will also be decided only by the EGM, subject to the majority view of the meeting.

After appointing Justice K. P. Sivasubramanian as the judge-commissioner the Justice N. Sathish Kumar has observed that in view of all these facts, this court is of the view that unless a fresh EGM is called to decide the right of the above persons, the members, who have come through back-doors cannot have any say. Their right has to be decided in the EGM.

Disposing of the civil suits and the application, Justice N. Sathish Kumar said the judge-commissioner shall call for the EGM within three months and decide the action to be taken against the members who are involved in inducting third parties as members under the children's quota by secret ballot system. Immediately thereafter, he shall also hold election to the club strictly as per the by-law for 2017-19.
Hyderabad: The Congress on Saturday alleged that Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao deliberately postponed panchayat elections, as he was afraid of facing any polls before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

The party said the CM received intelligence reports that the public were angry at the TRS for its misrule during the past four years and they were ready to teach it a fitting lesson if panchayat elections were held at this stage.

Congress MLA T. Jeevan Reddy said, Since the CM knows very well that the TRS will lose the panchayat elections, he conspired to postpone the elections. He passed a faulty new Panchayat Act in the Assembly without consulting anyone and by suspending the main Opposition Congress for entire Budget session. The reservations policy in the new Act is also faulty. The CM knew very well that this Act would face legal issues and elections will be halted if someone approaches court. The elections have now been stayed over reservations issue.

Mr Reddy said the CM was afraid that any loss in panchayat elections before 2019 general elections would have adverse impact on the TRS prospects. Several ministers and MLAs in TRS are already looking at other parties for tickets as they are not confident of the party's victory in the 2019 elections. If TRS loses in panchayat elections now, it would be difficult for KCR to stop migration of their leaders to other parties. For these political reasons, he stalled the panchayat elections, he said.

The legislator said the TRS government had weakened the rural local bodies by not releasing a single rupee in these four years and forcing them to depend only on Central funds. He also questioned the status of schemes announced by the CM for development of villages .
Kochi: The district administration in Ernakulam is gearing up with a slew of measures including plans for the evacuation of the people in the event of releasing water from Idukki and Edamalayar dams flooding the banks of River Periyar in the district. According to a senior district administration official four taluks  Aluva, Paravoor, Kunnathunadu and Kotha-mangalam  have been ide-ntified as the areas likely to be hit by the gushing of water in the river if the shutters of the dams were opened.

The panchayat-level estimates of the likely number of families needed to be evacuated are also being prepared, the official said. Revenue officials were also instructed to identify the possible relief camps in the event of evacuation of the people. The district collector is likely to hold a meeting on Sunday if needed to review the situation, the official added.

Water level in the Idukki Dam has reached 2,393 feet from the sea level, just 2 feet lower than level for issuing the Orange Alert. Electricity Minister M.M. Mani meanwhile has hinted at the possibility of opening the shutters of the dam even before the water level reaching 2,400 ft, the maximum capacity of the dam. The idea of releasing water from the dam before reaching the maximum storage level has been explored to minimise possible damages in the downstream areas.

The Kerala State Disaster Management Authority (KSDMA) has already provided maps of vulnerable areas within 100 metres on either side of the banks of the River Periyar. Sekhar L Kuriakose, member secretary of the KSDMA, has ruled out the need for large-scale evacuation of the people as water will be released only in a regulated manner.

According to him authorities concerned would release water in a staggered manner to keep the velocity of the water at the minimum. In the first stage 50 cubic metre water per second is likely to be released, he added.

Apart from the people living on both sides of the river another concern is the possibility of premises of Cochin International Airport Ltd getting flooded. Possibility of the airport Ltd getting flooded looks remote as the authorities have taken steps check water intrusion after the experience in 2013, sources said.

The Chief Engineer (Dam Safety) Kerala State Electricity Board has already sent a message to the district collector to advise the people living on both sides of the Periyar River to remain on high alert as the water could be released from Idukki and Edamalayar dams.
Mumbai: State leaders decided, in an all-party meeting that was called on Saturday to discuss the burning Maratha reservation issue, that a special Assembly session would be held for lawmakers to confer about the matter. The session will take place after the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission submits its report on the economic and social backwardness prevailing among the community. It was also decided that the state government would revoke FIRs against Maratha protesters in the past few days.

In an attempt to restore normalcy in the state in the wake of violent protests by the Maratha community, the state government had called a meeting of group leaders in both Houses of state legislature. After the meeting, politicos came up with a three-point joint statement.

We appeal for peace in the state, and no one should indulge in violence as well as any activity such as suicide. Also, there is wide agreement among all political parties about clearing the demand of Maratha reservation. As soon as the report of the Backward Commission comes to the state government, there will be a legislative session, the statement read.

After the meeting, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said that he had instructed the states director general of police about revoking cases against Maratha protesters. Those who have beaten up police officers or have been seen committing serious offences like burning cars or destroying property wont be spared. Peaceful protesters will not have to face any case, said Mr Fadnavis.
New Delhi: The Trinamul was left red-faced when the St. Stephens College withdrew an invite extended to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to attend an event and interact with the students of the institute. The event, planned by one of the societies of the college, will be held on August 1.

An angry Trinamul lost no time to blame the BJP and RSS for the withdrawal of the invite. Reacting to the development, Trinamul spokesperson and leader of the party in the Rajya Sabha, Mr Derek OBrien said, First, the Vivekananda event in Chicago, then her China visit and now St. Stephens. Mamata Banerjee is giving the BJP-RSS sleepless nights. Let them keep trying, she cannot be silenced.

Ms Banerjee, who is reaching the national Capital on Monday was supposed to attend the event. According to reports the the principal of the college denied permission and the invitation was eventually withdrawn on Friday.
Hyderabad: Tollywood senior actor Ms Annapurnas daughter commited suicide at her residence in Banjara Hills early on Saturday. According to the Banjara Hills police, the deceased, identified as Keerthi, was under medication for the last six months and was suffering from psychological problems.

She also complained of not getting proper sleep and depression due to these illnesses might have forced her to resort to the extreme step, police said.

Keerthi, an adopted daughter of the senior actor, got married to Venkatakrishna, a software engineer three years ago and the couple did not have any babies.

On Friday, Venkatakrishna was travelling from Bengaluru to Hyderabad and reached his house in Srinagar Colony around 2 am. He slept in the other room while his wife slept in the bedroom. On Saturday morning, on opening the door, he found Keerthi hanging from the ceiling fan, said the inspector of Banjara Hills, K. Srinivas, adding that he immediately called Annapurna, who resides in the Godavari block in the same vicinity, to inform her about this incident, who then called the police.

My daughter was seeking medical help for the ill health for the past couple of months now, said Annapurna.

Speaking to this newspaper, she said that Kirthi was consulting a medical professional for her depression. Unable to take it anymore, she killed herself on Saturday .

The reason behind her suicide is unknown, though police are suspecting health issues. Her medical condition is suspected to be the reason behind her suicide, the police said. The body has been shifted to the Osmania General Hospital morgue for autopsy while a case has been booked under section 174 (suspicious death) of CrPC and investigation started.
Hyderabad: A Jagtial resident has built a multipurpose cot for elders and the bed-ridden, which has an attached commode, flush and wash basin. The commode can be connected to the sewerage line to clear the waste. Mr Alladi Prabhakar said he had built the bed after noticing the problems that elderly persons and those who are confined to bed face, that the difficulty of those attending on them. Mr Prabhakar says the bed can be used by patients to manage themselves without assistance.

Priced at Rs 18,000, Mr Prabhakar says he has sold the beds to hundreds of homes in Chennai and Bengaluru. He is part of Palla Srujana which operates out of Sainikpuri. Mr Prabhakar has studied till Class X, and in his workshop has come out with 12 innovations. He has also developed a self-charging equipment for electric vehicles using wind energy. Electric vehicles take hours for the battery to be charged, because of which there are not many takers.

Mr Prabhakars gadget can be put on top of cars and buses and uses energy from the wind. Another innovation is footwear designed for electric linemen to climb poles and work with safety. These are available on e-commerce sites for purchase. Mr Prabhakar showcased his products at the Telangana State Innovation stall at the 26th annual summit of Hyderabad Software Enterprises Association (HYSEA) on Friday. Mr Prabhakar, who doesnt use terms like incubator or entrepreneur, says, We work at our workshop and these are the kind of innovations people want. I observe the problems and innovate. He said he hoped the Telangana State Innovation Cell would provide them more exposure and help to reach out to more families and corporates. Many families are seeking our product, he said.
Thiruvananthapuram: It is likely that this year as well there will be bogus priests during Vavubali to be held at the Shanghumughom and Thiruvallom temples on August 11. Every year there will be complaints from devotees about priests who take money, but they would have to make up the mantra.

Even as the district administration has said that such priests will be controlled, both the police and the Travancore Devaswom Board authorities dont have any mechanism in place to enforce their plans.

TDB officials said that they do not have the power to stop fake priests from duping the public. TDB is an autonomous body. It is for the government to do something, one official said. A police official said, if TDB gives us a list of priests, we can weed the others out.

But TDB officials say that they wont be able to give out a list. They demarcate spaces, where their priests would be sitting.

Last year, not even a single case had been charged at Shanghumughom police station. Officials there confirmed that the temple had approached the station to bring it to the notice of the authorities. However, they had not submitted a written complaint, according to officials.

Quite a lot of fake priests come to Shanghumughom as there will be a sea of devotees and the priests can find a convenient space to sit unnoticed by the authorities. This year the entry to Shanghumughom will be restricted as a major portion of the beach has been eaten up by the waves. Only about a 20-metre stretch of the beach will be used for the Vavubali rituals.

At Thiruvallom, the fake priests go to unmonitored ghats. The police said that if they find any fake priests, they will ask them to leave. The district administration has said that there will be stringent measures to control fake priests.
Hyderabad: Former Union minister P. Chidambaram on Saturday cautioned Congress leaders and cadre about the TRS and said they needed to become even stronger to bring the party to power in 2019.

He set a target to enrol at least 25 families in the party's Shakti App at every booth for better booth management.

Speaking at a meeting with TPCC leaders, Mr Chidambaram said, There is a little battle in every booth. You have to win every booth. We must have enough people present in all the booths. It is absolutely important to micro-manage every booth.

He asked the party to use technology and social media to get closer to the people. Our political rival in Telangana state is strong. We need to be stronger to defeat our rival, he said.

Mr Chidambaram said, There are around 2.20 crore voters in the Telangana state. We should ensure at least 10 per cent of them enrol in our Shakti App, which will help us to have effective communication with the voters.

He asked party workers to widely publicise the Shakti App number, 7996179961.

The Congress accorded statehood to Telangana and fulfilled the decades-old dream of the people, he said. You should take this issue to the public in a more effective way. You should highlight the failures of TRS government on all fronts in these four years, dashing the hopes of the people, who fought for Telangana state for years.
 At resentencing, former New York Assembly speaker gets (only?) seven years in federal prison for corruption | Main | State judge rejects constitutional attack on Tennessee's lethal injection protocol 

July 28, 2018

Interesting early information from the Safe Streets & Second Chances effort to take an evidence-driven approach to recidivism

In this post from January, I spotlighted the Safe Streets & Second Chances initiative which describes itself as an "an innovative program that takes an evidence-driven approach to the chronic issues of repeat offenders and recidivism, using academic research to craft individualized reentry plans that shift the ultimate measure of success from whether individuals are punished to whether these individuals are improved, rehabilitated, and capable of redemption." This new Washington Post piece, headlined "Koch network project gears up to help inmates reenter society after prison," provides an interesting update on the project:

A new project funded by the network aligned with billionaire industrialist Charles Koch is tracking and monitoring 1,100 inmates in four states after they are released from prison starting Aug. 1 to help them successfully reintegrate into society. Through the project, called Safe Streets and Second Chances, a team of researchers from Florida State University will evaluate former inmates for 15 months after their release  a volatile period that often leads to their rearrest. The project is in its $4 million pilot phase, as researchers prepare to test the effectiveness of a new reentry model that focuses on individualized plans to help inmates find healthy coping and thinking patterns, the right employment opportunities, and positive social engagement. For the past six months, the researchers have been interviewing the men and women in the program, who are currently housed in 48 prisons in rural and urban areas in Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. They will present the early findings today in Colorado, at the twice-annual meeting of the networks largest donors.... The network is advocating a shift in the criminal justice system toward prioritizing rehabilitation and reducing recidivism, rather than focusing on punishment. For years, the network has pushed for bipartisan support for overhauling the criminal justice system, and has teamed up with Van Jones, a former Obama administration official and CNN political commentator, for the cause.... With the research conducted through Safe Streets and Second Chances, network officials say they want to transform the way reentry programs are run in communities across the country. What were trying to do is to prepare prisoners to reenter society and become productive members and taxpaying citizens, hopefully living productive lives and taking care of their families, said Doug Deason, a Dallas businessman and Koch network donor who is on the advisory council of Safe Streets and Second Chances. After interviewing the inmates preparing for release, researchers found these prisoners overwhelmingly felt optimistic about their chances of rehabilitation in life outside prison but generally had high levels of trauma. Nearly 70 percent of people in the program reported seeing someone seriously injured or killed. Half the inmates had seen or handled dead bodies  more than a dozen times for some male prisoners. The majority of them reported having a close friend or family member who was murdered, and 58 percent reported having a drug use disorder. People with untreated trauma symptoms are more likely to become impulsive and incorrectly perceive threats to themselves and others, which could lead to an act of crime and recidivism, according to Carrie Pettus-Davis, a Florida State University professor and the lead researcher. It also could affect their ability to navigate the laws restricting felons from employment, housing and education opportunities, she said. Despite all of the positive orientations and aspirations, this population also is really dealing with some very challenging circumstances, Pettus-Davis said. Theres an enormous amount of trauma represented for both men and women. ... Once people become incarcerated, we need to make sure were appropriately responding to experiences of psychological trauma.

Lots of information and data about and from this project can be found in this new release from Safe Streets & Second Chances under the title "New Research Shows Incarcerated Individuals Want to Be Rehabilitated and Are Hungry for Second Chances as They Reenter Society." Here are excerpts (with links from the original):

Incarcerated individuals want to be rehabilitated, are eager for a second chance, and are emotionally capable of successfully reentering society, new independent data shows. According to statistics compiled by Florida State University (FSU) researchers, both male and female participants said they want to work more, learn more, and spend more time on personal relationships, improving their health, and practicing their faith than they currently do while incarcerated. They also reported fairly high levels of emotional well-being, suggesting that they are primed to successfully rejoin society upon their release.... According to the data, inmates want to rehabilitate themselves through work, education, and faith, and spend more time on personal relationships. Respondents expressed a desire to work or improve their work situation. Men reported working about two hours a day but said they would like to work almost four times that amount. Women reported working almost 1.5 hours per day but said theyd like to work over three times that amount.

Overall, respondents said theyd like to spend twice the amount of time they currently spend on school activities.

Both men and women said they want to devote more time to community involvement and spend twice as much time working on personal relationships.

Both groups said theyd like to spend more time each week on spiritual or religious activities. Next, while individuals said they had experienced a generally high level of trauma in life, they also reported a fairly high level of emotional well-being. Nearly 70 percent of participants said they had seen someone seriously injured or killed.

50 percent said they had seen dead bodies (other than at a funeral) or had to handle dead bodies. Male respondents reported experiencing this an average of over 17 times.

Over 40 percent said they had been attacked with a gun, knife, or some other weapon by someone, including a family member or friend.

About 57 percent said that a close friend or family member had been murdered.

Over 32 percent of female respondents said they had been forced to have intercourse or another form of sex against their will.

On average, females reported having experienced sexual abuse as a child 8.88 times.

58 percent reported having a drug use disorder, while 35 percent reported having an alcohol use disorder.

While both men and women reported similar levels of childhood emotional abuse, they also reported fairly high levels of current emotional well-being, suggesting that they are emotionally resilient and fit to contribute to society in a positive way.

July 28, 2018 at 12:15 PM | Permalink

Comments

This was a survey of aspirations and of past trauma. Did they survey the number of crimes committed in the 15 months with a promise of confidentiality? Crime is lucrative and pleasurable. These people have better social skills than litigators. They get more people to do things for them than those lawyers.

I want to become richer, thinner, and nicer. I want to get treated for my addiction to video, one stronger than that to crack cocaine. I have seen and handled dead bodies, including those of loved ones. Yet, nothing will change about what I do every day.

Posted by: David Behar | Jul 28, 2018 12:29:05 PM

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The PML(N) is so far matching the PTI numbers seat for seat for the provincial Assembly but it is obvious that Imran Khan is trying to avoid the big mistake that the PPP made after 2008.

The race for the Punjab crown is on. As results of Wednesdays general election come in, the PTI has already laid a claim on power in the province. The PML(N) is so far matching the PTI numbers seat for seat for the provincial Assembly but it is obvious that Imran Khan is trying to avoid the big mistake that the PPP made after 2008. Asif Zardari had at that time refused to explore the option of having a coalition government in Punjab with the help of PML(Q). He paid a heavy price for that.

The PTIs emergence is definitely a huge feat given the long and deeply entrenched presence of the PML(N) in Punjab. But it is yet to be seen how many traditions the Imran camp can actually break.

In three weeks time, Pakistanis are going to mark the 30th anniversary of an incident which opened the door on democracy in the country after an 11-year-long martial law. It was the death of Gen. Zia-ul Haq in a plane crash on August 17, 1988, which cleared the way for a party-based general election in October the same year. Pakistan has had no less than eight general polls since Zia. But the generals ghost continues to haunt this land in many ways.

It is not that we have not had governments in Pakistan headed by hardened Zia opponents. The PPP, the chief Zia rival, has been in power at the Centre for two shortened and one full term. Yet, it would appear that Benazir Bhutto and after her Asif Ali Zardari were unable to cleanse the country of the effects of the 11 dark years between 1977 and 1988.

In the provinces as well, anti-Zia parties and individuals have been in power over these three decades. Sindh has been ruled by the PPP for so many terms. We have had a PPP-led coalition in Balochistan among governments by other parties that were opposed to Zias policies during his lifetime and which later had a chance to govern the province after his fall.

In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, even though Wali Khan and others had supported the Army coup of 1977 that they later opposed, the regime might qualify an ANP-led government in post-Zia period in the province as a riposte to the generals legacy. And in recent years, the PTI which ruled at the top of a coalition government in KP is very much presented as a post-Zia phenomenon.

The PTI is often described as a get-together of aspiring politicians who first emerged during Gen. Musharrafs rule. There is a qualification though to accepting the PTI as part of the group comprising politicians and parties who were never allied with Gen. Zia and who have since been in power. The PTI had as it partner in government in KP the Jamaat-i-Islami, which at one point was pivotal to Gen. Zias efforts to consolidate his rule and to acquire a certain pious identity for his regime.

For long it was the PML(N) which kept Gen. Zias flag flying in KP, until it stumbled upon its new identity that had little room for celebrating the feats the partys leaders had  proudly  helped their mentor perform through the 1980s. But the N-League as an heir to the dictator was most noticed and celebrated in Punjab. However, the politics in the province overall has followed a course over the last three decades where whoever came to power here had to be a graduate of the Zia school, including Arif Nakai, who was briefly the chief minister in a coalition installed by the PPP in 1995-96, and who had first entered the Punjab Assembly in 1985.

The PPP had its best shot at the slot of CM of Punjab in 1988. Blue-blooded PPPites such as Faisal Saleh Hayat, Farooq Leghari and Salmaan Taseer were in line for the slot of Punjab CM, only to be edged out by Mian Nawaz Sharif. And when Mian Sahib was promoted to the chief executives post in Islamabad, he entrusted the CMs office to Shahbaz Sharif.

The PPP, for the duration that it had a big presence in Punjab, kept trying to somehow dislodge the Sharifs, and when it managed to do so, it settled for a CM who had been to the same Zia nursery the Sharifs had gone to initially. Manzoor Ahmed Wattoo, the PPPs choice to head the coalition in Punjab, had been polished and nurtured under the Zias talent hunt scheme.

In the years to follow, the Sharifs were to be dethroned and exiled, only to be replaced by another bright Zia student by the name of Chaudhry Pervez Elahi. In 2002, as the Sharifs returned and the PPP ruled against a coalition with the PML(Q), Elahi withdrew to his haveli in Gujrat, leaving Shahbaz Sharif to take charge. Zias tradition continued unbroken. In fact, in a way it was strengthened. The PPP reconfirmed the perennial existence of the Zia clout in Punjab when, forced to select a PM from the province, it settled for Yousuf Raza Gilani.

Is the order that links all Punjab rulers in the last three decades and more under attack now? Can Punjab come out of the Zia era? The province may be at the threshold of rule by a new party, the PTI. But are the people here going to get a CM trained under a headmaster other than the general whose influence this country cannot quite come out of? The trend may continue, if a very eager Shah Mahmood Qureshi, another Zia beneficiary who grew up during politics through the 1980s with fellow students such as Manzoor Wattoo, Yousuf Raza Gilani and Mian Nawaz Sharif, has his way.

By arrangement with Dawn

H10
Having been ridiculed by the media for a prolonged period, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has finally started getting some positive press coverage. His fiery speech in the Lok Sabha on the no-confidence motion was generally applauded and the surprise hug he gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not ceased to be a conversation piece since then.

As part of this image makeover, the Congress communication department subsequently invited women journalists for a special interaction with the party chief. A relaxed Rahul Gandhi spent over two hours at this meeting, answering everyones questions patiently and candidly.

During the course of this question-answer session, he mentioned how the press had treated him unfairly, following unquestioningly the narrative of the Bharatiya Janata Party which referred to him disparagingly as Pappu and called him dumb and incompetent. But now that he had answered their questions at length, Mr Gandhi said, it was up to the journalists to decide if the BJPs comments were really in order. The jury is now out and it is to be seen if this exercise will help change the widely held perception about Mr Gandhi.

Federalism is the buzzword in the Opposition camp these days. Ever since Telangana chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao floated the idea of bringing together other regional parties under the umbrella of a federal front, Trinamul Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister has taken it upon her to follow up on this move. Taking a cue from the Trinamul chief, DMK leader M.K. Stalin has organised a meet on federalism in August for which he has invited Mamata Banerjee. She has accepted the invitation. At the same time, a private initiative called Think Federal has been launched in Kolkata.

Representatives of various political parties, including the Congress, the Biju Janata Dal and the AIADMK, agreed to participate in a discussion organised by this group, which is learnt to have the blessings of the Trinamul government. Meanwhile, Ms Banerjee has announced plans to hold a federal rally in Kolkata next January for which she is inviting leaders of all regional parties. Apparently, it is a strategic move on her part to hold the rally five months later. Party insiders said this was to give all the invitees sufficient time to pencil in this programme in their calendar. It will also indicate the line-up of parties which are joining the Opposition camp. For instance, if a leader accepts an invitation and then does not turn up for the rally, it is a clear message that he or she is not with the Opposition grouping as they cannot offer the excuse that they were not given sufficient notice.

The war between former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Haryana Congress president Ashok Tanwar has intensified now that the next Lok Sabha election is less than a year away. Mr Hooda is keen to head the partys state unit as he would then be in the driving seat with regards to the distribution of tickets and it would also make him the automatic choice for the chief ministers post in case the party wins the next Assembly poll. The two leaders have been busy organising rallies and yatras across the state to showcase their organisational capabilities and their connect with the people. Mr Hooda is particularly keen to get this post now that he has been kept out of the recently-reconstituted Congress Working Committee. Mr Hooda has since stepped up efforts to demonstrate his strength among the party legislators to Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

In an effort to press Mr Hoodas case, Congress MLAs from Haryana recently arrived at the party chiefs residence to convey their views to him in person. However, Mr Gandhi did not entertain them. When the MLAs told him that they wanted a word with him about a state-related issue, the Congress president told them off, saying, I know what you have to tell me, and then left with a quick Namaste.

Union minister for road transport Nitin Gadkari may be a favourite of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the BJPs ideological mentor, but he appears to be a lonely figure in his own government. At least, thats the impression gathered by Opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha, which have raised objections to the Motor Vehicles Bill being piloted by Mr Gadkari. The government has been forced to defer the bill as a united and adamant Opposition has made it clear that they will only cooperate if their amendments are accepted. Mr Gadkari, who has staked his prestige on the passage of this bill, has been pleading with the Opposition for their help and has even called up West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to get a green signal from her. But Mr Gadkari seems to have been left to fend for himself as he is receiving little help from his colleagues in convincing the Opposition. In fact, the indifferent attitude of parliamentary managers and other senior BJP leaders suggested to the Opposition that the government is perhaps not serious about this bill.
It is to be hoped that the Union government will forcefully reject a recent recommendation of the National Council for Women to ban the centuries old tradition of the confession, which is an important sacrament, in Christian churches.

The current leadership of the NCW is also deserving of reprimand and punishment for publicly questioning a key provision of our Constitution  the freedom of religion and the right to practice ones faith without fear provided public order is not endangered.

Apparently there are a couple of reports  which are in need of investigation  of priests attempting to sexually blackmail some women of the congregation who made confessions before them. If the complaints are found valid, the Church must punish such priests and expel them. They should also be subjected to the fullest rigours of the law.

On the basis of complaints against two priests, the NCW has asked for the ending of a key Christian practice. How absurd can defenders of a political faith get? In the guise of rising to protect the rights of women against predatory males in our patriarchal social order, let the proponents of the ruling party not initiate a campaign against another religious minority, as it has been doing with vigour in the case of Muslims.

Gender justice is a very important aspect of our citizenship and must be seen to be done. But if the Church or the foundational institution of any religion needs to initiate reform, the problem it addresses needs to be widespread enough. Stray cases of rogue priests  of any faith  should call for the criminal justice system to be invoked, not the ending of a key religious practice. We must not have disaffected religious minorities in the country on account of enthusiastic majoritarianism.
Words should be the avatars of the real

Not the mantras of hope

But without metaphor, mantras and poetry

How the f*** would we cope?

From The Love Song of Homi Sidepartingwalla

by Bachchoo

One of the more appropriate appointments made by British Prime Minister Theresa May (hem) was the promotion of Sajid Javid to the home office. To say that over the last few months the Cabinet has been reshuffled would be an insult to a pack of cards. Poor Theresa has had to wrestle with political entropy  a task comparable to trying to unscramble eggs.

The most recent turbulence was caused by the resignation of two senior Cabinet ministers  David Davis, the Brexit negotiator, and the ambitious foreign secretary, Boris Johnson.

Earlier, her government faced the scandal of what the media called the Windrush affair. Home office officials, supposedly in pursuit of illegal immigrants, detained and even deported West Indians whose parents had arrived here in the 1950s at the invitation of the then British government. The pretence for this outrage was that some of these individuals had not subsequently registered their British citizenship. The scandal caused by the detention and deportation of British citizens who have lived and worked for virtually all their lives in the country caused the resignation of the then home secretary. She was sacrificed at the altar of Ms May because the dispensation under which home office officials made bold to arrest and deport this Windrush generation victims was initiated under the home office of Ms May in the previous David Cameron government.

Mr Javid is an immigrant of the same generation as the Windrushwalla victims. He immediately apologises to his fellow immigrant citizens and, while assuring the British public that his office would diligently pursue illegal immigrants, he specifically called off the hounding of the innocents. So the brown man deals with the outrage to blacks on behalf of the whites. Sorted!

Now Mr Javid wades into another tricky situation involving ethnicity.

In several northern cities in the past years there have been trials and convictions of gangs of men (with a couple of female accomplices) for the sexual abuse of vulnerable underage girls. Most of these girls were white and all of them vulnerable in so far as they had been abandoned by their parents and lived under the unwatchful or bureaucratic eye of the local government. Eleven of these gangs, over a hundred individuals, have been tried and jailed for grooming and paedophilia.

In the fair town of Rotherham, Sarah Champion, the member of Parliament, called attention to the fact that over 95 per cent of these criminals were immigrants of Pakistani, mainly Mirpuri origin, or they were others pulled into a network of acquaintance with them. She did not associate their criminality with their religion.

Ms Champion leads a cross-party working group of MPS whose constituencies of Rotherham, Rochdale, Oxford, Blackpool, Keighley, Telford, Bradford, Halifax, Huddersfield, Middlesborough and Newcastle upon Tyne, have been affected by this grooming and sexual exploitation of vulnerable girls by organised criminal networks.

In May, when Mr Javid was promoted to the home office, they told him that they were alarmed by the similarity in cases across the country and they called for research into the common patterns of behaviour in these cases.

Ms Champion came under attack from several pressure groups who accused her of Islamophobia. The diatribes against her were absurd. They accused her of fanning the flames of racial hatred and acting like a neo-fascist murderer. Death threats and filthy messages followed. The police put Ms Champion under the sort of security protection afforded to Salman Rushdie. In the estimation of the security services she has offended against the Prophet of silence on race and the deviant sect of opportunistic anti-racism.

Ms Champion has been a tireless critic and worker attempting to fight child sexual abuse. She was pointing to an awkward fact and calling for some official attempt to trace, analyse and attempt to confront what seems, on the surface of it, to have an obvious social if not cultural commonalty to this crime.

Writing in the Sun, a newspaper not renowned for its friendly attitude to immigrants, Ms Champion said these assailants were predators and the common denominator is their ethnic heritage.

Explosive words and there was explosive fallout. Nadeem Murtuja, an acting director of a charity called Just Yorkshire, accused Ms Champion of industrial-scale racism.

The opponents of Ms Champion have petitioned the Labour Party to deselect her and field a Muslim candidate in her place.

Mr Javid has stepped into the controversy in support of Ms Champion, who belongs to the Opposition party. He wrote to Ms Champion, saying: The government attaches the highest priority to tackling child sexual exploitation We categorise it as a national threat and offences involving grooming by organised networks is of particular concern. My officials have been working with investigating officers in relevant cases and with the national crime agency, to establish the particular characteristics and contexts associated with this type of offending. Understanding more about the offender network would support a more targeted response by the police and other agencies If there is a need for further research, we will take it forward.

Mr Javids statements are full-hearted support for Ms Champions call for identifying the characteristics of the social and even ethnic particularities of the convicted offenders. He doesnt mention ethnicity, social status or employment, but inevitably when and if the investigations he says he has initiated are made public, these will have to be tackled. Did the gang operate through a network of a particular profession? Were the gang members related through blood, through work or through social institutions?

All that is worth examining without being labelled racist or Islamophobic.

If an inquiry into the murderers who have stabbed and lynched Muslims in India comes to the conclusion that they were fanatical Hindus or that they belonged uniformly to certain organisations, should this be characterised as anti-Hinduism?

H11
President Donald Trumps decision to invite President Vladimir Putin to Washington D.C., within days of his return from the Helsinki summit with Russias President, and the fiasco of Trumps other summits at Brussels and Singapore, illustrate the perils of personal diplomacy. It can bring into disrepute, in consequence, the institution of summitry also. They are held ordinarily after extensive spadework by professional diplomats.

There is much to be said for heads of states or governments meeting to exchange opinions with a view to removing obstacles in the diplomatic process which they alone can remove, besides, sizing up each others intentions and approach. None of this dispenses with professional input.

What is disturbing about Trumps forays is his utter disdain for professional diplomats. His first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, denuded the state department of persons of ability and experience, which he himself lacked. So does his successor Mike Pompeo. Not surprisingly, Trumps meeting with North Koreas leader Kim Jong-un in Singapore yielded little of substance. The recrimination that followed in its wake between the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and US secretary of state Pompeo caused little surprise. The secretary had no experience in diplomacy at all. Trumps tragedy is that he compounds his own incompetence by relying on inept advisers.

The conduct of diplomacy is a complicated affair because the affairs of the state have become more complex. What George F. Kennan called megaphone diplomacy reigns supreme. Leaders inflame public opinion in order to mobilise public opinion for the ends of domestic politics; only to find their hands tightly tied when they embark on personal diplomacy to resolve difference with the adversary state, without preparatory work in secret by professionals.

If Trump has no experience in foreign affairs, neither has Indias Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He plunged into personal diplomacy no sooner had he occupied the PMs chair in New Delhi.

Politicians have a strange distrust of professionals. Roosevelt thought he could deal with Uncle Joe (Stalin) better than Winston Churchill who had at least 30 years of experience behind him.

Leaders develop attitudes which awareness of their own limitations does not alter. One ambassador to the US noted that President Truman regarded his own state department as a hostile foreign power. Israels foreign minister Abba Ebans description of his problems with the Prime Minister is invaluable. It is so true of most of such relationships. Golda Meir considered the diplomatic professionals to be too polished, excessively inclined to understand diverse points of view and in some regrettable cases afflicted with analytical and intellectual habits that did not facilitate contact between them and her.

Goldas talent lay in the simplification of issues: she went straight to the crux and centre of each problem. Foreign policy specialists, on the other hand, are conscious of the intrinsic complexity of international relations. They perceive the multiple elements that go into most decisions and policies. They react with resignation to the idea that Israels vital interests are not all that vital to non-Israelis. They are also aware of the volatile atmosphere of a profession in which contingencies can be created overnight by forces alien and external to their own nation... The trouble with foreign policy is that it is foreign.

Since Golda was a tough character with a domineering streak, the temptation for senior officials to adapt their advice to her prejudice was strong. ...The very word analysis provoked her to irritability. When officials analysed the contradictory waves of influence that flowed into decision-making, she tended to interrupt them with an abrupt request for the bottom line. The quest for the simple truth was not easy when, as often happens, the truth is not simple at all.

However, leaders do matter; provided that they have insights and command respect  Gorbachev, Churchill, de Gaulle and Adenauer come to mind. They led. Lesser mortals must depend on professionals and not rush alone into the turbulent waters of diplomacy which are often beyond their depth.
In an interview to Shashi Bhushan, BJPs Delhi president and Lok Sabha member Manoj Tiwari said that the Congress and its president Rahul Gandhi, having realised that they are not capable of beating Prime Minister Narendra Modis developmental agenda or popularity, they are desperately running after smaller parties to form an alliance. Any alliance under the Congress umbrella will not succeed in dislodging the Modi government, he added.

What do you think of Opposition unity or the much talked about grand alliance for 2019, especially after the number of votes the Opposition won during the no-confidence motion?

The numbers that all the Opposition parties together managed to get during the no-trust motion clearly shows that cracks have already started appearing within the Opposition. Despite using all its might as the biggest Opposition party, the Congress failed to bring other non-NDA parties on the same platform. Only half of the Opposition responded to the Congress call for unity.

Despite all their efforts, Rahul Gandhi wont be able to bring all the Opposition parties on one platform to fight the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. On the other hand, the BJPs or NDAs numbers have increased despite the fact that our partner Shiv Sena was absent from voting and another partner, TDP, brought the no-confidence motion. If you read between the lines, the message is loud and clear  that several Opposition parties have supported the Modi government. This shows that more and more parties are joining us.

Do you think the Congress offering prime ministership to other leaders will help in the formation of the grand alliance?

The Congress is disheartened after repeated electoral loss from one state to another. No senior Congress leaders are saying anything on any issue knowing the potential of their leader (Rahul Gandhi), and Mr Gandhi is disheartened knowing his performance. In frustration, the Congress, which ruled the country for 65 years, is looking towards Mamata Banerjees Trinamul Congress or Mayawatis Bahujan Samaj Party and is ready to offer them the prime ministerial post.

The Congress and its leadership, including Mr Gandhi, have realised that they are not capable of defeating Mr Modis developmental agenda or popularity, and are now desperately running after smaller parties to form an alliance. Any alliance under Congress umbrella will not succeed in dislodging the Modi government.

How do you see Rahul Gandhi hugging Prime Minister Narendra Modi and then winking?

Everyone sitting in Lok Sabha was shocked after seeing Mr Gandhi behaving in this manner. His behaviour shows arrogance, a mindset that he and his family still rule the country, that they can direct anyone, including the Prime Minister, to stand up.

The way he asked the Prime Minister to stand up was missed by the camera for a second, but those sitting in the House saw it. The Congress president also adversely affected the future of the grand alliance as many Opposition parties did not support the act knowing that Mr Gandhi is rude, arrogant and misbehaves with everyone.

On the other hand people witnessed Mr Modi who kept smiling. On that day, BJP won the first round of 2019 battle on the floor of the House and, with peoples support, will win the second round in 2019.

Then why has the exchange of words between the BJP and the Congress become more heated?

That is not true. The Congress under new leadership (Rahul Gandhi) has started a new trend in politics  throw allegations without proof or facts. Even Mr Gandhi in his speech during the no-confidence motion said that they have learnt the art of speaking lies like others. We want to know from whom he has learnt to speak lies? The BJP and its leaders only talk about the good work and achievements of the Modi government, nothing else.

What will be the BJPs agenda for the 2019 general election?

Our only agenda is development. Mr Modi only talks about development. The works of the Modi government will talk and it will also ensure their second term. The Modi government has done a lot of work and is moving towards achieving its goals set by the Prime Minister.

What will happen if it fails to achieve those goals?

Mr Modi is very honest. In 2017, Mr Modi asked people to give him another term to achieve his targets by 2022 and announced Sankalp se Siddhi  a five-year programme for New India. Mr Modi has honestly told people that he will transform India by 2022.

Is it true that the BJP is considering to fielding many celebrities in Lok Sabha polls?

Under the Modi government, part-time politics is not allowed. Mr Modi and BJP president Amit Shah are working tirelessly. I have also taken only 45 days leave in the last four years. The message is very clear  that part-time politics wont be allowed under Mr Modi and Mr Shahs leadership.

A member of Parliament has to work as sewak not as lawmaker. Celebrities ready to work in pace with Mr Modi and Mr Shah are welcome. They must also understand that there are two types of politics  nationalist politics of the BJP and politics of appeasement by others. Doors are open for celebrities who believe in nationalist politics of the BJP. Those who are already serving or working for society may be considered by the party as candidates for Lok Sabha.

Is it true that a large number of sitting members will be replaced with new faces?

Whether sitting members of Lok Sabha will be replaced or not will be decided by the BJPs parliamentary board. All MPs of the party are common workers, and they have faith in the BJP leadership and parliamentary board and follow their decisions.
The White House said no agreements were reached in the one-on-one meeting with Putin other than having national security teams meet. (Photo: AP | File)

Washington/Johannesburg: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he wanted US President Donald Trump to be his guest in Moscow, an idea that the White House welcomed despite lingering criticism over the Helsinki summit.

The Russian leader said on a visit to South Africa for an economic conference that "appropriate conditions" were required in both countries for another summit to take place, an apparent reference to a political uproar in the United States last week after the two men met.

The White House said Trump was enthusiastic about another summit. Trump has said he wants to improve ties between the two nuclear powers, whose relations have dipped to a post-Cold War low in recent years.

"President Trump looks forward to having President Putin to Washington after the first of the year, and he is open to visiting Moscow upon receiving a formal invitation," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Separately, US Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis said he was considering the possibility of the first talks in years between the defence chiefs of the United States and Russia. Mattis said there had been no decision.

Trump was criticized at home for failing to confront Putin publicly over Moscow's interference in the 2016 US election, and for seeming to contradict his own intelligence agencies on the threat from Russia. Trump has defended his conduct.

The White House said no agreements were reached in the one-on-one meeting with Putin other than having national security teams meet. No policy changes came out of the summit, Mattis said on Friday, adding he had also not been given new direction on Syria.

Moscow's military support starting in 2015 of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian war, Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and the conclusions of US intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the election have soured relations.

Russia is under punitive sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union and wants them lifted.

Putin told reporters on Friday: "We need for the appropriate conditions to exist, to be created, including in our countries" for more US-Russia summits.

Putin went on to say Russia was ready to greet Trump in Moscow. "Be my guest. He has such an invitation, I told him that."

Following the backlash in the United States over Trump's cordial public tone with Putin in Helsinki, US and Russian officials backed away from Trump's proposal to schedule a follow-up meeting in Washington in the fall.

The White House on Wednesday postponed that invitation until next year, when a federal investigation of Russian election interference could be finished.

The last time Trump was in the Russian capital was as a private citizen in 2013 to attend a Miss Universe beauty pageant. That visit surfaced in the FBI investigation of Russian election activities in the form of a dossier containing allegations that Trump had spent time with Russian prostitutes there. Trump has denied the allegations.

Efforts by both Trump and Putin to achieve detente have been fiercely resisted by US lawmakers, including some in Trump's own Republican Party, accusing him of being too friendly toward Putin, whom they consider an adversary of the United States.

US intelligence agencies concluded last year that Moscow waged an influence campaign to help Trump win the White House by hacking into Democratic Party computers and using fake social media accounts to denigrate Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

Trump, whose advisers have warned him Russia continues its interference in the run-up to congressional elections in November, met with his national security aides on Friday to discuss election security.

A White House statement said the meeting addressed threats to elections "from malign foreign actors" and efforts on providing cyber security assistance to state and local authorities.

Trump has repeatedly denied his campaign colluded with Russia and has characterized the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller as a witch hunt. Trump is infuriated by any suggestion he might owe his election victory to Russia.

Trump on Friday denied knowing in advance about a 2016 meeting his son Donald Trump Jr and other campaign staff had at Trump Tower with a group of Russians who offered damaging information on Clinton. A CNN report said his longtime lawyer Michael Cohen planned to tell Mueller that Trump did know of the meeting.
A rainbow caused by a 108-metre-high artificial waterfall on the facade of the Liebian International Building in Guiyang in Chinas Guizhou province. ( Image: AFP )

Beijing: A skyscraper in southwest China that boasts what its owner calls the worlds largest man-made waterfall has become the latest example of over-the-top architecture to draw national ridicule.

The tower in the city of Guiyang was built with a spectacular 108-metre (350-feet) cascade tumbling down its face but cash flow could prove a problem for the ostentatious des-ign. Although the Liebian International Building is not yet finished, the water feature was completed two years ago. However it has only been turned on six times, with the owners blaming the high cost 800 yuan ($120) per hour of pumping water to the top of the 121-metre-high structure. Constructed by the Ludi Industry Group, the building will house a shopping mall, offices and a luxury hotel.

Its signature artificial waterfall uses runoff, rainwater and groundwater collected in giant underground tanks.

The company says the feature pays homage to the local regions rugged nature, but Chinese netizens have mocked the project as a waste of money.

If they could just turn it on once every few months, the company would save on cleaning windows, one user wrote on Chinas Twitter-like social network Weibo.

Chinas rapid economic growth was accompanied by a construction boom, often including outlandish buildings that are criticised as a waste of public or shareholder funds.

The Beijing headquarters of state broadcaster China Central TV features a futuristic design now nicknamed The Big Underpants due to its resemblance to a giant pelvis. Web users also noted the offices of the Peoples Daily newspaper looked like a penis during construction.
Malani received 1,06,630 votes while his opponent, Arbab Zakaullah of the Grand Democratic Alliance, garnered 87,251 votes. (Photo: Facebook)

Islamabad: Mahesh Kumar Malani of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has become the first Hindu candidate to win a National Assembly seat, 16 years after non-Muslims got the right to vote and contest on general seats in the country.

Mahesh Kumar Malani contested and won the National Assembly (NA-222) Tharparkar-II seat in southern Sindh province, after defeating 14 candidates, the Dawn reported.

He received 1,06,630 votes while his opponent, Arbab Zakaullah of the Grand Democratic Alliance, garnered 87,251 votes.

Malani, a Pakistani Hindu Rajasthani Pushkarna Brahamin politician, was a member of parliament from 2003-08 on a reserved seat, nominated by the PPP.

In 2013, Malani became the first non-Muslim Member of the Provincial Assembly after winning the Tharparkar-III general seat of the Sindh Assembly.

He had served as the chairperson of the Sindh Assembly's Standing Committee on Food, apart from being members of various standing committees during the last government's tenure.

Non-Muslims got the right to vote and contest on general seats of the parliament and provincial assemblies in 2002 after the then president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf made amendments in the Constitution.

They also have reserved seats in the Senate, national and provincial assemblies.

Ten seats are reserved for minorities in the National Assembly, which are allotted to parties on the basis of the number of seats they have in the parliament.

Women and non-Muslims in Pakistan get two opportunities to become a lawmaker: first by contesting elections on 272 general seats from anywhere and after getting the nomination from a party having representation in the National Assembly.

In March this year, PPP's Krishna Kumari from Tharparkar became the first Hindu woman to be elected to the Senate. She was elected to a reserved seat for women from Sindh.
Islamabad: Imran Khans party said it has begun talks with independents and small parties to form a coalition government after a resounding triumph in Pakistans general election, as rival parties planned protests over alleged vote rigging.

However, an All Parties Conference (APC) hosted by Pakistan Muslim League president Shehbaz Sharif on has decided not to take oath in the parliament after Wednesdays controversial election.

Sources said that the proposal to not take oath was forwarded by Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (Fazal) chief Moulana Fazlur Rehman and Awami National Party (ANP) leader Asfandyar Wali Khan.

The JUI-F chief said that worst rigging of the history was seen in Wednesdays general elections, adding that this was not public mandate, but the public mandate has been robbed.

We wont let anyone hijack democracy, the JUI-F chief said and added we will again run campaign for elections.

The cleric said that they had struggled for democracy and would not let any pawn of the establishment to run the government.

Speaking on the occasion, ANP chief Asfandyar Wali Khan said that the best way of boycott was that all leader of all political parties dont take oath. Pak Sar Zameen Party chairman Mustafa Kamal also supported the suggestion.

Jamaat-e-Islami chief Sirajul Haq said that they knew the results before elections were held, adding that we should have sit together before the polls.

Dr Farooq Sattar, while presenting the Mutta-hida Qaumi Movement stance said that Pakistan Tehrik-e-Jnsaf leader Jahangir Tareen had contacted them.

We have been ditched in the past, Farooq Sattar said but added they would support if all opposition parties reach consensus.
 Interesting early information from the Safe Streets & Second Chances effort to take an evidence-driven approach to recidivism | Main | A (partisan) look at some of Judge Brett Kavanaugh's record on criminal justice issues 

The state of Tennessee has not conducted an execution in nearly a decade, but it has three scheduled for later this year including one slated for August 9. The prospect of these executions going forward got more likely this past week after, as reported in this local article, a state judge rejected a suit brought by many death row inmates challenging the constitutionality of the state's lethal injection protocol. Here are the basics:

Tennessee can use controversial drugs to execute inmates on death row despite concerns from defense attorneys and experts that doing so is "akin to burning someone alive," a Nashville judge ruled Thursday. The ruling is a blow to 33 death row inmates who had challenged the state's lethal injection protocol, saying it led to cruel and unusual punishment forbidden by the U.S. Constitution. Among them is Billy Ray Irick, who is scheduled to be executed Aug. 9.

But the ruling won't be the final word. The inmates' attorneys quickly announced they would appeal.

Davidson County Chancellor Ellen Hobbs Lyle issued the 51-page ruling on the case Thursday evening, forcefully denying the inmates' claims and saying they failed to meet two critical bars necessary to overturn an execution method.... "Although dreadful and grim, it is the law that while surgeries should be pain-free, there is no constitutional requirement for that with executions," Lyle wrote, echoing an argument made by attorneys for the state....

The inmates, who filed the suit against the state in February, did not argue against the death penalty itself. Instead, they focused on the use of midazolam, the first drug in the state's new protocol, that is meant to put an inmate to sleep before two other drugs stop the heart and lungs.

Experts who testified on the inmates' behalf said midazolam is often ineffective, leaving people awake and aware of the acidic poison that kills them. The experts pulled examples from executions across the country, in which witnesses saw inmates thrashing, moaning and crying as the drugs coursed through their veins. "That is akin to burning someone alive. That is not hyperbole. That is not an exaggeration," said Henry. "That's avoidable."

Lyle acknowledged that the inmates' case included testimony from "well-qualified and imminent experts," and she conceded "the inmate being executed may be able to feel pain from the administration of the second and third drugs."... But, Lyle wrote, the inmates' attorneys did not prove that the three-drug protocol would lead to prolonged periods of "needless suffering," one of the key factors that could lead to unconstitutional torture. She pointed to the relatively brief executions cited by the inmates' attorneys, which ended after an average of 13.55 minutes.

Deputy Attorney General Scott Sutherland, who represented the state and the Department of Correction, tied midazolam to ongoing work to make executions more humane. He pointed to rulings from the U.S. Supreme Court and other judicial panels that upheld executions using midazolam. And he said that the inmates had failed to prove pentobarbital was readily available to be used instead of the three-drug protocol.

Lyle agreed. "It is not enough, the United States Supreme Court has held, for the inmate to claim that the States method of execution is cruel and unusual," Lyle wrote. "The inmate must also make a claim in the lawsuit he files and must prove at trial in his case that there is a known and available method to execute him that, in comparison to the States execution method, significantly reduces a substantial risk of pain."
The customs officials at the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) arrested four persons, in different cases, including a South Korean national and recovered over 2 kg of gold worth Rs 61 lakh from them.

The suspects had used various methods in an attempt to smuggle including concealment of gold inside a high-pressure foot pump in the check-in baggage, gold foils in chocolate wrappers, gold powder mixed with mud and paste to hoodwink officials, the Additional Commissioner of Customs, Harsh Vardhan Umre said.

According to the officials, a passenger named Saifullah Shaik from Kadapa arrived at the KIAL from Bahrain. On scanning his check-in baggage the officials observed dark images. On detailed inspection, a high-pressure foot pump with gold pieces was found inside the pump. The total quantity of gold recovered was 874.430 gm valued at Rs 27.03 lakh.

The others arrested include a South Korean, a man from Andhra Pradesh a passenger who landed at KIA from Abu Dhabi on Thursday.
Opposing the National Medical Commission Bill 2017, private doctors under the aegis of IMA, Mangaluru unit, staged a protest and submitted a memorandum to the Deputy Commissioner opposing the bill.

IMA Mangaluru President K Ramachandra Kamath said, The protest was against the proposed National Medical Commission Bill, 2017. The IMA has been opposing the bill for its draconian, anti-poor and pro-rich clauses. The Centre wants to dissolve the Medical Council of India, which has 125 members, with representatives from each state and reduce it to only nine members in the proposed NMC Bill.

In spite of the IMA calling for protest, the patients who visited OPD in a majority of the hospitals in Mangaluru were treated by the available doctors in the OPD.

The outpatients departments in private hospitals were not much affected on Saturday following the Dhikkar Diwas.

Patients get treatment

A representative from a hospital in the city said, None of the patients were sent back. A few of the doctors had attended a meeting of the IMA Mangaluru chapter. However, all the patients who visited the hospital were treated. The patients may not have got the doctor who they were looking for. However, the available doctors have treated the patients. In case of emergency, they were treated at casualty which functions round the clock.

The superintendent of Wenlock Hospital Dr H R Rajeshwari Devi said the OPD services functioned normally. The hospital receives an average of 1,000 to 1,100 outpatients a day, the superintendent said.

OPD hit in Puttur

The OPD services were hit in private hospitals and clinics in Puttur.

In the private hospitals, only the emergency patients were treated and the OPD remained closed. As a result, there was an increase in the number of patients visiting government hospital in Puttur. The patients were seen standing in a queue to avail the services.

Puttur branch president Dr Ganesh Prasad Mudraje said, The NMC Bill is anti-people and against the democracy. The Bill is against the aspiration of the medical fraternity.

Well-known medical practitioner Dr K Suresh Puthuraya said, The government should increase representation of doctors in the proposed NMC and drop all the clauses that are against the medical practitioners.
Urban Development and Housing Minister U T Khader said that various plans are on the anvil to bring about municipal reforms.

Speaking to media persons after reviewing the progress of the new DCs office complex construction work at Padil on Friday, he said efforts are on to build a single window system in Revenue Department. Municipal Research Centre has been developing the software Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) in this regard.

The software is likely to be launched on August 15. Also, automation of Mangaluru Urban Development Authority (MUDA) is prioritised. Model bylaws will be formed for the Urban Development Department. The district is in the first place in submitting a proposal towards the same, he said.

After speaking to officials regarding the work progress on the DCs office complex, he said that the proposed budget of the building is Rs 41 crore. The funds have already been released and the work is in progress. The work was started four months ago. The complex work has to be completed by December 2019. The DC office complex will be built in a G+2 model and covers an area of 2,25,000 square feet. The offices of the Revenue, food, health and another department will be accommodated in the new DC office complex. Parking facilities will be made for 234 vehicles. Some changes are suggested in the building and an additional funds have been sought for furniture and other equipment, he said.

Simultaneously, the stretch of Bajal-Padil-Jeppinamogaru will be developed so as to improve better road connectivity to the new DCs office, he stated.

Khader said that a meeting has been convened with the chief minister and the deputy chief minister on July 28 at 4.30 pm in Bengaluru towards discussing the issues pertaining to Revenue, Law and Rural Drinking Water and Panchayat Raj Departments. Deputy commissioners of all districts and the secretaries of all departments will take part.

Reacting to the comments made by Vijayapura City MLA and BJP leader Basanagouda Patil Yatnal on intellectuals, Khader said one can only expect such harsh comments by people who have celebrated the death of the father of the nation.

Former MLA B Ramanath Rai said that the project on the new DCs complex was hit by the delay at the initial stage as some people approached the National Green Tribunal against the work. The earmarked land in Padil belongs to the Karnataka State Forest Industrial Corporation and the department has been compensated with another 5.7 acres of land in Bangra Kuluru. The new DC office will provide better connectivity to people from other taluks as well as it is located on the highway, Rai said.

Deputy Commissioner Sasikanth Senthil and Additional Deputy Commissioner Kumar were present.
The Congress hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not raising the Doklam issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

"The truth is that Prime Minister Modi meets the Chinese president on the sidelines of the BRICS summit and holds talks, but forgets to talk about Doklam. When will this government show the 56-inch chest and red eyes and have the courage to raise the issues concerning security and nation's borders?...the 132 crore people of the country want to know," Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.

He said the United States Congressional Committee has stated that China has made a headway in Doklam and was raising its infrastructure and Army strength there.

"This is a direct threat and challenge to national security," he said.

The Congress leader said the way Chinese Army strength of Brigade-level was there in north Doklam and in southern Doklam in the Siliguri corridor, China has constructed a road, but the "prime minister and defence minister did not speak anything on it".

"The truth is that the one who claimed having a 56-inch chest and dared to show 'red eyes' to China, has gone back on his promise and has turned silent on national security.

"The prime minister, who dared to show China his red eyes, gave swing rides to the Chinese president. But when he goes to China with an agenda-less visit, he forgets to even raise the issue of Doklam which is linked to national security," Surjewala said.

The Congress leader said China, which does not have any diplomatic ties with Bhutan, visited the nation and discussed Doklam with Bhutan without involving India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the 10th BRICS Summit agreed that the Chinese defence minister will visit India next month as part of the efforts to maintain the "momentum" generated by their recent meetings.

Modi, who is here to attend the BRICS Summit, met Xi for the third time in nearly three months last evening after their two-day informal summit in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late April and a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Qingdao, \RChina in June.

"It is important to maintain this momentum and for this we should, at our level, regularly review our relationship and give proper instructions whenever required," Modi told Xi in his opening remarks.
A senior police official allegedly knelt down before Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath and touched his feet like other disciples triggering a huge controversy.

Praveen Singh, a circle officer (CO), posted in Gorakhpur, Adityanath's hometown, not only touched the chief minister's feet but also applied 'tilak' on latter's forehead on the occasion of 'Guru Purnima' on Friday at Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur.

The matter came to light when Singh shared pictures showing him touching Adityanath's feet on the social media. He, however, deleted the post after the controversy.

The state government, which found itself on the back foot on the matter, clarified that the officer had knelt down not before a chief minister but a 'mahant' (head of mutt). Adityanath was also the head of Gorakshpeeth.

''Bowing before a religious figure is different from cleaning the sandals of someone,'' a senior government official said on Saturday apparently referring to the touching of feet of the then chief minister Mayawati by a senior state cop.

He said that the function that was organised at the Gorakhnath Temple on Guru Purnima had immense significance for the people, who were associated with the same.

The Samajwadi Party (SP), however, said that the incident was reflective of the fact that the police had ''totally surrendered'' before the chief minister and was behaving as his personal servant. ''The cop must be immediately suspended,'' said SP leader Sunil Singh.
India and Japan are set to expand the ambits of the joint military drills, with an exercise involving ground forces of the two nations likely to be held later this year.

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will host her counterpart in Japanese Government, Itsunori Onodera, in New Delhi next month. They will discuss ways to step up bilateral defence cooperation, particularly focussing on joint military exercises. The meeting between Indian and Japanese defence ministers is likely to finalise the date for the joint exercise, involving the Indian Army and Japan's Ground Self Defence Force, sources told the DH in New Delhi on Saturday.

Sitharaman and Onodera will also hold a discussion on the proposal of a joint exercise, involving Indian Air Force and Japan Air Self Defence Force.

Since 2015, Japan Maritime Self Defence Force have been joining Indian Navy and the United States Navy for the annual Malabar Exercise, which earlier remained a bilateral drill. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his counterpart in Japan, Shinzo Abe, agreed during the annual summit in September 2017 to hold bilateral military drills involving ground and air forces too. Sitharaman and Onodera are likely to follow up on what the two Prime Ministers had agreed to last year.

Indian Navy and Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force have also expanded cooperation in specialised areas, including in anti-submarine warfare. The meeting between Sitharaman and Onodera will focus on expanding maritime domain awareness in Indo-Pacific region too, sources in New Delhi said.
Amid indications of a political realignment in Bihar, the Congress on Saturday reached out to Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan and cautioned him that his party will sink with the BJP unless he breaks away from the NDA.

AICC general secretary in-charge of Bihar Shaktisinh Gohils remark came a day after Paswans party Lok Janshakti Party (LJP), a key NDA ally, said on Friday that it was running out of patience over the Modi governments inaction over negating the Supreme Court judgement on the SC/ST Prevention of Atrocities Bill .

Not only Paswan-ji, none of the allies is comfortable in the NDA. The message is all the more clear in Bihar that the Modi government is against Other Backward Classes (OBC), Scheduled Castes (SC), Extremely Backward Castes (ECB) and Mahadalits. Paswan ji has to do the politics of EBC and Dalit, and so is the case with Upendra Kushwha (RLSP chief and another NDA ally from Bihar). We believe that if they remain with the BJP, they will also sink with the BJP, Gohil said at the AICC briefing.

A senior party functionary said that the Congress is hopeful that Paswan and Kushwaha will desert the NDA and join the existing alliance in Bihar of Congress-RJD and Jitan Ram Manjhis Hindustan Awam Morcha.

LJPs parliamentary board chairman and Paswans son Chirag has also slammed the Modi government over the appointment of Justice A K Goel, who along with Justice U U Lalit delivered the verdict on SC/ST Act, as chairman of the National Green Tribunal and demanded that he be immediately removed.

A functionary in the LJP underlined our Dalit constituency is in unease. We need to clear their misgivings. They have begun to feel that the NDA government is against them. There is a restlessness in our cadre.

The remarks were similar to what was said ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls when Paswan had deserted the UPA boat and joined the BJP-led alliance. Even then Chirag was in the forefront with the senior Paswan leaving the decision to his son.

Our main concern is that our Dalit constituency which looks up to us to protect their interests does not feel ignored, LJP Secretary General Abdul Khaliq said but ruled out LJP walking out of the NDA till 2019 Lok Sabha polls.

Gohil, however, evaded a direct reply on whether the Congress would welcome if Paswan deserts NDA saying Whenever he will come out, we will come out with a comment. At present it is a hypothetical question, I will not comment."

While he was severely critical of BJP over the shelter home sexual exploitation case of Bihar and called the BJP-JDU alliance opportunistic, Gohil chose to be soft on Chief Minister Nitish Kumar even while demanding a Supreme Court-monitored CBI probe into the case.

A government and a CM who was known for empowering women and girl child through bicycles, prohibition and reservation preside over a regime where girls in shelter homes are being sexually exploited by the state. All thanks to the Anti-Women mindset of BJP and its leadership, Gohil said.
I have to trust the police, I have to trust the courts; I dont have other options, says Jacob (name changed). The man from Thiruvalla, in Keralas Pathanamthitta district, is at the centre of a controversy that has rocked the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC). In May, he raised an allegation that his wife was sexually exploited by five priests of the Church. Two months later, he sounds worn out after relentless scrutiny. He has been called a trouble-maker and his wife, the survivor, shamed on television debates and social media. He says it has been traumatic but is hanging on to see that justice is served; justice, he maintains, the Church failed to deliver.

Cases under IPC sections 354 (rape) and 376 (outraging the modesty of a woman) have been registered. The number of accused priests has since come down to four; two arrested and granted bail and two awaiting a Supreme Court verdict on their pleas for anticipatory bail. The narrative around the scandal has taken expected turns through social media outrage and political posturing, and a counter-argument has emerged on the sexual relationships being consensual.

Concept of confession

The Church, across denominations, has some answering to do on two systemic flaws  the protection it provides to the tainted and its failure to adapt to social change. The MOSC, a Kottayam-headquartered non-Catholic church, is also facing calls for a re-look at the concept of confession, a sacrament allegedly misused by the accused to intimidate the survivor.

Three of the accused priests  Fr Abraham Varghese, Fr Job Mathew and Fr Jaise K George  are charged with rape while the fourth, Fr Johnson V Mathew, is facing a molestation charge. The 34-year-old survivors statement traces the story, over about 19 years, to her abuse by Fr Varghese when she was a minor and he was still preparing to become a priest. Fr Job Mathew who heard her confession regarding this relationship which continued after their separate marriages  MOSC priests are allowed to marry  threatened to reveal the confession and forced her into a sexual relationship. Fr Johnson Mathew is accused of molesting her in a car and sending her sexually explicit texts and

Fr George, of sexually abusing her after she revealed details about her relationships with the other priests. Among the four accused priests, only Fr Job Mathew is unmarried.

The Kerala High Court, as it turned down pleas for anticipatory bail by the priests charged with rape, observed that prima facie, the accused appeared to have acted as predators. Fr M O John, Priest Trustee of MOSC, acknowledges the believers disappointment in the wake of the scandal but says their faith in the Church remains unwavering. Its a serious issue and considering the number of priests involved, it cant be called an isolated case either. The intent of the Church has been clear  in two weeks since the complaint was made, the accused priests were removed from their services and we are not extending any support to them as individuals, he told this correspondent in Kottayam.

Polarised by opinion

Even as the Church builds its defence on an internal probe and the contention that it has already acted against the accused, in some ways, its also playing the victim. The voices in support of the Church have invariably pointed to a conspiracy, a staple word of defence when power centres are rattled. The narrative has also been marked by shaming of the survivor. Indulekha Joseph, lawyer and vice-chairperson of Kerala Church Act Action Council, questions the defence which banks on the argument of consensus.

Theres a lot of talk going on regarding what separates rape from adultery. The argument is flawed because as priests, these are people who use their position in the church to avail financial and other benefits. So, when they enjoy power without responsibility, it involves cheating, she says.

In line with times polarised by opinion, discussions around the scandal have been focused on two camps, a defensive Church and those who demand reforms in its functioning. They have largely failed to address a key stakeholder  the believer, rooted in faith but less trusting of its administrators. When someone says that he or she was not able to speak up because of fear, I tend to believe it. Weve all been taught to look at these priests as people who could do no wrong. The fear of being isolated in a community of the faithful is too big. Its a mix of fear, shame and subservience to authority that works almost like a spell, says Abraham(name changed), a hotel manager in Kottayam.

Fr John says there could, now, be reservations among believers about church confessions but points out that the one priest accused of having misused the survivors confession has denied the charge. The defence appears weak in the face of rising demands for reform, including in ways confessions are structured. Indulekha is among those who feel that nuns should start hearing confessions. The priests are functioning in an age of social media while enjoying the protection of the Canon Law. This is a situation that exposes women to exploitation because when they are confessing, they cant be sure of the priests credentials. Administrators of churches across denominations could even look at possibilities of a confession model that keeps the identities confidential, she says.

Since the scandal broke, another incident of abuse involving an MOSC priest has been reported. Police in Kayamkulam, in Alappuzha district, are investigating the alleged rape of a homemaker, in 2014, by priest Binu George. Abraham says with more survivors coming out with their experiences of abuse and oppression, all churches would be forced to stop the cover-ups and bring in crucial reforms that address believers concerns and take the cloak of invincibility off the erring priests.

Also read: Call for transparency and reforms gets louder

Tracing the origins of St Thomas the Apostle
BJP state president B S Yeddyurappa on Saturday blamed Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy for the unrest in north Karnataka and accused him of indulging in politics of divide and rule.

Addressing a press meet after core committee meeting of the BJP here, Yeddyurappa charged that Kumaraswamy was behaving like the chief minister of the constituencies won by 37 JD(S) MLAs in the recent Assembly polls, instead of the entire state.

He referred to Kumaraswamy reportedly telling a delegation of farmers from Koppal that they had no right to seek crop loan waiver as they had not voted for his party. Making such statements is detrimental to the integrity of the state, the BJP leader stated.

Hundreds had sacrificed their lives for the unification of Karnataka and Kumaraswamy was trying to divide the state for the sake of power and survival, he charged. He said Kumaraswamys injustice to the people of north Karnataka had led to people of that region calling for a bandh on August 2, seeking separate statehood. He said Kumaraswamy should immediately apologise to the people of the state.

On BJP leader B Sriramalu supporting statehood for north Karnataka, he said he had spoken to him in this regard. The BJP at no cost supports division of the state.

Replying to queries, Yeddyurappa said discussions on short-listing candidates for the Lok Sabha polls will be held after the monsoon session of Parliament. BJP president Amit Shah is likely to visit the state during the last week of August, he added.

He ruled out his younger son and BJP Yuva Morcha General Secretary B Y Vijeyendra contesting the Lok Sabha polls.

He said the BJP will launch an agitation if the state government does not withdraw restrictions imposed on the media entry into the Vidhana Soudha, within the next three days. They are restricting media entry to cover up their scams, the former chief minister charged.
Following a report that a woman has been living in a toilet at Mahaveer Nagar in Venoor, beat police Ramya visited the spot and shifted the woman to her sisters house at Venoor.

SP Ravikanthe Gowda said Saraswathis (67) husband and children live in Chikkamagaluru. The police have asked her husband and son to come on Sunday. In case the woman fails to return with her fmaily, she will be provided shelter at Guru Seva Chaithanya Trust in Katipalla, said the SP.

Classmates assault boy

A student suffered injuries after his classmates assaulted him, at a private school at Bastikodi in Vamadapadavu on Saturday. The injured is Abhishek, a class 8 student and is the son of Rathnakar Poojary of Mavinakatte.

Rathnakar Poojary said that three of his classmates kicked his stomach and assaulted him in a classroom on Saturday afternoon. He was rushed to a hospital in Thumbe, but was later shifted to a private hospital in Mangaluru.

When the victims grandfather Janardhan Poojary questioned the school authorities, they neglected the issue. Rathnakar Poojary, father of the victim has filed a complaint at Poonjalkatte Police Station.

Man kills sister

A woman who was injured by her brother for refusing to give him money, died at KMC Hospital on Saturday.

According to police, the deceased is identified as Vijaya Bhandari, aged 48 years. The accused Annappa Bhandary attacked and assaulted the deceased using a sharp knife on July 22, when the deceased refused to give him money. The severely wounded woman was immediately rushed to KMC Hospital in Manipal, but she succumbed to her injuries.

The arrested was produced before a court and remanded in judicial custody.

Youth dies in Oman

An engineer from Koni of Kundapur died in a road accident, at Oman.

The deceased is Rajendra Shetty, son of Sunanda Shetty and Chandra couple in Koni. He had been working in Oman for the last four months.
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.




On the same page is a regular series featuring Utah book clubs.

Editor's note: If you have a book club and you are interested in being featured, please contact us at features@deseretnews.com. Please include your name, your contact information and one or two sentences describing your book club.

Twenty years ago, newlywed Kristen Nielson Jones moved back home to Utah with her husband after graduate school. As a way to connect with people and make friends, Jones, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, passed around a sign-up sheet for a book club in her married student ward.

The first book the women read together was "Make the Connection" by Oprah Winfrey. Simultaneously, they were trying to think of a name for their little club.

Many of the women still live in the Salt Lake Valley while others have moved away. However, their connection remains strong through email, taking vacations together and going on girls retreats. For the 10th anniversary of the club, members  even those outside of Utah  all submitted recipes for a cookbook.

Through the years, Jones said she and the other club members have realized, while it's enjoyable to read different books and discuss them, ultimately "it's not about the book."

Deseret News: Initially you said you meet once a month and support each other, in the pretext of discussing the book. Do you still discuss the book that you read?

Kristen Nielson Jones: We do, actually.  We read "Little Women," I think it was, and when we got together for the discussion, (a club member) had parts for us, and we got up and acted out scenes from the book. It was really fun and memorable. I just did the discussion on Shakespeares "Hamlet," and it was really fun because we read aloud certain scenes and then we watched a movie of that scene with the original words.  For a while we would all read a different book and then wed come and do like book reports.  Over the years, Ive learned so much and just so enjoyed the different types of discussions.

We are all kind of near the same age and were all women obviously, so it seems like it would be this homogenous (group) but really, theres so many different personalities and different needs and weve had a lot of different things happen as weve become mothers and weve really, really supported each other. And Ive really come to enjoy these women almost because theyre so different from me, in ways. I mean, we have a common thread, but were talking about very different personalities.

DN: Youve mentioned "Little Women" and "Hamlet." It sounds like your book club goes all over the place.

KNJ: The way that we have worked it out over the years is, we meet in January, and  we plan what were going to read for the whole year. And so we all come with suggestions. But weve really read all over the board. Weve read self-help books, weve read parenting books, weve read "Pride and Prejudice," weve read Malcolm Gladwell  Ive liked it. Ive read a fair amount of books that I didnt like, but Im surprised. And maybe this is where I really  appreciate having all these different personalities, somebody might suggest a book that I dont necessarily like, but I love to be exposed to something different, and then to be able to talk  to my ladies about it. I guess over the years weve developed a certain level of comfort, like its OK and its safe to show up and hate the book.  We can do that respectfully and talk about it.

DN: Is there a book that the whole club has loved?

KNJ: I think we all really loved "The Help," and I think we also all really loved "The Secret Life of Bees." I think those two were kind of favorites.  We actually read  "And They Were Not Ashamed," a book on sexual intimacy in marriage, and that was a huge book. I mean everybody really, really seemed to like that and benefited a lot and got a lot out of that. And started giving it to family members when they got married. (laughs.)

DN: What is your most memorable, or a couple of your most memorable book club experiences?

KNJ: We read this book  called I Thought My Father Was God  it was a collection of short stories that  were submitted to NPR. NPR had a program where they would take these short stories that people had written and they just had to be true short stories  about something that maybe changed your perspective on life or whatever.

The program on NPR was so popular that they took the first years submissions of these stories and compiled them into a book. So we read this book, and then for the discussion, we wrote our own stories.

I remember really, at that point, we had bonded, we were very close, we knew each other well, and I really liked listening to everyone elses stories, and my friend Kristin had her baby in the car on the way to the hospital, and she  this is going to make me cry!  she brought the audio tape (to our meeting).

You can hear (her husband) talking to the emergency responder and he said, OK, the head is out, and hes still driving, and  the 911 operator said, now, youre just heading out? and (Ben) said, no, the head is out, then she told him, OK, pull the car over  and you can hear Kristin screaming in the background, and then, (the baby) was born pretty quickly and you can hear Ben holding her saying, breathe, baby, breathe, and he was so scared. We all just sat there with baited breath even though we knew what happened. And then (the baby)  finally started to gurgle and cry a little bit and we knew it was OK but, even now, I just remember that. You just felt so close to each other, and safe. Theres a safety, its like a safe refuge that weve developed and weve relied on.

DN: If you could sum up your favorite thing about being a part of this book club, what would you say?

KNJ: We have, its not like we started out intentionally building this incredible coalition of friends, but its kind of what happened. And in doing so, weve been able to rely on each other as weve had our babies and as weve raised our babies and as weve developed these important relationships with our spouses. Its been a lot of work, and weve had a lot of kids. Weve had a couple women that have lost babies, and that was really humbling and surprisingly hard on us as a book club. Weve had moves, and weve helped each other move  our lives have changed, and weve been able to help each other all along the way. I know that seems something so small, but when you know that you can turn to this group of women and theyre going to catch you, its been an amazing safety net that I didnt anticipate. It makes me feel really grateful.

The Estrogen Connection recommends:

"THE PARENTING BREAKTHROUGH: A Real-Life Plan to Teach Your Kids to Work, Save Money, and Be Truly Independent," by Merrilee Browne Boyack, Deseret Book Company, 256 pages (nf)

"The Help," by Kathryn Stockett, Penguin Random House, 544 pages (f)

"The Book Thief," by Markus Zusak, Penguin Random House, 592 pages (f)

"THESE IS MY WORDS: The Diary of Sarah Agnes Prine, 1881-1901," by Nancy Turner, Harper Collins, 416 page (f)

"I THOUGHT MY FATHER WAS GOD: And Other True Tales from NPR's National Story Project," introduction by Paul Aster, Macmillan , 416 pages (nf)

"THE AGONY AND THE ECSTASY: A Biographical Novel of Michelangelo," by Irving Stone, Penguin Random House, 784 pages (f)

"To Kill a Mockingbird," by Harper Lee, Harper Collins, 336 pages (f)

"The Poisonwood Bible," by Barbara Kingsolver, Harper Collins, 560 pages (f)

"THE 5 LOVE LANGUAGES: The Secret to Love That Lasts," by Gary Chapman, Northfield Publishing, 208 pages (nf)

"Pride and Prejudice," by Jane Austen, Penguin Random House, 384 pages (f)
ROY  Prosecutors on Friday charged two Roy brothers living in the same house with viewing child pornography.

But whether they acted in conjunction with each other or separately was unknown Friday.

Eric Reese Rakes, 24, and Nicholas Colton Rakes, 21, are each charged in 2nd District Court with 10 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, a second-degree felony.

The investigation began May 2 when investigators from the Utah attorney general's Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force "identified a computer suspected of offering to distribute files of known child pornography," according to charging documents filed in 3rd District Court.

On Wednesday, a search warrant was served at the Rakes' home. Investigators searched computers belonging to each brother.

Nicholas Rakes told officers that he used software to download and view child pornography, the charges state. "He admitted that he had been looking at child pornography since 'he was a kid.'"

Likewise, Eric Rakes "admitted to viewing it 'for a while' and described to officers where on his computer the files could be located," the charges state.
SALT LAKE CITY  With solar energy grabbing more headlines, many Utah consumers are being bombarded with sales offers for home and business use  and that has state officials worried.

"When (popularity rises), unscrupulous players enter the market and customers can be confused about what they're buying or pressured into sales," Chris Parker, director of the Utah Division of Public Utilities, said.

To combat those concerns, the division, along with the Office of Consumer Services, Friday announced the creation of a new state website for people using or considering solar energy resources. The online site, rooftopsolar.utah.gov, was developed to provide background information to ensure they are aware of applicable rates and rules to avoid pitfalls, Parker said.

Solar energy is becoming a popular source for energy among businesses and homeowners in Utah," Parker said. But with popularity comes the risk of fraud, so the divisions created an online resource to help educate and protect the public when seeking out solar energy, he added.

"What we hope to do with this is to create an unbiased place where a customer can go to find out what questions they need to be asking and understand the relationship between them, the utility company and these solar companies," Parker said.

The website includes an extensive checklist of what questions consumers should ask and review with any prospective contractor or company, he noted. The site also contains information about Rocky Mountain Powers tariffs governing the use of rooftop solar resources, including the different rates that might apply to different customers, he said.

"The idea is to give (consumers) a landing place for links to resources, as well as identify for them what they can expect from their utility once they've put one of these systems on their house," Parker said.

Additionally, the website displays three categories of customers to provide Utah users with a roadmap for exploring solar energy: net-metered customer; transition customer; and post-transition customer. Each category includes a drop-down menu titled What does this mean? with background utility and government information.

Parker said consumers need to be aware of the advantages and potential disadvantages of rooftop solar installation to determine if it is right for their individual circumstance. The website will give them access to information and resources that will help them make prudent decisions, he said.

"We're trying to get information out so that folks can think about what they ought to be thinking about when considering one of these systems, and get it from a source that isn't trying to dissuade them or get them to buy something," he said.

We hope that consumers will carefully evaluate costs and benefits of solar before signing up, said Michele Beck, director of the Utah Office of Consumer Services. Our goal is to provide user-friendly information so the public has all the facts before they sign a contract.

The Utah Department of Commerce is constantly looking for ways to provide more information for consumers online, said Francine Giani, executive director of the department.

"Our hope is that rooftopsolar.utah.gov will become a valuable tool for consumers exploring this energy source, she said.
MILLCREEK  Fifteen-year-old Noah Jeppesen carefully tied together strips of plastic garbage bags so they could be crocheted into sleeping mats for the homeless, one of six projects underway Saturday during Canyon Rim's "day of service."

"It's nice to serve others," Jeppesen said sitting inside the Canyon Rim Park pavilion with dozens of other volunteers, including his mother and older brother. "It makes me feel good that I did something."

At a nearby picnic table, retiree Vicki Mortensen struggled to keep the slippery plastic on a large crochet hook. But she wasn't about to give up. In fact, Mortensen said she showed up at the event so she could learn how to make mats at home.

"They said it takes 40 hours," she said. "It might be a few days."

The day of service started with breakfast before participants headed to work. Besides the mats, volunteers also assembled hygiene kits, cleaned up graffiti along Parleys Trail and cleared trash and brush at Tanner and Canyon Rim parks.

There was also the opportunity to help with arts, crafts and photography projects for those with mental and physical disabilities during the inaugural Canyon Rim Cares event that also included a movie Friday night and a clothing drive Sunday.

Millcreek Mayor Jeff Silvestrini said area residents have always had a strong sense of community, but incorporating as a city in December 2016 made them even more civic-minded.

"Now people identify as Millcreekers," Silvestrini said. "That brings more people out to something like this."

In a speech before the event, the mayor praised the "sense of pride and accomplishment in our community" shared by the 60,000 residents of the state's 10th largest city.

Ken and Aimee Katschke brought their four children, all under 8 years old, to help clean up their neighborhood parks. The family has lived just a couple of years in Millcreek, after time in Austin and Chicago.

"It's so good for our kids to see we care about where we live," Ken Katschke said.

Aimee Katschke, pregnant with the couple's fifth child, said spending time together as a family on a service project in the place they call home is something they will all remember.

"You can talk about service all you want," she said. "But if kids don't do it, they don't learn it."

The Katschkes' 8-year-old daughter, Annie, already understood that lesson.

She explained the family was there on a hot and sunny Saturday "so we can help other people and clean up. And have fun. It makes you feel kind of good and you want to do more."

Josie Bohling was already heading out with her 5-year-old twins, Zoey and Ruby, after an early morning of picking up trash next to Canyon Rim Academy, the charter school they'll start attending in the fall as kindergartners.

Not only did the trio manage to fill a trash bag with debris, the twins shyly showed off strings of beads that Ruby found among the weeds as their mother dug through her bag to find them snacks.

She said she brought the twins Saturday as "an exercise in creating a quality life."

"I live in a real quality place with people who care," said Bohling, who grew up in a small northern California town. She said Millcreek feels similar, made up of people "who know each other and want to make it a better place."
The Lenovo IdeaPad 330 is ideal for somebody who uses the computer very infrequently or for very few lightweight activities like checking email and playing a video on YouTube.

Lenovo IdeaPad 330 detailed review

My feelings towards the Lenovo IdeaPad 330 are akin to those of a person who test-drove the feature-filled top-end variant of a Japanese hatchback but is now examining the exteriors of the base variant they ended up buying. Where they remembered seeing fancy chrome inserts they now see uninspiring black rubber beadings. Where they remembered seeing a neat white LED light they now see a black plastic cap.





I should explain myself better: I was using the more sophisticated IdeaPad 530S and IdeaPad 330S before the IdeaPad 330 landed on my lap. Its increased thickness and weight over the other two became instantly apparent to me. Thats not all. On the inside, it wore an AMD sticker where there was an eighth-generation Intel Core series sticker on the other two. The right side had a blank plastic cap for a DVD drive. A touch apprehensive, I fired the IdeaPad 330 up to get to grips with the rest of the laptop.

The model I received for review was powered by a seventh-generation AMD E2 processor, an integrated AMD GPU, had 4GB of RAM, and 1TB of hard drive-based storage. The display was a 14-inch LCD panel with HD resolution.

Build and Design

In my review of the IdeaPad 330S, Id written that the laptop closely resembled the more sophisticated IdeaPad 530S. I believed it shared the same premium and classy design even if it was a more watered-down model with more plastic parts than the IdeaPad 530S. The same is true of the IdeaPad 330S and the newly joined IdeaPad 330 too, except the latter is a lot more watered-down than the IdeaPad 330S.

The body is made wholly of plastic, but the matte-like finish on the lid does its best to look metallic. The surface of the lid and the base flexes considerably under the pressure of fingers when its held firmly to be lifted. At 2.1 kilogrammes, the laptop feels heavy to lift, carry around and place, but its not a big bother once you get used to it. Tapping hard on the keys also reveals some unnecessary flex in the keyboard. The surface around the keyboard is of the same colour as the lid but has a brushed texture that gives its plastic nature away easily. The touchpad more or less matches the colour of the surface around it.

A thick plastic hinge runs across almost the entire width of the display. Theres a thick black bezel around the sides of the display. The display hinge folds all the way back to 180 degrees. This is a useful feature when working with crossed legs on a bed or sofa. Lenovo branding, on the whole, is louder on this model and not as subtle as it was on the other two models.

In summary, build and design on the IdeaPad 330 is passable. The minor creaks and flexes on the plastic body are a constant reminder of whats lacking, but dont get in the way of computing. I only wish the laptop were slimmer for a fourteen-incher.

Display, Audio, and IO

The Lenovo IdeaPad 330 comes with two display options: a 14-inch non-IPS LCD panel with a resolution of 1366 x 768 and a 14-inch IPS LCD panel with a resolution of 1920 x 1080. The model I received only got the former, but its performance is quite decent. At 71 LUX, the maximum brightness of the screen is sufficient for home and office, but not so much for outdoor areas like parks. Managing to reproduce only 63 percent of the colours on the sRGB scale, all colours look generally washed out. Text, in general, appears grainy on the IdeaPad 330s display, whether its black text against a light background or vice versa. Pushing the display back even to 95 degrees distorts colours greatly to a point where they look unrecognisable. Text, luckily, stays mostly readable until the display is pushed farther back up to 130 degrees.

Audio through the inbuilt down-firing speakers is clear but feeble. The speakers are good for plain vocals inside a quiet conference room of 15 x 25 feet. I was able to follow the voice of an audiobook narrator from one corner of the conference room when the laptop was placed in another at full volume. The speakers are ideal for mid to high frequencies. Frequencies below 250 Hz or above 9000 Hz are too much for the little speakers to reproduce.

IO ports are a bit of a letdown on the IdeaPad 330 as it has all its ports on just one side. This particular model has on its left side, the power port, a LAN port, an HDMI port, two full-size USB ports (one USB 2.0 and one USB 3.0), a 3.5mm audio jack for headsets, and a regular-size card-reader slot. All the other sides of the laptop are bare. The right side (excluding the Kensington lock port) has only an optional DVD drive. This particular unit in review didnt have that either. So in its place was a grey plastic cap.

All ports are on the left; only two USB ports

No optional DVD drive on this model, so it gets a grey plastic cap

Not only did I have to make do with only two USB ports, but I also had to wire devices I used on the right side (like my mouse) specifically from the left side of the laptop. Most laptops have at least one USB port on either side. This weird placement could lead to a lack of space while connecting large dongles and devices with short or no extension cables.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard on the IdeaPad 330 is similar to the one on the IdeaPad 330S, but shows more signs of flex when the keys are struck. The keyboard lacks dedicated keys for Home, End, Page Up, and Page Down functions. The keys on the keyboard look flat and feel shallow but are decent for everyday typing. That said, I still wouldnt recommend it if your primary activity on this laptop involves a lot of typing. In the dark, you might find yourself straining your eyes to discern the keys as this keyboard has no backlighting.

Keys on the IdeaPad 330's keyboard have decent travel

My personal experience with this particular IdeaPad 330s keyboard was nothing short of exasperating. The power button in this model sits right next to the Delete key and looks exactly like it. This meant that I kept hitting the power button instead of Delete while typing. Luckily for me, accidentally pressing the power button like that did absolutely nothing to computer. This was strange because I had set the power buttons action as Hibernate in Windows Power Options. This wasnt the worst for me though; what really tested my patience was the key for the letter A, because it worked only 50 percent of the time. Popping the keycap out and cleaning it didnt help either. However, this could be an isolated incident to the review unit I received, but I would strongly recommend checking out the keyboard in full before pulling the trigger on this machine.

Power button sits right next to Delete key, inviting accidents

To add to my dismay, the touchpad on the IdeaPad 330 was not a precision unit and the Lenovo website only offered a driver for the ELAN touchpad. With no additional utility to tweak the touchpad settings for taps and swipes, I could not use the double-tap. The triple-tap was set to activate Cortana by default and I did not see a way to change it. Apart from these setbacks, the touchpad worked well. The click buttons in the bottom half of the touchpad were easy enough to press and activate.

Performance

Performance on the Lenovo IdeaPad 330 can only be termed sluggish. With its seventh-generation AMD E2-9000 APU, 4GB RAM, 1TB hard drive, and integrated AMD R2 graphics, the laptop booted to desktop in a disappointing 2 minutes, 5 seconds. Chrome took over 28 seconds to launch for the first time after a boot and about 6 seconds subsequently. There was a time lag of 2.5 seconds between pressing the Start button on the keyboard and the Start menu appearing almost every single time.

Browsing on the IdeaPad 330 was a frustrating experience. Almost every single tab in a Chrome window of six tabs reloaded on reopening even if I had only just moved away from one. When over six tabs were open and one played music, there was a considerable lag in the audio playback. I was able to manage five open applications across two virtual desktops before seeing bigger signs of lag. Window animations, luckily, didnt seem so jittery. But I didnt dare to push the 80MB video memory on this AMD setup by playing any games on the laptop. Full HD video playback on YouTube was better handled than I expected; I saw no unexpected lags or jitters during playback.

On benchmark tests like PCMark 8s Accelerated Creative and Conventional Home and Work, the IdeaPad scored only half of what the Intel Core i3-powered IdeaPad 330S managed. Its scores on other benchmark tests in PCMark 10, Cinebench, and 3DMark too were abysmally low.

To sum up performance on the IdeaPad 330, let me tell you what its speed compares to. I use a six-year-old Lenovo B480 as my work machine. With its third-gen Intel Core i3 CPU, 4GB of RAM, integrated graphics, and 500GB of hard drive space, it manages to run just as fast as the IdeaPad 330, if not faster in some areas.

Battery

On PCMark 8s Creative Battery Life test, the Lenovo IdeaPad 330 lasted 153 minutes on a single full charge, which is 7 minutes longer than what the IdeaPad 330S had managed. While performing daily tasks like writing and browsing with six Chrome tabs open, the battery lasted 3.3 hours. During the test, the Wi-Fi was turned on, Bluetooth off, and the screen brightness was set to 60 percent. In this time, I also installed a couple of applications.

A battery life of around three hours on a laptop of this price bracket is still low, but not the worst. I feel battery life can be stretched close to four hours if fewer applications are run, and the screen brightness is turned down further.

Bottom line

Theres no escaping it: the Lenovo IdeaPad 330 with an AMD E2-9000 APU and 4GB of RAM is a disappointing machine. The finishing on it is convincing but the build is questionable. There are only two USB ports available and even they are placed on only one side of the laptop. The awkward keyboard and the non-configurable touchpad are passable, but the performance is, without a question, disappointing.

All things considered, the Lenovo IdeaPad 330 does seem like that potential budget hatchback with enough to offer when seen in the showroom with all the features. But when you buy the base variant and see the lowest-end AMD APU struggling, an ordinary HD display, and a big blank grey cap instead of a functional DVD drive, youre left staring at it with a straight face.
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Peloton (NASDAQ: PTON) Is Bouncing Hard Off Support - Watch Out Above

After spending most of 2020 enjoying the title of best COVID stock to own this year, shares of Peloton Interactive (NASDAQ: PTON) have spent most of 2021 learning what its like to trade in a more normal environment.

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Lenders seek fresh bids for Bhushan Power & Steel as JSW ups offer to Rs18,000 cr

Lenders of Bhushan Power & Steel have decided to call fresh bids for the bankrupt company after one of the bidders, JSW Steel, revised its offer upwards by 60 per cent this week to Rs18,000 crore, reports quoting officials said.

The Committee of Creditors (CoC), which met in Delhi on 27 July, has subequently asked for fresh bids by 31 July.

After JSW submitted a revised bid of over Rs18,500 crore for the stressed assets of Bhushan Power & Steel rival bidders could also make revised offers.

JSW Steel sent a letter with the revised offer to the Committee of Creditors of Bhushan Power & Steel on Thursday night, a day before the committee's meeting to finalise the offer. JSW is offering lenders an upfront payment of Rs18,000 crore.

A Moneycontrol report quoting sources said Liberty House is also expected to put in a revised bid by then.

While Tata Steel had offered Rs 17,000 crore, Liberty Houses offer was at Rs 18,500 crore. All the three companies have promised to invest Rs7,000 crore in the operations of Bhushan Power & Steel.

The Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel had initially offered Rs11,000 crore against Tata Steels offer of Rs17,000 crore. Industry officials point out that the revised offer for Bhushan Power & Steel could be because of the uncertainty over Essar Steel.

JSW had teamed up with the Numetal consortium in the second round of auction for Essar Steel where it is pitted against ArcelorMittal, with both Numetal and ArcelorMittal approaching the NCLAT over the eligibility issue. The NCLAT is expected to issue an order in the coming weeks.

On 17 July, NCLAT had stayed the meeting of Committee of Creditors, which was set to vote on Tata Steels bid for Bhushan Power & Steel.

Bhushan Power's operational creditors had alleged that the resolution professional hadnt allowed their representative to attend the lenders meeting.

There are as many as 1,700 operational creditors of Bhushan Power & Steel who are asking for their dues to be cleared.
Qualcomm backs out of acquiring Chinese major NXP Semiconductors: fallout of US-China squabble

The strong anti-China stance adopted by the Donald Trump administration is having its impact on American companies wanting to acquire Chinese firms.

See: US-based major Qualcomm backed out of the biggest-ever takeover in the worlds semiconductor business ( Qualcomm to buy NXP Semiconductors for $39 bn ) , after Chinas market regulator, the State Administration for Market Regulation (SAMR) turned down its proposal to acquire NXP Semiconductors, a Chinese firm, for $44 billion.

According to SAMR, Qualcomm had failed to resolve its anti-trust concerns, but was hopeful that talks would continue with the company.

The results of our evaluation showed that Qualcomm's latest plan could not resolve competition issues, it pointed out. We hope to continue to communicate with Qualcomm and that we can find a suitable solution to resolve the issues within the review period.

But the American firm decided to abandon the move after the passing of the deadline that it had set. Steven Mollenkopf, the CEO of Qualcomm, told the media that his firm had been caught in the US-China trade war. There were probably bigger forces at play here than just us, he said.

Qualcomm had announced the move to acquire the Chinese firm in October 2016 and was confident the approval would come through by the end of 2017.

See: However, things got complicated after Singapore-based Broadcom made a futile attempt to acquire Qualcomm last year ( Qualcomm rejects Broadcom's revised $121-bn buyout offer ). In March, President Trump issued an order blocking the acquisition of Qualcomm by Broadcom, citing credible evidence that the foreign buyer could take actions that would threatens to impair the national security of the United States.

Many activist investors then tried to block Qualcomms bid to acquire the Chinese firm by acquiring stocks in NXP and demanding a higher price. Qualcomm in fact had to raise the offer price for NXP, but it has now failed to buy the firm.
New York mulls limit on number of ride-hailing vehicles on streets

New York City may become the first major city in the US to cap the number of Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing drivers operating on public streets, as city officials are moving to cap the number of vehicles driving such services in an aggressive move to counter worsening congestion and low driver wages.

The legislation being considered by the City Council would make New York the first major American city to set a limit on ride-hailing vehicles, which in a relatively short period of time have transformed the transportation networks in cities across the world. Mayor Bill de Blasio, while stopping short of fully endorsing the proposal, suggested that the time had come to rein in the industry.

The proposal supported by the City Council speaker, Corey Johnson, would halt the issuance of new for-hire vehicle licenses, except for vehicles that are wheelchair accessible, while the city conducts a year-long study of the industry. The council may also limit the number of vehicles operating in an area and could decline to renew a permit if a need for service isnt demonstrated.

It is the second attempt by New York City  Ubers largest market in the US  to cap the companys vehicles after a failed effort by de Blasio in 2015. Since then, the number of for-hire vehicles in the city has surged, rising to more than 100,000 vehicles, from about 63,000 in 2015, according to the city.

Johnson, de Blasio, and other elected officials have raised concerns about the decimation of the once-thriving taxi industry and the increasing gridlock on city streets. Questions over the impact of ride-hailing services have also become more visceral  six professional drivers have killed themselves in recent months, including three taxi drivers.

Critics say the city has to crack down because ride-hail vehicles are clogging the streets  there are now 100,000 for-hire vehicles licensed in the city, up from 40,000 in 2011  as well as siphoning riders from public transit and depressing incomes for taxi and livery drivers.

New Yorks strong stance toward Uber comes at a time when other cities are grappling with how to respond to the challenges posed by the remarkable rise of ride-hail apps. Last month, Uber won back its license to operate in London after agreeing to stricter regulations.

Is India listening?

The problem is on its way to becoming equally acute in Indian metropolises like Mumbai and Delhi, where traffic jams are no longer restricted to rush hours but are becoming a day-long phenomenon. There have also been protests by Uber and Ola drivers over low wages.

Unfortunately, the authorities in Mumbai, for example, are busy building flyovers and sea links for passenger vehicles, while completely neglecting public transport like buses. New Yorks example should serve as an eye-opener, but it is unlikely that the politicians and civic authorities  despite their fondness for foreign study tours  are paying any heed.

In New York, A series of proposals before the City Council  all seeking to tackle problems in the industry  would also move to set minimum pay rules for app drivers, a step that would make New York the first major American city to establish a pay minimum for drivers. The City Council could vote on the measures as soon as 8 August.

Johnson, a Democrat who became City Council speaker in January, said that it was clear that something needed to be done to grapple with the disruption in the taxi and for-hire vehicle industry.

This is the plan that we came up with and in my heart I believe its the best path forward, Johnson said in a statement. Our goal has always been to protect drivers, bring fairness to the industry and reduce congestion. Thats what this proposal does, and it represents the broad outlines of what we think our next steps should be as a city to help the industry.

Uber, setting the stage for what could be another fierce fight, immediately blasted the proposal, arguing that it would hurt its customers, especially those who live in the boroughs outside Manhattan, where the growth of ride-hailing services in neighbourhoods ill served by public transit helped them achieve a milestone and surpass yellow cabs in the number of daily riders.

The City Councils Uber cap will leave New Yorkers stranded while doing nothing to prevent congestion, fix the subways and help struggling taxi medallion owners, said Josh Gold, a spokesman for Uber. The Councils cap will hurt riders outside Manhattan who have come to rely on Uber because their communities have long been ignored by yellow taxis and do not have reliable access to public transit.

De Blasios office worked with the City Council on the proposals and Eric Phillips, a spokesman for the mayor, said City Hall would monitor the legislation and hoped that it would help drivers and decrease congestion.

On Thursday, as city officials began to discuss the cap, Uber released a new ad to oppose the proposal. The ad focused on the difficulty some New Yorkers  particularly people of colour  face in hailing a taxi. It shows vehicles vanishing from the app. If the New York City Council gets its way, all of this could disappear, the ad says.
Donald Trump says 'vicious' China targeting US farmers

US President Donald Trump accused China of targeting American farmers in a "vicious" way and using them as leverage to get concessions on trade, even as some farmers and farm-state lawmakers, including Republicans, blamed Trump, saying they would rather trade with no tariffs than share the $12 billion aid that Trump offered.

"China is targeting our farmers, who they know I love & respect, as a way of getting me to continue allowing them to take advantage of the US. They are being vicious in what will be their failed attempt. We were being nice  until now!" Trump tweeted

The Trump administration on Tuesday unveiled the largest emergency farm aid package since 1998 that will pay up to $12 billion starting in September to compensate US farmers.

The aid package comes ahead of US mid-term elections in November.

However, Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, a Trump critic, likened the farm aid package to "golden crutches" to make up for a trade war that will cost farmers far more.

China, on the other hand, accused US President Donald Trump of aggressive trade actions that would render several Chinese companies bankrupt.

Its hard to predict how this trade war will develop and to what extent, Du Wanhua, deputy director of an advisory committee to the Supreme Peoples Court, said. But one thing is sure: if the US imposes tariffs on Chinese imports following an order of $60 billion, $200 billion, or even $500 billion, many Chinese companies will go bankrupt.

A senior Chinese government official is reported to have called upon the government to take immediate measures to avert any serious injury to its export industries.

Besides China, other top US trade partners, including the EU, Canada and Mexico, are also worried of the US impost of high duties on steel and aluminium imports and have lined up retaliatory tariff measures.

US farmers are especially vulnerable since they rely on export markets for agricultural produce. China and other US trade partners slapped tariffs on incoming shipments of US soybeans, dairy, meat, produce and liquor.

China opted to retaliate by hitting where it hurts trump most  by undermining support for Trump's policies among farmers.
US court allows PNB to summon Nirav Modi, others over US asset sale

A New York bankruptcy court has recognised Punjab National Banks claim on fugitive diamond trader Nirav Modis three US-based companies and allowed the banks application to serve subpoena to Nirav Modi in the bankruptcy case filed by the fugitive diamantaires.

Apart from Nirav Modi, the main accused in the Rs13,600-crore loan fraud, the court allowed PNB to issue subpoenas to his associate and former Firestar Inc president Mihir Bhansali and his wife Rakhi.

The US court has also recognised the claim of Punjab National Bank on proceeds of any asset sold by the US debtors of the Nirav Modi entities  Firestar Diamond Inc, Fantasy Inc and A Jaffe.

"PNB is hereby authorised to issue subpoenas and compel (i) the oral examination, under oath, of Mihir Bhansali, Rahki Bhansali and Nirav Modi," reads the court order, which was accessed by India Today.

The order also authorises PNB to collect of documents from these individuals and others such as Ajay Gandhi and Kunal Patel, the senior financial officials of the Nirav Modi entities in the US.

PNB may serve the subpoena through Modi's counsels and his last-known email ID, as per law. Modi, however, has the right to object to the subpoena and seek extension for his oral examination.

PNB hopes that once it gets hold of these documents and emails, it would be possible to establish a direct link between the fraud and the three companies - Firestar Diamond Inc, Fantasy Inc and A Jaffe, which had filed for bankruptcy after the loan scam broke out in India.

PNB and the ministry of external affairs had challenged the move by these companies claiming damages.

In June, PNB had asked Modi to be called as witness under Chapter 11 of the bankruptcy case alleging that Modi has information about the fraud and his US companies had benefitted from the scam.

Meanwhile, the Antigua government has said it would consider 'legitimate request' from India to send back Mehul Choksi, Nirav Modis uncle and part of the bank scam, who was granted citizenship of Antigua two weeks before CBI filed case.
Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher Leas Cheann Comhairle has welcomed the decision to approve interim funding of 36,000 for the Bluestack Foundation in Donegal Town.

Deputy Gallagher said the funding measure will assist in the running of the organisation in the coming months.

"The Bluestack Foundation carries out trojan work in assisting young people with disabilities in south and west Donegal and the organisation thus far has been ran totally on voluntary contributions from the general public organised by a group of volunteers," he said.

"Earlier this year we were all absolutely shocked when the Government failed to include the Foundation in the Ability Programme, which when announced failed to include any disability organisation in the north west of Ireland.

"Todays announcement will in some way ease the incredible disappointment of the failure to include the Bluestack Foundation in the Ability Programme.

"But this interim measure cannot be a substitute for the need for mainstream funding for this group. The Bluestack Foundation on its own merits deserves to be in receipt of mainstream annual funding such as can be availed of through the Ability Programme."

Bluestack House, Donegal Town

Deputy Gallagher said he personally challenged An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar on this very issue in the Dail.

"I further wrote to him with a map highlighting the regional imbalance as a result of the decision taken by his Government," he said.

"It is only through this degree of political pressure has the Government, through the HSE, reacted and allocated this interim funding. But I can assure the Bluestack Foundation that this is not the end of the campaign and until they are in receipt of permanent funding I for one will not rest."


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Network devices with better security will be hitting the market this year, thanks to Wi-Fi Certified WPA3, which the Wi-Fi Alliance launched Tuesday. The announcement paves the way for the proliferation of devices that support the new, more secure protocol for WiFi communication, which is designed to replace the 14-year-old WPA2.

"WPA3 takes the lead in providing the industry's strongest protections in the ever-changing security landscape," said Wi-Fi Alliance CEO Edgar Figueroa.

The new protocol adds features to simplify WiFi security, enable more robust authentication, and deliver increased cryptographic strength for highly sensitive data markets.

"WPA3 is a welcome and long overdue update from the Wi-Fi Alliance, building and improving on WPA2," said Nick Bilogorskiy, a cybersecurity strategist at Juniper Networks.

While WPA2 has been used for more than a decade, a serious flaw was discovered in it last year, he noted.

"We witnessed a new attack that targeted the four-way handshake of the WPA2 protocol and tricked the victim's device into reusing an already-in-use key," Bilosgorskiy told TechNewsWorld.

Helps Home Nets Resist Attacks

WPA3 also replaces WPA2's flawed Wi-Fi Protected Setup with the Wi-Fi Device Provisioning Protocol.

"That promises a secure method for adding new devices to a network without the need to enter passwords," explained Craig Young, a senior security researcher at Tripwire.

"This mechanism makes use of public key cryptography to identify and authenticate devices, and should close up one of the weakest points in modern WiFi deployments," he told TechNewsWorld.

The new protocol improves the authentication mechanisms in a way that makes home implementations resistant to attack, said James Lerud, head of the behavioral research team at Verodin.

"The protocol is resistant to password-guessing and dictionary attacks," he told TechNewsWorld.

"A key is only valid for a particular session, so if a session is intercepted and the key is compromised, it does not provide access to other sessions or future sessions," Lerud said.

"This implementation also has the benefit of making weak password selection less damaging," he added.

Home and Business Flavors

WPA3 comes in two distinct modes to meet the needs of home and business users.

WPA3-Personal has password-based authentication that's more resilient than WPA2 -- even when users choose passwords that don't meet common complexity recommendations.

It also supports Simultaneous Authentication of Equals (SAE), a secure key protocol that's established between devices to provide stronger protections for users against password-guessing attempts by third parties.

WPA3-Enterprise offers extra protection for networks transmitting sensitive data, such as those used by governments and financial institutions, by supporting the equivalent of 192-bit encryption.

In addition to introducing Wi-Fi Certified WPA3, the Alliance introduced Wi-Fi Certified Easy Connect, a program aimed at reducing the complexity of connecting WiFi devices with limited or no display interface -- such as many devices designed for the Internet of Things -- while maintaining high security standards.

Wi-Fi Easy Connect lets users securely add an interface-challenged device to a network through another device with a better interface, such as a smartphone, by scanning a product quick response (QR) code.

While WPA3 will help with IoT security to an extent, many of the issues with IoT devices are outside the scope of the protocol, Lerud said.

"Default passwords and configurations built without security in mind are still the norms in the IoT space," he noted.

Time to Transition

How long it will take WPA3 devices to supplant the WPA2 installed base remains to be seen. Qualcomm expects to incorporate WPA3 security features into chipsets this summer, starting with its Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform and continuing to all its WiFi networking infrastructure products.

Nevertheless, it could be years before WPA3 becomes a dominant router protocol.

"Most routers will need a hardware upgrade due to WPA3's encryption requirements," said John Wu, CEO of Gryphon.

"Then there's a new certification process, and client software will need to be rewritten, so it may take a couple of years for wider adoption," he told TechNewsWorld.

"The fact that the protocol is backward-compatible with WPA2, and manufacturers seem on board, makes me think it will happen relatively quick," added Lerud.

Old technologies die slowly, though, he acknowledged. For example, WEP, introduced in 1997, still lingers in the router space.

Despite the security improvements in WPA3, there is no reason for consumers to rush to buy a new router that supports it, said Tripwire's Young.

"Although WPA3 is based heavily on existing technologies, it is quite new, and researchers have not yet had time to poke at the technology for holes," he noted.

"As with any new technology, there will likely be usability and security issues identified in various implementations," he continued. "For now, the best action is probably to keep using a strong WPA2 passphrase with WPS disabled."

John P. Mello Jr. has been an ECT News Network reporter since 2003. His areas of focus include cybersecurity, IT issues, privacy, e-commerce, social media, artificial intelligence, big data and consumer electronics. He has written and edited for numerous publications, including the Boston Business Journal, the Boston Phoenix, Megapixel.Net and Government Security News. Email John.


Technical issues, weather conditions disrupt sailings

A number of today's sailings have been cancelled due to technical issues and the weather conditions.

The Ben-my-Chree wasn't able to leave for Heysham as scheduled at 8.45am due to a technical problem while berthing earlier today.

As a result, the Steam Packet Company cancelled the crossing and the return journey at 2.15pm to allow engineers to carry out repairs.

Meanwhile, the Manannan remains in Douglas as a rapid deterioration in the weather forecast prevented its 7.30am sailing to Liverpool from going ahead, as well as the 11.15am crossing to Douglas. Conditions reaching severe gale force nine are expected in the Irish Sea this afternoon.

Those due to travel on the affected crossings can contact the Steam Packet's reservations team on 661661.
Meghan Markle gives her husband Prince Harry a congratulatory kiss at a polo tournament. The Duchess of Sussex gives off major Princess Diana vibes.

A Very Royal PDA

Markle also offered a couple of air kisses to team captain Nacho Figueras, following their team's victory at the charity match on Thursday. Figueras tried to offer the trophy to Harry, but he was too distracted by his wife to notice.

The captain is a fan of Markle, who's already attended several polo games this year, gushing to PEOPLE about how happy he is for the royal couple.

"She's lovely, she's wonderful. I'm very happy for her, for Harry. They're both lucky to have found each other and have this new chapter of their life," he said.

When asked about whether they seem to be enjoying newlywed life, Figueras told the publication the couple are very happy.

Their sweet, romantic gesture came following a lively game in the sun, which saw Harry's Sentebale St. Regis team winning 5-4. The afternoon tournament was in aid of the Prince's own charity for vulnerable children in Lesotho, Africa.

He managed to score twice himself for his team, contributing to their victory. Figueras noted that the Prince played very well on the day.

"Harry played very well ... It was great that I played with Harry. We normally play against each other at this kind of event so I am very happy that we are now being able to play together. ... And we won which never hurts," he said

As the teams left, 36-year-old Markle was also spotted affectionately rubbing her husband's back. The couple, who wed in May in a spectacular ceremony watched by millions all over the world, then joined hands and strolled off together.

Channeling Princess Diana

The Suits alum was giving off serious Princess Diana vibes at the event, as the People's Princess was often present to congratulate her husband, Prince Charles, at the conclusion of polo matches. The couple even occasionally shared a public kiss also.

Prince Harry is channeling his mother's charitable side too. Sentebale was set up by him and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho back in 2006 to help kids affected by HIV in the area as well as in neighboring Botswana. This in turn carried on Diana's work to dismantle the stigma surrounding HIV/AIDS.

Earlier this week, Kensington Palace released previously unseen photos from the Prince's solo trip to Africa last month, during which he opened a school and a house on behalf of the charity.

On Monday, he was in Amsterdam for the International AIDS Conference, sitting down with young people to discuss issues faced by teenagers battling the disease.

Alongside family friend Sir Elton John, Harry also announced the launch of the billion-dollar MenStar Coalition project, a new network of international funding avenues for AIDS research.
The phrase 'island hospitality' is frequently used to describe the good nature and generosity shown by residents of Prince Edward Island in how they treat those visiting the province. On Thursday night at Red Shores Racetrack and Casino at the Charlottetown Driving Park, driver Kenny Murphy took that concept one step further.

Murphy was the winning driver behind One Hot Camshaft on Thursday night for Frank & Curtis Hansen. A friend of the Hansens was looking for a lift to the winner's circle on the racebike alongside Murphy -- a common scene in harness racing across the globe. As Murphy told Trot Insider, a piece of equipment caused the hitchhiker some unforeseen issues.

"He's done it lots before; he's been around them his whole life...he's just getting old," said Murphy with a laugh. "It was pretty funny, we were torturing him about it pretty good.

"The mare had a gaiting strap, and he was trying to jump on the side, but the strap was mixing him up, he couldn't get his butt between the seat and the shaft because the strap was there."

Seeing the gentleman couldn't get himself safely situated, Murphy exited the driver's seat, kept hold of the lines and walked the horse back for the photo.

"He was laughing about it pretty hard, because Frank Hansen just had a massive heart attack, and he was the guy walking after [having] triple bypass surgery. So he was laughing, saying 'Frank's walking, he just had triple bypass surgery...I really didn't want to take a heart attack, I need a ride!'"

The connections could all be seen laughing their way to the winner's circle, with announcer Vance Cameron stating he's never seen anything like it in his 40-plus years in the business.
Israels exclusionary nationality law is a reflection of the growing nationalist idiom worldwide.

Israel has stirred outrage by enacting a harsh law of exclusioncalled Israel, the nation state of the Jewish peoplethat aspires to shut the Palestinians out of their homeland for all of time. Established governments have summoned up words of condemnation that are typically followed by shrugs of indifference. Indifference may be the only course available when strategic realities militate against any intervention in the defence of justice. The world has long got used to the idea that an Israel that is enjoying unconditional backing from the worlds sole superpower, and is deploying military might that is more than a match for any combination of potential adversaries, cannot be challenged on the battlefield. Nor can it be challenged on the moral plane, since Israels entire history has been one of impunity, of trampling every accepted principle of the humane treatment of civilians.

At the current juncture, there may be a deeper cause for global indifference, since Israel shows the way ahead for a world going out of joint, where older values are abandoned for antiquated notions of ethnic and racial privilege. Israel embodies the hollowness of the promises made since the age of Enlightenment, when universal republican values were conceived as the remedy for every inherited iniquity.
Silver Fern JV is an online application and the online portal only opens once per year and there are only 300 places on offer, all of which may or may not result in a person actually coming to NZ on that visa and finding a skilled job that allows them to stay longer.The online portal currently opens each November so the next availability will be 28 November 2018. A person will have to be registered on the Immigration NZ website and have that visa choice available to them in order to apply. You may or may not be able to pre-fill the online application form. I'm led to believe this is no longer possible so everyone has to start from the very beginning, however in the past people have been able to pre-fill the majority of the online application.The portal only opens for a short period.....a matter of minutes - maybe 40 or so as that's as long as it takes for the 300 places to be snapped up. It is completely pot luck. You take your chance and you either get the offer of a place or you don't. Every year there are more and more people trying to secure one of these places so every year Immigrations servers crash and stall and freeze due to the overabundance of people trying to get one of the places. Many people use out of the box methods of trying to get a place...they have a number of computers logged in via different browsers or they have a friend also trying for them etc etc but all this just makes the system deteriorate further.So, in answer to your questions, there is no specific form or paper document as it is all done online. There is no form or guide for Silver Fern JSV other than the info here https://www.immigration.govt.nz/new...a/about-visa/silver-fern-job-search-work-visa 1. It is not mandatory to actually have the English test under your belt prior to application. If you do get the offer of a Silver Fern place you will be asked to provide evidence that you meet this part of the criteria and you will have a sufficient period in order to do that, BUT make sure you leave yourself sufficient time to take the test and pass....it isn't easy, so maybe factor in having to re-sit bearing in mind you will have a limited time in order to send in all of your evidence.It may be a good idea to take the test prior to application (so long as the result remains within 2 years old) but appreciate it is a lot of money and the chance of you actually securing a Silver Fern place is small2. Unlikely. You are making a declaration that you meet this criteria when you apply so as in No 1 above you'll have to get the qualification assessed during this same submission period and hope it comes back with a favourable result so you can provide the NZQA result as evidence your qualification meets the minimum equivalent Level.3. Not that I am aware of. This is all left to the post application stage when you have been offered a place. You will have a period of time to gather all of the evidence required.4. Yes I believe so. Just be aware that you can't just show proof by someone - maybe a friend or family member temporarily transferring a large amount of money in your account that covers the minimum required amount. Immigration needs to be sure that the money is there to cover your expenses and it is your money to spend OR someone is allowing you access to sufficient funds to cover your expenses. Not only will they look that sufficient funds are there, they will be keen to understand how long it has been there and where it has come from.5. If asked - you will need to show you have at least $4200 to cover your expenses while in NZ for the duration of your visa. You cannot show any less for any less of a period. You can show this via bank account/'s, credit card statements, bank drafts and travellers cheques or a mixture of them all. I believe you can also show these funds from a sponsor (family member, friend, company etc), however the sponsor may have to complete a legal document of their own pledging those funds to you so Immigration is sure you have access to the funds. Immigration need to protect the interests of people already living in NZ and cannot approve people coming here who cannot afford to pay their way or wish to sponge from the NZ system when they have no legitimate entitlement to do so.
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Saturday, July 28, 2018

The next Albuquerque Death Cafe is scheduled for Sunday, August 26 from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at Manzano de Sol Village, 5201 Roma Street NE (just south of Lomas Blvd. and just west of San Mateo Blvd.).

The objective of the Albuquerque Death Cafe is To increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.." At these events, people come together in a relaxed, confidential and safe setting to discuss death while eating delicious cake or cookies. Its an interesting, unstructured conversation thats open and free-flowing with no specific agenda.

As pioneering Death Cafe hostess and death educator Gail Rubin says, Talking about sex wont make you pregnant, and talking about funerals and end-of-life wont make you dead. Come and join the conversation!

Refreshments will be provided. The event is free and donations are welcome. Send a note to Gail [at] AGoodGoodbye.com to RSVP and get directions.

Or, join the Albuquerque Death Cafe Meetup group to be kept apprised of upcoming events. Click here to go to the Meetup page.

Learn more about the Death Cafe movement here.

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Convicted felon and ex-lawmaker Carlos Uresti and his estranged wife want to retain control of property that rightfully belongs to the victims he defrauded in a Ponzi scheme, federal prosecutors allege.

In a court filing Friday, prosecutors formally opposed Urestis request to start collecting his annual state pension that he has valued at more than $80,000. He needs the pension checks because he doesnt have the money to survive, according to a July 20 court filing.

Senior U.S. District Judge David Ezra is scheduled to take up Urestis request at a hearing Tuesday.

A 12-person jury in February convicted Uresti on 11 felony charges, including securities fraud and money laundering, for his role in a now-defunct oil field services company that defrauded investors. Last month, he was sentenced to 12 years in prison and ordered to pay $6.3 million in restitution to his victims.

RELATED: Uresti's estranged wife joins fight for pension

Uresti largely forfeited his right to unfettered control over his assets as a result of the sentence, assistant U.S. attorneys Kristy Callahan and Erica Benites Giese argue in their court filing.

Urestis victims take priority despite the financial consequences to the (Uresti) family, an unfortunate result of his criminal choices, the prosecutors state in their court filing. The Government must preserve what little property (Uresti) has remaining to ensure that something is returned to them.

The government met with attorneys for Uresti, 54, and his wife Lleanna Uresti, 42, to try to reach a global resolution for the division and liquidation of his assets. Those efforts were unsuccessful, it adds in the court document.

The Urestis maintain unreasonable expectations by failing to acknowledge the Governments obligations to (his) victims, it says.

Efforts to reach the Urestis lawyers Saturday were unsuccessful.

All of the former senators property, including his pension, are saddled by a criminal judgment lien.

The government indicates in its court filing that it intends to garnish Urestis pension.

If Uresti is eligible for a lump sum disbursement, the Government would likely elect to receive such a distribution to provide victims timely recovery, it says in its court document. Whereas the Government would be limited to 25 percent of (Urestis) monthly pension payment thereafter, the amount of the payment is affected by the Urestis attempts to negotiate any amounts to Lleanna.

Lleanna filed court papers to end their marriage about a week after her husbands conviction. Prosecutors questioned the motives behind the divorce and obtained a restraining order preserving Urestis assets. The government says she only has an interest in pension contributions for the roughly six years theyve been married.

The Texas Employee Retirement System has refused to issue any pension checks because of the restraining order, Uresti says in his court filing. The pension is for the 21 years he served in the state Legislature. He announced his resignation from the Senate last month just days before his sentencing.

Uresti is now asking for partial relief from the restraining order so he can collect his pension, as well as disburse some of the pension money to Lleanna and his first wife Yolanda Uresti.

RELATED: Uresti 'doesn't have the money to survive,' court filing says

Even if Carlos and Lleanna Uresti divide their community property as part of their divorce, the government says its lien remains attached to any assets  including those received by Lleanna unless it issues a lien release.

Given this, it behooves them to reach an agreement with the Government, it adds. It also says Lleana has been working with the government to determine the couples personal property interests.

A final agreement has not been reached, however, due to unresolved efforts to sell the Urestis Helotes estate, the government adds in its filing. The property is listed for sale at $1.7 million. The court also is allowing Uresti to sell the McCullough Avenue office building that once housed his law office. Uresti surrendered his law license earlier this year rather than face disciplinary actions relating to his crimes.

Urestis request regarding his pension was filed by attorney Michael McCrum, who was part of the ex-lawmakers legal defense team during the five-week trial. On Friday, though, Ezra ruled McCrum cant appear on Urestis behalf at Tuesdays hearing.

Based on a finding that Uresti is indigent, a judge granted him a court-appointed lawyer for the appeal of his criminal conviction. That attorney, John Bud Ritenour Jr., will have to represent Uresti at Tuesdays hearing, Ezra ordered.

The judge also ruled that Lleanna has no basis to intervene in the pension battle. She filed a motion asking the judge to allow her husband to receive his pension. Lleannas attorney, Juanita Pelaez-Prada, will be able to argue at the hearing but she will not be able to question or call witnesses.

pdanner@express-news.net

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
Three people were shot to death at a Texas nursing home Friday night and two others were found dead at a nearby residence, in what authorities said were related episodes.

The police in Robstown, Texas, about 20 miles west of Corpus Christi, responded to an active shooting at the Retama Manor Nursing Center about 7 p.m. Friday.

Three people were found dead at the nursing home, and the killer was among the dead, said Herman Rodriguez, a spokesman for the city. Officials did not specifically say how the killer had died, although they said the threat at the nursing home had been neutralized by the time officers arrived.

We are looking at a murder investigation, Chief Erasmo Flores of the Robstown Police Department said in a statement.

Two people were found dead at the home of one of the people killed at the nursing home, Rodriguez said. He said family members went to the residence and discovered the bodies.

It was unclear how those two people died, but Rodriguez called the attack at the nursing home the primary shooting.

Robstown is a city of about 11,500 people. The nursing home is a for-profit senior care community, with about 94 beds, according to the police.

This is a profound incident that doesnt really transpire too often in Robstown, Rodriguez said in an interview with local news media Friday. Were a small community and a lot of the families, we know each other.

More than 50 people were gathered in the parking lot of the Family Dollar store across the street from the nursing home, Daisy Velasquez, an assistant manager of the shop, said in an interview Friday night. Family members of nursing home residents were waiting there to hear more from the authorities, she said.

She said police officers entered the store Friday night and told employees to lock all their doors. Authorities first told the employees that there was a reported robbery, she said, then corrected themselves to say it was a shooting.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times
GD Cruise For Gold is the 8-5 morning line favourite to win Dresden Raceways Little Green Jug this Sunday, July 29.

The four-year-old Allthatgltrsisgold gelding is looking for his fifth win in a row at the half-mile oval for owner/trainer/driver Donnie Rankin Jr.

Scoring from post three this week, GD Cruise For Gold has gone wire-to-wire the last four starts.

The Little Green Jug is Dresden Raceways version of the Little Brown Jug for a regular overnight working mans horse.

Dresden Raceway will also be honouring former horseman Ted McFadden on Sunday. The son of harness racing legend, Levi Jiggs McFadden passed away in March of 2017.

Gateway Casinos will also be giving away cooler bags on Sunday as part of the 143rd Dresden Exhibition.

Post time for Sundays 11-race card is 1:30 p.m.

(Dresden Raceway)
Educators have long touted the benefits of offering college courses in high school: they help more students get into college and speed them on their way to a degree so they can save on tuition. But a new Texas study suggests those benefits may be inflated.

The study, released Thursday, showed some positive effects of taking the college classes  known as dual credit courses  but they tended to benefit more academically-prepared students in higher-income households. Students from low-income households who were not already excelling academically did not benefit as much from the courses, according to the study.

Its not surprising. Ive been wary of the claim among some that dual credit is a magic bullet. Its not, said Raymund Paredes, the Texas commissioner of higher education. If students are not college ready, its an open question if they should be in dual credit to begin with.

Researchers looked at data from 16 cohorts of Texas high school juniors from 2001 to 2016 for the study, conducted for the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. Participation rates were higher for white students. For all who took dual credit courses, the college enrollment rate was about 2.4 percentage points higher than those who did not enroll in dual credit. College completion rates for both two-year and four-year degrees were about 1.1 percentage points higher.

The study also found that students enrolled in dual credit courses finished college about a month sooner than their peers  the equivalent of one summer term.

They are good for low-income students, if the students are college ready, Paredes said. Access without preparation is not opportunity. If students are not prepared academically to do college level work, it can backfire.

Dual credit courses were originally designed to give high-achieving students more challenging work. But high schools around the country have enrolled students with varying academic backgrounds into the courses, arguing that more rigor leads to better outcomes. In Texas, the number of students enrolled in dual credit courses has drastically increased. In 2000, there were about 18,500 and by 2016, more than 200,000.

The study suggested the courses themselves can be less rigorous than a comparable course in college, given a lack of uniform standards for dual credit courses across the state.

About 12,500 students enrolled last academic year in dual credit courses through one of the five community colleges in the Alamo Colleges District - a 42 percent increase since 2012. Dual credit last year made up one-fifth of the community college districts total enrollment, and the cost of the free programs was one reason the district will increase tuition starting in January.

Texas A&M University-San Antonios partnerships with school districts will see just 34 dual-credit students taking courses at the university in the fall semester: 28 through a new program with the Southwest Prep charter network, and six in an arrangement with Three Rivers High School that began last year, said Briana Hagelgans, the universitys director of access.

The school districts pay TAMUSA a discounted tuition rate of $200 per course per student, and the high schools pay for the textbooks, she said.

The reason its so small is because were a growing institution and we wanted to keep a good balance of early college high school students and traditional students, Hagelgans said. We wanted this population to grow as our institution grows.

The researchers with the American Institutes for Research are gathering public input on their findings through the end of August. They intend to present policy recommendations to the coordinating board in October.

Staff Writer Alia Malik contributed to this report. | Alejandra Matos covers politics, immigration and education policy. | Alejandra.Matos@chron.com.
WASHINGTON - Ernesto Vargas has seen the wave of Latino millennials that could realign politics in Texas.

Vargas, a 32-year-old community organizer from Mexico City by way of Houston, saw firsthand the record turnout of the July 1 general election in Mexico that handed the presidency to left-wing populist Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador.

Millennials - voters between 18 and 34 - played a major role in that victory, giving hope to Latino activists in the U.S. who say a similar feat could be replicated north of the border, where Hispanic voter turnout - particularly among the young - has been notoriously lacking.

To Vargas, the lesson from Mexico was that decades of corruption and autocratic rule can be overcome, defeating a culture of voter apathy and distrust that many immigrants brought with them from Latin America, where democracy has often been a distant vision.

I hope the election in Mexico sends a signal to the U.S.A, said Vargas, who works for an environmental group in Maryland. There is also a strong base of millennial people here who are ready for a better country and a just society.

Political analysts see it, too. Of the many impediments to Latino voting power in the U.S. - poverty, education, legal status, gerrymandered districts - the one that towers above the rest is a history of political alienation in Mexico, some say.

That view is shared on both ends of the political spectrum.

Mexico suffered from the same thing that (Latinos) suffered from here, said Daniel Garza, the Texas-based executive director of the LIBRE Initiative, which promotes conservative efforts to win Latino voters. People felt disenfranchised, disconnected.

Lopez Obradors election, which some liken to a political earthquake, is increasingly being seen as a guide for Latino outreach efforts in the U.S., particularly in states like Texas with large populations of young Latino voters who have just been given a new lesson in the power of voting.

If we want to build Latino political power, we need to build Latino youth power, said Yadira Sanchez of Mi Familia Vota, a national civic engagement organization that focuses on voter participation. We must break the myths that young people dont care.

The hope of change

About 6.4 million new millennial voters showed up for the Mexican elections this month, a 64 percent increase over the last presidential election in 2012, according to Adrian Bravo of Cultura Colectiva, a Mexico-based digital media publisher that claims to be the worlds largest Latino millennial online community, with over 30 million members.

In the Mexican presidential campaign, Bravo worked as an adviser to presidential candidate Jose Antonio Meade, who finished third. He says Mexicos historically low turnout of young voters has been based on a deep-rooted cynicism of the political system.

They actually hate everything around politics, Bravo said. They hate politicians.

Lopez Obradors anti-establishment vision of stamping out systemic corruption and helping the poor apparently connected with many young people, as did his plain-spoken style, deviating from the traditional formulations of political speech in Mexico. Some say he was able to turn anger into hope.

Thats what won the Mexican elections, just the hope of change, Bravo said. Millennials, in general, didnt care about specific proposals. They were moved more in an emotional way.

While young people can be hard to engage politically in any country, some political consultants see Mexicos long history of one-party rule in the 20th century as having fostered a culture of helplessness that has been passed on through the generations, often including the children and grandchildren of immigrants in the U.S.

They grew up thinking, We dont need the state. The state is useless. The state robs from you  said Mexico City political consultant Roberto Trad, who has worked on dozens of campaigns in Mexico and across Latin America. What the Mexican election did was it reduced the emotional and cultural barriers.

Young Texas Latino voters

Whether that wave can cross the border - wall or no wall - remains to be seen.

In the U.S., many on the left believe that President Donald Trumps hard-line rhetoric on immigration and family separation could spark a backlash among young Latino voters this year. Immigrant advocates say many have been personally touched by the administrations moves to end legal protections for Dreamers, or young immigrants brought into the country illegally as children.

Trump has done very well in waking up the sleeping giant, Trad said, adding that it is now up to the immigrant community to organize. We need to do the other half.

While Latino voting hit record levels in 2016, it did not produce the anti-Trump effect that some analysts predicted. The next test could be in the November midterm elections.

With some 66,000 young Latinos turning voting age every month, both parties have started to look for a voting goldmine in the Hispanic community, particularly in large border states like Texas and California. More than 40 percent of eligible Latino voters in Texas are millennials between 18 and 33.

Neglect by conservative groups was a massive benefit to those on the left on a national scale, said Garza, who believes that Mexican-Americans in Texas are uniquely receptive to conservative free-market ideas. Nobody is going to allow that to happen, at least not anymore.

Garza noted that while Latino voters went overwhelmingly to Hillary Clinton in 2016, Gov. Greg Abbott and other statewide Republican politicians have managed to pull north of 40 percent of the Hispanic vote.

On the other side of the political divide is Cristina Tzintzun, who formed the group Jolt Texas in 2016 to mobilize young Latinos around a bold, progressive message. The groups name derives from her belief that when Latinos come out and vote in Texas, were going to be a shock to the political system, not only in this state, but in the entire country.

Her own experience is telling. Her mother was an immigrant from Mexico who married an American. While she was civically aware, she took three decades to get her U.S. citizenship. For a long time she felt that both parties were corrupt and that her vote didnt matter, Tzintzun said. That is a common sentiment for people who come from a country where often that is the case.

While that may be true for many Mexican immigrants, its not the case for immigrants generally. Sylvia Manzano, who runs the Houston office of Latino Decisions, a national research firm, notes that naturalized citizens overall have higher voter turnout rates than most other Americans. Its a deliberate choice to be a citizen, she said.

Uncompetitive races

But despite a greater awareness of the potential of the nations youthful Latino population - median age is 26, versus 36 for the U.S. population at large - many of the usual barriers remain in place: Much of the nations growing Hispanic population is packed into large, politically uncompetitive states like Texas, California and New York, where statewide elections are dominated by one party or the other.

As long as thats the population distribution, thats always going to work against Latino turnout, Manzano said. Its a lot easier to think your vote doesnt matter if you live in a really uncompetitive state.

Manzano noted that in contrast to the U.S., Mexicos presidential elections are decided by direct popular vote, giving every voter equal weight. Remember, if we didnt have the Electoral College, Donald Trump wouldnt be president, she said.

Given the propensity of the young to be low turnout voters, Manzano also is skeptical of the commitment of U.S. political campaigns to invest in millennial turnout - Latino or otherwise.

Its difficult because campaigns have limited resources and their job is to win elections, she said. To tell them to use their money on people less likely to vote, I understand why they dont do that.

Garza said that some campaigns might be tempted to rely too much on pop culture and social media messages to reach young people. But like Tzintzun, he says it will take an actual grassroots effort of one-on-one organizing to replicate what Lopez Obrador did.

What the AMLO (Lopez Obrador) people did was do the hard work, which was mobilizing, engaging and outreaching, he said.

Vargas looks forward to voting after he acquires his U.S. citizenship. Another reason to expect electoral dividends is the increasing practicality of millennials in both countries, compared to their parents generation.

Theres a political maturity, he said. We know that even if we elect a president like Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, hes not going to be able to solve all our problems. But we know that it takes a good government to start the work.
Josefina Ortiz adopted her 3-year-old son when he was born. She has photos of them celebrating his birthday. She has letters from friends attesting to her good care.

But shes been separated from him for seven months, and shes still not eligible to be reunited with him.

They said I stole him. But I didnt steal him. He loves me and I love him. I miss him so much, the Honduran mother said in a phone interview from the immigrant detention center in Pearsall.

A day after the government was supposed to have reunited all immigrant families who were separated at the border, 711 children remain in shelters because their parents have been deemed ineligible for reunification.

A majority of them  468  are children whose parents were deported, according to the governments latest numbers provided during a federal court hearing Friday.

The families were separated under President Donald Trumps zero-tolerance policy this spring that targeted immigrants crossing the border illegally. An outcry over the policy prompted Trump to rescind the policy, and a San Diego federal judge subsequently ordered the government to reunify all of the migrants.

The government fell short by Thursdays deadline, reunifying 1,442 children of the 2,551 who had been removed from their parents.

The reunifications themselves were clumsy and chaotic.

Parents were being reunited with their children in parking lots, in cars, in an office turned into sleeping quarters for children, said Efren Olivares, director of Texas Civil Rights Projects racial and social justice program.

The TCRP reported dozens of clients who are still in detention and not reunified with their children. In one case, a woman was told she would be reunified with her daughter, only to have the wrong child brought to her, Olivares said.

Its just a chaotic scene that confirmed that when the government started separating families earlier this summer, they did not have a plan to reunite them, he said.

The fight by the ACLU and immigrant rights activists now hinges on the word eligible, and how its being defined by the U.S. government.

Its very unclear what that means or what criteria the government is using, Olivares said.

Of the 382 clients TCRP represents in Texas facilities, only 76, or 20 percent, were confirmed to be reunited and released. Some 200 adults were released from ICE custody, but the government has not confirmed their whereabouts to their lawyers, Olivares said.

Many immigrant families werent deemed eligible by the government because they have criminal offenses in their background. Some, like Josefina, adopted the children informally at a young age. Others still were deported thinking they would get their children back if they returned home, and then never did.

And that criteria seems to be in flux, as parents are moved in and out of eligibility. The number of deported parents provided by the government on Friday differed from figures provided on Thursday.

The data is dynamic, admitted Matthew Albence, executive associate director of ICEs enforcement and Removal Operations, on a Thursday press call.

Even the breakdown on the number of children reunified Thursday left many confused. For example, 378 children were discharged from federal shelters in other appropriate circumstances, which according to the filing could mean they are now with their parents, but could also mean they are with adult sponsors, or they turned 18 and aged out  basically its a catch-all grouping of circumstances.

Also unclear is whether or not parents whose children have been released to adult sponsors will be reunified as quickly as those with children in federal care, and whether or not theyre being counted by the government throughout this process.

In Josefinas case, her son is living with her oldest daughter in Austin. Her lawyer, Sara Ramey, executive director of the San Antonio-based Migrant Center for Human Rights, said this clearly shows that DHS doesnt believe she came with Erik under nefarious purposes  if they did, they wouldnt have put him with her daughter.

But, she said Josefina and countless other parents have fallen through a black hole because their kids have already been released to adult sponsors. ICE doesnt seem to be prioritizing their reunification either, she said.

Theres no replacement for a mother, Ramey said, adding that for mothers who are detained while their children are with sponsors: As long as the parent is not a danger or a flight risk, those should really be the only reasons depriving someone of their liberty.

The ACLU has asked the court to give it extra time to represent reunified families who are on track to be deported.

There are as many as 1,000 families facing immediate deportation, according to reports from Fridays hearing.

According to Lee Gelernt, the lead lawyer in the ACLU case against the government, the governments counsel Friday balked at the notion of allowing them more time, which Gelernt found baffling.

What I said today in court was: A parent should not have to make that kind of decision to leave an 8-year-old, a 9-year-old, behind in a foreign country without being able to look their child in the eyes and say Mommy or daddy are doing this because its in your best interest, and let me explain it, he said.

That would be outrageous if parents were sent back to their country and kids were left here because they couldnt understand a form, he said.

While the parents of 468 children were deported, only 120 children had parents who agreed to waive their right to reunification. That leaves hundreds who did not agree.

But advocates question the 120 number, and even District Judge Dana Sabraw ruled that the deportation forms provided by the government were misleading to immigrants.

Recently reunified fathers and children are being held in a Karnes County detention center, according to Texas lawyers, while mothers and children are at one in Dilley. It appears most of those sent to detention facilities have final orders of deportation, but that has not been confirmed by the government.

The ACLU hasnt asked for a deadline to reunify the deported parents, but it has asked for more information about these deported parents, including more concrete numbers and any contact information so they can begin searching for them.

Earlier this week, a group of congressmen asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to instruct Central American embassies to assist deported families seeking to find their children.

Josefinas daughter was killed three years ago when the daughter was 30 years old. She was abused by her husband, and has scars on her head from his violence, she said. She fled Honduras out of fear for her and her sons life.

She presented herself at the Reynosa-Hidalgo bridge on Dec. 29, 2017.

I said I was his real mother. Because I am his mother. Im not his biological mother, but Im more than that. I came here happy because I thought I was saving his life, she said.

Whats preventing Josefina from reuniting with her son, said Ramey, are two details: her prior deportation order in 2004, and the fact that her son is no longer in ORR custody.

But Josefina has passed her credible fear interview with an asylum officer.

She said shes stopped talking to her son on the phone because its too painful.

But she thinks of being back with him, of kissing his soft cheeks and pulling his little body into her arms, every hour of every day.

Ill say See? Im not a liar, Im here with you. Ill tell him Ill never leave you alone again, she said. Ill tell him Look, Im alive.

Silvia Foster-Frau is a staff writer in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. Read her on our free site, mySA.com, and on our subscriber site, ExpressNews.com. | sfosterfrau@express-news.net | Twitter: @SilviaElenaFF
Although San Antonio once again earned the coveted triple-A bond rating from the three major credit-reporting agencies, two of them warned that this falls charter-amendment election could endanger that status.

Its the first time the ratings agencies have weighed in on the matter since the San Antonio Professional Fire Fighters Association earlier this year submitted petitions for three charter amendments that voters will decide on this November.

Mayor Ron Nirenberg applauded news of the AAA ratings, just days before San Antonio is set to sell nearly $330.5 million in bonds, certificates of obligation and tax notes  including $156 million for 2017 bond program projects.

Getting an AAA rating from all three companies, which San Antonio has now done from nine consecutive years, is comparable to having perfect credit.

The City Manager and her finance staff have worked diligently with City Council to continue our legacy of fiscal stewardship. The end result saves millions of tax dollars and allows us to provide more direct services in a cost-effective manner, he said in a news release.

Unfortunately, the fire unions proposed charter amendments could put our bond rating in jeopardy, he added.

Since achieving the highest possible rating nearly a decade ago, San Antonio has faced a potential downgrade only once before.

In 2013, in affirming triple-A status, the ratings agency Moodys warned that San Antonio faced a negative outlook and could be downgraded because its fund balance had dropped  fallout from the global recession.

City Manager Sheryl Sculley said the negative outlook was removed soon afterward, however.

Since the fire union launched its charter-amendment campaign, opponents have said their adoption would lead to catastrophic consequences for San Antonio, including a downgrade in bond rating, which would cost local taxpayers millions of dollars a year.

One charter amendment would limit the salary of the city manager to 10 times the lowest-paid full-time employee at the city and cap the managers tenure at eight years.

Another would give the fire union the sole right to declare when it has reached an impasse with the city on contract negotiations and unilaterally require the city go to binding arbitration rather than seek recourse in the court system.

And the third would drastically reduce the threshold for any referendum (but would not address the powers of initiative and recall). It would lower the required number of signatures to 20,000 from the current standard of 10 percent of the number of registered voters in the previous municipal election, which is just shy of 70,000 currently. It also would extend the amount of time that could be spent gathering those signatures.

And the amendment would remove current prohibitions preventing referendums on major issues, such as council appropriations, tax levies and utility rates.

Union boss Chris Steele, who did not return a phone call seeking comment, has previously denied that his charter amendments would harm the city.

But the ratings agencies say otherwise.

Successful passage of these petitions, particularly those that make any ordinance subject to referendum and allow the firefighters to require binding arbitration, would lead to negative rating pressure should the city be unable to effectuate effective responses, the Fitch rating said.

Standard & Poors also specifically noted the proposed amendments, saying if voters approve the proposed changes to the citys charter in the upcoming November 2018 election, we believe the changes to the referendum process in particular could have a material negative impact on the citys finances, as such initiatives could effectively limit San Antonios ability to manage its budget.

Moodys did not explicitly address the proposed amendments but pointed to San Antonios good governance guided by its experienced team. The agency also pointed to the citys long-term fiscal planning, which could be upended by referendums from special-interest groups, officials have said.

Sculley, who recommended and implemented the financial policies that led to the continuous AAA ratings, pointed out theres never a guarantee that the rating will be reaffirmed.

Im extremely proud of this accomplishment, especially in the face of so many external challenges  pressure from the state legislature to cap our revenues, the uncertainty of potential union-driven charter amendments and an unresolved collective bargaining agreement with the fire union, Sculley said in a city news release. To have done this again and again is a testament to our City teams commitment to the community and San Antonios financial security.

Josh Baugh 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. | jbaugh@express-news.net | Twitter: @jbaugh
After capturing a division of the Ontario Sires Stakes Grassroots season opener, two-year-old trotting filly Teddys Littleangel made a successful transition to the Gold Series with a victory at Woodbine Mohawk Park on Friday evening (July 27).

Starting from post four in the first of three $67,200 splits, Teddys Littleangel landed in fourth as Giving It All took the field of eight to a :28.1 opening quarter. Teddys Littleangel was still sitting in the middle of the pack at the :58.1 half, but driver Paul MacDonell soon had the filly rolling along up the outside behind the fans second choice Kenogami Darling and she reached the 1:28.1 three-quarters less than four lengths behind Giving It All. Rolling off the final turn, MacDonell pointed Teddys Littleangel at the wire and the Archangel daughter powered home to a 1:57.4 victory, holding off a late charge from Silver, who finished one-half length back in second. Royal Rhythm was a length behind the duelling leaders in third.

Well, with a two-year-old you never know what to expect really, but it didnt shock me, shed been training well heading into it and hopefully we have her over a few of her little quirks, said trainer Ted MacDonnell of the fillys 1:57.4 effort.

The mile took almost three full seconds off the 2:00.3 mark Teddys Littleangel recorded in her Grassroots victory at Georgian Downs on July 14 and was the quickest of Fridays Gold divisions. With victories in both of her starts, the daughter of Archangel and Pine Knolls has earned $42,825 for owner.breeder Leonard Gamble of Etobicoke, Ont.

Fridays victory was not only the first Gold win for Teddys Littleangel, it was the first for veteran horseman MacDonnell.

Ive knocked on the door a lot of times, but thats the first Gold win Ive had so it was pretty exciting, said the Allenford, Ont. resident, who admitted even driver MacDonell was surprised to hear that a Gold win was missing from his resume. Even Paul Mac said that, he said, No, youre kidding. I said, No, its true. Ive won big races before, just not a Gold. So that was nice.

Teddys Littleangel and MacDonnell will aim to add to their Gold Series win total when the freshman trotting fillies return to Woodbine Mohawk Park on August 10 for their third Gold leg.

A five-time winner of the Lampman Cup as the leading driver in the Ontario Sires Stakes program, Sylvain Filion is no stranger to the Gold Series winners circle and he made two more visits on Friday evening.

In the second division, the Milton, Ont. resident sent Petro Hall straight to the front from post five and never looked back. The fan favourites rolled through fractions of :29.3, 1:00.1 and 1:30.1 on their way to a one and one-half length victory in 1:59.2. HP Bruxelles finished second and Angel For Life was well back in third.

I had seen her race and I baby raced her early on (June 14) and I always liked her. And I felt that, in the field that she was in tonight, if I could get her to the front and control the pace that she would be tough to beat, said Filion of the gate-to-wire effort. She can leave fast and she can settle in good, so thats a big plus for a two-year-old trotting filly.

Filion engineered the victory for Ontario-based trainer Victor Puddy of Mountain, and owners Lloyd Stone of Portland, James Ruhl of Tara, Dr. Charles Hall of Erin and Michael Kwietniowski of Guelph, who acquired the daughter of Angus Hall from the 2017 London Selected Yearling Sale for $15,000. Sixth in a conditioned event at Woodbine Mohawk Park on July 6 and a narrowly beaten second in the Gold Series season opener at Georgian Downs on July 15, Petro Hall has already accumulated $50,200 in her brief career.

After donning his mud gear, Filion eased Presto Change O away from post six in the last division and sat briefly in third as favourite Strip It Down AS trotted to a :30.1 opening quarter. Heading for the 1:00.3 half, the reinsman sent Presto Change O after the lead and the filly had put more than two lengths between herself and the field by the 1:30 three-quarters, a margin she carried through to a 2:00.3 victory. Angies Luckeylady closed well to be second and Strip It Down AS was a distant third over a rain-soaked oval which had been downgraded from fast to sloppy between races six and seven.

Shes not as handy as the other one and she can be a little grabby, said Filion of the Paul Reid trainee. Last time in Georgian (on July 15), we got interfered with leaving the gate, but I felt she didnt trot as good, she didnt get a hold of the track too good, so I think Paul made a few adjustments and tonight she was pretty good.

We got in the three-hole and then the horse in front was trying to pull up a bit and mine was getting a little aggressive so I moved her to the front and once I cleared it was home free, he continued. Shes a big strong filly, shes still learning. Shes not as handy as the other one, but I think shell learn and shell be a very good filly later on.

Reid trains the Kadabra daughter for owner/breeder Robert Key of Leechburg, Pennsylvania, and through three starts, Presto Change O has earned $37,100.

In this week's $30,000 Fillies & Mares Preferred Pace, even-money favourite Firebby A set fractions of :29, :57.4 and 1:26 before widening her lead in the stretch to keep a late-closing Bettors Up at bay in 1:53.4. Louis-Philippe Roy drove the six-year-old Courage Under Fire mare for trainer Ron Adams and co-owner David Kryway. Sandbetweenurtoes finished third.

Next up on Woodbine Mohawk Parks Ontario Sires Stakes calendar are the two-year-old trotting colts, who will compete in their second Grassroots event on Tuesday, July 31. The colts will compete in Races 2, 6 and 9 on the program, which gets under way at 7:30 p.m.

To view Friday's harness racing results, click on the following link: Friday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park.

(With files from OSS)
Re: House defeats new funds for election security, Nation & World, July 20:

House Republicans voted down a bill to give states about an additional $380 million to protect their voting systems from Russian cyberattacks. Their reason: The money already in the budget was sufficient. The article also indicated Kirstjen Nielsen, secretary of homeland security, said she had not seen evidence Moscow tried to get President Trump elected.

But theres plenty of reason to assume it did. So why did Republicans vote down an increase? And why has what was said or arranged at our presidents summit meeting with Vladimir Putin been kept secret? None of this is hard evidence for collusion with the Russians. But it doesnt smell very good.

W. A. Altemeier

Teach evolution

Re: Creationism is, in fact, science; evolution is only a theory, Other View by Matthew Cserhati, Monday:

Cserhatis argument that creationism should be included in science teaching along with evolution is a surprise to me. Having spent the 1950s and 1960s in Texas schools I am accustomed to the right-leaning State Board of Education taking all references to evolution out of textbooks, causing teachers to carefully dance around the issue, sometimes for fear of their jobs. To have a creationist concede that evolution should be taught is, in fact, evolution of the education system.

Cserhati cites Genesis 1:28 Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on earth as the biblical injunction to pursue science. It is obvious to me that a 3,000-year-old of edict to the Hebrew tribes living in the desert is not applicable to anyone on Earth in 2018. In fact, this kind of thinking will be the cause of the apocalypse, which I suspect Cserhati also believes in.

Thomas W. Hoskings, Ph.D.,

New Braunfels
3 1 of 3 Genevieve Reilly / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Genevieve Reilly / Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 3 of 3





FAIRFIELD  The Emergency Communications Center was first established in 1990, and Lynn Erazmus has been there for 28 of those years  and many of the major emergencies in town.

She is one of 15 dispatchers who field nearly 250,000 calls for service each year. The center provides dispatching for police, fire and medical services, and handles thousands of requests from police officers and firefighters. Because the town works with other law enforcement agencies, such as the U.S. Coast Guard, the dispatchers at any given time are monitoring 30 radio channels
This week's edition of Rewind takes on a slightly different twist as it is mainly pictorial. Robert Smith has delved into the archives and assembled a medley of rather old photographs covering a wide range of subjects and themes. Many of them tell a story of some phase of the evolution of the sport of harness racing.

An old racing scene from the early 1930's. Huge enthusiastic crowds were common wherever quality racing programs were staged.

Betting on the chalk



This is where the phrase, "Betting on the chalk" started. Most race followers are familiar with the term "chalk" but perhaps not too many know the origin of this age old saying. Legend has it that it dates back to the days when no automated tote boards existed and people were employed to show odds and other information on a chalk board.

A Very Old Race Programme

A few years ago a wonderful lady by the name of Betty Wallace of Dauphin, Manitoba sent me a package of extremely interesting material covering a lot of harness racing history. A great deal of the accounts, records and stories pertain to Western Canada. She has been an avid history buff down through the years and continues to be keenly interested in the earlier days of our sport. Mrs. Wallace and her late husband Jim Wallace raced for many years in Quebec as well as Western Canada.

One of the items which particularly caught my eye was a race program dated 1909. I am sure there are older ones around but this one at 109 years is the oldest I have seen. Notice that the word "programme" is even in the old style.

Blue Bonnets Clubhouse



Clubhouses at racetracks go back a long way but only at the larger more stately locations. The above photo appears to be an oldie and also shows a very nice setup at the fabled Blue Bonnets track in Montreal

Racing In Vermont





This great old photograph taken many years ago at Rutland, Vermont (see the name on the grandstand roof) shows a field of horses entering the first turn. The infield with cars parked close to the track made a great vantage point for race viewers. Because of the proximity of the northern border of Vermont to the Province of Quebec, many Canadian horsemen competed there, especially at Fair time. Towns such as Essex Junction, Barton, Tunbridge and Lyndonville were stops in The Green Mountain State.

Knocker's Bench



The term "Knocker's Bench" has been around for a long time. A place where a variety of onlookers and generally interested people gathered to visit and watch the goings on. Unfortunately I have been unable to find the origin of the words but thankfully do have a picture of one. This one I believe was taken at a Maritime track, perhaps at Charlottetown Driving Park. The sign above while a bit obscure does appear to bear those two words. (Harness Horse)

Starting Gates Have Come A Long Way



The starting gate has been around for well over 70 years. During that time it has taken on many looks.

Accident At Alvinston





Accidents and runaways have always been a part of racing. There wasn't always a camera person handy to capture the action but on this occasion there was.

This rather "fuzzy" old photo taken many years ago at Alvinston, Ont. (Lambton County), depicted what was not an uncommon scene at some of the old race days. Narrow tracks, sometimes in bad condition, old and worn out equipment and a number of other factors often led to accidents. It was not unusual for well-meaning bystanders to leap out onto to the track to catch a runaway horse; unfortunately that was about the worst thing that could happen. With few security measures such as barriers or fences in place, coupled with ineffective PA systems, it is a wonder that more people were not injured.

Such were the times.

When The Infield Was In



In the early days of racing the track's infield was an important location. It not only housed the judge's stand, it was also a favourite parking area as well as one of the prime locations for people to position themselves to watch the races. Today the infield is just a barren wasteland and not an integral part of any racing operation. These old pictures display how it was once used. I am sure that safety concerns played a huge role in its demise.

Harrowing The Track

Teams of horses were used to condition the track long before the days of tractors or other motorized vehicles. These old photographs capture some very interesting aspects of the early days of racing. Thankfully someone had the foresight to take the pictures and also it is fortunate that they are still around for us to enjoy.

The Old Paddock





In the old days when most racing was done at Fairs and other small venues no paddocks existed. Everyone just raced from the stables or from their trailer. They did not come into existence until the larger raceways instituted them to make for orderly and timely execution of the races. The earliest paddocks were pretty simple as shown above. This paddock was located at Northville Downs in Michigan. Due to wartime restrictions resulting in a scarcity of building materials Track officials made the best of the situation and used a tent.

(Harness Horse)

No Head Numbers OR Saddle Pads



?



At one time back in the history of harness racing no head numbers or saddle pads were worn to identify the horses. In the earliest days silks were worn and the drivers wore numbers on their sleeves. This great old 1930's photo taken at Rockingham Park which was located at Salem Depot, N.H., shows the start of a trotting race. Each driver can be seen wearing a large number on their sleeve.

Delvin Miller, the great horseman from Pennsylvania once told me a story about a young driver named Benny Sturgeon. He was making his first ever start and when someone pinned the number on his sleeve they put the safety pin right through his skin. He was so nervous and excited he didn't notice it until he took his driving coat off at the end of the day.

Who Is It?





Can you correctly identify the driver in this photo? He was involved in Canadian harness racing for a very long time. The correct answer will appear as usual during the coming week.
Deo already has one win under his belt since arriving in the United States as part of the Standardbred Owners Association of New Yorks French American Trotting Club. Sunday afternoon, the trotter will seek a second local score for trainer Scott Di Domenico ahead of the series first leg August 5.



Deo, winning in France Deo, winning in France

Deo announced his presence with a victory in a $13,000 overnight for non-winners of two races lifetime July 20. With George Brennan in the sulky, Deo came away evenly from the gate and settled into sixth racing 10 lengths off the lead. Brennan angled the son of Repeat Love off the pylons with five-eighths to trot and picked up the races 4-5 favourite Grammy Winner.

With the whip on his tail and with his nose to the helmet of Grammy Winners driver Tyler Buter, Deo advanced to just three lengths from the lead with a quarter-mile to race. Brennan tipped three-wide around the final turn and with the lines in his lap and Deo under a hold, the trotter breezed by his rivals. In the final strides, Deo extended, streaking away from the field to win by 3-1/4 lengths in 1:57.3.

I was really happy with him. I liked the fact that he raced from off the pace, closed good and was wide off the turn, Di Domenico said. He did everything very professionally to say the least. Ive been happy with him right along from the day we qualified him. He left the gate good and to see a horse in his first start in this country, first start over the half win from off the pace, it was impressive. Were pretty well tickled with him.

The French American Trotting Club intrigued Di Domenico from its announcement this spring. It didnt take much convincing for the trainer, who is second in the local standings with 98 victories and $1.69 million earned this year, to take the plunge.

Any time that theres something new at Yonkers or a series of some sort, I always try to be a part of it, he said. Yonkers is my home track and when this was mentioned, I spoke with Alex (Dadoyan) and Joe (Faraldo) and I certainly was pretty eager to be involved in it. Thankfully to the process, how everything shook out getting the horses, the guys going over there to look at the horses, I feel like Im pretty lucky to this point and Im pretty optimistic for the future of this horse.

Through the luck of the draw, Di Domenico was assigned Deo, a five-year-old trotter with one win in 32 starts overseas for Romuald Mourice. The youngest of the French trotters imported, Deo is eligible to the conditions at Yonkers in addition to the rich series.

To this point, I like the horse, I like the fact that hes five years old. I like the fact that he fits the conditions at Yonkers if the series doesnt quite fit his style of racing, Di Domenico said.

When Deo arrived in Di Domenicos stable in June, he proved a straightforward addition to the barn. Di Domenico approached the gelding as he would any horse from overseas and gave the horse time to adapt to his new surroundings. Deo impressed his new trainer with how quickly he took to the American style of training.

We gave him a week where we didnt do anything with him, we just put him out in the pasture and let him put his head down and collect his wits, the trainer explained. When we started actually working him, he went out jogged like any horse, he trained like a horse whos trained here a hundred times and he was not a horse that took a lot of guessing with.

Deos simple manner took his trainer by surprise. After watching replays of the horses French form, which included four breaks in stride in his last six starts, Di Domenico didnt know what to expect.

Im not smart enough to understand how those races go or understand how to speak French and try to decipher what happened and the kind of sulky he wore and if they pulled his shoes off, Di Domenico said. It certainly gets you thinking about how you want to handle it and what you want to do.

Hes not had a bad day and he hasnt been a bad actor. He hasnt done anything that wasnt expected of him. I think I was most impressed by that. Any time you get a horse from another country, its a new system, new people, different track surfaces, putting them on an airplane, you always have a concern of a lot of different things, he continued. To finally meet the horse and get him here and see how hes acting and for him to be as simple and straightforward as hes been, it says a lot about the horse and the people in France who had him before me.

Deo will make his second start for Di Domenico in Sundays fourth race at Yonkers, a $21,200 trot for non-winners of four races. Hell start from post three as the 3-1 second choice on the morning line. Unlike in his first race, which was at a mile, Deo will stretch out to the 1-1/4 mile distance Sunday, the same distance hell face in the first leg of the series next week.

Well see how he handles it. Its all new to the horse and to me, Di Domenico said. Watching the replays and going back and looking at some of his stuff in France, he didnt always excel going long distances, but maybe the different track surface and the different training, maybe hell adapt to it and really like it. At this point, Im really optimistic in that its something new and Im really just excited and happy with him.

In addition to Deo, Sundays card at Yonkers features French trotters Barry Black in race two and Undici in race three. Sundays card also features a $44,000 Open Handicap Trot going one mile in race nine. First post time is 12:30 p.m.

The French American Trotting Club Series begins with a $35,000 first leg August 5. The second and third legs of the series will be held August 19 and 26, respectively and the $120,000 final is set for September 2.

(SOA of NY)
Guyana Goldfields Inc. provides exploration and production of gold. It engages in the acquisition, exploration, development, production, and operation of gold mineral properties. The company also owns and operates gold drilling rights. The company was formerly known as Chiboug Copper Company Limited and changed its name to Guyana Goldfields Inc. in January 1995. Guyana Goldfields Inc. was incorporated in 1994 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada. As of August 25, 2020, Guyana Goldfields Inc. operates as a subsidiary of Zijin Mining Group Company Limited.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Cummins: Anvl, Apollo FC Holdings Ltd., Atlantis Acquisitionco Canada Corporation, Atlantis Holdco UK Limited, Brammo, CIFC Worldwide Partner C.V., CMI Africa Holdings BV, CMI CGT Holdings LLC, CMI Canada Financing Ltd., CMI Canada LP, CMI Foreign Holdings B.V., CMI Global Equity Holdings B.V., CMI Global Equity Holdings C.V., CMI Global Holdings B.V., CMI Global Partner 2 C.V., CMI Global Partners B.V., CMI Group Holdings B.V., CMI Group Holdings Cooperatief U.A., CMI International Finance Partner 1 LLC, CMI International Finance Partner 2 LLC, CMI International Finance Partner 3 LLC, CMI International Finance Partner 4 LLC, CMI International Finance Partner 5 LLC, CMI Mexico LLC, CMI Netherlands Holdings B.V., CMI PGI Holdings LLC, CMI PGI International Holdings LLC, CMI Turkish Holdings B.V., CMI UK Finance LP, CMI UK Financing LP, Cherry Island Renewable Energy LLC, Consolidated Diesel Company, Consolidated Diesel Inc., Consolidated Diesel of North Carolina Inc., Cummins (China) Investment Co. Ltd., Cummins (Xiangyang) Machining Co. Ltd., Cummins Africa Middle East (Pty) Ltd., Cummins Afrique de l'Ouest, Cummins Americas Inc., Cummins Angola Lda., Cummins Argentina-Servicios Mineros S.A., Cummins Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd., Cummins Aust Technologies Pty. Ltd., Cummins BLR LLC, Cummins Battery Systems North America LLC, Cummins Belgium N.V., Cummins Botswana (Pty.) Ltd., Cummins Brasil Ltda., Cummins Burkina Faso SARL, Cummins CDC Holding Inc., Cummins CV Member LLC, Cummins Canada ULC, Cummins Caribbean LLC, Cummins Center of Excellence Singapore Pte. Ltd., Cummins Centroamerica Holding S.de R.L., Cummins Child Development Center Inc., Cummins Colombia S.A.S., Cummins Comercializadora S. de R.L. de C.V., Cummins Corporation, Cummins Cote d'Ivoire SARL, Cummins Czech Republic s.r.o., Cummins Deutschland GmbH, Cummins Diesel International Ltd., Cummins Distribution Holdco Inc., Cummins EMEA Holdings Limited, Cummins East Asia Research & Development Co. Ltd., Cummins Eastern Marine Inc., Cummins Electrified Power Europe Ltd., Cummins Electrified Power NA Inc., Cummins Emission Solutions (China) Co. Ltd., Cummins Emission Solutions Inc., Cummins Empresas Filantropicas, Cummins Energetica Ltda., Cummins Engine (Beijing) Co. Ltd., Cummins Engine (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Cummins Engine (Shanghai) Trading & Services Co. Ltd., Cummins Engine Holding Company Inc., Cummins Engine IP Inc., Cummins Engine Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., Cummins Engine Venture Corporation, Cummins Enterprise LLC, Cummins Filtration (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Cummins Filtration GmbH, Cummins Filtration IP Inc., Cummins Filtration Inc., Cummins Filtration International Corp., Cummins Filtration Ltd., Cummins Filtration SARL, Cummins Filtration Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Cummins Filtros Ltda., Cummins Franchise Holdco LLC, Cummins Fuel Systems (Wuhan) Co. Ltd., Cummins Generator Technologies (China) Co. Ltd., Cummins Generator Technologies Americas Inc., Cummins Generator Technologies Germany GmbH, Cummins Generator Technologies India Private Ltd., Cummins Generator Technologies Italy SRL, Cummins Generator Technologies Limited, Cummins Generator Technologies Romania S.A., Cummins Generator Technologies Singapore Pte Ltd., Cummins Ghana Limited, Cummins Ghana Mining Limited, Cummins Global Financing LP, Cummins Global Technologies LLP, Cummins Grupo Comercial Y. de Servicios S. de R.L. de C.V., Cummins Grupo Industrial S. de R.L. de C.V., Cummins Holland B.V., Cummins Hong Kong Ltd., Cummins India Ltd., Cummins Intellectual Property Inc., Cummins International Finance LLC, Cummins International Holdings Cooperatief U.A., Cummins International Holdings LLC, Cummins Italia S.P.A., Cummins Japan Ltd., Cummins Korea Co. Ltd., Cummins LLC Member Inc., Cummins Ltd., Cummins Maroc SARL, Cummins Middle East FZE, Cummins Mining Services S. de R.L. de C.V., Cummins Mobility Services Inc., Cummins Mongolia Investment LLC, Cummins Mozambique Ltda., Cummins NV, Cummins Namibia Engine Sales and Service PTY LTD, Cummins Natural Gas Engines Inc., Cummins New Zealand Limited, Cummins Nigeria Ltd., Cummins Norte de Colombia S.A.S., Cummins North Africa Regional Office SARL, Cummins Norway AS, Cummins PGI Holdings Ltd., Cummins Power Generation (China) Co. Ltd., Cummins Power Generation (S) Pte. Ltd., Cummins Power Generation (U.K.) Limited, Cummins Power Generation Deutschland GmbH, Cummins Power Generation Inc., Cummins Power Generation Limited, Cummins PowerGen IP Inc., Cummins Research and Technology India Private Ltd., Cummins Romania Srl, Cummins S. de R.L. de C.V., Cummins Sales and Service Korea Co. Ltd., Cummins Sales and Service Philippines Inc., Cummins Sales and Service Private Limited, Cummins Sales and Service Sdn. Bhd., Cummins Sales and Service Singapore Pte. Ltd., Cummins Sinai ve Otomotiv Urunleri Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi, Cummins South Africa (Pty.) Ltd., Cummins South Pacific Pty. Limited, Cummins Southern Plains LLC, Cummins Spain S.L., Cummins Sweden AB, Cummins Technologies India, Cummins Trade Receivables LLC, Cummins Turbo Technologies Limited, Cummins Turkey Motor Guc Sistemleri Sats Servis Limited Sirketi, Cummins U.K. Holdings Ltd., Cummins U.K. Pension Plan Trustee Ltd., Cummins UK Global Holdings Ltd., Cummins UK Holdings LLC, Cummins Vendas e Servicos de Motores e Geradores Ltda., Cummins Venture Corporation, Cummins West Africa Limited, Cummins West Balkans d.o.o. Nova Pasova, Cummins XBorder Operations (Pty) Ltd, Cummins Zambia Ltd., Cummins Zimbabwe Pvt. Ltd., Distribuidora Cummins Centroamerica Costa Rica S.de R.L., Distribuidora Cummins Centroamerica El Salvador S.de R.L., Distribuidora Cummins Centroamerica Guatemala Ltda., Distribuidora Cummins Centroamerica Honduras S.de R.L., Distribuidora Cummins S.A., Distribuidora Cummins Sucursal Paraguay SRL, Distribuidora Cummins de Panama S. de R.L., Dynamo Insurance Company Inc., Efficient Drivetrains, Efficient Drivetrains (Beijing) New Power Technology Co. Ltd., Efficient Drivetrains (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Hilite International, Hydrogenics, Hydrogenics Corporation, Hydrogenics Europe N.V., Hydrogenics GmbH, Hydrogenics Holding GmbH, Hydrogenics USA Inc., Markon Engineering Company Ltd., Nelson Burgess Ltd., Nelson Industries, Newage Engineers GmbH, Newage Ltd. (U.K.), Newage Machine Tools Ltd., OOO Cummins, Petbow Limited, Power Group International (Overseas Holdings) B.V., Power Group International (Overseas Holdings) Ltd., Power Group International Ltd., Quickstart Energy Projects SpA, Shanghai Cummins Trade Co. Ltd., TOO Cummins, Taiwan Cummins Sales & Services Co. Ltd., Worldwide Partner CV Member LLC, Wuxi Cummins Turbo Technologies Co. Ltd., Wuxi New Energy Automotive Technologies Co. Ltd., and ZED Connect Inc..




I have experienced the hand of God, a Godless financial scandal, bombs, terrorists, plane crashes and potential Ebola. I have driven the roads of Ugandas former killing fields, escaping the violent LRA by that sleight hand of God. I have then crossed borders to other killing fields, the recent history of Rwanda, as well as the current atrocities in Burundi, South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. I have heard the celebrations as an Irish President visited a poor Ugandan village, have traveled in a seventeen vehicle convoy with the President of Burundi and even been part of a visit by that President to Northern Ireland.

In all of this drama, almost too much for one Hollywood blockbuster I have peered into the life of a very ordinary humble man from County Wicklow as he tumbled and stumbled the next step in following Jesus. While slaloming all of the above, he set in motion a Christian NGO that has built 120 schools and drilled well over 700 boreholes, touching the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in East Africa.

For six weeks I feel that I have been living in the middle of someone elses life. Almost every day, I have been reading someones story. I do not mean that I am reading a holiday biography, like the Paul Simon one I hope to read next week. I have been writing a memoir. That is a much more intense experience than reading one.

In January I travelled to Uganda with Trevor Stevenson, the founder of Fields Of Life. We celebrated 25 years of that organisation with a huge party in Mukono. We visited historic sites in Fields of Life as well as some of the current work. As we drove thousands of miles I listened as Trevor shared his story. It was like an unofficial audiobook!

I then started reading Trevors Memoirs. Many of the pages were so familiar, as I had seen that tree or met that person or heard Trevor narrate that humorous or tragic story. My job was to take Trevors memoir and, with my knowledge of Fields of Life, shape it into a book that you would want to read. I wanted to take that drama and make it flow, not just for dramatic effect but for something so much deeper.

So, I took six weeks sabbatical in Uganda with my family, to do the writing part. I want the story of how God guided one very willing human to leave his comfort zone, and with a passion for Jesus and compassion for the people of East Africa, help bring Gods Kingdom on earth. I long that it is a resource to discipleship and mission. If anyone is considering spending short or long term time in Africa generally, or East Africa particularly, then I want this book to help orientate to the culture, warn about the pitfalls and inspire to the potential.

My six weeks are up. What a gift it has been to write in so many fun locations, two different apartments at Shalom in Muyenga, Kampala, The Fitzroy Room at Onialkeu School/Church in Arua, The Hotel Delambiance in Arua, the poolside and the balcony of our room at Serena Resort. I even worked on the text as we travelled on the Arua-Kampala Road.

I feel at the end of this phase. I finished my reshaping last night. Today, two days before our sabbatical is over, I am scanning through the first draft. I suppose it is not technically the first draft as I have been working off Trevors draft. I am not sure how he will react to my severe editing, reshaping and in one or two chapters rewriting! I hope that maybe tomorrow I will be sending this draft, first to Trevor, then to a few other Fields of Life folk. We will look at the accuracy of facts and I will seek Trevor to elaborate, go deeper and add a couple of chapters. We will need real professional editors after that!

My hope is that by years end you will be reading the story that I have had the privilege of living in. I believe that if we can get it right, it will be a real resource to many spiritual lives and a gripping read too!
Wall Street analysts have given iShares MSCI Netherlands 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 Netherlands 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 MSCI Chile 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 Chile ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

View MarketBeat's top stock picks here.
PetroChina Company Limited, together with its subsidiaries, engages in a range of petroleum related products, services, and activities in Mainland China and internationally. It operates through Exploration and Production, Refining and Chemicals, Marketing, and Natural Gas and Pipeline segments. The Exploration and Production segment engages in the exploration, development, production, and marketing of crude oil and natural gas. The Refining and Chemicals segment refines crude oil and petroleum products; and produces and markets primary petrochemical products, derivative petrochemical products, and other chemical products. The Marketing segment is involved in marketing of refined products and trading business. The Natural Gas and Pipeline segment engages in the transmission of natural gas, crude oil, and refined products; and sale of natural gas. As of December 31, 2020, the company had a total length of 31,151 km, including 22,555 km of natural gas pipelines, 7,190 km of crude oil pipelines, and 1,406 km of refined product pipelines. The company is also involved in the exploration, development, and production of oil sands and coalbed methane; trading of crude oil and petrochemical products; storage, chemical engineering, storage facilities, service station, and transportation facilities and related businesses; and production and sales of basic and derivative chemical, and other chemical products. The company was founded in 1999 and is headquartered in Beijing, the People's Republic of China. PetroChina Company Limited is a subsidiary of China National Petroleum Corporation.

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Tahoe Resources Inc., together with its subsidiaries, acquires, explores for, develops, and operates mineral properties in the Americas. It explores for silver, gold, lead, zinc, and copper deposits, as well as precious metals assets. The company holds interest in the La Arena gold mine located in the Huamachuco district of northern Peru; Shahuindo mine located in the province of Cajabamba in northern Peru; and La Arena II, a copper-gold porphyry deposit located in Peru. It also holds interest in the Timmins mines, including the Bell Creek and Timmins West mines, the Fenn-Gib project, the Juby project, the Vogel project, and the Gold River project located in Timmins, Ontario. The company was formerly known as CKM Resources Inc. and changed its name to Tahoe Resources Inc. in January 2010. Tahoe Resources Inc. was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Reno, Nevada.

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by Clinton Ho | Diamondbacks Correspondent | Sat, Jul 28th 12:48am EDT

Madison Bumgarner took the loss on Friday night after pitching eight innings and giving up three earned runs. He struck out five batters and allowed one walk.
The NFU is seeking urgent action to address the crippling impact of the dry, hot weather on farms across the country.

An agricultural drought summit has been called next week which will see the NFU sit down with representatives from other farming organisations, Defra, the Environment Agency and others to discuss what can be done to help mitigate the impact of the ongoing heatwave.

Many parts of England and Wales havent seen any significant rain since the end of May resulting in tinderbox conditions, severely reduced grass growth and depleted yields for some crops.

Areas of concern for the farming industry include short and long-term challenges including the availability of forage for livestock and dairy farmers, meaning producers are being forced to eat into winter fodder supplies.

Available water resources for irrigated crops and abstraction restrictions for some farmers is also a concern, and growing conditions for cereals and rain-fed crops, and a risk of standing crop fires.

NFU President Minette Batters will chair the meeting. She said the situation on the ground is "hugely challenging" across all sectors.

There could be serious concerns for many farmers if this extended spell of warmer, drier weather continues as the long-range forecast suggests, Mrs Batters said.

I know some areas are expected to see thunderstorms and rain over the next couple of days but that wont mitigate the many issues farmers are experiencing.

The NFU President said it is "vital" the industry and government comes up with a plan to the issues that are now emerging across the industry.

This unprecedented spell of weather really should be a wake-up call for us all. Its a timely reminder that we shouldnt take food production for granted. Farming is one of the most affected industries when it comes to managing volatility, she added.

Farmers have been fantastic advocates for change and are constantly adapting their businesses to deal with the challenges they face every day such as the weather. We need Government policies that invest in our sector and to support the vital work of farmers as food producers.

The agricultural drought summit is due to take place on Wednesday 1 August 2018 at the NFUs London office.
Rising IT spending driven by the need to ensure regulatory compliance and increasing complexities of business have led to the increase in demand for skilled professionals in the sector. To fill this demand, leading ERP solutions provider, Marg, is innovatively training youths through its industry acclaimed Marg Academies under its national skill development program. Marg Academies are spread over 21 states and 178 cities all over India. The academies, comprising of 500+ centers with well-trained teachers and excellent supporting infrastructure, successfully managed to place 2500 students in various industries utilizing its flagship inventory and accounting software solutions for businesses over the last 6 months.

Marg is due to place 1500 students in the next few months and has set for itself, an ambitious target of 1500 more placements by the end of 2018. Marg has already committed to doubling the number of its academic training centers to 1000 by the end of this year. It has a well established presence in a combination of rich states and states with great economic potential including Jammu & Kashmir, Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Haryana, H.P, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Odisha , Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and upcoming cities like Indore, Bhopal and Nashik.

Marg ERP provides highly trade-specific inventory and accounting solutions for the businessman instead of the accountant. Hence, our students finish their courses knowing everything they need to know to successfully run a business. There is a structural anomaly in our existing education model that does not place enough emphasis on vocational skills resulting in a gap between industry and unemployed youth. Many small businesses are restricted in capacity expansion by this gap. Because our major goal is to enhance ease of business in India, we will do everything we can to prepare our learners to become successful partners of the nations vibrant workforce, said Sudhir Singh Marg ERP Ltd.

The duration of the training in Marg Academies is five months. A strong placement support system is already in place. Margs centers have well-qualified teaching staff and administrative personnel. There are, also, separate boarding and lodging facilities for boys and girls, proper uniforms, canteens with dining areas, recreational spaces, 247 CCTV security etc.

A 2016 study by ASSOCHAM revealed that 93% of its business graduates are not employable because of a lack of requisite skills needed to operate a business. Marg is an official member of the governments Skill India and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikash Yojana initiatives.

@Technuter.com News Service
YFCs offered new support to upgrade club buildings

Clubs will also be offered help with new builds
Irrfan Khan is one of the most talented actors of Bollywood. The actor has not impressed the audience with his acting skills in India, but he has even achieved a mark in Hollywood.



Irrfan will be next seen in the Hollywood film 'Puzzle'. The plot of the movie is based on the life of a woman, a Christian woman living an ordinary and simple life with her husband and children. However, the story takes a turn post her birthday when she encounters a rather unusual present.



Recently, Hollywood actor Alec Baldwin saw the film and he is all praise for Irrfan's performance in the film. Alec Baldwin took to Instagram and shared a still of the film and wrote "A film you MUST see this summer! Just saw a preview of #Puzzle which opens this Friday in NY & LA. There is magic in this one - the writing, performances, cinematography, and score work together beautifully. Marc Turtletaub has made a wonderfully subtle film and Kelly Macdonald and Irfan Khan deserve serious recognition for their work here,"

A post shared by Alec Baldwin (@iamabfalecbaldwin) on Jul 24, 2018 at 10:46am PDT

Irrfan Khan also reacted to the same and wrote: "Thank you Alec, means a lot!"



Actress Mindy Kaling also commented on the post and wrote "Irffan is my favorite living actor! I think this phrase is overused but he as such a quiet intensity's Great recommendation!"



Irrfan Khan is currently undergoing treatment for neuroendocrine cancer. On the work front, Irrfan Khan will be next seen in 'Karwaan' along with Dulquer Salmaan and Mithila Palkar. The trailer of the film has been liked by the audience and it is slated to hit the screens on August 3, 2018.
In our criteria for FinanceAsia's Finance Minister of the Year study, we made clear that we would penalise finance ministers when they, through their actions or speeches, detracted from the credibility and prestige of the institutions they represent.

The next entry on our list provides a prime example.

RANKED 11TH NAJIB RAZAK, MALAYSIA

Attention is shifting towards Malaysias general election due in mid-2018 and the opposition party has picked former premier Mahathir Mohamad, the countrys longest-serving leader, as its prime ministerial candidate. So the pressure is on Najib Razak, the scandal-hit incumbent, who also happens to head the countrys finance...
Frank Ricotta is a leading blockchain expert and is the Co-Founder and CEO of BurstIQ, a leading enterprise-level healthcare blockchain data company.

DENVER, CO / ACCESSWIRE / July 28, 2018 / Say Allo, the artificial intelligence mobile dating app and smart singles community, now available on Android and iOS devices announced today it has added business expert Frank Ricotta to its Advisory Board. 88% of singles on Say Allo's mobile users have secondary education or higher - making it the smartest mobile dating community.

"Frank Ricotta is a great addition to the Say Allo advisory team," stated Say Allo CEO Zackary Lewis. "Frank is the leading expert in machine intelligence and blockchain technology but has years of big data application and start-up strategy experience. He's a valuable addition to our Advisory Board, and we look forward to his contributions as the company develops.'

Frank Ricotta is currently the CEO and Co-Founder of BurstIQ (2018 Red Herring Top-100 Start-Ups in North America), a leading enterprise-level healthcare blockchain data company. Prior to Frank served as Executive Vice President of Recondo Technology, Vice President of Programs & Engineering at NAVSYS Corporation and the Chief Executive Officer of Innerwall, Inc. Frank Ricotta has more than 25 years of experience as a startup CEO, strategic consultant, IT executive and engineer.

About Say Allo

Say Allo is the first mobile dating discovery application that uses artificial intelligence and a continuous learning algorithm based on Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) technology. After a limited beta release in Colorado, Say Allo opened up the application to the US in late 2017. Say Allo is available for both Android and iOS devices. For more information about Say Allo, visit www.justsayallo.com .

Download Say Allo App: iOS | Android

Follow Us: Facebook | Instagram | Twitter

CONTACTS

PR & Media Inquiries:

Matthew Bird

CEO @ 1800pr

O: 646.248.7676

E: matt.bird@1800pr.com

General Say Allo Inquires:

info@justsayallo.com

SOURCE: Say Allo
By David Lawder WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo said on Friday that the working teams for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) are ready to kick off talks after they stalled last month. NAFTA talks among the United States, Mexico and Canada had stalled since June when the United States imposed tariffs on Mexican and Canadian steel and aluminum.

By David Lawder

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Mexican Economy Secretary Ildefonso Guajardo said on Friday that the working teams for the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) are ready to kick off talks after they stalled last month.

NAFTA talks among the United States, Mexico and Canada had stalled since June when the United States imposed tariffs on Mexican and Canadian steel and aluminum. Both countries responded with levies on products including U.S. pork, ketchup and Kentucky bourbon.

"I think we have agreed on the process and the method on how to start solving from the less complex to the most complex issues and that's the way we're approaching this," said Guajardo, who is in Washington for talks with U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and President Donald Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner.

Mexico and the United States agreed on Thursday to step up talks on updating NAFTA in hopes of reaching an agreement on major issues by August, after Guajardo had what he described as "constructive" and "very positive" talks with Lighthizer and Kushner.

Asked if Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland will join the talks soon, Guajardo said: "What I am expecting is that we have to engage with Canada, either two bilaterals, one trilateral, whatever we agree to."

Freeland visited Mexico on Wednesday and she and Guajardo insisted that NAFTA remain a trilateral pact, in response to Trump's suggestion that he could seek a bilateral deal with Mexico.

Guajardo was joined in Washington by Jesus Seade, whom Mexican president-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has tipped as his lead trade negotiator.

"NAFTA talks seem to be entering another wave of optimism now that the Mexican election has been decided ... But we should not rush to pop the champagne just yet," Fernando Murillo, senior economist for Oxford Economics, said in a note to clients.

Murillo added: "NAFTA talks have gone through several painful waves of optimism and pessimism over the last year, and it is still unclear how the contentious issues, which include automotive rules of origin, five-year sunset provision, and dispute settlement process will be sorted out."

(Reporting by David Lawder; Writing by Anthony Esposito; Editing by Susan Thomas)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Nirav Modi and others are being probed under various criminal laws after the fraud came to light in January

Mumbai: A court in Mumbai on Friday issued an open-ended non-bailable warrant (NBW) against fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi and others in cases related to the over $2 billion fraud at the Punjab National Bank (PNB).

Special judge for Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cases M S Azmi ordered the issuance of the NBW against Modi and 12 other absconding accused, including Modi's family members.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had moved the court for an open-ended NBW against them, saying the previous warrant could not be executed in time and it expired yesterday.

The court had issued the previous NBW on 12 June after taking cognisance of a chargesheet filed by the ED.

An "open-ended" warrant does not have an expiry date.
By Neha Dasgupta NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian state-owned miner NMDC is the highest bidder in a government e-auction for a gold mine in Andhra Pradesh, beating resources conglomerates Vedanta and Adani, NMDC Chairman Baijendra Kumar told Reuters. NMDC is expected to invest about 4 billion rupees ($58.3 million) in the project, Kumar said without providing further detail on the company's bid

By Neha Dasgupta

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Indian state-owned miner NMDC is the highest bidder in a government e-auction for a gold mine in Andhra Pradesh, beating resources conglomerates Vedanta and Adani, NMDC Chairman Baijendra Kumar told Reuters.

NMDC is expected to invest about 4 billion rupees ($58.3 million) in the project, Kumar said without providing further detail on the company's bid. The mine has an estimated 2.2 million tonnes of gold.

The state government is likely to notify NMDC as the bid winner some time next week, said Sreenivas Chowdary, deputy director of mines for Andhra Pradesh, confirming that Adani and Vedanta Resources had also bid.

NMDC would get a 50-year lease to operate the mine, Chowdary said.

The project would be NMDC's first gold mine in India, Kumar said, adding that the company expects to start mining gold within two years of gaining licences.

The company already has a gold mine in Tanzania.

($1 = 68.6000 Indian rupees)

(Editing by David Goodman)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
BJP president Amit Shah arrived in Mumbai on Saturday on a day-long visit during which he will interact with party workers and also attend a special screening of a film based on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's early life.

Mumbai: BJP president Amit Shah arrived in Mumbai on Saturday on a day-long visit during which he will interact with party workers and also attend a special screening of a film based on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's early life.

Shah's visit assumes significance against the backdrop of a meeting of all-party leaders called by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai on Saturday afternoon on the issue of Maratha reservation.

However, it is not clear whether Shah will hold talks with senior leaders over the Maratha issue.

A BJP leader said Shah's visit to the city was already planned and it had nothing to do with the Maratha quota stir.

Shah is scheduled to attend the screening of the film titled Chalo Jeete Hain at a south Mumbai multiplex in the evening.

"There is a special screening of the film on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's early life. It has been organised for Amit bhai in the evening," the leader said.

The 32-minute film, directed by Mangesh Hadawale and presented by Aanand L Rai and Mahaveer Jain, will have its world premiere on Star Network and its OTT platform Hotstar on 29 July.

Produced by Bhushan Kumar of T-Series, the film is based on the early life of Modi and shows how he is inspired by Swami Vivekanand and the empathy he exhibits towards the poor while growing up in Vadnagar in Gujarat.

The BJP leader said during his visit, Shah would also interact with the party workers.

The Fadnavis-led state government has come under severe flak over its handling of the agitation by the influential Maratha community that is demanding 16 percent reservation in government jobs and education.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut had created a flutter when he recently said there were "talks within the BJP" to replace Fadnavis, in the backdrop of the violent Maratha quota agitation.

Senior BJP ministers, however, had rubbished Raut's claim, saying there was no such talk within the party.
Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal held an emergency meeting on Saturday with top officials of his government.

Kejriwal holds emergency meeting as Hry releases over 5 lakh cusec water

New Delhi: With the Yamuna crossing the danger mark, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday held an emergency meeting with top officials of his government, including Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, and directed all departments to be on high alert.

The meeting was chaired after Haryana released five lakh cusec of water from the Hathni Kund Barrage. It is expected to reach Delhi by Sunday evening.

Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia took review of the preparedness of the departments in case water enters the low-lying vulnerable areas of Delhi.

The meeting was attended by the MLAs of the vulnerable areas, Prakash, officials of the Delhi Police, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), urban development, Irrigation and Flood Control, Army, MCDs, PWD, Delhi Jal Board, CATS, Health, Revenue, DDMA and other stakeholder departments.

All the departments informed the chief minister that they were prepared and are on alert for any such situation. They informed that the quick response teams (QRTs) are also activated for any emergency.

The agencies concerned informed the chief minister that the process of evacuation in the vulnerable areas has already begun and they have started putting up tents to shift the people being evacuated, said a statement from the Delhi government.

The chief minister said the supply of power, food and drinking water must be ensured to the people. Emergency medical teams would also be on duty for the people being shifted for any kind of medical emergencies, the statement said.

The DUSIB has been asked to activate and place their mobile toilet vans around the tents being put up at the earliest. Kejriwal asked the departments concerned to reach out to the people in these areas and inform them about the evacuation and its reasons aggressively.

The Education department and municipal corporations have been asked to be ready to provide the school space in these areas for people to be shifted if the situation demands so. The DUSIB has also been asked to chip in with their centres where people can be accommodated if required.

All power companies have been asked to arrange electricity supply in these tents 24x7 once people are shifted into them. The power companies have been asked to deploy their officials at the Flood Control Room round the clock.

The Army was also requested to be on stand-by for any emergency, they replied in an affirmative and said they are on stand-by.

The availability of motorboats was also discussed. All the agencies having motorboats were asked to keep them ready for evacuation.

The army has been asked to check all the motorboats for operations, if required. Portable generators are also being prepared for night evacuation, if required.

DUSIB, Power, Health and other departments have been asked to deploy their officials in the control rooms 24x7 for the next three-four days. All departments have been assigned with their respective duties and have been put on alert, the statement added.

"The chief minister directed that the Control Room Emergency Number 1077 must be advertised so that it reaches people at the earliest. People in general would be able to call on 1077 for any flood related emergency," it added.

The water level is expected to cross 205.4 metres on Saturday, officials said.

Kejriwal said all departments have been put on high alert.

"Haryana has released 5 lakh cusec water. Called an emergency meeting to discuss the situation. This water likely to reach Del by tomo eve. Wherever administration evacuating people, they r requested to cooperate. All depts put on high alert. For any flood related emergency, control room no is 1077 (sic)," he tweeted.

The Yamuna water level at the Hathinikund barrage has crossed the danger mark of 90,000 cusec and till 9 pm, 49,2351 cusec of water was released.

The water level of the Yamuna river at the Old Delhi Railway Bridge rose to 205.36 metres by 9 pm and is expected to rise even further, an official said.

"The water level of river Yamuna at Delhi Old Rly Bridge reached at 204.92 metres at 7 am on July 28 (above the warning level) and having rising trend," a statement issued in the morning had said.

An alert was sounded on Friday by the Delhi government after the water level of the Yamuna crossed the danger mark, an official said.

"All executive engineers/sector officers are directed to keep in close contact with the control room in relation to the discharge, water level at the Old Railway Bridge and the advisory or forecast from the Central Water Commission/MET, and requested to take appropriate measures/steps accordingly to avoid flood-like situation," an advisory from the authorities said.

"The CWC, Upper Yamuna Division, New Delhi has issued flood forecast for the Delhi Railway Bridge (North Delhi Dt NCT, Delhi). The water level of river Yamuna at Delhi Rly Bridge was 205 metres at 9 am on July 28 (warning level 204.00 m)," the advisory said.

A low pressure persists over western Uttar Pradesh and its neighbouring areas.

This system will bring widespread rainfall with isolated 'heavy to very heavy rainfall' over Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and northwest Madhya Pradesh during the next two days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
On 8 June 2018, the Pune police recovered a letter that spoke of a Rajiv Gandhi type incident from one of the activists arrested for their alleged Maoist links.

On 8 June 2018, the Pune police recovered a letter that spoke of a Rajiv Gandhi type incident from one of the activists arrested for their alleged Maoist links. Yet, the plot to kill the prime minister does not feature in the remand reports prepared by the police, even though the arrested activists have been moved from police custody to judicial custody.

Joint Commissioner of Pune City Police Ravindra Kadam said the police have not dismissed the assassination plot yet. We need not cite each and every evidence in the remand report, he said. It is just a small report justifying the custody for interrogation.

Those who have attended the hearings till date said Ujjwala Pawar, district government pleader, only initially and fleetingly mentioned the letter being flashed on Republic channel. Since then, she has not even uttered it.

A day before the Bhima Koregaon violence erupted, on 31 December 2017, an Elgar parishad had been organised in Punes Shanivar Wada, which once was the bastion of Maratha peshwas. Over 150 various organisations had come together on the day, and in a huge show of strength that comprised of nearly 20,000 people, they took an oath never to vote for the BJP. Currently, the Pune city police are probing if it had any Maoist links.

The police have arrested five activists, four of whom had nothing to do with the Elgar parishad, said BG Kolse Patil, retired high court judge, and one of the organisers of the parishad. On 6 June, they arrested prominent Dalit activist Sudhir Dhawale from Mumbai, lawyer Surendra Gadling, activist Mahesh Raut, Professor Shoma Sen from Nagpur, and Rona Wilson from Delhi. Kadam said when the police raided Gadling and Wilson, they recovered around 200 letters and documents between the two, which can be called classified Maoist documents. The police claimed the activists had links with the banned outfit CPI(Maoist), which was planning to organise an event at JNU in the memory of slain Maoist leader Naveen Babu. One of the letters recovered is the supposed plot to kill the prime minister, which starts with red salutes, a translation of the usual signature, Laal Salam.

The police, therefore, have questioned and interrogated several people. Except the ones who organised the Elgar parishad. The three prominent figures at the forefront were Kolse Patil, PB Savant, Former Supreme Court Justice, and Prakash Ambedkar, grandson of Babasaheb Ambedkar. We will call them if required, if not, we wont call them, Kadam said.

A confident Kolse Patil, however, said the police have no basis to question them. They are probing if Maoists funded our rally, he said. We parked a truck in the centre, around which people gathered. We mounted speakers on it; we climbed on the truck and addressed the crowd. Why do you even need money for it?

The remand report prepared by police claims that Dhawale and the activists of Kabir Kala Manch, a cultural group that had participated in Elgar parishad, had been reciting objectionable songs, circulating false history, delivering threatening speeches that would drive a wedge between castes, leading up to the big event on 31 December. It resulted in huge congregation in Bhima Koregaon and the surrounding vicinity on January 1, it adds.

Further, the report says the strategy of CPI (Maoist) is to mislead Dalit community and veer them away from constitutional values towards violent means. Among the objectionable recitations of 31 December, a translation of a poem by Bertolt Brecht finds a prominent mention. It goes, Jab zulm ho toh bagawat honi chahiye sheher mein. Agar bagawat na ho, toh behtar hai yeh raat dhalne se pehle sheher jal kar rakh ho jaye.

Kadam, however, said, We have never said the Bhima Koregaon violence transpired due to Elgar parishad. We are saying that we need to explore if what happened on 31 December led to the violence on January 1.

But the committee appointed by the Pune rural police to get to the root of the violence had said it was a pre-planned attack on Dalit community, and blamed the Hindutva leaders Milind Ekbote and Sambhaji Bhide for the violence. The police rejected the report.

That report states the atmosphere had been heating up a few days prior to the Elgar parishad. It has a historical dispute at its core. After Aurangzeb killed Sambhaji, Shivajis son, credible historical accounts note it was a Dalit man called Govind Gaikwad who had cremated him, which is why the village of Vadhu  6 kilometres from Bhima Koregaon  has a memorial of Sambhaji. The village also has a memorial for Govind Gaikwad.

The report by the committee appointed by rural police noted that on 27 December 2017, Ekbote held a press conference and said the history is false, while objecting to the permission given to the Elgar parishad. In a letter to Pune Municipal Corporation, he noted that speakers like Jignesh Mewani and Umar Khalid are infamous for lower level criticism of Narendra Modi, which can create unrest and law and order situation.

On 29 December 2017, the report stated around 200-300 Hindutvavadis vandalised Govind Gaikwads memorial, which led to tension in the area. On 30 December, Ekbote held a meeting in which he appealed to people to observe 1 January as black day and called for a bandh. The day that is celebrated by Dalits to commemorate the historic victory of the British army, that had a significant Dalit contingent, over the Peshwas at Bhima Koregaon  40 kilometers from Pune.

The women in Sanaswadi, one of the riot affected villages around Bhima Koregaon, were already aware of what was to happen on 1 January because sticks and swords had been kept in a shop the previous day, the report noted. On 16 December 2017, two members associated with Ekbote and Bhides organisations had posted about a possible riot on 1 January on Facebook. Several such threat messages had been made viral leading up to the day. The report also pulls up police for inaction, as the Hindutva mobs ran amuck for two days.

Kadam, however, said he does not have any idea of this report, and his objective is only to probe Maoist links with Elgar parishad. Ekbote, consequently, was arrested after pressure built on the police, but he received bail shortly. Bhide remains untouched. Five activists, on the other hand, have been charged with Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, which makes it impossible to get bail.

The remand report also says the activists distributed material that was provocative and objectionable, which could create communal enmity. One of the booklets circulated was titled Bhima Koregaon ne dilay dhada, Navi Peshwai Masnat Gadha, or Bhima Koregaon has taught us a lesson to bury the New Peshwai.

The report does not state why the content is provocative. But an RSS-backed fact-finding report, which came out in May, talks about new peshwai. By seeking refuge in fabricated history, one wonders if the current democratic system is referred as new peshwai, which they aim to bury, the report reads. The vicious leftist organisations congregated several Dalit, progressive, Musilm and anti-Hindu groups to conduct programs several months before January 1, and the Elgar parishad on 31 December was its culmination.

The probe against five activists continues. Kolse Patil, former high court judge, who knows a thing or two about legalities, said the charges against them are flimsy, but it will cost them a few years of their life. Kadam said they are investigating every single letter, and, it is a long process. That, according to Kolse Patil, is exactly the objective.
Alice G Wells, a top US official said in a US Congressional meeting that China has been resuming military activities in Doka La but, India and Bhutan are doing nothing to prevent it

Washington: China has quietly resumed its activities in the Doka La area and neither Bhutan nor India has sought to dissuade it, a top US official has said while comparing Beijing's actions in the Himalayan region with its manovers in the disputed South China Sea.

China claims sovereignty over all of South China Sea. Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims.

China is engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the south China Sea and the east China Sea. Beijing has built up and militarised many of the islands and reefs it controls in the region. Both areas are stated to be rich in minerals, oil and other natural resources and are also vital to global trade.

"I would assess that India is vigorously defending its northern borders and this is a subject of concern to India," Alice G Wells, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asia told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing while responding to a question on China's increased road building activities along the Indian border.

"As (India) is ahead to its own strategic stability, it certainly helps drive and is a factor in driving closer partnership that we enjoy with India," Wells said in response to a question from Congresswoman Ann Wagner.

India and China have clashed repeatedly over territories in the Himalayas. Most recently Chinese and Indian troops faced off on the disputed Doka La plateau between Bhutan and China after the Chinese People's Liberation Army began building

"Although both countries back down, China has quietly resumed its activity in Doka La and neither Bhutan nor India has sought to dissuade it. China's activities in the Himalayas remind me of its south China Sea policies. How should our failure to respond to the militarisation of the South China Sea inform the international response to these Himalayan border disputes?" Wagner asked.

As the US looks to the Indo-Pacific strategy put forward by the Trump administration, Wells said it has been taken in light of the 'South China Sea's Strategy'.

"How do we maintain the region to be open, to have maritime security, to not have militarisation that would imperil the 70 percent of global trade?" she asked.

"We need to do that by giving authority to sovereign nations to have choices in how they develop, to have choices in their partnerships," Wells said.

Congressman Ted Yoho, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Sub-Committee on Asia and the Pacific, raised the issue of China's aggressive posture in South Asia.

"What are your thoughts on what is the best way to counter China in that region?" Yoho asked.

US should not be seeking to compete with China dollar for dollar, Wells responded, adding that instead of a state lending on terms that may not be to the benefit of countries or their citizens, the US and its companies are providing $850 billion in foreign direct investment in the region, which is far more than what has been injected by China.

"We're trying to gather likeminded countries who can bring resources to the table, who can coordinate assistance and an effort so as to provide countries with meaningful alternatives," Wells said.

Troops of India and China were locked in a 73-day-long standoff in Doka La from 16 June, 2017 after the Indian side stopped the building of a road in the disputed tri-junction by the Chinese Army.

Bhutan and China have a dispute over Doka La. The face-off ended on 28 August.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has issued a rejoinder on this issue. roads through the area, Wagner said.
Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan-led LJP on Friday turned up the heat on the Modi government, saying its support to the BJP is issue-based as it sought a law to restore the stringent measures of an Act on atrocities against Dalits and removal of NGT Chairman AK Goel by 9 August.

New Delhi: Union minister Ram Vilas Paswan-led LJP on Friday turned up the heat on the Modi government, saying its support to the BJP is issue-based as it sought a law to restore the stringent measures of an Act on atrocities against Dalits and removal of NGT Chairman AK Goel by 9 August.

Party MP and Paswan's son Chirag Paswan said patience of many within the Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) is running thin as circumstances raising concerns of the Dalits and tribals have emerged of late.

Protecting interests of these communities was at the root of the LJP's tie up with the BJP in 2014, he said.

His party has been demanding for over four months now, an ordinance to restore the original provisions of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act but the government has not done so.

He, however, stayed away from issuing any direct threat to the BJP and said the LJP has faith in Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his government had done a lot for Dalits.

"We will cross the bridge when it comes," he said when asked if his party would consider walking out of the BJP-led NDA if its demands are not met by the 9 August deadline.

The LJP will not walk out of the NDA like the TDP, he added.

Various Dalit and tribal groups have called for a 'Bharat bandh' on 10 August to press their demands, including restoration of the Act. They have said a Supreme Court order in March weakened the law.

Chirag Paswan said incidents of atrocities against the community have risen following the verdict and FIRs were not being registered by police.

Goel was one of the two top court judges who delivered the verdict and he was appointed the National Green Tribunal chairperson earlier this month immediately after his retirement from the Supreme Court.

The LJP has criticised his appointment with Chirag Paswan writing to Modi seeking his removal, saying it has sent a wrong message. Dalits believe that he has been rewarded for his judgement, he said.

His father has also written to Home Minister Rajnath Singh on the issue.

Chirag Paswan expressed the hope that the prime minister will take appropriate decisions once he returns from his foreign visit.

He said the opposition has been working to give an impression that the government was being "anti-Dalit" and the Modi dispensation should take strong measures to dispel it.

Blowing hot and cold, he said the LJP strongly remains a part of the government as it makes it easier for his party to carry out its Dalit agenda.

He noted that it was the Modi government which had made the Act more stringent by expanding its ambit.

Chirag Paswan said if the demands are not met, then the protests during 'Bharat bandh' could be much worse than what happened on 2 April, when Dalit outfits had given a similar call. More than 10 persons had died during the protest.

He was joined by Ram Chandra Paswan, an LJP MP and the chief of the 'Dalit Sena', an outfit affiliated to the party. The Dalit Sena will be forced to join the protests on 10 August if the government does not take appropriate action, he said.

The LJP, which has six MPs in the Lok Sabha, draws its core support from the Dalits in Bihar and has often switched sides between rival alliances ahead of elections.

The party was in the UPA before it joined hands with the BJP in 2014.
The Delhi Police has arrested a 32-year-old man in Munirka village for trafficking 16 Nepali women to Uttar Pradesh

New Delhi: A 32-year-old man involved in Munirka human trafficking case where 16 Nepali women were rescued has been arrested, the police said on Friday.

The accused, identified as Naushad, was arrested from Munirka and a car used in commission of crime has been seized, they added. On interrogation, the accused accepted his role in the trafficking network.

In his statement to the police, Naushad said he used to ferry girls between airports, bus stands, railway stations. His main task, besides transportation, was to ensure secrecy of the movement, said Devender Arya, Deputy Commissioner of Police, (southwest) Delhi.

The accused has also given leads to the police following which a police team has been sent to Uttar Pradesh to nab the remaining accused persons, he said.

Active cooperation has also been sought from the Nepal Embassy in India in connection with the case, the DCP said. The statements of the victims have been recorded before the magistrate, Arya said.

On 25 July, the Delhi Commission for Women along with Delhi Police had rescued 16 women who were allegedly trafficked from Nepal and to be taken to Middle East from southwest Delhi's Munirka.

The police were informed by the DCW at around 9 pm on 24 July. Subsequently, the police conducted a raid in the area at around 1.30 am on 25 July, following which 16 women were rescued.

The DCW had alleged that these women were promised jobs in Kuwait.

The state woman's panel had alleged that the traffickers had been running the racket in Munirka for the last eight months, and several women had already been sent abroad.
Anganwadi workers and ASHAs form the frontline of Indias war against malnutrition, but they are often poorly trained, ill-paid and provided little support.

By Swagata Yadavar

Farrukhabad, Uttar Pradesh: Every morning, 26-year-old Meenakshi Gangwar packs a rucksack  a baby doll, a register and some nutrition charts  and sets off on her scooter to visit one of the 41 anganwadis (daycare centres) that she is in charge of.

Gangwar works as a poshan sakhi (nutrition buddy) in Uttar Pradeshs Technical Support Unit (UP TSU) that provides technical and managerial support to government staff at various levels of the health system, from anganwadis to community health centres (CHCs), and works under the non-profit India Health Action Trust. She is stationed at the Barhpur block of Farrukhabad district of central Uttar Pradesh, a district that reports some of the better nutrition indicators in the state.

Poshan sakhis such as Gangwar have the task of supporting and helping anganwadi workers (AWWs) to do their duties correctly  from maintaining records correctly to counseling mothers on nutrition.

Gangwars job is important because frontline workers such as AWWs face innumerable local challenges like lack of training, poor infrastructure, irregular supply of supplementary nutrition and poor supervision. These support services are essential to the success of POSHAN Abhiyan, or the National Nutrition Mission, launched in March 2018 with the aim to reduce low birth weight, stunting and anaemia in women and children.

As part of an ongoing series on efforts to combat malnutrition, IndiaSpend reports from Farrukhabad how training and support for frontline workers can help beat Indias malnutrition challenge.

Fighting malnutrition

Indias Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), the worlds largest childcare programme, provides food, preschool education and primary healthcare to children under six years of age and their mothers. This is done through anganwadis, whose charter of duties includes providing cooked meals and take-home supplements, health and nutrition education, immunisation, health check-ups and referral services.

Under ICDS, the person who shoulders the responsibility of on-the-ground implementation is the AWW. Usually, she is a local village woman, between 18 to 35 years of age and educated up to Class 10. She gets paid around Rs 4,000 per month  below Indias per capita monthly income of Rs 7,204 albeit greater than Uttar Pradesh's Rs 2,974.

Meanwhile, nutrition and child and maternal health are central aims of the National Rural Health Mission, too, which functions at the grassroots through Accredited Social Health Workers (ASHAs). ASHAs are part-time female workers recruited from local communities and educated at least up to Class 8. They do not receive a salary, but get monetary incentives for specific activities.

Together, AWWs and ASHAs form the frontline of Indias war against malnutrition, but they are often poorly trained, ill-paid and provided little support.

The first thing Ganwar does on reaching a centre is to check the records. Each AWW is given some 11 registers to record the health information of young children, lactating mothers and pregnant women.

Most AWWs struggle because they are not trained in how to fill out the registers and why it is important. Part of Gangwars duty is to explain this. She also conducts home visits with AWWs and helps them counsel mothers. She also has to ensure AWWs conduct monthly health and nutrition days in each village.

Uttar Pradesh's malnutrition problem

Nearly half (46.3 percent) of Uttar Pradeshs children under five years of age, numbering 14.3 million, are stunted. Seventy-one of its 75 districts report stunting in more than 40 percent children under five.

Clearly, Uttar Pradesh is failing to effectively use the ICDS programme.

About 76 percent of intended beneficiaries  lactating mothers, children below six, pregnant mothers  in the state did not avail supplementary nutrition in anganwadis, according to the Rapid Survey on Children (RSOC, 2013-14).

Between 2010 and 2014, the Comptroller and Auditor General found a 34 percent shortage of anganwadi centres and inefficient utilisation of ICDS funds, leaving Rs 517 crore of the states ICDS budget unutilised.

Funds for hot cooked meals were not released in 17 of 20 districts examined, which resulted in supply of hot cooked meals for only two to nine months in the year. The audit found the number of severely malnourished children to have increased more than fourfold from 28,000 in 2010 to 146,000 in 2014.

Schemes out and new

The state government has been implementing new nutrition schemes every few years without resolving implementation problems.

The Samajwadi Party, which ruled the state from 2012 to 2017, started the Hausla Poshan Yojana in 2016, under which severely malnourished children were entitled to half a kilogram of desi ghee per month, glucose biscuits or other nutritious snacks, fruit and one hot cooked meal at an anganwadi every day. Pregnant women were to be provided a hot cooked meal three times a week at an anganwadi. The nutritional support, including curd, ghee and fruit, was supposed to cover 60 percent of the calorie requirements of pregnant women and children.

The scheme ran only for a month and a half, after which the government stopped providing funds for it, Scroll.in reported in February 2017. The scheme was formally discontinued after the Bharatiya Janata Party formed a government under Yogi Adityanath in March 2017.

The Yogi government launched its own nutrition programme, called the Sustaining Health and Nutrition Above Red Indicator (SHABRI) Sankalp Yojana, with the professed aim of battling malnutrition in the worst-affected districts, numbering 39 (and including Farrukhabad and Chitrakoot, which IndiaSpend visited for its ground reporting).

Under this scheme, children below the age of three are weighed and assigned to yellow (standing for moderately underweight) and red (severely underweight) categories to be treated accordingly. The aim is to reduce the malnutrition rate by 2 percent by December 2018.

As under the central governments POSHAN Abhiyan, this scheme also aims at convergence between the departments of women and child development, health and family welfare, food and public distribution, education, rural development and panchayati raj in a concerted effort against malnutrition.

Challenges for frontline workers

As with previous schemes, it is implementation on the ground that will decide the success or failure of this programme. Experts say consistent efforts and constant monitoring are imperative. And for this, frontline workers have to be appropriately trained and supported.

It was a Wednesday in the month of May, and ANM Archana, ASHA Kamlesh and AWW Geeta were visiting Budnamo village for its weekly immunisation day.

Armed with a cold box for vaccines and a list of children to be immunised, they head towards a house with a newborn whose family were refusing to have the BCG (Bacille Calmette-Guerin) vaccine administered. My husband is against the idea. He says it is unnecessary, the baby is too young for injections, said the mother-in-law.

Kamlesh, Geeta and Gangwar tried to convince her of the importance of immunisation, but the family did not relent. We heard of one child getting sick after getting the sui [vaccination], they said. The mother-in-law spoke of someone who had a premature delivery after getting a tetanus shot.

Frontline health workers must fight such misinformation and superstition. Even one missed immunisation threatens an entire community with disease. In the face of the familys resistance, the team decided to administer the BCG vaccine along with other vaccines due at six weeks.

In addition, there are numerous infrastructure and administration challenges they must overcome. And they are overworked.

An AWW is entrusted with many non-ICDS tasks  such as preparing voter IDs, conducting census, employment or Swachh Bharat Mission (Clean India Mission) surveys and helming election booths  none of which is paid work except for election duty.

Trainings happen once every four to five years, even though AWWs requirements change a rapidly, as do those of the communities they serve. Promotions are too infrequent to offer an incentive to work hard, even as numerous supervisor positions remain vacant.

Most AWWs said they received their pay at least four months late. I am doing this job because there are no opportunities in the village, said Indradevi, who said she had a bachelors degree in economics.

The supervisors do not have it easy, either. Sunita Dubey, one of three anganwadi supervisors for 203 anganwadi centres in Rajepur block, said one of them is always in the office to attend to visiting officials, leaving two of them to handle field visits that are too many for even all three of them.

There is no vehicle and no reimbursement for their travel, they said, so they travel by shared jeeps and buses. We dont get as much time with anganwadi workers as we would like, she said. Most of the time, she said, the troubles that anganwadis have are at the local level with the gram panchayat (village council) or pradhan (village council head). We cant really solve those problems but only support them, she said.

Anganwadis have no toys to keep children engaged and make them want to attend every day.

When IndiaSpend visited the anganwadi centre of Gadhiya village in Rajepur block, children sat in the verandah of the primary school where the centre is housed. With no boundary wall, the children sat near heaps of cow dung and hay. It is too hot for children to sit inside, said Indradevi, the anganwadi worker. The centre had no electricity. Inside the classroom allotted to the anganwadi, there was a single broken bench and the floor was uneven and cracked. The school was being renovated, but not the anganwadi.

The school doesnt allow children to use its toilets, even we arent given the key to the toilet, which remains locked, AWW Indradevi said. Every morning, she goes around town asking parents to send their children to the centre, but parents are reluctant due to the summer heat, especially as the centre is serving no food.

While she counsels parents on giving more wholesome food to their children, several times when she has taken children to the nutrition rehabilitation centre (NRC) at Rajepur, they have been turned back, she said. We measure only weight and age and the nurses at NRC take height, weight and arm circumference, said Indradevi. They find many children do not fall into the severe acute malnutrition category and send them back.

Due to irregular supply of supplementary nutrition, AWWs buy biscuits and puffed rice from their own pocket to incentivise children to attend.

We urgently need food for our children, said AWW Annapurna from Pitrupar Mehendia village in Barhpur block. They cry when their older siblings get food [as midday meals] and they themselves return home on an empty stomach.

ICDS performance is poor across the country

Poor infrastructure, irregular food supplies and poor training of AWWs have been noted in numerous studies (such as here, here and here) on ICDS from across India.

Only about 35 percent of sample households in Bhojpur district of Bihar reported receiving immunisation, food supplements, pregnancy care information or nutrition information in a 2015 study by the International Food Policy Research Institute, which examined the coverage of essential services by ICDS and National Health Mission.

The study showed that monetary incentives could improve AWWs performance and enable better provision of information to families. Incentives may motivate them to reduce attrition and improve performance, it said, referring to AWWs and ASHAs.

It further suggested that simply arming ASHAs with more knowledge would not work as well as ensuring that service delivery protocols such as maintaining registers are complied with.

Making anganwadis count

This is why external help and support, such as what Technical Support Units (TSU) provide, is important.

The anganwadi centre at Pitrupar Mehendia village in Barhpur block of Farrukhabad is clean and tidy. AWW Annapurna, mentioned earlier, has been running this centre since 2002.

Before mentorship from poshan sakhi Gangwar, mentioned earlier, Annapurna said she did not pay importance to counselling and rarely ever undertook home visits. Now her registers are completely filled out, and she counsels mothers on good food habits in a counselling corner equipped with charts and graphs.

In Indias rural healthcare setup, an ASHA serves as a healthcare facilitator to the community, paying special attention to childrens and womens health. She goes door to door visiting the poorest and most vulnerable, counselling couples and pregnant women, helping with village health plans, providing medical care for minor ailments such as diarrhoea and first aid for minor injuries, and carrying out immunisations.

ASHAs are usually village women educated up to Class 8, each catering to a population of 1,000. Most ASHAs are considered volunteers and only paid Rs 1,000 to Rs 2,000 per month as incentives.

An ASHA is a crucial agent to detect and prevent malnutrition in children. However, a 2015 study in North Bihar found that only 25 percent ASHAs had an understanding of their role, and 70 to 90 percent said they needed better training, monetary support and timely replenishment of their drug kits.

Most ASHAs are involved in maternal and child care but did not work in local health planning or other duties related to health activism, IndiaSpend had reported in May 2017.

Kavita Gangwar, 38, works with TSU as a mentor to the ASHA sangini or supervisor, accompanying them on home visits to observe the kind of counselling they conduct. She corrects them when needed. Then she reports back to her higher-ups  the block coordinator-programme manager and block programme manager  on whether the ASHAs have their kits, if their equipment works and if their registers are correctly filled out.

Kavita Gangwar reminds ASHAs of the health information they have to impart  tell the mother of the importance of not bathing the newborn for the first seven days, teach them how to clean the umbilical cord, explain to them the importance of exclusive breastfeeding for six months, and so on. Apart from the counselling, she has to be present at each villages health and nutrition days  held once a month  where she also meets the anganwadi worker, ASHAs and ANMs, and also the weekly cluster meetings between ASHAs, ASHA sanginis and ASHA sangini mentors of two or three sub-centres.

A sub-centre is the first point of contact between the government primary healthcare system and a community; one sub-centre usually serves a population of 3,000 in hilly/tribal/difficult areas and 5,000 in plain areas. Each sub-centre is required to be staffed with at least one ANM/female health worker and one male health worker.

In addition to improving antenatal care for mothers, TSUs work to improve the skills of ANMs and staff nurses. ANMs provide comprehensive primary care at the village level, including immunisation, antenatal care and conducting deliveries.

Even though ANMs are adequately deployed in sub-centres in Uttar Pradesh, few actually conduct deliveries because of lack of facilities like electricity, water supply and toilets  35.9 percent sub-centres do not have electricity and 35.2 percent do not have all-weather approach roads, according to 2017 Rural Health Statistics.

In Farrukhabad, most deliveries are referred to primary health centres (referral units for six sub-centres, to be staffed with a Medical Officer supported by 14 paramedical and other staff) and community health centres (referral units for four primary health centres, to be staffed with four medical specialists ie surgeon, physician, gynaecologist and paediatrician supported by paramedical and other staff) because of the easier accessibility from villages.

When IndiaSpend visited Farrukhabads Kamalgunj community health centre, it was using operational practices that Shikha Kandhil, 24, a nurse mentor with TSU, had introduced when she had started work here four years ago.

Serving the needs of 120 villages and a population of 1,50,000, community health centres are supposed to have 30 beds served by four specialists and a supporting staff of 21. In reality, Uttar Pradesh has among the most specialist positions vacant in India.

At Kamalgunj Community Health Centre, there were two doctors  one medical officer who attends to paediatric cases and a gynaecologist. Everything else was being managed by the seven staff nurses.

Kandhil also mentors 37 ANMs along with the staff nurses, for which she conducts weekly meetings to help with antenatal and postnatal care such as taking blood pressure, haemoglobin, weight, etc.

Apart from assisting the nurses in their work, Kandhil conducts training sessions for them on new guidelines and techniques as well as refresher courses.

After her training, the centre has started adopting global best practices such as ensuring that newborns are placed skin-to-skin with the mother early on and fed first milk or colostrum, which strengthens the babys immune system.

People dont realise how important nurses are, Kandhil said, Doctors arent available in hospitals after 2 p.m., many ask for a transfer as soon as they are posted here, but nurses do everything from deliveries to handling emergencies.

Support for frontline workers

Despite the challenges we have described, frontline workers are the interface to most government health and nutrition services and evidence has shown that they are effective in delivering them. In fact, about 15 percent of child deaths below five can be prevented as well as a fifth of stunting if 90 percent children get nutrition-based interventions.

The key is in motivating and helping them perform their duties well.

Frontline workers need to have clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities and not get pulled into non-service related tasks, said Rasmi Avula, research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute.

Supportive supervision, feedback, recognition and timely pay also help. (Frontline workers) list respect by the community as one of the things that motivates them, Avula said, adding that to win this trust, they need to be trained well and receive supportive supervision so that they are positioned as reliable sources of information and knowledge.

After induction training, there is a clear gap in refresher training, which becomes especially in case of AWWs. There is evidence around the world that shows repeated trainings help performance, said Somashekhar Nimbalkar, head of pediatrics at Pramukhswami Medical college, Gujarat. Without monitoring even programmes that are working well worsen over time. he added.

The author is a principal correspondent with IndiaSpend

With research inputs by the International Food Policy Research Institute, New Delhi
The four CRPF personnel injured in the Pulwama grenade attack sustained splinter injuries from the blast.

Four troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were injured on Saturday in Awantipora in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district after suspected militants lobbed a grenade at them, the police said. The suspected militants targeted the CRPF personnel deployed at the Jawbara Chowk along the Srinagar-Jammu highway, according to ANI.

Pulwama: Terrorists lobbed a grenade at security forces in Jawbehra area in Awantipora, earlier this evening. Four CRPF personnel sustained injuries and were shifted to a nearby hospital for treatment. #JammuAndKashmir (visuals deferred by unspecified time) pic.twitter.com/NVk76ciu5W  ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2018

The four CRPF men injured the blast belonged to the 130 Battalion. They sustained splinter injuries and were taken to a hospital nearby for treatment, Greater Kashmir quoted a police spokesperson as saying.

Security forces have cordoned off the area and launched an operation to track down the militants, a police official said.

This comes a day after militants abducted a policeman from his home in Pulwama district's Tral area. Security forces have launched an operation to look for special police officer Mudasir Ahmad Lone.

With inputs from PTI
She sold fish at the market after college hours to help pay for her fees. Her name is Hanan Hamid. She is 21. Why is this even a news story?

She sold fish at the market after college hours to help pay for her fees. Her name is Hanan Hamid. She is from Thodupuzha in Kerala. She is 21. Why is this even a news story, let alone a cause and a crusade for politicians to leap into the fray, and a subject for trolls to get ugly?

Millions of young Indians augment their studies by working in various jobs because they are poor but ambitious. In my building in Delhi, the traditional dhobis son is doing his chartered accountancy. After hours, he helps his father, collects clothes from the apartment and returns the ironed stacks. He does this with no trace of apology. The barber has a brother who is in his final year of college but he stands in during evenings at the little shop and cuts hair to help his family. No apology either. The guy who comes to clean part time at my place is saving up enough by serving as a waiter in a restaurant at night and will buy a car this week.

Whatever the future, he says, he will still pick up the broom and continue to clean. Outside the compound gate is an old-fashioned cobbler. His son is doing a management course and in the evening, he polishes shoes, happily unashamed of his duties. They all have one thing in common, they chase their dreams. I work with many of these people, dozens of them and they have great pride in themselves as they fight the odds. They are not sorry for being poor. And they do not seek benediction.

As an editor for many years, I always blocked stories that romanticised poverty and set it to music. There was something conceited and patronising about turning hard and honest work into a saga of courage because it perpetuated the myth of inferiority by denial. In our time in journalism, they were categorised as shoeshine boy stories about little Raju with his little wooden box and his sunny smile and were banned by many sensible editors because they were obscene and presumptuous.

It also indicates that the only section of society that still questions dignity of labour in India are those who do not have to engage in it. What is insidious is that they cheapen it by pretending to display admiration. Sometimes, the privileged do not realise how hurtful they are when they do a Hanan Hamid on an individual. It is truly cruel to be kind because what you are really saying is: I am a better man than you, Gunga Din.

Let her sell fish, ornaments or become a bricklayer. How is it an issue for anyone?

By generating a controversy over a personal right to earn that is guaranteed by Article 19 of the Constitution, the law has been broken. It reads: Right to practice any profession or to carry on any occupation, trade or business to all citizens subject to Art.19 (6) which enumerates the nature of restriction that can be imposed by the state upon the above right of the citizens.1 Sub clause (g) of Article 19 (1) confers a general and vast right available to all persons to do any particular type of business of their choice.

Selling fish is included in the charter. Consequently, the newspaper that chose to highlight Hanan's choice, those who propelled to report, the politicians who jumped on the bandwagon and even the ugly trolls who went for her, share one thing in common. They invaded her privacy also guaranteed by law. In August 2017, the Supreme Court ruled that the right to privacy is protected as an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 and as a part of the freedoms guaranteed by Part III of the Constitution.

That fundamental right of Hanan Hamid could be trampled upon by misplaced righteousness and piety because she was poor. A case of good intentions getting it all wrong. Making it hell for her.
In light of the Kerala sex-for-silence scandal, the National Commission for Women recommended banning confessions in churches over fears they could lead to women being blackmailed.

Controversy over the Kerala sex-for-silence scandal, uncovered at a local church where a priest allegedly used revelations made during confessions to sexually harass a woman, refuses to die as religious groups, the national minority commission and a women's body all have their concerns and takes on the matter.

The most recent reactions came from Kerala's Malankara Orthodox Church, which said it will hold a protest on 5 August against the National Commission for Women's (NCW) recommendation for banning confessions in churches over fears they could lead to women being blackmailed. According to ANI, the church sent a memorandum to the Union government against the move on Friday, calling the recommendation "shocking".

A Kerala bishop's body has echoed the church's sentiments. It wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday, accusing the NCW of "abusing its powers" by submitting a "one-sided report" without consulting the church. The body called it an "irresponsible" act done "with ulterior motives", PTI reported.

"It was shocking not only for the Christian community but also to everyone who stands for the freedom of religion," Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council president Archbishop Soosa Pakiam said at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram. "It amounts to insulting the practice of sacrament of confession in the name of an isolated incident, which has yet to be proved. It also amounts to violation of the freedom of faith and religion guaranteed by the Constitution."

On the alleged sexual exploitation of the woman by four priests, he said: "The church is a body of humans. So it is not beyond errors. The mistakes will be corrected within the church and the offenders punished."

The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) also strongly opposed the NCW recommendation, saying the practice of confessions was an integral part of Christianity and cannot be interfered with. "The minority commission outrightly rejects the recommendation and is opposed to it," NCM chairperson Syed Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi told PTI. "The practice of confession is an integral part of the religion of Christianity, so it cannot be banned. There can be no interference with religious practice."

Moreover, Archbishop of Bombay Diocese and president of the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, Cardinal Oswald Gracias, also criticised the NCW recommendation, calling it a "direct infringement on our freedom of religion guaranteed by the Indian Constitution." He also suggested that there were "very many issues concerning women that the commission should pay attention to" instead of trying to meddle with Christianity, without any understanding "of the nature, meaning, sanctity and importance of this sacrament for our people".

Union minister says NCW recommendation not govt stand

Meanwhile, Union minister Alphons Kannanthanam, a Kerala native and a Christian, "rejected outright" the NCW's recommendation, insisting that the Modi government would never interfere in people's religious beliefs. Kannanthanam came out against the NCW recommendation after the Church in Kerala protested.

"It is not the official stand of the government. The Union government has no connection with the stand taken by NCW chairperson Rekha Sharma. It is her personal opinion," the minister of state for tourism wrote in a Facebook post.

"The Narendra Modi government would never interfere in people's religious beliefs," he insisted. The minister said there was no need for making such a recommendation. "Since it has come, the Modi government rejects it outright."

Earlier, the Supreme Court had also reacted on the issue. It sought a status report of the police investigation in the case related to priests from the Malankara Church. "What is happening in Kerala? Priests are becoming accused in rape cases," the Supreme Court had said on Thursday.

On Thursday, NCW chief Rekha Sharma had said that the women's body had recommended abolishing the practice of "confessions" in churches as it can lead to women being blackmailed. She said a central agency needed to investigate the incidents of rape and sexual assault in the Kerala's churches. "The priests pressure women into telling their secrets. and we have one such case in front of us. There must be many more such cases, and what we have right now is just the tip of the iceberg," she said.

The NCW's recommendations came in the backdrop of a rape case against four priests of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, who have been accused of sexually exploiting a married woman belonging to their church. The matter came to the fore after the victim's husband wrote to the church, alleging that the priests had blackmailed and abused his wife, a school teacher.

The women's panel had set up an inquiry committee to look into the alleged sexual assaults against women in churches. It has sent its findings to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Affairs Minister Rajnath Singh, Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi and the director general of the Kerala and Punjab police.

"The woman was socially harassed. She left her job after the incident as her photograph was circulated on social media. The two priests are at large and they need to be nabbed," the NCW chairperson said.

In another incident, in a complaint to the Kottayam district police chief in June, a nun had alleged that Jalandhar Bishop Franco Mulakkal had raped her and had unnatural sex with her multiple times at a small town near Kottayam between 2014 and 2016.

With inputs from agencies
DMK president M Karunanidhi, who is being treated for fever due to urinary tract infection, was admitted to a private hospital in Chennai early on Saturday, the party said.

DMK president M Karunanidhi, who was admitted to a private hospital in Chennai on Saturday after suffering from low blood pressure is recovering.

The latest press release from the Kaveri hospital said that Karunanidhi's condition remains stable and he is receiving treatment from a panel of doctors at the intensive care unit of the hospital.

Karunanidhi's daughter and DMK leader Kanimozhi told reporters on Saturday that the DMK president's health condition was improving.

"His blood pressure is stable now," she said, according to ANI.

Karunanidhi, 94, was admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of Kauvery Hospital at 1.30 am on Saturday. The hospital in a statement said that he was brought there after his blood pressure had dropped.

"His blood pressure has been stabilised with medical management and he continues to be monitored and treated by the panel of experts," the hospital said.

Several senior DMK leaders, including working president MK Stalin and his estranged elder brother MK Alagiri were at the hospital. Other frontline leaders such as Duraimurugan, Kanimozhi and former Union minister A Raja were also there.

Party cadres had poured in near the hospital complex after receiving the news about Karunanidhi being admitted there. They were chanting long live Thalaivar (leader).

Some of them were holding Karunanidhi's photos as they waited outside the hospital.

The DMK leaders had visited Karunanidhi at his home in Gopalapuram area before he was taken to the hospital. Among the visitors was Alagiri, who was expelled from the party by the DMK chief in January 2014 after a prolonged struggle for power with Stalin.

Hours before Karunanidhi was moved to the hospital, Stalin had said the former Tamil Nadu chief minister's health was improving. On Wednesday, he had assured people that there was nothing to worry about his father's health.

Hundreds of DMK supporters gathered at Kauvery Hospital and waited for more news on Karunanidhi's health.

Chennai: DMK supporters continue to gather outside Kauvery Hospital, where DMK President M Karunanidhi is admitted. pic.twitter.com/vTd2ygzhwX  ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2018

Security was tightened at the former Tamil Nadu chief minister's residence as DMK cadres kept pouring in there as well.

Karunanidhi's estranged son and former DMK leader MK Alagiri, who was expelled from the party by the DMK chief in January 2014 after a prolonged struggle for power with his younger brother Stalin, also visited his father's house and the hospital.

Governor Banwarilal Purohit visited the hospital and enquired about the health of Karunanidhi with the hospital authorities, Stalin and other members of the DMK chief's family.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister K Palaniswami told reporters in Salem that the Tamil Nadu government was ready to provide all possible medical assistance to ailing Karunanidhi, who was a five-time chief minister, if it was approached.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal tweeted, "My prayers for Sh Karunanidhi's fast recovery."

State Health Minister C Vijayabaskar too wished the DMK supremo a speedy recovery.

Later in the day, senior Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mukul Wasnik visited the family members of Karunanidhi and spoke to doctors at the hospital. "Karunanidhiji is totally stable... he is improving... we are praying for his speedy recovery," Azad told reporters, adding the Congress high command had directed them to enquire about the health of nonagenarian leader.

State Congress leaders including EVKS Elangovan, TNCC chief S Thirunavukkarasar, were present at the hospital.

Actors including Prabhu and Nasser also paid a visit to the hospital.

For the past two years, the DMK president has not been making any public appearance owing to his ill health, but he still holds the top post in the Dravidian party. Karunanidhi has not been keeping well since October 2016. A few days ago, he underwent a procedure to change his tracheostomy tube to help him in breathing. Karunanidhi, who is addressed as 'Kalaignar' (artiste) by his supporters, followers and some politicians, entered his 50th year as party chief on Friday.

With inputs from PTI
At least 33 people are feared dead and several injured after a bus fell into a 500-feet deep gorge near Mahabaleshwar in Raigad district, Maharashtra on Saturday, reports said.

Thirty-three of the 34 people in a bus were killed after it fell into a 500-feet deep gorge near Mahabaleshwar in Maharashtra's Raigad district on Saturday. Eleven bodies have been recovered so far.

The bus had rolled down a hill road in Ambenali Ghat, near Poladpur town, after the driver lost control while taking a turn. A team of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) is at the spot to pull out the bodies from the ill-fated vehicle.

A dozen ambulances and 15 doctors are at the scene, Additional Superintendent of Police Sanjay Patil said. The lone survivor, Prakash Sawant, said mud and loose stones on that particular stretch of the ghat road caused the bus tyres to skid. "The bus veered to the left and fell into the gorge before we could understand what was happening. Trees arrested the fall someway down. I had managed to jump out in time. I climbed my way up somehow," he said, recounting the tragedy. When Sawant reached the road, he saw a crowd of people.

"One of them gave me a mobile phone. I called up the police control room and informed them," he said. Originally, 40 people were supposed to join the trip to Mahabaleshwar, but some of them opted out at the last moment because the bus was small and there was no space, Sawant said.

The Maharashtra government has also announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of those who died, while it said that state would bear the treatment costs of those injured in the accident.

"We'll provide help to the kin of deceased, but will also take steps to ensure such incidents don't take place in future," Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis told reporters.

Superintendent of Police Anil Paraskar told PTI the passengers were on their way to Mahabaleshwar, a hill station in Satara district, for a picnic, when the driver lost control over the vehicle while negotiating a turn and fell into the gorge. The accident took place around 12.30 pm. All passengers on the bus were the staff of Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth at Dapoli in Raigad district. Fadnavis expressed his condolences and said the government was doing everything it could to help. "Pained to know about the loss of lives in the Mahabaleshwar bus accident. Administration taking all efforts to provide the required ssistance. Senior officials and emergency management systems in place. My thoughts are with the families who lost loved ones and prayers for speedy recovery of injured," he tweeted.

Pained to know about the loss of lives in Mahabaleshwar bus accident.Administration taking all efforts to provide required assistance. Senior officials&emergency management systems in place. My thoughts are with families who lost loved ones&prayers for speedy recovery of injured.  Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) July 28, 2018

Prime Minister Narendra Modi also offered his consolation to the families of the deceased.

Pained by the loss of lives due to a bus accident in Maharashtra's Raigad district. My condolences to those who lost their loved ones: PM @narendramodi  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 28, 2018

Congress president Rahul Gandhi also expressed sorrow over the accident. "I'm sorry to hear about the terrible bus accident in Raigad, Maharashtra in which a large number of people have been killed and many others injured. I appeal to Congress party workers in the area to provide all possible assistance to the injured and families of those who have died," Rahul tweeted

Maharashtra Congress chief Ashok Chavan said, "Extremely sad to hear about the accident of a bus near Poladprur in Raigad district carrying 33 employees of Konkan Agriculture University. My heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this horrifying accident."

Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde said the accident was very unfortunate. "I pay my homage to those who perished," he said. A bus, on its way to a hill station, fell into a gorge in Raigad district of Maharashtra this afternoon killing 33 passengers, senior officials said.

With inputs from PTI
'There will be no delay on the part of the state government on the issue of reservations to the Maratha community,' Devendra Fadnavis said.

Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday assured the Maratha community that the state government will not show any laxity in its efforts to ensure reservations for it. Fadnavis made this statement while speaking to reporters outside the Vidhan Bhavan in Mumbai.

"No one in the state is opposed to giving reservations (to the Maratha community) and there will be no delay on the part of the state government in this respect. In fact, the government is attempting to ensure that any provision to give quotas stands up to judicial scrutiny," he said.

Fadnavis noted that the Backward Classes Commission has completed the process of taking public suggestions on the issue of quotas, and is now working on its report. He said, "It would not be appropriate for the government to put any sort of pressure on the panel. However, the panel should come out with its recommendations expeditiously."

The chief minister also took note of incidents of violence that took place during the Maratha community's protests across Maharashtra earlier this week. He said, "There have been allegations that some people have been wrongly framed in criminal cases. I have instructed the Director General of Police to file cases only if there is video evidence of persons engaging in violence. Cases should not be filed against people merely for agitating."

The Marathas, a politically dominant community that constitutes around 30 percent of the state's population, have been demanding a 16 percent reservation. The community members had earlier taken out silent marches across the state to highlight their demands.

The stir, however, turned violent earlier this week with the protesters pelting stones, torching vehicles, blocking roads and stopping train services in several parts of the state. The violence began after a 27-year-old protester from Aurangabad jumped to his death in Godavari river on 23 July. Another demonstrator from the same district had consumed poison and died a day later.

A protester, who was injured in the violence on Wednesday in Navi Mumbai's Kopar Khairane, succumbed to his injuries on Friday.

With inputs from PTI
Militant groups in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama have abducted a policeman from his home a week after a policeman was killed in Kulgam

Militants in Jammu and Kashmir have abducted a policeman from his home in Chainattur, Pulwama district, on Friday night, the police said on Saturday. Special police officer (SPO) Mudasir Ahmad Lone, according to PTI, was kidnapped from his home in Tral area.

The security forces have launched a rescue operation to look for the officer, PTI quoted a police official as saying. However, SP Vaid, DGP, Jammu and Kashmir Police, told ANI that the police are still verifying the information about Lones abduction. He said:

We are verifying the information. His family has said that he is visiting a relative: SP Vaid, DGP, J&K on reports of a J&K Police SPO abducted by terrorists in Pulwama district's Tral pic.twitter.com/Liv1TDjJUe  ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2018

This is the third such incident in two months in a series of abductions of security officials in Jammu and Kashmir. In June, rifleman Aurangzeb was abducted while he was on his way home for Eid from the army camp. His bullet-ridden body was found a day later at Pulwamas Gusoo on 15 June. Aurangzeb belonged to the Jammu and Kashmir Light Infantry.

On 20 July, trainee constable, Muhammad Saleem Shah who had come home on leave from Kathua Police Training School was abducted in Kulgam district. His body was found the next day in Qaimoh area of Kulgam. His body beared traces of being tortured.

The three militants involved in his abduction and murder were killed in a gunfight a day after the constables body was found.

With inputs from PTI
On the second day, Narendra Modi will launch the ground-breaking ceremony of projects in Uttar Pradesh worth Rs 60,000 crore that was pledged by investors during the UP Investors Summit 2018 in February in Lucknow

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to visit Lucknow on 28 and 29 July, with a focus on urban development of the city. Modi will inaugurate and attend ground-breaking ceremony of projects worth Rs 60,000 crore.

On the first day of his visit, the prime minister will launch 95 projects related to urban housing and infrastructure, and the Smart City Mission. Of these 57 projects will be related to the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation Yojana (AMRUT scheme), 27 for the smart cities scheme and 11 for the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), said a government spokesperson to The Hindu.

Modi will also attend an event on "Transforming Urban Landscape." This will mark the third anniversary of three key Government initiatives related to Urban Development.

The prime minister will visit an exhibition on Flagship Missions of Urban Development and interact with 35 beneficiaries of PMAY (Urban)  one from each state and Union Terrority. He will also receive feedback from PMAY beneficiaries, via video conferencing, from different cities of Uttar Pradesh. Additionally, he will lay the foundation stone for various projects under various flagship missions.

On the second day, Modi will launch the ground-breaking ceremony of projects in Uttar Pradesh worth Rs 60,000 crore that was pledged by investors during the Uttar Pradesh Investors Summit 2018 in February. The summit led to the generation of investment intent worth more than Rs. 4.28 lakh crore across sectors like renewable energy, infrastructure, power, IT and electronic manufacturing, tourism etc.

Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath reviewed security and infrastructural preparedness on Sunday. The chief minister said the event will give a new direction to the development of Uttar Pradesh, The Hindu quoted a government spokesperson as saying.

According to The Times of India, over 5,000 security personnel are being deployed in the state capital. A special strike force and quick response team (QRT) will also be deployed, while 20 teams of local intelligence unit would be in the field along with police dogs.

Lucknow is being decked up in view of the prime minister's visit. According to The Asian Age, LED lights are being wound around the electric poles and facade lighting has been installed on monuments and crossings.
'A draft is a draft. Nobody's rights and privileges will be taken away on the basis of the draft NRC. No one will be sent to any detention camp,' Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said,

Guwahati: Nobody's rights and privileges will be curtailed if his or her name does not figure in the final draft of the National Register of Citizens (NRC) to be published on 30 July, senior Assam minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has said.

After the final publication, there will be claims, objections and correction procedure and people will be able to avail these services, he told a press conference on Saturday.

"A draft is a draft. Nobody's rights and privileges will be taken away on the basis of the draft NRC. No one will be sent to any detention camp," the state finance minister said.

Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal had on Thursday stated that no one will be treated as foreigner if his or her name does not figure in the final draft.

Director General of Police Kuladhar Saikia told PTI that the police are carrying out community engagement programmes to avoid misunderstanding and keeping a strict watch on social media so that no fake news or hate messages are circulated.

When asked about the preparedness of the police force, Saikia said the Assam Police is fully prepared and alert to maintain peace and order in the society at any cost after the final NRC draft is out.

The Centre has already sent over 22,000 paramilitary forces personnel to beef up security in Assam and adjoining states. The union home ministry has also asked the Assam government not to take any action against those whose names do not figure in the NRC.

Meanwhile, several neighbouring states have kept their police forces on alert to thwart possible infiltration of illegal immigrants post-July 30.

Assam shares its boundaries with Meghalaya, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Manipur and Tripura.

The NRC is being updated with 24 March, 1971 as the cut-off date for legitimate claim to Indian citizenship in Assam.

The first draft of the NRC was published during the intervening night of 31 December and 1 January, containing 1.9 crore names out of a total applications of 3.29 crore people in Assam.

Assam is the only state in the country having an NRC which was first prepared in 1951.
On Friday, hundreds of people launched the cordon and search operations (CASO), known as 'crackdown' in local parlance, at Lal Chowk in Srinagar

Brandishing automatic rifles with fingers held close to the triggers, a joint team of security forces laid siege to Srinagar's Lal Chowk so suddenly and so swiftly that it took pedestrians and commuters some time to realise that the largest marketplace in Kashmir was being put through a crackdown.

The scene was reminiscent of the situation in Kashmir from the early 90s, although few could recall when was the last time such a spectacle unfolded in Lal Chowk.

On Friday afternoon, at around 3 pm, hundreds of people launched the cordon and search operations (CASO), known as "crackdown" in local parlance, at Lal Chowk. Named by Leftist Sikh intellectual BPL Bedi after Moscow's famous Red Square, Lal Chowk is the Valley's most preferred shopping destination and the commercial hub of Srinagar city. Tthousands of people from all over Kashmir throng Lal Chowk throughout the day, but on Friday, they were taken aback by the ominous turn of events.

This was among a dozen or so CASOs launched by the forces on Friday throughout the Kashmir Valley. According to police sources, they received inputs about the presence of militants in the area who were planning a strike on security forces. However the operation ended without establishing any contact with the militants.

But the mere presence of dozens of uniformed men in the heart of the city in bulletproof vehicles, snipers on top of under-construction buildings, and terrifying soldiers pointing their guns at everyday people illustrates how Kashmir may be slipping back to the uncertainties of the early 90s. "The old days are back," said Farooq Ahmad Gada, a shopkeeper who sells readymade garments near the Clock Tower at Lal Chowk, after forces searched his shop, adding, "We are back to square one."

Gada, 58, a resident of neighboring Maisuma locality, the 'Gaza of Kashmir', said he was shocked when forces, covering their face with black bandanas and rifles pointing towards people, asked him to vacate his shop for the search operation. And around the historic Clock Tower, forces were seen diverting the traffic from Residency Road to Jahangir Chowk, the other part of the city, which is connected by two bridges to the city square.

"Army snipers in Lal Chowk, Srinagar. Before 2014 we were in such a comfortable position vis-a-vis the security environment we were able to dismantle bunkers in the area. This is the lasting legacy of Mehbooba Mufti and the BJP-PDP alliance," National Conference leader Omar Abdullah tweeted.

People watched in shock and fear as they tried to make sense of the events unfolding around them. The forces' vehicles were parked on one side of the road while forces were running towards some of the buildings, prompting rumours that an encounter between forces and militants might soon break out.

"It was a joint security exercise, not a specific information-based operation," Srinagar-based CRPF spokesperson, Sanjay Sharma, said. "The militants have been coming to Srinagar for a day or two from north or south Kashmir, but they don't stay in the city," inspector general of CRPF, Ravideep Sahi, said.

But sources in Kashmir police say the forces were looking for militants who had recently attacked a CRPF bunker and killed a soldier. Shanker Lal of 23 Battalion, a constable in CRPF, who was part of a security deployment in the city centre was killed by two unidentified militants near the Fire and Emergency service headquarters at Batamaloo.

The attack was reminiscent of three motorcycle borne militants assassinating the prominent Kashmiri editor Shujaat Bukhari, who was shot dead outside his office on 14 June. Even the shoes and sandals worn by the attackers of CRPF man and their blue motorcycle resembled with Shujaat's assailants.

The police and CRPF have been carrying out impromptu search operations in Srinagar city, which has remained peaceful for years and untouched by the violence, even as youth joining in militancy in recent years from south Kashmir. A band of young boys did join the militancy from Srinagar, including the son of a senior Hurriyat leader, but they have almost been eliminated.

More than an hour after the forces withdrew from Lal Chowk, the troops carried out search operations in Press Colony of Srinagar, where unknown men had damaged cars of at least three journalists on Thursday night.

In Kashmir before the PDP-BJP government came into office, there were 3,136 establishments/premises under the occupation of government forces. Till August 2016, 187 Schools, 305 other government buildings, 96 private buildings, 37 hotels, 31 industrial units and three cinema halls were vacated and restored for their original use.

In recent days, the forces have intensified security in Srinagar, and almost all the roads leading to it from both south and north now have deployment of paramilitary soldiers in sandbag bunkers. These makeshift bunkers have added to the sense of militarisation.

"I have seen worse in the early 90s, but this (crackdown) one was terrifying. Maybe we were not used to these crackdowns now. Even police and army didn't frequent Lal Chowk but the deteriorating situation has brought them back. It is not a good sign," Gada, the shopkeeper in Lal Chowk, said.
Mamata Banerjee's will be in Delhi for three days from 31 July. She is expected to personally invite Opposition leaders to a 'federal front' rally in Kolkata in January.

New Delhi: St Stephen's College has withdrawn an invitation extended to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to attend an event and interact with the students of the institute.

The event, planned by one of the societies of the college, will be held on 1 August. Mamata was supposed to attend the event, but the principal denied permission and the invitation was withdrawn on Friday, a source said.

The college's Planning Forum had submitted a request online to the authorities to invite her, but the request could not be processed due to some "server issues". Later, they wrote a letter seeking permission to invite her, but the principal denied permission, the source explained.

Principal of St Stephen's college John Varghese could not be contacted for a comment.

Mamata is scheduled to arrive in Delhi on 31 July. She will be in the national capital for three days to personally invite Opposition leaders to the "federal front" rally she plans to hold in January in Kolkata, according to party sources.
Poonawalla, who is pressing for an anti-lynching bill or Masuka (Manav Suraksha Kanoon), told PTI that he had a fruitful meeting with the panel headed by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba

New Delhi: A panel of senior government officers on Saturday deliberated over the possibility of enacting a new law to check the increasing incidents of lynching in different parts of the country.

Tehseen Poonawalla, who petitioned the Supreme Court and got a string of directives issued to the government on prevention of the crime, appeared before the Committee of Secretaries and strongly pitched for a new law with punishment of life imprisonment to those found guilty.

Poonawalla, who is pressing for an anti-lynching bill or Masuka (Manav Suraksha Kanoon), told PTI that he had a fruitful meeting with the panel headed by Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba and explained the difference between riots and mob violence, "all of which together can be called lynching".

He said an incident of lynching can take place due to factors like anger, hate, fear etc. and hence, there is a need to define every such crime separately.

Poonawalla said he conveyed to the panel that whenever a special law was enacted, the incidents of the crime concerned have come down.

He gave the examples of dowry deaths and atrocities on Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes to drive his point home. He also suggested that a minimum of Rs 25 lakh should be given as compensation to the families of victims of lynching.

The committee is expected to deliberate further on the matter before submitting its report to a Group of Ministers headed by Home Minister Rajnath Singh within four weeks. The GoM will submit its report to Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Those who attended Saturday's meeting include secretaries of law, legal affairs and social justice and empowerment. The member of the GoM are External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Thawar Chand Gehlot.

Thirty-one deaths due to lynching have been reported from nine states in the last one year.

The most recent case was reported from Alwar district of Rajasthan, where a man named Akbar Khan was beaten up allegedly by a group of villagers over suspicion that he was a cow smuggler.

Earlier this week, following the Supreme Court's directives to check incidents of lynching, the Home Ministry had issued advisories to states and Union territories.

The Centre asked them to appoint an officer in each district at the level of Superintendent of Police, set up a special task force to gather intelligence, and closely monitor social media contents to prevent mob attacks on suspicion of being child-lifters or cattle smugglers.

In its communique to states and UTs, the ministry had said, 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.
Thousands of people scrambled to escape amid flying embers before walls of flames descended onto their neighborhoods in Redding, California

Redding (California): Only a handful of homes remain in the small northern California community of Keswick. The air chokes with the smell of smoke and chemicals, smouldering what's left of people's lives. The so-called Carr Fire roared through Shasta County, so thoroughly eating up homes, that it's difficult to tell how many once stood in the ruins.

Somewhere in the ash was the home of Shyla and Jason Campbell.

Jason, a firefighter, was six hours away from his home and family, battling a wildfire near Yosemite Valley, when the Carr Fire moved in.

Shyla, 32, said it was nearly 2 am Thursday when she got an official alert to evacuate.

"It's huge flames, it's coming up the hill, and everyone's out and we're watching it, then it goes down, and everyone's like, 'Oh it's going out,' " she said. "And I'm like, 'No, it's going down the mountain and it's going to come back up the next ridge.' "

She was right.

The family spent the night at a hotel. When Jason Campbell returned on Friday, he found their home of five years was gone, along with an RV and a boat.

Officials say at least 500 structures were destroyed by the Carr Fire, which also swept through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and hit homes in Redding, a city of 92,000 about 100 miles south of the Oregon border.

"It's tough," Shyla Campbell said Friday as she sheltered in the city of Shasta Lake. "I just have to figure out where we're going to stay. We're just trying to stay away from the fire."

About 37,000 people remained under evacuation orders as the wreckage smouldered. Nearly 5,000 more homes were being threatened by the 75-square-mile (194-square-kilometer) blaze, which was just 5 percent contained.

Thousands of people scrambled to escape amid flying embers before walls of flames descended from forested hills onto their neighbourhoods Thursday. At least two flaming tornados toppled trees, shook firefighting equipment and busted truck windows, taking "down everything in its path," said Scott McLean, a spokesman for Cal Fire, the state agency responsible for fighting wildfires.

The flames moved so fast that firefighters working in oven-like temperatures and bone-dry conditions had to drop efforts to battle the blaze at one point to help people escape. Two firefighters were killed: Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke and a bulldozer operator whose name wasn't immediately released. He was the second bulldozer operator to die in a California blaze in less than two weeks.

Elsewhere in California, large fires continued to burn outside Yosemite National Park and in the San Jacinto Mountains east of Los Angeles near Palm Springs. Nationally, 89 active large fires have consumed nearly 930,000 acres in 14 states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. So far this year, nearly 37,000 wildfires have burned more than 4.25 million acres.

Residents who gathered belongings in haste described a chaotic and congested getaway as sparks flew and fire leapt across the wide Sacramento River, torching subdivisions in Redding.

Redding police chief Roger Moore was among those who lost their homes, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Greg and Terri Hill evacuated their Redding home of 18 years Thursday night with little more than their medications, photo albums, clothes and firearms, assuming they'd be back home in a few days.

When they returned Friday, virtually nothing was left but fine particles of ash. It was so hot, they couldn't walk through it to see if anything survived.

"It's pretty emotional," Terri Hill said. "I know it's just stuff. A lot of memories. But we'll make new memories and get new stuff. Everybody's safe."

The Hills fled before they were told to, knowing danger was afoot when the power went out and helicopters suddenly began flying low overhead.

Liz Williams loaded up two kids in her car and then found herself locked in bumper-to-bumper traffic with neighbours trying to flee from Lake Redding Estates.

She eventually jumped the curb onto a sidewalk and "booked it."

"I've never experienced something so terrifying in my life," she said. "I didn't know if the fire was just going to jump out behind a bush and grab me and suck me in."

Fire officials warned that the blaze would probably burn deeper into urban areas before there was any hope of containing it. So far, the Carr Fire has either changed direction or was stopped before it burning into Redding's city centre.
The protesters who waved the black flags at Amit Shah's convoy in Uttar Pradesh claimed to be members of the Samajwadi Party's student wing.

Allahabad: Three people, including two women, were arrested on Saturday for allegedly waving black flags and jumping in front of Bharatiya Janata Party president Amit Shah's convoy in Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh, the police said.

The incident took place on Friday in Dhoomanganj area, Superintendent of Police (City) Brijesh Shrivastav said.

The protesters claimed to be members of the Samajwadi Party's student wing, according to Dhoomanganj Station House Officer Sandeep Mishra. He added that they were arrested on charge of breach of peace.

A purported video of the incident showing police personnel manhandling the protesters has been widely shared on social media.

Shah's four-hour itinerary in Allahabad was packed with temple visits, religious functions and meetings with seers.
Eight people including seven engineers and a contractor have been arrested in connection with the Varanasi flyover collapse incident in May, which left 15 people dead, Uttar Pradesh DGP OP Singh said on Saturday.

Lucknow: Eight people including seven engineers and a contractor have been arrested in connection with the Varanasi flyover collapse incident in May, which left 15 people dead, Uttar Pradesh DGP OP Singh said on Saturday.

He said action was taken against the eight after collecting "technical proofs" with the help of scientists of Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee (Uttarakhand).

"It was found that there were many shortcomings in the bridge on which the investigating officer quizzed the engineers before arresting them," Singh said.

A probe into the incident found that failure to cast cross beams for locking the girders led to the collapse of a portion of a railway overbridge (ROB) as the structure was left exposed to external forces.

The report of a technical committee, set up by the state government to ascertain the cause of the incident and accessed by PTI, also said uninterrupted traffic flow on the busy road was the main reason for generating vibrations that may have led to the collapse.

An FIR was registered against the UP State Bridge Corporation officials, who were working on the site, under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder), section 308 (attempt to commit culpable homicide) of the IPC on 16 May, a day after the collapse, following a complaint by the Roadways police outpost in-charge.

The project manager and other officials were suspended and the government also shifted Managing Director of Bridge Corporation Rajan Mittal.

Mittal was removed from his post during the term of the Akhilesh Yadav government following complaints. But he was reinstated when the BJP government came to power last year.
The Congress on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not raising the Doka La issue with Chinese president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

New Delhi: The Congress on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not raising the Doka La issue with Chinese president Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg.

"The truth is that Prime Minister Modi meets the Chinese president on the sidelines of the BRICS Summit and holds talks, but forgets to talk about Doklam. When will this government show the 56-inch chest and red eyes and have the courage to raise the issues concerning security and nation's borders?...the 132 crore people of the country want to know," Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.

He said the United States Congressional Committee has stated that China has made a headway in Doka La and was raising its infrastructure and army strength there.

"This is a direct threat and challenge to national security," he said.

The Congress leader said the way Chinese Army strength of Brigade-level was there in north Doka La and in southern Doka La in the Siliguri corridor, China has constructed a road, but the "prime minister and defence minister did not speak anything on it".

"The truth is that the one who claimed having a 56-inch chest and dared to show 'red eyes' to China, has gone back on his promise and has turned silent on national security.

"The prime minister, who dared to show China his red eyes, gave swing rides to the Chinese president. But when he goes to China with an agenda-less visit, he forgets to even raise the issue of Doklam which is linked to national security," Surjewala said.

The Congress leader said China, which does not have any diplomatic ties with Bhutan, visited the nation and discussed Doka La with Bhutan without involving India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese president Xi Jinping during the 10th BRICS Summit agreed that the Chinese defence minister will visit India next month as part of the efforts to maintain the "momentum" generated by their recent meetings.

Modi, who is in Johannesburg to attend the BRICS Summit, met Xi for the third time in nearly three months on Thursday evening after their two-day informal summit in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late April and a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Qingdao, China in June.

"It is important to maintain this momentum and for this we should, at our level, regularly review our relationship and give proper instructions whenever required," Modi told Xi in his opening remarks.
Karnataka water resources minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday accused BJP of trying to fuel separatist sentiments.

Bengaluru: Karnataka water resources minister DK Shivakumar on Saturday accused BJP of trying to fuel separatist sentiments, as he termed the demand for separate north Karnataka state as a "conspiracy" for political gains.

The senior Congress leader also said the coalition government was committed for the all round development of "akhanda Karnataka" (united Karnataka).

"There is no question of Congress or JD(S) supportingseparate state demand, it is united Karnataka."

"BJP is trying to do it. I appeal....this is a progressive state, the statecommands respect at the national and international level," Shivakumar said.

Speaking to reporters in Bengaluru, he said "Some people for political gains are speaking about it as they are getting opportunity to speak in front of media. It is a conspiracy to divide the state.I condemn it."

Shivakumar's comments comes a day after BJP MLA Sriramulu backed those demanding separate statehood for North Karnataka, but subsequently retracted,saying he never supported division of the state.

A day-long bandh has been called by some outfits in 13districts of north Karnataka on August 2 demanding statehood or the region, alleging discrimination by successive governments towards it.

Shivakumar said some BJP leaders from Belagavi had earlier spoken about separate state, which was condemned.

The minister came to Kumaraswamy's defence over his allegedremarks questioning people and farmers of north Karnataka for not voting his party, by saying "the chief minister was analysing about where JD(S) did not get votes."

"Whether it is budget or programmes for the poor, it is for united Karnataka. This coalition government is for the all round development of the state and we will work together for it," he added.

Accusing BJP of viewing things with "jaundiced eyes," Shivakumar dubbed BJP's ongoing padayatra (march) demanding complete waiver of all farm loans as a move aimed at "misleading" the people.

Claiming that outsiders and not real farmers were part of the march, he said "just by wrapping themselves with green towel, people cannot become farmers."

BJP is on a three-day padayatra from Ramanagaram district to Bengaluru since Thursday, demanding waiver of all farm loans.
At a PDP event, Muzaffar Baig warned that if the ruling BJP doesnt stop killing people in the name of cows, India will stare at another partition.

Srinagar: PDP president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday brought back Muzaffar Hussain Baig  the party's co-founder, former deputy chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and Lok Sabha MP  to the centre stage. Sparking a controversy during his first public appearance alongside Mehbooba, Baig warned that if the ruling BJP 'doesnt stop killing people in the name of cows,' India will stare at another partition.

Even people seen walking with cows are being lynched. There is fear among the Muslims of India, Baig said, while addressing thousands of PDP workers on the 19th foundation day of the party held at the Sher-e-Kashmir Park in Srinagar.

We want to tell the prime minister that the killing of Muslims in the name of the cow and cow slaughter must stop. The lynching of Muslims should be stopped. If this continues, the country may face a split once again. Baig added.

While thousands of PDP workers thronged the venue for the function, at least seven MLAs and two MLCs were missing. However, their absence was overshadowed by the participation of a large number of people, particularly from south Kashmir, and from the constituency of Baig.

Nazir Ahmad Bhat, a resident of Bijbehara in the volatile south Kashmir region, who traveled more then thirty kilometers to attend the party function, said he sees hope in Baig who, he said, has the 'capacity to stop further disintegration of the party.'

Governments come and go, but we are for the party. And no party except the PDP has a presence in south Kashmir. The National Conference doesnt have candidates in our area to contest elections, leave aside workers, Bhat said.

He further said that the only leading light and hope in the party was Baig, who 'has the power to pull everyone in the same direction.'

When we started this party in 1999, there were only 230 people, and 50 were from Jammu. On the next day, 50 more people joined and we grew. We want dialogue between India and Pakistan (on Kashmir), Baig said from the podium.

Mehbooba told party workers that during the 2016 uprising, she was shocked to see violence being inflicted on people, against which she had always fought.

When they fired pellets at young boys, I felt as if the pellets were hitting me, Mehbooba said. She further claimed that she did not compromise on the values of her party during her two-year tenure as chief minster.

The PDP president said she had to drink a cup of poison by aligning with the BJP, because after the death of her father Mufti Mohmmad Sayeed, PDP leaders were in favour of aligning with the BJP. She said that the PDP aligned with the BJP only to save the people of Kashmir.

On many occasions, I met Narendra Modi and I asked him to initiate dialogue with Pakistan and the Hurriyat Conference, Mehbboba said. I told the Centre to release Hurriyat leaders from NIA custody, so that peace prevails in Kashmir, she added.
Criticising West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for accusing the BJP of trying to create an atmosphere of Talibani Hinduism in the country, a Rajasthan minister has said that she should quit Hinduism.

Jaipur: Criticising West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee for accusing the BJP of trying to create an atmosphere of Talibani Hinduism in the country, a Rajasthan minister has said that she should quit Hinduism.

She does not have the knowledge, and she does not love her country, Labour Minister Jaswant Singh Yadav said on Friday evening.

He accused her of making the shameless statement that all Hindu organisations are extremists.

Then she should leave Hinduism her mental condition is not good, he told reporters at Behror in Alwar district.

After the recent lynching of 28-year old Rakbar Khan in Alwar district on suspicion of cow smuggling, the Trinamool Congress chief had accused the BJP of trying to create an "atmosphere of Talibani Hinduism and Talibani communalism".

Yadav said he stood by his earlier statement that Hindus will not tolerate the smuggling and slaughter of cows because the cow is like mother for them.

Referring to the recent lynching, he said, Taking the law in one's hand and beating or killing someone is condemnable but Hindus' religious sentiments are connected with cows. I request Meo brothers to stop cow smuggling and slaughter in the interest of unity and harmony in the country, he said.

Khan, who was from the Meo community, was beaten by a group of people on the night of July 20 and declared brought dead at the community health centre in Ramgarh.

The police arrested three men who are now under judicial custody for the lynching.

An assistant sub inspector and three constables were shunted to police lines for dereliction of duty over the delay in taking the victim to the nearby health centre.
tech2 News Staff

What happens to be the most expensive car in the world has been unveiled by the Italian car brand Pagani. Its called the Pagani Zonda HP Barchetta and only three of these supercars will be made.

One of these will be retained by the founder and owner, Horacio Pagani. The second one has been presold and the third one is available for sale to customers worldwide.

On the 25th anniversary of the GoodWood Festival of Speed in UK, Horacio Pagani himself was seen been driven in the car. The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an annual hill-climb event held in England, around June-July.

Considering its price at 15 million, which is approximately Rs 121 crores, excluding GST and import duty in India, the Zonda HP Barchetta has now beaten the Rolls Royce Sweptail (priced at Rs 89 crores) as the most expensive car in the world.

The Pagani Zonda HP Barchetta is powered at an 800 BHP 7.3 litre V12 motor, which is sourced from Mercedes AMG. The powerhouse is mated to a 6-speed manual gearbox. The car can achieve a top speed of 355 kilometers per hour, while it can do 0-100 kilometers per hour in just 3.1 seconds.

Talking about its design, it's a roofless beauty. And no, it doesn't include a convertible top. What is interesting and attention-seeking about the car os that, the wheels on the left have been painted silver while the wheels on the right are a shade of blue.

Further, on the rear, there is a large rear spoiler, which helps the car with the downforce. This is because the car is just 1250 kg in terms of weight.

It is unlikely that the last available Rs 121 crore car will come to India.
Asheeta Regidi

Yesterday, the Justice Sri Krishna Committee released the much awaited first draft of the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018. Following a structure which combines Europes General Data Protection Regulation and Indias Information Technology Act, 2000, the Bill runs into 112 sections.

These include positive features like broader definitions, horizontal application, extra-territorial jurisdiction and steep penalties for violations, as well as negative features like data localization requirements, many exceptions to state related processing. Amendments are proposed to the Right to Information Act and Information Technology Act, though no amendments are proposed at present to the Aadhaar Act.

The first part of this series provides a quick overview of the important features of the Personal Data Protection Bill (the Bill). This will be followed by a detailed analysis of the various chapters in the Bill.

Horizontal application and extra-territorial jurisdiction

The jurisdiction of the Bill under Section 2 is vast, including both territorial and extra-territorial provisions along the lines of the GDPR. Further, it has horizontal application, applying to both governmental and private actors. It applies to any processing within India, as well as to any processing by the State, Indian companies or Indian citizens. In its extraterritorial application, it applies to any entities providing goods and services in India, and also to any activity involving the profiling of persons in India.

Data mirroring, data localization requirements imposed

One of the related implications of this vast jurisdiction are the data localization rules to be imposed under Section 40, which confirm the data localization reports that arose some time ago. Under these, one copy of all personal data to which the law applies are to be kept in a server within India. Further, certain categories of data, which are to be specified by the government as critical personal data are to be stored in India alone. Additionally, requirements for cross-border transfer of data are also imposed.

New definitions of personal and sensitive personal data

The Bill introduces new definitions of personal data and sensitive personal data. Personal data refers to any data on a natural person which allows direct or indirect identifiability. Sensitive personal data (SPD) also contains welcome additions such as religious and political beliefs, caste, intersex/transgender status and official government identifiers (like the PAN number).

Financial data as SPD is also included, which has also been defined to specifically include data like financial status and credit history. Biometric data as SPD also now specifically includes facial images or photographs, but only when processed so as to allow unique identification of the person (such as facial recognition techniques). Section 106 further allows the Government to bar the processing of certain types of biometric data, except as permitted under law.

The Bill will not apply to anonymous or non-personal data.

Data fiduciary and data principal

The Bill replaces the traditional concepts of data controller and data subject with data fiduciary and data principal (the natural person whose data is being collected). The aim seems to be an attempt to create a trust-based relationship between the two. It also introduces the concept of significant data fiduciaries, such as data fiduciaries who process huge volumes of data. A valid contract will be necessary to allow processing by a processor.

Data Processing Principles

Turning to data processing principles, the Bill incorporates several of these in Chapter II, including many principles recommended by the Justice A.P. Shah Committee. These include purpose and collection limitation, detailed notice requirements, storage limitation, data quality requirements, and the principle of accountability.

Consent- the Primary ground of processing

Consent will be the primary ground of processing available to most entities, as per Section 12 (Chapter III). This consent is required to be free, informed, specific, clear and, in an important addition, capable of being withdrawn. One concern is with Clause (5) of this section, which states that when a data principal withdraws his consent for the processing of his personal data which is necessary for the performance of a contract, then all legal consequences for the effects of the withdrawal will be borne by him (the data principal).

Special conditions for SPD and childrens data

For SPD, explicit consent and other special conditions have been specified under Chapter IV. For children, parental consent and use of age verification mechanisms by data fiduciaries will be required under Section 23. One issue that may be a concern is that the exception created for parental consent for child counselling services and child protection services is very limited.

State processing allowed for provision of services

Bill creates several exceptions and exemptions for processing by the State. An additional ground of processing under Section 13 (Chapter III) includes the processing of data required for the function of the State (authorized by law), parliament or legislature. This includes processing for the provision of any service or benefit to the data principal to the State. Aadhaar related activities would fall under this. It is to be noted that consent, which is an important argument being made against the Aadhaar related processing of personal data, has not been mandated here.

A broad list of exemptions have also been included under Chapter IX- including for the security of the state and for prevention, detection and investigation of crimes. Other exemptions include for legal proceedings. research, domestic purposes, journalistic purposes, and manual processing.

Processing for emergencies, employment

Other grounds of processing under Chapter III include that for compliance with a law or judicial order and processing necessary for an emergency like a medical emergency, safety, etc. Processing for employment purposes such as recruitment, attendance, or any activity needed for employee assessment has also been permitted. The extent of the processing allowed is a concern considering issues like workplace surveillance.

Permitting processing for reasonable purposes like whistleblowing

Another ground created is for processing on other reasonable purposes under Section 17. This is an ambiguous ground which allows the Data Protection Authority of India (DPA), which is to be established under the Bill, to specify the purposes. This includes a broad and vague range of activities including whistleblowing, preventing unlawful activities, debt recovery and processing of publicly available data.

Rights of the Data Principals

Chapter VI provides some basic rights to data principals. These include the right to access and correction, the right to data portability and right to be forgotten. The right to be forgotten, it is to be noted, is not a right to erasure or deletion as granted under the GDPR. Instead, it is like the commonly understood notion of the right to be forgotten  a right to prevent or restrict disclosure of personal data by a fiduciary. This would be applicable to the known cases such as removal of search links by Google. The Bill, in fact, does not provide a right to erasure. Rights against automated decision making and profiling are also missing.

Privacy by Design, DPIA and other security requirements

Chapter VII imposes privacy by design requirements. This also includes transparency obligations, such as with regards to the categories of data collected and the purposes of processing, and security safeguards like de-identification and encryption. Requirements of conducting Data Protection Impact Assessments, audits and appointing a Data Protection Officer are also specified.

Assessing harm for data breach notifications

Section 32 on data breach notifications requires these to be made to the DPA only. Notifications to the data principals and notices on websites, etc., are to be made only when required by the DPA. Further, the notifications to the DPA are to be made only if the breach is likely to cause harm to the data principal.

The Bill introduces a broad, but closed definition of harm. It specifies 10 factors, including mental or physical injury, loss of property or reputation, identity theft, discrimination, any denial of service, restriction of the right to freedom of speech, and any observation or surveillance that is not reasonably expected. Leaving the discretion to the data fiduciary to judge if the data breach causes harm to the data principal is a concern. Consider Cambridge Analytica, where the data breach was not disclosed.

RTI amendments to include the harm concept

Further, this concept of harm is also to be introduced via an amendment to Section 8(1)(j) of the Right to Information Act, 2005. The new section will allow any information which is likely to cause harm to be exempted from disclosure under the Act. This may greatly increase the scope of refusals on this basis.

Central govt to appoint DPA members

Many concerns were raised as to whether a DPA in India would ensure equal representation of different stakeholders, in order to ensure its independence. These concerns remain unaddressed, as the Bill makes no specifications as to equal representation.

The Bill establishes a Data Protection Authority of India, consisting of one chairperson and 6 whole time members. The DPA members are to be appointed by the Central Government, based on the recommendations of a body that will consist of the Chief Justice of India, the Cabinet secretary and one CJI nominated expert. The Bill specifies the qualifications and expertise of the persons to be appointed.

Steep penalties of 4% of the turnover

The Bill prescribes steep penalties along the lines of the GDPR. This includes penalties of the higher of Rs. 5 Crores or 2% of annual global turnover for violations like failing to conduct a DPA. The higher of Rs. 15 crores or 4% of the annual global turnover are prescribed for violations like processing personal data in contravention of the Bill. Complaints can be filed by an aggrieved data principal before Adjudicating Officers appointed under the Bill. Appeal from their orders lies to an Appellate Tribunal and thereafter to the Supreme Court.

Non-bailable criminal offences and applicability to State authorities

The Act also prescribes a list of non-bailable and cognizable criminal offences. This includes a maximum fine of 2 lakhs or imprisonment of 3 years for obtaining, transferring, or selling personal data in violation of the law. If the data is SPD, then this goes upto 5 years or 3 lakhs. Similar provisions apply to re-identification of data.

Central of state government departments, any authority of the State as well as companies can be proceeded against for commission of these offences. This would also include the UIDAI, as an authority of the State.

Act replaces Section 43A

Lastly, Section 43A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, on compensation for failure to protect data, is to be omitted. Section 72A of the IT Act (Punishment for disclosure of information in breach of lawful contract) has been retained.

Despite containing both positive and negative features, the Bill is a welcome first step towards a comprehensive data protection law. The next part of the series will consist of a detailed analysis of the territorial and material scope of the Bill.

The author is a lawyer specializing in technology, privacy and cyber laws. She is also a certified information privacy professional.
Amrita Rajput

A WhatsApp message can kill you.

Text circulating in Madhya Pradesh resulted in a mob of about 50 people beating up two young men who were rumoured to be murderers selling body parts. An engineer was killed in a mob attack in the southern state of Karnataka, while five people were were beaten to death in Maharashtras Dhule district after being suspected of being members of a gang of child lifters. Two men were beaten to death and seven others were injured after a mob of villagers attacked them on suspicion of being robbers in Chandgaon village in Aurangabad. A 40-year-old woman was beaten to death by a mob on 26 June in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on the suspicion of being a child-lifter.

The list is endless and is heart-wrenching. In each of these cases, inflammatory messages circulated on WhatsApp were the trigger.

With over 200 million users, India is one of WhatsApps biggest markets. Fake news and videos have become an incredibly big headache for the Facebook-owned messaging platform.

The Indian government has asked WhatsApp to take steps to prevent the circulation of false texts and provocative content that have led to this series of lynchings and mob beatings across the country in the past few months.

Under pressure from authorities, WhatsApp responded in a letter that it was "horrified" at the lynchings and took measures to end the spread of fake news by introducing new features to help users identify messages that have been forwarded.

It has also bought out full-page adverts in Indian newspapers with tips on how to spot misinformation.

While we do not know is if these measures are enough to curb the spread of fake news and the eventual lynchings that follow. An overhaul of in the use of the messaging platform can possibly help solve the problem. There is also the fact that WhatsApp alone can't be held accountable for the failings of the law enforcement agencies to do something about the lynchings.

21-year-old Junaid Khan has been in jail for the past five months after being made an admin by default on a WhatsApp group because some inappropriate content was shared.

If you do not want to be on WhatsApp anymore because you fear that you will be held accountable for the information circulated on any group that you might be an admin of, or if taking a lot of precautionary measures to keep away from fake news is a bit too cumbersome for you, here are three alternate messaging apps, Telegram, Hike and Signal, that we recommend.

Telegram

Telegram was founded by Pavel Durov from Russia, in the wake of revelations by Edward Snowden.

Telegram was released in August 2013 with privacy and security as a sales pitch, when Snowden revealed the extent of the state-sponsored surveillance in the United States.

Also, the fact that it wasn't American could have attracted a lot of users worldwide because as of 24 February, 2014, Telegram was the most downloaded iPhone app in 48 countries.

What makes Telegram better than WhatsApp?

Security. Telegram is seriously secure. Pavel Durov is so confident about this feature that he is ready to give $200,000 in bitcoins to the first person who will break Telegram's encryption protocol.

Also, when the Russian Government asked Telegram for encryption keys, Telegram declined the request. With Putin in power and the KGB unafraid of murdering defectors taking refuge in European countries, that refusal took a great deal of courage. This move made the app more popular, and many users appreciated it. Russia had later fined Telegram for the same. WhatsApp, on the other hand, is owned by Facebook, just like Instagram. This makes Facebook a monopoly. Telegram, then, sounds more reliable and solid in terms of security.

You also have an option to self-destruct the end-to-end encrypted messages.

Besides this, there are more features which make Telegram a winner. For example, file sharing. There is a size limit on WhatsApp on what one can upload, but this doesnt exist on Telegram. Telegram becomes a good platform for file sharing as it allows heavy files to be transferred. On WhatsApp, while transferring files, one can expect a decrease in file size. However, in Telegram, you have an option to select a size. If you are sending a photograph, you have an option to select whether you want to send it as a file, which retains the original file size, or as a photo, which compresses the image. The same goes for videos as well as files in any format that you choose to share.

Further, Telegram has channels where you can connect to information that youre interested in and you dont have to be a part of a chat group. This is a distinct feature and is unavailable on WhatsApp.

Telegram never shows you any ads, it is run on Durovs money. WhatsApp too has no ads popping up, but since its owned by Facebook, you never know when that might change.

The same goes for data. While both Telegram and WhatsApp both claim that they don't harvest the actual content of our messages, WhatsApp harvests other data from its users and uses it to tailor ads for them on its other platforms.

Other features that make Telegram cool include the option for you to add up to 1,00,000 members in one group. WhatsApp on the other hand, limits groups to 256 members. Of course, managing a group of 100,000 members can be hell, but hey, at least you can pin messages.

Also, Telegram has these things called stickers and since expressions are so important to all of us, the stickers do a good job of going beyond regular emojis.

The only drawback could be that everyone you know is on WhatsApp. Switching to Telegram will take some time. You can switch to Telegram for any of these reasons, or mostly because of WhatsApps poor security. At least in India, where the platform has become a hub for fake news, switching apps should give some of us some much-needed respite.

Hike

Hike is Indias own social and technology company. Its the messenger app that we all know has been mostly selling graphical stickers and emoticons as its USP since the time that it first released about 5 years ago in December 2012.

The stickers are unique because they have plenty of one-liners from our beloved Bollywood movies that just adds to the conversations. 90 percent of the users on Hike are under the age of 30, and the average number of stickers sent via Hike in one month is about 3 billion.

Thats the fun part. Talking in terms of privacy, on Hike you need to send and accept friend requests in order to chat, like how you would in Facebook. While many people might find this process cumbersome, the feature just simply makes sure that no one can send you a message unless youve added them in, thus ensuring safety. Random people will not be able to send you messages simply by having your phone number in their contact list.

The other feature that makes Hike an option that you should opt for is the fact that it has an offline message feature. On WhatsApp, when you send a message to a friend who is offline, the message remains in the server and you have to wait until your friends come online to view it. On Hike, however, with the offline messages feature, if you want to send a message to a friend who is offline, you will be prompted with an option to send the message using free SMS or using your carriers regular SMS. This can help in situations of emergency, or at times when the other person might not have internet connectivity.

Hike also provides a feature called hidden chat which allows users to keep any particular chat that they may want private. These can only be accessed using a code. We do give our phones to people at times and they could then easily access our WhatsApp chats. With Hike, there will be an option to ensure privacy.

Besides this, users are allowed to decide who sees their last seen and status updates. You can also do this on WhatsApp, but it is restricted to everyone, my contacts and nobody. Hike goes further because you are able to select individually who sees these details.

In terms of sharing files, you can send videos, images and music as well as voice notes in any formats with sizes up to 100 MB. WhatsApp as we know, allows only up to 16 MB.

As of June 2017, hike Messenger has a total of 100 million registered users.

Hike is owned by Kavin Bharti Mittal and is a joint venture between Bharti and Softbank. It is also backed by Tencent, Foxconn and Tiger Global.

Hike also has an option for payments, a feature that was launched in June 2017. It was the first messaging app to integrate payments in India, and within six months of being launched, Hike saw as many as 10 million transactions including mobile recharges and peer-to-peer transfers.

The major difference between Hike and WhatsApp is that the former rides on the emphasis of local needs. Since it is a homegrown app, switching to Hike could mean that it could match our sensibilities.

The app also offers regional Indian languages like Hindi, Malayalam, Telugu, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati and Kannada, which is all the more reason to opt for Hike. We already know how writing Hindi in the Roman script is not only painful to read but also to comprehend.

Why do people not opt for Hike then? This could probably be because they arent aware of what more the app offers than WhatsApp, and think that they both are the same.

According to a study titled India: A growth opportunity for app developers, WhatsApp has more Daily Active Users (DAU) than any other communication apps in the country. With that sort of competition, it has been difficult for Hike to flourish, but thats not the point. Its just that if it frustrates you to be on WhatsApp considering the above news, Hike is a great alternative.

Signal

Signal is the communication app that even privacy advocate Snowden recommends. It is probably the best app you can use if you want to ensure privacy at its best. It is owned by the software organisation Open Whisper Systems. According to Snowden, you can trust OWS. Coming from a man who's escaped the NSA and is currently taking refuge in a foreign land, this amounts to something.

Academy Award-winning journalist Laura Poitras, who made the documentary Citizenfour on Snowden, also says that Signal is the most scalable encryption tool we have I encourage people to use it every day. She was one of the initial three journalists to meet Edward Snowden in Hong Kong and to receive copies of the leaked NSA documents.

The reason why Signal is the most secure apps out there is due to the presence of an encryption protocol called Signal Protocol. It is a cryptographic protocol used to provide end-to-end encryption for voice calls, video calls, and instant messaging conversations. You might not know it, but you are already using the protocol, because even WhatsApp uses the Signal protocol, along with Facebook Messenger and others.

This is the service that makes it possible to convert your message into a secret message that can only be decoded by its final recipient.

Since WhatsApp also uses the system, you might believe that youre alright using the app. But Thats not the case, because WhatsApp collects metadata.

If you do not understand what this means, Snowden explained in a tweet.

Are your readers having trouble understanding the term "metadata"? Replace it with "activity records." That's what they are. #clarity  Edward Snowden (@Snowden) November 2, 2015

If youre interested in learning what is metadata and how it matters, heres an article on eff.org which explains the term clearly.

This brings us to a conclusion that just having end-to-end encryption does not prevent a messaging service from collecting data on you.

If you do not already know, WhatsApp collects a range of data from you. They have access to your WhatsApp contacts, which means that they can access your address book information. They also collect service-related, diagnostic, and performance information. This includes information about your activity (such as how you use our Services, how you interact with others using our Services, and the like), log files, and diagnostic, crash, website, and performance logs and reports. Not only that, Facebook also has access to your friends activity data.

Considering all these facts, just having end-to-end encryption does not make WhatsApp secure.

Signal only registers your phone number and knows when you last logged in. Thats all. It does not record the time of the day, and even has a feature to allow sending messages that disappear. It allows any conversation to be configured to delete after a specified interval.

If you compare the privacy policy of WhatsAp against that of Signal, the latter has a rather short one. It might in fact be the shortest privacy policy of any messaging app on the market.

Signal too has voice and video calls so you will not miss those features if you choose to switch to Signal.

The things you might have to let go of are the features that WhatsApp provides. While Signal is a lot more privacy-friendly, WhatsApp has features that attract audiences. For example, WhatsApp allows you to send read receipts, see typing indicators, mute conversations, block contacts, and more. Signal, on the other hand, is a bit subdued and more utility oriented. Its a barebones app.

Signal was born keeping security in mind and WhatsApp brought in that feature much later. This makes Signal a champion when we talk about privacy.

And again, if youre specifically looking for a chat service high on privacy, Signal is a great option.

If youre still wondering why privacy should matter, maybe watch this TED Talk by Gleen Greenwald. Greenwald was also one of the first reporters to see and write about the Snowden files. He explains why the public should care about privacy even if you're "not doing anything you need to hide."
Photographer Jibon Ahmed's colleagues thrashed him, citing the reason that he had 'disrespected' his profession by taking this 'indecent' photograph

Bangladeshi photographer Jibon Ahmed shot a picture of a couple kissing at Dhaka University's Teachers and Students' Centre (TSC) on 23 July. He later uploaded it to his Facebook account, but nothing could have prepared him for the backlash that followed.

Many on social media criticised the photograph for being 'indecent' and violating society's norms. Jibon, who had been working at a news outlet called Purboposhchim, says he has been removed from his job. "I lost my job, but my employer did not give any reason for firing me. I was beaten up at TSC by my colleagues... they thought I had disrespected my profession," he said to Firstpost. His Facebook account was also hacked, and Jibon fears that this photograph was the reason.

Jibon says that he clicked this picture when he was on the job, with an intention to submit it. "I saw them [the couple] first when it was raining. They were sitting at the TSC footpath without an umbrella, drinking tea. They also kissed. I didn't see any obscenity in the act, it looked beautiful. I thought there was a sense of purity to the whole scene unfolding in front of my eyes..." he said.

However, Purboposhchim wanted to publish it in a negative light, he says. "I went to the office and asserted that the picture was not clicked with this negative intention, and that I did not want it published with any negative connotation. I wanted to give a positive message through this picture... it was part of a series on the monsoons," he says.

Jibon says that the reactions  both positive and negative  that the photograph has received are 'normal' and 'obvious'. "In our country, the perspective towards this incident will never be uniform. One of my colleagues raised his hand on me in response to me taking the photograph, which has bothered me [sic]," he says.

He has also received positive feedback, not just in the form of support in the face of backlash, but for his work itself. The picture, social media users have said, is commendable for its subject, because "public displays of affection of a romantic nature are sternly frowned upon" in the country.

Some have criticised the photographer for clicking the picture without the couple's consent. "I didn't take permission per se, but they saw me taking the picture and didn't object," he says.

The photographer is no stranger to backlash of this kind. "In 2015, I had taken a photograph of the assassination of one of Bangladesh's most famous bloggers, Avijit Roy. I had clicked several pictures of the incident and took his body to the hospital. For shooting those pictures, I lost my job," he says.

Though Jibon has not been deterred from doing his job, this incident has evidently left an impact on him. "I can't stop clicking pictures, I am a photographer, after all. Of course, I am worried about my security, and I will reflect on what has happened in the past when I am in a similar situation in the future.

Purboposhchim has termed the buzz surrounding the issue "exaggerated and misleading", and the news coverage of the incident as being 'baseless' in an article published on its website. The article says that Jibon's 'mysterious' behaviour has caused confusion. It mentions that he is a contributing photographer with the news outlet, and that he visited the office after he had been attacked. The news outlet claims it wanted to take legal action against his attackers and that it co-operated with the police, and further goes on to say that the reason for this attack was not Jibon's professional work but rather his personal dealings.

They claim that he did not attend a meeting where this matter was to be addressed, and that he has not attended work since 24 July.

"The photographer's statement on the publication of the kiss image in rainy season is untrue and confusing. The image was released by Ahmed in his Facebook timeline and later sent to the office. Still we published different news with the picture and everyone at the editorial level congratulates him for taking this picture," reads the statement.

When Firstpost contacted Purboposhchim about the incident, the editor responded with the statement published on their website.

 With inputs from Suryasarathi Bhattacharya
By Baz Ratner and Cecilie Kallestrup NAIROBI (Reuters) - A blood-red moon dazzled star gazers across much of the world on Friday when the earth's natural satellite moved into the shadow of our planet for the longest lunar eclipse of the 21st Century. From the Cape of Good Hope to the Middle East, and from the Kremlin to Sydney Harbour, thousands of people turned their eyes to the stars to watch the moon which turned dark before shining orange, brown and crimson as it moved into the earth's shadow.

By Baz Ratner and Cecilie Kallestrup

NAIROBI (Reuters) - A blood-red moon dazzled star gazers across much of the world on Friday when the earth's natural satellite moved into the shadow of our planet for the longest lunar eclipse of the 21st Century.

From the Cape of Good Hope to the Middle East, and from the Kremlin to Sydney Harbour, thousands of people turned their eyes to the stars to watch the moon which turned dark before shining orange, brown and crimson as it moved into the earth's shadow.

The total eclipse will last 1 hour, 42 minutes and 57 seconds, though a partial eclipse preceded and follows, meaning the moon will spend a total of 3 hours and 54 minutes in the earth's umbral shadow, according to NASA.

The fullest eclipse, at 2022 GMT, was visible from Europe, Russia, Africa, the Middle East, much of Asia and Australia though clouds blocked out the moon in some places.

Reuters photographers charted the moon's rise across the world, from the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi to the Temple of Poseidon in Cape Sounion, near Athens.

In Nairobi, Kenyans watched as the moon darkened.

"This is what life is all about: Magical moments like this," said Teddy Muthusi as he watched from Uhuru Park in Nairobi. "Its just beautiful. Its well worth it."

On the banks of India's Ganges, temples were closed ahead of eclipse. In Singapore, enthusiasts watched through telescopes at the Marina South Pier. Hundreds of people in Australia paid to watch the eclipse from the Sydney Observatory before sunrise.

When the moon moved into the conical shadow of the earth, it went from being illuminated by the sun to being dark. Some light, though, still reaches it because it is bent by the earth's atmosphere.

(Graphic of eclipse https://tmsnrt.rs/2JP09kK)

"It's called a blood moon because the light from the sun goes through the earth's atmosphere on its way to the moon, and the earth's atmosphere turns it red in the same way that when the sun goes down it goes red," Andrew Fabian, professor of astronomy at the University of Cambridge, told Reuters.

At the same time, Mars is travelling closer to earth than it has done since 2003, so some observers may see what looks like an orange-red star - and is in fact the red planet.

"It is a very unusual coincidence to have a total lunar eclipse and Mars at opposition on the same night," said Robert Massey, deputy executive director of the Royal Astronomical Society, who watched the eclipse from the Mediterranean Sea.

For thousands of years, man has looked to the heavens for omens of doom, victory and joy. The Bible contains references to the moon turning into blood and some ultra-Orthodox Jews consider lunar eclipses ominous and a cause for moral contemplation.

According to some Hindu beliefs, celestial bodies such as the sun and moon emit negative energy during an eclipse and so some temples in India were closed to minimize any disturbance.

Astronomers, though, said there was no cause for worry.

"There is no reason to believe that blood moons foretell doom," said Massey. "This does not herald the apocalypse: seeing a lunar eclipse and Mars in the sky is something people should enjoy rather than worry about."

The eclipse of the moon will not be visible from North America or most of the Pacific. The next lunar eclipse of such a length is due in 2123.

(Writing by Guy Faulconbridge in London; Additional reporting by Dan Williams in Jerusalem, Amr Abdallah Dalsh in Cairo, Alkis Konstantinidis in Cape Sounion, near Athens, Greece, Christopher Pike in Abu Dhabi and Colin Packham in Sydney. Editing by Hugh Lawson, Andrew Bolton and Andrew Heavens)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
By Prak Chan Thul and Amy Sawitta Lefevre PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - At the Toul Kork Primary School in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh volunteers swept classrooms and laid out wooden desks on Saturday, transforming rooms into polling booths ahead a general election Prime Minister Hun Sen is expected to easily win. 'I believe voters will come out to vote,' Yos Vanthan, head of the school's election committee, told Reuters.

By Prak Chan Thul and Amy Sawitta Lefevre

PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - At the Toul Kork Primary School in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh volunteers swept classrooms and laid out wooden desks on Saturday, transforming rooms into polling booths ahead a general election Prime Minister Hun Sen is expected to easily win.

"I believe voters will come out to vote," Yos Vanthan, head of the school's election committee, told Reuters.

Hun Sen's critics have called for an election boycott, saying that without any real opposition to the government, the poll will be a shame.

Voting is not mandatory, but authorities have warned that anyone who boycotts the vote will be seen as a "traitor".

Nineteen political parties are running against Hun Sen's ruling Cambodian People's Party (CPP) but none are strongly critical of the prime minister or the government.

His main challenge the opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), which narrowly lost the last election in 2013, was dissolved by the Supreme Court last year and many of its lawmakers banned from politics for five years.

Hun Sen, a former Khmer Rouge commander who eventually defected from Pol Pot's murderous regime, has been in power for more than 30 years and is the world's longest serving prime minister.

Many CNRP leaders have fled abroad and are living in self-imposed exile and its leader, Kem Sokha, was jailed in September on treason charges, leaving Hun Sen, who has ruled for 33 years, with no significant opponent.

Some Western countries and the United Nations have questioned the credibility of the election because of the lack of any significant opposition. Rights groups have criticised restrictions placed on independent media and civil society.

Officials say they don't expect any violence on election day, but last week authorities put on a show of power, with police displaying anti-riot gear and assault rifles in the capital in a move meant to discourage any street protests.

Police on Saturday arrested four farmers and accused them of planting a grenade at a polling station in the country's northern Preah Vihear province, provincial police chief Ying Samnang said in police report. The device did not explode.

Dim Sovannarom, a spokesman for the National Election Committee, who inspected the Toul Kork Primary School in Boeung Kak 1 commune on Saturday, said the commission expects more than 60 percent of registered voters to cast their ballot.

Nearly 70 percent cast their ballot during the last general election in 2013.

"We expect more than 60 percent in the whole country," Dim Sovannarom told reporters, before unveiling grey metal polling boxes donated by the Japanese government.

But some Cambodians see no point in voting and a low-voter turnout could undermine the CPP's claims to legitimacy.

"Why should I vote? It makes no difference," said an airport taxi driver from the southwestern province of Takeo. He declined to be named for fear of repercussions.

Mu Sochua, CNRP deputy president, said any country that does not denounce the election cannot call itself democratic.

"Any country supporting, or that is hesitant to denounce the election as a sham, should not call itself on the side of democracy," Mu Sochua told Reuters.

Critics, including exiled opposition members, have called for targeted sanctions against Hun Sen's government and its allies following his pre-election crackdown.

On Wednesday, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a long-awaited Cambodia Democracy Act, paving the way for sanctions to be imposed against Hun Sen's inner circle.

This week Japan said it would not send observers to the election despite doing so in numerous elections in the past.

(Writing by Amy Sawitta Lefevre; Editing by Shri Navaratnam and Michael Perry)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
Texas authorities say five people have been killed following separate shootings that included a nursing home in a Corpus Christi suburb.

Corpus Christi, Texas: Texas authorities say five people have been killed following separate shootings that included a nursing home in a Corpus Christi suburb.

Robstown City Secretary Herman Rodriguez says via Twitter that three people were killed Friday following a shooting at the Retama Manor nursing home. Two additional men were found dead in a home linked to that shooting.

Rodriguez says officers responded to the nursing home about 7 pm. Friday and found two men and a woman dead. He says a phone call from family members prompted police to visit the residence of one of the nursing home victims, where two more men were found dead. The shooter was among those killed.

Rodriguez said authorities believe the shootings are related but have not identified the victims or established a possible motive.
Activists blocked roads and clashed with police in Honduras as part of nationwide protests against re-election of President Juan Orlando Hernandez.

Tegucigalpa: Activists blocked roads and clashed with police in Honduras as part of nationwide protests against the contested re-election of President Juan Orlando Hernandez.

Dozens of people have been killed and hundreds jailed since Hernandez was declared the winner of the 26 November run-off election after a three week stretch of often-interrupted ballot counting that stoked tensions and sparked accusations of fraud in the Central American country.

The left-wing Alliance in Opposition against the dictatorship is heading a protest campaign insisting that the election was stolen from its candidate, former TV anchor Salvador Nasrallah.

The opposition called for a "national strike" on Saturday to block the country's main roads ahead of the start of the president's new term in office on 27 January. The government deployed police and soldiers to confront protesters.

One demonstrator was shot dead on Saturday, opposition leader and former president Manuel Zelaya told AFP, identifying the victim as Anselmo Villareal, 60.

Seven other demonstrators were detained and two police were hurt, police spokesman Jair Meza said.

A military spokesman, Lieutenant Jose Coello, told AFP that some highways had been blocked "but they are being

cleared in a peaceful manner." Coello said police confiscated tires, presumably to be set ablaze, that protesters were carrying in their vehicles.

Protesters blocked the country's main highway between Tegucigalpa and San Pedro Sula at a point about 100 kilometers north of the capital, local media reported.

In Tegucigalpa, police fired tear gas at protesters trying to block a road and burn tires. The demonstrators responded by hurling rocks. Hernandez has implicit backing from the United States, which is pouring millions of dollars into Honduras and neighboring Guatemala and El Salvador to improve security conditions there. Those three countries, collectively known as Central America's "Northern Triangle," are the biggest source of undocumented migrants heading to the United States.
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Jailed former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in article published on Friday that if he is elected again in October he would seek a popular referendum to reverse the sale of assets of state-run companies like Petrobras and Eletrobras . Lula also vowed to stop a planned $4.75 billion joint venture that would give Boeing Co a controlling stake in the commercial aircraft arm of Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA

BRASILIA (Reuters) - Jailed former Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in article published on Friday that if he is elected again in October he would seek a popular referendum to reverse the sale of assets of state-run companies like Petrobras and Eletrobras .

Lula also vowed to stop a planned $4.75 billion joint venture that would give Boeing Co a controlling stake in the commercial aircraft arm of Brazilian planemaker Embraer SA .

Lula, still Brazil's most popular politician despite serving time for a corruption conviction, will be nominated as a presidential candidate by his Workers Party on Sunday but he is expected to be barred from running by the country's top electoral court.

In his op/ed article in the Correio Braziliense, Lula lambasted incumbent President Michel Temer for handing over the country's resources to foreign companies with concessions that grant access to billions of barrels of oil.

"The sale of control over Embraer to Boeing is part of that same hand-over policy, forfeiting one of the most advanced sectors of Brazilian industry and one of the pillars of our defense strategy," he wrote.

The privatisation of Brazil's largest utility, state-run Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA, known as Eletrobras, is another example of "national destruction," Lula said.

He said he was committed to revoking all measures that hurt Brazil's independence and would do so by means of a referendum.

Lula argued his imprisonment was part of a process of "national submission."

"They want to exclude me from the election and silence my voice, in an attempt to intimidate and silence the Brazilian people while their resources are being openly looted," he said.

(Reporting by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Bill Trott)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
North Korea returned the remains of US troops who were killed in the Korean War 65 years ago, strengthening ties between Washington and Pyongyang

Washington: North Korea on Friday returned the remains of the US troops killed during the Korean War 65 years ago, giving a new momentum to the diplomatic relations between Washington and Pyongyang that had shown signs of stalling in recent weeks.

A US Air Force plane carrying the remains of an unknown number of US soldiers who died during the 1950-1953 war arrived in Osan Air Base in South Korea from North Korea, the White House said.

The repatriation followed an agreement reached between North Korea leader Kim Jong-un and US President Donald Trump in Singapore on 12 June.

White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said a formal repatriation ceremony will be held on 1 August. Trump thanked the Korean leader for the action taken. "After so many years, this will be a great moment for so many families. Thank you to Kim Jong-un," the US president tweeted.

27 July, 2018 marks the 65th anniversary of the armistice that ended fighting in the Korean war. North Korea celebrates it as the day of victory in the fatherland liberation war.

Sanders said at the "historic meeting" in Singapore, Trump and Jong-un took a bold first step to achieve the complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula, transform relations between the US and North Korea and establish enduring peace.

"Today, the chairman is fulfilling part of the commitment he made to the president to return our fallen American service members. We are encouraged by North Korea's actions and the momentum for positive change," she said.

The move, Sanders said, represents a significant first step to resume field operations in North Korea to search for the estimated 5,300 Americans who have not yet returned home. As per media reports, about 7,700 US soldiers are listed as missing from the Korean war, and 5,300 of the remains are believed to still be in North Korea. The war killed millions, including 36,000 American soldiers.

Between 1996 and 2005, joint US-North Korea military search teams conducted 33 recovery operations that collected 229 sets of American remains.

The last time North Korea turned over remains was in 2007, when Bill Richardson, a former UN ambassador and New Mexico governor, secured the return of six sets, according to a media report.
A multi-party conference in Pakistan rejected the 'rigged' general election results. They demanded a 'transparent' and fair re-election

Islamabad: Opposition parties in Pakistan rejected the election results unanimously, and demanded a transparent and free and fair re-election, late on Friday.

The multi-party conference (MPC) called to devise a joint strategy over alleged rigging in the 2018 general elections of Pakistan, demanded a "transparent" re-election and said the polls were "rigged massively" and the results were manipulated. But the parties have not yet decided if they wanted to take an oath and for a coalition government.

Attended by leaders of various parties, the MPC was chaired by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) president Shahbaz Sharif and Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) President Maulana Fazlur Rehman. It was held at the Islamabad residence of MMA leader Mian Aslam, Dawn reported.

"The APC (all parties conference) has completely rejected the 25 July elections with consensus," announced Rehman while addressing the media after the conference concluded. "We do not consider this election to be the mandate of the public" he said.

The Pakistan People's Party (PPP) had earlier on Friday decided not to attend the conference, with a spokesperson saying its leadership will devise its own strategy regarding alleged poll irregularities.

The chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari rejected the election process and claimed the General Election 2018 was not free and fair, Geo News reported.

Bilawal, while addressing a press conference on Friday, demanded the resignation of the chief election commissioner over failure to conduct transparent polls.

He said the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) is responsible for carrying out transparent polls and that the electoral body failed in its task.

"We don't accept the results of the elections," he said.

In attendance at the MPC were Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Senator Sirajul Haq, Sindh Governor Mohammad Zubair, Gilgit-Baltistan Chief Minister Hafeezur Rehman, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider, Awami National Party chief Asfandyar Wali Khan, Qaumi Watan Party chairman Aftab Ahmad Khan Sherpao, National Party's Senator Mir Hasil Bizenjo and several MMA leaders.

PML-N leaders Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, Ayaz Sadiq, Marriyum Aurangzeb, Chaudhry Tanveer and Khurram Dastagir and Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) leaders Mustafa Kamal, Raza Haroon and Waseem Ahmed also participated.

Interestingly, Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM-P) leader Farooq Sattar also showed up to the conference, despite reports that his party has agreed to join the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)-led government in the centre after a contact between PTI leader Jehangir Tareen and Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui.

Speaking at the MPC, Sattar alleged that the 25 July polls were "rigged massively" and the results were altered. "Results of their choice were devised and the party of their choice was made to win," he claimed.

The MMA had on Thursday rejected the poll results outright, calling for declaring the entire electoral exercise "null and void".

The recently revived alliance of five religio-political parties suffered a drubbing in the elections and even its chief, Maulana Fazlur Rehman, and JI chief Sirajul Haq tasted defeat in their native constituencies.

The PML-N too had decided to take all major parties, including the PPP and obviously excluding the PTI, on board to formulate a joint strategy to take up the rigging issue that it believes has deprived it of majority in the coming National Assembly.
Imran Khan has started reaching out to leaders of different political parties and Independent candidates to form the next government in Pakistan after his party won a majority of seats in Parliament, according to his party officials.

Islamabad: Imran Khan has started reaching out to leaders of different political parties and Independent candidates to form the next government in Pakistan after his party won a majority of seats in Parliament, according to his party officials.

Khan led his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to victory in the parliamentary elections this week, amid a growing consensus among South Asia experts and Pakistan-observers that it was greatly influenced and meddled by the strong Pakistani Army.

The PTI has so far bagged 115 of the 270 National Assembly (NA) seats on which elections were held, according to the Election Commission of Pakistan which has released results on 267 seats.

Pakistan's National Assembly (NA)  the lower house of Parliament  comprises a total of 342 members, of which 272 are directly elected. A party can only form the government if it manages to secure 172 seats in total.

Jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 64 and former president Asif Ali Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 43 seats are placed at number two and three respectively. Independent candidates have won 13 seats.

Khan on Friday met Saudi ambassador Nawaf Saeed Ahmad al-Malilki in Islamabad. The two discussed bilateral relations and agreed to further deepen the ties during the tenure of the PTI government.

According to PTI sources, Khan has consulted his party leaders about the federal cabinet and formation of government in Punjab where PML-N is also in the race.

Khan's confidante Jehangir Khan Tarin, who has been tasked to contact Independent candidates, talked with Muttahidda Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui who later refused to attend a multi-party meeting which rejected the election results.

The multi-party meeting called to devise a joint strategy over alleged rigging in the general elections rejected the results of the poll on Friday, demanding a "transparent" re-election. The meeting in Islamabad was chaired by PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif and Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) president Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

Meanwhile Khan also took his party leaders in confidence about government formation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa where the PTI has won a majority of seats and will easily form the government.

It is likely to retain former chief minister Pervaiz Khattak for the top job in the province despite some reservations about his performance.

Khattak is considered to be close to Khan since school days as both studied in the same Atchison College in Lahore.

The party is also trying to have a coalition government in Balochistan.

Khan has still about three weeks to prepare for the government before the mandatory session of the NA is called after elections.

As per the law, the president of Pakistan should convene the maiden NA session within 21 days of election to give oaths to lawmakers and elect the new speaker.
Taliban insurgents met with top US official Alice Wells and discussed peace deals in Qatar according to a senior official with the insurgent group

Islamabad: The Taliban held their first direct contact with a US official in a preliminary discussion about future peace talks on Afghanistan, a senior official with the insurgent group said on Saturday.

It marked one of the most significant developments amid efforts to find a negotiated end to the country's protracted war.

The official described as "useful" a meeting with Alice Wells, the US's top diplomat for South Asia, earlier this week. He said the meeting was held in the small West Asian country of Qatar, where the Taliban have maintained a political office since 2013.

"The environment was positive and the discussion was useful," the Taliban official told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media.

US officials neither confirmed nor denied a meeting took place. However, Wells was in Doha, the Qatar capital, this week.

In a statement following her return, the State Department said only that Wells had been in Doha, had met with the ruling family and "the US is exploring all avenues to advance a peace process in close consultation with the Afghan government." Any talks about a future political setup would be between the Taliban and the Afghan government, the statement said.

The Taliban have long demanded direct talks with Washington, saying they do not want to talk politics with the US but instead meet face to face to discuss Washington's concerns - particularly its security concerns - about the Taliban and Taliban involvement in Afghanistan's future. They also say they want a time frame for the withdrawal of the roughly 15,000 US and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) troops still in Afghanistan.

It wasn't clear when the next meeting would be held or with whom, but the Taliban official who spoke to The Associated Press was certain one would be held.

A former Taliban minister and ex-head of their political committee, Aga Jan Mohtism, who has maintained close contacts with the insurgent group, also confirmed a meeting in Doha between US officials and the Taliban took place earlier this week.

"The Taliban want to solve their problems with the Americans to end the invasion," he said.

The Taliban have argued that the Afghan government cannot act independent of Washington. They also say that unless they can allay US concerns about the group, an agreement with Kabul would be meaningless.

During the Taliban's five-year rule that ended with the 2001 US-led invasion, leader Mullah Mohammed Omar said regardless of whatever concessions they agreed to, including allowing girls to attend school, it would not gain them international recognition as long as the US refused to accept them.

The current leadership, most of whom are Mullah Omar's contemporaries, still believe their future in Afghanistan can be guaranteed only if the US' concerns are addressed.

Until now, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's national security team has said it is ready to hold talks with the Taliban at any time and that their allies, including the US, should participate only as observers.

In Kabul on Saturday, Shah Hussain Murtazawi, deputy spokesman for Ghani, repeated the government's oft-stated position that peace talks should be "Afghan owned and Afghan led, any assistance the allies provide (would be in) a supportive role."

Murtazawi did not comment directly on the meeting in Doha or say whether Ghani's government was aware that the meeting had been held.

A previous attempt at direct talks between Washington and the Taliban in 2013 also in Doha, was scuttled when then-Afghan President Hamid Karzai objected to the Taliban calling its office the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan  the name of its government  and flying the flag the movement flew when they ruled Afghanistan.

At the time the direct talks, which the Taliban also said would be restricted to US concerns about the movement and troop withdrawal, was to be followed by talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

There was also a suggestion at the time that the talks would include the freedom of five Taliban held in the US prison at Guantanamo Bay and the release of captured US soldier Bowe Bergdahl. His release was eventually secured in May 2014 in exchange for the five Taliban prisoners, who are living in Doha.
At the time of the attack on the midwife centre in Jalalabad in Afghanistan, at least 67 people, including students and teachers, were inside the building.

A militant attack on a midwife training centre in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday killed at least two people and wounded five, officials said, after the more than six-hour assault was brought to an end by security forces. At least 67 people, including students and teachers, were inside the centre in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, at the time of the attack, provincial governor spokesperson Attaullah Khogyani told AFP.

Nangarhar police chief Ghulam Sanyee Stanikzai told AFP two people  a guard and a driver  were killed and five others wounded. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack, but most of the recent assaults in the city have been carried out by the Islamic State (IS) group, which has a stronghold in Nangarhar. The Taliban denied involvement in a WhatsApp message sent to reporters.

Provincial health department spokesperson Inamullah Miakhil said 48 women from remote districts of the province were enrolled in the two-year midwifery course. The training facility, which is near the centre of Jalalabad in an area where several international organisations and consulates have offices, is funded by the Ministry of Public Health.

"We don't know why the midwife centre came under attack," Miakhil told AFP, adding that all NGOs and government bodies in Jalalabad were at risk.

A witness in a nearby department told AFP he heard several explosions and then saw three gunmen enter the street where the midwife centre is located. Some of the security forces earlier appeared to dismantle improvised explosive devices apparently planted in the street by the militants, a witness told AFP.

Jalalabad has been the scene of several attacks in recent months that have killed dozens, as US and Afghan forces continue offensive operations against IS and Taliban militants.

Health workers a target

Government buildings are a common target for insurgents, including hospitals and medical facilities. It is not known why the gunmen targeted the midwife training centre. Midwives have been attacked in the past for providing reproductive health services to women, though such attacks appear to be rare.

Islamist groups  and many ordinary Afghans  also oppose women working outside the home. While thousands of women have been trained as midwives since the 2001 US-led invasion, Afghanistan still has one of the highest maternal and child mortality rates in the world.

The last major attack in Jalalabad happened on 11 July when gunmen raided an education department compound in the city, sparking an hours-long battle with security forces. At least 11 people were killed in the attack. All were employees of the education department branch and included the director.

A suicide bomb attack claimed by IS on a crowd of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus in Jalalabad on 1 July killed at least 19 people and wounded 21.

The Taliban is Afghanistan's largest militant group and IS has a relatively small but potent presence, mainly in the east and north of the country. It first emerged in Afghanistan in 2014 and quickly established a stronghold in Nangarhar. Intensified aerial and ground operations against the militants have failed to dislodge them.

An unprecedented three-day ceasefire involving Afghan security forces and the Taliban last month did not include IS. The first formal nationwide truce since 2001 was marred by two IS suicide attacks in Nangarhar.

While the Afghan government and its foreign backers are seeking to strike a peace deal with the Taliban, US forces have repeatedly said they plan to annihilate IS.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has submitted a list of 35 potential witnesses for the Virginia trial of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort due to begin next Tuesday, court documents filed on Friday showed. The list included Manafort's longtime business associate Richard Gates, who was indicted in October at the same time as Manafort

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller has submitted a list of 35 potential witnesses for the Virginia trial of President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman Paul Manafort due to begin next Tuesday, court documents filed on Friday showed.

The list included Manafort's longtime business associate Richard Gates, who was indicted in October at the same time as Manafort. Gates pleaded guilty in February and has been cooperating in Mueller's probe.

Also on the list was Tad Devine, a consultant who worked with Manafort in Ukraine and served as the chief strategist for Democratic presidential contender Senator Bernie Sanders in 2016. He is assisting federal prosecutors in the case against Manafort.

Manafort has pleaded not guilty to 18 counts of bank and tax fraud and failure to file reports of foreign bank and financial accounts.

Many of the witnesses are executives at banks and financial services firms. The list suggests Mueller plans to use witnesses to corroborate and supplement documentary evidence showing the alleged bank and tax fraud at the heart of the trial in Virginia.

Five of the witnesses, all financial professionals, were identified previously when they were granted immunity to testify.

The trial had been scheduled to start this past Wednesday, but U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III delayed it until next week and directed Mueller to provide his witness list to lawyers for the defence.

Among Manafort associates not on the list are Jeffrey Yohai, Manafort's former son-in-law and business partner.

The charges against Manafort largely pre-date the five months he worked on the Trump team in 2016, some of them as campaign chairman.

None of the charges relate to possible coordination with Russian officials by members of the Trump campaign, which is part of Mueller's investigation into Russia's interference in the election. Russia denies election interference and Trump denies collusion.

Manafort faces a second criminal trial in Washington in September on related charges, including witness tampering, in connection with lobbying work he performed for the pro-Russia Ukrainian government.

(Reporting by Eric Beech; Additional reporting by Nathan Layne in New York; Editing by David Alexander and Will Dunham)

This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed.
This week Xiaomi introduced the Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite Android One smartphones at an event in Spain globally, Honor launched the Honor 9N smartphone in India, Huami launched the Amazfit BIP and Stratos smartwatches in India, Huawei launched the Nova 3 and Nova 3i smartphones in India, and lots more.

Xiaomi this week announced Mi A2 and Mi A2 Lite smartphones. These are the global variants of the Mi 6X and Redmi 6 Pro, respectively and pack FHD+ displays, dual rear cameras and run Android 8.1 (Oreo). The Mi A2 is powered by Snapdragon 660 with up to 6GB RAM, has 12MP + 20MP dual rear cameras, 20MP front camera and a 3010mAh battery.

The Mi A2 Lite is powered by Snapdragon 625 with up to 4GB RAM , has 12MP + 5MP dual rear cameras, dedicated dual SIM and microSD slots and a 4000mAh battery. The Xiaomi Mi A2 will launch in India on August 8th, but the Mi A2 Lite is not expected to come to India.

Huaweis Honor brand launched the Honor 9N, the global version of the Honor 9i (2018). It has a 5.84-inch FHD+ 19:9 display with a notch, is powered by Kirin 659 SoC with 4GB RAM and runs Android 8.0 (Oreo) with EMUI 8.0, similar to the Huawei P20 Lite, but this has a 13-megapixel rear camera along with a 2-megapixel secondary camera for portrait shots and a 16-megapixel camera on the front with support for smart face unlock.

It comes in Lavender Purple, Robin Egg Blue, Sapphire Blue and Midnight Black colors, is priced at Rs. 11,999 for the 3GB RAM with 32GB storage version, Rs. 13,999 for the 4GB RAM with 64GB version and the 128GB version of it costs Rs. 17,999. It will be available exclusively on Flipkart starting from 31st July. Check out the review here.

Huawei launched Nova 3 and Nova 3i smartphones in India. Both these have a 6.3-inch FHD+ 19:5:9 aspect ratio curved glass display with a notch, come with dual front and rear cameras and run Android 8.1 (Oreo) with EMUI 8.2. The Nova 3 is powered by Kirin 970 SoC with 6GB of RAM and support for GPU Turbo that promises 60% increase in performance, 30% battery saving and comes with 4D gaming experience, thanks to AI real-time image & sound recognition, intelligent game vibration, it can detect 10 different vibrations for 30 different scenarios.

The Nova 3i is powered by new Kirin 710 Octa-Core 12nm SoC with support for GPU Turbo feature and has 4GB of RAM. Both the have 3D Qmoji, which is similar to Apples Animoji.

The Huawei Nova 3 and 3i come in Black and Iris Purple color. The Nova 3 comes is priced at Rs. 34,999 and will be available exclusively from Amazon.in and the the Nova 3i is priced at Rs. 20,990, and will be available exclusively from Amazon.in. Both these will be available from August 7th, and pre-bookings have begun already.

Huami launched its Amazfit BIP and Stratos smartwatches in India, as it had promised. Both these have multi-sport tracking, heart rate sensor and have built-in GPS. The Amazfit BIP promises up to 45 days of battery life, thanks to its 1.28-inch ( 176 x 176 pixels) Always-on display, while the Stratos promises up to 5 days of battery life since it has bigger 1.34-inch (320 X 300 pixels) color Always-on LCD touch screen.

The Xiaomi Amazfit BIP comes in Onyx Black, Cinnabar Red, White Cloud and Kokoda Green colors and costs Rs. 5,499 and the Amazfit Stratos comes in Black color and is priced at Rs. 15,999. Both these are available exclusively from Flipkart.

Optiemus Infracom Limited launched the Blackerry KEY2 in India. It was introduced last month and packs a 4.5-inch (1620 x 1080 pixels) display with 3:2 aspect ratio and has a 4-row QWERTY physical backlit keyboard with keys that respond to touch gestures. It is powered by Snapdragon 660 SoC with 6GB of RAM, runs Android 8.1 (Oreo) with Blackberry Security features, comes with a 12-megapixel dual rear cameras with 1.28 micrometer primary camera with Dual PDAF and an 8-megapixel front camera.

It features a series 7 aluminum frame, diamond patterned back with soft touch and packs a 3360mAh battery with Qualcomm Quick Charge 3.0 fast charging that promises 25 hours of battery life with mixed use. It comes in Black color, is priced at Rs. 42,990 and will be available exclusively from Amazon.in starting 31st July.

Sony Mobile launched the Xperia XZ2, the companys flagship smartphone in India. It was introduced at the MWC 2018 in Barcelona earlier this year, packs a 5.7-inch Full HD+ 18:9 HDR screen with Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection, is powered by an Octa-Core Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform and runs Android 8.0 (Oreo). It has a 3D glass body and features the same Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection on the back. It also has front facing stereo speakers with S-Force Front Surround.

It comes in Liquid Black color in India, is priced at Rs. 72,990 and will be available from August 1 through Sony Centre and select mobile stores in India.

Comio launched X1, the companys latest smartphone in the X series in India, after the launch of X1 Note. It has a 5.5-inch HD+ 18:9 display, is powered by a quad-core MediaTek processor with 2GB of RAM, runs Android 8.0 (Oreo), has a 13-megapixel rear camera with LED flash and a 8-megapixel front camera with LED flash, face unlock and portrait mode for both the front and rear cameras.

It comes in Red Hot, Sunrise Gold and Royal Black colors, is priced at Rs. 7499, and is available exclusively on Flipkart.

Lava launched Android Oreo (Go edition) smartphone Z61. It has a 5.45-inch HD+ Full View Full-lamination 2.5D curved glass display with Corning Gorilla Glass protection, is powered by a 1.5GHz Quad-Core processor with 1GB of RAM, has an 8-megapixel autofocus rear camera and a 5-megapixel front camera with screen and LED flash and Bokeh Mode.

It comes in Black and Gold colors, is priced at Rs. 5750 and will be available in more than 80,000 retail outlets. The Lava Z61 variant with 2GB RAM, Android 8.1 (Oreo) will be launched in August, 2018, but the pricing for it has not been announced yet.

Tecno launched the companys latest mid-range Camon i Twin smartphone in India. It has a 6-inch HD+ 18:9 FullView display with 87.48% screen-to-body ratio, is powered by Snapdragon 425 with 3GB of RAM and runs on Android 8.1 (Oreo) with the companys own HiOS on top. It has a 13-megapixel rear camera with Quad LED flash along with a secondary 2-megapixel camera for AI portrait shots and a 13-megapixel front camera with LED flash and AI beauty. It comes in Midnight black and Champagne gold colors, is priced at Rs. 11,499 and is available from offline stores.

Samsung launched the new Gear IconX wireless earbuds in India. It has a lightweight, ergonomic design, offers comfortable yet secure fit to last through the most intense activity. It features Bixby voice command support which can be enabled by tapping and holding the earbud to use your voice to control your music or your phone as well.



It comes in Black colour, is priced at Rs. 13,990 at major retail outlets, Samsung Online Shop and Flipkart.

Panasonic India launched its new OLED TVs along with 11 models in the 4K segment. The new OLED line-up comes in 55-inch FZ950 and 65-inch FZ1000 series. The company says that both these series are equipped with features like Hexa Chroma Drive PRO color management system.

The OLED line-up comes in 55-inch and 65-inch and they starts at Rs 2,99,000. While the 4K series starts at Rs 65,000 in India.
With Samsung prepping for the Note 9 launch, it is all everyone talks these days. However, the company is also working on Tab S4 flagship tablet and Galaxy Tab A2 XL which is a mid-range tablet. If rumors are to be believed, it is expected to be one of the non-flagship models to get a dedicated Bixby button.

That doesnt end here, thanks to sources and firmware files discovered by SamMobile, we are getting to the specifications of the Tab A2 XL tablet in its full glory. The tablet is said to sport a 10.5-inch (19201200 resolution) LCD display pixels and is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 450 Octa-Core processor. It is expected to pack 3GB of RAM, along with 32GB of storage.

As for the optics, the tablet features an 8MP rear camera and a 5MP front camera. It is said to pack a massive 7,300 mAh battery and runs on Android 8.1 Oreo. The tablet will come in both Wi-Fi-only and LTE-enabled.

The Galaxy Tab A2 XL could be yet another Samsung device without any physical navigation keys and it might not pack an iris scanner or a fingerprint sensor, so it might feature a facial recognition for security. At this moment, we dont have a clear information about the launch date or release schedule, so stay tuned.

Source, Image
The United States calls for the release of an imprisoned American Protestant pastor. The man is accused of espionage and terrorism for alleged ties with the PKK and Fethullah Gulen. Donald Trump threatens sanctions. Erdogan wants in turn the extradition of Gulen.

Ankara (AsiaNews / Agencies) - US President Donald Trump is threatening Turkey with "serious sanctions" if the American Protestant pastor arrested on charges of espionage is not released soon.

On Twitter, Trump described the religious as a "formidable Christian and father of a family, that has suffered a lot. This innocent man must be released immediately ". Already a week ago he called Andrew Brunson's detention during the trial a "shame". The man has been in prison since October 2016.

The pastor faces 35 years in prison. The charge of terrorism and espionage for alleged ties with the PKK and the Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen, who took refuge in the United States and accused by Ankara of orchestrating the failed coup d'etat in 2016, hang over him.

Even US Vice President Mike Pence announces serious consequences: "If Turkey does not take immediate measures to free this innocent man and send him back to America, the United States will impose significant sanctions against Turkey until he is freed".

Turkeyhas set Gulen's extradition as a condition for Brunson's release. The head of Turkish diplomacy Mevlut Cavusoglu declares that the US administration "must understand that it can not achieve results by threatening Turkey. Nobody can give orders to Turkey. We do not tolerate anyone's threats ".
Samsung is known to be working on the Galaxy Tab S4; flagship tablet in the Tab S-series. Though there is no official launch date of the tablet, Samsung seems to be holding a brief event on August 1st and according to sources, the company might be launching the Tab S4 at the event, and will not be waiting until IFA to unveil the tablet.

We have already seen renders, press images of the Tab S4 revealing whats to come. The tablet also comes in a white version and this model has black bezels on the front and the back is in white. The S Pen bundled is also in white color and is different compared to the one that came with the Tab S3.

As for specifications; the Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 is said to sport a 10.5-inch Super AMOLED display (25601600 pixel resolution) with a 16:10 aspect ratio. It is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 SoC with 4GB LPDDR4X RAM and 64GB of storage. It will run on Android 8.1 Oreo out of the box with Experience U.I. In terms of camera, it has a 13-megapixel rear and 8-megapixel front camera.

Connectivity features include a USB 3.1 port, Bluetooth 5, GPS and Wi-Fi 802.11 ac. In addition, it will come with AKG-tuned audio, and will also support DeX. It will not have a fingerprint sensor, instead, the Galaxy Tab S4 will rely on iris scanner. It will also feature a new S Pen, but it is unclear at this point if the S Pen will have Bluetooth support and additional features like the Galaxy Note 9s S Pen.

Samsung Galaxy Tab S4 rumored specifications

10.5-inch (25601600 pixel) WQXGA Super AMOLED 16:10 aspect ratio display

Octa-Core Snapdragon 835 Mobile Platform with Adreno 540 GPU

4GB LPDDR4X RAM, 64GB internal memory, expandable memory up to 256GB with microSD

Android 8.1 (Oreo)

13MP rear camera

8MP front-facing camera

Iris scanner

AKG-tuned audio, S Pen

4G LTE, Wi-Fi 802.11ac (2X2 MIMO), Bluetooth 5 LE, GPS + GLONASS, USB 3.1 Type-C

7,300mAh battery with Fast Charging

It is unclear why Samsung is hosting the Galaxy Tab S4 launch event few days before the Note 9 announcement, but with Galaxy Watch rumoured to launch alongside the Note 9, the event on August 1st can be seen as a move to gain attention. Stay tuned for more details.

Source
We can't all be expected to love our jobs, but these days, it seems like most workers have the complete opposite sentiment. According to a report by the Conference Board, a nonprofit research group, roughly 52% of Americans are unhappy at work. That's a big jump from 1987, the first year the survey was conducted, when only 39% were dissatisfied with their jobs.

Given the number of hours the typical worker spends each week on the job, it's troubling to learn just how many of us are, in fact, miserable. If you're among the majority of workers who identify as disgruntled more so than anything else, it may be time for a new job or even a career change -- before your sanity and well-being take a major hit in the process.

What's making us unhappy?

It's one thing to feel pressured at work in the days leading up to a major deadline, or get bored with a particular task that's part of your everyday set of responsibilities. But it's another thing to be generally dissatisfied across the board. Unfortunately, that's where most workers are.

When asked about various aspects of workplace life, from compensation to time off to benefits to job security, most workers were happier three decades ago than they are today. And given what we know about some of these factors, that's not all too surprising.

The median income in the U.S. is roughly $56,000 a year, and while that may be enough to get by in some parts of the country, in other areas, it's not even close. Then there's vacation. While some companies are fairly generous with their policies, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research, the average American worker gets only 10 days of paid time off per year. Worse yet, almost 25% of U.S. employees get no paid vacation time at all. And while most workers are offered a 401(k) through their jobs to help with retirement savings, more than 40% don't have access to an employer-sponsored plan. It's no wonder, then, that so many workers consider themselves unhappy on the whole.

Now there is a bit of positive news: Despite the aforementioned complaints, most employees have some good things to say about their jobs. In fact, 59% claim they're interested in what they do, while just over 60% say they like the people they work with. Still, it's hard to overlook the fact that the bulk of workers are ultimately displeased with at least one major aspect of their employment situation.

Time to make a move?

If you're among the countless Americans who identify as unhappy at work, it's time to change things up rather than subject yourself to many more years of misery. You can start by making a list of the things you don't like about your current job, and ranking them from most to least significant. This will help guide your job search so you can find a role that's more likely to make you happy.

Imagine you're unhappy with not only your compensation but the actual work you're doing. If earning an inadequate salary is your single greatest point of dissatisfaction, then you should focus on finding a role with a considerably higher base. On the other hand, if you're bored sick of punching numbers into a database day in and day out, you may want to find a more creative role and focus on salary second.

Of course, if you have a compelling reason to stay at your current company (say, to vest in a 401(k) or collect some sort of bonus), then it pays to talk to your employer about why you're unhappy and see if anything can be done to address it. While you may not score an instant raise or get an extra week of vacation out of nowhere, your manager might be willing to let you dabble in new things to address the boredom factor.

Whether you're unhappy on the job due to money, stress, or any other reason, don't just resign yourself to a lifetime of work-related gloom. Instead, dust off that resume, comb through those job listings, and get ready to network like crazy. You deserve to be happy at work, so if you're stuck in a lousy job situation, now's the time to start planning your much-needed escape.
This has turned out to be another game-changing year for the legal marijuana industry. According to cannabis research firm ArcView, sales of legal pot in North America surged by 33% to $9.7 billion in 2017, and they're on pace to grow by an average of 28% per year through 2021. That'd put North American sales on track for almost $25 billion in annual sales by the end of 2021.

But it's not just the sales figures that have enthusiasts and investors in awe. It's the progress being made at the legal level. On June 19, Canada's Parliament, after months of debate in the Senate, and just shy of two weeks of back-and-forth between the House of Commons and the Senate over bill C-45, passed the Cannabis Act. This marked the first time an industrialized country passed legislation to give recreational marijuana a green light. Per Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, sales are expected to begin on Oct. 17, 2018.

Legalizing adult-use cannabis has its perks

Giving the thumbs-up to adult-use pot comes with a number of possible perks. For example, the sale of recreational marijuana will carry an excise tax rate of roughly 10% of the per-gram price. Three-quarters of this collected tax will go toward provinces, with the remaining 25% headed to the federal government, according to a two-year tax-sharing agreement forged in December. In other words, the sale of recreational cannabis will be a tax boon for provinces and the federal government.

Legalizing marijuana also means an influx of jobs in Canada. Not only will direct players benefit, such as growers, processors, distributors, and retailers, but the ancillary market could see its own job boom. Think about the role marketing and packaging companies will play in developing cannabis brands, or how financing companies will aid in providing capital for capacity expansion and hiring. More jobs might mean more income, which leads to a healthier economy.

And, of course, there are the investors who hope to take advantage of the $5 billion in added sales that'll likely be generated by legalizing recreational marijuana in Canada.

Here's who's worried about legalizing adult-use marijuana

According to a recently released survey of more than 2,600 people by the National Post, a conservative publication, Canadians have serious concerns about the expediency with which legalization has been proceeding. The survey asked Canadian residents to agree or disagree with three statements:

"We should delay the introduction of marijuana for up to a year because we're not ready for it to happen." "Our province has plans in place to deal with automobile drivers who have used marijuana." "I'm concerned that despite best efforts, there will be a large black market for lower priced marijuana."

In total, 55% agreed that marijuana's legalization should be delayed by up to a year, with 60% of female respondents and 68% of seniors aged 55 and older agreeing with this statement. Comparatively, just 49% of males and 44% of those aged 18 to 34 agreed with the first statement.

Overall, only 45% of respondents agreed that their province had regulations in place to deal with drivers who are under the influence of cannabis. Persons aged 18 to 34 were the only group where a majority of respondents (57%) believed driving under the influence plans are in place in their respective province.

Lastly, 69% of all respondents are in agreement that the black market will be difficult to expel. This included 57% of young adults aged 18 to 34, as well as 85% of seniors aged 55 and over.

As is consistent with most surveys on marijuana, seniors had a decidedly negative take on pot relative to younger adults.

A lack of regulation and the black market are serious concerns

While this poll isn't going to change Canada's recent vote to legalize marijuana, it does raise two very valid concerns about the legal pot industry.

First, despite the passage of the Cannabis Act, legalization designed to broaden the authority of peace officers with regard to screening drivers for cannabis use and impairment has yet to be passed. This could put the public's safety at risk.

Building on this point, measuring impairment is a lot harder to do with marijuana use compared to alcohol consumption. Alcohol stays in a person's system for less than a day, and a breathalyzer device can be used in determining a level of impairment via a blood alcohol content reading. The guidelines for alcohol impairment behind the wheel are pretty clear.

But with marijuana use, there are no line-in-the-sand guidelines, and no approved breathalyzers, even though multiple companies have these products under development. Additionally, since tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) can stay in a person's system for days or weeks, recency of use, and therefore impairment behind the wheel, becomes difficult to decipher.

The second major concern here is that the black market may not relinquish sales as expected. Even though the excise tax rate is a mere 10%, black market providers aren't paying this tax, and don't have licensing fees or store rent to contend with. The gap in pricing between legal marijuana and black market pot might be wide enough to keep consumers in illicit channels. That'd be terrible news for the federal government, provinces, and investors.

The big takeaway for investors

So, what's the big point here? Namely, that with all of the unknowns associated with the rollout of recreational cannabis in Canada, we could very well see some choppiness in sales and demand after the Oct. 17 launch date.

In many ways, marijuana stocks have been priced as the greatest thing since sliced bread. Canopy Growth Corporation (NASDAQ:CGC), the largest marijuana stock by market cap, and the first pot company to uplist to the prestigious New York Stock Exchange, has seen its share price rise nearly 1,000% (on Canadian exchanges) over the trailing two-year period. Yet in spite of its $5.6 billion market cap, and 5.6 million square feet in eventual growing capacity, Canopy Growth Corp. might lose money in fiscal 2019. Since Canopy has been reinvesting every cent of operating cash flow, as well as diluting investors via bought-deal offerings in order to raise cash, any chance at meaningful profits are still a few years away.

Canopy Growth's profit expectations could become even more strained if consumers don't move into legal channels as expected, or if Canada doesn't move quickly to pass resolutions to protect drivers.

It's concerns like these, raised by Canadian citizens, that'll be paramount to monitor in the months and years that lie ahead.
It's the five words today's seniors and millions of working Americans probably don't want to hear, but it's the truth: Social Security is in trouble.

For 78 years, Social Security has been making payments to eligible beneficiaries, and in the process, keeping a number of them above the federal poverty level. An analysis from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities from 2016 suggests that 22.1 million beneficiaries owe their ability to live above the federal poverty level to their guaranteed Social Security checks.

Social Security will survive, but it won't look the same

But this program, which so many retirees are currently leaning on or will rely on in the years and decades to come, is just an estimated 16 years from an inflection point, according to the latest Social Security Board of Trustees report released in early June. Beginning in 2018 and continuing with each subsequent year, Social Security will be paying out more in benefits than it generates in revenue.

Even though this net cash outflow will start off small ($1.7 billion in 2018 and $0.2 billion in 2019), it's expected to accelerate with each passing year, beginning in 2020. By 2027, per the intermediate-cost model, $169 billion more in benefits will flow out of Social Security than is expected to be collected in revenue.

Obviously, the program can't continue running a deficit forever. Since the last major Social Security reform in 1983, it's built up approximately $2.9 trillion in asset reserves. However, it's expected to take just 16 years to completely exhaust these reserves, such that by 2034, there'll be nothing left, assuming no additional revenue is raised or cost-cuts implemented by lawmakers.

What does this mean exactly? Well, the silver lining is that Social Security won't be bankrupt, despite whatever myths and misinformation might be out there. The only way Social Security could go bankrupt is if there were no more money flowing into the program. Thankfully, two of its three funding sources -- the 12.4% payroll tax on earned income and the taxation of benefits -- would continue to supply Social Security with income that can be disbursed to eligible beneficiaries.

But the depletion of these asset reserves suggests that the current payout schedule isn't sustainable. The Trustees have opined that an across-the-board cut of up to 21% may be needed to sustain payouts through the year 2092 without any further cuts. Considering that more than 3 out of 5 current retirees lean on their Social Security checks for at least half of their monthly income, a 21% haircut could prove disastrous.

Here's when Congress is likely to tackle Social Security's issues

As for Congress, it's well aware that Social Security is headed toward trouble. Each and every Trustees report for the past 33 years has included a Trust Fund depletion date ranging between 2029 and 2050 (currently it's 2034). This probably has you and a lot of the American public wondering when Congress is going to fix this mess. While no one knows that answer for certain, I'm of the opinion that lawmakers will wait until the 11th hour to work out a bipartisan bill to support Social Security (i.e., 2033 or 2034).

Though there are a number of Social Security amendments that've been passed since its inception, the program has only been in serious trouble once before. This was "resolved" with the passage of the amendments in 1983 that gradually increased the payroll tax and full retirement age, as well as established the taxation of benefits, among other things.

However, this resolution in 1983, along with comments made by President Trump in March 2013, offer clues as to how lawmakers are likely to approach fixing Social Security.

For example, while the Reagan administration amendments are hailed as saving Social Security, they were passed during the 11th hour by necessity rather than good judgment. Congress witnessed the Social Security program pay out more in benefits than it generated in revenue beginning in 1975 and observed the trust fund ratio -- a measure of the program's asset reserves at the end of the year divided by expenditures for that year, expressed as a percentage -- decline in each and every year since 1970. In other words, lawmakers knew for more than a decade that Social Security was headed in the wrong direction but punted the issue down the road so many times that by 1983, they had no choice but to deal with it.

The other clue comes from comments made by Donald Trump at the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2013. Said Trump, courtesy of the Washington Times:

As Republicans, if you think you are going to change very substantially for the worse Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security in any substantial way, and at the same time you think you are going to win elections, it just really is not going to happen... What we have to do and the way solve our problems is to build a great economy."

Effectively, Trump is suggesting that it's political suicide for politicians to tackle Social Security's issues. While it eventually has to be dealt with, the truth of the matter is that all Social Security solutions involve someone coming out as a loser.

If, for instance, the payroll tax cap is raised or eliminated, then the rich will have to pay more into the program, despite not receiving one extra cent in lifetime benefits. Meanwhile, if the full retirement age were increased, future retirees would have their lifetime benefits reduced while protecting existing retirees. No matter what tough choices need to be made by lawmakers, someone will come out a loser -- and apparently no lawmaker wants to be responsible for making that call.

All we can do is hope Congress comes to its senses sooner rather than later. In the meantime, I'd suggest you continue saving and investing for your future such that Social Security never becomes more than a Plan B or C.
Chirbuli - Adjarian style eggs make the best breakfast you can imagine - GeorgianJournal
Feature phones starting at Rs 449 from Nokia, Intex, Zen, iKall, Gfive, Trio and others Features oi-Harish Kumar

In India, we have a section of users, who still considers buying phones at an affordable price. The reason is simple, as they like being confined to only phone calls and messaging. It is also interesting to see that some of these phones considerably offer decent functions.

Starting at Rs. 449, there are many feature phones which offer good features meeting the user's demand. It is worth to note that these phones have user-friendly attributes. For example, even after it falls from a considerate height, there will hardly be any damage. But there is also another side to this story.

Smartphones with best battery capacity under Rs 7,000 to buy in India

Every year phone manufacturers are looking forward to improving these handsets with better characteristics. Like- Torchlight, Music ringtones, Polyphonic ringtones, Vibration, good numeric keypad, good battery life etc.

SEE ALSO: Weekend Offers: List of smartphones available on discount

So, here is a list of phones whose price starts at Rs 449. The price to performance ratio in these kinds of devices is generally decent. The performance isn't comparable to smartphones, but at least you're really getting these phones value for money.

Nokia 105 Single Sim 2017 Price: Rs 979

Key Specs

4 MB RAM

4 MB ROM

1.8 inch Quarter QVGA Display

800 mAh Battery Zen Power 102 (Black & Red) Price: Rs 857

Key Specs

1.8 inch Display

Expandable Upto 8 GB

1.3MP Rear Camera

3000 mAh Battery Zen Atom 203 (Black & Blue) Price: Rs 812

Key Specs

2.4 inch Display

32 MB RAM

32 MB ROM

1.3MP Rear Camera

1200 mAh Battery Zen X62 (Black & Orange) Price: Rs 792

Key Specs

1.8 inch Display

1.3MP Rear Camera

1750 mAh Battery Trio T3 Selfie (Black & Red) Price: Rs 704

Key Specs

1.77 inch Display

32 MB RAM

64 MB ROM

1.3MP Rear Camera

1000 mAh Battery I Kall K3310 (Yellow) Price: Rs 599

Key Specs

1.8 inch Display

32 MB RAM

64 MB ROM

0.3MP Rear Camera

1000 mAh Battery Gfive Guru (Blue) Price: Rs 580

Key Specs

1.8 inch Display

64 MB RAM

256 MB ROM

0.3MP Rear Camera

1050 mAh Battery Aqua Maze (White & Blue) Price: Rs 600

Key Specs

1.8 inch Display

32 MB RAM

32 MB ROM

Expandable Upto 32 GB

0.08MP Rear Camera

1000 mAh Battery JIVI JV 12M (Black & Red) Price: Rs 599

Key Specs

1.8 inch Display

10 MB RAM

32 MB ROM

Expandable Upto 8 GB

800 mAh Li-Ion Battery I Kall K36 (Yellow) Price: 939

Key Specs

2.4 inch Display

32 MB RAM

64 MB ROM

0.3MP Rear Camera

1800 mAh Battery

Best Mobiles in India
Moto G5 Plus Android 8.1 Oreo Update now available: Pixel like launcher and more News oi-Vivek Moto G5 Plus can record 4K videos on the primary camera

When Motorola launched the original Moto G smartphone in India, the smartphone became one of the best affordable smartphones in India with the latest OS and the company did offer faster OS updates. However, in the last two years, the company has been a bit slow in updating its smartphones with the latest Android OS.

The Moto G5 Plus was the mid-tier Android smartphones from the brand launched in 2017, which is now being updated to Android 8.1 Oreo. According to reports, some users have started to receive the Android 8.1 Oreo update (soak test). According to users, the Android 8.1 Oreo update for the Moto G5 Plus does pack-in a lot of interesting features.

New features on Android 8.1 Oreo update

Google Pixel 2 like launcher

New style power menu

Round Google Pixel like icons in the status bar and settings

New animation for shutting down and reboot

Enhanced stability

New Moto action feature for screenshots using three fingers gesture

Light and Dark theme support with automatic wallpaper change

Moto G5 Plus specs

The Moto G5 Plus has a 5.2-inch IPS LCD display with FHD (1920 x 1080px) resolution offering 400+ ppi. Under the hood, the smartphone is running on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 Octa-core chipset with 3/4 GB RAM and 32/64 GB storage with a micro SD card slot for storage expansion. The display of the smartphone is protected by Corning Gorilla Glass 3 to offer improved smartphone protection from day to day scratches and damage.

The smartphone has a single 12 MP camera on the back with a large f/1.7 aperture. This camera offers impressive low light photography. On the front, the smartphone has a 5 MP front-facing selfie camera with 1080p video recording capability.

In terms of battery, the smartphone packs in a 3000 mAh Li-ion battery with Turbo Charging support via micro USB port along with a 3.5 mm headphone jack. The smartphone was launched with Android 7.0 Nogaut and now being updated to Android 8.1.



Conclusion

Though the company did take some time, the rollout of the Android 8.1 Oreo is finally happening. With features like Google Pixel launcher, new icons will improve the overall user experience of the smartphone.

Best Mobiles in India
Ecuador president: Assange will need to leave embassy

Iran Press TV

Fri Jul 27, 2018 10:27AM

Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno says Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, who has taken refuge at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London since 2012, will eventually need to leave.

President Moreno, speaking at an event in Madrid on Friday, emphasized that his country had spoken to the British government about Assange's situation.

Speculation about the future of Wikileaks founder grew following a report by the Sunday Times that senior officials from Ecuador and Britain were in discussion about how to remove him from the embassy after revocation of his asylum, and a source close to him told Reuters the situation was coming to a head.

Other reports suggested that President Moreno and British authorities had come to an agreement to have Assange evicted from the embassy premises as early as this week.

Assange, a 47-year-old computer programmer, sought asylum in the embassy in 2012, fearful that he might be detained and then extradited to Sweden, where he is wanted for sexual harassment charges.

He has repeatedly insisted that he is paying a price for revelations he had made about the spy activities carried out by the US military.

Assange has said that his main concern is that he would end up in the United States and be prosecuted for publishing classified documents that were leaked by American whistleblower Chelsea Manning.

Assange has been granted asylum by Moreno's predecessor, Rafael Correa after he took refuge in the country's embassy in London.

He has been living in the Ecuadorian mission since Swedish prosecutors issued a European arrest warrant against him over allegations of rape and sexual assault filed by two women in 2010.

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UN Urges Full-Fledged Probe Into Allegations of Secret CIA Prison in Lithuania

Sputnik News

18:00 27.07.2018

In 2016, Lithuania told the European Court of Human Rights that the country wasn't harboring a secret US Central Intelligence Agency prison where terrorist suspects were allegedly detained.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) has urged Lithuanian authorities to fully investigate allegations that a secret CIA prison operated in the Baltic state.

"The UNHRC is concerned about the fact that the pre-trial investigation was not completed, no suspects were identified, and all information about the progress and results of this inquiry is classified," the committee was cited by the Latvian news network Delfi as saying.

The UNHRC also called on Vilnius to investigate the possible complicity of government officials in human rights violations related to detainees' treatment in the alleged secret CIA prison in Lithuania.

"The state must ensure that the perpetrators are convicted and if found guilty, punished with the appropriate sanctions; victims should be guaranteed access to effective legal protection," the UNHRC pointed out.

In late June 2016, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg held a public hearing in the lawsuit brought by Guantanamo Bay detainee Abu Zubaydah against Vilnius. Abu Zubaydah, who is accused of involvement in the 9/11 attacks, claimed that he was subjected to inhuman conditions and torture in a secret CIA prison in Lithuania.

The ECHR ruled that Lithuania should pay 130,000 euros to Abu Zubaydah, a decision that has yet to be appealed by Vilnius.

In November 2009, the Lithuanian parliamentary committee on National Security and Defense opened a probe into ABC News claims that Lithuania provided the US Central Intelligence Agency(CIA) with a building near the capital Vilnius to detain and possibly interrogate eight al-Qaeda members between 2004 and 2006.

The committee finally concluded that there were conditions for the existence of a secret CIA prison in Lithuania, adding that in 2005 and 2006 the CIA planes that landed in the country were not inspected by customs services.

The United States did not cooperate with the committee on the issue, which is why the question of whether al-Qaeda militants were ever transferred to Lithuania has yet to be clarified.

 Sputnik

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Ecuador President Says Assange Must Eventually Leave London Embassy

Sputnik News

12:21 27.07.2018(updated 14:27 27.07.2018)

The Intercept earlier cited a source close to the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry and the president's office as saying that Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno was involved in talks with the UK and was close to finalizing an agreement to hand over the WikiLeaks' founder to the British government within the next several weeks.

Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno said Friday that Julian Assange should eventually leave the country's embassy in London where he has been living since 2012.

"It is even a violation of human rights for a person to remain too long in isolation," Moreno said at a briefing in Madrid.

At the same time, Theresa May's office said later that the discussion of the Assange case still continued as the issue hadn't been raised during Moreno's visit to the UK.

Media have been speculating for months now that Ecuador was preparing to withdraw asylum for the world's most wanted whistleblower after then-Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa stated that her government and the UK had "the intention and the interest that this be solved."

In June, Ecuador's new Foreign Minister Jose Valencia suggested that Assange's asylum couldn't last forever and stated that the country sought to solve the problem.

According to The Sunday Times, sitting president, Lenin Moreno, previously described Assange, who received refuge under his predecessor Rafael Correa, as a "hacker," an "inherited problem" and a "stone in the shoe."

The founder of the whistleblowing website has been living at Ecuador's Embassy in London since 2012 when he skipped bail to enter the diplomatic premises in order to avoid extradition to Sweden over sexual assault allegations. Even though Swedish prosecutors have dropped the case against him, Assange couldn't walk out of the embassy without being arrested for breach of former bail conditions in the UK.

He could also be extradited to the United States, where he would face espionage charges for leaking thousands of sensitive documents on American military operations, including in Iraq and Afghanistan.

According to The Guardian, Ecuador spent nearly $5 million on a clandestine intelligence operation, called Operation Guest, to hire international security and undercover agents to follow Assange's visitors. The operation was purportedly endorsed by ex-president Correa and former Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino.

 Sputnik

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Communications Key in Solving International Disputes, Mattis Says

July 27, 2018

By Terri Moon Cronk

DoD News, Defense Media Activity

WASHINGTON -- Reopening communications at the top line between the United States and nations such as Russia is essential in solving disagreements, Defense Secretary James N. Mattis told Pentagon reporters today.

"Based on my long-standing stance on protecting America -- whether it be from a conventional attack, nuclear attack, cyberattack -- I have always been in favor, and in fact, promoted the idea that we talk with one another  even when [the United States and Russia] had nuclear missiles pointed at each other," the secretary said.

"Even in the worse days of the Cold War, we had heads-of-state discussions and I believe we've been way overdue for that," he added. "And this isn't about this administration; this goes back years, many years."

Mattis said such communications might not be easy or short term, "but I find nothing inconsistent in protecting this country by engaging diplomatically," he said. "I've always said diplomacy leads our foreign policy. This is diplomacy in action."

The secretary confirmed that he is considering meeting with his Russian counterpart, but added no decision has yet been made.

Iran

Mattis also talked about the Iranian government's malign influence in the Middle East, and its threats to close the Strait of Hormuz.

"They've done that in year's past; they saw the international community put dozens of nations' naval forces in for exercises to clear the strait," the secretary said. "Clearly, this [closure] would be an attack on international shipping and could have an international response to reopen the shipping lanes  because the world's economy depends on those energy supplies flowing out of there."

Iran, he noted, must start living by international rules.

"They are the exporter of instability across the region," the secretary said.

Korean War Remains Repatriation

With 55 cases of reported U.S. service members' remains being returned to the United States today from North Korea, Mattis emphasized the importance of giving the families of the fallen a sense of closure.

"When [the families] got the telegram, they have never had closure. They've never had the bodies returned," he said. "So, what we're seeing here is an opportunity to give those families closure, to make certain that we continue to look for those remaining."

Mattis said each of the boxes of remains returned today bore a blue U.N. flag.

"Many of the U.N. nations also have missing [service members] -- we don't know who's in those boxes. As we discover it, they'll be returned," the secretary said, adding that nations such as Australia and France also have missing service members in Korea.

"This is an international effort to bring closure to those families," Mattis said. "Obviously, we want to continue this sort of humanitarian effort."

He added, "We also look at [the return of remains] as a first step of a restarted process, so we want to explore additional efforts to bring others home; perhaps have our own teams go in [to North Korea]. So we're looking at all [opportunities]."

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U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Release

No. NR-226-18 July 27, 2018

Readout of Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis' Meeting with Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi

Pentagon Chief Spokesperson Dana W. White provided the following readout:

Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis met with Omani Foreign Minister Yusuf bin Alawi today at the Pentagon to reaffirm the longstanding defense relationship between the United States and Oman.

The leaders discussed a broad range of regional security issues, including the conflict in Yemen, freedom of navigation, and multilateral counterterrorism cooperation.

Secretary Mattis acknowledged Oman as a vital regional security partner and explored new ways to strengthen our bilateral defense cooperation.

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Releases/News-Release-View/Article/1586430/

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U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Transcript

Presenter: Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis July 27, 2018

Media Availability by Secretary Mattis

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE JAMES N. MATTIS: Yes, thanks for being out here on a warm day.

Q: Thank you.

SEC. MATTIS: Hi, Barbara- writing opinion pieces now. (Inaudable) not saying anything...

(CROSSTALK)

SEC. MATTIS: My gosh. Yeah Jennifer, you'll talk to me.

Q: I-- I would like to talk to you.

SEC. MATTIS: Yes.

Q: The Australian officials have said they're concerned that the U.S. is preparing air strikes and -- or military strikes against Iran next month. Can you assure the American people that the U.S. is not preparing military strikes against Iran?

SEC. MATTIS: I have no idea where the Australian news people got that information. I'm confident it is not something that's being considered right now, and I think it's a complete  frankly, it's  it's fiction. It's the best I can give you, Jennifer.

Go ahead.

Q: Has the president asked you to start working with Russia on the ground in Syria militarily?

SEC. MATTIS: No.

Q: OK. And what is your understanding of what came out of the Helsinki Summit? What policy changes?

SEC. MATTIS: I have -- I have talked -- immediately after the Helsinki Summit, both the Chief of Staff and National Security Advisor called me -- I wouldn't say "immediately," but as soon as they got free. There have been no policy changes that have come out of it.

On the -- going back to your earlier question about Russia, we maintain constant deconfliction lines. These are handled at varying levels depending on the variety of subjects or the gravity of the issue, and certainly in Syria the deconfliction line is one that is connected between senior colonels of the Russian military as we make certain, from our side, that we are not having any chance of -- of our own aircraft operating in the same airspace. Then it can move up to another level, which is the general officer level, if there's some reason for it.

It generally does not -- it has never been down over my 18 months here. The Russians have never failed to answer on their end, we have never failed to answer on our end. It has been maintained through all of this.

We also have between our J5, our -- on the Joint Staff, plans officer here for the Joint Staff under General Dunford. We also have that line of communication with the Russian General Staff in Moscow, plus, as you know, General Dunford, our Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, maintains a degree of -- of communication, both telephonic and face-to-face over the last 18 months of this administration. So that's what's going on with the Russians at this time.

Q: Mr. -- Mr. Secretary, on the return of remains from North Korea...

SEC. MATTIS: Yes?

Q: Do you see that as a confidence-building measure to some extent? Does it give you any more additional confidence that the North Koreans are going to engage in their promise on denuclearization?

SEC. MATTIS: Yes, Barbara, clearly what we have here is something that has been frozen for -- for years now, and so that's warmed up. The remains were turned over as agreed during the -- or it's initiated and agreed during the summit that President Trump had with Chairman Kim. It was a coordination effort over the last month, that we determined where they would deliver the remains to, where our plane would fly in, where they would be taken to for the initial review.

So all of that went well, and I think when you have that sort of communication going on, it sets a positive environment, a positive tone for other things, more important things in terms of international diplomacy, but this humanitarian act obviously is a step in the right direction.

Q: Could you foresee actually sending U.S. military personnel back into North Korea for the first time in years to conduct additional search missions?

SEC. MATTIS: That is certainly under consideration. Absolutely. I would consider...

Q: OK. Is North Korea doing enough?

SEC. MATTIS: That -- you'll have to talk to the State Department. They're responsible for this. They're -- they're in -- the ones who are day-to-day are performing the diplomatic function for the United States, and I defer to them on all of these. So you get one straight answer from those who are actually effectively doing it.

In the areas where we support them -- and by the way, we maintain probably daily communication between Secretary Pompeo and I, some days two, three times a day, maybe I skip a day -- this is always one of the issues. Right now, we're in a supporting role, and that supporting role had to do with -- Barbara, what you just brought up on the return of remains, that sort of thing.

And obviously we are in -- embedded with the team, the backstop team that actually coordinates on what our message will be so that state and defense are tied tightly together on this.

Q: Sir, what is the -- what is the government doing to halt Russian interference in the next elections?

SEC. MATTIS: Yes, I'm not at liberty to explain what we're doing in that regard. Just, rest assured, there are actions underway to protect our -- our elections or to expose any external -- any -- by anybody -- external efforts to influence the American public, to show false news, that sort of thing. We have ongoing efforts, but I'm not going to go into any details right now.

(CROSSTALK)

SEC. MATTIS: But I will try and get down a little bit later today, if I can do it, and -- and see you all. We -- as you know from reading your own newspapers and watching your own TV stations, we've been a little busy lately. You know? Go ahead.

Q: Mr. Secretary, did the dismantlement we saw in North Korea of some missile facilities -- was it meaningful?

SEC. MATTIS: I -- I'd prefer not to go in to the -- into -- anything to do with the negotiations. Please use State Department, the people who are actually monitoring everything.

OK, I've got to step away here in a minute, but please use State Department on those things. That's who I call when I have questions, but I encourage you to do the same.

Q: Can we go back to Iran one for one second?

STAFF: Sir, the delegation's pulling up...

SEC. MATTIS: OK, I -- I'll try and get down in a few minutes here today. Assuming nothing else comes up. Thanks, folks.

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/1586736/

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U.S. Department of Defense

Press Operations

News Transcript

Presenter: Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis July 27, 2018

Press Gaggle at the Pentagon with Secretary of Defense Mattis

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE JAMES N. MATTIS: So we start on the record for a little bit, and I do have to get rolling here. I've got meetings I've got to go to, and they're outside the building, so I've got to get outside again.

So Barbara, you asked a question earlier. Did I answer it, about the remains? You -- you looked still quizzical.

Q: No, I'm -- but I do have other questions.

SEC. MATTIS: I tell them -- oh, I'm sure you do. I just wanted to make -- I kind of cut you all off out there when they started driving up.

SEC. MATTIS: So -- yeah, go ahead. Give us your other question?

Q: Well, I want to talk to you both about Russia and Iran. So now, there's further discussion. President Putin has invited the president to come to Moscow. You have been very specific about Russia's adventurism.

SEC. MATTIS: Putin's invited the president to Moscow?

Q: I believe that is accurate. "Under conditions," he said, whatever they are. He -- I don't believe he specified. You are someone who's been very specific publicly about your views about Russian adventurism, Crimea, Ukraine, Eastern Europe, NATO, Syria -- just about everything. What -- two questions. What are your views about is it time to sit down and talk to the Russians again, not about deconfliction in Syria, but what is the value, what would you want to talk to the Russians about right now, if you were doing it?

My second very quick question is on Iran.

SEC. MATTIS: Let me answer that one. I'll give you another question, OK?

Q: OK.

SEC. MATTIS: First, I -- I don't -- that would be advice to the president on what I think they should talk about, what issues I would proffer, and I, as always, I keep that private.

But your larger question is, you know, based on my long-standing, you know, stance on protecting America from whether it be conventional attack, nuclear attack, cyber attack or anything else, I have a responsibility portfolio to carry out there. I have always been in favor, in fact, promoted the idea that we talk with one another, and I've even said in this room, or with some of you on the plane, that even when we had nuclear missiles pointed at each other -- and right now, as you know, they're pointed to open ocean.

Both of us have them there. But even in the worst days of the Cold War we had head of state, the head of state discussions, and I believe that we have been way overdue for that. And this isn't about this administration, and this goes back years now, many years.

And so I'm all for reopening communications at the top line. It's essential that leaders talk with one another. It's most important that we talk with those countries that we have the largest disagreements with. I mean that's how you repair those disagreements. It's not to say that it's going to be easy, or it's going to be short-term, or something like that. But not -- I find nothing inconsistent with protecting this country, but engaging diplomatically, literally around the clock. I've always said diplomacy leads our foreign policy. This is diplomacy in action.

Q: On Iran, but also, I want to get your view on whether you're ready to meet with your -- your Russian counterpart. Could we get that, and then, can I ask a quick Iran question?

SEC. MATTIS: Yes, all right. And then three strikes, and you're out.

Q: Yup.

SEC. MATTIS: I'm considering meeting with my counterpart, but there's been no decision.

Q: On Iran, you've now seen the Iranian-backed Houthis attack oil shipping off of Yemen. It seems like it might be a test of chokepoint operations by the Iranians. Tell people, if you can explain, what your current level of concern is about Iranian rhetoric about trying to potentially shut oil shipping in the Persian Gulf. If the Australian report is wrong, fine, but that doesn't really take away the Iranian threat that you might be looking at, and your concern about it. So can you talk to us about that?

SEC. MATTIS: Yeah. Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz. They've done that previously in years past. They saw the international community put -- dozens of nations of the international community put their naval forces in for exercises to clear the straits. Clearly, this would be an attack on international shipping, and -- and it would have, obviously, an international response to reopen the shipping lanes with whatever that took, because of the world's economy depends on that energy, those energy supplies flowing out of there.

But Iran has simply got to find that it's got a better path forward for its people by not being the one to export insecurity. They've got to start living by the international rules, and we all know what they've done to keep Assad in power. We all know what they've done to provide missiles and other support to the -- the Houthi -- to the civil war in Yemen, to one side of the civil war in Yemen. And I can go on -- what they're doing to destabilize Bahrain, what they're doing in Lebanon -- I mean, this is -- this is all well-known, so I don't need to reiterate it. They are the exporter of instability across the region.

Q: Mr. Secretary, on Syria, the Russians say there has been in agreement to work on humanitarian efforts, and also, to return Syrians to their homes. Is that true? And do you think you can work with the Russians on these issues? And secondly, the American military over there says it's imperative that they stabilize northeast Syria after -- or while they're defeating ISIS. $200 million has been frozen in stabilization aid. How important is it to get -- to get that unfrozen?

SEC. MATTIS: What we're trying to do in -- in Syria is to get this to the Geneva process. I -- I mean, let's remember what our objective is. As Martin Luther King Jr. put it, "Keep your eye on the ball," OK? So the objective is to get it into the U.N.-brokered peace negotiations, OK?

As you fall back from that, there are some nations that have kept Assad in power. We know which ones they are: Russia and Iran. Our job is to try to find a way in the midst of this chaos to help the innocent people who have carried, by far, the heaviest burden in this war, as generally happens, the more the civilian, the noncombatants do. But in this one, it's been especially ghastly -- what they have had to go through.

So we are going to continue to work, as we have, to get stability in northeast Syria. That starts with destroying ISIS. They are not destroyed yet. I still remember going back to last April and May, when it was looking very good. We were (inaudible). It's not over yet. It's going to be a lot longer, tougher fight.

That fight goes on. Dashisha fell a week ago, or some -- some days ago. It fell with the support of the Iraqi security forces from their side of the border, the American -- Americans and Coalition allies supporting SDF that have carried the brunt of the fighting responsibilities overwhelmingly. They're the -- they're the defeat mechanism. When it fell, we're now reoriented to their last bastions. As that falls, then we'll sort out a new situation. But what you don't do is simply walk away and -- and leave the place as devastated as it is, based on this war. You don't just leave it, and then ISIS comes back.

So that will involve immediate restoration of drinking water, for example, clearing IEDs and those kind of things. It's not only our money; there's significant international money for that. Additional money for the complete rebuilding of Syria most likely awaits Assad's leaving.

Q: But is there an agreement with Russia? The Russians say there is an agreement on those two issues, humanitarian aid, returning people to their...

SEC. MATTIS: Well, there may be a confluence. Right now, I -- I -- you'll have to ask State Department. It's USAID and State that would handle those issues.

My job is to destroy ISIS and to make certain, what we put in place, then -- local security force, train them up so ISIS can't get back in. So please ask them for those kind of details.

Q: About an agreement?

SEC. MATTIS: About any -- I mean, you know that we deconflict with Russia all the time in the military. My portfolio is the military realm. I'd prefer to speak to what I'm responsible for.

Q: How would you describe the U.S. military policy right now vis-a-vis Iran? What role does the U.S. military have in this -- kind of this new -- this new campaign that's being articulated by Secretary of State Pompeo on Iran, if anything?

SEC. MATTIS: Nothing -- nothing has changed. Nothing has changed for us. We work very closely, as you know, with -- within the combined 5th Fleet.

And remember, the U.S. 5th Fleet is the combined 5th Fleet. That means it's not just U.S. It's got Kuwaiti, it's got Bahraini, Saudi, Emirati. Routinely, Pakistan has elements operating under the 5th Fleet that are out conducting counter-piracy patrols.

So all of these things continue on.

Q: So there's no regime...

SEC. MATTIS: On -- on the chaos -- pardon?

Q: There's no regime collapse or regime change policy that's been instituted that you're supporting?

SEC. MATTIS: There's none that's been instituted.

Q: On the remains...

SEC. MATTIS: We need them to change their behavior on a -- on a number of -- of threats they can pose with their military, with their secret services, with their surrogates, with their proxies.

And that includes -- that threat includes basically five, one of those is delaying the nuclear threat.

Q: On the remains transfer, sir...

SEC. MATTIS: Yes.

Q: You said earlier today that there's a possibility U.S. teams may eventually go into North Korea to look for additional remains. Does that mean...

SEC. MATTIS: That would be the work -- be worked out. It's certainly something we're interested in exploring with the North Koreans, yes.

Q: Does that mean that, for the foreseeable future, there will be no joint war games with South Korea as the U.S....

(CROSSTALK)

SEC. MATTIS: No, it's unrelated to that.

Q: They're unrelated?

SEC. MATTIS: Yes.

Q: Can I follow on there? Also, since you are the head of the Pentagon, what does it mean to you, something that we've been working on, years and years, to get the remains back.

What does that mean for you personally?

SEC. MATTIS: Ah. Thank you.

Q: And then secondly, what's the next step after... now that we've got these remains?

SEC. MATTIS: What -- what it means for us. We have families that, when -- when they got the telegram, have never had closure. They've never, you know, gone out and had the body returned.

So what we're -- what we're seeing here is an opportunity to give those families closure, to make certain that we continue to look for those remaining.

And by the way, you noticed there was a U.N. blue flag on each of the boxes. Many of the U.N. nations with us also have missing.

We don't know who's in those boxes. As we discover it, they'll be returned and they could -- and they could go to Australia. They have missing, France has missing, Americans have -- there's a whole lot of us.

So this is an international effort to bring closure for those families.

SEC. MATTIS: Thought you had another question.

Q: What's the next step, now that -- now that this first...

SEC. MATTIS: Well, we'll have to sort it out. Yeah. I mean, obviously, we want to continue this sort of humanitarian effort.

Q: Mr. Secretary?

SEC. MATTIS: Please (inaudible).

(LAUGHTER)

Q: Follow up on the Korea story?

SEC. MATTIS: Yeah.

Q: Two years ago, the North Korean officials offered to the U.S. to repatriate 200 corpses or remains.

SEC. MATTIS: Mm-hmm.

Q: So why only 55 caskets are coming back home?

SEC. MATTIS: Yeah. It's a good question. We can't go back in and verify what the number they had was before. We know what they said. But for us, we'll simply say this is obviously a gesture of carrying forward what they agreed to in Singapore, and we take it as such.

We also look at it as a first step of a restarted process, so we do want to explore additional efforts to bring others home, perhaps to have our own teams go in. They've been in there before, by the way. And so we're -- we're looking at all this.

But, you know, this is a first step. In this (inaudible)...

Q: Do you think that these are the -- that these are really the remains?

Q: Do you think it can -- it can be a way of prolonging the negotiations? You think...

SEC. MATTIS: No, no. It's -- it's separate from the negotiations.

Q: Mr. Secretary?

Q: (Inaudible) on Turkey, given -- given some of the tensions with Turkey and the threat of sanctions from the president, are you seeing any impact on operations at Incirlik or any of the U.S. operations in Turkey?

SEC. MATTIS: Yeah. We've had no impact on U.S.-Turkey relations, military operations at this time. We continue to work very closely together.

Q: Mr. Secretary, could you clarify something you said on Iran? You said, "Nothing has changed for us." Are you talking strictly militarily?

SEC. MATTIS: Yes.

Q: And -- OK. And do you...

SEC. MATTIS: Strictly militarily.

Q: And do you anticipate, then, out of the principles meeting yesterday, will we see things like more sanctions? What sort of changes...

SEC. MATTIS: Yeah, I -- I would never talk about something that would be a benefit to a nation that's obviously carrying on its destabilizing activities.

Q: Well, but can you help us understand? Because one of the things that John Bolton said a few weeks ago on one of the Sunday shows is that he suggested that the U.S. military wouldn't be leaving Syria unless ISIS was defeated and Iranian expansion had been halted.

And so what we're trying to understand is, how do you foresee doing that and where does the U.S. policy come into play and -- and what is the link between Iranian expansion and the U.S. military presence in Syria?

SEC. MATTIS: Well I think in Syria, you see how much Iranian presence and support has been committed to keeping Assad in power. So as you watch us take down ISIS and establish security in the area -- again this will be by, with and through others, we're not going to put U.S. troops in to provide the security -- then our whole design is to go towards Geneva.

That process will hopefully remove not just the terrorists that we've removed physically or we've killed or incarcerated -- they're under SDF incarceration -- but also move foreign forces out of -- out of Syria.

That's part of a process, and that's not something that I can forecast by -- on a crystal ball.

Q: Mr. Secretary, have -- have the North Koreans provided any evidence that the remains that they provided to the U.S. are service members and not, say, North Korean remains?

SEC. MATTIS: Good question. What happens now -- the reason those remains aren't on their way back, for example, to the United States right now, is that they're first going to be reviewed.

Initially, they're in Korea. And we'll look for -- for any anomalies, where they're not what we think they might be. And then the forensics will begin when we land them in Hawaii where the laboratory is. And then I can give you a better answer.

But, no, we have no indication that there's anything amiss. But we don't know, we can't confirm it one way or another. That's why we go through all the forensics.

Q: And unrelated, the Senate is trying to hold up sales of the F-35s to Turkey. How do you think that affects the alliance with Turkey?

SEC. MATTIS: We've had no effect. As I was saying, we've had no problem, military to military, with Turkey and we continue to work together with the NATO allies.

(CROSSTALK)

Q: Can I follow up on...

(CROSSTALK)

STAFF: We have time for one more question.

(CROSSTALK)

Q: Can I follow up on Turkey please?

Q: Go ahead.

Q: Just on Turkey, the U.S. has been moving towards working with Turkey on joint patrols on -- in and around the border.

SEC. MATTIS: Yeah, thanks.

Q: Can you tell us where that stands and how far along you think that's going to be before that actually happens, the joint patrols...

SEC. MATTIS: Well, it's already happening on opposite sides where the two of the patrols go along, and they get to certain points, they wait for the other one to get there. If somebody gets there first and then they do recognition signals back and forth and they move onto the next one. So those patrols are already going, but they're separate. In other words, they're on their side, we're on our side. We've put together all the planning. The planning went very well. The equipment has landed in Incirlik. The training equipment has landed in Incirlik and the combined training, I'm not sure when it starts, but we had to get the gear in first.

So all the conditions are being set for it to go forward. I can't give you a hard and fast timeline, but it'll be good training and we're both on the Turkish side and on the Coalition side we agree that this is necessary to make sure that what we do with these patrols is stabilize the line and not inadvertently rush forward into it and you don't have trained people, so it's going very, very well.

Q: But you think relatively soon we should see something soon?

SEC. MATTIS: Yes. I mean, you got to do the training, but I wouldn't  I think that we're talking about weeks. I don't know how many. Two, four, six, but I don't think we're talking months.

Q: OK, I'm sorry (ph). Did you hit your head?

SEC. MATTIS: It was a bad (inaudible). No, I...

(LAUGHTER)

... I can't say that. All right, we're off the record.

Q: Sir?

Q: No, on  well, on the record before we talk about that if you would...

SEC. MATTIS: Yes?

Q: Can we get your reaction to recent attacks on the press particularly in the wake of the VFW meeting where the president talked about press's fake news and then members of the VFW booed the press. What is your reaction to that?

SEC. MATTIS: You know, the Department of Defense swears an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. We live in a raucous democracy. That's what we defend, and we will continue to defend the Constitution, uphold the Constitution, and we continue to carry out our duties to protect the country. That's our job.

Q: And when you say the Constitution, that includes the first amendment?

SEC. MATTIS: Come on. Last time I checked.

(LAUGHTER)

I'll have to go back to my seventh grade civics history book.

Q: That is the key part of the Constitution that we were referring to.

Q: Sir, do you want to go off the record now?

SEC. MATTIS: Yes, off the record.

http://www.defense.gov/News/News-Transcripts/Transcript-View/Article/1586807/

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Iwo Jima, 26th MEU Depart Malaga

Navy News Service

Story Number: NNS180727-05

Release Date: 7/27/2018 10:43:00 AM

From Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group Public Affairs

MALAGA, Spain (NNS) -- The Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Iwo Jima (LHD 7) and components of the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) departed Malaga, Spain, July 24, following a scheduled port visit.

Nearly 2,500 embarked Sailors and Marines spent three days visiting the Mediterranean coastal city to deepen strategic and personal ties with their Spanish allies.

"The overall response I've gotten from speaking to the crew is that Malaga was above and beyond their expectations," said Capt. Joseph O'Brien, Iwo Jima's commanding officer. "I want to thank our Spanish hosts and the people of Malaga for their hospitality during our visit. It is just another great example of our strong relationship that we will continue for years to come."

U.S. Marine Col. Farrell J. Sullivan, commanding officer of the 26th MEU, said Malaga's generosity made for a memorable port call.

"We had high expectations before pulling into Malaga and our visit easily exceeded those expectations in every way. The local authorities and businesses welcomed us with open arms. The people were charming and the food was incredible," said Sullivan. "I believe the Marines and Sailors thoroughly enjoyed their stay and truly found this Mediterranean gem a place for much needed rest, relaxation, and reset before we move on to the next stage of our deployment. Since departing the refrain aboard Iwo Jima is that many plan to return to Malaga. We miss it already."

This was Iwo Jima's third visit to a U.S. 6th Fleet port as part of their scheduled deployment that began Feb. 7.

For Yeoman 3rd Class Jozef Berisha Malaga's people, sights and activities gave him an all-around positive liberty experience.

"I saw so many pictures of Spain before getting here, and it blew away my expectations," said Berisha. "The food was amazing, the history inside the buildings was fantastic, and the beaches were beautiful to see in person. I would love to come back and visit again."

U.S. Marine Cpl. Diego Ramirez, a fellow first-time visitor to Spain, also had a great time.

"I took a tour of the Nerja Caves, which were incredible, and we spent a lot of time at the beach and walking the streets of Malaga," said Ramirez, a radio operator with the 26th MEU. "Malaga was amazing, and I hope I can return some day with my family."

Since departing Mayport, Florida, the blue-green team has played a critical role in bringing a ready, versatile amphibious assault capability and vigilant maritime presence to the Mediterranean in addition to working with partner nations to achieve the mutual goal of a peaceful and prosperous region.

The Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group embarks the 26th MEU and is comprised of Iwo Jima, the San Antonio-class transport dock ship USS New York (LPD-21), the Harpers Ferry-class dock landing ship USS Oak Hill (LSD 51), Fleet Surgical Team 4 and 8, Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 28, Tactical Air Control Squadron (TACRON) 22, components of Naval Beach Group 2 and the embarked staff of Commander, Amphibious Squadron 4.

The 26th MEU is comprised of approximately 2,500 Marines and Sailors and includes a command element, ground combat element, aviation combat element and logistics combat element.

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China, Uganda pledge to deepen bilateral cooperation

People's Daily Online

(Xinhua) 11:32, July 27, 2018

Chinese President Xi Jinping said here on Thursday that China is ready to deepen friendly and mutually beneficial cooperation in various fields with Uganda in an all-round way.

Xi made the remarks when meeting with his Ugandan counterpart, Yoweri Museveni, on the sidelines of the 10th BRICS summit held in Johannesburg on July 25-27.

The Chinese president applauded Museveni for his long-term dedication to the promotion of the development of China-Uganda relations as well as China-Africa relations.

Xi stressed that China and Uganda have seen sustained and rapid development of bilateral relations in recent years.

Development strategies of the two countries are compatible and present each other with important opportunities, Xi said.

He called on the two countries to maintain the momentum of high-level exchanges and continue to staunchly support each other on issues of their core interests and major concern.

The Chinese side supports the efforts of the Ugandan side in developing economy and improving people's livelihood, and is ready to steadily advance major cooperative projects jointly with Uganda to better benefit the two peoples, Xi said.

Xi called on China and Uganda to keep close communication on major international and regional hotspot issues and safeguard the common interests of the two countries and developing countries as a whole.

Xi said that the Ugandan president has made important contributions to the development of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), and that China is willing to work with Africa to make the upcoming FOCAC Beijing summit a success.

Museveni said Uganda-China relations have seen strong development momentum.

He thanked China for its long-term assistance to his country and said he is satisfied with the progress made in bilateral cooperation.

Uganda hopes to deepen practical cooperation with China in such areas as industrial parks, infrastructure construction and electric power, and welcomes more Chinese companies to invest and develop in Uganda, he said.

Museveni said the Ugandan side supports the Chinese side in hosting a successful FOCAC summit in Beijing.

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Yemen's Hudaydah goes through another day of airstrikes

Iran Press TV

Fri Jul 27, 2018 04:34PM

The military coalition led by the Saudi regime has conducted heavy airstrikes on the Yemeni city of Hudaydah, which has become a flash point where cluster bombs earlier dropped by the coalition warplanes killed one person and injured three others.

Residents said the airstrikes began in the early hours of Friday and targeted a police base in the city center and a plastics factory in the north of the city. The districts of Zubaid and Tahita, located in southern Hudaydah, were also bombarded.

Yemen's al-Masirah TV channel said in a posting on its Twitter account that the warplanes had also attacked a radio station and a fishing pier.

"Coalition warplanes conducted two strikes on a fishing dock and market in Hudaydah, and the yard of the Hudaydah radio building, which was damaged by the shrapnel," one resident said.

There was no immediate report of possible casualties and the extent of damage inflicted in the airstrikes, which are seen as an apparent resumption of a campaign against Hudaydah after the coalition announced a pause earlier this month amid reports of stiff resistance from the fighters of the Houthi Ansarullah movement.

Backed by Saudi-led airstrikes, Emirati forces and militants loyal to the former Yemeni government launched the Hudaydah assault on June 13 despite warnings that it would compound the impoverished nation's humanitarian crisis.

In a post on his Twitter account on July 1, Anwar Gargash, the foreign minister of the United Arab Emirates, said the pause was meant to provide an opportunity for the UN to continue with efforts aimed at resolving the conflict in Yemen.

Humanitarian organizations have warned that the Hudaydah operation threatens to cut off essential supplies to millions of Yemeni people. More than 70 percent of Yemen's imports pass through Hudaydah's docks.

The coalition claims the Houthis are using Hudaydah for weapons delivery, an allegation rejected by the Ansarullah fighters.

Riyadh has been at the helm of the deadly campaign against Yemen since March 2015. However, it has failed to fulfill its purpose of the war on Yemen, which was to reinstate the former Riyadh-friendly government and undermine Ansarullah.

Cluster bombs go off in Hudaydah

Al-Masirah reported a civilian was killed and three others injured on Friday after an undetonated cluster bomb went off in Zubaid.

The Saudi war machine has already used cluster bombs across Yemen on multiple occasions despite the inherently indiscriminate nature of cluster munitions. Various rights groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have time and again reported and criticized the use of cluster bombs in Yemen.

Cluster bombs are banned under the Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), an international treaty that addresses the humanitarian consequences and unacceptable harm caused to civilians by cluster munitions through a categorical prohibition and a framework for action. The weapons can contain dozens of smaller bomblets, dispersing over vast areas, often killing and maiming civilians long after they are dropped.

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Cohen says president knew of Trump Tower meeting with Russians

Iran Press TV

Fri Jul 27, 2018 08:49AM

Donald Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen says the US president knew in advance about an infamous June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower during which Russians offered to provide comprising information about Hillary Clinton, his Democratic rival in the presidential election.

Sources told CNN that Cohen claims he was with Trump when his son, Donald Trump Jr., told him of the offer from a Russian lawyer and that then-candidate Trump approved going ahead with the meeting between his campaign officials and the Russians.

The Trump Tower meeting has been of particular interest to Special Counsel Robert Mueller investigating possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia during the 2016 presidential election.

Cohen does not have evidence to back up his claim but he is willing to make that assertion to Mueller, according to CNN.

PressTV-US counsel seeks WH records of Trump Jr. meeting

The US special counsel asks the White House to preserve any documents relating to Trump Jr. meeting.

Previously Trump has denied having prior knowledge of the meeting.

Trump Jr. had attended the meeting with Nataliya Veselnitskaya, a Russian lawyer and acknowledged Kremlin informant, and other Russians after he was promised damaging information on Clinton. However, he later told the investigators that the meeting provided no useful information and was a waste of time.

Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and senior campaign aide Paul Manafort were also present at the meeting.

The president's current personal attorney Rudy Giuliani lashed out at Cohen on Thursday night, questioning his credibility and calling him a "pathological liar."

"He's been lying all week, he's been lying for years," Giuliani said of Cohen on CNN.

"The tapes that we have demonstrate any number of very serious lies back a year and a half ago, including his fooling people, hiding tape recordings, telling them they aren't recorded, lying to their face, breaking faith with them," Giuliani said. "I don't see how he has any credibility."

Cohen is under federal investigation for possible bank and tax fraud as well as possible violation of campaign laws in connection with a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels who has claimed she had a sexual encounter with Trump.

Cohen has not been charged with a crime, but there are fears in the White House that the longtime attorney might "flip" on the president.

Earlier this week, CNN aired audio from a 2016 conversation between Cohen and Trump about another payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who also alleges an affair with Trump.

Cohen had secretly recorded the two-minute conversation two months before the 2016 election. The tape fell into the FBI's possession during a raid on Cohen's office earlier this year.

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Houthis warn Saudi coalition not safe from Yemeni missiles

Iran Press TV

Fri Jul 27, 2018 07:47AM

Yemen's Houthi Ansarullah movement - which has joined hands with the country's army against a Saudi-led alliance of adversaries - says capital cities of the coalition will be "no longer safe" from missiles fired in retaliation for attacks on Yemen.

"The Yemeni army is not after bombarding (other countries), but cannot also sit back. From now on, the capitals of the Arab coalition members will be no longer safe," Mohammed Abdelsalam, a senior spokesperson for the Houthis, told Qatar's pan-Arab broadcaster Al Jazeera on Thursday.

He added, "We will not kill; we will not bombard, but will not also sit idly".

The remarks came after the Yemeni army on Thursday evening launched an airstrike against Abu Dhabi International Airport, using a domestically-built long-endurance Sammad-3 (Invincible-3) unmanned aerial vehicle.

The Ansarullah official further rejected reports that Iran was providing military assistance to Yemen and said, "The Yemeni army has ballistic and naval missiles, and have developed them inside the country".

He added, however, that Ansarullah has no plans to cut off relations with the Islamic Republic.

Elsewhere in the interview, Abdelsalam stressed that doors to a political settlement to the Yemen crisis are not closed yet and that Ansarullah was ready to reach an agreement with other Yemeni groups, including Yemen's ex-president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, albeit without foreign intervention.

Saudi Arabia and some 20 of its allies, including the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Sudan, launched a brutal war, code-named Operation Decisive Storm, against Yemen in March 2015 in an attempt to reinstall Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, Yemen's former president and a staunch ally of Riyadh, and crush the popular Houthi Ansarullah movement.

The movement, which is a significant aid to the Yemeni army in defending the country against the invading forces, has been running state affairs in the absence of an effective administration during the past three years.

The imposed war initially consisted of a bombing campaign but was later coupled with a naval blockade and the deployment of ground forces into Yemen.

The Yemeni Ministry of Human Rights announced in a statement on March 25 that the war had already left 600,000 civilians dead. The war and the accompanying blockade have also caused famine across Yemen.

The Saudi-led aggression has also taken a heavy toll on the country's infrastructure, destroying many hospitals, schools, and factories. The United Nations has already said that a record 22.2 million Yemenis are in dire need of food, including 8.4 million threatened by severe hunger.

A number of Western countries, the United States and Britain in particular, are also accused of being complicit in the ongoing aggression as they supply the Riyadh regime with advanced weapons and military equipment as well as logistical and intelligence assistance.

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Richwood, TX (77531)

Today

Mostly cloudy skies early with scattered thunderstorms developing late. Low 76F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies early with scattered thunderstorms developing late. Low 76F. Winds SSE at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of rain 40%.
UAE says wants 'bigger military role' in Middle East

Iran Press TV

Fri Jul 27, 2018 06:18AM

A United Arab Emirate minister has claimed that his country can take on a bigger military role in the region, saying it can no longer rely on Western allies like the United States and Britain for its security.

Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash said Thursday that the UAE was ready to deploy more troops across the Middle East now that the US and the European countries differed on their policies toward the security of the region.

"In this current international system, it is no longer 'write a cheque and someone is going to come and secure the stability in the region'. You have to do some of the burden-sharing," said Gargash in a speech in London.

The minister said his country was mainly worried about the increasing differences between the US and Europe on how to deal with Iran.

The UAE has spent billions on military equipment and weapons under the sheer pretext of countering Iran's regional influence. It has also joined Saudi Arabia and other allies in a devastating war against Yemen. The campaign has claimed the lives of around 15,000 people, mostly civilians. UAE forces specifically have an active presence in an ongoing operation to capture Yemen's only major port in Hudaydah, on the Red Sea.

Furthermore, the Emirates is trying to establish control over the strategic island of Socotra in the Arabian Sea, which Yemen's resigned president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi had rented out to the Persian Gulf kingdom for nearly a century.

The UAE is also believed to be trying to establish its foothold in North Africa. It is see as a main impediment to peace in Libya by providing financial support to the so-called Libyan National Army (LNA), led by General Khalifa Haftar, in defiance to the mandate of an internationally-recognized government in capital Tripoli. The UAE has also established bases and commercial ports in northern Somalia as well as a base in the Eritrean port of Assab, South of Eritrea, the UAE agreed with the authorities of Somalia's breakaway northern territory of Somaliland in February to open a naval base in the port town of Berbera.

In his Thursday speech, Gargash confirmed reports that several million dollars of UAE cash had been stolen from a civilian plane in the Somalia capital of Mogadishu.

"We'd like to continue to do our work, but we have made it very clear that we have been wronged with regards to how we were treated with the shipment of nine-point-something million dollars," said Gargash, adding "There are attempts currently to mediate between us and Somalia."

The UAE is among the world's top five arms importers, according to a report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in June. The report said that Abu Dhabi even outpaced China in buying arms in the past five years, adding that main suppliers of weapons to the country were the US, Britain and France.

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South Africa's deadly involvement in Saudi war on Yemen expanding: Report

Iran Press TV

Fri Jul 27, 2018 04:11AM

South Africa's arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have grown since the start of the Saudi-led aggression against Yemen, expanding from basic weaponry to sophisticated battle hardware.

South Africa is helping Saudi Arabia develop its own arms manufacturing capacity thus becoming an accomplice to Riyadh's war crimes in the impoverished Arab country, wrote the Middle East Eye.

It added that South Africa has also been selling weapons to Saudi Arabia as well as the UAE since the start of the kingdom's deadly aggression on Yemen, helping them take the lives of more innocent people, including women and children there.

"As South African President Cyril Ramaphosa concluded visits this month to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, securing $10 billion worth of investment from each country, questions arise as to what price tag is attached to these investments," the report said.

According to the annual reports of the South African National Conventional Arms Control Committee (NCACC), South Africa supplied arms, ammunition and armored vehicles, as well as surveillance and military technology to both Saudi Arabia and the UAE in 2016 and 2017, amounting to more than three billion rands (almost $228 millions).

Despite human rights concerns and reports of serious violations of international law by members of the Saudi-led coalition in the Arab country, South Africa and several Western countries have been supplying Saudi Arabia with advanced weapons and military equipment.

South Africa is not only selling weapons to Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Mortar bombs, armored personnel carriers, artillery, ammunition, electronic attack systems and software are also amongst a range of other controlled products supplied to Riyadh and Abu Dhabi, according to the report.

In June 2016, the country's former president Jacob Zuma traveled to Saudi Arabia to launch the Al-Kharj (Military Industries Corporation) facility in Riyadh, together with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The $240 million projectiles factory was built in cooperation with South Africa's Rheinmetall Denel Munitions and is expected to produce a minimum of 300 artillery shells or 600 mortar projectiles per day, as well as aircraft bombs ranging from 500lb-2000lb.

In 2018, notorious South African arms dealer, Ivor Ichikowitz, announced that his Paramount Group, an African-based global defense and aerospace business, was in talks with Saudi Arabia to transfer technology and set up production plants there, the report added.

While Saudi Arabia is busy launching military factories and importing weapons, the UAE has built a formidable force of mercenary recruits, using its oil wealth to purchase arms from, among others, South Africa.

"It is well documented that the UAE has contracted private military security companies linked to Blackwater's founder Erik Prince to develop a new model army," the report said.

Another research by The New York Times revealed that this force consists of foreign troops and is trained by Western veterans and that South African mercenaries have also been employed in these private militaries in violation of the Regulation of Foreign Military Assistance Act.

Saudi Arabia and its allies launched the war in March 2015 in support of Yemen's former Riyadh-friendly government and against the Houthi Ansarullah movement.

The military campaign has killed and injured thousands of civilians, including many women and children.

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U.S. House Passes Bill Allowing Waivers Of Russian Military Sanctions

RFE/RL July 27, 2018

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved legislation allowing the president to waive penalties against countries that purchase weapons from sanctioned Russian defense companies if they are seeking closer ties with Washington.

U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis sought the waiver authority, which was approved by the House on July 26 as part of a massive defense bill, saying it would help countries like India which had close ties with Moscow in the past but are now trying to "pull away from the Russian orbit."

Mattis, in a letter to Congress earlier this month, claimed that waiver authority would not benefit Russia, a major arms exporter, contending that "it will only benefit the U.S. and countries willing to pursue a security relationship with us."

Under the Russian sanctions legislation that Trump signed a year ago, any country trading with Russia's defense and intelligence sectors faces potential penalties from the United States.

The law is designed to punish Russian President Vladimir Putin for his 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, involvement in the Syrian civil war, and meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

The sanctions waiver provision was worked out this week in negotiations between Congress and the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, media reported.

Besides India, Vietnam and Indonesia are other countries media have said might receive waivers from Russian sanctions under the provision.

Mattis has argued that sanctions waivers are needed so such countries can continue to purchase spare parts needed to maintain arsenals of Russian-made aircraft, tanks, and other weapons that they purchased in the past, even as they develop closer defense ties with the United States.

Under the waiver provision, the president must certify that a country is both reducing arms imports from Russia and is expanding defense cooperation with the United States.

India is one country that has historically used a large amount of Russian military equipment, from combat planes to ships and submarines. It is in the final stages of negotiating a $6 billion deal to buy S-400 long-range, surface-to-air missile systems from Russia.

But New Dehli has in recent years been diversifying its arms purchases, turning to the United States and Israel for modern equipment. It has ordered $15 billion of weapons from the United States over the past 10 years, and U.S. companies currently are bidding for contracts for fighter planes and helicopters worth billions of dollars.

While the sanctions waiver provision in the $716 billion defense bill is expected to particularly help India, another provision of the bill is aimed at punishing Turkey for its recent move to buy S-400 missile-defense systems from Russia.

Washington has repeatedly warned Turkey, a longtime U.S. and NATO ally, that the Russian missile systems cannot be integrated into NATO's air and missile defenses.

The House-passed bill would prohibit delivery of advanced U.S. F-35 stealth fighter jets that Turkey has purchased unless it cancels the S-400 purchases and meets other conditions.

The House-passed bill must be merged with a Senate version of the defense bill before it can be signed into law by Trump.

With reporting by AP and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/us-house-passes-bill- allowing-waivers-of-russian-military-sanctions -mattis-india/29393248.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's Ex-Lawyer Says Trump Approved Aides' Meeting With Russians

RFE/RL July 27, 2018

U.S. media report that President Donald Trump's former lawyer has said the president knew in advance about a June 2016 meeting between his aides and a Russian delegation that offered to help Trump's election campaign by sharing damaging information about rival candidate Hillary Clinton.

According to CNN and NBC, Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen claims he was present when Trump's son, Donald Trump Jr., told his father about the Russians' offer to meet and that Trump approved of the meeting.

Cohen, who is under investigation himself and has fallen out with the president, reportedly said he was willing to testify about the issue to Special Counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into alleged Russian inference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

Evidence of Cohen's reported assertion would be a crucial step toward proving if there had been collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia aimed at helping Trump win the presidency  a key focus of Mueller's investigation.

But CNN quoted sources who said Cohen lacks evidence such as an audio recording to corroborate his account.

Trump, his son, his lawyers, and other administration officials have repeatedly said the president did not know about the now infamous meeting until news of it broke in July 2017.

Trump Jr., Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, and Trump's then-campaign manager Paul Manafort met at New York's Trump Tower on June 9, 2016, with influential Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya.

The meeting was set up after a Russian intermediary told Trump's son that a Russian official had offered to provide documents and information that would "incriminate" Clinton.

Veselnitskaya has denied acting on behalf of the Kremlin when she met with the Trump team, telling Congress that she operates "independently of any government bodies."

But the Associated Press on July 27 reported that it has reviewed documents showing Veselnitskaya has worked more closely with senior Russian government officials than she previously has let on.

The AP says the documents include scores of e-mails, transcripts, and legal documents that depict Veselnitskaya as a well-connected attorney who served as a ghostwriter for top Russian government lawyers and received assistance from senior officials in the Russian Interior Ministry in a case involving a client.

The documents were obtained through the Dossier Center, Russian opposition figure Mikhail Khodorkovsky's London-based investigative unit, which is compiling profiles of Russians it accuses of benefiting from corruption.

The AP says it was not immediately able to reach Veselnitskaya for comment. It said messages from a reporter sent to her phone were marked as "read" but were not returned.

With reporting by AP, Reuters, CNN, NBC, and BBC

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/trump-s-ex- lawyer-says-trump-approved-aides-meeting- with-russians/29393679.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. House Speaker Nixes Move To Remove Official Overseeing Russia Probe

RFE/RL July 27, 2018

U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan has rejected a move by fellow Republicans to impeach the No. 2 Justice Department official who oversees the special counsel investigating Russia's role in the 2016 presidential election.

Ryan told reporters on Capitol Hill on July 26 that he does not support impeaching Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, who most recently made a mark by announcing the indictment of 12 Russian intelligence agents on charges of election-hacking days before U.S. President Donald Trump's summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Ryan said the alleged offenses Republicans cited in moving to impeach Rosenstein -- his struggle with House committees over their requests for thousands of internal department documents -- don't rise to the level of "high crimes and misdemeanors" that the U.S. Constitution specifies are the only grounds for impeachment of an executive branch officer.

"I don't think we should be cavalier with this process," Ryan said, adding that he has been encouraged by Rosenstein's recent progress in producing the documents sought by Republicans.

A small group of 11 House Republicans on July 25 took the rare move of introducing articles of impeachment to remove Rosenstein, the Justice official who appointed Special Counsel Robert Mueller to take over theinvestigation into ties between Russia and Trump's 2016 campaign from the FBI about a year ago.

The conservative lawmakers accused Rosenstein of alleged wrongdoing not directly related to the Mueller investigation, mostly involving their fight over the release of internal documents.

But Democrats charged the move was aimed at stifling or distracting attention from Mueller's Russia probe.

"The attack on Rosenstein of course is an attack on the Mueller investigation," said House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi.

Asked recently about rumors that House Republicans might move to impeach him, Rosenstein was defiant.

"I think they should understand by now, the Department of Justice is not going to be extorted," he said.

Rosenstein's boss, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, on July 26 expressed confidence in the career civil servant and took a swipe at the lawmakers pushing for his ouster.

"My deputy, Rod Rosenstein, is highly capable. I have the highest confidence in him," Sessions said during an appearance in Boston.

"What I would like Congress to do is to focus on some of the legal challenges that are out there," such as addressing illegal immigration, Sessions said.

Sessions last year recused himself from matters that involve the Trump campaign, including the Russia probe, because of his role as a top adviser to the campaign, leaving it to Rosenstein to set up and oversee the Mueller investigation.

The White House was more supportive of the impeachment move.

"The president has been clear he wants DOJ to be transparent and cooperate with Congress,"White House spokesman Hogan Gidley told reporters flying aboard Air Force One on July 26.

The president has denied collusion with Russia and characterizes the investigation as a "witch hunt." Russia has also denied interfering in the election.

Democrats charged that the effort to impeach Rosenstein is only the latest maneuver by the GOP to undermine confidence in the Mueller investigation and the broader judicial system, both to protect Trump and their own political careers.

Rosenstein "stands as one of the few restraints against the overreaches of the president and his allies in Congress," three senior Democratic representatives -- Jerrold Nadler, Elijah Cummings, and Adam Schiff -- said in a joint statement.

With reporting by AP and Reuters

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/us-house-speaker -ryan-nixes-move-remove-official-overseeing- russia-probe-rosenstein/29393316.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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CSTO Chief Charged With Overthrowing Armenia's Constitutional Order

RFE/RL's Armenian Service July 27, 2018

YEREVAN -- The Armenian chief of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO) has been charged with overthrowing Armenia's constitutional order amid a probe into Yerevan's 2008 postelection crackdown that brought Serzh Sarkisian into power for a decade as president.

Armenia's Special Investigative Service (SIS) said on July 27 that it has formally charged Yuri Khachaturov of involvement in an "overthrow of the constitutional order." The announcement came a day after the SIS interrogating Khachaturov in Yerevan.

The SIS also said it has asked a court in Yerevan to order Khachaturov's pretrial detention. The court was still considering the request on July 27.

The CSTO is a regional grouping that includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan.

Critics have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of using the CSTO to bolster Moscow's influence in former Soviet republics and to counter the European Union and NATO.

The 66-year-old Khachaturov, who was born in Georgia, is the CSTO's secretary-general. He had been chief of the General Staff of Armenia's armed forces from 2008 to 2016.

The SIS levelled the same charges against former President Robert Kocharian on July 26.

Kocharian has been accused of ordering the violent dispersal in March 2008 of opposition protests staged in the wake of a disputed presidential election.

Khachaturov was Armenia's deputy defense minister at the time.

Eight protesters and two police officers were killed in the crackdown, which came about a month before Kocharian completed his second and final presidential term. Kocharian has denied the charges as politically motivated.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/csto-chief- charged-with-overthrowing-armenia-s -constitutional-order/29394131.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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Armenian Ex-President Kocharian Taken Into Custody Over 2008 Crackdown

RFE/RL's Armenian Service July 27, 2018

YEREVAN -- Former President Robert Kocharian has been taken into custody by Armenian authorities after being charged a day earlier in connection with the deadly breakup of opposition protests following the disputed presidential election in 2008.

A Yerevan district court late on July 27 ruled that the Special Investigative Service (SIS) would be allowed to keep Kocharian under arrest pending investigation into the crackdown that left 10 people dead, including two police officers.

One of Kocharian's lawyers, Ruben Sahakian, said the former president will appeal against his pretrial custody.

Sahakian and another attorney, Aram Orbelian, declined to comment further and said they would hold a news conference at midday on July 28.

Kocharian has denied the charges as politically motivated and said the crackdown on protesters was necessary to prevent an illegal takeover of government by another former president, Levon Ter-Petrosian.

The case dates back to late February and early March 2008 in the wake of a disputed election to determine Kocharian's successor.

Kocharian's ally, Serzh Sarkisian, was declared the winner, angering the opposition and setting off 10 days of nonstop protests that led to a deadly crackdown on March 1.

Kocharian is accused of illegally ordering the violent dispersal of protesters.

Earlier on July 27, the Armenian chief of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), Yuri Khachaturov, was charged with similar offenses related to the 2008 crackdown.

Khachaturov was Armenia's deputy defense minister at the time.

He told reporters upon his arrival to court that he denied any wrongdoing.

Officials said Khachaturov would be released after paying a bail of about $10,000.

The CSTO is a regional grouping that includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and is seen by Moscow as a way counter the European Union and NATO.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/29394682.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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Indian Gov't Source: Chinese Transgressions Continue in Sikkim Even After Doklam

Sputnik News

19:43 27.07.2018(updated 19:53 27.07.2018)

The Sikkim sector of the Indo-China border, which lies in India's northeast, is considered "settled" according to the 1890 border agreement that defined the boundary between Sikkim and Tibet.

A group of Chinese soldiers went two kilometers into Indian territory in the Sikkim sector of the border and Indian soldiers formed a human chain to stop the transgression, according to a source in the Indian government.

"Around 50 PLA troops had transgressed into the Indian territory and stayed there for hours at the site. When repeated requests failed, nearly 100 Indian soldiers formed a human chain to block the movement of the Chinese troops," the source told Sputnik.

The source told Sputnik that security agencies submitted a report regarding this transgression to the government days after an eight-member Chinese delegation led by deputy chief of PLA's Western Theatre Command, Lt Gen. Liu Xiaowu, visited the Indian Army's 33 Corps headquarters at Sukna and the eastern army headquarters in Calcutta early this month. The 33 Corps headquarters at Sukna is only about 100 kilometers away from the transgressed site.

This was the first standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in the Sikkim sector after last year's 73-day impasse that was triggered by an attempt by Indian soldiers to stop a Chinese construction team from building a road in the Doklam plateau  a disputed territory involving India, China and Bhutan.

Local media reports suggest that at least 28 transgressions were reported in the last three months in various sectors of the Line of Actual Control (LAC)  a loosely demarcated border between India and China. These transgressions were all reported after the historic Wuhan informal summit between Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and China's President Xi Jinping in April this year.

Meanwhile, a top commander of the Indian Army has downplayed these incidents.

"On a large number of occasions, there were reports that the PLA of China has carried out transgressions in various areas along the LAC. But such transgressions have always taken place in areas where we have a differing perception of the LAC. We do not have a delineated LAC. Similarly, when we speak to Chinese authorities, they also refer to us having transgressed into their territory on several occasions," Lt General Ranbir Singh, the northern army commander, told reporters in Kashmir after paying tributes to the 1999 Kargil conflict heroes on Thursday.

Earlier on Thursday, India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) denied media reports about purported remarks made by a US official on the situation in Doklam.

"The press reports attributing remarks on Doklam to a US official is incorrect.  I would reiterate that since the disengagement of Indian and Chinese border personnel in the Doklam area on 28 August 2017, there have been no new developments at the face-off site and its vicinity. The status quo prevails in this area," the Ministry of External Affairs said.

A top US official, while comparing Chinese actions in the Himalayan region with its maneuvers in the disputed South China Sea said that China has quietly resumed its activities in the Doklam area and neither Bhutan nor India has sought to dissuade it.

According to the media reports, Congresswoman Ann Wagner, during a congressional hearing, asked, "Although both countries back down, China has quietly resumed its activities in Doklam and neither Bhutan nor India has sought to dissuade it. China's activities in the Himalayas remind me of its South China Sea policies. How should our failure to respond to the militarization of the South China Sea inform the international response to these Himalayan border disputes?"

 Sputnik

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Cambodia: Before crucial vote on Sunday, UN chief calls for 'pluralistic political process'

27 July 2018 - As Cambodians prepare to vote in general elections on Sunday, the United Nations Secretary-General issued a statement on Friday calling for "an inclusive and pluralistic political process" saying that it "remains essential for safeguarding the progress made by Cambodia in consolidating peace."

Through his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric, he called on all political actors "to reduce tensions and political polarization."

Prime Minister and leader of the Cambodian People's Party, Hun Sen, has ruled the country for more than 30 years, and last November the rival Cambodia National Rescue Party was dissolved, by court edict, according to reports.

The UN independent expert appointed to monitor human rights in Cambodia, Rhona Smith, said at the end of April that there could be no "genuine" election process "if the main opposition party is barred from taking part."

The UN chief on Friday called on the Cambodian government "to uphold international human rights standards and in particular to ensure guarantees for civil society actors and political parties to exercise their democratic rights."

"He reiterates the continued commitment of the United Nations to support a peaceful and democratic Cambodia that fully respects the human rights of all its citizens," concluded Mr. Dujarric.



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Historic Autonomy Deal for Philippine Muslims Takes Aim at 50 Years of Strife

By Ralph Jennings July 27, 2018

A landmark local autonomy law passed this week in the Philippine capital, Manila, gives restive Muslim Filipinos a new sense of hope for resolving a half-century-old conflict over self-rule that has killed 120,000 people and attracted the terrorist group Islamic State.

The Bangsamoro Organic Law received full congressional approval and the president's signature in the Philippines this week. It follows up a peace deal signed with the most established separatist group, the Moro Islamic Liberation Front. The law will give state funding and local control of natural resources to a largely Muslim region on the southern island of Mindanao.

The law has widespread support in Mindanao, though Muslims warn that the region's numerous ethnic and separatist groups must share power for it to work. Perceptions of unequal local leadership and lack of commitment by Manila have hurt an existing autonomy regime in Mindanao, they say.

"I share the hope they can achieve their aspirations but of course as one country, not as a separate or even independent area within the Philippines," said Asec Felix Castro, field office manager with a government agency in charge of rebuilding the Mindanao city of Marawi.

Troops in Marawi battled an Islamic State-inspired Muslim separatist group for five months, killing about 1,100 people and demolishing the city. Marawi will fall under the new autonomous region.

"I'd like to think they can achieve their hope with the proper leadership from among themselves," Castro said.

Control over resources, funding

Muslims have lived in Mindanao's west and its outlying islands for more than 500 years. Many resent the Christian majority's control over minerals and fossil fuels from their resource-rich part of the archipelago.

The new law creates an autonomous region within the Philippines called Bangsamoro. Bangsamoro will replace an existing 12,536 square-kilometer tract carved out for Muslim groups in Mindanao 29 years ago. A voter referendum later this year could expand the region's boundary.

Bangsamoro will automatically get government block grants equal to 5 percent of national tax and customs revenue. Now the region's leaders must apply for funding. The central government also will kick in 5 billion pesos ($93.6 million) annually for 10 years for the rehabilitation of conflict areas.

All central money for development of natural resources will go to the Bangsamoro government, per the new law. Revenue from coal, gas, oil and uranium will be equally shared with the Philippine government. The new region may be able to raise its own taxes, some people in Marawi believe.

Bangsamoro leaders will not keep a separate military.

Sense of autonomy

A sense of autonomy for Muslims should make Mindanao safer, said Henelito Sevilla, assistant international relations professor at University of the Philippines. Violence occurs so often that foreign governments advise against travel to Mindanao, leaving the island a reputation that has hurt tourism and investment.

"The self-determination that they are longing for in terms of practicing their own religion and cultural rights, as well as the exploitation of their own resources, that would bring growth and development, and of course which follows is security in their Muslim areas," Sevilla said.

Congress was set to pass the law in 2015 but stopped after the Moro Islamic Liberation Front ambushed troops and killed 44 commandos. Duterte, himself from Mindanao, had pushed Congress to pass the law this year.

"I really plead for peace," Duterte said Friday via the presidential website. "I do not want war. I cannot fight my own people."

People in Marawi expressed tentative hope.

"Autonomy for me is that complete internal sovereignty where the people could practice what they want, wherein they are given the freedom to choose," said Hamsiya Alilaya, a faculty member with the King Faisal Center for Islamic, Arabic and Asian Studies at Mindanao State University in Marawi.

Sticking points

Power sharing among factions in Bangsamoro will help determine whether it works out, analysts in the country say.

The Moro Islamic Liberation Front has accepted the law and vowed to disarm 30,000 people, according to Philippine news reports. The front must share power to avoid inciting new insurgencies, Philippine scholars believe. Twenty rebel groups, including a violent one that split from the liberation front, operate today in Mindanao.

Government officials must show sincerity in enforcing the Bangsamoro law as well, said Habib Macaayong, president of the Mindanao State University system.

Another major rebel group, the Moro National Liberation Front, wants the law to give job placements and scholarships for people in Bangsamoro, a group representative said last month.

The law should inspire the Moro front to shun any further violence but may form just the first of numerous measures needed to lock in peace, said Enrico Cau, Ph.D. student in international affairs and strategic studies at Tamkang University in Taiwan.

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Former Rebel Leader's Return Could Upend DRC Election

By Salem Solomon July 27, 2018

The re-emergence of a former rebel leader convicted of war crimes could make the Democratic Republic of the Congo's upcoming presidential election even more volatile.

Jean-Pierre Bemba will return to Congo in August and plans to run for president in the country's December polls, said Eve Bazaiba, the secretary general of the Movement for the Liberation of Congo.

Bemba's presence could galvanize a base of supporters eager to see incumbent President Joseph Kabila dislodged from power. But observers worry about the possibility of violence in a country already on edge.

Flouting term limits

In 2001, when he was just 29 years old, Kabila rose to power days after his father, Laurent, the sitting president, was assassinated.

He won elections in 2006 and 2011, reaching the end of his second, and final, term in 2016. But elections for a successor were delayed in a move that drew widespread condemnation.

Now, with the country set to vote at the end of the year, the international community has grown increasingly concerned that Kabila will seek a third term in violation of the constitution or cause further delays.

"Kabila is, for sure, trying to run in these elections. This is his 'Plan A,'" Adeline Van Houtte, a research analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, told VOA.

One way Kabila could try to stay in power, Van Houtte said, is by exploiting a loophole in the constitution, which the country changed in 2011. That amendment reduced the number of rounds of voting from two to one, a change that Kabila might argue resets the number of terms he's been in office.

If that doesn't work, Van Houtte said, Kabila might hand-pick a successor and retain power in an informal role.

Warlord-turned-politician

After leading rebel forces in Congo's civil war, Bemba became one of four vice presidents serving under Kabila in 2003.

He ran against Kabila for the presidency three years later, securing 42 percent of the vote to Kabila's 58 percent in a hotly contested runoff election.

Bemba's political aspirations soon dwindled.

In 2008, he was arrested and later charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity. The charges stemmed from actions that troops under Bemba's command took in the Central African Republic in 2002. His trial began in 2010 and became one of the International Criminal Court's most high-profile cases, with a guilty verdict coming six years later.

But last month, Bemba's convictions were overturned, on appeal, by the ICC, paving the way for his return to the DRC.

'Dangerous' connections

Despite the accusations of human rights violations and the time he spent outside the country, Bemba still has a large base of support, especially in the north and west of the DRC.

His return could bring instability to an already contentious process because he has the capacity to start a movement, Van Houtte said.

Congolese voters might otherwise accept another delay or a hand-picked successor, but Bemba could force a reckoning, if Kabila refuses to relinquish control, or if questions about the credibility of the election gain traction.

"[Bemba] has the ability to find support at the grassroots level, and he has connections in former rebel networks. So that could easily become dangerous," Van Houtte said.

Bemba's presence could also help Kabila by dividing the opposition.

"It risks complicating the opposition's effort to unite behind a single presidential candidate," Van Houtte said. "Bemba announced that he would like, at least, to have a single candidate for the opposition, but that doesn't mean that they will agree on this."

It's also not clear how strong the field of opposition candidates will be.

One potential candidate, Moise Katumbi, a wealthy businessman and the former governor of Katanga Province, was forced into exile in Belgium and is being tried on charges of "harming domestic security."

So far, he's attempted to campaign remotely via the internet.

Unknown intentions

Congo has been besieged with war and violence during Kabila's tenure, and international pressure continues to mount for the country to respect the term limits enshrined in its constitution.

Key officials were sanctioned ahead of the planned 2016 election due to concerns they had used violence and intimidation to delay the vote.

And Thursday, in a meeting with the United Nations Security Council, U.S. Deputy U.N. Ambassador Jonathan Cohen expressed the United States' regret that Kabila has not yet confirmed that he won't run for a third term.

Kabila has made no official announcement of his intentions, but recent moves suggest he's getting ready for a fight.

In May, he appointed three high court judges likely to be sympathetic to his interpretation of the constitution.

Earlier this month, he reshuffled the army, giving high-level promotions to several generals under international sanctions for violent crackdowns on civilians.

Candidates have until August 8 to register their campaigns.

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After Delivery From Russia, China Ready to Test S-400 Air Defense System

Sputnik News

22:00 27.07.2018

Russia has delivered all the necessary components to China for its first S-400 Triumf missile air defense system regiment, and Beijing does not plan to waste in any time in testing the new interceptor-based systems, according to reports.

"It is planned that in late July-early August the unit of the People's Liberation Army, which underwent training in Russia, will carry out the firing against a simulated ballistic target at a Chinese firing ground," The Diplomat reported Friday, citing defense sources.

China became the first international buyer of Triumf in 2015 when Rosoboronexport chief executive Anatoly Isaykin announced the deal in April of that year. The Triumf is a mobile aerial defense system designed to pick off aircraft, cruise missiles or ballistic missiles within a range of some 250 miles, the International Business Times has reported.

China's acquisition of S-400 units includes the first delivery, which happened last week, as well as a second S-400 to be delivered by year's end. The deal was reported to be worth $3 billion.

"It is still unknown when the first S-400 unit will enter the service with the PLA, although a rapid induction, as evidenced by the recent announcement of the test firing, can be expected," The Diplomat report said.

Approximately 10 countries are considering procuring Russia's S-400 air defense systems, the head of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation, Dmitry Shugayev, said in April 2018. "Many countries in the world have shown interest in this air defense system [S-400], first of all countries in the Middle East and North Africa There is broad range of air defense weapons on the global market, yet the demand for Russian hardware remains stable. It is hardly likely that Russia will surrender this market to its rivals," Shugayev told the Interfax news agency.

In related S-400 news, US lawmakers are up in arms about the sale of an S-400 to Turkey, particularly because reports indicate the S-400s are capable of collecting data on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jet, which is considered one of the most expensive weapons programs in military history.

A leaked draft of the next National Defense Authorization Act (or NDAA, a measure that is renewed by Congress annually) states that, if passed with the current language intact, the act "prohibits the delivery of F-35 aircraft to Turkey until the delivery of a report, which would include an assessment of a significant change in Turkish participation in the F-35 program, including potential elimination of such participation."

The Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank known to demonize Russia, noted in a July 25 analysis: "the Russian-made surface-to-air missile system poses a unique threat to American aircraft: the S-400's radar is able to act as a platform to collect electronic and signals intelligence from the F-35."

"If the [S-400] radar operates in Turkey, alongside the F-35, Moscow could potentially gain useful knowledge about the jet and be able to detect the jet at greater ranges, potentially giving Moscow useful data about NATO's future frontline fighter," according to the Atlantic Council.

 Sputnik

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North Korea appoints Ri Myong Su as new military chief

Iran Press TV

Fri Jul 27, 2018 05:49AM

North Korea has appointed a new military chief of staff as part of Pyongyang's leadership shake-up.

The North official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) confirmed on Friday that Ri Yong-gil became the new chief of the military's general staff.

The 63-year-old military chief, who formerly held the four-star position, was briefly demoted deputy chief on charges of corruption and for forming a political faction back in 2016.

He is 21 years old younger than his predecessor, Ri Myong Su. He served as director of the General Staff Operations Bureau from February 2013 to August.

There were also other new appointments in Pyongyang including, the appointment of No Kwang Chol, first vice defense minister, as the defense chief, and Army General Kim Su Gil as director of the military's powerful General Political Bureau.

All the newly-promoted officials are younger than their predecessors, although they are all in their 60s.

Leader Kim Jong-un was accompanied by the new military chief to a ceremony on Friday, marking the 65th anniversary of the armistice agreement that ended the 1950-53 Korean War.

The recent appointment was made more than a month after Kim held a summit with US President Donald Trump in Singapore, at the end of which the two leaders signed a brief, broadly-worded document according to which both sides committed to working "towards complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula."

The document, however, did not offer a specific timeline for dismantling North Korea's nuclear arsenal. Pyongyang did not pledge to unilaterally denuclearize, while the US and international sanctions imposed on the North remain in place as well.

Though senior American officials said there was still much work to be done for "complete, verifiable and irreversible" denuclearization  the Trump White House's demand  the US president claimed that "There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea."

This is while, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told lawmakers on Wednesday that Pyongyang was still making nuclear material.

North hands over remains of US troops killed 6 decades ago

Meanwhile, the North handed over some 55 cases to the United States, which believed to contain remains of US troops killed during the Korean War some 65 years ago.

A US military transport plane flew to an airfield in North Korea's northeastern city of Wonsan to take the remains to Osan air base in South Korea, the White House said in a statement.

Soldiers from various nations serving in South Korea under the United Nations Command presented an honor guard before the plane, while other troops descended the ramp of the US Air Force C-17, carefully holding cases wrapped in the UN flag.

The repatriation move was welcomed by Washington as a first step by Pyongyang to implement the agreement made last month.

"Today, (Kim) is fulfilling part of the commitment he made to the President to return our fallen American service members," "We are encouraged by North Korea's actions and the momentum for positive change," it added.

Trump also described the move as a "great moment for so many families," and thanked the North Korean leader in a tweet on Thursday.

A formal ceremony would be held at Osan on Wednesday, according to the White House statement.

The US will, however, need DNA analysis to determine how many troops can be identified.

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Trump Thanks Kim for 'Keeping His Word,' Returning Remains of US Service Members

Sputnik News

17:25 27.07.2018(updated 17:29 27.07.2018)

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US President Donald Trump said in a press briefing on Friday that he wanted to thank North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for fulfilling his promise and returning the remains of some US service members who were killed in Korea.

"I want to thank Chairman Kim for keeping his word. We have many others coming, but I want to thank Chairman Kim in front of the media for fulfilling a promise that he made to me and I'm sure that he will continue to fulfill that promise as they search and search and search," Trump told reporters.

Kim agreed at the June 12 summit with Trump in Singapore to help the United States recover remains of fallen US service members and prisoners of war.

Earlier on Friday, a US airplane carried the remains to Osan Air Base in South Korea from the North Korean port of Wonsan earlier. Media reports said there were 55 sets of remains.

A formal repatriation ceremony will be held at the base on August 1, then the remains will be transported to the US state of Hawaii for forensic identification.

Trump said that Vice President Mike Pence would be with the families of the fallen soldiers when the remains are returned to the United States.

On June 12, Trump and Kim met in Singapore during their first official summit meeting. The two officials signed an agreement saying North Korea will denuclearize in exchange for a freeze on the US-South Korean military drills and potential sanctions relief. The White House did not specify any deadlines on carrying fulfilling the agreed on items.

After the meeting, the US president added that he established a very good relationship with Kim, despite media criticism at the beginning of the summit negotiations.

 Sputnik

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Pyongyang 'Frustrated' Over Delay in Peace Treaty Signing to End Korean War

Sputnik News

16:35 27.07.2018(updated 16:47 27.07.2018)

South and North Korea have been legally at war since the Korean War of 1950-1953, as neither party has signed a peace treaty. The 1953 Korean armistice agreement, however, provided for the suspension of open hostilities and a fixed demarcation line with a buffer zone.

In an interview with the South China Morning Post, Kim Hong-gul, chairman of the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation, said that Pyongyang had expressed its disappointment over foot-dragging in signing an official declaration to end the 1950-1953 Korean War.

"North Korean officials said they are frustrated about the delay and asked whether there is a valid reason for such slow progress," he said, citing Pyongyang's stance that it had made significant concessions to Seoul and expected reciprocal actions in return.

Kim also said that North Korea initially wanted a peace treaty, but "they are now asking for an end-of-war declaration" to speed up the denuclearization process on the Korean Peninsula.

In May, the press service of the South Korean presidential office reported that China and South Korea would cooperate closely in order to reach a permanent peace treaty between Seoul and Pyongyang.

During high-level talks between South Korean President Moon Jae-in and his North Korean counterpart, Kim Jong-un, in late April, the sides pledged in the Panmunjom Declaration that they would work together through 2018 to officially end the Korean War, which was halted by the 1953 armistice agreement.

The document stipulates that Seoul and Pyongyang should achieve this through either trilateral talks between the North, South and the US, or four-party talks including China.

Earlier that month, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said that "we should put an end to the armistice that has lasted for 65 years and move toward signing a peace treaty through the declaration of the end of the war."

He was echoed by South Korean top security adviser Chung Eui-yong, who said that Seoul would potentially sign a peace treaty with North Korea if Pyongyang were to give up its nuclear weapons, formally putting an end to the Korean War.

READ MORE: Seoul Views Inter-Korean Talks as Way to Pyongyang Denuclearization  Ministry

"We are examining the possibility of replacing the Korean armistice agreement with a peace treaty," he underscored.

After the June 12 talks between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un in Singapore, the two leaders signed an agreement envisaging North Korea denuclearizing in exchange for a freeze on US-South Korean military drills and potential sanctions relief.

Pyongyang has repeatedly announced that it will no longer abide by the armistice and called for replacing it with a peace treaty, stressing that the 1953 agreement was meant to be a transitional measure.

 Sputnik

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India to Acquire Spares of Grounded Foreign Jets to Revive Its Jaguar Fleet

Sputnik News

17:41 27.07.2018(updated 19:53 27.07.2018)

Under the $3 billion revamp plan, the state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL), which is responsible for the modernization of six squadrons, nearly 20 percent of the current IAF fighter fleet, will receive grounded Jaguars from France, Oman, and the UK by the end of 2018.

The Indian Air Force (IAF) plans to extend the life of its 117 Jaguar fighter aircraft to 20 years with new engines, air frames, and spares from grounded foreign fighter jets.

"Considering the existing depletion of the IAF's fighter fleet, with only 31 squadrons in operation against the authorized establishment of 45, upgrading Jaguars makes a lot of sense than retiring them. The gift of Jaguars by France and Oman will be a welcome relief. The gifted aircraft would serve as Christmas Trees from which spares can be plucked [to] keep the fleet operational," Vijainder K. Thakur, a defense analyst and retired air force squadron leader, told Sputnik.

The air frames of the Jaguars in service with the IAF were assembled in India by HAL. Going by the fatigue analysis, most of the air frames have enough residual life to be in service till 2030. However, HAL didn't localize the manufacture of air frame spares to the extent it should have. As a result, the IAF's Jaguar fleet is being kept operational through a regular global tendering for spares.

The Jaguar, which first entered service in the early 80s, was acquired for deep penetration of airspace of adversaries at low levels. Though very capable as a strike fighter at low levels, the aircraft is under-powered at medium to high altitudes. Life cycle upgrades and a consequent weight spiral have further compromised the fighters thrust to weight ratio and made it a slow flying duck at medium altitudes. To do away with this shortcoming, the Indian Defense Ministry is also finalizing a direct purchase of F-125IN engines from Honeywell in the US for the Jaguar fleet, which is currently being operated with Adour Mk.811 engines.

"Eighty of the 117 Jaguars in service are proposed to be upgraded with new engines. The Adour 811 engines (25 kN dry thrust, 37.5 kN with afterburners) would be replaced with Honeywell F-125IN engines (27.7 kN dry thrust, 43.8kN with afterburners). The engine upgrade would allow the Jaguar to safely operate at medium altitude in the strike. Because of lower fuel consumption at medium altitude, the operational range of the aircraft would double. There would be an additional increase in range as the aircraft would be able to leverage its air-to-air refueling capability," Thakur added.

The improved reserve of power in combination with a multi-mode AESA radar, glass cockpit, HOTAS, helmet mounted display and MBDA ASRAAM missiles would allow the aircraft to engage or evade adversary fighters effectively, Thakur opined.

 Sputnik

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IRGC chief plays down threats of military action against Iran

Iran Press TV

Fri Jul 27, 2018 09:30AM

Chief commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Ja'fari says Iran does not take military threats against it seriously, because a war on the country would have huge costs for its enemies.

"Military threats raised by the enemies are not very serious and are hollow and we have the power to respond them,"Ja'fari told a group of students in Tehran on Friday.

The IRGC commander said the enemies were more focused on undermining Iran through their "soft war".

"Threats and sanctions today by the enemies have reached their heights," he said. "However, the only threat that they would not put into action is the military one because if they carry out a military aggression, it would entail huge costs for them."

General Ja'fari's remarks come in the wake of US President Donald Trump's harsh rhetoric on Sunday, threatening Iran with hardship "the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before."

Trump pulled the US out of a landmark nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers in May and pledged to impose the most crippling sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

The remarks also came after Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull rejected reports on Friday that his country would help US attack Iran's nuclear facilities within a month, saying the entire story, published by the ABC, was pure "speculation".

"The story on the ABC, which cites senior Australian government sources, has not benefited from any consultation with me, the foreign minister, the defense minister or the chief of the defense force," Turnbull told ABC radio, adding, "So perhaps you should inquire of the authors of the article."

Gen. Ja'fari said Iran's enemies were trying to spread disappointment among the nation through a disinformation campaign, stressing that the efforts were futile because of the awareness of the people and the officials.

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Mattis dismisses report of US military action against Iran as 'fiction'

Iran Press TV

Fri Jul 27, 2018 08:49PM

US Defense Secretary James Mattis has dismissed a news report that the United States is preparing military action against Iran, describing it as "fiction."

He made the remarks on Friday a day after Australian outlet ABC News published an article, suggesting military action against the Islamic Republic was imminent as early as next month.

According to the report, Australian officials claimed the US was seeking to bomb Iran's nuclear capability.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, however, rebutted the report, which cites unnamed officials as saying Australia is poised to help identify possible targets through "providing intelligence."

"It's speculation," Turnbull said, according to The Straits Times. "It is citing anonymous sources."

Speaking to reporters, Mattis said, "I have no idea where the Australian news people got that information."

"I'm confident it is not something that's being considered right now, and I think it's a complete  frankly, it's  it's fiction," he added.

When asked whether the US had a policy of "regime change or collapse" toward Iran, Mattis said, "There's none that's been instituted."

This comes a few days after President Donald Trump promised dire consequences for Iran following Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's warning to him not to "play with the lion's tail" after the US had unveiled a series of measures which amount to a declaration of war.

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."

Iran's Major General Qassem Soleimani also reacted to Trump's threats against the Islamic Republic, saying he takes the position to respond "as a soldier" since it is beneath the dignity of Iran's president to do so.

"You threaten us with an action that is 'unprecedented' in the world. This is cabaret-style rhetoric. Only a cabaret owner talks to the world this way," said the commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

Meanwhile, US conservative political commentator for Fox News, Tucker Carlson, said Thursday that Iran is "a formidable force," warning the Trump administration over escalating tensions with Tehran.

Tucker Carlson made the comment on Fox News, warning that Trump's approach towards Iran could destroy his presidency.

"We are moving toward confrontation with Iran. That should worry everybody, but it should especially concern the president's supporters. If President Trump decides to go to war with Iran, it will destroy his presidency, just as the Iraq War destroyed the presidency of his Republican predecessor, George W. Bush," he said.

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Revolutionary Guard Chief: US Threats 'Hollow', Tehran 'Has Power to Respond'

Sputnik News

16:01 27.07.2018(updated 16:14 27.07.2018)

The Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps commander's remarks come amid rising tensions between Tehran and Washington over the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, and increasingly hostile relations between Iran and Israel over Syria.

IRGC commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari has countered President Trump's all-caps Tweet about Iran facing "consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before."

"Military threats raised by the enemies are not very serious and are hollow, and we have the power to respond to them," Jafari said, speaking to a group of students in Tehran Friday morning, PressTV has reported.

According to the senior officer, Iran's enemies are more focused on trying to undermine the country through what he called "soft war."

"Threats and sanctions today by the enemies have reached their heights," Jafari said. "However, the only threat that they would not put into action is the military one, because if they carry out military aggression, it would entail huge costs for them."

Jafari's remarks come in the wake of President Trump's threat against the country last Sunday, as well as reports that Australian officials believe Trump may be ready to strike Iran's nuclear facilities as soon as next month.

Trump's angry tweet came on the heels of remarks by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who warned Washington that "America should know that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace and war with Iran is the mother of all wars."

Trump pulled Washington out of the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), an international deal co-sponsored by the US, Russia, China, the European Union and several European powers, in May, and vowed to reimpose sanctions against Iran which had been lifted as part of the deal. The measures include a ban on Iran's purchase of US dollars for use in trade (to be set into play next month), as well as sanctions against countries or companies which purchase Iranian crude oil. The latter are expected to enter force in November.

Tensions between Iran and the US are also connected to Tehran's worsening relations with Tel Aviv, which actively lobbied Trump to cancel the nuclear deal. Israel has also expressed concerns with the presence of Iranian forces or their Hezbollah allies in Syria. Tehran maintains that its presence in the war-torn country is legal, and limited to an advisory capacity in supporting Damascus in its fight against Islamist terrorists.

 Sputnik

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Ayatollah Sistani calls for quick formation of new Iraqi govt.

Iran Press TV

Fri Jul 27, 2018 01:46PM

Iraq's senior Shia cleric Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has urged the formation of a new government as soon as possible in the wake of protests against alleged government corruption and poor public services in southern cities.

In a message delivered at the Friday sermon in the holy city of Kerbala through one of his representatives, Ayatollah Sistani called on the administration of incumbent Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to urgently meet the demands of people for improved basic services and employment.

"The current government must work hard urgently to implement citizens' demands to reduce their suffering and misery," Ayatollah Sistani's representative said.

The demonstrations in southern Iraq first erupted on July 8 in the city of Basra, an important hub for oil exports which account for over 95 percent of Iraq's government revenue.

Long neglected, Basra is one of the few cities in the Middle East without an effective water treatment system. Many of its waterways are stagnant cesspools, with state officials blaming it on a public funding crisis caused by years of low oil prices.

The timing of the demonstrations is critical due to the fact that political factions are trying to form a coalition government following the May 12 parliamentary elections.

Ayatollah Sistani said the next prime minister should work to fight governmental corruption.

"He (the new prime minister) must launch a relentless war against the corrupted and those who protect them," Ayatollah Sistani's representative said.

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Rohingya Refugees Reject Bangladesh Plan to Move to Remote Island

By Maaz Hussain July 27, 2018

Rohingya refugees say they will not accept a plan proposed by Bangladesh to relocate to a remote island, for fear it is unsafe.

"We will not find a way to move to a safer place if the island, which is surrounded on all sides by water, gets flooded," said Rohingya refugee Masuda Begum, who lives in Jamtoli refugee camp in Cox's Bazar. "We do not want to go to that island."

Bangladesh's prime minister announced weeks ago that tens of thousands of Rohingya would be transferred to the island of Bhasan Char in the Bay of Bengal at the end of the ongoing monsoon season.

Rights groups have cautioned that only refugees who voluntarily agree in a fully informed, transparent, and open consultation process should be considered for relocation.

"Any attempts to force people to go to the island, or create conditions requiring movement there for any reason, is totally unacceptable and will result in a major outcry by the world community against Bangladesh," said Phil Robertson, deputy director of Asia Division of Human Rights Watch.

Work in progress

There are more than one million Rohingyas in Bangladesh, with over 95 percent living as illegal or unregistered refugees in congested, squalid shanty-colonies scattered across southeastern coastal areas. Bangladesh, one of the world's most densely populated countries, has long complained that it cannot cope with the burden of Rohingya refugees pouring into the country from Myanmar.

In recent weeks, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told several international dignitaries of her government's plan to relocate the refugees to the island. Hasina told Natalia Kanem, executive director of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), that about 100,000 Rohingya would be relocated after the monsoon season.

And on July 15, Hasina told the director general of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), William Lacy Swing, that the refugees would be relocated to Bhasan Char to ensure access to better living conditions.

However, many agencies are concerned about the inhabitability of the 30,000-hectare island, which surfaced around nine years ago.

One local land department official told VOA that most of the island gets submerged during the high tide. Another forest department official, who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisals from authorities, said the land is unstable and it would take at least 20 years for a small part to be arable.

Mohammad Abul Kalam, Bangladesh's refugee relief and rehabilitation commissioner, said workers have been at Bhasan Char for months building shelters for the refugees.

"Because of the ongoing monsoon, the work is being hampered to some extent. However, about 50 percent of the work in the island has already been completed. By the end of September, the entire project to house the refugees on the island will be completed, we hope," Kalam told VOA.

Scared to move

However, the Rohingya refugees said they are scared to move to Bhasan Char.

"We knew from many sources that most parts of the island often get drowned when tidal waves hit," Rohingya refugee Nurul Kader told VOA. "For survival, around us we need farm lands and forests which do not exist in that island. Bangladesh is a congested country. Yet, people have not moved to the island to set up villages in Bhasan Char. It's clear the island is unsafe and unlivable."

Nobi Hossain, another Rohingya who lives in Jamtoli refugee camp, said he did not know anyone who is willing to move to Bhasan Char.

"In case of something like flood takes place here [in Cox's Bazar], we can move to safer places in other hills or camps. But, if such natural disaster hits that low-lying island, we will find no place to escape and there will be very big disaster. Also, if Bangladesh government relocates us to this place, we will feel like being exiled in a remote island," Hossain told VOA. "We do not want to go to Bhasan Char."

'Denying access'

Bangladesh's plans to relocate Rohingya refugees began in 2015. However, it was not until April 2018 that the government briefed the U.N. agencies and their partners about the move.

The Bangladesh government has not held official consultations with the refugees regarding their views on the relocation plan, said Firas Al-Khateeb, communication officer of the U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR.

"From the outset, it is important to highlight that should any eventual relocation to the island take place that, among other things, it must be voluntary and include a consultative and inclusive process with refugees prior to relocation; that refugees should have freedom of movement within the island and to and from the mainland; and that refugees should have effective access to basic rights, services and livelihoods," Al-Khateeb told VOA.

Robertson, of Human Rights Watch, noted that Hasina and her government are deflecting inquiries about the plan and denying access to the island.

"Many observers, including U.N. agencies and NGOs, still have major concerns that Bhasan Char is not safe and any refugees there could face a major disaster if hit squarely by the sort of typhoons that frequently move through the area. Bangladesh should not use the remoteness of the area to deny these refugees the right to freedom of movement and basic services that they would otherwise enjoy in Cox's Bazar," Robertson told VOA.

"If Bangladesh starts moving refugees to Bhasan Char against their will, the new story of the refugee crisis will not be what Myanmar has done, but rather what [Bangladesh] is doing," he said.

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Pakistan Election Results Show Khan's Party Wins, But Needs Coalition

RFE/RL July 27, 2018

Official results from Pakistan's legislative elections show opposition leader Imran Khan's Tehrik-e Insaf (PTI) party winning the vote and taking at least 115 of the 272 directly elected seats in the National Assembly.

But with about 90 percent of the vote counted, it was clear that the PTI would fall short of the 137 seats needed to control a simple parliamentary majority. That means the PTI will have to seek out allies in the legislature to form a coalition government.

With results for nine seats yet to be confirmed, and with votes for the elections for three seats postponed, Pakistani election officials said on July 27 that the current ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) of jailed former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif had secured at least 62 seats.

In third place was the left-of-center Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with at least 43 seats.

An additional 60 "member" positions of the National Assembly are reserved specifically for women and 10 "member" posts are reserved for non-Muslim minorities. Those positions will be allocated to the political parties according to proportional representation.

Although the additional 70 reserved positions make a total of 342 "members" in the National Assembly, a political party must secure more than half of the 272 directly elected seats -- or 137 seats -- to obtain or preserve a parliamentary majority.

Khan on July 26 Khan declared victory for his party in the elections, which were marred by delayed vote counting and violence as well as allegations of rigging by Khan's rivals.

In a televised speech on July 26, Khan said: "Thanks to God, we won and were successful," adding that "if God wills, we will set an example."

Sharif's PML-N and several other parties rejected early results from the vote count, alleging major vote-rigging and manipulation of the elections.

But Pakistani election officials denied there was widespread fraud.

In his July 26 speech, Khan called for "mutually beneficial" ties with the United States despite strained diplomatic relations.

"Unfortunately, our relations have so far remained one-way," said the 65-year-old. "I mean the U.S. assists Pakistan so that it can help fight the American war [in Afghanistan]. This has damaged Pakistan a lot. We want a relationship that is...balanced."

He also expressed support for peace in neighboring Afghanistan.

Kabul and Washington accuse Islamabad of providing safe havens for militant groups like the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network that are fighting Afghan and U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

"If Afghanistan is at peace, Pakistan will also have peace," Khan said. "Our government will try its best to bring peace in Afghanistan."

He also offered an olive branch to arch-rival India, saying the two nuclear-armed nations should resolve a longstanding dispute over the Himalayan region of Kashmir.

If confirmed as prime minister after coalition negotiations, Khan's victory would mark his stunning rise from struggling politician to the highest civilian office in the country.

Born to a privileged family and educated at Britain's Oxford University, Khan was known for his playboy lifestyle and married wealthy British heiress Jemima Goldsmith in 1996. He has since remarried twice.

Khan has criticized Pakistani liberals and embraced conservative Islam as a politician, promising a "new Pakistan" with an Islamic welfare state and an Islamic justice system. A populist who ran on an anticorruption campaign, he has allied himself with extremist religious groups with ties to militancy.

He has characterized his campaign as a battle against a political elite -- dominated by long-established parties like the PML-N and PPP -- that he accuses of hindering economic development in the impoverished country of 201 million people.

Khan is also widely believed to be backed by the army, which fell out with Nawaz Sharif, who looked to curb the military's traditional dominance in politics.

Khan has been an outspoken critic of the U.S.-led war in neighboring Afghanistan and of U.S. drone strikes against militants in Pakistan.

But analysts doubt Khan can radically change Pakistan's foreign policy, which is shaped by the army.

Pakistan's military has ruled for approximately half the period since the country's independence in 1947, staging coups three times.

With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal, Reuters, AP, AFP, and Dawn

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/official- results-show-pakistani-opposition-leader- khan-winning-elections/29393358.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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Pakistan Election

Press Statement

Heather Nauert

Department Spokesperson

Washington, DC

July 27, 2018

The United States takes note of yesterday's election results in Pakistan. The United States commends the courage of the Pakistani people, including many women, who turned out to vote and showed resolve to determine their country's future.

We condemn the horrific acts of terrorist violence that marred this process, including the latest attack outside a polling station in Quetta on election day. We offer our deepest condolences to the victims and their families, and wish a speedy recovery to those injured.

The development of strong democratic and civilian institutions of governance and a vibrant civil society is critical to Pakistan's long-term stability and prosperity. In that context, the United States shares concerns about flaws in the pre-voting electoral process, as expressed by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. These included constraints placed on freedoms of expression and association during the campaign period that were at odds with Pakistani authorities' stated goal of a fully fair and transparent election. The United States concurs with the conclusions of the European Union Election Observation Mission, whose report notes that while there were positive changes to the legal framework for elections in Pakistan, these were overshadowed by restrictions on freedom of expression and unequal campaign opportunities. The United States also has deep reservations over the participation of terrorist-affiliated individuals in the elections, but we commend Pakistani voters for fully rejecting these candidates at the ballot box on Wednesday.

Along with our international partners, the United States will continue to encourage a broadening of opportunities for political participation for all Pakistanis, and for the further strengthening of legitimate, democratic institutions. As Pakistan's elected leaders form a new government, the United States will look for opportunities to work with them to advance our goals of security, stability, and prosperity in South Asia.

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South Korea scrambles warplane to intercept Chinese jets: Seoul

Iran Press TV

Fri Jul 27, 2018 08:44AM

South Korea says it scrambled warplanes to intercept a Chinese military aircraft which allegedly entered the South's air defense territory.

The South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said in a statement on Friday that it sent F-15K fighter jets to intercept a Chinese aircraft  believed to be Y-9 tactical transport planethat flew into the territory known as the Korea Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) and spent more than four hours there.

It said that the plane was also flying near a submerged rock named Ieodo, which Seoul controls with a research station platform on the top of it.

Seoul later summoned a defense attache at the Chinese embassy in Seoul and "sternly" urged China to take steps to prevent the incident from recurring.

"Our government expressed our regret and we're taking this extremely seriously," South Korea's Defense Ministry said in a statement.

The ministry claimed that Chinese warplanes had made a similar flight over the South Korean zone in February and April.

In February, Seoul summoned the Chinese ambassador to lodge a complaint, and Beijing said then the aircraft was in a training in line with international law and practice.

As for the new incident, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told reporters in Beijing Friday he was unaware of the issue and referred questions to China's Defense Ministry.

The Korea Air Defense Identification Zone, which is located near Ieo Island, south of the Korean peninsula, overlaps with the air defense zones designated by China and Japan.

The South extended its own territory in 2013. The zones, however, are classified as international airspace and pilots entering the areas are not legally bound to report their route and purpose to the "host" nation.

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Russia's Putin urges 'right conditions' for meeting with Trump

Iran Press TV

Fri Jul 27, 2018 02:18PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin says he has invited his American counterpart Donald Trump to Moscow for talks on a range of issues but that all conditions needed to be right for such a meeting to take place.

"I am ready to go to Washington. I repeat once again, if the right conditions for work are created," Putin told reporters on Friday after a summit of the leaders of the BRICS group - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - in Johannesburg, South Africa.

He added that telephone calls between he and Trump were not sufficient and that the two sides are ready for further summits.

Both sides needed to meet to talk about issues like the historic Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), conflicts in the Middle East, and arms control treaties, the Russian leader said.

"Regarding our meetings, I understand very well what President Trump said. He has a desire to have further meetings, to hold further meetings. I am ready for that. We need for the appropriate conditions to exist, to be created, including in our countries," he added.

Trump announced on May 8 that Washington was walking away from the nuclear agreement signed between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany in 2015 and that he planned to reinstate US nuclear sanctions on Iran and impose "the highest level" of economic bans on Tehran.

Earlier this month, the US and Russian presidents held their much anticipated summit in the Finnish capital of Helsinki and said they would build up on the meeting to have more dialogue in the future.

After the meeting with his Russian counterpart, the US president faced a storm of criticism for his handling of the meeting.

"I've seen Russian intelligence manipulate many people over my professional career and I never would have thought that the US president would become one of the ones getting played by old KGB hands," said Texas Republican representative Will Hurd on July 16, joining a large number of Democrats, Republicans and the intelligence community members criticizing Trump.

Putin once again reaffirmed his readiness to meet Trump, saying, "We are ready for such meetings. We are ready to invite President Trump to Moscow. By all means. By the way, he has such an invitation, I told him about that."

The Russian leader also spoke about the possibility of meeting with Trump on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit, or another international event.

Pointing to the backlash inside Washington after Trump's performance at the Helsinki summit, Putin said: "Despite the difficulties, in this particular case difficulties linked to the internal political situation in the United States, life goes on and our contacts continue."

White House national security adviser John Bolton said on Wednesday that the US president and his Russian counterpart would not hold a meeting in the near future as it had been announced previously, at least not until next year.

Bolton blamed the delay on the probe into Trump's alleged collusion with Moscow in the wake of the 2016 election in the United States, Politico reported.

Bolton's announcement came few days after President Trump 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 said 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.



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Putin Says He's Invited Trump To Moscow For 'Important' Talks

RFE/RL July 27, 2018

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on July 27 that he has invited U.S. President Donald Trump to Moscow and that both he and Trump were ready for further summits.

Putin added that he is also ready to travel to Washington to meet Trump but said conditions need to be right for a meeting to take place.

Speaking to reporters at a summit of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries in South Africa on July 27, Putin said telephone calls between Moscow and Washington were insufficient.

"[Trump] has an invitation to Moscow. I have told him about it. I am ready to go to Washington, too, but, I repeat, only if corresponding conditions are created there," Putin said, without elaborating on what he meant by corresponding conditions.

Putin added that Russia and the United States also have plans for contacts at G20 summits and other international gatherings.

"So, despite all the difficulties, in this case the difficulties in the United States' domestic politics, our contacts continue," the Russian president said.

He said both he and Trump need to meet to talk about issues such as the Iran nuclear deal and global conflicts.

Putin stressed that his talks with Trump are "important" as they are relevant to "very many countries of the world, including the entire Europe."

Putin praised Trump for what he called "his eagerness to meet all his promises he made to voters during his election campaign."

He said that among the key points of the BRICS summit's joint declaration was the "nonacceptance of economic sanctions" imposed on Russia by the U.S. and European Union in response to Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula in 2014 and for supporting separatists in Ukraine's east, where more than 10,300 people have died in the conflict.

In response, White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said on July 27 that Trump "looks forward to having President Putin to Washington after the first of the year, and he is open to visiting Moscow upon receiving a formal invitation."

Meanwhile, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis said he was considering the possibility of the first talks in years between the defense chiefs of the United States and Russia.

Separately, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said on July 27 that U.S. national security adviser John Bolton may meet the secretary of Russia's Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, by the end of summer.

Putin and Trump met in Helsinki last week, but Trump faced harsh criticism in the United States from Republicans and Democrats alike who said he sided with Russia over the conclusions of his own intelligence agencies that Moscow had interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign.

John Bolton, Trump's national security adviser, said on July 25 that the U.S. president wants to meet with Putin at the White House in 2019 -- after the Justice Department's probe into Russia's alleged interference in the 2016 U.S. election has been completed.

Bolton said in a statement that Trump "believes the next bilateral meeting with President Putin should take place after the Russia witch hunt is over, so we've agreed it will be after the first of the year."

With reporting by Reuters, AP, Interfax, and TASS

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/putin-says- he-s-invited-trump-to-moscow-for -important-talks/29394233.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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New Nuclear Triad: A Look Into the Future of Russia's Strategic Defenses

Sputnik News

21:10 27.07.2018

Earlier this month, Russia's Strategic Missile Forces announced that the branch's rearmament with new nuclear delivery systems and their carriers would be completed by the mid-to-late 2020s. Sputnik explores what exactly such rearmament entails.

Last week, the Russian Ministry of Defense released a series of videos showing the testing and/or deployment of several of Russia's new weapons systems, including the RS-28 Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile, the Avangard hypersonic boost-glide vehicle, the Poseidon nuclear-capable torpedo, and the Kinzhal air-launched nuclear-capable hypersonic cruise missile. In one form or another, all of these systems are connected to Russia's strategic defense capabilities.

In his now famous address to lawmakers in March, Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated that under Russian nuclear doctrine, nuclear weapons may be used only in the event of a nuclear attack on Russia, or an act of conventional aggression so severe that it threatens the existence of the Russian state. "As such, I see it as my duty to announce the following: Any use of nuclear weapons against Russia or its allies, weapons of short, medium or any other range, will be considered a nuclear attack on the country. Retaliation will be immediate, with all the attendant consequences," the head of state emphasized.

Amid NATO's deployments ever-closer to Russia's borders, the US's construction of its anti-missile shield in Romania and Poland, and Washington's plans to spend over $1 trillion to modernize its nuclear arsenal, Russia's Defense Ministry has justified its own new or upgraded strategic weapons as tools meant "to enhance [the] defense capacity of Russia" and "prevent any aggression against [the] country and its allies."

On the Ground

A broad Russian effort to preserve the global strategic balance began in the 2000s, when the Bush administration first started the construction of its European nuclear shield, which the US claimed was aimed at containing an Iranian nuclear threat. In the early 2010s, after over a decade in development, the RS-24 Yars ICBM, capable of carrying up to six independently targetable warheads with a 300 kiloton yield apiece, began to be introduced into the Strategic Missile Forces.

This process has continued into the present, with the Teikovo, Tagil and Novosibirsk region mobile formations recently armed with the system, and missile troops in Irkutsk and Yoshkar-Ola next in line for delivery. The 28th Guards Rocket Division in Kozelsk, in western Russia's Kaluga region, is set to be equipped with a mine-based variant of the RS-24 in the near future. Together with the Topol-M, Yars will serve as the backbone of the ground-based component of Russia's nuclear deterrent for decades to come. Yars missiles have an estimated range of 12,000 km.

In recent years, the Strategic Missile Forces have made a concerted effort to beef up protection along the missile troops patrol routes. These measures have included the deployment of the Typhoon-M counter-sabotage combat vehicle, whose advanced all-weather radio and optical-electronic surveillance systems enable it to detect intruders at a distance of up to 3 km, and vehicles at a distance of 6 km. For the future, the defense ministry has also shown an interest in the use of robotic systems such as the Nerekhta combat robot, which has proven itself in counter-sabotage and counter-terrorism exercises.

In the super-heavy ground-based missile category of Russia's nuclear deterrent is the RS-28 Sarmat, a silo-based liquid-fueled missile with a 11,000 km range. With an estimated yield of 350 kilotons in each of its 15 MIRV warheads, 10 heavier MIRV warheads, or warheads combined with large numbers of decoys, the RS-28 is seen as Russia's response to US missile defenses, and the Pentagon's Prompt Global Strike program. With the start of mass production of Sarmats planned for 2020, the first missile regiment is expected to receive them by 2021. The RS-28 will replace the R-36M2 Voevoda and RS-18A Stilet missiles in service today.

Complementing the Sarmat is the Avangard, a new hypersonic glide vehicle with a Scramjet engine capable of delivering both nuclear and conventional payloads at speeds of up to Mach 20. Able to maneuver while in flight, the system is essentially invulnerable to any existing or perspective missile defense system, and is expected to become fully operational in late 2018 or early 2019.

At Sea

The backbone of Russia's upgraded strategic capabilities at sea is the R-30 Bulava, a submarine-launched ballistic missile introduced in 2011 and deployed in 2013 aboard the lead ship of the new Borei class of strategic missile submarines, the appropriately named Yuri Dolgoruky ('Yuri the Long-Arm'). The Russian Navy has since commissioned two more Borei subs, with five more under construction and six more planned. By 2021, the Navy expects to be operating a total of seven of the subs in its Northern and Pacific Fleets.

With a range of 8,000 km and a launch mass of 36.8 tons, the Bulava can carry 6 MIRVs with a yield of 150 kilotons each or between 10 and 40 decoys, with the warheads capable of changing trajectory mid-flight.

The Boreis will replace the Akula-class (NATO reporting name Typhoon) ballistic missile subs, a massive Soviet-era design introduced in the 1980s and serving as the mainstay of the Soviet strategic presence at sea. Today, a single Akula, the Dmitry Donskoy, remains operational. Other missile-carrying subs, the Kalmar and Delfin-class vessels, continue their operations, but are also set to be retired as more Boreis come online.

Rounding out the Navy's new nuclear capabilities is the Poseidon, aka Status-6, a high-speed nuclear-powered and nuclear-armed torpedo expected to be carried by attack subs and described by Pentagon officials as a "major strategic threat" to US ports, coastal military installations and carrier battle groups.

In the Air

Rounding out the Russian nuclear trial is the air-based component, which is also expected to receive attention. At its core are the Tu-95MSM 'Bear' and Tu-160 White Swan bombers; each year, the Aerospace Forces receive several upgraded versions of each of the planes, with new technologies allowing the planes to remain up-do-date decades after their original introduction. Earlier this year, for example, the Defense Ministry announced that the Tu-160's new engines would add 1,000 km + to its 12,300 km range. As far as nuclear payload goes, the planes are armed with Kh-102 nuclear-tipped cruise missiles, which have a range of 5,500 km.

The Tu-22M3, another strategic and maritime strike bomber, is perhaps the most perspective candidate for upgrades. In 2016, the Aerospace Forces received the Kh-32, a new nuclear-capable cruise missile with an assumed range of 1,000 km range and a top speed of Mach 4.1.

Furthermore, in footage released last week, the Defense Ministry confirmed that the Kinzhal, a new air-launched nuclear-capable hypersonic, maneuverable cruise missile with a top speed of Mach 10 and a range of 2,000 km, had been tested aboard the Tu-22M3. Given the Tu-22M's 5,100 km range, the Kinzhal can be effectively be said to have gained intercontinental strike capability. The missile is already deployed, and has seen extensive flight training aboard the MiG-31BM supersonic interceptor aircraft.

 Sputnik

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Signs show Saudi economy headed for troubled waters

Iran Press TV

Fri Jul 27, 2018 03:40PM

Speculations are rising that an ambitious plan for economic reforms attributed to the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman may not progress as desired due to a range of "unprecedented" issues  most importantly a lack of adequate national and international investments.

A report by Forbes highlighted recent indications that wealthy Saudis were unwilling to invest domestically as a sign that showed Prince Salman's Vision 2030 economic reforms program could sooner or later hit troubled waters.

The report specifically brought into the spotlight concerns that "there may be an entire class of powerful Saudis questioning the future, or at least preparing for a worst-case scenario".

This, it added, followed anticipations by wealthy Saudis and private businesses that the government might be monitoring their financial transactions and might even take steps "to prevent these people from moving assets out of the country".

Forbes further wrote that the arrests of 300 prominent Saudi royals and businessmen by Prince Salman's security apparatus had already led to the stifling of the private sector in the kingdom.

As a result, many wealthy Saudis had already become unwilling to invest domestically despite the government's centralized push for business growth.

The report further added that things could get even worse if the prices of oil continue to fall in markets.

Rising unemployment was also cited as a primary concern for the future health of the Saudi economy.

Unemployment in the kingdom, Forbes wrote, would generally be a result of a mismatch between "the type of jobs available and the type of jobs that unemployed Saudis are willing to do".

The report further highlighted speculations that the centralized economic plans by Saudi Arabia might have the same fate as those pursed but eventually proved failed by the Soviet Union and China.

"This plan, Vision 2030, seems headed down a similar path," wrote Forbes. "It may be time for Saudi Arabia to rethink the strong hand approach and try a more laissez-faire stance, trusting that the country's past investment in education and the youth would push a healthy economy forward if the government got out of the way."

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On liberation course, Syria sets sights on Idlib

Iran Press TV

Thu Jul 26, 2018 10:53PM

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says government forces have turned their focus on Idlib, noting that liberation of the northwestern province is one of the military's priorities.

"Now Idlib is our goal," Assad told Russian media outlets on Thursday.

The province holds the largest concentrations of Takfiri terrorists, who have fled there from ongoing liberation operations by the country and its allies, including Russia.

The Syrian head of state, however, asserted that the operations will not be just focusing on Idlib. "The military -- and it is at their discretion -- will decide priorities and Idlib is one of these priorities," he said.

"There are of course territories in the eastern part of Syria that are controlled by various groups... So we will be moving into all these regions," he said.

"Now we have liberated Ghouta, we will finish the liberation of the southwestern part of Syria," Assad said.

Ghouta, a suburb of the capital Damascus, was cleansed of terrorist presence back in March after months of operations.

Last month, the country began counter-terrorism operations at its southern tip, which comprises the provinces of Dara'a, Quneitra, and Sweida.

White Helmets

On Saturday, members of a Western-backed "aid group," which is accused by Damascus and Moscow of working with Takfiri militants and staging false flag gas attacks in Syria, were evacuated to an Israeli military base as the army was closing in on Quneitra.

The operation began after a call by the United States, and expression of readiness by its allies Britain, Germany, and Canada to take the evacuees in.

Hundreds of the so-called White Helmets are still reportedly present on the Syrian soil.

The Syrian chief executive equaled the White Helmets' members with terrorists, saying they did not deserve any better treatment than terrorists unless they surrendered.

"Either they can lay down their arms as part of an amnesty ongoing for four or five years, or they will be liquidated like any other terrorist," he said.

Assad finally appealed for Syrian refugees, especially those who had their own businesses in the country, to return.

The Syrian president has called "rebuilding" a priority, now that the country is slowly emerging from seven years of foreign-backed militancy and terrorism.

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Kurdish delegation in Damascus for peace talks

Iran Press TV

Fri Jul 27, 2018 10:25AM

An alliance of Kurdish and Arab militants in Syria has sent a delegation to the Syrian capital for talks with Syrian government officials.

The so-called Syrian Democratic Council (SDC), which is linked to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)  a US-backed coalition of mainly Kurdish militants holding a grip on northeastern Syria  sent the delegation to Damascus on Wednesday, according to SDC co-chair Riad Darar.

The delegation, led by executive head of SDC Ilham Ahmed, was expected to discuss matters of service provision in the areas controlled by the Kurdish group, but "the talks might widen to political and security matters," Darar told Reuters on Friday.

"This is certainly the first visit that happened," he added.

The militants are allied with the United States and French troops deployed to Syria under the pretext of fighting Daesh.

Chief among their demands is having an autonomous region within the Syrian borders. Darar, however, said that the outcome of the meetings is not yet clear, and that he did not know which Syrian officials will be meeting with the Kurdish delegation.

He also did not clarify how long the delegation will stay in Damascus.

Their Kurdish militant group, once called by President Bashar al-Assad as "traitors" to the nation, announced last month that it was ready for "unconditional" peace talks with the government amid the Syrian army's major gains against the foreign-backed terrorist groups.

Assad said back in May that he was "opening doors" for negotiations with the SDF, who have apparently become wary of their unpredictable "ally", the United States.

In an interview with Russia's RT television network, Assad said, "we started now opening doors for negotiations, because the majority of them are Syrians, supposedly they like their country, they don't like to be puppets to any foreigners. If not, we're going to resort... to liberating those areas by force."

According to Syrian media, the Kurds had expressed readiness to hand over control of the Eastern Euphrates to the government after Washington withheld its support for the Kurdish militants in the northern Syrian cities of Manbij and Afrin.

The presence of the Kurdish militants in the area have been a source of tension between the US and Turkey. Last month, the two sides reached a deal about the withdrawal of the Kurds from Manbij.

The Kurds have stressed that that they do not seek independence, but say they want a political deal to safeguard an autonomous administration which is now under their control in the north.

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Syrian Army Preparing Operation to Liberate Idlib Province  Military Source

Sputnik News

18:57 27.07.2018(updated 19:56 27.07.2018)

On Thursday, Syrian President Bashar Assad estimated that Idlib province was now home to "tens of thousands of terrorists" and said that the region was among the priority areas for the Syrian military's operations.

A Syrian military source has told Sputnik Arabic that the Syrian Army was sending military equipment and ammunition to the borders of Idlib province and preparing for a large-scale operation to clear the area of terrorists.

"Military units are being deployed in the north of Hama province. The next stage will be to launch an offensive on the position of the terrorists from Jaysh al-Izza* in the villages of Kafr Zita, al-Lataminah, Latmin, Zakat Arbaen, al-Lahaya, and Maarkabah," the source said.

"The army is receiving information that militants in the north of the country are preparing to launch a broad offensive on the positions of the Syrian Army. All necessary measures have been taken to strengthen our positions, which will enable the army to deflect a number of possible strikes," the source added.

The source also said that the Syrian Army would engage in a broad attack along several axes to secure the countryside in Latakia province west of the village of Jisr al-Shughour, thereby putting an end to the militants' control in the area.

Most of Idlib province is currently occupied by a disparate collection of militant groups. The region has been home to infighting between Nusra Front** and Ahrar al-Sham,** the latter being another coalition of Salaifist jihadists. Over the last three years, militants from Aleppo, East Ghouta, Daraa province and other regions have evacuated to the region under agreements with the Syrian government. With the liberation of broad areas of southern Syria this month, Idlib province has become one of the last anti-government strongholds in Syria.

Speaking to the Russian media on Thursday, Bashar Assad said that Idlib was the "goal, but not the only goal" for the Syrian Army and its allies in its operations to restore control over the rest of the country.

* Also known as the 'Army of Glory,' a Free Syrian Army-affiliated militant group concentrated in northwestern Syria. The group is believed to be armed with US-made anti-tank missiles and is allied with Tahrir al-Sham, aka Nusra Front, aka Al-Qaeda in Syria.

** Terrorist groups outlawed in Russia and many other countries.

 Sputnik

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'Warehouses emptying' amid growing humanitarian needs in south-west Syria

27 July 2018 - More than 180,000 people are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance in south-west Syria after weeks of escalating hostilities that have restricted aid access to the area, the UN said on Friday.

At a briefing in Geneva, Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said that there were particular concerns for an estimated 55,000 civilians whose movements have been restricted by the extremist group Jaysh Khaled Bin Walid (JKBW).

"We are, of course, very concerned about this particular group's policy of restricting freedom of movement for civilians who are trying to flee the area and only a very limited number of civilians had been able to escape," Mr. Laerke told journalists.

The ISIL-linked terrorist affiliate's area of control, spans around 200-square kilometres of Syrian territory near the Jordanian border, OCHA said in a statement, noting that the development follows five weeks of territorial gains by Syrian Government forces against opposition armed groups in the south-western governorates of Dara'a, Quneitra and Sweida.

Several thousand people have nonetheless managed to seek safety from JKBW, but those who remain "are now subject to increasing hostilities", the OCHA official said, adding that between 21 and 23 July, "intense air strikes" were reported in the so-called Yarmouk Basin of Dara'a Province.

The targets included al-Shajra, Hayt, Tasil, Jellin, Sahm al-Golan, Adwan and Tal al-Jumou', OCHA said in a statement.

Reports suggest that at least 32 civilians were killed in these attacks, including 11 children and three women.

On Wednesday 25 July, a multiple suicide attack by ISIL in Sweida city also resulted in more than 240 casualties and injured at least 170 people.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres strongly condemned the incident, which came as UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura briefed the UN Security Council on efforts to end the more than seven-year Syrian war.

According to OCHA, one other area remains in opposition hands in south-west Syria, near the Golan Heights.

There, civilians face ongoing violence and cross-border humanitarian actors report that they only have limited supplies left.

"Our humanitarian partners who have operated across borders from Jordan are highly restricted," Laerke said. "In fact, it's over a month since there has been a cross-border convoy from Jordan into the area."

According to OCHA, the last cross-border convoy from neighbouring Jordan was dispatched on 25 June, in line with UN Security Council resolutions.

The delivery of humanitarian aid from within Syria also continues to be hampered, OCHA said, as aid partners in Damascus "still (have) not been granted the necessary approvals" to reach communities in Quneitra.

The restrictions mean that significant unmet needs continue to increase dramatically, and the situation has been made worse by the fact that many local aid partners have also been forced to flee the fighting, leading to a significant scale-down of some assistance.

"More warehouses are now empty or emptying, which mean that we are very concerned about the continued delivery of lifesaving assistance to those many thousands of affected people," Laerke said.

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The 'used and abused' children of Syria must learn what 'peace' really means, Security Council hears

27 July 2018 - More than 7,000 children have lost their lives or been maimed as a result of the brutal conflict in Syria, a senior United Nations official told the UN Security Council on Friday, stressing that they had been abused by the warring parties for far too long.

"It is time for the children of Syria to believe in their own future and to learn what peace means," Virginia Gamba, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative for Children and Armed Conflict, told the Security Council.

"It is time for them to retake the childhood that was taken away from them. It is time for them to stop being victims and become game changers, in the restoration of normality in peace and justice. They have been used and abused by, in and for armed conflict, for far too long," she added.

Ms. Gamba said that since the beginning of the Syria crisis in March 2011, the UN has verified the killing or maiming of more than 7,000 children in the conflict, now in its eighth year.

"I must stress that this is the verified number alone, the unverified reports reflect numbers that go way beyond 20,000 child casualties", she added.

She said they had suffered multiple appalling violations; in their homes, communities, schools, detention centres and displacement camps.

In 2005, the Security Council adopted a resolution that established a monitoring and reporting mechanism (MRM) for six grave violations against children in armed conflict situations.

The six violations are: killing and maiming; recruitment or use as soldiers; sexual violence; abduction; attacks against schools or hospitals; and denial of humanitarian access.

Based on the resolution, the mechanism for the situation in Syria was established in 2013.

"Every year since then, there has been a tremendous increase in all grave violations committed by all parties to the conflict", she said.

Since the beginning of this year, the mechanism has verified more than 1,200 violations against children. More than 600 children have been killed or maimed; more than 180 were recruited and used; more than 60 schools have been attacked, while over 100 attacks on hospitals and medical facilities or personnel have been verified.

Ms. Gamba said most of these violations have occurred in the context of military surges by various parties in the areas of Afrin, Hama, Idlib, east Ghouta and Dara'a in the last six months.

"I am deeply disturbed by the stories of children born and raised throughout this conflict, children who have never seen peace in Syria", she said. "They do not know the meaning of the word 'peace'".

Also briefing the Security Council was the UN Emergency Relief Coordinator, Mark Lowcock, who gave detailed updates on the humanitarian situation across the war-ravaged country.

"The appalling suffering this war has wrought on Syria's children is truly unimaginable", he said. "Yet, it is Syria's children who are the future of the country. Ensuring that their rights are respected, protected and fulfilled must be at the centre of all of our efforts."

Mr. Lowcock, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, said that since November 2017, the total number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in Aleppo and Idleb governates has increased by nearly 600,000, to a total of around 4.2 million.

He said that humanitarian needs remain high in eastern Ghouta, though there are also reports of markets beginning to function again and the return of other activities resembling normal daily life.

About 10,000 people from east Ghouta, mostly men between the ages of 15 and 65, are reported to remain in displacement sites across Rural Damascus. In the north east, returns to the liberated city of Raqqa  the former ISIL terrorist stronghold - have continued, despite risks due to high levels of explosive hazard contamination.

There are also very serious concerns about civilians trapped in areas held by ISIL, otherwise known as Da'esh, in the eastern part of Deir-ez-Zor governorate.

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Tens of Thousands Displaced in Southern Syria in Urgent Need of Aid

By Lisa Schlein July 27, 2018

The United Nations says nearly 200,000 people displaced by five weeks of fighting in southern Syria are in need of humanitarian assistance, but access to them is severely limited.

An assault by Syrian government forces and their Russian allies has succeeded in dislodging rebels from most of the territory they controlled in southwest Syria. Five weeks of airstrikes and barrel bombings have caused more than 182,000 people in the governorates of Dara'a, Quneitra and Sweida to flee their homes.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said people are living in dire circumstances and urgently need life-saving assistance. While concern for their well-being is rising, the situation of some 55,000 civilians trapped in a stretch of land near the Golan area is becoming increasingly alarming.

OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke said the 200-square-kilometer area near the Jordanian border remains under the control of a group affiliated with Islamic State.

"We, of course, are very concerned about this particular group's policy of restricting freedom of movement for civilians who are trying to leave the area and only a very limited number of civilians have been able to escape.  Those who remain behind are subject to heightened hostilities," he said.

For instance between July 21 and 23, Laerke said, airstrikes in the area reportedly killed at least 32 civilians, including women and children.

He said agencies also worry about another group of some 100,000 civilians near Golan Heights who face hostilities and have no access to aid. He said the U.N. was forced to suspend cross-border humanitarian convoys from Jordan to the area more than one month ago because of the deteriorating situation in Syria.

Warehouses that once were stocked with food and other relief supplies now are nearly empty, he added.

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Kurdish-Backed SDC Holds Talks With Syrian Government

By VOA News July 27, 2018

A delegation of the Kurdish-backed Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) and U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forced (SDF) is in Syria for talks with Syrian government officials, an alliance official said on Friday.

The delegation arrived in Damascus two days ago, SDC co-chair Riad Darar said, adding that Kurdish authorities are working towards a settlement for northern Syria.

This is the first SDC's declared visit to Syria's capital, which indicates the interest of Kurdish authorities to open channels of communication with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as they seek a political accord to preserves their region's autonomy within Syria.

The meetings were expected to primarily discuss services in the Kurdish-controlled areas, but Darar said the delegation had no set agenda and the talks might expand to include political and security issues.

The Kurdish authorities, which control about one quarter of Syria, have avoided conflict with Assad during the seven-year-long war and at times have fought common foes, including rebels that government forces are gradually crushing with help from Russia and Iran.

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More U.S. senators criticize China's bullying of airlines

ROC Central News Agency

2018/07/27 18:03:30

Washington, July 26 (CNA) A dozen more United States senators criticized on Thursday Beijing's demand that 44 international airlines label Taiwan as part of China on their websites and warned that there were more offensives to come.

Following other international airlines, three leading American carriers -- American Airlines, United Airlines and Delta Air Lines -- succumbed to China's request on Tuesday ahead of the July 25 deadline by leaving only "Taipei" and "TPE" in airport destinations and removing "Taiwan."

Senate majority whip John Cornyn warned that "this bullying of the airlines is really just one small piece of a much larger puzzle, and one that we need to continue to be vigilant about," Cornyn said in a tweet.

Chris Coons, a member of the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee, also expressed his opposition to Beijing's move.

"I object to China's attempt to intimidate companies and wash away Taiwan's existence as a democracy committed to human rights and the rule of law. I stand with the State Department and my Congressional colleagues in supporting Taiwan's correct designation on websites," he said on Twitter.

Washington Post columnist and CNN analyst Josh Rogin also warned that the U.S. should be prepared for more to come from China.

"The United States lost an important early skirmish this week over whether American companies must comply with the Chinese government's political demands," he wrote.

"But the greater conflict is just beginning, which means the Trump administration must now prepare to help U.S. corporations fight Chinese coercion in future rounds."

He said airline representatives told him that the U.S. government did not offer any tangible protection in the recent dispute and even endorsed the compromise of simply eliminating "Taiwan" in its listing of cities and airports.

But the half-concession seems to have only emboldened Beijing, Rogin wrote, because China's civil aviation authority called the U.S. airlines' actions incomplete and demanded total capitulation.

Chinese officials are threatening to damage the airlines' business in China, in violation of international trade laws, he said.

"The reality is American corporations can't be expected to be guided by purely moral considerations. And the U.S. government can't tell American companies what to do. That's an asymmetric advantage for Beijing," he wrote.

He suggested that if U.S. airlines and the U.S. government could work together, it would be a model for other industries facing Chinese pressure.

"Beijing wants to divide and conquer. By uniting, setting clear principles and coordinating responses, foreign firms have greater power to fight back," he said.

(By Chiang Chin-yeh and Flor Wang)

Enditem/ls

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China's pressuring will only make Taiwan stronger: Premier Lai

ROC Central News Agency

2018/07/27 23:06:32

Taipei, July 27 (CNA) China's pressuring of Taiwan is not conducive to cross-Taiwan Strait relations and will only make Taiwan stronger and more united, Premier Lai Ching-te () said Friday.

In a televised interview with Taiwanese media outlet Sanlih E-Television, Lai said the country's defense budget will be increased by NT$18.3 billion (US$598.6 million) next year, an increase that demonstrates self-reliance and the will to defend Taiwan.

Commenting on Beijing's maneuvering to cancel the 2019 East Asian Youth Games that Taichung was scheduled to host, Lai said the move will only antagonize Taiwan's people and will not be favorable to the normal development of cross-strait relations.

As for China's pressuring of international airlines to change Taiwan's designation on their websites, he said such actions have made China look bad and stand out as a bully.

Beijing will not succeed through threats and will only lead Taiwan's public to become more skeptical of China, Lai said.

"The incident involving the East Asian Youth Games will not be the last," he said, urging people from across all parties to stand united to face the problem at hand.

The government, meanwhile, will also continue to seek assistance from the United States, Lai said.

Cross-strait relations have been chilly since President Tsai Ing-wen () of the Democratic Progressive Party, which has traditionally supported independence from China, assumed office in May 2016.

(By Yeh Su-ping and Ko Lin)

Enditem/ls

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Turkish-US Tensions Deepen Over Detained American Pastor

By Dorian Jones, Nike Ching July 27, 2018

A senior U.S. official said Washington is confident a detained American pastor in Turkey will be free soon, as tensions deepen between the two countries.

"On Pastor Brunson, I think there is excellent prospects that he's going to come home," Sam Brownback, U.S. ambassador at large for international religious freedom, said Thursday at the conclusion of three days of State Department talks to advance religious freedom.

Andrew Brunson, an evangelical pastor from Black Mountain, North Carolina, has been jailed in Turkey for nearly two years on terrorism and espionage charges. Earlier this week, Brunson was released from a Turkish prison and placed under house arrest while his trial continues.

His case has strained relations between Turkey and the United States, both NATO allies.

Threatening sanctions

Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence threatened sanctions on Turkey if Brunson is not released.

The warning prompted a sharp response from Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Twitter.

The State Department said Friday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with Cavusoglu the day before, underscoring "it is well past time" for Brunson to come home.

Washington accuses Ankara of hostage-taking in a bid to extract diplomatic leverage, a charge Turkey denies, insisting its judiciary is independent.

The diplomatic disagreement is further escalating amid reports Ankara reneged on a deal to release Brunson as part of the agreement that saw Israel release Turkish citizen Ebru Ozkan, accused of smuggling for Hamas.

A senior Turkish official dismissed the reports as "baseless." However, Trump's strong remarks calling for Brunson's release have led some to suggest there was some kind of agreement.

"I understand the so-called deal is a verbally agreed deal between the two presidents," said former senior Turkish diplomat Aydin Selcen, who served in Washington, "So we are not privy to the details. Maybe both sides did not understand one another well. So the U.S. believed they had a firm deal. But, Ankara believed there was more to deal with, before Brunson's release."

Diplomatic fallout

With Trump weighing in on Brunson's case, analysts say the diplomatic fallout for Ankara could be severe.

"Mr. Trump seems to be the only remaining asset left in D.C. [Washington] for Ankara," Selcen said.

Trump and Erdogan reportedly had developed a good relationship. The U.S. president at this month's NATO summit praised his Turkish counterpart.

"He does things the right way," he said.

At the same time, the U.S. Senate is set to vote on a bill that would seek the restriction of loans by international bodies to Turkey.

"It's mainly symbolic, but important," said political analyst Atilla Yesilada of Global Source Partners.

He said the move would only have limited effect on Turkey, but warns it could be a sign of Washington's intent on how it could punish Turkey.

"Never mind these various sanction bills," he continued. "Just a few telephone calls from the American Treasury to large American banks to hold back on new loans to Turkey's counterparts or not to underwrite bonds would cause significant damage to an already extremely fragile Turkish economy."

Turkey is heavily dependent on foreign capital to sustain its economy.

But Turkey has leverage of its own. U.S. forces are reliant on Ankara for regional operations at the large Incirlik Turkish airbase. Washington is also looking for Turkish cooperation in enforcing Iranian sanctions.

Analysts say Turkey also uses Washington's concerns over its deepening relationship with Russia as leverage. Washington is lobbying Ankara to abandon a purchase of Russian S-400 missiles.

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On The Eve Of His Trial, A Deeper Look Into How Paul Manafort Elected Ukraine's President

Christopher Miller, Mike Eckel July 27, 2018

Paul Manafort didn't think very much of Viktor Yanukovych.

The longtime U.S. political consultant and lobbyist voiced serious misgivings in 2005 when he was brought on by several Ukrainian oligarchs to rehabilitate Yanukovych after his loss the previous year to Viktor Yushchenko, amid mass protests known as the Orange Revolution.

"Yanukovych's designation as the candidate of the [previous Leonid Kuchma] Administration poisoned his appeal as much as the dioxin poisoned the body of Yushchenko," Manafort wrote in a memo, referring to the mysterious poisoning that almost killed Yushchenko and badly disfigured him.

Fast-forward five years: Yanukovych won the presidency of Ukraine, giving Manafort a feather in his cap and new work trying to burnish Yanukovych's image in the West.

That effort, and the vast sums that Manafort was paid, are now in the crosshairs of the U.S. justice system and the politically explosive investigation of Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Released as part of the court docket ahead of Manafort's first trial on financial crimes, the Yanukovych memo is one of hundreds of pages of documents that offer a glimpse into Manafort's political wiles and give new dimension to a case that continues to rattle President Donald Trump's presidency.

In The Beginning

Prior to entering Ukrainian politics, Manafort had run in Republican Party circles for years in Washington. He was close to Bob Dole, the former senator who was the Senate Republican leader in the 1980s and '90s, and he managed the Republican Party convention in 1996 when Dole was the party's presidential candidate.

Manafort was brought onto Ukraine's political scene as the country was still dealing with the fallout from the 2004 Orange Revolution. Yanukovych faced Yushchenko in the presidential vote that year, but suspicions of election fraud prompted weeks of street protests.

Yanukovych's initial victory was later undone by the courts, handing Yushchenko the presidency.

During the campaign, Yushchenko fell deathly ill and was treated at an Austrian clinic for what officials later said was dioxin poisoning.

Yushchenko was embraced by the West for his liberal ideals. Yanukovych, by contrast, hailed from the country's industrial Donbas region in the east and was considered close to Russia.

His political party, the Party of the Regions, featured many of Ukraine's most powerful and wealthiest businessman, who sought a way to return the party's candidates to power. Among those oligarchs was Rinat Akhmetov, a billionaire industrialist from the eastern city of Donetsk who is widely considered to be Ukraine's richest man. Akhmetov introduced Yanukovych to Manafort.

On June 9, 2005, Manafort wrote a 35-page memo to Akhmetov in which he criticized Yanukovych, analyzed his election loss, and laid out a road map for future election victories.

He said that the disgust many Ukrainians had at the time for the tenure of President Leonid Kuchma had helped drag Yanukovych down.

"The intensity of these feelings is very strong. Consequently, the ability of Yanukovych to help lead a campaign against the current administration will not only fail, but it will never gain any traction. His leadership into the campaign would probably signal the death knell of the Party and Coalition that he leads," Manafort wrote.

He was also blunt in his assessment of Yanukovych's future.

"From the analysis set out in the previous section of this Report, the answer to the problem is clear -- Victor Yanukovych must be replaced," he said.

Yanukovych, who fled to Russia in 2014 after violent protests in Kyiv, could not be reached for comment by RFE/RL. A phone for Akhmetov's spokesman was turned off, and he did not immediately respond to a text message.

Good Work If You Can Get It

Manafort's defense lawyers released these documents ahead of Manafort's upcoming financial fraud trial, scheduled to begin July 31. The lawyers accuse Mueller of trying to introduce evidence that is irrelevant to the case.

The documents include the names of many other American political consultants who worked or overlapped with Manafort over the years.

They also feature Konstantin Kilimnik, a shadowy Russian known as being Manafort's key representative in Ukraine. Long suspected of ties to Russian intelligence, Kilimnik was indicted earlier this year by Mueller for allegedly trying to tamper with potential witnesses in the investigation.

In one of the only interviews he has given, Kilimnik, who is now believed to be in Russia, told RFE/RL in 2017 that he had spoken regularly with Manafort during the 2016 U.S. presidential election.

In January 2006, Manafort laid out a plan for Yanukovych and the Party of the Regions to win parliamentary elections, a plan built around promoting good relations with Russia. At the time, Russia and Ukraine had waged a so-called "gas war" over Russian natural gas supplies to Ukraine and those transiting Ukraine to lucrative European markets. The dispute led to a brief cutoff of supplies.

"The key connection must be made to the poor judgment of the Government and the disastrous impact not only [on] the Ukrainian economy but directly on the interests of the Ukraine people," he wrote in the memo, addressed to Yanukovych and Akhmetov. "The message will emphasize that Yanukovych will not make such a colossal misjudgment and has the relationship in Russia needed to fix the problem created by Yushchenko and his team."

Over the next few years, Manafort deepened his work with the Party of the Regions.

He also built his business relationships with Russian oligarchs, including Oleg Deripaska, a billionaire who made his fortune in Russia's metals industry and has long been considered a close confidante of the Kremlin. He was sanctioned by the United States in April.

Deripaska is believed to have introduced Kilimnik to Manafort in the mid-2000s, around the time Kilimnik worked for the Moscow office of the International Republican Institute. Kilimnik was fired from the U.S. nongovernmental organization after he was found working for Deripaska.

The Return Of Yanukovych

By 2009, many Ukrainians had grown weary of Yushchenko's presidency, as the country remained mired in economic stagnation and corruption. Yanukovych, who served as prime minister in 2006-07, was seen as a viable alternative, and Manafort worked to burnish his image and the party's message.

By this point, Manafort's partners included his longtime deputy Rick Gates and Tad Devine, who later went on to manage the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign of Senator Bernie Sanders.

But for the 2009-10 presidential election, Manafort also enlisted the help of Adam Strasberg, who had worked on the 2004 U.S. presidential campaign of Senator John Kerry.

In the February 2010 vote, Manafort defeated the fiery nationalist Yulia Tymoshenko to win the presidency. Manafort exulted in the victory.

"Having work [sic] campaigns for the last 35 years, this one will be at the top of the list of most satisfying," Manafort wrote to his team after Ukraine's Central Election Committee certified Yanukovych as the winner.

An e-mail included in the court documents showed Devine authored Yanukovych's election-night victory speech, which, according to the file, was titled A New Beginning For Ukraine.

Manafort's efforts also paid off in the 2012 parliamentary elections, where the Party of the Regions won a resounding majority of seats. On April 2, 2012, Gates reached out to Devine and two other political consultants, asking them to resume work.

"Gents," Gates wrote. "I hope everyone is well. We have once again reached the point in time where we should cast aside all U.S. political work in favor of everyone's most beloved country -- Ukraine."

Devine declined.

The Hapsburg Group

Following his election victory, Yanukovych moved to mend fences with Russia. He also moved against political opponents, including Tymoshenko, who in 2011 was jailed on what many observers viewed as political motivated charges.

With criticism in the West mounting, Yanukovych, with Manafort's help, tried to publicly justify the case against Tymoshenko.

Manafort enlisted the help of several influential European politicians to promote the Ukrainian government in Washington and Brussels. They later became known as the Hapsburg Group.

In a February 21, 2013, memo to Yanukovych, Manafort wrote that "the elements of the Hapsburg project have proven very effective in dealing with the EU."

"The key to these successes is that the participants are significant European leaders who are viewed as objective regarding Ukraine," Manafort said. "This has allowed them to make their points without any apparent self-interest, thus giving their comments more weight and impact."

Showing that the effort extended to the United States, Manafort wrote, "The Hapsburg team will also do a series of events between March and May in Washington DC designed to change the public rhetoric directed at Ukraine, but to also influence key members of the US Government through private meetings held at the highest levels.

"This will include major speeches, participation in key events, and private meetings with senior US officials including Secretary of State John Kerry, and other members of the Administration," he added.

Manafort's work with the Hapsburg Group figures prominently in the second criminal case brought by Mueller, which is pending in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C.

While the trial opening on July 31 is focused on alleged financial crimes, the Washington, D.C., case centers on allegations that Manafort failed to register as a foreign agent in the United States for his work for the Party of the Regions.

Manafort and his former deputy, Rick Gates, paid the Hapsburg officials to "take positions favorable to Ukraine, including by lobbying the United States," according to an indictment filed in February.

The indictment also alleges that Manafort and Kilimnik tried to engage in witness tampering, by trying to "influence, delay, and prevent the testimony" of two persons with knowledge of the Hapsburg Group's work.

Gates earlier this year pleaded guilty to money laundering and other charges brought by Mueller's team and agreed to cooperate with Mueller's investigation, a move that brought further pressure on Manafort.

Kilimnik declined to comment to RFE/RL when reached by text message, responding, "Please erase my number."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/on-eve-of-trial-a-deeper -glimpse-into-how-paul-manafort-elected- ukraine-s-president/29394601.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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GREENWICH  Getting supplies and equipment during the back-to-school portion of summer can be fun and exciting for some families. For other families, finding the money to buy a backpack and school supplies can be nerve-wracking.

The Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich has begun a collection drive to make sure every kid has a backpack when they head back to school this fall.

The club says this year there has been an extra demand for backpacks, as well as school supplies. The donation drive and giveaway is held annually.

We hear a lot from parents how difficult it is, said Takeia McAlister, an associate at the Boys & Girls Club. The extra expenses with school supplies can cause anxiety.

Its definitely our duty to help families who need it most, she said.

The club, at 4 Horseneck Lane, is now accepting backpacks for young people ages 6 to 18. The bags should be new, or close to brand new.

These students deserve to be able to walk to school excited, McAlister said, They should be happy and prepared.

The club recommends that donated bags should be gender-neutral, suitable for either a boy or a girl, but the organizers will accept all donations. The club is open on weekdays to accept donations.

Diamond Hill United Methodist Church is coordinating the drive with the club, and the church 521 E. Putnam Ave, Cos Cob, will also be accepting backpacks. The Little Pub is another sponsor.

McAlister said the goal was to collect 300 bags, but there is a need for even more.

Organizers are also collecting school supplies. Anyone who wants to contribute to that cause can contact McAlister at tmcalister@bgcg.org, or the Rev. Carol Bloom at cabloom224@gmail.com for a list of needed items.

The collection drive will continue through Aug. 5. The backpacks and supplies will be donated to kids at the Boys & Girls Club of Greenwich.
GREENWICH  Is Greenwich Avenue facing a dark Christmas?

With less than five months to go until the holiday season, the question is an open one after Greenwich Green and Clean announced this week it will no longer pay to install the holiday lights in the business district.

We are focusing on our environmental activities in town and improving things in Greenwich, Green and Clean Executive Director Mary Hull said. The money we were getting each year was going toward the lights and we need it to go to these areas.

The private organization, which sponsors clean-up and environmental activities in town, took over responsibility for the lights in 2015 after the Greenwich Chamber of Commerce stoped paying for them, and the holiday avenue was mostly dark in 2014.

Hull said the yearly cost for hanging the LED lights on 175 trees is $60,000. The lights themselves remain in Green and Cleans possession. The organization said in a statement it hopes another group will step up pay for their annual installation.

First Selectman Peter Tesei suggested the downtown merchants should be the ones to do so.

When you look at it from a very geographic point of view, who does it impact or benefit the most? Tesei said. Personally, is it a nice thing to have? Yes. I dont think its something the taxpayers of the town should fund per say. It should be those who desire it and so I would call upon the chamber to step up and activate its membership. They dont have to pay for the lights. The lights have been procured. They just have to pay to have them strung up.

But Chamber of Commerce President Marcia OKane said it is something that should be the towns responsibility.

Our chamber is a non-profit that puts on almost 30 programs and events a year focusing on its mission statement of advocating, promoting, connecting and educating businesses, OKane said. It has a staff of one full-time person. We would encourage Town Hall, which has the manpower, infrastructure and budget, to oversee this very important project that makes everyone so happy during the holiday season.

Scott Mitchell, owner of Richards on Greenwich Avenue and a major supporter of the lights effort every year, also said he hoped the chamber would be involved, particularly since it had been in the past.

I think this is something that the Greenwich Avenue community would get behind, Mitchell said. Its a feel good thing for the community during the holiday season, no matter what religion you are. We work a lot of long hours during the holiday season and it gets dark early and its cold so when you go outside at 5:30 and its dark but you have those lights on, it really feels like the holidays.

Tesei said his office is willing to bring parties together to discuss the issue of the lights, just like it tried to get the Chamber of Commerce to participate in the ongoing Think Greenwich marketing campaign, which is being funded entirely by private money now.

(The chamber) didnt want to pursue that so we said, You know what, were going to go on our own. There are people who do want to support it, Tesei said.

Greenwich is getting to a point where it needs to have an honest and frank discussion about the needs of downtown, Tesei said.

The chambers role, in my opinion, is focused on networking for their membership, education and (they) arent necessarily comparable to what you see in Stamford, which is the Downtown (Special) Services District.

As we look at our Plan of Conservation and Development, its a visionary document as weve been told, and the whole concept of having an equivalent of a downtown service district should be considered because there are a number of things that will speak to the question of who pays.

kborsuk@greenwichtime.com
by Melani Manel Perera

The Office for National Unity and Reconciliation organised a camp for students and teachers. Schools must promote exchanges between young people, future "agents of change". Teachers note that School is the place where you start to be good or bad, destructive or peaceful, [where] love or hate [are learnt]."

Colombo (AsiaNews)  Education in Sri Lanka can play a fundamental role in building national reconciliation and peace, said J.K. Rajapaksha, director of the Education Unit at the Office for National Unity and Reconciliation (ONUR).

Rajapaksha spoke at an educational camp for students and teachers titled "Sahodara Paasal/Paadasalai", held at the Y-Gro Social Development Centre, Kurunegala District.

Through education, "we must move forward to build mutual trust and brotherhood among children, regardless of their race or religion," he explained.

The five-day camp brought together 180 students and 36 teachers of different ethnic and religious backgrounds from Uva, Eastern and Western provinces.

The students shared experiences and opinions and learnt to live together, giving them the opportunity to understand and appreciate the issues related to reconciliation in a country marked by decades of civil war.

Participants joined in various activities and drafted an action plan for their respective communities to work together to create a peaceful and supportive nation.

In his address to the students, Rajapaksha said that the programmes goal is to establish a pool of 'facilitators', teachers specialised in reconciliation, in the various provinces.

"At the same time, we want to make thousands of students know each other, so that they can become agents of change in their respective communities, he added.

The programmes innovative practices will allow students to interact with each other and share ethnic, linguistic, cultural and religious differences.

They will learn to appreciate and respect the differences that characterise us as Sri Lankans. The camp will help a better future generation with a positive mindset."

Some teachers and principals in Colombo and Negombo told AsiaNews that the initiative is "an essential step. School is the place where you start to be good or bad, destructive or peaceful, [where] love or hate [are learnt]."
There's not much info on this year's upcoming iPad Pro lineup except that it should be equipped with the iPhone X's advanced face recognition tech. The latest report confirms that and contributes to the whole story.

According to the Japanese website Macotakara, both the 10.5-inch and the 12.9-inch iPad Pros will have reduced dimensions overall. The 10.5-inch model will go from 250.6 x 174.1 x 6.1mm down to 247.5 x 178.7 x 6mm while the 12.9-inch one will get an even more extreme side cut - from 305.7 x 220.6 x 6.9mm down to 280 x 215 x 6.4.

Obviously, Apple will shave off the bezels in pursuit of that iPhone X look on the front with edge-to-edge display while keeping the same diagonal.

Sadly, it's not only good news - the report says that the Cupertino-based company is looking to remove the headphone jack as well. And on top of that, the tablets' retail box won't be including the Lightning-to-3.5mm audio jack adapter. Also, the designers have moved the Smart Connectors to the lower rear side of the devices.

Source (in Japanese)
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Korean actor Kang Ha-neul, who is currently serving as an active duty soldier might be discharged 18 days earlier than expected!

On July 27, the Republic of Korea's Ministry of Defence submitted its comprehensive reform plan, Defense 2.0 to President Moon Jae -in. Under this reform plan is the reduction of the duration of mandatory military service by two or three months by end of 2021.

The process will affect soldiers that enlisted from January 3, 2017, therefore those who are currently in service will possibly be discharged earlier.

Once this plan is approved by the President, service period for soldiers in the army and the marine corps will be shortened to 18 months from the current 21 months; service length for navy servicemen will be cut from 23 months to 20 months; and air force troops will serve for 22 months instead of the usual 24 months.

According to a press release issued by the Ministry, the reduction of length of service will "minimize the pressure on South Korean male citizens to enlist, by reducing the time they must spend away from their educational endeavors or careers. The shortened enlistment periods will allow the male citizens of South Korea to return to the society earlier and contribute as part of the national manpower".

For Kang Ha-neul, who enlisted as a military police officer on September 11, 2017, enforcement of Defense Plan 2.0 would mean that his discharge will advance by 23 days according to the chart released by the Military Manpower Administration. Therefore, his new release date would be May 23, 2019 instead of June 10, 2019.
By Vasia Orion | Published on 2018/07/27

"Terius Behind Me" certainly knows what the people want, and it delivers. The drama has released teaser posters of So Ji-sub as protagonist Kim Bon, but the setting and the importance its role will play in the story are where the juicy details lie.

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So Ji-sub has been filming in Warsaw, reportedly making "Terius Behind Me" the first ever Korean drama to be shot on location in Poland. The shooting took place from late June to early July, and will showcase several attractions the crew spent 8 days filming at, such as the Old Town and azienki Park. According to the news, the beautiful Polish scenery will play a key role in Kim Bon's story.

I'm wondering if said key role is the reason why the agent will decide to independently help a civilian. At least that's what I'm getting from the way this is presented. Perhaps something went wrong in Poland. My money is on his ex-lover (portrayed by Nam Gyu-ri) dying there. We will find out when "Terius Behind Me" begins airing in September, on MBC.

Written by: Orion from 'Orion's Ramblings'

Sources (1)




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'The court heard Wheeler brandished a sweeping brush inside a plastic bag during the incident.' (stock photo)

A man who tried to rob a post office with a brush "as a joke" to get back into prison has been jailed for two-and-a-half years.

John Wheeler (49), of Barnamore Park, Finglas, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to one count of attempting to rob the post office at Botanic Road, Dublin, last October 13.

The court heard Wheeler brandished a sweeping brush inside a plastic bag during the incident.

Gda Barry Brennan said the 72-year-old post office owner had returned from a break and had gone to check a safe at the back of the premises when he heard a banging noise coming from the front of the store.

When he returned, he saw Wheeler banging on the counter with a plastic bag concealing a two foot object that the owner believed was a gun.

Wheeler told him to "put the f**king money" in a bag he held in his other hand.

The owner told Wheeler he would get money from the back of the post office and, once there, pressed a panic button.

He observed Wheeler leave the premises a minute later and the owner's son arrived shortly after.

Gda Brennan told Ann Rowland, prosecuting, that he arr-ived on the scene and reviewed CCTV footage.

The owner's son recognised Wheeler as a man he had passed sitting outside a nearby shop.

barber

Gda Brennan discovered Wheeler in a barber shop next to the shop and invited him outside and asked him if he had recently been in the post office.

"I went to rob the place as a joke," Wheeler said. "I didn't mean it, though."

A plastic bag containing a sweeping brush was found abandoned in a nearby bin. Wheeler denied he had the brush with him during his robbery attempt.

"Show me this f**king CCTV or I'll smash it over your head," he said.

The court heard Wheeler has 55 previous convictions including assault, robbery, theft, forgery, dangerous driving and drink-driving matters.

Marc Thompson, defending, said Wheeler had been primarily motivated by a desire to be placed into custody again and that he had been released shortly before making the robbery attempt.

He also said his client had a long-standing drug addiction and he wished to state for the record that he had not cursed while attempting to commit the robbery.

Judge Martina Baxter noted that the offence was a "despicable, cowardly act" perpetrated on an elderly man who was alone and vulnerable.

She said the suspended period was for 24 months, subject to Wheeler engaging with the Probation Service and co-operating with it to complete a housing application.
Susan Redmond faces 11 counts of theft over seven years

A woman has been accused of stealing more than 65,000 from a Dublin credit union.

Susan Redmond, of Thornville Drive, Kilbarrack, faces 11 counts of thefts of various sums totalling 65,500 from Larkhill & District Credit Union between 2006 and 2013.

The 49-year-old faced her second hearing when she app- eared before Judge Brian O'Shea at Dublin District Court yesterday.

The Director of Public Prosecutions had directed that she was to face trial on indictment in the circuit court.

However, her solicitor Niall Walsh told the judge that his client could be sent forward to the circuit court on a signed plea of guilty.

This means a trial would not be necessary and a book of evidence would not have to be served as she would be sent to the higher court for sentencing.

Judge O'Shea noted that she had indicated her plea.

Adjourn

He also agreed to the defence request to adjourn the case until a date in September when the signed plea would be ready.

Legal aid has been granted in the case.

The charges are contrary to the Theft and Fraud Act.
Pedestrians are caught in a downpour in Westport, Co Mayo, yesterday

Water restrictions are to remain in Greater Dublin for two more weeks - despite heavy downpours and flooding in some parts of the country - with Irish Water describing the drought as "critical".

The hosepipe ban will continue until August 31.

It comes as Met Eireann issued a yellow rainfall warning, with heavy rain of up to 44mm expected to sweep Ireland.

However, Irish Water is concerned about the low level of water in the Poulaphouca Reservoir, one of the three main reservoirs supplying the Greater Dublin Area (GDA).

Torrential

There are fears for water supplies when schools and colleges reopen at the end of August as these are heavy users of the supply.

Yesterday saw torrential rain in Munster and flooding in the west of the country.

The yellow warning, which was in place until 9am today, affects Leinster, Monaghan, Donegal, Cavan and Waterford.

As the rain lashed the country yesterday afternoon, Irish Water released a statement saying: "It is the view of the water engineering experts within local authorities and Irish Water that the situation will remain critical up to and possibly beyond mid-August."

The utility's board met yesterday to discuss the "ongoing drought situation" and Irish Water's "ongoing response to safeguarding the supply of water for the future".

Irish Water said that its board reviewed the latest data on water usage, as well as the condition of raw water sources across the country, and that this led to the extension in restriction measures.

The "most severe" shortages continued to be in the east and south, where rivers, lakes and groundwater tables are "at record lows", the company said.

The latest Office of Public Works (OPW) flow data showed that more than half of rivers are at levels "previously unheard of in July".

Met Eireann has stated that rainfall in the short term will not be at a level to assist with the "recovery of raw water sources, particularly in the east and south".

The meteorologists have indicated that many parts of the east would need 90mm of rainfall to help soil to recover and to allow the replenishment of reservoirs.

Just 50mm has been recorded at the Phoenix Park in Dublin since May.

Irish Water's corporate affairs manager, Kate Gannon, said: "Irish Water's first priority is to safeguard the water supply for communities, ensure a consistent and safe supply and minimise the impact of the drought.

"The measures Irish Water has taken in the past few weeks have been done to conserve water while minimising the impact on homes and businesses.

"Irish Water is very aware that increased water pressure reductions in the GDA could have a negative impact on homes and businesses and the hospitality sector in particular. We are continuing to monitor the situation very closely."

People living and working in the GDA will experience night-time water pressure restrictions for two more weeks.
Sinn Fein will select their candidate for the presidential election in September, allowing time for a campaign which is expected to last around six weeks.

The organisation, which is the only political party to opt to run a challenger against sitting president Michael D Higgins, outlined a lengthy selection process to decide their candidate.

The nomination process will open on August 20 and close on September 10 and a special meeting of the Ard Comhairle will then be held on September 16.

Each of the regional structures of the party can select up to two nominees - and if two nominees are to be put forward one must be a woman.

"Sinn Fein is in this campaign to win. We want this to be a discussion about what type of society, what type of country we want," said David Cullinane, who chaired the party's committee which set up the process.

The election is expected to be held in late October.

Scrutiny

Mr Cullinane said a six-week campaign was long enough for the party's candidate to make a difference in the election.

He rejected suggestions that the party was delaying the selection in order to avoid lengthy media scrutiny of the chosen candidate.

"We don't hide from anybody, we certainly don't hide from the media, we're here today announcing our process.

"We have to give our members an opportunity to nominate, which we will do, and it will be a fair process," he said.

When a candidate is selected, they will engage fully with the media, he added.

The party will allow councillors to facilitate additional candidates to enter the race by abstaining in local authority votes.

The party is largely expected to put forward a woman.

Names such as MEP Liadh Ni Riada have been mentioned, but Mr Cullinane said no one had been selected by leadership and said there was no gender intervention in who could be nominated.
Beirut : The Islamic State group on Wednesday claimed responsibility for a weekend shooting that killed two people in Canadas Toronto.

The groups propaganda agency Amaq said the attacker was one of the soldiers of the Islamic State.

He carried out the attack in response to calls to target nationals of countries of the coalition fighting IS in Syria and Iraq since 2014, it said.

Faisal Hussain, 29, killed a 18-year-old woman and a 10-year-old girl in the shooting rampage on a Toronto street on Sunday evening, Canadian police said.

He was found dead near the scene of the shooting after an exchange of gunfire with police.

The attack in Torontos bustling Greektown neighbourhood at around 10.00 pm on Sunday also wounded 13 people aged 10 to 59, officials said.

Hussains family, in a statement to CBC News, denounced his horrific actions and said he was suffering from mental problems.

They said he had battled severe mental health challenges, struggling with psychosis and depression his entire life.

They said medications and therapy had been unable to treat him.

Video footage posted by Canadian media showed Hussain, clad all in black, walking on a sidewalk and suddenly pulling out a handgun and shooting into a restaurant.

Witnesses said the shooting rampage lasted just a few minutes and sparked panic in the district, popular for its bars and restaurants.

Andrew Mantzios told The Globe and Mail newspaper he had seen the shooting as he sat with friends drinking coffee.

He said a lady tried to run and she fell down, after which the shooter turned around and shot her point blank, two or three times.

Toronto Mayor John Tory called the shooting evidence of a gun problem in the city.

IS overran large parts of Syria and neighbouring Iraq in 2014, but have since been ousted from most of that territory.

The jihadist group has claimed a string of deadly attacks in the West in recent years.

Canadian citizens have also been intercepted trying to reach Syria to join IS.

Source : TOI
Jet-lagged yet enthusiastic, the Ukrainian pianist Dinara Klinton still remembers how two decades back her grandmother watched the Hema Malini-starrer Seeta Aur Geeta (1972), for the songs and dances in the film. In India  where the movie was made  the Western classical instrumentalist talks about how her genre of music is making a strong hold in India, and why shes looking forward to her performance in Delhi.

I have heard Bollywood music before because Bollywood movies are very popular in the Soviet countries, and thats where I originated from, says Klinton, 29, who was born in Ukraine and has recently completed the Artist Diploma in Performance at the Royal College of Music, London. She recalls having had a taste of Bollywood music in her childhood, My grandmother, she very much adored Indian films, and I would watch them when I was a little kid. My grandmother watched them, of course, for the music and dances, and also the clothes because they are very spectacular, very colourful and the stories are very nice and tell lot about love and about relations between men and women, but in a very elegant way. Actually, now in the Western world, its not as common and that makes me very sad.

To rediscover the essential relationship of music with cinema, she happily accepted to perform in India, and bring here her project titled, Cinema in Concert, which she has been developing since 2013. There was a time when silent films were often accompanied by piano. The concept of this concert is very similar to that, says Klinton explaining that during her performance, there will be visual scenes playing in the backdrop as she plays the piano to accompany. The performance, therefore, will be interesting because the audience will not just get to hear what I play, but also relate it to the visuals that will be screened in the backdrop. This way, even those who dont really enjoy listening to Western classical music will have something to connect with it, she adds.

Klinton has appeared at quite a few international music festivals including the Rheingau Music Festival, International Festival of Piano La Roque dAntheron, Aldeburgh Proms, and Cheltenham Festival. But, over last weekend when she attended a concert in Delhi; she couldnt help rave about the magic of old Bollywood melodies. I attended a concert last Saturday at Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, which was dedicated to the compositions by SD Burman. The songs from Bandini (1963) and Kala Bazar (1960) movies were the most memorable. I liked how the instruments were used, and the rhythms involved, says Klinton.

In Western music, the notes are wider whereas in Indian music, the vibrations are wonderful. Its a different technique thats used to create music here, and therefore the whole listening experience is very different, says Klinton, who mostly plays Western classical, and feels that the genre has a wider scope in India. For instance, Zubin Mehtas got a school in Mumbai; so actually Western classical music does exist here. And Im pretty sure that in future it will become quite popular. Its just something new. Actually I think concerts like these  one where I combine the piano recital with the visuals from animated films  will make a difference.

Shes also conducting workshops with children on her India tour, and feels that its the discipline that keeps the kids interested in their tradition. I was very pleased when the kids treated me as a big star when I did those school workshops. I felt that what I was doing was important to them Indians keep their children disciplined, which is a very important thing. Discipline in schools, I presume, keeps children to have a different attitude to studies than in some places in Europe. India is a country of great tradition, and respect, too. The teachers ensure that the same is followed; so I guess thats how during the workshops, its not just the children but also the adults who take keen interest in learning my art, which needs discipline along with practice and training, just like sports, she adds.

And since no Indian trip is complete without a dose of touristy things, Klinton wishes to see the Taj Mahal, if time permits, and try some local foods. She laughs, and confesses: Im a big foodie and have tried many things here already. I specially enjoyed the halva, as its different to how its done in Caucasus and to what is available in my homeland. I like spicy food, but would probably not consider trying what an Indian person call spicy.

CATCH IT LIVE What: Cinema in Concert Where: Kamani Auditorium, Copernicus Marg When: July 28 Timing: 6pm Nearest Metro Station: Mandi House on Blue and Violet Line

Interact with the author at Twitter/@HennaRakheja
Alia Bhatt is all about mixing work and fun together and quite honestly, we wish we could exchange places with her. The actor, who is currently in Bulgaria to shoot for her upcoming film Brahmastra, is also spending great time with her best friends in the scenic country.

Alia posted two pictures with her friends Akansha Ranjan Kapoor and Tanya Saha Gupta on Instagram on Friday and the girls all look so happy. A little lurk, a little smirk, she captioned a picture of the three of them, enjoying the sun in the beautiful streets of the beautiful place. All the girls are seen in breezy, white outfits in the pictures. Alia is seen with her hair tied up and in a white shirt paired with a pretty skirt and white sneakers.

Check out their pictures:

Bulgarian mamuhs  A post shared by Alia  (@aliaabhatt) on Jul 27, 2018 at 7:16am PDT

Alia posted a sublime photo a few days ago of her and Akansha in Bulgaria. The photo was clicked by Alia rumoured boyfriend and Brahmastra co-star, Ranbir Kapoor. He was also spotted in a photo posted on Instagram stories by Alia with the films crew:

Alia Bhatt shared this adorable picture on her Instagram stories. (Instagram)

Speaking to GQ magazine in May, Ranbir confirmed that he is in a relationship with Alia and that it was in its nascent stage. Also, Alias dad, veteran director Mahesh Bhatt, too dropped hints when he said he would let the media speculate if papa is raazi or not.

Brahmastra also stars Amitabh Bachchan and is directed by Ayan Mukherji.

Follow @htshowbiz for more
Bad or outdated rules and laws should be allowed to fall into disuse or, better still, repealed. That would be the sensible thing to do. Alas, we have an example of a bad rule, which has been ignored for years, but is now to be strictly enforced. Its a terrible mistake and one that is likely to prove both expensive and self-defeating.

I refer to the 1958 guidelines regarding the travel of foreigners. This set of rules require journalists to seek prior permission before travelling to parts of Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir and the whole of Sikkim and Nagaland. For years, if not decades, this requirement was ignored and it was believed the guidelines had lapsed. The result was foreign correspondents based in Delhi could travel easily and quickly to all parts of India. This not only improved their coverage of the country but also their understanding as well as their sense of being welcomed and valued. Now, at one stroke, that could be reversed.

Lets take Srinagar as an example. Until now foreign correspondents could visit this state capital virtually whenever they wanted. This underlined Indias insistence that Kashmir is a fully integrated part of the country. It gave meaning to the phrase atoot ang. Now each time a correspondent wishes to visit, he or she will have to seek permission from the government. Weeks could pass  and often will  before its granted. Indeed, occasionally or even often, it may not be.

So what message does this requirement send about India? I wonder if anyone has seriously thought about it. If I can jump the gun Id add I doubt it.

To begin with, it casts a shadow over Indias vaunted claim to be the largest democracy in the world. Democracies, after all, guarantee press freedoms. India is now putting restrictions on the foreign media. If this raises disturbing doubts in their minds we have only ourselves  or our government  to blame.

However, the outcome could be worse. The revival of long-standing restrictions also suggests there are sizeable parts of India where disaffection exists which the government does not want the outside world to see. These are areas that will now be deemed to be denied to the foreign media. If, therefore, it concludes we have something to hide can you blame it?

Theres also one other reason why this revival of old guidelines is silly. It will not just upset but put the backs up of foreign correspondents who will, understandably, feel this is directly targeted at them. Which, of course, it is. And this doesnt make sense.

When you accept foreign correspondents its because you want them to convey an accurate appreciation of the country but also, more importantly, a favourable one. After all, they are the eyes and ears of the outside world. Their reportage will influence not just foreign governments but, possibly more tellingly, tourists. Yet if you create deliberate inconveniences you can only be certain of riling them. In turn, that could jaundice their attitude to the country. And if that happens its repercussions could be far greater than just upsetting the odd journalist or the occasional media house.

So let me end by repeating the question I began with: is this wise or will it prove expensive and self-defeating? It wont be long before we find out but I have little confidence my fears will turn out to be unfounded.

Karan Thapar is author of The Devils Advocate: The Untold Story

The views expressed are personal
An ambitious project that was meant to tell drivers how many parking slots were available in and around Connaught Place and other parts of central Delhi, has been derailed by an old, deadly foe  high pollution levels in the national Capital.

According to top officials familiar with the developments, one-third of the sensors installed at busy surface parking lots are malfunctioning  either not working at all or providing inaccurate data  because of dust particles and emissions from vehicles. The sensors, which were imported from Italy and installed at 35 ground-level parking lots, are part of a smart parking project started by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) in August 2017.

We are facing a problem at surface parking lots because once the dust settles on these sensors, some of them stop transmitting signals or detecting availability status at parking slots, said NDMC chairman Naresh Kumar.

The sensors were supposed to tell drivers how many slots were vacant in a specific parking lot. A smartphone application and an online service to book parking slots with payment channels such as e-wallets or internet banking was to be launched soon.

But last month, NDMC wrote to the contractor handling the project, to look for alternate sensors putting in limbo a plan that has already missed its original March 2018 deadline, Kumar said.

In Phase I, the NDMC had targeted that 87 parking lots would be covered by these sensors. The machines have so far been installed at 35 surface parking lots, including Connaught Place inner circle and its radial roads, said an official from the civic body who is not authorised to speak to media.

Under the smart parking system, existing parking facilities at commercial hubs in Lutyens Delhi  Connaught Place (inner circle and radial roads), Shivaji Stadium, Baba Kharak Singh Marg and Janpath  are being renovated.

These now include parking sensors, ticketing devices, LED signs to indicate empty slots, automatic pay stations, CCTV cameras, and a mobile app for users. With the help of sensors, occupancy status of each parking slot is transmitted to the command centre at Palika Parking and from there it will be shared to users via a mobile app and NDMCs web portal, said the second NDMC official quoted above.

DUST AND EMISSIONS TO BLAME WHAT IS SENSOR-BASED PARKING?

Sensors are installed at parking lots to check availability status of slots and share information wirelessly to a server at command centres at Palika parking in Connaught Place THE AIM

With the mobile app and NDMC web portal, users can access information, track location of parking lots and check occupancy status THE PROBLEM

Sensors transmit signals through electromagnetic waves and dust absorbs the waves easily, which impacts functioning. Sensors are installed at parking lots to check availability status of slots and share information wirelessly to a server at command centres at Palika parking in Connaught PlaceWith the mobile app and NDMC web portal, users can access information, track location of parking lots and check occupancy statusSensors transmit signals through electromagnetic waves and dust absorbs the waves easily, which impacts functioning. PARKING LOTS PHASE I: Eight surface parkings at CPs inner circle, 12 at middle circle, four at outer circle, Hanuman Road, Janpath, KG Marg, Shankar Market, Super Bazaar, Palika parking, Shivaji Stadium, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Bengali Market, Sikander Lane, Safdar Hashmi Marg, Atul Grove Road PHASE II: Bangla Sahib, Kali Mandir Lane, Yashwant Place, Delhi Haat, Malcha Marg Market, Rail Museum, Pandara Road, Patiala House, Khan Market, India Gate, Eastern Court, Khanna Market, Lodhi Colony, Sarojini Nagar Market Eight surface parkings at CPs inner circle, 12 at middle circle, four at outer circle, Hanuman Road, Janpath, KG Marg, Shankar Market, Super Bazaar, Palika parking, Shivaji Stadium, Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Bengali Market, Sikander Lane, Safdar Hashmi Marg, Atul Grove RoadBangla Sahib, Kali Mandir Lane, Yashwant Place, Delhi Haat, Malcha Marg Market, Rail Museum, Pandara Road, Patiala House, Khan Market, India Gate, Eastern Court, Khanna Market, Lodhi Colony, Sarojini Nagar Market

These sensors transmit signals through electromagnetic waves and the dust absorbs the waves easily, which ultimately impacts their functioning, said Dilip Ganguly, assistant professor at Centre for Atmospheric Sciences at IIT Delhi.

Delhi was in May 2018 named by the World Health Organization as the worlds most polluted megacity, particularly because of high dust levels and particulate matter. This June  otherwise considered an off-season for pollution levels which peak in the winter  PM10 particulate matter levels had shot up more than 8.5 times the daily safe standards because of a dust storm.

D Saha, the former chief of air quality laboratory, Central Pollution Control Board, said: Dust pollution in severe in city due to its geographical location. The top soil is loose with no grass and intensity of rainfall is very low.

The sensors offered benefits for parking lot operators, too. They could, for example, give data about when spaces are typically filled, and allow operators to improve occupancy rates.

These sensors and other equipment have not been able to bring any difference in the parking system. Some of the sensors are either not functioning properly or damaged. We are still getting the cars parked manually, said a parking attendant N-block in Connaught Place, who asked not to be named.

The civic agency has now set August end as the new deadline for completing the project.

The concessionaire has been asked to fix the problem in another one month and make the project operational by August end, else we will impose fine. Apart from sensors, most of the other facilities are in place, said Kumar.
An alert has been sounded by the Delhi government after the water level of the Yamuna crossed the danger mark, an official said.

The Irrigation and Flood Control department of the city government has made preparations to evacuate people residing in low-lying areas.

The Water Level of River Yamuna at Delhi Old Rly Bridge reached at 204.10 metres at 7 PM on July 27 (above the warning level) and has a rising trend, a statement issued by the East Delhi district administration said.

The district administrations have already deployed rescue boats for residents in the low-lying areas and floodplains. Safety advisory announcements were made on a speaker system. In addition, Quick Response Teams have been formed who are visiting villages in these areas to make people aware of the danger. Relief materials have also been

While Haryana released around 1.36 lakh cusecs of water on Thursday morning, another 1.87 lakh cusecs was released around 7pm on Thursday. Water was also released on Friday, though in lesser quantity.

Water released from Hathni Kund barrage, 200km north of Delhi, usually takes around two days to reach Delhi. The water level could rise more once the released water reaches Delhi, said an official from the irrigation and flood control department.

The Met office has predicted more rain in the region.

A low-pressure area over western Uttar Pradesh and its neighbourhood persists. This system will bring widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall over Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and northwest Madhya Pradesh during the next two days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The Delhi sentence review board on Thursday agreed to release 25 prisoners, who have either completed their prison term or were up for early release owing to their good conduct in prison. The cases will now be sent to the L-G for his final approval.

The board, however, deferred the cases of Manu Sharma, convicted for the murder of model Jessica Lall, and former Congress leader Sushil Sharma.

Sushil Sharma was convicted for the murder of his wife Naina Sahni in what became to be infamously known as the Delhi Tandoor murder case. Manu Sharma is in prison for over 15 years while Sushil Sharma has been in jail for 23 years.

An official present in Thursdays meeting, who did not wish to be named, said, All the seven department representatives present in the meeting agreed that Manu Sharma and Sushil Sharma can be released but home minister Satyendar Jain said he wanted to study their case papers again and then make a decision next month. Hence, their cases were not decided.

Jain was not available for comment despite repeated calls and text messages.

Senior government officials said that of the 25 prisoners who are likely to be released, five are elderly, one terminally ill and another is physically disabled. Most of these prisoners are those who are lodged in the prisons semi-open jail facility. The decision of the board will soon be sent to the Delhis lieutenant governor, who can either approve or deny the boards decision.

Manu Sharma and Sushil Sharma have reportedly displayed good conduct in prison because of which they have been shifted to the open and the semi-open jail complex. Open-jail inmates are allowed to step out of prison gates and work outside every day but they have to spend their nights inside the jail complex. Those lodged in the semi-open jail, on the other hand, cannot step outside the prison and are assigned work within the prison complex, such as desk jobs in jail offices. Open and semi-open jail prisoners live in single room flats, unlike other prisoners who live behind bars in cells and barracks.

The release of 25 prisoners was decided by state home minister Jain, additional secretary(home) director general (prisons) Ajay Kashyap, the governments chief probation officer, a district judge, the joint commissioner of police(crime) and law secretary.
With the Yamuna crossing the danger mark, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday held an emergency meeting with top officials of his government, including Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, and directed all departments to be on high alert.

The meeting was chaired after Haryana released five lakh cusec of water from the Hathni Kund Barrage. It is expected to reach Delhi by tomorrow evening.

Kejriwal, his deputy Manish Sisodia took review of the preparedness of the departments in case water enters the low-lying vulnerable areas of Delhi.

The meeting was attended by the MLAs of the vulnerable areas, Prakash, officials of the Delhi Police, Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB), urban development, Irrigation and Flood Control, Army, MCDs, PWD, Delhi Jal Board, CATS, Health, Revenue, DDMA and other stakeholder departments.

Kejriwal, who met officials of Irrigation and Flood Control Department and other stakeholders, was informed by officials that they are prepared and on alert for any situation. They said that quick response teams have also been activated for emergency, an official statement said.

The agencies concerned informed the chief minister that the process of evacuation in the vulnerable areas has already begun and they have started putting up tents to shift the people being evacuated, said a statement from the Delhi government.

The chief minister said the supply of power, food and drinking water must be ensured to the people. Emergency medical teams would also be on duty for the people being shifted for any kind of medical emergencies, the statement said.

The DUSIB has been asked to activate and place their mobile toilet vans around the tents being put up at the earliest. Kejriwal asked the departments concerned to reach out to the people in these areas and inform them about the evacuation and its reasons aggressively.

The Education department and municipal corporations have been asked to be ready to provide the school space in these areas for people to be shifted if the situation demands so. The DUSIB has also been asked to chip in with their centres where people can be accommodated if required.

All power companies have been asked to arrange electricity supply in these tents 24x7 once people are shifted into them. The power companies have been asked to deploy their officials at the Flood Control Room round the clock.

The Army was also requested to be on stand-by for any emergency, they replied in an affirmative and said they are on stand-by.

The availability of motorboats was also discussed. All the agencies having motorboats were asked to keep them ready for evacuation.

The army has been asked to check all the motorboats for operations, if required. Portable generators are also being prepared for night evacuation, if required.

DUSIB, Power, Health and other departments have been asked to deploy their officials in the control rooms 24x7 for the next three-four days. All departments have been assigned with their respective duties and have been put on alert, the statement added.

The chief minister directed that the Control Room Emergency Number 1077 must be advertised so that it reaches people at the earliest. People in general would be able to call on 1077 for any flood related emergency, it added.

The water level is expected to cross 205.4 metres today, officials said.

Kejriwal said all departments have been put on high alert.

Haryana has released 5 lakh cusec water. Called an emergency meeting to discuss the situation. This water likely to reach Del by tomo eve. Wherever administration evacuating people, they r requested to cooperate. All depts put on high alert. For any flood related emergency, control room no is 1077 (sic), he tweeted.

The Yamuna water level at the Hathinikund barrage has crossed the danger mark of 90,000 cusec and till 9 pm, 49,2351 cusec of water was released.

The water level of the Yamuna river at the Old Delhi Railway Bridge rose to 205.36 metres by 9 pm and is expected to rise even further, an official said.

The water level of river Yamuna at Delhi Old Rly Bridge reached at 204.92 metres at 7 am on July 28 (above the warning level) and having rising trend, a statement issued in the morning had said.

An alert was sounded yesterday by the Delhi government after the water level of the Yamuna crossed the danger mark, an official said.

All executive engineers/sector officers are directed to keep in close contact with the control room in relation to the discharge, water level at the Old Railway Bridge and the advisory or forecast from the Central Water Commission/MET, and requested to take appropriate measures/steps accordingly to avoid flood-like situation, an advisory from the authorities said.

The CWC, Upper Yamuna Division, New Delhi has issued flood forecast for the Delhi Railway Bridge (North Delhi Dt NCT, Delhi). The water level of river Yamuna at Delhi Rly Bridge was 205 metres at 9 am on July 28 (warning level 204.00 m), the advisory said.

A low pressure persists over western Uttar Pradesh and its neighbouring areas.

This system will bring widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy rainfall over Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and northwest Madhya Pradesh during the next two days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.
The Common Admission Test 2018 will be held on November 25 in two sessions in 147 cities, Sumanta Basu, professor of Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta, and convener of the exam revealed on Saturday.

Registration for the test will open on August 8 and close on September 19. The test will be of three hours.

There will be three sections  verbal ability and reading comprehension, data interpretation and logical reasoning, quantitative ability. Student will get 60 minutes to complete each section and they have to complete one section before proceeding to the next.

Tutorial to understand the format of the test will be available on the CAT website from October 17. Some questions in each section may not be of multiple-choice type. Instead, direct answers will have to be typed on the screen, said the statement.

A statement released by IIM-Calcutta of Saturday said candidates can download their examination admit card from October 24, 2018 onwards, till the date of test.

Candidates will be given the option to select four test cities in order of preference. Cities and centres will be assigned to the candidates only after the last date of registration and hence candidates need not rush to block slots and cities in the initial days of registration, said the statement.

Tutorial to understand the format of the test will be available on the CAT website from October 17. Some questions in each section may not be of multiple-choice type. Instead, direct answers will have to be typed on the screen, said the statement.

The authorities said they will try their best to assign candidates to their first preferred city.

In case it is not possible, they will be assigned a city following their given order of preference. In the rare case that a candidate is not allotted any of the preferred cities, he/she will be allotted an alternate city, said the release.

Candidates should pay the registration fee through online payment modes only.
Amit Aggarwal could not have asked for a more perfect face for his big, brilliant debut at India Couture Week 2018. The fashion designer was all praises for actor and fitness guru Shilpa Shetty Kundra, who set the ramp on fire once again as a charming showstopper to his show.

Day 3 of the ICW, presented by Hindustan Times and Sunil Sethi Design Alliance, kicked off with Amits stunning new collection, titled Crystalis. Crystalis is derived from a combination of two words  crystal and chrysalis, Amit said in an interview to HT, as he revealed the inspiration behind the title. I am really inspired by the architectural formation of a crystal and also the formation of a chrysalis around a butterfly, he said.

Designer Amit Aggarwal poses with showstopper Shilpa Shetty Kundra at India Couture Week 2018. (Amal KS/HT Photo)

Amit showed off gorgeous pleats, metallic details and structured fabrics in surprising colours like emerald green, smokey silver and a shiny plum. If you see the overall palette, we have kept it really light, he said about his choice of colours. I think the modern Indian woman wants a variety of colours in her wardrobe and I think it was time someone experimented with different colours, he added.

And experiment he did. Amit draped Shilpa in a quirky, edgy dress inspired by the traditional saree. The gorgeous plum outfit complemented Shilpa and her beautiful complexion perfectly. I think a muse is a person who has cultivated a brand. Shilpa has worn us multiple times and some of the most striking outfits from our collections over the years. Since it was my debut, it was really the right time to go to someone who epitomises the brand perfectly and there could not have been anyone better than Shilpa, he said about her.

The gorgeous plum outfit by Amit Aggarwal complemented Shilpa and her beautiful complexion perfectly. (Amal KS/HT Photo)

Amit calls Shilpa his muse and is confident that she can turn any of his outfits into pieces of art. A muse is someone who can look great in every single outfit and I think Shilpa really would bring any outfit to life, he said.

And to what occasion does he believe women will wear his outfits to? When I actually designed the collection, I thought it would really range from wearing it to a wedding reception  either your own or someone elses or to wearing it to your own wedding, he said.

So maybe at a wedding like Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas? Yes I am very excited and I congratulate both of them, he said, hoping to see Shilpa wear one of his outfits to the imminent wedding.

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Around the half-way mark in Mission: Impossible - Fallout, the sixth film in Tom Cruises action series, Ethan Hunt lands in Paris - not in the traditional way, on a plane, but by performing a HALO jump from thousands of feet in the sky. A lot has been written about the jump, which, like the films half a dozen other action scenes, Cruise insisted on doing himself, and it shows. The scene looks utterly convincing in IMAX. But in the larger scheme of things, its a just a tease for whats about to happen.

Hunt and his team - Luther, Benji and the newcomer Walker, played by Henry Cavill - are in the City of Love to help break out Solomon Lane, whom youd remember as the villain from Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation. Its a neat subversion of the series tropes - usually, the villains are the ones doing the escaping. In classic Mission: Impossible fashion, the set up is crystal clear - we understand the objective, were made aware of the obstacles, and we know that there is a very real threat of Hunt and his team being caught, or killed.

This image released by Paramount Pictures shows Tom Cruise in a scene from Mission: Impossible - Fallout. (AP)

But director Christopher McQuarrie has always had a very astute eye for genre tropes - hes just as comfortable giving fans what they want as he is at upending their expectations. The Paris chase is a great example of how a straightforward sequence can take you down roads youve never seen - often quite literally. In the span of 10-15 minutes, McQuarrie shows us a side to Paris weve never really seen - like the sequence itself, its familiar, yet refreshing.

Hunt breaks Lane out, and then gets enveloped in a breakneck race against the authorities - over land and water. And McQuarries camera finds gripping new ways to tell the story, all the while providing white-knuckle thrills. He puts special focus on sound - when an engine revs, our seats quiver, and when Ethan crashes into traffic, we feel his pain.

Its easily one of the best action sequences of recent times, better than anything in Rogue Nation, and maybe even better than the Burj Khalifa scene from Ghost Protocol. Its what they call pure cinema - a rare occurrence in these days of lazy CGI and lazier exposition.

But happily, while Batman and Superman have a weightless brawl up in the sky, there are filmmakers pushing the boundaries of action movie-making back on Earth. Here are five of the best action sequences of recent times, slightly removed from the mainstream stuff - even though Fallout owes a major debt of gratitude to the films of Christopher Nolan, George Miller and Paul Greengrass.

Raid 2: Berandal

Virtually every scene in Gareth Evans two-part Indonesian action saga is an all-timer. With very little money but a whole lot of ambition, Evans and his cinematographers, Matt Flannery and Dimas Imam Subhono, showcased a style of action wed never really seen before and propelled the Indonesian martial art of Pencak Silat to worldwide fame. The Raid 2, just like the previous movie, had several scenes that could easily be included here, but one sticks out, especially because Mission: Impossible - Fallout has a scene that feels very much like an homage to it.

Its the bathroom brawl, shot in that trademark fluid style that Evans had perfected. To find ways to film inside such a cramped space, Evans and his team came up with an ingenious movable set, which could be manipulated during the fight. Watching the actors perform the scene, while at the same time gaping in awe at the crew moving the bathroom stalls and swirling the camera around, is sort of like what I imagine watching ballet would be.

Children of Men

Director Alfonso Cuaron won himself a Best Director Oscar for Gravity, for a culmination of techniques hed been perfecting for years. The first glimpse at his incredible talent for staging single-shot action came in the sci-fi gem Children of Men. Like the Raid - or any great action film for that matter - there is more than one memorable scene in the film, but the unbroken seven-minute sequence that follows Clive Owens character from the streets and into a rundown building is a marvel. What makes it a notch above everything else is Cuarons grounded perspective - were looking at the action over Owens shoulders, shackled to him until death do us part.

Oldboy

Every Marvel bro who watched the hallway fight from the first season of Netflixs Daredevil should be told that the scene found its origins in Park Chan-wooks crime masterpiece Oldboy. The Oldboy scene itself was an homage to side-scroller video games such as Mario or Street Fighter, but in keeping with the overarching theme weve got going here, Park gave audience something theyd never seen before. It was brutal, highly emotional, and absolutely thrilling to watch - once again, mostly because we were already rooting for the character to have his revenge.

In his tragically butchered remake, director Spike Lee attempted his own spin on the classic scene, but the producers took the film away from him and cut the scene themselves - cut being the operative word.

Eastern Promises

Who knew David Cronenberg could direct an action sequence on par with the Batman-Bane fight from The Dark Knight Rises? Taking everyone by surprise, including perhaps himself, Cronenberg shot the hand-to-hand fight - once again, set in a bathroom - with gruesome realism, scored only the sounds of flesh-on-flesh. Watching it unfold, and watching Viggo Mortensens unrefined and rusty moves, almost gives you the impression of being there with him - the slick blood dissolving into the water, every slice of the knife sending a shooting pain up your spine.

13 Assassins

So far weve only discussed small-scale action here - fist fights and such - but heres an epic action scene for you. The objectively insane Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike has made everything from lurid animated movies, candy-coloured childrens films, to blood-soaked samurai epics. 13 Assassins is probably his most accessible film. Its sort of divided into two distinct halves - both showcasing Miikes skills as a visual storyteller. For an hour or so, the film plays like a serene drama, as the titular assassins are recruited for a mission of honour. The second half, meanwhile, is why were here. For approximately 30 minutes, Miike unleashes action so intense, so imaginative, and yet so personal, that it makes you wonder how come he hasnt taken his talents to Hollywood yet.

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The author tweets @RohanNaahar
The governments flagship programme promoting the use of generic drugs, Jan Aushadhi, will reach all the districts in India by mid-August. The generic drug stores have already opened in 612 of the 717 district in India under the Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Jan Aushadhi Pariyojna (PMBJP).

We had aimed to reach all districts in India by the end of this year, but we will be able to do it in August itself. In the last two years, the programme has grown exponentially, said Sachin Singh, chief executive officer of Bureau of Pharma Public Sector Undertakings (BPPI) of India, the agency which runs the programme.

The stores that sell more than 900 medicines and 150 surgical items at discounted prices, sometimes as cheap as 20-30% of the market rate has saved people Rs 450 crore in the last two years, according to calculations by BPPI.

The stores are opened as a franchise of the government brand and the medicines are centrally supplied.

The number of Jan Aushadhi stores has increased from 80 in 2014 to 3,872 stores in July, 2018, with the expansion picking up pace in the last two years. In 2017, the number of stores went up 1,080 from just 269 in the previous year.

It is actually a very good initiative by the government for bringing down the cost of treatment. Almost 60% of out-of-pocket expenditure is on medicines. However, we see longer queues outside Amrit stores run by HLL than the government-run Jan Aushadhi stores. This can be changed only when there is a wider range of medicines available in the stores, including some branded drugs. Apart from that the government has to ensure that the quality of the drugs and take action against erring manufacturers openly in public. This will increase the faith of the people in the drugs, said Dr AK Rai, former medical superintendent of Safdarjung hospital.

The growth is reflected in the turnovers too.
A BJP block-level leader was hacked to death by unidentified people at Mandir Bazar in Bengals South 24 Parganas district on Friday night.

The incident occurred while the victim, Saktipada Sardar (45), was returning from work. Passersby rushed him to the Diamond Harbour hospital, which  in turn  referred him to a medical institution in Kolkata. However, Sardar died before he could be hospitalised.

Two people were detained after the BJP leaders family lodged a complaint.

Soon afterwards, many BJP leaders turned up on Twitter to allege the Trinamool Congress involvement. Another heinous murder of BJP member Shaktipada Sardar from Dhanurhat, South 24 Parganas, by bloodthirsty TMC goons. He paid the price for the BJPs victory in the same block during the panchayat elections, tweeted minister of state for heavy industries Babul Supriyo.

Killings of BJP workers in Bengal continue. The carelessness and non-cooperation of Bengal Police are an affront to democracy, wrote party national general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya.

Trinamool leaders have denied the partys involvement in the murder.

Bengal unit president Dilip Ghosh claims that over 40 BJP workers have been killed by Trinamool-backed elements since the nomination process for the panchayat polls began on April 2.

Of the 15 seats in Mandir Bazar panchayat, Trinamool Congress won nine and BJP six.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Saturday again lashed out at the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre for not according special category status for the state.

Refuting Prime Minister Narendra Modis reported statement that he had taken a U-turn on the special category status issue, Naidu maintained that he had only taken the right turn.

Neither did I take a U-turn nor did I fall into the YSR Congress trap. It was the BJP that took the U-turn after promising SCS to AP for 10 years, Naidu said at a public meeting in Ongole town this evening.

The meeting was part of a series being organised in every district by the ruling TDP in the state in its fight against the Centre over denial of special category status.

Naidu also thanked opposition parties for unconditionally supporting the TDP sponsored no-confidence motion in Lok Sabha on July 20.

We have to whole-heartedly thank the congress party for unconditionally supporting our no-confidence motion even though we never requested it, Naidu told the gathering.

The chief minister claimed that he could enlist the support of all political parties in the country in the fight for APs rights.

Samajwadi Party, Trinamool Congress, JD (U), AIADMK, BJD, RJD, DMK, JD (S), CPI, CPI-M, Shiv Sena, NCP, Akali Dal, Kerala Congress, PDP and even TRS have unconditionally supported us.

TDP is the only party in the entire country that has left the Narendra Modi government totally shaken, the TDP president said.

The no-confidence motion against the Narendra Modi government was decisively defeated after an acrimonious debate in the Lok Sabha on July 20.

A total of 325 MPs opposed while 126 MPs supported the no trust motion moved by the TDP, a former BJP ally.,

While AIADMK MPs voted against the no-confidence motion, members of BJP ally Shiv Sena, BJD and TRS abstained.

The TDP has been demanding that the Centre accord special category status for the state.
Its been a year since the Justice BN Srikrishna Committee was formed to study issues related to data protection. On Friday, the draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018 was submitted to the government. In a phone interview, Arghya Sengupta, member of the committee and research director at the Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy, an advisory group, explained the implications of the draft bill to Vidhi Choudhary of HT. Edited excerpts:

What are the key takeaways for the Indian user on WhatsApp, Facebook, Google?

First is consent. The bill is consent-centric. Consent is the fundamental principle on the basis of which data can be processed. To give you a simple example, today everybody has to look at 26-page for -ms of legal writing and then tick a box in which you dont even read anything and you say  I agree. My personal hope, and this is written in the bill, is that it will be replaced by a data trust score. So then you know that this person youre giving your data to is 1 on 10,so youd think twice.

Second, if you have a problem currently, there is nowhere you can go to. If your data is stolen, you dont know what to do. Here, we are creating a Data Protection Authority (DPA) which will have its offices everywhere and you can go to the DPA for any complaint against anybody, whether in the private or public sector.

So far, in the IT Act, the reasonable security practice rules are not applicable agai- nst the government. I think it is of great credit to the committee that we could evolve a consensus on this issue. This law will apply to the private as well as the public sector.

Third, there is a broad principled formulation in favour of local storage of data. The principle has been set that the data of Indians should remain in India.

Of course there will be exemptions, people will be allowed to take their data abroad. We are very cognisant of the fact that the Internet must remain free and unwalled. But at the same time, we think data is a huge asset of the country. So, if companies are going to use this data to provide services that are beneficial for Indians, then they should set their data centres up in India, create jobs for Indians and keep their data protected and secure in India.

However, the government may exempt certain types of data due to practical limitations like the Reserve Bank of India is facing with financial data. But the exemptions will only be on two grounds  necessity or strategic interests.

Are there any security concerns about keeping one copy of the data in India?

A lot of data currently exists in India already. I dont think it is that big an issue because its happening anyway. Also when we say data localization, lets not think one server somewhere that will have everybodys data. We have 29 states, we are a large country. Its going to be decentralised across several servers in several parts of the country.

And yes, if security is a concern, then the government of India must take every step to reassure its citizens that the data will remain secure.

Could this deter global Internet companies from entering India or affect their existing operations?

My sense is that it should not be a serious deterrent. We allow transfer of personal data with some restrictions. I think this is a very nuanced provision; if there are some serious concerns. the central government can exempt people. But we should send the message very clearly that if India is such a large market for global technology companies, then the benefit should not only be to those companies but also to the citizens of India.

What are the implications of this bill on the Aadhaar Act?

The committee would have been remiss if it did not have any discussion on Aadhaar. There is a whole set of amendments suggested to Aadhaar. Its part of the Appendix. This is for the consideration of the government because our task is not to draft the Aadhaar Act.

What role will the Data Protection Authority play and how independently will it operate?

Its going to be a new-age regulator and an independent body. There are clear safeguards for independence provided. Its members cant be removed very easily, they have tenures. The appointment process involves bipartisan participation. There is no reason to start off on a note of distrust that the government will control everything. The appointment committee has one representative fr- om the government and two from the outside - the cabinet secretary and the chief justice. The terms and conditions have prescriptions that are equal to a Supreme Court judge. They are not eligible for reappointment. And they cant hold any other office so there is no conflict of interest.

There is some criticism that the proposed bill weakens the RTI Act.

No, not at all. The RTI Act is in no way going to be weakened by any privacy protections in this bill. Nothing in the data protection act will prevent disclosure of information.
The Jammu and Kashmir policeman, who was abducted by militants from south Kashmirs Tral area on Friday, has returned home after being released, police said.

The mother of the policeman had appealed to his abductors to release him, saying he was the only son in the family and was about to resign.

Special police officer (SPO) Mudasir Ahmad Lone was abducted by unknown gunmen from his native village, Chankatar late in Saturday evening. He was working as a cook at Reshipora police post in Awantipore.

My son had come home as he was going to resign from his job and would have announced the same on Friday in the mosque, said Hareefa Begum, Lones mother in a video, in which she is flanked by her three daughters and other relatives. She said Lone was her only son among four children.

The video had gone viral on internet as militants also released Lones picture on social media while the police launched a search to trace him.

The abduction came less than a week after militants killed police constable, Mohammad Salim Shah after abducting him from his house in south Kashmir.

A day after the killing, police claimed to have killed three militants, who, they said, were responsible for abduction and killing of the constable.

In the first week of this month, police constable Javeed Ahmad Dar was abducted from his house at Vehil in Shopian district and later killed by the militants nearby. Last month, Aurangzeb, an army soldier was abducted from a private vehicle when he was going home for Eid holiday in Shopian. Later, his body was recovered from a village.

Earlier, operational commander of Hizbul Mujahideen Riyaz Ahmad Naikoo had asked policemen to resign from their jobs or face consequences.
Police have convinced a 70-year-old man to drop his long-contemplated plans of burying himself alive in Andhra Pradeshs Guntur district. Apparently, he did not want to continue living in a country that suffered from so much crime and public apathy.

Police said Tathireddy Lachi Reddy of Gannavaram village stated to the police in a letter dated July 24 that he was planning to attain Sajeeva Samadhi (live burial) because the country was not fit to inhabit anymore. He then dug a five-foot pit in his field and cemented it from inside. He also kept cement and stone blocks around the grave, so the pit could be covered up once he had entered it.

Upon receiving the letter, a team of police officers led by Macherla rural inspector Dileep Kumar and sub-inspector Lokeshwar Rao went to Gannavaram and asked the old man to drop his plan. We informed him that taking such a step would amount to committing suicide, which itself is a crime. He agreed after thorough counselling, said Rao.

Tathireddy  who owns 10 acres of land in the village  is married and has two sons, although he doesnt live with them. His second son, Ramakrishna Reddy, told police that Tathireddy had turned spiritual over the last 10 years. He was said to be inspired by the writings of Potuluri Veera Brahmendra Swamy, a ninth-century Hindu sage and oracle, whose book Kalagnanam made a lot of predictions about the future.

He left his family and took to staying alone in a small room constructed on his land. His family members would provide him with food and water every day, the sub-inspector said.

When confronted by the local media, Tathireddy said there was no place for justice in either Andhra Pradesh or the country. People are turning selfish. I dont want to see them sinning like this anymore, he added.
India moved closer to its first data privacy law on Friday after a committee, headed by former Supreme Court judge BN Srikrishna, proposed a draft Personal Data Protection Bill.

The draft bill provides for the formation of a Data Protection Authority of India to protect citizens data and privacy  a growing concern in an increasingly digitising economy.

The proposed bill makes individual consent the centrepiece of data sharing, awards rights to users, imposes obligations on data fiduciaries all those entities, including the State, which determine purpose and means of data processing.

It also lays out provisions on data storage, making it mandatory for a copy of personal data to be stored in India, and called for amendments to other laws, including the Right to Information. Though the bill does not mention it directly, the report also suggests changes to the Aadhaar Act.

In essence, the Data Protection Authority will function as Indias privacy regulator.

Several countries across the world have already implemented similar data protection laws. The focus on users right to their data and its protection comes after the scandal this March over access gained by political marketing firm Cambridge Analytica to data collected through Facebook.

Here is a look at how other countries have approached the data privacy issue:

A comparison of data laws in other countries EUROPE (European Union) Has an all-encompassing law General Data Protection Regulations, which came into effect on May 25, 2018.

User consent needs to be explicit n Right to be forgotten, a concept that arose in the EU

Right to be forgotten, a concept that arose in the EU

Applies to businesses anywhere in the world that handle European data

Penalties for non-compliance are up to 4 percent of the companys global turnover, or 20 million Euros, whichever is higher UNITED STATES Data protection fragmented invarious federal and state laws

Each sector will deem what isprivate or personal data

A movement to pass a new law onconsumer privacy protectionsfailed in the Congress in 2017.

California, with Shine the LightLaw, was one of the first states inthe US to implement privacy laws AUSTRALIA The Privacy Act of 1988 regulates the handling of personalinformation of individuals

n Privacy is not a fundamental right

Does not apply to governmentagencies, political parties
Giving a call to oust the BJP, Trinamool Congress leaders on Saturday said the people of India needed a leader like Mamata Banerjee who worked for all, including farmers and women.

They reiterated the BJP hatao, desh bachao slogan given by Banerjee during the martyrs day rally in Kolkata last week and said that a pledge needed to be taken to win all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Addressing a rally at the same ground where Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting on July 16, TMC MP Abhishek Bandopadhyay said Banerjee had set a target for the party to defeat the saffron party in 2019 Lok Sabha election.

Bandopadhyay said the TMC had formed a syndicate of the people to usher in development in the state and to bring peace in the erstwhile Maoist-affected areas and Darjeeling hills.

He was referring to Modis attack against the TMC government, charging it with throttling democracy and running a syndicate raj without whose approval nothing moved.

We have also formed a syndicate to oust the BJP from the Centre, Bandopadhyay, who is a nephew of Banerjee, said.

Reiterating that syndicate raj prevailed in the state, the BJP said the TMC could not fool the people.

The TMC leaders themselves talked about syndicate raj. They said the TMC government will collapse if syndicate is stopped, BJP state president Dilip Ghosh claimed.

The people in the state know that nothing can be done without the syndicate. The prime minister said that, he said.

Dismissing the BJPs charge that the TMC chief resorted to appeasement of the Muslims, Bandopadhyay sought to know what the prime minister had done for the Hindus.

The Centre had launched the Namami Gange (National Mission for Clean Ganga) project with fanfare at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore but not a pond was cleaned. Mamata had done many things for the Hindus, including developing Gangasagar, building skywalk at Dakshineswar temple and renovating Tarakeswar temple, he said.

Bandopadhyay claimed that although the highest number of farmer deaths were reported in Maharashtra during the past six months, Modi chose to hold a rally for welfare of peasants in Bengal where not a single farmer had died.

Accusing the BJP of creating a rift between the Hindus and the Muslims, he said, We will not let that happen.

The Rambhakts of Modis BJP trigger riots but the Rambhakts of Bengal work for building communal amity, he claimed.

He claimed that the turnout at Modis public rally comprised people from four states - Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha -- but not a single farmer was present at the rally.

Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said, The people of India need Mamata Banerjee. She has no lust for power. But she has to take up the responsibility. The people of the country need a leader who works for everybody.

He said Modi had raised a slogan of bringing Achhe din but bad days befell the people.

Hakim, who is also the TMC general secretary, claimed, We have syndicate for development but not formed syndicate to organise riots like what happened in Gujarat.

He claimed that the TMC would win all the 42 seats in the state and the BJP would not be able to win a single seat.

In an obvious reference to Banerjee, Transport minister Subhendu Adhikary said, We want a Bengali prime minister.

State Education Minister and TMC Secretary General Partha Chatterjee alleged that that Modi was shedding crocodile tears for the farmers.

Modi had suddenly turned up in Midnapore to profess his new-found love for farmers. I ask where was he when the farmers agitation in Nandigram and Singur were taking place, he questioned.

Chatterjee said Banerjee had a history of standing by the people and she did not become a mass leader in one day.

He said those who failed to provide mid-day meal rice were now claiming to side with the farmers.

Chatterjee alleged that the BJP was trying to win polls by bringing out rath-yatras and allowing display of swords in processions, thereby, creating fear among people but, said that, they would not succeed.
DMK president M Karunanidhis health is stable with ongoing active medical support, Kauvery hospital said in a statement issued at 8pm on Saturday. He is continuously being monitored and treated by the panel of expert doctors in the Intensive Care Unit, the hospital said.

The former Tamil Nadu chief ministers blood pressure had dropped suddenly at 1 am on Saturday and was rushed to Kauvery hospital in the city.

On Saturday afternoon, DMK said the party president was stable and would remain in hospital for two more days before being discharged.

Anxious workers of DMK had made a beeline to the hospital to know the health condition of their 94-year-old leader following his admission to the hospital. Teary-eyed cadres from several parts of the state gathered in front of the hospital.

Students of Va Su boys higher secondary school in Tiruvarur conducted a joint prayer for the speedy recovery of Karunanidhi, as he was an alumni of the school.

In the afternoon, party spokesperson T K S Elangovan brought cheer to the workers, saying his health condition had stabilised.

The blood pressure level has stabilised now and our leader is doing well. He will be in the hospital for next two days for further treatment, Elangovan said.

In response, workers wished Karunanidhi good health and long life.

Defence minister Nirmala Seetharaman, Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit, Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam leader TTV Dhinakaran were among the prominent leaders who visited the hospital to enquire about Karunanidhis health.

Azad said that his party wishes Karunanidhi a speedy recovery.

Karunanidhi is a senior leader in the country and the state needs his guidance and leadership. INC wishes him a speedy recovery. We believe he will return soon, Azad said.

With the flow of workers increasing, policemen have put up barricades around the Kauvery hospital and only very senior leaders are being allowed to visit.

I have come all the way from Mayiladuthurai of Nagapattinam district. I believe that my prayers for my leader will save him. He will come soon, said M Rajarethinam, a 48-year-old party functionary waiting at the hospital.

Mostly, visitors have met Karunanidhis son Stalin as doctors have advised rest for the veteran leader, who is currently in the Intensive Care Unit.

Chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami said his government is ready to render all help for the treatment of Karunanidhi.

Since Karunanidhi was a five-time chief minister, currently an MLA and leader of DMK, our government is ready to provide treatment for him, the CM noted.

Chennai police have decided not to sanction any leave for its staff for the next few days.

We also asked police personnel who are on leave to come back for duty, said a top police official with the Greater Chennai city police.
A 29-year old man committed suicide by hanging himself seeking special category status for Andhra Pradesh in Chittoor district on Saturday.

The body of N Sudhakar, a worker in a handloom weaving firm in Rama Rao Nagar colony in Madanapalle town, was found hanging from the ceiling in his house in the morning.

His parents, N Ramachandra and Sarojinamma, both sanitation workers, were away on their job, when he took to the extreme step.

A suicide note recovered from him by the Madanapalle police revealed that nobody was responsible for his death.

Special Category Status to Andhra Pradesh is our right, he said in the note.

His family members told police that Sudhakar was actively participating in the agitations for special category status to AP.

He even spoke at the meeting of handloom weavers recently, where he raised his voice for the special status, they said.

Coming from a poor family, Sudhakar was involved in various social and philanthropic activities.

The police also recovered a receipt from his body which showed that he had donated Rs 5,000 to Chaitanya Orphanage and Rehabilitation Centre at Madanapalle on July 21.

Telugu Desam Party (TDP) president and Andhra Pradesh chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu expressed grief over Sudhakars suicide.

The betrayal by the Centre has caused emotional disturbance in the people. I appeal to them not to commit such acts, but continue their fight against the Centre, he said, while addressing Dharma Porata Deeksha rally at Ongole in the afternoon.

Naidu announced an ex-gratia of Rs 5 lakh from the state government and another Rs 5 lakh from the TDP, to the bereaved family. We will stand by his family and support them all through, he said.

The meeting observed silence, mourning the death of Sudhakar.

YSR Congress party president and leader of Opposition YS Jaganmohan Reddy also expressed shock over the suicide by Sudhakar. He condoled the bereaved family members and appealed to people not to resort to such extreme step but join the fight for SCS to achieve the goal.

On Friday, a youth from Warangal in Telangana, also protested against the Centres apathy towards Andhra Pradesh by climbing a mobile phone tower in New Delhi.
A tribal was allegedly killed by Maoists on suspicion of being a police informer near the Andhra Pradesh-Odisha border on Saturday morning.

The incident took place at the Chukka Goyyi tribal hamlet located in the forested areas of Visakhapatnams Gudem Kotha Veedhi block. Police said the rebels had warned the victim  identified as Jayaram alias Saloo (30)  against tipping off security forces regarding their whereabouts on a couple of occasions in the past.

This incident comes in the run-up to the Martyrs Week declared by Maoists to commemorate leaders and cadres killed in past police encounters.

Martyrs Week starts on July 28 because it was on this day that the groups founder, Charu Mazumdar, died about 46 years ago. It will go on till August 3.

Telangana and Andhra police have consequently beefed up security along the Telangana-Chhattisgarh and Andhra Pradesh-Odisha borders. State transport corporations have halted bus services to interior villages for the duration to ensure that they dont become soft targets for the rebels. Local public representatives have also been asked to exercise caution.

Bhadrachalam assistant superintendent of police Sangram Singh Patil said local police and special forces are conducting intense combing operations in border areas. We have taken every precaution to prevent violent incidents, he said.
After an all-party meeting on Saturday, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis extended an olive branch to the agitating Maratha groups and the Opposition by announcing that a special, two-day session of the state legislature would be held to discuss reservations for the Maratha community.

The session would be held after the Maharashtra State Backward Classes Commission (MSBCC) submits its report on the backwardness of the Maratha community. Fadnavis also said that the state would withdraw the cases against protesters except those booked for attacking police personnel and damaging property.

We will call a special session of the state legislature to take call on providing reservation to the Maratha community. The decision in the special session will be taken based on the MSBCC recommendations made by in its report. The state government will examine the report before calling the session, Fadnavis said.

Maratha outfits have been demanding withdrawal of cases. Shiv Sena and Opposition leaders have been suggesting the government call a special session.

Fadnavis also reiterated his earlier promise that the government will keep aside 16% of the 72,000 posts its administration intends to fill in the coming days. This was unacceptable to the community, which demanded recruitment for all 72,000 posts be put on hold until the Bombay high court (HC) comes to a decision regarding the backwardness and the legality of quota for them.

Virendra Pawar, a Maratha Kranti Morcha coordinator, said that Fadnaviss announcement was tactical rather than a genuine attempt to resolve issues. No one knows when MSBCC is going to submit its report and when special session will be called. Similarly, Fadnavis is saying that the cases will be withdrawn. In contrast, police is arresting thousands of Maratha youths and charging them with serious charges like section 307, said Pawar.

Shiv Senas spokesperson Anil Parab, who is also the partys leader in the Maharashtra Legislative Council, said, The party pressed the chief minister to clear the legal hurdles to secure reservation. We also demanded that cases against Maratha youth, who were booked during agitation, should be withdrawn, and the mega recruitment drive of the state government should keep posts separate for the community till a decision is arrived at.

Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil, leader of Opposition in the state assembly, said the Opposition had attended the all-party meet to help maintain peace in the state, but it was not satisfied with the governments efforts. This exercise could have been done long back, Vikhe Patil said.

Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar said Fadnavis could take a leaf out of Tamil Nadus playbook. The state can pass a law and send it to the Centre to incorporate it in Article 31B of the Constitution, which is part of Schedule 9 and thus cannot be challenged in any court of law; just like Tamil Nadu, which has increased its reservation quota up to 69% against the SC ruling.

Meanwhile, Congress and NCP have called separate meetings of their legislators Monday. They are also planning to meet the Governor to discuss calling a special session at the earliest.
A fresh medical report released by the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) to police authorities has not ruled out the possibility of rape of five more girls at the controversial Muzaffarpur shelter home.

Rape had already been confirmed on 29 out of 44 girls who were rescued after the sex scandal surfaced on May 31 following an audit report released by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).

With the fresh medical report, the number of rape victims at the shelter home goes up to 34.

Senior superintendent of police (SSP) Harpreet Kaur said police received the medical report on Friday from PMCH. I have reviewed the report. It has not ruled out the possibility of rape of five more girls, she said, adding that 42 out of 44 girls have been medically examined, since the scandal came to light.

At least 34 girls have tested positive (of rape) till now, while medical reports have not confirmed rape on eight girls. Two girls were not taken before the medical board because they were mentally challenged, said the SSP.

Meanwhile, police are awaiting the Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) report.

Deputy superintendent of police (DSP), City, Mukul Kumar Ranjan, said the FSL report would give enough proof in the case. We are focusing on scientific probe, which will nail the accused, he said, adding that posters carrying picture of Dilip Kumar Verma, the fugitive chairperson of the district child welfare committee have been circulated.

Verma was entrusted with the responsibility of weekly inspections of the shelter home, but, according to the inmates, he also used to sexually assault them. Vermas posters have also been pasted on main thoroughfares of the district and at his house, said the DSP.

Inspector general (IG) of Tirhut zone, Sunil Kumar, has directed police to seek report of those officials, who routinely inspected the shelter home.

The sexual exploitation of destitute minor girls, residing at the government-funded shelter home, came to light on May 31 this year after an FIR was lodged with the Muzaffarpur womens police station on a written complaint by deputy director of social welfare department Divesh Kumar.
Amid fears of tinkering with special status of Jammu and Kashmir, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday urged separatists and mainstream parties to join hands to defend Article 35 A.

The Supreme Court will on August 6 hear a petition on challenging the validity of the Article 35A of the Constitution, which empowers the states legislature to define permanent residents of the state and provide special rights and privileges to them.

The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, while addressing people at Sheri Kashmir Park in Srinagar on the 19th foundation day of PDP, said the regional parties need to bury their differences for states special status.

I am informing to all the parties like separatists, National Conference, Congress that our biggest challenge is Article 35 A. We should forget our differences and come together to defend Articles 35 A and 370 just like we did for the past two years, she said.

Her statement comes a day after moderate separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq warned of massive agitation if special rights accorded to the state under the Constitution were taken away.

Mirwaiz accused the BJP and the RSS of changing the demographic nature of Jammu and Kashmir by doing away with the state subject law. National Conferences Farooq Abdullah too had warned last year of mass agitation if the law was repealed.

During the PDP-BJP rule, Mehbooba had promised to defend the Article 35 A in the apex court. After the two split and Mufti resigned, separatists and mainstream parties feared the state will not defend its case as the BJP and RSS were opposed to it.
A woman and her two children were killed after a mentally challenged man in Gumla district of Jharkhand attacked them with an axe on Saturday.

Enraged over the incident, the villagers later beat the accused to death, police said.

Sudama Chaudhary, Palkot police station-in-charge, said Chotu Munda attacked Bandhain Munda and her children, three-year-old Vipin Munda and one-year-old Divyang Munda, with an axe on Saturday afternoon.

The accused caused injuries on the victims necks, following which they died, he added.

Police said as per preliminary investigation, the villagers -- after hearing the cries of the victims -- arrived at the spot and tried to catch the man to hand him over to police. However, he attacked the villagers and injured two of them.

The villagers then thrashed him and he died soon after, police said.

Police said Chotu Munda, a resident of the same village, is not related to the victims family but stayed near their house.

The family members of the accused have also admitted that he was mentally challenged. No property or any other angle has emerged in the preliminary investigations as the cause of the crime, said a police official.

Police said the bodies have been sent for post-mortem and further investigation is on.
Alleging that more youths from Jammu and Kashmir have been joining militancy in recent years, former chief minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday regretted that not enough attention was paid to the state during the recent no-confidence motion in Parliament.

In my tenure (as chief minister, 2009-2015) there were years when the number of people who joined militancy was in 20s, while last year, it was over 200, Abdullah said at the Think Federal Conclave in Kolkata.

Slamming the BJP-ruled Centre for its claim on the number of terrorists killed in Jammu and Kashmir, he said the statistics were taken in isolation and not compared with the number of youths joining militancy.

Coming down heavily on the BJP-PDP coalition that ruled the troubled northern state from 2015 till last month, Abdullah said militancy was reborn in Jammu and Kashmir in 2015 when the alliance was formed.

Referring to the no-confidence motion moved by the opposition in Lok Sabha against the Narendra Modi government at the Centre, he said, Not enough attention was paid to Jammu and Kashmir during the debate.

On Centre-state relations, Abdullah said states have little flexibility to actually decide their own priorities in terms of spending funds from central schemes as these are coming in a completely tied down fashion.

To buttress his point, he referred to the recent development package of Rs 80,000 crore sanctioned for Jammu and Kashmir, and said the executing agency was decided by the Centre. When you want to strengthen federalism, you need to strengthen the hands of elected representatives to make their own decisions, he said.

He also urged the removal of Indus Waters Treaty, saying it has denied Kashmiris the right to use their own water without even consulting.

Please remove Indus Water Treaty, let me hold and store water in my rivers the way I like. Let me build dams that allow me to generate electricity and I would not need a single penny from the Centre, he said.

He said there are distinct differences between the BJP or the NDA that his party had dealt with and the present leadership of the saffron party.

Taking a dig at the present BJP leadership, Abdullah said: I have less experience dealing with the current BJP leadership. Our understanding and relationship with the NDA was with Atal Bihari Vajpayees BJP. Most people accept it was a different BJP from the one we see today.
A committee of top civil servants is looking at three options to deal with cases of lynching  a model law that states can emulate, a central law with states passing their own enabling legislation and amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to strengthen the legal response to what the Supreme Court (SC) has termed mobocracy.

The committee of secretaries headed by Union home secretary Rajiv Gauba, which held its first meeting on Friday, met on Saturday with Tehseen Poonawalla, who filed a petition in the SC seeking a separate legislation to deal with lynching, people familiar with the matter said. Poonawalla made a presentation before the panel on a draft anti-lynching bill called Manav Suraksha Kanoon (human protection law).

A home ministry spokesperson refused to comment on the deliberations of the committee, which has to make its recommendations to a Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Union home minister Rajnath Singh in four weeks. The GoM ,which also consists of external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj, road transport minister Nitin Gadkari, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad and social justice and empowerment minister Thawar Chand Gehlot, will then report to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the measures recommended to deal with incidents of lynching and mob violence.

I was called for a presentation on the draft central legislation suggested by us. During the interaction, first question came from the home secretary, who wanted to deliberate why there is a need for a separate law. I explained that so far there is no set definition of lynching, which is different from mob violence or rioting. First we need to define it in order to punish those who are responsible for it, said Poonawalla.

The Supreme Court asked the Parliament earlier this month to come up with an anti-lynching law, and laid down preventive, remedial, and punitive measures against the backdrop of a spate of such incidents. Close to 30 people have died in these incidents across the country since the first week of May.

Poonawalla said another member of the panel asked a question on the amendment of existing provisions of the CrPC.

I argued that whenever the Parliament has enacted a special law like the Schedule Cast and Schedule Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, it has helped in bringing down the number of incidents and victims. Therefore the Parliament needs to enact a law with provision for enabling legislation by the states. Once passed by the Parliament, the central legislation will be the minimum what a state government will be required to do in this regard. I also informed the panel about the similar kind of legislations passed by other countries, said Poonawalla.

Besides the home secretary, the panel consists of Union secretaries for legal affairs, legislative affairs, justice and social justice and empowerment.

The committee has just begun its deliberations. Every aspect of the problem like a quick response to check spreading of rumours on social media and compensation for victims of mob violence too are being deliberated, said an official familiar with the matter on condition of anonymity.

Pitching for a central law, Poonawalla said the Constitution provides for protection of minorities but while defining minorities, there is a need to look beyond religion. We will have to consider linguistic, cultural and gender-based minorities too while protecting them from being lynched. Therefore, I proposed that they should be defined as vulnerable people instead of minorities in the legislation, said Poonawalla.

In the latest incident of lynching, a man identified as Rakbar Khan died on July 22 after he was beaten up in Rajasthans Alwar district by a group that suspected him to be a cow smuggler. The apex court said it will hear a contempt plea against the Rajasthan government for violating court directives in the case. The matter will be heard on August 20.
Horrifying stories of torture and exploitation are emerging from the shelter home in Bihars Muzaffarpur where 29 girls were raped by operators and visitors last year, according to the state women commission.

Members of the Bihar state women commission who met the rescued inmates of Muzaffarpur short stay shelter home at the Mokama Nazareth Academy on Thursday said the girls were duped and drugged to keep them silent and allow sexual exploitation.

The girls were starved and beaten with shoes at any hint of rebellion.

Those who complained and protested were stripped, beaten and burnt with cigarettes. A girl who dared to stand up to the oppressors, despite repeated threats, was beaten to death and her body disposed of in a rickshaw, the commission said.

Altogether 31 girls rescued from the Muzaffarpur shelter home are staying at the Nazareth Academy, Mokama where they are being counselled by two experts from Bangalore and Delhi for the last few days.

Most of the girls are in a better condition from the day I met them at a hospital in Patna. But the memories of physical and mental abuse they have suffered may take time to wipe out. At the shelter home they were denied food and clothes and were beaten with shoes, Dilmani Mishra, state women commission chairperson said.

She said out of frustration, one of the inmate had even tried to end her life by slashing her wrist with a broken piece of windowpane glass, but her wounds were nursed and she somehow survived. As her wounds have not healed completely, she is undergoing treatment by a visiting doctor at the Nazareth Academy. Another girl had etched out the name of her brother on her wrist as a sign of protest, she added.

Dr Nikki Hembram, another member of the commission who had spoken to the rescued girls, said all their protests and oppositions had failed to give them any solace. There was none to help them and in utter helplessness they had compromised and continued to bear the torture and trauma. All these years officials from child welfare committee (CWC)and district monitoring committee kept visiting the shelter home, but no one had the courage to speak out.

She said, it was not possible for the girls to speak out before the CWC members because the shelter home employees never left them alone during those moments. Fear of being punished if they opened her mouth loomed large on each one of them. The officials kept making routine enquiry and monitoring while the girls kept giving positive replies, she said.

Dr Hembram said, The girl (who was killed) continued to oppose the shelter home employees directions despite repeated threatening and tortures. One evening, she was brutally beaten even after she felt unconscious. When she stopped breathing, her body was packed in a sack and was thrown down the stairs. Next morning, it was loaded on a rickshaw and disposed of somewhere, she said.

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 institute submitted its report in April this year. The government lodged a first information report on May 31.
The probe team investigating the sexual exploitation of girls at a Muzaffarpur shelter home in Bihar have recovered medical equipment and sedatives from the home and found a secret staircase, giving credence to allegations that the girls were raped after being drugged.

A team comprising Muzaffarpur IG Sunil Kumar and DIG Anil Kumar carried out the inspection of the home on Saturday.

A forensic team also comprising two doctors, one of them a woman, accompanied the police officials.

Sources said the police team also found a secret staircase that connected the home with a newspaper office running in the two-storey building nearby.

A forensic team will take samples of all medical equipment and medicines found inside the home. They will also make a list of recovered medicines, said a senior police officer, wishing anonymity.

There are allegations that shelter home authorities in connivance with the promoters of the NGO running the home had carried abortions of girls who had gotten pregnant after being raped.

The recovery of a bed and a room filled with medical equipment has now forced the police to look into the allegations more seriously and carry out the investigations.

So far 11 persons have been arrested by the police, including Brajesh Thakur, who was the promoter of the NGO running the shelter home and also a newspaper at the two-storey building.

The state government has recommended a CBI probe into the case although the premier agency has not taken up the case formally.

Detection of the secret staircase connecting the shelter home with a newspaper office running at the ground floor of the two-storey building has surprised the police brass.

Sources said the staircase could have been used for easy access of those who allegedly visited the home at odd hours to sexually exploit the girls.

They said the forensic team have taken some bed sheets and clothes of the inmates to trace any sign of semen stains.

Medical examination of 34 out of 44 girls who were staying at the shelter home has confirmed rape. The inmates have narrated their ordeal to the judicial magistrate and womens commission members on how they were brutally beaten up by shelter home staff, including women, several times for refusing to have forced sex with visitors.

Names of several bigwigs have come up in the case, with opposition RJD accusing the husband of social welfare minister, Manju Verma, of being a regular visitor at the home. The minister has refuted the charges, claiming her husbands name was being dragged into the case just to defame her.

Meanwhile, in a press note issued from Delhi, Congress leaders, including state-in-charge Shaktisinh Gohil, said the BJP-JDU-ruled Bihar is in the grip of complete lawlessness as horrifying incidents have shaken the conscience of the people.

A government and a CM who was known for empowering women and girl child through bicycles, prohibition and reservation, preside over a regime where girls in shelter homes are being sexually exploited by the state. All thanks to the Anti-Women mindset of BJP and its leadership, the press note said.

Party leaders questioned the silence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Nitish Kumar.

When will they speak a word on this gruesome incident? Why have they not even filed an FIR in the rest of the 14 home shelter and institutions mentioned under grave concern, requiring immediate action of the TISS Report?

The leaders demanded a Supreme Court-monitored CBI enquiry in the case so that the culprits are truly brought to book.
Defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday formally handed over two types of indigenously built high-power multi-fuel engines to the Army. The engines, manufactured by engine factory, Avadi  a unit of Ordnance Factory Board, Department of Defence Production  were fully indigenised for the first time under the Centres Make in India programme.

Earlier, we were importing some of the components for defence. Now, with these two engines produced by you, you have proved that the Army does not look outside (other countries) than to look at you, she said at a function in the factory, 35 km from Chennai.

The first engine of 1000 HP engine  V92S2 engine  powers T-90 Bhisma Tank, the second engine  V-46-6 engine  powers the T-72 Ajeya Tank and its variants are manufactured with 100% Made in India parts, officials said. Earlier,local content of the two engines was up to 73%, they said.

Sitharaman formally handed over the documents of the two types of engines to vice chief of army staff Devaraj Anbu. She said that engine factory general manager Anil Kumar told her the factory would be producing fully indigenised engines for the BMP-1 tank as well. You have made us proud, she said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been encouraging the Make in India programme since there was a thought that products engaged in countrys security need to be locally sourced, she said.

Though these engines were manufactured based on Russian design, India was depending on Moscow for its supply of critical assemblies such as turbocharger, supercharger, fuel injection pumps, defence (production) secretary Ajay Kumar said.

By localising the components for engine manufacturing, the country can save around Rs 800 crore for the next 10 years, he said.

Sitharaman appealed to employees to produce products that are world class so that such defence public sector undertakings need not await orders from the government, but can attract good business in domestic and overseas.

The indigenisation effort also exhibits the self-reliance of the Ordnance Factory Board in manufacturing these engines in India without any import support, officials said. The engine factory has manufactured more than 12,000 engines since its inception in 1987.
St Stephens College has withdrawn an invite extended to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee to attend an event and interact with the students of the institute. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) leadership on Saturday sniffed a BJP-RSS hand behind the cancellation of Banerjees engagement and said her voice cannot be silenced.

The event, planned by one of the societies of the college, is scheduled to be held on August 1.

Reacting to the development, TMC national spokesperson and leader of the party in the Rajya Sabha Derek OBrien said, First, the Vivekananda event in Chicago, then her China visit and now St Stephens. Mamata Banerjee is giving the BJP-RSS sleepless nights. Let them keep trying, she cannot be silenced.

Banerjee was supposed to attend the event, but the principal denied permission and the invitation was withdrawn yesterday, a source said.

The colleges Planning Forum had submitted a request online to the authorities to invite her, but the request could not be processed due to some server issues. Later, they wrote a letter seeking permission to invite her, but the principal denied permission, the source said.

College Principal John Varghese could not be contacted for a comment.

Banerjee will go to Delhi as scheduled. She will be the chief guest at the Love your Neighbour conference organised by the Catholic Bishops Conference of India on July 31, OBrien said.

According to party sources, she will be in the national capital for three days to personally invite opposition leaders to the federal front rally she plans to hold in January in Kolkata.

Last month, Banerjee had cancelled a scheduled visit to China at the last moment over non-confirmation of political meetings at an appropriate level by the Chinese government. She was slated to visit Chicago in August to address a gathering of seers on the anniversary of Swami Vivekanandas historic Chicago address in 1893. That event too was cancelled.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday hit back at Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his chowkidar-bhagidar remarks, saying he took the remark as a compliment.

These days I am dubbed as bhagidar (partner) and not chowkidar (watchman). I feel honoured to be a bhagidar of the problems of the poor, the PM said, referring to Gandhis insinuation that he was a collaborator in graft.

I take this allegation as an honour, I am proud to be a bhagidar of the pain suffered by the poor, the hard-working labour class, the agony of a sad mother, a poor farmer whose crops get destroyed by natural calamities, of soldiers who brave bone-chilling weather as well as scorching heat, he said.

Modi was speaking at an event in Lucknow to mark the third anniversary of three government initiatives related to urban development. In his 30-minute address, Modi said by 2022, the government will provide a roof to all homeless people.

I am a bhagidar of that poor family which is forced to sell his land for medical treatment, of the homeless, of illiterate children, and of the unemployed, he said.

In an attack on Modi on a range of issues, including the controversial Rafale jet deal, Rahul Gandhi said during the recent debate on the no-confidence motion against the government that the PM had promised to be a chowkidar but had become a bhagidar.

Modi was speaking at a programme on Transforming Urban Landscape, marking the third anniversary of three key government initiatives related to urban development  Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation of Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart Cities Mission.

He also went around an exhibition on Flagship Missions of Urban Development and interacted with PMAY(U) beneficiaries and launched various projects related to urban housing and infrastructure and the Smart City scheme.

He slammed the previous non-BJP governments before Yogi Adityanath took over as the chief minister for their work culture.

I know how people used to live earlier. That is because they (those in power) had a one-point programme, which was how to decorate their bungalows, Modi said, apparently referring to a row after former CM Akhilesh Yadav vacated his official accommodation.
Three people, including two women, were arrested for allegedly waving black flags and jumping in front of BJP chief Amit Shahs convoy here, police said on Saturday.

The incident took place on Friday in the Dhoomanganj area, Superintendent of Police (City) Brijesh Shrivastav said.

The protesters claimed to be members of the Samajwadi Partys student wing, Dhoomanganj SHO Sandeep Mishra said, adding that they were arrested on the charge of breach of peace.

A purported video of the incident showing police personnel manhandling the protesters went viral on social media.

Shahs four-hour itinerary in the city was packed with temple visits, religious functions and meetings with seers.
Rahul Matthan, a partner-lawyer in technology and media practice at the law firm Trilegal and author of Privacy 3.0, spoke to Hindustan Times about his understanding of the draft Personal Data Protection Bill, what works and what doesnt, and the way ahead. The proposed law drafted by a committee headed by former Supreme Court judge BN Srikrishna was submitted to the government on Friday. Edited excerpts:

After having taken a closer look, what are your thoughts on the draft Bill and the committees report?

When you read the Bill and the report together, you realise there is a lot in the report that fleshes out some of the concepts in the Bill. There is a significant discussion around the concept of significant data fiduciary. This is a category of data fiduciaries which, on the basis of large volume of personal data processed or turnover, is subject to a higher standard of privacy. For these fiduciaries, there are additional obligations that would apply, such as doing a Data Protection Impact Assessment. They are quite significant obligations. It would apply to a certain class of fiduciaries, such as hospitals, which possess a lot of medical data.

Could the law have been retrospective?

I dont think so. It is terribly complicated as it is. The law says that anything going forward from the day the law takes effect needs to comply with the law. Even that is really complicated, because its not like everyone is going to stop processing data, wait for the law to come into effect, and start again.

The draft Bill says it aims at combining user data with common good for citizens. Do you think this draft Bill has achieved that?

Thats a really difficult question. One of my concerns with the Bill is I think its going to become very difficult for businesses, the data fiduciaries, to operate. Companies are not used to this level of collecting or processing personal data. That would be a huge shock to the system. The Bill talks more about direct data collection, such as data collected from a person to open a bank account. It doesnt say much about the data collected, say for example, by Netflix to target better movies at you. When it comes to this, it is going to be much more challenging for both businesses as well as users.

Also read: How Indias proposed data privacy bill compares with protection laws across the world

What will this mean for Aadhaar? Has the committee underestimated the concerns on Aadhaar or is it right?

Aadhaar will be subordinate to the data protection framework under this law. The Aadhaar Act may have certain provisions that talk about how you need to protect information under it. But Aadhaar will be used outside this construct as well. Now those uses will need to come under the larger data protection law. There is a recommendation that says the Aadhaar authentication services must be used only by the government. It is not the place of the committee to look into that as it is a matter currently before the Supreme Court. So its unfortunate that recommendations on sub-judice matters have been made.

Is the draft tilted towards government regulation?

In only one case. The whole penalty regime is meaningless to the government because they dont have a turnover. Paying a penalty is not an issue for them. This is a serious gap in the way the framework is structured. There is a section for offences which applies to both people as well as the government. But the government has several exceptions. So how are we going to hold them accountable?

How will data localisation impact businesses?

I think this is a very serious concern. There are many views on it and its a polarizing topic. I dont think we should have data localisation. I think its not good for business. The recommendation to have a mirror server in India is also a bit of a problem. Start-ups can easily open an Amazon cloud server and just start without any expenditure. Once you start this data mirroring, its going to be very difficult. I have a feeling this is going to have a chilling effect on innovation.

What does this mean for Facebook and WhatsApp as well as their users?

Both Facebook and WhatsApp comply with Europes General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), so they will already have similar kinds of provisions in place. So they can modify their privacy slightly, at least for the plain vanilla clauses, to comply with the Indian law. But it does affect them in the case of data localization. They may have to look at how their costs are going to be affected.

Users get the Right to Data Portability. Its there in GDPR as well. You can ask Facebook to give you a copy of all the data on you, itll be given to you. Can you port data such that your likes and profiles on Facebook can be shared with, say, Google? That is special media graph portability, which is something that all the social media giants have been resisting. I dont know if that is the extent to which data portability will go.

What are some of the recommendations you would keep, and three you would modify or discard from this draft?

A lot of the general obligations are all fine. I like the data portability framework. It is very powerful for users to move data from say one person to another. And you can do it through a consent dashboard. In my mind, I think they have gone overboard with notices, obligations to maintain a record of consent. I am very keen to remove data localisation provisions. As much as we say we must do Artificial Intelligence and big data, this Bill can even harm them due to the purpose and use limitation. Big data works on a lot of data. Only de-identified data that cant be traced to an individual should have been allowed for data fiduciaries to use for big data. This would have been a forward-thinking way.
At least 33 non-teaching staff members of an educational institution based in Maharashtras Dapoli town were feared dead on Saturday when the bus carrying them on a study tour skidded and plunged into an 800-feet gorge One person miraculously survived the accident .

The accident, whose cause was yet to be ascertained, took place off Ambeni Ghat in Raigad district at around 11.30am, according to the police.

The victims were from the Dr. Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth . University registrar Ketan Chaudhary said the non-teaching staff from the agricultural engineering department were headed for a study tour to the Regional Wheat Rust Rese-arch Station in Mahableshwar. This was partly an outing and partly a study tour and such visits by university teams happened frequently, a university empl-oyee said. Assistant superintendent in the agricultural engineering department Prakash Sawant Desai was the lone survivor.

He jumped out of the falling bus and was caught in a tree. An injured Desai climbed up the gorge and called for help on a mobile phone.

One person was thrown off the bus and survived to tell what happened, said police inspector Balkrushna Jadhav of Raigad police.

Raigad district collector Vijay Suryavanshi said the 34 people on board the bus included two drivers who were also employees of the university.

The lone survivor, Desai, said mud and loose stones on one particular stretch of the road caused the bus tyres to skid.

The bus veered to the left and fell into the gorge before we could understand what was happening. Trees arrested the fall someway down. I had managed to jump out in time. I climbed my way up somehow, he said.

Two employees who were supposed to join the group opted out at the last moment due to other engagements.

The depth of the gorge made it difficult for rescue workers to reach the wreckage of the bus . Till 7.20 pm, 13 bodies had been recovered and 11 handed over to relatives of the victims. The district administration ensured that each body was accompanied by a driver and attendant and was handed over to the relatives who had gathered at the Poladpur primary health centre.

Five teams were engaged in the rescue operation along with a team of 30 personnel from the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), Pune. Another rescue team was expected on Sunday morning.

While traffic had been stopped on both sides of the Ambenali Ghat to assist rescue operations, diesel generator sets had been placed at the site with powerful halogen lamps to light up the area for the rescue operations to continue in the dark.

Administration taking all efforts to provide required assistance. Senior officials and emergency management systems in place, Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis tweeted. My thoughts are with families who lost loved ones and prayers for speedy recovery of injured.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief at the death and offered condolences to the kin of the deceased.

Pained by the loss of lives due to a bus accident in Maharashtra's Raigad district. My condolences to those who lost their loved ones: PM @narendramodi  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 28, 2018

Congress president Rahul Gandhi also expressed pain over the incident and asked party workers in the area to provide all possible assistance to the injured and families of those who have died.

I'm sorry to hear about the terrible bus accident in Raigad, Maharashtra in which a large number of people have been killed and many others injured. I appeal to Congress party workers in the area to provide all possible assistance to the injured & families of those who have died.  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 28, 2018
Thirty-three people were killed when a bus carrying 34 people to Mahabaleshwar on a picnic fell into a deep gorge off Ambenali Ghat in Raigad district on Saturday. Only one person, Prakash Sawant Desai, survived as he jumped out of the bus.

Speaking to reporters in Poladpur, Sawant said mud and loose stones on the stretch of the ghat road caused the bus tyres to skid.

The bus veered to the left and fell into the gorge before we could understand what was happening. Trees arrested the fall someway down. I had managed to jump out in time. I climbed my way up somehow, he said.

When he reached the road, he saw a crowd of people.

One of them gave me a mobile phone. I called up the police control room and informed them, he said.

Local rescuers, policemen from Poladpur station have rushed to the spot for rescue operations. A National Disaster Response Force team from Pune has been called in.

In total, 40 people were supposed to join the trip to Mahabaleshwar, the famous hill station town in Western Maharashtra, but some of them opted out at the last moment because the bus was small and there was no space, Sawant said.

Mahabaleshwar Trackers members carry out rescue operations in the Konkan region, in Raigad on Saturday. (PTI photo)

Pravin Randive was supposed to join his colleagues too when they set out for the weekend picnic on Saturday morning.

He could not go as he was not well, but kept checking a WhatsApp group where others were posting updates.

Suddenly, there was silence in the group.

Around 12.30pm, Randive learnt that the bus carrying his colleagues had fallen into a gorge off Ambenali ghat near Poladpur, 180 km from Mumbai.

We were going to leave at 6.30am. But when they called me I said I cannot make it because I am not well, Randive told reporters.

His colleagues kept posting pictures of the scenery along the route on the WhatsApp group.

The last message came around 9.30am. They were supposed to stop for breakfast. When I messaged later, there was no response. We came to know about the accident around 12.30pm, he said.

All those who died were in the age group of 30-45 years and some of them were unmarried, Randive added.

Victims were employees of Agricultural University, going on a picnic. We will provide help to the kin of the deceased, but will also take steps to ensure such incidents dont take place in the future, said Maharasthra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, according to news agency ANI.

The Maharashtra government announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of those who died. The government will also bear the medical expenses of those injured, reported ANI.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed grief at the death and offered condolencesto the kin of the dead.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi also expressed pain over the incident and asked party workers in the area to provide all possible assistance to the injured and families of those who have died.

(With correspondent inputs)
Launched in 2011 as a pet project of then deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal for the smooth delivery of public services, the Punjab Right to Service Commission has lost steam.

The commission, whose working got hit after the new government took charge in March 2017, was abolished by the Congress government on July 18, removing all 10 commissioners. It was dissolved after the governor gave assent to the Punjab Transparency and Accountability in Delivery of Public Service Act, 2018.

A new one-member commission under a retired or serving officer will be set up in its place to ensure delivery of services in electronic mode in three to five years. The new chief commissioner is still to be named and the government departments and other organisations will get 180 days to notify the public services.

The Congress government decided to wind up the panel at the outset when it did not name any successor to chief commissioner SC Agrawal. The commissions dissolution, coupled with a cut in the number of Sewa Kendras for 100 citizen-centric services from 2,147 to 500, is being seen as a setback to public service delivery.

The commission, which had an annual budget of 3 crore, was monitoring the delivery of 351 services with a 100-strong staff, taking action against 161 officials. Agrawal said the commission was effective. Before it was constituted, no one was even monitoring service requests and their disposal. In five years, timely disposal rate went beyond 99% with daily service requests of 1 lakh a day. A one-member panel can also be effective he said.

While officials cite cost as one of the reasons for dissolving the 11-member commission, not everyone agrees. AAP legislator Aman Arora, who has been raising related issues, terms it a political move aimed at getting rid of people appointed by another regime. The decision reflects their myopic vision, besides dilution of its role, he said, adding, If the government is so keen to save money, it should remove advisers engaged by it. Some say the Akali government created a problem by making unnecessary political appointments.

(by Navneet Sharma)

Info commission helps cut backlog in courts

The state information commission, set up in 2005, acts as a tool to redress public grievances. It has 10 information commissioners and is led by a chief information commissioner. It has a pendency of 2,129 cases with about 500 new cases every month.

The cases take three to 10 sittings and most reach a conclusive end, leaving less scope for litigation in civil and high courts, says a commission member, requesting anonymity. He says the flow of information is slow. Initially, public information officers (PIOs) tend to deny information, a trend chief information commissioner SS Channy accepts. The flow of information is fine but some people in the government take unusually long, he says.

Surinder Awasthi, a former commissioner, says, The commission shouldnt become a tool for right to information (RTI) activists. Litigants should appear with different kinds of pleas not a particular set of them. The commission should also not become a place to park politicians who cant be adjusted elsewhere.

Members want their pay and perks revised in keeping with the latest pay panel recommendations. They sought parity in distribution of departments among the commissioners.

Litigants say in a few important cases, all the commission did was to transfer them from one court to another.

(by Gurpreet Singh Nibber)

Empower the NRI commission

The Punjab State Commission for NRIs at Sector 9 in Chandigarh. (HT Photo)

A commission set up to give quick justice to brides abandoned by NRIs and hear cases of disputes involving properties of the NRIs, it gets 15-20 cases a day. The commission also takes suo motu action in cases where frauds of travel agents come to light.

I get hundreds of emails from NRIs of being defrauded of property, and brides approach the commission. In view of the seriousness of the issue, the commission needs more powers, says chairman Justice Rakesh Kumar Garg who joined in 2017, after retiring as a judge from the Punjab and Haryana high court.

On a given day, his court takes up between seven and 17 cases. About 60% of cases the commission takes up are related to abandoned brides and the rest are property matters. When Justice Garg took over, there were 400 cases with the commission and then 800 more were listed. Of them, 80 are pending.

Justice Garg says as and when required, he flags cases with the high commissions, the embassies and the Union ministry of external affairs.

(by Gurpreet Singh Nibber)

As powerless as the women it fights for

The Punjab State Commission for Women Act, 2001, empowers the panel to advise the state government on laws, inadequacies and amendments in the interest of women, work as a custodian of their rights, better their status in society and prevent crimes against them.

In a state notorious for a poor sex ratio, runaway NRI grooms and patriarchy, the commissions hands are full. It receives about 50 complaints daily. But the first proof of its importance, or the lack of it, is it operates from a ramshackle office on the fifth floor of a building where the aged and disabled cannot reach. It has a staff of four, budget of 70 lakh a year and the pendency just keeps piling up.

Till June 11 this year, the commission received 635 complaints and it has been able to settle only eight out of them. The reason: Police apathy when all 22 districts have a women cell.

Be it domestic violence, rape, NRI grooms deserting wives or dowry, we need the police to investigate and file a status report. The women cell has to submit the report in a month. But we have to keep sending reminders., says Punjab Women Commission head Manisha Gulati.

Gulati says she holds court hearings twice a week and hears 25 cases on each day. We need to visit women cells to sensitise them besides jails and rescue homes. The budget is gone in paying salaries to staff. We cant hire without funds or hold any awareness drive, she adds.

One of its roles is to undertake research on the status of women and advise the government, but this has not been done.

(by Sukhdeep Kaur)

Gau Sewa Commission lies defunct

Three years after it was set up by the Parkash Singh Badal-led SAD-BJP government, the Punjab Gau Sewa Commission is lying virtually defunct.

The commission constituted for cow welfare, protection of desi breeds and dealing with stray cattle menace does not have a chairman or any non-official member except a vice-chairman. The three-year tenures of commission chairman Keemti Lal Bhagat and six members got over in January, but the government is yet to make fresh appointments. The panel is being run by officials.

The fund flows dried up after the change in government, hitting the schemes and programmes for cow care and tackling the stray cattle problem. Not a single penny was provided and free power facility given to 472 gaushalas (cow shelters), housing 3.84 lakh heads of cattle, was also withdrawn last year, said Bhagat. He was at the helm since 2009  first as chairman of a board for three years and then adviser to then CM before heading the commission.

The commission had piloted the moves to set up stray cattle pounds, free power for private gaushalas, cess for cow care and removal of encroachments from grazing lands, besides stepping up efforts to check cow smuggling. Stray cattle pounds were established in almost all districts at a cost of 40 crore. Badal promised another 32 crore for 10 sheds at each of these government-run cattle pounds, but the present government did not release any money. Cow cess is also not being spent on cow care , he said.

AAP legislator from Bholath Sukhpal Singh Khaira also recently said the government agencies had collected 15 crore by way of cow cess imposed in 2016, but over 1 lakh stray cattle were still roaming on the streets across the state. The money collected from the taxpayers is not being used properly. Hundreds of people die due to accidents caused by stray cattle, he wrote to the local government minister two months ago.

Commission vice-chairman Dargesh Kumar Sharma said he was holding meetings with district authorities to get cess money released for cow care. The problem is that several municipal bodies are still to issue the notification for release and distribution of cow cess. I have asked for details of total cess collected till now, he said. As for the appointment of new chairman and members, he said it was the prerogative of the state government.

(by Navneet Sharma)

Headless SC commission flooded with complaints

Successive governments have failed to empower the commission for Scheduled Castes (SC) in Punjab despite Dalits comprising 32% of the population, the highest in any state.

The commission, set up in 2004, is flooded with complaints. It gets about 2,500 complaints a year. Most complaints are about discrimination. The commission has only seven employees against the sanctioned strength of 41.

Initially, there were three members in the commission apart from the chairman. The strength was increased to 10 in 2013 during the tenure of the SAD-BJP government. But the strength of the employees to carry out routine work remains the same. The commission has 10 members and only seven employees to do routine work. In the name of an office, we have two rooms in the Punjab civil secretariat, says a member.

The post of chairman that fell vacant in November last year has still not been filled and the director, social welfare, has been holding additional charge.

The SC commission is a statutory body such as the right to service and information commissions. Whereas members of other commissions enjoy privileges such as government vehicles and houses, SC commission members get only a fixed honorarium.

 Whenever theres an atrocity on a Dalit, the administration may not pay heed, knowing well that we are not empowered to act against it, says Rajesh Bagga, a former chairman of the commission.

(by Ravinder Vasudeva)

Now not even a toothless Lokpal

When the Congress snatched a surprise win in Punjab polls last year, it was also its please-all poll manifesto that did the trick. Along with doles for farmers, youth and women, the party had promised to clean-up the entire system, including bringing a new Lokpal Act  one that spares none, including the chief minister. But 15 months on, forget a powerful Lokpal, there is not even the toothless tiger there once used to be.

The post has been vacant since April this year when Justice Satish Kumar Mittal (retd), former chief justice of Rajasthan high court, resigned as the Punjab Lokpal to join as chairman of the Haryana Human Rights Commission. He was appointed on November 2016 after then Lokpal, Justice Jai Singh Sekhon (retd), a former judge of the Punjab and Haryana high court, had passed away in April 2016.

Though a watchdog on politicians and government officials, the institution in Punjab has been marred with controversies of government cherry-picking its loyalists. The Congress, then in opposition, had opposed Sekhons appointment in November 2012, saying he is elder brother of then Akali minister Janmeja Singh Sekhon, and a relative of then CM Parkash Singh Badal.

In power, the Congress is not faring any better. Now it is the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), which is crying foul over reports of appointment of a CM loyalist as Lokpal. Since the Act mandates it, the Lokpal secretariat has a staff of 13, including a principal secretary, an inspector general of police, a registrar, a joint registrar, reader, record keeper and peons.

But since there is no Lokpal, the Amarinder government has relieved the registrar, joint registrar, reader and record keeper too on June 15. No administrative secretary has been assigned to it. This when the number of complaints have been increasing. Between 2006 and 2012 (when Sekhon was appointed), the Punjab Lokpal had received only 40 complaints. Justice Mittal had received 80 complaints in his 16-month tenure. By June 15 this year, 210 complaints were pending before it.

(by Sukhdeep Kaur)

PHRC: Oldest and well-established

The Punjab Human Rights Commission (PHRC) is the oldest and the most well-established commission. Established in 1997, it takes up around 50 cases a day and, on average, receives more than 15,000 complaints a year.

Of the three commission members, the chairperson has to be a retired chief justice of a high court; the second member has to be a retired justice. This automatically ensures an element of effectiveness.

According to the state government act, the third member is from a political background, but he or she should also know law.

Retired chief justice of Assam, Justice Iqbal Ahmed Ansari is the chairman. Punjab and Haryana high court Justice (retd) Ashutosh Mohunta and Avinash Kaur, a former Shiromani Akali Dal leader from Hoshiarpur, are the other two members.

The commission also has a provision for appointment of a secretary, who should be an officer not below the rank of secretary to the state government. There is also provision for a chief investigation officer of the commission not below the rank of an inspector.

A DGP-rank officer Mohd Mustafa is posted with the commission; he has been empowered to independently investigate pending complaints with the Punjab Human Rights Commission.

Its a well-established commission with adequate staff and a good office. The only problem, sometimes, lies with the implementation of our orders. Few departments, especially the state police and the jails department ignore our recommendation. We have the authority to take the cases to their logical conclusion. The commission tries it best to redress all complaints, said chairman, Justice (retd) Iqbal Ahmed Ansari.

The commission recently summoned Punjab director general of police (DGP) Suresh Arora. It rejected his offices request for exemption from personal appearance, but gave another two weeks.

(by Ravinder Vasudeva)
The longest blood moon eclipse this century dazzled skygazers across the globe Friday, coinciding with Mars closest approach in 15 years in a thrilling celestial spectacle.

As Earths constant companion slowly sailed across the skies, crowds gathered around the world to catch a glimpse of the rare phenomenon.

Beside Lake Magadi, 100 kilometres southwest of the Kenyan capital Nairobi, young members of the Maasai community watched the eclipse through a high-powered telescope provided by a local couple.

Until today I thought Mars, Jupiter and the other planets were in the imagination of scientists, Purity Sailepo, 16, told AFP.

But now Ive seen it I can believe it and I want to be an astronomer to tell other people.

Unlike with a solar eclipse, viewers did not need protective eye gear to observe the rare display.

For about half the world, the moon was partly or fully in Earths shadow from 1714 to 2328 GMT  six hours and 14 minutes in all.

The period of complete eclipse  known as totality, when the moon appears darkest  lasted from 1930 to 2113 GMT.

People gathered to watch the total lunar eclipse in the Olympic park in Munich, southern Germany, on July 27, 2018. (AFP)

A combination of 14 pictures taken during the lunar eclipse shows the moon in transition over La Puente town, canary Spanish island of Tenerife. (AFP)

The moon enters the earth's shadow to begin a partial lunar eclipse prior to a total lunar eclipse, next to Sydney tower in Australia. (AFP)

At the same time, Mars hovered near the moon in the night sky, easily visible to the naked eye.

Amateur astronomers in the southern hemisphere were best-placed to witness the rare sight, especially in southern Africa, Australia, and Madagascar, though it was also visible in Europe, South Asia and South America.

More than 2,000 people including many children armed with binoculars gathered in the Tunisian capital of Tunis.

I hope this eclipse will bring us happiness and peace, said Karima, 46, without taking her eyes off the sky.

The moon and the mars (the small bright spot on the right) are seen during a lunar eclipse in Berlin, Germany. (Reuters)

However, bad weather thwarted the cosmic display in several parts of the world.

Widespread monsoon rainstorms and thick clouds hid the moon across much of India and its neighbours, which should have had a prime view.

Similarly, eager observers who had assembled on cliffs and beaches in the English county of Dorset were left in the dark due to an overcast sky.

Its disappointing, Tish Adams, 67, told AFP. I took a few photos but there was nothing but a streak of pink in the sky.

Those gathered in Brazils Rio de Janeiro had more luck, snapping the red moon in the clear night sky with their phones and cameras.

I thought it was very pretty and I liked the planet Mars even more, which you could see right next to the moon, said Talita Oliveira, 34.

Celestial bodies align

Mars appeared unusually large and bright, a mere 57.7 million kilometres from Earth on its elliptical orbit around the sun.

A total lunar eclipse happens when Earth takes position in a straight line between the moon and sun, blotting out the direct sunlight that normally makes our satellite glow whitish-yellow.

The moon travels to a similar position every month, but the tilt of its orbit means it normally passes above or below the Earths shadow  so most months we have a full moon without an eclipse.

When the three celestial bodies are perfectly lined up, however, the Earths atmosphere scatters blue light from the sun while refracting or bending red light onto the moon, usually giving it a rosy blush.

This is what gives the phenomenon the name blood moon, though Mark Bailey of the Armagh Observatory in Northern Ireland said the colour can vary greatly.

A statue of ancient Greek goddess Athena in central Athens takes up the foreground of a view of the moon, on July 27, 2018. Fridays blood moon was seen across Europe among other continents. (AFP)

It depends partly on how cloudy or transparent those parts of the Earths atmosphere are which enable sunlight to reach the moon, he told AFP.

During a very dark eclipse the moon may be almost invisible.

The long duration of this eclipse is partly due to the fact that the moon will make a near-central passage through Earths umbra -- the darkest, most central part of the shadow.

Eerie and beautiful

The moon was also at the farthest point on its orbit from Earth, making its movement across the sky slower from our perspective, thus spending longer in the dark.

NASA, meanwhile, called out social media hoaxers claiming that Mars would appear as big as the moon during the eclipse.

The Blood Moon seen from the desert of Al Fayoum Governorate, south west of Cairo, Egypt. (Reuters)

If that were true, wed be in big trouble given the gravitational pulls on Earth, Mars, and our moon! the NASA website stated.

Mars instead appeared as a very bright star.

In the middle of a lunar eclipse it can look as if a red planet has taken up residence near the Earth  they are both eerie and beautiful, said Robert Massey of the Royal Astronomical Society in London.
Gunmen raided a midwife training centre in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday in an ongoing attack that has left at least three people wounded and sparked fierce fighting with security forces, officials and witnesses said.

At least 67 people, including students and teachers, were inside the centre in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, at the time of the attack, provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani told AFP. So far, 57 had escaped to a safe area but 10 were still missing, he said.

Plumes of black smoke could be seen rising from the centre and gunfire could be heard from inside.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack, but most of the recent assaults in the city have been carried out by the Islamic State group, which has a stronghold in Nangarhar. The Afghan security forces have cordoned off the area and... launched an operation to gun down the attackers, Khogyani said earlier.

Three wounded civilians have been taken to hospital. Provincial health department spokesman Inamullah Miakhil said 48 women from remote districts of the province were enrolled in the two-year midwifery course.

The training facility is located near the centre of Jalalabad in an area where several international organisations and consulates have offices. A witness in a nearby department told AFP he heard several explosions and then saw three gunmen enter the street where the midwife centre is located.

Some of the security forces appeared to be dismantling improvised explosive devices apparently planted in the street by the militants, a witness told AFP. Jalalabad has been the scene of several attacks in recent months that have killed dozens, as US and Afghan forces continue offensive operations against IS and Taliban militants.

Health workers a target

Government buildings are a common target for insurgents, including hospitals and medical facilities.

While it is not known why the gunmen targeted the midwife training centre, midwives have been attacked in the past for providing reproductive health services to women. Islamist groups  and many ordinary Afghans  also oppose women working outside the home.

While thousands of women have been trained as midwives since the 2001 US-led invasion, Afghanistan still has one of the highest maternal and child mortality rates in the world. The last major attack in Jalalabad happened on July 11 when gunmen raided an education department compound in the city, sparking an hours-long battle with security forces.

At least 11 people were killed in the attack. All were employees of the education department branch and included the director. A suicide bomb attack claimed by ISIS on a crowd of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus in Jalalabad on July 1 killed at least 19 people and wounded 21.

The Taliban is Afghanistans largest militant group and IS has a relatively small but potent presence, mainly in the east and north of the country. It first emerged in Afghanistan in 2014 and quickly established a stronghold in Nangarhar.

Intensified aerial and ground operations against the militants have failed to dislodge them. An unprecedented three-day ceasefire involving Afghan security forces and the Taliban last month did not include IS.

The first formal nationwide truce since 2001 was marred by two IS suicide attacks in Nangarhar. While the Afghan government and its foreign backers are seeking to strike a peace deal with the Taliban, US forces have repeatedly said they plan to annihilate ISIS.
Thousands of Chinese couples are paying to recruit fake online rivals to test their partners fidelity, a trend that reflects growing anxiety about love and cheating among those in a relationship.

Dozens of online companies are providing the service where a woman, or a man, can hire a love tester who would then test the partners loyalty by attempting to snare the target on cyberspace, a state media report said.

Once the order is made, the hiring customer needs to furnish personal details about the partner like their name, job, mobile phone number, social media accounts, hobbies and interests.

Next, the tester will design a series of tricks to start the trap, the tabloid Global Times said in a report. Chen Mengyuan, a 21-year-old college student who works as a tester, explained how the test works.

Under an assumed name, and possibly using enticing photographs, she befriends the partner on social media platforms like WeChat, Chinas most popular social media app.

Using enticing words and attractive (and fake) selfies to seduce men, these testers aim to help customers find out whether their partners are honest.

Some results turn out to be good because the men never accept Chens friend request on social media, the report said.

Not everybody, however, passes the test.

Some couples break up when the test finishes because Chen has successfully seduced disloyal men who agree to come for an appointment or deny that they have girlfriends. Chen sends the whole chat history to customers, showing whether the man is loyal or not, it added.

On typing boyfriend loyalty test on taobao.com  Chinas huge e-commerce platform -- dozens of results pop up, costing from 20 yuan ($3) to 1,314 yuan.

Not only women, men also buy the service to check their partners loyalty.

Testing women is more expensive than men, at least 90 yuan, because trapping women is harder than men, the report said.

Chen told the newspaper that she believes she is doing something good to help girls recognise bad men.

I used the service four months ago to test my boyfriend. Later, I applied for the job myself, she said.

Its not known whether her boyfriend passed the test.
Imran Khans Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf on Saturday emerged as the single largest party in the general elections, winning 116 National Assembly seats out of the contested 270 parliamentary constituencies, according to the election commissions final results. PTI is short of the 137 needed for a simple majority.

The final announcement of results of the parliamentary polls held on July 25 has been marred by delays, causing anger among the leaders of losing parties which levelled allegations of fraud.

Jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharifs Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 64 and former president Asif Ali Zardaris Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 43 seats are placed at number two and three respectively, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said.

Muttahida Majlis-e-Aml Pakistan (MMAP) came fourth with 13 seats, it said.

Thirteen independent candidates have also won and would play important roles as the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) needs their support to form the government at the Centre.

Karachi-based Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQMP), which ruled the city for decades, managed to get just six seats.

The ECP has also released the total votes each political party got in the election.

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. The independent candidates with 6,011,297 votes are the fourth largest group in terms of votes cast, it said.

Among the religious parties, the MMAP got 2,530,452 votes, Tehreek-i-Labaik Pakistan 2,191,679 and Allah-o-Akhbar Tehreek 171,441 votes, the ECP said.

The ECP also issued final voters turnout in election of both national and provincial assemblies, showing 51.7 per cent turnout for the National Assembly (NA), 55 per cent for Punjab provincial assembly, 47.6 per cent for Sindh, 45.5 per cent for Khyber-Pakhtuakhwa and 45.2 pr cent for Balochistan provincial assembly.

The provincial results have been also announced and the PML-N has become the single largest party with 129 seats in Punjab, the PPP with 76 in Sindh, the PTI with 66 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the Balochistan Awami Party with 15 in Balochistan.

The Tehreek-e-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), a party of hardline Sunni Brailvi sect followers, clinched two seats in Sindh assembly. The TLP participated in elections for the first time after it tasted success and fame during siege of capital Islamabad last year.

However, Allah-o-Akhbar Tehreek which was used by loyalists of Hafiz Saeed was badly thrashed.
A senior Taliban official says the insurgent group has held the first direct talks with a US official in a preliminary discussion about future plans for a negotiated peace in Afghanistan.

This weeks meeting with Alice Wells, the USs top diplomat for South Asia, was an attempt to jump-start talks on ending Washingtons longest military engagement, a senior Taliban official told The Associated Press early Saturday.

US officials neither confirmed nor denied a meeting took place.

The Taliban have long demanded direct talks with Washington.

The discussion was preliminary, initial and both discussed a future meeting and contacts, said the official on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

It wasnt clear when the next meeting would be held or with whom, but he was certain one would be held.
Jim Chapin had dined out after work Thursday, confident that a distant wildfire would not reach his neighbourhood while he was away.

But when the 79-year-old Redding, California, resident got home around 7:30 pm., police were telling people to hurry up and go. Chapins wife gathered prescriptions and the dogs and left. He stayed behind to hose down the roof and fallen leaves.

A half-hour later, fire was burning trees behind his neighbours homes and winds were whipping branches, burning leaves, garbage can lids and other debris. He feared he would be hit in the head.

Everybody else had left, Chapin said. There was just all kinds of debris flying around in the air. Hot embers and hot leaves coming down all over the yard. I figured I better get out of here.

He jumped in his car and almost immediately was in gridlock. Drivers honked, jumped the curb and cut off other cars. There was no way for firefighters to get into the Lake Redding Estates subdivision, which has just one way in and out.

Some people were panicking so much they were driving up on peoples yards just to get around other cars, Chapin said. It was crazy.

Cars scorched by the Carr Fire rest at a residence in Redding, California on July 27. (AP Photo)

Chapin was among thousands to flee the deadly Carr Fire that exploded Thursday night, jumped the Sacramento River and raced into the western outskirts of Redding, a city of about 92,000, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of the Oregon border. In Chapins neighbourhood of about 700 residents, an Associated Press reporter counted 66 destroyed homes.

A wildfire that roared with little warning into Northern California city of Redding claimed two lives as thousands of people scrambled to escape before the walls of flames descended from forested hills onto their neighbourhoods, leaving at least 500 structures destroyed in its wake, officials said Friday.

The blaze leveled at least 500 structures and was threatening nearly 5,000 more Friday. Entire neighborhoods have been left smoldering, and 37,000 people were under evacuation orders. Redding police chief Roger Moore was among those who lost their homes, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The fire in rural Shasta County turned so quickly that a reporter at KRCR-TV in Redding choked up as she reported live on the devastation before the station had to go off air. Journalists at the Record Searchlight newspaper tweeted they were reporting without electricity.

Some people had time to pack up belongings, even helping neighbours load up vehicles and say goodbye. They gathered a wedding dress, handmade quilts made by a grandmother and pets. Other departures were more hurried and many reported clogged roads.

A person looks at what remains of his burned home during the Carr fire in Redding, California on July 27. (AFP Photo)

One of the things we love about living in Redding is theres no real traffic, so to be bumper-to-bumper on these little streets we zip up and down most times is pretty surreal, said Kim Niemer, community services director with the citys recreation department.

Niemer had the foresight Thursday to collect family mementos, papers and her grandmothers quilts. She left around 9 p.m., an hour before an evacuation notice was issued, and joined a line of vehicles, some carrying boats and RVs.

Anna Anderson left shortly after Niemer did, but her departure was more rushed. When she heard a highway patrol officer holler, this is mandatory evacuation, you must leave! through a megaphone, the Redding resident knew it was time to go.

Anderson, her parents, and two teenage children raced around their four-bedroom house to gather their belongings. Outside, fierce winds blew ash into their eyes as they packed up the car with their two cats, clothes and pictures.

They spent the night on the floor of the Redding Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

A burning home is reflected in a pool during the Carr fire in Redding, California on July 27. (AFP Photo)

Fires happen a lot here, but this is the closest that its ever gotten for us, said Anderson, 36, a clerk at the Superior Court of California in Shasta County.

The family was able to check their still-standing house Friday. They watched as firefighting planes flew directly overhead. As they left for a second time around noon, the National Guard had arrived.

I went through it again, crying my eyes out, leaving again, she said.

On Thursday morning, west Redding resident Alayne Rodriguez received a call at work from her husband, Rafael, that their apartment complex was being evacuated. It turned out to be faulty information, but it gave the couple warning.

With the fire edging closer, they fetched their Goldendoodle, Jack, and packed the car with computers, legal documents and a few photo books. Rodriguez, 26, grabbed the dress she wore at their 2014 wedding.

They helped neighbors pack and left shortly after 7 p.m., not even half an hour before her neighbourhood received its order to evacuate.

Because the fire spread so quickly, it added a tinge of panic to our decision making, Rodriguez said.

Chapin returned to hard-hit Lake Redding Estates on Friday and cried when he found his home still standing.

I thank the man upstairs for that, Chapin said.
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To each their own, but DJ Khaled's "No Brainer" feels like a failed attempt of the archetypal "Summer Banger." Call me crazy, but I feel like Khaled covered this ground on "I'm The One" with a near-identical cast. Chance the Rapper is the most egregious of choices here. The Chicago rapper is basically Theo Huxtable reborn, and we saw that first hand when he blurred out the closing sentence on "No Brainer" something to the effect of "blruhgh alduyd."

The charitable rapper has since revealed the words he chose to censor as "Booty Applaud," big shocker. Chance posted those very words and nothing else, but the message was pretty implicit. One fan hurried to the front of the class to ask him if he represented Christian rap or a Christian value set, to which he responded "Yes."

As much as I'd hate to admit I have little recourse in criticizing him. He's a good samaritan, probably a good dad. His music is decent, even his brother Taylor is both singular and self-driven, qualities I look for in a human. And lastly, I know Chance is in on the joke. Being a dissident sells records, no matter what side you ascribe to.
Amazon on Saturday will open a store in The Galleria, becoming the latest and largest online retailer to open a brick-and-mortar location in Houstons top-performing mall.

The so-called Amazon Pop-Up shop, located on the first floor near Macys, will offer shoppers the opportunity to test-drive smart-home devices, tablets and e-readers, and learn from Amazon employees about the Seattle-based companys online services.

We have a great website, but sometimes, people want to test our products out themselves and talk to a real human, said Cameron Janes, Amazons vice president of Amazon Pop-Up stores.

Online retailers are increasingly opening stores to capture consumers who still spend most of their money offline. Despite the rise of e-commerce, online sales account for less than 10 percent of total retail sales in the U.S.

A lot of these companies that just started on the internet have realized they can increase sales by opening these pop-up locations in malls, said Ed Wulfe, chairman and CEO of Wulfe & Co., a Houston-based retail real estate firm.

Eight e-commerce retailers, including Amazon, have recently staked out physical locations at the Galleria, the largest mall in Texas. They include Eloquii, a womens fashion retailer; Sugarfina, an upscale candy shop; and Untuckit, a menswear company.

More Information Online Retailers at the Galleria Eloquii What: Fashion retailer for women sizes 14 to 28 Where: 2,900-square foot space on the second level near Cheesecake Factory When: Opened June 2018 Sugarfina What: Candy retailer with sweets from around the world Where: 410-square-foot space near Galleria Financial Center When: Opened May 2018 Indochino What: Mens formalwear brand for tailored suits and shirts Where: First floor, next to Topshop When: Opened in April 2018 Untuckit What: Mens casualwear brand selling button-down shirts that can be worn untucked Where: 1,986-square-foot space on the first floor, near Saks Fifth Avenue When: Opened in May 2018 Quay Australia What: Sunglasses retailer from Australia Where: 698-square-foot space on the second floor, near Neiman Marcus When: Opened summer 2018 Charles Tyrwhitt What: British menswear retailer selling formal suits and shoes Where: 3,019-square-foot space on the first floor, near Galleria Financial Center When: Opening summer 2018 Morphe What: Cosmetics store with 6.6 million Instagram followers Where: In the Galleria When: Opening in 2018 Amazon What: Pop-up shop selling Amazon smart home devices, e-readers and tablets Where: Around 300-square-foot space on the first level near Macy's in the Galleria When: Opening July 28, 2018 See More Collapse

Amazon, which opened its first Pop-Up store in 2014, now has 66 in 19 states, including in several Kohls and Whole Foods Market locations. The e-commerce giant has eight Pop-Up stores in Texas, including Baybrook Mall, The Galleria, The Woodlands Mall and Willowbrook Mall in the Houston region as well as North Star Mall in San Antonio.

Other online retailers, such as menswear retailer Bonobos, bed-in-a-box company Casper and eyeglasses shop Warby Parker are opening physical stores across the country. At the same time, traditional retailers such as Walmart, Target and Best Buy are beefing up their online business.

Its all a push to create omnichannel shopping experience to woo the most shoppers in todays competitive retail environment.

Retailers want to approach it from every possible angle to ensure theyre reaching all the customers out there, Wulfe said.

Simon, the nations largest mall owner, three years ago created a business development team at its New York office dedicated solely to attracting e-commerce companies to its properties, which include the Galleria.

Today, that team is one of the most active leasing departments in the company, said Greg Vlahos, senior vice president of leasing at Simons Dallas office.

Were seeing a slowdown in the expansion and growth of traditional retailers weve done business with for many, many years, he said. Mature retailers are maxed out with their store counts. The real growth in the fashion and soft-goods side of retailing is newer concepts, most of which started online.

As a result, a significant portion of Simons new retail leases today are e-tailers looking to get into brick-and-mortar retail, Vlahos said.

Untuckit, which sells casual mens shirts, opened its first brick-and-mortar store in 2015. Since then, the company has grown its physical presence rapidly, opening more than three dozen locations including one at the Galleria.

The company, founded in 2011, has plans to open 100 stores over the next five years.

Simon, which has signed 12 leases with Untuckit, is working on six more, Vlahos said.

Most e-tailers are looking for smaller spaces and shorter leases to test out their brick-and-mortar concepts. An e-tailer opening a fashion boutique at a Simon mall typically takes a space of 800 to 1,500 square feet, and will sign a lease for one to three years, Vlahos said.

As their brick-and-mortar concept evolves, their comfort level grows to expand their footprint and sign longer-term leases, he said.

Mariah Chase, the CEO of Eloquii, said she once scoffed at the idea of opening a physical location, wary of the fate befalling traditional retailers such as Sears and Toys R Us.

But today, the online fashion retailer for women sizes 14 and and up has five stores, including one in the Galleria. The company is set to open its sixth store next month in Miami.

Our web customers wanted Eloquii in a store, Chase said. They told me, Id love to be able to try things on, shop with my group of friends and feel the fabric.

Chase and her team use both e-commerce data and multiple site visits to determine the best locations for their brick-and-mortar locations.

Where you have a large e-commerce market like Houston, Chase said, you have to have a store footprint in that market, too.
The job market looks awesome. Unemployment is near its lowest levels since the 1960s, we're in the midst of the largest, longest streak of payroll growth in recorded history, and there are signs employers are finally raising wages.

But those numbers obscure the experiences of millions of part-timers, temps, older workers and others who have done everything right, but are still struggling to find good jobs.

The Washington Post

Here are some of their stories:

In June 1973, Ron Hartnett was crossing a six-inch I-beam 65 feet in the air when his partner shouted that the "rattle gun," an air-powered bolt wrench, was out of room. "I got it," Hartnett answered. But he hadn't got it. The heavy hose dragged him off balance.

"Once I started going down," Hartnett said, "gravity took over."

Someone who was there that day would later say Hartnett "hit every beam on the way down." At the hospital, they read him his last rites.

Now, 45 years and two master's degrees later, a 66-year-old Hartnett is working iron again, in and around Dakota City, Nebraska. He just wrapped up his latest project, framing out a surgical center. He might not find more construction work right away, but that's OK - school will start soon, and the former teacher and principal will always be able to find work as a substitute.

The traumatic brain injury Hartnett sustained in his 65-foot fall didn't stop him from getting degrees from New York University, Columbia University's Teachers College, and the University of South Dakota, but it has made it hard for him to hold down steady work. Nebraska workplaces haven't always accommodated his disability, which sometimes made organization and long-term planning a challenge.

He does what he has to, "always trying to keep the wolf from the door." And often, that means iron work.

The Washington Post

When he first started working iron, Hartnett was making about $43.90 in today's dollars. On his last project, he made $16.93.

"Before, you could say to yourself you had a good job if you were an ironworker. But now, because of the pressure on unions . . ." Hartnett trailed off.

"You look at your paycheck and think 'I did all that work for this amount?!' "

The Washington Post

---

Liz Levi, 59, is hilarious and full of sardonic energy, but she doesn't go out much anymore. When she does, it's with "a few good friends who don't insist on splashing around in their money while I watch."

She once had her own office, secretaries and assistants, along with titles like "director" that spoke to her decades of experience. Now, she's a temp - one of many.

Levi was laid off from her job at a law office during a merger in early 2015, and has struggled to find long-term work. In late 2016, she filed for bankruptcy.

The job market in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been cruel. "When I was young, just out of college and inexperienced, I was often offered the job on the spot," she told us. "Imagine my surprise when - now that I have both a college degree and over two decades of work experience - I often can't even land the interview."

The difference? "I'm not the cute little 20-something that I used to be."

"Age discrimination is a real thing," Levi said.

These days she processes checks for a multinational corporation on a six-month temp contract. It's complex work, but it doesn't come with vacation. Or sick days. Or job security. Or benefits.

Without Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies she would have to pay $1,483, or about three quarters of her monthly income, on insurance.

"I went through the list once, just for fun," she said. "I have 10 preexisting conditions that wouldn't be covered."

"I've got one eye kinda going wonky on me, and I don't have vision insurance, so I haven't been to an eye doctor for it," she said. "Even if I went and he said I needed surgery, I couldn't afford it. It's kind of horrible."

She would prefer to put her fine-arts education to use, but the art market is even less forgiving than temp work. Her last check, from a gallery in Ames, Iowa, was for $19.

She ordered a used serger sewing machine that she hopes to use to "upcycle" and sell clothing she buys from thrift stores.

"Maybe someday I don't have to get up so freaking early to go to work," Levi said. "I can just go down to my sewing room. That would be nice - and the cats would like it too."

The Washington Post

Racquel Davis was blindsided by her layoff from a Texas general contractor, soon after meeting half her yearly sales goal in less than a quarter. But the 39-year-old, who moved back home to Nashville, Tennessee, remains positive.

One day, Davis plans to leverage her architectural engineering degree and MBA to create a nonprofit organization that would introduce young women and minorities to opportunities in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

But in the near term, she needs to earn a at least as much as she had before, which itself wasn't commensurate with her technical training and experience.

"I was already underpaid [in Texas] and you're going to pay me less to do the exact same work in Nashville?" Davis said. "The cost of living is moving up."

To make ends meet while she seeks the right opportunity, Davis works part time as a substitute teacher at a friend's day care. She uses her STEM teaching skills, helping young students channel their natural inquisitiveness into discoveries about sailboats and seed germination, while she works on her nonprofit business plan.

The Nashville labor market is hot. It's even a finalist for Amazon's second headquarters. But Davis still puts her Houston address on her resume, because she's found that some big companies aren't hiring locals.

"All of these companies are literally getting paid by our government in tax breaks to move here," Davis said, referring to the state's aggressive attempts to lure outside corporations. "But they're not hiring Nashvillians. They're bringing their own people with them from whatever Northern city they come."

The Washington Post

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Paul Corcoran, age 60, estimates he has sent out 90 applications since he was laid off in February.

The Oceanside, California, resident picks up enough Uber and Lyft passengers to help stretch his unemployment benefits, but not so many that his earnings qualify him as "employed."

He has 30 years of experience in marketing at a major telecom company, but says that in a field that's fast evolving from creativity and relationships to search-engine optimization and ads, he took his eye off the ball. "It's not like I'm stupid, but the reality is I have no experience there."

"I don't need a ton of money, so I could even work in an entry level position," Corcoran said. "It might be fun, at 60, to work in something less stressful."

"I'm overqualified for these jobs, but they don't think that I would be happy to do them," Corcoran said. "I'm not finding any interest in a 60-year-old guy with gray hair and, honestly, kind of a limited shelf life."

Corcoran once planned on retiring at 65, but says that now won't happen without "divine intervention." He also worries what will happen to him if anything happens to the ACA. "If my wife weren't working - if she didn't have benefits - we'd be in seriously deep trouble in a hurry," he said.
There are about 800,000 Dreamers in the United States, almost half of whom live in California or Texas. Ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program would, therefore, have an outsized impact on those two states.

Ken Paxton, the attorney general of Texas, evidently isnt bothered by that. He wants Donald Trump to end the program, which was created via executive order by Barack Obama in 2012. And Paxton is trying to force Trumps hand. In May, he filed suit over the issue, leading a seven-state coalition.

Some Texans applauded Paxtons decision. Most didnt.

I would like to commend the coalition of business groups and companies that filed an amicus brief against the state this week, noting that ending the initiative would cause irreparable harm to the businesses they represent, and explaining why doing so would cost the entire state dearly.

From a business perspective, the case the brief makes is clear. There are roughly 126,000 Dreamers in Texas, and all of them support the economy in various ways. Some may have applied for DACA specifically to be able to participate in the economy more productively; the programs enrollees receive work authorizations in addition to deportation relief. And even Dreamers who still are full-time students are consumers and taxpayers. All in all, Texas would lose an estimated $6 billion in annual economic activity, if DACA is ended, the brief states.

Similarly, theres little disagreement that all Texans benefit from the contributions Dreamers make. Roughly 2000 public school teachers, for example, are DACA recipients, and many are bilingual. If Paxton has his way, well lose that talent.

Houston Methodist Hospital employs 57 Dreamers in various positions. Its president, Dr. Marc Bloom, has described such immigrants as essential to the nations health care workforce.

I would add that I recently visited a friend who was cooped up in the hospitals Alkek building, on the orders of Methodists cardiologists. Afterward, I spent almost an hour trying to figure out where my car was. Eventually, I started wondering whether the parking garage I had put it in actually exists, outside of my own imagination. It is reassuring to know that the Texas Medical Center is full of health care professionals, many of whom have years of experience navigating the federal bureaucracy, which is even more labyrinthine than the compound in which they work.

Immigration, obviously, is an issue that affects Texas businesses, in a variety of ways. The coalition behind the business groups amicus brief includes Southwest Airlines, United Airlines, IBC Bank, and Marek Brothers Construction, in addition to the Houston Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Association of Business, the Texas Border Coalition, and a number of other chambers of commerce.

Texass Republican leaders havent even bothered to pay lip service to the business communitys perspective lately. Paxton, in May, decreed it irrelevant.

Our lawsuit is about the rule of law, not the wisdom of any particular immigration policy, the attorney general said in a press release then. Texas has argued for years that the federal executive branch lacks the power to unilaterally grant unlawfully present aliens lawful presence and work authorization.

Press releases are not a particularly respectful way for a statewide elected official to communicate with the people of Texas, or a respectable one, in my opinion. Then again, if Paxton cared about public opinion, would not have filed this lawsuit in the first place.

It remains to be seen whether the business groups brief will make a difference. In fact, there is reason to think it will not. The federal judge scheduled to hear the case, Andrew Hanen, is a conservative, nominated by George W. Bush, who has opposed Obamas executive overreach on immigration. In 2015, he granted a preliminary injunction on another immigration-related program Obama came up with in 2014, which he also sought to create via a second executive order.

Hanen was in a position to grant that injunction because Texas led the coalition of states seeking an injunction against the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents program, DAPA for short.

In fact, Texas was not among the states that sought an injunction over DACA, for some reason. And the states that did seek an injunction against DACA were not granted one.

Although Im inclined to agree that Obama exceeded his constitutional authority when he created the program itself, I think the business communitys perspective on this is the right one. A preliminary injunction granted six years after the fact wouldnt settle the question of whether Obamas executive action was overreach. It would just cause Texas harm.

erica.grieder@chron.com

twitter.com/ericagrieder
As questions about transgender and gay rights continue to roil the Texas Legislature while it prepares for a July special session, Houston ISD Superintendent Richard Carranza on Tuesday proposed adding LGBTQ studies to the district's existing U.S. history curriculum.

Speaking at a community meeting hosted by the Houston Defender, a publication that focuses on the area's black community, Carranza said including LGBTQ - lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer - and ethnic studies in history curriculum will show students in the country's seventh-largest school district a broader picture of America's past.

Carranza stressed that conversations about including LGBTQ issues within history curriculum are just beginning and no decisions on such curriculum changes have been made. It could take months or years to implement such proposed changes.

"The LGBTQ movement in the U.S. has a history, and in many cases, many people would call it a civil rights history in terms of acceptance and in terms of who have been leaders of the movement," Carranza said. "I think it's part of the American history. To include that as part of what kids study is just a bigger picture of who we are as America."

Elsewhere, California schools are required to include the contributions of gay, lesbian, transgender, bisexual and queer people as part of social studies curriculum, thanks to a 2011 law and a 2016 California Board of Education decision. Carranza was deputy superintendent and superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District from 2009 until last year, when he came to Houston, and he oversaw some schools that rolled out anLGBTQ curriculum.

Texas, however, mandates that education materials "state that homosexual conduct is not an acceptable lifestyle," according to the Texas Health and Safety Code. Another rule within the health and safety code encourages school districts to emphasize "that homosexuality is not a lifestyle acceptable to the general public."

Texas Education Agency spokeswoman DeEtta Culbertson said those statutes only apply to curriculum developed by the Texas Department of Health, which districts can opt to use or not use. She said the law does not require districts to teach a certain curriculum and that districts have local control when it comes to deciding what will be taught in regards to human sexuality.

'This is Texas'

But Rev. Dave Welch, executive director of the Houston Area Pastor Council that has led local efforts to defeat pro-LGBTQ ordinances, said the proposal is about indoctrination, not education.

"Carranza is an import from San Francisco where this kind of propaganda that attempts to equate sexual lifestyles, gender confusion and hostility toward the traditional family has become the norm," Welch said in a statement. "The HISD Board of Trustees needs to remind Dr. Carranza that this is Texas, where the people of all ethnicities still believe that our children are to be protected, nurtured and educated, not used as a social experiment of a radical political agenda."

Neither Equality Texas nor GLSEN, two groups that advocate for gay and transgender rights, commented on the proposal by Tuesday evening.

Carranza's proposal comes as state legislators prepare to debate which restrooms transgender students and teachers should use on public school campuses during a special legislative session slated to begin in July.

Gov. Greg Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have been outspoken in supporting laws that would require transgender people to use the restroom that matches their birth certificate at public schools and universities.

Although Abbott, Patrick and other social conservatives pushed for the so-called bathroom bill during the Legislature's regular session earlier this year, the proposal died after moderate Republicans in the House balked at determining how far-reaching such a bill should be.

Some in the Legislature feared economic and political repercussions similar to those experienced in North Carolina after that state passed a law in 2016 requiring transgender people to use the bathroom that corresponds with the gender on their birth certificates rather than the bathroom that corresponds with their gender identity.

City efforts mixed

While opponents of the bathroom bill say it will codify discrimination against transgender people and will open school districts up to civil rights lawsuits, those who favor it say it will protect the privacy and comfort of the majority of students who do not identify as transgender.

Houston's reactions to transgender and gay issues has been mixed. Although the school district passed sweeping anti-discrimination policies in 2011 that include protections for gay and transgender students, more than 60 percent of voters within the city of Houston rejected a similar proposal in 2015 that would have made it illegal to discriminate against someone based on sex, race, religion, sexual orientation and gender identity, among other characteristics.

Welch with the Houston Area Pastor Council said the defeat of the city's anti-discrimination ordinance should show school leaders that residents don't want LGBTQ issues discussed in local classrooms

Carranza said Houston is incredibly diverse and its curriculum should reflect that diversity.

"Those conversations are just starting, but we're not excluding any topic that is germane to what is America's story," Carranza said.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has sent a letter to the Fort Worth ISD asking the North Texas school district to provide a copy of its human sexuality curriculum.

In a press release, Paxton's office wrote that the district would not share the curriculum with parents who requested it, and that students were not allowed to bring their textbooks for the course home or take pictures of the content.

"Parents have the right to inspect and review information regarding what their child is learning and participating in while attending school," Paxton, a conservative Republican, wrote in the release. "By law, public school curriculum should be fully available to the public, and parents retain their constitutional right to direct their own child's upbringing. Denying parental and public access to curriculum of any kind is a clear violation the Texas Education Code."

'CIVIL RIGHTS HISTORY': Former HISD superintendent floated idea of adding LGBTQ issues to history curriculum

Clint Bond, a spokesman for Fort Worth ISD, said he had not seen a copy of Paxton's letter but said the allegations are overblown. He said the books are kept at schools as a classroom set and are not allowed to be taken home with students to prevent them from being lost, stolen or damaged.

He remembered at least one email from a parent who was upset by the policy and a handful of others who worried the curriculum may not be appropriate. He said parents were invited to come to their child's school to view the books in person.

"This wasn't something anyone was trying to hide," Bond said.

ANOTHER BATTLE: State Board of Education strips 'Mexican-American Studies' name from elective

Students across Texas are required to take health education in elementary in middle school, though the curriculum requirements differ among grade levels.

Districts can offer human sexuality courses, so long as the curriculum is approved and recommended both by a local school health advisory council and the district's board of trustees.

If a district opts to teach sexuality, the Texas Education Code mandates the curriculum must:
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A grand jury will hear the case of a man who fatally shot a suspected robber in southeast Houston on Saturday, police said.

Officers were dispatched around 11:30 a.m. to the 6800 block of Monroe.
Space history tidbits roll off John Charles tongue as easily as an adult reciting the alphabet.

Apollo astronauts started wearing red stripes on their space suits so they could identify themselves later in pictures.

About two-liters of vascular fluids, such as blood and lymph, shift from an astronauts legs toward their head in space.

NASA might install an entire wall of veggies on the spacecraft headed to Mars so astronauts have fresh produce on the nine-month trip there.

GIANT LEAP: NASA chief to announce commercial crew in Houston

A self-proclaimed space nerd, Charles knowledge of NASAs 60-year history is vast and, seemingly, endless  making him exactly the type of person youd want leading a tour of Space Center Houston, the museum side of NASAs Johnson Space Center.

Thats why his new appointment as the museums scientist in residence is such a perfect fit.

I want people to know more about how humans are impacted by space, and I hope to make space travel more tangible to guests, said Charles, a retired NASA scientist. The information we give someone [at the museum] today could help make them into the next Buzz Aldrin or the next Neil Armstrong.

In this new role, Charles will act as the first person from NASA guests interact with, and hell help interpret space research into education programs and guest experiences, through presentations, exhibits and activities.

This type of position is a first for Space Center Houston  in fact, it was Charles idea in the first place  but museum officials couldnt be more excited for him to come aboard.

Hes going to be an incredible asset in interpreting a lot of research coming out of JSC and the amazing work theyre doing, said Phyllis Friello, the museums education manager. He will take that information and help it make sense to everyone.

That was so cool

Growing up, Charles wanted to be a cowboy, roping steers on the open range. He wanted to be a clown, cracking jokes through a white-painted face from inside a circus tent or at a childs birthday party.

But mostly, he said, he wanted to be an astronaut. When John Glenn became the first American to orbit the Earth in 1962, Charles, who was about seven at the time, was on a playground pretending to be the famed astronaut.

Now 63, Charles can remember thinking one thing: I want to do that someday.

Unfortunately, height limitations quickly squashed those dreams. In the early days of space travel, astronauts could be no taller than 511. At 67 Charles towers over that limit.

He was undeterred, however, choosing instead to take a more behind-the-scenes approach to a career in space exploration by focusing on the science side of things. Specifically, the effect of weightlessness on the human body.

He came to Johnson in 1983 as a postdoctoral fellow, after earning a doctorate in physiology and biophysics from the University of Kentucky.

NEW CHIEF SPEAKS: NASA nimble as administration goals change

Charles spent much of his 35-year career at Johnson studying orthostatic intolerance, which is the faint feeling astronauts experience when they return to Earth. In fact, he helped create a technique of drinking a liter of water and eating eight salt tablets to restore body fluids during atmospheric re-entry.

One of the coolest things he did, though, was work as mission scientist coordinating all NASA-sponsored science investigations for John Glenns Space Shuttle flight in 1998  more than three decades after Glenn inspired Charles love for space.

He called me on the phone once and asked for me specifically by name, Charles said gleefully. He knew who I was. That was so cool.

He also served as chief scientist for Johnsons Human Research Program, a role in which he worked with NASA employee Jennifer Fogarty.

In this role, he helped researchers like Fogarty acquire funding for their projects. Fogarty said he was always patient and willing to help scientists work through their proposals.

He was always willing to take time with anyone, whether it be having a phone call, a conversation, or educating them on a topic, she said. Hes incredibly well informed.

Before retiring in February, Charles worked on NASAs One Year Mission, which followed Scott Kellys one year trip to the International Space Station in March 2015. No one had spent that much time in space before, so NASA closely tracked Kellys body changes over time, comparing them to his twin brother Mark Kelly, who is also an astronaut.

NASA hopes to use the findings to better understand how to prepare astronauts for a three-year round trip to Mars someday.

It was through the One Year Mission research that Charles first met Space Center Houstons Phyllis Friello and the idea of scientist in residence was born.

Scientist in residence

Over the past 35 years, Charles unofficial tours of Space Center Houston have become legendary, with family, friends and neighbors flocking to hear his detailed descriptions of every artifact and exhibit in the 250,000 square-foot facility.

Im a big fan of Space Center Houston, he said. I wish I had these opportunities when I was a kid.

So, when Charles met Friello at a presentation on the twin study last fall  just months before his retirement became official  it made sense to pitch his tour guide prowess as an official job.

Friello loved it, she said.

He said he was retiring and was interested in seeing what he could do here at Space Center Houston, she added. Its an incredible opportunity for us to have such an amazing expert in the field to assist us.

Charles is the first scientist in residence the museum has employed, so his day-to-day responsibilities still are being worked out, but hes on a one-year contract with the center. Friello already has some ideas for how to take advantage of Charles expertise.

For example, Charles will be giving presentations to teachers participating in programs like Space Center University, which exposes educators to ways to get their students excited about science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. He also will develop ways to put exhibits in context, making them more digestible for visitors, and come up with labs and activities so visitors can learn about what NASA is doing.

Additionally, hell help write the scripts of employees to give tours to ensure that they are up-to-date and include the most important and fascinating information.

The culmination of all his experience at JSC really lends itself to this next step, bringing that experience and knowledge here and disseminating it to the public, Friello said. He just has such a breadth of knowledge. Hes an incredible space nerd.

For Charles, its a way to continue working in his area of passion, while the three-day work week gives him time to travel with his wife in their new RV.

My wife thought I would never retire, Charles said with a laugh. But now I can use my passion to inspire the next generation.

alex.stuckey@chron.com
The sextoy market is growing quite rapidly in India right now.

Although it is not a big trend, it is a hot topic on the internet as it is secretly expanding its market.

In this article, we will focus on sextoy and introduce recommended sextoy for Indian beginners of sextoy by gender.

India, the birthplace of the Kama Sutra, is very strict about sex.

Also, premarital sex is basically not allowed. Therefore, there are many people who are sexually restricted.

But what happens when you continue to be sexually restricted?

Frustration may build up and you may end up taking your sexual stress out on your partner.

If you are able to adopt sextoy in a timely manner, you can get rid of those problems.

I want to have more exciting sex than Im having now.

I want more variation in masturbation

I want to get even stronger pleasure than I do on my own.

If you have any of these problems, please stay with me until the end.

What is sex toys for Indian?

Sextoy, as the name implies, is a toy used during sex and masturbation.

It is a generic term for vibrators, Egg-vibrators, Electric massagers, dildo, handcuffs and condoms.

They are used to make regular sex more exciting or to make masturbation more pleasurable.

Because sextoy is very stimulating, it can help you to get rid of the problems and frustrations of being in a rut of sex with your partner for a long time, or if you are unhappy with the lack of pleasure in sex with your partner.

The ability to satisfy your desires with movement, texture, and size, which cannot be done by a normal human being, can help you to be satisfied with sex and, as a result, improve your relationship with your partner.

It is also said to help improve sexual dysfunction (inability to get an erection or ejaculate) and difficulty in feeling during sex (insensitivity), which is attracting more attention than in the past.

In recent years, the demand for sextoy has increased due to the spread of smartphones and the Internet and the increasing number of people using online shopping.

Even those who are concerned about the appearance of sextoy (and find it difficult to purchase) can now easily obtain it by using mail order.

In the case of online shopping, most of the stores have taken steps to ensure that the contents of the products delivered to you are not revealed, so you can purchase them without your family members knowing.

Until a while ago, you had to go to the store where the adult goods were sold to buy them, so it was quite a hurdle to overcome.

Also, many people may have an image that sextoy is somehow embarrassing to own.

But nowadays, some of them are so stylish and cute that you cant believe they are sextoy at a glance.

More and more people are using them for travel and outdoor use because they are not too bulky and are suitable for carrying around.

Sextoy situation in India

Before introducing the recommended sextoy for Indians, lets talk about one of the sextoy situations in India in recent years.

In India, due to the high concentration of population, the following six cities have particularly high sales of sextoy in India.

Mumbai

Kolkata

Bangalore

Delhi

Chennai

Hyderabad

These cities account for roughly 70 percent of sextoy sales in India.

In the future, the percentage of sextoy use will gradually increase in other cities in India as well.

If you never talk about sextoy publicly, that girl in your neighborhood might be a sextoy user too.

If you are interested in sextoy, you dont have to suppress your desire for it.

What are Sextoys for beginner?

Among all sextoys, sextoy for beginners are vibrators, dildo, masturbators, Sex Lubricants, and condoms.

Sex Lubricants and condoms, which are familiar to people who have had sex, are also a great beginners sextoy.

I will explain the details of each toy later, but there are many sextoy products that are painful to use and can only be used after some anal expansion.

I assume that the Indian readers of this article are people who have not had much experience with sextoy.

If such people use professional sextoy suddenly, they are at risk of injury or trauma.

Therefore, to introduce sextoy, you need to start with a beginners version and gradually become familiar with it.

Advantages of using sextoy for Indians

There are three advantages of using sextoy for Indians

You can masturbate in a wide variety of ways.

Can have stimulating sex

Can develop new sexual zones

If you try to masturbate with your own fingers or hands, it tends to be a pattern.

However, with sextoy, you can easily masturbate in a variety of ways.

You will definitely be fascinated by the attraction of new stimulation.

Also, your daily sex life will be more exciting than ever.

There are many things in sextoy that are visually stimulating and give you a strong and intense feeling of pleasure.

This allows you to see your partners promiscuity in a way that you wouldnt normally see it.

When you are in a relationship, sex with your partner may become a pattern, but it can also eliminate these problems.

It can also lead to the development of new sexual zones (which is the training of sexual stimulation to allow you to feel orgasms).

For more information on the development of new sexual zones, see the following articles

[Women's Erogenous Zone]How to find and develop, 7 hidden sexual zones !![In India] In this issue, we will dissect the female erogenous zone! ..." Many of you may be like that. Men, in particular, shou...

Thus, the use of sextoy can only be a good thing for the men and women of India.

Sextoy for beginner men in India

So, lets continue with the recommended goods for Indian sextoy beginners.

For ease of understanding, we will introduce them by gender. Lets start with the men!

The following five goods are recommended for novice Indian sextoy men

Masturbator

Cock rings

Love Doll

Sex Lubricants

Toys for the prostate

Lets check each one in detail.

Masturbator

The masturbator is a sextoy for men that elaborately reproduces a womans vagina, mouth, and anus, and is one of the most popular sextoy products.

It is used by men to masturbate, and it is popular because it provides stronger stimulation and pleasure more easily than using hands.

Most are made of good quality silicone, and their softness is something that cannot be achieved with ones own hands.

They can provide stronger pleasure than a real womans vagina, so be careful not to overuse them. (You wont be able to have an orgasm in a womans vagina anymore.)

Again Male masturbators are a wonderful toy. I do not need any favourite timing, bothersome bargaining. You do not have to worry too much.

Revolutionize your masturbation time! ! !

Made in Japan is a wonderful kinky toy.#sextoysindia #SexToyIndia #Japanhttps://t.co/4k70QGzoTP pic.twitter.com/tRVdxTKPpa   SEXToys India PR  (@SextoysIndia) November 12, 2018

Some of them are disposable, while others can be washed and used over and over again, so its fun to buy a few to use depending on your mood.

If you want to know more about masturbator, please click here

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Cock Ring

A cock ring is literally a ring-shaped sextoy that is worn on a mans penis.

It maintains an erection by binding the penis with a ring of rubber and blocking blood flow.

It is sometimes used as an accessory to be worn on the penis, and may be made of metal or plastic as well as rubber.

In some cases, cock rings have parts or vibrators attached to them that stimulate the vagina, so they kill two birds with one stone, giving a woman pleasure while maintaining an erection.

Cock rings are also sometimes used to treat erectile dysfunction.

It can help with erectile dysfunction, where the penis doesnt get hard when you get an erection or doesnt last long when you try to insert it.

Men who are prone to breakage or who are unsure of the hardness and size of their erections can use a cock ring to increase the size of their penis and maintain an erection for a longer period of time.

Cock rings vary in price from around RS700 to over RS2000 with a vibrator function.

Some of them do not fit your penis, so you should check the size of the cock ring before you buy.

You should know the size of your partners or your own penis when it is erect.

[Penis enlargement] What is a cock ring? Types and usage Cock rings can make your penis bigger and harder. It also makes sex with women more fulfilling and increases your sat...

Love Doll

Love dolls, also known as Dutchwives, are dolls with the appearance of a woman who can experience simulated sex.

There are dolls that look like a woman, but they have no face and only have their breasts and lower torso cut off, and some dolls are so realistic that they can actually be mistaken for real women.

Some expensive dolls can cost more than 1 million yen, and the quality of the doll is easily influenced by the price.

The higher the price, the higher the quality of the doll will be, the closer it will be to the real woman, and the cheaper the doll will be, the less elaborate it will be, making it look like a real doll! Something is wrong! That is also true.

You cant go wrong if you choose a balance between price and taste.

There are stores that allow you to make custom-made love dolls, so you can create a girl of your choice.

You can make a girl of your choice. You can start with inexpensive love dolls at first, and once you get used to it, you can try custom-made love dolls.

If you want to know more about Love doll, please click here

Thorough explanation of the charm of sex dolls! Have you ever heard of sex dolls that are used primarily for pseudo-sex purposes? It is a doll that is quite close to...

Sex lubricants

Sex lubricants are used as a substitute for lubricating fluid during sex or as a lubricant for men to use masturbator rules.

It is not uncommon for women to have difficulty getting wet, depending on their physical condition, or to have difficulty getting wet due to their constitution.

Forcing the penis into the vagina at such times can cause painful intercourse.

There are various types of Sex Lubricants, some with a warming effect, some with a cooling effect, and some with a scent.

Changing the Sex Lubricant used during play is recommended as a good sex accent.

If you want to learn more about Sex Lubricants, click here.

What is sex lubricant?Explain the difference and usage of each ingredient The word "sex toy" may seem like a hurdle to overcome, but lotion is actually one of the most familiar sex toys. Many...

Toys for the Prostate

Another sextoy for men is prostate toys.

The most famous prostate toys include Enemagra, which was originally a prostate massager developed by an American urologist to treat an enlarged prostate line.

Modern prostate toys are imitations of Enemagra that have spread as sextoy for men.

Many people think of prostate toys as being used by gay men, but in fact they are often used by straight men.

What is the prostate?

The prostate is an organ found only in men. It is a walnut-sized organ located deep in the pelvis, just below the bladder, and its primary role is to protect and nourish sperm.

You cannot touch the prostate gland from outside the body, but you can touch it by inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus.

By inserting a finger or sextoy through the anus and touching the prostate and developing it, you can feel intense orgasms.

Orgasms felt in the prostate are mainly dry orgasms, which are orgasms that do not involve ejaculation. (You can also feel orgasms with ejaculation through prostate stimulation.)

The prostate is called the male G-spot, and dry orgasms can be much more intense than ejaculation.

Therefore, men who are able to develop a prostate can become addicted to the pleasure.

sextoy for beinner women in India

The following are the recommended goods for Indian women who are new to sextoy.

The following three are recommended for use by women who are new to sextoy.

Vibrator.

Dildo

Electric Masserger

Lets check out what each one is in detail.

If you want to check out womens toys, click here.

[BEST25]Sex Toys for Women in IndiaThat Can Help You Have an Orgasm There are many women who pretend to feel orgasm during sex. But don't worry, you don't have to pretend to feel orgasm...

Vibrators

A vibrator is a sextoy that vibrates with an Egg-Vibrator to provide stimulation and is often referred to simply as a vibrator.

Some vibrate as well as rotate, and there are many variations of sextoy.

It is quite a popular sextoy, and is well recognized by people who do not know much about sextoy.

Its usage is similar to that of a massager, but it is more compact and easier to carry than a massager, and many of them look as cute as a lipstick or a macaroon, so they are popular among women.

For a while, a famous influencer on twitter said, This is good! You may have heard of the topic of this article by introducing the recommended vibrators.

Vibrators are great for women to use on their own, but they are also recommended for men who have difficulty satisfying women with sex.

Since it is powered by electricity, it is far less tiring than moving your hands by yourself.

This makes it easier to satisfy a woman with sex because you can caress her for longer than usual.

Vibrators are mainly used on the female side, but they can also be used on men.

When used on men, they are used to attack the nipples and glans, and in both cases it is recommended to wear a condom for hygiene reasons.

Introducing how to use the vibrator, its purpose, and how to choose it! Vibrator uses the vibrations caused by the rotation of the motor to provide stimulation. It is one or two of the most...

Dildo

A dildo is a model sextoy made to mimic a male penis.

It can be made of silicone, elastomer (think of it as a material similar to PVC), metal or glass.

A dildo can be used by a man for his female partner during sex, or by a woman for masturbation to get pleasure from it.

They are mainly inserted into women, but some can be used in the male anus as well.

It is sometimes used synonymously with vibrators, but the vibrator is not the same thing as a vibrating device.

A model of a penis that does not vibrate is a dildo.

Some of them have suction cups that can be attached to the floor or wall so that you can enjoy realistic masturbation without using your hands.

For fun, there is a dildo made in the shape of your partners penis.

This one is also popular as a gift, and if youve been together for a long time and are having trouble finding a gift for your partner, you might want to pick one.

To learn more about dildo, please click here.

What is Dildo: Orgasms with Dildos for Men and Women A dildo is a model of a male organ that is used by women for masturbation and by men to stimulate the prostate gland. Th...

Electric Masserger

A Electric Masserger is a hand-held electric massager, also known as a handheld massager, and can usually be purchased at electronics stores.

It was originally designed to relieve stiff shoulders and back pain, so the hurdle of buying one in a physical store is quite low.

Many people may have seen or used it in some form or another, as it is often installed in leisure hotels.

Such a massager is highly recommended for beginners because it is easy for women to get pleasure from it when they use it during masturbation.

It is larger than Egg-Vibrator and vibrations are stronger than those of Egg-Vibrators and vibrators, so even just hitting the clitoris can give you a great deal of pleasure.

For those women who have never had an orgasm during sex with their man, the massager may be a good way to get a feel for what it feels like to have an orgasm.

It looks and feels like an electric massager, so you wont have to feel awkward if your roommate finds out.

If you are in a rut of having sex with your partner, if you want to feel an orgasm through masturbation, or if you are thinking of using a sextoy, why dont you try it from a simple massager?

To learn more about Electric Masserger, click here.

What is a massager? Introducing types, selection methods, and usage Originally, the Magic-wand vibrator and the massage machine were sold as a home massage machine used for the back and th...

How to choose a sextoy for Indian

Now that weve covered the different types of sextoy, heres how to choose one.

Especially if you are trying sextoy for the first time, pay attention to the following three points:  Does the size fit you (the partner)?

Does the size fit you (your partner)?

Is the environment able to produce sound without problems?

Price range

First of all, the choice of size is quite important.

Most sextoy are used against or inserted into the genitals, but the genitals are very delicate organs for both men and women.

For this reason, using an inappropriate size may cause damage.

Secondly, the environment should be able to produce sound without problems.

Some sextoys not only wear, but also rotate and vibrate. Its easier to get pleasure from something that moves than something that doesnt, but the fact that it moves means that the internal rotors make some noise.

If you live in a house with thin walls or if you have roommates, you may not be able to concentrate because of the noise, so it is best to choose one that is silent or has a low noise level.

Especially in India, where many people live with their families, it is very important that you dont have to worry about sound when you use it.

Finally, there is the price range.

The price range of sextoy ranges widely, from around RS500 at the cheapest to RS10,000 or more at the highest.

Its good to consider how much money you can afford and how much you want to buy.

Do you want your family to not find out about sextoy?

I live with my family and want to use sextoy without them finding out! If you are a man, you should buy a camouflage sextoy that does not look like a sextoy at first glance.

For men, there are many masturbators that do not look like a sextoy, and for women, there are vibrators that only look like cosmetics.

If you choose such a type, youll be safe in case your family members find out.

How to buy sextoys in India

The best way to purchase sextoy is through online shopping.

For more information on how to purchase sextoy, please see the article below.

Sextoy is one of them.

Therefore, you can easily get sextoy in India by using online shopping.

SexToysINDIA is a long established and stable sextoy store and you can have sextoy delivered to any place in India.

They also offer cash on delivery, so those who are worried about shopping with a credit card do not have to worry.

Of course, the latest security is in place, so your information will not be taken out when you use your credit card.

To begin with, many people may be concerned about whether they are legally allowed to purchase sextoy.

ikmAs it turns out, its not illegal.

Right now, it is not open to the public because the Indian adult market is still in the development stage, but it will gradually spread from now on.

Take advantage of sextoy and open the door to new pleasures and culture.

Cautions for Indians using sextoy

When using sextoy, keep the following three things in mind

Keep sex toys clean

Watch out for electrical leakage

Beware of the heat generated by the body while using a sex toy

As I mentioned earlier, many sextoy products are used for the delicate zone.

Therefore, it is most important to keep the sextoy itself clean. It is very important to keep the sextoy itself clean, because if a slight scratch is created by friction, bacteria can enter and breed there.

It is safe to wear a condom when using the masturbator, just in case.

In addition, many sextoy devices are powered by a power source, so if they are not waterproof, there is a possibility of electric shock or malfunction due to wetness.

Some may even develop heat during continuous use. If the fever becomes too much, you may get burned, so be careful.

If you get a fever during use, stop driving the sextoy immediately and refrain from using it.

You will enjoy sex more if you keep it safe and use it correctly.

Summary

What did you think?

In this article, we have introduced the recommended sextoy for the beginners of sextoy in India.

The sextoy market is growing rapidly in India and it will continue to grow steadily in the future.

As India is a rather closed-minded country, it can be difficult to be open about ones sexual habits and values.

However, being faithful to ones desires by properly dissolving ones sexual desire is very effective for ones physical and mental health.

If this is your first time to learn about sextoy, or if you are interested in using sextoy, why not give it a try?

Indian Sextoys for ur best! will introduce you to sextoy and other trivia about sextoy, sexuality, and sexuality for men and women.

I want to read more! If you think its a great idea, please bookmark it.
Northrop Grumman CEO Wesley Bush acknowledged Thursday that the company "contributed" to many of the delays and cost overruns plaguing NASA's James Webb Space Telescope -- but he balked at the idea of paying the extra $800 million needed to complete the project.

"Our view on that is that it would ... significantly impede our relationship with NASA," Bush told the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology in Washington, D.C.

Thursday was the second consecutive day of hearings on the Webb telescope after the space agency announced last month it would need an extra $800 million and until 2021 to complete telescope development. This request pushes the agency past the $8 billion development cap set by Congress in 2011, which means the project must be reauthorized in the agency's 2019 fiscal year budget.

"If space exploration is going to continue to earn the public's support, then contractors

will have to deliver on time and on budget," said U.S. Rep Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, shortly before floating the idea of Northrop Grumman covering the recent cost overruns. "If they cannot, they should be penalized."

Read more: Panel seeks accountability from Northrop Grumman for telescope delays

James Webb -- the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope meant to revolutionize the world's understanding of planet and star formation -- initially was expected to launch in 2007 and cost about $500 million. Now, it is expected to launch in 2021 and cost almost $9 billion.

Bush said he understood people's frustration with the delays and cost increases, but that the project's unprecedented scope was largely to blame.

"This is the largest and most complex telescope ever built," he said. "It's a true leap ahead in technology and we've also learned that some things we thought we could do more quickly, are taking more time to perform."

Many on the committee sympathized with him, saying the scientific advances the telescope will provide are worth the cost. But a 10-member Independent Review Board in June found that human errors and other technical issues committed by Northrop Grumman -- such as missing sun shield screws and leaks in propulsion valves caused by improper cleaning -- were a major factor.

MISSING SCREWS: Human errors help delay NASA's Webb telescope and boost cost by about $1B

After much prodding from Smith, Bush said "I do not recall" anyone losing their jobs because of these errors -- even though the solvent issue cost the federal government $100 million in delays.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-California, called the contractor out on these problems after a seemingly off topic discussion prompted by committee members about how the contractor is engaging young people in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) fields.

"I'm sorry, I can't join you in the uplifting testimony given today," Rohrabacher said. "The question isn't whether [the telescope] is worth all the money, but about all the projects we aren't able to fund because Northrop Grumman failed at its job."

PRICE TO PAY: Cost increases for Webb telescope could cause cuts to other programs

Earlier this week, NASA officials said the agency will have to rejigger the budget in 2020 and 2021 to pay for the Webb telescope. This means cannibalizing other missions, such as Webb's successor, the Wide-Field Infrared Survey Telescope (WFIRST) set to launch in the mid-2020s to study dark energy, exoplanets and infrared astrophysics.

Rohrabacher suggested that contracts for major NASA projects be adjusted to hand down penalties if companies do not deliver on their promises.

"We should be changing our policy so this doesn't happen like this again," he said. "Perhaps if a company doesn't meet its goals, perhaps we shouldn't be giving them the next contract that comes down the line."

The topic of contracts also came up at Wednesday's hearing, at which NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine testified. Bridenstine argued that there already are ways to punish Northrop Grumman for its failings.

Northrop Grumman's contract for the project is a "cost plus award fee" contract, meaning the award fee is its profit. Since it was awarded the contract in 2002, the company already has lost $28 million of the $60 million award fee it could have received for reaching milestones. Bridenstine told the committee it could lose more if personnel do not deliver, and the agency could also "claw back" previously awarded fees if the company continues with errors and delays.

Bush said Thursday the company would be in favor of having all their past and future awards withheld by NASA until the project is successfully completed, a course of action first suggested Wednesday by Tom Young, chairman of the Independent Review Board.

Still, Smith had hoped the company would be amiable to taking it a step further and covering the cost overruns past Congress' budget cap.

"It is clear that Northrop Grumman did not adhere to best business practices," Smith said Thursday. "I wish Northrop Grumman would take responsibility for the problems."

Alex Stuckey covers NASA and the environment for the Houston Chronicle. You can reach her at alex.stuckey@chron.com or Twitter.com/alexdstuckey.
Edward A. Ornelas/San Antonio Express-News

On Thursday, the Trump administration failed to meet its court-ordered deadline to reunite families needlessly separated under its zero-tolerance policy.

In court filings, the government said more than 900 parents had been deemed "ineligible" to be rejoined with their children by the deadline, either because they were out of the country possibly deported because they were "undergoing review" or because they had a "prohibitive criminal record."
Having lived through the past two years, one could be forgiven a certain level of exhaustion. Neo-Nazis are fine people. A porn star is suing the president. An alleged Russian spy infiltrated the National Prayer Breakfast. There are no new depths to plumb.

But after watching a Georgia state representative barrel backward across a gym, buttocks exposed, shouting, Ill make you a homosexual! . . . USA! in an ostensible training exercise against Islamist terrorists, one might consider revising that opinion. We can always go lower, if only we try.

This was just one of many disheartening moments in comedian Sacha Baron Cohens new Showtime series, Who Is America?, which premiered this month. In the show, the comedian disguises himself as a variety of exaggerated figures - a former Israeli military officer, a sleazy Italian billionaire, a right-wing conspiracy theorist and an absurdly far-left professor, among others - and sets out to expose Americans for who they really are. His targets are varied, and often the humor goes low; this is not prestige TV. But his ruses are ultimately revealing, not so much for what he tricks his marks into doing but in how they - and we - respond.

In the first episode, Cohen persuades several current and former Republican lawmakers to endorse an initiative to train preschoolers in the use of military-grade weaponry to prevent school shootings. Current House members Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., and Joe Wilson, R-S.C., mindlessly mouth endorsements. Former congressman Joe Walsh, R-Ill., closes out the program by saying straight into the camera: In less than a month - less than a month - a first-grader can become a first grenade-er. . . . Happy shooting, kids. In the second episode, Cohen asks former vice president Dick Cheney to sign a waterboard kit - and Cheney happily obliges.

The grotesque cheer with which elected officials take part in this farce is shocking enough. Their flimsy defenses once the circumstances come to light make them look even worse. Explained Walsh, with apparently no sense of self-awareness or irony: They flew me out to D.C., they put me up in a hotel, they put me in a limo, they sent me off to this studio in Virginia . . .

Well, if there was a limo involved . . .

Such casual corruptibility is certainly dismaying. But what should really alarm us is what Baron Cohen is teaching us about ourselves: that this sort of behavior bothers us but is also expected. That we are uncomfortable with the direction in which our country is headed, but we also feel that its too far gone for us to do more than laugh, shrug and sigh. That in essence, weve given up. Who is America? is an ugly catalogue of disappointments, and we know. We have decided that there is nothing to be done.

Many professional reviewers have responded to Baron Cohens antics in this vein, with deadpan dismissals and downplaying of his obvious satirical skill. The first two episodes have been widely described as unhelpful and uncomfortable to experience. Yes, America is polarized and ridiculous. We already know how bad things are. In which case - do we really need to watch? This latest production is not art; its trolling. Sacha Baron Cohen is back, a headline in the New York Times read. Should we care? Apparently, not so much.

It may be true that we dont learn anything new about the subjects Baron Cohen skewers this time around: Politicians are often sellouts. Reality TVstars will lie for fame. Many Americans will become wildly racist at the mildest prompting. Everything is awful; tell us something we dont know.

But for all the costumes and clownery, the scatalogical humor and vice-presidential cameos, that very jadedness is the shows biggest reveal - and the most disappointing gag of all. In reflecting our own tired acceptance of all the crazy, noxious thinking that has sent our country careening off course, Baron Cohens newest series is revelatory. Maybe its even art.

Emba is an opinion columnist and editor for The Post. Before coming to The Post in 2015, Christine was the Hilton Kramer Fellow in Criticism at the New Criterion and a deputy editor at the Economist Intelligence Unit.
While we know the exact date marijuana will become legal in Canada  Oct. 17  the American timeline remains hazy.

Its possible to imagine a Democrat-controlled Congress and White House in the not-too-distant-future repealing pots prohibition under the Controlled Substances Act and officially delegating the matter to the states. Its equally conceivable, however, to imagine a prolonged era of Republican rule preserving the status quo. Perhaps, as evidence of marijuanas harm accumulates, a bipartisan consensus will emerge to double down on outlawing the drug in some new and creative way.

EDITORIAL: Texas dopey rules on medical marijuana need a rewrite

OPINION: Legalizing marijuana is Democrats' key to 2018 elections

RELATED: O Canna-bis! US marijuana companies go public in Canada

All we really know is that come this autumn, the United States and Canada are poised to enter a new era of disunity in a major realm of criminal law. At a time when the cause of U.S.-Canada integration is already snared on the rocks of President Trumps trade war, Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus pot initiative can only slow things further.

The irony is that many U.S. states already have marijuana regimes far more liberal than Canadas, having legalized pot for personal use years ago. In doing so, they called their federal governments bluff that it would not trample upon such a self-confident evocation of federalism, particularly in the context of growing ambiguity about the morality of drug prohibition. (The Obama administration made its distaste for enforcement explicit.) Yet, because borders and immigration remain firmly under Washingtons jurisdiction, mandate that is not nearly as disputed or unpopular, the federal government enjoys a free hand to enforce marijuana prohibitions against foreigners with a strictness it would never extend to its own citizens.

Journalists on both sides of the border like to highlight stories of Canadians who have attempted to enter the United States for innocuous reasons, only to be slapped with extreme punishments for minor pot-related offenses committed ages ago. In 2013, for instance, a man from Vancouver Island was unable to claim an all-expenses-paid trip to Super Bowl XLVII after U.S. customs agents at Torontos international airport discovered he had been convicted of possessing two grams of marijuana in 1981. A recent story in The Washington Post described a young British Columbian woman who tried to attend a Dave Matthews concert in Washington state but wound up getting banned from the United States for life after her admission to a border guard that she smoked marijuana in the past. I mean who hasnt had a puff of a joint? she said. There has been speculation that Trudeau himself may not be able to visit the United States once his diplomatic immunity lapses, given his past admissions of pot smoking.

OPINION: Plenty of reasons for Texas to legalize marijuana

The Trump administration, for its part, has been firm that there will be no lessening of this sort of thing once Canadas laws change, reciting standard boilerplate about the need to enforce federal law to anyone who asks. The administration has built its brand vowing to impose a blunt and unforgiving style of border security, and while harsh tactics at the southern border have captivated the world, time will tell whether there will eventually be a northern manifestation, too.

For the time being, however, Canadian travel and immigration to the United States have not visibly abated. Defying the expectations of many, rates appear to have actually gone up since Trumps election. As much as a certain sort of Canadian may loudly affect an anti-American persona, many speak louder with their actions, continuing to travel and move to the United States in enormous numbers, regardless of politics.

Trump or no Trump, after all, for any Canadian interested in shopping, sport, culture or recreation, the United States remains an indispensable destination. Theres simply no Canadian equivalent of things such as New Yorks Fifth Avenue, the U.S. Open, San Diego Comic-Con or Miami Beach.

For Canadians aspiring to join the next generation of super-capitalists, meanwhile, the United States pull is no less strong. Silicon Valley makes ample use of Canadian labor, and not just at the lower levels. The National Foundation for American Policy identified eight American billion-dollar start-ups created by Canadian immigrants, including mainstays such as Slack and Uber. So long as Canadas economy continues to suffer from its traditional impairments in the realms of innovation, productivity, competitiveness and creativity, the United States will magnetize Canadians who possess such skills in abundance. But increasingly, the skill of self-control will be required as well.

Legalization of a product tends to increase its consumption, especially when that legalization is accompanied by the creation of a robust, competitive retail industry to sell it, as Trudeaus government promises will be the case with legal marijuana. If Canadian pot usage rises after legalizations soft encouragement, a new generation of Canadians may soon find that their governments decision to normalize this victimless crime has in fact victimized their American dreams.

The notion that consuming marijuana presents any real health danger has been widely mocked by legalizations advocates, including Canadas multibillion-dollar pot industry, who have an obvious interest in portraying their product as harmless. The goal of discouraging pots use -- which Ottawa, despite legalization, still nominally favors -- thus faces an uphill battle in the context of a culture primed to be skeptical of anything reeking of Reefer Madness.

A modest suggestion for Canadas marijuana critics: They should propose that all packaging of legal pot bear a label with an indisputable claim, WARNING: Use may result in loss of access to America. That might actually get Canadians to think twice before toking.

McCullough is a political commentator and cartoonist from Vancouver.
Evacuations underway in the northeastern province of Stung Treng, on the border with Laos. Rescuers' efforts continue. 27 dead are ascertained; 131 missing. Message of condolences from the Archbishop of Seoul and a contribution of 43 thousand euros for aid.

Vientiane (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Thousands of Cambodians living along the banks of the Mekong River are being evacuated by the authorities, while the river of water caused by the collapse of a dam in nearby Laos falls to the valley.

Soldiers are helping villagers in the northeastern province of Stung Treng, transporting them on wooden boats to higher lands. First aid is being distributed to those who have already found refuge on the mainland. "The water level is still increasing, so we will evacuate other people," said the spokesman for the Men Kong government.

In the remote Lao province of Attapeu, rescuers are engaged in a race against time and heavy rains, in an attempt to save the victims of the flood caused by the partial collapse of the Xe-Pian Xe-Namnoy dam.

The state media confirmed yesterday the death of 27 people, while the missing are 131.

Over 3 thousand villagers at the hydroelectric plant await the rescue teams clinging to the roofs of submerged houses. Approximately 2,800 have already been rescued. The homeless are more than 6,600.

Experts from China, Vietnam and Thailand joined the Laotian soldiers and local volunteers in search and rescue operations. Yesterday afternoon, a Singapore military plane landed in the country to deliver essential goods worth 176 thousand euros. On the same day, a team from the Singaporean Red Cross (Src) reached the epicenter of the disaster. The arrival of a second aircraft, which carries 11 large modular tents, is scheduled for today by the city-state.

Like the government, the Church of South Korea also supports the rescue efforts. The Archbishop of Seoul, Card. Andrew Soo-jung Yeom, this morning sent a message of condolences to the victims of the tragedy through the apostolic vicariate of Pakse, which includes the province of Attapeu.

Fr Tito Banchong Thopanhong, apostolic administrator of Luang Prabang, tells AsiaNews that Catholics in the whole vicariate are 15 thousand (just over 1% of the population) and Attapeu "are very few".

In his message, Card. Yeom expresses "profound sadness for the loss of human lives and injuries" and prays for the "rest of the dead and the consolation of God for those who suffer the loss of family and friends". Card. Yeom also offered a contribution of 43 thousand euros to the apostolic delegate in Laos, Msgr. Paul In-Nam Tschang.

The scale of the disaster is still unclear, in a country whose communist authorities exercise strict control over information and do not like media attention. As the waters retreat, villagers begin to return to what remains of their homes, hoping to recover some belongings.

Yesterday some of the displaced people returned to Hoi Kong, making their way through carts and trunks dragged by water along roadsides. Almost all the houses have been destroyed and the disaster has also hit the cattle: as in the nearby village of Khokong, numerous carcasses of animals are emerging from the mud.
Trend:

Azerbaijan's National Academy of Sciences and Azercosmos OJSC may establish cooperation aimed at manufacturing new gamma-radiation detectors and ionizing particles based on micropixel silicon photo amplifiers for small-size satellites, vice-president of the Academy, Academician Ibrahim Guliyev said.

He made the remarks at a meeting with representatives of Azercosmos and the Center for Strategic Scientific Research of the Academy in Baku.

Guliyev, head of the Center for Strategic Scientific Research, doctor of political sciences Fatali Abdullayev, chairman of Azercosmos OJSC Rashad Nabiyev, representatives of the Institute of Radiation Problems of the Academy, and the National Academy of Aviation took part in the meeting.

During the event, head of the laboratory #2 of the Center for Strategic Scientific Research, Farid Ahmadov made a presentation on the production of new gamma-ray detectors and ionizing particles based on micropixel silicon photo amplifiers for small-size satellites.

Stressing the strategic importance of the project, head of the Center for Strategic Studies Fatali Abdullayev said the issues related to its implementation should be reconsidered and the main attention should be paid to establishment of ties with companies within the project.

Chairman of Azercosmos OJSC Rashad Nabiyev emphasized the need to support research in this area and stressed that the study of the Academy's experience in this field is of great importance.
Blockchain technology can transform Dubai's real estate market and the wider economy by bringing in a new level of transparency to attract global players, said international investment and advisory specialists Cryptech.

The company believes the Blockchain 2021 strategy by government agency Smart Dubai will deliver a major boost to the economy by winning the confidence of institutional investors and sparking a fresh surge of broader interest in the property market.

The government initiatives we are seeing to turn Dubai into a global technology hub will build a broad range of economic opportunities in many sectors, not least by bringing additional integrity and transparency to the property market, remarked Omar Jackson, the director of Cryptech.

Cryptech, a Blockchain organisation which provides investment opportunities to individuals and institutions seeking to explore the technology, has offices in both London and Dubai and teams operating between the two on behalf of clients.

"This is something that the major institutional investors are looking for, and their arrival can provide a huge injection of wider investor confidence in Dubai real estate. We fully support the government drive and welcome investors who may be new to the technology wishing to explore its potential," stated Jackson.

"One of the biggest opportunities in the property market is to use Blockchain to tokenise real estate assets, meaning an investor can purchase parts of a property rather than the entire property," he added.

These parts can be traded online in seconds, making UAE real estate far more accessible and attractive to investors from all over the world.

"We believe this will become a major new trend in the industry this year, especially for first time buyers who are often priced out of the market," he added.

By offering clients a minimum investment option of $1,000/1,000 it has opened up a trading opportunity which previously was largely restricted to financial institutions and HNWIs.

After 12 months, clients can redeem their capital back with the maximum returns generated.

The company was recently acquired by private equity firm Berkeley Assets which appointed Jackson as a new partner to head up the business.

Berkeley is a multi-asset company with a strong, diversified portfolio of investments across the real estate, hospitality, logistics and technologies sectors.

Cryptech guides investors wishing to trade in cryptocurrencies and invest in innovative start-up companies creating Blockchain technology solutions to revolutionise businesses globally, explained Jackson.

We have recently expanded our reach globally, attracting interest from investors across the world who are eager to explore the opportunities to achieve substantial short term growth in the technology, he added.

The offshore company invests in ideas and start-ups that are utilising Blockchain and actively trades the top four cryptocurrencies in the world; Bitcoin, Ethereum, Ripple and Litecoin, utilising a two-pronged strategy to deliver consistent gains across cryptocurrencies and Blockchain.-TradeArabia News Service
Imperial Valley News Center

President Donald J. Trumps Economic Agenda Is Delivering GDP Growth Once Dismissed as Unrealistic

Washington, DC - "My Administration remains very focused on the issues that will encourage economic growth - thats what were all about." ~ President Donald J. Trump

GROWING THE ECONOMY TO NEW HEIGHTS: The American economy continues its strong growth under President Donald J. Trump, with GDP growth reaching 4.1% in the second quarter.

With GDP growth reaching 4.1% in Q2 of 2018, its clear that President Trump is delivering on his promise to revitalize the American economy. GDP growth is one of the most important economic indicators and shows that America is continuing to grow more and more prosperous under President Trump.

Average annual growth has been a strong 2.8% over the past four quarters. During President Obamas 8 years in office, GDP growth averaged just 1.9%.

If our current pace continues, we are on track to see the economy grow over the course of a calendar year by more than 3% for the first time in 13 years.

DEFYING THE CRITICS: Under President Trump, the economy is achieving the kind of growth critics derided as unrealistic.

The Administration has long maintained that implementing the Presidents pro-growth economic agenda would lead to at least 3% growth, a prediction met and exceeded in Q2.

GDP is now on track for 3.1% growth in 2018, a level of growth that was previously dismissed by the media and economic experts as unrealistic. Larry Summers, said 3% annual growth was fair enough if you believe in tooth-fairies. The Los Angeles Times Michael Hiltzik called 3% annual growth a pipe dream.

Recent growth stands in stark contrast to the absurd claim by Paul Krugman in 2016 that President Trumps Presidency would lead to a global recession.

AN ECONOMIC RESURGENCE: The latest GDP figures show President Trumps pro-growth economic agenda is delivering exactly what it promised.
Imperial Valley News Center

White House Press Secretary on Election Security

Washington, DC - Today, President Donald J. Trump chaired a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) to receive updates on the whole-of-government approach his Administration is implementing to safeguard our Nations elections. This effort was put in motion at the beginning of his Administration and has been carried out to support State and local election officials in all 50 States, the Territories, and the District of Columbia.

The President has made it clear that his Administration will not tolerate foreign interference in our elections from any nation state or other malicious actors.

The Presidents discussion with his NSC addressed threats posed to our elections from malign foreign actors, efforts underway to provide cybersecurity assistance to State and local authorities, and actions to investigate, prosecute, and hold accountable those who illegally attempt to interfere in our political and electoral processes. The Trump Administration will continue to provide the support necessary to the owners of elections systems  State and local governments  to secure their elections.

Attendees:

President Donald J. Trump

Vice President Michael Pence

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin

Secretary of Defense James Mattis

Attorney General Jeff Sessions

Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen

Chief of Staff to the President General John Kelly

Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Gina Haspel

National Security Advisor John Bolton

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford, Jr.

Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Christopher Wray

Commander, U.S. Cyber Command and Director, National Security Agency/Chief, Central Security Service General Paul Nakasone
Imperial Valley News Center

FDA is Investigating Possible Salmonella Contamination of an Ingredient Used in Several Popular Foods

Washington, DC - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, along with other partners, are investigating possible Salmonella contamination of a whey ingredient that has caused the recall of several popular foods. Associated Milk Producers Inc. (AMPI) of New Ulm, Minn., is recalling dry whey powder due to the potential to be contaminated with Salmonella. The FDA is working with AMPIs customers to recall products that pose a potential risk to consumers. Mondelez International Inc., Pepperidge Farm Inc. and Flowers Foods Inc. recalled certain products because they used the whey ingredient subject to AMPIs recall.

These recalled foods include a variety of Mondelezs Ritz cheese sandwiches and Ritz Bits cheese products, certain Pepperidge Farms Goldfish and Flowers Foods Swiss Rolls sold under various brand names.

Additional information about each specific recall is available on our website. There may be additional recalls in the coming days, of other products, as the FDAs investigation reveals other food producers who may have used AMPIs whey powder in a manner that could expose consumers to the potential risk.

Weve committed to alerting consumers early when we become aware of a risk of potential foodborne illness, and intervening aggressively. Our goal, as much as possible, is to mitigate risk, reduce consumer uncertainty and avoid potential harms. These commitments are guiding our work related to this investigation. Sometimes it means we need to share information before we know that people have become sick, or even that theyve been exposed to a contaminant, because we know theres a chance they could be at risk. As much as possible, our goal is to prevent consumer illness. Such is the case with these recalls. Right now, these are preventive steps. There are no confirmed illnesses related to these products. But we know these products are consumed daily across our country, often by children, which is why were alerting consumers now, said FDA Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, M.D. Our team is onsite investigating the facility that processes the dry whey used in the recalled products and were working to identify what other companies may have used this ingredient to determine what, if any, food may be contaminated with Salmonella. We take this work very seriously and will continue to communicate about this potential health risk as we learn more. Lately there have been many questions about whether were experiencing an uptick in food-related recalls. I can understand why it might appear that way, as weve increased our communications around food recalls and potential risks to food products. But we are not seeing an increase in the number or scope of recalls. Our tools for detecting them are much better, and our policies for how and when we alert the public lean in the direction of more and earlier communication. The American food supply is safer than ever before thanks to the preventive measures set forth in the landmark FDA Food Safety Modernization Act and advances in technology that help us detect and respond to problems.
Imperial Valley News Center

San Diego Zoo Kids Channel Begins Broadcasting at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital in St. Louis

St. Louis, Missouri - Young patients, their families and invited guests were treated to a visit with some amazing animal ambassadorsincluding chinchillas, a screech owl and a domestic rabbit from the Saint Louis Zoos Emerson Childrens Zooat a gathering at Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital earlier today (July 26, 2018). This special event served to announce the arrival of a closed-circuit television adventure channel, San Diego Zoo Kids, at Ranken Jordan.

San Diego Zoo Kids is an innovative television channel with programs produced primarily for medical facilities that serve pediatric patients and their families. The creation and development of the channel has been funded by businessman and philanthropist T. Denny Sanford. A generous gift from The Tilles Foundation has made the channel available on shared-space television monitors at Ranken Jordan.

San Diego Zoo Kids programming offers family friendly, animal-oriented stories that are both entertaining and educational. The introduction of San Diego Zoo Kids to Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital demonstrates the value of partnerships with kid-friendly organizations, said Ranken Jordan Interim President and CEO Brett Moorehouse. Because of our Care Beyond the Bedside health care model, we truly understand and appreciate the positive impact animals and animal stories can have on children, and how that can improve patient care. Moorehouse explained that the hospitals health care philosophy encourages young patients to be out of their rooms as much as possible, learning and engaging with others. We air San Diego Zoo Kids in our shared spaces, giving our patients a fun and educational TV program to watch together. This allows them to connect with the animals and each other, said Moorehouse. We are very grateful for Ranken Jordans inclusion in this wonderful program.

The channel also features animal stories from the Saint Louis Zoo. We are so pleased to be a part of this partnership, said Michael Macek, chief operating officer of the Saint Louis Zoo. Connecting people with animals and nature is what we are all about; we hope this programming can bring smiles to the faces of the children who are dealing with health challenges.

The San Diego Zoo Kids channel offers up-close video encounters with animals, stories about caring for animals, quizzes about animals and habitats, and a wide variety of short video vignettes hosted by San Diego Zoo Global ambassador Rick Schwartz and San Diego Zoo Kids host Oliva Degn. Viewers can see video from the San Diego Zoos famous Panda Cam and other online cameras, as well as content from other zoos across the country.

We continue to be humbled by the healing properties of San Diego Zoo Kids, said Debra Erickson, director of communications, San Diego Zoo Global. Parents and caregivers share that the channel, which has no commercials or inappropriate content, not only calms children but makes them happy.

San Diego Zoo Kids debuted in 2013 at Rady Childrens Hospital in San Diego. Since then, it has been installed in 154 children's hospitals and Ronald McDonald Houses in 34 states across the U.S. and the District of Columbia, and in facilities in Mexico, Canada, Australia, Pakistan, Qatar and Curacao.

About Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital: Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital helps kids and families transition from the acute care hospital to home. Advances in medicine are saving more children's lives; however, many of these children have medically complex conditions, which require comprehensive medical care and rehabilitation. An innovative Care Beyond the Bedside approach ensures that the children Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital treats are up and out of their beds every day, accelerating their progress toward a successful transition home.

About the Saint Louis Zoo: Chosen as Americas top free attraction and best zoo in the USA Today 10Best Readers Choice Awards, the Saint Louis Zoo is widely recognized for its innovative approaches to animal care and management, wildlife conservation, research and education. One of the few free zoos in the nation, the Zoo attracts more than 3 million visitors a year.
Imperial Valley News Center

Non-union workers don't have to pay fees to unions

Washington, DC - The world of organized labor is in turmoil in the aftermath of the June 27th Supreme Court decision banning public sector unions from collecting fees from non-union workers. Attorney Mark J. Neuberger, who specializes in employment law at the firm of Foley & Lardner, says the ruling was a stunning blow to public sector unions.

Dan Weber, president of the Association of Mature American Citizens [AMAC], said the courts action has negative implications for the ability of public sector unions to fund political campaigns going forward. I dont believe the ruling is a death blow, but it can have the effect of putting a limit on impact of union political power.

In California, The National Right to Work Foundation has filed a lawsuit against the states largest public employee union, SEIU Local 1000, seeking the return of $100 million it collected from some 40,000 workers over the years. The suit claims that the union used burdensome opt-out procedures to collect the fees that were outlawed by the high court.

Meanwhile, New York State is taking measures to stop collecting agency shop fees from some 31,000 non-union state workers. And, groups opposed to state employee unions, are targeting two groups: new public employees and disenfranchised or disinterested members vacillating on whether they want to join and pay dues, according to a report at the local news Web site, lohud.com.

Similar activities aimed at curtailing the political power of unions have been increasing throughout the U.S. since the Supreme Court handed down its decision, Weber notes.

Associate Justice Samuel Alito wrote the majority opinion in the case of Janus v. American Federation of State County and Municipal Employees No 16-1466, which declared the procedure violates the First Amendment and cannot continue. Neither an agency fee nor any other payment to the union may be deducted from a non-members wages, nor may any other attempt be made to collect such a payment, unless the employee affirmatively consents to pay.

Weber says One thing is for sure: public sector unions will have less money in their coffers to support the election of Democrats at all levels of government. In addition, unions such as the all-powerful teachers unions may find it harder to recruit and keep members. The incentive to join or remain in a union is weakened If a worker can benefit from a union's activities, such as collective bargaining, without having to pay the union.

Attorney Neuberger says the Janus decision reinforces a right guaranteed by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, that people should be able to decide which organizations they want to join (and fund) and which they don't.

The blowback from the unions  the teachers unions, in particular  was fast and furious. That was to be expected. But, some individual teachers applauded the Supreme Court action.

Madeline Will, who writes for Education Week, reported in her online Blog, Teacher Beat, that Ryan Yohn, an 8th grade U.S. history teacher in Westminster, Calif., said the ruling felt like a 14-year-old dark cloud that's been over my head has lifted. Yohn, along with other teachers, filed an amicus brief in the Janus case arguing that he shouldn't be forced to pay union dues to an entity he doesn't support Every worker in America should at least be comforted. They have an option now, they have an out, and that means the unions will have to be more accountable [to them].

Weber reports that there is evidence the most powerful teachers union, the National Education Association, which is considered to be the largest labor union in the U.S., is expected to be a big loser as a result of the Janus decision. The NEA might lose some 300,000 or more members and the ruling might cost the union $50 million or more.
Imperial Valley News Center

Governor Brown Lowers Capitol Flags in Honor of Fallen Firefighters

Sacramento, California - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. has ordered Capitol flags to be flown at half-staff in honor of two firefighters who died while working on the Carr Fire in Shasta County  Redding Fire Prevention Inspector Jeremiah "Jeremy" Stoke and a bulldozer operator whose name has not been released.

Anne and I were devastated to learn about the deaths of these two heroes who lost their lives while protecting their fellow Californians, said Governor Brown. We honor them and all the first responders who are working day and night to protect life and property as wildfires continue to burn across the state.

Fire Inspector Stoke, 37, of Redding, died while working to ensure the residents of west Redding had a chance to escape the flames. He began his firefighting career 17 years ago and was a 14-year veteran of the City of Redding Fire Department. Fire Inspector Stoke is survived by his wife, Alyson, thirteen-year-old son, Caleb and nine-year-old daughter, Aubrey.

Capitol flags will be lowered for 72 hours in honor of both men.

Governor Brown also announced today that the President and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) granted Californias request for a Presidential Emergency Declaration for Direct Federal Assistance to further support the communities impacted by the Carr Fire in Shasta County.

This federal assistance includes air assets to mitigate the impacts of this fire, shelter supplies and water for evacuated residents, and support with mass care, ambulatory transport and the evacuation of individuals with access and functional needs as well as large animals. This aid will help save lives, and protect property, public health and safety.

The Carr Fire broke out in Shasta County earlier this week during exceptionally dangerous fire weather conditions, including extremely hot temperatures, low humidity and erratic winds. These conditions have caused the Carr Fire to grow uncontrollably, causing widespread destruction and at least two fatalities.

On Thursday, Governor Brown declared a state of emergency in Shasta County and deployed California National Guard assets to bolster the states response to the fires and support local evacuations. The Governors Office of Emergency Services has also activated the State Operations Center in Mather, California to its highest level and is coordinating with other local, state and federal emergency response officials to address emergency management needs.

To date, the Carr Fire has burned more than 80,906 acres and is only 5 percent contained. The fire has forced approximately 38,000 residents to evacuate their homes.

This week, the Governor has also issued emergency proclamations for other fires burning in Riverside and Mariposa counties. Last year was the most destructive wildfire season in state history.
The Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce (ABCC) revealed that $518 million worth of fertilisers were exported by the Arab region to Brazil during the first six months of 2018.



According to ABCC, the high quantity of fertilisers exported from the Arab region into Brazil demonstrated the strong ties maintained by countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Egypt among others.



Kuwait exported $58.64 million worth of fertilisers to Brazil, Saudi Arabia $48.13 million, while UAE exported $42.87 million. Egypt achieved $32.53 million and Bahrain posted $24.88 million, said a statement from the chamber.



The vibrant export activity also reflects Brazil's keenness towards working closely with countries within the Arab region, it added.



Michel Alaby, secretary general and chief executive officer, ABCC, said: We are proud to announce that the Arab world exported a total of $518 million worth of fertilisers to Brazil.



Most Arab countries performed excellently during the first six months of 2018. Brazil continues to express its commitment towards working closely with countries in the Arab world in order to help increase mutual trade across all markets, including fertilisers, he concluded.  TradeArabia News Service
U.S. Department of State Awards U.S. ASPIRE Prize to Personalized Medicine Scientist

Washington, DC - The U.S. Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Science Prize for Innovation, Research, and Education (ASPIRE) Competition named Dr. Kara Spiller of Drexel University as the 2018 U.S. nominee to represent the United States for the APEC-wide ASPIRE Prize.

ASPIRE is an annual award hosted by the APEC Policy Partnership for Science, Technology, and Innovation (PPSTI) that recognizes young scientists from APEC economies who have demonstrated a commitment to both excellence in scientific research, as evidenced by scholarly publication, and cooperation with scientists from other APEC member economies. ASPIRE, as well as the competition for the U.S. ASPIRE nominee, is co-sponsored by Wiley and Elsevier, publishers of scholarly scientific knowledge and coordinated by the U.S. Department of State. The winner of the APEC-wide competition will receive a cash prize of $25,000 and will be announced at the August meeting of PPSTI in Papua New Guinea.

An emerging leader in immune engineering and personalized medicine, Dr. Spiller was selected because of her innovative research on the design of smart biomaterials that can control the behavior of innate immune cells to promote tissue repair and wound healing. She developed a point-of-care diagnostic to tailor optimal treatment for patients based on the state of their immune system, depending on factors such as age, genetics, and nutrition. Her work has been published in journals including Biomaterials, Journal of Investigative Dermatology, Blood, Immunobiology, and the Journal of Neuroscience.

While only one nominee can be put forward from the United States to compete for the broader ASPIRE prize, the U.S. nominee and three runner-ups will be celebrated at a public lecture roundtable with government officials, and a U.S. award ceremony in Washington, DC, later this year. Runners-up for the 2018 U.S. ASPIRE prize include:

Dr. Jordan Green, Associate Professor at Johns Hopkins University, a world leader in gene therapy and the use of biodegradable particles to teach the immune system to recognize cancer cells.

Dr. Manu Prakash, Assistant Professor of Bioengineering at Stanford University, is a designer of novel techniques to deliver health solutions in the worlds most resource poor conditions.

Dr. Jorge M. Zuniga, Assistant Professor of Biomechanics at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, is the creator of the first open source 3D printed hand prosthesis for children in the United States named Cyborg Beast.
Sixth U.S.-Japan Cyber Dialogue

Washington, DC - The sixth United States-Japan Cyber Dialogue was held in Washington, D.C. on July 26th. Through this dialogue, the United States and Japan affirmed the strength of our alliance partnership and our shared values, which remain the cornerstone of peace, prosperity, and freedom in the Indo-Pacific region. The United States and Japan share a common commitment to ensure an open, interoperable, reliable, and secure cyberspace and confront emerging cyber challenges.

The United States and Japan reinforced mutual understandings on a wide range of cyber issues, including our shared commitment to deter cyber adversaries and malicious cyber activities, to protect the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure, to enhance information sharing, to improve military-to-military cyber cooperation, and to address international security issues in cyberspace. The United States and Japan also reaffirmed their shared commitment to cooperate on cyber issues in relevant multilateral venues, including the United Nations and the ASEAN Regional Forum.

Mr. Robert Strayer, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Cyber and International Communications and Information Policy at the Department of State, led the U.S. delegation that included representatives from the National Security Council, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Commerce, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the Department of Defense. Mr. Masato Otaka, Japans Ambassador in charge of Cyber Policy and Deputy Director-General of Foreign Policy Bureau, led Japans interagency delegation, which also included representatives from Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Security Secretariat, National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity, Cabinet Intelligence and Research Office, National Police Agency, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Public Security Intelligence Agency, and Ministry of Defense.
Notice Regarding the Continuation of the National Emergency with Respect to Lebanon

Washington, DC - On August 1, 2007, by Executive Order 13441, the President declared a national emergency with respect to Lebanon pursuant to the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701-1706) to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States constituted by the actions of certain persons to undermine Lebanons legitimate and democratically elected government or democratic institutions; to contribute to the deliberate breakdown in the rule of law in Lebanon, including through politically motivated violence and intimidation; to reassert Syrian control or contribute to Syrian interference in Lebanon; or to infringe upon or undermine Lebanese sovereignty. Such actions contribute to political and economic instability in that country and the region.

Certain ongoing activities, such as Irans continuing arms transfers to Hizballah  which include increasingly sophisticated weapons systems  serve to undermine Lebanese sovereignty, contribute to political and economic instability in the region, and continue to constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security and foreign policy of the United States. For this reason, the national emergency declared on August 1, 2007, and the measures adopted on that date to deal with that emergency, must continue in effect beyond August 1, 2018. Therefore, in accordance with section 202(d) of the National Emergencies Act (50 U.S.C. 1622(d)), I am continuing for 1 year the national emergency with respect to Lebanon declared in Executive Order 13441.

This notice shall be published in the Federal Register and transmitted to the Congress.

DONALD J. TRUMP

THE WHITE HOUSE,

July 27, 2018.
Vanuatu National Day

Washington, DC - Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo: "On behalf of the United States of America, I extend my warmest congratulations to the people of Vanuatu in celebration of your National Day on July 30th.

"The United States and Vanuatu enjoy a close friendship based on our shared values and partnership. We commend your strong commitment to promoting financial transparency. We also celebrate the growing number of cross-cultural exchanges between our countries, and would like to thank you for welcoming over 70 Peace Corps volunteers to your shores this past year. We look forward to expanding our cooperation with Vanuatu in the years to come."
All You Need to Know About Squalene, Which Controls Cholesterol Levels in Your Body
As much as Americans complain about Spirit and Allegiant--and even major carriers like United Airlines and American Airilnes--there's an airline in Europe that puts the nickel-and-diming here to shame.

It's Ryanair, the ultra low cost European carrier. And it's facing some difficult times lately.

First off, the airline is going through the biggest strike in its 34 year history, and has had to cancel hundreds of flights.

Second, it's announced that it's eliminating hundreds of jobs, which it in turn blames on the labor strife. (And its rivals are now reportedly recruiting its pilots and flight attendants.)

And third, it's facing a potential liability estimated in the millions by one company, due to a formerly obscure European law that provides recompense for travelers whose flights are delayed.

According to AirHelp, which helps passengers file claims for delayed flights in the European Union, eight days of strikes on Ryanair have resulted in as many as 120,000 passengers who could have claims totaling $39 million.

That's a lot of money. The airline's defense is that the strike qualifies as an "extraordinary occurrence" under European law.

Perhaps not surprisingly, AirHelp says it's not, and that the law applies.

I have no idea who is right. But regular readers will remember that I also had no idea about this European law, EC 261, until it was literally one day too late for me to file a claim.

In 2015, my wife and I were delayed 11 hours on a United flight from Rome to Newark. The deadline for filing a claim is three years. I literally saw a Facebook ad explaining the whole thing three years and one day after our flight.

The total liability we would have had a legitimate claim for? A not-to-be-sneezed-at $1,400.

Of course it was my own fault for not reading my colleague Chris Matyszczyk's very helpful and informative article about the whole thing a few months earlier.

That said, you don't have this excuse. If you were delayed on one of those Ryanair flights--or, and this is important, literally any European flight in the last three years--why not dig up the details?

The fine print on this is that if you're an airline passenger in Europe, and you've been affected by a delay, "airlines must provide [you] with compensation of up to $700 each, in addition to meals and drinks for all delays of more than two hours."

Except for that whole thing about "extraordinary experiences."

By the way I asked Ryanair for their take on all of this. I'm still waiting, and it's been a few days now.
Since his release of The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries in 1957, Ingmar Bergman has been one of the leading figures in international cinema.

In a career that spanned 60 years, he wrote, produced, and directed 50 films that defined how we see ourselves and how we interact with the people we love, through works like Persona, Scenes from a Marriage, and Fanny and Alexander.

Before his death in 2007, Bergman gave Taschen and the Swedish publishing house Max Strom complete access to his archives at the Bergman Foundation as well as permission to reprint his writings and interviews, many of which have never been seen outside of Sweden.

Picture researcher Bengt Wanselius, who was Bergmans photographer for 20 years, scoured photo archives all over Sweden, discovered previously unseen images from Bergmans films, and selected unpublished images from many photographers personal archives.

Charting the directors entire working life in film, The Ingmar Bergman Archives features rare material and film snippets that trace a body of work immersed in the mystery, ecstasy and fullness of life.

The Ingmar Bergman Archives: a homage to the Swedish auteur Show all 9 1 /9 The Ingmar Bergman Archives: a homage to the Swedish auteur The Ingmar Bergman Archives: a homage to the Swedish auteur Summer with Monika (1953) It was too difficult to shoot the interiors inside the boat, so this cut set was rigged. Here Bergman lines up a shot, with his sound assistant maneuvering a fairly basic mike, and cinematographer Gunnar Fischer at extreme right AB Svensk Filmindustri The Ingmar Bergman Archives: a homage to the Swedish auteur Persona (1966) Bergman and Liv Ullmann (as Elisabet Vogler) take a break from filming Persona on the island of Faro in 1966 AB Svensk Filmindustri The Ingmar Bergman Archives: a homage to the Swedish auteur The Devils Eye (1960) Although the car is stationary, the illusion of speed is given by the moving shadows of foliage across the actors faces Lennart Nilsson Photography The Ingmar Bergman Archives: a homage to the Swedish auteur Winter Light (1963) Bergman and Vilgot Sjoman kidding around in the freezing winter of 1961 Lennart Nilsson Photography The Ingmar Bergman Archives: a homage to the Swedish auteur Winter Light (1963) Sven Nykvist behind Bergman as Ingrid Thulin rehearses the scene in the schoolroom. Sven and Ingmar knew each other so well on set that they hardly needed to communicate verbally Lennart Nilsson Photography The Ingmar Bergman Archives: a homage to the Swedish auteur Shame (1968) Bergman rehearses with Liv Ullmann under the watchful eye of continuity expert Katinka Farago Lennart Nilsson Photography The Ingmar Bergman Archives: a homage to the Swedish auteur Fanny and Alexander (1982) On the set of Fanny and Alexander, Bergman shares a bed with Erland Josephson, his friend since the 1940s AB Svensk Filmindustri, Svenska Filminsitutet The Ingmar Bergman Archives: a homage to the Swedish auteur Ingmar Bergman clowning around in the foyer of the Royal Dramatic Theater in 1996 Bengt Wanselius The Ingmar Bergman Archives: a homage to the Swedish auteur The Ingmar Bergman Archives From the archives at the Bergman Foundation comes an homage to the Swedish auteur and consummate explorer of the human condition. This re-edition brings back TASCHENs award-winning publication, produced with many of Ingmar Bergmans close collaborators. Charting the directors entire working life in film, it features rare material and film snippets that trace a body of work immersed in the mystery, ecstasy, and fullness of life.

The editor

Bengt Wanselius was a freelance photojournalist for every major magazine and publishing house in Scandinavia from 1967 to 1985.

He spent 15 years as the house photographer at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, recording the work of internationally well known theatre directors such as Arthur Miller, Andrzej Wajda, Robert Lepage and Ingmar Bergman.

His long collaboration on 20 productions with Bergman ranged from theatre and opera to television, creating a unique photographic documentary of Bergmans works.

You can purchase The Ingmar Bergman Archives published by Taschen online
A new show starring celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay is receiving a backlash before production has even begun.

Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted is set to premiere on the National Geographic channel next year, according to Variety.

A press release explains that Ramsay will explore different cuisines from around the world, attempt to go about discovering the undiscovered, and finally engage in a kitchen competition against the locals: pitting his own interpretations of regional dishes against the tried-and-true classics.

News of the upcoming show prompted a considerable backlash on social media, where people branded the premise as disrespectful and also called out the use of the word uncharted, as though Ramsay was some kind of intrepid explorer for trying cuisine from other countries.

Journalist and author Sathnam Sanghera was among those to call out Ramsay, joking that he would be "eaten alive" if he tried to tell any of Sanghera's Indian aunts how to cook.

Meanwhile American chef, author and restaurateur Eddie Huang said the "last thing the food world needs right now" was Ramsay trying to show "locals he can cook their cuisines better than they can".

Other critics suggested he was attempting to emulate the work of the late, beloved food writer and chef Anthony Bourdain, who starred in several programmes where he showed a respectful curiosity about international cuisine, culture and tradition.

Anthony Bourdain: Celebrity chef in pictures Show all 8 1 /8 Anthony Bourdain: Celebrity chef in pictures Anthony Bourdain: Celebrity chef in pictures The 2017 New Yorker Festival - Anthony Bourdain Talks With Patrick Radden Keefe Getty Anthony Bourdain: Celebrity chef in pictures Anthony Bourdain with Nigella Lawson and Ludo Lefebvre in Channel 4's 'The Taste' Channel 4 Television Anthony Bourdain: Celebrity chef in pictures Anthony Bourdain winning Outstanding Informational Series Or Special at the 2016 Creative Arts Emmy Awards Getty Anthony Bourdain: Celebrity chef in pictures Bourdain's no-holds-barred account of life in American kitchens is both a memoir and an insider's guide to the tricks of the trade. Anthony Bourdain: Celebrity chef in pictures Chefs Anthony Bourdain (L) and Mario Batali take a selfie Chefs Anthony Bourdain (L) and Mario Batali take a selfie Getty Anthony Bourdain: Celebrity chef in pictures Bourdain and Danny Bowien at 'The Mind Of A Chef' Premiere Launch Party Getty Anthony Bourdain: Celebrity chef in pictures Anthony Bourdain atThe 53rd annual Clio Awards Anthony Bourdain ( Honorary Clio Award) The 53rd annual Clio Awards Alamy Anthony Bourdain: Celebrity chef in pictures Anthony Bourdain and Joel Rose return for the follow up to their bestseller Get Jiro! Anthony Bourdain, and Joel Rose (Kill The Poor) return for the follow-up to their #1 New York Times bestseller Get Jiro! Alamy

White British and American chefs often come under fire for lacking sensitivity or proper knowledge when presenting international cuisine to their TV audience.

In a recent episode of Masterchef, co-host Gregg Wallace received a huge backlash after attempting to tell a Malaysian contestant how she should have cooked traditional dish from her own country.

Following the negative online reaction to Ramsay's upcoming show, a National Geographic spokesperson issued a statement which said: We are disappointed that the announcement of our upcoming series with Gordon Ramsay was taken out of context.

With National Geographics storied history of exploration, our plan with this series is to celebrate and learn about local cultures around the world. In partnering with Ramsay  a well-known adventure enthusiast  we are going to fully immerse viewers and give them a glimpse into surprising and unexpected cultures and local flavours.

We have not gone into production on the series yet, so this perspective is premature. Were looking forward to working with Ramsay, whos been making food and travel documentaries for well over a decade, to share the series when it premieres sometime next year.

Production is scheduled to begin this fall, and an official premiere date has not been announced. When it comes to air, Uncharted will broadcast in in 171 countries.
The deadline for submission Seatrade Maritime Awards 2018 has been extended to July 30 from the previous July 20 to give organisations ample time to prepare their entries as well as accommodate increasing interest by many companies, said a top official.



Additionally, guests who want to support and cheer on their nominees are entitled to a free entry to the awarding ceremony so we invite them to come to the event, added Chris Hayman, chairman of Seatrade.



Meanwhile, the judging panel for this years Seatrade Maritime Awards Middle East, Indian Subcontinent & Africa has been unveiled  adding even more gravitas to the high level awards, which are held under the patronage of Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, chairman of Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation and Chairman of the Dubai Maritime City Authority and as part of UAE Maritime Week.



The calibre of this years judges attests to our unwavering commitment to the highest standards of excellence and quality. The judges who are experts in their fields will carefully assess and evaluate all entries based on the approved criteria and only the best will be chosen out of the thousands of nominations that are expected to be submitted, said Hayman.



The prestigious judging panel, led by Joe Brincat, former vice president of ABS- Middle East, includes: Shaikh Daij Bin Salman Al Khalifa, chairman, ASRY; Jasamin Fichte, managing partner, Fichte & Co.; Romesh David, CEO, South Asia Gateway Terminals (SAGT); Rene Kofod-Olsen, CEO, Topaz Energy and Marine; Dr. Ahmed Al Abri, CEO, Ports Management & Operation Company (MARAFAI); Capt. Brian Course, senior quality assurance & compliance manager, Bahri Oil Transportation; Fazel Fazelbouy, CEO, Synergy Offshore FZ LLE; and Ashik Subahani, chairman & managing director, Great Waters Maritime LLC (RINA UAE branch) and Nawfal Al Jourani, director, Dubai Maritime Cluster Office at Dubai Maritime City Authority.



The premier Seatrade Maritime Awards, set to take place on October 28 at the Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai, celebrates the15th edition of the largest and longest established awards for the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa regions, showcasing the most outstanding achievements of the regions leading maritime companies and their teams.



Joe Brincat, former vice president of ABS- Middle East, said: When Seatrade extended the invitation to chair this year's judging panel for the third year in a row, I felt more than happy to accept the task again. The awards prove to be very significant for the industry, especially to the Middle East, Indian Subcontinent and Africa maritime segments  giving recognition to innovative and advanced businesses that will lead the industry to more growth and progress.



I would like to call on companies in the regional maritime industry to take part in this year's awards. What makes this year's awards more exciting is that the panel of judges represents a key competitive differentiator and one that is only awarded on merit. Companies joining the awards should keep their entries clear, concise and accompanied with all the proof needed to substantiate their claims. Good luck to everyone joining, he added.



The Seatrade Maritime Awards covers all areas of the maritime and shipping industries. It is the must-attend maritime awards event of the year, bringing together hundreds of key maritime industry leaders and government officials from different parts of the region.  TradeArabia News Service
American brand Reformations vintage-inspired tea dresses and pretty blouses have earnt themselves an enviable celebrity client list, which includes Rihanna, Leandra Medine and Taylor Swift, but until now theyve only been available on its website and at its stateside stores.

Thats right, everyones favourite sustainable and super-cool LA brand is finally making its way to the UK.

Joining forces with London-based boutique Browns, Reformation has created the ultimate summer collection curated from its most coveted styles.

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Consisting of 27 must-have pieces, the collection will include a stunning edit of bridal, denim, swim and high summer items but thats not all.

Reformation has also created three brand new styles which customers can buy exclusively at Browns.

Reformation continues to be the leader in its field and their approach to sustainability is admirable so we couldnt be more pumped to bring a selection of the best from Reformation to Browns this summer, says Browns womenswear buying director, Ida Petersson.

This will be the first time their swimwear hits the shores of Europe and we even have a few special pieces which have been created exclusively for Browns to celebrate the partnership.

Reformation has designed three new styles exclusively for Browns

Founded in 2009 by former model Yael Aflalo, following a debate over fashions footprint, much of the brands allure is its ethical standpoint.

In a bid to minimise the environmental impact of its fashion production, Reformation commits to doing everything as sustainably as possible, meaning that all of its pieces are made from eco fabrics like Tencel, deadstock materials and repurposed vintage clothing.

Speaking of the new launch, Aflalo adds: After Reformations pop-up debut in London in 2016, were so excited to return to the UK. As big fans of Browns and their legacy as a cutting-edge retailer, were thrilled to be part of their roster of iconic brands.

We cant wait to introduce the Browns customer to Reformation with our key summer styles for all occasions, and a few exclusive items made just for Browns.

Reformation will be available at Browns East and at Brownsfashion.com. Prices range from 110 to 480.
An elderly black woman says she was left "humiliated" after being accused of forgery by staff at the Florida branch of a major US bank.

Barbara Carroll, who holds a doctorate in criminal justice and worked as an assistant bank manager for 17 years, last week filed a lawsuit against Wells Fargo alleging racial discrimination.

Dr Carroll says that in November 2017 she went to a Wells Fargo in Fort Lauderdale to cash a $140 (106) cheque.

Dr Carroll was asked by a clerk to present two forms of identification, which the bank  America's third-largest  says is a standard company policy for non-customers.

After endorsing the cheque with a signature and a fingerprint, the clerk, who was white, turned her back and flipped over the passport and drivers license to look at them.

When her identification had not been returned after half an hour, Dr Carroll went to the counter to ask about the delay.

Frustrated with the wait, she asked the clerk to return her identification and check. The clerk refused and fetched the manager, who also refused Ms Carroll's request.

The two employees then informed her that they had called the police, refusing to explain why they had done so.

Following another 30-minute wait, Dr Carroll told the teller to keep the check and give back her passport and ID, according to the legal complaint filed by Dr Carroll.

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The teller refused once more and would not say when the police would arrive, Dr Carroll said.

While standing in front of the teller, Dr Carroll called 911, and officers came within minutes, according to the complaint.

After she provided the police with six additional forms of identification, Carroll said, the officers told the manager they had found no irregularities.

The manager, who Dr Carroll said had previously verified the validity of the check with its writer, placed the cash alongside her identifications on the counter and left.

That was really insulting to me, Dr Carroll said. She did not apologise.

Activists Protest Racism And Hate In Brooklyn Show all 15 1 /15 Activists Protest Racism And Hate In Brooklyn Activists Protest Racism And Hate In Brooklyn NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 20: People participate in an anti-hate rally at a Brooklyn park named in memory of Beastie Boys band member Adam Yauch after it was defaced with swastikas on November 20, 2016 in New York City. On Friday, the park and playground was spray painted with swastikas and the message "Go Trump". Hundreds of people, many with their children, listened to community leaders and Beastie Boys member Adam Horovitz condemn racism and intolerance. Following the election of Donald Trump as president, there has been a surge of incidents of racist activities reported. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Getty Images Activists Protest Racism And Hate In Brooklyn NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 20: People participate in an anti-hate rally at a Brooklyn park named in memory of Beastie Boys band member Adam Yauch after it was defaced with swastikas on November 20, 2016 in New York City. On Friday, the park and playground was spray painted with swastikas and the message "Go Trump". Hundreds of people, many with their children, listened to community leaders and Beastie Boys member Adam Horovitz condemn racism and intolerance. Following the election of Donald Trump as president, there has been a surge of incidents of racist activities reported. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Getty Images Activists Protest Racism And Hate In Brooklyn NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 20: People participate in an anti-hate rally at a Brooklyn park named in memory of Beastie Boys band member Adam Yauch after it was defaced with swastikas on November 20, 2016 in New York City. On Friday, the park and playground was spray painted with swastikas and the message "Go Trump". Hundreds of people, many with their children, listened to community leaders and Beastie Boys member Adam Horovitz condemn racism and intolerance. Following the election of Donald Trump as president, there has been a surge of incidents of racist activities reported. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Getty Images Activists Protest Racism And Hate In Brooklyn NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 20: People participate in an anti-hate rally at a Brooklyn park named in memory of Beastie Boys band member Adam Yauch after it was defaced with swastikas on November 20, 2016 in New York City. On Friday, the park and playground was spray painted with swastikas and the message "Go Trump". Hundreds of people, many with their children, listened to community leaders and Beastie Boys member Adam Horovitz condemn racism and intolerance. Following the election of Donald Trump as president, there has been a surge of incidents of racist activities reported. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Getty Images Activists Protest Racism And Hate In Brooklyn NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 20: Children play on playground equipment that was defaced with swastikas during an anti-hate rally at a Brooklyn park named in memory of Beastie Boys band member Adam Yauch on November 20, 2016 in New York City. On Friday, the park and playground was spray painted with swastikas and the message AGo Trump.A Hundreds of people, many with their children, listened to community leaders and Beastie Boys member Adam Horovitz condemn racism and intolerance. Following the election of Donald Trump as president, there has been a surge of incidents of racist activities reported. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Getty Images Activists Protest Racism And Hate In Brooklyn NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 20: Beastie Boys member Adam Horovitz speaks at a anti-hate rally at a Brooklyn park named in memory of Beastie Boys band member Adam Yauch after it was defaced with swastikas on November 20, 2016 in New York City. On Friday, the park and playground was spray painted with swastikas and the message AGo Trump.A Hundreds of people, many with their children, listened to community leaders and condemn racism and intolerance. Following the election of Donald Trump as president, there has been a surge of incidents of racist activities reported. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Getty Images Activists Protest Racism And Hate In Brooklyn NEW YORK, NY - NOVEMBER 20: A piece of playground equipment that was defaced with swastikas stands during an anti-hate rally at a Brooklyn park named in memory of Beastie Boys band member Adam Yauch on November 20, 2016 in New York City. On Friday, the park and playground was spray painted with swastikas and the message AGo Trump.A Hundreds of people, many with their children, listened to community leaders and Beastie Boys member Adam Horovitz condemn racism and intolerance. Following the election of Donald Trump as president, there has been a surge of incidents of racist activities reported. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images) Getty Images Activists Protest Racism And Hate In Brooklyn A woamn takes a photo of messages and flowers left at a playground before a protest against racism and hate after swastikas were found in Adam Yauch Park in Brooklyn, New York on November 20, 2016. / AFP / ANGELA WEISS (Photo credit should read ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images Activists Protest Racism And Hate In Brooklyn Activists protest racism and hate after swastikas were found in Adam Yauch Park in Brooklyn, New York on November 20, 2016. / AFP / ANGELA WEISS (Photo credit should read ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images Activists Protest Racism And Hate In Brooklyn Activists protest racism and hate after swastikas were found in Adam Yauch Park in Brooklyn, New York on November 20, 2016. / AFP / ANGELA WEISS (Photo credit should read ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images Activists Protest Racism And Hate In Brooklyn Activists protest racism and hate after swastikas were found in Adam Yauch Park in Brooklyn, New York on November 20, 2016. / AFP / ANGELA WEISS (Photo credit should read ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images Activists Protest Racism And Hate In Brooklyn New York State Senator Daniel Squadron speaks as activists protest racism and hate after swastikas found in Adam Yauch Park in Brooklyn, New York on November 20, 2016. The two remaining members of the Beastie Boys called for an anti-hate rally at the park in memory of band member Adam Yauch after it was defaced with swastikas. / AFP / ANGELA WEISS (Photo credit should read ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images Activists Protest Racism And Hate In Brooklyn Flowers left by activists at the entrance to Adam Yauch Park in Brooklyn, New York on November 20, 2016 after swastikas were found in the park. The two remaining members of the Beastie Boys called for an anti-hate rally at the park in memory of band member Adam Yauch after it was defaced with swastikas. / AFP / ANGELA WEISS (Photo credit should read ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images Activists Protest Racism And Hate In Brooklyn Messages and flowers left by activists at a playground protesting racism and hate after swastikas were found in Adam Yauch Park in Brooklyn, New York on November 20, 2016. The two remaining members of the Beastie Boys called for an anti-hate rally at the park in memory of band member Adam Yauch after it was defaced with swastikas. / AFP / ANGELA WEISS (Photo credit should read ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images Activists Protest Racism And Hate In Brooklyn Activists protest Racism and Hate after swastikas found in Adam Yauch Park in Brooklyn, New York on November 20, 2016. The two remaining members of the Beastie Boys called for an anti-hate rally at the park in memory of band member Adam Yauch after it was defaced with swastikas. / AFP / ANGELA WEISS (Photo credit should read ANGELA WEISS/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images

Ms Carroll told The Post she was disturbed by the experience. As a former banker, she said, she thought the managers behaviour was irregular and inappropriate.

Wells Fargo has reportedly apologised and placed the two workers in sensitivity training.

A Wells Fargo spokeswoman, Michelle Palomino, told The Washington Post that the bank is investigating Carrolls claim. Wells Fargo opposes discrimination of any kind, Ms Palomino said. We take Dr Carrolls allegations very seriously.

I was humiliated, said Ms Carroll, who said she thinks this happened because she is black. Im a human being, and I wasnt treated as I should have been.

Dr Carroll is seeking an unspecified amount of money, according to the complaint. She requested a jury to decide how much to award.

Its not really a case about damages, Dr Carrolls attorney, Yechezkel Rodal, told The Post. Its more to raise awareness and hold Wells Fargo accountable.

The Washington Post
The boyfriend of Miss Honduras sister has confessed to killing her and the 19-year-old beauty queen, a leading police officer has said.

Two bodies believed to be of Maria Jose Alvarado, who was due to compete in the Miss World Pageant in London in December, and her sister, Sofia, 23, were found buried on a river bank in mountains near Santa Barbara in Honduras on Wednesday.

Police General Ramon Sabillion told the Associated Press that Sofias boyfriend, Plutarco Ruiz, had admitted shooting the two women dead and taken officers to the burial site. A second man was also in custody.

Ruiz and the two sisters had gone to La Aguagua spa on Thursday last week to celebrate his birthday.

General Sabillon said Ruiz apparently shot Sofia after they argued because she had been dancing with another man. He then shot Maria Jose as she tried to run away, hitting her at least twice in the back.

The sisters were officially classed as missing for six days until the discovery of their bodies. The identities were still to be formally confirmed.



Their mother, Teresa Munoz, told Televicentro: They were not very astute about assessing the people around them. They were just friendly. They were taken out by people they hadn't known very long.

She added that Ruiz had called her the morning after their disappearance, acting nervously and claiming the women had left the party in a car with some other people.

Ms Alvarado had worked as a model on the TV game show El Show X O da Dinero, run by former presidential candidate Salvador Nasrallah.

A lot of girls die this way, but because they're not famous, it doesn't get the attention and the crimes go unpunished, he told the Associated Press. She was a girl of good principles who fell into a trap, a game with guns, and ended up a victim of a violent system.

Forensic workers remove a body in the village of Cablotales, near Snata Barbara, Honduras (AP)

Julia Morley, chairman of the Miss World Organisation, told Reuters that the pageant was devastated by this terrible loss of two young women who were so full of life.

The group said it would hold a service with the Miss World contestants on Sunday to honour the two women.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report
The UK's charity watchdog is demanding an explanation from a leading social justice charity after claims it gave 275,000 to an organisation linked to a banned Irish republican group.

The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust gave 149,915 to Teach Na Failte in November 2014, and another payment of 125,000 in March last year.

According to the Times, the organisation is linked to the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), a paramilitary splinter group responsible for some of the most infamous attacks of the Troubles, including the killing of Conservative MP Airey Neave in 1979.

Michelle Russell, director of investigations and enforcement for the Charities Commission, said: "Our guidance makes clear that charities need to take steps to carry out appropriate due diligence on organisations applying for grants, must ensure grants are only for activities and outcomes that further the charity's purposes and decisions made are in charity's best interests.

"Charities should be able to explain and justify their funding decisions. We have asked the charity to do this."

The commission added that it would "not hesitate" to take action if needed.

It previously stepped in to urge the Rowntree trust  which is in no way connected with the Joseph Rowntree Foundation  to stop funding the controversial advocacy group Cage following a public outcry over Islamic State killer "Jihadi John" in 2015.

 Security minister Ben Wallace: two Isis terrorists would 'roam around UK' if government did not share intelligence with US

Cage's then research director Asim Qureshi claimed the executioner  widely identified as London student Mohammed Emwazi  was an "extremely kind" and "extremely gentle" man.

The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust said it has worked to end violence in Northern Ireland for more than 40 years and funds groups "transitioning from violence in loyalist and republican communities".

The organisation insisted it "has no relationship with any armed groups or proscribed organisations, including the INLA".

A statement said: "Teach na Failte is recognised by HMRC as a charitable body. It provides a range of peace-building community initiatives including support for INLA ex-prisoners and their families.

"Teach na Failte has been a key player in the INLA ceasefire and decommissioning process.

Gerry Adams calls for talks to resolve tensions Show all 17 1 /17 Gerry Adams calls for talks to resolve tensions Gerry Adams calls for talks to resolve tensions 215661.bin Reuters Gerry Adams calls for talks to resolve tensions 215681.bin Reuters Gerry Adams calls for talks to resolve tensions 215682.bin AP Gerry Adams calls for talks to resolve tensions 215701.bin AP Gerry Adams calls for talks to resolve tensions 215721.bin AP Gerry Adams calls for talks to resolve tensions 215741.bin AP Gerry Adams calls for talks to resolve tensions 216024.bin REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton Gerry Adams calls for talks to resolve tensions 216021.bin REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton Gerry Adams calls for talks to resolve tensions 216023.bin REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton Gerry Adams calls for talks to resolve tensions 216001.bin REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton Gerry Adams calls for talks to resolve tensions 215921.bin REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton Gerry Adams calls for talks to resolve tensions 215982.bin REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton Gerry Adams calls for talks to resolve tensions 215961.bin REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton Gerry Adams calls for talks to resolve tensions 215923.bin REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton Gerry Adams calls for talks to resolve tensions 215943.bin Gerry Adams calls for talks to resolve tensions 215942.bin REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton Gerry Adams calls for talks to resolve tensions 215941.bin REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

"It has been recognised for its positive contribution to peace-building and the re-integration of former prisoners in Northern Ireland.

"INLA declared their armed struggle over in October 2009 and publicly confirmed they had decommissioned their weapons in February 2010.

"In November 2014 JRCT awarded a grant of 149,915 specifically for the 'Transition Initiative' project.

"In March 2017 the trust awarded a further grant of 125,000 to Teach na Failte to continue this work.

"This grant was for the 'Transitional Initiative' project to support peace-building, dialogue and conflict transformation strategies in the Bellaghy and Strabane area.

"We are content with the progress being made by the project which is subject to strict monitoring processes by the trust.

"Teach na Failte in Bellaghy and Strabane are undertaking important transitional peace-building work and have recently begun a new collaborative project funded under the EU's Peace IV funding stream."

Press Association
Having served faithfully in peace and war, they have become probably Britains three favourite breeds of working horse.

Now, however, the Shire Horse, Suffolk Punch, and Clydesdale are in danger of becoming extinct in the UK.

The Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST), a charity dedicated to the conservation of farm animals, has warned that unless urgent action is taken, all three varieties of working horse could disappear from the British landscape within ten years.

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This is despite them having been numbered in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, at the start of the 20th Century, and despite them having been a feature of British life since the Middle Ages.

The RBST has now launched a Heavy Horse Appeal fundraising campaign to ensure the survival of the Shire Horse, Suffolk Punch, and Clydesdale, and warned: Numbers are worryingly low: just 240 Shire, 199 Clydesdale and 25 Suffolk pedigree foals were registered last year.

Unless urgent action is taken, three breeds of the UKs rarest horses could become extinct in the next 10 years.

Calling the horses working class heroes, the charity added: The UKs Shire, Clydesdale and Suffolk horses have all played crucial roles in agriculture, transport and war in the UK and across the world.

Heavy horses tirelessly worked the land, transported war supplies and even pulled carriages for the royal family.

These breeds of horse reflect human developments and accomplishments across centuries. Our use of horses throughout history alone dictates that they are just as worthy of conservation as any other breed, landscape, stately home or historic monument.

The low numbers of the three working horse breeds today contrasts with previous centuries when they were an everyday sight all over Britain.

The RBST estimated that there were 2.6m heavy horses working in agriculture and trade at the start of the 20th Century, many of them Suffolk Punches, Clydesdales or Shire Horses.

Heavy horses like this Clydesdale, Dandy, seen here with logger Graham Gilmour, have been described as 'working class heroes' (PA Archive/PA Images)

The gentle giants, which can stand 17 hands (1.73m, 5ft 8in tall) and in the case of some Clydesdales reach 18 hands (1.83m, 6ft), were used not just in the fields, but also, after the industrial revolution, for towing barges along canals and omnibuses and trams along streets.

Londons rubbish collection alone came to require the use of 1,500 horses, and in 1893 it was estimated that the capitals brewers were using a further 3,000 animals. Many of them were Shire Horses: when the breed society was created in 1878, its stated aims were to promote the Old English Breed of Cart Horse.

Then, when the First World War broke out in 1914, they were sent to the Western Front to haul gun carriages and transport supplies.

Soldiers and horses wearing gas masks during a German mustard gas attack in the First World War (Rex)

Along with the soldiers, they faced the horrors of the Somme and Passchendaele, the bond between men and horses inspiring Michael Morpurgos 1982 novel War Horse, which was turned into a National Theatre play and a Steven Spielberg film.

The breeds role as war horses can also be traced to more distant centuries. The Shire Horse Society has noted that when knights started wearing heavy suits or armour, they needed steeds strong enough to carry them into battle.

Hence the development of the Great Horse, via the importation of heavier animals from Holland, Germany and Flanders to beef up the native British breeds whose lighter physiques were more like those of New Forest ponies.

First night: War Horse, Odeon Leicester Square, London Show all 10 1 /10 First night: War Horse, Odeon Leicester Square, London First night: War Horse, Odeon Leicester Square, London Pg-5-exercise-afp.jpg AFP First night: War Horse, Odeon Leicester Square, London Jeremy-Irvine.jpg Getty Images First night: War Horse, Odeon Leicester Square, London Spielberg.jpg Getty Images First night: War Horse, Odeon Leicester Square, London Horse.jpg Getty Images First night: War Horse, Odeon Leicester Square, London Michael-Morpurgo.jpg Getty First night: War Horse, Odeon Leicester Square, London Richard-Curtis.jpg Getty Images First night: War Horse, Odeon Leicester Square, London Cumberpatch.jpg Getty Images First night: War Horse, Odeon Leicester Square, London Emily-Watson.jpg Getty Images First night: War Horse, Odeon Leicester Square, London Royals.jpg Getty Images First night: War Horse, Odeon Leicester Square, London Pg-5-exercise2.jpg

It was soon noticed that their strength and placid temperament made them useful in peace, as well as war. They were adjudged faster and more intelligent than oxen, and frequently replaced them as beasts of burden for jobs like ploughing.

The claim of Britains heavy horses to be working class heroes was also championed by the author George Orwell, who wrote of being profoundly affected by the sight of a little boy, perhaps ten years old, driving a huge cart horse, whipping it whenever it tried to turn.

It struck me, Orwell added, That if only such animals became aware of their strength we should have no power over them, and that men exploit animals in much the same way as the rich exploit the proletariat.

Duly inspired, he wrote Animal Farm, his novel satirising Stalinist Communism, with Boxer the cart horse representing the noble, strong and betrayed working classes.

But Orwell, writing in the 1940s, was witnessing the last great age of the British working horse. During the years of the Second World War, about 6,000 Suffolk Punches were registered.

Today the RBST estimates the number of viable breeding females in the UK to be just 80.

An increasingly rare sight: a five-day-old Suffolk Punch stands beside its mother. There are now thought to be only 80 viable breeding female Suffolk Punches in the UK (PA Archive/PA Images)

There have been similar declines in the numbers of Shire Horses, and of Clydesdales, a breed which at its peak around the start of the 20th Century accounted for most of Scotlands 140,000 farm horses.

Mechanisation, especially in the form of the tractor, took away much of the horses economic raison detre.

Affection for the animals themselves, however, remained undimmed.

The Clydesdale is considered the pride of Scotland. The Suffolk Punch is regarded as an integral part of the countys identity and history  (to the extent that the official breed standard still refers to the Suffolk horses colour as chesnut, sticking to the old-style spelling and refusing to add an extra t).

But despite such pride  and the RBSTs insistence they still have useful jobs to do in policing, commercial logging and equine therapy  the heavy horses are off-puttingly expensive to feed and breed.

The RBST hopes its fundraising campaign can help counter this problem, while helping the charitys work on initiatives like collecting material that can be stored at the UK National Livestock Gene Bank.

Theoretically, material stored in the gene bank could make it possible to re-create a breed if extinction did occur.

The RBST and its supporters, however, are determined to avoid extinction happening in the first place.

Backing the campaign, The Suffolk Horse Society's Nigel Oakley said: We, as a generation, are custodians of our rare breed heavy horses. We should not let down our grandchildrens children and allow the breeds to become extinct. We are responsible.
The declaration of independence is affixed to the Guildhall building with all the moral force of Martin Luther nailing his 95 Theses to the church door at Wittenberg.

But not the physical force. The Guildhall is Grade I listed, the door in question dates to the 17th century, and modern magistrates take a dim view of criminal damage.

Its more Blu Tacking than nailing, explains the man doing the affixing, Jonathan Cooper, lawyer, thinker, visionary leader of the movement for an Independent City State of Totnes.

Blu Tack does the job just as well as nails.

To the bemusement of a pair of passing American tourists, the declaration remains stuck to the Guildhall door, in the form of the Totnes Oath: We affirm our allegiance to the European Union and promise to abide by and promote the universal values upon which it is based

Thus is revealed the document that will inspire not just an independent city state in what is currently a Devon town, but a veritable reformation of Brexit Britain.

Totnes will become as a city upon a hill (above the River Dart); a shining example to all.

Other city states, says Mr Cooper, will start popping up all over Britain, all declaring independence from the UK, all insisting on their continued membership of the EU  and a second referendum.

What Totnes has started, Plymouth will surely join and London will definitely imitate. Ulverston in Cumbria, says Mr Cooper, has already been in touch suggesting a similar venture and an alliance.

The Totnes Oath on the door of the Guildhall

Although Mr Cooper does also hint that he might not be entirely serious about his bright idea.

He may even be seeking to inject such long-forgotten virtues as levity and wit into all this Brexit chaos and misery.

This reformation, it seems, will be inspired less by the austere seriousness of Martin Luther and more by um Brutus of Troy, the last Duke of Burgundy and Passport to Pimlico.

All of which can and will be explained.

But first, let us pause to acknowledge, as everyone does, that this is a movement that could only be started in Totnes, a town of picturesque streets lined with independent shops, offering plenty of healing crystals but no Costa Coffee. (Local protest kept the brand out of the town in 2012.)

Its been called the capital of New-Age chic, the most eccentric town in Britain, a source of inspiration for artists, writers and therapists, and a cause of rage for at least one visiting rationalist who fulminated against a hotbed of drop-in Tarot and meditation classes, art healing workshops and psycho-spiritual dance sessions.

And let us continue to pause, because the Totnes passports, which shall be issued to all who are willing to swear the Totnes Oath, are still at the printers. Someone spotted an error when they came off the press.

Jonathan Cooper, leader of the movement for an Independent City State of Totnes

This is a pity because Marian and Barry Skeffington have turned up in the hope of becoming the first senior citizens to have their own Totnes passports.

Alerted by an early morning news item on Radio Devon, they hot-footed it to the Guildhall determined to be the first in the queue at the Totnes passport office (which in its current form is more bench than office).

I want mine to have the number one on it, says Barry, a retired hotel general manager. I have such pride in Totnes.

He and Marian are happy to wait. We have time to explain the roles of Brutus of Troy and Passport to Pimlico.

Mr Cooper, 55, invites us to consider the Brutus Stone in nearby Fore Street, and the writings of the monk Geoffrey of Monmouth in the far away 12th century.

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

The greatest European civilisation was, of course, the city state of Troy, he begins.

Brutus, he explains, was the grandson of Aeneas, the Trojan hero forced to flee when his city fell to the perfidious Greeks: The parallels between the Trojan horse and that Brexit battlebus [promising 350m a week for the NHS] should be obvious.

According to Geoffrey of Monmouth, the wanderings of Brutus of Troy took him, after many adventures, to the River Dart, to a land inhabited only by abundant game and a small band of giants.

Here Brutus stepped ashore and declared (while standing on the aforementioned stone): Here I stand and here I rest, and this good town shall be called Totnes.

Brutus and his followers slew the giants, including their leader Gogmagog. And on this now happy shore they created the second Troy that in due course became the nation named Britain, after Brutus.

We are the inheritors of Troy, insists Mr Cooper, and the marvellous thing about the EU is that it adopted our Trojan values (defined in the Totnes Oath as compassion, endeavour, ingenuity, altruism, diligence, daring and a peace-loving commitment to the dignity of all sentient beings).

But now, says Mr Cooper, Britain wishes to depart from Europe and its Trojan values, so to stay true to its roots, Totnes must remain in the EU by declaring its independence from the UK.

And should Theresa Mays government refuse them their independence, the Totnesians will cite the precedent set by the 1949 film Passport to Pimlico, in which a plucky band of Londoners claimed to be in part of Burgundy, as granted by English King Edward IV to Duke Charles The Rash.

There will be issues to resolve, none more vexing than question asked by Conservative district council leader John Tucker: Will there be a soft border with Newton Abbot?

But Totnes is the town that slew the giants Gogmagog and Costa Coffee.

With right, legal precedent and the spirit of British film comedy on their side, declares Mr Cooper, Totnes will become a leading entity within the EU. The City State of Totnes will very quickly become a very prosperous world leader.

How are we doing on the passports? asks Barry hopefully. Any word on the passports?

Theyre still at the printers.

In the Independent City State of Totnes, explains Mr Cooper, everyone will be listened to, not just the 37 per cent of the electorate who voted Leave (as opposed to backing Remain or abstaining).

The towns castle, adds his partner Kevin Childs, an art history lecturer, has the perfect circular shape for a peoples assembly. The Guildhall would become the headquarters of the executive.

Will Dr Sarah Wollaston accept the invitation to become the first minister of the Independent City State of Totnes? (Rex)

The towns Conservative MP  and GP  Dr Sarah Wollaston, who has already called for a second EU referendum, will, they hope, accept their invitation to become the provisional governments interim first minister, so Totnes will also have the best healthcare system in the EU.

(When The Independent phoned, the woman in Dr Wollastons constituency office laughed. Then she said the MP was in meetings.)

The Totnes national anthem has yet to be composed, but will have forward-looking words. The city states flag has yet to be designed. They are also uncertain on whether to adopt the euro or keep the Totnes pound (a local currency started by an eco-charity in 2007).

But we know what the passports will look like because, hot off the adjusted presses, they have now arrived.

They are, of course, in EU red and incorporate the image of Brutus of Troy, plus watermarks depicting a carrot (for organic farming), a computer  conceived of by Totnesian Charles Babbage in 1837  and three healing crystals (obviously). The Totnes Oath is printed on the back cover.

Clutching the first ever passports issued by the Independent City State of Totnes, Marian and Barry are delighted.

Barry Skeffington with the first passport issued by the Independent City State of Totnes

This is fun, says Barry. But Im not particularly hot either way on Brexit.

Organic innkeeper Geetie Singh-Watson, next in the passport queue, is slightly more on message.

I want to stay in the EU, says Ms Singh-Watson, of the Bull Inn, who is accompanied by her springer spaniel Artichoke.

This does seem an opportunity to question how we got to this point after a referendum full of false statements.

I swear allegiance to Europe. And so does Artichoke!

There is similar enthusiasm on the high street, at Rhythm and Light (purveyor of crystals, fossils, world music, instruments).

I like the idea, says Rhythm and Light owner Sandi Whale, because of what it shows up  the lies and skulduggery that got us to Brexit.

It does rather highlight that the government is letting a right-wing cabal dictate to the rest of the country.

Totnes is so different, she adds. You feel you can do anything here.

But at Earth Food Love, Britains first zero-waste supermarket, a note of caution is sounded between the jars of organic puffed quinoa and the grind-your-own almond butter.

Its amusing, says Edward Judge, 21, the man behind the counter. But there are not as many radicals here as you might think.

And if you really want to be over-serious, you could try quite a few objections to Mr Coopers City State of Totnes plan.

For a start, Mr Cooper isnt just any old lawyer. He is a human rights specialist with particular expertise in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights.

In Brexiteer demonology, that probably places Mr Cooper in first class on the Brussels gravy train, clutching a CV slightly worse than Satans.

Although Mr Cooper doesnt see it that way.

It is a fiction that lawyers get rich by exploiting EU human rights law, he says. In fact, if Britain left the EU, I would be richer, because there would be so many complications flowing from Brexit that I would get much more work.

The overwhelming majority of human rights barristers do large amounts of pro bono work, he adds, because we represent people who are not wealthy, but who genuinely need legal protection.

The so-called Thatcherite economic miracle, he suggests, was more of an EU miracle resulting from Britain joining a single market now populated by 500 million people: It only became controversial when they realised they couldnt have the business model without the social justice model and protections for workers.

But enough about Mr Cooper. What about Geoffrey of Monmouth? He didnt just invent Brutus of Troy. He promoted the myth of King Arthur. Geoffrey of Monmouth could plausibly be described as more fake news than Boris of Battlebus.

Mr Cooper bristles, albeit not altogether seriously.

Where do we get the name Britain, if not from Brutus? If they are going to stoop to the level of challenging Geoffrey of Monmouth  We have got the Brutus Stone. What more evidence do you need?

It is with some hesitation that The Independent reminds Mr Cooper that the towns reputation for crystal waving  as one jaded local put it  has spawned the oft-repeated joke that Totnes is twinned with Narnia.

The only fantasy land is Brexit, insists Mr Cooper.

Totnes is twinned with Vire, France. Not Narnia. It is accessed via the A38, not a wardrobe.

Where Totnes leads, will others follow? (Getty) (Getty Images)

Yet it has to be said that the key problem in establishing the Independent City State of Totnes may prove to be the independent minds of the citizens of Totnes.

Visit for example, the fully immersive art installation that is Totness internationally acclaimed Timehouse. Lie on the flying carpet in the Cloud Nine room while watching a projection of Plan 9 from Outer Space.

Then listen to Timehouse owner and creator Julie Lafferty.

It is fun to have an independent city state, she says. When we first created the Timehouse, I wanted to declare this slice of land the Territory of Aeons.

But when it comes to Brexit, Im neutral. I think of myself as Switzerland.

There is even more individuality back on the high street, in the heavily bearded form of Sky, a 41-year-old gravedigger and one-to-one enabler in mental health.

Leave, Remain, EU, UK, Independent City State of Totnes: whichever political form you choose, to Sky you are just deciding what shape you want your chocolate teapot.

The whole debate, he suggests, is a diversion: Its all couched in capital, and anything couched in capital is slave to the banks.

But the faith of Mr Cooper remains unshakeable.

In Totnes, he says, Over the millennia [since Brutus of Troy arrived], the right thing has always happened. Ultimately, even if we must go through some terrible lesson around Brexit, the right thing will happen again.

And Totnes will be leading the way.
Veteran Labour MP Frank Field has accused his local party of trying to misrepresent his views on Brexit in a bid to oust him, after losing a no-confidence vote from constituency members.

Labour activists passed the motion on Friday night over the eurosceptic MPs decision to vote with the government on a key piece of Brexit legislation, which helped Theresa May to narrowly avoid a humiliating defeat.

Mr Field, who has held his Birkenhead seat for nearly 40 years, said he acted on behalf of millions of Labour voters  mainly in parts of the country that have long been neglected by the elites  who gave politicians a clear instruction to take the country out of the EU.

Recommended Labour MP Kate Hoey suffers vote of no confidence from local party

It comes after fellow Labour Brexiteer Kate Hoey also lost a no-confidence vote, on Thursday, as party members in her south London seat accused her of reneging on her promise to oppose a hard Brexit.

Critics have called for the deselection of both MPs and their fellow rebels, John Mann and Graham Stringer, for helping Ms May to win a vote that could have destabilised her government.

Mr Field, whose constituency in Merseyside voted to leave the EU, said he had always voted to free our country from the tightening stranglehold of the EU on behalf of working-class Labour voters.

He said in a statement: For most, if not all, of those votes I did so alongside Jeremy Corbyn and John McDonnell.

It would have been a betrayal of the principles I have held for my entire political life, had I voted against the legislation two weeks ago.

Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines







10 show all Brexit: 10 of the most ridiculous headlines

















1/ 10 The Sun, March 9 2016 This wholly false headline merited the first ruling by IPSO (the press regulator) under clause 1 of the revised Editors Code of Practice. Clause 1 makes specific reference to newspapers printing headlines not supported by the text

2/ 10 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

3/ 10 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

4/ 10 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

5/ 10 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

6/ 10 Daily Mail, April 19 2017 This headline followed Mrs Mays snap election announcement, which gave the Mail hope that dissenting opinions on Brexit would disappear

7/ 10 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

8/ 10 Daily Mail, January 31 2018 This headline (?) takes aim at the Lords over their repeated amendments to the EU Withdrawal Bill

9/ 10 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

10/ 10 Daily Express, June 12 2018 On the same day, the Express lets MPs know what the consequences of the vote may be

Mr Field, who chairs the Work and Pensions committee, said: Some people have tried to misrepresent my vote as a means of propping up the Tories or getting in the way of an early general election.

This is an absurd suggestion that is being used as an excuse by certain people in the Birkenhead Constituency Labour Party who are fixated on the idea of trying to get rid of me.

They would have found some other excuse, had it not been this topic, as theyre already lining up their alternative candidate.

Laura Parker, national coordinator of Momentum, had called for the deselection of all four rebels, saying: There is no room for Labour MPs who side with the reactionary Tory establishment.

The vote against him was sparked by a letter from the Bidston and St James branch secretary Brian Parsons.

Mr Parsons attacked the actions and total disregard of Mr Field in supporting the Conservatives, which he said could potentially damage support for Labour in any upcoming election.

He said: For whatever reason, Mr Field is refusing to assist his parliamentary colleagues in removing one of the cruellest and most savage Tory administrations this country has produced, including the Thatcher government.

The motions are not binding but will be noted by Labour bosses, and could result in both Mr Field and Ms Hoey having the whip removed  which would force them to sit as independent MPs.
Millions of diabetes patients, including Theresa May herself, could be seriously disadvantaged if supplies of insulin are affected by a no-deal Brexit, the chair of the UK medicines regulator has said.

In the latest warning over disruption if Britain crashes out of the EU, Sir Michael Rawlins said the UK imports every drop of insulin, a vital medication used by some 3.7 million people to manage the chronic condition.

The prime minister has spoken in the past about how she regularly injects insulin to cope with type 1 diabetes.

Sir Michael, who chairs the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), said officials must ensure drugs do not run out if the government fails to secure a deal with Brussels.

It comes as Matt Hancock, the new health secretary, admitted plans were in motion to stockpile drugs, medical devices and blood products in the event of a no deal, as speculation over such a scenario grows.

The Independent has launched a campaign for a Final Say referendum on the Brexit deal, which has garnered more than 300,000 signatures since its launch on Tuesday.

Speaking in a personal capacity, Sir Michael told the Pharmaceutical Journal: There are problems, and the Department for Exiting the EU and the Department of Health and Social Care need to work out how its going to work.

Heres just one example why: we make no insulin in the UK. We import every drop of it.

You cant transport insulin around ordinarily because it must be temperature-controlled.

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

He added: Disruption to the supply chain is one of the ways that patients could be seriously disadvantaged. It could be a reality if we dont get our act together.

We cant suddenly start manufacturing insulin  its got to be sorted, no question.

Sir Michael released a statement on Friday, saying his comments had been made before Mr Hancocks announcement about preparations for any possible disruption to the supply chain of medical supplies in the unlikely event of no deal.

He added: A responsible government prepares for a range of outcomes, and the Department of Health and Social Care is working to make sure the health sector and industry are prepared and that peoples health will be safeguarded.

Labour MP Chris Leslie, who supports the pro-EU Peoples Vote campaign, said it was a critical warning on how damaging a no-deal scenario could be for the country.

Millions of patients rely on insulin every day, and the Commons voted this month to instruct the prime minister to stay in the EEA medicines regulatory network, but the government seems intent on ignoring this.

It is time she accepted there is no majority for no deal on this.

The prime minister moved to reassure voters over Brexit as plans emerged to stock up on food, medicines and urgent supplies in case of a no-deal Brexit.

She told Channel 5: Far from being worried about preparations that we are making, I would say that people should take reassurance and comfort from the fact that the government is saying we are in a negotiation, we are working for a good deal.

I believe we can get a good deal, but, its right that we say  because we dont know what the outcome is going to be  lets prepare for every eventuality.

The government is expected to publish around 70 technical notices over the summer to help businesses and consumers prepare for a no-deal Brexit.

However the move has drawn criticism from eurosceptic MPs, who have accused Ms May of weaponising no-deal planning to garner support for her Brexit strategy.
Have you backed our campaign? Click here to sign the petition.

More than 390,000 have now signed The Independents petition demanding a Final Say referendum on the governments Brexit deal.

The campaign, which was launched last week, has attracted support from Leavers and Remainers.

The odds on a second national vote have halved since the beginning of the year, bookies have revealed.

Those backing another referendum include senior figures from all the major parties, including former Tory cabinet minister Justine Greening, ex-prime minister Tony Blair, Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable, and Green Party leader Caroline Lucas.

More than two thirds of students would also back a vote on the final Brexit deal, according to a new poll.

It comes as Theresa Mays efforts to bypass Brussels and deal directly with European Union nations have been rebuffed, appearing to push Britain further towards a no-deal scenario.

The prime minister was also warned on Friday that the European Parliament would veto her Chequers deal unless she comes up with a new plan for the Irish border.

Adding fuel to the fire was international trade secretary Liam Foxs assertion on Friday that a no-deal Brexit would be better than prolonging talks with Brussels, a move he described as a complete betrayal of voters.

 How the 'Independent City State of Totnes' will start the reformation of Brexit Britain

The Independent kicked off its campaign for a Final Say on whatever Brexit terms emerge, along with a petition, earlier this week.

Ex-cabinet minister Ms Greening said: I believe that putting the final decision on Brexit in the hands of the British people is the only way to break parliaments impasse, and the right way to decide our countrys future.

Thats why The Independents campaign is so vital and has my support  anyone who feels the same should back it.

Sir Vince said: The Liberal Democrats have been fighting for the British people to have the final say on any Brexit deal, or worse still, no deal. This vote must include an option for an exit from Brexit.

I congratulate The Independent for joining this campaign. Its both a brave and correct move.

Ms Lucas said The Independents voice was "already making a huge impact".

Labour MP David Lammy, who has called for a second referendum since 2016, said: The Independents new push for a referendum on the final Brexit deal sits, with other similar campaigns, on the right side of history.

Allowing the public to choose whether we remain in the EU  or indeed choose, in full knowledge, to become poorer, less sovereign and diplomatically neutered  is the only democratic solution to this political nightmare.

Former Conservative attorney general Dominic Grieve, Labours Chuka Umunna, Lib Dem MP Layla Moran, campaigner Gina Miller and ex-Labour spin doctor Alastair Campbell have also backed the campaign.

Theresa May has urged voters not to worry about Brexit, despite her government setting out plans to stockpile food, blood and medicine in case it goes badly.

She said people should take reassurance and comfort from news of the plans, to be implemented if the UK crashes out of the EU without an agreement in March.

But as a no-deal Brexit began to look more likely, Mr Blair took to Twitter to give his support to the campaign.

He said: 33m+ people voted in the EU referendum wanting a better country, not to be poorer, not to put further pressure on our already stretched health service, not for job losses or to stockpile food and medicines. It should be your #Finalsay.

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

Have you backed our campaign? Click here to sign our petition.

Regardless of how you voted in the Brexit referendum, you deserve a say on the final deal.

Thats why were launching the Final Say campaign, to win for the British people the right to make that all-important decision on the Brexit deal. 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 believe there are three reasons:

1. The people, on both sides of the debate, are losing faith with the current process. From Theresa May to parliament as a whole, a chaotic approach has delivered infighting, resignations and party politics, but little progress on the key issues that people care about.

2. The people on both sides should have the chance to finish what they started. With reality coming into focus, its only natural to check this future is what people really want. After years of negotiations behind closed doors, the people must not be shut out of the final decision.

3. The people  on both sides  know so much more now than we did in 2016. The campaigns  again, on both sides  were flawed and clouded by misinformation. Many myths have been exposed. Now we must check there is support for the facts of Brexit.

A full account of The Independents view is available here.

In 2016, the people were given their say on the principle of whether to stay in the EU or leave. Now the facts are becoming clearer, its time for the people to have the final say on the real deal  before its too late.

Christian Broughton, Editor, The Independent
More than 1.4 million young people would be eligible to vote in a fresh referendum compared with the 2016 Brexit poll, raising questions about the potential impact of this new cohort of voters.

Analysis of the census data shows the group who have come of age since the EU referendum now outnumbers the Leave sides 1.26 million majority over Remain.

Pro-EU MPs have questioned whether this demographic shift could tip the scales in a fresh poll amid growing speculation over the possibility that Theresa Mays plans could lead to Britain crashing out of the EU without a deal.

It comes after The Independent launched its Final Say campaign for the electorate to have a vote on the prime ministers Brexit deal, which gained more than 300,000 signatures in the first 48 hours.

Pollsters generally agree that between 70 and 75 per cent of under-25s voted to stay in the EU in 2016. YouGov places the figure at 71 per cent, while former Tory donor Lord Ashcroft puts it at 73 per cent.

Recent polling also shows that 70 per cent of undergraduates think they would be worse off after Brexit, while 67 per cent would support another vote.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Vince Cable said: The referendum two years ago was influenced by the Conservatives resistance to open up the vote to 16- and 17-year-olds. Given theirs is the generation that will be most hurt by Brexit, this was wrong.

What is striking is that getting on for one-and-a-half million of those denied that vote have turned 18 since June 2016. We know from the breakdown of the referendum that the vast majority of these young people would have voted to remain in the EU, almost the polar opposite of older people.

This demographic shift shows why it is so important that they have the opportunity to have the final say on any chaotic Conservative deal with the option of an exit from Brexit.

Pro-EU Liberal Democrat MP Layla Moran, who backed the Independents campaign, said: This news could tip the scales on Brexit and bring about a peoples vote on the final Brexit deal.

We all know that marginalising young people would be a gamble.

Now with more than half of the population backing a peoples vote, that decision is coming home to roost. Brexit affects them more than anyone.

Student leaders also showed their support for a fresh vote.

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

You wouldnt pay a bill without knowing what its for, and the British public shouldnt be expected to swallow a Brexit deal they havent had a say on, said Amatey Doku, NUS vice president for higher education.

Writing in the Independent, he said: A movement is now building across all sections of civic society, and with new polling reporting a majority of students now back a vote on the final deal I can firmly say that students are with you.

His concerns were echoed by Green Party co-leader Caroline Lucas, who said Brexit had been an act of intergenerational betrayal.

She said: I think if we look back at the original referendum campaign and the debate since, I think the real thing lacking is voice of young people.

While we should not assume that young people are all more likely to be pro-EU, I think the evidence suggests that the majority are.

I also think they are more aware of what they stand to lose.

But respected pollster Sir John Curtice cautioned that demographic shifts would not tip the balance of a referendum towards Remain until 2022, if turnout remained at similar levels and voters did not change their minds.

However, there are other factors at play, such as those who abstained in the 2016 vote, who are marginally more likely to back Remain, he said.

The Strathclyde University professor told The Independent: I do have to point out that, on a second referendum, it is by no means guaranteed to overturn the result of the first one. It is more of a 50/50 chance.

Both sides are pretty energised.

He added: If you are going to get a second referendum, it is going to be because the government has lost control of the House of Commons  or after a general election.

It would be more likely if Labour changes its position or if the government decides it needs it to get out of jail. That is the only way the Brexiteers and the Anna Soubrys of this world would be able to agree.

A string of senior politicians have backed the Final Say campaign, including former prime minister Tony Blair, former deputy prime minister Sir Nick Clegg and prominent Conservative MPs Justine Greening and Dominic Grieve.

Labours Chuka Umunna and Ms Moran, the Lib Dem education spokesman, have also lent their support.

It comes as Ms Mays attempts efforts to bypass Brussels and deal directly with European nations floundered, as Michel Barnier, the EUs chief negotiator, poured cold water on a key part of the prime ministers Brexit plans.
The widening conflict highlighted how the Trump administration has been torn over Turkey.

Mr. Trump and Mike Pompeo, his secretary of state, have sought a closer rapport with Mr. Erdogan. But the Pentagon wants to preserve a close alliance with a Kurdish militia in northern Syria  one that the Turkish government regards as a terrorist group  to continue fighting the Islamic State.

Last month, a State Department official told Congress that plans by the Turkish government to acquire a Russian missile defense system would damage United States-Turkish relations beyond repair. The Senate temporarily blocked the sale of American weapons to Turkey, including F-35 fighter jets, because of Mr. Brunsons imprisonment and Turkeys purchase of the Russian air defense system.

On Thursday, Mr. Erdogan met with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia on the sidelines of a summit meeting in South Africa of the so-called BRICS countries of major emerging nations." nytimes

------------

Well, pilgrims, for Islamists like Erdogan and his pals, attempting to convert Muslims to Christianity or any other faith is instigation of apostasy and it is (or should be in their minds) a killing offense.

Turkey under what is left of the Kemalist secular nationalist constitution is not an Islamic state, not yet. It is not a crime under Turkish law to try to convert Muslims to Christianity, not yet. Pastor Brunson did exactly that for 23 years. IMO you can be sure that he has been a subject dossier in Turkish police and internal security ever since Sultan Tayyip achieved power.

Does the sultan really believe that Brunson was part of the plot against him? IMO, no, but it is a convenient thing with which to charge him for the purpose of developing leverage against the US since you can't charge him with trying to convert Muslims.

What does Erdogan want? He wants us to give him the head of Fethullah Gulen, an exile from Erdogan's kingdom, an exile who challenges Erdogan's view of Islam and just about everything else. Gulen lives in the US. We have in the past refused to extradite him to Turkey because we know that Erdogan will kill him.

Erdo is trying to play a complex game in which he flirts with Russia, China and the US in the belief that he is cleverer than all these infidels and/or can simply defy them if necessary. Remember, Erdogan's body guards came out of the Turkish Embassy in Washington to beat up people in a park who were protesting the sultan's visit. These men were indicted in an American court and Erdogan defies us over extraditing them to the US.

Erdogan wants US made F-35s. He also wants Russian S-400 air defense systems, and also desires a big piece of northern Syria and Iraq. Erdogan is an ambitious man. pl
Emmerson Mnangagwa, Zimbabwes acting president, will only serve one term in office if he wins in the impending election, his daughter has revealed, as the rival candidates held their last round of rallies before the country goes to the historic polls on Monday.

He knows that mistakes were made in the past and in many ways he is the one who is in the best position to put them right, Farai Mnangagwa Mlotshwa told The Independent. He will serve for just one term, but the country is in a very difficult position at the moment, and he is the right man for the job. He has been around for a long time and has the experience that is needed.

The mistakes took place during the rule of Robert Mugabe, of whom Mr Mnangagwa was a long-time ally in government  holding the post of vice-president  until the two men spectacularly fell out and Mr Mnangagwa replaced Africas longest-serving head of state following a coup.

Recommended Veteran battles with Trump like rival for Zimbabwean presidency

Should her father have made his move against Mr Mugabe much earlier? No, there is a time for everything, it happened when it did. I think most people agree we need to look forward now. We think that Zanu-PF are going to win this election, but there are problems to solve for the government. The economy is the biggest one, said Ms Mnangagwa Mlotshwa, who was in the countrys diplomatic service before starting a real-estate business.

Mr Mnangwagwa, 75, had given no indication hitherto that he would leave the presidency after one term. Ninety-four-year-old Mr Mugabe, who did not face any charges after being overthrown, lives in Harare with his wife, Grace, and there have been several elderly heads of state in Africa.

However, one of the main campaign themes of the opposition alliance led by the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) has been that the major reforms can only take place with the old-guard of Zanu-PF driven from power. MDCs populist leader, 42-year-old Nelson Chamisa, has repeatedly charged that those who represent the past must be swept away for Zimbabwe to be able to move forward.

Leader of the main opposition party Nelson Chamisa addresses his last rally in Harare (AP)

Yes, one can talk about a young candidate being motivational for people of that age, I am 42 myself. But I can think of plenty of other 40-year-olds who would make better candidates than Nelson Chamisa. He offers no solutions, just criticism, he treats people with disrespect. There are doubts about his character. I think there will be a lot of uncertainty if he comes to power, said Ms Mnangagwa Mlotshwa.

The election, the first in 38 years without Mr Mugabe in charge, remains close, with opinion polls putting Mr Mnangagwa and Zanu-PF three points ahead of the opposition.

Karam Shetty had no doubt about the effect of a Chamisa victory. Waving his arms at the Zanu-PF supporters at Harares National Stadium, he commented: A lot of these people will see no improvement in their lives, in fact it will get worse. What real economic policies does the MDC have to help Zimbabwe? What credentials do Chamisa have?

Mr Shetty, a 32-year-old businessman of Indian descent, maintained that commercial confidence would be badly hit if Mr Chamisa wins. A lot of people will be straight on a flight out of the country, I may be among them. The Zanu-PF government has started on policies which are opening up the country to desperately needed international investment, itll be disastrous if that stops.

We need strong leaders in difficult places and sometimes strong leaders have past; although you dont know how much of that is down to propaganda. The west got rid of strong leaders in Iraq and Libya, look whats happened to those places. I believe that Zimbabwe would be fine as long as it has a stable and experienced government.

Despite his vocal confidence in the country, Mr Shetty was wearing body-armour under his T-shirt, a precaution taken after the election campaign started in a truly explosive fashion with an attempted assassination of Mr Mnangagwa in a grenade attack a month ago.

 Zimbabwe president Emmerson Mnangagwa survives 'assassination attempt' in campaign rally explosion

Although there have been complaints of intimidation and harassment during the campaign, incidents of violence have remained relatively low. The opposition, however, has alleged manipulation of voter rolls, and the danger of fraud has been a constant theme in Mr Chamisas speeches.

At the weekend Mr Chamisa repeated his claim that the electoral commission is biased in favour of Mr Mnangagwa and vowed that peaceful protests would be held if the outcome was suspicious.

The mood among MDC supporters at the partys final rally at Freedom Field was much more combative. They had been referring to their candidate as President Chamisa for weeks and the narrative of the elections being lost only through theft was echoed by voter Wilson Tanatswanashe: Zanu-PF has a history of staying in power through cheating. Just because Mugabe has gone it does not mean this has changed. No one here is going to believe we have lost, we have accepted this kind of stealing in the past, but not any more, we must seize this chance.

Nomore Bero, Precious Kaltano and Alex Majid have returned home from South Africa to vote and they too were in no mood to accept defeat. We shall hold marches day after day, we are not going to give up, said 38-year-old Ms Bero. We are prepared to die for this if necessary.

Supporters cheer as they attend Mr Mnangagwas last campaign rally (Getty)

There was nothing much new in the speeches at the end of this short but exhaustive campaign. Mr Mnangagwa promised a thunderous victory and spoke of how we have opened the country to the world and asked to be allowed to complete the task. Mr Chamisa accused Zanu-PF of lies and lies when they talk of job creation, pledged I shall secure the livelihood of citizens and proclaimed change is in the air and they cannot stop us.

Significantly more appeared to have attended the MDC rally than the 40,000 or so who appeared at Zanu-PFs, although not perhaps the 120,000 claimed by MDC officials. There also appeared to be an element of crossover with some of Mr Mnangagwas supporters removing their colours and going to the MDC gathering. We are not here to cause trouble, insisted one of them, Silver Garikai. We have just come to see what latest nonsense Nelson is speaking.
Two children, their great-grandmother and two firefighters have died in a wildfire in northern California, say officials.

Reports said Emily Roberts, five, James Roberts, four and Melody Bledsoe, 70, died in the fire along with two officials trying to tackle the blaze.

Residents of Redding, a city of 92,000 about 100 miles south of the Oregon border, described a chaotic and congested getaway as the fire spread.

Ive never experienced something so terrifying in my life, said Liz Williams, who loaded two children in her car and then found herself locked in bumper-to-bumper traffic with neighbours trying to retreat from Lake Redding Estates.

I didnt know if the fire was just going to jump out behind a bush and grab me and suck me in, Ms Williams said. I wanted out of here.

The flames moved so fast that firefighters working in oven-like temperatures and bone-dry conditions had to drop efforts to battle the blaze at one point to help people escape.

Scott McLean, a spokesman for Cal Fire, the state agency responsible for fighting wildfires, said: The fire created at least two flaming tornados that toppled trees, shook firefighting equipment and broke vehicle windows, taking down everything in its path.

Fire officials warned that the blaze, which is believed to have been caused by a mechanical issue involving a vehicle, would probably burn deeper into urban areas before it could be contained.

 North California news station forced to evacuate live on air due to encroaching wildfires

Steve Hobson, a former firefighter, detailed his dramatic escape from the flames  in which he had to drive through walls of flaming embers.

I didnt know if Id make it, so I just got in the middle of the street, went down the middle of the street through the embers and the smoke and made it past, he said.

Mr Hobsons house survived, however.

California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 Show all 45 1 /45 California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 Firefighters try to limit the spread of the Carr Fire by backburning, a process by which areas in the path of a fire are burned up in advance to rob the fire of its fuel Getty California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 A street is devastated by the Carr Fire in the town of Redding AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 A truck burned by the Delta Fire is abandoned along interstate 5 AFP/Getty California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 This image from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration highlights the major fire AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 The Ranch Fire spots out ahead of the main fire in Spring Valley, burning two homes AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 A picture taken by German astronaut and geophysicist Alexander Gerst, showing wildfires in the state of California as seen from the International Space Station AFP/Getty/ESA/Alexander Gerst California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 Evacuees from Lucerne, from left, Ken Bennett with Ember Reynolds, 8, and Lisa Reynolds watch the sunset as smoke from the Ranch Fire rises into the sky at Austin Park Beach in California's Clearlake with Mount Konocti in the background The Press Democrat via AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 The memorial for Redding firefighter Jeremy Stoke AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 REUTERS California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 Holy Jim volunteer firefighter Luke Senger stands next to a home destroyed the Holy Fire in Trabuco Canyon AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 Firefighters try to stop the spread of a massive fire in Lake County AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 A woman walks out of the water after taking a dip as smoke rises in the distance from the Holy Fire in Cleveland National Forest Getty California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 A pyrocumulus cloud (or cloud of fire) explodes in the Carr fire near the town of Redding Getty California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 The Delta Fire burns in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 Trees set alight near Whiskeytown Getty California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 An firefighting aircraft drops fire retardant to slow the spread of the River Fire near Lakeport Getty California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 A firefighter lights backfires in an attempt to limit the spread of the Ranch Fire Reuters California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 Firefighters light backfires to defend houses in the town Upper Lake from the Ranch Fire Getty California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 Flames consume a home in Lakeport AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 The Ranch Fire spread towards the town of Upper Lake AFP/Getty Images California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 A firefighter lights a backfire in the city of Redding Getty California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 The Carr Fire burns near Whiskeytown AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 Firefighters try to limit the spread of the Carr Fire by backburning Getty California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 Flames flare in the Cajon Pass near San Bernardino AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 An firefighting aircraft drops fire retardant to slow the spread of the River Fire near Lakeport Reuters California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 A schoolhouse burns in the Carr Fire in Shasta County AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 The Carr Fire burns along Highway 299 by the city of Redding AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 A car is seen amongst the devastation left by the Cranston Fire EPA California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 A firefighter waters down a backfire on Cloverdale Road in Igo AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 Firefighters convene while battling the Carr Fire in Shasta County AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 Firefighters assess the damage in San Bernardino County AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 The Carr Fire burns along Highway 299 by the city of Redding AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 The Carr Fire burns along Highway 299 in Shasta County AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 The land around Mountain Centre has been left devastated by the Cranston Fire EPA California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 Firefighters battle the Carr Fire in the town of Redding AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 A home burns in Redding Getty California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 The Cranston Fire burns south of Idyllwild AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 The Carr Fire burns through the town of Shasta AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 A home burns in Redding Getty California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 A collection of antique cars has been destroyed by the fire in the town of Redding Getty California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 A home on Sunflower Road in Redding burns in the Carr Fire Getty California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 A helicopter aids utility workers as they work to repair burned power lines EPA California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 A home burns in Redding Getty California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 The Carr Fire burns along Highway 299 by the city of Redding AP California in flames: wildfires rage across the US state in 2018 Sunflower Road in Redding burns in the Carr Fire Getty

Others homes in the path of destruction were not so lucky. Where some houses stood unscathed, single walls or chimneys were all that remained of others.

Were not fighting a fire, said Jonathan Cox, battalion chief with Cal Fire.

Were trying to move people out of the path of it because it is now deadly, and it is now moving at speeds and in ways we have not seen before in this area, Mr Cox added.

Elsewhere in the state, large fires continued to burn outside Yosemite National Park and in the San Jacinto Mountains east of Los Angeles near Palm Springs.

Associated Press
Officials in Texas are refusing to release a young immigrant woman from jail to be treated at a hospital, in spite of warnings from her family and advocates that she is in desperate need of medical care to treat an episode of schizophrenia that caused her to go missing last week.

Tania Silva was initially arrested hours after her family filed a missing persons report, saying they had not seen their 21-year-old family member since she was dropped off for classes the day before at an Austin community college where she is studying to become a veterinarian.

Since then, she has been held in the Travis County Correctional Facility with an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hold, which is a request from federal authorities who are seeking to detain a suspected illegal immigrant.

Tania is a student, she has been helping the community. She was a volunteer at the high school where she went  she went back to volunteer, Pamela Silva, her younger sister, told The Independent, describing the woman whom Austin Police have charged with assaulting an officer on a Thursday morning in an Austin residential neighbourhood.

When shes not ill, when shes not having a mental crisis, shes a normal person, she continued. People see her and know she is a normal person. Shes really calm. Everyone who knows her knows that.

The details surrounding her case and current detention underline the impact of state legislation SB4, which was signed into law earlier this year and banned local governments and law enforcement agencies in Texas from establishing sanctuary cities where police have discretion to ignore detainer requests from federal immigration authorities and release immigrants back into their communities.

People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Show all 16 1 /16 People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Chicago, Illinois, February 16, 2017. Theopolis Waters/Reuters People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Washington, DC, U.S., February 16, 2017. Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. The crowd, which grew to well over a thousand participants, marched from the Austin City Hall to the Texas State Capital. Across the country hundreds of restaurants and eateries are closing for the day to protest President Trump's immigration policies and to highlight the contributions of immigrants to U.S. business and life. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants AUSTIN, TX - FEBRUARY 16: Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Chicago, Illinois, February 16, 2017. Theopolis Waters/Reuters People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Demonstrators march during the "Day Without Immigrants" protest in Chicago, Illinois, February 16, 2017. Aaron P. Bernstein/Reuters People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. The crowd, which grew to well over a thousand participants, marched from the Austin City Hall to the Texas State Capital. Across the country hundreds of restaurants and eateries are closing for the day to protest President Trump's immigration policies and to highlight the contributions of immigrants to U.S. business and life. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants Protesters march in the streets outside the Texas State Capital on 'A Day Without Immigrants' February 16, 2017 in Austin, Texas. The crowd, which grew to well over a thousand participants marched from the Austin City Hall to the Texas State Capital. Across the country hundreds of restaurants and eateries are closing for the day to protest President Trump's immigration policies and to highlight the contributions of immigrants to U.S. business and life. Drew Anthony Smith/Getty People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants High school student Kathia Suarez holds up a sign as she protests with others outside the Grayson County courthouse in downtown Sherman, Texas, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. LM Otero/AP People strike across America for A Day Without Immigrants High school senior Vicky Sosa holds a sign outside the Grayson County courthouse in downtown Sherman, Texas, Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. In an action called "A Day Without Immigrants," immigrants across the country are expected to stay home from school, work and close businesses to show how critical they are to the U.S. economy and way of life. LM Otero/AP

Ms Silva, who was born in Mexico but has lived in the US for years, was first taken into police custody nearly a week-and-a-half-ago after she was discovered on the front lawn of an Austin womans home, holding a puppy.

That woman, who spoke to The Independent on condition of anonymity for fear of repercussions at her place of work, said that the young woman she met that day was clearly in need of help, but that she was able to calm her down and bring her into her house for a glass of water. She said she then called for emergency medical services (EMS) to help Ms Silva.

While they waited, the woman said that she was able to get little information out of the young woman in front of her  she had forgotten her name, and where she lived  but the puppy seemed to be helping her to relax.

But, instead of EMS arriving, the woman said a police car showed up in front of her house, and two officers approached the house and repeatedly reassured the woman and Ms Silva that they were here to take care of her, and that they had showed up in response to a missing persons report that had been filed earlier in the day. An EMS vehicle showed up at one point, but the witness said police told them that they had the situation under control.

The interaction started peacefully but went sour when the officers took the puppy away from Ms Silva. After they handcuffed her and took the dog, a heavily redacted police report obtained by The Independent says that she kicked one officer, and then dug her nails into an officer.

The woman who had called EMS  who was not mentioned in the portions of the police statement obtained  said she was not tending to the situation at this time, but that her attention was drawn back to the girl when she heard Ms Silva screaming, and then found her on the ground with her hands and feet bound.

As I told the police officer, I said, if you were going to take the puppy away why didnt you tell me? the woman said. I held the puppy for a few minutes in the midst of my conversation with the young lady.

The young lady did not become aggressive until they took the puppy away from her, she said.

A spokesperson for the Austin Police Department defended the actions of the officers in arresting the woman, and said during a press conference that they followed protocol and attempted to deescalate the situation before the aggression lead to the arrest.

The initial responding officer, a man, had even gone out of his way to ensure that a female officer responded to the scene with him, since they had received reports that the Ms Silva had expressed a distrust for men, the spokesperson said.

 Melania Trump wears 'I really don't care' jacket to child immigrant detention centre

Campaigners said the situation highlighted how dangerous arrests can be for an immigrant in Texas, especially following the passage of SB4.

This is sort of the intersection of  very broken systems. We have a criminal justice system that doesnt know how to deal with mental health. We have the immigration system, which is further complicating this case, said Emily Timm with the Workers Defense Action Fund.

If it were not for the ICE hold she would be able to get out and get into in patient medical care, have access to her family who hasnt seen her since she was arrested. To have that support to hopefully get better, she continued.

 Bernie Sanders: Trump has been tougher on immigrant children than on Putin

In a statement, Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez said that their detention centre does have contracted psychiatrists, but that the circumstances surrounding Ms Silvas case illustrates why Texas SB4 creates barriers for law enforcement agencies keen on helping inmates in their jails.

Situations like this are heartbreaking and unfortunately, not uncommon. We deal with this issue on a daily basis in our jails as men and women suffering a mental health crisis are arrested and booked instead of being diverted to treatment facilities, Ms Hernandez said.

A persons immigration status compounds the matter. This is one of the reasons I continue to oppose SB4. It denies law enforcement the discretion to do the right thing for the right reason.

An ICE official confirmed that the agency had requested that Ms Silva be detained, but did not comment on the specifics of the case.

Since Ms Silvas detention, her sister said that she and her other family members have not been able to see her, even though they believe that could help her with her medical condition.

To try and convince ICE to lift the hold  or at least to have Ms Silva moved into facilities with 24-hour medical care  they organised a rally on Tuesday alongside the advocacy group Workers Defense Project.

It is unclear if, or when, those calls might be heeded, but Pamela Silva says that even the charges she faced from the officers are completely out of character for her sister. She said she would only have done something like that if she were going through a mental health emergency.

She loves animals. She loves human beings, she said. Shes a vegetarian, shes trying to be vegan.

She wouldnt even kill a fly.
A Washington DC burger chain has apologised for its use of an image of a photojournalist beheaded by Isis in a tweet advertisement.

Z-Burger had put an image of slain reporter James Foley, who was captured by Isis in 2012 while covering the conflict in Syria. A video of his brutal 2014 murder was distributed by the group.

Chain owner Peter Tabibian took the tweet down and said in a statement: An apology has been sent to some of you from a contracted marketing company over an unfortunate incident, a post in very poor taste that was not approved by me before being uploaded to our Twitter account.

On 21 July the company's Twitter account posted an advertisement with an image of Mr Foley wearing an orange jumpsuit and kneeling facing the camera with a member of Isis wearing a full mask over their face. It was superimposed with an image of two hands holding a burger.

The tweet read: When you say you want a burger and someone says okay lets hit McDonalds" accompanied by an emoji of eyes. The caption of the photo read: "You disgrace me".

The reaction on social was swift and harsh, as expected and Mr Tabibian issued an apology later that day.

(Screenshot/Twitter ) (Screenshot/Twitter)

Mr Tabibian wrote that he had "taken immediate steps to ensure that this never happens again". He also provided his email address for customers to contact him about the matter or any other issues.

The owner said the "inappropriate and offensive" advertisement was posted by Valor Media, a firm Z-Burger uses for social media promotions.

That company is run by Michael Valor, 23, a so-called social media influencer who also posted an apology on Twitter in the form of a series of videos.

"This was a Valor Media issue. Not an external issue from [Z-Burger]," Mr Valor said in the first video.

The self-professed "young gun" claimed the company had an "influx of volume" in the work the company received in the two weeks before the offensive advert was posted and said they "pulled on a new art director to the staff" who was to blame.

The tweet was taken down quickly but not before Mr Foley's mother, Diane Foley saw it.

She responded on Twitter via the James Foley Legacy Foundation's account, writing that she was "very saddened" by the image and its use as an advertisement for hamburgers.

But, she noted she "looked forward" to the promised donations to the charity by Mr Tabibian and Mr Valor. The foundation advocates for safe return of Americans captured abroad, particularly independent journalists covering conflicts who do not have the support of a full news organisation, and educates the public on threats to freedom of the press.

Valor Media has also agreed to sponsor future events for the charity as well.
A viral photo of two lovers kissing in a monsoon downpour has sparked a debate about public morality in Bangladesh.

The image in question, posted by photojournalist Jibon Ahmed, was received positively by the couple  as well as by thousands of social media users. Within an hour, the photo had been shared 5,000 times.

However, just as many Bangladeshis feel the photo was indecent.

Bangladesh is a majority-Muslim country where extremism is deepening. Three conservative students at the University of Dhaka  where Mr Ahmed took the photograph  were suspended this month for allegedly assaulting two students for holding hands.

According to the Bangladesh News 18 website, one conservative blogger wrote: "Lovers are getting more audacious by the day. Earlier these things were done in secret. Now they are doing it in broad daylight. The day is not far when they will be making love in public."

Mr Ahmed said he would not tolerate this type of moral policing, telling the website that a "twisted sense of morality cannot dictate an artist's work."

He said in an interview with The Washington Post that seeing the couple "lip kissing" in the rain filled him with delight.

Mr Ahmed also told the Post he was disappointed when his editors decided not to run the photo, saying it would prompt a negative response.

 Bangladesh attack raises security questions

"I said, no, you cannot portray this photo negatively, because I found it a symbol of pure love," said Mr Ahmed.

The next day, he said, some of his fellow photographers roughed him up, and on Wednesday, his boss asked him to turn in his ID and laptop, without giving him a reason.

But his editor said that when Mr Ahmed told his employers about the attack, they supported him and vowed to take legal action.

"The attack was not related to the professional duties. These attacks were the result of his personal transactions," Khujista Nur-e-Naharin, editor of the news portal Purboposhchimbd, claimed in an email to The Post.

Bangladesh still waiting for butterfly to take wing Show all 2 1 /2 Bangladesh still waiting for butterfly to take wing Bangladesh still waiting for butterfly to take wing 574111.bin REUTERS Bangladesh still waiting for butterfly to take wing 574112.bin GETTY IMAGES

The editor said Mr Ahmed did not come to a meeting to discuss the attack further and has been "absent from office from 24th July."

"Everyone at the editorial level congratulates him for taking this picture," the editor wrote.

Mr Ahmed added he was "disheartened" at how the matter was handled.

"The couple had a spontaneous lip kiss; I found nothing wrong in them or no obscenity," Ahmed said. "Of course I am disheartened. Some people in our country became educated only in papers, but they are not educated in a real sense. They failed to realise the underlying meaning of my photograph. I am also a bit worried about myself."

The Washington Post
Addisalem welcomed by his family with ululations and cheersWhen Ethiopia and Eritrea went to war in 1998 and deported each others nationals en masse, Addisalem Hadgu thought he had nothing to worry about, safe in the belief his Ethiopian passport would shield his Eritrean wife from expulsion.

Two years later, as the conflict raged on in trenches along the common border, his wife, Nitslal Abraha, mysteriously disappeared along with their two daughters. Addisalem, an Ethiopian state TV journalist, embarked on a frantic search.

A neighbour approached him several days later and handed him a letter from Nitslal in which she said she had left for Eritrea with Azmera and Danayt, who were teenagers at the time.

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The letter did not explain her reasons but Addisalem suspected that she, like millions of others on both sides of the conflict, had been swept by the patriotism and nationalism that engulfed both countries as bloodshed escalated.

One day, we may meet, the letter read.

For 18 years, they didnt. There was no way to communicate  all transport links, phone and postal services had been severed since the start of conflict.

Addisalem welcomed by his family with ululations and cheers (Reuters)

But this month, a reunion became possible when the two governments  bitter foes for nearly two decades despite agreeing a ceasefire back in 2000  signed a peace deal that ended a generation of hostility in a matter of days.

After Eritrean president Isaias Afwerki and Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed shook hands, hugged and pledged to restore ties, Addisalem was among more than 400 passengers who flew to Asmara on 18 July on the first direct flight between the Horn of Africa neighbours since 1998.

Only months earlier, he had given up hope of a reunion. Over the years he had tried to reach out, including a request to the International Committee of the Red Cross to find his wifes contacts, but to no avail.

He even considered travelling to Eritrea through Sudan with the help of people smugglers but was advised against the trip because of the exorbitant costs and risks to his safety.

Everything discouraged you. I used to ask myself whether I was going to be deprived of seeing my family because I did not have enough money, said the 58-year-old Addisalem.

While his friends tracked down his eldest daughter, Azmera, through Facebook and they exchanged messages over the past two years, Addisalem often found himself distraught over his inability to speak to her in person.

Ethiopian man finds his family in Eritrea after 18 years Show all 9 1 /9 Ethiopian man finds his family in Eritrea after 18 years Ethiopian man finds his family in Eritrea after 18 years Addisalem Hadgu, an Ethiopian state TV journalist, reacts after meeting his wife, Nitslal Abraha, for the first time in eighteen years after Ethiopian Airlines ET314 flight arrived in Asmara, Eritrea Reuters Ethiopian man finds his family in Eritrea after 18 years Addisalem Hadgu embraces his daughters at Asmara International Airport Reuters Ethiopian man finds his family in Eritrea after 18 years Addisalem Hadgu gets ready in his hotel room after arriving in Asmara to meet his family for the first time in eighteen years in Asmara Reuters Ethiopian man finds his family in Eritrea after 18 years Addisalem Hadgu with his wife, Nitslal and his daughters Reuters Ethiopian man finds his family in Eritrea after 18 years A relative welcomes Addisalem Hadgu Reuters Ethiopian man finds his family in Eritrea after 18 years Relatives welcome Addisalem Hadgu Reuters Ethiopian man finds his family in Eritrea after 18 years Addisalem Hadgu sits on a couch, meeting his immediate family members for the first time Reuters Ethiopian man finds his family in Eritrea after 18 years Addisalem Hadgu embraces his daughter Danayt Addisalem Reuters Ethiopian man finds his family in Eritrea after 18 years Addisalem Hadgu, 58, an Ethiopian state TV journalist, meets his brother-in-law, Solomon Yemane, 48, a member of the Eritrean military, in front of his hotel Reuters

I collapsed and blanked one day, he told Reuters a day after his arrival in Asmara. I could not control myself. I stopped speaking to her as I just could not take it any more.

As the pledge to restore Ethiopian-Eritrean ties gathered pace and the possibility of a rapprochement seemed likely over the months of June and July, he contacted her again.

They agreed to meet at the home of a relative.

On Thursday, outside a small brick house in Asmaras Geza Banda Tilyan district, Addisalem was received to ululations and cheers. Husband, wife and daughters embraced for the first time in 18 years. Initially, it was only small talk.

I came despite a toothache, he told her.

I am a bit ill as well, Nitslal responded.

He then broke down in tears as his daughters hugged him.

Addisalem Hadgu with his wife, Nitslal, and his daughters, Asmera and Danayt, who were teenagers when they separated (Reuters)

It was years of darkness. The separation and longing was unthinkable. Imagine someone who just won a lottery. That is how I feel now, Addisalem said, lamenting the long and bitter price paid by ordinary people on both sides of the conflict.

This was unnecessary. I lost my family because of it. We all fought in it one way or another.

His other daughter, Danayt, could scarcely believe she was seeing her father again. He might be sitting next to me now but I am still horrified that I might lose him again, she said.

Overcome by emotion, Addisalem sidestepped any questions about the past, including why his wife had left with their two daughters, although their son remained with him.

With the rapprochement between Ethiopia and Eritrea still in its infancy, it was unclear where the family would end up living.

Determined not to spoil the moment, Addisalem just looked to the future. I do not care now, he said. I have turned my back on the past and will enjoy the future with my daughters.

Reuters
First Ed Miliband, then Donald Trump and now Malcolm Turnbull. After using cutlery to eat a meat pie, the Australian prime minister has become the latest politician to commit a culinary crime that has left his country in a state of palpable shock.

Recalling to mind Milibands botched attempt to eat a bacon sandwich in 2014, and Trump's strange KFC habits two years later, Turnbull has been pictured tucking into a tasty pie with a knife and fork  defying a venerated Australian tradition that has left the nation "forever changed", according to one newspaper.

Australians typically eat a meat pie with their hands and many consider it a native dish  though it's safe to assume they aren't the only ones claiming ownership of the delicacy.

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The incident took place at Olivers Bakery and Cafe in Ulverstone, on Tasmania's north coast, while Turnbull was on the by-election campaign trail. The Australian at least praised the local business for "continuing to make excellent pies".

A report on the Ten Daily website said Australia Is Forever Changed and suggested the incident would play against Turnbull.

#Piegate quickly dominated discussion on social media down under, with many Australians debating the best way to eat the beloved staple.

A pie that small should, and always will be, only eaten by a technique that is learned when you go to a school with a tuck shop, one person wrote on Twitter. Two hands. Gently press down on the far side whilst slightly slurping the near side.

Ten Daily was more to the point in its critique: Remember the old riddle, Malcolm. What's the best thing to put into a pie? Your teeth.

Elsewhere, The Australian said: [Mr Turnbull] has become the latest to join the pantheon of Pollies Who Look Like Aliens Around Regular Foodstuff."

The paper did, however, express some sympathy for muddled Malcolm. Its easy to laugh, but it is a minefield, the report added.

Politics and food have never mixed well. In 2014, then Labour leader Ed Miliband found himself ridiculed for his awkward attempt to eat a bacon sandwich.

Jumping at the opportunity, The Sun's front page the following day read: "Save Our Bacon. Don't swallow his porkies and keep him OUT."

Then, in August 2016, Donald Trump graced the world with an image of himself aboard his private plane eating KFC  also with a knife and fork. That, episode, however, didn't appear to derail his political campaign in any way.
Iraqi Airways has suspended two of its pilots for physically fighting each other during an international flight with 157 passengers on board.

The aircraft, which left from Mashhad on Wednesday and was headed for Baghdad, was cruising at 37,000 ft when the two men started fighting one another in the pilots cockpit over a food tray.

In a letter addressed to Iraqi Airways management, the co-pilot said: Conversation with the pilot became heated because he forbade an air hostess from bringing me a meal tray, under the pretext that I hadnt asked him for authorisation.

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After the pilot had taken his own meal, he hit and insulted [the co-pilot], prompting the arrival of a security agent, according to the letter.

The plane touched down safely in Baghdad, despite the fight, but its reported the pair continued to quarrel after landing.

The pilot again hit and insulted his colleague, the co-pilot said, admitting that he also lashed out: I had to defend myself.

Iraqi Airways confirmed earlier this week that both men were now under investigation. The transport ministry has opened an investigation with the two pilots who argued with each other in-flight, the company said.

The pilots have been warned they will not escape the toughest sanctions  such as a lifetime flying ban.
Former Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson has warned Brexit will leave Anglo-Irish relations "unalterably changed".

Mr Robinson also said that the Irish Government and its British counterpart will struggle to maintain the "warmth of their pre-Brexit affinity" when the process of the UK leaving the EU is complete.

Speaking at the MacGill Summer School, in Glenties, Co Donegal, Mr Robinson also admitted that the Brexit process, of which he was supportive, has been "disruptive and wearisome".

He said: "There has been a settled understanding of the constitutional position of Northern Ireland and its interaction with both the rest of the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland.

"Shaking that tree was certain to cause an abundant fall-out."

He added: "Whatever happens over the next weeks and months the stable connections that developed over the past two decades will unalterably change."

Mr Robinson also admitted that the EU provided a "common room" for allies to work together, including the British and Irish governments.

That contact would now cease with the UK leaving the EU. The only way to get the 'East-West' relations remotely back together is "through the devolved government", he added.

Meanwhile, almost a month since the White Paper on Brexit was released, chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has sounded its death knell.

Mr Barnier flatly rejected a key element of the proposals for future relations following UK withdrawal.

Central to the Chequers plan is the convoluted "facilitated customs arrangement" under which obligatory tariffs charged at the border are collected by British authorities on behalf of the EU depending on the destination of imported goods.

In their first public appearance together, Mr Barnier left newly appointed Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab in no doubt that the plan was a "non-starter".
What happened? That's what many of Facebook's investors - and I - have spent the last days wondering. On Wednesday, the company posted disappointing figures for second-quarter revenue, user growth and profits.

Executives also warned that Facebook's rapid rate of revenue growth would become relatively pedestrian the rest of this year, and that a surge of spending would drastically drag down profit margins for the next several years. During a conference call with stock analysts, nearly every word out of executives' mouths was more alarming than the last.

The reaction was utter panic. Facebook shed more than $120bn in stock market value on Thursday - the biggest single-day loss of market value ever for a US public company. To be fair, Facebook is still valued at more than $500bn, about where it stood at the beginning of May.

Now the question is what went wrong, and how much Facebook, its stockholders and the rest of the technology industry need to worry about the company that has been the biggest success in tech in the last decade. Here are four possible explanations for what happened, and how bad it is for Facebook and beyond:

1. A communications breakdown: Bloomberg's Jonathan Ferro suggests that what happened on Wednesday was a failure to adequately flag warning signs to Facebook investors. The explanations given for an expected slowdown in revenue growth later this year - a drag from fluctuations in foreign-currency rates, a shift in priorities to newer types of internet activity that generate relatively lower ad sales, and decisions to be less invasive in harnessing user information - seemed to come out of the blue.

Sure, Facebook had been promising to go big on the Stories format, currency swings aren't necessarily predictable, and CEO Mark Zuckerberg had warned that changes to limit the mindless use of Facebook could hurt business. But the company wasn't explicit before on the possible scale of impact from the changes to its internet hangouts. If the company could predict this, then management failed to properly set investors' expectations.

2. Investors didn't take Facebook's hints: While investors could justifiably claim surprise at the forecast of a growth slowdown, perhaps they shouldn't have been surprised about squeezed profit margins. The company has been saying for months that it was increasing spending drastically for a range of priorities, including hiring more people and devoting more technical resources to prevent its digital hangouts from being overrun by misinformation and propaganda. Facebook is also doubling down on programming for its web video services and for its global network of computer data centres.

The company forecast that its operating costs would increase by as much as 60pc this year compared with 2017, although analysts tended to dismiss that forecast as too high.

It now looks as though that estimate won't be far off. To defend investors, however, perhaps the most alarming thing in Facebook's litany of alarms was a prediction of operating profit margins somewhere near 35pc over the next several years. That is a stunning deceleration both from recent history - that margin was 45pc in the first half of 2018 - and investors expected profit margins around 44 percent in 2019 and 2020.

3. Facebook is being intentionally overcautious: Nearly two years ago, the company sparked a mini-panic when it cautioned that its revenue growth rate would "meaningfully" slow around mid-2017 because they couldn't keep shoving more advertisements into its social network. Investors worried for over a year and, in the end, the growth rate barely ticked down by late 2017.

It's possible, though unlikely, that Facebook on Wednesday was again lowering the financial bar so it can easily surpass its own forecasts later. Michael Nathanson, a stock analyst with MoffettNathanson LLC, also raised the possibility that Facebook is talking down its prospects "to stave off further regulatory pressure." The worse Facebook's financial results look, the less likely it will be that politicians and regulatory authorities around the world will target it for being too successful and powerful.

4. Things are going unexpectedly wrong: I lean toward this explanation, with sprinkles of the first three. I tend to believe Facebook was caught off-guard because of the simultaneous deterioration of user growth, particularly in the US and Canada, in its revenue growth rate and expectations for a further slowdown, and in its profit-margin forecast.

The split of ads compared with other types of information on Instagram signals that Facebook was worried about a slowdown it saw in usage or revenue growth on its social network so significantly stepped up the number of ads on the young and promising photo-and-video app. That smells like fear.

Maybe Facebook is doing exactly what it's been telling us for many months: Spending more and changing its priorities to ensure its digital hangouts are happier and healthier places. But I can't shake off the belief that Facebook saw all this coming, and its pledges about "time well spent" and cleaning up its act were defensive reactions to trends that weren't obvious to the public until Wednesday: Facebook was running out of steam. (Bloomberg Opinion)
What happens when you put a brand new tech headquarters in an already-booming part of Dublin?

This week, Adrian sits down with Mikkel Svane, the founder and chief executive of Zendesk, one of the worlds fastest-growing customer software companies.

It has just opened a shiny new building in Dublin 2 along the Grand Canal, with a plan to double its workforce to 500 people there.

Adrian asked Svane not only about his company but about the issues that an increasingly concentrated bunch of tech companies bring to a city, including soaring rents and house prices.

Svane also explains why the company has installed a mothers room in the new Dublin building and how he doesnt think Zendesk is a rival to Dublins biggest homegrown tech firm, Intercom.

Svane also puts to bed a story that he coded up a key part of Zendesk during an LSD binge.
Katie Cash was last seen leaving a hospital in Sydney on Monday

Police in Australia are appealing for help locating a missing Irish teenager who went missing while heavily pregnant.

Irish National Katie Cash (18) was last seen leaving a hospital on Barker Street, Randwick, an eastern suburb of Sydney, just before 3pm on Friday July 13 2018, the New South Wales police force said in a statement.

"At the time she was last seen, Katie was 38-weeks pregnant and officers attached to Eastern Beaches Police Area Command hold grave concerns for her welfare," the statement reads.

The young woman is described as being of thin build, with short dark hair, with green/hazel eyes and a scar on the right side of her forehead.

Police said she may also go by another name.

She was last seen wearing a grey top, grey and white floral pants and no shoes.

A spokesperson for the police force told Independent.ie that the search continues for Ms Cash this weekend.

Anyone with information or knows Kates whereabouts is urged to contact Crime Stoppers: 1800 333 000 or www.nsw.crimestoppers.com.au.
Former High Court President Nicholas Kearns has found insurance payouts are among the highest in the world  hiking the cost for Irish consumers Picture: Arthur Carron

Judges have been told to sort out the compensation claims crisis - which would help lower insurance premiums.

An unpublished report by former High Court President Nicholas Kearns warns personal injury awards in this country are a multiple of those paid in other states, and recommends judges compile new guidelines for lower awards.

The guidelines would take account of the benchmarking of international award levels, according to the report by the Government's Personal Injuries Commission (PIC), chaired by Mr Kearns. The report has yet to be presented to the Cabinet, but represents one of the most serious attempts to sort out the compensation and the associated insurance crisis in decades. Lower claims should lead to lower insurance premiums.

Mr Justice Kearns's report found payouts here are among the highest in the world. The average motor claim is almost 21,000. This compares with close to 4,000 in the UK, 1,500 in France and between 2,500 and 6,000 in Germany.

The report says fraudulent and exaggerated claims carry a low risk of detection and "an even lower risk of prosecution".

The PIC report makes hard-hitting recommendations:

Judges should get together and compile new guidelines on appropriate compensation levels. The report says there is a need for a "rebalancing and recalibration of awards" in line with lower amounts paid in other countries. Judges should take account of appeals court decisions that have lowered awards made in the circuit and high courts. Lawyers' representative bodies, the Law Society and the Bar Council, are supportive of new judicial guidelines on award levels;

No payouts should be made by insurers unless a medical report has been produced;

Moving to a "care-not-cash" system would be incompatible with European law, and inappropriate in an Irish context. Such a system would see injured people having their medical care paid for instead of getting a cash lump sum;

Anyone making a claim must promptly notify the insurer so it can be investigated, before the likes of CCTV evidence is destroyed;

The commission supports the plans for insurance companies to fund a new dedicated Garda insurance fraud unit. This is despite misgivings by Junior Finance Minister Michael D'Arcy, who is responsible for insurance reform;

Insurance companies should fund a medical study on the prevention and management of whiplash injuries. The Irish College of General Practitioners admitted this year the majority of compensated whiplash claims are "frankly spurious", while some neurosurgeons believe whiplash is a myth and written reports of it are mainly detailing non-existent injuries;

Insurers should beef up their anti-fraud capacity;

The Law Reform Commission should report on the possibility of capping injury awards, it says.

Mr Justice Kearns found that award levels here are 4.4 times those paid in England and Wales. The report states that whiplash award levels are a "stark multiple" of those in the UK. But investigation of claims is poor, and with little risk of prosecution when fraud is exposed, there is a "perfect climate for abuse of the system".

Average motor claims were 20,826 in 2017, with the pay-out amount rising by 900 a year. This excludes legal fees, which separate reports found can add 40pc to the award amount. The report looked at awards made for under 100,000.

The commission found a lack of consistency in the amounts awarded for the same injury.

The Personal Injuries Commission is based on one million claims, but the data only includes general damages.

This is money awarded to an injured person to compensate them for their pain and suffering.

Special damages - for loss of wages, medical expenses and other costs - were not looked at. Including legal costs and special damages, the costs of claims are even higher.
'The Irish Times' has apologised before the High Court to Garda whistleblower Sergeant Maurice McCabe under a settlement of defamation proceedings in relation to an article published about the woman known as 'Miss D'.

The apology also stated the newspaper had made "appropriate amends" to Sgt McCabe, who had sued over an article published in the newspaper on February 20, 2017.

Yesterday, Michael McDowell SC, for Sgt McCabe, who was not in court, told Mr Justice Bernard Barton the matter had been settled.

Counsel said that no order was required, except one for taxation of the plaintiff's costs, on the basis of an apology being read by Cian Ferriter SC, for 'The Irish Times'.

The apology stated: "On the 20th February 2017, 'The Irish Times' published an article in its print edition headed: 'Woman behind alleged complaint about McCabe wants her day before inquiry' and, in its online edition, headed: 'When Can I Get on With the Rest of my Life? - Woman at the centre of the McCabe case'."

It continued: "The Director of Public Prosecutions determined, after a careful and professional investigation, that no offence of any kind had been disclosed against Sgt McCabe and that there was no basis in fact or in law for any prosecution.

"Contrary to what was suggested in the articles, the Director of Public Prosecutions did not base his direction on 'insufficient evidence'."

The apology also stated: "'The Irish Times' fully accepts the DPP's determination and it was never intended for the article to suggest otherwise.

"'The Irish Times' wishes to apologise to Sgt Maurice McCabe and his wife and family for the great hurt and damage caused to them by the publication of this article, and has made appropriate amends to Sgt McCabe."

The judge agreed to make the order sought.
The late Alan ONeill (left) on the Fair City set with fellow star Keith Duffy

Former co-stars of Irish actor Alan O'Neill said they were "shocked" and "desperately sad" after hearing of his death.

O'Neill (47) died on Wednesday in LA.

He had a starring role in hit US show 'Sons of Anarchy' but was best known to Irish audiences for playing Keith McGrath in 'Fair City' from 2006-2012.

Long-time co-star during his time in Carrigstown, Maclean Burke - who plays Damien Halpin - said the news was "desperately sad".

"We are all shocked. I worked with Alan for about 10 years and we had some good times.

"He was always fun, great fun. He was very upbeat. He was always very fun to be around on set."

Claudia Carroll, who plays Nicola Prendergast on the series, said she was shocked by the news and also mentioned fellow 'Fair City' actor Stephen Swift (44) who passed away on Tuesday.

"I just heard the news and I am utterly shocked, between that and Stephen Swift," she said.

"There are no words. I am shocked. It's just sad to hear of anyone young passing. Life can be very cruel sometimes."

Actor Wesley Doyle, known to soap viewers as Doug Ferguson, starred alongside O'Neill in the series for many years. Their characters worked in the Carrigstown garage.

Doyle said acting alongside Alan was an education.

"I started out in 'Fair City' when I was 15 and a little Ballymun-er - I felt like a sore thumb on set but he always made me feel comfortable," Doyle said.

"There was no nicer person you could work with. He was like a mentor to me and I learnt a lot from him."
Despite heavy downpours and flooding in some parts of the country, water restrictions and the hosepipe ban are to remain in place for weeks.

Irish Water is now describing the situation as "critical" and extended the national hosepipe ban until August 31.

Meanwhile, water restrictions will continue in the Greater Dublin Area for another two weeks.

That is despite Met Eireann issuing a yellow warning as heavy downpours are due to sweep the country and up to 44mm of rain is expected.

Yesterday saw torrential rain in parts of Munster and flooding in the west of the country.

The yellow warning - in place until 9am today - affects Leinster, Co Monaghan, Co Donegal, Co Cavan and Co Waterford.

Rainfall

Showers will continue in the north for much of the day and rainfall will spread across the country overnight with particularly heavy rain possible in the east and south-east.

However, several weeks of rain would be needed to restore water supplies to normal levels.

Only 50mm of rainfall was recorded at the Phoenix Park in Dublin since May.

Irish Water is concerned about the low level of water in the Poulaphouca Reservoir, one of the three main reservoirs supplying Dublin.

There are also concerns for water supplies when schools and colleges reopen at the end of August as these are heavy users of the supply.

The utility's board met yesterday and reviewed the latest data on water usage and the condition of raw water sources across the country. This led to the extension in restriction measures.
Pedestrians are caught in a downpour in Westport, Co Mayo, yesterday

Irish Water has received more than 300 reports of suspected breaches of the hosepipe ban - but no fines have been issued to date.

The utility said it has been "very encouraged" by the efforts of homeowners and businesses to conserve water during the on-going drought.

Water restrictions are to remain in Greater Dublin for two more weeks - despite heavy downpours and flooding in some parts of the country - with Irish Water describing the drought as "critical".

Meanwhile the hosepipe ban will remain in place until August 31.

A Status Yellow rainfall warning is in place for Munster and Leinster until Wednesday.

Yesterday saw torrential rain in Munster and flooding in the west of the country.

People living and working in the GDA will experience night-time water pressure restrictions for two more weeks.

In relation to the reports of suspected breaches Irish Water staff have been visiting the homes of those reported to "remind customers of the Water Conservation Order, the critical nature of the drought and the impact of wasting water on the local community," a spokeswoman said.

"The decision to prioritise visits to these homes has been based on the severity of usage."

While no fines have been issued to date the utility said fines remain "an option open" to it.

Met Eireann has stated that rainfall in the short term will not be at a level to assist with the "recovery of raw water sources, particularly in the east and south".

The meteorologists have indicated that many parts of the east would need 90mm of rainfall to help soil to recover and to allow the replenishment of reservoirs.

Just 50mm has been recorded at the Phoenix Park in Dublin since May.

The latest Office of Public Works (OPW) flow data showed that more than half of rivers are at levels "previously unheard of in July".
Plans to roll out high-speed internet as part of the Governments National Broadband Plan are in trouble after SSE pulled out of a consortium bidding for the contract.

The Enet consortium, of which SSE was a member, is the sole remaining bidder for the plan. Telecoms firm Eir pulled out of the tendering process earlier this year.

SSEs decision to leave the consortium raises questions about the future of the Governments plan of supplying high speed broadband to more than 500,000 homes across the country.

Sources told Indpendent.ie that SSE has left the consortium. Enet said it is now considering and reviewing structures.

In a statement this evening Enet Chairman David McCourt told Independent.ie the consortium is still committed to the broadband plan.

While we cannot publicly discuss the NBP process, I do want to take this opportunity to underline, in the strongest possible terms, our continued commitment to Ireland and to the government's policy of delivering a high-speed rural broadband network, he said.

The consortium has always understood the criticality of the project to the State. As a result we are considering and reviewing structures so as to ensure the optimum response to the tender process for the National Broadband Plan by a group of investors with unmatched success in telecoms, infrastructure and Public Private Partnerships to deliver it.

A spokesman for SSE said: We have nothing further to add beyond the statement of the Consortium.

Fianna Fail communications spokesman Timmy Dooley said SSEs decision shows the Governments tendering process to roll out the plan has been too complex.

It also clearly shows the Government has low-balled in terms of what it is willing to pay.

We have been saying for some time that the process is too complex and this is highlighted by the list of firms to have pulled out of the procurement process.

Vodafone has pulled out, the ESB pulled out and Eir has most recently pulled out. They clearly saw some problems here. Companies of their size and scale and their advanced technological knowhow pulling out must signal there is something inherently wrong with the project.

The Government had rolled out the National Broadband Plan as a remedy to the lack of adequate high speed internet available in rural areas.

A spokesperson for the Department of Communications said: The Department of Communications, Climate Action & Environment is in the final stages of a procurement process to appoint a company to rollout high speed broadband to all houses and businesses in every area of the country.

We are expecting the final tender in the coming weeks with a conclusion to the process expected shortly thereafter.

Details of the procurement process remain confidential until a preferred bidder is appointed and progress to award a contract is finalised.

Labour TD Sean Sherlock said Communications Minister Denis Naughten has serious questions to answer.

Weve had a litany of withdrawals from the process on his watch. The next moves from Government on this will be critical, Mr Sherlock said.

Public trust is shot to pieces and the broadband plan is in shambles, and citizens will bear the brunt of this latest failure.

Sinn Fein said the broadband plan is hanging by a thread.

"The programme for government promised to deliver broadband to every home across Ireland by 2020, but as we can clearly see this will be another election promise broken by Fine Gael, said Laois-Offaly TD Brian Stanley/

"The government must to go back to the drawing board on this one and find an alternative, effective plan on ensuring everybody has access to broadband across Ireland."

Under the plan more than 400,000 homes and business were to connected to the State-subsidised scheme.

Last month Mr McCourt distanced himself from claims the scheme will cost 1.1bn to build. He had been quoted in a UK magazine as saying that the 1.1bn would be divided into 100m up front each from his own Enet, SSE and UK infrastructure group John Laing, with a further 200m for design and construction and the rest in bank debt.
28 Jul 2018; General view of protestors taking part in the first Trans Pride March in Dublin. Customs House Quay, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn

28 Jul 2018; Sonia Kolasinska, from Beacon Sandyford, taking part in the first Trans Pride March in Dublin. Customs House Quay, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn

28 Jul 2018; Rhonda Donaghey, from Labour Women, taking part in the first Trans Pride March in Dublin. Customs House Quay, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn

28 Jul 2018; General view of protestors taking part in the first Trans Pride March in Dublin. Customs House Quay, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn

28 Jul 2018; Sonia Kolasinska, from Beacon Sandyford, taking part in the first Trans Pride March in Dublin. Customs House Quay, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn

28 Jul 2018; Collection bucket at the first Trans Pride March in Dublin. Customs House Quay, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn

28 Jul 2018; Sonia Kolasinska, from Beacon Sandyford, taking part in the first Trans Pride March in Dublin. Customs House Quay, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn

Organisers of Dublin's first Trans Pride March says Pride "needs to go back to its radical roots of struggle and protest".

Expand Close 28 Jul 2018; General view of protestors taking part in the first Trans Pride March in Dublin. Customs House Quay, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn / Facebook

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Whatsapp 28 Jul 2018; General view of protestors taking part in the first Trans Pride March in Dublin. Customs House Quay, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn

Hundreds of people attended the event today, close Dublin's Custom House quays.

The march was highlighting a number of issues, including healthcare for the Trans community and funding for mental health services. Another issue was the involvement of a large number companies with the Gay Pride Parade.

Organiser Ollie Bell helped oversee today's march from Custom House Quay to Fairview Park ,where the first Gay Pride Parade was held following the murder of Declan Flynn in 1982.

We need a space for our voices to be heard, for demands not to be overshadowed by companies, Ollie said addressing the crowd.

On their Facebook event page, they describe the involvement of brands as rainbow capitalism which they say is overshadowing the grassroots protest.

Pride needs to go back to its radical roots of struggle and protest," Ollie said today.

Expand Close 28 Jul 2018; Rhonda Donaghey, from Labour Women, taking part in the first Trans Pride March in Dublin. Customs House Quay, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn / Facebook

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Whatsapp 28 Jul 2018; Rhonda Donaghey, from Labour Women, taking part in the first Trans Pride March in Dublin. Customs House Quay, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn

We made history with marriage equality and the gender recognition act and repeal. But we have still so much to fight for.

We all suffer under the same system. We won the right to marry who we want, and we won the right to choose but we didnt do it alone. We marched together for those rights.

We fought together for those rights. We stood side by side. Society is not kind towards those who are trans.

Healthcare and access to hormone treatment was a focus at the march as many members of the trans community have travelled abroad for treatment and reassignment surgeries.

Expand Close 28 Jul 2018; General view of protestors taking part in the first Trans Pride March in Dublin. Customs House Quay, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn / Facebook

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Whatsapp 28 Jul 2018; General view of protestors taking part in the first Trans Pride March in Dublin. Customs House Quay, Dublin. Picture: Caroline Quinn

Trans woman Julie James, from Kildare, said she took part in the march because of delayed access to treatment, which has put her life on hold.

Ive been struggling with the healthcare system in Ireland. Ive been on so many waiting lists. Its been nearly 22 months and I am trying to start Transgender Hormone Therapy which is putting my whole life on pause right now, she said.

Earlier this month hundreds of people from the LGBT community marched to Leinster House protesting the treatment of trans people within the Irish healthcare system.
A group of passengers from a Ryanair flight which made an emergency landing in Germany two weeks ago are planning to collectively sue the airline for injuries sustained during the incident.

Flight FR7312 from Dublin to Croatia was forced to land at Frankfurts Hahn Airport after a loss in cabin pressure lead to a sharp descent on July 13.

Passengers on board were treated by a team of Red Cross paramedics at the German airport for ear pain, headaches and dizziness while a number of people were taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Independent.ie now understands there are a number of passengers taking a collective suit against Ryanair claiming unnecessary bodily injury.

It is understood Coleman Legal Partners along with another law firm in Dublin is consulting with up to 30 passengers who travelled on the flight.

Some passengers have been offered a refund on the cost of their ticket following the incident as well as a future free airfare for any a future trips.

Dorica Osrecak, who was travelling home to Croatia from a holiday in Dublin, described a constant headache and sleepless nights as a result and now wants Ryanair to respond to her complaints.

It was the worst ten minutes of my life, she said describing the incident as a nightmare.

I had a strong pain in my ears and very strong headache. I still have the headache which has been more than 10 days now.

I didnt hear through my right ear for around three days after, she added.

The plane was going down and we didnt know what was happening. After maybe seven to ten minutes the pilot said something happened with the plane and we need to land at the first airport.

Those ten minutes when the oxygen masks fell down and when we felt the airplane was going down - I felt like I was going to die.

Ms Osrecak works as a hair stylist and has travelled to Dublin several times with Ryanair previously. She has sought treatment from her GP and says she has been advised there could be long term pain and psychological impact.

At the time, Ryanair said there was shortage of available accommodation for passengers in Frankfurt, where the plane landed, so a number of customers had to remain in the airport.

Under the internationally agreed Montreal Convention, airlines like Ryanair are liable for damage sustained in the case of death or bodily injury of a passenger upon condition that the accident which caused the death or injury took place on board.

However, if the airline can prove that airline was not negligent or a third party outside the airline was the cause they could escape liability.

Independent.ie reached out for comment from Ryanair but a spokesperson said they would not be commenting on the matter.

We are fully assisting the German authorities with their investigation and until this process has been completed we will not be making further comment.
Members of Book Clubs in Louth with Yvonne OBrien, Louth County Librarian, Sarah Daly, Creative Spark, Cllr. Liam Reilly, Chairman, Louth County Council, author Michael Harding, Paul Hayes, An Tain Theatre and Cllr. Maria Doyle at the official launch of the Wee County Big Book Club in Dundalk Library

Yvonne OBrien (left), Louth County Librarian, author Michael Harding, Paul Hayes, An Tain Theatre and Sarah Daly, Creative Spark at the official launch of the Wee County Big Book Club in Dundalk Library

Avid readers from a number of local book clubs gathered in the County Library, Dundalk last Friday as the award winning author Michael Harding launched the Wee County Big Book Club Festival.

Wee County Big Book Club is a collaborative initiative of Louth Library Service, Creative Spark, An Tain Arts Centre, Dundalk and Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda.

The 'wee book' chosen for 2018 is Michael Harding's 'On Tuesdays I'm a Buddhist'.

The Wee County Big Book Club initiative invites book club members and the general public to read and discuss Harding's memoir 'On Tuesdays I'm a Buddhist'.

The Longford based author expressed his gratitude at having is book selected for as the Wee Book, saying that 'a writer is absolutely no good unless there are readers.'

He explains how, in telling stories from hidden Ireland, he writes with his ears. He joked that he was once told that he was 'a dangerous person to talk to' as a person can end up in his column in The Irish Times.

He said he gets great pleasure from the conversations he has with readers and how he was looking forward to returning at the end of the festival for a reading in An Tain Arts Centre on September 29th.

County Librarian Yvonne O'Brien explained that the idea was for everyone, not just the members of book clubs, to read the book and discuss it with their friends and neighbours.

Copies of the book are available to borrow from the library and it will also be on sale in local book shops.

A programme of creative writing events and author readings of various other titles will take place in the venues of the participating partners, including Creative Spark, An Tain Arts Centre Dundalk and all Louth Libraries.

The idea stemmed from a conversation between Sarah Daly, Director of Creative Spark, Elaine Cronin, An Tain, and Daire O'Connell, Arts Coordinator at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, all of whom are interested in deepening participation in the arts and creativity, and promoting creative activity as a benefit to everyone's well being.

Louth County Council Cathaoirleach Councillor Liam Reilly remarked that 'this county wide festival is sure to grow to include more of the creative organisations and agencies working with the citizens of Louth in future years and to become a highlight of the year for many. It adds the literary element and yet another festival to our burgeoning calendar of events in Louth.

According to Creative Spark Director Sarah Daly, 'the Wee County Big Book Club has the potential to become an annual Festival reflective of the flourishing creativity in Louth.

An Tain Arts Centre Director Paul Hayes says 'we are very excited to be part of this initiative and look forward to welcoming Michael back to Dundalk.

Members of a number of local book clubs attended the launch and were looking forward to reading Harding's latest book.

'It's wonderful to meet the author is person and get the opportunity to read the book before seeing him appear live on stage talking about the book in An Tain Arts Centre in September,' commented Mary Gilsenan, who is a member of a book club comprising a group of friends.

Maura Larney, Joan Brown and Margaret Conlon are all members of a book club in Louth village.

'We've been meeting for eight years and before that we didn't know each other,' says Maura. They are all fans of Michael Harding's work and are looking forward to reading 'On Tuesdays I'm a Buddist'.

'When you read his book it's like you're talk to him,' says Maura. 'You are reading it with your ears,' quips Joan.
A Dundalk student proved her flair for the political arena when she won a major speech writing competition recently.

Sadbh Boylan, a student at St. Vincent's Secondary won the national ActionAid Speech Writing competition.

The competition challenges young people aged 14-17 years to deliver a speech on topics related to women's rights, development and/or the sustainable development goals, in front of a panel of judges.

Sadbh's inspiring speech examined the way in which gender inequality is having a real impact on sustainable development goals.

She spoke about the inspiration of the first female 'superhero' in a lead role in the Marvel franchise - Wonderwoman.

Sadhbh admitted that it was after seeing the hit blockbuster in 2017 that she first began to question why women had not been more equally represented in the globally successful film franchise.

Her impressive speech made a real impact on the judging panel, and she was announced as winner along side Juliette O'Donnell (Colaiste Einde, Salthill, Galway),

One of the prizes was a trip to Brussels which brought them to the European Parliament where they met Louth MEP Mairead McGuinness and discussed women's rights and political involvement in the EU.

MEP for Louth and Vice President of the European Parliament, Mairead McGuinness, was pictured meeting with the students.
Staff at the Dundalk firm pictured following the announcement of their new deal

Dundalk based tractor manufacturer Multi Hog announced a 1.5 million ($1.7 million) deal in new business with North American machinery buyers, participating on an Enterprise Ireland four-day inward buyer to Ireland.

Ten leading airport and municipal equipment dealers participated on the Enterprise Ireland led visit to Dundalk, which aimed to promote the strength and growing capability of Ireland's machinery manufacturing offering.

Multihog, who are based in Dundalk, Co. Louth at its new 89,000 sq. ft. 6-acre facility, manufactures a range of tractors that allow for easy add/removal of attachments to perform various maintenance functions all year round.

'It sells its product through a global network of 55 dealers who serve municipalities, airports, and facilities management companies.

The 1.5 million in new business includes initial orders for Multihog machines to 3 new North American dealers, two in US Midwest and one in Canada.

Welcoming the announcement, Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, Heather Humphreys T.D. said:

'I am delighted to hear that Multihog have obtained 1.5 million in new business this week, through the support of our State Agency, Enterprise Ireland, and the Inward Buyer visit to Dundalk. Companies like Multihog are currently selling into more diversified markets than ever before and these results reflect the impact and importance of the work of Enterprise Ireland and its network of 33 international offices. I congratulate Multihog and look forward to their continued success in Dundalk.'

Jim McAdam, Managing Director of Multihog Limited said "We are delighted to announce this significant deal, and also to bring this group of dealers to Ireland to see our new manufacturing facility. Luckily, we have a superb group of dealers in the US & Canada and we're really excited to add three excellent new partners to our network.'

He explained that the expansion plans for North America 'are ambitious, and we're very confident that can achieve these in collaboration with the dealers we have in place.'

Ryan Shaughnessy, Senior Vice President, Industrial Technology at Enterprise Ireland Chicago added: 'This inward buyer visit provides a key opportunity to showcase Irish client capability in the municipal equipment space to leading dealers across North America. Multihog, led by two successful entrepreneurs - Jim McAdam and Gerry McHugh - highlights Irish innovation and underscores the global reach of Enterprise Ireland clients. '

He added: 'We are proud of this success and look forward to further partnership between Enterprise Ireland clients and North American dealers in this unique market.'

The Enterprise Ireland inward buyer visit, which is currently taking place from July 16 - 19, brings 18 buyers from 10 of Multihog's authorized US and Canadian equipment dealers to Dundalk, Co. Louth for visits with Multihog along with seven other Enterprise Ireland clients including Combilift, Archway Products, MDS International, Oriel Flues, Oxymem, Major Equipment, Skip-Tracks and Multi-Sweep (Rota Contracts).

The visit is co-hosted by Enterprise Ireland's new Chicago office as well as the Toronto office and features an on-site visit to Multihog's new facility.

The visit concluded on Thursday last with an Enterprise Ireland North American Dealer Networking Day Event which consists of Enterprise Ireland client pitch sessions and one to one meetings with the North American equipment dealers.
Jerome and Catherine Sheerin are closing their shop after 35 years in business

The shutters go down for a final time this Saturday on one of Dundalk's luckiest Lotto shops when The Beehive, Castletown Road, ceases trading.

Owners Jerome and Catherine Sheerin are closing their shop after 35 years in business.

It's the end of an era for this part of the North End, as the couple had taken over the business from Pat Duffy in November 1983.

Donegal native Jerome had previously worked as a manager with the H Williams group and Dunnes Stores in Dublin. He had met Catherine while they were working in H Williams and were looking to put their experience in the retail trade to use, when they heard that the Beehive was up for sale.

They took over the business and made it their home, raising their four daughters, Yvonne, Lorraine, Helen and Avril there, and welcoming customers with a smile.

'It's a traditional local shop, a grocery store and newsagents,' says Jerome. 'We've had good loyal customers, not just from this part of town, but also out of town as well, from places like Kilkerley and Kilcurry.'

The Sheerins took their business as a local shop seriously and it was at the heart of the community. Opening seven days a week, from 7 o'clock in the morning to 9pm most days, they delivered service with a smile.

Jerome and Catherine would like to express their sincere thanks to Maureen Larkin who has worked with them for many years, and to Tracey McQuillan who worked with them until recently.

They stuck with the tried and trusted recipe of keeping a clean, neat and tidy shop, stocking all the essential groceries which their customers would require, as well as newspapers and magazines. And if someone wanted a bag of coal or cylinder of gas delivered, well Jerome would look after that.

The Beehive also enjoyed a well earned reputation as one of Dundalk's luckiest Lotto outlets, after a number of big wins.

In September 2013, a Dundalk man scooped a 4million with a 6 quick pick which was bought in The Beehive shop just hours before the draw. The shop had previously sold a Lotto Plus 1 top prize winning ticket worth 300,000 in March 2003. Just last week, a customer won 5,000 on a Lotto draw.

'The Lotto has been a big draw,' admits Jerome. The shop was a runner up in The National Lottery Retailer of the year awards sponsored by The National Lottery in the Shelflife National C-Store Awards 2016.

Jerome has been an active member of the local community since moving to Dundalk. He was a member of the local branch of Muscular Dystrophy for thirty years, serving as chairperson and treasurer. He was also involved in the local parish, serving as a reader and Eucharistic Minister and was on the Parish Council. Catherine is also very active in the community as a treasurer on the Board of Management for the Castletown Girls School.

It will, he admits, be a wrench to close the doors on the shop where himself, Catherine and Maureen Larkin, have welcomed customers for over three decades.

'I will miss the craic and the connection with our customers. We've always been a happy shop - it doesn't cost anything to be friendly.'

He is, however, looking forward to being able to go away on holiday or day trips with Catherine, and spending more time with their daughters and six grandchildren.

'We've never taken time off together so that will be nice.'

Most of all, Jerome and Catherine wish to thank their customers and neighbours who made them part of the community.
A Louth bricklayer described as 'nothing more than a cog in the machine' will be sentenced later for possessing cannabis and prescription drugs worth 1.38 million.

Garnet Orange SC, defending, said Eoin Morrow (38) 'found himself under obligations to others' as his debts mounted due to drug and gambling problems.

Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard that gardai with confidential information set up a surveillance operation on a Scania truck and intercepted this vehicle when it met up with Morrow's Volkswagen Jetta.

Gardai observed truck driver John Needham (31) and Morrow remove boxes from this vehicle onto a trolley bound for a storage unit in nearby Newcourt Business Park.

Detective Garda Patrick Hearne revealed that he and colleagues discovered four large cardboard boxes of cannabis resin and 29 boxes of Zopiclone prescription tablets during a subsequent search of the truck and building.

The garda told Elva Duffy BL, prosecuting, that the 96kg of cannabis was worth 580,200 and the 400,000 Zopiclone pills were valued at 800,000.

Morrow, of Point Road, Dundalk, pleaded guilty to possessing cannabis resin and supplying a prescription-only drug at St Margaret's Road, Finglas, Dublin on July 25, 2017.

He has 15 previous convictions, including four years for assault and aggravated burglary and a two-year sentence for thefts, all in 2010.

The court heard he took a bench warrant on the drugs matter and fled to Europe, but eventually returned and handed himself in to gardai.

Needham, of Carna, Suncroft, Kildare, pleaded guilty to the same drugs offences and was sentenced to eight years for his role earlier this month.

Det Gda Hearne told Ms Duffy that Morrow rented the business park unit in his own name in June 2016 and told the owner it would be used for storage.

The detective agreed with Mr Orange that Morrow had done nothing to conceal himself by driving in his own car and putting his name to documentation.

He further agreed Morrow was "nothing more than a cog in the machine". He accepted that Morrow's drug and gambling problems led to his being indebted to "sinister elements in the northeastern corner of the island".

The detective also accepted that Morrow fled the jurisdiction due to threats made by parties about the lost drugs.

Mr Orange told Judge Melanie Greally that people who benefit in the drugs trade don't need to handle the substances 'because other people are susceptible to threats and inducements and will do the dirty work for them'.

Mr Orange said his client was a family man who found himself with mounting debts after the economy slowed down. Counsel said Morrow knew he must pay a price for participating in the operation.

Judge Greally put the matter back for a urinalysis report to see if Morrow was now drug-free. She remanded him in continuing custody until November.
After taking a break in 2017, independent music and arts festival Knockanstockan returns to Blessington this weekend with over 140 show stopping acts.

In addition, the festival, which runs from Friday, July 27, to Sunday, July 29, will have spectacular art installations and pop-up performances galore.

Badlands, AKORA, Anna Mieke, Cathy Davey, Birds of Olympus, Bitch Falcon, Stuck on Repeat, Sister Ghost and Haiku will be among the acts performing live, alongside Shy Mascot, Pete Pamf, Attention Bebe, Holly Carter, Hot Tolka Club and much more.

After a little rest last year, festival organisers have had time to be inspired and come up with a number of new areas for this year's festival.

Spirit Animal is among KnockanStockan's latest creations. It will be the largest art installation the festival has seen and, quite possibly, the very grandest creation in art of its kind. Hand-crafted by Brazilian collective Espaco Libellula, the likes of this stage has never been seen before in Ireland.

The Unfiltered stage will be set with beautiful lake vistas where festival-goers can sit and watch performance art, intimate collaborations, interviews, comedy by day and then, later on, dance to some of Ireland's finest DJ collectives as they play on a stage in the round.

The Danish Quarter, hosted by Carlsberg, will encourage guests to sit back, relax and enjoy life the Danish way.

The Rasher Factory will offer a relentless selection of multi disciplinary artists within a geodesic dome.

There will also be a broad programme of activities to keep the little ones entertained.

Visit www.knockanstockan.ie if you want to purchase tickets (limited numbers remain).
History and art enthusiasts alike can enjoy a glimpse of the Co Wicklow of the past thanks to a new series of illustrations included in an online database created by NUI Galway.

Ireland Illustrated is a database of over 500 images of Ireland - almost 50 of them pertaining to County Wicklow - from the period of 1680 to 1860 depicting how travellers viewed the country over the two centuries.

The project was led by Professor Jane Conroy and the online database features woodcuts, water colours, engravings and other illustrations, with related text, drawn from more than 50 manuscript and printed works, and highlighting several neglected or rarely accessible sources. Many of the pictures in the database have rarely, if ever, been seen by the public.

Wicklow highlights include an illustration of The Meeting of the Waters, Avoca, created in 1837 by Thomas Creswick and engraved by James Tibbits Willmore. It depicts a number of men and women enjoying a picnic on the banks of the Avoca River surrounded by woodland. There is also a depiction of Lough Dan with an angler in the foreground and a boat nearby with two fishermen. The lake is surrounded by mountains in this illustration created by John Kirkwood. Other areas featured include Glendalough, The Scalp (which includes a view of the Sugarloaf mountain), Enniskerry, Greystones and Bray. According to Professor Conroy, it is expected that the database will attract a wide range of users.

'We think Ireland Illustrated will be attractive to a wide range of users: people curious about their locality, art historians looking at a particular artist's work, or the development of fashions and techniques in landscape art,' she said.

'Historians of the book should find it an interesting case study of how illustrations became integrated into travel writing before the age of photography. Specialists of travel literature will be able to trace the different ways that travellers got involved with the realities of life in Ireland, or how they constructed in their minds a picture of the country they wanted to see,' said Prof Conroy.

She said that finding the unexpected things that caught the attention of travellers was one of the pleasures of working on this project.

Ireland Illustrated provides user-friendly access to the images as people can search by region, townland, historical site, theme or keyword.

Each image is accompanied by a full description and the context in the travel book or manuscript in which the illustration originally appeared. The records include information about the individuals who created these works and shed light on the interactions between authors, artists and publishers.

The online database is hosted by NUI Galway's Moore Institute and was created by researchers and IT specialists, with the support of libraries in Ireland and abroad, in particular that of the National Library of Ireland and the James Hardiman Library at NUI Galway.

To view Ireland Illustrated, visit: https://ttce.nuigalway.ie/irelandillustrated/
Work has resumed on two schools in Bray following a High Court injunction forcing subcontractors to cease picketing over the non-payment of money owed to them.

Prior to the injunction last Wednesday, subcontractors maintained their picket and insisted they would not allow the schools to open until they are paid. They began their protests on Monday, July 16, at the site of Ravenswell Primary School and Colaiste Raithin in Bray, as well as Loreto in Wexford.

Protests continue in Wexford, without blocking the site, but have ceased in Bray.

The consortium Inspiredspaces was granted a temporary injunction, preventing subcontractors from blockading the sites. The company Woodvale has been tasked with completing the work by August 27.

The collapsed UK company, Carillion, was a 50 per cent shareholder in Inspiredspaces. The remaining partner is a Dutch company called the Dutch Infrastructure Fund (DIF).

Irish company, Sammon, had been subcontracted by Carillion to carry out the building work on its behalf. But Sammon went into liquidation last month.

Offally-based contractor John Foran said that he is owed approximately 80,000 for building pitches at Colaiste Raithin. This week, he said, he and his team are working at a different site in the west. There is still no sign of the money, he said. He understands that spokesmen for the contractors will be meeting the finance committee in the Dail this week.

Last week, Mr Foran said 'Sammon are gone, Carillion are gone from a Government point of view, they're pushing ahead and the subcontractors are left swinging in the wind for millions, that's what we're owed. We're talking small companies, family businesses.'

Other subcontractors include Hackettstown's Pat Smith, who completed groundworks at Tyndall College in Carlow, who said he is owed 100,000; and John Burke of Ryan Road Kerb, who said that his company is owed 250,000 for site works at Ravenswell.

Subcontractors said that, as well as being owed money for work carried out, they have installed equipment on the sites in question.

Other schools in the bundle include Eureka Secondary School in Kells, Co Meath; Tyndall College in Carlow; and Carlow College of Further Education.

The High Court heard last week that Inspiredspaces did not owe the subcontractors money; it had paid Carillion for the work done, and Carillion had paid those funds to Sammon.

Ms Justice Caroline Costello granted an interim injunction preventing the defendants and others from blocking, interfering or impeding access from and construction works at the schools. They are also restrained from trespassing at the schools or from removing any items from the schools, except with the consent of Inspired Spaces.

In a statement, DIF said the blockades had prevented Woodvale staff from accessing the site to continue works.

It said Inspiredspaces had no information on the detailed contractual and payment arrangements between Sammon and its subcontractors. It said this was a matter for the Sammon liquidator.

DIF said Inspiredspaces was investing 'unforeseen additional capital' to accelerate works and that the blockades had been 'extremely disruptive to the whole process'.

In the statement, DIF asked the subcontractors to consider 'the wider impact that their actions are having on their local communities'.
There will be a 50:50 gender balance among the academics, writers and politicians contributing to this year's Parnell Summer School, organisers have revealed.

Josepha Madigan, Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, will officially open the 28th annual summer school, which takes place in Rathdrum's Avondale House, the birthplace and home of Charles Stewart Parnell.

This year's event will have a theme of 'Democracy Triumphant?' and examine issues such as representative democracy, legitimacy, political thought and activism, the role of women and international influences from a range of historical and contemporary perspectives.

On 14 December 1918, women were, for the first time, among an Irish electorate that went to the polls in the aftermath of world war and post-Rising Ireland. As this important centenary approaches, the summer school organisers felt it was a good time to reflect on the history of democracy in Ireland.

The Parnell Summer School will be opened by Miniser Madigan at 4 p.m. on Sunday, August 12, and this will be followed by a keynote address from political academic Prof David Farrell of UCD on the theme 'Irish party politics: still centrist after all these years?'.

Monday, August 13, will focus on the contribution of women to Irish public life throughout the last century and will include papers from Dr Sonja Tiernan and Prof Yvonne Galligan and a panel discussion featuring contributions from Olwen Dawe, Senator Ivana Bacik, Sinead McCoole, and Orla O'Connor.

On Tuesday, August 14, the school will turn its attention to the 1918 period, with reflections on 'Woodrow Wilson, propaganda and Ireland, 1918' by Prof Bernadette Whelan and 'The social and economic thought of Thomas Kettle and Mary Sheehy Kettle' from Prof Niamh Reilly. Later in the day, the Parnell Society will commemorate the centenary of John Redmond's death with a wreath-laying ceremony and brief oration at his graveside in Wexford town.

The annual Parnell lecture will be delivered on Wednesday, August 15, by Prof Alvin Jackson, who will speak on 'Redmond and Carson: Bloodshed, borders and the union state'. The afternoon session will reflect and contrast the lives and legacy of Margaret Skinnider in a paper by Dr Mary McAuliffe, and Margaret Thatcher in a paper from Dr Stephen Kelly.

The school will draw to a close on Thursday, August 16, with a panel discussion on '21st Century Democracy: Opportunities and Threats' featuring contributions from Lisa Chambers TD, Tony Connelly (RTE Europe Correspondent) and Jack O'Connor, former President of ICTU and SIPTU and Labour candidate for Wicklow in the General Election.

The daily rate for attending the summer school is 75 (including lunch) while attendance at all lectures and events, including the summer school gala dinner, is 275 (or 270 if paid in full before August 1). For more information, visit parnellsociety.com.
St Patrick's National School in Greystones 'is not going in any new direction and has no plans to do so', according to chairman of the board Rev David Mungavin in a letter to staff and parents.

School principal Eileen Jackson wrote to parents last Friday to say she was resigning due to a perceived prioritisation of children who are actively involved in the parish and who attend church services.

'Eileen's resignation came as a surprise to myself and to the board,' said Rev Mungavin in his letter.

He said that there have been no changes to the school's ethos or admission policy and there are no planned changes. He said that the school will remain a diverse and inclusive school under Church of Ireland management.

'The board, in conjunction with the patron, will work to ensure that the transition to a new principal will be smooth and seamless,' wrote Rev Mungavin. 'I would like to pay tribute to Eileen's dedication and commitment as principal over many years and wish Eileen the very best for the future.'

The admission policy of the school, published on its website, explains that priority will be given to those who are 'members or accustomed members' of the parish.

While a 'baptism barrier' will be prohibited under forthcoming legislations, minority religions will continue to be legally entitled to prioritise according to faith.

However, the Schools Admissions Act, due to come into force for children starting in September 2019, allows for the consideration of evidence such as a baptismal certificate only.

Ms Jackson had been principal at St Patrick's for 23 years and has taught there for 32 of her 37 years as a teacher.

She said that her decision to resign was to do with the Church of Ireland's 'core values of freedom of conscience, tolerance, and inclusivity'.

'Admission to State-funded education cannot and must not be an adjunct to, or a collateral benefit of, parochial engagement,' wrote Ms Jackson. 'St Patrick's appears to be taking a new direction and, in conscience, I am not the person to lead the school in this context. 'I have become increasingly concerned at our departure from belief in, and commitment to, core elements of Church of Ireland ethos.'

In a petition started by Ciara Kelly in support of Ms Jackson, she said that the principal was being 'forced' to resign and said that it can't be assumed that parents have confidence in the board of management.

She said that the board of management had turned down an extra teacher last year and added that this comes shortly after the loss of a deputy principal (who moved to become a principal elsewhere) and school secretary (who retired).

The petition had gathered more than 400 signatures yesterday.
The Irish Draught Horse Societys 31st National Show will take place at Blarney Castle on Saturday

The stately grounds of Blarney Castle will this Saturday play host to one of the most popular events on the Irish equestrian calendar.

The world famous castle will be the backdrop for the Irish Draught Horse Society's 31st National Show, the first time that the venue has hosted a major equestrian event since 2002, when Blarney Castle hosted the 2nd International Horse Trials.

Renowned for its strength, intelligence and gentle temperament, the Irish Draught Horse was developed to be a working horse on Irish farms, with references to the breed dating as far back as the 18th century.

The small size of Irish holdings at the time meant that it was not financially viable for farmers to own more than one horse, so the breed was developed to be, quite literally, the work-horse of the farm, capable of pulling heavy weights, riding, hunting and driving.

They can also be crossed with thoroughbreds and warmbloods, producing Irish sport horses (also known as Irish Draught Sport Horses), which have been used at international eventing, dressage and showjumping events.

Their strength, combined with their even temperament and unflappable nature, has seen them used in the An Garda Siochana mounted unit as the breed is readily able to cope with violent or confrontational situations.

However, with farms becoming increasingly mechanised during the 20th century, the popularity of the breed waned and in the mid 1970's there were only around 400 of them in Ireland.

In 1976, fearful that they might be dying out, Cork vet Mary Joyce Quinlan founded the Irish Draught Horse Society in order to preserve the breed.

While still classified as an endangered species, around 600 foals are registered in Ireland each year, thanks in no small measure to the society's championing of the breed. Saturday's showcase event will offer horse lovers and the general public a chance to view the horses on show, with the Premium Mare Class for pure-bred Irish Draughts, sponsored by Horse Sport Ireland, carrying a total of 2,500 and the top 20 mares awarded 150 each.

The Mare of the Future category will have a prize fund of 1,000. In addition, the event will also feature ridden and young handler classes and related categories.

For more information about the Society and Saturday's event visit the Irish Draught Horse Society Facebook page.
Despite being a relative newcomer to Cork's vibrant summer festival calendar, the Townlands Carnival in Macroom has gained an enviable reputation as one of the most eclectic events of its kind anywhere in he country.

Billed as spectacular assault on the senses that "breaks the boundaries of expectation" Townlands saw the idyllic grounds of the Rusheen Farm Estate transformed into a purpose-built festival playground for three glorious days of great music and family fun last weekend.

Thousands of people flocked to the venue to enjoy all that Townlands had to offer, savouring the unique atmosphere and flavour of the event under the baking summer sun.

One of the undoubted highlights of the weekend was the set by headliners veteran disco divas Sister Sledge, who held the listening audience in the palm of their hands as they belted out a selection of their greatest hits.

For probably their best-known song, the infectious 'We Are Family', the group invited children from the crowd to join them onstage, epitomising the family friendly ethos of Townlands.

Other musical highlights over the weekend included sets by British electronic pioneers Leftfield, trad favourites Kila, Irish rockers King Kong Company and a clutch of other acts from a side variety of genres, highlight the eclectic nature of the carnival.

While music may be the main focus of the event, there was also plenty going on around the carnival site, with a plethora of weird and wonderful attractions just waiting to be discovered and explored around every corner.

For example the Village Green Area hosted a diverse community of artists, musicians, environmental activists, slam poets, artisan craftspeople and foodies with the aim of generating a true community spirit while keeping carbon emissions to a minimum.

In keeping with the family friendly ethos of the weekend, it also incorporated plenty of attractions to keep the little ones occupied including the 'Shiver Me Timbers' family area, the hide-away Bell Tent for families with toddlers and the Kids Beatz Disco.

Townlands Carnival director Sam Beshoff declared the weekend a great success with record numbers turning up to enjoy the extravaganza.
Members of the Duhallow Vintage Club gathered at their base in Freemount, Charleville last week to make a presentation of a cheque for 500 to Ger Falvey, who accepted it on behalf of the committee of the Friends of Mallow Hospital.

Ger was standing in for their chairman Jack Madden, who is presently indisposed, and was unavoidably absent. The presentation was made by Paul O'Sullivan of Castletownroche, who is the President of the Duhallow Club, watched by a large number of club members.

Addressing those present the club chairman, William Hogan, said they were delighted to once again be of assistance to the Friends of Mallow Hospital, which was a tremendous amenity for the people of North Cork. He thanked everybody who had contributed to their collection at the recent Mallow Flower Festival weekend, and Alan Collins the festival organiser for allowing them to be present at the festival and their own member, Michael O'Callaghan, for suggesting that the proceeds should go to the Friends.

Mr. Hogan extended the best wishes of the members to Jack Madden for a speedy recovery to full health. Ger Falvey, Vice-Chairman of the Friends committee, said they really appreciated the support they get from the Duhallow Club, as their take from church gate collections was way down on former years due to the reduction in Masses being celebrated in their catchment area.

"Our committee is now 45 years in existence and we have collected a large amount of money, which is used to provide the hospital with vital equipment, which if we were not active, may not be there," he said.

Other members of the committee present were Michael O'Callaghan, John Naughton and Donal Cashman (PRO) Friends committee. The Duhallow Club observed a minute's silence in honour of their colleague John T. Murphy of Barraduff, Co. Kerry, who was President of the Cortina Owners Club of Ireland, and who died earlier in the week.
Fiona with her Kazakh friend Berek, who is a stark reminder of the lasting damage done by Soviert-era nuclear testing in his homeland

Fiona Corcoran with Anwar, one of the many orphans her charity cares for

Nine students from the Loreto Secondary School in Fermoy will travel to Kazakhstan next October in a bid to highlight the appalling poverty that still exists there following the demise of the former Soviet Union.

The trip is being organised by the Cork-based Greater Chernobyl Cause, which was founded by Fiona Corcoran in response to the nuclear disaster in 1986. Since then, the charity has widened its mission to concentrate on, as Fiona put it to The Corkman, the human casualties of the break-up of the former Soviet Union.

For almost two decades the charity has been providing an invaluable lifeline to the most vulnerable people in Kazakhstan, Russia and the Ukraine, bringing some light into the lives of people that the world has largely forgotten.

Nowhere is this more evident than in Kazakhstan, where those lucky enough to have survived early life faced horrific prospect of being placed in the squalid and disease-ridden Ayagus institution in the large industrial city of Semipalatinisk.

"For many, this amounted to a death sentence," said Fiona. In 1949 the USSR commenced the testing of atomic bombs on sites just 100 miles from the city, with a third of the world's nuclear testing over the following four decades taking place there. It is estimated there were more than 500 explosions up until 1992 - the equivalent of many thousands of Hiroshima bombs.

Fiona explained that the consequences of this are being felt up to the present day. "Babies continue to be born with deformities, with many of them abandoned and ending up in an orphanage. Some have radiation illnesses; others have been left by their impoverished parents unable to cope with their children's mental and physical disabilities," said Fiona.

"All are victims of a system that hurls together children of all ages and backgrounds."

Fiona said that while the shackles of the Soviet Union are well gone, in the areas of Kazakhstan where the charity operates, authorities face a continual struggle to cope with the needs of the poor and disadvantaged of all ages.

"Caring and devoted staff have to manage with precious few resources and in outdated and dilapidated buildings," she said.

"When they turn 18 many of the children that we have known and supported since infancy go to the Semey psychiatric home in eastern Kazakhstan, which is also in desperate need of help and assistance."

She explained that the purpose of the October visit by the transition year pupils from Fermoy was to help raise the money needed to build a sanitation complex at the Semey facility.

"Currently water in the psychiatric home comes from a heating system that is turned on during the winter and is cut off during the summer time, rendering basic sanitation impossible. An independent hot water source and the provision of a sanitation unit is an absolute necessity for basic hygiene and laundry," said Fiona.

"In funding the construction of the unit, we will be continuing in our duty of care and provision for the people we have known and cared for since they were babies."

Fiona said the project would cost in the region of 50,000 to build, and she appealed for support from the Irish public to help make it a reality.

"It is only by raising awareness and keeping the plight of these vulnerable people, both young and old, in the minds of those in a position to help that we can make a difference. We are desperate for assistance as it is my belief that we are the only glimmer of light and harbinger of hope in the darkness and desperation of so many vulnerable people," said Fiona.

"Any donation would help towards the provision of this essential infrastructure, to enable this facility to provide essential levels of care. It would mean so much as we need to be there for those who need us. Whatever the obstacles we encounter along the way, we are certain of one thing: Kazakhstan and the plight of its abandoned cannot be forgotten."

To find out more about the charity's work in Kazakhstan and to donate, visit www.greaterchernobylcause.ie.
The HSE has said a letter telling home helps to inform their clients that cover would not be available when they take annual leave, due to staff shortages, should never have been sent out and has since been withdrawn.

The letter, issued late last month and highlighted in The Corkman two weeks ago, said that due to a "severe shortage" of home help staff they had reached a "critical stage" in relation to providing sick/annual leave to cover clients.

It said that as a result new policies were being introduced in relation to cover, including that as soon as home helps booked annual leave they were to "inform your clients that cover will not be available" so they could make alternative arrangements.

"Let your clients/families know that this is an ongoing issue and that they need to have a plan in place should you go out on sick leave with immediate effect. Do not advise your clients/families that cover will be provided or that someone will be there," read the letter.

Cork North West TD Michael Moynihan (FF), said the letter had "sent shockwaves through families up and down north Cork."

"Home supporters have been told to inform the families they are working with that they will need to find alternative cover, potentially at their own cost, for the period during which they are on leave," said a furious Deputy Moynihan.

"This is simply outrageous. It puts severe pressure on home helps and families alike. Families are now scrambling to make alternative arrangements and home helps are feeling that taking their holidays is causing distress to the people they are caring for," he added.

In a statement the HSE said the letter "should not have been issued, has been withdrawn and staff informed of this as quickly as possible."

"We want to assure the public and people working in the home support service that there is no new policy or change to arrangements when staff go on annual leave, or are on sick leave," said a HSE spokesman.

"Cork Kerry Community Healthcare understands that some people may be worried by these reports, and we would like to reassure them that people in need of the service will continue to receive it. This has not and will not change," the spokesperson insisted.

The statement did, however, "absolutely acknowledge" there were staff shortages and that they were "actively recruiting" to address the problem.

"We recruit on a continuous basis, and are interested in recruiting new staff right now. Anyone interested with the home support service, can contact the Home Support office on 021-492 3959 or 021-492 3864," said he spokesperson.

They insisted that despite the staff shortages, the HSE was still able to maintain a high level of care to its clients.

"The home support service which people receive is based on need, following assessment by a public health nurse. Some people may need one visit a day, but equally there are people who receive three visits a day as this is based on their individual need," said the spokesperson.

"The level of care provided is very high, both in terms of the numbers of hours and also the level of care and we would like to pay tribute to the work done by our health care support assistants, and the people who manage the service."
The potential for Kanturk Castle must be realised so that the structure can become one of the centrepieces of the wider Duhallow region's tourist offering.

However, before this can be done, the importance of the Castle, a designated national monument, must be placed firmly in the mindset of the community as a place of significant local and national historical and cultural importance.

That's the view of Cork North West TD Michael Moynihan (FF), who has described the Castle as "one of the great unsung gems of the Duhallow area."

Built around the turn of the 17th century for MacDonogh MacCarthy, the Lord of Duhallow, as a defence against the English, it was never finished after the Privy Council ordered work to stop. While some historians believe this may have been as a result of the Battle of Kinsale, it is more likely MacDonogh could not raise the funds needed to complete it.

Whatever the reason, it was mortgaged to Sir Philip Percival (circa 1641) who took many of its fixtures to be used in his other properties.

Despite the ravages of time and weather, the structure remained in relatively good condition and in 1900 was donated to the National Trust Committee for Ireland by Lucy, Countess of Egmont, on condition that it be kept in the same unfinished condition it was in when handed over.

Unique in that it was the last castle in Ireland to be owned by the English National Trust, it was formally handed over to An Taisce in 2000, with then-President of Ireland Mary McAleese visiting Kanturk to formally accept the deeds on behalf of the Irish people.

Since then it has been carefully maintained and managed to a high standard by the Office of Public Works (OPW), and it is open to the public.

However, Deputy Moynihan said he felt the castle had yet to fully realise its potential as a major tourist attraction for Duhallow.

"I visit the castle regularly with my children and they love it. However, you could be there for an hour on your own and that is the problem. The question is, how do we develop that potential and create a position where Kanturk Castle is placed firmly in the mindset as a major tourist attraction in Duhallow," said Deputy Moynihan.

He insisted this would not require vast sums of funding, saying that the people of Kanturk and the surrounding area could play a vital role in making this happen.

"There are no huge financial barriers in place here. But, what is needed is a public awareness campaign ensuring people are aware there is this gem within their midst and to spread that message far and wide," said Deputy Moynihan.

"One step that could be taken would be its inclusion in a wider north Cork tourism trail. It could also be used as a venue for wedding photographs and various different high-profile events. The potential is there but needs to be teased out in order to highlight the importance of the castle as both a visitor attraction and a place of huge local and national historical importance," said Deputy Moynihan.

"Certainly, news that the castle is to be linked to the town by a new footpath is a welcome development. But, in my view, this must be just the first in a number of initiatives to raise the profile of the castle and tie it in with all of the other attractions that Kanturk and the wider Duhallow area has to offer," he added.
As had been widely anticipated, Mitchelstown-based Cllr June Murphy has been selected as the Social Democrats' general candidate for the Cork East constituency.

Cllr Murphy was elected to Cork County Council in 2014 under the Sinn Fein banner but sensationally quit the party in late 2015 saying that internal wrangling had left her with no option but to leave and join the ranks of the independents in County Hall. In February of this year Cllr Murphy formally announced she would be joining the Social Democrats, telling The Corkman that the policies of the party "very much mirror my own ethos on many issues".

A staunch campaigner for better mental health services, Cllr Murphy has also sought better support for suicide prevention, domestic and sexual abuse and the needs of children with disabilities and their families.

"I have thought long and hard about returning to party politics. I am very happy to have made the move. It has reignited my passion for politics and if it leads me in the direction of contesting for a seat in the Dail, so be it," she said.

Cllr Murphy is the current chair of the Fermoy Municipal District committee, a position she took up two weeks ago up, having served as the chair of the Council's Northern Area Committee for the previous 12 months. She said she was "thrilled and honoured" to be selected as the Social Democrat candidate for Cork East.

"Our communities face enormous challenges when it comes to decent and affordable housing and proper access to healthcare. We have learned these past months that we can deliver improvements in people's lives through grass roots activism, compassion and bold leadership," she said.

The party's co-leaders, Catherine Murphy TD and Roisin Shortall TD, said they were delighted to have Cllr Murphy on board.

"June has enormous compassion and energy and she is driven by her deep commitment to build a decent society where no one is left behind. As a councillor, she has worked tirelessly to support families at risk of homelessness," said Deputy Murphy.

"She will be an excellent public representative for the Cork East constituency and will champion investment in people, proper public services and a vibrant and sustainable economy," added Deputy Shortall.
"The Cork East constituency is crucial to us. If we do not take two seats here we will not win the next general election. It is up to our candidates to go out there and win these seats."

Those were the words of Minister of State for Local Government and Planning John Paul Phelan during a rousing speech to a packed audience of Fine Gael faithful at the constituency selection convention on Monday night.

More than 200 party members and party officials attended the convention at the Corrin Marts Complex in Fermoy, chaired by Deputy Phelan, with MEP Deirdre Clune also in attendance.

They gave Deputy Phelan a warm reception as he spoke about the party and its future direction, giving him a particularly enthusiastic round of applause when he categorically ruled out any chance of the party going into a coalition with Sinn Fein after the next general election, whenever that may be.

Following Cllr Noel McCarthy's decision to pull out of the race for "personal reasons", voters were tasked with choosing two candidates from sitting TD and junior Minister David Stanton, Cllr Kay Dawson and former county councillor Pa O'Driscoll, to carry the party banner into the next election.

While Deputy Stanton was the clear front-runner, there was much speculation about who might join him on the ticket, with the outcome by no means cut and dried prior to votes being cast.

A point well-made by Mrs Clune, who said the members had been given "an excellent field to choose from."

"I know David well as we were elected to Dail Eireann at the same time in 1997, and Kay and Pa are very strong candidates," she said.

Even as Minister Phelan took possession of the all-important results from convention organiser Willie Gleeson, there still was a palpable sense of tension in the air as he prepared to announce the result.

While he did not disclose how many votes each candidate received, Minister Phelan announced Deputy Stanton and Mr O'Driscoll as the successful candidates.

Gracious in defeat, Cllr Dawson thanked her supporters and wished the two successful candidates well for the future. In their addresses, both Deputy Stanton and Mr O'Driscoll thanked Cllr Dawson for putting her name forward, with Deputy Stanton drawing applause when he complimented the hard work she has been doing in the Fermoy electoral area.

He went on to thank his supporters, imploring all present to "leave here and spread the word that Fine Gael is alive, strong and fighting".

"A little more work and, by God, we will get back (into government) for another four years," he declared. Mr O'Driscoll, who narrowly lost out on a Dail seat in 2011 and served on Cork County Council until 2014, said he was "looking forward to the campaign ahead".

"I don't know when the next general election will be, but I will be taking the fight to the north of the constituency. We need two seats in Cork East, and after dragging the country back from the brink of disaster, I am confident Fine Gael will achieve that," he said.

However, Mr O'Driscoll said there were many challenges to be faced along the way, including Brexit, housing, CAP reform, the need for investment in water infrastructure, and climate change.

"Fine Gael can be proud of its achievements in Government, but there are numerous challenges facing the country, and I will look to be an advocate for the people of Cork East on these issues," said Mr O'Driscoll.

"I will begin my campaign immediately and look forward to meeting people across north Cork to discuss the issues affecting this constituency," Mr O'Driscoll added.
Cork East TDs Sean Sherlock and Kevin O'Keeffe have cast aside party colours and joined forces in order to lobby Irish Water to prioritise funding to resolve water supply problems in the village of Ballyhooly.

The duo met with senior management at Irish Water calling on them to allocate "real money" to address and finally bring an end to the long-running saga.

Irish Water recently acknowledged to The Corkman that low pressure and intermittent interruptions to supplies in some local housing estates had been happening for several years, adding that they were working to address the issue.

While the situation has reached critical levels over recent weeks due to the dry weather, local resident Josephine O'Driscoll had previously told The Corkman it was common knowledge that the supply pipe from the Castletownroche did not have the capacity to supply the entire village.

"The real problem is that the supply system has not kept pace with the growth of the village. The good weather we are having has served to further highlight this," she said.

In response, Irish Water said that steps had been taken to alleviate the problem in the short term. These included opening valves to augment supply from the Castletownroche scheme, implementing night-time restrictions on parts of the network, undertaking leak detection and repair works, and mobilising crews to undertake 'First Fix' repairs on private houses where meters show a continuous night-time flow.

The company said that, notwithstanding these short-term measures, it was acknowledged certain "infrastructural improvements would provide a more secure water supply" to the community and local businesses.

"In relation to the Ballyhooly scheme, initiatives are being examined for the medium and longer term. Irish Water and Cork County Council are examining the feasibility of installing a booster pump on the supply line from the reservoir to the village to improve water pressure over the medium term."

Deputy Sherlock said that both he and Deputy O'Keeffe were aware of the proposed instillation of the booster pump prior to their meeting with Irish Water.

"However, we were anxious to impress upon Irish Water the need for capital investment in Ballyhooly so that a new pipe could be laid to meet the needs of these people whose supply is patchy," he said.

Deputy O'Keeffe reiterated the point saying, "booster pumps are fine in the short term, but we need proper pipes in the ground". Both TDs said that while Irish Water has shown sympathy for the people of Ballyhooly, a firm commitment that funding would be made for a new pipe to supply the village from the reservoir was needed.

They said that water shortages over recent years in Ballyhooly had "slipped under the radar" and, as a result, had not featured on Irish Water's priority list.

"We were given assurances that this was no longer the case," said Deputy Sherlock.

"We are hopeful that our lobbying will help to prioritise Ballyhooly for funding. There is work to be done, but it's up to the government to start focusing on places like Ballyhooly."
There were differing views on the controversial report which recommends the scrapping of the tenant purchase scheme for council houses at the recent meeting of Louth County Council

There were differing views on a controversial report which recommends the scrapping of the tenant purchase scheme for council houses when it was discussed at the recent meeting of Louth County Council.

While a number of councillors supported the idea of doing away with tenants right to buy their home, others were opposed it.

Cllr Tommy Byrne was vehemently opposed to the suggestion in a recent UCD report on social housing, arguing that the tenant purchase scheme should be retained in order to give people the opportunity to own their own homes.

However, Cllr Mark Dearey voiced his opposition, saying that selling off houses had depleted the council's housing stock.

Director of Service Mr Joe McGuinness pointed out that the local authority looses its control of a house once it is sold off which has implications for dealing with anti-social behaviour.

Cllr Tomas Sharkey felt that money received from the sale of houses under the tenant purchase scheme could be used for capital expenditure to build more houses. He felt the scheme had been 'extremely successful'.

He also raised the recent report on social housing by UCD researches, asking if Louth was one of the counties surveyed. He complained about media reports which claimed that the rent for council houses is 30 per week and that people can 'inherit' council houses.

Cll Dearey responded that five counties were included in the research and centrally collected data was also used. He thought that the report authors Professor Michelle Norris and Dr Aideen Hayden had spoken very well when interviewed on RTE but Housing Minister Eoghan Harris had dodged key questions.

He pointed to the report's finding that two-thirds of social housing in Ireland is now privately owned.

The report, commissioned by the Community Foundation for Ireland, also found that increased pressure on tenants securing private rented accommodation is a 'key driver of homelessness'; a problem that can only be resolved by providing more social housing,' he noted.

Mr McGuinness told the meeting that the average rent in Louth is 58.50 per week but he expected it to rise to 60 before the end of the year.

He stressed that people don't inherit council houses and that there are very specific requirements for someone to get succession of tenancy.
Louth Libraries have been awarded a share of more than 470,000 funding and are planning a two-week festival of events to coincide with Science Week.

Louth Libraries intend to programme over 40 events across the county encouraging people of all ages and walks of life to be informed, inspired and involved in science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM).

Minister for Business, Enterprise, and Innovation Heather Humphreys, TD together with Minister of State for Training, Skills, Innovation, Research and Development, John Halligan TD, announced the investment of more than 470,000 for organisations to host Science Week festivals or events during Science Week, which takes place from the 11th - 18th November this year. The funding provided through the SFI Discover Programme will support 12 festivals and 15 events across the country.

"As the world around us continues to evolve, encouraging more people in Ireland to explore science-related careers is a priority for this Government, " said Minister Humphreys at the launch.

"However, to achieve this goal, we must ensure that our citizens have access to science at a local level. The investment in the Science Week festivals and events will provide an opportunity to reach new audiences in locations right across the country. Crucially, many of these festivals reach areas where we know there are lower levels of engagement in science."

Yvonne O'Brien, Louth County Librarian is delighted Louth Libraries were successful in their funding application to Science Foundation Ireland and is looking forward to a fun and innovative programme of events in Louth during November. The ethos of Louth Libraries is equality of access to information, literacy, learning, job seeking and health and well-being for all.

All the community will have the opportunity to experience the programme, as an exciting, socially cohesive, community driven experience. Collaboration within the community is key to the successful roll-out of such a programme. We will engage with high profile businesses and local industries in the county. Such collaborations will allow the opportunity to experience STEM as applied in real life, making science real, said Yvonne.

Events include 3D printing workshops, taster coding sessions; and workshops on everything from the science of gin to kite making, cyber bullying and mandala art.

If you are interested in working with Louth Libraries on the festival programme please contact Amanda Branigan, Senior Executive Librarian, Tel: 042-9324334 or email Amanda.branigan@louthcoco.ie.

The final festival programme will be available on the library webpage on www.louthcoco.ie/libraries at a later date.
A crowd gathered in Monageer recently to mark the anniversary of one of the ten republican men to die on hunger strike in the Maze Prison in 1981. IRA man Joe McDonnell was one of those who lost his life on hunger strike in search of the status of a political prisoner.

At the event in Monageer, spearheaded by Sinn Fein councillor and general election candidate Johnny Mythen, the crowd was addressed by Sinn Fein MLA and former hunger striker himself, Pat Sheehan. In 1981, Pat went for 55 days without food and was critically ill before a halt was called to the hunger strike. From prison, he studied philosophy and politics and obtained an honours degree and upon his release in 1998, he became active in Sinn Fein, working for the republican ex-prisoners organisation Coiste na n-Iarchimi. He was co-opted to the assembly to replace Gerry Adams and was re-elected back in 2011.

At the event, Pat spoke of how he had just returned from Palestine and the annual conference on the Policy and Conflict Resolution Studies Centre in Ramallah. He said that 37 years on, the people of Palestine still talk about Bobby Sands and the Irish hunger strikers. He said that the protest still serves as inspiration to the Palestinian people and he described it as being 'the first major step towards using democratic and exclusively political means to help achieve a just and peaceful republic for all our citizens on this island'.
Swords-based staff from Peter Marks hair salon have been honoured for their long service.

The Peter Mark Long Service Awards took place at The Westin Hotel, Dublin and recognised employees from salons across the island of Ireland who have worked at Peter Mark for 10 years or more.

Of the 120 honoured today, the average length of service was 16 years but many were celebrating even more significant milestones with the company! 19 people celebrated their silver jubilee racking up an impressive 25 years on the salon floor while six members of the team were honoured for 30 years of service.

Two hairstylists celebrated 35 years with the company, Karen O'Neill who is based at the Malahide salon and Alice McAvinney who is based in Dundalk.

Swords staff honoured were Emma Sherwin, Claire Lalor, Jennifer Lawlor, Paula Toft, Paula Aston, Denise Donoghue and Nicole Corrigan

Peter O'Rourke, CEO Peter Mark said: 'Our Long Service Awards which celebrates the fantastic contribution of our team to Peter Mark. As a company we are proud to say that we have so many talented stylists and support staff who have worked with us for over 10 years or more, something which is almost unheard in hairdressing.'

'As a brand working in the service industry for 58 years, we know how important is to attract and retain the best talent. It is the lifeblood of our company. Providing the best training and career opportunities for our team is at the very centre of everything we do.

'We run a world class training programme which ensures our team are continuously learning and upskilling throughout their career to ensure we stay ahead of the curve. I would like to congratulate everyone who was honoured in our ceremony today and look forward to celebrating with them again at the next milestone.'
The residents of Seabury are revolting against plans to kick them off the 42 and 142 bus routes under proposal to redesign the Dublin Bus network by the National Transport Authority (NTA).

A petition has been started online against the plans which had already collected over 1,000 signatures at the time of writing.

The residents of Seabury are not the only ones unhappy with the proposed changes as there is a lot of concern in Fingal where towns like Rush, Lusk and Donabate will lose their direct services to the city, under the proposals, to be replaced by feeder services to Swords.

In response to these concerns, Deputy Darragh O'Brien is to host a series of public meetings on the issue in affected areas around Fingal in the coming weeks, as the public consultation on the proposals get underway.

The first public meeting took place in one of the communities potentially worst affected by the proposals, in Seabury last night (Monday) and was co-hosted by Deputy O'Brien and his brother, Cllr Eoghan O'Brien (FF).
The highly anticipated opening of Ireland's first Krispy Kreme Doughnuts store will happen in September of this year, and will create up to 150 jobs.

The Krispy Kreme Hotlight store with large seating area and a 24-hour drive thru, will open adjacent to the Blanchardstown Centre, providing a significant jobs boost for the local area.

The company is looking for everything from doughnut makers to retail team members to join their dedicated team from day one of their exciting new journey, as the brand lands in Ireland for the very first time.

The recruitment process has already begun, and jobs currently on offer are management team vacancies which include: Operations manager, Back of house manager and Production manager. There are many more full-time and part-time vacancies available in the factory store, at the Blanchardstown site. Krispy Kreme are recruiting in various areas including: retail, logistics, administration, and management.

Interviews are set to take place in August and three lucky new employees will get an amazing opportunity to travel to the original home of the Krispy Kreme doughnut, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Once there, the employees will get to visit Krispy Kreme's global headquarters, where Krispy Kreme manufactures its own bespoke doughnut baking equipment, and learn all about the company and what has made it into the global success story it is today.

Krispy Kreme Ireland Country Director Alex Drysdale said: 'We're looking forward to meeting and working with new people, and adding to our global network of employees. This is a brilliant chance for people to join a friendly, fast-paced and dynamic company that really is a great place to work, with a uniquely fun atmosphere and culture.'

If you would like to apply, please see www.krispykreme.ie.
Gardai are warning owners of SMAs to protect their businesses from a form of online crime targeting companies of all size.

Invoice Redirect Fraud is a crime targeting businesses working with suppliers that regularly perform online financial transactions.

In crimes of this nature, criminals send emails to businesses purporting to be one of their legitimate suppliers. These emails contain an instruction to change the bank account details that the business has for a legitimate supplier, to bank account details that ultimately benefit the criminals.

These requests can also come by way of letter or phone call so caution should attach to any request of this nature.

It comes as a 33 year-old man was arrested last week in Mulhuddart, Dublin 15 by members from the Money Laundering Investigation Unit at the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau in relation to the laundering of funds in excess of 1.1 Million.

The alleged laundered funds were the proceeds of an International Invoice Re-Direction Fraud perpetrated against a Danish company. It is alleged that the offence occurred in May of 2016.

The criminal intention is that when the legitimate supplier next sends an invoice to the company seeking payment for services rendered or goods supplied, the victim business acts on the new banking instructions and sends the payment to the criminal's bank account where the funds are quickly transferred or withdrawn.

In many instances the business does not know it is a victim of this crime until sometime later when the legitimate supplier sends a reminder invoice for payment.

All employees should receive training in relation to avoiding this type of scam.
The Friendly Business Awards 2018 which celebrates excellence customers care across a number of different categories has been launched.

The bespoke launch by JCI Fingal at Swords Castle marked the opening of the public online nomination process with support from the Mayor of Fingal Cllr. Anthony Lavin.

Also in attendance were Paul Reid CEO Fingal County Council, Senator James Reilly FG, Alan Farrell TD, Brendan Ryan TD and Wim de Jongh of Hope Beer, last year's Eco-Friendliness and Overall Winner of the Friendly Business Awards.

The JCI Fingal Friendly Business Awards celebrates excellent customer care across a number of different categories.

The essence of the Friendly Business Awards is to celebrate business, in particular highlighting the importance of small to medium enterprises and their contribution to Fingal's prosperous economy.

Businesses in Swords, Malahide, Portmarnock, Howth, Sutton, Castleknock, Blanchardstown, Mulhuddart, Donabate, Portrane, Lusk, Rush, Balbriggan and the surrounding Fingal area can be nominated.

The seven categories include; Customer Care, Disability Access, Digital Experience, Eco-Friendliness, Shop Layout & Design, Community Impact & Overall Winner 2018.

Aisling Brady, President of JCI Fingal, said: 'We are delighted to be hosting the JCI Fingal Friendly Business Awards 2018. This is truly about recognising the positive contribution small to medium enterprises make to the local Fingal economy.

'We look forward to seeing local business receive the recognition they deserve and I would encourage everyone to nominate a business they have been impressed by in the Fingal area.'

JCI Fingal are delighted to have the backing of Fingal County Council as lead sponsor of The Friendly Business Awards.

The Grand Hotel Malahide will also partner with JCI Fingal to host the elegant ceremony on Thursday, September 6.

For further information and to nominate a local business in the Fingal are visit www.jciireland.ie/page-friendly-business-awards-nomination-form.html.

JCI Fingal is a local chapter of the Junior Chambers International, an international youth network that promotes personal and professional development through community projects, workshops and the branch network. Members come from a variety of backgrounds such as finance, government, politics and insurance.
A Dublin bus driver who clipped the front arch of a parked car because he was reading a text message while driving the bus has been branded a 'lunatic' by a Judge and has been banned from driving for three months.

Sergiu Rus (45), who has 18 years experience as a bus driver, claimed he 'foolishly' read the text message which was sent from his wife about their son's exams.

The defendant was also convicted and fined 300 for reading a text message while driving on May 24, 2017 at Selskar Road, Skerries.

The 45-year-old, who has an address at Handsfield in Clonee pleaded guilty to the offence at Balbriggan District Court.

He has no previous convictions.

Sergeant Eoin McDonnell gave evidence the defendant was driving a Dublin Bus and was observed using his mobile phone and was involved in a minor road traffic collision as a result.

'The bus clipped the front wheel arch on the passenger side of a car,' said Sgt McDonnell, adding that there were no injuries and the owner of the car did not wish to pursue the matter.

The defendant's solicitor explained that his son was sitting exams and his wife had sent a text message that he thought was about their son.

'Against his better judgement he foolishly read the message. It doesn't justify the incident but it's an explanation,' the solicitor said.

'He has been disciplined by Dublin Bus and has completed a six month driving programme,' the solicitor added, asking Judge Dempsey to be as lenient as possible and not to impose a driving ban.

However, Judge Dempsey remarked: 'What sort of message would that be sending out', if he didn't impose a driving ban.

The solicitor said the defendant's livelihood depends on his licence.

'What would have happened if a passenger in the car was opening the car door and this lunatic comes along, driving a bus reading a text message?' asked Judge Dempsey.

'What if a child was waiting to cross the road and this idiot was answering the text message?' Judge Dempsey continued and imposed the three month driving ban, fine and conviction. He fixed recognisances in the event of an appeal.
A man who went into his local Garda Station to make a complaint that he was put out of a nearby pub ended up being arrested after he made a derogatory remarks to the garda on duty.

Ian Harris (35) claimed he was very drunk at the time and has apologised for making the remarks.

He was given the benefit of the Probation Act after he made a donation of 300 to the Garda Benevolent Fund.

Balbriggan District Court heard the defendant was drunk when he went into Lusk Garda Station at 12.30am.

However, when he tried to make a complaint about being put out of a pub, the on duty Garda Vincent Turley refused to take his complaint as he was intoxicated, Balbriggan District Court heard.

The defendant then turned to Gda Turley and made the derogatory remarks.

Gda Turley asked the defendant to leave the garda station. However, he refused to leave and was arrested.

The defendant, of Ivory Bungalow, Ballock in Lusk, Co Dublin pleaded guilty to failing to comply with garda direction at Lusk Garda Station on February 15.

He has no previous convictions.

Defence barrister Annette Kealy said the defendant went to the garda station four weeks later to make an apology to Gda Turley.

After the donation was paid over, the defendant told Judge Dermot Dempsey 'I am sorry. It won't happen again. I'm sorry I made the remarks. I was drunk at the time,' to which Judge Dempsey replied: 'It may be a reason but it's no excuse', before applying the Probation Act.
Five more people owe their safety to the brave men and women of Skerries RNLI lifeboat who were once again, called into action last week to rescue a group stranded on a rigid inflatable motor boat.

Skerries RNLI sprang into action last Tuesday evening (July 17) after Dublin Coast Guard received a call from a rigid inflatable motor boat that had suffered electrical failure to the north of Lambay island and was going nowhere with light fading fast.

Shortly after 9pm, Skerries RNLI volunteers launched their Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat with Joe May at the helm and crewed by Sheila May, AJ Hughes and Jack Keane. The lifeboat headed off in search of the ailing vessel.

The information received via Dublin Coast Guard was that the boat had suffered electrical failure and was anchored to the north of Lambay island.

Conditions at the time were fair, however light was beginning to fade.

The lifeboat proceeded to Lambay and as they neared the island, the casualty vessel fired a white parachute flare to alert the lifeboat of their whereabouts.

The vessel, with four men and one woman on board was taken under tow by the lifeboat and returned to the safety of Rush harbour.

All five on the stricken boat were taken to safety and nobody was injured in the incident thanks to the quick action of the local lifeboat crew.

Speaking about their latest call out, volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer for Skerries RNLI, Gerry Canning told the Fingal Independent: 'Thankfully we were able to locate the casualty quickly and all on board were well and in good spirits.'

The RNLI volunteer praised the crew involved and said: ' Our volunteers are always ready to respond and we would always advise anyone going to sea to carry more than one means of contacting the shore, and, if needed, to make the call for help early.'
A multi award winning Gorey-based designer will return to CREATE for her fourth year at what is arguably Ireland's best-known department store, Brown Thomas on Grafton Street in Dublin.

Blaithin Ennis is thrilled to be among 24 designers that have been selected to participate in the six-week event by Brown Thomas fashion director Shelly Corkery.

The local jewellery designer is returning to Brown Thomas to launch the new 'Kavanagh' collection. Each piece is individually handmade from her studio in Gorey.

Blaithin is passionate about creating beautiful pieces of heritage and craftsmanship to suit a variety of budgets. She said she will be in Brown Thomas, level 1, every Thursday and Saturday over the coming weeks and will be happy to meet new and existing customers.

Well-known Irish designers such as Lainey Keogh, Mariad Whisker, Una Burke and UK based Richard Quinn, who's fashion was worn earlier this year to the MET Gala by Amal Clooney, will feature at this year's CREATE.

CREATE, now in it's eighth year, is a display of emerging and established Irish talent who come together to show off their products. Designers are given the opportunity to showcase and sell their work in a curated space providing them with a retail platform within the store. Fashion Director Ms Corkery said CREATE gives their customers the opportunity to discover designers at the forefront of Irish design today.
Caroline Whitmore and Margaret Corcoran, Gorey with Neven Maguire at the Neven Maguire Cookery Demo in Dunnes Stores Gorey on Friday evening

Gorgeous smells lingered in Dunnes Stores at Gorey Shopping Centre on Friday evening as celebrity Irish chef Neven Maguire cooked up a storm.

Neven cooked organic Irish salmon fish cakes; corn fed chicken and chorizo rice bake; soy, ginger and chilli beef salad; and a quick summer trifle, all using Dunnes Stores Simply Better collection.

The cookery demonstration recipes were create exclusively for the summer edition of the Dunnes Stores Simply Better 'COOK with Neven Maguire' magazine. He is a brand ambassador for the Simply Better collection.

Hundreds gathered at Dunnes Stores to see Neven demonstrate. The magazine, which is available now, was launched last year and was developed to nurture people's passion for cooking at home.

Simply Better Brand manager Diarmuid Murphy said they want to provide people with the best ingredients to cook restaurant quality food at home.

'We had so many amazing Wexford food producers and was delighted that some of them joined us,' said Diarmuid.

The guests got to sample some of the delicious products on the day, including some from local businesses such as Wexford Preserves, Killowen Farm and Zanna Cookhouse.
The Monaseed Community Group Company Ltd have been given the go ahead to develop a play area facility.

Wexford County Council granted the voluntary group permission to construct the area which is designed or intended to be used for social, recreational, educational or religious purposes by the inhabitants of the locality or by the people of a particular group or religious denomination and will not be used mainly for profit.

It will also be designed or intended to be used as a work-shop, training facility, hostel or other accommodation for persons with disabilities.
Charlotte Grove lane is attracting anti-social behaviour, according to councillor Fionntan O Suilleabhain at last week's Gorey Municipal District meeting.

Cllr O Suilleabhain said it was important to have it looked at due to a lot of recent fire activity, especially after a house in Ard Lios was nearly set a light when a large blaze engulfed trees on the boundary of their home. He added the Gorey Fire Service seem to be up there quite a bit.

'We need to clear the lane out and place some lighting,' said Cllr O Suilleabhain. 'It is used quite a bit at night for residents coming back from the nightclub and bars.'

Engineer Tony Quirke from Wexford County Council said they will meet with residents as soon as possible to discuss what can be done to help the situation.
Two Wexford County Council officials spent almost 9,000 on a six day trip to New York - including 600 on a lunch - to promote the county during the city's St Patrick's Day festivities

Two Wexford County Council officials spent almost 9,000 on a six day trip to New York - including 600 on a lunch - to promote the county during the city's St Patrick's Day festivities.

Former vice chairperson of the local authority Cllr Barbara Anne Murphy travelled with Senior Executive Officer and Head of Communications and Customer Service David Minogue to New York on March 14 arriving that evening at their 4 star hotel. They spent four days attending functions and meetings across the city, with one rest day on March 18, before flying home on March 20. The cost of hotel rooms for Cllr Murphy and Mr Minogue came to 2,278 in total.

The trip was organised by a travel agent who was paid 106 for booking flights which cost 747 each. The council representatives spent 774 on 'subsistence' each and 274 in total on taxi fares.

285 was spent on dinner with the New York Wexford Association and a whopping 600 was spent on tickets to an Ireland-US Council luncheon.

105 was spent on gifts which were presented by Cllr Murphy to Sarah Fanning and Mick Dunbar of the New York Wexford Association.

140 was claimed in travel expenses for the return trips from Wexford to Dublin Airport, along with 42 for airport parking and 2,000 on marketing services procured for the New York itinerary. The total cost of the trip came to 8,872.

Mr Minogue said the Ireland-US Council luncheon is an annual fundraiser for the body, adding that the ticket price reflects the fundraising nature of the event.

He said: 'Wexford County Council was happy to support the work of the Council through the attendance of the Leas-Cathaoirleach and myself. The purpose of this Council is to build business links between America and Ireland. It was started by American and Irish business leaders. In pursuit of its aim, the council hosts frequent events in Ireland and in the United States. The Council also operates a variety of scholarship and student internship programs, stages occasional seminars and, from time to time, undertakes various publishing initiatives in national business media in the United States to promote closer commercial connections between Ireland and America. The Council seeks also to focus on activities that will develop communications, dialogue and improved understanding between leaders in business and government on both sides of the Atlantic.'

Upon returning from the trip in March, Cllr Murphy presented councillors with a diary style account of her and Mr Minogue's visit to New York. In the six page document circulated to councillors and the press, the Bunclody woman outlined, in 19 timelined entries, the various events both she and Mr Minogue attended during the six day trip.

Included are her departure (in an economy class Aer Lingus flight as she describes), to telephone calls made to Sarah Fanning and Mick Dunbar of the New York Wexford Association), to finalising arrangements for the St Patrick's Day parade following a meeting with the New York Wexford Association.

A book launch was attended, along with an Ireland US Council luncheon and a St Patrick's Day reception. St Patrick's Day was hectic, and included attending Mass at 8 a.m., meetings and a dinner post parade. The following day was a rest day, followed by her attending a meeting of executives of IDA Ireland in which both she and Mr Minogue have a brief presentation on the council's economic and community investment programme entitled `Our Ambition Your Future' - drawing particular attention to the M11 Business Campus in Gorey, advance technology buildings in New Ross, the Enniscorthy Business & Technology Park and Trinity Wharf in Wexford town. A meeting of Tourism Ireland executives was attended, along with a meeting with hotelier John Fitzpatrick during which he said he would visit with Wexford councillors in his context as an Ambassador for Wexford, before both left the San Carlos Hotel by taxi and returned (`economy class') on an Aer Lingus flight to Dublin.
There was a hive of activity on Saturday afternoon at Umrigar for the 72nd Carnew and District Annual Agricultural Show.

PRO Dorothea Lazenby said the show went very well and the weather was just ideal. Amongst the visitors there was people from overseas, including Canadians who said they were very impressed with the show.

Dorothea said they took a break two years ago from the show and the committee are just overwhelmed at the support Carnew has been given. 'It was very well supported this year,' said Dorothea. 'We are just so grateful.'

The day included a variety of classes for ponies, horses, poultry, sheep and much more. 'This year our number of sheep was back a bit, but that was because of the bad winter we had this year,' added Dorothea.

The standard of the pony classes were extremely high this year, along with the horse classes. 'The poultry section was very good as well this year,' said Dorothea. Many of the visitors said they enjoyed the ever-so-popular dog show.

The children had a fun afternoon as there were a lot of activities organised to keep them all entertained. They had a bouncy castle, face-painting, and a disco. The after-show party included live music from Take 5 and DJ Pat Flemming, who kept the party going until early hours of the morning. The committee would like to thank everyone for their support.
EU Ambassador to Nepal Veronica Cody launched an art exhibition of Wexford based artists at the Siddhartha Art Gallery in Kathmandu.

The exhibition was supported by Wexford Arts Centre and Culture Ireland in association with Art Spies and Trish Robinson of Pigyard Gallery who helped to curate the collection.

The exhibition showcased mixed media works by Bernadette Doolan, Olivia O' Dwyer, Declan Cody, Michael Duggan, Paddy Lennon and Kate Murphy. and was on display at the Babar Mahal Revisited where the Siddharta Art gallery is located in Kathmandu.

Dublin-born Ambassador Cody who is a sister of the Wexford-based artist Declan Cody, extended a warm welcome to the Irish artists and thanked Culture Ireland and the Wexford Arts Centre for supporting their travel to Nepal.

She underlined the importance of cultural exchanges and people-to-people contacts of this kind in fostering mutual understanding and cultural appreciation among nations.

The Ambassador added that the exhibition was being organised at an appropriate time when the European Union is marking 2018 as the 'European Year of Cultural Heritage, celebrating the cultural diversity and unity of EU Member States.

Ambassador Cody praised the role of the Siddhartha Art Gallery in promoting art and culture and expressed the hope that a reciprocal visit of Nepali artists to Ireland could be explored in the future.

Several dignatories attended the official opening including the Israeli and Brazilian ambassadors to Nepal and the honorary consuls of Spain and Poland.

The exhibition was very well received and a few sales were made, much to the delight of the artists.

The local Nepali Times included an article that described the first ever exhibition of Irish art in Nepal as 'a landmark in Kathmandu's cultural firmament' and added: 'It is a small brief window that gives people here in Kathmandu a glimpse of the sensibilities of this gentle land on the edge of the North Atlantic'.

Ambassador Cody said Nepal and Ireland have completely different landscapes, one has mountains and the other has oceans and islands,

'Our landscapes affect how we see the world and exchange of art is an opportunity to transcend that worldview and get a glimpse of another', she said.

Wexford Arts Centre executive director Elizabeth Whyte, who travelled to Kathmandu, said:'It was a great opportunity to promote Wexford and Irish arts and culture and it was great recognition for the artists and Wexford Arts Centre with support from Culture Ireland,'
Last week en route to a play in Dublin's Peacock Theatre I went into town by bus, upper deck.

A chance to see the world pass by. A few stops before getting off I spotted two men, probably in their 30s, holding hands. It was something of a foreword to the play I was about to see.

'Come On Home' is written by Phillip McMahon and directed by Rachel O'Riordan.

McMahon, as he explains in the programme, has been making theatre at the Abbey for over 20 years.

'Come On Home' is about family, faith and desire. While travelling abroad, the 20-year-old McMahon met a gay couple who happened to be two Catholic priests. The three of them became friends and had 'amazing conversations about faith and sexuality'.

The subject matter might well sound a cliche at this stage in 'modern Ireland'. But the overall impression the play left with me was one of people living their lives in the here and now, grappling with the cards they had been dealt. The main character in the play, Michael, comes home from England to attend the funeral of his mother in rural Ireland. The family had a hair salon in the village, and Michael's brother, Ray, inherited the business from his late father but is now about to close shop and head off to Manchester with his pregnant partner. The other brother Brian is loud and often drunk.

There is a lot of drinking and foul language, but there's honesty, respect and love too.

From the outset, Michael is different, shades of sophistication about him. There are early hints that he is 'different'.

Michael is gay, had spent some time in a seminary studying to be a priest. It seems he was asked to leave because he was 'too creative'.

All the conversations, the arguing, the drinking, the disclosures take place in the living room with their dead mother lying in the open coffin. It's there too that the crudest and foulest of language is uttered, no holds barred.

In the midst of bereavement, elements of comedy, raw anger and expressions of dreams, two priests enter the plot. One, in a cameo role, an older man, is probably not in touch with 'modern Ireland'. They offer him a glass of whiskey, which he graciously accepts.

Then there is the younger priest, who was in the seminary with Michael. And now the hinting is over. They had a sexual relationship, and Fr Aidan Cleary tells Michael how he says his name every day to himself. Michael is confused, experiencing emotions of love and hate.

It also transpires that Michael's older brother, Brian, was sexually abused at school by a Christian Brother.

You can imagine the anger.

Would one theme have been adequate on the night?

Coming back home, again on the bus, this time with two friends, who were also at the play, we were naturally talking about it.

In the midst of all that is happening and being revealed in 'modern Ireland', is there any serious and helpful conversation going on among priests about sexuality?

One hears many esoteric theories, but a misguided sense of orthodoxy stymies any discerning, real and authentic debate.

And fear is never too far away.

As novices, we were told celibacy was a sign of sacrifice for the Kingdom of God. A sign of what in 'modern Ireland'?

'Come On Home' is probably raw. But isn't so much of the human condition raw, confusing, painful?

There is no perfect way, no perfect life.
This Sunday will see Killarney Outlet Centre host an Art Exhibition.

On show will be the work of Killarney Access Group's Margaret Kenny, with a selection of her still-life and scenery paintings displayed. The works cover a wide variety of paints such as oils, watercolours, and acrylics.

All proceeds will go to both the Irish Wheelchair Association Kerry branch; and Multiple Sclerosis Ireland Kerry branch.
As his son, Billy, put it, John B Keane may not have been present physically to celebrate what would have been his 90th birthday but, thanks to organisation by the Seanchai Kerry Writers' Museum in Listowel, his spirit was felt throughout three recent days celebrating his life.

The Listowel man, a playwright and novelist of great repute, passed away at the age of 73 in 2002 - but his legacy is sufficiently rich to ensure a place in more than a few hearts and minds.

"It was called 'Remembering John B Keane at 90,'" Cara Trant of the Seanchai said. "We've had similar events in recent years celebrating Kerry writers past and present, such as Bryan McMahon, George Fitzmaurice, and Brendan Kennelly. Next year, we hope to have something to celebrate Maurice Walsh for what would have been his 140th birthday."

Festivities began with 'pub theatre' performances at John B Keane's bar, with a show by Corofin Dramatic Society of 'Big Maggie' also counting amongst the highlights, packing out St John's Theatre.

The popularity of the Listowel icon's work has not faded with time, and columnist Fintan O'Toole was at the Kerry Writers' Museum to discuss the relevance of Keane's writing in today's Ireland, noting his willingness to tackle issues seen as taboo.

Tara estimates that some 2,000 people attended the weekend's various events, which concluded on July 21, Keane's birthday. But, tends to be the way with milestones, a sense of poignancy was keenly felt.

"It was very emotional for me" Billy Keane told The Kerryman. He loved his birthday. He used to make three days out of it: the day before, the day after, and the day itself. So it was sad in the sense that he wasnt here to celebrate.

"But even though he wasn't here physically, his spirit was certainly around the place. It's nice to see that people came from all over and that his memory lives on." As if it could be any other way.
The value of Adi Roche's Chernobyl Children's International charity is infinite. Just ask Belarusian 11-year-old Angelina Harokhava on completing her third lengthy stint this week with a family in Tralee, who have come to love her as one of their own, as she has them.

It was through the charity that Angelina has been taken into the heart of the Sugrue clan - thanks to long-time charity volunteers George and Mary Sugrue.

It's been a year since she last saw the Sugrues, having stayed with them over two periods in 2017. On both those occasions, Angelina's health improved dramatically. a result of first-rate health care and the love with which she was surrounded.

This summer proved no different as Susan and Ian Sugrue; their daughters, Ciara (14) and Roisin (11); Ian's dad, George; and wife, Mary, pulled out all the stops to ensure every moment in Kerry would count for Angelina's physical, mental and emotional health.

"She has come on tremendously since getting back to Kerry," Mary Sugrue told The Kerryman.

"The one-to-one care that Susan gave her has made an incredible difference, and we were just overjoyed to have her back with us again." The joy was writ large on Angelina's face too upon exiting the airport - becoming more animated and smiling than the family could ever remember seeing her before.

For the rest of the year, Angelina lives in the Vesnova Mental Institution for children and young adult, where much of her days are spent without much enjoy. But it is at least supported by the Adi Roche charity and is improving all the time.

Mary - who was in Vesnova with George just last April - is now working with Adi to try to access speech therapy and occupational therapy for Angelina there. Though she will be far from them following her return this week, Angelina has never been closer their hearts.
Kerry Fianna Fail TD John Brassil has written to the management of University Hospital Kerry (UHK) to express his grave concerns about the lack of key staff at the hospital.

This week Deputy Brassil wrote to Ger O'Callaghan, the Chief Operations Officer of the HSE's South/South West Hospital Group - which runs UHK - to outline his fears.

Deputy Brassil told The Kerryman that the lack of key personnel at UHK is making it very difficult for the hospital to function in a safe and efficient manner.

"We currently do not have a consultant cardiologist, the last remaining consultant pathologist is leaving the hospital, and the hospital has only one consultant geriatrician," said Deputy Brassil.

"Two very important units, the stroke and diabetes units, are barely operational due to a lack of key staff. Recently, I was informed that the Clinical Director has temporarily stepped aside," he said.

"UHK is at crisis point. The safety and well-being of patients and staff is now being put at risk by the staffing crisis. It cannot be allowed to continue, and unless the Cork-Kerry Hospital Group, and the wider HSE, get its act together, patient safety will continue to be put at risk," Deputy Brassil claimed.

The Fianna Fail TD said that if the situation is allowed continue, he fears that UHK may lose its Category 3 District Hospital status.

"The hospital is being stretched to breaking point and there is no back up from the hospital group. The staffing gaps have to be filled to make it functional and safe," Deputy Brassil said.

Speaking to The Kerryman this week Taoiseach Leo Varadkar also aired concerns about the hospital and how it is being managed.

Health Minister Simon Harris has said that the HSE is working with the Consultant Appointments Advisory Committee and the Public Appointments Service to address staffing shortages at UHK.
The universality of wedding underpins the winning story in The Kerryman Con Houlihan Young Journalism Award for 2018.

Diarmaid Blehein (26) from County Mayo won this years prize at Listowel Writers Week held in May for his short story: A Korean Wedding  Where the Guests Come First.

Diarmaids inspiration for the story stems from his experiences in South Korea where he taught English for two years.

A teacher at the school got married and invited him to the wedding. Diarmaids story is a perceptive and humorous overview of the occasion.

The similarities between how we enjoy weddings was striking, and similar to how we celebrate them here at home, he said.

But I think the main challenge was trying to condense this experience into 500 words at it derives from a much longer piece, Diarmuid said.

Diarmuid completed an MA in Creative Writing at NUI Galway, and on his return from South Korea he studied a course in journalism in Dublin.

The Mayo man is also a keen playwright and along with his winning entry in the journalism category at Listowel Writers Week, he also submitted a piece in the playwright category.

Its something I enjoy and Ill definitely be entering in future competitions. Initially, my interest was in stage writing, but I mixed it between writing reviews and articles. In 2014 I wrote a review for the Galway Film Festival, Diarmuid added.

You can read Diarmuids prize winning article below.

Korean weddings - where guests not the happy couple come first

When I was in Korea, a colleague invited all of us to her wedding which was to take place the following month.

A shotgun wedding? No, just one of the many Korean wedding customs that bare a stark contrast to weddings at home. Koreans don't waste time - if they're given it. The intense working culture makes even the biggest of occasions a second priority.

Despite the large Christian population, most people don't get married in a church. Instead they opt for wedding halls.

These are venues of various sizes that cover all aspects of the big day. This particular couple were both Catholics and held a private blessing ceremony a few days before the wedding. The guests are not forced to endure long sermons, whether they are Christian or not.

This particular wedding hall was in Gangnam, a metropolitan region of Seoul. Before we entered the hall, we had to sign our names in the guest book and deposit our white enveloped gifts into the box.

Cash is the only acceptable form of gift, and the amount depends on how closely acquainted you are with the couple or their parents. No need to quarrel with your plus one here; the rules are set in stone.

The groom welcomed all the guests they entered the wedding hall while those of us who knew the bride had to go upstairs to her special bridal room, where she sat, glowing in fabulous white. She greeted everyone and posed for countless photographs and selfies.

When we got back downstairs, we were surprised to see people already helping themselves to the buffet.

Not wanting to miss out, we joined them and helped ourselves to some of our favourite Korean delicacies. However, no sooner had we sat down when the place stood up. The bride and groom emerged and walked up the aisle together behind their mothers who were both wearing the traditional Korean dress.

After the exchanging of rings, the couple read their specially prepared speeches and drank some rice wine. A small cake was brought out with two candles for them to blow out. Next thing we knew, they were strolling down the aisle as husband and wife.

Everyone returned to the buffet to resume eating and drinking. The waiters provided each table with bottles of beer and Soju, a clear Korean liquor, but not enough to redden the face of any uncle.

The couple disappeared for a few minutes, and returned dressed in normal clothes. I doubt they had a chance to get much food, as the waiters were pretty brisk in clearing everything up: they had another wedding booked for the afternoon.

As we made our way out of the wedding hall, the groom handed out everyone a special gift of an ornamental plate as a way of thanking us for coming. Then it was back out onto the busy streets of Gangnam. The marriage may well last a lifetime but it's Saturday and the guests have other places to be.
The kids are not OK.

The adults are not OK. Society is brushing its mental health problems under the rug and hoping they will disappear, but, according to the latest Central Statistics Office figures, suicide remains particularly high among men.

The outgoing medical consultant paediatric psychiatrist for Wexford and Waterford Dr Kieran Moore gave a damning response to the child and adolescent mental health service in an explosive interview with the Wexford People this week. Among the criticisms outlined was that mentally ill people among us; people suffering from serious illnesses including Schizophrenia, Anorexia Nervosa and Depression, are treated like aliens; placed in wards in remote locations.

Dr Moore, who has seen almost 5,000 children and adolescents during his 16 years in the region made an appeal through the newspaper for a referendum on mental health. He said the State has been complicit in treating children and adults with psychiatric illness as aliens and called on Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to apologise to the parents of children who have been had to attend adult psychiatric units for treatment,

The state of mental health services comes down to a lack of management and a referral system straight out of a Franz Kafka novel. Take, for example, the following figures as just a flavour of what is happening in counties across the country. Since 2002, 4,486 patients were referred to Dr Moore. 1,444, or nearly one third, were inappropriate referrals, which should have been sent to primary care services. Of the 2,357 patients who were seen by him, (each new assessment takes at least three hours including paperwork), 327 had a primary diagnosis of autism and should have been seen by the autism service.

800 (one third) should have been seen by the psychology service urgently, but weren't.

Describing the appointments system as a 'ferocious misuse of time and taxpayers' money,', Dr Moore went on to say the system is so bad that the parents of children with autism are advised to not to use HSE services, but to go private. It is not hard to imagine why the HSE is totally understaffed in its psychiatric service. The lack of compassion by the HSE and the lack of investment by successive governments borders on the criminal. The days of locking up people who were mentally unwell in old hospitals on the outskirts of towns have gone, but in their place there is a massive void, not unlike the noise parents are hearing when they are left waiting on the phone, time after time, trying to make an appointment for their sick child. The Irish mental health services are not providing a service, rather they are worsening the health of thousands of children, who need medical help and who have been deprived it. It is time to hold the Government parties to account for investing a fraction of the health budget to a life and death service.
Cllr Michael Sheehan raised concerns about a disconnect between Wexford and Kilkenny County Councils which saw 14 and not ten refugee families allocated housing in the New Ross.

Cllr Sheehan questioned the level of communication between the Piltown and New Ross municipal districts, drawing members' attention to a housing estate in Rosbercon where Kilkenny County Council bought houses. He said tenants were displaced and new tenants, Syrian refugees, were given the houses.

'Quite a stir was created in New Ross where people were being turned out of their houses and replaced by other people. Can we have a commitment that when the council are acquiring, whether single or multiple properties in New Ross, that we be informed as it makes it easier for us to explain why.'

Cllr Melissa O'Neill said three to four Syrian families are housed in every small town.

Cllr Sheehan said tenants in Rosbercon were thrown out 'on to the road' and other tenants were put into their houses.

Cllr O'Neill said often the tenants are in houses owned by private landowners who choose to sell their homes. She said the same situation arose in Ferrybank where there are 2,000 people on the housing list, adding that the money spent on their houses comes from specific funding for refugees.

'The tenants would have received notice from their own landlords and we then acquired housing. We had four families who were put into one estate and they fitted in fantastically well. There were some neighbours who were upset but they went out and welcomed them and hopefully they will welcome them here also.'

Cllr Willie Fitzharris asked if New Ross and Robsercon are classified as two different urban areas and was told that they are.

'Wexford County Council have housed ten Syrian families in New Ross and Kilkenny County Council have housed four families in Rosbercon.

'That is 14 families and other towns like Wexford have ten. I am amazed we have broken them in two. It's national policy and I'm not suggesting that Kilkenny are doing anything improper.'

Cllr O'Neill said the Syrian families have settled in well. 'Language is obviously going to be a barrier. They are getting full-time English classes. They are very highly educated teachers, nurses and doctors and they will be going out to work here. We haven't had any issues.'

Cllr Fitzharris said: 'It sounds very much like there is a duplication of services here. There is an obvious benefit for the Syrians to be living close to one another.'

Cllr Michael Whelan said: 'We are all very welcoming of the situation and of the connection between Wexford and Kilkenny and hopefully it will all work out. There needs to be better communication when it comes to dealing with housing in New Ross. The town of New Ross has 14 families coming in, we don't want to change that but at least going forward we need more communication coming in.'

He called on housing officials in Kilkenny to alert their counterparts in Wexford about anything that may have an impact on the townspeople of New Ross.

Director of Services for Planning with Kilkenny County Council Sean McKeown said: 'This is national policy in relation to the resettlement of Syria refugees and Kilkenny County Council has a responsibility to them.'

He said a multi-agency response is involved, adding: 'I understand that there is fairly constant communication between the two neighbouring councils. It doesn't happen in a haphazard fashion; it happens in a planned fashion.'

Cllr Sheehan said the first he knew of it was when tenants who had been given notice appeared at his clinic. 'These are people who are working. They are taxpayers. We are in the middle of a housing crisis. It's practically impossible for anyone, even on a decent working wage, to find accommodation.

'Refugees are coming in and we couldn't get a clear answer from any official on this. We should be careful that we are not throwing families out onto the street as they won't get accommodation, even on a HAP plan.'

Cllr O'Neill said Kilkenny County Council hasn't thrown any tenant out on the street.

'As a matter of policy Kilkenny County Council will not buy a house if it will make someone homeless. This is where private landlords sell their house; the tenants mightn't even be on a housing list. Private landlords sell their houses every day of the week. Just because a Syrian family goes into it that shouldn't mean there is an issue.'

New Ross Municipal Cathaoirleach Cllr John Fleming said the council only goes in to houses where there is a vacant occupancy.

'What is the difference between someone getting 30 days notice and someone getting a house 31 days later?' Cllr Sheehan argued.

Cllr Fitzharris said New Ross has 14 Syrian families by virtue of having a boundary with Kilkenny at its edge.

'We have two different groups within one mile of each other. I would have to question the national body who advised this for one town.

'They are completely separated and they have completely different set of supports. Great work is being done but they have created a division in this town in terms of services,' he said.

Cllr Pat Dunphy said all towns which border neighbouring counties have had additional Syrian families allocated them, including in Piltown and Carrick-on-Suir.

Mr McKeown said: 'Communication seems to be an issue. Perhaps we should be doing a better job.'

It was agreed that housing officials from both councils attend the next meeting of the councils in early October, along with a refugee liaison officer from Kilkenny.

Cllr Tomas Breathnach said: 'Three areas need improving: communication, coordination of services and optimisation of our resources.'
Full speed ahead for the Wexford Monster Truck Run (from left): Con Morris; Ricky Breslin;Anna Thompson; Cllr Ger Carthy; Cllr Tony Dempsey, Mayor of Wexford; Verona Murphy, President of the Irish Road Haulage Association; Joe Druhan; Ciaran Sheridan; Mary Rice; and Seamus Thompson

The second annual Wexford Monster Truck Run will take place over the weekend of Saturday and Sunday, July 28 and 29, and all money raised from it will go towards the MRI scanner fund for Wexford General Hospital.

The event was officially launched on Wednesday evening in Kilrane which will also provide the venue for a massive truck show on Sunday, July 29.

Speaking to this newspaper about the run the committee secretary, Con Morris, said those involved hoped that last year's figure of 4,000 for the hospital will be surpassed this time around.

'We had a good turnout last year and were delighted to raise 4,000 but we hope we can expand on that this year,' he said.

A family-orientated event admission to the truck show will be 5 for adults with children getting in free-of-charge. The event is being organised in conjunction with the Friends of Wexford Hospital committee.

The truck run itself will take place on the Saturday and will begin at the old Renault compound in Kilrane at 12 midday and will follow a route to New Ross, Enniscorthy, Gorey and Wexford town via the coast road.

The run will end back where it started in Kilrane where a 4,000sq ft marquee will be set up and music will be provided by the Big Party Rockabilly Band at 10 p.m.

Admission to the marquee on Saturday night will be 10 and all money raised from the event will go towards the hospital fund.

On Sunday the music will be performed by Borderline from 12 noon.

Sunday will also be the main family day of the weekend and there will be a wide range of stalls and attractions on-site including bouncy castles and in addition to the trucks there will also be cars and motorbikes on display.

'We're hoping it will be as big a success as last year,' said another committee member, Ricky Breslin.

Both Mr Breslin and Mr Morris were full of praise for local businesses and individuals who have given their support to the event to-date.

The cost of registration to participate in the event with a truck is 50 which includes a weekend pass for the run and truck show along with a hot meal, free entry into the music marquee and a goody bag.

The price for truck passengers will be 10.
Residents across the district may not be able to fill their swimming pools or power wash their decking, but they have and will continue to have water in their taps, local councillors have been assured.

This was the message that went out from Senior Executive Engineer Dan McCartan at the New Ross Municipal Council meeting in The Tholsel, where he happily declared: 'We have maintained our supply throughout the current dry spell.'

Mr McCartan said: 'New Ross is going well thanks to some works we did to the weir over the past couple of years.'

He said there has been a 20 per cent increase in demand for water from the Taylorstown water treatment plant due to the influx of tourists to the coastal area and extra demands from the agriculture sector.

'We have been working away in the background and have raised the weir and have a small project which will enable us to cope better for fisheries. We are doing all that we can to keep the water flowing through the taps.'

He said water services staff carried out a significant job on the plant in May which has improved the situation.

'Half way through that job I made sure Irish Water officials came down to see what the situation was.'

Mr McCartan said Irish Water are going to prioritise the plant for works.

Proposals are being progressed for refurbishment works at Ballycullane reservoir to improve water intake and monitoring and response post emergency draw down of supply. Mr McCartan said cost estimates are being finalised.

He said minor works have been competed at Carrigbyrne and Clonroche borehole sites. 'The upgrades have included provision at Carrigbyrne to run both pumps simultaneously at a reduced rate. Due to the extended dry spell borehole output from the two sites was decreasing and storage levels were diminished. The works returned output to normal levels.'

Cllr Willie Fitzharris said he has been receiving calls criticising the speed at which council water staff repair leaks. 'I see it on social media as well,' he added.

'My staff are repairing leaks every day as they are reported,' Mr McCartan said, getting back up from Cllr Michael Whelan who said someone in Ballycullane reported a leak one morning recently and it was fixed that evening.

'If it's an inconsequential thing you leave it and do the bigger thing,' Mr McCartan added.

District director Eamonn Hore said council workers have fixed thousands of leaks.

'There is no news in saying "I had my leak fixed in 24 hours",' Mr Hore said.

Mr McCartan said his main concern is when the rain comes.

'At the moment the water is extremely clean; it hasn't gotten down to a trickle where it would get dirty.'

Mr McCartan concluded by saying: 'Nothing is coming off of the land because there is no rain so the first bit of rain we get will wash everything into the rivers but we will be on top of it,'
Music Generation has joined the Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board (WWETB) in announcing the appointment of accomplished arts manager and practitioner Katherine Atkinson from Australia as music generation development officer for Wexford.

In her new post, Katherine will have responsibility for developing and managing affordable and accessible performance music education programmes for children and young people up to 18 years old in Wexford.

This will include the coordination of music tuition services within the county, working in partnership with schools, community music groups and arts services in the formation of choirs, ensembles and performance initiatives across diverse musical genres and styles.

'As a passionate advocate for the value of performance music education, I'm thrilled to take up the role of Music Generation Development Officer in Wexford', said Katherine.

'As a practicing musician and performer I have experienced first-hand the enormous impact that access to the arts and creative encounters can have on children, young people and communities.'

' The cultural landscape of Wexford is already so vibrant, and I look forward to working with my colleagues in Wexford Music Education Partnership to grow and enrich that tradition for our next generation of young musicians.'

Originally from Australia, Katherine is an arts consultant, musician and performer who managed youth arts and arts development for the Arts Council of South Australia before moving to Ireland in the early 1990s where she has worked with Create, the national development agency for collaborative arts and the Arts Council. She holds an MA in Public Culture Studies from Dun Laoghaire Institute of Art Design and Technology, a Diploma in Theatre and Drama Studies from NUI Maynooth and a Certificate of Music from TAFE South Australia.

Wexford was among nine new areas of the country selected for participation in phase two of Music Generation last September, following an open national call for applications from music partnerships.T The application for Wexford was led by WWETB, in partnership with Wexford County Council. Programming in Music Generation Wexford will get underway from September of this year. The expansion of the Music Generation initiative to Wexford was made possible by philanthropic donations from U2 and The Ireland Funds, which will seed-fund 50% of the costs of developing the programme during its three-year set-up phase.
Former TD Gerry Reynolds and Sligo Councillor Sinead Maguire have been selected as the Fine Gael candidates to contest the next General Election in the Sligo Leitrim constituency.

Up to 1000 people turned out for the Fine Gael Selection Convention in the Clayton Hotel in Sligo last Thursday night.

Gerry Reynolds topped the poll with Sinead Maguire coming a close second. John Perry was a strong contender as the count got underway but transfers did not go his way.

It was a long night and the final tally called just before 2am was Gerry Reynolds 295, Sinead Maguire 285 and John Perry 222.

Returning officer for the count was Enda McGloin, Fine Gael Regional Organiser. He confirmed to the Sligo Champion that the directive from Party HQ was to 'select two candidates.'

"805 delegates who were there on the night voted out of an electorate of 1122. There were two spoiled votes. We used the Seanad PR System with four eliminations on the night. Senator Frank Feighan withdrew his candidacy during his speech," explained Enda.

"From a Fine Gael perspective we are delighted with the result. It gives us a very strong ticket, a young woman and an experienced businessman who was in politics before," he said.

Enda added: "Sinead Maguire was unexpected. She is only a short time in politics but her campaign was really excellent. She obviously won the hearts of the electorate by her personal campaign. And she was able to attract transfers on the night.

"Gerry Reynolds was so close the last time around. In 2016 he was just 400 shy of taking the second seat.

"We have a balanced ticket, two candidates strategically placed, gender balance and on that point we are the only main political party presenting a female candidate in the constituency. We are giving the electorate and our voters a strong option."

Geographically the party has also got it right with one strong candidate in Leitrim and one in Sligo.

Chairman of proceedings on the night was Minister of State for housing Damien English. He was met with an 'electric atmosphere' as up to a thousand people packed into the Clayton Hotel for the event.

As Enda said: "It was a great night with so many people staying on until 2am to hear the final count."

It was a difficult decision for Councillor Sinead Maguire to run in the first place. As a mother to two young children she has concerns about the massive commitment involved in becoming a member of Dail Eireann. But clearly delighted at her victory, she told The Sligo Champion: "It is a real honour and a privilege to have been selected particularly as I won at convention with no gender quota directive and I hope now to get elected to represent the people."
A decision relating to the future of the postal service in Ballinfull will not be taken until after July 31st, An Post has stated.

That's when it will have a clearer picture as to the future size and make-up of the post office network in the country, Sligo independent councillor Declan Bree has been told by Angus Laverty, the Public Affairs Manager of An Post.

Cllr Bree said: "I was told by people in the community that the current postmistress would be retiring shortly and they now have a fear that the management of An Post may not offer a contract to an alternative service provider in the area.

"The response I received from Mr Laverty of An Post highlighted the fact that under the terms of a new agreement between An Post and the Irish Postmasters Union some postmasters who wish to retire have been offered a voluntary severance package and that postmasters have until July 31st to signal their intentions in this matter."

Mr Laverty said there was no change to the status of the post office at Ballinfull, though it was "aware that the postmistress has expressed an interest in possibly taking up the voluntary severance package."

He also stated that a new protocol had been established which sets out how An Post will facilitate the continued provision of Post Office services in areas where an existing postmaster retires or ceases operating an existing Post Office, with particular reference to the customer base and transaction levels to support a Post Office and the proximity of other Post Offices. Mr Laverty said that after July 31st An Post should have a clearer picture as to the future size and make-up of the post office network and they will be in a position to access the service requirements in each area, on a case by case basis. Speaking to 'The Sligo Champion' Cllr Bree said people from Ballinfull and Maugherow and the surrounding area have every reason to be concerned about the future of their post office. Like in other areas, the post office in Ballinfull is an essential part of the fabric of that rural community. It is a focal point, a centre of activity and a community hub. It would be an unacceptable to see it closing down," said Cllr Bree.
No matter how hard you try, theres always something that doesnt go according to plan at a wedding.

And no-one knows this more than Kevin Kennedy Ryan, who got married to the love of his life Jessica three years ago.

To reminisce, Kevin, 28, shared a photo of the moment he and his bride were about to have their first kiss as a married couple on Twitter.

However, at the exact same moment, his half-sister Grace fainted and fell face-down on the floor.

Three years ago, I married the love of my life and my sister fell over pic.twitter.com/9jaSazmiir  Kevin Kennedy Ryan II  (@K_47) July 25, 2018

Speaking to the Press Association, Kevin, who is originally from Atlanta, US, but now lives in Sheffield in the UK, explained: It was a sweltering summers day in Chicago, must have been 36-38 degrees.

Wed been out on the lake in the sun all afternoon taking pictures and then the ceremony was at 6pm in this converted loft with giant floor-to-ceiling windows.

We were all running around so frantically that day that none of us had probably consumed enough food or water, so I think the heat ended up winning the day over my sisters ability to stay conscious through the ceremony.

1) my sister fainted at the exact moment the judge says you may kiss the bride

2) hell naw

3) it's a real split second photograph, a few seconds later we were all over her!

4) idk

5) https://t.co/FhEa87MINg (don't think the boy is on Twitter)  Kevin Kennedy Ryan II  (@K_47) July 25, 2018

It was immediately after the judge said, You may now kiss the bride, we were making our first embrace as a married couple and all of a sudden heard a thud.

It took a moment or two to clock what had happened and then we looked down and saw my sister on the floor. Everyone was stunned, initially we were all scared for her thinking it could be more serious than just a quick fainting.

As worried guests quickly gathered around her, Kevin said his sister came back to consciousness within 30 seconds.

Not a scratch!  Kevin Kennedy Ryan II  (@K_47) July 27, 2018

He added: We were all just glad she was OK.

Kevin said that Grace was a little flustered and embarrassed, worried that she may have ruined the wedding.

He said: We assured her she hadnt and we were all laughing about it 10 minutes later.

Yeah, we restarted the first kiss once my sister was ok and sitting down :)  Kevin Kennedy Ryan II  (@K_47) July 27, 2018

She was absolutely fine once shed had a sit down and a glass of water.

We resumed the ceremony  with Grace sitting down this time  and had our first kiss for the second time and then everyone enjoyed the rest of the night.

Photographer Sean Cook, of Sean Cook Weddings, was on hand to recapture the moment for the second time and Kevin says he and his family cherish both photos.
Some of the 739 defendants listen to the verdict from a soundproof glass cage inside a makeshift courtroom in Tora prison in Cairo, Egypt (Amr Nabil.AP)

An Egyptian court has sentenced 75 people to death, including top figures in the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, for their involvement in a 2013 sit-in protest, state media reported.

The Cairo Criminal Court referred the sentences to the Grand Mufti  the countrys top theological authority  for his non-binding opinion, as is the norm in capital cases. Though non-binding, the formality gives a window of opportunity for a judge to reverse an initial sentence.

The sentences are subject to appeal.

Sentencing for more than 660 others involved in the case was scheduled for September 8, the Al-Ahram news website reported. Those sentences, too, are subject to appeal.

Of the 75 defendants referred to the Mufti, 44 have been jailed and 31 are at large. The court normally hands down the maximum sentence for fugitives but a re-trial is typically held after they are caught.

Expand Close Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, known by his nickname Shawkan, was arrested in August 2013 while taking pictures of the governments violent dispersal of a sit-in by supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi (Amr Nabil/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Egyptian photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid, known by his nickname Shawkan, was arrested in August 2013 while taking pictures of the governments violent dispersal of a sit-in by supporters of ousted Islamist president Mohammed Morsi (Amr Nabil/AP)

The case involves a total 739 defendants, including the Muslim Brotherhoods Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie and photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid. The charges range from murder to damaging public property. Neither Badie nor Abu Zeid were sentenced to death in this case.

The 2013 sit-in, in Rabaa al-Adawiya Square in Cairo, supported former Islamist President Mohammed Morsi who was militarily ousted following mass protests against his divisive one-year rule. Mr Morsi hailed from the Brotherhood.

The sit-in was violently dispersed on August 14 2013. More than 600 people were killed. Months later, Egypt designated the Brotherhood a terrorist organisation.

Egyptian authorities have since launched a severe crackdown on Brotherhood members and supporters, arresting many and trying them on terror-related charges.

Egyptian courts have held mass trials and handed down death sentences for hundreds of people, drawing international condemnation.

#Egypt: The verdict for @ShawkanZeid in the Rabaa dispersal case has been postponed to 8 September. 75 other men in the same case remain at risk of the death penalty. No members of the security forces have been held responsible for the violent dispersal of the Rabaa protest.  Amnesty International (@amnesty) July 28, 2018

In 2014, an Egyptian judge sentenced 529 Morsi supporters to death before 492 were later commuted to life in prison. Death sentences were upheld for the remaining 37.

Rights groups have repeatedly criticized such mass sentencings in Egypt and called on authorities to ensure fair trials.

International rights groups also denounced the mass trial over the 2013 sit-in.

Amnesty International described it in a statement last month as a grotesque parody of justice and called on authorities to drop all charges against those arrested for protesting peacefully.
Groups totalling a few dozen were also picked up yesterday in Murcia, Majorca and Alicante. (stock picture)

Spain's coastguard union has warned the service was completely "overwhelmed" by surging numbers of migrant crossings, as more than 600 people were rescued from rafts in the Gibraltar Strait in just one morning.

The union for Spain's Maritime Rescue Agency issued an urgent call for resources to help it cope with the "massive arrival of immigrants".

Crew reinforcements were desperately needed to guarantee they could continue saving lives, it said. The "extraordinary upturn" in arrivals had meant "an absolute overflow of work" for maritime rescue centres, many of which already had "insufficient" crew levels, it added.

The warning came as the Spanish coastguard pulled 627 people from 35 rafts in the Gibraltar Strait yesterday morning, bringing arrivals to more than 2,000 this week alone.

Groups totalling a few dozen were also picked up yesterday in Murcia, Majorca and Alicante.

The country is now the largest gateway for migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Europe, with 20,992 people landing on its shores so far this year, according to the International Organisation for Migration. Arrivals to Italy now trail Spain by almost 3,000 - a gap that just a week ago was 200. Yesterday, the government announced an extra 30m for agencies dealing with the migratory challenge. Magdalena Valerio, the work, migration and social security minister, called for help from the EU and said Madrid was worried by Thursday's events in Ceuta, one of Spain's two outposts in Morocco, where more than 600 migrants forced their way through the border fence.

Two Civil Guard unions also called for urgent assistance in the face of what they said were increasingly well planned incursions into the two enclaves, Europe's only land borders with Africa.

Thursday's forced entry was said by security forces to be of "unprecedented violence", with the group throwing quicklime, stones and excrement to fend off officers. The Red Cross said more than 130 people had required medical treatment.

Both Spanish authorities and experts have blamed the increase on the crackdown on the central Mediterranean route from Libya to Italy, where the new populist government has barred NGO rescue ships from docking.

Migration was a key topic at Thursday's meeting between Spain's new Socialist prime minister Pedro Sanchez and Emmanuel Macron, the French president. ( Daily Telegraph, London)
Tal Ovadia, the wife of slain Yotam Ovadia (31), mourns at his funeral in Jerusalem. Photo: Getty Images

Israel will build hundreds of new settlement homes in response to the killing of an Israeli father by a Palestinian teenager in the occupied West Bank, Israel's defence minister said.

A 17-year-old Palestinian crept into the settlement of Adam on Thursday night and stabbed Yotam Ovadia (31) to death.

He wounded two other Israelis before being shot dead.

Mr Ovadia was a father to two young children and was reportedly on his way home to cook a meal for his wife when he was killed.

Avigdor Lieberman, Israel's defence minister, said the government would respond by approving 400 new homes in the settlement.

"The best answer to terrorism is the expansion of settlements," Mr Lieberman said.

Israel's government often responds to attacks against settlements by promising to expand the settlements even further. Most of the international community believes the settlements are illegal.

Mr Ovadia's killer was identified in Palestinian media as Mohammed Youssef, from the Palestinian village of Kauber. The Israeli military raided the village yesterday morning and questioned several members of Youssef's family.

The army will demolish the family's house as part of a widely-criticised Israeli policy of destroying the homes of Palestinian attackers to try to deter future assaults.

A crowd of around 150 people resisted the military's incursion into the village with rocks and fire bombs, the military said. The two other Israeli men wounded in the stabbing attack in Adam are expected to survive their injuries.

Jason Greenblatt, Donald Trump's peace envoy, denounced the killing as "another barbaric attack" and asked when Palestinian leaders would condemn the stabbing.

Israeli ministers also blamed the Palestinian Authority for the violence, saying it was fuelled by the Palestinian policy of making payments to the families of attackers.

The Palestinian Authority is yet to condemn the attack. It defends the policy of payments as part of a justified resistance to Israeli occupation. Hamas praised the attack as a "heroic action".

The killing of Mr Ovadia and the army raid on Kaubar came amid heightened tensions across the Holy Land. Palestinians clashed with Israeli police outside the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem yesterday. Video showed young men shooting fireworks towards police, who responded with stun grenades.

Large-scale Palestinian protests are also expected at the Gaza border, after a week of on-off fighting between Israel and Hamas. Six Hamas fighters have been killed in the last week, with one Israeli soldier killed and another wounded. ( Daily Telegraph, London)
Nasa, the US space agency, celebrates 60 years this month.

Since its founding by the US Congress on July 29 1958, the agency has led the way in space exploration, putting Americans on the Moon, launching the Hubble Space Telescope and sending probes billions of miles into space.

These images from the Nasa archive illustrate the remarkable steps and giant leaps, for man and mankind, the agency has taken.

Earth

This early image gives a view of Earth taken by astronaut John H Glenn Jr from the Mercury Atlas 6 spaceflight on February 20 1962.

Just six years later, in 1968 this picture was taken from the Apollo 8 spacecraft, as Nasa travelled further from the Earths surface on its way to orbit the Moon.

One step further, this picture was taken by the Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Alrdin, as they left in the Lunar Module after becoming the first men to walk on the Moons surface.

Expand Close (Johnson Space Centre/Nasa) / Facebook

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In 1990, at the request of the late, great astronomer Carl Sagan, the Voyager 1 space probe that had launched 13 years earlier in 1977, cast the gaze of its cameras back whence it came.

The resulting image, dubbed Pale Blue Dot, sees Earth as a tiny point of light.

Taken almost four billion miles away, as Voyager 1 travelled near the outer reaches of the solar system, that image is the most distant sight of our planet ever taken.

However, in 2013 the Cassini spacecraft captured an image slightly less distant but almost as beautiful and thought-provoking.

The image is taken from the orbit of Saturn and, five-times magnified, gives a rare look at the Earth and the Moon.

Expand Close (NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute) / Facebook

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Pluto

The past 60 years have been tough on Pluto, seeing its status as a planet stripped in 2006 amid much debate.

However, Nasas view of the icy world has greatly enhanced in recent times  exemplified first by this image from 1998, created by the Hubble Space Telescope.

Expand Close (Alan Stern Southwest Research Institute, Marc Buie Lowell Observatory, NASA and ESA) / Facebook

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It was a remarkable creation and the best view of Pluto out there at that time, but less than 20 years later we have a much clearer view.

This image was made by four pictures taken by the New Horizons Long Range Reconnaissance Imager in 2015 as it passed by the lonely dwarf planet.

Expand Close (NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Southwest Research Institute) / Facebook

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Mars

Mars is certainly in the running for the next phase of space exploration, with the likes of entrepreneurs such as Elon Musk envisioning setting up a human colony on the red planet one day.

It all began when the Viking lander touched down on Mars on July 20 1976, and sent the first ever photo of the Martian surface.

Since then, Nasa has deployed several landers to take photos and send back data on ground samples as a part of the search for molecular signs of life.

Images taken by the Mars Pathfinder (IMP) in 1997 show the red surface of Mars  mostly covered in iron dust.

Scientists have since been looking at our neighbouring planet in incredible detail. Side-by-side images, taken roughly two years apart by the Hubble Telescope, show very different views of the same hemisphere of Mars.

Both were captured when Mars was in opposition. The image on the left, taken on May 12 2016, shows a clear atmosphere, while the one on the right, taken on July 18 2018, shows a global dust storm.

Astronauts

The image below shows Walter Wally Schirra in 1959, one of seven astronauts from Project Mercury, the first human spaceflight programme by the US (which would be beaten to its primary function by Soviet Yuri Gagarin in 1961).

A decade later, the Americans were beating the USSR, and their iconic space suit became part of a moment in history as man walked on the Moon for the first time.

In the 1980s, the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) was introduced as the astronaut uniform for spacewalks, and is still used to this day.

The design offers wearers environmental protection, mobility and helps them to communicate  and offers the public an image ever associated with human space exploration.

Nasa has come a long way in 60 years  where will it be in 60 more?
Pope Francis has effectively stripped US clergyman Theodore McCarrick of his cardinals rank following allegations of sexual abuse including against an 11-year-old boy.

The Vatican announced on Saturday that Francis ordered McCarrick to conduct a life of prayer and penance even before a church trial is held.

Breaking with past practice, Francis decided to act swiftly in the case of the emeritus archbishop of Washington DC even before the accusations can be investigated by church officials.

McCarrick was previously one of the highest, most well-known Catholic church officials in the United States and was heavily involved in the churchs response to allegations of priestly abuse.

Expand Close Pope Francis has taken action against Theodore McCarrick after the allegations (Jonathan Newton/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Pope Francis has taken action against Theodore McCarrick after the allegations (Jonathan Newton/AP)

The pope has ordered McCarricks suspension from the exercise of any public ministry, together with the obligation to remain in a house yet to be indicated to him, for a life of prayer and penance until the accusations made against him are examined in a regular canonical trial.

Among the boys McCarrick allegedly abused was a child he had baptised shortly after he was ordained a priest.

Francis received McCarricks letter offering to resign from the College of Cardinals on Friday evening, after recent weeks brought a spate of allegations that the 88-year-old prelate had for years sexually abused boys and had sexual misconduct with seminarians.

The McCarrick case posed a test of the pontiffs recently declared resolve to battle what he called a culture of cover-up of similar abuses in the Catholic churchs hierarchy.

The Vatican did not say where McCarrick would be confined nor when a church trial might begin. The order suspending him from public ministry effectively approved a measure already taken against McCarrick since last month.

A Catholic University canon law expert, Kurt Martens, noted this was the first time an order of penance and prayer had been issued before a church trial takes place.

Expand Close Theodore McCarrick has been stripped of his cardinals rank (Robert Franklin/AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp Theodore McCarrick has been stripped of his cardinals rank (Robert Franklin/AP)

US Catholics who have followed sexual abuse scandals involving clergy hailed stripping McCarrick of cardinals rank as an unprecedented shift in how the Vatican has dealt with allegations against top churchmen.

The Vatican almost never moves at this speed, said Terence McKiernan, of BishopAccountability.org.Inc, a Massachusetts-based nonp-rofit group that tracks clergy sexual abuse cases.

The pope appears to understand the gravity of the situation and further harm to the Catholic churchs status, he said.

In the case of Scottish Cardinal Keith OBrien, accused by former seminarians in 2013 of sexual misconduct, Francis only accepted his resignation after the Vaticans top abuse prosecutor conducted a full investigation, two years after the first revelations came out.

McCarrick had been already removed from public ministry since June 20, pending a full investigation into allegations that he fondled a teenager over 40 years ago in New York.

A man, who was 11 at the time of the first alleged instance of abuse, says a sexually abusive relationship continued for two more decades.

McCarrick denied the initial allegation.
United Nations Command Chaplain US Army Colonel Sam Lee performs a blessing of sacrifice and remembrance on the 55 cases of remains believed to be US servicemen killed during the Korean War (Staff Sgt.Quince Lanford/US Army via AP)

Donald Trump has thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for fulfilling a promise to return the remains of US soldiers missing from the Korean War.

The US presidents remarks came as a US military plane made a rare trip into North Korea to retrieve 55 cases said to contain remains.

Close to 7,700 US soldiers remain unaccounted for from the 1950-53 Korean War, and about 5,300 of those were lost in North Korea.

North Koreas move signals a positive step in Mr Trumps diplomacy with Pyongyang, and may restart efforts to send US teams into the country to search for additional war dead.

Defence Secretary Jim Mattis cautioned that the transfer of remains is separate from what have so far been troubled efforts to negotiate the complete denuclearisation of North Korea.

However, he said it was a step in the right direction following the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore.

This is obviously a gesture of carrying forward what they agreed to in Singapore and we take it as such, Mr Mattis told reporters.

We also look at it as a first step of a restarted process. So we do want to explore additional efforts to bring others home.

Despite soaring rhetoric about denuclearisation before the Singapore meeting, the summit ended with only a vague aspirational goal for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula without describing when and how that would occur.

Subsequent talks between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and senior North Korean officials got off to a rocky start earlier this month, with the North accusing the Americans of making unilateral and gangster-like demands on denuclearisation.

Expand Close United Nations Honour Guard members carry boxes believed to contain the remains of US servicemen killed during the Korean War during a return ceremony at Osan Air Base, in Pyeontaek, South Korea (Staff Sgt Quince Lanford/US Army via AP) / Facebook

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Whatsapp United Nations Honour Guard members carry boxes believed to contain the remains of US servicemen killed during the Korean War during a return ceremony at Osan Air Base, in Pyeontaek, South Korea (Staff Sgt Quince Lanford/US Army via AP)

On Wednesday, Mr Pompeo said a great deal of work remains ahead of a North Korea denuclearisation deal, but he declined to provide any timeline.

Mr Trump, addressing reporters on the South Lawn, said Vice President Mike Pence would greet the families and the remains of the soldiers.

We have many others coming, but I want to thank Chairman Kim in front of the media for fulfilling a promise that he made to me, and Im sure that he will continue to fulfil that promise as they search and search and search, he said.

These incredible American heroes will soon lay at rest on sacred American soil.

Mr Pence, the son of a Korean War combat veteran, said in a statement that he will participate in the ceremony when the remains arrive in the US.

United Nations Command said the remains will be flown to Hawaii immediately after a full honours ceremony in Seoul on Wednesday.

The remains of American troops are on their way home from North Korea. I hope this brings peace and comfort to the families whose loved ones never returned from the Korean War. We must continue the search until every service member is brought home.  Senator Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) July 27, 2018

It is deeply humbling to be part of this historic moment, Mr Pence said.

We will never forget the sacrifices these brave service members and their families made for our nation and our freedoms.

Early on Friday morning in Korea, a US Air Force C-17 transport plane made a rare trip into North Korea to retrieve 55 cases of what are believed to be remains from the Korean War.

The aircraft then flew from Wonsan to Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, near the South Korean capital of Seoul.

At the air base, US servicemen and a military honour guard lined up on the tarmac to receive the remains, which were carried in boxes covered in blue UN flags.

Officials in North Korea had no comment on the handover, which came on the 65th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.

Once the cases arrive in Hawaii, a series of forensic examinations will be done to determine if the remains are human and if the dead were American or allied troops killed in the conflict.

Mr Mattis underscored that looming question, saying we dont know whos in those boxes.

However, he said the gesture is important for families of the fallen, which could include any of the allies that also fought in the war.

We have families that when they got the telegram, have never had closure, Mr Mattis said.

Theyve never gone out and had the body returned.

More than 36,000 US troops died in the conflict, including those listed as missing in action.
A sharp change in weather conditions across Europe has brought chaos for travelers with storms affecting flights and ferry sailings.

Storms in the UK and across the continent have caused issues at a number of major airports.

A spokeswoman for Dublin Airport Authority said outbound flights early this morning were not impacted but inbound flights were picking up delays on flights on the way back in because of the weather across Europe.

Passengers are advised to check in with their airlines regarding delays, she said.

Gatwick and Heathrow Airports in London have both seen widespread disruption to inbound and outbound flights due to thunderstorms which are expected to have the same effect when the storms hit mainland Europe.

Gatwick airport said on Twitter Adverse weather across Europe is affecting flights in and outbound from Gatwick Airport, this may result in delays and cancellations.

The tweet directs passengers to contact your airline for specific flight information before you travel to the airport.

Luton Airport also tweeted that due to thunderstorm activity across Europe this morning, air traffic control restrictions are in place and some flights may be subject to delay or cancellation.

Stanstead is also affected and Ryanair have cancelled a number of flights due to depart from Stanstead Aiport.

A Stansted Airport spokesman said long queues shown in pictures posted on social media were caused by passengers who stayed overnight in the airport trying to re-book cancelled flights with airlines.

"There are no cancellations but there are delays because of the knock-on effect and some restrictions because of storm activity in Europe," he said.

"All the advice is, if you are due to travel today, check with your airline about your individual flight."

Irish Ferries have indicated that a number of Dublin to Holyhead sailings today have been cancelled due to adverse weather conditions on the Irish Sea.

Some sailings which are schedule for Sunday will also be cancelled as a result.

P&O Ferries have confirmed via their Twitter page that traffic congestion is causing delays to their sailings into English ports from Europe.

Travelers travelling to mainland Europe who were planning on taking the Eurotunnel train to France from Folkestone Terminal are facing delays of 90 minutes as a result of recent extreme weather.
Manu Sharma and Sushil Sharma, convicts in the Jessica Lall and Tandoor murder cases, respectively, will remain behind the bars after the sentence review board of Tihar Jail rejected their pleas for early release on Friday.

Sushil Sharma, then a Congress youth leader, was convicted of killing his wife, Naina Sahni, in July 1995. After murdering her, he chopped her body into pieces and tried to burn it in an oven at a popular restaurant. He was initially awarded death sentence by a trial court, which was upheld by the high court.

bccl

But the Supreme Court commuted his death sentence to life imprisonment in 2013. He was released on parole for the first time in 2015, after spending 20 years in jail. Sushils plea for an early release had been pending before the government for a long time.

Manu Sharma alias Siddharth Vashishth, son of a former Congress leader Venod Sharma, was sentenced for killing model Jessica Lall at a party at a south Delhi pub in 1999. He was acquitted by a trial court in February 2006, but was convicted by the high court in December 2006. His sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court in April 2010.

In a letter to Tihar Jails welfare officer in March this year, Jessicas sister Sabrina Lall had said that she had no objection if Manu Sharma was released early.

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The board reviewed the petitions of 154 convicts who are serving the life sentence. While it recommended granting of remission to 25 convicts, the pleas of the remaining 129 were rejected.

The SRB examines the records of those who have spent 14 years in jail and takes a call on whether they still pose a threat to law and order. The board took a considerate view of all the pleas and decided to granted remission to those who they thought deserved to be out of jail based on their conduct, said an official, requesting anonymity.

The board is chaired by Delhi home minister Satyendar Jain and has Tihar Jails director general, Delhi law secretary, Delhi home secretary, a joint commissioner of Delhi police, a sessions judge and an officer of the social welfare department on its panel.
Cryopreservation is something we see a lot in sci-fi movies, where people are frozen in stasis for hundreds or thousands of years to stay alive. Now, it seems scientists have found evidence of this fascinating process naturally occurring in nature.

A group of scientists in Russia claim theyve managed to revive two frozen nematodes, aka roundworms, that were tens of thousands of years old. One specimen was found in a soil sample taken from a ground squirrel burrow 100 feet underground, estimated to be somewhere around 32,000 years old. A second nematode was recovered from a permafrost sample sitting just 11 feet below the surface, supposedly about 41,700 years old.

The samples were stored in a laboratory at around -20 degrees Celsius. Isolated nematodes were then warmed up to about 20 degrees C and surrounded by food. After several weeks, scientists say the roundworms actually began showing signs of life, moving and eating. Thus, our data demonstrates the ability of multi-cellular organisms to survive long-term (tens of thousands of years) cryobiosis under the conditions of natural cryoconservation, the researchers said in a study.

Previous studies have shown that some species of nematodes can survive in extreme environments, like living in below freezing temperatures for 25 years, and even 39 years of extreme dehydration. However, this is the first time the hypothesis has been proven on such a massive time scale.

Theoretically, it is possible that if the organisms are protected from physical damage that would compromise their structural integrity during their frozen internment, they should be able to revive upon thawing/rehydration for very long periods of time, Robin Giblin-Davis, director of the University of Florida's Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center, told Gizmodo. Then again, the researchers say their findings might be skewed if these ancient samples are starkly different from modern day nematodes and similar organisms.

The reason these samples even stayed frozen is because seasonal thawing wouldnt have reached the depths at which they were buried. And if they can learn enough about how these creatures evolved, we might just have the key we need to apply cryopreservation to humans in the distant future.
In another act of bravery, the Thai cave rescue team saved a baby from floods caused by torrential rains in Laos, Cambodia.

Youtube Screenshot

The rescue of the baby boy, terrified and hungry after days without food, has been captured in a viral video. The baby escaped the dam collapse in southern Laos and was carefully carried through flood waters and waist-high mud.

According to reports, the group of survivors were stranded by floodwaters after they fled up a hill on Monday. The Xe-Namnoy dam broke due to heavy rain, leaving several villages devastated by flash floods.

"The boy is four months old. He didn't have fever but he was crying, maybe because of the cold weather," Kengkard Bongkawong, one of the rescuers, who is from Thailand's northeast, told AFP.

"The baby was crying and looks terrified. Actually they were (all) still terrified of the rushing water." The video had been watched nearly half a million times hours after it was posted online on Friday.

Since the damn broke out, rescue workers are scrambling to find missing villagers and care for others in shelters, reports New York Times.




All that this sincere Lucknow traffic cop aimed to do was to make citizens more aware about the importance of road safety, by distributing free helmets and red roses.

But one of the riders got into a bit of soup at home!

Lucknow traffic police last week distributed free helmets for pillion riders and thanked those wearing helmets. The cops also gave roses to those wearing a helmet. This what landed one rider in trouble.

According to a Facebook post by traffic sub-inspector Prem Shahi, the man returned the next day to tell Shahi about what his wife thought the red rose was. To clear the misunderstanding the man posed for another photo of him receiving a flower and took them home to his wife.

The hilarious incident was shared on Facebook immediately went viral and left Netizens in splits.

The incident also amused UP Police PRO Rahul Srivastav who joked about it on Twitter and suggested next time the police should simply give away 'Phool Gobi'!




Albert Woodfox Featured at Upcoming VOTE Workshops

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Please Sign the Petition: Clemency for Laverne Dejohnette!

Debbie Africa Has Been Released From Prison

--The struggle to free the remaining MOVE 9 continues

Why are we not surprised that children are ripped from their immigrant parents' arms? Could it be because this has been happening for decades in U.S. jails and prisons - not to mention, with increasing frequency as the population of women prisoners grows?Please read the article below from the July issue of the Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newsletter, entitled "Cries of Children Echo Thru Years." The numbers cited by the newsletter, detailing the numbers of mothers and their children affected by mass incarceration, are truly staggering.There are also cases like Veronza Bowers, Ed Poindexter of the Omaha 2 and Laverne Dejohnette, where it seems no amount of cruel and unusual treatment seems to satisfy our criminal injustice system's thirst for extreme punishment. We hope Angola 3 supporters will read these articles, sign petitions and re-commit to furthering their efforts to change the rotten systems that are in place.One bright spot in the midst of so much bad news is the release of Debbie Africa of the Move 9. It was a joy to behold seeing Debbie with her son Mike Jr., who was torn from his mother following his birth in prison! We continue to push for the freedom for the remaining six of the Move 9, who have been repeatedly denied parole since they first became eligible in 2008. So much work left to be done!For all of you who helped Malik Rahim raise funds for his taxes- here's a short video of the physical fundraiser in New Orleans.Albert has been busy with speaking engagements country-wide, but is taking September through November to work with VOTE (an acronym for "Voice of the Experienced," an organization founded in 2003 by former inmates of Angola Prison). Albert will participate in five focus groups around the state that will concentrate on strategies to reduce or eliminate the extensive use of solitary confinement in Louisiana jails and prisons. These groups will not be open to the public but are intended to develop a strategy that can be utilized by activists addressing this vital topic. VOTE is seeking participation from survivors of solitary confinement, with an online application and survey here VOTE's announcement for the upcoming events states:The July issue of the Coalition for Prisoners' Rights Newsletter ( viewable here , or by clicking on the two images below) features several important articles, including "Cries of Children Echo Thru Years." It begins:--View the full newsletter here --View an archive of past newsletters here In a recent article published by the SF Bay View Newspaper, author Veronza Bowers introduces himself:--Read the full article and learn how to support Veronza Bowers here Writer Michael Richardson has been interviewed previously by Angola 3 News about his research and writing on the cases of Mondo We Langa and Ed Poindexter, known as the Omaha 2. Sadly, Mondo We Langa died while still behind bars on March 11, 2016. Poindexter continues to assert his innocence and to fight for his freedom.With the release of a new book and the publication of new articles, Richardson continues his work spotlighting this important case. In his recent article, Richardson writes:--Read the full article here --RECENT ARTICLES:--More information about the Omaha Two case is archived here Please consider signing the Change.org petition to California Governor Jerry Brown urging him to grant a commutation to Laverne Dejohnette.Dejohnette's petition for commutation has been reviewed and approved by the Governor's investigators. Both the Parole Board and the California Supreme Court have recommended clemency. Now the commutation is in the Governor's hands. Dejohnette reflects today:--Take action here In a recent article, Baby-Snatching Practice Blocked Motherhood For 20-million Seconds , veteran journalist Linn Washington Jr. writes:--Read the full article by Linn Washington here --Learn more about the movement to support parole for the six members of the MOVE 9 that remain imprisoned, here
By Corinne Gretler

Danone, the worlds biggest yogurt maker, reported a gain in earnings as Chinese consumers snapped up more infant formula and dairy sales picked up in North America.

Adjusted operating profit rose 7.9% on a like-for-like basis to 1.78bn, just short of the analyst consensus, while revenue growth beat estimates.

The shares rose almost 3% in Paris, valuing the firm at 46.3bn. The results are the latest example of Danone outperforming rivals Nestle and Reckitt Benckiser in baby food, especially in China, where the maker of Aptamil baby formula had 30% sales growth in the second quarter thanks to expansion in e-commerce. Between Danone and Nestle, a large part of the baby food sold in China is made in Ireland.

The business faces a slowdown in the rest of the year due to a tough comparison base. That comes as Danones dairy business is showing some signs of a turnaround.

A consumer boycott in Morocco, initiated on social media to protest high prices, slashed sales by some 40% there in recent months.

Excluding the impact of the boycott, second-quarter sales increased 4.3%. The protest also led a revenue decline in Danones long-suffering yogurt business outside North America. Excluding the boycott, they climbed for the second consecutive quarter. The effect will continue in the second half, chief financial officer Cecile Cabanis told analysts.

In North America, the fresh-food business remains a strong headwind, Ms Cabanis also said. Danone is exploring a sale of organic produce distributor Earthbound Farm. Ms Cabanis said in April that the first priority is turning the unit around.

In Europe, the yogurt business was still slightly negative, even after the company rolled out a revamp of Activia yogurt about two years ago. Overall, its not yet stabilised, but its making progress, she told reporters. Danones bottled-water sales growth of 4.5% in the first half also surpassed Nestles increase of 1% for that product category.

Danone reiterated its forecast for earnings per share to rise by a double-digit percentage at constant currencies this year. Baby-food growth will slow in the second half as comparisons become tougher, while the specialised nutrition unit will have mid-single-digit percentage growth this year, Ms Cabanis said.

Bloomberg. Additional reporting Irish Examiner
Fianna Fail has said it is quite likely British prime minister Theresa May will eventually seek an extension to the March 2019 Brexit deadline, but has argued that now may not be the right time for the EU to take the pressure off on striking a deal.

The partys Brexit spokeswoman, Lisa Chambers, made the prediction after Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tanaiste Simon Coveney suggested such an offer may be accepted by the EU.

Speaking to reporters in Bucharest, Romania, on Tuesday, Mr Varadkar said although it is a hypothetical situation, he believes it would be preferable to seek an extension to the March deadline than face a no-deal exit from the EU.

The view was later repeated in Dublin by Mr Coveney, who said while London must ultimately make the offer, it is likely to be acceptable to the EU if it is needed in the coming months.

Asked about the potential development last night, Ms Chambers told the Irish Examiner she has believed for several months it is quite likely Britain will request more time to resolve the crisis.

However, despite the suggestion being welcomed in some quarters, she said it may not be in Ireland or the EUs interests to accept or push for the offer at this stage, given the growing calls for a second Brexit vote in Britain.

I think its quite likely an extension will happen if it is sought  Ive said that for a number of months  but I dont think the EU should take the pressure off just yet, said Ms Chambers.

There are issues in Britain right now and I dont know if it would be in Irelands interests at the moment.

Ms Chambers was speaking after EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier rejected Ms Mays latest Brexit resolution plan on Thursday amid fresh fears a hard Brexit may become reality.

Citing Ms Mays focus on Britain continuing to have control of customs and tariffs under a proposed deal, Mr Barnier used Ms Mays own quote to say the EU cannot allow an outside force to control its money, customs, and laws.

Ms Chambers said while the rejection was expected, its importance should not be underplayed by the Government.

Noting the fact there has been little Government response to what happened, Ms Chambers said it would be dangerous to over-rely on Mr Barnier and EU officials to resolve the matter.

The EU may not ultimately deliver everything Ireland needs. In terms of member states interests, were not the only show in town, she said.
By Olivia Kelleher

A mother who endured three murder trials before she saw the killer of her daughter jailed for life has spoken of her devastation after an appeal was lodged.

Darren Murphy, aged 41, of Passage West, Co Cork has lodged an appeal on his conviction for the murder of playschool teacher and youth leader, Olivia Dunlea.

Murphy tried to smother Ms Dunlea, 36, a mother of three, before stabbing her multiple times and setting fire to her home in Passage West on February 17, 2013.

He was convicted by a jury on June 18 at the Central Criminal Court, sitting in Cork.

Murphy lodged an appeal on July 11.

Confirming the appeal, the Courts Service did not specify the details.

The conviction came after a third trial.

Two previous murder trials had resulted in a hung jury and later a conviction which was overturned on a legal issue.

Olivias mother, Ann Dunlea, originally from Victoria Avenue in Cork City, said the family felt utter despair at the decision by Mr Murphy to appeal.

We are back to square one. Demented again. There is no end to it. It is a punishment for us. He is grand, Ms Dunlea told The Neil Prendeville Show on Corks Red FM.

It shouldnt be allowed. We are just after getting over all the trial business again. We were delighted with the conviction but Olivia wasnt coming home.

She said Murphy that had told lies and had dragged her daughters name through the muck.

Ms Dunlea said she was indebted to gardai for their support but claimed, ultimately, it was all about the rights of an accused.

Click your fingers. Apply for an appeal, she said.

We are sitting in the court listening to three trials and we cant open our mouths.

Some days I felt like standing up and saying: That is my child you are talking about.

And they are all lies out of his mouth. In all my life, I never expected this to happen to us.

Before the third trial commenced, Murphy, from Dan Desmond Drive in Passage West, had pleaded not guilty to murder but admitted manslaughter. The DPP declined to accept his plea.

Ms Dunlea was only identified through her dental records.

Her mother said she and her family have since suffered through the mental torture of three trials, which compounded their grief.
By Aoife Moore

A First World War pilot has been honoured with a memorial in Dublins Glasnevin Cemetery.

Paul Kehoe, the minister of state with responsibility for defence, and British ambassador Robin Barnett attended the ceremony yesterday to honour Major Edward Mick Mannock, recipient of the Victoria Cross.

Mannock was a member of the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force during the First World War.

Born on May 24, 1887, the proud Corkman was a pioneer of fighter aircraft tactics in aerial warfare.

Mannock was the most highly decorated fighter pilot of the First World War and was eventually credited with 73 combat victories.

He died on July 26, 1918, when his aircraft was shot down over France.

Major Edward Mick Mannock, Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force. Picture: Military Museum, Collins Barracks, Cork.

John Green, chairman of Glasnevin Trust, said that Mr Mannocks story was an accurate insight into life before Irish independence.

If you want to get an insight into the complexity of our history, even a shallow dive into the life and times of Mick Mannock will open your eyes, said Mr Green.

The son of a bigamist, deserter, and raised by his abandoned mother from Ballincollig, he fended for himself from an early age.

He was an Irish Nationalist, a Home Ruler, a trade unionist, and a socialist who believed the World War would finally give the downtrodden their chance.

Adding that Mannocks birthday, birth place, and how he died all remain disputed, Mr Green said: Mick Mannock poses more questions than he answers.

During his speech, Mr Kehoe said: As a member of Government, it is my great privilege to partake in events that provide an opportunity to look back on the journey we have taken with a focus on our joint history.

Events such as today bring to mind the sacrifice, courage, and idealism of our forebears who laid the foundation for the freedoms we enjoy.

Mr Barnett said that he was honoured to be involved in the commemoration to recognise such an important officer in the Royal Air Forces history.

Members of the Air Corps at Glasnevin Cemetery to honour Major Edward Mick Mannock. If you want to get an insight into the complexity of our history, even a shallow dive into the life and times of Mick Mannock will open your eyes, said John Green, Glasnevin Trust.

The outstanding gallantry of the proud Irish nationalist Major Edward Corringham Mick Mannock, one of the most decorated officers ever to serve in British uniform, reminds us of the contribution made by so many brave men and women from both of our islands during critical and at times complex episodes in our shared history, said Mr Barnett.

During the ceremony, a historical reflection was read by Corporal Michael Whelan of the Air Corps, wreaths were laid at the Cross of Sacrifice, and a minutes silence was followed by a pipers lament and the sounding of The Last Post and Reveille.
A fundraising webpage for the Irishman who died in Greek wildfires less than a week after getting married has attracted thousands of euro in donations within hours of being launched.

Brian OCallaghan-Westropp died in the fires which swept through the Athens hinterland earlier this week while on honeymoon with his wife Zoe Holohan.

The couple got married at Clonabreany House in Kells, Co Meath, before heading to Greece last weekend.

They became separated as they tried to escape the fires that broke out in Mati last Monday.

It has since emerged that Mr OCallaghan-Westropps brother died in a motorbike crash in 1997.

A GoFundMe page in his honour had, by last evening, raised 2,213 of the 5,000 goal within hours of being launched.

The organisers of the appeal wrote: Brian was an amazing man who helped all around him. He volunteered for Blood Bikes East in between studying the final year of an MBA in National College of Ireland. We as his colleagues in NCI are distraught at this time and like all his friends, colleagues and family are trying to come to terms with this incredible loss.

Brians life was lost too soon and too young, and he leaves a hole in our hearts. We will never forget his larger-than-life personality, his laughter and spirit that carried us all at times.

The entire proceeds of this fundraiser will go directly to Brians wife Zoe to try to help her through this most difficult time.

You can make a donation here.
World champion, Olympic bronze medallist, European medallist  Rob Heffernan is proud to go out with no

regrets and nothing left to prove.

In the end, it was age and the realisation that, at the age of 40, he wasnt going to get better, and with it the

resulting lack of hunger that made the Togher native decide it is time to walk away as one of the greatest Irish athletes of all time.

He said he has been very, very lucky and had a great career but is stepping away at the right time.

I was always obsessive and hungry, said Heffernan. I always wanted to get better. I never really got to enjoy any moments along the way because I would always be very self-critical of myself and look at other areas that I could improve on.

"I think at the point where youre not going to improve anymore and the decline starts to come in, you start recognising that its very, very hard to keep going.

I never wanted to be a journeyman. I could have stayed in the sport this year and collected top funding. I won the athlete of the year last year and could have gone on to the Olympics but I wasnt going to be competitive at the level I was competing at. Then its time to step aside. Time catches up with all of us I suppose.

Heffernan recognised that he no longer has the obsessive selfishness required to remain at the top of the sport and said that he put savage demands on his wife Marian, herself a former Olympic athlete, over the years.

I did Dancing with the Stars this year, he said.

I said I wanted to have a break from athletics and have a different perspective on things and maybe I would come back and be really hungry  but no. You need to be 100% and you need to be really, really selfish.

Its not just me but its the people that you pull off. The life I was giving Marian, the demands I was putting on her, being away from the kids. All of these little things add up all the time and they kind of make you a little bit softer and you need to be like a raw animal to be a sportsman.

Heffernan said he has no regrets about his career.

and said the tough times he and his wife went through were what eventually made him a world-class athlete:

We had so many tough times, he said. I remember back in 2006, when me and Marian were renting together, we used to have to bring the rubbish down to her mams house because we couldnt afford refuse [charges]. I went back working at one stage with my brother on a building site, delivering coal with my brother-in-law when I was injured. It was Marian who was going: You are great, you can get back.

So, I can appreciate the good people more so now when you become more reflective about the people you surround yourself with.
MEP Liadh Ni Riada has said she would be honoured to be considered to run for the presidency and nobody should be in office for 14 years without the full mandate of the electorate.

Speaking to the Irish Examiner, the Ireland South MEP said she is keeping an open mind about possibly running for Aras an Uachtarain but that she also has family commitments to consider.

It is the first confirmation of an interest in the position by the former RTE director and Irish speaker.

It would be a huge honour to be considered by the party, not to say the least by the people of Ireland, she said.

Sinn Fein said the nomination process for candidates will begin on August 20, take three weeks, and the leadership will decide on a suitable candidate by September 16. Nominations will be proposed by five cuige, or regional bodies. If more than one candidate emerges, private hustings will be held.

According to election committee member David Cullinane, the qualities being sought in the candidate include an ability to connect with people about Irelands future and an understanding of social and political change.

All of our candidates would be open-minded, progressive and liberal, and embody the qualities we in Sinn Fein have, which are based on equality.

We want somebody that will strike up a conversation about Irish unity, he said.

President Micheal D Higgins has announced he will seek a second seven-year term. Several Independents have expressed an interest in the race, including senator Joan Freeman and businessman Gavin Duffy.

Ms Ni Riadha said she believes a presidential election is of national importance.

Im fond of Michael D Higgins, she said. I know him personally, as a friend, and he has done an excellent job. But I dont think anybody for 14 years should be in power without the full mandate of people.

Ms Ni Riadha added that the mother-of-three, and daughter of iconic legendary musician Sean O Riada, she had to consider her priorities.

It is a big ask if you have a young family, who I need to talk to, she said. My first and foremost priority would be as a mother.
Child sex dolls may be an indicator of a desire to rape children, says the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre (DRCC) as gardai made their first-ever discovery of a number of the dolls during a targeted search of 31 premises for child pornography this week.

The concern is that if these so-called dolls are being used, that they are being used as a substitute for raping children, said DRCC chief executive Noeline Blackwell.

Ms Blackwell said the gardai have to stop the exploitation of children and stop the sale of anything that would lead to the exploitation of children.

A year ago, gardai said there was no doubt that paedophiles in Ireland would import child sex dolls and feared they might be doing so already.

Gardai found a number of child sex dolls in one of the searches this week under Operation Ketch.

Assistant commissioner John ODriscoll said the discovery of the sex dolls is a particular concern for them. While a number of the dolls have been seized by customs officials, it was the first time gardai had encountered the dolls during a search operation.

Mr ODriscoll said: It is an added concern to what is already an area that gives rise to considerable concern, to say the least.

He said gardai are anxious to highlight the extent of the problem of accessing material of this nature and that could help inform policymakers in terms of how best to address the issue.

The Department of Justice said yesterday there are no plans to amend the definition of child pornography.

The definition of child pornography in the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act relates to visual and audio

representations, descriptions, and information.

There are currently no proposals to amend this definition further, but of course issues such as this are kept under continuing review, said the department

Last month the US House of Representatives passed a bill  Curbing Realistic Exploitative Electronic Paedophilic Robots, or the Creeper Act  proposing to ban the importation and transportation of sex dolls shaped and sized like a child.

Ms Blackwall said she understands why the gardai would want to know about the sex dolls as an indicator of an unhealthy interest in having sex with children.

I can see why gardai would be concerned about it as an indicator of potential criminal activity, she said.

The ISPCC said the creation, use, possession, or distribution of any sexual imagery or material that depicts a child is a matter of concern for them. Any adult engaged in this activity poses a potential risk to children.

Meanwhile, a woman who contacted RTEs Liveline yesterday said her home had been raided as part of Operation Ketch.

She said she wanted to highlight the lack of support to families when a relative is investigated as part of a child abuse.

She wrote: This is a horror you cannot imagine.
By Liam Heylin

A taxi driver has been charged yesterday with careless driving, causing the death of a man aged 92, at Ballintemple village in February.

Bertie Byrne, aged 63, of Elderwood Drive, Boreenmanna Rd, Cork, was charged that on February 6 this year at Ballintemple, Blackrock Rd, Cork, he drove a car without due care and attention thereby causing the death of another person, namely Dan OConnor.

At Cork District Court yesterday, Sergeant Dave OCallaghan said Mr Byrne was formally arrested and charged with the offence.

Inspector Brian ODonovan said the Director of Public Prosecutions has decided that the case should be dealt with by indictment at Cork Circuit Criminal Court.

Insp ODonovan applied for an adjournment of the case until September 19 to allow time for the preparation and service of a book of evidence.

Defence solicitor Frank Buttimer said the accused is a taxi driver and he applied to be appointed on free legal aid. Judge Olann Kelleher acceded to that application and said it is a very serious matter.

Once the book of evidence is served the case it will then be sent forward for a date to be fixed at Cork Circuit Criminal Court for a trial by judge and jury.

It was reported at the time that widower Dan OConnor, from Blackrock, was fatally injured when crossing the road near Ballintemple Post Office.

Mr OConnor, who served as sacristan at St Michaels Church in Blackrock, was rushed by ambulance to Cork University Hospital but subsequently died.
By Joe Leogue

Campaigners opposed to a new motorway in Cork say they have raised thousands of euro towards a legal challenge against the road but that more donations will be required to meet the costs of the action.

The M28 Cork to Ringaskiddy motorway was approved by An Bord Pleanala earlier this month following a lengthy oral hearing at which a number of objections were made against the project.

Among the concerns expressed by objectors is the proposed motorways proximity to homes in Douglas, Rochestown, and Maryborough Hill.

Residents fear noise levels from the road, combined with the pollution from passing traffic, will have a severely detrimental impact on their quality of life.

The 220m, 12.5km development links the Bloomfield Interchange on the existing N28 junction with the N40 South Ring Rd junction and the Port of Cork to the east of the village of Ringaskiddy.

Those in favour of the route enhancement say it will improve safety standards and is necessary to service the Port of Corks relocation to Ringaskiddy.

Cork County Council said the M28 corridor is part of the Trans-European Transport Network, providing access to the tier-one port at Ringaskiddy, triggering a requirement that the port is served by a high-quality motorway or express road.

The M28 Steering Group  an umbrella organisation of residents associations  held a meeting at Rochestown Park Hotel on Thursday to discuss its response to the planning authoritys decision to approve the motorway.

Chairman Gerard Harrington told the meeting its preliminary legal advice said that there is strong grounds for seeking a judicial review of the decision.

Issues cited include a lack of notice and consultation, failure to comply with relevant EU directives, and project-splitting.

John Higgins, chairman of the finance committee, said after the meeting that the group had been delighted at the turnout.

What really took us by surprise, however, was that so many people turned up with cash, he said.

We had known for a long time that there was deep-rooted support and we had hoped for many pledges on the night. We were not disappointed in this regard with many of those present pledging substantial sums.

Mr Higgins said the sums donated to date amount to several thousand euro.

While this will not meet all our funding needs, it is certainly a very positive start, he said.

The group has put various donation measures in place, such as setting up an iFundraise campaign.

The M28 approval is the second controversial decision in the area by An Bord Pleanala in recent months, following its recommendation that the Indaver incinerator in Ringaskiddy should receive the green light to go to construction.
No one was injured after people escaped through a clear fire exit.

3 fire engines & an ambulance were called to a shop fire in #Santry this morning. Staff did the right thing & were able to escape through the clear fire exit, we can't stress the importance of keeping these obstacle free. Finglas & P'boro stns attended #Dublin #fire pic.twitter.com/lzildZvQ7v
From history to architecture, Marjorie Brennan discovers a new side to Cork as she embarks on a guided tour with the authors of a new book on the city

The sun gods are smiling down on us and Cork has never looked better as I stroll towards the citys historic Coal Quay to meet Greg and Audrey Bracken.

Though Im not a native, Ive lived in Cork for more than two decades; Ive walked its streets countless times and didnt think there was much left for me to learn about my adopted home.

That, though, was before I met the Brackens, the brother and sister team behind the book Cork Strolls: Exploring Corks Architectural Treasures.

The beautifully produced publication features a collection of zoned mapped walks of varying lengths, stretching from Shandon to UCC. There are also sections on areas further afield, including Cobh and Kinsale.

Sister and brother Audrey and Gregory Bracken, from Co Kildare, at the gates to Bishop Lucey Park in Cork City. Pictures: Larry Cummins

The book is unusual in that it doesnt feature photos, but rather exquisite, hand-drawn illustrations by Greg, an architect, who lectures in urbanism at the University of Delft in the Netherlands.

The trails are accompanied by fascinating facts researched by Audrey, who previously worked in publishing and lived in Kinsale for a period before moving to Dublin, where she now works for the Smurfit School of Business.

The Cork Strolls book is the latest in a long series produced by Greg and Audrey.

Greg started doing it in Asia when he was based over there for years, in Bangkok and Singapore. I was living in New York and we decided to collaborate on a book on Kuala Lumpur, because I had been out there with Greg a few years before that on holidays, says Audrey.

When I returned to Ireland, we decided to do a Dublin book. We looked for an Irish publisher and Collins Press were delighted with the idea after seeing the other books we had done. Dublin Strolls came out in 2016 and it ended up being a best-seller. We were delighted. In the meantime, we had started working on Cork, because each one is about two years in gestation.

Its a lovely project, it brings us closer and its great fun.

Greg did his first book when he lived in Singapore more than 20 years ago.

They only had these big, fat guidebooks and nothing about the architecture, so I made my own little guide. It has the artists sketchbook feel, along with information about the architecture. We were lucky enough to get Collins Press to do the Dublin one. They are such lovely publishers to work with. They wanted to do more Irish cities, and we knew Cork. It is such a beautiful city that we were delighted to do it, he says.

I meet Greg and Audrey outside the charming Dennehys pub; we are in the shadow of Shandon, one of Corks best-known landmarks. Also, just across the River Lee, is one of Gregs favourite buildings in the city, St Marys church, one of the first Catholic places of worship built in the city after Emancipation.

Its a stunning building; to think it was designed by a Protestant architect [Kearns Deane], for free, for Catholics, laughs Greg. They had planned these hideous towers, which didnt get built, because the architect died of TB and his brother took over.

While St Fin Barres draws the most admiration, Greg favours St Marys.

St Fin Barres is Gothic and its exquisite, but this is my favourite. I like classical architecture, its so organised.

Across from us, on North Main Street, can be glimpsed St Peters, a Gothic church, which is now an arts centre. Greg regales us with a ghoulish story attached to this building.

A man called Francis Taylor was buried here in 1753, but he was found the next morning sitting on top of his grave with his shroud torn to pieces; he had managed to break out of his coffin and claw his way out through the clay.

Further up the Coal Quay is the building that housed St Peters Market.

The English Market was the Protestant market, says Audrey. St Peters Market was known as the Irish Market, because all the country people would come in and sell their wares there. It was also nicknamed Paddys Market. It was more affordable for the locals, which is why they tended to go there.

We walk up to Paul Street, which is buzzing with activity, with people strolling and a busker singing. Im surprised to hear it was once the equivalent of Corks red light district.

This was where the local craftsmen had their homes; the plumbers, the tinsmiths, the shoemakers, says Audrey. There were also a number of taverns and brothels for the sailors, because Kings Dock is where Emmet Place is now. It became tenements after that and was rebuilt in the 1930s.

Here, we pause by Ss Peter and Pauls Church, which, as well as having several interesting architectural features, also has a particularly fascinating back story.

Interestingly, Catholic emancipation only took place in 1829, but they were building Catholic churches in Cork in the 1760s... They were much more tolerant here, and Catholics and Protestants co-existed far more happily, says Greg. Its a very fine example of Gothic architecture. You can usually tell, because its got the pointed arches and buttresses, and that lovely red sandstone which is typical of Cork, with a nice limestone and granite trim.

They didnt quite finish it. You can see the niche up there that should have a statue in it, but they ran out of money. This should have had a tall spire on it, but they couldnt afford it, so they just put a little roof on it.

The church was built due to the efforts of Fr John Murphy, whose life story sounds like something from a Hollywood movie.

He was from a well-to-do local Protestant family and his nephew founded Murphys brewery, says Audrey. He was sent to school in England. From there, he joined the East India Company and then the Hudson Bay Company in Canada. He came back to London briefly and set up a business with his brothers and it didnt go very well. Back he went to Canada, where he joined a local tribe of Native Americans, lived with them for 12 years, eventually became their chief and earned the name The Black Eagle of the North.

One day he was in the woods, bumped into a French priest who asked him for some flour to make some communion bread. He returned to the spot to find a statue of the Virgin Mary erected by French Canadian settlers; he took this as a sign, not only to convert to Catholicism, but to go to Rome to be ordained as a priest. He then returned to Ireland and set about fundraising in 1844 and this church is the result; it was built in 1869.

Gregory points out unfinished sculptural stone at Saints Peter and Pauls Church to his sister Audrey.

We turn onto St Patricks Street, which a few centuries ago would have been navigated by boat.

It was originally a waterway, which explains why it is so curved, wide and generous, says Greg.

Steps for reaching first-floor offices over what were once waterside storehouses can still be seen at the corner of Academy St.

As we walk down Grand Parade, by the corner of Washington Street, Greg dispenses another surprising fact: That while the city of Waterford is synonymous with glass production in Ireland, Cork was a hub of glass production in the 18th century, before high tariffs imposed by the English and industrial action closed the factories.

We finish our ambling at Nano Nagle Bridge, the National Monument on one side, the spires of St Fin Barres visible on the other. Greg says the Protestant church is an underrated masterpiece. He also points out that the cathedral organ was moved from over the central entrance to beneath the chancel floor, making it the only underground church organ in the world.

For Audrey, the church reflects how Catholic and Protestant cultures co-existed harmoniously.

It is really interesting, the way the Catholics and Protestants lived here together in a kind of an easy juxtaposition. It was different from Dublin, where the Catholic churches were kept down little side streets.

Here, it was more open and tolerant, you can see its the people of Cork who had this lovely, easy disposition which has translated into the urban planning.

Greg is optimistic about Corks architectural future.

The Glucksman in UCC is magnificent and the Nano Nagle Place complex is extremely well done. We shouldnt be afraid of modern buildings. You dont have to copy an old style, you just have to understand what made it work, how it was used, the material used, the scale. Dont just demolish either, see how can you reuse.

We have only scratched the surface of the fascinating stories that lie behind the buildings of Cork, but the book has highlighted the importance of really looking, not just seeing.

A city reflects the people who live in it, says Greg.

As I stand on the bridge, with the majestic sweep of Grand Parade on one side, the elegance of South Mall on the other, the rush of the river at my back; people sitting in the sun, chatting, drinking coffee, enjoying their city, I couldnt agree more.

Cork Strolls: Exploring Corks Architectural Treasures, Gregory and Audrey Bracken, Collins Press, 12.99
By Padraic Killeen

The Aspirations of Daise Morrow - Black Box Theatre

[rating]4[/rating]

Based on Patrick Whites short story, Down at the Dump, this Australian production succeeds in channelling into a theatrical form all the vibrancy and pathos of their compatriots prose.

The narrative centres on the funeral of a woman in small-town Australia, a woman whose unfettered attitude to life had left her misunderstood by the more conservative elements within the town, including her uptight sister, Myrtle (sketched brilliantly here by Paul Blackwell).

Back to Galway today for more @GalwayIntArts.



Going to see The Aspirations of Daise Morrow tonight.



Look at the seating and the stage. It takes place under a canvas of the Australian sky. I'm prone to cry at these things so sorry #GIAF18 and @UlsterBank if I embarrass you #sp pic.twitter.com/FsOZHPDvXC  Stephen Byrne (@stephenbyrne) July 26, 2018

On the day of the funeral, Myrtles daughter Meg (Lucy Lehmann) abandons the cemetery to walk in the neighbouring dump and uncovers the same untamed, chaotic, and sensuous world that had fascinated her aunt.

The productions in the round staging of the show is intimate and evocative, allowing characters to breeze through the audience, much as the late Daise Morrow seems to ghost through the characters inner narratives. The set design  featuring real grass  is vivid and punchy.

Meanwhile, the cast are quite brilliant, rendering the mystery and lyricism of Whites writing via a perfect array of movements and gestures.

Final performance tonight

Flight - ODonoghue Theatre, NUI Galway

[rating]4[/rating]

Providing an entirely unique theatrical experience, this production from Scottish company Vox Motus finds each audience member being placed into a small booth where they then watch the narrative unfold before them on a revolving diorama featuring miniature figures.

A set of headphones provides us with the narrative for the story as one small lighted panel after another goes by. Each of these panels captures a moving snapshot of the arduous and increasingly sad trek across continents of two young Afghan boys seeking refuge in the UK, the beautifully carved figures within relaying immense drama, despite their small size.

While these visuals  designed by Jamie Harrison  deliver the narrative, the broader theatrical experience itself is delivered via the staging.

The fact that each audience member watches this diorama of passing images alone, isolated in a dark booth, echoes the experience of confinement the two refugee children frequently

experience, often while in transit in the back of lorries. Moreover, this positioning of the audience leaves the viewer feeling locked in and powerless, even while dismayed by the plight of the characters. As such, the show provocatively invites the viewer to reflect on their own freedom and their duty to those left in the dark margins of our world.

Final performance tomorrow
Bejewelled crocs, logoed bumbags, Deirdre Barlow specs  just when did fashion turn its back on good taste? Annmarie OConnor reflects on a most unlikely trend

Sold out. Snapped Up. Waiting Lists. Queues for days. In the world of fashion, must-haves must be exclusive, ideally in short supply, and always Instagrammable  if only to ensure requisite bragging rights. Oh, and they must be ugly. Really ugly.

Not that this is anything new. The burgeoning trend of ugly fashion has been gaining traction since 2011 when Christopher Kane first debuted a pool slider on the catwalk, followed hot on the heels in 2012 by French fashion house Celines fur-lined Birkenstock.

2013 saw the term normcore (an alloy of normal and hardcore) coined by New York trend agency K-HOLE to describe the backlash against trophy dressing as people looked to fit in rather than stand out.

This non-conformist ease, ironically co-opted by the style cognoscenti, became its own statement of intent with disruptive anti-fashion fare from iconoclastic brands like Gucci, Balenciaga, and Vetements setting the new agenda.

Fast forward to 2018 and we appear to have been hit with the ugly stick.

Bejewelled crocs, logoed bumbags, Deirdre Barlow specs, comedically oversized puffer coats and 2018s runaway runway success  the dad sneaker.

Theres no escaping it, good taste just got its comeuppance. The question is  why?

Or should we ask why not? Counter-intuitive as it may appear, the trend for mastering the aesthetically-challenging is, well, part of the challenge.

Much like the extreme sport of wearing killer heels (a podiatrists licence to print money), the big fashion houses appear to be tapping into a game of one-upmanship; or, in this case, one-downmanship.

A casual scroll through Instagram reads like a visual style slay with Balenciagas sold-out Triple S chunky-soled dad sneakers (650), Guccis 1980s-inspired shell suits (four figures, anyone?) and Vetements DHL-branded t-shirts (540) ranking high among retail kill.

Its as if ugly has become a stand-in for cool. Instead of the Mean Girls wearing pink on Wednesdays, theyre rocking mom jeans with white socks and Teva hiking sandals.

And therein lies the rub. Like most exclusive clubs, theres a price to pay, and oftentimes, an initiation to pass.

If you can tread the fine line between fashion victim and fashion victor in a pair of Balenciaga Speed Trainers (565) without so much as a wobble, consider your insider approval a shoe-in.

The years runaway runway success: Dad sneakers. Balenciaga sold - out Triple S Trainers, Brown Thomas, 650

Just remember: God may love a trier, but fashion tends to keep a wide berth of those who try too hard, as fashion director of Image magazine, Marie Kelly, explains.

Fashion loves a good backlash, and brands like Vetements and Balenciaga offer pieces that are the very antithesis of Tribute heels and Herve Leger dresses, which defined the noughties. I think the appropriation of the latter by reality TV stars and fashion wannabes also influenced the move toward ugly fashion.

Unlike most trends, ugly fashion, as the name suggests, is self-limiting and mildly prohibitive, hence the charm. (Heck, even Kim Kardashian swapped sexy for ugly.)

Inherited wisdom tells us to dress for our figures, play to our strengths, be classic with a twist  not wear a pair of high-waisted mom jeans and an oversized blazer with shoulder pads.

If fashion favours the brave, then those who dare and win, win big in the style stakes, especially on social media.

Gucci fur slides

Some of us, though, are a tad gun shy as Kate Hiscox, head of TV at Warner Music and fashion blogger at Wears My Money admits:

Thereve been many trends Ive turned my nose up to at first, Who on earth would be foolish enough to buy fur-lined slipper loafers in THIS climate? It turns out I would after a year of seeing them all over Pinterest and Instagram. Then making the classic mistake of trying them on. Needed. Wanted. Bought.

Photographer Hazel Coonagh believes this adjustment to be about question of optics.

A few months ago, I bought a pair of non-prescription, red-framed Sally Jessy Raphael style glasses through the suggestion of a friend. I would never have given them a second look; now I wear them constantly. I think once you are willing to try different styles youll be surprised how they can grow on you.

But its not all face value. Testing the limits of taste is more than a superficial pursuit; its a powerful means of disrupting the status quo and giving it a ruddy good shake.

As contemporary culture becomes less binary, aesthetics become a relative concept. Genderless dressing and athleisure sensibility are now part and parcel of a more mobile, label-free society.

By recontextualising, revamping and reissuing marginalised styles, whats overlooked invariably becomes the new normal.

Guccis logoed bum bags;

Its a shift to a more inclusive and adventurous fashion culture, remarks Coonagh.

Thanks to social media, more people than ever before are involved in the conversation. Acceptance of a diverse fashion sensibility is at an all-time high from what I can see and Im all for it.

Indeed, the age of the bricoleur may well be upon us as we go meta, merge references, and create the ultimate postmodern pastiche  powered by the latest 5.5-inch LED back-lit widescreen next-generation smartphone; but lets not forget the cash cow  the business-minded bovine that gives the public what they never knew they wanted.

Sure, we could wax lyrical about the Warholian subtext of wearing an overpriced IKEA-inspired bag (thanks, Balenciaga); we could baulk at the waiting lists engendered by an orthopaedic shoe, or we could look at the bottom line and call the whole caper a smart move.

More than just semantic totems, the latest ugly pre-requisites pay dividends.

Vetements DHL printed cotton shirt dress, with a 540 price tag, was in high demand as ugly became a stand-in for cool.

According to The Business of Fashion, Birkenstocks revenue tripled in 2017 as compared to the year before while revenues at Crocs has held steady at $1 billion to $1.2bn (853m to 1bn) annually since 2011 (look out for Drew Barrymore in the new campaigns); while the Gucci pool slider holds steady as one of the top hottest brands and biggest products in the quarterly Lyst.com index listing for 2018.

Where high fashion leads, the high street is never far behind in creating pocket-friendly versions for those with more dash than cash.

Once edgy becomes mainstream, however, the backlash will follow and a new retinal challenge will ensue.

Maybe its the sartorial equivalent of eating oysters, says Kelly, You have to work on training your palette, or in this case, your eye. True.

What new ugly trends the next decade will bring only time will tell. Whats guaranteed is another debate on the tenets of good taste as we adjust our TV sets to deal with the glorified glare of a new must-have.
SSE Airtricity League Premier Division

By Paul Buttner

Second half goals from Dylan Watts and Gary Shaw kept Shamrock Rovers on a roll as they had too much for 10-man Sligo at Tallaght Stadium.

A fifth win in six unbeaten league games, in which theyve not conceded a goal, moves Rovers to within a point of third-placed Waterford who lost at Limerick.

That meant that this was a damaging defeat for Sligo as they are now just two points ahead of Limerick in the relegation play-off place.

Rovers almost paid for a sluggish start as the visitors who were inches from taking the lead with the first attack of note of the night on 16 minutes.

Right-back Jack Keaney got forward to cross for David Cawley whose first time shot came back off the crossbar.

Having finished the first half brightly, Rovers were close to taking the lead a minute into the second.

Skipper Ronan Finn whipped a free-kick in from the right flank which Aaron Greene just failed to connect with. Alan Mannus in the home goal was then called into action for the first time following a Sligo counter on 53 minutes.

Roberto Lopes was caught out of position after giving the ball away cheaply.

Sligo skipper Rhys McCabe piked out the run of Mikey Drennan who forced Mannus into a parry save at his right-hand post.

Good defender at the other end rescued Sligo on the hour as John Mahon bravely got his body in the way to deflect a shot from Finn out for a corner.

But Sligo just couldnt clear their lines on 66 minutes as Rovers pressure told.

Beeney initially tipped away a Finn cross.

Joel Coustrain pulled the ball back across goal for Carr who couldnt get his shot away.

The ball ran for Watts who took a touch before shooting to the net despite Beeney getting a touch.

Sligo lost central defender Seamus Sharkey to a second yellow card on 82 minutes for a foul on Aaron Bolger before Rovers added a second goal four minutes from time.

Beeney couldnt hold a stinging drive from Finn.

Substitute Shaw anticipated the rebound well to pounce and side-foot home to score for the second week running.

SHAMROCK ROVERS:

Mannus; Bone, Lopes, Grace, Gilchrist; G. Bogler (A. Bolger, 79); Greene (Shaw, 76), Watts, Finn, Coustrain; Carr (B. Kavanagh, 70).

SLIGO ROVERS:

Beeney; Keaney, Mahon, Sharkey, Donelon; McCabe, Cawley; McAleer (Collins, 76), Lynch, Twardek (Kerrigan, 65); Drennan (McClean, 84).

Referee: Rob Rogers (Dublin).
13abc hit a major milestone July 21st. We came on the air as WSPD for the very first time 70 years ago last Saturday.

We've changed studios, we've changed wardrobes, but we're still showcasing your stories, as Toledo's very first news station.

We caught up with Gordon Ward and Bill Harris. Together they have 110 years in the 13 family.

Harris was Toledo's first African American reporter and Ward got his start just after World War II. They met here, at 136 Huron.

"Here I was working for the first television station in the city of Toledo," Harris said.

"The time has flown by unbelievably. And you just can't think that it's seventy years that still around doing things," Ward said.

Gordon Ward started on our airwaves back in 1958. Bill Harris wasn't far behind.

"I started at Channel 13 50 years ago this coming Monday. July the 30th will be 50 years that I hired in," Harris said.

He got the job after calling Gordon up and getting a tour.

"So he and I go way back," Harris said of Gordon Ward.

And they go back with you, covering big stories like the Edmund Fitzgerald, Watergate, the Space Shuttle Challenger, and thousands of other stories.

"I don't think we did the amount of breaking news coverage at that time as you do now," Ward said. "We didn't have the equipment or the facilities."

That's because until the late 70s, just after the blizzard of '78, we still used film that had to be processed daily. Then came 'instant video.'

"It made news all the more immediate for the audience," Harris said.

"I always kid him about his huge afro in those days," Ward said.

Friends for fifty years, walking the Toledo beat hunting for the next big story.

"I would usually walk the back alleys because you could pick up information," Ward said.

After 13 moved to Dorr Street, Harris and Ward retired... but they're always welcome as family!

"That's why I always look forward to coming back here at TV 13, because 'this is home," Harris said!
When I was a child, my gra for fashion veered towards the eclectic; a slash of bright red lipstick, cheap wigs in colours never seen in nature, ghoulish Halloween masks.

I had my own vintage trunk full of dressing up clothes  lace, feather boas, gossamer-thin summer dresses that my mother had worn to Greece and Spain in her early twenties, the fabric as faded as the photo albums of those same holidays.

I adored bright colours, my Oilily dresses an explosion of cerise pink and canary yellow, my rubber-soled shoes dyed to match.

The summers in my grandparents farmhouse had black and white movies on in the background, women in slips of silver silk click-clacking their way across a dancefloor in spindly heels. I loved all of it.

I agreed with Anne of Green Gables when she said that it is ever so much easier to be good if your clothes are fashionable because I could understand, even at a young age, how powerful and transformative fashion could be.

Im not sure when that love became tainted, warped into something almost grotesque.

I dont know when I began using my personal style less as an expression of joy and more as a mask to hide behind.

It had become something I could use to gain approval from others  oh, you have a good eye, and you have good taste, dont you?

Sometimes there would be envy in their voices, and at that time I wanted people to be envious of me. That would mean I was doing something, anything, right.

If I looked perfect, maybe that would seep through the clothes, through my skin, and bury itself into my very bones. If I looked good enough, maybe I would feel at peace.

I bought some clothes. Shoes and dresses and trousers and jewellery and coats and bags.

Society had promised me consumerism worked, that handing over your credit card at the till to an eagerly smiling assistant was a form of magic.

Each time I was convinced anew this was the outfit that was going to change my life. It would make me happy. The more money I spent, the more I hoped each purchase I could fill that void inside me.

It was 2011 when I left my job at a fashion magazine in New York to come home to write my first book.

Within a few weeks of returning, it was as if my life in the States  a life where I spent an hour every night agonising over what I would wear the following day  had never happened.

Back home in Clonakilty, I didnt have any makeup and the thought of straightening my hair made me so exhausted I would want to take a 20-minute nap.

I spent most of my days in my pyjamas and an old dressing gown, watching as the words began to add up on the page, one chapter, two chapters, three chapters more, until somehow I had managed to write an entire novel.

It seemed impossible and yet, there it was. Magic, and I hadnt needed to spend a cent.

Now that I am a full-time author, there are more demands on my time, demands that often necessitate washing my hair and leaving the house. (Oh, the humanity!)

There are interviews to be done, photos to be taken, signings and festivals to show up at. My first reaction whenever I agree to attend such events is, well, what am I going to wear?

I have to admit, I was initially discomfited by this. If I was to be a serious author writing about serious topics, surely I should be above such petty concerns?

Then I remember Anais Nin with her dark-painted lips against alabaster skin, and Donna Tartt with her signature sharp bob above high-collared shirts. Neither seemed worried about seeming less intelligent by investing time in their appearance.

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie uses her Instagram to highlight clothes created by young Nigerian designers, and in her essay for Elle magazine entitled Why Cant Smart Women Love Fashion? Adichie wrote:

I no longer pretend not to care about clothes. Because I do care. I love embroidery and texture. I love lace and full skirts and cinched waists. I love black, and I love colour. I love heels, and I love flats. I love exquisite detailing. I love shorts and long maxidresses and feminine jackets with puffy sleeves. I love coloured trousers. I love shopping. I love my two wonderful tailors in Nigeria, who often give me suggestions and with whom I exchange sketches. I admire well-dressed women and often make a point to tell them so. Just because.

I realised it was ridiculous to think a love for fashion was anti-feminist.

Yes, the fashion industry itself has many issues  particularly around race and its fetishisation of extreme thinness  but at its very best, it is an art form.

And isnt feminism, at its very core, about choice? That you can choose to love fashion or you can choose to reject it, and that both are acceptable as long as youre doing what makes you happy rather than attempting to appease societys arbitrary standards of beauty.

I suppose ultimately the point is that its important we feel just as comfortable in our Penneys pyjamas on a lazy Sunday as we do wearing a full length dress to a black-tie event, because as awfully hackneyed as it sounds, true beauty comes from within.

It is derived from loving and accepting yourself, just as you are now.

Louise Says

GO: The West Cork Fit-Up theatre festival is in its final week, and well worth checking out. The Man in the Womans Shoes will be performed in venues from Whiddy Island to Timoleague. Finishes August 12.

LISTEN: I went to see Qadasi & Maqhinga at the mighty Debarras Folk Club in Clonakilty and I was stunned by their performance. Hailing from the heart of Zululand, this acoustic duo are reviving traditional Maskandi music. Download their latest album now.
At a critical juncture in the history of this island, Eamon de Valera is reputed to have declared that the people have no right to be wrong. The comment arose following the election victory for the pro-treaty side in 1922. As history records, all hell broke loose soon afterwards in a savage civil war.

Today, the world as we know it is at a critical juncture. Strongmen are pointing fingers and shaking fists, and getting elected in countries around the world. The old order of liberal democracy, which has continued since the end of the Second World War is under threat. Life as the western world has known it for the last 70 years may be coming to an end.

Therefore, is it time to ask whether the people have any right not to be arsed about democracy? Is it time to tell people that the right to vote is to be heretofore considered a duty?

One of the features of the shock votes and elections of authoritarian figures in the last few years is that a minority has effectively taken control.

Take the two votes that are currently impacting greatest on this country. Brexit was actually voted for by 37% of the electorate in Britain, representing just over half of those who actually voted.

The fall-out has rendered Britain a nervous wreck. Vast quantities of energy and resources in the EU, and particularly in this country, have been taken up in dealing with the consequences. And all because a little over a third of those eligible to vote in Britain wanted out of Europe in some vague, undefined sense.

Look west at the (dis)United States. Little over a quarter of the electorate in the US voted for Donald Trump on a turnout of 58%. Even within the polled vote, he did not receive a majority, but thats an anomaly of their system rather than any reflection on the numbers who voted.

One way or the other, it was a low-turnout election in which a quarter of those who have a vote managed to foist Mr Trump on their country, and on the world. And in a country where there is perpetual controversy over a voter registration system that prevents mainly minorities from voting at all.

Any analysis of these results in terms of voter turn-out is usually met with the glib response: Thats democracy, suck it up. Arguably, it is low voter turnout  usually as a result of disenchantment  that allows those way out from the centre to march in and capture the high ground of government or policy.

What if voting was more than just an option for citizens? What if everybody was obliged to turn up at a polling station as a matter of law?

There is, at this time in history, a compelling case to be made for compulsory voting. Australia is one of about a dozen countries where compulsory voting is law. Interestingly, the law was enacted in 1924 in response to a low turn-out at an election.

Somebody obviously noted that, less than a decade after the Great War and at a time when democracy was struggling for air in various corners of the world, including Ireland, the vote was something to cherish. It is mandatory for those who reach 18 years of age to register.

Anybody who fails to do their civic duty is fined, although the penalty is less than A$100 (63.50). Still, the mere fact that it is the law pushes most people to actually engage on some basis in elections and show up at polling stations.

In western Europe, Belgium is the only country with compulsory voting. It was introduced in 1893. All Belgians  and registered non-nationals  are obliged to turn up at polling stations on election day. In a twist that certainly has some merit, nobody is forced to vote, but they must turn up and register attendance.

If, however, they fail to vote in four elections, they can lose the right to vote for 10 years. Sure, the system is coercive, but at least it puts a value on the vote.

Nobody can be forced to cast a valid vote. There is no doubt that if compulsory voting was introduced in this country the level of spoiled votes would climb steeply. But so would the percentage of people voting, and by extension, the choices made would be far more representative of society in general.

Of course, there is no appetite to even engage in debate on the matter. For one thing, those who habitually dont vote tend to be drawn from the lower rungs of the socioeconomic ladder. Any surge in voting in that sector would in all likelihood not favour the establishment parties in their current incarnations.

Compulsory voting might well also encourage a more diverse range of people to put their names forward and provide a platform for a new party outside the crowded centre  something else that wouldnt be welcomed by those in situ.

Apart from that, there arent really any votes in compulsory voting. Why spend energy trying to persuade people to do something that might get their backs up?

One perceived barrier might be tackling the self-regarding archaic spirit of the Irish people. Are we more spiritually archaic than the Australians? Or is it a question that we simply cant be arsed.

There would be legitimate concerns expressed about forcing citizens to do anything. But there comes a time when active citizenship should be considered over some abstract notion of libertarianism or laissez-faire democracy.

In any event, we do force citizens to perform their civic duty in another sphere. Jury duty is considered to be a vital part of the criminal justice system in a democracy. Nominally, citizens are obliged to attend or face prosecution. There are numerous ways in which citizens duck out of the duty  some of them being entirely excusable  but at least there is recognition that this civic duty requires the fidelity of the citizenry. Why couldnt a similar attitude be adopted to voting for a representative parliament?

So far, we have been insulated from the wilder winds of change that have buffeted the US, Britain, and even the Eastern European countries where authoritarian figures are taking over.

Thats no guarantee for the future. This is a country that has opened up at a fast rate in recent decades, both economically and socially. If a vote were ever to see the electorate to take a sharp turn to the left or right, things could change fundamentally very quickly.

Thats democracy for you, but surely in a time of political turbulence, it would be prudent to ensure that any vote purporting to be the will of the people actually is just that.

At the very least the issue should be one up for debate. The obvious place for that would be a Citizens Assembly forum.
Dateline Criticism Abounds

--

Kyaw Zwa Moe: Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! This week, well discuss the recent talk of the town, potholed roads, two chief ministers and General Aung San statues. Ko Khine Win, a director with the Sandhi Governance Institute and lawmaker Ko Nay Phone Latt of the Yangon Region Parliament, join me to discuss this. Im The Irrawaddy editor Kyaw Zwa Moe.

There were media reports and criticism on social media about Yangon Region chief minister U Phyo Min Thein regarding the condition of the roads in Yangon. As Daw Aung San Suu Kyi went from Yangon to (her constituency) Kawhmu Township recently, she made a remark that roads in Yangon are in very bad condition and not even as good as those in (suburban) Kawhmu. The Yangon Region chief minister then immediately summoned a meeting to improve the roads. People are criticizing that the chief minister only took action after Daw Aung San Suu Kyi complained. What do you have to say about this?

Nay Phone Latt: Usually, roads are in very bad condition in the rainy season. Conditions are worse this year. [The chief minister] should have known it even if Daw Aung San Suu Kyi did not mention it. And our regional Parliament has continuously complained about [poor] road conditions in Yangon, as well as that it causes difficulties with the drainage system. It is unacceptable that he has only summoned a meeting to address this after Daw Aung San Suu Kyi complained. The regional Parliament discussed this long before that. Proposals regarding this were submitted to the regional Parliament, and some were approved.

If a proposal is approved by the legislature, the things mentioned in that proposal should become the policy [of the government]. A meeting should be held once a proposal is approved by Parliament and not only after it is complained about by a [state] leader. A proposal approved by Parliament represents the wishes of the people. So, a meeting must be held [by the government] once a proposal is approved by Parliament. And the meeting must find ways to implement it. This is the way it should happen. But in reality, [the chief minister] did it only after the State Counselor complained. And this is not the first time. There are previous examples. It is not good for us. It seems that we have to invite Aunty [Daw Aung San Suu Kyi] to Yangon frequently.

And I think there is a need to organize talks between Aunty and residents in Yangon like previous [peace] talks between her and local residents in places where she made ministers respond to locals questions. Personally, I want to see such talks. Only then will leaders understand the real situation in Yangon. I think [the government] should pay heed to discussions in Parliament and not just instructions from leaders.

KZM: Regarding good governance, a good government should listen to the voices of the people and fulfill their needs. In the case of the fire at Htein Pin dump site, [the Yangon government] responded hastily only after the State Counselors Office gave instructions. It held a meeting overnight. Why are some chief ministers, I dont mean all, just some of them, not able to take initiative? What are their weaknesses in responding to the voices of the people? Is it because of a capacity problem or something else? What is your view, Ko Nay Phone Latt?

NPL: In my opinion, the [Yangon] chief minister is only thinking of macro-level solutions. In his efforts to reduce traffic woes and improve road conditions, he only thinks of big solutions at the macro-level such as building elevated expressways, establishing new towns and broadening roads. He is only trying to do such things, but very weak in cooperating with people wherever possible at the micro-level. So, some criticize him as a big mouth, saying that he can only talk the talk. He could improve the traffic control system and make sure people follow traffic rules, for example in crossing roads. He could also instruct the [Yangon] mayor to repair the roads on a regular basis, if it is not possible to upgrade those roads. The mayor should inspect the roads, especially in the rainy season.

KZM: He should have done that before [rainy season].

NPL: Yes, he should. I understand that the problem of urban flooding cant be solved overnight. [The government] has borrowed loans, I think, from the World Bank to improve the citys drainage system. But it seems that he doesnt consider micro-level solutions that do not cost much and only looks at costly solutions.

KZM: Thats the point. He talked about doing big projects but potholes in downtown roads have yet to be filled. He once said that he would turn Yangon into a green and pleasant city. It has been nearly three years since he said that. Lawmakers play a critical role in making the peoples voices heard [by the government]. Ko Nay Phone Latt, what are the frictions between the Yangon regional government and Parliament? Weve noticed there have been frequent tensions between the two that go beyond the limits of checks and balances. So, what are the problems?

NPL: Mainly, the two branches need to understand the responsibilities of each other. And they should respect those responsibilities. Only we lawmakers listen to the voices of people, live among people, and talk at Parliament about their needs either in the form of questions or proposals. [The government] should treat those questions and proposals as the wishes of the people. We are not talking about our personal thoughts. So, they should treat what we say as the voice of the people. As Ive mentioned earlier, implementation does not follow the approval of proposals. Most of the ministers who come and answer questions at Parliament  I dont mean all  lack the energy to get things done. [When lawmakers ask a question or submit a proposal], the ministers ask their staff to do a report, and come and read that report at Parliament. There is no implementation. Some even said that it is easier asked than implemented. This is their attitude toward lawmakers and I think it is wrong. It is difficult to get things done with such an attitude. We ask questions and proposals with the goodwill to facilitate the functions of the administrative branch and assist the branch in fulfilling the needs of the people, and make it get closer to the people. The government should adjust its attitude toward Parliament, I think.

KZM: Ko Khine Win, your institute has been conducting training on good governance. Good governance incorporates clean government with responsibility, accountability, transparency and such. Recently, the chief minister of Yangon came under fire for accepting donations of 20 million kyats from a Malaysian Chinese gambler who is blacklisted in Malaysia, China and Singapore. It was an absurd thing to do. Is it concerned with his accountability or capacity?

Khine Win: I saw this on Facebook. People said that the chief minister accepted the donations without conducting a background check. It seems that the chief minister always wants to meet businessmen. Apparently, there are many things that he wants to do for Yangon and he met and accepted this donation perhaps with the hope that it might be somewhat beneficial for the city. But he posted the photo of himself accepting the donation on his Facebook page. He is transparent. But considering other things, people pointed out that he is weak in terms of accountability and transparency in his communication with Parliament. People say that [ministers] answers and proposals to Parliament are factually incomplete and [ministers] have disregard for Parliament as Ko Nay Phone has complained. It is good if a government can perform well. But besides its performance, we also want to establish democratic governance. We want that consultation be made with all the stakeholders in the process democratically. [The Yangon chief minister] is weak in that regard.

KZM: There is no end in talking about this issue. But speaking of Karenni State, its chief minister said that he would call in troops to quell disturbances related to a plan to erect a General Aung San statue in the states capital. On Monday, the Tatmadaw [Myanmar Army] released a statement that the chief minister might have misinterpreted the [2008] Constitution to say that, and that he has no authority to do so, as it can be only asked by the National Defense and Security Council. What is your assessment of this? There is another problem connected with a chief minister regarding the erection of a bronze statue of Gen Aung San. Ko Khine Win, it is fair to say you are the grandson of Gen Aung San. There are many people in Myanmar who love Gen Aung San. But the erection of his statues, is it a problem as there is opposition against it? What is your take on it?

KW: There is a need to take ethnic regions and peace into consideration regarding the erection of statues. Yes, it is true that many love Gen Aung San. Ethnicities also love him. So, the [government] may think that it can do [put up Gen Aung San statues] anywhere in the country. In other words, it may think that it has legitimacy, thinking that the majority love and support Gen Aung San and the number of people who oppose him is small. Chaungzon Bridge in Mon State is another example of this. While the present time is important for peace, [the government] shouldnt exert the legitimacy, I think.

KZM: By legitimacy, you mean the legitimacy of the NLD, and what else?

KW: The legitimacy of NLD, the legitimacy of the government, and the legitimacy of peoples love for Gen Aung San. Because of this legitimacy, the government thinks that an elephant can make its way through wherever it goes. In my view, loving Gen Aung San from the heart and following in his footsteps is more important than erecting his statues. This is also important for peace. Supporters of the statue in ethnic regions should reconsider, I think.

KZM: The NLD said that it is not its policy [to erect Gen Aung San statues]. The plan was initiated by supporters of Gen Aung San and the NLD, including NLD members and outsiders. They are trying to put up the statue. But then they met resistance. In the case of the bridge in Chaungzon, as it was named after Gen Aung San, it created intense controversy. Though the NLD leadership does not instruct people to do so, I think they have the responsibility to intervene if resistance stiffens. What do you think, Ko Nay Phone Latt?

NPL: It is civil society organizations as well as NLD chapters of concerned townships that are erecting the statues. Im sure the [NLD] central executive committee has no policy regarding the erection of the statues. But then, when resistance arises as youve said, [NLD leadership] should say something. Now, statues are being erected against the will of local people. And some statues look disgraceful, I think. Some Gen Aung San statues were cast awkwardly, and this only creates disrespect. We have seen such statues on the social media. They do exist in the real world. This is not loving or honoring the general. Sometimes it [erecting a Gen Aung San statue] just serves against the wishes of the general. So, I think [the NLD leadership] should exert control to a certain extent. As Ko Khine Win said, it is more important to follow Gen Aung Sans steps than erect his statues. Another thing is what he cherishes. What is certain is that he greatly valued democracy and a federal Union that guarantees equality and non-discrimination for the ethnicities. These are the two things he greatly valued. We should value these two things. We should not destroy what Gen Aung San valued for a statue. But it seems that it is being destroyed. I also feel the same regarding Chaungzon. It is like destroying a federal Union and national reconciliation to give the name [after Gen Aung San].

KZM: The essence of federalism and national reconciliation.

NPL: Yes, it [erecting a Gen Aung San statue against the will of locals] destroys the values and essence the general cherished. I think Gen Aung San would not accept it if he were still alive. I support erecting Gen Aung San statues. But there is a need to reconsider if they should be put up without the consent of locals and local ethnic people.

KZM: I think it is more important to love him from the heart and accept his policies than erect his statues. The [NLD] leadership should intervene. Otherwise,.. we have heard that somebody defaced the Gen Aung San statue in Myitkyina [in Kachin] with paint. We dont know who painted it. But anyway, we had never heard of such a case before. There is such a response because they dont like it.

KW: Rather than erect statues, a detailed and correct biography of him should be written. His elder brother has written his biography. In fact, the government or people who love the general should make careful research and compile a detailed biography. It will be more valuable than erecting statues.

KZM: It is much cheaper. A bronze statue reportedly costs around 80 million kyats.

KW: It would be of more value to conduct in-depth research into his life and his principles and gather separate facts together so that everyone including students could read the detailed biography.

KZM: Some of our people by nature tend to be dogmatic with their opinions. Thank you for your frank comments.
Billed as the "largest gathering of Australian Fintech start-ups, scale-ups, hubs, accelerators, policymakers, regulators, investors and advisers", Intersekt 2018 is "devoted to examining, discussing and unlocking the potential of the Australia's Fintech market".

Now in its third year, with a dedicated three-day conference summit, (increased by a third day), and with two days of optional satellite events, it's no surprise to see Intersekt 2018 proudly boasting it will be "better than ever".

The conference will be showcased in the Peninsula venue in Melbourne's Docklands, and will "explore what is unique about the Australian Fintech ecosystem, where we lead the world, and what the opportunity is for Australian Fintechs to take their rightful place in a global market".

Held by FinTech Australia, its chief executive Brad Kitschke says this year will "be the best ever", and states: "this year we are adding an extra day of the conference component and reducing ticket prices for start-ups so we can ensure as many from the ecosystem can attend with increased value."

Kitschke continued: "There will be additional value this year with a curated investor matching program in partnership with EY, that will be sure to deliver more to participants. We are also running a graduate and student match, putting startups together with talent interested in working in FinTech as another added bonus for those attending.

"We are launching the EY FinTech Census, our own Open Banking campaign including a consumer facing animation, and much more. This year's event will focus on what makes our market unique, and how our fintech's can take their place as world leaders. The content at Intersekt is not likely to be replicated by any other conference and its the only event about our ecosystem focussing on our successes and launching our members onto the global stage, Kitschke concluded.

Key themes for this years conference:

Blockchain as a FinTech economic enabler  AgTech, MedTEch, Mining, FMCG and more

The role of Challenger banks in the FinTech Ecosystem

Open data and The Growth of RealTech (Real Estate and property)

Open Banking - Australias opportunity to learn from overseas experiences and lead the world

Australia as a leader in global superannuation and the role of Fintech

Cryptocurrency  trends, markets and what is its effect on the global economy and what is the social impact

How is Fintech impacting the future of work?

Resourcing and growing our Fintech Startups through connections, skills and thought leadership

InsurTech: a major competitive force in insurance

The importance of Regtech in the Fintech Ecosystem

FinTech Australia reports appointing Conference Online as its "Professional Conference Organiser (PCO) to ensure this years event is professionally managed and executed to the highest industry standards".

Here's how FinTech Australia describes this year's conference:

Day one:

"The conference kicks off on the afternoon of Monday, 29 October, with the launch of the EY Fintech Census, a major key note address, and the official opening of the conference by The Hon. Philip Dalidakis Victorian Minister for Innovation and the Digital economy, followed by a welcome cocktail party."

Days two and three:

"Will feature keynote speakers, panel and plenary sessions, the launch of FinTech Australia's Open banking campaign and much more."

Start-up and investor matching:

"Start-ups will also have the chance to be matched with investors, through a curated Investor-match program. We will bring together investors and match them with Fintechs through a program of curated engagement. These conversations will be more than a simple pitch and could lead you to secure your next investor."

Secure a graduate or student to work in your start-up:

"Startups will be given the chance to match with graduates and students wanting to work in fintech through a program designed to match your needs with their skills."

International delegations:

"international delegations are welcomed and encouraged. Larger delegations will secure a place on the conference program."

Satellite events:

"FinTech Australia has set aside the Thursday, 1st and Friday 2nd November to host satellite events for the conference. Where possible, we will work with Austrade and delegations to arrange meetings with policy makers, regulators or other bespoke activities."

Partnerships and sponsorships:

"With 500 delegates expected, and major media events like the launch of the EY Census, the Minister's address, and the launch of FinTech Australia's Open Banking Campaign, Intersekt has the potential to place your brand front and centre with an audience much larger than just those attending the conference."

The partnership prospectus is here.

Intersekt Tickets:

"Early Bird tickets for Intersekt will go on sale in August. In the interim for any further information or to register your interest to be a speaker, international delegation, or for any other information visit the Intersekt 2018 site.

"Finally, for those needing a FinTech Australia refresher, the organisation bills itself as "the peak body for the Australian financial services, technology and innovation  Fintech industry."

The organisation states it was "founded by start-ups" and is itself "a start-up", working with "founders, start-ups, scale-ups and the Fintech ecosystem", representing "members and advocating for outcomes that facilitate the growth of the Fintech ecosystem with the goal of making Australia a leading Fintech market".

Here's the video from Intersekt 2017:

www.intersektfestival.com  Intersekt17  Australia's first FinTech Festival from FinTech Australia on Vimeo.
Whoever is responsible for Telstra's site "accidentally" leaking private email and other information is probably feeling like quite the "accidental" foolish tool, with the leak discovered by a member of the public.

I was reading an interesting story on a Telstra privacy breach over at the 9News website, which noted that non-tech-savvy 63-year-old Robert Irvine told the site he had accidentally discovered 65,000 results containing "names, addresses, email addresses and phone numbers".

The article notes Irvine had somehow logged into the now-disabled "Your Telstra Tools" part of Telstra's site, and had merely searched for the term "email" in the hope he might be able to fix an email issue he was having, and was incredibly surprised to see the private contact details of so many people being listed.

He called a couple of the numbers to verify they were real, and indeed, Irvine reports that they were.

I then noted the Telstra Exchange Blog had listed an article entitled " Your Telstra Tools: Keeping you informed ", written by Michael Ackland, the head of Sales and Service at Telstra.

Ackland stated: "You may have heard about concerns regarding Telstras online help service for Enterprise and Small Business customers called Your Telstra Tools.

"As youd expect, we take the privacy and security of our customers extremely seriously  so we took the immediate step to disable Your Telstra Tools while our IT Security team investigated.

"The team identified emails from Telstra to 18 customers about planned network interruptions, had been made available to three customers who performed a specific search on the site. The issue was caused by an error in the systems search function.

"We regularly communicate with our customers about our planned network interruptions, including emailing them in advance. The information in the emails is similar to what you would find on a business card or website, such as names, business names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses.

"We have begun contacting and apologising to the small number of affected customers.

"The privacy and security of our customers remains a priority  and we remain vigilant to keep our data and systems safe and secure."

Interestingly, the "tags" listed for this article at Telstra Exchange is simply a single tag: data. Why this list of tags does not include "security" or "privacy" is unknown, you'd imagine Telstra has written articles about privacy and security before.

In any case, I'm quite certain no-one at Telstra wants to be known as the company's biggest tool, so let's hope the company not only investigates how this information was leaked by an "error in the system's search function", which sounds like a pretty fundamental error, but that Telstra's IT security team does a top-to-bottom security audit of the entire company.

Clearly, in the age of hacked medical databases in Singapore, of Australian Census websites being DDoSed, with thousands opting-out of the Australian Federal Government's MyHealth online record system and more, no company, and especially not Telstra, can afford to have privacy scandals anywhere near as regularly as it has had network outages.

So, let's hope this doesn't happen again and that Telstra's IT team does an extremely thorough job in pen-testing and strengthening Telstra's networks and data from internal and external threats, foreign and domestic, so the only thing we have left to perennially complain about with Telstra is its inconsistent customer service.
Ecuador President Lenin Moreno has said he has no objection to the UK agreeing to extradite WikiLeaks' publisher Julian Assange to the US, if there is an understanding that he will not face the death penalty for his publishing of leaked US military secrets.

In an interview with the Spanish newspaper El Pais, Moreno said Ecuador was not helping Assange to exercise his rights by prolonging his stay in Ecuador's London embassy, and therefore had to find a way to end the impasse.

He said any solution would have to ensure Assange's rights, especially his right to life, while at the same time it removed what was obviously a problem for his country.

"The ideal way out would be to talk with Mr Assange and his lawyer in order to consult them if he is willing to accept the conditions under which the United Kingdom provides the possibility of an exit," Moreno said according to a Google translation of his interview.

"And if that happens, we understand that there is a penalty that he would have to assume for having violated the principle of going to appear regularly before the British laws. And after passing that, immediately be able to enjoy the possibility of being extradited to a country where there is no danger."

Last week, as iTWire reported, The Intercept claimed that Moreno had either finalised, or was about to finalise, an agreement with Britain to end the asylum protection for Assange.

Ecuador signed a security agreement with the US in May, a sharp move away from policies pursued by the previous government led by Rafael Correa.

The editor of The Intercept, Glenn Greenwald, wrote in last week's report: "It is thus highly unlikely that Moreno  who has shown himself willing to submit to threats and coercion from the UK, Spain and the US  will obtain a guarantee that the UK not extradite Assange to the US, where top Trump officials have vowed to prosecute Assange and destroy WikiLeaks."

In April, Assange lost a bid in court to get an UK arrest warrant against him dropped.

The WikiLeaks publisher has been taking refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy in London since June 2012.

His problems began when he visited Sweden in August 2010 to attend a conference where he was scheduled to give a talk. During that visit, he had sex with two women whom he met. The pair filed rape and molestation complaints against him later, claims that he denied.

He was questioned by Swedish authorities and cleared of all accusations. He could have left the country then and there but stayed for a while, in case the authorities decided to question him again.

Interpol issued a Red Notice for his arrest on 20 November 2010. On 27 November, Assange surrendered to authorities and appeared before a Westminster judge. Bail was granted to him in December after his backers provided 240,000 in cash and sureties.

Then began a protracted period of legal back and forth that went on until June 2012, when Swedish prosecutors sought his extradition.

Assange's lawyers, among them the world-renowned Australian Geoffrey Robertson, replied that if he agreed to the extradition request, then he could be flown to the US from there.

On 19 June 2012, he jumped bail and took refuge in the Ecuadorian embassy, seeking asylum in the South American country. British police surrounded the building and blocked any chance of his leaving.

Ecuador granted him asylum in August 2012. He has had to stay inside the four walls of the embassy since then. He was recently granted Ecuadorian citizenship.
SMS is dead. Voicemail is obsolete. Right?

SMS and voicemail are old and busted technologies that should be, and have been, replaced by newer alternatives.

Were led to believe, for example, that SMS has been largely left behind by enterprises and businesses in favor of team collaboration tools such as Slack.

And while its true that the number of SMS messages peaked in 2011, when 2.3 trillion messages were sent in the United States, SMS activity today still dwarfs everything else.

This misconception about team collaboration tools is laid bare by the numbers. Everyone with a mobile phone, of course, has access to SMS. Meanwhile, the team collaboration tools are stuck in the doldrums.

Mind-share leader Slack has only 3 million active paid users. Some 6 billion people have access to SMS. That means 99.5% of the people who have SMS are not paid users of Slack.

Remember HipChat and Stride? Slack this week announced a partnership with Atlassian, whereby both the HipChat and Stride user bases will be assimilated into Slack. Resistance is futile. In exchange, Slack will be retrofitted to better integrate with other Atlassian products suc as Jira Server and Cloud, Trello and Bitbucket.

But wait! Hasnt SMS been made obsolete by RCS?

Its true that Google has gotten more aggressive lately promoting Rich Communication Services (RCS)  branded as Chat  as a replacement for SMS. Messages sent via RCS using Googles Android Message app, for example, are called chat messages. Chat service is provided by carriers using the RCS standards but works a lot like the downloadable messaging app services. For example, you can send messages via Wi-Fi.

Most people will get Chat functionality from their carriers over the next few years. Yet SMS is still an extremely powerful medium for business.

One way that SMS usage has been broadened and made more flexible is that its no longer the exclusive province of mobile phones.

A Chrome Extension called Send Your Email to SMS from CloudHQ lets you send and receive SMS messages in Gmail.

After installing the Extension and doing a simple setup, you can choose someone from your Google Contacts and send that person an email from Gmail, which arrives on the contacts phone as an SMS.

(If youre on AT&T, you can follow an additional setup to make the SMS appear to come from your phone, and if youve got an iPhone, it all appears to operate within Messages.)

This is a way to use SMS without using SMS. You just send emails, and those appear as SMS to the people who prefer to get messages on their phones.

You can also tell the extension to send you an email via SMS if its from a specific person or contains a specific word or phrase in the subject line. It sends the entire email, not just a summary or link. (In my experience, it can take a few minutes to get the alert via SMS.)

Within the past month, Google rolled out a service called Messages for Web, which is a way for Android users to send SMS from a web browser.

Companies are using SMS to break through the noise of email and app notification fatigue. For example, a Silicon Valley startup called The Nudge helps users break screen addiction with helpful hints about events and activities that dont involve using a phone or laptop, all delivered via SMS.

(The Nudge also has an app, but the main product is the SMS-delivered content.) And, yes, its ironic that reading the SMS requires looking at a screen.

And SMS marketing is a big deal because SMS is a better and more effective way to break through the noise. Something like 82% of all smartphone users surveyed said they open every single SMS thats sent to them. Email open rates remain in the low, single-digit percentages.

Some major enterprise companies are adding powerful new SMS-related services. Oracle announced this month that its adding an SMS aggregator marketplace to its Responsys B2C marketing platform. Its called the SMS Public Aggregator Network (SPAN).

Voicemail returning

And, of course, voicemail is obsolete, right?

The whole idea behind voicemail is that its a fall-back system after an attempt at a live phone call fails. It started out as a kind of digital answering machine.

The main problem with voicemail has always been that, while its an easy way to send a message, its always been problematic for the receiver. Youve got to sit there and wait while the caller blathers on endlessly. Youve got to take notes to capture the information. Its annoying.

But new technology (especially automatic transcription, which has gotten very good lately) retains the ease of sending, while improving the ease of receiving.

Many people, myself included, use services such as Google Voice, which, among other things, transcribes voicemails into text and sends it to your email inbox.

(Google announced this week a new version of Google Voice for enterprise G Suite customers.)

In fact, I stopped answering my phone long ago. The idea of actually answering a phone from an unknown caller feels weird now.

Transcribed voicemails are great. But live phone calls from strangers are obsolete. Some services out there turn these facts into a business model.

A service called JMP, for example, lets you pick a phone number to hand out to people at business meetings. But the number never rings a phone. It merely accepts voicemail, which is then transcribed and sent to you via email. It all works via Jabber.

Google recently decided to use voicemail as a catch-all for suspected spam calls. The company this month released a beta version of the Google Phone app, which is the default phone dialer for Google phones such as the Pixel and Nexus. When the new Google Phone app suspects that an incoming call is a scammer, spammer or telemarketer, it doesnt ring the phone. Instead, it moves the caller directly to voicemail.

Even Linkedin embraced voicemail this week. The company announced that members can now send each other voicemails. The voicemails, which can only be recorded and sent using the mobile apps, arrive like email in the Linkedin inbox in the mobile apps or online.

How I know youll get the message

The reason SMS and voicemail are still not only relevant but resurgent is that everybody has them. No proprietary service will ever match the universality of SMS or voicemail.

While the alternatives to SMS and voicemail get all the press, the truth is that these older approaches to communication are universal  everyones got access to them.

And now old and busted SMS and voicemail are becoming the new hotness with new technologies, new ideas and new services.
Mondays controversial referendum in the Comoros could allow its president, Azali Assoumani, to seek re-election and retain power beyond 2021, when his currently non-renewable term would otherwise end.

Several other African leaders have also sought to hang on to power through changes to the constitution.

Here are some examples.

 Success 

 In Rwanda, voters in 2015 overwhelmingly backed a referendum that removed term limits from the constitution, allowing President Paul Kagame  in power since 1994  to potentially rule until 2034.

 The same year the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) voted by a landslide on constitutional changes that would allow veteran ruler Denis Sassou Nguesso to run for a third term. He was re-elected in 2016.

 In Zimbabwe a new constitution adopted in 2013 let Robert Mugabe stand in another election, which he won. He was forced to step down in 2017, after 37 years in power.

 Chads Idriss Deby Itno has been in power since 1990 thanks to a constitutional revision in 2005 that was adopted after a disputed referendum.

 In Uganda, also in 2005, a constitutional reform scrapped limits on presidential terms. Yoweri Museveni, in power since 1986, was re-elected to a fifth term in 2016.

 In Togo in 2002 a constitutional amendment allowing the president to seek reelection without limit paved the way for Gnassingbe Eyadema, in power since 1967, to win another term.

When he died in 2005, his son Faure Gnassingbe took over and has since won three contested elections. The opposition is seeking a return to a two-term limit.

 Crisis 

 Burundi was plunged into a bloody political crisis after Pierre Nkurunziza won a highly controversial third term in 2015, which the opposition said was unconstitutional.

In May 2018 Burundians voted overwhelmingly in a referendum in favour of constitutional changes that included extending presidential terms, potentially allowing Nkurunziza to stay in office until 2034.

But a month later Nkurunziza announced he would step down in 2020.

 The Democratic Republic of Congos President Joseph Kabila was obliged  but refused  to step down at the end of 2016 after he reached his two-term constitutional limit.

The Constitutional Court ruled he could remain in office until his successor was elected.

After much delay, sparking deadly protests, a vote is scheduled for December 23, 2018.

 Foiled 

 In Burkina Faso, the announcement in 2014 that long-serving president Blaise Compaore sought to extend his rule beyond 30 years brought hundreds of thousands of protesters onto the streets. Compaore was forced to stand down.

 In Malawi, the parliament in 2002 blocked Bakili Muluzi from seeking a third mandate in 2004.

 Zambias then president, Frederick Chiluba, tried in vain to change the constitution in 2001 in order to get a third term, but was forced to bow to popular pressure.

acm-eab/br/bgs/ri/rma
Voters in the Comoros go to the polls on Monday for a politically explosive referendum overshadowed by a clampdown and an attempted assassination just days before the vote.

Burdened by a long history of turbulence, the Indian Ocean archipelago is being asked to vote on changes to the constitution put forward by President Azali Assoumani.

Critics say that Assoumanis scheme is to retain power beyond 2021, when his currently non-renewable single term would otherwise end.

Under the current constitution adopted in 2001, power rotates every five years between the countrys three main islands as a means of balancing power in the coup-prone country.

If the government wins the referendum, this arrangement would be scrapped and replaced by a president who would be elected for a five-year tenure, renewable for one term.

Assoumani would also gain the power to scrap the countrys three vice-presidencies, another checks-and-balances feature of the present constitution.

In addition, a constitutional clause on secularism would be scrapped and replaced by text saying Islam is the religion of state and the state draws from this religion the principles and rules of Sunnite observance.

Ninety-nine percent of the Comoran population are Sunni Muslim.

Opposition parties have lashed the referendum as illegal and the process as murky.

When the law is trampled on, you cannot organise a credible vote we cannot take part in an election or any kind of referendum which has been branded by illegality, Ahmed el-Barwane, head of the Juwa party, warned ahead of the ballot.

In June, one of the countrys trio of vice presidents, Ahmed Said Jaffar, urged Comorans to reject the dangerous abuse of power. He was later stripped of all but one of his ministerial portfolios.

 Early elections? 

If Assoumani wins the referendum, he is expected to stage early elections next year to try to extend his term in office. If he loses, he will step down, according to his spokesman, Mohamed Ismailla.

A group of three islands between Mozambique and Madagascar and one of the worlds poorest countries, the Comoros has endured coups and political turmoil, including intervention by mercenaries, ever since it gained independence from France in 1975.

Assoumani, a 59-year-old former colonel, was president between 1999 and 2002, coming to power after ousting acting president Tadjidine Ben Said Massonde in a military coup.

He won the countrys first multi-party elections in 2002, stepping down in 2006 to democratically hand over power to Ahmed Abdallah Sambi.

In May 2016, he returned again as president after an election marred by violence and allegations of voting irregularities.

 Clampdown 

In April this year, Assoumani suspended the Constitutional Court  his spokesman said the institution had become useless, superfluous and incompetent as the eight-seat panel only had three judges and thus could not constitute a quorum.

The following month, former president Sambi  reputed to be close to Shiite Muslim Iran  was placed under house arrest shortly after returning from a six-month absence abroad, and Assoumani outlawed demonstrations.

Last Sunday, one of the vice presidents, Moustoidrane Abdou, who holds the portfolios of production and energy, escaped an assassination attempt.

He was travelling to his home village of Sima in the west of Anjouan island when assailants on a motorcycle raked his car with automatic gunfire near the islands biggest town of Mutsamudu.

The three main islands of the Comoros  Grande-Comore, the largest, and from which Azali hails, Anjouan and Moheli  have a population of around 800,000 people. A fourth island in the group, Mayotte, remains part of France.

bur/ri/bgs/rma
Stuff reports:

Auckland mayor Phil Goffs office has been stripped of its ability to influence the release of information following an investigation by the Chief Ombudsman.

Ombudsman Peter Boshier found the council had acted unreasonably, and in some respects unlawfully, in withholding for five months a report sought by RNZ. 

The councils governance director said three changes had already been made as a result of the Ombudsmans investigation, one affecting the mayors office where senior staff had been involved.

They will still have an opportunity to comment on, and see decisions that are made, but they previously had the ability to take part in the process, said Phil Wilson.
Joe Hildebrand writes:

But it is staggering that far-left activists are still so stupid that they consistently and enthusiastically give the far-right exactly what they want.

And it is even more staggering that the far-right and those who report on it explicitly say this

and yet still the far-left plays entirely into its hands.

I stressed this exact same point when Milo Yiannopoulos came to Australia. And lest the left-wing conspiracy theorists think this is a hate media trick, it was emphatically supported by none other than the august body that is the ABCs Media Watch.

But as usual nobody listens to me or Paul Barry and so here we go again.

Many on the left think that the answer to right-wing extremism is left-wing extremism. That if fascists have a demonstration then socialists need to meet it with a counter-demonstration, that if the alt-right has an event then the alt-left has to shut it down. 

When it comes to these alt-right speaking tours, the lefts tactics are even more stupid and also unwittingly sinister. By attempting to shut these events down and deny the speakers the opportunity to even talk, they attract not only the ire of the alt-right but of anyone who believes in free speech  and there are a lot more of the latter than there are of the former. And of course it suddenly makes the so-called provocateur the victim.

And so the idiocy is threefold: You give priceless free publicity to the speech youre trying to silence, you make a whole bunch of otherwise disengaged people suddenly disagree with you and you instantly turn the object of your hatred into a sympathetic figure.

That is a veritable hat-trick of own goals.
South and North Korea have agreed to hold general-level military talks next week to discuss measures to enforce the military part of their April summit agreement, Seoul's defense ministry said Friday.

The talks will take place at the Peace House, a South Korea-controlled building at the border truce village of Panmunjom, at 10 a.m. on Tuesday.

Pyongyang first proposed the talks, which Seoul accepted later, the ministry said.

Major Gen. Kim Do-gyun will lead South Korea's five-member delegation, while the North Korean side will be represented by Lt. Gen. An Ik-san.

The two sides are expected to discuss measures to build confidence and seek arms control, such as disarming the Joint Security Area in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separating the two Koreas, and withdrawing troops and equipment from border guard posts.

The agenda could also include the idea of a joint project to excavate the remains of troops in the DMZ, who were killed during the 1950-53 Korean War.

Some observers said that the militaries could also discuss the summit agreement to turn the Northern Limit Line, a de facto sea border, into a peace zone to prevent accidental clashes in front-line waters, which have long been a flashpoint.

The last such talks were held on June 14, for the first time in more than a decade, at Panmunjom. At the time, the two sides agreed to completely restore their military communication lines.

After their April 27 summit, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un issued the Panmunjom Declaration that called for joint efforts to alleviate military tensions and "practically eliminate the danger of war." (Yonhap)
A 2ND CHANCE // ROCK SALT RELEASING

Featured in Santa Ynez Valley Events Calendar: Places to Go, Things to Do: Susanne Biers A 2nd CHANCE successful wraps up two-day theatrical in Buellton, CA.

Los Angeles, CA  July 27, 2018  Dont Miss A 2nd Chance Exclusive Film Screening July 25-26 featuring Emmy-nom Game of Thrones Danish Actor Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, bylined Solvang USA.

ROCK SALT RELEASING successfully wrapped up Buelltons exclusive two-day theatrical of Award-winning and Danish Director, Susanne Biers (The Night Manager) baby snatching drama, A 2nd CHANCE (En chance til), which took place on July 25th + July 26th at Parks Plaza Theatre.

Written by Ander Thomas Jensen (All You Need is Love, In A Better World), A 2nd Chance is a gritty, high-concept Nordic noir that captures baby snatching in a thrilling, new way cinema rarely experiences, with a raw performance by Game of Thrones and recent Emmy nom, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, in his native tongue as Det. Andreas, quoted Santa Ynez Valley News.

A 2nd CHANCE parallels two families  one, the happy family of Detective Andreas (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Jamie Lannister on Game of Thrones) and  two, the junkie-couple who leaves their baby boy covered in his own excrement and surrounded by their fumes from heated spoons. But when the unthinkable happens and tragedy strikes Andreas family, the sudden tragic death of their son, the cop sees his life hanging by a thread as he makes a choice that will lead himself and everyone he knows down a rabbit hole of moral and ethical disarray. Rooted in the foundations of love and parenthood, Biers direction invokes a strong and empowering female voice with open eyes to reflect our dark world.

This celluloid thriller is a shocking, moving and dramatic movie about adults forced into incredible circumstances and how they can have trouble drawing the line between tragedy, justice, right and wrong, described Solvang USA.

A 2nd CHANCE is a gritty, Nordic noir for its depiction of gruesome child neglect, ability capture the bone-chilling atmosphere, bestowing areas of gray onto the adult moral complex and its imminent implications, uniquely attributed to Biers as a female voice and influence. At its core, A 2nd CHANCE is about real people forced into incredibly difficult circumstances, forcing viewers to confront their personal notions about right and wrong, leaving us with the question: Who are we to think we are better than anyone else?

A 2nd CHANCE is now exclusively available on Amazon  watch it here today: https://amzn.to/2A4NlqH.

In collaboration with Trustnordisk and production companies, Zentropa, Zentropa International Sweden, FilmFyn and Film I Vast, A 2nd CHANCE stars Coster-Waldau (Oblivion, Mama), award-winning Swedish actress, Maria Bonnevie (I Am Dina), Nikolai Lie Kaas (Angels & Demons), and debuting model, Lykke May Andersen. Supporting are Ulrich Thomsen (The Blacklist), Roland Moller (Atomic Blonde) and Peter Harber (The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo). For press inquiries, please contact jenna@tricoast.com.

A 2nd CHANCE (2018, 102 min.) Directed by Susanne Bier. Editor: Pernille Bech Christensen. Cinematographer: Michael Snyman. Original Music: Johan Soderqvist. Danish with English subtitles. Zentropa, Zentropa International Sweden, FilmFyn, Film I Vast. TriCoast Worldwide, Rock Salt Releasing.

PRODUCTION COMPANIES: Zentropa, Zentropa International Sweden, FilmFyn and Film I Vast.

About Rock Salt Releasing, a label of TriCoast Worldwide:

Daisy Hamilton and Dean Fernando. TriCoast Worldwide is a premium International sales agent, representing the best of US and international films at all the major film markets. Sister company to TriCoast Entertainment and TriCoast Studios, the company is located at the Studio facility in Culver City, Los Angeles. Founded by: Strathford Hamilton and Marcy Levitas Hamilton.

Media Contact

Company Name: TriCoast Entertainment

Contact Person: Jenna Wilen

Email: Send Email

Phone: 310 458 7707

Address:11124 Washington Blvd

City: Culver City

State: CA

Country: United States

Website: http://www.tricoastworldwide.com
Kolkata, July 28: National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah on Saturday urged the regional parties to come together to defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the forthcoming 2019 general elections.

Speaking to reporters here, Abdullah said, "The question you asked about Mamata didi's proposal, is what we are discussing- how best can regional parties come together to take on BJP in general elections." He further said that no effort towards opposition unity will succeed unless Congress is able to fight the BJP.

Praising United Progressive Alliance (UPA) chairperson Sonia Gandhi's efforts to bring opposition parties together against the BJP, Abdullah said, "It is an ongoing conversation. You have seen a number of efforts made particularly by Sonia Gandhi to bring opposition parties together. As we get closer to the general election in 2019, I'm sure it will take on a greater shape."

Abdullah's statement came a day after he met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in Howrah to discuss the prevailing situation in the country.

Further taking a dig at the NDA government, Abdullah said that a strong Union is required for a strong country.

"A strong Union is required for a strong country but a strong Union cannot come at the cost of the states," Abdullah said. "Today India isn't as strong as it could be as we're facing problems in numerous states such as Maoist insurgency in parts of the country, problems in north-east or Jammu and Kashmir. States that have been weakened have held Union back from progressing the way we ought to have done," he added.
New Delhi, July 28: In its first reaction to the Pakistan election results, the government on Saturday said the new government in the neighbouring country would contribute to building terror-free South Asia. The government said it hopes for a prosperous and progressive Pakistan at peace with its neighbours.

"India desires a prosperous & progressive Pakistan at peace with its neighbours. We hope that the new Pakistan Govt will work constructively to build a safe, stable, secure & developed South Asia free of terror and violence," the Ministry of External Affairs said in a statement.

Pakistan Prime Minister-in-waiting Imran Khan said his government would seek good relations with India and would like leaders of the two countries to sit across the table and resolve all disputes, including the "core issue" of Kashmir. His party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf emerged as the single largest party.

According to the figures provided by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won 115 out of the 270 seats on which the elections were held. The party, however, was short of 22 seats for a simple majority. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) won 64 seats.

The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) remained at the third place with 43 seats. Khan himself continued to hold meetings with prominent leaders on Saturday. Former Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Mehmoodur Rasheed also met Khan at his Bani Gala residence.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 28, 2018 08:56 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Shasta County, Calif. - Igo Fire Department Officials are urging their residents to evacuate the area due to the Carr Fire.

Fire officials posted to their Facebook page, "time to go igo. the fire is coming down muletown ready to hit placer. time to go now. leave igo take your pets time to go."

Igo is an unincorporated community southwest of Redding and just south of areas burned by the Carr Fire.

Evacuees should know Shasta College is at capacity, anyone evacuating the areas should go to either Weaverville Elementary, Grace Baptist Church, Crosspointe Church, and the Redding Rodeo Grounds for large animals. Rolling Hills Casino has room for people but they say they are at capacity for household pets.

Click this link for the latest information on Carr Fire. Stick with Action News Now for all the latest on the Carr Fire and more happening in the North State.
Tata announces Evoque-based Harrier crossover

Jul 28, 2018, 6:23am ET

The Harrier will go on sale in select markets next year.

Tata Motors, the Indian brand that owns Jaguar - Land Rover, has announced plans to launch a crossover based on the Range Rover Evoque in 2019.

Called Harrier, the model will receive a design inspired by the H5X concept introduced in February 2018. That means it will look a lot like the design study but it will incorporate more realistic-looking mirrors, smaller wheels, and a toned-down front end. Dark teaser sketches give us a vague idea of what to expect.

Photos of the interior haven't been released yet. Tata pledged to deliver best-in-class quality, space, and connectivity, according to British magazine Autocar.

Everything under the sheet metal will come from the Land Rover parts bin -- with a twist. The Omega platform is an evolution of the D8 architecture found under the Evoque, the E-Pace, and the Discovery Sport tweaked to withstand harsh road conditions in India.

Tata will introduce the Harrier next year. It will go on sale in its home market before the end of 2019. Autocar adds the model will also reach the African and Middle Eastern markets, but Tata currently has no plans to distribute it in Europe or in North America.

The Harrier name will raise more than a few eyebrows in Japan. Toyota has used (and, presumably, trademarked) the nameplate on the Japanese market since 1997. The first two generations were Toyota-badged variants of the first two Lexus RXs, while the third and current Harrier is a standalone model built on a modified version of the outgoing RAV4's platform.
Providing the community with emergency communications about road closures, impending floods or other dangers to the public is a critical function of government agencies.

More of those agencies are utilizing the Nixle web-based system to spread that urgent information.

Nixle, launched in 2007, provides a communication system that connects municipalities, police departments, schools and other government agencies with members of the public who register with the system.

People can register online at nixle.com to receive email or text message alerts. Registrants can add multiple locations from where they would like to receive alerts.

The messages come in the form of alerts, which may contain public safety or weather-related emergencies, and advisories, which would contain less urgent information.

The agencies can also opt to provide community information, which may involve neighborhood events, or traffic information.

A search of Nixle's website found at least 27 local agencies that use its services.

The Slate Belt Regional Police Department, which covers, Wind Gap, Pen Argyl and Plainfield Township, began using the system this month. Alerts can be issued by police and municipal leaders of those three communities.

"We spoke with the municipal leaders and thought we really should be able to push out information in the event of an emergency," Slate Belt Regional Police Chief David Mettin said.

On July 20, a man allegedly stole a front-end loader in Wind Gap and fled from police. Mettin said he was driving in Easton when he received a dispatch about the incident.

"I pulled over, took 30 seconds to type an advisory from my phone, and the public was alerted immediately about the situation," Mettin said. "It worked flawlessly."

"Police activity in Wind Gap Borough. Taft st. Police looking for a w/m black tank top and tattoos. Fled after stealing a vehicle," the Nixle advisory read.

Mettin said it will also be a convenient way to alert about changes in community events like if Halloween trick-or-treating is postponed due to inclement weather.

Nixles's website states is serves over 8,000 agencies in the U.S.

WHO'S ON NIXLE?

Here is a list of some local government agencies that utilize the Nixle alert system.

Alexandria Township Office of Emergency Management

Allen Township

Bath Township

Bethlehem City Police Department

Bethlehem Township

Bushkill Township Volunteer Fire Company

Catasauqua

Columbia Police Department

Easton

Forks Township

Forks Township Police Department

Fountain Hill Police Department

Greenwich Township

Greenwich Township Police Department

Lehigh Township Police Department

Lopatcong Township Emergency Management

Lower Saucon Township

Macungie Police Department

Nazareth

Palmer Township

Phillipsburg Police Department

Roseto Police Department

Salisbury Township

Slate Belt Regional Police Department

South Whitehall Township

Tatamy Police Department

Upper Macungie Township Police Department

Washington Borough, Warren County, N.J.

Washington Township Police Department, Warren County, N.J.

Whitehall Borough Police Department

Whitehall Township Emergency Management Agency

Wilson Borough Police Department

John Best is a freelance writer. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
A landmark grand jury report identifies more than 300 "predator priests" in six of Pennsylvania's Roman Catholic dioceses, the state Supreme Court said Friday in ordering the findings released.

The justices said the report on clergy child sexual abuse going back decades and allegations of cover-up efforts will be made public but without the names or "individual specific information" of priests and others who have challenged the findings, at least in the initial version to be released.

The court wants the redaction process to be completed by Aug. 8, when the 900-page report is expected to be made public. If there are disputes about what a court-appointed special master should black out, the report will go out the following week.

The investigation pertains to the Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton dioceses, which together consist of 1.7 million people.

Previous investigations found widespread sexual abuse by priests in the state's two other dioceses, Philadelphia and Altoona-Johnstown.

In a statement Friday, the Diocese of Allentown said: "The Diocese of Allentown welcomes any action that will lead to an expeditious release of the Statewide Grand Jury Report in any form."

The Supreme Court said it will consider the challenges by some priests and others who say their constitutional rights to their reputations and to due process of law are being violated, based on not being able to address the grand jury.

"We believe that the risk that the grand jury's pronouncements will be seen as carrying the weight of governmental and judicial authority -- and as themselves embodying the voice of the community relative to particular findings -- is substantial," Chief Justice Thomas Saylor wrote.

Giving the report's subjects the right to file written responses, Saylor wrote, is "not sufficiently effective." He said there are divisions within the court about what can be done to provide the required due process of law. The court will hold oral argument on the subject in Philadelphia in September.

Saylor said the court wants to release the bulk of the report, warning the priests they can't assert objections to generalized content of the report simply because it might pertain to them.

"For example, with regard to (the report)'s depiction of more than 300 clergymen as 'predator priests,' this assertion will not be suppressed on the basis that a particular appellant has been named as being among the 300," Saylor said.

Several lawyers for priests who have challenged the report declined to comment or did not return messages seeking comment.

The report is the result of a two-year investigation, described by the judge who supervised the grand jury as addressing allegations of child sexual abuse, failure to report it, endangering the welfare of children and obstruction of justice by people "associated with the Roman Catholic Church, local public officials and community leaders."

The judge has said the probe involved dozens of witnesses and more than half a million pages of internal church documents.

The attorney general's office argued vigorously for the release, calling it a matter of exceptional public interest.

Attorney General Josh Shapiro described the court's decision as a victory for abuse survivors.

"Our fear throughout this process has been that the entire grand jury report would be shelved and victims' truth would be silenced," Shapiro said. "Today's order ensures that will not be the case."

Criminal charges can only be brought under the statute of limitations in effect at the time of the crime. For some people alleging abuse in the 1970s, that means two years from when the crime happened. For others, it means two years after they turned 18.

Current state law allows prosecutors to file criminal charges before the one-time child victim turns 50 and for victims to seek civil damages in court before they turn 30.

The pending release of the sex abuse investigation report comes as Pope Francis on Friday accepted U.S. prelate Theodore McCarrick's offer to resign from the College of Cardinals following allegations of sexual abuse. The 88-year-old rose steadily up the U.S. Church's ranks, from auxiliary bishop in New York City, to bishop in Metuchen, New Jersey, to archbishop of Newark, New Jersey, and then to Archbishop of Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, the city where the papal ambassador to the United States is based.

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It has been on my mind to try and put some of my thoughts down on the whole Brexit thing.

I have been putting it off, because my thoughts were closer to hazy grey rather than to crisp, clear black and white.

But a request from the editor, prompted by a note about new book from Iontas Press in Maynooth, A Festschrift for Anthony Coughlan: Essays on Sovereignty and Democracy, prompted me to dip my scribblers pen in this water.

A further aid to outing myself was a new programme about Britain's slave trade last Sunday night  the series is to run for a while and is a fascinating reminder of how 46,000 people in the UK owned slaves in the 16th/17th century.

It should be a timely reminder about human nature's capacity for evil, but also about Britain's slave owners and the massive benefits this disgraceful trade brought to the United Kingdom.

Despite its abolition in the UK in 1834, suggestions of modern slavery have been suggested in some low-paying industries in the UK and Ireland.

The reason for my Brexit greyness was because I could not help but bring issues like slavery and tax evasion into the Brexit equation.

All were, and are, about one rule for some and another for the others.

I believe that these issues, though not directly linked to the Brexit issue in the UK, are linked and mirror the behind the scenes issues.

I wrote a piece for Coiseanna, the Clane history group journal, on a local connection to the slave trade and during my studies got more information on the fierce parliamentary debates in the UK over the abolition of slavery in the 1800s. I will return to that later.

It seems to me that some of the recent Brexit battles in Britain's House of Commons have some of the ferocity of those old abolition arguments.

Fundamentally, it seems to me that Brexit may have elements of concern in the UK about its fundamental freedoms, including making its own laws and having control over its own destiny.

Some of these have merit because while the majority of us support the EU, there are arguments for leaving and going it alone again.

While a supporter of the EU I have always had niggling doubts about what happens further down the road if partly free trade enables more centralisation within the ever growing European Union.

Unless there is a willingness to transfer back to Ireland and other countries some of the gains from efficiencies enabled by us and other giving up some rights and economic powers, we will be in trouble.

But if you push these arguments out of the way, Brexit is about the UK's wealthier powers trying to avoid the inevitable future requirements for inequality and transfer of tax resources within between the EU countries.

Brexit got through because big money, tax evasion and open borders left many parts of the UK exposed, via competition, becoming relatively poor . Many in these areas supported Brexit.

I don't think many leading wealthy Conservatives are concerned about employment in the UK.

Many of them have started to set up branches of their companies in Ireland or get (pay for) passports from EU, so that they can continue to do business with and within the EU.

The unemployed and disadvantageed in England or Wales or Scotland won't have those options. It would be best for the less well off there, if the UK agreed a deal with the EU, Brexit or part Brexit, and let the public in the UK vote on it again.
Leitrim is the county with the smallest population in the Republic of Ireland, but the latest infographic released by The Western Development Commission (WDC) show that the population of the county is only 21% of what it was nearly 180 years ago.

The WDC has just published an infographic of 16 key Co Leitrim statistics from the CSOs Census of Population in 2016.

This is part of a series of 8 infographics for counties in the Western Region.

The infographic shows the countys population growth since the last Census in 2011 (0.8%) and the growth over the last ten years (11%).

Leitrim is one of the few counties with more males (50.1%) than females and the infographic shows that 17% of people are over 65 and more than a fifth are under 15 (21.6%).

The infographic also shows:

- Average time to travel to work in Leitrim was 27.4 minutes

- 57% of Leitrim people are in very good health

- 38% of adults have a third level qualification

- The population of Co. Leitrim is only 21% of what it was in 1841

Dr Helen McHenry, Policy Analyst with the WDC said: The infographics are an entertaining means of giving information about the county. They show important information and county characteristics in an accessible and lively way. We hope the infographics will be used in schools and in workplaces and anywhere that people want to know more about the county where they live or are visiting.

There is a mix of statistics highlighted on the infographic. It shows the percentage with access to broadband in Leitrim (58%) and also shows that most of the population consider themselves to be in very good health (56.9%).

It also gives information about work and education. In Leitrim the average time taken to travel to work is 27.4 minutes. 59% of the working age population is in the work force and 38% have a third level qualification. Two employment sectors are also shown. Leitrim has 11.5% of its workers in industry and 8.6% working in agriculture.

Dr Helen McHenry, Policy Analyst with the WDC adds: Examining the needs and issues of the Western Region through in-depth analysis is a key part of the work of the Western Development Commission (WDC). We hope the analysis for each individual county can help local authorities, community groups and businesses in each county to plan for the future.
WIN, lose or draw on Sunday Richie English and Darragh Fitzgibbon will seek each other out after the final whistle as blood is thicker than water.

The Limerick corner back and Cork midfielder are first cousins.

Indeed, they could be playing on the same team if things had worked out differently as Darragh lives on the Limerick side of the border in Creggane, Charleville.

Richies mum, Marion, and Darraghs dad Mossy are brother and sister from Milford, on the Cork side of Dromcollogher.

Marion married Paddy English in Doon while Mossy wed Ita OKeeffe, who played camogie with Castletown-Ballyagran, and they settled in Creggane. As Mossy was a fine hurler with Cork intermediates, Darragh followed in his fathers footsteps and plays with Charleville GAA Club where he went to school.

There is certainly good breeding there as both Richie are Darragh are a credit to their counties, clubs and families.

Audrey Crowe, Doon GAA PRO, said Richie is one of the nicest young fellows you could ever meet.

He hurls his heart out every time he goes out on the pitch. They are a lovely family. He helps out with the U-14s and is very involved in the club. He is very good to the youngsters and is an unbelievable role model. Anything you ask him to do he would do it for you, said Audrey.

The same goes for Darragh said Martin OConnor of Charleville GAA Club.

We are hugely proud of Darragh. In my lifetime we havent had a senior hurler. From being a young fellow you could see the talent all the way up. You just knew he had something special. Darragh is very down to earth  just a normal lad from the town, said Martin, who adds there will be some craic in Charleville on Sunday night!

Somebody will have to stay at home for two weeks because they wont be able to run into each other. There is great banter here on the border! smiled Martin.

Of course, they arent the only cousins involved. It is well known that Anthony Nash is a nephew of former Limerick hurlers  Declan and Mike Nash. Barry Nash, a son of Mikes, could be bearing down on cousin Anthonys goal.
REDDING, Calif. - Weekend News Anchor Cecile Juliette talked with Will Martin, the Chief of Public Affairs for VA Northern California Healthcare System about their Redding location (1845, 351 Hartnell Ave.) possibly being open on Monday. They also discuss how the National Guard has been deployed to Redding to help with firefighting.

Watch the video for the full interview.
WHAT BETTER way to calm the nerves before the All-Ireland semi-final than a relaxing tractor ride in the County Limerick countryside.

The Joe Wright memorial tractor run leaves Herbertstown at 11.30am this Sunday, July 29 at 11.30am. A childrens tractor run take place in the village at 11am. There will be lots of time afterwards to watch the Limerick-Cork match.

Joe, from Herbertstown, passed away on September 4, 2016 leaving after him his dream to thank Milford Hospice for the loving care he was given by them in the last months of his 90 years. It was 90 years that Joe lived every day of.

A great friend of Joes, Tom Hanly, said Joes dream was to have a tractor run with his friends on his lovely Massey Ferguson, like he had done for many St Patrick Day Parades.

He didn't live to carry out his dream but his family and friends in the parish and many parishes around carried it out for him. The year has rolled around once more to honour our friend Joe. All funds raised will go to Milford Hospice, said Tom.

Joe would be a very proud man to look down and see thousands of euros raised for Milford in his name. Up to about a month before his death, Joe was as lively as a hare said Tom. He was even driving around in his van.

Joe was one of a kind. He was a very pleasant man. Joe was a thin, hardy man and always dressed immaculately  he was a very snappy dresser. He lost his wife Bridie when she was only in her early forties. They had seven children. Joe was very popular, said Tom. Contact 087 1854169 for more.
A JUDGE at court in Limerick asked a solicitor why she shouldnt send his client to jail for driving without insurance for the third time.

Elizabeth ORiordan, aged 41, of The Grove, Pallasgreen has two previous no insurance convictions.

She was stopped by Garda John Ryan at Garranemore, Pallasgreen on July 27, 2017, Kilmallock Court heard.

Con Barry, solicitor for Ms ORiordan, said his client has three children with disabilities.

She finds it difficult at the best of times. She does silly things. She chanced her arm. She apologises to the court and gardai. She receives 350 a week to care of her three children. She looks after them with her husband, said Mr Barry.

Judge Marian OLeary asked Mr Barry why she shouldnt send his client to jail.

Her circumstances, said Mr Barry.

Her circumstances have nothing to do with driving without insurances, said Judge OLeary.

Judge OLeary said she wont send Ms ORiordan to jail on this occasion.

The judge fined Ms ORiordan 400 for no insurance, put her off the road for seven years and ordered Ms ORiordan to carry out 240 hours of community service in lieu of five months in jail.

She was also fined 300 for driving without a driving licence.
THE man hailed as the future of Irish folk is back in Limerick for a gig later this year.

The soulful Declan ORourke returns to play a concert on Thursday, December 20 at Dolans Warehouse, the venue has announced.

The highly successful artist, with five albums to his name, produces soulful music, rooted in folk and trad, has attracted the praise of countless industry giants, including John Prine, and Paul Weller, among others.

His songwriting style moves faultlessly between impressionism, and storytelling, and can be at home in almost any form. A dynamic performer, he is at once as comfortable fronting a 50-piece orchestra, as playing solo with a guitar.

The Dubliners legend John Sheahan, declared recently that, after 50 years I have decided its time to put a lid on the The Dubliners, but Im sure youll all agree that with Declan, and Damien (Dempsey), the future is in good hands.

His sixth studio album, the long awaited Chronicles Of The Great Irish Famine,

16 years in the making, was released last year, attracting praise from scholars and reviewers alike.

Tickets for the show are on sale, see www.dolans.ie.
REDDING, Calif. (AP) - The police chief of the Northern California city hit hard by a fast-moving wildfire is among those whose homes went up in flames.

Redding Police Chief Roger Moore told the Los Angeles Times that he and two other police officers lost their homes in Shasta County's Carr Fire.

Moore estimates at least 100 homes were destroyed overnight Thursday as the flames jumped the Sacramento River and raced into the outskirts of Redding. More than 37,000 residents have been evacuated.

The city of 92,000 is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of the Oregon border.

Moore said the family saved valuables such as photos and documents, but his wife and children are anxious and sad.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
This interior part of the Amazon rainforest is one of the most diverse corners of the Amazon basin. A hectare of forest typically contains 250 species of large trees.

Rainforests are found all over the world  in West and Central Africa, South and Central America, Indonesia, Southeast Asia and Australia  on every continent except Antarctica. They are vitally important, producing most of the oxygen we breathe and providing habitat for half of the planet's flora and fauna.

Types of rainforests

The term "rainforest" has a wide classification. Typically, rainforests are lush, humid, hot stretches of land covered in tall, broadleaf evergreen trees, usually found around the equator. These areas usually get rain year-round, typically more than 70 inches (1,800 millimeters) a year, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. Various types of forests, such as monsoon forests, mangrove forests and temperate forests, can be considered rainforests. Here's what makes them different:

Temperate rainforests consist of coniferous or broadleaf trees and are found in the temperate zones. They are identified as rainforests by the large amount of rain they receive.

Mangrove rainforests are, like their name, made of mangrove trees. These trees grow only in brackish waters where rivers meet the ocean.

Monsoon rainforests are also called "dry rainforests" because they have a dry season. These get around 31 to 71 inches (800 mm to 1,800 mm) of rain. Up to 75 percent of the trees in dry rainforests can be deciduous.

Most rainforests are very warm, with an average temperature of 86 degrees Fahrenheit (30 degrees Celsius) during the day and 68 degrees F (20 degrees C) at night.

A rainforest consists of two major areas. The very top part is called the canopy, which can be as tall as 98 feet to 164 feet (30 to 50 meters). This area is comprised of the tops of trees and vines. The rest, below the canopy, is called the understory. This can include ferns, flowers, vines, tree trunks and dead leaves.

Some animals stay in the canopy and rarely ever come down to the ground. Some of these animals include monkeys, flying squirrels and sharp-clawed woodpeckers, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica. [Related: Explore the Amazon Rainforest with New Virtual-Reality Film]

Upper montane cloud forest during rainfall at Mt. Kinabalu in Malaysia. (Image credit: L. A. Bruijnzeel and I. S. M. Sieverding)

Animals and plants

The rainforest is home to many plants and animals. According to The Nature Conservancy, a 4-square-mile (2,560 acres) area of rainforest contains as many as 1,500 flowering plants, 750 species of trees, 400 species of birds and 150 species of butterflies. The Amazon rainforest alone contains around 10 percent of the world's known species.

Just about every type of animal lives in rainforests. In fact, though rainforests cover less than 2 percent of Earth's total surface area, they are home to 50 percent of Earth's plants and animals, according to The Nature Conservancy. For example, rhinoceroses, deer, leopards, gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants, armadillos and even bears can be found living in rainforests across the world.

Many unusual animals and plants have been discovered in rainforests. For example, the fairy lantern parasite (Thismia neptunis) reappeared in the rainforest of Borneo, Malaysia, in 2018, 151 years after it was first documented. This plant sucks on underground fungi and doesn't need sunlight to survive. "To our knowledge, it is only the second finding of the species in total," the Czech team of researchers wrote in a paper, which was published Feb. 21, 2018, in the journal Phytotaxa.

Some of the animals are also unusual. For example, the tapir is a mammal that looks like a mix between an anteater and a pig and can be found in the rainforests of South America and Asia. The stunning silverback gorilla lives in the rainforest of the Central African Republic. Forest giraffes, or okapi, a strange-looking cross between a horse and a zebra, also inhabit the African rainforest.

One particularly surprising rainforest find is a spider as big as a puppy. The massive South American Goliath birdeater (Theraphosa blondi) is the world's largest spider, according to Guinness World Records. Each leg can reach up to 1 foot (30 centimeters) long, and it can weigh up to 6 ounces (170 grams). [Goliath Encounter: Puppy-Sized Spider Surprises Scientist in Rainforest]

Seventy percent of the plants identified by the U.S. National Cancer Institute as useful in the treatment of cancer are found only in rainforests, according to The Nature Conservancy. Scientists have identified more than 2,000 tropical forest plants as having anti-cancer properties. However, less than 1 percent of tropical rainforest species have been analyzed for their medicinal value.

Rainforests are found on every continent except Antarctica. Map shows tropical rainforests in dark green and temperate rainforests in light green. (Image credit: Ville Koistinen)

Importance

Humans and animals rely on the rainforest to make the majority of Earth's oxygen. One tree produces nearly 260 lbs. of oxygen each year, according to the Growing Air Foundation, and 1 hectare (2.47 acres) of rainforest may contain over 750 types of trees.

A tree uses carbon dioxide to grow. A living tree draws in and stores twice as much carbon dioxide than a fallen tree releases. But when the tree is cut down, it releases its stored carbon dioxide. For example, dead Amazonian trees emit an estimated 1.9 billion tons (1.7 billion metric tons) of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, according to a study published in the journal Nature Communications in 2014. The same trees typically absorb about 2.2 billion tons (2 billion metric tons) of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide makes up around 82.2 percent of all U.S. greenhouse gas, according to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Out of the 6 million square miles (15 million square kilometers) of tropical rainforest that once existed worldwide, only 2.4 million square miles (6 million square km) remain, and only 50 percent, or 75 million square acres (30 million hectares), of temperate rainforests still exists, according to The Nature Conservancy. Ranching, mining, logging and agriculture are the main reasons for forest loss. Between 2000 and 2012, more than 720,000 square miles (2 million square km) of forests around the world were cut down  an area about the size of all the states east of the Mississippi River.

Deforestation around the world also decreases the global flow of water vapor from land by 4 percent, according to an article published by the journal National Academy of Sciences. Water constantly cycles through the atmosphere. It evaporates from the surface and rises, condensing into clouds. It is blown by the wind, and then falls back to Earth as rain or snow. In addition, water vapor is the most important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, according to NASA. Even a slight change in the flow of water vapor can disrupt weather patterns and climates.

"Rainforests are under increasing threats for many reasons, including logging, clearing for crops or cattle, and conversion to commercial palm oil plantations," Jonathan Losos, director of the Living Earth Collaborative and William H. Danforth Distinguished University Professor for the Department of Biology, at Washington University in St. Louis, told Live Science. "On top of that, the changing climate is having adverse effects on rainforest health. Last year was an especially bad one for the Amazon, with a substantial uptick in the rate of deforestation."

On the other hand, Losos said, there are some glimmers of hope:

The two countries with the largest amount of rainforest  Indonesia and Brazil  have both acknowledged the importance of these forests and have taken innovative and aggressive efforts to halt deforestation.

There is a growing understanding that halting deforestation and reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are closely linked; new, large-scale efforts are under way to address both concerns.

While there is a continued decline in primary rainforests, a bright spot is the fact that in many tropical countries, there is an extensive regeneration of secondary forests, which are critical to supporting much of these countries' biodiversity.

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REDDING  The wildfire, deafeningly loud, raced across Shasta County, forcing thousands of residents to abandon their homes as ash began falling and the sky started to glow red.

Some were alerted by text message, landline call or email to evacuate immediately, as others were rousted from their homes Thursday night by police and emergency responders going block by block. Others said they werent warned at all but fled as the sky brightened to orange and the roads started to fill with cars carrying people escaping the oncoming flames.

On Friday, many had no idea whether their homes near Redding were still standing or among the dozens lost in a wildfire described as having tornado-like fury, one that ripped large trees from the ground and pushed a wall of flames horizontally across the landscape. Embers, riding on wind, lit spot fires a mile ahead of the main blaze.

Dave and Lynne Harrel, both in their 60s, said they fled their home of 36 years at the Mountain Shadow Mobile Home Estates about 9 p.m. after receiving an emergency call on their landline telling them to get out.

It took them five minutes to grab their medications and leave, making their way to a shelter at Shasta College, the community college in Redding.

We got a phone call that said, Go now, Lynne Harrel said Friday, her voice breaking. We didnt have time to grab important papers or photos.

The Carr Fire grew so fast and with such intensity that it drew comparisons with the Tubbs Fire, which in October sped through Wine Country, swallowing entire neighborhoods in Santa Rosa and killing 24 people in Sonoma County.

Learning from the Tubbs Fire  many of those affected said they were never notified that the fire was on its way  Shasta County officials urged residents to register their cell phone numbers and email addresses so that they would receive emergency alerts under a new system called Code Red. The county already was able to send alerts via landline, but fewer people have those now, so emergency officials sent out a range of alerts via text as well as landlines.

But in Lake Redding Estates, Steve Hobson said he never got an alert. As the fire approached, he decided to delay leaving so he could clear flammable umbrellas and pieces of firewood from around his home before evacuating.

He barely made it out of his neighborhood Thursday night as embers swirled in the street. The sky lit up with an orange and red glow intense enough to look like the sun. The flames shot 100  maybe 200  feet into the air.

When I left, I thought everything was gone, he said. Weve always been worried about the mountains behind us.

On Friday, Hobson returned to his home to find the fire had hopscotched around the neighborhood. His house was spared, while a nearby neighbors was smoldering ash, a melted trampoline and some twisted patio furniture the only identifiable remains of the home. But right next door, a green lawn was perfectly intact, bright magenta flowers still on the shrubs.

In a different part of Lake Redding Estates, Jim Chapin had left Thursday night as flames shot skyward in the mountains behind the neighborhood. He was sure hed never see his house again.

But when he came back Friday morning to see his longtime home still standing, he started to cry. He was lucky  the house next door was a smoldering pile of ash, save for a melted yellow childrens slide and an overturned barbecue.

I cried and called my wife and said, Yay! the lord is with us, Chapin said .

While the Carr Fire took the lives of two firefighters, there were no initial reports of additional deaths. A lot of people  alerted to the danger or not  just got out of the way. More than 37,000 people evacuated, Cal Fire officials said.

Melissa Rice, 33, got an alert on her cell phone and a sheriffs deputy came by her house in Summit City to make sure they knew to leave. After getting the alert, she took her four kids  ages 2 to 14  and brought them to the community college gym around midnight.

James Porterfield, 60, said he received three phone alerts for the general area he lives in around Redwood Boulevard in north Redding.

We were alerted well, he said. The public was very well-informed.

But not everyone felt that way. Fatima Melendez, 36, said she was among those who didnt receive any official alert. No text. No phone call. No knock on the door.

The only way she knew to leave her apartment complex on Lake Boulevard off North Boulder Creek Road Thursday night was after a friend called her to see if she was safe and tell her she should evacuate.

Then she looked out the window and saw her neighbors rushing to leave as they were dotted with ash falling from the sky.

No one notified us, she said at the Shasta College shelter, where she slept outside with her two teenage sons.

About 15 minutes away in the city of Shasta Lake, Jennifer Pena, 43, had a similar experience. She also said she didnt get an alert, even though she was registered with the Code Red system.

We left around 7 or 8 p.m., she said. It was really smoky and we could see an orange haze.

Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko said emergency notifications went out through reverse 911 to landlines, the Code Red system, and as crawlers and emergency alerts on local television.

Yet given the speed of the fire Thursday night, it was difficult to keep up with evacuation orders, he said. Thousands and thousands of evacuation notices, including door-to-door contact, were made as the fire approached populated areas.

The sheriff said the county has no way to send alerts to cell phones in a targeted way unless residents have opted into the Code Red system.

Many evacuees headed to one of several shelters that were opened in churches and schools.

At least 300 people took refuge in the gym at the Shasta community college Thursday night, including Melanie Schreckengost, 25, who had grabbed her three young children about 10 p.m. Thursday, as fire grew closer to her apartment complex off Route 73 just outside of Redding.

Schreckengost said emergency texts had pinged her phone throughout the evening with information about mandatory and advisory evacuations. Confused by the emergency alerts, which listed evacuation orders by street names and directional indicators, she opted to leave and head to the shelter at Shasta College, where she normally takes studio art classes.

By Friday morning, her neighborhood was under mandatory evacuation.

As her three young sons, a 2-year-old and twins who turn 4 on Monday, jumped between the shelter cots, Schreckengost said she moved to the area three years ago, from the Southern California desert, where she never had to worry about fires. She didnt know if she still had a home.

The plan is to just stay in Redding, Schreckengost said, and wait and see.

Jill Tucker and Trisha Thadani are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com and tthadani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker and @trishathadani
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump chaired a meeting Friday of his most senior national security advisers to discuss the administration's effort to safeguard November's elections from Russian interference, the first such meeting he's led on the matter, but issued no new directives to counter or deter the threat.

The meeting, which lasted less than an hour, covered all the activities by federal agencies to help state and local election officials, and to investigate and hold accountable Russian hackers seeking to undermine American democracy.

"The president has made it clear that his administration will not tolerate foreign interference in our elections from any nation state or other malicious actors," the White House said in a statement.

Trump's National Security Council meeting follows his widely criticized news conference this month in Helsinki, where he stood next to Russian President Vladimir Putin and seemed to discount the U.S. intelligence community's assessment that Moscow interfered in the 2016 U.S. election. Trump's remarks were striking, too, since only three days earlier 12 Russian intelligence officers were indicted by the United States on charges of hacking the Democratic National Committee and Hillary Clinton's campaign.

"It was a good meeting," said one senior administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe an event that was closed to media coverage. "Everybody was on the same page. We're doing a lot of good work across the administration.''

There was no discussion of new actions Trump wants or of a coordinated strategy to prevent Russia from interfering in U.S. politics, officials said. Instead, the meeting focused on the activities undertaken so far.

House Democrats issued a statement criticizing Trump for not prioritizing election security sooner.

"This meeting should have happened months ago and the President deserves no special credit for doing what he is charged to do . . . by his oath of office," said Reps. Bennie Thompson, Miss., Robert Brady, Pa., Elijah Cummings, Md., and Jerrold Nadler, N.Y., the ranking Democrats on, respectively, the Homeland Security, House Administration, Oversight and Government Reform, and Judiciary committees.

The lawmakers called on the White House to produce a "solid plan of action."

In the absence of direct guidance from the White House, individual federal agencies have marshaled efforts to detect and counter the threat. The head of the National Security Agency created a Russia "small group" composed of NSA and military cyber-specialists tasked with detecting and countering Russian efforts to target the elections. If directed, U.S. Cyber Command, using NSA intelligence, can carry out offensive operations to disrupt such activity.

Already, at least three congressional candidates have been targeted by Russian military hackers. None of the attempts was successful, according to an executive with Microsoft, who discussed the operation at a security conference last week. One of the targets was Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., who faces a tough reelection bid.

"The Russians, as we know, are bad actors," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Friday during a news conference in Louisville. "They messed around in the last election. I've made it clear they better not mess around in another one. And we're on the watch for any efforts they may make to interfere in the 2018 elections."

FBI Director Christopher Wray last fall set up a foreign influence task force to counter influence operations targeting the United States. Such operations, the FBI said in a statement Friday, include covert efforts "to influence U.S. policy, distort public sentiment and public discourse, and undermine confidence in democratic values to achieve other governments' geopolitical objectives."

The FBI task force works closely with the Department of Homeland Security and foreign allies who are also combating Russia's malign activities.

The Justice Department last week announced a new policy of exposing covert actions by foreign governments to undermine confidence in democratic institutions such as U.S. elections, often through cyberhacking and disinformation campaigns.

The most visible effort is being undertaken by the Department of Homeland Security, which is focused on election system security and has formed a task force made up of representatives from DHS and other federal agencies to share information and assist state and local election officials in bolstering the security of their systems.

Congress this year set aside $380 million to help states strengthen their election infrastructure. But that is widely seen as insufficient. The Senate is weighing approval of an additional $250 million in grants.

The DHS has carried out "very constructive" work with state and local election officials, said David Becker, a former Justice Department official who now heads the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research. "They're doing everything they can to give state and local election officials the tools to combat that threat."

But, he said, that's not enough.

"It's difficult for them to see our president standing next to the man who ordered that attack [against U.S. democracy] and not hold the Russians accountable," he said. "Yes, they need to detect and prevent attacks and mitigate any negative impacts, but it's also important to deter attacks in the first place. That's where we're missing leadership from the White House."

Suzanne Spaulding, a former senior Homeland Security official, said, "It's great that they're having an NSC meeting today, but it's like the pop-up summits with Putin and [North Korean leader] Kim Jong Un, without all the prep work being done to prepare options and tee up issues for more senior consideration."

Spaulding, who was undersecretary for the National Protection and Programs Directorate in the Obama administration, lauded the agencies for doing what they can on their own but said a White House-led strategy is important to maximize their efforts.

"You want to make sure that as you're preparing a plan for countering Russian interference that you bring to bear all the resources, capabilities and authorities you have across the government," Spaulding said. "You don't get that if each department and agency is just trying to operate within their own little sphere."

- - -

The Washington Post's Seung Min Kim and Anne Gearan contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON - The former archbishop of Washington, accused of sexually abusing adults and minors for decades, resigned from the College of Cardinals on Saturday, becoming the first cardinal in history to step down due to sexual abuse allegations and magnifying the abuse crisis that Pope Francis is grappling with around the globe.

News of the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, a longtime globe-trotting diplomat for the Catholic Church and a public face for efforts to end clergy sexual abuse, has roiled the local Catholic community and the wider church.

Pope Francis ordered McCarrick to remain in seclusion, and in prayer, until a church trial considers further sanctions.

McCarrick's fall is "gut-wrenching" for local Catholics, said John Gehring, a Catholic author who worked for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops while McCarrick led the Washington archdiocese. "Most Catholics, including myself, are just sickened by the fact that it seems like so much was known about his behavior, and he still climbed the ranks of the church. He never should have been made a cardinal. ... It can never happen again."

McCarrick, 88, was found by the church in June to be credibly accused of sexually abusing a teenager nearly 50 years ago. Since then, additional reports of sexual abuse and harassment by the cardinal, over a span of decades, have been reported. The additional victims include one then-minor and three adults, who were young priests or seminarians when McCarrick allegedly abused them.

McCarrick is the highest ranked U.S. Catholic clergy member to ever be removed from ministry due to sexual abuse allegations, and the first cardinal to fully resign his position since 1927.

Cardinal Keith O'Brien, from Scotland, renounced the rights and privileges of his position after a string of accusations in 2013 about sexual misconduct. But he did not officially depart the College of Cardinals, and Pope Francis only accepted O'Brien's resignation two years after the allegations came out.

The Vatican said McCarrick will face a canonical trial, though it did not provide details about when the trial would be conducted. Kurt Martens, a professor of canon law at Catholic University, noted that the Catholic church has typically punished people by ordering them to conduct a life of "prayer and penance." In McCarrick's case, the Vatican has imposed that penalty before the trial has even started - raising pressure on the church to find a stronger form of punishment.

"Because you're running out of options if you want to impose a further penalty," Martens said. "I would not be surprised if he gets dismissed from the clerical state." That would mean that after spending most of his life as a church leader, McCarrick would be defrocked entirely -- becoming a lay person, not a Catholic priest.

The now-60-year-old Virginia man who alleged that McCarrick abused him beginning when he was around 11, said he was very emotional upon learning Saturday that Pope Francis had accepted McCarrick's resignation, signalling that the church believes the accusers.

"The Vatican now knows everything, realizes the depth of his destruction in the church and that it's time to clean house," said James, who spoke on the condition that his last name not be used to protect his family. As for McCarrick: "He's been guilty since the beginning of his life. And he's now realized he's cornered and can't come out."

Francis's swift and decisive action regarding McCarrick comes as the pope also contends with a massive case of abuse and cover-up in Chile - a country where the Argentinian pontiff dispatched Vatican investigators. The country's 34 bishops offered to step down en masse after meeting with Francis in May; so far, the pope has accepted five of those resignations.

Francis later this month will travel to Ireland, another country where the church was scared and weakened by systemic abuse.

Austen Ivereigh, a Francis biographer, said that the appetite across the world has grown for the pope to show more than just verbal contrition in the biggest cases. "I think a lot of people are saying this is the time for new kinds of action, rather than repeating words," Ivereigh said. "A much more proactive stance. Of the sort like sending your top prosecutor to investigate Chile. A stance where the pope, when he sees or suspects an institutional omerta, he reacts."

The allegations against McCarrick unfolded piecemeal over the past two months. In June, McCarrick was removed from ministry when a church review board found that he had been credibly accused of abusing a teenager early in his career, when he was a priest in New York. The youth was helping prepare for a Christmas service when McCarrick allegedly put his hands in the boy's pants.

When he was removed from ministry, McCarrick said he had no memory at all of that incident and maintained his innocence, but he accepted the Vatican's decision.

Then came more. A Virginia man, now 60, told the New York Times and then The Washington Post that McCarrick, a friend of his father, abused him for nearly 20 years, starting when he was 11. He said it started when McCarrick urged him to show him his genitals while changing clothes after a swim party, and continued into his adulthood.

The New Jersey diocese of Metuchen and the archdiocese of Newark, both of which McCarrick led before he was promoted to archbishop of Washington in 2001, revealed that they had reached settlements in the 2000s with two men who accused McCarrick of sexually harassing them when they were adults.

In one case, Robert Ciolek, a former priest, said McCarrick would invite him and other seminarians to a beach house, where there was always one bed too few, so one man would have to sleep with the bishop. Ciolek, who said McCarrick never kissed him or touched him below the waist but did give and demand unwanted back rubs, reached an $80,000 settlement with the dioceses for McCarrick's conduct and abuse he also suffered at the hands of a high school teacher when he was a teenager in Catholic school.

Ciolek said the church imposed an agreement that he not speak to the media about McCarrick's abuse, which it released him from this year.

In the second case, which The Washington Post learned about after examining extensive church files, a former priest said McCarrick abused him while on a fishing trip and again on a trip to New York City, where McCarrick made him sleep with him and rubbed his crotch. The New York Times reported that the church settled with that former priest - who himself was removed from ministry in the mid-2000s, about a decade after he admitted that he had touched two teenage boys - for $100,000. That priest has not returned requests for comment.

A third man brought a lawsuit over McCarrick's harassment in 2011 but then withdrew it from the court system. According to files obtained by The Washington Post, that man - a priest from Brazil - also alleged McCarrick forced unwanted sexual acts on him while at a trip to a beach house.

Francis apparently is moving toward a church trial based on the sum total of these news reports, not just the New York case involving the teenager that the church has already investigated. The Vatican's statement Saturday said the canonical trial would handle the "accusations," plural, against McCarrick.

The allegations have startled Catholics, especially in Washington, where McCarrick was a well-liked local archbishop from 2001 to 2006.

At the Shrine of the Sacred Heart in Washington on Saturday, parishioners were discussing the cardinal with their families as they walked into 4 p.m. Mass. Michael Mora, who said he's very involved in the church, said he had been shocked to hear the reports about his former archbishop: "I feel betrayed."

"I'm glad that he resigned and the church is doing something about it," Mora said. "They have to follow the rules of discipline, whoever it is, but especially for someone higher up."

McCarrick stepped down from the Washington archdiocese when he reached retirement age but remained an active diplomat for the church - traveling around the world at the behest of the Vatican and occasionally the U.S. State Department to advocate for religious freedom and intervene in conflicts.

"The message is quite clear: no person or institution can feel safe," said Father Hans Zollner, a member of the Vatican Commission for the Protection of Minors. "Even those who hold the office of a bishop or cardinal. If there are allegations, we need to follow the normal procedure, and it'll no longer be possible to muddy, conceal or hide them in a drawer and forget about it."

In an interview with Washington radio station WTOP, Cardinal Donald Wuerl, who succeeded McCormick as the Archbishop of Washington, said that the pope's acceptance of McCarrick's resignation "highlights for me ... that the pope takes very seriously the allegation of an abuse of a minor."

"The pope is saying that we need to show that we are hearing these things, paying attention and acting," Wuerl said in the interview.

Wuerl also said he has never been approached by anyone alleging of abuse by McCarrick and was unaware of the rumors surrounding McCarrck's behavior, WTOP reported.

Pope Francis has faced increasing calls to more forcefully handle cases of sexual abuse involving not just priests, but also leaders at the highest echelons of the church. Earlier this week, Cardinal Sean O'Malley, Francis's chief adviser on sexual abuse, said that a "major gap still exists" and called for more muscular church policies to address the punishment of bishops and cardinals.

"Failure to take these actions will threaten and endanger the already weakened moral authority of the Church," O'Malley said.

Critics say that the Vatican still handles cases without transparency and too often fails to take action against unless allegations become public. McCarrick was a high-profile figure whose behavior was likely known by many, said Marie Collins, a former member of the Vatican Commission for the Protection of Minors who resigned last year, citing a reluctance among Vatican administrators to implement the commission's recommendations.

"I don't think the pope or the Vatican has changed in any way," Collins said. "When things are public or are no longer tenable, they are asked to resign, and they have the prayer and penitence. But that is not the same thing as proper accountability."

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The Washington Post's Michelle Boorstein and Lynh Bui in Washington and Stefano Pitrelli in Rome contributed to this report.
Republican Congressman Doug LaMalfa discusses the overview of the coordinating efforts from Shasta County firefighters, asking for federal funds and the overall cause of the Carr Fire. He also discusses funding for fire services and evacuation preparations with Julia Yarbough.

Posted: Jul 28, 2018 7:42 AM
BAD AXE  The Huron County Board of Commissioners this week opposed a proposal to ban deer bait in Michigan's Lower Peninsula.

The Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has proposed banning baiting to prevent the spread of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in deer.

Commissioner Steve Vaughan introduced a late resolution at Tuesdays board meeting protesting the move, noting it would be devastating to local businesses that sell bait.

The rationale behind the proposal, Vaughan said, is that banning bait would stop the disease from spreading throughout the state.

However, Vaughan noted the disease is nonexistent in Huron County, and therefore is not an issue here.

Commissioner Todd Talaski cast the lone vote against the resolution.

He questioned whether it could cause problems if the disease is eventually found in the area.

Commissioners John L. Bodis, Ron Wruble, John A. Nugent, Vaughan and Sami Khoury supported the move. Commissioner David G. Peruski was absent.

According Ed Golder, public information officer for the DNR, the ban is already in effect in the 13-county Chronic Waste Disease Management Zone.

Counties in that zone are: Clinton, Eaton, Gratiot, Ingham, Ionia, Isabella, Kent, Mecosta, Montcalm, Muskegon, Newaygo, Ottawa, and Shiawassee.

CWD in has been found in 59 free-ranging deer in Clinton, Ingham, Ionia, Kent, and Montcalm counties, said Chad Stewart, DNR deer management specialist. He added that a 60th deer has recently been found in Jackson County.

Just because CWD has not been identified in Huron County does not mean it doesn't exist here, Stewart added.

"The reason that we are proposing the ban is that we have insufficient data throughout most of our state," he said. "We don't have a good idea of what's occurring outside areas adjacent to (where the disease has been identified)."

"If there is a location in the state where it does exist but we haven't identified it, it could exacerbate the situation," he added.

Stewart noted CWD is contagious among deer through saliva, urine feces, and blood. In baiting areas, it's common to find concentrations of deer saliva, urine and feces.

There will be a hearing before the NRC Aug. 9 to determine whether there will be a Lower Peninsula-wide bait ban, Golder said.

He added that if it were approved, it would go into effect Jan. 31.

A delayed implementation provides opportunity for those with economic interests to shift business models for next year, according to a memo from the DNR to the Natural Resources Commission. No cases of CWD have been discovered in the Upper Peninsula, and the ban would not be in effect there.

The Centers For Disease Control says there is no known connection between human health and CWD in deer, Golder said.

But he added that health officials recommend that people dont consume deer infected with CWD.

According to the DNR, CWD is a fatal neurological (brain and nervous system) disease found in deer, elk and moose.

"In Michigan, it (CWD) has only been identified in white-tailed deer," Stewart said.

The disease attacks the brains of infected animals and produces small lesions that result in death. There is no cure. Once an animal is infected, it will die.

"It causes death at the cellular level," Stewart said. "... Noboday can function with holes in their brain."

He added the disease caused deer to lose mobility functioning. They become unable to chew or digest food, and eventually starve to death.

"This proposal is really brought forward with an abundance of caution to give us the ability to manage the disease," Stewart said.
Head southeast from Mexico City for about four hours and you will come upon Acultzingo, an impoverished, dusty town nestled against the rugged peaks of the Sierra Madre. Most inhabitants work the land for a living, growing corn and avocados and raising cattle and pigs.

They also rob trains. Lots of trains. So many, in fact, that Acultzingo (pronounced ah-coolt-ZEEN-go) is the train robbery capital of not only Mexico but arguably the world.

Over the past year alone, 521 crimes were committed against cargo trains in the town. And a chunk of those incidents bore no resemblance to the run-of-the-mill petty crime seen in the bigger cities of northern Mexico -- vandalizing a train car or stealing railway signs. These were massive, choreographed affairs that often started with a low-tech trick that dates to the days of the Wild West -- piling rocks up high on the tracks -- and involved small armies of thieves who descended on the derailed cars in waves to cart off the loot.

They've swiped tequila, shoes, toilet paper, tires, whatever they could get their hands on. One particularly violent incident alone, which derailed dozens of train cars a few miles east of Acultzingo, saddled the railroad giant GMexico Transportes with more than $15 million in losses. And at Mazda Motor's offices in Mexico City, executives got so sick of hearing about how parts were being stripped from their vehicles that they started shipping some of them through the region by highway. Analysts estimate this tacks 30 percent on their transportation costs. (Mazda declined to provide figures.)

Security forces are so overwhelmed by the sheer number of attackers that a sense of impunity prevails in the area, said political-risk analyst Alejandro Schtulmann, who heads Mexico City-based consultancy EMPRA: "The problem is getting worse all the time."

The extreme lawlessness has led some Mexico observers to wonder whether the country is something of a failed state struggling to rule over the entirety of its territory. Homicides are at a record high, and kidnappings are on the rise. Reining this crime in, at least somewhat, will soon be the task of Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, the populist leader who rolled to a landslide election victory this month in part on his pledge to restore law and order.

But the train-heist boom underscores just how tricky this assignment will be. The phenomenon really took off only recently, after federal authorities managed to crack down on another crime wave -- in the fuel market -- in the same area. As soon as some of the huachicoleros, as the gangs are known, were driven out of the stolen-fuel business, they shifted into train robbery, giving the whole thing a certain whack-a-mole feel.

"We saw a mutation in organized crime," says Benjamin Aleman, head of the country's railway regulator.

It can be a bit surprising to hear that professional train robbers still roam the Earth. Their heyday, of course, was the 19th century, when the likes of Jesse James and Butch Cassidy were marauding their way across the American West. A few decades later, the young caudillo Doroteo Arango -- better known as Pancho Villa -- terrorized railroad engineers on the other side of the Rio Grande.

The robberies largely faded into lore as trains got faster and harder to raid. Nowadays it's difficult to even track down the heist data in much of the world. But of those countries where it's available, Mexico reports the most, according to Sensitech, a subsidiary of United Technologies that monitors supply-chain logistics.

The outbreak is concentrated in southeastern Mexico - in Veracruz, where Acultzingo is located, and in the neighboring state of Puebla. All the ingredients are there: Poverty is rampant, the mountains provide natural cover, and a steady supply of cargo earmarked for export rumbles right through the heart of the region en route to the nearby port in Veracruz.

When gangs aren't stacking up rocks on the tracks, they're derailing the trains by sabotaging the brakes -- a technique that can cause even more grisly car pileups and injuries. They've also started inviting the townspeople to partake in the spoils. This both earns their loyalty, experts say, and gains the bandits an added layer of protection against police officers and soldiers tempted to open fire.

Grainy video images taken by local media depict the same scene playing out over and over again: dozens of people storming a derailed train like a colony of ants while outnumbered officers look on helplessly.

It's easy to persuade locals to join in, Schtulmann said. Like the people who took up arms against the military in neighboring Chiapas state two decades earlier, many of them feel neglected by the politicians back in Mexico City. "Communities argue that the rich are getting richer and poor poorer," Schtulmann said, "so it's social justice."

For corporate Mexico, it's a growing headache. Eduardo Solis, head of the country's auto industry association, called the situation "simply unacceptable" at a press conference last month. Audi, which ships as many as 3,300 cars a day to the Veracruz port from its plant in Puebla, said the thefts have had a "big impact" on its distribution operations: "Every car we make has a client waiting for it."

No official estimates of economic losses have been roughed out yet, but Schtulmann said the costs can be seen in things like rising freight and insurance rates and the way that the government and railroad operators must spend more on security in the area.

Mazda's solution, shipping some cars by highway, may not prove a long-term fix. Enrique Gonzalez, head of Mexico's trucking association, was granted a July sit-down with Lopez Obrador in which he pressed the president-elect to appoint a special prosecutor to fight highway theft. The nation's fleet of trucks, Gonzalez said, is under attack day and night.

--With assistance from Bloomberg's Caleb Mutua and Rafael Gayol .
The Quad-Cities region has provided a footnote to history for virtually every war fought on American soil, including the Battle of Campbells Island  the western-most battle of the War of 1812.

According to the records of Indian historian John Hauberg, as the French and Indian War ended, the last of the French soldiers of the northwest spent the winter of 1760-61 near present-day Rock Island, ice bound, on their retreat from Michilimackinac to Fort Chartres, Ill., following the British conquest of Canada.

All Indian villages in the upper Mississippi and Great Lakes were canvassed by British agents to enlist Indians for fighting in the frontier during the Revolutionary War.

The Americans, even before General George Rogers Clark conquered the Illinois country in July 1778, had agents who had succeeded in keeping the Sauk and Meskwaki from joining the British ranks. With the arrival of Gen. Clark, messengers were sent to all of the tribes inviting them to come to Cahokia to join in treaties of peace.

According to the writings of Hauberg, the Sauk held to the middle ground  trading with the British but also with the Spanish at St. Louis and with the Americans in Illinois.

In 1780, the British hatched a plan to retake the entire Mississippi Valley. Representatives of all tribes were forced to serve. The first attack was at St. Louis, but according to some accounts the Sauk and Meskwaki held back. Other Indians, fearing a rear attack from them, held back too and the grand scheme of conquest failed.

American Gen. Clark wanted to punish those who had aided the British. In 1780, Lt. Col. John Montgomery and 350 men came up the Illinois River to Peoria, then to the Sauk village of Saukenuk  the modern day site of Rock Island  on the Rock River.

One report said 700 Sauk warriors withdrew without resistance and watched as the Americans burned their village. According to reports by Hauberg, the Sauk, who had been Americas friend, had been mistaken for the enemy. While history is uncertain on this point, this may have been the western-most battle of the Revolutionary War.

In July 1814, during the war with Britain, an expedition led by Lt. John Campbell was heading north in five keel boats to reinforce and resupply the U.S. fort at Prairie du Chien, Wis., and stopped at Rock Island. They spent two days eating and drinking with the warrior Black Hawk and his men and the Americans became friendly with the Indians.

In his autobiography, translated by Antione LeClaire and edited by J.B. Patterson, Black Hawk said they had no intention of hurting the Americans. But during the night, the British arrived down the Rock River with six kegs of powder and told them that the British had taken the fort at Prairie du Chien and wished for the Sauk to join them in the war, which they agreed to do.

The next morning, July 19, 1814, Black Hawk and 500 braves were hidden along the river as the American expedition entered the head of the Mississippi Rivers dangerous Rock Island Rapids. While passing what is now called Campbells Island, the wind came up and blew Lt. Campbells boat to shore.

This boat the Great Spirit gave us, according to Black Hawks account in his autobiography. We advanced to the rivers bank and commenced firing at the boat.  I encouraged my braves to continue firing.  I prepared my bow and arrows to throw fire to the sail, which was lying on the boat; and after two or three attempts, succeeded in setting the sail on fire. The boat was soon in flames.

One of the boats that had passed returned, dropped anchor and swung in close to the boat on fire and took off all the people except those killed and badly wounded, Black Hawk related. They did not return fire.  I therefore ordered a rush to the boat. When we got near, they fired and killed two of our people, being all that we lost in the engagement. Some of their men jumped out and pushed off the boat and thus got away without losing a man. I had a good opinion of this war chief (Lt. Campbell)  he managed so much better than the others. It would give me pleasure to shake him by the hand.

In September, U.S. Army Maj. Zachary Taylor was sent with a fleet of eight protected keel boats and 334 men to destroy Black Hawks village and uproot the crops.

According to accounts written by historian Hauberg, as the fleet approached the mouth of the Rock River at the Mississippi, the wind shifted and reached gale proportions. They put in at Pelican Island and were attacked by Indians and British six-pound cannon and swivel guns. The expedition fled back to St. Louis.

All of these western military activities led to the construction of Fort Armstrong in 1816. It was abandoned in 1836 after Indian warfare died down and from 1840-45 was an ordnance depot. In 1861 efforts began in earnest to build a national arsenal on the island.

It was approved by President Abraham Lincoln in July 1862.
WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump on Friday issued a fresh rebuttal against his former personal attorney Michael Cohen, maintaining that he did not know in advance about a June 2016 Trump Tower meeting between a Russian lawyer and his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr.

"I did NOT know of the meeting with my son, Don jr," Trump declared on Twitter Friday morning.

His assertion further escalated the public feud between the president and Cohen, his longtime adviser, amid reports that Cohen is willing to assert to investigators that then-candidate Trump knew in advance about the gathering.

Trump Jr. agreed to meet with Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya in June 2016 because he believed she would provide damaging information about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton as part of a Russian government effort to help his father's presidential campaign. The episode has come under scrutiny by special counsel Robert Mueller III as part of his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.

The president, Trump Jr. and others have repeatedly said that Trump was not aware of the 2016 Trump Tower meeting until he was asked about it by reporters in July 2017.

But Cohen has told associates that he witnessed an exchange between then-candidate Trump and Trump Jr. sometime before the June 9 meeting in which Trump Jr. updated his father about an upcoming gathering in which he would get information about Clinton, according to one person familiar with discussions among Cohen's friends.

Cohen told associates that Trump responded with encouragement, the person said. Cohen has expressed a willingness to talk to federal prosecutors about the exchange, the person added.

CNN first reported that Cohen has said that Trump knew in advance about the meeting and approved it going forward.

Cohen did not specifically refer to the alleged exchange between Trump and his eldest son during his testimony to the House Intelligence Committee last year, according to people familiar with his appearance.

Cohen lawyer Lanny Davis declined to comment.

Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal attorney, said that Cohen is not credible and that the exchange described by Cohen did not take place.

"Michael Cohen is getting caught up in his lies," Giuliani said in an interview Friday with The Washington Post.

Alan Futerfas, an attorney for Trump Jr., said in a statement that his client "has been professional and responsible throughout the Mueller and Congressional investigations. We are very confident of the accuracy and reliability of the information that has been provided by Mr. Trump, Jr., and on his behalf."

The intensifying hostility between Trump and his former lawyer comes as Cohen is under federal investigation for possible bank fraud and campaign finance violations. Investigators also are scrutinizing loans he took out against his taxi medallion business.

On Friday, Trump lashed out at Cohen without naming him, saying on Twitter: "Sounds to me like someone is trying to make up stories in order to get himself out of an unrelated jam (Taxi cabs maybe?). He even retained Bill and Crooked Hillary's lawyer. Gee, I wonder if they helped him make the choice!"

Davis, one of Cohen's attorneys, is a longtime friend and adviser to the Clintons.

Giuliani said in an interview Thursday that if Cohen is aiming for a pardon by threatening to testify about the June 2016 meeting, "this is a stupid way to do it."

"I don't want the president to consider a pardon, but you don't get one by lying," he said.

Davis said this week that Cohen is not seeking a pardon. Stephen Ryan, an attorney who represented Cohen until recently, declined to comment.

At the 2016 Trump Tower meeting, Trump Jr. was joined by his brother-in-law, Jared Kushner, and Trump's campaign chairman at the time, Paul Manafort. There were several native Russians in the room, including Veselnitskaya, a lawyer with links to the Kremlin.

After news of the meeting broke in July 2017, the Trump team initially offered a misleading explanation of the session. A first statement said that the participants had mostly discussed adoption of Russian orphans by Americans.

The official story later changed.

Testimony and documents revealed that the meeting stemmed from an email sent by a music publicist to Trump Jr. in which the Trump campaign was promised "some official documents and information" that constituted "very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump."

Trump Jr. famously replied: "[I]f it's what you say I love it." He wanted to speak with wealthy Moscow entrepreneur and entertainer Emin Agalarov, the publicist's client, before finalizing details.

But Trump Jr., his father and White House aides insisted that Trump had no knowledge of the meeting beforehand, wasn't told about it at the time and first learned about it only a year later when approached about it by the New York Times.

Trump Jr. testified last year to the Senate Judiciary Committee that his father had no knowledge of the meeting with the Russians.

"My father knew nothing of the meeting or of these events," he said in a statement issued July 9, 2017.

Democrats have been skeptical of his account, pointing to phone calls made by Trump Jr. on June 6, 2016, which they say may show that Trump's son informed his father about the meeting in advance. At 4:04 p.m. that day, phone records show that Agalarov called Trump Jr.; the call lasted up to two minutes.

Phone records then show that Trump Jr. called Agalarov back at 4:31 p.m. But in between those two calls, phone records show that Trump Jr. was connected with a phone number that was blocked in records.

Trump Jr. told the Senate Judiciary Committee that he did not remember with whom he spoke at that time, but others testified that his father uses a blocked line.

Democratic lawmakers have pointed out that two days before the meeting in Trump Tower, Trump announced plans to give a "major speech" about Clinton's scandals.

Trump Jr. says he didn't get any dirt at the meeting - and the promised speech never happened.

On Twitter on Friday, Trump also lashed out at the Mueller probe and suggested, without evidence, that in fact it was Democrats and not his campaign that had colluded with Russia to interfere in the 2016 election.

"The only Collusion with Russia was with the Democrats, so now they are looking at my Tweets (along with 53 million other people) - the rigged Witch Hunt continues! How stupid and unfair to our Country," he tweeted.

- - -

The Washington Post's Rosalind S. Helderman and Carol D. Leonnig contributed to this report.
Two wildland fires broke out in Mendocino County on Friday, prompting authorities to call for mandatory evacuations of residents near the Russian River around Largo.

The Ranch Fire started at noon at Old Lake County Highway and Highway 20 and grew to 1,000 acres by late Friday. The River Fire started an hour after the Ranch Fire at Old Lake County highway, 6 miles north of Hopland, growing to 4,000 acres.
Corey Stewart, the Virginia Republican seeking to unseat Sen. Tim Kaine, D, in November, went to Danville on Friday to try to soften the backlash he's received after he depicted the Southside city as a dystopian failure.

Standing in front of the former site of the Dan River Mills textile factory, he acknowledged the city has made strides since losing about 15,000 jobs when that business closed in 2005, amid a simultaneous collapse of tobacco companies.

But trade policies under former President Barack Obama that Kaine supported have kept the community of nearly 42,000 people from reaching a full recovery, he said.

"I know that they're trying to do the best that they can and they've done a lot of things," Stewart said, about local community leaders. "But we need to expect - here in Danville and in Virginia and across the country - we need to expect more from Washington."

Stewart came under heavy fire from local leaders, including Danville's Republican vice mayor, after he characterized the city during a July 21 televised debate as a place of "boarded-up shops" that is still being abandoned by residents, blaming the city's problems on bad trade decisions.

"It's boarded up. People have left. Young people have left. The opiate crisis is completely out of control. The murder rate is way up. All crimes are way up. Suicides are up. It's sad," Stewart said.

While still struggling, Danville has crawled back toward stability in recent years with an overhaul of its downtown River District that has included converting old manufacturing warehouses into loft-style apartments, breweries and restaurants. The city has also attracted a small, but growing hub of precision manufacturing companies, officials there said.

Stewart's comments during the debate provoked a wave of critical newspaper editorials and online comments, threatening his support in a heavily Republican region where he hopes to turn out voters in November. Stewart, the chair of the Prince William Board of Supervisors, won 52 percent of the vote in Danville during the June GOP Senate primary election and broke even with Ed Gillespie during last year's gubernatorial primary with about 42 percent of the vote.

Hoping to capitalize on Stewart's gaffes, Kaine's campaign announced Friday that it plans to launch more than $100,000 worth of radio and digital ads highlighting Stewart's comments while listing measures Kaine has backed that helped Danville's recovery, including the opening of an Ikea furniture factory there in 2008, when Kaine was Virginia's governor.

"Corey Stewart is an elite D.C. international trade lawyer who has personally profited off of NAFTA," Ian Sams, Kaine's spokesman said, referring to Stewart's work helping companies navigate trade laws. "So, when he comes down to Danville selling snake oil, the good people there can see right through it."

Several local leaders in Danville said they were puzzled by Stewart's remarks, mainly because they no longer see their community as a victim of shifts in the global economy that caused textile companies such as Dan River Mills to move overseas in pursuit of cheaper labor and manufacturing costs.

While a lack of jobs in the area is still a problem, the unemployment rate has dropped to about 5.4 percent, the lowest in more than two decades, officials said. Meanwhile, crime is also going down, with four homicides so far this year, compared to 16 in all of 2016.

"It's disappointing to hear those comments because they seem either outdated or just generally false," said J. Lee Vogler, who is the city's vice mayor and chair of Danville's Republican Party committee.

"In Danville, we're focused on moving forward," he said. "We're not moving back to yesteryear and feeling sorry for ourselves. For a number of years now we've had people, Republicans and Democrats, working hard to rebuild this economy."

Stewart, an ardent supporter of Donald Trump, is following the Republican president's playbook by striking a populist note in Danville that seeks to tap into feelings of alienation in a portion of Virginia that generally feels left behind in the state's otherwise thriving economy, political analysts say.

On Friday, his campaign labeled the Danville stop as the start of a "Rebuilding Virginia Tour."

Stewart said that he supports Trump's pursuit of better trade deals with China and other competing countries that will allow manufacturing jobs to return to places like Danville.

"We've had enough, and we're bringing back manufacturing to Danville - in fact all across the United States of America," Stewart said, calling Kaine "weak" on trade.

Stephen Farnsworth, a political-science professor at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia, said that the fact that Stewart is focusing energy in southwestern Virginia shows that he is still trying to build support among Republicans.

GOP leaders in the state have been split over the Minnesota native, whose push to preserve Confederate monuments in the state - and once dressing up like a Southern gentleman during an "Old South Ball" in Danville - has led to questionable ties to some white supremacists that Stewart has been forced to disavow.

"The fact that Corey Stewart is spending a lot of time in the Southside and southwest Virginia - an area that he ought to have, politically speaking, in his pocket - suggests that he is still trying to energize the Republican base," Farnsworth said.

But, while Stewart's message may appeal to some disaffected voters in the area, "an anti-trade message essentially will not be all that successful in the suburbs, which is where elections are won or lost in Virginia statewide," he said.

James Buckner, a Danville councilman who worked at the Dan River Mills factory after high school, said Stewart's remarks have motivated local leaders to work harder to improve the city's economy.

During conversations inside local coffee shops and businesses during the past week, several people have expressed resentment against Stewart, said Buckner, an independent.

"Every city has challenges, but to say that we're a forgotten city or that the city has given up is totally false," he said. "You can't bash the city the way he has and expect to get support from them."
UPDATE 1:17 p.m. Saturday, July 28, 2018 - Family confirms two young children and great-grandmother died in Northern California wildfire. Death toll is now at five.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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UPDATE 12:55 p.m. Saturday, July 28, 2018 (AP) - Police in Northern California say that they have been unable to locate 14 people, including the 70-year-old woman and her great-grandchildren due to the Carr Fire.

Redding Police Sergeant Todd Cogle said he expects most of the 14 to be safe because their homes survived the fire. However, we could not comment on Melody Bledsoe and 5-year-old James Roberts and 4-year-old Emily Roberts, who remain missing. The Shasta County Sheriff's Office is investigating.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

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REDDING, Calif. (AP) - Police have surrounded a burned-out property with crime scene tape where two children and their great-grandmother are unaccounted for after a Northern California wildfire destroyed their home.

An investigator Saturday wouldn't say if any remains had been found, but police closed off the road to the house. Family members have been desperately seeking 70-year-old Melody Bledsoe and two of her great-grandchildren who lived with her at the Quartz Hill Road home in Redding.

Jason Decker, a boyfriend of a relative, says that Bledsoe's husband, Ed, was at the store Thursday when his 5-year-old grandson, James Roberts, called to say he needed to come right home because the fire was close.

Decker says that when Ed Bledsoe tried to drive home, police wouldn't let him through a roadblock because the fire was raging.

Decker says Melody, the boy and his 4-year-old sister, Emily Roberts, are all missing.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)
Since his days on the City Council, Mayor Ron Nirenberg has offered unwavering support for Sheryl Sculley. But the city manager has never been on the ballot before.

She will be this fall. Not by name, of course. No, no, no. Sculley is an unelected official. But symbolically, she will be front and center. The proposed charter changes from the San Antonio Professional Firefighters Association are all about Sculley. The city manager who earns $475,000 in base salary. The city manager who was been on the job since 2005. The city manager who pushed forward with a lawsuit about the evergreen clause in the fire union contract  and lost.

You dont have to squint to see this. One proposed charter change would limit the pay of any future city manager to 10 times that of the lowest-paid full-time city employee and limit any future city managers tenure to eight years. Another would lower the required number of signatures for a referendum from 75,000 to 20,000. The final one would give the fire union the sole right to declare an impasse in contract negotiations and move to arbitration.

Yes, those charter changes are bad ideas. Yes, they would take a wrecking ball to city government. Yes, they are a product of selfishness because the fire union will not come to the bargaining table for a new contract. Instead its throwing a civic tantrum masquerading as populist policy.

But part of the fire unions bet is that frustration and disaffection over Sculley will trump any reasoning  and recent events certainly help make that case. Sculley might be the queen of the AAA bond rating, but she also stands accused of ruling City Hall in imperious fashion. Look no further than her recent decision to fast-track controversial development around the iconic Hays Street Bridge despite ongoing design concerns and litigation. It was within her right to do so, but it exposed her to charges that she made a mockery of community input and process.

Maybe thats just how things get done in any big city in America. But its also how communities and voters become aggrieved. And those grievances have been piling up. They include the Hays Street Bridge crowd, folks concerned about proposed changes to Alamo Plaza, supporters of the citys public safety unions and anyone who has latched onto Sculleys compensation as a problem. (An aside, the compensation is high, but it is also an insanely stressful job, people.) Basically, many look at the city manager and see an unelected official  enabled by a soft council  who has gone too far. And now there will be a vote. A referendum on Sculley in an already charged midterm.

The question for Nirenberg is whether to stick with Sculley. This is, no doubt, an uncomfortable question for the mayor (and Sculley!) to ponder. After all, Sculley was hand-picked by Nirenbergs political mentor, former Mayor Phil Hardberger. And she has many strengths and merits. She is good with the budget. Adept at cleaning up the messes of others. A strong woman in a field dominated by men. But Hardberger left office in 2009. There have been three mayors since then  and one city manager who has shaped city government for more than a decade.

The choice is clear: Nirenberg can ask voters this November to follow along the same path, at least for a bit longer. Or he can pre-empt the charter change proposals by moving on from Sculley to a new city manager, making a lot of the underlying politics moot. After all, he will be on the ballot in May. This is a Texas two-step.

For a mayor with an abundance of vision, Nirenberg can often be fuzzy about details. We still dont really know, for example, much about his forthcoming transit plan. As a councilman and mayoral candidate, he was extremely critical of the Vista Ridge pipeline, but he voted for it and has not stopped the project as mayor.

It could be tempting, then, to follow a similar passive course here. To go along to get along. To recognize public concerns but not make a change. The boat sure wouldnt rock, but it sure could sink.

jbrodesky@express-news.net
The growing number of Texans without health care insurance, the highest in the country, is a multimillion-dollar problem that should concern all taxpayers.

When it come to personal health care, its pay now or pay later.

Ignoring symptoms of a health problem does not make it go away. It festers. Time serves only to make it more serious and more expensive to treat.

Often, unattended medical problems become serious, requiring emergency room visits, one of the most expensive forms of medical care available.

Sometimes, the expense to the taxpayer because of the uninsured is not even directly related to physical health.

The ripple effects are costly.

Delays in seeking medical attention, especially for mental health issues, often result in brushes with the law and incarceration for extended periods.

Among school-age children, it can lead to frequent absences, which deprive school districts of state funds based on daily headcounts.

A recently released national study found 6 in 10 Texans reported someone in their household skipped or postponed care in the past year due to cost. That included skipping dental care or checkups, postponing needed health care, skipping medical tests or treatment, cutting pills in half or skipping doses of medicine altogether.

This is not a new problem, but its growing.

The majority of the Texans without insurance who were surveyed had been uninsured for two years or more, according to the findings of the joint study, conducted by the Episcopal Health Foundation and the national Kaiser Family Foundation.

Texas ranks at the top of states for its uninsured rate of 21 percent among those ages 19 to 64. About 4.5 million people are without coverage in Texas, including nearly 700,000 children. The national uninsured rate among the states averages about 12 percent.

A significant factor contributing to the high Texas numbers is the fact that the state has not expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. The state also has such stringent eligibility requirement for adult Medicaid that most working adults do not qualify. Those covered under the program are primarily children, the elderly and disabled.

It is estimated a million Texans would gain health coverage if the state were to expand Medicaid. But given the current political climate in the state, that is unlikely to happen any time soon.

That doesnt mean it doesnt merit serious thought.

Texas has left billions of federal dollars on the table by refusing to expand Medicaid. The more than 30 states that have taken advantage of the 9-to-1 federal health care matching funds have not only kept their uninsured numbers down but have also reaped the benefit from having those dollars pumped into their states economy.

Before the Affordable Care Act was introduced, the uninsured rate in the country was 18 percent, but it had dropped to 11 percent by 2013. That rate is slowly inching up and will continue to as the current administration moves forward with efforts to gut the ACA.

That does not bode well for a state whose numbers already are significantly higher than the national average.

Texas state leaders need to rethink their position on this one.
Irish Water has come in for criticism over its continued practice of adding fluoride to public water supplies.

The censure was one which was led by Cllr Peggy Nolan this week as she claimed how questions concerning its usage were overlooked by senior officials at a recent AILG (Association of Irish Local Government) Training day.

Speaking to the Leader after raising the topic at a recent local authority meeting, the Fine Gael local politician said she was still very much in the dark over the compounds usage.

The questions and answer sessions were less than satisfactory, she said.

I have to say I was shocked and very concerned when the first two questions were taken and the third was ignored drawing attention to the fact and pushing for answers.

My question was not answered and I was advised to take my question to the podium at the end of the open debate.

Fluoride, while not essential for human growth and development,it is claimed that excess intake can cause Fluorosis affecting teeth and bone density.

However a recent Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) report produced by its independent scientific committee in April, found no major health concerns for children and adults from exposure to the mineral.

Though not appearing to question the findings of the study, Cllr Nolan claimed the lack of transparency over fluorides continued usage in local water supplies remained of concern.

The vision stated on the day by Irish Water clearly puts clean safe drinking water for everyone to the same consisted standard central to their objectives, she said.

Yet they continue to add unquestioned chemicals to that water. This process is an exact science; do local authorities have in their employment a chemist?

We must have a comprehensive independent review on the continued fluoridation of our water.

Cllr Nolan said she would now be pushing for Health Minister Simon Harris to by-pass the HSE over the issue and conduct an immediate review of the affair.

Read Also: Irish Water under fire over flooding unease on Longford road

Longford public urged to conserve water as heatwave descends across country
A Longford woman has been charged with stealing more than 3500 from her mother-in-law over the space of six months.

Colette Lattimore, of 89 Springlawn, Longford, came before a sitting of Longford District Court last week accused of fraudulently obtaining 3570 on various dates between February and July of this year.

Sergeant Paddy McGirl told the court that the accused was charged with 20 separate counts of withdrawing money from the same ATM machine in Longford town while using the alleged injured partys bank card.

The sum of monies taken from a Bank of Ireland machine at 68 Main Street, Longford ranged in value from 460 to 20.

Sgt McGirl, at that point, revealed the alleged injured party was the defendants mother-in-law.

While staying with the injured party, she obtained the injured partys bank card and made 20 withdrawals from the same ATM, he claimed.

Asked how much the alleged withdrawals in total amounted to, Sgt McGirl said the final figure stood at 3570.

No admissions or indications of a plea were submitted to the court with defence solicitor Frank Gearty asking for disclosure of statements and documents relating to the case.

The matter was subsequently put back to a sitting of Longford District Court on September 25.
















Most Ottawa Police officers pride themselves in seeking to be responsible, and seek to make our nations capital a better place free of crime. By contrast, there apparently those like Ottawa Police Detective Robert Griffin Jr. Back on 15 June 2015 he reportedly threatened social service workers seeking to protect a woman from her abusive husband. His actions suggest that it might be linked to a regressive alien agenda. It seems that manipulative aliens are seeking to embed themselves through a network of human hosts. The husband had apparently been in contact with these aliens seeking to demand that humans join their "Bio-Electrical Union".

Working for the abused husband, Detective Robert Griffin then set out a campaign which continues to this day of circumventing police authority in behalf of the abusive husband. Thanks to this fine Detective, the abused woman was forcibly separated from her son who had sought to protect his Mother from the abuse.

It appears that the Mother has been subjected to medical interference by these aliens and that they didn't want the son getting in the way of their efforts to get the husband to inflict abuse against the Mother whose medical condition began to suffer after her husband began to complain about "Extraterrestrials" that began a process of slowing taking over his mind. Once expert of aliens has alleged that the husband's mind was taken over by a race of demonic reptilians seeking to experience human bodies,

Anyways, when the son showed Detective Robert Griffin at note from his mom that "Dad Abuses Me" that she wanted him to show police officers, this "fine" detective then began to execute a plan. His plan was not to protect the woman but to pretend the note didn't even exist and then to pursue a campaign of harassment and manipulation directed against the son who prides himself on standing up for the rights of women including the rights of his own Mom.

The result is that the woman having been deprived of support from social service workers and her son, this woman within weeks of the abuse could no longer walk, write or talk anymore. Who, but a low-life would be responsible for mis-using police authority to support their own apparent misogyny. In fact, could such a police officer be even scarcely called human? What's the going rate to oppress little old ladies these days? According to the Open Government website, just over $129,000/yr.

The Canadian obtained a voice excerpt above of Robert Griffin's efforts to call the son as part of a calculated strategy of harassment [above video].

In one of Robert Griffin's "un-police like" fits he had illegally stalked the son while he was grocery shopping. When the son was just about to go in the house, the "fine" officer proceeded to illegally block his driveway (as if he was in hot pursuit) in an unmarked car while he was out of police uniform. He then proceeded to encroach on the son's personal space as if he was going to "head-butt" him making a series of threats that he was not to talk to friends and family about the abuse his Mother faced; and implied that if her husband wanted to abuse her, he should be able to do that as the "man of the house".

Robert Griffin drifted onto the scene when the husband began to complain about "an Extraterrestrial threat". The husband only became abusive after he began to complain about "aliens" contacting him in "multi-dimensional space" alongside paranormal activity taking place at their Kanata home.

This begs the question to what extent if any Robert Griffin may actually be human in light of his apparent non-human tendencies shown that would seek to condemn an old lady to perpetuated suffering and sickness? Who would deprive a little old lady from her own son who had been her primary care giver than some sort of human appearing alien described by David Icke, Dr. Michael Salla and many indigenous people like Zulu Elder Credo Mutwa?
SPRINGFIELD - Jewish Family Service of Western Massachusetts is holding a fund-raiser, Cocktails for Citizenship, Thursday, Sept. 13 from 5:30 to 8 p.m. in the 9th floor Art Gallery at 1350 Main St.

The benefit is for the agency's citizenship program that helps lawful permanent residents complete and send the N-400 citizenship application. The JFS' program also includes free group tutoring for all English levels in preparation for both the citizenship test and interview.

The program, which has been in existence for a decade, offers the services of two accredited naturalization specialists and 16 volunteers and is given in partnership with United States Citizenship & Immigration Services.

Last fall, JFS was one of 45 public and private non-profit organizations in 26 states to receive a Citizenship and Assimilation Grant from U.S. Department of Homeland Security to help prepare permanent residents for naturalization as well as assimilation.

It is to expand assimilation services for those seeking citizenship - particularly in offering such support as classes in English as a second language - that JFS is also seeking sponsors at various monetary levels for the program.

"We would like to deliver more services to give more opportunities for people to become really solid citizens and to engage people in the community to help them to do this in kind of a public-private partnership," said Stein of the sponsorship levels offered for the program.

During the last nine months, the program has submitted 135 citizenship applications and has seen the majority of applicants achieve citizenship.

The Sept. 13 benefit features food and drinks and attendees will include members of the JFS staff.

Other services offered by JFS, which services some 5,000 people each year in four counties, include counseling and in-home therapy, guardianship and older adult services and refugee resettlement.

Cost for the event is $75. Tickets may be purchased online or by calling JFS at (413) 737-2601.

The website also has information on sponsorship levels and benefits such has number of tickets included to the Sept. 13 fund-raiser.

JFS celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016.
Colin McGrath has been identified as the 2-year-old boy who was hit by a car and killed while trying to cross the street in South Boston Wednesday.

The toddler was walking with a nanny and his 4-year-old sister, who was also hit by the car, at the intersection of L and East Sixth Streets. The young girl is expected to survive.

In a statement to Boston Police, the McGrath family asked that the media respect their privacy.

"The members of the McGrath family would like to express our deepest appreciation for the outpouring of sympathy, compassion and support we have received these past few difficult days. The many heartfelt words of encouragement and love, and the incredible gestures of kindness and generosity, from friends, colleagues and our community have served as a much-needed source of strength during this devastating time," the family said.

"While we may have more to say at a later date, at this time we ask that the media and others interested in speaking with us please respect our family's need for privacy and give us the space and time we need to begin what we know will be a long healing process."

McGrath was described by neighbors as a sweet boy who loved playing with bubbles and going down the slide at the park.

"He will be dearly missed," Suzanna Campos, another nanny in the neighborhood, told MassLive.
Three arrests have been made in connection to the shootout that left two Falmouth police officers and a 21-year-old suspect injured.

Police arrested 21-year-old Malik Antonio Koval, the main suspect who allegedly shot Falmouth Police Officers Donald DeMiranda and Ryan Moore on Friday afternoon.

Police have also arrested Kimberly Koval, 38, and Marcus Maseda, 18, who allegedly interfered with the officers' work following the main suspect. Kimberly Koval and Maseda were charged with the obstruction of justice, interfering with the duties of a police officer and assault and battery on a police officer.

A statement by the office of the Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe described details of the shootout, and said that Officers DeMiranda and Moore are both in good condition following the exchange of gunfire around 5:30 p.m. on Friday.

DeMiranda and Moore were first called to Seacoast Shores Boulevard in East Falmouth Friday afternoon, around 5:30 p..m, after receiving a disturbance call. They encountered Malik Koval, who was allegedly smashing bottles in the street.

Authorities said that when the police officers tried to engage Koval, the suspect became "agitated" and ran into a home at 2 Ashley Drive.

Once inside the home, the D.A.'s office said Maseda and Kimberly Koval attempted to interfere with the police officers' efforts to follow Malik Koval into the home. Investigators then said Koval "produced a gun and began shooting at the officers."

Shots struck Moore in the neck, causing a grazing wound, and DeMiranda in the chest and shoulder. DeMiranda was wearing a bulletproof vest that protected his chest, according to authorities.

Falmouth Police Chief Edward Dunne told reporters Saturday afternoon that a third officer also hurt his hip while climbing a fence.

"Police returned fire striking Koval several times," the D.A.'s office reported. Koval was transported to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston for his gunshot wounds. He remains in stable condition there, guarded by police.

Both Falmouth officers were transported to local hospitals following the shootout. Moore has been treated and released, and DeMiranda remains in good condition at a local hospital.

The incident remains under investigation by Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the D.A.'s office.
AGAWAM -- Housing rehabilitation and town hall accessibility will get a boost under a competitive Community Development Block Grant awarded to the city this week.

Mayor Bill Sapelli traveled to the State House in Boston Friday to accept the $799,750 award from the Department of Housing and Community Development.

"We would like to thank the Baker-Polito administration for their generous award and continued support of Agawam and all of Western Massachusetts," said Sapelli.

The housing rehabilitation program will serve homes occupied by low-to-moderate income persons in Agawam. Repair or replacement of basic building systems, lead and hazardous materials abatement, removal of architectural barriers, and corrections to sanitary and building code violations are all allowed. The program is for owner-occupied and investor-owned units.

The "aging in place" program will provide grants up to $5,000 per qualified senior household for non-structural modifications to increase health and safety. Owner occupants must be 65 or older, and meet HUD Section 8 income guidelines for low-to-moderate income persons.

The Town Hall Accessibility Planning Project will result in the development of a plan by a qualified architectural firm. That will allow the town to evaluate a full range of options for barrier removal and federal ADA compliance. The plan will look at construction and services options, provide conceptual drawings, and cost estimates for each alternative.

Sapelli also thanked Sen. Donald Humason, Rep. Nick Bodlyga, Chris Dunphy of the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, and Marc Strange, Agawam's director of planning and community development.

The Massachusetts Community Development Block Grant Program is a federally-funded, competitive grant program designed to help cities and towns meet a broad range of community development needs.
Update: One officer was shot in the neck, one was shot in the chest. One officer is married with 3 children. More details here

Law enforcement officials said two Falmouth police officers shot during a gunfight with a 21-year-old suspect Friday afternoon are recovering from their wounds.

Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe said one officer was grazed on the head by a bullet. He was treated for his injury and released from a Cape Cod hospital.

The second officer was shot twice with one bullet hitting his body armor and the second penetrating just above his vest. He was admitted to Falmouth Hospital for monitoring, where O'Keefe said he is conscious and talking with his family.

Officials identified the suspect as 21-year-old Malik Antonio Koval of Falmouth, the Cape Cod Times reported.

The officers responded to a disturbance call on Ashley Drive at about 5:30 p.m. where they encountered Koval. As they talked with him he became agitated, pulled a firearm and fired at the officers.

O'Keefe said after Koval initiated the gunfire, the two officers returned fire, striking Koval several times.

He was transported to a Plymouth hospital, then airlifted to a Boston medical center where he is being treated.
The two Falmouth police officers who were injured in a shootout with a suspect Friday afternoon have been identified as Officer Donald DeMiranda and Officer Ryan Moore.

Falmouth Police Chief Edward Dunne confirmed that DeMiranda and Moore were the two policemen shot while responding to a disturbance call on Seacoast Shores Boulevard in East Falmouth around 5:35 p.m. on Friday. Malik Antonio Koval, 21, of East Falmouth, was shot in the exchange and taken into police custody.

Both DeMiranda and Moore, along with the suspect, were initially transported to Falmouth Hospital on Friday for treatment. The two officers are expected to recover from their injuries, according to police.

Both officers have been spotlighted for their top work in the Falmouth Police Department in the past year. The Falmouth PD's Facebook history shows Moore was awarded the department's "Officer of the Month" award in January, and DiMiranda received the same recognition in April.

DiMiranda has received two such awards since he began serving on the Falmouth force three years ago.

At the time their awards were announced on Falmouth Police's Facebook page, online commenters flooded the posts with praise. Their notes described DiMiranda as a professional, kind and hard-working policeman, and Moore as an "outstanding officer" and "great protector."

In an update early Saturday morning, Falmouth police announced the officers had been shot separately, one in the neck and one in the chest. The officer shot in the chest was also shot at least once in his ballistic vest, according to police.

Overnight, police reported that Koval was flown from Beth Israel in Plymouth to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston for further treatment, where he is being guarded by police.
UPDATE: Falmouth police officers shot identified as Donald DeMiranda and Ryan Moore

Two Falmouth police officers are recovering after a shootout with a suspect Friday night, which left one officer suffering a gunshot wound in the neck, and another suffering a gunshot wound in the chest.

Falmouth Police and the Cape and Islands district attorney have identified the suspect who allegedly opened fire on two officers as 21-year-old Malik Antonio Koval of East Falmouth.

Authorities say the two officers responded to a disturbance call on Ashley Drive in East Falmouth around 5:35 p.m. on Friday.

Falmouth police said emergency responders transported the two officers and Koval to Falmouth Hospital. Overnight, police reported that Koval was flown from Beth Israel in Plymouth to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston for further treatment.

In an online post early Saturday morning, Falmouth police announced the officers had been shot separately, one in the neck and one in the chest. The officer shot in the chest was also shot at least once in his ballistic vest, according to police.

Falmouth Police say both officers are expected to recover. WCVB reports one officer is married with three children, and has been with the department for less than five years, while the other is single and has served in the department for five years.

An aunt to 21-year-old Koval who identified herself as Emmalyn Anderson told WCVB that Koval had been "trying to sort out several things mentally" and been "trying to get himself well."

At a press conference in Falmouth Friday night, Police Chief Edward Dunne told reporters that shootings against police officers are happening "way too much."
The self-proclaimed Genovese crime family "skipper" of Springfield was sentenced to 30 months in prison for loansharking and other crimes earlier this month.

A federal judge in New York rejected an argument that Eugene "Rooster" Onofrio was simply a senior citizen living a "modest life" and trying to supplement a fixed income by making extortionate loans, accepting "tribute" from gangster underlings and selling untaxed cigarettes.

These were the activities to which Onofrio pleaded guilty on Feb, 28, 2018, in federal court in Manhattan. He was sentenced on July 19.

In a letter to Judge Richard Sullivan, Onofrio said he was bumping along on disability for the last 15 years, until mob turncoat John "JR" Rubeo roped him in during a five-year sting for the FBI.

"In 2013 I met Mr, Rubio (sic) and we spent a considerable amount of time together. During this time he suggested several opportunities for financial gain with me. Given my age and living on such a fixed income I saw this as my last opportunity for financial gain unfortunately took it and made some bad judgement calls," Onofrio, 76, wrote to the judge.

He regrets he didn't stick with his "modest life," he told the judge, making a pitch for a 20-month sentence in home confinement.

Onofrio was among 45 gangsters up and down the East Coast Rubeo managed to snare while wearing a wire on most of them, according to court records. Rubeo was often accompanied by an undercover FBI agent who posed as an old high school buddy.

The agent served as Onofrio's driver for a time, and once shuttled him to a pizza shop in Chicopee, where he arranged for a $30,000 loan with assists from Springfield gangsters Ralph Santaniello and Francesco "Frank" Depergola.

Santaniello and Depergola were among those caught up in the New York-based mafia sting, and also were convicted of extortion in connection with shaking down a city tow company operator in Springfield.

They are serving 60- and 38-month sentences, respectively. Santaniello is serving out his time at a federal penitentiary at Schuykill in Minersville, Pennsylvania. Depergola is serving his sentence at a low-security facility in Fort Dix, New Jersey, according to U.S. Bureau of Prison records.

While Onofrio attempts to paint himself as an old man who was taken advantage of by a younger soldier, he was caught on a 2014 recorded call referring to himself as "the skipper" of Springfield, or the captain of a street crew.

He added that the city "was given to him," although he does not say by whom.

He also notes that he has "four or five guys" in Springfield and intends to sponsor one for formal induction to the Genovese family. He does not name the prospect.

During pretrial bail hearings in the Springfield mob case, an FBI agent testified that Santaniello was up for sponsorship and Depergola was miffed that Santaniello was ahead of him in line, given that Santaniello is significantly younger with less street time.

But at any rate, the books were "closed" for the Genovese family at the time, the agent told a federal magistrate judge. The transcripts of a conversation submitted by prosecutors in advance of Onofrio's sentencing seem to bear that theory out.

Onofrio: "Everything's shut down."

Rubeo: "He doesn't put anyone up."

Onofrio: "Yeah he does."

Rubeo: "Never."

Onofrio: "I do."

Rubeo: "He don't." (apparently referring to Danny Leo, a top Genovese boss)

Onofrio: "I already put a guy up from Springfield, Mass. ... You know, Springfield was given to me."

Rubeo: "Yeah, you told me."

Onofrio: "I got four, five guys up there. One I love to death."

Rubeo: "Why don't you move me up there? Can I make money?"

Onofrio: "I know he is a gangster, I know he's got balls, he's got heart. He, his name is already in. When they open up, I'm definitely putting him in, because I can't travel from New Haven to Springfield all the time."

Onofrio was ordered to begin serving his sentence in September, according to court records.
A second person was arrested on Saturday in connection to a recent home invasion in Lowell that left a man dead.

The Middlesex district attorney's office announced that Saro Mann, 40, of Lowell died following what investigators believe was a home invasion in the early morning hours on Thursday, July 26.

At 2:40 a.m. on Thursday, emergency responders acting on a 911 call found Mann with life-threatening injuries. He was transported to Lowell General Hospital and later pronounced dead.

Investigators believe Mann was assaulted during a home invasion on Walker Street in Lowell.

Samundi Cobb, 41, of Lowell was first arrested on charges of armed assault in a dwelling. Cobb is being held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing on August 3.

On Saturday, Lowell Police arrested a second person: Jeffrey Puryear, 24, of Dracut now faces charges of armed assault in a dwelling. Authorities say Puryear will be arraigned in Lowell District Court on Monday.

There have been no murder charges in the case, which investigators are treating as an "apparent" homicide. Middlesex D.A.'s office says additional charges may be issued in the future.

The open and ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Middlesex D.A.'s office, Lowell Police and Massachusetts State Police detectives.
SPRINGFIELD - A Springfield man who allegedly fired several shots from a stolen handgun at two men late Wednesday is being held on $7,500 bail.

Mariel A. Maldonado, 31, pleaded not guilty Thursday in Springfield District Court to seven charges, including two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and possession of a firearm during a felony.

The charges were filed after police, responding to a report of six shots fired on Belmont Avenue, saw two men running down the middle of the street, according to the arrest report. Neither of the men was hurt.

"That (racial slur) just shot at us," one said, pointing toward 154 Belmont Ave., where the gunman had allegedly fled.

Officers searched the home and found Maldonado hiding in a stairwell. Without being prompted, he said, "I know I just threw my life away, but I had to do what I had to do to defend myself," the report said.

Inside the apartment police found a .45-caliber semi-automatic pistol with one round in the chamber. Four shell casings were found in an alley nearby, the report said.

Both alleged victims later identified Maldonado as the shooter, the report said.

Assistant District Attorney Matthew Loftus asked for $50,000 bail on the new charges and asked that Maldonado's release in an open assault and battery case be revoked.

The gun, valued at $1,500, was reported stolen during a burglary in Keene, New Hampshire, in September 2015, Loftus said.

Defense lawyer Jon Helpa asked for his client's release on $7,500, which Helpa said was the most Maldonado's family could hope to collect.

Judge William Rota set bail at $7,500 and ordered Maldonado to have no contact with the alleged victims. The judge also refused to revoke Maldonado's release in the pending assault case.

A Holyoke native, Maldonado is single, works as a landscaper and has five aliases, including Anthony and Scarface, according to court records.

He is due back in court for a pretrial hearing on Sept. 20.
Two Falmouth police officers were shot on Friday and are expected to recover, officials said.

A suspect was also shot and is being treated.

Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe said during a brief news conference that the two officers are alive, according to a live stream from Boston 25 News. They were both taken to the hospital and one officer has been discharged.

The officer who was discharged was grazed in the head by a bullet. The other officer was shot in the abdomen, a source told MassLive.

The suspect was taken to the hospital. He was shot a number of times, O'Keefe said during the press conference.

The shooting occurred in the Seacoast Shores section of Falmouth.

The State Police patrol, tactical, investigative and forensic units are responding to Falmouth to assist in the investigation.

No further details were immediately available.

Boston 25 News shared a photo on Twitter that depicted a suspect on the ground with a bloodied shirt.

The shooting comes a week after the funeral for Weymouth Police Sgt. Michael Chesna, who was shot and killed while responding to a report of an erratic driver.

This is the second time this year that police officers have been shot on Cape Cod. Yarmouth Police Sgt. Sean Gannon was shot and killed in April while serving a warrant in Marstons Mills.
The man who allegedly threatened a Massachusetts state judge and was arrested following an eight-hour standoff with State Police filed a federal lawsuit earlier this year accusing Gov. Charlie Baker and other officials of surveilling him in his home.

Jeffrey Wheeler, 56, is expected to be arraigned Monday in Lawrence District Court on charges of threatening to commit a crime and witness intimidation. He is being arraigned in Lawrence to avoid a conflict of interest in Newburyport District Court, where he was charged, according to a spokeswoman for the Essex County District Attorney's office.

State Police obtained a warrant for Wheeler's arrest after his alleged threats against the judge and learning that he may be in possession of a firearm even though his license to carry was previously revoked.

Wheeler did not surrender from his home at 253 South St. in Athol, and State Police troopers forced entry into the residence. They had to use a Taser to subdue Wheeler, State Police said. He was arrested around 3 a.m. Friday.

In March, Wheeler launched a federal lawsuit naming Baker, the Massachusetts Department of Corrections, the Massachusetts Department of Public Safety and other state officials.

Wheeler claimed that surveillance equipment was installed at his home, that he was drugged, defamed and that his family photos were stolen. He represented himself in the case.

Wheeler met a threshold that showed he could not afford the court filing fees, which made his case subject to a statute that allows a case to be dismissed if the "action is malicious, frivolous, fails to state a claim upon which relief may be granted, or seeks monetary relief against a defendant who is immune from such relief."

Under that statute, federal court judge Timothy S. Hillman dismissed the case earlier this month.

Wheeler claimed that the defendants "broke into his home and installed surveillance equipment therein, videotaped him undressing, 'incarcerated' him in his own home, seized documents from his residence, altered his medical records, defamed him, interfered with the settlement of an estate, and constantly harassed him... He also refers to bank fraud, attacks upon his 'life and limb,' injustices in the state court, falsification of court records and motor vehicle accident records, attempts to force Wheeler into bankruptcy, and defamation," Hillman wrote.

"To the extent the Court can discern the meaning of Wheeler's disjointed factual assertions, neither complaint contains any 'well-pleaded' factual allegations to support his incredible assertions of wrongdoing," the judge ruled. "In the absence of such, Wheeler's complaints do not set forth a claim for relief that is plausible."

The case was closed with all pending motions terminated.

In the new case, State Police noted that there were outdoor security cameras set up outside Wheeler's home in Athol.

Wheeler was arrested in Athol in April, according to local police logs.

A police log entry published by the Athol Daily News indicates that Wheeler was arrested on April 13 on a warrant for failing to appear in court. Police had been called to a business on Main Street where Wheeler was allegedly making threats and acting in an aggressive manner.
BOSTON -- Red Sox shortstop Xander Bogaerts saw first baseman Steve Pearce on his stomach and knew what he needed to do: aim his throw low.

"I didn't know what happened, how he got down there," Bogaerts told MassLive.com. "But I knew I saw him down when I went to throw it, and I tried to aim it down."

The Red Sox won 4-3 over the Twins in 10 innings at Fenway Park on Friday. Bogaerts and Pearce's 3-4-3 double play in the seventh inning saved a run.

The Twins had runners at the corners with one out. The Red Sox were leading 2-1. Minnesota's Eddie Rosario grounded to Pearce who threw to second base to start the 3-6-3 double play. Pearce fell as he headed to first base bag. He received Bogaerts' throw sprawled out on his stomach.

"If I throw at the chest, no one's catching it," Bogaerts said. "It's going in the dugout. Chest high, good throw wouldn't work. There was no way he could've gotten it."

Pearce made the catch prepared for the possibility that Rosario would trample him.

"To me, Bogey made a better play than I did," Pearce said. "He put the ball right where I could go catch it. Right after that I was bracing for pain. I thought I was about to get murdered."

Your typical 3-6-3. pic.twitter.com/fRY5hfBzeI  Boston Red Sox (@RedSox) July 28, 2018

"It was just one of those plays where you have a runner on third and you're saying, 'If it's hit slow, go home with it. If it's hit hard, try to turn it,'" Pearce explained. "He hit it hard. My momentum was bringing me there. I tried to get him (Bogaerts) the ball quick and I lost my balance coming back."
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Assyrians Hail Turkey's Places of Worship Move

Mardin, Turkey -- Turkey's Assyrian community has welcomed a new regulation allowing free allocation of places of worship such as synagogues, churches, and monasteries to minority foundations. Yilmaz Hicbezmez, deputy head of an association linked to the Mor Hananyo Monastery -- also known as the Monastery of St. Ananias -- in Turkey's southeastern province of Mardin hailed the new decision.

"We are really excited about this [decision]. We are aware that our government, our President [Recep Tayyip Erdogan] and AK [Justice and Development] Party are very sensitive to this issue. We thank them a lot," Hicbezmez said. Turkey's Foundations Council, the top decision-making body of the Foundations Directorate-General, which manages and audits religious foundations, recently signed a decision to facilitate the process. Under the decision, no usage charge would be levied on immovable properties and properties used as places of worship allocated to public institutions and organizations that are used in line with the purposes stated in the foundation certificate-charter. It allows immovable properties such as synagogues, churches, and monasteries of the Foundations Directorate to be allocated free of charge to the relevant foundations. Until recently, such allocations only had been offered to mosques. As part of the decision, firstly the Sacre Coeur (Sacred Heart) Church in Istanbul's Beyoglu district was allocated to the Assyrian Catholic Church Foundation for 49 years. The community thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan for the move. According to Hicbezmez, Assyrian community living abroad also are pleased with the decision. He added that if empty churches are also allocated to them, they want to make renovations and put into service. Priest Gabriel Akkurt also hailed Turkey's new decision. "It is a pleasing and happy news," Akkurt said: "First of all, I would like to thank the President, our government and all those who contributed." "Hopefully, they will give with land registration certificates, that would be better."
BAD AXE  Even after decades of educating more than 600 young minds, one former Bad Axe teacher is still finding ways to give back to future students.

Kindergarten teacher Sharon Radlinski retired from Bad Axe Elementary in 2003 following 30-plus years in the teaching industry. She died July 17, but her children found a way to keep their mother's legacy alive.

"She loved kindergarten," Radlinski's daughter, Sherill Ryan, recalled. "For my mom, it was difficult for her to separate who she was from what she did. It was all rolled into one. She always talked about her kindergartners and absolutely loved teaching."

Ryan said her mom would light up with joy the second she was around children.

"She was always a teacher. It didn't matter if she was retired," she said. "We knew that everybody knew her in town. For the last 30 years, she had half of the kindergarten classes."

With the death of their mother, Ryan and her brother, Steve Radlinksi, brainstormed an idea to request school supplies in lieu of flowers.

"The idea of flowers is beautiful, but it doesn't really pay it forward," Ryan explained. "In a few days or weeks, the flowers will be gone. But maybe school supplies would touch some of the families in the community that she taught in for so long."

"We thought mom would appreciate it a lot more," she added.

Loads of backpacks, pencils and other school supplies began to pour in.

"She would be pleased to pay it forward," Ryan said. "Throughout her whole life, she was involved in community service activities, with children and her church."

"It's more of an honor to give something back to the community through her dying than it is for me to have bouquets of flowers," she added. "The flowers don't last, but her memory will."

The outreach of support from the community was so great that the brother-sister duo decided to continue accepting donations.

"It's just way more than I would've ever thought," Ryan said of the donations. "That was really comforting and really exciting to know she touched so many lives. You don't realize how many lives she impacted with teaching until this (death) happened."

The supplies won't be limited to just Bad Axe students either. The supplies will go to any Huron County student in need.

If you're interested in donating supplies, they can be dropped off at the Evangel Life Assembly of God Church in Bad Axe, located at 1365 S. Van Dyke Road.

Monetary donations can be mailed to: Sharon Radlinski Memorial Fund, P.O. Box 131, Port Austin, MI, 48467.

"I want to thank people just because this is a really tough time, but knowing how many people loved my mom has been amazing," an emotional Ryan said. "I want to thank everybody for their support."

"The outpouring of love was really positive and amazing," she added.
UPPER THUMB -- No battle during the American Civil War was ever fought in Port Sanilac, but the Civil War reenactors will do their best to bring the past to life during the Civil War Days event.

The event runs from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Aug. 4-5 at the Sanilac County Historic Village & Museum.
PORT AUSTIN -- The Port Austin Community Players will be hosting its annual summer concert next week.

Shows will be held at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday and Friday. This two-and-a-half hour variety show has been a well-received event in the Thumb area for over ten years.

The theme this year is "We're # One," with a two-fold meaning. Many of the songs to be performed were No. 1 songs in their time, but it also serves as a tribute to this first class organization, which has brought great theater to the community for so many years.

Entertainers this year include the Spring Street Boys, with Arnie Besonen and Harpo Costello; Ubly and Bad Axe favorite Jeff Taylor; Autumn Gold, featuring vocalist Shannon Allen and Penn and Ross, a Port Austin duo featuring toe-tapping, knee-slapping tunes. Witty banter, humorous stories and maybe a few surprises will keep the audiences smiling and reminiscing throughout.

Tickets for each show are $10, general admission, and can be purchased at Joe's Pizzeria, Corner Beverage, the Farmers Market, Jeff Taylor or by calling the theater at 989-738-5217 or Dennis at 989-738-8652.

If leaving a message, include your name, date, and number of tickets and your phone number.
MIDDLETOWN  A group of residents came together Wednesday to speak out against a proposal to build a residential subdivision on 56 acres of undeveloped land at the intersection of Ridgewood Road and Mile Lane.

Previously used for agriculture, the lot is now largely meadows and wetlands that drain to the Mattabesset River.

Sunwood Development Corporation applied to build a 14-lot subdivision on the property, and many residents are binding together to stop the development from happening  citing overpopulation, traffic concerns, and destruction of wildlife, among other reasons.

Four of the 14-lots proposed would be at the end of Talias Trail off Mile Lane. The other 10 would be front-facing lots on Ridgewood Road, each about a half-acre in size.

At Wednesday nights meeting at City Hall Council Chambers, residents had varying opinions  those behind the idea to purchase the property and others who want to keep the space green.

Bob Weiderman Jr., owner of Sunwood Development and principal of the property, spoke on behalf of the application at a Planning and Zoning meeting July 11. That evening, he presented blueprints to the commissioners. He addressed how he has responded to remarks he has received from several different city departments.

The police department traffic unit had no concerns and the Wetlands Commission determined there was no impact on the wetlands, according to Weiderman.

After his presentation, the public was given a chance to comment. The vast majority of the comments were against the development, however, not everyone was in opposition.

When you have a developer like this in Middletown, we want to encourage them to come build beautiful houses and maintain the neighborhood, said Marie Coughlin, a 50-year resident of the citys Westfield section.

Jennifer Mahr, chair of the Westfield Residents Association, asked the commission to consider the character of the area.

On this corner, its sort of a last remaining more rural, more farm-like area in this part of town, Mahr said. A row of houses up along Ridgewood Road seems out of character.

Commissioner Molly Salafia addressed sidewalk concerns not specified in the plans.

If the city felt it was important to have sidewalks there, they should have it in their plan or have already installed sidewalks in that area, Weiderman told her.

Commissioner Stephen Devoto further addressed the sidewalk issue, citing safety concerns with children walking to and from school.

Would you be willing to voluntarily put in sidewalks? he asked the developer.

Its not something I would prefer to do. Its a major cost, and, while I can appreciate the desire for sidewalks, its hard to justify that cost, Weiderman responded.

A focal point of the meeting was concerns about wildlife in the area.

According to a preliminary assessment issued last December by the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, there are known extant populations of state-listed species that live within, or close to, the boundaries of this property.

Three plant and two animal species, such as the Eastern box turtle, were listed as possible concerns. Also noted were the Willdenows sedge plant and American Bittern, which are on the Connecticut endangered species list.

Despite these concerns, the letter said it is not a final determination and a more detailed review is necessary to move forward with a permit application.

A follow-up report issued last week by consulting firm Milone & MacBroom concluded that none of the species identified in DEEPs assessment were found within areas of the proposed development. The fieldwork was completed in June by three environmental professionals from the agency.

While none of the species were observed, they did find preferred habitats for the Eastern Box Turtle and American Bittern on the parcel.

Site protections will be incorporated into the site plan to avoid impacts on these species, according to the report.

We are going to save and protect over 45 percent of the property, Weiderman said at the July 11 meeting, according to the minutes. He said his proposal would maintain and preserve 20 acres of wetlands and six acres of uplands.

On Wednesday, Weiderman presented further documentation showing he was compliant with all codes and regulations.

I believe that the developer does meet everything that the city has asked for, Commissioner Elizabeth Emery said. I hate to see that much land go. Our codes allow for the developer to go in, so we would need to change our codes, she said.

The matter passed with six affirmative votes and one abstention.

Ridgwood Road resident Janet Freimuth said she purchased her home specifically for the open space.

The neighborhood has already been intruded upon time and time again, and it is really sad that the neighborhood is going to lose its character.

Its sad. The whole history of Westfield district is disappearing, said Shawn Guiheen, 21.

We moved to Middletown because it upheld values that we were looking for, and we enjoyed the open space, said resident Steven LeClair. Building on this property, the pristine fields, and around the wetlands, really goes against all the values that the town promotes, and against all the environmental teachings that we instill in our kids.

We are all about Middletown. Id like Middletown to come back and do the same for us, LeClair said.
The Navy's top officer met with maritime leaders from across the Western Hemisphere this week, as they work to thwart drug trafficking that's led to security and humanitarian challenges throughout the region.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson met with his counterparts from Mexico, Peru, Chile, Colombia, Canada, Argentina and Brazil during a two-day conference in Cartagena, Colombia. Military leaders from 18 countries participated in the event, where they discussed strategies to combat drug trafficking.

The countries involved not only share common security challenges but also a commitment to confront them, Richardson said during his remarks.

"We have many common maritime challenges," he said. "The best thing to do is to be the best possible partner to our friends and allies."

The military has worked for years with partner nations to stem the flow of drugs making their way toward the U.S. border. The Navy and Coast Guard send ships and personnel to patrol waters and interdict drugs at sea. Marines train with local troops in Honduras, Guatemala, Belize, Peru and Mexico who fight drug cartels in the jungles or on brown rivers. And U.S. troops team with allies during annual exercises such as Tradewinds in the Caribbean or UNITAS in the Pacific.

Partnering on those efforts highlights the shared security interests between the U.S. and its allies in the region, Richardson said.

"We can learn to communicate, navigate and operate together," he said. "[But] these deployments also serve a higher purpose -- they enhance security, they maintain order, they preserve a system that is legal, transparent, and fair for all nations, and they promote prosperity for all."

Richardson named strengthening the Navy's partnerships as one of his four "lines of effort" in his 2016 document on maintaining maritime superiority. The 2018 National Defense Strategy also lists partnerships and strong alliances as the "backbone of global security."

The naval conference took place as several South American partners -- Chile, Colombia and Peru -- participate in the Rim of the Pacific exercise in and around Hawaii. RIMPAC is the world's largest maritime exercise, and a Chilean naval officer is making history during the event.

"Commodore Pablo Niemann serves as the Combined Force Maritime Component Commander -- in effect, commanding all maneuvering afloat forces in a series of high-end warfare missions," Richardson said. "This RIMPAC is a landmark -- partners achieving their maximum potential naval power [and] improving together."

-- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @ginaaharkins.
Still undetermined is whether the impact caused the October leak, or if the line was hit by something else at a later date.
SHEPHERDSTOWN, W.Va. -- A Department of Veterans Affairs facility sits unassuming, behind a hotel in a small, riverside town on the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. The single-story brick building is nondescript except for a sign indicating the doors for VA deliveries.

Inside, visitors are passed a badge through a slot in a window before entering through a second set of doors. One main room, separated from smaller offices by a large glass wall, houses a few dozen cubicles, each with just enough space for a phone and desktop computer.

When veterans pick up the phone to dial the new White House veterans hotline, this is where their calls go.

President Donald Trump vowed two years ago to create a White House hotline for veterans, promising them attention and action from the highest levels of government. He portrayed the hotline as a direct connection to the Oval Office and even indicated he might field a few calls.

A hotline was established, but its connection to the White House is in name only. The operation is located in Shepherdstown, W.Va., about 70 miles northwest of Washington, and phones are answered by VA employees - not White House staff.

Some veterans have misperceived the hotline as a powerful link to the president's official residence. And the government hasn't done much to correct them.

Since it became fully operational in November, the VA has released few details about the hotline, its budget or how it differentiates from numerous other VA call lines. Requests for interviews about it have been ignored or shunted since April.

"This isn't going straight to the White House, and I don't think veterans know that, or have a good understanding what this hotline is supposed to be," said Licia Lynn, a Marine veteran who's called the hotline multiple times. "It's rough, because some people don't know how to advocate for themselves and were hoping the White House would advocate for them."

As promised

On the campaign trail July 26, 2016, Trump spoke at the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Charlotte, N.C., and declared he would create a private, 24-hour White House hotline that veterans could use to relay their complaints about the VA. In the run-up to the 2016 election, Trump described the VA as the most corrupt federal agency and vowed that his administration would fix it. The hotline was No. 6 in his 10-point plan.

"I will create a private White House hotline - that is answered by a real person 24 hours a day - to make sure that no valid complaint about the VA ever falls through the cracks," Trump said. "I will instruct my staff that if a valid complaint is not acted upon, then the issue be brought directly to me, and I will pick up the phone and fix it myself, if need be."

He joked that the hotline could keep him up at night and "take the place of Twitter."

"I want to have somebody, a real person and a really competent person, in the White House with that hotline going," Trump said.

This week marks the two-year anniversary of that pledge, and Trump addressed the VFW convention again - this time touting the hotline as a promise kept.

"As promised, we established the White House VA Hotline," he told a crowd of about 4,000 veterans.

Trump's administration, under former VA Secretary David Shulkin, did establish a hotline. After months of delays and a soft launch in June 2017, the VA declared it fully operational in November. It can be reached at 855-948-2311.

But there are many unknowns.

While the VA has released some basic statistics, such has how many calls the hotline has received and how long it takes to answer the phones, the agency has refused to disclose the total cost of the operation, or say how successful it is in resolving veterans' problems.

Some veterans who have used it complained it's doing the opposite of what was promised and sending their calls back to local VA offices, rather than elevating their concerns to the highest reaches of government.

Veterans aren't the only ones with questions and misperceptions about the hotline. Lawmakers who are tasked with VA oversight, as well as the VA inspector general, aren't receiving answers.

When contacted by phone, VA Inspector General Michael Missal - who investigates VA programs and operations - said he was unaware about who ran the hotline and was uncertain whether he had oversight authority.

Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, said in a statement his office has sought answers to questions about the hotline for months and received nothing in response.

"In fact, veterans on my own staff have resorted to calling the hotline themselves just to learn more about the hotline and how it functions," Walz said.

Rep. Phil Roe, the Republican chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, said in a statement that he looked forward to hearing more about the hotline and the concerns raised by callers.

"Part of truly reforming VA is to ensure veterans have an outlet to share their experiences with the department - both good and bad," Roe said.

Why Shepardstown?

A man at the local visitor's center, taking a break from playing a bagpipe, said Shepherdstown has become a draw for weekend tourists from Washington and Baltimore. It's a 90-minute drive from each city when the traffic is good.

The town is home to about 1,700 people year-round and boasts an active three-block thoroughfare with a smattering of funky shops, fusion restaurants and a well-trafficked diner. The biggest employer is Shepherdstown University, a private liberal arts college that also takes up a large chunk of the town's acreage.

There are a pair of minor attractions, both boasting views of the nearby Potomac River - a monument honoring the inventor of the steamboat, James Rumsey, and the Bavarian Inn, a hotel that promises fine European dining. Every summer about this time, residents look forward to a renowned theater festival that brings in visitors from across the mid-Atlantic.

On the south side of town, on the campus of the local Clarion Hotel and Conference Center, is the White House VA Hotline.

When contacted about the hotline, multiple officials who represent Shepherdstown in the state legislature didn't know it was there.

"I didn't know about it," said Patricia Rucker, a Republican senator from Jefferson County, where Shepherdstown is located. "Obviously, I'm very glad and honored that they have chosen to open the center in Shepherdstown."

The VA has stated in news releases that the hotline is based in West Virginia, but it won't discuss why that was the chosen site.

Rucker cited the proximity to the Washington metro area as a possible reason the place was selected. She also guessed property is more affordable here than anywhere closer to D.C.

When a reporter showed up at the building in late June, about 70 cars were parked in the government-only lots surrounding the building. The program manager for the hotline, Randy Kunkleman, allowed entry but was eventually prohibited by VA headquarters from speaking on the record.

Tim Hudak, a communications official with the Veterans Experience Office in Washington, told Stars and Stripes that hotline staff couldn't accommodate a tour at that time. He referred questions to VA Press Secretary Curt Cashour, who said he would arrange an interview and possible visit, but - after multiple inquiries - hasn't. On Friday, Cashour offered a tour, but only after the Washington Post published its version of the story based on a tour.

'It does no good'

When announced, the White House hotline was thought to give veterans a direct line to the executive branch.

A half-dozen veterans who have used the hotline and relayed their experiences to Stars and Stripes said they didn't believe that was the case in their situations. They called the hotline for a variety of reasons, from policy questions to complaints about VA programs and help setting up medical appointments.

Coast Guard veteran Thomas Fant, 46, called the hotline with a criticism about the length of time it took to secure a medical appointment through the VA Choice program, which allows veterans to go into the private sector for care.

A hotline agent sent Fant back to the private-sector provider whom he had already spoken to about the issue.

"You call there because you've exhausted all other options with your local VA, but what happens is, it just circles right back to the origin of the issue. It does no good," Fant said.

The VA maintains one call line for benefits questions, 800-827-1000, one for health care questions, 877-222-8387, another for online account problems, 800-983-0937, and one for burial eligibility information, 800-535-1117.

The VA Inspector General's Office has its own hotline to receive VA complaints, at 800-488-8244. The U.S. Office of Special Counsel has a hotline, 800-872-9855, to document employee retaliation issues at the VA.

The White House hotline receives some calls that are transferred directly to the Veterans Crisis Line or the National Call Center for Homeless Veterans. Last month, 200 calls were sent to the crisis line, Cashour said.

The new hotline, rather than eliminating bureaucracy as Trump promised, merely added another layer of it, Fant argued.

"It really hasn't served any real benefit or purpose that I know of," he said.

Brian Lewis, a 38-year-old veteran and attorney in Woodbury, Minn., had a similar experience. He recently called the White House hotline with a complaint about the Minneapolis VA. The hotline agent rerouted him back to a VA employee in Minneapolis, and his issue was never resolved, Lewis said.

"I am dismayed the president touted this system as an effective remedy, when it is merely a continuation of the failed VA patient advocacy system," Lewis said in an email.

Licia Lynn, 32, is a social worker who has tried to use the hotline on behalf of veterans she assists. One veteran asked her to get him a new VA doctor. Others were attempting to check on backlogged claims.

Half of the time, the person who answered the phone routed Lynn to her elected officials' offices. Other times, the calls went unanswered, she said.

"It just doesn't seem like it's really working, and that's terrible to say," Lynn said. "I want it to work. I want it to work for my fellow veterans. I just haven't had a good experience with it."

The hotline is receiving some positive feedback, Cashour said. Since October, it's received 560 calls from veterans who were helped by the hotline and wanted to compliment the staff.

Army veteran Allison Bockstanz, 39, described a good experience. Bockstanz called multiple times with complaints about the Ann Arbor and Washington medical centers. She recently called to check on the status of her disability rating.

Each time she's called, someone immediately answered and followed up with an email, Bockstanz said.

"I think it's working," she said. "I feel like the line is making the VA accountable for their actions. Everybody thinks that everything is bad, but I can tell you it was a lot worse, at least for me, a year ago."

How much does it cost?

When the hotline quietly launched last summer, Shulkin said it would cost about $200,000 to kick off. The VA hasn't released updated cost estimates, but USASPENDING.gov, an official government source for data on federal awards, lists three contracts totaling $2.2 million awarded to AT&T Corp. for a "veterans hotline" in September.

The contracts list the VA hospital in Martinsburg, West Va., as the location. Martinsburg is the parent duty station for the Shepherdstown facility.

Jim Greer, director of corporate communications for AT&T, said only that AT&T is involved with the hotline and "proud of the services we've provided." He referred questions about their involvement to the VA. Cashour did not respond to a question about the contracts with AT&T.
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Country superstar Kenny Chesney just released his latest project, "Songs for the Saints," which will raise funds for hurricane relief in the Virgin Islands.

The 11-song collection features some great collaborations -- yes, Margaritaville's Jimmy Buffett returns -- but the album also features a straight-forward cover of Lord Huron's "Ends of the Earth."

From the band's 2012 debut album "Lonesome Dream," the song helped launch the Okemos, Michigan band into its own superstar status.

"Ends of the Earth" played on the Showtime TV series "Shameless," other cable shows, film and the finale of the Netflix series "Longmire."

Today, the song gets a new life on the much-anticipated "Songs for the Saints," Chesney's first release since moving his Blue Chair Records to Warner Nashville.

In a release he said: "I was literally in the studio recording these songs and singing on these songs as we were flying medical supplies to hospitals down there...As we were flying people that I didn't even know off the island, whether they were pregnant or had emergency medical issues or if they were just friends that I wanted to get off the island."

The album's first single, "Get Along," is spending its second week at No. 1.

It's unclear whether "Ends of the Earth" will be a single or whether Chesney will play it in concert.

We'll find out when he brings his "Trip Around the Sun Tour" to Chicago's Soldier Field today (July 28, 2018) and later to Ford Field in Detroit on Aug. 4.

We know Lord Huron will play "Ends of the Earth"in concert!

The band is on tour to support its third album, "Vide Noir."

It plays tonight at the Brews and Wines on the Water in New York. See the full itinerary at lordhuron.com.

LISTEN to both versions of the song and let us know what you think in the comments. Did Kenny Chesney do it justice?

Or email me: gonzo@mlive.com.
Three candidates, all Republicans, are vying for a seat on the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners for the 6th District. No challenges from other parties have registered for the November election.

Current commissioner Kelly Kuiper was appointed to the board Jan. 1, 2017, to represent residents in the 6th District, which covers Georgetown Charter Township Precincts 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16. She is stepping down from the commission.

The candidate selected on Aug. 7 will serve a two-year term.

CYNTHIA DAVIS

Cynthia Davis, 3412 Stonyridge Drive, Hudsonville, is a pro-life conservative who moved to Ottawa County in 1972.

She has been married to Mark Davis for 48 years, and they have two married children and six grandchildren. Davis holds a bachelor's degree from Indiana Wesleyan University and a master of arts in teaching from Calvin College. She taught English and Spanish at Hudsonville High School for 26 years. Davis volunteers with the Ottawa County Republican Party, teaches an English as a second language class, works with the Hudsonville Friends of the Library and serves in a variety of church roles.

"As the fastest-growing county in the state of Michigan, the County Board of Commissioners is challenged with preserving what has made Ottawa County a wonderful and inviting place to live, work and rear a family," Davis said. "Protecting farmlands, preserving open spaces for generations to come and making Ottawa County a place where everyone feels welcome and included is my passion."

Davis strongly supports providing mental health services, a concern expressed by residents in the 2018 Ottawa County Citizen Survey. She said keeping residents safe, maintaining the county's low tax rate, which is the fifth-lowest in Michigan, and communicating with residents will be her priorities.

GREGORY HONDERD

Gregory Honderd, 2604 Edson Drive, Hudsonville, is co-owner of a construction business.

"As a lifelong resident of Ottawa County, I feel that my values are consistent with the residents in District 6," Honderd said. "Ottawa County is known for being one of the best-run counties in Michigan, and because all of my sons and their families live here, it is important to me that conservative fiscal policies stay in place as we wisely invest in maintaining and developing necessary infrastructure.

"I feel I am qualified for being a county commissioner because of my partnership role in running our local construction business for the last 35 years.

"Also, as a member of the Georgetown Township Planning Commission, it has always been my priority to run the meetings as fairly and efficiently as possible and to make sure that all who attend and share their opinions are treated with respect. I am also 100 percent pro-life."

KYLE TERPSTRA

Kyle Terpstra, 1333 Bent Tree Ct., Hudsonville, is the vice-president of a West Michigan company. Terpstra said he understands the challenges facing business owners and said he is devoted to being "part of the solution" in Ottawa County.

Terpstra said his priorities would be maintaining roads, and a focus on technology. He also sees a need to maintain Ottawa County's parks and make the best use of funds for behavioral health. He emphasized the "smart use of funds" and fiscal responsibility, not more taxes.

Given that Ottawa County is the fastest growing county in the state, Terpstra said, "It is easy to say the current board has and continues to do a great job for Ottawa County. I look forward to working with a conservative voice on the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners.

"As County Commissioner, attendance to the board meetings will be a top priority for me, along with attending the Georgetown Township meetings. I am also active with the Grandville-Jenison Chamber of Commerce, attending events in the community. I will work hard to represent your voice on the Ottawa County Board of Commissioners and ask for your vote on Aug. 7."
ANN ARBOR, MI - Ann Arbor Public Schools Superintendent Jeanice Swift is calling the Michigan Supreme Court's ruling on the issue of guns in schools a "victory for the children of Michigan."

School districts in Michigan can legally ban guns on school property, the state's highest court ruled on Friday, July 27, upholding the policies of AAPS and the Clio school district.

The Ann Arbor school district released the following statement from Swift after the ruling's announcement.
ANN ARBOR, MI - A medical examiner testified Friday that retired University of Michigan professor Robert Sharp, 76, bled to death after suffering 28 cuts - 11 of them classified as stab wounds - during a home invasion last month.

"Five of the stab wounds were potentially lethal, with one in particular being into his neck, severing an artery," said Washtenaw County Medical Examiner Dr. Jeffrey Jentzen.

Sharp's accused killer, 29-year-old Isom Hamilton, was bound over to Washtenaw County Trial court Friday, July 27, on charges of open murder, armed robbery, first-degree arson, first-degree home invasion and mutilation of a dead body in connection with the June 11 slaying.

"There is a significant, though be it a circumstantial amount of evidence to say there is probable cause that Mr. Hamilton killed Mr. Sharp," 15th District Court Judge Karen Quinlan Valvo said in advancing the case to trial court.

Hamilton's attorney, Stephen Adams, disagreed with the decision, arguing there was not enough evidence presented to prove Hamilton killed Sharp.

"Bind over is premature," He said. "All this is is a case of possession of stolen property at this point."

DNA samples taken from the crime scene and sent to the Michigan State Police Crime Lab have not yet been returned, prosecutors said.

Sharp, a professor emeritus of chemistry at the university, was found dead June 11 in the basement of his townhouse in the 3200 block of Alpine Drive after an apparent home invasion.

Hamilton was identified as a suspect in the case and arrested June 27 at Liberty Plaza in downtown Ann Arbor, police said previously.

He was found in possession of two laptops, as well as other electronics, that were registered as belonging to Sharp before his death.

Multiple investigators testified they believe Hamilton burglarized Sharp's home June 6, then returned several days later, June 10 or 11, to burglarize the home again when he encountered Sharp and killed him, attempting to cover his tracks by burning Sharp's body.

A dried blood path with noticeable shoe prints was found in Sharp's kitchen, leading to the basement of the home, Detective Amy Ellinger testified.

Sharp was found dead, lying on his back, in the basement, Ellinger said. He had been buried in papers and clothes and set on fire. His body was burned to the point it was separated into two parts, she said.

Jentzen confirmed during his testimony that Sharp was already dead when the fire was set.

Sharp's cat was found dead of apparent smoke inhalation behind a television stand on the second floor of the home, police said.

During Sharp's autopsy, a one-inch piece of broken knife blade was found stuck in Sharp's neck vertebra, Jentzen said.

Investigators believe the blade used to kill Sharp was taken from one of Sharp's two knife blocks in the kitchen.

A search of Hamilton's grandmother's home in Ypsilanti, where he was known to reside, led to the discovery of bloody clothes and several other items listed as stolen from Sharp's home, police testified.

Viewing images from gas station security footage recorded some time after the killing, Sharp's son David Sharp, who took the stand Friday, identified Hamilton carrying what appeared to be laptop bag that belonged to his father.

Police discovered both the laptops were serviced at the Apple Store in Briarwood Mall after Sharp's death and recovered security video of him at the store.

Hamilton is scheduled for a pretrial hearing Aug. 30 before Washtenaw Trail Judge Darlene O'Brien. He is currently being held in the Washtenaw County Jail without bond.
ANN ARBOR, MI - Health-minded individuals with a taste for something exotic now have an on-the-go option in Ann Arbor that combines two popular forms of fast-casual food.



PoCai (pronounced "Po-sigh-ee"), opened mid-June at 1232 Packard in the heart of Ann Arbor's Burns Park neighborhood. The name of the restaurant is a blend of two words - poke, a fish-based Hawaiian dish, and acai, a puree of South American berries served in a bowl.



Co-owners Bret Borock and Matt Grabowski, who also own local franchises of OrangeTheory Fitness, sought to open a health-minded restaurant for on-the-go customers.



With the assistance of Frank Fejeran, the founder of Ann-Arbor based food truck Ricewood and Ypsilanti restaurant Ma Lou's, the pair crafted what Borock calls a "Millenial menu" that focuses on delivering generous portions of fresh fruit and fish in takeout form.



On the savory side, PoCai serves up a portable version of poke, a Hawaiian staple traditionally made from small cuts of fresh raw tuna. The restaurant's "hand-held healthy" take on the dish means layering salmon, tuna or tofu over brown rice and topping it with citrus-based ponzu sauce, pickled red onion, edamame, cucumber, a corn-fried shallot garlic crunch and sriracha mayo.



The sweeter half of the restaurant's namesake comes from acai, a berry lauded for its health benefits which is often pureed and served with other fruits. PoCai tops their blended acai base with fresh strawberries, blueberries, banana slices, peanut butter, granola, coconut flakes and a sprinkle of chia seeds. For an extra charge, customers can upgrade their granola to a deluxe variety, add shaved chocolate chips or Nutella and substitute almond butter.

PoCai's menu also features kale or chopped salad and a rotating pair of toasts. The current featured avocado toast is served over a spread of house-whipped feta and topped with a salad of pickled onions, radishes and pea shoots.



Bowls and salads are served in clear compostable plastic cups with similarly compostable silverware. With prepared substitutes on hand, everything on the menu can be made vegan or gluten-free.



Prices range from $8 to $13 for medium or large bowls, respectively. Open-face toasts sell for $6 apiece or $10 for two.



Restaurant Manager Brittany Slater says the restaurant sources fruits, grains and toppings locally whenever possible, regular buying ingredients from nearby Argus Farms Stop and Frog Holler Produce.



Borock says business has been booming thanks to health-minded student athletes arriving early for the school year and a warm welcome from the neighborhood.



"We're only a month into it and it feels like we've been here for 20 years," Borock said.



He and Grabowski hope to expand on the concept with the goal of opening multiple locations and expanding the restaurant's menu.



PoCai is open every day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. In keeping with the restaurant's to-go philosophy, customers can place online and curbside orders at a2pocai.com.
DETROIT, MI - Police have made an arrest in a nonfatal shooting of a transgender woman July 23 at a Detroit gas station.

Detroit Police Chief James Craig said Saturday the suspect in the shooting was taken into custody without incident. Craig said the suspect was to be arraigned Saturday.

The Detroit News reports Deonton A. Rogers, 29, is charged by the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office with a firearm discharge causing a serious injury, felonious assault, felony firearm, felon in possession of a firearm, child abuse in the fourth degree and ethnic intimidation based upon gender.

Detroit police said the victim and shooter had an "exchange of words" before the suspect pulled out a handgun at a gas station around 8 p.m. July 23 on the 15400 block of West Seven Mile in Detroit.

Surveillance video at the gas station captured the man and transgender woman wrestling over the gun before the woman was shot. Police said the suspect fled the location after the shooting. The woman suffered nonfatal injuries, police said.
WYOMING, MI -- A Wyoming police cruiser's dash camera captured a violent collision with a wrong-way U.S. 131 driver after police positioned their vehicle in the roadway.

Two Wyoming officers in the cruiser were attempting to stop the driver from colliding with other drivers when they set up in the roadway about 1:55 a.m. Friday, July 27.

The errant car, a pickup, was going south in the northbound lanes of U.S. 131.

Police started receiving calls about the wrong way driver as the pickup was near Wealthy Street. Soon after, the pickup nearly struck an unsuspecting officer at 28th Street who was headed to the Kent County Jail with a prisoner.

Other officers quickly responded to the freeway.

The collision with the cruiser happened near 54th Street, but it didn't immediately stop the wrong-way vehicle. It continued on to about the M-6 interchange and stopped there.

As a warning to viewers, the dashcam video contains some graphic language at the moment of the collision.

Kent County sheriff's investigators said the wrong-way driver was first taken to a hospital for treatment of injuries, then released into the custody of police.

The 60-year-old man is expected to be charged with third-offense operating while intoxicated.

The two officers in the smashed cruiser were taken to a hospital for minor injuries and also treated and released.
PARCHMENT, MI -- As work continues to flush Parchment's contaminated water system, authorities say some PFAS-laden water is going into the Kalamazoo River.

James Baker, head of the Kalamazoo Public Services Department, said some release is all but unavoidable.

"One hundred percent of the (contaminated) water is not going to be going to the Kalamazoo waste-water treatment plant," Baker said late Friday, July 27.

"We have to weigh and measure the risks against the public health," he said.

The release of water into the environment Friday was most obvious at a fire hydrant near North 20th Street and Travis Road in southeastern Cooper Township. Water spewed from a valve attached to the hydrant and into a nearby creek, which flows into the Kalamazoo River about 2,000 feet to the west.

Just south of the intersection is the entrance to a city of Parchment-owned property with its municipal water system's three groundwater wells, now being tested for potential PFAS contamination.

Baker said water coming from the valve, which he described as a pop-off valve, is likely a mixture of Parchment's contaminated water and clean water from the Kalamazoo water system used to flush out PFAS contamination in Parchment's system.

Workers started flushing the water system Thursday, July 27.

Residents on the Parchment system have been told to use bottled water for drinking and food-preparation purposes.

The drinking water advisory was issued Thursday after water tests revealed levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the city's water supply at more than 20 times the health advisory level set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The compounds, known collectively as PFAS, are an emerging public health threat contaminating water supplies across the Michigan. More than 20 communities across the state have identified contamination sites. That list is expected to grow.

The chemicals are known to increase risk of cancer, kidney disease, thyroid conditions and auto-immune disorders. Experts agree pregnant women, women considering becoming pregnant and young children are the most vulnerable. The chemicals also can increase cholesterol and interfere with the body's natural hormones.

Local government leaders, health supervisors and Kalamazoo County's sheriff called an emergency press conference Thursday evening to announce the problem and the availability of free bottled water for the estimated 3,000 residents affected.

High levels of PFAS found in the city of Parchment drinking water 74 Gallery: High levels of PFAS found in the city of Parchment drinking water

While officials await the results of additional tests conducted on the three groundwater wells that supply Parchment's drinking water system, they announced the system would be flushed to rid of it of any lingering PFAS contamination.

Baker said that flushing the Parchment system means pumping clean water into the Parchment water tower and flushing it through the pipes and out hydrants during the overnight hours.

The plan, he said, is to connect hoses to the hydrants and direct the water -- 200,000 gallons by early Saturday morning -- into sanitary sewers so it can be treated at Kalamazoo's wastewater treatment plant.

The city of Parchment has a separate drinking water supply system from Kalamazoo, but the neighboring cities share a common sewer system.

The two "pop-off" valves designed to control the pressure in the water tower cannot be connected to hoses and directed into sewer drains. The valves go off periodically, Baker said, and are sending water into the Kalamazoo River.

Residents nearby reported seeing water flowing from the hydrants into the creek along 20th Street on Friday morning. Just before 11 p.m. Friday, water still flowed steadily from the pop-off valve attached to the hydrant and down a grassy bank to the stream below.

Baker said trying to capture that water for treatment using a hose could alter the pressure in the tank and pose a risk.

"We're not going to collapse Parchment's tower to save a little contaminated water from getting in the ground," Baker said.

Baker estimated that something less than 50,000 gallons of contaminated water has gone into creeks and the Kalamazoo River since Thursday night, in part because work crews didn't direct all water into sanitary sewers during the first flushing.

"It's a small amount compared to the grand scheme of things," he said.

Baker said the flushed water would be diluted significantly in the Kalamazoo River with likely little health risk.

"We're embarking on a plan to get the drinking water cleaned up as fast as possible. Our goal here is to protect public health," he said.

Test results from the city of Parchment's groundwater wells are expected Monday, July 30, due to a decision to expedite the testing, according to DEQ officials.

Private wells within a one-mile radius of the city of Parchment's groundwater aquifers are now also being tested, officials announced Friday, to determine if residents who aren't hooked up to the municipal water system are also at risk of contamination. It's unclear when those test results might be received.

Distribution of free bottled water for affected residents was offered from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at Parchment High School, 1916 East G Ave. in Parchment. Officials said Friday they expected to continue distributing bottled water into the weekend.

For more information, residents are directed by local officials to call a drinking water hotline set up at (269) 373-5346. Those unable to get to the bottled water distribution point are also encouraged to call the hotline.

The following map shows, outlined in blue, the extent of the city of Parchment's water system, which reaches into a small portion of southern Cooper Township. The area outlined in green is Parchment's city boundaries.
BERRIEN COUNTY, MI -- A 26-year-old woman and five children, all part of the same family, died in a hotel fire south of Benton Harbor that filled the building with smoke and flames.

The fire was reported about 1:45 a.m. at the Cosmo Extended Living Hotel, 2699 M-139 Highway.

Berrien County authorities said the children who died ranged in age from 2 through 10.

It was not immediately clear if others were injured in the fire.

Berrien County sheriff's deputies said 27 rooms were occupied at the time of the fire.

American Red Cross workers are at the scene to help families with housing and immediate needs.

Deputies said that an estimated 90 percent of the rooms had smoke, fire or water damage.

The cause of the fire is under investigation and a state police fire marshal will be assisting Berrien County sheriff's personnel with the investigation.
A proposal to increase Michigan's minimum wage will head to the courts after the Board of State Canvassers deadlocked in a Friday afternoon hearing, while a plan to mandate sick time for workers is set to appear on the November 2018 ballot.

The board's staff recommended putting both proposals on the ballot, saying supporters met the statutory requirements.

The board voted 2-2 on both a plan to deny the minimum wage proposal's certification for the ballot, and to approve its certification. The paid sick time proposal was approved in a 3-1 vote.

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.

A group saying the proposal is unconstitutional has asked the Michigan Court of Appeals to keep the proposal off the ballot, and encouraged the board Friday to do the same.

The group Michigan Opportunity claims that the ballot initiative being submitted by One Fair Wage seeks to amend current minimum wage law, but doesn't properly reference existing law, which violates the constitution. On Friday, attorneys also argued signatures submitted to the state who checked two boxes when listing their home city or township.

In their recommendation, state elections staff rejected the challenge.

Alicia Renee Farris, One Fair Wage Michigan's campaign chair, said after the hearing the outcome was disappointing and that the group would be headed to court to defend their proposal.

"We had enough signatures," Farris said. "We cannot imagine disenfranchising this many voters who are looking for upward mobility."

The other proposal considered by the board Friday, supported by the 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 a majority of the board determined the coalition still had enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot.

Groups such as the Michigan Chamber of Commerce have opposed the idea, calling it a "one-size-fits-all mandate that will hit the tourism, hospitality and retail industries and seasonal businesses the hardest."

Following the hearing, Amanda Fisher, assistant state director for the NFIB in Michigan, said she's disappointed in the board's decision and said the coalition opposing the initiative would regroup and consider further options, but did not specify whether next steps entailed a legal challenge.

"We think we did have valid challenges - there were lots of issues we found," she said.

Danielle Atkinson, founding director of Mothering Justice and supporter of the sick time proposal, called the board's vote the "next milestone toward victory on Election Day."

"Earned Paid Sick Time will allow all Michigan employees to earn time off so that hardworking people won't have to choose between the jobs they need and the families they love," she said.
PARCHMENT, MI -- Residents and business owners using the city of Parchment water system are adjusting to the switch to bottled water for drinking and cooking following elevated levels of PFAS contaminates found in the city system.

Those using Parchment's municipal water supply were told late Thursday, July 26 to immediately stop drinking the water after high levels of PFAS were discovered in the municipal water source. Officials estimate 3,000 residents are on Parchment's city water system.

Bottled water will be available throughout the weekend at the Parchment High School, 1916 East G Avenue. Residents are encouraged to call a local hotline at 269-373-5346 with questions, or for more information.

Throughout the day Friday, volunteers handed out cases of bottled water to residents of Parchment and portions of Cooper Township who were told to stop drinking their water or use for cooking. Officials also said they would not turn away nearby homeowners who use private wells and are concerned about their water.

Public health experts link exposure to PFAS chemicals with increased risk for cancer, liver damage and other serious ailments.

Joey Goodachre said when he heard on the news Thursday night that his water was unsafe, he sent his 1-year-old son to stay with his parents.

"The first thing I thought about was my son," he said. "I didn't know how bad the water was."

Goodachre said he wasn't necessarily surprised about the contamination because he had heard news reports about recent a PFAS discovery in Richland Township and other areas facing the same issue.

A test conducted by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality showed a level of total PFAS of 1,587 parts per trillion in Parchment's municipal water supply.

This level is more than 20 times higher than the EPA lifetime health advisory of 70-ppt for the two chemicals PFOS and PFOA.

Eugene Wood has lived in the city of Parchment for over 50 years. After learning about the elevated levels of PFAS found in the water, Wood planned a trip to the high school to pick up a case of water.

"I'm getting old and so it probably doesn't make a lot of difference anyway to me," Wood said. "We have a lot of animals and I'm concerned about them."

Wood said with many factories in and out of operation in the past half a century, he was not surprised to hear contamination in the drinking water was found.

"It looks like they have a lot of work yet to figure out what's going on," he said.

Greg Earl has lived in Parchment for 32 years. When he took his pets to the veterinarian, he said he was advised to get bottled water.

He previously worked for Michigan Disposal that he said dumped sludge from the Parchment paper mill. At the time, Earl had no idea he would end up waiting in a line for bottled water years later.

Though Earl gets his water from a private well, he suspects his water might also be polluted.

Earl said, "I wonder how bad this is all over?"

Restaurants Scooter D's and Cornerview Cafe were contacted directly by Parchment City Manager Nancy Stoddard in the evening of July 25 who informed them of the water restrictions in effect. This morning, the Michigan Health Department went to both restaurants to confirm the businesses were no longer using tap water in food and drinks.

Scooter D's owner Dave Fooy said once they learned about the contamination, they immediately bought cases of bottled water to ensure the restaurant could maintain operation. The soda machine was also connected to the restaurants water, so Fooy bought cans of soda he keeps in a bucket of ice that is unsafe to use in drinks.

"Most people have been taken by surprise," Fooy said. "There really was no for warning."

Though free water has been made available to citizens, Fooy said he bought his own supplies because he feels families having access to safe water is most important.

While working with limited, more expensive supplies, Fooy said the costumers coming into Scooter D's have been very considerate.

"They understand the situation, so they maybe order one less couple because someone else might want one too and we don't have the capacity to make things like we do on a normal day," Fooy said.

Cornerview co-owner Cafe Judy Eckert said she is worried about the cost of staying on bottled water for a long period of time.

"We were like, 'How are we going to do this?'"

Eckert and her husband have been running the restaurant for 19 years.

"Well we've been drinking the water, and how long has this stuff been in it? That's my concern. My main concern is: Have we already been affected?"
Update: Michigan declares state of emergency for Parchment PFAS contamination

PARCHMENT, MI -- Kalamazoo County leaders have declared a local state of emergency because of PFAS contamination found in the Parchment pubic water system.

Stephanie Moore, chair of the Kalamazoo County Board of Commissioners, made the declaration on Saturday, July 28.

The step is a precursor in efforts to get state and federal aid to rectify the contamination issue.

Samples from the Parchment public water system on Thursday tested at about 20 times the recommended safety standard for PFAS, which has been linked to thyroid and liver disease and an increased risk for certain cancers and other illnesses.

Health authorities immediately told people to stop drinking the water and brought in truckloads of bottled water for residents.

The plan is to flush the Parchment water system with Kalamazoo City water, the connect to the Kalamazoo water supply.

"By signing the local declaration of emergency, the local authorities together are requesting additional resources and support for the residents affected by the elevated levels of PFAS," according to a statement from Kalamazoo County leaders.

As of late Saturday, authorities had distributed 7,000 cases of bottled water from the Parchment High School property.

The distribution will continue from 8 a.m to 5 p.m. Sunday and from 12-8 p.m. Monday.

Community leaders have scheduled a town hall meeting on the PFAS contamination for 5-8:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 31 at Haven Reformed Church, 5350 N. Sprinkle Road.

An open house will run from 5-6 p.m., followed by a program from 6-8:30 p.m.

The meeting is intended as a way to inform residents about PFAS as well as potential solutions to the problem.

As part of daily county updates on the issue, health leaders on Saturday said that Parchment water users may notice a temporary increase in discolored water due to sediments in water lines being "stirred up" with the influx of Kalamazoo water.

Residents in the northeast part of Kalamazoo may see the same discoloration issue because of more water moving through the system headed to Parchment.

Authorities say controls are in place to prevent any backflow of Parchment water from getting into the Kalamazoo system.
DETROIT -- The Detroit Tigers have claimed left-handed reliever Josh Smoker off waivers from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

The Pirates designated Smoker for assignment earlier this week.

After claiming Smoker, the Tigers optioned him to Triple-A Toledo.

To create a space for Smoker on the 40-man roster, the Tigers designated right-handed pitcher Warwick Saupold for assignment. If Saupold clears waivers, he can be outrighted back to Toledo.

Smoker, 29, was a first-round draft pick of the Washington Nationals in 2007. He was selected four spots after the Tigers picked Rick Porcello.

He pitched for the New York Mets in 2016 and 2017 and had a brief stint with the Pirates in 2018. Smoker has a 5.47 ERA in 77 1/3 big-league innings, striking out 95 and walking 41.

He had a 2.83 ERA in 35 innings for Triple-A Indianapolis this year.

Saupold, 28, signed with the Tigers out of Australia in 2012. He posted a 4.46 ERA in 34 1/3 innings for the Tigers this year before being demoted to Toledo on July 5.
India can attract more foreign firms if it replicates Singapore's model of ease of doing business, a leading industry body has said.

Currently, around 8,000 Indian companies are registered in Singapore. Though the data on the number of Singapore companies in India is not available, it is estimated to be over 100.

Indian companies are attracted to Singapore for ease of doing business, registering a company and opening a bank account, Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI) President Dr T Chandroo said while speaking at the launch of 'Aspiring Entrepreneur Network and Women Entrepreneur Network'.

"If this same thing can be replicated there (in India), I think there will be many more Singapore companies going to India," he said.

According to the World Bank, India has jumped 30 places to rank 100th in its 'ease of doing business' ranking.

Singapore ranks second in the 'ease of doing business' list by the World Bank.

Stating that SICCI was aiming to have more Singapore companies for India's industry development, Chandroo said: We want some collaboration where we can partner India's Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and seek an understanding where they can help Singapore companies go to India and help Indian companies come to Singapore.

He informed that a meeting is scheduled for Aug 20, 2018 to work out details of the collaboration.

I would like to see more Singapore small and medium enterprises (SMEs) going to India,Chandroo told PTI.
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The Sensex, Nifty, and Bank Nifty managed to end the week at record closing highs. In fact, it is only the 21st time in 2018 that the index managed to clock this milestone, while the Nifty achieved it for the 15th time.

With this upmove, the Sensex has hit a record high in 8 out of past 12 sessions so far. The 30-share index has managed to close above 37,300 after hitting an intraday high of 37,368.4, while the Nifty ended above 11,250 after hitting an intraday record high of 11,283.4.

In the Friday's trading session Nifty hit a record high of 11,283.40 and Sensex touched a record high at 37,368.62.

During the week the Sensex rose 840 points to close at 37,336.85 and Nifty added 268 points to close at 11,278.

Here is the list of 10 stocks which gained 9-26 percent in the week ended July 27.

Havells India

The share touched its 52-week high Rs 630.55 on July 26, gained 11.5 percent on the back of solid earnings growth in June quarter. The fast-moving electrical equipment maker posted a 73.3 percent YoY rise in its standalone net profit to Rs 210.4 crore for the first quarter beating estimates, on the back of a 39.5 percent rise in total income. (GST rate cut: Consumer durable stocks soar 5-8 percent post-tax-related announcements)

Also, Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council slashed rates on several consumer goods including refrigerators, lithium batteries, vacuum cleaners, grinders, mixers, food processors, water heaters, hair dryers, water coolers, ice cream freezers, scents, perfumes, powder puffs, cosmetics, and electric ironing machines to 18 percent from 28 percent.

South Indian Bank

The share plunged more than 19 percent as investors turned wary of a fall in its net profit. The Kerala-based declared a net profit of Rs 23.04 crore for the first quarter of the financial year 2018-19 as against Rs 101.47 crore during the corresponding period last year.

In a press release, the bank said the reason for the decline in profit was the reduction in the Treasury trading profit by Rs 73 crore and incremental MTM (mark to market) provision in the Treasury Book by Rs 41 crore owing to adverse market conditions, besides incremental one-time employee cost of Rs 33 crore because of increase in gratuity ceiling and wage revision.

L&T Finance Holdings

The share price rallied more than 14 percent after it reported solid earnings growth in June quarter, though the change in accounting method impacted asset quality.

Consolidated profit during the quarter grew by 71.3 percent year-on-year to Rs 538 crore and net interest income increased 51.2 percent to Rs 1,052 crore.

Its net NPAN declined at 3.17 percent in June quarter against 6.13 percent in same period last year

UPL

Shares of agrochemicals company UPL rose 15.5 percent after it announced the acquisition of Arysta LifeScience Inc and its subsidiaries in a USD 4.2 billion all-cash deal.

UPL Corporation, the wholly-owned subsidiary of UPL in Mauritius has signed a definitive pact with Platform Specialty Products Corporation to acquire Arysta LifeScience.

Arysta is a global provider of innovative crop protection solutions, including biosolutions and seed treatment.

Following the acquisition, UPL will enhance its position as a global leader in agriculture solutions with USD 5 billion in combined sales, USD 1 billion in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) and 20 percent + EBITDA margin pre-synergies.

ACC

The company share surged 18 percent as the company posted a higher-than-expected 1.2 percent rise in second-quarter profit on Monday, helped by a fall in expenses.

Standalone profit was Rs 326 crore ($47.4 million) for the quarter ended June 30, compared with Rs 322 crore a year earlier, the Mumbai-based company said in a statement. Cement sales volume rose 7.4 percent to 7.24 million tonnes in the quarter, it said.

Competition Commission of India had imposed a penalty of Rs 1147.59 crore on the company. On appeal by the company, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) in its order passed has upheld the said order.

Idea Cellular

Shares of Idea Cellular gained over 10 percent as investors placed a bet on the company agreed to pay, under protest, Rs 7,249 crore to DoT for its merger with Vodafone.

However, DoT (Department of Telecommunications) has approved the merger of Vodafone India and Vodafone Mobile Services with Idea Cellular.

The company's board meeting is scheduled to be held on July 30, to consider and approve the financial results for the first quarter ended June 30, 2018.

Hindalco Industries

The share added 9 percent as the company's subsidiary is going to acquire a US company for USD 2.6 billion.

The company's wholly owned subsidiary, Novelis Inc, signed a definitive agreement to purchase Aleris Corporation, a global aluminium rolled products major, headquartered in the United States, for USD 2.58 billion in a debt finance deal. The said acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals.

A meeting of the board of directors of the company will be held on August 10, 2018, to consider amongst other items of agenda the unaudited standalone financial results of the company, for the first quarter ended June 30, 2018.

A2Z Infra Engineering

A2Z Infra Engineering share price rallied 26 percent after the company announced a one-time debt settlement with lenders of its subsidiary.

The company approved one-time settlement (OTS) with towards debt settlement at Rs 70 crore.

The company and its subsidiaries have availed financial assistance as term loan from lenders, which is aggregate to Rs 275.94 crore. The company has up to

now, achieved total consolidated debt reduction of Rs 1,001.14 crore.

ILandFS Transportation Networks

Shares of IL&FS Transportation Networks gained 19 percent as the company announced rights issue worth Rs 3,000 crore. The company board at its meeting held on July 27, approved the proposal for issue of equity shares of face value of Rs 10 each to the existing shareholders on a right basis up to Rs 3,000 crore, subject to all applicable statutory and regulatory approvals.

A meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled for August 13, to consider and approve the standalone financial results of the company for the quarter ended June 30, 2018

ITC

ITC shares rallied to hit a fresh 52-week high of Rs 307 on July 27, gained 10 percent as brokerage houses remained bullish on the stock after the company started off the financial year 2018-19 on a strong note.

The cigarette-hotel-to-FMCG major has reported profit growth of 10.1 percent year-on-year to Rs 2,818 crore with better growth in FMCG business (cigarette + others).
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Equity99

We have seen new highs on Nifty and Sensex as we have predicted last week. Large caps are seeing a gush of money from ETFs and DIIs flows are getting in some of the finest stocks in the universe.

We believe its time that midcaps and small caps will also see some relief rally. So far we have seen good results across the sectors which clearly show that our country is on a solid growth trajectory.

Small caps and midcaps are still down 24 percent and 15 percent from their highs, respectively, which will be narrowed down in the next week. There many important events this week which will drive the market. RBI and FOMC will start there two days credit policy meeting on July 31. This will be closely watched as dollar and index have increased a lot.

TCNS Clothing Co will list on July 30 and on same day Japans monetary policy meeting will also kick start. On August 1, RBI and FOMC will declare their respective decisions.

On the same date, auto companies will come out with their monthly sale numbers in July month. There are a bunch of companies who will announce their results like HDFC, Axis Bank, Tech Mahindra, Tata Motors, UPL, Vedanta, Power Grid, Indiabulls Housing Finance, ONGC, and Titan. Our last week picks ITC & M&M Financial had shown almost 12 percent gain in just one week.

Ajanta Pharma

USFDA cleared Ajanta Pharmas Dahej facility which was built with a capex of Rs 500 crore. While, the first block of its Guwahati facility which is dedicated for derma products started production during FY18, while the second phases expansion is underway and may see stabilisation by October 2018, company expects a contribution will start coming in FY20.

Apart from ramping up facilities and increasing capex company has also plans to acquire brands in India and abroad to supplement growth. In India, most of its core brands have stabilised and are showing growth.

Management also aims to strengthen its domestic presence. Apart from spending over Rs 800 crore in the last three years, it further plans to do capex of Rs 500 crore over a couple of years. Most of this capex will be spent on Guwahati facilitys second phase. We believe Ajanta Pharma is in a sweet spot and this valuation justify for the company. We have a buy rating on Ajanta Pharma.

Shankara Building Products

Shankara Building Products is one of the leading organized retailers of home improvement and building products in India. Shankara caters to a large customer base across various end-user segments in urban and semi-urban markets through its multi-channel sales approach, processing facilities, supply chain and logistics capabilities.

Its retail operations are strategically suited to benefit from growth in housing demand, a large market for home improvement, and increasing customer involvement in home solution decisions which have created a need for organized specialty home improvement and building product stores.

Shankara also carries reputed third party brands such as Johnson, Sintex, Uttam Galva, Uttam Value, Futura, APL Apollo, Astral Pipes and Alstone and its own brands such as CenturyRoof, Ganga and Loha at its retail stores. Thus its revenue comprises of retail as well as enterprise sells.

Companys enterprise sales cater primarily to large end-users, contractors, and OEMs, while the channel sales cater to dealers and other retailers through its extensive branch network. On PAT front, it has reported 48% CAGR growth in last 3 years. It is available 32.5% lower against its 52 weeks high of Rs 2365 Shankara is an excellent proxy play on housing growth thus we are recommending it with a buy.

Suryaamba Spinning Mills

Suryaamba Spinning Mills is a leading manufacturer of specialty synthetic spun yarns. The core competitive strength of the company is its innovative product range, specifically tailor-made for the customers.

The company has a current capacity of 45,000 spindles with the state of the art ultra-modern manufacturing machinery. It has installed value addition equipment; aims to fulfill the demand of the export market and enhance profitability, with a capital expenditure of Rs 10 crore.

It plans to fund this capex by using a mix of promoter's equity, retained earnings and debt to ensure sustainable growth for the company in the future. The company expects good demand for its products in domestic as well as international markets. The domestic market is on the path of healthy growth because of the demonetization and GST.

With tiny equity of just Rs 2.93 crore, company has posted Rs 2.35 crore PAT for FY18 (Shows 379% jump in PAT). We believe Suryaamba is well placed to capture this structural shift aided by solid management pedigree hence we are recommending a buy.

: The author is Founder, Equity99. The views and investment tips expressed by investment experts on moneycontrol.com are their own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
Congress

The Congress on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not raising the Doklam issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

"The truth is that Prime Minister Modi meets the Chinese president on the sidelines of the BRICS summit and holds talks, but forgets to talk about Doklam. When will this government show the 56-inch chest and red eyes and have the courage to raise the issues concerning security and nation's borders?...the 132 crore people of the country want to know," Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.

He said the United States Congressional Committee has stated that China has made a headway in Doklam and was raising its infrastructure and Army strength there.

"This is a direct threat and challenge to national security," he said.

The Congress leader said the way Chinese Army strength of Brigade-level was there in north Doklam and in southern Doklam in the Siliguri corridor, China has constructed a road, but the "prime minister and defence minister did not speak anything on it".

"The truth is that the one who claimed having a 56-inch chest and dared to show 'red eyes' to China, has gone back on his promise and has turned silent on national security.

"The prime minister, who dared to show China his red eyes, gave swing rides to the Chinese president. But when he goes to China with an agenda-less visit, he forgets to even raise the issue of Doklam which is linked to national security," Surjewala said.

The Congress leader said China, which does not have any diplomatic ties with Bhutan, visited the nation and discussed Doklam with Bhutan without involving India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the 10th BRICS Summit agreed that the Chinese defence minister will visit India next month as part of the efforts to maintain the "momentum" generated by their recent meetings.

Modi, who is here to attend the BRICS Summit, met Xi for the third time in nearly three months last evening after their two-day informal summit in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late April and a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Qingdao, China in June.

"It is important to maintain this momentum and for this we should, at our level, regularly review our relationship and give proper instructions whenever required," Modi told Xi in his opening remarks.
National Conference leader Omar Abdullah today lauded the efforts by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi to bring the opposition parties together and said they will only be successful if the Congress takes the fight to the BJP. He said the opposition parties are also discussing TMC chief Mamata Banerjee's proposal for a "federal front" under which the regional parties will unite to take on the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

"We have seen a number of efforts (being) made by Sonia Gandhi to bring the opposition parties together and recently we saw the opposition coming together during the swearing-in of the Karnataka chief minister," he said.

"Obviously no effort for towards opposition unity will really succeed unless the Congress is able to take the fight to the BJP in the way we hope," Abdullah said on the sidelines of a programme here.

The former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister is in the city to take part in a forum discussion, titled 'Think Federal Front', and met Banerjee yesterday.

Speaking about the present situation in Kashmir, Abdullah reiterated that it is not conducive for polls.

"We (National Conference) have demanded that the assembly be dissolved...It is no use talking about elections in the present situation. We can only talk of elections once the state goes back to the situation it was in during 2014, when the (last assembly) election was held," he said.

Abdullah also criticised the erstwhile PDP-BJP government over its failure to stop the youth from joining militancy.

He said the number of terrorists killed in the last three years is much higher, as the BJP claims, because a larger number of youths is now joining militancy, which is actually a failure on the part of the government.
Representative Image

Hailing AIMTC's decision to call off truckers' strike after eight days, automobile industry body Siam today said the action has given respite to all its affected members who had a difficult time over the last few days. "The immediate action has given respite to all our affected members who had a difficult time during last one week. The quick action has averted further deterioration of the situation and we are extremely grateful to all stakeholders for their efforts," it said.

Siam would like to thank all the stakeholders and government who came together to resolve the truckers' strike, Siam said.

Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari had also yesterday hailed the All India Motor Transport Congress's (AIMTC)decision to call off its strike.

H said a high-level committee under the chairmanship of the secretary, Ministry of Road and Transport, will be set up for expeditious resolution of transporters' demands.

The panel will submit its recommendations to the government within three months, he added.

AIMTC, that claims the support of 93 lakh truckers across the country, had gone on an indefinite strike on July 20 to press demands such as reduction in diesel prices, low third-party insurance premiums and a favourable toll collection system.
Expressing grief over the death of 33 people in a bus accident in Maharashtra's Raigad district today, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the administration was trying to provide all the necessary assistance.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi also expressed sorrow over the accident.

Fadnavis said he was pained to know about the loss of lives in the accident.

"Administration taking all efforts to provide required assistance. Senior officials & emergency management systems in place," Fadnavis tweeted.



Pained to know about the loss of lives in Mahabaleshwar bus accident.Administration taking all efforts to provide required assistance.

Senior officials&emergency management systems in place.

My thoughts are with families who lost loved ones&prayers for speedy recovery of injured.

 Devendra Fadnavis (@Dev_Fadnavis) July 28, 2018

"My thoughts are with families who lost loved ones & prayers for speedy recovery of injured," he added.

Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "I'm sorry to hear about the terrible bus accident in Raigad, Maharashtra in which a large number of people have been killed and many others injured. I appeal to Congress party workers in the area to provide all possible assistance to the injured & families of those who have died."



I'm sorry to hear about the terrible bus accident in Raigad, Maharashtra in which a large number of people have been killed and many others injured. I appeal to Congress party workers in the area to provide all possible assistance to the injured & families of those who have died.  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 28, 2018

State Congress chief Ashok Chavan said, "Extremely sad to hear about the accident of a bus near Poladprur in Raigad district carrying 33 employees of Konkan Agriculture University. My heartfelt condolences to the families of those who lost their lives in this horrifying accident."

Also read | PM Narendra Modi condoles deaths

Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Dhananjay Munde said the accident was very unfortunate.

"I pay my homage to those who perished," he said.

A bus, on its way to a hill station, fell into a gorge in Raigad district of Maharashtra this afternoon killing 33 passengers, senior officials said.

The passengers were on their way to Mahabaleshwar, a hill station in Satara district, for a picnic, when the driver lost control over the vehicle while negotiating a turn and fell into the gorge.

All passengers of the bus were all staff of Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth in Dapoli town.
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 accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "misleading" the people about increasing the MSP of kharif crops. Her comments come in the backdrop of the Union Cabinet approving a hike in the minimum support price (MSP) for all 14 kharif crops, including paddy, earlier this month.

"The prime minister is spreading misinformation. He is misleading the people on the issue of increasing the MSP (of kharif crops). The Centre has hiked the MSP by only Rs 200, but is claiming that it has increased it by 50 percent, which is totally false," Banerjee said in the Assembly.

"The prime minister is saying that the Centre will double the income of farmers by 2022. But we have already doubled the income of our farmers," she said.

Nearly 12,000 farmers have committed suicide in the country, Banerjee said, adding that not a single farmer from West Bengal figured among them.

The chief minister, a known BJP detractor, demanded that the Centre increases the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) limit to Rs two lakh and criticised the proposal to put Modi's photo on the KCC form saying the states pay the larger share of money for the initiative.

"We give 60 percent of the money and the Centre gives 40 percent. But recently we saw a report which said that the prime minister's photo will be given on the form," she said.

She said her government had provided relief to more than 30 lakh farmers in the state who had suffered due to floods last year.
Congress president Rahul Gandhi Karnataka 2018

In a bid to lure young and middle class voters, Congress is considering a proposal to exempt those under the age of 35 from paying income tax in its 2019 Lok Sabha election manifesto, according to a report by The Print.

A decision has not been taken as yet on whether the party will include the proposal in its manifesto. The idea was discussed during a meeting of the party's top leaders earlier this month, according to the news portal.

"Nothing concrete has come out on that front but yes the idea to not tax those under 35 was briefly discussed at the meeting," a source was quoted as saying.

The Congress has reportedly estimated that around 15 million first-time voters will cast their votes in the next general election and that the tax sop will appeal to these young voters.

Discussions on various proposals for the party's 2019 election manifesto have already begun. Congress will also use crowd-sourcing while formulating its manifesto, the news portal reported.

Congress had held meetings with various segments of the population during the assembly polls in Gujarat and Karnataka, and will reportedly be taking up a similar exercise in the coming months under Indian Overseas Congress Chairman Sam Pitroda.
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

Giving a call to oust the BJP, Trinamool Congress leaders today said the people of India needed a leader like Mamata Banerjee who worked for all, including farmers and women.

They reiterated the "BJP hatao, desh bachao" slogan given by Banerjee during the martyrs' day rally in Kolkata last week and said that a pledge needed to be taken to win all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state.

Addressing a rally at the same ground where Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting on July 16, TMC MP Abhishek Bandopadhyay said Banerjee had set a target for the party to defeat the saffron party in 2019 Lok Sabha election.

Bandopadhyay said the TMC had formed a "syndicate of the people" to usher in development in the state and to bring peace in the erstwhile Maoist-affected areas and Darjeeling hills.

He was referring to Modi's attack against the TMC government, charging it with "throttling democracy" and running a "syndicate raj" without whose approval nothing moved.

"We have also formed a syndicate to oust the BJP from the Centre," Bandopadhyay, who is a nephew of Banerjee, said.

Dismissing the BJP's charge that the TMC chief resorted to appeasement of the Muslims, he sought to know what the prime minister had done for the Hindus.

"The Centre had taken 'Namami Gange' (National Mission for Clean Ganga) project (out) with fanfare at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore but not a pond was cleaned. Mamata had done many things for the Hindus, including developing Gangasagar, building skywalk at Dakshineswar temple and renovating Tarakeswar temple," he said.

Bandopadhyay claimed that although the highest number of farmer deaths were reported in Maharashtra during the past six months, Modi chose to hold a rally for welfare of peasants in Bengal where not a single farmer had died.

Accusing the BJP of creating a rift between the Hindus and the Muslims, he said, "We will not let that happen".

"The Rambhakts of Modi's BJP trigger riots but the Rambhakts of Bengal work for building communal amity," he claimed.

He claimed that the turnout at Modi's public rally comprised people from four states - Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha -- but not a single farmer was present at the rally.

Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said, "The people of India need Mamata Banerjee. She has no lust for power. But she has to take up the responsibility. The people of the country need a leader who works for everybody."

He said Modi had raised a slogan of bringing "Achhe din" but bad days befell the people.

Hakim, who is also the TMC general secretary, said, "We have syndicate for development but not formed syndicate to organise riots like what happened in Gujarat."

He claimed that the TMC would win all the 42 seats in the state and the BJP would not be able to win a single seat.

State Education Minister and TMC Secretary General Partha Chatterjee alleged that that Modi was shedding crocodile tears for the farmers.

"Modi had suddenly turned up in Midnapore to profess his new-found love for farmers. I ask where was he when the farmers' agitation in Nandigram and Singur were taking place," he questioned.

Chatterjee said Banerjee had a history of standing by the people and she did not become a mass leader in one day.

He said those who failed to provide mid-day meal rice were now claiming to side with the farmers.

Chatterjee alleged that the BJP was trying to win polls by bringing out rath-yatras and allowing display of swords in processions, thereby, creating fear among people but, said that, they would not succeed.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi  July 16

The CPI today charged the Narendra Modi government with making "attempts to undermine the basic structure of the country", which had led to a "severe attack" on constitutional ideals like secularism, democracy, sovereignty and socialism.

CPI national secretary Binoy Viswam asserted that the no-confidence motion recently moved against the government in Parliament was successful in exposing the BJP regime's failures, despite having been defeated numerically.

"The Modi government has forgotten all its promises to the common people. It is performing as the chief executive of the super-rich in India and abroad. The Rafale deal reveals that the country's security is compromised. Such a government has no right to continue in power. In 2019, the people of the country will teach a lesson to the RSS-BJP," he told a press conference here.

The MP said the political developments in the country underlined an urgent necessity for a united fight against the rule of the "RSS-controlled" BJP.

"CPI being the first party to call for a broad platform of secular, democratic and Left forces to fight this menace is naturally eager to further strengthen such a people's resistance movement," he added.

Viswam said in the 2019 general election, the CPI will work to oust the BJP from power and ensure the success of the secular and democratic forces, while at the same time, strengthen its own presence as well as that of the Left as a whole in Parliament.

"We will form alliances or work out pre-poll understandings with various parties in states across the country. As a result, the scenario will vary from state to state. In Bihar, we are on our way to arrive at an understanding with the Congress-RJD combine. Similar arrangements may be in place with the DMK-Congress in Tamil Nadu, the BJD in Odisha and the Congress in Telangana and Punjab," he added.

Viswam stressed that the CPI will not go for a pre-poll understanding with any non-Left party in Kerala and West Bengal, where it has a sizeable presence of its own.

Asked, he said it would be premature to say whether the CPI would like to be part of a post-poll formation that included Mamata Banerjee's Trinamool Congress (TMC).

"We will be taking out four jathas (marches) in as many corners of the country -- Manipur, Mumbai, Kanyakumari and Jammu and Kashmir -- in September to galvanise and sensitise the masses. All the four jathas will converge in New Delhi, where we plan to hold a huge rally of the Left Front on October 12," Viswam said.

Bihar CPI secretary Satya Narayan Singh told the press conference that the party's talks with the Congress-RJD combine in the state was in an "advanced stage", but there was no talk of seat-sharing so far.

The Left party had lent moral support to a statewide cycle rally of the RJD in protest against a spurt in sexual crimes in Bihar, he said, adding that on the other hand, it had sought the opposition alliance's support to a statewide bandh called by the Left parties on August 2 on the issue of crimes against women and atrocities against Dalits.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who held a meeting with senior National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah on Friday, said no name should be picked as the prime ministerial candidate of the probable Opposition front in the next Lok Sabha polls as it would divide the unity of the regional parties fighting the BJP.

She asserted that all the regional anti-BJP parties were together and they should sacrifice for the country's benefit.

"Please do not pick and choose any particular name to divide us," the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief told reporters after her meeting with Abdullah.

She said this when the reporters asked Abdullah, who was in the city to take part in a forum discussion, whether the Opposition was ready to highlight Banerjee as the prime ministerial candidate of the federal front in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

Echoing Banerjee, Abdullah, a former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, said it was too early to choose the Opposition's prime ministerial candidate.

"Our main focus should be to come together and put up a good fight against the BJP and then, we can decide on that," he added.

"I think all the regional parties, all the political parties who are against the BJP are working together. Maybe one or two parties may not as they have their states' compulsions, but a majority of them are working together. Our intention is very clear," Banerjee said.

The TMC chief has been a vocal critic of the BJP and has been espousing a "one-on-one" fight by the opposition parties against the saffron party, instead of contesting against each other in the coming general election.

Alleging that the BJP-led government at the Centre was planning a presidential mode of election in the Lok Sabha polls, Banerjee said the saffron party was acting "like a dictator" and all the anti-BJP parties should come together and "sacrifice" to save the country from it.

"We (anti-BJP parties) cannot tolerate this. Let us sacrifice everything for the country. We cannot sacrifice our people. So let us fight for the people and this will ultimately be the 2019 government of the people, by the people and for the people," she added.

Asked if the Congress would be a part of the anti-BJP front, Abdullah said, "All those parties who are anti-BJP will be included in the coalition. There will not be any condition on them."

He added, "Mamatadi is still concentrating on improving and protecting West Bengal. Afterwards, we will pull her to do the similar kind of welfare (what she has done for the state) for the country. But if we continue discussing the name (of the prime ministerial candidate), we will lose our focus and our motto to defeat the BJP will be affected."

Elaborating on the probable federal front, Abdullah said, "The parties in a true federal front do not have any differences. We (TMC, NC) have no differences to set aside. All we have to do is agree where possible. We have to cooperate with each other."

TMC MP Derek O'Brien had been raising the issues related to Jammu and Kashmir in the Rajya Sabha since there was nobody to represent the state in the Upper House of Parliament, he added.

"Other parties will also have to be included. We will try to put the differences aside and put the best foot forward in the fight against the BJP in 2019," Abdullah said.

He was quick to add that the name "federal front" was given by the media and not by the opposition parties.

Speaking on the discussions he had with Banerjee, Abdullah said it centred on the prevailing situation in the country and the "fear" that was there particularly among the minority community, besides the need to put together a united front to take on the BJP in the general election.

He added that they also talked tourism.

"As a chief minister, she has been very concerned about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly about the economic activity and the need of reviving tourism in the Kashmir valley. Bengal has traditionally been a strong supporter of tourism in Jammu and Kashmir," the NC leader said.

"I felt it necessary to call on Mamata didi basically to discuss with her the prevailing situation in my state, because I know she has a great concern for what is happening in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly when she was the railway minister and I was in the same government at the Centre," he added.
Accusing Chief Minister H DKumaraswamy of indulging in "divide and rule" policy, Karnataka BJP president B S Yeddyurappa today squarely blamed him for the demand for a separate north Karnataka state.

"The BJP is for a united and prosperous Karnataka," the former chief minister said and appealed to the people of north Karnataka not to allow separatist sentiments to take over.

"The chief minister is indulging in a divide and rule policy of north and south Karnataka. Congress has to make its stand clear on this as Congress has made Kumaraswamy of JD(S) with 37 MLAs the chief minister," Yeddyurappa told reporters after chairing the state BJP's core committee meeting here.

Citing the bandh called in north Karnataka with a demand for a separate state, he said "the complete responsibility for this has to be borne by chief minister Kumaraswamy and the congress party."

A day-long bandh has been called by some outfits in 13districts of north Karnataka on August 2 demanding statehoodfor the region, alleging discrimination by successivegovernments towards it.

Calling for the bandh, 'Uttara Karnataka Pratyeka Rajya Horata Samiti' (North Karnataka Separate Statehood Protest Committee) has alleged discrimination in allocation towards the region in the budget presented by Kumaraswamy on July 5, and also lesser representation in the cabinet.

Yeddyurappa, while recalling the struggle by many Kannada stalwarts for the sake of "akhanda Karnataka" (united Karnataka), said Kumaraswamy has to realise he was chief minister for entire Karnataka.

"Kumaraswamy is chief Minister for entire Karnataka, your (Kumaraswamy) feeling that you are chief minister for 37 constituencies won by the JD(S) is unfortunate for the people of this state," he said.

"Don't commit the sin of dividing united Karnataka, the future generations and our ancestors will not forgive you," he said, as he squarely blamed Kumaraswamy's "irresponsible comments" for triggering the issue and demanded an apology.

"I pray to the people of north Karnataka with folded hands not to allow separatist sentiments to take over, BJP will stand with you for your demand for development. No one should speak about dividing the state," he said.

He said from August 9, BJP's state leaders will travel across the state in three teams to highlight the achievements of the Narendra Modi-led central government and pointout the "failures" of the JDS-Congress coalition government in the state.

On the state government's plans to restrict movement of media personnel inside Vidhana Soudha, the seat of state legislature and secretariat, he called it "dictatorial" and a move aimed at hiding "scandals."

He also warned that a dharna would be staged in front of the Vidhana Soudha "if the government goes ahead with the plan."
Representative image (Source: Reuters)

The long-awaited data protection recommendations of the Justice Srikrishna Committee were out as a draft bill on Friday, and drew flak and appreciation in near equal measure.

They were lauded for including the right to privacy and sensitive personal data of Indian citizens, and addressing important issues pertaining to how personal and sensitive data is being processed by different entities.

The criticism stems from some issues not being tackled in a more nuanced way.

Take, for example, the penalties for corporates that are not deterrent enough - if an entity violates sensitive personal data, it may be liable to pay up to Rs 15 crore or four percent of its total worldwide turnover.

In case it violates non-sensitive persona data, it may have to pay up to Rs 5 crore or two percent of its total worldwide turnover.

In comparison, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) of the European Union has a provision for a fine of up to 4 percent of worldwide turnover or 20 million euros (about Rs 133 crore), whichever is higher, if an entity fails to disclose a data breach.

The most contentious, however, is probably the call for data localisation, or asking multinational corporations to set up local servers in India.

"Every data fiduciary shall ensure the storage, on a server or data centre located in India, of at least one serving copy of personal data to which this Act applies," the draft bill reads.

The demand has been a long-standing issue between the Indian government and foreign companies in India, especially those that have large user bases, like Facebook, Google, Twitter, Apple, and the like.

A part of the reason why the government insists on local storage is to be able to access data in case of an investigation, or a legal request for user data. Another is data sovereignty.

However, across the world, it has been seen that localising data is bad for business.

"A copy of all personal data is required to be stored in India. As we have argued, data localization is bad for business, users, and security. Notwithstanding the protections on processing in the interest of the security of the state, its hard to see that this provision is anything but a proxy for enabling surveillance," Mozilla said about the draft Indian bill.

There was opposition to this demand even from within the committee that has formulated the draft bill.

Rama Vedasree, the CEO of the Data Security Council of India, argued in her dissent note that restricting cross border flows will be detrimental of the economy, startups and the IT-BPM sector.

"This approach is not only regressive but against the fundamental tenets of our liberal economy. Moreover, the inclusion of such restrictions in a bill that should focus primarily on empowering Indians with rights and remedies to uphold their right to privacy, seems out of place," Vedasree said.

She added that the "free flow of data and talent across borders" is the "foundation of the $167 billion IT-BPM industry" in India.

IT-BPM service providers in India process financial, healthcare and other data of citizens and companies in the US, EU, and elsewhere in the world.

"Mandating localization may potentially become a trade barrier and the key markets for the industry could mandate similar barriers on data flow to India, which could disrupt the IT-BPM industry," Vedasree said.

While this is a draft and is likely to go through some more iterations before it becomes law, it is important to consider these very real problems that could have a detrimental impact on our economy and trade.
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

Criticising West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for accusing the BJP of trying to create an atmosphere of Talibani Hinduism in the country, a Rajasthan minister has said that she should give quit Hinduism. She does not have the knowledge, and she does not love her country, Labour Minister Jaswant Singh Yadav said last evening.

He accused her of making the shameless statement that all Hindu organizations are extremists.

Then she should leave Hinduism her mental condition is not good, he told reporters at Behror in Alwar district.

After the recent lynching of 28-year old Rakbar Khan in Alwar district on suspicion of cow smuggling, the Trinamool Congress chief had accused the BJP of trying to create an "atmosphere of Talibani Hinduism and Talibani communalism".

Yadav said he stood by his earlier statement that Hindus will not tolerate the smuggling and slaughter of cows because the cow is like mother for them.

Referring to the recent lynching, he said, Taking the law in one's hand and beating or killing someone is condemnable but Hindus' religious sentiments are connected with cows. I request Meo brothers to stop cow smuggling and slaughter in the interest of unity and harmony in the country, he said.

Khan, who was from the Meo community, was beaten by a group of people on the night of July 20 and declared brought dead at the community health centre in Ramgarh.

The police arrested three men who are now under judicial custody for the lynching.

An assistant sub inspector and three constables were shunted to police lines for dereliction of duty over the delay in taking the victim to the nearby health centre.
Mehul Choksi's attorney in Antigua and Barbuda, David Dorsett, released a statement on Thursday, in which his client denied all allegations against him in India, according to a report by The Daily Observer.

"There is no truth in those allegations," Choksi was quoted as saying in the statement. He added that on the advice of his lawyers, including Dorsett, he would say nothing more about the allegations.

In the statement, Choksi also specified his reason to move to Antigua. He was quoted as saying that he chose to become an Antiguan citizen to "expand business interests in the Caribbean" and "to obtain visa-free travel access to 130 or so countries".

Holders of Antigua and Barbuda passports enjoy visa-free travel to 132 countries, including the UK, Singapore and all countries covered under the the Schengen visa.

Choksi became an Antiguan citizen in November 2017, and swore his oath of allegiance on January 15 this year.

However, in what could be a setback to Choksi's plans to stay put in the idyllic Caribbean island, the Antiguan foreign minister EP Greene said that his country's government will honour any legitimate request by India to extradite Choksi.

Greene reportedly said that he was not aware that the government of Antigua and Barbuda had received any requests from any Indian government or law enforcement body for cooperation or extradition pertaining to Choksi.

"However, if a request is received we will honour any legitimate request made of us, notwithstanding that we do not have any extradition agreements with India. That is the extent of our commitment to preserving the integrity of our programme," Greene said.

With the US State Department labeling its as 'among the most lax in the world', Antigua's citizenship program, which lets the world's wealthy pick up a second passport, has been sharply criticised.
U.S. President Donald Trump accused China on Wednesday of targeting American farmers in a "vicious" way and using them as leverage to get concessions on trade a day after the administration announced a $12-billion farm aid package.

Some farmers and farm-state lawmakers, including Trump's fellow Republicans, ripped the move, saying they would rather trade with no tariffs than receive government help.

China and other top U.S. trade partners zeroed in on American farmers with retaliatory tariffs after the administration imposed duties on Chinese goods as well as steel and aluminum from the European Union, Canada and Mexico.

Farmers are being targeted since they rely on export markets for agricultural produce and have broadly supported Trump. As the dispute escalates, China and other importers have slapped tariffs on incoming shipments of U.S. soybeans, dairy, meat, produce and liquor.

"China is targeting our farmers, who they know I love & respect, as a way of getting me to continue allowing them to take advantage of the U.S. They are being vicious in what will be their failed attempt. We were being nice - until now!" Trump wrote on Twitter.

The administration on Tuesday unveiled the largest emergency farm aid package since 1998, dipping into a Great Depression-era program that will pay up to $12 billion starting in September to help U.S. farmers weather losses.

Rural and agricultural states supported Trump by wide margins in the 2016 election, and the aid package comes ahead of U.S. mid-term elections in November.

Republican Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, a Trump critic, likened it to "golden crutches" to make up for a trade war that will cost farmers far more.

China is trying to undermine support for Trump's policies among farmers. Last week it launched a short video in English featuring a talking cartoon soybean vouching for the importance of trade.

In Beijing, Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said China had agreed in May to increase imports of U.S. farm products, but the United States had undermined the deal by imposing tariffs.

"The current situation is completely due to the United States pursuing unilateralism and protectionism, breaking its promises and flip-flopping, and insisting on provoking a trade war toward China," Geng told a regular news briefing on Thursday.

"American farmers are now footing the bill for the U.S. government's trade bullying."

The United States exported $138 billion in agriculture products in 2017, including $21.5 billion of soybeans which were the most valuable U.S. export. China alone imported $12.3 billion in soybeans last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Republican Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota said on Wednesday that farmers in his state have lost millions of dollars in orders.

"It's going to get down to a point where they're not going to be able to survive if this continues down the same path," Rounds told CNN on Wednesday.

'CHINA PLAYS HARDBALL'

Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said the impact of lower soy prices and the loss of Chinese buyers would likely cost farmers some $11 billion - an amount that will be covered via direct payments to farmers, government purchases of some products for food assistance programs and trade promotion.

"We believe this is a temporary stop in order to get our producers to a point of profitability again by a normal trading relationship," Perdue told reporters on Wednesday, adding that he hoped the impact would ease next year.

Trump on Wednesday met with members of Congress from agricultural states to discuss trade issues. He earned praise from House Agriculture Committee Chairman Mike Conaway of Texas for the aid package and for announcing an agreement with the European Union's chief executive, Jean-Claude Juncker, to work toward eliminating trade barriers.

aI thank the president and Sec. Perdue for having our farmers and ranchers backs," Conaway said in a statement.

But Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska urged Trump on Twitter to "recognize that trade assistance is no substitute for trade itself."

Meanwhile, farmers inspecting crops in North Dakota said they preferred not to rely on the aid but were optimistic that Trump would find a long-term solution.

"Ultimately we want to get our revenue from the markets," said Tom Bernhardt, who farms wheat, corn, sunflowers and soybeans in Linton. "But if we have to dig our heels in for a little while to come up with fair trade, rather than free trade, I'm sure most producers in this area are willing to go through a little hardship to eventually have a stronger end game."

Dining with the Wheat Quality Council's crop tour at a steak picnic near the state capital of Bismarck, farmer Phil Volk said he was concerned about the longer-term damage from the trade war.

"This (the aid package) took a little weight off my shoulders," he said. "But is that the real solution? I don't want to lose these markets that we've built."
DMK working president MK Stalin along with senior leaders and relatives of party president M Karunanidhi, who suffered a health setback past midnight, at Gopalapuram Residence in Chennai. Karunanidhi was rushed to Kauvery Hospital. (Image: PTI)

New BSF recruits during the passing out-cum-attestation parade at STC BSF headquarters in Humhama, Srinagar. (Image: PTI)

Sean, a five-year-old Sumatran tiger, is seen her two-month-old cubs inside a cage at Bali Zoo in Bali, Indonesia. Sumatran tiger is the world's most critically endangered tiger subspecies with fewer than 400 remain in the wild and may become extinct in the next decade due to poaching and habitat loss. (Image: PTI/AP)

An uprooted tree falls in a road following monsoon rainfall, in Shimla. (Image: PTI)

People wait for the lunar eclipse at Amman Citadel in Amman, Jordan. (Image: Reuters)

Vendors sell fish at a retail fish market in Kolkata. (Image: Reuters)

People attend the PUBG Global Invitational 2018, the first official e-sports tournament for the computer game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds in Berlin, Germany. (Image: Reuters)
A civilian government in Pakistan that has a good equation with the Army was likely to provide more stability to the country and in turn to the region, former Indian envoy in Islamabad TC A Raghavan said on Friday.

Raghavan made the remarks a day after Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf chief Imran Khan claimed victory in the general elections after his party emerged as the single largest in the National Assembly.

"Perhaps for the first time since 2008, we will now have a civilian government which will have a greater extent of comfort with the Army and vice-versa.

"Obviously this will not last forever. Diarchies don't last, they are always prone to internal contradictions. But for some time at least, a party in power...with which the military has a certain equation, if it means more stability in Pakistan, perhaps in terms of the overall region, is not such a bad thing," he said at a panel discussion at the Observer Research Foundation here.

Rana Banerjee, former special secretary in the Cabinet Secretariat, opined that the poll results was the best possible outcome which the Pakistan Army could have hoped for, even better than what they had engineered.

Ashok K Behuria, senior fellow in the Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, said a worrying trend witnessed during the election was the growing "soft radicalisation" in the country.
A multi-party meeting which included the Pakistan Muslims League-Nawaz (PML-N) on Friday rejected the result of the general polls alleging rigging and demanded a "transparent" re-election, threatening country-wide protests.

PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif and Jamiat Uleme-e-Islam Fazal chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman jointly presided here the 'All Parties Conference', called to devise a joint strategy over the alleged rigging in the July 25 polls.

Mostly smaller political parties badly thrashed in the elections turned up for the meeting. The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and the Mutahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) Pakistan did not attend it.

Rehman told media after the meeting that it was "not an election but selection" and the results were unanimously rejected by the parties attending the moot.

"It has been decided to reject the elections of July 25 because these elections are not based on the mandate of the people but the people have been robbed of their mandate," he said.

Referring to the victory Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI), he said those claiming to have the right of representation of the people do not have this right.

"We demand that new elections should be held and we will hold protests in the country for new polls," he said.

However, the parties could not agree on a proposal to refuse to take oath of the membership of parliament due to non-commitment by PML-N.

Sharif said that he would consult with his party over the issue of oath and inform other parties about it.

Mutahida Majlis-e-Aml Pakistan, Awami National Party, Pakhtunkhwa Milli Awami Party, Qaumi Watan Party and some other smaller parties attended the meeting.

PML-N with 64 members and MMAP with 13 members are the main parties in the group. Rehman is also chief of MMAP and his tough stance was due to deep personal differences with Khan. The two in the past have used strong words against each other.

So far, Khan was inching closer to form the government in Pakistan with his party bagging 118 of the 270 seats. Khan's PTI was followed by jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's PML-N with 62 seats and former president Asif Ali Zardari's PPP with 43 seats.

Independent candidates have won 12 seats, according to the election commission which has so far issued results for 265 seats of the National Assembly.

Pakistan's National Assembly comprises a total of 342 members, of which 272 are directly elected. A party can only form the government if it manages to clinch 172 seats in total.

The chances of any major challenge to the PTI forming its government will be slim because the PML-N will not be ready to leave Parliament.

The groups have been already weakened as the PPP with 43 members has not joined them, apparently looking set to form the government in the Sindh Province and uninterested in protests.
The Permian Basin rig count edged four higher this week to 480 after two new rigs went online in Eddy County, New Mexico, and a pair of counties in Railroad Commission District 8A saw renewed activity.

Eddy County hit the 50-rig mark and is one of four counties in the Permian with counts at 50 or higher. Also of note about Eddy County is that it has the Permians only rig listed as searching for natural gas. The rest are drilling for oil.

Gaines County came back with one rig after taking a week off, and Hockley County saw rig activity for the first time since June 8.

Reeves continues to lead the Permian at the county level with 73 rigs, unchanged. Midland County added two rigs for a total of 52. Lea County, New Mexico, held at 51. Other counties with double-digit rig counts this week were Martin (34); Loving (32); Upton (23); Howard (22); Pecos (20); Reagan (20); Culberson (17); Ward (18); Winkler (18); Glasscock (12); and Andrews (11).

District 8 was unchanged at 314 rigs, as were districts 7B (1) and 7C (48). District 8A rose by two to 15. New Mexicos portion of the Permian totaled 102.

The Permian had 379 rigs a year ago.

TEXAS & NEW MEXICO

Texas statewide count edged one higher to 524 rigs. Of that tally, 378 were in the Permian. The Eagle Ford in South Texas fell by one rig to 80. The Barnett in North Texas held at three.

Seventeen of the Haynesvilles 48 rigs were in East Texas. Six of the Granite Washs rigs were in the Panhandle. Texas has two rigs offshore.

New Mexicos rig count rose by one to 104. Its pair of non-Permian rigs were operating in San Juan County in the northwestern part of the state.

At this time last year, there were 462 rigs in Texas and 61 in New Mexico.

U.S. & CANADA

The U.S rig count rose by two to 1,048 after oil rigs (861) increased by three and natural gas rigs (186) fell by one. There was one rig listed as miscellaneous. Fifteen of the 16 rigs listed as offshore were in the Gulf of Mexico, and there were two rigs in inland waters.

By drilling trajectory, there were 922 horizontal rigs, unchanged; 61 vertical rigs, up five; and 64 directional rigs, down three.

Basins with the highest counts were the Permian, the Eagle Ford, the Cana Woodford (71), the Williston (57) and the Marcellus (55). States with the most activity were Texas, Oklahoma (137), New Mexico, North Dakota (57) and Louisiana (52).

The U.S. had 958 rigs a year ago.

The addition of 12 oil rigs pushed Canadas nationwide count to 223, three rigs higher than last years total. Oil rigs tallied 154, and natural gas rigs held at 69.

** ** **

The following are county-by-county Permian Basin rig counts, with changes in parentheses, for the week ending July 27.

DISTRICT 7B

Fisher 1

Total 1

DISTRICT 7C

Irion 4

Reagan 20

Tom Green 1

Upton 23

Total 48

DISTRICT 8

Andrews 11 (-1)

Crane 2

Culberson 17

Ector 3 (+1)

Glasscock 12 (-1)

Howard 22 (+1)

Loving 32

Martin 34 (-1)

Midland 52 (+2)

Pecos 20 (-1)

Reeves 73

Ward 18

Winkler 18

Total 314

DISTRICT 8A

Borden 2

Gaines 1 (+1)

Hockley 1 (+1)

Scurry 3

Yoakum 8

Total 15 (+2)

NEW MEXICO

Chaves 1

Eddy 50 (+2)

Lea 51

Total 102 (+2)
In secret, behind locked gates, our Nation's Oldest City dumped a landfill in a lake (Old City Reservoir), while emitting sewage in our rivers and salt marsh. Organized citizens exposed and defeated pollution, racism and cronyism. We elected a new Mayor. We're transforming our City -- advanced citizenship. Ask questions. Make disclosures. Demand answers. Be involved. Expect democracy. Report and expose corruption. Smile! Help enact a St. Augustine National Park and Seashore. We shall overcome!
A man who was arrested last weekend after allegedly abducting a child faces two additional felony charges, according to court documents.

Ramon Daniel Hernandez, 28, was being held Friday on $75,000 bonds for first-degree felony charges of aggravated kidnapping and aggravated robbery as well as a $75,000 bond for a second-degree felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

A Midland police officer was dispatched at about 3 p.m. July 21 in reference to a stolen vehicle.

A man, woman and a child were in a vehicle with Hernandez when they stopped at a gas station, according to a previous Reporter-Telegram report. The man and woman got out of the vehicle, and then Hernandez drove off with the child in the back seat and threatened to use deadly force against him, according to the report.

The man and woman received a ride to a residence, where Hernandez dropped off the child, according to his arrest affidavit.

Hernandez allegedly brandished a knife and proceeded to take the vehicle again. He struck the mans leg with the vehicle before driving through a wooden fence, according to the affidavit.

Police later found the stolen vehicle near a residence associated with Hernandez, according to the affidavit.

Hernandez was arrested July 22 after he barricaded himself in a house, according to previous Reporter-Telegram reports. Police officers went to serve a warrant on the kidnapping charge when he refused to comply, according to the reports.

He was arrested Wednesday evening on the aggravated robbery and aggravated assault charges.

If convicted, Hernandez could face up to life imprisonment for a first-degree felony charge and up to 20 years imprisonment for the second-degree felony charge.
A Midland man was being held in Midland County jail Saturday evening on a charge of intoxication manslaughter after an early Saturday morning wreck resulted in the death of his passenger.

Dwain Dominguez, 25, was charged with intoxication manslaughter after the vehicle he was driving hit a signal light pole at the intersection of Midkiff Road and Loop 250 North, according to the citys spokeswoman. Bond has been set at $250,000 for the second-degree felony charge.

Midland police were dispatched to that north Midland intersection at about 1:20 a.m. Saturday, in reference to a wreck with injuries. When officers arrived, they observed two men. The driver, Dominguez, was standing in front of a black Dodge Ram . The second man, Blake Estevan Avila, 23, was sitting in the pickup and was unresponsive, according to the press release.

Avila was transported to Midland Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the release. Dominguez also was transported to MMH with minor injuries.

Dominguez was released and charged with intoxication manslaughter, according to the release.

Midland police believe Dominguezs pickup was northbound in the outside lane and was traveling at a high rate of speed and then hit the signal light pole, according to the release.

Avilia is the eighth person to die on roads inside Midland County this month and the 26th this year, according to Reporter-Telegram records.

Most fatalities in a month (going back to 2013) October 2014 10 July 2018 8 July 2017 8 December 2014 8 July 2015 7 May 2013 7 See More Collapse

The number of fatalities this month is the most since July 2017 when eight people died in wrecks on roads inside Midland County. As of January 2013, the most fatal wrecks in a month  10 -- happened in October 2014, according to Reporter-Telegram records.

The other fatal wrecks this month, according to previous Reporter-Telegram articles are:

--Two men died July 10 in a wreck on Interstate 20 after their pickup was hit by a Peterbilt truck tractor towing a semi-trailer.

The Peterbilt driver, Jose Gilvane Oliveira Baldassari, 48, of Deerfield Beach, Florida, fled the scene of the wreck, which involved five vehicles. He was arrested by U.S. Border Patrol agents in El Paso on July 12, according to a previous article, and was transported to Midland on July 16. He was being held in Midland County jail Saturday on $300,000 bonds for two second-degree felony manslaughter charges.

--A 35-year-old Murchison man died July 12 in a two-vehicle wreck on Farm-to-Market Road 307.

-- A 28-year-old Stanton man died July 13 in a one-vehicle crash on the Interstate Highway 20 south service road.

--A motorcyclist died July 14 after being hit by a pickup on Front Street.

- Two men, one from Odessa and another from San Antonio, died early Thursday morning in a two-vehicle collision on Business Interstate 20.
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FOR most of my life  I was a kid during the Reagan Revolution  Ive been puzzled by otherwise smart people falling for Libertarianism and Ayn Rands brand of freedom snake oil. Everybody likes the idea of freedom, but for the Fountainhead crowd, the notion acquires cartoonish dimensions, and their definition of the term seems to tilt toward rich businessmen and other Uber-menschen.

If you live in a more-or-less urban, blue-state, college-educated world, you probably dont overlap a great deal with conservatives who come from an evangelical, agrarian, or even (depending on your generation) neocon point of view. But youre likely to have a bunch of friends or colleagues who are or were Randians or Libertarians.

The American conservative movement and the Republican party in particular has been through a series of love affairs and breakups with the Randtites. There are always an array of right-of-center groups, rearranging and reforming. The current political situation is as confusing and unstable as the current occupant of the White House, so its easy to find observers who see the Libertarians day as being over, as Southern evangelicals, say, or law-and-order conservatives push them aside. But Ayn Rand fans in finance, the alternate universe of think tanks, and Silicon Valley exert a huge influence on 21st century politics.

In any case, here is my essay for the Los Angeles Review of Books, which looks at two newish books and, briefly, an older one.
Tricycles to be banned from using ...
Stanislaus National Forest View Photos

Update at 4:20 p.m.: Forest Service spokesperson Diana Fredland tells Clarke Broadcasting that the forward rate of spread has been stopped on the Avery Fire burning on the Stanislaus National Forest in Tuolumne County. She adds that crews have a hose line layed around the flames. Nearly 16 homes were evacuated in the vicinity, but residents will be allowed back into their homes shortly, according to Fredlund, who shares crews will be mopping up for the next couple of hours and checking for hotspots. Further details on the fire are below.

Update at 3:40 p.m.: Stanislaus National Forest Fire officials have name it the Avery Fire, which is burning in the vicinity Forest Road 4N05, 4No4 and 3N03, east of Avery Ranch Camp 9 Road and west of Jupiter. Forest Service spokesperson Diana Fredland tells Clarke Broadcasting that evacuations are currently in progress along those roads. She details, We do have two structures that are fully engulfed. There is about one to two acres of grass fire, burning at a slow rate of speed. There are evacuations in progress because there are about ten to sixteen structures in the area. She adds the grass fire is about one to two acres with no containment, but it is not in the timber.

Original post at 2:30 p.m.: Tuolumne County, CA  Ground and air resources are battling a vegetation and structure fire in the Avery Ranch area of Tuolumne County on the Stanislaus National Forest.

The flames broke out in the vicinity Forest Road 4N05, 4No4 and 3N03, east of Avery Ranch Camp 9 Road and west of Jupiter. Forest Service spokesperson Diana Fredland details the when firefighters arrived on scene a structure was fully involved, but she did not know whether it was a home or an outbuilding or if any other structures are threatened. The grass fire is and acre in size.
Update at 5:30 p.m.: As wildfires rage throughout the state, Governor Jerry Brown today ask for help from the Trump Administration in the form of more aircraft and other supplies to battle the Carr Fire burning Shasta County.

Brown sent a letter to the President and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) requesting a Presidential Emergency Declaration for direct federal assistance to support the communities impacted by the deadly blaze.

Supplemental federal assistance is necessary to save lives and to protect property, public health and safety, and to lessen the effects of this imminent catastrophe, said Governor Brown in the letter. I am requesting Direct Federal Assistance, including Department of Defense air assets to immediately mitigate the impacts of this fire; shelter supplies and water for 30,000 evacuated residents in Shasta County; U.S. Department of Agricultures assistance in evacuating large animals; mass care; evacuation assistance for individuals with access and functional needs; and ambulatory transport.

Further details on the fire can be viewed below.

Original post at 3 p.m.: Sonora, CA  In addition to the Mother Lodes Ferguson Fire, Shasta Countys Carr Fire, now at 44,450 acres and three percent contained, has turned deadly.

CAL Fire officials report that a Redding firefighter, now identified as Jeremy Stoke, was killed while assigned to the blaze, which was ignited by a vehicle fire on Monday off Highway 299 in Whiskeytown. Yesterday, crews found the body of a privately hired bulldozer operator who was clearing vegetation in the fire path when rapidly moving flames overtook him.

Due to the wildfires explosive spread, many evacuees have had little time to prepare their departures, which has caused an operational focus shift to evacuation and life-saving. At least 37,000 people are currently under evacuation, including the entire city of Redding as firefighters deal with afternoon winds that could blow the blaze north into the city of Shasta Lake.

Although 65 structures are confirmed destroyed, officials expect that the count to jump as they say dozens of ruined and smoldering homes are viewable in aerial footage. Yesterday, ahead of declaring a disaster emergency for Mariposa County due to the Ferguson Fire, Governor Jerry Brown declared one for Shasta County.
A large Texas police officers' advocacy and political lobbying group has chosen a side in the fight between incumbent governor Greg Abbott and challenger Lupe Valdez.

Despite Valdez's extensive history in law enforcement as a longtime Dallas County sheriff, the group is endorsing Abbott.

The Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT) made the endorsement announcement Friday morning in a press conference with Abbott. The group represents 23,000 members across the state.

SHOW US THE MONEY: Texas candidates taking the most PAC money

"The governor and I aren't always going to agree. We agreed we're not always going to agree," CLEAT President Todd Harrison said during the announcement. "He will at least listen to the concerns of my members from across the state of Texas on decisions that affect our members."

Charley Wilkison, CLEAT's executive director and political expert, pointed out a few of Abbott's initiatives that the group appreciated such as making the killing of a police officer a hate crime and educating teens on what to expect and how to respond during a traffic stop.

"Job No. 1 in Texas is keeping its citizens safe," Abbott said when accepting the endorsement. "I want to thank the men and women of CLEAT for what they do every single day: going into the face of danger, risking their lives to keep Texans safe."

Abbott added his goal is to also make Texas safer for police officers, citing the number of officers lost in the line of duty.

In a written statement addressing the CLEAT endorsement, Valdez criticized Abbott for saying no to "red flag" laws which temporarily restrict access to firearms to those who show they may be a danger to themselves or others. She also criticized Abbott for imposing "show-me-your-papers-laws" on agencies across Texas, a move she claims compromises the mission of public safety.

"With over 40 years protecting Texans, as Governor, I will fight for the brave men and women in uniform across this state, so that they can focus on preventing crime and protecting the public they've sworn to serve," she wrote.

Francisca Ortega covers Texas news, politics and pop culture. Read her on our breaking news site and on our subscriber site. | francisca.ortega@chron.com | @quefrankie

Editor's note: A previous version of this article indicated CLEAT is Texas' largest police association. That designation is in dispute as Texas Municipal Police Association now claims 27,000 members. TMPA also endorses Greg Abbott for governor of Texas.
Yosemite Valley, its granite spires still shrouded in smoke from the raging Ferguson Fire, will remain shut until Friday, five days longer than first announced, park rangers said.

Valley hotels, restaurants and campgrounds, which were evacuated and shuttered Wednesday, will remain off limits to visitors. Highway 41 and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias will remain shut until further notice, the National Park Service said Friday.
NEW HAVEN  Last week a bald eagle was spotted on the Long Wharf Nature Preserve, the sight of which was enjoyed by a group of children part of an environmental education day camp. The species is one of many that have been brought back from near extinction through protection efforts.

Advocates say the eagles and other species are being threatened by bills being pushed by congressional Republicans seeking to roll back environmental protections of the Endangered Species Act.

On the grounds of the Long Wharf Nature Preserve, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., New Haven Land Trust Executive Director Justin Elicker, Connecticut Audubon Society Executive Director Patrick Comins and other environmental activists criticized President Donald Trumps administration of selling out to special interest groups of oil and gas over the environment.

This site represents the challenge that we face in modern America, Blumenthal said of the nature preserve. You are literally in sight and sound of major interstate highway yet this piece of land is extraordinarily valuable to species like the bald eagle that are here today because of the ESA. The act was signed in 1973 by President Richard Nixon, who during its signing said, Nothing is more priceless and more worthy of preservation than the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed, the New Yorker reported.

In those days, the environment was a bipartisan cause, sadly not so much today, Blumenthal said. It is a bipartisan cause outside of Washington, D.C., It is bipartisan cause for the people of the United States, but in our nations capital where the interest of oil and gas and other special interests hold such sway, environmental interest often take a backseat.

The Endangered Species Act is credited with bringing gray wolves, Florida manatees and humpback whales back from near extinction. The landmark act made the U.S. the first nation to declare a basic right of existence for species other than humans. More than 2,000 plants and animals are listed on the ESA, many of which are in Connecticut and have benefited from the acts protections, such as the piping clover, northern long-eared bat, bog turtle, red knot, brown pelican and bald eagle, Comins said.

Without protections of ESA the piping clover wouldnt be here today, he said.

The bills seek to make designations for threatened species more difficult to attain and limit the preservation of habitats .

One of the bills in Congress would require the government to consider the cost to business before adding a new animal to the list, not simply the scientific factors, Comins said. Under current regulations, government agencies are supposed to decide what species need safeguarding without reference to possible economic or other impacts. But Republicans pushing the bills want to do away with that, Blumenthal said.

The bald eagle exists today because of the Endangered Species Act, Elicker said. If we start to dismantle, which Donald Trump is doing, this incredible work to protect species, our children wont be able to enjoy a national treasure.

The interest of senate Republicans to cut these protections is the opportunity to grow the economy by way of creating roads, pipelines, or mines in habitats, CBS reported. But Elicker said protecting species isnt at odds with growing an economy.

The conversation should not be framed as either youre with a species or youre with jobs, he said. This is about us cherishing our environment and supporting people to have more jobs and supporting our economy.

Put simply, Blumenthal said Destroying a bald eagle would not be a job creator. Theres nothing about the extinction of a species that supports jobs or grows the economy. The two are far from incompatible. They go together. Good stewardship of the environment promotes the economy.

If the proposed changes to the ESA are made, at-risk species are in danger of becoming threatened or extinct in the time the government decides to take action.

We have to get it right for the sake of our environment, Blumenthal said. If we count on reversing the rollback in a future administration, were going to lose species in the meantime.

mdignan@hearstmediact.com
QUINCY (AP)  When Mike Nobis thinks about how the Quincy Teen Reach program weathered the state budget impasse, hes still amazed.

We were right on the cusp of closing. We were not just day to day, we were hour to hour, said Nobis, chairman of the Teen Reach Board.

Teen Reach, a program that helps at-risk youth stay safe and graduate from high school, offers after-school programs and life skills education, encourages parental involvement, and hosts recreational events. Sponsored by the Illinois Department of Human Services, Quincy Teen Reach also has generally gotten about $110,000 a year from the state.

Those funds stopped in 2015 as the budget crisis in Springfield began. Other Teen Reach sites in the state began shutting down. But the Quincy agency kept going, thanks to a dedicated staff and board, and community support.

Our staff went two or three months when they didnt get paid, Nobis said. There was extreme sacrifice by our staff.

When news reports came out about how close the program was to closing, Quincy-area donors provided about $80,000 to keep the doors open.

To my knowledge, we were the only one in the state that was open under the Teen Reach program, said Cheryl Williams, the agencys administrator.

Without the community and ongoing support from individuals, churches, the United Way and other organizations, we could not have made it.

Then in July 2016, a state law providing funds for Teen Reach was enacted, but it covered only statewide funding for six months. A year later, the first full state budget since 2014 was adopted and the Quincy program was rewarded for its perseverance.

Teen Reach programs that had shut down all of a sudden had to get back up fast, but they couldnt do it, Nobis said. They had to get the kids back and the workers back, and that doesnt happen overnight.

As a result, the Quincy Teen Reach got a bump in its funding because there was more money left in the Department of Human Service account with fewer recipient programs.

Officials with the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services also were impressed with the Quincy operation.

A grant to the Bella Ease organization that operates Teen Reach is funding a one-year Family Focus program in Quincy.

Williams said Family Focus helps parents find jobs, get referrals to existing programs, or take parenting classes.

Now we can address the whole family with Teen Reach helping youth from ages 6 to 17 and Family Focus working with the parents, Williams said.

Bella Ease took possession of a house at 1201 N. 12th on Thursday and will use that as a base of operations and office.

Williams said the nonprofit organization has a more secure funding stream than ever.

Nobis is disappointed that initial efforts to obtain the Washington School building as a hub for services were not successful. He still believes a Help Us Build program to support struggling families is a concept that can pay dividends for the community.

Nobis isnt giving up hope on the HUB concept. After seeing Teen Reach weather its darkest times and bounce back stronger than ever, he believes in miracles.
There was soon to be few chances for Evoni Murray to enjoy a carefree nighttime stroll in Miami Beach.

Murray was eight months pregnant Wednesday. And her Aug. 4 due date loomed as she walked in the sweltering summer heat with the father-to-be.

Then the couple encountered off-duty police officer Ambar Pacheco. A confrontation began, during which, Murray says, Pacheco kicked her in the stomach.

Murray, 27, was in severe pain, a responding officer wrote in a report, and was possibly having contractions on the street. The baby was coming - nine days early.

RELATED: San Antonio police arrest Bexar County deputy on DWI charge

Murray was rushed to a hospital, and Joseph Predelus III came into the world after seven minutes of labor, his father Joseph, 40, told WSVN.

Across town, Pacheco, 26, was arrested and charged for aggravated battery, according to a Miami Beach Police Department affidavit provided to The Washington Post.

North Miami Beach Police Chief William Hernandez fired Pacheco from the force less than two days later.

"Due to Ms. Ambar Pacheco's recent off-duty actions, her employment with the City of North Miami Beach has been terminated effective immediately," Hernandez said Friday in a brief statement. She had been with the force less than a year and was in a probationary period, the Miami Herald reported.

Details surrounding the incident are unclear. The arrest affidavit does not say how or why the confrontation started. But Ambar Pacheco told police that Predelus kicked her sister in the face, which prompted her violent reaction.

"I saw red and beat the s- out of [Murray]," Pacheco said, according to the affidavit. She later said she couldn't recall who she kicked, the document says.

Murray is described in the affidavit as "visibly pregnant."

Predelus denied assaulting Pacheo's younger sister, 21-year-old Mikaela Pacheco, and suggested that the women were intoxicated.

RELATED: S.A.-area man accused of sexually assaulting pregnant woman in front of 2-year-old son

"I never did no kicking, nothing. I never touched nobody," Predelus told WSVN. "All I did was defend my baby mother and a child. To me, I don't put my hands on women, and that's how it should be, especially a pregnant woman, too."

In an interview with CBS Miami, Murray speculated that the confrontation with the sisters began from a misunderstanding.

"We were walking down the sidewalk enjoying the night and we saw them," she told the station. "These girls were crying. Then they thought we were talking about them, which was not true. They got belligerent and tried to jump because they thought I said something."

A conviction for assaulting a known pregnant woman carries a maximum of 15 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine in Florida, according to law firm Hussein & Webber.

Murray and the Pacheco sisters could not be reached for comment. Predelus told The Post that his newborn son and Murray are doing well, but he declined to comment further.

Mount Sinai Medical Center, where Murray delivered her baby, did not respond to a request seeking comment. It is unclear if the alleged assault caused the premature birth, but physical trauma or injuries can contribute to early labor, according to a Mayo Clinic fact sheet.

Murray told CBS that she hopes Pacheco gets help as she enters the criminal justice system.

"It kind of troubles me to know that the people who are supposed to be serving and protecting us are hurting us," Murray she told the station. "I know it's not all of them and one apple doesn't spoil the bunch. It's just that sometimes you get a bad seed."
A man was sent to a San Antonio hospital early Saturday after being shot in his leg.

Officers responded about 12:10 a.m. to an apartment complex at 306 Chaucer Avenue where they found a man shot in his calf at the gate, according to the San Antonio Police Department.
Its Tehrans turn for the fire and fury treatment.

In response to Iranian President Hassan Rouhani telling Donald Trump not to play with the lions tail because war with Iran is the mother of all wars, the president fired back in an emphatically all-caps tweet warning of CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE.

Since the last time Trump theatrically threatened a regime with destruction, then quickly turned around and had warm talks with Kim Jong Un in Singapore, his Twitter account has lost some of its deterrent force.

But the exchange of words has focused attention on a growing confrontation with Iran, in which the United States has the upper hand. When Trump pulled out of the Iran deal earlier this year, there were warnings that it would split the Western alliance, prompt an Iranian nuclear breakout or leave the U.S. isolated and unable to effectively sanction Iran on its own.

Instead, Iran is in the midst of an economic crisis before the U.S. has truly ratcheted up the pressure. In less than a year, the Iranian currency, the rial, has lost half its value. There have been broad-based demonstrations around the country. Major multinational companies, including General Electric, Siemens and A.P. Moller-Maersk, are pulling back from doing business in Iran.

Iran wasnt in position to take economic advantage of the windfall of the nuclear deal. It was most interested in funding its terrorism and foreign adventurism, and even if it werent, its economy is hopelessly corrupt. Despite then-Secretary of State John Kerry urging Europeans to do business in Iran, the terror state obviously doesnt present a stable business climate. (The governor of the Central Bank of Iran has been sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury for helping the Revolutionary Guards funnel funds to Hezbollah.)

U.S. sanctions that were lifted as part of the Iran deal begin to snap back on Aug. 6, and the administration has a goal of getting Iranian oil exports to zero by November. Although this isnt realistic and the administration will grant exceptions to some allies, Iran could lose 1 million barrels a day in exports (in May, its exports hit a new record at 2.7 million barrels a day).

This is nothing less than financial warfare against the regime, aimed at denying it hard currency to fund its foreign operations and ultimately at destabilizing it. The administration denies that it has a policy of regime change, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeos demands for a new deal are so sweeping and fundamental that Tehran couldnt comply short of a radical reorientation toward becoming a normal state.

The economic campaign is coupled with a strategy of backing our allies  Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates  to the hilt in resisting Iranian aggression in Syria and Yemen.

This is all to the good. The problem is that Trumps desire to get out of Syria entirely is at cross-purposes with pressuring Iran on all fronts, and the hope that a cynical and self-interested Russia will significantly aid us vis-a-vis Iran is surely misbegotten.

With proxy forces across the region, Iran has cards to play, and the regime is inherently dangerous. At a time when it should be doing everything to curry favor with the Europeans, one of its diplomats was arrested a few weeks ago in Germany for plotting a terror attack on an Iranian opposition group in France.

But Iran lacks several advantages enjoyed by North Korea. It doesnt have an overwhelming, powerful patron like China. It unites Israel and the Arab states, and none of our regional allies are pressuring us to negotiate with Tehran the way South Korea pushed us to talk with Pyongyang. Finally, Iran doesnt yet have nuclear weapons.

This gives the administration leverage. The mullahs shouldnt fear presidential tweets as much as the economic clampdown to come.

comments.lowry@nationalreview.com
How did we get to a policy that violates the human rights of immigrants and terrorizes children by separating families? There is a long history of enforcement on the U.S.-Mexico border, but President Donald Trumps policies hark back to the late 19th and early 20th centuries when Congress sought to maintain a white America.

During that time Congress banned Asian immigration, set quotas on immigrants outside Northern and Western Europe, and tried to bar Mexicans. However, employers in the Southwestern United States needed cheap labor to work the ranches, mines and railroads. To resolve the conflict between the employers and those who wanted to restrict immigration, in 1929 Congress settled on a criminal statute which punished migrants, mostly Mexicans, who made an unauthorized entry. Then, in the 1930s, the federal government, joined by state and local officials, rounded up hundreds of thousands of Mexicans and their U.S. citizen children and deported them to Mexico.

The ebb and flow of migration from south of the border led to ever greater restrictions and ultimately, to the militarization of the border. To wit:

By 1940 the U.S. government built federal prisons in El Paso, Tucson and Los Angeles to house the tens of thousands of Mexicans prosecuted for unlawful entry.

1942-1964: The Bracero Program, an international agreement, allowed temporary migrant farmworkers from Mexico. Prosecutions abated during and after World War II as the need for Mexican workers increased.

1986: The Immigration Reform and Control Act legalized more than 3 million migrants, but imposed new employer sanctions against hiring unauthorized migrants.

1990-1996: Congress dramatically expanded funding for enforcement at the U.S.-Mexico border. A 7-mile steel wall along the U.S.-Mexico border was built in 1991, expanding to 14 miles two years later.

1992: The Border Patrol had grown to 5,000 agents and a budget of $325 million. The Border Patrol added stations and checkpoints, built detention centers, and received more equipment, including night vision goggles, surveillance systems, and helicopters for each sector.

1992-1998: The number of immigration-related criminal prosecutions doubled. Most prosecutions targeted Mexicans and Central Americans.

1996: Congress streamlined deportation, mandated detention and diminished legal opportunities for migrants to stay in the U.S.

2001: After the September 11 attacks, considerable resources were devoted to securing the U.S.-Mexico border under the guise of a need for increased national security against terrorists.

2011: The number of Border Patrol agents reached 21,000, most stationed at the U.S.-Mexico border. Half of all federal criminal prosecutions in the United States were immigration related, most of them against Mexicans and Central Americans.

2012-2015: Federal spending for immigration enforcement reached $18 billion in 2012, and became the highest priority for federal law enforcement. A network of detention facilities, including for-profit prisons, blanketed the Southwest at a cost in 2015 of $2 billion. By 2015, border fencing had increased to 650 miles at an additional cost of $2.4 billion.

The situation would get much worse under the current administration. Trumps campaign rhetoric had capitalized on the fears of a marginalized segment of white America by attacking Mexican migrants, calling them criminals and rapists, and promising to have Mexico pay to build a wall along the entire U.S.-Mexico border. Within a week of his inauguration, Trump was making good on his tacit campaign promise to make America white again.

Trump issued executive orders restricting immigration from predominately Muslim countries. Data on refugee resettlement from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees shows that in 2017 the number of refugees resettled to the U.S. dropped 67 percent from the previous year. This year, the Trump administration has lowered the refugee ceiling to 45,000, the lowest cap since the Refugee Act was adopted by Congress.

Trump has called on Congress to eliminate long-standing immigrant visa categories, including those frequently used by Mexicans and Central Americans to reunite with U.S. family members.

Trump rendered more than a million migrants more vulnerable to deportation when he rescinded DACA permits for young migrants brought to the U.S. by their parents and Temporary Protective Status, long-standing protection for Central Americans.

Trump has aggressively increased immigration enforcement and adopted a zero tolerance policy toward all unauthorized immigration. His administration has ordered more criminal prosecutions at the border and targeted for arrest and long term detention all unauthorized migrants without regard to their eligibility for benefits under the law.

There are an estimated 11.1 million unauthorized migrants in the country and most have resided in the U.S. longer than 10 years. Reportedly, there are 4 million U.S. citizen children with an unauthorized migrant parent. The Trump administration abandoned previous policies protecting the parents of children born in the U.S. from deportation.

Then, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced he would extend the filing of criminal charges against asylum seekers with children, victims of the extreme violence perpetrated by drug cartels and criminal gangs in El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.

What ensued reached previously unseen levels of cruelty as families were torn apart at the border. Approximately 2,000 children, some under 5 years of age, were forcibly taken from their parents  without giving any information of where they would be kept or when they would return.

In the face of widespread condemnations and legal challenges, Trump defended the policy as restoring law and order and charged that the migrants were criminals and gang members. Only after a bipartisan outcry did he back down on the separation of children from their parents.

Even as the administration rescinded the policy to separate families, it made no plans to reunify the children with their parents. Some parents were deported without their children, and others had to obtain a federal court order to reunite them. Another federal court denied Trump administration efforts to indefinitely expand the detention of migrants and their children.

The scars on the separated children of migrants remain. Studies show that long term detention and deportation of migrants results in substantial economic, social and psychological damage to their children. Damage to brains and bodies can last a lifetime. We do not know the number of children who will by ultimately affected as such zero tolerance policies continue unabated.

The Trump administrations zero tolerance toward immigration persists, and unless Trump is restrained by the courts and Congress, he will cause untold injury to migrants and their families. In the last 25 years and at a cost of billions in taxpayer dollars, the U.S. government has succeeded in deporting more Mexicans and Central Americans than at any other time in its history.

Is it now time to rethink and reframe our immigration laws and policies, and not in terms of what divides us by race and national origin, but in terms of what our communities needs and what nurtures all the children in our midst?

Lee J. Teran retired in 2017 as a clinical professor of law at St. Marys University School of Law and as director of the Immigration & Human Rights clinic. Robert Brischetto, Ph.D., was former executive director of the San Antonio-based Southwest Voter Research Institute and a sociology professor at Trinity University. The research for this article was conducted in preparation for a conference, Holding Up the Mirror, slated for Nov. 15-17 at Our Lady of the Lake University.
Re: What if  Your Turn, July 18:

A reader questioned President Donald Trumps decision to pardon the Oregon rancher over the 2001 arson case. He questioned if the president would have pardoned a black or Hispanic.

There was a recent police shooting in Chicago of an armed black male resisting arrest and going for the unauthorized gun he was clearly carrying in his waistband. The community organizer/rioters immediately started rioting and destroying public property.

To answer the readers question: The ethnicity of the ranchers wouldnt have mattered. Consider: Trump has already given pardons to minorities (Jack Johnson and Alice Johnson just recently).

Its sad we have so many in this country who want to make everything about race and not consider the facts in the case. But that has always been the tool liberals use when the facts do not fit their agenda.

Try using Dragnets Sgt. Joe Fridays rule: Just the facts, maam.

Carthel Williams, Spring Branch

Whos dishonest?

Donald Trump has the temerity to call someone dishonest! Really? His whole administration is ludicrous.

The Constitution gives Congress the power to regulate international commerce. Why, oh, why are we not putting a stop to this disaster in the making? That is the scariest part. They do nothing to control him. Are they deliberately helping to bring this nation into an autocracy?

Vicki Seifert

Stopping this, too

Disbelief, confusion and finally resignation that the current holder of the presidency of the USA had disrespected all our allies and provided comfort to our adversary.

The questions now are, will Congress allow these actions to continue or just bluster awhile before resuming turning their deaf ears to our cries?

We stopped the Vietnam War, we won desegregation, we can and will stop this president from his intentions to destroy our world.

Sandra L. Scott, Schertz

Laughable editorial

Re: Grilling of Strzok hurt democracy, Editorial, July 19:

In a word, this was just laughable.

Your paper is pretty much a mouthpiece for the Associated Press or the New York Times. (Try changing the name to the N.Y./S.A. Times  better fit). I am not surprised you missed one of the biggest scandals in modern-day history. Go ahead, look at the transcripts and see what these clowns at the FBI and Department of Justice were trying to do to our democracy. You just might learn something!

Perhaps you could have one act of random journalism and surprise us all, and maybe win a prestigious award to boot! Try looking into reports of Hillary Clintons receipt of $400 million from the Russians or maybe what the Clinton Foundation received for the uranium deal.

Talk about collusion! Or maybe try looking into the the damage George Soros has done to this country.

Pat Conway

Reducing emissions

Re: Buy time on carbon with methane gas, Editorial, July 17:

The U.S. natural gas and oil industry is committed to reducing emissions and solving environmental challenges, second only to the federal government in spending on climate innovation and research.

Methane emissions from natural gas and petroleum systems are down 14 percent since 1990, even as natural gas output increased more than 50 percent over the same period. The United States leads the world in cutting carbon, and greater use of natural gas is the chief reason U.S. carbon dioxide emissions are at 25-year lows.

The report cited by your editorial is consistent with the fact that methane emissions were low in 2015 and reaffirms the benefits of increased use of natural gas as a fuel source. As a New York Times analysis recognizes, neither the E.P.A.s estimates of leakage rates nor the higher estimates in the new study negate the net climate benefits of natural gas.

A new industry collaboration  the Environmental Partnership  is an example of our forward-looking dedication to improving environmental performance. The more than 40 participating companies implement programs to further target emissions of methane, from leak detection and repair to replacing or retrofitting gas-powered controllers. An annual report  shared with the public  will track success.

Natural gas is a foundation for the worlds energy future, providing reliable, affordable energy and  yes  reducing emissions. Our industry is serious about solving environmental challenges. If there is still any doubt: Take another look at the data.

Erik Milito, group director, upstream, American Petroleum Institute

Consensus? Yes

Re: Hot? Well, yeah, Your Turn, July 15:

The letter writer wonders why a seemingly small temperature change over 84 years is a concern. I can think of many reasons, but listing them would make this letter too long.

The letter writer says, Please dont offer the paid, tired consensus that 97 percent of all climate scientists believe.  Science is not determined by consensus.

Most of our modern world is based on what a consensus of scientists believe. Science is the process of testing what we think is true or what might be true. When enough people have studied a phenomenon for a period of time and have come to similar conclusions, we start to accept their conclusions as fact.

Thank goodness that engineers dont base decisions on opinion polls! Instead, they base their work on what a consensus of scientists believe is true. Thats why America has progressed so far so fast and why the developing world has made such progress in my lifetime.

Now is not the time to start ignoring what scientists are saying.

Thomas N. Lee
Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Brett Kavanaugh, President Donald Trumps Supreme Court pick, shouldnt become a justice unless he vows to recuse himself from special counsel Robert Muellers Russia investigation.

Since Kavanaugh was nominated on July 9, Blumenthal  a Connecticut Democrat and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee  has been particularly critical of the nominees views on executive power, especially his opinion that a sitting president should be able to exempt himself from criminal investigation.

This issue of presidential power is not really a political issue, its a constitutional concern and it goes to the core of the checks and balances that underlie our Constitution, Blumenthal said.

The nominee has a paper trail of opinions and writings that hint at decisions he might make on the highest court, some of which Blumenthal pointed to as evidence of a conflict of interest between Trump and Muellers investigation of Trumps campaign connections to Russia.

During confirmation hearings, Blumenthal said, he will ask Kavanaugh general questions about his views on checks and balances and executive power based on his past writings.

In one instance, the Supreme Court unanimously ruled in the 1974 United States v. Nixon case that former President Richard Nixon should hand over secretly recorded White House tapes. But Kavanaugh said the Nixon decision could be overruled because the Justice Department  also in the executive branch  cant force the president to present information in a criminal case.

From Blumenthals perspective, Kavanaugh is saying that presidents would not only be free to reject burdensome, unfair or otherwise problematic requests for information; they would also be free to reject all requests for information.

Some observers might find it reassuring to think that Kavanaugh would not rule as his writings suggest, Blumenthal said. That would be a mistake. It would be far wiser to listen to the message that he has sent for decades  and to do so before its too late.

Democratic lawmakers including Blumenthal have targeted Kavanaughs opposition to the independent counsel law, enacted in 1978, that allowed an independent prosecutor to investigate government officials for criminal behavior. The law expired in 1992.

Since then, the Justice Department has appointed special counsels when the attorney general deems them necessary. Since Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the FBIs ongoing Trump-Russia investigation, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed Mueller.

But Republicans have differentiated between the former law that Kavanaugh opposed and the current method used to appoint special counsels. They reject the notion that Kavanaugh must recuse himself if the Mueller probe comes before the Supreme Court.

This is an issue where I feel the public and my colleagues need to better understand the importance of unchecked presidential power, especially with Donald Trump in that position, Blumenthal said.

The schedule for confirmation hearings has not yet been released, but Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said that he likely would begin the process in the fall, ahead of the November midterm elections. Most GOP lawmakers, who hold a majority in the Senate, support Trumps pick.

Sarah.roach@chron.com
The MDC Alliance leader Advocate Nelson Chamisa says they are working with the former president Cde Robert Mugabe because he was rejected by his own party.

Chamisa said he doesnt care who passes the ball to him and Mugabe has passed the ball to him and he will be the second president of the Republic of Zimbabwe.

Addressing thousands of party supporters at the Robert Mugabe Square in the capital this afternoon, Chamisa said journalists working in the state media need re-orientation in the second republic.

He also said investors are going to come in droves following reports from his emissaries who were in South Africa where BRICS was having its summit and met officials from the British country who promised them more money injected into the economy.

Chamisa said he addressed 82 rallies and witnessed a surge of support for his party in the new dispensation.

Meanwhile, the MDC Alliance members continued with their call for supporters to picket polling stations after voting.

The message came out when the Alliance held its final rally at the Robert Mugabe Square.

Former Zanu PF members Kudakwashe Bhasikiti and Sandi Moyo as well as other Alliance members took turns to remind supporters that they must return to polling stations after voting.

The MDC Alliance rally was attended by a bumper crowd.

 ZBC

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- The senator representing Kaduna north at the National Assembly, Suleiman Hunkuyi, has promised to help PDP return back to power in Kaduna state

- Hunkuyi is among the 14 senators who decamped to other parties on July 19

- He said he decided to join the party in line with the agreement between the R-APC and the opposition party

Sen. Suleiman Hunkuyi on Friday, July 27, promised to help the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) regain power in Kaduna state in 2019.

Hunkuyi who represents Kaduna north at the National Assembly on the platform of the All Progressive Congress (APC) is among the 14 senators who decamped to other parties on July 19.

READ ALSO: Melaye provides evidence his family reported alleged abduction to police

The senator said this while on a visit to the PDP secretariat in Kaduna on Friday, July 27, adding that he decided to join the party in line with the agreement between the R-APC and the opposition party.

We came to tell you that we have formally left the APC and we shall not turn back again.

We have moved to the PDP with all our structure to join hands to take back power in Kaduna state from the APC, Hunkuyi said.

He urged the PDP executives in the state to cooperate with the returnees to ensure that the party wrestle power from the ruling APC.

Hunkuyi urged the state PDP chairman Mr Felix Hyat to set up a committee with membership comprising the returnees and other members to fix a date for their formal return to the party.

According to him politics is about the people.

Hunkuyi promised to mobilise all his supporters back to the PDP ahead of the 2019 poll.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Hunkuyi made his appearance at the secretariat with Rep. Lawal Rabiu and Rep. Rufai Chanchangi representing Lere and Kaduna South respectively at the National Assembly.

Responsding, Hyat assured of level playing ground for the returnees in the build up to the 2019 general elections.

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Meanwhile, Legit.ng had reported that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) claimed that the defection of some lawmakers from the All Progressives Congress (APC) is an indication that President Muhammadu Buharis administration has failed.

Kola Ologbondiyan, national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) claimed that the defection of some lawmakers from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to PDP is a sign that the ruling party has failed Nigerians.

Nigeria News: President Buhari Respects APC Defectors | Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit
- IBB says in an interview at his residence that the reports of a gang up against President Buhari's re-election bid in 2019 are not true

- He notes that it is just the perception in the media probably because of the complaints he and the other generals have aired about President Buhari's leadership style

- The ex-general also saluted the mass defection of federal legislators in the ruling party to his own opposition PDP

Former military head of state Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida (IBB) has denied ganging up against President Muhammadu Buhari's 2019 re-election bid alongside fellow retired generals former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Theophilus Danjuma.

Nigerian Tribune reports that Babangida said this on Tuesday, July 24 in a recent interview he granted an online platform called The Crest at his Hilltop Mansion in Minna, the Niger State capital.

The newspaper reports that IBB wondered where the idea of a gang up came when asked if he was working against President Buhari with other generals as had been widely reported in the media.

READ ALSO: Drama as Benue lawmakers scale fence to enter Assembly Complex

He queried: Gang up? What gang-up? That is a media creation. It is media perception. It is easier for the media to add things up and conclude. I think what has happened is that after General Danjuma said what he said [about the alleged genocide in his home state of Taraba and the need for his people to defend themselves because the military had failed to protect them], after President Obasanjo released his letter, and perhaps, after my release too, the media simply added things up and came to the conclusion that there is a gang-up. There is no gang-up. It is media perception.

The retired general also praised the defection of senators from the ruling APC to the opposition PDP, saying it is good for democracy.

He said: I call it political dexterity because there are no better words to describe it. This is political dexterity and I dont think anybody should have any problems with that. I have nothing against it. I think it is good for democracy. If it is good for democracy, then, it is good for Nigeria.

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If people left the APC to form R-APC [Reformed All Progressives Congress], they must have a solid reason or reasons for doing that. If 12 senators got to a point where they felt their continued stay in APC was not working and decided to leave, there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Similarly, if the other two senators felt that their stay in APC was no longer worth their while and decided to join the ADC [African Democratic Congress], they have not committed any crime.

I think the development is good for democracy. Democracy is about choices; it is about the freedom to choose. In the democratic system that we practise, you can always disagree if you feel what you see in the system does not agree with your expectation.

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported earlier that a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Kailani Mohammed declared that the 2019 presidential election would be in favour of President Muhammadu Buhari despite the gang-up against him.

Mohammad, a very close ally of Buhari since the days of All Peoples Party argued that, the said selfish politicians were causing the insecurity to discredit Buharis government.

He said Nigerians were treated to a rude shock as cattle rustling, kidnapping and Fulani herdsmen/farmers clashes soon took center stages to replace insurgency, all in the bid to dampen the gesto, anticipations and expectation of the Nigerians in Muhammadu Buhari led administration.

Obasanjo vs Buhari: The Of Election 2019 - on Legit.ng TV

Source: Legit
Veteran Nollywood actor Emeka Enyiocha has been away from the movie industry for a while and has decided to return to his career. He revealed his plans as he already shut down his beer parlour business.

According to Liala, the actor revealed that he entrusted his beer parlour into the hands of someone he thought could handle it but it was mismanaged which forced him to shut down the business.

On why he quit acting for his business, Eyinocha disclosed that he wanted to spend quality time with his wife and children. He added that after he got married he wanted to be a better father and husband.

Actor Emeka Enyinocha shuts down beer parlor as he returns to acting. Source: Laila

READ ALSO: Most people lie about SARS attack on social media - Dolapo Badmus speaks

He said: "I left the industry because I got married and I started having kids. Immediately I got married, I started having kids and I had more responsibilities to deal with. I had to be closer to my family and kids so that they would not call me uncle when they see me. Marriage and family slowed me down. It definitely slows someone down except you do not want to take care of your family. I tried to combine marriage with work because I was doing my production. While I was away from the industry, I was into partnership with a close friend of mine. We did productions together. We did The Patriot, which is a fight against fake medicines and adulterated products. We did School, a movie about rich kids causing trouble in the school and we did Champions of Our Time, in partnership with the Lagos State government. In the process, I opened a bar and became a beer seller. I was trying to know the other side of life which actually taught me a lot of lessons. I saw a lot and it taught me to be humble. It taught me how to be humble to the lowest. It also taught me how to save money, respect and appreciate money. As an actor, when you get money, it is in the booth and you dont have time to do anything, so money does everything for you. You go from one location to another and at the end of the day, you would find out that there is nothing left."

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Lets Not Blame God For Our Problems - Deyemi Okanlawon Speaks on Otedola Bridge Fire | Legit.ng TV - on Legit.ng TV.

Source: Legit.ng
Yves here. As Lambert might say, the behavior of the enforcers of Liberal Goodthinking has been wonderfully clarifying. Despite the fact that there is a catalogue-full of reasons to be deeply disturbed about the Trump presidency, prominent media figures are regularly resorting to the screeching, pearl-clutching, straw manning, and other forms of any stick to beat a dog strategies even faced with people like Lawrence Wilkerson, who is expressing only mild opposition to their views. That sort of behavior is usually the behavior of someone who does not have astrong case. Of course, on RussiaRussia! that is par for the course. The fact that Wilkerson was effectively silenced by Bill Maher is a disgrace. Dont invite people on your show if you arent prepared to let them have their say. This Real News Network segment reviews the particulars.

Note that Wilkerson was ridiculed for making what should have been an utterly uncontroversial point: that US leaders need to, and always have, had a dialogue with our strategic opponents. Wilkerson doesnt add, perhaps because he does not have corroborating information, or alternatively, does not want to appear to be talking Russias book, that Putin announced that Russia has weapon systems that the US appeared to have been unaware of, such as a nuclear-powered missile that can fly over the South Pole. If even half of them are real, they are game changers.

Theres a sour note at the very end, where Wilkerson says he expects the Democrats to impeach Trump if they win both houses of Congress in the fall. As regular readers know, Nancy Pelosi has taken that off the table.

SHARMINI PERIES: Its The Real News Network. Im Sharmini Peries, coming to you from Baltimore.

Its been almost two weeks since President Trump met with Russias President Vladimir Putin in Helsinki on July 16, but the fallout from the meeting continues to overshadow Washington. There seems to be a consensus across the Democratic and Republican divide that Trump sold out to Putin during the meeting. But griping over whether the meeting should even take place stretched into comedy hours and talk shows. Lets listen to our next guest, Larry Wilkerson- and by the way, I should remind you that he was Chief of Staff to Colin Powell under the Bush administration. And here hes being attacked for just suggesting that it is a good thing for two nuclear powers to meet and discuss doctrines and treaties and agreements that are in place. Lets listen. This is the Bill Maher Show.

BILL MAHER: Do you think this is appeasement, when he meets with Putin?

LARRY WILKERSON: No, I think we need to have a meeting. Were getting very, very close to developing doctrine. The Russians already have. Were working on it. And the nuclear-tipped missiles to accompany that doctrine. And were getting back to a point where we could actually find ourselves contemplating nuclear war.

BILL MAHER: Why have a meeting with someone who attacked us in 2016?

LARRY WILKERSON: You need to talk to your enemies. [Crosstalk]

BILL MAHER: But without preconditions? I mean, really? Would we have had just a friend-

LARRY WILKERSON: I wouldnt set any preconditions at all. Im not saying Im in favor of this particular president talking to this particular leader in Moscow. But we need to talk.

BILL MAHER: All our intelligence agencies said that Russia attacked us in 2016. Yes, it was cyber. It wasnt with armaments. But it was still-.

LARRY WILKERSON: Russia did no more than we have done to any number of countries since 1947 and the creation of the CIA.

BILL MAHER: But that doesnt make it right, doesnt make it-.

LARRY WILKERSON: It doesnt.

BILL MAHER: Im sorry, but Im on our team.

LARRY WILKERSON:It doesnt make it-. it doesnt make it something that should stop a meeting between two leaders who own more nuclear weapons than anybody else in the world combined, and who are getting closer and closer, especially in NATO-

BILL MAHER: I can only imagine what-.

SHARMINI PERIES: Larry Wilkerson is a retired U.S. Colonel and former Chief of Staff to Secretary of State Colin Powell; now a distinguished professor at the College of William and Mary. Larry, as always, good to have you here.

LARRY WILKERSON: Thanks for having me, Sharmini.

SHARMINI PERIES: Larry, many of our viewers on TRNN who follow you has written in complaining profusely at the way in which you were treated on the Bill Maher Show. Give us a sense of what you were discussing, what you were trying to argue in that conversation, and also what you think President Trump had managed to achieve in that meeting with Putin, and if you believe that he actually betrayed U.S. interests at the meeting with Vladimir Putin on July 16 in Helsinki.

LARRY WILKERSON: The only real substantive question I got asked was about, well, what was going to happen on 16 July at the summit in Helsinki. And I got very serious, and I talked about how this was not something to be laughed at. We needed to meet with Moscow. We needed to talk about nuclear weapons, that we were in a situation that was looking more dangerous than any time during the Cold War with regard to nuclear war and its potential to break out, and that we damn sure did need to sit down and talk. What I saw so far, what Ive seen so far, probably supports Bill Maher and others. Michael Moore was on the show that night, and Jennifer Rubin. And their positions then mine, they kind of scoffed at me. And Bill in particular laughed at theres no way this administration could do anything successful. It would probably be a complete failure.

To this point, I think the only positive aspect of it that I can cite is that they actually met. And it was a desperate meeting in terms of the need for it, because of the things I just talked about. Russian doctrine now officially calls for using nuclear weapons. We have countered with a trillion dollar-plus nuclear weapons modernization program to build even newer weapons that will be more susceptible to being used in what would be called in the past conventional warfare. So its very dangerous.

What should have happened at this summit, and what I was hoping was going to happen, was that there were enough people left- enough arms control people, enough diplomatic people and so forth, in both the Pentagon and the State Department- that the standard book would go with President Trump to the meeting, just as I know it came with Putin. That book would have everything in it, from intermediate nuclear forces, to strategic nuclear forces, to Ukraine, Crimea, NATO, Syria, all the issues that should have been talked about, particularly the nuclear issues. The SALT talks, for example, and the SALT treaties, which Putin keeps saying are going to expire, and nobodys doing anything about. Hes right. These should have been all worked out ahead of time in terms of what is the U.S. position, and what is it we want to achieve in these talks with Russia.

As I see it, there were very few people who took these kinds of very, very carefully planned strategized books and points to the meeting. And if there were, they were all overcome by the private talks that Trump had, because Trump disdains this kind of detail, this kind of work ahead of time. This kind of diplomacy that has to be finely tuned, and is sophisticated and complex, and achieves at the end of the day what you want to achieve, or as near to it as is possible. I dont see anything like that having happened. So what I see at this point is a squandered opportunity to deal with some of these very serious issues, which I was hoping, hoping beyond hope perhaps, would happen. Its something that does very dramatically need to happen. That is to say, meaningful talks between the leadership in Moscow and the leadership in Washington, and some results that we can all point at that are not just in the interest of the two negotiating sides but also in the interest of the world.

SHARMINI PERIES: Now, Larry, from what I understand from this mornings announcement that the invitation that Trump had issued to Vladimir Putin to come to Washington is now rescinded, or its off. Apparently there was no movement on either side to make sure this happens. Now, are you surprised by that move?

LARRY WILKERSON: Not at all, politically. Because most of everything Donald Trump has done of substance since he was elected is based on his reading of his domestic political needs. As the German foreign minister said so aptly, I think, about his withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the nuclear agreement with Iran, it was all based on domestic politics in the United States. It had nothing to do with strategy, nothing to do with security, nothing to do with NATO or the security of Western Europe. It had everything to do with Donald Trump and his political base. I think the German foreign minister was absolutely correct.

So I have to look at everything that Trump does from that perspective, because thats his first consideration. So what he saw was what you cited at the beginning; 46 percent thought he was treasonous, and he said, ooh, John- talking to John Bolton, his national security adviser- walk this bit back about a meeting, and put it out that were walking it back because we want the brouhaha about the meeting to subside. We want the accusations about the meeting to subside a bit before we invite Mr. Putin to come to Washington. This is bad on two levels. One, Mr. Putin should come to Washington, and we should continue the talks, and hopefully, in the way that I describe, good meaningful talks earlier. Thats how we should continue them, particularly the nuclear issues. And two, because we do not need a war in Europe. And its increasingly apparent that both sides are looking very hard at the potential for that war.

And if you want a war that will pale- make all the other prospects, Iran, Syria, North Korea and everything else, pale in comparison, lets have one break out in Europe, and lets have one go nuclear. This is bad stuff. So I really would like to see Mr. Putin come to Washington and meaningful talks take place. But to answer your question, and to reiterate, the reason this delay or maybe even cancellation altogether has occurred is because Trump read the domestic political signals and said, oop, cant get caught in this mess. The midterms are coming up.

These midterms, Sharmini, are going to determine the fate of the Republican Party. If the Democrats were to win both houses of the U.S. Congress in November, I think impeachment would be on the table for a majority of Republicans, and certainly Democrats, almost instantly. So Trump has got to start thinking about these midterms. And so I think thats the reason he canceled it, or at least told John Bolton to tell the Russians that itll be later.

SHARMINI PERIES: All right, Larry, I thank you so much for joining us today.

LARRY WILKERSON: Thanks for having me, Sharmini.

SHARMINI PERIES: And thank you for joining us here on The Real News Network.
By Cristina Caffarra Vice President and Head of European Competition Practice, Oliver Latham, Vice President, European Competition Practice, Matthew Bennett, Vice President, Federico Etro, Professor, University of Florence; Senior Consultant, Pierre Regibeau, Vice President, Robert Stillman Vice President; all saver Professor Etro of Charles River Associates. Originally published at VoxEU

The European Commissions decision to fine Google 4.34 billion for abuse of market power has been accused of being politically motivated and of risking higher prices for consumers. This column argues that the Commissions decision has economic merit and falls within established legal precedent. As mobile search is the key gateway to access information, we should be concerned about dominance in this market for its potential distortionary effects on innovation and consumer outcomes across multiple other markets.

On 19 July 2018, the European Commission announced it was fining Google 4.34 billion for [using] Android as a vehicle to cement its dominance as a search engine. The decision has already been described by various commentators (including President Trump) as politically motivated, reflecting an ongoing techlash by the European competition authorities against successful (US) tech firms. It has also been accused of undermining Androids free business model and risking higher prices for consumers.

This misses the mark. The European Commissions theory of harm is economically well founded and there are legitimate questions on the effects of Googles conduct on innovation and consumers.

What the Android Case Is not About

A few myths need to be dispelled before one can sensibly discuss the merits of the Commissions analysis.

Myth 1 . This is another case about Google abusing its market power in search. No. While Google has been accused of using its market position as a search engine to undermine its competitors, this case is about Google using its dominance elsewhere (the Google Play app store) to entrenchits position in search.

. This is another case about Google abusing its market power in search. No. While Google has been accused of using its market position as a search engine to undermine its competitors, this case is about Google using its dominance elsewhere (the Google Play app store) to entrenchits position in search. Myth 2 . The European Commission assumes away competition between Google and Apple. No. The theory of harm is consistent with significant retailcompetition between iPhone and premium Android devices like the Samsung Galaxy. The question is not whether Android and Apple devices are in competition with each other at this retail level, but whether this indirect constraint is sufficient to undermine Googles upstream market power in its relationship with phone manufacturers. It is not.

. The European Commission assumes away competition between Google and Apple. No. The theory of harm is consistent with significant retailcompetition between iPhone and premium Android devices like the Samsung Galaxy. The question is not whether Android and Apple devices are in competition with each other at this retail level, but whether this indirect constraint is sufficient to undermine Googles upstream market power in its relationship with phone manufacturers. It is not. Myth 3 . There cannot be anticompetitive effects when competition is a click away. No. A key question in the case is the extent to which granting a search engine or app default status results in significant changes in its level of usage. This is a purely empirical question. The evidence points to material effects.

. There cannot be anticompetitive effects when competition is a click away. No. A key question in the case is the extent to which granting a search engine or app default status results in significant changes in its level of usage. This is a purely empirical question. The evidence points to material effects. Myth 4. This is the end of free installation and means consumers having to pay more. It is not clear how Google will react but, even if it was to make some changes to the way Android is monetised, this is not necessarily a bad thing. If manufacturers face the true costs and benefits of choosing between operating systems and default search engines, it seems likely the outcome will be more competition and innovation in aggregate, not less.

What Was the Theory of Harm in the Android Case?

Googles conduct was pursued under competition rules addressing abuse of dominance. The central concern in the Android case is that Googles contracts with smartphone manufacturers made access to its Google Play app store contingent upon the manufacturers pre-installing Googles search app and making Google Search the default search engine on their devices. Google Play was not made available to consumers through any other channel  an original equipment manufacturer (OEM) who wanted to offer Google Play would have to agree to these terms.1

The concern was that this combination of pre-installation and default status, cemented by contractual restrictions with exclusivity effects, limited the scope for rival search engines to gain traction. Search engines exhibit scale effects: in order to train a search algorithm one needs a sufficient volume of data, but accessing such data requires a sufficient volume of queries. Absent Googles conduct, a natural entry/expansion strategy for a search engine would have been to pay manufacturers for default status in order to get an initial volume of queries which could be used to improve the quality of its product and compete more effectively. Googles practices made such strategies more difficult as any search engine would have needed to compensate smartphone manufacturers for the loss of GP  something which may be prohibitively costly even for a rival with comparable, or even superior, search technology to Google.

At the heart of the Android case therefore is a story in the tradition of the antitrust cases brought against Microsoft (where the accusation was that Microsoft was bundling its operating system and browser to prevent the emergence of rival browsers that could morph into alternatives to Windows). The concern is not exotic, but the facts need to be shown to stack up: Is Google Play in a position of significant market power? Is default status sufficiently important to foreclose rival search engines? What are Googles anticompetitive incentives?

Why the Commissions Case Stacks Up

Default status matters. While it might be tempting to dismiss concerns on the basis that competition is a click away, the evidence in fact shows that default status is a powerful tool to influence user behaviour. It is significant that Google reportedly paid Apple $1 billion for default status on the iPhone in 2014 and upwards of $3 billion in 2017. Why pay so much if default status is unimportant and consumers will naturally gravitate to their preferred search engine? Data on consumer behaviour also show a tendency towards default bias. When Yahoo paid Mozilla for default status in Firefox 34, it saw a 20 percentage point increase in its sharerelative to users of Firefox 33.

Figure 1 Impact of default status in Firefox

Source: Searchengineland.com based on Statcounter.com 7 January 2015

Google Pay is critical for manufacturers of Android smartphones. It accounts for the vast majority of app downloads on the Android platform as well as a large share of available apps. More generally, the evidence seems to us to supports that Android manufacturers cannot compete effectively without Google Play.

Figure 2 Worldwide download statistics for four Android app stores in 2013

Source: Android App Store Market Overview, Onepf.org, 2013, accessed February 2015.

Android is a key distribution channel for mobile search engines . Googles conduct would not prevent rival search engines from competing if they had a wide range of alternative distribution channels besides Android. However, Android accounts for upwards of70% of mobile devicesand the remainder primarily run on iOS where Google Search is also set as the default.

. Googles conduct would not prevent rival search engines from competing if they had a wide range of alternative distribution channels besides Android. However, Android accounts for upwards of70% of mobile devicesand the remainder primarily run on iOS where Google Search is also set as the default. These concerns have a strong economic pedigree. Cases of this type have to contend with the one monopoly profit theorem (OMPT): why would Google choose to monetise Google Play by colonising other markets rather than simply charging a higher (positive) price for manufacturers wanting to install it? First, Googles conduct is consistent with existing models of dynamic leveraging in which a tie can increase barriers to entry and preserve an existing monopoly (e.g. Choi and Stefanadis 2001, Carlton and Waldman 2002). Second, research conducted specifically with the Android case in mind has shown how the presence of zero price constraints can act to break the OMPT. Intuitively, because search is a two-sided market where revenue is generated on the advertising side, a monopoly search engine would ideally want to pay users to use its service. However, as paying users is impractical, a search engine may not be able to fully monetise its monopoly in search. This creates an incentive to use market power elsewhere (e.g. in its app-store) to promote its search engine even to the detriment of more efficient rivals.2

Is the European Commission Ignoring Apple?

The Commission is being criticised for ignoring competition between Apple and Android in focusing on licensable app stores. However, there is no inconsistency between this approach and the existence of material retail competition between Apple and Android devices. The decision as to whether to install Google Play/Android on a device rests with the manufacturer,not the consumer. Manufacturers cannot install non-licensable app-stores (such as Apples). So, can indirect competition at the retail level undermine the hold Google has over manufacturers?

What Do We Mean by Indirect Constraints?

Figure 3

There are circumstances where indirect constraints can negate an upstream firms market power. But the evidence points to Google Play having significant market power notwithstanding them (e.g. because of significant differentiation between Apple and Android devices in terms of price/functionality, and inter-platform switching costs). Furthermore, the fact that Google was also the default search engine on Apple means that these kind of indirect constraints cannot really solve the issue of Google denying scale to rival search engines.

The European Commissions decision has economic merit and falls within established legal precedent. More importantly, this is a market of real import  mobile search is the key gateway to access information, and we should worry about dominance in this market for its potential distortionary effects on innovation and consumer outcomes across multiple other markets.

Authors note: The authors of this column all worked on this matter on behalf of Yandex, a Russian search engine, both before the Russian FAS and the European Commision. This note does not represent the views of CRA, nor those of other CRA experts.

Endnotes

[1] The Commission also raised concerns about Google making access to Google Play conditional on manufacturers not installing forked versions of Android but we do not consider this aspect of the case in this note.

[2] See Choi and Jeon (2018) and Etro and Caffarra (2017). The latter builds on the former and explicitly considers the role of payments to manufacturers, showingthat Google has an incentive to engage in a tying strategy to better extract consumer surplus in the presence of price constraints or differentiation in consumer preferences concerning Google Play, and that such a tying strategy forecloses entry and harms consumers.

References

Choi, J P and D S Jeon (2018), A Leverage Theory of Tying in Two-Sided Markets, mimeo, Toulouse School of Economics.

Choi, J P and C Stefanadis (2001), Tying, Investment, and the Dynamic Leverage Theory, Rand Journal of Economics.

Carlton, D and M Waldman (2002), The Strategic Use of Tying to Preserve and Create Market Power in Evolving Industries, Rand Journal of Economics.

Etro, F and C Caffarra (2017), On the Economics of the Android case, European Competition Journal.
On 25 July 2018 the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) received a request for assistance to fight large forest and turf fires in Latvia.

Since 17 July the Talsi district (Valdgale county, Latvia) has been hit by large forest and turf fires. For the last week, the State Fire and Rescue Service, the State Forest Service, the National Armed Forces, volunteers and private entities have been fighting the fire. Currently, national capacities are overstretched. The weather conditions may worsen. Most of the affected areas are not accessible by ground capabilities and aerial firefighting is the only option. The surface of the affected area doubled since 19 July and is currently estimated at around 1200 ha.
On 25 July 2018 the Euro-Atlantic Disaster Response Coordination Centre (EADRCC) received a request for assistance to fight forest fires in Sweden.

Over the last few weeks Sweden has experienced atypically high temperatures and close to no rainfall. This has resulted in very dry grounds in woodlands and terrain across the country. The risk of forest fires is extremely high in most of the country, from the south to the north.

Sweden has experienced many forest fires during this period. Currently there are around 40 active forest fires in the country and the number is steadily increasing. The three largest fires alone are covering over 20 000 ha.

The weather conditions are not improving. At the end of this week, temperatures are expected to rise even more and the weather forecast does not indicate much precipitations.
(Natural News) The Chilean salt flats are somewhat of a juxtaposition. On the surface, its the perfect picture of a life detached from technology, what with its idyllic landscapes and breathtaking nature. However, what lies beneath is an element that powers most devices in the modern world  lithium.

That said, the country doesnt just have lithium  it actually contains more than half of the worlds lithium reserves. Lithium, of course, is the primary ingredient in lithium batteries  which are used in laptops and mobile phones, as well as electric cars and even power storage facilities. These days, lithium is at the forefront of the quest for renewable energy, with demands expected to double by 2025.

One area in Chile stands out, in particular  the Salar de Atacama. Its home to the worlds richest lithium deposits, with some calling it the highest grade salar (salt flats) in the world.

Its a goldmine, and the government knows it  which is why it signed over lithium concession to SQM in January. This move will allow the company to lift its production capacity to 216,000 metric tons per year by 2025, claiming back its place as the top producer of lithium in the market and potentially disrupting supply models with plans to manufacture batteries domestically.

A controversial deal

Not everyone is on board with the agreement, particularly environmentalists and mining unions, who have launched demonstrations against it in Santiago, the nations capital. Protestors carried placards that read, Lithium for Chile, not for Soquimich  the companys name during the time it was a state-owned company.

To note, SQM has always been dogged in controversy: It was privatized during the time of the dictator Augusto Pinochet, and members of his family still own shares in the company. This has been compounded with accusations of corruption and violations of multiple environmental regulations. Just recently, SQM is in the middle of another dispute  one that involves Pablo Longueira, the former economics minister of Chile, embattled with accusations of taking illegal payments from the company to modify water regulations to favor the lithium industry.

Long-term environmental impact

In a report on LithiumMine.com, it indicated that for lithium extraction, at least two-thirds of the areas fresh drinking water is used.

Interestingly, Chile is the only country in the world to have wholly privatized water resource and management, with the rights around Salar de Atacama all owned by SQM. Environmentalists have said that the company has exploited water around the area for lithium production.

This has a direct impact on the environment around it: Salar de Atacama is one of the driest places on earth, and lithium extraction has depleted the water reserves of the region  sinking groundwater tables, drying out rivers, streams, and wetlands which contain vulnerable wildlife.

It also deprives its native residents, most of whom are indigenous, of water  as well as their right to be involved in projects that interfere with their land. The company steals our water, said Ana Ramos, president of the Council of Indigenous Peoples of Atacamenos, in an interview with German broadcaster Deutsche Welle. The contract violates our territorial and environmental rights enshrined in international agreements.

Indeed, with the ambitions of the government to increase lithium outputs for the next decade, coupled with the SQMs dubious track record in environmental regulation and growing global demands  its dangerously close to being a perfect storm.

Where that will leave the picturesque salt flats of Chile is anybodys guess at this point. (Related: Is it possible to recycle lithium ion batteries?)

Stay up-to-date with the environmental impact of lithium production in Chile and other parts of the world by following Pollution.news today.

Sources include:

DW.com

Mining.com

PRNewswire.com

Reuters.com

LithiumMine.com
(Natural News) Theres no doubt that the issue of vaccination is a truly loaded one, with people who have very strong opinions on both sides of the argument. Irrespective of whether they are strongly in favor of or vehemently opposed to the idea of vaccines, however, most people would agree that they would like the right to choose for themselves whether or not to vaccinate their families. A legal witch hunt which is threatening this freedom in North Carolina should therefore be of concern to every American citizen.

As reported by Green Med Info, the North Carolina State Bar  the institution responsible for the licensing of attorneys in that state  has filed a lawsuit against Alan Phillips, one of the countrys foremost vaccine rights attorneys, in an attempt to compel him to release client files dating back several years. Should Phillips refuse to comply, he risks jail time for civil contempt.

Legal witch hunt in the 21st century

As noted by the website VaccineRights.com, Phillips practice is the only one in the country which is solely focused on vaccine exemptions and legislative activism. He is a nationally recognized expert on vaccine law and policy, and assists legislators, activists, clients and other attorneys countrywide with legal matters related to vaccinations required at birth and at other milestones during childhood, as well as other vaccine issues related to employment and so on. (Related: North Carolina State Bar targets vaccine rights attorney with unprecedented bullying lawsuit.)

It is hardly surprising that the State Bar is pursuing Phillips, since North Carolina is known as Vaccine Central, with several companies based there winning awards for accomplishments in the vaccine industry.

It would seem that the aim is to get Phillips disbarred for his work in assisting his clients to legally avoid vaccines with all their side effects and long-term risks. As Green Med Info warns, this is not an attack on a single individual, but on the entire vaccine awareness movement. Furthermore, it is a baseless attack:

The NC Bars lawsuit and underlying investigation are both unlawful for several reasons, according to Phillips. First, the Bar lacks the legally-required allegation of misconduct. 

There is also a blatant conflict of interest, Phillips points out, as he filed a good-faith complaint against State Bar attorneys for their fabrication of facts and law in a February 2017 Letter of Warning to Phillips. NC 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. But the NC Bar is ignoring that conflict; it is suppressing Phillips complaint against Bar attorneys, and aggressively pursuing Phillips.

Phillips has the support of other attorneys and witnesses for his claim that NC Bar officials fabricate facts and have used these fabrications to get other attorneys disbarred. Other associations around the country have also filed complaints against the NC Bar in recent months, although the association is doing its best to suppress and hide this fact. (Related: North Carolina to deny children an education if they dont submit to dangerous vaccine shots.)

Phillips also asserts that the Bars demand for his clients files is nothing more than a fishing expedition, and is not based on any concrete evidence of wrongdoing.

Any who wish to speak out against this unlawful action can sign the Change.org petition.

Please be sure to circulate this article among those in the vaccine awareness community, and if you wish to make a contribution to Phillips legal defense you can do so at his Go Fund Me page.



Sources for this article include:

GreenMedInfo.com

NCBiotech.org

VaccineRights.com
(Natural News) The usage of general anesthesia can have detrimental effects on the brains of young children. This was the conclusion that Dr. Vesna Jevtovic-Todorovi, head of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, came to in her review of past scientific studies that discussed the matter.

The studies that Jevtovic-Todorovi assessed made use of rodents and non-human primates. However, Jevtovic-Todorovi chose to focus on research that utilized non-human primates due to their similarities to human beings. In particular, she noted how the brain development of these animals is uncannily similar to ours when it comes to duration, timing, and complexity.

Despite a number of highly reproducible rodent findings, it is becoming clear that we cannot rely exclusively on rodent data if we are to make inroads into understanding the potential relevance of animal data to humans. Accordingly, the scientific community has begun to rely on a growing body of work being done with nonhuman primates, wrote Jevtovic-Todorovi.

Over the course of her assessment, Jevtovic-Todorovi discovered that these studies pointed towards general anesthesia administration in a long, single dose as greatly increasing the risk of cognitive deficiencies. Multiple quick doses were found to be just as dangerous. Giving these to children during crucial periods of their development can result in significant impairments to their neurocognitive development.

Jevtovic-Todorovis work adds to the growing body of evidence on how children can be negatively impacted by anesthesia. One such study that uncovered relatively similar findings was conducted in 2015 by researchers from the Cincinnati Childrens Hospital Medical Center.

The ultimate goal of our laboratory and clinical research is to improve safety and outcomes in young children who have no choice but to undergo surgery with anesthesia to treat their serious health concerns, said lead study author Andreas Loepke.

As part of their research, the investigative team gauged the scores of 106 children who participated in a language development study. Half of the children were healthy and served as the control group, while the remaining 53 children had all undergone surgery before their fourth birthdays.

Although both groups of children had average test scores within population norms, the participants of the second group, or the children who had been subjected to surgery, all scored lower in terms of performance IQ and listening comprehension. These were indicative of compromised brain structure, specifically, decreased gray matter density in the cerebellum and occipital cortex of the brain.

The negative effects of anesthesia has since been acknowledged by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In 2016, they issued a warning that repeated or lengthy use of general anesthetic and sedation drugs during surgeries or procedures in children younger than three years or in pregnant women during their third trimester may affect the development of childrens brains.

The report continued: Published studies in pregnant animals and young animals have shown the use of general anesthetic and sedation drugs for more than three hours caused widespread loss of nerve cells in the brain. Studies in young animals suggest these changes result in long-term effects on the animals behavior or learning.

Because of this, physicians are recommended to discuss these risks with the parents and caregivers of young children prior to surgery. Pregnant women are advised to speak to their doctors as well regarding the potential impact of anesthesia on their unborn children.

Go to Brain.news to view more stories about procedures or medication that may harm the brain in the long run.

Sources include:

Science.news

CincinnatiChildrens.org

FDA.gov
A Tennessee woman says her son became infected with hookworms after a visit to a South Florida Beach.

Kelli Dumas posted photos of her 17-year-old son Michael's infected feet to Facebook after he visited Pompano Beach during a mission trip last month. She said he was buried in the sand and became infected, along with four other people on the trip.

Hookworms are often contracted by coming into contact with soil that has been contaminated by animal feces. Walking on the soil barefoot can lead to contracting the hookworms, according to the CDC.



"He was buried in the sand for fun and it has become our nightmare," she wrote.

[NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More

The Florida Department of Health in Broward County on Friday said it launched an investigation after receiving four reports of animal-associated hookworm infections.



Kelli Dumas said the painful hookworms have required a number of medications that have cost more than $1,300. Her son has also had to visit a pediatrician four times as well as a dermatologist.

She told NBC 6 her son is still under doctor's care "and will be for a long time."

"Never be buried in sand or allow your children to be either! I am only showing a few pictures because it is so disturbing," she said. "He is in pain."
What to Know Thousands of residents on the outskirts of Redding fled the deadly Carr Fire that exploded Thursday night

In a neighborhood of about 700 residents, an Associated Press reporter counted 66 destroyed homes

After the flames subsided Friday, residents returned to their homes, some standing, others in ashes

Jim Chapin had dined out after work Thursday, confident that a distant wildfire would not reach his neighborhood while he was away.

But when the 79-year-old Redding, California, resident got home around 7:30 p.m., police were telling people to hurry up and go. Chapin's wife gathered prescriptions and the dogs and left. He stayed behind to hose down the roof and fallen leaves.

A half-hour later, fire was burning trees behind his neighbors' homes and winds were whipping branches, burning leaves, garbage can lids and other debris. He feared he would be hit in the head.

"Everybody else had left," Chapin said. "There was just all kinds of debris flying around in the air. Hot embers and hot leaves coming down all over the yard. I figured I better get out of here."

He jumped in his car and almost immediately was in gridlock. Drivers honked, jumped the curb and cut off other cars. There was no way for firefighters to get into the Lake Redding Estates subdivision, which has just one way in and out.

"Some people were panicking so much they were driving up on people's yards just to get around other cars," Chapin said. "It was crazy."

Chapin was among thousands to flee the deadly Carr Fire that exploded Thursday night, jumped the Sacramento River and raced into the western outskirts of Redding, a city of about 92,000, about 100 miles south of the Oregon border. In Chapin's neighborhood of about 700 residents, an Associated Press reporter counted 66 destroyed homes.

The fire in rural Shasta County turned so quickly that a reporter at KRCR-TV in Redding choked up as she reported live on the devastation before the station had to go off air. Journalists at the Record Searchlight newspaper tweeted they were reporting without electricity.

Some people had time to pack up belongings, even helping neighbors load up vehicles and say goodbye. They gathered a wedding dress, handmade quilts made by a grandmother and pets. Other departures were more hurried and many reported clogged roads.

"One of the things we love about living in Redding is there's no real traffic, so to be bumper-to-bumper on these little streets we zip up and down most times is pretty surreal," said Kim Niemer, community services director with the city's recreation department.

Niemer had the foresight Thursday to collect family mementos, papers and her grandmother's quilts. She left around 9 p.m., an hour before an evacuation notice was issued, and joined a line of vehicles, some carrying boats and RVs.

Anna Anderson left shortly after Niemer did, but her departure was more rushed. When she heard a highway patrol officer holler, "this is mandatory evacuation, you must leave!" through a megaphone, the Redding resident knew it was time to go.

Anderson, her parents, and two teenage children raced around their four-bedroom house to gather their belongings. Outside, fierce winds blew ash into their eyes as they packed up the car with their two cats, clothes and pictures.

They spent the night on the floor of the Redding Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

"Fires happen a lot here, but this is the closest that it's ever gotten for us," said Anderson, 36, a clerk at the Superior Court of California in Shasta County.

The family was able to check their still-standing house Friday. They watched as firefighting planes flew directly overhead. As they left for a second time around noon, the National Guard had arrived.

"I went through it again, crying my eyes out, leaving again," she said.

On Thursday morning, west Redding resident Alayne Rodriguez received a call at work from her husband, Rafael, that their apartment complex was being evacuated. It turned out to be faulty information, but it gave the couple warning.

With the fire edging closer, they fetched their Goldendoodle, Jack, and packed the car with computers, legal documents and a few photo books. Rodriguez, 26, grabbed the dress she wore at their 2014 wedding.

They helped neighbors pack and left shortly after 7 p.m., not even half an hour before her neighborhood received its order to evacuate.

"Because the fire spread so quickly, it added a tinge of panic to our decision making," Rodriguez said.

Chapin returned to hard-hit Lake Redding Estates on Friday and cried when he found his home still standing.

"I thank the man upstairs for that," Chapin said.

___

Gill reported from San Francisco. AP reporter Janie Har contributed from San Francisco.
A construction worker was killed in a trench collapse at a construction site in Daly City, authorities said Friday.

The incident was reported 11:20 a.m. at a new housing development on 118 Linda Vista Drive, near Robertson Intermediate School and west of Highway 101. Authorities said the worker was installing a 24-inch concrete storm drain about 12 feet deep when the trench collapsed.

Two search and rescue teams were on scene late Friday attempting to recover the worker's body.

"They're trying to remove some of the dirt and debris from the area to stray and stabilize to allow the rescue workers to go in to extricate the victim," said Inspector Clyde Preston from the North County Fire Department.

The woerker was reportedly grading a 12-foot deep trench when it collapsed just before noon Friday. When emergency crews arrived, they found the worker was partially buried in the rubble.

"Fire fighter and paramedics at the scene evaluated the victim and declared the person dead at the scene," said Preston.

Power was turned off for a while in the afternoon as crews took down a power pole right next to the accident scene.

"Its sad," said neighbor Nazmeen Kadir. "Its unfortunate, its very sad, I mean, you know, I really feel bad for the family."

California Occupational Safety and Health Administration was at the scene to inspect the safety of the site, but it is unknown when crews will be able to pull the man's body from the trench.

No other information was immediately available.
What to Know The Santa Rosa Fire Department sent two engines and eight firefighters to battle the Carr Fire

Marin County fire also sent crews, three of their firefighters suffered burn injuries but were treated and released.

For North Bay residents, the flames scattered through Shasta County are a reminder of what they went through less than a year ago

As the Carr Fire continues to spread through Redding, Bay Area fire departments are on their way to help, feeling the worst kind of deja vu as firefighters say the fire is eerily similar to the North Bay fires that ripped through neighborhoods less than a year ago.

"Some eerie similarities to what we saw here," said Paul Lowenthal from the Santa Rosa Fire Department, which sent two engines and eight firefighters to the Carr Fire Thursday. "Its absolutely what we want to be doing, helping those who are facing what we faced last year."

Nearby Marin County fire also sent crews, three of their firefighters suffered burn injuries but were treated and released. All three injured while trying to keep the Carr Fire from doing what the Tubbs Fire did to Santa Rosa.

"The fire and wind picked up and laid the fire down almost like a blow torch in their direction where they were defending the house," said Marin County Fire Chief Jason Weber.

For North Bay residents, the flames scattered through Shasta County are a reminder of what they went through less than a year ago.

"I just feel for them," said Santa Rosa resident Jackie Irish. "Pray if youre a praying person and watch out for your neighbor."

As Irish checked on the progress on her home being rebuilt in Coffey Park, she learned of the massive Carr Fire in Shasta County that exploded Thursday night, with similarities to the blaze that sent her family running.

"I was able to get our pets in their carriers, my husband said there was a fire coming and the house burned down about a half an hour later," Irish said.

Santa Rosa firefighters are expected to be up in Redding for up to two weeks, as for Irish, she hopes to be in her new home by the beginning of October, before the one year anniversary.
Pittsburg police on Friday released shocking body camera video of a deadly officer-involved shooting earlier this year.

The police department said the shooting was justified, but the man's family thinks it shows just the opposite. Police officials said they released the video in an effort to be completely open with the community.

The incident shown in the body camera video goes down in a matter of seconds. When it was over, 45-year-old Terry Amons was dead, shot three times in the back and once in the chest. But there is disagreement on exactly what the video depicts.

"It touched me profoundly," said Amon's uncle Cedrick Moore. "I had no choice but to speak out what I seen."



It shows officers responding to a call of suspicious activity in a Nation's parking lot. When officers approach a man sitting in a car, the man has his hands on the steering wheel, but officers spot a gun in the center console. The man then moves his arm toward his lap and seconds later officers fire several rounds, killing Amons.

Police said the officers feared for their lives, but his family's attorney said the officers misinterpreted what actually happened.

"Youre nervous, youre nervous when your hands go all over the place, but not one time did I see him go for that gun, I was looking for that," said attorney John Burris.



The District Attorney's Office has concluded the shooting was justified and the officers do not face any criminal charges.

The police chief issued a statement, saying "We want to remind the public this continues to be an emotionally painful and difficult situation for all involved and our thoughts remain with Mr. Amons family."

"To me, what happen was unjustly," said Moore.


What to Know Fire has swept through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and hit homes in Redding, a city of 92,000

Carr Fire has destroyed about 500 structures and is threatening nearly 5,000 others

Flames have burned through over 80,000 acres

Firefighters battling a deadly wildfire in Northern California kept it from doing more damage to the city of Redding but three smaller communities were in danger as flames closed in and residents packed up to leave.

The fire grew by about 35 percent overnight to 127 square miles (over 80,000 acres) and pushed southwest of Redding, toward the communities of Ono, Igo and Gas Point. The winds that aided firefighters in keeping the flames from more populated areas were propelling it forward at a frightening rate.

"We're not getting a break with the weather," said Chris Anthony, a spokesman for Cal Fire, the state agency responsible for fighting wildfires. "It just continues to be really hot, really dry and we continue to get those winds. ... This fire's getting so big and there are so many different parts to it."

Three Redding residents have been found dead, the family confirmed to NBC Bay Area.

Five-year-old James Roberts, 4-year-old Emily Roberts and Melody Bledsoe were caught in the path of the Carr Fire when they were about to evacuate their home on Quartz Hill in Redding, Bledsone's granddaughter Shelly Hoskison said.

The flames moved so fast that firefighters working in oven-like temperatures and bone-dry conditions had to drop efforts to battle the blaze at one point to help people escape. Two firefighters were killed: Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke and a bulldozer operator Don Ray Smith of Pollock Pines. He was the second bulldozer operator to die in a California blaze in less than two weeks.

[NATL-BAY]PHOTOS: Carr Fire in Shasta County Destroys Homes, Kills 8

The so-called Carr Fire was ignited Monday by a vehicle and exploded Thursday night, jumped the Sacramento River and pushed into Redding, about 250 miles north of San Francisco and the largest city in the region with about 92,000 residents. Two firefighters were killed and the latest tally of 500 destroyed structures was sure to rise. About 38,000 people are under evacuation orders, 5,000 homes are threatened and the fire is just 5 percent contained.

Fire officials said Saturday that the number of the homes destroy "is probably much higher" that the 500 officially counted and confirmed.

President Donald Trump has approved the state of emergency declaration due to the wildfires.

"The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population," the statement read.



Elsewhere in California, large fires continued to burn outside Yosemite National Park and in the San Jacinto Mountains east of Los Angeles near Palm Springs. Nationally, 89 active large fires have consumed nearly 930,000 acres in 14 states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. So far this year, nearly 37,000 wildfires have burned more than 4.25 million acres.

The Carr Fire destroyed nearly all of Keswick, a hamlet just west of Redding. One of the homes lost belonged to Shyla and Jason Campbell.

Jason, a firefighter, was six hours away from his home and family, battling a wildfire near Yosemite Valley, when the Carr Fire moved in with devastating speed.

"It's huge flames, it's coming up the hill, and everyone's out and we're watching it, then it goes down, and everyone's like, 'Oh it's going out,' " said Shyla, 32. "And I'm like, 'No, it's going down the mountain and it's going to come back up the next ridge.' "

She was right.

The family spent the night at a hotel. When Jason Campbell returned on Friday, he found their home of five years was gone, along with an RV and a boat.

"It's tough," Shyla Campbell said Friday as she sheltered in the city of Shasta Lake. "I just have to figure out where we're going to stay. We're just trying to stay away from the fire."

Thousands of people scrambled to escape amid flying embers before walls of flames descended from forested hills onto their neighborhoods Thursday. At least two flaming tornados toppled trees, shook firefighting equipment and busted truck windows, taking "down everything in its path," said Scott McLean, a spokesman for Cal Fire.

Residents who gathered belongings in haste described a chaotic and congested getaway as sparks flew and fire leaped across the wide Sacramento River, torching subdivisions in Redding.

Redding police chief Roger Moore was among those who lost their homes.

Greg and Terri Hill evacuated their Redding home of 18 years Thursday night with little more than their medications, photo albums, clothes and firearms, assuming they'd be back home in a few days.

When they returned Friday, virtually nothing was left but fine particles of ash. It was so hot, they couldn't walk through it to see if anything survived.

"It's pretty emotional," Terri Hill said. "I know it's just stuff. A lot of memories. But we'll make new memories and get new stuff. Everybody's safe."

The Carr Fire burning in Shasta County in Northern California exploded overnight, breaking containment lines, according to Cal Fire spokeswoman Stacy Nolan. Sixteen structures had burned as of Thursday night, and nearly 500 were threatened by the blaze.

The Hills fled before they were told to, knowing danger was afoot when the power went out and helicopters suddenly began flying low overhead.

Liz Williams loaded up two kids in her car and then found herself locked in bumper-to-bumper traffic with neighbors trying to flee from Lake Redding Estates.

She eventually jumped the curb onto a sidewalk and "booked it."

"I've never experienced something so terrifying in my life," she said. "I didn't know if the fire was just going to jump out behind a bush and grab me and suck me in."

Fire officials warned that the blaze would probably burn deeper into urban areas before there was any hope of containing it. So far, the Carr Fire has either changed direction or was stopped before it burning into Redding's city center.
A man was shot to death early Saturday on the Dan Ryan Expressway on the South Side, according to the Chicago Fire Department.

Authorities were called about 12:15 a.m. to the inbound lanes of the inbound Dan Ryan at 25th Street and found a 25-year-old man in a vehicle on the shoulder of the road, the department said. The man had a gunshot wound to his head and was pronounced dead at the scene.

State police located two other occupants of the vehicle away from the scene on the expressway. One person was found injured at Connies Pizza at 2373 S. Archer Avenue. They were taken to Stroger Hospital with injuries that were not life-threatening and not related to the shooting, according to Illinois State Police.

[NATL] Top News Photos: Pope Visits Japan, and More

Another occupant of the vehicle was found uninjured near the expressway and 31st Street, state police said. The persons involvement in the shooting was not known.

The Cook County Medical Examiners Office hasnt released details about the fatality.

Illinois State Police were investigating.
Hundreds of people gathered in Haddam on Friday night to show support for the American flag and to show their displeasure with town selectman Melissa Schlag, who chose to kneel during the Pledge of Allegiance at a town meeting earlier this month.

They placed 1,000 flags on the Higganum Green, many of which previously graced the grave sites of local veterans, according to the event organizer Ron Annino, a Navy veteran.

Schlag spoke exclusively to NBC Connecticuts on Friday and insisted her decision to take a knee at a Board of Selectmen meeting last week was not disrespectful to veterans. She said generations of her family, including her father, served in the military.

I chose to kneel not out of disrespect for the flag or our country, but out of utter respect, but also fear for what we have to lose, and all of the attacks on our democracy, she said.

Schlag said her protest was meant to call attention to President Trumps controversial statements following his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putins in Helsinki, which took place earlier that day.

She told NBC Connecticut her patriotism is evident in her decision to serve as a public official, and she believes taking a knee in a public meeting was her way of giving a reverential nod to the hard-won right to free speech.

If we are not allowed to exercise our freedom of expression and of peaceful protest then they fought for nothing at all, she said.

The video of her kneeling for the Pledge of Allegiance has been seen all over the country, and she has received numerous messages of support and heavy criticism.

Some at Friday's counter-protest disagree with Schlag's decision to kneel.

I havent been ever to any protest because I dont really feel it accomplishes much, but this particular thing because it was an official, I just dont feel theres a place in society for you to rebel at your town council meeting, said Steven Pinto, an Air Force veteran who drove in from Manchester for the event.

Im not really sure what happened, but its highly disrespectful, said Lisa Johnson, of Higganum.

Schlag said she plans to continue taking a knee in protest. She told NBC Connecticut she does not intend to run for re-election when her term as selectman ends in November of 2019. It's a decision she said she made before the controversy.
A Somers High School science teacher has been placed on administrative leave.

A letter the superintendent of schools in Somers sent to Jim Folger, of Enfield, on June 15 said he was being placed on leave indefinitely pending an investigation into allegations including unprofessional conduct in the classroom and unprofessional conduct directed toward staff.

He was ordered to refrain from attending school functions, visiting school grounds unless the administration instructs him to and communicating with staff members other than administration. He was also instructed to refrain from contact with students.

NBC Connecticut attempt to reach Folger for comment have been unsuccessful.
A line of strong storms moved into Connecticut on Saturday afternoon.

The storm produced heavy rain, high winds, lightning and hail as it moved from New York into Connecticut.

Severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for Litchfield and Hartford counties but were later canceled.

As the storm moved into Hartford County, the Xfinity Theatre announced it would delay opening the gates to Saturday's Lady Antebellum and Darius Rucker concert. [[489427571, C]]

The concert venue urged fans to stay in their cars until the gates opened at 6 p.m.
When Merline Furze decided to purchase solar panels, she thought the process would be simple enough. Buy the panels, get them installed and save some cash. But what she didnt consider is how inclement weather could pose a challenge.

One of my friends across the street had it and she recommended the solar to me, Furze said.

The Windsor resident says a salesman with Sunrun convinced her to buy the panels. So, she signed a 20-year contract to get the service in 2016.

He talked to me and told me how Im going to save energy and all that stuff and I said okay, Furze said.

Furze said she noticed significant savings on her electric bill after the solar panels were installed. Then in February 2017, high winds damaged her roof and the company removed the panels two months later.

Im frustrated. Im angry, she said.

Furze told us once the contractor finished the roof repairs, she waited nearly a year for someone from Sunrun to come out and replace the solar panels after calling the company repeatedly.

I waited months and months and nobody came and nobody called me, she said.

Sunrun disputes that claim, stating that Furze initially requested not to have the panels re-installed.

Sunrun put the panels back up in April of this year. But from April 24 to May 24, Furze said the solar panels werent working and she said her electric bill nearly doubled for that month.

So, she contacted Sunrun again and when Furze couldnt get the issue resolved, she reached out to NBC Connecticut Responds.

A Sunrun spokesperson explained that Furze had an outstanding bill while her roof was being repaired.

Upon further investigation, we discovered that the panels were removed due to a non-solar related windstorm issue following that experience, Ms. Furze requested that the panels not be re-installed. In May 2018, Ms. Furze allowed us to re-install the panels; however, there was still an outstanding bill from when Ms. Furzes roof was being repaired.

Ms. Furze [sic] roof issue was not related to Sunruns solar panel performance, service response, or other concerns within the scope of our agreement. Despite this, we have gone ahead and reimbursed Ms. Furze's account for the $156.20.

Giving households freedom of choice when it comes to their energy future is integral to our mission..

And with this resolution, Furze said she couldnt be happier that NBC Connecticut Responds stepped in to help her.

Im grateful. Im thankful to you.
Saturday is the final day of NBC 5's "Supporting Our Schools" drive, which will help students across North Texas start the new school year on the right foot by providing them with the supplies they need to succeed.

To participate, simply head to any local Tom Thumb or Albertson's store. Then, when you are ready to check out, tell the cashier you would like to make a $10 donation to support our schools. They will add the donation onto your total bill - and you are good to go.

That money will be used to purchase new school supplies, which will then be donated to two local organizations that will put them directly into the hands of students.

"It's amazing what something so small to you and I, and to the shoppers that donate $10 to this supply drive, what that really means to these students," said Cory Henderson, vice president of development for Communities in Schools North Texas, which is one of the groups receiving the supplies. "Their eyes get big and they get really excited to go back to school and start."



During last year's Supporting Our Schools drive, $369,000 worth of supplies went to more than 25,000 kids across North Texas. This year's total is on track to surpass that.

"It's a great message of, 'You're important, we want you to succeed in school and in education,'" said Dana Vilardi, executive director of the Pat & Emmitt Smith Charities, which is also receiving donated supplies.

Both groups noted that kids who do not have the supplies they need to start the school year immediately fall behind both academically and socially. And the need is great.

"We find our students' families deciding, 'Do I buy school supplies or do I put food on the table for my kids?'" said Henderson - a question they will no longer have to answer, thanks to the generosity of the North Texas community.

Donations will be accepted through 11:59pm Saturday.
After two and a half hours of deliberation, a Texas doctor was sentenced to 10 years in prison for sexually assaulting a 71-year-old patient two years ago. The orthopedic surgeon could have faced a life sentence.



The orthopedic surgeon accused of sexually abusing several patients was convicted earlier on Friday of assaulting the woman who was in his care.

Donald Ozumba, 45, was found guilty of aggravated sexual assault of an elderly person after a trial in Collin County, northeast of Dallas.

Six other sex assault cases are pending against the Nigerian-born doctor. The Texas Medical Board accuses Ozumba of sexually assaulting a total of nine patients and of inappropriate sexual conduct with four others. The board suspended his license within a week of his 2017 arrest.

In the trial prosecuted this week, the victim testified she was being treated at a McKinney clinic for a physical disability when Ozumba used his finger to illegally touch and penetrate her. The women said she froze, abruptly left the office and later contacted police after speaking with her husband.

County prosecutors have described the case as one of the most egregious they've encountered involving a physician victimizing patients.

Ozumba's attorney, Toby Shook, said there wasn't enough evidence for a conviction and that the victim was misremembering what happened.

"I don't believe she has an accurate memory about what happened," Shook said, according to The Dallas Morning News.

Jurors heard testimony from three other women who said they, too, were sexually assaulted by Ozumba under the guise of medical treatment, the newspaper reported.
While most people believe that the actress is planning to get married soon, that doesnt seem to be the case.

Rumour has that Priyanka Chopra has opted out of Salman Khans Bharat because shes about to get married to her American boyfriend Nick Jonas. But if that were the case, wouldnt she have opted out of her other film commitments as well? We hear the actress is all set to begin shooting for Shonali Boses The Sky Is Pink.

A source close to the project confirms, Priyanka Chopra starts shooting for film from August 8 onwards, in Mumbai. If she were planning to get married soon, she would have informed us by now. She was supposed to join Salman Khans Bharat shoot in the second week of August. The plan was to shoot for both films simultaneously. Now, shes only going to be shooting for our film.

Priyanka Chopra

Another source close to Shonali Boses film says that an impending wedding is not the reason for Priyankas decision to quit Bharat.

It was probably the length of her role, but we cant be sure. In The Sky Is Pink, she is the central character, while Bharat is Salmans film all the way, the source says.

A director who has worked closely with Priyanka in the past is as perplexed as us by her abrupt exit from Bharat. It is a little strange that Priyanka didnt gauge the scope of her role when she agreed to do Bharat. As far as Bollywood is concerned, she has incensed a whole lot of important people. After this, the going will be tough for her, he says.

Years ago, Priyanka offended Salman Khan by turning down a project that they were supposed to do together, and he refused to even acknowledge her presence for nearly a decade. Now that theyve finally made up, it doesnt seem like a good idea for her to piss him off again.

MT19
Police were trying to determine a motive Saturday after they said a man fatally shot four family members at two locations, including his father and stepmother inside a Texas nursing home before killing himself there too.

Richard Starry fatally shot himself inside Retama Manor nursing home after killing 85-year-old Ernest Starry and his wife, Thelma Montalvo, Friday night, said Enrique Paredez, a police lieutenant in the Corpus Christi suburb of Robstown. A gun was recovered at the scene.

Paredez said a family member later called officers to the couple's home where their 13-year-old adopted son and a 41-year-old son of Montalvo were also found shot to death. The names of the other two sons and Montalvo's age were not released.

The reason behind the shootings was unclear, Paredez said at a Saturday news conference.

"As far as a motive, the investigation is too premature at this time to determine," Paredez said.

Reuben Garcia, whose father lives in the nursing home, was inside the home at the time of the shooting.

"I thought it was just a ladder that had fallen down, that's what it sounded like to me. Then I heard somebody say run, run," Garcia said. "So we ran," getting his father out of the building.

Robstown Police Chief Erasmo Flores said during the news conference that investigators are working "diligently" on the case and that the results will be presented to the district attorney for review.
What to Know At least 83 humans perished in this week's ferocious wildfires near Athens, Greece.

Area residents who fled the advancing flames couldn't bring pets to hotels where they relocated.

Most rescued pets at the clinic have yet to be reclaimed by their owners.

The kitten lay on the ground so perfectly still that passing volunteer rescuers had initially written her off as just another of the many victims  human and animal  of this week's ferocious wildfires near Athens.

But then came a hint of life  the frail feline began crying out and slowly moving her tiny body, singed by heat and flames.

Rescuers turned her over to veterinarians at Vets 4 Life, a pet clinic in Pikermi just west of the coastal resorts of Rafina and Mati, sites devastated by the blaze.

Clinic veterinarians have so far treated around 70 animals injured in the fire, some four times normal numbers during this period. At least 83 humans perished in Monday's deadly blaze, and rescue crews are still combing the devastated area of Mati in search of dead and injured.

"It's just crazy in here, people trying to get help, looking for their pets, crying all the time and we're trying to help the animals, we're trying to take care of their burns, their wounds and it's very difficult," Vet Irene Mavrakis told the Associated Press.

Mavrakis was among those volunteers out on patrol, sometimes confronting the macabre sight of dead pets still chained up on their owners' property.

Many of the cats and dogs that survived had suffered broken limbs, said Mavrakis. Others sustained more severe injuries including a cat brought in with its eyes burnt.

"It's not only the trauma on their body, you see the animals are scared, they don't trust anybody," Mavrakis said.

She said one problem faced by area residents who fled the advancing flames was that they couldn't bring pets to hotels where they relocated.

Most rescued pets at the clinic have yet to be reclaimed by their owners, Mavrakis said, with only five of the dozen dogs brought in reclaimed.

The rescued kitten is now set for a new life with local resident Evangelia Gkika, who has adopted her and renamed her Fire.

"I asked which is the worst animal from the fire and they showed me this," Gkika said. "And it was love at first sight."
A wildfire that roared with little warning into Northern California's Shasta County has claimed two lives as thousands of people scrambled to escape before the walls of flames descended from forested hills onto their neighborhoods, officials said Friday.

The blaze grew to 75 square miles by Friday night and had leveled at least 500 structures and burned 48,312 acres, leaving neighborhoods smoldering and 37,000 people under evacuation orders.

UPDATE: Click here for NBC Bay Area's latest coverage of the Carr Fire



Two have died while battling the raging Carr Fire: Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke and a contractor hired to try to contain the flames with a bulldozer. Authorities have not released the name of the contractor.

The Redding Fire Department and Stoke's brother Seth Stoke both posted to social media about the loss.

"Jeremy died while battling the Carr Fire. We ask for your thoughts and prayers for his family and the RFD as we process this tragic loss," the fire department posted on Twitter.

Seth Stoke posted a message on his Facebook page:

"My big brother Jeremy Stoke was the firefighter killed last night on the fire. He is one of the best men I have ever known. I only hope that I can one day fill shoes as heroic and honorable as his and make him proud."

The flames moved so fast that firefighters working in oven-like temperatures and bone-dry conditions had to drop efforts to battle the blaze at one point to help people escape.

The fire, which created at least two flaming tornados that toppled trees, shook firefighting equipment and busted truck windows, took "down everything in its path," said Scott McLean, a spokesman for Cal Fire.

[[489345771, C]]

Fire officials warned that the blaze would probably burn deeper into urban areas before there was any hope of containing it, though it either changed direction or was stopped before it could burn into the core of the city.



Residents in the western part of Redding who had not been under evacuation orders were caught off guard and had to flee with little notice.

"When it hit, people were really scrambling," McLean said. "There was not much of a warning."[[489341451, C]]

Many fire crews turned their focus from the flames to getting people out alive.

"Really, we're in a life-saving mode right now in Redding," said Jonathan Cox, battalion chief with Cal Fire. "We're not fighting a fire. We're trying to move people out of the path of it because it is now deadly, and it is now moving at speeds and in ways we have not seen before in this area."

Some residents drove to hotels or the homes of family members in safer parts of California, while other evacuees poured into a shelter just outside of town.

A reporter with Redding television station KRCR choked up as she reported live updates about the fire before the station had to go off the air later. Two news anchors told viewers that the building was being evacuated and urged residents to "be safe."

Journalists at the Record Searchlight newspaper tweeted about continuing to report on the fire without electricity in their newsroom, and a reporter at nearby KHSL television wrote on Twitter that the station's Redding reporters were "running home to gather their things."

The Carr Fire burning in Shasta County in Northern California exploded overnight, breaking containment lines, according to Cal Fire spokeswoman Stacy Nolan. Sixteen structures had burned as of Thursday night, and nearly 500 were threatened by the blaze.

The fire began Monday with a mechanical failure of a vehicle. It grew completely out of control on Thursday amid scorching temperatures, low humidity and windy conditions. Doubling in size, it tore through two small communities and reached the city of Redding.

Brett Gouvea, incident commander of the crews battling the fire, urged residents to pay close attention to the blaze.

"This fire is extremely dangerous and moving with no regard for what's in its path," he said.

Earlier in the day, with flames exploding around Whiskeytown Lake, people tried to save boats at a marina by untying them from moorings and pushing them to safety. But it wasn't swift enough to spare them all. Dozens of charred, twisted and melted boats were among the losses at Oak Bottom Marina.

"The boat docks down there  all the way out in the water  30 to 40 boats caught fire when the fire laid down on top of them last night and burned those up," said fire Chief Mike Hebrard of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

[[489377761, C]]



Wildfires throughout the state have burned through tinder-dry brush and forest, forced thousands to evacuate homes and caused campers to pack up their tents at the height of summer. Gov. Jerry Brown declared states of emergency for the three largest fires, which will authorize the state to rally resources to local governments.

A huge forest fire continued to grow outside Yosemite National Park. That blaze killed 36-year-old Braden Varney, a heavy equipment operator for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection whose bulldozer rolled over into a ravine July 14.

Hundreds of miles to the south, the Cranston Fire grew to 7.5 square miles and about 3,000 residents remained under evacuation orders in Idyllwild and several neighboring communities. That fire, which destroyed five homes, is believed to have been sparked by arson.[[489337691, C]]
What to Know Free public sunscreen kiosks will be stationed across Santa Monica and Malibu beaches.

The kiosks will remain up through Halloween.

BrightGuard's founders say they got the idea when a young friend of theirs was diagnosed with skin cancer.

As Southern California goes through another massive summer heat wave, three organizations are teaming up to make sure beachgoers have free sunscreen.

Sunscreen manufacterer BrightGuard, along with UCLA Health and nonprofit IMPACT Melanoma, are installing 50 sunscreen dispensers across Santa Monica and Malibu beaches. They hope to reduce harmful sun exposure that could lead to skin cancer.

"I know a lot of parents are really vigilant about putting sunscreen on their children" said Jennifer Hsiao, a dermatologist with UCLA Health. "And hopefully the kiosk will be reminders to put it on your child, and put it on yourself to protect yourself too."

In addition to the 50 stations around Santa Monica and Malibu, there are plans to put eight more sunscreen stations throughout Los Angeles County. All the dispensers are set to remain through the end of October. BrightGuard reps say they were inspired to create the dispensers after a friend of one of its founders was diagnosed with skin cancer at a young age.

Former UCLA volleyball player Sinjin Smith attended the unveiling of one such kiosk on the Santa Monica Pier. Smith, a skin cancer survivor, is one of the lucky ones: an estimate of over 9,000 Americans will die of skin cancer just this year. About one in five Americans will develop skin cancer in their lifetime.

Doctors say spots that change in color grow in size, or become itchy or bleeding, should be checked out by dermatologist for possible signs of cancer.

NBC4's Austin Green contributed to this report.
A Los Angeles Police Department officer was hospitalized Saturday with a gunshot wound after an officer-involved shooting in North Hills that also resulted in a wound to the suspect.

Officers assigned to the Mission Station conducted a traffic stop at 10:15 p.m. Friday in the area of Plummer Street and Noble Avenue and in the course of the stop the suspect shot one of the officers and her partner returned fire, striking the suspect, according to a statement from the Los Angeles Police Department.

Both the officer and the suspect were taken to a hospital.

"She (the officer) is in remarkably good spirits and is thankful for the outpouring of support," LAPD Chief Michel Moore said Saturday.

The condition of the suspect was not immediately known, said Officer Mike Lopez of the LAPD's Media Relations Section.

The officer may have suffered a gunshot wound to the leg, according to media reports.

An investigation into what prompted the shooting is underway.
A man suspected of killing a nurse and raping another woman in New York is scheduled to be arraigned Monday on charges that he sexually assaulted and tried to kill a woman in her North Hollywood apartment after they went on a date last weekend.

Danueal Drayton, 27, is charged with one count each of attempted murder, forcible rape, false imprisonment by violence and sexual penetration by a foreign object involving the alleged attack last weekend.

Drayton is accused of sexually assaulting the 28-year-old woman, trying to strangle her and refusing to let her leave her apartment, according to Deputy District Attorney Elan Carr.

When we captured Danuel Drayton in LA for the murder of Queens nurse Samantha Stewart, he had another victim held captive. He's off the streets but may have victimized others via online dating sites. Need help or have info? Call 800-577-TIPS/ sex crimes hotline 212-267-RAPE pic.twitter.com/iif7E9KuyA  Chief Dermot F. Shea (@NYPDDetectives) July 26, 2018

The crimes allegedly occurred last Sunday and Monday. Drayton was arrested about 5 p.m. Tuesday by Los Angeles police in North Hollywood, and could face more than 23 years to life in prison if convicted as charged.

He was wanted in New York in connection with the killing of nurse Samantha Stewart, who was found dead in her Queens apartment on July 17, as well as the rape earlier this month of a woman in Brooklyn, according to media reports.

[LA Updated 10/8] 2018 Top SoCal Photos in the News

Stewart, 29, was found dead by her father and brother, and authorities later determined that she had been strangled, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Police believe Drayton met the women through an online dating site and that others were possibly victimized.
What to Know Three students at the Joffrey Ballet School in lower Manhattan caught a man who had intentionally bumped into a dozen women on Wednesday

The trio said they were walking in Washington Square Park when they noticed what he was doing

They followed him, recorded the incident, canvassed the neighborhood when he got away and waved down officers so they could make an arrest

Ballet students Anya Salmin, Catie Beth Kirch and Leslie Mahan were enjoying a stroll through Washington Square Park when they saw a man stumble onto a woman.

Then they saw him stumble into another woman. And another.

By their count, it happened twelve times -- and once they realized it was deliberate, they knew they had to do something. So they followed him, cameras recording every second, until they could wave down an officer to make an arrest.

We were horrified," said Mahan.

The students at the Joffrey Ballet School first noticed the man after dinner at Rosemarys Pizza on Wednesday night. Once they realized that the man was exclusively bumping into women -- one of whom appeared to be a child -- they decided to start recording.

Any time she sees something bad happening she just tries to record it, Mahan said of Salmin, who had flown back to her home country of Australia since the episode.

They said many of the women were confused when the man bumped into them with his hands apparently intentionally placed. Some brushed the contact off as incidental, but they said others were taken aback.

We were kind of watching the womens faces as it was happening to them and they were just kind of confused and shocked, said Kirch, of Georgia.

Mahan, who lives in Michigan, said they were hoping to come across an NYPD officer, but when one didnt appear they began shouting. The man took off running, and the trio lost sight.

But they didnt stop their search. Someone nearby told them the man lived at a shelter, and the trio spent 15 minutes canvassing the neighborhood until they tracked him down.

This time, an NYPD patrol car was in eye shot, and Mahan flagged down the officers, who chased the man down and cuffed him. The suspect, 28-year-old Dylan Hamilton, is now facing sex abuse and forcible touching charges.

Im shaking guys, we got him. We got him, Mahan says in a Facebook video of the man being walked away in cuffs.

Kirch added with a fist pump on Friday, "just like, seeing him in handcufffs..."

"So awesome," Mahan finishes.

Attorney information for Hamilton wasnt immediately available.
What to Know Mary Rose Trinidad was the sole survivor in her vehicle of a crash that killed her husband and four daughters on July 6 in Delaware.

A pickup truck, driven by 44-year-old Alvin Hubbard Jr., veered across a grassy median on Delaware Route 1 and struck the family's minivan.

Trinidad says that the only thing keeping her going in the wake of this tragedy is the hope of seeking justice.

The New Jersey woman who was the only survivor of a head-on crash that killed her husband and four daughters in Delaware earlier this month said Friday she is "dying inside every day" from the loss of her family.

Mary Rose Trinidad is currently recovering from the physical injuries she sustained during the crash at the Kessler Rehabilitation Institute in West Orange, but she says she will never truly heal.

"My broken bones and my injuries will heal, but not the unbearable pain in my heart," Trinidad told News 4.

She added, "part of me died that day and I'm dying inside everyday."

A Ford pickup truck, driven by 44-year-old Alvin S. Hubbard Jr. of East New Market, Maryland, veered across a grassy median on Delaware Route 1 through Townsend and into northbound traffic, police said. It struck the family's minivan head-on the afternoon of July 6.

The victims were identified as Audie Trinidad, 61; and his daughters, 20-year-old Nikki, 17-year-old Danna and 13-year-old twins Allison and Melissa.

The family was returning from a trip to Ocean City, Maryland, when the crash took place.



Hubbard and his passenger were both able to walk away without serious injuries.

As the only survivor from her vehicle, 53-year-old Trinidad says that the only thing keeping her going in the wake of this tragedy is the chance to seek justice for her family.

"I want justice for them and him criminally prosecuted," she added.

The girls and their father have not yet been laid to rest, although a vigil was held by friends on July 7.

"We want to keep this case in the headlines and let the state troopers and the attorney general know it's important," Diane Lucianna, one of Trinidad's attorneys, told News 4.

There will be no funeral service until Trinidad is able to walk to attend the services herself.
Pennsylvania's highest court says a landmark grand jury report identifies more than 300 "predator priests" in six of the state's Roman Catholic dioceses.

The Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling Friday allowing the report on clergy child sexual abuse and allegations of cover-up efforts to be made public.

However, the names of priests and others who have challenged the findings will be blacked out in at least the initial version to be released.

The Survivors Netwrok of those Abused by Priests applauded the decison.

"Those of us who have worked with SNAP for years know that it is not easy to go up against the Catholic Church, with its great power and wealth," SNAP said in a statement. "We are thankful to the attorney general for working so hard to have the bulk of the grand jury report released."

SNAP also thanked the victims of abuse who shared their stories with the grand jury.

"We are also delighted that many survivors who shared their truths with the grand jurors, and who feared that this difficult and painful experience was going to be for nothing, will finally see their horrific experiences made public," the organization said.

Pennsylvania attorney general Josh Shapiro has called for the release of the report. NBC10 and Telemundo 62 are among the media organizations that have also asked the court to release it.

Local Catholic dioceses have also spoken in support of the report's release.

"The Diocese of Allentown welcomes any action that will lead to an expeditious release of the Statewide Grand Jury Report in any form," Matt Kerr, director of communications and external affairs for the diocese of Allentown said.

The court wants the redaction process to be completed by Aug. 8, when the 900-page report is expected to be made public.

The court says it will still consider the challenges by some priests and others who say their constitutional rights to their reputations and to due process of law are being violated.
Uh-oh! It could be you, or it could be us, but there's no page here.
The two ambassadors individually have worked well for the brand, and so a joint commercial almost seems irresistible.

Actor Ranveer Singh and south Indias biggest superstar Mahesh Babu are all set to share screen space, but its not in a feature film. The two are likely to come together to shoot a commercial for Thums Up, a beverage that theyve both been endorsing for years. Apparently, the Cola company wants its two premium brand ambassadors to feature in a sleek action-packed commercial for the drink.

Mahesh Babu

Mahesh Babu has been endorsing Thums Up for ten years now. The company refuses to let go of him, and hes a dedicated brand ambassador. So much so that his family members are not allowed to drink any soft drink other than Thums Up. As for Ranveer, he stepped into Salman Khans shoes in 2016 when Thums Up decided to drop the senior superstar as their ambassador, a source reveals.

The two ambassadors individually have worked well for the brand, and so a joint commercial almost seems irresistible. According to sources, the script for the commercial will be as good as that of a two-hero Bollywood film, and the company is expected to hire a top-notch director to shoot it.

We can hardly wait to see the finished product.
Delaware State Police are searching for a teen who they say escaped a juvenile facility Saturday morning.



Shamar Wright, 17, was being escorted from the Mowlds Cottage juvenile facility on 1825 Faulkland Rd. in Wilmington, Delaware, around 8:45 a.m. to another facility when he escaped on foot, police said. He was last seen running towards Rt. 141, according to investigators.



Wright is described as a black teen standing 5-foot-5 and weighing 100 pounds. If you have any information on his whereabouts, please call Detective J. Hatchell of the Troop 2 Youth Aid Division at 302-365-8583 or 911.




What to Know Israel deployed tanks to face Hamas military targets

Three Palestinians were killed, the Palestinian Health Ministry said

Israel struck Hamas targets in Gaza on Friday, killing at least four Palestinians, after gunmen killed an Israeli soldier near the border, officials said.

Israeli military officials said a "terrorist squad" fired at troops, killing one soldier, NBC News reported. The military did not specify the condition of the other soldiers who came under fire.

"Hamas chose to escalate the security situation  and will bear the consequences for its actions," the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.


The city of Annapolis held a benefit concert featuring Maryland-bred rockers Good Charlotte to honor the five Capital Gazette employees killed in an attack in their newsroom last month.

Good Charlotte headlined Saturday's concert titled "Annapolis Rising: A Benefit for the Capital Gazette and Free Press & First Responders." Other performers include Dublin 5, Higher Hands and Clones of Funk.



Prominent journalists spoke between music performances at the event Saturday afternoon.

Elisabeth Bumiller, the Washington bureau chief of The New York Times, says the Times' office grew silent when they heard reports of the shooting.

She says the journalists slain in the attack were part of the community who "remind us that the work we do is so vital to our towns, our cities, our country and our democracy."

Martin Baron, the executive editor of The Washington Post, spoke of all five of the victims by name, and he described them as "friends of the people, the people of Annapolis and beyond.''

"Not one of them deserved to be seen as an enemy because of the profession they choose or the place they worked,'' Baron said to applause from the audience. "Not one of them deserved to be seen as an enemy by the man who killed them, and not one of them deserved to be called an enemy by anyone else, either: Nor does anyone else in our field deserve to be labeled that way.''

Baron added: "To demean people like these, to demonize, to dehumanize them, is to debase yourself.''

The day after the shooting, Trump said journalists shouldn't fear being violently attacked while doing their job. He also said the attack "shocked the conscience of our nation and filled our hearts with grief.''

The benefit concert was held a month after the June 28 shooting, which was one of the deadliest attacks on journalists in U.S. history.

Olivier Knox, president of the White House Correspondents' Association, told the audience the nearly 400 members of the organization stood behind the Capital Gazette. Knox also saluted first responders, who also were being honored by the concert. Knox said some reporters also run toward danger and face threats.

"Still, I divide threats against journalists into two eras: before Feb. 17th, 2017 and after Feb. 17th, 2017,'' Knox said. "That's because on Feb. 17th, 2017, the president of the United States, using his Twitter account, declared us enemies of the American people.''

The suspect, Jarrod Ramos, remains jailed on five counts of first-degree murder.
*WARNING: Some of the details in this article are graphic and may be difficult to read.

A Virginia man who says he was abused by former Archbishop of Washington Theodore McCarrick spoke to News4 following the Vatican's announcement that McCarrick has been stripped of his cardinal title.

McCarrick served as Archbishop of Washington from 2001 to 2006. Allegations of sexual abuse surfaced in June, including from a Loudoun County man named James who says McCarrick exposed himself to him when he was 11 and continued a sexually abusive relationship with him for more than two decades.

All of my life, from age 11 to 60, I have lived in a prison and it has not been easy. Today, Im opening up that door. Im walking out to the street and letting the sun hit my face for the first time ever. Truly a free man, James told News4.

James requested that News4 only identify him by his first name.

He said the alleged abuse first began at his family's house.

Im standing in my room and Im naked. Im 11 and Im not too happy about that. ... He says, 'Turn around, turn around.' I dont want to turn around. 'Turn around, come on' and he drops his pants and he says, 'See, were the same. We're the same. Its ok,' James said.

He said his family had a close relationship with McCarrick from the time he was ordained in 1958 and they were told to call him "Uncle Teddy."

"I was raised to trust the Catholic church; I was raised to trust McCarrick, James said.

James said McCarrick intimidated him and told him he was "nothing."

"You ruined my life. For what? For you to feel great? You ruined, you ruined, you ruined my life. You took everything from it. I could not feel any emotion. I could never have intimacy. I could never fall in love with anybody and you took it," James said.

James first went public in the New York Times.

"While I have absolutely no recollection of this reported abuse, and believe in my innocence, I am sorry for the pain the person who brought the charges has gone through, as well as for the scandal such charges cause our people," McCarrick said in a statement in June about allegations against him.



Pope Francis on Saturday accepted McCarrick's resignation from the College of Cardinals, the group of church leaders that advises the pope.

The move to swiftly accept a resignation breaks with the precedence of waiting until the Catholic church investigation is finished.

I think this was a big step forward in trying to act quickly, decisively, even though the whole procedure isnt concluded yet, Cardinal Donald Wuerl who succeeded McCarrick as the Archbishop of Washington, told WTOP in an exclusive interview. The pope is saying that we need to show that we are hearing these things, paying attention and acting.

Francis ordered McCarrick to conduct a "life of prayer and penance" before a church trial is held. McCarrick is also prohibited from making any public appearances.



Wuerl told WTOP that type of public banishment has happened to priests and bishops before, but McCarricks resignation now extends it to a cardinal.

This decision highlights for me  that the pope takes very seriously the allegation of an abuse of a minor, Wuerl said. He said both McCarricks resignation and the popes acceptance of it mean that if were moving forward, these are signs of that progress.



The Archdiocese of Washington issued the following statement on Sunday:

"For more than 30 years, the Archdiocese of Washington has encouraged survivors of sexual abuse to come forward, and has sought to not only address claims of abuse swiftly, but to also offer assistance to survivors of abuse in the hope of bringing healing to those who have been harmed.

"When the first claim against Archbishop McCarrick was filed in the Archdiocese of New York, the Archdiocese of Washington reviewed its own files and found no complaints of any kind made against Archbishop McCarrick. Further, the confidential settlements involving acts by Archbishop McCarrick in the Diocese of Metuchen and the Archdiocese of Newark were not known previously to Cardinal Wuerl or the Archdiocese of Washington.

"In the aftermath of these claims in New York, Newark and Metuchen, we now have individuals courageously stepping forward  though anonymously due to understandable privacy concerns  and speaking to the media regarding additional claims of abuse by Archbishop McCarrick that heretofore were not known to the Archdiocese of Washington. These experiences shared by survivors are profoundly troubling and represent a breach of trust and wounding that no person should bear alone. Cardinal Wuerl again recently affirmed that those coming forward with new allegations show also a confidence in the Church to take seriously these charges and act quickly in responding.

"We continue to pray for the survivors of such abuse and understand how difficult it is to share such painful memories. While the struggle to confront such experiences is difficult for survivors, the archdiocese wishes to accompany them and help them through this process. The archdiocese encourages all coming forward to share these experiences with any diocese in which they reside so that these grave issues can be reviewed promptly by Church authorities, and that we can offer assistance to begin the process for healing and peace."
What to Know The Vatican says Pope Francis has accepted U.S. prelate Theodore McCarrick's offer to resign from the College of Cardinals.

McCarrick has been removed from public ministry since June 20, amid allegations he fondled a teenager.

McCarrick served as Archbishop of Washington, D.C. from 2001 to 2006.

The Vatican says Pope Francis has accepted U.S. prelate Theodore McCarrick's offer to resign from the College of Cardinals.

A Saturday statement said Francis received the letter of resignation a day earlier by the former Washington, D.C. archbishop. Besides agreeing to McCarrick's stepping down as a cardinal, Francis ordered him to conduct "a life of prayer and penance" until sex abuse accusations against him are examined in a Catholic church trial.

McCarrick has been removed from public ministry since June 20, pending a full investigation into allegations he fondled a teenager over 40 years ago in New York City. A man, who was 11 at the time of the first alleged instance of abuse, says a sexually abusive relationship continued for two more decades. McCarrick has denied the initial allegation.

"The review board found the allegations credible and substantiated," Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York said in a statement at the time, News4 reported.

McCarrick was elevated to the cardinalate in 2001 and served as Archbishop of Washington from that year to 2006.


After a year of natural hair, a Maryland woman was ready for a new look.

She went to a salon in Waldorf that she had never tried  a salon that appears to be operated by a stylist without a proper Maryland licence.

Christina Code told the stylist she wanted her hair to look like a photo she brought, showing a woman with blonde highlights at the ends of her hair.

The trip to the salon turned terribly wrong  huge, damaged chunks of Code's hair fell out.

"She fried my hair!" Code told News4, picking up long strands of the hair that she had wrapped in foil.

Code went to Aleyda Organic Dominican Hair Salon and everything went well at first. But then she was in pain.

"My scalp was getting hot. So then she took me out, and she started washing my hair. And when she started washing my hair, then I could hear her mumbling things that frightened me. And I jumped up and I saw all of this," she said, picking up long clumps of her hair.

The owner of the salon, Aleyda Almonte, said the problem was that Code had previous color in her hair.

"When a person is coming for first time, you really never know what kind of products, what kind of process this person [did] before," she said.

News4 found a larger issue: the owner of the salon is not licensed to operate the salon or do hair, according to the Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation.

News4 asked Almonte about her credentials.

"Do you have a license to operate a hair salon in Maryland?" News4 asked.

"Yes, yes," Almonte responded.

"How long have you had a license," News4 asked.

"I have license from New York," Almonte said.

News4 could not find a license for her in New York or Maryland.

Almonte said she was waiting for her license to be finalized.

"I send all the information to the state board, and I'm waiting only for the paperwork," Almonte said.

But according to the Maryland labor department, the owner of the salon has not started the process to legally operate her salon or to do hair in the state.

When you visit a salon, you should be able to see its license. If you think a business is operating without a license, you can file a complaint with the Maryland Board of Cosmetologists.
President Donald Trump's trade policies are turning long-established Republican orthodoxy on its head, marked by tariff fights and now $12 billion in farm aid that represents the type of government intervention GOP voters railed against a decade ago.

President George W. Bush increased the number of countries partnering with the United States on free trade agreements from three to 16. President Ronald Reagan signed a landmark trade deal with Canada that was later transformed into the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and expanded to include Mexico. Both those Republican presidents also enacted tariffs, but their comments on trade were overwhelmingly positive.

"We should beware of the demagogues who are ready to declare a trade war against our friends, weakening our economy, our national security and the entire free world, all while cynically waiving the American flag," Reagan said in a 1988 radio address.

Trump, by comparison, has called NAFTA "the worst trade deal maybe ever signed anywhere," and his administration has opted to use tariffs as a tool intended to leverage more favorable agreements with virtually every major U.S. trading partner. He shredded the trade agreement the Obama administration tried to work out with Pacific Rim nations that had strong backing from farm groups and chief executives from major U.S. corporations.

Republicans also have altered the priority of tackling the national debt, an issue the GOP hammered President Barack Obama on as the country struggled to recover from the 2008 economic crisis. "Our nation is approaching a tipping point," GOP Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, now the House speaker, said in January 2011 when the national debt hit $14 trillion.

Today, the Congressional Budget Office projects the $21 trillion debt will rise to more than $33 trillion in 10 years. That estimate notes that the tax cut lawmakers passed in December would increase economic output but add $1.8 trillion to the deficit over the coming decade.

The GOP's evolving priorities are not lost on some in the party. Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., who lost a close primary election this year after butting heads with Trump on some issues, said he finds it "perplexingly destructive" for the GOP brand.

"It takes a long while to build a brand, but brands can be diminished or destroyed in relatively short order, and I think the administration is destroying bedrock cornerstones to what the party has historically stood for," Sanford said. "There is no conversation on the debt, deficit and government spending these days. That has been a cornerstone."

Sanford made headlines as South Carolina governor when he said he would reject stimulus money approved during the financial crisis because he did not think the country should go into debt to fund recovery efforts.

"Here we are now with a hypothetical $12 billion bailout package and you don't hear a word," Sanford said. "That is quite a transition in not so many years from decrying what the Obama administration had done with bailouts to now endorsing the idea of bailouts."

Trump, in a Friday interview on Fox News' Sean Hannity's radio show, said the strong economy would help the U.S. reduce the deficit. "The economy, we can go a lot higher. ... We have $21 trillion in debt. When this really kicks in we'll start paying off that debt like water. We'll start paying that debt down."

The administration's plan on the bailout announced last week would borrow money from the Treasury to pay producers of soybeans, sorghum, corn, wheat, cotton, dairy and hogs. Many farmers have criticized Trump's tariffs and the damage done to commodity prices and markets.

Some GOP lawmakers are expressing concerns. "I didn't come up here to start new government programs," said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La.

But it's unlikely that the Republican-controlled Congress will try to block the administration's agricultural aid plan.

"I'm looking at this and saying, 'You're going to single out one sector?' What about the manufacturing sector? What about the energy sector?" said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. "Where do you draw the line? I've got some real concerns."

But others praised the move. GOP Rep. Mike Conaway of Texas, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, called it "welcome relief."

"This is the right fight to have, but in the meantime, our producers have got to live as this fight is going on," Conaway said of a trade dispute with China that has prompted the imposition of tariffs by both nations.

Conaway said the president has reshaped the way Republicans think about trade.

"He's kind of changed the narrative of the conversation that it's really not OK to let other people take advantage of America," Conaway said.

Rep. Dan Kildee, D-Mich., said it's clear the GOP has changed over the past two years with Trump in office.

"This is the party of Trump. He calls the plays and they line up and they execute the play," Kildee said.

But Kildee also opposed the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal that the Obama administration was trying to work out with Japan, Vietnam, Singapore and others. He and many other Democrats described past trade deals such as NAFTA as hurting workers in their home districts. So why the criticism of Trump and the efforts he has undertaken on trade?

Kildee said he would prefer a more deliberative approach and a multilateral approach that doesn't fray longstanding alliances.

"Simply engaging on the issue of trade doesn't mean he's doing it right," Kildee said.

The president's meetings with lawmakers in the past week and his trade advisers' visits to Capitol Hill are acknowledgments that many GOP lawmakers are worried about where Trump is headed  and what it could mean in the November election as farmers, bourbon makers and manufacturers who use imported steel and aluminum deal with the fallout.

A possible breakthrough with the European Union announced Wednesday at the White House appears to have eased their concerns and given the president more time to work out new deals.

"The fact the EU was here today and good talks happened, I think that points to there's proof it's working," said Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash. "That's not just wishful thinking. I think we can see that."
Major changes could soon come to the Chicago Police Department as the city reaches an agreement on a plan to carry out far-reaching police reforms more than a year after a scathing Justice Department report.

Read the full draft consent decree here.

The proposed consent decree, which calls for "wide-reaching reform of CPD's policies, practices, training, and accountability mechanisms" was released Friday afternoon, though it would still require a judge's approval. If approved, it will be a court order enforced by a federal judge.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced the agreement alongside Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson. She said while there have been "many attempts at police reform over many decades in Chicago," none have brought systemic and sustainable change."

I believe it will be different this time," she said.

Unlike those of the past, attempts to just talk the talk and not walk the walk will be unsuccessful," she later added.

The decree would require evaluation by an independent monitor "who will publicly report on consent decree progress and assist the federal judge overseeing the case with enforcement."

Read the full draft consent decree below.

Among the reforms called for are the tracking and analyzing of all foot pursuits, further restrictions for officers to shoot at moving vehicles, improvements to transparency at "all stages of misconduct investigations" and addressing the "code of silence and officer collusion." It also would require annual training on deescalation, appropriate force and implicit bias and the implementation of "trauma-informed crisis intervention techniques to allow officers to appproriately respond to people in crisis and reduce need for force."

"This was done with the police officers, not to them and not against them," Johnson said during the announcement.

Madigan, with Emanuel's support, sued the city last year seeking court oversight of the beleaguered police department. The lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago requested extensive judicial oversight, including an independent court-appointed monitor who would regularly report to a judge about whether the city was meeting reform benchmarks.

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced Tuesday that her office has filed a lawsuit seeking federal court oversight of the Chicago Police Department. NBC 5's Charlie Wojciechowski reports.

The lawsuit killed a draft plan negotiated with President Donald Trump's administration that didn't envision a court role in reforming the department  a departure from the practice during President Barack Obama administration of using courts to change troubled departments.

Friday's announcement is far from the final step in the process.

U.S. District Court Judge Robert Dow set a Sept. 1 deadline for the city and attorney general to file their proposed agreement. The judge has said he will hold hearings in which stakeholders will be able to weigh in on the plan before he approves a final consent decree.

"It will give us the resources to make sure that the Chicago Police Department is more professional," Johnson said.

Chicago's police union has sharply criticized the legal action, saying a consent decree would make it harder for officers to do their jobs. They argued the decree is "illegal and invalid" and vowed to challenge it in court.

Madigan said the reforms don't aim to hinder officers from protecting themselves.

"In no way does any one of the provisions of this consent decree put police officers at risk," she said.

The American Civil Liberties Union noted the decree does not require officers to document when they point a weapon at someone, a point that had sparked much debate earlier this week.

"The City of Chicago just settled a case for $2.5 million where police held a gun to the chest of a 3-year-old child," the union said in a statement. "Given the absence of this provision, we need to examine this draft very closely."

A damning Justice Department report released during the waning days of the Obama administration in January 2017 found that civil rights abuses permeate Chicago's 12,000-member force, including racial bias, a tendency to use excessive force and a "pervasive cover-up culture."

The U.S. Justice Department has found that the Chicago Police Department violated constitutional rights by engaging in a pattern or practice of use of excessive force, Attorney General Loretta Lynch announced Friday. Phil Rogers reports.

The investigation was prompted by a video released in late 2015 that showed a white police officer shooting 17-year-old Laquan McDonald 16 times as the teenager appeared to walk away from police carrying a small, folded knife. The video's release prompted weeks of protests and calls for reforms.

Jason Van Dyke, the officer who shot McDonald, is scheduled to go on trial on murder charges Sept. 5.

In a joint statement with Justice Department officials at the time the report was released, Emanuel committed to making changes through a consent decree process. He later said doing so was impossible because the Trump administration was backing away from such agreements. U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions said consent decrees can unfairly malign good officers.

Activists blasted Emanuel for cutting a now-defunct deal with the Trump Justice Department, arguing the department couldn't be transformed without court scrutiny.
A community in Central Maine is getting its first look at a new station  but they may never know who paid the $2 million bill.

"It's not possible to convey our appreciation," said Hallowell City Manager Nate Rudy. "I wish there were more people in the world who were focused on giving back to the community without getting recognition back."

The fire department had been in serious trouble, operating out of a station that dated back to the Civil War. Because they could not afford to build a new station, Hallowell officials were considering consolidating services with neighboring Farmingdale, or contracting fire services out of Augusta.

"That would not have been good for us," said Hallowell Fire Chief Jim Owens. "We would have lost our identity. We take a lot of pride in our history, and we didn't want to lose that."

Clearly, someone else in the community didn't want to lose that, either. The chief got a phone call out of the blue, asking how much he thought a new station would cost. He guessed $1 million. The caller offered to write him a check.

"I couldn't believe it," said Owens. "I was just speechless when they offered that."

Rudy said he initially met the generous offer with some skepticism.

"I said to the fire chief, 'Is this real?' We need to go find out," he said.

Quickly, they realized the offer was real. They began working with an architect on a $1 million design. They consulted the anonymous donor, who was reportedly not happy with the appearance of the building. They wanted to see a brick exterior, to match the surrounding Stevens Commons. It raised the price of the project, but the donor gave more.

Later, the donor asked if the fire department wanted anything additional for the building. City officials told the donor the chief had liked a set of red, bi-fold truck bay doors  but they were over budget. The donor said to get the chief whatever he wanted.

Ultimately, the mystery person donated about $2 million. The city of Hallowell pitched in $25,000  a small price to pay to ensure the department's future.

"It saved our lives, really," said Owens. "It saved the department, and to some of these [firefighters], that is their life."
What to Know Mass. Gov. Charlie Baker signed a bipartisan bill repealing antiquated laws, including one law banning abortion that dated to 1845.

Some of the archaic laws have since become largely unenforceable after decisions made by the U.S. Supreme Court and Mass. SJC.

Abortion activists say President Trump's Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh raises the possibility of overturning Roe v. Wade.

Massachusetts on Friday became the first state since President Donald Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court to abolish from its books an abortion ban that predates the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling.

Gov. Charlie Baker, a Republican who supports abortion rights, signed the "Nasty Women Act" on Friday, a bill that repeals the unenforced ban with roots dating to 1845, along with other archaic statutes that prohibited unmarried women from using contraceptives, and made adultery and fornication criminal offenses.

"It's a good day in Massachusetts," Gov. Baker said Friday.

He called the laws "antiquated, inappropriate," and in some cases, harmful.

"Here in Massachusetts, we will not compromise on a woman's right to her own decisions," Baker said.

Pro-choice activists joined lawmakers at the State House to see Gov. Baker sign the bill.

"This is a battle for the very heart and soul of our country," said Rebecca Hart Holder, Massachusetts' executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice America.

Abortion rights proponents fear Kavanaugh, whose nomination to replace Anthony Kennedy on the high court is pending before the U.S. Senate, could if confirmed tilt the court toward undoing abortion protections in place since Roe v. Wade, thereby potentially triggering old state laws that haven't been enforced in decades.

"For years, Justice Kennedy has held together a delicate balance on the Supreme Court protecting access to abortion and the fundamental ability of women to control their lives," Holder said. "This is not a drill. The lawsuits necessary to overturn Roe are making their way through the courts right now."

Seventeen states already have laws that could be used to restrict the legal status of abortions if Roe was overturned or severely limited. Of those, Massachusetts was among 10 states that still had pre-Roe abortion bans on the books, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a national research group that supports abortion rights.

Nine states have laws specifically protecting abortion rights, the institute said.

While not among the states listed as having pre-Roe v. Wade bans on the books, the Democratic governors of New York and Rhode Island have asked lawmakers in their states to vote on legislation codifying abortion rights in light of the potential shift in the Supreme Court.

In Massachusetts, a 1981 ruling by the state's highest court protects access to abortion, leading some critics of the so-called NASTY bill - short for Negating Archaic Statutes Targeting Young Women - to question why the action was necessary. Backers said they didn't want to take any chances.

"With an uncertain future in terms of federal action on these issues, it's up to the states," said House Speaker Robert DeLeo, a Democrat.

Baker was among only three Republican governors who did not sign on to a letter sent to Senate leaders earlier this week in support of Kavanaugh's nomination.

Baker stopped short on Friday of saying he outright opposed Kavanaugh, saying he would hold off on that judgment at least until after the Senate holds hearings on the nomination.

"Im concerned about his previous writings on this issue," Governor Baker said.

Baker says the precedent associated with Roe v. Wade should be a key point of questioning during hearings between Kavanaugh and the U.S. Senate, but adds, "It does trouble me a little that everybody basically makes up their mind these days on everything before we even have a hearing."

With the bill repealed, can the states pro-choice activists now rest easy knowing their work is done?

"If they merely say that its up to the states, then youre in the clear in Massachusetts," Carol Rose of the ACLU said. "If the court were actually to rule that abortion is illegal across the country, then no one is in the clear."

While Massachusetts is the first state in the country to repeal a pre-Roe criminal abortion ban in the wake of President Trumps nomination, pro-choice activists expect to see other states now follow suit.
Bus carrying staff of Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth Agriculture University skids off en route Mahabaleshwar.

33 people, including students, were killed when a bus with 34 people on board fell off a mountain road in Ambenali Ghat, in Raigad district of Maharashtra. (Photo: Twitter | ANI)

Mumbai: Thirty three students and staff of an agricultural university in Maharashtra were killed when the bus they were travelling in skidded off a mountain road in Ambenali Ghat, Raigad district on Saturday afternoon.

The police said 11 bodies have been recovered from the accident site.

According to reports, the bus skidded off the road while passing through the mountainous region and fell 500 feet down the deep gorge.

"We have confirmed 33 deaths and only one person managed to survive the bus crash. Our team is trying to recover the bodies," National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) Commandant Anupam Srivastava told news agency AFP.

The bus had staff members of the Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth Agriculture University (Dapoli), who were on their way for a picnic to Mahabaleshwar when the accident took place.

The lone survivor of the accident crash managed to clambered up the mountain side and alerted the police, after which rescuers reached the area.

Teams from the NDRF immediately rushed to the spot for the rescue operation.

The stretch of the highway in the Western Ghats, where the accident occurred, has witnessed heavy rain for the last few days.

State minister Vinod Tawde tweeted, "30 people, including students of Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, were fatally injured after a bus falls down a mountain road on Mumbai-Goa highway near Raigad. Rescue operation underway. Instructed officials on prompt action." The number of dead was revised later to 33.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted his condolences. "Pained by the loss of lives due to a bus accident in Maharashtra's Raigad district. My condolences to those who lost their loved ones," PM Modi wrote.

"I'm sorry to hear about the terrible bus accident in Raigad, Maharashtra in which a large number of people have been killed and many others injured. I appeal to Congress party workers in the area to provide all possible assistance to the injured and families of those who have died," Congress president Rahul Gandhi tweeted.

Maharashtra government has announced an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of those who died in the accident.
A man convicted of sexually assaulting a classmate at a New Hampshire prep school will appeal his convictions at trial in September.

Owen Labrie of Tunbridge, Vermont was convicted in 2015 of raping a 15-year-old girl as a part of a game of sexual conquest at St. Pauls School in Concord. He was convicted of misdemeanor sexual assault and child endangerment. Labrie was required to register as a sex offender for using a computer to lure the underage girl for sex.

The unnamed victim in the sexual assault filed a lawsuit against the prep school in 2016. The lawsuit stated that the school failed to protect the girl from the "known risk" the she would be sexually assaulted and harassed.

Labrie has a second appeal pending for a claim of ineffective legal counsel at trial. His former lawyer, Jay Rancourt, said the defendants lead attorney, J.W. Carney was not fully prepared for the trial. Rancourt was hired back in 2015, but was excused just before the trial.

Labries upcoming appeal will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Sept. 13.
Hundreds of rats are crawling around a neighborhood in Plaistow, New Hampshire, an issue that residents blame on nearby construction projects.

"We're pulling 10 to 12 rats out of houses," said Adam Carace, an exterminator. "That sometimes pushes them [residents] right over the edge."

He showed NBC10 Boston cell phone video that shows rats running around someone's living room and upstairs hallway.

"The town's infested with rats," said Chad Kittredge. "It's just getting worse now because the population's growing."

There are several construction projects underway in the area, including one that will widen Route 125 and another one that will improve the sidewalks on Main Street.

Carace said that while the construction projects don't help the rat problem, they're not the sole reason the rodents wander the neighborhood.

"Watch the bird feeders, the chicken coops," he said.
Both police officers shot on Friday night in Falmouth, Massachusetts are expected to fully recover from their injuries.

Patrol officers Ryan Moore and Donald DeMiranda were shot while responding to the scene of someone breaking glass near 2 Ashley Drive in East Falmouth around 5:30 p.m. on Friday.

DeMiranda was shot once in the chest, the bullet stopped by his vest. He was also struck in the shoulder; DeMiranda remains hospitalized but is in good condition. Moore was struck in the neck area, causing a grazing wound. After receiving treatment, he was released from Falmouth Hospital.

A suspect, 21-year-old Malik Antonio Koval, is in custody. Koval was shot "a number of times" during the incident, according to Cape and Islands District Attorney Michael O'Keefe. Koval was initially taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth before being transported to Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston. He's in stable condition.

Falmouth Police Cheif Edward Dunne said that Koval retrieved a gun from inside the home after Moore and DeMiranda responded to the scene and he then began firing at the officers.

Two other individuals, 38-year-old Kimberly Koval and 18-year-old Marcus Maseda, tried to interfere with the officers' efforts to pursue the suspect. They were subsequently arrested and charged with obstruction of justice, assault and battery on a police officer and interfering with the duties of a police officer.

"Nothing in police work is routine," Dunne said at a press conference late Friday night. "You think that would be something just somebody breaking bottles on the street, but no call is routine."

Dunne added that while each officer should be fine physically, he's worried about them psychologically.

"This is happening way too much," said Dunne. "Its not OK to shoot a police officer."

Meanwhile, several residents dropped by the police department to bring food and beverages to everyone on duty.

"Yeah we take all the stuff they do for granted," said Colin Murphy, who brought food from Captain Kidd, where hes a waiter. "I think just anything we can do to help to support them would be great."
A New Hampshire school superintendent has resigned amid a controversy in which he allowed a staffer to speak favorably of a guidance counselor sentenced to prison for sexually assaulting a 14-year-old student.

Chip McGee, a 15-year Bedford school district worker, says Friday that he has decided to step down.

Kristie Torbick had been a guidance counselor at Bedford for five years before transferring to Exeter, where she pleaded guilty to sex-assault charges. Former colleagues and others had written on her behalf.

Bedford High School's dean of students addressed the court to praise Torbick with McGee's knowledge. Bedford parents felt that was wrong and called for McGee's resignation.

McGee says Torbick's lawyer asked for information about her work in Bedford, where she had no complaints.

Earlier this month, McGee spoke to NBC10 Boston after releasing the results of a survey that showed bullying, rape, date violence, self-injury and attempted suicide were on the rise at Bedford High School.
What to Know Montana's elections director told the AP in March that Montana was not among states targeted by hackers in 2016

But state Sec. Corey Stapleton said Friday that Russian hackers unsuccessfully probed the state's election systems for weaknesses in 2016

He said no votes were changed, but it was a clear threat to fair elections

Montana's secretary of state said Friday that Russian hackers unsuccessfully probed the state's election systems for weaknesses in 2016.

The acknowledgement by Secretary Corey Stapleton in his occasional newsletter appears to contradict a previous statement by state elections officials that Montana was not among states targeted.

Stapleton said Russian agents tried to interfere with the 2016 elections and that "almost half the states (including Montana) were scanned for weaknesses in our elections systems."

He said no votes were changed, but it was a clear threat to fair elections.

Elections Director Dana Corson in March told The Associated Press that Montana was not among states targeted by hackers in 2016.

Stapleton said there was no contradiction between his assessment and Corson's because "scanning is not hacking" and that his office has restrained from using language like "hacking" to prevent people from being alarmed.
Hundreds of types of mitochondrial disease affect up to 38 million people worldwide, yet there are very few effective treatments, forcing patients and doctors to rely on symptom management to battle the serious and potentially fatal genetic disorder that starves the bodys cells of energy.

Now, a pioneering project jointly funded by peak patient groups in Australia and the United Kingdom aims to develop nucleoside therapy as a treatment for mitochondrial depletion syndromes, in which cells cannot extract sufficient energy from food to power vital organs.

Symptoms of mitochondrial depletion syndromes can include profound muscle weakness causing immobility and impaired breathing requiring mechanical ventilation, as well as liver failure, intractable seizures and neurodegenerative deficits. Most patients die before the age of five years.

The study, funded by the Mito Foundation (incorporated as the Australian Mitochondrial Disease Foundation) and The Lily Foundation, involves multi-disciplinary teams at mitochondrial centres attached to Newcastle University (UK), the University of Cambridge and Cardiff University.

Researchers aim to develop an effective, bioavailable form of nucleoside bypass therapy, in which modified molecular building blocks are used to increase production of healthy mitochondrial DNA.

In what is hoped to be a precursor to future drug trials, the research project combines a detailed patient study with testing of treatment formulations on skin cells taken from patients with mitochondrial depletion syndrome RRM2B.

Professor Robert McFarland, a principal investigator from the Wellcome Centre for Mitochondrial Research at Newcastle University and a Lily Foundation Medical Board member, said he is delighted The Lily Foundation and the Mito Foundation are funding this important research project.

We hope that by testing this treatment in cells grown in the laboratory we can optimize the type and combination of nucleosides to use in animal models, and subsequently in human trials, he said.

The announcement comes almost one year after the death of UK baby Charlie Gard, who succumbed to a form of mitochondrial depletion syndrome on 28 July 2017, just before his first birthday, following a prolonged public court battle to access experimental nucleoside therapy being developed in the US.

Approximately three Australian children are born each year with mitochondrial depletion syndrome, which occurs in at least 1 per 100,000 births, according to Professor David Thorburn, Mitochondrial Research Group Leader at Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, and member of the Mito Foundation board and its Scientific and Medical Advisory Panel.

This research project is exciting because it addresses the major issue in that we currently lack effective targeted treatments for most forms of mitochondrial disease, said Professor Thorburn, who was involved in reviewing the grant application.

It is absolutely critical to develop treatments that improve patient outcomes and have an evidence base to justify their use. This project seeks to do that for mitochondrial DNA depletion syndromes.

Early-stage research from the US and elsewhere suggests nucleoside therapy may be effective in a mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome called TK2 deficiency, which primarily affects muscles. It is not yet clear if it may work for other forms of mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome such as RRM2B, which affects the muscles, brain and other organs.

Sean Murray, CEO of the Mito Foundation, said the organization is committed to funding projects that will have maximum impact for the mitochondrial disease community.

Nucleoside therapy holds real promise for a potential treatment that could improve and save lives, not just in Australia but around the world. International collaborations like ours ensure investment in high quality mitochondrial research, regardless of location, to develop treatments for this complex and devastating disease, Mr Murray said.

About nucleoside therapy

Mitochondria contain their own DNA, known as mitochondrial DNA or mtDNA, which is vital for mitochondria to generate the energy needed to power our cells. The quality and quantity of mtDNA must be maintained for the mitochondria to produce key proteins necessary for their function. Problems with mtDNA maintenance can reduce the amount and quality of mtDNA and lead to impaired energy production, which in turn can cause mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome.

Four chemical building blocks are needed to make mtDNA, collectively known as deoxynucleoside triphosphates, or dNTPs, which need to be present in a carefully balanced pool within mitochondria. If this pool is not maintained, or the relative proportions of the four different dNTPs within the pool are disrupted, then mtDNA is not made and this can result in mitochondrial DNA depletion syndrome.

Research has shown that providing deoxynucleosides (nucleosides), or similar building blocks known as deoxynucleotides (nucleotides), may correct the depletion by bypassing the block that is impairing the production of one or more dNTPs. This may restore the amount and balance of dNTPs available for making or repairing mtDNA, and lead to improvement in problems associated with the condition.

Nucleoside therapy has already been used to treat mitochondrial depletion syndrome TK2, where only two of the four nucleosides are depleted. However, extending the currently available nucleoside therapy to other depletion syndromes poses a number of challenges for scientists, including getting the nucleosides to their target in the body, and ensuring the pool of nucleosides is balanced so as not to cause further problems. As a result, no patients with depletion syndromes other than TK2 have been successfully treated with the currently available compounds to date.

This new research hopes to change this by developing modified nucleosides that are far more like a medicine than the compounds currently available, and which can be delivered to the right place in the cell and do their job effectively without any harmful side effects.
Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust creates advanced diagnostic network to help improve patient care across Wiltshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire

Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, and Oxford University Hospitals (OUH) NHS Foundation Trust, today announced plans to create a digital pathology network to help drive faster and more efficient diagnoses for patients. OUH will deploy the Philips IntelliSite Pathology Solution at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford, which will serve as a central laboratory service for partner sites at Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Great Western Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in Swindon.

Pathologists play a critical role in disease detection, particularly with cancer diagnosis. Traditionally, pathologists analyse tissue samples on glass slides under a microscope. When seeking a consultation with a sub-specialist, these glass slides must be transported to the second site, which can result in lost or damaged slides or delays in diagnosis. By creating a digital network, OUHwill leverage the Philips IntelliSite Pathology Solution, including its Ultra Fast Scanner and Image Management System, to allow clinicians across the three regions and within the Thames Valley Cancer Network to collaborate remotely on patient cases. This enhanced collaboration will help reduce delays in slide transport times, encourage more efficient workflows across the sites, and enable quicker access to specialist pathology opinions. Digital pathology will also support NHS Improvements proposed Pathology networks, bringing together clinical expertise with the goal of enhancing patient outcomes.

Digital pathology will transform microscopy

As an NHS Global Digital Exemplar committed to improving patient care by embracing the latest digital technologies and cross-site collaborations, this partnership aims to modernize patient care and offer innovative world-leading services, said ProfessorClare Verrill, Honorary Consultant in Cellular Pathology, Oxford University Hospitals. Initially starting with some specialist areas, we hope to soon make our pathology services fully digital, meaning our laboratory teams can maximize efficiency and focus on analyzing samples rather than spending time manually transporting slides between hospitals.

With 70% of NHS diagnoses requiring a pathology sample, and with sample analysis becoming increasingly sophisticated while demand increases, Philips is committed to collaborating to modernize UK pathology services, said Marlon Thompson, General Manager of Philips Digital Pathology Solutions. Philips wants to help providers meet growing demand by moving pathology from the era of microscopes and fragile stacks of sample slides to one of clinical efficacy with sample images uploaded quickly and analyzed robustly within the Philips IntelliSite Pathology Solution. I believe this agreement creates the first digital pathology network with scanning capabilities at multiple sites within the NHS in England, which is a great achievement and a very positive prospect for patients and clinicians alike.

Philips IntelliSite Pathology Solution is an automated digital pathology image creation, viewing and management system comprised of an ultra-fast scanner and image management system. This solution contains advanced software tools to manage the scanning, storage, presentation, reviewing, and sharing of images. Philips IntelliSite Pathology Solution is available in various countries globally for primary diagnostic use. In addition to its CE-IVD clearance in Europe, it was the first  and currently only  digital pathology solution allowed to be marketed for primary diagnostic use in the U.S. since April 2017 and in Japan since December 2017.

Clinical cases will commence once network installation has completed, expected in Q3 2018.
The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson today announced that the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) has recommended broadening the existing marketing authorization for Darzalex (daratumumab) for use as frontline (initial) therapy. The recommendation is for the use of daratumumab in combination with bortezomib, melphalan and prednisone, for the treatment of adult patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who are ineligible for autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT).

"Multiple myeloma becomes harder to treat each time it returns, so the goal of initial therapy is to prevent the cancer from progressing for as long as possible," said Dr Maria-Victoria Mateos, Ph.D., lead ALCYONE study investigator and Director of the Myeloma Unit at University Hospital of Salamanca-IBSAL Salamanca, Spain. "Selecting the right treatment regimen for newly diagnosed patients is critical to their long-term survival, especially those who are transplant ineligible, so daratumumab could offer an important new standard of care in this indication."

The CHMP's recommendation is based on results from the randomized, open-label, multicenter Phase 3 ALCYONE (MMY3007) study, recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Additional information about this study can be found at www.ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT02195479).

"Clinical findings have consistently demonstrated the compelling benefit daratumumab offers across all lines of therapy in multiple myeloma, and this positive recommendation brings us one step closer to providing this ground-breaking option to more patients in Europe," said Dr Catherine Taylor, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) Hematology Therapeutic Area Lead, Janssen. "Through our research and development efforts, we remain committed to identifying and treating patients earlier and earlier in their cancer journey, when they are healthier and have the best chance at lasting remission."

In Europe, daratumumab is currently indicated for use in combination with lenalidomide and dexamethasone, or bortezomib and dexamethasone, for the treatment of adult patients with multiple myeloma who have received at least one prior therapy; and as monotherapy for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed and refractory multiple myeloma, whose prior therapy included a proteasome inhibitor (PI) and an immunomodulatory agent, and who have demonstrated disease progression on the last therapy.

A final decision regarding the approval of daratumumab for newly diagnosed patients is expected from the European Commission in the coming months.

In the U.S.A., daratumumab in the frontline setting was granted Priority Review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in January this year, and was recently approved for use in this indication.
Antigua opposition questions process of background checks when granting citizenships for money.

Absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are accused of defrauding banks of nearly Rs 14,000 crore. (Photo: File)

Mumbai: Any request for the extradition of fugitive diamond tycoon Mehul Choksi by the Indian government or any enforcement agency will be honoured, a senior Antigua minister has said.

Minister of foreign affairs and immigration Chet Greene has said he was not aware of any request so far but if a request is received we will honour any legitimate request made of us notwithstanding that we do not have any extradition agreements with India. That is the extent of our commitment to preserving the integrity of our programme.

The programme Greene was referring to the Citizenship by Investment Programme (CIP), through which Choksi got an Antigua and Barbuda citizenship in November, 2017, Antiguas Daily Observer reported.

The citizenship is granted after the Citizenship by Investment Unit (CIU) does a process of thorough vetting.

Antiguas opposition parties have questioned how this thorough this process could have been if it failed to sense the massive fraud that Choksi and his Gitanjali Group was soon embroiled in.

Also Read: Took Antigua citizenship for business, says Mehul Choksi

The CIU told the paper that among other groups, the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) was engaged to conduct investigations into Choksis background in 2017.

However, the CBI has stated that Interpol did not seek any information about Choksi in the last three or four years.

The CIU told the paper that the criminal allegations against Choksi surfaced only in February 2018 and that it was fully satisfied with its background check on Choksi.

Absconding diamantaire Mehul Choksi and his nephew Nirav Modi are accused of defrauding banks of nearly Rs 14,000 crore.

Choksi, released a statement Thursday through his lawyer Dr David Dorsett, denying all allegations by India.

There is no truth in these allegations, he said, adding that the reason why he became an Antiguan citizen was because he wanted to expand business interest in the Caribbean and to obtain visa-free travel access to 130 or so countries  something that Antigua passport allows.
Food scientist Padu Krishnan, a professor in the South Dakota State University Department of Dairy and Food Science, has received a three-year, nearly $450,000 National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Through this project, the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station researcher will further improve the quality of oats grown in North America and develop new products that will take oats beyond the breakfast aisle.

The new project builds upon work in which Krishnan and graduate student Devendra Paudel developed a near-infrared spectrometer (NIRS) calibration to quantify beta glucan content in oat samples. This is a faster, less costly method of quantifying beta glucan, which is the soluble fiber in oats that helps decrease blood cholesterol levels. The NIRS calibration was developed through funding from Grain Millers and General Mills, processors of oat cereals.

"This grant application was successful since we had preliminary data and a proof-of-concept that NIRS can effectively predict multiple grain nutrients simultaneously," Krishnan explained. "We also had the support of industry partners and university investment in the oat breeding program through the South Dakota Agricultural Experiment Station."

SDSU oat breeder Melanie Caffe is co-principal investigator on the project. She and Krishnan worked together on a previous USDA grant designed to speed up the oats breeding process and develop cultivars that are higher in beta glucan. In 2016, South Dakota was the No. 1 oat-producing state, according to USDA National Agricultural Statistics Service.

"The development of the NIRS calibrations for protein, beta-glucan and oil content enable us to select breeding lines for increased nutritional properties," Caffe said. "This new grant will provide additional tools for us to use in developing new oat cultivars with characteristics that meet processors' needs and provide increased health benefits for consumers."

In 2016, General Mills relocated its oat breeding program to Brookings, in part, to facilitate collaboration with Krishnan, Caffe and other SDSU scientists.

Measuring multiple oat-quality parameters

"It is about building the quality of oats," Krishnan said. Through this new funding, he and his team will further improve their NIRS calibration as a single analytical platform for determining the quality of oats. "We can build predictive calibrations, new parental lines, and research tools that can be used develop to oat varieties specific to our region," he said.

"The NIR spectra is like a fingerprint-;we relate the spectral information with a reference method to provide a rapid analysis method that maintains accuracy and precision," Krishnan explained. By increasing the number of samples from other states, he can also build a robust national calibration.

"Using one instrument, we can determine moisture, protein, fat, carbohydrate and beta glucan content," he said. "It's a holistic view of oats-;and we can do the analysis with oat groats (hull-removed) that can then be planted in the ground to get the next generation. This is a powerful tool for the plant breeder and the food technologist"

The growing conditions affect the quality of the oats crop, Krishnan explained. "The kernel must fill at a certain time in the growing cycle. If it does not have the moisture needed, it may not fill fully." When the oats are tested, the relationship between nutrients can be explained by the effects of genetics and the growing conditions.

Krishnan likened the NIRS grain quality analysis to a physician examining a patient. "One needs to measure several parameters or components to make a diagnosis as single measurements don't tell the whole story," he said. "Knowing as much as we can about the grain with a single machine gives the oat processor and the breeder better decision-making tools.

Developing new oat products

In addition, Krishnan and his team will look at variables that affect the milling and flaking qualities of oats. They will also try to improve product shelf life and stability. One postdoctoral researchers and two graduate students will work on the project.

"Our goal is to take the oats beyond the breakfast aisle," said Krishnan. Graduate students are developing an oat beverage, incorporating oat flour in Asian noodles and using oats as a thickener for products, such as soup. "We are talking about a whole host of new oat products that are high in beta glucan."

Source: https://www.sdstate.edu/news/2018/07/food-scientist-receives-nifa-grant-improve-oat-quality
A world-first study by QUT researchers concludes men can and do suffer from Postcoital Dysphoria (PCD) which results in feelings of sadness, tearfulness or irritability following sex.

Masters student Joel Maczkowiack and Professor Robert Schweitzer from QUT's School of Psychology and Counseling said that while the condition had been recognized in women, no studies had previously identified the phenomenon among males.

Their paper - Postcoital Dysphoria: Prevalence and Correlates among Males - has been published by the international Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy.

"The study breaks down the results of an international anonymous online survey of 1,208 men from Australia, the USA, the UK, Russia, New Zealand, Germany and elsewhere," said Mr Maczkowiack.

"Forty-one per cent of the participants reported experiencing PCD in their lifetime with 20 per cent reporting they had experienced it in the previous four weeks. Up to four per cent suffered from PCD on a regular basis."

Mr Maczkowiack added that some of the comments from men who participated and who had experienced sadness following sex described experiences ranging from "I don't want to be touched and want to be left alone" to "I feel unsatisfied, annoyed and very fidgety. All I really want is to leave and distract myself from everything I participated in".

"Another described feeling "emotionless and empty" in contrast to the men who experienced the post coital experience positively, and used descriptors such as a "feeling of well-being, satisfaction, contentment" and closeness to their partner," he said.

Professor Schweitzer said the results indicated the male experience of sex could be far more varied and complex than previously thought. It also had implications for future therapies and more open discourse on the male sexual experience.

"The first three phases of the human sexual response cycle - excitement, plateau, and orgasm - have been the focus of the majority of research to date," Professor Schweitzer said.

"The experience of the resolution phase remains a bit of a mystery and is therefore poorly understood.

"It is commonly believed that males and females experience a range of positive emotions including contentment and relaxation immediately following consensual sexual activity.

"Yet previous studies on the PCD experience of females showed that a similar proportion of females had experienced PCD on a regular basis. As with the men in this new study, it is not well understood. We would speculate that the reasons are multifactorial, including both biological and psychological factors."

Mr Maczkowiack said anecdotal evidence from clinical settings as well as personal accounts posted on online blogs suggested that PCD did occur amongst males and had the potential to interfere with couple interactions following sexual activity

"It has, for example, been established that couples who engage in talking, kissing, and cuddling following sexual activity report greater sexual and relationship satisfaction, demonstrating that the resolution phase is important for bonding and intimacy," he said.

"So the negative affective state which defines PCD has potential to cause distress to the individual, as well as the partner, disrupt important relationship processes, and contribute to distress and conflict within the relationship, and impact upon sexual and relationship functioning."

Professor Schweitzer added that in Western cultures in particular, men faced a range of expectations and assumptions about their preferences, performance, and experience of sexual activity.

"These assumptions are pervasive within masculine sub-culture and include that males always desire and experience sex as pleasurable. The experience of PCD contradicts these dominant cultural assumptions about the male experience sexual activity and of the resolution phase," he said.
New Delhi : The Congress on Friday questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi's silence on Doklam issue and slammed him for not raising it during his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of annual BRICS Summit in Johannesburg.

Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala's remarks came following claims made at a US Congressional Committee hearing that China had resumed its activities in Doklam area but neither Bhutan nor India tried to dissuade it. The claim was, however, denied by the Indian government.

"It is a direct challenge and threat to national security," said Surjewala.

"As China is beefing up its military equipment and infrastructure in north and south Doklam, our Prime Minister chooses to remain silent on it."

The Congress leader said: "When he goes to China on 'agendaless' visits, he forgets to raise the issue of Doklam.

"China talks to Bhutan on Doklam without taking India into confidence, but our Prime Minister remains silent.

"Even our Defence Minister (Nirmala Sitharaman) and External Affairs minister (Sushma Swaraj) visit China, but they don't take up the issue of Doklam."

Surjewala said: "We don't know when will this government show its '56-inch chest' and 'Red Eye' and have the courage to raise national security concerns and border issues with China. We want to know this."
:

Rome, July 26 (IANS/AKI) Other European countries besides Italy must open their ports to ships that rescue migrants in the Mediterrnanean, Italy's Foreign Minister Enzo Moavero Milanesi said on Thursday.

"It is no longer justifiable to bring all those who are rescued to Italian ports," Moavero told the parliament's foreign affairs committee.

"Other countries must open their ports too," he added.

Italy does not want to end its participation in the European Union's Sofia anti-trafficking mission in the Mediterranean, but has demanded changes to the mission's rules of engagement which currently require ships that rescue migrants to dock at Italian ports, Moavero said.

"There is no wish to abandon the Sofia operation but we ask that the operation be brought into line with the conclusions of the EU Council summit (in late June)," he said.

Italy will keep however keep its ports open to EU mission vessels that rescue migrants in the Mediterranean during the discussions with the EU on revising Sofia's rules of engagement, Moavero said during a visit to Berlin on Monday.

In a letter to EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini last week, Moavero said that his country did not want to be the only one "where migrants saved at sea by its own naval units disembark".

At their fractious June 28-29 summit in Brussels, under pressure from Italy, European leaders controversially agreed to set up secure centres for migrants in the bloc, to tighten the EU's borders, create 'disembarkation platforms' outside the bloc and to redistribute refugees among member states.

--IANS/AKI

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Washington : As Pakistan is set to form a new government, the US looks for opportunities to work with it to advance the goals of security and stability in South Asia, the State Department has said.

"As Pakistan's elected leaders form a new government, the US will look for opportunities to work with them to advance our goals of security, stability, and prosperity in South Asia," a US State Department spokesperson said in a statement on Thursday.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan is set to become the next Prime Minister of the country, promising a new Pakistan.

Washington will be working closely with Islamabad, given the two countries' relationship in the light of the US strategy for South Asia and the issue of Afghan peace talks, the US spokesperson said.

The official further said the US was "concerned by reports of constraints placed on freedoms of expression, association, and the press leading up to the elections".

As ecstatic PTI supporters celebrated, the outgoing Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which had been in power since 2013, rejected the results alleging "outright rigging" and vowing it would use "all political and legal options for redressal of these glaring excesses".
Google keeps the target to provide internet services to millions of Nigerians in 200 public spaces across five cities by the end of 2019

New Delhi : Tech giant Google has launched a network of free Wi-Fi hotspots in Nigeria in an effort to increase its presence in the African country. The US technology firm, owned by Alphabet Inc, has joined hands with Nigerian fibre cable network provider 21st Century to provide its public Wi-Fi service, Google Station, in six places in the commercial capital Lagos, including the citys airport.

A research confirms that Internet usage is relatively low in Nigeria. Some 25.7 per cent of the population made use of the internet in 2016, according to World Bank data. The poor internet infrastructure stands as an obstacle in operating businesses in Africas largest oil producer country. The reason behind is that almost 190 million people in Nigeria could not afford Broadband service and even some consider it has unreliable.

We are rolling out the service in Lagos today but the plan is to quickly expand to other locations, Anjali Joshi, Googles vice president for product management, told Reuters in Lagos.

Google keeps the target to provide internet services to millions of Nigerians in 200 public spaces across five cities by the end of 2019. The company said that it would generate cash from the service in Nigeria by placing Google adverts in the login portal.

Also, Google has plans to share revenues with its partners to help them maintain and deploy the Wi-Fi service but did not disclose the expected advertising revenue split. Now, Nigeria is the fifth country to launch Google Station. Earlier, similar services have been launched in India, Indonesia, Mexico and Thailand. The Wi Fi service is aimed at countries with fast expanding populations. The United Nations estimates Nigeria will be the worlds third most populous nation, after China and India, by 2050.
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Pakiam said the NCW had abused its powers by submitting a one-sided report.

Thiruvananthapuram/Kochi: A day after the National Commission for Women said it has recommended a ban on confessions in churches over fears they could lead to blackmailing of women, a Kerala bishops body has petitioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi against the move, calling it shocking.

Union minister Alphons Kannan-thanam, a Kerala native, meanwhile, rejected outright the NCWs recommendation, insisting that the Modi government would never interfere in religious beliefs of people.

It was shocking not only for the Christian community but also to everyone who stands for the freedom of religion, Kerala Catholic Bishops Council president Archbishop Soosa Pakiam told a press conference in Thiruvanan-thapuram. He said a memorandum has been sent to the Prime Minister against the recommendation.

Mr Pakiam said the NCW had abused its powers by submitting a one-sided report. He called it an irresponsible act done with ulterior motives. Pakiam also wrote to George Kurian, member secretary of National Commission for Minorities, requesting him to raise before appropriate authorities the concerns of the church.
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
Though the EC only asks for the shifting of employees who have been in a particular place or seat for more than two years before elections.

Jaipur: Rajasthan chief minister Vasundhara Raje has set the field before the state Assembly elections in December and her proposed state-wide tour from August 4. In a major shake-up of bureaucracy, Ms Raje has transferred more than 600 police and administrative officers of all-India and state services in a weeks time. On Friday, four IAS, 34 IPS and 93 RAS were transferred.

Ms Raje has gone on transfer spree, as the window of opportunity for transfer will be closed soon when the Election Commission (EC) begins revision of the electoral list from July 31. It is expected to go on for over a month. By that time, the model code of conduct would come into effect restraining the government from removing any official without prior permission of the EC.

Though the EC only asks for the shifting of employees who have been in a particular place or seat for more than two years before elections, almost every district has got a new superintendent of police and district magistrate. Apart from 653 employees, including 40 IAS, 109 IPS, 209 RAS and 295 RPS, the government has transferred thousands of employees in education, police, health and panchayat raj departments.

With so many transfers done in a hurry, the government bungled up the exercise because it could not figure out which officer should be placed in which department or area. As a result, Jaipur municipal commissioner Ravi Jain got shifted thrice in a week. In the first list on June 20, he was transferred to the post of director, agriculture, on the second list on July 24, he was appointed commissioner school education and in the latest list on Friday, he was made commissioner, department of information and public relations.
New Fairfields town-owned water system will likely become the latest in the area to be purchased by Aquarion Water Co., continuing a national trend of corporations taking over small or municipal water operations.

The Board of Selectmen has worked out an agreement with the company, which will now head to the Planning Commission, to buy the small system in the center of town, which serves town buildings and a few businesses.

It will become the latest in at least a dozen systems turned over to Aquarion in the Danbury area over the last decade, which officials say can help residents and the town avoid keeping up with increasingly complicated regulations or paying for expensive improvements.

Aquarion now serves 197,000 customer accounts, or more than 625,000 people, in 51 cities throughout the state.

Clear choice

In New Fairfield, the switch will relieve the town and taxpayers from having to hire someone to oversee the system and fix its operation issues, Selectman Khris Hall said. Right now, the system is overseen by two volunteers.

We were faced with two choices, we could either staff up to do this correctly, or sell the system to professionals who know how to run the systems and have five systems already in New Fairfield, Hall said. It was a pretty clear choice.

The idea to sell the 10-year-old system has been in the works for several years, Hall said, and might mean that Aquarion can interconnect it with other nearby systems it owns in New Fairfield.

She added connecting small systems, or at least transferring their control to larger companies, has been encouraged by the Connecticut Department of Public Health because it better streamlines water-quality testing.

The ever-increasing regulatory requirements can often be difficult or expensive for towns or smaller companies to keep up with, Aquarion spokesman Peter Fazekas said.

Were actually testing for over 100 contaminants and that list continues to grow, Fazekas said. Theres lots of responsibility in order to maintain that water system.

Expensive upkeep

Meanwhile, Bethel has had to borrow millions to repair its water system over the last few years after a proposal to sell it to Aquarion was rejected in 2013.

The improvements became even more imperative after excessive levels of a chemical called trihalomethane were detected in the Chestnut Ridge Reservoir.

The proposal to sell the system, which served more than 3,400 customers at the time, was opposed by residents, led by the Bethel Action Committee, which argued the town should keep control over its water.

The citizens using the water still have a voice, said Billy Michael, the founder of the committee. We can go to meetings. We can bring things to referendum. We have direct impact on the people running the water system. You can't do that with Aquarion.

More Information Danbury-area systems sold to Aquarion 2010 Topstone Hydraulic, with customers in Danbury and Ridgefield 2011: Tyler Lake, Judea, Olmstead, Chestnut Tree Hill and Circle Drive systems, with customers in Wolcott, Goshen, Danbury, Washington, Washington Depot, New Preston, Newtown, New Fairfield, Brookfield, Litchfield and Bantam Bethel's Rural Water Company, with customers in Brookfield, Danbury, New Fairfield and Ridgefield 2012 Indian Field's system in Brookfield Meckauer Water Company in Bethel Dunham Pond system in New Fairfield 2014 Bedrock Water Association in New Milford 2017 Litchfield Hills system in New Milford Hickory Hills water system in Brookfield, with customers in Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, New Milford and Newtown See More Collapse

But First Selectman Matt Knickerbocker stands by his position that selling to Aquarion would have been good, although he said there are no plans to revisit the idea.

It would have been an excellent thing to do, he said. Even considering all the improvements over the past five years in the system, Aquarion probably would have gotten those things done faster.

The town is in the midst of an $863,000 plan to upgrade the Briar Cliff pump station on Briar Cliff Manor, as well as to extend the water main on that road to Long Meadow and Crestview lanes.

Bethel spent $1.3 million to upgrade the Hoyts Hill pump station, $900,000 to refurbish the Maple Avenue well fields and $2.8 million to build the 750,000-gallon Eureka Lake water tank.

Water business

In Brookfield, First Selectman Steve Dunn said avoiding expensive improvements like these was one of the reasons the town decided to have Aquarion manage a water line it built about eight years ago on Federal Road.

He said the takeover meant Brookfield wouldnt need to hire extra staff and create a billing system for the line.

We dont want to be in that business, he said. We dont know how to deliver water, Aquarion does. They take care of everything.

Margaret Miner, executive director of Rivers Alliance of Connecticut, a nonprofit that aims to protect water in the state, said selling to Aquarion might be a good option for towns like New Fairfield.

But she said residents should consider the effect the sale would have on rates or their access to reservoir lands. Generally, private companies have higher rates, she said, but have more money to spend on infrastructure improvements.

All these acquisitions deserve scrutiny, Miner said.

The New Fairfield sale, though an agreement has been reached, will go through a few more steps before it will go into affect, Hall said.

The planwill be discussed by the Planning Commission next week and head to the Board of Selectmen, who will set a public hearing and town meeting if planning officials sign off.

If it is passed by voters, it will then head to the state for approval.

Several steps have to be taken first, Hall said. It could be some months or up to a year before the sale finally takes effect.

aquinn@newstimes.com; jperkins@newstimes.com
NEWTOWN  Garner Correctional Institute is facing two lawsuits claiming that dangerous levels of radon and uranium at the prison have caused cancer among correction officers and inmates.

A class action lawsuit announced earlier in the week in New Haven on behalf of correction officers is headed to state Superior Court in Waterbury, and grows out of a federal suit filed in 2017 representing inmates.

The latest claim contends that radon  a naturally occurring radioactive gas  killed at least two correction officers and caused nearly a dozen to contract cancer from dangerous levels of radon and uranium at the prison, according to attorney Lori Welch-Rubin of Bethany. Scott Semple, the commissioner of the state Department of Correction and other correction officials are the targets in both class action suits.

Correction Department officials declined to comment Friday citing the pending litigation.

Rubin claims state officials did little over more than two decades to prevent thousands of inmates and hundreds of prison guards from being exposed to high levels of the radioactive materials.

Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer in the United States for nonsmokers, according to The American Cancer Society.

While smoking was banned at the prison when it first opened in 1992, the levels of radon in some parts of the facility are equal to smoking more than two and a half packs of cigarettes a day, Rubin stated in the earlier federal filing.

Tests by the town of Newtown have shown that the water contains as much as eight times the safe levels for uranium, Rubin maintains.

While the state is not required to test for radon in public areas other than schools, the federal government has been suggesting radon testing be completed since the late 1980s.

The area where the prison was built is also known to have a high potential for radon exposure, according to the federal suit.

Forcing inmates to be exposed involuntarily to radon, a recognized human carcinogen, far in excess of any publicized safe level constitutes deliberate indifference by correctional officials,  that suit states.

The high levels of radon at the prison were discovered in late 2013 after a teacher in one of its classrooms complained about potential exposure.

While federal guidelines warn of radon levels in excess of 4.0 picocuries per liter, areas of the prison showed levels in excess of 20 pCi/L, the federal suit states.

Welch-Rubin said employees were told about the problem in 2014 and given a one-year window to apply for workers compensation benefits, but those who had already retired or were transferred to other facilities were not notified.

A retired guard, who wasnt named, was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer in 2016 and lived for about five months after the diagnosis, the attorney said.

If he had been told years before when state officials knew about the problem hed probably still be alive today, Welch-Rubin said.

While the federal government has set the action level for radon at 4.0 pCi/L, health officials advise residents that levels above 2.0 pCi/L should be of concern, according to Allison Sullivan an environmental analyst with the state Department of Public Healths radon unit.

Sullivan also said all of the areas in the prison had been tested for radon, which runs counter to allegations in the lawsuit.

We tested each of the correctional bubble in each of the residential areas, she said. They identified a problem and did what they had to do to fix it.

The leading plaintiff in the new lawsuit is Frank Crose, the first warden at the prison who was diagnosed with nodules on his lungs. Other plaintiffs say theyve been diagnosed with a variety of ailments from breast and lung cancer to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The federal lawsuit claims the testing done in 2014 was limited and officials intentionally didnt test areas where the inmates were housed. A mitigation system that was put into place after the testing also doesnt cover the areas where the inmates are housed, the lawsuit states.

Officials with the Department of Corrections went so far as to censor an article in Prison Legal News that discussed the problem, according to the filings.

The Department of Corrections removed and censored the article as part of its ongoing effort to cover up what took place at Garner and to keep prisoners who were housed at Garner ignorant of the potential medical risks," stated one of the inmates, Scott Pickles, in an affidavit filed as part of the federal lawsuit.

No member of the Department of Correction has ever informed me that I was exposed to radon while incarcerated at Garner, he said.

Lawyers representing the state argued in federal court Monday in New Haven that the case should be withdrawn citing immunity state officials have from litigation.

A decision on the motion has yet to be announced.

dperrefort@newstimes.com
Chidambaram asked his party workers not to get fooled by the 'BJP's propaganda of Congress-mukt Bharat'.

Chidambaram launched project 'Shakti' in Karnataka for the Congress workers, with an aim to strengthen the party's ground organisation by connecting workers across every booth, village, block, town and districts. (Photo: ANI | Twitter)

Bengaluru: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Saturday asked his party workers not to get fooled by the "BJP's propaganda of Congress-mukt Bharat", saying if at all there was a "mukt Bharat, it would be BJP-mukt".

The former Union minister said that things had changed from the time when the Congress was an "unchallenged" political party in India and stressed on the need to strengthen it at the booth level, reminding that now elections were fought at that level.

"There was a time when all that the Congress had to do was to mention the name of Jawaharlal Nehru or Indira Gandhi and then millions of people would simply come to the booth and vote," Chidambaram said.

"It is a booth-wise election now, which is why in every booth we must be present... We must have enough people in every booth... What matters now is the number of feet on the ground," he added. He said, that was the time when the Congress was an "unchallenged" political party in India, but things had changed, as they would in any country.

"Today more political parties have come to play important roles and more regional political parties have come," he said, addressing party men after launching project 'Shakti' in Bengaluru. The former finance minister said that there were only two parties today which had a national footprint -- one was the Congress, and the other was the BJP.

"Don't let the BJP fool us. Don't be overawed by the BJP's propaganda that they can ever build or have a Congress mukt Bharat, that is simply not going to happen," he said. "If at all there will be a mukt Bharat, it will be a BJP mukt Bharat, it will never be Congress-mukt," he added.

Chidambaram said sometimes the party's presence was strong, and sometimes it was not as strong and added that these things would change. "Just because, say, we lose an election in Gujarat, does not mean that we are not present in that state. We are present in Gujarat, but we just missed it. We just missed it by a whisker," he said.

Chidambaram claimed that in Karnataka, the presence of the Congress was stronger than that of the BJP, as the party secured 38 per cent vote, while, the BJP got 36 per cent.

"We had 2 per cent advantage in votes, but we had a 24 seat deficit," he said, adding that the analysis showed that in coastal Karnataka the BJP's vote share went up to 50 per cent but in old Mysuru it dropped to almost 17 per cent. The vote can go up in some areas and come down in some, which means it can make a big difference to the seats, said Chidambaram and claimed that the Congress' presence was more or less uniform across the state.

He launched project 'Shakti' in Karnataka for the Congress workers, with an aim to strengthen the party's ground organisation by connecting workers across every booth, village, block, town and districts. Party workers could enrol in the project by sending an SMS containing their voter ID card number to a dedicated number, party officials said, adding that 'Shakti' would enable booth-level workers to engage with local leadership on various issues.

Emphasising the need for micro-management of every booth, Chidambaram set August 15 as the deadline for enrolment of lakhs of the workers for the project.

"Massive enrolment should take place beginning today and we must have some result by August 15... I'm absolutely sure with Project Shakti the Congress will multiply its numbers dramatically and in months to come we will have a very strong ground force and get ready for the Parliament election whenever it takes place," he added.
The US currently cannot match the number of submarines of all its potential enemies. China has 68 to 73 and will likely build to 80-90 submarines. This submarine gap is being used as a justification to spend tens of billions of dollar for more US submarines.

During the cold war, the US had about 130 submarines to the 260 Soviet submarines. This did not count a lot of submarines that China had. China had the current North Korea large number of crappy submarines. No one during the Cold war thought the US had to match the USSR sub for sub or tank for tank.

The Chinese submarines are getting closer to matching US submarines but only 12 are nuclear submarines. Russia has 63 submarines. Most of Russias submarines were old and not in good condition. Russia is part way through a modernization effort. North Korea has a lot of crappy submarines.

Currently most of Chinas submarines are in the $300-800 million price range. The US is paying almost $3 billion for Virginia Attack submarines and $10 billion for new Columbia ballistic missile submarines.

The US NATO allies and Japan have a combined few dozen submarines but again most are not top notch or in great condition.

The US had between 118 and 137 submarines from 1980-1990. The US had 36-41 ballistic missile submarines. THe US has 78-97 attack submarines.

The USSR had about double with 262 submarines.

The US Navy expect with current average production rates that the combined SSN and SSGN force could decline to just 41 by 2029. This 25-vessel short of a study that says the US needs 66 subs.

Soviet submarine fleet in 1990

63 ballistic missile submarines

6 Project 941 (Typhoon-class) submarine

40 Project 667B (Delta-class) submarine

12 Project 667A (Yankee-class) submarine

5 Project 658 (Hotel-class) submarine

72 cruise missile submarines

6 Oscar-class submarine

6 Yankee Notch submarine

14 Charlie-class submarine

30 Echo-class submarine

16 Juliett-class submarine

64 nuclear attack submarines

5 Akula-class submarine

2 Sierra-class submarine

1 Alfa-class submarine

46 Victor-class submarine

6 November-class submarine

3 Yankee SSN submarine

63 conventional attack submarines

18 Kilo-class submarine

20 Tango-class submarine

25 Foxtrot-class submarine

Russia, China, US submarines today

Russia still has a total of 63 submarines. Most are not in good condition. Russia has been replacing and modernizing them.

China currently has 68 submarines and only 12 of those are nuclear submarines.

The US has 66 nuclear submarines

Ohio class (18 in commission)  14 ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs), 4 guided missile submarines (SSGNs)

Virginia class (11 in commission, 5 under construction, 2 on order)  fast attack submarines

Seawolf class (3 in commission)  attack submarines

Los Angeles class (34 in commission, 2 in reserve)  attack submarines

Chinas submarines are now mostly relatively larger new diesel submarines with Air Independent Propulsion (AIP). AIP lets a diesel submarine get closer to matching the a nuclear submarine wit the time it can remain underwater.
The US has highest maternal death rate in the developed world. Many US hospitals are not following the best practices for the delivery of babies.

Thousands of women suffer life-altering injuries or die during childbirth because US hospitals and medical workers skip safety practices that are known to prevent problems. Doctors and nurses should be weighing bloody pads to track blood loss so they recognize danger sooner. They should be giving medication within an hour of spotting dangerously high blood pressure to fend off strokes.

One exception in the U.S.: California, where safety experts and hospitals worked together to implement practices that are now endorsed by leading medical societies as the gold standard of care. Statewide, Californias maternal death rate has fallen by half, while deaths rose across most of the country.

Despite widespread recognition that the California safety measures save lives, hospitals elsewhere have been slow to use them.

USA TODAY obtained more than a half-million pages of internal hospital quality records and examined the cases of more than 150 women whose deliveries went terribly wrong.

Each year, more than 50,000 US women who are giving birth are severely injured. About 700 mothers die. The best estimates say that half of these deaths could be prevented and half the injuries reduced or eliminated with better care.

At dozens of hospitals in New York, Pennsylvania and the Carolinas fewer than half of maternity patients were promptly treated for dangerous blood pressure that put them at risk of stroke. At some of those hospitals, less than 15% of mothers in peril got recommended treatments.

The lack of attention happens at hospitals big and small, from tiny community delivery units to major birthing centers that tout state-of-the art technology and training.
Connecticut activists are shaking their heads over the Trump administrations latest environmental rules, saying proposed changes to the Endangered Species Act favor developers over fragile plants and struggling animal species.

"The ecosystem is complex resource," said Patrick Comins, executive director of the Connecticut Audubon Society.

"You dont know what the effects are of removing a species," Comins said. Our biggest concern is the Piping Plover. It would be a shame to have all this success [in preserving the species] and then have its protections weakened."

The Piping Plover is an example of how the ESA is applied. The tiny shoreline bird  a common sight along Connecticuts coast  was nearly extinct until given threatened species status, which allowed officials to ban human activity in its nesting areas.

The plover population has now returned to a point that its nearly eligible to be removed from threatened status.

Under proposed rules rolled out this week by the Trump administration, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would be directed to strike language that instructs regulators to ignore the economic impact of protecting wildlife.

Other changes include potential limits on the designation of "critical habitat" for imperiled plants and animals, an end to giving threatened species the same protections as those at risk of extinction and streamlining inter-agency consultations when federal government actions could jeopardize a species.

U.S. Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del and a top Democrat on the Environment and Public Works Committee, said the proposed regulations do more harm than good.

"The new regulations undercut vital sections of the ESA that may harm imperiled species and are more examples of the Trump administration catering to industry instead of the interests of the American people," Carper said in a statement.

"The ESA, which is helping to recover the Red Knot and Piping Plover, continues to be one of our countrys most popular and successful environmental protection laws," Carper said.

Numerous conflicts between developers and environmentalists have arisen since the 1973 passage of the ESA, ranging from disruptions to logging to restoring gray wolves.

Small snails, beetles and other creatures with threatened protection status have blocked multimillion dollar developments or forced corporate owners to find another location.

"Very protective"

Trump administration officials said the new rules would advance conservation by simplifying and improving how the landmark ESA is applied.

"These rules will be very protective," said U.S. Interior Department Deputy Secretary David Bernhardt, adding the changes reduce the "conflict and uncertainty" associated with many protected species.

Greg Sheehan, deputy director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, said the Trump administration is "dedicated to being a good neighbor" and protector of the environment.

"One thing we heard over and over again was that ESA implementation was not consistent and often times very confusing to navigate," Sheehan said.

"We are proposing these improvements to produce the best conservation results for the species while reducing the regulatory burden on the American people," Sheehan said.

But critics said the changes will speed extinctions in the name of furthering an anti-environment agenda. Species currently under consideration for protections are especially at risk, including the North American wolverine and the monarch butterfly, they said.

"It essentially turns every listing of a species into a negotiation," said Noah Greenwald with the Center for Biological Diversity. "They could decide that building in a species' habitat or logging in trees where birds nest doesn't constitute harm."

More than 700 animals and almost 1,000 plants are shielded by the law and hundreds more are under consideration for protections. Fewer than 100 species have been taken off the threatened and endangered lists, either because they were deemed recovered or, in at least 10 cases, went extinct.

President Donald Trump and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke have been strong advocates for oil and gas drilling and other types of development, frequently criticizing environmental policies for hindering economic activity.

The proposed policies follow long standing criticism of the ESA by business groups and some members of Congress. Republican lawmakers are pushing legislation to enact broad changes to the law, saying it hinders economic activities while doing little to restore species.

Local impact

Comins said many species in Connecticut have a threatened status, including Plovers, the Red Knot shorebird, the Northern Long-Eared Bat and the Puritan Tiger Beetle.

Asked why anyone should care about a beetle, Comins pointed to the now extinct Passenger Pigeon as the possible source of Lyme disease.

"The Passenger Pigeon went from forest to forest devouring acorns and nuts," Comins explained, adding that when the pigeon become extinct, deer and mice populations thrived, along with Lyme disease.

"You never know the effects," Comins said of losing a species.

Laura McMillan, a spokesperson for Connecticut Fund for the Environment and Save the Sound, said the proposed changes are worrisome.

"The effects of the Trump administrations proposal to weaken ESA protections may not be evident immediately," McMillan said. "But as climate change and development of woodlands progress, and more and more species become threatened, the proposed plan could have cumulative and irreversible effects in the future."

McMillan added the proposal prioritizes costs to industry above the public benefits of protection.

"With an administration that doesnt believe in climate change, the proposed ESA rules could have disastrous effects for coastal places like Connecticut," McMillan said.

James Miller, a spokesperson for the Nature Conservancy, said the ESA is the best defense for species facing threats of extinction.

More than 99 percent of all species listed under the Act have been prevented from going extinct, Miller said. We believe any changes to the regulations must only enhance outcomes for species from this bedrock statute. [The Conservancy] will not support any changes that diminish or weaken ESAs core protections.

Chris Collibee, a spokesperson for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection, said the agency is reviewing the proposed changes.

"The DEEP is committed to the protection of all of Connecticuts wildlife, and will continue the fight to protect our endangered and at-risk species," Collibee said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report
NORTH HAVEN  A woman was charged after she fled from detectives on two separate days when they tried to pull her over, police said.

Christy Gorman, 30, of North Haven, was charged with violation of probation, engaging officers in a pursuit and two counts of evading responsibility.

Detectives tried to pull Gorman over on July 18, the department said on Friday. Gorman had an active arrest warrant for violation of probation.

Gorman fled at a high rate of speed and collided with two vehicles while fleeing from police, the department said.

Police were unable to arrest her then. On Friday, detectives found Gorman in a car in New Haven, where there was another pursuit and another collision.

After a brief pursuit, the vehicle crashed into a concrete barrier and Gorman was taken into custody, police said.

North Haven police said Gorman was wanted by other agencies for criminal charges, but did not disclose what those charges were or where the incidents they stemmed from took place.

Gorman was held on bond, police said. The department did not disclose how much her bond was and court records for her had not yet been filed as of Saturday.
WALLINGFORD - Gina Nero wants to do her part to help make doughnuts great again, or at least those produced by the famed baker Entenmanns.

The 37-year-old Wallingford woman is one of five finalists vying for the title of chief donut officer with the 120-year-old brand. The individual selected to receive the honorary title will get $5,000, Entenmanns gear and a years supply of the companys donuts.

I found out about it online and I thought it offered a lot of opportunity to be creative, said Nero, who works a freelance writer. As kid growing up, I used to eat Entenmanns because my grandparents used to buy the doughnuts and the strudel all the time. So this is sort of a nostalgia thing for me.

The public will have an opportunity to vote for their favorite candidate for the position by going on Entenmanns website between now and Aug. 7, when the winner will be announced. The finalists were selected from a field of more than 23,000 entries.

The finalists were selected for the passion, creativity, and originality or their entries. Each of finalists has recorded a video testimonial explaining why they deserve the title. For her video, Nero said she took the angle that people have been veering away from doughnuts for some time now.

I thought it would be fun to enter because its such a creative campaign, Nero said. In my video, I say I want to bring doughnuts back to their rightful place. I want to take the taboo out of it.

Although this is the first time Entenmanns has done a chief donut officer competition, the idea of running a contest with an honorary title is nothing new, said David Cadden, a professor emeritus at Quinnipiac Universitys School of Business.

This was something that was much more common in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s, Cadden said. And because its a retro idea, its something they ought to get a lot of mileage out of it. People love this sort of thing because they see it as a chance to be recognized.

Cadden said Neros video could resonate with people who are picking the winner in the contest as well as the doughnut-buying public as a whole.

A lot of people are tired of political correctness, particularly when it come to food, Cadden said. They just might look at this and say, Great, somebody is standing up for the doughnuts .

The contest to select the brands chief donut officer was timed to coincide with National Doughnuts Day, which occurred June 1.

The Entenmanns brand has been around for 120 years, having been launched in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1898 by German immigrant William Entenmann.

Between 1978 and 2006, Entenmanns saw its ownership change hands more than a half-dozen times. The current owner of the brand is Mexican baking giant Bimbo, which has its U.S. headquarters in suburban Philadelphia.

luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com
A day after Superstorm Sandy hit, Nancy Arnold waded down her basement stairs and saw five feet of storm surge partially submerging her furnace and hot water heater.

After the water eventually retreated, and the local fire department pumped out the rest, Arnold had another worry: mold.

A husband and wife who had done painting for the Arnolds showed up and offered to wash the homes lower level with bleach. Where would I have been without that, Arnold wondered this summer, because they knew about the mold, and they Cloroxed the whole basement. If theres another storm, I dont know if theyre up to do that again.

Arnold has lived in a house near the end of Whitfield Street in Guilford since 1962. She and her family evacuated to a local community center for six hours, during the worst of Sandys tempest. Evacuations have become commonplace in her neighborhood. A year prior, during Tropical Storm Irene, the family had packed its bags and spent the night at the center.

After the Sandy cleanup, Arnold hired a contractor to install a new furnace that hangs from the ceiling, about five feet above the floor.

Thats as high as they could make it, she said. If it needs to be higher than that, Guilfords in trouble. But the way the world is today, whos to say, you know, what could happen?

More than breathing problems

For the past several decades, Arnold has watched the tide creep deeper into the marshes that ripple outside her living-room window. Guilfords coastal neighborhoods, like most of the shoreline, saw the future arrive with Tropical Storm Irene in 2011.

In a century, climate change and a rising sea level on Connecticuts coast have brought more frequent and devastating flooding during storms.

The flooding destroys property, something people hear about immediately. But it also harms peoples health.

After flooding, mold quickly multiplies into fuzzy blobs on walls and furniture. When people try to clean up, they breathe in airborne microbes that can trigger breathing problems, skin rashes and infections, mucous membrane illnesses, and problems in internal organs, according to fungal scientist Eckardt Johanning and his colleagues, writing in an article in Environmental Health and Preventive Medicine.

Health researchers said residents should view floods as hazardous to their health and doctors need to beef up their training to recognize flood-related illnesses.

Mold can make people sick, but mold also signals the presence of other bacteria and disease, said Paula Schenck, director of the Center for Indoor Environments and Health at UConn Health. She said doctors can advise their patients to have the appropriate protective gear on hand before the flood, and then avoid exposures that would cause illness, so Im sort of on a disease-prevention soapbox here.

If you live in an environment that is likely to see severe wet weather, its good for your doctor to consider if you might have health concerns from exposures after a storm, or from being in a chronically wet environment, when you go in for your yearly exam, Schenck said.

This little-discussed public health threat  exposure to mold  is rising slowly into the public consciousness. Nuisance flooding has increased on the United States coasts, and it will increase dramatically after 2050, or about the time that todays babies will be adults.

People who live near water now live more and more in water.

Adam Whelchel, director of science for the Connecticut Chapter of the Nature Conservancy, has worked on coastal resilience planning with dozens of municipalities. Theres a whole lot of emotional stress that goes along with living along the coast, he said.

Around New England, most coastal areas have been inundated several inches over the past century. Bridgeports sea level has risen nearly one foot and New Londons slightly less, according to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administrations calculations. The yearly increase is almost three millimeters.

In March, the Connecticut Institute for Resilience and Climate Adaptation at the University of Connecticut released a report predicting increases of another 20 inches by 2050. Major areas of the coast will flood regularly in the future.

High-tide flooding along the nations coastline has increased 300 to 900 percent in the last half century. NOAAs map of projected high-tide flooding can be zoomed to street-level detail for any town in Connecticut. A perusal around the state shows that inundation by future floods will cover large swaths of Guilford south of Interstate 95, and large areas of Madison, Bridgeport, Middletown, Old Saybrook, Haddam, Hartford and Stamford.

Buildings in the floodwaters path will be prone to mold and all that mold signifies.

All molds are part of the kingdom of fungi. Scientists havent yet identified most fungi that exist  90 percent or so, said De-Wei Li, a research mycologist at the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Stations Valley Laboratory in Windsor. Scientists who study fungi spend much of their time simply identifying species.

The hundreds of molds scientists have identified in this part of the world can trigger allergies such as asthma and skin reactions, and some of them contain mycotoxins or volatile organic compounds in their spores. Mycotoxins and VOCs can cause serious diseases or reactions when ingested, when they come in contact with skin, or when someone breathes them in. The microscopic spores penetrate deep into the lungs.

A month after Sandy hit in the Northeast, scientists collected samples of mold from houses in Brielle and Manasquan, N.J. They found 36 types of mold, including six that killed flies in the lab. Molds found included Aspergillus niger, which the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports can cause lung infections and allergic reactions; Aspergilloma, (fungus ball); and the most common found in damp or water-damaged structures, Penicillium chrysogenum; among others.

The presence of mold also indicates a whole soup of biological materials, including bacteria. If someone sees mold growing inside, they are witnessing a risk to respiratory health, Schenck said.

She said flood waters can be dangerously contaminated. Certain medical conditions make one vulnerable to airborne mold.

Many materials  wallboard, fabrics themselves (clothes, curtains) and those that trap dust (carpet) are a grand meal for mold, Schenck has written. Even some well-constructed buildings that havent had moisture concerns in the past become wet from wind-driven rain and flood waters in severe storms.

Schenck wants people to know that any time they see mold, they should consider it an indicator that moisture is available for biological growth. The wetter it is, the greater the chances of severe respiratory illnesses.

An increase in floods will cause wood and drywall and other building materials to become saturated more often, causing an increase in peoples exposure to airborne mold spores, since that is how they reproduce. This means that people whose immune systems have been weakened by disease are more vulnerable to health effects from mold.

The most urgent advice about a flooded living space is to get out until the standing water has subsided. Once its flooded, dont go wading unprotected in that environment, Schenck said.

This story was reported under a partnership with the Connecticut Health I-Team (www.c-hit.org).
ORANGE The fresh made-to-order chicken and steak, homemade flour tortillas and specially selected shrimp have made Taco Town a hot spot eatery only five weeks after opening.

But the real secret in the food, says the business familys patriarch, touching his heart, is the love that he says goes into every dish.

I let people know it will be a few minutes. They wait because we use fresh, tasty, healthy ingredients, said Hak Luen Sze.

Sze and his wife, Yuk Ping Sze and two children, Vivian Sze, 18, and Jonathan Sze, 28, are in the business together, with father and son doing the bulk of the kitchen work.

The Szes, who live in Trumbull, are Chinese  and they did own a Chinese restaurant for 30 years as well as a Taco King restaurant in Bridgeport on Madison Avenue for 10 years.

They sold the Taco King to a friend  and its thriving, they said, but decided to open Taco Town when their son, after graduating from college, decided he wanted to go into the business. They wound up in Orange after Hak Luen Sze heard through a friend that there was a space available formerly occupied by Hibachi Grill.

Jonathan Sze said he thinks Orange is a good location and they arent worried about competition from nearby Taco Bell or other Mexican eateries in the area because they have their own style  its Tex-Mex food, not authentic Mexican.

One of my interests is making food and Mexican is one of my favorite type of foods, Jonathan Sze said.

Asked how hes doing with the grueling hours of restaurant work  they are open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.  Jonathan Sze said, Im adjusting, getting by. He noted that he gets the adrenaline rush, when the place gets busy.

All four family members said they love working with each other.

Its a really nice first job to work with your family, Vivian Sze said. Its fun because when I have free time Ill go talk to my dad, my brother or my mom. Its so great working and spending time with family.

Hak Luen Sze said, Im lucky to have very good kids.

Jonathan Sze said working with family makes for a relaxing environment and comfortable.

The Tex-Mex grill space, renovated for Taco Town, is an immaculate, uncluttered open environment with dark wood tables, light walls and ample front counter space for comfortable take-out ordering. There are a couple of flat screen televisions for customers to view.

There are no sombreros, maracas or other Mexican symbols decorating the space  only cactus etchings on a decorative piece of glass in the dining area and a Bonsai plant sent for good luck from a friend.

Vivian Sze said there is no Mexican motif because they want to make it clear that its not authentic Mexican, but rather Tex-Mex, a blend of Mexican and southern American features. The phrase originated in referring to the border area of Texas and Mexico.

Vivian Sze, who will attend Sacred Heart University in the fall, said some people dont realize its Tex-Mex and express disappointment that it tastes different than authentic. She noted the Chinese food sold here for take-out and in most restaurants is not authentic, but customers dont say anything because theyve never tasted authentic Chinese cuisine.

The business at 199 Boston Post Road is easily spotted from the road  the sign is bold and so are the welcome banners.

The family has a power house of restaurant experience behind them: Mom and Dad owned a Chinese restaurant for 30 years and the Taco King modeled after another family members taco restaurants in New York. Yuk Ping Sze said her brother opened those restaurants years ago after working in another Mexican restaurant and deciding the food could be improved.

Yuk Ping Sze, who does the bookkeeping, loves having her family under one roof and doesnt work all day, every day, said the flour tortillas are homemade and cooked as people order. She said they did many tastings and research to find the best shrimp supplier and all the chicken and steak is cooked to order. The homemade pico de gallo starts with fresh tomatoes.

Were a small business with no advertising so we rely on word of mouth, Vivian Sze said, noting they already have regular customers.
After weeks of treatment at home, Karunanidhi, 94, was admitted to Kauvery Hospital after his blood pressure dropped.

The 94-year-old leader was being treated for fever due to urinary tract infection with intravenous antibiotics and fluids. (Photo: File)

Chennai: DMK president M Karunanidhi, who is being treated for fever due to urinary tract infection, was admitted to a private hospital in Chennai on early Saturday morning, the party said.

Karunanidhi, 94, was admitted in the Intensive Care Unit of Kauvery Hospital at 1:30 am. The hospital in a statement said he was brought there after his blood pressure dropped.

"His blood pressure has been stabilised with medical management and he continues to be monitored and treated by the panel of experts," the hospital said.

Speaking to reporters outside the hospital, his daughter Kanimozhi said, "He is better. His blood pressure has stabilised."

Several senior DMK leaders, including working president M K Stalin and his estranged elder brother M K Alagiri were at the hospital.

Other frontline leaders such as Duraimurugan, Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi and former Union minister A Raja were also there.

Party cadres had poured in near the hospital complex after receiving the news about Karunanidhi being admitted there. They were chanting "long live Thalaivar" (leader). Some of them were holding Karunanidhi's photos as they waited outside the hospital.

The DMK leaders had visited Karunanidhi at his home in Gopalapuram area before he was taken to the hospital. Among the visitors was Alagiri, who was expelled from the party by the DMK chief in January 2014 after a prolonged struggle for power with Stalin.

Hours before Karunanidhi was moved to the hospital, Stalin had said the former Tamil Nadu chief minister's health was improving.

On Wednesday, he had assured people that there was nothing to worry about his father's health. Security was tightened at the former Tamil Nadu chief minister's residence as DMK cadres kept pouring in there as well.

For the past two years, the DMK president has not been making any public appearance owing to his ill health, but he still holds the top post in the Dravidian party.

Karunanidhi has not been keeping well since October 2016. A few days ago, he underwent a procedure to change his tracheostomy tube to help him in breathing.

Karunanidhi, who is addressed as 'Kalaignar' (artiste) by his supporters, followers and some politicians, entered his 50th year as party chief on Friday.
Connecticut doesnt know the two rich and self-funding candidates for the Republican nomination for governor, Bob Stefanowski and David Stemerman, who are called pop-up candidates by the candidate endorsed by the Republican state convention, Danbury Mayor Mark Boughton. So Stefanowski and Stemerman are impolitely introducing each other to Republican primary voters. Its not pretty, but its useful.

Last week Stemerman broadcast a television commercial noting that Stefanowski enrolled as a Republican only a few weeks before becoming a candidate, long had donated to Democratic candidates, and hasnt been voting Republican. (As it turned out, Stefanowski hasnt been voting Republican because he hasnt been voting at all for 16 years.)

Indeed, while Stefanowski seems to have been a Republican for a long time, he left the party and enrolled as a Democrat for less than a year before re-enrolling as a Republican again a year ago, apparently because he first considered running for governor as a Democrat.

So much for core beliefs.

Stefanowski concedes most of this, explaining weakly that he was working abroad and should have sought absentee ballots. He counters that Stemerman was once a Democrat too and donated to Barack Obama in 2007. But Stemerman left the Democratic Party 15 years ago and says his contribution to Obama was just the price of admission to a fundraiser sponsored by a friend and there were no additional donations.

Indeed, for corporate executives like Stefanowski and Stemerman, politics is often not a matter of core beliefs but just business that requires cozy relations with both sides of the street.

Stefanowski got his commercials on TV before the other Republican candidates and for a while was thought to have an advantage, but he may be badly damaged by exposure of his opportunism and dilettantism. Since Stemermans connection with the other party is fairly remote, Republicans may take less offense from him.

The exchange between the self-funders is a reminder that the mantle of political outsider, seemingly much desired by some candidates for governor, can mean unknown, untested, uninformed, and full of last-minute, unpleasant surprises, as state Republicans might have learned from their awful habit of nominating self-funding political neophytes for governor and U.S. senator in recent years.

But theres nothing wrong with changing parties out of principle rather than opportunism, since peoples views and parties evolve. Winston Churchill changed parties twice, from conservative to liberal and back again, because of policy differences before saving civilization from barbarism. Having gotten away with it all, he reflected: Anyone can rat but it takes a certain amount of ingenuity to re-rat.

Stefanowski botched his re-ratting, even as the next governor may need Churchillian ingenuity to save the state from parasitism.

At least there was a hopeful sign last week from Meriden, a heavily Democratic city that held a referendum on its City Councils proposed budget, which carried a property tax increase of 5 percent.

The budget was defeated by 5,999 to 260, a margin of 96 percent to 4 percent, and turnout was fairly representative  almost 6,300 voters.

If even a Democratic city has had enough of raising taxes, how will ordinary Democrats view a candidate of their party for governor who plans to raise taxes again to appease the government and welfare classes?

Chris Powell is a columnist for the Journal Inquirer in Manchester.
The Congress was quick to capitalise on the trouble between the allies with the partys Bihar in-charge Shaktisinh Gohil welcoming the LJP statement.

New Delhi: Exactly a year after the Nitish Kumar-led JD(U) exited the Grand Alliance in Bihar and joined the NDA, the states politics is on the cusp of another imminent upheaval with Ram Vilas Paswan-led Lok Janashakti Party (LJP) saying its patience is now running thin with ally NDA and virtually putting the government on the mat over the dalit issue by asking it to restore the stringent provisions of the SC/ST atrocities law by August 9  the day on which dalit organisations across the country and farmers organisations are holding a Bharat Bandh.

The Congress was quick to capitalise on the trouble between the allies with the partys Bihar in-charge Shaktisinh Gohil welcoming the LJP statement. The realisation that the Modi government was anti-dalit was better late than never for Mr Paswan, Mr Gohil told this newspaper.

Sources in the Congress said that the party was viewing Mr Paswans comments as the beginning of his exit from the NDA along with Rashtriya Lok Samata Party (RLSP) chief Upendra Kushwaha.

The sources also claimed that discussions have been held between the top leadership of the LJP and Rashtriya Janata Dal for the formers entry into the Grand Alliance. The LJP, which has six MPs in Lok Sabha, draws its core support from dalits in Bihar.

Before exiting the NDA, the LJP is trying to give a message to this core constituency and seeking to protect its hold over it, a senior Bihar Congress leader said.

Another viewpoint is that Mr Paswans exit from the NDA will let the BJP keep more seats aside for Nitish Kumar who is also up in arms over seat sharing for the 2019 general polls.

At a press conference here, LJP MP and Union minister Paswans son Chirag Paswan also demanded that Justice A.K. Goel, who gave the order diluting the Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, like immediate arrest of a person committing an atrocity against a dalit, should also be removed from his new position as chief of National Green Tribunal by August 9.

He said that the patience of many within the LJP is running thin as circumstances raising concerns of the dalits and tribals have emerged of late. Protecting interests of these communities was at the root of the LJPs tie up with the BJP in 2014, he added.

However, when asked if his party would consider walking out of the BJP-led NDA if its demands are not met by the August 9 deadline, he said: We will cross the bridge when it comes.
After the shuttering of a temporary homeless shelter in Newark on one of the hottest days of the year, the city has reopened the extreme weather facility through the end of the summer.

The shelter at 224 Sussex Avenue was originally opened to protect homeless residents temporarily during extreme, extended winter, but Newark officials pushed for it remain open past its original closure date in March.

On July 2, though, the program ran out of funding, and the facility that was then providing shelter from the summer heat shuttered.

Officials have since sought private funding, and on Friday, the businesses stepped in to help the homeless in the city.

The facility, which is operated by a private sheltering organization, will reopen and house the residents until August 31 with financial support from United Airlines, PSEG, RWJBarnabas Health, Prudential/NJ Devils and University Hospital.

"As a community, we must continue working to increase access to temporary and permanent housing as it is critical to improving health outcomes for Newark residents," said John Kastanis, CEO of University Hospital.

Newark is also preparing a request for proposal to contract with multiple sheltering organizations to provide resources to establish year-round sheltering as well as to bring job opportunities to homeless persons who would then qualify for a traditional housing voucher for permanent housing.

The Newark Housing Authority has opened 25 job opportunities for homeless persons who are willing to work construction and can pass a drug test. The salary of up to $22 an hour would qualify these individuals for Section 8 housing.

In addition, a special voucher program is being established to provide supportive permanent housing for individuals with dual diagnoses of both chronic homelessness and severe mental illness. Approximately 45 housing opportunities have been made available, 21 from the state and 24 from the county.

The Newark Housing Authority has applied to the HUD Mainstream Voucher Program and is hoping to receive at least $2,500,000 in vouchers this year to support housing for 200 persons.

Rutgers Business School has also offered to partner with the city to create a financial plan to end homelessness. In addition, Newark is researching container homes, repurposed from steel shipping containers, and trailer homes to provide more housing opportunities.

"We just want to make sure there's no stone unturned in terms of the possibilities for providing housing for those who find themselves homeless," said Dr. Mark Wade, Director of Health and Community Wellness.

Newark is also reaching out to national organizations such as Community Solutions which runs a program entitled Built For Zero with the goal of ending all chronic homelessness. This is an initiative working across the country and has already entered New Jersey by partnering with Bergen County.

"The city really only had the authority to open up a shelter when there is a 'code blue' or 'code red' and we've extended that because Mother Nature has extended the winter and summer so we were able to use that as an emergency to continue to operate the shelter," said Mayor Ras J. Baraka.

"We don't really have a justification for keeping a shelter open 365 days a year, but there are providers who can do that and who will do that and we are going to support them."

Delaney Dryfoos may be reached at ddryfoos@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @delaneydryfoos. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
NORTH BERGEN  U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, facing dismal job approval ratings and an aggressive, well-funded challenger who has spent months attacking him, met with 16 women at a diner in this Hudson County town on Friday to pitch himself as one of the senate's "leading advocates for women equality and rights."

The meeting at Boulevard Diner, billed as a "roundtable discussion with New Jersey women about what's at stake for them and their families in this upcoming election," comes as President Trump is losing support among women and new polls show women voters support Democrats in November's midterm elections. Menendez, a Democrat, will be on the ballot seeking his third term against Republican Bob Hugin, a former pharmaceutical executive.

The 16 women appeared to support Menendez already  one started her comment to him with, "Senator, one of the things that I think you've done spectacularly ..."  and peppered him with questions that let him weigh in on everything from guns in schools to abortion to the U.S. Supreme Court vacancy. They sat at six tables filled with pastries, pots of coffee and orange juice and Menendez campaign literature.

The stakes of this year's midterms, Menendez said three times, could not be higher.

"If there's a vivid reminder that elections have consequences, it is what we are living with now under this president," said Menendez.

Friday's event came about a week after Hugin's own roundtable discussion with women leaders, during which Hugin discussed his involvement in keeping women out of a Princeton University eating club during a legal battle that ended in 1992. Menendez has seized on that episode to highlight his differences with Hugin, and referred to it Friday when he posed for a picture with the 16 women following their 90-minute discussion.

"My opponent didn't want to have you all join him in a dining club in Princeton," he said.

Asked by a reporter about the relevance of Hugin's actions in the early 1990s, Menendez cited Hugin's more recent support of the anti-abortion Heritage Foundation and his ties to Trump.

"What you have is a history, not an isolated moment," Menendez said.

Asked to comment, Hugin spokeswoman Megan Piwowar said Menendez "shouldn't be lecturing Bob Hugin on anything."

"As Bob said last week, he views many things differently today than he did 25 years ago and has been a leader and champion for equality in business. Bob Menendez was caught abusing his office to get visas for his convicted felon best friend Salomon Melgen's young foreign mistresses just three and half years ago," she said.

Polls show Menendez leading Hugin by anywhere from 21 to 2 points. John Weingart, the associate director of the Eagleton Institute of Politics at Rutgers University, said he doesn't see this year's race as an easy win for Menendez but does not suspect the senator is in serious trouble. Menendez will benefit from the energy among Democratic voters to flip control of Congress, Weingart said.

"The unusual number of competitive house races in New Jersey, where there are really well-organized Democratic campaigns, whether or not they win, are going to turn out more Democratic voters than usually vote in midterm elections," he said.

Weingart added a caveat, referencing Trump's surprising 2016 victory: "Given what happened two years ago, nobody can predict anything."

North Bergen couple John and Brenda Amato were eating lunch at Boulevard Diner just a few feet from Menendez. The two Republicans said they plan to support Hugin in November.

"We are deplorables," Brenda Amato, 75, said. "(Democrats) lie. The people are not stupid anymore, they find out. The lies and the same story that they tell the voters every year. And the people are not falling for that anymore."

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.
Just days after urging municipal prosecutors to seek a temporary adjournment of marijuana-related prosecutions, Attorney General Gurbir S. Grewal on Friday convened a working group of prosecutors and police as well as civil rights organizations and defense attorneys.

In a letter issued earlier this week asking prosecutors to adjourn cases until Sept. 4 or later, Grewal said his office would issue a directive sometime next month that would clarify the appropriate use of prosecutorial discretion in marijuana-related cases in municipal courts.

"This working group will review how the municipal prosecutors under my supervision can contribute responsibly to the progressive solutions we are seeking," said Grewal in an statement emailed to media on Friday evening.

Indeed, several of the working group's members favor legalization of cannabis, according to one municipal prosecutor who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Among those favoring legalization are NJ ACLU executive director Amol Sinha, Jersey City prosecutor Jake Hudunut, and Trenton Mayor Reed Gusciora, who until this year was a Democratic architect of the legalization effort in the Assembly.

"I'm an urban mayor and former municipal prosecutor who's seen first hand marijuana enforcement," Gusciora told NJ Advance Media on Friday. "Even police think they have better things to do than marijuana. It takes thousands of dollars to prosecute a single joint, and it's a waste of money."

But not everyone serving on the Attorney General's working group are so sure.

"I think its dangerous when you have individual mayors making their own legal decisions," said Patrick Colligan, president of the 32,000 member New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association.

"But we're open minded and glad to be included in the decision making process, because many of our members are intimately affected by this."

The full membership of the working group follows:

Veronica Allende, director of the division of criminal justice within the attorney general's department of law and public safety, will chair the working group.

Matthew Berns, counsel to the attorney general

Richard T. Burke, Warren County Prosecutor;

Pat Colligan, president of the New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association

Deputy Attorney General Claudia DeMitro

Annette DePalma, president of the New Jersey State Municipal Prosecutors' Association

Stephan Finkel, director of legislative affairs for the Department of Law and Public Safety

Charles Fiore, Gloucester County Prosecutor

Mayor W. Reed Gusciora of Trenton

Jake Hudnut, Jersey City's chief municipal prosecutor

Van Lane, deputy public defender of Monmouth County

Deputy Attorney General Robyn B. Mitchell

Jiles H. Ship, New Jersey police training commissioner

Ahmad Rasool, Municipal Prosecutor for the City of Newark

Amol Sinha, Executive Director of the ACLU of New Jersey

Richard T. Smith, President of the New Jersey State Conference of the NAACP

Steven A. Somogyi, Assistant Director of the New Jersey Judiciary

Sherry Stembridge, Assistant Essex County Prosecutor

Esther Suarez, Hudson County Prosecutor

John Zebrowski, Chief of Police, Sayreville.

Jersey City's prosector, Jake Hudnut, said he was hopeful that the group would bring both clarity and flexibility to the issue.

"Municipal prosecutors must be able to thoughtfully see that justice is done," said Hudnut. "I look forward to advocating for guidelines that give us the discretion and integrity we need to do that in our courts."

The working group will issue its decision sometime in August, Grewal said.

Claude Brodesser-Akner may be reached at cbrodesser@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ClaudeBrodesser. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
A delegation of 4-H members from New Jersey will attend the 2018 International Leadership for Life Conference taking place July 30 to Aug. 3 at Maynooth University in Maynooth, Ireland. The conference is being hosted by Foroige, an Irish youth development organization established in 1952 and modeled after the 4-H youth model.

Foroige's Leadership for Life Conference, now in its 10th year, involves approximately 300 high school students from several countries. While at the conference, the 11 delegates from New Jersey meet teens from Ireland, Northern Ireland, the United States, India, and other countries. They will engage in more than 15 hours of leadership workshops, listen to guest speakers and participate in evening activities such as quiz night, talent night and a closing gala dinner.

New Jersey 4-H delegates attending this year's conference are: Michelle Huang from Somerset County, Ashlee Gibbons and Kaitlyn Jones from Hunterdon County, Louisa Sperrazza from Union County, Domenick Ciminiello and Frank Ciminiello from Bergen County, Christina McDonald and Hallie Myerson from Camden County, Jillian Tozer from Cumberland County, Hunter Morgan from Ocean County and Lydia D'Ambra from Gloucester County.

Michelle Huang

The New Jersey 4-H members will engage in a community action project, keep a journal of their experiences, and present a portfolio upon completion. The delegates also will plan and conduct a service project upon their return from the conference.

"The Leadership for Life Conference is aimed at enriching young people's lives by broadening their appreciation and respect for themselves and others in the world," said Jeannette Rea Keywood, 4-H agent, Department of 4-H Youth Development. "The conference will provide an opportunity for New Jersey 4-H members to take part in an international experience and to participate in advanced leadership training, preparing them to identify community issues, explore causes, possible solutions, and community action efforts," she added.

The 4-H Youth Development Program is part of Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station -Cooperative Extension, 4-H educational programs are offered to all youth, grades K to 13. For more information about the New Jersey 4-H program, go to nj4h.rutgers.edu.
A lifelong resident of South Amboy will be honored for 60 years of service with the South Amboy First Aid and Safety Squad during which he is estimated to have answered more than 15,000 emergency calls and visited every house in the city at least once.

James T. Ryan Jr. joined the South Amboy First Aid and Safety Squad in August of 1958 after graduating from St. Mary's High School. He has already received many honors including "Citizen of the Year", "Irish Man of the Year" and "First Aider of the Year" and will now be celebrated with a city hosted picnic and ceremony on August 19.

He married his wife Eileen in 1965 and together they raised six sons in South Amboy.

"The reason that really keeps me going is my wife. She constantly encourages me. We've been married for 53 years," said Ryan.

He has dedicated his life to serving others beyond the scope of the city by serving in the United States Air Force as a 1st Lieutenant in Vietnam and a nurse in the 26th Casualty Air Group during the war in 1967 and 1968.

In addition to his volunteer work, he worked for 32 years as an educator and administrator with the Middlesex County Vocational and Technical School District after earning a bachelor's degree from Jersey City College and a master's degree in education from Rutgers University, New Brunswick.

One of his earliest memories is of responding to the 1958 Bayonne train crash which killed 45 passengers and three railway workers. He also responded to notable emergencies including the Hercules explosion, Durham Woods explosion, and the New Year's Eve bus crash.

"My father was a charter member of the emergency squad and he was the one who planted the seed in my brain. I hope this encourages young people to become involved in volunteer service. The EMS and fire services are suffering now with a drop off in membership," said Ryan.

Ryan also reflected on how the emergency squad has changed over its 85 years of volunteer service. When he began in 1958 there were no women on the team and now the squad is made up of 45 members both male and female.

"The cost of equipment and supplies has become astronomically expensive over the last 25 years... for 85 years (the squad) has been volunteer and there have been no charges," said Ryan.

The community by state law can give $35,000 in support and the rest of the funding is collected by door to door donations and solicitation on the highway on Sundays.

"Over the years I've participated in the delivery of five babies, I've been on numerous state calls, but the biggest situation that EMS faces is the opioid crisis. It did not exist years ago when I started, but we see so many lives lost because of it and we work diligently to try to do something to reduce the number of deaths," said Ryan.

Delaney Dryfoos may be reached at ddryfoos@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @delaneydryfoos. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
Crews from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service were dispatched Friday to help battle wildfires raging in Colorado and California.

The service dispatched a crew of 20 firefighters to help with the wildfire at Lake Christine in western Colorado, according to a release from the New Jersey Forest Fire Service.

The wildfire was allegedly started by two people firing tracer bullets near the lake on July 3, according to the Denver Post. It has burned nearly 12,000 acres of the White River National Forest in the Rocky Mountains.

The crew left from Philadelphia and Newark international airports Friday morning.

Another group driving two wildfire engines left Friday afternoon to assist with the nearly 29,000-acre Carr Fire in northern California, northwest of Redding. The fire has already killed two people, leveled dozens of homes and forced 37,000 people to evacuate the area.

They are expected to arrive following their cross-country trek on Monday.

New Jersey assists other states in times of extreme wildfire conditions through agreements with the U.S. Forest Service and Eastern Area Coordination Center, the release states.

"The New Jersey Forest Fire Service has a proud record of helping out western states during their time of need," said Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Catherine R. McCabe. "Although these fires may be thousands of miles away, our men and women of the Forest Fire Service share a deep sense of duty in protecting lives and properties when wildfires strike in other states."

The Colorado assignment is expected to last two weeks and more firefighters could be sent out in the future of the dry conditions in the western part of the country continue, according to the release. The service did not say how long the firefighters will be on duty in California.

The New Jersey Forest Fire Service said their assistance in Colorado and California will not interfere with their ability to fight any potential wildfires in New Jersey.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

Chris Sheldon may be reached at csheldon@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @chrisrsheldon Find NJ.com on Facebook.
A woman was killed and multiple other drivers were hospitalized after a driver ran a red light and crashed into four vehicles at an intersection Friday morning, according to authorities.

Stafford Township police said Barbara Angeline, 73, of Manahawkin, was traveling west on Route 72 near Marsha Drive when she ran the red light and collided with a 2017 Jeep Cherokee in the intersection, which was driven by Richard Labarbiera Jr., a 22-year-old Paramus resident.

The crash, which occurred shortly before 10 a.m., killed Angeline's passenger, 91-year-old Johannah Griffin of Ship Bottom, according to police.

Angeline was flown to Jersey Shore University Medical Center where she is now in fair condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.

After striking the Jeep, Angeline's 2013 Ford Focus hit a 2009 Chrysler van and two other vehicles waiting at the intersection, police said in a press release posted to Facebook.

Susan Destefanis, a 61-year-old who drove the Chrysler van, was flown to the trauma center at AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center. She was treated and released, a hospital spokeswoman said.

The other drivers were treated for minor injuries at Southern Ocean Medical Center.

Police ask any witnesses to contact the department at 609-597-1189 ext. 8436.

This post has been updated with the time the crash occurred and the conditions of two passengers.

Joe Brandt can be reached at jbrandt@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JBrandt_NJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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By Jennifer Rubin

The Washington Post reports on the bombshell news that President Donald Trump's longtime lawyer Michael Cohen claims his boss had direct knowledge of the infamous June 9, 2016, meeting between Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner and a Kremlin-linked lawyer:

"Trump said explicitly last July that he didn't know about the meeting before it happened. But, then, that's what his campaign said about an alleged payment to former Playboy model Karen McDougal when that news broke in October 2016. A conversation between Trump and his longtime attorney and problem-solver Michael Cohen discussing that payment the prior month emerged this week.

"On Thursday night, both NBC and CNN reported that Cohen, per a source close to him, was prepared to tell investigators that he was present when Trump Jr. told his father about the possibility of meeting with the Russian lawyer to get dirt on Hillary Clinton. The meeting stemmed from an email sent by a music publicist to Trump Jr. in which the Trump campaign was promised 'some official documents and information' that constituted 'very high level and sensitive information but is part of Russia and its government's support for Mr. Trump.'"

If true, Cohen's account would put Trump front and center in a plan to conspire -- collude, if you will -- with Russians to help him win the presidency.

This almost certainly would make Trump's mantra of "no collusion" a baldfaced lie and his conduct over the past 18 months (e.g. denying knowledge of the meeting, writing a phony account of the meeting, badgering Attorney General Jeff Sessions not to recuse himself, threatening the special prosecutor, firing James Comey as FBI director, concocting bizarre and false conspiracy theories to distract investigators) nothing short of obstruction of justice. But that is a really big "if."

Trump denied the report by tweet:

". . ...I did NOT know of the meeting with my son, Don jr. Sounds to me like someone is trying to make up stories in order to get himself out of an unrelated jam (Taxi cabs maybe?). He even retained Bill and Crooked Hillary's lawyer. Gee, I wonder if they helped him make the choice!"

But then again, the president has denied many things that turned out to be true.

Interestingly, Trump's TV lawyer Rudy Giuliani didn't deny the allegations after the report came out; he simply attacked Cohen's credibility. Giuliani's defense that Cohen is a "pathological liar" raises the question as to why the president would employ such a scoundrel for years. Moreover, given that Trump has told thousands of lies as president and that the large majority of Americans think Trump is dishonest, he's not in a particularly strong position to get into a credibility contest with Cohen.

Step back for a moment. Cohen's potential testimony is nothing short of amazing - the sort of one-in-a-million piece of evidence prosecutors dream about obtaining. Now of course it is true that many observers strongly suspected Trump must have known about the meeting that transpired. Donald Trump Jr., many onlookers surmised, would never have gone forward with the meeting without getting a thumbs up from his father.

Moreover, The Post recounts events three days after Donald Trump Jr. replied "I love it" when offered dirt on Hillary Clinton: Trump Jr. and Emin Agalarov spoke (a call Trump Jr. claimed not to remember but which Agalarov did). Call logs suggest that Agalarov called Trump Jr. at 4:04 p.m. on June 6 and they spoke for a minute or two. About 20 minutes later, Trump Jr. received a call from a blocked number, after which he immediately called Agalarov back. The latter call lasted three minutes; the next morning, the meeting was set up (after which Trump Jr. placed calls to both campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Jared Kushner, the other two meeting attendees - calls Trump Jr. didn't remember).

The same evening as the calls to Agalarov, Trump gave a victory speech after winning several GOP primaries. "I am going to give a major speech on probably Monday of next week and we're going to be discussing all of the things that have taken place with the Clintons," he said during the speech. "I think you're going to find it very informative and very, very interesting. I wonder if the press will want to attend, who knows." And that comes on top of an Associated Press report that Natalia Veselnitskaya, the Russian lawyer who attended the Trump Tower meeting, "worked more closely with senior Russian government officials than she previously let on."

Now, circumstantial evidence like this is strong, but nothing compared with a direct witness. Prosecutors will need to interview Cohen, get those phone records, interview all other people possibly aware of Trump's decision to authorize the meeting and track down other corroborating evidence to make out a compelling case. Cohen's testimony, if credible, would make for a compelling case, possibly entailing conspiracy; perpetrating a fraud on the United States; soliciting illegal, foreign help in a campaign; and obstruction. Anyone who denied Trump's role or otherwise intentionally misled prosecutors and/or Congress will have to worry about his own liability for perjury, obstruction and other related crimes.

Max Bergmann, who heads the Moscow Project at the Center for American Progress, tells me, "This revelation reveals what has been staring us in the face: Trump was part of the collusion. He wasn't some innocent bystander on his campaign." He argues, "Trump ran the Trump campaign. We know this because everybody - from embedded reporters, to Trump campaign staff, to Trump himself - told us that he was fully in charge. So when it came to the most important decision of his campaign - whether or not to collude with Russia - of course he was involved." He adds, "This is now a national security crisis. We have a President of the United States that almost certainly aided and abetted an attack on American democracy."

Constitutional scholar and Supreme Court litigator Laurence Tribe tweeted, "If Cohen credibly testifies Trump knew in advance of the 6/9/16 meeting that Donald Jr, Jared, etc, had with Viselnitskaya & other Russians in Trump Tower to get dirt against Clinton in June 2016, that's direct evidence of Trump/Putin collusion. Huge."

Several points are worth underscoring. First, the latest Cohen news reminds us that we know a fraction of the potential facts in the Russia case. Roger Stone, Manafort and Cohen - if persuaded to cooperate - could have substantial, relevant information, including knowledge of the Russian hacking.

Second, if Trump's direct approval of cooperation with Russians can be proved, it will be the biggest political scandal in American history. His presidency for all intents and purposes would be delegitimized. We are talking about a presidential candidate who sought and received help from a hostile foreign power, covered it up and "repaid" the favor by public obsequiousness to that power's leader. Again, this has yet to be proved.

Third, Republicans who have enabled Trump by smearing law enforcement, creating bogus scandals, defending Trump's attacks on the Justice Department and rationalizing support for his presidency ("But Gorsuch!") risk public humiliation and ruin. Nothing Trump has done or could possibly do would make up for participation in a conspiracy and obstruction, not to mention betrayal of his country. (Members of Congress who may have actively conspired with the White House themselves could have legal exposure.)

Fourth, the potential discrediting of a presidency and the delegitimization of an elected commander in chief is gravely serious and should be resolved before Trump picks a Supreme Court justice (who potentially could determine Trump's fate). Finally, members of the administration should be very, very careful before throwing around Trump's favorite phrases ("witch hunt!") and trying to discredit the investigation. In fact, before this gets even messier, now might be a good time for staffers to exit and get far away from this unfolding legal disaster.



Jennifer Rubin writes the Right Turn blog for The Washington Post, offering reported opinion from a center-right perspective.

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Randeep Surjewala alleged complicity on the part of the government in ensuring that the fugitive was not brought back to the country.

'The tragic part is that the Modi government has been lacking, bordering on complicity, in ensuring that the Indian fugitives who have duped the banks of thousands of crores of rupees are brought back within the ambit of law,' Surjewala said. (Photo: PTI | File)

New Delhi: The Congress on Friday said there were doubts over the seriousness and bona fides of the Narendra Modi government in bringing back Mehul Choksi, who is accused of committing frauds of crores of rupees and has fled the country.

Congress's chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also alleged complicity on the part of the government in ensuring that the fugitive was not brought back to the country.

"The tragic part is that the Modi government has been lacking, bordering on complicity, in ensuring that the Indian fugitives who have duped the banks of thousands of crores of rupees are brought back within the ambit of law," he said.

Surjewala said the prime minister, who had good relations with his Antiguan counterpart in March, needed to answer why did he not pick up the phone and call the latter, asking him to detain and arrest Mehul Choksi and hand him over to India through the normal process of deportation of criminals followed in international diplomacy.

"The very fact that the prime minister is not doing so raises a doubt in our mind about the seriousness and bona fides of the Modi government," he added.

Surjewala asked PM Modi and the "BJP's departmental organisations of the CBI and the ED" as to how Mehul Choksi was allowed to travel to Hong Kong, UAE, Belgium, UK, USA and Antigua and yet, till today, no red-corner notice was issued against him by the Interpol.

"Was it on account of some complicity on the part of the CBI and ED that he was permitted to take care of his business all over the world and to ensure that whatever money was sent through whatever channels was appropriately consumed in a manner that it would never be discovered and to finally secure the citizenship of Antigua?" the Congress leader asked.
A Paterson teenager has been accused of shooting and killing a local restaurant owner while the 29-year-old man was making a late night delivery in Paterson this past week, according to authorities.

The 17-year-old, whose name was not released because he is a minor, has been charged with first-degree murder and felony murder, first-degree robbery and weapons charges, Passaic County Prosecutor Camelia M. Valdes said in a press release.

Rui Zhou and his wife, Xiaomei Liu, were making their last food delivery early Thursday morning on the 400 block of East 34th street when the two were approached by the 17-year-old who pulled out a handgun and demanded money from the couple, according to the prosecutor's office.

Zhou and the teen struggled and Zhou attempted to drive away from the scene when the teenager fired the gun, hitting Zhou while he was still in the car, prosecutor's said.

Police arrived to find Zhou unresponsive in the driver's seat and rushed him to St. Joseph's University Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead just after 1 a.m., according to authorities.

Liu, 29, was not seriously injured, officials have said.

The teenager is scheduled to appear in family court for his first appearance on Tuesday at 9 a.m.

Olivia Rizzo may be reached at orizzo@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @LivRizz. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

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Insurance companies who sell policies on the individual market are seeking a 5.8 percent average rate hike next year, officials disclosed Friday.

But that's less than half of what they would have sought had Gov. Phil Murphy not enacted a law protecting the Affordable Care Act, Department of Banking and Insurance Commissioner Marlene Caride said.

In May, Murphy signed a law preserving a critical yet controversial part of Obamacare that President Donald Trump's administration repealed last year. The state-imposed "individual mandate" requires people to buy an insurance policy if they are not already covered by their job or a government program or pay a fine at tax time.

Without the law -- and the patient volume needed to share the cost of covering policyholder claims -- the average rate increase would have been 12.6 percent, Caride said.

The department asked the carriers -- AmeriHealth, Horizon, Oscar, Oxford -- to provide information that compared the rate hike requests with and without the law in effect, the department said.

"New Jersey is working aggressively to ensure that residents have access to affordable quality coverage, and actions taken by the state to improve the market are reflected in the rates submitted," Caride said. "Carriers were clear that without state action, the average increase requested in the individual market would have more than doubled."

The department will review the rates to determine if they "are justified and comply with the law," she added.

Here are the proposed rate hikes insurance companies regulated by New Jersey are seeking for 2019. (Department of Banking and Insurance)

The department is also reviewing rate hike requests for carriers who sell in the small employer market, which on average are expected to rise 5.2 percent.

Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
Any day now, state Senate President Stephen Sweeney will begin to push reforms he says will reduce the cost of government in New Jersey -- plans that could cover everything from cutting public worker benefits to finding new ways to curb property taxes.

For the Democratic leader, this is the second time he's advanced big changes to tackle problems that have bedeviled New Jersey for decades. At the beginning of the decade, Sweeney joined with Republican Gov. Chris Christie to enact landmark pension reforms. It made Sweeney an enemy of government worker unions, and Christie a Republican party star.

This time, however, Sweeney, D-Gloucester, may not have a willing partner in the governor's office.

Now, the front office is occupied by Phil Murphy, a proudly progressive Democrat who has vowed to protect collective bargaining rights and celebrate public-sector workers he says were demonized by the previous administration.

So get ready, New Jersey. We may be in for another epic fight between New Jersey's top two Democrats.

The Senate president convened his Economic and Fiscal Policy Working Group earlier this year. Sweeney said the federal tax changes that limited state and local tax deductions commanded an urgent review of taxation and spending at all levels of government.

It was mostly policy and finance experts, economists, accountants and lawmakers of both parties.

They prepared dozens of recommendations to overhaul retirement benefits, as well as others that would get every New Jerseyan's attention: merge towns with fewer than 5,000 residents, add interstate tolls, allow local sales tax surcharges to offset property tax cuts, cap payouts to retiring public workers for unused sick leave.

Some proposals will be new and splashy, and others will be old ideas getting another chance, Sweeney has said, while declining to go into detail.

He announced in a Fox Business interview Wednesday he will begin to pitch the final product as soon as this coming week.

Sweeney's roll out and a subsequent road show will fill the void in the summer political season that's bookended by the July 1 state budget deadline and the November elections.

He'll have these months to build support in the Legislature and sell the reforms to the public.

Sweeney is no doubt further emboldened by his win in the most recent budget standoff with Murphy, where his renewed fiscally conservative posture clashed with a governor who promised to pump more spending into pre-k and k-12 schools, pensions and community college.

Murphy wanted an increase in the sales tax and a new surtax on personal income over $1 million, along with some other new taxes to generate more than $1.5 billion in new revenue.

Sweeney instead offered higher taxes temporarily on the state's biggest businesses worth much less.

After a brawl that nearly led to the second state government shutdown in as many years, they agreed to raise gross income taxes on income over $5 million and hike the Corporation Business Tax for four years on businesses with at least $1 million in income.

"Watching the drama unfold around the budget battle, my sense is that this is a clash that is going to continue to reverberate throughout the state," said Brigid Harrison, a professor of law and politics at Montclair State University. "You've seen Sweeney and Murphy coming at this, not just from two opposing viewpoints, but also I believe the way they view each other."

Murphy hasn't ruled out the need for more tax increases later. But Sweeney said more taxes aren't the answer, less government spending is.

"New Jersey is facing a looming fiscal crisis caused by the bad decisions that were compounded over three decades and exacerbated by the great recession. I believe this fiscal crisis is preventable and the problems are solvable," Sweeney said in a statement to NJ Advance Media.

While Sweeney wouldn't say which task force proposals made the cut, it's expected he'll focus attention on the state's costly pension and health benefits for active and retired workers, which are among the state's fastest growing expenses.

The state is paying $3.2 billion into the pension system this year on its path toward full contributions.

In a June interview with NJ Advance Media, Sweeney said a plan commissioned by Christie that recommended, broadly, cutting employee health care benefits and using the savings to shore up the pension system was "not that far off."

"The problem is pensions and health care benefits," Sweeney said. "I'm not blaming the workers. What I'm saying is we need to have a new deal, and there's no reason not to negotiate something new."

"I believe in pensions," he continued. "I just believe we need to negotiate new pensions for new employees going forward, or even creating a new system for retirees."

Sweeney praised the public worker unions that have cooperated with the state in finding health care savings and said he hopes they can go further together.

A spokesman for the governor, Dan Bryan, declined to comment as the administration does not know the specifics of what the Senate president will introduce.

Murphy has created his own health care task force to begin meeting this month and "identifying new ways to get the best value for our health care dollars through New Jersey's health benefits system."

State Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, D-Middlesex, declined to comment.

Without Murphy's support or that of his own caucus, Sweeney could mimic the path of those 2011 reforms and team up with the Republican minority to push through proposals likely to anger unions, who typically align themselves with Democrats.

Unions assailed those changes as undermining collective bargaining rights and punishing public workers.

Harrison said she doesn't think Murphy has much of an appetite for taking on unions to diminish employee benefits.

"I'm not confident moving forward that Phil Murphy is going to wake up and say, 'You know what? Steve Sweeney is right. Let's do it,'" she said. "I'm more confident that he's more comfortable maintaining the status quo and raising revenue."

Samantha Marcus may be reached at smarcus@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @samanthamarcus. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.

Matt Arco may be reached at marco@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @MatthewArco or Facebook.
A motorcyclist suffered serious injuries when he crashed into a tree Friday afternoon in Warren County, according to New Jersey State Police.

Samuel Emery II, 43, of Belvidere, was flown to Morristown Medical Center aboard Atlantic Air One after the crash about 1 p.m. in the 1300 block of Ridge Road in White Township, said Trooper Alejandro Goez, a state police spokesman.

Emery crashed the Harley-Davidson off the right of the road into the tree, Goez said. Emery was wearing a helmet, police said.

Police were continuing to investigate why the rider lost control. No other vehicles were involved, and Emery had no passenger, according to police.

Ridge Road was closed for about two and a half hours due to the crash.

Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com. Follow him on Twitter @KurtBresswein and Facebook. Find lehighvalleylive.com on Facebook.
The Times-Picayune is marking the tricentennial of New Orleans with its ongoing 300 for 300 project, running through 2018 and highlighting 300 people who have made New Orleans New Orleans, featuring original artwork commissioned by NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune with Where Y'Art gallery. Today: Rabbi Isaac Leucht.

The icon: Rabbi Isaac Leucht.

The legacy: Above all else, Isaac Leucht was a uniter. A German immigrant who came to New Orleans in 1868 to serve as an assistant rabbi at Congregation Gates of Mercy, he in short order set about arranging for the merger of Gates of Mercy with Congregation Dispersed of Judah to form Touro Synagogue. But if that's his most conspicuous legacy, it was by no means his only one. In his nearly 50 years leading the local Jewish community, he spearheaded a dizzying array of charity work and community projects to benefit all religious denominations. "So many memorials of his charity and of his philanthropy exist in New Orleans," The Times-Picayune wrote upon his 1914 death, "that one might engrave on his tomb, as a former generation engraved on the tomb of Sir Christopher Wren, 'Si monumentum requiris, circumspice.'" Translation: "If you seek his monument, look around."

The artist: Sean Randall.

The quote: "With what life I shall yet be given I intend to work for the attainment of one thing: the tearing down of the wall that stands between Jew and Gentile. All my life I have labored at this purpose. There is one God; there should be one brotherhood." -- Rabbi Isaac Leucht at his 70th birthday celebration at Touro Synagogue in New Orleans, five months before his death

Explore more of Sean Randall's work online at WhereYart.net and in person at the Where Y'Art gallery, 1901 Royal St.

He was born Jan. 25, 1844, in Darmstadt, Germany.

Source: The Times-Picayune archives; staff research

More on 300 for 300:
A man was booked Friday (July 27) in an Algiers shooting after authorities say he and another man and opened fire on two men, ages 60 and 32, on Murl Street when one of the victims refused to hand over money.

Allen Ledet, 30, is accused of two counts of aggravated second-degree battery in the shooting, reported about 1 p.m. Thursday in the 1800 block of Murl Street.

According to the NOPD, the shooting victims were standing outside when a white Toyota truck pulled up. One of the men in the truck asked the 32-year-old victim for money, but the 32-year-old refused, police said in a preliminary report.

Though police initially said one man got out of the truck and opened fire, on Friday afternoon the NOPD said two men, both armed with handguns, got out of the truck and shot the victims in the thigh and leg.

The shooters then drove off in the truck, police said.

Investigators identified Ledet as a suspect in the shooting and, later Thursday, booked him on an unrelated gun charge, the NOPD said. On Friday, detectives rebooked Ledet in connection with the double shooting.

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The second shooter has not been identified, said NOPD spokesman Aaron Looney.

According to Orleans Parish court records, Ledet pleaded guilty in April 2016 to various drug-related charges, including attempted possession with the intent to distribute heroin and attempted distribution of cocaine. He received a 15-year suspended prison sentence with five years of active probation.

A warrant was issued for his arrest June 7, after he failed to appear for a drug court status hearing, court records show.

Ledet was booked Thursday on the warrant and with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon. Friday night, he remained in the Orleans Justice Center jail with his set at $90,000, including $30,000 for the gun charge and $30,000 for each aggravated battery charge.

Anyone with additional information on the shooting is asked to call NOPD Detective Tracy Raney or any 4th District detective at 504-658-6040. Anonymous tips can be submitted by calling Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 1-877-903-7867.

Marie Simoneaux contributed to this report.
New Orleans investigators on Friday (July 27) identified a man deemed a person of interest in a three-vehicle hit-and-run crash that involved an assault on a state Department of Transportation and Development worker.

Willie Smith, 28, is believed to be "the driver" in the Tuesday hit-and-run on Louisa Street near Higgins Boulevard, in the Desire neighborhood. Smith has not been named as a suspect in the crash and simple battery, which left at least two people injured, according to the NOPD.

Late Tuesday afternoon, mangled vehicles, including a red truck smashed beneath a downed utility pole, remained outside of a barber shop in the 3500 block of Louisa Street, near Higgins.

A barber working at the shop, X'quisite Stylez, said he was taking a smoke break outside when he saw a green truck run a red light and crash into two vehicles -- and then saw the truck's driver run from the scene.

The truck first hit a sedan and then "bounced off," traveling onto the neutral ground before smashing into a parked F-150 pickup, the barber said. One of the barber shop's regular customers was sitting in the parked truck, waiting for his son to finish getting a haircut, the barber said.

Another barber, Barry Matthews, rushed out of the shop and the two barbers helped their customer in the F-150 out of his pickup.

"He was kind of banged up real bad," Matthews said, adding that his customer's shoulder appeared to be dislocated.

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The first barber said he also checked on the women who were in the sedan that was hit.

NOPD spokeswoman Ambria Washington said paramedics took two people to the hospital following the crash, but police did not specify whether the DOTD worker was among them.

It was not clear exactly how the DOTD worker was involved in the crash, but one of the barbers said that after the crash, the driver of the green truck got out of the vehicle and then assaulted the DOTD worker, and possibly another man, before running away.

Smith's vehicle was towed from the scene, and officers found several items belonging to him, the NOPD said Friday.

According to Orleans Parish court records, Smith has a number of open charges, including second-degree battery, domestic-abuse battery, simple assault, simple robbery, extortion, stalking, home invasion and simple criminal damage to property as part of several separate cases. He was indicted on the charges in March after being arrested in January.

Anyone with any information on Willie Smith is asked to call NOPD 5th District officers at 504-658-6050 or Crimestoppers at 504-822-1111 or toll-free at 1-877-903-STOP.

Staff Photographer Chris Granger contributed to this report.
The owners of a Mid-City bar near where New Orleans police say one of the bar's regular customers was beaten by two now-fired NOPD officers have launched a fundraiser for the injured man.

In the description on a GoFundMe.com page to raise funds for Jorge Gomez, who came forward to local media as the victim of the beating, Mid-City Yacht Club owners wrote Gomez "is a peaceful and respectful man" and "beloved member of the Mid-City community" who served his country.

"Let us show Jorge that we appreciate him and his service," reads the page, which was organized by the neighborhood bar's owners.

The fundraiser, titled, "Healing for Jorge Gomez," had raised $3,285 of its $5,000 goal, by 5 p.m. Friday (July 27), a day after it was published on the crowdfunding site.

NOPD arrested the then-officers, John Galman, 26, and Spencer Sutton, 24, Tuesday afternoon, hours after the agency says they were involved in an altercation while off duty at the bar that spilled outside and resulted in the hospitalization of Gomez. NOPD's Public Integrity Bureau immediately launched an internal investigation, and by that afternoon announced the arrests of Galman and Sutton and said "terminations proceedings" had started. By Wednesday, NOPD said they had been fired.

Galman and Sutton, who were released from jail a few hours after they were booked on Tuesday, each pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a charge of misdemeanor simple battery in municipal court. Sutton's attorney Jake Lemmon said both "maintain their innocence."

Booking records state the altercation started over Gomez's "military service."

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Gomez, 39, said he was at the bar and wearing camouflage-print clothing when Galman and Sutton called him over and began harassing him about military service. He told WVUE Fox 8 they called him a "fake American" when he said he had served in the military, and then beat him.

Gomez was born in the United States, raised in Honduras and returned to New Orleans, his attorney Stephen Haedicke confirmed Friday. He said Gomez served overseas as a member of the Louisiana National Guard.

On its Facebook page earlier this week, Mid-City Yacht Club owners wrote they were "sickened" by what happened to Gomez, who they described as a regular customer.

"I appreciate the support of everybody at Mid-City Yacht Club and the neighborhood," Gomez said in a statement, issued through Haedicke. "I hope to return soon to a place that has always been open to anyone."

Harrison said Thursday evidence investigators gathered, including video footage, shows the former officers were the aggressors of the fight both inside the bar and outside. NOPD leadership, including Harrison, visited with Gomez and his family Wednesday afternoon at his home, department spokesman Andy Cunningham said.

Investigators, including those from the FBI probing potential civil rights violations, will consider if the simple battery charge should be amended, including whether it should be charged as a hate crime, Harrison said Thursday.

The GoFundMe page says the money raised will go toward Gomez's medical bills and to support him while he recovers. The post says Mid-City Yacht Club will also host a fundraiser at the bar for Gomez Aug. 4.
Attorneys for Rolandus Campbell, a man on trial for murder, attempted murder and gang charges that could send him to prison for life if he's convicted, Friday (July 27) attacked the credibility of a key witness who said he participated in a home invasion with Campbell, and heard Campbell talk about committing a murder.

Prosecutors called Jockquaren Van Norman to testify about his role in a May 12, 2015, home invasion on Farragut Street in Algiers, a crime Campbell is accused of taking part in. A man and a woman were shot in the robbery.

Van Norman pleaded guilty in 2017 to two counts of armed robbery and two criminal street gang enhancements in exchange for a 25-year sentence. He also agreed to testify against his co-defendants, according to terms of the plea deal revealed in court Friday.

Defense attorney Sarah Chervinsky said when Van Norman initially talked to law enforcement about the home invasion, he didn't say Campell was involved. Reading from a transcript of his interview with police, Chervinsky said Van Norman told police he participated, along with Wesley Davis, Dwayne Stevenson, Larry Quinn, Shawn Dennis and "the other dude," who he said was slim and had a "red" complexion.

Later in that interview, Chervinsky said a detective asked Van Norman, "What about Rolandus Campbell?" Reading from a transcript, Chervinsky said Van Norman told the detective, "You're right, he was with us."

Van Norman also testified West and Campbell both admitted to him their involvement in the fatal shooting of Harold Martin on May 11, 2015.

Chervinsky questioned Van Norman about his false identification of a suspect in a 2014 shooting on South Saratoga and Foucher Streets. His pregnant girlfriend, Renalda Variste, was killed in the shooting. Another woman and Van Norman were injured.

Van Norman told police Cody Williams was the perpetrator, he testified, and Williams was arrested and later indicted for second-degree murder and attempted second-degree murder.

Court records show those charges were dismissed in June 2017.

When he told authorities about his roles in the Algiers home invasion and several Uptown restaurant armed robberies in 2016, Van Norman said he confessed he had lied about Williams' role in the shooting. He actually didn't see who fired the shots, he said on the witness stand Friday.

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When asked why he lied, Van Norman told Assistant District Attorney Alex Calenda, "to get him out of my way."

Chervinsky asked Van Norman why the jury should believe he was telling the truth about Campbell's role in the home invasion and homicide, considering he falsely accused someone of murder in the past.

"I'm telling the truth," Van Norman said, leaning into the microphone on the witness stand.

"That's what you told the detectives in 2014," Chervinsky said. "But you want this jury to take your word that this time it's true?"

Also on Friday, FBI Special Agent James Berni testified about the cell tower locations a phone number registered to Davis pinged the night of May 11, 2015, and into the early hours of May 12.

Defense attorney Nandi Campbell questioned why prosecutors only had Berni examine Davis' cell phone records.

The number pinged a tower in Gentilly Woods around 6 p.m., then one near Claiborne and Louisiana around 10 p.m. Berni said the phone was on the West Bank around 2 a.m., and back on the downtown side of the river around 3 a.m.

Stevenson, who pleaded guilty in 2016 to his roles in several high-profile armed robberies at Uptown restaurants, testified this week the group involved in the home invasion met up at a house near Claiborne before going to the West Bank, then drove back to the city once they were finished.

Testimony is expected to resume Monday.
The Antigua government has indicated that it may consider a legitimate request from India to send back Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

New Delhi: Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, allegedly involved in the multi-crore Punjab National Bank scam, claims that he had taken Antigua citizenship last year to expand his business as the passport of the Caribbean nation provides visa-free travel to 132 countries.

According to agency reports in a statement issued by his attorney David Dorsett on the diamantaires behalf, Choksi said there was no truth in the allegations levelled by the Indian government. Choksi, who was allegedly the partner-in-crime of his nephew Nirav Modi in the banking fraud, refused to say anything further on the issue, on the advice of his lawyers.

I can, however, state that I lawfully applied to be registered as a citizen of Antigua under the Citizenship by Investment Program. During the course of my application. I did all that was lawfully required of me to do. My application for citizenship was in due course approved, the statement published in a overseas newspaper said. Choksi had taken the citizenship of Antigua in November 2017, and oath of allegiance on January 15 this year, according to a newspaper in Antigua.

My application was motivated by my desire to expand my business interest in the Caribbean and to obtain visa-free travel access to 130 or so countries, the statement said, adding that he was in the United States in January 2018 for medical treatment. Having received treatment, I am still in a state convalescence. That being the case, I have decided to reside in Antigua and Barbuda, it read. After it emerged that Choksi had moved to the Caribbean country in July and also taken a local passport, the CBI wrote to Antiguan authorities seeking the whereabouts of the fugitive diamantaire.

The CBI, in its communication sent to Antiguan authority, has cited diffusion notice issued by the Interpol against the fugitive businessman and sought details of his movement. The Antigua government has indicated that it may consider a legitimate request from India to send back Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.
All seven Louisiana Republicans in Congress joined a GOP petition asking the Supreme Court on Friday (July 27) to prevent removal of a 40-foot-tall World War I memorial cross in suburban Washington D.C. The Bladensburg peace cross was erected in 1925, at what is now a busy intersection in Prince George's County, Md., to honor 49 local men who died in the war.

A group of 109 members of Congress led by Sen. Ted Cruz of and Steve Scalise of Old Jefferson filed the amicus brief with the court to express support for the cross. All signatories are Republicans save Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va.

Among them are Louisiana's Sens. Bill Cassidy and John Kennedy and Reps. Clay Higgins of Port Barre, Mike Johnson of Benton, Ralph Abraham of Alto and Garret Graves of Baton Rouge. The only Louisiana member who did not endorse the brief is the state's only Democratic congressman: Cedric Richmond of New Orleans.

Local families and the American Legion paid to build the marble-and-cement monument. Since 1961, it has been owned and maintained by a public agency, the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning commission.

It is imperiled by a federal lawsuit from the American Humanist Association. The group says a giant Latin cross, a symbol so closely associated with Christianity, on public property violates the Constitution's First Amendment against government establishment of religion.

In 2015, U.S. District Judge Deborah Chasanow in Baltimore rejected that argument, ruling that monument's original intent was not primarily religious and that it has been used almost exclusively to mark federal holidays, not for religious purposes. Chasanow was appointed to the court by President Bill Clinton.

But the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in Richmond, Va., reversed that decision, saying the religious aspects of the memorial "easily overwhelm the secular ones." The court's 2-1 opinion was written by Judge Stephanie Thacker and joined by Judge James Wynn Jr., both appointed by President Barack Obama. Dissenting was Judge Roger Gregory, who was appointed to the court during a congressional recess by Clinton then nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the Senate. The full 4th Circuit Court later split 8-6 in upholding that decision.

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Now the American Legion has asked the Supreme Court to defend the memorial to fallen military personnel. "We cannot allow their memory to be bulldozed," a spokesman for the cross preservationists told The Washington Post.

The intervening members of Congress said the ultimate ruling could carry broad implications for war memorials throughout the United States.

The First Amendment, Cruz said, "in no way prohibits a war memorial on public land from featuring religious imagery. Our men and women in uniform will be better served by building more memorials to their bravery, not tearing them down."

Said Scalise: "We must protect our national memorials to those who have given their all in support of our country and acknowledge the role that religion plays in American life."

. . . . . . .

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.
Lafayette Academy Charter School parents are worried about their children after officials said a contractor's errors in asbestos removal could have contaminated the building and yard.

The school has undergone work to remove asbestos twice in the last couple of years: Once during the 2016-17 school year, and again this summer. Parents at meetings with school officials Thursday (July 27) expressed concerns that their students may have been exposed to asbestos during the first round of work -- and now that the second round of work has shut down the campus, they're questioning what comes next.

Officials from Louisiana's Recovery School District and Department of Environmental Quality told parents during the meetings at the Paul Dunbar building in Hollygrove that air quality monitors in the Lafayette building showed asbestos levels that were safe for students and staff while they were on campus during the work in Spring 2017.

The Choice Foundation told Orleans Parish School Board officials Lafayette had portable classrooms on their playground while parts of the building and its entries were cordoned off, including some restrooms, during the 2016-17 school year. Still, as NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune reported this week, reports from a state inspector indicated that students were in the school building during at least some of the work, even sticking their heads into improperly secured containment areas.

Now, the Lafayette building has been closed by the RSD due to problems with the work this summer. Officials said students in grades pre-K through 4th are expected to attend classes at Dunbar next school year. Students in grades 5-8 will go to the old McDonogh 35 building on Kerlerec Street. Choice Board President Jim Swanson said there's an "extremely high" probability classes will resume August 27.

The RSD said students weren't on campus during this summer's work, but parents criticized officials for not telling them about the initial work in 2016-17. Hollygrove resident Rory Hebert said officials allowed them to send their children to school "blindly" to be possibly affected by asbestos.

Hebert said he's worried about his daughter's health, and he asked why officials didn't test teachers and students. He said Lafayette should build a list of everybody who visited the school during that work and give them each documentation indicating "they may have been exposed."

New Orleans East resident Contrice Tyson said this is her 5th grade daughter's first year at Lafayette. She's worried about the OPSB's decision to send their children to the Kerlerec building even though it's "way older" than Lafayette. Officials told her they plan to finish construction by August 13.

The OPSB confirmed in a released statement Friday (July 27) that the "historic" Kerlerec Street building was also built with asbestos materials. The areas being repaired and renovated are being air monitored daily to ensure any materials containing asbestos are properly handled to prepare the building for Lafayette students, the district stated.

LDEQ documents show RSD hired Baton Rouge-based Advanced Environmental Consulting to remove Lafayette's asbestos this summer. Among the problems reported by a state inspector, there were holes in the plastic protective material that stops asbestos from spreading during removal. Workers were seen walking in and out of the containment area without changing clothing, eating lunch and walking around the campus in the same clothes. The material was also not sufficiently dampened down, the report states.

LDEQ also discovered removal errors at the school in March 2017, when RSD hired New Orleans-based V. Keeler & Associates. An inspector stated children were walking the halls between the school's two containment areas. Students were seen attending classes and roaming the halls outside of one unsecured area, where "multiple children were observed sticking their heads in the hole" to observe work, the report states. The RSD said work was conducted primarily during after-school hours or during the summer when no students were present.

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Recovery Superintendent Kunjan Narechania told parents the asbestos work was limited to four empty classrooms on the third floor. She stressed the students didn't have to walk by or into those classrooms. Lona Hankins, the RSD's capital improvements director, said they didn't believe there was a risk to children during that period.

"I can address asbestos levels in the building after they did the work last spring, and they were safe. They were way, way below the limits that are federally required to be safe," LDEQ's Dwight Bradshaw said Thursday.

A public health statement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention states asbestos was used in building materials until the Environmental Protection Agency banned its use in 1989. Damaged asbestos can spread airborne fibers causing diseases such as asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma. The CDC stated these diseases are not likely to be seen in children because they usually appear years after their first exposure.

Much is still being learned about asbestos exposure. The CDC stated it is not known if breathing differences among adults and children may cause a greater amount of asbestos fibers to stay in a child's lungs. The CDC said "it may take up to 40 or more years for the effects of exposure to be seen," so those exposed to asbestos at a young age may be "more likely" to contract diseases than those who are exposed later in life.

The EPA requires school systems to inspect for damaged asbestos and remove the asbestos or cover it up to reduce exposure. The CDC stated children can be exposed through asbestos-contaminated drinking water or by eating asbestos-contaminated soil and dust.

Chest x-rays can detect early signs of lung disease caused by asbestos, but the CDC stated that test has "no value" for detecting exposure among people only briefly exposed. Lung tissue can also be removed during surgery and tested for microscopic asbestos fibers, but the CDC stated the procedure can cause discomfort.

Tulane University's Gilbert Morris studies the effects of asbestos exposure in mice. Morris said Friday said it will be difficult to test students for asbestos because their exposure was "limited." He added it's going to "impossible" to tell whether students were exposed until they show lung issues like restricted breathing.

"If we expose our animals in the laboratory to high doses of asbestos for five hours and then look days or weeks later, we can see microscopically the fibers are causing alterations in the lungs, but you're obviously not going to do something invasive like that with these children," he said.

. . . . . . .

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.
I have good news for fans of Yoshio Toyama and the Dixie Saints: The gravelly-voiced trumpet player and his band will be back at the Satchmo SummerFest Aug. 3-5. Last year was the first time they missed since they started performing at the festival in 2003.

"We missed the Fest and meeting Satchmo families, and our dear, dear friends, like Mr. Dan Morgenstern, Ricky Riccardi and many others," Yoshio wrote, in a recent email. "I hope we get a chance to see you on this trip."

I'm glad he and his wife, Keiko, include me among their friends. We met at Carver High School the first time they came to perform at Satchmo SummerFest, and we've stayed in touch through emails and annual visits ever since.

I remember their presentation at the 9th Ward school vividly. I had never been there before that day and had never met band director Wilbert Rawlins, who has saved a couple of generations of New Orleans kids by now.

I was amazed at how good Rawlins' band sounded with the students playing on instruments held together with duct tape and twine. And I was surprised when Yoshio began to sing "Wonderful World," because he sounded so much like his hero. He finished by shouting "Happy Birthday, Satchmo!" as the audience applauded warmly.

Then he and his entourage presented the Carver High School Marching Band with 39 shiny new instruments -- everything from trumpets to tubas -- donated by the Wonderful World Jazz Foundation.

"The Japanese people want to thank the United States, New Orleans and Satchmo for giving the world such wonderful music called jazz," Yoshio said, when he handed over the instruments to Rawlins.

That day I learned how the Toyamas had fallen in love with the music of New Orleans, and over the years I found out more about how jazz has played such a pivotal role in their lives:

It started in 1963 when they were college musicians and heard eminent clarinetist George Lewis and the Preservation Hall Jazz Band play at a concert in Japan.

"The band manager, Allan Jaffe, suggested that if we liked jazz so much we should come to New Orleans," Yoshio said.

He had been a follower of Louis Armstrong since high school, and when Armstrong played in Japan later that year, Yoshio went backstage to meet him.

"I picked up his trumpet, and he let me play it," Yoshio told me. "That is something I'll never forget."

Yoshio and Keiko took Jaffe's suggestion to heart, and in 1968, after they graduated and married, they moved to New Orleans. They rented a low-rent, third-floor apartment on Bourbon Street above Sonny Vaucresson's Cafe Creole.

"The window was broken, and at night you could hear the music coming from Preservation Hall," Yoshio said.

Sounds of Yoshio blowing his trumpet and Keiko playing her banjo drifted down to the restaurant from the broken window as well, and Vaucresson told the young couple that if they'd play on the patio every evening, he'd pay them in dinners.

"So every day, we ate Creole food," Yoshio said.

They worked at Preservation Hall, selling records and announcing the bands, and Jaffe gave them a key so they could practice at the hall during the day. They studied with the master musicians who played there and sometimes sat in with them.

"We sure did many jam sessions," Yoshio said.

It was a magical time for them. They were madly in love with jazz, with New Orleans and with each other.

By 1973, they were ready to go back home and work as traditional jazz musicians, and for years, Yoshio Toyama and The Dixie Saints had a regular gig playing in New Orleans Square at Tokyo Disneyland.

"Jazz is very well loved in Japan," Yoshio said.

In 1994, on a trip to New Orleans during Carnival, the Toyamas were dismayed to see the condition of many of the high school band instruments in the parades, and they were just as dismayed to learn that many of their old stomping grounds had become too dangerous for them to visit.

So they went back home and established the Wonderful World Jazz Foundation and the Horns for Guns program to put new musical instruments in the hands of New Orleans teenagers instead of guns.

The day Yoshio presented the instruments to the students at Carver, he lamented the condition of the instruments they played, with their broken valves and duct tape.

"I was wondering how this could happen in the town that was the first to make the world swing," he told them. "The whole world was captured by the music you made with Louis Armstrong."

Each year, when they come back on their annual pilgrimage, the Toyamas bring more instruments and money Japanese fans have donated to their foundation. Over the years, they have given more than 800 instruments to local school programs, and after Hurricane Katrina they brought professional-quality instruments and $110,000 for New Orleans jazz musicians who lost so much in the storm.

"We were very glad we were able to help out a little bit," Yoshio told me.

Carver High School was destroyed by the floodwaters after Katrina, and Rawlins is now the band director at L.B. Landry-O.P. Walker College and Career Preparatory High School in Algiers. He and the Toyamas are family to each other now, and every year the Toyamas show up at the school to make a presentation. It is always an event filled with joyous music and boundless love.

The last time I made it there was in 2015, when Rawlins summed it up this way at the end of the program: "Everything we do is about kids," he said, "and this great man and his wife from a whole other country help us in our struggles."

One day this week, Yoshio and Keiko will go to Landry-Walker to present a couple of instruments and $1,000 to Rawlins and his students. Then they will take part in many of the Fest activities. Yoshio is excited to have trombonist Lucien Barbarin as their special guest during their two performances at Snug Harbor and at their performance at the Fest on Saturday.

"We'll be singing Louis' 'Ole Rockin' Chair' together," Yoshio wrote in his email. "Lucien was in New York for quite a long time playing with Harry Connick Jr., and when I found out he was coming back, I asked him to play with us, and he is happy to do it."

I have to smile when I think about all that the Toyamas have done for traditional jazz and for the kids of New Orleans.

"We love giving back to the city where everybody was so kind to us when we were young," Yoshio told me.

I realize, as I'm writing this, that the Toyamas first came to New Orleans half a century ago. When they came back to perform at Satchmo SummerFest, they used to bring a big group of Wonderful World Foundation members with them, but as time passed, members got older and the traveling group got smaller.

This year, it will just be Yoshio and Keiko and three Dixie Saints, and, sadly, this will probably be the last year the band performs.

"As the years go by, it is getting a bit difficult to travel almost 20 hours," Yoshio wrote.

He and Keiko are doing fine, he said, and they plan to keep making the annual 20-hour pilgrimage to their favorite city.

"We try to do stretching and walking to keep ourselves in shape," he wrote. "And I keep playing all the time. I have to keep my body fit for blowing them Pops notes!"

Yoshio Toyama and The Dixie Saints with special guest Lucien Barbarin will perform on the Fidelity Bank Stage Saturday, Aug. 4, from 1:30 to 2:40 p.m. They will also do shows at Snug Harbor at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 2. And Yoshio will take part in the Trumpet Tribute that closes Satchmo SummerFest.
Joining a growing list of government entities to launch legal action against prescription drug makers for their role in the opioid epidemic, the St. Tammany Parish government Friday (July 27) filed a lawsuit in 22nd Judicial District Court in hopes of recovering costs incurred by the parish related to the drug crisis.

The local government is being represented by the firms of Leger and Shaw, Berrigan Litchfield LLC, and Ross F. Lagarde APLC. In May, the Parish Council adopted a resolution to obtain special counsel on a contingency basis for the legal proceedings.

The local case will become part of a wave of civil cases that governments across the U.S. have filed in federal and state courts against manufacturers and distributors of pharmaceuticals. The city of Covington initiated similar legal action in January.

"The opioid epidemic crisis has disturbing and far-reaching consequences," Parish President Pat Brister said in a news release. "The toll it continues to inflict on families and communities is devastating. Public agencies have had to bear new, escalating costs associated with fighting the epidemic and warning the community of the dangers."

Brister noted statistics from the Louisiana Department of Health that indicate St. Tammany Parish had the most opioid-related deaths in the state from 2011- 2015. In 2016 alone, the parish coroner's office reported 58 deaths caused by overdose.

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The parish president said research shows that public entities bear the burden of hundreds of millions of dollars in damages, while the manufacturers and distributors of prescription drug opioids earn billions of dollars in revenue.

"We need to find long-term solutions, and any settlement from these proceedings will help to implement those solutions, that are gravely needed," Brister said.

Attorneys involved in the opioid cases have said that civil lawsuits brought against the pharmaceutical drug manufacturers, opioid drug distributors and/or wholesalers, and big retail pharmacies are the only way to remedy the prescription opioid drug epidemic.

The cases have drawn comparisons with the lawsuits targeting tobacco companies in the late 1990s. As a result of those suits, the tobacco industry was ordered to pay more than $200 billion to states over 25 years. Those lawsuits also led to restrictions on advertising and marketing of tobacco products.
"A basic factor in Beauregard's thinking about Reconstruction was his opinion of the Negro population of the South, now free as a result of the war. He believed that the Negroes were naturally inferior, ignorant and indolent. In one dazzling prediction, he said that in seventy-five years the colored race would disappear from America along with the Indians and the buffalo."

- "P.G.T. Beauregard: Napoleon in Gray," T. Harry Williams

In the 2015 discussions about what to do with the monuments to Confederate military leaders and politicians littering our landscape, some people in New Orleans labored to distinguish Gen. P.G.T. Beauregard from the rest of the Confederates who'd been honored with statues. Some people argued that we should keep Beauregard's monument because, unlike Robert E. Lee and Jefferson Davis, he was from these parts. Others argued for him because they said that Beauregard moderated his racial views after the Civil War and actually advocated for black people's right to vote.

"P.G.T. Beauregard: Napoleon in Gray," written by T. Harry Williams and published by LSU Press in 1954 portrays Beauregard as something other than a champion of newly freed black people. Because he believed that black people were beneath white people, that they lacked good sense and were lazy, he also believed that black people could be talked into voting against Northern influence and aligning themselves with the Southerners.

As Williams puts it, Beauregard believed that "Continued Negro co-operation with the carpetbaggers would ruin the state. Therefore the whites must persuade the Negroes to leave the Republicans. The recipe was simple - let the white man recognize the Negroes' rights. Once this was done, the Negro would desert the alien carpetbagger and join his natural friend, the Southern white man. Presumably he would also let the white man direct his vote."

Because ignorant.

Despite Beauregard's prediction that black people would somehow be erased from the landscape and despite his insistence that he only wanted black people to have the vote so they could be tricked into opposing their friends and supporting their enemies, the idea persists that Beauregard was one of the good ones and that maybe his monument should have been left standing.

At the December 2015 meeting of the New Orleans City Council where the issue of removing the monuments was on the agenda, then City Council-at-large member Stacy Head tried to amend the proposed ordinance to exempt both the Beauregard and Lee monuments from the removal plan and instead add to those monuments plaques that would provide a less than sanguine explanation of their role in history, but Head's motion died for lack of a second. With Head as the only nay vote, the City Council voted 6-1 to take down the four monuments that then-Mayor Mitch Landrieu's administration had labeled public nuisances.

Though the statue of Beauregard astride his horse and wearing his Confederate uniform was removed from the entrance of City Park in May 2017, the pedestal upon which that statue sat wasn't removed until Wednesday (July 25). Even after the removal of the statue, people still associated the pedestal with either Beauregard or more modern day controversies. Shortly after the statue was removed, New Orleans police arrested two people after "GEN BEAUREGARD" was spray painted on the pedestal. On or around July 4, 2018, somebody painted "DEFEND KIDS NOT FASCISM" on the pedestal, "NOLA is PREAUX MIGRANT!" and, in reference to some advocates' desire to see Immigrations and Customs Enforcement abolished, "Melt ICE."

City Park officials said in a statement Wednesday that the pedestal had been vandalized "on more than one occasion" since the likeness of Beauregard was removed and that the New Orleans City Park Improvement Association, which operates the park and is under state control, had made the decision to remove the pedestal "to prevent further vandalism and to allow the landscaping of the circle."

But the biggest benefit is that the removal of the pedestal is one more removal of Beauregard from the public landscape.

In 2011, Freddi Williams Evans, author of "Congo Square: African Roots in New Orleans," persuaded the New Orleans City Council to officially designate the section of Armstrong Park as Congo Square. Between 1893 and 2011, the site's official name was Beauregard Square.

Officially designating Congo Square as Congo Square, taking down the statue and taking down the monument means that it's getting harder and harder to find Beauregard in New Orleans.

And what should I care if he can't be found? He predicted that people who looked like me would be erased. I won't shed a single tear over the complete disappearance of his monument.

Jarvis DeBerry is deputy opinions editor for NOLA.COM | The Times-Picayune. He can be reached at jdeberry@nola.comor at twitter.com/jarvisdeberry.
The act by the police officer has triggered a debate, whether he should have done this in uniform or not.

Singh is the circle officer of Gorakhnath area in Gorakhpur and on his social media post, he is seen seeking blessings from Yogi Adityanath on the occasion of Guru Purnima. (Photo: Facebook | Praveen kumar Singh)

Gorakhpur: A senior police official in uniform was clicked seeking blessing from Chief Minister Yodi Adityanath on Friday in Uttar Pradeshs Gorakhpur.

The police officer, Praveen Kumar Singh shared photographs on Facebook in which he is kneeling down in front of Yodi Adityanath with folded hands.

In the second picture, the officer can be seen applying tilak on CMs forehead.

(Photo: Facebook | Praveen Kumar Singh)

In the third photo, the officer is garlanding the UP CM.

(Photo: Facebook | Praveen Kumar Singh)

Singh is the circle officer of Gorakhnath area in Gorakhpur and on his social media post, he is seen seeking blessings from Yogi Adityanath on the occasion of Guru Purnima.

He took blessings from Adityanath not as Chief Minister but as the head of the Gorakhnath temple. His Facebook check-in and pictures were accompanied by feeling blessed status.

The act by the police officer has triggered a debate, whether he should have done this in uniform or not. Some people on Facebook and Twitter say that the officer hasnt done anything wrong while others say that the officer could have changed his clothes before interacting with the chief minister.

Read: Delhi cop transferred after photo of 'healing' session with godwoman goes viral

Earlier in Delhi, a police officer was seen taking blessings of a self-styled godwoman and was later transferred. In the photo, the officers eyes were shut and the godwoman is seen standing behind him.
WASHINGTON  In his first three weeks on the job, Andrew Wheeler, the acting head of the Environmental Protection Agency, has sought to halt two major efforts by his predecessor, Scott Pruitt, to roll back environmental regulations, arguing that the policies are legally vulnerable, according to people who have heard his reasoning.

Mr. Wheelers actions signal a strategic shift at the E.P.A., an agency at the heart of President Trumps push to strip away regulations on industry. Under Mr. Pruitt, who resigned July 5 under a cloud of ethics investigations, the agency pushed for ambitious but fast-paced rollbacks of environmental rules. At least a half-dozen of those have been struck down by federal courts.

Mr. Wheeler, a former coal lobbyist who served as Mr. Pruitts deputy, has brought a more disciplined approach to dismantling environmental rules. It is an approach that may take longer, but it may be more effective in standing up to the inevitable legal challenges.

Prof. Richard L. Revesz, an expert in environmental law at New York University, said Mr. Wheeler was trying to be more careful and less sloppy than his former boss. By taking time to improve the quality of the legal justifications, Wheeler may ensure that E.P.A. wont be subject to losing on certain types of policies, Professor Revesz said.
The Public Service Commissions decision is the latest and most aggressive offensive in a prolonged battle between Charter, which operates under the brand name Spectrum and employs more than 11,000 New Yorkers, and Mr. Cuomo, who has accused the company of reneging on its promises to expand broadband service to rural areas of the state.

At an unrelated news conference after the decision, Mr. Cuomo said Charter had repeatedly refused the states efforts to hold it responsible.

Some of these large corporations think they can get away with murder, right? he said. Just because youre a big corporation doesnt mean you can come into this state and bully the consumers of this state. Its not going to happen.

In its decision, the commission invoked the language of morality, declaring in a statement that in light of the companys egregious and wholly deficient performance, it could no longer in good faith and conscience allow it to do business in New York.

Spectrum officials suggested that the move may have been politically motivated, noting that Election Day was nearing. The governor has steadily escalated his rhetoric against the company recently, as the embattled provider has fended off both Mr. Cuomos charges of malfeasance and an unrelated workers strike that has lasted more than a year.
Remember Jack Kemp? In the fall of 1996, Bob Doles vice-presidential candidate complained in his debate with Al Gore that economic growth of 2.5 percent just wasnt good enough. The American people thought better of it, and Dole-Kemp went on to lose the race by more than eight million votes.

Thats a memory Donald Trumps critics and prospective opponents might consider on the news that the U.S. economy grew at a robust annual rate of 4.1 percent in the second quarter, the best quarter since 2014. No, the growth isnt evenly distributed. It hasnt shown up in wages. It shouldnt excuse the presidents trade follies. It doesnt mean the next quarter will be as good. And it never means that storm clouds arent brewing.

But if youre serious about wanting to defeat Trump, you might want to start with Rule No. 1: Dont argue with sunshine. Dont acknowledge good news through gritted teeth, or chortle at the presidents boastful delivery, or content yourself with the thought that Barack Obama also had some strong quarters and deserves all the credit.

And dont bet on bad news.

Why? Because it creates a toxic perception that Trumps critics would rather see things go wrong, for the sake of their own vindication, than right, for the common good. That, in turn, reinforces the view that Trumps critics are the sort of people whose jobs and bank accounts are sufficiently safe and padded that they can afford lousy economic numbers.
Imran Khan, the cricketer who led Pakistan to a glorious World Cup victory over its former colonial ruler, England, a quarter century ago , led his political party to an equally impressive victory in Pakistans national elections this week. In a country as corrupt and troubled as Pakistan, a new, charismatic leader is bound to raise hopes; whether Mr. Khan can deliver is a far different question.

Pakistans woes are many and grave. Corruption runs deep  the last elected prime minister, Nawaz Sharif, was imprisoned two weeks ago . The national debt is ballooning, the electricity grid is disintegrating and jobs are so scarce that Pakistani workers are compelled to fan out across the Middle East to take whatever work they can find. On top of that, terrorists strike often, relations with the United States are bad and politics are chronically unstable, with a tradition of military meddling.

Mr. Khans victory is not free of taint. The powerful military and intelligence services threw their considerable and suspect weight behind him, and rival parties cried fraud. Suicide bombers targeted his supporters several times . Mr. Khans Justice Movement , moreover, did not win enough seats in Parliament to form a government alone, so he will need to negotiate a coalition with political opponents.

Still, his party scored big not only in the national Parliament but also in regional races across the country, a rare feat in Pakistani politics, giving Mr. Khan, 65, considerable leverage to pursue his goals. Those he listed in his victory address were a catalog of what urgently needs to be done.
Critics say the Air Force doesnt pay enough attention to these matters because it is more worried about pilots and planes. With the Pentagons space-related activities dispersed among 60 agencies, some consolidation may be needed to eliminate inefficiency and focus on the true challenges in space. In fact, Congress had ordered the Pentagon to study that question; Mr. Trump pre-empted the results of that inquiry, which are due to be released next month .

Rather than leaping to a vast new military bureaucracy, Mr. Trump might consider starting with a precise understanding of what is needed for improved space defense. Does the Pentagon need to do a better job of buying satellites and harmonizing the assets among the military services? Of building satellites that are more resilient? Is space truly the future of American power projection, even warfare, and does that mean we need new weapons and forces?

Regardless, one major element clearly missing from Mr. Trumps initiative is diplomacy that can make star wars less likely. China and Russia have proposed a legally binding treaty that would ban the use of force or weapons in space. But many experts consider such a pact unverifiable or even naive, given how aggressively both countries are developing their own capabilities.

A more plausible course would be for China and Russia to work with the United States and the European Union to establish norms for responsible behavior in space, including not to test antisatellite weapons.

The Obama administration left the Europeans in charge of drafting such standards, but that effort, while helpful, came to naught. For any truly constructive result, the United States must lead, regardless of Mr. Trumps disdain for multilateral negotiations.

Other lower-level channels could provide the United States, Russia and China with a chance to discuss space cooperation. One is a United Nations group; another is the Commerce Department, which has been asked to manage satellites and debris in space.

Mr. Trump, and many experts , seem to assume that war in space is likely, if not inevitable. But despite their aggressive behavior, China and Russia also depend on access to space and should have an interest in avoiding conflict. Whatever happens to the Space Force proposal, Mr. Trump ought to be thinking bigger  about how the United States can help preserve outer space as a global commons, free of conflict and open to exploration by all space-faring nations.

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When they were miraculously rescued, having been spotted by a 24-year-old pilot named Chuck Gwinn, whom in later years they affectionately called their angel, they felt they had been reborn. The second half of the 20th century was powered by this restless energy, possessed by millions of other Americans also returning from war. When I ask the survivors about this ordeals effect on their lives, they consistently remark that since their rescue, theyve never had a bad day.

Reflecting on their struggle to survive feels instructive. When I look at Lake Michigan each July, I imagine the men of the Indianapolis visible on the horizon; dark heads, struggling arms, a cry and whirl of a world being remade. I feel an overwhelming sense of sadness, accompanied by a desire to yell out that they will be rescued. At the same time, I know that many were rescued. But the sadness always comes.

What I feel Im watching, in my minds eye, is the work of people struggling to stay alive and, in the process, struggling with what it means to be a moral person, even after they emerged from the crucible of the sea.

Capt. Charles McVay of the Indianapolis was court-martialed, making him the only captain in American history to be court-martialed for losing his ship in an act of war. Giles McCoy, a founder of the U.S.S. Indianapolis Survivors Organization, promised his captain that the Navy one day would exonerate him. But in 1968, outside his stately home in Litchfield, Conn., Captain McVay took his own life.

The survivors and other advocates struggled for years to clear Captain McVays name. When I asked Mr. McCoy why his shipmates stood behind Captain McVay, he said, The skipper never blamed anyone but himself. This is despite the fact that the Japanese submarine commander who had sunk the ship, Mochitsura Hashimoto, testified during the court-martial that there was nothing Captain McVay could have done to stop it.

Captain McVay, steadfast in his own moral universe, believed otherwise. Forgive yourself, we want to say, but we know he wont. His sense of duty was profound, and the survivors efforts to clear his name can be heard as an elegiac counterpoint to his suffering. Finally, on July 13, 2001, 56 years after the ships sinking, the Navy announced that Captain McVay was not culpable for the disaster.

Last night I swam out beyond the buoys, looked up at the sky and felt the dark, pliable hand of the night water take hold. I do this every year: Five minutes floating alone in the dark, unable to touch bottom, is the barest glimpse of the ordeal that those 316 men of the Indianapolis survived. But I recommend it.

Swim out where the bottom swoops to the deep and dog-paddle. Even though youre certain youre safe, the mind skips a beat. I promise, youll tell yourself: Tomorrow will be a good day.
SAN FRANCISCO  Last September, the board of the online lending company Social Finance ousted its chief executive, Mike Cagney, after questions about sexual misconduct.

The move was prompted by a board investigation that found Mr. Cagney was romantically involved with an employee, even though he had previously told directors that he was not involved in any extramarital workplace relationships, said four people with knowledge of the deliberations. Years earlier, Mr. Cagney had also promised the board he would not have affairs with employees after they learned of another relationship, said the people.

Yet just months after Mr. Cagney departed SoFi, two venture capitalists who had been on the companys board and knew many details of his actions invested $17 million in his new start-up, called Figure. Since then, Mr. Cagney has raised another $41 million from others for the lending start-up, which will open soon.

Mr. Cagneys swift comeback  from ouster to new company took four months  provides one of the starkest illustrations of the speed with which the technology industry is moving past the sexual harassment allegations that swept Silicon Valley and many other industries over the last year.
Five Democratic members of Congress called on Friday for the Justice Department to investigate a case in which a Florida man who shot and killed another man during an argument over a parking space was not arrested or charged by the sheriffs office.

The sheriff of Pinellas County cited Floridas so-called Stand Your Ground law in declining to charge Michael Drejka, who the authorities say shot Markeis McGlockton last week in the parking lot outside a convenience store in Clearwater, Fla.

Mr. Drejka initiated a heated argument with Mr. McGlocktons girlfriend on July 19, over whether she was permitted to park in a handicapped parking space, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri of Pinellas County said at a news conference the next day. Mr. Drejka, who is white, eventually shot and killed Mr. McGlockton, who was black, reigniting debate over the Florida law.

In a letter sent to Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Friday, Senator Bill Nelson, Democrat of Florida, asked the Justice Department to open an investigation into the killing of Mr. McGlockton. Senators Kamala D. Harris of California and Cory Booker of New Jersey also signed onto the letter, as did two Florida members of the House of Representatives, Charlie Crist and Alcee L. Hastings.
Tejashwi Yadav had earlier blamed leaders associated with ruling NDA of influencing the police probe to save big people involved in the case.

Patna: The number of victims in Muzaffarpur shelter home case has gone up to 34 after medical examination report confirmed sexual assault on five more girls. The RJD which has been protesting against rising crime graph and rampant incidents of rap-es in the state on Saturday, demanded an explanation from CM Nitish Kumar on the issue.

Not only Muzaffarpur shelter home where minor girls became victims of sexual assault but we have also been receiving repor-ts of similar incidents from shelter houses located in Banka, Darbhanga, Hajipur, Saran, and Gopalganj. Mr Kumar must break his silence on the issue. His silence can be termed as criminal, RJD leader Tejashwi said on Saturday.

While terming the JD(U)BJP led government as Duryodhan and Ravan regime Tejashwi Yadav said, Duryodhana is disrobing Draupadi. Ra-van is kidnapping mother Sita and girls are scared to step out of their homes as Ravan and Duryodhan have now joined hands. This is Rakshas raaj (demonic regime).

Sources claim that the RJD is planning to intensify their campaign against Mr Kumar and his government on the issue. Tejashwi Yadav, along with other RJD leaders, has launched a cycle rally with an NDA Bhagao Beti Bachao tagline in protest against the Muzaffarpur issue.

Tejashwi Yadav had earlier blamed leaders associated with ruling NDA of influencing the police probe to save big people involved in the case. He had also targeted chief minister Nitish Kumar for the delay in handing over the case to CBI.

Tejashwi Yadav said that the case was transferred to CBI after he visited Muzaffarpur shelter home to assess the situation and demanded Nitish Kumars resignation on moral grounds.

Sources said that the Opposition parties here are not satisfied with the arrest of 10 persons, including Brajesh Thakur whose NGO Seva Sankalp evam Vikas Samiti was in agreement with the state welfare department to run the shelter home.

Muzaffarpur shelter home issue had surfaced in March after a Mumbai-based Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) found sexual assault victims. An audit report was submitted to the social welfare department by the Institute following which authorities registered an FIR and rescued girls from the shelter home and shifted them to other places.
As the Trump administration has rushed to reunite thousands of children separated from their parents under a zero-tolerance policy on border enforcement, it is now left with 700 or more cases that have been more difficult to solve, including those of 431 parents who were apparently sent home without their children.

These are the cases that will continue to occupy federal immigration lawyers and immigrant advocates in the coming days, as federal authorities continue to unwind the effects of the policy that saw 2,800 or more children removed from their families in an attempt to deter the recent flood of migrant families from Central America.

Despite having substantially met the courts deadline for reuniting eligible parents and children, the Trump administration continues to face immigration lawsuits across the country, including a case in Seattle in which 17 states are challenging not only family separations, but how the government handles claims for asylum and the licensing requirements for migrant children held in detention.

In Los Angeles on Friday, Judge Dolly M. Gee of the Federal District Court said she would appoint an independent monitor to evaluate conditions for migrant children housed in border processing centers and family detention centers where families can be held for up to 20 days. The judge said there was a disconnect in the assessments of conditions at the facilities between government monitors and the harrowing accounts of lawyers, health workers and others who have cited inadequate water, inedible food and other problems.

I think the court was moved, said Peter Schey, president of the Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, who was a co-lead counsel in a 1985 lawsuit over the detention of migrant children, on which the current challenge is based. I think this was an essential step in bringing the government into line with the terms of the 1997 Flores settlement that required the humane treatment of detained children and their proper release in appropriate cases, he added.
The issue prompted about 100 business leaders, government officials and members of nonprofit organizations to meet Thursday to search for ways that New Hampshire  which is 94 percent white  might lure other racial and ethnic groups, as well as younger people.

Will Arvelo, New Hampshires director of economic development, said the gathering appeared to be the first broad-based effort in New England, if not the country, to focus on how to diversify an entire state.

With nonwhites poised to make up a majority of the American population in the next three decades, he said, diversity has become a bottom-line imperative for companies competing for talent, especially for workers who can speak other languages. As it stands, New Hampshire is 3 percent Latino, 2 percent African-American and 3 percent Asian, according to the census, with some people identifying as more than one race. The nation as a whole is 17 percent Latino, 14 percent African-American and 6 percent Asian.

New Hampshires future economy is dependent on our ability to set ourselves up as a welcoming state, Mr. Arvelo said at the meeting. We do a great job marketing ourselves around travel and tourism. How do we use those tools to attract talent?

The project grew out of informal talks over the last few years among a racially diverse coalition of people, including Mrs. Celentano, who say they want to change New Hampshires demographics. The effort is so new that it has no name. But it is drawing important players.
WASHINGTON  President Trump said Friday that he plans to spends almost all of his time this fall campaigning for the most vulnerable Republican congressional candidates in the midterm elections, a strategy that would have him in many districts where endangered lawmakers in his own party regard him as a liability.

In a friendly radio interview with Sean Hannity, the conservative Fox News host with whom he shares a close relationship, Mr. Trump said he was confident the strength of the economy and the demise of the Islamic State would boost the fortunes of Republicans in this falls contests, and that he would personally work to pull lawmakers facing tough re-election challenges to victory.

I am going to work very hard, Mr. Trump said during the interview. Ill go six or seven days a week when were 60 days out, and I will be campaigning for all of these great people that do have a difficult race, and we think were going to bring them over the line.

Mr. Trump said he had instructed John F. Kelly, his chief of staff, and others on his team to compile a list of about two dozen of the most hotly contested races in the country so he could use the bully pulpit to promote the Republicans running in them.
WASHINGTON  The country is in the grips of an escalating housing affordability crisis. Millions of low-income Americans are paying 70 percent or more of their incomes for shelter, while rents continue to rise and construction of affordable rental apartments lags far behind the need.

The Trump administrations main policy response, unveiled this spring by Ben Carson, the secretary of housing and urban development: a plan to triple rents for about 712,000 of the poorest tenants receiving federal housing aid and to loosen the cap on rents on 4.5 million households enrolled in federal voucher and public housing programs nationwide, with the goal of moving longtime tenants out of the system to make way for new ones.

As city and state officials and members of both parties clamor for the federal government to help, Mr. Carson has privately told aides that he views the shortage of affordable housing as regrettable, but as essentially a local problem.

A former presidential candidate who said last year that he did not want to give recipients of federal aid a comfortable setting that would make somebody want to say, Ill just stay here; they will take care of me, he has made it a priority to reduce, rather than expand, assistance to the poor, to break what he sees as a cycle of dependency.
It is possible that Russian hackers are holding their fire until closer to Election Day in November. Given the indictments this month of 12 Russian military officers who are accused of American election interference, the agency once known as the G.R.U. may be all too aware it is being closely watched by the National Security Agency and other American intelligence services.

But that has not completely deterred Russias intelligence agencies from targeting politicians.

Microsoft announced at a security conference last week that it stopped an attack last fall aimed at congressional staff offices. While the company did not identify who was targeted, Senator Claire McCaskill, Democrat of Missouri, who faces a tight race for re-election, said on Thursday night that her office had been struck in what she called an unsuccessful attack.

She acknowledged the breach only after The Daily Beast identified her as one of the lawmakers whose offices had been the target of an effort to obtain passwords.

Russia continues to engage in cyberwarfare against our democracy, Ms. McCaskill said in a statement. While this attack was not successful, it is outrageous that they think they can get away with this. I will not be intimidated.

American officials said it was unclear whether the attack was related to Ms. McCaskills re-election bid. She serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, and one senior official said it was possible that the hackers were seeking a way into the panels access to classified military operations and budgets.

Officials of Microsoft, which detected the intrusion in October and November, agreed.

When we see an attempt like this, we have no way of discerning what the attackers motivation is, Tom Burt, the vice president for customer security and trust at Microsoft, said on Friday.
The eating habits of Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull are being dissected by his fellow Australians after he made a food faux pas while dining on a meat pie.

For some Australians, his approach to the dish was proof that you are not what you eat, but how you eat it.

During a stop in Tasmania  where he was campaigning for a local candidate  Mr. Turnbull brandished a knife and fork as he dug into a savory meat pie.
Ms. Mahdara envisioned a new experiential retail model. Theres a lot of stuff for music and a lot of stuff for gaming and a lot of stuff for sports, Ms. Mahdara said. What became abundantly clear to me is that there was nothing for young women and people in general who were interested in beauty but not sure how they fit into that world. Her goal was not just an offline experience but a marketplace, one that would translate into sales for participating beauty companies.

In 2014, Beautycon added New York to its lineup; by 2015, Dallas and London joined the list. (London is still in the mix; Dallas is not.) In 2016, the Los Angeles event was big enough to move into the convention center and last year it expanded from one day to two. This year has been a tipping point of sorts, starting with the two-day New York show warranting space in the sprawling Javits Center, and big brands like MAC and Target coming on board.

Traditional celebrities signed on, too, and their appearances on the main stage have drawn headlines and more publicity for Beautycon. The keynote by Black-ish actress Tracee Ellis Ross in Los Angeles last year about expanding the definition of beauty  Im inviting you to let your you flag fly, she said  became fodder for a later appearance on Conan OBrien.

Moj and her team recognize that beauty is about more than just slick advertising, Debra Perelman, the chief executive officer of Revlon, said in an email. They realized early that in the digital age you cant just talk to women, but instead need to build a deep, personal relationship with them.

This is the Future of Beauty

Beautycon is a festival, yes, but its also a data-gathering machine. Two hundred beacons sprinkled throughout the floor in Los Angeles allowed organizers to heat-map the crowds, showing where the largest groups of attendees were congregating. Beautycon held eight focus groups each day that weekend, talking to 320 consumers about their shopping habits and attitudes on health and wellness. Each wristband was equipped with radio-frequency identification (R.F.I.D.) technology, allowing the organizers to monitor the path people took, how long they lingered, and if they visited a booth multiple times.

Coupled with registration information, Beautycon can paint a detailed picture of these shoppers. We know what she wants, we know what shes missing, we know what she needs, said Richelieu Dennis, the chief executive of Sundial Brands, owner of Essence magazine and a Beautycon investor.

Beautycons connection to customers, paired with the combination of content and commerce, has helped Ms. Mahdara raise $20 million from investors. The most recent round of financing raised $6 million, led by the New Voices Fund, a $100 million fund that invests in businesses owned or managed by women of color and run by Mr. Dennis. This is the future of beauty  this is the future of business, he said of Beautycon.
Stephen Shapiro, the president of Westside Estate Agency, said that the market for properties above $60 million was particularly strong but that the Mountain of Beverly Hills was wildly overpriced.

For a billion dollars, you could buy it multiple times, he said, adding that he had gotten feelers that suggest $200 million might be within negotiable reach. (Ronald Richards, a lawyer who represents Secured Capital Partners, the current titleholder on the property, said such queries were a common way for lenders to get a sense of whether their debts could quickly be recovered if necessary, not an indicator of the propertys market value.)

A Spreadsheet of Potential Buyers

Though this prime parcel is zoned for six lots, Mr. Kirman is marketing it as a family compound for a single buyer. Pulling out a color-coded spreadsheet that he said included the names of about 2,800 billionaires, he explained that by his calculation, roughly 50 to 100 of the people on that list would be in the market for such a property  Middle Eastern royalty or a Russian oligarch being a few of the possibilities he bandied about. (Its unlikely that a developer would be able to make enough money by subdividing such pricey land and building multiple nine-figure mansions to justify the risk.)

One challenge: The buyer will have to come with not only an extremely high net worth but also some vision. To be impressed by dirt is hard, Mr. Kirman admitted.

Another challenge: This dirt has quite the history. Decades of legal battles, scuttled mansion plans and huge egos partly explain why such vast, beautiful piece of land in the middle of one of the hottest real estate markets in the country remains vacant. Known until recently as the Vineyard Beverly Hills, the property has been the subject of so many lawsuits and ownership disputes that even the lawyers seem to have lost count. Celebrities, including Tom Cruise, have tried to buy it in the past. Previous owners have drawn up grand plans to build homes, never to follow through.

In the late 1970s, Shams Pahlavi, an Iranian princess and the older sister of the last shah of Iran, bought the land and made plans to build a giant estate for her family. But in 1979, in the midst of her home countrys revolution, Iranian students in Los Angeles stormed another property she owned in the area, throwing firebombs. That, along with the death of the shah in 1980, prompted her to abandon the plans.

In 1987, Merv Griffin, the talk-show host and game-show producer, bought the property with the goal of building a home that would be slightly larger than the producer Aaron Spellings mansion  the largest in Los Angeles at the time, with 56,000 square feet. But he, too, eventually abandoned his plans and sold the Vineyard for $8.5 million in 1997 to Mark R. Hughes, the founder and chief executive of Herbalife.
The lawyer nominated to run the Superfund toxic cleanup program is steeped in the complexities of restoring polluted rivers and chemical dumps. He spent more than a decade on one of the nations most extensive cleanups, one involving Dow Chemicals sprawling headquarters in Midland, Mich.

But while he led Dows legal strategy there, the chemical giant was accused by regulators, and in one case a Dow engineer, of submitting disputed data , misrepresenting scientific evidence and delaying cleanup, according to internal documents and court records as well as interviews with more than a dozen people involved in the project.

The lawyer, Peter C. Wright, was nominated in March by President Trump to be assistant administrator at the Environmental Protection Agency overseeing the Superfund program , which was created decades ago to clean up the nations most hazardous toxic waste sites. He is already working at the agency in an advisory role as he awaits congressional approval. If confirmed, Mr. Wright would also oversee the emergency response to chemical spills and other hazardous releases nationwide.

E.P.A. officials pointed to Mr. Wrights expertise in environmental law and his tenure at Dow as valuable qualifications. The White House on Saturday referred questions to the E.P.A.
57A: Someone make a bumper sticker that says Save the Metro DESK, please! The extinction of local news coverage continues apace, seemingly unnoticed by everyone arguing over bias and falsehoods in journalism. How else do people learn about important and life-affecting events happening in their neighborhoods, though? Its really bizarre.

68A: The Motion Picture Association of America first installed the letter rating system we use now in 1968 (which makes this its golden anniversary year, so bring it your Oscar if you go to the party). Theres always been an issue with changing mores, and the really racy/scary/violent stuff; initially the X rating denoted such, then in 1990 the NC-17 label came along to try to reduce the stigma that an X rating had created. A HARD R rating would seem to be between R  which has meant restricted to adults, because of various elements  and NC-17. It doesnt look like the HARD R rating appears on posters and listings for filmgoers; its more to do with advertisers who are nervous (in this day and age! imagine) about associating themselves with risque stuff.

Before the ratings system was the Hays Code, which was applied to hundreds of films during Hollywoods Golden Age. Before that there were actual censors, who disallowed the showing of certain material in early movie theaters. In 1917, Margaret Sanger made a drama/documentary about birth control that was censored at the very last minute in New York, and wound up being screened exactly once.

81A: I initially took issue to the definition here, for Ruffian. I always think of the filly who dominated horse racing in the 70s and came to such a tragic end. To call her a brute is to call a Lamborghini a bulldozer, and maybe its because of her influence that Ive always thought of ruffians as rakish and charming. Historically, though, Ruffian has been a clue for lout, bully and hoodlum, as well as the entry here  BRUTE.

2D: Theres prestige galore in Italian fashion  Zegna, Prada, Cucinelli, Loro Piana  but ARMANI SUITS are their own category, it seems. A lot of famous cinema characters wear them.

6D: Its probably fairly nerdy to interpret play in this clue as meaning a performance, rather than an abbreviation missing its fore, but I guessed sexy talk here rather than SEXY TIME. This term is now ubiquitous, but also strongly reminiscent of Borat, if youre familiar with him, so please beware the cognitive dissonance when attempting to initiate SEXY TIME while referring to SEXY TIME. Yes, this is a debut.

28D: There are plenty of underground libations relevant to Prohibition, like moonshine, bathtub gin, rotgut and panther sweat. But you could get a little taste on the up-and-up, if you had yourself a NEAR BEER. This low-alcohol brew is a more modern version of small beer, which was drunk by man, woman, child and small child back in the Middle Ages  even if you had to chew it, fermented, vegetal liquid tended to be healthier and lower risk than contaminated water, and there was some nutrition there to boot. None of these drinks were much higher than about 3 percent alcohol (NEAR BEER was closer to 1 percent), so even slight intoxication required great volume.
Punjab woman was left at Dubai airport by her agent.

New Delhi: External affairs minister Sushma Swaraj on Saturday ordered her ministry officials to take action against a man who allegedly trafficked a woman from Punjab to the Gulf in a case of suspected human trafficking. The plight of the woman from Amritsar, identified as Simranjeet Kaur, came to light after another woman approached the minister on social media for help.

In a series of tweets, Ms. Swaraj said, Here is a serious case of human trafficking from Punjab. One Simranjeet Kaur from Amritsar has been trafficked by an agent to Dubai/Oman. She told her ministry officials, Please take stringent action that should set an example for all such agents. This seems to be a serious case of human trafficking. Please make efforts to trace Simran and ensure her safety and well being in Oman. Please find out details of the agent and proceed against him.

The woman who complained to Ms. Swaraj said, @SushmaSwaraj mam pls see these details. She is sister of my friend. An agent took money from her for Singapore visa and left her in Dubai. She is at terminal 2 of Dubai airport. She doesnt have a phone. Her name is Simran. Please help! ... And it seems the agent is illegal because the family is trying to reach him and he is not responding.

The Consulate General of India (CGI) in Dubai tweeted, Simran has cleared Dubai immigration. According to immigration her return ticket is booked from Oman. Please try to get details from the Indian agent and inform us details of who was supposed to receive her in Dubai. Indian diplomats said they were trying to confirm if Simran had entered Oman, adding that they were making all out efforts to trace her in Oman if she has.

The CGI in Dubai further said, Agent not responding on the phone numbers, as is the usual practice followed by such agents. We have sent our representative to the agents address personally. We shall update as soon as possible.

The MEAs Protector General of Emigrants had spoken last year about the eMigrate Project to enable to track the whereabouts of the Indian worker, his foreign employer and the recruiting agent once the workers are registered online.
One day while walking together I asked David, Why are you so cautious, even timid, when you share your own opinions about cultural and political changes? David stopped walking and made a space about an inch wide between his thumb and index finger. He said: Civilization is thin! It is thin! It is fragile! When the pendulum of cultural and political change swings too far in one direction, it is bound to return and swing too far in the opposite direction.

This seems like a lesson we all need to consider now. Hopefully there is quite a bit of leeway for strong stances on decent health care and education, fighting racism, and defending democracy and the right to vote. But we may be more successful in rebuilding an American pro-democracy majority if we liberals can genuinely come to respect the many decent white people who are fearful because of the fierce pace of cultural and technological change many of us are experiencing. Civilization is thin!  It is fragile!

William Greenbaum

Rockport, Mass.

To the Editor:

Polls indicate that most Americans want universal access to health care (including contraception and abortion), affordable higher education and action on environmental issues (especially climate change). How can it be right to characterize Democrats advancing these majority-held goals as far to the left ?

Opinion Debate Will the Democrats face a midterm wipeout? Ezra Klein speaks to David Shor, who discusses his fear that Democrats face electoral catastrophe in 2022 and beyond unless they shift their messaging.

speaks to David Shor, who discusses his fear that Democrats face electoral catastrophe in 2022 and beyond unless they shift their messaging. Zachary D. Carter asks why some moderate Democrats are attacking Bidens economic plan, despite it representing centrism taken seriously.

asks why some moderate Democrats are attacking Bidens economic plan, despite it representing centrism taken seriously. Michelle Cottle surveys the Republican opposition thats shaping up for 2022 and finds many candidates embracing the fiction that the election was stolen.

surveys the Republican opposition thats shaping up for 2022 and finds many candidates embracing the fiction that the election was stolen. Thomas B. Edsall explores new research on whether the Democratic Party could find more success focusing on race or on class when trying to build support.

Allan Leedy

Portland, Ore.

To the Editor:

Haven t we learned anything from the extremism on both sides of the aisle that has polarized this country? Democrats can brace for a slaughter if they move far left. It may be fine for some local races, but a presidential candidate needs to appeal to a wide range of people, and both parties need to moderate if sanity is to return to Washington.

The only thing that matters right now is getting Donald Trump out of the White House, and the Democrats sole focus needs to be winning over his supporters.
In a similar study, we asked Democrats, Republicans and independents in Washington State to consider a carbon tax that was on the ballot in their state in 2016. There, we mentioned either liberal Democrats (like the Green Party of Seattle) or conservative Republicans (like the former secretary of state George Shultz) who in fact supported the initiative.

Opinion Conversation The climate, and the world, are changing. What challenges will the future bring, and how should we respond to them? What should our leaders be doing?

Al Gore, the 45th vice president of the United States, finds reasons for optimism in the Biden presidency.

Al Gore, the 45th vice president of the United States, finds reasons for optimism in the Biden presidency. What are the worst climate risks in your country?

Select a country, and we'll break down the climate hazards it faces.

Select a country, and we'll break down the climate hazards it faces. Where are Americans suffering most?

Our maps, developed with experts, show where extreme heat is causing the most deaths in the U.S.

Our maps, developed with experts, show where extreme heat is causing the most deaths in the U.S. What does climate devastation look like?

In Sept. 2020, Michael Benson studied detailed satellite imagery. Here's the earth that he saw  and the one he wants to see.

We found, in both studies, that our participants toed the party line. Republicans supported climate policies that they understood to be backed by Republicans and were neutral toward policies backed by Democrats. Democrats supported policies that they understood to be backed by Democrats more than they supported policies backed by Republicans.

Why is it so important to people whether climate policies are proposed by their own party or the opposing one? An interesting suggestion from our research is that Democrats and Republicans are swayed by partisanship because they think their fellow Democrats or fellow Republicans are even more swayed by partisanship  and they dont want to break ranks.

We discovered this when we asked people to estimate how their fellow citizens would respond to the policies. People overestimated how much Democrats and Republicans opposed policies backed by the other side. Furthermore, these exaggerated estimates turned out to strongly predict their own support for a policy.

This finding did not come as a total surprise. Among social psychologys fundamental lessons is that people are profoundly affected by what other people think. In their desire to be upstanding members of their political tribe, people are pulled toward embracing the stances of their peers and loath to publicly disagree with them.

As a result, the actual degree of political polarization on climate change belief and support for climate policy is considerably less than people think it is. Environmental activists often seek to increase support for climate policy by convincing skeptics about the reality and urgency of climate change. But our studies suggest that climate policy gridlock is largely about exaggerating disagreement for the sake of disagreement.

Fortunately, there is some cause for optimism. Our studies revealed a consistent, if somewhat surprising, pattern: Political disagreement was substantially smaller when it came to Republican-backed policies.

In particular, there was very little distance between Republicans and Democrats when evaluating a Republican-proposed carbon tax. This suggests that a carbon tax such as the one proposed by prominent Republicans including James Baker III and Mr. Shultz may hold more promise for bipartisan agreement than we have seen with Democratic policies in the past.
CNN reported that Cohen the Fixer claims Trump knew about the Russian meeting during the campaign with his son and Paul Manafort. The president hit the mattresses on Twitter, denying it all.

This could be the ballgame, says David Corn of Mother Jones, who wrote: This ex-consigliere poses a triple threat to the godfather he once ruthlessly served.

Given that this is Trump, however, its possible that there could be a twist. Rhona Graff, the Dons capo at Trump Tower, could come sit in the back of the courtroom and stare at Cohen until the wannabe wise guy suddenly recants, Godfather-style: Look, the F.B.I. guys promised me a deal. So I made up a lot of stuff about Donald Trump cause thats what they wanted. But it was all lies.

Rudy Giuliani has somersaulted from a RICO-happy prosecutor to a man acting like a Mafia lawyer, telling Chris Cuomo that Cohen is an incredible liar when only three months ago he pronounced him an honest, honorable lawyer.

If the White House seems more and more like Goodfellas, it is not an accident.

Trump has a very cinematic sense of himself, OBrien said. Like many on social media, he is driven to be the star of his own movie. He even considered going to film school in L.A. before he settled into his fathers business.

OBrien recalled that Trump told him that he thought Clint Eastwood was the greatest movie star. He and Melania model their squints on Eastwood, the biographer noted. Trump also remarked, while they were watching Sunset Boulevard on the Trump plane, that a particular scene was amazing: the one where Norma Desmond obsessively watches her silent films and cries: Have they forgotten what a star looks like? Ill show them!
Those campaign promises, as everyone is well aware, were generally more populist than the official G.O.P. agenda: Trump promised middle-class tax cuts and a generous Obamacare alternative, he stiff-armed the entitlement reformers and talked up infrastructure spending, and he railed against free trade deals with every other breath. And that populist branding was crucial to the electoral trade he made, which ceded a share of business-friendly suburbanites to the Democrats but reaped a crucial group of erstwhile Obama voters, mostly white and working class and concentrated in the Rust Belt and upper Midwest states, who ultimately handed Trump the presidency.

That was the story of 2016; the story since, though, is one of reversion to the older political order. Because Trump has mostly governed as a conventional Republican, a certain kind of conventional Republican has come home to him, keeping his support stable in the states that the Romney-Ryan ticket won easily in 2012. But for the same reason  because the infrastructure plan never materialized and the tax cut was a great whopping favor to corporate interests and the health care repeal-and-replace effort was a misbegotten flop  the swing voters he needs to hold the Midwest are now drifting away.

And because Trump naturally alienates women and cant make a gesture of outreach to blacks or Hispanics without stepping on it with bigotry the next day, he doesnt really have another path back to the White House if those Obama-Trump voters in Michigan and Pennsylvania and Ohio go Democratic or stay home. Certainly the Republicans criticizing him on trade arent offering him such a path: Their overall vision is the same tired G.O.P. orthodoxy that went down to defeat in 2008 and 2012, and that Trump himself crushed in the last primary campaign.

So the fact that Trumps tariffs are generally unpopular, even in Midwestern states, doesnt matter politically nearly as much as their potential appeal to the narrow slice of blue-collar swing voters that he needs if hes going to be re-elected. And their potential cost, for now, can be swallowed up by general economic growth or dealt with via cynical payoffs; if the general economic growth itself goes away, well, then Trump isnt getting re-elected anyway.

If you expect this to lead to good policymaking, you havent been paying attention to how this White House operates. But the fact that Trump has this particular incentive to focus on free trades Midwestern losers is not itself a bad thing. One of the strongest arguments for the countermajoritarian element in the Electoral College is that it provides a point of leverage for regional populations that have suffered particularly at the hands of an overreaching bipartisan consensus. And the bipartisan consensus on trade with China really is ripe for an updating, since the domestic costs have been higher and geopolitical benefits more meager than the expert class predicted 20 years ago.
And the events of Sept. 11, and everything that followed, might well have been averted had the Arabic-language messages that American intelligence intercepted on Sept. 10 been processed sooner than the 12th  a matter less of misreading than of personnel shortages, but a failure of translation nonetheless.

These are recent instances, but examples stretch back to antiquity. The Bible, reportedly the most translated book of all time, has begotten not only the longest-running debates about translation, including the endless war between fidelity and felicity, but also some notable misconceptions.

When Jerome, the patron saint of translators, rendered the Bible into Latin, he introduced a pun that created one of the most potent symbols of Christian iconography, turning the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (malus) into the tree of apples (malum" ). Its true that malum, in Jeromes day, could mean any number of fruits: the serpentine creature on Michelangelos Sistine ceiling, for instance, is coiled around a fig tree. But in the 16th century, both Albrecht Durer and Lucas Cranach the Elder, following Jeromes lead, famously depicted Adam and Eve beside unambiguous apples. And when, the following century, John Milton wrote of Eves sharp desire  / Of tasting those fair Apples, he helped concretize the image of the bright rubine Malus pumila that we know today.

Of course, mistranslation is often in the eye of the beholder, and its consequences can range from the philosophical to the fatal. A populist English translation of the New Testament by the 16th-century scholar William Tyndale got him executed by the clergy for heresy, and not long afterward the French printer and scholar Etienne Dolet was hanged and burned at the stake for a translation of Plato that was also deemed heretical.

More recently, The Armed Forces Journal reported in 2011 that interpreters in Iraq were 10 times more likely to die in combat than deployed American or international forces. Perhaps, in a further twist on the old Italian pun traduttore, traditore (translator, traitor), neither the troops they were interpreting for nor the enemy they were speaking to had complete faith in what they related.
I was seeing a guy from London, and he told me Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald were his favorite couple. He was charming, exciting and got me. His choice sounded so romantic, so like him.

Obviously I knew who they were, but I wasnt familiar with the details of their relationship. I lay in bed and Googled eagerly. Was this the kind of great love he envisioned for us?

Zelda Fitzgerald was intensely glamorous and hauntingly beautiful. Scott called her the original flapper. Oh, and they had a turbulent relationship wracked with infidelity and excessive drinking: a love affair that ended with her dying after a fire broke out in the mental institution where she was a patient. She was schizophrenic and spent the last of her years hospitalized.

Is this how he saw me? I had clinical depression, not schizophrenia.

In my head (and, clearly, mine alone) we shared a blind devotion. When the reality of our relationship sank in, he got busy at work fast before disappearing entirely. He told me, over text, that he was gut-wrenchingly sorry.
GETTYSBURG, Pa.  The sun rose on the second day of the Battle of Gettysburg, 2018, to reveal a line of cars parked behind the Union Armys tents.

It was an annoying historical anachronism for the brigades commander, Ted Brennan, 49, who was brushing his teeth with a horsehair toothbrush.

We try to be as authentic as we can without getting dysentery, Mr. Brennan said of his unit, several of whom were frying bacon and brewing coffee over a fire. They were camped in a sea of canvas tents that housed many of the 6,000 re-enactors at the event. Beyond the spectator stands and hot dog stalls, the Confederates were camped just out of sight.

The 155th Gettysburg anniversary re-enactment, which was held over the second weekend in July, was a chance for dedicated hobbyists to blast away at each other with antique rifles and rekindle old friendships over campfire-cooked meals. Spectators paid $40 to watch nearly a dozen mock skirmishes over the course of four days, and there was an old-timey ball on Saturday night. An Abraham Lincoln impersonator was on hand to pose for photos.
The freedom to forgo social commitments also appealed to Sara Lieberman, 39, a travel and lifestyle writer in Paris who returned to New York City this summer to burrow herself in a new venture: Cup o Cockles, an urban clam shack at the Smorgasburg market in Brooklyn.

I have a hard time saying no, because I dont like disappointing people or myself, she said. FOMO is real, so its nice to have a legitimate excuse. Everyone knows Im working on this big project, completely out of my territory, and I really do have to put everything into it.

That sort of all-encompassing endeavor offers deeper meaning for those eager to test themselves beyond another zip-line course or desert safari.

Even though this project scares me to death, I crave the kind of craziness that comes with trying something new, Ms. Lieberman said. And what Ill have to show for it is more rewarding than any vacation photo or shot of me on a waterfall somewhere. This is something Im building myself.

But these self-imposed summer exiles  call them the humblebrag of staycations  are not without their perils.

You have to be O.K. when you go on Instagram and everyones at the Vineyard or the beach or the new Soho House in Dumbo, and you have to stay in and be disciplined, said Ms. White, 47, the bicoastal model who is writing a book on fashion careers this summer.
An investigation is being conducted by Actors Equity, which hired a lawyer to review the death and said it would share the results with the cast. The producers hired their own lawyer to investigate, but then decided to rethink the process, according to a spokesman, after that lawyer complained about a lack of cooperation from the cast, some of whom were suspicious about whether the shows inquiry would be objective.

Anger has been directed at the producers and directors, but whether that is fair is a difficult question. Broadway, the mountaintop of theater, is by nature a demanding place. Tough rehearsals happen all the time.

And Mr. Loeffelholz, at 57, was dealing with the kind of career and life pains every actor goes through  indeed, the pains that many everyday workers go through. He was not getting any younger, and his character, a small but demanding role, was not getting any older. He and his partner had also lost control of a chocolate shop they ran in Rockefeller Center and were fighting with the owners.

But no one  not his friends, not his partner, not his bosses, and not his colleagues  seemed to know the depths of his despair until he was found, near death, in his apartment.

Dream Role for an Unusual Talent

Chicago, a musical satire about a group of murderous women seeking to parlay their notoriety into careers in vaudeville, is among the best-known shows Broadway has produced; a 2002 film adaptation was the rare musical to win an Academy Award for best picture. The current Broadway revival  the original ran for two years in the 1970s  opened in 1996, and has been performed more than 9,000 times, grossing $625 million thus far; the show is also running in London, and has had multiple tours. Only The Phantom of the Opera, which opened in New York in 1988, has been on Broadway longer.
The family was from the Benton Harbor, Mich., area, he said.

Investigators believe that the cause of the fire was accidental, the Berrien County sheriffs office said in a news release on Saturday evening. They found no accelerants or illegal narcotic manufacturing at the scene.

The fire originated in a first-floor room of the motel, where investigators plan to do further forensic testing, according to the news release. The victims were staying in a room on the second floor, and the authorities believe that they died from smoke inhalation.

The sheriffs office contracted a private security company to test the motels fire alarm and smoke detector.

The motel is near a highway in Sodus, about 200 miles west of Detroit. Twenty-seven of the motels 60 rooms were occupied at the time of the fire.
Modi also said that earlier he been ridiculed by the Congress as a chaiwala, but he was proud of his humble beginnings.

Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday responded to the Congr-ess charge that he is not a chowkidar (watchman) but a bhagidar (collaborator), saying that the allegation was actually a compliment to him.

These days I am dubbed a bhagidar (partner) and not chowkidar (watchman). I feel honoured to be a bhagidar. Yes I am a bhagidar and I am proud of it. I am a bhagidar to the poor who suffer, the labourer who toils, the mother who suffers pain and the jawan who guards our borders. I am the son of a poor mother and can understand the pain of poverty. It is my background which has given me a sense of understanding of ground realities and also honesty, he said.

The Prime Minister was responding to the allegation levelled by Rahul Gandhi in Parliament last week in which the Congress president had said that Mr Modi was not a chowkidar of the country but a bhagidar in illegal actions of his capitalist friends.

Mr Modi also said that earlier he been ridiculed by the Congress as a chaiwala, but he was proud of his humble beginnings.

Speaking at a function Transforming Urban Landscape to mark the third anniversary of Amrut Yojana , Smart City project and PM Awas Yojana (Urban) here on Saturday, Mr Modi also recalled the contribution of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in urban development.

Atalji had said that we must preserve the old while building the new, and my government is working towards realising his dream. In fact, the full form of the Amrut Yojana is Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation. We are working towards improving the lives of the poor in urban areas and, by 2022, our aim is to ensure a house for every individual, he said.

The Prime Minister said that Mr Vajpayee had given a new direction to transforming the landscape of urban India and Lucknow had a close relation with this concept because this was Mr Vajpayees karambhoomi.

Mr Modi also lauded the efforts of chief minister Yogi Adityanath in speeding up Central government projects in which the beneficiaries were the poor.

In an obvious attack on Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav, the Prime Minister said that the previous government was not interested in utilising money for the poor. They are more interested in decorating their own bungalows, he remarked.

Earlier the Prime Minister visited an exhibition on Flagship Missions of Urban Development and interacted with 35 beneficiaries of PMAY (U) via video link from different cities of Uttar Pradesh. He also laid the foundation stone for various projects under the flagship missions.
Kristina Jackson, a 22-year-old African-American truck driver based in Raleigh, N.C., is exactly the type of person the trucking industry wants to attract. After graduating from college, she wanted a job that would allow her to travel and be financially independent. She never considered trucking until her boyfriends father, a trucker himself, encouraged her to give it a try.

A year into driving, she is constantly reminded that shes an outlier in the industry.

When people found out I was in trucking, they were shocked because of my gender and age, she said. The first thing you think of is an old white male. People say to me, You dont look like a trucker. I say, What does a trucker look like?

Ms. Jackson thinks that more young people could easily be persuaded to join the industry, adding that she has personally recruited 10 of her friends in their 20s. But she thinks recruiters so far have done a poor job of showcasing the young truckers in the industry.

When people think of truckers, they dont see our faces, Ms. Jackson said of young drivers.

The measure backed by the Trump administration seeks to change that and targets high school graduates, a demographic long considered by trucking companies that has remained largely out of recruiters reach.

If you are graduating from high school and you are not going into the military, you are not going to college, for all practical purposes, you cant go into trucking because you have to be at least 21 to drive interstate freight, said Bob Costello, the chief economist of the American Trucking Associations. Youre not going to sit around and twiddle your thumbs.

The administrations age proposal is the most controversial of the initiatives devised to attract new drivers. Some states already allow those under 21 to drive trucks within state lines, and the industry has lobbied to lower the interstate driving age similarly. But safety advocates have voiced opposition, arguing that the riskiest cohort of drivers should not be empowered to drive across state lines.

The trucking industry is hopeful that the pilot program, if successful, will eventually prompt the Trump administration to reduce the driving age for all types of people, not just those with military training. Elaine Chao, the transportation secretary, has publicly supported the program, which seeks to recruit 200 drivers under the age of 21 serving in the National Guard. The department will collect data on those drivers, such as accidents and miles driven, and then compare it with the data of other new drivers between the ages of 21 and 24.
Three people were shot to death at a Texas nursing home on Friday night and two others were found dead at a nearby residence, in what the authorities said were related episodes.

The police in Robstown, Tex., about 20 miles west of Corpus Christi, responded to an active shooting at the Retama Manor Nursing Center about 7 p.m. on Friday.

Three people were found dead at the nursing home, and the killer was among the dead, said Herman Rodriguez, a spokesman for the city. Officials did not specifically say how the killer had died, though they said the threat at the nursing home had been neutralized by the time officers arrived.

We are looking at a murder investigation, Chief Erasmo Flores of the Robstown Police Department said in a statement.
JALALABAD, Afghanistan  A nearly seven-hour assault by extremists on a school for midwives in eastern Afghanistan killed two people and wounded 11 others, but at the end of a harrowing day, the authorities managed to avert a far greater tragedy.

Most of the 67 young female students were evacuated quickly or fled to a fortified safe room on the grounds of the school in Jalalabad. Three of them were wounded, according to a police official. In addition, 12 young children in a day care center for the schools staff escaped harm, the authorities said.

Gholam Sanayi Stanikzai, the police chief for Nangarhar Province, said the attack ended after two suicide attackers, who had been fighting with automatic weapons and grenades, detonated their explosive vests as the police closed in.

Two male employees of the center were killed and five others wounded, he said, and three police officers were wounded, as well. All the students and the children were rescued.
CHENNAI, India  After school, when the 11-year-old girl rode her bicycle around the well-to-do apartment complex where she lived with her family in Chennai in southeastern India, an elevator attendant would find her and lead her to a basement, a rooftop or a public bathroom.

Once there, he would inject her with an orange liquid or feed her a cold drink likely laced with drugs to immobilize her, then tie a belt around her neck and rape her, she later told her older sister. He invited the complexs security guards, plumbers and electricians to join.

Over the course of seven months, they, too, raped and molested her, possibly dozens of times, using makeup to cover any marks they left on her, her sister said.

She was blackmailed on the edge of a pocketknife, the 11-year-old girls sister, a university student, said in an interview. She said the men had told her younger sister: If you tell your mother, we will kill her.
The National Assembly, Pakistans parliament, has 272 contested seats and Mr. Khans party has done far better than all the others, winning 115 seats.

But 115 seats is still short of an outright majority. Mr. Khan has been holding meeting after meeting, and his party leaders have been furiously making long and ingratiating phone calls to charm another 20 or so politicians to join their side. In Pakistan there are many smaller parties and independents, holding around 50 assembly seats.

Moonis Elahi, a leader of another party, said that he had come to an understanding with Mr. Khans party and that he was trying to persuade other politicians to join as well.

On Saturday, Mr. Khans party sounded supremely confident.

We already have the support of several winning candidates to form the federal government, said Naeem-ul-Haq, a party official.

He said that all Mr. Khan was waiting for was Pakistans president to call the next session of the National Assembly, which should happen by mid-August.

The biggest loser in these elections has been the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the former governing party that saw its parliamentary power reduced to 64 seats. Its leader, Nawaz Sharif, a three-time prime minister, was thrown in jail less than two weeks before the election on corruption charges, damaging the partys chances. Documents released through the Panama Papers leak helped build the case against Mr. Sharif.

But analysts say that many Pakistani politicians are corrupt and that the security services selectively targeted Mr. Sharif, his family and some of his allies because their leaders had found Mr. Sharif difficult to work with.
WASHINGTON  The Trump administration is urging American-backed Afghan troops to retreat from sparsely populated areas of the country, officials said, all but ensuring the Taliban will remain in control of vast stretches of the country.

The approach is outlined in a previously undisclosed part of the war strategy that President Trump announced last year, according to three officials who described the documents to The New York Times on the condition of anonymity. It is meant to protect military forces from attacks at isolated and vulnerable outposts, and focuses on protecting cities such as Kabul, the capital, and other population centers.

The withdrawal resembles strategies embraced by both the Bush and Obama administrations that have started and stuttered over the nearly 17-year war. It will effectively ensure that the Taliban and other insurgent groups will hold on to territory that they have already seized, leaving the government in Kabul to safeguard the capital and cities such as Kandahar, Kunduz, Mazar-i-Sharif and Jalalabad.

The retreat to the cities is a searing acknowledgment that the American-installed government in Afghanistan remains unable to lead and protect the countrys sprawling rural population. Over the years, as waves of American and NATO troops have come and left in repeated cycles, the government has slowly retrenched and ceded chunks of territory to the Taliban, cleaving Afghanistan into disparate parts and ensuring a conflict with no end in sight.
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan  In a reversal of a longstanding policy, American diplomats held face-to-face talks with Taliban representatives in Qatar a week ago without Afghan government officials present, two senior Taliban officials said on Saturday.

A State Department spokeswoman did not respond to questions about whether the talks took place. But the department did not deny that its diplomats had taken part in such talks  a significant shift in American strategy toward the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Any negotiations over the political future of Afghanistan will be between the Taliban and Afghan government, said the spokeswoman, Stephanie R. Newman.

The Afghan presidents office said on Saturday that it welcomed any support for peace efforts.

The talks took place in Doha, where the Taliban have long maintained an informal political office for the purpose of restarting the long-dormant peace process.
MADRID  The former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont returned from Germany to Belgium on Saturday after Spain failed in an attempt to extradite him on charges of rebellion over an illegal declaration of independence.

Mr. Puigdemont said he would continue traveling around Europe to raise support for the cause of Catalan independence. He fled to Belgium in October after Madrid imposed direct rule on the region after his separatist administration declared independence.

This will not be my last stop; this is not the end of my journey. I will travel around Europe to the four corners of the continent to defend our cause, he said at a news conference held in Brussels alongside the current Catalan leader, Quim Torra, who had traveled to Spain to greet him.

Mr. Puigdemont, 55, was arrested on March 25 at a gas station in the northern German region of Schleswig-Holstein while returning to Belgium after a journey to Finland.
A Turkish educator in Mongolia was briefly abducted on Friday, in what appeared to be the latest episode of a global campaign by Turkeys president to capture suspected allies of the exiled cleric accused of plotting a 2016 coup attempt.

The educator, Veysel Akcay, runs a network of international schools that has been associated with the exiled Turkish preacher Fethullah Gulen. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who blames Mr. Gulen for the failed coup, has purged tens of thousands of suspected Gulen supporters from government and military posts, and seized dozens of people from abroad.

Turkey has maintained that it extradites suspected Gulenists only with the permission of the foreign governments concerned. But the case of Mr. Akcay, who has lived in Mongolia for nearly 25 years, appears to cast doubt on that claim.

Mr. Akcay was near his apartment building in the capital, Ulan Bator, on Friday morning when he was bundled into a Toyota minivan, according to a colleague, Ganbat Batbuyan, who was in communication with the Mongolian police. That account was corroborated by two other people, including another colleague and a senior Mongolian official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.
That revelation was part of the impetus for the formation of the British parliamentary committee, which sought to determine whether Russia had applied similar efforts to sway the 2016 referendum on Britains exit from the European Union, known as Brexit.

Moscow has long sought to weaken the European Union, and the committees report cited research showing that in the six months before the referendum in June 2016, the Kremlins English-language outlets, Sputnik and Russia Today, published 261 articles supporting Britains withdrawal from the bloc. Those articles then somehow reached more users on Twitter than the content produced by the two main campaigns for Brexit.

Yet the committee complained in its report that a lack of disclosure by the internet companies had thwarted its efforts to assess the extent of Russias potentially hidden efforts to use false identities or polarizing messages on social media sites to manipulate public opinion.

Time and again, Facebook chose to avoid answering our written and oral questions, the report noted.

There has been a continual reluctance on the part of Facebook to conduct its own research on whether its organization has been used by Russia to influence others, the report said, describing a disconnect between the governments expressed concerns about foreign interference in elections, and tech companies intractability in recognizing the issue.

Officials at Facebook and Twitter, who were not immediately available for comment, have said that they cooperated fully with the committees, suggesting that British intelligence agencies failed to provide the kind of information about fake Russian accounts that enabled the companies to disclose more about the American case.

Most worrisome for the internet companies, however, are the committees recommendations to impose stricter regulations, disclosure requirements and penalties on the social media companies. The committee said the British government was expected to lay out proposals for a new regulation framework later this year. It not yet clear how much influence the committees recommendations may have on that process.
The Bengali Literary Society of St. Stephens College had invited Mamata Banerjee to an event on August 1.

New Delhi: The Trinamul Congress was left red-faced when the St. Stephens College withdrew an invite extended to West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to attend an event and interact with the students of the institute. The event, planned by one of the societies of the college, will be held on August 1.

Ms Banerjee, who is reaching the national Capital on Monday, was supposed to attend the event. According to reports the principal of the college denied permission and the invitation was eventually withdrawn on Friday.

It was learnt that The Bengali Literary Society of St. Stephens had invited Ms Banerjee to speak at the college on August 1 and Ms Banerjees office had consented. On Friday, Ms Banerjees office received a letter informing that the event had been cancelled. College principal John Varghese could not be contacted for a comment.

This is the third event in recent weeks that the chief minister expected to attend but was cancelled. In June, Ms Banerjee cancelled a visit to China. In late August, she was to fly to Chicago to address a group of monks on the anniversary of Swami Vivekanandas historic Chicago address. The organisers, however, cancelled the event after a senior monk of the order died.

An angry TMC lost no time to blame the BJP and RSS for the withdrawal of the invite. Reacting to the development, TMC spokesperson and leader of the party in the Rajya Sabha, Mr Derek OBrien said, First, the Vivekananda event in Chicago, then her China visit and now St. Stephens. Mamata Banerjee is giving the BJP-RSS sleepless nights. Let them keep trying, she cannot be silenced.

While her St. Stephens visit has been nixed Ms Banerjee after arriving in Delhi on Monday is expected to go ahead with her meeting with the Christian priests. She is also likely to visit Parliament on Tuesday.

Ms Banerjee is expected to be the chief guest at the Love Your Neighbour conference organised by Indias largest Christian body, the Catholic Bishops Conference of India, on July 31.

On course to forge a grand alliance against the BJP, Ms Banerjee will be meeting the Opposition leaders and invite them for the federal front rally to be held in Kolkata in January. While her party has been projecting her as the face of the Opposition, Ms Banerjee on Saturday made it clear that there would be no PM candidate from the Opposition. Please do not pick and choose any particular name to divide us, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief told reporters after her meeting with the NCP leader Mr Omar Abdullah on Saturday.

The last time when she was on Delhi, she along with some other chief ministers tried meet the Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal who was sitting in a dharna at the office of the Delhi LG.

It may be recalled that last week during an informal interaction women journalists the Congress president Mr Rahul Gandhi also indicated that his party was not averse to any woman leader becoming the Prime Minister of the country.
The mother of an Offaly boy undergoing chemotherapy in the UK has said he is showing signs of improvement.

Charlie started the treatment last week having been diagnosed with a rare form of the disease.

Charlie came to prominence last year ehen is mother Helen Lynch appealed for support to help her get him to the UK for a liver transplant before his cancer diagnosis.

He had undergone a seemingly successful liver transplant in March but was readmitted to hospital in May.

He was placed on life support last week as he had trouble with his lungs and kidneys.

Now, Helen Lynch has said, "Charlie has started showing signs of improvement since he started chemo."

"His chest is doing a lot better he's being weaned down on life support."

"My boy is fighting this all the way, my champ. He still has along way to go but please god he will get there," she added.

Charlie will continue his treatment at King's Hospital in the UK.
The full list of recommendations made by the GST Council

India looking at close to double digit growth this year: Sitharaman

India has faced Covid crisis with resilience and fortitude: Sitharaman

Too early to conclude on lessons learnt from Covid-19 crisis: Nirmala Sitharaman

Nirmala Sitharaman hands over 'Made In India' engines to Indian Army

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, July 28: Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today formally handed over two types of indigenously built high-power multi-fuel engines to the Army.

The engines manufactured by the Engine Factory, Avadi - a unit of Ordnance Factory Board, Department of Defence Production - were fully indigenised for the first time under the central government's Make in India programme.

At a function held at the factory, Ms Sitharaman formally handed over the documents of the two types of engines to Vice Chief of Army Staff Devaraj Anbu.

The first engine of 1000 HP engine - V92S2 engine - powers T-90 Bhisma Tank, the second engine - V-46-6 engine - powers the T-72 Ajeya Tank and its variants.

Though these engines were manufactured based on Russian design, India was depending on Moscow for its supply of critical assemblies like turbocharger, supercharger, fuel injection pumps.

The Engine Factory under the Make in India programme manufactured the two engines with 100 per cent local parts.

Earlier localisation level was about 73 per cent, officials said.

The indigenisation efforts by the Engine Factory would save Rs. 80 crore of the exchequer every year.

It also exhibits the self-reliance of the Ordnance Factory Board in manufacturing these engines in India without any import support, the officials added.

The Engine Factory has manufactured more than 12,000 engines since its inception in 1987.

PTI
Blames BJP for deteriorating situation in J&K.

Former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir Omar Abdulla talks with the media as he came at Nabanna to meet with chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday. (Photo: Asian age)

Kolkata: Calling for unity among the different anti-BJP political parties to build a solid Federal Front to stop the BJP from coming to power again at the Centre, National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah on Friday hinted at supporting Trinamul Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee as the prime ministerial candidate for the Lok Sabha Elections next year.

He also blamed the BJP for its numerous failures the deterioration of situation in J&K since 2014. Mr Abdullahs indication came close on the heels of the Congress message to extend support either to Ms Banerjee or BSP leader Mayawati as the PM candidate. In the evening, the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir met West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee at the state secretariat Nabanna for over half-an-hour.

After the meeting Mr Abdullah said, Of course no discussion between the two of us would be complete without discussing the prevailing situation in the country; the fear that prevails among the minority communities in the country and also the need that is felt for us to put together a united Front, a united face and take on the BJP in the forthcoming general elections which is due next year. So all these issues were discussed.

He elaborated, Fortunately, if you talk about a true Federal Front, we are made of parties which actually have no differences. There are parties which have leadership roles in the particular states. Lets take the example of my party: NC and her party. We have no differences to set aside. All we have to do is to agree where it is possible for us to cooperate with each other.

Giving a preview of the strategy Mr Abdullah continued, Mamata didi has kindly instructed her party MP Derek OBrien to raise issues relating to our state in the Rajya Sabha where our party does not have any representation. These are the small things we can do which can actually make Federal Front a reality. Obviously, going ahead other parties will have to be included.

According to him, We will try as far as possible to put aside whatever differences do exist and to put the best foot forward in terms of taking the fight on with the BJP. We have not given any name to it although it is said to be Federal Front. But no name has been discussed. Those parties which are against the BJP will be included in this endeavour. There will be no barrier.

Asked about Ms Banerjee as the PM candidate Mr Abdullah underlined, It will be wrong to think who will be included or excluded. Our effort will be to unify all the anti-BJP parties. The election dates are yet to be announced. We are yet to file nominations. We have not fought the elections yet. Our stress should be to give a fight to the BJP. After that we will sit to discuss all these issues.

Throwing a light on the plan Mr Abdullah, however, mentioned, Mamata didis effort is now to look after the well-being of Bengal. After that we will take her forward to that level so that whatever development works she undertook here can be done across the country also.

Describing him as a young leader Ms Banerjee later said, We love Kashmir which is our heart. Without Kashmir India cannot think of anything.

She added, We are grateful to Omar. We have high regards for his father Farooque Abullah. We are for all. Please dont pick and choose a particular name to divide us. All regional parties are working together. This central government is threatening every state. Dictatorship is their strategy. Let us sacrifice everything for the country and people. In 2019 the government will be of the people, for the people and by the people.
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Maharashtra: 33 dead after bus falls in Ambenali Ghat

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Thirty-three people died after a bus fell into a gorge in Ambenali Ghat in Raigad district on Saturday. Around 35 staff members of the Dapoli Agriculture University were headed to Mahabaleshwar when the bus met with an accident.

All passengers on the bus were all staff of Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth in Dapoli town.

Maharashtra government announces an ex-gratia of Rs 4 lakh to the kin of those who died in the accident.

PM Narendra Modi expressed condolences at the loss of lives due to a bus accident. The PMO tweeted condolence message, "Pained by the loss of lives due to a bus accident in Maharashtra's Raigad district. My condolences to those who lost their loved ones."

Pained by the loss of lives due to a bus accident in Maharashtra's Raigad district. My condolences to those who lost their loved ones: PM @narendramodi  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 28, 2018

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the administration was trying to provide all the necessary assistance.

Congress president Rahul Gandhi also expressed sorrow over the accident.

Fadnavis said he was pained to know about the loss of lives in the accident.

"Administration taking all efforts to provide the required assistance. Senior officials & emergency management systems in place," Fadnavis tweeted.
Rain fury sweeps through India: 27 dead in Kerala, 5 in Uttarakhand; several other states affected

Heavy downpour in Kerala for next 2 days; rainfall activity likely to reduce in Uttarakhand

Abolition of confession: Malankara Orthodox Church to protest against NCW on Aug 5

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Kochi, July 28: A day after sending a memorandum to PM Narendra Modi, Malankara Orthodox church has decided to observe protest against the National Commission for Women's proposal to abolish the practice of confessions in church. Malankara Orthodox Church to protest against the National Commission of Women (NCW) on August 5.

Kerala Catholic Bishops Council sent a memorandum to Union Government regarding NCW's proposal on Friday.

Archbishop of Latin Archdiocese of Trivandrum, Soosai Pakiam, told ANI, "NCW chairperson shouldn't dictate that you abolish this."

The National Commission for Women has said that the government must intervene to abolish the practice of confessions in Churches as they come in the way of security and safety of women. The observations were made while submitting a report on the two sex scandals in Churches in Kerala.

The Commission has sought a probe by a Central agency into the two sex scandals.

We have recommended a probe by a central agency into these scandals because such incidents are on the rise in Kerala, Rekha Sharma, chairperson of the NCW said.

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Story first published: Saturday, July 28, 2018, 17:48 [IST]
Amit Shah spends night at CRPF camp in Pulwama; says will see a peaceful J&K 'in our lifetime'

Another partition soon if lynchings in the name of cow continue, warns PDP leader

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Srinagar, July 28: Former Jammu and Kashmir deputy chief minister Muzaffar Hussain Baig on Saturday warned that the country would face another Partition soon if the incidents of lynching were not curbed.

Referring to the incidents of mob lynching in the name of cow vigilantism, Baig said, "We want to appeal to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that killing of Muslims in the name of cow be stopped. One partition has already taken place in 1947, (but) more could take place if these continue." He said the PDP had allied with the BJP not for power but to ensure that justice was done to Muslims across the country and to the Kashmiri people.

"We allied with the BJP so that they can trust Muslims. We allied with the BJP so that justice is done to Muslims and Kashmiris and talks with Pakistan can take place," he added.

Baig's reaction came after several lynchings on beef smuggling suspicion by cow vigilantes.

On July 21, a 28-year-old man Akbar Khan was allegedly beaten to death in Rajasthan's Alwar district by an agitated mob on suspicion of cow smuggling. He was taking some cows to his village through a forest near Lalawandi area when the locals thrashed him brutally.

The incidents of mob lynching have been on a rise in the country. As per data compiled by the Ministry of Home Affairs, 45 persons were killed in 40 cases of mob lynchingacross nine states between 2014 and 3 March, 2018.
Delhi: MAMC doctors call for strike after yet another assault

Doctors go on 24-hour nationwide strike against passage of NMC Bill in Lok Sabha

Doctors in Assam call for 24 hrs strike in protest against assault of senior medic

Maharashtra resident doctors to go on a strike from Friday

Doctors strike: OPD services shut, here is what is functioning in hospitals

India

oi-Staff

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Bengaluru, July 28: In view of the doctors' strike, the OPD services in Bengaluru will be shut today. The Indian Medical Association, Karnataka chapter has joined the the protest against the National Medical Commission Bill.

The OPD services will be shut between 6 am to 6 pm. The members headed by Dr H N Ravindra are opposing the licentiate exam proposed by the NMC Bill. The NMC bill proposed to reduce the government quota seats in medical colleges.

Dr Ravindra said that they have called for withdrawal of non-emergency services today, including OPD for 12 hours. However critical services including deliveries and inpatient care will be provided in all hospitals, he said.

In view of the strike, Pankaj Kumar Pandey, health commissioner, issued a circular, saying no staff in the government hospitals will be granted leave today.

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Story first published: Saturday, July 28, 2018, 10:42 [IST]
Our prosperity largely linked to our seas since we are an arriving maritime power: Defence Minister

India has over 5,000 years of history, can't consider Gandhi as father of nation: Savarkar's grandson

Will provide financial support to 7 new defence companies if required: Rajnath Singh

Draft proposal recommends life term and Rs 5 lakh fine in mob lynching case making

India

oi-Vinod

By Vinod

New Delhi, July 28: The meeting organized between the petitioner in the mob lynching case and the government, it was proposed by the government to make changes in the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in Murder and attempt to murder sections instead of making some new laws.

The government constituted a team of group of ministers (GoM) to frame laws to deal with mob lynching under Union Home minister Rajnath Singh.

Sources said that today's meeting was attended by Union Home secretary, law secretary, justice secretary, social justice secretary and NCKB representative.

This was an attempt on part of the central government to curb the increasing menace of mob lynching in the country and the Centre has started the process of bringing in an anti-lynching law.

The government-appointed a panel headed by Union home secretary Rajiv Gauba chaired the first meeting with advocate Anas Tanvir and social activist Tehseen Poonawalla, who is one of the petitioners in the Supreme Court.

The SC had earlier this month recommended to the Parliament to draft a law on this. Tushar Gandhi is another petitioner against mob lynching but he was not invited in the meeting.

According to the draft law that Anas Tanvir has submitted to the government, it has recommended life imprisonment and a fine of Rs 5 lakhs in case of death of the person in the mob lynching and making the offence cognisable and non-bailable.

The draft proposal also says in case of dereliction of duty on part of the police officer once any case of mob violence comes to their knowledge, they should be given imprisonment of six months and a fine of Rs 50,000.

The draft says, "It shall be the duty and responsibility of the state government for making arrangements for the protection of victims, and witnesses against any kind of intimidation, coercion or inducement or violence or threats of violence."

The panel of the home secretary will take note of the presentations from all the stakeholders and will submit its suggestions to the Home ministry within four weeks. Following this, the committee headed by Rajnath Singh would take over.

The GoM will deliberate upon suggestions made by the committee of bureaucrats and it will then submit a report to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on measures to be taken against lynching and mob violence.

The latest incident of lynching was reported from Rajasthan's Alwar district where a 28-year-old Rakbar Khan was lynched allegedly on suspicion of cow smuggling.

On July 17, 2018 the SC had made the Centre and the state governments accountable for mob lynching, and asked them to take steps to stop disseminating irresponsible and explosive messages and videos on social media.

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Story first published: Saturday, July 28, 2018, 20:43 [IST]
ED attaches 8,000 US dollars meant for recruiting Lashkar operatives

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, July 28: The Enforcement Directorate has attached foreign currency worth US dollars 8,000 which was recovered from a terrorist of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. The recovery was made under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.

The ED says that the amount was recovered from Mohammad Umer Madani, who was an active member of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. The agency further stated that the amount in question was meant to be used for further terror activities in India.

Madani, it may be recalled was arrested by the Special Cell of the Delhi police in 2009. The police said that he was responsible for the recruitment of over 50 persons into the Lashkar-e-Tayiba. For 8 years he had been actively recruiting people from north India, investigations had also found.

Further the police said that he was a close aide of Mohamamd Hafiz Saeed, the chief of the outfit and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, the operational commander of the Lashkar.

Madani recruited LeT militant Kamal Ansari, who was arrested in the Mumbai train blast case in 2006, and three other terrorists convicted for carrying explosives. Investigations also found that he was tasked with the recruitment of two people each from Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata. At the time of his arrest the police had recovered cash, fake currency and a Nepalese citizenship card.
Have you never winked in your life? Scindia asks journalists

India

pti-PTI

Bhopal, July 28: Congress leader Jyotiraditya Scindia advised the media today to focus on issues like farmer suicides and rapes instead of being concerned about party chief Rahul Gandhi's wink in Parliament.

"Farmers are committing suicide, women are being raped, Dalits are being oppressed, the lands of tribals are being snatched and unemployment is rising. In spite of all this, the fourth pillar of democracy (press) is more concerned about someone winking," he told reporters in Indore, while responding to questions about Mr Gandhi's wink in the Lok Sabha during the discussion on the no-confidence motion on July 20.

"Should the media focus on the issues raised by Rahul in Parliament or should winking be given priority? Was the wink such a big issue? Have you never winked in your life?" the Lok Sabha lawmaker asked.

Scindia described the recent increase in the minimum support price (MSP) for paddy and other crops by the centre as an "election bluff".

The MSP was arrived on the basis of an "improper" formula and, therefore, farmers will not get correct prices for their produce or labour, he added.

Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government over fuel prices, Mr Scindia said, "Before the last general elections, Modi had said that Rs. 15 lakh would be deposited in the accounts of every citizen by bringing back black money stashed abroad. But the government has realised Rs. 15 lakh crore from the public through costly petrol and diesel."
Here is why Mehul Choksi took citizenship of Antigua

India

oi-Staff

By Oneindia Staff Writer

New Delhi, July 28: Fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi, allegedly involved in over USD 2 billion scam in Punjab National Bank, claims he had taken Antigua citizenship last year to expand his business as the passport of the Caribbean nation provides visa-free travel to 132 countries, local media in Antigua reported.

In a statement issued by his attorney David Dorsett on the diamantaire's behalf, Choksi said there was no truth in the allegations levelled by the Indian government, the Daily Observer, a newspaper in Antigua, reported.

Choksi, who was allegedly the partner-in-crime of his nephew Nirav Modi in the banking fraud, refused to say anything further on the issue, on the advice of his lawyers.

Fly like Mehul Choksi: Has the fugitive businessman left Antigua

"I can however state that I lawfully applied to be registered as a citizen of Antigua and Barbuda under the Citizenship by Investment Program. During the course of my application I did all that was lawfully required of me to do. My application for citizenship was in due course approved," the statement published in the newspaper said.

Choksi had taken the citizenship of Antigua in November 2017, and oath of allegiance on January 15 this year, according to a local newspaper Antigua Observer.

"My application was motivated by my desire to expand my business interest in the Caribbean and to obtain visa-free travel access to 130 or so countries," the statement said, adding that he was in the United States in January 2018 for medical treatment.

"Having received treatment I am still in a state convalescence. That being the case I have decided to reside in Antigua and Barbuda," it read.

After it emerged that Choksi had moved to the Caribbean country in July and also taken a local passport, the CBI wrote to Antiguan authorities seeking the whereabouts of the fugitive diamantaire.

The CBI, in its communication sent to Antiguan authority, has cited diffusion notice issued by the Interpol against the fugitive businessman and sought details of his movement and his present location.

The Antigua Government has indicated that it may consider "a legitimate request" from India to send back Nirav Modi and Mehul Choksi.

Nirav Modi and Choksi are being investigated by the ED and the CBI after it was detected that they allegedly cheated the Punjab National Bank of more than Rs 13,400 crore with purported involvement of a few of the lender's employees.

The scam, which reportedly began in 2011, was detected in January this year, after which PNB officials reported it to the probe agencies. Choksi and Nirav Modi fled India in January this year nearly a fortnight before the scam was detected.

Choksi's actions show that he had planned his escape and subsequent life in advance knowing that the scam would blow up after the retirement of PNB employee Gokulnath Shetty, who was allegedly helping him with renewal of letters of undertaking, sources had said.
Abolish confessions in Churches, the priests are misusing it against women says NCW

I have reservations about the reservation system says NCW chief

India

oi-Staff

By Oneindia Staff Writer

New Delhi, July 28: National Commission for Women Chairperson Rekha Sharma said on that she has "reservations" about the reservation system, arguing that women should make their own way in politics as quotas would only help the daughters and wives of some politicians.

Her remarks come at a time opposition parties are urging the government to ensure that the women's reservation bill, which calls for reserving 33 per cent of seats in the Lok Sabha and all state legislative assemblies for women, is passed in the ongoing Monsoon session of Parliament.

"If you ask me, I have reservations about reservation, actually. It will be difficult for people like me and you to enter politics with the help of reservation. We have to pave our own path... (It will help only) daughters or wife of some politicians," she said at a discussion on "Political participation and representation of women in India' organised by the NCW.

Sharma also stressed on the need to empower women, "the other 50 per cent of the population".

"How can we grow if 50 per cent of the population is not empowered politically? It is not possible at all. It is the right of women to elect and get elected," she said.

The women panel chief rued that "women still discuss with their husband before exercising their franchise".

"They are generally oblivious to the candidates contesting the elections. They do not know on what basis a person should be elected. If we do not how to elect the right person, who will we ensure that we get our rights?" she asked.

Sharma said many women who have been elected at the panchayat level "have no clue about their work".

"They do not know how much money the government gives to a panchayat and what it is meant for. In many cases, their husbands, brothers or fathers put stamps on papers and attend meetings on their behalf," Sharma said.

The NCW chief appealed to women to keep their family concerns aside if they want to make a foray into politics.

She also stressed the need to change the mindset that husbands are not supposed to help women in their daily work.

"Power is needed to bring about a change" and it comes from politics, Sharma said.

"I understood this point when I was very young. To bring a significant, important change, you need power and it comes from politics. If you want to make new laws, you have to enter Parliament," she said.

The NCW chief said many educated people, especially the younger generation, are averse to joining politics, but "you have to get your hands dirty if you want to clean the sewer".

Sharma urged the women to "go beyond writing about social issues on Facebook" and become part of the system.

The 108th Constitution Amendment Bill, or the women's reservation bill, has been passed by the Rajya Sabha and awaits the nod of the Lok Sabha.

The seats are to be reserved for women on a rotation basis and would be determined by draw of lots, in such a way that a seat would be reserved only once in three consecutive general elections.

Opposition parties, including the Congress, have been urging the NDA government to ensure the passage of the Bill in the Monsoon Session of Parliament.

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Story first published: Saturday, July 28, 2018, 5:55 [IST]
Less than 2% Yamuna stretch accounts for 76 per cent of river pollution: Committee

Kejriwal holds emergency meet as Haryana releases more water in Yamuna; evacuation starts

India

oi-PTI

New Delhi, July 28: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal held an emergency meeting on Sarurday with top officials of his government, including Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, to take stock of the situation after the Yamuna crossed the danger mark here.

The water level reached 205.30 metres at 7 pm on Saturday, prompting authorities here to evacuate people from low-lying areas, officials said. Kejriwal said all departments have been put on high alert.

"Haryana has released 5 lakh cusec water. Called an emergency meeting to discuss the situation. This water likely to reach Delhi by tomorrow evening. Wherever administration evacuating people, they r requested to cooperate. All depts put on high alert. For any flood related emergency, control room no is 1077 (sic)," he tweeted.

The Yamuna water level at the Hathinikund barrage has crossed the danger mark of 90,000 cusec and till 7 pm, 5,63,186 cusec of water was released.

The water level of the Yamuna river at the Old Delhi Railway Bridge rose to 205.30 metres by 7 pm and is expected to rise even further, an official said.

"The water level of river Yamuna at Delhi Old Rly Bridge reached at 204.92 metres at 7 am on July 28 (above the warning level) and having rising trend," a statement issued in the morning had said.

An alert was sounded on Friday by the Delhi government after the water level of the Yamuna crossed the danger mark, an official said.

"All executive engineers/sector officers are directed to keep in close contact with the control room in relation to the discharge, water level at the Old Railway Bridge and the advisory or forecast from the Central Water Commission/MET, and requested to take appropriate measures/steps accordingly to avoid flood-like situation," an advisory from the authorities said.

"The CWC, Upper Yamuna Division, New Delhi has issued flood forecast for the Delhi Railway Bridge (North Delhi Dt NCT, Delhi). The water level of river Yamuna at Delhi Rly Bridge was 205 metres at 9 am on July 28 (warning level 204.00 m)," the advisory said.

A low pressure persists over western Uttar Pradesh and its neighbouring areas.

This system will bring widespread rainfall with isolated 'heavy to very heavy rainfall' over Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and northwest Madhya Pradesh during the next two days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

PTI

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Story first published: Saturday, July 28, 2018, 22:17 [IST]
The witness is a 'panch' witness in front of whom the house search of the two accused in the case was undertaken.

Mumbai: A witness in the June 2015 hooch tragedy case alleged before the trial court on Friday that he received a threat asking him not to speak against an accused in the court. The witness is a 'panch' witness in front of whom the house search of the two accused in the case was undertaken.

In June 2015, at least 90 persons had died as a result of consuming spurious alcohol in Malad. According to the police, the victims had suffered methanol poisoning that had been added to the liquor. A witness on his second day of the testimony on Friday told the judge that some youths had came to his society, enquired about him and then left a message for him that one of the accused in the case against whom he is deposing as a witness is working for some Mama and he should refrain from speaking against him in the court.

Special public prosecutor Pradeep Gharat also confirmed the news that a witness has complained to court about receiving a threat. Gharat said that the judge has asked the police to record the complaint in this regard and take appropriate action.

The witness was connected to the recovery of certain materials during house searches of two accused. Prosecution said police had recovered certain important material.
Maratha reservation: 'We don't trust the Govt', says Sakal Maratha Samaj representative

India

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Mumbai, July 28: After an all-party meeting, Maratha organization decided not to have further discussion with the Government over the issue of Maratha reservation.

Sakal Maratha Samaj representatives said, "We don't trust the Govt. They should take a decision, we don't want any further discussions with them."

"We demand apology and resignation from CM and minister Chandrakant Patil. We also demand Rs 50 Lakh compensation for families of deceased and action against cops who baton charged at women. If these demands are not met we'll launch 'jail bharo andolan' from August 1," stated the organisation.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis assured that all parties have the same opinion on Maratha Reservation issue and we have decided to take a unanimous stand on the matter.

He said, "Govt had framed a law for Maratha reservation but that was stayed by HC. We realized it's a special situation & reservation can be given only on the recommendation of the Backward commission. Unfortunately, the commission's 1st chairman passed away, we appointed a new & that took time."

"Appealed that situation should be peaceful and no one should take the extreme step. Requested Backward commission to submit its report & then we'll convene a special assembly session," Fadnavis said.

The CM instructed the DGP that cases registered against people who participated in protests should be taken back.

"Only the serious cases like attacking police personnel, indulging in arson etc. will not be taken back," he added.

We're ready to cooperate with colleges if they have any practical problem, but if they deliberately try to trouble Maratha students over fee concessions, the education department will cancel their registration: Maharashtra CM after all party meeting over #MarathaReservation issue pic.twitter.com/Aj9wm1Hjhr  ANI (@ANI) July 28, 2018

Five MLAs have so far resigned over the Maratha quota demand. Bharat Bhalke (Congress), Rahul Aher (BJP) and Dattatraya Bharne (NCP) resigned as legislators today, Maharashtra Assembly sources said.

It may be recalled that, in 2003-04, the National Commission for Backward Classes had rejected the demand for including the Maratha community in the category of OBC category.

The Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission had held in 2008 that "Marathas are both economically and politically a forward caste. They never faced social stigma to invite the backward class status."

A day before the bandh called by Maratha organisations, Chief Minister Fadnavis had called for an emergency high-level meeting to review the "progress" made by the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission on the issue.

However, the Maratha community claimed that the government need not wait for the commission to finalise its report as the Backward Class Commission was already considering the proposal to accord OBC status to Marathas, and its work was going on.
PM Modi must make statement in Parliament, clarify whether snooping was done: Chidambaram on Pegasus row

Possible axis of China, Pak and Taliban-controlled Afghanistan cause for worry: Cong leader Chidambaram

Chidambaram on India giving 2.5 crore Covid jabs: 'Why did we have to wait until the PMs birthday?'

MGNREGA has been cruelly neglected says Chidambaram

India

oi-Staff

By Oneindia Staff Writer

New Delhi, July 28: Congress leader P Chidambaram accused the Narendra Modi government of "cruelly neglecting" the MGNREGA and the Food Security Act, saying the two legislations were brought by the previous UPA government to put an end to hunger deaths like that of the three minor girls in Delhi.

The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) is a social security employment generation legislation which guarantees employment to the poor ensuring livelihood security and the National Food Security Act aims to provide subsidised food grains to the poor.

"MGNREGA was intended to put an end to hunger. FOOD SECURITY ACT was intended to put an end to starvation. Both have been cruelly neglected by the BJP government," Chidambaram tweeted.

The former finance and home minister said as long as there were children who tragically starved to death, "we have to hang our heads in shame and grief".

Three minor girls died allegedly due to starvation in east Delhi on Tuesday leading to a huge uproar.

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Story first published: Saturday, July 28, 2018, 7:31 [IST]
Murder of BJP leaders in Bharuch aimed at striking terror, creating communal divide

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

New Delhi, July 28: The National Investigation Agency has framed charges against 10 persons in connection with the Bharuch double murder conspiracy case. The NIA says that murder of two Hindu leaders at Bharuch was carried out to strike terror in the minds of the people.

The investigations into the murders of two BJP leaders in Bharuch, Gujarat revealed a larger modus operandi. While the accused persons all henchmen of the Dawood Ibrahim gang state that they were avenging the Godhra riots and the Babri Masjid demolition, the investigating team has learnt that the larger agenda was to create an atmosphere of communal hatred in the state of Gujarat.

The entire plot was hatched by Javed Chikna and his brother Abid who had in turn handed out Rs 50 lakh to murder the two BJP leaders.

Shirish Bangali, former Bharuch district BJP president and organisational leader, and Pragnesh Mistry, general secretary of the Bharuch BJP youth wing, were killed on November 2 by two masked gunmen.

It was found that the killings of the two leaders was meant to create communal tension in Gujarat. They expected that the Hindus would react to the killings and this would create a major communal divide in the state, investigators also found.

The underworld has been playing a key role in furthering communal tension in India. It goes beyond seeking revenge for an incident that occurred several years back. The main intention was to disrupt peace in the state and ensure that riots on a large scale took place, investigators have also learnt.

To execute the plan, Chikna had sent his brother Abid to Gujarat in May 2015. He contacted the shooters and even handed them part of the payment. He promised them a total of Rs 50 lakh for executing the murders. The men who were picked for the operation ran gambling dens in various parts of Gujarat.

Abid also instructed these men to identify more Hindu leaders in the state and carry out their execution. The police have learnt that they planned on a series of murders in a bid to agitate Hindus in the state so that it would lead to major communal riots. The Intelligence Bureau says that this is yet another attempt that had been made to increase communal tension in the country.

An incident in Yavatmal, Maharashtra also made an attempt to kick start a wave of communal incidents. In this incident, an alleged member of the SIMI at the behest of a religious preacher had stabbed a constable protesting the beef ban in the state.

The IB has warned that such incidents could occur in smaller towns of the country and if the police are not watchful there is a danger of the same spreading across the country.

The IB also says that groups from Pakistan in association with the underworld will look to launch such attacks in order to increase the communal divide in the country.

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Story first published: Saturday, July 28, 2018, 6:06 [IST]
Explained: What is 70:30 quota in Maharashtra's medical admissions, why was it removed?

27% reservation for OBCs, 10% for EWS students in med colleges under All India quota

National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill, explained

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

New Delhi, July 28: Health care services at several private hospitals across the country are likely to be hit as the IMA has called for suspension of all non-emergency services, including OPD for 12 hours, to protest against the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill today.

The NMC bill seeks to replace the apex medical education regulator, the Medical Council of India (MCI), with a new body National Medical Commission (NMC). It is against this bill that doctors have decided to go on strike, leaving the fate of patients requiring urgent treatment hanging in the balance.

Here is what National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill is:

The bill seeks to replace the Medical Council of India with National Medical Commission as top regulator of medical education in India.

The bill also seeks to put in place a common entrance exam and licentiate exam, which all medical graduates will have to clear to get practising licences.

It would also put in place a four-tier structure for the regulation of medical education. The 20 members National Medical Commission will be at the top of this structure.

NMC will be a 20 member body comprising a Chairperson, a member secretary, eight ex-officio members and 10 part-time members.

Out of the 8 ex-officio members, four shall be presidents of the boards constituted under the act and remaining four shall be nominees from three ministries viz. Health, Pharmaceuticals, HRD and one from Director General of Health Services.

The bill also has a provision for a common entrance exam and licentiate (exit) exam that medical graduates have to pass before practising or pursuing PG courses. For MBBS, students have to clear NEET, and before they step into practice, they must pass the exit exam.

The NMC can permit a medical professional to perform surgery or practise medicine without qualifying the National Licentiate Examination, in circumstances that may be specified in regulations.

According to the NMC Bill, the Ethics and Medical Registration Board can maintain a separate national register that would have the names of licensed AYUSH practitioners. The names of graduates of Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery and Bachelor of Homeopathic Medicine and Surgery are already registered with their respective councils and on taking the bridge course they would be incorporated in a separate register maintained by the NMC, resulting in dual registration with two councils, which is neither open nor permissible.

The government, under the National Medical Commission (NMC), can dictate guidelines for fees up to 40% of seats in private medical colleges. This is aimed at giving students relief from the exorbitant fees charged by these colleges and is a standout feature of the bill.
You have right to protest not right to block roads: SC to farmers

None seem to bother about people getting lynched says SC

India

oi-Staff

By Oneindia Staff Writer

New Delhi, July 28: The Supreme Court expressed concern over incidents of mob lynching in India triggered by messages spread through social media and said it appears that no one is "bothered".

A bench of justices Madan B Lokur and UU Lalit observed this when it was hearing a case related to blocking of videos of sexual offences on social sites.

"So many things are coming now a days on social media. People are getting lynched but no one seems to be bothered," the bench observed.

On July 17, another bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra had said that "horrendous acts of mobocracy" cannot be allowed to overrun the law of the land and had asked the Parliament to consider enacting a new law to sternly deal with mob lynching and cow vigilantism.

During the hearing today, the counsel representing internet search engines and social networking applications -- Google, Yahoo India Pvt Ltd, Microsoft Corporation (India) Pvt Ltd, Facebook Ireland Ltd and Whatsapp Inc -- informed the court that they had filed their reports on status of progress made by them in the matter.

The counsel appearing for the petitioners claimed before the bench that the Centre was not complying with the court's directions passed in the matter.

"It is the Union of India which has to comply with the law and the order of this court. People of India expects this at least from the Union of India," the bench observed and posted the matter for further hearing in fourth week of August.

The court was earlier informed that the Centre had identified keywords for child pornography, rape and gang rape content search and a list of keywords in English language has been compiled and circulated to content providers for further action.

The court was hearing the matter following a letter sent in 2015 to then the Chief Justice of India H L Dattu by Hyderabad-based NGO Prajwala, along with two rape videos in a pen drive.

The court had on its own taken cognisance of the letter and asked the CBI to launch a probe to apprehend the culprits.

Earlier, cyber security officials, functioning under the CBI, had told the bench that Internet was a "wild highway" and blocking objectionable content at the source was a technical challenge for which clear guidelines needed to be issued to stop circulation of such material.

The NGO's letter had also mooted the idea of maintaining a national sex offender's register which should contain details of persons convicted for offences like eve-teasing, stalking, molestation and other sexual assaults.

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Story first published: Saturday, July 28, 2018, 6:02 [IST]
Open ended warrant against Nirav Modi issued

India

oi-Staff

By Oneindia Staff Writer

Mumbai, July 28: A court here has issued an open-ended non-bailable warrant (NBW) against fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi and others in cases related to the over USD 2 billion fraud at the Punjab National Bank (PNB).

Special judge for Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) cases M S Azmi ordered the issuance of the NBW against Modi and 12 other absconding accused, including Modi's family members.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) had moved the court for an open-ended NBW against them, saying the previous warrant could not be executed in time and it expired yesterday.

The court had issued the previous NBW on June 12 after taking cognisance of a chargesheet filed by the ED.

An "open-ended" warrant does not have an expiry date.

Modi and others are being probed under various criminal laws after the fraud came to light in January.

Modi and others had allegedly fraudulently obtained Letters of Undertaking (LoUs) from the PNB in connivance with some bank officials. The fraud is pegged at over USD 2 billion.

An LoU is a guarantee given by an issuing bank to Indian banks that have branches abroad for granting a short-term credit to the applicant.

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Story first published: Saturday, July 28, 2018, 6:09 [IST]
Can dead Covid-19 patients transmit virus? Here's what expert has to say

Probe ordered after 36 cows found dead in Dwaraka

India

oi-Staff

By Oneindia Staff Writer

New Delhi, July 28: Thirty-six cows were found dead at a cowshed in the Najafgarh area in Dwarka today, following which the Delhi government ordered an inquiry into the matter.

The Chhawla police station received information around 12.30 pm that 36 cows have died at the gaushala in Ghumanhera village. The police visited the spot and found that out of 1,400 cows sheltered in the gaushala, 36 have died.

The gaushala is run by the Acharya Sushil Gosadan Trust. It is spread over 20 acres of land which was allotted in 1995. Around 20 labourers are working there, a senior police officer said.

As per the procedure, the police department sent a letter to Special Development Commissioner Kuldeep Singh Gangar to form a team of veterinary doctors for the inspection of the spot and post-mortem of the cows to establish the cause of death, the police officer said.

"A team of six veterinary doctors reached the gaushala and are conducting an enquiry into the cause of death and they will also conduct postmortem of all the dead cows. Once their report is submitted further legal action will be taken," the officer said.

Development Minister Gopal Rai took a serious view of the incident and ordered a detailed inquiry into the matter within 24 hours, an order said.

The order issued by the minister's Secretary Sanjeev Mittal read, "accordingly I am directed to request that an enquiry report in this regard. May kindly be submitted within 24 hours positively."

It has also been reported that the carcasses were lying in the gaushala, the order said.

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Story first published: Saturday, July 28, 2018, 7:52 [IST]
Members of farmers' body detained in Lucknow for trying to burn effigies of PM Modi, Shah

Proud to be 'bhaagidar', govt aims to provide housing for all by 2022: Modi in Lucknow

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Lucknow, July 28: Prime Minister Narendra Modi today hit back at Congress president Rahul Gandhi for his 'chowkidar-bhagidar' remark, saying he took it as a compliment. "These days I am dubbed a 'bhagidar' (partner) and not 'chowkidar' (watchman).

I feel honoured to be a 'bhagidar' of the problems of the poor," the prime minister said, referring to Gandhi's insinuation that he was a 'collaborator' in graft.

"I take this allegation as an honour, I am proud to be a 'bhagidar' of the pain suffered by the poor, the hardworking labour class, the agony of a sad mother, a poor farmer whose crops get destroyed by natural calamities, of soldiers who brave bone-chilling weather as well as scorching heat," he said.

"I am a 'bhagidar' of that poor family which is forced to sell its land for medical treatment, of the homeless, of illiterate children, and of the unemployed," he said.

The prime minister was speaking at an event here to mark the third anniversary of three government initiatives related to urban development. He said the government will provide a roof to all homeless people by 2022, reiterating his government's promise.

Modi will be back in Lucknow tomorrow to attend a groundbreaking ceremony for projects involving an investment of Rs 60,000 crore, pledged after an investors' summit here earlier this year.

In an attack on Modi on several issues, including the controversial Rafale jet deal, during the recent debate on the no-confidence motion against the government, Rahul Gandhi said the PM had promised to be a 'chowkidar' but had become a 'bhagidar.'

Modi was speaking at a programme here on "Transforming Urban Landscape", marking the third anniversary of three key government initiatives related to urban development -- Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), Atal Mission for Rejuvenation of Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and the Smart Cities Mission.

In his 30-minute speech, Modi highlighted his government's efforts to build houses for the poor.

"By 2022, we will try to ensure that everyone has a house. In order to meet this target the government has approved 54 lakh houses in the cities and also provided more than one crore houses to people in villages," he said.

He slammed the non-UP governments before Yogi Adityanath took over as the chief minister for their work culture. Modi said the previous governments in Uttar Pradesh prioritised bungalows for their leaders over homes for the poor.

"I know how people used to live earlier. That is because they (those in power) had a one-point programme, which was how to decorate their bungalows," Modi said, in an apparent reference to a row after former CM Akhilesh Yadav vacated his official accommodation.

Modi blamed the Congress governments for unplanned urban development, suggesting that they could have done better right after independence when the country didn't face such population growth. "The population was allowed to expand in an unplanned manner. Concrete jungles were allowed to grow.

Today, the entire country is bearing the brunt," he said. Lauding former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Modi said, "There is very close relationship of our mission and Lucknow city. Lucknow has been the karmabhoomi' of mahapurush' Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

He said Vajpayee made Lucknow the laboratory to improve urban life in the country. Modi laid out his five Es' mantra for the development of India's youth.
Rafale deal: Now, Rahul alleges Modi govt gave $20 billion benefits to Reliance Defence

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

New Delhi, July 28: It seems Congress president Rahul Gandhi is in no mood to stop attacking the Narendra Modi government over the alleged Rafale deal scam.

Once again on Friday, Rahul attacked Prime Minister Modi and alleged that the Centre gave Anil Ambani's Reliance Defence a profit of 20 billion US Dollars (Rs 130,000 cr) in the deal for Rafale fighter jets.

The Congress president on Friday tweeted, "Dear Trolls, I apologise for my earlier tweet in which I stated Mr 56's friend's JV, received 4 Billion US Dollars' of "off set" contracts. I forgot to add the 16 Billion US Dollars RAFALE "lifecycle" contract, 20 BILLION US Dollars is the actual benefit. So Sorry!! #130000CroreRafaleScam."

Dear Trolls,



I apologise for my earlier tweet in which I stated Mr 56s friends JV, received 4 Billion US$s of off set contracts.



I forgot to add the 16 Billion US$ RAFALE lifecycle contract 



20 BILLION US$, is the actual benefit.



So Sorry!!#130000CroreRafaleScam  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 27, 2018

On Wednesday, the 48-year-old Congress leader had also tweeted about the alleged defence scam which the Centre had strongly denied.

"Mr 56 does *love* someone after all. 1. Must wear a suit 2. Must have 45,000CR debt 3. Must have a TEN day old company. 4. Must never have made an aircraft in his life. Rewards of up to $4 billion in "off set" contracts if you fulfil said criteria," Rahul tweeted.

Mr 56 does  someone after all.



1. Must wear a suit

2. Must have 45,000CR debt

3. Must have a TEN day old company.

4. Must never have made an aircraft in his life.



Rewards of up to billion in off set contracts if you fulfil said criteria. https://t.co/243CSV1cep  Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 25, 2018

The Congress has been targeting the government over the fighter jet deal alleging wrongdoings in it. Calling the multi-crore Rafale jet deal "the biggest example of crony capitalism", the Congress on Friday alleged the Modi government has "compromised national interest" by helping a private entity to the tune of crores of rupees in violation of rules.

Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said PM Modi must give answers to the nation on the deal and his party wants him to speak on this issue in Parliament during the current monsoon session.

He alleged that the Modi government is "deceiving" the country by not giving answers about award of contract to a private player in this "mother of all defence deals".

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Story first published: Saturday, July 28, 2018, 8:21 [IST]
Shivraj Singh Chouhan allows bungalows to three ex-CMs, Digvijaya not in list

India

oi-Deepika

By Deepika

Bhopal, Juy 28: Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday allowed three former CMs-Uma Bharti, Kailash Chandra Joshi and Babulal Gaur, to retain govt bungalows using his 'discretionary powers'. However, Senior Congress leader Digvijay Singh's name was not included in the list.

Of the four, Uma Bharti is a minister in the Union government, Babulal Gaur is an MLA and Digvijaya Singh is a Rajya Sabha MP. Kailash Joshi is the only person who does not hold any office.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court had asked all former chief ministers of Madhya Pradesh who are occupying government accommodation for life to vacate them within one month.

The order was given on a petition filed by a law student Raunaq Yadav challenging the April 24, 2017 order of the state government that allowed all ex-CMs of the state to retain government accommodation for life and enjoy perks similar to that of a cabinet minister.

The petition had said that the state government had passed an ordinance to amend the MP Ministers (Salaries and Allowances) Act, 1972 to allow ex-CMs to continue living in government accommodation. The petition argued that this ordinance was against existing laws and also a waste of public money.

The petition also pointed out that the Supreme Court in an order (Uttar Pradesh vs Lok Prahari case) had held that allowing a former chief minister to retain government accommodation was wrong. Apart from the state government, former chief ministers Joshi, Bharti, Gaur and Singh were also made respondents.
One passenger makes miraculous escape; rescue operations on.

The ill-fated staff members of the university who were traveling in the bus.

Mumbai: Thirty-three employees of Dr Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, an agricultural university, lost their lives after the bus in which they were travelling plummeted into a 500-foot-deep gorge in Ambenali Ghat in Raigad district. Only a single passenger, Prakash Sawant-Desai (45), survived as he had jumped out off the vehicle after it spun out of control while the driver was navigating a sharp turn. Mr Sawant-Desai, a professor at the Dapoli-based university, climbed up from the valley and dialled the police to inform them about the accident.

Anil Paraskar, superintendent of police (SP), Raigad, said that the passengers were on their way to Mahabaleshwar, a hill station in Satara district in Western Maharashtra, for a picnic, when the driver lost control over the vehicle while negotiating a turn.

Subsequently, the rescue machinery swung into action and at least 12 ambulances and local trekking teams were rushed to the spot to search for more survivors. Since the bus had plunged into the deep gorge, the possibility of finding any survivors was bleak, officials said. National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams were pressed into action from Pune and Thane to assist the local administration in retrieving the bodies. The 25 strong team reached Ambenali Ghat around 6.30 pm.

The rains and treacherous route to the wreckage exacerbated search and rescue operations.

We have retrieved 15 bodies until now. An investigation into the accident will be carried out after all the bodies are retrieved. The accident took place post-noon and the retrieved bodies are being sent to civil hospital in Poladpur, said Mr Paraskar.

Preliminary details did not help ascertain the exact reason behind the incident, the police said, adding that there was no visibility issue or fog when the accident took place.

Mr Sawant said mud and loose stones on that particular stretch of the ghat road caused the bus tyres to skid, but the police stated that the bus did not slide into the gorge due to the deposits of sand on the turns as per the claim of Mr Desai.

Mr Desai, who spoke to media shortly after his ordeal, said, The bus had slipped while negotiating the lump of sand on the turn. Originally, 40 people were supposed to join the trip, but some of them opted out at the last moment because the bus was small and there was no space, Mr Sawant said. Six of my colleagues were lucky as they had to cancel their trip as the bus was a 33-seater and couldnt accommodate more persons, he said.

The bodies of 11 deceased have been handed over to their respective families. They were identified as Vikrant Shinde, Sachin Gimvankar, Nilesh Tambe, Santosh Zhagade, Rajendra Virkud, Sanju Zhagade, Prashant Bhambade, Ratnakar Pagade, Sachin Zagade, Pramod Shigwan and Sunil Kadam.

Bharat Shitole, additional collector (Raigad), said rescue operations are underway keeping in mind the obstacles presented by the terrain.
Universities to improve quality of teaching learning process and NAAC accreditation for all

India

oi-Oneindia Staff

By Oneindia Staff

New Delhi, July 28: Vice-Chancellors from across the country on Saturday reaffirmed their commitment to improve quality of teaching learning process and achieving the UGC Quality Mandate in Universities and the affiliated institutions by 2020. They also make a resolution for NAAC accreditation for all institutions by 2022.

A 10-point resolution was unanimously adopted in the meeting chaired by Union minister for human resources development Prakash Javadekar, central university Vice-Chancellors, state universities, deemed to be universities and private universities. They also committed themselves to transforming the universities into institutions engaged in cutting edge research with quality teaching.

The Conference noted the necessity to improve the employability of the students by providing them market related skills, apart from the subject related knowledge. It also noted that improving opportunities to the students in backward areas can best be improved through digital learning platforms like SWAYAM. The Vice-Chancellors also affirmed to create awareness about ethics in research and provisions for checking plagiarism and to weed out predatory journals.

The one-of-its-kind 3-day Conference on "Research and Innovation" for the Vice-Chancellors & Directors of Higher Educational Institutions was organised from July 26-28 and inaugurated by Shri Prakash Javadekar, the Minister for Human Resource Development with Dr. Satya Pal Singh, MoS for Human Resource Development as Guest of Honour. The Secretary (Higher Education), MHRD, the Chairman, UGC, Chairman, AICTE, officials of MHRD and the UGC and the Vice-Chancellors of Central Universities, State Public Universities, Deemed to be Universities, State Private Universities, Directors of Central Institutions such as IITs, IIMs, IISc, NITs, IIITs, IISERs and other central institutions participated in the conference.

More than 600 Vice-Chancellors and Directors attended the conference besides Prakash Javadekar and Minister of state for Human Resource Development Satya Pal Singh. This was the first conference of its kind on 'Research and Innovation', where all universities and institutions such IITs, IIMs, IISc, NITs, IIITs, IISERs and other central institutions participated, under one roof.

HRD Minister honoured Vijay Bhatkar, an architect of development of India's first supercomputer PARAM in 1990. The HRD Minister also released the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) report 2017-18, Higher Education Profile of All India and States for the year 2017-18 and Swachh Campus- A manual for Swachhta Ranking of Higher Education Institutions.

Javadekar said that all research projects including IMPRINT will be opened to teachers and students of all universities. The selection will be strictly on merit, on competitive basis. In order to check plagiarism, Turnitin software will be made available at no cost basis to all Universities in the country. The Minister also informed that e-ShodhSindhu mass bargain journals will now be available for all Universities at affordable cost. He further said that from now onwards apart from government funded universities, private universities / deemed to be universities can also participate in GIAN initiative, however, the expenditure in case of non-government institutions will be borne by the respective institution.

Satya Pal Singh said that research & innovation is the key factor in revolutionising the higher education scenario of the country. He further said that in order to improve quality of the education 'Guru' must be respected more than any staff in all the educational institutions. He also pointed out that Indian higher educational institutions apply very less number of patent applications; it must be increased especially in Indian knowledge systems if we want to become a World leader (Vishwa Guru) in the field of education again.

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Story first published: Saturday, July 28, 2018, 19:28 [IST]
Why Islamic State could spoil the Chinese party in Afghanistan

Afghanistan: Explosions reported in Nangarhar city

International

oi-Chennabasaveshwar

By Chennabasaveshwar

Numerous explosions heard near the midwife training centre in Afghanistan's Nangarhar city on Saturday. Gunfire was also heard in the ongoing attack close to a midwife training centre.

Attaullah Khogyani, governor's spokesman, confirmed the ongoing attack in Nangarhar to Afghan media.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack, but most of the recent assaults in the city have been carried out by the Islamic State group, which has a stronghold in Nangarhar.

"The Afghan security forces have cordoned off the area and... launched an operation to gun down the attackers," provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said. Several midwives have been rescued, he added.
Should India opt out of India-Pakistan T20 World Cup? Who said what

Failure to demonstrate action: Why Pakistan remains in the FATF Grey List

Danger to stability in South Asia due to China's ambitions, Sino-Pak nexus: Gen Bipin Rawat

DNA of those who burst firecrackers in India on Pakistans win cannot be Indian: Anil Vij

J-K cops detain 6 over derogatory video after Pakistan's victory against India in T20 match

Pakistan elections 2018: Poll panel finally declares results; PTI largest party with 115 seats

International

oi-Shubham

By Shubham

Islamabad, July 28: More than two days after the general elections were held in Pakistan, the country's election commission on Saturday, June 28, released the complete preliminary results.

As per the Election Commission of Pakistan's published results, Imran Khan's Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) finished as the largest party, winning 115 of 270 National Assembly seats where elections were held. The last ruling party - Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) or PML-N - won 64 seats while another major national party Pakistan People's 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.

PML-N emerged as the largest party in its bastion Punjab, winning 129 of 295 seats while the PTI got 123 seats there.

The PPP won 76 seats in the 130-member strong assembly in Sindh province. PTI finished with 23 seats in this province. The GDA, which aimed at breaking the PPP's monopoly in Sindh, won 11 seats.

In Khyber-Pakhtunkwa, PTI won 66 out of 97 seats. The MMA ended as the distant third with 10 seats.

In Balochistan, the BAP emerged as the largest party with 15 seats while the MMA ended with nine seats.

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Story first published: Saturday, July 28, 2018, 16:52 [IST]
DU cut off: 52k students have secured admission so far

Man involved in trafficking of Nepali girls arrested

New Delhi

oi-Staff

By Oneindia Staff Writer

New Delhi, July 28: A 32-year-old man involved in Munirka human trafficking case where 16 Nepali women were rescued has been arrested, the police said.

The accused, identified as Naushad, was arrested from Munirka and a car used in commission of crime has been seized, they added.

On interrogation, the accused accepted his role in the trafficking network.

In his statement to the police, Naushad said he used to ferry girls between airports, bus stands, railway stations. His main task, besides transportation, was to ensure secrecy of the movement, said Devender Arya, Deputy Commissioner of Police, (southwest) Delhi.

The accused has also given leads to the police following which a police team has been sent to Uttar Pradesh to nab the remaining accused persons, he said.

Active cooperation has also been sought from the Nepal Embassy in India in connection with the case, the DCP said.

The statements of the victims have been recorded before the magistrate, Arya said.

On July 25, the Delhi Commission for Women along with Delhi Police had rescued 16 women who were allegedly trafficked from Nepal and to be taken to Gulf countries from southwest Delhi's Munirka.

The Police were informed by the DCW at around 9 pm on July 24.

Subsequently, the police conducted a raid in the area at around 1:30 am on July 25, following which 16 women were rescued.

The DCW had alleged that these women were promised jobs in Kuwait.

The state woman's panel had alleged that the traffickers had been running the racket in Munirka for the last eight months, and several women had already been sent abroad.

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Banerjee has announced plans to hold a federal rally in Kolkata next January for which she is inviting leaders of all regional parties.

Having been ridiculed by the media for a prolonged period, Congress president Rahul Gandhi has finally started getting some positive press coverage. His fiery speech in the Lok Sabha on the no-confidence motion was generally applauded and the surprise hug he gave Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not ceased to be a conversation piece since then.

As part of this image makeover, the Congress communication department subsequently invited women journalists for a special interaction with the party chief. A relaxed Rahul Gandhi spent over two hours at this meeting, answering everyones questions patiently and candidly.

During the course of this question-answer session, he mentioned how the press had treated him unfairly, following unquestioningly the narrative of the Bharatiya Janata Party which referred to him disparagingly as Pappu and called him dumb and incompetent. But now that he had answered their questions at length, Mr Gandhi said, it was up to the journalists to decide if the BJPs comments were really in order. The jury is now out and it is to be seen if this exercise will help change the widely held perception about Mr Gandhi.

Federalism is the buzzword in the Opposition camp these days. Ever since Telangana chief minister K. Chandrashekar Rao floated the idea of bringing together other regional parties under the umbrella of a federal front, Trinamul Congress chief and West Bengal chief minister has taken it upon her to follow up on this move. Taking a cue from the Trinamul chief, DMK leader M.K. Stalin has organised a meet on federalism in August for which he has invited Mamata Banerjee. She has accepted the invitation. At the same time, a private initiative called Think Federal has been launched in Kolkata.

Representatives of various political parties, including the Congress, the Biju Janata Dal and the AIADMK, agreed to participate in a discussion organised by this group, which is learnt to have the blessings of the Trinamul government. Meanwhile, Ms Banerjee has announced plans to hold a federal rally in Kolkata next January for which she is inviting leaders of all regional parties. Apparently, it is a strategic move on her part to hold the rally five months later. Party insiders said this was to give all the invitees sufficient time to pencil in this programme in their calendar. It will also indicate the line-up of parties which are joining the Opposition camp. For instance, if a leader accepts an invitation and then does not turn up for the rally, it is a clear message that he or she is not with the Opposition grouping as they cannot offer the excuse that they were not given sufficient notice.

The war between former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and Haryana Congress president Ashok Tanwar has intensified now that the next Lok Sabha election is less than a year away. Mr Hooda is keen to head the partys state unit as he would then be in the driving seat with regards to the distribution of tickets and it would also make him the automatic choice for the chief ministers post in case the party wins the next Assembly poll. The two leaders have been busy organising rallies and yatras across the state to showcase their organisational capabilities and their connect with the people. Mr Hooda is particularly keen to get this post now that he has been kept out of the recently-reconstituted Congress Working Committee. Mr Hooda has since stepped up efforts to demonstrate his strength among the party legislators to Congress president Rahul Gandhi.

In an effort to press Mr Hoodas case, Congress MLAs from Haryana recently arrived at the party chiefs residence to convey their views to him in person. However, Mr Gandhi did not entertain them. When the MLAs told him that they wanted a word with him about a state-related issue, the Congress president told them off, saying, I know what you have to tell me, and then left with a quick Namaste.

Union minister for road transport Nitin Gadkari may be a favourite of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, the BJPs ideological mentor, but he appears to be a lonely figure in his own government. At least, thats the impression gathered by Opposition parties in the Rajya Sabha, which have raised objections to the Motor Vehicles Bill being piloted by Mr Gadkari. The government has been forced to defer the bill as a united and adamant Opposition has made it clear that they will only cooperate if their amendments are accepted. Mr Gadkari, who has staked his prestige on the passage of this bill, has been pleading with the Opposition for their help and has even called up West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee to get a green signal from her. But Mr Gadkari seems to have been left to fend for himself as he is receiving little help from his colleagues in convincing the Opposition. In fact, the indifferent attitude of parliamentary managers and other senior BJP leaders suggested to the Opposition that the government is perhaps not serious about this bill.
Double-digit growth in its data center chip business fell short of analysts expectations.

Intel Corp shares fell 9 per cent on Friday after the chipmakers upbeat results were overshadowed by concerns that Advanced Micro Devices Inc may be chiselling off-market share from its high-margin data centre business.

The companys profit and revenue beat Wall Street targets, but double-digit growth in its data centre chip business fell short of analysts expectations and disappointed investors.

Intel stock continues to be under pressure as investors are looking past near-term outperformance and struggling with the storyline of potential future share loss to AMD, Barclays analysts said.

AMD shares are up 8 per cent at $19.88 in early trade. Intel shares were trading down at $47.61.

Intel was at the forefront of selling chips used in making servers where data is stored remotely or in so-called cloud servers. Over the past few years, as more companies rushed to the cloud to move data online, Intel enjoyed healthy cloud revenue growth.

Amazon, which beat profit estimates on Thursday due to its cloud business, and Microsoft have been the main beneficiaries of the cloud adoption.

Intels Xeon server chips had dominated the market but started facing competition last year following AMDs re-entry into the business after a decade with EPYC processors that earned positive reviews.

EPYC chips outperformed Xeon in certain tasks and provided better performance-per-dollar than what Intel chips offered, according to tests done by Anandtech after the launch last year.

AMD currently has a small share of the server business, but any gain will hamper Intels plans to focus on data centres to diversify away from a stagnating PC business, where it is the market leader.

Intel has delayed the launch of its next-generation 10nm processors due to production woes, which could erode its market share further.

While AMD is already sampling its 7nm processors and will launch them later this year, Intels 10nm chips will hit the market next year.

We see the stock as increasingly binary around their ability to hold off AMD in the data centre, Morgan Stanley analysts said of Intel. We dont see the stock outperforming if AMD successfully takes 3-4 points of server market share in the next 2 quarters and gets to 10% by the end of next year.

At least four brokerages cut their price targets on Intel stock, while six brokerages had raised their targets on AMD stock after its strong quarterly results earlier this week, mainly due to high demand for server chips.

(Source)
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 28)  President Rodrigo Duterte will meet with the leaders of two factions of PDP-Laban in a bid to unite the ruling party.

This was confirmed by Special Assistant to the President Bong Go in an interview with CNN Philippines Friday night.

Go said Duterte will call for a party caucus in August, but the date has yet to be set.

He added that the two leaders claiming to be PDP-Laban President, Senator Koko Pimentel and National Council Chairman Rogelio Garcia are willing to meet with the President.

When asked who Duterte recognizes as PDP-Laban President, Go said, "only the President can answer (that)."

"But Koko Pimentel says he's the one registered with the Comelec (Commission on Elections)," Go said, adding that Duterte wants to resolve the division among party members in time for the 2019 midterm elections.

Confusion rose Friday after PDP-Laban's national council elected Garcia as party president in an assembly attended by thousands of supposed regional party members.

Pimentel, however, refused to acknowledge the event, calling it unauthorized. He maintained there is no change in leadership.

The shakeup at PDP-Laban comes after the ouster of its secretary-general, Davao del Norte 1st District Representative Pantaleon Alvarez, as House Speaker.

Pampanga Representative Gloria Macapagal Arroyo replaced Alvarez after more than 200 lawmakers voted for a change in leadership on Monday, the same day the President delivered his State of the Nation Address.

The national council also unseated Alvarez, while it kept Go as the party's auditor.

There are also talks of congressmen leaving PDP-Laban to jump ship to Lakas-CMD, Arroyo's political party before she pledged allegiance to PDP-Laban in October 2017.

House Deputy Speaker Rolando Andaya said Lakas-CMD may possibly merge with Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio's regional party, Hugpong ng Pagbabago.

Duterte-Carpio on Friday said her regional party is willing to forge alliances with other political groups.

Some congressmen said Duterte-Carpio made calls asking lawmakers to oust Alvarez and replace him with Arroyo.

Malacanang dismissed speculations the President had a hand in the controversial change of leadership at the House of Representatives.
Modi also expressed his willingness to send NSA Ajit Doval to China this year for the special representative-level boundary talks.

Johannesburg: Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the Brics Summit, and held productive talks to maintain the momentum generated by his recent meeting with the two leaders.

During the talks with Mr Xi, Prime Minister Modi agreed that the Chinese defence minister will visit India next month. Mr Modi also expressed his willingness to send National Security Adviser Ajit Doval to China this year for the special representative-level boundary talks.

It is important to maintain this momentum and for this we should, at our level, regularly review our relationship and give proper instructions whenever required, Mr Modi told Mr Xi in his opening remarks.

In his meeting with Mr Putin on Friday, Mr Modi, who is here to attend the Brics Summit, emphasised that the friendship between the two countries was deep-rooted.

Wide-ranging and productive talks with President Putin. Indias friendship with Russia is deep-rooted and our countries will continue working together in multiple sectors. @Kremlin-Russia, Prime Minister Modi said in a tweet.

The two leaders had a comprehensive discussion on bilateral issues of mutual interest, especially in trade, investment, energy, defence and tourism, ministry of external affairs spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said in a tweet later. Mr Modi was meeting Mr Putin for a third time after their informal summit in the Black Sea coastal city of Sochi in Russia in May.

Mr Modis meeting with Mr Xi on Thursday night was also the third time in nearly three months last evening after their two-day informal summit in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late April.
Russia is under punitive sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union and wants them lifted.

The White House said no agreements were reached in the one-on-one meeting with Putin other than having national security teams meet. (Photo: AP | File)

Washington/Johannesburg: Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Friday he wanted US President Donald Trump to be his guest in Moscow, an idea that the White House welcomed despite lingering criticism over the Helsinki summit.

The Russian leader said on a visit to South Africa for an economic conference that "appropriate conditions" were required in both countries for another summit to take place, an apparent reference to a political uproar in the United States last week after the two men met.

The White House said Trump was enthusiastic about another summit. Trump has said he wants to improve ties between the two nuclear powers, whose relations have dipped to a post-Cold War low in recent years.

"President Trump looks forward to having President Putin to Washington after the first of the year, and he is open to visiting Moscow upon receiving a formal invitation," White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

Separately, US Secretary of Defence Jim Mattis said he was considering the possibility of the first talks in years between the defence chiefs of the United States and Russia. Mattis said there had been no decision.

Trump was criticized at home for failing to confront Putin publicly over Moscow's interference in the 2016 US election, and for seeming to contradict his own intelligence agencies on the threat from Russia. Trump has defended his conduct.

The White House said no agreements were reached in the one-on-one meeting with Putin other than having national security teams meet. No policy changes came out of the summit, Mattis said on Friday, adding he had also not been given new direction on Syria.

Moscow's military support starting in 2015 of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian war, Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and the conclusions of US intelligence agencies that Russia meddled in the election have soured relations.

Russia is under punitive sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union and wants them lifted.

Putin told reporters on Friday: "We need for the appropriate conditions to exist, to be created, including in our countries" for more US-Russia summits.

Putin went on to say Russia was ready to greet Trump in Moscow. "Be my guest. He has such an invitation, I told him that."

Following the backlash in the United States over Trump's cordial public tone with Putin in Helsinki, US and Russian officials backed away from Trump's proposal to schedule a follow-up meeting in Washington in the fall.

The White House on Wednesday postponed that invitation until next year, when a federal investigation of Russian election interference could be finished.

The last time Trump was in the Russian capital was as a private citizen in 2013 to attend a Miss Universe beauty pageant. That visit surfaced in the FBI investigation of Russian election activities in the form of a dossier containing allegations that Trump had spent time with Russian prostitutes there. Trump has denied the allegations.

Efforts by both Trump and Putin to achieve detente have been fiercely resisted by US lawmakers, including some in Trump's own Republican Party, accusing him of being too friendly toward Putin, whom they consider an adversary of the United States.

US intelligence agencies concluded last year that Moscow waged an influence campaign to help Trump win the White House by hacking into Democratic Party computers and using fake social media accounts to denigrate Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton.

Trump, whose advisers have warned him Russia continues its interference in the run-up to congressional elections in November, met with his national security aides on Friday to discuss election security.

A White House statement said the meeting addressed threats to elections "from malign foreign actors" and efforts on providing cyber security assistance to state and local authorities.

Trump has repeatedly denied his campaign colluded with Russia and has characterized the investigation by Special Counsel Robert Mueller as a witch hunt. Trump is infuriated by any suggestion he might owe his election victory to Russia.

Trump on Friday denied knowing in advance about a 2016 meeting his son Donald Trump Jr and other campaign staff had at Trump Tower with a group of Russians who offered damaging information on Clinton. A CNN report said his longtime lawyer Michael Cohen planned to tell Mueller that Trump did know of the meeting.
The photojournalist said that the couple didnt object to picture and wouldnt tolerate being a victim of moral policing.

Image was posted on Facebook and Instagram by Jibon Ahmed but later the post was deleted. (Photo: Screengrab)

Bangladesh: A photo went viral of a couple kissing in rains immediately after a photojournalist Jibon Ahmed posted on his Facebook page on Monday.

Many people reacted positively to the photo which was clicked on the University of Dhaka campus which has witnessed protests and violent incidents in the past few months. Three students were suspended in July for allegedly assaulting two students who were holding hands.

Others found the picture indecent where extremism is deepening in Bangladesh which is a Muslim majority country.

The photojournalist said that the couple didnt object to picture and wouldnt tolerate being a victim of moral policing.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Ahmed said that he was searching for photographs near the University on Monday and when he saw the couple lip kissing he captured it and sent it to his newsroom. He was disappointed when the editors decided not to run it citing that it would prompt a negative response.

In his reply to the editors, Ahmed said, "I said, no, you cannot portray this photo negatively, because I found it a symbol of pure love.

In spite of the editors rejection, he posted the picture on Instagram and Facebook, where within an hour it was shared 5,000 times.

Next day, some of his fellow photographers roughed him up and his boss asked him to return his ID and official laptop without giving him a proper reason for firing him.

Editor, on the other hand, said, when Ahmed told his colleagues about the attack, they supported him and decided to take legal action.

Nur-e-Naharin, editor of Purboposhchimbd said, "The attack was not related to the professional duties. These attacks were the result of his personal transactions." The editor also said that he didnt come to the office and has been absent from office since July 24th.

Ahmed said he was "disheartened" at how the matter was handled.

"The couple had a spontaneous lip kiss; I found nothing wrong in them or no obscenity. Of course, I am disheartened. Some people in our country became educated only in papers, but they are not educated in a real sense. They failed to realize the underlying meaning of my photograph. I am also a bit worried about myself," Ahmed added.

Tanim Ahmed, a special correspondent wrote an opinion piece with a headline Kissing liberty goodbye? in Dhaka Tribune that during suffocating times, a photo like this instills hope that all is not yet lost.
Khan has still about three weeks to prepare for government before the mandatory session of the National Assembly is called after elections.

The PTI has so far bagged 115 of the 270 National Assembly (NA) seats on which elections were held, according to the Election Commission of Pakistan which has released results on 267 seats. (Photo: File)

Islamabad: Imran Khan has started reaching out to leaders of different political parties and independent candidates to form the next government in Pakistan after his party won a majority of seats in Parliament, according to his party officials.

Khan led his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to victory in the parliamentary elections this week, amid a growing consensus among South Asia experts and Pakistan-observers that it was greatly influenced and meddled by the strong Pakistani Army.

The PTI has so far bagged 115 of the 270 National Assembly (NA) seats on which elections were held, according to the Election Commission of Pakistan which has released results on 267 seats.

Pakistan's NA - the lower house of Parliament - comprises a total of 342 members, of which 272 are directly elected.

A party can only form the government if it manages to secure 172 seats in total.

Jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 64 and former president Asif Ali Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 43 seats are placed at number two and three respectively.

Independent candidates have won 13 seats.

Khan on Friday met Saudi ambassador Nawaf Saeed Ahmad al-Malilki in Islamabad.

The two discussed bilateral relations and agreed to further deepen the ties during the tenure of the PTI government.

According to PTI sources, Khan has consulted his party leaders about the federal cabinet and formation of government in Punjab where PML-N is also in the race.

Khan's confidante Jehangir Khan Tarin, who has been tasked to contact independent candidates, talked with Muttahida Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQMP) leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui who later refused to attend a multi-party meeting which rejected the election results.

The multi-party meeting called to devise a joint strategy over alleged rigging in the general elections rejected the results of the poll on Friday, demanding a "transparent" re-election.

Read: Paks All Parties Conference announces protests demanding fresh elections

The meeting in Islamabad was chaired by PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif and Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) president Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

Meanwhile, Khan also took his party leaders in confidence about government formation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa where the PTI has won a majority of seats and will easily form the government.

It is likely to retain former chief minister Pervaiz Khattak for the top job in the province despite some reservations about his performance.

Khattak is considered to be close to Khan since school days as both studied in the same Atchison College in Lahore.

The party is also trying to have a coalition government in Balochistan.

Khan has still about three weeks to prepare for the government before the mandatory session of the National Assembly (NA) is called after elections.

As per the law, the President of Pakistan should convene the maiden NA session within 21 days of the election to give oaths to lawmakers and elect the new speaker.
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The economic rise of China and indeed the whole of what is condescending referred to as developing economies, which are growing at a faster rate than the economies of the developed nations of the First World, has been written about for more than a decade, e.g. The Economist Magazine in 2007, [1] e.g. When China Rules the World -The End of the Western World and the Birth of a New Global Order by Martin Jacques, 2009; e.g. Nobel Prize in Economics, Joseph Stiglitz referring to our present century as "The Chinese Century;" e.g. China Rising - Capitalist Roads Socialist Destinations, by Jeff Brown, 2015.

If we peoples historians are aware of this, the investment analysts of the wealthiest investors would have to be even more so keenly aware of changing future economic conditions. It's for certain that at least some high tech research calculating investment advisors see this future yawning.

In July of 2016, OpEdNews, US, Countercurrents, India, and Minority Perspective, UK, published Economic Hegemony Loss to China Looming! Powerful Investors Have Trump Call for an About Face The title reflected something that the author thought was logical if not at times noticeable.

The author surmised that the 2016 media managed US election process seemed a playing out in public of indecision within the rich one tenth of one percent, who rule America and much of the world, indecision over whether to switch to less profitable investing in their home base America, or to continue wildly enriching themselves, heavily investing in the much higher profit rendering low wage economies of the rest of the world, thereby accelerating forward the arrival of the time when those Third World nations led by China will overtake the US and Europe in economic and political power and demand equity.

Boisterous billionaire Republican candidate Donald Trump seemed to have been designated by a forward thinking substantial group of investors to present a demand that government force America's wealth controlling deep-pockets to invest in a United States suffering from neglect, rather than continue to promote investing more profitably in the low wage economies of developing nations regardless of the consequences of speeding up development of future contenders for world power. The handwriting is on the wall that reads 'pale skin folks will not keep power over six times as many folks of color toned skin for all that much longer. The willingness of humanity to continue to accept the white world's profitable investments in genocide will end when enough economic power shifts from Europeans, and their descendant nations, to the six sevenths of humanity they have plundered. Realizing this, a block of important investors within the 1/10th of 1% who rule America have been in fraternal confrontation with the war establishment and its CIA-fed media pushing for investment in the neglected US instead of in the low wage 3rd World that China will soon lead

The more perspicacious among them must be thinking logically, 'Better begin investing in our home countries and see that the world power shift coming to overtake us comes later rather than sooner, while we make our economies better able to deal with the inevitable change in world leadership.'

However, it is obvious that a much more substantial and powerful faction of the important investors ruling the US and much of the world have their investments so heavily weighted in the super lucrative military industrial complex, that they must desperately count on the West's overkill military dominance to assure Western control of the world far into the foreseeable future. Investors locked into the financial-industrial-military complex must surely be more powerful than investors, whose portfolios are weighted in production, trade and acquisitions. A glance at our vastly over militarized world, continuing massively destructive wars and steady impoverishment of half of mankind would seem to be sufficient to assume the primacy of investments in the profitable but criminal use of the Armed Forces, CIA and CIA-controlled US mainstream media.

Since predatory investments go hand in hand with bombings and invasions, the Military Industrial Complex faction had to be virulently opposed to forcing investors to invest in the USA, as Trump had been trumpeting to an ever widening audience, ergo the wild efforts of its CIA controlled newscasters, commentators and talk shows to denigrate Trump in whatever desperate method possible for his rocking the wars industry's boat containing trillions of dollars invested in future military conflict.

After Trump was elected, CIA-fed US mainstream media put out an amazing amount of talk of assassination and about how Trump was keeping his own bodyguards. Since the Helsinki Summit, US media, with one exception, has again promoted in a calculated frenzy, a climate of pending violence threatening President Trump for having talked too peacefully with his Russian counterpart President Vladimir Putin.

That exception being FOX, which with its three TV channels and other media, is defending Trump and has been doing so even before his election. The CIA, which has controlled all US major media and most of all Western media since its Operation Mockingbird[2] in the early 1950s, must be allowing FOX to do so.

We have heard guests interviewed on FOX Channel, like retired US Army Colonel, author and consultant, Douglas Macgregor referring to themselves as adhering to the nationalist faction supporting President Trump 'because the president is confronting ultimately disastrous internationalist foreign policies.'

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In the summer of 1968, near the end of a post-college tour of Western Europe, I traveled to Prague, as the guest of a Czech student I had met earlier in my trip. The city, along with the rest of what was then known as Czecholslovakia,, was a satellite of the old Soviet Union, which was dominated by Russia.

While the city architecturally looked a lot like it does today, with magnificent grandiose old buildings and churches, it was a gray place, devoid of the color or bustle of commerce and excitement befitting not only its magnificent history, but of other European cities immediately to the west, in (then) West Germany, France, and the U.K.

Auto traffic was sparse because few could afford a car. Pedestrian traffic in the city center was sparse as well, likely because there was little to buy in badly stocked stores that depended on Russia for food, clothing, and appliances, and didn't trade with the West.

There were very few tourists, because there was little to do beyond admire the grandiose architecture. I recall going to a bar with my host, who joked cynically that there was only one kind of cola drink to order anywhere, an overly sweet concoction he called "Socialist Coca Cola." There was only one beer available as well, though at least this one, a locally produced version, was pretty good.

When the Soviet Union collapsed in 1989, the Eastern European countries like Czechoslovakia that had been Soviet vassal states turned westward, and rushed to join the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). They were destitute economically, having been squeezed dry by their Russian overseers, and they had had enough of endless political repression that included severe limits on freedom of speech and the press, and an absence of free elections. Some, like Czechoslovakia, first went through internal turmoil that led to the creation of new states (Czech Republic and Slovakia). But whatever the particulars of their reorganizations, not a single one wanted to remain associated with Russia, the main remnant of the Soviet Union.

I recount this history because of the new romanticism surrounding Russia among some on the right, led by our president. The notion of allying ourselves more closely with Russia, and less closely with our long-time allies and trading partners in North America, Europe, and Asia has been building since Trump's campaign for president, when he several times expressed his admiration of Russia's president, Vladimir Putin. Trump put something of an exclamation point on the buildup two weeks ago when he stood next to Putin in Helsinki and practically kissed his rear end while telling him and America's allies that he believed Putin at least as much as his own intelligence services concerning Russian meddling in America's 2016 election. He even went further, seeming to endorse a Putin suggestion that American and Russian security services team up to investigate Russian interference in the U.S. electoral process.

Why would Trump bash old allies like Germany, France, Canada, and the UK, along with newer trading partners like China and Japan, and reserve his admiration mainly for Russia, which has regularly opposed American interests around the world, and has little to offer in trade because its economy is a wreck? Its main exports are oil and gas, and its economy is about half the size of California's. Because it is considered one of the most corrupt countries in the world (US News ranks it #8 among its top 10 most corrupt countries), many established international corporations don't want to do business there.

It is anti-democratic in nearly every sense of the word. Putin won't allow any serious opponents to run against him in what amount to mock elections. The media is closely monitored by the government, and journalists have been harassed and murdered. Opposition groups, even including rock stars like p*ssy Riot, have been tried and jailed for expressing anti-Putin sentiments.

In other words, politically and economically, things haven't changed much since the dark Soviet days of 1968. Sure, it isn't "communist" any longer. But even if it is now more appropriately labeled "fascist," it somehow remains a beacon of opportunity to our president. How could that be?

It's certainly easy to see why Putin would love closer economic ties with the U.S. We have seemingly endless wealth he would love to transfer to Russia, much as the old Soviet Union sucked Czechoslovakia and its other eastern European satellites dry.

What does the U.S. stand to gain from a closer relationship with Russia? Access to its oil and gas reserves? We have become ever more energy independent, so have no need to access energy so far from our shores. Cheaper vodka supplies? Or perhaps we could learn something about more effectively hacking the security secrets of our old allies. In other words, it's a lot easier to understand why Putin wants to forge closer ties with us than it is to understand why Trump wants to suck up to Putin. Unless Trump has a debt to repay to his Russian chum.
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From Mondoweiss

Alan Dershowitz was on i24 News Wednesday night and said his new memoir is about "how much more difficult it is today" to defend Israel than it used to be. That chore now includes defending Israel's new law making the country the "nation state of the Jewish people," in which only one people have the right of self-determination, Jews.

"I think it was not a necessary law to pass. Look everybody knows Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people. If you want to pass a basic law, you just pass a law incorporating the brilliant declaration of independence of Israel, which talks about equal rights for all. "I don't think there was a need to have a basic law declaring what everybody knows. It only gives ammunition to the opposition. "People who think this will help in Israeli Diaspora relations are wrong."

To do that, Get the rabbis out of marriage and the law, and who is a Jew, that's the way to improve Israel-Diaspora relations. But this law is "unnecessarily provocative" and "a mistake."

"Look I don't think anybody doubts that Israel is the nation state of the Jewish people. Of course the criticism of it is hypocritical, coming from the Palestinians. They declare Palestine to be an Islamic state governed by sharia law, where no Jew can buy property or be a citizen. That's really racist. I mean, almost all the Arab countries are Muslim states. But I didn't see any reason for enacting this law on Israel's 70th anniversary. I think it was a mistake."

Dershowitz speaks for the centrist/liberal Israel lobby. The Israel lobby group the ADL also said that the law was unnecessary and would complicate Israeli-Diaspora relations

"...we are troubled by the fact that the law, which celebrates the fundamental Jewish nature of the state, raises significant questions about the government's long-term commitment to its pluralistic identity and democratic nature."

The liberal Zionist group J Street also said last week that the law was unnecessary and that Israel was "moving in an increasingly theocratic, authoritarian and xenophobic direction."

"There was no need for this legislation: Israel was already a Jewish homeland... And this government -- along with every other government in Israel's history -- already gave preference to the development of the Jewish population. Its main purpose appears to be shoring up Prime Minister Netanyahu's status with right-wing voters ahead of possible elections later this year or next."

The concern about relations between Israel and American Jews touches on a provision in the law under which Israel can interfere in Jewish life in the United States.

"The state shall act to preserve the cultural, historical and religious heritage of the Jewish people among Jews in the Diaspora."

Times of Israel reports that the Finance Minister of Israel also regards the law as a "mistake" though he voted in favor of it.

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Dimitri Lascaris Reporting From Spain Aboard The Freedom Flotilla to Gaza

(Image by YouTube, Channel: TheRealNews) Details DMCA



Below is a copy of the letter those aboard the Gaza Freedom Flotilla sent to Secretary of State Mike Pampeo after a 70-day trip from Scandinavia...

****************

July 26, 2018

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

US Department of State

Washington, DC

The 2018 Gaza Freedom Flotilla after a 70-day trip from Scandinavia stopping in ports in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Spain and Italy, departed Sicily and is now heading across the Mediterranean to Gaza to challenge the illegal Israeli blockade of Gaza.

The representative of the United States, U.S. Navy survivor of the 1967 Israeli attack on the USS Liberty ship, Joe Meadors, is on board the ship Al Awda with a number of other prominent human rights advocates from around the world.

The flotilla carries 116 boxes of urgently needed medical supplies, primarily sterile gauze and sutures, to be gifted to Gaza's over-stretched health services due to the execution of 140 Palestinians in Gaza and severe injury to over 16,000 Palestinians by the Israeli Occupation Forces in the past two months during the Friday Great Return Marches.

The three boats of the flotilla will be gifted to Gaza's fishers who are now having to fish within three miles of the shore due to Israel's lethal enforcement of a Israeli declared fishing zone in Gaza waters. One boat is a fishing trawler and two are sailboats.

Like previous similar humanitarian missions, this flotilla with unarmed, civilian human rights activists poses no threat to Israel. Israel's own actions toward Palestinians is what causes Israel to feel threatened.

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From American Herald Tribune

American Herald Tribune: You believe that no agreement with Washington can ever be trusted; what does history teaches us in this regard?

Paul Craig Roberts: There is a t-shirt that says: "Sure you can trust the government -- just ask an Indian." Some governments are more trustworthy than others. Reagan, for example, said he would end stagflation and we did. Reagan said that he wanted to end the Cold War, and we did. Eisenhower warned us about the danger to democracy presented by the military/industrial complex, and we ignored it.

It seems that when there are chances for big gains in power and the government is in the hands of those with undeclared agendas, the agendas are imposed by deceiving the people. For example, "The War on Terror" is really a war on Muslim countries with foreign policies independent of Washington and Israel; it is a war on US civil liberty, and a war on Middle Eastern countries in the way of Israeli territorial expansion. But Washington pretends that it is a "war for democracy," a "war for freedom from terrorism," etc.

The Russians have learned, or should have, that no agreement with Washington means anything. When Russia agreed to the reunification of Germany, Russia was promised that NATO would not move one inch to the East, but the Clinton regime placed NATO on Russia's borders. The Bush regime flushed down the toilet the Anti-ABM treaty, and Russia is now threatened with ABM missile sites on its borders.

You don't have to look very hard to see that Washington's word is in most instances worthless.

Why do you call EU states, US vassals? What are the costs for Europeans?

All of Europe, Canada, the UK, Australia, Japan, and South Korea are Washington's vassals. They are not permitted independent foreign or economic policies. Europe, for example, has no interest whatsoever in conflict with Russia, but they are forced into conflict by Washington. NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which since the disappearance of the Soviet Union no longer has any purpose, serves as cover for Washington's war crimes in the Middle East, Serbia, and North Africa. European leaders, with the exception of Charles deGaulle, serve Washington, not their own peoples. None of Washington's vassals are sovereign states.

If France, for example, was a sovereign state, it would be France's decision whether a French bank lent to companies doing business with Iran. But France is not sovereign, and the large French bank was forced to pay billions of dollars to Washington for financing companies doing business with Iran. Another example is the French ship-building company that built under contract with Russia military ships that Washington prevented the French shipbuilder from delivering. A week or so ago the government of Germany was informed by Washington that if it participated in the construction of the Nord 2 gas pipeline from Russia, Germany would be sanctioned.

The examples are endless.

You have repeatedly criticized Russia for trying to appease Washington; why do you believe Russia is compromising?

I have not criticized Russia for turning the other cheek in an attempt to reach agreement with Washington. I respect Russia's effort to avoid war. What I have done is to raise the question whether this effort avoids war or leads to war. I have expressed concern that Putin's high tolerance for insults and provocations encourages more of the same until Russia has no alternative other than war. I have suggested that perhaps putting down a firm Russian foot would send a message that would alarm Europe over Washington's aggression and cause Europe to adopt an independent policy toward Russia that would reduce the likelihood of war.

Can Russia walk a fine line between Iran and Israel in Syria?

If the Russian government does not understand that Washington's policy in the Middle East is determined by Israel, the Russian government is out to lunch. Israel wants Syria and Iran destabilized, because these two countries are the suppliers of Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia that has twice frustrated Israel's attempted occupation of southern Lebanon. Israel wants the water resources that are there. If Israel can use the US military to clear her foes out of the way, Israel can go about her business unimpeded.

The Russian government surely understands that a destabilized Iran is even more of a threat to Russia than a destabilized Syria.

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by Joseph Nguyen Van

Caritas got 30 seminarians involved in its initiatives. The Church has 22 mission centres, whose activities are aimed at assisting and supporting poor families and abandoned children in the hardest-to-reach areas of the city.

Ho Chi Minh City (AsiaNews)  Saint Joseph Major Seminary in Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) has dedicated this years summer pastoral programme to disabled people, abandoned children, orphans, senior citizens and migrant families.

The event is organised in cooperation with the archdiocesan Caritas. "We try to put into practice the apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium of Pope Francis", some of the students told AsiaNews.

The diocese has 336 diocesan priests and 288 religious priests who serve about 640,000 people, almost 8 per cent of the local population.

According to 2016 statistics, Ho Chi Minh City has 8.3 million residents, plus another 4.5 million migrants. The latter include some 300,000 Catholics.

The city is one of Vietnams most important economic hubs. However, there are many social problems that the Church has to cope with in her mission.

The Archdiocese of Saigon has 22 mission centres, whose activities are aimed at assisting and supporting poor families and abandoned children in the hardest-to-reach areas of the city.

At a difficult time for the Vietnamese economy, many parishes are also engaged in pastoral outreach towards all those in need, Catholics and non-Catholics alike.

Since 2 July, Caritas Saigon has involved 30 seminarians in its initiatives. This gives the students an opportunity to improve their approach to the care of the poor, as well as orphaned or disabled children. At the same time, the future priests can help the elderly and sick people.

Through the programme, they come into contact with the spirituality, the method and the communication skills deployed by Caritas in the archdioceses parishes and communities, planning and implementing social and charity work.

"After taking part in the social project, I felt Gods love through the poor, the disabled and the children who live in situations of great poverty. I learnt to listen to them," said Brother John Thai, speaking about his experience in the training course.

For his part, Vincent Khanh said I worked with the Binh Trieu Social Centre, dedicating myself to teaching. From the children I learnt their spirit of optimism and their innocence."

Joseph Martino Vinh took part in the activities of the Thien Phuoc Social Centre, home to hundreds of disabled children.

"They have great difficulty speaking and expressing their thoughts, the seminarian explained. However, through fun games and practical stories, our group has taught them 'basic humanity and the Gospel'. I must learn from my experience to bring the Good News to these disadvantaged children."

Joseph Dung also worked with disabled children at the Hoang Mai Warm Shelter. "These children are limited in intellect and communication. So, I tried to teach some of them some music and how to play the organ."

Peter Khoa "followed Sister Elisabeth Maria Tuyet for a week". The nun is responsible for helping the disabled in the archdiocese. "We visited families and children with cerebral palsy who live in some parishes in the city," the student said.

"We have admired the volunteers, simple parishioners who engage in these apostolates, said Dominique Nguyen. We have admired the parents, who silently sacrifice everything to help their children. They have prayed, worked with social workers, with Caritas staff to take care of unfortunate children with true love."
Congress Switchboard: 202-224-3121

"The book is very well written...very important in this individualized capitalistic illusory world that enslaves us all within its tentacles and forces us to believe that we are atomized and disconnected beings. Indigenous Lakota people end prayers with "Mitakuye Oyasin...all my relations..." An ancient African proverb states, "A person is a person only because of and with others..." This instructive text is very useful for us living in what we are always told is the modern world, because it reconnects us all and reminds us that ultimately, the endless circle of the Universe binds and connects us all and the Earth is Mother to us with no hierarchy...the ones at the bottom matter the most...like the ants who build mounds and hills, all working in unison and harmony...the book teaches that we were created for community and our destiny is organic community...anything else is doomed..."



Julian Kunnie, Professor of Religious Studies/Classics at the University of Arizona and author of The Cost of Globalization: Dangers to the Earth and Its People
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Duluth, Minnesota (OpEdNews) July 27, 2018: As everybody who reads OEN knows, Rob Kall loves top-down/bottom-up imagery. From time to time, I have called his attention to somebody else's use of this imagery.

For example, I recently called his attention to the American Jesuit theologian and public intellectual John Courtney Murray (1904-1967; doctorate in Catholic theology, Gregorian University in Rome, 1937) use of top-down/bottom-up imagery in his 1966 essay titled "The Declaration on Religious Freedom," which is reprinted in the book Bridging the Sacred and the Secular: Selected Writings of John Courtney Murray, S.J., edited by J. Leon Hooper, S.J. (Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press, 1994, pages 187-199; the imagery occurs on page 196).

As OEN readers may know, Murray was instrumental in formulating the Second Vatican Council's Declaration on Religious Freedom. As a theology professor at the Jesuit theologate in Woodstock, Maryland, Murray had devoted a lot of time pondering the words "We the people," the famous opening words of the preamble of the U.S. Constitution -- and the words of certain other famous American documents such as the Declaration of Independence and President Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address. Murray did most of his writing as a cutting-edge Catholic theologian and public intellectual in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.

The Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) famously describes the Roman Catholic Church as the people of God -- seemingly echoing the expression "We the people."

I am deliberately belaboring the American context of Murray's thought to make the point that no Roman Catholic theologian in Europe or elsewhere would have pondered the American experiment in representative democracy as deeply as Murray did. On the contrary, the French Revolution and its aftermath tended to be uppermost in the thought of Roman Catholic theologians in Europe -- along with World War I and World War II. Indeed, there were certain European theologians whose scholarly researches influenced the Second Vatican Council. But their influence emerges in certain other Council documents.

From 1941 to his death in 1967 from a heart attack, Murray served as the editor-in-chief of the Jesuit-sponsored journal Theological Studies. In the academic year 1951-1952, Murray was a visiting professor in philosophy at Yale University. In the fall of 1960, his book We Hold These Truths: Catholic Reflections on the American Proposition was published. In December of 1960, Murray was featured on the cover of Time (dated December 12, 1960).

Because I am belaboring the American context of Murray's thought, I should also mention that certain American Protestants questioned the loyalty of American Catholics -- because of their loyalty to the pope. This line of argument against American Catholics was developed by Paul Blanshard (1892-1980) in his books American Freedom and Catholic Power (1949; 2nd ed., 1958) and Communism, Democracy, and Catholic Power (1951). Incidentally, he also published the book Paul Blanshard on Vatican II (1966).

Nevertheless, even though I am belaboring the American context of Murray's thought, I should also mention the influence of the thought of the Canadian Jesuit philosopher and theologian Bernard Lonergan (1904-1984; doctorate in Catholic theology, Gregorian University in Rome, 1946 [delayed by WWII]) on Murray's thought. As the editor-in-chief of the Jesuit-sponsored journal Theological Studies, Murray had published a series of studies by Lonergan of the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas (1) volume 7 (1946): pages 349-392; (2) volume 8 (1947): pages 35-79; (3) volume 8 (1947): pages 404-444; (4) volume 10 (1949): pages 3-40; and (5) volume 10 (1949): pages 359-393.

In the 1994 book Bridging the Sacred and the Secular, mentioned above, the American Jesuit theologian J. Leon Hooper repeatedly points out Murray's use of Lonergan's distinction between understanding and judgment, on the one hand, and, on the other, his distinction between classic and historical thought (for example, pages 222 and 334, note 2).

Lonergan carefully develops the distinction between understanding and judgment in his philosophical masterpiece Insight: A Study of Human Understanding, 5th ed. (University of Toronto Press, 1992; orig. ed., 1957).

As Hooper notes, Lonergan presented the paper "The Transition from a Classicist World View to Historical-Mindedness" to the Canon Law Society of America in 1966 -- and it was first published in 1967 (page 334, note 2).

According to Hooper, "Several months earlier Murray received a draft of what eventually became Lonergan's 'The Transition from a Classicist World View to Historical-Mindedness'" (page 334, note 2). In any event, Murray uses Lonergan's terminology in his 1967 talk in Toledo (page 335).

Now, Murray positioned himself to be instrumental in formulating that famous Vatican II Declaration on Religious Freedom by studying and writing extensively about the "immense body of [Pope] Leo XIII's writings" (page 197). Pope Leo XIII was born in 1810; he became pope in 1978; he died in 1903. Leo XIII's influential encyclical Aeterni patris (1879) launched the enormous twentieth-century Catholic revival of interest in the thought of St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274).

Because the Roman Catholic Church has a hierarchical governance structure, perhaps we could describe the enormous influence of his encyclical as top-down. In any event, American Catholics educated in American Catholic colleges and universities in, roughly, the first half of the twentieth century -- before the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) -- studied Thomistic philosophy in detail in the core curriculum of required philosophy courses. Your guess is as good as mine as to how many American Catholic students actually grasped the import of those philosophy courses. However, the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) downgraded Thomism a wee bit.

Now, according to Murray, in Leo XIII's conception, "society is to be built and rendered virtuous from the top down, as it were" (page 196).

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It's been 10 months -- nearly one year -- since Hurricanes Irma and Maria devastated Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.



The federal response has been appalling. Many Puerto Ricans still lack reliable electricity, clean water, or medical care. Many people are still living in homes with tarps as roofs.



For months, I've heard from people across Massachusetts and around the country who are desperately worried about their loved ones back home. Thousands of Puerto Ricans have been forced to abandon their homes and leave for the mainland United States.



Rebuilding efforts have been slow. A big reason why: Long before the hurricanes hit, Puerto Rico was already being crushed with debt that had been snapped up by Wall Street vulture funds. Few investors now want to put money into reconstruction if the debt means the islands don't have a realistic chance at recovering.





Two weeks ago, along with Senators Bob Menendez, Sherrod Brown, and Catherine Cortez Masto, I questioned CFPB nominee Kathy Kraninger about her role in the botched response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico. I'm still waiting for those answers.



Last month, I introduced legislation with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Nydia Velazquez, and Rep. Bennie Thompson to establish a 9/11-style independent commission to investigate the federal response to Hurricanes Irma and Maria in Puerto Rico.



In May, I cosponsored a bill that would require FEMA and HUD to activate the Disaster Housing Assistance Program in Puerto Rico -- the same program they activated after Katrina and Sandy to help provide stable housing for survivors.



I have repeatedly pushed FEMA and the Department of Health and Human Services about their inability or unwillingness to ensure an accurate death toll in Puerto Rico, which hurts our ability to prepare for future disasters and prevents victims from receiving important benefits.



And in November 2017, I introduced a comprehensive plan along with Senator Bernie Sanders and colleagues to address the immediate humanitarian needs in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands and ensure that the islands not only recover, but are able to rebuild in a way that empowers them to thrive.

But we also cannot allow people to suffer while Wall Street vulture funds block or delay Puerto Rico's recovery. I've been fighting for debt relief for Puerto Rico for years -- and they need it now more than ever.






Facebook

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Like Stephen Leacock's Lord Ronald, who "flung himself upon his horse and rode madly off in all directions," I am now following 71 pages and profiles on Facebook, all of which (I think) have something to do with saving the planet from environmental holocaust and/or preventing nuclear war. I have also set up at least five FB pages, including my own profile and the earlier versions of pages whose names I have changed for various reasons.

Need I say that the revolution is still outstanding? Of course one must be patient. Likes and friends are not made in a day. I spend most of my time on FB trying to hook up with old friends and acquaintances, a daunting task for an army brat who went to two grade schools and four different high schools. The farthest back I have gotten is to a guy I knew -- not well -- in the 8th grade.

How I envy my wife, who went to the same high school here in Kassel, Germany that her mother went to and still has friends, one or two anyway, from grade school. We drive by the apartment house where she was born every time we go to the train station, which doesn't faze her, but it never fails to impress me. Man, what roots! That must be cool. To be from someplace.

I have already written about my frustration in trying to join a local peace group, and I don't want to belabor the subject, that is, I don't want to, but I have to, which I guess means I do want to. After all it is a matter of saving the planet and preventing nuclear war, right? So after I set up the FB page for my local peace group, which they unanimously refused to have any part of, I set up another one for the national organization, including a "closed" group where we could communicate in private. So far it is still an exercise in solipsism.

One of the leaders of the national group, let's call him Wolfgang, did ask me to call him so we could have a "comprehensive" talk. He could offer no explanations as to why our colleagues wanted nothing to do with the internet, although he said there was a problem with what he called "rigidified structures" ("verkrustete Stukturen") and a certain history of encounters with the enemy, including not only the Verfassungsschutz (German FBI) but also "hackers."

But Wolfgang, I said, I have seen no evidence of this, and for heaven's sake, everybody and his brother is on Facebook. As for the Verfassungsschutz, what about this conversation? They monitor everything. We know that. Does that mean we should avoid everything except face-to-face contact?

Hmm, he said, and remembered that he had something else pressing to do.

You see, Wolfgang, I said, that's just the point. There is never enough time. Not on the phone, not in person, not on TV or radio, not at conferences. But now we have the internet. For the first time in history we can prolong these conversations ad infinitum. Why not use the technology? Do we really want to leave it all to the NSA?

Hm. Ja, said Wolfgang, well, don't give up. Have to go now.

Bye bye, Wolfgang. See you (maybe) in a couple of weeks at the next meeting of the planning committee of the conference that will take place in my city at the university where I taught for 31 years, and where the ca. 100 topics presented at the last meeting will again be presented with additional suggested speakers and workshops -- without one debate or podium discussion. Which is what I want to talk about. I have something against lectures and preaching to the choir. But these are the "rigidified structures" that Wolfgang mentioned, which reminds me only too well of academia: Everybody just wanting their five minutes (better yet, an hour) in the spotlight.

I am guilty of the same hubris. During the Bush wars, I liked giving rousing speeches in front of big crowds. That felt good for about an hour afterwards. But there is not (yet) a hot war going on now, not one that involves us directly anyway, and I am older. The need to put myself at the vanguard of the barricades, which in my case had a lot to do with my memories of Vietnam days and what I did and did not do then, has subsided. Now I am more concerned about results.

We really don't have much time. War or no war, the world is burning up. I would say I don't know how I could have been so blind for so long about the reality of global warming, but reading Unprecedented Crime by Carter and Woodworth, I do know. The bought-and-paid-for MSM and climate-change-denying "scientists" have been hard at work keeping us in the dark and perpetuating business as usual, i.e. ecocide. It's a hard book to read, because the truth hurts. 9/11 truth, the war mongering, all the depraved greed and corruption, it all hurts, but this one takes the cake. There will be no world, no habitable one anyway, for the Dr. Strangeloves and the likes of the Koch brothers to mess with by the time my grandchildren are my age. This is one revolution that cannot wait.

I must give Wolfgang another call.
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"Chadbourne Prufrock walked to the gallows, tossing likenesses of himself, embossed in the cheap tin foil wrapping of large chocolate coins, to the rumbling, cheering and moaning crowd -- many yet admired and worshiped him. If he was afraid or even truly conscious of what was about to befall him he didn't show it. Many speculated that his gargantuan ego would carry on, in some malevolent form even as he finally hung, neck broken and his ridiculously expensive trousers soiled -- a grinning, petulant beast.

Loudly ascending the rough pine steps, pounding the boards, providing the drumlike crescendo to his own end, he winked at each and every official on the scaffold, blowing a kiss to the hangman. The Presbyterian minister, whispered into his neighbor's ear, "Look at him, for him there is no God, there is no world, there is no end, there is only him."

Mayor Clancy admonished the crowd, "Be quiet, dammit, and no throwin' bottles nor rocks at the prisoner, and no spittin', it may not make it's target and possibly strike a sweet lady or child. On this day Chadbourne Prufrock will be hanged by the neck until dead for numerous and sore grand egregious crimes of moral turpitude against this territory and its proud citizens. Constable Delaney will now explain the meanin' of the charge."

"Ladies and gentleman, Moral Turpitude is talk used in Criminal Law to describe the actin' of perpetrators that is completely agin a community's feelings on justice, honesty, and good morals. Crimes bein' of moral turpitude have a natural kind of meanness, vileness and depravity, with a understandin' of a person's duty to fellow citizens and to society, all of it," announced Constable Delaney.

Chadbourne Prufrock grinned at the Hangman, then shouted out to the crowd, leaning into the black hooded fellow "This ugly little man, he smells like a Chinaman's outhouse!" Many in the crowd shouted and demonstrated with glee, waving their red kerchiefs, as they had done many times before as he traveled the countryside..." From "The Barren Plains of Depravity, A Western Morality Play" By Franklin Cincinnatus
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From Strategic Culture

The United States and Israel have been threatening Iran for something like 20 years, using the pretext that it was developing a nuclear weapon initially, but also more recently declaring that Tehran has become a threat to the entire Middle East. Both contentions are essentially lies, concocted by an Israel and Saudi Arabia that would prefer to have Iran removed as a possible impediment to their own ambitions. And they would like the United States to do the removing.

Iran is the hottest of all hot spots in the American view, but the tendency of the White House to threaten first before engaging in negotiations has meant that most nations have come to see the United States as the greatest threat to peace worldwide. In a recent interview, Russian President Vladimir Putin observed how the U.S. believes it can intervene militarily anywhere in the world because it is "spreading democracy," a justification that no one believes in any event as the results of recent crusades in Afghanistan, Syria and Libya have been less than encouraging. Putin commented that Washington should treat all other nations with respect and it will then get respect -- and cooperation -- in return.

The track record of the Trump White House is not encouraging. It has twice launched barrages of cruise missiles against targets in Syria based on fabricated or incomplete intelligence, suggesting that the government in Damascus had used chemical weapons against its own people. It also uniquely added juvenile humiliation to the American diplomatic arsenal, with Trump describing North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a "rocket man" before going off into a rhapsody about how the nuclear arsenal button accessible to Trump was "bigger and more powerful" than that available to Pyongyang.

In light of past developments, one might think that it could not possibly get any worse, but it just has. Trump went after the low-hanging fruit offered by Iran with a tweet that was both idiotic and embarrassing. Iran has undeniably been the enemy of choice for the White House since May, when Trump made the decision to withdraw from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) that created an intrusive inspection regime to monitor Iran's compliance in nuclear non-proliferation. The move was applauded by the powerful Israel Lobby and by the governments of Saudi Arabia and Israel, both of which have their own agendas for the Middle East and would prefer to see an independent Iran bombed into submission by Washington. The rest of the world deplored the decision.

In the latest incident, Trump was tweeting in response to comments made Sunday by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who had told a meeting of Iranian diplomats that war between America and Iran would be a misfortune for everyone, saying "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."

Trump responded explosively with a tweet all in capital letters, presumably to express his rage in visual terms, "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!"

President Trump's warning that he would annihilate Iran missed the point that Rouhani was offering peace and urging that both sides work to avoid war. The Administration has already announced that it will reinstate existing sanctions on Iran and will be adding some onerous new ones as well. After November 4th, Washington will sanction any country that buys oil from Iran, markedly increasing the misery level for the Iranian people with the objective of either making their government surrender or rising up in rebellion against it.

Enough already. The immediate knee-jerk resort to threats of using overwhelming conventional military power or even nuclear weapons to resolve international disagreements is being played far too often by a president whose understanding of the world clearly has a manic-aggressive quality derived from a life spent selling and buying real estate in New York City. And the idiotic tweeting as well, is beneath the dignity of the office Trump holds, the hallmark of an insecure school bully seeking attention.

Donald Trump was elected at least in part to keep America out of wars, not to start several new ones, and it is past time that he stop the posturing and remember that.
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(This is a reprint from NewsBred).



Rahul Gandhi needs to take a hard look

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It's only for their own good that Indian National Congress stop shouting hollow the "corruption" charge against Narendra Modi and his ministers in the garb of Rafale. Such charges may get an echo from your very own drummer boys and girls in media but is self-defeating. Mercenaries can do a lot of things but don't appeal to logic. First, you dream a self-image; then pay the pen-pushers to give words to it; and then read and believe it. How stupid could you get?

Only, if they were to ask average readers, three questions would be thrown back at them: (1) Who made the charge (2) Why's the charge; (3) What's the follow-up?

So (a) Congress and opposition has made the charge; (b) the charge is of inflated bills for Rafale jets; and (c) err"no follow-up!!!

No follow-up? You mean no cases filed against corrupt ministers? No CBI, ED, Income Tax inquiries? No request for midnight anticipatory bails?

You see what I am leading to? Just imagine the picture: Rahul Gandhi in a residential colony of Delhi , say Safdarjung, asking a housewife on Rafale and being shot back at with these three questions. How do you think he would reply???

Let's say Gandhi is carrying the clippings from Lutyens Media, The (pants on) Fire, Hugpost, TheScowl, ThePint, TheSquint as his file of defence. He dramatically pulls them out and says: yeh dekho, yeh dekho aur yeh bhi dheko!!! All can't be wrong!

Oh, so it's going to the chambers of our very own defence minister? But then she's only be around 10 months? Why 10 months, even in the entire four-plus years of NDA, we haven't heard of any corruption charge against any Central minister? Be it Union , minister of state or Independents in the Centre. No mid-night bail dramas, no-anticipatory reliefs. And you mean we have a corrupt government in the Centre?

How do you think Rahul Gandhi would reply? When names such as Sushma Swaraj, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal, Smriti Irani, Ravishankar Prasad, Prakash Javedkar, Jayant Sinha, Kirren Rijju, Nirmala Sitharaman, Manohar Parikkar, Rajyavardhan Rathore, Suresh Prabhu or Manoj Sinha are taken aloud in his face? How do you think he would react to this question: "Mr Gandhi, none of the above in the eyes of neutral citizens of this country are seen as corrupt. Not even by the media you quote. On the contrary, we know you and your mother are on a bail; your brother-in-law's company is fighting 18 fraud cases; your pre-eminent minister Chidambaram and his son are anticipating arrests, etc. What makes you think we believe you?"

That's the whole point: Corruption and this Modi government don't connect. Insinuations are not charges. Claims are no evidence. Shouting is no logic. Especially when said by a voice which must end with a hug or a wink. A person who flies abroad while his party is bloodied on a political turf; a "young" leader whose' voice on social media don't seem to be his very own.

Let's bring another relevant issue to the debate. Just google "Modi Arrogant." You would have many of the above suspects voicing in unison: YES. That he is a dictator. He has reduced everybody to rubber-stump in the Cabinet etc.

Tell me frankly, do men like Gadkari, Rajnath, Goyal or Prasad look like errand-boys to you? Sushma, Nirmal and Smriti house-attendants? Rijju, Rathore, Parrikkar or Prabhus lawn-makers? Haven't they carved out respect in the eyes of the people due to their hard work and integrity? Haven't they survived because they are competent and not because they fear "Dictator Modi."
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Chamberlain 1938

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It's difficult not to compare the most recent summit in Helsinki between an aggressive dictator, Vladimir Putin, and a naive Western leader, Donald Trump, with the infamous meeting, almost exactly eighty years ago, between German Chancellor Adolph Hitler and British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain. The famous picture of Chamberlain returning from Munich in September, 1938, waving a signed document and declaring the immortal words: "Peace for our time," has become one of the twentieth century's most durable and iconic images.

Having tested Western resolve and found it lacking, Hitler moved swiftly to absorb the province, then engineer the takeover or Anschluss of Austria, and within the year launch his campaign to conquer Poland and subsequently the rest of Europe--igniting World War II.

Over the ensuing decades, the names Munich and Chamberlain have stood as notorious reminders to all those with historical memories of the dangerous consequences of appeasing dictators and giving in to aggression.

Trump's mysterious admiration of Putin, a Russian nationalist strongman who has already transformed European boundaries by military means in Georgia, Crimea (a Russian-speaking region of neighboring Ukraine,) and by continuing to intervene and destabilize Eastern Ukraine, was on obsequious display last week in Helsinki. Even more puzzling, his inability or unwillingness to accept the unanimous findings by his own intelligence services that Russia and Putin had mounted covert attacks on America's own electoral systems in 2016, and were planning to do so in 2018, have left many Americans in a state of disbelief, unnerving even some of his most loyal Republican political supporters.



Trump and Putin 2018

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More disturbing to America's European allies have been Trump's own sustained attacks on the cornerstone policies devised in the aftermath of the World War to keep the peace in Europe and further the development of democratic governments worldwide. Along with promoting tariff wars and a throwback "America First" policy reminiscent of isolationism in the 1930s, the American President appears to be either ignorant of or determined to rewrite eight decades of world history.

While Putin is no Hitler and Russia currently lacks Nazi Germany's global ambitions, a destabilized European Union and fractured NATO alliance certainly further the longstanding Russian goals of strongly influencing and even potentially dominating the continent, politically and economically if not militarily. Neighboring countries, until recently under direct Soviet control, many with Russian-speaking minorities, have valid and renewed concerns about America's commitment to their protection.

True to form, and despite serious criticism at home and abroad, and evidently against the better judgment many in his own administration, Donald Trump doubled-down on his policy by deciding to honor Vladimir Putin with an invitation to visit the White House in the fall for another summit.

Recent reports indicate that opposition from Republican Party leaders and political considerations relating to midterm elections may well cause a delay in the proposed second Trump-Putin summit--or if Putin has his way, its transfer to Moscow! Still, whenever or wherever it occurs it's hard to imagine a more appropriate--or ominous-- way to commemorate the events in Munich those eight decades ago.

Les Adler

Emeritus Professor of History

Sonoma State University
In Vitro Toxicology Testing Market Size Worth $37.27 Billion by 2023 | Top Worldwide Key Players - Bio-Rad Lab, Charles River Lab, Covance, Eurofins Scientific SE, GE, Thermo Fisher Scientific, SGS S.A., Qiagen N.V., Gentronix

In Vitro Toxicology Testing Market

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Marketprognosis.com Publish a New Market Research Report On In Vitro Toxicology Testing - Global Market Outlook (2017-2023) which contains global key players survey information and forecast to 2023.Overview of the Global In Vitro Toxicology Testing Market:The Global In Vitro Toxicology Testing Market is accounted for $14.13 Billion in 2016 and is expected to reach $37.27 Billion by 2023 growing at a CAGR of 14.8% during the forecast period. Factors such as technological advancements and increasing government funding are fueling the market growth. However, strict regulations and predictive ability of in vitro testing over in vivo testing are hampering the market. Growing drug discovery and innovation in the market provides ample of opportunities for players in the market.Get a Sample Copy of this Report @On the basis of Technology, Cell Culture Technologies segment is anticipated to occupy the largest share. During the process of inhaling the human lungs may get exposed to toxic particles from the air which damages the respiratory system. With the help of cell culture technologies one can identify the risk associated with the toxic particles and the risk can balanced against other benefits.Regionally, North America is forecasted to occupy largest share due to the presence of large players in this region that offers In Vitro technology. Also, stringent regulations regarding the animal usage in toxicity analysis contribute towards high requirement of in-vitro tests in this region.Major Key Players:1 Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.2 Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.3 Covance, Inc.4 Eurofins Scientific SE5 GE Healthcare6 Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc7 SGS S.A.8 Qiagen N.V. and More.Purchase this report online with Top Key Players Analysis and List of Tables & Figure @Market Segment by Methods:1 Biochemical Assays2 Cellular Assays3 In Silico Method4 EX Vivo Models and Other MethodsMarket Segment by Product and Services:1 Services2 Assays3 Reagents & LabwareMarket Segment by Technologies:1 High-Throughput Technologies2 Cell Culture Technologies3 Molecular Imaging Technologies4 OMICS technologyMarket Segment by Toxicity Endpoints and Tests:1 Systemic Toxicity2 Organ Toxicity3 Ocular Toxicity4 Phototoxicity Testing5 Genotoxicity Testing6 Dermal Toxicity7 Cytotoxicity Testing8 Neurotoxicity9 Carcinogenicity and Other Toxicity Endpoints & TestsAny Query? Ask to our Expert @This study answers to the below key questions:1 What will the market size be in 2023 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 In Vitro Toxicology Testing Market.About us:We 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.sales@marketprognosis.com+1 973 241 5193
White Oil Market 2018 key players ExxonMobil, Petro-Canada, Royal Dutch Shell, Sasol, TOTAL, Sonneborn and Renkert, British Petroleum,

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White oil market consumption from the textile industry is set to witness growth above 4% by 2024. Upsurge in demand for anti-rust, anti-oxidant and anti-wear products in manufacturing process will propel the industry demand. Increasing use of the product in apparel, fabrics and garment applications will drive the industry growth.White Oil Market size will exceed USD 2 billion by 2024, translating in volume of over 2,000 kilo tons; according to a new research report by Global Market Insights, Inc.Increasing white oil consumption as lubricator, moisturizer and insulator in cosmetics, pharmaceutical and textile industries will propel the industry growth. Continuing growth of cosmetics including sunscreens, emollient creams, suntans lotions, cleansers, makeup & hair care products will provide new opportunities for the industry. Advancement in production process enables complete removal of dust particles, improving its purity, odorless and tasteless properties, which enhances white oil market penetration in various end use industries.Request for a sample of this research report @Strong application outlook in food, adhesives, paper, bakery, precision machinery, cement, wood and textile industries will surge the revenue growth. Increased product usage in consumer goods including food packaging, coating on vegetables, animal food and medications will drive white oil market demand size. Technical grade white oil approved by the FDA are used in the food & beverage applications.White oil is used in manufacturing medical devices, laxatives, ointments and various excipients in healthcare industry. Prevalence of disease and demographic rise in APAC is expected to initiate the pharmaceuticals market demand in China and India.Rapid industrialization and urbanization particularly in the emerging countries have supported the product development. High product usage as hydraulic fluids and gear lubricants in industrial applications including compressors, machinery, vats and tanks will further favour white oil market growth.Plastics & polymers dominates the white oil market share, accounted for over 50% in 2015. Surging demand for PVC lubricants, extenders, plastic annealing, thermoplastic elastomers, rubber and catalyst carriers are he stimulating factors of business demand. Moreover, mold release agents and extrusion aids are extensively used in the polymer production.Browse Report Summary @Personal care & cosmetics white oil market is set to observe growth exceeding 2.5% up to 2024. Rising demand for pure, durable and consistent products along with growing consumer spending has enhanced the industry growth. High consumption in bath & baby oil, lotions, creams and emollients are the supporting factors of the product development.Company profiled in this report based on Business overview, Financial data, Product landscape, Strategic outlook & SWOT analysis:1. ExxonMobil Fuels & Lubricants2. Sonneborn3. Chevron4. BP5. Royal Dutch Shell6. Sasol7. Renkert Oil8. Suncor Energy9. Nynas AB10. Lubline11. TOTAL12. APAR INDUSTRIES LTD13. Panama Petrochem Ltd14. Savita Chemicals15. Eastern Petroleum Private LimitedGlobal white oil market will witness significant gains from food industry in the forecast period. Rising food grade product scope in sugar refining, egg shell sealants and animal feed has encouraged the business demand. Increased product usage in lubes, wrappers, filling & packaging equipment are the driving factors of the product penetration.Economic uncertainty and fluctuating petroleum prices are the major factors restraining the industry growth. Strict government guidelines on the manufacture and consumption of the product especially in developed nations are probable to act as limitation in the next years.Asia Pacific led by China, India and Taiwan accounted for more than 60% of the overall white oil market consumption. Expansion in textile, agriculture and cement industry will enhance the revenue growth in this region.U.S. will witness a significant market growth at over 4.5%, with strong consumption in protective diluents, emollients, moisturizers, baby care and hair care products will propel the regional demand. Regulatory compliance accompanied by product innovations particularly in healthcare industry will surge the white oil market growth.The major industry participants are British Petroleum, Exxon Mobil, JX Nippon Sinopec, Petro-Canada, Royal Dutch Shell, Sasol, TOTAL, Sonneborn and Renkert. The companies are focused on growth strategies including mergers & acquisitions, product innovations and product portfolio expansion.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:
by Sumon Corraya

The minority lives in constant fear of forced expropriations. Some 1,500 Christians have been displaced following a land dispute in Dinajpur. In Dhaka, a Catholic man continues to pay the bills of his house, even after it was illegally occupied by a Muslim. For clergyman, "the government and the expropriators consider us weak.

Dhaka (AsiaNews)  Thousands of Christians, mostly of tribal and humble origins, are being persecuted in Bangladesh over land. AsiaNews has collected the stories of some of them, whose daily life is one of fear, threats or homelessness.

In 2016 in Gaibandha, in the Diocese of Dinajpur, a land dispute sparked violence by Muslims against members of a tribal minority with police complicity. Four Christians, most of them ethnic Santal Catholics, were killed and some 30 people were wounded, including nine agents.

"Last week I visited families in a Santal village whose houses were expropriated by government agents, Fr Samson Marandy, parish priest of Our Lady of Sorrow Church, told AsiaNews.

In all about 1,500 Christians live in inhumane conditions, he explained. Some NGOs have provided them with metal sheeting to build makeshift shelters.

"Even though the victims formally complained about it and called on the government [to intervene], they have been abandoned and the administration has been silent. I do not know whats behind it. I think they should protest more and file written complaints to get justice."

One of the Christians, Joseph Murmu, said that "the government has behaved badly [with the people]. We want to get our land back."

There is a similar story in Dhaka, that of the Abraham Cruze, a 65-year-old Catholic who lost his small four-room house near the Catholic church in Tejgaon. A local Muslim named Md Saifulla occupied his land on 15 October 2015, escorted by fifty armed people. They broke into the house and evicted his family.

When he speaks about what happened, he gets emotional. "For two years, I have been asking for help from important people such as the archbishop of Dhaka and other Christian leaders. But so far, all my efforts have been in vain," he said. "I had a small house and now I am a homeless person; I live with some of my relatives," added a teary Abraham.

The Catholic man, who is now retired, shows the utility bills (gas and light) that, paradoxically, he still has to pay. "My house is occupied, I do not live there anymore, yet I keep paying my bills. He tried to meet Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and wrote to her twice but received no reply.

"I doubt my letters ever got to the Prime Minister's Office," he laments. "If she knew about my situation, he is convinced, she would have taken appropriate action immediately and Id have my house back."

Jumur Gomes, a Catholic woman, lives in Kafrul Quasi parish, also in Dhaka. She said that a few years ago she sold her house to a construction company that was supposed to give her a flat in exchange.

Instead of the house, she only got death threats. Together with her widowed mother and sister, she now lives in a rented house in the same neighbourhood.

"We are Christians and for this reason we are persecuted, she bemoans, Even police do not protect us."

Babaly Talang, a young Catholic woman from the Diocese of Sylhet, said that hundreds of tribal Khasia families live in fear of eviction by those who have seized lands in the parish of Srimangal to grow tea.

She said that "the Khasia are a mountain tribal people, who grow betel leaves, but local influential people want to drive us from our land."

Fr Liton Hubert Gomes, coordinator of the Justice and Peace Commission for the Archdiocese of Dhaka, said that "in the Diocese of Mymensingh several thousand Catholics fear for their land.

The government plans to create a nature park in Madhopur, Netrakona District. If this were the case, Christians would become victims of expropriations."

"Bangladeshs religious minorities, above all Christians, are victims of forced expropriations precisely because they are Christians. The government and the expropriators consider us weak."
Future Outlook of Mobile Phone Insurance Market Poised to Achieve CAGR of 10% by 2021  Report Studied Growing Factors by Focusing on Top Companies (Apple, Assurant, ASUS, AT&T, AVG, Aviva, AXA, Barclays, BlackBerry)

Mobile Phone Insurance Market

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The Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem: 2017  2030  Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts 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 Mobile Phone Insurance Market Overview:Given the increasing prevalence of expensive household goods, cars and consumer electronics, insurance has become an unavoidable and often necessary cost in modern life. Mobile phones and smart phones in particular are no exception to this trend.Market analyst estimates that the global mobile phone insurance market is expected to account for $20.5 Billion in revenue by the end of 2017. The market is further expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 10% over the next three years, eventually accounting for more than $27 Billion in revenue by the end of 2020.Available Exclusive Sample Copy of this Report @Most major mobile operators, insurance specialists, device OEMs, retailers and even banks now offer insurance plans that cover theft, loss, malfunctions and damage of mobile phones. Many policies now also integrate enhanced technical support and additional protection features such as data backup facilities, allowing users to securely backup their phone data online.Key Findings:1 Market analyst estimates that the global mobile phone insurance market is expected to account for $20.5 Billion in revenue by the end of 2017. The market is further expected to grow at a CAGR of approximately 10% over the next three years, eventually accounting for more than $27 Billion in revenue by the end of 2020.2 In an effort to boost the uptake of their mobile phone insurance plans, mobile operators and insurance providers have extensively enhanced their offerings with a number of differentiating features such as multi-device coverage, integrated device security apps, prioritized technical support, door-to-door repair services and secure data storage for photos and videos.3 To accelerate the adoption of mobile phone insurance in developing markets, mobile operators are experimenting with an array of strategies ranging from complimentary insurance schemes to bundling insurance with inexpensively priced mobile security offerings.4 Many smartphone OEMs  including Apple, Samsung, HTC, Acer, Motorola Mobility and Xiaomi  already offer their own branded protection plans across multiple countries, and others are expected to follow suit. By the end of 2020, OEM branded plans will account for a market worth nearly $4.5 Billion.Purchase this report online with 163 Pages, List of Tables & Figures and in-depth Table of Contents on The Mobile Phone Insurance Ecosystem: 2017  2030  Opportunities, Challenges, Strategies & Forecasts @Major Key Players:1 Apple2 Assurant3 ASUS4 AT&T5 AVG Technologies6 Aviva7 AXA8 Barclays9 Best Buy10 BlackBerry11 BNP Paribas12 Bouygues Telecom13 Brightstar Corporation and MoreTopics Covered:1 Mobile phone insurance ecosystem2 Market drivers and barriers3 Insurance policy structure, distribution channels and key trends4 Case studies of mobile phone insurance initiatives5 Industry roadmap and value chain6 Profiles and strategies of over 80 leading ecosystem players7 Strategic recommendations for ecosystem players8 Market analysis and forecasts from 2017 till 2030Grab Your Report at an Impressive Discount @Forecast Segmentation:Sales Channel Segmentation:1 Mobile Operators2 Device OEMs3 Retailers & OthersRegional Segmentation:1 Asia Pacific2 Europe3 Latin & Central America4 Middle East & Africa5 North AmericaAbout 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
AI Market in Agriculture is expected to attain a Size of $465.6 Million by 2023

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Global Artificial Intelligence Market in agriculture is expected to attain a size of $465.6 million by 2023. The market is expected to witness high growth due to high penetration of internet of things (IoT) in agriculture industry and increasing number of IoT device installations in agriculture. The decreasing price of sensors and increasing adoption of cattle facial recognition are facilitating the market growth. Increasing government support for the development of new farming techniques, and surge in global awareness regarding the benefits of AI in agriculture over the years, are expected to boost the growth of the AI market in agriculture during the forecast period. Among all solutions, crop monitoring is the largest market throughout the period of analysis, and AI-guided drone will be the fastest growing segment during the forecast period. Hardware based products are growing at higher pace than software in the AI market in agriculture. Due to surge in the adoption of AI based agricultural products, installation is the largest service category throughout the period of analysis. Owing to a rising number of agriculture-based startups in Asia-Pacific, the region is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period.Explore Full Report Description at:Geographically, North America is the largest region in the AI market in agriculture with the U.S. alone contributing more than 30% of the revenue to the global market in 2016. The country is also expected to lead the global market during the forecast period. Speech recognition, natural language processing (NLP), and animal facial recognition are some of the applications on which the companies in the U.S. AI industry are focusing. The U.K., Germany, and France are the major markets in Europe; while in Asia-Pacific, Japan, India, China, and South Korea are the key markets.AI in agriculture industry has been thriving on account of growing need for high volumes of agricultural produce. According to United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (UNFAO), the world will need to produce nearly 70% more food in 2050 than it did in 2006, to feed the growing population. To meet this emerging demand, agricultural companies and farmers are rapidly turning to the benefits of IoT for crop analytics and greater production capabilities. There has been an increased number of product launches from these players in the recent past. For instance, in October 2017, Climate Corporation announced the launch of the Climate FieldView digital agriculture platform in western Canada for the 2018 growing season. Through the new launchs analytics-based digital tools, Canadian farmers will now be able to harness their data in one connected platform.Download Report Sample At:IBM and Robert Bosch GmbH are the top companies operating in the AI market in agriculture. The other key players in the industry include Intel Corporation, NVIDIA Corporation, Climate Corporation, and Microsoft Inc.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:
Oregon grocers want to extend their winning streak.

They spent more than $7 million in 2016 to beat back Measure 97, which sought to raise $3 billion a year with a new tax on companies' Oregon sales.

was trounced at the ballot box, and now the supermarkets are going on the offensive with their own initiative:

, as it will soon be known, is a constitutional amendment that would ban any new tax on groceries.

"There's no doubt this is somewhat the result of Measure 97," said Dan Floyd, formerly Safeway's government relations representative, now the grocers' spokesman for Measure 103. "These are expensive campaigns for the grocery industry, and we want to make this permanent."

Measure 103's backers have raised more than $2 million to put it on the ballot and campaign for it. With a little more than three months 'til Election Day, opponents have yet to raise a dime or assemble a coalition to fight the industry.

Measure 103 would have a relatively muted effect: in the wake of Measure 97's landslide defeat, in which a prospective tax on grocers was a major campaign issue, even advocates for more government revenue concede any tax on food would be a non-starter in Oregon.

And it could be that prospective opponents have more pressing fights; November's ballot will also include measures on immigration, abortion and legislative taxation, along with a highly competitive gubernatorial race.

Still, critics of Measure 103 say it's a bad idea to inscribe broad prohibitions against taxation in the Oregon constitution. They warn that the initiative has consequences voters might not anticipate and promise an organized opposition will emerge by summer's end.

"I expect this coalition to be robust and unique, including labor, the American Heart Association, Oregon businesses, and policy and family advocacy organizations," said Daniel Hauser of the Oregon Center for Public Policy, which promotes education and health-care spending and fights economic inequality.

"This coalition is growing by the day and still taking shape," Hauser said. "So stay tuned."

MEASURE 103

What it would do

: A constitutional amendment prohibiting new taxes on groceries  including food and soda  that would also freeze the states corporate minimum tax for supermarkets.

What it wouldn't do

: The ballot measure would still allow new taxes on alcohol, marijuana and tobacco, and increases in grocers corporate income taxes.

What it might do

: Opponents and critics disagree about the meaning of language in the ballot measure. Critics say the initiative might ban taxes on restaurants and food served to patients in hospitals. It might also apply to the cost of transporting food and could bar further increases in bottle and can deposits.

What it would cost

: Public agencies wouldnt lose any current revenue because Measure 103 doesnt repeal any taxes. But it would reduce options for future revenue.

Supporters trumpet Measure 103 as a common-sense prohibition on taxing groceries. There is broad agreement among economists and politicians that taxing food makes no sense.

Opponents, though, point out that the initiative would do more than that. It would, for example, prohibit taxing soda.

Several jurisdictions around the country, among them Seattle and San Francisco, have adopted soda taxes in hopes of curbing the health impacts of the sugary drinks. Advocates considered a similar tax in Multnomah County but shelved their plans indefinitely last fall.

Measure 103 also would bar new taxes on restaurants, according to the Oregon Department of Justice analysis, and opponents say it may also apply to the transportation of food and food served in hotels and hospitals.

The initiative's backers say they didn't intend any of that, but opponents say it highlights the perils of making constitutional changes through a ballot measure written by industry.

"We shouldn't do so at the behest of mostly out-of-state corporations in a way that's uncertain and potentially very risky," Hauser said. At the very least, he said, it's sure to trigger litigation as businesses and the state sort out the initiative's implications.

Measure 103 would also exempt grocers from any future increase in Oregon's corporate minimum tax. It would put supermarkets in a separate category from other businesses in the state.

That change probably wouldn't make a big difference in practice, though, because profitable grocers would rarely pay the corporate minimum. Instead, they would pay Oregon's regular, corporate income tax, which is usually much higher.

"If you're paying under the (income tax) rate, the minimum doesn't matter unless you're talking about a hypothetical world where the minimum is dramatically increased," said Chris Allanach, chief economist in the Legislative Revenue Office.

With concurrent ballot fights over Oregon's sanctuary state law, abortion rights, and an initiative that would require a three-fifths supermajority for the Legislature to raise fees or reduce tax breaks, Measure 103 won't get the attention Measure 97 did two years ago. But supporters and opponents agree it will draw attention as the election approaches.

"I am a little surprised that we haven't seen a well-funded opposition at this point, but I would be surprised if it remains this quiet," said Floyd, the spokesman for the industry's campaign. "We're prepared for a strong opposition."

Correction: The amount raised in support of Measure 103 has been corrected.

-- Mike Rogoway; twitter: @rogoway; 503-294-7699
I have no criticism for Dwight Hammond Jr.'s desire to devote more energy to his faith now that he is home free ("Oregon rancher pardoned by Trump: 'I tried to do the right thing,'" July 14). What I find objectionable is his idea that one family should control over 12,000 acres of land to produce cattle and it still is not enough. Cattle ranching is a cruel occupation that wastes natural resources, destroys wildlife habitat and robs native peoples of land that was rightfully theirs. Not to mention the rights of others to enjoy what God has given us. It is a wasteful occupation and needs to be reconsidered as a way of life.

-- Jane Winfield, Northeast Portland

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The boss of indicted FBI agent W. Joseph Astarita testified Friday that he never heard the two disputed shots fired at refuge occupation spokesman Robert "LaVoy" Finicum's truck in 2016 and saw no indication that Astarita had fired his rifle.

Identified only as Supervisory Special Agent B.M., the nearly 12-year veteran of the FBI headed the bureau's Hostage Rescue Blue Team at the scene that day and previously worked with Astarita on the agency's SWAT team in New York.

B.M. was standing near Astarita on Jan. 26, 2016, after Finicum slammed his pickup into a snowbank at a roadblock as the FBI and state police tried to arrest the leaders of the armed takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The occupiers were traveling in a two-car caravan to a community meeting in the next county.

B.M. said four times on the witness stand that he never heard the two shots that prosecutors contend Astarita tried to conceal but he heard all the other shots fired that day.

Investigators say one of Astarita's shots went through the roof of Finicum's truck and broke out the rear passenger window and the other missed.

Astarita, 41, has denied firing any shots. He's on trial on two counts of making a false statement to FBI supervisors, including B.M., and one count of obstruction of justice from an interview with state police detectives the night of the shooting.

B.M. said he was standing in front of a state police pickup parked on the center line of U.S. 395 when Finicum immediately stepped out of his truck after hitting the snowbank. Astarita was to his right, he said, standing beside the open passenger door of the police pickup.

"Does it appear agent Astarita is holding his rifle?'' federal prosecutor Gary Sussman asked.

"Yes, sir,'' B.M. replied.

"Is it aimed at Finicum's truck?'' Sussman asked.

"It looks like it's oriented towards the vehicle, sir,'' B.M. said.

Sussman asked B.M. if he heard several shots fired at Finicum's truck as it raced toward the roadblock. B.M. said he did. Investigators later determined that a state police officer, identified as Officer 1, fired three shots as the truck approached the roadblock.

And B.M. heard multiple shots fired after Finicum had walked away from his truck, the shots that killed Finicum? B.M. said he did. Two state police officers fired three times at Finicum after he had reached into his jacket where investigators later said he had a loaded handgun.

But, Sussman asked, B.M. didn't hear the two shots in between, right as Finicum got out of his pickup?

"No sir, I don't remember hearing a shot at that moment,'' B.M. answered. "I don't remember hearing any shots at that point.''

He noted that he was wearing noise-canceling headphones on his tactical helmet during the entire encounter.

B.M. said he could see Astarita in his peripheral vision.

"Did you see any indication Special Agent Astarita had shot?'' Sussman asked.

"No sir, I did not,'' B.M. said.

B.M. said he asked members of his team afterward if they were OK or had fired any shots. He asked Astarita and "he said no,'' B.M. told jurors.

Sussman asked about Astarita's general demeanor after the shooting. B.M. described him as energetic, excited, collecting his gear.

"Did he appear a little unnerved?'' Sussman asked.

"I don't know if I would characterize it as unnerved, sir,'' B.M. said.

At that, Sussman directed the witness to a transcript of his May 2017 testimony to an investigator with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Inspector General when he described Astarita at that moment as "unnerved." B.M. acknowledged he had used the word then.

Before it turned dark the day Finicum was killed, B.M. said he spotted one shell casing in front of the state police truck where he and Astarita had been standing but didn't alert anyone to mark it or pick it up as evidence.

He said his agents did a check of the area for other items and at some point Astarita suggested they do a second check.

A day or two later, B.M. said he was told investigators had concerns about Astarita's initial response to another FBI agent at the scene when asked whether he had fired his rifle. B.M. said he confronted Astarita about it in his tent at the tactical operations center at the Burns airfield.

B.M. said he asked whether Astarita had actually said, "You can't ask me that, bro." Astarita told him that he actually said, "Don't ask me. I don't know,'' according to B.M.

"Joe didn't seem to have any awareness,'' of what had occurred, and said he didn't remember hearing any shots, B.M. said.

B.M. said he once again asked Astarita directly if he had fired and Astarita responded: "No, I did not fire.''

B.M. said he checked his own rifle for any gunpowder residue, just to confirm that he hadn't fired his weapon, and found nothing peculiar. He said he never checked Astarita's rifle, rounds or watched Astarita check his rifle.

B.M. was asked to step down briefly from the witness stand and was handed the black Rock River Arms Rifle 556 model AR-15 platform that he carried the day of the shooting. At the prosecutor's request, he slung it over his shoulder and showed how he carried it and raised it and pointed it at the back wall of the courtroom. He also demonstrated the white light on the rifle.

Asked if he fired any of the two disputed shots, B.M. said, "No sir I did not. ... I'm certain. It's possible but extremely unlikely.''

On cross-examination, Astarita's lawyer Robert Cary focused on the last part of B.M.'s response.

Cary asked if there was anything from B.M.'s lengthy service for the FBI or Army Reserves that led him to say it was "possible'' he had fired his rifle that day?

"Yes, in my experience, under conditions like this, it's possible. It's possible I was not entirely situationally aware'' considering the stressful, dynamic nature of the scene, he said. "I think it is possible that can happen under conditions like this with all the environmental stressors.''

On redirect, the prosecutor then asked B.M. if there are tell-tale signs that an officer would recognize upon firing his weapon. Usually an officer would feel a recoil of their rifle or see the muzzle rise, B.M. said.

"It's highly unlikely that I would have fired,'' he added.

B.M. was not identified by his full name, according to Sussman, because of his ongoing Army Reserve service.

***

In other testimony Friday, another FBI Hostage Rescue Team agent who was at the roadblock echoed much of what B.M. had said.

Agent John Neidert, with the FBI a little over 19 years, was assigned to the Hostage Rescue Team for 6 1/2 years and was assisting B.M.'s Blue Team.

When Finicum's truck barrelled toward the roadblock, Neidert said he heard a supervisor direct agents to "bail out'' toward their left, to the east side of the road. But Neidert was further toward the west and went the opposite way.

"I expected the truck to hit me when it came through the snow,'' Neidert said.

Once Finicum stopped, Neidert said he popped out of the snow, a little dazed and shaken, behind the right rear tire of the truck.

His immediate focus then was on the passenger side of Finicum's truck, concerned refuge occupier Ryan Payne was in the front passenger seat and could be a threat.

Kneeling in the snow, he tried to keep his rifle trained on the passenger side of Finicum's truck. At some point, Neidert said he got out of the snow and ran past B.M. and Astarita to take cover behind the state police truck.

Neidert testified he didn't hear any gunshots when Finicum stepped out of his truck. He said he later noticed one shell casing on the street, near the front of the state police truck that was part of the roadblock.

He didn't remember its color but recalled discussing with someone, "Is it one of ours?'' referring to the .223-caliber bullets the FBI fires, or the .308-caliber ones most of the state SWAT officers had.

Neidert said he didn't pick up any shell casings but did get on the ground and look for other items near the trucks later as part of a standard FBI security check, finding a remnant from a flash-bang grenade.

Sometime that night, while sitting in a truck at the scene with Astarita and another FBI agent, Neidert said Astarita told the other agent that "he had saved me'' and "had to pull me out of the snowbank.''

"Did he pull you out?'' the prosecutor asked Neidert.

"No,'' Neidert said. "I just took it as jesting.''

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian
A Prineville man was killed Friday when his pickup went off U.S. 26 in Crook County and rolled into a ditch, Oregon State Police say.

The crash was reported about 3:45 p.m. near milepost 17 west of Prineville. The 2004 Nissan Frontier was heading east when 20-year-old David Thompson drove it off the road and crashed, police said.

Thompson wasn't wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the pickup during the crash, according to police. He was the only one in the truck, and no other vehicles were involved.

 Everton Bailey Jr.
Two Yamhill County deputies were legally justified in shooting a man earlier this month in Amity because he fought with them as he was being arrested, choked one of them and tried to continue his attack after initially being shot, the county district attorney announced Friday.

Kelly K. Sutton, 27, of Amity was shot a total of six times by Sgt. Sam Elliott and Deputy Stephanie Sulak near Rice Lane and Jellison Avenue on July 7 and died at the scene. Elliott and Sulak encountered Sutton while responding to an earlier reported burglary in the area where a woman said she and her husband were awoken by Sutton in their bedroom.

Sutton was hit with a stun gun for a total of 10 seconds and a baton before the shooting, said District Attorney Brad Berry. Sutton wasn't armed when he fought with the deputies. Toxicology results found he was under the influence of methamphetamine.

Elliott was involved in a June 11 arrest of Sutton in McMinnville, where he was accused of breaking into another stranger's home and got into a scuffle with the homeowner while wearing some of the homeowner's clothes, Barry said. Sutton was released from jail about a week later.

Elliott has been with the sheriff's office for nearly two years and has been a law enforcement officer since 2001, and Sulak has been a law enforcement officer for one year. Sutton is one of 12 people who have been killed by police in Oregon this year.

The Amity homeowner called 911 a little before 5:25 a.m., and records show Sutton entered the home through an unlocked front door. Sutton was out of the home by the time Elliott and Sulak arrived in the area, Barry said.

Sulak spotted Sutton because he fit the description of the burglary suspect, Barry said. Sutton initially denied that he was involved in the break-in, kept his hands in his pockets, refused to comply with both deputies' orders when they were trying to arrest him and told them, "You don't want to do this today," according to the district attorney.

Sutton went down to the ground when he was hit with the stun gun and kept flailing around, Barry said. Sutton then grabbed Elliott while still down and jumped up. That threw Sulak backward, and the two men got into a struggle.

Elliott reported not being able to break free or breathe while Sutton was clinging to him, but it wasn't clear how Elliott was being choked, Barry said. At some point, Elliott reported to investigators that Sutton told Sulak, "Don't move or I'll kill him," the district attorney said.

Elliott managed to unholster his pistol while struggling with Sutton and fired two or three times  hitting Sutton twice in the torso, according to Barry. The two separated, Sutton lunged at Elliott and then both deputies fired several times.

Barry said the altercation between Sutton and the deputies lasted about one minute.

-- Everton Bailey Jr.

ebailey@oregonian.com

503-221-8343; @EvertonBailey
Oregon Democrats will fill vacancies for two legislative races during a pair of nominating conventions Saturday in Wilsonville, as they work toward picking up enough seats to gain a supermajority in the statehouse.

Molly Woon, deputy director for the Democratic Party of Oregon, said the party is excited to hear from the new candidates.

"We think that they're going to make the case that they have the right vision for our state," Woon said.

Democrats are one seat shy in both chambers of the Legislature of a three-fifths supermajority, which would allow them to raise taxes without Republican support.

The party will replace Ryan Spiker in the House District 26 race and Paul Diller in Senate District 13.

Spiker, who ran unopposed in the Oregon primary, dropped out June 18 because the stress of the race had a "severe impact" on his ability to control his Type 1 diabetes, according to his campaign's Facebook page. House District 26 comprises parts of Washington and Clackamas counties.

Diller followed suit four days later, citing the toll the campaign schedule was taking on his family and young sons. Senate District 13 covers portions of Clackamas, Marion, Washington and Yamhill counties. He beat Sarah Grider in the Oregon primary, 57 percent to 42 percent.

Three hopefuls have stepped forward to take their places.

Shawn Goodpaster and Courtney Neron are battling for the chance to take on the GOP incumbent, Rep. Rich Vial, who was first elected in 2016.

Spiker has endorsed Neron, whose Facebook page lists her as a teacher at Tualatin High School.

"I know that Courtney will be a public servant dedicated to working hard for each and every one of us," he said.

Diller's primary challenger, Grider, is the only candidate filed in Senate District 13. She would face incumbent Sen. Kim Thatcher. The Keizer Republican has held the seat since 2014, after serving 10 years in the Oregon House.

A late start to the race probably will not have a negative effect on the new candidates, since many voters don't actively start paying attention to elections until Labor Day, Woon said.

Candidates had until 5 p.m. Wednesday to put their names forward at one of the Saturday conventions, Woon said, so no one else will be considered. That includes House District 54, where Democratic nominee Nathan Boddie has apparently ignored multiple calls to drop out of the race to represent the Bend area.

"The clock starts ticking when someone steps down," Woon said.

Deschutes County Democrats and other party leaders, including Gov. Kate Brown, have called on Boddie to leave the District 54 race following allegations of sexual misconduct.

The county Democrats passed two resolutions on July 23 reinforcing their desire for Boddie to resign and announcing their plan to scout new candidates. Boddie, a doctor and Bend city councilor, has denied the claims against him but has not issued any public statements in recent weeks.

Unless he bows out, he will remain the nominee in a key district currently represented by Republican Rep. Knute Buehler, who is running for governor.

If Boddie or anyone else suspends his or her campaign, an entirely new convention would have to be called, Woon said. The state's deadline to register any new candidates for the general election is Aug. 28, but the Democrats would only have until Aug. 22 to call a nominating convention.

Some people have not been politically involved before, but Woon said they have been motivated because they are unhappy with the current government, especially with the high tension in Washington, D.C.

"People are ready to stand up and take action," Woon said.

--Lydia Gerike
Shared electric scooters landed on Portland streets on Thursday and immediately dominated the city's news cycle.

The scooters, which are scattered all over town, are rentable via app, and are meant to zip riders around cities. Scooters have already arrived at places like Washington, D.C., and Los Angeles, and have already been banned in San Francisco. The big question: How will they translate in Portland?

Controversy follows the dockless electric scooters wherever they go. They can be strewn around on sidewalks, and scooter riders sometimes disobey laws, endangering pedestrians. On the other hand, they are a cheap, fast, fossil-fuel-less way to get around urban centers.

In Portland, riders must wear helmets -- though many don't because not a lot of people carry a helmet with them. Riders also must have a driver's license and stay off sidewalks.

On Thursday afternoon, I decided to test the limits of a Bird scooter. Bird is one of three e-scooter companies so far that has secured a permit to operate in the city during a scooter pilot program that lasts until Nov. 20. The other, Skip, doesn't have scooters on the street yet.

A third, Lime, put scooters on the streets of Portland Friday.

While the scooters are meant to get people a mile or so, from one form of transportation to work, say, what's keeping people from using them more broadly? Could they be a commuter tool for people who want to skip the bus and go longer distances?

By 4:30 p.m. on Thursday, everyone in downtown was trying to ride a scooter. I found one on the app up the street from The Oregonian/OregonLive's office and when I got there, two other people wanted the same scooter. Since I already had all my information in the app, I got it -- though we were all very polite -- and hopped on for my ride.

I figured I would ride as long as I could (or wanted to), and then I would get on a bus to take me the rest of the way home. I live in Southeast Portland, near Lents. It was over 90 degrees and sunny and I was wearing Birkenstocks, so I didn't imagine I would ride the scooter the whole way. On the other hand, no one ever figured out a scooter's limits without testing it.

My scooter was 89 percent charged when I picked it up. I had no idea how far that would take me.

I crossed Naito Parkway and took the bike path towards Tilikum Crossing. I decided that since this was my first long ride, I would avoid streets as much as possible while also avoiding sidewalks. (Later, I discovered that riding on the Springwater Corridor is technically not allowed, but I will plead ignorance of the rule, and the fact there was almost no one on the path, in my defense.)

I immediately noticed the scooter lost its zip going uphill. I could get a little extra momentum going if I pushed with my left foot like I was skateboarding, but even just the slight uphill slope of Tilikum Crossing was a slow crawl.

Of course, when I went down a small incline, like on the second side of the bridge, I zoomed. The breeze felt cool on my face and the pathway was nearly empty, so I could take in the boats on the river and the blue sky against the white bridge.

The thing with a scooter is that it requires two hands and full engagement. Even though you aren't using muscles to move it, you do need to stay upright and push down on the accelerator to get it going. This presents the problem of how to signal a turn. I couldn't quite figure that out, because even lifting a hand to push my glasses up my nose felt a little dangerous.

After the bridge, I headed for the Springwater Corridor. It was quiet -- probably due to that fact that it is closed before Sellwood, making it less attractive to commuters -- and I was able to spend some time thinking about what would happen if the scooter broke down, and how far I would have to walk to get to a bus stop.

But, the scooter kept scooting. I zipped past a sweaty runner, mile markers and Ross Island. It was a lovely day and not too hot in the shade beside the river. When I got to where the trail is closed, I went left and took the path up through the woods.

This was the biggest uphill portion of my journey, and while the scooter worked, it was going so painfully slow that I ultimately got off and walked it for about five minutes until I hit level ground.

At McLoughlin Boulevard and Milwaukie Avenue, I considered looking for a bus. But I wasn't tired and I wasn't even late getting home yet, so I continued on, through the neighborhood greenway until I could get back on the Springwater Trail towards Lents.

Now I had been on the scooter for an hour, but still didn't feel like getting off. Most of the trail is flat and I zoomed through a gully, trees and foliage all around me, over creeks and alongside roads. I passed sweaty bicyclists, and some of them passed me.

Somewhere along Johnson Creek the scooter began to make a strange sound and I wondered if my husband would hear the phone if I had to call and ask him to pick me up. But then the sound stopped.

People smiled, not too concerned, and then, suddenly, I had reached 82nd Avenue.

To get home, I had to get off the lovely path and go through streets, some of which are notably unpaved. But, the scooter took on gravel, slowly. Yes, it was compact gravel, but the scooter still made it over.

After one hour and 21 minutes, I was home. That was about twice as long as it would have taken by bus and at a cost of $13.15 -- $1 to start and then $.15 per minute -- it was $11.65 more. A regular bike ride would have also taken a shorter time since I can take more direct route if I am not avoiding streets, and it would cost me nothing. And a ride share ride would have been around $16 and taken 20 minutes or so, depending on traffic.

I averaged 10.33 miles per hour.

I emailed Portland Bureau of Transportation spokesperson John Brady on Friday to ask him some question about the scooters and he informed me that city code does not allow scooters in city parks, including the esplanade and the Springwater Corridor, so I can't recommend you take this route home.

But, I must admit the scooter ride home was way more fun than any of the usual options. And my ride home felt like the future I had been sold as a kid. A "Back to the Future" future. Sure, it wasn't a hoverboard but wasn't it sort of close and probably ultimately a lot safer?

After my ride, I was hot and thirsty but exhilarated. I locked the scooter and went inside to hydrate. Oddly though, the scooter started beeping.

I messaged Bird's customer service about the beeping, but no one answered. After a little while, I relogged into the scooter (which now had 37 percent battery power), and rode it to a nearby park, to park it out of earshot of houses. So it cost me an extra $1.15 to keep the scooter from annoying my neighbors.

A couple hours later, we walked by the park and the scooter was gone.

This story originally called Milwaukie Avenue, Milwaukie Expressway.

-- Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052

lacker@oregonian.com, @lizzzyacker
An insurance company for a North Portland apartment complex has agreed to pay $100,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by the mother of a 2-year-old girl who died in her bedroom after the heater malfunctioned and warmed the room to a deadly temperature.

In a lawsuit that had sought $8 million, Janna Walton sued property owner Cathedral Park Investments and property manager Gordon Properties in Multnomah County Circuit Court for the death of her daughter, Taqwa Dakhlalla.

Walton and her husband, Abdullah Dakhlalla, had put the girl in her crib and shut her bedroom door on Dec. 10, 2016, then discovered their overheated daughter the next morning but it was too late.

The case isn't completely over. Walton and Dakhlalla also filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the Vancouver-based heater manufacturer, Cadet Manufacturing Co. That suit is pending.

Janna Walton's Facebook page.

In court papers, an attorney representing the girls estate said her family settled the Multnomah County lawsuit after an investigation showed that the apartments landlord hadnt received any complaints about the heater in Taqwas room.

Without being able to prove that the landlords knew that the heater was not functioning properly, it was felt that the settlement was reasonable at this time, wrote Portland attorney Jane Paulson, who represents the estate.

Carl Rodrigues, a Portland attorney representing Cathedral Park Investments and Gordon Properties, said Friday that his clients insurance company settled the suit without admission of liability, as a business decision.

The Multnomah County District Attorneys Office investigated the toddlers death, but didnt pursue any criminal charges. It wrote that the thermostat in Taqwa's room apparently was set to 62 degrees but the temperature next to the girl's crib reached 90 degrees or higher as the heater apparently kept running.

The DA's office said that during testing after the girl's death, the air blowing from the heater hovered between 110 and 115 degrees and spiked once to 200 degrees.

-- Aimee Green
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said Friday that, while he supports protesters' rights to express their views in public venues in the city, they should not erect large, semi-permanent camps as part of their demonstrations.

Wheeler on Friday held the first of what he has billed as experimental monthly on-the-record conversations with Portland's press corps. The press conference ranged in topic from neighborhood planning to environmental policy.

But reporters homed in on the five-week protest at the city's Immigrations and Customs Enforcement field office, which Wheeler ordered disbanded Monday. Protesters demonstrating against the Trump administration and asking for the abolishment of ICE had set up a large camp near Southwest Macadam Avenue and did not leave for weeks, disrupting agency workers and area businesses. They left behind a junk heap of astonishing size, which drew criticism even from supporters of their cause.

Wheeler on Friday reaffirmed that he views the Trump administration's former policy of separating children and parents after illegal border crossings as abhorrent and mean-spirited. He said he does not have enough information to draw a conclusion on whether ICE should be abolished.

But he said he does not support building large camps, as the ICE protesters did, because they pose problems for demonstrators' health and safety and block area visitors.

The mayor went further, saying he believes it "deters from the main message" when protesters leave "piles of garbage" in their stead as they decamp. The city and Trimet will pay for the cleanup of trash and makeshift buildings left by protesters; the total cost is not yet finalized.

With future demonstrations, Wheeler said he would prefer to force camps to disband "sooner rather than later."

-- Gordon R. Friedman

503-221-8209
Fanendo Adi scored the game-winning goal in his final match for the Portland Timbers Saturday to lead the club to a 2-1 win over the Houston Dynamo in front of 21,144 fans at Providence Park. It was a fitting end to an era. Prior to the match, the Oregonian/OregonLive reported that the Timbers had reached a deal to transfer Adi. Details of the move have yet to be announced.
REDDING, Calif. (AP) -- An explosive wildfire raged through several Northern California communities, killing two firefighters and destroying dozens of homes after thousands of terrified residents fled in miles-long traffic jams.

Flames that turned the sky orange swept through the communities of Shasta and Keswick before jumping the Sacramento River on Thursday and reaching Redding, a city of about 92,000 people and the largest in the region.

The so-called Carr fire is "taking down everything in its path," said Scott McLean, a CalFire spokesman for the crews battling the blaze.

Sixty-five structures had been destroyed, and 500 other buildings were threatened, fire officials said.

A firefighter with the Redding Fire Department was killed in Shasta County, officials said Friday. Another firefighter hired to try to contain the flames with a bulldozer was killed Thursday.

Residents in the western part of Redding who had not been under evacuation orders were caught off guard and had to flee with little notice.

"When it hit, people were really scrambling," McLean said. "There was not much of a warning."

Many fire crews turned their focus from the flames to getting people out alive.

"Really, we're in a life-saving mode right now in Redding," said Jonathan Cox, battalion chief with Cal Fire. "We're not fighting a fire. We're trying to move people out of the path of it because it is now deadly, and it is now moving at speeds and in ways we have not seen before in this area."

Some residents drove to hotels or the homes of family members in safer parts of California, while other evacuees poured into a shelter just outside of town.

A reporter with Redding television station KRCR choked up as she reported live updates about the fire before the station had to go off the air later. Two news anchors told viewers that the building was being evacuated and urged residents to "be safe."

Journalists at the Record Searchlight newspaper tweeted about continuing to report on the fire without electricity in their newsroom, and a reporter at nearby KHSL television wrote on Twitter that the station's Redding reporters were "running home to gather their things."

Mike Mangas, a spokesman at Mercy Medical Center, said the hospital was evacuating five babies in its neonatal intensive care unit, which cares for premature newborns, and taking them to medical facilities outside of the area.

He said the hospital was preparing high-risk patients to be evacuated but there were no immediate plans to do so.

Late Thursday, crews found the body of the bulldozer operator who had been hired privately to clear vegetation in the blaze's path, McLean said. The fire burned over the operator and his equipment, making him the second bulldozer operator killed in a California blaze in less than two weeks.

Three firefighters and an unknown number of civilians had burns, but the extent of their injuries was not immediately known, McLean said.

"It's just chaotic. It's wild," he said. "There's a lot of fire, a lot of structures burning."

Firefighters tried in vain to build containment around the blaze Thursday, but flames kept jumping their lines, he said.

"It's just a heck of a fight," he said. "They're doing what they can do, and they get pushed out in a lot of cases. We're fighting the fight right now."

He said the fire behavior was so erratic, there were tornadoes within the fire "tossing around equipment, blowing windows out of Cal Fire pickup trucks."

The 45-square-mile fire that began Monday tripled in size overnight Thursday amid scorching temperatures, low humidity and windy conditions. It was sparked by a mechanical issue involving a vehicle, Cal Fire said.

Brett Gouvea, incident commander of the crews battling the fire, urged residents to pay close attention to the blaze.

"This fire is extremely dangerous and moving with no regard for what's in its path," he said.

Earlier in the day, with flames exploding around Whiskeytown Lake, people tried to save boats at a marina by untying them from moorings and pushing them to safety. But it wasn't swift enough to spare them all. Dozens of charred, twisted and melted boats were among the losses at Oak Bottom Marina.

"The boat docks down there -- all the way out in the water -- 30 to 40 boats caught fire when the fire laid down on top of them last night and burned those up," said fire Chief Mike Hebrard of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

Wildfires throughout the state have burned through tinder-dry brush and forest, forced thousands to evacuate homes and caused campers to pack up their tents at the height of summer. Gov. Jerry Brown declared states of emergency for the three largest fires, which will authorize the state to rally resources to local governments.

A huge forest fire continued to grow outside Yosemite National Park. That blaze killed 36-year-old Braden Varney, a heavy equipment operator for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection whose bulldozer rolled over into a ravine July 14.

Hundreds of miles to the south, the Cranston Fire grew to 7.5 square miles and about 3,000 residents remained under evacuation orders in Idyllwild and several neighboring communities. That fire, which destroyed five homes, is believed to have been sparked by arson.

--The Associated Press
The Long Hollow fire near Dufur has grown to an estimated 33,400 acres burned.

Some of this acreage comes from burnout operations conducted Friday evening and some comes from a wind shift early Saturday morning, fire spokeswoman Lauren DuRocher said. The wind shift caused the fire to spread west, according to a fire update. The Sherman County sheriff did a call out to farmers and ranchers to assist with firefighting operations in the early morning hours, she said.

The fire was started by farm equipment Thursday and is still 0 percent contained, DuRocher said.

Oregon 216 from the junction with U.S. 197 to the junction with U.S. 97 is closed for fire operations. Evacuations Saturday morning were the same from Friday with some areas at level one and an area along the Deschutes River at level three, DuRocher said. Citizens should check with local sheriff's offices for updates on evacuations as the fire is burning in both Wasco and Sherman counties.

High temperatures and low humidity is expected Saturday with gusty afternoon winds, and fire behavior is expected to pick up as the day goes on. This map shows an estimated perimeter of the fire as of Saturday morning.

Air tanker dropping retardant on #LongHollowFire today. Photo by Amber Blanchard (NWR2). pic.twitter.com/NxZ0MMnkeI  Central OR Fire Info (@CentralORFire) July 28, 2018

--Hannah Boufford

/ @hannahboufford
The Catholic Diocese of Saginaw will hold a Disability Awareness Conference on Wednesday, Aug. 1 in a continued effort to help local parishes to be more welcoming and inclusive to people with disabilities.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in five Americans has a disability such as autism, difficulty in walking, visual impairments or others.

The Catholic Church has a particular concern and love for people who are marginalized or forgotten, said Lori Becker, respect life coordinator for the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw. This is why its so important to be more welcoming to people with disabilities. The example given by Pope Francis, our local religious communities, Catholic Family Services and many others inspire us to reach out to those who are on the fringes of society.

Representatives from many Michigan-based organizations will be in attendance including Do-All, a Bay City based non profit that offers training and employment opportunities to people with disabilities, The Arc of Midland, a nonprofit organization that promotes the general welfare of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, as well as many other organizations.

I am so excited the Catholic Diocese of Saginaw has chosen to focus on inclusion and the God given talents of its parishioners with disabilities through this conference, said Melissa Davert, former executive director of The Center for Independent Living in Midland. Melissa and her husband Ken, who live in Bay City, will speak at the Disability Awareness Conference. They will share how they find joy in their lives amidst difficulty.

Parents, families, care providers, community agencies, children and adults with disabilities and all who have a heart for people with disabilities are invited to the conference. The day will include a keynote address by the director of the National Catholic Partnership on Disability, the celebration of Mass, breakout sessions, lunch and more.

Additional information and registration is available at https://saginaw.org/event/disability-awareness-conference
The Midland City Council can either support continuing to provide Sunday Dial-A-Ride service, or start the process to discontinue Sunday operation at its Monday meeting.

Council meetings take place at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at City Hall, 333 W. Ellsworth St. Each meeting allows time for public comment.
The official word came Wednesday: Chemical Financial Corp. is moving its headquarters from Midland to Detroit.

The company, after more than 100 years of leadership in Midland, will now be led from outside the Great Lakes Bay Region. We hope area employees and stockholders will continue to benefit from the move as the company positions itself for further growth.

We're cautiously optimistic after Thomas Shafer, president and CEO of Chemical Bank, said the bank plans to retain its current Midland workforce of more than 500 and presence in the community.

"Very little change" will be seen in the coming years in regards to Chemical Bank's relationship with the Midland community, Shafer told the Daily News this week.

"Most of the jobs we have in Midland support the entire company," Shafer said. "The level of employment we have is staying, the commitment we have in history in the Midland marketplace is critical to our corporate success."

But, some skepticism may appropriate. In June 2017, Shafer himself told the Daily News that the bank would stay headquartered in Midland and he would be moving to Midland to take on his new roles.

Midland City Manager Brad Kaye called this week's news of the headquarters moving to Detroit disappointing, but expressed his desire to work with bank officials to maintain jobs in our community.

"It's always been a strong partnership, and we hope that doesn't stop," Kaye said. "We will continue to pursue it as best we can."

Such an approach is prudent as the bank remains focused on growth in the coming years.

"It is our hope that, despite this corporate shift, the Midland-based workforce will not only be retained, but will also grow over time as Chemical Bank continues its corporate expansion efforts," the City of Midland stated in an official statement.

We share this hope.
For 45 years, the Midland Area Community Foundation has approached philanthropy in a simple yet meaningful way: Invest our assets and distribute a portion of the returns to local nonprofits doing transformational work. As a community foundation, we often promote our grantmaking work. But underlying our ability to make grants, we must wisely invest the funds entrusted to us to allow foundation assets to grow. While behind the scenes we spend significant time on our fund investing strategy, we dont often promote it beyond keeping our fund holders and donors aware of our annual return on investment.

Recently, we announced our decision to invest a small percentage of our assets (2 percent of the total, or around $2 million) in projects we call impact investments to benefit our community. These are investments made in local for-profit companies, organizations and projects with the intention to generate measurable social and/or environmental impact alongside a potential financial return. Its important to note that these dollars are separate from our main endowment investing, so our fund holders will continue to see returns on investment comparable with the market.
Raymond Jones is a resident at the Delaware Valley Veterans' Home. He's 94.

He talks in the video about being a combat engineer in World War II and the sights he saw across Europe, including the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Born in Richmond, Virginia, he trained in Texas and remembers boarding the Queen Mary in New York and traveling to Scotland and then down to England.

"In the war, I don't know what I didn't do," he says.

The home where he resides now was dedicated on Nov. 1, 2002, and is the commonwealth's sixth and newest veterans home. It's operated by the Pa. Department of Military and Veterans Affairs and serves 171 veterans and their eligible spouses in a caring and home-like setting. It is a spacious facility with skylights and large windows throughout the building.

It's located just minutes from I-95 and the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Northeast Philadelphia at the border of Bucks County, sitting in a rural setting.

The amenities include a Canteen, a large community room for activities, library, barber shop, beautician and chapel. There are two full-time physicians on staff and a team of RNs, LPNs and CNAs on each shift providing around the clock continuity of care for each resident.

Editor's note: If you are a Pa. veteran or know of one who has a story to tell, contact Paul Vigna at 717-255-8404 or send an email to pvigna@pennlive.com. While we are looking for veterans of all wars, we would like to increase the number of stories we have on veterans who fought in the Vietnam War and the wars that followed.

More on 100 Years of Heroes

Learn about the 100 Years of Heroes project

Submit your stories for 100 Years of Heroes

Samples of published videos
REDDING, Calif. (AP) -- Only a handful of homes remain in the small northern California community of Keswick.

The air chokes with the smell of smoke and chemicals, smoldering what's left of people's lives. The so-called Carr Fire roared through Shasta County, so thoroughly eating up homes, that it's difficult to tell how many once stood in the ruins.

Somewhere in the ash was the home of Shyla and Jason Campbell.

Jason, a firefighter, was six hours away from his home and family, battling a wildfire near Yosemite Valley, when the Carr Fire moved in.

Shyla, 32, said it was nearly 2 a.m. Thursday when she got an official alert to evacuate.

"It's huge flames, it's coming up the hill, and everyone's out and we're watching it, then it goes down, and everyone's like, 'Oh it's going out,' " she said. "And I'm like, 'No, it's going down the mountain and it's going to come back up the next ridge.' "

She was right.

The family spent the night at a hotel. When Jason Campbell returned on Friday, he found their home of five years was gone, along with an RV and a boat.

Officials say at least 500 structures were destroyed by the Carr Fire, which also swept through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and hit homes in Redding, a city of 92,000 about 100 miles south of the Oregon border.

Last night and sunrise in Redding, California, where the #carrfire has been raging barely contained since Monday.



Officials just said its burned more than 80,000 acres, up from 48,312 last night.



Still 5% contained pic.twitter.com/JRtnYYuM5b  Brianna Sacks (@bri_sacks) July 28, 2018

"It's tough," Shyla Campbell said Friday as she sheltered in the city of Shasta Lake. "I just have to figure out where we're going to stay. We're just trying to stay away from the fire."

About 37,000 people remained under evacuation orders as the wreckage smoldered. Nearly 5,000 more homes were being threatened by the 75-square-mile blaze, which was just 5 percent contained.

Thousands of people scrambled to escape amid flying embers before walls of flames descended from forested hills onto their neighborhoods Thursday. At least two flaming tornados toppled trees, shook firefighting equipment and busted truck windows, taking "down everything in its path," said Scott McLean, a spokesman for Cal Fire, the state agency responsible for fighting wildfires.

The flames moved so fast that firefighters working in oven-like temperatures and bone-dry conditions had to drop efforts to battle the blaze at one point to help people escape.

Two firefighters were killed: Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke and a bulldozer operator whose name wasn't immediately released. He was the second bulldozer operator to die in a California blaze in less than two weeks.

With heavy hearts we announce the passing of Fire Inspector Jeremy Stoke. Jeremy died while battling the Carr Fire. We ask for your thoughts and prayers for his family and the RFD as we process this tragic loss. More information will be released as it becomes available. pic.twitter.com/3adHIkDepV  Redding Firefighters (@reddingff_1934) July 27, 2018

Elsewhere in California, large fires continued to burn outside Yosemite National Park and in the San Jacinto Mountains east of Los Angeles near Palm Springs. Nationally, 89 active large fires have consumed nearly 930,000 acres in 14 states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. So far this year, nearly 37,000 wildfires have burned more than 4.25 million acres.

Residents who gathered belongings in haste described a chaotic and congested getaway as sparks flew and fire leaped across the wide Sacramento River, torching subdivisions in Redding.

Redding police chief Roger Moore was among those who lost their homes, the Los Angeles Times reported.

@CALFIRE_ButteCo heads back to the #CarrFire Saturday morning. 7,000 firefighters are fighting the blaze in #Shasta County, now 48,312 acres, 5% contained. pic.twitter.com/Z7YIg6JIqE  Kelli Saam (@kellisaam) July 28, 2018

By JONATHAN J. COOPER and LORIN ELENI GILL, Associated Press
The grand jury report investigating sexual abuse across six Catholic dioceses in Pennsylvania names more than 300 "predator priests," according to a court order issued Friday.

A redacted report will be released to the public in August, the state Supreme Court said in an order issued Friday. The court order also revealed more details about the long-awaited report on clergy sex abuse.

Here are some key takeaways from the court order regarding the report.

1. Most priests will be named

The court order states repeatedly that the grand jury report names more than 300 "predator priests" accused of committing criminal or morally reprehensible conduct.

While the court order is allowing petitioners to challenge the release of some named in the report, the order suggests that the vast majority of those named will be publicly identified.

Dozens of clergy have filed legal challenges to modify the report, alleging that their rights to due process will be violated. The court will allow those with standing challenges to make a case to have their identities removed in a redacted version of the report.

However, those that have not already filed a legal challenge apparently will be named when the redacted report report is released.

Since the grand jury report names more than 300 priests, most of those individuals apparently are going to be named in the redacted report.

2. Bigger than Boston

The investigation of sexual abuse in Catholic Churches in Pennsylvania could dwarf the notorious cases of abuse in Boston chronicled in the film "Spotlight."

The Archdiocese of Boston identified 248 priests accused of abuse over a period of decades. The Pennsylvania grand jury report names more than 300 individuals, the order stated, but a specific number wasn't given.

Nonetheless, the court order offers new information about the scope of the 18-month investigation of the dioceses of Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Scranton, Erie and Greensburg.

3. The report will be graphic

The state Supreme Court indicates in its order that the 900-page report won't be watered down.

For example, the court notes the grand jury's description of more than 300 "predator priests." In its order Friday, the state Supreme Court said it aims to release "the bulk" of the report to the public as quickly as possible.

The court also said that it won't hear objections to "generalized content" of the report from clergy.

The order, written by Chief Justice Thomas Saylor, states that "large portions of the grand jury's report can be released to the public."

Bishop Lawrence Persico, the head of the Erie Diocese, has read the report. He has previously told PennLive the report will be "sobering" and "rather graphic."

4. There shouldn't be additional delays

The state Supreme Court order outlines rigid deadlines for the release of the redacted report. The redacted report will be released by Aug. 14 at the latest - and possibly sooner. The court states that it doesn't plan to entertain motions to postpone the release of the redacted report and warns against legal challenges to block it.

The state attorney general's office is ordered to produce a redacted report by Aug. 3. Any legal challenges to exclude names from the report must be filed by Aug. 7.

The challenges will be limited in errors to redaction relating to identifying individuals who shouldn't be named, the court order stated.

If there are no legal challenges to the redaction process, the report will be released by 2 p.m. Aug. 8. Given the flurry of legal activity surrounding the grand jury report, some legal challenge seems likely.

Even if legal challenges are filed, the redacted report will be issued no later than 2 p.m. Aug. 14, the court states. It's possible the report could be issued sooner.

5. Special master plays a key role

The state Supreme Court said that a "special master" will review the redacted report and weigh any legal challenges regarding the redaction of names in the report.

The court order does not identify the special master but indicates that individual will be appointed by the court in a separate order.

6. A victory for victims

Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro noted that the upcoming release of the report is a "victory" for survivors of sexual abuse.

Victims told PennLive they were heartened by the order authorizing the release of the report.

PennLive and several other media organizations, including The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Philadelphia Daily News, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Associated Press, had petitioned the court to release the report.

Tim Lennon, volunteer president of the board of directors of SNAP, The Survivors' Network, praised the state Supreme Court for allowing a redacted report to be released.

"Hopefully, the judges will ultimately decide to allow the entire report to see the light of day," Lennon said.

7. The grand jury wanted the report to be public

The high court's order noted that the grand jury dearly wanted its report to be released to the general public.

The court's order states that the report includes this phrase: "We, the members of this grand jury, need you to hear this."

8. Grand jury process gets scrutiny

The justices struggled with questions about the grand jury process. Specifically, they grappled with questions regarding petitions of clergy who argued that the grand jury process doesn't allow for the protection of their due process rights. They noted that the report could damage the reputation of those named.

The high court didn't fully resolve its concerns over those issues. While the court is moving forward with the release of an interim report, the court has scheduled a hearing in September to address issues of due process.

Staff writers Ivey DeJesus and Wallace McKelvey contributed.

J-56A-M-2018 MO by PennLive on Scribd
Route 39 reopened around 5:15 p.m. Friday evening.

"Couldn't be more proud of county maintenance crews and all the hours they have put in," said Safety Press Officer Fritzi Schreffler.

As of 3:30 p.m., only 17 state roads were closed due to flooding, Schreffler said. Roads like Route 39 were closed earlier Friday even after the flooding receded due to damage, and was marked as closed due to construction.

At one point Thursday, 61 roads were closed due to flooding conditions, PennDOT communications office Greg Penny said Thursday night.

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.
More rain is coming to central Pennsylvania, but the biggest problems will come from water that's already here, a National Weather Service meteorologist said.

John LaCorte, a meteorologist with the State College office, said this past week's storms were the kind you might see once in a decade.

Although some wetter weather is expected, LaCorte was not overly concerned with the forecast.

"It's going to be more typical summertime," LaCorte said. "Warm, humid. We don't see any major patterns setting up."

The problem is, the ground is still very wet and saturated from a week of intense rain. LaCorte said if there is locally heavy rain, which parts of central Pa. saw Friday as a few storms rolled through, it is possible there will be more flooding.

"It's going to take several days to leach out," LaCorte said.

As for this weekend, Saturday will be a mostly dry day, unless you're in the southern part of the state. Then, some scattered showers or thunderstorms are possible toward the evening, LaCorte said.

But, LaCorte is optimistic that Saturday will be nice, and Sunday may see a small chance of showers.

"There will be more sun than clouds," LaCorte said.

You can see live weather updates via the National Weather Service and other Twitter sources below.

Tweet us at @pennlive with photos of inclement weather at your place, incidents you see on your commute or send a submission to submissions@pennlive.com.
The National Weather Service in State College has issued a special weather statement for several central Pennsylvania counties.

A strong thunderstorm will affect parts of Huntingdon, Franklin, Fulton, Perry and Cumberland counties until 5:30 p.m. At 4:52 p.m., Doppler radar indicated a strong thunderstorm over Fannettsburg, moving northeast at 25 mph. Other storms are forming to the east of this storm, the statement said. Dime size hail and winds in excess of 40 mph are possible.

Locations impacted include Carlisle, Shippensburg, Plainfield, Boiling Springs, Mount Holly Springs, Newville, Fort Littleton, Bloserville, Roxbury, Walnut Bottom, Pine Grove Furnace, Upper Strasburg, Willow Hill, Fannettsburg, Orrstown, Penn State Dickinson School Of Law and Shippensburg University.

Earlier Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service in State College issued a severe thunderstorm watch for parts of Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Vermont and Pennsylvania that is in effect until 10 p.m. Friday. In Pennsylvania, the watch is in effect for 23 counties including Adams, Berks, Cumberland, Dauphin, Franklin, Lancaster, Lebanon, Perry, Schuylkill, and York counties.

Check with PennLive for all of your weather updates.

You can see live weather updates via the National Weather Service and other Twitter sources below.

Tweet us at @pennlive with photos of inclement weather at your place, incidents you see on your commute or send a submission to submissions@pennlive.com.
Rep. Mark Rozzi, the de facto advocate for victims of child sex abuse in Pennsylvania, is blasting an order issued Friday by the state's highest court directing the Commonwealth to release a partial report on a long-awaited grand jury investigation on clergy sex abuse.

"Justice delayed is justice denied ... again," said Rozzi, a Berks County Democrat who, at the age of 13, was molested by a priest.

"While the justices ponder what 'process-related remedial measure can be taken now,' how 'bout the Church save us all a lot of grief and voluntarily present their bad actors to the public?"

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court on Friday ordered the Office of Attorney General to release to the public large portions of the report on the grand jury investigation. The report - the findings of an 18-month-long investigation into clergy sex abuse across six of the state's eight Catholic dioceses - identifies more than 300 predator priests.

The order set the date of Aug. 14 by which the report must be released, according to the order written by Chief Justice Thomas Saylor.

The court ruled that the report could be released to the public without compromising the rights of petitioners who have challenged the report.

Dozens of priests have challenged the release of the report and said it would violate their rights to due process. The court conceded sufficient measures should be taken to protect their identities and called for a redacted version of the report.

In a scathing written statement, Rozzi excoriated what he said was the influence of powerful church lobbyists, who, he holds, have long protected predators and denied victims justice.

"The Supreme Court opinion talks about preponderance -of-the-evidence. Besides sworn testimony and exhibits, with the supervising judge in attendance the whole time, the preponderance of the evidence came from the church," Rozzi said in his statement.

"No kidding that the report, redacted or otherwise, 'will yield critical judgments by the citizenry.' If the dioceses own records demonstrate that people knew of abuse and either did nothing or actively obstructed the revelation of abuse....to protect reputations (and assets}...than so be it."

The Pennsylvania Catholic Conference is not commenting on the grand jury process. An official for the organization said the conference was not involved in the investigation.

Mike Barley, a spokesman for the Diocese of Harrisburg, on Friday noted that church officials there have fully cooperated with the office of state Attorney General Josh Shapiro.

"The Diocese and Bishop Gainer strongly support the release of the Grand Jury report and have not filed anything to cause the stay ordered," he said. "Ensuring that this Report is accurate is paramount to its integrity and we are pleased that the Supreme Court has shown the leadership to make certain that the information being released to the public is correct."

Rozzi is determined to see that the report effects reform in state law to allow victims broader access to justice.

Rozzi is setting his sights on Senate Bill 261, which as written now, would give child victims until age 50 to bring civil lawsuits against abusers or those employers who were allegedly negligent in failing to stop them. At present, the window to sue expires at age 30.

The bill would also eliminate any statute of limitations on criminal prosecutions for child sexual abuse crimes in the future.

Rozzi intends to "gut" SB 261 with the language in his House Bill 612, which would amend the former to allow adults who were abused as children a chance at justice. His proposal would provide a two-year window of time for all victims of past abuse to come forward and seek justice.

Rozzi notes that the high court opinion cites a "Foul Blow" or "Fair Play" concept in which presentments are deemed foul.

"Nothing could be more foul than the criminal behavior of predator priests and the outrageous cover-up by arrogant bishops," he said.

Rozzi said victims are likely to see a repeat of history.

"So the publication of the full report is backburnered for oral arguments till September," he said. "Just like the victims were...until their statutes ran out. Meanwhile, the lawyers and lobbyists are having a field day."

Victims on Friday expressed a mix of emotions, from relieve that the report was finally poised to be released to the fear that it will rekindle trauma.
Over the course of an 18-month-long statewide investigation into predatory Catholic priests in Pennsylvania, victims of clergy sex abuse have bemoaned concerns and fears that church officials would silence their voices as they fought to have their stories of abuse made public.

On Friday, victims embraced a significant victory towards that goal.

The Pennsylvania Supreme Court gave the Commonwealth an non-negotiable deadline by which to release the findings of an 18-month-long investigation into clergy sex abuse.

"It brings a tear to my eye," said Bradford resident Jim VanSickle, who testified before the grand jury about his abuse as a child at the hands of Father David Poulson, a former Catholic priest in the Diocese of Erie.

"I'm very happy for victims and the state of Pennsylvania for their opportunity to be heard and I 'm anxious to read the report myself," VanSickle said.

Poulson was held for trial on May 31 after he waived his preliminary hearing on charges that he sexually abused two young boys over a period of many years.

The high court ordered the Commonwealth to release an interim report that protected the rights of petitioners who have challenged that the report violates their constitutional rights. The court will continue to consider appeals to its decision but deemed that the state could proceed in releasing a revised report.

Victims on Friday also responded to a stunning fact revealed in the court's opinion: that investigators identified more than 300 individuals as been tied to criminal or morally reprehensible crimes against children.

"That's a shocking number and I'm sure people find it shocking but in my heart I know that's only a fraction of that number,' said Shaun Dougherty, who was molested by his priest from the Altoona-Johnstown Diocese and has become a victims advocate.

State Attorney General Josh Shapiro called the court's order authorizing the release of the report a "victory" for victims. Shapiro has been fighting to have the report released since the state's highest court sealed it amidst legal challenges.

According to a database compiled by BishopAccountability.org, the six Pennsylvania dioceses at the center of the grand jury report have, to date seen a total of 154 priests publicly accused of abuse.

Victims on Friday expressed a polarity of emotions: some rejoicing that their voices would finally be heard even as they said they were bracing for an outpouring of long-suppressed emotions.

"I'm more than available to anyone who would want to reach out and discuss this and just talk as a new voice coming from this report," VanSickle said. "Being a victim myself, I came forward in May. Alone because another victim was accused by my priest abuser and I did not want that young man to be alone. These people's information is raw and although vindicating and freeing, it's going to be an emotional experience at same time."

Dougherty said that while he was happy for victims, he was disappointed in the scope of the court order.

"It has been a long, hard pressure cooker of wait," he said. "I'm relieved they gave the go-ahead to release the report but at the same time, I 'm saddened to hear that it is going to be a redacted version."

Dougherty said that given the facts on the prevalence of child sex abuse nationwide and the decades old scandal in the church, the numbers of predators identified would likely increase significantly.

"I have a feeling that after this release, we'll begin to hear more names," he said. "People now are only becoming empowered. Three-hundred is shocking but I'm guessing that it's way more than that."

The grand jury in 2016 began an investigation into allegations of child sex crimes by Catholic priests across the dioceses of Harrisburg, Allentown, Pittsburgh, Erie, Scranton and Greensburg.

Bishop Lawrence Persico of the Diocese of Erie last week warned that the report would be graphic and implicate high-ranking church officials.

Shapiro this week in a letter to Pope Francis appealed to the pontiff for help in clearing obstacles from church officials and clergy to stop the report from being released.
By Eugene Robinson

If President Donald Trump's secretly taped conversation with attorney Michael Cohen reminds you of a crime boss and his consigliere, you're not alone. Trump's current lawyer and mouthpiece, Rudolph W. Giuliani, evidently agrees.

Eugene Robinson (PennLive file)

After CNN first played the tape on Tuesday, Giuliani went on Fox News and played down its importance, citing his experience as a mob-busting federal prosecutor: "How about 4,000 hours of Mafia people on tape? I know how to listen to them. I know how to transcribe them. This tape is crystal clear when you listen to [it]. I've dealt with much worse tapes than this."

Spin-wise, this is the best they've got? That Trump and Cohen don't sound as bad as the Gambino family? Yikes.

The recording, made by Cohen shortly before the 2016 election , is a window into how Trump does business -- and, by extension, what kind of person he is.

In it, he and his then-lawyer Cohen discuss their machinations to squelch former Playboy playmate Karen McDougal's story of what she describes as a 10-month affair with Trump .

The president of the United States is revealed as a schemer and a liar. That's no surprise, I realize, but now we can hear him in action -- and there is no way he can claim the evidence is "fake news."

Earlier Tuesday, at the annual convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Trump was speaking about the economy but sounded almost as if he knew the Cohen recording was about to come out. He pointed to the assembled media, delivered his customary insults and then told the crowd, "What you're seeing and what you're reading is not what's happening."

Echoes of a chilling line in George Orwell's "1984" were unmistakable: "The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command."

And indeed, Trump's truest believers may look for ways to disbelieve what they hear. They may fall for Giuliani's attempt to make the issue about whether Trump wanted Cohen to pay to quash McDougal's story with cash or a check -- as if that mattered.

What does matter is that, in the recording, Cohen tells Trump he needs to "open up a company" to pay for "the transfer of all of that info regarding our friend David" -- an apparent reference to David Pecker, chairman of the company that owns the National Enquirer, which in August 2016 paid McDougal $150,000 for exclusive rights to her account of the affair and then never published a word of it. In the tabloid world, this method of burying a story is known as "catch and kill."

McDougal says her affair with Trump ended in 2007. Why, nine years later, was it suddenly worth six figures to keep her story from coming out? The context of the Trump-Cohen conversation makes clear that they were thinking about the impending election.

Legal experts have said this means the $150,000 that Pecker's company paid to McDougal may be an unreported campaign contribution; that Trump may have thus been involved in a conspiracy to violate federal campaign finance laws; and that there may have been fraud in the setting up of a shell company to make an illicit payment.

None of that may be smoking-gun material, but take a wider view. Listen to how routine the conversation sounds. In all the scheming and lying, there is no hint of anything out of the ordinary. For Trump and Cohen, it sounds like just another day at the office.

The The recording is one of several, perhaps many, seized by federal agents during raids on Cohen's office , residence and hotel room in April. "What kind of a lawyer would tape a client?" Trump angrily demanded in a tweet. Speaking on MSNBC, former federal prosecutor Chuck Rosenberg had an answer: "Presumably, a lawyer that doesn't trust his client."

Cohen once reportedly said he would take a bullet for Trump. But in recent days, he and his media-savvy attorney, Lanny Davis , have made clear that if there is a fall to be taken, Cohen has no intention of taking it alone. This growing estrangement means that if Trump tries to shut Cohen up by pardoning him, the president would not even have the fig leaf of friendship to hide behind. It would be a naked obstruction of justice.

Listen to that one recording and then think about the voluminous trove of material collected in the Cohen raids. For a long time, only Trump and Cohen knew what was in there. Now federal prosecutors do, too. Soon, it seems likely, all of us will.

Eugene Robinson is a columnist for The Washington Post. His work appears on Saturdays on PennLive.
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House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA ) told Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and his GOP colleagues last year that he thought Russian President Vladimir Putin paid Republican Donald Trump.

This happened on June 15, 2016. Spokespeople for the two Republican leaders flatly denied this, until confronted with the fact that there is a recording.

Now they claim it was a joke.

Adam Entous in the Washington Post just published this explosive report of House Republican majority leader and Speaker Paul Ryan discussing Putin paying Donald Trump back in June of 2016. This took place right after Ryan and McCarthy had talks with the Ukraine PM, who told them about the Kremlin financing populist politicians to undercut Eastern European democratic institutions.

The DNC had just been hacked.

According to Entous report, Ryan warned the group not to leak the conversation. When contacted for comment by WaPo, spokespeople for Ryan and McCarthy both strongly denied that the conversation took place. Then they were told the Washington Post had a recording, and their answers changed.

Theres two people I think Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump, the Post reported McCarthy saying, noting Rep. Dana Rohrabacher is a Californian Republican known in Congress as a fervent defender of Putin and Russia.

Direct quote from the WaPo reporting on the recording:

Ill guarantee you thats what it isThe Russians hacked the DNC and got the opp [opposition] research that they had on Trump, McCarthy said with a laugh. Ryan asked who the Russians delivered the opposition research to. Theres theres two people, I think, Putin pays: Rohrabacher and Trump, McCarthy said, drawing some laughter. Swear to God, McCarthy added. This is an off the record, Ryan said.

Ryan swore them to secrecy. Like you would when you were joking.

Heres the transcript, in which they also discuss the dangers of Russian propaganda.

Worth a read: Here's the transcript of the convo obtained WaPo where Kevin McCarthy says 'I think Putin pays' Trump https://t.co/z9SS0Fn07B pic.twitter.com/dK0kar0zAl  Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) May 17, 2017

The spokespeople for both top Republicans denied this conversation took place, until they were told there was a tape. And then they claimed it was humor.

The Republican leadership has obstructed the appointment of independent commission into Trumps possible collusion with Russia in the House and Senate, preferring to allow Trump campaign associates to run the investigations into his campaign. Earlier today, House Republicans blocked a vote for an independent Russia probe.

Paul Ryan has repeatedly told reporters even after Trump spilled highly classified information to Russia that he trusts the President to handle classified information.

The implications of this are far-reaching and pretty unnerving. It suggests that at the very least, top Republicans suspected Putin was paying Trump and they not only looked the other way, but continue to present the false idea to the public that there is no problem with Trumps relationship with Russia. Instead of alerting anyone, Ryan urged them to keep it a secret.

Independent Republican Evan McMullin, a former CIA operations officer, is quoted in the Post saying, Its true that Majority Leader McCarthy said that he thought candidate Trump was on the Kremlins payroll. Speaker Ryan was concerned about that leaking.

Are the top House Republicans involved in a cover up? If not, how was swearing themselves to secrecy on this issue of not just national security but western democracy upholding their oaths of office?

Given the context of the timing of this conversation, and the plea to keep it a secret, it doesnt pass easily as humor. It looks like the top GOP House leadership suspected that the Kremlin had a stooge who would undermine the U.S.A. in Trump and they kept silent about it and then actively discouraged an investigation into it.

This is a new low for a party that is already making Nixons crimes look like the play of an Eagle scout. The Russia infestation into our government could well be much worse than just a president who can be impeached.
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In April we reported that Alan Dershowitz believes the president is above the law. On Tuesday night the former Harvard law professor went on CNN to give another ridiculous opinion, saying that he believes it is legal for the president to obstruct justice.

Dershowitz has been one of President Trumps strongest supporters in recent months, appearing numerous times on television to advance his pet legal theories that almost nobody else agrees with. Tuesday night he was on CNNs Anderson Cooper 360 along with Norm Eisen, who chairs Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics (CREW), a group that has been trying to force Trump to follow the law and ethical guidelines for the U.S. presidency.

Our April article contained the following important paragraph describing the unusual, and alarming, legal opinion of Dershowitz on Trumps powers:

Then theres Alan Dershowitzs defense of firing DOJ officials, including special counsel Mueller  based on the unitary executive doctrine. In essence, that doctrine argues the president is above the law  a curious position for Dershowitz to take given his long history as an advocate for civil rights. The two concepts are mutually exclusive, since the premise of civil rights is the right of any person to hold the government and officials within it accountable for wrongs done to that person. If the government is above the law, it cannot do wrong.

The discussion on CNN last night followed a new report from the New York Times which found that Trump demanded that Attorney General Jeff Sessions unrecuse himself from the Russia investigation back in March 2017. Trump is reported to have told Sessions that he should continue to oversee the Russian investigation into potential collusion with the Trump campaign, even though Sessions had recused himself on the advice of Justice Department lawyers.

Noted Republican strategist Rick Wilson, a Trump critic, had this to say about the new report: If you dont think this is obstruction of justice, I cant help you.

If you don't think this is obstruction of justice, I can't help you. "Trump Asked Sessions to Retain Control of Russia Inquiry After His Recusal" pic.twitter.com/ZKJ7fPTO4l  Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) May 30, 2018

This is the majority view. Of course. The Times said this new information could factor in to a charges of obstruction of justice against the president by Mueller.

On CNN, however, Dershowitz discussed another issue: whether or not Sessions should have told the president before being appointed attorney general that he intended to recuse himself from the investigation. Missing from this crazy argument, of course, is the fact that before becoming Attorney General Sessions had no idea that he would recuse himself from the Mueller probe.

On the show Dershowitz argued that Trump had the right to select anyone he wanted to oversee the Russia investigation, even if that person was selected for the purpose of protecting the president from harm that would come out of an investigation. He also said that other attorneys general have been selected based on the presidents needs and that Sessions should have given Trump a choice in the matter.

It has become clear that Alan Dershowitz, once a highly respected constitutional lawyer, is now spouting nonsensical legal theories with the intent to provide a legal basis for Donald Trumps unconstitutional and illegal actions. If we lose our democracy because of a president who holds himself above the law and who obstructs investigations into his own illegal behavior, then we will have people like Alan Dershowitz to thank.
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By Jane Ross

TULARE, Calif. (Reuters)  Stephen Mancebo, a fourth-generation California dairy farmer with 2,300 cows, has battled ups and downs in his temperamental industry for a quarter-century only to find himself a casualty of a U.S trade war with one of his biggest customers  Mexico.

Mancebo, 47, represents one of approximately 1,300 dairy farm families eking out a living in California on the narrow margins of an enterprise that increasingly relies on exports.

For Mancebo and other U.S. dairy farmers and processors who turn milk into cheese, butter and other products, the trade war is threatening to snuff out a nascent rebound from three years of slumping prices that have driven nearly 140 California dairies out of business.

In retaliation for tariffs that President Donald Trump imposed on imports of steel and aluminum, Mexico in late May announced duties on cheeses, other farm products and metals from the United States.

Milk and cheese prices on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, a key part of the formula that determines what dairy producers are paid, faltered immediately on expectations Mexicos tariffs would translate into U.S. surpluses.

The extent of export disruption has yet to be quantified. But sudden downturns in demand are challenging for dairy farmers, whose means of production need to be fed and milked on a daily basis.

Our product is perishable. I cant sit on my milk for a month or two months, Mancebo told Reuters outside his dairy in Tulare, in Californias Central Valley. These cows cant be shut off.

After several years of showing little if any profit, Mancebo said he had been looking forward to a turnaround in prices that might have netted his operation $50,000 to $80,000 a month later this year, allowing him to break even for 2018.

Most months I dont make anything, so to take that, its a considerable loss at this time, said Mancebo, whose support for Trump has been undiminished despite the effect of the trade policies.

CALIFORNIA MOST VULNERABLE

The United States is Mexicos leading foreign supplier of dairy goods, including nearly $400 million in cheese last year. Dairy operators in California, the nations top milk-producing state, are especially vulnerable to Mexicos 25 percent cheese tariffs.

California dairies, like Mancebos, export 30 percent of all they produce, compared with 17 percent for U.S. dairies on average, and Mexico is their No. 1 buyer.

California accounted for 35 percent of U.S. cheese exports to Mexico alone last year, estimated at 33,600 metric tons (74 million-plus pounds), said economist Annie AcMoody of the trade group Western United Dairymen.

But beyond immediate price swings, U.S. dairy exporters worry about losing hard-earned market share to the European Union, which has just reached a free-trade accord with Mexico.

In a letter sent to the White House last month, 65 dairy producers, processors and cooperatives from around the country urged Trump to reach an accommodation with Mexico.

The $12 billion aid package Trump announced this week to offset damage to farmers from the trade war could potentially replace some short-term income losses, but it will do nothing to rebuild any market share seized by foreign competitors, said Bill Schiek, economist for the Dairy Institute of California.

Concerns also are growing that China could retaliate against U.S. tariffs with a fresh set of duties on U.S. dairy.

Schiek said anecdotal evidence shows orders are being canceled in anticipation of export demands softening as Mexicos duties add to the cost of made-in-America cheese, and buyers there turn elsewhere for supplies.

AcMoody said that even minor fluctuations can undercut American dairy producers because international pricing is so competitive.

Mancebo said that even as Trumps policies are hurting him, he backs the measures: Our trade deficit needed to be addressed.And it was going to be a struggle whenever it happened, he said. So its kind of like holding our breath. Problem is, were holding our breath underwater.

(Writing and additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; editing by Bill Tarrant and Leslie Adler)
By Roberta Rampton and Denis Pinchuk

WASHINGTON/JOHANNESBURG (Reuters)  President Donald Trump is open to visiting Moscow, the White House said on Friday after Russian President Vladimir Putin said he had invited the American leader.

Despite the uproar in Washington after the two met in Helsinki last week, Putin said another meeting with Trump was still on the agenda and that both leaders want additional summits.

Regarding our meetings, I understand very well what President Trump said. He has a desire to have further meetings, Putin told reporters in South Africa, where he was attending a summit of BRICS nations: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

I am ready for that, Putin said. We need for the appropriate conditions to exist, to be created, including in our countries.

Following the backlash in the United States over Trumps cordial public tone with Putin at the Helsinki summit, U.S. and Russian officials backed away from Trumps proposal to schedule a follow-up meeting in Washington in the fall.

Two days after postponing that invitation, the White House made clear on Friday that Trump remained enthusiastic about another Russia summit.

President Trump looks forward to having President Putin to Washington after the first of the year, and he is open to visiting Moscow upon receiving a formal invitation, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

The last time Trump was in the Russian capital was in 2013, to attend a Miss Universe beauty pageant.

Referring to the proposal for a meeting in the United States, Putin said: I am ready to go to Washington. I repeat once again, if the right conditions for work are created.

Putin said that, in the meantime, it was possible that he and Trump would meet on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit in Argentina in November or at another international event.

(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Writing by Doina Chiacu; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Jonathan Oatis)
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Sarah Huckabee Sanders released a statement for Trump on his election security meeting, and the statement did not mention Russia once.

Here is the White House statement from Sanders as provided to PoliticusUSA:



Today, President Donald J. Trump chaired a meeting of the National Security Council (NSC) to receive updates on the whole-of-government approach his Administration is implementing to safeguard our Nations elections. This effort was put in motion at the beginning of his Administration and has been carried out to support State and local election officials in all 50 States, the Territories, and the District of Columbia.

The President has made it clear that his Administration will not tolerate foreign interference in our elections from any nation state or other malicious actors.

The Presidents discussion with his NSC addressed threats posed to our elections from malign foreign actors, efforts underway to provide cybersecurity assistance to State and local authorities, and actions to investigate, prosecute, and hold accountable those who illegally attempt to interfere in our political and electoral processes. The Trump Administration will continue to provide the support necessary to the owners of elections systems  State and local governments  to secure their elections.

Attendees:

President Donald J. Trump

Vice President Michael Pence

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo

Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin

Secretary of Defense James Mattis

Attorney General Jeff Sessions

Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen

Chief of Staff to the President General John Kelly

Director of the Office of Management and Budget Mick Mulvaney

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats

Director of the Central Intelligence Agency Gina Haspel

National Security Advisor John Bolton

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford, Jr.

Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Christopher Wray

Commander, U.S. Cyber Command, and Director, National Security Agency/Chief, Central Security Service General Paul Nakasone

Russia Was Never Mentioned In A White House Statement About Election Meddling

The White House released a statement about a national security meeting on election security that did not mention the one country that is proven to have attacked a US election. This is, of course, not surprising because Donald Trump refuses to state that Russia attacked the election. The White House continues to deny what everyone knows is true. Russia attacked the 2016 election. Russia is attacking the 2018 election, and Donald Trump is doing less than nothing about it.

Being that the meeting lasted less than 30 minutes, Trump just wasnt able to get around to it, but the more likely answer is that Russia was intentionally left out of the conversation because Comrade Trump needs all the help that he can get this November.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.
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CNN host Anderson Cooper was asking for trouble when he asked two feisty lawyers onto his show at the same time last night. In a stormy interview with Stormy Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti and Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz Cooper struggled to keep the discussion under control. Both lawyers made it appear that their main goal was to insult the other one as much as possible.

You just make it up as you go along you need to go back and concentrate on what invites you get at Marthas Vineyard, since that appears to be what you are really good at. @MichaelAvenatti jabs at @AlanDersh in a contentious on-air exchange

You just make it up as you go along you need to go back and concentrate on what invites you get at Marthas Vineyard, since that appears to be what you are really good at. @MichaelAvenatti jabs at @AlanDersh in a contentious on-air exchange https://t.co/wVRDSGtqTc pic.twitter.com/msC663SBHL  Anderson Cooper 360 (@AC360) July 28, 2018

Dershowitz questioned the truthfulness and validity of the content of the audio recording federal investigators obtained from former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. Then Avenatti jumped on Dershowitz for giving his unsolicited views on the subject, which is inappropriate since he is not part of either legal team involved in the case.

Avenatti said:

Alan, you really need to start talking only about things that you know about, as opposed to things that you have no knowledge about. You have no knowledge of the communications that went on between me and Michael Cohens representatives long before that  long before that  no, you dont know what youre talk about, Alan.

You have no idea about the communications that went on relating to a particular or proposed level of communication. You need to go back  let me finish.

Dershowitz tried to interrupt but the Cooper interjected and said, Let him finish.

Then Avenatti added:

You need to go back and concentrate on what invites youre getting on Marthas Vineyard since that appears to be what youre really good at.

At the end of the segment Avenatti said he believed  as do many other people  that Dershowitz is actually working for Trump, and they have some type of financial relationship.

Yeah, its a complete coincidence that @AlanDersh defends Mr. Trump at every turn and then Mr. Trump endorses his book. Alan should have held out for more  he sold out cheap.

Yeah, it's a complete coincidence that @AlanDersh defends Mr. Trump at every turn and then Mr. Trump endorses his book. Alan should have held out for more  he sold out cheap. #Basta pic.twitter.com/JTtsnxUB4T  Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) July 28, 2018

I want to know about the relationship between you and Donald Trump. I think you ought to disclose the extent of the relationship, Avenatti said to the Harvard lawyer.

Dershowitz responded by saying:

Ive met him three times in my life. all three times dealing with the Middle East. I have no relationship with him. But I have to tell you, I do know legal ethics.

Once again Michael Avenatti has shown the world that he will not back down from Donald Trump or any of his supporters or surrogates. Alan Dershowitz is a brilliant lawyer and professor but he has made many ridiculous comments about our current president, showing that his loyalty to Trump has clouded his judgment and his reasoning ability.

The United States needs strong public advocates like Michael Avenatti who will fight for the truth and stand up for the American people against the dark forces that would take away our democracy.
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Michael Avenatti epically trolled Donald Trump on Saturday morning by proposing an intelligence test for all candidates for president.

In a tweet, the attorney for Stormy Daniels said, Why shouldnt all presidential candidates have to take the Wonderlic or a similar test and have the results published?

Avenatti added: This should be required in 2020 for all (inc Mr. Trump).

Why shouldnt all presidential candidates have to take the Wonderlic or a similar test and have the results published? This should be required in 2020 for all (inc Mr. Trump). We deserve to know the intelligence level of the person who wants to be our president (a big factor)!  Michael Avenatti (@MichaelAvenatti) July 28, 2018

Trump has repeatedly demonstrated low intelligence, poor mental health

Its not just Trump critics who think this president is several crayons short of a full set. People who have worked  or continue to work  in his administration feel the same way.

According to an NBC News report from May, Trump chief of staff John Kelly thinks the president is an idiot. Kelly believes his presence in the West Wing has saved the U.S. from catastrophic damage Trump could do.

Before leaving his post as Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson reportedly referred to Trump as a moron. The man-child Trump was quick to challenge Tillerson to an IQ test competition.

In Michael Wolffs controversial Fire and Fury book, he alleges that White House staff believe Trump is only semi-literate. Its well documented, of course, that Trump doesnt read  not even his own intelligence briefings.

On multiple levels  whether its his mental health or intelligence level  Donald Trump has demonstrated that he isnt fit to be President of the United States. Those who know him best have repeatedly testified to that disturbing fact.

A test would only confirm what most Americans have recognized since this president became a political figure.
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A desperate House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has told Republicans in Congress that nobody is safe in this years midterm elections, and nobody can take their seats for granted. McCarthy has confirmed that GOP leaders are extremely worried about a Blue Wave this year that will take away their congressional majorities.

Reports are that McCarthy cracked the whip with his GOP colleagues on the topics of fundraising and campaigning in a sit down meeting with them yesterday. As a leader of the Republican House caucus he apparently decided it was up to him to give what was called a combination pep talk and wake-up call. His goal was to have an impact before members of Congress left Washington for their five-week summer recess.

People close to the Majority Leader have summarized his message as follows:

Republicans are facing a surge in Democratic fundraising and voter enthusiasm,

The GOP needs to make up ground if they are going to buck historical trends and keep control of the House in the first midterm election of Donald Trumps presidency,

They have to target women and independent voters, and,

They have to highlight not just a booming U.S. economy, but also the bipartisan House bills to combat human trafficking and the opioid crisis.

If McCarthy is successful it will help him in his quest to ascend in the partys House leadership. If the GOP retains control, and there is a vote next year on a successor to House Speaker Paul Ryan his efforts will determine whether he ascends to the top job.

Kevin McCarthy Makes It Official: Hes Running for Speaker House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) made it clear . . . that he wants to be the next Speaker of the House if Republicans retain control after the November midterm elections.

Kevin McCarthy Makes It Official: He's Running for Speaker House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) made it clear on Wednesday that he wants to be the next Speaker of the House if Republicans retain control after the November midterm elections. https://t.co/VejoiElJP5 bitly.  Connie Gilbert (@connieglbert) July 26, 2018

McCarthy has many supporters in the GOP caucus. Jeff Denham, a California Republican and close McCarthy supporter, said, Hes been a huge help in everything  campaigning, fundraising, strategizing. He has a great eye for what each district needs.

McCarthy has also taken advantage of his leadership position, raising more than $12 million in the second quarter of this year between his own campaign and joint fundraising committees.

Kevin McCarthy knows that it is unlikely that the GOP will retain control of the House after the 2018 midterm elections, and his latest actions show that he is desperately trying to do whatever he can to turn back the Blue Wave.
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President Donald Trumps former lawyer on Friday strongly criticized his current attorney, saying Rudy Giuliani comments on television have harmed the presidents case.

The attorney, Jay Goldberg, who represented Trump in his two divorces, said on CNN that Giuliani is immeasurably damaging Trumps case with conflicting statements concerning the truthfulness of Trumps former personal lawyer and fixer.

President Donald Trumps lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, substantially weakened his case against Michael Cohen by going back and forth as to whether Cohen could tell federal prosecutors the truth, said Jay Goldberg, President Donald Trumps friend and former lawyer.

President Donald Trump's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, substantially weakened his case against Michael Cohen by going back and forth as to whether Cohen could tell federal prosecutors the truth, said Jay Goldberg, President Donald Trump's friend and former lawyer https://t.co/T382VnyITz pic.twitter.com/G7t8wDQMpW  CNN (@CNN) July 28, 2018

I knew as soon as Giuliani spoke that he was damaging Trumps case immeasurably, Goldberg said on CNN. It ranks near 100 in terms of damage.

In recent months Giuliani said he had confidence in Cohen, saying he was truthful and that he was not worried that Cohen would flip on Trump and begin cooperating with prosecutors.

But now it seems that Cohen is indeed positioning himself to start cooperating with prosecutors so Giuliani has changed his tune. After it came out that Cohen had an audio recording of Trump making arrangements a payment to purchase the rights to a former Playboy models story of her affair with Trump, Giuliani began criticizing Cohen, and has said that is a pathological liar.

CNN reported Thursday that Cohen was prepared to tell prosecutors that Trump had advance knowledge of the 2016 Trump Tower meeting between campaign officials and Russian nationals, which the president has claimed he did not know about.

I expected something like this from Cohen, Giuliani told CNN on Thursday. Hes been lying all week. Hes been lying for years.

I dont see how he has any credibility, he added.

Goldberg told CNN that he didnt think Giuliani would be a good defense attorney for Trump given his track record as a prosecutor. He said:

I didnt think he had knowledge of how to handle the case from the defense perspective. He was a long-time prosecutor. He didnt know how to set a case up for the possible impeachment of a witness such as Cohen. Now, we dont know that Cohen would tell the truth. Its entirely likely that given precedent a person who was in Cohens position would tell the government what he believes the government wants to hear. For Giuliani to say that he will tell the truth strips the defense of its main weapon of claiming that he is coloring his testimony to favor the government so he can get a letter of cooperation.

It ranks near 100 in terms of damage. In other words, the testimony would be, Youre claiming that Mr. Cohen is not telling the truth. So, on a certain date, you said that Cohen would tell the truth and that he is an honorable person. And the jury would hear that. That would be terribly damaging to someone who is trying to impeach the credibility of Cohen. No defense oriented lawyer would say that.

Cohen is being investigated by federal and state prosecutors in New York City for many different possible financial crimes. There has been speculation that he will cooperate with the prosecutors to get reduced charges and lenient sentencing ever since the FBI raided his office, home and hotel in April.

Goldbergs comments about Rudy Giuliani are just the latest evidence that the former New York City mayor is an incompetent blowhard who is a horrible lawyer and is doing Donald Trump more harm than good. The only thing Giuliani is good at is making headlines for his outrageous comments on TV, and apparently that is all that his client cares about.
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MSNBC counterterrorism expert Malcolm Nance gave Donald Trump a major reality check on Saturday as the case against the president and his campaign continues to gain strength.

According to Nance, what happened in the now-infamous 2016 Trump Tower meeting will soon become public knowledge  and at that point, the president will be in major legal jeopardy.

When that information comes out, I think that its going to be even more damaging, Nance said during a panel discussion on MSNBCs AM Joy.

Video:

Nance said:

Getting rid of the Magnitsky Act, which is the sanctions against the Russian oligarchy. Thats what their principal thing was. I think that at some point, its going to come out that they did have a discussion about this and that theyre all just putting us on by not knowing what they were there to talk about. When that information comes out, I think that its going to be even more damaging because theres no way the entire senior staff of Trumps team  Jared Kushner, Paul Manafort, all of these people are in the room and would never report to Donald Trump. Its implausible.

Its only a matter of time before the Trump Tower meeting is fully exposed

Michael Cohens reported revelation that Trump was informed of  and gave his personal approval to  the Trump Tower meeting rocked the political world on Thursday, but its something that many had already suspected.

What needs to happen next, as Nance pointed out, is for the exact details of that meeting to come to light.

The more we learn about it, the more its apparent that the Trump Tower meeting wasnt about Russian adoptions. Instead, it was likely about two things: 1. Getting dirt on Hillary Clinton to help Trump become president; and 2. Lifting sanctions against Russia after he became president.

When this information comes out  and perhaps Robert Mueller already has it  the entire house of cards on which Trump built his illegitimate presidency will come crashing to the ground.
By Hugh Bronstein

BUENOS AIRES (Reuters)  U.S. farmers could receive cash payments from a planned $12 billion aid package as soon as late September, United States Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue told Reuters on Saturday, adding that the program will not make farmers whole.

Perdue said in an interview on the sidelines of the G20 meeting of agriculture ministers in Buenos Aires that the plan would include between $7 billion and $8 billion in direct cash relief.

U.S. growers are expected to take an estimated $11 billion hit due to Chinese retaliatory tariffs after Washington placed tariffs on Chinese goods.

Obviously this is not going to make farmers whole, Perdue said.

(Reporting by Hugh Bronstein; Editing by Sandra Maler)
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Michael Cohen, President Donald Trumps former personal attorney and longtime fixer, has increased the chances that Donald Trump Jr. will go to jail.

If Cohen can help federal prosecutors prove that President Donald Trump knew in advance about the infamous Trump Tower Russia meeting of June 9, 2016  as Cohen now claims  the Presidents son and namesake could be facing several federal criminal charges, including perjury.

The controversy concerns what the president knew about the Trump Tower meeting in June 2016 between senior members of his campaign and Kremlin-linked Russian lawyer Natalia Veselnitskaya, who was touting dirt on Hillary Clinton.

That meeting is being heavily scrutinized by special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian election interference and possible collusion between the Trump campaign and Russia.

Cohen is reportedly preparing to testify to Mueller that he witnessed Donald Trump Jr. telling his father about the meeting before it took place. That is different from what Trump Jr. previously has said about his fathers knowledge of the meeting.

In extensive testimony under oath before the committee in September 2017, Patrick Davis, deputy chief investigative counsel asked Don Jr.:

Did you inform your father about the meeting or the underlying offer prior to the meeting?

And Donald Trump Jr. replied: No, I did not.

It was Donald Jr. who approved the time, location and participants in the meeting that included the Russian lawyer, Natalia Veselnitskaya, and a Russian-American lobbyist, Rinat Akhmetshin. He also brought to the Trump Tower conference table the then-chairman of Trumps campaign, Paul Manafort, and brother-in-law Jared Kushner among others.

If Cohens claim about Don Jr. is ultimately proven to be true, the Don Jr. gave false testimony given under oath, which is perjury.

Appearing on MSNBC, Former defense attorney Danny Cevallos explained that Don Jr. now is facing several different federal charges. Cevallos said:

If Don Jr. lied to Congress, there are about six different obstruction statutes that apply to congressional activities. The most obvious would be 1505, but as long as he intended to mislead or omit factual information, he can be charged with a crime, and this is very important, whether or not he was under oath.

If hes under oath, its perjury. If hes not under oath, it still might be section 1001. Weve already seen others indicted, pleading guilty to the exact same crime.

A number of high-profile people in the past have been charged with this crime. It is a very easy crime to make out and does not require an oath. It essentially requires just a knowing intentional misleading or lying to an agent or Congress or obstructing some proceeding.

Yesterday Senate Democrats said they want Don Jr. to come back to the Senate Judiciary Committee so they can ask him more questions about his previous testimony under oath. Several senators are now saying that the presidents son provided false testimony to the committee.

Both Bob Muellers team and the Senate Judiciary Committee think Donald Trump Jr. has some explaining to do. Right now it looks like they wont be letting up on the presidents son, but will keep applying pressure until they get truthful answers from him.

Many people believe that bringing Donald Trump Jr. to justice and threatening him with jail time is the best way to apply leverage on the president. It remains to be seen if that will happen, but if Michael Cohens account is later verified and proven to be true then there is no question that Junior could be facing some serious jail time.
I mentioned a couple weeks ago that Ill be giving the keynote address for a National Association of Scholars conference at Grove City College next month on August 11. (Still time to register if you are in the hood or want to travel.) I decided to call my address Should We Euthanize Universities Or Let Them Commit Suicide? It will be a revision and extension of some of the themes I laid out in my lecture at Arizona State back in February that I called The Intellectual Suicide of American Universities: Causes and Remedies. (You can listen to that entire lecture on the Power Line Show, Episode 69. It will eventually be published in a conference volume, and I may yet turn it into a book.)

One of the points I made in that lecture is that universities would start to divide into practical subjects like business and economics and STEM sciences, and leave behind the humanities and social sciences:

I think were already seeing the beginnings of a de factodivorce of universities, in which the STEM fields and other practical disciplines essentially split off from the humanities and social sciences, not to mention the more politicized departments. One early signperhaps a canary in the university coal minecan be seen in the recent announcement of the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point campus that it is shuttering 13 departments in the humanities and social sciences, and laying off tenured faculty, on account of declining enrollment and budget pressures, and reallocating funds to STEM subjects. Another sign are the economics departments that have begun subdividing themselves into general economics and an even more-math centric quantitative econometrics. Several economics departments are formally reclassifying themselves as STEM departments (there are federal guidelines for this) for a variety of reasons, but among them has to be wishing to disassociate themselves further from other social sciences.

Lo and behold, more economics departments are deciding to become STEM subjects, supposedly for advantages STEM classification provides (especially in attracting and keeping talented foreign students), but I am sure it is in part to disassociate themselves from the rest of the politicized social science disciplines. If nothing else, economics is the one social science field where degree earners have good job prospects, and which doesnt need propping up.

The Economist reports:

Economics departments appear to be catching on. Yale and Columbia have both changed the code for their economics major in the past few months; five of the eight Ivy League Universities have now done so. Students at Pennsylvania and Cornell are agitating for a switch.

And the American Institute for Economic Research gives five more reasons why economics is better suited as a STEM subject. If you read through these five reasons carefully, its what they dont say that stands out loudly. See what is implied by this passage, for example:

The objective of STEM programs is to create professionally and socially qualified individuals to overcome 21st-century challenges. For that reason, these courses should make students learn how to apply the scientific method to everyday life and acquire useful skills for real-world applications. Economics promotes and develops both of them. Due to the prevalence of mathematics and pragmatism in economics, positivism is the dominant research method in the field. Therefore, economists examine real-world problems and evaluate feasible solutions through economic positivism, a scientific method. Further, this degree encourages students to acquire or improve on relevant skills for todays life, such as critical thinking and problem-solving, entrepreneurship and innovation, resourcefulness and resilience, teamwork and collaboration, and a sense of civic responsibility.

Whatyou means sociology and social psychology dont do this? Im shocked anyone would assert that economics is superior to these other social science fields. (/sarc off now)

CHASERThis article is really fun (though long):

Might be? Ya think?
The release of a heavily-redacted version of the FBIs application for a Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act warrant to wiretap Carter Page triggered a debate over whether the FBI gave the FISA court judges enough information to assess the anti-Trump motives of the people behind the Steele dossier. That dossier was at the core of the FBIs application.

Defenders of the FBI point to a footnote in the FISA application with this sentence: The FBI speculates that the identified U.S. person was likely looking for information that could be used to discredit Candidate #1s campaign. The identified U.S. person is Glenn Simpson, the Fusion GPS opposition researcher who recruited former British spy Christopher Steele to search for Russia-related dirt on Trump, referred to as Candidate #1 in the application.

However, Byron York counters that the footnote did not disclose the bias of Christoper Steele, the operative upon whose information Simpson relied. Rather, the FBI vouched for Steele without noting his bias, and tried to create the impression that, whatever Simpsons bias might be, it did not infect Steeles investigating and the resulting dossier.

The FBI vouched for Steele, telling the FISA court:

Source #1s [Steeles] reporting has been corroborated and used in criminal proceedings and the FBI assesses Source #1 to be reliable. Source #1 has been compensated [REDACTED] by the FBI and the FBI is unaware of any derogatory information pertaining to Source #1.

In addition, the FBI told the court that it believes Source #1s reporting herein to be credible.

The FBI tried to use Steele to wash away any problem of bias by Simpson by asserting that Simpson never advised Source #1 [Steele] as to the motivation behind the research into Candidate #1s ties to Russia. Thus, the FISA court was led to believe that the dossier was untainted by bias because, regardless of Simpsons motivation, Steeles work was unaffected since he didnt know the people paying him were out to stop Trump.

It seems implausible that Steele, a veteran operator, wouldnt know the motivation and intentions of the people who hired him, but lets assume he didnt. If Steele himself was out to stop Trump, that could easily skew his work.

At a minimum, the FBI would need to inform the FISA court of this possibility, just as it informed the court that Simpson was likely looking for information with which to damage Trump. Otherwise, the FBI would be deceiving the court by withholding important information relevant to Steeles credibility, for which the FBI was vouching.

But the FBI did not so inform the FISA court.* As Byron says, In the initial and later applications, the FBI did not even hint that Steele, referred to as Source #1 in the application, was biased against Trump.

Did the FBI know of Steeles bias when it made its submissions to the FISA court? Yes it did.

In the book Russian Roulette, authors Michael Isikoff and David Corn  both of whom were briefed by Steele about his findings during the campaign  reported that the FBI was aware of Steeles anti-Trump motivations. FBI officials knew from the outset that Steele had an agenda and that he was likely working for the Democrats, they wrote.

In fact, Steele made his bias manifest to high-ranking Justice Department official Bruce Ohr a month before the initial FISA application was filed. He told Ohr he was desperate that Donald Trump not get elected and was passionate about him not being president, according to Ohrs own account quoted in a memo by House Intelligence Committee chairman Devin Nunes memo. In addition, according to Nunes, this evidence of Steeles bias was recorded by Ohr at the time, and subsequently in official FBI files.

Yet, from all that appears, this information was never included in the FISA applications  not in the initial October 2017 application, and not in the subsequent renewal applications of January, April, and June of 2017.

In sum, the FBI deceived the FISA court in obtaining the warrant to spy on Carter Page. It based a substantial part of its warrant application on Steeles work knowing that Steele had a strong and clear anti-Trump bias, but did not so advise the court and, indeed, tried to create the impression that Steele was untainted by such bias.

*At least, thats how it seems. Byron cautions that we cant be certain because of the heavy redactions in the documents released to the public. However, Rep. Nunes and Sen. Charles Grassley have seen the unredacted versions and they say the documents dont disclose Steeles anti-Trump posture.
Development of technologically advanced cardiac monitoring devices is expected to boost the cardiac monitoring devices market growth

Cardiac Monitoring Devices Market

PR-Inside.com: 2018-07-28 10:48:44

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Cardiac monitoring devices enable continual observation of patients with heart disorders. These devices are commonly used in emergency rooms and critical care units and primarily in arrhythmias to monitor the rate of heartbeats. Common types of cardiac monitoring devices include holter monitors, event monitors, loop monitors, and insertable cardiac monitors. The additional parameters monitored noninvasively by cardiac monitors include blood pressure, cardiac output, intravascular pressures, arterial blood oxygen saturation, and blood temperature.Click To Continue Reading on Cardiac Monitoring Devices MarketRise in incidence of cardiovascular diseases such as cardiac arrthymia, ischemic heart disease, and hypertension is expected to fuel growth of the cardiac monitoring devices market. According to World Health Organization (WHO), 2015, cardiovascular diseases was the leading cause of deaths accounting for 17.7 million deaths, globally. Furthermore, increasing applications of cardiac monitors in continuous monitoring for patients with severe electrolyte imbalances and for postoperative observation is expected to augment the market growth over the forecast period. Development of advance cardiac monitoring devices such as remote cardiac monitoring devices and wireless cardiac monitoring devices providing early detection is a major factor expected to boast the cardiac monitoring devices market growth over the forecast period.For instance, ZywiePro, the next-generation cardiac remote monitoring solution launched in 2015, leverages mobile and cloud technology to facilitate detection of cardiovascular arrhythmias. ZywiePro enables physicians to provide more personalized and effective patient care by detailed diagnostic insight into the cardiovascular health of the patients. However, factors inhibiting the cardiac monitoring devices market include high cost of device and lack of knowledge about advance cardiac monitoring devices.Advance cardiac monitoring devices enable physician to make accurate diagnosis and determine a treatment plan. For instance, the Reveal LINQ Insertable Cardiac Monitor manufactured by Medtronic, approved by FDA in 2014, is currently the smallest heart monitor in the market. It can diagnose the cause of infrequent, unexplained fainting spells better than conventional testing.Regional segmentation of cardiac monitoring devices market by Coherent Market Insights comprises North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. North America is expected to hold a dominant position in global cardiac monitoring devices market over the forecast period, due to increasing prevalence of cardiovascular diseases in the region.Request Sample Copy of this Business Report @ https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/1272 Key Vendors:Philips Healthcare, Medtronic, Boston Scientific, Cardiac Science, LifeWatch, CareTaker Medical, Spacelabs, St. Jude Medical, Kohden, CardioNet, and Mortara Instrument.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.
Metro Manila, CNN Philippines  With the fugitive Ozamiz City Councilor Ricardo Ardot Parojinog under police custody, the Philippine National Police (PNP) is intensifying their pursuit of other alleged Parojinog drug group members.

Parojinog arrived in the Philippines yesterday, after being deported from Taiwan, where he had gone into hiding for more than a year.

"Malaking grupo ito eh, malaki ito. Hindi lang naman kasi illegal drugs ang nasosolve dito, pati yung mga murder cases na nangyari," PNP Chief Oscar Albayalde said in a press conference Friday night.

[Translation: This is a big group. Theyre not just involved in illegal drugs cases, there were also murder cases.]

Parojinog is the younger brother of slain Ozamiz City Mayor Reynaldo Aldong Parojinog, who was killed along with 14 others in a bloody police raid at his residence July last year.

The younger Parojinog was brought to the PNP Custodial Center in Camp Crame, where he underwent medical exams and booking procedures.

The PNP will return his arrest warrant to the Ozamiz City Regional Trial Court Branch 15 to determine if Parojinog will be brought back to Ozamiz or if he will stay in Camp Crame. Parojinog was arrested for murder, illegal possession of firearms and ammunition, and illegal possession of explosives.

"For security reasons ay hindi naman siya basta-basta pwedeng idiretso doon at mayroon naman tayong custodial center dito sa headquarters natin, Albayalde said.

[Translation: For security reasons we cant transport him to Ozamiz immediately. We have a custodial center at our headquarters.]

The police are currently pursuing other members of the Parojinog group. Officers suspect that he had support from people outside of the country when he was hiding in Taiwan.

"We believe there are people involved to keep him around in that particular area for that long period of time. You cannot just survive without any support group, said PNP Directorate for Intelligence Chief Gregorio Pimentel in the press conference.

The police will interrogate Parojinog for more information about the group.

They assured the press that Parojinog will stay alive during the course of the investigation.
SEO accelerate applications has launched by Metworld DMCC Trading internet technology to reinforce search engine commercial enterprise rating in online competition

Metworld DMCC Trading Dubai

PR-Inside.com: 2018-07-28 15:13:36

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Metworld DMCC Trading web technology Pvt Ltd, an ISO 9001:2015 certified businesses positioned in Dubai, has sound competency in providing seo services. Theyre taken into consideration as India's 1st  Google- the virtual storage United Kingdom & Google virtual unlocked licensed agency. They help the clients in adopting the proper method to boom their on-line presence thereby helping them in turning into a famous website. The customers gets improved logo visibility, web traffic together with higher productiveness for their enterprise. The finest gain of exceptional search engine Optimization Corporation in Noida is that it has a team of specialists who are professionally proficient to help the clients in accomplishing their goals and goals.In standard, Metworld DMCC Trading internet technology gives more than one seo offerings inclusive of On web page Optimization Consistent monitoring of natural engines like Google for utmost profits for our clients Execution of hyperlink building techniques Analysis and testimony of challenge effectiveness Link building services The capitulation of enterprise express engines Evaluation of competition and near mentioning of content material symphony servicesBased totally at the number of keywords needed through the consumer, Metworld DMCC Trading offers specific services which include Gold ($550/month for 26 key phrases), Silver ($350/month for 18 keywords) and Bronze ($250/month for 12 keywords).A number of the blessings that Metworld DMCC Trading offer over its competitors are:To gain a part over other competitors in the marketplace, every business need to undertake a different and specific method. To ensure this, there must be a customized search optimization offerings. Metworld DMCC Trading satisfies this want of the customers with the aid of imparting those personalized offerings through interacting with them on a normal foundation. Via this clients gets clarity approximately what they need to adopt as a proper method to beautify their consumer base.The major success of Metworld DMCC Trading is that its clients have been capable of growth their sales by nearly 30-forty% as they helped the customers and their enterprise to reach the centered audience thru proper messages.It is easy to make internet site gain recognition by the usage of unethical and fake method. This could every now and then jeopardize the boom of the enterprise website involved. But Metworld DMCC Trading believes in adopting proper approach to obtain the ends. This would assist the customers to develop a trustworthy courting between them and the customers.They recognize the problems of the commercial enterprise from the patrons factor of view and provide offerings at a less expensive fee. Their consumer base is increasing day by day and their indicates their know-how within the discipline of search engine optimization offerings.Their achievements inside the discipline of net improvement can be understood by numerous awards obtained by means of the corporation. The most important awards consist of India's high-quality IT & net offerings provider of the year 2017 with the aid of Shaurya Achievers Awards 2017 UAE, internet advertising service Award - 2016 Columbus and many others.
Chika Lann is an ex-international model and TV personality who became an internet sensation because of her Avant-garde hairstyle. PREMIUM TIMES recently spent an afternoon with her and she speaks about her career and eccentric style.

PT: You have a unique fashion sense. What defines your style?

Chika : My style is defined by my personality. I believe ones fashion sense is the first identity people see. I dont like to blend in with the crowd; rather, I like to stand out. You can see that in my fashion.

PT: Why do you still maintain that your hair cost N40 million despite doubts around this?

Chika: It costs N40 million and I dont know why people find it difficult to believe. Its not a publicity stunt and I can invest in my hair and invest in business at the same time. That is exactly what I have done. I believe it is my money and I will spend it how I wish. I would repeat it again that my hair is a work of art and it is worth N40 milliom

PT: How long have you had this hair?

Chika: A short period of time. I know many people are confused about many aspects of my hair, but I dont care. I will like to keep it like that.

PT: Why spend so much on hair when there are other profitable ventures to invest in?

Chika: This question is assuming that I dont have profitable ventures. I do actually. And if people dont understand that spending money on your own image is also a profitable venture, then they dont know much about business.

PT: So what else do you do for a living?

Chika: I am a TV personality, producer and also an image consultant.

PT: How have you coped with the backlashes that have followed?

Chika: I never allow what they think about me get to me. I try to live my life as normal as possible. But I must confess, it hasnt been that easy. I am the kind of person that loves my freedom. Sometimes, I just want to go out and get stuff. But recently, that has almost been impossible because of people coming to take pictures with me.

PT: You recently embarked on a social media campaign targeted at Nigerian youth. What inspired the move?

Chika: Many things led to this but I think the pivotal point was after the (recent) tanker crash (in Lagos) and the several loss of lives. You see, like everyone else, I complained bitterly on social media and then I realised that wouldnt change anything. So I decided to take it to the streets. I am simply awed by the level of creativity in the entries that I have received so far. So much that I wish I could reward every single entry. Nigeria is blessed with so much talent and I hope this challenge will not just end here but will be a catalyst that would trigger real change.

PT: You recently featured in Oyinbo Wives of Lagos TV series and Linda Ikeji shaded your performance. How did it make you feel?

Chika: I am indifferent because I have realised that I intimidate many people and they always want to put me down. I dont take them seriously. I appeared in a single scene in Oyinbo Wives. It was a mistake, actually.

I went out with my friend  who is one of their characters  and when they saw me, the producer was wowed. She insisted I must join them. After the shoot, they really wanted me to be part of the show but I refused as I was working on my show then  The Expatriates Wives.

PT: How did you get into the modeling industry?

Chika: It was a case of sheer providence. I never struggled to be one. An agent approached me in the middle of a shopping mall in Paris. He asked me if I was a model and when I said no, he was surprised because he felt I have the face and carriage of a model. He signed me into his modeling agency and the rest, like the popular saying, is history. Since my modelling career started in Paris, I didnt need their approval. But since I came from a very strict religious family, I am sure they wouldnt have supported it.

PT: What are some of the most notable jobs youve done as a model?

Chika: Being a model in a big city as Paris, I got a lot of notable jobs. Some of the ones I can remember was the Brazilian Night in Paris, and my deal with Bretz, a world-class luxury designer brand.

PT: Modelling now appears to be an all-comers affair.

Chika: The modeling industry has its challenges but its a growing industry. People have started taking modelling as a serious career path. Going into modelling out of laziness is a fallacy because modelling is hard. It requires a tremendous amount of discipline. You have to be the right size. You have to watch what you eat. You have to work your butt off because there are so many people fighting for the same opportunity as yourself. Its easier working in an office than being a model.

PT: Some young models are being taken advantage of (sexually). Why is this so?

Chika: I have nothing to say to that. Desperation can lead people to many things and some people are going to take advantage of that desperation. This is not peculiar to the modeling industry because it happens in other industries. Some people sleep their way to the top in an office setting.

PT: So why have you stopped modelling?

Chika: I got married and I started a family. Family and modeling go well together. And since I felt Ive done well for myself career wise, I chose to nurture my family for some time. After all, once a model, you will always be a model. I set my priorities right. Its simple, actually. I understand my family comes first and my career takes second place. With that understanding in place, things are quite easy

PT: Tell us about your educational background?

Chika: After my secondary school education in Nigeria, I left for France to further my education. I also did some courses at the University of Geneva, Switzerland, which is about one hour from Annecy, where I lived. I studied Image Consultancy at Sterling Style Academy.

PT: Tell us about the Expatriate Wives?

Chika: Like the name suggests, its a TV reality show about women married to expatriates. The show chronicles the lifestyles of six ladies married to expatriates in Lagos. Viewers need to expect drama and more drama. In the show, we get to understand what it means to be married to an expatriate.

PT: You are married to an expatriate. How did you meet your husband and why the preference for white?

Chika: Oh la you want to know everything. Well, my husband and I met at a wedding ceremony in France. We have been married for 13 years now.

Inter-racial marriage has its own challenges outside of the normal challenges of marriage. But we truly love each other so we have a way of working things out.

PT: Some people have a certain misconception about a Nigerian married to an expatriate. How do you handle the snide remarks?

Chika: People are entitled to their opinions. I really dont care about their remarks. If you wait long enough, people are going to talk bad about you no matter what you do or say.
The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) are to agree on a revised template for remittance of revenue to the Federation Account.

The Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, said on Friday in Abuja that the current template by the NNPC has been a source of conflict between the national oil company and other FAAC members over revenues proposed every month for sharing.

Mrs Adeosun who was addressing reporters at the end of the FAAC meeting for June said President Muhammadu Buhari has directed a new template to replace the current one by NNPC which she said has not been presenting revenue in the most transparent and user-friendly manner.

The FAAC meeting last June ended in a deadlock without members agreeing to share the N147 billion revenue provided by the NNPC for distribution.

Members grouse was that the figure presented by NNPC did not reflect all the collections by the corporation from its activities for the month.

Although the NNPC, through its spokesperson, Ndu Ughamadu, said the remitted amount followed the corporations understanding reached with the governors of the 36 states of the federation, FAAC was not persuaded to accept the proposed revenue until it was reconciled.

Since then, two other attempts to resolve the disagreement failed, resulting in the meeting being postponed indefinitely a fortnight ago.

To end the lingering impasse, the Finance Commissioners Forum in FAAC last week proffered solutions it tabled before the federal government for consideration..

The Chairman of the Forum, Mahmood Yunusa, said the solution included a proposal for government to immediately strip the NNPC of the responsibilities to collect and remit to FAAC oil royalties and petroleum profit tax (PPT).

In NNPCs place, Mr Yunusa said, members resolved that the collection and remittance of oil royalty be returned to the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) as stipulated under the petroleum industry law.

Similarly, the collection and remittance of the PPT should be returned to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) in line with the law.

But, to guarantee a more lasting solution to the crisis, Mrs Adeosun said on Friday President Muhammadu Buhari had intervened by convening a reconciliation meeting to discuss the issues and come up with solutions.

The meeting held on Thursday was attended by the Finance Minister, along with the Chief of Staff to the President, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, and representatives of the NNPC.

At the end, Mrs Adeosun said the president directed that a revised revenue remittance template be developed jointly between the NNPC, Ministry of Finance, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission.

Although no deadline was given for the completion of the assignment, the minister said all members of FAAC were convinced the reform was fundamental to improving the reporting and remittance of revenues to FAAC.

It was accepted that the reporting template by the NNPC to the Federation Account was not fit for purpose and was not providing the right level of assurance around the figures.

Many of its components that have been areas of conflict have information that are not being presented in the most transparent and user-friendly manner, the minister said. ,

Besides, she said, the president further directed that prior to every FAAC meeting, a pre-meeting must be held between the Ministry of Finance and NNPC to reconcile the figures before presentation to the Federation Account.

At the end of the meeting, about N821.9 billion was shared among the three tiers of government for June.

Details of the revenue for the month presented by the minister showed gross statutory revenue of about N694.7billion, higher than last months N575.5 billion by N119.2 billion.

FAAC secretariat report showed that crude oil export sales volume increased by 1.42 million barrels, resulting in increased revenue from federation crude oil export sales by about 4101.6 million, compared to about $176 million sales value the previous month.

Although the report said the average crude oil price rose from $65.98 per barrel to $67.93 during the month, it was not as much as the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) non-oil revenue, which rose significant to $232.72 billion, from about $104.65 billion in May.

Despite the improved revenue, the report said oil production was negatively affected by the shut-ins and facility shut-downs reported at various oil terminals in the Niger Delta for routine repairs and maintenance of aging facilities.

However, Value Added Tax (VAT) decreased substantially, while import duty also decreased marginally. Companies Income tax (CIT) and oil royalty increased significantly, while PPT was lower for the month.

Overall, the federal government took about N283.5 billion; states N143.8 billion; local governments N110.9 billion and oil producing states took N37.4 billion as 13 per cent derivation revenue.

About N100 billion was transferred to the Excess crude revenue account, bringing the balance to about $2.24 billion.
A week after he appealed to the Benue State Governor not to leave the APC, Adams Oshiomhole now says the governor is a failure and he is relieved the governor left.

Mr Oshiomhole, National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said that the party was relieved that Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue defected to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

I am relieved as national chairman, and I believe that the leadership of the party in Benue is also relieved that Ortom has left the party and returned to the club he belongs, Mr Oshiomhole said in an interview with journalists on Friday.

Mr Oshiomhole lampooned the PDP as a club whose philosophy is to share the money and not develop communities.

We now have a clean platform to search for a clean and credible candidate from Benue, a candidate that can provide leadership that the great people of Benue state deserves. And not someone who seeks to make political capital out of human graves and celebrating the death of his own people, he said.

Mr Oshiomhole added that as a party, the APC condemns killings by any criminal whether in Benue State or any other part of the country.

He said that the APC accepts that governments responsibility must be to protect lives and properties.

However, the party will condemn in strong terms anyone in government that seeks to get political capital from the shedding of blood, he said.

He stressed that governments at all levels have shared responsibility of protecting Nigerians irrespective of religious, social and political status.

Mr Oshiomhole accused the Benue governor of ineptitude in the discharge of his duties as chief security officer of his state and insisted that Mr Ortom got the partys ticket,on a platter of gold.

This, he said, was especially so, because the governor never participated during the process of the partys formation.

He added that the party would, henceforth, be more thorough on its choice of candidate.

Mass Burial for Victims of Benue Killings

He became a candidate by accident and the lesson for our party is that never again should anyone become a candidate on our platform by accident.

It has to be by conscious choice, my aim is that we will have a political party that is defined by clear cut ideology and people will join or abstain from joining on the premise of conviction, he said.

He added that it was unfortunate that while President Muhammadu Buhari had been to other states in the federation to commission projects, there has been none to commission in Benue.

This, Mr Oshiomhole said, was so because Governir Ortom had not developed any project since he assumed office, adding that this was one of the complaints the Benue APC leaders brought against him.

The APC national chairman also accused Mr Ortom of making political gain on the security situation in his state, after allegedly spending heavily on security.

He said that the Benue governor when asked to defend himself following the accusations against him, could not give reasonable explanation.

Whereas the President and Vice President had visited other states to commission projects, they had only visited Benue on condolence visits.

It is OK to lament that there is no federal presence. Where is the explanation for the absence of projects in Benue State?

Ortoms argument is that he had diverted a lot of funds to security issues, Mr Oshiomhole said.

He added that the governors claim of spending so much on security in the state raises more questions.

He noted that while the governor claimed that he had spent N22 billion received from the federal government on security, the people of the state were more and more insecure.

Mr Oshiomhole said he felt scandalised watching Mr Ortom on television saying he had to leave the APC because the party could not protect the state.

Mr Ortom on Wednesday l defected to the PDP even though he had provided hint of his defection last week.

After meeting Mr Oshiomhole last week, Mr Ortom walked back on his hint, saying he may no longer defect.

Mr Ortoms Benue State is one of the most affected by violence involving armed herdsmen leading to hundreds of deaths.

He has accused the federal government, which controls all security agencies, of not doing enough to stop the killings.
A Nigerian journalist whose prolonged detention has drawn widespread local and international condemnation, has finally been arraigned before a magistrate, his lawyer told PREMIUM TIMES Saturday.

Jones Abiri was taken into custody in July 2016 by Nigerias ruthless State Security Service, which accused him of militancy but failed to file criminal charges within two days as required by law.

Mr Abiri, 50, was kept largely incommunicado since his arrest, a measure that was fiercely defended by top Buhari administration officials despite criticisms by local and foreign rights advocates.

Femi Falana, a rights activist leading Mr Abiris legal team, told PREMIUM TIMES his client was arraigned before a Chief Magistrates Court in Abuja on Friday.

The SSS said in court filings that Mr Abiri sent a text message to Agip and Shell to demand illicit payments of up to N500 million from the oil giants.

Although it was unclear whether this was the only count brought against Mr Abiri, the journalist was nonetheless reported to have been granted a N2 million bail.

The magistrate also required that Mr Abiri must provide two sureties who must be senior civil servants on at least Level-15. It was not immediately clear whether the sureties must be federal or state civil servants, but since the charges were filed by federal authorities, it can be easily assumed that the sureties are federal civil servants.

Also arraigned alongside Mr Abiri was Collins Opume, said to be a student of Niger-Delta University from Bayelsa State.

It was also unclear whether Mr Opume was arraigned as an accomplice of Mr Abiri, especially since his identity was not known before now. But he was believed to have been in custody for about the same time as Mr Abiri.

The magistrate, C. Nweke of Wuse Zone 2 Chief Magistrates Court, adjourned further proceeding on the arraignment, whose details remained shrouded in secrecy, until August 2.

Mr Falana said the date would coincide with the next adjournment date for a fundament rights suit preciously filed over the detention of Mr Abiri.

He added that the duo were sent back to the SSS detention facility in Abuja since the stringent bail terms set for them could not be immediately met.

Mr Abiri, publisher of Weekly Source magazine, was arrested on July 21 at his office in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, on allegations that he was a key militant terrorising locals and expatriates in the restive oil-rich region.

His arrest and continued detention elicited outrage from journalists and other media rights groups.

After keeping mum for several months, the SSS later disclosed that Mr Abiri wrote a confessional statement of his involvement in the crime while in custody.

This claim, alongside several similar allegations propagated against Mr Abiri by the SSS and government officials like Garba Shehu and Lai Mohammed, was rejected by the Committee to Protect Journalist.

The media advocacy group launched a worldwide campaign to mount pressure on Mr Buhari to order the immediate release of the journalist by the SSS.

Media practitioners also used the 2018 International Press Institute World Congress held in Abuja earlier this month to mount pressure on the Buhari government to release Mr Abiri.

Peter Nkanga, a journalist and media rights advocate whose extensive investigation into the mystery surrounding Mr Abiris detention was recently published by PREMIUM TIMES, said the SSS disclosed in court affidavit that the journalist was kept in custody for so long because efforts were still underway to arrest his purported conspirators.

Mr Nkanga added that the secret police also told that the court that forensic examination was still being conducted to establish Mr Abiris alleged roles.

Critics say under Mr Buhari, the SSS, which functions as a secret state police, has become more authoritarian, locking up citizens for months and years without charge.

Many are not allowed access to their families and lawyers, they say.

The SSS, led by Lawal Daura, has also flouted several court orders granting bail to high profile detainees like former national security adviser, Sambo Dasuki, and Shiite leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky.

Both men have been held for nearly three years.

The security agency has refused to name a spokesperson to respond to such allegations.
A federal lawmaker, Rafiu Ibrahim (PDP, Kwara) has said the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai is angry at the Senate President, Bukola Saraki because of the Senates refusal to approve $350 million loan sought by the Kaduna State Government from funders.

Last year, the Kaduna State Government requested the loan for Development Policy Operation from the World Bank.

Mr El-Rufai had said the state needed the million loan from the World Bank to achieve its governance objectives in the short to medium term.

The loan would be ploughed back into critical development areas in Kaduna, the governor explained.

However, the Senate, in March, decided not to approve the request after a committee headed by Shehu Sani (APC-Kaduna) advised against it on the ground that the state is the second most indebted in the country.

Mr Sani, who is the chairman, Senate Committee on Foreign and Domestic Loans, argued that the new loan if approved will erode economic viability of the State.

His position was supported by two other senators from the state: Suleiman Hunkuyi (Kaduna North) and Danjuma Laah (Kaduna South).

Mr Sani and Mr El-Rufai have been having a running political battles since they were elected in 2015. They have been engaged in several altercations in the past and the Kaduna State government had earlier vowed to go ahead with its request despite the decision of the Senate.

Reacting to an alleged statement by Mr El-Rufai on a Hausa radio programme where he allegedly described the present Senate under the leadership of Mr Saraki as the worst, Mr Ibrahim described the Kaduna governor as a loose cannon and a liar who is one of the people that got the All Progresives Congress (APC) into the current mess it found itself now.

Also in a statement made available to PREMIUM TIMES, he said Mr El-Rufai is known as a flippant and loose talker as the facts do not support his position.

El- Rufai is an aggrieved Governor. He is pained by the rejection of his request for foreign loans by the Senate Committee on Foreign and Local Debt which is headed by a Senator from Kaduna State, Shehu Sani. The Governor has been speaking from both sides of the mouth, he said.

While stating that the interventions of the Senate on key issues that affect the day to day living of Nigerians have remained unparalleled, the lawmaker said despite the Senates rejection, Mr El-Rufai had sent several persons to the Senate President regarding the loan.

I am aware that when he sent the current Minister of Finance to Dr. Saraki, the latter made it known that he too was helpless on the issue as there was no personal reason that will make him stand against such a request.

The Senate President advised the Governor to reach out to the three senators from the state and get them to support the decision as he, the Senate President, would find it difficult to overrule the senators, particularly since one of them is the chairman of the concerned committee. The three senators from Kaduna State insisted that an approval for the loan would sentence Kaduna State to many years of indebtedness.

I am aware of the text message that this same El-Rufai sent to Saraki few weeks ago, thanking him for the useful and supportive discussion the Senate President had with the Minister of Finance on the Kaduna loan issue and commending this same Saraki for the leadership he has provided on a number of issues, he said.

He therefore said for Mr El-Rufai to be making such nonsensical and reckless statements against the Senate President, shows that he is a double-faced, reckless, immature and unstable liar.

People should ignore him. He is one of the people who destroyed APC up to the point that it is and President Buhari had better realised that with a supporter like el-Rufai, he does not need an opponent again, he added.

When contacted, the governors spokesperson, Samuel Aruwan, declined comment because he has not seen the statement.

Mr Aruwan said he did not want the statement to be sent to him again. He said he will check and authenticate the said statement.

Well look around and see. How do I authenticate the originality of the statement? We have our own sources of authenticating statements so you dont need to do that for me. We will look for it, he said.

He was yet to respond at the time of this report.
Even though they met for just one day this week, the lawmakers did not fail to display their usual drama.

Before embarking on the usual annual recess, members of the upper chamber tackled issues of urgent national importance ranging from mass defection of members to notice of some nominees appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari.

It all began with the heavy presence of security personnel who laid siege at both the residences of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki and his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu.

The duo were prevented from leaving their houses following a police invitation for investigation into alleged killings in the Offa bank robbery and for alleged conspiracy, abuse of office and money laundering.

The Senate President, however, managed to maneuver his way into the National Assembly and presided over plenary.

After reading out President Buharis letter of appointment for Chairman and members of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), Mr Sarakai, thereafter, announced the defection of 15 senators of the All Progressives Party (APC) to other parties. Majority of them joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The Senate Leader, Ahmad Lawan, had opposed the defection as he demanded that the announcement of defections be contained so as to let leaders of the party address the issue. This was not granted.

The lawmakers, thereafter, took turns to condemn the siege at the residences of the two presiding officers and then adjourned plenary till September.

Many lawmakers visited Mr Ekweremadu after the plenary session. At the time of the visit, the siege at his residence had been lifted.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said the Buhari presidency has become a citadel of liars where lies are churned out daily to deceive Nigerians.

The party was reacting to a statement credited to the Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Ita Enang, claiming that members of the National Assembly, who joined the PDP had agreed to work for Mr Buhari in the 2019 election.

While addressing journalists on Thursday on the recent defection in the National Assembly, Mr Enang said the defected legislators had assured him of their readiness to campaign for the reelection of President Buhari in 2019.

The affected lawmakers have expressed solidarity with President Buhari and stated emphatically that they are not against President Buhari or his re-election in 2019, he said.

In fact, in my interaction pre and post expression of intent to defect, all the dramatis personae  the senators and House of Representatives members  a great number of them have indicated that even if they pursue their bid on a different political platform theyll still campaign for President Buhari for 2019 on the APC platform.

The defection of 14 senators and 36 House of Representatives members from the All Progressive Congress (APC) with majority of them moving into the PDP has drawn a lot of attention.

Dispelling the submission of Mr Enang as a hallucination of a failing government, the PDP said the Buhari presidency has become so jittery over its imminent loss of the 2019 election that it now resorted to lies and blackmail.

The PDP in a statement signed by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Kola Ologbondiyan, said it will not save the disintegrating/All Progressives Congress (APC) from drowning.

The party maintains those who deserted the sinking ship of APC did so in protest against the incomptences of President Muhammadu Buhari leading to the unabating killings, bloodletting and biting economic hardship across the nation in the last three years.

PDP further said that the APC-led Federal Government has woefully failed to deliver on any of its promises and has nothing to showcase except a recourse to underhand tactics and intimidation of opponents and perceived enemies.

Those who left the APC are therefore no longer prepared to continue living a lie that everything is okay with our nation, whereas under the leadership of President Buhari the drift towards anarchy as well as the indices of a failing state are very manifest.

The PDP therefore finds it ludicrous that the Presidency can sit back and claim that compatriots who have seen ahead that President Buhari is taking our nation to nowhere will turn around and contemplate casting their votes for him in 2019.

The PDP therefore urged the Buhari Presidency to stop its fantasy game and be ready to confront the crushing defeat that awaits him and his party in the 2019 general elections.
The Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, says that Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri rail project is about 80 per cent completed and will be ready soon.

Mr Amaechi, disclosed this during the inspection tour of the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri rail line in Agbor.

He also stated that the rail line would be completed before the scheduled date, adding that the tracks were ready, only the stations were left to be completed.

It is between 70 to 80 per cent completed, but you must know that this job is meant to be completed in 2019.

However, we are compelling them (the contractors) and because we are pushing them, they are working day and night to have it done.

If it is time frame, they are well ahead of schedule. It is meant to be completed in 2019 and what we are doing here is what we are doing in Lagos-Ibadan and that project is actually a three-year contract. But we are forcing them to complete it in one-year period.

Just like this is supposed to end by 2019 but we are saying no, you must leave site before October.

However, we had a verbal agreement with them to quit site by June 2018, the minister said.

Mr Amaechi stated that the government had no apology when it comes to borrowing to fund infrastructure in Nigeria.

Speaking, Fidet Okhiria, the Managing Director, Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC), said that by September the train operation would commence to maintain the tracks.

According to him, if the government waits for all the 12 train stations to be completed, the tracks will go bad.

Technically, with the level of work now, we can run the train from Itakpe-Warri safely, the next stage is to make the convenience for passengers available which is the stations building.

It is possible to operate now with one train, as far as we have communication signals and for the stations, some will be completed in August, some September, but we are not going to wait for that or else the tracks will go bad, so as a train operator, we will not wait, Mr Okhiria said.

Chiedu Nwazojie, the Project Manager of Itakpe-Warri Railway Project, said that the project has a total of 12 stations but they are presently working on eight stations.

He said that the whole project was 302 kilometres (km), with rehabilitation ongoing 52km, which was from Itakpe to Ajaokuta, changing the wooden sleepers to concrete sleepers ones.

He said that they are working on Agenebode station, Itakpe, Eganyi, Ajaokuta, Itogbo, Uromi, Igueben-Ekhen, Igbanke and Agbor, which is the central station at the moment.

He, however, complained that the progress of work is being affected by the rainy season, stating that the initial August dateline might not be feasible.

(NAN)
The Abdulsalami Abubakar-led Commonwealth Observer Group has given a pass mark to the Pakistans general election, saying the poll has generally strengthened the countrys democracy.

The Commonwealth team said the election marked important milestone in the history of the country, following two consecutive democratically-elected civilian governments completing their full terms.

Final results of the elections are yet to be released by the Election Commission of Pakistan, said the Commonwealth Secretariat, in a statement by Josephine Latu-Sanft, its Senior Communications Officer.

In an Interim Statement released on the Groups observations of the election, the former Head of State of Nigeria commended the people of Pakistan for exercising their right to vote.

More than 50 million Pakistanis came out to exercise their franchise, in spite of terrorists attacks claiming more than 200 lives in the weeks prior and on the election day itself.

Latu-Sanft quoted Abubakar, Chairman of the Commonwealth Observer Group, as saying: The 2018 General Election was an important milestone in strengthening democracy in Pakistan

We commend the voters, the election commission, polling staff, political parties, candidates, their agents, the security forces and all others for their respective roles.

The Commonwealth Observer Group arrived in Pakistan on July 18.

Members held a wide range of consultations with the electoral commission, political parties, government officials, observers, members of civil society, the media and the diplomatic community.

They also held consultations with the military, before they were deployed to polling stations across the country.

These polling stations included locations in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, Multan, Faisalabad, Karachi and Hyderabad.

Announcing its interim findings, the Commonwealth group noted a clear improvement in election laws since the previous elections.

For example, the new Elections Act 2017 gave more independence and autonomy for the election commission and new measures to enhance womens political participation.

We noted that women responded to these reforms positively and voted in greater numbers compared to earlier elections. Women also played a commendable role in the administration of elections.

We observed that the election commission was generally well-prepared for the polls in most areas and that the process was, on the whole, well-administered, Mr Abubakar said on the election day.

However, the former Nigerian leader said there were key areas for improvement, as counting methods, the results transmission system, and inconsistency in applying electoral procedures, were amongst several areas highlighted.

The final report, including recommendations, would be submitted in a final report to the Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland.

Scotland would, in turn, forward the report to the Government of Pakistan, Election Commission of Pakistan, political parties taking part in the elections and all Commonwealth Governments.

Thereafter, the report would then be made public.

The Commonwealth Observer Group was constituted by the Commonwealth Secretary-General to consider the various factors impinging on the credibility of the electoral process as a whole.

It determines, in its own judgment, whether the elections have been conducted according to the standards for democratic elections to which Pakistan has committed itself, with reference to national election-related legislation and relevant regional, Commonwealth, and other international commitments.

(NAN)
The Nigerian community in South Africa has confirmed the killing of Chibuzo Nwankwo, a 42-year-old member from Enugu State.

The community said that Mr Nwankwo`s death brings to 121 the number of Nigerians killed in South Africa since January 2016.

Habib Miller, the Publicity Secretary of the Nigerian Union in South Africa, confirmed the killing to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the telephone from Pretoria on Saturday.

According to him, the victim was shot in the early hours of Friday at a local bar in Kempton Park, Johannesburg, following a disagreement with an unknown person.

The deceased, a patron of the bar, got drunk and started harassing a female worker.

Information available to the union said that Nwankwo was chased out by security personnel, but he kept on coming back; became very aggressive and rude before the ugly incident occurred, he said.

Mr Miller said that the South African police later intervened and arrested the murder suspect.

A murder case has been opened and investigation has started. We call on Nigerians to be calm and allow the law to take its course, Mr Miller said.

He said the union was against at any form of violence, adding that it would monitor the case to ensure that justice prevailed.

(NAN)
Following the defection of former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), his spokesperson, Binta Spikin, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari will not win in Kano State in the 2019 general election.

The spokesperson said this to PREMIUM TIMES while reacting to Transportation Minister, Rotimi Amaechis comment on Mr Buharis chances in the poll.

According to Punch Newspaper, Mr Amaechi had on Friday said Mr Buhari will win in Sokoto, Kano and Bauchi States in the 2019 general elections even if he was taken to the states on a sick bed.

Mr Amaechi also said the governors of Sokoto and Kwara states, Aminu Tambuwal and Abdulfatah Ahmed, will leave the APC.

On those that defected at the House of Representatives and Senate, where do they come from? They come from areas that the President is comfortable. Do you honestly believe that the President will lose election in Sokoto? We are not God, but its one of his comfort zones, the Punch quoted the minister as saying.

Mr Amaechi heads Mr Buharis 2019 campaign organisation.

If you bring the President on a sick bed to Bauchi and Kano, he will win and he has never lost election in Bauchi. But that is a bit arrogant on our side; we should not underestimate them, he said.

In her response, Mrs Spikin said Mr Kwankwasos defection will not only affect the votes in Kano State but has brought down the APC.

I think his defection will greatly affect the votes in 2019. His defection will not only affect the chances of the APC in Kano, his defection has brought down APC.

If you look across Nigeria today, not Kano alone, theres nowhere in Nigeria that you dont have the presence of Kwankwasiyya (supporters of Mr Kwankwaso).

Kano is his home base and he is well grounded in Kano. Even without the government, he had a 60 percent of the voters, so what do you think will happen now that he has joined forces with people like Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau? she said.

She further said the government needs to know that there is a path that is blocked even if you fight it.

Even if the government puts whatever in place, there is no way President Buhari will win in Kano, theres no way.

When asked if Mr Kwankwaso stands a chance of winning the 2019 general election should he officially declare his ambition to run for presidency, she simply said, He stands a very good chance to win Buhari. We are covered.

Mr Kwankwaso was one of the 15 senators who defected from the APC on Tuesday.

In his reaction, the governor of the state, Abdullahi Ganduje, had said the mass defection will not affect the partys chances politically.

He also said Mr Kwankwasos exit will not be felt in the state: I want you to go and study the situation on ground in Kano, his (Kwankwaso) defection does not change the political mood in the state. Nobody cares to be disturbed by their action, Mr Ganduje said.

Mr Kwankwaso has been locked in a fierce political confrontation with Mr Ganduje. Over the past two years, several attacks and reprisal attacks between the supporters of the two politicians have been reported.
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), has fined DAAR Communications (owner of AIT/Raypower) N500,000 for persistent violation of the provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code.

NBCs Head of Public Affair, Maimuna Jimada, via a statement issued on Saturday in Abuja, said comments made on Raypowers programme Political Platform was against the broadcasting code.

Mrs Jimada said that the organisation was sanctioned due to provocative, inflammatory and divisive comments by anchors of the political platform.

She said the Commission on May 2, 2017, Aug. 15, 2017 and February 2018, held meetings with staff of DAAR Communications to caution them on unprofessional manner of anchors of the programme.

She stated that the Commission had charged the team handling the programme to be fair, and balance their reportage.

According to her, during the Feb. 7 meeting, the Commission stressed the need to comply with the broadcasting code to avoid sanctions.

The Political Platform episode on July 24, was marked by sensational and heated expression of opinion by its anchors, who went on to make unproven and inciting allegations.

For avoidance of doubt, the Director-General drew the attention of DAAR Communications to the following provisions of the Nigeria Broadcasting Code: (1) Section 1.9.3:

A presenter/anchor shall not express his or her personal opinion in a programme.

Also Section 5.2.7: A broadcaster shall, in using political material for news, avoid taking inflammatory and divisive matter in its provocative form and Section 5.2.5 stated that political broadcasts shall be in decent language, she said.

Mrs Jimada reiterated that broadcasting stations should ensure that anchors of their programmes were properly informed and trained on the ethics of the profession as well as the provisions of the broadcasting code.

Authorities at Ray Power told PREMIUM TIMES they will not comment until Monday. They said they needed to listen to a copy of the July 24 programme before giving a response.

(NAN)
Oando recorded another victory with the successful conclusion of its 41ST Annual General Meeting (AGM) which held on Friday, July 27 at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos. On the eve of the AGM, Thursday, July 26, the company published its H1 2018 results recording N8.5 billion profit-after-tax.

Shareholders at the AGM were united in their support for the company and applauded the management team for restoring market confidence by maintaining a track record of growth over the last 18 months culminating in the achievement of N8.5 billion PAT in H1 2018, the companys 7th quarter consecutive profit.

Shareholders went on to encourage management to keep up the good work and avoid distractions and distractors intent on destroying the companys reputation and eroding shareholder value.

Speaking at the AGM Adebayo Adetunji Adeleke an Oando Shareholder commended management for transforming Oando from a downstream company to a dollar earning upstream focused business. He further said: The profit declared in H1 2018 has given us hope, I am optimistic that with hard work the company will continue in this stead. I want to commend Oando on the impact of our Corporate Social Responsibility activities, we are touching lives, hundreds of thousands oflives and these same people are praying for the company therefore we will not go down.

The companys profits swelled as oil prices increased. An analysis of Oandos financials shows that the companys turnover grew by 11% to N297.3 billion from N267 billion (H1 2017); gross profit increased by 53% to N51 billion compared to N33.4 billion (H1 2017); and profit-after-tax increased by 86% to N8.5 billion compared to N4.6 billion (H1 2017). In its upstream business, Oando recorded a net profit of N27.1 billion ($75.2 million) compared with N16.3 billion ($53.2 million) in the comparative period of H1 2017.

According to the companys statement, the increase in net income between the quarters was primarily due to higher revenues as a result of a general increase in the price of oil and gas commodities. Oando picked up on the industry recovery witnessed in 2017.

Brent prices averaged $69.87 per barrel, resulting in a 38% increase in realized crude selling price compared to the same period in 2017. Oandos performance was further buoyed by sale price increases of 19% for NGL and 13% for natural gas deliveries.

Tunde Badmus another shareholder said: Oando has survived all odds and is still strong. I am confident the journey of the company will lead to victory for all. I commend the management for being prompt to respond to issues concerning the business operations. We pledge to continue to support you.

All resolutions passed at the AGM were approved including the re-appointment of Ernst and Young as auditors, the Directors were authorized to fix the auditors remuneration; appointment of Alhaji Bukar Goni Aji and Mr. Muntari Zubairu to the Board of Directors; election of audit committee members, and approval of the remuneration of non-Executive Directors.

Sola Abodurin spoke on the efforts being made by management in reducing the companys debt. He said: I thank the Board of Directors for the efforts theyve made to face challenges. About two years ago, if you looked at our debt profile, youd wonder how the company would survive. But today, weve not only survived, we have drastically reduced our debt by over 50%. I appreciate the Board for the restructuring initiatives put in place when oil prices fell to keep the company going. If there are other initiatives you can embark on to keep the company growing from success to success, I urge you to take them on. Thank you for giving hope to the hopeless with the adoption of schools across Nigeria and the various CSR projects youve embarked on.

In his closing remarks, Wale Tinubu, the GCCE, Oando PLC, assured the shareholders of managements commitment towards creating value for and protecting the interest of all shareholders: We are pleased that your Company has shown resilience during the difficult times and is now on track for sustained growth. We will continue to evolve in the energy space to ensure that even when todays energy products becomes less attractive, we have already made the investment for tomorrow. The interests of you, our esteemed shareholders, is paramount to us and we remain focused on growing profitability to ensure adequate returns accrue to you.
The management of the Federal University, Lafia, has offered automatic employment to the six first class pioneer graduates of the institution.

Muhammed Liman, the Vice Chancellor of the university, made this disclosure on Saturday at the institution in Lafia while presenting appointment letters to the beneficiaries.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the beneficiaries are: William Yaji, Economics; Seyi Adediwura, Physics; and Abdullaziz Zakari, Mathematics.

Others are; Mercy Jerry, English and Modern Languages; Bashir Sani, Microbiology and Ibrahim Salah, Mathematics.

The management also gave automatic employment to the best physically challenged graduate, Solomon Akoji, who had 2nd class upper from Sociology department, also a pioneer graduate.

The VC, who was represented by Mamuda Abubakar, the registrar of the university, said the gesture was in fulfillment of the promise made to the beneficiaries during the institutions maiden convocation on Jan. 19, 2016.

He said that with this appointment, the management expected better performance from the beneficiaries in their further studies.

Responding on behalf of the beneficiaries, William Yaji, expressed gratitude to the management and said that they had been waiting for the appointment.

He said that rewarding excellence would go a long way in encouraging others to strive hard, believing that they would also be rewarded.

Mr Yaji, therefore, implored the university management to make it a policy to offer automatic employment to all the first class graduates of the institution. (NAN)
A senator, Suleiman Hunkuyi, on Friday promised to help the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) regain power in Kaduna State in 2019.

Mr Hunkuyi who represents Kaduna North at the National Assembly under the All Progressive Congress (APC) is among the 14 senators who decamped to other parties on July 19.

The senator said this while on a visit to the PDP secretariat in Kaduna on Friday adding that he decided to join the party in line with the agreement between the R-APC and the opposition party.

We came to tell you that we have formally left the APC and we shall not turn back again.

We have moved to the PDP with all our structure to join hands to take back power in Kaduna State from the APC, Mr Hunkuyi said.

He urged the PDP executives in the state to cooperate with the returnees to ensure that the party wrestles power from the ruling APC.

Mr Hunkuyi urged the state PDP chairman, Felix Hyat, to set up a committee with membership comprising the returnees and other members to fix a date for their formal return to the party.

According to him, politics is about the people.

Mr Hunkuyi promised to mobilise all his supporters back to the PDP ahead of the 2019 poll.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Hunkuyi made his appearance at the secretariat with two House of Representatives members, Lawal Rabiu and Rufai Chanchangi, representing Lere and Kaduna South respectively at the National Assembly.

Responsding, Mr Hyat assured of level playing ground for the returnees in the build up to the 2019 general elections.

(NAN)
The Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha, has expressed grief over the murder of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman in Ideato-North Local Government Area, Sunny Ejeagwu.

Mr Okorocha described the incident as a gruesome case of mindless assassination.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor spoke when political and community leaders of Ideato-North came to officially inform him of the development on Friday in Owerri.

Mr Okorocha said it was not a case of armed robbery as nothing was taken away from the party chieftain or removed from his car.

He also dismissed the insinuations that the deceased might have been kidnapped before his murder, as there was no sign of resistance or struggle between the killers and the victim.

He said the mans head and body were shattered with bullets following several gunshots just to make sure that he had no chance of being revived, an act he claimed could only have been carried out and by wicked assassins.

This is painful and Ohaneze has no reason to die now. He has just been elected the Chairman of APC, Ideato-North and he is one that is loved by all, but for someone to have gone to take his life, we condemn it in its entirety, Mr Okorocha said.

The governor assured that the killers of the man, popularly known as Ohaneze, will soon be apprehended and will be made to face the consequences of their wicked act.

He further directed the police and other security agencies in the state to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that those behind the ungodly act are brought to book without delay.

We have requested the security agencies to fish out the killers. We as a government must ensure that these culprits, these wicked souls must be brought to book. We must never allow innocent souls to be destroyed or even people being killed just for nothing, he added.

The governor pledged N20 million reward for anyone who would give useful information that could lead to the arrest of the killers.

Im here placing a prize tag that whoever can give any useful information as to the killers of Chief Ejeagwu, this government will release the sum of N20 million immediately just to make sure we arrest whoever killed this innocent soul, the governor pledged.

(NAN)
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.




HARROW, England, July 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Pelgraz, - a pegylated G-CSF Biosimilar, is latest addition to Accord Healthcare's established portfolio of over 30 oncology treatments across Europe

Following marketing authorisation Accord Healthcare will potentially be the first to launch pegfilgrastim across Europe

The Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) has issued a positive opinion for Accord's Pelgraz (pegfilgrastim), pegylated granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) biosimilar in Europe. Once approved, Pelgraz could be the first pegfilgrastim biosimilar to market in Europe indicated to reduce the duration of neutropenia and the incidence of febrile neutropenia for adult patients undergoing cytotoxic chemotherapy. The World Health Organisation consider G-CSF essential therapies due to their impact on febrile neutropenia, chemotherapy dose delays, and dose density.

Neutropenia is still one of the most common reasons for reductions or delays in the chemotherapy schedule which impairs survival outcomes and quality of life for patients. Evidence shows that daily G-CSFS are incorrectly administered in 42% of chemotherapy cycles, long acting pegfilgrastim has been shown to greatly reduce that figure to just 8%.

Dr Cornes, Consultant Oncologist, Bristol, "Pegfilgrastim is a wonderful medicine. It enables cancer chemotherapy to be given on time and at the right dose - giving patients the greatest chance of an uncomplicated cure. As a single injection for each cycle of chemotherapy it offers advantages in dosing and compliance over first generation short-acting filgrastim - which results in real world improvements for patients."

Binish Chudgar, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of the Intas Group "Accord launched its first European approved biosimilar product, Accofil (filgrastim), in 2015 and despite being the 6th entrant has become a leading supplier of this vital medicine. Since then the product has been used over 2 million times and Accord has gained valuable experience in bringing biosimilar medicines to market. Our continued focus on bringing biopharmaceuticals to Europe has enabled us to be a first to launch a pegfilgrastim, and as a first mover we expect to gain an even bigger market share with Pelgraz."

Intas / Accord will manufacture Pelgraz in its own state of the art production facility. The company has deep experience with biosimilar medicines and as of 2017 were assessed as having the second highest number of biosimilars in phase III to approval in the world. This reflects the strategy of a long-standing commitment in biopharmaceutical development, research and manufacturing.

The CHMP positive opinion was based on Pelgraz's substantial clinical development programme, which supported its biosimilarity with Neulasta through a Phase I, randomised, assessor-blinded PK/PD study in healthy volunteers, and a Phase III study of patients with breast cancer (stage IIa, IIb, or IIIa) on TAC (docetaxel, doxorubicin, cyclophosphamide).

Paul Tredwell, Accord VP Speciality Brands, EMENA "At Accord, our mandate is to deliver affordable medicines that make a real difference to patient's lives. With Pelgraz approval and commercialisation, we hope to provide patients with the first pegylated biosimilar of pegfilgrastim that will reduce the strain on healthcare providers budget, while potentially improving standard of care and associated outcomes for patients."

Tredwell concluded "Accord is providing affordable alternatives in some of the most complex areas of medicine and Pelgraz is the latest medicine reflecting our increased focus in speciality pharmaceuticals (including oncology, critical care, auto-immune, fertility and central nervous system conditions.) We already have an established footprint across Europe, directly serving 93% of the European population with over 30 oncology therapies via our own commercial infrastructure, and this latest recommendation further underlines our commitment to oncology patients."

Notes to editors

Spokespersons are available for further comment

About Accord Healthcare

Headquartered in the United Kingdom (UK), Accord Healthcare Europe is the fastest growing generic pharmaceutical companies in Europe. Accord has an extensive supply chain through its four UK based sites, helping to ensure a consistent supply of life-enhancing medicines for patients, whilst supporting customers to react quickly to dynamic market conditions.

SOURCE Accord Healthcare
ENCINO, Calif., July 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- David S. Hagen is recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Pinnacle Professional Member in the field of Law in recognition of his role as a Bankruptcy Attorney at the Law Offices of David S. Hagen.

Located in Encino, California, David Hagen has served clients for more than thirty years. Dedicated to offering quality legal services at reasonable cost, the firm ensures their clients receive eminent legal care from beginning to end. Hagen ensures that he is involved in all stages of his client's legal proceedings.

Amassing over thirty five years of experience in the field of Law, Hagen is revered for his work in the industry. Throughout his career, Hagen has attained extensive experience within the areas of consumer bankruptcy. In his current capacity, Hagen is equipped in "file chapter 7 and chapter 13 cases for individuals, couples and small businesses with the hope of alleviating credit card debt, medical bills, stopping lawsuits, stopping wage garnishments and bank levies, and stopping foreclosure proceedings and saving homes from foreclosure."

In his current capacity, Hagen has filed over 3,000 cases throughout the duration of his career.

He is certified as a Consumer Bankruptcy Specialist by the State Bar of California. Hagen attended Loyola University, School of Law where he received his Juris Doctor degree in 1983.

To further his professional development, Hagen is an affiliate of several organizations including the Los Angeles County Bar Association.

In recognition of his professional accolades, Hagen has been award AV Rating with Martindale-Hubbell.

In looking to the future, Hagen hopes to seek continued growth and success at his firm while at the same time enabling hard working people to save their homes and reduce financial stress by alleviating credit card debt, litigation and medical obligations.

For more information, please visit http://davidhagenbankruptcy.com/

Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE Continental Who's Who

Related Links

http://www.continentalwhoswho.com


LAUDERDALE LAKE, Fla., July 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Dorothy M. Graham, LPN is recognized by Continental Who's Who as a Pinnacle Lifetime Member in the field of Nursing in recognition of her role as LPN at Ann Storck Center.

With its inception since the 1950's, the Ann Storck Center has served the Florida area for over sixty years. Known for providing exceptional service, the center is committed to the health and wellness of their clients. Offering a wide range of services to their clients, the center is adept in handling matters with regards to assisting those who have disabilities. Steadfast in their compassionate approach, the team at Ann Storck is well versed in medical matters with regards to Adult Day Training, Buddies over Bullies, Early Intervention Preschool, and more.

With over fifty three years of experience in the field of Nursing, Dorothy M. Graham is revered for her remarkable contributions to the medical industry. Having gathered over twenty nine years of experience in her current position, Dorothy is a Certified Licensed Practical Nurse that has attained extensive expertise in the areas of nursing care for both children and adults with disabilities. Dorothy has always wanted a steady job in caring for people.

Attributing her success to her experience in nursing, Dorothy recalls seeing her relative's ill when she was younger and remembered the poor conditions the south healthcare services was in. This would then be the catapult to Dorothy beginning her nursing career. When asked her advice to newcomers in the, Dorothy states to "treat people the way you'd like to treated with dignity. Dignity is the mainstay for me as to nursing care services."

When she is not working, Dorothy enjoys Karate where she received her first degree Black Belt at age 71.

Dorothy dedicates this recognition in loving memory of her mother, Louise Graham who always taught her to be the best, in loving memory of her brother, James Graham, who always believed in her and felt she could do no wrong, and to her daughter, Ruth Drewitt with the rank of Command Sergeant Major in the Army (MOS-logistics/Air borne).

For more information, please visit http://www.annstorckcenter.org/.

Contact: Katherine Green, 516-825-5634, [email protected]

SOURCE Continental Who's Who

Related Links

http://www.continentalwhoswho.com


BELLEVUE, Wash., July 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- A lawsuit challenging the validity of anti-gun-rights Initiative 1639 has been filed in Thurston County Superior Court by nationally-recognized Second Amendment advocate Alan Gottlieb, but this time he's filed as a private citizen and Washington State voter.

The legal action, naming Secretary of State Kim Wyman as defendant in her official capacity, is supported by the Second Amendment Foundation, the Bellevue-based organization founded by Gottlieb more than four decades ago. SAF has become a powerhouse in gun rights litigation at both the state and federal levels.

"While I head a national organization," Gottlieb said, "I also happen to be a registered voter in Washington state, and this initiative is legally invalid. The petitions were not printed in accordance with state law because they did not have a full and correct version of the measure printed on the back."

Additionally, Gottlieb's lawsuit notes that language intended to be added to state law was not underlined nor was language to be stricken from existing law identified by strike-throughs.

"How was anyone supposed to fully understand what they were signing," he wondered. "Just because the wealthy elitists behind this poorly-prepared initiative spent a couple of million dollars in an attempt to get on the November ballot is no reason for the court to allow them to dance around state law.

"I'm a citizen of this state," Gottlieb continued, "and I vote. It is personally offensive that the backers of this measure think they can buy their way to victory by ignoring the law.

"This challenge maintains that because the initiative petitions were incorrectly printed, there isn't a single valid signature on them," he explained. "It is essentially the same as signing a contract to buy a new Ford and they deliver a used Chevy. At the end of the day, it's worthless paper. That's not my fault, it's the fault of the people behind I-1639 who apparently thought it didn't matter to follow the letter of the law."

The Second Amendment Foundation (www.saf.org) is the nation's oldest and largest tax-exempt education, research, publishing and legal action group focusing on the Constitutional right and heritage to privately own and possess firearms. Founded in 1974, The Foundation has grown to more than 650,000 members and supporters and conducts many programs designed to better inform the public about the consequences of gun control.

SOURCE Second Amendment Foundation

Related Links

http://www.saf.org


NEW YORK, July 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Less than 24 hours after news broke that Facebook stock crashed in a record loss of roughly $150 billion after it released its second-quarter earnings to its shareholders, Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht, LLP ("Pierce Bainbridge") filed a class action lawsuit against the media giant in the Southern District of New York ("SDNY"). Pierce Bainbridge, one of the nation's fastest growing state-of-the-art litigation firms, moved with light speed to be the first to sue in SDNY in the wake of the crash.

The complaint alleges that Facebook knew that the user base for its social media platformFacebook's main revenue sourcewould diminish after it implemented new procedures necessary to comply with GDPR, a landmark data privacy legislation adopted by the European Union. Despite this knowledge, Facebook knowingly made materially false and misleading statements regarding Facebook's business and operations, causing catastrophic loss to its shareholders.

Pierce Bainbridge is a top-tier business litigation law firm founded in 2017 by former Quinn Emanuel trial lawyer John M. Pierce. The firm has recently experienced explosive growth in New York and has been frequently covered in the news due to its innovative approach to practicing law. Pierce Bainbridge deploys cutting-edge technology and applies disruptive organizational principles to obtain the best litigation result on the modern-day litigation battlefield.

In addition, John Pierce is a former tank platoon leader in the First Calvary Division of the U.S. Army and said early in the firm's development "[w]e're looking for Navy Seal, Army Ranger typesreally aggressive litigators who want to be on a great platform and be a part of the team and litigate great cases."

Using just that approach, and with a growing team of just those type of attorneys, led by Pierce Bainbridge partner David Hecht, the firm accomplished an amazing and herculean feat on Friday. Relying heavily on upstart communications platform Slack and an agile project management methodology to ensure efficiency, Pierce Bainbridge team members located on both coasts, out of the New York, D.C., and Los Angeles offices, worked through the night on Thursday, collaborating via a number of advanced technologies. As a result, the firm was able to investigate, prepare, and file the complaint in the Southern District of New York in record time.

About Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP

More information about Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht LLP can be found on its website: www.piercebainbridge.com.

SOURCE Pierce Bainbridge Beck Price & Hecht, LLP
TEL AVIV, Israel, July 28, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --

Subject to the transaction's completion, Bank Leumi is expected to record an after-tax profit of NIS 234 million

Leumi stands to receive an additional amount of up to NIS 273 million , as part of its operating agreement with the company, some of which will be calculated based on the company's achievements in coming years, and some at the company's discretion to extend its operating agreement with bank Leumi

Leumi's President & CEO, Rakefet Russak-Aminoach, said: "I am pleased with the excellent results of a responsible and professional process we have led over the past few months. Due to the importance of Leumi Card and its services to customers, we endeavored to find a reputable buyer with extensive experience in finance and payments, who will be committed to the development and success of Leumi Card in its new independent path. Warburg Pincus's experience will assist Leumi Card in realizing its business strategy and ensure innovative, high-quality and professional service to its customers. This is a great vote of confidence in the Israeli economy by one of the world's largest private equity funds, and is a source of great pride to us all."

Daniel Zilberman , Managing Director and Head of Europe , Warburg Pincus, commented: "We are excited to partner with Leumi Card in the next phase of the company's growth. The Israeli payments, consumer finance and SME lending markets present considerable opportunity, and we look forward to working closely with Chief Executive Officer Ron Fainaro and his talented management team. I'd like to thank Bank Leumi for a well-run and professional process, and to personally thank the Bank's President and CEO, Ms Rakefet Russak Aminoach, for her support and backing of this new and exciting partnership."

Bank Leumi (TASE: LUMI) announced today it has entered into an agreement, together with the Azrieli Group, to sell Leumi Card to funds affiliated with Warburg Pincus, a global private equity fund focused on growth investing. The consideration to be paid to the sellers (Bank Leumi and Azrieli) for Leumi Card is NIS 2.5 billion, which shall be adjusted for a possible dividend distribution, and shall be paid in three installments: The first one - on the transaction's completion date, the second - one year after the completion date, and the third - two years after the completion date.

Subject to the transaction's completion, Bank Leumi is expected to record an after-tax profit of NIS 234 million

The agreement includes preconditions, including the receipt of regulatory approvals required by law.

According to the agreement, Bank Leumi may receive an additional income of up to NIS 273 million beyond the sale price, subject to meeting several terms and conditions to be included in the operating agreement to be signed between the Bank and Leumi Card (an additional amount of NIS 50 million to NIS 128 million to be paid 6 years from the signing date of the operating agreement); and subject to Leumi Card's overachieving the results outlined in the business model presented to the buyer (a total of up to NIS 145 million to be paid 5 years after the signing date of the operating agreement).

Due to the importance the buyer attaches to expanding Leumi Card's activity with Bank Leumi, the buyer granted 'Leumi Partners', a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bank Leumi, an option that will come into force upon completion of the transaction, to acquire up to 20% of the corporation through which the buyer shall purchase Leumi Card, under the same terms and conditions in which the buyer will purchase Leumi Card. The exercise of the option is subject, inter alia, to obtaining the required regulatory approvals.

Leumi's President & CEO, Rakefet Russak-Aminoach, expressed her great satisfaction with the agreement: "I am pleased with the excellent results of a responsible and professional process we have led over the past few months. Due to the importance of Leumi Card and its services to customers, we endeavored to find a reputable buyer with extensive experience in finance and payments, who will be committed to the development and success of Leumi Card in its new independent path. Warburg Pincus's experience will assist Leumi Card in realizing its business strategy and ensure innovative, high-quality and professional service to its customers. This is a great vote of confidence in the Israeli economy by one of the world's largest private equity funds, and is a source of great pride to us all."said Ms. Russak-Aminoach.

The sale of Leumi Card is in accordance with the Law for Increasing Competition and Reducing Concentration in Israel's Banking Market, which requires the Bank to sell its stake in the subsidiary (Leumi Card). After evaluating several alternatives, the Bank and the Azrieli Group chose the best and most attractive option available to them. The sale process, which lasted several months, involved 17 entities from Israel and abroad, which expressed interest in acquiring Leumi Card.

Warburg Pincus is a private equity firm founded in the US in 1966 by Eric M. Warburg and Lionel Pincus. In 1983, the firm made its first investments outside the US, in Europe, and in 1994 made its first investments in Asia. The firm currently employs over 500 people in 10 branches around the globe and is managed by two joint CEOs: Charles R. Kaye and Joseph P. Landy. Warburg Pincus has approximately $45 billion in assets under management, and its portfolio includes more than 165 companies. Of the assets invested by the firm, about $11 billion has been invested in various financial entities, of which 19 are banks and 24 are insurance companies and financial institutions, including regulated companies in the payments industry. In order to invest in some of the aforementioned financial entities, the firm holds permits from financial regulators in the countries of operation of those entities.

Daniel Zilberman, Managing Director and Head of Europe, Warburg Pincus, commented, "We are excited to partner with Leumi Card in the next phase of the company's growth. The Israeli payments, consumer finance and SME lending markets present considerable opportunity, and we look forward to working closely with Chief Executive Officer Ron Fainaro and his talented management team." He added, "I'd like to thank Bank Leumi for a well-run and professional process, and to personally thank the Bank's President and CEO, Ms Rakefet Russak Aminoach, for her support and backing of this new and exciting partnership."

Warburg Pincus has made several investments in Israel, including stakes in Cyren (2017), in Ness Technologies (1999-2008) and in Alliance Tire Company (2007-2013). The firm made a significant contribution to the growth and success of the companies throughout the entire investment period.

For more information visit http://www.leumi.co.il or contact Lee Neumann, [email protected] +972-76-885-6313

SOURCE Bank Leumi
Moscow, July 28 : The Russian Foreign Ministry on Friday urged the US to abandon steps to beef up its missile defences in space, which could hamper the global strategic stability.

"Apparently... the preparations for the creation of the anti-ballistic missile (ABM) space grouping are another step towards the realization of the task of ensuring 'American dominance in space'," Xinhua quoted the Ministry as saying in a statement.

On Thursday, the US House of Representatives passed the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2019, which stipulates the "development and deployment of persistent space-based sensor architecture" by the end of 2022 to ensure the effectiveness of Washington's missile defences, according to the bill published on the US Congress website.

"We carefully analyze the possible consequences. We call on the US side to show prudence and not to repeat mistakes of the past," the Foreign Ministry said, adding that armed confrontation in space can be as dangerous as nuclear arms race unleashed by Washington in the middle of the last century.

It said that Russia stands against such adventures and give priority to the exploration of outer space for exclusively peaceful purposes.

"We count on the fact that Washington will nevertheless refuse steps that have the most negative impact on the state of international security," the Ministry said.
Los Angeles, July 28 : Irish actor Jonathon Rhys, who was earlier detained at an airport here for being involved in a verbal fight with his wife Mara Lane and smoking e-cigarettes on a flight, complimented his life partner for supporting him always.

Asked if Mara helps him with his struggles, Jonathan told people.com: "Oh yes, my wife is a superior woman. She's incredible. I couldn't be luckier."

The "Velvet Goldmine" actor also opened up about his sobriety saying, "Most of the time I handle it pretty well. But, every so often you make a stupid mistake. But living life in the public eye is very different. Remember, I've been an actor for 25 years and the whole world has changed enormously since I've started becoming an actor. It's very difficult to be left alone."

Lane also spoke about the incident on Instagram earlier this week, explaining that her husband was working on his anger issues and that the incident on the flight wasn't serious.

"We were in South America specifically working holistically through anger issues that result in these kinds of episodes. When in itA he is not in a frame of mind where he can really even comprehend the repercussions and necessary response to his own actions," Lane's post read.

"Rhys extremely sorry for any inconveniences caused to anyone travelling yesterday," she added.
San Francisco, July 28 : After Microsoft made its professional collaboration platform "Teams" free in 40 languages earlier in July, its main rival Slack has announced to acquire workplace chat service HipChat from enterprise software giant Atlassian.

HipChat will stop working and all of its users will move over to Slack.

"As part of this partnership, Atlassian has made an equity investment in Slack, which has acquired the IP for Stride and HipChat Cloud -- both of which we will discontinue," Joff Redfern, Vice President of Product Management at Atlassian said in a statement late on Friday.

The Slack purchase covers only the intellectual property rights to both chat services.

"We will also be discontinuing HipChat Server and HipChat Data Center and work with Slack to provide a migration path for customers of all four products," he added.

Atlassian's over 2,600 employees will now use Slack.

Microsoft said more than 200,000 businesses across 181 markets globally use Teams -- a hub for chatting, sharing documents, video and voice calling in Microsoft 365 -- to collaborate and get work done.

The professional collaboration tool Slack claims it has 500,000 active organisations on its board.
Patna, July 28 : As many as 34 minor girls housed in a shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district have been raped as against earlier figure of 29, police said on Saturday Muzaffarpur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Harpreet Kaur said: "It was not 29 but 34 girls who were raped at the Muzaffarpur shelter home."

Medical examinations of 42 girls last week revealed that 29 of them were raped.

Under pressure from the opposition, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had on Thursday recommended a CBI probe.
Buenos Aires, July 28 : Argentina is preparing for the launch of the first of four satellites into space to help monitor geological conditions and manage disasters, according to its national space agency..

The launch is scheduled for September form the US Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Xinua news agency reported.

The Microwave Observation Satellite -- SAOCOM 1-A -- will be shipped later in July, said the National Space Activities Commission (CONAE).

The satellite has been designed and built by state-owned high-tech firm INVAP, CONAE spokesperson Josefina Peres told reporters during a tour of its headquarters in Bariloche.

With an expected operational life of 5.5 years, the satellite will orbit some 620 km above the earth's surface.

Its powerful antenna is capable of sensing up to two meters below the earth, to collect data useful for agriculture, fishing, mining, geology, urban development and disaster management, CONAE said.

"SAOCOM 1-A is capable of capturing 500 images as it orbits 15 times a day," Peres said.

Once in orbit, SAOCOM 1-A will mark CONAE's fifth space mission.

It would join two prior orbiting satellites ARSAT-1 and ARSAT-2, which were built by ArSat and launched in 2014 and 2015, respectively.
Srinagar, July 28 : A youth who had snatched a gun from a bank guard in Jammu and Kashmir's Shopian district has surrendered, police said.

Junaid Hamid Ganie who had snatched a .12-bore gun on Friday, later surrendered with the gun.
Imphal, July 28 : Gold worth Rs 1.25 crore smuggled from Myanmar has been seized by customs officials during a raid at a Manipur border town, a top officer said.

According to Assistant Commissioner R.K. Dorendrajit, four smugglers with the contraband gold were nabbed in Pallel town, about 50 km away from the international border.

Following intelligence inputs traps were laid along the national highway to capture the smugglers, the custom official said.

The gold bars weighing 4,150 gram were stashed inside a van.

All four arrested belonged to Manipur.
New Delhi, July 28 : If you are looking to turn your simple house into a chic and urban living space, experts have some tips for you.

Niharika Saraf Kela, Design Lead - Arrivae, and Raghunandan Saraf, CEO and designer, Saraf Furniture, suggest how:

If your living room looks too dull even with the most stylish furniture, it's time to make the switch to marble flooring. Add to the luxury by adding an exquisite marble fireplace mantel to your living room.

Make sure you match your furniture to your marble centerpiece by picking pure white or cream hued sofas, majestic candlesticks and a stylish coffee table. Also invest in a marble bathing area and kitchen counters to enhance every corner of your home.

When it comes to adding sophistication to a living room or your bedroom, there's nothing quite like a bold ceiling to floor bookshelf complete with some fantastic reads and enhanced with stunning decor pieces.

If natural is more your style, you can place stylish vases with fresh flowers to enhance the look and feel of your bookshelf.

Once you have this massive bookshelf in place, it will be a breeze to design a luxury room around it.

Add to the classic appeal of the shelf by opting for an opulent chandelier and cream drapes in the same room.

When adding the bright quotient to your home, natural light works best. So, make sure you install French doors and stylish windows. Enhance your well-lit space with light fixtures that look nothing less than decor pieces themselves. Choose earthy copper floor lamps, urbane pendant lights or rustic brass chandeliers.

You can have a small entry-way table, preferably made of marble and use it to place a dazzling statement home decor piece or a sculpture on. You can accentuate this statement piece with some lamps around it, a focussed ceiling light that falls on it.

Curtains and drapes are one element that can totally make or break the luxury look of a house. Many of us tend to just put up convenient and cost-effective blinds that offer us privacy and respite from the light and heat outside.

However, if we tweak this one aspect, it can totally infuse magic into the space. If you want to give a truly opulent look to your home, elaborate pinch-pleated draperies are indispensable.

Use fabrics that complement the ambience of regality that you're trying to create. These could include silks, satins and damasks.
Kabul, July 28 : At least three people were injured as militants attacked an Afghan midwife training centre in Jalalabad city on Saturday, officials said.

The attackers set off explosives and fired gunshots at the centre in Nangarhar province. Several midwives were rescued from the centre, provincial government spokesman Attaullah Khogyani was quoted as saying the BBC.

Several people were still trapped inside the compound, according to reports.

The attack began at around 11.30 a.m. and and there was no immediate information as to the number of casualties.

"The Afghan security forces cordoned off the area and launched an operation to gun down the attackers," the spokesman added.

Smoke could be seen rising from the compound. No group claimed responsibility for the attack.
Kolkata, July 28 : Former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Saturday said the proposed Federal Front will take a "greater shape" before the 2019 general elections and no effort for opposition unity will succeed unless the Congress is able to take the fight to the BJP.

"We were discussing how best the regional parties can come together to take on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the forthcoming general elections. Obviously, no effort towards opposition unity will really succeed unless the Congress is also able to take the fight to the BJP the way we hope," the Jammu and Kashmir National Conference leader said on the sidelines of an event -- Think Federal Conclave.

Abdullah, who met West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday, said this is "an ongoing conversation".

"It (forming a Federal Front) is an ongoing process and as we get closer to general elections of 2019, I am sure it will take greater shape," he said. "You have seen a number of efforts were made by (former Congress President) Sonia Gandhi to bring opposition parties together."

Abdullah pointed at the presence of opposition leaders at the swearing-in of Karnataka Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy and said more such attempts would be made in other states as well.

Speaking on Jammu & Kashmir, he reiterated his party's demand that the assembly be dissolved and efforts made to improve the overall situation in the state.

The state is currently under Governor's rule after Chief Minister and PDP leader Mehbooba Mufti resigned following the BJP quitting her government and walking out of the alliance.

According to Abdullah, the situation should be like what it was there in 2014, when the assembly election was conducted in November-December.

"Discussion for conducting the elections can be started after improvement in the situation. Under the prevailing situation, there is no scope for discussion on the elections," he said.

Asked whether the India-Pakistan relationship will improve with a new government coming in power in the neighbouring country, he said let the new government be formed first.

"Let Imran Khan form the government. He has never been in power before.

"There is a need to see what kind of relationship Islamabad wants with India and what is their approach regarding terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir and the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack," Abdullah said.
Mumbai, July 28 : With healthy quarterly earnings, tax-rate cuts on over 50 consumer items, domestic investor sentiments firmed up in the week ended Friday making the equity indices set new records and benchmarks every other day.

On Friday, both the S&P BSE Sensex and NSE Nifty50 settled at their respective highest closing levels of 37,336.85 points and 11,278.35 points after touching intra-day records of 37,368.62 points and 11,283.40 points earlier in the day.

According to market observers, appreciation in the Indian rupee and progress in the southwest monsoon rains also added to the enthusiasm in the market.

On a weekly basis, Sensex closed at 37,336.85 points -- up 840.48 points or 2.30 per cent from the previous close.

The wider Nifty50 on the National Stock Exchange (NSE) settled at 11,278.35 points, higher by 268.15 points or 2.44 per cent -- from its previous week's close.

Market breadth was positive in all the five trading sessions of the week, according to Deepak Jasani, Head of Retail Research at HDFC Securities.

"Traders and investors were happy about a good start to the earnings session and GST tax rate cuts," said Prateek Jain, Director of Hem Securities.

Kotak Mutual Fund's Senior Vice President and Head of Equity Research, Shibani Kurian said the investor sentiments were also boosted by the reduction in tax rates of many consumer items from 28 per cent to 18 per cent.

The GST (Goods and Services Tax) council on July 21 in its 28th meeting decided to lower tax rates on several consumer items.

The progress of the South-West monsoons picked up pace, which further improved the sentiments, Kurian told IANS.

On the currency front, the rupee closed at 68.66 on Friday, strengthening by 19 paise from its previous week's close of 68.85 per greenback.

In terms of investments, provisional figures from the stock exchanges showed that foreign institutional investors bought scrip worth Rs 2,539.58 crore, while the domestic institutional investors sold stocks worth Rs 1,573.68 crore in the week bygone.

Figures from the National Securities Depository (NSDL) revealed that foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) invested Rs 3,154.23 crore, or $459.02 million from the equities segment on stock exchanges during the week ended on July 27.

Sector-wise, top gainers were public sector banks, metals, FMCG and realty indices while the IT index was the only loser during the week, Jasani told IANS.

The top weekly Sensex gainers were ITC (up 10.51 per cent at Rs 302.20); ICICI Bank (up 10.26 per cent at Rs 293.30); State Bank of India (up 9.83 per cent at Rs 286.60); Tata Steel (up 9.14 per cent at Rs 549.45); and Vedanta (up 8.49 per cent at Rs 219.80 per share).

The major losers were Bajaj Auto (down 5.74 per cent at Rs 2,678.05); Hero MotoCorp (down 5.32 per cent at Rs 3,193.80); Yes Bank (down 4.33 per cent at Rs 369.90); Wipro (down 3.02 per cent at Rs 274.50); and Tata Consultancy Services (down 2.65 per cent at Rs 1,943.10 per share).

(Rituraj Baruah can be contacted at rituraj.b@ians.in)
New Delhi, July 28 : Manipal Hospitals Dwarka is launching a fleet of 12 state-of-the-art ambulances which will be stationed at certain places in the National Capital Region (NCR) to carry emergency patients to the nearest hospital, free of cost.

"The WHO's 'Golden Hour' theory followed world over says if a patient of road mishap or a heart patient is rushed to the hospital within an hour, his chances of survival goes up by 70-80 per cent," Manipal Hospitals Chairman Sudarshan Ballal said.

Ballal said Manipal Ambulance Response Service (MARS) will be launched on Sunday. The ambulances will be supported by centralized 24X7 Command Centre and Emergency Response Centre Physicians who will attend or direct it to the nearest hospital.

The ambulances are equipped with ICU services and trained drivers who can perform 'Basic Life Supporting techniques' on the patients. The ambulance can be reached on 011-4040-7070 toll free number, the hospital said in a statement.

"These high-end ambulances will be equipped with central monitoring system to relay images on patient condition to Emergency Response Centre at the hospital... In the coming year we will slowly expand our network," said hospital COO Pramod Alagharu.

Equipped with Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS), patients can have their treatment started in the ambulance itself. Vital signs will be measured by Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), who will have constant interaction with doctors for their advice, during patient transit.

Attending doctors will keep the Emergency Department and a specialist doctor -- who will initiate advanced medical interventions -- ready in the hospital to receive the critical emergency case, it said.
Los Angeles, July 28 : Veteran actor Anthony Hopkins opened up about his battle with alcoholism saying "It was very difficult to work because I was usually hung over."

During an event of the LEAP Foundation, the "Solace" actor, who was there as a chief guest, spoke to the audience about his problems with alcohol and the impact it had on his early career on stage, telegraph.co.uk Hopkins added that he had been "disgusted, busted and not to be trusted" while he was drinking.

The 80-year-old actor conceded that the turning point for him came courtesy the advice from a woman at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in December 1975.

He said the woman asked him, "why don't you just trust in God?" and from then on the urge to drink was "never to return".

"I believe that we are capable of so much. From my own life, I still cannot believe that my life is what it is because I should have died in Wales, drunk or something like that," Hopkins said while addressing the students of University Of California.

Giving advice to the students, he added: "Say yes and take the risk."

Hopkins recently starred in HBO drama "Westworld" and will appear in the Netflix's "The Pope" where he stars as Pope Benedict.
Shimla, July 28 : A woman pilgrim from Pune in Maharashtra was washed away and three other persons were reported missing in a flashflood triggered by heavy rains in Kinnaur district of Himachal Pradesh on Saturday while they were on way to Kinner Kailash, police said.

While the deceased was identified as Sangeeta Morey, the three missing persons remained unidentified, a police official told IANS on the phone.

As many as 163 persons were rescued while 35 others are still stranded at different location en route Kinner Kailash.

Most pilgrims were trapped in the Ganesh park area near Kinner Kailash, dedicated to Lord Shiva's 79-foot vertical rock Shiva Lingam at a height of around 6,050 metres above average sea level.

The district administration deployed police, Home Guards and Indo-Tibetan Border Police jawans for search and rescue operation, Acting Deputy Commissioner Avninder Kumar said.

Kinner Kailash trek is considered the toughest as it takes at least two days to complete.

The pilgrimage is yet to start officially.
New Delhi, July 28 : The CBI has told the Supreme Court that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who was discharged from all criminal and corruption charges in the SNC Lavalin case, "should face trial".

In an affidavit filed in the court, the Central Bureau of Investigation questioned the discharge of Vijayan and two others, saying the Kerala High Court orders in this regard was "not correct".

The CBI has challenged the High Court's August 23, 2017, order to discharge Vijayan, K. Mohanachandran, former Principal Secretary in Department of Power, and A. Francis, then department Joint Secretary. The High Court had given the go-ahead for the trial of remaining three accused, who are Kerala State Electricity Board officials.

Objecting to the High Court's decision to discharge certain accused and making remaining charge-sheeted persons to face trial, the CBI said: "Vijayan should also face trial for the same set of offences".

"The specific acts and omissions of each accused can only be decided in a properly conducted trial and the discharge of some accused may adversely impact the outcome vis-a-vis those tried in court," said the CBI affidavit.

Reacting to the fresh development, Leader of Opposition in Kerala Assembly Ramesh Chennithala told the media that it had now been proved right what they had been saying all along. "Vijayan should now react to this... we have been saying all through that he has a role in it."

Vijayan, however, has not responded so far.

The case pertains to an agreement with Canadian firm SNC Lavalin in 1997 for the renovation and modernisation of Pallivasai, Sengulam and Panniar hydroelectric projects in Idukki district of Kerala, which allegedly caused a loss of Rs 266 crore to the exchequer.

Vijayan was then the Power Minister in Kerala.

The three accused directed to face trial too had approached the apex court, asking why they were not treated on par with Vijayan and two co-accused discharged in the case.

The CBI maintained that the High Court order was "bad in law" and its findings that Vijayan and two others need not to face the trial amounts to "clear differentiation" between two sets of accused.

"Without the knowledge of Vijayan and two others, the consultancy agreements would not have been converted into supply contracts on fixed rates on February 10, 1997, when Vijayan was (Power) Minister and had gone to Canada along with Mohanachandran (also discharged in the case) as a guest of Lavalin and during the visit the decision to sign the supply contract was taken by Vijayan," the affidavit added.

"The wilful omissions and commissions on the part of the public servants provided the opportunity to SNC Lavalin for deriving wrongful gains, casing corresponding loss to the KSEB," it added.

A bench of Justice N.V. Ramana and Justice Abdul Nazeer had earlier stayed the trial of the case and sought the CBI's response.

On November 5, 2013, a CBI court in the state capital exonerated all the accused, without taking up the case for trial.

However, a year later, the CBI approached the High Court against the CBI court's exoneration, which ordered the trial against three persons and discharged three others, including Vijayan.

A criminal case was registered on February 12, 2007, and the CBI filed its charge sheet on June 12, 2009.
Islamabad, July 28 : The PTI, which emerged as the single largest party in the National Assembly elections but fell short of securing majority, was on Saturday involved in hectic lobbying to win support from Independents and smaller parties to form a ruling combine and pave the way for its chief Imran Khan to head a coalition government.

According to the figures provided by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) won 115 out of the 270 seats on which the elections were held. The party, however, was short of 22 seats for simple majority.

The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), which completed its government's tenure in May, this time won 64 seats, while the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) reamained at the third place with 43 seats.

Khan, the Prime Minister-in-waiting, himself continued to hold meetings with prominent leaders on Saturday. Former Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Mehmoodur Rasheed also met Khan at his Bani Gala residence.

Rasheed apprised the PTI chief about establishing contact with Independents. Both leaders also discussed possible candidates for the post of Punjab Chief Minister, where the PTI is scouting for Independents to form the provincial government.

The PML-N, which has ruled Punjab for two consecutive tenures, again emerged as the largest party in the province, winning 129 of the 295 provincial assembly seats on which elections were held on July 25.

However, the party was not certain to form the government as the PTI was close behind with 123 seats and with the likely help of 28 Independents can form the government.

Given the current stalemate in Punjab, the importance of Independent candidates increased significantly in determining which party forms the government.

The Election Commission while revealing results on all 270 seats said that the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA), an alliance of multiple religious parties, has managed to win only 12 seats, whereas Muttahida Qaumi Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P) garnered just six seats.

PML-Quaid and the newly formed Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) won four seats each, while Sindh-based Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA) won only two.

Akhtar Mengal's resurgent BNP bagged three berths for itself in the lower house of the parliament, while Awami National Party's (ANP) tally stood at just one.

Awami Muslim League (AML), Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaniyat and Jamhoori Wattan Party (JWP) also grabbed a seat each.

Twelve independent candidates also triumphed in their constituencies and were likely to play an important role in formation of the federal government.

Recounts on at least five seats, however, mean that the final result may differ from the count released by the commission on Saturday.

Elections on two seats were also postponed by the ECP and will likely be held with the by-elections on seats vacated by leaders who have won more than one seats.
Lucknow, July 28 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday evening arrived in Uttar Pradesh capital Lucknow, where he is scheduled to attend various programmes in the next 48 hours.

He was received by Governor Ram Naik, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Union Home Minister and Lucknow MP Rajnath Singh, city Mayor Sanyukta Bhatia and state Ministers at the tarmac of the Chowdhary Charan Singh Airport here.

He then drove to the Indira Gandhi Pratishthan in Gomtinagar for an event.

The Prime Minister is also scheduled to participate in ground-breaking ceremonies of several projects, the memorandums on which were inked in February during the 'UP Investors Summit'.

He will participate in an event to mark the third anniversary of the Amrut Scheme and the Smart City Mission.
Ranchi, July 28 : A mentally challenged person on Saturday hacked three persons to death in Jharkhand's Gumla district, after which angry villagers lynched the killer, police said.

According to police, Chhotu Munda hacked Bandhain Munda, her three-year-old son and year-old daughter to death in the morning. Chotu attacked them when she was going some where, along with her children.

The villagers tried to catch him but Chhotu attacked them, too, and injured two villagers. The angry villagers thrashed him, and Chhotu also died on the spot.

The incident took place in Kondekera village under Palkot Police Station area of Gumla district. The police have sent the bodies for post-mortem examination.

The villagers said they did not see any reason for Chhotu killing the woman and her two children other than that he was mentally challenged.
Raigad (Maharashtra) : Raigad (Maharashtra) July 28 (IANS) At least 32 university staffers were killed and one miraculously survived when a private bus on a picnic trip plunged into a deep ravine near Poladpur, around 175 km from Mumbai, on Saturday morning, officials said.

The sole survivor, Prakash Sawant-Desai, who escaped the tragedy with minor injuries, managed to climb to safety and alerted the university and police authorities of the accident around 10.30 am.

According to Raigad Police Control officer P.D. Patil, the bus was on way to Mahabaleshwar for a weekend picnic when the tragedy occurred.

By noon around 12 bodies were retrieved with the help of locals, he said.

Sawant-Desai told reporers that near Poladpur, the bus reportedly lost control after skidding on wet mud that had collected on the trecherous stretch.

"I managed to climb up and called up Dr. Balasaaheb Sawant Konkan Agriculture University authorities and the police," said Sawant-Desai, who is an Assistant Director.

He said that he had to climb over 500 feet, as there was no mobile phone range in the valley below in the treacherous Ambenali Ghat section.

"On reaching the road at the top, I came into the mobile range and called up the police and university officials," he said.

The university promptly informed the police about the accident.

The Raigad police along with National Disaster Response Force teams from Pune and local Mahabaleshwar hikers-trekkers groups are engaged in a massive operation to retrieve the bodies from the ravine fighting heavy rains, with clouds descending on the thickly forested valley and hills.

Around 34 varsity staffers, including some women of the Ratnagiri-based university, left around 6.30 am today for a weekend sojourn to the state's most popular twin hill resort of Mahabaleshwar-Panchgani.

Hundreds of shocked family members of the victims and varsity officials have rushed to the site. The police have blocked the Poladpur-Mahabaleshwar road as a precautionary measure.

Deep below in the ravine, the remains of the bus lie as a crumpled heap of metal, with bodies of the passengers strewn around or stuck in the trees and bushes.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed sorrow over the accident. "Pained by the loss of lives due to a bus accident in Maharashtra's Raigad district. My condolences to those who lost their loved ones."

Congress President Rahul Gandhi also condoled the deaths.

"I appeal to Congress workers in the area to provide all possible assistance to the injured and families of those who have died," Gandhi said.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis in Mumbai said he was pained to learn about the massive loss of lives in the accident.

"The administration is taking all efforts to provide required assistance. Senior officials and emergency management systems are in place. My thoughts are with the families who lost their loved one," Fadnavis said in a tweet.
New York, July 28 : A UN report has said that over 7,000 children have been killed or injured in Syria's seven-year war and cited unverified reports putting the number "way beyond 20,000".

"I am deeply disturbed by the stories of children born and raised throughout this conflict, children who have never seen peace in Syria," said Virginia Gamba, the UN's special representative of the secretary-general for children and armed conflict, who addressed the Security Council on Friday.

This year has been particularly woeful for Syria's children as violations against them rise significantly, according to a UN monitoring body, which verified over 1,200 such violations, including the deaths or injury of more than 600 children, CNN reported.

"Children who have suffered repeatedly of all types of violations in their homes, communities, schools, detention centres and in refugee and IDP settings. We must think that these children are in severe psychosocial distress. They do not know the meaning of the word 'peace,'" she said.

In early 2014, the UN admitted it had stopped officially counting deaths in Syria as it could no longer rely on its own data, with its access to much of the country impeded.

It generally puts the death toll of the war at 400,000, but it relies on other monitoring groups' unverified accounts to do so.

"Every year since then, there has been a tremendous increase in all grave violations committed by all parties to the conflict," Gamba said.

The team verified six violations -- namely the recruitment and use of children by parties in the conflict, killing and maiming, rape and other forms of sexual violence, attacks on hospitals and schools, abductions, and denial of humanitarian access.

Most of the recruitment of children was committed by non-state groups, while most killing and maiming was attributable to the Syrian government and pro-government forces, Gamba said.

In 2018 alone, over 1,300 children were reportedly held by parties in northeastern Syria, according to Gamba, but the UN monitoring team could only verify seven cases as the areas affected were largely inaccessible.

In other areas, the team verified more than 350 cases since 2014.

The report said that the Syrian war "began to turn in President Bashar al-Assad's favour as his forces began to seize swathes of territory from Islamic State and opposition rebel groups in 2016".

Syrian forces, backed by Russian air power, repeatedly bombed schools and medical facilities. However, both countries denied they deliberately target schools or civilians.

Gamba called for humanitarian access to be granted to children all over Syria. The UN has struggled to provide aid to many parts of Syria held by opposition groups.

"It is time for the children of Syria to believe in their own future and to learn what peace means. It is time for them to retake the childhood that was taken away from them," she said.
New Delhi/Chandigarh, July 28 : The authorities in Delhi on Saturady began to evacuate hundreds of people living in the Yamuna catchment area as a flood threat loomed following a sharp rise in the river's level, officials said.

Heavy rains continued to lash many parts of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, with authorities releasing more water at Haryana's Hathnikund barrage during the day.

The Yamuna in Delhi was flowing above the danger mark at 205.06 metres by 10 a.m., an Irrigation and Flood Control Department official told IANS.

"Over 10,000 persons have been affected. People earlier living on the river bed and low-lying areas are being shifted out," Nodal Officer (Preet Vihar) Arun Gupta said.

He cautioned that the Yamuna water level is expected to go up further by Sarurday night.

"On Saturday morning, over 200,000 cusecs was released into the Yamuna from the barrage -- which provides drinking water to New Delhi," an official told IANS in Chandigarh.

The official said villagers living along the river have been alerted on the release of excess water.

The official said that water at the Hathnikund barrage along the Haryana-Uttarakhand border had risen to alarming levels owing to overnight downpour in catchment states, making authorities release the extra water.

The Yamuna passes through Yamunanagar, Karnal and Panipat districts in Haryana before entering Delhi.

Yamunanagar Deputy Commissioner Girish Arora said a high alert was declared in the district as the water level crossed the 2.12 lakh cusec mark in the morning.

He said the Army has been put on alert along with a team of the National Disaster Management Authority.

However, there was no report of any damage to property or a loss of life in Yamunanagar district.

The Met Department in Chandigarh predicted that hill states in Haryana's neighbourhood will continue to experience heavy rains.
New Delhi : Ranchi, July 28 (ANS) Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Saturday inaugurated the famous "Shravani Mela" at Baba Baidhyanath Shiva temple in Deoghar, where around three million people offer water on the "Shiva Linga" every year in the month of Shravan in Hindu calendar.

The Shiva temple of Deoghar is one of the 12 Jyotirlingas of the country. Demon King Ravana had established the Deoghar temple. According to mythology, Ravana was trying to take Shiva Linga to Lanka but he could not due to its weight. An angry Ravana threw it there and shoved the Shiva Linga into ground with his feel.

The devotees take Ganga water at Sultanganj of Bhagalpur district of Bihar and walk around 110 km carrying it in "Kanwars" on their shoulders to offer the sacred water on the Shiva Linga.

While inaugurating the Shravani Mela, Das said: "Efforts are on to develop Deoghar as a global cultural centre. The construction of second phase of queue complex will begin after Shravan. Deoghar is being developed to attract both domestic and foreign tourists."

He said: "Like Shivalok, 'Char Dham' will be developed here so that pilgrims could get a feel of Shivadham through the year."

The state would also spend Rs 10 crore to rehabilitate the people displaced due to acquisition of land for Deoghar airport, Das said.

"On every Monday of Shravan month, I will interact with the pilgrims to know the problems they face. The devotes can also contact me through Twiter and Facebook," Chief Minister Das said.

He also instructed the officials to perform their duties sincerely during the Shravani Mela. He warned them that any kind of mismanagement would not be tolerated.
Chennai, July 28 : Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday handed over to Vice Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Devaraj Anbu the two variants of indigenised multi-fuel engines to power the two main battle tanks of the Army, an official statement said.

The engines are being made by the Engine Factory Avadi (EFA) in Chennai in Tamil Nadu as part of the Ordnance Factory Board under the 'Make in India' programme, a Defence Ministry statement said.

Though these engines are based on Russian design, India was dependent on Russia for certain critical assemblies like turbocharger, supercharger, fuel injection pumps and others.

These engines will be used in T-90 Bhishma and T-72 Ajeya tanks.

Now that the EFA has indigenised these critical components, it will lead to savings of Rs 33 lakh in case of one T-90 engine and Rs 9.75 lakh for one T-72 engine.

EFA General Manager Anil Kumar said the unit will attain the full indigenisation of UTD-20 engine for Sarath tank in this fiscal.

During 2018-19, EFA is geared up to cross the 800 engines target for armoured vehicles.
New Delhi, July 28 : Tens of thousands of skywatchers across the country sat watching for the longest "blood moon" of the century on Friday night, but many in the North were disappointed as they couldn't enjoy the astronomical delight because of a thick cloud cover.

People were out on roads or their rooftops and terraces to watch the moon turning red -- the longest celestial event of the 21st century that lasted for about two hours.

In Delhi, some 2,000 stargazers were at the Nehru Planetarium to witness total lunar eclipse. But they returned disappointed because monsoon clouds spoiled the show, with Delhi like many other parts of north India, missing their date with "the blushing" bride -- the moon which turned red.

The phenomenon is caused because the earth blocks all direct sunlight from reaching the moon. But the indirect sunlight is refracted by the earth's atmosphere. Only the refracted red light, with longer wavelength, travels the distance and passes to the moon and other colours are filtered out.

People in other parts of the country enjoyed the once-in-a-century celestial event.

Hundreds flocked to the Jawaharlal Nehru Planetarium in the tech hub of Bengaluru on a cool Friday night to witness the spectacle in a hazy sky even as the red moon played hide and seek.

"About 3,000 visitors, including students accompanied by their parents, visited the planetarium between 11.54 p.m and 4.58 a.m to view the longest lunar eclipse through telescope," Director of planetarium Pramod G. Galgali told IANS here.

Scores of skygazers queued up in the open area of the planetarium where 10 huge telescopes were set up to watch the eclipse from a vantage point.

The thick monsoon clouds over the city, however, restricted a clear view of the eclipse, disappointing several photography enthusiasts.

"There was a clear sky for about 45 minutes during the eclipse when the skywatchers could view the phenomenon," Galgali said.

The eclipse began at 10.44 p.m on Friday night ending at 4.58 a.m on Saturday. The period when the moon was completely in earth's shadow, known as the 'totality', lasted for about an hour and 43 minutes.

In the city's Town Hall in the downtown, about two kilometres away from the planetarium, about 100 men, including rationalists, lawyers, doctors, students and academics, gathered to celebrate the historic event in revelry, partying and merry-making.

Many, especially Hindus, completed their dinner early by 8 p.m. on Friday and ate nothing till the eclipse came to an end. They took a bath before resuming their day on Saturday to wash off what they consider evil effects of eclipse.

On the contrary, many across the country consumed food and cut cakes to prove that nothing would happen if one eats during the eclipse -- mocking at the superstitious beliefs and blind faiths of astrologists.

As many consider lunar eclipses to be inauspicious, several temples were shut early on Friday night.

In Tamil Nadu, a large number of people saw the captivating lunar eclipse at the B.M. Birla Planetarium which had made special arrangements with high-tech telescopes.

In case of some people, whose birth star coincided with the eclipse, performed special poojas in temples to ward off adverse evil effects of the eclipse.

Sky watchers in Kolkata and most other parts of West Bengal were disappointed, as the cloudy weather stood in between them and the celestial wonder.

"Nothing could be seen from Kolkata. I tried to watch it from my residence in Salt Lake, on Kolkata's north east fringes. But it was absolutely overcast. Nothing was visible," Debiprosad Duari, Director - Research and Academic, MP Birla Institute of Fundamental Research and MP Birla Planetarium, told IANS.

A large number of skygazer clubs in the city had made arrangements for public viewing of the longest total lunar eclipse of the century, by placing telescopes on rooftops or balconies, but it proved fruitless.

Shibraj Dutta, a dentist based in Midnapore town -- the headquarters of West Midnapore district -- had stayed up late to watch the spectacle with his own eyes, only to be heartbroken.

"There was only darkness because of the cloud. I waited for a long time. And then retired to my bed," he said.
New Delhi, July 28 : Health Minister J.P. Nadda on Saturday launched the 'National Viral Hepatitis Control Programme' with the goal of ending viral hepatitis, or inflammation of liver, as a public health threat by 2030.

"With this initiative, government is strongly committed to work towards elimination of viral hepatitis by 2030 in the country," he said as he initiated the programme to mark the World Hepatitis Day 2018 here.

The aim of the initiative is to reduce morbidity and mortality due to viral hepatitis. Key strategies include preventive and promotive interventions, collaboration with different ministries, increasing access to testing and treatment facilities and building capacities up to sub-district level.

Nadda also released the operational guidelines for NVHCP, national laboratory guidelines for viral hepatitis testing and national guidelines for diagnosis and management of viral hepatitis, while Minister of State for Communication Manoj Sinha also released a commemorative stamp.

Nadda said the ministry under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is aggressively addressing the preventable diseases and that there has been a paradigm shift in designing the programme.

"Programmes are now designed at the ground level and all stakeholders are taken into the consideration. We are now making sure that the last person gets the benefit out of it," he said.

The ministry has already launched a campaign to end TB by 2025, five years ahead of the global target, he said. The government now has more than 1,100 Cartridge Based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test (CBNAAT) machines for quick diagnosis of tuberculosis.

It also provides daily regimen with fixed dose combinations. The government has also initiated active case finding to screen more TB patients.

Nadda stated that the government has also launched the 'Test and Treat Policy for HIV' wherein as soon as a person is tested and found to be positive, he will be provided with ART irrespective of his CD count or clinical stage.

"The government has also launched Rotavirus vaccine, Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccine (PCV) and the Measles-Rubella (MR), Pneumonia vaccine and one thing that was remaining was Hepatitis. With this launch we will offer free drugs and diagnostics for hepatitis B and C.

"This initiative will provide laboratory testing and management of viral hepatitis with a de-centralized approach," Nadda added.
Lucknow/Haridwar, July 28 : The Kanwar Yatra, which draws millions of Shiva devouts to walk bare-foot for miles to fetch pales of holy Ganga water and then pour it on Shiva Lingas at prominent temples, began across Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand on the first day of the Hindu holy month Shrawan on Saturday.

Thousands of devotees took to the streets in Lucknow, Ghaziabad, Meerut, Muzaffarnagar, Gorakhpur, Barabanki, Kanpur and other districts.

The holy trip is likely to peak on August 3 as the inauspicious "panchak' where in people don't start good works will fall between July 29-August 3.

In Haridwar, elaborate arrangements have been made to ensure a hassle-free trip. A 50-km separate corridor has been made to ensure that there is smooth to and fro passing of the Kanwariyas.

Para-military and police personnel have been deployed on the route of the Yatra, which will conclude on August 9.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Haridwar, Krishna Kumar VK said that more than 2.5 crore Kanwariyas are expected to converge in the holy city, and that arrangements have been made for their safety.
New Delhi, July 28 : Justice Ranjan Gogoi - the seniormost judge of the top court after Chief Justice Dipak Misra - on Saturday dismissed the suggestion for fixed tenure of the Chief Justice of India so as to give them enough time to push the reforms in the judicial system.

Addressing the issue of fixed term, he said that in judiciary when it comes to elevation of judges, there are some norms, particularly seniority and it may not be a good idea to deny a person the chance of becoming CJI merely because his tenure would be short.

The problem in pushing reforms is not with the length of the tenure as CJI - whether short or long - but with the change in priorities with the change of CJIs, Justice Gogoi said priorities once set had to be consistently adhered to by the successive CJIs.

"Problem does not lie with the short tenure. Problem lies with the change of priority with the change of Chief Justice. We must have consistent policy. Tenure does not matter," he said, responding to the suggestion of fixed tenure for the CJIs by Prof N.R.Madhava Menon - former Vice Cancellor of National Law School of India, Bengaluru.

Citing the fixed tenure of the Cabinet Secretary, service and police chiefs, Menon advocated a fixed tenure of CJIs, wondering what would happen to the defence of the country if service chiefs were to have short tenures running into a few months.

Addressing the number of issues that emerged during day long deliberation on "National Initiative to Reduce Pendency and Delay in Judicial System", Justice Gogoi said there "was no radical solution of the problem of the huge backlog of over three crore cases. They will not disappear overnight".

It is a "gradual process with a multi-pronged approach and acting immediately on the solutions that have emerged in the daylong deliberations", he said, apparently urging the High Court judges and judicial officers to get on with the task.

Addressing the issue of vacancies, Justice Gogoi said that the vacancies in the High Courts can be taken care of by the CJI and his team but the cause of concern was 5,984 vacancies in lower judiciary with Uttar Pradesh with 1,344, Bihar with 825 and Madhya Pradesh with 748 vacancies topping the list.

Pointing to the long time that is taken in the recruitment of judicial officers in different states, and urging to look at the issue with a different perspective, he said: "What we are looking for is that a man or a woman has outstanding merit and ability, utmost integrity and of absolute commitment to work. Three qualities I would look for before a person becomes a judge."

Referring to the report of a committee that had said that the entire process for the recruitment of judges in lower judiciary should be completed in 273 days, Justice Gogoi said that Delhi took 762 days, J&K took 900 days and Pondicherry did it in 99 days.

It can happen in 99 days, and "If you have a right man at right place (then) rest will follow", he said.

In his valedictory address, Chief Justice Misra, summing up the daylong proceedings, called for "self-discipline", "self enhancement" and "developing a culture of work atmosphere".

Not favouring ex-parte stay of the proceedings of the trials at lower courts, he said that they should be a "dated stay".

Saying that standing still was "negation of life", Chief Justice Misra said that the courts should decide the matters in a time bound manner while he drew distinction between enthusiasm, perseverance and obsession.

Dwelling on judicial statesmanship, judicial leadership and judicial discipline, he said that every case should be decided skilfully and lawfully with impose one's own views.

On judicial discipline, he said that lawyers should not be allowed to take court's time more than necessary.
Srinagar, July 28 : Four CRPF troopers were injured in a grenade attack by militants in Jammu and Kashmir's Pulwama district on Saturday, police said.

Militants hurled a grenade at a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) patrol in Jawbrara village on the Srinagar-Jammu highway in Pulwama, injuring four personnel, a police officer said.

The injured troopers have been shifted to hospital for treatment, while the area has been cordoned off for searches.
Lucknow, July 28 : The national executive of the Samajwadi Party (SP) has authorised party president Akhilesh Yadav to take a call on prospective alliances for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, party spokesman Rajendra Chowdhary said on Saturday.

The party meeting took place in the state capital on the weekend, but the patron of the party, Mulayam Singh Yadav, and his younger brother Shivpal Singh Yadav did not turn up.

A party leader present at the meeting told IANS that Akhilesh Yadav's would be the final word on seat-sharing with other parties as the SP braces to be a part of a grand alliance of opposition parties.

Party leaders indicate that the SP would also press for ballot papers instead of the electronic voting machines (EVMs).

Rajya Sabha member Ram Gopal Yadav, the uncle of Akhilesh Yadav, said the SP chief would also be the final authority on tie-ups with other secular parties in the state assembly elections in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
Rome, July 28 : Cardinal Theodore E. McCarrick, the former Archbishop of Washington and prominent diplomat at the centre of a decades-old sexual abuse scandal, has resigned, the Vatican announced on Saturday.

The Vatican said that Pope Francis accepted McCarrick's resignation from the College of Cardinals on Friday evening and ordered him to "a life of prayer and penance until the accusations made against him are examined in a regular canonical trial".

McCarrick, 88, was found by the church in June to be credibly accused of sexually abusing a teenager nearly 50 years ago. Since then, additional reports of sexual abuse and harassment by the cardinal, over a span of decades, were reported, according to the Washington Post.

The Pope also ordered McCarrick's suspension from public ministry and instructed him to "remain in a house yet to be indicated to him" until the trial. He is the highest ranked US Catholic clergy member to ever be removed from ministry due to sexual abuse allegations.

The victims included one then-minor and three adults, who were young priests or seminarians when McCarrick allegedly abused them, the Post reported.

The cardinal said in June that he was "shocked" by the initial allegation and had "no recollection of the reported abuse".

McCarrick was also accused three times of sexual misconduct with adults "decades ago" while he served as a bishop in Metuchen and Newark, New Jersey, the current bishops of those cities said. Two of those allegations resulted in settlements.

Patrick Noaker, the attorney for the former altar boy who made the accusation against McCarrick, said earlier that his client was molested twice by McCarrick, once in 1971 and once the following year.

Both alleged incidents, Noaker said, occurred at St. Patrick's Cathedral as his client was being fitted for a cassock for Christmas Mass. At the time, McCarrick was secretary to Cardinal Terence Cooke, New York's top churchman.

The youth was helping prepare for the service when McCarrick allegedly put his hands in the boy's pants. Noaker said his client was again molested by McCarrick the following year during a fitting for cassocks before the big Christmas Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral.

There were more allegations. A Virginia man now 60 years old told the New York Times and then the Post that McCarrick, a friend of his father, abused him for nearly 20 years, starting when he was an 11-year-old boy and McCarrick urged him to show him his genitals while changing clothes after a swim party.

In recent months, the Pope has worked to address concerns that he had a blind spot when it came to child sexual abuse by members of the clergy.
Chennai, July 28 : DMK President M. Karunanidhi, who had a slight health setback a couple of days ago and was rushed to hospital in the small hours of Saturday following a dip in blood pressure, was stable, the hospital said in late night bulletin.

"DMK President and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu M. Karunanidhi's health continues to remain stable with ongoing medical support. He is being continiously monitored and treated by a panel of expert doctors in the ICU," said a medical bulletin issued in the night by Kauvery hospital, where he was admitted.

The hospital said in the morning that the 94-year-old leader was admitted into the intensive care unit (ICU) at 1.30 a.m. after his blood pressure dropped.

"His blood pressure has been stabilised since with medical management. He continues to be monitored and treated by a panel of expert doctors," Kauvery Hospital's Executive Director Aravindan Selvaraj said.

The five time former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has been suffering from urinary tract infection and age-related ailments and was earlier under treatment at his home.

A large number of DMK cadres gathered outside the hospital and a huge contingent of policemen was deployed for security.

During the day, leaders from various political parties including Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Congress leaders Ghulam Nabi Azad and Mukul Wasnik, Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit and AMMK T.T.V. Dhinakaran called at the hospital to enquire about Karunanidhi's health.

They met M.K. Stalin, DMK's Working President and Karunanidhi's son and his daughter Kanimozhi, who breifed them about his health.

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted his wishes for speedy recovery of Karunanidhi. The entire family of Karunanidhi including his other son M.K.Alagiri, daughter Selvi and grand children were present at the hospital.

Speaking to reporters earlier in the day outside the hospital, DMK leader A. Raja urged the party cadres to remain calm and said: "Karunanidhi's blood pressure is now normal and there is nothing to worry".

A team of doctors had reached Karunanidhi's home about midnight and reviewed his condition. They then decided to shift him to the hospital after discussions with the family members.

On Friday DMK leader and Karunanidhi's son M.K. Stalin said there "is good improvement in the health condition of Kalaignar" as the infection had come down a lot.

On Thursday, in a statement issued by the Kauvery Hospital, the Executive Director said the DMK patriarch was under treated for fever due to urinary tract infection with intravenous antibiotics and fluids.

"He is being monitored and treated round the clock by a team of medical and nursing professionals, who are providing hospital-level care at his home," Selvaraj said.

Earlier Karunanidhi was admitted to the same hospital for change of the tracheostomy tube.
Jaipur, July 28 : Amid a row over the Congress chief ministerial candidate in Rajasthan, party general secretary and state in-charge Avinash Pandey on Saturday said the polls would be conducted under the leadership of party president Rahul Gandhi.

Assembly elections are due in the state later this year.

Pandey asked party leaders not to issue any statement which violates party discipline.

His remark came soon after former Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot projected himself as the CM face at a party meeting in Udaipur.

Gehlot said: "People of Rajasthan are acquainted with a face which has been a chief minister for 10 years; what else can be done to bring in more clarity on this CM's face," he said, adding that he will be serving the state till his last breath.

Former Union minister and veteran Congress leader Lalchand Kataria had recently said that Gehlot should be named as the party's CM candidate.

"Kataria has been a senior leader and we all respect him for his contribution to the party. We also look forward to his clarification on the statement he issued recently," Pandey said.
New Delhi, July 28 : The Congress on Saturday demanded a Supreme Court-monitored CBI inquiry into the rape of 34 minor girls in a shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district.

Calling him 'Kushashan babu', the Congress asked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar if this was the good governance (sushashan) model of the Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal-United government in the state.

"The opportunistic BJP-JDU alliance in Bihar has just completed one year in power. It is a year marred by misgovernance and anarchy," said AICC incharge of Bihar Shaktisinh Gohil.

The Bihar government on Thursday announced a CBI probe into the case.

The shelter home was sealed after the sexual abuse of girl inmates came to light during a social audit by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

The Congress also demanded that an FIR should be filed against 14 other such homes which were mentioned in the TISS report under "grave concerns".

Gohil claimed that action had been taken only against one home shelter in Muzaffarpur, while the outrageous crime committed in remaining 14 have been conveniently ignored.

"Bihar is in the grip of complete lawlessness as horrifying incidents have shaken public conscience," he said.

He said that the family of arrested Child Protection Officer (Ravi Roushan) has made sensational claims that Social Development Minister Manju Verma's husband Chandrashekhar Verma regularly visited the shelter home.

"This has raised several uncomfortable questions regarding the role of the Minister and her husband," the Congress leader said.

"A government and a Chief Minister known for empowering women and girl child through bicycles, prohibition of liquor and reservation presides over a regime where girls in shelter homes are being sexually exploited."

"All thanks to the anti-women mindset of BJP and its leadership," he added.

The Congress leader also claimed that key accused Brajesh Thakur was getting support from BJP youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader Sudhanshu Pathak, who has demanded his release.

"Instead of seeking justice for the victims and demanding punishment for the guilty, the BJP is brazening it out and is busy protecting the predators," said Gohil.
Glasgow, July 28 : The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has received during a session in Scotland a banner as the host of the World Down Syndrome Congress 2020.

UAE's Minister of Community Development Hessa Essa Buhumaid received the banner amidst applaud at the concluding session of the triennial World Down Syndrome Congress (WDSC), in Glasgow.

The UAE will be the first country in the Middle East and North Africa to host the international conference, which brings together more than 1,200 delegates from around the world. Down Syndrome International (DSi), Down Syndrome Scotland and international delegates attended the closing session.

"The UAE's selection to host the World Down Syndrome Congress 2020 was motivated by its prominent international stature and its strategic policies and remarkable achievements in the inclusion and empowerment of people of determination," said Dr Manal Jaroor, the Chairperson of the Emirates Down Syndrome Association.
New Delhi, July 28 : Alleged personal details of Indias telecom watchdog chief R.S. Sharma were leaked on Saturday after the TRAI chairman threw a challenge and tweeted his 12-digit Aadhaar asking if it had made him vulnerable to any security risk.

A French security expert, who goes by the nickname Elliot Alderson and uses twitter handle @fs0c131y, in a series of tweets caused ripples on the social media, leaking "personal address, DoB, your alternate phone number" and explaining to Sharma, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) chairman, how risky it was to make the Aadhaar number public.

"People managed to get your personal address, DoB and your alternate phone number. I stop here, I hope you will understand why make your Aadhaar number public is not a good idea," Alderson wrote.

Sharma, a known defender of Aadhaar, has been maintaining that the unique ID does not violate privacy and the government reserved a right to create such a database of residents since it gives subsidies on state-run welfare schemes.

Amid a debate on privacy concerns, which has also reached the Supreme Court, activists and people in general fear that the 12-digit biometric number was harmful to citizen's privacy.

"My Aadhaar number is 7621 7768 2740. Now I give this challenge to you: Show me one concrete example where you can do any harm to me," tweeted Sharma, whose tenure ends on August 9.

A twitter user had earlier asked Sharma to "walk your talk" after the TRAI chief tweeted his interview with an online portal in which he strongly defended Aadhaar and rejected apprehensions that one billion Aadhaar accounts were vulnerable.

He said there had not been a single instance of data being breached and had there been one, the entire Aadhaar database would have been vulnerable.

Within hours of tweeting his Aadhaar number, Anderson replied to Sharma: "The phone number linked to this #Aadhaar number is 9958587977.

"According to an official @nicmeity circular, this phone number is the number of your secretary," Anderson wrote and posted a link to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology circular.

The security researched also posted a picture of Sharma with a portion of it blackened. "I supposed this is your wife or daughter next to you."

Anderson, who is known to have revealed security loopholes in the Aadhaar data system, also posted screenshots of Sharma's leaked details with key areas blackened and hidden.

One of the screenshots even carried his PAN details. But that was also hidden.
Chandigarh, July 28 : Punjab Assembly Speaker Rana K.P. Singh has written to External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj over Canada declining entry to two AAP legislators.

"All legislative bodies of India and Canada are branches of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and members of the legislative bodies in both the countries are members of CPA," the Speaker wrote.

"On the one hand, we strive for increasing CPA activities and, on the other, our MLAs or public representatives are treated differently and humiliated," he said.

The Speaker said when the public representatives had disclosed their identity at the Ottawa Airport, the Canadian authorities must have facilitated them.

"I request you to take cognizance of this incident and take up this matter with the appropriate authorities of the Canadian government so that public representatives from our country are not subjected to such type of untoward and humiliating incidents in future."

Refused entry to Canada, both Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislators Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Amarjit Singh Sandoa returned home this week.
Bengaluru, July 28 : Ahead of the general elections next year, senior Congress leader and former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Saturday urged his party cadres in Karnataka to strengthen their presence in every poll booth.

"It is a booth-wise election ahead, which is why the party needs our people in every booth. We (Congress) must have enough people with feet on every booth," Chidambaram said addressing party members here.

The senior Congress leader was in the city to launch the party's "Shakti" app to strengthen the party cadres in the state by connecting them across each booth, village, town and district in Karnataka.

Of the 28 Lok Sabha constituencies in the southern state, the Congress had won nine seats, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) 17 and Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) two in the 2014 general election.

The mobile phone-based project aims to build a direct link between the party's booth-level workers and its senior leadership. A party worker can enroll himself/herself on the platform by registering through their voter card number.

A few months ago, party President Rahul Gandhi had interacted with Congress workers in Rajasthan through the application, which has already been unveiled in Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Delhi.

Shakti will enable the booth-level workers of the party to interact with the local leadership on various issues, Chidambaram said.

Though the party lost in the May 12 Karnataka assembly election, Chidambaram claimed that Congress had higher vote percentage than of the BJP.

"Congress had 2 per cent advantage in the vote share in the election, as we got 38 per cent of the votes, while the BJP got 36 per cent," Chidambaram said.

In the election for the 224-member assembly, the BJP emerged as the single largest party winning 104 seats, Congress 79 and the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) 37 seats, including one seat of its alliance partner Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and two other seats -- one each won by an Independent and a regional outfit.

Two seats remain vacant in the state as Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy was elected from both Ramanagara and Channapatna assembly segments and Jamkhandi seat in Bagalkot district fell vacant after the legislator's death on May 28.
New Delhi, July 28 : Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday held an emergency meeting with the Chief Secretary and the Flood Control Department on the possibility of flood in the national capital due to the release of 5 lakh cusecs water from Haryana's Hathnikund barrage.

Kejriwal said that this water is likely to reach Delhi by Sunday evening and that people can call the control room at 1077 for any flood-related emergency.

"This water likely to reach Delhi by tomorrow evening. Wherever administration evacuating people, they are requested to cooperate. All departments put on high alert. For any flood-related emergency, control room no is 1077," he said in a tweet.

The authorities in Delhi have already begun to evacuate hundreds of people living in the Yamuna catchment area as a flood threat loomed following a sharp rise in the river's level.

"Over 10,000 persons have been affected. People earlier living on the river bed and low-lying areas are being shifted out," Nodal Officer, Preet Vihar, Arun Gupta said.

He cautioned that the Yamuna water level is expected to go up further by Saturday night.

"On Saturday morning, over 200,000 cusecs was released into the Yamuna from the barrage -- which provides drinking water to New Delhi," an official told IANS in Chandigarh, adding villagers living along the river have been alerted on the release of excess water.

The official said that water at the Hathnikund barrage along the Haryana-Uttarakhand border had risen to alarming levels owing to overnight downpour in catchment states, making authorities release the extra water.

The Army has been put on alert along with a team from the National Disaster Management Authority.

The Yamuna passes through Yamunanagar, Karnal and Panipat districts in Haryana before entering Delhi.
New Delhi, July 28 : Preparing to install CCTV cameras across the city, the Delhi government on Saturday asked the city residents to give suggestions on the matter so that discussions could be held with the civic authorities.

People residing in Delhi can send their suggestions to delhigovt.cctv@gmail.com by July 31, according to a poster released by the Public Works Department.

A person can send a wide range of suggestions to the government including his/her views on how the location of CCTV cameras should be decided, if the location should be jointly decided by RWAs, local police and the company installing the camera, and who should have access to its feed - RWA or local police.

The Delhi government has also asked if it should be made mandatory to seek a license or permission from police for installing CCTV cameras.

On Sunday, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government will also hold a meeting of RWAs and market associations to discuss the matter in detail.
New Delhi, July 28 : Owing to increased use of tobacco, India contributes to nearly 60 per cent of head and neck cancer -- inside the mouth, the nose, and the throat -- patients worldwide and the number is expected to double by 2030, health experts said here on Saturday.

"Global contribution of head and neck cancer patients is 57.5 per cent in India. Out of these 80,000 cases annually are cases of oral cancer," said Kumar Prabhash from Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai told reporters.

"Tobacco is one of the major cause behind these cases of head and neck cancers. And we are estimating the number of cases to double by 2030," added Sumit Goyal from Department of Medical Oncology at Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute in New Delhi.

In a clinical study, presented recently at the annual conference of American Society of Clinical Oncologists (ASCO), in Chicago, the experts led by Prabhash concluded that a molecule called Nimotuzumab along with chemo-radiotherapy might be a better and effective treatment against head and neck cancers.

Nimotuzumab is the first indigenously produced novel biologic developed by Bengaluru-based biotech major Biocon and introduced in India as BIOMAb EGFR for head and neck cancer in 2006.

To examine its efficacy, the clinical study examined 536 locally advanced head and neck cancer patients aged between 18 to 80 years.

The results showed that patients who were administered Nimotuzumab combined with cisplatin drug -- used for chemotherapy -- and radiation, survived almost three times more than those who received only chemo and radiation. It also reduced the risk of disease progression by 26 per cent.

Biomab has a unique bivalent binding, because of which it binds primarily at the site of cancer cells where there is over expression of the EGFR protein.

This is significant since this mechanism of action of Biomab ensures that only the cancerous cells are destroyed, unlike other targeted agents, ensuring that it does not cause additional toxicity, said Prabhash.

The clinical study proved that the introduction of this molecule, to the existing standard of care in patients of Head and Neck cancer, dramatically improved treatment outcomes on factors like progression-free survival, disease-free survival, duration of loco-regional control and overall survival, he added.

While no severe side effects were observed, it led to a mild increase in the level of mucositis -- mouth inflammation that is considered a common effect after cancer treatment, he noted.

While BIOMAb EGFR is currently approved for treatment of head and neck cancers in India, Cuba, Argentina, Colombia, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ukraine, Peru, Vietnam and Sri Lanka, a number of clinical trials are being conducted worldwide to evaluate the efficacy of this molecule in various other indications also like lung cancer, pancreatic cancer, cervical cancer etc.
Kolkata, July 28 : A youth was arrested here on Saturday for allegedly duping individuals and corporates of crores of rupees by falsely posing as a marketing official of state-run steel maker SAIL in a business portal, police said.

Acting on a complaint lodged by a company Pasupati Engineering on July 26, the Puducherry Police approached the West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department for help to arrest the alleged culprit.

The CID accompanied the Puducherry Police team during the investigation, and discovered that the suspect Shyam Maitra had put up at a five state hotel on EM Bypass in Kolkata.

With help from the hotel authorities when Mitrra was checking out, the CID team nabbed him on the charge of duping many people, police said.

Maitra, a resident of Durgapur in West Bengal, posed as an Assistant General Manager of SAIL in a marketing business web portal and used to ask customers to buy the products of SAIL and send money to his account through RTGS, a statement said.

It was learnt that the company placed order for 35 mt steel, but the accused told them that SAIL would not supply less than 100 mt. The victim made a payment of Rs.58.32 lakh through RTGS, it added.

During the interrogation, the accused admitted his guilt. It is suspected he had been in the business of duping people by various means since 2014.
Kolkata, July 28 : The Calcutta High Court has ordered a petitioner to pay Rs 10,000 to the West Bengal Criminal Investigation Department as compensation for making a false complaint of forgery, a CID release said.

The court passed the order earlier this week after it was established that the complainant's allegation that his step grandmother had forged the signature of his maternal grandfather after the latter's death to get hold of a property, was not true.

Panchanan Mondal, a resident of Babua village in East Midnapore district, had filed a complaint at Kolaghat police station that after the death of his maternal grandfather Kalipada Ponra, his (Panchanan's) step grandmother Chandana Panra had made a "false and duplicate register deed of entire landed property" of the deceased in her name though a afalse signature on the said registered deed'.

Chandana claimed that she and her son Kartick Ch. Alu are the owners of the land, according to the complainant, who alleged that she has committed fraud and cheated him and his mother Parul Bala Mondal - the last named being the "legal heir of the entire landed property".

During investigation, the CID seized the original deeds and sent the documents for an expert opinion.

Both the finger prints and questioned signatures were said to be of the same person.

"Thus during investigation, it was established that contrary to the allegation by the complainant, the signatures and the finger prints on the gift deed of Kalipada Ponra were not forged," the CID release said.

The CID submitted its report before the high court, which passed order on Wednesday that the writ petitioner should pay Rs 10,000 to the CID as it has been established that forgery had not been committed by the accused.

The judge also said the CID would be entitled to execute and enforce the order on default of payment by the petitioner.
New Delhi, July 28 : As the Yamuna river water hit danger mark, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday held a review meeting with officials concerned on the preparedness to tackle flood-like situation in low-lying areas of Delhi.

The Delhi government also requested the Army to be on the stand-by for any emergency.

The meeting was held after neighbouring Haryana released 5 lakh cusecs of water from the Hathnikund Barrage into the river. In a tweet, Kejriwal said that the water is likely to reach Delhi by Sunday evening.

"Kejriwal, who met officials of Irrigation and Flood Control Department and other stakeholders, was informed by officials that they are prepared and on alert for any situation. They said that quick response teams have also been activated for emergency," an official statement said.

The Chief Minister directed that Control Room Emergency Number 1077 must be advertised to make more and more people aware of it.

"Departments concerned were asked to deploy officials at the flood control rooms round the clock for 3-4 days. All departments have been assigned respective duties and put on alert," a Delhi government statement said.

The officials told the Chief Minister that evacuation of residents of vulnerable areas had begun and they have started putting up tents to accommodate them.

"The supply of power, good food and drinking water to the people must be ensured and no stone left unturned to take care of them. Emergency medical teams will also be put on duty for evacuated people and to deal with any medical emergencies," Kejriwal told officials.

Kejriwal ordered the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) to activate and place their mobile toilets around the tents being put up.

He asked the Education Department and Municipal Corporations of Delhi to be ready to provide school premises in affected areas to house people if the situation so demanded.

Furthermore, power companies were asked to deploy officials at the Flood Control Room round the clock.

"All power companies have been asked to arrange power in these tents 24x7 once people are shifted there," Kejriwal asserted.

In the meeting, the availability of motorboats was discussed and all agencies having motorboats were asked to keep them ready for evacuation from affected areas.

The meeting was attended by the MLAs of vulnerable areas, Delhi Chief Secretary, officials of the Army, Delhi Police, DUSIB, Urban Development and Irrigation and Flood Control Departments, MCDs, and others.
Kolkata, July 28 : Smelling a BJP-RSS hand in Delhi's St Stephens College withdrawing an invitation to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, the Trinamool Congress on Saturday said she cannot be silenced and would go ahead with her trip to the national capital.

"Let them keep trying, she cannot be silenced. The Bengal CM's trip to Delhi is on schedule," said a senior Trinamool Congress MP.

Banerjee was earlier slated to address students of the prestigious college on August 1.

The MP referred to two recent instances where Banerjee had to cancel her scheduled visits.

Last month, Banerjee had to call off her scheduled trip to Chicago in August to attend the 125th anniversary of Swami Vivekananda's historic speech at the Parliament of World's Religions after the organisers wrote to her that the event has been cancelled due to "unforeseen difficulties" and "demise of a monk".

Days later, Banerjee had to abandon her plans for a eight-day tour to China at the last moment as the scheduled political meetings "at the appropriate level" under the Exchange Programme between the two countries were not confirmed.

"First, the Vivekananda event in Chicago. Then her China visit and now St Stephens! Mamata Banerjee is giving the BJP-RSS sleepless nights," the MP said.

He informed that Banerjee would go to Delhi to be the chief guest at the "Love your Neighbour" conference organised by India's largest Christian body, The Catholic Bishops Conference of India, on July 31.

However, a teacher of St. Stephens has been quoted in a section of the media as saying that the invite had to be withdrawn due to protocol issues.
Kolkata, July 28 : A BJP leader was hacked to death in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, with police putting the blame on "unidentified criminals", but the party accused the state's ruling Trinamool Congress of being responsible for the killing.

The Trinamool has, however, denied the charge.

Shaktipada Sardar, the secretary of BJP's Mandal committee in the Mandir Bazar-Dhanurhat area, was allegedly attacked by a group of men with sharp weapons on Friday night, and died on the way to a Kolkata hospital.

The grievously injured Sardar was earlier taken to Diamond Harbour hospital, but as his condition worsened, the doctors advised he be shifted to a Kolkata hospital, police said.

An investigation into the death was on, the officer said.

As news of Sardar's death spread, angry BJP activists put up a road blockade demanding immediate arrest of the culprits.

A BJP leader alleged that miscreants loyal to the Trinamool murdered Sardar as he was popular in the area, and had almost finalised the entry of four local leaders of the ruling party to the saffron outfit.

Senior police and administrative officials rushed to the area and succeeded in getting the blockade withdrawn after assurances that those responsible for the killing would be brought to book.
Houston, July 29 : Panic erupted at a shopping mall in the US state of Texas on Saturday when an attempted robbery was mistaken for an active shooting prompting a heavy police response.

The attempted robbery happened at a jewelry store in the shopping mall in McAllen, a border town with Mexico and about 520 km southwest of Houston, Xinhua reported.

Police said that the initial report of shots fired was actually the result of glass cases that were smashed at the store.

McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez said that all known suspects were in custody and that no injuries were resulted from the robbery attempt.

Earlier, Hidalgo County Constable Precinct 4 issued a report on Facebook which read: "Active Shooter at the McAllen Plaza Mall Stay Away from the area! Several law enforcement agencies heading to the scene."

A month ago, the small city of McAllen, with a population of around 142,000, caught the eyes of the world for a sprawling red-roofed detention center, in which hundreds of suspected migrants were locked up and children removed from their parents' care while the families are inside the facility.

The US Border Patrol's McAllen Station is the busiest for apprehending and detaining immigrants suspected of entering the country illegally, and protests have erupted around the area.
Tehran, July 29 : Iran will file a lawsuit with international tribunals against US' fresh sanctions on importing handwoven Iranian rugs, media reports said.

US President Donald Trump "has wrongly sanctioned the art industry, which is a symbol of culture and intellectual property of the Iranian people," Xinhua quoted Fereshteh Dastpak, head of Iran National Carpet Center, as saying.

"According to international protocols, what belongs to a nation could not be sanctioned," Dastpak noted.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control of the US Treasury Department recently revoked the license for importing Iran's carpets and foods, including pistachios and caviar.
The Court emphatically wrote, "What Starbucks calls 'de minimis' is not de minimis at all to many ordinary people who work for hourly wages."

On Thursday, July 26, 2018, the California Supreme Court released its opinion on Troester v. Starbucks. The justices unanimously agreed that Starbucks and other California employers must compensate workers for tasks they regularly perform even if off the clock and even if they only take a few minutes, such as store closing duties, setting alarms, and locking the store, by example. Marlin & Saltzman co-founding partner, Stanley D. Saltzman argued the case to the Supreme Court, on behalf of a class of approximately 10,000 Starbucks employees who worked the store closing shifts.

We are overwhelmed by the Supreme Courts decision to remove the so-called federal de minimis rule from the body of California law, said plaintiffs attorney, Stan Saltzman. And we are heartened that employers are now being told, very clearly, that they cannot require their workers to regularly perform minutes per day of unpaid labor.

This ruling affects companies throughout the state. In its opinion, the high court noted that the California labor code has never adopted the de minimis rule found in the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). The Federal law has been applied in circumstances where the compensable time worked off the clock was supposedly either too small or too difficult to record from an administrative perspective.

The Court emphatically wrote, "What Starbucks calls 'de minimis' is not de minimis at all to many ordinary people who work for hourly wages."

This matter will be remanded to the Ninth Circuit, which is expected to issue a decision consistent with the Supreme Court's ruling, Saltzman told reporters.

Since 1985, the firm of Marlin & Saltzman has filed hundreds of class actions, helping millions of client class members gain fair compensation for their employment and consumer injuries and damages, and has also handled catastrophic injury claims. In its 30 years of experience, Marlin & Saltzman has recovered almost $1 Billion dollars for its clients; becoming a preeminent law firm throughout California and the entire nation. Stanley D. Saltzman is a highly respected trial lawyer, consistently recognized as a Southern California SuperLawyer in the area of employment class action and wage and hour law. For more information about the firm, please visit its website at http://www.marlinsaltzman.com.
Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD) has opened nine new locations across the United States, joining more than 200 centers across 32 states. The new centers are located in Cupertino, CA; Salinas, CA; Houston, TX; Mashpee, MA; Providence, RI; Woburn, MA; Tacoma, WA; Tigard, OR and Youngsville, LA. Individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder can access treatment without delay. In keeping with its social justice initiative to provide services across all populations, the locations in California, Massachusetts, Washington, Oregon, and Louisiana welcome Medicaid patients, as well as all private insurance.

CARD is the worlds largest provider of top-quality, evidence-based autism treatment, effectively treating individuals of all ages who are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Through a network of highly trained behavior analysts, behavior technicians, and researchers, CARD develops and implements quality, individualized treatment programs, which lead to success and, in some cases, recovery.

CARD treats the behaviors and deficits commonly associated with ASD using the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA), the only evidence-based treatment for ASD. Services are available in CARD centers and patient homes, schools, and communities. CARD pioneered the center-based model when researchers documented that individuals acquire skills in a center-based program at approximately twice the pace as in a home setting.

Once we realized the potential for individuals with autism to increase their rate of skill acquisition, we moved quickly to offer center-based services to all of our families, explained Dr. Dennis Dixon, CARDs chief science officer.

In addition to communication, adaptive, play, and motor skills, CARDs unique curriculum builds on these foundational skills to develop more advanced social, cognition, and executive function skills, such as understanding sarcasm, solving social and non-social problems, and identifying metaphors. These skills optimize socialization skills and help individuals with ASD experience positive social interactions with their peers and family members.

As a mother of three, I understand how important it is for families to choose the right provider for their children, which is why I am so committed to the ongoing research that continues to advance the field of ABA, said Doreen Granpeesheh, PhD, BCBA-D, founder of CARD. I am confident parents have made the best decision for their child when they choose CARD, and I know that our highly qualified staff are on-hand to help children and their families flourish.

In addition to traditional 1:1 intensive ABA programs, CARD offers focused ABA programs and several targeted programs, including feeding, pill swallowing, social skills groups, short and long-term treatment of severe problem behavior, and more focused parent training. Parents and caregivers are encouraged to participate in parent/caregiver training, which is available during non-traditional work hours and online.

The new centers are as follows (address and full contact information available at http://centerforautism.com/locations.aspx):



Cupertino, CA: (669) 210-0301

Salinas, CA: (831) 225-0989

Houston, TX: (281) 713-9985

Mashpee, MA: (508) 419-4320

Providence, RI: (401) 214-2330

Woburn, MA: (339) 227-4000

Tacoma, WA: (253) 285-7180

Tigard, OR: (971) 256-4050

Youngsville, LA: (337) 857-3674

For more information, call (818) 345-2345 or visit CARD online at http://www.centerforautism.com.

About Center for Autism and Related Disorders (CARD)

CARD treats individuals of all ages who are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at treatment centers around the globe. CARD was founded in 1990 by leading autism expert and licensed psychologist Doreen Granpeesheh, PhD, BCBA-D. CARD treats individuals with ASD using the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA), which is empirically proven to be the most effective method for treating individuals with ASD and recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the US Surgeon General. CARD has over 200 locations throughout the United States. For more information, visit http://www.centerforautism.com.
Google Includes Cause Inspired Media In New List of Ad Grants Certified Professionals The Google Ad Grants Certified Professionals Community was designed to enhance the Ad Grants experience for professionals and Grantees alike. This community recognizes the network of agencies, consultants and trainers who look after nonprofits globally...

Cause Inspired Media, a digital marketing firm specializing in Google Ad Grant optimization, has been included on Googles new list of Ad Grants Certified Professionals. The vendors list currently consists of 9 Google Ad Grant management agencies worldwide who have proved they are the leading authorities in Ad Grant Management. These Professionals will have the ability to interact with Googles Ad Grants team, and be given access to ongoing educational materials. These Professionals will even help guide Googles future program strategies.

According to Google, the goal of this new community of professionals is to help connect nonprofits with companies that specialize in both the Google Ad Grant and the nonprofit industry. Google recognizes that there are many nuances to consider when working with nonprofit organizations, so they have built this community of experts to help nonprofits make the most of the opportunities available to them through Googles suite of services. Google explains, The Google Ad Grants Certified Professionals Community was designed to enhance the Ad Grants experience for professionals and Grantees alike. This community recognizes the network of agencies, consultants and trainers who look after nonprofits globally...

Moving forward, Google will be releasing their Getting Started With An Agency Guide that will help nonprofit organizations navigate the process of choosing and working with one of Googles Ad Grants Certified Professionals.

Cause Inspired Media, a company headquartered in St. Augustine, Florida, manages Ad Grants for hundreds of nonprofits across the United States. They have several clients receiving the full benefits of the Ad Grant, $10,000 each month, and in many cases, have been able to provide the vast majority of targeted traffic to their clients websites. Cause Inspired Media is also trusted by nonprofits to handle other services including Google search, display and remarketing, social media management and advertising, as well as responsive web design.

For press inquiries, please contact:

Joshua Lusk

Founder - CEO

Cause Inspired Media

(904) 429-7575 x 101

josh.lusk(at)causeinspiredmedia.com
Gil Pritchard [Its] incredible story of triumph and mercy by the Lord Jesus Christ

Within the pages of Gil Pritchards newest book, Miracles in Vietnam 1968 ($14.49, paperback, 9781545629512; $6.99, e-book, 9781545629529), readers will find the story of a Marine who struggled with PTSD after returning from the Vietnam war and how the Lord miraculously kept him alive during the hardest time of his life.

Pritchard shows how one manhe himselfmade it through the horrors of war and lived to tell how today, he is set free from PTSD.

[Its] incredible story of triumph and mercy by the Lord Jesus Christ, said Pritchard.

Gil Pritchard returned to the United States and became a school teacher and spent many years working with students. His wife Sharon helped with his healing of PTSD in their studies as revelation and understanding were provided by the Lord.

Xulon Press, a division of Salem Media Group, is the worlds largest Christian self-publisher, with more than 12,000 titles published to date. Miracles in Vietnam 1968 is available online through xulonpress.com/bookstore, amazon.com, and barnesandnoble.com.
All This I Will Give to You (Amazon Crossing, Sept.), Spanish novelist Dolores Redondo's fol-low-up to her bestselling Baztan trilogy, is a standalone mystery set in northern Spain chronicling a writer's quest to understand the reasons behind his husband's death. PW caught up with Redondo and Michael Meigs, who translated the novel to English, to ask a few questions about the release, which may be Redondo's most accomplished work to date.

Dolores, your Baztan trilogy was powered in large part by a female protagonist, hom-icide inspector Amaia Salazar. Your newest novel features a gay man as its main character. In what way, if any, did this alter the way in which you approached writing the story?

DR: It didn't alter anything for me. A writer knows how to put herself in someone else's shoes. In my other novels, there were many complex, very well-drawn and thought-through male characters, so it wasn't a novelty for me to have a male as a main character. The crea-tive process is exactly the same. The thing here is that Manuel is a writer, and I am a writer, so I am deeply connected to this character and the distance between us is much shorter than with many of my other characters. We're linked through our creative minds, through our jobs, through who we are as we both identify ourselves as writers. In the novel, the fact that Manuel is gay is secondary really: he's defined for the loss of his husband, he has to face this loss, and the loss of the world he felt safe, the world he lived in and thought as true.

Although All This I Will Give to You is almost 700 pages long, it reads like a much shorter novel. Did you get any pushback from publishers about the shelf-bending size?

DR: Never. Nothing really changed from the version I delivered to the publishers to the one you read. It's funny, because readers tell me "you spent two years writing this novel, yet I read it in less than a week." And they say: "the next one has to be longer." The thing is each novel is the length the story needs to be, I cannot really decide beforehand.

Michael, what was the biggest challenge for you when it came to making this bestsel-ling Spanish mystery accessible to English readers?

MM: All This I Will Give to You is a meticulously plotted mystery that develops in an unfa-miliar setting rich in landscape and tradition. It's beautifully linear and at the same time breathtakingly deep. Dolores's characters are striking and complete; in these pages, several of them undertake journeys of discovery similar to Manuel's. The challenge was to express these discoveries and transformations in an English as rich, subtle, and contemporary as Dolores's Spanish prose. Picking up the text again several months after working with the publisher's talented support staff, I'm enormously pleased with the result.

Dolores, all of your novels are so richly described. How important is setting in your stories? And what initially inspired you to write a novel set largely in one of Spain's most exoticand mysteriousareas, Galicia?

DR: Landscape and setting are crucial for me. I treat it like another character in the novels, and an important one. It is not important that I chose Galicia, or Baztan; it's the North, that's important. I grew up in this place in the North, within a very matriarchal family with important men around, in a culture of hard work, and hard physical work. With my admira-tion for Mario Puzo, I dreamt of living in the U.S., in big cities, and writing about that kind of life. When I grew up and matured, I realized I couldn't disregard the place I had grown up in, but had to embrace it, as that place was powerful. My universe is the North, and that's the setting I always chose for my novels. It doesn't have to be the Spanish North, it can be any North. The essence of the North is part of me.
In this months roundup of the best-reviewed BookLife titles, we highlight three thrillersabout a haunted house,

a reluctant homicide detective, and a weapon of mass manipulationplus an audiobook and a romance.

 Shy Grove by Scott A. Johnson

Synopsis: In this thriller from Johnson, after the death of his aunt, Gary inherits her house in the remote town of Shy Grove. But once he moves his family into the old house and looks to turn his marriage around, things take an unexpected turn.

PWs Takeaway: Creepy, twisted, and relentlessly unsettling... This is an impressive new take on classic horror themes.

Comparable Title: Shirley Jacksons The Haunting of Hill House

Sample Line: The place felt like a museum, a shrine to a dead womans tastes and passions.

Read the Review

 Infinite Us by Eden Butler

Synopsis: Butler beautifully weaves three interracial romancestaking place in Brooklyn, New Orleans, and Washington, D.C.into a satisfying and complex work.

PWs Takeaway: The complex structure crystallizes into an impressive resolution that ties up loose threads hidden in the very first pages. This splendid story is destined for many a keeper shelf.

Comparable Title: Renee Carlinos Wish You Were Here

Sample Line: Once there was an ordinary girl who held an extraordinary hope.

Read the Review

Terminal Rage by A.M. Khalifa; narrated by Scott Brick

Synopsis: After a terrorist takeover of a skyscraper, former FBI agent Alex Blackwell is dragged from retirement.

PWs Takeaway: A totally satisfying audiobook.

Comparable Title: Daniel Silvas The Black Widow

Read the Review

 Shadowed by Death by Mary Adler

Synopsis: In 1944 San Francisco, detective Oliver Wright has returned from combat in the Pacific and has mixed feelings about his first homicide case.

PWs Takeaway: A superior whodunit.

Comparable Titles: Sheldon Russells Hook Runyon series

Read the Review

 Gone Viral by J.A. Knight

Synopsis: When a man creates a weapon of mass manipulation, he finds himself involved with a shadowy intelligence agent.

PWs Takeaway: Fans of intelligent thrillers will relish Knights promising debut.

Comparable Title: Christopher Farnsworths Flashmob

Read the Review
Dial Wins Napolitanos Edward

After beating nine other bidders, Dial Presss Whitney Frick won North American rights to Ann Napolitanos novel Dear Edward. The book, set for 2020, was sold by Julie Barer at the Book Group. The publisher said the novel follows two narratives: the story of the passengers aboard an airplane hurtling toward a tragic crash, and the coming-of-age of the flights sole survivor, 12-year-old Edward Adler. Barer predicted that the book will be the next literary fiction blockbuster. In addition to the U.S. sale, foreign deals have closed for the book in a number of territories including France, Italy, the Neatherlands, Spain, and the U.K.

Moores Animal Runs to Delacorte

Krista Marino at Delacorte Press took world English rights, in a preempt, to Maria Romasco Moores debut YA novel, Some Kind of Animal. The novel, the publisher said, is about a teenager who believes she has a secret twin who lives in the woods, but who finds herself forced to prove her own innocence when her sister attacks a boy. Jim McCarthy at Dystel, Goderich & Bourret represented Moore; the book is slated for spring 2020.

Redhook Gets Kind with Morgan

Louisa Morgan sold The Witchs Kind, in a two-book deal, to Sarah Guan at Redhook. The world rights agreement was brokered by Peter Rubie at FinePrint Literary Management. In her new novel, Morgan (A Secret History of Witches) offers, per the publisher, a tale of love, sacrifice, family ties, and magic set in the Pacific Northwest in the aftermath of World War II. Redhook added that The Witchs Kind is ideal for fans of Practical Magic and A Discovery of Witches.

Chinese SF Writer to Saga

For Simon & Schusters Saga Press, Joe Monti bought North American rights, at auction, to two novels by Hao Jingfang. The first book in the deal is called Vagabond and the second is currently untitled. Tianjin-born Hao is the first Chinese woman to win a Hugo awardin 2016 she took home the Best Novelette honor for Folding Beijingand her books with Saga will be translated by author Ken Liu, who is also a Hugo winner. Robin Straus and Katelyn Hales at Robin Straus Agency represented Hao on behalf of Charlotte Seymour at Andrew Nurnberg Associates London. Before becoming an author full-time, Hao worked part-time as an economist for the IMF.

Rascal Flatt to Zondervan

Jay DeMarcus, a member of the country music group Rascal Flatts, sold a memoir to Zondervan. Associate publisher Stephanie Smith, along with Matt Baugher, senior v-p of author and partnership development for HarperCollins Christian Publishing, took world rights to Sing On from Kathy Armistead Olen at Atticus Brand Partners. The memoir, set for April 2019, will, DeMarcus said, chart his rise to stardom in Nashville and, ultimately, encourage people that no matter where they are in their lives, they can find hope, comfort and strength in their faith. According to Zondervan, Rascal Flatts has sold over 23 million albums.

For more childrens and YA book deals, see our latest Rights Report.
All my calls are screenedpeople wanting to buy us, quipped a busy executive at a Midwest printing company when PW finally caught up with him. Perhaps he wasnt joking, given the events in the printing business over the past year. Two major trends, consolidation and the rapidly rising cost of paper, were on the minds of most of the printing industry playerssmall, medium, and largethat PW spoke with in reviewing the current state of the business.

The landscape has changed dramatically since PWs last survey of printing companies just over a year ago. The demise of 125-year-old Edwards Brothers Malloy in June was shocking to all, including its competitors. Created in 2012 by the merger of Edwards Brothers with Malloy, EBM doubled its digital capacity but found that because the college market did not deliver as hoped, digital sales remained flat. Annual revenues eroded from an estimated $115 million at the time of the merger to about $95 million when EBM, then the industrys fifth-largest printer, closed its doors last month.

Some competitors are already benefiting from EBMs closing. Several executives among those interviewed say they had been approached by EBMs customers, who are struggling to get their jobs done. In addition, many EBM employees were quickly snapped up, since finding professionals in the printing field is among the industrys biggest challenges.

Edwards was not alone among the larger players to experience financial troubles. Based in Stamford, Conn., Cenveo, the countrys third-largest printer of various products, including books, filed for bankruptcy in February. By last month, the company had forged a reorganization plan to cut its debt from $1.1 billion to $400 million. Major stakeholders supported the plan, and it appears Cenveo is on track to exit bankruptcy later this summer.

Consolidation in the business gathered speed in the past year and among the more significant purchases was the CJK Groups acquisition of 150-year-old Webcrafters, a leading printer for the educational and catalogue markets. Other CJK holdings include Bang Printing, Hess Print Solutions, Sentinel Printing, Sheridan, and Victor Graphics.

The large companies are expected to continue to get bigger. Several independent companies report being approached to sell, though none named their would-be buyers. And there are without a doubt some small companies that would be happy to be acquired. One interviewee suggested that owners of the surfeit of small $15 million$20 million companies started in the 1970s might be willing to sell out and retire. Among the reasons cited for the tightening in the printing industry is overcapacity, due primarily to the 20072009 recession in combination with digital substitution.

The industry also received a serious jolt in the past six months from paper shortages, which have led to price hikes that could pummel smaller players. With limited supplies of paper, companies with deep pockets are likely to be given preference, one executive speculated. Because of the shortage of pulp, there have already been two cost hikes this year, and one more is expected. In addition, tariffs on paper produced in Canada and environmental concerns in China reduced the amount of imports from those sources. One midsize printer says that, due to shortages, when a larger order comes in, the company occasionally must split the order into more than one run to wait for paper to become available.

Printers are feeling the pinch of higher paper prices, and eventually their customers will, too, since most of those interviewed say they have no choice but to implement price increases. Thomson Shore president Kevin Spall notes that printers have no choice but to pass along price increases to customers. The years of not passing along increases in our market are gone, he says. There is not enough margin to take a 5% hit on materialany company thats doing that is doing a disservice to the industry. Noting that, in the past, printers were not inclined to pass on increases, Spall adds, There is no economic way to avoid that, especially when you get more increases through the years. It just has to be dealt with.

Bookmasters, which is owned by Follett, recently installed a Cannon ink-jet printer, and president Ken Fultz says the company has almost doubled its business. He also says Bookmasters, which had shared some work with EBM, picked up some additional business in the wake of that companys closure.

As with all the players interviewed, Fultz is aware of the paper situation. Demand and supply have pushed up the price, he notes, since several paper machines were taken offline in the past 18 months, taking capacity out of the market.

Gasch Printing is exclusively digital and focuses on shorter runs, many of which are for independent authors. Because of the swift closing of EBM, president Jeremy Hess says he got a lot of frantic calls from EBMs customers. We saw a lot of cases where people were stuck with work already going through the shop when everything just stopped, he notes.

Gasch invested in a new Cannon 300 ink-jet printer in April and installed a new color cutsheet, which has increased the companys color capacity tenfold, Hess claims. He adds that Gasch has seen an uptick in business since the installation. We can now compete in areas we never could beforehigher quantities, higher volume, increased operational savings.

Kelly Gallagher, v-p of content acquisition of Ingram Content Group, says unit sales of print books are still steadily increasing. While the demand for e-books has slowed, we do anticipate the continued growth of print books, especially as the development of self-publishing has opened the market to more content producers, he notes. Gallagher adds that in light of EBMs closure, Ingram has worked with its impacted customers to assist with their immediate and long-term printing needs. We will continue to designate resources to help publishers meet marketplace demand for their books.

Self-publishing is a significant part of ICGs growth; it launched Ingram Spark as its small press and indie author platform five years ago. Since the launch of that business, Gallagher says the segment has seen double-digit grow year on year.

Both traditional publishers and self-publishers are using Ingrams Global Connect print channel network, through which they can make content available globally through regional print-on-demand and retail distribution facilities that have partnered with Ingram. Publishers can get their content closer to consumers and significantly reduce delivery times to customers the world over, Gallagher notes. Ingram has partnerships with companies in China, Germany, India, Italy, Poland, Russia, South Korea, and Spain.

Revenue at the nations largest printer, LSC Communications, rose 13.2% in the first quarter of 2018 from the first quarter of 2017. The overall increase was due to a host of 2017 acquisitions, mainly from outside of the book business. But book sales increased 4.2% in the quarter, to $249 million, due to higher volume in trade and education books and digital services, as well as a $2 million increase in paper sales, partially offset by lower volume from religious publishers.

Following the spate of acquisitions in 2017, LSC has been relatively quiet in 2018, with the only recent acquisition being TriLiteral, a company specializing in distributing books published by university and academic publishers. However, David McCree, president of LSCs books and directory division, says, LSC is always keeping an eye out on the M&A front. LSC manages paper for numerous customers across many markets. This gives us strength and flexibility as the paper markets change over time. Regarding EBMs closing, McCree says LSC has taken on a number of its former clients.

McNaughton & Gunn, based in Saline, Mich., describes itself as a women-owned company. Julie McFarland and her two sisters are the owners, although only McFarland, who is president, is active in the business. McNaughton concentrates on short-to-medium runs, ranging from as few as 25 copies to 100,000, with most of its clients being midsize publishers. Most of M&Gs current sales are in offset, with digital currently at about 7%.

Like many players, McFarland says she is often approached by potential buyers but wants to remain private. Still, she says she sees further consolidation as a given. More is coming, she says. There are too many printers out there for the amount of printing that is done in the book industry.

McFarland admits paper shortages and consequent price hikes are a challenge but says the company, because of longtime relationships with paper vendors, is working through it. The speed of changing technology relating to equipment is also an issue. Its constanttrying to keep up and make the right decisions in terms of what will be successful for us and our customers, she notes.

Nick Lewis, president and cofounder (with his wife, Kathleen Lewis) of Publishers Graphics in Carol Stream, Ill., has been in business 21 years and still considers himself the new kid on the block. Although he says he frequently gets calls from potential buyers, Lewis has no interest in selling, but he has quietly made purchases of three printers that he would only describe as over 100 years old. I tend to go for older, better companies, he says. Im just trying to be very quiet about it and take care of my customersnot make a big deal out of it, he adds. PubGraphicss main concentration is on digital, and the company added a color ink-jet printer about a year ago.

Lewis says that although PubGraphics is reluctant to pass along the rising cost of paper to its customers any sooner than necessary, it is likely to happen eventually. Lewis takes a modest approach to his business: We know what we do, but we dont know if we do it as well as we could yet. We never rest on our laurels. He adds that he has three mantras he lives by: creating his own destiny, having the will to compete every day, and, as is written on signs posted all over the companys offices, never to get complaisant.

The closures and consolidation are healthy for rightsizing the market with the demand, says Thomson Shores Spall. I absolutely expect more mergers and closures for the rest of this year.

EBMs closure solved one of his TSs biggest challenges: finding skilled staff. We picked up some really awesome talented people who had been in the industry for 1025 years, Spall says, noting that, so far, TS has brought 35 former EBM employees on board and is planning to hire more.

From a client standpoint, Spall claims his company has had hundreds of inquires looking for a new printer in the weeks since EBM closed and is already seeing a significant uptick in volume. In addition, following EBMs closure, Spall forged an alliance with U.K.-based printer CPI, gaining a large slice of EBMs digital printing. Its a global printing platform where we can send work to CPI, and they can send work to us.

Spall says TS is not planning to reduce offset in favor of digital. He is still a holdout on ink-jet, since he is not fully satisfied with the quality of digital.

Distribution is the fastest-growing segment of TSs business. It more than doubled last year over 2016, and it continues to grow exponentially. And Spall declares his print business very healthy, growing 11% in the first half of 2018 over the same period in 2017.

According to Sheridan president Paul Bozuwa, the root of the industrys problems is overcapacity. My perception is that it seems to have a lot to do with the fact that the companies that are doing well are those with strong balance sheets, and those that used discipline and due diligence in their investment decisions, he says.

In addition, the constant evolution of recent technologies has brought pressures as printers have had to invest in new equipment. Against that backdrop, the catalyst is the paper market, Bozuwa notes. So those who are in a somewhat weak position when the paper mills have only so much paperwho are they going to give it to? Those who can pay their bills. Good guardians of their balance sheets are also well positioned to make acquisitions.

Sheridan was acquired by CJK Group just over a year ago, and Bozuwa says he believes consolidation is necessary for the printing industry as it adjusts to a new level of demand.

As for being owned by CJK after being independent for many years, Bozuwa says, Its been a terrific transition. Its been very good being acquired by a company that understands our business. He notes that CJK is an ambitious organization and it tends to continue to grow.

Chris Kurtzman, CEO of CJK Group, confirmed that statement. Just back from Europewhere he visited Amsterdam-based Elsevier, a customerhe spoke about the advantages to smaller companies within organizations like CJK, citing synergy and purchasing power and the ability to offer more services. One of the advantages of being a large player is the ability handle a wide range of orders. We are still going to have bestsellers and still going to have short runs, he says.

Kurtzman is confident book printing will be around for the foreseeable future, and CJK is prepared to expand its share of the market. Asked if there is a significant buy in CJKs near future, Kurtzman responds, We are interested in companies that have good reputations and have been around for a long time and that are known for good customer servicecompanies that advance services that we currently dont have.
Once, domestic arts were learned at grandmothers knee or in home economics class. Today, crafters are looking across the globe for ideas and instruction.

In Folk Art Embroidery (Thunder Bay, Sept.), Carina Envoldsen-Harris takes inspiration from 10 cultures, modeling her patterns on Moroccan tile, Russian matryoshka dolls, and more. The book is packaged with a bamboo hoop and sufficient materials for two projects.

Threads Around the World (Schiffer, Dec.) by Deb Brandon showcases traditions that run the alphabetical gamutin the words of the subtitle, from Arabian weaving to batik in Zimbabwe. Brandon, a mathematics professor and professional weaver, is a longtime member of Weave a Real Peace, and that organizations missionto raise awareness of the importance of textile traditions to grassroots economiesinspired the book.

What other cultures make is a really accessible handle to investigate other parts of the world, says Sandra Korinchak, publisher at Schiffer. When made by hand, textiles are personal, and our customers are looking for those personal connections.

Here, we look at select books that connect crafters to particular regions around the world.

Japan

Whether Kondo-minimalist or kawaii-cute, Japanese aesthetics have a hold on the popular imagination, and that extends to the countrys crafting traditions. Maybe thats because, as Diana Rupp of Brooklyns Make Studio says, Japanese crafts have a highly designed look that really appeals to millennials.

Among the workshops Rupp hosts at her studio, where she also sells craft books and supplies, are one on shibori, a Japanese dyeing technique, and another on sashiko mending, which uses a Japanese method of embroidery whose name translates to little stabs.

Jessica Marquez, who leads the sashiko mending class, is the author of the forthcoming Make & Mend (Watson-Guptill, Aug.), a 15-project primer. Sashiko seems to appeal to many different kinds of people, she says, including those who appreciate the strength it can give to fabrics. The technique, which Marquez says evolved as a way to use every item to the fullest extent, both repairs and decorates textiles; the geometric patters of stitches are meant to be visible. Its impressive that so much can be done with just the running stitch, she says.

Originally published more than two decades ago and appearing for the first time in English, 250 Japanese Knitting Stitches by Hitomi Shida (Tuttle, Oct.) follows the authors Japanese Knitting Stitch Bible, which has sold 20,000 print copies since its 2017 publication. Gayle Roehm, a knitting instructor who focuses on Japanese patterns, translated the text in both books; the stitch diagrams, however, use symbols only and require no knowledge of Japanese.

Christopher Johns, sales and marketing director at Tuttle, says the publisher, which specializes in books from Asia, is seeing particular interest in Japanese crafts.  Japanese cool is an actual thing, he says. Crafters in Japan seem to set the trends rather than follow them.

Another Japanese craft, kumihimo, involves braiding strands of cord or ribbon, often with beads, to produce colorful, strong lengths. Samurai wore kumihimo belts; modern crafters favor bracelets and other jewelry, as in Beginners Guide to Kumihimo by Donna McKean-Smith (Search, Oct.), who owns a shop called Riverside Beads in Lincolnshire, England. The crafts key piece of equipment, a portable disk that guides the cords into patterns, is widely available online for a few dollars.

The word kawaii, meaning cute, refers to an entire aesthetic, such as that of Kawaii Doodle Cutie by Zainab Khan (Race Point, Oct.), whose YouTube channel, Pic Candle, has 576,000 followers. In 2017s Kawaii Doodle Class, Khan gave step-by-step instructions for drawing tacos, sushi, clouds, lipstick, and other objects with facestwo dots for eyes plus a simple, curved mouth. The new book takes a trip around the world, applying the same visual technique to macarons and the Eiffel Tower, the Taj Mahal, and Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Amigurumi, tiny crocheted stuffed animals, people, or inanimate objects, epitomize the concept of kawaii. Thunder Bay has several forthcoming book/kit combos, including Augusts branded Animal Planet Safari Crochet; March 2019 brings amigurumi kits for dog, cat, and horse lovers, plus a My Little Ponybranded kit.

Nordic Countries

Scandinavian looks and trends continue to be popular at bookstores, says Ellen Jarrett, co-owner and adult-trade buyer at Porter Square Books in Cambridge, Mass. Anything that captures the spare and minimalSwedish death cleaning, hygge, even mystery novels, she says. The love for all things Scandinavian can definitely be seen in our crafts books, too.

Forthcoming titles that have caught Jarretts attention include Winter Knits from Scandinavia by Jenny Alderbrant (Trafalgar Square, Dec.), with two dozen patterns for socks, mittens, and hats, all to be completed in the multistrand method that makes knitwear of the region so distinctiveand warm.

Also from Trafalgar Square, Socks from Around Norway by Nina Granlund Sther (Trafalgar Square, Feb. 2019), who grew up outside of Oslo, follows the 2017 title Mittens from Around Norway. In each book, Sther offers some 40 patterns based on Norwegian archival designs and rendered in contemporary colorways.

The archetypical Scandinavian design aestheticsimple, chic, minimalistis well represented in Breaking the Pattern by Saara Huhta and Laura Huhta (Quadrille, Nov.). The siblings launched the pattern company Named in their native Finland in 2013; its since garnered 35,000 followers on Instagram, and craft stores around the world stock its designs.

The book showcases patterns for 10 garments: tops, dresses, skirts, and trousers. We also want to encourage people to sew good-quality, lasting things, Saara says. Self-made is the new luxury. Millennials have noticed that. Its very trendy to wear unique, self-made clothes.

Lithuania

Across the Baltic Sea from Finland, knitted wristlets are part of the womens folk costume in Lithuania, imparting warmth while keeping hands free (for, perhaps, knitting?). Irena Filomena Juskienes Beaded Wrist Warmers from Lithuania (Trafalgar Square, Nov.), another forthcoming favorite of Ellen Jarrett at Porter Square Books, comprises 63 patterns for knitted projects, modeled mainly by women in traditional and modern dress.

Scotland

Its no surprise that northern countries, Scotland among them, have strong knitwear traditions. Easy Cable and Aran Knits (Trafalgar Square, Sept.) features 26 patterns by Martin Storey, who looms large in the knitting world: he was chief designer at Jaeger and has spent two decades as a key designer at Yorkshire-based knitwear company Rowan Yarns.

Storeys designs for chunky cabled sweaters and scarves contrast with the feathery look of the creations in Brooke Nicos Simply Shetland Lace (Lark, Jan. 2019). Not a lot is known about how this form of lace knitting originated, says Wendy Williams, who edited the book. Its in the medieval tradition, and Scottish knitters created these stitches and designs. Considering the styles in the book are all made with just six stitches, theyre quite striking.

Bethanne Patrick is a writer and book critic who lives in the Washington, D.C., metro area.

Below, more on the subject of hobby and craft books.

Handmade and Heartfelt: PW Talks with Clint Harp

Know When to Fold Them: Hobby & Craft Books 2018

Hoop Dreams: Hobby & Craft Books 2018

The Joy of Crafting: Hobby & Craft Books 2018
Lines between work, life, and faith appear to be blurring more than ever as new books from religion publishers mix biblical principles with professional development and other topics related to business. Several titles publishing this year are aimed at Christian readers, and at others who are interested in improving their personal and professional lives.

Many faith readers spend the majority of their week immersed in their occupations, says Andrew Stoddard, acquisitions editor for WaterBrook and Multnomah. Having practical ways to integrate belief, calling, and purpose into that space is crucial and freeing.

Embracing the intersection between faith and the workplace, WaterBrook is publishing The Life Giving Leader: Learning to Lead from Your Truest Self by Tyler Reagin in September. Reagin, president of Catalyst, a leadership development organization for church leaders, speaks to the attributes and practices of a life-giving leadera leader who restore[s] hope and life to those around him, as he writes in the book. He also details how such a leader can benefit Christian organizations in particular, though Christian leaders in all organizations can learn from the list of characteristics of life-giving leaders, who personify self-awareness, self-acceptance, self-confidence, humility, and physical health.

There are leadership best practices, and Tyler unpacks many of those, Stoddard says. But a leader can only function at highest capacity when working from who they were uniquely created to be. This is a broadly applicable, but desperately needed message in The Life-Giving Leader. The book has an initial print run of 30,000 copies and will be published just before Catalysts 2018 conference in Atlanta on October 4, which in years past has attracted thousands of people.

Love Thy Business Partners

According to Shaun Tabbatt, marketing manager for Bethany House, workplaces are increasingly welcoming faith-based perspectives on management styles, while churches are looking to business for guidance on issues related to combatting reduced church attendance. There is definitely a movement to bring together best practices of leadership and organizational structure into church and ministry, he says. When it comes to business structures outside the church, there is a felt need for honor and solid Christian principles. What business doesnt need leaders walking in honor and integrity and putting people ahead of making money?

Bethany House is releasing two business-related books this year: Rooting for Rivals: How Collaboration and Generosity Increase the Impact of Leaders, Charities, and Churches by Peter Greer and Chris Horst (out now) and The Hospitable Leader: Create Environments Where People and Dreams Flourish by Terry A. Smith (Oct.). Greer, president and CEO of Hope International, a global micro-enterprise development organization, and Horst, v-p of development at Hope International, argue for the importance of encouraging ones colleagues in the workplace. In the book, the authors urge readers to see themselves as part of a much bigger team pursuing a much bigger mission. Further, the pair draws on the seven deadly sins and the seven virtues as a framework to help organizations change their vision from a prideful sense ownership to one that includes success even for competitors.

The Hospitable Leader urges readers to blend qualities of leadership and hospitality, such as cultivating hospitable environments in order to foster effective communication, that can, as Smith writes, create a climate of invitation and welcome that allows all kinds of people to work together in unity to heal the brokenness that is all around us. Marketing for The Hospitable Leader includes an outreach program targeting congregants via a sermon series as well as church leaders via additional resources based on the book.

Coming from IVP in September, The Minority Experience: Navigating Emotional and Organizational Realities by Adrian Pei is aimed at readers looking to understand the deeper realities of what it means to be a minority, writes the author, an organizational consultant, in the introduction.

Al Hsu, senior editor for IVP, says the book fits with others from the press on race, ethnicity, and justice issues, as well as with what he calls a mini trend of people merging their work, home, and religious lives. People are much more holistic today, recognizing that having faith resources helps them in their work, too, he says. Pei offers practical best practices for understanding each other, recognizing power differentials, and making space for minorities.

The Minority Experience, which has a 5,000-copy initial printing, examines work environments from the perspective of people in ethnic, religious, or cultural minorities. Pain, power, and the pasttheyre not a burden that has to weaken us, Pei writes in the book. They are an incredible gift that will stretch our hearts with more capacity for love and understanding than we ever knew we could have. That is the gift of the minority experience.

Leading by Example

In a crowded business books market, religion publishers are setting themselves apart by acquiring titles that draw on specific examples from the lives of faith leaders.

In October, Broadstreet Publishing will release Business by Design: Applying Gods Wisdom for True Success by Raymond Harris, founder of a nationwide architectural firm. The book uses the life of Jesus to demonstrate the virtues of compassion, diligence, and generosityvirtues that Harris says can help readers change their professional lives and become more effective at work.

Another book blending spirituality with professional management, Moral Leadership for a Divided Age: 14 People Who Dared to Change Our World by David P. Gushee and Colin Holtz (Brazos, Oct.), offers a look at leadership through role models such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Abraham Lincoln, whose lives left a lasting impact on the world. For Bob Hosack, executive acquisitions editor for Brazos, the book is an antidote to todays climate of disagreement and confusion. This idea of a moral leader is not just [based on] principles, but whole-life leadership, he says. These people have specific gifts and ways of communicating that are relevant to readers today.

Moral Leadership for a Divided Age features real-world examples of each subjects life-long leadership. For example, the authors highlight Mother Teresa, whose name, they write, became synonymous with selfless charity. Elie Wiesel also appears in the book as a defender of the Jewish people, advocate for human rights, and a fierce enemy of indifference to evil.

Ahead of working on Moral Leadership for a Divided Age, Jim Kinney, executive v-p of academic publishing for Baker Publishing Group (which includes Brazos), noticed a growing need for business books from a Christian perspective. Interest in questions of morality and ethics in business, work, and leadership has increased over the past decade, he says. Christian scholars who have thought deeply about those issues have much to contribute to those conversations. And helping our readers understand how Christianity interfaces with their workaday lives is just one more way we can serve them.

Jobs for Mind, Body, and Soul

Baker Publishing Groups Revell imprint is publishing two books on faith as a means of shaping a strong business mind-set: Shift Your Thinking for Success: 77 Ways to Win at Work and in Life by Dean Del Sesto (out now), and Stretched Too Thin: How Working Moms Can Lose the Guilt, Work Smarter, and Thrive by Jessica N. Turner (Sept.). Writing specifically to professional women with children, Turner draws on personal experience to provide a faith-based guide to managing work and home responsibilities, balancing self-care with deep friendships and marriage, and establishing clear work-life boundaries.

In Shift Your Thinking for Success, communications and branding expert Del Sesto offers short reflections to help shift readers thought patterns when it comes to success in business as well as in relationships. Relationships are the heartbeat of business, he writes. They grow the company, profit the bottom line, and assure the brand equity of both the business and the individual. A single relational breakdown can make or break a career or a business.

Baker Books executive editor Brian Thomasson is focused deliberately on acquiring business books with heart, he says. We see business books as a trend, and increasingly, wise and insightful Christian business leaders feel comfortable speaking into the business space.

Thomasson notes that Baker Books already has several business-related books in the marketplace, such as Jordan Raynors Called to Create: A Biblical Invitation to Create, Innovate, and Risk, and the press plans to release another 1015 titles in the category over the next few years. Were finding that a lot of agencies are sending us [manuscripts] and our sales teams are finding that these books are selling, Thomasson adds.

This month Baker Books released a title on cooperation in the workplace: High-Impact Teams: Where Healthy Meets High Performance by Lance Witt. A former executive/teaching pastor at California megachurch Saddleback and the founder of Replenish Ministries, Witt, in the book, offers a primer on partnerships and healthy team maintenance.

When our team is aligned and everyone is pulling in the same direction, we can make significant progress toward the vision God has given us, Witt writes in High-Impact Teams, which is geared toward churches and Christian organizations in particular. With an initial print run of 20,000 copies, marketing and publicity for the book will include advertising in Christian print, radio, television, and online outlets.

Meanwhile, Soul Force: Seven Pivots Toward Courage, Community, and Change by Reesheda Graham-Washington and Shawn Casselberry (Herald, out now) is based on Mahatma Ghandis and Martin Luther King Jr.s ideas of love characterized by emotional strength. In the book, Graham-Washington and Casselberry, both leaders in the nonprofit sector, offer seven pivots, or small changes, that can bring soul force to individuals and communities, including moving from consuming to creating community and from self-centeredness to solidarity. The book will be advertised in Mennonite and Anabaptist communities, and to other Christians, with the authors speaking at Christian Community Development Association events, including the annual conference in November.

Herald Press acquisitions editor Valerie Weaver-Zercher says Soul Force is a natural fit for the publisher. The way the authors combine issues of social justice with leadership in the nonprofit and business worlds is a unique blend of the domains, she adds.

Weaver-Zercher says that she believes Christian publishers should be at the forefront of a movement to combine business development with faith practices. I think more businesses are articulating the triple bottom line: success by profit, people, and planet, she notes. As businesses are looking at that, Christian publishers would be smart to publish in that realm. We are well served to think about the intersection of faith and business in creative and compassionate ways.

In January 2019, Salem Books, Regnerys religion books imprint, will publish Christians on the Job: Winning at Work Without Compromising Your Faith by David Goetsch, a corporate trainer. The book is a guide to helping Christians succeed in secular workplaces. Salem Books associate publisher Tim Peterson compared Goetschs book to Loving Monday: Succeeding in Business Without Selling Your Soul by John Beckett.

Religion publishers have a long history of publishing books to help readers live out their faith and contribute successfully in the marketplace, and we believe David Goetsch is a current thought leader for evangelical Christians on this topic, Peterson says. Goetschs book fulfills our mission of providing resources that enrich the lives of Christians, and we are excited about the impact it will have.
The Commander of the Motor Traffic and Transport Department (MTTD) of the Ashaiman Police Divisional Command, DSP Isaac Kojo Forson, in a statement appealed to the public to provide information on the driver.

Reports say the unidentified driver was heading towards the main Ashaiman traffic light from the Ashaiman Senior High School, when the accident occurred.

The truck run into the traders who were doing business on the pavement around the martket.
Nana Kwarteng was caught on camera showing off sinister hand signs associated with the Illuminati.

He believes the true meaning of the 666 and its underlying messages is affiliated with the Illuminati group.

The Illuminati is an alleged global elite that secretly runs the world by infiltrating the democratic process, and from behind the scenes, and is often linked to claims of Satanism.

Nana Opoku Kwarteng, the father of Ebony Reigns, has expressed sadness over the death of her daughter.

He was short of words when journalists caught up with him at his Dansoman residence.

Speaking to the media over the death, Nana Kwarteng said he "didn't believe that until it was confirmed by the Regional Police Commander or something that my girl is dead."

He said the last time he spoke with Ebony was last week Wednesday before her death on Thursday night.

This same evangelist has in previous reports accused top Kumawood stars such as Nana Ama McBrown, Maame Serwaa of allegedly being Illuminati members.

Meanwhile, Nana Opoku Kwarteng has appealed to prophets to stop associating his daughters death to voodoo.
READ MORE: Police pleads not guilty in court

The move, Samson explained on Joy FM's news analysis show "Newsfile," was to avoid a civil suit.

He said: Well, to avoid a civil suit against Midlands Savings and in compensation for the punches, trauma and embarrassment, we just closed a rather generous deal that removes her from the kiosk to owning a brand new house and from the streets hawking toffee to a woman now with multiple bank accounts.

Well, to avoid a civil suit against Midlands Savings and in compensation for the punches, trauma and embarrassment, we just closed a rather generous deal that removes her from the kiosk to owning a brand new house and from the streets hawking toffee to a woman now with multiple bank accounts."

He also added that Ms Osafo "is certainly overflowing with gratitude for the opportunity of a dignified life for herself and dependants.

A video went viral on social media showing a policeman assigned to the Savings and Loans physically abusing a woman who was carrying a baby at the headquarters of Midland Savings and Loans at Shiashe in Accra.

Lance Corporal Amanor brutishly assaulted the 36-year-old customer in the banking hall over a misunderstanding following her inability to withdraw GhC250.

Patience Osafo had refused to leave the banking hall after the company failed to allow her to withdraw GHC250 from her savings account. The staff asked the AK-47-wielding policeman to get her out and in the process, assaulted her.

The policeman was arrested by the Police on the orders of the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), David Asante-Apeatu, for investigations and prosecution.

He has also been interdicted pending disciplinary action against him.

The company has issued an apology to the assaulted customer and the general public.
She said: Over the last few weeks, I have been amazed at the number of people who have come to show appreciation and I ask myself: Is this Ghana? Are all these people in Ghana because of the maligning, the lies, the treachery, the wickedness, the mischievousness?I ask myself: Is this Ghana? I ask myself is this, my own husband, that you have come to say tribute to? And today, I ask the same question: Did people really know my husband? Did they take time to know him? The false accusations, the lies the maligning, did they know him? My dearest, me, your children, we know you.

Her comments drew some bashing on social media, with some saying her husband was equally guilty of throwing jabs at his political opponents.

But Dr Tetteh is backing her, saying the advent of social media has made it easy for people's credibility to be soiled.

"In the culture of Ghana, peoples credibility, peoples testimony, peoples hard-won reputation are undermined because of this day and age of social media and radio but we should also come to that place where we can appreciate people and give them living testimonies while they are still alive, he said.
In her tribute at the final funeral rites ceremony at the Accra International Conference Centre on Friday, July 27, she said: "Over the last few weeks, I have been amazed at the number of people who have come to show appreciation and I ask myself: Is this Ghana? Are all these people in Ghana because of the maligning, the lies, the treachery, the wickedness, the mischievousness?

"I ask myself: Is this Ghana? I ask myself is this my own husband that you have come to say tribute to? And today, I ask the same question: Did people really know my husband? Did they take time to know him? The false accusations, the lies the maligning, did they know him? My dearest Kwesi, your children and I knew you and we cherish you."

Some Ghanaians took to Twitter to praise her, in an obvious rebuke of the adversarial nature of the Ghanaian politics.

"Matilda Amissah-Arthur hitting the nail right in the head," a Twitter user wrote.

Godfred Akoto Boafo tweeted: "Matilda Amissah- Arthur spoke some harsh truths up there. We are not used to hearing this at funerals this side but i can understand her. Too much pain.

"These are the kind of people Matilda Amissah Arthur's speech was targeted to," a Twitter user insinuated. "That's Ghana for you..."

"Mrs. Matilda Amissah-Arthur on the Ghanaian Hypocrisy," Shirley Annan wrote. "Shame on us all."
READ MORE: Council of State approves Jean Mensa as EC chair

However, the offer was "diplomatically" turned down by the academician, who failed in her bid to become a judge at the International Criminal Court, the Herald newspaper has reported.

According to the newspaper known to very critical of the government, the President was racing against time after waiting and hoping the revered lawyer will change her mind and accept the EC top job, according to the newspaper.

The revered lawyer, the newspaper gathered from friends and associate, explained that she wanted to retire quietly from public life and concentrate on writing books to enhance the frontiers of the legal education in Ghana.

Before Jean Mensa was named as Madam Charlotte Osei replacement last week, myjoyonline.com had reported that Professor Mensa-Bonsu was likely to be named the next EC chairperson.

The President is said to have consulted Ghana's most successful Electoral Commissioner Afari Gyan and leading statesmen before settling on the law professor, according to the report.

On Monday, July 23, 2018, the Presidency announced the nomination of the Executive Director of the IEA, Jean Mensa, as the new Chairperson of EC.
Speaking on Joy FM's Newsfile on Saturday, he clarified: I have been very much involved in the processes, deliberations, consultations and all that it took to get to this point of the nomination of Madam Jean Mensa.

"Professor Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, has, I can say on authority, never, and I repeat, never, been approached by the President or any member of government as regards her nomination or possible nomination as Chairperson of the Electoral Commission.

"In fact, it never even came up. Her name never popped up."

The Herald newspaper last week reported that the senior lecturer at the University of Ghana, was approached by the Akufo-Addo administration to become the new chairperson of the Electoral Commission.

However, the offer was "diplomatically" turned down by the academician, who failed in her bid to become a judge at the International Criminal Court, the newspaper reported.

The President, the pro-opposition newspaper said, was racing against time after waiting and hoping the revered lawyer will change her mind and accept the EC top job, according to the newspaper.

The revered lawyer, the newspaper gathered from friends and associate, explained that she wanted to retire quietly from public life and concentrate on writing books to enhance the frontiers of the legal education in Ghana.

Before Jean Mensa was named as Madam Charlotte Osei replacement last week, myjoyonline.com had reported that Professor Mensa-Bonsu was likely to be named the next EC chairperson.

The President is said to have consulted Ghana's most successful Electoral Commissioner Afari Gyan and leading statesmen before settling on the law professor, according to the report.

On Monday, July 23, 2018, the Presidency announced the nomination of the Executive Director of the IEA, Jean Mensa, as the new Chairperson of EC.
The delegation from the SDF's political wing is discussing the future of the autonomous administrations it has set up in areas of northern and northeastern Syria under its control, the alliance official said.

"A delegation from the Syrian Democratic Council is paying a first official visit to Damascus at the invitation of the government," the council's Arab co-chair Riad Darar said.

"We are working towards a settlement for northern Syria.

"We hope that the discussions on the situation in the north will be positive," Darar said, adding that they were being held "without preconditions".

The SDF controls more than 27 percent of Syrian territory, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based monitoring group.

It holds not only Kurdish-majority areas along the northern border with Turkey but also the Arab-majority city of Raqa, made infamous by the Islamic State group as its former de facto Syrian capital.

SDF fighters captured the city with support from a US-led coalition last October in their most high-profile victory of the war.

The SDF has since lost the Kurdish enclave of Afrin in northwestern Syrian to Turkish-backed rebels, who have also threatened to seize other territory held by the alliance west of the Euphrates river.

Only intervention by Washington has prevented Turkish troops from seizing the hard-won town of Manbij from the SDF.

Ankara views the Kurdish-led alliance as a terrorist group because of its links to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an outlawed rebel group that has been fighting Turkish troops since 1984.
We will start by breaking down Ephesians 5: 21  22 (KJV), the scripture that has been in the center of this subject or controversy, if you like.

We will also look at it from the Message translation to get a better understanding of what Paul was trying to communicate.

It is my understanding that Paul was not speaking of submission from the standpoint of oppression or lording over your wife.

Submit might have been inserted

Before we dive in fully, it will interest you to know that some bible scholars have suggested that the word Submit was missing in the Original Greek.

According to Equality Work book,In the oldest available Greek manuscripts of the New Testament (Parchment 46 and Codex Vaticanus), Ephesians 5:22 does not say, Wives submit to your husbands.[ii] Neither the heading, Wives Submit to Your Husbands, nor the additional phrase in Ephesians 5:24 telling wives that they ought to be submissive can be found in any Greek manuscripts whatsoever.

In this passage, the apostle Paul introduces the idea of submission in Ephesians 5:21. After telling all Christians to be filled with the Spirit in Ephesians 5:18, he then explains what this will look like: submitting one to another out of reverence for Christ (Ephesians 5:21). In other words, all Christians who are filled with the Holy Spirit are to relate to one another with Christ-like humility and a willingness to serve. Ephesians 5:22 then adds the phrase wives to your husbands as an example of what this mutual submission will look like.

They further argue that be filled with the Spirit is the imperative verb; submitting one to another is a participle phrase (that describes being filled with the Spirit); and wives to your husbands is yet another phrase that qualifies submitting one to another by providing an example. Simply put, wives to your husbands is not a complete sentence; it cannot stand on its own as a separate command.

"There is no new and separate command directed only to wives. Patriarchal translators create the illusion that there are two different kinds of commandsone in Ephesians 5:21 directed to all Christians, and another in Ephesians 5:22 directed exclusively to wives. The added command appears to reinforce a gender-based hierarchy in Christian homes. It is important to recognize that this is not grammatically possible in the Greek text of the oldest available manuscripts. It is only possible if a second imperative verb is inserted into verse 22.[iii] The submission that exists in marriage from wives to husbands is one example of the humility and loving service that all Christians who are filled with the Spirit are called upon to demonstrate.

Also, one thing you must understand was the patriarchal nature of the Jews, which did not favour women at that time.

You can see that played out in many instances in the scripture and in narratives which Paul himself made. This is not the subject of todays discussion though.

From the beginning

Let us also take out time to see Gods original intention about marriage.

Gods intention for marriage was for the man and his wife to live together as one united entity, working together partners, co-heirs.

You can see that in Genesis 2 vs 24: Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be[a] joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

The fall of man brought about these tussle for dominance. If you read Genesis 3:16. you will understand that God never intended for man to dominate woman or vice-versa.

Genesis 3 Vs 16: Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.

Death of Christ

The death and resurrection of Christ however abolished the effect of Adam and Eves transgressions, because Paul also lets know in Galatians 3 that we are one in Christ.

Galatians 3 Vs 27-28 : For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.

Peter also highlighted that in 1 Peter. We will get to that.

Meaning of submission

Ephesians 5: 21-22 says Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord

The word submit is derived from a Greek word that means to put yourself under, to subject yourself to ones control and it had two uses:

1. It was used as a military term meaning "to arrange [troop divisions] in a military fashion under the command of a leader".

2. It was also used in non-military way and it meant "a voluntary attitude of giving in, cooperating, assuming responsibility, and carrying a burden".

So, using the non-military term, we could say that Paul adviced us to submit (assume responsibility, carry burden, have a voluntary attitude of giving in to each other) first in verse 21 of Ephesians 5.

Then he asked wives to do likewise to their husbands, that is, working with the general understanding that the word submit was in the verse.

As unto the Lord

Now, someone is saying what of the word as unto the Lord used in verse 22?

The proper explanation of that line is in Colossians 3:23. I will present several versions starting from the KJV, to give you a better insight.

King James Version says: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;

NET Bible says: Whatever you are doing, work at it with enthusiasm, as to the Lord and not for people,

According to the Aramaic Bible in Plain English, And do all that you do with all your soul, as for Our Lord, and not as for the children of men.

GOD'S Word Translation says: Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly as though you were working for your real master and not merely for humans.

Whatever you are doing, let your hearts be in your work, as a thing done for the Lord and not for men - Weymouth New Testament

Another controversy in Ephesians 5:23

Another controversial verse is Ephesians 5 verse 23 which says: For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

The keyword to notice here, is Head (Kephale in Greek) which has been taken to mean rulership, boss or master, and it is not true.

The Greek word Kephale, was translated from the Hebrew word Rosh, which also literally means the Physical head on a body.

Rosh also could be used as leader, ruler, boss and whenever the translators were to use these terms, they used the Greek word, Archon and not Kephale.

You must understand that Paul was talking to pagan Greeks who just converted to Christianity and he used the word, Kephale to properly pass his message because they understood and used it in the worship of their Gods.

Most of the pagan Greeks saw the Gods they worshipped was their source.

The Greek word translated Head in that scripture can also be likened to the physical head on your body.

Use of the Greek word, Archon in the bible

Archon can be translated as: ruler, official, magistrate, leader

An example can be seen in 1 Corinthians 2 vs 8 which reads: The wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory;

The word ruler there is from the same Greek word  Archon

Also, Mathew 9:23 says When Jesus came into the official's house, and saw the flute-players and the crowd in noisy disorder

You will find the word Archon used in several verses of the bible.

Back to the Greek word, Kephale

According to the translation from the new testament Greek, Kephale also connotes source or originator.

According to scholars, it signifies is that the husband is the source of the wife as Christ is the source of the Church.

In other words, the wife was created from the man, her husband, who is her nourisher, motivator just as Christ is the nourisher of the Church.

Culture of love

What Paul was actually communicating was a culture of love and not that of control, which he showed, by depicting Christs relationship with the Church.

Christ never forces us, his Church and his bride to do anything. He never lords his will over us. He lovingly guides us.

To make this clear, lets see how the Message translation puts Ephesians 5 vs 23. It says: The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.

In Colossians

You can also see Paul depict Christ as the source of everything in Colossians 1 verse 16-18:For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:

And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.

And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Can you see that the same word, head is used here also to kind of summarise what he said in verse 16 and 17.

For those who would want to argue over the word, pre-eminence, in the Greek, it means: the first, foremost, number one.

Colossians 2 Vs 19

The scripture says: And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.

Note that the word Head used here, is the same Greek word Kephale. The verse paints an exact picture of Christs relationship with the Church.

From the verse, you will see that Christ nourishes, ministers to, knits together and causes his Church to increase.

That is what the husband is expected to be or do to and for his wife.

Paul was painting this picture when he said in Ephesians 5:23 that: For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.

Basically, he was saying treat your wife as Christ treated the Church.

In 1 Corinthians

You can also find the word Head being used in 1 Corinthians 11:3 where it says: But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.

The word Head used here again, means source and not in a way of hierarchy. If it meant hierarchy, then you are saying that God is greater than Christ, which negates the oneness of the Trinity - the God head  That is the Father, Son and the Holy Ghost being one united entity.

Remember Jesus said in John 10:30: I and my father are one.

Going back to Ephesians chapter 5

From the above explanations, you will understand that Paul started from verse 21 to advise Christians to submit themselves to God, knowing that this in turn will affect the way you treat each other in the marriage with the help of the Holy Ghost who he referred to in verse 18.

18And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;

19 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord;

20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

21 Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.

22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.

Simply put, you are first a Christian before a husband or wife and to live this life, you need the help of the Holy Spirit who will show you how to submit yourself to God first then, it will be easy to submit to one another.

Heirs together

1 Peter 3 Vs 7-10 says: 7 Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.

8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

10 For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.

I will like you to notice that verse 7 advised the man, among other things, to see his wife as heirs together of the grace of life.

It is my understanding that Paul also told the husband that his prayer might be hindered if he treats his wife badly.

Summary

Paul, in asking the wives to submit, was speaking in terms of one of the major needs of men  Respect.

Men want to be respected by their wives and to get the best out of your marriage, showing your husband respect will bring out the best in him.

He also addressed the need of women to be loved as you will soon see in the scripture below, and also urged the man to love his wife.

Paul also tried to show the effect which submitting yourself to God and the Holy Spirit would have on your marriage.

If you submit to God, it will be easy for the husband to submit and serve the wife and vice-versa.

He made it clear by also sharing how Christ leads the Church with love and not by force in verse 23.

Here is what Ephesians 5 vs 25  33 (MSG) says: 25-28Husbands, go all out in your love for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the churcha love marked by giving, not getting. Christs love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. Theyre really doing themselves a favorsince theyre already one in marriage.

29-33 No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. Thats how Christ treats us, the church, since we are part of his body. And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become one flesh. This is a huge mystery, and I dont pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.
Dr Ganiyu Sopeyin, Executive Chairman of SUBEB, disclosed this to journalists after monitoring the exercise at Mende Junior High School, Maryland, Lagos.

He said the test took place in 361 designated centres across the state.

Sopeyin described the conduct of the test as satisfactory in the centres he monitored, which also included Immaculate Heart Comprehensive Junior and Senior High School, Maryland, Lagos.

Three years statistic of primary six pupils who sat for the JSS 1 entrance examination in Lagos State (2016 -2018)

This is an annual event. What we are witnessing today is the placement for primary six pupils to gain admission into junior secondary schools in Lagos.

As you can see, the whole place is peaceful; we have been to the classrooms and it is conducive for the purpose.

On the whole, in all the centres, we are expecting 181,000 pupils to write this test as against 160, 000 in 2017.

 This is a pointer that parents are now getting interested in enrolling their children in Lagos schools.

We have to congratulate and thank Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, for his passion for education in the state, he said.

Sopeyin said that parents enroll their wards in Lagos primary and secondary schools due to the upgrade of infrastructure to meet international standards.

About three days ago, his Excellency magnanimously announced that very soon, Lagos State will be employing more teachers for its schools.

With all these, we can only enjoin parents to take their own part seriously, ensure that their children come to school and provide necessary materials for them, to enable them have very sound education as prepared for them by the government, he said.

Sopeyin also said that the conduct of the 2018 test was an improvement on what obtained in 2017.

According to him, saying there is a lot of improvement with the use of Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) sheet.

If you look at the OMR sheet, the paper was customised; the childrens details were printed on the sheet for easy identification.

That is why you can see there is no rancor or problem, unlike in the past when the pupils will be running around because they could not find their names.Thank God we have taken care of that.

Some parents were even agitating that they forgot their slips at home and we told them not to worry, that there are other means to identify the pupils, he said.

Sopeyin commended the parents for conducting themselves in orderly manner and trusting in government.

He said security men were deployed to various centres to ensure safety of the pupils.

The chairman said the results of the test would be ready in one week, urging proprietors, headteachers and other school owners to check for them at the SUBEB office complex.

A parent, Mr James Okon, who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), commended the state government for the smooth conduct of the test.

Okon said his daughter was admitted into the examination hall without officials requesting for anything.

I am happy about the conduct of the test, everything was well organised, we did not stress ourselves to locate the centre, he said.
Spoiler Warning

This article has spoilers, so you should only read if you've seen the latest episode of the legal drama series. Catch up on our review of episode two and three here.

Here we go;

1. Ben Castle is having a tough time settling in Lagos

Ben, who recently returned to Nigeria and is serving as a corp member in his father's law firm, isn't exactly happy being in Nigeria.

It might have something to do with the fact that his fellow corpers, especially Doshima, think he is an entitled spoilt brat; or that Kwabena is giving him a 'tough time'; or that he misses his girlfriend, Jessica.

Whichever is the case, Ben tells Grandpa Duke during a lunch outing/'bonding session' that he isn't happy living in Lagos.

2. Talking about Grandpa Duke

We already know that an episode can't go by without Grandpa visiting Castle and Castle to perhaps, upset Tega.

In this episode, he walks in like he owns the place - which he might since he refers to it as 'my firm' during his conversation with Tega - and right in front of Stella, warns Tega to stay away from pro bono cases [who else is tired of these unending disputes over one pro bono case?)

As if that isn't enough, when Duke sees Ben with Doshima trying to get their jobs done, he reminds him of their lunch date and orders him to drop those files and join him.

Ben tries to explain that he has work to do and even Tega commands him to go back to work, but considering that a lunch date eventually happens, we guess grandpa got his, as usual.

3. What's the deal with Nneka and her husband, Nnamdi?

We met Nnamdi in the first episode when he comes to his wife's office to use the office internet because he had used up the one she paid for at home.

In this episode, he comes around to drop her lunch and then asks if he could use the office power. Apparently, he is an author and is working on completing the remaining chapters of his book.

Just as in the first episode, she wasn't comfortable with him sharing her office space. It's clear she is kind of the breadwinner, and it would be interesting to know what their story actually is and if it has any effect on her work.

4. Captain has a crush on Stella

Since the first episode, Stella has been searching for the love of her life on a dating site and has been receiving flowers and chocolates from who she thinks is a secret admirer from the site.

While she is excited about having a secret admirer, poor Captain is swooning and looking for an opportunity to express his feelings.

5. Stella is still so extra, but...

I never thought that Stella and her ability to dramatize everything would eventually grow on me, but it has. Of course, she still gives you those eye rolling moments, but even those come with a smile across the face.

In episode four, she's searching for plumbers to fix the damaged office toilet. The first set of people charge 500 thousand, but she doesn't think it's cost effective.

Enter Chuks - played by Mawuli Gavor - a hot looking plumber. She is so obvious with her flirting and when he gives her his quote, from the look on her face it's not 'cost effective,' but she needs his 'hot' self around, so she bats her eyelashes and tells him he is just what they are looking for.

6. Abigail's case takes a different turn

As Abigail's lawyer, Nneka gets another maid, who was a victim of their madam's brutality to share her story. According to the new witness, before she escaped from the house, her madam would apply pepper on her eyes for breaking a plate or even flog her until she starts bleeding.

Nneka convinces her to testify in court and everything is set, until Abigail's mum visits, claiming she had been searching for her daughter.

After her visit, Abigail decides to not take the case to court. According to her, her former Madam currently trains her younger one and provides her mum's drugs, and would withdraw her help if she sues her.

7. Things are getting heated between the Castles

And we are not talking about their tiring disagreements over the kind of cases the firm should take up.

From the first episode, it was clear that Nike (Ade Laoye) has a thing for her boss. And in episode four, we get to find out that Tega Castle has a history of 'wandering eyes.' After Remi walks in on him sharing a drink with Nike, and in a 'suspicious' position, she warns him.

"I won't go through this again. One more screwup and you're out," she says to him.

After that, she asks Stella to keep an eye on Tega as his eye has started "wandering" again.

The episode ends with Tega informing Remi that the trial for their Pro Bono case kicks off the next week and he would have to travel with Nike.

He asks her to please trust him, but she doesn't seem convinced. And if the chemistry between Nike and Tega Castle is anything to go by, we don't trust him too.

Favourite scene of the week

There's something relaxing and perfect about the scene between Nike and Tega Castle. It's a blend of flawless and fascinating performance, chemistry and conversation.

Everything comes together to make it enjoyable. Or maybe, it is that, just like Nike, we were excited to see Tega so relaxed.

"I have never seen you this relaxed," Nike says to him.

"Maybe it's the whiskey, I apologise," he replies.

"No, I like you like this," she says, looking at him just as Remi would later say, like 'her hero' and "her great Tega Castle."

Favourite Performers of the week

Dakore Akande (Remi), RMD (Tega), Anne Icha (Stella) and Ade Laoye (Stella) bring on so much charm to their roles, and in turn, the episode as a whole.

Blunder of the week

During a conversation between Abigail, the new witness, Doshima and Nneka, the abusive 'Madam' is called MadamTinu. But in the other scene when Abigail talks about withdrawing her case, she says, "Madam Uche."
Wizkid on Thursday night, July 26, visited the Los Angeles home of American music mogul and Bad Boy Records boss, Diddy and during the visit, the music mogul told Wizkid he can't wait to come home (Nigeria).

In a video shared on his Instagram page, Diddy said, ''King (Wizkid) touched down, came to see the god, he hit me with some love, some positive vibrations from the motherland.

Be clear, Y'all know I am coming back home (Nigeria), I ain't gon wait too long. I am coming home''

Wizkid is doing the job of an ambassador quite well, as within a few weeks, he has been spotted with Drake in London, and on his visit to the United States, he has also been seen in the company of superstars like DJ Khaled, producer Metro Boomin and singer Fergie.

What is the impact of Wizkid's 'Sounds From The Other Side', a year after?

It is slightly over a year since Wizkid released his international EP titled, ''Sounds From The Other Side'', and many ask, after a year, what is the impact of the project?

On July 14, 2017, Wizkid dropped the body of work that took him 3 years to record. SFTOS was finally here.
The pair, Olugboyega Akinloye Fasanya and Anthony Chidozie Ezike, are both 36 years old. They reportedly admitted to altering checks deposited in several banks.

This was done using counterfeit passports from Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa, says a report by Tampabay News.

According to more reports, Fasanya and Ezike, both of Yoruba and Igbo origins, deposited $1.2 million and withdrew about $487,000 before the fraud was detected.

Stephen Dambruch, a U.S. Attorney for Rhode Island has ordered the Nigerians to pay back the sums of $380,000 and $230,000 respectively to the banks defrauded.

This is to serve as restitution to the cheated institutions.

They are expected to be deported from the U.S as soon as they complete their 13-month jail term.

ALSO READ: Wealthy Nigerians kids nearly sent to UK prison over richest dad fight

Masters of love scams arrested by EFCC

The Economic & Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has reportedly apprehended three Yahoo Boys who specialize in love scams.

This is according to blogger, Linda Ikeji (LIB), who published on Monday, May 28, 2018.

The suspects, Sylvester Osolase, 30; Seyi Ajayi, 36 and Monday Mayaki, 37, were reportedly arrested a day before the report.

They were nabbed at River View Estate, Lagos, following an intel received by the EFCC.

LIB confirmed that the suspects have defrauded victims all over the world.

ALSO READ: Yahoo Boys abandon exotic cars at Club 57 to escape EFCC raid

This was gathered in a confession which also revealed that the trio spend their ill-gotten gains on travelling the globe, acquiring luxury vehicles and paying house rent.
According to a report by ABC7, the alleged serial killer has been identified as Danuel Drayton.

Drayton was arrested by the Los Angeles Police Department, LAPD, after being linked to several rape and murder cases.

Authorities claim investigations have linked Drayton to as much as seven murders with the pattern being the same.

Drayton's alleged nemesis

Drayton, who hails from Connecticut, was arrested after being found wanting in the murder of a practicing nurse who was found dead in her New York City home on July 17, 2018.

ALSO READ: Man murders lover who dumped him for another

The nurse was identified as 29-year-old Samantha Stewart.

It was further reported that the police said Stewart was reported dead after being in close contact with a man she met on dating app, Tinder.

Drayton behind bars
According to a report by Daily Mail, the officer was identified as Janel Sands, a 26-year-old officer with Deberry Special Needs Facility in Nashville, Tennessee.

According to an indictment obtained by Fox 17, Sands had sexual contact with the same inmate once in March and once in April before she was caught in July 2018.

The inmate Sands reportedly had sex with is assigned to the Trousdale Turner Correctional Center.

The correctional officer was reportedly booked into the Davidson County Jail on Thursday morning, July 26, 2018.

She has been charged with having sex with prisoners or inmates and is reportedly being held on $3,500 bond.

ALSO READ: 18-year-old juvenile rapes fellow inmate in detention center

Tennessee Department of Corrections out to prosecute Sands

Following the revelation and arrest of Sands, the Tennessee Department of Corrections, TDOC, has vowed to prosecute the correctional officer.

In a statement, the TDOC said Sands behaviour did not only violate the TDOC Code of Conduct, but it is also criminal and strictly prohibited by state and federal law.

"The safe and secure operation of prisons is key to the Departments mission and any threat to that mission will be rooted out and dealt with to the fullest extent of the law.
Punch reports that the policemen, who shot and killed the SARS operative in error were guarding a private residence in Alor, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State.

The SARS operative was reported to have accompanied one of his colleagues to effect an arrest at about 4.30 am in the neighbourhood when the sad occurrence happened.

Police source narrated how policemen killed SARS officer

According to the report, a Police source narrated how the deceased SARS operative was mistaken for a kidnapper by the policemen.

He (the deceased) accompanied one of his colleagues to somebodys residence to effect an arrest at about 4.30 am.

They were handcuffing their suspect when somebody who did not know that they were SARS operatives alerted some policemen on guard in a private residence in the neighbourhood.

The neighbour had told the policemen that kidnappers were trying to abduct someone.

ALSO READ: Policeman shoots man in the face and drives away

As soon as the policemen arrived the scene and saw the SARS operatives, they opened fire at them and gunned down the deceased, thinking they were kidnappers.

It was minutes after that his colleagues identified him as a SARS operative on special duty, the source told Punch.

Police confirms killing of SARS officer by policemen

The Special Anti Robbery Squad has reportedly confirmed the incident.

It was reported that the Officer-in-charge of SARS at Awkuzu, Sunday Okpe, confirmed the incident.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 28)  President Rodrigo Duterte said he had safety threats during his visit in Zamboanga Sibugay province on Thursday.

"And as a matter of fact, I am going around but you know, you'd have to know that my visit here today was surrounded by a threat for my safety," Duterte said in Bisaya, during a speech in the town of Ipil on Thursday. He did not disclose further details on this.

However, Duterte was unfazed by the attempt.

"Ingon nako nga, "Well, naay mubuto bomba ba, eh 'di pabutha eh." Kay wala na man pud ko'y kaadtuhan. Nowhere to go ko," he said.

[Translation: I said, "Well, if there's a bomb there, let it explode." I have nowhere to go anyway.]

In an interview on DZRH Friday, Special Assistant to the President Bong Go said it is not the first time Duterte received threats.

"Hindi naman nawawala 'yung threat, nandidiyan iyan. So part ng trabaho ng Pangulo, part ng trabaho namin iyan, nandiyan talaga 'yung threat sa buhay namin, pero hindi po ito makakapigil para gampanan namin ang trabaho," he said.

[Translation: Threats are always there. It's part of the President's job, part of ours too, it's part of our lives, but it won't stop us from doing our job.]

Duterte also said he will arm the local government officials if threats against the town continue.

"Ang akong gipangayo ninyo is cooperation. You have to face... Og ang threat sa security mutaas gani, tan-aw nako, there'll be a repeat of violence in this area, armasan ta mo."

[Translation: If the security threat is heightened and if I feel that there'll be a repeat of violence in this area, I will give you firearms.)

The Abu Sayyaf bandit group attacked the town of Ipil in April 1995, taking some residents hostage.
The former Ukrainian soldier, Serhii Ulianov, reportedly set himself on fire in protest for his sack from the force during a televised ceremony.

Ulianov had reportedly poured the content of a bottle - suspected to be petrol - on himself and lit himself up right at the middle of the ceremony.

Dressed in his official uniform, Ulianov was flamed up in seconds in the shocking protest outside the Ukrainian Defence Ministry headquarters in Kiev.

ALSO READ: Man who could not kill himself with bleach tries petrol

Colleague rescues burning Ulianov

However, as Ulianov burns in protest, one of his colleagues managed to pull him to the ground to put out the flames.

It was further reported that some of those who witnessed the scenario were pulled away from desperately trying to jump in to help Ulianov.

The race to rescue Ulianov was heightened when firefighters and other military officials jumped in to cover the ex-soldier, spraying him with a fire extinguisher.
According to reports, the unbelievable incident occurred in Zimbabwe sometimes in 2015.

The strange couple, Mufaro Mukonowatsauka and Rodgers Manera have since been arrested for the alleged rape of the 14-year-old neighbour, who was reportedly lured into the couple's home with goodies.

It was further reported that Mukonowatsauka had persuaded the teenage girl to become her husband's second wife in return for cooking oil, sugar, salt and body lotion.

ALSO READ: Medical doctor sentenced to 235 years imprisonment for raping 260 patients

Strange couple in court for luring and raping teenage girl in their home

In the case against Rogers and Mukonowatsauka at the Rusape Magistrate court, District prosecutor, Tirivanhu Mutyasira told the court that though the teenage girl agreed to be Rogers' second wife, she didn't give her consent for sex.

"The accused persons are husband and wife and neighbours to the complainant. The complainants grandmother sent her to the accused persons homestead to collect cooking oil. The complainant found both the accused persons at home," Mutyasira began.

"Mukonowatsauka then started persuading the complainant to become her husbands second wife and promised to give her cooking oil, sugar, salt, and body lotion if she accepts her proposal.

"The complainant agreed with Mukonowatsaukas proposal and on October 14, 2015 visited the accused persons homestead and found both at home. At that instance, Mukonowatsauka took a bucket to fetch water. She closed and locked the door from outside with Manera and the victim inside the room," the prosecutor explained.

Rogers and Mukonowatsauka, who appeared before regional magistrate, Livingstone Chipadza,pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The TV series is about the Democratic senator Frank Underwood uses his ruthlessness and gift for coming up with diabolical schemes to plot his way to The White House.

Underwood comes up with delicate and intricate plans to get rid of his opponents and advance his mission, to become the President of the United States. In his quest for power, nothing is beneath him, there is no level he won't stoop to become POTUS.

At the heart of the defection-Olympics in Nigeria's legislative arm is the Senate President Bukola Saraki. A target of corruption charges and an unbelievable link to an armed robbery sting in his home state, Saraki has deftly evaded all the attacks against him. Just like Frank Underwood, when you think you have boxed him in a corner, he pulls out a joker.

House of Cards starts off with Frank Underwood rejected for the Secretary of State role which he had worked hard for all his life. He heavily campaigned for the Democratic presidential candidate on the promise that he will be made Secretary. When the candidate became the POTUS he pulled the deal and told Underwood to still stick in the House of Assembly where he was a very influential Chief Whip.

ALSO READ: APC welcomes to defecting senators back to its fold

This rejection had Underwood reeling and made him start planning his revenge. He got rid of the Secretary of State his nominee and got his candidate the job. He then manoeuvred his way to become Vice-President.

When the APC swept into power in 2015, Bukola Saraki wasn't the choice for the position of Senate President. He, however, pulled a mini-coup within his party to get the position, in defiance of the choice of the powers that be in the APC.

We cannot deny that Saraki is a force within the Senate. Just like Underwood who was a very influential Chief Whip, he determines how the Senate leans.

In the first couple of seasons of House of Cards, you will see how Frank Underwood makes the legislative bend to his will which sometimes did not align with the best interests of the Executive.

No one is saying Saraki is capable or has committed any of Frank Underwood's many crimes but you can't help notice that both men are skillful in pushing their agenda forward despite the opposition.
Prior to 1977, African art was arguably subordinate in originality and style due to its anonymity to the world outside Africa.

Regardless of individual perception, 1977 was a pivotal year in Black History.

First, the monumental 'Roots' was released and became a fundamental theme for Afrocentrism, FESTAC '77 was a pivotal celebration of back artistry and African music virtuoso, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti found his identity. The central theme to all these events; they were vehicles for the allure African.

What is Afrocentrism?

'Afrocentrism' or 'Afrocentricity' is simply the appreciation for art and culture of African origin, through contemporary history.

Some historians have pegged it as a response to 'Eurocentrisms' continued derogation of the efficacy of African art and culture due to racism and sentimental documentation.

Nonetheless, Afrocentrism is mostly associated with Western folks of African descent - the Africans do not really have to celebrate what is their everyday life except when they simply enjoy.

Historically, the idea of Western Afrocentrism, though with filled with a need to identify with roots, over an environment where derogation of ethnicity, it was also subject to some thirty for uniqueness by some sections.

In perfect order, the chronology of events and their relevance is Roots, the awakening; then FESTAC '77, the activity; and Fela, the legacy.

Due of these factors, deeper exploration and appreciation for African art and culture caught Western attention and its brilliance could no longer be denied.

In essence, 1977 might be argued as progeny to 2012 and 2017/2018.

Fittingly, Nigeria is at the centre of it all. She hosted the pivotal unification of black culture that was FESTAC '77.

Uchenna Ikonne, writing for Red Bull Academy on May 13, 2017 called it "the perfect opportunity for Nigeria to flaunt its newfound status as a prosperous petro-state, demonstrating its worthiness of the nickname 'the Giant of Africa'."

What Was FESTAC '77?

The Second World Black and African Festival of Arts and Culture is now known as FESTAC '77. It was held in Lagos, Nigeria. The first festival was held circa 1966 in Dakar, Senegal.

It commenced on January 15, 1977 and lasted for 17 days. The event accumulated 17,000 artistes from 55 nations, across Africa, The Americas, Europe, Canada and The Islands to celebrate culture.

Fittingly, it was held in the thick of racial tensions and black need for a source of identity. It duly provided that and more. Black people stormed Lagos with vitriol.

It's success created a notoriety that almost makes FESTAC '66 irrelevant.

Also, according to Uchenna Ikonne, renowned poet and former Senegalese President Leopold Sedar Senghor was instrumental in using Nigeria as a beacon of unification.

He declared, "Nigeria is to Africa what Greece was and still is to the history of Europe."

Before The Event

Preparations kicked off around 1965, but by 1967, Nigerian became embroiled in a civil war. It's South Eastern zone, fronted by General Odumegwu Ojukwu wanted cessation to become an independent state, Biafra.

Fears mounted about whether the target could be met, or worse, as Uchenna put it "The question was not whether Nigeria would be prepared to host the festival, but whether Nigeria itself would still exist."

Despite the Civil War coming to a sudden end in 1970, with Yakubu Gowon as President, the Fela story had been forming over the past few years.

How FESTAC '77 Created Entitlement to National Wealth

While the idea of FESTAC '75 took a hit over obvious reasons of instability and uncertainties. The nail in the coffin was however the deposition of Yakubu Gowon in a 1975 coup d'etat.

His successor swiftly and indefinitely suspended preparations for FESTAC '75.

While he later prepared for a FESTAC '76 due to pressure from other committed countries, he was assassinated in 1976 by an abortive coup led by Lt. General Olusegun Obasanjo. He ramped up plans for FESTAC '77.

Funds were committed and efforts were heightened. Spendings were aided by Nigeria's sudden emergence as an energy force.

Financially, this was the best man Nigerian era but it was equally the worst; a time of gross mismanagement and lack of vision that rubber stamped the shambles and failure Nigeria now represents.

An Era Of Madness

On this, Uchenna states that "In 1971 Nigeria had joined the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries... OPECs imposition of an oil embargo in 1973 resulted in the price of oil skyrocketing four times over, making Nigeria suddenly, startlingly affluent. The strength of Nigerias currency, the Naira, even dwarfed the US dollar, with 1.00 trading for $1.60 by 1976."

Uchenna reports a famous Gowon quote that money is not Nigerias problem, but how to spend it. Nigeria spent the money on infrastructures, facilities and centric constructions for FESTAC '77 hit over $300million in '70s dollar.

Nigeria's wealth at the time meant funds can be embezzled without significant negative effects on the Nation's economy. The system slowly became our fabric and our future got shortchanged by lack of vision.

A nation that fails to visualize into its own vision is doomed to fail and that's the Nigerian story. It wasn't just about positively investing our wealth either.

We failed to realize the concept of potential hard times. We allowed ourselves be deceived by momentary wealth and selfishly shared it in parts amongst ourselves.

This trend of entitlement to our nation's wealth is the ditch we are still in - even in recession, grabbing what we can is still our culture.

While corruption might be part of Nigerian fabric as some claim, metaphysical determinism can only be back up by the events of 1977 and how it laid down an unsustainable system - dynamic suicide.

A gauntlet represents the accepted norm. 1977 created the Nigerian norm of entitlement to National wealth that ha since festered into near-incurable corruption.

Fela and FESTAC 77

As he is famed for, Fela strongly criticized the government's spendings. He was also billed for membership on FESTACs National Participation Committee, comprising dramatist Hubert Ogunde, writer Wole Soyinka and filmmaker Ola Balogun.

However, he soon resigned from the committee and naturally, Ogunde, Soyinka and Balogun left with him in activism.

They refused to be chaired by Major General I.B.M. Haruna, the Commissioner for Information. On this, Fela said "He started demagoguing, man... Saying he was open to fresh ideas and that kind bullshit. So I resigned.

Even he couldn't have predicted the storm his press conference to decry the festival would have caused. He told his biographer, Carlos Moore who wrote Fela: This Bitch of a Life that I didnt know that my resigning would cause so much shit. You see, the stage was being set for a very serious confrontation. But I didnt know it.

The real tale though was how Fela suffered at the hands of the Nigerian Military over his activism. As the 29-day FESTAC '77 went live, Fela unrepentantly boycotted it and started hosting shows at Kalakuta Republicin a celebration to criticize the Nigerian Government.

Slowly, his showings created a buzz and major artistes started boycotting major events and performances at FESTAC '77 to go savour some Fela magic.

Chyke Madu of The Funkees was documented by Uchenna Ikonne as saying "What Fela was doing at the Shrine was more exciting and more raw than any other programs at the festival."

Kalakuta Republic became an alternative or as some quarters claim "the main event" to FESTAC '77. Superstars like Stevie Wonder, Hugh Masekela, Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso were hosted nightly. Sadly, it all had consequences. Fela had defied the military government of Olusegun Obasanjo.

Soldiers raided Fela just a week after the successful completion of FESTAC '77. They pillaged and shot at people after a dispute with Fela's boys.

Despite the uncertainty of the events, Uchenna reports that "Witnesses testified that the military personnel storming Kalakuta numbered over one thousand men... There was no was that many soldiers could have been mobilized without orders from above."

It did not stop there. Fela and his residents were soundly beaten and his Mother was infamously thrown from a second storey window, which later led to her death.

The worst part as Uchenna reports was how Fela's cash from his the recently signed one million-dollar deal with Afrodisia Records was carted away by soldiers.

The British Denial and Magnanimity

In the events leading up to FESTAC '77, the Nigerian Government made a $3 million loan to the British Museum for the Mask of Idia - a 16th Century sculpture depicting the Queen Mother of the Benin Empire.

The reason was FESTAC organizers had selected it as official emblem for the event. The request was rejected. The reason was that "the mask was too fragile to withstand overseas transportation". Nigeria had to make a replica.

The British Government rejected our offer for a stolen artifact of proven Nigerian origin.
The conference held on Thursday, July 26, 2018 at the IMAX cinema in Lekki, Lagos.

Speaking at the conference, Osinbajo expressed delight to be among young Nigerians, who he said, have taken a risk to invest in providing co-working spaces to spur innovation, ideas and work that will disrupt our collective lives and experiences.

My experience with entrepreneurs in Coworking industry - Osinbajo

Osinbajo also shared his knowledge of the Coworking industry having interacted with entrepreneurs that have set up Coworking spaces across the country.

He said: "I have had the opportunity to collaborate with Kola Oyeneyin on several other issues, and I am extremely pleased to say that he is someone who sees things through.

"I have also had the opportunity to collaborate with a few of the entrepreneurs here, especially those who have set up co-working spaces, I am very happy to say that they are individuals who would ensure that this is not just a flash in the pan, but it continues as the phenomenon that it is.

"I want to emphasize that this is an economic and social phenomenon, and I say that carefully. The most profound idea of the industrial revolution was probably the concept of Division of Labour. I am sure practically all of us are familiar with that concept."

Osinbajo gives Coworking conference boss a pat on the back

Commending the Kola Oyeneyin, the brain behind the Coworking conference, Osinbajo said, "Kola Oyeneyins foresight and grit, as one of the pioneers of this growing, important economic and commercial phenomenon, has demonstrated the sort of drive that Im sure many across the room have, but which is so important in the way our future as a nation and commercial community will be defined."

The essence of Coworking industry - Osinbajo

The Vice President also took out time to explain the essence and importance of the emerging Coworking industry.

ALSO READ: Flutterwave CEO to speak at 2018 Coworking industry conference

He explained that Coworking and co-creation that will define the way we work, progress and our output.

He said: "In the 19th and 20th century, the division of labour was what defined progress and that whole revolution. In this age of knowledge economy, it is co-working and co-creation that will define the way we work, progress and our output. But let us first understand that the deconstruction of the conventional work environment, important as it is, is the least profound of the implications of co-working. In order words, the mere fact that we are sharing working space is the least profound of the effects of co-working and co-creation.

"The most significant dimension is in the redefinition of how creativity and innovation are birthed. It is no longer the lone wolf or the isolated inventor. Creativity before now was someone inventing something; even a couple of years down the road, the likes of Bill Gates were still lone wolves, working from their garages and same as even Mark Zuckerberg. But they were working in an environment which was changing very quickly, and which they have also changed very quickly.

"We are no longer looking at the age of the lone wolf for the isolated inventor, but collaborative innovation where ideas are shared, developed and refined collaboratively. So co-creation is also the process by which groups of people from across boundaries, come together with a shared purpose, to create value through improving or developing services and products.
In a statement, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Jide Idris, said that 11 families had showed up at Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre (LSD&FC) for testing and only nine families had been matched.

On July 5 2018, samples from the incident were picked up by LSD&FC staff from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Forensic Pathologist, under secured chain of custody.

Reference DNA profiles were generated at LSD&FC from representative family members and compared to the DNA profiles generated from the victims samples received from the Forensic Pathologist.

Based on the DNA analysis performed at LSD&FC, all victim samples were successfully matched to relatives samples.

Nine bodies have been successfully matched to nine families, out of the 11 families that showed up at LSD&FC.

ALSO READ: Detectives arrest owner of tanker that caused Otedola Bridge explosion

They are now ready to be handed over to the rightful families for necessary burial arrangements.

He said collection of the remains would commence from 10.00am July 28 at the Seminar Room of the Pathology & Forensic Medicine Department of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja.

The commissioner said that this was the first time unidentified victims of a mass disaster had been successfully identified locally using DNA technology.

He said that the identification process was completed in less than four weeks after the incident as against over six months when the practice was to take samples abroad for analysis.

I also wish to note that rigorous effort is made in ensuring that errors are reduced to the barest minimum in order not to compound the agony already being experienced by the bereaved families.

As a government, we share the concerns and anxiety of the affected families and associates on the identification and the need for prompt release of the remains of their loved ones.

However we believe that the thorough investigation which was conducted is in the best interest of all concerned.

We wish to reiterate that the entire cost of management and treatment of the surviving victims and DNA forensics for the dead and their families was borne by the State Government,  Idris said.

He said that some of the victims of the accident were currently being treated at the Trauma & Burns Centre, Gbagada General Hospital and LASUTH and were responding to treatment.

According to him 10 patients were admitted at the states various hospitals, two died, three have been discharged and five are still on admission.

NAN reports that the idris had on July 2 confirmed 12 casualties in the June 28 petrol tanker explosion on Otedola Link Bridge.
A statement by the Presidents Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Saturday, said President Buhari would on arrival have an interactive session at the Nigerian embassy with the Nigerian community based in Togo.

ALSO READ: Stop your campaigns  Buhari tells supporters

According to him, the President, on Monday, will attend the Joint ECOWAS/ECCAS Summit which will deliberate on common security threats to countries in West Africa and members of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).

Shehu explained that the meeting was being convened with a view to forging concerted strategies in tackling the menace of terrorism, trans-border crimes and other forms of violent extremism.

It would be recalled that President Buhari had expressed support for the proposed ECOWAS/ECCAS Summit when he received the current Chair of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government, President Faure Gnassingbe of Togo on June 29, in Katsina.

ALSO READ: Here is why displaced Nigerians are scared to go back to their homes

Shehu stated that, while in Lome, the Nigerian delegation would also participate in a meeting on a Single Currency for ECOWAS with the deadline of 2020.

Being the largest economy not only in West Africa but also on the continent, Nigerias leadership role in this sub-regional aspiration cannot be over-emphasised, he noted.

According to the presidential aide, on Tuesday, President Buhari will join other leaders of the sub-region for the 53 Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.

He said: This session will be dominated by the political and security situations in Guinea Bissau, Mali and Togo; institutional reforms of the ECOWAS Commission to enhance its effectiveness; illegal migration of Africans to Europe; and the worrisome violent clashes between herders and farmers, among other issues.

At the end of the session, a new Chair of the ECOWAS Authority is expected to take over from the incumbent and host.

The statement said President Buhari would be accompanied by Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River and Gov. Abubakar Bello of Niger.

Others are Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama; Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali; Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun; Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau and Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Okechukwu Enelamah.
He said that the state government had approved the recruitment of judicial officers and supporting staff in the state.

Ganduje said that his administration had done a lot in prison decongestion in the state by releasing thousands of inmates.

The governor then commended President Muhammadu Buhari for building a modern prison in the state.

Ganduje also commended the retired Grand Khadi for serving the state well and wished him successes in his future endeavours.
Okorocha described the incident as a gruesome case of mindless assassination.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the governor spoke when Political and Community leaders of Ideato-North came to officially inform him of the development on Friday in Owerri.

Okorocha said that it was not a case of armed robbery as nothing was taken away from the party chieftain or removed from his car.

He also dismissed the insinuations that the deceased might have been kidnapped before his murder, as there was no sign of resistance or struggle between the killers and the victim.

He said the mans head and body were shattered with bullets following several gunshots just to make sure that he had no chance of being revived, an act he claimed could only have been carried out and by wicked assassins.

This is painful and Ohaneze has no reason to die now. He has just been elected the Chairman of APC, Ideato-North and he is one that is loved by all, but for someone to have gone to take his life, we condemn it in its entirety, Okorocha said.

The governor assured that the killers of the man, popularly known as Ohaneze, will soon be apprehended and will be made to face the consequences of their wicked act.

He further directed the Police and other Security agencies in the state to leave no stone unturned in ensuring that those behind the ungodly act are brought to book without delay.

We have requested the security agencies to fish out the killers. We as a government must ensure that these culprits, these wicked souls must be brought to book. We must never allow innocent souls to be destroyed or even people being killed just for nothing , he added.

The governor pledged N20 million reward for anyone who would give useful information that could lead to the arrest of the killers.
In a statement signed by him and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria ( NAN) in Minna, Babangida said the deceased contributed a lot the development of the country.

Hashidu, who died on Friday (yesterday) served as Minister of Water Resources, and later that of Agriculture during the regime of Babangida.

He described Hashidu as a trusted ally and a technocrat per excellence that was an asset to his administration in the development of River Basins, and who also ensured the implementation of water resources management policies in the country .

He also described him as a political ideologists and a pragmatic politician that accepted the will of the people by conceding defeat in the 2003 election and congratulated the winner.
Oshiomhole also said that the Governor is dancing on the grave of dead people.

According to him, The second is that they (Benue APC) drew our attention to the fact that Gov. Ortom has complicated the situation by his own actions and poor judgment of the security situation in Benue state and they drew our attention to the fact that some of those who have been arrested were people who have been associated with Gov. Ortom including people who have been in his employ, including in particular a guy who was known to have been involved in Boko Haram activities and who he knowingly recruited to manage what they call Forest Guards.

For any man of honour, if an appointee of government is involved in heinous crime,including killing, that would be enough for a governor to worry about. Instead, Gov. Ortom played up the ethnic dimension of criminality whereas in truth, some of those who have been killed were killed not by Muslims, they were killed by Christians of Benue state origin, including those he has employed.

So, his attempt to explain away criminality by playing up ethnic sentiments is not helpful to what he should do as governor to manage the situation better. After all, those in Benue state have always been there by whatever description and therefore, Gov. Ortoms predecessors including Gov. Suswam had found ways to manage this diversity. So, Ortoms incapacity to manage it and even to seek to make political capital of the death of Benue people is most unfortunate because I believe that even in politics, there should be a level of morality.

It is important to note that the condemnable killing of two Reverend Fathers in a churchthose who have confessed to this crime include people who have worked with Gov. Ortom and these killings were done few weeks after one of these Reverend Fathers in a church sermon was extremely critical of the governance in Benue state and of the style of governance of Gov. Ortom and his price obviously was that few weeks after this sermon in which he was very critical of Gov. Ortom including the damage done to family life by the none payment of salaries that he had to pay with his dear life.

For us, the shock is that, I am not about to suggest that Gov. Ortom might have asked anyone to go and kill anyone but that those involved in these killings, some of them are people of Benue state origin and that they are Christians. That is not to deny that some herdsmen have also been involved in the killings but the responsibility of any governor is not to seek to manipulate it but to confront it squarely.

According to Punch, herdsmen attacked St. Ignatius Quasi Parish, Ukpor-Mbalom in Ayar-Mbalom community of Gwer East Local Government Area of Benue State, killing two Catholic priests and 17 other worshipperson April 24, 2018.

Ortom dumps APC

On Wednesday, July 25, 2018, the Benue state Governor announcedthat he was leaving the APC.

Ortom also revealed that he was joining the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to ensure justice, equity and fairness for the people of Benue.

The Governor also complained that he was constantly being attacked by the APC Benue state executives.

I am relieved Ortom left APC

According to Vanguard, the APC chairman said that he is relieved that the Benue state Governor left the ruling party.

Oshiomhole also said that fielding him as the partys Governorship candidate in 2015 was by accident.

He said I am relieved as national chairman and I believe that the leadership of the party in Benue state is also relieved that Ortom has left the party and returned to the club he belongs to. A club whose philosophy is share the money and not develop communities. So we now have a clean platform to search for a clean and credible candidate from Benue that can provide leadership that the great people of Benue state deserve and not someone who seeks to make political capital of human graves and celebrating the death of his own people.

As a party, we condemn any life that has been wasted by any criminal whether in Benue state or any part of Nigeria and we accept that the governments irreducible minimum responsibility must be to protect lives and property. But I condemn in strong terms anyone of us who is in government that seeks to get political capital on deaths because we have shared responsibility of Nigerians irrespective of religious, social and political status.

So I just thought that I should clear the air that we are relieved that Ortom has gone and if you look at it, he got our ticket on a platter of gold because he was never a participant during the process of our partys formation. He became a candidate by accident and the lesson for our party is that never again should anyone become a candidate on our platform by accident. It has to be by conscious choice and as things are, for those of us who monitored my comments since I became national chairman, my aim is that we will have a political party that is defined by clear cut ideology and people will join or abstain from joining except on the premise of conviction.

Nollywood actor

According to the APC chairman, Ortom has reduced the serious business of governance to a Nollywood movie

Oshiomhole said I wanted to simply cross check with him on the allegations made against him and he was to come by Wednesday that is why he organised that drama. And that tells you the quality of reasoning, with all due respect to Governor Ortom, how can you reduce governance to Nollywood, saying when I wanted to go to Abuja to meet with the National Working Committee, my people blocked the road that I will not go. When has it become a case that when a governor wants to travel it is on the radio that he is travelling and this is the purpose?

Ortom would have brought bad luck

Oshiomhole said that fielding Ortom as the APC s governorship candidate in the next election would have cost the party.

According to him, the Benue state Governor refused to pay workers salaries for several months despite the Federal Governments bailouts to the state.

The first is that as you all recall, Gov. Ortom had said the APC in Benue state had given him red card to leave our party and that they would not field him in the forthcoming governorship election in 2019 and because the door had been shut against him, he had no choice than to leave. Without going into investigations, we invited him to speak to us on the issues. We also invited our leaders of our party in Benue state to also brief us on what the issues were. From the point of view of our leaders in Benue state, their position was clear that they believed that fielding Gov. Ortom on the APC platform in the 2019 election could only lead to electoral defeat for a number of reasons.

They reminded us that in spite of the allocations accruing to Benue state and in spite of the bail out funds amounting to over N20 billion that they had received in two instalments of N10 billion each and in addition to the huge sums of money that Benue state collected from the Paris Club Refund, Gov. Ortom has not, and is not paying salaries to Benue workers as and when due, including teachers, local government employees and the state civil servants.

He is owing some of them as much as 12 months salary, some more than 16 months and so the entire economy of Benue state that survives largely on civil servants salaries is to that extent compromised.

Of course, what is not readily obvious to many, and which they told us, is the fact that most of our elders who have built houses as part of their retirement plans and who expect to live on rent paid by civil servants who are tenants, the fact that the entire civil servants in Benue state are not being paid means that they in turn are defaulting in the payments of their rents and you know the implication of this on traders and the commercial life of Benue state. This element alone substantially explains the vicious cycle of poverty in Benue state that has been deepened under Gov. Ortom, he added.

The APC spokesman, Bolaji Abudullahi,on Wednesday, July 25, 2018 had issued a statement saying that the party was surprised that Governor Ortom defected to PDP.
Not only did Senate President, Bukola Saraki, dribble the Nigeria Police Force in a game of hide and seek, he also chaired (cheered?) the defection of 14 Senators from the ruling All Progressives' Congress (APC) to opposition parties, most notably the People's Democratic Party (PDP). More politicians dumped the ruling party on Dark Tuesday.

Senator Dino Melaye was also 'kidnapped' by unknown gunmen on his way to appear in a Kogi State court to defend a seven-count criminal charge that includes gunrunning. He was soon back after "11 hours in the wilderness".

Here's a roundup of some of the notable stories of the week:

Monday, July 23

- The Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, wrote a letter to Senate President, Bukola Saraki, to invite him for questioning over his alleged links to the criminal gang that carried out the Offa robbery attack. (Here is everything you need to know about the allegations against the senate president.)

- APC national chairman, Adams Oshiomhole, insisted that he won't lose sleep over the R-APC faction of the party that is trying to destabilise it.

- The APC chieftain also saved some bile for certain ministers in President Muhammadu Buhari's cabinet as he threatened to fire them from the ruling party, and their ministerial positions, for disrespecting the president's wishes on inaugurating boards of parastatals.

- The office of the Osun State governor, Rauf Aregbesola, briefly caught fire due to a faulty air conditioning unit.

- A suicide-bomb attack at a mosque in the Mainari area of Konduga, Borno State, claimed the lives of eight worshippers.

- The attack came only two days after troops killed scores of Boko Haram terrorists in Yobe State while countering an ambush staged by the insurgents. Troops suffered an unspecified amount of casualties.

Tuesday, July 24

- Ahead of his interview with the police, officers laid siege to Saraki's residence.

- A similar siege on the residence of the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, led to rumours that both leaders were about to be removed to prevent a mass exodus of lawmakers from the APC.

- Saraki somehow escaped the siege and presided over plenary at the National Assembly complex. Ekweremadu was not so lucky and was questioned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

- As was feared, 14 Senators officially dumped the APC and moved to the PDP (12) and the ADC (2).

- 37 members of the House of Representatives also dumped the APC just moments later.

- PDP House of Reps member, Tony Nwulu, got in on the defection action by dumping the party for United Progressive Party (UPP).

- Nearly a month after a fuel tanker explosion killed 12 in Lagos, the state government revealed the identity of the owner and revealed plans to prosecute him.

- The proposed three-day closure of Lagos State's Third Mainland Bridge for Investigative Maintenance Test earlier scheduled to last from July 27 to July 30 was postponed till August.

- The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), disclosed that cholera has killed 186 people in the country since the beginning of the year.

- Former president, Goodluck Jonathan, preached against godfatherism in Nigerian politics.

- The police expressed disappointment at Saraki's refusal to honour the invitation extended to him.

Wednesday, July 25

- Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, reopened the defection floodgate on Wednesday as he dumped the APC for the PDP after months of speculations.

- Senator Melaye was granted bail in the sum of N5 million in his criminal case involving a six-count charge bordering on attempted suicide, attempt to escape from custody and damage of police property.

- The Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Jimoh Moshood, disclosed that there's enough to charge Saraki to court over his alleged Offa robbery links.

- In reaction to the previous day's defection, President Buhari met with APC Senators at the Presidential Villa.

- One of the APC Senators that defected to the PDP announced his return to the ruling APC.

- The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) revealed that 48 political parties filed nominations for the September 22 governorship election in Osun.

- 5 people were killed when a boat capsized at Ebute Terminal, in Lagos.

Thursday, July 26

- President Buhari attended the graduation ceremony of Senior Course 40 in Kaduna State.

- The Rivers State Police Command disclosed that four of its officers were killed in three days.

- Saraki was questioned by a team of investigators on his alleged links to the Offa robbery in his office at the National Assembly.

- The Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) disclosed that the validity of Nigerian passports will be extended from five to 10 years.

Friday, July 27

- Gunmen shot and killed , the APC chairman in Ideato North local government area of Imo State.

- The Nigerian Army appointed Major-General Ahmed Dikkoas the new Theatre Commander of anti-Boko Haram mission, Operation LAFIYA DOLE.

- Benue State lawmakers became fence climbers when police officers locked the gates of the House of Assemby complex.

- Senator Melaye resurfaced to disclose how he escaped his reported kidnapping/attack and spent "11 hours in the wilderness".

The senator took to his Twitter account to disclose how he escaped the attack and was "in the wilderness" for 11 hours.

- The first civilian governor of Gombe State, Abubakar Hashidu, died at the age of 74.
According to Channels Television, the LG chairmen announced their defection to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Friday, July 27, 2018 at the Government House in Makurdi.

This is coming days after the state Governor, Samuel Ortom announced his resignation from the ruling party.

Ortom said that disclosed that he was joining the PDP to ensure justice, equity and fairness for the people of Benue.

While speaking to newsmen on Wednesday, July 25, 2018, the Governor said The 22 local governments represented by the councillors here and then the 13 local government chairmen have unanimously endorsed that my stay in the APC has expired, that I should look for another platform. On that note, I have formally resigned from the All Progressives' Congress.

"With your support, and because you have given me a blank cheque to also nominate a party that we can further fight to ensure justice, equity and fairness for the people of Benue State, let me formally announce to you that I now would join the People's Democratic Party."

Oshiomhole Vs Ortom

Adams Oshiomhole, in a statement issued to newsmen recently, said that he is relieved that Governor Ortom left the APC.

The APC chairman also said that fielding Ortom as the partys candidate in 2015 was a mistake.

He also alleged that some of the Governors aides were involved in the killing of the two Catholic priests.

Ortoms aide however fired back at Oshiomhole telling him to speak with decorum.

The Governors spokesman also called on the APC chairman to speak in a way that will unite the ruling party and not divide it.

The Local Government chairmen who defected are: Anthony Shawon of Guma Local Government Area (LGA), Justina Sorka of Buruku LGA, Mwuese Ubebe of Konshisha LGA, Blessing Unogwo of Ado LGA, Virginia Kpindi of Katsina-Ala LGA and George Alli of Otukpo LGA.

Others include: Comfort Echeoda of Agatu LGA, Francis Ayaga of Gwer West LGA, Uaah Vitalis of Gwer East LGA, Richard Nyajo of Logo LGA, Ibellogo Tor of Tyokaa- Ukum LGA, Adakole Abutu of Ohimini LGA and Peter Onche of Obi LGA.

As a result of the recent development, the APC now has control of only 10 Local Governments in Benue state.
Addressing journalists during the inspection of the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri rail line on Friday, July 27, 2018, Amaechi said President Buhari would win states like Kano, Bauchi, and Sokoto "even if the President was on a sick bed".

Thirteen Senators and thirty-seven members of the House of Representatives had dumped from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) on Tuesday, July 24, 2018.

But, Amaechi noted that the defection of lawmaker would not affect President Buharis chances in the 2019.

The minister alleged that Governor Aminu Tambuwalof Sokoto state would dump the APC because of his presidential ambition.

No matter what you do, the governor of Sokoto state (Tambuwal) will leave naturally; he has ambition to be president, Amaechi announced.

He continued: If you take a chicken to him, he will still go. The same with Kwara; these are people you expect that they will leave. They left with some members of house reps and senate, where did they come from? They are from areas the president is comfortable.

Do you honestly believe that the president will lose election in Sokoto state? Well nobody is God, but those are his comfort zones.

The next person that left is from Bauchi. If you bring president on a sick bed in Bauchi, he will win. He has never lost election in Bauchi. If you bring the President on a sick bed in Kano, he will win.

Still, we cannot underestimate them (defectors) but during our time, we sold our candidate over a year before the election," he noted.

PDP not ready

The Minister threw a shade at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)saying the opposition had not picked its presidential candidate six months to the election.

Six months to election, nothing. But one year to the 2015 election, it was clear who the APC presidential candidate would be.

It is only God that can say if the APC would win or not. But, if you remove the God element, we are prepared to go because Nigerians will certainly reject a second looting, he maintained.

Buharis campaign

The Minister who is the director general of Buharis reelection campaign hinted that the activities around the presidents second term bid would kick start in the coming weeks.
Alhaji Musa Mato the Bauchi state chairman of the party made the call in a statement in Bauchi on Saturday.

We call on to remain neutral to all political parties that fielded candidates for the Bauchi South Senatorial election.

By favouring any political party in any form, no matter how small is tantamount to cause disaffection to other political parties.

INEC should give equal treatment to all candidates, Mato said.

According to him, what happens in the bye-election will be a yardstick to what will happen in the 2019 general election.

Mato also called on security agencies in the state to provide the needed security during the election.

He called on party supporters to remain law abiding, urging them to promote the ideologies of the UPP.

He also advised them to collect their Permanent Voters Card (PVC) which he said is the only weapon in the democratic process.

Mato said the UPP would not field a candidate for the bye-election.

UPP will not take part in the bye-election instead; it will support a credible candidate from another political party if there is any.

As you may know, the UPP was registered on Oct. 2, 2012 by INEC and since then, it is recognised as the most peaceful opposition political party, not only in Bauchi state, but in Nigeria as a whole.

UPP participated fully in the 2015 general election where it fielded candidates for most of the elective positions including a governorship candidate in the state, he said.
His mission: to travel around Amazon villages, teaching conservation through performance art.

Of indigenous descent, biologist Munduruku was born in the Amazon region and the environment is a subject about which he feels passionate.

"In a time of change, I had wanted to work in environmental protection," the 27-year-old told AFP.

"I was doing it from a scientific perspective but I realized it was also important from a social perspective. Until then, Uyra had no face or name."

Munduruku, or rather Uyra, takes part in educational projects, teaching children about Amazon communities and how to both connect with and protect nature.

After suffering a homophobic assault in the Amazonian state capital Manaus in 2015, Munduruku decided to give a new meaning to his life, and Uyra was born.

"I'd spent six years of my life studying frogs and lizards... and one day I was hit coming out of a bar because I was wearing lipstick and eyeliner," he said.

"That violence rocked me to my core... I started to get closer to women, transvestites, and understand more about racism and homophobia. I became closer to the city and the people."

Brazilian crisis

Munduruku's personal metamorphosis happened at a time of political turmoil in Brazil, as a corruption scandal involving scores of high profile politicians and major enterprises exploded, eventually leading to the impeachment of then president Dilma Rousseff in 2016.

"Brazil was going through a crisis, artistic expressions of protest were springing up all over Manaus and I asked myself how I could bring new perspectives to my work," he said.

"That was what brought Uyra into the world."

But there was more than an assault behind Munduruku's journey from amphibian and reptile studies to eco-warrior drag queen.

"Our stories can be told through the prism of pain and an immediate metamorphosis. But our stories are much more complex than that," he said.

"Uyra has given me a new lease on life. She makes me happy. She makes me more comfortable in my skin and with other people, as well as with my desires and concerns."

Munduruku says he doesn't believe in different genders: "They're the same, female, male. All I need is that people treat me with respect."

Born in a tiny community of less than 40,000 people in the north of Brazil, he moved to Manaus with his parents and older sister when he was six. Since then they've lived in the suburbs, surrounded by tributaries to the Rio Negro.

The son of a salesman and a maid, Munduruku wanted to study literature at university, but a teacher convinced him to pursue biology studies instead.

'Enchantment or fear'

Now he spends his time travelling around small riverside villages to teach about environmental conservation through art. It's through this that Uyra emerges in her full splendor and glory.

"Fundamental to the project is using the jungle as both an inspiration and a tool. This helps to connect people to the forest," he said.

"Uyra is always met with either enchantment or fear... in cities, those who are enchanted approach to speak. But in the villages even those who are afraid approach. There's no distance, it's more spontaneous.

"It's the same with children, they're curious so they approach."

But while Munduruku tries to pass on to the next generation a sensibility towards the importance of protecting the planet, he sees little to feel positive about when it comes to those who hold the fate of the environment in their hands.

With presidential elections due in October, Munduruku sees little political will to tackle the country's growing problems.

"Thousands of people are looking for desperate, immediate solutions or magic to solve systemic problems," he said.

"We live in a age of serious violence in which indigenous lands and environmental reserves are threatened by the invasion of business agreements.

But Munduruku remains upbeat.
President Klaus Iohannis approved the dismissal of Kovesi -- considered a symbol of the fight against graft in one of the European Union's most corruption-plagued members -- on July 9 after long resisting attempts to remove her by the ruling Social Democratic Party.

A second one-month selection process to fill the vacancy will start on August 6.

The opposition National Liberal Party called on Justice Minister Tudorel Toader to explain his reasons for rejecting all four candidates.

The former head of Romania's Constitutional Court, Augustin Zegrean, told AFP that in his opinion all four candidates were qualified for the post. "Probably the minister wants someone else", he said.

Three of the four applicants already work at the DNA and are known to have had good working relations with Kovesi during her tenure.

The government had claimed victory in May after the Constitutional Court ordered the president to fire Kovesi.

But Iohannis delayed approving the decision, leading prominent figures in the ruling party to raise the prospect of his impeachment.

An emotional Kovesi confirmed in a televised statement after the sacking that she would no longer be working for the DNA but said she would remain a prosecutor and urged Romanians not to give up the fight against corruption.

With Kovesi at the helm, the DNA had led a crackdown on corruption among local and national elected officials in recent years, earning accusations of abuse of power and the enmity of many in Romania's political class.
The vote is symbolic and non-constraining, but analysts fear this could signal the beginning of the end.

"This highlights the government's solitude, the low parliamentary support it has," said Fernando Vallespin, a political scientist at the Autonomous University of Madrid.

With just 84 Socialist lawmakers out of 350, Sanchez heads up Spain's most minority government in history.

He came to power on June 1 after spearheading a no-confidence vote to oust his predecessor Mariano Rajoy, whose conservatives have been hit by repeated corruption scandals.

The vote went through thanks to disparate support from far-left Podemos, Catalan centre-right separatist lawmakers and Basque nationalists.

"The coalition Sanchez was able to create to dismiss Rajoy was a negative coalition, not one to govern," said Antonio Barroso, an analyst at consultants Teneo Intelligence.

"It's the first episode of what awaits him after the summer."

A tough battle

The Socialist government intends to hang on and govern until the end of this term, in June 2020.

The government will re-introduce new deficit targets in a month, said its spokeswoman Isabel Celaa, without saying whether it would go back to the original predictions.

"We're not recognising any situation of weakness," she said.

But she called for responsibility on the part of those parties that voted for the no-confidence motion.

The next few months will be difficult for Sanchez, who has to put together a draft budget for 2019 and have it voted through.

"With such a weak government, the potential to move forward is greatly reduced, even with things that shouldn't pose a problem," said Vallespin.

He gave as an example the weeks of negotiations needed to renovate state television's management, which was finally approved on Friday.

Already campaigning

The opposition Popular Party's new leader Pablo Casado, who has just replaced Rajoy on a promise to veer further to the right, has been vocal in his criticism of the Socialists' perceived inability to govern.

He has called on the Socialist government to "reflect on how long it will subject Spaniards to this instability, with repercussions on the economy and job creation."

"While the parties say they don't want elections, they're already campaigning because they think there could be elections at any moment," said Barroso.

As the October 1 anniversary of the illegal independence referendum in Catalonia approaches, separatist parties -- whose support in parliament is crucial to Sanchez -- could go more radical and hinder dialogue between Madrid and Barcelona.

Any political paralysis would force Sanchez to call early elections.

Right now, that wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing for him as he is ahead in opinion polls.

"Calling elections wouldn't be so bad because if he delays it, it could highlight his incapacity to reach agreements, the economy could deteriorate," said Vallespin.
The drama unfolded Friday as Mongolian authorities grounded a suspected Turkish air force jet after witnesses said assailants snatched a Turkish man associated with a religious group Ankara has branded as terrorists.

In recent weeks, Turkey's intelligence agency has conducted operations abroad against associates of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen -- who Ankara says was behind a 2016 failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

As many as five men grabbed Akcay from outside his home in Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar Friday morning and threw him into a minibus, according to friends and eyewitnesses.

The 50-year-old is director of a school in Mongolia that is alleged to be associated with Gulen, although teachers there denied the connection in response to questions by AFP.

When he failed to show up for work, concerned family and friends notified the police.

Meanwhile, Akcay's abductors had taken him to Genghis Khan international airport, where a small passenger jet landed around 1:00 pm (0500 GMT).

The plane -- with call sign TT4010 -- is operated by the Turkish Airforce, according to data on flight tracking site flightradar24.com.

It was the beginning of a more than eight-hour standoff between the captors and Mongolian authorities, who refused to allow the plane to leave the runway.

As authorities summoned Turkish officials from their embassy in Mongolia, parliamentarians and hundreds of protestors clutching signs demanding Akcay's release gathered at the airport.

As the standoff dragged on, Mongolian vice foreign minister Battsetseg Batmunkh warned Turkish embassy officials that any attempt to abduct a person from Mongolia's territory would constitute "a serious violation of Mongolia's independence and sovereignty".

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu denied the accusations during a telephone call to his Mongolian counterpart Tsogtbaatar Damdin, according to the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

But officials were not convinced: "We are an independent nation. Do you think anyone can do abductions in our country?" parliamentarian Baasankhuu Oktaybri wrote on Twitter.

The plane took off at 9:25 pm Friday without Akcay, who was taken for questioning by police and later sent to a hospital for medical checks.

"I thank you all," he told his supporters as he left hospital.

Ankara's relentless hunt

Sandwiched between China and Russia, Mongolia was once described by former US Secretary of State John Kerry as an "oasis of democracy".

However the incident "might turn into a full diplomatic crisis between Mongolia and Turkey, a relationship that has been active and vibrant for some years," said Julian Dierkes, an expert on Mongolian politics at the University of British Columbia.

The Turkish aid agency "has undertaken many projects in Mongolia, many Mongolian students have studied at Turkish universities", a relationship that could be "damaged," he said.

Since the failed coup in July 2016, Turkey has been relentlessly tracking down those it suspects of being supporters of Gulen, who denies being behind the attempted overthrow of Erdogan.

Gulen's movement built up significant influence in Turkey and overseas, particularly in Central Asia, Africa and the Balkans, especially via its education network.

Ankara has outlawed the movement as a terror organisation but followers insist they promote peace and moderate Islam.

Turkey has carried out a series of overseas operations against suspected members of the movement in places such as Kosovo, Gabon and more recently Ukraine.

Last week a Turkish blogger accused of links to Gulen was deported from Ukraine as part of an operation by MIT while another individual was detained in Azerbaijan recently and sent back to Turkey.
QUIZ: Guess the Road Songs

We can't wait to get back on the road again! Play this quiz and see if how many you can get right!
RUSH: So we have the trade wars: The Drive-Bys are refusing to credit President Trump for bringing the European Union to its knees.
This week, Washington and Brussels struck an unexpected agreement to lift levies in the tariff conflict between the U.S. and the EU. The move represents a victory for all sides, but especially beleaguered European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
Sometimes a society's values change sharply with almost no one noticing, much less anticipating the consequences. In 1968, according to a Gallup survey, 70 percent of American adults said that a family of three or more children was "ideal" -- about the same number as Gallup surveys starting in 1938. That number helps explain the explosive baby boom after Americans were no longer constrained by depression and world war.

Those values and numbers didn't last. By 1978, Gallup reported that only 39 percent considered three or more children "ideal." The numbers have hovered around there ever since, spiking to just 41 percent in the late-1990s tech boom.

The change in values and behavior took time to register. Just before the 1972 presidential election, then-President Richard Nixon and a Democratic Congress goosed up Social Security benefits. They figured the baby-boom generation was just delaying producing a baby boom of its own. Wrong. Social Security has needed patching up ever since.

Similarly, the 1970s showed sharp increases in female workforce participation, divorce and singe-parent households, as well as decreased participation in voluntary organizations -- all unanticipated.

Is a similar values shift happening now? Maybe so, suggest George Mason University associate professor Philip Auerswald and Palo Alto hedge fund manager Joon Yun in an article in The New York Times. They point out that the American fertility rate -- the number of children per woman age 15 to 44 -- has hit a post-1970s low. Birth rates typically drop during recessions and rise a bit during booms. They did drop notably from 2007 to 2009. But the latest data don't show a rebound, despite significant growth and record-low unemployment.

The trend varies among demographic groups. Native-born Hispanics and blacks used to have birth rates above the replacement rate (2.1 births per woman). Now they're below replacement, almost as low that of as native-born whites and Asians, which are down only a bit. The immigrant birth rate remains above replacement level among blacks, but only barely above among Hispanics, and below among whites and Asians.

One possible consequence: Those often-gleeful predictions that whites will soon be a minority will not be realized so soon, or maybe ever. Nor is it clear, as sociologist Richard Alba has suggested, whether often-intermarrying Hispanics and Asians will see themselves as aggrieved minorities. They might just blend in, like Italians and Poles.

Also, the sharp drop in the Hispanic birth rate combined with the sharp drop of Hispanic (especially Mexican) immigration post-2007 means a lower proportion of low-skill immigrants competing for jobs with low-skill Americans. Asian immigrants may outnumber Hispanics and arrive with significantly higher skill levels. So may immigrants from African countries like Nigeria and Ghana. Their capacity for expanding the economy rather than competing for low-skill jobs may point to unexpected growth. And neither group arrives with grievances rooted in slavery and American racial segregation.

Other familiar trends may be reversed. Demographer and Institute for Family Studies research fellow Lyman Stone, citing various data, argues, "The decline in fertility is mostly due to declining marriage," as downscale women have had difficulty finding suitable spouses. They might have more success if the recent increase in downscale wages continues.

Similarly, fewer young people would get caught in the trap of incurring huge college debt for worthless degrees or none at all if, as the Manhattan Institute's Aaron Renn suggests, enrollment in higher education, already declining, starts plunging precipitously around 2025. Might young people bypass college and find constructive jobs and marry and raise families as their counterparts did in the postwar years?

That's suggested by a recent trend reversal. During the sluggish 2008-2013 economy, young Americans stayed put in tiny child-unfriendly apartments in hip central-coastal cities like New York and San Francisco, and paid high rents resulting from stringent environmental restrictions. This was hailed as a move toward progressive attitudes. But evidently not. As Newgeography proprietor Joel Kotkin has noted, since growth returned, young people have been heading to child-friendly suburbs and exurbs, ditching subway cards for SUV fobs.

All of which raises the possibility of current stubbornly low birth rates being on the verge of a rise, away from the economically and culturally divided low-birth-rate society described in Charles Murray's "Coming Apart," and toward something suggested by Donald Trump's "Make America Great Again."

For the moment, these countertrends are just possibilities. But since persistently low birth rates lead to population loss, economic stagnation and low creativity, let's hope some of them come true.

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A new survey from a group founded by conservative mega donors Charles and David Koch shows Americans believe a growing number of barriers  some of which are government-imposed -- are preventing them reaching their full potential in life.

The poll was conducted by In Pursuit Of  the marketing wing of the Koch-backed Seminar Network  ahead of a biannual donor event this weekend in Colorado Springs, Colo. The purpose of the survey was to measure how best the network could focus its outreach efforts. It is the first national poll released ahead of the groups donor meeting.

Overall, 56 percent of respondents said there are more barriers today compared to previous generations. Another 66 percent said they agree barriers prevent people from improving their lives and that breaking them should be a top priority. Seventy percent agreed that government is responsible for creating the opportunity for upward mobility, but actually achieving success depends on each individual.

The Koch network focuses its outreach on four main areas: government, education, business and community. The group wanted to see if its priorities are still in line with what people are feeling. None of the survey questions were inherently political, and none asked about individual politicians or political parties. A spokesman for the Seminar Network said the survey confirmed that the group has the right priorities.

Our Network is focused on removing the barriers that stand in the way of people helping themselves and helping each other, said James Davis in a statement released with the survey results. Weve seen significant progress, but work remains if we are going to truly turn around the trajectory of this country toward one where people are able to improve their own lives and realize their full potential.

According to the poll, Americans see infringements on their individual liberties as a major problem. Sixty-two percent of those polled said that government needs to focus on protecting individual rights, including property rights, free speech, and equal treatment for everyone under the law. Another 86 percent said that the right to personal property is fundamental to a free and just society.

Despite the imperfections of government, however, 51 percent said that it is best suited to address major issues in society. Sixty-nine percent said that there are existing barriers in government as well as in business, education and communities that prevent people from achieving their best in life.

The top issue respondents selected as a barrier was the cost of health care. People also pointed to the national debt and cost of higher education as major issues preventing them from achieving their full potential. When asked about solutions to these problems, a majority said lower taxes, enforcing equal rights and putting health care in the hands of patients would be very effective steps.

A spokeswoman for In Pursuit Of said that a focus of this weekends donor meeting will be a comprehensive look at removing these barriers, and how the network and affiliated groups can help with this process.

The survey of 1,000 adults nationwide, conducted online July 16-18, has a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.
By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 07/27/2018



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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.

Family Vacation is going to feature more cocktails, parties, friendship and GTL later this summer.MTV has announced Family Vacation Part 2 will premiere with a two-hour episode on Thursday, August 23 at 8PM ET/PT.The second season of Family Vacation will kick off with the housemates in Las Vegas, NV, before they travel back to New Jersey where it all began for a weekend in Atlantic City and some fun on the shore.The series will continue to feature original cast members Deena Nicole Cortese, Paul "Pauly D" DelVecchio , Jenni "JWoww" Farley, Vinny Guadagnino, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro Nicole "Snooki" Polizzi and Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino.The group will welcome new family members and relive their glory days which were featured on the original show.Deena, Pauly D, JWoww, Ronnie, Snooki, and The Situation will also celebrate some milestones together."The housemates return for even more fist pumping and grand antics," the network teases. "But, when their personal lives spill out into the tabloids and on social media, the group must confront a variety of issues."'s other original star, Sammi "Sweetheart" Giancola, will once again not be making an appearance on Family Vacation Part 2.Sammi's ex, Ronnie, will reportedly be shown taking on fatherhood for the first time with his on-again, off-again flame, and The Situation's wedding with his longtime girlfriend Lauren Pesce will also be featured.ran for six seasons on MTV from 2009 to 2012. Its Family Vacation spinoff premiered on MTV in early April and followed the cast living together for a month in Miami, FL. The first season wrapped in late June.Family Vacation was renewed for a second season back in February, before the first edition even debuted on MTV.Family Vacation Part 2 is being produced by 495 Productions, with SallyAnn Salsano, Nina L. Diaz, and Jackie French serving as executive producers.
Bloomberg photo by SeongJoon Cho.

Support for South Korean President Moon Jae-in fell to the lowest level since he took office last year, in the latest sign of popular dissatisfaction with his economic policies.

Moon's approval rating slipped 5 percentage points to 62 percent -- the sixth consecutive week of declines -- according to a Gallup Korea survey of 1,002 adults released Friday. The share of those who disapproved of the president's performance rose 3 percentage points to 28 percent.
Scientists have discovered a new shape  the "scutoid"  in skin cells that enables tissue to curve.

The discovery explains how organs can acquire such complex, yet stable, forms. Like Legos, the scutoid enables epithelial cells  the construction blocks of organisms  to fold and curve.

"The epithelia form structures with multiple functions like forming a barrier against infections or absorbing nutrients. In this way, during the development of an embryo, it changes from a simple structure formed from only a handful of cells to an animal with very complex organs," said Luisma Escudero, a biology professor at the University of Seville, in a press release. Escudero published his findings in the journal Nature on Friday.

READ ALSO: Oceanic creature named after Barack Obama

Scientists previously thought epithelial cells adopted a prism or pyramid shape to create such structures. After examining epithelial curves from laboratory samples, Escudero and his team of researchers determined the shape more closely resembled twisted prisms.

The unique shape is "due to the fact that when tissue curves it tends to minimize energy, to be more stable," Escudero said, "and for that reason our biophysical data indicates that what these cells do is adopt an scutoid shape."

ALSO READ: Researchers develop new way to detect earthquakes on the ocean floor

The study helps researchers understand how biological structures form. They hope to apply their newfound knowledge to the creation of artificial tissues and organs.

Michelle Robertson is an SFGATE staff writer. Email her at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com or find her on Twitter at @mrobertsonsf.
YEREVAN -- Former President Robert Kocharian has been taken into custody by Armenian authorities after being charged in connection with the deadly crackdown on opposition protests following the disputed presidential election in 2008.

A Yerevan district court late on July 27 ruled that the Special Investigative Service (SIS) could hold Kocharian pending investigation into the crackdown that left 10 people dead, including two police officers.

The arrest comes as the government of new Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian, a longtime anticorruption campaigner, has stepped up legal action against officials linked to the previous government.

Kocharian has denied charges of overthrowing Armenia's constitutional order," calling them politically motivated, and his lawyers say he will appeal the pretrial detention ruling.

The lawyers, Ruben Sahakian and Aram Orbelian, declined further comment and said a news conference would be held in Yerevan on July 28.



The case dates back to late February and early March 2008 in the wake of a disputed election to determine Kocharians successor.

Kocharians ally, Serzh Sarkisian, was declared the winner, angering the opposition and setting off 10 days of nonstop protests that led to a crackdown on March 1 in which 10 people, including two police officers, were killed.

Kocharian is accused of illegally ordering the violent dispersal of protesters.

Kocharian said the postelection crackdown was necessary to prevent an illegal takeover of the government by another former president, Levon Ter-Petrosian.

In March, Nikol Pashinian, then an opposition figure in parliament, asked prosecutors to subpoena Kocharian for questioning over his order to use lethal force to suppress the protests.

Pashinian, who in 2010 was tried and convicted as one of the protest organizers, argued that, in particular, Kocharian should explain where he got information about gunshots allegedly fired at security forces by the demonstrators, which was a key reason cited by authorities in violently putting down the protests.

In a reply to a question from RFE/RL, the Prosecutor-Generals Office in March said Pashinian had no legal standing to demand Kocharian's testimony.

That all changed after Pashinian led a series of massive, nonviolent street protests in the capital, eventually toppling Sarkisian from power and leading to Pashinians own election on May 8 to the prime ministers role in what was hailed by many as a "velvet revolution."

Pashinian, who for years spoke about what he said was widespread government corruption as an opposition member, immediately announced a crackdown on suspected wrongdoing after taking office.



Earlier on July 27, Yuri Khachaturov, the Armenian chief of the Russia-led Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), was charged, like Kocharian, with overthrowing Armenia's constitutional order related to the 2008 crackdown.

Khachaturov, who was Armenia's deputy defense minister at the time, denied any wrongdoing in comments to reporters. Officials said he would be released after paying a bail of about $10,000.



The CSTO is a regional grouping that includes Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan. Critics say Russian President Vladimir Putin sees it as a way to increase Moscows influence in former Soviet republics and to counter the European Union and NATO.

Earlier this month, the SIS issued an arrest warrant for retired General Mikael Harutiunian, who served as defense minister during the 2008 unrest. It charged Harutiunian with "illegally" using the armed forces against the protesters, saying that it amounted to an overthrow of constitutional order.

On July 9, a spokesman for Kocharian denounced the accusations leveled against the fugitive ex-general as a mockery of the law.

Pashinian's administration has also brought cases against several close relatives of Sarkisians family for a variety of alleged financial crimes, although Pashinian insisted that no particular family was being targeted.

Pashinian told RFE/RL on July 6 that the cases against Sarkisan family members were being pursued on their legal merits and were not "political" in nature.
YEREVAN -- The Armenian chief of a Russian-led security bloc has been released on bail after being charged in connection with the violent crackdown that erupted following the country's 2008 presidential election.

Defense lawyer Mirhan Pogosian told RFE/RL's Armenian Service that Colonel General Yuri Khachaturov was freed on July 28 by a Yerevan court after posting 5 million drams in bail ($10,400).

Khachaturov denied any wrongdoing in comments to reporters upon his arrival at the court in Yerevan.

The arrest of Khachaturov was the latest in a series of arrests of prominent officials that have occurred since Nikol Pashinian, a longtime anticorruption campaigner, became prime minister in May.

Pashinian was propelled into government on the backs of mass street protests by Armenians -- many of them young -- who were fed up with the country's persistent corruption and poverty.

The country's main investigative unit -- the Special Investigative Service -- announced that Khachaturov was under investigation on July 26 for alleged involvement in an "overthrow of the constitutional order."

The 66-year-old Khachaturov is the head of the Collective Security Treaty Organization (CSTO), a regional grouping that includes Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, as well as Armenia.

Critics have accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of using the organization to bolster Moscow's influence in former Soviet republics and to counter the European Union and NATO.

Russian Response

The Russian Foreign Ministry was quoted by state-run TASS news agency as saying that Yerevan has been told it "should officially initiate the recall of its citizen from the office of CSTO secretary-general" if it has decided to do so.

Armenian Foreign Ministry spokesman Tigran Balaian said late on July 28 that Yerevan was in the process of asking fellow CSTO members to strip him of the post.

Balaian added that Armenia is committed to the strengthening and development of the CSTO and plans to remain actively involved in its efforts. The reports did not immediately say if officials in Yerevan were planning to nominate an Armenian citizen as a replacement.

Also on July 26, the Special Investigative Service leveled similar charges against former President Robert Kocharian.

Both are linked to the violent dispersal of opposition protests staged in the wake of a disputed presidential election in early 2008.

Khachaturov was Armenia's deputy defense minister at the time.

Eight protesters and two police officers were killed in the crackdown, which came about a month before Kocharian completed his second and final presidential term. Kocharian, who called the charges politically motivated, was taken into custody late on July 27.
WASHINGTON -- The way the U.S. president sees it, Washington and Moscow have a brighter future ahead. For members of Congress on both sides of the aisle, now is the time to double down on punishing Russia.

U.S. President Donald Trump's conciliatory approach during his July 16 meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin was widely criticized in Washington. It was seen as a missed opportunity to take Russia to task for election meddling, its seizure of Ukraine's Crimean Peninsula, and other thorns in the U.S.-Russia relationship.

Since the summit, which came amid a deepening probe into the Kremlin's efforts to interfere with the 2016 U.S. presidential vote, Democrats and Republicans alike have pushed forward with tough new measures against Russia.

"Just as Vladimir Putin has made clear his intention to challenge American power, influence, and security interests at home and abroad, the United States must make it abundantly clear that we will defend our nation and not waver in our rejection of his effort to erode Western democracy as a strategic imperative for Russias future," said Republican Lindsay Graham and Democrat Robert Menendez in a joint statement on July 24.

This week, the two -- Graham sits on the Senate Armed Service Committee, Menendez on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- announced that new legislation would "enhance sanctions pressure on Russia while bolstering the capacity of the United States government to respond."

Among other things, the bill would increase sanctions against Russian energy and financial companies, wealthy Kremlin-connected businessmen, and so-called parastatal entities -- private companies that are believed to work closely with Russian government and intelligence agencies.

It would also mandate Senate approval if the Trump administration sought to withdraw from NATO -- a concern ahead of the Trump-Putin summit -- and call for sanctions on Russian sovereign debt, something that some analysts have said would be a dramatic escalation of financial pressure.

Like the Menendez-Graham proposal, a related measure tying the 2012 Magnitsky Act to the sweeping law that Congress passed last year -- known as Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions, or CAATSA -- has also garnered bipartisan support. Its a further indication of a wide consensus in the Senate when it comes to Russia policy.

That measure, backed by Republican John McCain and Democrat Ben Cardin, would require congressional approval for the lifting of any sanctions targeting Russians under the Magnitsky Act -- a bipartisan effort to punish Russian officials believed to be responsible for the 2009 death in prison of Russian tax accountant Sergei Magnitsky.

The CAATSA law -- which imposes a slate of penalties against Russia and was passed over Trumps objections -- allows for congressional review and possible disapproval of any actions by the president to lift U.S. sanctions on Russia.

"The Magnitsky Act remains the best mechanism to hold the Russian government accountable for its gross human rights abuses and provide justice to the Russian people," McCain, who co-authored the act with Cardin, said in a statement. "Putin knows this and has been fighting against it for years."

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee, meanwhile, has called for new hearings on U.S. relations with NATO, Russian policies in Syria, and arms-control disputes with Moscow.



On July 25, it also summoned Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to testify, where he was grilled about what Trump discussed with Putin behind closed doors in Helsinki.

Pompeo defended the U.S. president's approach toward Russia, including the question of whether Trump accepted the findings of the U.S. intelligence community that said Putin ordered a cyber-and-propaganda campaign aimed at swaying U.S. voters during the 2016 election. Trump has questioned those findings in the past.



"He has a complete and proper understanding of what happened," Pompeo said. "I would also add that President Trump is well aware of the challenges that Russia poses to the United States and our partners and allies. And he has taken a staggering number of actions to protect our interests."

Pompeo also unveiled a formal "nonrecognition" policy toward Russias 2014 annexation of Crimea, cementing a policy that Trump has publicly questioned.

Menendez questioned why Trumps meeting with Putin included only interpreters, not advisers, and asked why there was no detailed public explanation from the White House about what was discussed.

"I really don't believe, Mr. Secretary, that you know what happened during the president's two-plus hours of conversation with President Putin and I really don't know much more about the summit after sitting here for three hours than I did before," Menendez told Pompeo.

In another bipartisan effort, Senator Marco Rubio, a vocal Russia critic and Republican member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, has pushed for a vote on legislation known as DETER. The bill, co-sponsored by Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, is aimed at imposing new sanctions on Russia if U.S. intelligence uncovers meddling in the upcoming midterm congressional elections -- something some U.S. officials have warned about.



"If our bill passes and the director of national intelligence says they interfered in 2018, these very tough sanctions will hit them," Rubio told CNN on July 22. "So Putin knows going in what the price of doing so is."

Though CAATSA passed overwhelmingly in Congress, some lawmakers, particularly Democrats, have accused the Trump administration of dragging its feet in imposing financial restrictions.

This week, Mike Crapo, the Republican chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, said he would hold hearings to review how the law has been implemented and "what other tools can be used" to deter Russia, according to a joint statement released along with the Republican chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee, Bob Corker.



Also this week, House and Senate negotiators moved to finalize a defense bill for next year that includes guidance on spending for new weapons programs and military policy.



Many of the provisions are pointedly aimed at Russia, including funding for a low-yield ballistic-missile warhead aimed at deterring Russia, and more than $200 million in lethal weaponry for Ukraine.

It also earmarks some $6 billion for the European Deterrence Initiative, which has deployed U.S. Army troops and heavy weaponry in Eastern Europe.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis on July 24 pushed back on assertions by Russia that Trump and Putin had agreed to cooperate in helping refugees return to Syria, where the United States and Russia are waging a parallel, but overlapping, military campaign.



"We will not be doing anything additional until the secretary of state and the president have further figured out at what point we are going to start working, alongside our allies, with Russia in the future," he told a news conference in California.

Other statements from Trump administration officials have conflicted with White House remarks, such as Trumps comments in Helsinki in which he appeared to dispute the U.S. intelligence community's conclusions about Russian election interference.



Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats publicly defended the intelligence conclusions and suggested it had been unwise for Trump to meet one-on-one with Putin.



"If he had asked me how that ought to be conducted, I would have suggested a different way. But thats not my role; thats not my job," Coats said on July 19 during a conference in Colorado.

In Moscow, Russian officials have openly complained about the persistent tensions, even as they reject U.S. intelligence conclusions about the 2016 meddling.

The indictment of the 12 Russian military intelligence officers in the preelection hacking of the Democratic National Committee, announced just three days before the Helsinki summit, amounted to an effort by the "American Deep State" to try and spoil the meeting, according to the Foreign Ministry.

"There is no doubt about the Russian side's ability and readiness to fulfill the results of this summit, but there is doubt regarding the American side, and it is not connected to things President Trump personally wants to achieve or avoid," said Konstantin Kosachyov, a Kremlin-connected lawmaker who heads the Foreign Relations Committee in Russias upper house of parliament.

"It is connected to his ability to fulfill these agreements, which, to my mind, is artificially restricted by Congress and some U.S. agencies, including intelligence services," he was quoted by Russian news agencies on July 24 as saying.
Officials said at least three people were killed when militants attacked a midwife training center in eastern Afghanistan.

The July 28 attack occurred in the city of Jalalabad, targeting what appeared to be a dormitory for midwife trainees.

RFE/RL's Radio Free Afghanistan quoted witnesses as saying that a suicide bombing had taken place in the area.

Attaullah Khogyani, the provincial government spokesman, said one of the attackers died after detonating a bomb and the second was killed after a several-hour standoff with police.

He said at least seven people were wounded in the attack.

Provincial health department spokesman Inamullah Miakhil confirmed its midwife center had been attacked.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but both the Taliban and Islamic State extremists have carried out numerous attacks in Nangarhar Province.

The last major attack in Jalalabad happened on July 11 when gunmen attacked an education department compound in the city, killing at least 11 people.

With reporting by Reuters, AFP, and Tolonews
Bulgaria's top court has rejected as unconstitutional a European treaty to combat violence against women.

The ruling on July 27 likely kills any chance the treaty will be ratified by Bulgarias parliament.

The 81-article treaty, which is intended to prevent violence against women -- from marital rape to female genital mutilation -- was drawn up by the Council of Europe, the human rights body.

Prime Minister Boyko Borissovs center-right government had approved the so-called Istanbul Convention and submitted it to parliament for ratification. But the government withdrew it weeks later after an uproar over its language about gender roles.

The debate centers on its definition of "gender" as "social roles, behaviors, activities, and characteristics that a particular society considers appropriate for women and men."

In its ruling, the court said the notion of "gender" blurred lines between the two biological sexes.

"If society no longer differentiates between man and woman, the fight against violence against women becomes impossible to accomplish," the court said.

Critics, including the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the opposition Socialist Party, and the ruling nationalist United Patriots Coalition, said the language could encourage young people to identify as transgender or third sex and lead to same-sex marriage.

The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee rights watchdog called it the worst human rights decision in the courts history, and by a large measure.

Sofia University cultural anthropologist Valentina Georgieva told Balkan Insight that the courts decision is disturbing in its reading of the basic rights of women. It practically submits the social role of a woman to one of a mother when it comes to antidiscrimination prevention."

Based on reporting by AFP, Balkan Insight, and Reuters
Uzbekistan appears to have acknowledged that mutinous Tajik Colonel Mahmud Khudaiberdiev was once in Uzbekistan but is now no longer there.

At a meeting with journalists on July 25, an RFE/RL Tajik Service (Ozodi) correspondent asked the regional head of the Tajik Interior Ministry in Khatlon whether Tajik authorities had requested Khudaiberdievs arrest and extradition from Uzbekistan -- now that bilateral relations have improved after years of frostiness.

Solehzoda confirmed that Tajik authorities had made such a request but said they received information that Khudaiberdiev left Uzbekistan after the death of Uzbek President Islam Karimov.

It was an amazing statement considering that Uzbekistan has previously either denied or avoided comment on Khudaiberdiev's possible presence on Uzbek territory.

That Uzbek officials would now admit Khudaiberdiev was sheltering in Uzbekistan is a huge indication that Tashkents relations with Dushanbe are improving.

During Tajikistans 1992-97 civil war, Mahmud Khudaiberdiev, a former lieutenant in the Red Army, commanded the Tajik Armys 1st Brigade, possibly the most capable unit among pro-government forces. Khudaiberdiev was fiercely opposed to Islamic fighters within the Tajik opposition, but he was also an opportunist. His unit fought with the Tajik Armys 11th Brigade in September 1995 for control of the town of Tursunzade and the aluminum plant there, one of the few sources of revenue that Tajikistan had at the time, and Kurgan Tepe, the administrative center of the Khatlon region. A UN observer, Austrian Lieutenant Wolf Sponner, was killed when he investigated the clash between the two brigades, and as many as 250 Tajik civilians died during these battles.

Uzbekistans admission that it harbored one of Tajikistans most-wanted criminals is stunning, but it also points to a new spirit of cooperation in Tajik-Uzbek ties that allows for such acknowledgement.

The beleaguered Tajik government talked about disciplining Khudaiberdiev. But instead it was Khudaiberdiev who mobilized his unit, seized Kurgan Tepe, and marched on Dushanbe in late January 1996, demanding that President Emomali Rahmon dismiss several officials. Rahmon appeared to have little choice and sacked a deputy prime minister (Mahmadsaid Ubaidulloev), the presidential chief of staff (Izatullo Khayaev), and the head of the Khatlon region (Abduljalil Salimov), then shortly afterward dismissed the prime minister (Jamshed Karimov).

The Tajik government also granted Khudaiberdiev an amnesty, and he pulled his troops back from the capital.

Nominally, Khudaiberdiev supported the Tajik government. But the cost of this arguably tepid loyalty was said to have been informally ceding parts of southwestern Tajikistan to Khudaiberdiev and his cronies. After talks with the government, he eventually withdrew his troops from Tursunzade in March 1996.

Khudaiberdiev returned in January 1997, claiming an armed group from Tursunzade had raided the 1st Brigades headquarters on December 29, 1996, killing an officer and stealing weapons. Khudaiberdiev ignored a presidential order to withdraw and prevented the presidential guard from entering Tursunzade. Powerless to do anything to force Khudaiberdiev from Tursunzade, the government rescinded the order for Khudaiberdiev to vacate Tursunzade, instead tasking him with disarming criminal groups in the city and restoring order there.

It was no secret that Khudaiberdiev opposed the peace deal that the two Tajik sides agreed to on June 27, 1997, as the accord gave the Islamic wing of the opposition places in government.

On August 9, 1997, Khudaiberdiev and former Interior Minister Yakub Salimov (who was by that time the chief of the Customs Service) moved their forces on Dushanbe. They were repelled after several days of fighting, and Khudaiberdiev and most of his unit vanished.

On November 4, 1998, Khudaiberdiev returned, attacking cities in Tajikistan in northern Tajikistan. He was again beaten back after four days of fighting, and again disappeared.

It was seemingly clear that Khudaiberdiev and what remained of the 1st Brigade had come from Uzbekistan and retreated there when they lost the battle. Uzbek officials, of course, vehemently denied any connection to Khudaiberdiev; but President Rahmon was sure and told Tajikistans parliament on November 12, 1998, that Karimov aided the rebels because the Uzbek leadership wants to take the whole of Tajikistan under its control.

The November 1998 foray is thought to have been the last time Khudaiberdiev was ever seen in Tajikistan. From time to time in subsequent years members of his unit were caught in Tajikistan and imprisoned, but the colonel himself had disappeared again.

Tajik authorities were certain he was somewhere in Uzbekistan, but relations between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan had soured significantly after the Tajik peace agreement was signed. Then-Uzbek President Islam Karimov was also against the Islamic wing of the Tajik opposition receiving places in government, and Uzbek authorities insisted Khudaiberdiev was not in Uzbekistan and they said they had no idea where he could be.

There were rumors. Some said Khudaiberdiev went to help ethnic Uzbek Afghan commander Abdul Rashid Dostum reclaim Mazar-e Sharif from the Taliban in late 2001. Khudaiberdiev was rumored to be part of an elite presidential guard for the Uzbek president. Some even claimed Khudaiberdiev was sent to help restore order in the eastern Uzbek city of Andijon in May 2005 in the bloodiest violence in Uzbekistan since its 1991 independence.

But there were never any conspicuous reports of Khudaiberdiev being anywhere but Uzbekistan.

As recently as late November 2013, Tajik military helicopters flew over part of Uzbekistans Jizzakh Province in Uzbekistan looking for something. The Tajik government first denied the incident, then said the helicopters had accidentally strayed from their course; but eyewitnesses in Jizzakh Province said the helicopters were over Uzbek territory for an hour and seemed interested in the village of Kyzyl-Mazar.

There was speculation that Tajik security forces received information suggesting that Khudaiberdiev had a training facility in the area.

And as it turns out, Khudaiberdiev might really have been there. Khatlon Interior Ministry chief Iskandar Solehzoda appears to have suggested that Khudaiberdiev was in Uzbekistan for almost 20 years. But he also indicated the colonel has once again vanished: There is no concrete information about [Khudaiberdievs] current location. Some information suggests he is in Turkey.

Uzbekistans admission that it harbored one of Tajikistans most-wanted criminals is stunning, but it also points to a new spirit of cooperation in Tajik-Uzbek ties that allows for such acknowledgement.

Its true the confession comes along with comments that Khudaiberdiev has once again disappeared, but at least Tashkent appears to have demonstrated a willingness to clear the air with Tajikistan on an issue that was a major problem in relations between the neighbors.

The views expressed in this blog post do not necessarily reflect those of RFE/RL.
The United States is not after regime change in Iran, U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis has said.

Asked whether the U.S. administration had created a regime change or collapse policy, Mattis said on July 27, "There's none that's been instituted."

He said the goal of the United States was to change Irans behavior, as stated by other U.S. officials.

"We need them to change their behavior on a number of threats that they can pose with their military, with their secret services, with their surrogates, and with their proxies," Mattis said during an off-camera briefing at the Pentagon.

Mattis's remarks followed high-level discussions at the White House that included the issue of Iran.

They came amid increased tensions and an exchange of threats between Washington and Tehran, including a July 22 all-capital-letters post on Twitter by Donald Trump in which the U.S. president warned Iran not to "threaten the United States again or you will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before."

Trump's tweet came following comments by Irans President Hassan Rohani, who said: "America should know peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars."

In May, Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and announced that the United States is moving to reimpose tough sanctions.

The move was harshly criticized by Iran.

With reporting by Reuters
Russian author and former Soviet dissident Vladimir Voinovich has died at age 85, Russian state media, his family, and friends are reporting.

The date, place, and exact cause of his death were not immediately reported, but the TASS news agency quoted his wife, Svetlana Kolesnichenko, as saying on July 28 that his funeral would likely be held on July 30.

Voinovich was born on September 26, 1932, in the city of Stalinabad, as the Tajik capital of Dushanbe was then called. His father was arrested in 1936 on charges of anti-Soviet agitation and spent five years in dictator Josef Stalin's labor camps.

In 1969, the first part of his classic satirical novel The Life And Extraordinary Adventures Of Private Ivan Chonkin was published, followed by the second part 10 years later.

He is also known for his dystopian 1987 novel Moscow 2042, in which the country is ruled by a Communist Party Of State Security that combines elements of the Soviet Communist Party, the Russian Orthodox Church, and the KGB secret police.

In 1974, the Soviet government began harassing Voinovich because of his writing and his human rights activism.

He was stripped of his citizenship and forced into external exile in 1980, working for a time for Radio Liberty. His citizenship was restored by Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev a decade later, and he returned to live in Russia.

In 2002, he won the Andrei Sakharov Prize for Writer's Civic Courage.

In comments to RFE/RL in 2017, Voinovich said that under President Vladimir Putin, Russian politics had turned to face the past, focusing on purported achievements in Russia's ancient and recent history instead of building toward a vision of the future.

"When Putin came to power, he turned to the most conservative elements of society, especially to veterans of World War II, to the old people who participated or didn't participate in the war, who paraded around not so much with huge numbers of military ribbons, but with tokens of years of service," Voinovich said.

"This was a turning to the past, and it was the beginning of the politics of turning to the past. Of course, any normal politics are oriented toward the future. You need to count not on old people who are dying or are already dead, but on the young people who are being born and are growing up," he added.

With reporting by RFE/RLs Russian Service


The U.S. special counsel investigating alleged Russian interference and related matters during the 2016 presidential campaign has released a list of 35 potential witnesses for the trial in Virginia of Paul Manafort, the former campaign manager for President Donald Trump.

Court documents filed on July 27 include the name of Manaforts longtime business associate, Richard Gates, who was indicted along with Manafort in October, and several other business contacts.

Also on the list is Tad Devine, who ran Senator Bernie Sanders' 2016 unsuccessful presidential campaign but also has ties to Manafort related to his political work in Ukraine.

Gates has pleaded guilty and has been cooperating in the probe being conducted by the Justice Departments special counsel, Robert Mueller, who is also investigating any possible collusion between Trumps team and Russia.

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.

Manafort is awaiting two separate trials, in Virginia and the District of Columbia, on 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 Moscow-friendly president of Ukraine.

Manafort has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

He has been held in jail since a judge in mid-June revoked his bail. His Virginia trial is scheduled to begin July 31, while his D.C. trial will begin later.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AP
MOSCOW -- Tens of thousands of Russians have rallied across the country to protest against a controversial plan to raise the retirement age.

The July 28 protests -- some of the largest to date -- were the latest indication of how politically dangerous the proposal has been for President Vladimir Putin and the government of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev.

Legislation now under consideration would raise the retirement age to 65 for men by 2028 and 63 for women by 2034. Currently, the retirement age for men and women is 60 and 55 years, respectively.

Government officials have warned for years that pension ages needed to rise, to take account of the country's demographics, labor force, and projected budgets.

The plan sparked outrage across Russia after it was finally announced last month. Adding to the criticism is the fact that the proposal was released by the cabinet on the eve of the opening of the World Cup.

Many critics accused the government of trying to slip it past Russians who were focused on the soccer tournament.

Putin's public opinion ratings have slipped noticeably since the proposal's release. Last week, he tried to tamp down criticism, saying that he would listen to "all opinions" on the matter.

Russia's Communist Party was the main organizer of the July 28 rallies, but supporters of opposition leader Aleksei Navalny and other groups were also trying to capitalize on public discontent.

Protests were taking place in dozens of cities and towns in the country.

In Moscow, organizers said up to 100,000 people gathered for an authorized rally. Observers said the turnout was much lower, however.

Demonstrators in Moscow chanted, "Hands off pensions, Putin!" and carried banners with slogans including, "We want to live on our pensions and not die at work."

Moscow activist Sergei Udaltsov told the U.K. Press Association that unless a national referendum is held on the matter, "millions will go to the streets."

"We will demand not only stopping the pension reform but also a change of power -- the dismissal of the government, the dissolution of the Duma, and the impeachment of the president," he added.

He claimed that if the retirement age is increased, "every citizen of Russia will be robbed of more than a million rubles ($16,000)."

In the far northern city of Yakutsk, participants blamed, without evidence, the International Monetary Fund for the pension reforms. Some also blamed the United states, chanting, "Don't Let The [U.S.] State Department Put Us On Our Knees!"

In the Siberian city of Novosibirsk, more than 3,000 people jammed into a central square to criticize the proposal.

"This reform will go down in history as one of the darkest moments, alongside the 'shock therapy'" of the 1990s, said Renat Suleimanov, a top official in the Communist Party's regional division.

"Shock therapy" refers to the economic reforms instituted in the early 1990s, which many Russians blame for worsening the problems faced by the country following the Soviet collapse.

More than 2.8 million people have signed a petition against the reform on Change.org.

Critics have said that the retirement age in many regions is higher than life expectancy, which according to the World Bank is 71 years of age as of 2016, up from 65 in 2003.

With reporting by the Siberia Desk of RFE/RL's Russian Service, AFP, and Reuters
A Cozumel hotel removes coatis to benefit tourists

Cozumel, Q.R.  A hotel in Cozumel has been given the go-ahead to remove approximately 40 coatis from the island saying the wildlife bother tourists.

The federal government authorized the unnamed hotel, which is located in the south part of the island, to capture and relocate about 40 coatis which are a native species to the island. The animals are to be moved to the mainland at Puerto Morelos.

The reason the hotel gave for the move was that the animals bothered tourists.

Hotel investments are welcome, but entrepreneurs must leave a large clean area so that natural species can continue to live there, said Guadalupe Alvarez Chulim, of the Civil Association Cielo, Tierra y Mar.

Guadalupe Alvarez Chulim

Without giving a name, she said that a federal environmental official told her of the hotels request to transfer the coatis and remove them from their natural habitat.

The Wildlife Office of Semarnat authorized the transfer. The concern is that the coatis of Cozumel are different from those of those on the mainland. Environmentalist worry that their genetics could be modified through breeding, a reason for which the officials who approved the transfer have been reported.

Alvarez Chulim says that the natural beauty of Cozumel has to remain intact.

The hotel, which remains unnamed, has allegedly been denounced on social media platforms in the past, being accused of poisoning the coatis for the benefit of the tourists who stay at their hotel.
State government issues heat warning that includes Cancun, Riviera Maya

Cancun, Q.R.  The government of Quintana Roo has issued an emergency heat warning for many parts of the state with civil protection saying August will likely be hotter than July.

The National Coordination of Civil Protection of the Ministry of the Interior has issued an Extraordinary Emergency Declaration for the municipalities of Cozumel, Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Isla Mujeres, Benito Juarez, Jose Maria Morelos, Lazaro Cardenas, Solidaridad and Tulum due to the presence of Onda Calida.

This time of year, the heat wave or onda calida, can affect the young, elderly, those who work outside and even pets. According to the World Meteorological Organization, a heat wave occurs when the maximum temperature exceeds the average maximum temperature for five consecutive days.

The state coordinator of Civil Protection, Adrian Martinez Ortega, says that during August, cancuila could cause havoc among the vulnerable population such as the elderly and very young as temperatures reach as high as 45 degrees Celsius.

The Servicio Meteorologico Nacional says temperatures will likely exceed 40 C in areas of northern and western Mexico. Tropical wave No. 21, which is located south of the Jalisco coast, is creating a low pressure channel over the northwest and west of the state.

The result will be higher instability and warm and humid air of the Pacific Ocean, which will develop storm clouds over these regions.

Tropical wave No. 22 will affect the Yucatan Peninsula during the late afternoon, favoring the development of storms. Servicio Meteorologico Nacional says that for Cancun and Riviera Maya, the region can expect partly cloudy skies during the day with strong thunderstorms in the afternoon. The air will be very hot with winds east 20 to 35 km / h.

The National Meteorological Service reports that during this time of year, canicula will see the region reach a combination of high temperatures and low rainfall, a weather pattern that normally lasts 40 days.
State granted investigation extension against former Playa del Carmen mayor

Chetumal, Q.R.  The State Attorney Generals Office says that during a recent hearing, they have been granted an investigation extension regarding Mauricio Gongora Escalant, ex-mayor of Playa del Carmen.

The Chetumal judge granted the state another three weeks to gather evidence against the former mayor, who is imprisoned for the alleged crimes of embezzlement. Mauricio Gongora Escalant was arrested in Mexico City in January by the Attorney Generals Office of Mexico City at the request of the Attorney General of the State of Quintana Roo.

The former mayor, who governed the municipality of Solidaridad from 2013 to 2016, is being investigated for various crimes that amount to patrimonial damages in excess of 754 million peso.

The charges stemmed from May of last year when current Playa del Carmen mayor, Cristina Torres Gomez, pointed out that her predecessors Maurio Gongora and Rafael Castro incurred irregularities of 400 million pesos 19 in the exercises of their function.

Prosecutors of the state have until August 22 to gather their additional evidence. Mauricio Gongora Escalant remains in the Chetumal prison awaiting trial.
The fire apparently began with the mechanical failure of a vehicle, fire officials said. Flames have consumed trees, houses and historic buildings in Shasta County for days and temporarily closed traffic along Highway 299. The fire has led to the evacuation of 38,000 residents within Shasta County and the burn area. The blaze doubled in size in only 12 hours. Previously, it ravaged the small communities of Shasta and Keswick before jumping the Sacramento River. Residents fled their homes ahead of the flames as officials ordered evacuations for parts of Redding, a city of 92,000. A TV station was evacuated during live broadcast. At least 500 homes, businesses and other structures have been destroyed. Another nearly 5,000 structures remain threatened, officials said. More than 3,400 people are working on the fire, including 328 engines, 17 helicopters and 62 bulldozers.

Gusty winds reaching 60 mph are fanning the flames and creating fire tornadoes. A private-hire bulldozer operator, who was not identified, died while battling the fire . Three firefighters from Marin County Fire were treated for burns. Eight people were treated for respiratory and burn-related injuries at Mercy Medical Center in Redding. California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency Thursday for Riverside and Shasta counties.
Nitin Gadkari hailed the All India Motor Transport Congress's decision to call off its strike

Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari hailed the All India Motor Transport Congress's decision to call off its strike. Talking to the media here, Gadkari said he and the finance minister were in constant discussions with the transport unions in this regard. "People were facing problems due to the transport unions' strike. We had success (in finding a breakthrough) in our discussions with the transport unions. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also guided us in our talks with the unions," he added.

People were facing problems due to the transport unions' strike

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"I want to assure the transport unions that the government will take positive steps towards their demands discussed during our meetings and we regret the problems faced by the public due to the strike," Gadkari said. The government will notify a national permit scheme for tourist vehicles to facilitate seamless movement of such vehicles across the country, he added. "There will also be seamless traffic movement at the toll nakas within the next six months. Trucks will be allowed to move in less than three minutes at the toll nakas and they will be given fast-track stickers.

"The government will also explore the possibility of providing health services under the ESIC to the drivers and co-workers of commercial vehicles. It will also look into the feasibility of extending the coverage of the Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana and the Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana to the drivers and co-workers of commercial vehicles," Gadkari said.

Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana

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A high-level committee under the chairmanship of the secretary, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways will be set up for expeditious resolution of transporters' demands, he said, adding that the panel will submit its recommendations to the government within three months. The truckers' body that claims the support of 93 lakh truckers across the country had gone on an indefinite strike on July 20 to press demands such as reduction in diesel prices, low third-party insurance premiums and a favorable toll collection system.
India needs a leader like Mamata: TMC leaders

Giving a call to oust the BJP, Trinamool Congress leaders today said the people of India needed a leader like Mamata Banerjee who worked for all, including farmers and women. They reiterated the "BJP hatao, desh bachao" slogan given by Banerjee during the martyrs' day rally in Kolkata last week and said that a pledge needed to be taken to win all the 42 Lok Sabha seats in the state. Addressing a rally at the same ground where Prime Minister Narendra Modi held a meeting on July 16, TMC MP Abhishek Bandopadhyay said Banerjee had set a target for the party to defeat the saffron party in 2019 Lok Sabha election.

Bandopadhyay said the TMC had formed a "syndicate of the people" to usher in development in the state and to bring peace in the erstwhile Maoist-affected areas and Darjeeling hills. He was referring to Modi's attack against the TMC government, charging it with "throttling democracy" and running a "syndicate raj" without whose approval nothing moved. "We have also formed a syndicate to oust the BJP from the Centre," Bandopadhyay, who is a nephew of Banerjee, said.

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Narendra Modi

Dismissing the BJP's charge that the TMC chief resorted to appeasement of the Muslims, he sought to know what the prime minister had done for the Hindus. "The Centre had taken 'Namami Gange' (National Mission for Clean Ganga) project (out) with fanfare at a cost of Rs 3,000 crore but not a pond was cleaned. Mamata had done many things for the Hindus, including developing Gangasagar, building skywalk at Dakshineswar temple and renovating Tarakeswar temple," he said.

Bandopadhyay claimed that although the highest number of farmer deaths were reported in Maharashtra during the past six months, Modi chose to hold a rally for the welfare of peasants in Bengal where not a single farmer had died. Accusing the BJP of creating a rift between the Hindus and the Muslims, he said, "We will not let that happen". "The Rambhakts of Modi's BJP trigger riots but the Rambhakts of Bengal work for building communal amity," he claimed.

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National Mission for Clean Ganga

He claimed that the turnout at Modi's public rally comprised people from four states - Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha -- but not a single farmer was present at the rally. Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim said, "The people of India need Mamata Banerjee. She has no lust for power. But she has to take up the responsibility. The people of the country need a leader who works for everybody." He said Modi had raised a slogan of bringing "Achhe din" but bad days befell the people.

Hakim, who is also the TMC general secretary, said, "We have syndicate for development but not formed syndicate to organise riots like what happened in Gujarat." He claimed that the TMC would win all the 42 seats in the state and the BJP would not be able to win a single seat. State Education Minister and TMC Secretary General Partha Chatterjee alleged that Modi was shedding crocodile tears for the farmers.

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Urban Development Minister Firhad Hakim

"Modi had suddenly turned up in Midnapore to profess his new-found love for farmers. I ask where was he when the farmers' agitation in Nandigram and Singur were taking place," he questioned. Chatterjee said Banerjee had a history of standing by the people and she did not become a mass leader in one day. He said those who failed to provide mid-day meal rice were now claiming to side with the farmers. Chatterjee alleged that the BJP was trying to win polls by bringing out rath-yatras and allowing display of swords in processions, thereby, creating fear among people but, said that, they would not succeed.
Imran Khan

Imran Khan has started reaching out to leaders of different political parties and independent candidates to form the next government in Pakistan after his party won a majority of seats in Parliament, according to his party officials. Khan led his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to victory in the parliamentary elections this week, amid a growing consensus among South Asia experts and Pakistan-observers that it was greatly influenced and meddled by the strong Pakistani Army.

The PTI has so far bagged 115 of the 270 National Assembly (NA) seats on which elections were held, according to the Election Commission of Pakistan which has released results on 267 seats. Pakistan's NA - the lower house of Parliament - comprises a total of 342 members, of which 272 are directly elected. A party can only form the government if it manages to secure 172 seats in total.

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Imran Khan has started reaching out to leaders of different political parties

Jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 64 and former president Asif Ali Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 43 seats are placed at number two and three respectively. Independent candidates have won 13 seats. Khan yesterday met Saudi ambassador Nawaf Saeed Ahmad al-Maliki in Islamabad. The two discussed bilateral relations and agreed to further deepen the ties during the tenure of the PTI government.

According to PTI sources, Khan has consulted his party leaders about the federal cabinet and formation of government in Punjab where PML-N is also in the race. Khan's confidante Jehangir Khan Tarin, who has been tasked to contact independent candidates, talked with Muttahidda Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQMP) leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui who later refused to attend a multi-party meeting which rejected the election results.

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Khan yesterday met Saudi ambassador Nawaf Saeed Ahmad al-Maliki

The multi-party meeting called to devise a joint strategy over alleged rigging in the general elections rejected the results of the poll yesterday, demanding a "transparent" re-election. The meeting in Islamabad was chaired by PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif and Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) president Maulana Fazlur Rehman. Meanwhile Khan also took his party leaders in confidence about government formation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa where the PTI has won a majority of seats and will easily form the government.

It is likely to retain former chief minister Pervaiz Khattak for the top job in the province despite some reservations about his performance. Khattak is considered to be close to Khan since school days as both studied in the same Atchison College in Lahore. The party is also trying to have a coalition government in Balochistan. Khan has still about three weeks to prepare for the government before the mandatory session of the National Assembly (NA) is called after elections. As per the law, the President of Pakistan should convene the maiden NA session within 21 days of election to give oaths to lawmakers and elect the new speaker.
Senescent cells are damaged cells that do not perform their normal roles anymore but that are not dead -hence they are commonly known as zombi cells. These cells interfere with the functioning of the tissue in which they accumulate. Senescence is a cell program that is triggered by many types of damage and senescent cells are present in many diseases. They accumulate in diverse types of tissues during aging, thus contributing to the progressive deterioration associated to aging. Eliminating these zombi cells is one of the challenges facing science today.

In the Cellular Plasticity and Disease lab headed by the ICREA researcher Manuel Serrano at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and supported by "la Caixa" Banking Foundation, the researchers devise strategies to eliminate senescent cells. In a study published in EMBO Molecular Medicine, they present a proof of principle of a drug delivery system with selectivity for tissues that harbour senescent cells.

In collaboration with a team headed by Ramon Martinez-Manez at the Universidad Politecnica de Valencia, the IRB Barcelona scientists have exploited a particular hallmark of senescent cells in order to design a delivery system that specifically targets them. They have demonstrated its efficacy in cells in vitro and in two experimental mouse models, namely pulmonary fibrosis and cancer. These diseases are characterized by the presence of damaged cells, and in the case of cancer this is particularly true after treatment with chemotherapy.

In these models, the senescent cells take up the carrier more efficiently than other cells and once inside the cell the casing of the carrier degrades to release the drug cargo. When the nano-vehicles contained cytotoxic compounds, the senescent cells were killed and this resulted in therapeutic improvements in mice with pulmonary fibrosis or with cancer.

"This nano-carrier may pave the way for new therapeutic approaches for serious conditions, such as pulmonary fibrosis or to eliminate chemotherapy-induced senescent cells," explains Manuel Serrano. Another outcome of this study is that these nano-carriers could be used for diagnostic tests of senescence as they can transport a fluorescent compound or marker.
Different types of efflux pump proteins -- which are the key focus of Gram-negative bacteria antibiotic resistance -- might have evolved independently instead of, as previously thought, all from a common ancestor, according to a new study led by a University of Kansas computational biologist.

The discovery could be crucial in future research advancing treatments to mediate antibiotic resistance of bacteria strains such as E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, Meningococcus and others.

"Antibiotic resistance is all about evolution; it's about proteins evolving functions to allow the bacteria to survive and to ensure bacterial evolutionary success," said Joanna Slusky, KU assistant professor of molecular biosciences and computational biology. "By learning from nature, we can learn the evolutionary steps and then the question becomes, can we design proteins using evolutionary steps that will ultimately ensure our own genetic success?"

Slusky works on designing proteins that will re-sensitize bacteria to common antibiotics and on overcoming drug-resistant superbugs.

She was the lead author of the study published Thursday in the journal Structure. Co-authors include KU graduate students in computational biology, Meghan Franklin, and Ryan Feehan, who also served as a KU undergraduate research assistant in KU's Center for Computational Biology. Other co-authors are Sergey Nepomnyachiy and Rachel Kolodny, both of the Department of Computer Science of the University of Haifa, Mount Carmel in Israel as well as Nir Ben-Tal from the Tel Aviv University. Nepomnyachiy is also affiliated with the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Tel Aviv University.

The researchers examined proteins called beta barrels that are in the bacterial surface. The study started by comparing most types of beta barrels with the beta barrels of efflux pumps. In efflux pumps the beta barrel forms the outer crown of the large pumps that push antibiotics out of the cell.

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In examining the sequence-level variation of these beta barrels, the researchers discovered the beta barrels that were involved in antibiotic resistance lacked sequence linkage to other beta barrels and also had structural differences. This led them to conclude that the efflux pump beta barrels and the other beta barrels may not have divergently evolve from a common ancestor.

Instead the pressures of nature -- through convergent evolution -- may have forced bacteria to develop both types of barrel proteins separately.

"We went from saying, 'how are these related?' To saying, 'oh, we think they're not related, and what does having a different structure mean for the mechanism of antibiotic resistance?'" Slusky said.

It has been a challenge for scientists to document the homology of outer-membrane beta barrels because of the extreme bacterial sequence variation making proteins seem more different. Also, the counter influence of the high sequence similarity required for the strands of beta barrels makes proteins look more similar.

There are about 100 varieties of outer membrane proteins in each species of Gram-negative bacteria.

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Slusky said there clearly is a need for bacteria to utilize efflux pumps to move certain compounds from the cell, but in the context of defeating drug-resistant superbugs they can hold a key piece of the puzzle.

"The efflux pumps are the very same pumps that we're trying to target to remediate antibiotic resistance," Slusky said.

The evolutionary process the researchers documented promotes the hypothesis that the beta barrels in the efflux pumps function similar to the iris of an eye that expands and contracts due to the level of light in a person's environment, she said.

"We're going to be looking out for this iris-like mechanism," Slusky said. "If this is the mechanism for antibiotic resistance, then the next question is, how do we disable that mechanism?"

As part of the paper, the researchers also found that autotransporters may be the best known models for the primordial outer-membrane beta barrel structure, giving biologists clues to how the beta barrel essentially became stitched together over time.

"Understanding evolution tells us where biology was, which is interesting to people because it tells us our own history and the earth's history," Slusky said. "But it also tells us where we could be going and what mechanisms are possible. It tells us how might life evolve and what tools can biologists use to change and diversity the molecules at our disposal."
The conversion of forests to farmland is recognized as a major contributor to rising levels of greenhouse gases. And yet it hasn't been clear how to best minimize the loss of sequestered carbon into the atmosphere. Is it better to maximize farm yields so as to use less land area over all? Or should farms be operated so as to retain more carbon on site, even at the expense of crop yields? Researchers reporting in Current Biology on July 26 say that, based on their extensive studies of agricultural operations in the humid tropics of Ghana, the dry tropical forest in Mexico, and temperate wetlands and forests in Poland, the best course in all cases is to limit the conversion of natural habitat to farmland, a strategy known as land sparing. That means maximizing yields on existing agricultural lands.

"At one extreme, farmers can try to produce all their food from as small an area of farmland as possible, by having very high yields," says David Williams from the University of California, Santa Barbara. "This will probably reduce the amount of carbon stored on their farmland, but allows policy makers and farmers to free up more space to conserve natural habitats, where there is likely to be a lot of carbon stored. At the other extreme, farmers can try to use lower yield farming practices to increase the carbon stored on farmland, which will reduce the area of natural habitats available for conservation. And then there are all the in-between strategies that use a mix of high and low yield farmland.

"We found that the first strategy -- what we call 'land sparing' -- resulted in a greater amount of carbon being stored than any other. So, slightly counter-intuitively, trying to conserve carbon on farmland resulted in less carbon being stored across the landscape as a whole. This was because it resulted in lower yields and so required larger areas to produce the same amount of food, and therefore meant less land could be spared for natural habitats."

To investigate the impacts of different land-use strategies, the researchers needed to have study sites across the whole range of possible land-uses, from zero-yield natural habitats through low-yield farming and then through to high-yield sites. Those sites also needed to be comparable: having the same soils, climate, slope, and more. They also needed reliable ways to measure yields -- how much food each site produced per unit area -- and the carbon stored on each site.

Williams and co-authors Ben Phalan and Claire Feniuk conducted field surveys of over 11,000 trees. They also conducted in-depth interviews with farmers along with using existing agricultural data to evaluate the potential impacts of different agricultural strategies on above-ground carbon stocks across a diverse range of agricultural and natural systems. To ensure that their findings would be broadly applicable, they included agroforestry and oil palm plantations in the humid tropics of Ghana, cattle ranches in dry tropical forest in Mexico, and arable cropping in temperate wetlands and forests in Poland.

"We were a bit surprised by just how consistent and how strong the result was," Williams says. "The three systems we investigated are very different both in terms of the natural habitats and the farming systems, but in each case it was clear that land sparing -- combining high-yield agriculture with preserving or restoring natural habitats -- consistently had the potential to store greater amounts of carbon than any other system."

The evidence showed clear potential benefits of land sparing for reducing the loss of carbon stocks overall. That pattern held no matter how much (or how little) food was produced. Of course, he says, those benefits hold only if the land that's "spared" is actually used for natural habitat conservation.

The findings highlight the importance of considering the whole landscape, not just agricultural land.

"When you assess the impacts of different types of agriculture, it is vital to look at the off-farm, as well as the on-farm impacts: lower-yield farmland consistently held more carbon than high-yield farms, so it is tempting to think that it would be better for overall carbon stocks," Williams says. "But, once you account for the greater land use required, you see that the opposite is true. We've got to make sure that we look at all of the impacts of food production, no matter where they are."

Regardless of which land-use strategies are chosen going forward, the researchers say that there are sure to be big losses of carbon into the atmosphere if the amount of food produced increases. That means efforts to reduce food demand, including reducing food waste and meat consumption, will be also essential for conserving carbon stocks across the world.

Williams says they are now working to uncover policy approaches with potential to alleviate threats to biodiversity at the global scale. "Many of these revolve around reducing the area of farmland that we will need to feed the 10 billion people that the world is likely to hold in the next few decades," he says. "So things like increasing agricultural yields, reducing meat consumption, and even leveraging trade to concentrate production in high-yield regions could all be important.
The financial costs of flooding in Canada's maritime region could spike by 300 per cent by the end of the century if steps are not taken to address the impacts of climate change.

A study done by researchers at the University of Waterloo looked at the Halifax, Nova Scotia area, a region hard hit by recent riverine flooding. The team, made up economists, geographers and political scientists, merged data on flood probability, climate change and financial payout information from the insurance/re-insurance market and used the information to develop a forecast.

"Until recently there hasn't been a lot of work exploring what increased flooding will cost, and who will get stuck with the bill," says Andrea Minano, coordinator of the Canadian Coastal Resilience Forum (CCRF) and a researcher at Waterloo's Faculty of Environment. "The increases in flood losses put into question the long term insurability in the Halifax area, and highlight a broader problem facing many other areas in Canada if no actions are taken to mitigate and adapt to climate change."

The research team ran models for two different climate change scenarios and found a significant difference between best and worst-case climate scenarios. If no action is taken to stall climate change (4 C rise in global temperatures) Halifax area could incur $67 million in damages in the event of a severe flood. If temperature rise can be limited to 2 C, damages would be $10 million for the same event.

"The difference in cost between both climate scenarios shows just how exponentially worse things can get without action," says Minano. "It also shows governments need to plan for rare but high-impact flood events, warn citizens, and not build in high risk areas."

While this study focused on the Maritimes, it warns that nearly all of Canada has some vulnerability to hazardous flooding. It calls for frank and inclusive discussion about how much flood risk is acceptable to the community; and the need for controls on further growth of exposure in these areas if the risk is deemed unacceptable.
Unlike social insects such as bees and ants, moths are generally loners. So, when Florida Museum of Natural History lepidopterist Andrei Sourakov spotted a dozen glossy black Idia moths inside a hollow tree, he made a mental note.

After he stumbled across 100 of the same species in another hollow tree, he knew he had picked up on an unusual pattern. When their numbers jumped to more than 400, he was astounded.

"That's incredible," he whispered, filming the phenomenon inside a giant southern red oak in San Felasco Hammock Preserve State Park. "So many moths!"

In each of Sourakov's observations, the moths oriented themselves toward the top of the tree and away from the light. They roosted silently, each slightly apart from the others. Sourakov saw both male and female moths, but none were mating, and no larvae were feeding nearby or inside the tree, although the immature stages of this moth eat bark and other organic material.

The moths seemed to be resting en masse, waiting for night to arrive.

"This is completely new," said Sourakov, collections coordinator at the museum's McGuire Center for Lepidoptera and Biodiversity. "Nobody has recorded daily communal roosting behavior in moths. This appears to be a unique behavior in this species and an important part of its biology."

His observations were published in Tropical Lepidoptera Research.

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Only a few species of butterflies and moths are known to gather in groups, the most famous example being the millions of monarchs that converge in Mexico each winter. The zebra longwing butterfly and other species in the genus Heliconius roost in small clusters of about a dozen at night, and several species of butterflies and moths shelter as groups in cool spots to escape the summer heat.

But Sourakov captured what seems to be the first-known example of moths congregating daily, apparently to sleep, a roosting behavior more commonly observed in bats, one of moths' top predators.

"Monarchs are the most celebrated insects in the world because of their remarkable behavior, and yet here in Florida, about 15 minutes north of Gainesville, you can find something just as interesting from the biological perspective," he said.

Why the moths gather together is still unclear, but Sourakov thinks the behavior could be a "safety in numbers" defense strategy. By late summer, several spiders had set up webs inside the hollow red oak, but a few predators are unlikely to make a dent in a population of hundreds of moths, he said.

"Large numbers of prey in a confined space presents a challenging environment for predators," he said. "Spiders, for instance, would have to constantly repair their webs torn by these many moths. But most importantly, the percentage of lost prey is not significant enough to undermine the population. 'Safety in numbers' doesn't mean everyone is safe, but the population is safe."

Why was Sourakov sticking his head into hollow trees in the first place?

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"I wasn't sure what I was looking for," he said. "But on one occasion I got sprayed by hundreds of angry mating walking sticks. That sparked my interest further in what else might be lurking there."

He first noticed a small group of Idia moths inside a hollow sweetgum tree in the University of Florida's Natural Area Teaching Laboratory in 2010. But despite peeking into dozens of hollow trees, he failed to spot the phenomenon again until July 2017 when a hollow southern red oak tree yielded about 100 Idia moths. Returning to the tree the following spring, Sourakov recorded the mass of moths in April, May and June, culminating in the spectacular sighting of more than 400 individuals in July.

Sourakov suspects that the moths use sex pheromones as a signal for assembling and plans to continue studying them to gain further insights into their life history and behavior. This week, he discovered another tree on the UF campus with moths roosting in its hollow.

"There are so many unknowns in nature," he said. "Even the exact identity of this moth species is unclear and is waiting to be described. You don't have to venture into exotic places to make discoveries. Just look in your backyard. Some moths are small, brown and might seem boring, but the impact that stories like this make on a perception of a place cannot be underestimated."
How many ways can you think of to stress out a horse? Trailering, bathing, clipping, vet visits, hoof trims, bridling, saddling -- the possibilities are endless. Unfortunately, calming options are not. Thanks to research conducted at the University of Arizona, horsemen and horsewomen have a new tool to help manage equine stress, and it's as simple as a sniff. A sniff of lavender, that is.

Research recently published in the Journal of Equine Veterinary Science found significant signs of stress reduction in horses that inhaled lavender from a diffuser. The study was conducted by Isabelle Chea, a then-undergraduate honors student at the UA, and Ann Baldwin, UA professor of physiology and psychology.

"Horses can be under a lot of stress, so I was interested in seeing if aromatherapy could help in reducing stress," said Chea, who had never been around horses before taking Baldwin's course, Physiology of Mind Body Interactions, at the UA in Tucson, Arizona.

During the class, Baldwin uses horses to teach students about heart rate and heart rate variability, which is a measure of the variation in time between each heartbeat. Both are indicators of the level of stress a person or animal is experiencing, though heart rate variability is a much more sensitive measurement.

Heart rate was the focus of a limited amount of prior research on the use of aromatherapy to calm horses in the presence of a stressor, such as trailering. In one study, horses were startled by an air horn and then provided with humidified lavender air. The horses' heart rates increased in response to the air horn but returned to normal more quickly in those that inhaled lavender.

None of the studies looked at a horse's response to aromatherapy in the absence of an imposed stressor, though, and none measured heart rate variability.

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"We wanted to test regular horses that aren't stressed out by external forces," said Baldwin, who rides dressage on her 18-year-old quarter horse, Major. "Some horses and some breeds, it's just in their nature that they are more stressed. So, we wanted to use horses that were not being scared deliberately to see what effect, if any, the aromatherapy had on them."

Baldwin enlisted the help of other owners at her boarding stable to put together a group of nine dressage horses of varying breeds and ages. Each horse was led to a small paddock and held by a volunteer while a diffuser containing lavender essential oil was held near the horse's nose. A monitor tracked heart rates and heart rate variability for 21 minutes total -- seven minutes before the introduction of the diffuser, seven minutes with the diffuser in close proximity, and seven minutes after it was removed.

"The heart rate didn't change; what changed is what's called the parasympathetic component of heart rate variability," Baldwin explained. "One of the parameters of heart rate variability is RMSSD, and that represents parasympathetic input, which is the relaxation part of the autonomic nervous system. If RMSSD goes up, that indicates the horse is relaxed. We found that when the horses were sniffing the lavender, RMSSD significantly increased compared to baseline."

The data were supported by the horses' observed behavior, which often included relaxation signals such as neck lowering and licking and chewing while the lavender was being inhaled.

The experiment was repeated with water vapor and chamomile, neither of which produced a similar calming effect or increase in RMSSD.

"We did get a calming effect with the lavender, but when we measured afterward, we no longer had the effect," Baldwin said. "So, it's just during the sniffing of the lavender that we see this calming effect."

The research has direct implications for horsemen and horsewomen who may be looking for new or natural ways to calm an anxious or nervous horse. Traditional tranquilizers often have long-lasting effects, while lavender can be used precisely and exactly when needed.

"Some horses don't like to be shod. So, when the farrier comes and starts banging around with their hooves, it would be good for that," Baldwin said, giving a practical example of how lavender aromatherapy could be used in the barn. "You don't need a diffuser, really. Just put a few drops of lavender essential oil on your hand and let your horse sniff."

Baldwin says future research projects could examine the effectiveness of aromatherapy for horses using other scents or doses. When it comes to lavender, though, the research is clear. A sniff is all it takes to calm an anxious equine.
That Spain and Gr. Britain may understand one another on our frontiers is very possible; for however opposite their interests or dispositions may be in the affairs of Europe, yet while these do not call them into opposite action, they may concur as against us. I consider their keeping an agent in the Indian country as a circumstance which requires serious interference on our part: and I submit to your decision whether it does not furnish a proper occasion to us to send an additional instruction to Messrs. Carmichael and Short to insist on a mutual and formal stipulation to forbear employing agents or pensioning any persons within each others limits: and, if this be refused, to propose the contrary stipulation, to wit, that each party may freely keep agents within the Indian territories of the other, in which case we might soon sicken them of the license.

I now take the liberty of proceeding to that part of your letter wherein you notice the internal dissentions which have taken place within our government, and their disagreeable effect on its movements.

That such dissentions have taken place is certain, and even among those who are nearest to you in the administration. To no one have they given deeper concern than myself; to no one equal mortification at being myself a part of them. Tho I take to myself no more than my share of the general observations of your letter, yet I am so desirous ever that you should know the whole truth, and believe no more than the truth, that I am glad to seize every occasion of developing to you whatever I do or think relative to the government; and shall therefore ask permission to be more lengthy now than the occasion particularly calls for, or would otherwise perhaps justify.

When I embarked in the government, it was with a determination to intermeddle not at all with the legislature, and as little as possible with my co-departments. The first and only instance of variance from the former part of my resolution, I was duped into by the Secretary of the treasury, and made a tool for forwarding his schemes, not then sufficiently understood by me; and of all the errors of my political life, this has occasioned me the deepest regret. It has ever been my purpose to explain this to you, when, from being actors on the scene, we shall have become uninterested spectators only.

The second part of my resolution has been religiously observed with the war department; and as to that of the Treasury, has never been farther swerved from, than by the mere enunciation of my sentiments in conversation, and chiefly among those who, expressing the same sentiments, drew mine from me. If it has been supposed that I have ever intrigued among the members of the legislature to defeat the plans of the Secretary of the Treasury, it is contrary to all truth. As I never had the desire to influence the members, so neither had I any other means than my friendships, which I valued too highly to risk by usurpations on their freedom of judgment, and the conscientious pursuit of their own sense of duty.

That I have utterly, in my private conversations, disapproved of the system of the Secretary of the treasury, I acknolege and avow: and this was not merely a speculative difference. His system flowed from principles adverse to liberty, and was calculated to undermine and demolish the republic, by creating an influence of his department over the members of the legislature. I saw this influence actually produced, and its first fruits to be the establishment of the great outlines of his project by the votes of the very persons who, having swallowed his bait were laying themselves out to profit by his plans: and that had these persons withdrawn, as those interested in a question ever should, the vote of the disinterested majority was clearly the reverse of what they made it. These were no longer the votes then of the representatives of the people, but of deserters from the rights and interests of the people: and it was impossible to consider their decisions, which had nothing in view but to enrich themselves, as the measures of the fair majority, which ought always to be respected.

If what was actually doing begat uneasiness in those who wished for virtuous government, what was further proposed was not less threatening to the friends of the constitution. For, in a Report on the subject of manufactures, (still to be acted on) it was expressly assumed that the general government has a right to exercise all powers which may be for the general welfare, that is to say, all the legitimate powers of government: since no government has a legitimate right to do what is not for the welfare of the governed. There was indeed a sham-limitation of the universality of this power to cases where money is to be employed. But about what is it that money cannot be employed?

Thus the object of these plans taken together is to draw all the powers of government into the hands of the general legislature, to establish means for corrupting a sufficient corps in that legislature to divide the honest votes and preponderate, by their own, the scale which suited, and to have that corps under the command of the Secretary of the Treasury for the purpose of subverting step by step the principles of the constitution, which he has so often declared to be a thing of nothing which must be changed. Such views might have justified something more than mere expressions of dissent, beyond which, nevertheless, I never went.

Has abstinence from the department committed to me been equally observed by him? To say nothing of other interferences equally known, in the case of the two nations with which we have the most intimate connections, France and England, my system was to give some satisfactory distinctions to the former, of little cost to us, in return for the solid advantages yeilded us by them; and to have met the English with some restrictions which might induce them to abate their severities against our commerce. I have always supposed this coincided with your sentiments.

Yet the Secretary of the treasury, by his cabals with members of the legislature, and by high toned declamation on other occasions, has forced down his own system, which was exactly the reverse. He undertook, of his own authority, the conferences with the ministers of these two nations, and was, on every consultation, provided with some report of a conversation with the one or the other of them, adapted to his views. These views thus made to prevail, their execution fell of course to me; and I can safely appeal to you, who have seen all my letters and proceedings, whether I have not carried them into execution as sincerely as if they had been my own, tho I ever considered them as inconsistent with the honor and interest of our country.

That they have been inconsistent with our interest is but too fatally proved by the stab to our navigation given by the French.

So that if the question be By whose fault is it that Colo. Hamilton and myself have not drawn together? the answer will depend on that to two other questions; Whose principles of administration best justify, by their purity, conscientious adherence? and Which of us has, notwithstanding, stepped farthest into the controul of the department of the other?

To this justification of opinions, expressed in the way of conversation, against the views of Colo. Hamilton, I beg leave to add some notice of his late charges against me in Fennos gazette: for neither the stile, matter, nor venom of the pieces alluded to can leave a doubt of their author. Spelling my name and character at full length to the public, while he conceals his own under the signature of an American he charges me:

with having written letters from Europe to my friends to oppose the present constitution while depending. with a desire of not paying the public debt. with setting up a paper to decry and slander the government.

(1) The first charge is most false. No man in the U.S., I suppose, approved of every tittle in the constitution: no one, I believe approved more of it than I did: and more of it was certainly disapproved by my accuser than by me, and of its parts most vitally republican. Of this the few letters I wrote on the subject (not half a dozen I believe) will be a proof: and for my own satisfaction and justification, I must tax you with the reading of them when I return to where they are. You will there see that my objection to the constitution was that it wanted a bill of rights securing freedom of religion, freedom of the press, freedom from standing armies, trial by jury, and a constant Habeas corpus act.

Colo. Hamiltons was that it wanted a king and house of lords. The sense of America has approved my objection and added the bill of rights, not the king and lords.

I also thought a longer term of service, insusceptible of renewal, would have made a President more independant. My country has thought otherwise, and I have acquiesced implicitly.

He wished the general government should have power to make laws binding the states in all cases whatsoever. Our country has thought otherwise: has he acquiesced?

Notwithstanding my wish for a bill of rights, my letters strongly urged the adoption of the constitution, by nine states at least, to secure the good it contained. I at first thought that the best method of securing the bill of rights would be for four states to hold off till such a bill should be agreed to. But the moment I saw Mr. Hancocks proposition to pass the constitution as it stood, and give perpetual instructions to the representatives of every state to insist on a bill of rights, I acknoleged the superiority of his plan, and advocated universal adoption.

(2)The second charge is equally untrue. My whole correspondence while in France, and every word, letter, and act on the subject since my return, prove that no man is more ardently intent to see the public debt soon and sacredly paid off than I am. This exactly marks the difference between Colo. Hamiltons views and mine, that I would wish the debt paid tomorrow; he wishes it never to be paid, but always to be a thing wherewith to corrupt and manage the legislature.

(3)I have never enquired what number of sons, relations and friends of Senators, representatives, printers or other useful partisans Colo. Hamilton has provided for among the hundred clerks of his department, the thousand excisemen, customhouse officers, loan officers &c. &c. &c. appointed by him, or at his nod, and spread over the Union; nor could ever have imagined that the man who has the shuffling of millions backwards and forwards from paper into money and money into paper, from Europe to America, and America to Europe, the dealing out of Treasury-secrets among his friends in what time and measure he pleases, and who never slips an occasion of making friends with his means, that such an one I say would have brought forward a charge against me for having appointed the poet Freneau translating clerk to my office, with a salary of 250. dollars a year.

That fact stands thus. While the government was at New York I was applied to on behalf of Freneau to know if there was any place within my department to which he could be appointed. I answered there were but four clerkships, all of which I found full, and continued without any change. When we removed to Philadelphia, Mr. Pintard the translating clerk, did not chuse to remove with us. His office then became vacant. I was again applied to there for Freneau, and had no hesitation to promise the clerkship for him.

I cannot recollect whether it was at the same time, or afterwards, that I was told he had a thought of setting up a newspaper there. But whether then or afterwards, I considered it as a circumstance of some value, as it might enable me to do, what I had long wished to have done, that is, to have the material parts of the Leyden gazette brought under your eye and that of the public, in order to possess yourself and them of a juster view of the affairs of Europe than could be obtained from any other public source. This I had ineffectually attempted through the press of Mr. Fenno while in New York, selecting and translating passages myself at first, then having it done by Mr. Pintard the translating clerk. But they found their way too slowly into Mr. Fennos papers.

Mr. Bache essayed it for me in Philadelphia; but his being a dayly paper, did not circulate sufficiently in the other states. He even tried at my request, the plan of a weekly paper of recapitulation from his daily paper, in hopes that that might go into the other states, but in this too we failed.

Freneau, as translating clerk, and the printer of a periodical paper likely to circulate thro the states (uniting in one person the parts of Pintard and Fenno) revived my hopes that the thing could at length be affected. On the establishment of his paper therefore, I furnished him with the Leyden gazettes, with an expression of my wish that he would always translate and publish the material intelligence they contained; and have continued to furnish them from time to time, as regularly as I recieved them. But as to any other direction or indication of my wish how his press should be conducted, what sort of intelligence he should give, what essays encourage, I can protest in the presence of heaven, that I never did by myself, or any other, directly or indirectly, say a syllable, nor attempt any kind of influence.

I can further protest, in the same awful presence, that I never did by myself or any other, directly or indirectly, write, dictate or procure any one sentence or sentiment to be inserted in his, or any other gazette, to which my name was not affixed, or that of my office.I surely need not except here a thing so foreign to the present subject as a little paragraph about our Algerine captives, which I put once into Fennos paper.

Freneaus proposition to publish a paper, having been about the time that the writings of Publicola, and the discourses on Davila had a good deal excited the public attention, I took for granted from Freneaus character, which had been marked as that of a good whig, that he would give free place to pieces written against the aristocratical and monarchical principles these papers had inculcated. This having been in my mind, it is likely enough I may have expressed it in conversation with others; tho I do not recollect that I did. To Freneau I think I could not, because I had still seen him but once, and that was at a public table, at breakfast, at Mrs. Elsworths, as I passed thro New York the last year. And I can safely declare that my expectations looked only to the chastisement of the aristocratical and monarchical writers, and not to any criticisms on the proceedings of the government.

Colo. Hamilton can see no motive for any appointment but that of making a convenient partisan. But you Sir, who have recieved from me recommendations of a Rittenhouse, Barlow, Paine, will believe that talents and science are sufficient motives with me in appointments to which they are fitted: and that Freneau, as a man of genius, might find a preference in my eye to be a translating clerk, and make good title moreover to the little aids I could give him as the editor of a gazette, by procuring subscriptions to his paper, as I did, some, before it appeared, and as I have with pleasure done for the labours of other men of genius. I hold it to be one of the distinguishing excellencies of elective over hereditary successions, that the talents, which nature has provided in sufficient proportion, should be selected by the society for the government of their affairs, rather than that this should be transmitted through the loins of knaves and fools passing from the debauches of the table to those of the bed.Colo. Hamilton, alias Plain facts says that Freneaus salary began before he resided in Philadelphia. I do not know what quibble he may have in reserve on the word residence. He may mean to include under that idea the removal of his family; for I believe he removed, himself, before his family did, to Philadelphia. But no act of mine gave commencement to his salary before he so far took up his abode in Philadelphia as to be sufficiently in readiness for the duties of the office.

As to the merits or demerits of his paper, they certainly concern me not. He and Fenno are rivals for the public favor. The one courts them by flattery, the other by censure: and I believe it will be admitted that the one has been as servile, as the other severe. But is not the dignity, and even decency of government committed, when one of its principal ministers enlists himself as an anonymous writer or paragraphist for either the one or the other of them?

No government ought to be without censors: and where the press is free, no one ever will.

If virtuous, it need not fear the fair operation of attack and defence. Nature has given to man no other means of sifting out the truth either in religion, law, or politics. I think it as honorable to the government neither to know, nor notice, its sycophants or censors, as it would be undignified and criminal to pamper the former and persecute the latter.

So much for the past. A word now of the future. When I came into this office, it was with a resolution to retire from it as soon as I could with decency. It pretty early appeared to me that the proper moment would be the first of those epochs at which the constitution seems to have contemplated a periodical change or renewal of the public servants. In this I was confirmed by your resolution respecting the same period; from which however I am happy in hoping you have departed. I look to that period with the longing of a wave-worn mariner, who has at length the land in view, and shall count the days and hours which still lie between me and it.

In the mean while my main object will be to wind up the business of my office avoiding as much as possible all new enterprize. With the affairs of the legislature, as I never did intermeddle, so I certainly shall not now begin. I am more desirous to predispose every thing for the repose to which I am withdrawing, than expose it to be disturbed by newspaper contests. If these however cannot be avoided altogether, yet a regard for your quiet will be a sufficient motive for deferring it till I become merely a private citizen, when the propriety or impropriety of what I may say or do may fall on myself alone. I may then too avoid the charge of misapplying that time which now belonging to those who employ me, should be wholly devoted to their service.

If my own justification, or the interests of the republic shall require it, I reserve to myself the right of then appealing to my country, subscribing my name to whatever I write, and using with freedom and truth the facts and names necessary to place the cause in its just form before that tribunal. To a thorough disregard of the honors and emoluments of office, I join as great a value for the esteem of my countrymen; and conscious of having merited it by an integrity which cannot be reproached, and by an enthusiastic devotion to their rights and liberty, I will not suffer my retirement to be clouded by the slanders of a man whose history, from the moment at which history can stoop to notice him, is a tissue of machinations against the liberty of the country which has not only recieved and given him bread, but heaped its honors on his head.

Still however I repeat the hope that it will not be necessary to make such an appeal. Though little known to the people of America, I believe that, as far as I am known, it is not as an enemy to the Republic, nor an intriguer against it, nor a waster of its revenue, nor prostitutor of it to the purposes of corruption, as the American represents me: and I confide that yourself are satisfied that, as to dissensions in the newspapers, not a syllable of them has ever proceeded from me; and that no cabals or intrigues of mine have produced those in the legislature; and I hope I may promise, both to you and myself, that none will recieve aliment from me during the short space I have to remain in office, which will find ample employment in closing the present business of the department.

Observing that letters written at Mount-Vernon on the Monday, and arriving at Richmond on the Wednesday, reach me on Saturday, I have now the honor to mention that the 22d instant will be the last of our post-days that I shall be here, and consequently that no letter from you after the 17th. will find me here. Soon after that I shall have the honor of receiving at Mount Vernon your orders for Philadelphia, and of there also delivering you the little matter which occurs to me as proper for the opening of Congress, exclusive of what has been recommended in former speeches and not yet acted on. In the mean time and ever I am with great and sincere affection & respect, dear Sir, your most obedient and most humble servant.
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A judge in Oakland dismissed all charges Friday against the former director of an Alameda County antipoverty agency and her husband, who had both been accused of misappropriating federal funds.

Nanette Dillard, former head of the countys Associated Community Action Program, and her husband, Paul Daniels, the programs grants manager, had been convicted by a jury in 2014 of misusing more than $300,000 in government funding  not to enrich themselves, but to shore up the finances of their floundering agency. Prosecutors said they steered the money to the payroll account and other accounts where it did not belong, then submitted false reports to the federal government.
As Tesla ramps up its Fremont 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 center recently, an agitated Model X owner was trying to drop his sport utility vehicle 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!

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 a while: 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.

Tesla declines to make a service executive available to talk about what the company is doing to improve customer service.

It plans to hire more customer support staff, the company said, and open a large new service center in Oslo this year.

Jeff Klein, a publishing executive in Southern California, said his wifes Model S was damaged in a March accident. The car is still waiting for parts, while Klein makes monthly payments on the lease.

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 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 deposit. Some say Tesla doesnt get back to them at all.

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.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

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 software updates that are beamed to the car without having to bring it to the dealer.

A wide variety of Model 3 quality problems are 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.

But the same forums are peppered with praise for the cars and Tesla service. And auto reviewers are near unanimous in their praise for the way the Model 3 drives.

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 written acknowledgment of 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 left in a Mercedes-Benz SUV loaner.

Russ Mitchell is a Los Angeles Times writer.
When Carl Christensen and JoAnn Novoson arrived at San Francisco International Airport in April after visiting their daughter in Germany, they waited an hour at passport control.

It was like a long Disneyland line, Novoson said.

Soon thereafter, the couple applied for Global Entry, a federal program that lets trusted travelers take a shortcut through immigration when they return to major U.S. airports including San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland.

Membership in Global Entry also lets you cruise through TSA PreCheck security checkpoints  with shoes on your feet and liquids in your luggage  at more than 200 airports nationwide, whether youre flying domestically or internationally.

But enrolling in Global Entry is an adventure in itself.

You must have a U.S. passport or permanent resident card (a.k.a. green card) and fill out an online application that asks for your address, employment and foreign travel history. (Citizens of 11 other countries can also apply for Global Entry.)

Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

After getting conditional approval, typically a week or two later, you can make an appointment for a mandatory in-person interview at an enrollment center. The only one in Northern California is at San Francisco International Airport.

When Christensen and Novoson got preliminary approval in May, the first appointment they could get was last week. Two or three months is a typical wait for an appointment at SFO, said Frank Falcon, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which runs Global Entry. The interview office is open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. seven days a week.

On Thursday morning, the couple drove from home in Salinas to SFO. The interview started within five minutes of the scheduled time. It lasted five minutes. I hope it was worth it, Novoson said.

If you pass the interview, you walk out with a Global Entry number, which you can use immediately for international air travel. A card will arrive later, but you only need it for Mexican and Canadian border crossings and cruise ports.

Theres an alternate route for people who have been conditionally approved but cant get an interview before they leave the country. They can interview when they arrive from a foreign trip at participating U.S. airports including San Francisco, San Jose and Oakland. Just follow the Enrollment on Arrival signs. If all goes well, they walk out a Global Entry member.

There is also a Twitter bot (twitter.com/GOESbot) that alerts followers when SFO appointments open up.

You can also try a walk-in appointment at SFO. You could be seen if someone cancels an appointment or wait all day and go home empty-handed, Falcon said.

Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle 2018.

You must pay a $100 nonrefundable fee to apply for Global Entry, but if youre accepted, its good for five years and includes automatic enrollment in TSA PreCheck, a separate program run by the Transportation Security Administration. TSA PreCheck, by itself, costs $85 for five years and has no immigration benefits.

Global Entry has another benefit that PreCheck lacks. After October 2020, you can no longer use a regular state-issued drivers license or ID card to board a domestic flight. You can use a Real ID, which is a license or ID card with enhanced security features, or one of about a dozen other forms of acceptable ID including a passport, military ID or Global Entry card. Membership in TSA PreCheck is not acceptable for this.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles started issuing Real IDs, along with regular drivers licenses and ID cards, in January. You must get a Real ID in person and the paperwork is more complicated than a regular license. This has led to long lines and long waits for appointments at the DMV.

If you dont mind carrying your passport on domestic flights, theres no need to get a Real ID  or Global Entry  just to fly domestically after October 2020.

The main benefits of Global Entry are using TSA PreCheck at security checkpoints and speeding through passport control. Upon arrival at SFO from abroad, Global Entry members go to a kiosk, get their passports and fingerprints scanned, complete a customs declaration and get a printout that they show to an officer, then proceed to baggage claim.

Travelers without Global Entry go to a different bank of kiosks to have their passports and fingerprints scanned and a photo taken. They answer some questions, get a receipt and wait in line to see a passport officer. These lines can be long because there are so many people and they havent been prescreened. Depending on your place in line and how many flights arrive at once, your wait could be minutes or more than an hour.

Kihyun Yoon of San Jose, a Global Entry member for two years, said getting through immigration typically takes five or 10 minutes with Global Entry, versus an hour without.

Tech-savvy travelers without Global Entry can also skip the long immigration line by downloading the Custom and Border Protection Mobile Passport app on a smartphone. You first enter passport information into the app. When you arrive at a participating U.S. airport (including San Francisco and San Jose but not Oakland), you complete a new trip by selecting your arrival airport and airline, taking a selfie and answering some questions. Then you get a QR code on your phone that you take to a Mobile Passport Control express lane. Mobile Passport is free but doesnt include TSA PreCheck.

Air Quality Tracker Check levels down to the neighborhood Ratings for the Bay Area and California, updated every 10 minutes

Global Entry doesnt prevent you from getting stopped for luggage inspection. Nor does it promise you wont be subject to additional screening at the airport. (Neither does PreCheck.) And it doesnt put you on the fast track when you arrive at foreign airports, except for three in New Zealand. (Australia has an express process for U.S. Citizens whether they are Global Entry or not.)

At a few foreign airports, mostly in Canada, all U.S. citizens pass through U.S. Customs and Border Protection before boarding their homebound flights. These preclearance locations also have Global Entry kiosks.

Like many travelers, Gary and Sally Bauman of San Anselmo say they enrolled in Global Entry mainly to get PreCheck. Although some people not enrolled in PreCheck get it on some flights, Gary travels with a band and its frustrating when some members get it and some dont.

Its easier and quicker to enroll in PreCheck than Global Entry. You still must be a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident. But if you dont have a passport, you can use a state-issued drivers license or ID card and certified copy of your birth certificate.

You must visit a PreCheck enrollment center staffed by outside contractors, but there are seven in the Bay Area and its easy to get an appointment or be seen without one, TSA spokeswoman Lorie Dankers said. The $85 fee application fee is nonrefundable, so make sure you dont have a disqualifying offense.

Within days of a PreCheck visit, most people can get a known traveler number online and begin using it immediately, Dankers said. PreCheck doesnt issue cards. Instead, you enter your known traveler number (PreCheck or Global Entry) when you book a flight with 53 participating airlines.

PreCheck lines are typically shorter than regular lines, mainly because most passengers can walk through without removing their shoes, lightweight jacket, belt, liquids, tablet and laptop computers. And they typically walk through a metal detector rather than a body scanner.

Finally, check to see if your credit card will reimburse Global Entry or PreCheck fees.

Kathleen Pender is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: kpender@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @kathpender
The wildfire threatening Yosemite Valley, which has caused the park to remain closed due to the unhealthy air quality, wont be fully contained for at least another two weeks, officials said Saturday.

The Ferguson Fire, burning in Merced River Canyon, has scorched 49,619 acres  nearly 3,000 acres more than the day before  and was 29 percent contained as of Saturday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The raging inferno was expected to be fully contained by Aug. 15.

The park service had originally hoped to reopen the valley on Sunday. Flames are not threatening the valley, but the smoke has rendered the air quality unhealthy.

Because of low visibility and dense vegetation, firefighters were only able to to keep watch on the blaze and strengthen containment lines.

A small fire that jumped containment lines Friday afternoon about 2 miles southwest of El Portal was also being closely watched, Cal Fire added.

Now Playing: National Weather Service science officer for the greater San Francisco Bay region Dr. Warren Blier explains how pyrocumulous clouds can form over wildfires, and how they can influence the weather in surrounding areas. Video: Katie Wood / SFGATE

Efforts on Saturday would be focused on more direct fire attack.

Seven firefighters have been injured and one was killed in the blaze. Braden Varney died fighting the Ferguson Fire near Yosemite National Park on July 14 when his bulldozer rolled over.

There was no immediate information on the injuries.

So far, one structure has been destroyed and 5,245 are still being threatened by the blaze.

Valley hotels, restaurants and campgrounds, which were evacuated and shuttered Wednesday, will remain off limits to visitors. Highway 41 and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias will remain shut until further notice, the National Park Service said Friday.

Other areas closed to allow for firefighting operations include Glacier Point Road and the Bridalveil Creek and Wawona campgrounds.

Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California

Other areas, including Hetch Hetchy and the high country and Tuolumne Meadows accessible by Tioga Road, remain open.

Currently, there are 3,898 fire personnel battling the blaze including, 282 fire engines, 46 water tenders, 16 helicopters, 92 crews and 81 bulldozers.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
Seven firefighters were injured while battling two blazes that broke out within an hour of each other and scorched nearly a total of 10,000 acres in Mendocino County, officials said Saturday.

The Ranch Fire started at noon on Friday at Old Lake County Highway and Highway 20 and grew to 3,500 acres. It was 2 percent contained as of Saturday morning, according to Cal Fire.

The River Fire started an hour after the Ranch Fire at Old Lake County Highway, 6 miles north of Hopland, and grew to 6,000 acres. The blaze was also 2 percent contained by Saturday, Cal Fire said.

Seven firefighters were injured  four of whom received heat-related illnesses and were transported to the hospital, said Trisha Austin, a fire prevention specialist with Cal Fire.

There was no immediate information on the other injuries.

Now Playing: A timelapse video taken Thursday night by Redding resident Cody Markhart shows the fiery path of the Carr Fire near the Sundial Bridge in Redding, California. Video: Cody Markhart

So far, one home and one outbuilding have been destroyed in the blazes, and 386 remained threatened.

Similar to the other wildfires burning throughout the state, the Ranch and River fires were fueled by intense heat, low humidity, strong winds and steep, rugged terrain, Cal Fire said.

The extreme heat and afternoon winds will continue to pose challenges for firefighters on Saturday, Austin said.

Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California

Mandatory evacuations were ordered late Friday from the 8000 block of River Road, south to the intersection of Highway 175, and from the Russian River, east to the ridge above Highway 175 for the River Fire.

There are 470 fire personnel fighting the two blazes, including 40 engines, 20 water tenders, 2 helicopters, 16 hand crews and 15 bulldozers.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
Matcha is nothing new. The Japanese-grown green tea has been enjoyed for centuries.

However, according to a 2017 Google trends report, matcha  along with other earthy flavors like turmeric and ginger  is surging in Western countries, including the United States, where since 2015, matcha beverages have experienced 202 percent year-over-year growth. Earlier this month, New Yorks MatchaBar, whose high-profile backers include Drake and Ansel Elgort, announced it had raised $8 million for its matcha cafe concept.

The Bay Area is in a golden age of dessert options and recently has seen an uptick in those inspired by eastern Asia, such as Thai rolled ice cream, Taiwanese shaved snow and Japanese soft-serve.

Matcha, meanwhile, is inspiring new heights of creativity, far beyond the humble frozen mochi bites and frothy lattes that catapulted the green tea to mainstream fame. In the Bay Area, matcha is being featured in a range of desserts  from tarts and madeleines to delicately multi-layered crepe cakes  at a growing number of restaurants and cafes.

Valencia Streets months-old Stonemill Matcha (561 Valencia St.) is dedicated entirely to matcha, and although the main draw is the cafes wide variety of tea drinks, pastry chef Mikiko Yuis delightfully elegant sweets steal the show.

Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

For Yui, whose resume includes Coi and State Bird Provisions, matcha imparts a pleasant bitterness that helps cut the richness of desserts and pastries.

People add salt and acid to cut fat, says Yui. Matcha does the same thing.

Yui, who grew up in Japan, recalls straightforward desserts like matcha pudding with sweet red beans, but at Stonemill she produces what she calls California desserts with a Japanese twist.

Among her creations, youll find matcha cream pie and a yuzu meringue tart (see recipe) with a crust thats made with almond flour and, you guessed it, matcha. (Shes also experimented with matcha in canales.)

Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle

In Milpitas, Anton SV Patisserie owner Anthony Tam specializes in just one dessert: high-end mille-crepe cakes that cost $88 each.

Tam, who comes from a family of bakers with businesses in Malaysia and Singapore, says that the two most popular flavors on the menu are a Hokkaido milk crepe thats dusted with activated charcoal  and a matcha version that is made with premium-grade tea (see sidebar, right).

Although the patisserie doesnt have a retail storefront, Tams cakes can be found by the slice at a handful of Bay Area cafes, including San Franciscos Sno-Crave Tea House and Cupertinos Cafe Lattea. Whole cakes, meanwhile, take up to two hours each to make  and come with that hefty price tag for a 7.5-inch cake. The cakes are available for pick-up and delivery through his website (www.antonsvpatisserie.com).

Youll also occasionally find matcha mille-crepe cakes on the menu at SoMa lunch spot Sues Kitchen (303 Second St.), which serves deco-sushi, a type of especially adorable and colorful sushi that are meant to be a feast for the eyes. Along with savory food, owner Sueko Matsumura Ng creates an assortment of matcha-flavored desserts such as madeleines (see recipe), brownies, cheesecake and tiramisu.

Matsumura Ng lived in Kyoto  the heart of matcha production  during her college years and indulged in a lot of matcha desserts. She moved to the U.S. in 2006 to study public health and nutrition, but it was a longtime love of food and cooking and, as she puts it, a desire to communicate with people through food, that led her to open her restaurant.

Given her background, its not surprising that Matsumura Ng believes matchas healthful properties  its rich in antioxidants and amino acids  have helped increase the teas popularity in recent years.

But beyond its culinary and flavor attributes, theres another reason the centuries-old powdered tea has seen a boost.

I have a one-word answer: Instagram, says Eric Gower, a former Chronicle contributor and founder of San Anselmos Breakaway Matcha, which provides green tea to notable Bay Area restaurants, including Single Thread, Saison and Benu.

There really is no other answer. Its very photogenic. It seems obvious.

Matchas vibrant  almost hallucinogenic  green hue certainly does seem to be made for posting food photos on social media. (Search #matcha on Instagram and there are well over 3.5 million posts.)

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

Photos by Liz Moughon / The Chronicle

Thats a fact not lost on Tammy Boonlieng, owner of San Franciscos U :Dessert Story (3489 16th St.).

If you make a pretty dessert, it becomes very Instagrammable, Boonlieng says.

At her 2-month old Castro cafe, Boonlieng and her team crank out a variety of interactive and photo-friendly Asian desserts like bingsoo (Korean snow ice), kakigori (Japanese snow ice) and mango sticky rice toast. The shop even has a wall where guests can pose for photos with their desserts.

Now Playing: This riff on the classic 1980s dessert can be found at Castro sweets cafe, U :Dessert Story. Here's how to make it at home. Video: Sarah Fritsche

Boonlieng, of course, offers a huge selection of green tea drinks, including lattes and a fantastic matcha float. But the headliner? A chocolate matcha lava cake (see recipe), modeled on the famous 1980s sensation. In the original, liquid chocolate spilled out when the cake was cut. This version has a molten white-chocolate river tinted a verdant hue with bright green matcha.

Its stunning enough to make other sweets green with envy.

Sarah Fritsche is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sfritsche@sfchronicle.com. Twitter/Instagram: @foodcentric
Trying to pin down a stylistic profile for the composer William Bolcom is a mugs game, a bout of Whac-a-Mole against an elusive and wily opponent.

In his music  a vast and varied catalog that includes symphonies, operas, chamber music and song cycles  the most ingratiating and accessible strains keep company with gnarled dissonances. Ragtime and tango, Mozartean pastiche and full-scale modernism all take turns at center stage.

The reason for this omnivorous but carefully controlled hodgepodge is perfectly simple, says Bolcom.

I have a huge palette of things I want to express, he says. So I just take what I want. And then if the styles are different, I try to make sure theyre talking to each other as seamlessly as possible.

Bolcom, who recently celebrated his 80th birthday, was on the phone from the home he shares in Ann Arbor, Mich., with his wife and longtime collaborator, the soprano Joan Morris. He was gearing up for a return to Northern California and the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music in Santa Cruz, where he was a regular presence during the 1970s and 80s.

The second concert of the festival, on Saturday, Aug. 4, at the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, will include a performance of his 1983 Violin Concerto, with the Russian-born violinist Philippe Quint as soloist and Artistic Director Cristian Macelaru conducting. The piece, with its confluence of jazz and classical strains, is as representative a taste of Bolcoms eclecticism as anyone could wish for.

More Information Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music: 8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 3; 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4. $20-$65. Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium, 307 Church St., Santa Cruz. 831-426-6966. www.cabrillomusic.org See More Collapse

In this case, though, he says he was influenced by the example of the Romanian American violinist Sergiu Luca, for whom the concerto was written.

I got to know him in 1972 when he was first starting out, he recalls. Sergiu was a very fiery performer, and he was the first classical violinist I ever ran into who knew or cared about the jazz violin tradition. He befriended Joe Venuti, which is really where that whole tradition began.

Bolcom even got a chance to partake in that tradition firsthand, one night in the mid-1970s at the famous New York nightspot Michaels Pub. Venuti, he says, was performing and invited Luca to do a duet with him. Then the bassist, the great Milt Hinton, spotted Bolcom and Morris in the audience and invited them to sit in as well.

So there we were, Bolcom says with a delighted chuckle, playing with Joe Venuti! And I guess he thought we were all right. So I ended up dedicating the last movement of the concerto to Venutis memory. It was important to me to write for someone who knew how Joe Venuti played.

Bolcom has a plentiful store of similar anecdotes to draw on, and once he gets going he races through them one after another, a garrulous and almost breathless storyteller.

There are vignettes of New York life in the early 1980s, when the AIDS epidemic began to decimate the citys cultural community. The second movement of the Violin Concerto is dedicated to the pianist Paul Jacobs, a close friend who died while Bolcom was midway through composing his Twelve Etudes for him. Hes wryly observant about the politics of musical academia, which he has mostly dodged despite teaching for decades at the University of Michigan.

Bolcoms 80th birthday has been keeping him busier than ever, with performances to attend and commissions to fill (hes in the process of finishing up a trio for horn, violin and piano for a September premiere). But as hes quick to point out, being born in 1938 puts him in good company.

Theres a whole crew of composers that are turning 80 this year  John Harbison, Joan Tower, Charles Wuorinen, Paul Chihara, John Corigliano  and weve been celebrating together for a long time, he says. When we were going to turn 50 someone said, Oh a 50th birthday party is so sad, so we all had a 49th birthday party the year before.

There were celebrations a decade ago, but they were a bit overshadowed by the astonishing centenary of Elliott Carter, who was still busily composing. This year, Bolcom seems gratified by the attention.

Its nice to know that people are still interested and enjoying what I have to say, he says.

And if they dont like one thing, theres always something else that may capture their fancy. Thats one of the benefits of being as stylistically flexible, and determined, as Bolcom.

You know, theres that old thing from Archilochus, about how the fox knows many things and the hedgehog knows one big thing, he says. Well, Im more of a fox, but with a hedgehogs doggedness. Ive always wanted to do what I wanted to do, and its fun to have different facets of musical life interact.

Joshua Kosman is The San Francisco Chronicles music critic. Email: jkosman@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @JoshuaKosman
Her dead calf resting on her nose, an orca has swum in mourning for more than three days in the Pacific Northwest.

The calf died Tuesday morning, half an hour after it was born off the coast of Victoria, British Columbia, to a 20-year-old whale called J35. It was the first calf known to have been born to the local population, known as the Southern Resident killer whales, since 2015.

I think shes just grieving, unwilling at this point to let the calf go, like, Why, why, why? said Ken Balcomb, founder and chief scientist for the San Juan Islands Center for Whale Research, who has tracked the population for more than 40 years.

Southern Resident killer whales, which consist of three different pods, generally stay near British Columbia and Washington state, though some swim north to Alaska and south to California. Researchers fear the decline of the population, which has been besieged by a shrinking gene pool, dwindling food supply and environmental degradation.

Orcas have been shown to have complex social circles, use vocal communication, and exhibit emotions like grief. The whales do sometimes carry the bodies of their dead calves on the waters surface  another whale was seen doing so in the Pacific Northwest for a few hours in 2010.

But J35s sad journey, which began near Victoria and has taken her some 150 miles around the San Juan Islands and Vancouver, has continued for an unusually long time, researchers said. It has become a devastating symbol, and an uncannily pointed one, for the whales plight.

We know it happens, but this one is kind of on tour almost, like shes just not letting go, Balcomb said.

J35 was spotted again Friday morning near the southern end of the San Juan Islands, he said. She has largely been balancing the dead calf on her nose.

Sometimes she bites the flipper and pulls it up, he said. The calf sinks because it doesnt have enough of a blubber layer, and it goes down. She dives down and picks it back up and brings it to the surface.

Balcombs team first started monitoring the areas orca population in 1976. They numbered about 70 at the time, after approximately 50 were removed from the wild to become attractions in marine parks.

About 20 years later, after federal protections were implemented, the number of whales in the population peaked at around 100. Then it started to decline again, and today, there are about 75 left.

Given that number, there should be about nine babies born each year, Balcomb said. Instead, no calves had been born since 2015.

Once they stop reproducing, they may still swim around here for 50 more years, but there will be no babies, he said. Functionally, they will be extinct.

The population decline, and the lack of new baby whales, has largely been attributed to their primary prey, the king salmon, or chinook, dying off.

Jan Ohlberger, a research scientist at the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, said that the orcas prefer the larger Chinook salmon that are richer in energy, but that they have steadily declined over the last several decades.

He said it could be because of overfishing or climate. We dont really know, he said. Theres a lot of hypothesizing about that.

Conservationists have said the whale population has also declined because of inbreeding, noise pollution from ship traffic, and municipal and industrial waste and other chemicals being spilled into the water.

There are more potential threats on the horizon. A recent agreement to expand the Trans Mountain Pipeline, which carries oil from Alberta to British Columbia, would multiply tanker traffic through the orcas habitat and expose them to more noise and potential spills. Construction on that pipeline is expected to begin in August.

In May, Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington convened the Southern Resident Orca Task Force, a group of state, tribal, provincial and federal officials, to help protect the regions orcas.

The loss of a newborn orca calf from our endangered southern resident killer whale population underscores whats at stake as we work to protect these iconic, beautiful animals from vanishing completely, Inslee tweeted this week.

Balcomb, who sits on the governors task force, said J35s plight has become a rallying point for the efforts to protect the whales.

Everybody is devastated, he said. This is very, very dramatic, saddening, disheartening.

Mihir Zaveri is a New York Times writer.
Pacific Film Archive

Casque dOr is one of the highlights of the Pacific Film Archives tribute to the great French director Jacques Becker, who is not a household name in America, but whose work is so gut-level and appealing that it speaks to everyone.

Becker started out as an assistant to director Jean Renoir, and his work has something of Renoirs expansive, humane vision. But his subject matter is different.
Regarding High crime or low blow? (Editorial, July 27): The Republicans attempt to impeach Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is yet another attempt to deflect attention from the investigation of the White Houses collusion with Russia during the 2016 presidential election, as well as of the presidents obstruction of justice. If the GOP removes Rosenstein, how long will it then be before President Trump removes Special Counsel Robert Mueller?

Although Hillary Clinton used the term a basket of deplorables in 2016 to describe Trump supporters, it should actually be used to describe this entire administration, as well as those political leaders who aid and abet its nefarious objectives.

Julian Grant, Pacifica

Leave cafeterias alone

Regarding Supes want more techies to go out to lunch (July 25): It is not the governments business  even here in the peoples republic of San Francisco  where private citizens eat and who pays for their meals. If the Board of Supervisors truly wants to support restaurateurs in the mid-Market area, they can start by cleaning up the open sewer in which these hardy entrepreneurs have chosen to establish their businesses. Given the petty crime, the filth and the ever-present tragedy of homelessness, who wouldnt choose to take their meals without setting foot outside, regardless of who pays?

Howard Crane, San Francisco

Genius for cruelty

Regarding Obama, Trump bear uncanny resemblance (July 27): thoughtful, measured, nuanced. These are words that I can never imagine would describe the language of President Trump. Despite his diploma from an Ivy League school, can we really believe it was earned without some major donation from a rich daddy? His intellect is shown largely by his avarice and dirty dealing. He is truly a playground bully, and one who has achieved by stepping on the weak and meek, not to mention the polite. Truly, hes a genius for cruelty. Making any sort of comparison between this bloated egotist and former President Barack Obama is ridiculous. However their policies may coincide in certain areas, there is no parity here! Again, it is depressing to hear and read the attempts to make our current president anything more than he is.

Shelley Pennington, San Francisco

Separated children

When the federal government began separating children from their parents at the border, they claimed it was necessary to ensure that the adults were really their parents, not child traffickers. Now the former head of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has stated that some of the immigrant children may never be reunited with their parents.

They would become wards of Child Protective Services, and put into the foster care system, and eventually be put up for adoption. Lets see: snatching children away from their parents, to be adopted out to strangers in a strange country. Sure sounds like child trafficking to me  with the U.S. government running it. What does the U.N. Human Rights Commission say about this?

Shari Prange, Bonny Doon

No name-calling

Regarding Hysteria over Trump (Letters, July 25) and Progressive problems (Letters, July 26): Both use name-calling to make their arguments, calling those with other ideas insane or having a low IQ. My reaction to these and other forms of name-calling is: You are what you say or It takes one to know one. It solves nothing and says much about the person doing it and nothing about those they target.

Margaretha Derasary, Oakland

Confusing method

The logic behind the current method for tallying ranked-choice ballots eludes me. Would it not be easier, and faster, and perhaps more nearly fair, to award second-place choices two-thirds of a vote and third place choices one-third of a vote? And, in my opinion, ranking ten choices is way beyond feasible. Five, maybe.

Dorrie Dodge, San Anselmo

Forced patronage

Politicians say they want new companies to not provide in-house food services as its the cause of some restaurants not being able to attract enough customers or workers. Can it be that people prefer working for companies food services because they provide better wages, benefits and working conditions than off-site restaurants? California law requires only a half hour lunch for nonunion employees. Having a half hour or even a full hour for lunch will mean unless the restaurants are less than five minutes from an office, workers will have a hard time eating off-site and getting back to work on time. For night workers, there is the safety issue of roaming streets looking for restaurants open late at night. If you have to take your car to a restaurant, you add to traffic congestion and air pollution. Politicians are wrong if they think this policy will only affect highly paid tech employees.

Large companies, like banks, also provide employee cafeterias. Many of those workers have low salaries and long commutes and will be the ones most seriously impacted by this short-sighted policy change. What other types of businesses are politicians going to force workers to patronize?

Stephanie Travis, Albany

False equivalency

Much thanks to The Chronicle for the publishing of Andrew Malcolms piece. I have been trying to get across the concept of false equivalency to my 15-year-old grandson for quite some time now. I forwarded this article to him, and he replied I get it now. This guy is saying that Obama and Trump are similar?!? Wow. Malcolms piece should be placed in every dictionary as the very definition of false equivalency.

Alfred Chircop, Sonoma
Robert S. Mueller may be the most recognizable lawyer in America, a former FBI director now heading the special counsel investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 election.

But he was just another young law enforcer when he was introduced to Chronicle readers more than four decades ago  in an Aug. 3, 1978, photo, standing next to a towering mound of confiscated hashish.

$700,000 Drug Raid  5 Charged, the Page 2 headline announced.

A Mill Valley tax lawyer and four other men were arraigned in U.S. District Court here yesterday on charges they conspired to smuggle 547 pounds of hashish from Pakistan to San Francisco in packing crates containing wooden trays, the story explained.

Muellers name would appear in The Chronicle more than a dozen times in the next four years, mostly prosecuting local cases  including a brief encounter in court with Hells Angels leader Sonny Barger.

The Manhattan-born prosecutors 1960s education was detoured by enlistment in the Marine Corps and service in the Vietnam War. After the war, Mueller received his University of Virginia law degree and worked at Pillsbury Madison and Sutro before joining the U.S. attorneys office in San Francisco in 1976.

Still in his mid-30s, Muellers name began showing up frequently in The Chronicle starting in 1978.

He prosecuted a Brinks truck guard who robbed his own vehicle for $1.85 million, getting a 15-year sentence  lengthened after Muellers insistence that George Bosque still had $300,000 hidden away.

The prosecutor had less success with Barger, who was part of a massive racketeering case against the Hells Angels. Mueller took over the case in 1980 after a hung jury, and Barger was released after 14 months in jail.

Federal prosecutor Robert S. Mueller, who took over the case after a jury on July 2 failed to convict them following a nine-month trial, said the dismissals were in the interest of justice, The Chronicle reported.

Joe Rosenthal / The Chronicle

The hash case was a more complicated legal journey.

Mueller, 34, was just five years out of law school when he worked with the Drug Enforcement Administration on the 1978 bust, which confiscated $700,000 worth of hash during a drug raid at a storage facility in Concord.

Mueller was pictured next to the haul in a photograph taken by Chronicle photographer Joe Rosenthal, the former World War II photographer who captured the Raising the Flag at Iwo Jima image. Local DEA head Daniel Addario was there as well.

The DEA arrested five men, including Mill Valley attorney Morry Weinstein, who was unloading crates from a rented van when agents swooped in with guns drawn. Federal charges were eventually dropped against Weinstein, who says a client asked him to pick up the package and he had no idea drugs were inside.

They knew I wasnt involved, but the DEA doesnt get any publicity from not busting anybody, Weinstein told The Chronicle in 1980, when reporter Rob Haeseler wrote a four-part series on the bust.

More from the Archive The Vault Home of the San Francisco Chronicle's archive and more than 150 years of journalism covering the Bay Area and beyond.

Weinstein later that year sued Mueller for alleged malicious prosecution.

I havent seen the complaint, so I havent any comment, Mueller told The Chronicle.

The lawsuit was dismissed in 1982. By that time, Mueller had moved back to the East Coast, continuing his career with the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Republican would return to San Francisco in 1998 as the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California, and was appointed FBI director in 2001.

Mueller refused to comment in a front-page 2001 Chronicle profile about his rise. But a bipartisan group of lawyers and politicians were willing to praise him, for hiring more women prosecutors, increasing the offices civil collections twentyfold, and doubling the number of criminal cases filed.

Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., arguably had the strongest endorsement: I know Bob, both personally and professionally, and I believe him to be an individual of the highest integrity.

Peter Hartlaub is The San Francisco Chronicles pop culture critic. Email: phartlaub@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @PeterHartlaub
As if the effects of wildfires tearing through Northern California werent harsh enough, hoteliers near Yosemite National Park have been grappling with another dilemma this week: a mass cancellation of room reservations issued suddenly and inexplicably by Booking.com.

The popular, third-party, room-reservation website wiped out at least 700 reservations for stays at hotels and other lodging in Tuolumne, Madera and Mono counties, on the outskirts of Yosemite, according to lodging providers and tourism officials.

Hoteliers and tourism officials said the blanket cancellation was caused by human error at Booking.com, headquartered in Amsterdam. Someone at the site concluded that the Ferguson Fire burning near Yosemite was imperiling a widespread area and had forced the national parks closure. In fact, the fire prompted the National Park Service to close Yosemite Valley, and Wawona to the south, but other areas of the park remain open.

Someone at Booking.com interpreted (the situation) as, Yosemite is closed, so Im going to be helpful and cancel all of these reservations proactively, said Teri Marshall, director of marketing at Rush Creek Lodge, located on Highway 120 near Yosemites west entrance. It was a huge mistake  huge mistake. It has caused a lot of confusion.

Its unclear exactly how many reservations were canceled, how many visitors and hotels have been affected, and whether those visitors and hotels know they have been affected.

The Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau was alerted Wednesday after reservations at local lodging providers made through Booking.com seemingly evaporated. The bureau has been calling hotel operators around the county to let them know of the problem, said Katie Kirkland, bureau communications and tourism manager. But Im sure there are some that havent noticed the issue yet.

The cancellation has affected providers as far afield as Twain Harte, the Black Oak Casino Resort in Tuolumne, Yosemite International Hostel in Groveland and Lake View Lodge in Lee Vining. It came during one of the most important times of the year for Yosemite-area businesses that depend on tourism dollars.

Obviously, its a lot of lost revenue for the hotels and the counties, said Lisa Mayo, executive director of the Tuolumne County Visitors Bureau.

Fire Tracker Follow wildfires across the state Latest updates on wildfires burning across Northern and Southern California

Booking.com has begun reaching out to lodging providers and tourism representatives in the area to work through the problem  issuing refunds and reinstating reservations where appropriate, tourism officials said. Booking.com account managers declined to comment, and media relations representatives did not immediately return emails Friday.

What a snafu, right? said Rhonda Salisbury, CEO of Yosemite Sierra Visitors Bureau in Madera County. Ive never heard of anything like this happening before. I just cant imagine anybody pulling that trigger  serious oops.

Travelers who made a room reservation in the Yosemite area on Booking.com are advised to call the lodging provider directly to confirm reservations. For the latest updates on fire information around Yosemite, check The Chronicles 2018 Fire Tracker.

Gregory Thomas is a Travel Editor at The Chronicle. Email: Gthomas@sfchronicle.com. Twitter: @gregrthomas.
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 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 is needed, 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 Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti. 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 billionaires Warren Buffett and Philip 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, said Peter Gleick, co-founder of the Pacific Institute, a think tank in Oakland, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences, 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.

Using Hoover Dam to help manage the electricity grid has been mentioned informally over the past 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 entered the picture, making lithium-ion batteries that are used by some utilities, but that form of storage generally remains pricey.

Lazard Asset Management has estimated that utility-scale lithium-ion batteries cost 26 cents per kilowatt-hour, compared with 15 cents for a pumped-storage hydroelectric project. The typical household pays about 12.5 cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity.

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.

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.

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 as possible on the environment and nearby communities.

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.

Even if no water is lost because of the pumping project, the thought of any additional stress on the system worries Toby Cotter, city manager of Bullhead City.

The town thrives on the summer tourism that draws some 2 million visitors to the area for recreation on the greenish-blue waters, Cotter said. That lake is the lifeblood of this community, he said. Its not uncommon to see 100 boats on that lake.

Ivan Penn is a New York Times writer.
REDDING  The bodies of a great-grandmother and two young children, reported missing soon after a huge wildfire began its push into Redding two days ago, were found Saturday in the ashes of their home.

Family members had mounted a desperate search for Melody Bledsoe and her great-grandchildren, Emily Roberts, 5, and James Roberts, 4, at shelters and hospitals. They were ultimately summoned to the Shasta County Sheriffs Office, sobbing and hugging as they entered the building, to hear the news.

The family said authorities told them the 4-year-old had called 911 from the house.

My nephew called, scared, for help, but they said they couldnt make it in time, said Carla Bledsoe, the childrens aunt.

Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko confirmed bodies were found at the scene, although the victims have not been officially identified.

The confirmation from the family brought the death toll in the Shasta County Carr Fire to five, including two firefighters killed earlier. One was bulldozer operator Don Ray Smith, 81, of Pollock Pines, who authorities identified Saturday. Also killed was Jeremy Stoke, a fire inspector with the Redding Fire Department.

The huge wildfire continued to rage out of control, prompting new evacuations to be added to the nearly 40,000 people displaced by the blaze. One of the main evacuation shelters in Redding was at capacity, and additional shelters in churches opened to meet demand.

The aggressive blaze, fueled by winds and scorching temperatures  it was 104 in Redding on Saturday  nearly doubled in size from Friday. By Saturday evening, it had grown to 83,800 acres and was only 5 percent contained, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. On Friday, the fire was 48,312 acres.

The blaze ignited Monday from a vehicle mechanical failure near Whiskeytown, about 30 miles west of Redding, fire officials said. High temperatures and low humidity made the blaze unpredictable and fast-moving, creating fire tornadoes that uprooted trees and overturned cars. It was growing on three different fronts, officials said.

Steve Crawford from Cal Fire described it as unprecedented. Its burning in every direction all at the same time.

The neighborhood where Bledsoe and her great-grandchildren died experienced what officials described as a flash fire, leaving residents little time to escape.

It was probably the scariest thing Ive ever seen, said Redding Police Chief Roger Moore, who lost his own home in the River Ridge district while he was patrolling the area Thursday.

More than a dozen people had been reported missing, although it was unclear how many have since been located, Bosenko said. As of Saturday evening, 536 structures had been destroyed, 117 damaged and nearly 5,000 remain threatened.

On Saturday, President Trump granted Gov. Jerry Browns request for federal assistance to help the communities impacted by the Carr Fire, according to a news release from the governors office.

Crews mopped up hot spots and patrolled areas burned in the western part of Redding, where the fire jumped the Sacramento River and first entered the city, Cal Fire Division Chief Chris Anthony said.

The immediate threat to the western Redding area has been mitigated, he said.

Moore said the city has received reports of looting, including people driving through roadblocks, shouldering doors and going into residences.

Unfortunately there are always predators out there willing to prey on victims, Moore said.

Bosenko announced the first arrest for looting and said there are leads on other suspects. That news prompted cheers at a community meeting Saturday afternoon at a Redding elementary school, where more than 200 people gathered for information. Officials had no timeline for allowing residents to return, saying there are too many safety threats from the fire and downed power lines.

The Carr Fire descended on Redding late Thursday, the dry, hot summer weather creating a whirlwind of flames as the blaze entered the northwestern side of the city. High temperatures, low humidity and gusty winds are expected to continue, fire officials said.

The overnight hours once served as a reprieve for firefighters, lowering the heat and allowing them to gain containment when battling blazes of this size, Cal Fire Division Chief Chris Anthony said. But there has been no reprieve in the Carr Fire because winds have been gusting, causing the blaze to grow, he added.

Its the west winds combined with the fuel conditions, thats what makes it so explosive, Anthony said.

John Wynant, 66, drove down Menlo Way off Keswick Dam Road in his green pickup Friday and looked at the destruction that somehow stopped short of the home he built 40 years ago on 40 acres. He thought he had lost his home when he fled Thursday night after the fire jumped the river and raced toward him.

When I left, everything was exploding around me, Wynant said. I kissed my house off.

He managed to get around the barricades to see if his house was still standing.

When I pulled into (the neighborhood) and it was still there, it was mind-blowing, he said Saturday through tears.

Half a mile from his home, police blocked off Buenaventura Boulevard to investigate a suspected fire-related death. Downed power poles and smoldering ash littered the lots where dozens of homes once stood. A basketball hoop remained standing in a driveway, no longer a home behind it. A badly melted trampoline indicated where a backyard once stood.

Among the buildings that burned were the 1920s schoolhouse at Shasta Historic State Park, west of Redding, officials said. The brewery and cemetery in the historic area were damaged, but officials removed artifacts for safekeeping, according to Gloria Sandoval, a spokeswoman for California State Parks.

There were 3,410 fire personnel responding to the Carr Fire, including 328 engines, 67 fire crews, 17 helicopters, 62 bulldozers and 62 water tenders.

Chronicle staff writers Steve Rubenstein and Lauren Hernandez contributed to this report.

Trisha Thadani, Melody Gutierrez, Sarah Ravani and Jill Tucker are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: tthadani@sfchronicle.com, mgutierrez@sfchronicle.com, sravani@sfchronicle.com, jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TrishaThadani, @MelodyGutierrez, @SarRavani, @jilltucker
The wildfire threatening Yosemite Valley, which has caused the park to remain closed due to the unhealthy air quality, wont be fully contained for at least another two weeks, officials said Saturday.

The Ferguson Fire, burning in Merced River Canyon, has scorched 49,619 acres  nearly 3,000 acres more than the day before  and was 29 percent contained as of Saturday, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

The raging inferno was expected to be fully contained by Aug. 15.

The park service had originally hoped to reopen the valley on Sunday. Flames are not threatening the valley, but the smoke has rendered the air quality unhealthy.

Because of low visibility and dense vegetation, firefighters were only able to to keep watch on the blaze and strengthen containment lines.

A small fire that jumped containment lines Friday afternoon about 2 miles southwest of El Portal was also being closely watched, Cal Fire added.

Efforts on Saturday would be focused on more direct fire attack.

Seven firefighters have been injured and one was killed in the blaze. Braden Varney died fighting the Ferguson Fire near Yosemite National Park on July 14 when his bulldozer rolled over.

There was no immediate information on the injuries.

So far, one structure has been destroyed and 5,245 are still being threatened by the blaze.

Valley hotels, restaurants and campgrounds, which were evacuated and shuttered Wednesday, will remain off limits to visitors. Highway 41 and the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias will remain shut until further notice, the National Park Service said Friday.

Other areas closed to allow for firefighting operations include Glacier Point Road and the Bridalveil Creek and Wawona campgrounds.

Other areas, including Hetch Hetchy and the high country and Tuolumne Meadows accessible by Tioga Road, remain open.

Currently, there are 3,898 fire personnel battling the blaze including, 282 fire engines, 46 water tenders, 16 helicopters, 92 crews and 81 bulldozers.

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani
Yosemite National Park announced late Friday it will continue closures for another week, with Friday, August 3rd at 4 p.m. the likely time of reopening as the fast-moving Ferguson fire chokes the valley.

"Wawona and Mariposa Grove are closed indefinitely due to fire operations," the park announced online. "South Entrance is also closed. Tioga Rd, Tuolumne Meadows, including Big Oak Flat & Tioga Pass entrances, Hetch Hetchy are open."

Tourists fleeing the park Wednesday have flooded other areas including Kings Canyon trying to save what remains of a summer vacation.

The popular destination, typically packed in summer with tourists taking selfies against a Half Dome backdrop, has turned into a no man's land.

In the hours before the valley closed earlier this week, cars sat in traffic trying to exit. The tent cabins in Half Dome Villages, always fully booked in the summer, were emptied by noon. So were campgrounds, parking lots and picnic areas.

A few remaining employees and media in the park shared images and video on social media, and many commented on the eerie setting.

"It's a ghost town," tweeted Angelica Lei Lani, a reporter for KSEE-TV, who posted video footage of the vacant park.

"So you're saying Yosemite is a dream land right now?" wrote @PageDoll. "As in empty?"

ALSO: Tourism nightmare: Yosemite Valley closing as fire closes in, smoke at hazardous levels

A Reddit user who goes by Franklinsteinn posted an image of a smokey sunrise over the empty valley. It quickly went viral on the social media site's "Earth Porn" page. According to the user, only a few hundred employees remain in the park.

"I don't drive and everyone with a ride left the first day," wrote Franklinsteinn, who works for Yosemite concessionaire Aramark. "I tried to find a way out but everyone's car was full."

He added, "There is an emergency bus I can take, but the only place it takes me to is Sonora. Being out of work right now I really don't wanna blow all my cash on hotel rooms and food when I've got it covered here."

The Ferguson Fire continues to grow just outside Yosemite National Park since it started on July 13.

The blaze has scorched 72 square miles, 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.

MORE: What's closed and what's open in Yosemite open

The last time the valley was closed because of a wildfire was 1990.

For more coverage of the Ferguson Fire, visit SFGATE's California Wildfires page.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Wildfires in Mendocino and Napa counties raged into the evening Saturday, destroying structures and prompting evacuations as firefighters struggled to get the upper hand on the stubborn blazes.

The Ranch and River fires west of Clear Lake combined Saturday into the 14,000-acre Mendocino Complex that crossed into Lake County and threatened the towns of Lakeport and Upper Lake, officials with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport began evacuating patients around 4:15 p.m. because of the threat from flames as several neighborhoods east of town were under mandatory evacuation orders.

Patients at the level-4 trauma center were taken to nearby hospitals, said Morgen Wells, a spokeswoman for Sutter Lakeside.

Just south of Lake Berryessa in Napa County, a 150-acre wildfire exploded in the Berryessa Highlands neighborhood, burning several homes and forcing residents to flee for their lives.

The Steele Fire started around 4:30 p.m., forcing residents on Steele Canyon Road between Rimrock Drive and Headlands Drive to evacuate, said Sgt. Pat McMahon with the Napa County Sheriffs Department.

Firefighters were attacking the flames from the air and on the ground, with several homes burning or damaged, McMahon said.

A large plume of smoke could be seen for miles as aircraft made several passes over the growing flames. The fire was 10 percent contained, Cal Fire said.

Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency Saturday for Napa, Mendocino and Lake counties to request federal assistance to support the communities affected by the Steele Fire and Mendocino Complex.

The fires were just three of more than a dozen major wildfires that have scorched more than 150,000 acres around California, according to Cal Fire. Some 10,000 firefighters were fanned out around the state on the front lines.

One of the problems that firefighters are facing right now is just a lack of resources, said Bryan May, a spokesman for the states Office of Emergency Services. With all of these fires burning across the state, they are tapped out.

Firefighters, trucks and other resources were pouring into California from states as far away as Maryland, with more than 400 local government fire engines responding, he added. Rising temperatures have made conditions for firefighters particularly challenging.

President Trump granted Browns request for federal assistance Saturday for the Carr Fire in Shasta County, where five people have died and 536 structures have been destroyed.

The National Guard was deployed to battle the 83,800-acre fire, which was only 5 percent contained, Cal Fire said.

Before mounting its attack on Lakeport, the Ranch Fire ignited around noon Friday at Old Lake County Highway and Highway 20 and grew to 5,000 acres. The flames prompted an evacuation advisory for the entire town of Upper Lake on Saturday night.

The nearby River Fire started around 1 p.m. Friday, 13 miles away at Old Lake County Highway, 6 miles north of Hopland, and grew to 9,000 acres.

Seven firefighters were injured while battling the blazes, four of whom were taken to hospitals for heat-related illness. No immediate information was released on the conditions of the other firefighters.

The combined Mendocino Complex was 5 percent contained with nearly 1,000 homes under evacuation orders, said county Undersheriff Matthew Kendall.

So far, one home and one outbuilding have been destroyed, and 386 structures remain threatened.

Elsewhere in California, the wildfire threatening Yosemite Valley, which has caused the park to remain closed because of the unhealthy air quality, wont be fully contained for at least another two weeks, Cal Fire said.

The Ferguson Fire, burning in Merced River Canyon, has scorched 51,671 acres and was 30 percent contained as of Saturday, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The National Park Service had originally hoped to reopen the valley Sunday but is now planning to delay the reopening until Friday. Flames are not threatening the valley, but the smoke has rendered the air quality unhealthy.

Seven firefighters have been injured, and one was killed in the blaze. Braden Varney died fighting the Ferguson Fire on July 14, when his bulldozer rolled over.

There was no immediate information on the injuries.

One structure has been destroyed, and 5,245 are still being threatened by the blaze.

The cause of the Marsh, River, Ranch and Ferguson fires is under investigation.

The Cranston Fire in Riverside County  which is one of the largest wildfires  has burned 13,118 acres acres in San Bernardino National Forest and was 29 percent contained Saturday afternoon, according to the U.S. Forest Service.

The cause of the blaze thats resulted in over 2,000 evacuations is arson, the Forest Service said.

Sarah Ravani and Evan Sernoffsky are San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com esernoffsky@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani @EvanSernoffsky
In route news, United will drop a transcontinental route from San Jose, add some domestic regional markets, and start flying new 737MAX9s to Hawaii from the West Coast; Delta will start service between two business centers, add a Mexico route and increase Havana flights; JetBlue expands Mint service to Central America; and British Airways targets a new U.S. gateway.

United Airlines is throwing in the towel on its daily San Jose-Newark service as of October 26, citing poor traffic numbers. That leaves three carriers in the non-stop SJC-New York market  Alaska Airlines with a daytime eastbound flight to Newark and a new daily daytime flight to New York JFK; and Delta and JetBlue with eastbound red-eye service from SJC to New York JFK. United continues to fly from SJC to its hubs at Houston Bush Intercontinental, Denver and Chicago OHare.

Elsewhere, United will add some new spokes from its Denver hub. On October 4, it will begin twice-daily service to Monterey, California with CRJ200s; and on December 19 United will launch seasonal daily service from DEN to Mammoth Lakes, California with a CRJ700, continuing through the end of March. And on August 29, United will add Prescott, Arizona to its route map with daily CRJ200 flights from Denver and six CRJ200 flights a week from Los Angeles. All four of these routes will be operated by SkyWest.

To Hawaii, meanwhile, United is expected to deploy new Boeing 737 MAX9s on some west coast routes in the months ahead. It will use the new planes to operate six to seven flights a week from LAX to Kahului, Maui starting August 21; daily flights from LAX to Kona as of February 14; daily service from San Francisco to Kona beginning March 8; and daily flights from SFO to Maui as of March 9. While efficient, the new planes have become quickly known for ultra-tight seating and teeny-tiny lavatories. Tough for a five hour flight.

Speaking of Hawaii... when Chris was in Kauai recently, the word on the street was that production crews were on the island shooting commercials for Southwest Airlines' launch of new flights from the mainland. Unconfirmed reports are that flights could begin as soon as November. The carrier is currently flying domestic simulations in the hopes of getting ETOPS certification for its 737s soon.

Delta is the largest airline at Raleigh-Durham, and its planning to grow there next spring with the addition of a key business route. On April 1, the carrier will start flying three times a day from RDU to Chicago O'Hare , using 70-passenger E175s with first class, Comfort+ and main cabin seating. Delta will be trying to pick up a piece of the RDU-ORD market currently dominated by United and American, and maybe a bit of the RDU-Chicago Midway market served by multiple daily Southwest flights.

Delta and Aeromexico will add another route top their joint venture operation on September 17 with the launch of new non-stop service between Detroit and Queretaro, a growing business center northwest of Mexico City. The route will be served three days a week with a two-class Aeromexico E190. And on October 28, Delta will increase capacity between Miami and Havana by adding a second flight five days a week.

Citing increased demand from customers for its premium front-cabin Mint service with lie-flat seats, JetBlue said it will add weekly Mint-equipped flights to a pair of Latin America and Caribbean markets this fall. On November 3, it will start Saturday service from Boston to St. Lucia, followed on December 15 by Mint-equipped flights from New York JFK to Liberia, Costa Rica. And next February, it will resume Saturday Mint service from JFK to St. Maarten.

British Airways will add another U.S. gateway to its network on April 2 when it kicks off new service from London Heathrow to Pittsburgh. The carrier will use a 787-8 Dreamliner on the route, which will operate four days a week (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday). Read all recent TravelSkills posts here

Get twice-per-week updates from TravelSkills via email! Sign up here

Chris McGinnis is the founder of TravelSkills.com. The author is solely responsible for the content above, and it is used here by permission. You can reach Chris at chris@travelskills.com or on Twitter @cjmcginnis.
BART police and officials with Alameda Countys Santa Rita Jail are investigating the death of a woman found near the passenger pickup area at Dublin/Pleasanton Station early Saturday.

Paramedics were treating the unresponsive 26-year-old woman, who had a prominent bump on her head, when BART officials responded to the scene around 5:30 a.m., Alicia Trost, a spokeswoman for the transit agency, said in a statement.

The woman, who was identified only as a recently released inmate from Santa Rita Jail, died at the scene. Officials said there were no obvious signs of foul play.

More for you Black Community Demands Justice For Fatal Stabbing Of Nia Wilson

Jail officials are pulling surveillance footage to determine if the woman had a head injury when she was released, according to a BART media statement.

The woman was released from jail around 1:25 a.m. Saturday, BART officials confirmed.

The woman was released before dawn because jail officials cant keep inmates even one minute past their release time, which is calculated by several factors, said Sgt. Ray Kelly, an Alameda County sheriffs spokesman.

Most released inmates are provided a bus pass, some take taxis and others get picked up by family or friends, he said. In this case, Kelly said he believes the woman walked to the BART station and waited for a train.

On Saturdays, the first northbound train departs the station at 6:48 a.m., and the first southbound train leaves at 6:03 a.m., according to the BART website.

We are still trying to fill in that four-hour gap, with regards to the timeline, Kelly said. Were trying to go back into her custody time and see if there were any suspicious altercations where she may have been injured that may have led up to her dying at the BART station.

Kelly could not immediately confirm the conditions of her release, such as whether she was released on bail or after serving time for an offense.

Our understanding is that there were no obvious signs that some type of serious crime occurred, so the autopsy will definitely be important in determining what happened, Kelly said.

An autopsy to determine the cause and manner of the womans death is scheduled for Monday, officials said.

The death investigation did not affect BART service, officials said.

Lauren Hernandez is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: lauren.hernandez@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @LaurenPorFavor
Saturday, July 28, 2018 at 10:37AM

If you want an optimized Android experience without having to spend an extravagant amount, youd want an Android Go device. Luckily one is headed your way. TCL Communications just announced that its Android Oreo Go edition Alcatel 1 is coming to multiple carriers in the country. Starting at $89.99, you can get the phone from Bell, Koodo, Lucky Mobile, TELUS, and Virgin Mobile. Itll also be coming to PC Mobile and SaskTel later this year.

The Alcatel 1 features a FullView 18:9 Display to give you a 5-inch screen in a 4.4-inch form factor. It features a unibody design with a soft suede finish. You get 1GB of RAM, 8GB internal storage thats expandable up to 32GB via microSD, 5-megapixel front and rear cameras, and a 2,000mAh battery. As an Android Go device, you have access to popular Google apps that run quickly and smoothly, including Google Go, Google Maps Go, Gmail Go and more. The Google Play Store will also suggest third-party apps tailor-made for Go edition devices, including Facebook Lite, Skype Lite and more.
Bill Loud was not the first person to play the role of a father on television. What made him a pioneer was that he was not acting  and that he was often not acting responsibly.

In 1973, when PBS broadcast An American Family, Loud, who died Thursday in Los Angeles at 97, was the tan and philandering head of an affluent real-life household whose domestic dramas in Santa Barbara were captured on camera for 300 hours and edited into 12 hour-long episodes now regarded as the genesis of reality television.

An American Family shocked American families. Aired with the imprimatur of public broadcasting, it was portrayed as sociological exploration, not exploitation, and, although many people found it irresistible, it was also hard to watch.

It filmed Louds wife, Pat, bluntly discussing his adultery with her brother and sister-in-law. It filmed her telling her husband to move out. It captured the Louds oldest son, Lance, living an openly gay life in New York  startling images for many people at the time.

Yet Bill Loud always regained his grin. He was the father of five  Lance, Kevin, Grant, Delilah and Michele  and his family was wealthier and more liberal than much of the country. The show did not suggest that they were a typical American family; indeed, the producer, Craig Gilbert, introduced the program by telling viewers that there was no such thing.

But the Louds became a cultural touchstone anyway. Decades before characters on reality programs like The Osbournes and Dance Moms one-upped each others outrageousness, the Louds were harshly criticized both for participating in An American Family and for their displays of self-absorption on camera.

As a father figure, Loud, who ran a company that made parts for heavy equipment, sent what could seem like mixed messages. He was seen pressing his children to be more responsible and work harder, even as he complained that modern family life had robbed men of their independence.

Youve got to do everything with everybody all of the time, he told a friend over drinks in one episode (there were always drinks). He added: I object. I dont think its right. I think somebody has sold society a bad bill of goods.

Viewers saw Pat Loud drinking glasses of wine and complaining about what she described as her husbands flagrant infidelity, the absence of sex in their marriage and what she viewed as his general detachment, gone as he often was on business trips.

We were only a part of his life, she said, a very good part, the best part, but only a small part.

In early September 1972, about halfway through the eight months in which the family was filmed, Pat Loud calmly told her husband that she wanted him to move out. He told her she was being shortsighted, but he did not protest. He asked which of their three cars he should take.

Take the Jag, she told him. He did.

Bill Loud said he knew he had not come across well in the series, but he was philosophical about it.

We spent 20 years building a family, and they selected only the negative, bizarre and sensational stuff, he said in an interview shortly after the show aired. But Im really grateful. It was a very gratifying experience.

Three decades later, after he remarried and divorced, after he moved to Texas and started a new career in real estate, and after Lance Loud died of complications of hepatitis C in 2001 at age 50 (he had learned that he had HIV in 1987), Bill and Pat Loud moved back in together in Los Angeles, near their daughters.

Their reunion, which surprised many people, was one of Lances dying wishes. They did not remarry, however. Over time, the cultural hand-wringing the show had prompted came to feel more antiquated than the show itself, and the familys image improved with that evolving perspective.

In 2011, PBS aired a two-hour special on An American Family, and HBO produced Cinema Verite, a drama starring Tim Robbins and Diane Lane as Bill and Pat Loud. The HBO movie was promoted as portraying the real-life process of making the series, though it was criticized as inaccurate by the Louds and Gilbert.

Cinema Verite makes reparation to the Louds, Alessandra Stanley wrote in a review in the New York Times, who insisted they were never as spoiled and decadent as the camera implied and the critics said.

Interviewed by email for this obituary in 2013, Grant Loud said, Television and the changing culture of the 1970s needed him to be a villain.

He said his father would be the first to admit shame for his failings but that the older I get, the harder it is for me to judge him.

He loved life, loved people, he added, and  with the philosophy that you only go around once  he wanted to experience as much of it as he could.

He called his father a terrific listener and an engaging conversationalist who went at both work and play with the same enthusiasm.

William Carberry Loud was born on Jan. 22, 1921, in Eugene, Ore. He attended prep school in Portland and graduated from the University of Oregon. He served in the Navy during World War II as a PT boat commander stationed in England and was involved in the D-Day invasion at Normandy. He also served in the Korean War and received a bronze star.

He married Patricia Claire Russell on March 1, 1950, in Mexico City. She was also a native of Eugene, and they had met as children. Years later, when she was studying history as an undergraduate at Stanford, Bill Loud would visit her from the University of Oregon.

Pat Loud confirmed his death in a telephone interview Friday morning. She said he died at their home in Los Angeles, where they had continued to live together.

In addition to her, he is survived by their four remaining children and two grandchildren.

In the 1970s the outside world had taken moral measure of Bill Loud and found him wanting. But Grant Loud said his father had not been created by television and should not be defined by it. He noted that the family moved to Santa Barbara in 1962 with very little money, and that his father had created a successful business from scratch.

It provided a family of five kids with a very comfortable life, and took him  and us  around the world, he said by email in 2013. As a kid, I never thought much about it. As a middle-aged guy, I can only shake my head in awe and respect.

William Yardley is a New York Times writer.
Early this morning, Lee County commissioners unanimously approved a test project for algae clean up, as well as the filing of an application for state funding, in an attempt to relieve Southwest Florida waters of the toxic blue-green algae that has plagued various communities and its residents.

The board also approved spending up to $150,000 in county dollars, if necessary, before grant money is obtained.

Im glad they declared their emergency status which will allow us to have grant money, said Cape Coral Mayor Joe Coviello, who was in attendance at the emergency County Commission meeting.

County Natural Resources Director Roland Ottolini walked Commissioners Cecil Pendergrass, Frank Mann and Brian Hamman through his findings from aerial pictures taken of the algal blooms across Southwest Florida and most notably, Cape Coral.

It was agreed that a short-term solution of sorts is needed to remove the algae in the most concentrated areas through a vendor already under state contract.

The biggest issue is where to dispose of the algae once its vacuumed up.

The largest challenge were dealing with at the moment is disposal of the algae and water, said County Manager Roger Desjarlais. When that algae is disturbed, were told that it releases more toxins and so the water that gets skimmed with this algae is probably going to be some pretty toxic stuff. We just dont have an approved method of disposal yet.

The Department of Environmental Protection is reportedly working hard to find an approved method of disposal for the toxic cyanobacteria.

Until we have that method of disposal, theres no point in even getting started, Desjarlais continued.

The experts stated that the collection and removal of toxic algae has been untested and that these test projects will be charting new territory.

As for how they will remove the algae from the waters, Its pretty rudimentary, Desjarlais divulged. It amounts to vacuuming the stuff off the top. Its mechanical, its pretty basic. The primary focus is a skimmer type of operation.

Removing algae where it is most prevalent and is at its worst is the goal of this test project  but it will only provide a temporary fix.

The short-term solution that we speak of is simply to get the high concentrations from everyones backyard. No one should misunderstand, that is not a long-term solution for reducing the algae blooms themselves, warned Desjarlais.

The commissioners noted that the city of Cape Coral is one of the worst affected municipalities and a working relationship between the city and county has already taken form.

It sounds like we still need to find a solution on where to put the algae, said Coviello. There certainly seems to be ways to get it out of the canals that were having a problem with. As long as they can mitigate where it goes environmentally, I think weve got a win-win situation. Im glad the county has somewhat partnered with Cape Coral and were looking for remedies to our problem.

Coviello addressed the panel of commissioners and experts during the public comment portion and called for swift and decisive action that would be welcomed in our city.

Overall, the mayor seemed encouraged that there might be a glimmer of light on the issue and for residents who wake up to the foul looking and smelling algae in their backyard each morning.

Connect with this reporter on Twitter: @haddad_cj
Two wildland fires broke out in Mendocino County on Friday, prompting authorities to call for mandatory evacuations of residents near Russian River near Largo.

The Ranch Fire started at noon at Old Lake County highway and Highway 20 and grew to 1,000 acres by late Friday. The River Fire started an hour later at Old Lake County highway, six miles north of Hopland, growing to 4,000 acres.
The deadly Carr Fire near Redding in Shasta County is still only 5 percent contained and has consumed 80,906 acres, Cal Fire reported this afternoon.



A Redding firefighter was killed Friday and a contract firefighter operating a bulldozer died Thursday. The blaze has destroyed 500 structures and damaged 75 and is threatening 4,978 structures, Cal Fire said at 1:45 p.m. today.



Firefighters worked aggressively through the evening to build containment lines around the fire, according to Cal Fire. A red flag warning and heat advisory are in effect for the area, and the winds, high temperatures and dry vegetation still have the potential to fuel fire growth.



Several people have been injured fighting the Carr Fire, including three firefighters from the Marin County Fire Department who suffered burns to their faces, ears and hands on Thursday when a sudden blast of heat from nearby vegetation overwhelmed them as they defended a structure.



A total of 3,410 people are battling the blaze, according to Cal Fire. City and county firefighters, engines, command vehicles and other support units have been deployed to help fight the massive blaze from nearly every Bay Area County including Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Sonoma and Santa Clara counties.





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SAN JOSE (BCN)



An appeals court denied San Jose's effort to remove individual police officers from a lawsuit filed by victims of violence at a 2016 rally in the city for then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.



An opinion filed today by a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the panel affirmed the district court's denial of immunity for the officers.



The city sought to use "qualified immunity," which protects police officers and government officials from civil damages, as a basis to drop the officers from the lawsuit.



But the panel ruled 3-0 in favor of attorney Harmeet Dhillon, saying qualified immunity was inapplicable because of the facts of the case.



"Being attacked by anti-Trump protesters was only a possibility when the attendees arrived at the rally," Judge Dorothy Nelson wrote in the opinion. "The officers greatly increased that risk of violence when they shepherded and directed the attendees toward the unruly mob waiting outside the Convention Center."



The rally on June 2 brought 7,000 to 10,000 people to San Jose McEnery Convention Center in Downtown San Jose. Police allegedly told rally attendees to take an exit that was directly in the line of 400 people protesting Trump.



Rally attendees were allegedly beaten, robbed, struck by eggs and bottles and insulted by the protesters in front of the officers, according to the suit.



The suit alleges that over 250 police officers didn't help Trump supporters, or weren't "permitted" to help them by law enforcement officials.



Mayor Sam Liccardo, who was dropped from the lawsuit along with Police Chief Eddie Garcia, said at the time that 20 perpetrators were identified and numerous warrants were issued for arrest.



The Democrat mayor, an outspoken critic of Trump, denied allegations that his political alignment led him to condone or permit the violence.



Dhillon said, "This is not an ideological decision, this is a decision based on the egregious facts in the case," adding that anyone who watches videos of the violence can easily witness the facts.



But the case against the large city will not be an easy one, Dhillon said.



"It's an uphill battle, we are David facing Goliath," he said.



City Attorney Richard Doyle responded saying his office disputes the court's understanding of qualified immunity, as well as the plaintiff's "version of the facts."



Doyle said his office is reviewing the opinion and will determine whether to appeal it "en banc" to an 11-member panel of judges in the 9th Circuit or the state Supreme Court.













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SALINAS (BCN)



A 23-year-old King City man was sentenced Friday to five years in state prison for felony domestic violence with an enhancement for inflicting great bodily injury on his wife, Monterey County Deputy District Attorney Chris Knight announced.



Giovanni Velasquez was convicted of stabbing his wife several times in the hand and leg during an argument on Feb. 20. He also fled the scene by car, disposing of the knife out the window, Knight said. King City police recovered the knife on the South First Street Bridge early the following morning.





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SANTA ROSA (BCN)



Police have identified the second man who is suspected of robbing a coin store in Santa Rosa earlier this month.



Police previously identified Anthony Payne, 29, of Ontario as the man who allegedly fired a shot at an employee while fleeing the Big Oak Plaza Coin Store at 2490 W. Third St. after the robbery at about 9:20 p.m. July 14.



Santa Rosa police detectives learned Payne allegedly fled to Los Angeles in a Ford Focus, and Los Angeles police arrested him on July 16.



Payne was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and robbery, and was allegedly in possession of a loaded semi-automatic handgun that matched the description of the gun used in the robbery, police said.



Payne was convicted of a manslaughter that occurred in Guerneville in July 2011, and he is prohibited from using a firearm, police said.



Daniel Riley Quistgard, 25, a transient, is the second suspect in the robbery. Quistgard allegedly frequents the Coddingtown Mall area in Santa Rosa and the Guerneville area. He also is a suspect in a $17,000 burglary at a jewelry store Kiosk inside the mall on July 1, police said.



Quistgard also is suspected of stealing a tray of gold nuggets worth $3,000 from the Big Oak Plaza Coin Store on July 5.



Police described Quistgard as 25 to 35 years old, 6 feet tall, 170 pounds with short blond hair. Police said Quistgard has a tattoo "Joalice" on his chest, "Sonoma County" on his right arm, "$$" on his right forearm and a piercing on the right side of his face.



In the robbery on July 14, both men allegedly grabbed a tray of valuable coins from behind a counter. Two employees were in the store and a third was outside at the time of the robbery, according to police.



The employee outside the store confronted Quistgard who eventually threw away the tray of coins during a struggle and fled, police said.



Another store employee confronted Payne at the coin shop door and knocked the tray of coins from Payne's hands. The store employee chased Payne and Payne allegedly fired a shot from a handgun at the employee while running away. Both men fled in a 2017 gray Ford Focus with Illinois license plates, police said.



There is a reward of up to $2,500 for the arrest and conviction of the suspects.





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An appeals court has denied San Jose's effort to remove individual police officers from a lawsuit filed by victims of violence at a 2016 rally in the city for then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.



An opinion filed Friday by a three-judge panel of the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals said the panel affirmed the district court's denial of immunity for the officers.



The city sought to use "qualified immunity," which protects police officers and government officials from civil damages, as a basis to drop the officers from the lawsuit.



But the panel ruled 3-0 in favor of attorney Harmeet Dhillon, saying qualified immunity was inapplicable because of the facts of the case.



"Being attacked by anti-Trump protesters was only a possibility when the attendees arrived at the rally," Judge Dorothy Nelson wrote in the opinion. "The officers greatly increased that risk of violence when they shepherded and directed the attendees toward the unruly mob waiting outside the Convention Center."







The President of the Santa Clara Deputy Sheriff's Association has resigned, following allegations that he sent racist and sexist text messages to other law enforcement officials over the last several years.



Morrissey announced his resignation in a letter to DSA members on Thursday. He said several police associations, including the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office, have been embroiled in issues of bias, racism and harassment in recent months, but their leaders need to be held accountable.



"That accountability must start with me," Morrissey said in the statement, adding that he hoped the Santa Clara County sheriff's office would continue pushing to end harassment and discrimination.



Morrissey said "shameful conduct at our jail" also prompted him to make way for new leadership, referring to three correctional officers who were convicted of second-degree murder in the death of an inmate at Santa Clara County jail in 2015. The county medical examiner ruled Michael Tyree's death a homicide by blunt force trauma.



Responding to Morrissey's statement, Sheriff Laurie Smith said his words only served to "distort and distract from his complicity with racist, homophobic, and sexually assaultive text messages."







A man was sentenced to life in prison for a kidnapping and brutal sexual assault he and another man perpetrated on a woman in San Francisco's Western Addition more than 16 years ago.



Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ross sentenced Lamar Paschall, 36, Friday to 36 years and 4 months to life in prison, according to prosecutors.



Paschall was convicted in January of multiple felonies for the Jan. 6, 2002, attack, including forcible rape, sodomy, forcible oral copulation, assault with intent to commit rape and kidnapping to commit robbery.



Paschall was arrested in 2012 in connection with the rape.



The victim, who was 20 years old at the time, had been walking home when she was approached by Paschall and another man, Kenneth Babers, in the area of Golden Gate Avenue and Elm Street.



The two men approached the victim and began a conversation with her while walking with her to a darker area of the street before taking turns sexually assaulting her. The woman vomited during the attack, according to court documents.







The City of Rohnert Park has hired former Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan to help the city investigate complaints about its drug interdiction incidents by the Department of Public Safety along U.S. Highway 101 in Mendocino and Sonoma counties.



In a news release, the city said there have been "a number of complaints filed by individuals over traffic stops and asset forfeitures conducted by Rohnert Park public safety officers."



Two officers are currently under investigation and one has resigned.



"The City of Rohnert Park takes these allegations very seriously," City Manager Darrin Jenkins said. "We intend to fully investigate whether all policies and procedures were followed. If policies and procedures were not followed, we intend to address any missteps," Jenkins said.







Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Walnut Creek, was one of the 28 members of the U.S. Congress falsely matched to criminal mug shots by Amazon's facial recognition technology, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.



The ACLU reported Thursday that the technology, which is being used by some police departments, incorrectly matched the legislators with people who had been charged with a crime.



The false matches disproportionately identified representatives of color, including six members of the Congressional Black Caucus, the ACLU said.



DeSaulnier, along with Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, and Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Illinois, have written to Amazon with concerns about the sale of the technology to law enforcement agencies, the ACLU said.







Two migrant girls who had been separated from their parents at the Mexican border and held at a Pleasant Hill children's shelter as a result of the Trump administration's zero-tolerance policy have been reunited with their families, Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Walnut Creek, said in a statement.



DeSaulnier received an update from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the adolescent girls' status Thursday, which said the families had been reunited within the past five days.







With wildfires raging across the state, dozens of crews from multiple Bay Area fire departments have been called in to support Cal Fire in what state officials are calling "the new norm" for fire season in California.



The deadly Carr Fire near Redding in Shasta County has claimed the lives of two firefighters since the blaze began Monday. A Redding firefighter was killed Friday and a contract firefighter operating a bulldozer died Thursday.



Several people have been injured fighting the Carr Fire, including three firefighters from the Marin County Fire Department who suffered burns to their faces, ears and hands Thursday when a sudden blast of heat from nearby vegetation overwhelmed them as they defended a structure.



All three were treated at Mercy Medical Center in Redding and were later released. One firefighter is receiving further evaluation at the Firefighters Burn Institute Regional Burn Center at University of California at Davis.



City and county firefighters, engines, command vehicles and other support units have been deployed from nearly every Bay Area County including Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Sonoma and Santa Clara counties.







A Pleasanton woman has been sentenced to six years in state prison for killing a Sunnyvale man in a crash in San Lorenzo in unincorporated Alameda County three years ago.



Former registered nurse Michelle Biala, 33, was convicted on April 30 of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated for the death of Steven Lin, 38, on July 13, 2015.



She was sentenced Friday by Alameda County Superior Court Judge Michael Gaffey.







A 61-year-old Pittsburg man was found suffering from a gunshot wound and later died in his home on Olivewood Drive in the city's first homicide of 2018, police said.



Responding to a call from a family member in the home just after 10 a.m. Friday, police and medical personnel performed lifesaving efforts on the man, but he died at the scene, police said.



The case is under investigation and minimal information is available at this time. Police say it appears the victim knew his killer. The man's identity has not been released.







Black community leaders held a news conference at Oakland City Hall to demand justice for the fatal stabbing of 18-year-old Nia Wilson at the MacArthur BART station on Sunday night.



Minister Keith Muhammad of the Nation of Islam mosque in Oakland on Friday said community members "are outraged by the horrific murder of our young sister," referring to Wilson.



Muhammad said the stabbing of Wilson and Letifah Wilson, her 26-year-old sister, on the platform of the MacArthur station at about 9:36 p.m. on Sunday was "vicious" and he called on Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley to consider filing hate crime allegations against suspect John Lee Cowell, a 27-year-old transient man.



But Muhammad said, "We don't have substantial trust in our system of government to prosecute those who have been preying on our community."

























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PLEASANT HILL (BCN)



Two migrant girls who had been separated from their parents at the Mexican border and held at a Pleasant Hill children's shelter as a result of the Trump administration's zero-tolerance policy have been reunited with their families, Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Walnut Creek, said in a statement.



DeSaulnier received an update from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on the adolescent girls' status Thursday, which said the families had been reunited within the past five days.



"While today (Thursday) is the deadline for the federal government to reunify all remaining families, 900 more parents have been deemed ineligible, many with a chance of never seeing their children again," DeSaulnier said.



After visiting the U.S.-Mexico border last week, he said he was "saddened, shocked, and appalled."



"This is not the America I know that strives to live by the motto inscribed on the Statue of Liberty: 'Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,' he said.





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Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Walnut Creek, was one of the 28 members of the U.S. Congress falsely matched to criminal mug shots by Amazon's facial recognition technology, according to the American Civil Liberties Union of Northern California.



The ACLU reported Thursday that the technology, which is being used by some police departments, incorrectly matched the legislators with people who had been charged with a crime.



The false matches disproportionately identified representatives of color, including six members of the Congressional Black Caucus, the ACLU said.



DeSaulnier, along with Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, and Rep. Luis Gutierrez, D-Illinois, have written to Amazon with concerns about the sale of the technology to law enforcement agencies, the ACLU said.



"I am deeply concerned by Amazon's development and deployment of a faulty facial recognition system that mismatched me and others," DeSaulnier said in a statement.



"On top of the threat and excessive nature of constant surveillance, the potential for confusion and false identification that could lead to unjust detention and even prosecution is too high," he said. "Amazon must slow down and consider not just its profit margin, but the impact on society that this technology will have."





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It's a community project involving everyone from children to seniors.

A painting in Lumby is the talk of the town as people add their own creative touch to the massive mural.

Robin Ledrew is a member of the Monashee Art Council board and is organizing the mural.

Since February we've had a class of people, varying people have come out and learned how to draw different things, said Ledrew, adding there have been artistic contributions from children as young as six to seniors well into their 70s.

The mural represents the food-production capacity of the valley. It's an incredibly productive valley, said Ledrew.

The mural will show the progress of agriculture in the valley from the original inhabitants and how First Nations people lived on the land to modern farming and everything in between.

We've got berries and roots at one end and drones at the other end - the future of food production, she said.

One of the key aspects to the mural is community involvement and Ledrew said anyone who wants to take part in the mural can simply stop by. The mural is half a block from the stop light next across the street from Jitter Beans.

Ledrew said they typically paint in the mornings from 7:30-10:30 a.m. and then again in the evening starting at around 7 p.m.

Please, come down and check it out. And if there is anyone out there who still wants to be involved, it's not a closed book, we can take more people, she said.
Photo: Contributed

Organizers with the 18th annual Penticton Dragon Boat Festival Sept. 8 and 9 are seeking volunteers for a variety of tasks.

The races attract over 2,500 athletes every year, drawn to Skaha Lake and one of B.C.s largest dragon boat events. Volunteers will be given a t-shirt and be thanked by thousands, according to a news release Friday.

Potential volunteers are asked to contact [email protected] to find more.
Scott Tsuchitani

Its not every election cycle that you get a candidate for mayor who moonlights as a theater artist. But Cat Brooks, the noted Black Lives Matter activist and Oakland mayoral candidate, fights for the causes she cares about from a variety of angles, including live performance.

Her Tasha, which gets a staged reading on Tuesday, July 31, as part of 3Girls Theatres 2018 New Works Festival, is inspired by the story of Natasha McKenna, a schizophrenic young black woman who was killed in police custody in 2015.
HARARE, Zimbabwe  The nations president promised a thunderous victory and his main challenger told him bye-bye as they rallied supporters one final time ahead of Mondays election in a country seeking to move past decades of economic and political paralysis.

The vote will be a first for the southern African nation: Longtime leader Robert Mugabe wont be on the ballot after resigning in November after a military takeover and pressure from the ruling ZANU-PF party that once backed him. The majority of Zimbabwes 5 million voters grew up under Mugabes 37-year rule.

Supporters of the 75-year-old President Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former Mugabe deputy, and the 40-year-old Nelson Chamisa, the leader of the opposition MDC party, held rallies Saturday in Harare, the capital.

A credible vote could help Zimbabwe shed its longtime status as a global pariah and spur recovery for its collapsed economy, while a contentious election would prevent the lifting of years of international sanctions.

We have opened the country to the world, Mnangagwa declared Saturday, saying that hundreds of investors had poured into the country since he took office with billions of dollars in commitments. Many in once-prosperous Zimbabwe, however, have yet to see any effects as they continue to stand or sleep in long lines to access dwindling cash.

Allow him to finish the job he started, said one Mnangagwa supporter, Erica Chindoma, who like many was bused in by the ruling party to attend the stadium rally under heavy security.

Chamisa, a pastor and lawyer with little government experience, promised a convincing defeat of Mnangagwa, saying the president had done his part in helping to liberate Zimbabwe from white minority rule. Your time is up, he said. If we miss our opportunity on Monday, we are doomed for life.

In an interview Friday, Chamisa alleged that Zimbabwes electoral commission is biased in favor of Mnangagwa, which the president and the commission deny. Chamisa vowed to hold peaceful protests if the election is flawed.

Past elections under Mugabe were marred by violence and intimidation against the opposition and by alleged vote-rigging. Foreign observers were shunned.

Now Mnangagwa, once Mugabes enforcer, praises this beautiful democratic process and dozens of foreign observers have spread throughout the country, including teams from the United States.

Farai Mutsaka is an Associated Press writer.
VATICAN CITY  Pope Francis has accepted U.S. prelate Theodore McCarricks offer to resign from the College of Cardinals after allegations of sexual abuse, including one involving an 11-year-old boy, and ordered him to conduct a life of prayer and penance in a home to be designated by the pontiff until a church trial is held, the Vatican said Saturday.

Francis acted swiftly after receiving McCarricks letter of resignation Friday evening, after recent weeks have brought a spate of allegations that the 88-year-old prelate in the course of his distinguished clerical career had sexually abused both boys and adult seminarians. The revelations posed a test of the pontiffs recently declared resolve to battle what he called a culture of cover-up of similar abuse in the Catholics Churchs hierarchy.

McCarrick already had been removed from public ministry since June 20, pending a full investigation into allegations he fondled a teenager more than 40 years ago in New York City. A man, who was 11 at the time of the first alleged instance of abuse, says a sexually abusive relationship continued for two more decades. McCarrick has denied the initial allegation.

The prelate rose steadily up the U.S. churchs ranks, from auxiliary bishop in New York City, to bishop in Metuchen, N.J., to archbishop of Newark, N.J., and then to archbishop of Washington, D.C., the nations capital.

While most of the scandals over pedophile clergy have involved rank-and-file priests, some cases involved bishops, and there are a few involving cardinals, including a current case in Australia of one of Pope Francis closest advisers, Cardinal George Pell, who now faces a criminal trial in his homeland.

A Catholic University canon law expert, Kurt Martens, noted that this was the first time an order of penance and prayer had been issued before a church trial could take place.

Because he is older than 80, McCarrick was no longer eligible to vote in a conclave to elect a pope. But being a prince of the church, as cardinals are sometimes called, is a top honor, and those elevated to the rank are called upon to advise the pope.

Bishops have been implicated in the sexual abuse scandals that have stained the Catholic Churchs reputation worldwide for decades now, but often for their roles in covering up for pedophile priests by shuffling them from parish to parish.

Frances DEmilio is an Associated Press writer.
KUTUPALONG, Bangladesh  With his blond dreads tied in a ponytail and baggy jeans caked with paint smudges, Max Frieder first arrived at the cramped Rohingya refugee camps in December. Unlike many other foreigners, he wasnt an aid worker in one of the biggest camps for Myanmars persecuted minority in southern Bangladesh.

His mission: bringing color and art to one of the most dismal places in the world.

Amid the sea of makeshift bamboo-and-tarp shelters dotting the rolling hills of Kutupalong, some huts are now painted over with colorful murals. Each mural is a collection of stories from the lives of Rohingya refugees and their hopes for the future.

Frieder and his partner Joel Bergner run a public art organization called Artolution. Theyve made hundreds of large-scale murals around the world, particularly with communities living in conflict zones, from Syrian refugee camps in Jordan and Lebanon to the Gaza Strip and Israel.

You might have food, you might have water, you might have shelter, but there are many deep-rooted psychological traumas that refugees around the world are facing today, Frieder said.

In Bangladesh, they spent several weeks interacting with children and other refugees interested in drawing and painting. They created more than a dozen murals spread across the expansive camps  covering schools, toilets and gathering spaces with a myriad colors.

While hundreds of children, teenagers and entire families came together to participate in painting the murals, some refugees said they found their calling in art.

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 many of them settled in Myanmar generations ago. Dire conditions led more than 200,000 to flee the country between 2012 and 2015.

The latest crisis began last August after the Myanmar military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in retaliation for an insurgent attack. 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 U.N. and U.S. officials have called the governments military campaign ethnic cleansing.

Rishabh R. Jain is an Associated Press writer.
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia  Along a busy highway in western Phnom Penh, Sam Han is among hundreds of garment factory workers scurrying past signs urging them to support Prime Minister Hun Sens party.

The 44-year-old plans to head to her hometown near the Vietnamese border to vote in Sundays election, even though theres not much of a choice. While she avoids saying who shell pick, similar to many other laborers who shy away from discussing politics, Sam Han said shes disappointed the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party was disbanded last year.

There should be an opposition party, she said. I would be very happy if they came back.

Cambodias election is all but a done deal: With the main opposition politicians on the sidelines and urging a boycott, Hun Sen is set to extend his more-than-three-decade run in power. The real test for Asias longest serving strongman is making the vote look credible enough to prevent wage earners such as Sam Han from protesting  and ensure both the European Union and the U.S. dont remove duty-free access for the garment industry.

Two decades ago, the U.S. and its allies could use financial leverage over aid-dependent Cambodia to nurture a democracy forged after Pol Pots genocide wiped out about a fifth of the population. But in recent years China has become the biggest spender, providing the government billions of dollars in loans and public and private infrastructure projects.

That has emboldened Hun Sen to get tough on his political opponents while urging the U.S. to withdraw all aid. Yet that bravado now risks doing damage to the crucial garment sector, Cambodias largest formal employer. It accounts for about a third of the economy and supports about 15 percent of the nations 16 million people.

The EU this month sent a delegation to Cambodia to re-evaluate its duty-free agreement, with trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom citing a serious decline in the area of political and electoral rights. The U.S., which imposed sanctions last month on the chief of Hun Sens personal bodyguard unit over human rights abuses dating back to 1997, may eventually follow suit.

Hun Sen doesnt care about democracy, but Cambodias bottom line is still a big deal, said Michael Kugelman, deputy director of the Wilson Centers Asia Program in Washington. So if you can try to leverage efforts to push back against the recent trend, then this is really one of the only tools that they can use.

Hun Sen has pursued a months-long charm offensive at factories in a bid to spur high turnout among mostly female garment workers, who were instrumental in 2013 protests that emerged after the election. Most controversially, hes proposed boosting the minimum wage to $250 per month by 2023  a nearly 50 percent jump.

While that may help him get past Sundays election without protests, the wage rise risks pushing companies that make clothes for brands such as Gap Inc. to lower-cost destinations such as Bangladesh. The Garment Manufacturers Association in Cambodia said more than 100 factories have closed in the past few years as costs have risen.

Phil Heijmans is a Bloomberg News writer.
ISLAMABAD  The Taliban held their first direct contact with a U.S. official in a preliminary discussion about future peace talks on Afghanistan, a senior official with the insurgent group said Saturday. It marked one of the most significant developments amid efforts to find a negotiated end to the countrys protracted war.

The official described as useful a meeting with Alice Wells, the U.S.s top diplomat for South Asia, last week. He said the meeting was held in Qatar, where the Taliban have maintained a political office since 2013.

The environment was positive and the discussion was useful, the Taliban official told the Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

U.S. officials neither confirmed nor denied a meeting took place. But Wells was in Doha, the Qatar capital, last week. In a statement after her return, the State Department said only that Wells had been in Doha, had met with the ruling family, and that the United States is exploring all avenues to advance a peace process in close consultation with the Afghan government.

Any talks about a future political setup would be between the Taliban and the Afghan government, the statement said.

The Taliban have long demanded direct talks with Washington, saying they want to meet face to face to discuss Washingtons concerns about Taliban involvement in Afghanistans future. They also say they want a time frame for the withdrawal of the roughly 15,000 U.S. and NATO troops still in Afghanistan.

It wasnt clear when the next meeting would be held or with whom, but the Taliban official who spoke to the Associated Press was certain one would be held.

A former Taliban minister and ex-head of their political committee, Aga Jan Mohtism, who has maintained close contacts with the insurgent group, also confirmed a meeting in Doha between U.S. officials and the Taliban took place.

The Taliban want to solve their problems with the Americans to end the invasion, he said.

The Taliban have argued that the Afghan government cannot act independent of Washington. They also say that unless they can allay U.S. concerns about the group, an agreement with Kabul would be meaningless.

During the Talibans five-year rule that ended with the 2001 U.S.-led invasion, leader Mullah Mohammed Omar said regardless of whatever concessions they agreed to, including allowing girls to attend school, it would not gain them international recognition as long as the U.S. refused to accept them.

Kathy Gannon is an Associated Press writer.
Photo: kidmat-edenblog.com

Although we have no technologies that can get us to the stars in a human lifetime, our science fiction writers have been out there among the stars for decades.

They have come up with various means of reaching the stars and exploring our galaxy. Let's look at a few of them.

The brute-force way to get to the stars is to accelerate as close to the speed of light as possible. This will bring the nearest star or two within reach.

Some authors have written about "generation ships," where generations of people live and die en-route on journeys of hundreds or thousands of years.

One serious issue here is that we have not yet managed to sustain a stable artificial ecosystem for even years, let alone centuries or millennia. Moreover, travelling at a good fraction of the speed of light runs into another issue.

Space is not empty; there are always at least a few atoms per cubic centimetre, sometimes many more, along with dust grains and so on. Our fast-moving astronauts would be hitting those atoms and dust grains so quickly the experience would be like exposure to high levels of radiation.

Worm holes are tunnels in space-time that connect one lace in space and time to another. We have not yet found any of these, but there is no reason why they can't exist.

In the stories you fly your spaceship into one of these and almost instantly come out at some distant location, often at a different time.

The problem is that the gravitational stresses needed to hold such things open are so strong that your spaceship, you, and even the atoms you are made of would be torn apart, back into the primordial "stuff" that existed just after the Big Bang.

It would not be possible to put you back together again at the other end, or even identify what stuff was originally you. Unless we can find or make some very special-purpose wormholes, with properties we cannot even imagine at the moment, the wormhole idea is a non-starter.

Many authors and film writers have come up with terms like "warp drive," "hyperspace" and so on. The idea is that by moving in other than the four dimensions we live in (taking time as the fourth dimension) there could be a shorter route.

Imagine a two-dimensional creature living on a rolled up map. Instead of a long journey it could go through the map to the layer underneath, a much shorter distance. This is mathematically possible, but at the moment we have no idea how to do it.

There was a period just after the beginning of the universe where everything expanded at a speed faster than light.

This was not breaking any rules. Einstein showed we cannot go through space-time faster than light, but in this case all of space-time was expanding, carrying everything with it.

Imagine our ship sitting on the fabric of space-time. By some method or other we pull in more of the fabric in front, stretching it, while the stern of our ship is firmly anchored.

Then, we let go of the fabric at the stern, and as it unstretches, it carries us forward. It would be best if we could do this as a continuous process rather than going forward in jerks. Since we are always travelling with space-time, our relative speed is zero, but we could actually be moving at almost any speed.

All the dust and atoms near the ship would all be travelling along with us, so there should be no high-speed impact or radiation issue. Once again, we can see how the physics works, but as yet we have no idea how to do this in practice.



The ideas are out there, and more are coming. Looking back at the achievements our species has made throughout a few thousands of years of history, especially over the last century, if we really want to reach the stars, we will find a way to make it happen.

There is a lot out there to explore.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Guy V. Molinari was remembered as a proud Staten Islander, devoted family man and a fierce competitor.

"He helped me put Staten Island back together," said former Mayor Rudy Giuliani before attending Molinari's funeral Saturday. "It was much easier to be with him than against him."

Molinari, 89, a beloved former Congressman, Assemblyman and Borough President, died Wednesday.

Giuliani was one of hundreds who came to pay their respects at Our Lady Queen of Peace, R.C., including Rep. Dan Donovan, state Sen. Diane Savino, Assemblyman Matthew Titone and former Congressman Michael Grimm, who remembered Molinari as a mentor and father-figure.

After the crowd filed into the church, ushers removed Molinari's brown casket from a silver hearse and carried it in while flanked by two rows of Marines standing at attention.

Susan Molinari, her husband and two daughters followed the casket in and made their way down the aisle before taking their front row seats, across the aisle from Giuliani.

After the prayer service, Susan Molinari delivered a heartfelt and humorous eulogy that summed up her dad in three parts: the Marine, the elected official and the family man.

"He was always faithful to Staten Island," she said.

She recalled how he opened Borough Hall to the homeless for days, and again after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks to help those who lost loved ones.

She said Molinari used to open the phone book and randomly dial Staten Island residents and ask them about their lives and concerns about living on the borough.

Just the other day at the hospital, she said a nurse remembered how Molinari helped her keep her home when she was a struggling single mother.

"Many lives would have been different without Guy Molinari," she said.

As a family man, she said her dad was a loving husband to his wife of 52 years. He also adored his granddaughters, who affectionately called him "Poppy."

"I will always see my dad in the faces of my beautiful daughters," she said.

"He loved them completely and unconditionally," Grimm said of Molinari's devotion to his family during his eulogy. "He was a Staten Islander through and through, but a father and grandfather first."

Giuliani told the mourners Molinari was "bigger than life" and the "personification of Staten Island and New York."

The former mayor fondly shared the funny side of Molinari, who dressed up in a mascot's uniform when the two announced the Staten Island Yankees were coming here.

"When I got elected, that's when he decided to drive me nuts," Giuliani said.

The two worked on the one-way tolls, keeping the Staten Island Ferry free and closing "The Dump." Giuliani joked Molinari was always getting money out of him, and he'd be afraid to say no.

"He was all about doing good for his people on Staten Island," Giuliani recalled.

After the funeral, the procession proceeded to the burial at Moravian Cemetery. The mourners were greeted with white roses as the group of Marines fired three shots.

The group gathered beneath a big, beautiful tree, where a United States Marine Corps wreath rested.

The Marines removed the American flag that was draped across the casket and a pastor led a small service at Molinari's last resting stop.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- I keep reminding myself it could have been worse.

My leased 2016 Nissan Rogue -- also known as Ramona -- was involved in a hit-and-run accident in front of my home in Mariners Harbor on Sunday.

While "Ramona" is not OK, we are -- and that's what's important.

My husband was working in the backyard and my 4-year-old was playing in the living room. I was in the kitchen washing dishes.

I heard the impact, but I assumed it was my husband in the yard; I thought he dropped the wheelbarrow on the concrete.

I even stopped washing the dishes for a moment and turned my head sideways - you know the way you turn your head to help you hear something better? I heard nothing else, so I kept washing.

Then my doorbell rang.

'BUT I JUST WASHED MY CAR!'

My neighbor told me in a panic that somebody hit my car and drove off.

"You're kidding me," is the PG-13 version of what came out of my mouth as I simultaneously grabbed my phone, told my daughter to keep playing in the living room, yelled for my husband and ran outside.

My neighbor said she ran outside -- like I should have -- when she heard the crash and saw a white Nissan Altima driving away towards Forest Avenue.

She said the car had out-of-state plates but didn't catch a glimpse of the driver.

"OK, it's a place for the cops to start," I thought.

Then she said she had cameras. Even better.

I ran inside to check on my daughter; she hadn't moved. I went back outside to take another look at the damage and wait for the cops.

"But I just washed my car yesterday!" I said, trying to make myself laugh. I'd spent a few hours on Saturday afternoon vacuuming, washing and using every Armorall product I could find on Ramona.

"I'm never washing my car again," I said, trying not to cry.

CARDBOARD LICENSE PLATE

Another neighbor and my husband jumped in their cars to drive around the neighborhood to look for the culprit while I waited for the police to come.

As it turns out, whoever was driving didn't get very far. The car was dumped two blocks from my house in front of a fire hydrant.

After the police took my information they went to check out the car.

The Altima had a cardboard license plate, a Pennsylvania registration that has been expired for two years and the insurance information found in the vehicle belonged to a Manhattan address.

And there were Coors Light cans on floor of the passenger side.

All the police were able to do was ticket the vehicle for expired and missing information and parking in front of a fire hydrant.

How was this car driving around? Did nobody notice the painfully obvious false license plate?

I was, and still am, furious.

'I CAN PICK UP MY CAR ANY TIME?'

I filed a claim with my insurance company and set up a tow through the leasing company.

About an hour later I made my way from Mariners Harbor to Pleasant Plains to pick up the car.

I pulled up to Enterprise only to find out they closed at 1 p.m. I was 45 minutes too late.

That's my fault -- I should have double checked the hours of operation but it was just one more thing gone wrong that day.

BACK TO PLEASANT PLAINS I GO

Now I had to figure out how to get my daughter to daycare and get from Mariners Harbor to Pleasant Plains since my husband needed his car for work and my parents also had to go to work Monday morning.

Did you know you can request an Uber with a child seat? Pretty cool.

Thankfully, a friend was able to give me a ride.

I don't live close to a train station and it would have taken three buses and probably more than three hours to get there.

The employee informed me that my insurance policy allots $50 per day and up to $1,500 for a rental car. It would be about $2 per day out of pocket for me to rent a Jeep Cherokee.

Sweet!

Plus taxes, fees, and insurance. Oh, and the $280 security deposit hold they put on my debit card.

My insurance adjuster said there was about $10,000 worth of damage to Ramona and the body shop said it would take at least two weeks to fix.

All-in-all, it's going to cost me close to $700 for my rental plus my insurance deductible.

And the person who hit me got away with it.
ALBANY, N.Y. -- New York regulators have revoked their approval of Charter Communications' merger with Time Warner Cable and ordered the company to find another cable provider for its more than 2 million customers in the state.

The state Public Service Commission on Friday claimed the company is not meeting public benefit conditions agreed to in 2016. A key complaint centers on the company's commitment to expand its broadband network to underserved areas.

They ordered Charter, doing business as Spectrum, to file a plan within 60 days to ensure an "orderly transition to a successor" provider or providers.

Charter says it remains focused on expanding broadband and said "rhetoric often becomes politically charged" in election years.

Charter provides cable service in Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, Manhattan, Staten Island, Queens and parts of Brooklyn.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - If you were a reporter, Guy Molinari could be your best friend. Or your worst enemy.

I for sure felt the good and the bad of Guy having first started covering him 30 years ago. Most reporters I know who covered him would likely say the same thing.

That's what I found myself thinking about as I stood in line at the Matthew Funeral Home in Willowbrook to pay my last respects to Guy at his wake.

I should have been taking note of all the borough luminaries in the room, with enough Republicans to form a quorum. Noting the floral arrangements, including the huge one in the shape of the Marine Corps seal. Noticing the Marines standing guard at Guy's coffin.

But instead I was thinking of how Guy spanned the entirety of my career in newspapers, for all the good and bad that that entailed.

The good, and there was a lot of it: Guy was great copy. He was always doing things. He always had something going on. And he always wanted the press to know. Whether he was in office or in private life. He was controversial, and unafraid to air the dirty laundry in public.

He'd call you on the phone. He'd bring you into his office or his home. He'd come into your office. It was hard to keep up sometimes. He made you feel important, part of his next endeavor. He played me like a Stradivarius more than once.

Back in the day when I was the main political writer for the Advance, I wrote a column for the Sunday paper called Strictly Political. It was more of a gossip column than something analytical. Who was fighting with whom. Who was looking to ace somebody out of a spot on the ballot. Which party chair was in danger of a facing a coup that week.

The column had to be a certain length each week, and there were times I had trouble filling the space. I was sometimes just one item away from finishing. But I knew that all I had to do was phone up Guy. He always had something to say, even after he retired from office. It could be on local politics or something national. Or maybe a reminiscence about Regan or Bush or Giuliani or McCain, whose names he dropped without sounding like a name-dropper. I always got my column item. You could say he was my go-to Guy.

Then there was the bad: If he perceived you'd slighted him, Guy could ghost you like nobody else. He wouldn't call. He wouldn't return calls. He wouldn't tell you why. You just noticed after a couple of days or weeks that you hadn't heard from Guy. Or that he hadn't returned your call.

This happened to me only once that I can remember, and it went on for months. I don't remember my transgression. I may not have returned a phone call. I may not have written about something he'd told me about. I may have written something he didn't like. I think I finally went to Guy's longtime friend, Bob Scamardella, to straighten things out.

I met Guy back when I was working for the old weekly here, the Staten Island Register, in the late 1980s. Guy was famous for feuding with the Advance at the time. Guy vs. Advance Editor Les Trautmann was a true battle of the titans. Both men thought they were the El Supremo of Staten Island.

We at the Register got the benefit of that, because when Guy wasn't talking to the Advance, he was talking to us, including my editor there, Bill Franz, the newspaperman of the old school who raised me in this business.

And now it can be told: Yes, Guy Molinari did me a favor once.

Back in 1988, I wanted to cover the presidential nominating conventions. I was free-lancing for the Register at the time. Guy, thanks to his being the New York director for Vice President George H.W. Bush's presidential campaign, was able to secure me credentials for the GOP convention. It was the first of my many trips to New Orleans, a place that's become my second city. I guess I have Guy to thank a little for that too. I interviewed Guy about Bush and wrote a story for the paper. That was the quid pro quo for the credentials.

Yeah, Guy rubbed folks the wrong way sometimes. He rubbed me the wrong way sometimes. Many times I vowed to never write about him again. To hell with him. Just like many politicos here washed their hands of the old man over the years. But we always found our way back to him, even if it was sometimes grudgingly. When it came to politics, Guy was just the whole package, Yoda and Darth Vader all rolled into one. A political junkie's dream and nightmare.

There will never be anyone like him again.
Facebook has always had one absolute leader, cemented by a share class structure that maintained Mark Zuckerberg's voting control even when he sold millions of shares. Some investors grumbled, but most were happy to stay quiet as the stock surged. This week's plunge up-ended that dynamic, increasing calls for changes at the top.

"It's never an issue until things go wrong," said Pivotal Research Group analyst Brian Wieser. He thinks a change in Facebook leadership is inevitable, and said the latest numbers could hasten that. "It's really hard to imagine the status quo holding." A Facebook spokeswoman declined to comment.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Investors are pushing to separate the CEO and chairman roles. Credit:Bloomberg

On Thursday, Facebook fell 20 per cent, costing investors $US120 billion - the biggest single-day loss for an individual stock in history. Shareholders who had weathered months of renewed debate over Facebook's role in society and the ethics of its business model suddenly turned tail when they realised growth had run out on Facebook's core money-making app. Growth rates will decline by "high single-digit percentages" each of the next two quarters, chief financial officer David Wehner said.

The loss of faith emboldened voices that have called for Zuckerberg to share more of his voting power and give up his role chairing the board to a more independent figure.
The Force is strong with Carrie Fisher's Leia Organa, who will continue to shine in the upcoming Star Wars: Episode IX.

Walt Disney Studios announced on Friday that the role of Leia will once again be played by the late actress, using previously unreleased footage shot for Star Wars: The Force Awakens.

Director J.J. Abrams said the decision to feature Fisher's Leia had the blessing of her daughter Billie Lourd, and was the only way to truly honour Fisher's legacy for the final installment of the Luke Skywalker saga.

Carrie Fisher starred with Harrison Ford and Mark Hamill.

"We desperately loved Carrie Fisher," Abrams said in a statement posted to StarWars.com. "Finding a truly satisfying conclusion to the Skywalker saga without her eluded us. We were never going to recast, or use a CG character. With the support and blessing from her daughter, Billie, we have found a way to honour Carrie's legacy and role as Leia in Episode IX by using unseen footage we shot together in Episode VII."
For most productions, this would all spell disaster. But for Gilliams troubled Quixote project, it seems somehow part of the grand narrative. Gilliam first read Miguel de Cervantes 1605 novel about a delusional nobleman in 1989, and immediately began plotting to film it. "Its an impossible novel, it goes on forever," he said of the book at Cannes in May. "Its extraordinary, it's unfilmable." Some claimed it was in fact a "cursed project" (Orson Welles had tried and failed to film Don Quixote decades earlier), and Gilliam got close to making his movie a couple of times before the cameras finally began rolling in 2000, with French actor Jean Rochefort as the errant knight and Johnny Depp as Toby, a time traveller from the present day who is mistaken by Quixote for his faithful sidekick Sancho Panza. That film was troubled from the outset, but fell apart entirely after a week of shooting when Rochefort returned to Paris with prostate issues and a herniated spine that made it impossible for him to ride a horse (an essential attribute for the role). A documentary about that failed endeavour, Lost in La Mancha, was released in 2002, with directors Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe turning what had been intended as a making-of movie for the marketing department into a standalone tale about how everything that can go wrong did.

But within six months, Gilliam was back in the saddle. Actors came and went: Robert Duvall, Michael Palin, John Hurt, Ewan McGregor and Jack OConnell were all attached at various points. As late as 2010, Johnny Depp was still lined up to play Toby/Sancho. Now it's done. The film stars Jonathan Pryce  so brilliant in Gilliams 1985 movie Brazil  as Quixote and Adam Driver as Toby/Sancha. "It was embarrassing for about 10 or 15 years because I kept dodging Jonathan because I knew he wanted to do it but I never felt he was right," Gilliam said of his Quixote in Cannes. "But eventually he got old enough and his eyebrows got thick enough that we didnt have to do special eyebrows for him, so he got the job. The eyebrows have it: Jonathan Pryce had wanted to play Quixote for years before Gilliam finally gave him the role. Credit:Tornasol The story changed over those decades of development hell, too. Toby, for example, is no longer a time traveller. He is now a director revisiting for a commercial the landscape in which he shot his student film  a retelling of Don Quixote  more than a decade earlier.

"This film  is very different than what I began 25 years ago, and it's much better than my original plan," Gilliam said. "So thank God I failed and the film succeeded." But of course, nothing to do with this project is that simple. The legal dispute around the film arose because with just weeks until the start of production, Branco had failed to deliver the promised 16 million funding (though he had raised around two-thirds of that). Perhaps more pressingly, he was demanding a degree of control over the production that Gilliam felt was unreasonable and in breach of their agreement. Gilliam had by then assigned his fee  750,000  to Branco to ensure the film got made. He was effectively working for nothing.

In mid August, as relations soured entirely, Alfama cancelled the planned shoot. Soon after, and in response, Gilliam wrote to Alfama to declare their contractual relationship at an end. He quickly found another producer and raced into production as planned. The legal judgements that have come in quick succession have all agreed that Gilliam acted improperly in unilaterally terminating his contract with Alfama. But whether it follows that Alfama holds the rights to a film it did almost nothing to make is far from clear. Certainly MIFF is of the view that it is legally in the clear. A festival spokeswoman says "the sales agent has advised that the film can be screened", and points to a host of other festivals  Karlovy Vary, Munich, Odessa, and Sydney  that have screened it. She adds: "Were excited to have it here in Melbourne for the opening weekend." A spokseman for the Sydney Film Festival advises that it took its cue from a French court decision in May that cleared the film for screening at Cannes.

Alfama, of course, holds a very different view. In Lost in La Mancha, Gilliam pondered what would become of his doomed project. "I've done the film too often in my head, too many times, I've seen it, I've been through it, I know how it goes. Is it better to just leave it there? I really don't know." He didn't leave it there, of course, but even now the story is far from over. The Spanish company that eventually produced the film, Tornasol, plans to appeal the recent verdict in Alfamas favour in Madrid. Meanwhile, Fulton and Pepe are editing a sequel to Lost in La Mancha, titled He Dreams of Giants. It won't just be another look at this troubled saga, they promise. It will take us inside the director's head.
Sydneysiders are in for a hazy weekend as smoke enters the Sydney basin from backburning efforts to contain large blazes on the southern fringe.

The Office of the Environment and Heritage has warned air quality in the basin is likely to be affected by backburning at Holsworthy and from separate hazard-reduction burning at Ironbark Ridge, on the city's north-western edge.

Backburning on Friday to contain the Mackel Airfield fire will likely push smoke towards southern Sydney and the Illawarra over the weekend. Credit:NSW Rural Fire Service

A blaze in bushland at the Holsworthy Barracks site would likely require backburning of as much as 4500 hectares to contain the fire, Ben Shepherd, a senior spokesman for the Rural Fire Service (RFS), said on Friday.

Ground crews were limited in their ability to directly tackle the fire because of the risk of unexploded ordnance from training exercises in the past, Inspector Shepherd said.
Helen Pitt's husband William Oliver and son Liam in 2003. When I lived in northern California, not far from Silicon Valley, my husband enrolled in a masters program in digital technology and in early 2005 developed a program similar to the Australian governments My Health Record. Because of his experience living with a brain tumour for a decade he and his study partner created what they called an e-health record a tool which he knew from practical experience would help anyone with a life threatening or chronic illness. Wed both spent so many hours in doctors' surgeries, hospital rooms and specialist clinics with him recounting his treatment regimen and health history: the radiation doses hed had, the chemotherapy and immunotherapy regimes. The precise details not only helped his clinical team with his treatment but also helped determine which clinical trials he was eligible for. His doctors, some of the best brain surgeons and neuro-oncologists in the world, thought it was a brilliant idea. They got him introductions to venture capitalists in Silicon Valley and Stanford University medical specialists who were keen to fund the idea.

He was paid to fly to Washingtons National Institute of Health to examine the clinical trials he was eligible for, and while there met healthcare professionals who were really bullish about his idea. Hed become a healthcare advocate in the later stages of his life, working for a San Francisco non-profit established to help people with AIDS, and everyone from clients to the CEO supported him. As controversy continues to swirl this month around the right to privacy, data/accessibility issues surrounding the program, I was plunged back to the July 13 years ago when he died. May 18, 2005 was the day I had to call in hospice services to our home to help care for him as I was struggling to cater for his healthcare needs and that of our energetic toddler. Everyone in that hospice program we came into contact with praised his program and wondered why no one had thought of doing it before. As he slipped into a coma in our home, I struggled to remember the doses and types of medications hed taken which were the questions I was asked constantly. I was in deep shock but lucky I had his e-health record. The hospice people, our doctor, friends and neighbours who filled our home in his final days, spoke glowingly of his foresight. Sadly, it has taken some time to gain greater recognition and worldwide use. I assume people who oppose My Health Record, such as politicians Walt Secord and Tim Wilson, have never walked with a loved one on the difficult path of a terminal illness. Or had a chronic illness theyve needed to manage themselves.
Earlier this month the University of Sydney Business School called its new findings - that Australian women felt like they had enough energy only four out of 10 days, and Australian men five out of 10 - the new energy crisis. A recent survey found inadequate sleep cost the Australian economy $66 billion in 2016/17. Lack of sleep, skipped meals and lack of exercise are basically sapping our will to live, the research found. While University of Sydney senior lecturer Dr Stefan Volk described the findings as depressing, the rest of us who skipped breakfast to make up for the fact we didnt get out of bed early for exercise because we stayed up late watching The Handmaids Tale on Netflix would probably call it a lifestyle choice. With almost 40 per cent of us estimated to be getting inadequate sleep, Australia is apparently a society of the chronically tired, and our elected representatives are reflecting us in all our exhausted, cantankerous glory. Ive seen it most actively [in] the inherent stupidities of the Australian parliamentary democracy, where this false macho culture of sitting late into the night in the Parliament or into the early morning to pass such critical legislation [means] that we had to threaten each other with a Mexican standoff, revolvers pointed to each others heads, in a rolling game of Russian roulette, where the real leverage is sleep. And you just want to get out of there, former prime minister Kevin Rudd observes.

No wonder Australian politics has become increasingly associated with bad behaviour and questionable decisions. Sydney-based sleep expert Dr Carmel Harrington frequently advises blue-chip chief executives, law firms, accounting groups and health providers, where risk management is core business. And the cost of the dodgy decisions we make while chronically tired is increasingly considered a business risk. With almost 40 per cent of us estimated to be getting inadequate sleep, Australia is apparently a society of the chronically tired. Harrington relates a recent experiment which compared the effects of sleep deprivation in two groups: one group was permitted to sleep only six hours a night for two weeks, and another group was kept awake for three nights.

The no-sleep-for-three-nights group naturally reported feeling very tired and miserable. The restricted sleep group reported feeling fairly tired for the first couple of days, but then not that bad after the two weeks. Heres the worrying thing for those of us who think were coping with our rotten sleep: both groups showed almost the same level of impairment in physical, working memory and cognitive performance. Whats more, the acute sleep deprivation group knew they couldnt perform to standard, but the six-hours-a-night group were unaware they were so impaired. In fact, another study of financial decision-making by the chronically and acutely tired showed that people whod had their sleep restricted by only a couple of hours a night were more likely to engage in risky behaviour, compared with people who stayed up all night and knew they were tired. Essentially, we can be out of our minds with tiredness and not even know it. Away from the hothouse of political combat, its with surprising honesty that many current and former politicians, including Kevin Rudd, John Howard, Julie Bishop, Bob Brown and Jacqui Lambie, reveal the pressures on sleep that public life brings.

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop, whose life over the past five years has been dominated by almost constant travel and fending off jet lag, reveals the only time sleeplessness and exhaustion nearly got the better of her was in the aftermath of the downing of the MH17, when Bishop contracted pneumonia in London. Back in Australia, we were none the wiser. The Foreign Affairs Minister was merely in transit. Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop's life over the past five years has been dominated by almost constant travel. Credit:AAP Former Greens leader Bob Brown battled insomnia throughout his parliamentary career and believes an overhaul of the sitting hours of federal parliament - five days a week, 9 to 5 - could encourage a healthier democracy. Hed likely find an ally in former Tasmanian independent Lambie, who told ABCs The Drum earlier this month that the Parliament-wide fatigue was most noticeable on Thursday afternoons, at the end of a long sitting fortnight. I wouldnt do a presser or anything like that because I was brain dead, she said.

In fact, the nights leading up to Australias involvement in overseas conflicts in East Timor, Afghanistan and Iraq gave him the most sleepless periods of his prime ministership. Former prime minister John Howard says inevitably there are nights when sleep will elude a leader. Credit:AAP You are very conscious you have taken a decision that might end up in death for your soldiers, he says. That weighs a lot more heavily than anything else, as it should. His worry was not about the rights or wrongs of Australias involvement in overseas wars because those decisions were made in the daylight hours over the months and weeks before. The midnight anxiety was "what happens next?". His successor Rudd almost rolls his eyes when asked if it is true that he only sleeps three or four hours a night. That particular story, he says, arose from a light-hearted throwaway line by his wife, Therese Rein.
Photo: The Canadian Press Seized packages of cocaine are shown in a government of Martinique handout photo.

Two Quebec men remained in a Martinique jail Friday after a sailboat, brimming with cocaine, was set ablaze on open water earlier this month in what authorities say was a desperate attempt to destroy evidence.

The massive amount of cocaine seized on the vessel in the Caribbean Sea was most likely destined for Canada, said French authorities.

Compelling video taken by French customs agents show the boat on fire and officials trying to douse the flames in choppy water.

"The investigation is ongoing under the supervision of a judge, and one of the main strands is to liaise with Canadian authorities," Jean-Damien Moustier, the senior French officer in charge of drug enforcement in Martinique, said in an interview.

Moustier said the cocaine was likely coming from Venezuela, where much of the intercepted product in the area originates.

The final port of call for the boat, which was clearly affixed with a Fleur-de-lis, was not in doubt.

"The destination of the drugs was the Canadian market," he said.

Moustier cited French laws in declining to name the suspects, but Le Journal de Montreal identified them earlier this week as men in their 50s from the Riviere-du-Loup area, about 200 kilometres northeast of Quebec City.

The operation began July 18 when customs officials, the regional coast guard and the French frigate Germinal were dispatched to intercept a sailboat they suspected was being used to traffic drugs.

They caught up with the vessel on the evening of July 19, but rough waters prevented the customs officials from getting close enough to secure it.

They said the occupants agreed to follow customs officials to the island of Saint Martin the next day, only to abandon the boat the next morning.

The vessel was set on fire and the skipper and another occupant took refuge in a life-raft.

The fire was quickly brought under control and authorities say they managed to salvage some 1,506 kilograms of cocaine in bundles while detaining the two Canadian suspects.

Moustier described the seizure as an exceptional haul.

The men appeared in court Tuesday and were ordered detained by a judge in Fort-de-France.
Mission Impossible: Fallout, the sixth movie in the Mission Impossible franchise, will parachute into Australian cinemas this Thursday. Critics are already raving, and by the looks of the box-office, it's set to be a smash.

It's also unequivocal proof that Tom Cruise might be weird; he might be, as the London Telegraph has suggested, unnaturally attracted to planes; he might be nothing more than a functional skinsuit for the ghost of L. Ron Hubbard, but he can still carry a film.

Film still from "Jerry Maguire" in 1996.

Cruise is one of the last great movie stars - he can act circles around George Clooney and Brad Pitt - laconic gents who rely too much on their looks and laid-back charm. Clooney will invite you in for a drink. Pitt might offer you a spliff. But Cruise is going hiking up Mount Kilimanjaro at 5am and he'll pass on both, thanks.

The vein-popping intensity that Cruise appears to have patented is what the American Dream was built on. The idea that all it takes is one deeply committed individual to give a rousing speech and change the minds of many is exactly why Donald Trump is in the White House. Stirring rhetoric is the opiate of the American masses. Stirring rhetoric with catchphrases? Come on!
The ACT government will not make it compulsory for brothels to display multilingual signs with help-seeking information for victims of human trafficking.

This is despite the territory government recommending the measure to combat sex slavery during a 2011 review of its own prostitution laws.

Raids on Fyshwick escort agencies this week led to an Australian woman being charged and five Thai nationals detained over immigration offences. Court documents said police had seized items of interest in relation to "potential future human trafficking and/or forced labor offences".

Border Force would not comment on whether the five Thai women would be deported.
While you'd expect to find alpacas on farms and properties, a pair of them are helping to bring smiles and joy to those who need it most in Canberra.

Mimosa and Hercules are therapy alpacas, who make regular visits to hospitals, palliative care facilities, retirement villages and even streets around Civic.

Alpacas Hercules and Mimosa with Therapy Alpacas co-founder Stephanie Dean. Credit:Jamila Toderas

The alpacas are owned by Nils Lantzke. He and Stephanie Dean have been using therapy alpacas to bring much needed relief to Canberrans for more than 15 years.

While therapy animals such as dogs are more common in hospitals, Mr Lantzke said there were many benefits to using alpacas.
Hundreds of Christmas presents. A wheelchair for an elderly new arrival who had been tortured in her homeland. Winter school uniforms.

GIVIT has donated almost 35,000 new or used items to the 150 Canberra and Queanbeyan organisations who have registered with the charity since its ACT launch in May last year.

Christina, a client of YWCA Canberra, received a bike from GIVIT. Credit:Elesa Kurtz

The online not-for-profit matches people who have unwanted objects with those who need them via a donation portal similar to Gumtree.

ACT manager Caroline Odgers said she had been shocked by the level of poverty in Canberra.
The number of Canberrans prosecuted by the Australian Tax Office for tax-related offences fell by almost half during the most recent financial year.

Of those charged, one Canberran was forced to pay a $6500 fine for failing to submit a tax return for 11 years between 2004 and 2013.

New figures released by the ATO showed it made 28 successful prosecutions of businesses and individuals during the 2017-18 financial year, compared to 47 the financial year before.

The ATO made 28 prosecutions during the most recent financial year in Canberra. Credit:Jim Rice

The ATO successfully charged 17 individuals in the ACT for tax-related offences, down from 37 during 2016-17.
A revised plan to develop the former AFP complex in Weston Creek will see the number of houses reduced and building heights lowered.

However, a small group of residents has cast concerns over the project, saying the development would create traffic issues in streets surrounding the site.

The revised plan for the Weston Creek site. Credit:Village Building Company

After several rounds of consultation, Village Building Company - the developers behind the proposal - put forward a revised plan to Weston Creek residents recently, with the changes discussed at a community meeting on Wednesday night.

The changes have seen the number of dwellings on the site reduced to 240, down from 256, with three-storey apartment buildings planned along Heysen Street reduced to two storeys.
When Stephanie Dunn saw the fist-sized hole in the wall and locks fitted on the outside of the doors, she knew that something was wrong.

"The lady living there seemed very downtrodden, she wasn't confident at all. She was really timid, and I could tell that something wasn't right," Ms Dunn said.

Stephanie Dunn has developed a national initiative with Parramatta Mission for real estate agents to help confront domestic violence. Credit:Fairfax

The "domestic violence red flags" at the Ambarvale property she rented to tenants continued to play on Ms Dunn's mind, well after she visited the south-western Sydney home.

Then she had a light bulb moment.
Troy Filson does not mince words when he describes how Bondi Junction became a blight on Sydney's eastern suburbs.

The urban design, a term I use loosely, is hodgepodge and contributes nothing to the beauty of the surrounding area, he said.

Bondi Junction has suffered from poor planning and overdevelopment, according to some residents. Credit:Wolter Peeters

Mr Filson, co-convener of the Mill Hill Bondi Junction precinct, said the suburb had fallen victim to rapacious developers.

Development took place at such an expedited rate over the past few years in order to benefit developers in the lucrative housing market with little concern for what remained in their wake, he said.
The rendezvous The Melbourne plan required the container to be dropped off at an isolated service station on the Hume Highway, near Kalkallo, where the contraband cigarettes would be inspected, the smugglers paid, and the goods whisked away by the buyers. Instead, frustrated henchmen milled around a truck they couldnt start and a container they couldnt open, bickering about what to do and throwing blame in a series of increasingly desperate (tapped) phone calls to the ringleaders. What he did is he parked the truck right to the end, very close to the fence, meaning we cant put anything behind it to unload it, one of the smugglers, Sarkis Anjoul, told his boss. Anjouls bona fides as tobacco trafficker were not ideal. He ran the BBQ Wrap outlet and Sir Sharks fish-and-chip shop in the Northland shopping centre food court. The second business was underwritten by his uncle, Nabil Grege, who was also the mastermind of the illicit importation.

As for Grege, his foray into crime is difficult to fathom. An immigrant success story, the Lebanese-born businessman had made legitimate fortunes twice over  first in food importation and later in property development  and had accumulated all the expected trappings: a penthouse apartment, luxury cars and respect in the community. At 60, inexplicably, he turned his hand to smuggling. Nabil Grege, right, and co-accused, Michael Buric, left, outside the County Court. Credit:Chris Vedelago Grege, a court would eventually hear, was a control freak whose domineering and abusive micro-management style had made him a great entrepreneur in legitimate businesses, but did not translate to the underworld.

As his big score was planned and then unravelled in the north-suburban parking lot, Grege would make and receive dozens of phone calls, insisting on being involved in every facet of the operation. Each call was intercepted by police. Damn it. What a shit job, Grege yelled down the phone at Anjoul as the group milled around the inaccessible container. F---, I told you to be there earlier. Not one of you have brains. You are all idiots. Give me a moment, let me find out what I can do. For nearly three hours, they floundered at the service station car park until, eventually, it was decided the only realistic option was to wait for the driver to return and then move the entire rig to a new spot. We have agreed that the goods wont enter this mumble jumble. Brother of a slut, donkey, sons of bitches, worthless people, Grege ranted.

Rolling in a convoy through Melbournes north suburbs, the shipping container was finally delivered to a secure warehouse controlled by the buyers. The reveal But in all the hours spent fretting over the container, apparently no one had noticed that the container was blue. It was supposed to be brown. Likewise, no one had checked the ID markings painted on the side. AFP surveillance officers had already figured out what was about to happen. A team of police had watched from the start. They had seen the brown target container loaded onto a semi-trailer at the shipping yard earlier that day, and had been watching it for hours.

As they monitored the stationary container, though, an alert came in from a second AFP surveillance team. The rendezvous at the service station seemed to be under way, 60 kilometres across the city. How could the smugglers be checking their booty when the container with a million dollars in cigarettes had not moved an inch? Not one of you have brains. You are all idiots. Give me a moment, let me find out what I can do. Nabil Grege They brought us the wrong one, meaning the wrong container ... It has metal shelves inside it, Anjoul exclaimed in Arabic to his boss when the group finally opened the latch. Grege: Motherf---ers ... What are you talking about man?

Anjoul: Can you ask ... what was the colour, since its colour should be blue. Grege called a relative who had a photograph of the container. Grege: [He] is telling me it is a completely different colour ... It should be light brown. Anjoul: This one is blue. A fortnight later, a second container, this one holding nearly 10 million cigarettes, would be seized at the docks.

When Grege went on trial in the County Court this year, prosecutor Patrick Doyle would describe these events, in a somewhat understated fashion, as a plan that went badly wrong. The Age can now reveal that the scheme had been doomed well before the bungled pick-up. Brother of a slut, donkey, sons of bitches, worthless people. Tobacco smuggler Nabil Grege The food court plot Even if everything had gone right on that day in late May 2013, the smugglers and the buyers would never have picked up their cigarettes.

The AFP had been on to the scheme more than three weeks before the container arrived in Melbourne  time to set up up telephone intercepts and covert surveillance of Greges smuggling crew and the Melbourne-based buyers syndicate. One of the things that compromised Greges master plan was his crews tendency to leave a trail of evidence the AFP was able to, quite literally, pick up. Grege took meetings in the food court of Northland shopping mall, where a proportion of their fellow diners were AFP surveillance officers with recording equipment. On one occasion, Anjoul brought with him a piece of paper on which was written the falsified information used on customs documents. After the meeting, he simply ripped it up and threw it in the bin. Recovered and taped back together by AFP officers, it would become a key exhibit in the trial. Other compromising documents would be recovered during AFP raids months after the failed importation.

Even more damning, the investigation amassed thousands of telephone intercepts from a crew that seemed to believe speaking in Arabic and using half-baked code words, such as fridge for cigarettes and computer for container, would conceal their activities. In a major stroke of luck for the investigation, Greges son James was also randomly stopped by Australian customs officials in April 2013 as he returned from a trip to Dubai. Suspicious about the the trip, custom agents downloaded the contents of his mobile phone, which was later found to hold an image of the container and an invoice for hundreds of boxes of cigarettes. (James was found not guilty by a jury amid claims authorities had intentionally misrepresented evidence about his involvement in the conspiracy). The way the jury should interpret all that evidence was intensively challenged by Grege and his lawyer.

It is possible if you twist and turn the words and contents of any document you will ultimately come up with some theory of why it fits together, defence barrister Con Heliotis told the jury, claiming his client had been used as an unwitting dupe. On the stand, Grege himself also vehemently denied any involvement. Evidence that the prosecution alleged was about cigarettes, Grege claimed was about plans to import Lebanese biscuits, Chinese-made Viagra, fridges, batteries or Toshiba airconditioners. Mr Doyle, ask me about the wafer biscuit, please, Grege begged the prosecutor at one point. Why do you want to put in your head that this is about cigarettes? Why not its about wafer biscuits? ... You are biggest liar Ive seen in my life.
If you recently heard a claim that all Chinese students are spies I am likely the original source of this claim. The only problem is: I never said it.

The debate about Party-state interference is not about closing universities to students from China. Credit:The Age

In 2017 a Chinese student in one of my classes at Macquarie University gave a class presentation on the recent wave of self-immolations in Tibet. Her presentation was subsequently reported back to her parents in China by superiors, who characterised the talk as subversive and warned them to keep an eye on their daughter.

Obviously, a class participant had monitored and reported her comments back to China. When this student came to me to recount this situation, she was rightly terrified. I was not surprised but rather disheartened: this was, without doubt, an attempt to export Chinas closed system to Australian classrooms and thus a fundamental violation of Australian sovereignty.

I shared this incident in an interview with Inside Higher Ed in late 2017, emphasising the need to protect international students rights to free speech and free enquiry.
Photo: Colin Dacre PIB Chief Chad Eneas

The Penticton Indian Band has fired back against its former chief administrative officer with a countersuit in response to a wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed against it last month.

Brent Ryan-Lewis filed a breach of contract claim on June 21, alleging the PIB dismissed him unjustly after he raised concerns about Chief and Councils financial management of the First Nation. He claimed he was fired for whistleblowing about the PIBs finances, but the First Nation is telling a very different story in court.

In a response to the civil claim and accompanied countersuit, the PIB states it fired Ryan-Lewis for fraud and dishonesty.

The countersuit alleges Ryan-Lewis went behind the back of Chief Chad Eneas and the bands chief financial officer in March 2018, and presented band council with a new budget and pay grid that included a substantial raise for himself and retroactive pay worth $17,000.

The countersuit claims Ryan-Lewis specifically misled councillors that there was the funds to pay for the new pay grid and that the CFO had signed off on the plan. Council took him at his word and approved the budget.

As a result, the plaintiff received a marked and substantial increase in his salary, the PIB claims. Because there was insufficient funds in the budget for staff salary increases, the plaintiff's salary was paid from funds that would have benefited the PIB membership.

The PIB says it moved to terminate Ryan-Lewis when it learned of his dishonesty. The First Nations chief financial officer also resigned due to the ordeal. The counterclaim seeks to claw back the inflated salary the CAO allegedly awarded himself.

Neither the PIB's or Ryan-Lewis's version of events have been proven in court. The CAO's firing prompted protest from a group that has opposed Chief Chad Eneas from the early days of his term.

In a news release Friday, the PIB blamed the top-down system imposed by the federal government on the band over the past 30-plus years  stating the amount of power put in the hands of one person, like the band administrator, is not sustainable and makes transparency and information sharing very challenging.

The First Nation says it is working to build a new management structure that shifts responsibility away from a single position.

To be truly transparent, we have to encourage and engage all of our staff and departments, empowering and supporting professional development across our resource pool, said interim CAO Jonathan Baynes. As an inclusive community, our administrative structure should reflect the values and culture, rather than adopting an imposed model.

With that, the PIB says it has hired a new permanent CAO and CFO.

PIB member Joe Johnson is the First Nations new chief administrative officer. He returns to his reserve after serving as director of operations for the Bonaparte Indian Band near Cache Creek.

Brian Conner is the new chief financial officer. Hes been the Westbank First Nations director of finance since 2006.

Having these positions filled by experienced professionals with the understanding of our history, both culturally and politically, will serve us well. Both of these people have a proven track record of transparency and community connection which we had been missing, Chief Chad Eneas said in a statement.
It's been a year of great change for acclaimed Australian fashion entrepreneur Margarey Barry, who's had titles added to either end of her name while she accelerates the work of the charity she founded to help Bali's children receive quality education.

Knighted by the Order of St John last month and honoured with an Order of Australia on Australia Day for her work with Bali Children Foundation, Dame Margaret Barry OAM is now focussed on bringing changes to the lives of children in the village of Songan in Bali's Kintamani region.

Songan was hit hard by devastating landslides in February 2017 that killed 12 people in the region, and BCF is working to help 550 disadvantaged children there.

It's part of the charity's overall mission supporting 4500 children with vocational education across 60 Balinese communities, plus more than 1200 scholarships from primary to tertiary ages.

Dame Margaret flew into Perth on Friday for a fundraising lunch for the Songan programme at Frasers Restaurant in Kings Park.
The pneumatic actress Scarlett Johansson has decided, after all, not to accept the film role that would have had her portray Dante 'Tex' Gill. Tex was a real-life transgender man who ran a string of massage parlours in 1970s Pittsburgh.

The proposal that Johansson portray Tex was (and remains, even after her withdrawal from the film) highly controversial in ways that those of us who live sheltered lives might never have imagined. Those offended by her proposed casting seem outraged that Johansson, who is not transgender, should burgle a role that really ought to belong to a transgender actress.

Scarlett Johansson said she has learnt a lot since the backlash. Credit:Invision/AP

Just a few days ahead of Johanssons retreat some of us who listen to a lot of ABC Radio National the ideas network received a cascade of ideas on this topic. It came from a passionate edition of the Stop Everything! program. The show invites us to tune in for a savvy, critical look at pop culture and what's in the zeitgeist 

On this occasion the panel and its zeitgeisty guests turned to the Johansson outrage. Transgender folk and their champions were well-represented in the panel and in the studio there was outraged unanimity that, yes, this casting of Johansson was wickedly, wilfully wrong.
A citizen's panel of more than 30 Canberrans has handed down their list of recommendations to the government on the future of housing in the nation's capital.

The final consultation session - the last of five which took place over three months - over was held on Saturday, with 38 residents presenting their findings of what Canberra's planning strategy should look like.

A citizen's panel of 38 Canberrans have handed recommendations to the government on a future planning strategy. Credit:Dion Georgopoulos

It's expected the full list of recommendations will be made public in coming days.

Among the items discussed as part of the collaboration hub sessions were how Canberra's housing should be integrated with public transport, whether there should be more trees around planned areas and issues such as housing affordability.
The Adelaide Hills social media chat rooms were agog on Friday night and Saturday at an angry, last-minute Facebook intervention by Alexander Downer in the byelection for Mayo, the South Australian seat he once held.

Mr Downer, father of Liberal candidate Georgina Downer, was apparently inflamed by insults aimed at his daughter, who has failed to win back the seat for the Liberal Party.

In a Facebook post, Mr Downer  a former foreign minister and long-time diplomat  blamed supporters of the Centre Alliance candidate Rebekha Sharkie for bringing horrible hate to the district.
The worlds leading activist for Chinas Muslim minority group has urged Australia not to let its economic relationship with Beijing get in the way of speaking out against the groups repression.

Exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer, who has been compared to Tibets Dalai Lama, spoke after a United States diplomat told a watershed congressional hearing in Washington that the police state imposed on the ethnic minority in Chinas north-west was among the worst cases of repression now happening in the world.

Uighur Leader Rebiya Kadeer Credit:Glen McCurtayne

Ms Kadeer, 71, told Fairfax Media that international concern about her people was growing - as shown by the Washington hearing chaired by top Republican and past presidential candidate Marco Rubio, who called for Washington to consider applying sanctions to Chinese officials.

Marco Rubio said today that a lot of countries across the world are fearful of losing their economic ties with China, so they are silent against the atrocities that are occurring against the Uighur people, Ms Kadeer said. One of those governments is obviously Australia.
Australias bard, Henry Lawson, in his poem, Faces in the Street, graphically illustrated disadvantages and hardships of workers, of his era, condemned to labour for meagre reward, in less than salubrious conditions, for uncompromising employers: I wonder would the apathy of wealthy men endure, Were all their windows level with the faces of the Poor? Ah! Mammons slaves, your knees shall knock, your hearts in terror beat, When God demands a reason for the sorrows of the street.

When workers steal their trip to prison is hastily arranged. By contrast when employers steal they receive accolades for business acumen and acclaim for enhancing shareholder value. Despite marauding banksters, the egregious fallout from the GFC, CEOs destroying shareholder value, daily accounts of employees being defrauded, major corporates destroying lives, communities and environments, white-collar criminals live ostentatiously on the proceeds of their perfidy.

Enthusiastically assisted by draconian federal legislation (breaching ILO declarations), employers have restricted bargaining power, crippled unions through coercive fines, frozen wages and stolen penalty rates. Obviously this litany has not been enough to satisfy their greed business model, as the ATO figures disclose one in three workers have, in addition, been robbed of (an ambit) $7m superannuation (Workers robbed of $7m, July 22, p.1-5). This is particularly heinous, because the theft occurs from vulnerable employees, over whom employers power imbalance renders challenge awkward. Employees would experience irreversible disadvantage decades hence. Industry Super Australias, Mat Linden, says superannuation underpayment is endemic. No high-profile party has been jailed, yet!

Albert M. White, Queanbeyan

For interest sake
The Coalition was playing down its chances in the key byelection battles of Braddon and Longman on Saturday, shifting the goalposts and casting even a minor swing to Labor as a Liberal victory.

Very early results from both electorates were encouraging for Labor, with Susan Lamb's primary vote up in Longman, and Labor-leaning independent Craig Garland holding up a high portion of the vote in Braddon - though the seat remained far too close to call.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Opposition Leader Bill Shorten began the day campaigning in Braddon, in Tasmania's north-west, and Mr Shorten flew on to Longman in Brisbane's north, where he campaigned until the last minute.

With published polls giving Labor a slight edge in both contests, Mr Turnbull reiterated byelections "invariably" go against the government and no federal government had won a seat off an opposition in a byelection in 100 years.
Parents say they are being left in the dark about plans for upgrades to their children's schools amid accusations that the government is failing to release details about how it will carry out its enormous school building project.

More than 60 schools in Sydney are above capacity - including one that opened just three years ago - and many of those are in high-growth areas, according to figures obtained by the NSW opposition under the government information act.

The busiest school is Killara Public, which is at 150 per cent utilisation. Bourke Street and Epping North public schools are not far behind. Crows Nest's Cammeraygal High School, which opened in 2015, is at 110 per cent utilisation.

The NSW government is spending $6 billion over the next four years on 2000 classrooms to ease overcrowding and cater for future population growth.

But opposition education spokesman Jihad Dib said many of those schools are still waiting for detail, while other projects ran late. "This is a government that's really good with an announcement, but they fail when it comes to delivery," Mr Dib said.
Save Log in , register or subscribe to save articles for later. Normal text size Larger text size Very large text size She is a daughter of my country  I will keep her with me until I die. Yasmin Akhter is sitting in the corner of a dirt floor shack, talking about the day her parents died. The 13-year-old, who now lives in the Kutupalong refugee camp in Bangladesh, remembers the day in September 2017 in Maungdaw district, Myanmar, like it was yesterday. They were killed around midday. They were shot dead in the house and then [attackers] set the house on fire, Yasmin says. Loading My sister and I were walking on the streets when we went to the house after hearing gunshots, and we found them dead. We ran to the neighbours, because we could not enter the house, it was on fire. The Burmese were chasing and killing people, so we left. After linking up with other local people from her village, Yasmin and her sister, 15-year-old Morjina, began the long walk to the Bangladesh border, and safety. Somewhere along the way, though, the pair became separated. Yasmin hasnt seen her sister since. She has tried repeatedly to find her using announcements over loud speakers in the camps and by contacting international rescue agencies.

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Yasmins story, of being forced to flee and of being orphaned after the death or disappearance of family members, is depressingly common in these camps. Luckily for this girl, a man from her village took her in for a few months to live with his family. He then handed her on to the care of his brother Zafar Alam, 65, who now sits with her in this shack. Alam recalls vividly the day the Myanmar soldiers came, shooting his neighbours and causing villagers to flee to safety in the nearby forest. Helicopters buzzed overhead, gunshots rang out. At the military base near the village, he says, there were at least 500 dead bodies in a pile. His story, of fleeing to the woods and slowly making his way to Bangladesh on foot, is also common. He breaks down and cries when he recalls the day he saw Yasmin at a makeshift market in the camps in Bangladesh. He recognised her from their village.

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After I saw her at the market I forgot about everything else. I was worried about who she was living with, and how her life would be. I knew she was orphaned by the military. I had seen it happen. She is a daughter of my country, our houses were at walking distance. After I saw her that day, I brought her home. I will keep her with me until I die. I have eight children of my own, three daughters and five sons. I live in this house with my wife, two sons, one daughter and Yasmin. Yasmin in the shelter she shares with her foster father Zafar Alam. Credit:Kate Geraghty Fairfax Media spent five days in Coxs Bazar, Bangladesh, visiting camps like Kutupalong-Balukhali  said to be the largest refugee camp in the world, home to at least 400,000 people  as well as other sites including the Jamtoli camp. In that time, we visited nutrition and early learning centres run by the UN childrens agency UNICEF, a hospital run by Medecins Sans Frontieres that saw around 40 patients a day. And we heard daily testimony from dozens of Rohingya people, expelled from their homes in Myanmar and in many cases forced to witness awful atrocities. Myanmar has been hostile to its Rohingya population for decades and, over time, the rights and privileges these people once enjoyed have been slowly stripped away.

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Already, before August 2017, between 200,000 and 300,000 Rohingyas were living in squalid conditions in Bangladesh. Since then, the number has passed a million. On August 25 last year, a huge exodus of Rohingya began, triggered by a campaign by Myanmars military to drive this Muslim minority from their homes. The UN has documented mass gang rape, killings, brutal beatings and the torching of homes and people. Rohingya refugee women wait in their line as the men in their line run past for a meal provided by a Turkish aid agency. Credit:Kate Geraghty And while Myanmars government argues it was responding to violent attacks by militant Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine state, the United Nations has suggested the military response could constitute genocide. As the one year anniversary of the most recent murders, rapes and forced expulsion approaches, the memories of those incredible traumas, unsurprisingly, remains fresh in the minds of the hundreds of thousands of people marooned across the border in Bangladesh. Everywhere you walk in the Coxs Bazar camp, children gather to welcome you and shout, Hello, how are you?" The men and women here are an admixture of furrowed brows, desperation, sad eyes and among some at least, determination, as they hoist heavy loads of bamboo and relief supplies on their backs.

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Their shacks perch on unstable ground, denuded of the trees that once kept the soil in place. The camp is built on shifting sands, which serves as an apt metaphor for their unstable existence on the edge of hills, in gullies, and low lying land prone to flooding. The monsoon rains that rip through this part of the world at this time of year have, mercifully, been comparatively light so far. Some 222 millimetres fell on the region between July 5 and 10, and at least another 70mm a week later, on the first day we visit. But July regularly records upwards of 800mm of water being dumped, and, so far at least, that level of inundation has held off. Once the rains start in earnest, waterborne diseases like acute watery diarrhoea spread rapidly. According to the Inter-Sector Coordination Group, since May 11 there have been 206 landslides, 34 people have been injured and one three-year-old boy was killed when his shack collapsed on top of him. The dozens of aid agencies working in the camps, such as UNICEF and Medecins Sans Frontieres, fear much worse is to come. So far, 34,032 Rohingya refugees have been moved to new, sturdier shelters but that figure is a tiny fraction of all the people who need to find stable ground. Storm clouds hang overhead as a Rohingya child carries a pot in Kutupalong camp. Credit:Kate Geraghty One of the most difficult issues that aid agencies are grappling with is malnutrition.

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Photo: The Canadian Press A sign on Highway 41 announces the closure of Yosemite National Park near Oakhurst, Calif., on Wednesday, July 25, 2018. Parts of the park closed Wednesday as firefighters work to contain the Ferguson fire burning nearby. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A wildfire that roared with little warning into a Northern California city claimed two lives as thousands of people scrambled to escape before the walls of flames descended from forested hills onto their neighbourhoods, leaving at least 500 structures destroyed in its wake, officials said Friday.

Residents who gathered their belongings in haste described a chaotic and congested getaway as the embers blew up to a mile ahead of flames and the fire leaped across the wide Sacramento River and torched subdivisions in Redding, a city of 92,000 about 100 miles south of the Oregon border.

"I've never experienced something so terrifying in my life," said Liz Williams, who loaded up two kids in her car and then found herself locked in bumper-to-bumper traffic with neighbours trying to retreat from Lake Redding Estates. She eventually jumped the curb onto the sidewalk and "booked it."

"I didn't know if the fire was just going to jump out behind a bush and grab me and suck me in," Williams said. "I wanted out of here."

The blaze levelled at least 500 structures and was threatening nearly 5,000 more Friday. Entire neighbourhoods have been left smouldering, and 37,000 people were under evacuation orders. Redding police chief Roger Moore was among those who lost their homes, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The flames moved so fast that firefighters working in oven-like temperatures and bone-dry conditions had to drop efforts to battle the blaze at one point to help people escape.

The fire, which created at least two flaming tornados that toppled trees, shook firefighting equipment and busted truck windows, took "down everything in its path," said Scott McLean, a spokesman for Cal Fire, the state agency responsible for fighting wildfires.

Fire officials warned that the blaze would probably burn deeper into urban areas before there was any hope of containing it, though it either changed direction or was stopped before it could burn into the core of the city.

Redding sits at the northern end of the agricultural Central Valley, surrounded by a scenic landscape. Rivers channel abundant winter rainfall into massive reservoirs used for boating and fishing. The area's stunning mountains, including snow-capped Mount Shasta, topping 14,000 feet (4,265 metres), are a playground for outdoor enthusiasts.

Lightning and even a lawn mower have sparked devastating fires in the forests that ring the peaks and lakes. The blaze that broke out Monday was caused by a mechanical issue involving a vehicle, officials said.

The fire rapidly expanded Thursday when erratic flames swept through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and nearby Keswick, then cast the Sacramento River in an orange glow as they jumped the banks into Redding.

Steve Hobson, a former firefighter, said flames on the distant hillside looked like solar flares on the sun.

He had planned to stay behind to save his house on Lake Redding Drive. But the heat burned his skin, and smoke made it hard to breathe. He could feel the fire sucking the air from around him, whipping up swirling embers in a "fire tornado," he said.

He had to drive through walls of flaming embers on both sides of the street when he finally fled. A tree fell right in front of him.

"I didn't know if I'd make it, so I just got in the middle of the street, went down the middle of the street through the embers and the smoke and made it past," Hobson said.

When he returned Friday, his fence had burned along with a backyard shed and everything inside it  Christmas ornaments, china and old televisions. But his house made it through the harrowing night.

Others' homes in the haphazard path of destruction were not so lucky. Where some houses stood unscathed, single walls or chimneys were all that remained of others. Burned-out skeletons of pickup trucks and VW beetles sat on tireless rims in the ash.

An Associated Press survey found 66 homes destroyed in Hobson's neighbourhood and another 60 gone in Keswick Lake Estates.

Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke was killed in the blaze, though no details were offered on what happened to him.

Another firefighter hired to try to contain the flames with a bulldozer was killed Thursday but his name wasn't immediately released. He was the second bulldozer operator killed in a California blaze in less than two weeks.

Fire crews in Redding for a time abandoned any hope of containing the flames and instead focused on saving lives.

"We're not fighting a fire," said Jonathan Cox, battalion chief with Cal Fire. "We're trying to move people out of the path of it because it is now deadly, and it is now moving at speeds and in ways we have not seen before in this area."

Elsewhere in the state, large fires continued to burn outside Yosemite National Park and in the San Jacinto Mountains east of Los Angeles near Palm Springs.
Vatican City: Pope Francis on Saturday accepted the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, one of the US Catholic Church's most prominent figures, who has been at the centre of a widening sexual abuse scandal.

McCarrick, 88, the former archbishop of Washington DC, is the first cardinal in living memory to lose his red hat and title. Other cardinals who have been disciplined in sexual abuse scandals kept their membership in the College of Cardinals and their honorific "your eminence".

The allegations against McCarrick, which first surfaced publicly last month, came with Francis facing an image crisis on a second front, in Chile, where a growing abuse scandal has enveloped the Church.
PHILIPSBURG:--- For the first time in over 15 years, St. Maarten has two finalists in both categories of the Florida Caribbean Cruise Association FCCA Childrens Environmental Poster Competition.

Shannaz Horne, a 16-year-old student of the Charlotte Brookson Academy, won first prize in the Senior Division of the annually held FCCA poster competition, while Tefari Prevoo Francisco of the Sister Regina Primary School placed third in the Junior Division.

As the overall winner in her category, Shannaz will receive a cash scholarship of $3000, -

along with her school receiving the same.

Tefari will receive a cash scholarship of $1000, - with her school receiving the same.

The winners were selected from amongst candidates from 17 Caribbean nations. The Judges had the difficult task of determining this year's winners as there were many exceptionally creative and artistic pieces to choose from. In fact, each poster entry received "exemplified Caribbean excellence" recognition for their depiction of ways in which to preserve the environment.

Florida Caribbean Cruise Association poster competition is organized annually by the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau as part of our Tourism awareness activities.

The theme this year was Weathering the storm: disaster preparation for my destination.

The competition seeks to promote and stimulate environmental awareness among students. Its primary goal is to educate the younger generation about the importance of environmental protection. Another benefit of the event is that it shows the correlation between Tourism and the Environment.

Minister of Tourism, the Honorable Stuart Johnson, said with the FCCA' s annual Environmental Poster Competition, students and residents, in general, will gain an even greater appreciation of the economic and environmental benefits that come from ensuring that we keep St. Maarten clean. As we continue to build an environmentally and economically sustainable St. Maarten, it must be clear that everyone has a role to play. I would like to extend congratulations to the two winners of the competition and thank everyone who participated as it shows St. Maarten indeed has talent. I trust that Shannaz and Tefaris achievement encourages them to continue pursuing excellence and inspires others to follow their lead.

To show appreciation for their participation, the St. Maarten Tourist Bureau along with the FCCA is organizing a special luncheon on board a cruise ship during which Shannaz and Tefari will be presented with their prizes.

The St. Maarten Tourist Bureau extends congratulations to the winners and to the art teachers of the Charlotte Brookson Academy and the Sister Regina School.
The total lunar eclipse of July 27, 2018, as seen from Rome. Mars is also clearly visible in this shot, which was captured and shared on a webcast by astrophysicist Gianluca Masi of The Virtual Telescope Project.

The 21st century's longest total lunar eclipse entranced skywatchers around the globe on Friday (July 27).

With totality lasting for an incredible 1 hour and 43 minutes, this eclipse clocked in only 4minutes shorter than the longest possible such event calculated by astronomers. The duration let viewers from around the globe view the phenomenon, with skywatchers gathering at observatories across the totality zone and those with unlucky geography tuning in to livestreams.

The unusually long duration of the eclipse was caused by a few different celestial factors. The moon was near its farthest point from Earth and orbiting slowly, making it appear smaller and take longer to travel through Earth's shadow. In addition, Earth was near its aphelion, the point in its orbit farthest from the sun, making its shadow appear larger. [Blood Moon 2018: Longest Total Lunar Eclipse of Century Occurs July 27]

The eclipse officially began at 1:14 p.m. EDT (1714 GMT), according to NASA, and the moon slowly crept into Earth's shadow and began first to darken, then redden.

But the real show started at 3:30 p.m. EDT (1930 GMT), when totality began, and the moon was fully ensconced in Earth's shadow.

European Space Agency astronaut Alexander Gerst captured this view of the lunar eclipse of July 27, 2018, from the International Space Station. (Image credit: Alexander Gerst/ESA via Twitter)

Because of the timing, daylight meant skywatchers in North America and most of South America missed seeing the phenomenon in person. But astronomers armed with telescopes around the world shared their views and their enthusiasm.

"On the left, you have the marvelous amazing Colosseum, at least a detail, and the rest of the scenery is just showing the moon," Gianluca Masi of the Virtual Telescope Project said during the organization's livestream of the event, which shared the view of a telescope located at the ancient Roman Forum. "Look, friends, this is honestly amazing," he added shortly before totality began.

"It's impossible to keep these emotions in sight because this experience is so huge," Masi said shortly after the time of greatest eclipse.

The moon remained fully eclipsed until 5:13 p.m. EDT (2113 GMT), with the eclipse at its greatest at 4:21 p.m. EDT (2021 GMT). The event officially ended at 7:28 p.m. EDT (2328 GMT), when the moon fully departed Earth's shadow.

The lunar eclipse is only half of the day's celestial spectacle: Skygazers also get an incredible view of a bright Mars, which is in opposition today.

Earthlings will next see a total lunar eclipse on Jan. 21, 2019, and unlike today's event, that eclipse will be visible to North American viewers.

Email Meghan Bartels at mbartels@space.comor follow her @meghanbartels. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.
This artist's impression shows the relative sizes of young stars, from the smallest red dwarfs, weighing in at about 0.1 solar masses, through low-mass yellow dwarfs, such as the sun, to massive blue dwarf stars weighing eight times more than the sun, as well as the 300-solar-mass star named R136a1.

The sun may be the most massive object in the solar system  it contains 99.8 percent of the mass of the entire system  but on a stellar scale, it's really quite average. About half of all known stars are more massive; about half have less mass. At the top end of the scale, the most massive known star in the sky is R136a1, a star more than 300 times as massive as our sun. And it's not alone in dwarfing Earth's dominant star.

Born heavy

RMC 136a1, usually abbreviated as R136a1, lies about 163,000 light-years from Earth in the Tarantula Nebula. This massive star lies outside our galaxy; it's part of the Large Magellanic Cloud, one of the Milky Way's satellite galaxies.

Astronomers working at the Radcliffe Observatory in South Africa first identified a star cluster in 1960, naming it RMC 136. When the Hubble Space Telescope examined the system, it found that the cluster was made up of more than 200 extremely bright stars; the most massive one was named RMC 136a1.

R136a1 has an estimated mass of 315 solar masses, where a solar mass is equal to the mass of the sun. (Its mass when discovered was estimated at 265 solar masses, but further observations in 2016 with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope refined the original measurements.) Although this makes it the most massive known star, it was once even larger.

"Unlike humans, these stars are born heavy and lose weight as they age," Paul Crowther, a researcher at the University of Sheffield in England, told Space.com in 2010. "Being a little over a million years old, the most extreme star R136a1 is already 'middle-aged' and has undergone an intense weight loss program."

Although R136a1 is the most massive known star, it is not the largest, since it only stretches about 30 times the radius of our sun. The largest known star is UY Scuti, a hypergiant with a radius somewhere around 1,700 times larger than the sun. Its mass, however, is only 30 times that of our nearest star.

If R136a1 swapped places with the sun, it would outshine our closest star as much as the sun currently outshines the moon. Its powerful radiation would have serious consequences for Earth.

"Its high mass would reduce the length of the Earth's year to three weeks, and it would bathe the Earth in incredibly intense ultraviolet radiation, rendering life on our planet impossible," said Raphael Hirschi, a research team member from Keele University in England.

Shaping the galaxy

R136a1 is a Wolf-Rayet star, a rare class of massive stars with prominent signs of ionized helium and carbon or nitrogen. While stars like the sun are made up predominantly of hydrogen and helium, Wolf-Rayet stars carry high amounts of other heavy elements.

These stars shine brightly, with surface temperatures ranging from 53,000 to 340,000 degrees Fahrenheit (30,000 to 200,000 degrees Celsius). In contrast, the surface of the sun reaches only 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit (5,500 degrees Celsius).

Massive stars like R136a1 can have profound effects on their environment. Their high radiation pressures are thought to drive powerful stellar winds. The winds can distribute about 10 solar masses of material per million years at speeds of up to 1,864 miles (3,000 kilometers) per second.

Wolf-Rayet stars have lives far shorter than the roughly 10-billion-year lifetime of the sun, only about 5 million years. Scientists know of just over 200 Wolf-Rayet stars in the galaxy, but the Milky Way is estimated to contain as many as 2,000 of them, most of them hidden by dust. Roughly half of Wolf-Rayet stars are thought to have companions, either another massive star, a black hole or a neutron star.

Massive stars explode as supernovae that can seed their galaxies with heavy elements. While the universe started out filled with hydrogen and helium, stars are the factories that churn those light elements into almost every other element. When massive stars die an explosive death, they blow that material off, where it is gathered by other stars and formed into planets.

Massive stars are also responsible for neutron stars. After a Wolf-Rayet star explodes, it can leave behind a dense neutron star core. Collisions between neutron stars are thought to be one source of gravitational waves.

Other massive stars

R136a1 is the most massive known star in the universe, but it is far from unique. A 2018 study of the Tarantula Nebula, also called 30 Doradus or 30 Dor, revealed that R136a1 is not alone; the nebula hosts several other stars with the greatest masses yet detected. While hunting for stars more than 30 solar masses in size, researchers found a wealth of much larger stars.

"Once we realized that 30 Dor hosts many more massive stars than previously thought, we were baffled and thought that we did something wrong," Fabien Schneider, an astronomer at the University of Oxford in England, told Space.com. "I would say this was to some extent a chance finding while we were aiming at other questions."

Schneider and his colleagues used the European Southern Observatory's Very Large Telescope in Chile to analyze the masses and ages of about 800 massive stars in the Tarantula Nebula. They found about 30 percent more stars with masses more than 30 times that of the sun than they expected, and about 70 percent more than expected above 60 solar masses.

"In the past, it has been suggested that stars above 150 solar masses cannot form," Schneider said. But in light of the new study, "it seems likely that stars up to 200 to 300 solar masses can actually form."

Some of the other most massive stars include:

R136c: 230 solar masses

BAT99-98: 226 solar masses

R136a2: 195 solar masses

Melnick 42: 189 solar masses

R136a3: 180 solar masses

Melnick 34: 179 solar masses

All of these stars lie in the Tarantula Nebula in the Large Magellanic Cloud.

R136a1 continues to hold the record since its discovery, and may remain at the top for some time.

"Owing to the rarity of these monsters, I think it is unlikely that this new record will be broken any time soon," Crowther said.

The most massive star in the Milky Way

Most of the most massive stars known to date lie in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way. However, the Milky Way has its own contenders. The star HD 15558-A weighs in at 152 solar masses. It is an O-type giant star with a smaller O-type companion star. Its large mass compared to its other stellar parameters have led some researchers to speculate that it may in fact be a double star, making the entire collection a triple star system.

The enormous star orbits the galaxy in its Perseus Arm in the open cluster IC 1805, which lies in the constellation of Cassiopeia.

If so, the next largest Milky Way contender is NGC 3603-B, also known as HD 97950B. Like R136a1, NGC 3603-B is a Wolf-Rayet star. It is part of the star-forming region NGC 3603, which orbits in the Carina spiral arm of the Milky Way.

Follow Nola Taylor Redd at @NolaTRedd, Facebook or Google+. Follow us at @Spacedotcom, Facebook or Google+.
The women running for lieutenant governor  the states second highest office, one breath away from the governors seat and the tie-breaking vote in the senate  have heard it all. Even in Connecticut, even in 2018, even in the midst of the Me Too movement.

Shortly after she announced her campaign for lieutenant governor in February, Darien First Selectman Jayme Stevenson, 56, was on the campaign trail alongside more than a dozen Republican men running for governor. She spoke about serious issues  the opioid and drug crisis, which has touched her personally, and the states growing fiscal problems  and the experience she believes qualifies her to deal with these issues as lieutenant governor.

A male candidate for governor who is no longer in the race approached her after a forum.

You know, youd do a lot better if you smile more, he advised her.

I looked at him and I said, Would you say that to a man? These are serious issues were talking about, Stevenson recalled recently. Why would I smile about the state budget crisis?

Stevenson declined to name the candidate, but his comment inspired her campaign logo: a bright yellow smiley face. She proudly wears the button on her purse and hands them out to people she meets, a silent protest against the countless men who have said similar things since she started campaigning.

But the criticism female candidates receive isnt only coming from men. Women are just as guilty of perpetuating the sexist ideas of how female candidates should look or act on the campaign trail, said Eva Bermudez Zimmerman, a Democrat running for lieutenant governor, and New Britain Mayor Erin Stewart, a Republican running for the same seat.

Bermudez Zimmerman and Stewart are both 31, and said the sexism directed at them often also has to do with their age.

Stewart arrived for an interview at the Stamford Advocate office on the same day as Alive at Five, a music festival known for attracting droves of young people to downtown Stamford. The festival is next door, she was told by the female attendant, you cant park here. Stewart, who was wearing a bright yellow sundress with young female staffers in tow, took it in stride. For the candidate whose cheery giggle elicits criticism for not being serious enough, this was a minor incident.

She knows she doesnt look the way a candidate is supposed to look, especially not a Republican.

She was drawing the assumption that were not supposed to be parking here based on the way I look, Stewart said. I dont have a bouffant hairstyle, Im not wearing a shirt thats buttoned up to my neck. There are some people that think that simply because of the way I look doesnt make me a political figure. Its frustrating and you have to work twice as hard, theres no doubt about it, to overcome these silly nuances.

Like Stewart, Bermudez Zimmerman often receives unsolicited advice about her wardrobe, mostly from other women.

I like to be fashion forward and attire is one of the ways that I express myself, said Bermudez Zimmerman, who, for the record, is usually sporting a blazer and dress pants or a skirt. I just never thought that would be a factor.

The top problem shes faced, though, comes from well-intentioned men, she said. Men whove worked in politics and on campaigns, who are just trying to help but end up explaining a point shes already made. The campaign aide that, during the state Democratic convention, tried to explain away a comment shed made to reporters about feeling like her support was slipping. She doesnt know shes not supposed to say that, he suggested.

I think it is because Im a female, and its also because of my age, she said. Theyre just trying to be protective, and their energy is coming from the right place. But Im running for this position because Im knowledgeable and Im qualified.

Susan Bysiewicz, the party endorsed Democratic candidate for governor, has more campaign experience than the other three women combined. After 30 years, her encounters with sexism on the campaign trail are routine at this point. But as the daughter of Connecticuts first tenured female law professor, Bysiewicz knows what it means to be a strong woman. In an effort to empower other women to run for office, she even started a scholarship at the Womens Campaign School at Yale.

My daughter was five months old when I announced I was running for the first time, Bysiewicz said. We had a picture of my husband and I and my daughter on my card. I knocked on a door, and a gentleman answered, and he looked at my law card, and said, You should be home taking care of your baby. There can be a double standard but I have come to realize  and I still think there are challenges  but people like voting for competent women candidates.

kkrasselt@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2563; @kaitlynkrasselt
Creating the perfect office environment is a major challenge for new and experienced entrepreneurs alike. Your workplace environment affects the morale of every member of your team, including you, and is responsible for forming that important first impression of every prospective client who walks in the door.

Related: The Surprising Reason Why an Open Office Space May Not Be Great for Your Company

But rather than sit and speculate about how to make your office better, why not look to some great examples of companies that have already mastered it?

Key principles

Throughout the following examples, youll see the following principles in action:

Adherence to brand values and personality. First, every office seems to fit with the overall culture and personality of the brand offering it. This provides the groundwork for better team cohesion and establishes a more powerful identity for the company.

First, every office seems to fit with the overall culture and personality of the brand offering it. This provides the groundwork for better team cohesion and establishes a more powerful identity for the company. Sensory experiences. There are interesting sights, sounds and even pleasant smells, making each office seem both unique and welcoming. Small environmental changes here can make a big difference.

There are interesting sights, sounds and even pleasant smells, making each office seem both unique and welcoming. Small environmental changes here can make a big difference. Comfort and convenience. Finally, most of these office designs aim to make life more comfortable and convenient for these businesses' employees. Comfort and convenience lead to higher employee retention and better on-the-job performance.

Now lets dig into six companies whose offices make work more appealing to everyone involved:

Related: Here's How the Office Space for Wedding-Registry Company Zola Keeps Its Employees Engaged With the Brand

1. Google

Google has become synonymous with epic employee perks, so as you might imagine, most of its eight locations offer amazing features to keep its employees happy. The original Google headquarters in Mountain View, Calif., provides hundreds of bikes and scooters for quick office transportation, and activity centers with features like a climbing wall, a bowling alley and even a court for beach volleyball.

Related:

Other locations offer quirky design choices, like jungle-decorated office spaces, and 1960s-era caravans that can serve as meeting locations.

2. Carbon Black

A fast-growing company in the computer security industry, Carbon Black has headquarters in Waltham, Mass., that are a dream come true for many of its employees. With an upscale feel, the entire office radiates the brands image with cool, earthy tones and an occasional flourish of bright colors. The office overlooks the natural scenery of the Cambridge Reservoir, and even has an outdoor patio, where employees can take lunch or work.

3. Nokia

Nokias R&D offices are located in Sunnyvale, Calif., and they offer a host of features for employees. Attempting to foster creativity and establish the unique vision of the brand, Nokias office has an avant-garde style, with colorful, contemporary furniture and full-on nap stations for employees wanting to take a break. Theres even a built-in arcade.

4. HomeAdvisor

HomeAdvisors New York City office is located in the middle of busy Times Square. It features a lush, green terrace, which hosts a living wall and furniture (including hammocks) for employees to enjoy. As an added bonus, the company provides lunch and dinner to all its employees. And throughout the day, you can find employees hanging around the ping-pong table or riding around the office on scooters.

5. Moz

One of the foremost authorities on search engine optimization (SEO), the Moz office in downtown Seattle tries to foster creativity while presenting a professional image. The office is notable for its wide open spaces, which make collaboration easy, and exposed brick walls for extra character. Theres also plenty of natural light, boosting morale and mood throughout the day (even if its cloudy).

6. Dominos Pizza

The Dominos Pizza shop around the corner from you may not offer much style to its employees, but the Dominos headquarters in Ann Arbor, Mich., is a sight to behold. With an enormous interior and plenty of kitchen space, these offices are roomy and sleekly designed. The company even offers a built-in art gallery and a petting zoo to help employees relieve stress.

As a new entrepreneur, you may not have the cash or the resources to invest in your own bowling alley, or an office with an enormous interior. However, with a few tweaks, you can provide your employees with the comfort, flexibility and creative stimulation they need to help you turn your vision into a reality.

Related: Take a Look Inside Amazon's New Rainforest Office Space

Keep your brand top of mind when designing or finding the right office for your team.

Related:

6 Companies With Amazing Office Layouts to Inspire Your Office Redesign

Inside Richard Branson's New Cruise-Line Startup

No Office? No Problem. 4 Reasons CEOs Should Sit With Their Teams



Copyright 2018 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved
"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."
UPDATE: 1:30 p.m.

As crews continue to work on the three fires in Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park, boaters in the area are causing problems for helicopters and skimmers working on the fires.

The BC Wildfire Service took to Twitter Saturday afternoon, saying their response to the Goode's Creek wildfire has been "impacted by boaters on Okanagan Lake.

"It is dangerous and hazardous to boaters and our staff when boaters get too close," the BCWS said.

Additionally, they warn that the public must stay out of Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park, as it is very much an active fire zone.

"These wildfires may look inactive, but there are significant safety hazards that continue to be present," the BCWS said. "Trees that have been damaged by fire might be unstable and could fall down. Ash pits can be hard to detect and will remain hot long after the flames have died down."

ORIGINAL: 9 a.m.

Fire officials are still most concerned about crews working in the high Okanagan temperatures, as 101 firefighters continue to battle the three blazes in the barren Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park.

While the Goode's Creek, Glenfir Road and Frederick Creek wildfires in the park remain out of control, they are not threatening any homes. They've proven difficult to fight though.

They are tough, that terrain is tough and building guard on rock is tough  they're a challenge, said fire information officer Noelle Kekula. We continue to throw lots of resources at them, and the air support.

Kekula says the three fires continue to grow within the park, and an outhouse in the area has been lost to fire, but they haven't been growing towards homes.

On Friday, helicopters working in the park were diverted to Kelowna's Glenmore area, to help fight the fire that was sparked above Yates Road.

On the west side of the lake, crews have gotten a handle on the fires that were at one point threatening homes. While 87 firefighters remain on the scene of the Mount Eneas fire, the fire is held, and crews are patrolling the blaze. The same goes for the Law Creek wildfire near West Kelowna's Glenrosa area.

Unfortunately, the conditions in Okanagan Mountain Provincial Park remain extremely hot, as the infamous 2003 wildfire in the area has left little shade for firefighters.

And the fire-resistant Nomex protective coveralls the crews are required to wear are not known for their breathability.

It really is unbelievable, these poor crews, Kekula said. They're packing all that hose, they're working hard in those conditions ... kudos to them, hats off to the crews for working for so hard.

Kekula says the crews working that side of the lake have been starting their days at 4:30 a.m. to avoid time spent in the hottest part of the day. Additionally, Kekula says her team has been keeping their freezers stocked with Freezies and ice, to help keep their crews' temperature down.
WASHINGTON  Beginning after the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, handgun sales in Connecticut steadily increased, then skyrocketed in the months ahead of the 2016 presidential race.

Common threads, gun experts say, were heightened fears about safety and, in the case of some gun enthusiasts, worries about losing access to guns altogether, under a Democratic president.

It has a lot to do with fear, said David Chipman, a senior policy adviser at Giffords Law Center. Its not just to do with public office, its almost the fear, the unknown, the anticipation of whos going to be in office.

After the 2012 shooting, gun sales in Connecticut rose from 63,500 to 69,000 in 2013 before taking off during the presidential race, according to data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

Between 2014 and 2015  about the time presidential hopefuls were announcing their candidacy  handgun sales spiked from 78,600 to 123,500, according to FBI data.

Jonathan Perloe, the director of communications at CT Against Gun Violence, said fluctuations in the number of gun sales are two-pronged. He said people are often inclined to buy guns after a mass shooting, like Sandy Hook, because theres a perception of a more dangerous world and the need for protection.

Decline after election

But a misperception that gun-control proponents like Hillary Clinton would take away Second Amendment rights with stricter gun laws also prompts more gun purchases, Perloe said.

There has been a narrative from the gun lobby that the (legislators) are coming for your gun, and they have used that cynically to drive gun sales, he said.

Handgun sales in the state hovered around 122,000 purchases until 2016, then dipped dramatically to roughly 72,000 sales  the lowest since 2011  in 2017, one year into President Trumps presidency.

Po Murray, the chairwoman of the Newtown Action Alliance, said that while the presidential campaign helped gun manufacturers reap profits, gun sales likely dropped in Connecticut after Trump became president because of his standoffish approach to gun regulation, which did not threaten gun-rights advocates.

But she said the spike in sales ahead of the presidential election means that gun-control groups need to do more to educate people that guns dont make us safer.

We have 300 million guns in America, so why is it that America is not the safest nation in the world with the notion that guns make us safer? They continually push that narrative, Murray said, referring to the National Rifle Association.

The long and short

NRA representatives did not respond to requests to comment. But Scott Wilson, the president of the Connecticut Citizens Defense League, said a drop-off in gun sales after the presidential election wasnt entirely because Clintons loss allayed the worries of Second Amendment proponents.

Long gun sales, the most commonly sought firearms in Connecticut, Wilson said, have steadily declined over the past five years, which he said is the result of Connecticuts semi-automatic rifle ban, enacted in 2013.

People instead sought handguns, he said.

If somehow Connecticuts assault weapon ban was overturned and people could legally purchase sporting rifles under the act, there would be a significant increase in the number of purchases, Wilson said.

While handgun sales have risen and fallen over the years, gun homicides and suicides in Connecticut have remained low. The state has the fifth-lowest gun-death rate in the country, according to an analysis from the Violence Policy Center.

Those rates have been largely attributed to its tight gun regulations, which the Giffords Center has ranked  along with states such as Massachusetts and California  in the A range.

Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, both D-Conn., have been common-sense gun law advocates since taking public office. After Trump nominated Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a Second Amendment proponent, to the Supreme Court, the two have spoken out about the picks threat to wiping out Connecticuts tight gun laws.

Connecticut continues to lead the way on passing common-sense gun safety laws, Murphy said after Gov. Dannel P. Malloy signed a bump stock ban into law in May.

BySarah.roach@chron.com
A n international manhunt has been launched to find a man who killed his date in a speedboat crash on the River Thames.

Jack Shepherd is on the run from police after he flouted safety rules by taking Charlotte Brown on an alcohol-fuelled joyride on the Thames in December 2015.

The vessel hit a submerged log, flinging Ms Brown into the freezing water where she drowned.

Shepherd was sentenced to six years in prison for manslaughter by gross negligence at the Old Bailey on Friday but police have admitted they have no idea where he is.

Guilty: Jack Shepherd has been sentenced to six years' in jail over the death of Charlotte Brown / PA

Det Sgt Christopher Davies told BBC Breakfast that officers were following up "intelligence and leads to addresses and where he's last been seen and where he's known".

Shepherd is known to have travelled abroad before the trial, Det Sgt Davies said, leading police to launch an international search for the web designer.

Crash: the speedboat being recovered from the Thames / Evening Standard / eyevine

"We work with a number of agencies, including the National Crime Agency, and we're open to worldwide inquiries," he added.

Family liaison officer Gavin Seeley, told BBC Breakfast that police were alerted to Shepherds disappearance three days before his trial began.

Fighting for change: Charlotte Brown's mother Roz Wicken and sister Katie arrive at court / PA

It later emerged defence lawyers had been keeping contact with him during the trial, he added.

Police interview with man who encouraged date to drive defective speedboat

Her twin sister Katie told hosts Charlie Stayt and Naga Munchetty: He's been able to choose not to turn up and it just didn't seem fair. We wanted him to face the trial.

That would be the right thing to happen. The way this has all gone now, were hopeful he will be found. [It would] be justice for Charli."

Mobile footage of date driving defective speedboat

Ms Browns mother Roz Wilkins also appeared on the programme and paid tribute to her daughter.

She said: Hes brought devastation to our family, its a loss of life, she had everything to live for, he didnt give that one second thought that night, that his actions would take her life.

She was just an amazing person, she was funny, loving, amazing intelligence.She was the best company and the best daughter ever.

Tragic death: Charlotte Brown was killed in the crash / PA

The 30-year-old had arranged a swanky Champagne dinner at the Shard before attempting to seduce his date with a ride on a rickety speedboat.

Chilling video footage filmed by Ms Brown on her mobile phone showed the speedboat speed past London landmarks including the Houses of Parliament.

She could be heard screaming: Oh my god, youre going so fast.

Shepherd had faced Ms Browns family at previous court hearings but they had not received a message of condolence, Ms Wilkins added.

We had seen him at three other previous court hearings. Hed been no further than sometimes 10 ft away. Wed not have a letter of condolence, even a message of condolence. They did say he had written that and sent it to his solicitor.

Ms Wilkins and her daughter said they were working to introduce legislation surrounding Britains waterways.

In the months before Ms Brown's death, Shepherd had entertained up to 10 women on the 1980s 14ft Fletcher Arrowflyte GTO, having invited them back to his houseboat in Hammersmith.
A round 70 firefighters were tackling a huge grass fire in south-west London.

An area of more than two hectares was damaged at an allotments in Hounslow, as well as a nearby builders warehouse.

Ten fire engines were at the scene on Saturday evening as crews batted to bring the flames under control.

Pictures from the scene showed thick, grey smoke billowing above rooftops after the blaze broke out at around 3.30pm. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Roads were cordoned off while firefighters battled the blaze / @HelenMarsters

Hounslow Police asked people to avoid the area around Stanley Road and Inwood Road, with a large area around the fire cordoned off.

It comes after prolonged warnings about the risk of grass fires following weeks of hot and dry weather.

A London Fire Brigade spokesperson said: During the hot weather we are attending a large number of grass fires across London.

Were asking the public to take care not to drop cigarettes or matches on dry grass and to keep a very close eye on barbecues.
I nfectious diseases such as super-gonorrhoea could spread more rapidly if the UK leaves the European Union, health chiefs have warned.

Britain is said to be under significant threat from such diseases after Brexit if the government doesnt work out a way of maintaining a close working relationship with European health bodies.

The UKs proximity to mainland Europe and high levels of cross-border travel on the continent mean that without a closely joined up approach the results could be disastrous.

Niall Dickson, chief executive of the NHS Confederation, told the Standard: At the moment our strongest concern is the huge level of uncertainty. We are just not clear where this is all going to land.

The only positive is that we can say this is not only about UK patients, it is about European patients who would be affected as well.

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

It is in everyones interest to maximise cooperation. Diseases do not recognise borders.

We need to put political interests behind the interests of patients in the EU and UK.

Tracking outbreaks requires collaboration between the UK and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

A recent highly publicised case was of a man who contracted the worlds worst super-gonorrhoea and brought it back to the UK.

Public Health England worked alongside the ECDC and the World Health Organisation to effectively track the infection.

Meanwhile outbreaks of measles in England and Wales have repeatedly been linked to those in countries in eastern Europe while, in 2017, a multi-country outbreak of salmonella was linked to Polish eggs.

Mr Dickson, who is also co-chairman of the Brexit Health Alliance, said unless the UK can negotiate continued access to ECDC systems after Brexit, there are likely to be delays in communication in cases during which time an outbreak could get out of control.

He added: We should be under no illusion  if we fail to reach a good agreement on the EU and UKs future relationship, that could be a significant threat to public health. This cannot and should not be ignored.
P olice are searching for a missing London mother and her 18-month-old son.

Sara Buder, 27, and her son Kuba were last seen in Croydon, south London, at around 6am on Friday.

Officers believe they may have travelled to Southend-on-Sea in Essex.

Ms Buder is described by Scotland Yard as a white female with blonde hair.

The force said her disappearance is out of character and police are very concerned for the welfare of her and her young son.
P ope Francis has accepted the resignation of a prominent US cardinal of his rank after he was accused of sexual assaulting boys as young as 11.

The Vatican announced on Saturday that Francis ordered clergyman Theodore McCarrick to conduct a "life of prayer and penance" even before a church trial is held.

Breaking with past practice, Francis decided to act swiftly in the case of the emeritus archbishop of Washington DC even before the accusations can be investigated by church officials.

McCarrick was previously one of the highest, most well-known Catholic church officials in the US and was heavily involved in the church's response to allegations of priestly abuse.

The pope has ordered McCarrick's "suspension from the exercise of any public ministry, together with the obligation to remain in a house yet to be indicated to him, for a life of prayer and penance until the accusations made against him are examined in a regular canonical trial".

Among the boys McCarrick allegedly abused was a child he had baptised shortly after he was ordained a priest.

Francis received McCarrick's letter offering to resign from the College of Cardinals on Friday evening, after recent weeks brought a spate of allegations that the 88-year-old prelate had for years sexually abused boys and had sexual misconduct with seminarians.

Pope Francis with Cardinal McCarrick in 2015 / AP

The McCarrick case posed a test of the pontiff's recently declared resolve to battle what he called a "culture of cover-up" of similar abuses in the Catholic church's hierarchy.

The Vatican did not say where McCarrick would be confined nor when a church trial might begin. The order suspending him from public ministry effectively approved a measure already taken against McCarrick since last month.

A Catholic University canon law expert, Kurt Martens, noted this was the first time an order of penance and prayer had been issued before a church trial takes place.

US Catholics who have followed sexual abuse scandals involving clergy hailed stripping McCarrick of cardinal's rank as an unprecedented shift in how the Vatican has dealt with allegations against top churchmen.

"The Vatican almost never moves at this speed," said Terence McKiernan, of BishopAccountability.org.Inc, a Massachusetts-based nonp-rofit group that tracks clergy sexual abuse cases.

The pope appears to "understand the gravity of the situation and further harm to the Catholic church's status," he said.

In the case of Scottish Cardinal Keith O'Brien, accused by former seminarians in 2013 of sexual misconduct, Francis only accepted his resignation after the Vatican's top abuse prosecutor conducted a full investigation, two years after the first revelations came out.

McCarrick had been already removed from public ministry since June 20, pending a full investigation into allegations that he fondled a teenager over 40 years ago in New York.

A man, who was 11 at the time of the first alleged instance of abuse, says a sexually abusive relationship continued for two more decades.
T wo firefighters are dead and nine people have been reported missing as monster wildfire raged through northern California.

Flames destroyed hundreds of homes as fire ripped through towns leaving thousands of residents fleeing for their lives.

Some 3,400 firefighters on the ground and in helicopters and airplanes battled the 48,300-acre (19,500 hectares) Carr Fire early on Saturday as it tore through Redding, a city of 90,000 people, in California's scenic Shasta-Trinity area.

More than 38,000 residents across Shasta County fled their homes as the fire began to gain speed and intensity on Thursday, destroying 500 structures and leaving Keswick, a town of 450, in smouldering ruins, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

Devastating scenes: Police survey homes leveled by the fire / AP

A bulldozer operator and a member of the Redding Fire Department were killed in the blaze. A Redding hospital said it had treated eight people, including three firefighters.

Nine people, including a woman and her two great-great grandchildren, were missing, a CBS news reported.

Mark Peterson, whose home burned down, tends to his surviving goats during the Carr fire near Redding / AFP/Getty Images

The woman's husband Ed Bledsoe told the station that he left them home to run an errand on Thursday night.

"He called and said 'grandpa you need to come, the fire is coming at our house now,'" Mr Bledsoe said of a phone call he had with his great-great grandson. "I can't see how I can go on without them."

Blackened landscape: Flames rip through wildfires in California / REUTERS

The flames erupted into a firestorm on Thursday when it jumped across the Sacramento River and swept into the western side of Redding gale-force winds during the night created a fire "tornado," fire officials said.

California has had its worst start to the fire season in a decade, with 289,727 acres burned on Friday morning alone, according to National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) data.

Devastating blaze: Flames have torn through forests in California / EPA

Governor Jerry Brown requested emergency federal assistance to prevent an "imminent catastrophe" as Shasta County tried to find supplies and water for evacuated residents and care for horses and cattle rescued from ranches and farms.

Wildfires have blackened an estimated 4.15 million acres (1.68 million hectares) in the United States so far this year. That was well above average for the same period over the past 10 years but down from 5.27 million acres (2.13 million hectares) in the first seven months of 2017, NIFC reported.
Photo: Contributed A three-vehicle crash has slowed traffic near Peachland.

Traffic is backed up along Highway 97, near Peachland, after a three-vehicle crash caused delays.

A white Nissan 350Z appears to have been rear-ended, and emergency crews are currently on scene.

Motorsists in the area report traffic has been reduced to single-lane, alternating traffic near Trepanier Road.

Traffic is backed up past Princeton Avenue to the south, and north to the junction with Highway 97C.
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Foreign Minister Teodor Melescanu said on Saturday that consultations on an official level are useful and important when there are worries.

"It is a common thing for two allied countries that are part of a strategic partnership. Formal consultations are very useful and important when there are worries, and as though are a routine matter. The only issue is to ensure that there is a consistency between the text of the law and the appendix of calculations of deductions on operating expenses, since to off-shores natural gas exploitation is much more expensive. Moreover, there was clear insistence on the interest of the American side in its relations with Romania regarding energy issues, which is one of the main issues at the moment," Melescanu told Antena 3 priovate broadcaster.

Romania's ambassador to the US George Cristian Maior met US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry on Wednesday, according to a press statement released by the embassy on Friday."On this occasion, the two officials highlighted the major impact of the exploitation of Romania's hydrocarbon resources on the region's energy security as an important component for the development of the strategic partnership between the US and Romania," according to the embassy.The statement of the Romanian Embassy in Washington also shows that US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry reaffirmed interest in the development of energy dialogue, including at the summit meetng of the Three Seas Initiative to be held in Bucharest, September 17-18.
National leader of the opposition People's Movement Party (PMP) Eugen Tomac criticised on Saturday the presence of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the Tusvanyos Summer University in Baile Tusnad, Harghita County.

"In the Centennial Year, Viktor Orban is freely celebrating at Baile Tusnad the biggest concessions made by Romania to Hungary in the last one hundred years. The fact that Romania is not represented at a high official level at the Tusnad Summer University to put limits to the anti-Romanian radical discourse, once again confirms our way of doing foreign policy: with hands tied. (...) I think it is outrageous that President Klaus Iohannis and [Social Democratic Party] PSD national leader Liviu Dragnea let Viktor Orban behaves in Tusnad as if he were for a few days the prime minister of Romania," Tomac said in a Facebook post.

In his opinion, Liviu Dragnea offered Hungary 'on a plate" economic and cultural advantages in exchange for support from the Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) for the current parliamentary majority, which includes PSD."Taking advantage of the fact that patriotism lost any seat at Victoria Palace, the prime minister of Hungary managed without difficulty to put the Romanian officials to work in the service of Hungarian interests. Just in the last few months, Liviu Dragnea offered Budapest on a tray, in exchange for the support by the UDMR of the current parliamentary majority, advantages of which the Hungarian state would not even dream. We are talking about economic advantages such as Romania considering selling natural gas from the Black Sea to the Hungarian national gas transmission operator, and also about symbolic cultural advantages such as the establishment by law of a Hungarian language school against the decisions of the local administrations, and elevating the Hungarian language by law to the status of official language in Romania," said Tomac.He added that PMP challenged with the Constitutional Court of Romania (CCR) the establishment of a Roman Catholic high school in Targu Mures, as well as the Administrative Code imposing the compulsory use of Hungarian in the local administration.
Photo: Carl Steele Fire retardant is dropped on the Smith Creek Fire Saturday.

UPDATE 3:14 p.m.

Fire officials have said the Smith Creek fire is on a ridge line and is not considered an interface fire.

A Rappattack team has rappelled into the area and witnesses tell Castanet at least one helicopter is dumping water on the flames.

Air tankers have also been seen making runs on the fire.

UPDATE 2:34 p.m.

BC Wildfire Service Fire Information Officer Noelle Kekula said at least two drops of fire retardant has been made on the fire.

She said there is some smoke but the fire does not appear to be very large.

There is also a helicopter assessing the situation, but few details are available at this time.

A small wildfire is burning in the hills above Smith Creek in West Kelowna Saturday.

The fire in the hills above Smith Creek Road was reported in the early afternoon Saturday, and water bombers are reportedly hitting it already.

The West Kelowna Fire Department is also attending the scene but crews are reportedly having difficulty accessing the fire.

Castanet will have more information as it becomes available.
There are at least 65 million people the main island of Britain: At least 52 million of them concentrated in England. The real figure may be as much as 5 million higher. Yet the Optimum Population Trust (now called Population Matters) warned in 2008 that under the most favorable circumstances, Britain can only grow enough food to feed 17 million people.

Once Britain pulls out of the European Union reducing it to only 27 countries, how is it going to pay for the food for the remaining surplus 48 million people?

Prime Minister Theresa May after two years in office has managed to make even Neville Chamberlain and Herbert Henry Asquith  the hapless prime ministers who led Britain into catastrophe at the beginning of both world wars  look positively Churchillian by contrast.

Mays political masterstroke on taking office two years ago was to appoint the three great demagogues of her ruling Conservative Party, Boris Johnson, David Davis and Liam Fox as the ministers charged with negotiating the terms of Brexit  British withdrawal from the EU. It is now clear that none of these clowns  of whom only Fox remains in office  has had the slightest clue what to do.

Britain has not concluded a single trade deal with any other major nation. Fox has talked airily of concluding 40 or more. Yet there has been no discernable progress made towards achieving a single one.

There is no doubt that US President Donald Trump, whom May has recklessly and relentlessly alienated will make his priority resolving trade differences with the EU to improve the US annual trade balance. Britain will be left out in the cold.

Far from improving relations with both Moscow and Washington  the great achievements of both World War II leader Winston Churchill and of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s, May has gone out of her way to enrage the leaders of both superpowers. Relations with Russia under Mays hapless leadership are even worse than they are with the EU.

Talks with the EU over Brexit are deadlocked. The British government is now making urgent plans to stockpile medicines and emergency supplies and have the miniscule Royal Air Force fly them to beleaguered parts of the kingdom if May goes ahead with her bombastic claim to implement a hard Brexit if necessary after producing a more sensible plan to seek a soft and mutually negotiated divorce from Brussels.

The Brexiteers really do not have a clue what they will do. Their mad Americanophilia and obsession with lecturing the rest of the world guarantees that China and Russia will not rescue them and India, just acceded to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and mindful of its sufferings, racist oppression and relentless looting under the British Empire, certainly won't.

The hard, unrelenting truth is that the Brexiteers continue to live in a deluded image of a long-dead past. They have no real policies and no practical plans. They walk and talk in a fugue state. The fate of 65 million people has fallen into the hands of cowardly nonentities and literal madmen.

The British Empire that covered one quarter of the territory and population of the entire human race has been totally dismantled for more than half a century. Britains legendary industrial base was crumbling and disintegrating for a full century before Britain even joined the European Community in 1973.

Since then Britain has survived, and at least partially prospered primarily by being the financial directing investment center for the EU. The money managers of the City of London easily beat off the challenges of Brussels, Paris and Frankfurt to win this role in the 1980s under the hardheaded leadership of Mrs. Thatcher.

Thatcher, for all her talk of British nationalism was, like her great friend, counterpart and partner, US President Ronald Reagan a lot more sensible and cautious in her real policies than the rhetoric in which she publicly indulged. Johnson, Fox and Davis mindlessly swallowed Thatchers slogans and ignored her successful and hardheaded policies. Their idea of a State Paper on policy is reading the Daily Mail, Britains most influential tabloid every morning.

What industry Britain still has is in large part the product of international, mainly US, Japanese and Chinese investment or is fully integrated with the major industries and combines of the EU. Brexit  as Britains business leaders have always recognized and repeatedly warned in vain  will inevitably dismantle all of those relationships.

Britain simply does not have the industrial base, the entrepreneurial culture, tax system and legal system, the technically trained population or the 21st century research and development resources to Go It Alone.

Hard Brexit therefore will inevitably mean the worst economic crisis in British history, a collapse of even basic food imports and the rapid departure of Scotland and Northern Ireland from the irreparably Dis-United Kingdom.

Brexit dooms Britain to disintegration, crisis and ruin. The British people should avoid it at all costs.

Any Conservative Members of Parliament who are still capable of intelligent thought, independent action and who have any sense of patriotism or public responsibility at all now have only one real course of action left to them. As Matthew Jamison has written in these columns, they need to join forces with the Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn and set up an emergency national government that can then order a second referendum on Brexit immediately.

Instead, in the short term we may see the delusional Conservatives doubling up on denying reality and electing Boris Johnson as their next leader: If that happens, he is likely to be Britains last.
The House and Senate versions of the draft National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for fiscal year 2019 were unveiled by Congress on July 23. Both include a provision to temporarily bar the transfers of F-35 joint strike fighters (JSF) to Turkey. According to the final 2019 defense bill, the Defense Department would be required to submit a report to lawmakers within 90 days about the relationship with Ankara, all its foreign weapons deals, and Turkeys move to purchase the S-400 air-defense system from Russia before any more sales could go through. Until then the US would sit on any weapons transfers to Turkey. Ankaras decision to buy the Russian S-400 air-defense system, the F-35 killer, has greatly aggravated bilateral ties between the US and Turkey, a relationship that was already clouded by many other issues.

The House is expected to vote on the legislation this month, with the Senate taking it up in early August. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis had warned Congress against punishing Turkey by cutting off transfers of F-35s in retaliation for its plans to buy the Russian anti-aircraft system, but his opinion was ignored. The State Department has been putting pressure on Ankara to try to make it reconsider the S-400 deal, in favor of purchasing the less capable, US-made Patriot system. US Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell told the Senate "We've been very clear that across the board, an acquisition of S-400 will inevitably affect the prospects for Turkish military-industrial cooperation with the United States, including F-35." Turkish officials view the US demand as blackmail.

Turkey is one of twelve partner nations in the F-35 program, nine of which have received the fighters through foreign military sales. Ankara has planned to purchase the 100 F-35 aircraft it technically already owns by investing $1.25 billion into the project. US legislators fear that using the F-35 and the S-400 together could compromise the F-35 and allow Russia to gain access to the sensitive technology. As a result, the true owner has been denied access to his property by both houses of US Congress.

The bill includes a compromise waiver under the Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) for the countries purchasing Russian military equipment, as long as they are taking steps to wean themselves from it.

The deal with Turkey is a part of a broader picture. The Philippines, also a long-time ally of Washington that has long relied on the United States as its main source of military hardware, is at risk of falling under US sanctions if it proceeds with its purchase of grenade launchers from Rosoboronexport, a blacklisted Russian firm. India has been threatened with sanctions should it decide to buy the Russian S-400.

The US State Department's Office of Cooperative Threat Reduction has announced a tender for the monitoring of open-source information about arms deals involving the Russian Federation and the CIS countries. The information will be used for shaping the sanctions policy.

This policy goes beyond weapons deals to encompass economic issues as well. One can pay off. Take Germany, for instance. It has been threatened by sanctions in the event that the Nord Stream 2 gas project goes through. The English version of the German newspaper Handelsblatt reported that plans are afoot for a new LNG terminal in Brunsbuttel, a town in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein. Once the costly infrastructure to cool and liquefy LNG is in place, the German government can demonstrate that the US is wrong to accuse it of being almost fully dependent on Russian gas. There are plans to invest an estimated 450 million ($530 million). Once built, the terminal cannot sit idle. The shipments of American LNG will be guaranteed.

But indeed there is no such thing as a free lunch. If Berlin wants to get cheap Russia gas, it will also have to spend some time and effort on building the infrastructure to receive Moscow's LNG, and at that point, paying a lot more for American sea-transported LNG will hike the countrys overall energy expenditures

Perhaps Turkey could come to some kind of compromise with the Americans on the S-400, if it buys the Patriot as well. Maybe India will find a way to evade sanctions, if it agrees to the US offer of THAAD..

On July 24, US Senators Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Bob Menendez (D-N.J.), announced that they are working on comprehensive legislation, which officially is aimed at ratcheting up the sanctions pressure on Russia. The text of the proposed legislation does not say so, but the true goal is to lean on other nations to buy US-made goods or else. Forget about the international rules stipulated by the UN Charter and WTO documents  arms-twisting has become an element of US foreign policy.

Nobody likes to be ordered around and blackmailed. In the long run, this policy will encourage other countries to reconcile their differences and unify, in an effort to push back against the US. Today Russia China, the EU, and many other actors face a common problem  the do as I tell you approach used by the US to tackle international problems, whatever they are. Those who had doubts about the merits of a multipolar world order are beginning to see things in a different light. Any state structure needs checks and balances to maintain an equilibrium, and so does the world. The BRICS summit that kicked off in Johannesburg, South Africa on July 25 symbolizes some global changes, in which poles of power outside of the US are emerging to reshape the political world map.
On July 22 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivered a bizarre speech on Iran. Delivered from the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California, and ostensibly addressed to the Iranian-American community, the speechs staging clearly sought to evoke the fall of communism, casting the Ayatollahs in the role of Leonid Brezhnev and company.

Iranian regime change is not the publicly stated goal of the Trump Administrations policy. But it is hard to see how US demands on Tehran dont amount to exactly that, with Pompeo comparing the Iranian regime (a term used dozens of times to imply illegitimacy) to a mafia. He asserted that Irans behavior is at root in the revolutionary nature of the regime itself. What can change its root or nature without ceasing to be itself?

Pompeo demanded not just a total change in policy from Tehran but a different mode of governance amounting to Irans ceasing to be an independent regional power. The Reagan venues analogy to the collapse of communism in the USSR and Eastern Europe echoed in the Secretarys heavy emphasis on a new 24/7 Farsi-language TV channel spanning not only television, but radio, digital, and social media format, so that the ordinary Iranians inside of Iran and around the globe can know that America stands with them.

The US position on Iran is that it is solely a question of removing a layer of malign governance, after which democracy, tolerance, peace, and general niceness will spontaneously break forth, and justice will roll down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream. Just like happened in Iraq after 2003. Just like in Libya.

Never mind that Iran isnt North America or Europe. Never mind that American and European ideas of social and personal liberty would be anathema to an unknown but significant percentage of Irans population. Never mind that the replacement for the Ayatollahs envisioned by many Administration big shots, the cultish Peoples Mojahedin Organization of Iran (Mojahedin-e Khalq, MEK), may not be particularly democratic or popular with Iranians. Dont bother us with details  the neo-Bolshevik myth of a spontaneous uprising by the oppressed masses (with a little help from outside, like the Kaisers generals were kind enough to provide Lenin) is alive and well in Washington.

One is reminded of true believer Condoleezza Rice in 2006 denouncing as  you guessed it!  racist any objections to militant democracy promotion in the Middle East, specifically in Iraq:

Well, growing up in the South and having people underestimate you because one of the reasons for segregation, one of the reasons for the separation of the races was supposedly, the inferiority of one race to the other, she explains. And so when I look around the world and I hear people say, Well, you know, they're just not ready for democracy, it really does resonate. I hear echoes of, well, you know, blacks are kind of childlike. They really can't handle the vote. Or they really can't take care of themselves. It really does roil me. It makes me so angry because I think there are those echoes of what people once thought about black Americans.

Pompeo heavily emphasized Irans internal problems, such as political repression, corruption, economic distress, many of which are no doubt are quite real. Still, it was hard to listen to the Secretary without mentally comparing how the identical litany of abuses would apply to Washingtons perennial darling of the Islamic world, Saudi Arabia, which in every particular is far, far worse than Iran. But nobody is talking about what amounts to regime change in Riyadh or even any sanctions against them. Accusations of Iranian state support for terrorism would be risible if arming myriad Sunni jihadist groups by the US and our various partners, the Saudis chief among them, were a laughing matter.

Pompeos speech triggered a rebuke by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that peace with Iran is the mother of all peace, and war with Iran is the mother of all wars  an unfortunate choice of words given how Saddam Husseins mother of all battles turned out. Trump immediately shot back with a tweet threatening that Iran could SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. Predictably, Trumps ubiquitous critics focused as much on the all capital letters as on the substance of the exchange.

No one knows where any of this is leading. The memory immediately triggered was that of harsh verbal exchanges between North Koreas Little Rocket man Kim Jong-un and the mentally deranged US dotard Trump prior to their love fest in Singapore. Justin Raimondo of Antiwar.com was succinct in his optimism: This means hell be scheduling a Rouhani summit in a few months.

On the other hand, instead of Singapore 2018 we could be seeing a repeat of the lead-up to Iraq 2003. So many of the same people who were beating the drums for the war with Iraq under President George W. Bush are playing the same tune now with respect to Iran. It is significant that whereas with respect to North Korea our foremost regional partner, South Korea, is pushing hardest for a peaceful outcome, Israel and Saudi Arabia, the two foreign states that exercise almost total control over the political class in Washington, are itching for the US to take care of their Iran problem for them. The hare-brained Arab NATO idea has been revived.

Defense Secretary James Mad Dog Mattis has denied a report that the US was identifying targets in Iran to be struck as early as next month and disowned regime change. For what it is worth (probably not much) a recent poll shows that Americans are against war with Iran by a better than two-to-one margin. But, as Raimondo observes, there are plenty of warmongers in Washington who just cant wait for the shooting to start in the Middle East again, and they have targeted Iran as their next victim.  [S]uch a war would destroy Trumps presidency precisely because his base would oppose it. And yet,  despite the fact that the Presidents advisors are pushing war with Iran, Trump routinely ignores them and does exactly as he pleases: thats why we had the Singapore summit and the Helsinki meeting with Putin.

We can hope that Trump will decide on his next steps with regard to Iran based on much broader international considerations that impact his domestic goals. Taken most optimistically, that could mean a concept that some of us have been suggesting for almost two years: a new Big Three understanding among Trump, Putin, and Chinese President Xi Jinping. Indeed, Professor Michael T. Klare, writing in TomDispatch.com, claims this is Trumps conscious intention:

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 Americas 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 big question in all this, of course, is: Why? Why would an American president seek to demolish a global order in which the United States was the dominant player and enjoyed the support of so many loyal and wealthy allies? Why would he want to replace it with one in which it would be but one of three regional heavyweights? [ . . . ] In the Trumpian mindset, this country had become weak and overextended because of its uncritical adherence to the governing precepts of the liberal international order, which called for the U.S. to assume the task of policing the world while granting its allies economic and trade advantages in return for their loyalty. Such an assessment, whether accurate or not, certainly jibes well with the narrative of victimization that so transfixed his core constituency in rustbelt areas of Middle America. It also suggests that an inherited burden could now be discarded, allowing for the emergence of a less-encumbered, stronger America  much as a stronger Russia has emerged in this century from the wreckage of the Soviet Union and a stronger China from the wreckage of Maoism. This reinvigorated country would still, of course, have to compete with those other two powers, but from a far stronger position, being able to devote all its resources to economic growth and self-protection without the obligation of defending half of the rest of the world. Listen to Trumps speeches, read through his interviews, and youll find just this proposition lurking behind virtually everything he has to say on foreign policy and national security. You know there is going to be a point at which we just cant do this anymore, he told Haberman and Sanger in 2016, speaking of Americas commitments to allies. You know, when we did those deals, we were a rich country We were a rich country with a very strong military and tremendous capability in so many ways. Were not anymore. The only acceptable response, he made clear, was to jettison such overseas commitments and focus instead on restoring the countrys self-defense capabilities through a massive buildup of its combat forces. (The fact that the United States already possesses far more capable weaponry than any of its rivals and outspends them by a significant margin when it comes to the acquisition of additional munitions doesnt seem to have any impact on Trumps calculations.)

If such is indeed Trumps calculation, his likelihood of attacking Iran is very low.

Conversely, the forces benefitting from the status quo Trump would dismantle cannot be expected to accept such a future with equanimity: the Pentagon and NATO military establishments, the intelligence community, the hordes of contractors and think tank denizens, and others. Perhaps even worse, Trumps domestic critics face the terrifying prospect that he could emerge as the greatest peacemaker in modern history, as well as restorer of Americas economic might.

We can thus expect an added zeal born of desperation from former CIA director John Brennan, FBI director James Comey, Robert Mueller, James Clapper, Andrew McCabe, Peter Strzok, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, and the Democratic National Committee, who, Paul Craig Roberts aptly says, are engaged in high treason against the American people and the President of the United States and are actively engaged in a plot to overthrow the President of the United States. Just in recent weeks the intensity of this campaign prevented Trump from agreeing to anything of substance with Putin in Helsinki, forced him to tap-dance around what he did or didnt say at the post-summit press conference, and postpone according to Grand Inquisitor Muellers convenience a follow-up US-Russia summit (no doubt to the delight of his own appointees no less than to his enemies).

We can expect that between now the November 2018 Congressional elections Mueller will come out with several indictments against Trump associates with the hope of tipping the House of Representatives to the Democrats. If that happens, despite an anticipated GOP retention of the Senate, Trump will be removed or forced to resign in 2019, with a substantial percentage of Republicans ready to jump at the prospect of putting Mike Pence into the Oval Office, with current UN Ambassador Nikki Haley a virtual shoo-in as Vice President.

Such a development would prompt an anguished but futile outburst from Trumps base. But with lancien regime back in power, the guardians of the neoliberal, unipolar order the interloper had imperiled will move quickly to repudiate any understandings he might have had with Moscow and Beijing. The slide toward a catastrophe of literally unimaginable proportions, which Trump had sought to arrest, will become for all intents and purposes irreversible.

At that point Iran will be the least of our worries.
A photo of two lovers kissing in the monsoon rain went viral in Bangladesh. Photojournalist Jibon Ahmed posted it on his Facebook page Monday. A lot of people reacted positively to the photo. The photo was taken at the University of Dhaka, roiled by protests and violent incidents in recent months. Three conservative students were suspended this month for allegedly assaulting two students for holding hands. However, for a lot of people in Bangladesh, a majority-Muslim country where extremism is deepening - thought the photo was indecent. According to the Bangladesh News 18 website, one conservative blogger wrote: "Lovers are getting more audacious by the day. Earlier these things were done in secret. Now they are doing it in broad daylight. The day is not far when they will be making love in public." Also Read: 25-year-old Indian student killed in Australia after online date goes wrong

Ahmed - who said the couple did not object to the photograph, taken on a public street - said he will not tolerate being a victim of moral policing, telling the website that a "twisted sense of morality cannot dictate an artist's work."

He said in an interview with The Washington Post that he was scouting for photographs near the teacher-student center at the university Monday when he saw a couple "lip kissing" in the rain, a moment that filled him with delight. He captured the moment in one click and sent it to his newsroom but was disappointed when his editors decided not to run the photo, saying it would prompt a negative response.

"I said, no, you cannot portray this photo negatively, because I found it a symbol of pure love," said Ahmed, 30. He later posted it on his Instagram and Facebook accounts, where in an hour it had been shared 5,000 times.

The next day, he said, some of his fellow photographers roughed him up, and on Wednesday, his boss asked him to turn in his ID and laptop, without giving him a reason.

But his editor said that when Ahmed told his employers about the attack, they supported him and vowed to take legal action.

"The attack was not related to the professional duties. These attacks were the result of his personal transactions," Khujista Nur-e-Naharin, editor of the news portal Purboposhchimbd, wrote in an email to The Post. The editor said Ahmed did not come to a meeting to discuss the attack further and has been "absent from office from 24th July."

"Everyone at the editorial level congratulates him for taking this picture," the editor wrote.

Ahmed said he was "disheartened" at how the matter was handled.

"The couple had a spontaneous lip kiss; I found nothing wrong in them or no obscenity," Ahmed said. "Of course I am disheartened. Some people in our country became educated only in papers, but they are not educated in a real sense. They failed to realize the underlying meaning of my photograph. I am also a bit worried about myself."

Also Read: Watch Video: Scotland breaks record for the biggest gathering of 361 golden retrievers
When Mother Nature strikes, pets are often separated from their families in the midst of the chaos.

The local heroes - the crisis defence force - come in to pick up the pieces, but whos there to rescue the friendly neighbourhood cat?

Animal Evac New Zealand is a new, not-for-profit organisation trained to deal with the evacuation of animals during an emergency or disaster.

As part of the required training, Animal Evac New Zealand is running a series of evacuation courses to introduce new volunteers and better prepare communities across New Zealand.

Co-founder Steve Glassey says this is the first time an evacuation course has been held in the Bay of Plenty, and is one of six courses in New Zealand.

We wanted to put one back in the Bay of Plenty, mainly because of what happened in Edgecumbe, says Steve.

He says more than 1000 animals had to be rescued during the Edgecumbe floods in 2017, and many organisations like the SPCA and some civil defence force teams werent prepared for the job. Compare this to a place like the Hutt Valley in Wellington with more than 50,000 houses and our current capacity is not ideal, he says.

We also know that when animals are left behind in evacuations, people will put their own safety at risk and they will often go back and breach the cordon. Thats happened in the Edgecumbe floods, the Christchurch earthquake and almost any international case study.

The courses will cover animal disaster arrangements, emergency preparedness, professional standards, the code of ethics, health and safety and animal emergency registration.

People can then continue to do further practical training in specific fields of animal evacuation, such as field response or shelter response.

The volunteers may be vegan or against rodeos, but when they put on the Evac hat it is solely to do the right thing to save the animal, adds Steve. We dont judge.

Its all about making sure we have resilient communities and having local capacity so that everyone knows how to deal with animals, knows how to make sure theyre evacuated safely and the animal is cared for until long-term arrangements are made.

Steve says the organisation has also recently sent a submission to government to improve the animal disaster laws.

Within a year of Hurricane Katrina the US senate passed a specific animal disaster law known as the Pet Act, and it was something like 390 to 29 votes, he says. It was an absolute landslide.

Around 44 per cent of those people chose to stay behind in Hurricane Katrina - in part because they werent allowed to take their animals with them.

Our laws are pretty primitive and I dont think weve really learnt from previous events here and overseas, so it means weve got to have a stronger response until something has been mitigated.

For me, its really about saying we know there is a problem and a gap and we think other organisations should be stepping up, but in the meantime lets not just sit on the sideline and let another Edgecumbe disaster happen.

Animal Evac New Zealand is running one of its six foundation courses in Tauranga on Saturday, August 25 from 8am-5pm at 244 Welcome Bay Road. As the Trust receives no government funding, course bookings can be made through EventBrite.

To pay tribute to the resilience of the Edgecumbe community, Animal Evac NZ is also giving away two complimentary passes to the Tauranga foundation course. For more information go to: www.animalevac.nz
Syracuse, N.Y. -- Regulators' move to kick Spectrum, the largest cable provider in New York, out of the state is an unprecedented action that could lead to a long court fight, industry analysts and observers say.

"This is pretty radical," said Aija Leiponen, a professor of applied economics and management at Cornell University. "I've never heard of such a thing. It's very drastic."

The New York State Public Service Commission voted 3-0 Friday to rescind its 2016 approval of Charter Communications' merger with Time Warner Cable and ordered the company to cease its operations in the state.

The commission said Charter, which operates cable television, broadband and telephone service under the Spectrum brand, has repeatedly failed to meet an important condition of the merger approval - extending its broadband internet service to unserved or underserved areas of the state.

The regulators also slapped Charter with a $1 million fine - on top of $2 million in fines that they have previously laid on the company for missing deadlines for extending its high-speed internet service to the state's less densely populated areas.

The commission ordered Charter to file a plan within 60 days for the "orderly transition" of its cable franchises throughout the state to another provider or providers.

Charter said it has met the commission's build-out requirements and suggested the commission's action was politically motivated. (Gov. Andrew Cuomo is running for re-election this year.) It's widely assumed the company will challenge the state's action in court.

"In the weeks leading up to an election, rhetoric often becomes politically charged," the company said in a statement. "But the fact is that Spectrum has extended the reach of our advanced broadband network to more than 86,000 New York homes and businesses since our merger agreement with the PSC."

Leiponen said the matter very likely could end up in a long court battle.

"I see legal ramifications, and they will take some time," she said. "I expect thorough and tedious negotiations between them, but I wouldn't rule out a major lawsuit."

Syracuse University law professor Shubha Ghosh said the commission may have taken such a drastic step to "give Spectrum a kick in the pants" to speed up its broadband build-out.

If the dispute winds up in court, a judge will have to decide whether the company really has failed to meet its obligations, he said. But even if the court sides with the commission on that point, it would not necessarily order Spectrum out of the state, he said.

"The court does have some leeway on what the remedy would be, and it could be just a fine," said Ghosh. "The court could order the company to expedite the expansion and fine it if it fails to do so. I would think the effort would be to get the company to move faster."

Jeff Kagan, an Atlanta-based telecommunications and wireless analyst, said the state and the company could avoid the time and expense of a years-long court fight by agreeing to have an impartial third party, such as an engineering firm, conduct an audit of the company's build-out progress.

"Obviously, if Charter hasn't met its obligations, they've got to correct it," he said. "But just saying you want to throw them out of the state makes no sense. If you're going to kick Charter out, who is going to take over? Charter is there, and I think you have to give them a chance to fix it."

Charter is the second largest cable company in the nation, behind only Comcast.

In New York, however, Charter is by far the largest, with more than 2 million subscribers in 1,150 communities, including the major Upstate metropolitan areas of Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse and Albany, and the boroughs of Manhattan, Staten Island, Queens and parts of Brooklyn.

In approving Charter's merger with Time Warner Cable, the Public Service Commission required the company to extend its network to pass an additional 145,000 unserved or underserved homes and businesses in less populated areas of the state over the four years following the merger. The company was required to reach certain build-out milestones each of the four years, but the commission said it has fallen short in each of the first two years.

In January of this year, Charter filed a progress report, saying that it had extended its network to 42,889 homes and businesses, exceeding its required target of 36,771, by Dec. 16, 2017.

But in June, the commission disqualified 18,363 of the "passings," saying they were in areas, the majority of them in densely populated New York City, already served by Charter or another broadband provider. As a result, the commission said the company had again fallen well short of meeting its obligations.

Charter further angered the commission by continuing to publicly claim that it was meeting the requirements. On June 26, the commission accused the company of misleading consumers about the matter and filed a false advertising claim against the company with the Attorney General's office.

Editor's note: Advance/Newhouse Partnership, which has an ownership stake in Charter Communications Inc., is part of Advance Publications, owner of Advance Local. Advance Local owns Syracuse.com, NYUP.com and The Post-Standard.

Contact Rick Moriarty anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-470-3148
YouTube VR is already available on nearly all major virtual reality platforms, including the PlayStation VR, Daydream, and HTC Vive. Now, YouTube is officially extending support to Samsung Gear VR users, and is also introducing new features that will let them watch videos together and chat.

While it's already possible to access YouTube via the built-in browser on the Gear VR, the update fulfills a notable absence in the Gear VR video ecosystem. The app will be available to download from the Oculus Store for free starting this week. Unfortunately, Google didn't mention any plans to bring the app to the new standalone Oculus Go device.

Watch Together In YouTube VR

Aside from releasing a Gear VR version of the app, one of Google's goals was to focus on building a space where players can interact and experience VR with other people. Which is why it's introducing a new feature called "Watch Together." This feature can be accessed from the YouTube VR app by clicking on the new icon beneath the play controls, and allows gamers to watch and engage in discussions "in a communal, virtual space"  very much like Ready Player One.

New Content On YouTube VR

Google is also releasing brand new VR content, including a new music experience that'll let players tag along backstage with Portugal. The Man and Hayley Kiyoko as they prepare before they perform. It's all part of the VR180 Rockstar VR series, and gamers will get a behind-the-scenes look into the lives of other musicians as well.

There's also a series called The Female Planet, which will put gamers right in front of female leaders, trailblazers, and athletes. One of the first few people to be featured is Ibtihaj Muhammad, an Olympic bronze medalist in fencing who was the first Muslim-American woman to wear a hijab while competing.

For those who want a more action-packed ride, they can turn to SoKrispyMedia, which will put gamers in the middle of a video game where they're tasked to escape a digital world before a glitch traps them there forever.

"VR can take you anywhere, and YouTube VR can bring you to more places in the virtual world than anywhere else," YouTube wrote in a blog post. "I've never been more excited about the next places VR storytellers, explorers and the community will take us  letting us experience them as if we're actually there."

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Huawei wants to beat Samsung to the punch and release the world's first foldable smartphone, with analysts estimating it could come as soon as early next year.

Samsung is currently the world leader when it comes to displays, thanks mainly to its Samsung Display subsidiary, which makes OLED panels for a whole bunch of companies, including Apple.

For a while it's been apparent that South Korean electronics brand has been developing a foldable Galaxy smartphone, and its arrival seems pretty close  just recently, Samsung revealed its "unbreakable" display that's been certified for durability.

Huawei And BOE To Take On Samsung

Huawei wants to compete aggressively. Through flexible OLED panels from Chinese supplier BOE, it's apparently planning to produce a limited run of foldable smartphones, according to Nikkei Asian Review. Most consumers have probably never heard of BOE, but its display business has rapidly grown in recent times. In fact, the company has been tapped to make displays for a bunch of Apple products, including MacBooks and iPads, according to The Wall Street Journal.

Huawei Wants To Beat Samsung With The World's First Foldable Phone

It's typical for Huawei to desire being the "first." In 2014, when rumors came out suggesting Apple was going to use a sapphire crystal display for its next iPhone, Huawei beat it to the punch and released the limited edition Huawei Ascend P7 Sapphire. Apple ended up not using the technology.

Huawei was also the first to implement Force Touch technology even before Apple incorporated it into iPhones. It seems Huawei is pulling the same move with regard to foldable technology: accelerate production, release limited units, and technically earn the honor of being the first to come up with such a phone.

With this, the race to make the first foldable smartphone is on, but the benefits of such a form factor remains unclear  besides, of course, the wow factor. Not to mention the potential software-related issues of a phone that can be folded. Both Apple and Huawei would have to develop specialized user interfaces to make intuitive experiences.

Smartphones today are already pretty excellent, and it's hard to imagine how foldability would make them even better. Is it another gimmick in the vein of 3D TVs, which are now obsolete? In any case, it seems to be the direction smartphone manufacturers are inching toward, and they have to hope it's the right path forward.

Do you think there should be foldable smartphones? Feel free to sound off in the comments section below!

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
An ancient piece of oceanic crust that lodged itself beneath the North American continent created the Yellowstone Caldera and other volcanoes in the hotspot track, new research shows.

Experts at the Virginia Tech College of Sciences say that the Yellowstone super-volcano was created by an enormous plate that moved when the continents started to split some 175 millions years ago.

The plate wedged itself under North America, broke off into tiny pieces, and set hot materials up to the surface of the Earth. This led to the creation of the super-volcano and the Yellowstone hotspots track that runs along Oregon, Idaho, and Wyoming.

Yellowstone Super-Volcano



The Yellowstone super-volcano is a vast expanse of a volcano that covers practically the entire Yellowstone National Park. A super-volcano is a volcano that has erupted at magnitude 8, the highest on the Volcanic Explosivity Index.

The dormant Yellowstone has erupted only three times in the last 2.1 million years, the last one taking place 640,000 years ago at Lava Creek. This led to the creation of the Yellowstone Caldera, a giant crater over 1,500 square miles in area that formed when the volcano collapsed in the catastrophic eruption.

If the super-volcano erupts again, it will send nuclear winds throughout the world, emit a cloud of ash that will darken the sky for days, and devastate two-thirds of the United States.

Oceanic Crust Subduction



The new paper published in the journal Natural Geoscience runs counter to the prevailing theory of how the Yellowstone super-volcano came into being.

For years, experts have believed that the super-volcano was created by a plume of magma rising from the Earth's core and passing through rifts in the crust to create the super-volcano.

However, lead researcher Ying Zhou, theoretical seismologist at Virginia Tech's Department of Geosciences, says scientists have not yet found evidence of a plume of hot materials underneath Yellowstone.

Instead, the subterranean images taken by Zhou and her team show evidence of an enormous oceanic plate that subducted the Western United States 30 million years ago.

Called the Farallon Plate, it broke into pieces and melted in the mantle. This sent magma to the crust that has been causing volcanic eruptions for the past 16 million years.

Underground Images Show Anomalous Structure



Working at the National Science Foundation's underground USArray observatory, the team was able to create images of underground structures with the help of seismic waves generated by the movement of tectonic plates. This is called diffraction tomography.

Using this new technique, the researchers spotted an anomalous subterranean structure found 250 to 400 miles that follows the trail of the hotspots track.

This suggests that the Farallon Plate sank deep into the mantle and pushed magma upward to form Yellowstone. The hotspots track has been moving northwest ever since, says Zhou.

"The process started at the Oregon-Idaho border about 16 million years ago and propagated northwestward, forming a line of volcanoes that are progressively younger as they stretched northwest to present-day Wyoming," she says.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Beyond average numbers of sea turtles have washed ashore in Southwest Florida beaches this year, and conservationists are worried about the possible impacts on this mass mortality on sea turtle populations. Experts suspect that the ongoing algal bloom is to blame for the deaths and illnesses.

Sea Turtle Mass Mortality

As of July 25, 91 stranded sea turtles have been recovered in the beaches around Sanibel and Captiva in Southwest Florida. In fact, 17 of the stranded were recovered just this past week.

On average, there are only between 30 and 35 strandings for an entire year, but there were over 50 strandings in June and July alone. Of the recovered sea turtles, 58 were already dead, while 33 were brought into custody to be given proper care. Further, 19 of the recovered turtles are Kemps Ridley sea turtles, a critically endangered species.

Red Tide To Blame?

Sea turtle researchers believe that the mass mortality is related to the ongoing red tide, which is evidently the longest algal bloom since the 2006 algal bloom that lasted for over a year So far, the current red tide has been ongoing for 10 months.

Although it is still not certain that the red tide is indeed responsible for the mass sea turtle mortality, evidence shows that many of the turtles exhibited neurological symptoms associated with red tide. Further, recent numbers show that the waters in Lee County reached levels of 1 million cells per liter when typically, fish kills and human breathing problems occur as a result of algal blooms with levels of 10,000 cells per liter.

Sea Turtle Population

Experts worry that the mass mortality can seriously dampen the conservation efforts for sea turtles. As mentioned, 19 of the recovered sea turtles are the critically endangered Kemps Ridley sea turtles, but also concerning is the fact that 53 of the affected turtles were mature adults. This may have a significant impact on sea turtle populations, especially since only 1 in 1,000 hatchlings survive until sexual maturity at between 25 and 30 years of age.

Evidently, red tide season typically ends by April, but the prolonged red tide this year collided with the sea turtles nesting season.

According to experts, the algal bloom likely causing the mass mortality is worsened by abnormally high amounts of nutrients that washed from the land and into the Gulf. As such, it is important to strengthen water quality standards to improve the currently dire conditions.

Karenia Brevis

Karenia Brevis is the organism responsible for the ongoing red tide. Although it is a naturally occurring organism, algal blooms may be intensified by poorer water qualities as a result of farming and development.

It is known for its toxicity because it produces brevetoxins that can cause mass mortalities in marine vertebrates and even human illnesses such as neurotoxic shellfish poisoning and respiratory irritation.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The United States is one of the most unsafe places a woman could give birth in, according to a new report that sheds light on the growing number of medical workers who skip safety practices and put women in peril during childbirth.

Doctors and nurses are supposed to weigh bloody pads to monitor blood loss so they recognize any potential dangers sooner. They are also supposed to provide medication within an hour of spotting high blood pressure to prevent potential episodes of stroke.

Doctors Are Neglecting Pregnant Women During Childbirth

Such precautions aren't complicated tasks and are in fact among the most basic measures experts have recommended for years because they can save mothers' lives, according to USA Today. Moreover, these procedures are simple and don't require expensive technology to perform.

Despite that, doctors and nurses across the country continue to neglect these tasks. As a result, women are left to bleed until their organs stop working. Their high blood pressure goes untreated to the point where they suffer from strokes. Some even die over preventable blood clots and untreated infections. Those who survive, meanwhile, become susceptible to paralysis or unable to bear more children going forward  grave consequences that could have been prevented if only doctors and nurses performed their jobs correctly.

According to USA Today's in-depth investigation, nearly 50,000 women are "severely injured" during childbirth, and about 700 die every year. Half of these deaths and should not have happened, as should the injuries, if the measures illustrated above had been followed.

Maternal Deaths: A Harrowing Portrait

While most women give birth sans any issue, "The Global Burden of Disease 2015 Maternal Mortality" study published in The Lancet journal and cited in USA Today's "Deadly Deliveries" report brings to light a shocking disparity between U.S. childbirths and those of other developed nations  between 1990 to 2015, the number of maternal deaths in most developed nations such as Germany, France, and Japan per 100,000 births fell or plateaued below 10. In the United States, however, the number rose to 26.4.

The leading cause of maternal deaths include hemorrhage and severe hypertensions, the result of medical practitioners "eyeballing" such biometrics instead of professionally measuring them. Less than 15 percent of women in peril receive recommended treatment.

The report paints an appalling picture of neglect when it comes to childbirth in America.

"We're not just talking about the women who die, we're talking about 50,000 U.S. women who are suffering life-altering harms," said Alison Young, the journalist behind the report. She called on clinicians to make the safety of a pregnant women a priority and for hospitals to introduce the Alliance for Innovation on Maternal Health Programs safety checklists.

Her report isn't the first to reveal the horrid state of childbirth care in the country, however. Both NPR and ProPublica also launched their own investigations and found many of the same revelations.

Why such neglect occurs in hospitals remains to be explained, but there is absolutely no excuse for letting women die because doctors and nurses didn't do their jobs properly.

 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The protests today, Tuesday October 26, are expected to be the largest since Guillermo Lasso took office in May. | Read More
Geoffrey Tozer and Paul Keating at the Australian Institute of Music. Credit:Peter Morris PMZ "I said to Erik in the first few days of adapting it that if we just repeat the conclusions then it has absolutely no reason to exist. We've got to interrogate it, we've got to pick it apart. You've got to be willing to be the bad guy," remembers Wright. "To Erik's credit he knew exactly what I meant and took it on, but there were times during the writing of the film that that was a more difficult proposition that it was as merely an idea." Jensen was just 19 years old  "almost a child with a notebook," Wright says  and working for the Sydney Morning Herald when he first wrote about Cullen. His book coolly recounts the tests flavoured with both affection and aggravation that Cullen subjected him to, including being shot in the leg with shotgun pellets. But Wright believed that if the book was Jensen's verdict on Cullen, then the film needed in turn to consider both men and the dynamic they shared. Acute Misfortune: Adam Cullen (Daniel Henshall) and Erik Jensen (Toby Wallace). "I say this is a provocation, but that book can be viewed as an act of revenge. I was fascinated by that, but I don't think that's what it is. It could also be seen as an act of dedication," Wright notes. "On the sleeve of Acute Misfortune it says it's a tale 'told at close quarters and without judgment', and I just thought that needed to be discussed. What culpability does Erik bring to it? Is he the equivalent of a conflict photographer?"

"You meet Tom and you get a feeling for how passionate he is. He's very prepared, very driven, incredibly ambitious, and has a single-minded energy," says Daniel Henshall, the Australian actor whose chilling performance as a charismatic killer in 2011's Snowtown made him Wright's first choice to play Adam Cullen. Henshall would have three years to immerse himself in Cullen's life before he was joined by Toby Wallace (the Romper Stomper television reboot) in the role of Erik Jensen. "We talked about whose film it was. It's very much Erik's film  it's through his eyes," adds Henshall, who lost 22 kilograms in the middle of the shoot to portray the ravaged, dying Cullen in his final days. "We meet Adam because Erik chose to meet and interview him. You see Adam through Erik's eyes and the edit makes that clear, which is a bold choice." One of Black Lung's guiding philosophies was to destabilise the narrative, and Wright brought that to Acute Misfortune. The film aggressively dispenses with the framing scenes that set up a conventional biopic, instead invoking the off-kilter world Cullen draws the ambitious, accepting Jensen into. Cullen's artworks, brushes and even clothes are used, yet information about the commercial art world is communicated through telling tableaus. The extensive and sometimes harrowing research isn't referenced in a linear timeline, it's distilled into the performances. It's all shot in the narrower than normal screen ratio of 1.37:1, the "Academy" standard used between the 1930s and the 1950s, which creates a sense of portraiture that references both the artist and the writer as they share what the director calls "the film's implication of inevitability". "Erik's experience with Adam reflects nearly everyone's experience with Adam," Wright says. "That is a profound closeness, great intellectual reciprocity turning into a painful exchange, and eventually becoming either violent or threatening to such an extent that the person had to leave. You're absorbing what it was to be in this position."

Janine Hosking first brushed up against Geoffrey Tozer's life in 2011, two years after the former child prodigy's passing when a friend who worked in book publishing passed her a transcript of Keating's eulogy. "Geoffrey Tozer's death is a national tragedy," was the first line, and over 45 minutes it celebrated the pianist's rare gifts while delivering a broadside at the Australian arts establishment. It was a reminder of Keating as the parliamentarian who slayed his opponents in question time, but it was leavened with grief and affection. Hosking had wanted to make a documentary that involved music, and once she discovered the Tozer archive maintained (in a suburban shed) by his estate, the filmmaker knew that she had both the necessary material and, with Keating's help, the spine of the story. After a period of consideration he agreed. "He knew the power of what he was about to do, but he did it not knowing what other people were going to say about Geoffrey," Hosking says. "He was very insistent that the eulogy would be his final word on Geoffrey Tozer. I would have loved an interview, but he just wanted to do the eulogy and that was his only condition." Keating's voice is a compass in The Eulogy. He compares the pianist and composer to Nellie Melba, Percy Grainger and Joan Sutherland, but for all the herculean talents, which were obvious from an early age and gave him an international profile, Tozer and his first true believer, his mother Veronica, often struggled to survive financially and his legacy is near unknown in his homeland. But instead of simply justifying Tozer's greatness, the documentary  with empathy  asks whether Keating was right. One way of looking at The Eulogy is to consider it a trial, with Keating as the prosecutor. The role of the judge, impartial and probing, is played by Richard Gill, one of Australia's leading conductors and a pre-eminent music educator. Gill had met Geoffrey Tozer just once, and wasn't familiar with his music. There was a chance he would refute Tozer's supporters.

"He could have. And Richard wouldn't have taken it on if he felt he was being used as a puppet. And that made it exciting  there's this whatever's going to happen next quality," says Hosking, who shot Gill's initial reaction to a key recording Tozer made with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. "He was very sceptical up to that point. We'd said to him, 'Don't listen to any music until we're ready to play it to you', and now he's a Tozer fan. It needed someone to drill down and really look at Geoffrey Tozer's legacy." In one scene Gill holds a session with a group of teenage classical musicians, none of whom have heard of Tozer. They are, in a way, a jury ("his note clarity was so on point," one boy enthusiastically observes). There are also responses to Keating from those who held positions of power, and there are interviews, particularly with Tozer's one great love, that have a visceral emotional reach. But the film excludes recreations and an omnipotent narrator. "I don't like the voice of god disembodied narrator documentary. Once you take that out of the mix you have to look at different ways of emphasising the storyline you want people to follow through the characters," explains Hosking. "What I wanted to make sure happened was that this wasn't a hagiography. You don't have to believe the eulogy, you can check this out yourself by talking to Geoffrey's friends and listening to his music." Loading Both Hosking and Thomas M. Wright have taken real life events and made films that don't seek to merely represent or conveniently reduce their turbulent subjects, but see them through a clarifying perspective that goes beyond biography. Wright speaks of his attempt to, "pare the film back of all its noise and affectation", while via a sense of discovery Hosking brought her story "full circle". People often refer to what a life is owed, but perhaps this is what the lives of Adam Cullen and Geoffrey Tozer needed.
MOVIE PASSES TO THE LAST SUIT

Escaping a family intent on confirming him to a nursing home, octogenarian Jewish tailor Abraham Bursztein leaves Buenos Aires in search of the man who, more than 70 years ago, saved him from certain death. With assistance from a roll call of generous strangers, the sharply-dressed suitmaker makes his way across Europe to Poland, undeterred by travel mishaps, family foibles and geographical obstacles. Screening exclusively at Classic, Lido and Cameo Cinemas from Thursday, we have 20 in-season doubles (worth $860 in total) to join him on his search. Register your details on info@jiff.com.au before midnight tonight for your chance to win.

The Last Suit.

TUTTI: MSO X CIRCUS OZ

Defying all odds, in a brand-new collaboration Hamer Hall will play host to the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra and Circus Oz as they combine terrifying tricks and tremendous tempos to present Tutti on Friday and Saturday, September 7 and 8. We have three doubles (worth $168 each) to join the 7.30pm Friday audience for this dazzling evening of thrilling acrobatics with MSO musicians performing beneath a spanning truss arch reminiscent of a violin bridge in a celebration of music and silence, circus and stillness, tension and release. Entries received on publicity@mso.com.au before midnight tonight will enter the draw.
Sharemarket listings can be very rewarding for investors who get in on the ground floor.

That was the case for those who managed to get hold of shares in the "floats", or initial public offerings (IPOs), of the cannabis-related companies last year.

Medicinal cannabis company AusCann debuted on the sharemarket in early February last year with an issue price of 20c a share. Technically, it was a "reverse takeover" of another company that was already listed. Shares in the Perth-based company are trading at more than $1.

Medicinal cannabis companies that floated on the sharemarket last year are doing well Credit:Bloomberg

Another medicinal cannabis stock, Cann Group, listed in May last year with an issue price of 30 cents a share. Its shares are trading at more than $2.80.
"Ive seen the future and its still rotten," French cake maker Anais Deirolle complained on her Facebook page.

Five days later, she was in a Sydney prison where she has remained since last November when Australian Federal Police and Border Force officials boarded the cruise ship on which she had arrived from Britain and allegedly found about 30 kilograms of cocaine hidden on board.

Anais Deirolle, who has been charged with attempting to import 30kg of cocaine to Australia. Credit:Facebook

Ms Deroille was arrested with two other French nationals - Bruno Piton-Larroque and Juan Pedro Carpentier - and a 41-year-old woman from Belgium after the four Europeans were flagged at their departure point in Britain by customs officials and selected for "further scrutiny" by British and Australian Border Force officials.

Australian Border Force drug dogs reacted to one bag in the ships stairwell, in which inspectors found 15 kilograms of cocaine.
A woman has been stabbed several times in the head and shoulder at a Gold Coast hotel on Saturday afternoon, with police searching for a suspect and examining the crime scene.

Emergency services were called to the Wyndham Hotel on Surfers Paradise Boulevard in Surfers Paradise about 2.30pm.

Police said a 35-year-old woman suffered multiple stab wounds, but her injuries were described as "non-life-threatening" and she was taken to Gold Coast University Hospital for treatment.

Detectives believe the attacker is a woman who is known to the victim and are searching for her.
Now, 76 years later, Toms award-winning actor grandson Peter has finally published the extraordinary tale that the Phelps family held tightly onto all these years. Researching it wasn't easy, Phelps tells Fairfax Media. As it turned out, there was barely any record of the events. Most of the information about what happened was contained on his grandfather's hat, along with a map he'd drawn on baking paper  and a letter he wrote to the editor of The Sydney Morning Herald that was published in 1944. The map Tom Phelps drew on baking paper. Credit:James Alcock That letter was a response to an article about building the Bulldog Road, an Australian army engineering feat only possible because the men who escaped along the track of the same name told authorities where it was. But those men and their journey barely rated a mention.

"Being one of the original party who left Edie Creek at 11 p.m. on March 4, 1942, I can fully substantiate all he says in regard to the hardships endured," Tom wrote, following with a succinct account of his extraordinary journey. Even then, the story was all but ignored. Thomas Phelps' 1944 letter to the editor was one of the only public records of the story from the time. Credit:Fairfax Media "They were civilians; goldminers, carpenters and all sorts of trades. So there was nothing documented about these guys," Phelps explains. "It was such a time of war that a couple of hundred miners' story would just not be considered, because it wasn't part of the war effort. But they were as brave as any soldier."

The lack of records made Toms helmet diary even more priceless. Using indelible ink, and spiralling out from the centre, hed inscribed "every camp that they stopped at, what they ate, times of arrival and departures, the names of his fellow trekkers that were all miners, along with their native carriers." Peter Phelps with his grandfather's pith helmet that formed the "blueprint" of the book. Credit:James Alcock It become the "blueprint" for the book, Phelps says. "Most of the chapter titles are his inscriptions on the helmet. That was my blueprint for the whole story ... I wasn't stuck for a plot."

Phelps was also able to fill in some of the gaps, especially about the family left at home, with the support of his elderly father George, who sadly died before the book was finished. He says he wrote the book as a tribute to his father and grandfather, "a gift for my family", as well as an important slice of history that deserves to be told. With his book,The Bulldog Track, hitting shelves on Tuesday, Phelps is already working on a screenplay, and hopes to play his grandfather's part in a TV miniseries. "It's quite a visual piece," Phelps says. "And that's the only way I can write, sort of seeing pictures in my head of him doing this. I guess that's the actor in me who wants to act it out." Tom's letter
The kitchen at a busy Melbourne CBD pub was closed during peak Friday trading last night when a chef suffered serious burns.

The Metropolitan Fire Brigade was called to the Melbourne Public Bar at South Wharf on Friday night responding to reports of a fire in the kitchen.

The bar at the Melbourne Public where a chef was burnt. Credit:Eddie Jim

Upon arrival, the MFB found the fire had been extinguished by sprinklers in the kitchen and found the chef with burns on his body.

Ambulance Victoria said paramedics were called to the fire just before 8pm. They took the chef to the Alfred Hospital where he remains in a stable condition.
Up to 500 people took part in a protest outside Channel 7's Melbourne headquarters against what they say is 'racist' reporting of crime in the African Australian community. Credit:AAP

Up to 500 protesters gathered in emotional scenes outside the Channel Seven studio in Docklands on Saturday to condemn what they say is biased reporting about crime in Melbourne's African community.

The protest gained traction on social media in response to a recent report on the network's Sunday Night program about Melbourne's so-called 'African gangs' .

Police estimated between 300 and 500 protesters turned out to Saturday's event, many waving flags or holding signs in solidarity.
The 30,000 cut in the immigration intake will cost the federal budget $500 million a year, a Treasury briefing obtained by Fairfax Media shows.

There were 162,000 permanent visas approved in the 12 months ended June 30, a cut from 190,000 the previous year, which Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton described as evidence "the policy is working as it should". The Turnbull government has framed immigration as a key issue for Saturday's byelections, as it road-tested key policies before the next federal election.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton. Credit:Justin McManus

Between April 2017 and April 2018 Treasury produced two reports to Cabinet on the financial impact of a cut to immigration. The period was marked by disagreement between Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Mr Dutton over whether ministers had discussed slashing Australias immigration intake from 190,000 to 170,000 a year.

Those documents will not be released under a freedom of information request, but Fairfax has obtained a Treasury briefing showing how it calculates the contribution of individual migrants to government revenue.
Few are as fast-growing and urbanised, either. Australias growth is among the highest in the rich world, but unlike other countries is focused on just two cities, Sydney and Melbourne. The latter has a 3 per cent expansion rate that would, if left unchecked, give it a London-sized population by mid-century. Were increasingly acknowledging the squeeze on house prices, transport, services and the environment. Three or four years ago it would have seemed impolite to say were full. Now its a common refrain. Until the last year or two, Australia had resisted the toxic immigration rows threatening democracies in Europe and which helped deliver Brexit to the UK, a far right revival in Germany, and Donald Trump to the US. Demonstrators hold placards during a protest against Donald Trump in central London earlier this month. Credit:Bloomberg But population pressure has brought immigration to centre stage in Australian politics, egged on in particular by conservatives in the Turnbull government, including former prime minister, Tony Abbott.

Home Affairs minister Peter Dutton, in particular, has heard and stirred discontent. Amid calls for the fast-tracking of immigration for persecuted white South Africans and action against African gangs in Victoria, he has slashed approvals for permanent migrant arrivals, replaced 457 temporary work visas, and hinted at yet tougher rules on other visas. Experts now see big cuts to immigration as inevitable under the Coalition. But what is the rationale? How should such decisions be made? More consumers, please The Yugoslavian ship, Partizanka, arrives in Sydney carrying migrants, 18 January 1948. Credit:Fairfax libary Populate or perish was the warning when, 70 years ago, Australia came out of World War II as a nervy nation of just 7 million on a massive island continent with vast, unguarded borders. Immigration would be our saviour.

Population  and were now 25 million  was always about money too. It was customers for bread and clothes, computers and houses, for companies like Coles, Woolworths and AV Jennings. Population growth is a combination of natural increase, births over deaths, plus net overseas migration  the difference between the annual intake and outflow of migrants. Because we have a low birthrate, immigration is the major contributor to our growth, and (apart from Peter Costellos one for the country exhortation), the only real lever governments have to affect it. The most important lobby group in the population and immigration policy debates is business. For decades it ensured the lever was set on open to keep the customers coming. The permanent immigration program  the target of 190,000 has been rebadged a ceiling by the Coalition  encompasses skills, family and refugee/humanitarian programs.

Then there is the uncapped temporary immigration. This includes myriad visas, through which Australia plays host to about 1.5 million people at any one time, including students, working holiday makers, temporary skilled and unskilled migrant workers. About 50,000 more temporary migrants arrive than leave every year, giving us overall immigration of about 240,000 annually, a high level internationally. Many temporary migrants are students, contributing to a burgeoning education industry. Credit:Imaginechina No one questions that such a big intake adds to Australias annual GDP growth. And, says Brendan Coates from leading think tank the Grattan Institute, population growth makes the numbers look good for governments keen to avoid the stigma of a recession. But GDP tells us nothing about how population growth affects our individual wellbeing.

The more important measure is GDP per capita, or per person. Important here is the fact that, since the Howard years in particular, Australias immigration policy shamelessly focuses on skills and youth. Migrants tend to be younger than the existing population and, therefore, more likely to work. Around 84 per cent of migrants who arrived in 2015-16 were aged under 40 years compared to 54 per cent of the resident population. Loading Through their relative youth, migrants help slow the ageing of the population  it's known as the demographic dividend"  giving Australia an economic edge over fast-ageing, low-immigration countries like Japan. As migrants tend to be more skilled theyre also likely to be more productive.

Inherently they tend to have a lot of get up and go, says Coates, because by definition theyve already got up and gone. Young workers are also at the stage of their life when their taxable income is usually at its highest, but their use of government services such as health, education and aged care, at its lowest. Many, temporary migrants in particular, are not entitled to services and benefits, including welfare and Medicare. In fiscal terms, therefore, migrants are a boon to both federal and state coffers. Milking the immigration cow Abul Rizvi has been immersed in immigration policy for decades, including as immigration department deputy secretary in the Howard years. He says Victoria and NSW have been big winners from immigration, especially from legions of international students.

Thats why we call education an export industry, he points out. People who come here more than pay their own way. We make a profit from them. Possibly too much so, given research, including by The Age/SMH, that points to systemic underpayment and exploitation of low skilled workers on temporary visas, especially in hospitality and farm work. Loading To date, however, there has been little clear evidence of the wider impact of permanent migrant workers on wages or jobs. After commissioning research for a major 2016 immigration report, the Productivity Commission concluded that, at an aggregate level, recent immigrants had a negligible impact on wages and employment for existing workers.

So within the narrow economic parameter of per capita GDP, immigration is a significant benefit. In 2015 the governments intergenerational report found that in the preceding 40 years, population growth contributed almost 18 per cent of the 1.7 per cent annual average growth in GDP per capita Australia has enjoyed. Looking forward, the Productivity Commission in 2016 estimated that continuing the intake of younger, skilled migrants could make GDP per capita up to 7 per cent higher in 2060 than if there were zero net migration over that period. A cut in immigration, therefore, would almost certainly mean a reduction in economic growth, both in aggregate and per capita terms. How big the impact would depend on how deep the cuts ultimately prove to be, and from which programs. In the governments pronouncements so far, they have not made this clear.

Traffic congestion is chronic in Australia's major cities. Credit:Josh Robenstone However, national GDP figures tell only a part of the population cost-benefit story. They do not, for instance, account for the fact that immigrants congregate in two major cities. And from the perspective of Sydney and Melbourne, the view is very different. In the decade to 2016, Australia grew by more than 6 million, with capital cities taking three quarters of the increase. Melbourne and Sydney took almost 60 per cent, or 3.6 million people. So any increase or reduction to immigration will have outsized impacts in NSW and, especially, Victoria. Permanent migrants in particular are drawn to the high-paying knowledge" jobs, which are increasingly concentrated in central Sydney and Melbourne, where the share of total metropolitan employment increased to 22.4 per cent and 20.5 per cent respectively over the 10 years to 2016. But housing supply has not kept up with demand, an important factor in the slump in housing affordability, along with government withdrawal from public housing provision and failure to tax windfalls from land rezoning and development.

Census data shows that population growth  mainly migration  outstripped construction of new dwellings across Australia between 2006 and 2016, especially in NSW, Victoria and Queensland. The Grattan Institute says the primary obstacle to housing construction is planning rules that delay or prevent development, especially in the well-to-do, jealously protected, middle suburbs. It says new housing is pushed to the fringe and beyond good transport, services and well-paid knowledge jobs. Where there is public transport, its packed. For those without it, travel times have blown out over the last decade, a major burden for commuters and their families. Grattan says governments have not helped with their disproportionate spending on infrastructure in marginal seats, rather than in the cities struggling to absorb population growth.

In a confronting conclusion to a major housing study earlier this year, Grattan found that if planning is not improved to allow for more and better located housing , the federal government should pull back on migration numbers. Water, farms and the beach Expensive housing is just one of the costs of population growth. Theres also the spiralling costs of services such as water, especially when the sustainable use of natural supplies is exhausted and technological alternatives like desalination become necessary.

This raises the cost of living for the Australian community, concluded the Productivity Commission in 2016. Then theres the loss of prime farmland and food on the edge of our cities, the loss of habitat and species, declining fish stocks, once-empty beaches now busy, queues, and so on. None of these pressures are factored into GDP assessments of immigration. But they should be measured, says the Productivity Commission, which has called for a national population policy, compiled with the states and wider community, to help guide decisions about our long-term immigrant intake. If poor planning and infrastructure provision is in large part to blame for the population squeeze, and likely cuts to immigration, then governments at all levels are responsible. Marcus Spiller is a founder of economics and planning consultancy SGS. It has prominent practices in Sydney and Melbourne. He says the problem is not that we have too many migrants, but government negligence  federal and state  in housing, infrastructure and planning.

He says the Commonwealth  that would include Peter Dutton and Tony Abbott  lacks a coherent housing or transport policy, has all but vacated social housing, and picks political winners when it funds road and rail projects. Prominent independent economist Saul Eslake is also critical of planning for cities, noting that Australia had faster population growth rates in the post-war boom of the 1950s and 1960s, And we didnt have the problems we now have.' The Turnbull government is now considering calls, including from backbenchers such as West Australian senator Dean Smith, for a population policy. A birds eye, national policy to help guide planning, including a strategy for settlement of migrants in country towns and regional cities, could be a major breakthrough in Australian planning across three levels of government. Its an idea reminiscent of big-picture thinking of the post-war years when, Eslake says, people tended to trust that governments had it right on population, planning and immigration numbers.
Privacy experts have rejected the federal government's reassurances that My Health Record patient data will not be accessed by third parties without a warrant, demanding that it redraft laws giving authorities broad powers of access.

Pressure is mounting for Health Minister Greg Hunt to tear up the legislation after he promised to clear up any "ambiguity" about patient privacy under the system, which will enrol all Australians with a Medicare card if they do not opt-out by October 15.

University of Technology, Sydney law lecturer Geoff Holland told Fairfax Media the Privacy Act would offer no protection for Australians enrolled in My Health Record if police sought to access their private information, as the wording of the legislation would override its safeguards - contradicting the government's position.

Health Minister Greg Hunt Credit:AAP

Mr Holland warned that patients could be deemed to have given "informed consent" for the information to be accessed by police, courts and others, simply by having a My Health Record under the current system.
Two years ago, Narelle Reynolds could barely read and write.

Like many other adults living in the Aboriginal community in Brewarrina, on the banks of the Barwon River in outback NSW, illiteracy had had a stultifying impact on her life.

"Before I did the program I used to drink a lot  I was an alcoholic  and now I don't drink anymore," Ms Reynolds, 50, said. "It helped me put myself back on my feet."

Narelle Reynolds from Brewarrina says learning to read as an adult changed her life. Credit:Justine Kerrigan/Literacy for Life Foundation

The "program" was not a rehab or detoxification course, but rather an initiative called Literacy for Life  which has toured through remote Aboriginal communities in NSW delivering literacy lessons to adults.
Soon after winning office, Special Minister of State Gavin Jennings said: We want to be a government that actually rebuilds the communitys confidence in the accountability and the openness of government.

News that police have re-opened their investigation, extending it to criminal matters, into the ALPs breaching of electoral rules is a potentially decisive blow to a government that has the barest of majorities and has failed spectacularly to deliver on its 2014 pledge to clean up politics and preside over unimpeachable transparency.

Victoria's ALP government is asking to be entrusted with a second term, but is looking untrustworthy to the point of duplicitous.

Yet the government spent as much as $1 million seeking to prevent Victorian Ombudsman Deborah Glass probe into what has become known as the rorts-for-votes affair.

The ALP has admitted to billing party campaign work to the taxpayer-funded account that pays for public-service, electorate-office staff.

It has long claimed not to have broken the rules  and/or that any malfeasance that might have occurred was inadvertent and innocent. However, it did repay the almost $400,000 misappropriated from the public.

The police are investigating whether any criminal wrongdoing has taken place in a politically charged time just shy of four months before the state election.

The opposition has called for six ministers who were named in the Ombudsmans report, including Attorney-General Martin Pakula, to stand down during the investigation.

The police have yet to name who is under investigation, let alone charge anyone. Nevertheless, the first law officer of the state is likely to be under intense scrutiny. That is unquestionably a terrible look.

As was the rorting of the system, a transgression revealed by whistleblowers. More than 20 current and former ALP members of parliament were identified in the Ombudsmans report.

Parliament is but one part of our democratic system of checks and balances on power. Another is the rule of law, a cornerstone of which is the presumption of innocence.
West Australians in the federal electorates of Perth and Fremantle are encouraged to cast their vote this "Super Saturday" amid concern turnout could plunge to a record low.

Voting booths are now open and will close at 6pm local time.

In the first 10 days of pre-polling, early votes for Perth were down 41 per cent on the same time during the 2016 federal election.

Voting is now open in the federal electorates of Perth and Fremantle.

In Fremantle, 3200 early votes were cast by Saturday, down 35 per cent compared to the general poll just over two years ago.
Paris: It was the week that Emmanuel Macron, the slick young French president who once said that he hoped to rule above the political fray like the Roman god Jupiter, was brutally reminded that he is, after all, a mere mortal.

His top aides were grilled on live television and the opposition shut down Parliament. And to cap it all he was forced to issue a bizarre denial that he was having a homosexual affair with the bodyguard who sparked a political scandal after being filmed beating up May Day protesters.

A man identified as Alexandre Benalla, right, a security chief to French President Emmanuel Macron, confronting a student during a May Day demonstration in Paris. Credit:AP

Seeking to dispel rumours on the internet, Macron joked: "Alexandre Benalla has never had the nuclear codes... Alexandre Benalla is not my lover." His MPs laughed but the joke did not go down well with the public. His popularity ratings, already down, fell to a record low.

It was all so different just two weeks ago. He had established himself as a leader who could sweep all before him, pushing through reforms his predecessors had promised but never delivered.
Redding: A fast-growing northern California wildfire has killed a second firefighter after high winds drove it into the city of Redding on Friday, local time, prompting mass evacuations, destroying 500 structures and threatening thousands of other dwellings and businesses, officials said.

Flames raging in California's scenic Shasta-Trinity area erupted into a firestorm that jumped across the Sacramento River and swept into the western side of Redding, home to about 90,000 people, forcing residents to flee.

Firefighters and police "went into life-safety mode", hustling door to door to usher civilians out of harm's way, said Scott McLean, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire).
Washington: I once flew to Germany for 19 hours to watch Ivanka Trump sit on a panel with a bunch of female leaders, and to be summoned by her later that evening for an off-the-record chat in her hotel lobby where she ordered red wine in a white dress, which seems, in retrospect, like the boldest act I'd ever seen her make.

Ivanka Trump applauds her father President Donald Trump signing ceremony signing an Executive Order last week. Credit:AP

I once spent several weeks trekking to the White House, repeatedly, for additional conversations that were supposed to be on the record, but then suddenly weren't, and which then collapsed into afternoons at a nearby bakery where my reporting partner and I would eat scones and try to dissect what had happened. What was Ivanka saying? What was she really saying? What, on the record, could we say about her?

The reporters who cover Ivanka Trump have spent as much time as anybody trying to figure out how to meaningfully cover Ivanka Trump: the deep moat surrounding her, the careful way she measures her words like a Weight Watchers subscriber trying not to go over her daily allotment of almonds.
33 Killed in India: Bus Plunges 500 Feet After Skidding Off Mountain Road

All the passengers and the driver, save for one person, were killed when a bus traveling on a mountain road in India on Saturday skidded and plunged 500 feet.

Officials said 34 students and staff members were headed to Mahabaleshwar for a picnic when the bus skidded off the road in Ambenali Ghat in the Raigad District around 12:30 p.m. Anil Paraskar, superintendent of police of Raigad District of Maharashtra, told the Daily Star.

Thirty-three people were killed while one survived. All the passengers and the driver were part of Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, an agriculture university.

We have confirmed 33 deaths and only one person managed to survive the bus crash. Our team is trying to recover the bodies, National Disaster Response Force Commandant Anupam Srivastava told AFP, reported NDTV.

Prakash Sawant-Desai, the lone survivor from the bus, told the Times of India that the driver of the bus turned back to talk with passengers and lost control of the vehicle.

A picture published by the outlet shows the group, all men, posing in front of the bus before the journey.

Desai was thrown out of the bus from a window at some point during the plunge and became stuck in the branches of a tree. After about 30 minutes, he recovered and climbed down from the tree and made it to the road to alert a passerby, who alerted the authorities.

33 killed as bus plunges into 500-feet-deep gorge in Maharashtra's Raigad https://t.co/FBjHEwphfe via @TOICitiesNews pic.twitter.com/ATZcHQiGqQ  Times of India (@timesofindia) July 28, 2018

Pained by the loss of lives due to a bus accident in Maharashtra's Raigad district. My condolences to those who lost their loved ones: PM @narendramodi  PMO India (@PMOIndia) July 28, 2018

All the passengers were traveling and chitchatting with each other, said Desai. The driver turned back to [respond] to a joke of one of the passengers for a second and before we could understand anything, the bus fell in the gorge. I was thrown outside the bus.

The stretch of highway where the accident happened had received heavy rain for the past few days, reported NDTV.

A number of area workers as well as doctors and rescue personnel rushed to the scene and were working to access the bus, deep in the gorge. Officials told The Indian Express that 25 bodies have been recovered as of 4 p.m.

Further recovery appears difficult because some appear ready to fall deeper into the gorge while others are crushed under the bus.

Officials said 40 people were originally scheduled to partake in the trip but the number was reduced due to the capacity of the bus.

According to The Associated Press, India has the worlds deadliest roads, with more than 110,000 people killed annually. Reckless driving, poorly maintained roads, and aging vehicles, are the most cited reasons for crashes.

From NTD.tv
Former Confucius Institute teacher, Sonia Zhao demonstrates against the Confucius Institutes outside the Toronto District School Board. (Mark Media)

Australians Watch as Hidden Agenda of Chinese Communist Party Unravels on Big Screen

Documentary Reveals How Students in Australia Are Vulnerable Targets

On Tuesday night, a crowd gathered in Victorias Parliament House to watch a compelling film that exposes the true intentions of the wolf in sheeps clothing that is the Chinese Communist regimes global language and culture program, known as the Confucius Institute

The audience watched intently as the story of Sonia Zhao, a Chinese-born former Mandarin teacher for the Confucius Institute (CI), played out on the big screen.

The film In the Name of Confucius, directed by award-winning documentary maker Doris Liu, was followed by a panel discussion about the influence of CIs in Australia and around the world.

Amid an international climate of heightened alert to foreign interference marked by Russian U.S.-election meddling; and closer to home, the dubious CCP-linked donations to Australian political leaders, the hidden agenda of the CCPs CIs have increasingly been called into question.

Zhao, the protagonist in the documentary, was trained as a Mandarin teacher in the CI program in Beijing in 2010. As part of her training, the 24-year-old aspiring teacher was told that it was the CIs policy to avoid topics like the Tiananmen Square massacre, Tibet, and Falun Gong in the classroom, and that if she was pressed by a student for an answer, to just state the party line, said director Liu.

As the daughter of a Falun Gong practitioner and having practiced the spiritual discipline since childhood, Zhao felt conflicted by the provision in the CI contract stipulating that instructors could not be Falun Gong practitioners or associate with them.

However, having already been deemed qualified for the role by the CI, to renege on the job offer without a reason acceptable to the authorities meant possible imprisonment.

Zhao accepted the position in what she considered be an act of self-preservation. She then commenced her role as a CI teacher in Canada.

As they watched In the Name of Confucius, the audience followed the story of Zhaos defection and the complaint that she filed with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario that led to the first closure of a CI at a North American university campus. Currently there are around 100 CIs in operation in American universities.

Confucius Institutes in Australia

Complaints against CIs range from the blanking out of sensitive aspects of Chinas communist history in CI textbooks to policies of open discrimination when hiring, and even that the institutes could be used as surveillance hubs on university campuses posing a threat to security.

The NSW Department of Education is currently investigating such concerns about the operation of CIs within the state.

The main concern has been that children in Australia will be exposed to CCP propaganda through the instruction and educational materials provided by the CCP-funded program.

The words to the theme song of one video lesson about a child who is a soldier in the CCP shows how propaganda was included in the curriculum. Liu explained: The song was a theme song in a movie saying that the young boy has to have hatred towards landlords and kill them.

CI classrooms have been operating in 13 NSW primary and secondary schools.

Legacy of Oppression

Liu was among the panelists of the forum that followed the Melbourne Parliament House screening of In the Name of Confucius on Tuesday night. Hosting the event was Australian Conservatives Party MP, Dr Rachel Carling-Jenkins.

Jenkins, who identifies as a staunch proponent of human rights, locates the CIs within a larger CCP scheme of extending its oppression beyond Chinas boundaries.

[Their] overall goal  is oppression. To continue that oppression, to make sure that voices are not heard, either in their own country or here in the west, Jenkins said.

Her comments were echoed by the president of the Tibetan Community of Victoria, Tenzin Lobsang Khangsar.

They are trying to occupy the peoples mind and the influence throughout the world, and parasite the communist ideologywhich is what they have done to the Tibetans, he said.

Khangsar compared the CIs offer of free education to the promises of support and liberalisation that the CCP made to the Tibetan people as the regime gradually occupied their country over half a century ago.

When the roads [had] been made and when they setup the military government, setup the regime there and then they marched with the tanks and guns and killed innocent Tibetans.

Former senior member of the Liberal Party, Andrew Bush also views the CI as a CCP ideological inroad into other countries.

[It is] a way the Chinese government wants to get itself and its ideas accepted, and is wrong.

We should not have children being the pawn of an overseas government to try and increase its influence in our country, Bush added.

Towards Government Action

As head of the parliamentary joint committee on intelligence and security, Liberal MP Andrew Hastie is stationed squarely at the frontline of unfolding political tensions between Australia and the CCP.

In May, after disclosing before Parliament that a Chinese property developer with extensive ties to the CCP had donated over $4 million to both major political parties since 2014 and an additional $45 million to Australian universities, Hastie said: In Australia, it is clear that the Chinese Communist Party is working to covertly interfere with our media, our universities, and also influence our political processes and public debates.
TOPSHOT - A firefighter lights backfires during the Carr fire in Redding, California on July 27, 2018. - One person has died and at least two others have been injured as wind-whipped flames tore through the region. (Photo by JOSH EDELSON / AFP) (Photo credit should read JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images)

Monster Blaze Rages in California After Killing 2 Firefighters

A monster wildfire in northern California burned unchecked on Saturday after it killed two firefighters, destroyed hundreds of structures and sent thousands of frantic residents racing from their homes.

The wildfire killed a second firefighter on Friday after high winds drove it into the city of Redding, prompting mass evacuations, destroying 500 structures and threatening thousands of other dwellings and businesses, officials said.

Some 3,400 firefighters on the ground and in helicopters and airplanes battled the 48,300-acre (19,500 hectares) Carr Fire early on Saturday as it ripped through Redding, with a population of 90,000 people, in Californias scenic Shasta-Trinity area.

More than 38,000 residents in Redding and elsewhere in Shasta County fled their homes as the fire began to gain speed and intensity on Thursday, destroying 500 structures and leaving Keswick, a town of 450, in smoldering ruins.

The fire, which was just three percent contained after igniting six days ago, has been fed by high temperatures and low humidity, which were expected for at least the next week, said California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire) Director Ken Pimlott.

This fire is a long way from done, he said.

A fire tornado

Flames raging in the Shasta-Trinity area erupted into a firestorm that jumped across the Sacramento River and swept into the western side of Redding on Thursday.

Firefighters and police went into life-safety mode, hustling door to door to usher civilians out of harms way, said Scott McLean, a spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CalFire).

Streets in the Western town were all but deserted, with thick, sickly-brown smoke filling the air, and plumes of smoke rising to the west.

Gale-force winds on Thursday night created a fire tornado said CalFire Director Ken Pimlott.

This fire was whipped up into a whirlwind of activity, uprooting trees, moving vehicles, moving parts of roadways, Pimlott told a news briefing.

Such highly erratic, storm-like wildfires have grown commonplace in the state, Pimlott said.

These are extreme conditions, this is how fires are in California, he said. We need to take heed and evacuate, evacuate, evacuate.

California has had its worst start to the fire season in a decade, with 289,727 acres burned through Friday morning, according to National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) data.

Governor Jerry Brown requested emergency federal assistance to prevent an imminent catastrophe as Shasta County tried to find supplies and water for 30,000 evacuated residents and care for horses and cattle rescued from ranches and farms.

CalFire reported 500 structures destroyed by the blaze.

Curtain of smoke

On Friday the fire was just 3 percent contained as ground crews, helicopters and airplanes battled the flames for a fifth day.

High temperatures and low humidity were expected for the next seven to ten days, said Pimlott.

The blaze was one of nearly 90 large fires burning nationally, most of them in the West. One of those prompted the closure of much of Californias Yosemite National Park.

Wildfires have blackened an estimated 4.15 million acres (1.68 million hectares) in the United States this year. That was well above average for the same period over the past 10 years but down from 5.27 million acres (2.13 million hectares) in the first seven months of 2017, NIFC reported.

The blaze in Redding, about 150 miles (240 km) north of Sacramento, on Thursday killed a bulldozer operator working with fire teams to clear brush around the fire. A member of the Redding Fire Department was also reported killed on Friday. A Redding hospital said it had treated eight people, including three firefighters.

Thousands of buildings imperiled

Rob Wright, 61, and his wife stayed to fight off flames with a high-powered water hose.

We were fortunate enough that the wind changed hours ago, and it is pushing the fire back, said Wright on Friday. We are just waiting it out  crossing our fingers and hoping for the best.

Video and images posted on social media showed flames engulfing structures, as an orange glow lit up the sky.

A Red Cross employee told local ABC affiliate KRCR-TV some 500 people took shelter in an evacuation center at Shasta College. Motels were filled to capacity and livestock owners were told to take their animals to the towns rodeo ground.

The Carr Fire, the name given to the Redding blaze, was one of three fierce blazes threatening large populated areas.

Cal Fire said the Cranston Fire, about 110 miles (177 km) east of Los Angeles had blackened 12,300 acres and was 16 percent contained. The Ferguson Fire near Yosemite, which has charred 46,675 acres, was 29 percent contained.

A 32-year-old man was charged with setting the Cranston fire, along with eight other blazes, and faces a potential life sentence if convicted of the charges.
A man shows a photo of his burned Jeep on his cell phone in Santa Rosa, California on October 20, 2017. (JOSH EDELSON/AFP/Getty Images)

California Gov. Brown Plans to Add New Phone Tax for 911 Service Upgrade

California governor Jerry Brown is leading the effort to push for a new 911 surcharge fee to maintain and improve emergency services.

Senate Bill 870 and Assembly Bill 1836 outline the new policy, which would require replacing an existing tax on in-state phone calls with a surcharge amount between $0.20 and $0.80 per month, starting Jan 1, 2019.

The upgraded 911 system will have the ability to process texts and video and to locate wireless callers, whose phone call will also be automatically sent to the nearest operable center, according to the Sacramento Bee. If an earthquake or fire damaged the cable, the new system would allow callers to reach 911 operators in other ways.

Currently, Californians are charged less than 1% of the cost of in-state phone calls to fund the 911 system. However, with more people using texting instead of calling, the number of phone calls is declining at an average rate of 6%, reported the Sacramento Bee. As a result, more funding needs to be raised to support the 911 system.

However, opponents argued that the new tax is unnecessary.

911 services are in jeopardy because their funding hasnt been made a priority in the budget, said State Senator Joel Anderson in a statement. With a $9 billion surplus, I believe the state has plenty of money to fund these important services. The Legislature doesnt need to take even more money out of our pockets.

On the other hand, supporters said that the new fee would be a more reliable way to fund 911 services compared to using the budget, which is subject to economic factors.
Carles Puigdemont, the Catalan separatist leader who had been indicted by Spanish authorities, addresses the media during a Press conference on July 25, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. Spain recently rescinded its international arrest warrant for him, leaving Puigdemont the possibility of returning to Belgium. (Photo by Michele Tantussi/Getty Images)

Catalan Separatist Ex-Leader Returns to Belgium After Extradition Bid Fails

Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont returned from Germany to Belgium on Saturday after Spain failed in an attempt to extradite him from Germany on charges of rebellion over an illegal declaration of independence.

Puigdemont said he would continue traveling around Europe to raise support for the cause of Catalan independence. He fled to Belgium in October after Madrid imposed direct rule on the region after his administration declared independence.

This will not be my last stop, this is not the end of my journey, he told a press conference in Brussels held alongside current Catalan leader Quim Torra, who had traveled from Spain to greet him.

I will travel around Europe to the four corners of the continent to defend our cause.

Puigdemont was arrested on March 25 at a petrol station in the northern German region of Schleswig-Holstein while returning to Belgium after a journey to Finland.

A German court ruled earlier this month that Puigdemont, 55, could be extradited to Spain to face a separate charge for misuse of public funds, but not for a more serious charge of rebellion.

Under European law, that means Spain would have been barred from trying him on the more serious charge if the extradition were to proceed. The Spanish court rejected that proposal, lifting the arrest warrant altogether.

The charges against Puigdemont and the five others remain in place, however, meaning they would be arrested if they return to Spain.

Relations between Spains central government in Madrid and the Catalan capital Barcelona have thawed in recent weeks, with Prime Minister Sanchez hosting cordial talks with Torra in Madrid earlier in July.

But Sanchez, who took office in June after his more hardline conservative predecessor Mariano Rajoy lost a confidence vote, has ruled out allowing any referendum on independence, saying it goes against Spains constitution.

Puigdemont said on Saturday Sanchezs period of grace regarding the Catalan issue was over and it was a time for action, not words.
Aristides Katsaros' burnt house is seen following a wildfire in the village of Mati, near Athens, Greece, July 27, 2018. (Reuters/Costas Baltas)

Greek PM Takes Responsibility for Wildfire as Criticism Mounts

ATHENSGreeces Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras took political responsibility on Friday, July 27, for a wildfire that killed at least 87 people and led to opposition accusations that the government failed to protect lives.

Tsipras opponents went on the offensive on Friday as three days of mourning ended, accusing the government of failing to apologize for the disaster.

Seeking to deflect public anger, Tsipras told ministers he was conflicted over whether the authorities had done everything right in response to the disaster.

I have called you here today first of all to take full political responsibility for this tragedy in front of my cabinet and the Greek people, he said.

I wont hide that I am overwhelmed by mixed feelings right now  Pain, devastation for the human lives unexpectedly and unfairly lost. But also anguish at whether we acted correctly in everything we did.

Tsipras contrition comes after the main opposition New Democracy party criticized a government news conference on Thursday night where not one word of apology was heard.

This government has just added unbridled cheek to its abject failure in protecting lives and peoples property, said New Democracy spokeswoman Maria Spyraki.

Civil Protection Minister Nikos Toskas told the news conference that the government suspected arson was behind Monday nights blaze, which trapped dozens of people in their cars trying to escape a wall of flames.

Survivors of one of the worst Greek disasters in living memory, which hit the town of Mati, some 30 km (17 miles) east of Athens on Monday, heckled Tsipras coalition partner, saying they had been left to fend for themselves.

Pressure is growing on the government, which is trailing New Democracy in opinion polls, at a time when it had hoped to finally extricate Greece from years of bailouts prompted by its debit crisis and reap the political benefits.

Tsipras now faces questions over how so many got trapped in the fire as the death toll could rise still further.

Tsipras had not been seen in public since Tuesday, when he declared the three days of national mourning for the dead.

Politicians criticism reflected anger among the survivors. They left us alone to burn like mice, Chryssa, one of the survivors in Mati, told Skai television. No one came here to apologize, to submit his resignation, no one.

Toskas said he had offered his resignation but Tsipras rejected it.

Fofi Gennimata, who leads the socialist PASOK party, said the government carried a huge political responsibility.

Why didnt they protect the people by implementing on time the available plan for an organized and coordinated evacuation in the areas that were threatened? she said.

No More Tragedies

The government has announced a long list of relief measures including a one-off 10,000 euro ($11,600) payment for families of the victims. Their spouses and near relatives were also offered public sector jobs.

But many felt that was not enough to ease the pain and had wanted authorities to assume responsibility for the scale of the devastation.

About 300 fire fighters and volunteers were still combing the area on Friday for those still missing. More than 500 homes were destroyed by the blaze.

Haphazard and unlicensed building, a feature of many areas across Greece, was also blamed. Many routes to the beach were walled off.

Tsipras promised a national plan to tackle decades of unauthorized construction and to reform and upgrade the Civil Protection Service to guarantee  that there will be no more tragedies.

Mortuary staff in Athens, shocked at the sight of burnt bodies including children, were expected to conclude post-mortems on Friday after relatives of victims provided information and blood samples which could assist identifications.

The fire broke out on Monday at 4:57 p.m. and spread rapidly through Mati, which is popular with local tourists.

Firefighters described a rapid change in the direction of the wind, which also picked up speed, and some suggested the thick covering of pine trees and a mood of panic were a deadly combination that would have been hard to combat.

By Angeliki Koutantou and Renee Maltezou
The Intel logo is shown at E3, the world's largest video game industry convention in Los Angeles, California, U.S. June 12, 2018. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

Intel Shares Slip on Worries of Data Center Losses to Rival AMD

Intel Corp. shares fell 9 percent on Friday after the chipmakers upbeat results were overshadowed by concerns that Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. (AMD) may be chiseling off market share from its high-margin data center business.

The companys profit and revenue beat Wall Street targets, but double-digit growth in its data center chip business fell short of analysts expectations and disappointed investors.

Intel stock continues to be under pressure as investors are looking past near term outperformance and struggling with the storyline of potential future share loss to AMD, Barclays analysts said.

AMD shares are up 8 percent at $19.88 in early trade. Intel shares were trading down at $47.61.

Intel was at the forefront of selling chips used in making servers where data is stored remotely or in so-called cloud servers. Over the past few years as more companies rushed to the cloud to move data online, Intel enjoyed healthy cloud revenue growth.

Amazon, which beat profit estimates on Thursday due to its cloud business, and Microsoft have been the main beneficiaries of the cloud adoption.

Intels Xeon server chips had dominated the market but started facing competition last year following AMDs re-entry into the business after a decade with EPYC processors that earned positive reviews.

EPYC chips outperformed Xeon in certain tasks and provided better performance-per-dollar than what Intel chips offered, according to tests done by AnandTech after the launch last year.

AMD currently has a small share of the server business, but any gain will hamper Intels plans to focus on data centers to diversify away from a stagnating PC business, where it is the market leader.

Intel has delayed the launch of its next-generation 10-nanometer (nm) processors due to production woes, which could erode its market share further.

While AMD is already sampling its 7 nm processors and will launch them later this year, Intels 10 nm chips will hit the market next year.

We see the stock as increasingly binary around their ability to hold off AMD in the data center, Morgan Stanley analysts said of Intel. We dont see the stock outperforming if AMD successfully takes three to four points of server market share in the next two quarters and gets to 10 percent by the end of next year.

At least four brokerages cut their price targets on Intel stock, while six brokerages had raised their targets on AMD stock after its strong quarterly results earlier this week, mainly due to high demand for server chips.

Reporting by Supantha Mukherjee
File photo of F/A-18F Super Hornet aircrew members heading to their aircraft in preparation for departure to the Middle East from RAAF Base Amberley on September 21, 2014 in Amberley, Australia. (Photo by CPL Ben Dempster/Royal Australian Air Force via Getty Images)

Military Crews Take Part in Pitch Black, Asia-Pacifics Largest Air Force Exercise

The tropical northern city of Darwin is hosting 4,000 personnel and 140 aircraft over the next three weeks as air forces from around the world take part in Exercise Pitch Black, one of Asia-Pacifics largest air force training exercises.

Starting on Friday, July 27, the training includes night flying and aerial refuelling, and enables different nations a chance to learn from each other and improve their force integration using one of the largest training airspace areas in the world.

Pitch Black is the Royal Australian Air Forces largest and most important international air defense exercise with several regional, coalition and allied Air Forces taking part, said Air-Vice Marshal Steven Roberton, DSC, AM Air Commander Australia, according to the Royal Australian Air Force website.

The biennial Pitch Black exercise began in 1990 between Australia and Singapore, and involves conducting battlefield simulations.

Exercise Pitch Black features a range of realistic, simulated threats which can be found in a modern battle-space environment and is an opportunity to test and improve our force integration, utilising one of the largest training airspace areas in the world  Bradshaw Field Training Area and Delamere Air Weapons Range, the Royal Australian Air Force said in a statement on its website.

The air forces involved are from the United States, Canada, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, Philippines, Singapore, Sweden, Thailand, New Zealand and Australia.

Exercise Pitch Black 2018 will be held from 27 July to 17 August 2018, said the Royal Australian Air Force.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference at the White House in Washington on Dec. 16, 2016. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Obama Administration Approved $200,000 Grant to Terrorist-Financing Group With Al Qaeda Ties

The administration of President Barack Obama approved a $200,000 grant to a group tied to al-Qaeda, despite the groups designation as a terrorist-financing organization.

The Sudan-based Islamic Relief Agency was designated by the United States government as a known terror-financing organization back in 2004, due to links with Osama bin Laden and his group Maktab Al-Khidamat, the precursor of al-Qaeda.

According to the U.S. Treasury, which made the designation, the Islamic Relief Agency raised at least $5 million for bin Ladens group. Treasury officials noted that Islamic Relief Agency officials also sought to help relocate bin Laden to a safe place.

After the agency raised funds in 2003, specifically for Hamas suicide bombings against Israel, the Treasury made the designation, including the U.S. office of the agency.

This is an excellent example of how U.S. Government agencies coordinate their efforts to achieve the maximum impact against supporters of terrorism, said Stuart Levey, Treasurys Under Secretary for the Office of Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, in a statement at the time.

Ten years later, despite known ties to al-Qaeda, Hamas, and other terrorist groups, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in July 2014 awarded $200,000 to the Islamic Relief Agency through a larger grant to World Vision, reported National Review.

Emails and other correspondence obtained by the outlet revealed that World Vision was being pressured by the Sudanese government to get the funds to the Islamic Relief Agency, and that after around a year of back and forth between World Vision and USAID officials, $115,000 was approved.

Senior USAID official Charles Wanjue wrote to colleagues: Good news and a great relief, really! and an unnamed World Vision official said that the decision was a great relief as ISRA [the Islamic Relief Agency] had become restive and had threatened legal action, which would have damaged our reputation and standing in Sudan.

A USAID official backed up the account with Fox News, and said that the grant should not have been made.

The agency said that a review of policies has since been conducted regarding the screening of awardees.

USAID has also updated training for our agreement officers to improve our screening of prime and sub-awardees, the official said.

Current State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert told National Review that the award happened under the previous administration.

As this occurred under the prior Administration, the current Secretary of the State, Secretary of Treasury, and USAID Administrator had no involvement in decisions surrounding this award or subsequent license, she said.

Apple, iPhone, and iPad are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.

The news is the latest that has come out regarding the Obama administrations dealings with terrorist groups. The administration, for instance, reportedly stopped a major investigation into Hezbollahs worldwide criminal activities in order to complete the Iran nuclear talks.

World Vision said in a statement that the payment in question was for legitimate humanitarian work (salaries, humanitarian aid and supplies for beneficiaries, travel etc.) already incurred.

World Vision explained failure to do so could have exposed it to potential legal liability for breach of contract, resulted in the very real chance of Government expulsion from Sudan and as a consequence, the loss of a lifeline for tens of thousands of children and their families, the statement said.

World Vision has robust controls and screening processes in place and condemns any diversion of aid funding and strongly condemn any act of terrorism or support for those activities. We have no evidence that any of our funds have been used for anything other than urgent humanitarian work.
Danueal Drayton is wanted for a rape and a murder in New York and may be responsible for six other killings. (New York Police Department)

Suspect in Murder of New York Nurse May Be Serial Killer

A man arrested for the torture and murder of a Queens, New York nurse and implicated in the rape of a Brooklyn woman, may be connected to six other killings.

Danueal Drayton, 27, of New Haven, Connecticut, was arrested in an apartment in California on July 24 in connection with the murder of Samantha Stewart, 29, a nurse from Jamaica, Queens.

When Drayton was arrested he had a woman with him, apparently about to be his next victim. He had already tied her up, raped, and beat her.

DNA then connected the Connecticut man to the June 17 rape of a 23-year-old Brooklyn woman, according to the New York Daily News.

Now authorities are saying Drayton might be responsible for six other killings.

Investigators claim Drayton confessed to multiple murders.

My body did this, not my mind, Drayton told police, according to a police department source.

I didnt want to do this. My body made me do this.

Drayton admitted to a pair of Connecticut killings, along with single slayings in the Bronx and Suffolk County. He also claimed responsibility for another murder in either Queens or Nassau County, and possibly a murder in California, according to the police source.

I believe that there will be more victims, New York City Police Department Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said at a press conference.

When we captured Danuel Drayton in LA for the murder of Queens nurse Samantha Stewart, he had another victim held captive. He's off the streets but may have victimized others via online dating sites. Need help or have info? Call 800-577-TIPS/ sex crimes hotline 212-267-RAPE pic.twitter.com/iif7E9KuyA  Chief Dermot F. Shea (@NYPDDetectives) July 26, 2018

Danueal Drayton was arrested on June 30 after an ex-girlfriend accused him of choking her.

CBS New York reported that Drayton had also been arrested five times in Connecticut, including one arrest for an alleged strangulation in 2011.

Police believe Drayton used the dating site Tinder as well as other social media sites to meet prospective victims.

NY/NJ & PSW Regional Fugitive Task Forces apprehended a violent NYC predator prior to possibly taking another life in California. @NYPDNews. Well done by all. #NYPDProtecting.https://t.co/feubRralJy  Chief Dermot F. Shea (@NYPDDetectives) July 25, 2018

Drayton met Samantha Stewart online, and the couple dated briefly. He allegedly murdered Stewart in her own home on July 15.

Her father and brother found her body on July 17. She was naked, wrapped in a sheet, with her head in a pool of blood. Her teeth had been smashed out and her face was cut and bruised.

The medical examiner said she had been strangled to death.

New York police identified Drayton from security camera video and tracked him to California.

Drayton is currently in custody in California on $1.25 million bail for charges of attempted murder, forcible rape, sexual penetration by foreign object and false imprisonment. If he is convicted in California, he could get life in prison.

He has yet to be charged for his crimes in New York.

It is not clear if New York will try to extradite him.

Our priority was to get a very dangerous person off the street, Chief of Detectives Shea told the media. The pressing need was to get this guy off the street before someone else gets hurts.

From NTD.tv

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Trumps Outreach Efforts to Russia Should Be Commended

Predictably, the Trump-Putin summit and the presser after the meeting in Helsinki, Finland, sent American mainstream media, Democrats, and NeverTrumpers in the Republican Party into a state of collective hysteria.

Trump engaged in treasonous behavior, Thomas Friedman of the New York Times charged. If Trumps comments about whether Russia hacked the 2016 election are treasonous behavior, Obamas promise to Putins lackey Dmitry Medvedev that he would have more flexibility after the 2012 U.S. presidential election would have been outright treason. But I dont remember that Friedman called Obama out.

Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), the House Minority leader, told MSNBC the Russians must have something on Trump. It is a widely held belief among the Democrats, but it is pure garbage. The U.S. intelligence community and later Robert Mueller have been at it for one and half years. What have they found? Nothing.

The fact is we dont know what Trump and Putin had discussed in the meeting. It is too early to judge if the summit is a success or if it will have real impact. But based on the facts we do have, it doesnt take a PhD degree to see that a friendly Russia is better for the American people than a hostile Russia, that an improved U.S.-Russia relationship is in Americas best interest, and that U.S.-Russia cooperation, not confrontation, can make a positive impact on the peace and prosperity of the world. Not that long ago, these ideas were the consensus of the Obama administration. They should not be controversial at all.

Anti-Trumpers like to harp about Russian meddling in the U.S. elections. Mueller indicted 13 Russians and three Russian companies for internet trolling. Their crimes? Posting social media ads that nobody paid attention to. More recently, Mueller also indicted 12 Russian military intelligence officers for hacking DNCs email servers. However, so far no one has proved, beyond reasonable doubt, that the Russian meddling flipped one vote or changed the result of the 2016 presidential election.

But there was a critical U.S. election we knew that was rigged by meddlers successfully. The race was the 2016 Democratic primary. And the meddlers were the Hillary Clinton campaign and DNC. Their goal was to throw the race in Hillary Clintons favor. The former interim DNC chairwoman, Donna Brazile, believed this was the truth. So did Bernie Sanders, the rival of Mrs. Clinton and the victim of the rigging. Sanders supporters sued. The DNCs defense strategy is basically self-incrimination. It said that it had the right to rig the Democratic primary because it is a private organization. Comically, the federal judge agreed with the DNC, and the lawsuit was dismissed.

There are tons of evidence that James Clapper, John Brennan, James Comey and their henchmen all tried to interfere with the 2016 election on Hillary Clintons behalf. The Democrats have fought tooth and nail to impede the investigations.

I have no problem with the Democrats obsession with election meddling, But I do have a problem with their Russian meddling bad, our meddling good hypocrisy.

Liberals claim the Helsinki summit was an easy win for Russia and Putin. But how? Last time I checked, Trump didnt loosen any sanction against Russia and Putins friends. Trump didnt make any concession on policies that we know of. Trump didnt fly a plane-load of U.S. dollar bills to Moscow to buy Putins cooperation. He didnt order U.S. banks to deliberately violate sanctions so to help Russia recoup frozen assets, and then deny to Congress this happened. More importantly, Trump didnt sell his verbal exchange with Putin as a treaty to American people.

Obama did all of the above when he negotiated the so-called Iran Nuclear Deal. With the worthless deal, the United States. essentially got nothing. Iran, on the other hand, regained over $100 billion in assets and faced no more international sanctions. The countrys secret nuclear programs were not disturbed. No wonder the Iranians took to the streets and celebrated all night.

It is a clear win for Iran. Yet no one in the mainstream media said its an easy win for Iranian mullahs. Au contraire, liberals proclaimed in unison that its a big win for Obama. Similarly, it was another win for Obama, according to the media, when he ended the Cuba embargo without getting any concession from the Castro regime. Cuba remains an oppressive country.

Putin is an autocrat. He enriched himself through power and rewarded his cronies handsomely. His political opponents regularly end up dead. With that said, I take engagement and dialogue with Russia over confrontation and belligerence any day. After all, the U.S. and Russia own over 90 percent of the nuclear weapons on earth, which are enough to kill humans a couple of times over. Descending into Cold War 2.0 with Russia would be a grave mistake. Trumps outreach efforts to Russia should be commended, not berated.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Twitter Quietly Eases Shadow Banning After Trump, Republicans Announce Counteractions

Twitter appears to have relaxed the effects of its quality search filter function associated with so-called shadow banning, after evidence indicated that the content of some accounts on the social media platform was obscured to followers, while many others appeared to be unaffected.

The Epoch Times discovered the change in the filter functionality while researching the shadow banning phenomenon. Some search results changed overnight on July 28 after The Epoch Times alerted Twitter to some of its findings.

On July 26, President Donald Trump addressed shadow banning, which appeared to affect certain Republicans, and promised to look into this discriminatory and illegal practice at once. On July 27, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), whose Twitter account was affected, said he filed a complaint against the company with the Federal Election Commission (FEC).

For several years, Twitter users have accused the company of shadow banninghiding a users content from other users without informing them.

While the full extent and history of the practice remain unclear, one identified method was to remove the tweets of targeted accounts from search results, unless a user turned off the quality filter function, found in the search filters box. The filter is on by default and snaps back on after just one search.

Even with the filter off, some tweets from the targeted accounts remained invisible in the default top search results, at least on the afternoon of July 27.

As of the afternoon of July 28, tweets from targeted accounts appeared to show up in the top results even with the quality filter on. They still remain hidden by the filter in the latest results.

In August 2016, Twitter announced a filter function that removes lower-quality content, like duplicate Tweets, or content that appears to be automated. But that filter only applies to user notifications. There appears to be no announcement regarding the quality filter affecting search results.

Users who hold conservative and libertarian political views have been accusing Twitter for years of handicapping their accounts.

Since January, such complaints have been substantiated by multiple experiments, as well as current and former Twitter employees acknowledgments to undercover investigators.

On July 26, Twitter policy lead Vijaya Gadde and product lead Kayvon Beykpour attempted to explain the situation in a blog post.

They denied shadow banning users, arguing its only shadow banning if the user content is made undiscoverable. They did say that tweets and search results are ranked, making some content harder to find.

That explanation has been rejected by many of the users affected by the practice.

A rose, by any other name, is still a rose, said an independent investigator, whose account had been effectively shadow banned. As a conservative, he wishes to remain anonymous because of safety concerns.

Aside from the exclusion from search results, hes noticed other effects, which, he says, could be more accurately described as account throttling.

Your tweets may not show up on other followers accounts, they may not see your replies, and your tweet responses will end up behind a wall that non-followers will have to check to see your tweet, he said, adding that he and others have confirmed these effects by running tests through alternative accounts.

Gadde and Beykpour wrote that tweets and search results are ranked lower if posted by bad-faith actors who intend to manipulate or divide the conversation.

Bad-faith actors are identified by whether they lack a confirmed email address, by how recently their accounts were created, and whether they uploaded a profile image.

Gadde and Beykpour said that Twitter also determines bad faith by actions you take on Twitter, such as who one follows or retweets, and even by factors beyond ones control, such as who mutes you, who follows you, who retweets you, who blocks you.

Thats why, they said, several prominent Republican congressmen had their Twitter accounts recently scrapped from the platforms search suggestion function.

There are communities that try to boost each others presence on the platform through coordinated engagement. We believe these types of actors engaged with the representatives accounts, Gadde and Beykpour wrote, also saying that as of yesterday afternoon, this issue was resolved.

Gaetz is convinced Twitter targeted him intentionally.

I am certain there were only four members of Congress who had their voices suppressed on Twitter, he told Fox News Tucker Carlson on July 27. Matt Gaetz, Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows, and Devin Nunes. Thatd be one hell of a coincidence.

All four lawmakers are Republicans. All four also have been vocal in seeking more documents regarding alleged bias within the FBI and the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court warrants that spurred the Russia investigation, alleging that the Obama administration spied on the Trump campaign before and after the 2016 election. Official documents have shown the Justice Department and FBI under former President Barack Obama used unverified opposition research paid for by Democrats to obtain a warrant to spy on the Trump campaign.

Gaetz said he filed a complaint to the FEC, accusing Twitter of an illegal campaign contribution to his opponents.

Here, the corporate donation is allowing Democrats, and the people running against me specifically, to have access to elements of the search feature that I didnt have access to, he said.

The Epoch Times reviewed more than 50 accounts identified by hashtags commonly associated with Trump supporters (such as #MAGA) and Trump opponents (such as #TheResistance). Many of the accounts on both sides were prolifically cross-promoting their tweets, garnering thousands or even tens of thousands of followers.

Almost all accounts of the Trump supporters were targeted by the quality filter.

None of the accounts used by Trump opponents were apparently targeted by the filter, according to the confirmation function on the website Shadowban.eu, which The Epoch Times repeatedly tested to verify it can indeed identify accounts that have been affected.

Twitter didnt respond to requests for comment.

To disable the quality filter, a user would first need to know it exists, but neither the July 26 blog post nor Twitters earlier May 15 post discussing its new content policies contained any mention of the function.

Moreover, the July post only acknowledged that Twitter does rank tweets and search results, omitting the fact that the filter does hide content altogether.

Many of the Trump supporters posted comments, links, and memes expressing faith in God, love for America, support for Trump, and criticism (at times speculative) of prominent Democrats such as Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Even Scott Presler, the vice chairman of the Virginia Beach Young Republicans whos known for his upbeat attitude, has been shadow banned, despite having a verified account with almost a quarter-million followers.

My Twitter account is being severely shadow banned. Despite this, Im not going to stop tweeting, Presler wrote in a July 25 tweet. I just need help getting out messages about voter registration, trainings, & electing Republicans this November. Thank you all for the constant love and support.

He used the popular recurring hashtag #WednesdayWisdom, but nobody clicking the hashtag and browsing the latest results on the default settings would see his tweet.

Many of the Trump opponents posted comments, links, and memes in support of Democrats and progressive policies and criticizing (at times, speculatively) Trump. Some of them regularly used foul or abusive language, without any apparent effects.

SHUT THE [expletive] UP! stated user THE[expletive][expletive] in a July 27 tweet, using the popular recurring hashtag #FridayFeeling as well as hashtags #DearDonald and #[expletive]Traitor, with an obscene emoji and a picture of the message [expletive] TRAITOR in large red letters. No shadowban.

The alleged slant in Twitter filtering matches how one of the companys engineers, Pranay Singh, described algorithms that are supposed to identify automated bot accounts.

In reality, as Singh told undercover reporters from Project Veritas, the majority of the algorithms appeared to target Republicans.

You look for Trump, or America, or any of 5,000 keywords to describe a redneck, he said.

Twitter responded to the Project Veritas report by saying it was committed to enforcing our rules without bias and empowering every voice on our platform, in accordance with the Twitter Rules.

We want a vibrant and healthy public conversation inclusive of all perspectives, and one thats immediately relevant and valuable, Twitter CEO and co-founder Jack Dorsey said in a July 27 tweet. Were always listening to the conversation around this, and we commit to participating more fully in it. Its important to us we get this right.

Twitter shares fell 21 percent during regular trading on July 27, after the company reported a decline in monthly active users.

If Gaetzs complaint to the FEC succeeds, it could open the floodgates to others.

Gaetz said Twitter and other social media companies have successfully averted lawsuits by declaring themselves neutral public forums that cant be held responsible for what people post.

Twitter  cant say on one hand, Were neutral and thus we shouldnt have to respond to lawsuits, and then, on the other hand, tell me and other outspoken conservatives that our behavior results in suppression on their platform, he said. They cant have it both ways.
Fort Lauderdale Firefighters See Family Has No Crib for InfantSo They Drop Off Brand New One
Foxwoods Resort Casino / Contributed photo

Trevor Noah, host of Comedy Centrals The Daily Show, was originally set to do just one performance at Foxwoods Resort Casino, on Friday, Aug. 10. But the comic is so hot, a second show was added for Saturday, Aug. 11.

Fans enjoy his snarky insights into such topics as President Donald Trumps abilities, displayed on the air and in Daily Show Tweets. A recent Tweet, with some fake fawning, said: Trump eases tensions with Europe, sends aid to farmers hurt by recent trade wars, and reunites separated migrant families. Just dont ask him why that all needed to be done...
NORWALK  The day Lissa Steele was scheduled to go for her double mastectomy, she and her daughters gathered outside their Wilson Point home and took photographs.

We all took pictures on the front lawn before she went. After that experience we decided that we wanted to share it with other people and to let other women who are undergoing the same thing be able to have these pictures to remind them of their support, said Lissas daughter Lynden.

A little more than five years after their mothers surgery, Lynden, 17, and her sister, Caleigh, 21, drew on their experience and, with the help of their mother and a family friend, the photographer Jeffrey Shaw, created Pink Portrait Project in 2014.

The goal of the Pink Portrait Project is to bring a community of photographers, who donate their time, together with women battling breast cancer.

It can be women at any stage of the breast cancer journey. They couldve just been diagnosed, or be in treatment, or be cancer free for years or months, said Caleigh, a junior at Brown University.

Women throughout the country can request shoots via email or by filling out a request form on the Pink Portrait Project website and are then paired with local photographers. Since the girls started the initiative, shoots have taken place in Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, Vermont, Rhode Island, New Jersey, Florida, Michigan, Texas and California.

We began small scale, Caleigh said. We tried to do a few shoots testing it out around here. And then it started to expand more and we got portrait requests in different states and all over the country.

The sisters hope to expand further. Caleigh is in the beginning stages of possibly bringing the project to her school, and hopes to get photography students at nearby Rhode Island School of Design (RISD). Lynden, who is going into her senior year at St. Lukes School in New Canaan, has started a Pink Portrait Project club and hopes to get her peers involved in the logistics of the initiative.

Next year were hoping to involve students in connecting photographers to the people who reach out for photo sessions, Lynden said.

Women requesting shoots can choose to be photographed alone, or with a group.

We say that they define family, Caleigh said. Weve had people take pictures with their spouses, children, neighbors, childhood friends. Someone brought 13 of her workout buddies. They can pick whoever was in their support network.

The women receive a digital album with the photos from the shoot as well as a an 8-inch-by-10-inch portrait.

We chose pictures because we wanted these breast cancer patients to have images that celebrated the relationships they had and the people that helped them through the illness, Lynden said.

justin.papp@scni.com; @justinjpapp1; 203-842-2586
The Beall Mansion An Elegant Bed and Breakfast Inn announced today that it has received a 2018 TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence and Hall of Fame Award.

With the Certificate of Excellence, TripAdvisor honors hospitality businesses that have consistently received strong praise and ratings from travelers, said Heather Leisman, TripAdvisor Vice President of Industry Marketing. This recognition helps travelers identify and book properties that regularly deliver great service. TripAdvisor is proud to play this integral role in helping travelers feel more confident in their booking decisions.

The Certificate of Excellence is based on the quality, quantity and recency of reviews submitted by travelers on TripAdvisor over a 12-month period. To qualify, a business must maintain an overall TripAdvisor bubble rating of at least four out of five, have a minimum number of reviews and must have been listed on TripAdvisor for at least 12 months. The Hall of Fame honor is for those businesses that have earned a Certificate of Excellence for five consecutive years.

Beall Mansion owners, Jim and Sandy Belote, commented, We are truly humbled. Running a successful, upscale, boutique lodging property is a 7 day a week, 365 day a year job that takes the hard work, pride, and commitment of an entire staff. We thank them as well as the tens of thousands of loyal guests who have stayed at The Beall Mansion and made it all possible.

The Beall Mansion has received a long list of honors and awards including a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence every year since its inception. In 2014 the Belotes were honored at the Governors Conference on Travel and Tourism with a Lincoln Award Gold Medal - the highest award provided by the state of Illinois for Excellence in Travel and Tourism.

About The Beall Mansion

The Beall Mansion is the only 4 star rated lodging property in the Meeting of the Great Rivers All Around Alton area and caters to leisure, business, and bleisure travelers alike. It is located 25 minutes from the St. Louis Gateway Arch and 12 blocks from the Mississippi River on Millionaires Row in historic Alton, IL.

Built in 1903 as a wedding gift by railroad baron Z. B. Job and later the residence of Senator Edmond Beall, the mansion was opened to the public by Jim and Sandy Belote as a bed and breakfast inn in 1998.

Guestrooms feature a triple sheeted feather bed; private bathroom with Italian marble floor, shower and whirlpool for two or clawfoot tub; HDTV, DVD, hardwood floors and oriental rugs. Luxury rooms also have a fireplace with hand carved mantle and gas logs.

Nearby attractions and activities include winter eagle watching, wineries, Meeting of the Great Rivers National Scenic Byway, Lewis & Clark Trail Site #1 and Museum, Confluence Tower, Great Rivers Museum at the Melvin Price Lock and Dam, mythical Piasa Bird, restaurants, nightlife, and more.

For more information about the Beall Mansion or to schedule a narrated tour visit beallmansion.com or call 618-474-9100 or toll free 1-866-The-BEALL (1-866-843-2325).

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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.

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 Novembers general election.

Their race brings focus back to Ferguson, a predominantly black community where months of protests over Browns shooting helped fuel the Black Lives Matter movement.

I represent every protester, I represent every honest officer whos 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 prosecutors 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.

Thats 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 schools 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 doesnt include the city of St. Louis.

McCulloch also has a big fundraising advantage: He had nearly $250,000  more than six times Bells 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 groups 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 Browns parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit .

Wilson later resigned from the Ferguson police force.
The hosts of a popular New Jersey radio show were suspended for 10 days Thursday for calling the nations first Sikh attorney general turban man  the latest slur against a career prosecutor who says he faces countless small indignities and humiliations no matter how far he rises or how important his position.

WKXW-FM hosts Dennis Malloy and Judi Franco issued a written apology to Attorney General Gurbir Grewal and the Sikh and East Asian communities, writing they were deeply sorry for the pain they caused. The station also apologized and suspended the pair without pay until Aug. 6.

The longtime hosts of the Dennis & Judi show uttered the slur on their Wednesday show while talking about Grewals directive to prosecutors to temporarily suspend marijuana prosecutions statewide. Malloy said he couldnt remember Grewals name, telling Franco: Im just going to say the guy with the turban.

Malloy and Franco acknowledged their words might be offensive, but Malloy said if that offends you, then dont wear the turban and maybe Ill remember your name.

The pair continued to refer to Grewal as turban man throughout the segment.

Grewal, who wears a turban and full beard, took to Twitter on Thursday morning to call for an end to small-minded intolerance. Advocacy groups condemned the radio hosts remarks, as did Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy, who said hate speech does not belong on our airwaves.

Neither host responded to emails seeking comment.

For Grewal, the son of Indian immigrants, Wednesdays slights stood out only because the audience for them was bigger.

He said hes been called a towel head and a terrorist, and told to go back home  Grewal was born and raised in New Jersey  more times than he can count. He said hes felt eyes on him everywhere he goes.

Throughout my life and regardless of the positions Ive held, Ive faced these small indignities and humiliations, Grewal said in May.

And it continued after he took office in January.

Grewal said he was invited to give a speech at a corporate office. His staff arrived ahead of him and had no problem gaining admittance. When Grewal showed up, a security guard told him he wasnt on the list and wouldnt let him through.

Grewal said he spent 15 minutes explaining who he was. He was finally let in and delivered his speech  on diversity and inclusion.

The Sikh Coalition, a New York-based advocacy group, said the visible markers of the faith  unshorn hair and turbans  have long made Sikhs a target for bigotry and hate crimes. The group on Thursday requested religious and cultural sensitivity training for the radio stations staff.

These statements against the top law enforcement official in the state of New Jersey are particularly egregious coming from amplified voices of radio hosts, given the prominence of racism and xenophobia against Sikhs across the country, said Satjeet Kaur, the Sikh Coalitions executive director.

On Twitter, Grewal noted he has three daughters and yesterday, I told them to turn off the radio. In a follow-up tweet, he added: Its time to end the small-minded intolerance.

Grewal served as a federal prosecutor in New York and New Jersey before Republican Gov. Chris Christie tapped him to lead the prosecutors office in Bergen County, New Jerseys most populous. Christies replacement, Murphy, picked Grewal to be attorney general, saying he wanted a prosecutor who would stand up to President Donald Trump.

As attorney general, Grewal has threatened to sue firearms companies unless they stop marketing and selling untraceable weapons; launched an investigation into the Cambridge Analytica privacy scandal; and joined other Democratic attorneys general in suing the Trump administration over the separation of migrant families.

Grewal appeared eager to move on from the hosts remarks, tweeting later Thursday: Ok, back to business. Through his office, he declined an interview request.

The Dennis & Judi show has been a fixture on New Jersey radio for more than 20 years, and many of the shows loyal listeners called the station Thursday to protest the hosts removal.

I can tell you theyre not racist. Theyre just not, fill-in host Steve Trevelise, a longtime friend of Malloy and Franco, said on the air Thursday. Not a racist bone in their body.

The stations president, Ron deCastro, said the hosts are known for their plainspoken brand of humor, but in this case, the language used was clearly demeaning and inappropriate.
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Trump could get big 'bonus' shares in new social media firm

NEW YORK (AP)  Donald Trump's social media company will get tens of millions in special bonus shares in a new publicly traded entity if it performs well, handing the former president possibly billions

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Phuket drinking session turns deadly as man stabs drinking buddy in heated argument

PHUKET: Police have arrested a man who stabbed his drinking buddy, killing him, outside a grocery store in Baan Don, in central Phuket, last night.

crimemurderalcoholpolice

By Eakkapop Thongtub

Saturday 28 July 2018, 01:05PM

Pongphan Piowpong, 36, confessed to the fatal stabbing, for which he has now been charged with murder. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Pongphan Piowpong, 36, confessed to the fatal stabbing, for which he has now been charged with murder. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Pongphan Piowpong, 36, confessed to the fatal stabbing, for which he has now been charged with murder. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

The shop where the fatal stabbing took place. Photo: Eakkapop Thongtub

Police were called to the scene, across from the fresh market in Baan Don, in Moo 4, Thepkrasattri, in Thalang, just after 8pm last night.

The officers along with Kusoldharm rescue workers arrived to find Kittisak Chukun, 41, from Hat Yai in Songkhla, unconscious and unresponsive on the ground.

He had been stabbed twice, and was confirmed dead on arrival by doctors at Thalang Hospital.

Police through questioning witnesses and checking CCTV tracked the suspect, who was seen fleeing on his Honda motorbike, to a house in Moo 5, Rassada, where they arrested Pongphan Piowpong, 36, registered as living in Phuket.

The two men were known to locals and were sitting in front of the shop, which was closed at the time, when they started arguing.

The argument turned lethal when Pongphan stabbed Kittsak and fled.

At 10am today, officers led by Thalang Police Deputy Superintended Lt Col Anukul Nuket brought Pongphan to the scene where he threw the knife used in the stabbing into the canal at a bridge near Baan Ya in Thalang.

Police reported that Phongphan had confessed to the stabbing and said that he was drunk at the time.

Pongphan has been charged with murder and carrying a weapon (a knife) in a public place, and may yet be charged with attempting to conceal evidence.

Police have yet to reveal exactly what the argument was over.
Phuket makes merit for HM Kings Birthday

PHUKET: Merit making to honour His Majesty King Maha Vajiralongkorn Bodindradebayavarangkun on his 66th birthday today (July 28) began at Queen Sirikit Park in Phuket Town last night and continued with a full ceremony at Phuket Rajabhat University this morning.

culture

By The Phuket News

Saturday 28 July 2018, 11:47AM

Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong lights a candle as part of the mass merit-making ceremony this morning to honour HM The King on his 66th birthday today (July 28). Photo: PR Dept

Mass prayers were held at temples across the island last night as people also honoured the deeply revered Buddhist holiday Asaranha Bucha Day, while people also turned out at Queen Sirikit Park in Phuket Town to pay homage there. This morning, at 7:30am, Phuket Governor Norraphat Plodthong joined a mass ceremony to honour HM The King. Joining the Governor were the entire host of the islands top-ranking officials, as well as leading business and community figures along with local residents and students. The merit making also included offerings to monks and the signing of an official book of birthday wishes for HM The King. Activities and ceremonies to honour HM The King on his birthday today will continue across the island.
CALGARYMayor Naheed Nenshi criticized a move Friday by Ontario Premier Doug Ford to slash the size of Toronto city council just months before the fall municipal election.

I stand with (Toronto Mayor John Tory) on this and say that is a direct affront on democracy. That is tinpot dictator stuff, said Nenshi.

I would strongly suggest and support Mayor Tory in saying you have to find a legal answer to what the limits of provincial authority are here. Its not just for Toronto, its for all of us.

Nenshi said provincial governments making serious changes to municipal governance is a very real and present danger.

Absolutely, it could happen here, said Nenshi. Ultimately, were talking about democracy, and, ultimately, were talking about peoples right to be represented by who they vote.

Tory is calling for a referendum on the size of Torontos city council, even though the move wont stop Ford from slashing the number of seats.

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It is my job to stand up for the people of Toronto, Tory said in his city hall office. You dont change the rules in the middle of the game. That is not right and that is not fair.

On Friday, Ford said his Progressive Conservative government will introduce legislation to reduce the number of city council seats from 47 to 25 before the Oct. 22 municipal election.

A senior government official said this move was something Ford wanted to do during his one term in city council, claiming the reduction would save around $25 million.

Nenshi said he has been critical of the size and structure of Torontos council and is happy we dont have that here, but the Ontario premier is wrong to push this on nomination day.

You dont do that after youve just run an election in which youve never mentioned this, said Nenshi.

You dont cancel elections where your political rival is running for office just because your political rival is running for that office.

Nenshi said Fords move is unfair to both the public and the people who have put their names forward for public service.

For you to say to those folks who put their lives on hold only because they want to do public service, By the way, the job youre running for doesnt exist anymore, thats unconscionable.

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EDMONTONThe provincial health agency has put out a blue-green algae advisory for a lake northwest of the city.

A blue-green algae bloom has been identified in areas of Heritage Lake, Alberta Health Services (AHS) said in a release Friday.

Heritage Lake is a popular fishing spot about 40 kilometres northwest of Edmonton. AHS is warning residents living near its shores, as well as visitors to the lake, to avoid all contact with blue-green algae blooms.

AHS also advises residents and their pets to avoid swimming in any areas where the algae is visible. Areas of the lake where there are no blooms can still be used for recreational purposes.

Blue-green algae is naturally occurring, and often becomes visible when weather conditions are calm. Appearing like scum, grass clippings, fuzz or globs on the surface of water, blue-green algae can be blue-green, greenish-brown, brown, or pinkish-red, and often smell musty or grassy.

As always, visitors and residents are reminded to never drink or cook with untreated water directly from any recreational body of water, including Heritage Lake, at any time, said the release. Boiling of this water will not remove the toxins produced by blue-green algae. An alternate source of drinking water should also be provided for pets and livestock, while this advisory is active.

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Forecast calls for significant algae bloom in Lake Erie

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AHS is also reminding residents to avoid feeding whole fish, fish trimmings and shellfish from the lake to pets. Barring fish fillets, people should avoid eating whole fish and fish trimmings, too.

People who come in contact with visible blue-green algae or who ingest water containing blue-green algae may experience rashes, a sore throat, sore red eyes, swollen lips, fever, nausea and vomiting, and diarrhea. Symptoms usually appear within one to three hours and can last one to two days.

If you suspect a problem related to blue-green algae, or if you require further information on health concerns and blue-green algae, please call Health Link at 811. Additional information is also available online.

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LOS ANGELESKenya Barris, the A-list writer and producer behind the comedy black-ish, will part ways with ABC Studios in August  three years before his contract was set to expire  following creative differences.

Barris, who also has a hot movie career as the co-writer of the script for Girls Trip, is widely expected to move to Netflix.

He thanked ABC Studios, which is owned by The Walt Disney Co., and said the production company supported me every step of the way.

Its been an incredible ride, including a Peabody and Golden Globe win, Emmy nominations and many other accolades, Barris said in a statement. Theyve allowed me to realize my dream of creating my own shows, and Im so proud of the work weve done together.

His frustration over creative matters involved the studios sibling network ABC, which is led by Channing Dungey and passed over pilot programs that Barris created.

Last year, the network moved black-ish out of a desirable prime-time slot after the top-rated Modern Family. The breaking point came in February, when ABC pulled an episode of black-ish that examined race relations in the United States in pointed fashion, airing a rerun instead.

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A critical success, black-ish follows the Johnsons, an upper-middle-class family living in a mostly white suburb. The series became known for hot-button story lines centred on race, delving into police brutality, fallout from the election of U.S. President Donald Trump and the use of the N-word among children.

Freeform, a cable network owned by Disney, runs the spinoff grown-ish, which focuses on the Johnsons college-age daughter. A third comedy from Barris and his collaborators, Besties, will join the Freeform schedule in the coming months.

The departure of Barris was expected, but it represents another setback for the Disney-ABC Television Group, which is run by Ben Sherwood. Last year, Netflix poached Shonda Rhimes, creator of ABC hits like Greys Anatomy and Scandal. This spring, Roseanne was cancelled after its star, Roseanne Barr, was fired for posting a racist tweet.

Sherwood is expected to be replaced when Disney closes its $71.3 billion (U.S.) purchase of 21st Century Fox assets, which include one of Hollywoods most successful TV studios. (He may get another perch inside Disney.)

Netflix declined to comment.

A spokesperson for ABC Studios said late Friday that Barris remains committed to black-ish, grown-ish and the coming Besties, along with other projects he has in development. Even so, black-ish will now be run by Jonathan Groff, an executive producer, and Kenny Smith, who has recently been a co-executive producer.

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HALIFAXIts not quite an acceptance letter to Hogwarts, but for Samuel Gillis Hogan, its the next best thing.

After a lifelong passion for the supernatural, Gillis Hogan of Wolfville, N.S., has been awarded a prestigious fellowship to study the history of magic at an English university.

As this years recipient of the Rothermere Fellowship  valued at roughly $29,000 per year for living expenses, plus university and travel fees  Gillis Hogan will be heading to the University of Exeter in September to pursue a PhD in the bewitching subject.

Im pretty over the moon about it all, he said in a phone interview Saturday. Its marvellous.

Gillis Hogans fascination in magic started young: every book, TV show and movie he liked as a child had some sort of magical element to it, he said.

Children always loved magic, but they never loved it quite to the obsessive degree that I did, he chuckled, noting that the success of the Harry Potter franchise helped him realize he wasnt the only one interested in the topic.

His love of magic carried him throughout his school career: he wrote an honours thesis on spirit summoning during his undergraduate degree in history and medieval studies at Memorial University in N.L., and defended a thesis on chiromancy  the medieval precursor to modern-day palm reading  while completing his masters degree at the University of Saskatchewan.

At the University of Exeter, Gillis Hogan will study late medieval and early modern manuscripts containing instructions on how to summon fairy spirits: a subject which he said doesnt get a lot of attention in the world of magic academia.

He said part of his thesis will be spent on nailing down what exactly a fairy is, because people in the Middle Ages imagined them differently than we do.

The idea of what a fairy is changes vastly from time period to time period, from location to location, even from person to person, said Gillis Hogan, explaining that, depending on the culture, the mythical beings were seen more as malevolent spirits than the cute, Tinker Bell-like creatures we know today.

He said hes drawn to the history of magic because its a field of study that connects a variety of other topics like philosophy, science, medicine and religion  areas of thought that, at the time, werent necessarily divided up into different categories like they are now.

We tend to think of those as different things  but if you look at the borders of those, even today, they get really messy and blurry in between, he said. And when you talk about the Middle Ages, that doesnt work at all.

They did make divisions  natural philosophy, for instance, was the practice of studying nature and predated the concept of science  but the categories were less refined than they are today.

Gillis Hogan said taking a closer look at the magic people believed in gives us an intimate window into how they understood the world.

The way we see the world now, he noted, is just one perspective among many.

I think that should give us a bit more pause when we have a tendency to look at past cultures, or even other cultures than our own that exist right now, and look down our noses at it as being backwards or strange.

He said even though medieval magic rituals may seem odd to the average 21st-century person, studying the intellectual context behind them shows they were rational based on the way people perceived the world at the time.

He hopes to eventually become a professor in the subject.

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RED LAKE, ONT.Alberta Premier Rachel Notley says an Alberta firefighter has died unexpectedly while he was helping fight wildfires in Ontario.

In a statement Friday, Notley said that Jerry Gadwa, a resident of Kehewin Cree First Nation in Alberta, was helping with firefighting efforts near the town of Red Lake, Ont., about 100 km east of the Manitoba boundary, when he died Thursday.

On behalf of the Government of Alberta, I want to offer our deepest condolences and support to the family, friends and colleagues of Mr. Gadwa, Notley said.

As Albertans, we know all too well the sacrifices of our firefighters and first responders  Mr. Gadwas brave and selfless actions will be remembered.

Ontarios Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry confirmed an Alberta wildland firefighter died in northwestern Ontario.

We are working with the (provincial police) and the Ministry of Labour as they investigate the firefighters death, said Shayne McCool, a fire information officer with the province.

He couldnt say whether that was typical procedure when a firefighter dies on duty.

This is not a common occurrence, said McCool.

Our hearts do go out to our colleagues, family and friends back home, to his crew members and all of the Alberta firefighters and support staff who are helping keep Ontario safe.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford also posted his condolences on Twitter on Friday evening.

While observing the fire suppression effort in Northern Ontario today, we honoured and remembered Jerry Gadwa from Alberta, Ford wrote.

The people of Ontario extend our deepest sympathies to his family.

Firefighters in Ontario are battling dozens of forest fires in northern Ontario, many of which are not yet under control.

Theyre getting help on the ground from crews that have come from across Canada, including Alberta, as well as from the United States and Mexico.

Read more about:
A Ontario chiropractor, already facing discipline with professional watchdogs, has been charged in connection with two alleged sexual assaults on his patients.

A woman reported to Hamilton police earlier this year that her chiropractor had sexually assaulted her in 2015, investigators said Friday.

Police then reopened a previous investigation into the same man, begun in 2016, when another woman reported that he had sexually assaulted her.

Dr. Scott Huehn of Hamilton was charged with two counts of sexual assault on Thursday and released on bail.

His lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

As a condition of his bail, Huehn is allowed to continue practising but cannot be in the company of female patients, including to conduct any physical examinations or medical procedures unless he is in the presence of a regulated health-care professional approved of by the College of Chiropractors of Ontario, bail documents show.

Read more:

Hamilton woman says employer forced her to be around chiropractor who allegedly abused her

Toronto doctor's sex abuse case hinges on whether woman was actually his patient

Opinion | Rosie DiManno: Toronto doctor stripped of licence after turning hospital into a place of torment

He must also, as part of his release, keep a log of all his interactions with patients, which must be made available to the College upon request, the court documents say.

Huehn has faced a disciplinary process with the College since 2017  based on allegations made by the woman who spoke to police in 2016  but the professional watchdog has not issued any orders with regards to his ability to practise, college registrar and general counsel Jo-Ann Willson said Friday.

The woman who approached police in 2016 also filed a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario last year, seeking $150,000 in damages from Huehn and her former employers at a local bar, a letter of apology and an order that her former employers develop a comprehensive sexual harassment policy.

The woman said in her complaint that she received several chiropractic treatments from Huehn, who was also a regular customer at the bar where she worked.

During one chiropractic appointment, Huehn allegedly rubbed the crease of her groin, the complaint says.

At the next session Huehn allegedly reached underneath her with one hand over her pubic bone and vagina while rubbing her buttocks with the other hand and told her that its good to have a sexual flow of energy for a chiropractic adjustment, the complaint says.

The woman told her manager about he alleged sexual assaults, and said she no longer felt comfortable serving Huehn at the bar, but she continued to be scheduled to work at times when Huehn regularly came in, she said in her complaint.

(The woman) experienced a pattern of extreme anxiety, embarrassment and humiliation by the continued presence of Dr. Huehn at the pub and was often driven to tears in front of her co-workers, some of whom thought critically of her and that she was not pulling her weight in not serving Dr. Huehn and his cohort, the human rights complaint says.

The woman also claimed that Huehn and his friends boycotted the bar after learning she had filed a police report about him  a development that led her manager to confront her in front of co-workers, the complaint says.

Huehns lawyer, Samantha Kompa, said last year that the chiropractor is confident that the allegations included in the human rights complaint will turn out to be false.

The womans allegations have not been proven and her complaint is scheduled to be heard by a human rights tribunal on Aug. 8.

The charges are a positive step, the womans lawyer, Adam Savaglio, said Friday.

My client is encouraged by these events, he said. She puts her faith in the judicial system and remains intent on holding all parties accountable at he upcoming human rights tribunal hearing.
MONTREALEx-federal Liberal party organizer Jacques Corriveau, who was eventually convicted after being described by a judge as a central figure in the sponsorship scandal, has died at the age of 85, his lawyer said Friday.

The former close associate of ex-prime minister Jean Chretien died June 23 and his funeral was held July 14, lawyer Gerald Souliere said in an interview.

A jury found Corriveau guilty in 2016 of fraud against the government, forgery and laundering the proceeds of crime in connection with the sponsorship scandal.

He was handed a four-year prison term in January 2017 and fined $1.4 million but was freed pending an appeal.

The sponsorship program was created after the 1995 sovereignty referendum to boost the federal governments presence in Quebec. A public inquiry into the scandal, however, revealed firms were winning contracts based on donations to the federal Liberals, with little work being done.

A judge who headed the federal inquiry described Corriveau  who worked on Chretiens leadership campaigns  as a central figure in the program.

The Crown alleged Corriveau set up a kickback scheme on contracts awarded for the sponsorship program and used his design company to defraud the federal government between 1997 and 2003.

Corriveau was only charged for the crimes in December 2013 following an 11-year investigation.

In their appeal, Corriveaus lawyers argued the trial judge erred by not invoking the lengthy delays to grant a stay of proceedings before the trial began.

Souliere said the appeal is no longer applicable because of Corriveaus death.

He was declared guilty so he will remain eternally someone who was declared guilty, he said.

Souliere said, that while highly unlikely, a court could theoretically agree to hear the appeal despite Corriveaus death, for purposes of settling inheritances or other matters related to his estate.

But it would be very exceptional for the courts to do that, the lawyer said.
Lisa Douglas came to city hall on Friday to send Premier Doug Ford a message: Hands off Toronto elections.

Those were the words on a sign the Toronto resident held up, as she joined hundreds of protesters speaking out against the premiers plan to cut the size of city council almost by half.

What hes doing is outrageous, Douglas said. Doug Ford cannot rush these changes in the middle of a civic election.

As Toronto residents and community advocates gathered outside city hall Friday evening, inside its walls city council debated various emergency motions in reaction to Fords plan.

With municipal elections less than three months away, Ford caught the city off guard by announcing hed be slashing the number of councillors to 25 from 47.

Ford also announced the cancellation of elections for regional chairs in the GTA regions of Peel, York, Niagara and Muskoka.

No one has ever said to me: Doug, we need more politicians, Ford said in justifying the sweeping changes.

These protesters apparently did not agree.

Jack Fallon said the changes are simply a revenge, payback move that Ford is imposing on a city that didnt vote for him to be mayor.

This really feels like an affront to democracy, he said. The man didnt even win the popular vote in his own party. Its absurd that now he has power over Toronto.

Reducing the size of city council to a significantly smaller number would negatively affect how the city functions, said Matthew Canaran, another protester.

As a resident, I love the access we have to our councillors. I dont want to lose that, he said. But fewer representatives is going to mean less access to services, too.

Maggi Redmonds, another protester, said she was shocked by Fords announcement. She said the city has done extensive research and consultations over the years to come up with new ward boundaries and the number of their respective representations.

And now he comes and throws all that away with just a stroke of a pen. Its unacceptable, she said.

NDP Leader Andrea Howarth, a number of sitting MPPs and city councillors as well as candidates  many of whom have already been on the campaign trail  were at the rally to oppose Fords changes.

Earlier in the day, many councillors said Fords move will create civic chaos and affect residents fair representation. Mayor John Tory called it undemocratic, and advocated for a referendum on the city council size.

Fords announcement sent the citys political landscape into a frenzy, leaving residents and more than 200 candidates who were already campaigning for council seats in confusion as to what happens next.

Patrick Brown, the embattled former PC leader who was seeking the post of Peel Region chair, moved quickly to register as a candidate for mayor of Brampton.

Former city chief planner Jennifer Keesmaat immediately threw her hat into the race to become Toronto mayor.

There are times when we need to stand up for our city, Keesmaat told reporters after registering on Friday to run against Tory.

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CAIROEgypts state-run media says a court has sentenced 75 people to death, including top figures of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, for their involvement in a 2013 sit-in.

Saturdays decision in Cairo Criminal Court will now be referred to the Grand Mufti  the countrys top theological authority  for his non-binding opinion on the sentences. He usually approves the courts decision.

Sentencing for more than 660 others was set for Sept. 8, according to the state-run Al-Ahram news website.

The case involves 739 defendants, including the Muslim Brotherhoods Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie and photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid. Charges range from murder to damaging public property.

The 2013 sit-in supported former Islamist President Mohammed Morsi who was militarily ousted following mass protests against his divisive one-year rule. Morsi hailed from the Brotherhood. The sit-in was violently dispersed.

Read more:

Opinion | Canada should support the return of democracy in Egypt

Egypt arrests 9 Muslim Brotherhood leaders accused of plotting to overthrow government

Egypt sentences four members of Muslim Brotherhood to death

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BOISE, IDAHOOfficials say it was intentional exploitation, while some inmates families described it as more of a glitch.

Either way, reports that 364 Idaho inmates had a quarter-million dollars in credits improperly applied to their JPay tablet accounts had many on social media rooting for the prisoners.

Officials said the improper credits occurred when individuals placed products in their digital shopping carts and then removed them in a way that created a credit that was added to their total funds available.

Idaho Department of Correction investigators discovered the issue earlier this month, and the department has taken disciplinary action against those who received credits, contending the actions were intentional.

The hand-held computer tablets are popular in prisons across the country, and they are made available to Idaho inmates through a contract with CenturyLink and JPay. The tablets allow inmates to email their families and friends, purchase and listen to music or play simple electronic games.

The services come at a steep cost for inmates and their loved ones. For example, sending a one-page email from an Idaho prison costs about 50 cents (U.S).

Idaho inmates who have prison jobs make between 10 and 90 cents an hour. That means some inmates must work five hours to afford to send one email.

Cheaper options arent available because JPay and similar companies negotiate with prison facilities to hold monopoly contracts that make them the only provider of email and other services.

The recent hack  or glitch, depending on who you ask  seemed akin to a Robin Hood story for some.

Cara Berg Powers, executive director of the Transformative Culture Project in Massachusetts, was among those voicing support for the inmates on Twitter.

Because we keep using technology and private corporations to make experiences for prisoners and their loved ones less and less humane, she wrote in one tweet.

She went on to say the inmates should all be offered coding jobs, and joked that the credits likely were only enough to purchase a single bag of chips.

Its hard to feel bad when a company that charges 47 cents for an email accidentally lets some people send emails for free, said Peter Wagner, executive director of Prison Policy Initiative, an advocacy group that has fought to limit the prices companies can charge inmates for things such as phone calls.

These are the poorest folks in the state ... and they are being asked to pay unreasonable sums of money to stay in touch with their loved ones, Wagner said, noting that one in four women in America have an incarcerated loved one.

JPay spokesperson Jade Trombetta said in a prepared statement that the company invests millions of dollars to create secure products and pointed out that the price of an email typically runs less than a stamp.

These products help incarcerated Americans stay connected with loved ones, provide access to educational tools, assist in the rehabilitation process and offer other services that would otherwise be unavailable in jails and prisons, Trombetta said.

Idaho Department of Correction spokesperson Jeff Ray has stressed that the agency believes inmates deliberately took advantage of the issue to boost their own accounts.

This conduct was intentional, not accidental. It required a knowledge of the JPay system and multiple actions by every inmate who exploited the systems vulnerability, Ray said in a prepared statement.

Of the 364 inmates who allegedly exploited the issue, 50 credited their accounts in amounts exceeding $1,000. One inmate had a credit that was just under $10,000. In all, a total of nearly $225,000 was directed into inmate accounts.

Ray said the inmates involved were being given disciplinary offence reports by prison officials, which means they could lose privileges or be moved to stricter security classification levels. The disciplinary reports can also hurt an inmates chance of receiving parole.

Melissa King of Douglasville, Georgia, said her brother, an Idaho inmate, is nearing his release date but now fears he wont get out because he received a disciplinary report after receiving a $380 credit from JPay.

She said her brother described the credit as a misapplied payment from JPay that he did nothing to obtain.

Im trying to get to the bottom of it from states away, King said. Theyre saying that it was basically a misapplied payment, something that can happen with your bank or anybody else.

King said her family is willing to pay back the money, but first she wants an itemized statement from JPay showing the transfer and how it was spent. She says shes asked the company for a statement for six days but has yet to receive a response.

Inmates often rely on deposits from families and friends into their JPay and other accounts. Those deposits also come with fees: In Idaho, a $20 deposit to an inmates account comes with a $3.50 charge.

Its not like they (the inmates) went to the bank and then went on a shopping spree. Theyre sitting there waiting for blind payments from people on the outside, King said.

So far, JPay has recovered more than $65,000 in credits, and the company has suspended the ability of the inmates to download music and games until they compensate JPay for its losses, Ray said. The inmates can still send and receive emails, however.
Doug Fords out-of-nowhere plan to cut Toronto city council in half amounts to spitting in the face of the city and its voters.

Make no mistake: this is an act of supreme contempt for all of us, the people of Toronto.

Its undoubtedly true that Ford is targeting his political opponents  the mainly left-leaning representatives of downtown wards that voted against him, as well as a couple of his rivals (notably Patrick Brown) who were running in the now-cancelled elections for regional chair in Peel and York regions.

But the way hes going about this makes it much more than just a vindictive act of partisan score-settling, bad as that is. Its a profoundly unfair move that subverts democracy at the local level and interferes directly in an election that, lets remember, is already well underway.

You do not, as Mayor John Tory put it on Friday, change the rules in the middle of the game. But thats exactly what Ford is doing by upending Torontos municipal election almost two months after candidates were able to officially enter the race.

There is, lets acknowledge up-front, a legitimate debate to be had on local government in Toronto. Should we have a so-called strong mayor system? Should there be term limits for mayor and councillors? And, indeed, should there be fewer councillors?

But this is the worst possible way to deal with these questions.

Nothing about Fords plan stands up to the slightest scrutiny  not his arguments for it, and certainly not the way its being done.

On the substance, slashing council to 25 seats wont automatically turn City Hall into the lean, efficient machine that Ford apparently dreams about.

Theres no reason to assume that 25 councillors with different philosophies, answering to their various constituencies from all over the city, will have an easier time agreeing on major issues than 44 or even 47.

Democracy is like that; people disagree and it can get messy. The only way to end that is to abolish elections (not that we want to give Ford any more bright ideas).

Theres also no evidence that Toronto is seriously overgoverned for its size (almost 3 million people). Ford points to bigger cities like London and Los Angeles and claims they run just fine with smaller councils. Conveniently, though, he ignores the fact that in addition to city-wide councils they also have local or borough councils that have many more representatives.

But wont halving the size of council save lots of money? Ford and his municipal affairs minister, Steve Clark, claim their plan will save $25 million, but they seem to have picked that number out of the air. Theyve given absolutely no breakdown or explanation of how they come up with it.

Certainly, doing away with about 20 councillors will save their salaries ($114,000 a year) plus expenses and some other costs. But weigh that against an overall city budget of $11.1 billion, and consider the benefit of having well-briefed elected representatives overseeing all that spending and the staff that makes the city work.

Fords most ludicrous claim is that no one should be surprised by this move. To the charge that he is remaking Torontos democratic structures without even the pretense of consultation, he replies that he campaigned on a promise of reducing the size and cost of government.

Now were expected to swallow the idea that what he really had in mind wasnt wrestling with costs at Queens Park as premier  the job he was actually running for. No, were asked to believe he was aiming at Toronto City Hall, where he tried and failed to have this bad idea adopted back when he was a city councillor and consigliere to his late brother, Mayor Rob.

If you believe that, we have a Ferris wheel on the waterfront (another one of Doug Fords terrible ideas) wed like to sell you. The plain fact is this plan is being put forward with zero consultation or even notification to the city and its voters. Even Fords supporters on city council were clearly taken by surprise.

Its particularly rich for a politician who has made the principle of consultation so important on issues where he thinks it plays in his favour (such as the alleged lack of public consultation by the Wynne government on sex education). When it comes to jamming Toronto, consultation obviously counts for nothing.

Toronto must fight Fords plan in every way possible. Tory proposes the idea of a referendum in October. Thats not a bad idea; it would at least give voters a chance to make their wishes known and would make sure the current election is conducted under existing rules.

But Ford isnt about to let that happen, and in any case his assault on local democracy demands a stronger response. Tory must be more aggressive than he has shown so far in exploring any legal options the city has to challenge Fords move, and he should campaign forcefully against it. He shouldnt worry about compromising future relations with Queens Park; Ford has already well and truly poisoned those for a long time to come.

Despite all this, its quite likely Fords rhetoric about dysfunction at Toronto City Hall and cutting the number of politicians will resonate with a lot of people. Hes nothing if not an effective communicator with a simplistic slogan.

But those tempted to cheer him on should pause and consider whether this is the kind of government they want in Ontario. Do they really want high-handed, one-man rule?

The target this time may ostensibly be a few unpopular Toronto politicians. But who will be the next group to find itself in Fords gun sights? Who will be next to wake up and find that the premier has decided to turn their world upside down with no notice or explanation? Hes already talking about a much wider overhaul of municipal government, so other cities may soon find themselves in the firing line.

This new government is off to a shaky start, and this is the worst move of all so far. It makes a mockery of Fords promise to be governing for the people, and the people must tell him and his government that they wont stand for it.

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Angry Torontonians, irritated politicians and biased journalists  all frustrated with Bombardier, I get it. However, I would be remiss if I didnt speak up and defend the 1,100 dedicated men and women in Thunder Bay, as they work tirelessly to deliver quality streetcars.

Yes, we had difficult times, but we have turned around.

The consistent scrutiny and company bashing doesnt just impact business  it impacts workers and their families; it impacts their communities and local suppliers.

It impacts the entire ecosystem in this province.

I wonder how many Ontarians are aware of the consequences of repeating such a negative and singled-out narrative.

In the last decades, we produced over 1,000 passenger rail cars in Thunder Bay for Ontarians, by Ontarians  like the Flexity Outlook streetcars and the GO Transit BiLevel coaches  of which close to 1.5 million Ontarians rely on for their daily commute.

Ostracizing the company will not help the province in the long run. It is time to step back and take a moment to get to know Bombardier, its proud workforce and how it makes a difference in Ontario.
VANCOUVERWhen Nick Drader flew to the lakes north of Abbotsford for a fishing trip two years ago, he had no idea the bright blue meltwater rings he spotted en route would eventually draw travellers from around the world.

The former wildfire suppression pilot started Compass Heli Tours in 2016 after deciding to settle down in Abbotsford in the Fraser Valley. He hardly had any business back then, partly due to his busy schedule fighting wildfires.

It wasnt until last summer that the images he took of himself and his first few clients kayaking on the blue waters went viral. Thats when messages flooded in from people eager to go kayaking themselves.

His favoured spot for glacier kayaking lies north of Stave Lake and Harrison Lake, a half-hour ride by helicopter.

Something about the mountain there, for me its very refreshing. Ill wake up in the morning in Abbotsford and feel kind of groggy, and as soon as I get up into the alpine and glacier train, its so revitalizing, Drader said.

The blue water is neither a river nor a stream, he explained. Rather, it comes from snow, which sits on top of the frozen lake during the winter, melting on top of the ice.

Its an extremely seasonal event, a week per lake, and it only occurs during the month of June, Drader said. When the ice on the lake starts to break up and mixes with the meltwater, it loses the blue colour and becomes its regular yet still stunningly beautiful turquoise.

The tour lasts five hours. Due to limited space on the helicopter, he takes up to four people at a time. Once on location, he has yet to see any other visitors.

To protect the environment, he said, they pack out anything they bring to the sites.

Fortunately, no one has had to go No. 2 on any of my trips, but I do keep a foldup toilet with waste bags, hand sanitizers in the helicopter.

Barry Janyk, executive director of the Federation of Mountain Clubs of BC, isnt concerned by any one tour operator in B.C.s backcountry but does worry about the cumulative nature of all the applications from helicopter tour operators.

He thinks certain zones are fine to operate in but is concerned about the mountains being overrun with travellers as air transportation becomes more accessible.

The problem is that theres no place thats sacred anymore, and this is an issue that the provincial government is dealing with, said Janyk. I just talked to them last week; theyre just being inundated with applications for helicopter (tours), and its everything from biking, hiking, touring, seeing  now theres kayaking.

Wilderness tourism is a huge industry and growing, he said.

So the solution to the problem  is (that the province) is going to have to decide what areas of the province are not going to be open for this kind of wilderness tourism and (where) they can provide tenure for.

Craig Nichols, executive director of Tourism Abbotsford, acknowledged that operators like Compass Heli Tours could indirectly benefit the local economy by attracting higher-spending visitors, who usually hail from other countries.

Many of Draders clients are American, but others come from as far away as South Africa, Australia and Cambodia.

The people that I meet is probably the most rewarding part of all this because Im consistently hearing people say they just had the best day of their lives, Drader said. My background comes from forestry, so I never heard people say that before.

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Editors note: The Illinois Bicentennial series is brought to you by the Illinois Associated Press Media Editors and Illinois Press Association. More than 20 newspapers are creating stories about the states history, places and key moments in advance of the Bicentennial on Dec. 3, 2018. Stories published up to this date can be found at 200illinois.com.

CAHOKIA  Centuries ago Illinois was home to the largest and most influential city in what would become the United States, rivaling the size of European cities at the time.

As many as 20,000 people  double that if surrounding communities are included  lived about 1,000 years ago in the elaborate planned city that now lies within the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.

Cahokia, east of St. Louis, includes woodhenges  large sun calendars that were built of red cedar posts  and at least 120 mounds and pyramids used to support important buildings and for burials.

Yet, Cahokia is only part of Illinois rich American Indian heritage.

Although 101,451 Illinoisans identify themselves as being fully or partly of American Indian descent, the tribes themselves are gone from Illinois, mostly moved west by the federal government in the 1800s, said Bill Iseminger, assistant manager of the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. Whats left are the remains of native cemeteries, villages, cities and mounds, onetime Indian routes that became the basis for many of our modern roads and highways and the names of many things, beginning with our state itself, named for a powerful American Indian group that once called Illinois home.

1,000 years ago, a cultural center

Many different groups occupied Illinois in the centuries before Christopher Columbus set foot on North America.

Archaeologists estimate people came here about 12,000 years ago after migration from Asia over a land bridge began to populate the continent, according to the Illinois State Museum. Over thousands of years, people adapted to a changing climate and became less nomadic as the Ice Age came to a close.

Cahokia was built during the Mississippian Age, which began around 900 A.D. and lasted about 550 years. The city was the political and religious center of Mississippian life, but eventually its influence faded. It was largely abandoned by 1350 A.D., though no one knows precisely why.

Wood, game and other food sources might have been depleted, Iseminger said. There is evidence of long droughts and the climate was cooling.

Where did they go? Probably in many directions, joining other communities or establishing new ones, Iseminger said. The Osage, Ponca, Omaha and Quapaw people are believed to be descended from the citys builders.

About 700 years ago, as Cahokia was fading, a people called the Oneota emerged in the Illinois River valley. Excavations in Fulton County show half of those buried in an Oneota cemetery died as a result of violence, though its not known why, according to the Illinois State Museum.

Were the two cultures at war? Its hard to say, though theres evidence of Oneota culture in the Cahokia area. And Cahokia had a large palisade enclosure, indicating a need for defense, Iseminger said.

The Oneota, as they migrated south, may have been the final blow of the Mississippian culture, he said.

Starved Rock to Black Hawk

By the time French traders and priests arrived in the 1600s, there were two main American Indian groups in the area: the Illiniwek, or Illinois, and the Miami. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, the Illiniwek territory shrank, the Miamis moved eastward, and other tribes moved in.

As Europeans and other outsiders arrived, the Indians traded with them. They allied with the French and the British, at different times. American Indian federations and tribes fought each other, with the Iroquois being notorious for battles against the Illiniwek.

Starved Rock State Park near Utica is named for a stone formation where, legend has it, members of the Illiniwek starved to death in 1769 during a siege by the Ottawa and Potawatomi, who sought to avenge the killing of the Ottawa chief, Pontiac.

By 1818, a War Department study estimated there were at least 10,860 native people living in this area, not counting the Peoria band of Miami Indians. Tribes had already ceded a strip of land at the mouth of the Chicago River to the U.S. government, as well as land near Kaskaskia.

In 1821, the tribes gave up more of northern Illinois.

In 1832, some members of the Sac and Fox nations agreed with a warrior named Black Hawk that their land had been illegally taken from them. They tried moving back into northwestern Illinois and western Wisconsin, leading to the unsuccessful Black Hawk War.

The 1833 Treaty of Chicago took care of the largest swath. In exchange for handing over 5 million acres, tribes including the Potawatomi, Ojibwe, Odawa, Sac and Fox agreed to move west of the Mississippi River, according to an 1918 article about the treaty in the Wisconsin Magazine of History. Many would eventually be pushed farther, which is why the Peoria Tribe of Miami Indians is now headquartered in Oklahoma.

Tribal heritage

When the French and other Europeans arrived, they learned the tribes languages and began naming places and landmarks using the natives words. French or English versions of the names stuck.

The settlers also might have been influenced by the Romantic movement of the late 1700s and early 1800s, which placed a high value on nature and folk legends, so the names might have been meant to memorialize the dwindling numbers of natives and their cultures.

Poet Walt Whitman extolled the practice, in An American Primer: All aboriginal names sound good. I was asking for something savage and luxuriant, and behold, here are the aboriginal names. I see how they are being preserved. They are honest words,  they give the true length, breadth, depth. They all fit. Mississippi!  the word winds with chutes  it rolls a stream three thousand miles long. Ohio, Connecticut, Ottawa, Monongahela, all fit.

There are six counties in Illinois that have Indian-themed names, at least 60 towns, and scores of schools and other places, from Aptakisic Road in Lake County to the town of Wetaug in Union County.

Many other roads now have more prosaic names but trace the paths American Indians once used, from the east-west U.S. Route 6, which generally follows the onetime Sauk Trail, to the North Shores Green Bay Road, thought to have been a Potawatomi trail.

Susan Sarkauskas and Diane Dungey of the Daily Herald in Arlington Heights can be reached at ssarkauskas@dailyherald.com and ddungey@dailyherald.com.
For the Telegraph

EAST ALTON  At an awards luncheon held April 30 at Bella Milano in Edwardsville, Global Brass and Copper announced the names of this years Olin Brass Scholarship recipients. Scholarships are awarded to children of employees based on ACT scores.

This years honorees include Andrew Brinkman of Marquette High School in Alton (son of Tom and Krystal Brinkman); Darren Kirsch of Edwardsville High School (son of Dave and Deborah Kirsch); and Daniel Thomas of Edwardsville High School (son of Rich and Theresa Thomas). A fourth scholarship was awarded at a separate dinner to John Hosey (son of Sean Hosey) of Hall High School in West Hartford, Connecticut.
ALTON  A man held up the Upper Alton U.S. Bank on Tuesday morning, fleeing with an undisclosed amount of cash, but police arrested a suspect within about 20 minutes in nearby woods.

Lt. Jarrett Ford, chief of detectives at the Alton Police Department, said the Federal Bureau of Investigation is working with Alton police in the investigation. Authorities had yet to determine if the suspect would face state or federal charges.

We are still investigating this, the charges probably would not be tomorrow, Ford said Tuesday afternoon.

At about 9:15 a.m., a robber entered the bank at 1520 Washington Ave., gave the teller a note demanding cash and implying he had a weapon, but showed none. The holdup man then put the money and note in a blue bag, and fled the property on foot. Scanner traffic said the suspect ran west on Brown Street, then into woods behind Calvary Baptist Church, 1422 Washington Ave.

At that time, the robber, who has dreadlocks, was wearing a blue or black hooded sweatshirt, black hat and black pants.

Police, including canine unit Pfc. Mike Morelli and Jax, arrived within a few minutes and pursed a man through several properties.

A citizen, who saw the suspect running through the woods, called police with the location.

Officers subsequently took the suspect into custody at gunpoint behind a house in the 1200 block of Washington Avenue. Police ran a check on the suspect, learning he had no arrest warrants, his drivers license is invalid and he is a registered sex offender.

Upon his arrest, the suspect was wearing different clothing, however  a red sweatshirt and light blue jeans, so police were unsure at first if the man was the bank robbery suspect. They showed photographs to bank personnel and recorded his voice to help them identify the suspect while he shouted obscenities at a Telegraph photographer.

A resident of the 2300 block of Brown Street had led police through the woods to more easily access the area in their search for evidence.

For the next two hours, detectives searched the woods for materials that might be related to the robbery. A Telegraph staff member observed a detective carry out two bulging brown paper grocery bags of materials investigators apparently recovered from the area.

Detectives returned later to further their investigation.

Telegraph Managing Editor Nathan Grimm and photographer John Badman provided information for this story.

Reach Linda N. Weller at 618-208-6450 or on Twitter @Linda_Weller
ALTON  For the third time in two weeks Friday, a parade of hulking law enforcement transport trucks converged on an Alton home, carrying manpower, equipment and a search warrant.

At about 8:55 a.m., the convoy arrived at the house in the 1200 block of Pearl Street, taking a male suspect into custody and transporting a woman and children to the Alton Police Department. Alton animal control officer Steve Bosaw removed a pit bull terrier from the yard.

The law enforcement officers, from Alton and the multi-agency Illinois Law Enforcement Alarm System, had arrived in cars and the ILEAS, BEAR (Ballistic Engineered Armored Response) and BEAR Cat trucks.

After evacuating the occupants, the officers executed a drug-related search warrant of the house. We seized some items of evidence that are the subject of the drug investigation, said Lt. Jarrett Ford, chief of detectives at the Alton Police Department.

Ford said the man likely would face a drug-related charge after police meet with the Madison County States Attorneys Office on Monday. When the suspect is charged, The Telegraph will publish his name and any charges.

Ford said police released the woman and children and she would not be charged with any offense.

There were no injuries to the occupants of the house or to police.

Ford said police enlist help from ILEAS while carrying out the search warrants because its members  including officers from Alton  have special training in such potentially high-risk situations. Thats what they are trained to do, for safety reasons for us and for the people in the house, he said. Sometimes there are children in the house; it is safer for everyone involved.

The entourage attracts attention as it moves through town, but the large trucks also carry equipment, which might be needed during the activity.

On Jan. 19 and 20, Alton police and ILEAS conducted similar searches in two homes, resulting in two men being charged with drug-related felonies.

Reach Linda N. Weller at 618-208-6450 or on Twitter @Linda_Weller
WOOD RIVER  A St. Louis celebrity visited a Wood River tanning salon Friday, not to get a tan, but to greet his fans and snarf down a few treats and bites of hot dogs.

Hes a big public figure, he has a lot of followers on Facebook, said Shannon Phelps, operating manager of eight area Hollywood Tan Co. locations, regarding the big friendly, furry Akita Champ.

The story of the once severely abused rescue dog, now in nearly perfect condition, reportedly is well-known among canine lovers throughout the St. Louis area.

As evidence, Champ had 6,046 Facebook followers as of Friday afternoon who passionately follow his activities that his self-described, father Mike Duenke frequently posts. Champs Facebook page has raised more than $100,000 for Stray Rescue of St. Louis and two Akita rescue groups from donations and merchandise sales, Duenke said.

His followers are pretty loyal, they raise a lot of money for him, said Duenke, 64, of Lake St. Louis, Missouri. Together as a group, we can raise more money than a corporation. Everybody feels like part of a group doing something special.

The Hollywood salons had asked clients to donate to Stray Rescue of St. Louis in a contest among locations, offering donors a chance to win prizes. The business, at 901 Edwardsville Road in Wood River, raised $1,270 for the nonprofit rescue organization.

Phelps said the owner of the chain of salons adopted a dog from Stray Rescue, prompting the businesses to at first solicit donations of food and doggie supplies.

This year, they collected cash.

In honor of the successful effort to raise money for the group, Phelps and her friendly staff cooked hot dogs on a grill in front of the salon, offering them free to clients and visitors. The women also provided free sodas as part of the celebration.

Advertised on Champs Facebook, his trip from Lake St. Louis to Wood River drew a string of excited fans bearing treats and offering hugs and friendly pats on the head as they arrived in the salon. The big, brown and white dog appeared to like the attention, and showed no fear or trepidation of the excited strangers, despite his abused past. He was particularly intrigued whenever someone entered the business and a bell sounded, apparently thinking it was a door bell he should answer.

Champ, a pure-bred Akita about 3 years old, had been a bait for dog fighters in North St. Louis city. Duenke said his abusers had put him and two pit bull terriers in a mud pit, where the other dogs attacked Champ. One or more people then beat him with a bat or similar object.

A woman called Randy Grim, founder and director of Stray Rescue, to report the abused dog, Duenke said.

Grim drove to the neighborhood to search for the severely injured and mud-caked animal on August 10, 2016, finding him lying in a yard. Grim named the dog Champ as he drove him to an after-hours veterinarian clinic. The dog had bites on his neck and leg, only weighed 67 pounds, was covered in mud and lethargic. He lapsed into a coma for a couple days from the beatings.

Married couple Mike and Margie Duenke, then adopted Champ on Sept. 12, 2016. They had to drive the dog from Lake St. Louis to a veterinarian in Bethalto a number of times for laser treatments to his wounds, among other care he required. Champ also nearly had to have a leg amputated.

Except for a limp from nerve damage, Champ is in excellent health and now weighs about 100 pounds.

He is very laid back and he acts like he is 3 months old, not 3 years old, said Margie Duenke, 67. Hes pretty sweet. I love him. I love to come home and see this big burly dog greeting me at the door.

Champ enjoys walking along the edge of Lake St. Louis during the couples daily, two-mile morning walks, but he does not like to swim. The Akita is friendly around people and good with three of the couples cats. The fourth feline avoids Champ at all costs.

Champ, though, understandably does not like other dogs after being attacked in St. Louis.

Champ has won a number of contests, including a photo competition that awarded the Duenkes some $5,000, which they donated to Stray Rescue.

There also are four videos about Champ on YouTube, further spreading his story and fame, although they are disturbing to watch: Champ, Stray Rescue of St. Louis; One More Fight Champ/Stray Rescue of St. Louis; Champs Last Fight; and Champ Comes Out of His Coma/Stray Rescue of St. Louis.

Reach Linda N. Weller at 618-208-6450 or on Twitter @Linda_Weller
ALTON  Can we see Deaf Bill?

Wide-eyed children queried with wide grins, kicking at the dirt with their Chuck Taylor All-Star sneakers, hoping to balm a boring summer day  not at the pool, not at the playground  at the funeral home.

Its still there today at 727 Langdon in Alton, but no longer under the name Burke  just an unassuming building with no signs or oft characteristics  now zoned as a multiple-family residence.

No plaque or monument displayed noting the site of what likely thousands of Altonians will never forget as the legend of Deaf Bill.

Ingrained into the DNA of Alton is the allure of the weird. The most haunted town in America they call it.

Its no marketing ploy by a promotion-savvy Visitors and Conventions Bureau. Alton is legit weird, and it gets no more strange than the story that was finally buried 20 years ago this summer.

William Deaf Bill Lee was laid to rest on June 24, 1996  and heres the kicker  after his mummified corpse stood in a closet at Burke Funeral Home, clad in only a diaper, free to view to any man, woman or child, for 80 years.

From the June 24, 1996 issue of The Telegraph:

Lee, whose body stood in a small closet at Burke Funeral Home for more than 80 years, was decked out in a suit in the style of his day as organ music played, the smell of flowers filled the air and men stood by in suits.

About 350 people streamed in and out of the newly refurbished Burke Funeral Home from noon to 6 p.m. Sunday to pay respects to Deaf Bill, who attracted perhaps thousands of curious youngsters when he was a resident of the closet.

When you were a kid, you were just fascinated, Barbara Gearing, who attended the funeral, said at the time, recalling the feeling of reaching out with trembling hand to touch Deaf Bills hardened skin. Hes all dressed up now. He doesnt look quite as much like a mummy.

The report, written by Sanford Schmidt, whos still a reporter at The Telegraph, notes that some makeup was applied to make the body look lighter and more alive than when it stood in the closet.

So, how did this scenario, seemingly straight out of a collection of odd urban myths, come to be?

Lee was a hard-of-hearing fisherman who lived on the island. Previous Telegraph articles about him report that he was a local character known to hit the bottle and launch into prolific preaching and swearing, loud enough to be heard on the other side of the river.

An item in the Oct. 11, 1902 Telegraph says it all:

William Lee, better known as Deaf Bill, the Poo-bah of MPike island, was married Saturday morning by Police Magistrate Few. The bride was Matie A.H. Ferguson, of Paxton, Ill., who came to town recently and whose charms enamored Deaf Bill.

The bride was satisfied with her choice notwithstanding the fact that Bill can hardly hear.

He made the front page July 2, 1914 Alton Evening Telegraph with a story of irony. He was serving time in the St. Charles County Jail for stealing tools from a mechanic when someone entered his house boat and stole nearly everything he owned  including carpets, dishes, the stove, the bed and all of his furniture.

Curiously, the only items the robbers didnt steal were two shotguns and a revolver that Deaf Bill kept hanging from the ceiling.

He made headlines once again in the Oct. 23, 1915, issue of the Alton Evening Telegraph where a headline read, Deaf Bill Lee is taken to hospital.

Fellow fishermen found him felled near his shanty on the Missouri side of the river. Doctors urged him to seek medical help in St. Charles County, but the hermit was stubborn. He said he spent all of his money on the Illinois side of the river, so he should be Madison Countys burden  or hed go back to his shanty to die.

He was admitted to the Madison County Poor House, where he soon passed.

No family ever came forward to claim the body, so funeral home owner Bill Bauer had a bit of a conundrum on his hands.

In 1996, the Telegraph published a letter to the editor from Merrill S. Rosenthal, a historian from Wood River, who said Bauer and his partner, John Hoehn, took the opportunity to perform an experiment in embalming to keep poor Deaf Bill from decay. They performed the normal embalming process, but skipped using any fluids.

 the atmosphere has dehydrated him, Rosenthal wrote. It has drawn the moisture out of his body and left tissue and bone structure. If he had not been exposed to air but put in an airtight casket with glass top, he would now look like he did the day he died.

So, when Bauer and Hoehn Funeral Home moved to 727 Langdon in Alton, a special closet for Deaf Bill was built  where he stood upright for decades.

On Sept. 5, 1932, the Telegraph reported that Deaf Bill was slated to be displayed at the Chicago Worlds Fair. The report also stated that an Egyptian Hindu who had come to town with a curiosity show offered $2,500 for the body.

We told him we could not sell a body, John Hoehn, Bauers partner, said. He told us he could make 10 times that much in exhibiting it. Well, after that we decided not to bury and so kept Deaf Bill to this day. On moving into our new funeral home we had a special closet built for him on the first floor. We have had people from coast to coast view him.

When Tom and Dallas Burke bought the funeral home in 1948, Deaf Bill stayed with it.

Funeral Director Brian Fine, currently with Staten-Fine Funeral Home, later became Dallas Burkes partner. In changing times, Deaf Bill became more of a morbid burden rather than a ghoulish gaff.

A lot of old-timers know about him, and not a week goes by that we dont get a call from someone wanting to see him, Fine told The Telegraph in 1996.

The funeral home attempted to give the curiously well-preserved body to the Alton Museum of History and Art, but the board of directors made the predictable decision to take a pass.

The partners called on the services of Rev. Michael Sandweg, who found that Deaf Bill likely had family buried in St. Frances of Assisi Cemetery.

And so, in late June of 1996, that became Mr. William Lees final resting place.

Every person born into this world has a right to a proper and a decent burial, spoke the Reverend. So we bury him today and pray for his soul.
ALTON  Detectives Thursday rounded up several people wanted on warrants in Alton, including a suspect in a February shooting.

Lt. Jarrett Ford, chief of detectives at the Alton Police Department, said detectives arrested Eric L. Henley, 44, at a home in the 1100 block of Central Avenue in Alton.

We had a concentrated effort looking for him, and we got information on where he might be staying, which prompted the arrest, with no resistance from Henley, Ford said. It was a peaceful warrant arrest.

Late Thursday afternoon, Henley remained at Alton City Jail.

The Madison County States Attorneys Office charged Henley on Feb. 14 with aggravated battery with a firearm, a Class X felony; and unlawful possession of weapons by a felon, a Class 3 felony. The warrant says Henley was convicted of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance on Jan. 15, 1999 in Madison County.

Third Circuit Judge Richard Tognarelli set bond of $500,000.

Henley is accused of shooting Keith Hill, who was 26 at the time, in the leg inside a home in the 800 block of Fountain Street on Feb. 10. A wounded Hill then ran out of the home, seeking help.

At that time, Ford said the shooting was domestic related, with Henley living at the residence and Hill previously having lived at the home.

Reach Linda N. Weller at 618-208-6450 or on Twitter @Linda_Weller
ALTON  Three Alton men face felony charges following their arrests Tuesday afternoon at a Central Avenue convenience store.

Wednesday, the Madison County States Attorneys Office issued warrants for the following men, who are in custody:

 Brandon E. Blake, 27, of the 1300 block of Rixon St., aggravated battery (Class 2), after allegedly shoving and hitting Det. Marcos Pulido of the Alton Police Department. Associate Judge Neil Schroeder set bond of $50,000.

 Trevon L. Northern, 19, of the 300 block of East Ninth Street, unlawful possession of a controlled substance (Class 4), for allegedly possessing less than 15 grams of a substance containing alprazolam (Xanax), which is used to treat anxiety and its disorders, and panic disorders. Schroeder set bond of $10,000.

 Eric D. Walker, 25, of the 2400 block of LaSalle Drive, unlawful possession of a controlled substance (Class 4), after allegedly possessing less than 15 grams of a substance containing cocaine. Schroeder set bond of $15,000.

APD detectives, with backup from other police officers, arrested the men shortly after 3:45 p.m. at Cowboy Quik Stop Inc, 835 Central Ave.

Chief Jason Jake Simmons of the Alton Police Department said the store had nothing to do with the suspects or their activities.

Reach Linda N. Weller at 618-208-6450 or on Twitter @Linda_Weller
Awards are more than momentary recognition. They can demand responsibility of the achiever whilst bestowing an honour. There are many important awards in the art world such as the Marcel Duchamp Prize in France or the Turner Prize in the UK. The latter, given by Tate Britain to celebrate contemporary visual art, was named after the legendary British artist J.M.W. Turner because he had wanted to establish a prize for young artists. The 25,000 prize money is considered a token amount given the prices for contemporary art. But the prize is a prestigious accolade in the international art world.

Similarly, the Artes Mundi (Latin: arts of the world) is an international biennial contemporary art exhibition and prize, held in Wales and organised by the eponymous arts charity. Mysuru-based artist N.S. Harsha was an early recipient (Artes Mundi 3 in 2008). In the UAE, The Abraaj Capital Art Prize worth up to $1 million divided among five artists from South Asia, North Africa and the Middle East has become an important benchmark. The Hugo Boss Prize, which is funded by the German lifestyle and menswear brand, annually collaborates with The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation for a solo exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York. The Future Generation Art Prize, an international award funded by the Victor Pinchuk Foundation, gives up to $100,000 in cash and towards the production of a new work, plus up to $20,000 to fund artist-in-residency programmes for up to five special prize winners. This level of patronage goes to show that prizes have become a big marketing strategy for brand building.

Photo: A painting from a project by Vietnamese artist Phan Thao Nguyen

However, it is not all about huge prize money. The prestigious Golden Lion and Silver Lion at the Venice Biennale that honour the best national participation and the most promising artist carry little prize money. The BMW Art Journey enables the winning artist to go almost anywhere in the world to develop new ideas, find new themes and envision new projects. The seventh winner of the award is now on his journeys.

I was recently invited to be one of the jury members for the Signature Art Prize 2018, funded by the Asia Pacific Breweries Foundation and organised by the Singapore Art Museum. The other members of the jury were Mami Kataoka, chief curator, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Joyce Toh, head of content and senior curator, Singapore Art Museum; Gerard Vaughan, director, National Gallery of Australia, and Malaysian artist/politician Wong Hoy Cheong.

The prize is now a decade old. The inaugural edition of the triennial award in 2008 had 34 nominations from 12 countries. The fourth edition this year had 46 different countries and territories, with Central Asia being included for the first time. Jury members had to review 113 works and many more again on PowerPoint presentations in closed rooms. The artist and art works were nominated for the prize by 38 invited curators/artists from different regions and countries. After rigorous conversations and critical debate, we invited 15 projects. In fact, the jurors had to visit Singapore again to see the original exhibitions of 15 shortlisted entries at the National Museum.

Vietnamese artist Phan Thao Nguyen was finally awarded the Grand PrizeSGD60,000. Her poetic, regional story telling, including paintings and video, caught the jurors attention. Indian-Singaporean artist Shubigi Rao and Thailands Thasnai Sethaseree received the two Jurors Choice Awards, receiving SGD15,000 each. Indonesian narrative story painter Gede Mahendra Yasa received the Peoples Choice Award worth SGD10,000. And, the Signature Art Prizean important art award in Asiacompleted another successful edition, brilliantly structured and executed by the Singapore Art Museums team at the National Museum of Singapore.

editor@theweek.in
The adage that failures can teach many lessons seems quite...
Reliance Industries, which operates the world's largest single-location refinery processing about 1.4 million bpd, on Friday said it will stop Iranian crude imports from November if the US sanctions kick in.

It also said this won't lead to supply disruption as it sources a very small quantity of its total crude imports from Iran now.

According to sources, RIL's oil imports from Iran had surged by about 45 per cent to 67,000 bpd in 2017 after it began sourcing crude from the country in April 2016 and in the January-April 2018, it imported about 96,000 bpd.

Trade sources said recently RIL booked about 8 million barrels of US crude following the threat to re-impose sanctions.

India is the second largest importer for Iranian crude after China. "Our shipment from Iran has come down to much smaller portion of our overall imports now. And by November our thinking could be to comply with the sanctions," V. Srikanth, RIL's group deputy chief financial officer told reporters.

Without elaborating further and disclosing how much it imports from Iran now, he ruled out the possibility of supply disruptions. "We source from all over the world and there are plenty of other crudes available in markets like Iraq and Saudi Arabia, among others," he said.

The US, in March this year, unilaterally withdrew from its 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran and re-imposed economic sanctions on the country. It also threatened to penalise other countries dealing with Iran from November.

RIL began to import crude from Iran in April 2016 after a six-year hiatus after the then US government sewed up nuclear deal with Tehran. At its peak, RIL used to source as much as 5 million tonne a year from Iran.

Bowing to international pressure to isolate Iran over its nuclear programme, RIL had in January 2009 stopped exporting petrol to Iran and from February 2010, it had stopped buying crude from it as well.

RIL, which has substantial investments in US shale gas projects, besides being a big supplier of fuel, cannot afford to overlook the sanctions. It also has other telecom businesses in the US.

RIL exports most of its 62 million tonne output from the Jamnagagr refinery, making it the single largest source of export earnings for the nation. It ships petrol to the Middle East, the US, Southeast Asia and Australia while diesel is exported to Europe, Africa, Southeast Asia.

RIL's statement assumes importance as so far the official government position has been that it will follow the national interest.

On Thursday, media reports said Iran was reportedly planning to provide ships as well as insurance cover to continue exporting crude to India.

Earlier this month, Hindustan Petroleum had cancelled Iranian oil cargo after it faced insurance issues.
Ending almost a five-decade-old ceasefire with Indian rebels inside its country, the Myanmar government engaged in an exchange of fire with NSCN(K) rebels in the Saigan province over the last four days.

The National Socialist Council of Nagaland (Khaplang) was completely taken aback by the heavy shelling but neither the Myanmar government nor the group have reported any casualty.

NSCN(K) spokesperson, Isac Sumi said, "We do not know why they did this. But the ceasefire was broken by the Myanmar army. We are all safe after the exchange of fire. Situation has finally come to some kind of a stand still."

A senior official of the NSCN(K) refuted the charge that NSCN(K) instigated the Myanmar government. "It's all because of the Indian government is putting pressure on the Myanmar government to finish us. That's for sure not going to alter a thing," he said.

Last year, during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Myanmar and held talks with the Myanmar government including state counsellor Aung San Syuu Ki and apprised her of the situation in Myanmar border. Then home secretary Rajiv Mehershi had also visited Myanmar and given a detailed presentation on the 60 camps that were inside Myanmar and carrying out insurgency on India. It is understood that the abrogation of ceasefire came only after such a move by the Indian government.

Home ministry has sent out a list of the camps run by the Indian insurgents inside Myanmar. They are NDFB(S), ULFA(I), Manipur based Core-Com, which is a conglomeration of many insurgent groups like PLA, UNLF etc.

As the Indian government offered a line of credit to the Myanmar government, like it gave to Bangladesh, Myanmar was left with no other option but to reconsider the ceasefire agreement with insurgent groups.

Experts believe that in such a situation Indian army would have to tighten its vigil across the Indo-Myanmar border.

An official of the defence ministry, however, said, "Our border is intact and normal. There is no threat to it as we are already on the mode of intense vigil across the Indo-Myanmar border."
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who held a meeting with senior National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah in Kolkata on Friday, said no name should be picked as the prime ministerial candidate of the probable opposition front in the next Lok Sabha polls as it would divide the unity of the regional parties fighting the BJP under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Banerjee asserted all the regional anti-BJP parties were together and they should sacrifice for the country's benefit.

"Please do not pick and choose any particular name to divide us," the Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief told reporters after her meeting with Abdullah.

Banerjee said this when the reporters asked Abdullah, who was in the city to take part in a forum discussion, whether the opposition was ready to highlight Banerjee as the prime ministerial candidate of the federal front in the 2019 Lok Sabha election.

Echoing Banerjee, Abdullah, a former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister, said it was too early to choose the opposition's prime ministerial candidate.

"Our main focus should be to come together and put up a good fight against the BJP and then, we can decide on that [prime ministerial candidate]," Abdullah added.

"I think all the regional parties, all the political parties who are against the BJP, are working together. Maybe one or two parties may not as they have their states' compulsions, but a majority of them are working together. Our intention is very clear," Banerjee said.

Banerjee has been a vocal critic of the BJP and has been espousing a "one-on-one" fight by the opposition parties against the saffron party, instead of contesting against each other in the coming general election.

Alleging that the BJP-led government at the Centre was planning a presidential mode of election in the Lok Sabha polls, Banerjee said the saffron party was acting "like a dictator" and all the anti-BJP parties should come together and "sacrifice" to save the country from it.

"We [anti-BJP parties] cannot tolerate this. Let us sacrifice everything for the country. We cannot sacrifice our people. So let us fight for the people and this will ultimately be the 2019 government of the people, by the people and for the people," Banerjee added.

Asked whether the Congress would be a part of the anti-BJP front, Abdullah said, "All those parties who are anti-BJP will be included in the coalition. There will not be any condition on them."

Abdullah added, "Mamatadi is still concentrating on improving and protecting West Bengal. Afterwards, we will pull her to do the similar kind of welfare (what she has done for the state) for the country. But if we continue discussing the name (of the prime ministerial candidate), we will lose our focus and our motto to defeat the BJP will be affected."

Elaborating on the probable federal front, Abdullah said, "The parties in a true federal front do not have any differences. We [TMC, NC] have no differences to set aside. All we have to do is agree where possible. We have to cooperate with each other."

TMC MP Derek O'Brien had been raising the issues related to Jammu and Kashmir in the Rajya Sabha since there was nobody to represent the state in the Upper House of Parliament, Abdullah added.

"Other parties will also have to be included. We will try to put the differences aside and put the best foot forward in the fight against the BJP in 2019," Abdullah said.

Abdullah was quick to add that the name "federal front" was given by the media and not by the opposition parties.

Speaking on the discussions he had with Banerjee, Abdullah said it centred on the prevailing situation in the country and the "fear" that was there particularly among the minority community, besides the need to put together a united front to take on the BJP in the general election.

Abdullah added that they also talked tourism. "As a chief minister, she [Banerjee] has been very concerned about the situation in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly about the economic activity and the need of reviving tourism in the Kashmir valley. Bengal has traditionally been a strong supporter of tourism in Jammu and Kashmir," the NC leader said.

"I felt it necessary to call on Mamata didi basically to discuss with her the prevailing situation in my state, because I know she has a great concern for what is happening in Jammu and Kashmir, particularly when she was the railway minister and I was in the same government at the Centre," Abdullah added.
A committee headed by retired Supreme Court justice B.N. Srikrishna on Friday submitted a report on data protection and a draft of a proposed Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018, to Union Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad.

The committee was constituted by the Narendra Modi government in July last year to deliberate on a data protection framework law.

Prasad said the draft Personal Data Protection Bill, submitted by the Justice Srikrishna Committee, will be a milestone in the larger narrative of digital development.

While addressing a press conference, Prasad said, "India proactively took a bold step on the issue of net neutrality and firmly upheld that right of internet access is not negotiable. Today's report of the Justice Srikrishna Committee will be a milestone in the larger narrative of digital development."

Prasad further said the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018 should be a blend of security, safety, privacy and innovation and a model for the whole world.

"The Centre will take stakeholder comments along with taking cabinet approval before finalising the legislation. Being a very monumental law, the government will like to have the widest parliamentary consultation possible," Prasad added.

On the other hand, justice Srikrishna said the interests of the citizens and the responsibilities of the state have to be protected, but not at the cost of trade and industry.

"We held meetings with stakeholders at major IT hubs of India. We also put out a white paper on the subject after looking at the laws world over and raising a number of issues. We discussed all these issues and prepared this report," Srikrishna added.

Justice Srikrishna further said the draft Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018, has been prepared through an open process where the members of the committee consulted all stakeholders.

He also highlighted the need for efforts to protect privacy as it is an intrinsic part of the right to life and personal liberty, as data is not a matter of property, but a matter of trust.

"We leave our footprint everywhere, we leave our data everywhere. Somebody is making money out of it. So let's control it and make sure that the country is empowered and the citizen is empowered. We have dealt with the issue of consent. We have gone into the extent to which the state can intrude into the privacy of citizens. We have also looked into concepts like the right to recall data and data portability," Srikrishna said.

Justice Srikrishna noted that a threefold approach was taken with regards to the location where data should be stored.

"In this report, we have left it to the sectoral regulator to identify the critical data relating to their respective sectors," Srikrishna added.

While industry groups welcomed the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018, privacy rights activists voiced concerns over some of its provisions.

In its reaction on the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018, the Save Our Privacy initiative argued the draft bill had several exceptions to the processing of data by the government and alleged this was an attempt to dilute the rights of citizens. It also pointed the Personal Data Protection Bill, 2018 did not devote attention to need to reform surveillance laws in India.
Illustration: Bhaskaran

Yasar Moideen of Malappuram in Kerala has boyish looks and a charming smile. Yet, for the past two years, the affable 31-year-old has been leading a somewhat friendless life. In June 2016, some of his friends left India on what he describes as hijraha religious journey to a land where they could do more good, and sin less. The leader of the emigres, a group comprising 21 Malayalis, was Yasars best friend, Abdul Rashid Abdullah. Their destination: the caliphate established by the Islamic State in parts of Iraq and Syria.

Rashid was a learned man. We used to speak for hours on various subjects. Which is why, when he left the country and the police went through his call records, my number figured high on the list. Yasar Moideen If we do something for someone, it creates trust, security and stability. Imagine an entire city doing that. It will not only reduce crime, but will also mean a decrease in violent extremism. Tom Tait, Anaheim mayor Developing national strategies is the key to countering violent forms of extremism. Maqsoud Kruse, executive director, Hedayah, The International Center of Excellence for Countering Violent Extremism, Abu Dhabi The criticism against counter-radicalisation is that it is largely tagged as an initiative to counter radical Islamism alone. mainstream Muslims perceive this as being discriminatory.

Rashid is now believed to be in Afghanistan, somewhere in the region that IS calls Khorasan province. He is now one of Indias most wanted menthe National Investigation Agency says he masterminded the recruitment of vulnerable Muslim youth to fight the war for IS. Of the 20 Malayalis shepherded by Rashid to Syria and Iraq, at least one has been confirmed killed in battle. The whereabouts of the others, including that of Rashid, remain unknown.

Yasar, however, is in denial. He draws a parallel between Rashids journey and the First Hijrain which Prophet Muhammads followers fled from persecution in Mecca and sought refuge in the kingdom of Aksum, or modern-day Ethiopia, in the seventh century. There was no Islamic State then, said Yasar. In fact, Ethiopia was Christian-dominated. But, since Meccans were cruel, Muslims went there. Later, when Islamic rule was established in Medina, they all returned.

As per Islam, he believes, his friends did no wrong by leaving India, as they were only trying to protect themselves from sins, and gain spiritual rewards. All [of the 21] were extremely good and peaceful citizens, said Yasar, who has a masters degree in psychology and is fluent in English. You can ask anyone here how much they were loved, especially Rashid, my best friend.

He first met Rashid six years ago, when he joined Peace Education Foundation in Malappuram as an English trainer. Rashid was a teacher there. He was a learned man, Yasar said. We used to speak for hours on various subjects. Which is why, when he left the country and the police went through his call records, my number figured high on the list.

Since he has not broken any law, Yasar has neither been arrested nor has any case been registered against him. He is, however, under the watch of multiple security agenciesthe NIA, the Intelligence Bureau and state intelligence agencies, who have all questioned him for information regarding his emigrant friends. The occasional visits by the police apart, Yasar mostly leads a quiet life, working at Peace School in Malappuram and taking care of his three children.

A new chapter: Yasar Moideen, a 31-year-old English trainer in Malappuram, is a participant in the de-radicalisation programme.

If I can make a positive difference to the life of a single person, I hope to be rewarded in afterlife, said Yasar, when asked why he did not join IS. At Peace School, he is focused on helping children learn technology and embrace modernity, the Islamic way.

Yasar is a participant in Indias first counter-radicalisation programme, which attempts to wean radicalised youth off IS propaganda and let them live a normal life. Like him, there are hundreds of young men and women in states like Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi who are taking part in the programme, which aims at liberating vulnerable youth from the ideological moorings that could drive them to break the law and put lives in danger.

At the heart of the counter-radicalisation programme is the understanding that the war on terror is fought not just on battlefields, but inside human minds as well. Rashid is suspected to have been killed in a drone strike last year, which Yasar feels could take his friend to jannat, or heaven. The actual life of a person begins after death, said Yasar. The belief is that the best end one could meet is to be killed in battle, in the path of Allah.

Drones cannot kill the dogmas of faith. And that is why the governments counter-radicalisation programme becomes all the more relevant. The strategy began taking shape after 2015, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed former IB chief Syed Asif Ibrahim as special envoy for counter-terrorism and extremism at the National Security Council secretariat. The idea was to develop a counter-radicalisation programme on the lines of what was being implemented in countries like Saudi Arabia and United Kingdom (see graphics). In 2017, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh set up the Counter-Terrorism and Counter-Radicalisation Division (CT-CR), the first-of-its-kind initiative to help state governments, security agencies and communities in preventing young people from embracing extremism.

An integral part of the counter-radicalisation strategy is to mould a counter-narrative that would help in defusing the social media tactics of extremists. With the help of Islamic organisations and religious leaders, efforts are on to ensure that religious texts and teachings are not misinterpreted. A key aspect of this is to reinforce the syncretic nature of Islam in India, which has been influenced by varied cultures and beliefs.

Radical outfits like IS, Al Qaeda and the Lashkar-e-Taiba subscribe to Al-Wala Wal Bara ideologywhich advocates loving those who follow Allah and hating those who do not. Indias counter to this is the Sufi concept of Wahdat al-Wajud, or the unity of being. Its essence is that if you love the creator, then you love all his manifestations. Today, thanks to the counter-radicalisation programme, this message is being spread through websites and sermons, and discussed at madrassas and community gatherings.

Happier times: Yasar with his best friend, Abdul Rashid Abdullah, before the latter left Kerala to join IS in 2016.

Loknath Behera, Keralas director-general of police, said a robust policy is being implemented to prevent people from being misled in the name of religion. This is being done by energising the community, involving families, religious leaders, teachers and the youth under the social policing scheme to reinforce the secular fabric, he said. Our aim is to build strong minds which do not fall prey to any propaganda. The results have been positive and we are constantly building on our efforts.

In Kerala alone, the spread of the programme is huge. Maulvis in Kannur, Kozhikode, Wayanad, Malappuram and Kasaragod districts are coordinating with superintendents of police to dispel doubts and misbeliefs about Islamic tenets. In Kozhikode, Islamic scholars and activists have joined hands with their network. Senior citizens are being roped in to share their experiences and words of wisdom with vulnerable youth.

The police are also focusing on rehabilitating young people who have been jailed, and have upgraded their cyber policing capabilities. Parents who notice their children indulging in suspicious online activities are also becoming part of the programme. The efforts are both preventive and curative in nature, said Behera.

According to the Anti-Terrorism Squad in Maharashtra, 114 youth, including 10 women, have been de-radicalised in the past two years. The eldest among them is 28 years old, while the youngest is 16. The social background of these youth contradict the conventional notion that it is madrassas that churn out terroriststhey hail from middle- and upper middle-class families, and have studied at secular institutions. More than 25 of them are engineers or trained technical experts, while others are graduates or have completed school education. Most of these young people were radicalised through online group discussions, before some of them began attending seminars organised by radical preachers and meeting other radicalised youth.

Incidents like the Dadri killing, lynchings and beef ban are being projected by radical preachers as a conspiracy against Islam, and the youth are being galvanised to fight back, said a counter-terror official. A lot of radicalisation activity has been traced to the dark web. NIA spokesperson Alok Mittal said the enormity of the radicalisation threat demands that society participate in counter-radicalisation efforts.

Messenger of peace: Tom Tait, mayor of Anaheim in California, during his visit to Mahim Dargah in Mumbai as part of the Strong Cities Network initiative.

Rehana, 25, is a trained aircraft maintenance technician who is employed with a reputed airline in Mumbai. Two years ago, she came under the radar of the Maharashtra ATS, after she converted to Islam and began taking to IS propaganda. Educated abroad, Rehana had been in a state of mental agony after her marriage broke down. She had turned to Islam for solace, and had friends working at Islamic Research Foundation, founded by the controversial preacher Zakir Naik. For security agencies, the fact that Rehana was working in the airline industry was a cause for concern.

She is now part of the counter-radicalisation programme. I am happy that my identity has been kept confidential, which has helped me keep my job, she said. The ATS ensured that there are only minimum disturbances in my day-to-day life. I think I am more balanced in my outlook towards life today, and I owe it to my parents support.

Shariq, a 21-year-old engineering student in Mumbai, would have gone to Syria last year, if not for the intervention of Maharashtra ATS. With his father working in the Persian Gulf, Shariq was under the guardianship of his uncle, and had been sharing an apartment with his friends. From online chat groups, he was drawn to platforms that had discussions about ISs declaration of the caliphate. He started spending time reading about the terror outfit, and slowly began wanting to join the caliphate.

One day, his uncle got a call from the ATS. I had no idea what Shariq was up to, said Ajmal, the 50-year-old uncle. I am relieved that his cyber activities were noticed at the right time. After all, it was my responsibility to take care of the boy. Now, every time Shariq goes out of Mumbai, he reports his movements to his case officer.

A few months ago, the Maharashtra ATS rescued another engineering student. Nadeem, 24, who was studying in Pune, had been radicalised through social media. Under the ATSs watch, he was counselled into dropping his plans to go to Syria. The ATS also helped his younger sisters to enrol at a rural self-employment training institute. Earlier, I was the sole breadwinner of my family. Now, there are three of us, said a happy Nadeem.

Combating terror: A counter-radicalisation session in progress at Nadapuram, Kerala.

Complementing the efforts of state governments and security agencies are the contributions being made by religious institutions. Mahim Dargah in Mumbai, for instance, has long been at the forefront of counter-terror initiatives. In February, it invited two mayors from the USTom Tait of Anaheim in California and Greg Fischer of Louisville in Kentuckyfor an event spearheaded by the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), which develops and implements counter-extremism programmes globally.

The ISD is leading an initiative called the Strong Cities Network, launched at the United Nations General Assembly in September 2015. According to the SCN website, it is the first-ever global network of mayors, municipal-level policymakers and practitioners united in building social cohesion and community resilience to counter violent extremism in all its forms. Mumbai, Peshawar, Oslo, Los Angeles, Dhaka and Paris are some of the cities in this network. The visit of the American mayors to Mahim Dargah was part of the networking efforts.

Suhail Khandwani, who oversees the functioning of the dargah and is managing trustee of Pir Makhdum Saheb Charitable Trust, said Mahims was the first ISO-certified dargah. It has considerable social media influence, thanks to its Facebook and Twitter accounts and a mobile app that helps the faithful listen to muftis interpreting the tenets of Islam and legal experts explaining the laws of the land. Fanaticism is never limited to a particular religion, said Khandwani. But, when religious platforms are used for political stunts, it polarises society and gives rise to the problem of radicalisation.

Tom Tait, the Anaheim mayor, talked about his brainchildan initiative called Hi Neighbour, which encourages neighbours in his city to get to know each other through acts of kindness, thereby helping build a stronger, more resilient community. If a city has a culture of kindness, there will be less chance of people doing extreme acts, Tait told THE WEEK. If we do something for someone, it creates trust, security and stability. Now, imagine an entire city doing that. It will not only reduce crime, addiction, bullying in schools and neglect of senior citizens, it will also mean a decrease in violent extremism.

At the dargah, the US delegation met with representatives of various religions. It is important that all communities find reasons to live together and build relations. We celebrate festivals, share spiritual and life experiences and encourage communities to help each other, said Fr S.M. Michael, secretary of the Bombay Archdiocesan Commission for Inter-Religious Dialogue.

In good faith: Suhail Khandwani (left) of Mahim Dargah says fanaticism is not limited to a particular religion.

Sister Anjali of Brahma Kumaris said we could transform the world only through transforming ourselves. Dr Zahir I. Qazi, president of the Mumbai-based Anjuman-I-Islam, said focusing on the education of have-nots played a key role in countering extremism. Out of 1,00,035 students enrolled [at institutions run by Anjuman-I-Islam], 60 per cent are from slums, he said.

Sabir Jamal Sayed, director of information technology at Mahim Dargah, said the dargah was organising workshops to help madrassa students use social media in an empowering way. We teach them to develop counter-narratives and handle hate speech, he said. The aim is clear: To prevent online spaces from being turned into recruiting grounds for violent extremism.

But, like all laudable efforts, the counter-radicalisation programme also has its share of challenges. It has been unable to quell the fear of the other in peoples minds, and to prevent them from stereotyping and stigmatising certain groups. A case in point is the situation at Athikkad colony, a few kilometres away from the heart of Malappuram in Kerala. A serene residential area surrounded by teak forests, it is home to followers of Dammaj Salafism, a branch of Salafism noted for its ultra-conservative tenets.

The Dammaj Salafis here comprise around 15 families that moved in together several years ago, so as to practise their faith and create a homogenous community. They rear goats for a living, and seldom step outside the colony. In 2016, when 21 Malayalis left for Syria and Iraq, this colony drew global attention for its extreme ideology and suspected links to IS. The fear, apparently, persistseven the postman does not venture into the colony.

Today, there are only 10 Dammaj Salafi families in Athikkad. Shihab, a member of the community, was initially reluctant to speak to menot because he was radicalised, he said, but because he was not allowed to look at any woman other than his wife. Later, he reluctantly agreed, but took care to look away when he talked. We do not support the IS ideology, he said. Just because we wear clothes differently or grow our beards long does not mean we are radicalised. We are Indians, and we believe in peace and harmony. I only want the freedom to follow my religion.

Maqsoud Kruse

A.T. Mujeeb, who lives near the area but is not a Dammaj Salafi, says he has never noticed any suspicious activity in the colony. It is partially true that they follow extreme ideas, he said. Initially, some did not cast their votes and children went to a school inside the colony. No outsiders were allowed in. People started calling it the Taliban colony.

Removing the stigma remains a challenge. Counter-radicalisation efforts also have to grapple with the problem of distinguishing radicals from deeply religious people. Notably, the most number of fatwas against terrorism have been issued by Indian ulemas. Even the Jamiat Ahle Hadith, seen as the ideological underpinning behind violent jihadism across the world, has issued a fatwa against terrorism in this country, said the Delhi-based Islamic scholar Ghulam Rasool Dehlvi.

In June this year, security agencies went into a tizzy after 11 Malayalis were reported missing from Dubai since June 15. They feared that the group, which included children as well, had followed in the footsteps of the missing 21 persons from Kerala. The fears, however, have now been allayed. The 11 missing persons have been traced, said K.G. Simon, superintendent of police in Kasaragod district in Kerala. They are in Yemen, where they are pursuing religious studies. All are safe and we have not found anything anti-national or unlawful in their activities. These people have also assured us that they will return once their studies are complete.

Religious centres in Yemen, which has turned into a hub of Islamic studies, deny any links with Al Qaeda and IS. They say that their focus is on counteracting the misinterpretation of Islam. Apparently, Yemen does not treat those who come to study Islam from abroad as foreigners. Any Muslim who goes there and studies Islam is considered to be at home. The 11 persons have told us that they are willingly pursuing religious studies there, said Simon. They are happy and want to be free to pursue their studies further.

The NIA, however, is keeping a close watch on their activities, even though it has ruled out any links between them and the 21 who went missing earlier. So far, there is no evidence to prove that they were in touch [with the 21] or that they have any common link, said a senior police officer.

Security agencies insist that the counter-radicalisation initiative is based on the precept that religion does not radicalise people; instead, it is people who radicalise religion. Still, the criticism against counter-radicalisation is that it is largely tagged as an initiative to counter radical Islamism alone. Many Muslims who are part of the mainstream perceive this as being discriminatory. I have a problem with the de-radicalisation programme, said Harris, a Mumbaikar who is aware of the governments new initiative. Why do we always discriminate against the minority community? The mindset [in battling extremism] needs to change before we alienate an entire community.

The sentiments within the Muslim community, however, largely reflect cautious optimism. Javed, who runs the anti-IS portal Jahankainsaaf.com, said the counterterrorism initiative is a step in the right direction, but suggested that it should not be tagged with a particular religion alone. All we need to do, he said, is to create an enabling atmosphere that rejects all forms of extremism.

Some names have been changed to protect identities.
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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 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.
Wall Street analysts have given iShares MSCI Emerging Markets 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 Emerging Markets ETF wasn't one of them. MarketBeat thinks these five companies may be even better buys.

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Four candidates vie for two spots on the November general election ballot

(This profile was compiled by staff reporter Paul Delaney)

The race for 6th District Representative Position 2 on the upcoming Aug. 7 primary will eventually replace Jeff Holy who is seeking the districts Senate seat. .

While the 6th District is vast and stretches across a large chunk of Spokane County, one of its biggest geographical areas rests in the West Plains.

Since there are four candidates seeking this office the Cheney Free Press is publishing a preview for voters to learn more about candidates and issues relative to the area.

Each candidate was asked to answer the same two questions, plus what was called a wild-card issue of their choice. Some answers may have been edited for brevity and/or Associated Press style. Candidates are featured in alphabetical order.

John W. Aiken Jr

(Prefers Republican Party)

See further information at: http://www.JWAiken.org

1. If elected, what are your top-3 priorities in Olympia?

I want to define what is a basic education that takes 60 percent of our states budget for as defined in 1889 and what is to adequately fund means.

I am against any new income, food, business or whatever tax government comes up with and seek cuts in government in duplication.

I want to seek ways to make affordable housing available in Washington state when industry will not do it to maximize rental by shortages of housing.

2. What do you see as the challenges on the West Plains?

Industrial pollution has become a costly cleanup problem that need to be monitored. I also am interested in the Hirst Decision on water rights and will protect farmers and rural property owners rights. Poor growth management makes property owners pay again and again to upgrade services, which is unfair and then to be taxed out of their own property at the end. There needs to be fair and not selective taxes.

3. Wild card response.

I have lived in the West Plains area since 1967. I graduated from Medical Lake High School and Eastern Washington University. I worked and owned small businesses in the West Plains area. I am a scientist by degree and worked in local government civil engineering for almost 30 years in construction management and inspecting. I bring a lot of knowledge and experience with me being a product of the West Plains area that other candidates cannot claim.

Rion Ametu

(Prefers Democratic Party)

See further information at: rionametuforthepeople@gmail.com

1. If elected, what are your top-3 priorities in Olympia?

In Olympia, my priorities will be fighting for workers rights, healthcare and education. As your representative, I will advocate for fair economic policies that serve working families, creating a livable minimum wage and closing tax loopholes that only exist to benefit the wealthiest among us.

I plan to explore innovative ways to bring more affordable healthcare to our community; its time we elect legislators who believe healthcare is a human right, not a privilege. I intend to work with fellow legislators to make high-quality education available to all families from pre-K to college.

2. What do you see as the challenges on the West Plains?

I believe two of the biggest issues facing voters of our district are the current housing crisis and wage and income disparities. All over the 6th District and Spokane County, we have seen rent hikes driving hard-working citizens out of their homes. When costs keep rising and wages dont, people are taken advantage of. We need people with courage and commitment to working families in our local and state government.

3. Wild card response.

I believe our current legislators lack a sense of urgency to combat the problems working people face. With several years of service in the Navy, I have what it takes to work in stressful environments and take quick, decisive actions when needed; vital skills for being a legislator. I have lived, and continue to experience the struggles of the average worker. I will bring the perspective of a working-class person who has lived paycheck-to-paycheck and worked multiple jobs to make ends meet to Olympia. I have the sense of urgency necessary to fight for real solutions when elected.

Jenny Graham

(Prefers Republican Party)

See further information at: http://www.votegraham.gop

1. If elected, what are your top-3 priorities in Olympia?

Whether you are passionate about lower taxes, infrastructure issues, education, environmental issues, public safety and more, without your input during hearings, you remain unheard. I want to empower individuals to work with legislators as a team for Eastern Washington interests.

I will work with 6th District Representatives and your other locally elected officials. We will continue support for the projects that are working for the West Plains and adjust, change or stop what is not.

As a veteran and mother, I will protect families and neighborhoods as your new legislator. Mental health issues and how best to provide help and or support is something we must make a priority.

2. What do you see as the challenges on the West Plains?

First is growth. The West Plains is experiencing growth and will continue to grow in population, jobs, infrastructure and needs. Next is affordable housing and opportunities to increase usable water options. Finally there are well issues and contamination of water.

3. Wild Card response.

I am enthusiastically endorsed by representatives Jeff Holy and Mike Volz as an individual that will be part of a strong team for the 6th Legislative District. I am the only candidate running for the seat who has state level legislative experience passing bi-partisan law reform.

As a private citizen, working on my own time and at own expense, I worked to give victimized children a voice and seat at the legislative table previously denied. Protecting Washingtons children and community issues were important to me long before making the decision to run for office. I represented Washingtons children then and I will just as tenaciously serve the 6th District now.

Dave Wilson

(Prefers Democratic Party)

See further information at: http://www.ElectDaveWilson.com

1. If elected, what are your top-3 priorities in Olympia?

Education: Build on recent successes in funding K-12 education to ensure the education budget is sustainable in the future; provide access to pre-K for all low-income children; and make college more affordable, including vocational education and apprenticeships.

Healthcare: Work towards getting basic coverage for all and improve access and affordbility. Economic Development and creating good jobs is crucial to securing a prosperous future. My priorities will include funding for infrastructure projects in the West Plains area, which will also create jobs, improve quality of life and contribute to long-term economic success of the area.

2. What do you see as the challenges on the West Plains?

The top issue is water. Cheney, Airway Heights and Medical Lake all have water issues that need to be addressed, and resolved with feasible long-term solutions.

Another challenge is infrastructure and connecting the West Plains. The Geiger Interchange will help as will the paving of State Route 902, making Highway 904 to Cheney into four lanes is a priority, as is additional bus service. We need to stay ahead of the growth curve in the West Plains area to ensure safe and ample transportation solutions.

With the coming of Amazon, affordable housing will also be important.

3. Wild Card response.

As a representative I will hold myself to the highest standards of accountability. I will be visible, accessible and responsive. I will listen to constituents and work hard on the issues important to our community. My interest is in representing people and families, not a party or political ideology. My approach to solving problems is to listen, do my homework and build relationships  this includes working in a bi-partisan fashion. I am focused on the future, including education at every level; accessible, affordable health care for everyone, and I will promote solutions that help our economy grow, create good paying jobs and help the West Plains prosper.
Bethlehem Police

Bethlehem Police said they have located Frederick Fuhrman, 34, who was last seen Monday in Delmar.

He was found at 6 p.m. Friday walking in the town of Bethlehem and taken to a hospital for a medical evaluation.
Four teenagers were arrested for underage drinking Saturday when police responded to a complaint about a "loud party."

Deputies arrived at the party on Royal Court around 1:22 a.m. and found four people  two 18-year-olds and a 17-year-old from Mechanicville and one 18-year-old from Stillwater  with alcohol. Each was charged with unlawful possession of an alcoholic beverage with the intent to consume by persons under 21, police said.
Colonie

The more than 300 people aboard a Norwegian Air jet that was diverted to Albany International Airport because of the winter storm Thursday cleared customs and immigration at Albany Thursday afternoon and then boarded buses that would take them to New York City's Kennedy International Airport, the flight's intended destination.

Airport spokesman Doug Myers said buses would leave the Albany airport by Thursday evening with the passengers. The plane, with 304 passengers and 12 crew members, landed at Albany at 10:17 a.m.

The crew operating the aircraft had "timed out" by mid-day Thursday, and a replacement crew wasn't immediately available. The plane, a Boeing 787 Dreamliner with an oversize portrait of the late Danish-American comedian and pianist Victor Borge on its tailfin, was expected to spend the night at Albany.

Passengers who checked their baggage will have to wait until the plane arrives at JFK. Luggage aboard the wide-body 787 is placed in containers that are then loaded into the jet's belly. Albany doesn't have the equipment to unload those containers.

The airport has handled diversions of larger aircraft, including a Boeing 777 from Beijing, Myers said. But those diversions typically have occurred during warmer weather, and the planes have been able to complete their journeys after the storms cleared.

The airport on Thursday also had another diversion, American Airlines Flight 18 from San Francisco, also bound for JFK.

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The Albany airport continued operating throughout the storm. Airports up and down the East Coast are dealing with high winds, blowing and drifting snow, and in some cases blizzard conditions. Earlier Thursday, New York City was in a state of emergency. But conditions were expected to improve by the evening, allowing the buses to make the trip.

Norwegian Air offers service to Europe from Stewart International Airport in Newburgh, but doesn't serve Albany.

This is believed to be the first 787 Dreamliner to land at Albany, as well as the first Norwegian Air flight.

The airline has highlighted famous Scandinavians on the tail fins of its aircraft. "It felt only natural for us to adorn the tails of our aircraft with personalities who have pushed the boundaries, challenged the established and inspired others," the carrier explained.
ALBANY  One of the federal criminal charges filed against NXIVM operations director Clare Bronfman includes an allegation that she hacked into her now-deceased father's computer between 2005 and 2008, according to records filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn.

The disclosure was made in a 22-page filing submitted to the court by Bronfman's attorney, Susan Necheles, that outlined the details of a $100 million bond that was posted to secure Bronfman's release while her criminal case is pending.

The collateral posted by Bronfman, an heiress of the Seagram Company fortune, included $25 million in cash and securities and $12 million in U.S. properties owned by Bronfman and her sister, Sara. The properties include three properties in Clifton Park and Waterford valued at $3.1 million, and a horse farm in Knox worth $1.4 million.

The surety for the bond  which was co-signed by Bronfman's mother, Georgia Webb-Bronfman, and her brother-in-law, Basit Igtet  also includes a $13 million private island in Fiji that Bronfman purchased several years ago.

The Times Union first reported in 2015 that Bronfman had been accused of conspiring with NXIVM founder Keith Raniere to secretly implant a "key logger" virus on the computer of her father, Edgar M. Bronfman Sr., who died in December 2013.

Charges against NXIVM defendants allege they 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."

Feds accuse Raniere of having sex with underage girls

Clare Bronfman, who inherited an estimated several hundred million dollars from the $2.6 billion Seagram Company fortune that her father had built, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Brooklyn on Tuesday. Her attorney said that, under federal sentencing guidelines, she would face about 37 months in prison if convicted.

Bronfman pleaded not guilty to the indictment, which charged her with running a criminal enterprise with Raniere and four other NXIVM associates: Nancy Salzman, NXIVM's co-founder and president; Salzman's daughter, Lauren; television actress Allison Mack; and Kathy Russell, NXIVM's longtime bookkeeper.

The alleged hacking of Edgar Bronfman's computer was apparently carried out so that the NXIVM associates could monitor his emails, including his exchanges with world leaders and then-U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton.

The accusations were outlined in now-sealed court records obtained by the Times Union that described how Clare Bronfman, whose father called her "Clare Bear," had allegedly emailed her father a photo of a bear in a digital file that contained a virus that would infect his computer with the keystroke logger. According to the court records, Bronfman's father declined to open the file despite her urging, so she drove to his New York City office and opened it on his computer for him, implanting the virus.

The allegations were attributed to Kristen M. Keeffe, who was part of the inner circle that ran NXIVM before she defected from the organization several years ago with the assistance of a State Police investigator.

Keeffe's accusations, including that NXIVM officials had engaged in money laundering and kidnapping conspiracy plots, were contained in a transcript of a telephone conversation that took place earlier that year between Keeffe and Barbara J. Bouchey, a former NXIVM executive board member. Bouchey had faced computer trespassing charges that accused her and three others of illegally accessing NXIVM's website.

Bouchey's attorney filed the transcript of the conversation to demonstrate for the judge presiding over the computer trespassing case that NXIVM's top officials, including Bronfman, were willing to engage in criminal activities.

The charges against Bouchey and two others were later dismissed after their attorneys raised questions about whether NXIVM had secretly moved its computer servers to Albany after the alleged computer trespassing had taken place.

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The documents filed in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn by Bronfman's attorney this week noted that none of the three crimes she faces  two counts of identity theft and one count of money laundering  "involved even the slightest hint of violence and most occurred approximately a decade ago."

Indeed, by charging the six defendants with racketeering and running a criminal enterprise, federal prosecutors are able to include criminal allegations that may have otherwise been outside any statute of limitations.

In early court filings in the case, federal prosecutors have cast Bronfman as a witting co-conspirator of Raniere's who allegedly helped compile detailed lists of their enemies, including email addresses and phone numbers. They also described how Bronfman used her enormous wealth to fund litigation that was used as a weapon to punish and torment their perceived enemies, including journalists and defectors.

The underlying alleged crimes in the full indictment include money laundering, identity theft, forced labor, sex trafficking and wire fraud.

"Bronfman's efforts to target and silence critics of Raniere is particularly concerning in light of the broader pattern of harassment, coercion and abusive litigation that is described as one of the means and methods of the conspirators in the superseding indictment," assistant U.S. Attorney Moira Kim Penza wrote in a memo requesting high bond and home confinement for Bronfman and her co-defendants.

The federal judge in the case agreed to the restrictions requested by prosecutors.

Raniere was arrested in Mexico in March and has remained in custody without bond. His co-defendants all have been released on conditions that include high bonds and home confinement.

Other allegations that had been raised against Bronfman in the Albany County case include that beginning in 2007, she and her sister, Sara, had paid a Canadian investigative firm more than $1.8 million to sift the financial records of U.S. Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., and six federal judges who had presided or were presiding over litigation involving NXIVM.

The court records indicated the NXIVM officials also used the Canadian firm to try and obtain financial information on Edgar Bronfman and other officials with the Jewish World Congress, which he headed from 1981 to 2007.
Its hard to do a helicopter sequence thats interesting, Eastwood says. We thought, how do we stay with the characters so its not just two helicopters in this massive canyon and its boring? Its all Tom flying, 100% of it. Theres a lot of jeopardy  were flying in close proximity to other helicopters, in close proximity to the sides of the mountain  but the way we shot it, we keep it with Tom and keep it subjective.
WATERVLIET  The city's monolithic Democratic control has cracked after it was discovered the city elections have been out of whack for more than a decade.

Thats led Councilman Charles Patricelli to go to the state Attorney General's office to charge Mayor Michael Manning and Councilman Frank McGrouty of bullying him because he doesnt always agree with them. Thats been played out against the discovery by the Albany County Board of Elections that the citys election cycle must be brought back on schedule this November.

McGrouty introduced a resolution to remove Patricelli at the July 19 council meeting, but it was dropped due to being improperly worded. That led Patricelli to act.

I am hereby requesting the NYS Attorney General protect the rights of 2,364 residents that voted me into office to serve them and not be subject to the bully-like tactics of the current council members just because I dont always agree with their opinions on matters brought before us, Patricelli wrote in his July 26 letter.

I firmly believe if they succeed in my removal till the election is resolved it is a gross injustice to the residents of Watervliet and a mockery to the judicial system, Patricelli said.

McGrouty said he has no plans to return to the issue at the councils next meeting in August but will wait to see who wins the primary.

Patricelli is facing former Councilwoman Ellen Fogarty in the September Democratic primary. Patricelli is backed by the city Democratic organization.

McGrouty wont discuss why he brought up the removal motion. But, Patricelli had declined to vote to sit McGrouty in the council seat vacated by former Councilman Nick Foglia after he resigned.

The citys election cycle for its two councilmen got of whack when instead of holding elections for a remainder of terms, the city held elections in which the council seats were filled for a complete four-year term. The only member of the council on the right election schedule is Manning, who was elected mayor in 2007. It was filling his vacated council seat for four years instead of a partial term that led to the current problem.

Patricelli asked the county elections board to review the elections leading to the boards findings. That report came back saying Patricellis seat to which he was elected in 2016 would be considered vacant and up for election this year. Patricelli was elected to a four-year term expiring in 2020.

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Manning and McGrouty voted in June to accept a report from Democratic Elections Commissioner Matthew Clyne setting out the schedule. Patricelli voted against it as his seat would be declared vacant. That led to a measure introduced by McGourty to remove Patricelli at the councils July 19 meeting, but it wasnt correctly worded and was dropped.

Manning said accepting Clynes report was a way of ironing out the issues with the election cycle and making sure everyone understood what was taking place. Manning said he has heard from neither Patricelli nor McGrouty about another vote.

Patricelli said hes upset many people due to questioning the citys operations. The city is working with the state Financial Restructuring Board for Local Governments to bolster its strained fiscal situation. The city had to increase property taxes by 16 percent for its 2018 budget to stabilize its operations.

Patricelli said he believes another attempt will be made to remove him in August. He is rallying public support for that meeting as he campaigns for re-election.
When you ask someone where to eat in Schenectady (and now, in Troy), many people in the Capital Region will say, "You've got to go to Tara Kitchen."

Before Aneesa Waheed and her husband opened the first of their two restaurants, she worked in publishing for years, and then owned a shop selling items from India and Pakistan. Food was an add-on to that latter business.

"Publishing was great, but one thing I had been thinking of for years was being my own boss," she said.

Interviewed by Steve Barnes, Times Union senior staff writer and Table Hopping blogger, Waheed shared her story as our October Straight Talk speaker at the Hearst Media Center. Not only that, but she gave away sauces made under her Tara Kitchen brand.

Some of her pieces of advice are:

 You can teach yourself anything you want to know. The amount of information available to us in this day and age is incredible. You can learn to do anything you want. The internet has opened a whole new world of opportunities. I have no formal education in food or business. But I learned how to create and build a business by reading, researching, listening and asking questions.

 A solid idea is more important than a business plan. I think having a solid idea for your business is far more important than a business plan. Business plans are and need to be constantly evolving. Although I think it's important to have your thoughts down on paper, it's more important to be able to execute and change as need be.

 Remember to make time for yourself and find joy in the little things. Why own a business if you are not able to spend time with your family and do the things you love?

 Serve as a model employer. I would like to be the type of employer that fosters growth, team spirit and creates a fun place for people to be. I want my employees to feel excited about coming to work rather than feeling it's a chore.
ICSA tillage chairman Gavin Carberry has called for the immediate reconvening of the Tillage Forum to address the looming crisis facing the sector.

Vast quantities of spring cereals have been written off, with spring barley crops in the North East particularly badly hit. Winter crops have fared a bit better but with early ripening, the yield is right down," he said.

Mr Carberry said that, normally, we can expect each barley seed to shoot out five or six ears of barley. However, this year only one head sprung per seed due to the lack of rain.

The late cold spring followed by a harsh drought has been a real double whammy for the tillage sector.

In addition, ICSA understands there were 35,000 fewer acres of cereals sown across the country this year as opposed to last year. It stands to reason that grain yields will be way down, as will the straw we could have expected per acre.

The end result is that tillage farmers will have little or no produce to sell and theres no getting around that. Its devastating for those of us trying to earn a living from tillage farming and financial supports will need to be put in place.

"A drought for the tillage sector has the same impact a fodder shortage has on other sectors and we do not want to see a repeat of the delays we saw in implementing supports during the fodder crisis. The crisis is here and the sector needs help now," he said.

Mr Carberry also noted the impact grain and straw shortages will have on other sectors.

Drastically reduced grain yields will result in higher feed prices for beef farmers. There is also no guarantee that we will be able to import straw from the UK this year to cover shortages as they too are in the same boat," he said.

Meanwhile, ICSA rural development chairman Seamus Sherlock has called on Irish Water not to use the current dry weather as an excuse to force a pipeline across Irish farmland for its 1.3bn Shannon pipe project to bring 330 million litres of water to Dublin daily from the River Shannon at Parteen Basin

Water restrictions are in place because of leaks in the current infrastructure. There is no justification for anything other than fixing those leaks and certainly no valid case for jeopardising the livelihoods of the estimated 500 farmers along the proposed route," he said.

Mr Sherlock said that it made sense to fix the current problems with the pipe network and then reassess the situation. Only then will we have certainty around future water requirements and alternatives to building a cross country pipeline costing over 1bn can be considered.

"What makes no sense is to pipe water half way across the country for it to leak back into the groundwater through faulty pipes," he said.
Tipperary County Council is prepared to look at fine tuning parking arrangements in Nenagh but will not agree to any suspension of charges, local councillors have been told.

There were heated exchanges at the July meeting of Nenagh Municipal District Council after Cllr John Carroll called for the suspension of parking charges in the town to help local businesses survive.

However, he was told by district administrator Rosemary Joyce, on behalf of the council, that parking charges were levied on a statutory basis and it was not within the powers of the municipal district council to waiver the charges.

"It would have a negative impact and people would park anywhere and for a long time," she said.

She said the best way for people to help Nenagh businesses was to shop local.

Cllr Carroll, proposing his motion, said that a number of businesses in Nenagh were under pressure.

"Businesses are struggling and I want to do everything I can to keep vitality in our towns and villages," he said.

Supporting Cllr Carroll's call, Cllr Hughie McGrath said that the council needed to look at offering the same attractions as retail outlets on the outskirts of Nenagh, where, he said, people could relax when they drive into them.

"Maybe we can reconfigure parking with a half-hour free. We need to take a different view, speak to the Chamber of Commerce and come up with a parking plan that suits the town," he said.

Cllr Seamus Morris agreed something had to be done, saying businesses had had a "fairly horrific time".

He told the council executive that when they were were looking for money they needed to think of the consequences and avoid driving people out of town.

"We will have nothing left in the town centre if we do nothing," he warned, pointing out that using free parking as an excuse for traffic management didn't hold up as there were never any traffic jams at the town's retail centres.

"The plan must not be to use people coming into town as revenue," said Cllr Morris.

A clearly agitated Cllr Phyl Bugler said that a strong Ballina needed a strong Nenagh and that people could drive from Ballina to Limerick in 10 minutes.

Calling for an increase in the amount of time people can park in Nenagh, she urged that the council bring back disc parking whereby people could buy a number of tickets in a booklet.

"What can you do in one hour?" she asked. "We need to be realistic."

However, district manager Marcus O'Connor stated that he wanted to "kill the myth" that the council made money out of parking.

"Pay parking ensures that there is a turn over in spaces. If you have free parking, you may as well have no parking," he said.

"Disc parking is going back to the Stone Age. We have eparking and more and more people are using that. Pay and display and apps is the way to go," he said.

But Cllr Bugler replied: "People know nothing about apps. Give them a God damn book of tickets, not a God damn app. I can park in Limerick when ever I God damn want. It's the elderly people who need to be near the shops."

Mr O'Connor told Cllr Bugler her argument "doesn't make sense".

However, he took the point about fine tuning the system.

Cllr Carroll asked that the matter be discussed with Nenagh businesses ahead of the next council budget.
The third - "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" - might seem to follow a traditional formula for sequel titles, but the fourth is nearly the same title as the first, only it dropped the article "the" and transformed its "and" into an ampersand. Surely there's a team of mathematicians working around the clock trying to decipher whatever algorithms created these. But what's important is that the words "Fast" or "Furious" - which might catch the eye of someone scrolling through Facebook - always appear.
Feile and music are once again on the national agenda and this August Bank Holiday weekend the fourth instalment of the Beag version takes place. Amazingly its now a precursor to what initially was a pipe dream of having Feile back in Thurles.

But putting life back into one of the most successful brands of a generation didnt just happen last April when Classical tickets sold out.

The brain child of David OSullivan and Melvin Brennan, the Feile Beag festival and online presence has given thousands a place to meet, share and reminisce about what was a cultural change not just for those who made Thurles their home for one weekend but for the nation.

So deep was the mark left on the people of Thurles that the dream of turning Feile Beag into Feile mor was annually discussed. But the logistics for volunteers were just too much so the idea would have to remain a dream.

However back in January contact was made by CWB management group with Melvin and David as plans for Feile Classical were shared. CWB showed a lot of respect in bringing the lads on board from initial broad discussions to being part of the official launching of Feile Classical.

So Feile Beag 18 will be a celebration for all with the bulk of our bands from Tipperary.

There are however a few exceptional exceptions, and probably one of the biggest bands to play Feile Beag will headline on Saturday night as The Service bring their 2Tone, Ska, Rocksteady sound to Thurles. Formed in 93 this group know all too well the effect Feile had on Ireland.

On Saturday we also have the wonderfully talented Lisa Loughrey from Kildare.

Back again on the Sunday night after a brilliant set last year Vagabonds & Thieves will have the crowd hopping.

Recently signed to a UK label, Jester headline Sunday night. These are exciting times for the boys who continue their labour of love and no doubt theyll be delighted to close their home town festival.

The very busy U-Turn will also bring their sharp stadium sound to Hickeys once again.

Later on Saturday the always energetic Bright Falls who make a move up the roster after a very engaging show last year. The energy Eddie Mc brings is exactly what Beag is about giving locals acts a platform to entertain.

Liberty Sessions will open the festival displaying their outrageous talents swapping instruments without fuss.

Other Saturday acts include Junkyard who will bring something new to the show with their rock, grunge, blues and Punk infused sound. Playing more anthems will be locals Minus One who have graced Beag stages before. Tom Lyons is integral to music in Thurles and will bring his folk pop sound to Saturday evening.

On Sunday we have Richie Ryan Bishop on stage to open day two. Richie will be buzzing to bring his blues/ rock/ folk inspired vintage to you. Hot on his heels will be Locklin another busy songwriter with new music just off the press.

Later on we will join Mister Wells who will no doubt be casting a spell on all who hear them. This is no small production and the brilliant five piece band have been hard at work after a change to the line-up. After Mister Wells will be Plush who will play a best of MTVs un-plugged hits along with other 80s and 90s classics.

Feile Beag takes place in Hickey's Pub, Thurles on August 4-5. Entry is 12 for a day pass and 20 for weekend wristband. All money raised will go towards CAMEO Care which has received over 10,000 from Feile Beag fans to date.

Line up Saturday: The Service / Bright Falls / Lisa Loughrey Music / Tom Lyons / Minus One / Junkyard Thurles / Sam Rappaport + 5 Day / Liberty Sessions

Sunday: Jester / Vagabonds and Thieves / Plush / Mister Wells / Seskin Lane / Larry O'Sullivan/ U-Turn / Scene Of The Rhyme / Locklin / James McGrath / Richie Bishop
[July 27, 2018] Health Net Provides Assistance to Ferguson Fire Evacuees in Mariposa County

Health Net of California, Inc., one of California's largest health care service plans, announced today that it is providing assistance to members who are residents of Mariposa County and affected by the Ferguson Fire. Health Net is helping ensure that plan members who have lost their homes or have been evacuated due to current wildfire activity in Mariposa County have access to essential prescription medications, critical Health Net information, and other healthcare services to help them cope with grief, loss, stress or trauma. On July 27, 2018, Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in Mariposa County due to the effects of the Ferguson Fire, which has destroyed homes and structures, threatened critical infrastructure and caused the evacuation of residents. Prescription Information Health Net will approve any essential prescription medications (with current copayments and deductibles) for any Health Net member in Ferguson County whose medicine was lost in a fire or remained behind during an evacuation. To obtain an emergency supply, affected membes need to return to the pharmacy where the original prescription was filled. If the pharmacy is not open due to the state of emergency, or for questions or assistance, Health Net members should call 1-800-400-8987.



Coping Assistance Health Net members who have lost their homes or have been evacuated due to the current wildfire should contact MHN, Health Net's behavioral health subsidiary, for referrals to mental health counselors, local resources or telephonic consultations to help them cope with stress, grief, loss or other trauma resulting from the fire. For the duration of the fire and its immediate aftermath, affected Health Net members should contact MHN 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 1-800-227-1060.

Information for Healthcare Providers Health Net is taking steps to help ensure that healthcare providers in areas affected by the wildfire are able to continue providing for Health Net members' medical needs. Healthcare providers who contract with Health Net should call 1-800-641-7761 for guidance on prescription refill guidelines, length of time to obtain authorizations for treatment, or approval for out-of-network services in the event a contracting provider or facility becomes unavailable. Other Important Information Depending on how the fire situation progresses, Health Net may make additional changes to its policies as needed to help ensure members have access to necessary healthcare services. About Health Net Health Net of California, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Health Net, Inc. and Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC), provides and administers health benefits through group, individual, Medicare (including the Medicare prescription drug benefit commonly referred to as "Part D"), Medi-Cal and dual eligible programs. Health Net also offers access to behavioral health, substance abuse and employee assistance programs, and managed healthcare services related to prescription drugs. For more information on Health Net, please visit the company's website at HealthNet.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180727005608/en/

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[July 27, 2018] LGL Continues the Evaluation of a Non-Binding Acquisition Proposal; Announces Pending Expiration of Its Warrants August 6, 2018

The LGL Group, Inc. (NYSE American: LGL) (the "Company"), a globally diversified holding company with a history of operations dating back to 1914, today announces that management and its board of directors ("Board") continue the evaluation of a non-binding proposal from an investment group to acquire for cash the assets of its two principal operating subsidiaries, M-tron Industries, Inc. ("Mtron") and Precise Time and Frequency, LLC ("PTF," and together with Mtron, "MtronPTF"). The Board, in consultation with its legal and financial advisors, is carefully reviewing and evaluating the proposal. The Company cautions shareholders and others considering trading in the Company's securities that while the proposal submitted by the investment group is actively under consideration by the Board, no decisions have yet been made by the Board with respect to the proposal. There can be no assurance as to whether a definitive agreement will be executed, the terms thereof, or that any transaction governed thereby will be approved by the Board, consummated, or if consummated, as to the timing thereof. If a definitive agreement with respect to the proposed purchase of the Company's MtronPTF assets is executed and consummated, the Company will have disposed of its principal operating businesses, leaving it remaining assets comprised primarily of cash and other liquid investments. The Company estimates its unaudited pro-forma net cash and investments, after closing of the proposed deal, to be approximately $32 million ($6.75 - $6.80 per share), after taxes and based on the proposed terms contained in the non-binding proposal. Our tangible book value as of Q1 2018 was approximately $5.20 per share. The Company previously reported revenues of $5.9 million for Q1 2018 versus $5.6 million for Q1 2017 and ended Q1 2018 with order backlog of $13.3 million versus $10.9 million at the end of Q1 2017. Executive Chairman and CEO, Michael J. Ferrantino, Sr., stated "our results confirm that the strategy we put in place just over three years ago is working, with increases in new orders and strong backlog leading to the improvement in shipments." If a deal is ultimately concluded, the Company's Board may decide to pursue other strategic alternatives with the transaction proceeds and its balance of cash and investments, which may take the form of potential business acquisitions or combination opportunities. The Company is unable to project in any manner the course of action to be pursued in such circumstances and whether such opportunities will be available; even if such opportunitiesare available and successfully pursued, the Company thereafter will be subject to future risks and uncertainties associated with such opportunities which are unknown at this time.



Marc Gabelli, the Company's Non-executive Chairman, stated "We will continue to seek value creation opportunities on behalf of our shareholders, and will be judicious in our pursuit to increase shareholder value." Pending Expiration of Warrants

The Company's 12,981,025 warrants, representing the potential purchase of 519,241 common shares with a strike price of $7.50 per share, are set to expire on August 6, 2018. Information on the warrants can be found on the company's web site http://www.lglgroup.com/content/warrant-faq-0. Warrant holders should contact their representative to take appropriate corporate actions. The warrant dividend was distributed on August 6, 2013 to each holder of the Company's common stock as of the record date July 29, 2013, with each such shareholder receiving five warrants for each share of common stock owned. The warrants are "European style warrants" and will only be exercisable on the earlier of (x) their expiration date, which is August 6, 2018, and (y) such date that the 30-day volume weighted average price per share, or VWAP, of the Company's common stock is greater than or equal to $15.00. 25 warrants will entitle their holder to purchase one share of the Company's common stock at an exercise price of $7.50. The warrants were de- listed from trading on the NYSE MKT, and effective February 25, 2016, the Warrants became available for trading on the over-the-counter market under the symbol "LGLPW." About The LGL Group, Inc. The LGL Group, Inc., through its two principal subsidiaries MtronPTI and PTF, designs, manufactures and markets highly-engineered electronic components used to control the frequency or timing of signals in electronic circuits, and designs high performance frequency and time reference standards that form the basis for timing and synchronization in various applications. Headquartered in Orlando, Florida, the Company has additional design and manufacturing facilities in Yankton, South Dakota, Wakefield, Massachusetts and Noida, India, with local sales offices in Hong Kong, Sacramento, California and Austin, Texas. For more information on the Company and its products and services, contact James Tivy at The LGL Group, Inc., 2525 Shader Rd., Orlando, Florida 32804, (407) 298-2000, or visit www.lglgroup.com and www.mtronpti.com. Caution Concerning Forward Looking Statements This press release may contain forward-looking statements made in reliance upon the safe harbor provisions of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not relate solely to historical or current facts, and can be identified by the use of words such as "may," "will," "expect," "project," "estimate," "anticipate," "plan," "believe," "potential," "should," "continue" or the negative versions of those words or other comparable words. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future actions or performance. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to us and our current plans or expectations, and are subject to a number of uncertainties and risks that could significantly affect current plans, anticipated actions and our future financial condition and results. Certain of these risks and uncertainties are described in greater detail in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. We are under no obligation to (and expressly disclaim any such obligation to) update or alter our forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180727005613/en/

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[July 27, 2018] AllianzGI Convertible & Income Fund and AllianzGI Convertible & Income Fund II Announce Extension of Tender Offers for Outstanding Auction Rate Preferred Shares

Allianz Global Investors U.S. LLC ("AllianzGI U.S."), the investment manager of AllianzGI Convertible & Income Fund (NYSE: NCV) and AllianzGI Convertible & Income Fund II (NYSE: NCZ) (each, a "Fund" and, together, the "Funds"), announced the extension of each Fund's voluntary tender offer for its outstanding auction rate preferred shares ("ARPS") (each, a "Tender Offer" and, together, the "Tender Offers"). Each Tender Offer was originally scheduled to expire at 5:00 pm New York City time on July 27, 2018. Each Tender Offer is now scheduled to expire on Tuesday, July 31, 2018, at 5:00 pm New York City time, unless subject to further extension. As previously announced in a press release issued on June 27, 2018, the Funds conducted Tender Offers for up to 100% of each Fund's outstanding ARPS, at a price equal to 94% of the ARPS' per share liquidation preference of $25,000 per share (or $23,500 per share), plus any unpaid dividends accrued through the expiration date of each Tender Offer. The Tender Offers commenced on June 28, 2018. As of the close of business on July 26, 2018, American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC ("AST"), the depositary for the Tender Offers, has advised that the ARPS tendered were as follows:







Fund Name Ticker Symbol Preferred Shares # of ARPS Tendered AllianzGI Convertible & Income Fund NCV ARPS 4,584 AllianzGI Convertible & Income Fund II NCZ ARPS 3,760

These figures do not include shares tendered through notice of guaranteed delivery. The Funds are expected to announce the final results of the Tender Offers on or about August 1, 2018. The payment of the Tender Offer proceeds will be made as soon as practicable following expiration. The Funds are negotiating alternative financing to fund the purchase of tendered shares and replace the leverage associated with the ARPS that are tendered. This announcement is not a recommendation, an offer to purchase, or a solicitation of an offer to sell the ARPS of the Funds. The Funds have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (" SEC (News - Alert) ") a tender offer statement on Schedule TO and related exhibits, including an offer to purchase, a related letter of transmittal and other related documents (the "Tender Offer Documents"). The Tender Offer Documents contain additional details about the Tender Offers. ARPS holders should read the offers to purchase and tender offer statements on Schedule TO, together with the related exhibits, as they contain important information about the Tender Offers. The Tender Offer Documents were mailed or distributed electronically to ARPS holders on July 3, 2018. These and other filed documents are available to ARPS holders free of charge on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov and the Funds' website at https://us.allianzgi.com/closedendfunds AST's affiliate, AST Funds Solutions, LLC, serves as information agent with respect to the Tender Offers. ARPS holders may obtain further information regarding the Tender Offers from the information agent by calling (877) 361-7967. About Allianz Global Investors: Allianz Global Investors is a leading active asset manager with over 700 investment professionals* in 25 offices worldwide and managing more than $630 billion in assets for individuals, families and institutions. Active is the most important word in our vocabulary. Active is how we create and share value with clients. We believe in solving, not selling, and in adding value beyond pure economic gain. We invest for the long term, employing our innovative investment expertise and global resources. Our goal is to ensure a superior experience for our clients, wherever they are based and whatever their investment needs. Active is: Allianz Global Investors Data as of March 31, 2018 (*as of December 31, 2017). Disclosures AllianzGI U.S., an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Allianz Asset Management of America L.P., serves as the Funds' investment manager and is a member of Munich-based Allianz Group. Each Fund's daily New York Stock Exchange closing market price for its common shares, net asset value per common share, as well as other information, including portfolio statistics and performance are available at https://us.allianzgi.com/closedendfunds or by calling the Funds' shareholder servicing agent at (800) 254-5197. Statements made in this release that look forward in time involve risks and uncertainties and are forward looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the adverse effect from a decline in the securities markets or a decline in a Fund's performance, a general downturn in the economy, competition from other companies, changes in government policy or regulation, inability to attract or retain key employees, inability to implement its operating strategy and/or acquisition strategy, and unforeseen costs and effects related to legal proceedings or investigations of governmental and self-regulatory organizations. This material has been distributed for informational purposes only and should not be considered as investment advice or a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180727005615/en/

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EQUITY ALERT: Rosen Law Firm Announces Investigation of Securities Claims Against Tribune Media Company - TRCO

Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces it is investigating potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Tribune Media Company (NYSE: TRCO) resulting from allegations that Tribune may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.

On July 26, 2018, after the market closed, the Wall Street Journal reported that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating whether Tribune, Sinclair Broadcast Group, Inc., and other independent television station owners had violated antitrust law by "coordinat[ing] efforts when their ad sales teams communicated with each other about their performance, potentially leading to higher rates for TV commercials[.]" On this news, Tribune's stock price fell over 1.65% to close at $33.07 per share on July 27, 2018.

Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action lawsuit to recover losses suffered by Tribune investors. If you purchased shares of Tribune please visit the firm's website at http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-1382.html to join the class action. You may also contact Phillip Kim or Zachary Halper of Rosen Law Firm toll free at 866-767-3653 or via email at pkim@rosenlegal.com or zhalper@rosenlegal.com.







Follow us for updates on LinkedIn (News - Alert) : https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter (News - Alert) : https://twitter.com/rosen_firm.

Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 3 each year since 2013.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180727005623/en/
NEWELL BRANDS SHAREHOLDER ALERT: ClaimsFiler Reminds Investors with Losses in Excess of $100,000 of Lead Plaintiff Deadline in Class Action Lawsuit Against Newell Brands Inc. - NWL

ClaimsFiler, a FREE shareholder information service, reminds investors that they have until August 20, 2018 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Newell Brands Inc. (NYSE: NWL), if they purchased the Company's shares between February 6, 2017 and January 24, 2018, inclusive (the "Class Period"). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.

Get Help

Newell investors should visit us at https://www.claimsfiler.com/cases/view-newell-brands-inc-securities-litigation or call to speak to our clam center toll-free at (844) 367-9658.







About the Lawsuit

Newell and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On January 25, 2018, Newell revealed expected 2017 core sales significantly below previous guidance partly due to ongoing retailer inventory problems and that it was considering significantly restructuring business by divesting industrial and commercial assets, which it anticipated would result in a 50% reduction in its customer base and global factory and warehouse footprint. Further, the Company disclosed the resignations of three members of its Board.

On this news, the price of Newell's shares plummeted 21% to close at $24.81 per share.

About ClaimsFiler

ClaimsFiler has a single mission: to serve as the information source to help retail investors recover their share of billions of dollars from securities class action settlements. ClaimsFiler's team of experts monitor the securities class action landscape and cull information from a variety of sources to ensure comprehensive coverage across a broad range of financial instruments.

To learn more about ClaimsFiler, visit www.claimsfiler.com.

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[July 27, 2018] METLIFE INVESTIGATION INITIATED by Former Louisiana Attorney General: Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC Investigates the Officers and Directors of MetLife Inc. - MET

Former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., Esq., a partner at the law firm of Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC ("KSF"), announces that KSF has commenced an investigation into MetLife Inc. (NYSE: MET). On December 15, 2017, the Company revealed that it failed to pay pensions for tens of thousands of beneficiaries that it had "sought to locate over time unsuccessfully" and would materially increase its reserves as a result. Then, on January 29, 2018, the Company further disclosed that a "material weakness" in its financial reporting had caused reserves to be reduced incorrectly in relation to the outstanding pension payments and as a result, had postponed the release of its Q4 earnings report and expected to increase reserves by $525 million to $575 million, decrease its Q4 earnings by $135 million to $165 million and decrease 2017 profits by $165 million to $195 million. The Company's actions, directed by its executives, have exposed it to significant financial losses, investigations by the SEC (News - Alert) and several state regulators, an ongoing securities class action lawsuit, and recently, a complaint iled by Massachusetts' securities regulator for defrauding investors by wrongfully releasing reserves instead of making the outstanding pension payments.



KSF's investigation is focusing on whether MetLife's officers and/or directors breached their fiduciary duties to MetLife's shareholders or otherwise violated state or federal laws. If you have information that would assist KSF in its investigation, or have been a long-term holder of MetLife shares and would like to discuss your legal rights, you may, without obligation or cost to you, call toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or email KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn (lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com), or visit http://ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-met/ to learn more.

About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC KSF, whose partners include the Former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is a law firm focused on securities, antitrust and consumer class actions, along with merger & acquisition and breach of fiduciary litigation against publicly traded companies on behalf of shareholders. The firm has offices in New York, California and Louisiana. To learn more about KSF, you may visit www.ksfcounsel.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180727005512/en/

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EQUITY ALERT: Rosen Law Firm Announces Investigation of Securities Claims Against CBS Corporation - CBS

Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announces it is investigating potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS) resulting from allegations that CBS may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.

On July 27, 2018, media sources reported that The New Yorker would be publishing an article containing allegations that Leslie Moonves, CBS's Chairman, President, and Chief Executive Officer, committed acts of sexual misconduct. CBS announced it would investigate these allegations. On this news, shares of CBS stock fell $3.52 or 6.12% to close at $54.01 on July 27, 2018.

Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action lawsuit to recover losses suffered by CBS investors. If you purchased shares of CBS please visit the firm's website at http://www.rosenlegal.com/cases-1385.html to join the class action. You may also contact Phillip Kim or Zachary Halper of Rosen Law Firm toll free at 866-767-3653 or via email at pkim@rosenlegal.com or zhalper@rosenlegal.com.







Follow us for updates on LinkedIn (News - Alert) : https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm or on Twitter (News - Alert) : https://twitter.com/rosen_firm.

Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 3 each year since 2013.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

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[July 28, 2018] Foresters Financial and KaBOOM! Partner to Increase Play Opportunities for Edmonton Kids

The Edmonton community was revitalized today thanks to a new playground built at Clara Tyner School. In just six hours, more than 200 volunteers from Foresters Financial, Clara Tyner School and the national non-profit KaBOOM! created the new playspace, which will serve more than 1,800 children and their families in the local community for years to come. "For over 140 years Foresters Financial has focused on our Purpose, which is to help families and strengthen communities," said Jim Boyle, President and CEO, Foresters Financial. "In 2018 we are excited to complete our 150th playground build with KaBOOM!. This partnership creates safe play areas where families can spend quality time together while developing young bodies and minds. We know the Edmonton community will use this playground for many years to come." The design for the new playground is based on drawings created by neighborhood children at a special Design Day event held in July when community members met with organizers from KaBOOM! and Foresters Financial to design their dream playground. The drawings inspired the final playground design. Since 2006, Foresters Financial and KaBOOM! have built over 145 beautiful playspaces across 86 cities in 31 states and provinces throughout North America and by the end of 2018, Foresters Financial will have funded more than 150 playgrounds. Thanks to the hard work of over 9,900 Foresters members, sales partners and guests for the last eleven years, we are positively impacting the lives of more than 5 million children by providing them with access to play. Through each new playground, families are better able to spend quality time together right in their own neighborhoods, playing alongside Foresters members and community partners. "We're very grateful to Foresters Financial and KaBOOM! for their commitment to children and the community," said Joy Stevens, Clara Tyner playground committee coordinator. "We couldn't have done this without everyone's support. Thank you to all the volunteers who have generously donated their time to make this a reality. The new playground will be a place for students and children in the community to build friendships, play outside and make memories." Play is the business of childhood and is essential to the physicl, cognitive, creative, social and emotional development of every kid. It's how kids build strong muscles and healthy bodies; it's how they learn problem-solving, conflict resolution and creativity; it's how they make friends and build strong bonds with adults. Play is critical to a kid's ability to thrive.



Foresters Financial is a KaBOOM! Founding Partner and National Partner. Since 1996, KaBOOM! has been dedicated to ensuring that all kids get the balance and active play they need to thrive. About Clara Tyner School

At Clara Tyner School, we know that success is best achieved through supportive relationships and authentic partnerships among staff, parents/guardians, students and the community. We believe that the purpose of education is to produce citizens who strive for personal academic excellence and who contribute to the well-being and growth of themselves, their peers and the community. About Foresters Financial Foresters Financial is an international financial services provider with more than three million clients and members in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, and total funds under management of $45.1 billion1. With a history of more than 140 years, we provide life insurance, savings, retirement and investment solutions that help families achieve their financial goals, protect their families and improve their communities. For more information, visit foresters.com. Foresters Financial and Foresters are trade names and trademarks of The Independent Order of Foresters (a fraternal benefit society, 789 Don Mills Road, Toronto, Canada M3C 1T9) and its subsidiaries. Products offered vary by country. Not all products are available for distribution in all jurisdictions. In the United States, products are offered by The Independent Order of Foresters and its subsidiaries, including Foresters Financial Services, Inc. a registered broker-dealer. Securities, life insurance and annuity products are offered through Foresters Financial Services, Inc. or independent producers. Insurance products are issued by Foresters Life Insurance and Annuity Company, New York, or The Independent Order of Foresters. Investment advisory products and services are offered through Foresters Advisory Services, LLC, a registered investment adviser. 1 in Canadian dollars as of December 31, 2017 About KaBOOM! KaBOOM! is the national non-profit dedicated to giving all kids - especially those living in poverty - the childhood they deserve through great, safe places to play. KaBOOM! inspires communities to make play the easy choice and works to drive the national discussion about the importance of PLAYces. KaBOOM! has collaborated with partners to build or improve more than 17,000 playspaces, engaged more than 1.5 million volunteers and served over 9 million kids. To learn why play matters for all kids, visit kaboom.org and join the conversation at twitter.com/kaboom, facebook.com/kaboom and instagram.com/kaboom. #playmatters #PLAYceforKids 414828E CAN/US (03/18) View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180728005001/en/

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When Adam Stephens walked into his office in Milwaukee one morning in late June, he found messages complaining about the Birds. The deputy city attorney was not amused. He went for a walk. "Within a couple of minutes, I found one parked on a sidewalk and was able to visually examine it and kind of figure out what it was," Stephens says.
ANNAPOLIS, MD.  The city of Annapolis is holding a benefit concert featuring Maryland-bred rockers Good Charlotte to honor the five Capital Gazette employees killed in an attack in their newsroom last month.



Good Charlotte will headline Saturday's concert titled "Annapolis Rising: A Benefit for the Capital Gazette and Free Press & First Responders." Other performers include Dublin 5, Higher Hands and Clones of Funk. The concert will feature speakers including staff from the Capital Gazette as well as Washington Post Editor Martin Baron.



The benefit concert will take place from a stage on College Avenue with the Maryland State House in the background.



It's being held one month after the June 28 fatal shooting. The suspect, Jarrod Ramos , remains jailed on five counts of first-degree murder.



RELATED STORIES:
IS THE KANSAS CITY "CEASEFIRE" STILL ON CONSIDERING THAT THE POOR WOMAN WAS BRUTALLY STABBED TO DEATH AND DIDN'T MEET HER DOOM BY WAY OF GUNSHOTS?!?!?

Sure, that's a technicality but the local murder by way of the knife also reminds us that guns aren't the only method of local homicide. Moreover, thankfully KC hasn't confronted many mass shootings and instead it's the slow, bloody, drip of consistent and often domestic or personal conflict related killing that has contributed to the recent spike in slayings over the past few years.

This is 2018 homicide #67 so far compared to 85 last year and 57 the year before that . . .

KCPD officers say the woman was found dead at around 4:00am Saturday morning.

Kansas City police said they were called to the 8500 block of East 92nd Street, which is near Bannister and James A. Reed roads.





If you can help solve this case, or other crimes in the Metro, call the CrimeStoppers TIPS Hotline 816-474-TIPS, or submit a tip online at KCCrimeStoppers.com.

This weekend Kansas City faith community and neighborhood leaders touted weekend "ceasefire" efforts propped up by anti-gun rhetoric. Sadly, the initiative to stop local homicides over the weekend failed only 4 hours after midnight with fatal stabbing.To be fair . . .Of course we hope and pray for peace yet still remain opposed to the empty rhetoric against guns which isn't the answer to deadly violence in KCMO. Instead, as always, a lack of respect for life and hatred is the crux of the problem.Check the latest . . .Deets:Developing . . .
It aint easy to make the McLaren P1 even more outrageous, but thats exactly the trick the Woking brand pulled off with the Senna. Named after one of the most legendary Formula 1 drivers of all time, the Senna mates big power and aero with incredibly low weight, creating one helluva road car. Now, the very first example of this limited edition monster machine is officially out in the wild.

The Full Story

After settling into his new performance machine, Kyte immediately set out to enjoy his new purchase on a 1,400-km (870-mile) road trip.

This week, the very-first production example of the McLaren Senna, chassis number 001, was delivered to its owner. Taking the keys was David Kyte, a businessman out of London, who received the hypercar at the McLaren Technology Center in Woking. McLaren CEO Mike Flewitt and several other company execs were all on hand to oversee the handover.

After settling into his new performance machine, Kyte immediately set out to enjoy his new purchase on a 1,400-km [870-mile] road trip. To accompany him, Kyte enjoyed a caravan with five other McLaren models, including three other Sennas, a 720S, and a 600 LT.

Driving the other vehicles was Bruno Senna, the Brazilian racing driver and nephew of Ayrton Senna, as well as McLaren Automotive Chief Operating Officer Dr. Jens Ludmann, and McLaren Ultimate Series Vehicle Line Director Andy Palmer.

Together, the group drove to the Circuit Paul Ricard in the south of France. There, Kyte is getting geared up to participate in a McLaren driving experience set to take place this weekend.

David Kyte is a longstanding McLaren enthusiast with a true passion for our brand and a number of McLarens to prove it, said Flewitt. We have had many conversations about the car he has now taken delivery of and while I believe that the McLaren Senna is already incredible in every respect, the additional work that David has commissioned from McLaren Special Operations has taken Senna 001 to another level.

Details include an MSO Anniversary White exterior matched to a unique MSO Aurora Blue livery, as well as loads of carbon bits.

Details include an MSO Anniversary White exterior matched to a unique MSO Aurora Blue livery, as well as a roof intake, fuel filler cap, and T-Bar finished in MSO Satin Visual Carbon Fiber. The brakes come covered in MSO Bespoke Burton Blue, while the center lock wheel nuts are finished in Volcano Red. The front end also gets a special outline of the Interlagos circuit in Sao Paulo, Brazil, with the McLaren badge on the nose marking the start/finish line.

All told, the custom paint took 600 hours to complete, with the masking prep alone requiring two weeks of work.

Further details include Ayrton Sennas signature added to the door sills, as well as engravings on the throttle pedal with the years he participated in the Formula One World Championship

Further details include Ayrton Sennas signature added to the door sills, as well as engravings on the throttle pedal with the years he participated in the Formula One World Championship. Theres also plenty of black Alcantara upholstery, which is upgraded with red diamond contrast stitching and red Senna S logos in the headrests. The door struts are also done in red, while the carbon fiber surrounds are in red-tinted carbon fiber.

All told, we think this customized Senna looks awesome, and we love how it was actually driven on public roads, rather than immediately loaded into a trailer and stuffed into a garage. This is a car thats meant to be enjoyed - get out there and enjoy it, Mr. Kyte!

Further Reading

Will Debut at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show

Read our full review on the 2019 McLaren Senna.

Read more McLaren news.
editorial@tribune.com

Rajinder S Nagarkoti

Tribune News Service

Panchkula, July 28

Almost nine years after the district administration revoked its decision of paid parking, the local Municipal Corporation has decided to reintroduce it. The two-day trial run of the system began at in the main markets of Sector 8, 9 and 10 and opposite bus stand on Saturday.

While local BJP MLA Gian Chand Gupta is unaware of any such move, former Congress Mayor Upinder Kaur Ahluwalia said no proposal of paid parking was ever passed in the MC House. Even RWAs and market associations are also against the move.

MC Commissioner-cum-Administrator Rajesh Jogpal said to check chaos and mismanagement at parking lots, it was decided to introduce paid parking in the town. Jogpal said the collections from the two-day trial run, which began on Saturday, would go to the District Red Cross Society. We will call tenders for the management of parking lots next week. Most commercial areas in the town will have paid parking lots. After three-four months, Panchkula will move towards Smart parking facilities, he added.

What happened in 2009

In August 2009, the district administration had introduced paid parking in Panchkula on the pattern of Chandigarh. The decision was, however, withdrawn within three days. The administration had put on auction lots in Sector 1, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 14, 15, 16 and 20 but bidders evinced interest only in seven sectors. Bids for Sector 4, 14, 15 and 16 had to be put off.

Charges

Panchkula Municipal Corporation will charge users on the pattern of Chandigarh. While Rs 10 will be charged for two-wheelers, Rs 20 will be charged for four-wheelers.

Facilities

Smart parking | Toilets

First aid facility | RO water

Rain/sun shelters

Mobile charging points
editorial@tribune.com

Shashi Pal Jain

Kharar, July 28

A New Zealand court sentence an 18-year-old girl, Rose Page Lewis, to life imprisonment for planning the murder of a 32-year-old youth of Kharar, Sandeep Dhiman, who was robbed and stabbed to death near Tutira, about 40 km from Napier, New Zealand, on December 18 last year.

In the same case, her cousin and co-offender Shaun Liam Karauria has also been found guilty and awarded life imprisonment.

Sandeeps father Jai Pal Dhiman, who resides in Jamuna Apartments, Kharar, on Saturday said his son was found brutally killed on the rural Matahourua roadside. He said Sandeep was driving a gold-coloured Toyota Passo between Hastings and Tutira when he was waylaid, robbed and killed. The New Zealand police had registered an FIR and started the investigation.

The body was brought back home in Kharar and cremated on December 24. Rose had tried to lure Sandeep through a dating app as she wanted a car by all means. She roped in her cousin to rob the car. The convict hatched a plan to achieve her target and they both killed Sandeep.

Jai Pal said he wanted the convicts to be hanged but they were sentenced to life as per the New Zealand laws. He added that life imprisonment there meant a minimum term of 11 years for Rose and 12 years for Shaun. He demanded that the convicts should remain in jail till their death.
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

Is the state Congress ready for the Assembly elections in Haryana?

Yes, the Congress is ready and the people of Haryana are more ready to throw out the BJP government for all its incompetence. The BJP government has disturbed our social fabric, hampered economic progress and put the state into a swirling debt trap. The election results will show that the BJP will not have seats in double digits.

The block and district units of the Congress are not in place and the party is afflicted with factionalism. Dont you think senior leaders need to come together?

I dont agree that the party is divided. You will have different leaders who seem to be working in different directions but as elections approach, they will become one; like our five fingers that come together to make the hand. We will work together. There can be a difference of opinion on the approach to various issues but there are no personal differences. We will work as a team and the sole purpose will be to ensure that the Congress returns to power for the transformation of the state and fulfil the aspirations of people.

It is said that the Congress has more chief ministerial aspirants than workers. You yourself are one of them. Is it a good sign or a bad one to have so many?

In politics, it is not bad to aspire to become Chief Minister, to vie for a particular post, to expect to reach some position, or to be able to translate your dreams into reality. Of course, it should not become a hindrance in the growth of the party. I am 100 per cent sure that whether it is Bhupinder Singh Hooda, Ashok Tanwar, Kumari Selja or any other colleague, everybody will finally yield to the mandate of the legislators and what the Congress President wants. This had happened in 2005 when Bhajan Lal was the Congress president in Haryana and I was the working president but the party decided to appoint Hooda and everybody accepted the decision.

Haryana Congress president Ashok Tanwar and former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda are constantly at loggerheads. Does this hamper the prospects of the party?

There has been a difference of opinion between the PCC president and a section of leaders, including Hooda. Politics is an art of ironing out all creases in the political set up. These are smaller creases that can always be ironed out for a higher goal; that is to save the state from the clutches of the BJP and its incompetent non-delivering state government.

How is the Congress top leadership intervening to iron out these differences among senior leaders?

The Congress believes in conversation and the party leadership permits it. We may disagree with each other but we will agree to disagree and finally reach a point where all of us will act in tandem to achieve the higher purpose, putting aside personal acrimony or difference of opinion. That is the beauty of the Congress and that is what sets us apart from the dictatorial and autocratic set-up that runs in the country or what the INLD did in the state.

Are you a contender for the Lok Sabha ticket from Haryana or would you rather contest the Assembly elections?

I would definitely like to contest the Kaithal Assembly seat. In adverse political circumstances when the Congress lost from Sirsa to Yamunanagar to Panipat, it was only the people of Kaithal who re-elected me and that too with a higher margin. I believe I owe them to go back and serve them all over again, speed up the pace of development that the BJP has hindered and correct discriminatory treatment that the government has meted out to Kaithal.

You have been practically absent from the Haryana Vidhan Sabha since this term began. Is it fair to the people of Kaithal?

I am the wrong person to be answering this question. This question should be put to the Chief Minister. The Assembly session is not even held for 30 days in a year. The Assembly, which was to be sacrosanct for discussions on peoples issues, for legislation and holding the government accountable, has been relegated to a space where it is just a constitutional formality. So, I raise the voice of the people of Haryana and also of the people of Kaithal through public meetings and demonstrations. If you check with the people of my constituency, I am sure they will tell you that I am one of the few MLAs who are there two days a week.

The UPA government at the Centre and the Hooda government in the state did not implement the Swaminathan commission report. Why do you term the BJP as anti-farmer for failing to do so?

The UPA government had increased the minimum support price (MSP) from 12.5 per cent to 27 per cent every year, bringing prosperity to ordinary villagers. We also implemented MNREGA so that the landless have an alternative avenue. The UPA government headed by Manmohan Singh had brought nearly 14 crore people out of poverty. What has the incumbent Prime Minister done? The average growth rate, which was 4.2 per cent during the UPA rule, has come down to 1.2 per cent  a 3 per cent drop. The average increase in the MSP has been between 3.4 per cent and 4.5 per cent. If the Prime Minister wants to double farmers income in next few years, up to 2022, he will have to have an agriculture growth rate of 14.5 per cent, which is impossible.

Even the latest MSP announced, half of which will be given when he had demitted power, falls short of the cost plus 50 per cent price that he had promised. Agrarian stress, rural indebtedness, farmers suicide, Prime Minister insurance scheme (farmers got Rs 5,600 crore while seven insurance companies got Rs 14,800 crore) and the acute agrarian and rural difficulties are what the Prime Minister have unfolded. Im sure that the Congress will undo all this and propel the agriculture sector on a growth trajectory.

Does Congress president Rahul Gandhi have it in him to steer the party to victory? Can you tell us about his working style and his plans for the party?

Absolutely! Rahul Gandhi has the mettle and it has been tested multiple times. Rahulji led the Congress party in the run up to the 2014 elections and we won in many states. But not once did he say that he was the chief campaigner. In 2014, when he was not part of the government, when we lost, he said that Im accountable for it as I was leading the campaign and not Dr Manmohan Singh or Sonia Gandhi. That is what his confidence is all about. Whenever we lose, like it happened in 2014, he takes the blame. Whenever we win, like we did in Punjab, he gives the credit to the state leadership and workers. On the other hand, the BJP had 282 seats but in the last two years it has lost every parliamentary byelection. No wonder that its seat tally is now down to 269. People are waiting to throw the BJP out of power at the Centre and in Haryana.

You were inducted into the Congress Working Committee recently. What in your opinion ails the party?

I will put this question little differently  what are the challenges that the Congress faces. In the 21st century, when the Central government is out to denigrate democracy, suppress dissenting voices and demolish institutions, trample traditional, constitutional as well as social values to retain power, I think the Congress is the only insurance policy or the only political party that can protect democracy.

The Congress believes in democracy and constitutional principles are part of our foundational ethos, which are intrinsic to sustaining our country as a homogeneous unit despite various castes and languages. I think that is an onerous responsibility that the Congress must fulfil and that is where the challenge lies. Wherever we are weak, we need to strengthen; wherever we are strong and can take the BJP head on, we need to work in national interest. We need to save democracy and the country from the clutches of the BJP.

In Haryana, what are the chances of the INLD-BSP combine?

There is an apparently unholy alliance between the INLD and the BSP. The INLD is a supporter of the BJP. The proof of the pudding lies in its eating. The fashion in which INLD MP Dushyant Chautala and the Sirsa MP refused to vote against the NDA government on the no-confidence motion has let the cat out of the bag. They will have seat adjustments and then post-elections they will come together. They are one. The Congress doesnt need any ally in the state. In any case, the BSP does not have a large base in Haryana. The INLD, a sagging and defeated party as it is, entered into the alliance with the BSP to give itself a boost.

Where do the INLD and its leadership stand in Haryana?

The INLD lost the battle of Haryanas minds and hearts when Om Prakash Chautala was Chief Minister. He lost in Narwana and the INLD was decimated in Haryana. The reasons for it are many. Rampant irregularities in job appointments were one of the reasons that disillusioned the youth. The policies and the mindset of the INLD are contrary to modern, urbanised Haryana. The days are gone when they could garner votes in the name of Chaudhary Devi Lal. People seek accountability that the INLD lacks. Today, you cant suppress Dalits, you cant ignore urbanites and you cant promote goondas. And this is why the INLD has now little political space left for it in Haryana.

You have been the partys face when it comes to taking on the BJP. How do you rate the BJP government in the state?

The BJP government virtually scores a zero. I dont think it deserves any marks. Perhaps, it is the most incompetent government ever in the history of Haryana. It is classic that BJP workers say MLAs dont listen to them, ministers complain that the Chief Minister doesnt listen to them and the Chief Minister laments that his ministers and the bureaucracy do not listen to him. Who has been governing the state for the last four years in absolute anarchy is a secret that needs to be unravelled. You will find that Haryana is a state with zero governance, zero delivery and zero competence as far as the political executive is concerned.

What is the biggest failure of the BJP that will go against it in the 2019 Assembly elections?

There have been three big failures of the BJP government. First, it has disturbed the societal fabric of Haryana by dividing people on caste and communal lines. What hasnt happened in 50 years, took place in three years of the BJP rule. Haryana burnt thrice and they will pay a heavy price for it. Secondly, they have pushed the state into a debt trap. When we demitted power, there was a debt of Rs 60,000 crore, which has grown to Rs 1.60 lakh crore. Where has this money gone? It is the money that the government raisedfor the welfare of people. Thirdly, the Staff Selection Commission is guilty of selling jobs and compromising the future of the youths.

The Congress does not approve of the GST in its present form while it had been advocating for it strongly. Why?

The Congress had proposed the GST but Narendra Modi, Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj opposed it for years together. The GST we had proposed was a single tax with a plus for luxury items and a minus for essential goods. Nobody could imagine that the NDA government would tax agriculture. There used to be zero tax on fertilisers but now it is 5 per cent. There is 12 per cent tax on pesticides, tractors and agricultural equipment and 18 per cent on tractor tyres. They urge farmers to grow vegetables and flowers but the cold storage equipment are now being taxed at 18 per cent as are various essential commodities. Out of one crore registered assessees on the GST portal, not even 50 per cent of them file returns. None gets refund and nobody gets input credit. How do you propose to reform the gigantic tax machinery of India by putting it in such a mess?
What does it mean for the mayoral race? It means that Emanuel loses a formidable challenger to his re-election who had over $800,000 in her political fund, some $400,000 more than the others in the race. And she would have been the lone white female in the race. Gainer was expected to pull votes from the Northwest and Southwest sides, and from the North lakefront, perhaps the only area Emanuel has support.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Faridabad, July 28

Alert cops of a police control room (PCR) vehicle foiled a bid to take away an uprooted ATM containing Rs 33 lakh from Rajiv Colony here early on Saturday morning.

The robbers, however, managed to flee from the place after hitting the police vehicle which gave them a chase. The police have booked a case in this regard.

Four to five youths, who had come in a Bolero pick-up vehicle around 3.30 am, had uprooted the ATM of Canara Bank located on the main road of Rajiv Colony and were preparing to load it in the vehicle when a PCR van of the Sector 58 police station reached the spot.

Head constable Mahender Singh, in charge of the PCR, stopped at the point after he suspected the presence of the vehicle just outside the ATM at an odd time. As he asked the driver to stop the PCR to inquire the matter, the suspects, who were trying to load the ATM machine into their vehicle, abandoned it there and started their pick-up to flee from the place.

This made the cops chase their vehicle for about 2-3 km, but the robbers hit the PCR vehicle, making it come to a halt. This helped the culprits flee from the place, taking advantage of the darkness, said Sube Singh, spokesperson of the police department.

The chase resulted in minor injuries to the cop Mahender Singh.

The police was scanning the footage of the CCTV cameras installed at the bank and nearby places and was likely to arrest the culprits, claimed Singh. He said the footage of the vehicle used in the robbery attempt had been found in one of the cameras.

This is the second such incident in the past few days in the area. Robbers had decamped with Rs 15 lakh from an ATM located on the Sohna road after cutting open the cash chest of the ATM on Wednesday night.
editorial@tribune.com

Saurabh Malik

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 28

In an out-of-the-ordinary order, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed a man to pay Rs 25,000 monthly maintenance to his daughter after holding that the same could not be denied merely because she was living for long with her mother.

Section 125 of the CrPC makes it clear that a major unmarried daughter could claim maintenance from her father, where she was unable to maintain herself because of any physical or mental abnormality or injury.

Allowing the daughters petition, the Bench brought damage to mind and reputation of a neglected child within the definition of word injury used in Section 125 for the purpose of granting maintenance.

Rejecting the argument that the petitioner-daughter was disentitled to maintenance because she was not suffering from any physical or mental abnormality or injury as required under the law, the Bench added that a child deprived of love and affection indeed suffered injury to his/her mind and reputation.

The petitioner could not enjoy the company of her parents as a normal child and she remained neglected and deprived of love and affection by the respondent-father. Resultantly, the most valuable and natural right of a child to enjoy the company of her parents has been washed away and that is still continuing. In society, such a child suffers injury to mind and reputation, Justice Mahabir Singh Sindhu asserted.

The daughter had moved the High Court for enhancement of monthly interim maintenance to Rs 2 lakh against Rs 25, 000 granted by a judicial magistrate. She had also challenged another order by an Additional Sessions Judge, whereby earlier directions for interim maintenance were set aside.

Justice Sindhu asserted our old ethos and Indian culture laid down that the father was responsible for the maintenance of his daughter right from the time she was born and that continued till her marriage. Quoting Manusamriti, Justice Sindhu added that father was the guardian of his daughter till she was married and he remained under obligation to maintain her irrespective of her attaining maturity.

Referring to the facts of the case in hand, Justice Sindhu added that the daughter had duly established on record that she had been granted admission by a foreign university for higher studies and was not able to maintain herself.

In case the petitioner was not granted the interim maintenance, she would obviously not be able to pursue her studies. There was also sufficient material on record to prove that the petitioner was an aspirant for higher education in a foreign university. It needs to be recorded that education is very much important in life. One can wait for marriage, but it was not advisable to wait for the education, Justice Sindhu concluded.
rchopra@tribunemail.com

Shiv Kumar Sharma

Tribune News Service

Yamunanagar, July 28

The administration on Saturday sounded a high alert in Yamunanagar district as the water level in the Yamuna river reached 6.05 lakh cusecs at 6 pm following incessant rain in Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.

Deputy Commissioner Girish Arora announced a high alert in the district after the water level crossed the 2.12 lakh cusecs mark at 9 am.

A flood-like situation is normally announced when the water level touches the 2.5 lakh cusecs mark in the barrage.

Arora said they had put the army on alert. He said a team of National Disaster Management Authority comprising 46 personnel had already reached here.

We have also sounded the administrations of Karnal, Panipat and Sonepat districts besides the Delhi administration about the increase in water level, Arora said.

He said there was no report of any damage to property or a loss of life in the district.

He said they had identified seven villages--Lapra, Bibipur, Odri, Kalanaur, Mandauli, Gagar and Mali Majra--where floodwater might enter after the water level crossed the 3 lakh cusecs mark. He said special vigil is being kept on these villages.

The DC has asked officials to monitor the situation round the clock, especially in Chhachhrauli and Radaur blocks.

The district administration has also set up a flood control office in the mini-secretariat and at all blocks in the district besides launching a helpline number for an immediate response.

The administration has issued a warning asking people not to venture near the river, canal and drains.

The DC said directions had been issued to all tehsildars, block development and panchayat officers and other officials to give regular reports about the situation and keep a close eye on the low-lying areas.
editorial@tribune.com

Sumedha Sharma

Tribune News Service

Gurugram, July 27

Two officials of the Bhondsi jail have been placed under suspension after a team of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) discovered a secret kitchen in the jail where lavish meals were being cooked for VIP convicts.

Two officials on security duty were suspended as despite repeated questioning by the team, they did not divulge details for whom the food was being cooked and on whose orders.

While senior officials did not respond to repeated calls made to them, sources revealed that the jail authorities were caught off guard when the team comprising the NHRC officials, administration and senior police officials landed in the jail.

The team was there to review the living conditions of the inmates. Rather than restricting its visit, the team went to every nook and corner of the jail. It was around lunch time and food was being prepared in the kitchen when the officials stumbled on a secret room. A lavish spread was being prepared there by a man and two security officials stood guard there.

We asked them why was this special meal being cooked near barracks where some of the jails special convicts were lodged, the man cooking the food and both security officials stood quiet. We suspended them and an investigation was launched to nab others, said a senior official of the team.

It may be noted that the Bhondsi jail has been notorious for illegal activities and sources claim that everything, right from SIM cards to smart phones to special non-vegetarian meals have been available here with the alleged connivance of the jail officials.
editorial@tribune.com

Shiv Kumar Sharma

Tribune News Service

Yamunanagar, July 28

The administration on Saturday sounded a high alert in district as the water level in the Yamuna reached 6.05 lakh cusecs at 6 pm following incessant rain in the catchment area of the river.

The rise in water level poses flood threat to Delhi. The Yamuna water reaches Delhi from the Hathnikund barrage in nearly 72 hours.

Deputy Commissioner (DC) Girish Arora announced a high alert in the district after the water level crossed the 2.12 lakh cusecs mark at 9 am.

A flood-like situation is normally announced when the water level touches the 2.5 lakh cusecs mark in the barrage.

The Deputy Commissioner said that the floodwater had reached very close to Lapra Basti (a colony of Lapra village) and the administration had started shifting nearly 350 residents of the colony to safer place.

He said they had identified seven villagesLapra, Bibipur, Odri, Kalanaur, Mandauli, Gagar and Mali Majrawhere floodwater might enter after the water level crossed the 3 lakh cusecs mark. He said special vigil was being kept on these villages. We have made all arrangements. If required, residents of these villages will be shifted to safer places, said the DC.

Arora said they had put the Army and the Air Force on alert. He said a 46-member team of the National Disaster Management Authority had already reached here.

We have also sounded the administrations of Karnal, Panipat and Sonepat districts besides the Delhi administration about the increase in water level, Arora said.

He said there was no report of any damage to property or a loss of life in the district. The Deputy Commissioner has asked officials to monitor the situation round the clock, especially in Chhachhrauli and Radaur blocks.

The district administration has also set up a flood control office in the Mini-Secretariat and in all blocks of the district besides launching a helpline number for an immediate response.

The administration has issued a warning, asking people not to venture near the river, canal and drains.

Girish Arora said directions had been issued to all tehsildars, block development and panchayat officers and other officials to give regular reports about the situation and keep a vigil on the low-lying areas.
editorial@tribune.com

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 28

Two Kinner Kailash pilgrims, including a woman from Pune, were washed away in flash floods at the Kangrang Nullah near Tangling village in Kinnaur district on Saturday. With the number of deaths reaching four  two in Kinner Kailash and two in Shrikhand  the administration has suspended both yatras.

Heavy rain triggered landslides, blocking roads and disrupting power supply.

A 43-year old woman from Pune, identified as Sangeeta Morya, was washed away in the waters of the swollen Kangrang Nullah, while another pilgrim from Shimla Kuldeep Thakur (32) was swept away in the gushing waters near the cave upstream while they were returning after paying obeisance to Kinner Kailash, officiating Deputy Commissioner Avminder Sharma said.

A massive search operation has been launched by teams of the police and Home Guards to trace the bodies, he said, adding that the district administration had rescued 256 persons stranded en route Kinner Kailash.

The Sutlej, its tributaries and rivulets are in spate and the water level is rising. Shimla Deputy Commissioner Amit Kashyap has sounded an alert and advised locals and tourists not to go near the riverbanks or swollen rivulets as rain and release of water from reservoirs of hydropower projects can cause flash floods.

Following floods in the Shalvi river, residents of 24 villages, including Nerwa, Tikri, Gumma, Shwala, Bawi, Dakauli, Kyarla, Banipul, Shamtha, Gumma and Kuthat, have been asked not to go near the riverbanks and also not let animals and children go there.

The rain has crippled normal life in several parts of the state. As many as 310 roads were closed due to landslides, with 221 blocked in Shimla zone, 71 in Mandi and 13 in Hamirpur.

The Public Works Department (PWD) has pressed into service men and machinery and assured the public that 266 roads would be opened by this evening. The rain has caused a loss of Rs 237 crore to the PWD.

A house in the Uppar Chakkar area near Bagum Lodge suffered partial damage due to a landslide. Those residing there said last year too, the same thing had happened, but no concrete efforts were made by the district administration and as a result this year too, their lives were in danger. However, no loss of life was reported as the occupants had left the floor last year. The vehicular movement was disrupted in Shimla on the Navbahar-Jakhoo road as trees were uprooted following heavy rain, while a wall near Hotel Holiday Home also caved in.

Gohar, which received 162 mm of rain in the past 24 hours, was the wettest, followed by Nahan 110 mm, Dharampur and Renuka 105 mm each, Gaggal 98 mm, Jogindernagar 95 mm, Rajgarh 93 mm, Solan 76 mm, Rampur 63 mm, Pandoh 60 mm, Kasauli, Kumarsen and Dharamsala 55 mm each, Kufri 50 mm, Sundernagar 45 mm, Jubberhatti 44 mm, Paonta Sahib 41 mm and Shimla 40 mm. The Met office has predicted wet spell in the state till August 3.

Pkula resident among two dead

Kullu: Two more pilgrims died while undertaking the 18,570 feet Shrikhand Mahadev yatra on Friday. Anni SDM Chet Singh said the yatra had been suspended from Saturday due to heavy rain and no person was registered or sent to the pilgrimage. He said medical rescue camps would be removed after July 31. The SDM said Harish Kumar (32) from Panchkula died at Parbati Bagh and Satrohan Lal from Lucknow died near Bheemdwari. Extreme cold and lack of oxygen at the high altitude were probably the cause of the two deaths. He said the bodies of the pilgrims would arrive in the afternoon on Sunday after which a post-mortem examination would be conducted. Four deaths occurred this year during the yatra. The SDM said rivulets in the trekking route were in spate due to heavy rain and rescue teams were assisting the pilgrims to come back from Parbati Bagh to Bheemdwari. He further said all pilgrims would be brought back before July 31.  OC
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 28

Governor NN Vohra is learnt to have requested the Centre to defer the hearing on Article 35A in the Supreme Court until the elected government is in place in the state, where the sensitivities and sensibilities on the provision are quite high.

The hearing of Article 35A is scheduled for hearing in the apex court on August 6 and it has already stirred emotions across the political and social groups in the Valley, triggering fears and calls for the united fight to protect the provision that confers special rights and privileges on the permanent residents of Jammu and Kashmir.

It has been challenged in the Supreme Court by some of the groups seeking quashing of this provision that they alleged was discriminatory to the Indian citizens living in the rest of the country.

Taking a view of the sensitivities the challenge to the provision has evoked across Kashmir and the likely pitfalls if their premonitions come true, Vohra is learnt to have taken up the matter with Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and apprised him of the situation and suggested that it should be deferred till the elected government takes over.

At present, the state is under the Governor rule, which when translated constitutionally, means that it is under the Centre rule. The Governor rule was imposed in the state on June 20, a day after then Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti resigned following withdrawal of support to her government by the BJP on June 19.

Widespread concerns have been expressed over the fate of Article 35A. Mehbooba had urged all political groups to unite to protect Article 35A, while Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman, All-Parties Hurriyat Conference, had warned that any tinkering with the provision would force the people of Kashmir to hit the streets.

What is Article 35 A

Article 35A, which was added to the Constitution by a Presidential Order in 1954, accords special rights and privileges to the citizens of J&K

It also empowers the state's legislature to frame any law without attracting a challenge on grounds of violating the Right to Equality of people from other states or any other right under the Constitution

The previous government of J&K, in its reply before the SC, had sought the dismissal of matter challenging Article 35A on various grounds and had stated that the accession of J&K to India is limited in scope and not absolute.
editorial@tribune.com

Majid Jahangir

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, July 28

Calling the PDPs alliance with the BJP a cup of poison, former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday publically appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reciprocate positively to Imran Khans friendship gesture from Pakistan.

In her first public appearance after the break-up of the PDP-BJP government, a confident Mehbooba said PM Modi needed to rise to the occasion and think beyond elections. I would like to make an appeal to Narendra Modi ji. Pakistan is getting a new government and a new Prime Minister. He (Imran Khan) has made an offer of friendship with India through a dialogue. I want to appeal to PM Modi to respond positively to the offer, Mehbooba said at the PDPs foundation day function here.

A large number of party workers from across the Valley attended the rally at Municipal Park, though the five rebel MLAs and two MLCs stayed away from the function.

Mehbooba stressed any dialogue should not become a hostage to elections. Vajpayee ji (Atal Bihari Vajpayee) offered a hand of friendship to Pakistan before the 2004 elections and announced a ceasefire on the border. A big leader does not think about elections, he thinks about the people, she said, adding, J&K has been the biggest challenge for any Prime Minister of the country. Whichever Prime Minister resolves this issue within the ambit of humanity, stop bloodshed and improve the situation with Pakistan, his name will be written in golden letters in the annals of history.

Mehbooba said during her meetings with the Prime Minister, she always pitched for dialogue with Pakistan. She also appealed to Kashmirs political parties and separatists to come together to safeguard the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

I appeal to all parties to come together and defend Article 35A like we did it in the past two years, she said.

On PDPs alliance with the BJP, she said she had expressed reservations and advised her father Mufti Mohammad Sayeed against it. Mufti sahib told me that if the government has to be formed to build roads then it can be done by having an alliance with any party. But if we want to end the violence, we have to make a sacrifice and shake hands with the BJP, Mehbooba said.

It was not easy to shake hands with the BJP. It was like consuming a cup of poison only to do some good for Kashmir, she added.

Mehbooba said when her father died in 2016, she did not want to become the Chief Minister. But because we had to carry forward the decision made by Mufti sahib, I became the Chief Minister, she said. Mehbooba also broke into tears during her address and said she did not compromise on the Agenda of Alliance during her tenure as the Chief Minister.

Why didnt she quit if coalition was poisonous: Omar

National Conference vice-president Omar Abdullah lashed out at former Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Saturday, describing her as a willing participant in the PDP and BJPs partnership of crime. She was a willing participant in their partnership of crime, Omar wrote on Twitter. He said if the alliance between the PDP and BJP was as poisonous as she now claims, why didnt she leave the alliance instead of waiting to be sacked?

I would like to make an appeal to Narendra Modi ji. Pakistan is getting a new government and a new Prime Minister. He (Imran Khan) has made an offer of friendship with India through a dialogue. I want to appeal to PM Modi to respond positively to the offer.  Mehbooba Mufti, former Chief Minister
editorial@tribune.com

Our Correspondent

Anantnag, July 28

Seven personnel of the CRPF were injured on Saturday after a hand grenade hurled by militants exploded inside their bulletproof bunker vehicle in the Awantipora area of south Kashmirs Pulwama district.

The incident took place on the old alignment of the highway outside the Armys Victor Force Headquarters in the Jawbera area.

A senior police officer in the area said the explosion was reported at 7.15 pm. The mobile bunker belonged to the 130th Battalion of the CRPF, the officer said, adding that the injured men were immediately rushed to a nearby hospital.

He said other facts regarding the incident and the condition of the injured were being ascertained.

Local sources said the bunker was on way back to the headquarters when someone hurled a grenade into it through an open window.

The area was immediately cordoned off following the explosion. A large number of security men reached the area and searches were being carried out to nab the attackers.

Soldier injured in sniper fire

Jammu: An Army soldier was injured in a sniper fire by the Pakistani troops along the LoC in the Akhnoor sector on Friday. The incident occurred around 9.10 pm when he was guarding the fence. The police said the soldier was immediately shifted to a military hospital in Akhnoor. The Army is yet to confirm the incident. TNS
Harvey officials speak about water shortages for the first time, say the problem is in Dixmoor

Dixmoor's water provider Harvey addresses issues affecting thousands in South Chicago suburbs for first time
gspannu7@gmail.com

Imphal, July 28

At least 10 people including four police personnel were injured when a mob attacked the cops in Manipur's Jiribam district.

Six protesters were also injured in the clash at Lalpani area of the district on Friday, police said.

They said a large number of protesters tried to stage a sit-in demonstration protesting against the Manipur People's Protection Bill 2018 which was passed by the state Assembly recently.

The bill seeks to protect the identity of indigenous people of the state taking 1951 as the base year for treating people as natives of the state. The protesters have been demanding a change in the base year to 1972.

"Since Section 144 of CrPC have been imposed in the district since morning, the police had asked the protesters to get permission for their sit-in from the district administration," said a senior police officer.

The protesters hurled stones at the police forcing the cops to retaliate with tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the agitators.

During the clash, four personnel including the SP and a woman personnel received minor injuries. Six of the protesters were also injured, they said.

Later, reinforcements comprising of state police commandos and Indian Reserve Battalion personnel were rushed to the site to bring normalcy and establish law and order.

The issue began on Wednesday after the Joint Action Committee (JAC) took out a rally to denounce the Manipur People's Protection Bill 2018 which was passed unanimously by the Assembly on Monday.

JAC spokesperson Md Ali had earlier denounced the Bill as "unconstitutional" and claimed it deprived them of their constitutional rights.

The Bill had sought to regulate the entry and exit of the outsiders in the state.

It maintains that those who are not ethnic Meiteis, the Pangals Muslim and STs recognised by the state will be considered as non-Manipuris.

Jiribam, which shares border with Assam, has witnessed large influx of Bangladeshis and ethnic Rohingyas over the years.  PTI.
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Patna, July 28

Thirty-four minor girls housed in a shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district have been raped as against earlier figure of 29, police said on Saturday.

Muzaffarpur Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Harpreet Kaur said: "It was not 29 but 34 girls who were raped at the Muzaffarpur shelter home." Medical examinations of 42 girls last week revealed that 29 of them were raped.

Under pressure from the opposition, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had on Thursday recommended a CBI probe.

Kumar's deputy Sushil Kumar Modi had said the state government would request the Patna High Court to monitor the probe.

Opposition MLAs had paralysed the state Assembly with their vociferous demands for a high court-monitored CBI probe into the scandal. They also demanded that the state Social Welfare Minister Manju Verma be sacked.

Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had told the Parliament that the Centre would consider if the state government recommended a CBI inquiry.

Recommending the CBI inquiry on Thursday, Kumar had directed the chief secretary, the director general of police and the principal secretary (home) to immediately hand over the case to the central investigating agency.

The alleged sexual exploitation of inmates at the shelter home had come to light in the report of a social audit conducted by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

An FIR was subsequently registered on a complaint by the state social welfare department and 10 persons, including the patron of the NGO which ran the shelter home and the then district child protection officer, were arrested.

'SC-monitored probe

The Congress on Saturday demanded a Supreme Court-monitored CBI inquiry into the rape of 34 minor girls in a shelter home in Bihar's Muzaffarpur district.

Calling him 'Kushashan babu', the Congress asked Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar if this was the good governance (sushashan) model of the Bharatiya Janata Party-Janata Dal-United government in the state.

"The opportunistic BJP-JDU alliance in Bihar has just completed one year in power. It is a year marred by misgovernance and anarchy," said AICC incharge of Bihar Shaktisinh Gohil.

The Bihar government on Thursday announced a CBI probe into the case.

The shelter home was sealed after the sexual abuse of girl inmates came to light during a social audit by the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai.

The Congress also demanded that an FIR should be filed against 14 other such homes that were mentioned in the TISS report under "grave concerns".

Gohil claimed that action had been taken only against one home shelter in Muzaffarpur, while the outrageous crime committed in remaining 14 have been conveniently ignored.

"Bihar is in the grip of complete lawlessness as horrifying incidents have shaken public conscience," he said.

He said that the family of arrested Child Protection Officer (Ravi Roushan) has made sensational claims that Social Development Minister Manju Verma's husband Chandrashekhar Verma regularly visited the shelter home.

"This has raised several uncomfortable questions regarding the role of the Minister and her husband," the Congress leader said.

"A government and a Chief Minister known for empowering women and girl child through bicycles, prohibition of liquor and reservation presides over a regime where girls in shelter homes are being sexually exploited." "All thanks to the anti-women mindset of BJP and its leadership," he added.

The Congress leader also claimed that key accused Brajesh Thakur was getting support from BJP youth wing Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha leader Sudhanshu Pathak, who has demanded his release.

"Instead of seeking justice for the victims and demanding punishment for the guilty, the BJP is brazening it out and is busy protecting the predators," said Gohil. Agencies
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Lucknow, July 28

The Samajwadi Party national executive on Saturday authorised party president Akhilesh Yadav to take decisions on alliance and seat sharing for the 2019 General Election.

Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav skipped the meeting. Addressing the media after the meeting, party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav said the executive has empowered Akhilesh Yadav to take a final call on electoral alliance, seat sharing and candidates for the Lok Sabha polls next year.

The executive is of the view that elections should be held through ballot papers and not through EVMs, he said. A network of Opposition parties will be formed to put forth this demand. If the Election Commission fails to respond to it, a campaign (dharna) will be launched.

The party general secretary also said the decision to contest the Madhya Pradesh and Rajashtan Assembly polls had also been left to party president Akhilesh Yadav.

Samajwadi Party for voting by ballot papers

The SP national executive is of the view that elections should be held through ballot papers and not through EVMs. A network of Opposition parties will be formed to put forth this demand. If the Election Commission fails to respond to it, a campaign (dharna) will be launched, party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav said.
amansharma@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, July 27

The water level of the Yamuna river has crossed the danger mark and reached 205.20 metre at 5 pm on Saturday, prompting authorities to evacuate people from low-lying areas, officials said.

The Yamuna water level at the Hathinikund barrage has crossed the danger mark of 90,000 cusec and till 5 pm, 5,03,935 cusec of water was released, they said, adding that with incessant rains, it was expected to rise further.

Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, in a tweet, said he has called an emergency meeting to discuss the situation after Haryana released 5 lakh cusec water.

The water level of the Yamuna river at the Old Delhi Railway Bridge rose to 205.20 metre by 5 pm and is expected to rise even further, an official said.

"The water level of river Yamuna at Delhi Old Rly Bridge reached at 204.92 metres at 7 am on July 28 (above the warning level) and having rising trend," a statement had said in the morning.

An alert was sounded yesterday by the Delhi government after the water level of the Yamuna river crossed the danger mark, an official said.

"All executive engineers/sector officers are directed to keep in close contact with the control room in relation to the discharge, water level at the Old Railway Bridge and the advisory or forecast from the Central Water Commission/MET, and requested to take appropriate measures/steps accordingly to avoid flood-like situation," an advisory from the authorities said.

"The CWC, Upper Yamuna Division, New Delhi has issued flood forecast for the Delhi Railway Bridge (North Delhi Dt NCT, Delhi). The water level of river Yamuna at Delhi Rly Bridge was 205 metres at 9 am on July 28 (warning level 204.00 m)," the advisory said.

A low-pressure area over western Uttar Pradesh and its neighbourhood persists.

This system will bring widespread rainfall with isolated 'heavy to very heavy rainfall' over Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi and northwest Madhya Pradesh during the next two days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. - PTI
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

New Delhi, July 28

The Congress on Friday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for not raising the Doklam issue with Chinese President Xi Jinping on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

The truth is that Prime Minister Modi meets the Chinese president on the sidelines of the BRICS summit and holds talks, but forgets to talk about Doklam. When will this government show the 56-inch chest and red eyes and have the courage to raise the issues concerning security and nations borders?...the 132 crore people of the country want to know, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala said.

He said the United States Congressional Committee has stated that China has made a headway in Doklam and was raising its infrastructure and Army strength there.

This is a direct threat and challenge to national security, he said. The Congress leader said the way Chinese Army strength of Brigade-level was there in north Doklam and in southern Doklam in the Siliguri corridor, China has constructed a road, but the prime minister and defence minister did not speak anything on it.

The truth is that the one who claimed having a 56-inch chest and dared to show red eyes to China, has gone back on his promise and has turned silent on national security.

The Prime Minister, who dared to show China his red eyes, gave swing rides to the Chinese president. But when he goes to China with an agenda-less visit, he forgets to even raise the issue of Doklam which is linked to national security, Surjewala said.

The Congress leader said China, which does not have any diplomatic ties with Bhutan, visited the nation and discussed Doklam with Bhutan without involving India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping during the 10th BRICS Summit agreed that the Chinese Defence Minister will visit India next month as part of the efforts to maintain the momentum generated by their recent meetings.

Modi, who is here to attend the BRICS Summit, met Xi for the third time in nearly three months last evening after their two-day informal summit in the Chinese city of Wuhan in late April and a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Summit in Qingdao, China in June.

It is important to maintain this momentum and for this we should, at our level, regularly review our relationship and give proper instructions whenever required, Modi told Xi in his opening remarks. PTI
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Chennai, July 28

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday formally handed over two types of indigenously built high-power multi-fuel engines to the Army.

The engines manufactured by the Engine Factory, Avadi-a unit of Ordnance Factory Board, Department of Defence Production-were fully indigenised for the first time under the Centre's 'Make in India' programme.

"Earlier, we were importing some of the components for defence. Now, with these two engines produced by you, you have proved that the Army does not look outside (other countries) than to look at you," she said at a function in the factory, 35 km from here.

The first engine of 1000 HP engine-V92S2 engine-powers T-90 Bhisma Tank, the second engine-V-46-6 engine-powers the T-72 Ajeya Tank and its variants are manufactured with '100 per cent Made in India' parts, officials said.

Earlier, local content of the two engines was upto 73 per cent, they said.

Sitharaman formally handed over the documents of the two types of engines to Vice Chief of Army Staff Devaraj Anbu.

Sitharaman said the Engine Factory General Manager, Anil Kumar has said the factory would be producing fully indigenised engines for the BMP-1 tank as well.

"You have made us proud," she said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been encouraging the Make in India programme since there was a thought that products engaged in country's security need to be locally sourced, she said.

Though these engines were manufactured based on Russian design, India was depending on Moscow for its supply of critical assemblies like turbocharger, supercharger, fuel injection pumps, Defence (Production) Secretary Ajay Kumar said.

"By localising the components for engine manufacturing, the country can save around Rs 800 crore for the next 10 years," he said.

Sitharaman appealed to the employees to produce products that are 'world class' so that such defence public sector undertakings need not await orders from the government, but can attract good business in domestic and overseas.

The indigenisation effort also exhibits the self-reliance of the Ordnance Factory Board in manufacturing these engines in India without any import support, officials said.

The Engine Factory has manufactured more than 12,000 engines since its inception in 1987. - PTI
amansharma@tribunemail.com

Satya Prakash

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, July 28

As subordinate courts face a daunting task of clearing a backlog of 2.75 crore cases, Supreme Court Judge Ranjan Gogoi on Saturday criticised high courts for inordinate delay in completing the process for appointment of judges at district level where almost 6,000 judicial posts remain vacant.

Speaking at a Conference on National Initiative to Reduce Pendency and Delay in Judicial System, Justice Gogoi - who is likely to take over as the next Chief Justice of India in October - also pitched for appointment of ad-hoc judges in high courts "very selectively" as a part of solution to huge vacancies in the 24 high court which have a backlog of 43 lakh cases.

He said bulk of the subordinate court vacancies were in Uttar Pradesh (1,344), Bihar(825) and Madhya Pradesh (748) which had huge pendency figures.

Noting that there were talks of having a centralised system of appointing subordinate court judges; and a PIL was also pending on the issue in the Supreme Court, he said, "If we are unable to fill up (vacancies in district courts), I do not blame the government from embarking upon the idea to centralize the recruitment process."

Justice Gogoi squarely blamed high courts for inordinate delay in filling up vacancies in subordinate judiciary.

He said the Supreme Court had in a case on judicial appointment said the entire process could be completed 273 days. But the Delhi High Court took 762 days and the Jammu and Kashmir High Court took 900 days while such appointments were completed in Pondicherry in just 99 days, he said.

"It can happen in 99 days...If you have the right man at the right place, right things will follow," Justice Gogoi emphasised.

Enumerating the qualities of a judge, he said, "What are we looking for? A man or a woman of outstanding merit and abilityutmost integrity and of absolute commitment to work Three qualities I would look for before a person becomes a judge."

He rejected the suggestion made by Prof NR Madhav Menon that a Chief Justice should have a fixed tenure.

"In judiciary we have some norms. Seniority is a norm and when a man's turn comes merely because his tenure is too short may not be a ground to deny him the position. The problem lies with change of priorities with change of chief justices and not with tenure. We must have consistent policy. Tenures do not matter," Justice Gogoi said.

He said he expected CJs of all high courts to take stock of what was happening in their district with the help of technology share the feedback with the Supreme Court and the CJI.

Addressing the judges, Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra asked all judges at every level to take up leadership role in dealing with the problem of pendency.

Prof Menon favoured Justice Kurian Joseph's idea of increasing the retirement age of judges to 70 years.
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

Chennai, July 28

DMK President M Karunanidhi's health condition continues to be remain stable, Chennais Kauvery Hospital said in a statement on Saturday.

Former Tamil Nadu chief minister Karunanidhi, known popularly as Kalaignar (artiste), is being constant monitored, the hospital said.

A statement released by the hospital read: DMK President & former Tamil Nadu CM M Karunanidhi's health condition continues to be remain stable with ongoing active medical support. He is continuously being monitored & treated by the panel of expert doctors in the Intensive Care Unit.

The 94-year-old Karunanidhi, who was being treated for fever due to urinary tract infection, was admitted to the hospital after his blood pressure dropped.

Several senior DMK leaders, including working president M K Stalin and his estranged elder brother MK Alagiri were at the hospital. Other frontline leaders such as Duraimurugan, Rajya Sabha MP Kanimozhi and former Union minister A Raja were also there.

Party cadres had poured in near the hospital complex after receiving the news about Karunanidhi being admitted there. They were chanting "long live Thalaivar" (leader).

Some of them were holding Karunanidhi's photos as they waited outside the hospital.

The DMK leaders had visited Karunanidhi at his home in Gopalapuram area before he was taken to the hospital. Among the visitors was Alagiri, who was expelled from the party by the DMK chief in January 2014 after a prolonged struggle for power with Stalin.

Hours before Karunanidhi was moved to the hospital, Stalin had said the former Tamil Nadu chief minister's health was improving. On Wednesday, he had assured people that there was nothing to worry about his father's health.

Security was tightened at the former Tamil Nadu chief minister's residence as DMK cadres kept pouring in there as well.

For the past two years, the DMK president has not been making any public appearance owing to his ill health, but he still holds the top post in the Dravidian party.

Karunanidhi has not been keeping well since October 2016. A few days ago, he underwent a procedure to change his tracheostomy tube to help him in breathing.

Karunanidhi entered his 50th year as party chief on Friday. Agencies


rchopra@tribunemail.com

Mumbai, July 28

The Maharashtra government justified its decision to remove a special public prosecutor from Khwaja Yunus custodial death case, for seeking to arraign four policemen as accused in it, and told the Bombay High Court that it was not trying to protect the police officials.

The government, through a notification in April this year, cancelled advocate Deepak Mirajkars appointment as special public prosecutor in the case.

The governments decision came after Mirajkar filed an application before a sessions court, which is currently conducting the trial in the case, seeking summons to be issued against retired police officer Praful Bhosale and three other policemen and make them face trial on murder charges.

The application was filed after key prosecution witness, Mohammed Abdul Mateen, had deposed before the court claiming that he had seen Bhosale, then assistant police inspector Hemant Desai and two other policemen assault 2002 Ghatkopar blast accused Yunus in police lock-up.

Yunuss mother Asiya Begum approached the high court earlier this month challenging the governments decision.

Advocate General Ashutosh Kumbhakoni on Friday told a division bench of Justices RM Savant and Revati Mohite-Dere that the decision to remove Mirajkar was not to shield the four police officials.

The decision was taken as Mirajkars move to file the application was contradictory with the state governments view. The government had already in the past refused sanction to prosecute these four policemen, Kumbhakoni said.

The governments sanction refusal was challenged by Yunuss mother Asiya in the high court. A division bench of the high court had dismissed the petition and upheld the governments decision. Asiya then appealed in the Supreme Court and the matter is still pending, he said.

Hence, in such a situation, Mirajkar should not have filed such an application seeking for the four police officials to be arraigned as accused in the case, the AG said.

Justice Savant said, The division bench of the high court in its order has clearly said there is no evidence against these four policemen. Now the matter is pending before the Supreme Court. The impact of the high court judgement is such that it has curbed the trial courts powers under Section 319 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.

Under this section, the trial court has powers to arraign as accused any person against whom there is prima facie evidence of having committed the offence in question.

In the light of the high court order, was the prosecutor (Mirajkar) justified in filing such a plea? Justice Savant said.

The court, however, asked the government to consider giving Mirajkar another opportunity.

Try to resolve the issue. Maybe the government could now make its view on the subject clear to the prosecutor and see if he is willing to withdraw his application, the court said posting the petition for further hearing on August 9.

Yunus (27) was detained soon after the December 2002 Ghatkopar bomb blast.

While the police claimed that he escaped when he was being taken to Aurangabad for questioning, a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) inquiry ordered by the high court on a petition filed by his father revealed he had died in police custody.

The inquiry had indicted 14 policemen, but the government sanctioned prosecution for only four, who are on trial.

Four police officials--Sachin Waze, Rajendra Tiwari, Rajaram Nikam and Sunil Desai--are facing trial on charges of murder, voluntarily causing grievous hurt to extort confession, fabricating evidence, and criminal conspiracy in the case.

Trial in the case began in May last year. PTI
rchopra@tribunemail.com

New Delhi, July 28

Health care services in several private hospitals across the country are likely to be hit as the IMA has called for suspension of all non-emergency services, including OPD for 12 hours, to protest against the National Medical Commission (NMC) Bill on Saturday.

The Indian Medical Association will observe Dhikkar Diwas-no to NMC Bill to protest against the proposed legislation, which seeks to replace the Medical Council of India (MCI) with a new body.

The Union Health Ministry has said the strike may involve participation of a number of medical professionals, thereby adversely affecting the health care services and causing inconvenience to patient care in the hospitals.

The ministry has thus asked the additional chief secretaries and health secretaries of all states and union territories to put in place all necessary measures to ensure that the patient health care and emergency services are run smoothly during the strike.

Provisions of the Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) may be invoked, if necessary. These measures may be continued if the strike is extended, a communique said.

The IMA had earlier said in a statement that while all elective procedures would be deferred, critical services, including deliveries, emergencies and in-patient care would be provided.

A general body meeting of all local branches will be convened at 9 am on Saturday to pass a resolution against the NMC Bill. The Call for Action to defend the autonomy of the medical profession is hereby given to each and every member of the medical profession, it had said.

In spite of the deep resentment and opposition of the medical profession of the country, the government is going ahead with the enactment of the National Medical Commission Bill-2017. We are left with no choice but to resist the move with determination and resolve, Dr Ravi Wankhedkar, National President, IMA, had said.

He has said that the bill will be stopped at any cost.

On Saturday, IMA members will hold a procession and go to their respective MPs, district collectors/sub-collectors office and submit a memorandum addressed to the Prime minister, the statement has said.

Branches with medical colleges have an additional responsibility to coordinate with the action in the medical colleges involving the medical students, Wankhedkar had said.

In March, the Health Ministry had approved amendments to the NMC Bill, including removing the contentious provision of bridge course, which would have allowed practitioners of alternative medicines to pursue allopathy, after stiff resistance from the IMA and the opposition.

The IMA had earlier said the Bill in its current form remained anti-poor, anti-people and anti-federal law which, if passed, will have unforeseen consequences on not only the health sector but also on the federal structure of the country. Doctors belonging to the IMA had gone on a 12-hour strike as part of a nationwide stir against the NMC Bill in January.

The statement had said that the Bill would make medical education inaccessible to the poor and downtrodden and doctors would come only from the rich sections of the population. PTI
editorial@tribune.com

Bhopal, July 28

A month after the Madhya Pradesh High Court asked it to get houses of four former Chief Ministers in the capital vacated, the state government has re-allotted bungalows to three former BJP CMs under a new category.

On June 19, a Division Bench of Chief Justice Hemant Gupta and Justice AK Shrivastava had held that Section 5 (1) of the Madhya Pradesh Mantri Vetan Thatha Bhata Adhiniyam 1972 (MP Ministers Salaries and Allowances Act), incorporated last year, was unconstitutional.

The Bench also said the four bungalows occupied by former chief ministers Uma Bharti, Kailash Joshi, Babulal Gaur (all BJP) and Digvijay Singh (Congress)  were to be vacated within a month.

Using his discretionary powers, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has re-allocated houses to the three BJP CMs, a senior state Home department official said today. He said the bungalows were allocated under the category of social workers and dignitaries after the three former CMs of the ruling party applied for it. However, Digvijay Singh did not put in any such request, the official informed.

The state government had earlier last week cancelled the allotment of houses to the four chief ministers.

The HC order came in the wake of the Supreme Court striking down an amendment to the UP Ministers (Salaries, Allowances and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1981, saying it violated the principle of equality.  PTI

Defying HC order?

CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan has used discretionary powers for allocating the bungalows to former CMs Uma Bharti, Kailash Joshi and Babulal Gaur under a new category of social workers and dignitaries
uttara@tribuneindia.com

New Delhi, July 28

The National Commission for Minorities (NCM) on Saturday strongly opposed the National Commission for Women's (NCW) recommendation for abolishing the practice of confessions in churches, saying it was an integral part of Christianity and could not be interfered with.

The assertion by the NCM comes a day after the NCW chief Rekha Sharma recommended the ban saying the practice could lead to blackmailing of women.

Sharma made the recommendation after allegations against four priests of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church in Kerala of using a married woman's confession to sexually abuse her came to light last month.

"The minority commission rejects the recommendation outright," NCM chairperson Syed Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi told PTI. "The practice of confession is an integral part of the religion of Christianity, so it cannot be banned. There can be no interference with religious practice."

On Friday, Union Minister Alphons Kannanthanam, a native of Kerala and a Christian, also dismissed the NCW's recommendation, saying the Modi government would never interfere with people's religious beliefs.

"It is not the official stand of the government," Kannanthanam, the Union Minister of State for Tourism, said in a Facebook post.

"It is the personal opinion of the NCW Chairperson Rekha Sharma," he added.

Kerala Catholic Bishops' Council president Archbishop Soosa Pakiam, at a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Friday, said a memorandum had been sent to the Prime Minister against the recommendation which was shocking not just for Christians, but for everyone who stands for freedom of religion.

Pakiam has also written to NCM Vice-Chairman George Kurien requesting him to raise the Church's concern before the appropriate authorities.

Kurien is learnt to have forwarded Pakiam's letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

The NCW had constituted an inquiry committee to look into alleged sexual assaults against women in churches and has sent its findings to Modi, Singh, Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi and the DGP of Kerala and Punjab. PTI




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Bijay Sankar Bora

Tribune News Service

Guwahati, July 28

With just two days remaining before publication of the much-awaited final draft of the updated National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam, the state government in order to allay prevailing apprehension among the people, has announced that people whose names do not figure in the final draft of the NRC will not be sent to detention camp branding them as illegal migrants.

Neither any rights nor privileges will be curtailed in respect of those people whose names are not there in the final draft of the NRC to be published on July 30 next as per the directive of the Supreme Court.

Assam Finance Minister Himanta Bishwa Sarma said since it was a draft NRC so as per the recommendations of the cabinet sub-committee Assam government will ensure "no one will be sent to detention camps and rights or privileges will not be taken away from them just because their names have not appeared in the list".

The people whose names do not figure in the final draft of the NRC will get the opportunity to file claims and objections and seek redressal. The process of filing of claims and objections will start immediately after the publication of the draft NRC on July 30.

The minister further said the excluded people will have a second opportunity to approach the foreigners' tribunals if their names are rejected and do not appear in the final NRC which will be published by the end of this year. The tribunals will have the final say on their citizenship status.

The Registrar General of India (RGI) has been carrying out the exercise to update the names of Indian citizens living in Assam from the time of first enlisting done in 1951. The updating of the NRC of 1951 has been done in Assam with March 24, 1971 as the cut-off date.

Total 3.29 crore people living in Assam have applied for enlisting of their names in the updated NRC. The first part of the draft NRC which was published on December 31, 2017 enlisted names of 1.9 crore Indian citizens living in the state. The next part of the draft will be published on July 30.

Meanwhile, in the run up to publication of the final draft NRC, about 30,000 central armed paramilitary force personnel have been deployed all over the state even as Assam Police have carried out massive awareness campaign in coordination with district administrations regarding the entire process of the NRC updating so as to allay fears among genuine Indian citizens belonging to all castes, creed and religion. The social media has been under strict surveillance of Assam Police's cyber cell to prevent rumour mongering at this crucial juncture.

The NRC state coordinator and the chief minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, have made it amply clear that the NRC is not being updated on the basis on any caste, creed and religion as has been propagated by certain vested quarters to derail the first of a kind process in the entire country.
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

Bankura, July 28

Ritu Mudi says she became a celebrity and have started getting marriage proposals after Prime Minister Narendra Modi came to visit her at a hospital and wrote her an autograph.

Ritu Mudi was among the injured after a tent collapsed at the prime ministers rally in Midnapore in Bengal.

The PMs visit and the autograph made the family popular and the girl and her sister have started getting marriage proposals. Rita who is a second year student, says that she was happy with the importance that they were to getting but wants to continue her studies.

She said, I became a celebrity. I and my sister are even getting marriage proposals, but we'll marry after completing studies.

When the prime minister came to the hospital, she asked him for the autograph. The PM wrote on a paper parmatama sukhi rakhe.

Look at the adulation for PM Modi. The lady meets first in the hospital asks PM for an autograph while hardly being able to speak. Needless to say, PM happily obliged, tweeted BJP's IT chief Amit Malviya. He also shared a photo of the Prime Minister with Rita lying on a bed in the hospital.

Look at the adulation for PM Modi. The lady meets first in the hospital asks PM for an autograph while hardly being able to speak. Needless to say, PM happily obliged. #BengalWithModi pic.twitter.com/0bAioLfXhp  Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) July 16, 2018

Several people were injured at the PMs rally when a part of the tent collapsed. ANI inputs
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Lucknow, July 28

The Samajwadi Party national executive on Saturday authorised party president Akhilesh Yadav to take a decision on alliances and seat sharing for the general elections next year, an SP leader said.

Senior SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav said, "The main decision taken in the national executive is that party president Akhilesh Yadav has been authorised to take a decision on alliance and seat sharing for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. The executive is of the view that elections should be held through ballot papers and not through EVMs."

Asked to elaborate on the discussions at the meeting about the political scenario, Yadav parried a direct reply, saying, "I am telling you about the decisions not the discussions". About absence of some party leaders, including Azam Khan from the meeting, he said, "Is it necessary that all should remain present? Ninety per cent of the members were present. Party president Akhilesh Yadav was also there".

On being asked as to what the party would do if the Election Commission did not accept their demand for polls through ballot papers, Ram Gopal Yadav said SP leaders would sit at the doors of the EC and resort to satyagrah.

Asked about possibilities of his contesting from Sambhal Lok Sabha seat, he said, "It is up to the party to decide whether I will contest or not. If it directs me, I will contest. If it doesn't, I will not". To a question on to who will lead the alliance if it is formed, Ram Gopal Yadav said, "The government at the Centre is running with 17 parties.Their leader is only (Narendra) Modi. Every party has its leader". To another query as to whether there was any discussion about Akhilesh Yadav's warring uncle Shivpal Yadav, he replied in the negative.

When his attention was drawn towards the frequent visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Uttar Pradesh, Ram Gopal Yadav said, "This is just the beginning. As elections approach, he will have to come here on a daily basis".

At the meeting, the attendees condoled the death of poet Gopal Das Neeraj and some other eminent personalities, and observed silence as a mark of respect to them. PTI
uttara@tribuneindia.com

Shiv Kumar

Tribune News Service

Mumbai, July 28

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis agreed to a demand by opposition parties to call a special session of the state legislature to discuss the issue over granting reservations to the Maratha community.



Speaking to reporters here after an all-party meeting at Vidhan Bhawan here this afternoon, Fadnavis said the government was taking every step to ensure that the Maratha community gets reservations in educational institutions and government jobs. "I am making appeal to every party not to get carried away and provoke violence," Fadnavis said.



The chief minister said the government would like the hearing conducted by the Bombay High Court on the reservation issue to be speeded up.



The state Backward Caste Commission which studying the issue of reservations for the Maratha community would be asked to submit its report at the earliest. "We will provide all help to the commission so that it can submit its report at the earliest," Fadnavis said.



Earlier the opposition parties had accused the government of delaying providing information to the commission, which was prolonging the court's proceedings.



The chief minister went on to say that cases registered against those participating in the Maharashtra bandh would be withdrawn. However serious cases like assault on police personnel and carrying out arson of public property would not be withdrawn, Fadnavis added.



He added that all political parties were unanimous that colleges should give concession in fees to students from the Maratha community.

Fadnavis added that political parties had taken note of colleges refusing to give concessions in fees to these students. "We're ready to help the colleges if they have any practical problems, but if they deliberately try to deny concessions to Maratha students, the education department will cancel their registrations," Fadnavis added.



Meanwhile, Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar has called for parliament to issue an ordinance enabling reservations for the Maratha community. "If the government is willing to introduce an ordinance, I will speak with the opposition parties help pass the necessary laws in parliament," Pawar told reporters in Kolhapur on Saturday.


harinder@tribunemail.com

Ruchika M Khanna

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 28

The Punjab Government will be giving the maintenance and operation of three of its important memorials  built to remember important Sikh wars  to private entities.

The Punjab Infrastructure Development Board (PIDB) has been entrusted with the task of identifying and appointing the entities.

Fateh Burj at Chappar Chiri in Mohali, Vadda Ghalughara in Sangrur and Chotta Ghalughara in Gurdaspur are being maintained by the Greater Mohali Area Development Authority, Patiala Development Authority and Amritsar Development Authority, respectively.

The three memorials are operated and maintained by the Housing Department through these authorities, which hire manpower through private agencies or appoint organising committees of eminent citizens.

The decision to give these monuments for operation and maintenance in the public-private partnership mode has some parallels with the Adopt a Heritage scheme of the Government of India.

Additional Chief Secretary, Housing, Vini Mahajan, said, Maintenance of monuments is not the primary work of the Housing Department. Across the world, heritage sites are operated and maintained by entities specialising in heritage maintenance and who can attract maximum tourists.

Mahajan added that the contract will be given on the precondition that the religious and historical importance of the monuments is maintained. All three monuments mainly get tourists on weekends. Also, there are hardly any literature or audio-visual aids for tourists.

Fateh Burj, Chappar Chiri

Commemorates victory of Banda Singh Bahadur over Mughal Governor Wazir Khan

Constructed in Mohali at a cost of Rs 46.43 crore, its maintenance cost comes to Rs 87 lakh per annum

Chotta Ghalughara

Built in memory of 11,000 Sikhs who attained martyrdom during war with Mughal army in 1746

Built in Gurdaspur at cost of Rs 18 crore, memorial requires Rs 38 lakh per annum for maintenance

Vadda Ghalughara
editorial@tribune.com

PK Jaiswar

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, July 28

The forensic examination report of the weapon used by former vice-president of the Chief Khalsa Diwan Inderpreet Singh Chadha for committing suicide and swabs taken from his hands have raised questions over the suicide theory.

The report submitted by the Central Forensic Science Laboratory, Chandigarh, concluded that on the chemical examination the firing discharge residue could not be detected on either of the swabs. Therefore, it could not be possible to form any definite opinion regarding the presence of firing discharge residue in the swabs on the paper tapes provided by the police. The police had sent four swabs each of the either hand for forensic examination.

The forensic laboratory that also examined the weapon and cartridges pointed that no definite opinion could be made regarding badly deformed lead bullet whether it was fired through the same weapon belonging to the deceased due to lack of individual characteristic marks.

The forensic report was submitted in the court along with supplementary challan by the police here on Friday and on Saturday it went viral in social media.

LK Yadav, Special Investigating Team (SIT) head that investigated the suicide case, refused to comment while adding that the SIT had completed its investigations and submitted its report to the court. The matter was sub-judice and it would not be appropriate for him to comment on it.

However, an official associated with the probe pointed out that it was a single shot and only a very small amount of residue could have been released in firing.

It all depends upon whether it was picked at the time of taking swabs or not, he added. He said the driver of Inderpreet Singh Chadha took him to a private hospital where many others had contacted the body. This also led to the possibility that whatever discharge residue had been there was damaged in the process.

About the case

Inderpreet Chadha, son of expelled Chief Khalsa Diwan (CKD) head Charanjit Singh Chadha, had allegadly committed suicide by shooting himself in his car in Amritsar on January 3. The police booked 11 persons  Surjit Singh, Umat, Kuljit Kaur, Mania, Davinder Sandhu, Inderpreet Singh Anand, Gursewak Singh, Hari Singh Sandhu, Nirmal Singh, Bhag Singh Ankhi and the woman principal who had accused Charanjit of outraging her modesty and Inderpreet of criminal intimidation. Later, the police also booked the deceaseds younger brother Harjit Singh Chadha on the charges of abetment to suicide and criminal conspiracy.
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Sukhmeet Bhasin

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, July 28

Schoolteachers in Bathinda and Mansa districts were caught off guard on Saturday as teams of the Education Department, led by Krishan Kumar, Secretary, School Education, conducted surprise checks at a number of schools and followed it up with action against many of them.

Subsequently, the secretary summoned a number of officials, school principals and teachers to the DC office in Bathinda and pulled up erring employees. A teacher was suspended, while department action was initiated against a number of others over dereliction of duty.

The Secretary expressed his displeasure over the fact that a large number of teachers and students had gone to participate in the mini triathlon organised by the Mansa administration, while many teachers reached school late, saying they had got struck in traffic due to the mini triathlon.

Krishan Kumar lashed out at the Mansa DEO, asking him whether he declared holiday in the schools by assigning principals, schoolteachers and students to go for the event. He ordered departmental action against Mansa DEO (Secondary) Subhash Chander for not informing them and assigning duties to school heads on his own for the event.

A primary teacher of Ramnagar village school, Varinder Singh, has been suspended, as he was found using mobile phone inside the classroom.

In all 28 teams raided 158 schools in the two districts. During the checking, one of the inspection teams found only two teachers and two students at Mehraj primary school, Malluana, while one student and four teachers were present at a school at Sandli Patti Mehraj village in Bathinda.

Another team found that no teacher was present at Dullewala village school in Mansa and a Class IV employee was conducting the prayer in the school.

Similarly, at 8 am when the inspection team reached a school at Nathana, the gate was locked and students were standing outside. This school is located on the main road. Departmental action has also been initiated against Nathana block primary officer (BPO), as the record diary was not found in the school under her charge.
editorial@tribune.com

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 28

Vidhan Sabha Speaker Rana KP Singh has written to Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj, seeking an action in the matter of refusal of entry into Canada to two state MLAs, Kultar Singh Sandhwan and Amarjit Singh Sandoa.

Expressing concern over the issue, the Speaker wrote: All legislative bodies of India and Canada are branches of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and members of the legislative bodies in both countries are members of the CPA. On the one hand, we strive for increasing CPA activities, while on the other, our MLAs/public representatives are treated differently and humiliated.

He said when the public representatives had disclosed their identity at Ottawa Airport, the Canadian authorities must have facilitated them, who were having a valid visa. The Speaker stressed that whatever were the circumstances, the rude and discourteous behaviour shown to the Punjab MLAs by the Canadian authorities was unbecoming on their part, a matter of grave concern.

Seeking appropriate action in the matter, Rana KP Singh wrote: I request you to take up this matter with the appropriate authorities of the Canadian government so that public representatives from our country are not subjected to such type of untoward and humiliating incidents in future. Notably, a delegation of Aam Aadmi Party met the Speaker and sought his intervention in the matter on July 24.
vinaymishra188@gmail.com

Aradhika Sharma

Written in the fourth century, Ved Vyasas 100,000 verse long the Mahabharata is the longest-selling bestseller in the country.

It is constantly contemporised and has been adapted countless times to fit in the current times. Filmmakers and playwrights hark back to it for inspiration for their plots and seek stimulus from its dramatic situations.

Politicians and businessmen apply the ancient strategies to modern times.

Beyond India, the Mahabharata is popular in south-eastern countries like Indonesia and Malaysia.

In short, alluded to several times in a day, the Mahabharata is one of the most alive, vibrant and significant epics ever written. Cited by established theorists, philosophers, academics, leaders to explain several present-day situations, it continues to be as relevant.

Dice of politics

Since the premises of the Mahabharata are rajniti (politics) and ranniti (warfare), it is only natural that the epic is the favourite reference point for our politicians, both when they admire and disparage situations.

In 2014, Mallikarjun Kharge, leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha, likened the BJP to the Kauravas and the Congress to the Pandavas. Recently, the sentiment was echoed by Rahul Gandhi who said at the 84th Congress Plenary Session: Like the Kauravas, BJP and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) are designed to fight for power. Like the Pandavas, Congress is designed to fight for the truth

However, it is former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh who seems to have earned maximum comparisons between the epic characters and himself. His media advisor Sanjaya Baru claims in his controversial book, The Accidental Prime Minister, that during the first term of the UPA, he was like Bheeshma, but in the consecutive term, he was the Dhritarashtra  the allusion being obvious. Incidentally, the analogy has previously been used by Arvind Kejriwal. In 2012, Prashant Bhushan (who was then supporting Anna Hazare) likened PM Manmohan Singh to Shikhandi, used as a kavach by the Congress party, Just as Shikhandi was used as a shield in Mahabharata. But, in 2008, Manmohan Singh took to the epic and quoted to Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the Bheeshma Pitamah of Indian politics.

In a separate context, in April, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb claimed, India has been using internet since ages. In the MahabharataSanjay was blind but he narrated what was happening in the battlefield to Dhritarashtra anyway. This was due to internet and technology. Satellite also existed during that period.

Not surprisingly, this comment was universally disparaged.

Now at B-schools!

Harvard Divinity School has opted to focus on Indian Religions Through Their Narrative Literatures: The Epics. The graduate-level class to be taught by Professor Anne E. Monius of Harvard Divinity School started in the fall session of last year (August 30, 2017).

The Indian epics have long and complex narratives that speak of virtually every aspect of human experience Scholarly interest in the Mahabharata has recently focused on the complexities of dharma or ethics in the text. The Indian government plans to inculcate good valuesin the countrys future business leaders through mandating a new course  Indian ethos and business ethics as a part of the B-School syllabus that draws from religious texts as well as Kautilyas Arthashastra. This will be a part of the curriculum for the masters degree and postgraduate diplomas in business management. As per the course outline, the numerous scams and cons in Indian businesses could be ascribed to the lack of moral scruples, a condition the course seeks to rectify.

On the book cover

Ganga, Draupadi, Kunti, Gandhari, Satyavati and Amba were at the centre of cataclysmic events in the Mahabharata, and that makes them a favourite of mythological and fictional authors. Draupadi has been picked as a muse by several authors of English and regional languages. Take for instance Mahashewata Devis short story Draupadi, Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni,s The Palace of Illusions, Veerappa Moilys The Flaming Tresses of Draupadi, Trisha Dass Ms Draupadi Kuru. While the subject remains the same, the context varies and so do the treatment.

The women characters are still looked upon for their courage. Spirited and strong, these women have been written about as decision-makers, who also questioned mens entitlements. Today when womens voices are gaining strength, the mythological heroines continue to be points of reference  not as women who helplessly gave into rules made by men, but as fighters who battled oppression.

Caught in action

The 3,500-year-old epic is replete with stories of bravery, treachery, romance and tragedy. The many elements in its narrative makes it a rich mine for storytellers, authors and dramatists. The attributes of each character are complex and each character has a story to share. Symbolism abounds, so does philosophy. In the era of silent films, Dadasaheb Phalke directed Vastraharan (1927). In 1929, German-born director Franz Osten directed A Throw of Dice and in 1920 Baburaos film Sairandri was heavily censored for its graphic depiction of slaying of Keechak by Bhima.

Boney Kapoors Hum Paanch (1980) was an adaptation of the Mahabharata. Kalyug (1981), directed by Shyam Benegal, mirrored the conflict between competing business houses. Pandavas: The Five Warriors (2000) is Indias first computer-animated film, and won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in English. Prakash Jha directed Raajneeti in 2010, giving the Mahabharata a contemporary twist.

In theatre, Peter Brooks production of the Mahabharata redefined theatre 30 years ago.The nine-hours long original play was adapted into a mini-series and then into a film. Dharamveer Bhartis Andha Yug has been performed by illustrious actors of the theatre world. Not to forget, the immense impact that BR Chopras Mahabharata had on tele-viewers in 1988. The Mahabharata is a vital component in puppet and shadow theatre in India as well as South-East Asia.

Making a buzz is Bollywoods magnum opus The Mahabharata, billed to be Indias biggest ever film with an investment of Rs 1,000 crore. Scheduled for a 2020 release, it is touted to be a multi-lingual production with many Bollywood A-listers playing key roles.

Seems like we cant have enough of the epic, ever.

Artists Interpretation

The Mahabharatas vast magnitude and dramatic quotient has inspired many new representations. It has been interpreted on the canvas in Pahari style, Islamic art, Rajput and Mughal style. Emperor Akbar had the Mahabharata translated into Persian, which is held to be one of the most beautifully illustrated books in the world.

The Mahabharata has inspired great artists like Raja Ravi Verma (popular for his portrayal of scenes from the epic sagas), MF Husain (The Mahabharata series and the Draupadi paintings) Jamini Roy, one of Indias first modernist painters, to name only a few. Every era has witnessed fresh interpretations as artists blended the past with their vision and brushstrokes. The hyper-realistic representation of the epic characters by a young Gurugram artist Jayesh Joshi has been making news. His works show that even heroes are vulnerable and have to survive the odds.

Mukesh Singh, an illustrator, has presented the battle of Kurukshetra in cyber punk style. 18 Days, a graphic novel in collaboration with Scottish playwright Grant Morrison depict the epic in contemporary medium. The art has added new dimensions to the most written-about battle.

Italian painter, GiampaoloTomassetti, fascinated by the epic, studied it meticulously for five years and then lent colours to breathtaking paintings.
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Jasmine Singh

Whenever someone nags you for leaving open a box of sweets lest it attracts ants, you can smile back and tell them that at first, only one ant will come. It will scrutinise the sweet, go back, and then it will recruit an army of ants, who will carry the food back to their colony! And of course, you can attribute this piece of information to ant-man Dr Himender Bharti, professor, Department of Zoology and Environmental Sciences, Punjabi University, Patiala. Interestingly, Leptogenys Bhartii, a species of ant, has been named after this ant-man. The 11-12 mm ant was found at the southern foothills of the Pir Panjal mountain range in Jammu & Kashmir by Dr Shahid Ali Akbar, a scientist from Srinagar. His findings were published in the Biodiversity Data Journal.

Dr Bharti came to know about the new species of the ant being named after him while reviewing a manuscript describing a new species of ant discovered by the team at the Central Institute of Temperature Horticulture, Srinagar. I was obviously surprised, smiles Dr Bharti, as he pulls out the picture of the ant that will carry his name forward! I did not review the paper since it would have been unethical on my part.

Tracking their path

Known as an encyclopaedia on the most neglected species, ants, Dr Bharti joined the Department of Science and Technology, Punjabi University, as a scientist in 1998. It was, however, during his masters degree that he read about evolutionary biologist Edward Osborne Wilson. Wilsons non-fiction novels on ants got Dr Bhartis attention, and he started trailing the insect.

Literally, he smiles softly, talking about how he was impressed by the special attributes of ants, and how he decided that he would take up research in this field.

Ants are social organisms. Throughout their lives, they stay in groups and colonies; I wanted to understand their physiology, genetics, behaviour and evolution.

A study published by Dr Bharti found that there were 835 species of ants in India. Out of these, he discovered 80 species. This myrmecologist (myrmecology is the study of ants) visited Southeast Asia, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Bhutan, Austria, Thailand and Malaysia in search of these species. Today, Dr Bharti can recognise species of an ant at a glance! He laughs. It is a gratifying experience. Sometimes, students pursuing myrmecology WhatsApp me pictures of the ants they randomly find. I enjoy identifying these, adds Dr Bharti.

A neglected field

In India, the study of ants is the most neglected field. Researchers are mostly enamoured by either birds or butterflies. I am sorry to say but these researchers are contributing nothing to the field of science. They just click pictures, download information regarding the species and share the same on social media, adds Dr Bharti, who is also a member of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) group for the conservation of Asian ants.

According to Dr Bharti, The biggest challenge when I started research was convincing people as to why I was studying ants. I was asked what good would come out of studying something they thought was so inconspicuous.

But with time, people warmed up to him as well as the ants! I started sharing my findings in science magazines and journals. I spoke about ants and discussed the findings with students at various colleges and universities, adds the proud professor, who has 13 students pursuing PhD in myrmecology under his guidance.

I get queries on ants from all over. Last year, a student of Class IX from Coimbatore presented a paper on The use of ants to counter elephant menace. It is nice to see that this species is finally getting some recognition.

Understanding humans via ants

World over, scientists are studying ants. Ants have been perceived as workaholics. Many scientists are trying to understand how climate change will affect the world, by determining the thermal tolerance level of various species of ants, and then predicting what will happen if our world gets hotter. Researchers are looking at how the gene expression of ants can control the environment. This can solve the biggest problem of climate change that the world is facing, shares Dr Bharti, who is currently working on the chemical communication of ants known as chemical ecology.

Millions of ants stay in a colony; they go about doing their work without communicating. But in reality, the ants have the highest form of communication, which takes place through the release of chemicals.

Myrmecologists across the globe are even trying to understand human behavioural patterns through ants. They are known to stay in a self-organised system.

Learning about how ants organise their collective behaviour may help us understand other systems, shares Dr Shahid Ali Akbar. Myrmecologists are also trying to solve the biggest puzzle, which is how a species can sacrifice itself for the coming generation, the highest in the peak of evolution!

Meanwhile, scientists all over the world are trying to discover a software to control traffic by using the ant algorithm (how ants manoeuvre in their colonies without bumping into each other), adds Dr Bharti for whom ants are nothing less than God. They are the masterpiece of evolution, the most beautiful creatures. So beautiful that Dr Bharti has named two ant species after his daughters  Mermica Adrijae and Mermica Urvijae.

Both Dr Bharti and Dr Azad are hopeful that a breakthrough in this field will help the world at large. But the problem with the scientists in India is that they are trying to understand and decode molecules and DNA while the western world is researching basic sciences. And, the Nobel Prize goes to basic sciences.

Where are they found in India

Two biogeographically significant regions of India  the Himalayas and the Western Ghats  harbour a large number of ant species.

656 species from 88 genera were recorded from the Himalayas while 455 species from 75 genera were recorded from the Western Ghats.

From a total of 835 species, 256 (31 per cent) were considered endemic to India. Nearly 71 per cent of these are exclusively concentrated in the two above-listed biodiversity hotspots.

West Bengal has the highest number of species (382) followed by Sikkim at 276.

The most speciose ant genus is camponotus with 83 named species (1/10th of the known Indian species), followed by polyrhachis (71), pheidole (58).

Other diverse genera include tetramorium and crematogaster (42 and 41, respectively), leptogenys (34), myrmica (33), aenictus (32), strumigenys and carebara (24 each respectively).

Fact File
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Nonika Singh

Monalisa, the half-length portrait by Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci, till date remains the most visited and seen painting in the world. About 80 lakh people visit Louvre Museum each year and almost everyone wants to see the 16th century painting. In 2014, 80 per cent visitors are believed to have visited the museum precisely to savour the beauty of the enigmatic portrait. Renowned Mexican artist Frida Kahlo is best remembered for her haunting self portraits that spoke in the language of suffering. Her oeuvre of nearly 150 paintings comprises 55 portraits. Closer home, Indo-Hungarian artist Amrita Sher-Gil is hailed as one of the greatest avant-garde women artists of the early 20th century. Her paintings, including self-portraits, are undeniably at the centre of her creativity, fame and acclaim.

That is the power of portraiture: it is timeless and classic. Yet, today the genre does not find much favour among painters, more so in India. Despite the ceaseless interest in portraiture art, the takers are few and practitioners of the art not too many. Portrait specialist RM Singh, who has just returned from France after breathing life into the portrait of Henri Prevost Allard, the great grandson of General Jean-Francois Allard, one of the army generals of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, spells out the reasons: Today, few artists possess the requisite skill and methodology to delve into the painstaking art of portrait making. In comparison, he stresses that abstraction is an easy game that any newbie artist can indulge in.

Mastering the grammar of portraiture in line with greats such as Sobha Singh is an arduous task no doubt. However, the answer to dwindling interest in portraits is not that simplistic. Internationally recognised US-based artist Vilas Tonape, who taught a thing or two about portraits to the former US President George Bush, is more analytical. He goes back in time to inform that unlike popular belief, portraiture art, and not abstraction, came from the West. Citing Wassily Kandinsky, master of abstraction, who sought inspiration from Indian tantra art, Tonape believes more Indian artists today consider portraiture as indigenous. Call it the residue of colonialism stuck on our brain stems or fixation for West, he adds, Just as all things western are considered superior, we think abstraction is better for, rather fallaciously, we presume it has come from the West too.

Between the inability to paint portraits to considering it an infra dig art activity, the real reasons perhaps lie somewhere else. Veteran artist Prem Singh observes, In India, few artists are using it as creative contemporary expression. Since more are into commissioned assignments, artists are unable to go beyond what has been already done. In the West, artists inspired by Rembrandt and other masters of realism, use portraits to make potent artistic statements. The list of artists like Kehinde Wiley and Chuck Close, who have reinvented portraiture, is rather long, if not exhaustive. Taking cues from old masters like Rubens and Jacques-Louis David, Wileys works speak of racial identity. Close uses square and bits of photos to complete the big picture.

In India, acclaimed artist Ranbir Kaleka employs faces to make many a pertinent point. While his moving images are as experimental as it can get, his faces, like that of Kalki Koechlin, are unfailingly and unerringly real. In the day and age of photography and digital medium, he reveals the joy of painting a face thus: When you make it stroke by stroke, it is as if skin is being built. When an artist creates a face, it is almost as if a bit of himself goes into it. Any wonder then that renowned artist Krishen Khanna calls all of his figures self-portraits?

Nevertheless, over the years, portraiture has moved down in the hierarchy of art. As Kaleka puts it, There are hardly any biennales around the world that feature portraiture art. Its a question of what gets prioritised. Still, faces for him will never lose significance. He says, One cant be substituted with another. Each face suggests a different story. The beauty lies in the mystery that never gets fully revealed and is for this reason that we go back to it again and again.

Only if more artists go beyond the visual, if only they add the extra dimension that mirrors not just the faces contours, but the social times in which it is visualised, will portraiture art find meaning. As Prem Singh says, Mere documentation is irrelevant, camera can/does it better. Tonape, whose one particular work juxtaposes three portraits  his own, Frida Kahlos and that of an African woman  finding a parallel between three cultures, couldnt agree more. Unless a painted portrait provokes and is imbued with a thought photo artists will continue to have an upper edge.
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Aditi Tandon

Better known as late Prime Minister Indira Gandhis powerful principal secretary, Parameshwar Narain Haksar was also a leader in his own right, unflinching in his loyalties, but brutally honest with his opinions.

Relegated to the corners of social memory, Haksar is back in all his glory, thanks to an insightful new book that follows the life of a man who contributed heavily to the making of Indira Gandhi in the initial years of her Prime Ministership.

Intertwined Lives: PN Haksar and Indira Gandhi by former Union minister and senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh rescues Haksar from amnesia by tracing his relationship with Gandhi and the influence he had on her major decisions  nationalisation of banks, abolition of privy purses and princely privileges, early advocacy of direct and bilateral engagement with Pakistan and the imperative to build the atom bomb.

The book presents valuable glimpses into the decision-making in those critical years of Gandhis regime. It reflects on how Gandhi, ambushed by her own party, trusted Haksar for policy and political advice. Haksar, as Ramesh reveals through sources that include Nehru Memorial Library archives, contributed to almost all the speeches Gandhi delivered from the day she became PM on January 24, 1966 to the day she was assassinated on October 31, 1984. Among the few speeches that Haksar did not write for Gandhi was the one she delivered on radio on July 19, 1969 announcing bank nationalisation. That one was written by IG Patel, whom PM Narasimha Rao had first approached to be his Finance Minister in 1991. It was only when Patel declined that the job was offered to Dr Manmohan Singh.

The author describes Haksar as the most unusual Indian who had not only a remarkable capacity to think but also was afforded an unusual opportunity to act. His impeccable credentials as he guided the PM through the challenges of foodgrain shortage, economic mess and external aggression, are reflected throughout the book, especially on the following description by DP Mishra, a Gandhi advisor.

Despite my aversion for Communists, I respected Haksar for his utter loyalty to Mrs Gandhi and at the same time for his refusal to participate in anything illegal or unethical even for her sake, Mishra wrote in the late 1960s.

That Haksar spoke truth to power was evident from how he opposed Sanjay Gandhis move to manufacture small cars. Jairam Ramesh writes of December 1, 1968 when Sanjay Gandhi applied to the Ministry of Industrial Development for a letter of intent to manufacture a small car.

Haksar had voiced his strong objection to the PM about her son dabbling in such a venture and to Sanjay Gandhi staying at the PMs residence and carrying out his business activities from there His objections were fundamental. He was against diversion of scarce resources to manufacture cars and was for expansion of the scooter manufacturing capacities in public sector instead.

The author concludes in the book that by speaking his mind on Sanjay Gandhi, Haksar had not only lost a battle but had made a deadly enemy.

He made his views known to the PM. An uneasy truce prevailed. That was to end on September 30, 1970 when Sanjay Gandhi was finally given the letter of intent to manufacture 50,000 small cars every year without foreign collaboration and without imported raw materials. My reckoning is that this was the beginning of Haksars estrangement with Indira Gandhi. The final break would happen 27 months later, Ramesh writes.

Among the many insights the book offers, the one on Haksar prevailing on Indira Gandhi to not grant minority status to Aligarh Muslim University is worth quoting. The AMU issue is still relevant with the demand coming up even now. However, when it was first raised in 1972, Haksar had opposed it in his note to Indira Gandhi. The note is an education in that it extols the principles of secularism while cautioning the PM against falling for appeasement politics.

If Aligarh Muslim University is to be wholly maintained out of state funds for the benefit of Muslims why should Banaras Hindu University not be maintained for the benefit of Hindus? Thus the communal forces which are wittingly or unwittingly fanning up the demand for the Aligarh Muslim University retaining its Muslim character are giving sustenance and support to the RSS and the Jan Sangh to raise a similar demand vis-a-vis the Banaras Hindu University, he said. His views prevailed even though the Prime Minister was under pressure from many MPs to concede.

When a similar situation arose with the unprecedented attack on the Parliament by cow protection groups, Haksar deflected the crisis by getting the PM to set up a panel to look into a national law against cow slaughter. Its another matter that the panel never met and had to be disbanded 12 years later by Gandhis successor Morarji Desai.

The author writes of Haksar as a man of pragmatism who guided Indira Gandhi to play safe when Soviet Russia first gave military equipment to Pakistan in 1968; a man of great socialist credentials who nudged her to nationalise banks in 1969 and abolish privy purses in 1970; a bureaucrat who had, by 1970, convinced her that India must go nuclear; and also a close friend who served as a guide to the PMs sons, Rajiv and Sanjay, when they were studying abroad while Haksar served as the deputy high commissioner of India to the UK.

He had been hand-picked by Indira Gandhi to be her secretary and he served her and the country well.
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Jayanti Roy

The author has compiled several wildlife experiences that she and her herpetologist husband Romulus Whitaker or Rom had as conservationists, environmentalists, consultants, wild-life film producers and hands-on animal adventurers in this sequel to the book of the same title.

It comprises more than 80 write ups, both short and long, on various topics. These throw light on animal lives and how they connect with humans. The connect part is thought provoking and is rightly garnished with dollops of humour. Lenin deftly unravels a simple observation to gain insights, which are factual, philosophical and funny at the same time.

Along with entertaining incidents, these can be read as life-lessons. The one that is especially relevant is, Barring a few exceptions, animals rarely share food. It is common for dominant individuals to snatch food from low-ranking members. So when we feed the animals, what do they make of out gestures? Monkeys begin to see humans as subordinates. Thereafter, if any human withholds food, monkeys will grab, threaten and turn aggressive. I wish all those devotees who feed animals to ensure divine favour could understand that by doing so, We play with animal lives and ours.

The only jarring note in the book is its illustrations. No doubt beautifully done, these are displayed at the wrong slots. About 14 graphics have been repeated in the book. Reading an elephant story accompanied by the pictures of a pair of strokes or write-up on a crocodile showing a leopard alongside is mismatched and distracting.

Several anecdotes, some of them personal, introduce us to Rom, a fearless nature lover, who deals with compassion even with the most dangerous animals. It is he who converts the author from a city-bred girl to someone who develops deep understanding of life in the jungle. In her earthy style, she writes about Roms calcified finger after the snakebite, adventures with cobra and irrational decision to visit Andaman and Nicobar islands in lieu of which he surrendered his American passport. The title of the book is thus justified  it is as much about the husband.

The book gives a taste of a languid and slow-paced lifestyle inside the forest, which nevertheless demands hard work and patience. In wildlife literature, we read or study in schools, crocodiles are villainous, leopards are dangerous and all snakes poisonous, making us develop negative perceptions. While reading Lenin, one forms new opinions  crocodiles are caring fathers and tigers are family oriented. This is not a fairy tale, but a book of facts that the author has witnessed and researched.

The book is for all nature lovers.
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Banisha Kundu

History remembers brave men. There are paeans sung in honour of their valour, texts written eulogising their courage and memorials built to commorate their sacrifices. History really remembers and celebrates its brave men well! But how does it treat its brave women? They too played a part in several wars against the British and the French and the Portuguese. The past hasnt been as considerate. Even the descendant of Tipu Sultan, who fought as valiantly as the men in the army, slipped through the cracks of history for lack of recognition.

Patriarchal society drew borders to make women away from administrative roles and ranks. The royalties adhered to the same protocols as well. Sons succeeded their fathers, as daughters were mere tools to establish political alliances between kingdoms. A woman would occupy the throne only if her husband died young and the son wasnt old enough to rule the kingdom.

Expect for Rani Laxmi Bai of Jhansi, Raziya Sultana and Maharani Gayatri Devi, women rulers werent given their due. Here is remembering some unsung women warriors and their feats

Noor Inayat Khan, who worked as a British spy during World War II, was a descendant of Tipu Sultan. Born on January 1, 1914, she opposed her fathers diktat of following Mahatma Gandhi and got herself enrolled in the British army. She infiltrated inside the enemys borders and channeled the secrets to London before getting caught. She was classified as extremely dangerous, shackled in chains, and was kept in solitary confinement. Noor and three other female special operations agents were transferred to Dachau concentration camp in September, 1944. According to other prisoners, right before the Nazis shot her; she screamed her last word, Liberte. She was only 30 year old then. Even though she was from a royal lineage, she chose a life replete with challenges and wished to help India gain India independence. However, she wasnt appreciated for her achievements by the Indians. Even her existence was forgotten, unlike the English, who unveiled her statue in 2012 at Gordon Square, London.

Rani Abbakka Devi was another warrior queen, who embarked on a journey never to return from. Born in the Chowta Dynasty that ruled over parts of coastal Karnataka; she was one of the first freedom fighters of India who ruined the plans of the Portuguese to reign over the country. As the rightful queen to the Ullal Empire, which followed the matrilineal tradition of female accessing the throne, she kept the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English at bay for four long decades.

She was defeated ultimately by the Portuguese, but not before etching her name as the brave Indian warrior on the pages of history. Its said that she died in the cell. While some believe that she was wounded during the battle and was hidden at an isolated place by her loyal soldiers. Similar to the mystery of her death, Rani Abbakka Devis life and achievements continue remain a secret.

Rani Velu Nachiyar challenged the mighty British Empire and is popular as Indias Joan of Arc. She trained an army of women, who led her to victory during her hiatus. Born in 1730 to King Chellamuthu Sethupathy and Rani Sakandhimuthal of Ramanathapuram; her husband, Muthu Vaduganathan Periya Udaya Thevar of Sivagangai Royal family, was killed by British. She escaped with her daughter and sought refuge from Hyder Ali at Virupachi, a sworn enemy of the British. Eight years later, after defeating the British, she regained her empire in 1780. On December 31, 2008, a commemorative postage stamp of her was released, paying tribute to this unsung warrior.
Air Commodore Prashant Dikshit (retd)

Air Commodore Prashant Dikshit (retd)

I was fortunate to be one of the crews of No. 106 Strategic Reconnaissance Squadron of the Indian Air Force during the 1971 War with Pakistan. In the annals of the Indian military aviation, the exploits of the squadron largely remained away from the public gaze, primarily due to the secrecy surrounding its activities. It operated the unarmed Canberra PR 7 combat aircraft to gather photo intelligence about strategic targets.

The 1971 War arrived at my door with a bit of a challenge. On December 4, 1971, in the late evening, the Commanding Officer (CO) broke the news that the Bomber Force was looking for one set of crews for a bombing sortie and he wanted volunteers. All of us, including me, raised the right hand, although it was more than three years, let alone flying a bomber, since I had even taken a peek inside it. In routine circumstances, it would have been through a period of refresher orientation, but here only 20 minutes of preflight inspection were available.

The CO had promptly nominated Flt Lt MS Sandhu as the pilot and me as the navigator. We were to drop 8,000 pounds of bombs over the Sargodha airbase in West Pakistan in a midnight raid, which we did accurately and precisely. But the bomb doors would not close after that. This is an emergency condition over enemy territory as it places severe limits on the speed of the aircraft whilst increasing fuel consumption in multiples.

For nearly 15 minutes we endured and, in the course of which, we had to descend into the barrage of anti-aircraft fire. The other choice was to remain high and be a sitting duck for air interception. We climbed eventually in the friendly territory to nearly 45,000 feet to save fuel and get benefits from westerly jet streams. But we lost one engine on the landing run due to no fuel.

For our photo mission on December 8 and 9 in 1971, when we reached the launching airfield in Guwahati, there was hardly any time to refuel. It was critical to reach our first target at Cox Bazaar at 1400 hrs to coincide with the action of the Indian Navy. We entered the mission at the topmost speed which the aircraft could safely withstand to maintain time. The machine guzzles fuel in those flying conditions.

We were to enter East Pakistan at Aizawl from the east to align with our photo run. When we were pulling up for the photo run, there was a potent anti-aircraft fire. We then dived again to the ground quite unmindful of the ground fire and proceeded to Chittagong harbour where a similar photo run had to be executed. Short of the airfield, we climbed through thick smoke billowing from the ships which were perhaps struck a little earlier. Ultimately, we were critically low on fuel.

The photo mission on December 13, 1971 was truly adventurous. We lost a lot of time in rectifying the cause of fire which had erupted in the battery compartment of the aircraft. We were airborne just to be in time to avail of adequate sunlight whilst we covered the Dacca complex. There was great pressure and we were required to proceed directly to Delhi. It was already twilight in Dacca and full darkness as we closed in to Delhi. But, most seriously, our ground speed reduced to 1/3rd compared to what it was during the onward journey to Dacca.

It was one of the most noteworthy experiences of westerly jet streams, which are known to have recorded speed up to 180 Kts (over 300 km/hour) in this terrain-induced wind funnel south of the Himalayas. As a result, we arrived at Palam well beyond the planned flight plan and were declared a hostile aircraft in our own country.

 The writer was awarded the Vayu Sena Medal for gallantry during the 1971 War
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Aditi Tandon in New Delhi

When Congress President Rahul Gandhi hugged Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha last Friday, he displayed remarkable confidence and risk-bearing capacity. The act had its desired results. It unnerved the PM, offended the Treasury and stunned the House. Merits apart, Gandhis July 20 theatrics  the hug and the wink  signaled his arrival on the political scene.

Here was a brand new Gandhi  unafraid and acerbic. As the BJP MPs roared, he peppered his speech during the no-confidence motion debate with multiple jibes on the PM and BJP chief, accused the government of corruption in the Rafale deal and attacked the RSS for propagating fear. In the run up to the Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan later this year and General Election next year, the Congress chief used the occasion to unveil his alternative political narrative against the BJP and to show it members that he was not afraid to go for the jugular.

Thats the meaning of being a Hindu. You can hate mefor you I can be Pappubut I have no anger in my heart for you, Gandhi said after holding a reluctant PM in tight embrace.

The hug was scripted for Congress new plan of projecting 2019 Lok Sabha elections as a battle between Gandhis India and mobocracy (Daadagiri v/s Gandhigiri as Congress social media handles say).

On July 22 when he addressed his first Congress Working Committee (CWC) after becoming the party chief, Gandhi told his colleagues, This is not a regular war. This is an ideological war for the idea of India. Its not about whether you and I win. Its about whether India wins.

Congress leaders have their briefs ready. Mahila Congress President Sushmita Dev says, Mr Gandhis hug was a message to the BJP and the nation that this is how Congress will conduct its politics  with dignity, not malice. Mr Gandhi said 2019 is a battle to rescue India from hatred. His message was clear  the BJP must be defeated to save India.

The principal goal is to defeat the BJP, Congress media head Randeep Surjewala says. This clarity is driving the Congress new thinking on the PM face for the secular alliance in 2019. Top leaders recently signalled openness on the matter even though the CWC asked Gandhi to lead the joint opposition coalition in next years General Election. The flexibility stems from the realisation that coalitions will be necessary to defeat the BJP. Accordingly the CWC stamped state specific alliances and seat adjustments for the 2019 Lok Sabha polls and authorised Rahul Gandhi to form alliances wherever needed, to minimise the space for the BJP and the RSS.

Asha Kumari, AICC in-charge of Punjab and a CWC member, explains, P Chidambaram articulated at the CWC that the Congress should ensure the non-division of the anti-BJP vote. In the 2014 LS polls, the BJP won with 31 per cent vote share. The remaining 69 per cent was divided. If this vote is cast unidirectional, the BJP will have no chance.

The Congress believes it can win 150 seats on its own and 150 more with allies, cornering the BJP. UP and Bihar alone will ensure that Modi doesnt become the PM. We foresee an opposition government in 2019 or a BJP government minus Modi, says a senior Congress leader. As it reshapes its strategy to counter the Modi-Shah duo, the Congress is even ready to shun past arrogance of staying out of coalitions it doesnt head, 1999 being a case in point.

This practical shift is mirrored in new feelers the Congress leaders sent out this week to opposition veterans like TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and BSP president Mayawati on the issue of PM candidate of the secular alliance for 2019.

The conversation right now is about defeating the BJP. How the dice falls will determine the question of who the PM will be. We will be comfortable seeing any PM except the one backed by the RSS. Mamata Banerjee is a Congress minded person, claimed a senior Congress functionary when asked if the party would be open to a woman PM.

Political narrative apart, the Congress also realises it needs a policy alternative to counter the BJPs governance failures. A group comprising party leaders like Chidambaram, Manish Tewari, Jairam Ramesh, Veerappa Moily, Kumar Ketkar among others, has been asked to explore building blocks for the positive anti-BJP policy narrative and define the Congress position on economic orientation, social safety net and nationalism.

Tewari adds, There will be state specific seat adjustments. The leader of the alliance will depend on how the numbers stack up. The Congress being the largest opposition party will have a natural advantage.

Even in the CWC, Sonia Gandhi recalled 2004 Lok Sabha polls to argue that the BJPs muscle, money and election machine can fall to pieces if people will so.

CWC member and Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar hails Rahul Gandhis new aggression as an announcement of his arrival with a bang. Even opposition veterans, CPIs D Raja, NCPs Tariq Anwar, TMCs Saugata Roy, DMKs Kanimozhi and RJDs Tejaswi Yadav, acknowledge Gandhis transition from a procrastinating MP to a fine leader. But they are not yet ready to accept his leadership of the anti-BJP coalition.

History is testimony that Indians hold their freedom dear. They sent former PM Indira Gandhi packing for imposing the Emergency. But the question is will voters punish Modi for creating a regime of what Congress calls an undeclared emergency?

Party insiders are skeptical on that front. First, Rahul Gandhi has to ensure that his message, The BJP is propagating fear, resonates with the people. Communication is not his high point. Nor does the party have the money to build marketing campaigns like the BJP did in 2014, says a Congress veteran.

Even at the CWC meet, MP Congress chief Kamal Nath flagged the concern on lack of media attention for party narratives. Most participants felt TV media was not helping the party.

Another challenge for the Congress is lack of booth workers to counter the massive RSS cadre strength in 2019 and a dearth of time before 2019 to create this strength.

The new president has laid down two goals at the CWC  the immediate goal of defeating the BJP and the long-term goal of rebuilding Congress. He has assured he will combine youth and experience to re-energise the party, says Bihar in-charge of Congress, Shakti Sinh Gohil.

With Gandhi making the right noises, it remains to be seen if he can convert Congress proclaimed hopelessness in society into votes.

Thats the main challenge, says a CWC member as the Congress chief banks on symbolism and Gandhian inclusion to dare Modi-Shah combine which has delivered victories for the BJP in 19 states.

Congress conversely survived only in Punjab, Karnataka, Puducherry and Mizoram and faces incumbent BJP in poll-bound MP, Chhattisgarh and Rajasthan later this year. Rahul Gandhis performance in these state polls will determine how much elbow room the Congress will have in negotiations with allies for 2019.

The calculations ahead
gspannu7@gmail.com

New York, July 28

A bombshell article published in The New Yorker has accused CBS chairman and chief executive, Leslie Moonves, of sexual misconduct stretching back decades and painted a broader picture of similar behaviour within Americas most watched television network.

The article published on Friday makes Moonves, a distinguished executive who transformed CBS into a ratings winner, one of the most powerful American men implicated in the #MeToo era that ignited last year after the career implosion of Harvey Weinstein.

CBS announced that it had launched an investigation into the recently reported alleged misconduct. Reports about the story sent CBS shares tumbling more than six percent, hours before it was even published.

Six women who had professional dealings with Moonves told the magazine that he sexually harassed them between the 1980s and late 2000s.

Four described forcible touching or kissing during business meetings, and two said Moonves physically intimidated them or threatened to derail their careers, The New Yorkers Ronan Farrow reported.

I recognise that there were times decades ago when I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances. Those were mistakes, and I regret them immensely, Moonves said in a statement.

The New Yorker said 30 current or former employees complained that such behaviour extended from Moonves to important parts of the corporation, including CBS News and its flagship investigative program 60 Minutes. But his wife, Julie Chen, whom he married in 2004 and who is the host of Big Brother on CBS, said she fully supported her husband.

Leslie is a good man and a loving father, deovted husband and inspirign corporate leader. He has always been a kind, decent and moral human being, she said on Twitter.

The New Yorker reported that during Moonvess tenure, men at CBS News who were accused of sexual misconduct were promoted, even as the company paid settlements to women with complaints.

The magazine said 19 current and former employees accused Jeff Fager, the former chairman of CBS News and the current executive producer of 60 Minutes, of allowing harassment in the division.

CBS suggested the article did not accurately reflect a company that does its best to treat its tens of thousands of employees with dignity and respect. We are seeing vigorous discourse in our country about equality, inclusion, and safety in the workplace, and CBS is committed to being part of the solution, it said in a statement.

The corporations board of directors had earlier issued a pre-emptive statement, saying that upon conclusion of its investigation, it would promptly review the findings and take appropriate action. In November, CBS News sacked Charlie Rose, at the time one of Americas most respected TV journalists, after eight women told The Washington Post he had made unwanted sexual advances.

Farrow shared a Pulitzer Prize with The New York Times for his reporting on fallen Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein, which galvanized the #MeToo movement to quash pervasive sexual harassment in showbiz and other industries.

In May, another article he wrote forced the swift resignation of New York state attorney general Eric Schneiderman, who was accused of physically assaulting four women.

It was not immediately clear what impact his latest expose would have on a legal battle for control of the US television giant - between the Redstone family, which controls CBS, and the board, chaired by Moonves.

Shari Redstone is a major shareholder of both CBS and Viacom, and is seeking to merge the two companies. Moonves opposes the deal.

As chairman, Moonves oversees all operations of the company, which include the CBS Television Network, premium cable service Showtime and the Simon & Schuster publishing company.

He joined CBS in 1995 from Warner Bros. Television, where his team developed hit shows such as Friends and ER. At CBS, he launched primetime hits, such as Everybody Loves Raymond, Survivor and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. He was promoted to president and CEO of CBS Television in 1998, and became chairman in 2003. A one-time actor, he is father to four children. Chen is his second wife.

Last year, CBS was the most watched network in the United States, although it dropped into third place, behind NBC and Fox for adults aged 18-49.  AFP.
pardeepdhull@gmail.com

Brussels, July 28

Catalonias deposed president Carles Puigdemont returns to Belgium today to keep pressing for his regions independence after a Spanish judge dropped a European arrest warrant for him.

My political activity will be based in Belgium, of course with the aim of pursuing the mandate by the people for an independent Catalonia, Puigdemont said in Berlin when he announced his return this week.

Four months after he was detained in Germany at Madrids request, Puigdemont can return to Belgium as he no longer runs the risk of extradition to Spain after the Spanish court cancelled the warrant.

The 55-year-old former regional leader, with his signature shaggy Beatles-style mop, will continue to fight for Catalan independence south of Brussels in the town of Waterloo, which is known for another battleFrench emperor Napoleons defeat by a mix of European forces in 1815.

Sacked as Catalan president after a failed secession bid on October 27, Puigdemont and several members of his executive fled to Brussels several days later.

He was then arrested in Germany at the end of March on his return from a trip to Finland.

Puigdemont was freed on bail around 10 days later and set about waiting for a German court decision on an extradition request by Spain, where he is wanted over his role in the independence drive.

But the German court ruled that he could be extradited only on possible corruption charges and not for rebellion as sought by Madrid but which is not recognised under German law.

Following that decision, Spains Supreme Court judge Pablo Llarena, in charge of the case against separatist leaders, dropped the international arrest warrant.

From Belgium, Puigdemont will be able to travel where he likes, save Spain where he is still wanted for rebellion, which carries up to 25 years in jail, and for misuse of public funds.

In theory, he could remain in self-exile for 20 years, which in Spains legal system is the time limit after which the rebellion charge would no longer be valid.

Puigdemont is set to be greeted by a welcoming party comprising members of Catalonias government as well as other pro-independence organisations.

Puigdemont will hold a news conference with his designated successor Quim Torra, who still considers him to be the legitimate president of Catalonia, at 11:00 am (0900 GMT) on Saturday.

He will then head to Waterloo for a ceremony at 4:00 pm.

Puigdemont intends to set up a Republican council at his home in Waterloo, as well as an assembly composed of local officials to work in parallel with the Catalan government.

Although power is now officially in the Torras hands, Puigdemont continues to exert strong influence in the region.

In an illustration of Puigdemonts influence, he managed to reverse his partys stance for greater openness for dialogue with Madrid.

In Brussels, we will continue... to develop activities linked to that which the people of Catalonia approved on October 1, said Puigdemont, in reference to the referendum that was banned by Spains courts and marred by police violence.

Its no longer a Spanish affair that can be resolved internally; a European view is necessary for the Catalonia question, said the regions former president, who expects to travel to other European countries to push his case.

Besides Puigdemont, five other leading members of his pro-independence movement are in Belgium, Switzerland and Scotland.

Torra met Spains new Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in early July, with the socialist leader promising to find a way out of the crisis.

Puigdemont wants Sanchez to allow a referendum on the question of independence for Cataloniasomething that the prime minister has refused categorically.

He also wants Spain to release nine separatists.

The change in Spains government is supposed to come with a change in style and climate... but its not the time for gestures, its the time for action, he said.  AFP
uttara@tribuneindia.com

MADRID, July 28

Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont returned from Germany to Belgium on Saturday after Spain failed in an attempt to extradite him from Germany on charges of rebellion over an illegal declaration of independence.

Puigdemont said he would continue travelling around Europe to raise support for the cause of Catalan independence. He fled to Belgium in October after Madrid imposed direct rule on the region after his administration declared independence.

"This will not be my last stop, this is not the end of my journey," he told a press conference in Brussels held alongside current Catalan leader Quim Torra, who had travelled to Spain to greet him.

"I will travel around Europe to the four corners of the continent to defend our cause."

Puigdemont was arrested on March 25 at a petrol station in the northern German region of Schleswig-Holstein while returning to Belgium after a journey to Finland.

A German court ruled earlier this month that Puigdemont, 55, could be extradited to Spain to face a separate charge for misuse of public funds, but not for a more serious charge of rebellion.

Under European law, that means Spain would have been barred from trying him on the more serious charge if the extradition were to proceed. The Spanish court rejected that proposal, lifting the arrest warrant altogether.

The charges against Puigdemont and the five others remain in place however, meaning they would be arrested if they return to Spain.

Relations between Spain's central government in Madrid and the Catalan capital Barcelona have thawed in recent weeks, with Prime Minister Sanchez hosting cordial talks with Torra in Madrid earlier in July.

But Sanchez, who took office in June after his more hardline conservative predecessor Mariano Rajoy lost a confidence vote, has ruled out allowing any referendum on independence, saying it goes against Spain's constitution.

Puigdemont said on Saturday Sanchez's period of grace regarding the Catalan issue was over and it was a time for action, not words. Reuters




ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Islamabad, July 28

Extremist and banned groups, including Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz-Saeed-backed Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek, have been rejected outright by the Pakistani voters in the just-concluded general elections whose final results were announced on Saturday by the Election Commission.

According to the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), not a single candidate of the Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek party, supported by the banned Jamaat-ud Dawa (JuD) chief, could win a seat.

The ECP results show the party candidates got just 1,71,441 votes, just a drop in the ocean when compared with more than 100 million registered voters and more than 50 per cent turnout in the elections.

The Tehreek-i-Labaik Pakistan (TLP), another party with a clear sectarian mindset, had fielded more than 150 candidates at the National Assembly seats and hundreds more on provincial assemblies.

The party got 21,91,679 votes and just two of its candidates were elected for the Sindh provincial assembly, the ECP results showed.

The TLP is a representative of the Sunni Brailvi sect, the largest in Pakistan, and also believes in Sufi Islam.

The party lately exhibited signs of aggression when its supporters laid siege to the capital Islamabad last year.

The party, however, has not been involved in any kind of terrorism in Pakistan or beyond its borders.

The parties propagating moderate Islam had contested the polls from the platform of Muttahida Majlis-e-Aml Paistan (MMAP).

They got 13 seats, while getting 25,30,452 votes. The MMAP is the fifth biggest party in term of total votes, while the TLP followed it at number six, according to the results.

The Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Sami (JUI-S) got only 24,559 votes, it added.

Rejection of JUI-S candidates is significant as its head is Maulana Samiul Haq, known as the godfather of Taliban and his seminary is called as University of Jihad.

There were other religious parties contesting the polls and they also fared poorly.

While the Tehreek-i-Laibak Islam got just 68,022 votes, the Majlis-e-Wahdat-e-Muslimeen Pakistan of Shiites received 9,606 votes. The Sunni Ittehad Council got 5,939, the ECP said.  PTI

On the fringes
monicakchauhan@gmail.com

Islamabad, July 28

Imran Khan has started reaching out to leaders of different political parties and independent candidates to form the next government in Pakistan after his party won a majority of seats in Parliament, according to his party officials.

Khan led his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to victory in the parliamentary elections this week, amid a growing consensus among South Asia experts and Pakistan-observers that it was greatly influenced and meddled by the strong Pakistani Army.

The PTI has so far bagged 115 of the 270 National Assembly (NA) seats on which elections were held, according to the Election Commission of Pakistan, which has released results on 267 seats.

Pakistan's NA--the lower house of Parliament--comprises a total of 342 members, of which 272 are directly elected. A party can only form the government if it manages to secure 172 seats in total.

Jailed former prime minister Nawaz Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) with 64 and former president Asif Ali Zardari's Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) with 43 seats are placed at number two and three respectively. Independent candidates have won 13 seats.

Khan on Friday met Saudi ambassador Nawaf Saeed Ahmad al-Malilki in Islamabad.

The two discussed bilateral relations and agreed to further deepen the ties during the tenure of the PTI government.

According to PTI sources, Khan has consulted his party leaders about the federal cabinet and formation of government in Punjab where PML-N is also in the race.

Khan's confidante Jehangir Khan Tarin, who has been tasked to contact independent candidates, talked with Muttahidda Qaumi Movement Pakistan (MQMP) leader Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui who later refused to attend a multi-party meeting which rejected the election results.

The multi-party meeting called to devise a joint strategy over alleged rigging in the General Election rejected the results of the poll on Friday, demanding a "transparent" re-election.

The meeting in Islamabad was chaired by PML-N president Shehbaz Sharif and Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal (MMA) president Maulana Fazlur Rehman.

Meanwhile, Khan also took his party leaders in confidence about government formation in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa where the PTI has won a majority of seats and will easily form the government.

It is likely to retain former chief minister Pervaiz Khattak for the top job in the province despite some reservations about his performance.

Khattak is considered to be close to Khan since school days as both studied in the same Atchison College in Lahore.

The party is also trying to have a coalition government in Balochistan.

Khan has still about three weeks to prepare for the government before the mandatory session of the National Assembly (NA) is called after elections.

As per the law, the President of Pakistan should convene the maiden NA session within 21 days of election to give oaths to lawmakers and elect the new speaker. PTI
harinder@tribunemail.com

Fasihur Rehman Khan

Islamabad, July 28

In a major reprieve for Pakistans premier-in-waiting Imran Khan, the countrys main Opposition parties have finally decided not to launch any street agitation against alleged rigging in favour of PTI in the July 25 elections, and take oath at the National Assembly in early August.

The development comes on the heels of a decision by Nawaz Sharifs PML-N and Bilawal Bhuttos PPP not to rock the boat, fearing a protest movement at this juncture would endanger the countrys democratic order.

The religious right wing alliance, Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), stands cornered after PPP, PML-N and MQM-Ps decision to stay away from an agitation. Also, in a major dent to the joint Opposition, MQM-P, trounced by Imran Khan Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in elections, is soon entering into talks with its rival to join the next government. In the final results declared by the Election Commission, PTI emerged as the single largest party, winning 116 of the 270 contested seats.

On Thursday, the All Parties Conference jointly called by MMA and PML-N could not agree on a proposal to boycott the oath-taking. PPP had conspicuously stayed away as PPP de-facto leader Asif Zardari calmed down agitated party leaders, asking them to be content with the provincial Sindh government after securing a simple majority.

The PTI, waiting in the wings to form the next Central government, is short of a simple majority till date and is negotiating with small parties like PML-Q and BAP as well as Independents.

In Punjab, ruled by PML-N led by Shahbaz Sharif as chief minister for 10 years, PTI is in stiff competition to form the crucial provincial government. PML-N is facing odds to attract 29 Independent MPs as their support is key for formation of the government. Observers feel the Independents are inclined to join PTI in the province as it is a dominant force in the Centre and KP province.

The PTI is in a comfortable position to form government in KP province. Balochistan is expecting a coalition multi-party government led by military establishment-backed BAP.
ROBINSINGH@TRIBUNE.COM

Geneva, July 28

Four people died when their light aircraft crashed into the summit of a glacier in the Swiss Alps, the police said on Saturday, in the latest fatal accident to hit the popular tourist region. The plane went down 3,300 metres (10,800 feet) above sea level at 4:45 pm (1445 GMT) on Friday in an area known as the Dunand Pass, police in southern Valais canton said in a statement.  AFP
You may have a one way fee if you drop off in Melbourne but that will depend on your hire dates and what the individual hire company decides. If there is a one way fee you could always drop off in Geelong and take the train to Melbourne.

GOR - first night Apollo Bay, second night Warrnambool. You mention interesting towns - try to add another night to stay in Ballarat. There is a lot to see there including Sovereign Hill - an outdoor living museum about colonial times in Aus. Your ticket is valid over two days I believe. Have a look at other things that may interest you in Ballarat too - gardens, art galleries etc.

Cheers

Edited: 3 years ago
Travelling for 3-4 weeks in Australia with 3 kids

Travelling for 3-4 weeks in Australia with 3 kids

Hi all,

I really enjoy reading peoples itinerary so thought Id ask about my own one.

Im turning the big 4-0 in a year and a half and plan on going on a big family holiday.

Kids will be 14,13 and 10 by then. Myself and my hubby have been to Australia before.

So my plan is to fly into Sydney, stay for one week. Want to do blue mountains, couple of days at bondi, palm beach ( Im a mad home and away fan ) and the other usual tourist places in Sydney

Would staying in an apartment in bindi be too far from the CBD area?

Then fly sydney to Uluru and stay 3 nights

 Have any of you stayed in the cabins on the campsite?

Then fly Uluru to cairns, is there a flight that way?

Stay in Cairns for one week.

Now here is my next dilemma.

Whitsundays or Fraser Island?

If doing Whitsundays we could hire a car and drive from cairns, stopping overnight in Townsville maybe?

Or would ye just do reef from cairns and not bother with either island?

We plan on stopping in Dubai going to Australia for 3-4 nights.

What do ye think of all that?

Thanks
Hi Teng Hong C and welcome to the Perth forum.

When answering queries about travelling here, I often find that youll need to cover a few things:

1. How will you be getting around the city? If its by public transport then its fairly easy and budget friendly depending on how far and how often you travel.

2. Will you be hiring a car? This is important as it will make a huge difference - budget, safety and mobility wise.

If you have a family with children up to the age of seven years old, you are legally required to have a child restraint or booster seat for each of them.

Important - Do not step off a long haul flight and drive 3-4 hours on unfamiliar roads - distances and road conditions are vastly different here in Australia.

3. What are your interests and how much do you want to cover? 10 days is a good amount of time to spend here to see most of the attractions. People often spend 3 nights in the South West if they are interested in food, wine and nature.

So you will need to factor in what your family is interested in when planning your itinerary - be it food, wine, nature, animals, beaches, shopping, adventure...

I find that the Destination Perth website gives a good summary of attractions in Perth and the surrounding areas -

All the best with your planning!

Youre more than welcome to post a draft itinerary for the Perth TripAdvisor community to give feedback on.
We are a couple in our 60s and planning a trip to Cambodia and Vietnam. Starting in Cambodia the end of a February and in Vietnam in March 2019.

Had originally thought to do trip in 2018 but due to double knee replacement moved it to 2019.

Here is my tentative itinerary and wanted your thoughts on itinerary and hotels.

.We prefer not to rush too much.

NOTE: I worked for 6 months in Hanoi in 2013 and loved Hanoi. Did a Halong Bay Cruise and spent a weekend on Hoi An. Due to work schedule didnt get to do any other travel around Vietnam.

2 nights Bangkok- cheaper to fly from US and wanted a day to recover from jet lag

4 nights Siem Reap

3 nights Saigon. (Grand Silverland). Fly from Siem Reap to Saigon

2 nights Mekong Delta. ( Nguyen Shack) fly from Can tho to Danang and transport to Hoi An

5 nights Hoi An. (Vihn Hung Riverside) - this is down time to relax

2 nights Hanoi (La Siesta) but open to other ideas in Old Quarter

1 night Halong Bay Cruise (Dragon Pearl) 2D/1N

2 nights Ninh Binh - travel from Halong Bay to Ninh Binh

3 nights Hanoi - train back to Hanoi from Ninh Binh

2 nights Bangkok and fly home to US or fly home directly from Hanoi

Appreciate your thoughts. When I had planned this for 2018 I had 2 weeks in Cambodia and it made for a longer trip. I made it a shorter trip so that DH and I dont get too sick of each other.

Thanks

Mary
It is possible to be able to check into hotel 91 with out paying exttra if a room is vacant. This happened to me . I lucked out . I arrived at 7 am . Normal Check-in is 3 PM. You may indeed store your luggage here before check-in and after.

..the service is pretty good at this low budget property & theyre friendly.

BUT if you can afford it and can pay for that extra night, do it. I never do this myself. I just bear it.

I agree with post 13 -Killing time till check IN @3pm is not fun After traveling all that time.

Katz deli is near as mentioned. So is the *Remedy Diner* a 24 diner with a big menu serving traditional breakfast, lunch and dinner options @ east houston street a 20 minute walk north from hotel .

After eating I suggest just chilling a Park for a while. Washington Square Park is approx another 20 minute walk from remedy diner or Katz deli to the west.

After that, any low impact thing that you could survive would be my recommendation. Taking short walks , shopping to use time , people watching , and resting in between., popping in somewhere to having long coffee breaks.

The tenement museum is somewhat near your hotel if you think you could survive a tour. I probably wouldnt.

Plenty of days you can pop in and one or two tours will have a spot open, they arent always all full.
- She advised young girls to preserve their purity for their husbands

- The deputy president of the Supreme Court said girls who got married when pure would enjoy the most because they would have all the time with husbands

- The brilliant legal scholar challenged girls to pursue academic and moral excellence

- Mwilu argued men were no longer interested in women who could not put something on the table

Deputy Chief Justice (DCJ) Philomena Mwilu has said it is next to impossible to find virgin girls in Kenya in an era where young women are impatient to exploit privileges initially reserved for marriage.

Mwilu who was addressing students of St Martha's Mwitoti High School in Mumias on Saturday, July, 21 said unlike her hey days when almost every unmarried girl was a virgin, none or few girls in the current society entered marriage while pure.

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READ ALSO: Deputy CJ Mwilu reveals Supreme Court judges were threatened after nullifying Uhuru's win in August 2017

Philomena Mwilu, Kenya's deputy president of the Supreme Court advised young girls to reserve forbidden fruits if they want to enjoy marriage. Photo: Parliament of Kenya/Facebook.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Damning allegations emerge of how Mwilu and Lenaola met with NASA lawyers before Supreme Court verdict

Mwilu, one of Kenya's brilliant legal minds and deputy president of the Supreme Court of Kenya told the teenagers that those who would preserve the forbidden fruit until the appointed time would enjoy it to the fullest.

"It is difficult to find virgin girls nowadays unlike it was in our days. When you hold your horses and keep yourselves pure until you are officially married, you will enjoy the God given gift to the maximum. In marriage, you will not have an option of denying your husband because it is a conjugal right," she explained to the curious teenagers.

Philomena Mwilu challenged young girls to focus on establishing their careers rather than sleep around exposing themselves to many risks. Photo: Slay Queens/Facebook.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Pastors refuse to officiate burial of 82-year-old elderly Murang'a kidnapper and her nephew

The DCJ challenged the little girls to take on a virginity challenge saying there was no rocket science in one remaining pure until they attain 26 years which is an average marriage age for girls.

"Though your hormones are bubbling now, there is nothing trendy in having sex at this age because it exposes you to a lot of dangers like unwanted pregnancies which could interfere with your education. There is a right time for it and it will be readily available. The wait is worth," she advised.

Philomena Mwilu challenged young girls to pursue academic and moral excellence saying there was nothing fashionable about sleeping around before marriage. Photo: Slay Queens/Facebook.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: The 7 stages of world's longest lunar eclipse and when Kenyans should expect it today

She urged the girls to shun sleeping around with boys and using drugs because they were dangerous paths which could occasion irreversible destruction and instead focus on education and empower themselves professionally and financially.

The DCJtold young girls to empower themselves and other things would be given to them. Photo: Philomena Mbete Mwilu/Facebook.

Source: Facebook

"Excellence in academics and character will guarantee you a prosperous future. You will have financial freedom and be admirable by many men. Husbands don't like women who bring nothing to the table," she counseled.

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.

Maasai Man Offers 1000 Cows to Mary Malia Obama on TUKO TV

Source: Tuko Kenya
- Uhuru visited retired President Daniel Moi on Saturday, July 28

- He also met with Baringo Senator and KANU party leader Gideon Moi, the son of the former Head of State

- Moi's communication team said Uhuru was simply paying a courtesy call

- Mzee Moi lauded Uhuru's effort to unite the country

- The visit comes two months after Deputy President William Ruto's impromptu meeting to Moi aborted

- Opposition leader Raila Odinga also met Mzee Moi in April 2018

President Uhuru Kenyatta made another surprise visit to retired President Daniel Moi at his Kabarak home on Saturday, July 28.

TUKO.co.ke understands this was the second time the Head of State was visiting his political mentor in 2018, five months since the Thursday, February 16 meeting between the two.

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READ ALSO: Betty Kyalo awaacha 'team mafisi' kwa mate midomoni kwa kunengua kiuno kwa madaha

President Uhuru Kenyatta at retired President Daniel Moi's home in Kabarak on Saturday, July 28. Photo:Uhuru Kenyatta/Twitter.

Source: Twitter

READ ALSO: Raila Odinga meets retired president Daniel Moi days after famous handshake with Uhuru

Moi's Press Secretary Alex Kiprotich confirmed the visit saying Uhuru paid a courtesy call to the second president of Kenya.

"President Uhuru Kenyatta today paid a courtesy call to Mzee Daniel arap Moi at his Kabarak home where he wished him well," Kiprotich said.

KANU party leader Senator Gideon Moi of Baringo was present during the visit by President Uhuru Kenyatta. Photo: Uhuru Kenyatta/Twitter.

Source: Twitter

READ ALSO: William Ruto impromptu meeting with retired president Daniel Moi abort

It was however not confided how long Uhuru and Moi met or what the details of the meeting were with the communication official reiterating it was a normal meting that involved a little chat on the state of the nation between the two.

"His excellency Mzee Moi lauded Uhuru's efforts towards knitting the country together. He thanked him for directing Kenya towards the path of unity," the official who took over from Lee Njiru as press secretary to the former president said.

It was also confirmed that Baringo Senator Gideon Moi who is also KANU party leader and Moi's son was also in the meeting.

President Uhuru Kenyatta wished Mzee Moi well in his endeavours as the latter lauded him for choosing to unite Kenya. Photo: Uhuru Kenyatta/Facebook.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Nakuru man arrested for selling canned githeri labeled as fish food

The meeting comes two months after Deputy President William Ruto's impromptu meeting to Kabarak on Thursday, May 3 failed to bear fruits as he was unable to meet the ex-president.

Moi's handlers said they had not been notified of Ruto's visit which came at a time he was undergoing routine physiotherapy exercise thus was unable to meet the DP.

The incident ignited scathing attacks on Gideon by Jubilee leaders affiliated to Ruto who accused him of making it difficult for anyone to meet his father who had initially met Opposition leader Raila Odinga on Thursday, April 12.

Deputy President William Ruto have grown to be fierce political rivals since they both made it clear they would vie for presidency in 2022. Photo: Uhuru Kenyatta/Facebook.

Source: Facebook

The recent Moi-Uhuru meeting is definitely likely to raise eye brows as it came at a time the Jubilee top leadership is rocked in simmering disunity especially following the Mau Forest evictions.

Gideon is interested in the presidency come 2022 and his closeness with Uhuru has caused jitters in the Ruto camp which has been campaigning for the DP's bid for the top seat in the next General Election which is four year away.

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.

Catherine Njeri: I've Slept With Over 100 Men, Tried Taking Away Myself 5 Times | Tuko TV

Source: Tuko
- Zari shared a photo of Tiffah's dress on Snapchat and revealed they were going for a photo shoot

- The mother of five held she had to do it then since she might miss the birthday party

- Her move surprised thousands of her fans since Zari has never missed any of her kids' birthday parties

- Judging with her post, it was clear she was not happy Wema Sepetu was among guests at Tiffah's big day

Ugandan socialite Zari Hassan has left thousands of her fans at crossroads after dropping hints she may miss her daughter Tiffah's much anticipated birthday party.

Zari took to Snapchat on Saturday, July 28, and shared a photo of her daughter's new pink dress and revealed how they were getting ready for a birthday photo-shoot.

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READ ALSO: Betty Kyalo awaacha 'team mafisi' kwa mate midomoni kwa kunengua kiuno kwa madaha

READ ALSO: Diamond Platinumz blocked from flying out of Tanzania for mega show

The mother of five went ahead to reveal she might miss Tiffah's flamboyant party because she might be committed elsewhere.

''Preparing for a shoot. Might be away when birthday arrives,'' Zari said.

Her revelations threw thousands of her fans aback since she has never missed Tiffah's previous birthday parties.

The latest development came just days after she openly claimed she needed no visitors from Tanzania at her South African home during the event.

READ ALSO: TBT photo of Diamonds baby mama Hamisa Mabeto proves she lightened her skin

READ ALSO: Tanzanian actress Wema Sepetu escapes jail term, pays KSh 1 million fine

''I don't want people to make my house dirty. Just stay where you are'' Zari quipped .

Her remarks were sparked by the fact that her ex-husband, Diamond Platnumza, through his management had revealed his ex-lover Wema Sepetu was among 30 Tanzanians to be flown by the star to SA to celebrate Tiffah's big day.

It is clear Zari is not happy that Wema is warming up to the idea of setting foot in her home.

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.

Maasai Man Offers 1000 Cows to Mary Malia Obama on TUKO TV

Source: Tuko Breaking News
- The CS noted he was being honest to the people of Kenya as expected of him by Raila too

- He also said the government will ensure all sugar cane farmers have their livelihoods secured

Internal Security CS Fred Matiang'i has shut down critics condemning his efforts to fight contraband sugar in the country.

Matiang'i explained his resilience to fight contraband products is what President Uhuru Kenyatta expected of him and that he was also being honest with Kenyans.

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READ ALSO: Betty Kyalo awaacha 'team mafisi' kwa mate midomoni kwa kunengua kiuno kwa madaha

The CS was speaking at a fundraising function where he said the government will ensure the livelihood of sugar cane farmers is secured. Photo: Gladys Wanga.

Source: Facebook

READ ALSO: Trucks allegedly belonging to Kenyas largest sugar miller impounded in Migori with contraband goods

The CS was speaking at a fundraising function at Olare Secondary School in Homa Bay where he said the government will ensure the livelihood of sugar cane farmers from Trans- Mara and Trans- Nzoia was secured.

"I will be honest with our people, and if something is wrong I will say it exactly as it is and I will do what am expected to do by the commander in chief of the republic of Kenya," said Matiang'i

READ ALSO: Flamboyant city lawyer brags about importing sugar from England, abandons Kenyan sugar

Matiang'i explained both Uhuru and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga expected him to be honest

Source: Facebook

"When you look at the sugar cane sector in the country, you know the sugar belt stretches from Trans-Mara to Trans-Nzoia, look at the population you are dealing with in between here we have to be serious to ensure these people have a livelihood," he added.

While defending his honesty, Matiang'i explained it was what was expected of him by both Uhuru and former prime minister Raila Odinga because it is what they stand for.

READ ALSO: 59,000 bags of suspected contraband sugar worth KSh 250 million impounded in Bungoma

"The God we serve expects us to honest and expects us to be straight forward and firm.. my president stands for that, the Hon Prime Minister Raila Odinga stands for that and God stands for that, that is where we should be heading to," Matiang'i noted.

Prior reports by TUKO.co.ke, indicated Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) MPs called on Uhuru to beef Matiangi's security saying cartels behind contraband goods deals wanted to eliminate him.

The legislators said Matiang'is firm and resolute resolve against importation and sale of illegal toxic sugar had put him in the bad books of cartels who wanted to out him.

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.

Catherine Njeri: I've Slept With Over 100 Men, Tried Taking Away Myself 5 Times | Tuko TV

Source: Tuko.co.ke
History of UGA

When the University of Georgia was incorporated by an act of the General Assembly on Jan. 27, 1785, Georgia became the first state to charter a state-supported university. In 1784 the General Assembly had set aside 40,000 acres of land to endow a college or seminary of learning.

At the first meeting of the board of trustees, held in Augusta on Feb. 13, 1786, Abraham Baldwin was selected president of the university. A native of Connecticut and a graduate of Yale University, Baldwin  who had come to Georgia in 1784  drafted the charter adopted by the General Assembly.

The university was actually established in 1801 when a committee of the board of trustees selected a land site. John Milledge, later a governor of the state, purchased and gave to the board of trustees the chosen tract of 633 acres on the banks of the Oconee River in northeast Georgia.

Josiah Meigs was named president of the university and work was begun on the first building, originally called Franklin College in honor of Benjamin Franklin and now known as Old College. The university graduated its first class in 1804. The curriculum of traditional classical studies was broadened in 1843 to include courses in law, and again in 1872 when the university received federal funds for instruction in agriculture and mechanical arts.

Eighteen colleges and schools, with auxiliary divisions, carry on the universitys programs of teaching, research, and service. These colleges and schools and the dates of their establishment as separate administrative units are: Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, 1801; College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, 1859; School of Law, 1859; College of Pharmacy, 1903; D. B. Daniel B. Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources, 1906; College of Education, 1908; Graduate School, 1910; C. Herman and Mary Virginia Terry College of Business, 1912; Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, 1915; College of Family and Consumer Sciences, 1933; College of Veterinary Medicine, 1946; School of Social Work, 1964; College of Environment and Design, 1969; School of Public and International Affairs, 2001; the College of Public Health, 2005, the Odum School of Ecology, 2007; the College of Engineering, 2012; and the Jere W. Morehead Honors College, 2021. The Division of General Extension, now the Georgia Center for Continuing Education Conference Center & Hotel, was incorporated into the university in 1947.

In 1931 the General Assembly of Georgia placed all state-supported institutions of higher education, including UGA, under the jurisdiction of a single board. This organization, known as the University System of Georgia, is governed by the board of regents. The board of regents executive officer, the chancellor, exercises a general supervisory control over all institutions of the University System, with each institution having its own executive officers and faculty.

The photos and a majority of the text above were reproduced from F.N. Boneys book, A Pictorial History of the University of Georgia, 1984, University of Georgia Press
Boeing stepped in to rescue the Ukrainian plane maker Antonov, known for producing the world's largest aircraft.

The firm had ceased production because of its heavy reliance on Russian imports, which had collapsed after Moscow's annexation of Crimea in 2014, CNBC TV Channel reported.

But, Boeing's parts, equipment and services unit, Aviall, is set to now provide the components and Antonov plans to build eight aircraft a year from the end of next year. The deal, which was signed at the Farnborough International Airshow, was confirmed to CNBC via email on Friday.

President of Antonov, Oleksandr Donets, told Reuters in an interview that the next step is to build a storage facility with Aviall.

"This warehouse will deal with products, materials, metals, non-metals  with all components we are not able to get from our former partner, the Russian Federation," he said.

Donets added that the warehouse would be funded by the Boeing subsidiary.

Antonov builds a range of passenger, cargo and transport aircraft. The latest under development is the An-132, a twin-engined turboprop used for military transportation which is being jointly developed with Saudi Arabia.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities is working on a draft law on the settlement of rental market in Ukraine.

Ukraines Deputy Minister of Regional Development, Construction, Housing and Utilities Lev Partskhaladze wrote this on his Facebook page.

"The Regional Development Ministry is drafting a bill that, in our opinion, will help create an efficient rental market in Ukraine," he wrote.

According to the official, more than 70% of rental housing in Ukraine is in the shadow, and the market itself is not controlled.

Partskhaladze is convinced that the settlement of the rental market will help solve the housing problem of many Ukrainians to a greater extent.

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A man and woman had been flying along the shore of Lake Michigan from Wisconsin to Cleveland when they realized they were low on fuel, said Ald. Sophia King, 4th. The plane is registered to Olson Products Inc., an insect-control product manufacturing company in Medina, Ohio, south of Cleveland, according to the FAA plane registry.
The Ukrainian World Congress has welcomed the adoption by the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations of a resolution condemning Russia's annexation of Crimea.

The Ukrainian World Congress commends the U.S. Foreign Relations Committee for its principled position, and urges the U.S. Senate to expedite the ratification the Resolution and strengthen sanctions against the Russian Federation until Crimea is returned to Ukrainian control, UWC President Eugene Czolij stated.

As reported, on July 26, 2018, the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations approved and recommended for approval by the upper chamber of the Congress the resolution condemning Russia's illegal attempt to occupy Crimea.

The resolution, co-sponsored by U.S. Senators Rob Portman (R-OH), Co-Chair of the Senate Ukraine Caucus,and Bob Menendez (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, wholly supports the reaffirmation on July 25, 2018 by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of the refusal of the United States to recognize the occupation by the Russian Federation of Crimea and the pledge to maintain this policy until Ukraines territorial integrity is restored.

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As of 13.00, about 65,000 people took part in a religious procession of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Kyiv Patriarchate (UOC-KP).

The procession was guarded by 2,500 law enforcers, the press service of the Internal Ministry of Ukraine reported.

"As of 13:00, about 65,000 people participated in the religious procession. The situation was calm and controlled," the deputy director of the Department of Communications of the Interior Ministry of Ukraine wrote on Facebook with reference to First Deputy Interior Minister Serhiy Yarovy.

The law enforcers continue to protect public order during the event.

As reported, on July 28, the ceremonial events on the occasion of the 1030th anniversary of the conversion of the Kyivan Rus-Ukraine to Christianity were held in Kyiv with the participation of Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko.

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Ukrainian Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman announced on July 26 that the government had agreed to allocate UAH 100,000 (around EUR 3,220) to the families of political prisoners held in Russia or on occupied territory.

Ukraine's Cabinet of Ministers has finally adopted a resolution which will help the families of Russia's Ukrainian political prisoners pay for lawyers, as well as visits where the men are held somewhere in Russia.

Although there may be issues to be clarified, this is undoubtedly a much needed move. As Iryna Gerashchenko wrote, it is unexpectable that parents should need to collect money all over the world in order to see their imprisoned sons, the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group wrote.

The resolution has not yet been posted on site, however Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman announced on July 26 that the government had agreed to allocate UAH 100,000 (around EUR 3,220) to the families of political prisoners held in Russia or on occupied territory, with this, presumably, including hostages held prisoner in the Kremlin's Donbas proxy 'republics'.

Read alsoGermany calls on Russia to provide medical assistance to Ukrainian film director Sentsov

Iryna Gerashchenko, MP and Ukraine's Humanitarian Envoy at the Minsk Negotiations, has given more detail, though from her account it sounds more as though families would receive up to 100,000, which could depend on expenses. In fact, Russia is violating the European Convention and flouting a judgement from the European Court of Human Rights by holding Ukrainian prisoners thousands of kilometres from their homes, so in very many of the cases, the money would, if anything, not be enough. Gerashchenko herself points out that one trip to Siberia can cost UAH 20,000, which is certainly far out of reach for many mothers or wives of political prisoners. Mention of mothers, not fathers, it should be noted, is not a symptom of sexism. In very many cases, such as those of Valentin Vyhivsky, student Pavlo Hryb, or Yevhen Panov, male members of the family could end up seized themselves, and have been advised not to take the risk. Even the Kremlin understands that arresting a mother visiting her political prisoner son will not look good.

Gerashchenko writes that she and colleagues have taken enormous effort to ensure that the relevant funds were set aside in Ukraine's 2018 Budget, with the amount envisaged over UAH 90 million, and for the relevant department to be set up to administer the aid. It is frustrating, she herself writes, that it should have taken the Cabinet of Ministers seven months to adopt the resolution.

In fact, that is the kindest timeframe since the problems faced by political prisoners and their families date back to the beginning of Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Oleh Sentsov, Oleksandr Kolchenko, Mykola Karpiuk and Mykola Shytpur, for example, have been imprisoned for well over four years.

In May 2017, for example, Ukraine's Ministry for Occupied Territory and Internally Displaced Persons prepared a draft bill which would declare those Ukrainians held prisoner on political grounds in Russian-occupied Crimea and Russia as political prisoners and provide state assistance for their families. At that stage there were 69 children in occupied Crimea alone, whose fathers were imprisoned on trumped-up charges. As of July 2018, the number is well over 100, and there is no let-up to the arrests. The Minister Vadym Chernysh expressed willingness then to work with NGOs on this and also on the creation of a coordination centre for all matters related to political prisoners. There have been some moves in that direction, though less than the families and human rights groups are seeking.

Read alsoUkrainian detainee in Russia urgently needs medical help - HRW

As reported, there has been frustration at the failure to develop strategy to put maximum pressure on Moscow and to coordinate efforts to get the prisoners released. The families of the men have frequently complained of feeling abandoned, and, in many cases, there was major difficulty in ensuring money to pay for lawyers.

There was real euphoria in Ukraine when 73 prisoners were welcomed home from imprisonment in Donbas. Even then, over 160 others were still held prisoner in Donbas, Crimea or Russia. Hopes that the December 2017 exchange would be the first of many have not come to anything, and Russia is still remaining implacable, and producing outright lies to 'explain' their refusal to release Oleh Sentsov, who has been on hunger strike since May 14.

Sentsov is demanding the release of all the Kremlin's Ukrainian prisoners and has said that he would regard a solution that saw only him released as a failure. At the moment, at least two other Ukrainian political prisoners have been on hunger strike for a dangerously long time. There are particular concerns in the case of 47-year-old Volodymyr Balukh, who has been on almost total or total hunger strike since March 2018, though 28-year-old Oleksandr Shumkov has also now been without any food since May 24. It is also believed that journalist Stanislav Aseyev is on hunger strike in occupied Donetsk, where he has been imprisoned since June 2017.

There are also civic initiatives helping the families of political prisoners in Crimea.
Tomos of Autocephaly will complete the consolidation of independence of Ukraine, strengthen religious freedom, interconfessional peace, Poroshenko said.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said millions of Ukrainians eagerly expect the earliest recognition of the autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC)  a large one in the number of believers, but equal to other autocephalous Orthodox churches.

"Tomos of Autocephaly will complete the consolidation of independence of our state, strengthen religious freedom, interconfessional peace. It will strengthen the rights and freedoms of citizens... Especially those who are now out of communication with the universal Orthodoxy," the president said at the celebration of the 1030th anniversary of the baptism of Kyivan Rus, the presidential press service reports.

Read alsoUkrainian Church must become star in "constellation of independent and equal national churches"  Poroshenko

Poroshenko reminded that since the first days of his presidency he had set the goal to seek the creation of the Autocephalous Orthodox Church and the recognition of this Church by the Ecumenical Patriarch. "Autocephaly is an issue of our independence. This is an issue of our national security. This is an issue of the entire world geopolitics. Army protects our land. Language protects our hearts. Faith protects our soul," the president said.

He stressed Ukraine had stopped the aggressor and preserved the state, built a combat-ready army and continued to strengthen the Ukrainian language as a component of power and success of the Ukrainian people. "I am convinced that it will become a liturgical language in the autocephalous church. We return the Ukrainian identity and equal place among the Orthodox churches in the world to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. And, by the way, His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch emphasizes the protection of the identity of the Ukrainian people in his message to us," the president said.

"Who can reasonably argue today that our Orthodox Church is ready for independent existence quantitatively and qualitatively?" Poroshenko said.

He reminded that the Holy Writ says that we are not allowed to know the time and terms.

"But I believe that the final decision of the Ecumenical Patriarchate will be fair to Ukraine. Dear friends, the time of autocephaly of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church has definitely come," the president said.

Poroshenko again appealed to the bishops of the UOC of the Moscow Patriarchate with the words of light memory of deceased Metropolitan Volodymyr Sabodan: "Autocephaly is a way of organizing church life, evidence of quantitative and qualitative growth of the Church, its ability to be independent".

"The bishop reminded that after the independence of the state, the discussion about autocephaly began. It happened in Greece, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Albania, etc. And these words are even more valuable to us, as they were said by the head of the church associated with Moscow. Volodymyr did not immediately come to this conclusion, but after years of deep contemplation against the backdrop of the impressive development of the Ukrainian Orthodox community," Poroshenko added.
Canada is steadfast in its support for the people of Ukraine.

Canada has once again reaffirmed its commitment to the territorial integrity of Ukraine, saying the annexation of Crimea breaches international law.

"Through its illegal invasion and annexation of Crimea, Russia has violated the international rules-based order and the vital international norm that no country can change another country's borders by force. Canada reaffirms its enduring commitment to the territorial integrity of Ukraine and condemns actions taken by Russia towards the forcible integration of the Crimean peninsula into Russia, including through the opening of the Kerch Strait Bridge in May 2018," according to a statement published on the government website.

Read alsoCanada to increase assistance to Ukraine  Canada's defense minister

"Since Russia's occupation of Crimea, we have witnessed severe human rights violations  committed by state agents of Russia  including the suppression of freedom of expression and association, arbitrary arrests, torture, detentions and disappearances. Many of these grave human rights violations were documented last fall by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights."

"We call for the release of all illegally detained Ukrainian citizens, including Oleg Sentsov, who have been removed to Russia and sentenced by courts whose jurisdiction in Crimea we do not recognize," it said.

"Crimea's rich cultural heritage has also been targeted by Russia, including through the mistreatment of the Crimean Tatar population and their historic sites."

"Canada is steadfast in its support for the people of Ukraine. Together, the international community must maintain its pressure, including through economic sanctions, until Russia respects international law and Ukraine's sovereignty," reads the statement.
As soon as Ukraine's independence was restored, its community and believers began "to build their own church with new energy".

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has said the Ukrainian Church is worthy to become equal with other independent and equal national churches.

"The Orthodox community of Ukraine is one of the largest in the world and it cannot be an addition to anyone. It must become a star in the 'constellation of independent and equal national churches', which, according to His All Holiness, is the Ecumenical Orthodox Church," he said at the celebration of the 1030th anniversary of the baptism of Kyivan Rus, the president's press service has reported.

Poroshenko reminded that the Ukrainian people joined the great Orthodox family in times of Vladimir the Great and has professed Christian values since then. "Over a thousand years ago, St. Vladimir made a fatal choice  he joined Christianity himself and baptized the country. Since then, our people have been consolidating around the spiritual ideals of justice, charity, love for the neighbor, goodness and truth," he said.

Read alsoPatriarch Bartholomew in letter to Poroshenko: Autocephaly to Ukraine church seen as ultimate goal

At the same time, the baptism of Kyivan Rus contributed to the development of the state. The president noted: "Christian choice was simultaneously a European choice. And the defining part of the European idea is freedom, which, more than 10 years ago, was emphasized by His All Holiness Bartholomew in his speech "The Role of Religion in the Evolution of Europe".

As soon as Ukraine's independence was restored, its community and believers began "to build their own church with new energy". "Already two months after the proclamation of independence, the Autocephalous Council of a still single UOC unanimously supported autocephaly... Including the votes of those bishops who are now stubbornly fighting against it, including at the order from Moscow," the president underlined.

"Before the eyes of the Patriarch, independent Ukraine grew and strengthened. We restored our religious life after decades of atheistic persecution, fostered hope for an autocephalous church and built the necessary organizational structure for it," he said.

"Therefore, it is quite natural and clear that today secular and ecclesiastical authorities have appealed to Archbishop of Constantinople-New Rome, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to grant the Tomos of Autocephaly to the Orthodox Church in Ukraine," Poroshenko emphasized.
He is said to have been wounded near Avdiyivka.

Head of the "Donetsk People's Republic" ("DPR") terrorist organization Alexander Zakharchenko slid out of sight some time ago, he has reportedly been wounded, according to unofficial information.

Chief terrorist Zakharchenko is said to be using crutches, the Ukrainian-based Vedomosti Donbassa news outlet reported.

Read alsoExpert says nothing to change if "DPR" leader replaced

According to reports, the "DPR" leader was wounded near the town of Avdiyivka, but Russian-controlled terrorists keep it secret.

According to other sources, Zakharchenko underwent surgery.

Earlier, several public accounts managed by the terrorist organization reported the death of one of its former leaders Igor Bezler, nom de guerre "Bes" ("Devil"), which was later denied.
Two enemy troops were reportedly killed and another five were wounded in fighting with Ukraine's Joint Forces.

Russia's hybrid military forces mounted 34 attacks on Ukrainian army positions in Donbas in the past 24 hours, with one Ukrainian soldier reported as killed in action (KIA).

"According to intelligence reports, two occupiers were killed and another five wounded," the press center of Ukraine's Joint Forces Operation said in an update on Facebook as of 07:00 Kyiv time on July 28, 2018.

Read alsoDonetsk terrorist chief Zakharchenko reportedly wounded

The Russian occupation forces opened aimed fire mainly from grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and small arms at the defenders of the towns of Zolote, Maryinka, Avdiyivka and Krasnohorivka, and the villages of Krymske, Zhovte, Novotoshkivske, Maiorsk, Novomykhailivka, Lebedynske, Hnutove, Shyrokyne, Pavlopil and Vodiane. Along with this, the occupiers used 120mm and 82mm mortars near Lebedynske, as well as 82mm mortars near Vodiane.

Since Saturday midnight, Russian-led forces have mounted four attacks on the Ukrainian positions near the town of Svitlodarsk, and the villages of Krymske, Lebedynske and Shyrokyne.
(@ChaudhryMAli88)

The 24th Iran International Electronic, Computer and E-Commerce Exhibition kicked off here on Saturday with participation of over 400 startup companies

TEHRAN, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 28th Jul, 2018 ) :The 24th Iran International Electronic, Computer and E-Commerce Exhibition kicked off here on Saturday with participation of over 400 startup companies.

Iran's Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi and his Azeri counterpart besides Iranian officials attended this year's Elecomp exhibition.

According to the exhibition's website, ELECOMP is the greatest commercial event in Iran's Market of Electronics and Computer Products and services.

Since its first edition in 1995, numerous operators of this industry in Iran introduce their latest achievements in software and hardware in ELECOMP every year.

The event provides a unique opportunity to the activists of this sector to negotiate the possibilities of establishing new business and technological ties to boost their business and increase their share of this huge and ever growing market.
Bamako, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 27th Jul, 2018 ) :The toll from an inter-ethnic attack in central Mali, which occurred in the runup to crucial elections, has risen from at least three dead to 17, sources said on Friday.

Armed men described as traditional hunters attacked the village of Somena on Wednesday, marking the latest flareup between nomadic Fulani and farmers from the Bambara and Dogon communities.

Abdoul Aziz Diallo, president of Tabital Pulaaku, the main Fulani association in Mali, said 17 people had died.

"We recovered all the bodies of the Fulani civilians who were killed and thrown into a well by Dogon hunters," he said.

The death toll of 17, inflicted by "armed men," was confirmed independently by a Malian government official who gave no further details.

On July 17, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) said at least 289 civilians had died in "inter-communal violence" since the start of the year.

Nearly 77 percent of violent incidents occurred in the central region of Mopti, the UNHCR said.

Malian voters go to the polls on Sunday to elect a new president.

The incumbent, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, who was elected in 2013, has been accused by rivals of incompetence.

In addition to ethnic clashes, jhadist violence has spread from northern Mali to the centreand south and spilled into neighbouring Burkina Faso and Niger, often inflaming communal conflicts.
High levels of IGF-1 (interfere with cellular proliferation and reduce apoptosis)

DNA alterations that increase free radicals

Altered levels of sexual steroids. (<SHBG, testosterone/estradiol relation inverted, > estradiol.

Chronic inflammation with increased levels of cytokines (IL-6, TNF, NFkB, PCR)

Socioeconomic differences and screening in different regions of the world.

Not all the definitions around the world are the same for obesity and hypertension.

The follow up of different components of the syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome frequently analyzed as a binary variable.

Acapulco, GRO. Mexico (UroToday.com) Nowadays there are multiple articles discussing the relationship between prostate cancer and metabolic syndrome. This association was first seen in 2004, now we know there is an inverse and positive relation between metabolic syndrome and prostate cancer. Patients with metabolic syndrome are more susceptible to aggressive and high-risk prostate cancer.The mechanisms proposed are:In the REDUCE study, high-risk prostate cancer was related in patients with >3 components of metabolic syndrome, although it was not statistically significant.In 2013, a 15 article metanalysis showed that there is not a clear risk association with prostate cancer diagnosis but there is a clear risk with advanced and high-risk prostate cancer, rate of recurrence after radical prostatectomy and adverse histopathology. However, the cancer-specific mortality was not altered.In 2017, a 24 article metanalysis tried to establish metabolic syndrome as a marker in new nomograms. However, the limitations of the studies to determine the syndrome as a clear factor were:Three studies in progress (MEAL study: The mens eating and living, MAST: Metformin Active Surveillance Trial and LIGAND: Lipitor and biGuanide to Androgen Delay) may clarify the relationship between metabolic syndrome and prostate cancer.Dr. Castillejos concludes that there is no relation between the syndrome and the risk of prostate cancer diagnosis. However, patients already diagnosed with prostate cancer with metabolic syndrome may be at risk of advanced and high-risk prostate cancer. At least one component of the syndrome or the whole syndrome increased the progression of prostate cancer. It is still to be clarified.The metabolic syndrome could be included in new screening and prognostic nomograms or may change our decision to biopsy a patient in the future.Presented by: Castillejos M. Ricardo. MD at Instituto Nacional Ciencias Medicas y Nutricion Salvador Zubiran, Mexico City, Mexico.Written by: Carlos Jimenez Ornelas, MD. Resident of Urology. Instituto Nacional Ciencias Medicas y Nutricion Salvador Zubiran @dr.jimorn along with Ashish M. Kamat, MD, at the 2018 Congreso de la Asociacion Mexicana de Urologia Oncologica  July 25-28, 2018, Acapulco, Guerrero.
Acapulco, GRO. Mexico (UroToday.com) Since 1941, when surgical castration was discovered, we are still trying to find other ways to improve testosterone axis blockade. Currently, the development of new therapies has focused on offering individualized treatment.Enzalutamide is a new antiandrogen recently approved for treatment of M0 castration-resistant prostate cancer. The most recent guidelines state that M0 stage is expectant, there is no recommendation for early treatment. However, the early use of this therapy has been shown to reduce development of metastasis in castration-resistant patients.The results of use of enzalutamide in M0 patients in the PROSPER study are presented. Although more adverse effects (hypertension, seizures and cardiovascular events) in the group of androgen blockade plus enzalutamide vs androgen blockade plus placebo, the enzalutamide group show significantly better progression-free survival (14 months vs 36 months). Not only did it reduce the progression, it also reduced significantly the PSA progression and delayed the use of chemotherapy. However, it did not alter the global survival.Roman Carvajal Garcia, MD, concludes that the therapy is well tolerated and there is a clear advantage in progression-free survival and also in secondary objectives (PSA progression, delay chemotherapy use). The plenary did not include comparisons between other therapies for M0 CRPC, it was focused just on enzalutamide. Other therapies were analyzed later in the meeting.Presented by: Carvajal Garcia, Roman, MD at Hospital Zapopan, Zapopan, Jalisco, Mexico.Written by: Carlos Jimenez Ornelas, MD. Resident of Urology. Instituto Nacional Ciencias Medicas y Nutricion Salvador Zubiran @dr.jimorn along with Ashish M. Kamat, MD, at The 2018 Congreso de la Asociacion Mexicana de Urologia Oncologica  July 25-28, 2018, Acapulco, Guerrero.
There are currently several different surgical options for patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Despite excellent postoperative results and longevity in symptom relief associated with Holmium laser enucleation of prostate (HoLEP), this procedure is not widely practiced in the United States.

Herein, we investigate trends and outcomes from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (ACS-NSQIP) to assess the status of HoLEP compared to other major BPH procedures.

Using ACS-NSQIP data from 2011-2015, trends, baseline characteristics and perioperative outcomes were collected for major BPH procedures: transurethral resection of prostate (TURP), TURP for regrowth, photovaporization of prostate (PVP), HoLEP and simple prostatectomy.

The most common procedure performed in every year was TURP with PVP performed about half as often, while HoLEP (4-5%) was performed about as infrequently as simple prostatectomy (3%). More African American men underwent simple prostatectomy except in 2011. INR was highest in every year for PVP. Hospital stay and transfusion rates were lowest with PVP and HoLEP. Transfusion rates for simple prostatectomy were high (16.0-25.4%). Lower rates of readmission, reoperation and urinary tract infection were seen in some years with HoLEP.

Based on data from over 35,000 major BPH procedures from the ACS-NSQIP 2011-2015, patients undergoing HoLEP had lower rates of urinary tract infection, reoperation and readmission. While transfusion rates and length of hospital stay were lowest for PVP and HoLEP, both were highest for simple prostatectomy.

Journal of endourology. 2018 Jul 24 [Epub ahead of print]

Blake Anderson, Joshua Heiman, Tim Large, James E Lingeman, Amy E Krambeck

Indiana University School of Medicine, 12250, Urology, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States ; ., Indiana University School of Medicine, 12250, Urology, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States., Indiana University School of Medicine, 12250, Urology, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States ; ., Indiana University School of Medicine, Dept. of Urology , 1801 North Senate Blvd. , Suite 220, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States , 46202 ; ., Indiana University School of Medicine, 12250, Urology, 1801 Senate Blvd. # 220, Indianapolis, Indiana, United States , 46202 ; .

PubMed http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30039715



Go Beyond the Abstract and Read a Commentary by the Author
Via The Globe and Mail, an op-ed by Yanos Varoufakis, a former Greek finance minister: Austerity, not just climate change, is to blame for Greeces deadly fires. Excerpt:

As is often the case when forest fires ravage Greece, the government hinted at arson. I am unconvinced. Greek governments have traditionally found it convenient to blame profiteers, arsonists, terrorists and even foreign agents. With such incendiary claims dominating the news, officials avoid having to admit their lack of preparedness and their failure to adopt and enforce appropriate laws and safety regulations.

What role did austerity and Greeces continuing Great Depression play in the ineffectiveness of the response? Fire departments, citizens protection agencies, ambulance services and hospitals are terribly understaffed. While the fires would not have been stopped if we had three times the number of fire brigade workers and firefighting airplanes, a country suffering a decade-long diminution of its public services, its communities and its morale can scarcely be expected to prepare itself well for a calamity made worse by climate change.

Journalists ask me whether the European Union is helping. The EU played no role in helping us fight the flames  a task not in its remit  and it cannot be held responsible for the fires or for 70 years of Greek societys abuse of the natural environment. But it is unquestionable that over the past decade, the troika of Greeces official creditors  the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund  has actively deprived the Greek state of the resources and capabilities it needs in such situations.

Over the course of a decade, we have lost many more people to the tragedy caused by the EU establishment than to any flood or forest fire. More than 20,000 people have died by suicide since 2011, while one in 10 working-age Greeks have emigrated because of the economic depression the EU has imposed on Greece.

I expect crocodile tears to be shed in Brussels over our fire victims, and similarly hypocritical posturing by the Greek government. But I do not expect any reversal of the organized misanthropy afflicting Greece just because nearly 100 people died in a single day.

Unless and until progressives across Europe get organized, accept local responsibility and band together to apply pressure at the EU level, nothing will change, except a further strengthening of proudly misanthropic political forces such as Greeces Golden Dawn, Italys Lega, Germanys Christian Social Union and Alternative fur Deutschland, Sebastian Kurzs Austrian government and the Polish-Hungarian illiberal nexus. In this context, Greeces forest fires are a tragic reminder of our collective responsibility as Europeans.
I have to say over the last couple months, I have talked to thousands of people across Chicago in putting together how it could work. You have to get the mechanics going to know that you can execute, but at the end of the day the only thing that matters, or the thing that matters to me, is the impact that I can have and where is the place to do it, she said. Could I have run a campaign? Sure. All the mechanics are possible, but when I went back to what is the impact I really want to make in a job and where is the best place to do it, this is the conclusion that we came to. It wasnt anything more dramatic than that.
Bishop Carlos Aviles Canton says the government of President Daniel Ortega is persecuting the Church in Nicaragua and is not serious about the National Dialogue.

By Devin Watkins

The bishops of Nicaragua have agreed to write a letter to President Ortega, to ask whether he wants them to continue mediating the National Dialogue.

Bishop Carlos Aviles Canton, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Managua, said: The Church always seeks dialogue, but there is no dialogue without the government wanting to participate.

He offered that assessment on Friday in an interview with the Catholic Channel of Nicaragua. He is acting as a counselor for the National Dialogue Commission.

Listen to our report

The Church is always on the side of the people, those who are poor and in need, those who suffer, die, are unjustly imprisoned, or disappear, he said.



At least 448 people have died in more than 100 days of protests against the government of President Daniel Ortega.

Repeat of 1980 persecution



Bishop Aviles said Nicaragua is reliving the experience of 1980, when persecution broke out against the Church. The difference this time, he said, is that there is no war or economic oppression. But the government continues to manipulate the Church, he noted.



President Daniel Ortega, he said, is making up lies about priests encouraging violence and hiding weapons. The clergy is acting in all pacifism, and is praying for those who persecute us, without forgetting the search for truth and justice.

Nicaraguans united



Bishop Aviles said Nicaraguans are united against the government, unlike in 1980. He said they are seeking justice, truth, and peace, and an end to the violence.

Dialogue must be advanced by the government, the opposition, and the Church, without international assistance, he said. Bishop Aviles said Pope Francis supports this path.

He said the government of President Ortega has held up the National Dialogue by refusing to be confronted with the political question. The government, he said, refuses to see that the people want change and a new government.
The Philippine immigration authority had ordered on July 19 that Australian Sister Patricia Fox NDS be deported to her country within 30 days.

By Robin Gomes

Australian missionary nun, Sister Patricia Fox, who had been served a deportation order by Philippine authorities last week has again won a reprieve following an appeal by her lawyers on July 22 to reconsider the order.

On hold



Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said, "The deportation order cannot be enforced until it becomes final.... With the filing of the appeal, the deportation will not be executed," he added.

The Sister of Our Lady of Sion congregation (NDS) has been working in the Philippines for 27 years on a 27-year missionary visa which is valid until September 5 this year.

On July 19, the Philippine Immigration Bureau (BI) ordered Sister Fox to be deported to Australia within 30 days, after she was declared an "undesirable alien".

Violation of missionary visa



The BI found the nun "in violation of the limitations and conditions of her missionary visa" for openly and actively participating in activities such as protest rallies, press conferences and fact-finding missions, which the immigration authority said violated the terms and conditions of her missionary visa. She has also been put on the bureau's blacklist, meaning she cannot return to the Philippines.

IB spokeswoman Dana Krizia Sandoval told UCANEWS that the Board of Commissioners would review the nun's appeal. "We froze the implementation of the order against Sister Fox pending her appeal. She can stay in the country while waiting for the final order," said Sandoval.

The nun can also apply for the extension of her missionary visa because "the order to include her on the blacklist is also suspended."

Sister Fox's lawyer said the deportation order was based on "a false and unfounded statement" by President Rodrigo Duterte who accused the 71-year old nun of being "foul mouthed" for criticizing the government.

First deportation order



Sister Fox was originally arrested and detained overnight on April 16 over accusations of joining illegal political activities when she participated in an investigation into alleged human rights abuses in Mindanao.

On April 25, the immigration bureau revoked her missionary visa. She was ordered to leave the country but was given a reprieve on May 25. (Source: UCANEWS)
Cambodia goes to the polls in the July 29 general elections with practically no opposition to longtime prime minister Hun Sen.

By Robin Gomes

Ahead of Sundays general election in Cambodia, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an inclusive and pluralistic political process saying that it remains essential for safeguarding the progress made by Cambodia in consolidating peace.



Human and democratic rights



Speaking on behalf of Guterres, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told a press briefing on Friday that the Secretary-General is calling on all political actors to reduce tensions and political polarization.

Listen to Stephane Dujarric

Guterres called on the Cambodian government to uphold international human rights standards and in particular to ensure guarantees for civil society actors and political parties to exercise their democratic rights. He reiterated the continued commitment of the United Nations to support a peaceful and democratic Cambodia that fully respects the human rights of all its citizens.

Election without opposition



Strongman Hun Sen, the leader of the Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP), is the world's longest serving prime minister, holding on to power for 33 years.

An election boycott has been called by his critics, saying that without any real opposition to the government, the poll will be a shame.

Last November the rival Cambodia National Rescue Party was dissolved, by court edict, according to reports. Hun Sen's government has fractured the remaining 19 political parties running against the CPP with none of them strongly critical of the prime minister or the government.

The UN independent expert appointed to monitor human rights in Cambodia, Rhona Smith, said at the end of April that there could be no genuine election process if the main opposition party is barred from taking part.

Some Western countries have also questioned the credibility of the election because of the lack of any significant opposition.

Media muzzled



Rights groups have criticized restrictions placed on independent media and civil society. Hun Sens government shut down about 30 radio stations and gutted two independent English-language newspapers.

Cambodia-based Licadho human rights group told Reuters that several internet service providers and mobile companies were actively blocking websites of independent, online media radio outlets including Radio Free Asia (RFA), Voice of America (VOA) and Voice of Democracy (VOD) as well as websites of English newspapers..




Former all-star athlete and media personality, Shaquille ONeal, made a surprise appearance at Beer Park at Paris Las Vegas on Thursday afternoon. Sporting khakis with a yellow t-shirt, ONeal chatted and took photos with eager fans and the bar staff, while enjoying panoramic views of the Las Vegas Strip (Pictured: Shaquille ONeal with Beer Park Staff).

Beer Park is open daily from lunch through late night, transitioning to a fun, high-energy bar after 10 p.m. The phone number for Beer Park is 702.444.4500, the website is www.beerpark.com , and information about private events is available via email at info@beerpark.com . Beer Park is on Facebook at www.facebook.com/BeerParkLV and on Twitter and Instagram at @BEERPARKLV.


The results of Las Vegas Restaurant Week are in! From posh Las Vegas Strip eateries to local favorites, 172 restaurants across the valley joined the fight against hunger during the culinary event, raising a record-breaking total of more than $230,000 for Southern Nevadas only food bank.

This years proceeds will help Three Square provide approximately 690,000 meals to the more than 271,000 food insecure residents in Southern Nevada. Since its inception in 2007, Restaurant Week has raised a total of nearly $1.6 million.

From June 18-29, restaurants across the valley offered prix-fixe menus at price points ranging from $20 to $80, with a fixed portion of each meals cost supporting Three Squares mission of providing meals to the one in eight Las Vegans who struggle with hunger. Also, 20 restaurants extended their participation in Restaurant Week through July 6. This included venues at the Venetian and Palazzo Las Vegas, Westgate, Table 34, The Pasta Shop Ristorante and Chef Marcs Trattoria.

Restaurant Week newcomers, such as Nobu, Black Tap and District One, joined longtime participants including Honey Salt, Tommy Bahama, and Zuma. This years top earners include Mesa Grill, Mon Ami Gabi, Charlie Palmer and Buddy Vs Ristorante.
When Margaret Yvonne Middleton embarked on her journey to Hollywood as Yvonne De Carlo, she easily captivated audiences as a dark-haired screen siren. For TV viewers, De Carlo will always be known as Lily Munster in the 1964-66 slapstick horror-movie spoof "The Munsters."Lily, vampire-like in a filmy gown, presided over the faux-scary household and was a rock for her gentle, often bumbling husband, Herman, played by 6-foot-5 character actor Fred Gwynne.Although it lasted only two years, the series had a long life in syndication and resulted in two movies.At the series's end, De Carlo said: It meant security. It gave me a new, young audience I wouldn't have had otherwise. It made me 'hot' again, which I wasn't for a while.
Cambodia blocked the websites of some independent media on Friday, a human rights group said, just two days before a general election in which Prime Minister Hun Sen faces almost no challenge to his 33-year-old rule.

Reuters could not reach a government spokesman for comment.

Cambodias independent media has come under increasing pressure from Hun Sen and his allies ahead of the vote.

The purchase earlier this year of the Phnom Penh Post, an English-language daily, by a Malaysian whose public relations firm lists Hun Sen as a client was labeled by critics a disaster for media freedom ahead of the election.

That followed the closure of the Cambodia Daily, another English-language newspaper, after it was ordered to pay millions of dollars in back taxes by the government or face closure. Around 30 radio stations were shut last year.

For the past several hours it has been confirmed that several Internet Service Providers  and mobile companies  are actively blocking websites of independent, online media radio outlets including Radio Free Asia (RFA), Voice of America (VOA) and Voice of Democracy (VOD) as well as websites of English newspapers, said Naly Pilorge of the Cambodia-based Licadho human rights group.

This is the first website censorship since the release of the prakas on media in late May 2018, she added, referring to government directives in May to block or close websites and social media pages containing content considered as incitement or a threat to national security.

Reuters could not open the websites of Radio Free Asia Khmer, Voice of America Khmer and Voice of Democracy on Friday.

Kith Meng, CEO of Mobitel, Cambodias leading mobile phone network provider, declined to comment when contacted by Reuters by telephone.

Other mobile providers, including Metfone and Cooltel, could not be reached for comment.

We are outraged that private companies would block access to certain media while charging full prices for their services, said Naly Pilorge. Its neither good business nor in line with international rights or standards.

The election has been criticized by the United Nations and Western countries as fundamentally flawed after the Supreme Court last year dissolved the main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) over accusations of plotting to topple the government. Its leader, Kem Sokha, was imprisoned for treason.

The party, which only narrowly lost the 2013 election, denied the accusation and most CNRP leaders have since fled abroad, leaving no significant competitor to Hun Sens party.

Supporters of Hun Sen on Friday took to the streets in a last day of boisterous electoral campaigning.

Of the 19 other parties standing on Sunday, none are strongly critical of Hun Sen or the government. Smaller parties together won less than seven percent of the vote in 2013.
The Cambodian government has ordered internet service providers (ISPs) to block at least 15 news websites of independent outlets, including Voice of America, for two days before and during the countrys election.

An official Ministry of Information memo, obtained by VOA, orders the ISPs to block Voice of Americas Khmer service, Radio Free Asias Khmer service, Voice of Democracy, Vayo FM Radio, Monorom.info, and the news site of the Independent Network for Social Justice on July 28 and 29  the day of the election.

Phos Sovann, chief of the Information Ministrys general department of information and broadcasting, confirmed the list of at least 15 websites had been ordered blocked.

Frankly speaking, we cannot control the concerned media outlets. Thats it, Sovann told VOA Khmer on Saturday.

Cambodian laws do not allow any kind of broadcasting on these two days including the White Day [and the Election Day], he said.

Cambodias electoral law imposes a White Day in which parties are forbidden from campaigning during the 24 hours before the ballot. It apparently places no restriction on the media.

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Asked why these specific websites were selected for the blockage and not other, pro-government sites, Sovann said the content published and broadcast by those outlets concerned the obstructions as stated in the election law.

The Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), the only viable opposition to the ruling party, was dissolved by the Supreme Court in November for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government and has called on voters to boycott the election, which it says is consequently a sham.

The government and the National Election Committee have argued this amounts to an obstruction of voters under the countrys election law in an interpretation rights groups have said is ridiculous. Cambodia does not enforce mandatory voting.

Cnrp7.org, Khmerpolitical.com, Khmersharingnews.com, Camnews.com, Stubes.info, Pinterest.de, Vithyu.com, Freecambodia.org, and Akppure.com - most of which regularly relay the news contents and radio programs from the main news sites above -- round out the list of blocked sites.

Sovann said the blocked outlets were citing sources who disrupted the election and were abroad  referring to CNRP members who have fled into exile.

Cambodian netizens began complaining on social media on Thursday night that they had lost access to numerous news websites that they routinely accessed, including RFA and VOA.

Voice of Democracys media director Nop Vy confirmed that his website had been blocked since Friday.

The independent media website block is an action to control all reporting about the election. It affects access to information about the election, Nop Vy said.

Moeun Chhean Nariddh, director of the Cambodia Institute for Media Studies, expressed regrets about the independent media blackout.

Ahead of the election, we want the public to access comprehensive information about the election process, policies of each party, and characteristics of party candidates, he said.

Without the CNRP to compete, which almost defeated the government at the last national election and won close to half the popular vote in last years commune election, the long-ruling Cambodian Peoples Party is expected to win in a landslide on Sunday.

We want our election environment to be calm so that the people are rightfully able to decide without consuming this kind of information [about the boycott], Sovann said.

Im Vutha, spokesperson for the Telecommunication Regulator of Cambodia - a semi-autonomous body that oversees all the countrys ISPs - confirmed the censorship of websites deemed to cause election disruption.

Whatever activities that affect and disturb the election, we take actions [against], Im Vutha said.

Any websites affecting and disturbing the election against the law, [we will] shut down.

National Election Committee spokesman Hang Puthea said the NEC sent a letter yesterday to three related ministries - the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Interior - asking them to take action against any activities disturbing the election process.

If those relevant ministries find out that any information from those websites [is disturbing the election], they will take actions, he said. He added that the NEC hadnt specified which websites were to be blocked.

If any websites publish information and with the intention of preventing people from going to vote, that is against the law, he said.

In late May the three ministries formed a joint working group to investigate "fake news" at the same time that the government released a new directive handing them powers to monitor and "control" online reporting.

A letter dated April 18 from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications to the Ministry of Information asked internet service providers to equip themselves with software which could easily filter or block any accounts and/or pages that publish content violating the law.

Naly Pilorge, director of local human rights group Licadho told VOA the ISPs Cellcard and Opennet were also both blocking The Phnom Penh Post and The Cambodia Daily.

Early this year, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications told all internet service providers (ISPs) in the country to block the website of The Cambodia Daily newspaper and its associated social media accounts, including Facebook and Twitter pages, according to documents obtained by VOA Khmer.

The English-language Daily, which had reported critically inside Cambodia since 1993, was forced to close in September last year amid a standoff with the General Department of Taxation over an alleged bill of $6.3 million worth of back taxes.

The government insisted that it was merely implementing the law and that the taxes being sought were unrelated to the Dailys critical reporting in the past.

Since the papers closure in September, Cambodian internet users have complained that the Dailys website has been unavailable on certain ISPs, making it more difficult to access the newspapers extensive story archive.

The Phnom Penh Post was bought by Malaysian investor in May and now under control of Cambodian lawyer Ly Tayseng, who also confirmed that the newspaper's websites are also blocked though VOA Khmer could not find the outlet on the Ministrys list.

This article was revised on July 28th, 2018 at 5:40 PM
Top Washington correspondents discuss the weeks headlines including the latest saber rattling tweets from President Donald Trump and Iranian President Hasan Rouhani. Listen in to the roundtable discussion of Issues in the News with moderator Paul Brandus of West Wing Reports, Steve Goldstein of Market Watch and Tom DeFrank of the National Journal.
Music Time in Africa is VOAs longest running English language program. Since 1965, this award-winning program has featured pan African music that spans all genres and generations. Ethnomusicologist and Host Heather Maxwell keeps you up to date on whats happening in African music with exclusive interviews, cultural information, and of course, great music -- including rare recordings from the Leo Sarkisian Library of African Music.
The draft proposes that the reform process will be overseen by an independent monitor selected by the parties, and Fridays release does not answer the crucial question of who will oversee reforms and report back to the judge. As has been the case in other cities operating under policing consent decrees, the monitor would be assisted by a team of deputies. The monitor would be empowered to audit the departments compliance and enjoy broad access to the department and its officers.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday declared a state of emergency in California as raging wildfires threatened thousands of homes.

The move made federal funds available to help fight the fires and aid the recovery.

Thousands of people in Southern California were forced to evacuate their homes early Saturday to avoid the Cranston Fire, southeast of Los Angeles. It and the Carr Fire in Northern California were the two biggest blazes ravaging the western landscape since the first outbreak Monday.

A third fire, the Ferguson Fire, was burning in Yosemite National Park, forcing its closure through the end of next week. Park officials said at least 1,000 campground and hotel bookings had been canceled.

Two firefighters died in the week's battle to save homes, forests and parkland.

The state institution that battles California's seasonal wildfires, Cal Fire, said on its website that continued hot and dry conditions were forecast through the weekend, which could continue to fuel the blazes. Experts said the fire season began earlier than usual this year.

Last year was California's worst fire season on record. More than 40 people died and 9,000 structures were destroyed in fires that ran rampant through California's verdant wine country.

This year, the fires in Northern California have destroyed 500 structures, and officials said 5,000 more were being threatened by blazes. Cal Fire said 10,000 firefighters were on the job.

Tens of thousands of people fled for their lives as an inferno reached Redding, home to more than 90,000 people.

The fire has scorched upward of 42,000 acres (17,000 hectares) of land, Cal Fire said.

Governor Jerry Brown declared states of emergency for areas at both ends of the state. His request for federal emergency assistance said the aid was needed to prevent an "imminent catastrophe."

According to the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, there are 89 active "large fires" raging throughout the country. Five of those are in California.
Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has returned to Belgium to drum up support for Catalonias separatist movement after Spains bid to extradite him on rebellion charges from Germany failed.



Puigdemont arrived in Brussels Saturday morning and shook hands with the current regional president of Catalonia, Quim Torra, who had traveled from Spain to meet his predecessor.



Puigdemont fled Spain in October following an illegal and ineffective declaration of independence by secessionist lawmakers in northeastern Catalonia.



He had been in Germany since March when he was arrested on a Spanish warrant while traveling in car from Finland back to Belgium.



But a Spanish judge withdrew the international warrant for Puigdemont after a German court refused to extradite him for rebellion.



Puigdemont can be arrested, however, if he returns to Spain.
CBS said Friday it is investigating sexual misconduct allegations against Les Moonves, the companys 68-year-old chairman and CEO.

The claims were detailed Friday on the website of The New Yorker magazine in an article written by Ronan Farrow.

Farrow won a Pulitzer Prize last year for an article in the same magazine about the sexual allegations against powerful Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

In his latest article, Farrow said that he interviewed six women who said they had been sexually harassed by Moonves between the 1980s and the late 2000s.

Four described forcible touching or kissing during business meetings, he wrote. Two told me that Moonves physically intimidated them or threatened to derail their careers.

All of them, Farrow said, continue to fear speaking out would lead to retaliation from Moonves, who is known in the industry for his ability to make or break careers.

Janet Jones, a writer, told Farrow that Moonves has gotten away with it for decades. She said she had to push Moonves off of her after he forcibly kissed her at a work meeting.

Moonves said in a statement published in The New Yorker: I recognize that there were times decades ago when I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances. Those were mistakes, and I regret them immensely. ... I have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyones career...

Farrow said 30 current and former CBS employees told him that the sexual misconduct allegations at CBS include not only Moonves, but also extend to important parts of the corporation, including CBS News and 60 Minutes, one of the networks most esteemed programs.

Under Moonves, Farrow wrote, men at CBS News who were accused of sexual misconduct were promoted, even as the company paid settlements to women with complaints.

Last year, Moonves was one of the founders of Hollywoods Commission on Eliminating Sexual Harassment and Advancing Equality in the Workplace, chaired by Anita Hill.

Moonves wife, a CBS TV producer and personality, Julie Chen, said on Twitter:


Northern Californias wildfires have destroyed 500 structures, and officials say 5,000 more are threatened by the massive blaze.

Two firefighters have died combating the so-called Carr Fire.

Thousands of people fled for their lives as the inferno reached the city of Redding, home to more than 90,000 people. Tens of thousands were under evacuation orders.

The fire has scorched upward of 17,000 hectares of land, the states forestry and fire protection department, Cal Fire said.

Tourists and hikers whose vacation plans included visiting Yosemite National Park are making other plans because of the raging Ferguson Fire. The park has been closed since July 25 and is not expected to re-open until August 3.

Park officials say at least 1,000 campground and hotel bookings have been canceled.

The winds fanning the flames of the fire in Northern California have been so strong in some areas that trees have been uprooted.

Chad Carroll, spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said many of the airborne trees have landed on homes.

Southern California

In Southern California, the Cranston Fire, believed to be caused by arson, forced about 12,000 residents of the town of Idyllwild to evacuate. Authorities have arrested a suspect in the fire.

Governor Jerry Brown has declared states of emergency for areas on both ends of the state. His request for federal emergency assistance said the aid was needed to prevent an imminent catastrophe.

The National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC), the U.S. government agency dedicated to coordinating federal response to fires, said the 2018 start of Californias fire season is the worst in a decade with 117,248 hectares scorched by Friday morning.

According to NIFC, there are 89 active large fires raging throughout the country. Five of those are in California.

Allie Weill, a fire behavior researcher at the University of California, Davis, told VOA that California is a ripe environment for fires because of its climate: the bulk of its precipitation comes in the winter and little in the summer.

The conditions that will carry a fire are just starting earlier and lasting longer, Weill said. Usually we dont see the big fires until later in the [summer].
An erupting volcano is expected to force the population of an entire island in Vanuatu to leave for the second time in less than a year. Volcanic activity has intensified in the past week, prompting the government of the South Pacific archipelago to declare a state of emergency.

Ash clouds have turned day into night on the island of Ambae, leading authorities in Vanuatu to order the evacuation of 11,000 people. The Manaro volcano has been active for almost a year, and after a period of relative calm, it is beginning to stir again.



The director of Vanuatu's Geohazards Department is Esline Garaebiti.



"We're seeing very significant impacts on the island at the moment," said Garaebiti. "For that latest eruption, there's been heavy ash fall in the southern parts, while parts of the north were also affected."



Grey ash has blanketed homes and crops, and emergency officials in Vanuatu are expecting the seismic activity to intensify.



Residents fled Ambae en masse last September, when the volcano began emitting clouds of smoke, and there were signs of hot lava emerging near the surface of its crater. Many have heeded the warning to leave once again. Others, though, say they don't want to go, fearing overcrowding and a lack of services on neighboring islands.



But Internal Affairs Minister Andrew Napuat says it could soon become too dangerous to stay.



"At this stage it's very clear that the situation will only get worse in the days to come, and so it's important for the people to move out of the island. And we will be asking their co-operation to co-operate with us so that we can get them to safety," said Napuat.



Ambae is one of about 65 inhabited islands in Vanuatu, which lies in the Pacific Ocean about one-quarter of the way from Australia to Hawaii.



The island nation is home to about 280,000 people. It is on the Pacific's "ring of fire", the arc of seismic faults around the Pacific Ocean where earthquakes and volcanoes are common.
A provincial government official in eastern Afghanistan said Saturday three staff members of a midwife training center were killed in an attack on the facility.



Gunmen stormed the facility Saturday in the city of Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, and fought security forces for several hours.



Provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said a driver and two security guards were killed and seven other people were wounded. He said 63 other people, most of them women, were evacuated from the area.



It was unclear why the gunmen attacked the facility, which was occupied primarily by midwife trainees from the eastern province of Nuristan.



There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.



Recent similar attacks, however, have been claimed by the Islamic State group.
Retired and in their 70s, Ru-Liang Zhang and Xan-Xia Hong spend every weekday after lunch socializing at the Chinese Community Center, a few short blocks from their Delancey Street home in lower Manhattan. Inseparable and competitive, they battle in ping-pong, magnetic darts, karaoke, and occasionally practice the erhu, an ancient two-stringed bowed instrument.

Twenty-eight years after moving to the U.S. through family-immigrant visas, the two say they are living the best time of their lives. Their kids are financially independent, and their social benefits are stable. Still, theyve never forgotten how difficult it was to get here.

For the journey, for our whole family, it cost us over 10,000 Chinese Yuan (roughly $2,000 in 1990 U.S. dollars), Hong said. What were we to do if we couldnt get the visa? We would lose everything.

Lacking formal employment and supported financially by an older brother, the couple poured their dreams and savings into a visa application process that would take nine years. In the decade that followed, Hong worked seven days a week at a garment factory, while Zhang put in similar hours at a restaurant, eventually inheriting a convenience store.

Combined, their work ethic helped put their three kids through college. But they sometimes wonder if those accomplishments might go unnoticed today, as the Trump administration blames so-called chain immigration for bringing in people who do not contribute to the U.S. economy.

The president used a contentious term on Twitter last September, one the White House and anti-immigration advocates have adopted in reference to U.S. citizen-sponsored immigrant visas for family members abroad.

No new laws  yet

A year and a half into Trumps presidency, his administration has backed several legislative measures that would cut legal immigration, including family-based immigrant visas, while replacing so-called low-skilled immigrant labor with what it refers to as a merit-based system.

Proponents argue a policy change would lead to better wages for American workers; critics say the economy is dependent on low-skilled labor.

WATCH: Longtime Immigrants Fear Family-Based Visa in Doubt After Years of Hard Work

Justin Yu, a former immigration-specialized reporter who now runs the New York Chinese Community Center, calls family-based immigration vital for the well-being of U.S.-based families, and he believes the president should focus his immigration reform efforts elsewhere.

The problem in the American immigration system is not the legal immigrant  its not the family-based immigrant, its not the merit-based immigrant, Yu told VOA. The problem ... is our border has not been controlled, and that we have too many illegals, and we dont know how to [deal] with it.

Nationwide split

Recent public polling by Rasmussen Reports and Gallup suggests a nationwide split in opinion over the Trump administrations proposed policy change.

Yus sentiment is common among the Chinese diaspora who believe that social programs and hard-earned rights are sometimes compromised by undocumented immigrants and others who take advantage of the system.

We worked and worked and worked, all the way until we both retired, Hong explained of her and her husbands early years in the country. If you come to the U.S. like this, that is perfectly OK, but some came and started to get immediately on welfare.

This is a common misconception, but undocumented immigrants do not qualify for welfare, and legal immigrants must wait five years before becoming eligible for federal means-tested financial benefits. Additionally, the legal application process screens for applicants deemed likely to become government-dependent, a policy known as public charge.

Wellington Chen, who runs a local development corporation in Manhattan called Chinatown Partnership, says such foul play is rare in his neighborhood of mostly small businesses.

These people came here [and] didnt take away any jobs; if anything, they hired helpers, they put their kids through college, they work long hours, they work the jobs that no one wants to do, Chen said. They didnt ask for handouts.

American Dream, fulfilled

Strolling through Columbus Park, U.S.-born Nicholas Louie, 23, together with his grandfather, Thomas Louie  a product of family-based immigration  talked about the meaning of family.

Sponsored by his own grandfather, the elder Louie came to the U.S. as a teenager more than 60 years ago and was followed by his seven younger siblings. Altogether, their extended family includes a physician, a college professor and a math teacher.

Louies grandson says he doesnt take having his family close by for granted and has difficulty imagining how different life would be if more visa restrictions were applied.

Whats that to say about the next generation, when theres children asking wheres [my] grandfather  or wheres [my] uncle? Louie said. Why do they have no family, but everyone else seems to have this wide, extended family?

His own family unit, Louie adds, is fulfilling the American Dream.

[Our elders] just wanted all of us to be good, make our own money, be satisfied with what we have and retain the family, Louie said. Thats really important.

VOA Turkish Service reporter Asli Pelit contributed to this report.
The Cambodian government has ordered internet service providers (ISPs) to block the websites of 15 independent new outlets, including Voice of America, for two days before and during the country's election.



An official Ministry of Information memo obtained by VOA orders the ISPs to block Voice of America's Khmer service, Radio Free Asia's Khmer service, Voice of Democracy, Vayo FM Radio, Monorom.info and the news site of the Independent Network for Social Justice on July 28 and 29 the day of the election.



Phos Sovann, chief of the Information Ministry's general Department of Information and Broadcasting, confirmed 15 websites in total were on the list.



"Frankly speaking, we cannot control the concerned media outlets. That's it," Sovann told VOA Khmer on Saturday.



"Cambodian laws do not allow any kind of broadcasting on these two days, including the White Day [and the Election Day]," he said.



Cambodia's electoral law imposes a "White Day" in which parties are forbidden from campaigning during the 24 hours before the ballot. It places no restriction on the media.



Asked why these specific websites were selected for the blockage and not other, pro-government sites, Sovann said the content published and broadcast by those outlets "concerned the obstructions as stated in the election law".



The Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP), the only viable opposition to the ruling party, was dissolved by the Supreme Court in November for allegedly plotting to overthrow the government. It has called on voters to boycott the election, which it says is a sham.



The government and the National Election Committee have argued this amounts to an obstruction of voters under the country's election law, in an interpretation rights groups have said is ridiculous.Cambodia does not enforce mandatory voting.



Cnrp7.org, Khmerpolitical.com, Khmersharingnews.com, Camnews.com, Stubes.info, Pinterest.de, Vithyu.com, Freecambodia.org, Akppure.com and Imnsj.org round out the list of blocked sites.



Sovann said the blocked outlets were citing sources who disrupted the election and were "abroad" referring to CNRP members who have fled into exile.



Cambodian netizens began complaining on social media Thursday night they had lost access to numerous news websites they routinely accessed, including RFA and VOA.



Voice of Democracy's media director Nop Vy confirmed that his website has been blocked since Friday.



"The independent media website block is an action is to control all reporting about election. It affects the access to information about election," Nop Vy said.



Moeun Chhean Nariddh, director of the Cambodia Institute for Media Studies, expressed "regrets" about the blockage.



"Ahead of the election, we want the public to access comprehensive information about the election process, policies of each party, and characteristics of party candidates," he said.



Without competition from the CNRP, which almost defeated the government at the last national election and won close to half of the popular vote in last year's commune election, the long ruling Cambodian People's Party is expected to win in a landslide on Sunday.



"We want our election environment to be calm so that the people are rightfully able to decide without consuming this kind of information [about the boycott]", Sovann said.



Im Vutha, spokesperson for the Telecommunications Regulator of Cambodia  a semi-autonomous body that oversees all the country's ISPs  confirmed the censorship of websites deemed to be provoking "election disruption."



"Whatever activities that affect and disturb the election, we take actions [against]," Im Vutha said.



"Any websites affecting and disturbing the election against the law, [we will] shut down."



National Election Committee spokesman Hang Puthea said the NEC sent a letter yesterday to three related ministries  the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, the Ministry of Information and the Ministry of Interior  asking them to take action "against any activities disturbing the election process."



"If those relevant ministries find out that any information from those websites [is disturbing the election], they will take actions," he said. He added that the NEC hadn't specified which websites were to be blocked.



"If any websites publish information and with the intention of preventing people from going to vote, that is against the law," he said.



In late May, the three ministries formed a joint working group to investigate "fake news" at the same time that the government released a new directive handing them powers to monitor and "control" online reporting.



A letter dated April 18 from the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications to the Ministry of Information asked internet service providers to equip themselves with software that couldeasily filter or block any accounts and/or pages that publish content violating the law.



Naly Pilorge, director of local human rights group, Licadho, told VOA the ISPs Cellcard and Opennet also were both blocking The Phnom Penh Post and The Cambodia Daily.



Early this year, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications told all internet service providers (ISPs) in the country to block the website of The Cambodia Daily newspaper and its associated social media accounts, including Facebook and Twitter pages, according to documents obtained by VOA Khmer.



The English-language Cambodia Daily, which had done independent journalism inside Cambodia since 1993, was forced to close in September last year amid a standoff with the General Department of Taxation over an alleged bill of $6.3 million worth of back taxes.



The government insisted it was merely implementing the law and that the taxes being sought were unrelated to Cambodia Daily's critical reporting in the past.



Since the paper's closure in September, Cambodian internet users have complained that the Daily's website has been unavailable on certain ISPs, making it more difficult to access the newspaper's extensive story archive.

VOA's Khmer Service contributed to this report
Harvard University is defending its admissions practices in new court records that also offer a scathing rebuke of the group that's suing over alleged discrimination.

Records filed by the school in Boston's federal court Friday say the legal case made by Students for Fair Admissions amounts to a "45-page press release'' with a "misleading narrative.''

The two sides have been sparring over the group's 2014 lawsuit accusing Harvard of discrimination against Asian-American students.

An analysis presented by the group says Harvard's Asian-American applicants bring the strongest academic records but face lower acceptance rates than those of any other race.

The school's Friday filing dismisses the analysis as "deeply flawed'' and says the group has no proof of discrimination.

A statement from the group says it looks forward to going to trial in October.
More than 100 flights were canceled in Japan, and residents still reeling from deadly floods sand-bagged rivers and prepared for more evacuations as a powerful typhoon neared Saturday.

Typhoon Jongdari, meaning skylark in Korean, was expected to make landfall late Saturday or early Sunday.

The typhoon will bring heavy rain across the main island of Honshu, with 400 mm (15 inches) possible in the region around Tokyo in the 24 hours to Sunday noon, Japan Meteorological Agency said.

Regions in western Japan ravaged by floods and landslides that killed more than 200 people earlier this month are likely to be hit by downpours, and the agency called on residents to be ready for possible evacuation advisory by local authorities.

In Mabi, one of the hardest hit in Japans worst natural disaster in 36 years, workers used heavy machinery to build sand bag banks along a river in case torrential rain caused more flooding, public broadcaster NHK reported.

Japan Airlines said it had canceled 107 flights leaving and arriving at Haneda in Tokyo and other airports.

A raft of summer festivals were canceled or postponed in the Tokyo area, including the famed Sumidagawa river fireworks festival scheduled for Saturday night.

July has seen Japan hit by one weather disaster after another, including a record-breaking heat wave that saw temperatures surge to 41.1 Celsius (106 Fahrenheit) near Tokyo on Monday and has killed at least 80 people, with more than 20,000 taken to hospitals for treatment.
President Donald Trump's ex-lawyer has largely stayed out of the spotlight in the months since federal agents raided his office and hotel room and seized scores of records about his work for Trump. But this week, he has taken a sharply more aggressive and public turn, seeming to wage open warfare with the White House while weighing whether to cooperate with investigators. The moves suggest Cohen is looking for a way out of looming trouble. But his behavior doesn't quite line up with a clear strategy, legal experts say. And if his signals are aimed at Trump, they've largely served to infuriate the president.
The Kurdish-backed Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) says after meeting with Syrian government officials that it will work with the government to end seven years of violence in the country.



The SDC said Saturday that both sides, after meeting in Damascus, had agreed to work together to plot a "roadmap leading to a democratic and decentralized Syria."



This was the SDC's first declared visit to Syria's capital, indicating the interest of Kurdish authorities to open channels of communication with President Bashar al-Assad as the SDC seeks a political accord to preserve their region's autonomy within Syria.



The Kurdish authorities, which control about one-quarter of Syria, have avoided conflict with Assad during the seven-year-long war, and at times have fought common foes, including rebels, which government forces gradually are crushing with help from Russia and Iran.


Astronomers and local residents gathered to gaze in awe at the longest lunar eclipse of the 21st century: 1 hour, 43 minutes. During eclipses, the moon turns a red or brownish color because the light that reaches it passes through the earth's atmosphere. In Cairo, astronomers with their telescopes volunteered to wow stargazers
U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis says equipment has landed at a base in Turkey to prepare Turkish troops for joint patrols with U.S. forces in northern Syria.

"Training equipment has landed in Incirlik," Mattis told reporters Friday at the Pentagon, referring to a strategic air base in southern Turkey used by American forces.

Mattis said the training should start within weeks.

"I dont think were talking months," he said.

It is unclear when U.S. and Turkish forces would start conducting the joint patrols in Syria once training of Turkey's troops is complete.

Last month, the United States began "coordinated but independent patrols" with Turkey near the volatile northern Syrian city of Manbij.

The city houses Kurdish militia fighters. Washington supports the Kurdish fighters there, while Ankara says they are anti-Turkey terrorists.

The Pentagon says the purpose of the patrols are to support "long-term security in Manbij" and uphold its commitments to NATO-ally Turkey.
A media rights group is expressing concern after Israeli security forces arrested a prominent Palestinian writer in the West Bank.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) said Friday that Israel should immediately explain why they have Lama Khater in custody or let her go.

Israeli officials arrested Khater, 32, Tuesday for alleged involvement in Hamas terror activities.

CPJ said Khater, a prominent blogger, is also a contributing opinion writer to several media outlets, including Qatar-based Al-Jazeera, the Hamas-affiliated Quds News Network and the Arab online womens publication Meem Magazine.

CPJ said Israeli authorities raided Khaters house in the southern West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday and arrested her without informing her of any charges against her.

We are concerned about the arrest of Lama Khater given Israels frequent use of legal measures, including administrative detention, to keep journalists in jail without bringing any charges against them, said CPJs Middle East and North Africa program coordinator, Sherif Mansour.

Khater, who has nearly 90,000 followers on Twitter, recently wrote tweets criticizing Israel for denying Muslims entry to the Temple Mount complex in Jerusalem.
Nicaragua is in one of its worst political crises in recent history. Violence between government forces and citizens has left more than 350 dead, according the U.S. Department of State. Vice President Mike Pence has accused President Daniel Ortega's government of carrying out "state-sponsored violence" against its own people and demanded the country hold early elections. As Cristina Caicedo Smit reports, the Nicaraguan president rejects the allegations and the calls to move up the vote.
The brother of Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega called on his brother Saturday to stop the paramilitary fighters that have been blamed for months of unrest in the Central American country.

Humberto Ortega, once the head of the Nicaraguan military, told CNN Espanol that his brother's government must act to "end the presence of these armed people" after three months of violence that have left 448 people dead.

The paramilitary fighters are acting "as if they are a military or police authority," Humberto Ortega said, urging his brother to work with the army to resolve the crisis.

On Friday, more than 40 medical professionals were fired in Leon, reportedly for treating anti-government protesters at a public hospital.

Earlier this week, the Nicaraguan Pro-Human Rights Association said the death toll from the violence had climbed to 448, while the number of kidnappings and disappearances blamed on paramilitaries has been tallied at 595.

On Tuesday, Daniel Ortega gave a rare interview to the U.S. news channel Fox News. He said the paramilitaries were funded by members of the political opposition and drug cartels. But he offered no support for his claims.

The protests erupted in April after Ortega announced changes to the country's pension system. He later gave up those plans, but protesters have continued to speak out against the government, and government authorities continue to crack down on the demonstrators. The president has called the protesters terrorists and has said they are planning a coup.

He has refused to hold early elections, saying they would only make the situation worse.
Human rights groups say Iranian courts have confirmed prison terms for eight Bahais, members of a religious minority that has experienced decades of discrimination in the Shiite Muslim-majority nation.

In a report published Thursday, Irans Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) said an appeals court in the central city of Yazd confirmed prison terms for six Bahai men and one Bahai woman. The report did not specify the charges against the seven or when the court confirmed their sentences. A separate HRANA report published Wednesday detailed the sentencing of an eighth Bahai by another court.

Iran considers its Baha'is to be heretics with no religion. Rights groups say authorities routinely arrest members of Iran's estimated 300,000-strong Baha'i minority for expressing or practicing their beliefs.

HRANA said two of the men sentenced by the Yazd court, Mehran Islami Amir Abadi and Mehranband Amir Abadi, were given prison terms of 1 years. It did not say whether they were related.

The rights group said Mehran Islami Amir Abadi already was facing one year of prison time in connection with another case, his 2012 arrest on charges of spreading anti-government propaganda. It said he probably would have to serve the previous sentence and the new sentence consecutively, keeping him in prison for 2 years.

The rights group named five other Baha'is as receiving three-year prison terms from the Yazd court. It identified them as Soroureh Foroughi Mehdi Abadi, a woman, and four men: Farzad Rouhani Munshadi, Ahmad Jafari Naeim, Ramin Hassouri Sharafabadi, and Mohammad Ali Tadrisi.

In an earlier report published Wednesday, HRANA said an appeals court in the northwestern city of Sanandaj confirmed a one-year prison sentence for a local Baha'i man, Zabihollah Raoufi, 69. It said Raoufi also was sentenced to one year in exile in the southern city of Minab, but it did not say when the court rulings were made.

Arrested in 2015

HRANA said Iranian authorities arrested Raoufi in 2015 and released him on bail six days later, with a court later convicting him of spreading anti-government propaganda.

The New York-based Center for Human Rights in Iran (CHRI) published a report about Raoufi on Thursday, quoting a source who confirmed HRANA's details of Raoufi's sentencing. CHRI added that Raoufi's conviction for spreading anti-government propaganda related to his alleged activities in promoting the Baha'i faith.

HRANA said Raoufi previously was arrested in 2009 on similar charges and served six months in prison in the western city of Tuyserkan.

There was no immediate comment on the latest sentencings of Iranian Baha'is from the Baha'i International Community. BIC leaders have called for international pressure on Iran to stop mistreatment of Baha'is and to abide by its international commitments to respect their religious beliefs.

This report was produced in collaboration with VOA's Persian service.
Somalia President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo began an historic three-day visit to Eritrea on Saturday, where he holds talks with his counterpart in Asmara.



Eritrea's information minister announced on Friday that Somalia's leader was invited by Eritrean President Isaias Afwerki.



"Somalia is ready to write a new chapter of its relations with Eritrea," Somalia's presidential spokesman Abdinur Mohamed said Saturday on Twitter.



The countries have not had any diplomatic ties for nearly 15 years, but the spokesman said the visit "will open the doors for diplomatic relations and new cooperation between the two nations."



Somali and Eritrean flags were placed along the streets of the Eritrean capital, Asmara, ahead of the visit.



The visit by Farmajo comes after the long-time rivals Eritrea and Ethiopia restored diplomatic ties, a move that ended the regional and international isolation of Eritrea that lasted for nearly two decades.



Proxy war



For years, the tensions between Eritrea and Ethiopia had played out partly in Somalia as each gave military support to opposing sides in Somalia.



In 2007, Eritrea had supported the Islamic Courts Union ICU, which ruled much of southern and central Somalia for six months before being ousted in a 2006 Ethiopian-led military offensive.



In 2009, the United Nations Security Council imposed sanctions on Eritrea for its role in Somalia.



Eritrea was accused of supporting Somalia's al-Shabab group, a charge it had denied. Those sanctions could soon be lifted after Ethiopia's prime minister recently asked the U.N. to remove the sanctions on Eritrea.


The Taliban has confirmed that it held direct talks with the United States in Qatar this week on finding a negotiated end to the 17-year war in Afghanistan.

A senior Taliban official told VOA on Friday that Alice Wells, the State Department's deputy assistant secretary for South and Central Asia, led the American delegation in the meeting in Doha.

The insurgent official, speaking on condition of anonymity explained the "preliminary" dialogue focused merely on "laying the groundwork for future contacts and meetings" between the Taliban and the U.S.

"The overall atmosphere of the meeting was very good and the discussions were also productive," said the Taliban official,but he shared no further details.

Reports of Monday's landmark meeting in the Qatari capital appeared in American newspapers earlier this week but neither U.S. officials nor the Taliban directly commented on them until now.

No comment from U.S.

The U.S. State Department declined to comment on the reported meeting with the Afghan insurgency.

"The United States is exploring all avenues to advance a peace process in close consultation with the Afghan government," said a State Department official when asked for a reaction to reports of talks with the Taliban.

The official made it clear that the Afghan government was fully involved in the effort to jump-start peace talks. "Any negotiations over the political future of Afghanistan will be between the Taliban and Afghan government," said the State Department official.

The Afghan Taliban has been informally operating a political office in Doha for several years.

The Islamist insurgency had long called for direct talks with Washington. The Taliban insists the U.S., and not the Afghan government, has the authority to determine a timetable for all American and NATO troops to withdraw from Afghanistan.

An Afghan presidential spokesperson in Kabul while responding to the talks in Qatar said her government would welcome any step that would restore peace in the country.

Durranai Wazira emphasized, however, that foreigners are playing "a supportive role to facilitate the peace process but Afghans themselves will lead it."

First significant step

This week's Qatar talks marked the first significant step toward starting an Afghan peace and reconciliation process since a single round of talks was held between Afghan and Taliban officials in Pakistan in 2015, with U.S. and China also in attendance as observers.

U.S. officials are reported as saying Monday's engagement with the Taliban was aimed at building on momentum generated by last month's unprecedented temporary cease-fires the Afghan government and the Islamist insurgency observed during three-day Eid festivities last month.

The meeting in Doha came as the Afghan government is considering another unilateral cease-fire with the insurgents during the upcoming Eid festival in August to encourage the Taliban to come to the table for peace talks.
A Palestinian teenager died Saturday of wounds suffered in border protests in Gaza, according to Gaza medical authorities.

Muamen Fathi al-Hams was the third fatality of Friday's border protests. The two killed Friday were Razi Abu Mustafa, 43, and Majdi al-Satri, 12.

Earlier Saturday, the U.N. Middle East enjoy, Nickolay Mladenov, posted on Twitter:

On Friday, Israeli police closed Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque for several hours after a number of people barricaded themselves inside.

Police said the closure came after they were attacked with fireworks and stones following Friday's afternoon prayers. Witnesses said the police stormed the building with tear gas and stun grenades.

Authorities reported the arrest of two dozen people who had taken part in the confrontation.

In a statement, a police spokesperson said, "The police intend to act with a strong and uncompromising hand against the suspects who were arrested and others involved."

Al-Aqsa is Islam's third-holiest site. It sits on Jerusalem's Temple Mount, which is considered the most holy site in Judaism.

Police closed the mosque Friday and then searched all those inside as they left. Some of the men in the temple were detained.

Also Friday, Gaza health officials said a Palestinian was shot and killed at the border with Israel. Authorities identified the man as Ghazi Abu Mustafa and said the shooting took place during Friday protests at the border.

The Israeli military has not commented.

Meanwhile, Israel's defense minister Avigdor Lieberman has announced plans to build 400 settlement homes in the West Bank, in response to news that a Palestinian teen had sneaked into an Israeli settlement Thursday and had stabbed three people, one fatally.

One of the victims, identified by the Israeli army as Yotam Ovadia, 31, later died at a hospital. One other was seriously wounded and the third was slightly injured.

The Israeli army said the incident took place in the Adam settlement, between Jerusalem and the Palestinian town of Ramallah in the West Bank.

Violence between Israelis and Palestinians flared in March when Palestinians began daily protests along the Israeli-Gaza border. At least 140 Palestinians and one Israeli soldier have died. Militants in Hamas-ruled Gaza have fired rockets into Israel, prompting a harsh Israeli response.
"These are straightforward cases," said Justice Bridget McCormack, whose children attended Pioneer. "The Legislature has, expressly, restricted some but not all local governments from regulating firearms. Schools in particular are not on the pre-empted list, quite possibly for reasons not difficult to imagine."
Iran will likely have to agree to complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization in any future deal with the United States, just like North Korea, a top diplomatic official signaled Friday.

"Nothing in the conduct of foreign policy is ever done in a vacuum," Assistant Secretary of State for Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, Dr. Yleem D.S. Poblete, told an audience in Washington.

"The end state we must seek for the successful conclusion of any future deal with Iran must also inform and be informed by the end state we are seeking for North Korea," she said. "Inconsistency in our approach to either negotiation will undermine our credibility and most likely doom the prospects for successfully dealing with the threats to our security posed by these and other actors."

Demands that Pyongyang dismantle all of its nuclear facilities have been central to the U.S. position in meetings with top North Korean officials.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo reiterated to U.S. Senate lawmakers Thursday that the "objective remains the final, fully verified denuclearization of North Korea as agreed to by Chairman Kim Jong Un."

The Trump administration has been more confrontational with Iran in recent weeks, with President Donald Trump threating Iranian President Hassan Rouhani in a tweet this past Sunday.

"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.

National Security Adviser John Bolton likewise warned this week that, "if Iran does anything at all to the negative, they will pay a price like few countries have ever paid before."

Tough rhetoric, sanctions

Some analysts and former officials say Trump may be using the tough rhetoric to drive Tehran back to negotiations over its nuclear capabilities, similar to the tactics that he used in the runup to talks with North Korea's leader.

The U.S. and other world powers had a deal to limit Iran's nuclear capabilities, the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, but Trump announced in May that the U.S. was pulling out of what he has repeatedly called a "terrible" agreement.

The International Atomic Energy Agency has said Tehran continues to comply with the terms of the JCPOA.

U.S. officials say they are willing to negotiate a new deal with Iran but insist any new agreement must also address Iran's missile programs as well as its support of terror groups and other malign activities. In the meantime, the U.S. is set to re-impose economic sanctions on Tehran.

"Insofar as it is possible for Iran, we shall remain party to the accord, we shall not quit the JCPOA on condition that we can also benefit from it," Iran's Rouhani said earlier this month during a visit to Vienna.

But the head of Iran's atomic energy agency has since said that the country has not built a factory that can produce 60 nuclear centrifuges a day  necessary if Tehran decides to increase its production of enriched uranium.

'Full spectrum of threats'

"Any new agreement must address the full spectrum of threats," the State Department's Poblete said Friday. "It should verifiably and indefinitely deny Iran all paths to nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, rather merely contain, control or delay it."

Poblete also criticized Iran's ally Syria for its failure to adhere to its commitments under the Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, suggesting its nuclear activities have continued despite the destruction of its reactor as a result of an Israeli airstrike in 2007.

"Syria's failure to cooperate with the IAEA remains a matter of ongoing concern," she said. "Syria continues to go to great lengths to deceive, obfuscate and distract international attention from its perennial noncompliance."
The U.S. State Department said Saturday that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu discussed American pastor Andrew Brunson, who is being detained in Turkey on terrorism and espionage charges.

Details of the conversation were not disclosed, but State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said the two diplomats were "committed to continued discussions to resolve the matter and address other issues of common concern."

Brunson, an evangelical pastor from Black Mountain, North Carolina, was indicted on charges of helping a network led by U.S.-based Muslim preacher Fethullah Gulen, whom Turkey blames for a failed 2016 coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in addition to supporting the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The detention of Brunson has strained relations between Turkey and the U.S., both NATO allies. U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened sanctions as part of a pressure campaign to free the pastor.

Brunson had been in jail for 21 months before being put under house arrest Wednesday. His transfer came one week after a court inside a prison complex in the western Turkish town of Aliaga ruled to keep Brunson in detention while he is tried. The court dismissed Brunson's attorney's request for Brunson to be freed pending the outcome of the trial, which was adjourned until October 12.

Brunson, 50, who denies the charges, could face up to 35 years in prison if convicted.

Pompeo wrote Wednesday on Twitter that Brunson's transfer was "long overdue news" but added that the U.S. expected Ankara to do more.

Trump has repeatedly demanded Brunson's release. The U.S. president has tweeted that Brunson's detention is "a total disgrace" and added, "He has done nothing wrong, and his family needs him!"

Brunson is among tens of thousands of people Erdogan detained on similar charges during the state of emergency he declared following the failed coup.

The state of emergency ended July 18, but the Turkish legislature passed a new "anti-terror" law Wednesday that gives authorities more power to detain suspects and restore public order.
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Former Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn is heading the African Union Election Observation Mission to Zimbabwe. In an interview with VOA Zimbabwe Service reporter Blessing Zulu, he discusses his observations to day, and significance of elections for the country's future.
Former United States Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Johnnie Carson has described Zimbabwes upcoming July 30th elections as enormously historic being held for the first time without former President Robert Mugabe and his arch rival, late opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, who succumbed to cancer early this year.

In an exclusive interview with Blessing Zulu of VOA's Zimbabwe Service, Ambassador Carson, who is part of the International Republican Institute (IRI) and the National Democratic Institute (NDI) joint election observation mission to Zimbabwe, says compared to the previous elections under Mr. Mugabe marred by violence, there has been a significant improvement.

Blessing Zulu (BZ): Ambassador Carson, whats your initial assessment of the environment ahead of the Monday elections?

Ambassador Johnnie Carson (Amb. Carson): Well, let me just say this is an enormously historic election for Zimbabwe. It is the first time that (former) President Robert Mugabe will not be on the ballot since independence in 1980. And moreover than that, the former leading candidate, opposition candidate, and leader of the MDC Morgan Tsvangirai is not going to be on the ballot, tragically, he passed away six months ago. This election amounts to a new beginning for Zimbabwe, and one which, I think there is a great deal of optimism on all sides, but mostly the people. Of the current election environment here in Harare, is that this is actually the last official day of campaigning, prior to the July 30 election on Monday. Unlike many years in the past, and unlike the last three elections, the opposition has been able to campaign freely across the country, including in many areas where they were previously not allowed to campaign in past parliamentary and presidential elections. So, the campaign environment has been a significant improvement over years past, and there has been remarkably little violence in the campaign. And there has been very little over harassment or intimidation of political politicians on either side of the spectrum. So in that regard, its good and of course there are international election observers here for the first time in many years, probably since the early 2000s, and so that is a very good thing as well. So there are some good signs here, but there is also a very long and deep history of electoral violence both pre and post elections.

BZ: But the opposition has been complaining that they are not happy with the way the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission is conducting the elections.

Amb. Carson: The opposition has in fact complained about some of the decisions that have been made by the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission. They have complained about the way the ballot has been developed. They have complained and wanted to have better information about the printing of the ballots and the use of the inks on some of the inks on the ballot. They have also complained about the secrecy of the ballot and how the tabulations would be handled. That has clearly been a part of their concern.

BZ: Would you consider those grievances genuine?

Amb. Carson: Well, I think its important that the allegations and concerns made by all the parties be listened to and adjudicated fairly, and based on factual information. So it is important that ZEC, the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission look very, very closely at all the concerns, of all the political parties.

BZ: The United Nations High Commission on Human Rights, said in a statement, and I quote, We remain concerned at the increasing number of reports, particularly in some rural areas of voter intimidation, electoral violence, harassment and coercion. Are you hearing some of these concerns from those who you have deployed?

Amb. Carson: Well, I can say that there are some residual concerns that people have raised. We mentioned already that the opposition has in fact complained about the ballot, the secrecy of the ballot, and the way the count, the accuracy of any account of any polling result. So those issues are issues that need to be observed and looked at very, very carefully.

BZ: The United States House of Representatives has passed the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Amendment Act (ZIDERA) ahead of the July 30 harmonized elections, saying that the bill is a call for free, fair elections as well as reforms. Going forward, how do you see Washington and Harares relations, going?

Amb. Carson: Well, I think that it can be said that Congresswoman Karen Bass, who is a sponsor of that legislation is one of the co-leaders of the joint National Democratic Institute (NDI) and International Republican Institute (IRI) delegation, so she is here with us on this important mission. We also expect that Senator (Jeff) Flake from Arizona will also be here to observe the election as a separate, individual, senatorial (not clear). I think that the legislation, as Congresswoman Bass pointed out to several people this morning is meant to encourage a positive election in Zimbabwe, encourages the government and electoral commission and those responsible for managing the elections to hold a credible, transparent, inclusive and peaceful election. An election in which each individual Zimbabwean feels free to go to the poll, without fear of intimidation, harassment or violence, to cast his or her vote. And that it is important that the election commission do a responsible, and credible job in tallying the vote and announcing the appropriate and results based on the populations decision. So it is important that that legislation, as I understand it, is meant to encourage the government to and the election commission to hold a responsible, transparent and inclusive election, not to have a repeat of the, of the terrible elections that occurred in 2013, 2008 and previously.

BZ: But ruling Zanu-PF officials are saying those are like pre-conditions that they do not agree with, saying that sanctions must just be scrapped because they are responsible for the economic collapse?

Amb. Carson: Well, I dont want to get into the issue of the sanctions. Most of the sanctions that are in place here, are sanctions that have been placed on individuals, so they are individual sanctions, not so much country sanctions.

BZ: And, Ambassador Carson, any plans to meet Mr. Mugabe? I know the relationship was at times acrimonious?

Amb. Carson: Well, President Mugabe has in fact been very quiet during most of this campaign. I have no intentions of going out of my way to meet him while I am here. I cant say anymore than that. I have not reached out to him, and he has not reached out to me. And if I stay as busy as I have been over the last several of days, I dont think I will have an opportunity to do so.

BZ: But have you met President Mnangagwa and other opposition leaders?

Amb. Carson: We are in the process of doing so right now. I can say that members of the IRI/NDI delegation and senior leadership did in fact have a useful meeting with President Mnangagwa, and the foreign minister and one of his vice presidents, earlier today. We are of course making every effort to meet with as many opposition leaders as possible and we have met with a number of them from several of the main opposition parties, and we expect that today and tomorrow we will be able to meet several more individuals. But I can say, yes, we have met with leaders of the MDC, we have met with the leaders of the Rainbow Coalition which is former Vice President Joyce Mujurus party, and we will be meeting other senior leaders, other major parties over the next several days.

BZ: And lastly, Ambassador Carson, what is the overall objective of your mission?

Amb. Carson: The objective of the observer mission is to demonstrate our support for democracy and for free, transparent and inclusive elections. We believe that elections are a key element of democracy, and by being here we demonstrate our support for democracy and we demonstrate our support for transparent and credible and peaceful elections. We also believe that by being here, we are also supporting local election monitoring and local civil society groups and public citizens who believe in elections, and who also believe in the importance of election monitoring. And then finally we believe that our presence here can help identify shortcomings of procedures, that if implemented will improve the electoral process and also the democratic process as well. We believe these missions have an objective of pointing out practices, but also pointing out shortcomings that undermine the electoral process and undermine democracy. And by making thoughtful recommendations to election officials and government officials, that elections in countries that are committed to democracy, will be and can be improved. We are here as observers but we believe the best observation is the observation that is carried out by local organizations, but as international believers in democracy, we believe partnership with local organizations that support democracy, is in our benefit as well as theirs.
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But an audio recording is the best evidence of our words, wrote Illinois Supreme Court Justice Rita Garman in a unanimous opinion handed down in March 2014. Understandably, many people do not want their voices broadcast to others or on the internet to be heard around the world. But, to a certain extent this is beyond our control, given the ubiquity of devices like smartphones, with their video and audio recording capabilities and the ability to post such recordings instantly to the internet.
Priceless. Most author readings are free. A few insist you buy a copy of the book and pay a small extra fee. And then theres Reese Witherspoons upcoming eight-city book tour, where tickets run as high as $400. Not bad for a debut author. The Academy Award-winning actress is gearing up to promote Whiskey in a Teacup (Touchstone, Sept. 18), a memoir spiced with decorating and cooking advice. Spreading the gospel of Southern living has become sort of an obsession of mine, she writes. Among other secrets, she promises to reveal her fail-proof, only slightly insane hot-roller technique for styling her hair. Tickets for her Sept. 22 appearance at the Anthem in Washington, D.C., start at $90 for a bar stool on the third floor. The $400 tickets are already sold out, which is killing me. (Those VIPs will get to meet Witherspoon and take home a Draper James tote bag filled with goodies and a signed copy of Whiskey in a Teacup.) Though the book wont be out for two months, Amazon says Whiskey in a Teacup is already the No. 1 new release in a subcategory called Biscuit, Muffin & Scone Baking. And everybody knows you cant put a price on a good biscuit.
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D.C. police said the incident happened just before 11 p.m. Sunday in the 2400 block of I Street NW near George Washington University Hospital. Video shows a man approaching a woman and sexually assaulting her while attempting to remove her clothing, according to police.
The homes that received the fliers, which were placed in plastic bags filled with birdseed, did not appear to be targeted, according to the sheriff's office. Some of the bags were also found in front of a Leesburg business, the sheriffs office said.
Federal authorities say two Romanians accused in the hacking planned to use the police department computers to email ransomware to more than 179,000 accounts. That would have allowed them to extort those users as well  and use city government computers to hide their digital tracks. Prosecutors said the alleged hackers had also stolen banking credentials and account passwords, and, using the police computers, could have committed fraud schemes with anonymity.
Police said the exchange of gunfire in the District came after the Takoma Park officer confronted Carroll near an Advance Auto Parts store in Maryland. Authorities have not said what prompted the initial encounter. The arrest affidavit says the two fought and Carroll got away, but not before having his shirt torn off. Shirtless and wearing baggy pants, police said, he fled into the District. A witness told investigators she saw a man fitting that description run down her street with one hand holding his waistband.
Kansas began issuing the Real ID last fall and reports of long lines for the license have continued through this summer. In California, the average wait time exploded at Department of Motor Vehicle offices beginning in January when the state started issuing the enhanced ID cards. Some residents reported spending upward of seven hours to get the new ID. In Indiana, divorced women have complained about the documentation needed to get the Real ID. Anyone who has changed their name needs to provide documentation of that change.
The study may turn out to be moot, however, thanks to a possible culprit revealed at a May meeting in Parma, Ohio. Ohio Department of Agriculture plant pathologist David McCann reported that he had found thousands of microscopic worms called nematodes wriggling on infected beech leaves. McCann sent specimens to USDA nematologist Lynn Carta in Beltsville, Md., who discovered that they were related to a bush-dwelling nematode known in New Zealand but never seen in the Americas. Research is now underway to determine whether it is the same species recently found on beech trees in Japan.
Charlotte called me and said, Youre not going to believe it, but I think I have a patient with that disease,  recalled Barbey-Morels colleague Alexandra Freeman, now director of the primary immune deficiency clinic at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. I would talk about these kids all the time. There was a lot of serendipity that Lucy happened to go there and that I had been working there. But it was really Charlotte who figured this out.
The Districts policy of suspending the licenses of drivers who had outstanding debt was supposed to motivate residents to comply with the law. In reality, it did just the opposite. Since many people who failed to pay fines were indigent and simply could not afford them, the policy unfairly targeted low-income residents. It made it more difficult for those residents to take their children to school, get to medical appointments and commute to work, placing more obstacles in their way as they tried to dig themselves out of debt. If they were forced to get behind the wheel  even to keep their jobs or respond to an emergency  they risked heftier fines and even jail time. This disproportionately impacted residents of color: Of the 2,000 people arrested in the District for driving on suspended licenses in 2012, more than 80 percent were African American.
It is inconceivable that any of the judges who signed the Page warrants would not have signed them if they had known that it was someone associated with the Clinton campaign, which had hired Steele. Whatever Steeles motivation, the most important fact was that he had provided information in the past that was reliable and had been used in criminal prosecutions. Moreover, the disclosure that was made gave the judge sufficient information to understand the possible political motivation behind the research. Federal judges do not live in a vacuum.
National Democrats are as enthusiastic about casting Kemp as a social and cultural warrior as Republicans are about casting Abrams as too radical for a conservative Southern state. Both probably will try to counter those portrayals. Abrams can point to having worked cooperatively with Republican Gov. Nathan Deal while in the legislature, for which she was criticized during the Democratic primary. Meanwhile, even some Democrats say Kemps television ads may overstate just how much of a Trumpian firebrand he is or will be as a general-election candidate.
I can tell you with certainty that since November 2016, activity has doubled, whether its feet on the street or money orders or people helping out, said Daniel Burnside, 43, a woodcarver who owns the Nazi-themed home and directs the state chapter of the National Socialist Movement, a far-right group that was founded in Detroit in the mid-1970s. It has a presence in many states, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist groups, and the NSM was among the groups taking part in the violent August 2017 rally in defense of Confederate statues in Charlottesville.
Liberal activists are trying to re-create last years playbook and pressure Collins and Murkowski into opposing Kavanaugh, highlighting the judges rulings on the ACA and abortion as potential red flags. Almost every other Republican has praised the conservative jurist, so liberals are targeting the two moderates in the hope that if they opposed Kavanaugh, that would be enough to defeat his nomination, assuming all 49 members of the Democratic caucus held together.
As political parties, we signed a pledge for peace ahead of elections. All 55 parties taking part in the elections signed, but to my surprise, some little boy and a small party turns around to say he wants to shut down Harare, he said of Chamisa at a campaign rally this past week, according to NewsDay, a Zimbabwean newspaper. If you act in a peaceful manner, we will not touch you. We cant close out opposition because we need it. If its not there, then we wont have anyone to rule over.
Low pressure moving east out of the central Plains into the southern Ohio Valley on Sunday to Monday will probably concentrate a wide band of showers and thunderstorms downstate, possibly reaching into the southernmost sections of our area to the south of Interstate 80 on Sunday and inching north of the interstate Monday. Intensifying as it moves east into Indiana, the low pressure will likely spread rain back over northeast Illinois and northwest Indiana on Tuesday  rain here diminishing that night, as the center of low pressure tracks into Ohio.
Italys new leaders, after rattling global markets in late May, have said they have no intention to leave Europes common currency. But their spending plans, yet to be put into effect, could cause a clash with the European Union over budget restriction rules. Italy has also raised concerns about European sanctions on Russia, saying they hurt Italian firms. When Trump in June suggested that Russia should be readmitted to the Group of Seven industrial nations, Conte was the only other leader at the summit to signal his agreement  though he then softened his stance, telling reporters, according to Reuters, that sanctions shouldnt be dropped overnight.
Its difficult for them to see our president standing next to the man who ordered that attack [against U.S. democracy] and not hold the Russians accountable, he said. Yes, they need to detect and prevent attacks and mitigate any negative impacts, but its also important to deter attacks in the first place. Thats where were missing leadership from the White House.
It's not everyday you re-launch your fitness app after pumping $1 million into its technology and another couple of grand into securing the rights to Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar recipes, so Sam Wood made sure to make the monumental moment into a family affair.

Sam Wood, fiancee Snezana Markoski and daughters Eve and Willow at the launch of his new updated fitness app, 28 on Wednesday. Credit:Allegra Sugianto

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Much to the delight of bleary-eyed attendees who rocked up to Sydney Harbour at the crack of dawn for his first exercise class to celebrate the new-look 28 App, they were not only greeted by the former Bachelor, but also his fiancee Snezana Markoski, their daughter Willow, nine months, and her daughter Eve, 13 (from a previous relationship), too.

No one seemed to mind the burpees and what felt like endless squatting with a giggling little Willow acting as a welcome distraction to the burn as she sat contently on the end of her mother's mat chewing on one of her Nikes.
A 14-year-old boy will remain behind bars for almost three months before he faces a charge of attempted murder, after allegedly stabbing a pregnant woman during a violent home invasion in Sydney's north last week.

Pei-Juin Cheah, 33, was alone in her Mt Colah home on Thursday evening when she came upon the young boy in the house around 8.45pm.

By 8.51pm she had been stabbed six times in the chest and stomach, police allege.

Pei-Jiun Cheah (right) - the victim of a home invasion and stabbing attack in Mt Colah overnight. Photo via Facebook. Credit:Facebook

In Parramatta children's court on Saturday charges against the teenage boy were briefly mentioned, including attempted murder, special aggravated break and enter, committing a serious indictable offence, and wounding a person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm. The boy did not appear.
The art of persuasion has been thoroughly trounced by polemic in public debate. Online, in comments sections, in staccato bursts of hate and attack, in the citing of feelings over facts, we see people shoving pillows over divergent views and trying to stop them being aired at all. When was the last time you were stopped in your tracks by a piece of logic that shifted your thinking on something important?

Studies show that on social media, we are much more likely to seek out and promote views that converge with our own and shout down those that differ, even though they might be genuinely held. Which is dangerous, ugly, and ultimately counter-productive.

The growing anger online about just simply having to listen to different opinions is increasingly apparent. Credit:File photo

As the host of a current affairs panel show on the ABC, where we work hard to present diverse views, faces, voices and cultures as well as expertise and authority on fistfuls of subjects daily, the growing anger from some of our online audience about just simply having to listen to different opinions is increasingly apparent.

And yes, The Drums audience share overall has been steadily increasing so I am not saying people are turning off as a consequence, but that they are raging louder in the expectation that we should only ever cheer at the television. Who cares if you jeer? The point is to prosecute and defend your views in public, then others might follow. You cant just yell that people are wrong.
I think Facebook is teetering on a knife-edge at the moment, as to whether its user base can trust the platform or not, he said. And I think what the advertising campaign is actually reasonably cleverly doing is trying to displace all of the things that are untrustworthy as not of Facebook. The shift to traditional advertising outlets works in favour of that message. Not only is it a way of reaching people who are eschewing the platform, and therefore not seeing any ads posted there, but it emphasises what Professor Leaver said were real connections. Loading I think physically turning up, or turning up in places that arent the screen, does do that work of trying to remind us that these are connections that matter beyond just the computer space, or beyond just social media, he said.

I think its a good time to have reached out, but I think there is absolutely a crisis of credibility for social media companies in general, and Facebook of course has been the biggest and the loudest. Theres a lot of negatives for Facebook right now. Facebooks share price suffered an historic stock market wipeout Wednesday night on the back of news its profit margin had fallen, down to 44 per cent for the second quarter as compared to 47 per cent last year, after it invested heavily in galvanising data security and winning back users trust. The company also revealed its revenue growth was not going to be enough to cover the profit drop, leading some analysts to ask if it were destined for the same fate as the social site of yesteryear, Myspace.

Users widely vowed to log off for good earlier in the year when the Cambridge Analytica story broke, but Professor Leaver said user numbers werent necessarily what the company was sweating over. Facebooks value is not in you having an account  its in you having an account that you use all the time, because thats when the advertisers get access to you, he said. What we have seen is a lot of people are much more circumspect, they might still be using say Facebook Messenger to talk to people, but theyre spending a lot less time on Facebooks main platform. Facebook as a company  not a social media platform  was partly protected from the user walk-out through the network of apps it had bought out. Its 100 per cent a question of trust. Curtin University Associate Professor Tama Leaver

Instagram and WhatsApp, as well as CloudTangle, Oculus and a host of other tech start-ups have all been brought under the Facebook umbrella, which can at times result in a hypocritical faux-pas for people swearing off the social media giant. Facebook the brand is dented, but you hear an awful lot of people say oh, Im not spending much time on Facebook anymore, but Im really spending more time on Instagram, Professor Leaver said. Well, thats great, but thats still at the end of the day spending time with the Facebook company and the same Facebook data policies. I dont think theyve taken a significant hit in terms of the number of users; I do think the actual time on Facebook the platform has gone down, but its very hard to gauge exactly how much because obviously that sort of internal information isnt released publicly. Whether or not the campaign is effective in luring users back to the platform  and investors back to the company  remains to be seen.
Replay Lincoln Park (2833 N. Sheffield Ave.) is hosting an "Office" pop-up from July 27 through Aug. 20. There will be trivia, Psycho Bingo and karaoke nights as well as photo opportunities, themed drinks and hidden Easter eggs.

(Hannah Steinkopf-Frank / RedEye)
For more than two centuries, the Western world has dominated international affairs. Is that epoch coming to an end? After all, the Wests share of global economic output is shrinking. All those wars in the Middle East since September 11 have damaged American credibility and influence. And as Brexit, Donald Trumps rise and the populist explosion across Europe shows, there is widespread distrust of Western elites.

Meanwhile, the rise of China, India and the rest  thanks to capitalism and technological innovation  continues unabated. So, has the West lost it? The answer, according to a new thesis by that title, is yes. If I were asked to nominate a brief, readable critique of the West today, this book would top the list.

Traders on Wall Street: A new book suggests the West has won, but is now losing. Credit:AP

Kishore Mahbubani, one of Asias most distinguished foreign-policy intellectuals, argues that although the West has won, it is now losing and will be need to come to terms with its decline. How so?

The West has won, according to Mahbubani, because everybody realises that markets and technology work and the rest have learnt to embrace capitalism. But the West refuses to accept that humanity has turned a corner in its history, he says, because the domination by an eighth of the global population is drawing to a close. Which is why we must adapt to the emergence of China as a major force.
Redding: Three more people have died in a devastating wildfire in Northern California as it continued to spread on Saturday, threatening new communities as firefighters struggle to keep up.

Sherry Bledsoe said her two children, 5-year-old James Roberts and 4-year-old Emily Roberts, and her 70-year-old grandmother, Melody Bledsoe, were killed. Their deaths brought the total number of people killed in the Carr fire to five. A firefighter and a bulldozer operator have also died.

Redding police confirmed that they had received a missing persons report on Bledsoe and the two children.
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You do not deserve the title father  victims reveal how they suffered horrific sexual crimes as County Wexford man is jailed for five years
Impressionist painter Eugene Louis Boudin's creation The Beach at Trouville would have made even more of an impression in the late 1800s had his canvas been 14 metres by four metres.

Fast forward more than 120 years, and Boudin's small 36.5 centimetre by 58.4 cm oil painting has been reproduced in that size -- making it too big to fit an art gallery but the perfect size to fill the Winnipeg Art Gallery's new billboard exhibit atop the Casa Loma apartments at Portage Avenue and Sherbrook Street.

"What would he have said?" WAG director and chief executive officer Stephen Borys said with a laugh, shortly before the painting, copied onto a single vinyl sheet, was erected onto the billboard.

"This is what you'll see if you are driving east on Portage -- the largest Impressionist landscape you'll ever see. And, because it is a two-sided billboard, on the other side, you'll soon Inuit pieces.

"This now gives us a chance to play back and forth with imagery and text."

The first billboard on the east side of the billboard, showcasing the WAGs Inuit collection, will be a photograph of Inuit artist Isabella Weetaluktuk, who is known as Asinnajaq.

The billboard serves two purposes: it advertises the two special exhibits the WAG is currently hosting -- French Moderns: Monet to Matisse, and The Impressionists on Paper -- and it covers what for years has been an eyesore.

It's the first of several billboard exhibits the WAG is planning during the next two years. The rusting metal structure was erected sometime before the 1950s, and hasn't had a billboard on it since 2013.

City hall battle over eyesore billboard

Last year, the owner of the apartment building applied to the City of Winnipeg for a conditional use permit, to allow the WAG to use the structure to promote its exhibits. It was rejected in January because the structure is three times larger than the maximum allowable size for the area, is in view of residential apartments, is on a rooftop, and on a historic building.

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But a month later, an appeals committee reversed the decision after it was told the billboard had the support of the Lions Housing Centres, which operates two nearby, large residential buildings. The WAG had until Sept. 1, to put something on the billboard structure.

Sussex Realty has a 20-year agreement with the gallery, and is providing the billboard space as a gift in kind.

A sign company was putting the billboard in place for most of Friday, and it was expected to be fully installed in time for the afternoon rush hour.

Boudin (1824-98) heavily influenced Claude Monet and other Impressionists, with his goal of capturing outdoor light while painting.

According to the WAG's website, Boudin once said, "Everything that is painted directly and on the spot always has strength, a power, and a vivacity of touch one cannot recover in the studio."

kevin.rollason@freepress.mb.ca
When she first arrived in New York City to work in the publishing industry nearly two decades ago, Sarah McNally wasnt sure how a young woman from Winnipeg would fit into a sprawling metropolis which made her own hometown feel like a speck.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 27/7/2018 (1187 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

When she first arrived in New York City to work in the publishing industry nearly two decades ago, Sarah McNally wasnt sure how a young woman from Winnipeg would fit into a sprawling metropolis which made her own hometown feel like a speck.

Friends at home and even at McGill University, where McNally graduated with a degree in philosophy, had always told her she spoke too fast. In New York, her cadence lagged behind almost everyone she encountered. People didnt have the time to ask where she was from, let alone what she did for a living. Even as McNally began to carve out a career as an editor, she struggled to find her place in the world of books. "Ive never seen a young person as lost as you are," a grandfather told her at some point after graduation.

Sarah McNally is planning to launch a third store in Manhattans South Street Seaport. (Yvonne Brooks photos)

"When I first moved here, I was frequently dismissed as a nobody," says McNally, 43, the daughter of Paul and Holly McNally, the founders of McNally Robinson Booksellers. Nearly 20 years later, the name Sarah McNally is as synonymous with independent bookselling in Manhattan and Brooklyn as McNally Robinson is on Grant Avenue.

Fourteen years ago, at the age of 29, McNally left the publishing world and opened McNally Jackson Books on Prince Street in New Yorks SoHo neighbourhood. (Originally, it was called McNally Robinson as well, and the Jackson refers to her former husband Chris Jackson, the publisher and editor-in-chief of Random Houses One World imprint.)

The store is filled to the brim with bestsellers and rarities, poetry collections, magazines, and translated works. "The moment I walked into that store, I thought it was one of the greatest bookstores in New York," said Morgan Entrekin, the CEO and publisher of Grove Atlantic, a century-old company which has published the likes of Raymond Carver, William S. Burroughs and Pulitzer Prize winner Viet Than Nguyen. "Its an institution, and it feels essential."

"Thoreau would approve of Sarah McNally because she marches to the beat of a different drummer," says Jeffrey Eugenides, the Pulitzer-winning author of Middlesex, who is moving to New York next week and plans to become a McNally Jackson regular. "Whats so reassuring about her success is that it proves that other people hear the same music."

While massive American corporate bookselling operations have shuttered (Borders) or are nearing a crushing end (Barnes & Noble), McNally Jackson has thrived and found a receptive customer base more than willing to spend their money in-store rather than from companies like Amazon, which has essentially become an online bookselling monolith and has opened two brick-and-mortar locations in New York and over a dozen to date across the United States. In January, McNally opened a second bookstore in Brooklyns trendy Williamsburg neighbourhood, and next year, shes planning to launch a third in Manhattans South Street Seaport. Beyond that, another Brooklyn location is in the works.

Fourteen years ago, at the age of 29, McNally left the publishing world and opened McNally Jackson Books on Prince Street in New Yorks SoHo neighbourhood.

"Theres obviously an element of a bookstore that cant be replicated online," she says. "Im still better at finding books for people than they are at finding them for themselves."

It might be said that McNallys career as a bookseller was a foregone conclusion if not the result of genetic predisposition. Her parents, along with Ron Robinson, founded McNally Robinson when she was in elementary school, and she grew up working in the companys Osborne Village outpost, which closed in 1996. She started in the backroom as a preteen, and in high school, began working the floor. She remembers the stores as an intellectual hub in the city, often holding events for well-regarded writers and stocking books readers would be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. Much of that had to do with her mother, who served as the stores buyer. "She had this amazing ability to find the most weird, wonderful, little things," McNally recalled. "It was an incredible little store."

When the first McNally Jackson opened, McNally hired Allison Glasgow, who had worked her way up through Barnes & Noble, to be a jack-of-all-trades for her store. Glasgow says she immediately thought McNally was brilliant. "She intimidated the crap out of me. I had full confidence she knew exactly what she was doing."

Glasgow, 38, came to Winnipeg for two weeks in 2005 to train with McNally Robinsons staff and to learn their business systems. She was blown away by the attention paid to finances, cleanliness and inventory management. After nearly a decade working for Barnes & Noble, Glasgow was floored by the way the Winnipeg store operated. "I pretty much took everything back to New York," she says.

McNally Jackson has thrived and found a receptive customer base more than willing to spend their money in-store.

Ron Robinson, the other eponym of the Canadian bookseller, said he visited the Prince Street store in its early days when it was still called McNally Robinson. He walked up to the front desk, asked if Sarah was in, and soon, was being led on a tour of a bustling literary hive by a woman whod once been a teenaged employee in Osborne Village.

By now, McNally has grown accustomed to the rapid pace of the Big Apple, and in addition to her bookstores, runs a pair of stationery shops, with plans to open another on the citys Upper East Side. "Its a more lucrative business than the bookstores," she confides.

"Theres a particular genius Sarah has," says Julie Grau, publisher of Spiegel & Grau, a Penguin Randomhouse imprint. "You get the sense that these spaces are sprung out her life, interests and curiosity."

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But books, along with her son and dog, are still very much at the centre of McNallys life, and her bookstores remain a popular spot for neighbourhood denizens, tourists, and celebrities alike. David Bowie was known to come in and read to his daughter each week, and McNally says shes gained a lot of respect for Natalie Portman based on the reading material the Oscar winner has picked out over the years. Casually, she mentions that Patti Smith will be stopping by to sign books later in the day.

McNally's bookstores remain a popular spot for neighbourhood denizens, tourists, and celebrities alike.

She hasnt been to Winnipeg in a while, and her parents have moved away. She always felt a bit like an outsider here, she says, and now, New York feels like a natural fit.

"In Winnipeg, the whole city feels like your city," she says. "In New York, you have to carve a little piece out for yourself."

"It didnt seem possible for it to happen, but it did."

ben.waldman@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @benjwaldman
Surveys of crops in the U.S. and Canada are producing fresh insight into the condition of wheat and canola, and providing evidence that there may be surprises in store for this season.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 28/7/2018 (1186 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Surveys of crops in the U.S. and Canada are producing fresh insight into the condition of wheat and canola, and providing evidence that there may be surprises in store for this season.

Early results from the North Dakota leg of a crop tour organized by the Wheat Quality Council have cast doubt on whether the U.S. Department of Agricultures forecast for an all-time high national spring wheat yield will actually prevail.

The tour is one of several such events in which participants  including millers, bakers, traders and the odd journalist  travel across rural areas, stopping to look at crops in hundreds of fields and measure plant development. Wheat yields averaged 38.9 bushels an acre in the 135 fields sampled last Tuesday between Fargo and Bismarck, N.D. Thats up from 37.9 bushels on the same day last year, but below the five-year average of 44.7 bushels.

"It feels like its much more average or above average than it is a record, so far, said Dave Green, the Kansas-based executive vice president of the Wheat Quality Council.

On the grain world crop tour organized by FarmLink, fields in west-central Saskatchewan offered a glimpse at just how varied Canadas crops are this year.

"Its fried off from too much heat," farmer Leon Leyen said of his spring wheat crop, which he expects will yield about 10 bushels per acre on his farm an hour south of Swift Current. It didnt rain for more than a month after Leyen sowed his fields and the crop barely grazes his kneecap.

Huge swaths of the Prairies have received less than 85 per cent of average precipitation, and fields in some areas that missed timely rains are displaying stunted grain. On one side of Church Road north of Stewart Valley, Sask., green kernels of durum wheat were found to be about half the normal size, emerging thin and sparse from the cracked, dry soil.

But, on the other side of the same road is a green canola field, lush and teeming with pods that stands to yield 33 per cent more than the year before.

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Theres a lot of variability as some Canadian fields received timely rain while others didnt, said Neil Townsend, a senior market analyst with Winnipeg-based FarmLink.

While one group of crop scouts on the tour in southwestern Saskatchewan found spring-wheat yields as low as 20 bushels an acre, others in western Manitoba measured nearly 77 bushels. Other legs of the tour will travel through Manitoba and Alberta.

Overall, Canadian wheat yields so far appear in line with long-term averages, while canola yields may surprise to the upside, Townsend said. There are bright spots even on Leyens farm. Since his acreage spans more than 29 kilometres east to west, his chickpeas and lentils appear to be in good shape, and his durum fields might yield 40 bushels an acre.

"You drive a mile and its different," said farmer Shawn Fraser, who grows about 2,000 acres of durum and 400 acres of spring wheat southeast of Swift Current.

"Theres been very spotty moisture this year."

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CF Polo Park might be using facial-recognition technology on Winnipeggers without their consent or knowledge while theyre shopping at the popular mall.

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This article was published 27/7/2018 (1187 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

CF Polo Park might be using facial-recognition technology on Winnipeggers without their consent or knowledge while theyre shopping at the popular mall.

Cadillac Fairview Corp., which owns Polo Park and dozens of shopping centres across the country, has confirmed it is using facial-recognition technology at a number of its properties.

But the real estate giant refused to say if the technology is being employed at Polo Park, leaving local shoppers in the dark on whether theyre being photographed without their consent.

After being contacted Thursday by the Free Press, a Cadillac Fairview spokeswoman responded to the request for comment Friday afternoon, declining to reveal whether the technology, which many characterize as invasive, is being used in Winnipeg.

Facial-recognition technology, which is becoming more popular and pervasive, is being used by Cadillac Fairview to track traffic in its centres and determine the age and gender of shoppers.

"Thanks for reaching out, but we are not sharing further details about the program, including locations, as we view this as proprietary," Cadillac Fairview director of corporate communications Janine Ramparas told the Free Press in a written statement.

That Cadillac Fairview is using facial-recognition technology was only made public after a shopper at Chinook Centre in Calgary spotted facial-recognition software in operation on one of the mall directories, according to a report from the CBC.

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The shopper said it appeared the software had accidently been left visible on an open browser on the digital mall directory.

Cadillac Fairview has subsequently confirmed it is employing facial-recognition technology at two of its malls in Calgary.

While it has also acknowledged the technology is being employed at other malls around the country, it is refusing to reveal specific locations.

Cadillac Fairview claims the images taken of shoppers without their consent are not being stored or saved.

"Cadillac Fairview possesses one of North Americas finest portfolios of retail and office properties," a statement on the companys website reads. The website shows it owns 67 properties in Canada, valued at $29 billion.

ryan.thorpe@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @rk_thorpe
The curtain hasnt yet come down on high E. coli levels at Gimli beaches.

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This article was published 28/7/2018 (1186 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The curtain hasnt yet come down on high E. coli levels at Gimli beaches.

Manitoba Sustainable Development officials rushed to take water samples this week, after a construction crew for Bell MTS broke the communitys main sewage line during an excavation Tuesday.

A new sampling has found bacteria levels on the Manitoba communitys shore are even higher than the 262 per 100 millilitres of water recorded the day of the raw sewage leak.

The latest tests found the local E. coli count jumped to 1,446 on Wednesday, and was still too high Thursday, at 506.

The province puts out beach advisories when an E. coli count is higher than 200.

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Exposure to E. coli can cause a variety of health issues, including nausea, diarrhea, vomiting, headache, mild fever and severe stomach cramps.

During the same time period across the lake, Grand Beachs west beach was down to 49 on Wednesday, after hitting 751 on Monday; its east beach was at 161 on Wednesday, after a high of 243 on Monday.

A provincial spokesman said a look at six years of E. coli counts at Gimli showed the beach exceeded safe levels 16 per cent of the time. The same review showed that during those years the numbers had ranged from 10 to more than 8,000, but when the numbers spiked high they would "then drop dramatically."

The average E. coli count over that time period was 163.

Provincial studies have shown the E. coli counts on Lake Winnipeg jump high when winds from the north raise water levels on the south basin and push water onto sand where shore birds have dropped feces.

Adding to the bad news, the E. coli warnings come at a busy time for the town: the annual Gimli Film Festival is on this weekend (running through Sunday), while the Icelandic Festival of Manitoba  Islendingadagurinn  is just a week away.
Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont was sworn in as MLA for St. Boniface on Friday, heralding the return of a three-party system of government in the Manitoba legislature.

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This article was published 27/7/2018 (1187 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont was sworn in as MLA for St. Boniface on Friday, heralding the return of a three-party system of government in the Manitoba legislature.

The Liberals now have four seats in the legislative assembly, qualifying them for official party status and the perks and responsibilities that go with it.

"Its the first time since 1988 that a new caucus has been created," he told reporters, referring to Sharon Carstairs 20-seat win that year, which saw the Liberals vault to official Opposition status.

"As it stands, everything (at the legislature) is designed for two parties. And all of that now has to change, even though it might be in subtle ways," Lamont said.

The Liberal caucuss office staff will double to six members. The party will also play a far greater role during question period and have automatic membership on various legislative committees.

Lamont, 49, won the St. Boniface byelection July 17 by 855 votes over his nearest rival, NDP candidate Blandine Tona. The win represented a steal by the Grits from the New Democrats. The byelection filled the vacancy created by former NDP leader Greg Selingers resignation earlier this year. Party standings in the 57-seat legislature have the Progressive Conservatives with 39 seats, the NDP with 12 and the Liberals with four. There are two independents.

The new MLA said he chose July 27 for his swearing-in for sentimental reasons. His parents were married on that day 55 years ago. His grandfather, Liberal-Progressive John Lamont, was also elected on July 27, 1936, for the then-constituency of Iberville, just west of Winnipeg.

In a brief speech after the swearing-in ceremony, before close to 100 supporters and family members in an ornate reception room at the legislative building, Lamont said a prime focus of the party will be economic growth.

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That includes higher incomes for "hundreds of thousands" of Manitoba workers who have not had a "real raise" in years, and closing the the gap between rich and poor, he said.

"Instead of recognizing this fundamental problem with our economy, the Pallister government and other governments keep pushing cuts," Lamont said. "We need to invest and work our way out of debt."

Only one of Lamonts fellow caucus members  Cindy Lamoureux  attended the 30-minute event. Jon Gerrard was on vacation in Saskatchewan, while Judy Klassen was in her northern constituency, Lamont said.

The newly minted MLA, who was elected party leader in October, said he has no plans for a summer vacation himself.

He said apart from taking the odd long weekend, he will be busy organizing his constituency office and preparing for the fall sitting, which begins Oct. 3.

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca
The headdress had hardly been put on Perry Bellegarde's head after being re-elected national chief of the Assembly of First Nations when he faced questions.

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This article was published 27/7/2018 (1187 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The headdress had hardly been put on Perry Bellegarde's head after being re-elected national chief of the Assembly of First Nations when he faced questions.

Sitting beside Crown-Indigenous Relations Minister Carolyn Bennett at a special assembly Thursday, the day after the election, Bellegarde announced: "This is what the AFN is for."

Is it?

The federal Liberals have introduced a breakneck number of bills aimed at changing the relationship between the Crown and Indigenous peoples. Four more are on the way, and with these, the AFN has some tough decisions.

During the Stephen Harper years, no chief could get any attention from the federal government. During the Justin Trudeau years, every chief gets asked for a prime minister selfie  especially Bellegarde, who has been widely criticized as being too close to the Liberals.

Still, the Liberals have made Indigenous issues a tent pole in their mandate. Canadians should understand what theyre doing, and how Indigenous peoples feel about it.

To understand this, one must understand the two huge issues the Liberals are grappling with.

The first is to define Indigenous and treaty rights.

The Assembly of First Nations is a lobby group for decisions made by chiefs, but is National Chief Perry Bellegarde looking to expand what the organization represents? (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

Entrenched in section 35 of Canadas Constitution, these are undefined. This has led to huge problems, resulting in endless, expensive marches to the Supreme Court, where judges must determine what rights Indigenous peoples do and do not have. In most cases, they rule in favour of First Nations.

While Canadians have clearly defined rights under the Charter, Indigenous and treaty rights are not human rights, including rights to the environment, languages and education.

Canadas hand is forced. This must be solved.

The second is removing the draconian Indian Act, the reason for dire, unrelenting poverty on First Nations.

The Indian Acts legislative shadow normalizes the grip the Canadian government has on First Nations. Removing it will take generations.

So, the federal Liberals are introducing four bills.

The first two are to split the Department of Indigenous Affairs into the Department of Indigenous Services (DISC) and Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs (CIRNA).

This is an attempt to divide an overwhelming, self-imposed problem. The federal government administers 650-plus chronically underfunded and impoverished First Nations, and changing this relationship at the same time is difficult. Assuming it wants change, the country is endlessly chasing its tail.

But readers may be confused, as the split was implemented in August 2017. How could the feds employ something in advance of it being law?

During the Stephen Harper years, no chief could get any attention from the federal government; now every chief gets asked for a selfie by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, especially Bellegarde. (Justin Tang / The Canadian Press Files)

Exactly. First Nations leaders had no say in this change and were taken by surprise, which has led to incredible confusion.

Take education, for example, a service First Nations provide to citizens, but is also a treaty obligation inherent to the relationship between First Nations and Canada. Who now handles this? DISC or CIRNA? Both?

The same could be said about land, housing and infrastructure.

This all sounds like the same-old relationship.

The disorientation continues with the Indigenous Languages Act, coming in the fall.

Announced by Prime Minister Trudeau in December 2016, he vowed to "ensure the preservation, protection and revitalization of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit languages in this country."

The problem is, this bill had better come with administrative reform and new funding. If implemented, First Nations governments are going to have to teach languages alongside dealing with mouldy houses, tainted water and chronic unemployment. Forcing them to choose between emergency situations or face a court challenge for not providing language programs is a recipe for community toxicity.

Downloading a problem the federal government created via residential schools is a final insult to cultural genocide.

Which brings us to the fourth forthcoming bill: the Indigenous Rights, Recognition and Implementation Framework, promised for fall 2019. The linchpin of the federal governments plan, this bill intends to provide clarity on Indigenous and treaty rights in Canada.

Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations Carolyn Bennett and Assembly of First Nations National Chief Perry Bellegarde embrace at the AFN annual general assembly in Vancouver on Thursday. Bellegarde has been criticized as being too close to the Liberals. (Darryl Dyck / The Canadian Press)

It comes with big promises. During its announcement, Trudeau promised "new legislation and policy that will make the recognition and implementation of rights the basis for all relations (The bill) can also include new measures to support the rebuilding of Indigenous nations and governments, and advance Indigenous self-determination, including the inherent right of self-government."

The bill is now in production as CIRNA minister Bennett tours the country drafting it  as in the AFN meeting.

Thus far, more than 1,300 First Nations, Inuit, and Metis participants have contributed in meetings. The AFN has been a primary venue for these discussions.

In a damning report, the Indigenous-led think tank Yellowhead Institute criticized the frameworks findings as a "modified status quo," stating the legislation will reduce Indigenous and treaty rights, force First Nations into imposed forms of self-determination and deny the real issues that cause First Nations poverty: a lack of land and fair implementation of treaties.

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As the report states: "The rights framework as currently articulated is settling for a very narrow vision of Indigenous jurisdiction over lands, resources and self-determination generally."

The biggest issue though, is the AFN is becoming the primary venue for discussions surrounding the framework.

The AFN is not a decision-making body. It is a lobby group for decisions made by chiefs.

Will the national chief step outside of what the AFN is supposed to be, or be a national advocate?

Bellegarde has three years to find an answer.

niigaan.sinclair@freepress.mb.ca
Leslie Thomas Routledge was a rarity in that he ran a consulting business not out of a major city, but from his farm near Killarney.

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This article was published 28/7/2018 (1186 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Leslie Thomas Routledge was a rarity in that he ran a consulting business not out of a major city, but from his farm near Killarney.

The tireless advocate for rural economic development and progressive government policies died April 10 after suffering a massive stroke. He was 54.

SUPPLIED Leslie Routledge, who was an expert in technology, markets and economic policy, ran his own consultancy.

Consultancy is, largely, about being ahead of the curve in economic development and then trying to push, pull and drag government and industry with you.

In his eulogy, Routledges brother Barry recalled that Les once predicted the then-government-owned Manitoba Telephone System would be privatized within six years.

He was out by three days.

Routledge, who started in telecommunications in the early days of the internet, wasnt making a political prediction. He could see where the industry was heading; an entity such as MTS would require the speed and dexterity to adapt.

Routledge was instrumental in numerous initiatives. He conducted studies on a variety of subjects: wind farms, renewable energy, using fibre ethanol and wood pellets for biomass energy, expanding exports through the Port of Churchill and water issues; his work morphed into the creation of the Assiniboine River Basin Initiative. His passion before he died was the viability of a soybean processing plant in western Manitoba.

"I look at him as a bit of a renaissance man," said Peter Holle, president of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy. "In terms of big-picture stuff, there was probably no one better that I knew. His public policy jobs were exceptional. He could think at a very high level."

Routledge produced a blog for Frontier. A favourite topic was the need to reform Manitoba Hydro.

Holle said Routledge was unique and an asset to whatever board or committee he sat on because he was fluent in technology, markets and economic policy.

The Frontier president kept a special folder just for Routledges emails. "I have a Les Routledge email folder with 761 emails and theyre brilliant," he said.

Routledge had trouble turning off his brain; people would find emails from him in the morning that hed sent in the middle of the night.

"He said that was his thinking time," his wife Sue said.

"My mom used to ask me what Les is into and Id say, Oh, hes into windmills and canola oil and soybeans. It was hard to explain what a business consultant did."

Raised on a farm near Virden, Routledge was the youngest of five children and always felt like he was trying to catch up to his older brothers and sisters, said Barry, who continues to farm in the area. Routledge earned an electrical engineering degree at the University of Manitoba and worked with a group that developed the technology to weigh large trucks at road speed. He went on to obtain a masters degree in business administration from the University of Western Ontario.

He joined the Nordicity Group as a senior consultant and was on the ground floor in the development of the internet. He worked on many contracts in government and private business, including personally advising Ted Rogers, founder of Rogers Communications.

Barry said no one could understand what his brother was talking about back then, but nearly everything he predicted came true.

He became a senior consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers to help bring it into the digital revolution. He also worked in laying the groundwork for cell and internet connection in developing countries, something he found tremendously gratifying.

But at one juncture in his life, he felt hed become too absorbed in his work to the detriment of a social life, so moved back to his roots in Manitoba. He first became executive director of Westar Group, an offshoot of Brandon University. Then, in the early 2000s, he formed consulting firm Prairie Practitioners Group and became a passionate advocate for rural economic development.

He met his British wife Sue while playing cards online.

"You could talk on the side of this game and we got on for nine months, just chatting," she recalled.

So he travelled to England to meet her, they married and moved to an acreage near Killarney. She had two grown children who stayed in England.

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While working as a consultant, he started a small farm that included some fields of peas and barley and 135 goats and sheep. He sold directly to end consumers, mostly new Canadians from the Philippines, Africa, the Caribbean and Arab countries.

"When he put himself into something he really put himself into it," Sue said.

Part of his work at Westar was to secure international development consulting work and find solutions and efficiencies for delivering assistance. That included projects such as delivering broadband to the Commonwealth of Dominica.

Another was figuring out how to transfer surplus medical equipment to the Caribbean and African nations. Canadian hospital beds ended up replacing sheets of plywood in those parts of the world, as well as surplus Canadian surgery units, IV systems, and even ambulances.

"He was a very gifted man in the sense of being ahead of his time in a lot of areas," said Manitoba Sustainable Energy Association secretary-treasurer Wayne Digby. Routledge helped found the organization in the early 2000s.

bill.redekop@freepress.mb.ca
Victoria Beach residents and visitors have been unable to use the drinking water system  for drinking, ice making, preparing food or beverages or brushing teeth  after a 'Do Not Consume' advisory was issued by the province on Friday night.

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This article was published 28/7/2018 (1186 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Victoria Beach residents and visitors have been unable to use the drinking water system  for drinking, ice making, preparing food or beverages or brushing teeth  after a 'Do Not Consume' advisory was issued by the province on Friday night.

A public notice issued by Manitoba Health posted on a community Facebook site and around the town advised the level of concern was so high that young children should not be bathed in the water in case they swallowed some of it.

The advisory stated that "the system has been compromised after an unauthorized chemical was added to the treatment process." The result was in low levels of chlorine in the treated water which meant the "microbiological safety of the water cannot be assured."

It also stated that the water cannot be made safe by boiling the water.

About 1,200 Victoria Beach cottagers rely on the water supply. The popular Lake Winnipeg summer destination is located 100 kilometres north of Winnipeg.

There was an election in the RM of Victoria Beach on Friday night which has contributed to a widespread lack of information about what is happening with the drinking water in the community.

Reeve-elect Penny McMorris, who defeated incumbent Brian Hodgson, said she could not say how concerned she is about the drinking water because she didn't have enough information yet.

"I don't know what the implications may or may not be, just that they're saying don't drink it, don't use it, don't consume it, don't boil it," McMorris said in a telephone interview on Saturday. "I'm still on a fact-finding mission myself."

She said she is hoping to have a meeting with the Office of Drinking Water (Sustainable Development) and with the new council as soon as possible to "go through what's gone on with our water."

There have been issues in the past with the community's drinking water supply, most recently at the beginning of the 2018 season. The community was without water for the May long weekend for the first time in at least 70 years when it was discovered a pump wasn't working.

While some residents expressed gratitude on social media that the problem this time was discovered quickly but that didn't help residents who don't use social media or didn't have access to the internet.

Jack Peters, a member of the Victoria Beach Fire Department, said members volunteered to go out into the community on foot early Saturday morning to help get the word out.

"A number of members walked door to door to distribute provincial notices to those residents who rely on the municipal water supply," Peters said. "Many people had learned of the order by electronic or other means, but many others had not and were glad to receive the warning."

He said it is not known when the advisory will be lifted.

"I understand that a water sample will have to test clear for whatever chemical was added, and most likely the water will have to test clear again after seven days before the order would be rescinded," Peters said.

A spokesman from the province said the 'do not consume' advisory will remain in effect until multiple-stage testing at numerous points is complete including tests of water from the treatment and filtration centre, the reservoir, the distibution system and consumers' taps.

Michelle Hlady, manager of the Victoria Beach Grocery and General Store, said the water advisory is impacting the store in supplies and sales.

"We're amalgamated with Saffies General Store at Albert Beach, they are making coffee and we're bringing it over in urns. We don't have slushies working. Our distributor, Trainor Water, is supplying us as fast as he can. Chris has delivered once today already and I just called him for another delivery," Hlady said, referring to Chris Trainor of Trainor Artesian Water Company.

"When we got to the store this morning, an advisory was put up on our door so then we had to scurry around trying to get as much water as we can."

Chris Trainor said his company was "keeping up with the demand" for extra orders from both residential and commercial customers.

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"We've extra crew running to supply people with bottled water and we've got regular accounts as well. The volume has definitely increased but we're keeping on top of it with the stores and the deliveries of spring water," Trainor said. "Our well is capable of producing 200 gallons a minute in natural overflow from the artesian spring so no shortage of good cold water there."

Cottage owner Ann Pratt said she and her husband Ron didn't hear about the advisory until they were notified by their children.

"My son-in-law dropped off a large container of water. He drove up from Winnipeg and we found it on the doorstep. We did have some in our cooler left over so that's what we're going with," she said.

Councillor-elect Steve Axworthy said the new council will be sworn in on Monday and expects more information will be available then.

"Until we're sworn in, we're not allowed to be privy to sensitive information," he said.

ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca
A 32-year-old Winnipeg man was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he admitted he had more than $25,000 worth of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking.

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This article was published 27/7/2018 (1187 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A 32-year-old Winnipeg man was sentenced to 10 years in prison after he admitted he had more than $25,000 worth of fentanyl for the purpose of trafficking.

Trevor Petrowski pleaded guilty this week, just as his case was set to go to a preliminary inquiry.

Provincial court Judge Brent Stewart imposed the 10-year sentence as recommended by Crown and defence lawyers. But he said hed have preferred a sentence in the range of 15 years.

"Its a matter where the court  on a very limited basis, because were not seeing enough of the cases at this stage  has to send out a message and that message has to be double-digit jail time," Stewart said. "Simply to send a message to the entire community that were not prepared to allow this poison on our streets."

Petrowski was charged along with his girlfriend after Winnipeg Police Service officers, acting on a tip, searched her home Oct. 23, 2017.

Officers found one ounce of pure fentanyl, with an estimated street value of $22,400, and one ounce of fentanyl that had been mixed with icing sugar, worth about $2,800.

It was enough fentanyl to produce about 3,000 individual hits, court heard.

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Digital scales that had traces of fentanyl and other drugs on them were also found in the apartment, along with an envelope believed to have been sent from Hong Kong.

Federal Crown prosecutor Jeremy Akerstream acknowledged the 10-year sentence was on the low end of the range for cutting fentanyl and "effectively selling poison on the street."

But he said if Petrowski hadnt pleaded guilty, the Crown wouldve had to prove the drugs were his, even though he didnt live at the home where they were found.

Petrowskis lawyer said his client started selling drugs after he got addicted himself. A back injury in his mid-20s and subsequent prescription for Percocet eventually led to opioid abuse, court heard.

Petrowski apologized in court and said he initially didnt realize the substantial prison term he faced.

He has nine years and three months left to serve, after being given credit for time already spent behind bars.
Jenny Motkaluk would like you to know something right off the bat.

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This article was published 27/7/2018 (1187 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jenny Motkaluk would like you to know something right off the bat.

"I'm not Gord 2.0," the mayoral candidate says assertively, almost admonishingly, perched on a chair in a Starbucks at the northern-most reaches of Main Street.

"Gord" is former city councillor Gord Steeves, a right-of-centre populist who took a run at the mayoralty in 2014. His bid was, by objective standards, perhaps the worst-ever by a candidate who began the campaign with a legitimate shot at winning. He finished a distant fourth and has disappeared from political circles.

It's little wonder that Motkaluk, a business consultant who is running in her second civic election, would want to distance herself from the Steeves' wreck.

"The team I have is so much broader than all of that," she says. "I'd love for somebody to ask me, 'What's your team look like?' I think it's one of our greatest strengths."

Jenny Motkaluk says that when the idea of running for mayor first came up over the winter, she and her husband focused on the extensive network of political strategists, organizers and fundraisers that they counted among their friends and acquaintances. (Mikaela Mackenzie / Free Press files)

The team she refers to is, fairly described, a pro-business coalition of Liberal and Progressive Conservative politicos, many card-carrying members of the two parties, who are well-known to people who have either raised or donated money to support a political campaign. Her team would include her husband, Trevor Sprague who, in a past political life, was a candidate for the Canadian Alliance in the 2000 federal election.

Motkaluk says that when the idea of running for mayor first came up over the winter, she and her husband focused on the extensive network of political strategists, organizers and fundraisers that they counted among their friends and acquaintances.

"I realized that we have a very strong network, and that's what you need in civic politics," she says.

The big question, she adds, was whether this network of politically motivated friends and associates could be mobilized to support her mayoral campaign.

"I had 200 face-to-face meetings with people who fit in all all kinds of different buckets. I was met with overwhelming enthusiasm," she says.

She acknowledges the team includes some people  such as fundraiser and adviser Alex Robinson  who had prominent roles in the Steeves' campaign, but also claims many people who toil behind the scenes of her campaign previously supported Mayor Brian Bowman.

A failed electoral bid in 2010 clearly encouraged Motkaluk and her supporters to hit the ground running. (Andrew Ryan / Winnipeg Free Press)

Who is behind her campaign is perhaps not as important as how her campaign has begun: guns blazing.

Rumours of her interest in the job began to percolate in the spring. Motkaluk ran for city council in the Mynarski ward in the 2010 civic election, losing to Ross Eadie.

A failed electoral bid can be a valuable source of experience for any politician. In this instance, it has clearly encouraged Motkaluk and her supporters to hit the ground running with what appears to be an extensive and well-funded organization.

Motkaluk says she has 12 supporters out fundraising on a nearly full-time basis, and at least two paid, full-time staff working on her campaign. Those are impressive accomplishments for any civic politician, let alone one mounting her first run at an office as important as the mayoralty.

Confident and articulate, Motkaluk appears poised to serve as an effective foil for Bowman and his urbanist agenda.

While the incumbent mayor has proven to be a master of social media and a champion of core-area development and planning, Motkaluk seems focused on delivering a classic right-of-centre campaign concentrating on the issues that resonate in suburban wards: public safety, infrastructure, making life easier for business and controlling taxes.

Motkaluk promised to stop all spending on the reopening of Portage and Main to pedestrians. (Mike Deal / Free Press files)

"The mayor has made, in my opinion, a lot of mistakes," she says. "He hasn't provided a lot of leadership. He's spent way too much time on his pet projects."

Even though it's still early in the campaign, Motkaluk has said enough to stake out a firm position to the right of Bowman.

Early on, she proposed putting more police officers in Winnipeg schools including, for the first time, establishing a presence in elementary facilities. She also promised to stop all spending on the reopening of Portage and Main to pedestrians.

She would also like to see fewer police officers involved in special task forces, and more assigned to "proactive" street patrol. And she suggests putting officers on city buses, particularly on routes identified as high risk for riders and drivers.

Pro-police is a good stance to take, largely because over the last four years Bowman and council have put the Winnipeg Police Service on a tight budgetary leash to slow the growth in spending on what has become the costliest service in civic government.

Motkaluk also confirmed in an announcement Friday that if she becomes mayor, there would be no further development of the bus rapid transit system, something she described as a Bowman "pet project." Asserting that she is "pro-transit but anti-BRT," Motkaluk said she would put more buses on existing routes running more frequently to improve service and get people to their destinations faster and more reliably. "Dedicated roadways are not the solution to our transit problems," she says.

Motkaluk seems focused on delivering a classic right-of-centre campaign concentrating on the issues that resonate in suburban wards. (Andrew Ryan / Winnipeg Free Press)

On infrastructure, Motkaluk says she will be proposing a much bigger role for public-private partnerships (P3s) in the repair and rebuilding of roads within the city, something that should prove to be controversial.

City hall currently does not consider the long-term costs of maintaining and repairing each roadway in its infrastructure planning, she says. Under her plan, contractors would be asked to find better ways of building roads, and then bid to take on long-term responsibility for maintaining them.

She is also advocating as-yet undefined policies to help drive business investment; Bowman has created a "hostile" environment for business that is "thwarting" new investment and chasing potential growth opportunities to other provinces and cities, she says.

There is no doubt that a lot of people are going to find comfort in the policies Motkaluk is proposing. That does not mean they are invulnerable to attack. As is the case with challengers who have not spent any time serving in government, there are all kinds of loose ends surrounding her core pledges.

Her proposals on expanded policing, for example, aren't accompanied by any details on how she plans to pay for them. Across the country, police forces are trying, at the bequest of their elected masters, to find ways of being better at a lower cost. Police costs have skyrocketed and many urban forces are scaling back. At the very least, she's going to have to enunciate a more complete plan on how to pay for more patrols and cops in schools and on buses that does not involve starving other civic services.

Similar concerns surround her transit proposals. Even those who oppose additional investment in BRT will take issue with Motkaluk's assertion that running more buses on existing routes  many of which do not have dedicated transit lanes and are already choked with rush-hour traffic  is unrealistic.

Motkaluk appears as if she's going to have a significant advantage that challengers trying to knock off incumbent mayors rarely enjoy in this city: a true head-to-head contest. (Mike Deal / Free Press files)

And at the risk of bringing up "Gord" again, Steeves made opposition to BRT the defining issue of his campaign in 2014. In the end, he finished behind BRT supporters Bowman and Judy Wasylicia-Leis, and third-place finisher Robert-Falcon Ouellette, who wanted to scrap bus rapid transit and instead transition to a light-rail system.

It also bears mentioning that Motkaluk has not yet tackled some of the most contentious issues in civic politics, including what to do with property taxes  she hasn't said whether a freeze is in the cards  and growth fees on new suburban development, a central and controversial feature of Bowman's first term.

Motkaluk will only say that the issue of growth fees "will be revisited." She doesn't want to discuss property-tax policies; a campaign spokesman says she is not yet ready.

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Those concerns aside, Motkaluk appears as if she's going to have a significant advantage that challengers trying to knock off incumbent mayors rarely enjoy in this city: a true head-to-head contest.

So far, there have been no rumblings about a third viable candidate registering for the race. In 2014, Bowman had to contend with Steeves from the right and Wasylycia-Leis and Ouellette from the left, along with a gaggle of lesser candidates whose major role was to choke the podium at public debates. It appears the so-called "progressive" forces in municipal politics who supported Wasylycia-Leis in 2014 and 2010 are going to sit this one out. A two-horse race means fewer split allegiances and less noise around policy debate.

It also means Motkaluk can focus her attacks on Bowman without having to worry too much about others trying to get in on the action, or having to defend her platform against multiple critics. That is a huge luxury in a municipal campaign.

In opposing Bowman on key projects such as BRT and Portage and Main and pursuing a more traditional, suburban platform, she will provide voters with a clear choice. While Bowman discusses a more exotic, urbanist agenda, Motkaluk will be dishing out a steady stream of meat-and-potato municipal policy. And working hard to raise her profile in a bid for office that tends to skew in favour of incumbents.

"The one thing that I wish that everybody would know about me is that Im a believer in practical solutions," she says.

dan.lett@freepress.mb.ca
Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus recent cabinet shuffle could be considered minor, because he left many key ministers in place.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 28/7/2018 (1186 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus recent cabinet shuffle could be considered minor, because he left many key ministers in place.

Chrystia Freeland remains in Foreign Affairs, Bill Morneau in Finance and Jody Wilson-Raybould in Justice, occupying what many regard as the most important portfolios for any federal government.

Patrick Doyle / The Canadian Press Files Jim Carr arrives at the swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall on July 18.

Perhaps the prime minister believes theyve been successful to date, despite continuing trade skirmishes with the United States, tax proposals for small businesses from which the government has largely retreated and outstanding issues regarding cannabis regulation and assisted dying.

The only minister essentially demoted is Melanie Joly, probably because the Heritage portfolios issues (notably exemption from taxation for Netflix and weak efforts to encourage Canadian cultural production) seem to have overwhelmed her.

Many other changes seem largely inconsequential. And yet its not really a minor cabinet shuffle at all.

Federal election on the horizon

First, its probably the last cabinet shuffle before the 2019 election. Its not impossible to imagine further changes before then, but its unlikely, because ministers are normally given a chance to settle in and show what they can do before the government goes again to the polls.

Second, with an election next year, Trudeau has taken the opportunity to change portfolios and ministers so as to highlight areas where he may face campaign challenges. If new faces in new roles can be successful, the Liberals will feel more confident entering the first campaign in which their record as a government will be the focus of attention.

What are the areas the prime minister has signalled needed shoring up? Where are the holes he is trying to plug?

First, as NAFTA renegotiations drag on (or are stalled), there is enormous pressure to find ways to be less dependent on the U.S. market. It has long been an aim of Canadian governments to broaden the list of places to which we export, and to diversify the list of goods and services we make available.

U.S. President Donald Trumps tariffs and the threats to NAFTAs survival have significantly increased the urgency of those aims.

The renaming of International Trade to Trade Diversification, with Jim Carr moving from Natural Resources to head the ministry, is intended to respond to that urgency, as is the increased focus on export promotion in the Small Business portfolio now under rookie MP Mary Ng.

Second, in the first few years of Trudeaus mandate, he had the benefit of several sympathetic provincial governments from whom he could hope to receive cooperation. There were Liberal governments in British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and the Atlantic provinces. Even the NDP government of Alberta and the Conservative government of Manitoba could be expected to be helpful with some issues.

The traditional battles between Ottawa and the provinces over funding and taxation did not go away, but the hostility was muted.

Now, however, with the election of Doug Fords Conservatives in Ontario and John Horgans NDP government in B.C., disagreements over pipelines, climate change and refugee settlement are looming large.

Its possible that the formation of a united Conservative party in Alberta could lead to a change of government there in the next provincial election. And there have also been suggestions that the Quebec Liberals are not secure.

Hostile provinces?

The prime minister, therefore, could soon be facing unsympathetic governments in a majority of provinces. The appointment of Dominic Leblanc  an experienced, tough-minded but persuasive MP  as Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs is intended to make federal-provincial relations more manageable in the new climate.

Third, migrants entering Canada at irregular crossing points has strained the resources of the Ministry of Immigration. Additionally, a spike in gang-related gun crime in Toronto has raised public concerns.

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The creation of a new portfolio called Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction, under the direction of former Toronto police chief Bill Blair, is intended to signal an understanding of voters concerns about border security and gang violence.

Fourth, as the government moves to ensure completion of the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion, Trudeau has appointed Edmonton MP Amarjeet Sohi as Natural Resources Minister and Vancouver MP Jonathan Wilkinson as Fisheries Minister. They can be expected to lead the fight to overcome opposition in B.C. to the pipelines completion.

Its probably fair to say that if trade is diversified without abandoning the American market, if border security is strengthened without abandoning a commitment to refugees, if federal-provincial relations lead to more federal wins than losses, and if the Trans Mountain pipeline is completed without a serious oil spill, the prime minister will feel his decisions were sound.

Thats assuming, however, that no fires break out in Foreign Affairs, Finance or Justice  never guaranteed.

Robert Drummond is university professor emeritus in politics and public policy/administration at York University.

This article was first published at The Conversation Canada: theconversation.com/ca.
The legalization of marijuana in Canada comes almost a century after the drug was first declared an illegal substance in 1923, but pot didnt explode in popularity until the 1960s when a group of rebellious people began promoting it as a shortcut to peace and enlightenment.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 28/7/2018 (1186 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Opinion

The legalization of marijuana in Canada comes almost a century after the drug was first declared an illegal substance in 1923, but pot didnt explode in popularity until the 1960s when a group of rebellious people began promoting it as a shortcut to peace and enlightenment.

Concerned about the new use of this drug, in 1969, the Royal Commission on the Non-Medical Use of Drugs visited coffee shops and universities to talk to young people about marijuana use.

One student told them marijuana reveals "a greater sense of the universe." He enthused that "things you never noticed now jump out  and every event becomes suddenly deep." Another touted that cannabis could be the "catalyst to the great Epiphany."

One participant promised "fantastic benefits" from smoking marijuana and said that it could lead to "a much better way of living."

In short, many baby boomers believed marijuana use could usher in a new era of experience, enlightenment and joy. Half a century ago, this was utterly new to most Canadians.

Cannabis convictions soar

Convictions for cannabis went from 60 in 1965 to 6,292 in 1970. By the spring of 1970, the Royal Commission on the Non-Medical Use of Drugs suggested that somewhere between 1.3 and 1.5 million Canadians had used marijuana.

A survey of Toronto adults in 1971 showed that 8.4 per cent had used cannabis in the previous year, with higher rates among young people. Thirty per cent of people between the ages of 18 and 25 said they had tried the drug, while only 10 per cent of people aged 25 to 35 had smoked marijuana. From 1968 to 1972, marijuana use at Toronto high schools tripled.

What made this new generation of young people reject the hard-drinking ways of their elders in favour of a new drug? Part of marijuanas appeal was its illicit status  it allowed baby boomers to reject the rules of the "establishment" and the habits of their parents.

It was believed marijuana would open them to new experiences, while alcohol diminished awareness. As the LSD guru, Timothy Leary, put it in his Politics of Ecstasy, alcohol consumption brought about the "State of Emotional Stupor" while marijuana would lead to "The State of Sensory Awareness."

Marijuana users were well aware that their parents already took a wide array of legal and prescription drugs. They were often highly critical of prescription drugs like barbiturates and tranquillizers. They believed these drugs numbed people to the injustices and inadequacies of North American society.

Promises of enlightenment

By contrast, marijuana promised to open a path to enlightenment. Many baby boomers were interested in Eastern religions and transcendent experiences. As Charles Reich put it in his Greening of America, an ode to the new generation, "using marijuana is more like what happens when a person with fuzzy vision puts on glasses."

Reich explained that marijuana enabled people to hear new sounds in music and to visualize the world in new ways. It would allow them to understand time differently, thereby releasing them from the unrelenting demands of a capitalist society.

Other marijuana users were influenced by the popular culture of the day to try the drug. The Beatles were getting "high with a little help" from their friends. Janis Joplin spent all her money on drugs in "Mary Jane." Bob Dylan intoned: "Everybody must get stoned."

Drug use was also glorified in movies. The Beatles' psychedelic cartoon Yellow Submarine premiered in 1968, while the countercultural classic Easy Rider came out the following year. It featured Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper driving their motorcycles from Los Angeles to New Orleans, smoking dope, taking LSD, visiting a commune and raising the ire of the establishment.

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Finding a groove

From the Mariposa music festival to the coffee shops of Torontos Yorkville neighbourhood, marijuana wafted through the air of the late 1960s. Headshops were a vital part of the street life in countercultural communities like Vancouvers Kitsilano. Stores like the Polevault in Vancouver featured coloured lights beaming through parachutes on the ceiling, while chairs, cushions and ashtrays invited people to stay and "groove." Countercultural newspapers like the Georgia Straight (Vancouver), Harbinger (Toronto) and Octopus (Ottawa) glamourized marijuana in their pages.

Marijuana proponents did not persuade the Royal Commission that marijuana would usher in a new era of enlightenment. But the commissioners were persuaded that the costs of marijuana prohibition were too high, both for individuals and the state. They recommended the laws concerning the prohibition of marijuana be repealed.

This did not happen, as Marcel Martel explains in his book Not this Time. Prime minister Jean Chretiens attempt to decriminalize marijuana in 2003 also failed.

Finally, more than 50 years after the "Summer of Love," cannabis will be legalized in Canada, although the dream of marijuanas potential to create a new society has largely passed.

Catherine Carstairs is a professor and chair of the department of history at the University of Guelph.

This article was first published at The Conversation Canada: theconversation.com/ca.
There is, it seems, more than one way to politicize a crisis.

Hey there, time traveller!

This article was published 27/7/2018 (1187 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

There is, it seems, more than one way to politicize a crisis.

Take, for example, last weeks release of the City of Winnipegs 2017 crime stats report, which revealed that the number of violent, property and drug crimes has risen sharply, and that the increase is unquestionably linked to the crystal-meth epidemic that has gripped the city and province in recent years.

In 2017, violent crime in Winnipeg increased by seven per cent over the previous year. The citys crime-severity index is at its highest level since 2012, and exceeds that of all other Canadian cities.

The numbers beyond city limits are even more startling: according to Statistics Canada data, Manitobas per capita homicide rate (3.51 per 100,000 residents) is highest in the country.

The provinces rural crime rate is 42 per cent higher than the urban rate, and despite Manitoba accounting for just seven per cent of Canadas rural population, it accounts for 12 per cent of rural crime nationally.

Winnipeg Police Service Chief Danny Smyth attributed the appalling crime-stat increases directly to meth, specifically to addicts robbing, stealing and assaulting in their desperate effort to feed their drug dependency. And he added that more police intervention is not necessarily the answer the city and province need.

"One-half to two-thirds of all calls for police are to deal with families in crisis and individuals struggling with the challenges of mental health, medical and substance abuse," he said.

One might be inclined to interpret the chiefs remarks as a call to action; Mayor Brian Bowman certainly did, calling on the province to do more to address meths destructive effects. The rapidly dispatched response: dont politicize the crisis.

A warning shot across the mayors bow followed by a recitation of provincial government initiatives might fairly be interpreted as just a slightly different approach to politicizing a crisis.

Justice Minister Heather Stefanson and Health Minister Kelvin Goertzen issued a joint statement that the province "is not interested in playing politics with public safety."

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The statement went on to defend the efforts of Brian Pallisters government to make communities safer, including the establishment of five Rapid Access to Addictions Medicine clinics and an investment in Manitobas criminal-property forfeiture fund, which will be targeted at addressing such issues as mental health, drug addiction and gang involvement.

PHIL HOSSACK / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman.

Of course, a warning shot across the mayors bow followed by a recitation of provincial government initiatives might fairly be interpreted as just a slightly different approach to politicizing a crisis.

Mr. Bowman, when asked whether the downward-spiralling meth crisis could affect his bid for re-election this fall, opted for something resembling the high road, explaining that he wasnt interested in politicizing the situation. "These (trends) are far more important than a single election," he said.

Well-chosen words, to be sure. But one is left wondering why the current mayor was at the police-briefing podium in the first place  delivering the crime-stats numbers, disturbing as they may be, is typically the purview of the police chief and, perhaps, the chair of the police board.

The mayors concern for an increasingly critical civic circumstance is understandable and perhaps even laudable, but his front-and-centre presence at the announcement  and really, he seems to be front and centre at everything these days as this falls civic vote draws nearer  suggests a secondary imperative might also have been in play.

When in politics, politicize.
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Croda International Plc creates, makes, and sells specialty chemicals in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, North America, Asia, and Latin America. The company operates in four segments: Personal Care, Life Sciences, Performance Technologies, and Industrial Chemicals. It offers adhesives; crop protection additives and adjuvants, seed enhancement and animal health chemicals, chemical bio-stimulants, and specialty additives for agricultural films; and lubricant additives, coatings and polymers, vehicle cleaning chemicals, and products for automotive textiles and fibers, as well as specialty additives for plastics, and battery and catalyst industries. The company also provides specialty ingredients for self-tanning, color cosmetics, bath and shower, deodorants, anti-perspirants, depilatories, men's grooming, and oral hygiene, as well as skin, hair, sun, body, and baby care applications; construction chemicals and bitumen additives; dietary supplements; and advanced materials, and polymer additives for electronics and devices. In addition, it offers chemistries, emulsifiers, fuel and power generation additives, and polymer additives; food additives; specialty polymer additives for furniture and wood applications; household, industrial, and institutional cleaning products; lubricants; oleochemicals; and packaging, print, and paper chemicals. Further, the company provides paints and coatings; active pharmaceutical ingredients; thermal management products; plastic and rubber products; skin health products; hygiene and industrial nonwovens, botanical extracts, tissues, and textile auxiliaries; and water treatment chemicals. Additionally, it offers bio-based phase change materials for buildings and ventilation, clothing and healthcare, electronics and devices, food and refrigeration, energy storage and recovery, temperature controlled packaging, and vehicles and automotive applications. The company was incorporated in 1925 and is headquartered in Goole, the United Kingdom.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Danaher: AB SCIEX, AB Sciex Germany GmbH, AB Sciex LLC, AB Sciex LP, AB Sciex Pte Ltd., Accu-Sort Systems, Acme Cleveland Corporation, Advanced Vision Technology, American Precision Industries, Applied Biosystems, Applitek NV, Aquatic Infomatics ULC, Aquatic Informatics, Armstrong Tools, BC Distribution BV, Beckman Coulter, Beckman Coulter Australia Pty Ltd, Beckman Coulter Biotechnology (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Beckman Coulter Biyomedikal Urunler Sanayi ve Ticaret Limited [irketi], Beckman Coulter Canada LP, Beckman Coulter Commercial Enterprise (China) Co. Ltd., Beckman Coulter France S.A.S., Beckman Coulter G.m.b.H., Beckman Coulter Genomics Inc., Beckman Coulter Hong Kong Limited, Beckman Coulter Inc., Beckman Coulter India Private Limited, Beckman Coulter International SA, Beckman Coulter International Shanghai Trading Co., Beckman Coulter Ireland Inc., Beckman Coulter K.K., Beckman Coulter Korea Ltd., Beckman Coulter Laboratory Systems (Suzhou) Co. Ltd., Beckman Coulter Limited Liability Company, Beckman Coulter Mishima KK, Beckman Coulter Nederland B.V., Beckman Coulter Nippon GK, Beckman Coulter S.L.U., Beckman Coulter Saudi Arabia Co.Ltd., Beckman Coulter Srl, Beckman Coulter Taiwan Inc., Beckman Coulter United Kingdom Limited, Beckman Coulter de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Beckman Coulter do Brasil Ltda., Beckman Finance ApS, Beckman Holdings Ltd., BioTector Analytical Systems Ltd, Biosafe S.A., Blue Software LLC, Cepheid, Cepheid AB, Cepheid Europe SAS, Cepheid GmbH, Cepheid HBDC SAS, Cepheid UK Ltd., ChemTreat, ChemTreat Inc., ChemTreat International Inc., Cispus Hong Kong Holding Limited, Cytiva, Cytiva BioProcess R&D AB, Cytiva Biotechnology (Guangzhou) Co. Ltd., Cytiva Biotechnology (Hang Zhou) Co. Ltd., Cytiva Europe GmbH, Cytiva Sweden AB, Cytiva Sweden Holding AB, DH Europe Finance II Sarl, DH Europe Finance Sarl, DH Holding Italia SRL, DH Japan Finance Sarl, DH Life Sciences LLC, DH Netherlands BV, DH Technologies Development Pte Ltd., DHKAB Company AB, DTIL Ireland Holdings Ltd., Danaher (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd., Danaher Hong Kong Limited, Danaher Medical ApS, Delta Consolidated Industries, Devicore Medical Products Inc., Easco Hand Tools, Esko, Esko BV, Esko Finance BV, Esko Graphics BV, Esko Software BV, FHAB Company AB, Fluke, G. Lufft Mess- und Regeltechnik GmbH, GE Biopharma, Gelman Sciences Inc., Gendex, Genetix Group, Gilbarco Veeder Root, Gilzoni Ltd., Global Life Sciences Solutions Austria GmbH & Co. KG, Global Life Sciences Solutions Germany GmbH, Global Life Sciences Solutions Korea Ltd., Global Life Sciences Solutions Manufacturing UK Ltd, Global Life Sciences Solutions New Zealand, Global Life Sciences Solutions Operations UK Ltd, Global Life Sciences Solutions Singapore Pte Ltd, Global Life Sciences Solutions USA LLC, Global Life Sciences Technologies (Shanghai) Co Ltd., Global Life Sciences Technologies Japan KK, Hach Company, Hach Lange Finance GmbH, Hach Lange GmbH, Hach Lange Sarl, Hach Sales & Services Canada LP, Hach Ultra Japan KK, Hach Water Quality Analytical Instru. (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., HemoCue AB, HyClone Laboratories LLC, Hybritech Incorporated, Hyclone Life Sciences Solutions India Private Limited, IDBS Group, IRIS International, Imaging Sciences International, Immunotech SAS, Immunotech Sro, Intabio LLC, Integrated DNA Technologies, Integrated DNA Technologies BVBA, Integrated DNA Technologies Inc., Integrated DNA Technologies Pte. Ltd., Iris International Inc., Joslyn Holding Company LLC, KVHG GmbH, KaVo, KaVo Kerr, Kaltenbach & Voigt, Keithley Instruments, Kipp & Zonen BV, Kollmorgen, Labcyte Inc., Laetus, Leica Biosystems Imaging Inc., Leica Biosystems Melbourne Pty Ltd, Leica Biosystems Newcastle Limited, Leica Biosystems Nussloch GmbH, Leica Biosystems Richmond Inc., Leica Instruments (Singapore) Pte Limited, Leica Microsystems, Leica Microsystems (UK) Limited, Leica Microsystems CMS GmbH, Leica Microsystems Cambridge Limited, Leica Microsystems IR GmbH, Leica Microsystems Inc., Leica Microsystems Limited, Leica Microsystems Ltd. Shanghai, Leica Mikrosysteme Vertrieb GmbH, Life Sciences Holdings France SAS*, Lifschultz Industries, Linx Printing Technologies, Linx Printing Technologies Limited, MDS Analytical Technologies, Marconi Data Systems, McCrometer Inc., Microtest, Molecular Devices, Molecular Devices (Austria) GmbH, Molecular Devices LLC, Navman Wireless, Navman Wireless OEM Solutions, Nihon Pall Ltd., Nihon Pall Manufacturing Limited, Nobel Biocare, OTT Hydromet Corp, Pall, Pall (Canada) ULC, Pall (China) Co. Ltd., Pall (Schweiz) GmbH, Pall Aeropower Corporation, Pall Artelis BVBA, Pall Asia Holdings Inc., Pall Australia Pty. Ltd., Pall Austria Filter Ges.m.b.h, Pall Corporation, Pall Europe Limited, Pall Filtersystems GmbH, Pall Filtration Pte. Ltd., Pall Filtration and Separations Group Inc., Pall France SAS, Pall GmbH, Pall India Pvt. Ltd., Pall International Sarl, Pall Italia Srl, Pall Korea Ltd., Pall Life Sciences Belgium BV, Pall Life Sciences Puerto Rico LLC, Pall Manufacturing UK Limited, Pall Medistad BV, Pall Netherlands BV Irish Branch, Pall Technology UK Limited, PaloDEX, Pantone LLC, Pelton & Crane, Phenomenex, Phenomenex Inc., Precision NanoSystems, QHC Ireland Finance Limited, Radiometer, Radiometer Basel AG, Radiometer K.K., Radiometer Medical ApS, Radiometer Medical Equipment (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Radiometer Turku Oy, Raytek, Reytek Corporation, SH Switzerland Finance Sarl, Sea-Bird Electronics Inc., SenDx Medical Inc., Shanghai AB Sciex Analytical Instrument Trading Co. Ltd., Sutron, Sybron Dental Specialties, TCIL Ireland Finance Ltd., Tektronix, Thomson Industries, Tianjin Bonna-Agela Technologies Co. Ltd., Trojan Technologies, Trojan Technologies Group ULC, VSS Monitoring, Videojet Do Brasil Comercio de Equipamentos Para Codificacao Industrial Ltda., Videojet Technologies (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., Videojet Technologies Europe B.V., Videojet Technologies Inc., Viridor Waste Management Limited, Vision Systems Limited, Willett International, X-Ray Optical Systems Inc., X-Rite, X-Rite Europe GmbH, X-Rite Incorporated, X-Rite Switzerland GmbH, XOS, Yukon Hong Kong Holding Limited, and Zhuhai S.E.Z. Videojet Electronics Ltd..
Gardner Denver Holdings, Inc. provides mission-critical flow control and compression equipment; and associated aftermarket parts, consumables, and services in the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. It operates through three segments: Industrials, Energy, and Medical. The Industrials segment designs, manufactures, markets, and services a range of air compression, vacuum, and blower products, as well as offers associated aftermarket parts, consumables, and services. Its products are used in process-critical applications, such as the operation of industrial air tools, vacuum packaging of food products, aeration of waste water, and others. This segment sells its products through an integrated network of direct sales representatives and independent distributors under the Gardner Denver, CompAir, Elmo Rietschle, Robuschi, and other brand names. The Energy segment engages in the design, manufacture, marketing, and service of a range of displacement and liquid ring vacuum pumps, compressors and integrated systems, and engineered fluid loading and transfer equipment, as well as offers associated aftermarket parts, consumables, and services under the Gardner Denver, Nash, Emco Wheaton, and other brands. It serves customers in upstream, midstream, and downstream energy markets, as well as petrochemical processing, transportation, and general industrial sectors. The Medical segment designs, manufactures, and markets a range of specialized gas, liquid, and precision syringe pumps and compressors for use in oxygen therapy, blood dialysis, patient monitoring, laboratory sterilization and wound treatment, and other applications. This segment sells its products under the Thomas and other brands. Gardner Denver Holdings, Inc. was founded in 1859 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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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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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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Brookfield Asset Management, Inc. engages in the management of public and private investment products and services for institutional and retail clients. It operates through the following segments: Asset Management, Real Estate, Renewable Power, Infrastructure, Private Equity, Residential Development, and Corporate Activities. The Asset Management segment includes the management of its listed partnerships, private funds and public securities. The Real Estate segment is comprised of the ownership, operation and development of core office, core retail, LP investments and other properties. The Renewable Power segment encompasses the ownership, operation and development of hydroelectric, wind, solar, storage and other power generating facilities. The Infrastructure segment consists of the ownership, operation and development of utilities, transport, energy, data infrastructure and sustainable resource assets. The Private Equity segment refers to the broad range of industries, and is mostly focused on business services, infrastructure services and industrials. The Residential Development segment represents homebuilding, condominium development and land development. The Corporate Activiti

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It was difficult having to cancel the festival last year. We were able to increase the sponsorship to help with the return, he said. It's gratifying to have the festival back for the community.
Red Hat, Inc. provides open source software solutions to develop and offer operating system, virtualization, management, middleware, cloud, mobile, and storage technologies to various enterprises worldwide. It offers infrastructure-related solutions, such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux, an operating system platform that runs on hardware for use in hybrid cloud environments; Red Hat Satellite, a system management offering that helps to deploy, scale, and manage in hybrid cloud environments; and Red Hat Enterprise Virtualization, a software solution that allows customers to utilize and manage a common hardware infrastructure to run multiple operating systems and applications. The company offers application development-related and other technology solutions, such as Red Hat JBoss Middleware, a solution for developing, deploying, and managing applications; integrating applications, data, and devices; and automating business processes in hybrid cloud environments; The company's application development-related and other technology solutions also includes Red Hat cloud offerings, a software solution that enables customers to build and manage various cloud computing environments; Red Hat Mobile, a software development platform that enables customers to develop, integrate, deploy, and manage mobile applications for enterprises; and Red Hat Storage, a software solution that enables customers to manage large, unstructured, or semi-structured data in hybrid cloud environments. It also provides consulting, support, and training services; and realtime operating system, distributed computing, directory services, and user authentication. Red Hat, Inc. has collaboration with Juniper Networks Expand to provide a unified solution for enterprises designed to manage and run applications and services. The company was formerly known as Red Hat Software, Inc. and changed its name to Red Hat, Inc. in June 1999. Red Hat, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina.

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ATCO Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides housing, logistics and transportation, agriculture, water, real estate, and energy and energy infrastructure solutions in Canada, Australia, and internationally. The company offers workforce and residential housing; modular facilities; construction and site support; workforce lodging; facility operations and maintenance; defense operations; and disaster and emergency management services. It also provides commercial real estate services, including sale of commercial and industrial properties; and bulk cargo and port operation services, as well as operates container port facilities. The company's portfolio includes 15 commercial real estate properties, including 417,000 square feet of office property, 90,000 square feet of industrial property, and 315 acres of land. In addition, it engages in electricity generation, distribution, transmission, and related infrastructure services; natural gas distribution; owns and operates natural gas transmission pipelines in Alberta, Saskatchewan, and northern regions of Canada, as well as in Western Australia; and builds, owns, and operates non-regulated industrial water, natural gas storage, natural gas liquids storage, and natural gas related infrastructure to serve the midstream and petrochemical sectors. Further, it sells electricity and natural gas to residential and commercial customers; and provides natural gas appliance demonstrations and small cooking schools for homemakers. ATCO Ltd. was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

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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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CEMEX SAB de CV engages in the production, distribution, marketing, and sale of cement, ready-mix concrete, and aggregates. It operates though the following geographical segments: Mexico; United States; Europe; South, Central America and the Caribbean (SCA&C); Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA); and Others. The Europe segment covers United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, and Czech Republic, Poland and Latvia, as well as trading activities in Scandinavia, and Finland. The SCA&C segment includes Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Caribbean TCL, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Jamaica, the Caribbean, El Salvador, and Guatemala. The EMEA segment comprises of Egypt, Israel, the Philippines, and the United Arab Emirates. The Others segment refers to the cement trade maritime operations, information technology solutions business, and other corporate entities as well as other minor subsidiaries with different lines of business. The company was founded by Lorenzo Zambrano Gutierrez in 1906 and is headquartered in San Pedro Garza Garcia, Mexico.

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This is something that affected me personally as I got married while I was in law school, and we were blessed early on with a beautiful daughter who unfortunately had a serious heart condition, Durbin said. When we were seeking treatment, we were told because of our financial situation our choices were welfare, declaring bankruptcy or going to a charity ward, which was our only option.
BNP Paribas SA provides a range of banking and financial services in France and internationally. It operates through two divisions, Retail Banking and Services, and Corporate and Institutional Banking. The company offers long-term corporate vehicle leasing, and rental and other financing solutions; and digital banking and investment services, cash management, and factoring services to corporate clients, as well as wealth management services. It also provides credit solutions for individuals under the Cetelem, Cofinoga, Findomestic, AlphaCredit, and Opel Vauxhall brands; savings and protection solutions, including insuring individuals, and their personal projects and assets; and asset management, private banking, and real estate services. In addition, the company offers global market services, including investment, hedging, financing, research, and market intellingence across asset classes; security services comprising clearing, custody, and asset and fund services, as well as corporate trust, and market and financing services; and corporate trade and treasury, debt financing, specialized financing, strategic advisory, mergers and acquisition, and equity capital market services for institutional and corporate clients. The company was formerly known as Banque Nationale de Paris and changed its name to BNP Paribas SA in May 2000. BNP Paribas SA was founded in 1848 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

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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..
Our goal is to provide a place where veterans and the public can come to relax, reflect and enjoy the peaceful serenity of the river and the assets of the park, Krahn said. We purposely did not design the park with any military equipment. We didn't want it to become a playground. The park is designed as a place where people can find peace in life.
The following companies are subsidiares of Eli Lilly and: 1096401 B.C. Unlimited Liability Company, ARMO BioSciences Inc, ARMO Bioscience, Advanced Cardiovascular Systems, Alnara Pharmaceuticals, Alnara Pharmaceuticals Inc., Andean Technical Operations Center, Applied Molecular Evolution Inc., AurKa Pharma, Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, Avid Radiopharmaceuticals Inc., ChemGen, CoLucid Pharmaceuticals, CoLucid Pharmaceuticals Inc., Dermira, Devices for Vascular Intervention(DVI), Disarm Therapeutics, Dista Ilac Ticaret Ltd. Sti., Dista S.A., Dista-Produtos Quimicos & Farmaceuticos LDA, ELCO Dominicana SRL, ELCO Insurance Company Limited, ELCO Management Inc., ELCO for Trade and Marketing S.A.E., ELGO Insurance Company Limited, Elanco Animal Health Ireland Limited, Elanco Switzerland Holding Sarl, Eli Lilly (Malaysia) Sdn. Bhd., Eli Lilly (Philippines) Incorporated, Eli Lilly (S.A.) (Proprietary) Limited, Eli Lilly (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Eli Lilly (Suisse) S.A., Eli Lilly Asia Inc., Eli Lilly Asia Pacific SSC Sdn Bhd, Eli Lilly Australia Pty. Limited, Eli Lilly B-H d.o.o., Eli Lilly Benelux S.A., Eli Lilly Bienes y Servicios S de RL de CV, Eli Lilly CR s.r.o., Eli Lilly Canada Inc., Eli Lilly Cork Limited, Eli Lilly Danmark A/S, Eli Lilly Egypt for Trading, Eli Lilly European Clinical Trial Services SA, Eli Lilly Export S.A., Eli Lilly Finance S.A., Eli Lilly Ges.m.b.H., Eli Lilly Group Limited, Eli Lilly Holdings Ltd., Eli Lilly Hrvatska d.o.o., Eli Lilly Interamerica Inc., Eli Lilly Interamerica Inc. y Compania Limitada, Eli Lilly International Corporation, Eli Lilly Ireland Holdings Limited, Eli Lilly Israel Ltd., Eli Lilly Italia S.p.A., Eli Lilly Japan K.K., Eli Lilly Kinsale Limited, Eli Lilly Nederland B.V., Eli Lilly Nigeria Ltd., Eli Lilly Norge A.S., Eli Lilly Pakistan (Pvt.) Ltd., Eli Lilly Polska Sp.z.o.o. (Ltd.), Eli Lilly Regional Operations GmbH, Eli Lilly Romania SRL, Eli Lilly S.A., Eli Lilly Saudi Arabia Limited, Eli Lilly Services Inc, Eli Lilly Services India Private Limited, Eli Lilly Slovakia s.r.o., Eli Lilly Sweden AB, Eli Lilly Vostok S.A. Geneva, Eli Lilly and Company, Eli Lilly and Company (India) Pvt. Ltd., Eli Lilly and Company (Ireland) Limited, Eli Lilly and Company (N.Z.) Limited, Eli Lilly and Company (Taiwan) Inc., Eli Lilly and Company Limited, Eli Lilly de Centro America S.A., Eli Lilly do Brasil Limitada, Eli Lilly farmacevtska druzba d.o.o., Eli Lilly y Compania de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Eli Lilly y Compania de Venezuela S.A., Glycostasis Inc, Greenfield-Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Heart Rhythm Technologies Inc, Hybritech, Hypnion, ICOS Corporation, ImClone GmbH, ImClone LLC, ImClone Systems Holdings Inc., ImClone Systems LLC, Imclone Systems, Irisfarma S.A., Ivy Animal Health, Kinsale Financial Services Unlimited Company, Lilly (Shanghai) Management Co. Ltd, Lilly Asia Ventures Fund I L.P., Lilly Asia Ventures Fund II L.P., Lilly Asian Ventures Fund III L.P., Lilly Cayman Holdings, Lilly China Research and Development Co. Ltd., Lilly Deutschland GmbH, Lilly France S.A.S., Lilly Global Nederland Holdings B.V., Lilly Global Services Inc., Lilly Holding GmbH, Lilly Holdings B.V., Lilly Hungaria KFT, Lilly Japan Financing G.K., Lilly Korea Ltd., Lilly Nederland Finance B.V., Lilly Nederland Finance B.V. - GCC, Lilly Nederland Holding B.V., Lilly Pharma Ltd., Lilly Portugal - Produtos Farmaceuticos Lda., Lilly S.A., Lilly Suzhou Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Lilly Trading Co. LTD, Lilly USA LLC, Lilly Ventures Fund I LLC, Lilly del Caribe Inc., Lilly ilac ticaret limited sirketi, Lohmann Animal Health, Loxo Oncology, Lylly Centre for Clinical Pharmacology PTE. LTD., Novartis Animal Health, OY Eli Lilly Finland AB, Origin Medsystems, PT. Eli Lilly Indonesia, Pacific Biotech, Pharmaserve-Lilly S.A.C.I., Physio-Control, SGX Pharmaceuticals, SGX Pharmaceuticals Inc, Spaly Bioquimica S.A., UAB Eli Lilly Lietuva, Valquifarma S.A., and Vital Pharma Productos Farmaceuticos.
Curda pointed out how the service and sacrifice of those Americans who went to South Korea changed the lives of so many people, and that without it my parents lives would have been very different and my life would have been very different.
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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The following companies are subsidiares of Hyatt Hotels: CHANCELLOR STREET CONDOMINIUM ASSOCIATION INC., GLENDALE HOTEL PROPERTIES L.L.C., HT-SEATTLE HOLDINGS LLC, 1379919 ALBERTA INC., 319168 ONTARIO LIMITED, 3385434 CANADA INC., ADMINISTRACION DE PERSONAL ANDARES S. DE R.L. DE C.V., AIC HOLDING CO., AIRPORT PLAZA ASSOCIATES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, AIRPORT PLAZA HOTEL LLC, AIRPORT PLAZA OFFICE BUILDING LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, AMERISUITES FRANCHISING L.L.C., ARANCIA LIMITED, ARUBA BEACHFRONT RESORTS LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, ARUBA BEACHFRONT RESORTS N.V., ASIA HOSPITALITY INC., ASIA HOSPITALITY INVESTORS B.V., ASIAN HOTEL N.V., ATRIUM HOTEL L.L.C., AUSTIN RESORT BEVERAGE LLC, AmeriSuites Hotel, BAKU HOTEL COMPANY - AZERI, BAKU HOTEL COMPANY - CAYMAN, BASTROP MARKETING L.L.C., BAY II INVESTOR INC., BELLEVUE ASSOCIATES, BH PLAZA LLC, BRE/AMERISUITES PROPERTIES L.L.C., BRE/AMERISUITES TXNC GP L.L.C., BRE/AMERISUITES TXNC PROPERTIES L.P., BURVAN HOTEL ASSOCIATES, CAL-HARBOR SO. PIER URBAN RENEWAL ASSOCIATES L.P., CELAYA RESORTS S. DE R.L. DE C.V., CHESAPEAKE COMMUNITIES LLC, CHESAPEAKE RESORT LLC, CIUDAD DEL CARMEN DIAMANTE RESORT S. DE R.L. DE C.V, COAST BEACH L.L.C., COMPAGNIE HOTELIERE DE LAGON BLEU, CPM SEATTLE HOTELS L.L.C., CRW INVESTMENT LLC, CTR INTEREST HOLDCO INC., DALLAS REGENCY LLC, DENVER DOWNTOWN HOTEL PARTNERS LLC, DESARROLLADORA HOTELERA ACUEDUCTO S. DE R.L. DE C.V., DH BEVERAGE LLC, DIAMANTE RESORT LA PAZ S. DE R.L. DE C.V., DISTRICT HOTEL PARTNERS LLC, EXHALE ENTERPRISES GIFT SERVICES COMPANY, EXHALE ENTERPRISES II L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES III INC., EXHALE ENTERPRISES IV L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES V L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES VIII INC., EXHALE ENTERPRISES X INC., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XII L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XIV L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XIX L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XV L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XV TCI LTD., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XVI L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XVII L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XVIII L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XX L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XXI INC., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XXIV L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XXV L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XXVI L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XXVII L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XXVIII L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XXXI L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XXXII L.L.C., EXHALE ENTERPRISES XXXIII INC., FAN PIER L.L.C., FAR EAST HOTELS INC., G.E.H. PROPERTIES LIMITED, GAINEY DRIVE ASSOCIATES, GALAXY AEROSPACE COMPANY LLC, GHE HOLDINGS LIMITED, GRAND HYATT BERLIN GMBH, GRAND HYATT DFW BEVERAGE LLC, GRAND HYATT SAN ANTONIO L.L.C., GRAND HYATT SF L.L.C., GRAND RIVERWALK BEVERAGE LLC, GRAND TORONTO CORP., GRAND TORONTO VENTURE L.P., GREENWICH HOTEL LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, H.E. ATLANTA CENTENNIAL PARK HOLDINGS L.L.C., H.E. AUSTIN L.L.C., H.E. BERMUDA L.L.C., H.E. CAP CANA L.L.C., H.E. DRISKILL LLC, H.E. GRAND CYPRESS L.L.C., H.E. IRVINE L.L.C., H.E. KANSAS CITY L.L.C., H.E. LENOX L.L.C., H.E. NASHVILLE L.L.C., H.E. NEWPORT L.L.C., H.E. ORLANDO L.L.C., H.E. PHILADELPHIA HC HOLDINGS L.L.C., H.E. PHILADELPHIA HC HOTEL L.L.C., H.E. PHILADELPHIA HC PARKING L.L.C., H.E. PHILADELPHIA HC RETAIL L.L.C., H.E. PHILADELPHIA SANSOM L.L.C., H.E. PORTLAND HC L.L.C., H.E. PORTLAND L.L.C., H.E. PROPERTIES HOLDING L.L.C., H.E. PROPERTIES L.L.C., H.E. SAN ANTONIO I L.L.C., H.E. SAN ANTONIO L.L.C., H.E. TUCSON HOLDINGS L.L.C., H.E. TUCSON JV HOLDINGS L.L.C., H.E. TUCSON JV L.L.C., H.E. TUCSON OWNER L.L.C., HAPP INVESTOR LTD., HARBORSIDE HOTEL LLC, HARBORSIDE LAND LLC, HC PORTLAND JV HOLDINGS L.L.C., HC ROYAL PALMS L.L.C., HCV CINCINNATI HOTEL L.L.C., HE ORLANDO HOTEL LLC, HGP (TRAVEL) LIMITED, HH NASHVILLE HOLDINGS L.L.C., HH NASHVILLE JV HOLDINGS L.L.C., HH PORTLAND L.L.C., HHMA BURLINGTON BEVERAGE L.L.C., HI HOLDINGS (SWITZERLAND) GMBH, HI HOLDINGS BAJA B.V., HI HOLDINGS BRAZIL S.A.R.L., HI HOLDINGS CELAYA B.V., HI HOLDINGS CIUDAD DEL CARMEN B.V., HI HOLDINGS CYPRUS LIMITED, HI HOLDINGS CYPRUS-INDIA LIMITED, HI HOLDINGS GUADALAJARA B.V., HI HOLDINGS HP CABO B.V., HI HOLDINGS HP TIJUANA HOTEL B.V., HI HOLDINGS KYOTO CO., HI HOLDINGS LA PAZ B.V., HI HOLDINGS LATIN AMERICA B.V., HI HOLDINGS NETHERLANDS B.V., HI HOLDINGS PLAYA B.V., HI HOLDINGS RIO S.A.R.L., HI HOLDINGS RIVIERA MAYA B.V., HI HOLDINGS VIENNA S.A.R.L., HI HOLDINGS ZURICH S.A.R.L., HI HOTEL ADVISORY SERVICES GMBH, HI HOTEL INVESTORS CYPRUS LIMITED, HIHCL AMSTERDAM B.V., HIHCL HP AMSTERDAM AIRPORT B.V., HIHCL HR AMSTERDAM B.V., HILP HOTEL SERVICE PROVIDER LLC, HOTEL AM BELVEDERE HOLDING GMBH, HOTEL AM BELVEDERE HOLDING GMBH & CO KG, HOTEL INVESTMENTS HOLDING CO LLC, HOTEL INVESTMENTS L.L.C., HOTEL INVESTORS I INC., HOTEL INVESTORS II INC., HOTEL PROJECT SYSTEMS PTE LTD, HOTEL SERVICES CIUDAD DEL CARMEN S. DE R.L. DE C.V., HOTELS CS CELAYA S. DE R.L. DE C.V., HP ATLANTA CENTENNIAL PARK JV LLC, HP AUSTIN L.L.C., HP BEVERAGE DALLAS DFW AIRPORT LLC, HP BEVERAGE SUGAR LAND LLC, HP BOSTON HOLDINGS L.L.C., HP GLENDALE JV HOLDINGS L.L.C., HP GLENDALE L.L.C., HP INDIA HOLDINGS LIMITED, HP LAS VEGAS BEVERAGE L.L.C., HP M STREET L.L.C., HP ROUTE 46 TEXAS LLC, HP SAN FRANCISCO L.L.C., HP SAN JUAN L.L.C., HP TEN TEXAS LLC, HPHH ATLANTA L.L.C., HPHH DENVER L.L.C., HPHH SAN JOSE JV HOLDINGS L.L.C., HPHH SAN JOSE L.L.C., HQ CHESAPEAKE LLC, HR LOST PINES RESORT LLC, HR MC HOTEL COMPANY S. DE R.L. DE C.V., HR MC SERVICES II S. DE R.L. DE C.V., HR MC SERVICES S. DE R.L. DE C.V., HRHC LLC, HT- WAILEA LLC, HT-AVENDRA GROUP HOLDINGS L.L.C., HT-AVENDRA L.L.C., HT-CHESAPEAKE COMMUNITIES INC., HT-CHESAPEAKE RESORT INC., HT-HOTEL EQUITIES INC., HT-HUNTINGTON BEACH INC., HT-JERSEY PIER INC., HT-JERSEY PIER L.P., HT-JERSEY PIER LLC, HT-LONG BEACH L.L.C., HT-MIAMI BEACH L.L.C., HT-PARK 57 INC., HT-SEATTLE LLC, HT-SIERRA L.L.C., HT-VANCOUVER INC., HTLB L.L.C., HTS - NS L.L.C., HTS - NY L.L.C., HTS-ASPEN L.L.C., HTS-BC INC., HTS-INVESTMENT L L.C., HTSF L.L.C., HTW BEVERAGE LLC, HY LONG BEACH HOTEL LLC, HYATT (BARBADOS) CORPORATION, HYATT (JAPAN) CO. LTD., HYATT (THAILAND) LIMITED, HYATT ARUBA N.V., HYATT ASIA PACIFIC HOLDINGS LIMITED, HYATT AUSTRALIA HOTEL MANAGEMENT PTY LIMITED, HYATT AUSTRIA GMBH, HYATT BEACH FRONT N.V., HYATT BORNEO MANAGEMENT SERVICES LIMITED, HYATT BRITANNIA CORPORATION LTD., HYATT CC OFFICE CORP., HYATT CHAIN SERVICES LIMITED, HYATT CRYSTAL CITY LLC., HYATT CURACAO N.V., HYATT DISASTER RELIEF FUND, HYATT DO BRASIL PARTICIPACOES LTDA, HYATT EQUITIES L.L.C., HYATT FOREIGN EMPLOYMENT SERVICES INC., HYATT FRANCHISING CANADA CORP., HYATT FRANCHISING L.L.C., HYATT FRANCHISING LATIN AMERICA L.L.C., HYATT FULFILLMENT OF MARYLAND INC., HYATT GLOBAL SERVICES INC., HYATT GTLD L.L.C., HYATT HOC INC., HYATT HOLDINGS (UK) LIMITED, HYATT HOSPITALITY SERVICES L.L.C., HYATT HOTEL MANAGEMENT LIMITED, HYATT HOTELS CONSULTANCY SERVICES ASIA PACIFIC LIMITED, HYATT HOTELS CORPORATION OF KANSAS, HYATT HOTELS CORPORATION OF MARYLAND, HYATT HOTELS FOUNDATION, HYATT HOTELS MANAGEMENT CORPORATION, HYATT HOTELS OF CANADA INC., HYATT HOTELS OF FLORIDA INC., HYATT HOTELS OF PUERTO RICO INC., HYATT HOUSE CANADA INC., HYATT HOUSE FRANCHISING L.L.C., HYATT HOUSE HOTEL HOLDING COMPANY L.L.C., HYATT INDIA CONSULTANCY PRIVATE LIMITED, HYATT INTERNATIONAL (ASIA) LIMITED, HYATT INTERNATIONAL (EUROPE AFRICA MIDDLE EAST) LLC, HYATT INTERNATIONAL - JAPAN LIMITED, HYATT INTERNATIONAL - SOUTHWEST ASIA LIMITED, HYATT INTERNATIONAL -ASIA PACIFIC LIMITED, HYATT INTERNATIONAL -SEA (PTE) LIMITED, HYATT INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION, HYATT INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS CO., HYATT INTERNATIONAL HOTEL MANAGEMENT (BEIJING) CO. LTD., HYATT INTERNATIONAL MILAN L.L.C., HYATT INTERNATIONAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT (BEIJING) CO. LTD., HYATT INTERNATIONAL TECHNICAL SERVICES INC., HYATT JV HOLDINGS L.L.C., HYATT LACSA SERVICES INC., HYATT LOUISIANA L.L.C., HYATT MAINZ GMBH, HYATT MARKETING SERVICES INC., HYATT MARKETING SERVICES NIGERIA COMPANY LIMITED, HYATT MINNEAPOLIS LLC, HYATT MINORITY INVESTMENTS INC., HYATT MSS L.L.C., HYATT NORTH AMERICA MANAGEMENT SERVICES INC., HYATT OF AUSTRALIA LIMITED, HYATT OF BAJA S. DE R.L. DE C.V., HYATT OF CHINA LIMITED, HYATT OF FRANCE S.A.R.L., HYATT OF GUAM LIMITED, HYATT OF ITALY S.R.L., HYATT OF LATIN AMERICA AND CARIBBEAN L.L.C., HYATT OF LATIN AMERICA S.A. DE C.V., HYATT OF MACAU LIMITED, HYATT OF MEXICO S.A. DE C.V., HYATT OF PHILIPPINES LIMITED, HYATT PARTNERSHIP INTERESTS L.L.C., HYATT PLACE ANNE ARUNDEL BEVERAGE INC., HYATT PLACE CANADA CORPORATION, HYATT PLACE FRANCHISING L.L.C., HYATT PLACE OF MARYLAND INC., HYATT REGENCY COLOGNE GMBH, HYATT REGENCY CORPORATION PTY. LIMITED, HYATT SERVICES AUSTRALIA PTY LIMITED, HYATT SERVICES CANADA INC., HYATT SERVICES CARIBBEAN L.L.C., HYATT SERVICES GMBH, HYATT SERVICES INDIA PRIVATE LIMITED, HYATT SHARED SERVICE CENTER L.L.C., HYATT TRINIDAD LIMITED, HYCANADA INC., HYCARD INC., HYSTAR L.L.C., Hyatt Corporation, INFORMATION SERVICES LIMITED, INTERNATIONAL RESERVATIONS LIMITED, JOINT VENTURE ITALKYR CLOSED JOINT STOCK COMPANY, JUNIPER HOTELS PRIVATE LIMITED, KSA MANAGEMENT INC., KYOTO HOLDING CO., LHR-PARTNERS LTD., LORING PARK ASSOCIATES LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, LOST PINES BEVERAGE LLC, MACAE PARTNERS S.A.R.L., MAHIMA HOLDINGS PRIVATE LIMITED, MARION RESERVATION CENTER L.L.C., MEXICO CITY HOTEL INVESTMENTS B.V., MILAN HOTEL INVESTMENTS B.V., MIRAVAL ARIZONA GUARANTOR LLC, MIRAVAL GROUP LLC, MIRAVAL RESORT ARIZONA HOLDINGS LLC, MIRAVAL RESORT ARIZONA LLC, MIRAVAL RESORT ARIZONA OPERATING CO. INC., MIRAVAL RESORT TUCSON LLC, MONROE MR HOLDINGS I LLC, MONROE MR HOLDINGS II LLC, MONROE MR HOLDINGS III LLC, MONROE MR HOLDINGS LLC, MONROE MR HOLDINGS TRUST, MRG ATX BEVERAGE HOLDINGS LLC, MRG ATX HOLDINGS II LLC, MRG ATX HOLDINGS LLC, MRG ATX INVESTMENT LLC, MRG ATX MANAGEMENT I LLC, MRG ATX MANAGEMENT II LLC, MRG ATX OPERATIONS LLC, MRG CRW HOLDINGS LLC, MRG CRW MANAGEMENT I LLC, MRG CRW MANAGEMENT II LLC, MRG CRW OPERATIONS LLC, MUNICH OPCO GMBH, Miraval Resort, OASIS LUXURY RENTALS INCORPORATED, PARIS HOTEL COMPANY B.V., PARK HYATT HAMBURG GMBH, PARK HYATT HOTEL GMBH, PARK HYATT WATER TOWER ASSOCIATES L.L.C., PH NEW YORK L.L.C., PHMC RESIDENCIAS S. DE R.L. DE C.V., POLK SMITH REGENCY LLC, PT HYATT INDONESIA, PVD INVESTMENT COMPANY S.A.R.L., Peabody Hotels & Resort, RCG PROPERTIES LLC, REGENCY BEVERAGE COMPANY LLC, REGENCY RIVERWALK BEVERAGE LLC, RESERVATIONS CENTER L.L.C., RIO JV PARTNERS PARTICIPACOES LTDA., RIO PRETO PARTNERS HOTEIS LTDA., RIO PRETO PARTNERS S.A.R.L., ROSEMONT PROJECT MANAGEMENT L.L.C., ROUTE 46 MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATES CORP., RUNWAY HOLDING L.L.C., RUNWAY L.L.C., SAO PAULO INVESTMENT COMPANY INC., SAO PAULO INVESTORS LIMITED, SASIH, SDI EQUITIES INVESTOR L.L.C., SDI INC., SDI SECURITIES 11 LLC, SDI SECURITIES 6 LLC, SELECT HOTELS GROUP L.L.C., SELECT JV HOLDINGS L.L.C., SEOUL MIRAMAR CORPORATION, SERVICIOS DE HOTELERIA SAN JOSE S. DE R.L. DE C.V., SERVICIOS HOTELEROS LA PAZ S. DE R.L. DE C.V., SETTLEMENT INVESTORS INC., SHG PUERTO RICO INC., SIERRA HEALTHSTYLES LLC, SJC DESARROLLOS S. DE R.L. DE C.V., SKS CORP. N.V., SMC HOTELS B.V., SOROCABA PARTNERS HOTEIS LTDA, SOROCABA PARTNERS S.A.R.L., STANHOPE L.L.C., STARHILL LORING PARK L.L.C., SUGAR LAND/HP LLC, THE GREAT EASTERN HOTEL COMPANY LIMITED, THE GREAT EASTERN HOTEL HOLDING COMPANY LIMITED, TIJUANA PARTNERS S. DE R.L. DE C.V., TR MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT LLC, TUCSON VILLAS HOLDINGS LLC, TUCSON VILLAS LLC, TWO SEAS HOLDINGS LIMITED, Two Roads Hospitality, WAILEA HOTEL & BEACH RESORT L.L.C., WAILEA HOTEL HOLDINGS L.L.C., WAILEA MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATION L.L.C., WAILEA RESORT VILLAS HOLDINGS L.L.C., WAILEA RESORT VILLAS L.L.C., WEST END RESIDENCES L.L.C., XENIA ASSURANCE COMPANY INC., XENIA ASSURANCE COMPANY OF ILLINOIS, ZURICH ESCHERWIESE HOTEL GMBH, and ZURICH HOTEL INVESTMENTS B.V..
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.
I tip my cap to people who take on the challenge of organizing charity auctions especially since theyre often doing that work around their actual full-time jobs and other responsibilities. So much goes into making contacts, soliciting donations and collecting items. Obviously, the better items and prizes that they can secure, the more money they can raise for their causes. I am amazed at some of the items Ive come across at silent auctions. Its a win-win because attendees get a chance to support a worthy cause and come away with unique items sometimes at quite the bargain while the nonprofit organization or groups that are in need, end up not only getting financial support but emotional support as well.
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..
A business owner whose name surfaced decades ago in a racketeering case against the leader of the Chicago Outfit was sentenced Tuesday to 2 years in prison for skirting nearly $2.5 million in taxes.
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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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 Interpublic Group of Companies pays an annual dividend of $1.08 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 2.99%. The Interpublic Group of Companies has been increasing its dividend for 9 consecutive years, indicating the company has a new, but growing committment to grow its dividend. The dividend payout ratio of The Interpublic Group of Companies is 62.43%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%. Based on earnings estimates, The Interpublic Group of Companies will have a dividend payout ratio of 42.19% next year. This indicates that The Interpublic Group of Companies will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

View The Interpublic Group of Companies' dividend history.
The Southern pays an annual dividend of $2.64 per share and currently has a dividend yield of 4.20%. SO has a dividend yield higher than 75% of all dividend-paying stocks, making it a leading dividend payer. The Southern has been increasing its dividend for 20 consecutive years, indicating the company has a strong committment to maintain and grow its dividend. The dividend payout ratio of The Southern is 81.23%. Payout ratios above 75% are not desirable because they may not be sustainable. Based on earnings estimates, The Southern will have a dividend payout ratio of 74.37% next year. This indicates that The Southern will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

View The Southern's dividend history.
President Energy Plc engages in the exploration, evaluation, and production of oil and gas properties primarily in South America. The company holds exploration assets in Argentina, the United States, and Paraguay. It also sells hydrocarbons. The company was formerly known as President Petroleum Company PLC and changed its name to President Energy Plc in September 2012. President Energy Plc was founded in 2004 and is headquartered in Leeds, the United Kingdom.

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TCF Financial Corporation operates as the financial holding company for TCF National Bank that provides various financial products and services in the United States and Canada. It operates through Consumer Banking, Commercial Banking, and Enterprise Services segments. The company offers checking, savings, and money market accounts; certificates of deposit; individual retirement accounts; debit and credit cards; and check cashing and remittance services. It also provides investment management and custodial services, trust services, financial and estate planning, and retirement planning and employee benefit programs; residential, consumer, and small business lending products; and consumer real estate secured lending, consumer loans, loans secured by personal property, and unsecured personal loans. In addition, the company offers loans and lines of credit, deposits, cash management, capital market products, international trade finance, letters of credit, foreign exchange management services, and loan syndication services. Further, it provides commercial and industrial, commercial real estate banking, and lease financing; and treasury services comprising investment and borrowing portfolios, as well as manages capital, debt, and market risks. As of December 31, 2020, the company operated 478 branches, including 373 traditional branches, 102 supermarket branches, and three campus branches located in Michigan, Illinois, Minnesota, Colorado, Ohio, Wisconsin, Arizona, and South Dakota; and 1,062 ATMs. TCF Financial Corporation was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Detroit, Michigan.

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Total Energy Services Inc. provides various products and services to the oil and natural gas industry primarily in Canada, the United States, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Contract Drilling Services, Rentals and Transportation Services, Compression and Process Services and Well Servicing. The Contract Drilling Services segment offers contract drilling services to oil and gas exploration and development companies. As of December 31, 2020, it operated a total fleet of 98 drilling rigs. The Rentals and Transportation Services segment provides drilling, completion and production rental equipment, and oilfield transportation services in western Canada and in the United States. This segment owned and operated a fleet of 87 heavy trucks. The Compression and Process Services segment offers gas compression services; and designs and packages skid style compressors and proprietary trailer-mounted compressors under the NOMAD brand in Canada and the United States, the European Union, Australia, and Mexico. It had 54,800 horsepower of compression in its rental fleet. The Well Servicing segment offers well services. This segment operated a total fleet of 83 well servicing rigs across Western Canada, mid-western United States, and Australia. It has a strategic alliance with Pason Systems Inc. to develop and deploy drilling automation and optimization technologies. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

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The following companies are subsidiares of Archer-Daniels-Midland: ADM (Shanghai) Management Co. LTD, ADM (Thailand) Ltd, ADM Ag Holdings Ltd, ADM Agri-Industries Company, ADM Agriculture Limited, ADM Agro Iberica S. L. U., ADM Agro Indust Latur and Vizag Pvt Ltd, ADM Agro Industries India Private Limited, ADM Agro Industries KOTA and AKOLA Pvt. Ltd., ADM Agro SRL, ADM Agroinvestimentos LTDA, ADM Alliance Nutrition of Puerto Rico LLC, ADM Americas S de RL, ADM Andina Peru SRL, ADM Antwerp NV, ADM Arkady Ireland Limited, ADM Asia-Pacific Trading Pte. Ltd., ADM Australia Holdings I PTY Limited, ADM Bio Science And Technology (Tianjin) Co Ltd, ADM Bioproductos SA DE CV, ADM CZERNIN SA, ADM Caribbean Inc, ADM Chile Comercial LTDA, ADM Clinton Bioprocessing Inc, ADM DO Brasil LTDA, ADM Direct Polska SP. ZO.O, ADM Dominican Holdings Inc., ADM Dominicana SA, ADM Edible Bean Specialties Inc, ADM Europe HoldCo SL, ADM European Holdings LLC, ADM European Management Holding GMBH, ADM Export Co, ADM Food Technology (Beijing) Co. Ltd., ADM France, ADM Germany GmbH, ADM Grain River System Inc., ADM Hamburg Aktiengesesllschaft, ADM Holding (Thailand) LTD, ADM Holdings LLC, ADM Hungary Agro Trading LLC, ADM Industries Centers Ltd, ADM International Holdings Inc, ADM International SARL, ADM Interoceanic LTD, ADM Investments LTD, ADM Investor Services Inc, ADM Investor Services International LTD, ADM Ireland Receivables Company Limited, ADM Israel, ADM Japan Ltd, ADM MALBORK SA, ADM Mainz GMBH, ADM Medsofts Sarl, ADM Mexico Inc, ADM Mexico SA DE CV, ADM Milling Co, ADM Milling LTD, ADM New Zealand Limited, ADM Olomouc S.R.O., ADM Paraguay SRL, ADM Protexin Limited, ADM Pura Limited, ADM Receivables LLC, ADM Rice Inc, ADM Ringaskiddy Unlimited Company, ADM Romania Logistics SRL, ADM Romania Trading SRL, ADM Specialty Ingredients - Europe BV, ADM Spyck GMBH, ADM Szamotuly SP Z O.O, ADM Trading Australia Pty. Ltd., ADM Trading Co, ADM Transportation Company, ADM Trucking Inc, ADM Vietnam CO. LTD, ADM WILD Europe GmbH and Co. KG, ADM WILD Ingredients GmbH, ADM WILD Nauen GmbH, ADM WILD Valencia S.A., ADM Wild Netherlands BV, ADM Worldwide Holdings LP, ADMIS Holding Co Inc., ADMIS Hong Kong LTD, ADMIS Singapore Pte Limited, AOR, AT Holdings II Company, Agri Port Services Investments Ltd., Agri Port Services LLC, Agricolas Madagascar SARLU, Agrinational Insurance Co, Agriserve, Agrograin LTD, Alfrebro LLC, Alfred C Toepfer International Netherlands BV, Alimenta USA, American River Transportation Company LLC, Ameriseed, Amylum Bulgaria EAD, Amylum Nisasta Sanayi Ve Ticarek Anonim Sirketi, Archer Daniels Midland (UK) Limited, Archer Daniels Midland Asia Pacific Ltd., Archer Daniels Midland Erith LTD, Archer Daniels Midland Europe BV, Archer Daniels Midland Europoort BV, Archer Daniels Midland Nederland BV, Archer Daniels Midland Singapore PTE LTD, Arinos Unlimited, Aston Foods & Food Ingredients, Balanceados Nova SA Balnova, Barbados Mills Limited, Bela Vista Bio Etanol Participacoes LTDA, Bern Aqua, BioPolis SL, Biopolis, Campa Sued GmbH & Co KG, Cattleman's Choice Loomix LLC, Chamtor, Ci ADM Colombia Ltda., Controladora ADM Sa De Cv, Crosswind Petfoods Inc., Daavision BV, Eaststarch, Eatem Corporation, Eatem Foods, Elstar Oils, English River Pellets Inc., Epicore Bionetworks INC, Epicore Networks (USA) INC, Erich Ziegler GmbH, Evialis France, Fasco Mills Co., Filozoo SRL, Florida Chemical, Florida Chemical Company LLC, GP Blanching Inc., Global Cocoa Holdings LTD, Golden Peanut Company LLC, Golden Peanut and Tree Nut Seed SA (PTY) LTD, Golden Peanut and Tree Nuts SA, Group Lysac, Guyomarc'h - VCN Company Limited, Guyomarc'h Vietnam CO LTD, HFR Shipping Company Ltd, HRA Shipping Company Ltd, HTI Shipping Company Ltd, Harvest Innovations, Hilltop Grain and Feed, Holding P and A Asia Company Limited, Hubei Meiweiyuan Biotechnology, Ilitchevskiy Maslo Extractionniy Zavod (IMEZ), Invivo NSA Asia PTE LTD, Invivo NSA Philippines Inc, Jamaica Flour Mills Limited, Julius Meijer-Alpharma BV, LLC ADM Ukraine, Liquid Feed Commodities, Malta Industries SA de CV, Malta-Texo De Mexico SA de CV, Master Mix of Trinidad LTD, Medsofts Investment Co, Medsofts L.L.C., Medsofts Trading Co, Mepla Comercio e Navegacao Ltda, NRG Inc, Naviera Chaco SRL, Neovia, Neovia Latina SL, Neovia Nutricao E Saude Animal LTDA, North Star Shipping S.R.L., P and A Marketing SA, PJSC ADM Illichivsk, PT Wirifa Sakti, Pancosma (Shanghai) Feed Additives CO LTD, Pancosma France SAS, Pancosma SA, Premiere Agri Technologies of Mexico Inc, Pura Foods LTD, Rodelle Inc., Schokinag-Schokolade-Industrie Herrmann, Sermix, Setna Nutricion SA, Societe Industrielle Des Oleagineux, Southern Cellulose Products Inc, Soy Investors LLC, Specialty Commodities, Specialty Commodities LLC, Sul Mineira Alimentos LTDA, SzSzV Kft, Toepfer International, Toepfer International Trading (Shanghai) Co. LTD., Vantage Corn Processors LLC, WILD Amazon Flavors Ltda, WILD Flavors, Wild Flavors Inc., Wild Flavors International GmbH, Wild Flavors Singapore Pte. Ltd., Wild Intermare GmbH, Wild Russia LLC, and Wisium SA (PTY) LTD.
The following companies are subsidiares of V.F.: 1994 Inc. Ltd., 530 Park Ave 10-F LLC, 530 Park Ave 14-H LLC, ALL'CROWN SA, Administradora Mexicana de Servicios S de RL de CV, Administradora de Servicios Honduras S.A., Altra Footwear, Altra LLC, C.C.R.L. LLC, Chapter 4 Corp, Cherry SAS, Ciliegia Srl, Corporacion Distribiduidora de Dickies S de RL de CV, Cutler de Mexico SA, Czech Distribution Services s.r.o., DSI Enterprises LLC, Dickies de Honduras SA de CV, Dickies de Parras S de RL de CV, EAGLE CREEK EUROPE LIMITED, Eagle Creek, Eagle Creek Inc., GFYS LLC, GREENSPORT MONTE BIANCO, Horace Small, INVERSIONES INMOBILIARIES AUSTRALES SA, INVERSIONES VF CHILE DOS LTDA, INVERSIONES VF CHILE LTDA, IW Apparel LLC, IW Holdings LLC, IW Panama Trading S. de R.L., IceBreaker, Icebreaker Apparel LLC, Icebreaker Australia Pty, Icebreaker Australia Retail Pty, Icebreaker Europe Limited, Icebreaker Holdings Limited, Icebreaker Licensing LLC, Icebreaker Limited, Icebreaker Merino Clothing Europe Ltd., Icebreaker New Zealand Limited, Icebreaker Pure Merino GmbH, Imagewear Apparel Corp., Industrial Laundry Services LLC, Industrias Coahuila de Zaragosa S de RL de CV, JanSport Apparel Corp., Kipling Apparel Corp., Kipling Belgium, Kipling Holdings LLC, Kirsche GmbH, Kodiak Group Holdings CO., Lee Bell Inc., Lucy, Lucy Apparel LLC, Majestic Athletic Official Store, Mo Industries Holdings, NII Sales - Texas LLC, Napapijri, North East Rig-Out Limited, North Elm Properties LLC, RED KAP DE MEXICO S DE RL DE CV, RKI HONDURAS S de RL, Reef Holdings Corporation, Rock & Republic, SERVICIOS Y PROMOCIONES TEXTILES LTDA, South Cone, South Cone Inc, Supreme, Supreme Holdings Inc., Supreme Intermediate Holdings Inc., T.I. Venture Group Inc, TBL INVESTMENTS HOLDING GMBH, TBL Licensing LLC, THE NORTH FACE ITALY SRL, THE NORTH FACE SAGL, THE RECREATIONAL FOOTWEAR CO., TIMBERLAND EUROPE BV, TIMBERLAND HK TRADING LTD., TIMBERLAND LUXEMBOURG HOLDING ASIA S.A.R.L., TIMBERLAND UK LTD., The North Face, The North Face Apparel Corp, Timberland, Timberland Asia LLC, Timberland IDC Ltd., Timberland International LLC, VANS MADEIRA LDA, VANS SPAIN SL, VF (J) FRANCE SAS, VF (J) NEDERLAND BV, VF (J) NETHERLANDS SERVICES BV, VF APPAREL PORTUGAL LDA, VF ASIA LTD, VF Apollo Investments Limited, VF Apollo Singapore Pte. Ltd., VF Asia Sourcing Ltd, VF Austria GMBH, VF BRANDS MALAYSIA SDN BHD, VF BRANDS TAIWAN LTD., VF Belgium BV, VF Brands Pte. Ltd., VF CH Apollo Sagl, VF CH Holdings GmbH, VF CH Imagewear Canada GmbH, VF CH MEXICO INVESTMENTS SAGL, VF CH-MEX Holdings LLC, VF CHINA LTD., VF CIS LLC, VF COMERCIALIZADORA LTDA, VF CZECH SERVICES SRO, VF CZECH SRO, VF Corporation, VF DE ARGENTINA SA, VF DO BRAZIL LTDA, VF EGE GIYIM SANAYI VE TICARET LIMITED SIRKETI, VF EUROPE BV, VF GERMANY TEXTILE-HANDELS GMBH, VF Germany Services GMBH, VF HELLAS EPE, VF HOLDING SAGL, VF HOLDINGS MEXICO LLC, VF Hong Kong Limited, VF IB Holdings LLC, VF IMAGEWEAR DE MEXICO S DE RL DE CV, VF IMAGEWEAR MAJESTIC (UK) LTD, VF INTERNATIONAL SAGL, VF INVESTIMENTOS DO BRAZIL LTDA, VF IP Holdings LLC, VF ISRAEL (APPAREL) LTD, VF ITALIA SRL, VF ITALY SERVICES SRL, VF Imagewear Canada Co., VF Imagewear Inc, VF Intellectual Property Services Inc, VF International Holding GmbH, VF Investments Holding GmbH, VF Investments Netherlands BV, VF JEANSWEAR ARGENTINA SRL, VF JEANSWEAR ESPANA SL, VF Japan KK, VF KOREA LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, VF LUXEMBOURG SARL, VF Management Service Italy S.r.l., VF NL Holdings CV, VF NL Imagewear B.V., VF NORTHERN EUROPE LIMITED, VF NORTHERN EUROPE SERVICES LIMITED, VF Norway AS, VF OUTDOOR (CANADA) CO, VF OUTDOOR MEXICO S DE RL DE CV, VF OUTDOOR SERVICES S DE RL DE CV, VF Outdoor LLC, VF PANAMA SOURCING SERVICES S. DE R.L., VF PARTICIPACOES DO BRASIL LTDA, VF PERU SA, VF POLSKA DISTRIBUTION SP ZO O, VF Playwear Dominicana SA, VF Playwear LLC, VF Receivables LP, VF Receivables Services LLC, VF SAGEBRUSH ENTERPRISES LLC, VF SALES SAGL, VF SERVICIOS DE HONDURAS SA, VF SERVICIOS EL SALVADOR LTDA. DE CV, VF SHANGHAI SOURCING LIMITED, VF SOURCING THAILAND LTD, VF Scandinavia ApS, VF Services LLC, VF Servicios de Guatemala Srl, VF Servicios de Nicaragua Srl., VF Shanghai Enterprise Company, VF Shanghai Limited, VF Singapore Overseas Services Pte Ltd, VF Solutions LLC, VF Sourcing India Private Limited, VF Sweden AB, VF Switzerland Enterprises GmbH, VF Taiwan Limited, VF Transglobal GmbH, VF Treasury Services LLC, VFSE Investments LLC, VFSLA Commercial Services LLC, VFSLA Servicios S. de R.L. de C.V., Vans, Vans Inc, W-D APPAREL COMPANY LLC, W-D Licensing LLC, WD Europe SAS, WD Supply Holding Limited (HK), Walls Cayman Limited, Walls Holding Company LLC, Walls Industries LLC, Williamson Industries Ltd., Williamson-Dickie APAC Holding Company Ltd., Williamson-Dickie Apparel Trading (Shanghai) Ltd., Williamson-Dickie Canada Co., Williamson-Dickie Europe GmbH, Williamson-Dickie Europe Holdings Ltd., Williamson-Dickie Europe Ltd., Williamson-Dickie HK Holding Company Ltd., Williamson-Dickie Holding Co-Mexico S de RL de CV, Williamson-Dickie Manufacturing Company LLC, Williamson-Dickie Middle East FZE, Wooster GK, Workwear Sourcing S. de R.L., World Jeans VF Asia Ltd, Worldwide Workwear Ltd., and Ying Tao Trading (Shanghai) Co. Ltd..
Media reports this week indicated that Esso Australia may renew an application to the Fair Work Commission (FWC), the federal industrial tribunal, to terminate enterprise agreements covering 250 workers in its off-shore Bass Strait gas operations in southeastern Victoria. The company is the Australian arm of ExxonMobil, the worlds largest oil and gas corporation.

If Esso proceeds with the application, the workers could be forced onto industrial awards with inferior working conditions, including a two-thirds reduction in pay. They are covered by the Australian Workers Union (AWU) the Australian Manufacturing Workers Union (AMWU) and the Electrical Trades Union (ETU).

Numerous companies have used similar applications to impose retrograde enterprise agreements negotiated with trade unions that workers had previously rejected, such as at Glencores Oaky North mine in Queensland and Griffin Coal in Western Australia.

Essos move is its latest provocation in a protracted dispute over new enterprise bargaining agreements. The company is seeking to tear up longstanding working conditions and drastically intensify work processes to slash costs.

The company is demanding a 14-day-on, 14-day-off roster, scrapping the week-on, week-off roster, and the removal of a 75 hours per year cap on overtime. The roster change would mean longer periods away from home, seriously impacting on the quality of life of workers and their families.

Esso also wants to cut wages. It has offered annual pay increases of just 3 percent, barely covering the rise in the cost of living. The previous work agreement expired in 2014 but Esso will not backdate any pay increase, effectively imposing a four-year pay freeze.

The company has been able to push ahead with its offensive because the unions and the Labor Party have worked to divide, contain and undermine all attempts by the workers to resist.

In 2016, the unions called off a threatened combined indefinite strike by 600 offshore and onshore workers across Essos Bass Strait operations after the Victorian state Labor government successfully applied to the FWC to terminate the industrial action and pushed the dispute into FWC arbitration.

The state governments application said the strike would cause significant damage to the Australian economy or an important part of it. This is one of many provisions in the Fair Work industrial legislation, drafted by the previous federal Labor government with the support of all the trade unions, to allow industrial action to be banned.

In 2016, the unions welcomed the government intervention, saying arbitration by the independent umpire was the only way to resolve the outstanding issues. The FWC, however, is not a neutral body. It is part of the capitalist state apparatus that has been used in dispute after dispute to suppress workers struggles.

The real purpose of the commissions 2016 ruling was to straitjacket the workers and allow production to continue uninterrupted, a plan that the unions accepted and facilitated.

Moreover, the FWC intervention paved the way for a High Court ruling that work bans maintained by AWU members had breached an FWC order, thereby rendering any further industrial action illegal. The AWU enforced this ruling.

With the phony arbitration process now at an end, the unions have signalled they will not mount any serious challenge to Essos renewed attacks, but instead seek new closed-door negotiations to broker a deal acceptable to the company.

This week, AWU state secretary Ben Davis cynically told the media he had expected the FWC arbitration to resolve the dispute and complained the union now had to negotiate with our arms tied behind our back.

ETU organiser Peter Mooney said wed be happy to consider 14:14 rosters if Esso improve conditions of work on the offshore platforms, such as providing better meals and single-room accommodation. Currently up to four workers can be required to share a room.

Esso, however, has rejected any such concessions. Far from providing better meals, for example, the company is currently seeking to scrap catering staff manning levels, having already sacked 110 cooking staff in September 2016 after contracting out catering operations.

Essos offensive is part of a ruthless global restructuring by parent company ExxonMobil. Esso last year awarded a five-year maintenance contract to engineering and logistics firm UGL covering the Longford gas processing site in Victoria.

UGL, which is owned by Spanish transnational CIMIC, immediately sacked 230 maintenance workers, demanding they reapply for their jobs as casuals with substantial cuts to their wages and conditions. The unions have isolated these workers, opposing any industrial action by other Esso workers and conducting an ineffectual protest outside the Longford plant.

In April, Exxon announced a quarterly rise in profits to $4.65 billion, 16 percent higher than a year ago. The outcome was partly the result of rising oil and commodity prices but also what the company termed a focus on operating efficiently.

As the record shows, the trade unions are enforcing endless industry-wide restructuring, as they have done for the past four decades. At the same time, they are campaigning to divert the widespread hostility among workers behind the election of yet another Labor government that will only serve the interests of the capitalist ruling class.

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Australian unions bogus campaign over sacking of Longford maintenance workers

[10 July 2018]
Approximately 3,000 residents in and around Parchment, Michigan, a city north of Kalamazoo, were told by city officials Thursday to immediately stop consuming water from the municipal supply after it was found to contain high levels of toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), which have been linked to severe health effects.

The announcement was made after testing conducted by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) measured PFAS levels at 1410 parts per trillion (ppt), over 20 times greater than the 70 ppt defined as the official advisory level by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). City officials announced that the water was unsafe for drinking, cooking, using for baby formula, or even washing fruits and vegetables. Boiling the water does not remove the chemicals, nor do most drinking water filters.

PFAS chemicals have been linked to a wide array of health problems, including kidney and testicular cancer, liver and thyroid damage, increased cholesterol levels, immune system suppression, and developmental delays in children. Pregnant women are particularly vulnerable to health effects from PFAS exposure, which can lead to pregnancy-induced hypertension, infertility, and low fetal birth weight.

City officials announced that the Parchment water supply would be flushed and that affected residents would be connected to Kalamazoos water supply until PFAS levels were lowered. A water distribution site was set up at Parchment High School, where residents have been receiving cases of bottled water. However, as of this writing, no announcement has been made as to the source of the contamination, nor of any plans to address this source.

PFAS chemicals have been widely used for industrial and manufacturing purposes for decades and have been known to leach into drinking water supplies from industrial waste. Parchment, named for its connection to paper manufacturing, was the location of the Crown Vantage paper mill that operated in the city until 2000. A report released last May by the Environmental Defense Fund noted that paper mills are a significant source of PFAS contamination due to their use in the manufacture of food packaging. Many mills are known to dump PFAS-contaminated waste directly into rivers.

PFAS chemicals were first used for manufacturing purposes in 1951. By 1961, chemical giant DuPont had become aware that exposure to the chemical compounds caused liver damage in mice. DuPonts own health research in the 1990s linked PFAS exposure to tumors and other health effects in lab animals.

Despite decades of research linking PFAS exposure to various health effects, the EPA has not issued regulations targeting PFASs, nor listed PFAS chemicals as hazardous substances under the Clean Water Act. In 2012, the EPA required some water systems to test for PFAS contamination, but Parchment was exempted from this because its water system served fewer than 10,000 people.

Though some companies like 3M have attempted to phase out the use of toxic PFAS chemicals, the extremely strong, long-chain chemical structure of these compounds ensures that the PFASs that have already been fabricated will persist in the environment indefinitely. Dumping sites can continue to pose a serious health risk for years or even decades after industrial operations cease. PFAS chemicals are bio-accumulative, meaning they can build up to dangerous levels as a result of long term exposure.

As of this writing, no announcement has been made as to when Parchments water supply was first contaminated by PFAS.

Parchment is the latest in a growing number of cities and communities across the US and internationally, including Flint, Michigan and Martin County, Kentucky, where residents have been exposed to severely contaminated drinking water. Parchment is only 60 miles away from Plainfield Charter Township, where a Wolverine tanning dump had contaminated the local drinking water with extremely high PFAS levels for years.

The state of Michigan has identified at least 20 different communities that have PFAS contamination sites, mostly near current and former industrial sites and military bases.

Exposure to dangerously high levels of PFAS chemicals is a nationwide and even worldwide phenomenon. A 2016 report from Environmental Working Group researchers analyzing EPA data found that unsafe levels of PFAS chemicals contaminate the water of approximately 5.2 million Americans.

A lawsuit filed by the state of Minnesota against chemical manufacturing giant 3M documented the existence of a cancer cluster in Oakdale, Minnesota, where PFAS waste from 3Ms operations contaminated the water supply. Twenty-one children who attended high school in the city were diagnosed with cancer, a rate 171 times higher than the US average. Five of those children later died.

In Australia, areas surrounding 18 military bases and airports have been found to be contaminated with PFAS chemicals from fire-fighting foam, affecting thousands of residents. In response, the Australian government issued a whitewash report last May minimizing the effects of PFAS exposure in order to shield the government from liability, which would amount in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Parchment residents expressed shock and outrage that their drinking water had been contaminated.

Ive lived around here for a while. The James River [paper company] has contaminated the area. Lots of companies have been dumping here forever, but they sure arent going to admit it now, are they, a 40-year-old Parchment resident told the WSWS.

Im not worried about myself, Im worried for my 11-month-old nephew. Hes been drinking formula mixed with the tap water. How long has this poisoning been going on? The paper mills have been out of here for years now, and Id like to know whos going pay for this.

Steve Vandiver, a resident, told MLive.com, Its not the type of thing you want to wake up to, to find out youve been drinking poison  My concern is, what are the long-term ramifications of this? The numbers they used are ridiculously high and Im concerned about my family.

Vandiver brought a protest sign to the bottled water distribution center which read, How long have you been poisoning my water?
Unending mourning, ongoing legal battles and bittersweet celebration mark the third anniversary this week of the disappearance of two Florida teenagers into the Atlantic waters off Jupiter Inlet. On the morning of July 24, 2015, longtime friends Austin Stephanos and Perry Cohen boarded Austins 19-foot 1978 SeaCraft and set out for a fishing excursion, but never returned.

Its so hard to put into words, Austins father, Blu Stephanos, told PEOPLE. Losing a child is the most unnatural thing that can happen and were doing the best we can. There is no healing process.

Perrys mother, Pamela Cohen, shares a similar sentiment.

For three years, Ive put my head on the pillow each night, thinking of him and praying that this wasnt real, said Pamela. I used to dream about what he would be like as a man. I was robbed of that.

On Tuesday, the anniversary of the boys disappearance, family and friends of Perry held a small candlelight vigil at a private beach on the north side of 400-foot-wide Jupiter Inlet, near the spot where he and Austin were last seen motoring into the waters.

Our family and close circle of friends gathered, lit candles, hugged each other and prayed for both boys, Pamela said.

By all reasonable accounts, the sea stole from both families that day. Just two hours after a final text from Austin to Blu and his mother, Carly Black  Whats up? I am checking in. Im just out here fishing, it read  a fierce storm ripped through the area. By nightfall, a massive air, sea and land search by multiple law enforcement, search and rescue agencies, as well as hundreds of volunteers, garnered worldwide attention, but ultimately would turn up no trace of the boys.

An investigative report from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement released last year cites analysis by Gainesvilles Six Maritime concluding that Perry and Austin most likely remained together until they died off the coast of northern Georgia.

In the three years since their sons vanished, the boys families have sought answers as to exactly what led up to the boys disappearance and whether the tragedy could have been avoided. Sadly, the quest for answers also has forged a rift between them.

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WATCH: Critical Clues That You Need to Know About Florida Teens Missing at Sea

Central to the ongoing legal battle is cell phone communication between Austin and his family and friends in the days just before and during the boys fishing trip. The most recent revised complaint in a case filed by Pamela last July requests that text and other data from both Austins and Blus cell phones be shared.

Pamela and her attorneys assert that data may prove that Austins parents were aware the boys planned to fish for dolphin offshore and allowed it despite knowing that Perry was forbidden to travel offshore without an adult. Blu counters that he knew nothing of the boys plans that day and had never seen the boat, which Black had purchased for Austin just two months before.

We dont believe that, from a legal perspective, there is any case against Mr. Stephanos, argues attorney Michael Pike, who, along with Dan Santaniello and Chris Moore, represents Blu. This is a monumental tragedy. However, the law is designed to look past that and get the heart of liability. Theres a saying in the legal world that Lady Justice is blind and part of that is the ability for judges and juries to see past the emotional aspect of a case and determine whether or not there is actual liability. There is no liability that should or will attach to Mr. Stephanos and we believe that he was added wrongfully to the lawsuit as a defendant.

When reached by PEOPLE, Black declined to comment.

Shes saddened and she has periods of emotional anguish over the loss of the kids, like any mother would, Blacks attorney, George Harris, said.

In any case, We are not going to leave any avenue unchecked, Cohens attorney Guy Rubin told PEOPLE. That is Pamelas right as the mother who entrusted her child to other parents and he never came home. Thats a very difficult position for anyone in this world to be in, to not only lose a child to but have questions go unanswered and to never have closure.

RELATED: Mom of Florida Teen Missing at Sea with Friend Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Other Boys Family

Austins iPhone, recovered with the capsized boat found floating 100 miles off the Bermuda coast eight months after the boys disappearance, remains with Apple, Inc., where it was sent for forensic examination. Unfortunately, technicians were unable to power up or recover any data from the phone.

Today, Austin and Perry, both 14 when they vanished, would be 17, undoubtedly looking forward to their senior years in high school and all that this coming-of-age time typically entails  prom, graduation and plans for college and careers. Instead, their families manage to find some solace in running foundations theyve each established in their sons names.

The Perry J. Cohen Foundation has served more than 1,000 underprivileged children via boating safety courses, sailing school and an environmental studies summer camp. Last year, the organization broke ground on the Perry J. Cohen Wetlands Laboratory at Jupiter High School, slated to open in May 2019  the same time Perry would have graduated. And an endowment in Perrys name will fund scholarships for students of the University of Miamis Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science.

Our lives now are about fulfilling Perrys legacy, Pamela said. While hes physically vanished, its impossible to let his spirit and who he was disappear.

RELATED: Family of Missing Florida Teen Speaks Out for First Time Since Being Sued by Mother of Other Missing Boy: Dont We All Want the Truth?

The AustinBlu Foundation also promotes boating safety and related legislation. The organization was key in securing passage of Floridas Beacon Bill, which offers boater registration discounts for boats equipped with an emergency position indicating radio beacon (EPIRB), or whose owner has a personal locator beacon (PLB). Mikele DArcangelo, vice president of global marketing for ACR Electronics, says the legislation has driven sales of EPIRBs and PLBs by some 15 percent.

Ever since that unfortunate day three years ago, when we go to trade shows, three of every five people we talk to bring up the boys to this day, DArcangelo tells PEOPLE. Several have been survivors of boating mishaps who credit Austin and Perrys loss with prompting them to better prepare. We get to call Blu and Carly and say, Thanks to all that hard work youve done, heres a family that doesnt have to go through what you did,' adds DArcangelo.

Its bittersweet, Blu admits. But I know this is what Austin would want.

Despite the families differences, Two beautiful souls were lost that day, Pamela says. We never forget that.
A Chick-fil-A protest in L.A. (Photo: Tibrina Hobson/FilmMagic)

Chick-fil-A management announced a plan to open its first Canada location  in Toronto  were not met with fans eagerly seeking waffle fries. Instead, they were told to stay out of their country by LGBTQ supporters.

CEO of the fast-food chain, Dan Cathy, is well known for not supporting same-sex marriage. We are very much supportive of the family  the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that, Cathy told the Baptist Press in 2012.

The chain, through its WinShape Foundation, also donated millions of dollars to organizations that oppose same-sex marriage.

Because of the companys antigay stance, many consumers have chosen to boycott the company.

Thats unfortunate. Youre not welcome here. I know your homophobic history and your bankrolling of political candidates who promote anti-LGBT discrimination. That bigotry has no place in Canada. I will be boycotting you and encouraging others to do the same. #BoycottChickFilA  Wayne Leung (@wayleu) July 25, 2018

Orrrrrrrr we could just not support the openly and actively homophobic Chick-fil-A here in Canada   Vicki Sylvia (@vickisylvia) July 25, 2018

Bigger and better-loved American companies than you have tried to get off the ground in Canada. I look forward to your Target-like butt kicking.  Brian MacDonald (@BrianMacDonald6) July 27, 2018

However, it seems some fans of the chain have be persuaded to partake of some chicken and biscuits, despite the companys policies.

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What a magical daywoke up to find out Chick-fil-A is opening stores in Canadais this the beginning of world peace??

Can Chick-fil-A solve our international diplomacy issues??? @ChickfilA  Amy (@sethna_amy21) July 25, 2018

Omg, Chick-Fil-A is coming to Canada. This is the best news I've heard all day.  Brad Myers (@BradMyersSmash) July 25, 2018

Chick-fil-a is coming to Canada and Liberals heads are exploding.  cuz you know actually supporting family and marriage is so bad.  cporter73 (@cporter73) July 27, 2018

Chick-fil-A president and chief operating officer Tim Tassopoulos told Business Insider that the company plans to open at least 15 restaurants in the Toronto area over the next five years.

These restaurants will be the chains first franchises outside of the U.S.

We had been considering international expansion for a while, Tassopoulos said. Based on the momentum we have had in the U.S., especially in urban markets like New York, Chicago, Seattle, and Portland, we feel that now is the time to take the next step. Toronto is the next step.

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Forget Shark Week, its Bark Week on Mashable. Join us as we celebrate all the good dogs, which we humans do not deserve.

For every 100 Fidos and Lucys, there's a, uh, Shitrock.

Let's be real. There are a lot of dogs, and everyone wants their dog to stand out from the crowd. Occasionally, this urge manifests in a dog name that's out of left field, to say the least. So we asked people to share the weirdest dog name they've ever heard  whether from a friend, a stranger, or *gasp* themselves.

And if you find genuine name inspiration below? More power to you. To be frank, the world could use more dogs named Farfle.

SEE ALSO: Why aren't you spying on your dog?

1. "My dog went to camp with [a dog named] Tubesocks, and that is my favorite dog name ever." Jaye

2. "I went to school with a guy that named his dog Boy. Or maybe they never named him and just called him Boy because he was a male dog. Farm dog. No emotions for him." Doris

3. "Chairman of the Board. Please see attached photo." Currie

Chairman of the Board.

Image: Twitter/@YoungPopess

4. "I once had a dog named Double Decker Soul Wrecker. He was awesome." Jeff

5. "Shitrock. Better yet, he was a patient at the hospital [where I worked] so I frequently got to hear 'Will the student or clinician working with Shitrock please come to ICU'? at least 10 times a day on the overhead." Currie

6. "I recently dog-sat for a very small chihuahua named The Baby." Corey

7. "My cousins named their dog Farfle." Emily

Farfle.

Image: Emily DeCicco

8. "Beefcake." Kyah

9. "My dog's name is Dracula. He's a brindle greyhound rescue from Florida." Stephen

Dracula.

Image: Stephen Kurily

10. "A few months ago I somehow discovered this very strange and cute dog on Instagram who has amazing videos. But his name is Cumlord." Dom

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(Note: Sadly, Cumlord's name is actually Houston.

"The thought of a very cute and fluffy dog with an inappropriate name made me laugh so I made him a Facebook page and called him Cumlord," his owner Andy Zaharia said.)

11. "Toes is a Crossfit dog named after the challenging 'toes to bar' move. He lives on Wall Street and when he's not working out or day trading he loves to snuggle under blankets." Samantha

Toes.

Image: Samantha Cosenza

12. "My cousin's pup was named Deogi, which was an attempt at a phonetic joke." Brett

(Note: Like "D-O-G." It took me a full day to understand this.)

13. "There's a dog I see at [the] park every morning called TD, which stands for The Dog. And the worst dog name I've heard ... would have to be Lickity Split. His owner was always shouting LICK!!!!!!!" Lindsey
More than 750 supercars are set to appear in one place at the Beaulieu Supercar Weekend to be held at the UK's National Motor Museum in Hampshire on August 4 and 5. Among this incredible gathering of cars will be a very special Aston Martin One-77 hypercar, which is one of the most expensive Astons ever built.

This landmark car for Aston Martin will form part of the Supercar Evolution display, which will be a brand new show feature for the 2018 running of the event and is sure to attract big crowds. The One-77 boasts an impressive exterior and is powered by a 7.3-liter V-12 engine developing an astonishing 750 bhp -- and is one of just 77 examples of this finely-honed flagship model produced by the legendary British manufacturer. Of course, at an event such as this it won't be the only Aston on display by any means. There will be a number of Aston Martins at the show representing the proud history of the marque, including the race-inspired Vantage GT12.

The majority of the world's supercar manufacturers will be represented at Supercar Evolution, including the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini, Mercedes, Ariel, Ford, BMW and Toyota. As well as the very latest high-performance models from these and other brands, they will also be bringing along their historic counterparts to help create an overview of supercar history.

Honda fans will be particularly happy to see a display where the Japanese brand will be celebrating the history of its Type R high-performance models. This display will include a whole host of these impressive machines dating from the 1990s right up to the present day.

There will also be a number of club stands at the show, packed with supercars from Lamborghini, Marcos, Porsche, Lotus, Ferrari, McLaren and TVR. A particular highlight to look out for will be a McLaren P1 MSO, which is a specially modified version of the legendary hybrid hypercar created by the McLaren Special Operations division.

Throughout the weekend, attendees will be treated to action-packed demonstration runs that are going to be happening twice daily and where high performance machines of the road and track are put through their impressive acceleration and braking paces on Beaulieu's Chestnut Avenue. And so nobody will miss any of the main action, a giant screen that's new this year will provide a grandstand view of the action as it's broadcast live.
Ramallah (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) - A Palestinian teenager jailed by Israel for slapping and kicking Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank is to go free on Sunday after eight months behind bars.

Ahed Tamimi was arrested on December 19, days after she was recorded on video with her cousin Nour Tamimi in the yard of their home in Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah, telling two soldiers to leave, then shoving, kicking and slapping them.

She was aged 16 at the time and turned 17 in prison.

She was refused bail throughout her detention and subsequent trial in an Israeli military court on charges including assault, stone-throwing, incitement to violence and making threats.

On March 21 the court agreed a plea bargain giving her an eight-month sentence including time already spent in custody.

The same court hearing freed Nour Tamimi immediately, when she accepted a plea deal.

Ahed comes from a family of prominent activists and has been involved in a series of previous incidents, with pictures of her confronting soldiers widely published.

But the December video went viral and turned her into a symbol of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

For Palestinians she is a hero, jailed for standing up to soldiers occupying her land and intruding upon her family home.

To many Israelis she personifies how Palestinians encourage their children to hate and how they try to manipulate the media.

This week an Italian artist daubed a 14-foot image of her face and curly reddish hair on the Israeli separation wall in the occupied West Bank.

On Sunday she is expected to step back into the spotlight at a scheduled press conference at her home after her release.

- 'Terrorist to hero' -

When the video was originally published, many Israelis saw it as a symbol of the restraint displayed by their army.

As Ahed and Nour pummel the soldiers the two cousins simultaneously film the scene on their phones, apparently seeking to provoke them.

The soldiers do not react, however, backing away instead.

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Yet after the girls -- and Ahed's mother, who also recorded the incident -- were arrested and then hit with a list of charges, there was criticism even within Israel that military prosecutors were overreacting.

Critics compared her eight-month sentence to that of Elor Azaria, an Israeli soldier who served nine months in jail for shooting dead a prone Palestinian attacker.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas met with her family and hailed her courage.

With each court appearance, media attention grew and helped create a Palestinian icon.

"You cannot take a little terrorist girl and make her a hero, and this is what we did," Oren Hazan, an Israeli MP from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party, told AFP.

Yara Hawari, a Palestinian activist and friend of the Tamimi family, said the tough sentence helped build support.

"It was a symbolic image of a child confronting a heavily armed Israeli soldier at her home," she told AFP.

"The fact that what she did got her so long in prison is also something that drew a lot of attention."

- Wider cause -

The Tamimi case also highlighted other aspects of the Israeli military court system including its more than 99 percent conviction rate for Palestinians.

Omar Shakir, head of NGO Human Rights Watch in Israel, said her release on Sunday would be a moment to reflect on what he called the "endemic" ill-treatment of children in the Israeli legal system.

"Ahed Tamimi will soon be free, but hundreds of Palestinian children remain locked up with little attention on their cases," he said.

Many Israelis, however, still believe Tamimi poses a serious risk, accepting a military prosecutor's description of her as a threat to public security.

"The fact is that she is very dangerous," Hazan said, arguing that a slap one day can turn into a shooting or stabbing attack in the future.

"Most Israelis will tell you that they want to see her in jail for 20 years," he said.

How Tamimi will cope with her return to the public eye is unclear, but indications are she will be vocal.

Her father Bassem, who was not jailed in the incident, has been campaigning against Israel's military occupation of the West Bank for decades.

"I don't think any child can be totally ready to become a prominent symbol of the Palestinian struggle, but Ahed is a very strong child," Hawari said.

"We have seen from the interrogation videos, from how she behaves in court, that she is incredibly confident and resilient. So I think she will take this in her stride."
By Humeyra Pamuk and Dominic Evans ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Any Turkish hopes that a crisis with the United States might be eased by personal chemistry between their two leaders hit the rocks this week when President Donald Trump directly warned Turkey of possible sanctions over a detained U.S. pastor. With hostility to Ankara growing in Congress over disputes ranging from the fate of Christian pastor Andrew Brunson, Iran sanctions and Turkey's plans to buy a Russian missile defense system, Turkish officials have seen Trump as a possible shield against the worst fallout from the collapse in ties. But in a relationship plagued by recrimination, mutual misunderstanding and apparently irreconcilable Middle East policies, pinning hopes on Trump may turn out to be a miscalculation. Turkish hopes that Trump may steer the relationship to calmer waters foundered when the president himself, and his Vice President Mike Pence, delivered Thursday's direct warning to President Tayyip Erdogan of looming sanctions. "Trump's tweet on Brunson shows that there are weaknesses in this strategy," said Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat and analyst at Carnegie Europe. Trump did not spell out what form the sanctions might take, but a U.S. Senate bill to restrict loans to Turkey from international financial institutions passed through a committee late on Thursday, an important early step for the legislation. Brunson has become the most public and recent focus of U.S. anger with Turkey, once one of its closest Middle East allies, but trust between the NATO partners has been eroding for years. A low point for Turkey came when Washington decided in 2017 to arm the Kurdish YPG militia - seen as terrorists by Ankara - to lead the fight against Islamic State in northern Syria. NATO SECURITY Turkey then said it was finalizing the purchase of a Russian air defense system, a move Washington said would hurt NATO security and risk Turkish plans to buy U.S. F-35 fighter jets. The crisis was aggravated when Turkish authorities detained U.S. consular staff over their alleged links to a failed coup in July 2016, which Turkey said had been masterminded by an Islamic preacher living in Pennsylvania for nearly two decades. Throughout the rolling stand-offs, both sides have described themselves as the wronged party, betrayed by a long-standing partner who wilfully ignores their point of view. "This was a cascade of misunderstandings that has damaged the trust to breaking point," said Howard Eissenstaat, associate professor in Middle East history at St. Lawrence University. "This is like a really ugly divorce where the two sides have simply lost trust in each other. They feel abused, and because they feel abused they feel legitimate in trampling on the rights of the others." Turkey insists that the trial of Brunson on terrorism charges, which he denies, is a matter for the courts to decide. Washington has described him as a hostage and demanded the immediate release of the pastor and two detained U.S. consular staff and a third consular staffer under house arrest. Brunson's detention was one reason the U.S. Senate last week demanded a block on sales to Turkey of F-35 jets unless Trump certifies Turkey is not threatening NATO, purchasing defense equipment from Russia or detaining U.S. citizens. FIST-BUMP TO FALLING OUT Turkey has played down any threat from Congress, saying Trump will ultimately decide matters. "This is something completely at the discretion of the American president," Erdogan told Turkey's parliament this week, referring to the F-35 sales. "We do not have the slightest concern on this point." A Turkish official spoke about a better understanding emerging. He linked the perceived improvement to what he said was Trump's increased command of U.S. policy, in contrast to the "mentality of certain members of Congress". But focusing on Trump, with whom Erdogan was reported to have shared a fist-bump at a NATO summit in early July, has been a major Turkish misjudgment, U.S. officials and analysts say. "The issue with Turkish government thinking is that they still think this is up to the executive. Congress is setting the agenda now - that should be a red flag," said Aaron Stein, resident fellow at the Washington-based Atlantic Council. FRESH DISPUTES With the second largest standing army in NATO, troops in Syria and Iraq, and a NATO air base in the south of the country, Turkey has clout in the Middle East and beyond. For years, especially early in Erdogan's 15-year-old rule, it was also seen as a model blend of Islam and democracy. But Washington has criticized a crackdown following the failed bid by rogue military officers to oust Erdogan, and Western critics say he is pushing Turkey toward one-man rule. Erdogan, re-elected last month with new powers, dismisses the criticism and says Turkey must be strong to handle threats from regional conflict and supporters of cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom it blames for the failed coup. Gulen denies involvement. Turkey has made repeated failed requests for Gulen's extradition: Washington says courts require sufficient evidence before they can extradite the influential cleric. In Turkey, hostility to the United States is on the rise, and while popular sentiment drifts apart, so too do Ankara and Washington's regional policies, particularly on Syria and Iran. With U.S. forces stationed alongside Kurdish YPG fighters in northern Syria, Erdogan warned earlier this year that U.S. soldiers could be caught in the cross-fire of Turkish military action against the Kurdish militia near the town of Manbij. Fresh disputes loom over Iran. Trump has pulled the United States out of an international nuclear accord with Tehran and called for sanctions against the Islamic Republic. Turkey, which buys much of its oil from neighboring Iran, says Washington cannot dictate the trade of other countries. "One thing has always been a sticking point in this relationship," the Turkish official said. "When the Americans decide on something, they want everyone to obey them. They think their decision is internationally binding - and it isn't." (Additional reporting by Tulay Karadeniz, Editing by William Maclean)
In this article:

Film fans shouldnt expect President Donald Trump to star in a Coen Brothers movie anytime soon. Especially given this editorial.

But that didnt deter folks on Twitter from adding a Trumpian twist to titles of the filmmaking siblings most famous features:

O Birther, Where Art Thou#MakeTrumpACoenMovie  Trump's Tiny Hands (@TrumpsTinyHands) July 27, 2018

True Grift#MakeTrumpACoenMovie  Padraig O Mearan (@omearan) July 27, 2018

O Brother, Where Art Thou Tax Returns? #MakeTrumpACoenMovie  The Bad & The Beautiful  (@kitten4762) July 27, 2018

No Country Left for Anything but Old White Men#MakeTrumpACoenMovie  Feckless Michael Hunt (@Derksterson) July 27, 2018

#MakeTrumpACoenMovie



Burn after Tweeting  Rose Lainie (@Rose_Lainie_18) July 27, 2018

A Serious CON Man #MakeTrumpACoenMovie  James Wallace (@Gratefuljames) July 27, 2018

Raising Tariffs#MakeTrumpACoenMovie  Feckless Michael Hunt (@Derksterson) July 27, 2018

Obama, Where Art Thou?

No Country for Old Traitors #MakeTrumpACoenMovie  The(!) OG Uncle Drew (@ReformedActuary) July 27, 2018

O Daughter, Where Art Thou?#MakeTrumpACoenMovie  Padraig O Mearan (@omearan) July 27, 2018

The Big Dotardski #MakeTrumpACoenMovie  Liberty Belle (@LibertyBelle_1) July 27, 2018

The Big Lewandowski#MakeTrumpACoenMovie  Michael Mathes (@MichaelMathes) July 27, 2018

No Country for Orange Men #MakeTrumpACoenMovie  Nurse Ratched (@veggie64_leslie) July 27, 2018

#MakeTrumpACoenMovie



All The President's Morons  John Bolton's Mustache (@BoltonMustach) July 27, 2018

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Donald Trump Shouting Get Me A Coke On Cohen Tape Sets Twitter Alight

Paul Ryan Reading Mean Tweets About Himself Does Not Go Over Well

Former Obama Photographer Embarks On Yet Another Trump-Bashing Roll

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Photo credit: Aston Martin

From Road & Track

While we think of most concept cars as interesting, well-thought out design studies for cars of the future, there are some that aren't as deserving of our praise. Which concept car do you dislike the most?

Personally, I'm not a fan of Aston Martin's Lagonda SUV concept, first shown at the Geneva Auto Show in 2009. It had a weird, blunted face, and a strange notched rear end. It wasn't very Aston Martin, and looked nothing like any of the automaker's other cars at the time-the DB9, DBS, and Vantage. Thankfully, it was never put into production. The name was eventually bestowed on the Middle East-focused Lagonda Taraf luxury sedan.

Photo credit: Aston Martin

Now we'd like to know: What do you think is the worst concept car of all time? It doesn't have to be anything modern or exotic like the Aston SUV above, either-your choice could be anything, as long as it's a concept you're not into. Let us know in the comments below.

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Kajiado (Kenya) (AFP) - "Mars, Pluto, Saturn, Jupiter, Venus -- Mercury, that's the one I really wanted to see," said Chu Owen as he used an app on his mobile phone to locate planets above.

"It's the planets I'm really excited to see."

Owen, 39, and his wife Susan Murabana set up their high-powered telescope at Lake Magadi, 100 kilometres (62 miles) southwest of the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Friday to let the local community to watch the lunar eclipse.

East Africa, along with the Middle East and parts of Europe, was forecast to have some of the best views of the lunar eclipse -- the longest one this century.

"We've done this before for the solar eclipse in 2016," said Murabana, 39.

For that eclipse, some 300 members of the local community who are mostly Maasai turned out to experience looking through the telescope.

"It's good to give people who wouldn't otherwise get to use a telescope like this an opportunity," added Murabana as Owen manuevered the mechanical telescope into position.

The couple, who co-founded the Travelling Telescope Africa organisation, chose Lake Magadi as it is an isolated area far from the light pollution of towns and cities.

- 'Really have to see it' -

Murabana pointed to planets with a laser pen as a young local boy wearing shorts and a dark jumper climbed a small step-ladder to be the first to look through the telescope.

"I saw moons of Jupiter, and some stars. Yes I liked it," smiled Memusi, seven.

Around him, young people -- some wearing traditional Maasai outfits and armed with alem daggers -- laughed and pointed as the moon turned dark red and became obscured by Earth's shadow.

"This is my first time to see a red moon -- it's very exciting," Murabana told a crowd of local people on a loudspeaker.

"The moon is going into the shadow, the shadow that the earth is always casting," added Owen as a shooting star crossed the sky.

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Purity Sailepo, 16, said that she had been inspired by the visiting telescope to become an astronomer.

"Until today I thought Mars, Jupiter and the other planets were in the imagination of scientists," she told AFP.

"But now I've seen it I can believe it and I want to be an astronomer to tell other people."

Nearby, sky-gazers of all ages queued excitedly for a chance to take the eyepiece and see the cosmic display for themselves.

Across the largely clear sky, distant stars and the Milky Way became starkly visible as the light reflected by Earth's satellite was temporarily extinguished.

"You don't anticipate how pronounced the change is," said Mudit Sharma, 40, who travelled from Nairobi to witness the eclipse.

"You know it makes sense, but you really have to see it," he added as the moon became a faint amber silhouette.
By Tom Allard and Prak Chan Thul PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - China announced a major infrastructure project in Cambodia midway through its election campaign and denounced proposed economic sanctions by the European Union on the Southeast Asian nation. China's ambassador in Phnom Penh also attended a ruling party rally in the Cambodian capital, according to a media report. The flurry of moves during the three-week campaign shows China is leaving nothing to chance to ensure its most loyal ally in Southeast Asia, Cambodia's long-time ruler Hun Sen, comfortably wins Sunday's poll, political analysts said. "This is a bold step for China," said Chheang Vannarith, from the ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute in Singapore. "In the past, China kept a very low profile when it came to elections and domestic politics in Cambodia. This time, China is being very assertive." China has had a long and volatile relationship with its southern neighbor. After backing the Khmer Rouge, it fell out of favor when the murderous communist regime was deposed. Ties have become stronger in the past decade with the government of Hun Sen, who has been in power for 33 years. "China sees Cambodia as a strategic state, one that is very important to China," said Chheang, adding Beijing had "learned the lesson" from the surprise election defeat of Malaysia's long-ruling coalition in May. Malaysia's new prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, has suspended more than $20 billion of China-backed projects and been highly critical of some of its investment. Cambodia has supported China's island-building and militarization in the contested South China Sea, and shielded Beijing from criticism by ASEAN, Southeast Asia's 10-member forum of nations. ASEAN members Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Brunei are in disputes with China over rival claims to the waters. For Cambodia, China is its closest economic and political ally. Chinese capital investment into Cambodia increased from $600 million in 2012 to $1.08 billion in 2016, according to Cambodian government figures. Over the five year period, Chinese investment averaged half of all foreign investment. China's embassy in Phnom Penh did not respond to an e-mailed request for comment. Asked if China supported the re-election of Hun Sen, foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said in Beijing on Friday that the election was an internal affair but China wanted the country to "develop stably". "China supports the Cambodian people to choose a development path that suits their national condition, and supports and offers its best wishes for the election to proceed smoothly," Geng said. Cambodia's foreign minister, Prak Sokhonn, who recently described relations between the two countries as the "best ever", declined a request for an interview, as did senior Cambodian foreign ministry officials. PARTY GUEST When the formal election campaign kicked off, China's ambassador, Xiong Bo, was a guest at a big ruling party rally addressed by Hun Sen in Phnom Penh, according to the Nikkei Asian Review. Midway through the campaign, China announced it would provide Cambodia with $259 million in concessional loans to fund a ring road in Phnom Penh. During two events held a few days later, Xiong hailed Cambodia's "excellent" diplomacy and criticized proposed European Union sanctions on Cambodia's important garment industry sector. "No matter what the EU decides to do, China will continue to expand and deepen our cooperation with Cambodia in all fields, especially in term of trade and economic relations," he said, according to the Phnom Penh Post. There seems little doubt that Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party (CPP) will win Sunday's election. The main opposition Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) was dissolved last year and its leader jailed for alleged treason. Critics of Hun Sen have branded the vote a sham after the government suppressed independent media and dissent. The crackdown prompted the United States and EU to withdraw funding and monitors from the election. China, in contrast, has made two funding injections into the National Election Committee and registered its own electoral observers. Carl Thayer, an expert on Southeast Asia at the University of New South Wales, said relations between the CPP and China strengthened after the CNRP came close to winning the 2013 national elections and opposition supporters launched protests, saying they had been denied victory by electoral fraud. "The Chinese found this unsettling and told Hun Sen that they wanted stability," he said, citing diplomatic sources. China's close relationship with Cambodia's rulers follows decades of diplomatic effort and billions of dollars of aid and investment by Western countries. A peace deal for Cambodia's warring factions was brokered in 1991 by Western nations, as well as Indonesia and China, and ushered in a new Cambodian constitution enshrining multi-party liberal democracy, human rights and freedom of speech. But, as the West bristled at human rights violations and electoral irregularities in Cambodia, relations between Hun Sen and China strengthened. "China is now heavily invested in the CPP, and the reverse is also true," Thayer said. (Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in Beijing, Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan)
CBS said Friday it would investigate allegations of misconduct amid a report that company CEO and chairman Leslie Moonves will face a forthcoming investigation to be published by The New Yorker.

The networks statement came after The Hollywood Reporter reported earlier in the day that The New Yorker would publish a story by Ronan Farrow, who won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on sexual assault and harassment allegations by movie producer Harvey Weinstein.

All allegations of personal misconduct are to be taken seriously. The Independent Directors of CBS have committed to investigating claims that violate the Companys clear policies in that regard, the companys board of directors said in a statement. Upon the conclusion of that investigation, which involves recently reported allegations that go back several decades, the Board will promptly review the findings and take appropriate action.

A spokesperson at CBS said Moonves has no additional comment at this time.

The story has yet to be published. A spokesperson for The New Yorker did not immediately respond to TIMEs request for comment, but told The Hollywood Reporter: We dont comment on pieces we havent published.

Farrow tweeted on Friday: I dont comment on reporting I havent published, and if youre reading about my work from secondary sources youre often not getting the full or correct storyespecially in cases where parties have an interest in downplaying or otherwise spinning.

A quick reminder that I dont comment on reporting I havent published, and if youre reading about my work from secondary sources youre often not getting the full or correct storyespecially in cases where parties have an interest in downplaying or otherwise spinning.  Ronan Farrow (@RonanFarrow) July 27, 2018

News about the report against Moonves sent the companys shares tumbling on Friday afternoon. The company is currently embattled in a legal fight to prevent its parent company, National Amusements, from forcing the broadcast giant to merge with Viacom. CBS board acknowledged the legal fight in its statement.

The timing of this report comes in the midst of the Companys very public legal dispute. While that litigation process continues, the CBS management team has the full support of the independent board members. Along with that team, we will continue to focus on creating value for our shareholders.

Moonves has been with the company since 1995. He became its chief executive officer and president in 2006 and added the chairman title in 2016. In 2004, Moonves wed Julie Chen, who was an anchor on CBS Early Show at the time and now hosts the networks Big Brother.
Flickr

Zachary Keck

Security, China

Beijing is developing large, smart and relatively low-cost unmanned submarines that can roam the worlds oceansand target the U.S. Navy.

China May Soon Have a New Weapon to Kill Navy Submarines

China may soon have a new weapon to help defend itself against enemy submarines.

For years, many have commented on Beijings lack of anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities. The Department of Defenses 2016 report on Chinas military, for instance, noted that Beijing continues to lack either a robust coastal or deep-water anti-submarine warfare capability.

This was not a major problem when Chinas naval strategy was largely aimed at denying adversaries access to its coastlines. In recent years, however, the Peoples Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) has begun deploying bigger, more advanced ships as it pushes to become a blue water navy. These ships also make great targets for enemy submarinessomething that hasnt gone unnoticed among Chinas neighbors and the United Statescreating a greater urgency for Beijing to strengthen its ASW capabilities.

One component of this can be found in a new article by the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post. On July 22, the SCMP reported, citing Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) researchers, that China is developing large, smart and relatively low-cost unmanned submarines that can roam the worlds oceans to perform a wide range of missions. One of these missions is almost certain to be ASW.

The report said that the robot submarines are not intended to fully replace manned submarines. And, at least for now, they will not make entirely autonomous attack decisions. That is, a military officer must approve whether to attack another ship.

Still, the article noted that the robotic subs are aimed particularly at the United States forces in strategic waters like the South China Sea and western Pacific Ocean.

China already has small unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs). These are severely limited, however. Besides having limited range and payload capabilities, they are launched from another ship or submarine.

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The researchers who talked to SCMP noted the new robotic submarineswhich China hopes to deploy by 2021, the one-hundred-year anniversary of the Chinese Communist Partyare much larger and more autonomous.

They station in dock as conventional submarines, the report said. Their cargo bay is reconfigurable and large enough to accommodate a wide range of freight, from powerful surveillance equipment to missiles or torpedoes.

The larger boats are also powered by diesel-electric engines and other sources that give them greater endurance.

One of the most attractive features of AI-enabled submarines is their low cost. As the SCMP article notes, manned submarines must have a high level of stealth to ensure survival, while also taking care of various safety and comfort level issues for its submariners.

These AI boats won't have to worry about many of these issues. Thus, China can build and deploy a lot of them to perform reconnaissance missions, target other submarines or surface ships, and even possibly to ram into other ships. This will be especially useful in waters near China where the boats can be programmed and learn to operate in the familiar terrain.

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One curious part of the SCMP report is the sudden transparency. The Peoples Liberation Army has a well deserved reputation for opacity in military developments. Yet, this article interviewed Lin Yang, a chief scientist at 912 Projecta classified program to develop the AI-enabled submarineson the record.

As Elsa B. Kania, an expert on Chinese AI and defense innovation at the Center for a New American Security, noted on Twitter, That [a] senior [scientist] is willing to discuss a *classified* military program for an English-language publication surprises me. Assuming that Lin Yang is not about to be charged under Chinas National Security or Counterespionage Laws, he must have received official permission.

Kania makes the case that this permission was likely granted for signaling purposes, and could enhance Chinese deterrence. At the same time, she notes it is nearly impossible to confirm the level of maturity or actual capabilities of these submarines. It is therefore possible China is revealing details about this program to make it seem more advanced than it is in reality.

Still as Kania pointed out elsewhere, The PLA recognizes a potential opportunity to undermine current U.S. dominance in undersea warfare. In that regard, it is interesting to note that the Department of Defenses latest annual report on Chinas military did not mention Beijings relative weakness in ASW, and China has been taking various steps to strengthen its ASW capabilities.

Zachary Keck (@ZacharyKeck) is a former managing editor of the National Interest.

Image: Flickr

Read full article
(EL PASO, Texas)  The Trump administration faced a court-imposed deadline Thursday to reunite thousands of children and parents who were forcibly separated at the U.S.-Mexico border, an enormous logistical task brought on by its zero tolerance policy on illegal entry.

Authorities have identified 2,551 children 5 and older who may be covered by the order to be reunited with their parents by Thursdays court-imposed deadline. That effort was expected to fall short, partly because hundreds of parents may have already been deported without their children.

But, by focusing only those deemed by the government to be eligible for reunification, authorities are expected to claim success.

As of Tuesday, there were 1,012 parents reunified with their children in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody. Hundreds more had been cleared and were just waiting on transportation.

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen told members of Congress on Wednesday that the administration was on track to meet the deadline, an assertion that was greeted with disbelief and anger by the all-Democrat Congressional Hispanic Caucus, according to people who attended. Nielsen declined to comment to reporters as she left the closed-door meeting.

And Homeland Securitys internal watchdog said it would review the separating of families, along with the conditions at Border Protection facilities where migrant children are held, in response to scores of Congressional requests to do so.

For the last two weeks, children have been arriving steadily at ICE locations in Texas, Arizona and New Mexico to be reunited with parents. Faith-based and other groups have provided meals, clothing, legal advice and plane and bus tickets. Parents are typically equipped with ankle-monitoring bracelets and given court dates before an immigration judge.

Natalia Oliveira da Silva, a mother from Brazil, waited nervously outside a detention center in Pearsall, Texas, for her young daughter, Sara. She soon spotted the 5-year-old approaching in a vehicle, a seatbelt over her chest.

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Sara got out and was quickly in her mothers arms, asking her, Theyre not going to take you away again, right?

Since their separation in late May, the girl had been at a shelter for immigrant minors in Chicago, while Oliveira was moved through facilities across Texas.

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw in San Diego commended the government Tuesday for its recent efforts and for apparently being on track to reunify the roughly 1,600 parents it deems eligible, calling it a remarkable achievement. Yet Sabraw also seized on the governments assertion that 463 parents may be outside the United States. The Justice Department said this week that the number was based on case files and under review, signaling it could change.

It is the reality of 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, said Sabraw, an appointee of Republican President George W. Bush.

Lee Gelernt, an attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union who represents the separated families, said the government is letting themselves off the hook by focusing on those it deems eligible and excluding parents who were deported or havent been located.

I think the critical point to remember, is that they are only reunifying by the deadline those families who they are claiming unilaterally are eligible for reunification by the deadline, he told reporters. The deadline is the deadline for just those parents and children the government says it can reunite.

Lourdes de Leon, who turned herself into immigration authorities, was deported to her native Guatemala on June 7 but her 6-year-old son, Leo, remained in the United States.

De Leon said Guatemalan consular officials told her signing a deportation order would be the easiest way to be reunited with Leo.

He is in a shelter in New York, de Leon said. My baby already had his hearing with a judge who signed his deportation eight days ago. But I still do not know when they are going to return him to me.

The government was expected to provide the judge with an updated count by the end of Thursday. Both sides were due in court Friday.

Spencer Amdur, another ACLU attorney, said there are three categories of concern: The roughly 1,600 children who everyone agrees have to be reunified by Thursday; children whose parents were deported and who must be reunified but not necessarily by Thursday; and others the government deems ineligible, including parents with criminal records or are suspected of abuse or neglect and some who arent really the childrens parents.

In El Paso, the Annunciation House, which has been assisting dozens of reunited families, said progress has been slow considering Thursdays deadline. The organization has already received about 250 reunited families. Advocacy group FWD.us has been buying plane tickets for them to quickly leave.

We are under a logistical 24/7 crisis all-hands-on-deck moment to get through the (Thursday) deadline. We will not stop until all of these children are reunited with their parents and that is regardless of where their parents are, said Alida Garcia, coalitions and policy director for FWD.us.

The government gives advocates sometimes as little as an hours notice when theyre releasing parents and children, Garcia said. The government has been shuttling kids from their shelters to the parking lots of the detention centers where their parents are held. Then they are handed over to non-governmental and faith-based groups that help them get to their intended destination.

Late last month, Sabraw ordered a nationwide halt to family separations, which President Donald Trump effectively did on his own amid an international outcry. He issued a 14- day deadline to reunite children under 5 with their parents and 30 days for children 5 and older.

Attention will now shift largely to the hundreds of children whose parents may have been deported and to how much time reunified parents in the United States should have to decide if they want to seek asylum.

The ACLU, which wants the judge to give families at least seven days after reunification to decide on their next steps, filed a raft of affidavits from attorneys working on the border Wednesday that detail what it considers flawed procedures, including limited phone access and strict visitation policies, language barriers and being given only a few minutes to decide whether to leave their children in the United States.

___

Spagat reported from San Diego. Associated Press writers Alan Fram and Colleen Long in Washington and Sonia Perez D. in Guatemala City contributed.
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The second edition of Chinese singing competition was held on Friday in Kenya's second largest institution of higher learning, Kenyatta University amid thrilling performance by students.

More than a dozen contestants performed a rich collection of contemporary Chinese music in front of dignitaries including the Counselor at the Chinese Embassy in Kenya, Wang Xuezheng.

"The promotion of China-Kenya relations requires us to further enhance the mutual understanding and friendship between our two peoples, and strengthen cultural and people to people bonds," said Wang.

"As a comprehensive and high-level university, Kenyatta University has been doing so a lot in this regard," he added.

Kenyatta University's Confucius Institute that was established in 2008 organized the second version of Chinese singing competition that showcased outstanding grasp of music and dance from the Asian Nation by local students.

"Today's Singing Competition is a good way to allow more people to enjoy the good voices of Kenya and the good voices of China-Kenya friendship and cooperation," said Wang.

Kamau Wango, the Kenyan Director of Kenyatta University's Confucius Institute said it has become a hub for cross-cultural exchanges that are bearing positive results.

"We have been hosting many events to promote Chinese culture to young learners. Majority of them find Chinese music, language and folklore interesting," Wango remarked.

The contestants who performed songs covering diverse themes like patriotism, romance and harmonious co-existence demonstrated high degree of proficiency in vocals, rhythm and tone.

Judges noted that this year's Chinese singing competition had improved remarkably in all aspects.

"The contestants demonstrated a remarkable degree of confidence and ability to connect with the audience. Their vocals were refined and stage presence was captivating too," said Pricilla Gitonga, a music lecturer at Kenyatta University.

Nyambura Githaiga, a female contestant scooped the overall prize totaling 150 U.S. dollars after a thrilling rendition of a Chinese patriotic song called Me and My Country.
.@DonLemon: "Donald Trump's presidency can be defined by lies. ... The sheer number of lies can be overwhelming. And the danger is that we'll become numb to all this. ... But there's a larger question here. Can the truth survive President Trump?" https://t.co/qbJOfTAd4O pic.twitter.com/nEZV8mJL1Y  CNN Tonight (@CNNTonight) July 28, 2018

CNNs Don Lemon says Donald Trumps presidency can be defined by lies.

On Fridays broadcast of CNN Tonight, the news anchor claimed Trump had told well over 2,000 untruths during his time in the White House.

Lemon said the sheer number of lies can be overwhelming, but also warned people may become numb to all of this and tell themselves its just Trump being Trump.

This is a man who built his campaign on lies, Lemon continued, before noting just some of the falsehoods spouted by Trump before hed even entered the Oval Office. In May, Lemon doubled down on calling Trump a racist.

Check out the clip above.

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The Trump White House Failed To Spell United States Correctly

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Candidate Donald Trump vowed to expose dirt on his political opponents Bill and Hillary Clinton just two days before the controversial 2016 Trump Tower meeting that his former lawyer Michael Cohen insisted Trump knew about.

Trump never delivered on his promise after his eldest son Donald Trump Jr., son-in-law Jared Kushner and then campaign manager Paul Manafort met with attorney Natalia Veselnitskaya in 2016. The men expected to be presented with damaging information about Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, but the attorney failed to deliver, Donald Trump Jr. told Senate investigators.

His fathers promised speech on the Clintons then sank without a trace.

Trump railed against Hillary Clinton to supporters after he won the New Jersey primary that same week. I am going to give a major speech on probably Monday of next week and were going to be discussing all of the things that have taken place with the Clintons, he told them. I think youre going to find it very informative and very, very interesting. (He announced the Clinton speech in the video above at 7:08)

Donald Jr.s meeting with Veselnitskaya took place two days later on Thursday, June 9. His fathers promised June 13 speech never occurred, and no explanation was ever offered.

Trump has denied knowing about the Trump Tower meeting in advance.

.....I did NOT know of the meeting with my son, Don jr. Sounds to me like someone is trying to make up stories in order to get himself out of an unrelated jam (Taxi cabs maybe?). He even retained Bill and Crooked Hillarys lawyer. Gee, I wonder if they helped him make the choice!  Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 27, 2018

Former Trump campaign aide Sam Nunberg also told CNNs Jake Tapper earlier this year that Trump knew about the meeting. He talked about it a week before, Nunberg added.

Former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon suspected the same thing. The chance that Don Jr. did not walk these Jumos up to his fathers office on the 26th floor is zero, he told author Michael Wolff in his book Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House. Bannon has called the meeting treasonous.

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BREAKING: In new book Steve Bannon is quoted talking about the 2016 Trump Tower meeting, The chance that Don. Jr did not walk these Jumos up to his fathers office on the 26th floor is zero.



Tune in to @MSNBC for more. pic.twitter.com/hhzEOu26L4  MSNBC (@MSNBC) January 3, 2018

CNN reported that Cohen is willing to share what he knows about Trump and the meeting with special counsel Robert Mueller. Mueller is investigating Russias alleged attempt to influence the 2016 presidential election, as well as possible Trump campaign collusion.

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CAIRO (AP)  An Egyptian court sentenced 75 people to death on Saturday, including top figures of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group, for their involvement in a 2013 sit-in, state media reported.

The Cairo Criminal Court referred the sentences to the Grand Mufti  the country's top theological authority  for his non-binding opinion as is the norm in capital cases. Though non-binding, the formality gives a window of opportunity for a judge to reverse an initial sentence.

The sentences are subject to appeal.

Sentencing for more than 660 others involved in the case was scheduled for Sept. 8, the Al-Ahram news website reported. Those sentences, too, are subject to appeal.

Of the 75 defendants referred to the Mufti, 44 are jailed and 31 are at large. The court normally hands down the maximum sentence for fugitives but a re-retrial is typically held after they are caught.

The case involves a total 739 defendants, including the Muslim Brotherhood's Supreme Guide Mohammed Badie and photojournalist Mahmoud Abu Zeid. The charges range from murder to damaging public property. Neither Badie nor Abu Zeid were sentenced to death in this case.

The 2013 sit-in, in Rabaa al-Adawiya Square in Cairo, supported former Islamist President Mohammed Morsi who was militarily ousted following mass protests against his divisive one-year rule. Morsi hailed from the Brotherhood.

The sit-in was violently dispersed on Aug. 14, 2013. More than 600 people were killed. Months later, Egypt designated the Brotherhood a terrorist organization.

Egyptian authorities have since launched a severe crackdown on Brotherhood members and supporters, arresting many and trying them on terror-related charges.

Egyptian courts have held mass trials and handed down death sentences for hundreds of people, drawing international condemnation.

In 2014, an Egyptian judge sentenced 529 of Morsi's supporters to death. A retrial was later ordered after several proceedings.

Rights groups have repeatedly criticized such mass sentencings in Egypt and called on authorities to ensure fair trials.

International rights groups also denounced the mass trial of the 2013 sit-in. Amnesty International described it in a statement last month as a "grotesque parody of justice" and called on authorities to drop all charges against those arrested for protesting peacefully.
CAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian court said on Saturday it would transfer the cases of 75 people convicted of security-related offences, including senior Muslim Brotherhood figures, to Egypt's top religious authority to decide whether they should be sentenced to death. They are among more than 700 people accused or convicted of illegal protest or murder over a 2013 sit-in that ended in the deaths of hundreds of Brotherhood supporters and dozens of police when security forces broke it up violently. Those convicted face potential sentences ranging up to life in prison and execution. Since President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi took power in 2014, authorities have justified a crackdown on dissent and freedoms as being directed at terrorists and saboteurs trying to undermine the state. Death sentences have been handed down to hundreds of his political opponents on charges such as belonging to an illegal organization or planning to carry out an attack. The dispersal of the sit-in at Rabaa Adawiya square in August 2013 came weeks after Sisi, as military chief, ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi after protests against Brotherhood rule. Rights groups have criticized the trial of so many people in the same case, saying they include journalists and many peaceful protesters. Egyptian law requires any capital sentence to be referred to Grand Mufti Shawqi Allam, Egypt's highest Islamic legal official, for an opinion before executions can take place. The 75 cases referred to the Mufti include those of senior Brotherhood leaders Essam al-Erian and Mohamed Beltagi and prominent Islamist preachers Safwat Higazi and Wagdi Ghoneim, judicial sources said. Forty-four of the accused are in prison awaiting their sentence, and 31 have been tried in absentia. The Mufti's decision is not legally binding, but is rarely ignored by the courts. In 2014 the Mufti rejected a death sentence proposed for the leader of the outlawed Brotherhood, Mohamed Badie, who is part of the same case. Badie has since been sentenced to life in prison. Amnesty International said on Saturday the trial was unfair, and that the accused had been denied the right to present an adequate defense. EXECUTIONS INCREASE "Egyptian authorities have never questioned or prosecuted any of the security force personnel who took part in the massacre," it said in a statement. Amnesty says more than 800 protesters were killed. The government has said many protesters were armed, and that 43 police were killed. The final sentencing in the case is expected on Sept. 8, after the Mufti has given his ruling, judicial sources said. Many death sentences issued under Sisi have not yet been carried out, but local rights groups say the number of executions has risen in recent years. Sisi's supporters say harsh measures are needed to ensure the stability needed to revive Egypt's battered economy after the turmoil unleashed by the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak. "We (Egyptians) need to get out of the rut we are in ... I want to do that for you," Sisi said at a youth conference at Cairo University on Saturday as he promoted his new defense minister, Mohamed Zaki, to the rank of general. Sisi said he was "saddened" by a recent but limited social media campaign calling for his departure. (Reporting by Haitham Borai, Ahmed Tolba, John Davison; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
New York (AFP) - Higher oil prices drove increased profits for US oil giant ExxonMobil, but the earnings report Friday missed analyst expectations due to natural gas outages and refining downtime.

Net income jumped 18 percent in the second quarter to $4.0 billion compared to the same period a year earlier. That translated into 92 cents a share, well below the $1.27 expected by analysts.

Revenues rose 26.6 to $73.5 billion, the company announced.

The results follow jumps in profits for Royal Dutch Shell and Total reported Thursday and illustrate the bounce from oil prices. Crude mostly traded in a range of $65 to $75 a barrel during the quarter, up from the $45 to $50 range in the year-ago period.

But ExxonMobil reported another significant slide in oil and gas production, which dipped seven percent to 3.6 million barrels a day of oil-equivalent.

The company said natural gas output was especially weak, diving 10 percent, due in part to downtime in Qatar, Australia and Papua New Guinea.

Downtime in refining also hit results, due mostly to an unusually high number of planned refining outages at various plants and some unplanned maintenance following incidents at facilities in the first quarter, the company said.

ExxonMobil shares slumped 4.0 percent to $80.84 in pre-market trading.
360-degree landscapes Miami, Fla. (Photo: Brendan Gee/Caters News)

Virtual reality is all around us, and nowhere is that more true than in these immersive 360-degree photographs. The eye-opening views put a new spin on familiar landscapes by turning them into miniature worlds that encompass every angle. Gold Coast, Australia, photographer Brendon Gee, 44, has been picking up legions of online followers with his depictions of popular settings as youve never seen them before, but he says these are only the beginning. (Caters News)

Photography by Brendon Gee/Caters News

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Harare (AFP) - Zimbabwe goes to the polls on Monday in its first election since authoritarian leader Robert Mugabe was ousted last year, with allegations mounting of voter fraud and predictions of a disputed result.

President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Mugabe's former ally in the ruling ZANU-PF party, faces opposition leader Nelson Chamisa of the MDC (Movement for Democratic Change) party in a landmark vote for the southern African nation.

Zimbabwe's military generals shocked the world in November when they seized control and ushered Mnangagwa to power, ending Mugabe's 37-year reign in a few short days.

Mnangagwa, 75, who promises a fresh start for the country, is the front-runner with the advantage of covert military support, a loyal state media and a ruling party that controls government resources.

But Chamisa, 40, who has performed strongly on the campaign trail, hopes to tap into a young population that could vote for change as ZANU-PF has ruled since the country's independence from British colonial rule in 1980.

Elections under Mugabe were marred by fraud and violence, and this year's campaign has been dominated by accusations that the vote will be rigged.

The MDC has raised allegations of a flawed electoral roll, ballot paper malpractice, voter intimidation, bias in the Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) and free food handed out by the ruling party.

But campaigning has been relatively unrestricted and peaceful compared with previous elections, and some analysts point to pressure for the vote to be judged credible to draw a line under the isolation of the Mugabe era.

- Violence, or stability? -

"The international community is looking for an election that will provide sufficient excuse to re-engage with Zimbabwe," said Showers Mawowa, an analyst at the Southern African Liaison Office rights advocacy group.

"There are a lot of political and economic interests at play that are converging around the prioritisation of stability."

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Mawowa said the risk of violence or military intervention could be highest after polling day.

"There is reason to be anxious about whether or not the military will accept an opposition victory, particularly because they recently executed a de facto coup," he said.

"Post-election violence might be a possibility, with the opposition making it clear that they are not going to accept an outcome that they would have not won."

Polling accuracy in Zimbabwe is uncertain, but a recent Afrobarometer survey of 2,400 people put Mnangagwa on 40 percent and Chamisa on 37 percent, with 20 percent undecided.

Mnangagwa, who is accused of involvement in election violence and fraud under Mugabe, has vowed to hold a fair vote and invited in international observers -- including the previously-banned European Union team.

"This is the new Zimbabwe we want. We shall continue to grow and grow," he said opening a chrome processing plant this week.

"Zimbabwe shall never be the same again. We preach peace, we preach unity and we preach tolerance."

Chamisa has launched blistering attacks on Mnangagwa and accused the much-criticised Zimbabwe Electoral Commission (ZEC) of trying to fix the election.

But he vowed not to boycott the vote, saying his party would still win.

"We have a ZEC that has chosen to throw away the whistle as a referee and joined another team," he said on Wednesday. "Winners don't boycott. Victory is inevitable."

- An economy in ruins -

The UN High Commission for Human Rights has warned of growing concern over alleged intimidation and threats of violence in the run-up to the election, but said it was encouraging to see open rallies and peaceful demonstrations.

The next government must tackle mass unemployment and an economy shattered by the Mugabe-backed seizure of white-owned farms, the collapse of agriculture, hyperinflation and an investment exodus.

Previously solid health and education services are in ruins and millions have fled abroad to seek work.

Life expectancy has only just recovered to its 1985 level of 61 years.

"We need to see jobs," said Rest Maphosa, one resident of the capital Harare. "I will be patient even if it takes me eight hours standing in the queue, because what I want is to vote."

With 5.6 million registered voters, the results of the presidential, parliamentary and local elections are due by August 4.

A run-off vote is scheduled for September 8 if no presidential candidate wins at least 50 percent plus one in the first round.

In 2008, then opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai pulled out of the run-off after attacks orchestrated by the state claimed the lives of at least 200 of his supporters.

Mugabe, now a frail 94, was finally ousted as he tried to position his wife Grace, 53, to be his successor.

In his only press interviews since his fall, he admitted only that "some errors were done" under his rule, adding that he now thought his country was "topsy turvy".
CHIPLEY, Fla. (AP)  Down a network of dirt roads that defies GPS navigation, Florida Republican gubernatorial candidate Adam Putnam and about 100 supporters gathered at a hunting plantation tucked into the Panhandle's pine trees.

There were no television cameras, no throngs of media  just barbecue and sweet tea for the crowd that clearly hadn't migrated from colder climes. Agriculture Commissioner Putnam introduced himself as a fifth generation Floridian, part of the personal outreach central to his campaign.

"We have a lot of native Floridians here, people who love our state, whose families who have bled and sweat and worked their fingers to the bone to carve out of this beautiful peninsula  the civilization that we call modern Florida," Putnam said. "It sets out a marker that says because of all that my family went through to make Florida Florida, I'm committed to doing the right things for the right reasons."

That same day, primary opponent U.S. Rep. Ron DeSantis appeared on Fox News from Israel, where he defended President Donald Trump amid an FBI investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

"We're actively trying to get the underlying documents that would tell us, did they (the FBI) spy on the Trump campaign or not?" DeSantis said.

The free airtime is worth millions  putting him in front of large numbers of conservative voters who will decide the Republican nominee to replace Gov. Rick Scott  and, coupled with Trump's endorsement, forms the basis of his campaign.

In a state with more than 4.5 million Republican voters, the candidates facing off in the Aug. 28 primary are a study in contrasting campaign styles. Putnam has been to more than 100 breakfasts, barbecues and parades, talking with Floridians about Florida issues. DeSantis has been on Fox News more than 100 times, usually talking about federal issues and defending the president.

The race will test which strategy works best in these times when White House tweets make international headlines and political divides are as wide as they've ever been: Shaking a lot of hands or shaking things up on TV.

Story continues

"It's an interesting test," said Rick Wilson, a Tallahassee-based Republican strategist. "Putnam has name ID, he's got experience, he's got money. It's sort of the like the Florida guy versus the Fox guy, and we're going to see if that's sufficient anymore."

During the candidates' first debate, which was broadcast on Fox News, Fox anchor Martha MacCallum asked DeSantis about the criticism that he's campaigning from a Washington TV studio.

DeSantis replied that there have been plenty of times he couldn't be in Florida when he wanted to, like when he spent Christmas 2006 on a Navy assignment in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the following Christmas in Iraq.

"I would have loved to have been in Florida with my family, but sometimes duty calls and sometimes you've got to step up and do what's right," DeSantis said.

He said that duty now includes supporting Trump's agenda and uncovering the anti-Trump bias at the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice.

"That's what I'm paid to do, so I'm going to do my job," he said.

Even while campaigning in Florida, Fox and Trump are a theme. DeSantis did a statewide tour with Fox's Sean Hannity, held a rally with Donald Trump Jr. and plans to stand on stage with the president Tuesday in Tampa.

At Putnam's event in Chipley, Nick Dillard acknowledged that many supporters there were surprised he'd bother to come to a town of less than 4,000 when there where places he could reach a larger audience and raise more money.

"I think it makes him more reachable," Dillard said. "They get it if he wants to go to Pensacola or Panama City, but to come to Chipley  we're a small town. ... Why's he coming here? I think it speaks to his philosophy  the grassroots movement."

Undecided Republican voter Ellen Petrokiewizz, who lives in the Orlando area, likes that Trump continues to rally supporters and back state candidates.

"He's going back and saying, 'Hey, get behind your local politician. Support this guy. Support that guy,'" she said. "DeSantis has already been in the Washington element, so he has been working back and forth there, so it's a different style. I do like the true grassroots of going to the average person, and that's what Putnam has been doing. So, there's positives in both approaches."

___

Associated Press writer Mike Schneider in Orlando contributed to this report.
All shining with great cultures and splendid futures, three cities in China -- Xi'an, Luoyang and Sanya -- are competing for the East Asian City of Culture for 2019.

Since only one will be chosen, which city will prevail?

An expert review meeting saw the competition among the three candidates in Beijing on Friday morning.

Governmental representatives from each city got together and tried to best present the beauty of their beloved cities through speeches and videos.

Each city had a spokesman answering three to four questions from the review committee about the city's culture and tourism development.

Sanya was proud of its tourism and international impact. Xi'an boasted its rich cultural heritage and fast cultural development in recent years. Luoyang, as another historical city closely connected with ancient Chinese culture, also presented its great success in promoting intangible cultural heritage.

"For this year, as the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of China was officially inaugurated in China, a new chapter in the integration of culture and tourism has been launched," said Liu Deyou, the former vice-cultural minister and a member from the review committee, while addressing the expert review meeting.

"The annual East Asia Cultural City selection and related cultural exchange activities can help bridge Chinese culture and the world."
By Costas Pitas ATHENS (Reuters) - Greece will this weekend begin burying the victims of a devastating wildfire near Athens which killed at least 88 people, and has prompted criticism of the government's handling of the disaster. Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras on Friday took political responsibility for the tragedy as opposition leaders said the government had failed to adequately safeguard lives. On Sunday, three members of the same family are due to be laid to rest in the first known funeral since the blaze broke out last Monday in the seaside village of Mati, 30 km (17 miles) east of Athens. "We will say our final goodbye to our much-loved Grigoris, Evita and Andreas ... tragic victims in Mati," the Fytrou family said in a statement published by the Athens news agency, asking media not to attend. The search for the missing continues and many people remain in hospital, while the names of more victims have emerged. Twin nine-year old girls Sofia and Vasiliki Filippopoulou, whose pictures have featured internationally, were confirmed dead, state broadcaster ERT reported on Saturday. DNA tests showed the girls and their grandparents died in the blaze at Mati. Graphic on wildfire https://tmsnrt.rs/2K6N3Qc Their grandfather's burnt-out car was located outside a plot of land where 26 people died, with some of the victims found embracing each other in death, ERT said. Heavy downpours hit the region on Saturday, prompting fears that the work of rescue crews and efforts by locals to salvage what they can from the fire could be made more difficult. The government has announced a long list of relief measures and promised to tackle decades-old problems, including haphazard and unlicensed residential building, to minimize the risk of a repeat disaster and to cool public anger. A deputy mayor in Marathon, which administers some of the affected area, on Saturday became the first official to resign over the wildfire. (Editing by Andrew Bolton)
A grieving orca whale has been carrying her dead newborn calf for days in a heart-wrenching scene off the coast of Victoria, British Columbia.

It is unbelievably sad, Brad Hanson, a biologist with the Northwest Fisheries Science Center, told The Seattle Times.

The calf was born alive on Tuesday near the San Juan Islands in Washington state, close to the U.S.-Canada border, according to the Center for Whale Research. But it died a short time later of unknown causes.

The center is now monitoring the mother, who has spent days repeatedly nosing her sinking calf to the surface and balancing the small body on her head. She was still spotted Friday with the calf.

Researchers are concerned about the extra effort the mother orca is expending and its effect on her health. She was lagging at the back of her pod, according to Taylor Shedd of Soundwatch, which helps protect the whales from ships and boaters.

The mother whales first response was to get her baby to air, said Ken Balcomb, a scientist with the Center for Whale Research. Im sure that shes aware that its deceased, he told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, but shes reluctant to leave her baby. Researchers have seen similar orca behavior before, but never so prolonged, he said.

Having a newborn, there were a few moments of brief, brief happiness, and then followed by disappointment and sadness, Dr. Anna Hall, a marine biologist with the center, told CBC. This is a population that is clearly struggling in terms of numbers.

We are saddened to report that a baby Southern Resident killer whale (SRKW) died a short time after it was born near Victoria, British Columbia on July 24, 2018. The newborn whale was reported alive and swimming with its mother, J35 ... https://t.co/ql0kDBU9LL pic.twitter.com/GQteYuPsv4  Whale Research (@CWROrcas) July 26, 2018

The orca mother is known to researchers as J-35. She travels with one of three remaining southern resident orca pods off the coast of Oregon, Washington state and Vancouver Island.

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The areas endangered orca population has reached its lowest point in decades, and the species is on the brink of extinction, according to the whale center. The population has been decimated by ship traffic, toxins in the ocean, and particularly, the disappearance of the orcas main food source, chinook salmon.

The total number of southern resident killer whales is now just 75. The last successful birth in the pod occurred in 2015. A 2017 study found that two-thirds of orca pregnancies failed over a seven-year period. Researchers attributed the failed pregnancies to a lack of salmon.

During years of low salmon abundance, we see hormonal signs that nutritional stress is setting in, and more pregnancies fail, and this trend has become increasingly common in recent years, Sam Wasser, a biology professor at the University of Washington and the lead author of the study, said in a statement.

The southern resident orcas were first designated an endangered species in the U.S. 13 years ago.

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They look futuristic, the type of firearms that would-be assassins use in movies: 3D-printed guns made of a hard plastic that are simple to assemble, easy to conceal and tough to trace.

The future is here.

After spending years fighting the federal government for the right to do so, a Texas company was given the green light to post blueprints online showing people how to make 3D-printed guns from the comfort of their home.

Gun safety advocates and some law enforcement officials are appalled, worried that this is exactly what criminals and terrorists want: guns that can't be flagged by metal detectors, don't have serial numbers to trace, and don't require the usual background checks. A coalition of gun-control groups filed an appeal Thursday in federal court seeking to block a recent Trump administration ruling allowing Cody Wilson and his company, Defense Distributed, to post blueprints online to create a 3D-printed firearm.

"There is a market for these guns and it's not just among enthusiasts and hobbyists," said Nick Suplina, managing director for law and policy at Everytown for Gun Safety, one of the three groups that have gone to court. "There's a real desire and profit motive in the criminal underworld as well."

Wilson, the founder of Defense Distributed, first published downloadable designs for a 3D-printed firearm in 2013. It was downloaded about 100,000 times until the State Department ordered him to cease, contending it violated federal export laws since some of the blueprints were downloaded by people outside the United States.

But in a reversal that stunned gun-control advocates, the State Department in late June settled its case against Wilson and agreed to allow him to resume posting the blueprints at the end of July. Wilson took to Twitter, declaring victory and proclaiming he would start back up on August 1.

Wilson did not return an email seeking comment. His attorney, Josh Blackman, a professor at the South Texas College of Law Houston, declined to comment.

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Gun industry experts say the guns are simply a modern-day equivalent of what already is legal and readily available: the ability to assemble your own firearm using traditional materials and methods at home without serial numbers. They argue that 3D-printed firearms won't be a draw for criminals since the printers needed to make one are wildly expensive and the firearms themselves aren't very durable.

"It costs thousands and thousands and thousands of dollars to acquire a printer and the files and the knowhow to do this. They don't work worth a damn. Criminals can obviously go out and steal guns or even manufacture quote-unquote real guns, not 3D printed," said Larry Keane, executive director of the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which represents gun manufacturers. "If you're a gang banger in L.A., are you going to go out and spend tens of thousands of dollars to buy a printer to print a gun that doesn't work very well or are you just going to steal one?"

Unlike traditional firearms that can fire thousands of rounds in their lifetime, experts say the 3D-printed guns normally only last a few rounds before they fall apart. They don't have magazines that allow the usual nine or 15 rounds to be carried; instead, they usually hold a bullet or two and then must be manually loaded afterward. And they're not usually very accurate either.

A video posted of a test by the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives in 2013 showed one of the guns produced from Wilson's design  the Liberator  disintegrating into pieces after a single round was fired. Wilson's website will also offer blueprints for AR-style long guns besides its first product: a pistol called the Liberator.

A similar style of firearm was famously used by John Malkovich's character in the 1993 movie "In the Line of Fire" in which he portrays a would-be assassin who surreptitiously brings the firearm into a hotel ballroom, assembles it underneath his dinner table and then tries to use it to kill the president.

Law enforcement officials express concern about allowing the designs for such firearms to be publicly available expressly because they're easy to conceal and untraceable since there's no requirement for the firearms to have serial numbers.

"When you think about all the rhetoric we here in our nation about tightening our borders and homeland security, and now we're going to put out there for anyone who wants a recipe for how to overcome ... TSA airport screenings or any other metal detector," said Rick Myers, executive director of the Major Cities Chiefs Association. "It's absolutely insane."

The State Department decision came amid an obscure administrative change  begun under the Obama administration  in how the weapons are regulated and administered. Military grade weapons remain under the purview of the State Department, while commercially available firearms fall under the Commerce Department. The settlement with Wilson determined that 3D-printed firearms are akin to more traditional firearms that aren't subject to ITAR, or International Traffic in Arms Regulations, overseen by State.

U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey, called on Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to review the decision.

Robert Spitzer, chairman of political science at the State University of New York at Cortland and an expert on the Second Amendment, warned that while 3D-printed firearms are a novelty now  too expensive to make and too fragile to be used for more than a few shots  technology will soon catch up.

"Their popularity right now is limited," Spitzer said. "There was interest in the blueprints because they're sort of exotic and because sort of a taboo thing."

Erich Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America, echoed that sentiment.

"It's not very practical," Pratt said. "Let's be serious. First of all, you're going to plunk out thousands of dollars just for the printers. This is a very expensive route to go just to get a piece of plastic that will only last a round."

___

This version of the story corrects the 5th paragraph quote to say "profit motive" rather than "profit mode."
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Panzerfaust#/media/File:1668_-_Salzburg_-_Festung_Hohensalzburg_-_Panzerschreck_und_Panzerfaust.JPG

Warfare History Network, Blaine Taylor

Security, Europe

During 1944-1945, the Volkssturm, or Peoples Militia, was designed to promote a violent burst of fanatic rage against the invaders and thus salvage victory.

Hitler's Master Plan To Stop the Allies from Conquering Nazi Germany

On October 18, 1944the 131st anniversary of the Battle of the Nations victory over Napoleon in 1813Reichsfuhrer-SS (National Leader) Heinrich Himmler stepped up to a microphone to make a national radio address announcing the formation of the Nazi Party-controlled Volkssturm, or Peoples Militia.

Standing with him was the new Chief of the General Staff, General Heinz Guderian; Dr. Hans Heinrich Lammers, head of the Reich Chancellery in Berlin; and Gauleiter (Regional Leader) Erich Koch. The site of the address was at Bartenstein, East Prussia, on Kochs turf, and he was already organizing his own local forces to fight the Red Army coming from the East.

Indeed, conjuring up images of the 1813 War of Liberation against the defeated French, the new VS had already won its first victory over the Soviets on October 7 at Memel, Lithuania, which the Nazis had taken in 1939.

Creating the Volkssturm From the Ashes of Operation Valkyrie

Guderian had come into office the day after the failed bomb explosion to kill Adolf Hitler, and the latter had virtually lost most of his faith in the regular German armed forces to win the war. The radical NazisDr. Josef Goebbels, Dr. Robert Ley, Himmler, and most of all Reich Leader and Secretary to the Fuhrer Martin Bormannwere urging Hitler to turn to the very force that had brought him to power in the first place: the Nazi Party and its various organizations.

What all of them feared most was a second 1918-style collapse of the German state from within, an internal-type revolt that had toppled Kaiser Wilhelm II when the German Army was still fighting in the field on the Western Front. It was their belief that the Party had rebuilt the state from that catastrophe starting anew in 1933, and now11 years latera similar program of rejuvenation was to be the order of the day.

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This time, there would be no home front failure, and thus on September 25, 1944, Hitler, through the use of his familiar Fuhrer Decree, announced the creation of the Volkssturm and Himmlers control of the organization; Bormann would be in charge of the administrative issues.

Thus, right from the start, there was the divided leadership that would plague the VS until the very end of its days in the defense of smoldering Berlinin which it played at least half a part. Hitler, like his rival, U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, had the leadership style of giving several different men the same functions, believing that competition would make them perform better and get the overall job done faster. This was also the overall leadership principle of the Nazi Party as a whole.

Bormanns VS

The key individual, from inception to ultimate VS demise, was Bormann. In his unique position of being at the Fuhrers elbow night and day, he had Hitlers ear on virtually everything and thus was able to convince Hitler to create the VS along the lines of the 1813 Home Guard, and also to place it under Lammerss Reich Chancellery. Bormann believed that only the Party could run the VS properly and ensured that service in it was mandatory for all civilian German males between the ages of 16 and 60.

This included the all-important Class of 1928those who would turn 17 in 1945the 550,000 boys of Artur Axmanns Hitler Youth, literally the final remaining military manpower pool of Nazi Germany. The older menridiculed as Grandpas by the younger generationwere veterans of World War I or those who had already fought in World War II and been wounded.

The VS would be organized on the model of the 42 Gaue, or Regions, of the Third Reich, all controlled by Bormann as virtual domestic dictator while Hitler ran the war. This had been the setup ever since Germany invaded Poland on September 1, 1939, and thus Bormann understood his task thoroughly, governing the Reich via teleprinter, telegraph, radio, and telephone from wherever Hitlers Fuhrer Headquarters happened to be. He would rule the VS through the Gau, Kreis (county), and Ortsgruppenleiters (town leaders).

In Bormanns mind, the VS would fight like the sturdy Japanese in the Pacific: to the last man, bullet, and breath. The nature of Bormanns vision for the VS was unity overall, Party control, and formations based on the members place of residence. The last factor was all important in his view, as he believed that it was critical to the fighting success of the VS as a combat unit that would be called into action when the enemy arrived at the edges of their towns and cities, most of which had been officially declared fortresses by the Fuhrer anyway.

The Fuhrer Decree of September 25 gave the Gauleiters the power to organize the VS in their domains, which included more than 800 counties in the Reich proper. The average age of those who served (the national oath-taking was conducted on November 12, 1944) was between 45 and 52, and Bormannaping Hitler, here refused to call up women, unlike the Soviets. Of those men who were called up, most were white-collar workers, unaccustomed to the harsh life of a soldier in the field.

Marksmanship vs Antitank Weapons

On November 27, 1944, Himmler took command of Army Group Upper Rhine, thus making him Bormanns first serious rival for power, as both wanted to succeed Hitler as Fuhrer. Each reasoned that if they were able to win the war for Germany, they would accede to the mantle, and there was, indeed, some logic in their positions. As it turned out, Himmlers tenure as commander was brief, as he proved to be completely incompetent in the position.

Even though Bormann irritated Himmler by referring to the units as my VS, it was a top SS manGeneral Gottlob Bergerwho was chief of staff of the Volkssturm and who reported directly to Himmler, not Bormann. Indeed, it was Berger who announced that the VS would be trained and ready for combat against the Russians and Western Allies no later than March 31, 1945.

In training, Berger wanted individual rifle marksmanship stressed for the civilian warriors, while Bormann opted instead for small antitank weapons with which to defeat the masses of Russian T-34s and American M-4 Sherman tanks. In the end, Bormann prevailed, and in this instance his view was militarily sound as events were to prove, especially in the defense of Berlin and other German cities.

The citizen-soldiers trained on weeknights and for six hours on Sundays, and what rifle training was provided was given by SA Chief of Staff Wilhelm Schepmanns brownshirted Stormtroopers. Schepmann had wanted a real wartime role for the SA ever since 1939, and he saw the VS as a way of achieving it at the expense of the SS (its hated rival since 1934), the Party, and the German Army (which it had wanted to replace as early as 1930).

Hitler and Bormann, too, saw this danger, and they were not about to let Schepmann achieve an ambition that had eluded the murdered SA leader Captain Ernst Rohm in the Blood Purge of June 30-July 2, 1934. Thus, Schepmann would be allowed to arm and train the VS but not lead it.

Nor would Dr. Josef Goebbels in his capacity as Hitlers appointed Reich Plenipotentiary for Total War. Despite the famous wartime newsreels of the leather-coated propaganda minister reviewing VS troops passing on parade, his role with the Volkssturm was really quite minimal, except for exhorting them to fight for Berlin, of which he was Gauleiter.

Then there was the National Socialist Motor Corps led by Erwin Kraus that provided courier motorcyclists and truck drivers to transport the VS men to their sites, as well as units of the Nazi Fliers Korps (NSFK).

Wars Were Winner-Take-All Affairs

It seemed that every Party organization wanted its finger in the VS pie, and for a very simple reason, then and now still incomprehensible to those in the West: the Nazis believed that the war could still be won!

First, from Hitler on down, the true Nazis took it as an article of faith that racially pure Germans of good stock would defeat the tainted Slavs from the steppes of Russia and the corrupt Americans, British, and Canadians from the West. Dr. Goebbelss propaganda screamed its slogans: Never again, 1918! Our walls may break, but our hearts never!

The citizen-soldiers of the Third Reichindoctrinated as true believerswould also be fighting for their own homes and families on German soil, and the threat from the East also induced in the Germans of East Prussia the very real fear of Red Army retaliation for the atrocities that had been committed by the Germans in the USSR during 1941-1944.

As one historian put it, Wars were winner-take-all affairs. To the Nazis, negotiations equaled weakness and surrender. In this respect, Hitler, Bormann, and Goebbels were far more Nazi than either or both Himmler and Reich Marshal Hermann Goring, who in the end in 1945 wanted to treat with the enemy.

Thus, especially after the failure of the July 20 assassination attemptwhen, in their eyes, the traitors had been unmaskedthe Nazis wanted to renewnot endthe fighting. It is significant to note that more people in Europe died after July 20, 1944, than in all of the five years of war before it.

Scorched Earth

To the Nazis, the VS was both a valid and rational response to the events of 1944-1945, just as the rise of the Party itself had been to the fall of Imperial Germany in 1918-1920. Indeed, if anyones morale would collapse, it would be that of the Allies, not the German people led by the Nazi Party under Hitler.

Ironically, too, as the German armies retreatedand this included the battered Waffen SS as wellso, too, did the power of the Party increase within the borders of the pre-1939 Greater German Reich; thus, as Himmler lost power, Bormann gained it.

By the spring of 1945, Himmler ceased to be a real factor in VS power struggles and was replaced in these battles by Hitlers Minister of Armaments and War Production, Albert Speer, who was working hand in glove with the German armed forcesmainly the Regular Armyto prevent the Fuhrers decreed scorched earth policies designed to make the Third Reich an industrial wasteland of no use to any conquering army.

Speerunlike hardliners Himmler and Goringwas not a true Nazi in the Hitler-Goebbels-Bormann mold and saw for himself a role as the rebuilder of the Fourth Reich under the auspices of the Western Allies at least.

The Volkssturms Ties to the Wehrmacht

In the end, however, Bormanns concept of the Volkssturm was undone by the very people he wanted to protect it from the most, and from whom he expected the least dangerthe officers and men of the German Army in whose sphere of operations the individual VS units fell.

The primary reason for this was that the Party simply could not and did not supply the VS with the weapons, uniforms, and supplies that it needed, while the regular military most often did. Wherever the VS and the military worked well together, the morale was good, absenteeism down, discipline maintained, and training heightened. Thus, much to his chagrin, Bormann was faced with a situation in which the Army delivered where the Party had failed.

The reason for this, too, was thatunlike the higher ranks of the officer corps, which was, by and large, monarchist in belief and backgroundthe lower ranking officers and most enlisted men were Nazis to the core. To them, the attempt to kill Hitler on July 20, 1944, was a disgrace to the good name of Germany.

Indeed, the Army was intimately involved with the Volkssturm from its very beginning. It was the Army that provided both the Panzerfaust (a shoulder-fired rocket similar to the U.S. bazooka) and Panzerschreck (Terror of the Tanks) antitank weapons that stopped many an enemy tank in its tracks. In the end, the Panzerfausts were the only weapons that were available to the VS in abundant supply for combat.

Recognizing the VS as a Legitimate Fighting Force

One fear that all VS men shared was that, without uniforms, they would simply be shot out of hand by the enemy for being partisans or terrorists behind the lines, particularly if they were confused with Dr. Leys proposed postwar Werewolf organization. They also disliked the Partys brown uniforms, as they feared that Red Army troops would be more likely to kill them and refuse to take them prisoner.

Some even served in civilian clothes, overcoats, and hats, with but a Volkssturm armband and a pay book to identify them officially as Volkssturm men. Negotiations were conducted with the Western Allies to recognize the VS as true combatants, and these were successful, but not, significantly, with the Soviets.

The VS in Combat

In combat in the East, the VS formations were at the disposal of Guderian (again, ironically), and here they gave a good account of themselves, even halting the Red Army advance at Gumbinnen in East Prussia late in 1944 and elsewhere, but in the West they gave up at places like Remagen when they saw the German Army retreat as well. Here, they served under Field Marshals Gerd von Rundstedt, Walther Model, and Albert Kesselring.

VS casualty rates were sometimes as high as 70 to 80 percent, while other units panicked and fled. In the East, some 650,000 VS men saw action, but when Nazi Party officials fled at the approach of the Red Army, so did the VS. When the Army left the VS as rearguard units, not too surprisingly, they returned to their homes rather than die in this manner.

In the West, some 150,000 VS men served and had helped to man the West Wall fortifications, as well as hold the Upper Rhine, but in the end, the VS had not achieved Himmlers or Bormanns goal. It is estimated that a million VS troops were taken prisoner by wars end, and thousands more were killed and wounded.

True, the Volkssturm was a legal militia, not partisan guerrillas, but the Nazis were simply wrong about both their Peoples Militias motivation and desire to fight to the bitter end, and also their enemies sense of moral outrage against Nazism and determination to totally defeat the Third Reichno matter how long it took or at what cost.

This article by Blaine Taylor originally appeared on the Warfare History Network.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

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July 27 marked 100 days since the outbreak of deadly clashes between protesters calling for the ouster of Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega and pro-government forces. But as the country passed that grim milestone, there is little time to count the dead, which now number 448, according to human rights groups.

The country remains in a state of chaos, as photographs taken by Fred Ramos and Victor Pena, two photographers for the Latin American news website El Faro, show all too clearly. Barricades have transformed neighborhoods and roads and the unrest has paralyzed businesses, schools and universities. Almost 3,000 people have been injured.

A barricade near the National Autonomous University of Managua (UNAN) on July 5, 2018.

Protesters clash with police during protests in Masaya, southeast of Managua, on June 2.

A demonstrator waves a flag during a protest in Managua on April 29.

President Ortega helped to lead his own uprising in 1978, as the left-wing Sandinista group ousted the long-ruling Somoza family dictatorship. Ortega, 72, ruled Nicaragua as a revolutionary hero from 1979 to 1990, but since returning to power in 2007, critics say he has become increasingly authoritarian.

The protests this year began on April 18, when pro-government paramilitary gangs violently repressed a small student-led protest in Managua against controversial pension reforms. That clash left eight with injuries, including head wounds and fractured fingers. One journalist was hospitalized.

Thousands of people participate in a Catholic Church-organized rally in Managua on April 29.

Four days later the cuts were scrapped, but it was too late: public anger at the response had already escalated into calls for Ortegas resignation. The president calls the protesters right-wing delinquents and has repeatedly insisted he will not step down.

Across the country, students have occupied universities and workers have called strikes. But the clashes havent stopped and the death toll keeps rising. Some 19 police officers are among the dead, according to the U.N.s human rights spokesman. The majority are civilians.

Demonstrators during a protest in Managua on April 26.

Flowers and candles surround papers written with the names of victims, who were killed during the protests, on April 25.

The Catholic Church has attempted to play a mediating role, helping to organize conversations between student leaders, civil society groups and the government.

The government has accepted some demands, such as to allow the entry of international bodies such as the U.N. and the E.U. into Nicaragua and to disarm the paramilitary gangs, but protesters say they have not fulfilled their promises.

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A Venezuelan man participating in the various anti-government protests in Managua on June 27. An AK-47 bullet hangs from his neck.

Faith in the negotiations was severely undermined on June 17 when, hours after the first agreements were signed, a family of six were killed when their home was set on fire by police and paramilitaries, according to neighbors. The victims included an eight-month-old and a two year-old child.

On June 23, as police and paramilitary groups opened fire on the student-occupied University of Managua, a one-year-old boy, Teyler Lorio, was hit in the head by a stray bullet and died. His mother rejected government claims that protesters had caused his death, telling a local TV station, He was killed by a police gunshot. I saw them. They were police.

A child with a toy gunfitted with a firework that emits smokepretend to guard a barricade in La Trinidad, a municipality north of Managua, on June 28.

Students receive first-aid training in the National Autonomous University of Managua on June 28.

Armed students stand guard near the National Autonomous University of Managua on June 30.

A group of masked anti-government demonstrators in Masaya on June 5.

The U.N, the U.S. and 13 Latin American countries have demanded the government put a stop to the violence, with many fearing the country is on the path to becoming the next Venezuela.

On July 16, speaking from neighboring Costa Rica, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres ramped up pressure on Ortega, calling the death toll absolutely shocking and attributing it to the use of force on the part of entities linked to the State.

A demonstrator who was injured during a clash with police in Masaya on June 2.

A student who was shot in both arms, during a police attack on the National Autonomous University of Managua, on June 27.

A student sleeps beside her handmade weapon in the National Autonomous University of Managua on June 29.

Students practice boxing inside the National Autonomous University of Managua on June 27. The university was overtaken by students for two months.

That same day, Nicaraguas Congress passed an anti-terrorism law that the U.N. warned is very vague and could allow the government to designate people who are simply exercising their right to protest as terrorists. With Ortega vowing to stay in office until scheduled elections in 2021, and protesters planning to stay in the streets despite the loss of Masaya, a troubling new chapter in Nicaraguas history may just be getting started.

The body of Teyler Lorio, more than a year old, whose parents said he died after being struck by a stray police bullet, in Managua on June 24.

Fred Ramos and Victor Pena are photographers based in El Salvador. Follow them on Instagram @ramos_fred and @victorpena84.

Ciara Nugent is TIME reporter based in London. Follow her on Twitter @ciaraCnugent.

Andrew Katz, who edited this photo essay, is TIMEs Deputy Director of Multimedia. Follow him on Instagram @katzandrew.
Intel Corporation (Nasdaq: INTC) reported second-quarter earnings and revenue beats on Thursday afternoon, but the stock dropped more than 8 percent on Friday morning after the company provided a disappointing update on its highly anticipated 10-nanometer processors. Analysts say product delays could cost Intel market share and make INTC stock a risky long-term bet.

Intel reported second-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.04 on revenue of $16.96 billion. Both numbers topped consensus analyst estimates of 96 cents and $16.77 billion, respectively. Revenue was up 15 percent from a year ago.

Intel guided for third-quarter EPS of $1.15 on revenue of $18.1 billion, again exceeding Wall Street expectations of $1.08 in EPS and $17.6 billion in revenue.

[See: The 10 Most Valuable Tech Companies in the World.]

"After five decades in tech, Intel is poised to deliver our third record year in a row," CEO Bob Swan says in a statement. "We are uniquely positioned to capitalize on the need to process, store and move data, which has never been more pervasive or more valuable."

Despite the strong second-quarter numbers and positive near-term outlook, Intel investors focused more on commentary from the company related to its 10nm processors. After announcing in April that production of the new processors would be pushed from late 2018 to 2019, Swan said on Thursday that the 10nm products will be available by the holiday season in 2019. The comments seem to imply a late-2019 launch instead of the early 2019 launch investors had wanted.

Bank of America analyst Vivek Arya downgraded Intel stock from "buy" to "neutral" on Friday following the comments and says there are too many risks for Intel at the moment. Arya projects Intel's EPS growth will drop from 20 percent in 2018 to just 5 percent in 2019. He also says 10nm product delays are giving Intel competitors such as Advanced Micro Devices ( AMD) an opening to steal market share.

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"The biggest risk to INTC is the year delay in shipments of its next-gen 10nm product while rivals have finally caught up and are enabling [them] to potentially leap frog," Arya says. "INTC has many levers beyond just manufacturing, along with its superior resources and its incumbency, but the headline risk around delays is unlikely to change quickly and could remain an overhang."

[See: 9 Ways to Invest in Red-Hot Tech Stocks.]

In addition to the "neutral" rating, Bank of America has a $56 price target for INTC stock.

Wayne Duggan is a freelance investment strategy reporter with a focus on energy and emerging market stocks. He has a degree in brain and cognitive sciences from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and specializes in the psychological challenges of investing. He is a senior financial market reporter for Benzinga and has contributed financial market analysis to Motley Fool, Seeking Alpha and InvestorPlace. He is also the author of the book "Beating Wall Street With Common Sense," which focuses on the practical strategies he has used to outperform the stock market. You can follow him on Twitter @DugganSense, check out his latest content at tradingcommonsense.com or email him at wpd@tradingcommonsense.com.
(Reuters) - Web browser developer Opera Ltd's shares rose as much as 30 percent in their U.S. market debut on Friday, giving the Norway-based company a market value of about $1.72 billion.

The company's shares opened at $14.34, about 20 percent above its initial public offering price of $12.00 per American depositary share.

Opera, founded in 1995, was originally owned by Norwegian software firm Otello Corp ASA before being bought by a consortium of Chinese investors in 2016.

The company has pioneered several innovations that later became common in major browsers such as tabbed browsing and pop-up blocking, which helped users control an earlier generation of in-your-face ads and malware disguised as advertising.

Opera competes with companies such as Alphabet Inc, Apple Inc and Microsoft Corp.

Opera, which has about 322 million monthly active users, said its mobile browsers are mostly used in Asia and Africa, while its PC browsers are preferred in North America and Europe.

The company reported net income of $6.6 million for the quarter ended March 31, compared with a loss of $168,000 a year earlier.

Operating revenue in the quarter rose to $39.45 million from $25.48 million. Most of the company's revenue is generated through agreements with advertisements and search partners.

Opera's IPO of 9.6 million ADSs was priced on Friday at the top end of its indicated range, raising about $115 million.

Each ADS is equal to two ordinary shares, and the company has 220.3 million ordinary shares outstanding after the offering.

The proceeds from the offering will be used for research and development, strategic partnerships and distribution and marketing, the company said in its IPO filing https://bit.ly/2v5vYjY.

CICC and Citigroup were the underwriters for the offering.

(Reporting by Diptendu Lahiri and Nikhil Subba in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
Baghdad (AFP) - Iraq will put on trial five election officials in connection with fraud, including vote buying, during the country's May legislative elections, a judicial official said on Saturday.

Judge Laith Hamza said the suspects were the heads of election offices in Salaheddin, Kirkuk and Anbar provinces as well as those who oversaw the voting in neighbouring Jordan and Turkey.

All five have been sacked "and will appear before the courts" in connection with allegations of fraud, Hamza said.

The decision to put them on trial has been taken following recommendations made by a ministerial committee, which issued a 28-page report after reviewing a series of complaints.

Hamza said the committee recommended they be tried after coming across "(election) violations, fraud and corruption" in the districts which the five suspects headed.

According to the ministerial report, a copy of which has been seen by AFP, some of the alleged fraud involved "vote buying" on behalf of the Minister of Commerce Salman Ali and his brother Issam.

Iraq's May election were marred by allegations of fraud which prompted the supreme court to order a manual recount in several districts, including in the northern multi-ethnic city of Kirkuk.

The election was won by populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr's joint list with communists, as long-time political figures were pushed out by voters seeking change in a country mired in conflict and corruption.

The results were contested mainly by the old guard.

The supreme court also ratified a decision by the outgoing parliament to dismiss Iraq's nine-member electoral commission and replace them with judges.

The ministerial committee additionally recommended in its report that a new law be passed to ensure that in the future independent judges -- rather that an electoral commission -- oversee elections.
Israel Navy soldiers stand on the Rahav, the fifth submarine in the fleet, as it docks in Haifa port January 12, 2016. The Dolphin-class submarines, widely believed to be capable of firing nuclear missiles, were manufactured in Germany and sold to Israel

Sebastien Roblin

Security, Middle East

Thanks to Germany.

Israel Might Have as Many as 300 Nuclear Weapons. And Some Are in the 'Ocean.'

Israel has never officially admitted to possessing nuclear weapons.

Unofficially, Tel Aviv wants everyone to know it has them, and doesnt hesitate to make thinly-veiled references to its willingness to use them if confronted by an existential threat. Estimates on the size of Tel Avivs nuclear stockpile range from 80 to 300 nuclear weapons, the latter number exceeding Chinas arsenal.

Originally, Israels nuclear forces relied on air-dropped nuclear bombs and Jericho ballistic missiles. For example, when Egyptian and Syrian armies attacked Israel during the 1973 Yom Kippur War, a squadron of eight Israeli F-4 Phantom jets loaded with nuclear bombs was placed on alert by Prime Minister Golda Meir, ready to unleash nuclear bombs on Cairo and Damascus should the Arab armies break through.

Though Israel is the only nuclear-armed state in the Middle East, Tel Aviv is preoccupied by the fear that an adversary might one day attempt a first strike to destroy its nuclear missiles and strike planes on the ground before they can retaliate. Currently, the only hostile states likely to acquire such a capability are Iran or Syria.

To forestall such a strategy, Israeli has aggressively targeted missile and nuclear technology programs in Iraq, Syria and Iran with air raids, sabotage and assassination campaigns. However, it also has developed a second-strike capabilitythat is, a survivable weapon which promises certain nuclear retaliation no matter how effective an enemys first strike.

Most nuclear powers operate nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines which can spend months quietly submerged deep underwater and at any moment unleash ocean-spanning ballistic missiles to rain apocalyptic destruction on an adversarys major centers. Because theres little chance of finding all of these subs before they fire, they serve as one hell of a disincentive to even think about a first strike.

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But nuclear-powered submarines and SLBMs are prohibitively expensive for a country with the population of New Jerseyso Israeli found a more affordable alternative.

Berlins Unconventional Apology

During the 1991 Gulf War, it emerged that German scientists and firms had played a role in dispersing ballistic missile and chemical weapons technology to various Arab governmentstechnology which aided Saddam Hussein in bombarding Israel with Scud missiles. This in fact was long-running sore point: in the early 1960s, Israeli agents even carried out assassination attempts, kidnappings and bombings targeting German weapons scientists working on behalf of Arab governments.

Chancellor Helmut Kohl hatched a plan to simultaneously compensate Israel for the damages, while generating business for German shipbuilders suffering a downturn due to post-Cold War defense cuts. Starting in the 1970s, German shipbuilder HDW began churning Type 209 diesel electric submarines for export, with nearly 60 still operational around the globe. One Type 209, the San Luis, managed to ambush Royal Navy vessels twice during the Falkland War, though it failed to sink any ship due to the defective torpedoes.

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Kohl offered to fully-subsidize the construction of two enlarged Type 209s, designated the Dolphin-class, as well as cover 50 percent of the cost of a third boat in 1994. The Dolphins displaced 1,900-tons while submerged, measured 57-meters long and are manned by a crew of 35though they can accommodate up to ten special forces personnel. These entered service 19992000 as the INS Dolphin, Leviathan and Tekumah (Revival).

Each Dolphin came equipped with six regular tubes for firing 533-millimeter DM2A4 heavyweight fiber-optic guided torpedoes and Harpoon anti-ship missilesas well as four 650-millimeter mega-sized tubes, which are rare in modern submarines. These tubes can be used to deploy naval commandos for reconnaissance and sabotage missions, which have played a major role in Israeli submarine operations.

However, the plus-size torpedo tubes have a useful additional function: they can accommodate especially large submarine-launched cruise missiles (SLCM)missiles large enough to carry a nuclear warhead. While a ballistic missile arcs into space traveling at many times the speed of sound, cruise missiles fly much slower and skim low over the earths surface.

In the 1990s the United States declined to provide Israel with submarine-launched Tomahawk cruise missiles due to the rules of the Missile Technology Control Regime prohibiting transfer of cruise missile with a range exceeding 300 miles.

Instead, Tel Aviv went ahead and developed their own. In 2000, U.S. Navy radars detected test launches of Israeli SLCMs in the Indian Ocean that struck a target 930 miles away. The weapon is generally believed to be the Popeye Turboan adaptation of a subsonic air-launched cruise missile that can allegedly carry a 200-kiloton nuclear warhead. However, the SLCMs characteristics are veiled in secrecy and some sources suggest a different missile type entirely is used. An Israeli Dolphin submarine may have struck the Syrian port of Latakia with a conventional cruise missile in 2013 due to reports of a shipment of Russian P-800 anti-ship missiles.

Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu then purchased three more German submarines, arousing considerable controversy as many felt additional boats were unnecessary. In 2012, Der Spiegel published an expose detailing how German engineers were well-aware of the Dolphin 2s intended role as nuclear-weapon delivery system, arousing some controversy with the public, as Chancellor Merkel supposedly agreed to the sale in exchange for unrealized promises from Netanyahu to adopt a more conciliatory policy towards the Palestinians. Israel has nonetheless received two of the Dolphin 2s, the Rahav (Neptune) and Tanin (Crocodile) with the Dakar expected in 2018 or 2019.

The 2,400 ton Dolphin 2 model is based on the state-of-the-art Type 212 submarine, which features Air-Independent Propulsion technology and swim faster at twenty-five knots. While diesel submarines rely on noisy air-consuming diesel generators which require the submarine to regularly surface or snorkel, AIP-powered submarines can swim underwater very quietly at low speeds for weeks at a time.

This not only means they are stealthier sea-control platforms, but makes them more viable for lengthy nuclear deterrence patrols. Currently, the Chinese AIP-powered Type 32 Qing-class is the only AIP-powered submarine in service armed with ballistic missiles.

However, as fellow TNI writer Robert Farley points out, there are geographic obstacles that diminish the practicality of Israels sea-based nuclear deterrence. For now, there is only one intended target: Iran, a country which lies hundreds of miles away from Israel. While Tehran lies barely within the supposed 930-mile range of an Israeli submarine deployed from their base in Haifa into the Mediterranean Sea, the missiles would have to spend over an hour overflying Syria and Iraq, posing navigational and survivability challenges.

A closer avenue for attack would lie in the Persian Gulf, but this would involve transiting the submarines through the Suez Canal (controlled by Egypt), around Africa (impractically far for the Dolphin-class), or stationing some at the naval base at Eilat, which faces the Gulf of Aqaba on the southern tip of Israel and is surrounded by Egypt, Jordan and Saudi Arabia. In short, deploying Israeli submarines to Irans southern flank would require some degree of cooperation and logistical support from other Middle Eastern states that might not be forthcoming in a crisis scenario.

Farley is probably correct in arguing that the Israels nuclear-tipped SLCMs are less practical than Tel Avivs other nuclear-delivery platforms. For that matter, Israel doesnt currently face any adversaries with nuclear capabilities to deter against. However, like the idea of second-strike capability in general, the threat of sea-launched nukes may be more intended political weapon than one strictly intended for its military effectiveness.

Sebastien Roblin holds a masters degree in conflict resolution from Georgetown University and served as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. He has also worked in education, editing, and refugee resettlement in France and the United States. He currently writes on security and military history for War Is Boring.

Image: Israel Navy soldiers stand on the Rahav, the fifth submarine in the fleet, as it docks in Haifa port January 12, 2016. The Dolphin-class submarines, widely believed to be capable of firing nuclear missiles, were manufactured in Germany and sold to Israel at deep discounts as part of Berlin's commitment to shoring up the security of the country set in part as a haven for Jews who survived the Holocaust. REUTERS/Baz Ratner

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Eight choirs from China, United Kingdom, Austria and Slovenia will meet audiences at the National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA) in Beijing from Aug. 2 to 10 for the NCPA August Chorus Festival 2018.

Themed "Ode to Youth," the NCPA August Chorus Festival 2018 has invited well-known junior choirs from at home and abroad to present choruses of different styles, regions and genres.

The Beijing Philharmonic Choir will kick off the festival under the baton of Chinese conductor Yang Hongnian, performing classic Chinese melodies, such as "Let's Paddle Together" and "Dance of the Youth".

The 500-year-old Oxford College Choir will present the closing performance for the festival at the NCPA on August 10th, singing excerpts of George Handel's work "Hercules", traditional British folk music, as well as highlights of film soundtracks.

The festival will also feature several chorus classes and meet-and-greets, offering opportunities for music fans to communicate with the artists face-to-face and accept professional guidance.
By Marty Graham SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - A judge on Friday urged the U.S. government to focus on finding deported immigrant parents so it could reunite them with their children who remain in the United States following separation by officials at the U.S.-Mexico border in recent months. The government had declared it had met a court-ordered deadline to reunite families separated during the Trump administration's "zero tolerance policy" aimed at discouraging illegal immigration. U.S. Judge Dana Sabraw said at a court hearing in San Diego the government deserved credit for the 1,820 children released from custody to a parent or sponsor. However, he urged officials to focus on the 711 children who remain separated after the government deemed their parents ineligible because they were deported, the government was unable to find them in the United States or the parent failed a background check. "The focus has to be on the parents removed without their children and the up to 52 parents released to the interior without their children," Sabraw said at Friday's hearing. Sabraw seemed most concerned during Friday's hearing with allegations that 120 parents who the government said had waived their right to reunification might have misunderstood what they were signing, or felt coerced. The government has said it has given every detained parent notice of their legal rights, and contact information for an attorney. The parents were "effectively being tortured" by the knowledge they accidentally signed forms waiving the right to their child, Lee Gelernt, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union, said after the hearing. The ACLU, which brought the lawsuit that led to Sabraw's reunification order, asked Sabraw to halt deportations of parents who waived their reunification rights and to give parents a week after being reunited with their children before being deported. Parents needed time to consider legal options, such as leaving the child in the United States to pursue asylum on their own, the ACLU said. The parents have largely fled violence in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, according to immigration advocates. The government has said the parents already have adequate time to consider their rights, and granting the ACLU request was unwarranted. Sabraw took the request under advisement. Separately, a U.S. federal judge on Friday ordered the appointment of an independent monitor to report on conditions in federal detention centers housing immigrant children. At a Los Angeles court hearing, U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee said there appeared to be persistent problems at the centers and the monitor would review potential violations of the 1997 Flores settlement, which set standards for the facilities. Rights groups on Friday criticized the government's efforts to reunify immigrant children and parents as confused and chaotic. The government acknowledged that it lacked the technical capability to quickly provide information about children separated from their parents, according to a court filing on Thursday. Advocates said they were struggling to find immigrant families to confirm they had been matched with their children. "The deadline is not the finish line," said Efren Olivares of the Texas Civil Rights Project. "The work is only beginning and it will take many months." He said his group represented 382 families, and only 110 were reunited with their children. The others were deported without their child or in detention without their child and the group was trying to determine the fate of 200 parents. Non-profit groups were providing cash and transportation to help families get on their feet, Olivares said. "The government has literally left these people to fend for themselves," Olivares said on a call with reporters. "It confirms that when the government started separating families earlier this summer they didnt have a plan to reunite them." (Reporting by Marty Graham in San Diego; Tom Hals in Wilmington, Del.,; Reade Levinson in New York; additional reporting by Andrew Hay in New Mexico; Writing by Tom Hals, Editing by Noeleen Walder and Grant McCool)
SAN DIEGO (AP)  A federal judge commended the Trump administration for reunifying families in its custody with their children after being separated at the U.S.-Mexico border, while faulting it for leaving hundreds of families still apart and warning that a better system must be in place.

U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw said the government gets "great credit" after reunifying more than 1,800 children 5 and over with parents or sponsors by Thursday's court-imposed deadline.

He pointed out that many of the families were reunited while in custody then turned his attention to 431 children whose parents have been deported.

"The government is at fault for losing several hundred parents in the process and that's where we go next," the judge said.

Sabraw ordered the government and the American Civil Liberties Union, which represents the parents, to submit written updates every Thursday on still-separated families.

The order signaled slightly looser oversight than Sabraw imposed last month with frequent hearings to make sure his deadline was met.

In late June, the judge gave the government 14 days to reunify children under 5 and 30 days to reunite children 5 and older with their families.

Sabraw said the "problem" could not be repeated, describing how Homeland Security, Health and Human Services and Justice departments didn't have a system to keep track of the families that were separated when the administration introduced a "zero tolerance" policy toward illegal entry.

"Each (department) was like its own stovepipe, each had its own boss, and they did not communicate," he said. "What was lost in the process was the family."

Sabraw didn't rule immediately on a request by the ACLU to give parents a week to decide whether or not to seek asylum after the group is notified that the family is reunited. As a result, a temporary halt on deportations remained in place.

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Earlier Friday, Homeland Security officials said they had reunified all eligible parents with children  but noted many others were not eligible because they had been released from immigration custody, are in their home countries or chose not to be reunited.

More than 1,800 children 5 and older had been reunited with parents or sponsors as of Thursday. That included 1,442 children who were returned to parents who were in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, and another 378 who were released under a variety of other circumstances.

On a parallel legal front, a federal judge in Los Angeles said Friday that she will appoint an independent monitor to evaluate conditions for immigrant children in U.S. border facilities in Texas following a spate of reports of spoiled food, insufficient water and frigid conditions faced by the youngsters and their parents.

Judge Dolly M. Gee said she reached her decision after seeing a "disconnect" between U.S. government monitors' assessment of conditions in facilities in Texas' Rio Grande Valley and the accounts of more than 200 immigrant children and their parents detailing numerous problems.

"It seems like there continue to be persistent problems," she said during a hearing on a longstanding settlement in a case focusing on the care of children in government custody. "I need to appoint an independent monitor to give me an objective viewpoint about what is going on at the facilities."

Peter Schey, an attorney who represents immigrant children detained by the U.S government, said problems have worsened with children now spending three to six days in U.S. Customs and Border Protection facilities, where they were previously held one to three days.

"We've seen an intensification with all the chaos the administration has caused," said Schey, who has long requested an independent monitor.

Sarah Fabian, a Justice Department attorney, opposed the appointment without having an opportunity to respond to the accounts of children and parents collected by immigrant advocates at facilities in June and July. She said border authorities, for example, provide water fountains and jugs in cells and that facility conditions must comply with agency policies.

Both sides have until Aug. 10 to agree on a proposed monitor. If they can't, each will make suggestions to the judge and she will choose.

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Long reported from Washington and Taxin reported from Los Angeles.
BANGKOK (Reuters) - Landslides in northern Thailand, triggered by days of heavy downpours, killed seven people on Saturday and left one missing, an official said. All of the victims lived in the mountainous district of Bo Kluea in Nan province, where the landslides have also caused damage to houses and roads, Prasit Dussadeewong, a district security official, told Reuters. "It's because of nearly two weeks of heavy rains. We've warned people of such landslides but did not expect they would be this big," he said. Landslides and flooding in Thailand usually occur during the May-November rainy season. Widespread floods in 2011 killed more than 900 people and caused major disruption to industry and dented economic growth. (Reporting by Pracha Hariraksapitak; Writing by Orathai Sriring; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Latest on a dispute over records associated with the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court (all times local):

6:30 p.m.

Senate Republicans are requesting documents from Supreme Court nominee Bret Kavanaugh's time in the Bush White House but they're doing it without the support of Democrats who believe more documents should be produced.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley said Friday evening that he has requested access to Kavanaugh's White House Counsel's office emails, all paper files maintained by him in that position and all documents relating to his nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

Grassley's request doesn't include documents from Kavanaugh's time as Bush's staff secretary. Kavanaugh held that position from 2003 to 2006 after serving in the White House Counsel's office.

Democrats have said they want records from Kavanaugh's time as staff secretary too. Republicans say Democrats' request is a delay tactic.

3:20 p.m.

The Senate's top Democrat is appealing to former President George W. Bush in a fight over documents related to Supreme Court nominee and former Bush aide Brett Kavanaugh.

Kavanaugh worked for Bush from 2001 to 2006.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer on Friday released a letter to Bush urging him to make public "the complete record of Judge Kavanaugh's service." That includes Kavanaugh's time in the White House counsel's office and as staff secretary. Schumer says Republicans apparently plan to request a "pre-screened subset of Judge Kavanaugh's record."

Democrats and Republicans have sparred in particular this week over Kavanaugh's staff secretary records. Democrats say they're crucial. Republicans disagree.

Separately, Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein has written the National Archives to complain about access to documents related to the Kavanaugh nomination.

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5:30 a.m.

More than a decade after he served as what's been called the president's "inbox and outbox," Brett Kavanaugh's role as White House staff secretary to President George W. Bush has become a flashpoint as Republicans push his confirmation to the Supreme Court.

Democrats want to see records from the time, portraying the potentially millions of documents as vital to understanding his approach to the law. Republicans disagree and have accused Democrats of using the issue to try to delay Kavanaugh's confirmation.

The debate could interfere with Republicans' goal of swiftly confirming President Donald Trump's pick for the court in time for the start of the new term Oct. 1. With Senate control slimly held by Republicans 51-49, Democrats can't block Kavanaugh's nomination outright if Republicans hold together. Instead, Democrats are trying to delay the proceedings in hopes that time spent reviewing the judge's record could unearth fresh concerns to sway senators' opinions and upend voting.
REDDING, Calif. (AP)  The Latest on California's devastating wildfires (all times local):

8:15 p.m.

Firefighters say 500 structures have been destroyed in a raging Northern California wildfire and another 5,000 are threatened.

Cal Fire released the updated figure Friday, though the number of homes burned in the so-called Carr Fire is expected to increase.

Earlier Friday, fire officials said 65 structures had been destroyed by the fast-moving blaze in Shasta County.

The blaze grew to 75 square miles (194 square kilometers) by Friday night. It began Monday with a mechanical failure of a vehicle. It grew completely out of control on Thursday, tearing through two small communities and reaching the city of Redding.

Tens of thousands of people fled the city in fear of their lives from the blaze, which has killed two firefighters.

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7:20 p.m.

Yosemite Valley won't be open to all visitors for another week because of a massive wildfire that has grown to nearly 72 square miles (186 square kilometers).

Yosemite National Park officials said Friday that the park won't reopen to everyone until the afternoon of Aug. 3.

They say "limited visitor services" will be available inside the valley until then.

Yosemite Valley has been closed since July 25 because of smoke from a fire now 29 percent contained.

The closure has been heartbreaking for travelers, many of whom had planned their trips months in advance to hike and climb amid the spectacular views in Yosemite.

At least 1,000 campground and hotel bookings had been canceled through Thursday.

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5:45 p.m.

The police chief of the Northern California city hit hard by a fast-moving wildfire is among those whose homes went up in flames.

Redding Police Chief Roger Moore told the Los Angeles Times that he and two other police officers lost their homes in Shasta County's Carr Fire.

Moore estimates at least 100 homes were destroyed overnight Thursday as the flames jumped the Sacramento River and raced into the outskirts of Redding. More than 37,000 residents have been evacuated.

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The city of 92,000 is about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of the Oregon border.

Moore said the family saved valuables such as photos and documents, but his wife and children are anxious and sad.

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3:30 p.m.

An Associated Press reporter has counted at least 125 homes destroyed by a deadly blaze in Northern California.

Earlier Friday, fire officials said 65 structures had been destroyed by the fast-moving blaze in Shasta County.

The AP reporter on Friday afternoon counted 66 burned homes in the Lake Redding Estates neighborhood and another 60 in nearby Lake Keswick Estates.

The explosive wildfire in Northern California has killed two firefighters and officials say thousands have abandoned their homes in and around Redding.

Authorities are warning that the blaze will probably burn deeper into urban areas before there is any hope of containing it.

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3:15 p.m.

A fire official says winds fanning a deadly blaze in Northern California were so strong that trees were ripped from the ground, flew in the air and landed across the street.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Chad Carroll said Friday many of those trees landed on homes.

He says that winds were so extreme Thursday that embers traveled up to a mile ahead of the flames.

Carroll says the wildfire that started Monday and has killed two firefighters is mainly burning near the city of Redding, which has about 90,000 residents.

But he says extreme winds are expected again Friday afternoon and says people in the area should be ready to evacuate.

Mandatory evacuations were extended overnight to include the city of Shasta Lake, which has about 10,000 residents.

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2:20 p.m.

Residents of a Redding, California, neighborhood where several homes were destroyed say they had to scramble to escape the blaze.

Jim Chapin says he got home at around 7:30 p.m. Thursday and police were there telling people to evacuate the Lake Redding Estates neighborhood.

Chapin says his wife left, but he stayed behind to hose down the roof, gutters and fallen leaves.

He says that shortly afterward, the fire was burning trees behind neighbors' homes and ferocious winds whipped up branches, burning leaves, garbage-can lids, wood and other debris.

Chapin says the streets were so jammed with traffic that there was no way for firefighters to come in.

The 79-year-old returned to the neighborhood Friday and cried when he found his home still standing.

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1:10 p.m.

The Redding, California, firefighter killed by a massive blaze in Northern California has been identified as Jeremy Stoke.

The Redding firefighters union says Stoke was a fire inspector but released no other information.

He was the second victim of the blaze that started Monday in Shasta County.

Crews on Thursday found the body of a bulldozer operator who was hired privately to clear vegetation in the blaze's path.

Officials said the fire burned over the operator as he worked to try to contain the blaze.

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12:30 p.m.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokesman Scott McLean says at least 37,000 people had to evacuate after a fatal blaze tore through Northern California communities.

McLean says they are asking people to promptly heed evacuation orders.

Fire officials say strong winds pushed the massive wildfire into the city of Redding on Thursday.

Dennis Beck, chief of the Shasta Lake Fire Protection District, tells the Record Searchlight that firefighters are bracing for winds forecast for Friday afternoon that could blow the blaze into the city of Shasta Lake, north of Redding.

Beck says the entire city remains under mandatory evacuation.

He says easterly winds that could reach up to 8 miles per hour are expected by 4 p.m. Friday.

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12:15 p.m.

Officials say the three firefighters injured while fighting a massive blaze burning in Northern California were treated for burns to their ears, face and hands.

The Marin County Fire Department says its three firefighters were assigned to defend buildings when they were hit by a "sudden blast of heat."

The department says all were treated at Mercy Medical Center in Redding, California, and released and that one of them will be evaluated at UC Davis Burn Center in Sacramento.

One firefighter and a bulldozer operator have been killed by the fire.

Hospital spokesman Mike Mangas says five civilians were also treated for fire-related injuries. He says their injuries are not serious.

He says six babies in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit where premature newborns receive care were evacuated to the UC Davis Children's Hospital out of precaution.

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12:00 p.m.

Steve Hobson says he thought he'd stay behind to save his house as a Northern California wildfire raged but heat from the flames burned his skin and the smoke made it hard to breathe.

The former urban and wildland firefighter from the city of Redding said Friday he felt the fire sucking the air from the around him, whipping up swirling embers in a "fire tornado."

He says police pounded on doors telling everyone to leave and that he fled through walls of burning embers on both sides of the street.

He returned to his home Friday morning and found the perimeter fence of his house burned along with a backyard shed.

But he says his house made it through the night.

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11:38 a.m.

A spokesman says the number of homes and structures threated by a Northern California wildfire has increased tenfold to 5,000 after the fire exploded overnight.

CalFire spokesman Scott Kenney said Friday that the updated number reflects recent evacuations.

Kenney says the fire is only 3 percent contained and could spread in any direction.

Officials have put the destruction at 65 structures, though it is likely to jump much higher.

Dozens of homes were destroyed in subdivisions along the Sacramento River.

At least two dozen homes in Redding Lakes Estates were smoldering, though others escaped the flames unscathed.

Aerial footage showed dozens of homes were also in ruins in Keswick Lake Estates to the north.

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11:17 a.m.

A 32-year-old man has been charged with intentionally starting nine Southern California fires, including one that has chased thousands of residents of from mountain communities.

The Riverside County District Attorney's Office says Brandon McGlover of Temecula will be arraigned Friday on 15 felony counts that carry a potential sentence of life in prison.

All nine fires were set Wednesday in the Idyllwild, Anza and Sage areas about 100 miles east of Los Angeles. One became the Cranston Fire that has grown to 18 square miles (46 square kilometers) in the Idyllwild area of the San Jacinto Mountains.

Five homes have been destroyed, more than 4,900 structures are threatened and an estimated 6,000 people have been evacuated.

McGlover is being held in lieu of $1 million bail. He's scheduled to appear in court Friday afternoon at the Southwest Justice Center in Murrieta.

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11:00 a.m.

An official says more than 5,000 people have been evacuated to shelters and that authorities expect a destructive blaze in Northern California to continue moving into urban areas.

California Governor's Office of Emergency Services spokesman Kelly Huston says they are coordinating bringing in aircraft from the California National Guard to help fight the flames.

Officials say the extremely erratic wildfire near the city of Redding is growing rapidly amid scorching temperatures, low humidity and windy conditions. Temperatures are forecast to reach 110 degrees (43 Celsius) on Friday.

Huston says officials are moving emergency supplies including cots and food to four shelters set up in Shasta County.

He says the shelters are preparing for what could be a "longer-term" event.

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10:20 a.m.

A hospital official says eight people with fire-related injuries have been treated at the Mercy Medical Center in Redding, California.

Hospital spokesman Mike Mangas says three of the injured are firefighters hurt in a fatal blaze burning in Shasta County.

He says none of the injuries are serious.

Mangas says people are arriving at the hospital with respiratory problems.

Mangas says six babies in its neonatal intensive care unit, which cares for premature newborns, were evacuated out of precaution.

He says the hospital was preparing high-risk patients to be evacuated, but the hospital remains open and fully functional.

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9:25 a.m.

Residents of Northern California communities impacted by a massive wildfire say they had minutes to evacuate after officials knocked on their doors in the middle of the night as the fire expanded rapidly.

Sharon Stapleton tells the Record Searchlight newspaper that she and her husband grabbed a pillow, some shirts and pants, medicine, important documents and their two dogs and left in their sport utility vehicle and their motor home.

Stapleton says they left after a police officer knocked on their door Thursday, which was her 71st birthday.

Stapleton says she celebrated while sitting on a folding chair on the grassy lawn outside a shopping center in Redding, California, making calls to find out if their rented home survived.

She says some of her neighbors stayed put, hoping to ride out the firestorm.

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8:30 a.m.

Fire officials say 65 structures have been destroyed by a fatal wildfire tearing through rural Northern California towns. That's up from a previous report of 15 destroyed.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection says 500 other buildings are threatened by the massive blaze that has killed two firefighters.

Officials say the extremely erratic wildfire in and around the city of Redding is growing rapidly amid scorching temperatures, low humidity and windy conditions.

The blaze that began Monday grew overnight Thursday to 70 square miles (180 square kilometers).

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8:05 a.m.

Official say a firefighter has been killed by a massive Northern California wildfire, raising the death toll to 2.

The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said Friday that a firefighter with the fire department in the city of Redding was killed fighting the blaze in Shasta County.

The department says it is investigating the death. No other details were provided.

The blaze on Thursday killed a bulldozer operator as he worked to try to contain the blaze.

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7:40 a.m.

A wildfire in the San Jacinto Mountains of Southern California has grown to 18 square miles (46 square kilometers).

Authorities say just 3 percent of the fire's perimeter is contained Friday morning. Conditions are calm but gusty winds are expected by afternoon.

The fire allegedly was intentionally set Wednesday and quickly spread through timber and brush near the town of Idyllwild and other communities about 100 miles (160 kilometers) east of Los Angeles.

More than 4,900 structures are threatened and an estimated 6,000 people have been evacuated.

In the Sierra Nevada, the Ferguson Fire continues to grow just outside Yosemite National Park.

Authorities say it is now nearly 72 square miles (186 square kilometers), but containment has increased to 29 percent.

Yosemite Valley and the Wawona and Mariposa Grove areas of the national park remain closed.

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7:10 a.m.

Hundreds of people who fled their homes because of a massive Northern California wildfire are crowding into shelters as the blaze brightens the sky with a red glow.

Videos posted to social media show long lines of cars slowly moving on a highway near the city of Redding as the wildfire rages on the hills behind.

Dozens of evacuees are going to Shasta College, where officials have set up a shelter. Another shelter has been set up at an elementary school.

Mandatory evacuations were ordered overnight for the city of Shasta Lake, which has about 10,000 residents.

People in the western part of Redding, which has about 92,000 residents, were also asked to evacuate.

The blaze grew overnight to 70 square miles (180 square kilometers).

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6:40 a.m.

More evacuations have been ordered as a devastating wildfire torches an area in and around the Northern California city of Redding.

The blaze that broke out Monday exploded late Thursday and raced into small communities west of Redding before entering the city limits.

Fire officials say dozens of homes have burned, though conditions make it impossible to determine an accurate count and the number could climb much higher.

A bulldozer operator on the fire lines was killed and three firefighters suffered burns. Some civilians also have been injured.

Mandatory evacuations were extended overnight to include the city of Shasta Lake, which has about 10,000 residents.

Parts of Redding, which has about 92,000 residents and is the largest city in the region, also have been evacuated.

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2 a.m.

An explosive wildfire tore through two small Northern California communities, killing a bulldozer operator on the fire lines, burning three firefighters, destroying dozens of homes and forcing thousands of terrified residents to flee.

Flames swept through the communities of Shasta and Keswick before jumping the Sacramento River on Thursday and reaching Redding It's a city of about 92,000 people and the largest in the region.

Residents in the western part of Redding who hadn't been under evacuation orders were caught off guard and had to flee with little notice, causing miles-long traffic jams as flames turned the skies orange.

Many firefighters turned their focus from the flames to getting people out alive.
Mexico City (AFP) - At least five people were killed and three others wounded in a late Friday shootout between police and criminals near the resort town of Cancun, a magnet for tourists on Mexico's Caribbean coast, local officials said.

Around 9pm (0200 GMT Saturday) unidentified gunmen opened fire after breaking into an enclosure next to a restaurant in Puerto Juarez, located some 16 kilometers (10 miles) north of the Cancun tourist area, the Quintana Roo state prosecutor's office said in a preliminary report.

"Of the five killed, one was a ministerial police agent," the statement said, adding that the four others killed apparently worked at the site.

A police commander was among the wounded, and there were no reports of tourists at the site of the shooting, the statement said.

Millions of foreign tourists, especially from the United States and Europe, visit Cancun and other nearby resorts such as Playa del Carmen and Tulum each year.

Since early 2017 however there has been an increased turf war between drug gangs in Quintana Roo.

In the first half of 2018, 279 people were murdered in the southern Mexican state in drug-related violence, according to Semaforo Delictivo, an NGO that follows drug-related crime.
Sidon (Lebanon) (AFP) - Lebanese environmentalists on Saturday sank 10 old tanks and armoured vehicles to the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea in a novel attempt to attract divers and create new habitats for marine life.

Three kilometres off the coast of the city of Sidon, a huge crane on the back of a ship manoeuvred the military hardware into place over the water before dropping them down to the seabed one after the other.

The initiative to create an "underwater park" is spearhead by a local group, Friends of the coast of Sidon, which got the Lebanese army to hand over some of it old vehicles for the project.

"This will be a paradise for divers and a place where we can develop underwater life," said NGO representative Kamel Kozbar, who hopes seaweed will soon cover the vehicles.

Lebanon boasts some 200 kilometres of Mediterranean coast but beaches have not been spared from a waste and garbage crisis that has plagued Lebanon for years.

In Sidon, a mountain of smelly trash has scarred the shoreline, despite the presence of a new waste management facility.

In a region fraught with tensions the latest project also has some political undertones.

The tanks have been placed with their turrets facing towards Lebanon's southern foe Israel "out of solidarity for the Palestinian people", Kozbar said.
Japanese astronaut Norishige Kanai came back to earth last month but is still dreaming of space, especially after the discovery of an underground lake brought mankind one step closer to unravelling the mystery of life on Mars.

"I was so excited about the news," the 41-year-old doctor told AFP in an interview on Friday, calling it "a major discovery that inspires dreams".

International astronomers announced Wednesday they had detected the largest body of liquid water ever found on the Red Planet, a breakthrough that may hold clues to whether life has ever formed on Mars -- or even exists today.

Kanai, who spent 168 days on the International Space Station, is firmly convinced that we're not alone in the universe and there is life out there.

"I believe there is," he said. "In the vast universe, anything could be possible."

"I have high hopes that finding extraterrestrial life forms could open a new page in learning."

The soft-spoken spaceman, nicknamed "Nemo" for his background as a diving medical officer in Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force, blasted into space for the first time in December.

- Growing pains -

Following in the footsteps of other media-savvy astronauts, Kanai tweeted about his stay at the space station in Japanese.

But his social media foray came with some growing pains: he was forced to apologise and issue a correction after mistakenly claiming he had grown by nine centimetres just weeks after he arrived.

When a colleague suggested the growth was unlikely, despite the fact that astronauts' spines do extend in the zero-gravity environment of space, Norishige had himself remeasured.

It turned out a mix-up over centimetres and inches was to blame, and he said Friday that he had in fact grown by just two to three centimetres during his stay.

He has been shrinking since he arrived back on Earth on June 3, but is still one centimetre taller, he said.

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"It's interesting to see how long it will take to get back to my original height."

Kanai, whose Twitter profile depicts him in cartoon form with a broad grin, concedes he wasn't always the likeliest candidate to join Japan's space agency JAXA, though he is now the agency's youngest astronaut.

He was a "reserved, cautious" boy, rather than adventurous.

"I was a granny's boy," he said. "When she was sewing, we did it together. I had a rather 'girlie' childhood."

But one of the skills he picked up as a child turned out to have a surprising application during the strict JAXA screening process.

In the final selection stage, 10 candidates spend a week in a capsule performing various tasks including folding paper cranes, which the agency says tests patience and steadiness under stress.

Luckily Kanai was a dab hand at origami from his childhood.

- Space for all -

"I don't know if it gave me an advantage... but I knew how to do it. I'm dexterous and like to do repetitive small tasks. That task was easy for me," he said.

Even as he spoke, he deftly folded a piece of origami paper into a crane, without so much as leaning on a table for support.

He so enjoyed making small cranes that he folded more than 100 of them in the test capsule.

While Kanai now belongs to an elite group of astronaut alumni, he is eager to see space become more accessible.

"I think space is not only for astronauts and space-related corporations but is for everyone," he said.

"I welcome the idea of 'enjoyable' space or interesting ideas of private companies to use space."

He doesn't yet know if he'll be chosen for new missions, and admits that he had mixed emotions as he headed back to Earth last month.

"I felt sorry that it was ending. But I was also happy that I was finally going back to Japan, because six months is a long time.

"I had complex, half-happy, half-sad feelings."
El-Arish (Egypt) (AFP) - With fruit and vegetables aplenty in the markets, public transport back on the roads and universities reopened, life is returning to El-Arish in North Sinai state where Egypt's army is at war with jihadists.

During an army-organised visit for foreign media, the city's streets showed telltale signs of fighting in the "Sinai 2018" operation launched by the military on February 9. Roadblocks stood at several locations.

According to official figures, most than 200 jihadists and over 30 soldiers have been killed since the start of the campaign.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi ordered the operation, launched almost three months after more than 300 people died in a devastating attack on a Sinai mosque some 40 kilometres (25 miles) from El-Arish.

The carnage, the deadliest in Egypt's history, has gone unclaimed but authorities point to the Islamic State group as the main suspect.

Military operations restricted many aspects of everyday life for the 225,000 residents of the Mediterranean city, in particular their freedom of movement. But a measure of normalcy has returned.

"We restarted classes on June 21," student Alaa Abdul Ati said with an enthusiastic smile.

Abir, a colleague, chimed in that shared taxi services were back in El-Arish and gone were the long queues for food products.

Since the army toppled Egypt's Islamist president Mohamed Morsi in 2013, hundreds of policemen and soldiers have been killed in attacks in the Sinai by jihadists and other extremist groups.

"With the improvement in the security situation, life is starting to go back to more or less normal," a senior army official told journalists.

- Back at the beach -

Other military commanders said curbs on freedom of movement were being relaxed, such as leaving El-Arish between Thursday and Saturday, the weekend in Egypt, without written authorisation.

Fuel rationing will continue, however, "to limit the movements of the takfiris", said North Sinai governor Abdel Fattah al-Harhur, using the official term for Sunni Muslim extremists.

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The governor said the easing of security measures would run in parallel with a government programme to improve health, housing and education services as well as the industry sector.

At an El-Arish market, 25-year-old vegetable salesman Bassem said he welcomed the changes although goods were still being delayed because of checkpoints.

Mohammed Ali, a 22-year-old student, said he was delighted to be able to enjoy beach life again.

"At the start of the (army's) operation, it was difficult to leave the house and access to many areas, such as the beach which is our only escape, was forbidden," he said.

El-Arish sports centre with its Olympics-size pool reopened last month.

"It'll take time for life to fully go back to normal in El-Arish but I'm optimistic. We're staying in this city because we love it," said the head of the centre's sports activity, Sally al-Husseini.
E-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd announced on Thursday it will launch the Global E-commerce Talent Network in cooperation with renowned universities and training agencies, both domestic and overseas, to cultivate e-commerce professionals with global perspectives for China and economies in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Alibaba said it expects to train 1 million college students and 200,000 owners of small and medium-sized enterprises within five years, raising China's standards for training cross-border e-commerce talents.

The training network builds on Alibaba's Global e-commerce Talent program, which has so far trained nearly 7,000 students and about 2,000 SME owners, covering 10 countries around the globe, according to figures provided by company.

"Our goal is to enable young people and SME owners to develop the digital economy in the future. During the past two years, the global e-commerce talent platform has empowered educators to teach the latest e-commerce concepts and practical skills," said Huang Mingwei, vice-president of Alibaba, on Thursday at the founding ceremony in Guian New Area of Southwest China's Guizhou province.

A wide range of domestic and overseas colleges have joined the new alliance, including the University of International Business and Economics, Northwestern Polytechnical University, the Harbin Institute of Technology, Thailand-based University of the Thai Chamber of Commerce, and MARA University of Technology in Malaysia.

The company will work with the Beijing-based University of International Business and Economics to design the curriculum and create e-commerce talent training standards.

The alliance will also expand China's training standards and curriculum to overseas colleges, to develop talents' familiarity with Chinese e-commerce models and boost the local digital economy.

According to a survey by Alibaba, 53 percent of suppliers in Malaysia are seeking e-commerce talents to support their businesses, compared to 43 percent of those in Vietnam.

"We believe that the popularity of e-commerce will raise the need for related professionals in the next few years," said Jaycee Lim, president of Alibaba's business-to-business unit.
The Daily Beast

FBIWarning: This story contains descriptions of sexual assault.A U.S. Embassy staffer accused of drugging and sexually assaulting at least 24 women over a 14-year period was in fact a longtime CIA employee, the FBI announced Monday, as the bureau urged any possible victims to come forward in the case.Serial molester Brian Jeffrey Raymond, 45, was arrested Oct. 9, 2020, in La Mesa, California, where he had been staying with his parents after abruptly quitting his job at the U.S. Embassy in Mexico
LILONGWE (Reuters) - Malawian Vice President Saulos Chilima, who has quit the ruling party and plans to run for president, says his administration would investigate alleged corruption among officials of the current government and anyone at fault "will not be spared". The impoverished southern African nation has been rocked by corruption scandals over the last decade, and the issue has resurfaced in the run up to national elections next year. Chilima, who quit the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) last week in protest at alleged corruption, is seen as the biggest threat to President Peter Mutharika in 2019 polls for president, parliament and ward councillors. "Anyone found to have corruptly amassed wealth will not spared," Chilima told Reuters in an interview. "If we get into power next May, I will give each person in the former administration who cannot explain his wealth 30 days in which to return the money, and then investigate them." Chilima, who had been a member of the DPP politburo, has formed a new organization, the United Transformation Party, on a promise of clean governance. Earlier in July Malawi's main opposition party called for Mutharika's resignation over allegations that he received a kickback from a $4 million government contract. Mutharika, president since 2014, denied the allegations, calling them part of a smear campaign designed to take votes away from the DPP. "I have been vice president for the last four years. I've had no support within to fight corruption, so the best way is to run for the highest office and then take corruption head-on," Chilima said. His anti-corruption comments have earned him some grassroots support, but also the wrath of the establishment. On Thursday, Mutharika's office withdrew his security clearance, saying he would only retain the privilege when performing government duties. "There comes a time in everyone's life when one has to bid farewell to personal comfort for the benefit of his or her compatriots," Chilima said. While Mutharika is expected to win reelection, persistent allegations of corruption, along with periodic food shortages, power outages, and ballooning external debt have hurt his popularity and opened the door for contenders. "Chilima could well be the dark horse who wins the election and here is why: people are increasingly disturbed by the shameless thieving of the current government," said Lilongwe-based political analyst Onjezani Kenani. Government spokesman Nicoluas Dausi, who is also information minister, questioned how much Chilima had done to fight corruption in his current position. "This is the country's second most powerful man and we expected him to fight corruption. What did he do about it? Why now? He is still part of the same government he now labels corrupt," Dausi said. (Reporting by Mabvuto Banda, Writing by Mfuneko Toyana, Editing by William Maclean)
By Alexandria Sage KESWICK, Calif (Reuters) - Before fire hit this Northern California community, summer was well under way. In driveways, speedboats lay on trailers waiting for their next spin on the nearby Sacramento River. Barbecues set up on lawns were poised for weekend grills with family. But now, the boats, trailers, and Weber grills are twisted metal in the blackened front yards of homes that are no longer there, all blanketed by an eerie, thick haze. The carefree summer has ended for the town of Keswick. No one is here anymore in the community of about 450 people in California's scenic Shasta-Trinity area that mostly burned to the ground on Thursday. But signs of former life are everywhere - from the portable basketball court lying on its side in the middle of the street to the tiny children's bike next to a tree trunk, to a Bambi lawn ornament still intact in the rubble of one home. On Friday, a muddy brownish-red smog hung over Keswick, the noise of a helicopter overhead, as the ground still smoldered, lingering proof of the intensity of the Carr Fire that has killed two people and destroyed 500 structures. The fire scorched 48,300 acres (19,500 hectares) as it ripped through parts of Shasta County, including Keswick, Whiskeytown and the west side of the city of Redding, displacing more than 38,000 people. [L1N1UN04O] In one Keswick lot, the carcasses of a washing machine and dryer side by side were the only recognizable objects. In others, air conditioners seemed to have survived the best. Just outside of Keswick, in an evacuated section of Redding, resident Ken Wing stood on the corner of a deserted street like a lone sentry. He watched the glowing red sun as it began to set, punctuated by plumes of smoke from the west. Most of Wing's neighbors cleared out on Thursday night, but the former firefighter decided to stay put. "If everyone leaves, there's no one here to put out spot fires," said Wing. "I'm being the watchdog for my neighborhood." (Reporting by Alexandria Sage, Editing by William Maclean)
Port Louis (Mauritius) (AFP) - The minister for gender equality in Mauritius has stepped down, the prime minister announced, after an inquiry on the Indian Ocean island linked politicians, police, lawyers and prison guards to drug traffickers.

The findings of the commission of inquiry released Friday accused the minister, Roubina Jadoo-Jaunbocus, a lawyer, of meeting jailed drug traffickers who were not her clients.

She was also alleged to have been complicit in money laundering and arranging a money transfer to a drug trafficker.

With deputy speaker in the national assembly Sanjeev Teeluckdharry also resigning after being implicated in the scandal, the commission called for further in-depth investigations to take place.

Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth told a press conference on Friday that the minister and the deputy speaker both disputed the findings and would take legal action over the allegations.

"Roubina Jadoo-Jaunbocus will have the chance to return to her ministerial position if she can clear her name in court," the prime minister said.

In the meantime her portfolio has been handed to deputy prime minister Fazila Jeewa-Daureeawoo.

Chaired by former judge Paul Lam Shang Leen, the commission into drug trafficking opened inquiries on November 15, 2015, and questioned more than 300 people.
Kabul (AFP) - Several gunmen stormed a midwife training centre in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, wounding at least three people, officials said, as witnesses reported seeing plumes of smoke rising above the compound.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province.

A witness near the scene told AFP he could hear sporadic gunfire, suggesting the attack may be ongoing.

Several midwives have been rescued, provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani said.

Provincial health department spokesman Inamullah Miakhil confirmed its midwife centre had been attacked.

A witness in a nearby department told AFP he heard several explosions and then saw three gunmen enter the lane where the midwife centre is located.

Ambulances and members of the security forces have swarmed the area, with some of the security forces appearing to be dismantling several improvised explosive devices in the street, a witness told AFP.

Jalalabad has been the scene of several attacks in recent months that have killed dozens, as US and Afghan forces continue offensive operations against militants.

Most of the attacks were claimed by the Islamic State (IS) group.

Government buildings are a common target for insurgents.

The last major attack in Jalalabad happened on July 11 when gunmen raided an education department compound in the city, sparking an hours-long battle with security forces.

At least 11 people were killed in the attack. All were employees of the education department branch and included the director.

A suicide bomb attack claimed by IS on a crowd of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus in Jalalabad on July 1 killed at least 19 people and wounded 21.

The Taliban is Afghanistan's largest militant group and IS has a relatively small but potent presence, mainly in the east and north of the country.

It first emerged in Afghanistan in 2014 and quickly established a stronghold in Nangarhar.

Intensified aerial and ground operations against the militants have failed to dislodge them.
By Alexandria Sage

REDDING, Calif. (Reuters) - Seventeen people were missing on Saturday as a monster wildfire in Northern California spread after killing two firefighters, destroying hundreds of buildings and sending tens of thousands of frantic residents fleeing from their homes.

More than 38,000 people in Redding and elsewhere in Shasta County have been ordered to leave their homes from the 80,900-acre (32,740-hectare) Carr Fire, which has destroyed at least 500 homes and businesses. Officials warned further evacuation orders were possible.

Some 3,400 firefighters on the ground and in 17 helicopters were battling the fire, which was just 5 percent contained as it ripped through Redding, a city of 90,000 people, in California's scenic Shasta-Trinity area. It has left Keswick, a town of 450, in smoldering ruins, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said.

Another 5,000 buildings are threatened, Cal Fire said.

Law enforcement officials are currently trying to locate 17 people reported missing, but noted that the number of missing has fluctuated in recent days as new people are reported missing and others located, Redding Police Sergeant Todd Cogle said by telephone.

"We don't want to give the impression that all these people have suffered some kind of grave circumstances," Cogle said. "We sent officers to some of these places (where they lived) and the houses were intact, so it's more than likely those people just evacuated."

There are currently 89 large wildfires blazing across 14 U.S. states, mostly in the West, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

So far this year, wildfires have scorched almost 4.3 million acres (1.7 million hectares) across the United States, above the 3.7 million-acre (1.5 million-hectare) average for the same period over the last decade.

'COULDN'T GET ANYTHING'

Some 1,100 people crowded into an evacuation center at Shasta College, outside Redding, one of several shelters that officials said reached full capacity on Saturday.

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One of them, 57-year-old David Franceschine, said he had been on a camping trip when the fire erupted. He rushed back to his home to try to retrieve possessions but by the time he arrived, authorities had closed the road.

"I couldn't get anything, could I, Scout?" he asked his white-and-brown-spotted dog. "At least I have you, Scout."

Franceschine said he assumes the fire destroyed all his possessions, including the urn containing the ashes of his son, who died four years ago.

"That's what bothers me the most," Franceschine said.

The fire, which started on Monday afternoon, has been fed by hot, dry weather and high winds. Temperatures were forecast to reach 109 Fahrenheit (42.8 Celsius) on Saturday, with winds of up to 8 miles per hour (13 kph), according to the National Weather Service.

A bulldozer operator as well as a member of the Redding Fire Department were killed in the blaze. Mercy Medical Center hospital has treated nine people for burns, including three firefighters, spokesman Mike Mangas said on Saturday.

Officials said police were responding to looting incidents in evacuated neighborhoods.

The missing included a woman and her two great-great grandchildren, the CBS news affiliate in Sacramento reported, citing local police. The woman's husband, Ed Bledsoe, told the station that he left them at home to run an errand on Thursday night and then got a call from his great-great grandson.

"He called and said, 'Grandpa you need to come, the fire is coming at our house now,'" Bledsoe said. "I can't see how I can go on without them."

The flames erupted into a firestorm on Thursday when they jumped across the Sacramento River and swept into the western side of Redding, about 150 miles (240 km) north of Sacramento.

President Donald Trump declared a state of emergency in the fire-hit area, a move that authorizes federal funds and staff to help in disaster response.

Other major wildfires were raging about 110 miles (177 km) east of Los Angeles and near Yosemite National Park, which closed due to the blaze.

Related Video: Deadly Wildfires Continue Raging Across 13 States

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(Additional reporting by Bernie Woodall in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Brendan O'Brien in Milwaukee and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Scott Malone, Matthew Lewis and Sandra Maler)
Donald Trump and his Hollywood Walk of Fame star. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News; photos: AP, Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images, Getty Images)

In 2016, angry American voters ditched 227 years of precedent and, for the first time, elected a president with no prior political or military experience. Now, as a new crop of candidates weighs their chances of ousting Donald Trump from office in 2020, the question is whether governmental experience still matters.

Trump sort of blew up the model, but I think hes an example of exactly what you dont want in a president, former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean told Yahoo News. People want to see someone who knows what theyre doing.

Dean, an unsuccessful candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2004, thinks the Democrats would do well to nominate a younger candidate in 2020, someone who might not have the extensive Washington background of say, former New York senator and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Government is not looked upon as favorably as it once was, even by people in my party, Dean said. But I think theyre not going to want to put someone who doesnt know anything about government in, because weve seen what happens when you do that.

For decades, the debate over presidential preparedness was centered on whether it was better to first be a U.S. senator or the governor of a state. While senators were seen as having the advantage of understanding how Washington works, running a state as governor was viewed as executive preparation, like learning to ride a bike with training wheels.

When he announced his presidential candidacy in 2007, then Sen. Barack Obama was hammered by critics  Democrats and Republicans alike  over what they considered his lack of experience.

Then Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., just before announcing his candidacy for president in Springfield, Ill., February 2007. (Photo: Charles Rex Arbogast/AP)

But Obama deftly parried that criticism, calling into question the value of experience itself.

It amuses me lately how some folks in Washington have been talking about, Well, were not sure that Obamas got enough experience in foreign policy, Obama said at a speech in Atlanta. These same folks who are talking about lack of experience are the same folks who joined up with George Bush and said [the war in Iraq] was a good idea, that somehow we were going to be made safer, that we are going to be greeted as liberators, that we are going to create a democracy in Iraq. Whos inexperienced?

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In many ways, Trump followed a similar playbook, going on the offensive against Jeb Bush over the Iraq War, which was started by his brother, George W. Bush. Trump himself had even less experience in foreign policy than he did in domestic issues, which was almost none.

Obviously the war in Iraq was a big fat mistake, Trump said at a Feb. 13, 2016, Republican primary debate.

But even more so than Obama, Trump helped rewrite national perceptions on the question of experience, attacking others for the weaknesses in his own CV. Having been granted five draft deferments during the Vietnam War, Trump grabbed a third rail in American politics, portraying Sen. John McCains military service and five-and-a-half years as a prisoner of war as something less than heroic. Hes not a war hero, Trump of McCain at a campaign event in July of 2015. He was a war hero because he was captured. I like people who werent captured.

Taking advantage of an unusually crowded Republican field, Trump stood out from the pack by utilizing the novel strategy of openly mocking his political opponents. That was epitomized in an exchange with Sen. Rand Paul at a September 2015 Republican primary debate in which Paul was asked whether the idea of Trump controlling the nations nuclear weapons gave him pause.

His visceral response to attack people on their appearance  short, tall, fat, ugly  my goodness, that happened in junior high, Paul said. Are we not way above that? Would we not all be worried to have someone like that be in charge of the nuclear arsenal?

Unthinkable from a more conventional candidate, Trumps response felt more like the inevitable punchline to a joke Paul had unwittingly set up.

I never attacked him on his looks, and believe me theres plenty of subject matter right there, that I can tell you, Trump said with a smirk.

Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker participate in a debate in Cleveland. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

There were, what, 16 people in the Republican field at the beginning, all of whom were either governors or senators, Mike DuHaime, a Republican political strategist who worked for former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, told Yahoo News. At some level they all start to sound the same  I created this many jobs, well, I created this many jobs, I voted for this tax cut, well, I voted for two tax cuts but Trump sounded different.

Polling conducted in 2016 by the Pew Research Center noted the impact Trump was having on the electorate. In March of that year, less than a year after the New York billionaire formally announced his presidential bid, 50 percent of voters surveyed said they valued a hypothetical candidate with experience and a proven record, while 43 percent said they favored a candidate with new ideas and a different approach. When Pew asked voters the same question that September, after Trump had secured the nomination, attitudes had flipped, with 55 percent favoring new ideas and just 37 percent seeking a candidate with experience. Republicans accounted for an overwhelming share of the voters who shifted their attitudes.

Its not that Republicans distrust people with experience, I think its that they would rather see government more limited and that people with experience, by default, means that you believe in big government, Republican strategist Rick Tyler, who served as Sen. Ted Cruzs communications director in the 2016 presidential campaign, told Yahoo News.

Tyler, who characterizes Trumps rise as an experiment whose outcome is yet to be determined, says voters should remain wary about electing business leaders with no prior governing experience.

I dont know what skills a CEO has that are actually directly applicable to being president, because if you think about it, they give directives and people follow orders and, in general, those things get done or people get fired, Tyler said. In the presidency, in order to get things done you have to pass legislation.

In a Quinnipiac University poll in January, voters said, by an overwhelming 64-14 margin, that electing a celebrity as president was a bad idea. In the same poll, though, given their choice between two television personalities, they favored Oprah Winfrey over Trump, 52-39.

Former White House strategist Steve Bannon agrees that in the new political landscape, Winfrey would be the Democrat to pose the greatest challenge to Trump in 2020.

I think were in a different era, Bannon said in an interview last week with CNBC. I think were in an era that media and understanding media and understanding how to communicate on a mass basis to the American people is so much more important than being in a state legislature.

But is celebrity really all thats required to get one started on the quest for highest office in the land?

I think its enough to get you into the conversation, and then you have to win the debate going forward, DuHaime said. From a name ID point of view, Trump started with a brand. Oprah Winfrey would also start with that kind of brand.

Oprah Winfrey (Photo: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

While Dean writes off Bannon as a provocateur and a bomb thrower, he doesnt disagree that the most important quality for a Democratic challenger to Trump may not be the number of pages in his or her government resume.

I think experience is a consideration, but the real thing is personality, Dean said. You have to have someone who is going to punch Trump in the nose, figuratively, and just tell him to shut up and sit down without being rude about it. You have to tell him politely to shut up and sit down and that hes an embarrassment. The public wants somebody strong.

While prospective Democratic candidates like former Vice President Joe Biden, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, California Sen. Kamala Harris and New Jersey Sen. Corey Booker have all shown an appetite to go after Trump, they can now all be portrayed as part of the Washington culture.

Washington is a place with a different culture and theyre completely out of touch with what the ordinary people in this country are going through, and thats true in both parties, Dean said.

The trick, then, for voters seeking to replace Trump is to find that elusive candidate whose experience itself is not seen as a liability, but who still possesses the skills required to successfully navigate perhaps the most consequential job on Earth.

Experience has become a burden in many ways. In a world where so much press attention ultimately becomes negative, a record can be something that people pore through and find contradictions and find fault with, DuHaime said. People who come from the celebrity world havent had to make those same tough decisions or tough votes and dont have the negatives that come along with them.

Oprah has disclaimed presidential ambitions, and the brief media boomlet for her foundered on examination of some of the fringe ideas she has championed on her show. Other business executives who have been rumored to be interested in the job include Mark Cuban and former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerbergs moment seems to have passed even before his 35th birthday.

Part of how Trump ended up being elected was that voters didnt care if he had experience. They wanted him to blow up the system. In a sense they said, if the government is punished by us electing Trump, so be it, Tyler said. Theres an element of I dont really care what he does as long as hes mad about it. Thats where we are today. We may discover in some not-too-distant future that it was a really bad idea.

Right now we are living on borrowed time. Even though the president has not precipitated a major crisis, that doesnt mean theres not one coming.

_____

Read more from Yahoo News:
BERLIN (AP)  Norwegian authorities said a polar bear on Saturday attacked and injured a polar bear guard who was leading tourists off a cruise ship on an Arctic archipelago. The polar bear was shot dead by another employee, the cruise company said.

The Joint Rescue Coordination for Northern Norway tweeted that the attack occurred when the tourists from the MS Bremen cruise ship landed on the most northern island of the Svalbard archipelago, a region between mainland Norway and the North Pole that is known for its remote terrain, glaciers, reindeer and polar bears.

The German Hapag Lloyd Cruises company, which operates the MS Bremen, told The Associated Press that two polar bear guards from their ship went on the island and one of them "was attacked by a polar bear and injured on his head."

The polar bear was then shot dead "in an act of self-defense" by the second guard, spokeswoman Negar Etminan said.

The injured man was taken by helicopter to the town of Longyearbyen on Spitsbergen island. He was not identified and no further information was given on him.

"He was flown out, was responsive, and is currently undergoing medical treatment," Etminan said, adding that the victim was not in a life-threatening condition.

She said all cruise ships traveling in the northern region are obliged to have polar bear guards aboard.

Arctic tourism to the region has risen sharply in the last few years and is now in high season. A Longyearbyen port schedule showed that 18 cruise ships will be docking at the Arctic port in the next week.
You are here: China

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang has stressed the improvement of emergency management mechanisms and performance of duties to prevent major workplace accidents.

Li made the remarks in a written instruction to a national teleconference on workplace safety which is held Friday.

Li said that China had maintained stable workplace safety conditions since the beginning of this year, but warned of severe safety situation and asked to keep alert as major accidents have occurred occasionally.

Li called for further improving mechanisms that deal with emergencies, stressing responsibility for production safety, prevention of risks, and strictly punishing those in violation of the law or dereliction of duty.

During the current flood and tourism season, local authorities and relevant departments should fulfill their duties and strengthen risk forecasts and warnings, and implement safety precautionary measures, to protect the safety of people's lives and their property, Li said.

Vice Premier Liu He, who is also head of the Work Safety Committee of the State Council, attended Friday's meeting. Enditem
















By Philip Pullella

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - Pope Francis on Saturday accepted the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, one of the U.S. Catholic Church's most prominent figures, who has been at the center of a widening sexual abuse scandal.

McCarrick, 88, the former archbishop of Washington, D.C., is the first cardinal in living memory to lose his red hat and title. Other cardinals who have been disciplined in sexual abuse scandals kept their membership in the College of Cardinals and their honorific "your eminence".

The allegations against McCarrick, which first surfaced publicly last month, came with Francis facing an image crisis on a second front, in Chile, where a growing abuse scandal has enveloped the Church.

A Vatican statement said the pope, acting only hours after McCarrick offered his resignation on Friday night, ordered his suspension from the exercise of any public ministry. This means he remains a priest but will be allowed to say Mass only in private.

Francis also ordered McCarrick to go into seclusion "for a life of prayer and penance until the accusations made against him are examined in a regular canonical trial".

The Vatican said the pope wanted to send a strong message that high rank would no longer be a shield.

"The important point is that McCarrick is no longer a cardinal. What this means is that, no matter how important your position, no matter how prestigious, when it comes to sex abuse you're going to be held accountable. That is the message being sent today," spokesman Greg Burke told Reuters Television.

McCarrick's sudden fall from grace stunned the American Church because he was a widely respected leader for decades and a confidant of popes and presidents.

Last month, American Church officials said allegations that he sexually abused a 16-year-old boy almost 50 years ago were credible and substantiated..

Since then, another minor has come forward with allegations that McCarrick abused him when he was 11 years old, and several men have come forward to allege that McCarrick forced them to sleep with him at a beach house in New Jersey when they were adult seminarians studying for the priesthood.

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NO RECOLLECTION

McCarrick has said that he had "absolutely no recollection" of the alleged abuse of the teenager 50 years ago but has not commented on the other allegations.

The New York Times reported last week that two dioceses in New Jersey, where McCarrick served as bishop before being promoted to Washington in 2000, had reached financial settlements in 2005 and 2007 with men who said they were abused by McCarrick as adults decades ago.

Some U.S. Catholics have said the Vatican should send an inspector to the United States to determine who in the U.S. Church hierarchy knew of the alleged incidents and why McCarrick's rise was not impeded.

"The Vatican must investigate and publish its conclusions regarding McCarrick's advancement and very successful career," said Terence McKiernan, president of BishopAccountability.org, a U.S.-based group that tracks abuse cases.

"The officials responsible must be identified and disciplined, and the investigative file must be made public," McKiernan said in a statement.

In 2013, Cardinal Keith O'Brien of Scotland recused himself from participating in the conclave that elected Francis after he was caught up in a sexual abuse scandal involving seminarians. He later renounced rights and privileges of being a cardinal but kept his red hat and title until his death earlier this year.

The last person to resign from the College of Cardinals is believed to be French theologian Louis Billot, who left over a disagreement with Pope Pius XI in 1927, according to the U.S. newspaper, National Catholic Reporter.

Related Video: Cardinal McCarrick Suspended From Public Duties

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(Reporting by Philip Pullella; Editing by Andrew Bolton and Kevin Liffey)
Dan Goure

Security, Europe

NATO and the U.S. must accept as an absolute priority the need to recreate a solid, credible and capable escalation ladder with clearly delineated and identifiable capabilities are available for each rung.

How to Push Back Against Russia: The Trump Administration Must Revitalize NATOs Nukes

Russia is a military power primarily because of its large arsenal of nuclear weapons. So central are these weapons to Moscows foreign and defense policies that it was even willing to deploy a new long-range, land-based cruise missile in violation of the long-standing Intermediate-Range Nuclear Weapons Treaty to bolster Russian theater nuclear force capabilities.

While Russian conventional forces have been modernized over the past decade, they are a one-trick pony, capable only of limited offensive operations against NATO in areas immediately beyond its Western borders. Russian anti-access/area denial forces are relatively brittle and intended largely to shield the homeland from the power of U.S. and Alliance air and sea forces. The Kremlins efforts to organize a national mobilization capability, which would be required in the event of a conflict with NATO, have been largely unsuccessful. Thus, the Russian military is really designed to support a smash-and-grab strategy similar to what we saw in Crimea.

Russia has built a comprehensive array of theater and strategic nuclear capabilities and has integrated them into its strategy for conducting operations against NATO across the conflict spectrum. It is important to recognize that nuclear weapons play an important part in the Russian approach to hybrid warfare.

It is generally believed that Moscow wishes to reduce its reliance on nuclear weapons in its foreign and security policies. While there has been progress in equipping the Russian Armed Forces with the kind of conventional systems that would substitute for nuclear weapons, the quantity and quality of these new capabilities are not such as to obviate reliance on the latter. Russian nuclear forces and concepts of operations are not without certain weaknesses that the U.S. and NATO should consider exploiting in order to shore up deterrence.

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Russias nuclear forces and strategy also present many weaknesses. However, that could be subject to Western exploitation. Russia does not prefer dependence on nuclear weapons but is forced to rely on them largely to offset conventional disadvantages. This creates several problems, including imposing demands for rapid escalation in the case of successful initial operations by opposing forces and the need for exquisite intelligence to achieve a disarming first strike. Also, leaders in Moscow must confront the prospect that limited nuclear warfare might be conducted across the depths of Russias homeland.

NATO and the U.S. must accept as an absolute priority the need to recreate a solid, credible and capable escalation ladder with clearly delineated and identifiable capabilities are available for each rung. The U.S. has announced plans to modernize all the legs of its nuclear triad. The U.S. also has a program underway to modernize its only tactical nuclear weapon, the B61 gravity bomb. These programs must be accelerated to guarantee the maintenance of a credible and capable theater and strategic nuclear deterrent.

The Trump Administrations recently released Nuclear Posture Review announced that the U.S. would deploy nuclear-capable F-35s to NATO, acquire a small number of low-yield weapons for deployment on submarine-launched ballistic missiles and develop a new nuclear-armed submarine-launched cruise missile.

Several NATO allies are also enhancing their capabilities to support the Alliances nuclear deterrent. The U.K., in collaboration with the U.S., is constructing a new class of ballistic missile submarines that will carry the Trident missile. France is modernizing both its sea-based and airborne nuclear forces.

The outlier among the major NATO allies is Germany. Although it does not possess nuclear weapons, Germany is part of the nuclear sharing agreement along with Belgium, Italy, the Netherlands and Turkey under which they host U.S. nuclear weapons on their soil. Each of these countries, save Turkey, also maintain a number of dedicated nuclear-capable aircraft.

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Germany is at risk of not being able to maintain its critical role under the nuclear sharing agreement. Germanys nuclear-capable Tornado aircraft are rapidly approaching the end of their service lives. The only viable near-term solution is for the Luftwaffe to acquire the F-35A, some of which will be nuclear-capable. Efforts to push forward a variant of the European-built Typhoon will not meet the necessary timeline. Nor is the fourth generation Typhoon a credible first day of the war penetrating strike platform like the stealthy, fifth-generation F-35.

NATO needs to refresh its nuclear doctrine and employment policies. In the view of Matthew Kroenig, a leading U.S. nuclear deterrence theorist:

NATO must make clear in its nuclear deterrence doctrine that it will respond to any use of nuclear weapons against its members with a devastating nuclear counterstrike. NATO should also retain the option of responding to a strictly conventional Russian assault against a NATO ally with a nuclear response. It should maintain this option not because an early nuclear response would be necessary or automatic, but rather because there is no reason to assure Russia that this would not happen. Moreover, NATOs easternmost neighbors would vastly prefer nuclear deterrence over a potential Russian incursion.

U.S. and NATO leaders need to recognize the role that strategic and theater defenses can play in countering Russias strategy for nuclear coercion. Russian leaders admit their concern that air and missile defenses could degrade their nuclear deterrent. The objective of nuclear deterrence must be to prevent Moscow from escalating to nuclear use, particularly to secure gains from conventional aggression. Deploying robust air and missile defenses sufficient to deny Moscow credible options for the limited nuclear strike could help to undermine Russias strategy for hybrid warfare.

Fundamentally, what constrains Vladimir Putins aggressive impulses is a unified Alliance and Western military power. Therefore, it is vital that the U.S. and its allies continue to bolster their conventional and nuclear forces. The deployment of advanced theater missile defenses on land and at sea, the return of U.S. armored forces to Europe and investments in advanced air capabilities, such as the F-35 and a new bomber, and additional Aegis Ashore deployments on the Continent will all serve to deter Russian adventurism. The U.S. and its NATO allies are also beginning to take Moscows cyber capabilities seriously and develop appropriate defensive and offensive responses.

Daniel Goure, Ph.D., is a vice president at the public-policy research think tank Lexington Institute. Goure has a background in the public sector and U.S. federal government, most recently serving as a member of the 2001 Department of Defense Transition Team. You can follow him on Twitter at @dgoure and the Lexington Institute @LexNextDC. Read his full bio here.

This first appeared in RealClearDefense here.

Image: Reuters.

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The group Colorado Citizens for Culture is responsible for collecting donations so that presidential portraits may be commissioned to adorn the halls of the capitol in Denver.

President Donald Trump is the next to have his displayed, but so far the group has raised ... no money at all for a $10,000 portrait of No. 45, according to NBC affiliate 9NEWS in Denver. (In such a booming economy, Mr. President?)

Colorado Citizens for Culture leader Jay Sellers said that enough money was raised within four months to commission portraits of Presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

An unknown culprit did add a 45th portrait to the gallery, though. Democratic state Sen. Steve Fenberg tweeted this photo after Russian President Vladimir Putins picture joined the group.

As seen in the Colorado State Capitol Hall of Presidential Portraits today...#putinpotus pic.twitter.com/cW2cmqtmWM  Steve Fenberg (@SteveFenberg) July 26, 2018

The Putin portrait was later removed by a tour guide who apparently has a part-time job as a party pooper.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  President Donald Trump thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for "fulfilling a promise" to return the remains of U.S. soldiers missing from the Korean War, as a U.S. military plane made a rare trip into North Korea to retrieve 55 cases said to contain remains.

Close to 7,700 U.S. soldiers remain unaccounted for from the 1950-53 Korean War, and about 5,300 of those were lost in North Korea.

North Korea's move signals a positive step in Trump's diplomacy with Pyongyang, and may restart efforts to send U.S. teams into the country to search for additional war dead.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis cautioned that the transfer of remains "is separate" from what has so far been troubled efforts to negotiate the complete denuclearization of North Korea. But he said it was a step in the right direction following the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore.

"This is obviously a gesture of carrying forward what they agreed to in Singapore and we take it as such," Mattis told reporters Friday. "We also look at it as a first step of a restarted process. So we do want to explore additional efforts to bring others home."

Despite soaring rhetoric about denuclearization before the Singapore meeting, the summit ended with only a vague aspirational goal for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula without describing when and how that would occur.

Subsequent talks between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and senior North Korean officials got off to a rocky start earlier this month, with the North accusing the Americans of making "unilateral and gangster-like" demands on denuclearization. On Wednesday, Pompeo said a great deal of work remains ahead of a North Korea denuclearization deal, but he declined to provide any timeline.

Trump, addressing reporters on the South Lawn, said Vice President Mike Pence would greet the families and the remains of the soldiers.

"We have many others coming, but I want to thank Chairman Kim in front of the media for fulfilling a promise that he made to me, and I'm sure that he will continue to fulfill that promise as they search and search and search," Trump said.

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"These incredible American heroes will soon lay at rest on sacred American soil," he added.

Pence, the son of a Korean War combat veteran, said in a statement that he will participate in the ceremony when the remains arrive in the U.S. United Nations Command said the remains will be flown to Hawaii immediately after a full honors ceremony in Seoul on Wednesday.

"It is deeply humbling to be part of this historic moment," Pence said. "We will never forget the sacrifices these brave service members and their families made for our nation and our freedoms."

Early Friday morning in Korea, a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane made a rare trip into North Korea to retrieve 55 cases of what are believed to be remains from the Korean War. The aircraft then flew from Wonsan to Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, near the South Korean capital of Seoul.

At the air base, U.S. servicemen and a military honor guard lined up on the tarmac to receive the remains, which were carried in boxes covered in blue U.N. flags. Officials in North Korea had no comment on the handover, which came on the 65th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.

Once the cases arrive in Hawaii, a series of forensic examinations will be done to determine if the remains are human and if the dead were American or allied troops killed in the conflict.

Mattis underscored that looming question, saying "we don't know who's in those boxes." But he said the gesture is important for families of the fallen, which could include any of the allies that also fought in the war.

"We have families that when they got the telegram, have never had closure," Mattis said. "They've never gone out and had the body returned."

More than 36,000 U.S. troops died in the conflict, including those listed as missing in action.

The repatriation of remains could be followed by stronger North Korean demands for fast-tracked discussions to formally end the war, which was stopped with an armistice and not a peace treaty. South Korea's Defense Ministry also said the North agreed to general-level military talks next week at a border village to discuss reducing tensions across the countries' heavily armed border.

The remains are believed to be some of the more than 200 that North Korea has held in storage for some time, and were likely recovered from land during farming or construction. The vast majority of the war dead, however, have yet to be located and retrieved from cemeteries and battlefields across the countryside.

Efforts to recover American war dead had been stalled for more than a decade because of a standoff over North Korea's nuclear program and a previous U.S. claim that security arrangements for its personnel working in the North were insufficient.

From 1996 to 2005, joint U.S.-North Korea military search teams conducted 33 recovery operations that collected 229 sets of American remains. The last time North Korea turned over remains was in 2007, when Bill Richardson, a former U.N. ambassador and New Mexico governor, secured the return of six sets.

Washington has said Pyongyang wouldn't get sanctions relief and significant security and economic rewards unless it firmly commits to a process of completely and verifiably eliminating its nuclear weapons. There are lingering doubts about whether Kim would ever agree to fully relinquish his nukes, which he may see as a stronger guarantee of survival than whatever security assurance the United States could offer.

___

Ahn reported from Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Kim reported from Seoul and Baldor from Washington. AP journalists Eric Talmadge in Pyongyang, North Korea, Kim Yong-ho in Pyeongtaek, Foster Klug in Seoul, and Ken Thomas and Sagar Meghani in Washington contributed to this report.
Donald Trump Jr was interviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee as part of its Russia probe: Win McNamee/Getty Images

Robert Mueller  who's investigating whether Donald Trump colluded with Russians during the 2016 presidential election  was spotted just feet away from the president's son at a Washington airport.

A photograph of the two men was snapped at the Reagan National airport on Friday, showing the Special Counsel wearing a suit and reading a newspaper while seated in a terminal. Donald Trump Jr was standing behind him, flocked by members of the Secret Service while talking on a cellphone in jeans and a collared shirt.

The photo was shared across social media, with users joking the airport terminal was a "rip in the space-time continuum."

The photo was first published in Politico's daily newsletter, Playbook.

Mr Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling has been a cloud over Mr Trump's White House ever since he stepped into the Oval Office last year.

The probe recently appears to be reaching closer to the president and first family, after Michael Cohen provided investigators with details about the work he did for Mr Trump as his longtime lawyer.

OMG Mueller and Donald Trump Jr. together at 35X (via @politico playbook) pic.twitter.com/qxFuGxVtSN  Joe Perticone (@JoePerticone) July 27, 2018

Along with revealing secretly recorded exchanges he had with the president, Mr Cohen claimed Mr Trump Jr informed his father about the controversial meeting he and several other campaign aides had with Russians in Trump Tower during the election. The president previously denied having any knowledge of the meeting.

The photo of Mr Mueller reading a newspaper in the airport near Mr Trump's son was taken a day after that news development broke.

Washington is a notoriously small city, where it's likely to spot elected officials and political figures on any given day.

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A growing number of Mr Trump's Cabinet members spotted at restaurants or on the street have been publicly confronted and  at times  encouraged to leave establishments.

Still, the timing of this particular incident made for an unusual, potentially awkward encounter  though it remains unclear whether the men saw or acknowledged each other.
Rome (AFP) - Italian beekeepers are spreading their wings into the study of pollution in Rome, working with the country's carabinieri military police to learn more about the state of the air in the Eternal City.

On the roof of a building in the heart of the capital that houses the Italian Federation of Beekeepers (FAI), 15 beehives are abuzz with activity.

"This is an experimental urban hive that we are using to collect data of scientific interest, in order for example to devise a plant biodiversity map of Rome," FAI president Raffaele Cirone told AFP.

"However we are also studying the adverse effects of being in the centre of a big city," added Cirone, who is looking for the harmful residue of fine particles PM10 and PM2.5, heavy metals and micro-plastics.

Instruments measuring the number of fine particles in the air are placed a few steps away from the rooftop hives.

Data taken from the instruments will be compared with the honey produced in the hives, which is periodically removed and analysed by the scientists.

"The scientists will be able to better understand the movements of these particles, if and how much they rise from the ground and whether they settle," Cirone said.

In total around a dozen roofs in the centre of Rome house the hives, including one at the top of a carabinieri building.

The aim is to move towards a larger colony of high rise helpers, Davide De Laurentis, deputy Commander of the force's forestry, environmental and agri-food unit, told AFP.

De Laurentis, who describes bees as "nature's sentinels", says that the initiative could be rolled out in other major Italian major cities that suffer from problems with pollution.
Wikimedia Commons

Sebastien Roblin

Security, Eurasia

The ultimate weapon or overkill?

Russia Planned to Build a Nuclear Missile-Launching Train Straight out of James Bond

On July 19, 2018 the Kremlin released a flurry of videos showing off various nuclear weapon systems under development ranging from the RS-28 Satan 2 ballistic missile, Kinzhal hypersonic missiles, and even an ocean-spanning nuclear torpedo designed to smash coastal metropolises with tsunami waves of irradiated water.

However, one item that didnt make the cut was a five-year project to develop a nuclear-missile launching train strait out of a James Bond moviea successor to a Soviet Ghost Train that did serve operationally.

The concept of railway mobile nukes went back several decades, founded on the idea that a moving nuclear delivery system is much harder for an enemy to target with a preemptive strike, and thus provides stronger deterrence. This principle has made submarines loaded with ballistic missiles the most effective form of nuclear deterrence.

Of course, submarines are hard to track because they can rove vast oceanic expanses while submerged. For the nuclear train, concealment would come from blending in with civilian rail traffic as they wander the railways in perpetual motion. Sure, a preemptive attack might hit some of the doomsday trainsbut it would be difficult to hunt down all of them and divert strikes otherwise dedicated to blowing up cities and military bases.

In the 1980s the Soviets finally developed the RT-23 Molodets intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)shortened from earlier ICBMs to fit inside a standard train wagon. The resulting SS-24 missile (codenamed Scalpel by NATO) was 2.4-meters in diameter, used solid fuel for relatively rapid launch, and could strike targets 6,800 miles away thanks to its three-stage rocket boosters. There was also a silo-based variant. The 104-ton missiles were packed with ten 550-kiloton nuclear warheads which separated to hit different targets on reentry.

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The trains were pulled by three standard DM-62 diesel locomotives, and came with a command and control, support, and a tanker wagon with fuel and petroleum-oil lubricants. There was also food enough for twenty-eight days. There were also three missile-laden wagonsdisguised to resembled refrigerated wagons, down to false side doors. However, the missiles weighed 130 tons, necessitating reinforced steel wheels. These tended to tear up the rails and might have made the trains easier to identify (though this is contested.)

For launch, the RT-23 would have to stop at one of two hundred specially-constructed firing points along the rail system, shove aside overhanging power cables with a special device, and pop open the roofs of the missile trains. To avoid frying the train with rocket exhaust, the Molodets used a cold-launch system: a powder charge propelled the missile twenty meters into the air, then a thruster tilted the missile away from the train before its rocket boosters finally ignited.

In the end, a total of twelve trains were built in Ukraine and active between 1987 and 2002 in three divisions active in Kostroma, Perm and Gladkaya. U.S. intelligence tried to track the movements of the disguised trains via satellite, but with only partial success. In fact, the Pentagon developed its own nuclear-missile train, the Peacekeeper Rail Garrison. Two prototypes disguised to resemble an ordinary rail cars were developed, but the end of the Cold War canceled plans to deploy fifty.

After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, sixty-two RT-23s briefly belonged to Ukraine before being relinquished to Russian control in 1994. The Ghost Trains were finally retired between 2003 and 2005, though two are on display as museum exhibits.

However, the Pentagons development of Ballistic Missile Defense and a program called Prompt Global Strike, designed to give the capability to precisely strike any location on the planet within an hour, caused Moscow to grow paranoid that the United States was acquiring the capability to wipe out the Russian arsenal with a preemptive strike, while counting on the missile defense to mop up any survivors. (In reality, U.S. missile defense are nowhere near being that reliable.) This apparently prompted Russias recent massive investment in improved nuclear weapon delivery systems.

In 2012, the Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology began developing a successor to the RT-23 called the RS-27 or BZhRK Barguzin, named after the violent winds of Lake Baikal, with schematics approved by 2014.

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The new Ghost Train would use much lighter RS-24 Yars missile that weighed only fifty-four tons, and carried only four nuclear warheads. The new system therefore could use standard train wagons with regular wheels and mount six ballistic missiles instead of three. The Yars can soar up to twenty times the speed of sound, and can perform evasive maneuvers and deploy decoys to evade ballistic missile interceptors.

The Barguzin was to have a crew of seventy, including dozens of officers, and would be capable of launching from anywhere on the railway line. The wagons would be protected by electronic countermeasures, and supposedly could resist a nuclear explosion only several hundred meters away. Defense officials boasted the new death train would restore a ground triad including fixed missile silos, truck-mounted mobile ballistic missiles, and rail-mounted weapons.

In 2016 and 2017 the Barguzin underwent several test launches, with service entry planned for 2019but in reality, the bottom had fallen out of the programs funding in 2014 as Russias economy contracted due to international sanctions and a fall in oil prices. In December 2017, Russian newspapers revealed that the missile train had been left out of the ten-year GPV state armament plan, canceled to free up funding for more critical nuclear weapon programsthough ostensibly the Barguzin project could be revived promptly should circumstances change.

Why the change in heart? In fact, many Russian commentators told the press they found the train project absurdly datedincluding the director of the institute developing it.

There are a number of big problems with having nukes rolling about the country on railstarting with their exposure to potential terrorist attacks, necessitating expensive security procedures. Rails, furthermore, are not particularly difficult to destroy, and can be obstructed by snowfall. Supplying a moving missile unit, and developing the logistical facilities to do so, would also prove highly expensive.

Robert Beckhusen furthermore points out that New START treaty limitations on the number of actively deployed nuclear weapons would likely force the trains to remain at their facilities until the spike of tensions preceding a war. This means the trains might not even make it out of their depots in the event of the sort of surprise attack they are meant to deter against.

Basically, though nuclear-missile armed trains might be difficult to track, they come with a lot of costly limitations that leave them inferior to extent nuclear weapons. Moscow may be looking for redundancy in its ability to produce a retaliatory nuclear holocaust, but the Barguzin was ultimately deemed too dated and expensive given a constricted defense budget. Indeed, in the last year Moscow has also canceled its RS-26 Rubezh ICBM system and basically put its much-hyped Su-57 stealth fighter program on hold for at least a decade.

However, the nuclear-missile launching train may not be permanently off the world stage; in December 2015, China tested a train-launched Dongfeng-41 (East Wind) ICBM. Supposedly, the train may have been modeled on the Soviet-era RT-23.

Sebastien Roblin holds a masters degree in conflict resolution from Georgetown University and served as a university instructor for the Peace Corps in China. He has also worked in education, editing, and refugee resettlement in France and the United States. He currently writes on security and military history for War Is Boring.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

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MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP)  Another diplomatic thaw was underway Saturday in the restless Horn of Africa region as Somalia's president visited Eritrea for the first time and years of tensions gave way to an embrace.

"Somalia is ready to write a new chapter of its relations with Eritrea," Abdinur Mohamed, a spokesman for President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, announced on Twitter.

The two nations have not had diplomatic ties for nearly 15 years. Eritrea, one of the world's most closed-off nations, remains under United Nations sanctions for allegedly supporting the Somalia-based al-Shabab extremist group. Eritrea denies it.

Eritrea's information minister, Yemane Meskel, said the three-day visit came at the invitation of President Isaias Afwerki, who has led since independence in 1993. "Both leaders have already held a summit," the minister said on Twitter, sharing photos of the meeting.

"Wind of change is here to stay in the Horn of Africa," one Eritrean diplomat, the ambassador to Japan Estifanos Afeworki, said on Twitter.

The visit by Somalia's leader follows a stunning diplomatic thaw in recent weeks between Eritrea and neighboring Ethiopia after more than two decades. Ethiopia under reformist new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed already has asked that the U.N. sanctions on Eritrea be dropped.

The U.N. secretary-general has indicated that the sanctions could be obsolete.

The changing relations in the Horn of Africa region are of interest to the wealthy Gulf states just across the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Already they have been jostling for influence in the African nations along one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, including both Somalia and Eritrea. Landlocked Ethiopia also eyes both countries' ports as outlets for its fast-growing economy.

The United Arab Emirates, which set up a military base at Eritrea's post of Assab after a Saudi-led coalition launched its war against Shiite rebels in Yemen in 2015, has played a role in mending relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia, in recent days hosting the leaders of both countries and praising their "bold" gestures.

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Somalia remains fragile under the threat of al-Shabab, which holds some rural areas and often carries out high-profile suicide bombings in the capital, Mogadishu. A truck bombing in October killed more than 500 people in the deadliest attack in the country's history.

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Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa
You are here: China

An investigation of Chinese vaccine maker Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Limited found evidence that the company had illegally produced rabies vaccines for human use.

The State Council's investigation team seized 1,138 pages of documents as evidence, and recovered actual and forged production records via seized computers.

Criminal suspects discarded and intended to destroy 60 computer hard drives. But the police have recovered them, according to the investigation team.

The company was found to have violated the approved production process to reduce costs and improve the success rate of rabies vaccine production.

Violations included blending different batches of vaccine fluid for product packaging, using expired fluid to produce some batches of products, falsifying dates of production, and conducting certain product testing before the entire production process was completed.

To cover up such violations, the company "systematically" fabricated production and inspection records and issued invoices with false dates to meet inspection requirements.

The company was ordered to immediately stop production after drug regulatory authorities found illegal production behavior during an unannounced inspection from July 6 to July 8.

Soon after the inspection, the company replaced internal surveillance video storage cards and some computer hard drives to cover up and destroy potentially incriminating evidence.

On July 15, the State Drug Administration conducted an on-site investigation of the company.

The public security organs have initiated investigations into the case. As of July 25, the police have detained 16 suspected criminals, including the chairperson of the company, and have frozen relevant corporate and personal accounts. Further investigation is in progress.

According to data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the incidence of adverse reactions caused by the rabies vaccine produced by Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Limited was about 2 per 100,000 cases, and no serious adverse reactions were observed.

In 2017, there were 516 rabies cases in China. The incidence rate has been gradually decreasing in recent years.
Redding (United States) (AFP) - The US federal government approved aid Saturday for California as thousands of firefighters battled to contain a series of deadly raging wildfires that have killed six people, including two young children and their great grandmother, and destroyed hundreds of buildings.

The largest of the fires menacing the state has nearly doubled in size, while another pushed thousands of people to flee and a third forced the partial closure of the popular Yosemite National Park.

A huge column of smoke rotated rapidly above the massive Carr Fire with such strength it looked like a tornado in a fire whirl sometimes dubbed a "firenado."

Melody Bledsoe, 70, and her two great-grandchildren James and Emily Roberts -- aged just five and four respectively -- died as the fire consumed their rural trailer home. The blaze also killed two fire workers, Cal Fire said.

Another firefighter died in the Ferguson Fire.

In declaring an emergency in California, President Donald Trump "ordered federal assistance to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from a wildfire beginning on July 23," the White House said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency "is authorized to identify, mobilize and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency," it said.

The Carr Fire in northern California -- which began on July 23 -- has consumed 80,906 acres (32,749 hectares), up from 48,312 on Friday, according to Cal Fire, the state's Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

"Winds, high temperatures and dry vegetation still have the potential to fuel fire growth. Fire spread has been active in all directions and has made significant runs," Cal Fire said.

Governor Jerry Brown on Friday asked for federal assistance "to save lives and to protect property," his office said in a statement.

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- Thousands evacuated -

He asked for help, including military aircraft, shelter supplies and water for 30,000 evacuated residents in Shasta County, in north-central California, where the Carr Fire has grown "uncontrollably," the statement said.

Brown declared a state of emergency in Shasta and ordered National Guard forces to assist the 3,400 fire personnel already trying to contain the Carr Fire, which has destroyed 500 structures.

More than 1,300 firefighters are battling the fast-moving Cranston Fire, which began on Wednesday and forced the evacuation of about 7,000 people, the US Forest Service said.

It added that the hazards created by Cranston and another fire have caused the temporary closure of all US Forest Service lands within the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument.

A 32-year-old man has been arrested and charged with 15 arson counts, including for the Cranston Fire.

The Ferguson Fire has encroached upon the Yosemite National Park in central California, forcing the partial closure of the popular attraction.

"Firefighters worked through the night extending and strengthening containment lines, while also monitoring a small fire that jumped a line Friday afternoon," according to InciWeb, the Forestry Service's incident information website.

Last year was the worst on record for wildfire devastation in California, with more than 40 deaths and around 9,000 structures destroyed, following fires that ravaged the Napa and Sonoma wine regions.
ADAM, West Bank (AP)  Israel's military on Friday searched the West Bank village of a Palestinian teenager who broke into a settlement home and stabbed three Israelis, including one who later died from his wounds.

The military said it detained four Palestinians for questioning and set up security checkpoints at entrances to Kauber, the assailant's village, north of Jerusalem. The attacker, identified as Mohammed Tareq Dar Yousef, 17, by family members was shot and killed at the scene Thursday night.

Blood stains were still visible outside the home of the Israeli victim Friday as relatives and friends gathered nearby.

Daniel Nadav said he rushed to his neighbor's home after hearing screaming. He said he saw 31-year-old Yotam Ovadia "covered in blood ... walking slowly toward a car and then falling." Nadav said he saw "the terrorist stabbing another neighbor." He said the attacker then ran toward him with a knife and tried to stab him.

Nadav said he kicked the attacker in the leg and then got out of his way before another neighbor arrived and shot him dead.

Ovadia, a father of two young children, later died in a hospital.

Hamas, the militant group that rules Gaza, issued a statement praising the attack but did not claim responsibility. Spokesman Fawzi Barhoum called it a "brave operation that responds to the daily ugly crimes the occupation commits against our people."

Forces measured the attacker's house ahead of its planned demolition, the military said. Israel typically demolishes the homes of Palestinian attackers calling it a deterrent measure, but critics consider the policy collective punishment.

Israelis have faced a wave of Palestinian attacks, mostly stabbings, on civilians and soldiers over the past two years but these types of assaults have declined recently.

The settlement located about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from Jerusalem is also called Geva Binyamin. Israel captured the West Bank and east Jerusalem in the 1967 war and has since built dozens of settlements there.

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Much of the international community views the settlements as illegal and an obstacle to peace. Israel says the fate of settlements must be resolved through peace talks.

Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman issued a statement saying "the best answer to terrorism" is Israeli settlement in the West Bank, adding that he will advance the building of hundreds of housing units in Adam in the coming weeks.

After Muslim noon prayers Friday, some worshippers at the most sensitive holy site in Jerusalem threw stones and shot fireworks at Israeli officers stationed nearby, police and Palestinian witnesses said. They were the first such clashes in about a year.

Police used stun grenades and tear gas to disperse the crowd.

A few dozen Palestinian stone throwers barricaded themselves in the mosque and police later entered and detained several of them.

Police said they arrested 24 Palestinians and four officers were injured in the unrest.

The incident occurred at a site sacred to both Muslims and Jews that is ground zero for the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians.

The walled compound is home to both the Al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock. It is Islam's third-holiest site after Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia.

Jews revere the hilltop compound as the Temple Mount, site of the two Jewish biblical temples. It is the holiest site in Judaism and the nearby Western Wall, is the holiest place where Jews can pray.
Washington (AFP) - President Donald Trump on Friday hailed roaring US economic growth as a "miracle," and said the quickest expansion in almost four years was a vindication of his economic agenda.

With the size of the American economy now surpassing $20 trillion, GDP expanded by 4.1 percent in the April-June quarter, making the United States the fastest-growing of advanced countries, according to a government report.

"We're on track to hit the highest annual average growth rate in over 13 years," Trump said in remarks at the White House. "Everywhere we look, we're seeing the effects of the American economic miracle."

The second quarter acceleration came in part after the injection of stimulus and Republican tax cuts.

But economists warned it could be a blip caused by temporary factors, including a one-off bounce produced by Trump's trade confrontation with China.

The robust results put growth in the first half of the year at just over three percent, matching a White House target and faster than the trend in previous years.

Trump said the United States was "the economic envy of the world," and "As the trade deals come in one by one, we are going to go a lot higher than these numbers and these are great numbers."

His jubilation did not extend to Wall Street, where stocks closed down markedly as investors feared the economy has peaked and amid disappointing earnings and trade war fears.

In the April-June period, consumer spending had its biggest bounce in nearly four years, with Americans buying more cars and spending more liberally on health care, housing, utilities, restaurants and hotels, according to the Commerce Department report.

Purchases of goods jumped 5.9 percent -- with the largest contribution coming from booming auto sales -- while services rose 3.1 percent.

But the report got another boost from an unusual source: strong exports which leapt 13.3 percent, driven higher by foreign sales of oil and soybeans, which now face stiff Chinese tariffs.

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Analysts said that increase was due to stockpiling by Chinese importers before Beijing's retaliatory tariffs on US goods hit in July, which means trade is likely to fall off in the third quarter, dragging down the growth rate.

- Accelerating in a trade war? -

But Trump nevertheless focused on the sudden drop in the US trade deficit as another triumph for his tough trade policies.

"Perhaps one of the biggest wins in the report, it is indeed a big one, is that the trade deficit, very dear to my heart because we've been ripped off by the world, has dropped by more than $50 billion," Trump said.

The report showed imports rose only 0.5 percent, the smallest increase in two and a half years.

Also contributing to economic growth, spending by state and local governments rose 1.4 percent.

The report fell short of the most bullish forecasts of five percent or higher, with which Trump had teased audiences at events in Iowa and Illinois as recently as Thursday.

The White House is counting on faster growth to pay for December's sweeping tax cuts by generating higher revenues. But federal tax receipts are already plummeting, widening the federal budget deficit, just as the costs of borrowing increase due to mounting interest rates.

Ian Shepherdson of Pantheon Macroeconomics said swings in inventories and trade, as well as the fading effects from the income tax cuts could put third-quarter growth at three percent.

"The message, then, is that if you borrow enough money from your grandchildren and throw it at the economy, it will grow faster, for a while," he wrote in a research note.

Diane Swonk, chief economist at Grant Thornton, said the growth rate was likely to meet the White House's three percent target for the year and noted that a sudden drop in business inventories in the second quarter could point to a rebuild in the latter half of 2018.

"The question is, how much are firms willing to stock up with the threat of a trade war?" she said in a research note.
By Yara Bayoumy, Jonathan Landay and Warren Strobel WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration is quietly pushing ahead with a bid to create a new security and political alliance with six Gulf Arab states, Egypt and Jordan, in part to counter Iran's expansion in the region, according to U.S. and Arab officials. The White House wants to see deeper cooperation between the countries on missile defense, military training, counter-terrorism and other issues such as strengthening regional economic and diplomatic ties, four sources said. The plan to forge what officials in the White House and Middle East have called an "Arab NATO" of Sunni Muslim allies will likely raise tensions between the United States and Shi'ite Iran, two countries increasingly at odds since President Donald Trump took office. The administration's hope is that the effort, tentatively known as the Middle East Strategic Alliance (MESA), might be discussed at a summit provisionally scheduled for Washington on Oct. 12-13, several sources said. The White House confirmed it was working on the concept of the alliance with "our regional partners now and have been for several months." Saudi officials raised the idea of a security pact ahead of a Trump visit last year to Saudi Arabia where he announced a massive arms deal, but the alliance proposal did not get off the ground, a U.S. source said. Sources from some of the Arab countries involved also said they were aware of renewed efforts to activate the plan. Officials from other potential participants did not respond to requests for comment. "MESA will serve as a bulwark against Iranian aggression, terrorism, extremism, and will bring stability to the Middle East," a spokesperson for the White House's National Security Council said. The spokesperson declined to confirm that Trump would host a summit on those dates and sources cautioned that it remains uncertain whether the security plan will be finalized by mid-October. Similar initiatives by previous U.S. administrations to develop a more formal alliance with Gulf and Arab allies have failed in the past. Washington, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi accuse Iran of destabilizing the region, fomenting unrest in some Arab countries through proxy groups and increasingly threatening Israel. The alliance would put emphasis on Gulf heavyweights Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates working closer together with the Trump administration on confronting Iran. It is unclear how the alliance could immediately counter Tehran but the Trump administration and its Sunni Muslim allies have joint interests in the conflicts in Yemen and Syria as well as defending Gulf shipping lanes through which much of the world's oil supplies are shipped. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that "under the pretext of securing stability in the Middle East, Americans and their regional allies are fomenting tension in the region." He said the approach would have no result beyond deepening the gaps between Iran, its regional allies and the U.S.-backed Arab countries." Potentially a big obstacle to the planned alliance is a 13-month-old rift pitting Saudi Arabia and the UAE against Qatar, home to the largest U.S. air base in the region. Other Arab nations have accused Qatar of supporting terrorism, which it denies. While one source said the administration is concerned the quarrel could be an obstacle to the initiative, he and an Arab official both said Riyadh and Abu Dhabi had assured Washington the rift would not pose a problem to the alliance. The NSC spokesperson denied the rift was a hurdle. As Trump pursues his "America First" policy, the White House is eager to have U.S. allies worldwide shoulder more of the burden in confronting regional security threats. The UAE is ready to deploy more troops across the Middle East to counter its foes as it believes it can no longer rely on Western allies like the United States and Britain, UAE minister Anwar Gargash said on Thursday. Setting up a regional anti-missile defense shield, which the United States and Gulf countries have discussed for years without result, would be a goal for the alliance, a source familiar with the plan said, as well as training to upgrade the countries' militaries. Tension with Iran has increased since Trump announced in May that the United States was pulling out of a 2015 international deal to limit Tehran's nuclear ambitions. On Monday, Iran dismissed a warning from Trump that it risked dire consequences "the likes of which few throughout history have suffered before" if it made threats against the United States. (Additional reporting by Phil Stewart in Washington, Aziz El Yaakoubi in Dubai and Parisa Hafezi in Ankara; Editing by Alistair Bell)
Photo: Alex Brandon/AP

As a candidate, Donald Trump advocated an America First foreign policy to rebalance what he saw as an unfair international order, promising that I alone can fix it. In a recent, extraordinary burst of diplomacy, President Trump has put that premise to the test on the world stage, tearing up the Iran nuclear accord, launching multiple trade wars, publicly admonishing NATO and Western allies, and holding chummy one-on-one summits with the autocratic leaders of North Korea and Russia. The upshot has been a string of gaffes and retractions that put his top aides on continuous cleanup duty, prompting congressional Republicans this week to stage an intervention. After meeting at the White House with the Republican leaders of the House and Senate, Trump even walked back his proposed fall summit with Vladimir Putin, and suspended his trade war with the European Union.

You come before a group of senators today who are filled with serious doubts about this White House and its conduct with American foreign policy, Republican Sen. Bob Corker, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a remarkably testy hearing on Wednesday. The administration tells us, Dont worry, be patient, there is a strategy here. But from where we sit, it appears that in a ready, fire, aim fashion, the White House is waking up every morning and making it up as they go.

President Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Singapore, June 12, 2018. (Photo: Anthony Wallace/Pool via Reuters)

If Trump lacks a grand strategy, he does repeatedly display the tactics and instincts honed from his experience as a businessman, or more precisely a salesman: You close the deal at hand by whatever means necessary, oversell it by what he calls truthful hyperbole (There is no longer a Nuclear Threat from North Korea Trump tweeted after his Singapore summit) and go on to the next deal.

Supremely confident in his own deal-making instincts, Trump was dismissive of both diplomatic protocol and the nuance and detail of policy formulation necessary to strike complex geopolitical treaties. He instinctively dislikes multilateral institutions and voluminous agreements, preferring vague bilateral deals that can be sealed with a handshake and quickly claimed as victories. A tendency has also emerged of disparaging or threatening rivals, followed by a conciliatory gesture and offer to negotiate on what he perceives as more favorable territory.

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The spotty results and diplomatic blowback from such a bellicose and transactional approach were evident when Trump returned home to a firestorm of bipartisan criticism. In a single week overseas, he publicly upbraided close NATO allies in Brussels, shattered diplomatic protocol by criticizing his host, British Prime Minister Theresa May, and, in an obsequious performance in Helsinki, gave Russian President Vladimir Putins denials of election interference equal weight to the conclusion of his own intelligence agencies. Even Republicans were taken aback by his behavior.

President Trump and British Prime Minister Theresa May hold a joint press conference at Chequers, in Buckinghamshire, England, July 13, 2018. (Photo: Jack Taylor/Pool Photo via AP)

A lot of us are willing to cut President Trump a huge amount of slack for his unorthodox style because hes a businessman, and in business theres wisdom in keeping your opponents off balance, and to close a deal sometimes you have to go mano a mano, said Danielle Pletka, senior vice president for foreign and defense policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington. But there is a huge downside to Trumps irresponsible rhetoric and foolish tweets that too often make him sound like a classic tin pot dictator. The American people are used to taking their leaders seriously, and U.S. presidents are expected to be professional, and have respect for the office and the people they invest with responsibility. After all, this isnt some cheesy apartment building Trump is negotiating. Its the future of the world.

Trumps recent handling of the Iran nuclear accord offers a case in point in his Art of the Deal tactics. Much to the dismay of close European allies, Trump tore up the Iran nuclear accord last May without an obvious replacement, and then in a familiar pattern, took to Twitter this past week to issue an all-caps threat of military destruction.

President Trump delivers a statement on the Iran nuclear deal, May 8, 2018. (Photo: Evan Vucci/AP)

In a speech two days later, Trump invited Iran back to the negotiating table to reach a real deal.

Wendy Sherman is the former Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, who led the negotiations that produced the Iran nuclear accord. President Trumps diplomatic style is to thump adversaries over the head with threats, and then after beating them up offer to sit down to talk and try and seal a deal. What he doesnt understand is that Iran has a culture of resistance that equates giving in to those kinds of public threats as surrender, and they wont surrender, Sherman told Yahoo News in an interview. The greater shortcoming of the Trump approach, she says, is that it lacks the detailed policy preparation and follow-through necessary to turn verbal agreements into binding international accords. Trump likes to make headlines with his tweets, and he favors the pomp and circumstance of summits, but with both Iran and North Korea, there is no sign that he has put in the advance work, or that his team has shown the persistence and precision that these complex deals demand. Trump just reverts to the same transactional approach he used in real estate, which led him into multiple bankruptcies. I worry that he will be similarly taken in on some of these geopolitical deals, and that is extremely dangerous.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and President Trump in a bilateral meeting during the July 11-12, 2018, NATO summit in Brussels, Belgium. (Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)

Even when he has a valid point  such as the failure of other NATO members to shoulder their share of defense expenditures  he makes it in the most disruptive way possible. His criticism over the past year prompted many allies to increase defense spending significantly. Instead of claiming victory and joining in a show of unity at the recent NATO summit, however, Trump publicly excoriated close ally Germany, threw the summit into chaos by forcing an emergency meeting on burden sharing, and then moved the goalposts at the last minute by stating that allies should double their defense spending targets from 2 percent to 4 percent of GDP. Predictably, the performance left bruised feelings and bitter recriminations in its wake.

President Trump always needs to be the star of the show, so what you saw at the NATO summit was him literally manufacture a crisis . . . then swoop in as the hero, claiming to have fixed a problem no one else could. When in reality, absolutely nothing changed at the summit in terms of actual facts, Michele Flournoy, a former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, told Yahoo News. So he remains very much a transactional dealmaker, and trying to apply the approach he developed in real estate to international relations continues to produce disastrous results.

Russian President Vladimir Putin gives a soccer ball to President Trump after their meeting in Helsinki, Finland, July 16, 2018. (Photo: Alexander Zemlianichenko/AP)

Trumps belief that he alone can fix stubborn geopolitical problems is also evident in his preference for one-on-one meetings with strongmen like North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and Russian President Vladimir Putin, without top aides or note takers in attendance. After Trumps meeting with Kim, he surprised South Korean allies and his own Pentagon by announcing a freeze of provocative joint U.S.-South Korean military exercises, and on his way home prematurely claimed that North Korea no longer represents a nuclear threat. This week Secretary Pompeo conceded that Pyongyang continues to produce fuel for nuclear weapons.

After Trumps private meeting with Putin, his top aides were left in the dark about exactly what was discussed about nuclear arms, possible U.S.-Russian military cooperation in Syria, and U.S. sanctions. In a post-summit interview, Trump even suggested that the United States would be reluctant to come to the defense of new NATO ally Montenegro, whose aggression against Russia could start World War III.

Aaron David Miller is a former adviser to six secretaries of State, and currently vice president at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington. Even if you believe there is an unconventional logic to how President Trump conducts diplomacy, my concern is that it doesnt comport with the geopolitical laws of gravity that determine how things work, and what actually gets done, he said in an interview. In fact, the evidence continues to mount that he is the first American president in our history who is unable define U.S. national interests untethered from his own personal interests, vulnerabilities, fears, and likes and dislikes.

President Trump and other NATO leaders at the start of the July 2018 summit. (Photo: Yves Herman/Reuters)

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Ulaanbaatar (AFP) - A Turkish teacher targeted in a suspected kidnap attempt thwarted by Mongolian authorities Saturday thanked his supporters as he left hospital after a checkup following his ordeal.

When asked who had attempted to abduct him, Veysel Akcay simply said "I don't know."

The drama unfolded Friday as Mongolian authorities grounded a suspected Turkish air force jet after witnesses said assailants snatched a Turkish man associated with a religious group Ankara has branded as terrorists.

In recent weeks, Turkey's intelligence agency has conducted operations abroad against associates of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen -- who Ankara says was behind a 2016 failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

As many as five men grabbed Akcay from outside his home in Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar Friday morning and threw him into a minibus, according to friends and eyewitnesses.

The 50-year-old is director of a school in Mongolia that is alleged to be associated with Gulen, although teachers there denied the connection in response to questions by AFP.

When he failed to show up for work, concerned family and friends notified the police.

Meanwhile, Akcay's abductors had taken him to Genghis Khan international airport, where a small passenger jet landed around 1:00 pm (0500 GMT).

The plane -- with call sign TT4010 -- is operated by the Turkish Airforce, according to data on flight tracking site flightradar24.com.

It was the beginning of a more than eight-hour standoff between the captors and Mongolian authorities, who refused to allow the plane to leave the runway.

As authorities summoned Turkish officials from their embassy in Mongolia, parliamentarians and hundreds of protestors clutching signs demanding Akcay's release gathered at the airport.

As the standoff dragged on, Mongolian vice foreign minister Battsetseg Batmunkh warned Turkish embassy officials that any attempt to abduct a person from Mongolia's territory would constitute "a serious violation of Mongolia's independence and sovereignty".

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Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu denied the accusations during a telephone call to his Mongolian counterpart Tsogtbaatar Damdin, according to the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

But officials were not convinced: "We are an independent nation. Do you think anyone can do abductions in our country?" parliamentarian Baasankhuu Oktaybri wrote on Twitter.

The plane took off at 9:25 pm Friday without Akcay, who was taken for questioning by police and later sent to a hospital for medical checks.

"I thank you all," he told his supporters as he left hospital.

- Ankara's relentless hunt -

Sandwiched between China and Russia, Mongolia was once described by former US Secretary of State John Kerry as an "oasis of democracy".

However the incident "might turn into a full diplomatic crisis between Mongolia and Turkey, a relationship that has been active and vibrant for some years," said Julian Dierkes, an expert on Mongolian politics at the University of British Columbia.

The Turkish aid agency "has undertaken many projects in Mongolia, many Mongolian students have studied at Turkish universities", a relationship that could be "damaged," he said.

Since the failed coup in July 2016, Turkey has been relentlessly tracking down those it suspects of being supporters of Gulen, who denies being behind the attempted overthrow of Erdogan.

Gulen's movement built up significant influence in Turkey and overseas, particularly in Central Asia, Africa and the Balkans, especially via its education network.

Ankara has outlawed the movement as a terror organisation but followers insist they promote peace and moderate Islam.

Turkey has carried out a series of overseas operations against suspected members of the movement in places such as Kosovo, Gabon and more recently Ukraine.

Last week a Turkish blogger accused of links to Gulen was deported from Ukraine as part of an operation by MIT while another individual was detained in Azerbaijan recently and sent back to Turkey.

In Turkey more than 77,000 people were arrested over alleged links to the movement during a two-year state of emergency imposed after the coup bid in a crackdown criticised by Ankara's Western allies.
Kiev (AFP) - Tens of thousands of people in Ukraine on Friday took part in events marking the 1,030th anniversary of the Christianisation of the country, marching through Kiev in a religious procession backed by arch enemy Moscow.

Clergymen, several pro-Russian opposition lawmakers and ordinary people who took part in the procession through central Kiev amid a heavy police presence were supporters of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church backed by Moscow.

According to police, 20,000 people took part in the event, while organisers put the turnout at 250,000 people.

Some 5,000 police were deployed to ensure order amid fears of possible clashes with Ukrainian nationalists.

On Saturday, President Petro Poroshenko is expected to take part in a rival religious procession backed by the breakaway Ukrainian Orthodox Church.

Kiev was the capital of the ancient pagan Slavic state of Kievan Rus which was converted to Christianity by Prince Vladimir in 988.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church declared autonomy from Moscow's religious leadership after the country gained independence from former master Russia in 1991.

The outbreak of the separatist conflict between Kiev and Kremlin-backed rebels in the east of the country in 2014 has exacerbated those tensions, with Patriarch Filaret of the Kiev-based Ukrainian Orthodox Church famously saying Russian President Vladimir Putin was "possessed by Satan."

Friday's procession provoked criticism in Ukraine, where many view members of the Moscow-backed Church as agents of the Kremlin.

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill warned against attempts to drive a wedge between the Ukrainian Orthodox Church and Moscow.

"Attempts to artificially tear the Ukrainian Orthodox Church away from the Moscow Patriarchate can lead to a catastrophe," he said.

The Kiev-based Ukrainian Orthodox Church supported a bloody popular uprising that ousted a Kremlin-backed government in 2014.
Shipping, pollution and overfishing have reduced areas of "wilderness" to just 13 percent of the world's oceans, a study showed Friday, warning untouched marine habitats could completely vanish within half a century.

International researchers analysing the impact of human activity, from fertiliser runoff to increased sea transport, on underwater ecosystems have mapped the dwindling zones considered pristine.

The bulk of remaining ocean wilderness, classed as "mostly free of human disturbance", was found in the Arctic and Antarctic, and around remote Pacific islands.

"Improvements in shipping technology mean that even the most remote wilderness areas may come under threat in the future, including once ice-covered places that are now accessible because of climate change," said lead researcher Kendall Jones, from the University of Queensland.

Just five percent of the wilderness areas are in protected zones, leaving the rest vulnerable, according to the study published in the journal Current Biology.

It called for greater international coordination to regulate the world's oceans, clamp down on overfishing, limit destructive ocean-mining and reduce sediment runoff.

"Marine wilderness areas are home to unparallelled levels of life, holding massive abundances of species and high genetic diversity, giving them resilience to threats like climate change," said James Watson of the Wildlife Conservation Society.

"These areas are declining catastrophically, and protecting them must become a focus of multilateral environmental agreements. If not, they will likely disappear within 50 years."

Last year, the United Nations began negotiating its first conservation treaty for the high seas, which would be a legally binding act governing the sustainable use of oceans outside national maritime boundaries.
By Sisipho Skweyiya HARARE (Reuters) - Young voters in Zimbabwe hope the first election without Robert Mugabe will mark a change in a country where most of them are unemployed, and say the older generation has failed to deliver them a future. Monday's contest pits Emmerson Mnangagwa, a former Mugabe deputy who became president after his boss was ousted, against Nelson Chamisa, a 40-year-old lawyer and part-time preacher who is appealing for votes from the young and disillusioned. "I'm hoping for the elections to be free, fair and credible, that's number one. Number two: I'm expecting the elections to usher in a new Zimbabwe. A new Zimbabwe that is good to live in," said Jonah Arufandika, a young man on the streets of Harare. "There's nothing coming for the youth," said another, Tendai Chipangwa. "We can look in terms of employment, we can look in terms of even the education. What we are earning as youth is nothing," he said indicating people selling juice in the street. More than 40 percent of Zimbabwe's registered voters are under 35 and unemployment is estimated at over 90 percent. Fadzayi Mahere, a law lecturer running for parliament as an independent, said the absence of Mugabe - who dominated Zimbabwe since independence in 1980 - had shown young people change is possible. "I think that was very important symbolically for the national psyche, because you definitely see different things happening and more people getting engaged," she said while campaigning in Harare. "The young people are definitely ready to take on the mantle and get more engaged and involved in politics." The election for president is too close to call, according to the polls, making a runoff on Sept. 8 a real possibility. (Writing by Robin Pomeroy; Editing by Kevin Liffey and Alison Williams)
A Jerusalem-based magazine has laid off a cartoonist for rendering an image of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Likud lawmakers as pig characters from George Orwell's "Animal Farm."

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The cartoon was meant to criticize the Israeli government's passage of a controversial law last week enshrining the state's Jewish character. Critics say the legislation, which defines Israel as a Jewish state and downgrades the Arabic language's status, marginalizes the country's Arab minority.

After the bill passed, jubilant Likud MKs took a selfie with Prime Minister Netanyahu. A photograph of the moment was widely published.

(Photo: Amit Shaabi)

The cartoon by Avi Katz, a freelance cartoonist for the Jerusalem Report, depicted that moment but his image shows the politicians drawn as pigs.

It's captioned with Orwell's line: "All animals are equal but some are more equal than others."

Reached by phone in New York on Thursday, Katz said he saw the photograph of "these fat ugly people taking a congratulatory selfie after they squeezed through this law with some very, very dirty tricks."

"So they sneaked this stupid law in, and it just looked like pigs to me, and I very quickly, half-tracing, I just redid the drawing slightly with pigs' faces, it seemed to me so obvious, it was almost as if I was explaining someone else's joke."

The Union of Journalists in Israel said Katz was dismissed from the Jerusalem Report on Wednesday after the cartoon ran in the magazine's edition this week.

The magazine is owned by the Jerusalem Post newspaper. Neither responded to requests for comment.

"Usually (the Jerusalem Report) has complete editorial independence, but in this case the bosses from the Jerusalem Post apparently were in touch with the editor of The Report and said to stop using my work in the future," Katz said.

Katz said that with cartoonist colleagues from around the Middle East he "had been bragging for years that, terrible as (Israeli) government policy may be, at least we're free to criticize it."
You are here: China

Police in east China's Jiangsu Province Friday handed over Zhang Xiaolei, the boss of online financial firm Qbao.com, to prosecutors for inquiry and indictment over suspected fund-raising fraud.

According to the Nanjing Municipal Public Security Bureau, Zhang turned himself in on Dec. 26, 2017.

Police investigation found that Zhang, who founded Qbao.com in 2012, used the platform to accumulate money from investors lured by annual returns of 20 to 40 percent, the bureau said in a statement.

Qbao.com, which faked investment projects and companies, used funds from new depositors to pay off old debts.

The site was found to have amassed over 100 billion yuan (14.7 billion U.S. dollars) and the unpaid principal totals 30 billion yuan.

Local police have frozen some assets to retrieve investor losses. The assets will be disposed of, and the money will be returned to investors according to the legal proceedings.

Police authorities have asked investors to register information in a timely manner and not to fabricate and spread rumors and organize illegal activities to disturb public order.
MIZANAZ - Fearing for his life, Daman Ayed registered to be evacuated from Syria along with hundreds of other members of the White Helmets rescue service, hoping for a new life in Canada.

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But the 20 year old was not among the several hundred people who were spirited out of the country last weekend over the Israeli Golan Heights and into Jordan. When the list of names approved for evacuation arrived, his was not on it.

"They told us at midnight that the names had come. We were surprised how many names had not been approved," said Ayed. Only two of the people working at his rescue center were on the list.

Instead, he joined thousands of other people boarding buses for opposition territory in northwest Syria under the terms of the rebels' surrender to the government.

Many of the rescue workers and their families originally supposed to join the evacuation were not able to reach the frontier because of fighting, the White Helmets said.

Of about 800 peopleincluding about 250 White Helmets, along with 550 family membersin the plans, only about 100 rescue workers and about 300 relatives were able to cross through the Golan Heights and Jordan.

However, other White Helmets, including Ayed, were never cleared for evacuation. "We sent these lists...and some names were refused and some names were accepted," said Ammar al-Selmo, a White Helmet working at the group's headquarters in Turkey.

Britain, Canada and Germany were among the countries that offered resettlement and helped to arrange the evacuation.

Asked why some White Helmets were not included in the evacuation plans, a British Foreign Ministry spokesperson said: "This was a response to a specific and urgent situation.

"We have worked, alongside our partners, to use our diplomatic channels to evacuate the maximum number of White Helmets and their families as was possible in an extremely constrained security context."

German officials declined to comment.

Ayed, who has arrived in the northwest along with his parents and younger brother, said he still sees leaving Syria as his best hope of surviving the war.

"Regarding our departure for Canada, I consider it the only solution to save our lives," he said.

Identification papers

The northwest is the last major area still held by rebels. Idlib faces frequent bombardment and President Bashar Assad has said it is now his target.

Rescue workers with the White Helmets, which operates only in opposition-held parts of Syria, are at great risk if captured by the government, Ayed said.

"Our fate is worse than that of army defectors," he said.

Daman Ayed (Photo: Reuters)

Assad has accused the White Helmets of being an al Qaeda front, and his government says they fabricated chemical weapons attacks as a pretext for Western air strikes.

The group, which receives funding from Western governments, says it is a civilian rescue organization that works under bombardment to pull people from the rubble.

Adding to his fear of capture by Assad's forces, Ayed said when the army advanced into his district of the southwest this month, it seized paperwork at the White Helmets base.

"The most important thing is the names and identities of the volunteers, and our special identification cards. This is what damages us the most. The papers and the names were not destroyed, but stayed as they were and are in the hands of the regime," he said.

Shelling

Assad has crushed one center of the rebellion after another in recent years and last month turned to the opposition stronghold straddling Daraa and Quneitra provinces in the southwest.

Air strikes were followed by ground attacks and offers of surrender in return for safe passage to northwestern Syria for any who refused to come back under government control.

Ayed, who said he has been a White Helmet for 16 months, was based in Lajat, the first rebel area in Daraa to come under attack.

As the army closed in, it shelled the White Helmets center and the rescue workers fled before it was captured, he said. Its 30 staff split up, heading for different parts of the remaining rebel territory.

Some sought refuge in towns that were later captured by the government. "They were surrounded and their fate is unknown," he said.

Ayed and his family ended up in Quneitra, near the frontier with the Golan Heights, the last patch of rebel ground in southwest Syria to surrender to the government.

He worked at the White Helmets center there for several weeks. Then one evening all its rescue workers were called in for an urgent meeting.

They were told to submit their names for evacuation through Israel and Jordan with the prospect of resettlement in Canada, he said. When the names came back, Ayed was not among them.
Some leading Palestinian politicians don't believe that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas boycott on American officialsimposed in the wake of Washingtons recognition in December of Jerusalem as Israels capitalis proving beneficial to the Palestinian cause.

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In the current diplomatic climate, officials warned, Europe cannot replace the US as an intermediary for peace talks with Israel, because many European capitals are reluctant to assume Americas traditional role as primary peace broker between the two sides. European leaders are also wary of ignoring the Trump administrations demand to not abide by the PAs push to form a new, multilateral mechanism for negotiations.

Nabeel Amro, a former Palestinian minister of information, explained to The Media Line that the Palestinians want Europeans to be more involved, but we cant force them.





Palestinian President Abbas meets with US President Trump (Photo: AP)

While he believes that it is right to reject the (prospective) American (peace) plan as it violates Palestinian rights, a boycott on the entire US administration is not helpful. Our relationship with the US should be about dialogue, not boycotts.

Whereas, Amro supports the PAs rejection of the White Houses decision to relocate the American Embassy to Jerusalem, he stressed that there is no need to boycott the whole country. Diplomacy requires activity and movement at all levels. The US is still supporting the PA in matters of security. Why do we accept security cooperation, but not the political collaboration?

Amro concluded by noting that the US and Russia, for example, have been going through political tensions for years, but still officials from both nations continue to meet and talk.

Hanna Issa, a Palestinian political analyst, believes that the US alone holds the keys to resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. America is a great country and most of worlds governments have mutual interests with it, he told The Media Line. Therefore, boycotting (Washington) will not benefit the Palestinians.

Issa highlighted that the PA does not even yet know the exact details of the White Houses plan, as it has not been published. Therefore, the PAs rejection of the proposal out-of-hand is, in his estimation, premature and counter-productive.

Palestinian President Abbas (Photo: Reuters)

Nabil Shaath, a foreign affairs adviser to Abbas, disagrees with these assessments. We are not seeking to replace the US with the European Union, he conveyed to The Media Line.

Abbas was clear in his speeches that we want multilateral negotiations involving European countries, Russia and China. At the same time, we refuse the US monopoly on talks and the contempt of the Trump administration for the Palestinian side.

In this respect, Shaath made explicit that the Palestinians will not tolerate what they perceive as President Donald Trumps unwavering support for Israel despite its many violations of international law, its occupation of Palestinian territories, settlement building and refusal to accept the Palestinian right of return.

Shaath nevertheless rejected the claim that Ramallahs positions amount to a boycott on the the American administration. Rather, he qualified, we are boycotting political dialogue with the US over the so-called deal of the century. We still speak with the US Consulate in Jerusalem on daily basis and we still have our representative office in Washington.

To this end, the PA repeatedly has reiterated an unwillingness to engage with Trumps peace envoys, including senior adviser Jared Kushner, US Special Representative for International Negotiations Jason Greenblatt and US Ambassador to Israel David Friedmanwho, together, Shaath described as a Zionist, extremist team.

Last weekend, the American trio penned an op-ed in The Washington Post calling on Hamas to rejects its violent tactics and refusal to accept Israels right to exist. The three envoys also called on the Palestinian people to find a way out of the hopeless treadmill of destruction, violence and human misery.

The world is moving forward, but bad choices are causing Palestinians to fall further and further behind, the op-ed read.

Members of Trump's peace team, Jason Greenblatt and Jared Kushner, with US Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley and Israeli Ambassador to the UN Danny Danon

Responding to the article, Abd al-Lateef Qanou, a Hamas spokesman in Gaza, told The Media Line that the US administration is completely biased in Israels favor and doesnt meet our peoples hopes and ambitions.

It takes the side of the occupation and is a partner in the killing of Palestinians. We do not rely on any American efforts in finding a solution to the conflict.

Article written by Dima Abumaria
The Palestinians said Saturday the 17-year-old boy who had been wounded Friday during the Gaza border clashes succumbed to his wounds.

Two additional Palestinians were killed during clashes with the IDF in the southern strip.
A senior Taliban official says the insurgent group has held the first direct talks with a US official in a preliminary discussion about future plans for a negotiated peace in Afghanistan.

This week's meeting with Alice Wells, the US's top diplomat for South Asia, was an attempt to jump-start talks on ending Washington's longest military engagement, a senior Taliban official told The Associated Press early Saturday.

US officials neither confirmed nor denied a meeting took place.
Syrian and most likely Russian fighter jets backing President Bashar Assad's army in its fight against rebel groups in the Syrian Golan Heights were detected Thursday in close vicinity of Israel's airspace.

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An AFP photographer saw what seemed to be Russian Sukhoi and MIG fighter jets flying near Israel's border.

Furthermore, the AFP photographer who was reporting from Kibbutz Ein Zivan in the Israeli Golan Heights captured a L-39 Albatros high-performance jet trainer with trails of smoke seen in the background blaring through the Syrian Golan Heights' sky.

Sukhoi fighter jet seen near Israel's border (Photo: AFP)

Some 2,000 rockets were launched as part of the internal fighting in Syria, with two of them landing in the Kinneret accompanied by explosions. Neither casualties nor damage were reported.

Hundreds of Syrian jets were detected over the last five years while suspiciously approaching the border and frequently triggering Israeli fighter jets to be sent to the area.

MIG fighter jet flying very close to the border (Photo: AFP)

In recent weeks, the Syrian army has bolstered its planes near the border as part of Assad's efforts to recapture areas in southwest Syria held by rebel groups.

Moreover, drones gathering intelligence nearing the border with some of them penetrating Israel were spotted and consequently shot down by Israel. Assad's fighter jets dropping explosive barrels in the Syrian Golan Heights were detected as well.

Syrian fighter jets that fly in low altitudes and in a visible range from Israeli communities are being monitored by the Israeli Air Force's (IAF) northern aerial control unit from the minute they take off from the military bases, among them the T-4 airfield located 250 km from the Golan Heights.

The Syrian fighter jets are considered as relatively easy tracking and downing targets since their size makes them visible, as opposed to missiles, rockets or drones which are used by Assad's regime to reclaim the last rebel-held strongholds.

Assad's army bombs in the Syrian Golan Heights (: )

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However, some of the aircraft pertain to the Russian army. In order to prevent a grave incident in which Israel downs a Russian aircraft, the immediate IDF-Russian army coordination mechanism is working with greater vigor these days.

The IDF estimates that spillover from Syria's internal fighting will continue during the next few days.

Syrian flag raised in Quneitra (Photo: AFP)

In addition, IDF's two-year-old "Good Neighbor" project, which included providing Syrians refugees with medical and logistic aid, is expected to end during the upcoming weeks with Assad's gaining full control over the area bordering with Israel.

Several IDF officials desire to continue the project, and some more low-scale alternatives are being reviewed.

Israel's response to spillover from Syria's internal fighting

Israeli jets struck a rocket launcher and shelled the area on Wednesday evening from which two rockets were launched by ISIS and landed in the Kinneret earlier as part of the internal fighting raging in Syria.

Two BM-21 rockets were found by Israeli security authorities in the northern freshwater lake after a three-hour search prompted by reports by eyewitness who claimed to see two suspicious objects crash into the water accompanied by explosions.

The IDF issued a statement after the military response saying, The IDF will act against any attempt to violate the State of Israels sovereignty and harm the security of its citizens.

Syria's Internal fighting near Israel's border (Photo: AFP)

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.

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.

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.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Council (SDC) said on Saturday that it and the Syrian government had decided at a meeting to form committees to develop negotiations to end violence in Syria.

The committees would "chart a roadmap to a democratic, decentralised Syria", said the SDC, the political wing of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

The talks in Damascus this week pointed to moves by the Kurdish-led authorities in the quarter of Syria east of the Euphrates to seek a deal with President Bashar Assad to preserve their autonomy.
The Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation (IPBC or "Kan" in Hebrew) cannot begin preparation for the Eurovision Song Contest, which is supposed to be held in Israel in 2019, since the government refuses to approve the allocation of fund for the competition.

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The state's refusal to fund the Eurovision is only one of the obstacles the song contest's organizers have encountered as part of their efforts to host it in Israel, after Netta Barzilai's "Toy" won this year's competition.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing to split the Israel Public Broadcasting Corporation from its news division. However, after the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) signaled that such a move would prevent Israel from hosting next years Eurovision Song Contest, Netanyahu backed down.

2018 Eurovision winner Netta Barzilai (Photo: AFP)

The production cost of the Eurovision in Israel is estimated at 35 million euro, and the IPBC is supposed to transfer 12 million euro as a guarantee to the EBU in the upcoming days.

Despite Israel's enthusiasm over its win in the 2018 Eurovision, the government has yet to take any practical steps to host the contest, such as allocating a budget for its preparations.

IPBC CEO Eldad Koblenz sent Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon an official letter regarding the matter, warning that the competition being held in Israel is at risk.

"Following recent talks and correspondence between both parties about transferring funds required for the IPBC to produce the Eurovision Song Contest, I would like to stress and clarify that without the support and full funding needed to produce the contest, unfortunately it won't be held in Israel," Koblenz said in the letter.

"The first and most urgent milestone we have to overcome is providing a bank guarantee until August 1st, as demanded by the EBC.

"The contest's production is extremely elaborated and requires a lot of time to prepare for. My hope is that all the relevant parties will join forces (to make it happen)," he concluded.

PM meets Netta Barzilai after winning the Eurovision

A senior official in the Finance Ministry explained that, "The Prime Minister's Office refuses to approve the allocation of budgets to the IPBC at this time."

A government official quoted Netanyahu as saying that "The IPBC receives a NIS 700 million budget per year, which should do."

An official at the PMO noted that "the decision (not to allocate the funds) was made both by the Prime Minister's Office as well as the Finance Ministry.

"If the Finance Ministry wishes to change its decision as the one responsible of the budgets, it is welcome to preset the matter to us."
Hundreds of Syrian refugees have started crossing the border from Lebanonthe latest group to return to Syria from its western neighbor.

Three buses carrying scores of people crossed the border into Syria on Saturday afternoon and more than 30 other buses are in Lebanon to take more refugees later in the day.

Russia has put forward an initiative to return hundreds of thousands of refugees to Syria and hundreds of Syrians have returned to Syria from Lebanon over the past weeks.

Many have returned from the northeastern Lebanese town of Arsal. Most of those heading home Saturday were coming from the southern Lebanese village of Chebaa.

Lebanon is home to some 1 million Syrian refugees.

The Russian initiative was proposed following the summit in Helsinki between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Bereaved parents from the Druze village of Beit Jann are calling on the Israeli government to immediately revoke the Nationality Law and prevent the disintegration of trust between the Druze community and the government.

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Beit Jann has 11,000 residents. Sixty-one of the village's finest men sacrificed their lives to protect the State of Israel.

According to the Nationality Law, only Jews have the right to self-determination in Israel, something that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hailed as the realization of the Zionist vision, but has stoked anger among critics who argue it is racist.

(Photo: Efi Shrir)

The families of Beit Jann are furious at the law, which passed during the last week of the Knesset's summer session.

"It's a racist law and will be a warning sign to the next Druze recruits," bereaved parents Farha and Salman said.

Farha and Salman Yussuf's son Madhat is one of Beit Jann's fallen soldiers, who was killed in 2000.

"Madhat died in vain. When our son was killed, we refused to believe, even for a split second, that he was left to die because he was a Druze. However, the government has proven that assumption. Madhat was killed because he was discriminated against," they lashed out.

Druze community leader (Photo: Ido Becker)

"We cannot convey our pain in words, but we can express our anger," said the parents, whose Border Policeman son bled to death while awaiting medical attention at Joseph's Tomb.

"Our son fell while fighting for his homeland, and now this isn't his nationality?" they asked.

Bereaved parents Salma and Kamal Zidan, who lost two of their sonsFuad and Salahduring their military service, also joined the protest against the law.

Fuad was a Border Policeman who was killed in Bethlehem in 1987, only eight months after he was drafted.

In 1996, their second son Salah, a Golani company commander, fell in battle in Lebanon.

"I'm ashamed of the Nationality Law," Salma said.

Bereaved parents Salma and Camal Zidan

Salma also lost her brother Salah, after whom she named her son.

"This government is racist and has proven it's not loyal to us. Where is the democracy?" Salma wondered.

"I will do everything in my power to prevent my grandchildren from going to the army," she said.

"It's a disappointing and racist law. We were thrown out and that's sad. We disapprove of the law, denounce it and are ashamed of it," Salma added.

"I believe that the majority of the Israeli public is against this law, and those who promoted its legislation are racists and criminals who don't have an ounce of emotion. Are they even Jews?" the bereaved mother accused. "This government is comprised of racists that divide and break up Israeli society."

Salma and her husband visited their son's grave in Beit Jann last Tuesday to mark his birthday this week.

"We told our children in the cemetery 'look at what's happening. It's a shame you fought and protected those who passed that law,'" she recalled with anger.

Druze combat fighters (Photo: Dan Bronfeld)

The bereaved mother intends to fight to prevent her 17.5-year-old grandson from joining the army.

"I'll call on bereaved mothers not to sent their remaining children and grandsons to the army. I'm ashamed, ashamed of the law," Salma concluded with rage and profound sorrow.

Knesset member Saleh Saed (Zionist Union), who petitioned the High Court of Justice against the Nationality Law, also expressed his anger saying, "This is a painful fight that comes from the heart. We'll put an emphasis on the Druze bereaved families' part in our protest."

"I believe and hope it will influence Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to revoke the discrimination against the Druze community and all other minorities," Saed added.
Thousands attended funerals Saturday of three Palestinians killed by IDF fire during border protests a day earlier, including an 11-year-old, a 17-year-old and a 43-year-old man.

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Moumin al-Hams, 17, who was shot in the chest at the protest on Friday, succumbed to his wounds Saturday, raising the death toll of this week's rioting to three.

The teenager appears to have been a regular participant in the weekly marches that Hamas, the Islamic militant group that rules Gaza, has been leading and promoting since March.

Palestinian mourners carry the body of 11 year-old Majdi al-Satari (Photo: AP)

Images shared on social media by his friends and relatives show him venturing toward the fence, setting tires ablaze and pushing them toward Israeli forces.

The Gaza Health Ministry said the latest deaths brought to 18 the number of minors, age 18 and under, killed in the past four months.

Funerals were also held Saturday for Majdi al-Satari, 11, whose age was previously announced as 14, and for Ghazi Abu Mustafa, 43, killed at Friday's rally.

Gaza's Health Ministry first reported on Friday that al-Satari was 14. On Saturday it said his age was 12. A relative provided a different date of birth and The Associated Press matched the new data with al-Mezan, a Gaza-based rights group, and confirmed that he was 11.

Alaa Abdel-Fattah said he witnessed the boy's death on Friday. He said a group of protesters were trying to cut razor wire about 50 yards away from the actual fence. He said the child was watching from about 100 meters away. "There were two gunshots from a sniper. One hit one of those cutting the wire in the leg and the other gunshot hit the boy in his head," he said.

Women gathered under the corrugated zinc roofing of al-Satari's house for the funeral.

Majdi's mother, wearing a black niqab, sat on a mattress. "I don't know what he did to them (the Israeli soldiers)," she said as she burst in tears. She added that his family tried to prevent him from going to the protests and on one occasion tried to lock him indoors. "It's his fate," she sighed.

Relatives of 11 year-old Majdi al-Satari (Photo: AP)

"He is a child. He had no bullets or weapons," Um Ramzi al-Satari, the deceased's grandmother, said. "He was standing like all children watching. They shot him from afar. Isn't he a child? Why are they targeting children?"

In a nearby town, mourners held a funeral for the 43 year old killed in the same protest.

Hassan Najjar told the AP on Friday that he had witnessed that shooting.

He said soldiers shot at a group of Palestinians who rushed to the border and a bullet hit the man sitting about 250 meters away. He said the man had sustained leg wounds at a previous protest and was still using crutches.

Hamas has led border protests aimed in part at drawing attention to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade imposed after Hamas took control of Gaza in 2007.

Hamas uses the protests as cover for attempts to breach the border fence and attack civilians and soldiers.

The demonstrations have been fueled in large part by pervasive despair caused by the blockade which has caused widespread economic hardship.

Over 130 Palestinians, mostly unarmed, have been killed since the protests began.

Last week a Palestinian sniper killed an Israeli soldier. Another soldier was wounded by Palestinian fire on Wednesday.
A report on the quality of China's compulsory education, which covers primary and junior middle schools, said the students' abilities in music and art appreciation need to be improved.

While praising the sound academic performances among the students, the report, released by the National Assessment Center for Education Quality under the Ministry of Education, found that the students were weaker in basic music and aesthetic understanding and appreciation.

The report was based on monitoring conducted by the center between 2015 and 2017, which assessed 572,314 fourth-grade and eighth-grade students in 973 county-level regions across China. It also surveyed 19,346 primary and secondary school headmasters and 147,610 teachers.

Most of the students -- 82.6 percent in fourth grade and 86.1 percent in eighth grade -- were able to sing songs in full fluently, it said.

However, when it came to the discerning of the rhythm, tempo, and timbre of music, only about half of the students gave the right answers.

Only 60 percent of the students could correctly recognize the genres, forms, and emotional elements of the music.

Those who can accurately identify the colors, lines, symmetries and spatial elements of artworks only accounted for about 60 percent of the students assessed.
Some 180 novelists, poets, playwrights, screenwriters and other literary figures on Saturday evening called on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of Knesset to cancel the Nationality Law and amend the Surrogacy Law, which discriminates against gay couples.

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Read the full letter and see the full list of signatories here



"Wewriters, screenwriters, playwrights, academic scholars and members of Israel's arts and letters communitywould like to express to you our utmost shock and dismay, in light of the recent laws passed by the Israeli Knesset under your leadership," they wrote in a letter to the prime minister.

Among the signatories on the public statement, which was translated into English and Arabic as well, are: authors Amos Oz, David Grossman, A. B. Yehoshua, Savyon Liebrecht, Eshkol Nevo, Orly Castel-Bloom, Judith Katzir, Etgar Keret, Alon Hilu, Smadar Shir, Zeruya Shalev, Noa Yedlin, Yael Dayan and Prof. Ariel Hirschfeld; poets Agi Mishol, Ronny Someck, Eliaz Cohen, Shimon Buzaglo and Navit Barel; screenwriters Edna Mazia, Hillel Mittelpunkt and Shemi Zarhin; actress Hana Azoulay-Hasfari; and translator Halit Yeshurun, among others.

A. B. Yehoshua and Amoz Oz (Photo: Van Leer Jerusalem Institute)

The public statement was initiated by Israeli gay writer Ilan Sheinfeld, a father of twins who were born through surrogacy in India and currently a resident of Tuval in the Galilee.

"According to a law recently passed by the Knesset and entitled 'Israel: The Nation State of the Jewish People,' Israel is now defined as a nation-state for Jews only . This is a Basic Law, with quasi-constitutional status, that explicitly allows racial and religious discrimination, rescinds the status of Arabic as an official language alongside Hebrew, does not mention democracy as the basis of the regime, and does not mention equality as a core value.

"As such, this Basic Law is undemocratic and runs counter to the definition of the State of Israel as a democratic state; moreover, it contradicts the Declaration of Independence, based on which Israel was founded. These are two things no Knesset has a right to do," the writers told the prime minister in their letter.

Likud ministers and MKs celebrate Nationality Law passage with a selfie (Photo: Amit Shabi)

The writers also lamented the Surrogacy law, noting "The Knesset also amended the Surrogacy Law, when it extended the list of people who are eligible to receive the services of a surrogate child-bearer, to include single women who have a medical condition preventing them from having a child, but excluded single men and gay couples."

The protested the fact that "Those two laws exclude Christian and Muslim Arabs (including Bedouin), Druze and Circassians, and violate the LGBTQ communitys right for parenthood. They are part of a long list of actions by the various governments of the State of Israel that you have headed, from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to this day, and have unjustly penalized the most excluded and disadvantaged sectors in both Jewish and Israeli society, including Reform and Conservative Judaism, the Arab (including Bedouin), Druze and Circassian minorities, the sick and elderly, Holocaust survivors and differently-abled people, single women, Ethiopian Jews and many more."

"During your years in office, you and those governments have persistently eroded the foundations of our Jewish-democratic country," they accused. "You have damaged the relations between Israel and United States Jewry; you have sentenced huge populations to continued poverty and hardship; and you have knowingly and purposely damaged Israel's education system, public diplomacy, culture and economy, defense and welfare.

"By doing so, you have done severe harm to Israeli society. But the most severe damage has affected the values of equality and mutual responsibility, on which Israel's society is based and from which it draws its strength."

Arab MKs protest Nationality Law in the Knesset (:  )

The writers demanded to "immediately repeal the Nationality Law, which has created a rift between Israeli society and United States Jewry; discriminates against Arabs (including Bedouin), Druze and Circassians; and damages the coexistence of Israel's Jewish majority with its minorities.

"Moreover, we demand your immediate response to the call for equality on behalf of the members of the LGBTQ community. It is unthinkable for the State of Israel to stand between a person and that person's natural desire to become a parent and to establish a family."

They concluded their letter by saying that "Felonies and misdemeanors properly defined as such by law fall under the jurisdiction of a court. On the other hand, sins that are infamously written into the law itself by the elected lawmakerssins that undermine the core of the Jewish peoples existence and its homelandmust be judged by intellectuals and by the court of history.

"Please stop your government and coalition members from scourging minorities that create the colorful mosaic that is Israeli society and help to guarantee its existence. Do it now!"

LGBT protest against Surrogacy Law (Photo: Reuters)

"The public statement that I formulated knowingly and deliberately links the opposition to the Nationality Law with the opposition to the Surrogacy Law," said Ilan Sheinfeld.

"As I see it, Israels LGBTQ community, in its efforts that transcend borders and sectors of the population, and that continue to receive unprecedented support from all strata of Israels public, has kindled a struggle that is far greater than the Surrogacy Law itself. It is the struggle for equal rights and mutual responsibility in Israel. Sharing in that struggle are all of the weak and excluded sectors of Israeli society, including the members of the LGBTQ community and everyone who has been harmed by the Nationality Law."

Ilan Sheinfeld (Photo: Molly Naim)

Israeli author A.B. Yehoshua, one of the signatories, told Ynet that the Nationality Law is "unnecessary and harmful."

"What was this commotion good for?" he wondered. "Why start making the whole world angry? Now all of a sudden they (the government) found out they're neglecting the Druze. There are also Bedouin and Christian Arabs in the army. This (law) is some sort of senseless whim."
RAMALLAH - Border Police on Saturday reportedly arrested two Italian graffiti artists who were painting a mural of a jailed Palestinian teenager, Ahed Tamimi, on the Israeli separation barrier in Bethlehem in the West Bank, according to Palestinian officials.

Tamimi, now 17, was sent to prison for assault after being filmed kicking and slapping an Israeli soldier late last year, when she was 16. She is due to be released on Sunday.

The Palestine Liberation Organization said on Twitter that Israeli forces had arrested the two Italian artists and a Palestinian who was with them.
Hundreds of people demonstrated at HaBima Square in Tel Aviv on Saturday night as part of the Druze community's protest against the Nationality Law.

Among the speakers was Dr. Sami Awad, who lamented, "How can I convince the young Druze to enlist in the army now, to contribute to this country which determined it is not mine? What will happen with the soldiers currently serving in the military? Right now, they're simply mercenaries according to this unnecessary and divisive law."
The flotilla boat Al Awda (the return) was less than 150 miles from the Gaza Strip shores on Saturday night and theoretically could reach its destination by Sunday afternoon.

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But even the activists abroad understand that they might be stopped in the coming hours by the Israeli Navy, which will prevent them from "breaking" the naval blockade on Gaza.

In an interview with Ynet from far out at sea, the activists stressed that they will resist to the IDF's expected takeover of the boat in non-violent ways.

"We want and plan to reach the Gaza Strip," said Zohar Regev, an Israeli living in Spain who is on board the boat. "But if we are stopped by the army, we will resist their takeover of the boat in non-violent ways. It means we won't invite them to come on board, but we also won't try to hurt them or create a situation in which we are a threat to them."

The flotilla nears Gaza amid Hamas's "March of Return" campaign, but Regev insists there is no connection between the flotilla and the campaign.

"This flotilla was planned even before the 'March of Return' campaign, but as soon as we saw there was a civilian campaign that is gaining momentum, it gave us a push and motivation," she said. "There are people in the flotilla's coalition with ties to the campaign in Gaza, but this flotilla was planned before that and with no connections to the campaign."

"Our goal is to lift the blockade over Gaza. When a civilian group is fighting against a bigger body like a state, it has to develop creative ideas to succeed, and I'd be happy to hear such ideas from people," he said.

International activist Charlie Anderson, who was in the Gaza Strip before and is now on board the ship, agreed. "I'm aware of the fact the mainstream media hasn't covered this flotilla, but we receive a lot of comments on social media, and it helps keep the issue of the siege over Gaza on the agenda," he said.

build a naval port for Gaza in Cyprus in exchange for the return of the bodies of IDF soldiers and the living Israeli citizens being held by Hamas.

"I don't believe a word coming from Lieberman, he should be in prison," said Shapira. "We believe the way to lifting the siege over Gaza is using international pressure."

Shapira said the boat carries medical equipment for Gaza, but stressed this was a symbolic amount and that the main goal of the flotilla is to raise awareness about the blockade.

According to Shapira, there are no activists from the Turkish organization IHH on board the boat, as there were on the Mavi Marmara

Past experience indicates that the Navy takes over all flotillas when they are several dozens of miles from the Gaza Strip's coast. After the takeover, the boats are towed to the Ashdod port, where the activists on board are detained for questioning and then deported from Israel shortly thereafter through Ben-Gurion Airport.

"I know the Israeli public doesn't support us, but I only have one request from every Israeli: Try to imagine, only for a few seconds, that you were born in Gaza and couldn't leave it for 12 years," Shapira said. "How would you behave, and what would you think about those who prevented you of leaving?"
News

Washington, DC - The Federal Trade Commission is mailing 597 checks totaling more than $184,000 to people who were allegedly tricked into paying phony debts.

In October 2015, the FTC and the State of New York charged a group of defendants known as Delaware Solutions with collecting on debts that they knew were bogus. According to the complaint, the defendants ignored evidence that the debts were invalid, failed to identify themselves as debt collectors, falsely portrayed themselves as process servers or attorneys, and falsely threatened arrest or litigation for failure to pay. The defendants agreed to  and in August 2016, a federal court in New York entered  an order that permanently banned them from the debt collection industry.

The average refund amount is $308.37. Recipients should deposit or cash checks within 60 days, as indicated on the check. The FTC never requires people to pay money or provide account information to cash a refund check. If recipients have questions about the refund program, they should contact the FTCs refund administrator, Analytics Consulting LLC, at 855-687-2078.

To learn more about the FTCs refund program, visit www.ftc.gov/refunds.
Arizona News

Phoenix, Arizona - Governor Doug Ducey directed that flags at all state office buildings be lowered to half-staff from Thursday, July 26, 2018, until sunset Friday, July 27, 2018, in honor of State Trooper Tyler Edenhofer who was killed in the line of duty from injuries related to a shooting. Another State Trooper, Dalin Dorris, was critically injured during the tragic incident.

Arizona today mourns the loss of one of our brave State Troopers, Trooper Tyler Edenhofer, who was killed in the line of duty, and we pray for the health of Trooper Dalin Dorris who sustained critical injuries during the incident.

This tragedy is an all too real and heartbreaking reminder of the harm our heroic law enforcement officers face each and everyday for the safety and wellbeing of Arizonans, and for peace in our communities.

This morning I ask Arizonans to join me in prayer and reflection; in gratitude for Trooper Edenhofers service to our state, for the strength and health of Trooper Dorris, for both of their grieving families and for all of our brave law enforcement officers who are mourning the loss of one of their own. Arizona stands in support with you all.

Ive directed all flags at state buildings be lowered to half-staff until sunsettomorrow, Friday, July 27, 2018."
Arizona News

Mesa, Arizona - U.S. Term Limits (USTL), the leader in the national, non-partisan movement to limit terms for elected officials, is gathering support from state lawmakers across the nation. Its mission is to get 34 states to apply for an amendment proposal convention specific to term limits on Congress. Arizona state house representative, Kelly Townsend, and candidate for state house representative, Lisa Godzich, both of district 16, have committed their support for term limits on Congress by signing the Term Limits Convention pledge.

USTL President, Philip Blumel, commented on Godzich's and Townsend's pledges, saying, Lisa's and Kelly's support of term limits shows that there are individuals who are willing to listen to the majority of voters who want term limits. America needs a Congress that will be served by citizen legislators, not career politicians.

The U.S. Term Limits pledge is provided to candidates and members of state legislatures. It reads, I pledge that, as a member of the state legislature, I will support and vote for the resolution applying for an Article V convention for the limited purpose of enacting term limits on Congress.

In the 1995 case, Thornton v. U.S. Term Limits, the Supreme Court of the United States opined that only a Constitutional Amendment could limit the terms of U.S. Senators and House Representatives. According to Nick Tomboulides, Executive Director of USTL, the best chance of imposing term limits on congress is through an Article V Proposal Convention of state legislatures. The Constitution allows for amendments to be proposed by either  of Congress or  of the states.

While wed like for Congress to take the high road and impose limits on itself, our goal is to trigger the latter, a convention of states, claims Tomboulides. That is why it is important to get buy-in from state legislators, he added. Once proposed, the amendment must be ratified by 38 states.

Blumel noted, More than 82% of Americans have rejected the career politician model and want to replace it with citizen leadership. The way to achieve that goal is through a congressional term limits amendment. Godzich and Townsend know this and are willing to work to make sure we reach our goal.

According to the last nationwide poll on term limits conducted by McLaughlin & Associates, conducted in January 2018, term limits enjoys wide bipartisan support. McLaughlins analysis states, Support for term limits is broad and strong across all political, geographic and demographic groups. An overwhelming 82% of voters approve of a Constitutional Amendment that will place term limits on members of Congress.
Arizona News

Parker, Arizona - Being dual enrolled in high school and college gave Elias Martinez the opportunity to narrow down which programs he was interested in, at a discounted rate.

Arizona Western College offers Arizona students 17 and younger the opportunity to take college classes for only $25 per credit, a substantial savings to the regular $84 per credit hour for students 18 and older. The Early College Tuition offer aligns with AWCs vision of cultivating generations who value knowledge, foster independence, eliminate poverty, and create vital, equitable and sustainable communities.

Before graduating from Parker High School in 2017, Martinez was able to complete two college-level criminal justice courses and discovered that it wasnt the right career path for him. However, he also took a college prerequisite course while in high school, and now hes only four courses away from being able to apply for something he is interested in  the AWC Radiologic Technology program.

Its better to take advantage of this discounted rate while you can, so you can hopefully graduate sooner and save money on classes, said Martinez.

Taking college courses at the AWC Parker Learning Center also allows him to save on housing and travel costs too. The proximity of the campus has made it possible for him to continue his education after high school while still living at home.

Students have several factors to think about when considering pursuing higher education. AWCs smaller class sizes are another advantage for students who may feel overwhelmed by the idea of a larger college. A smaller environment gives students the chance to have more one-on-one interactions with instructors and staff, flexible class schedules to meet students needs, and additional opportunities to explore leadership pathways through student clubs and activities.
Yuma News

Yuma, Arizona - In August 2018, the Yuma Main Library, in collaboration with Vanessa Castillo, will host a Summer Business Series at the Main Library. Aspiring entrepreneurs, small business owners, and students are invited to attend workshops focusing on marketing and social media.

Vanessa Castillo, local small business consultant and digital marketing expert, will present Instagram for Business on Thursday, August 9th, from 3:00  5:00 p.m. in Meeting Room A. Learn how to become an Instagram leader, crush your competitors, dominate Instagram marketing, and create a fan base or community.



Future Summer Business Series workshops include:



Thursday, August 16th  3:00-5:00 p.m.

Facebook Ads & Analytics

Learn how to create Facebook ads for different purposes and how to read analytics to better understand your online performance.



Thursday, August 23rd  3:00-5:00 p.m.

Email Marketing & Blogging

Join us for an overview of email marketing and learn how to incorporate blogging into your marketing strategy.



There is no charge to attend; however, registration is required. For more information, and to register, visit www.yumalibrary.org



The Main Library is located at 2951 S 21st Drive.
- The former Second Lady, Matilda Amissah-Arthur had criticized Ghanaians for being hypocrites

- She was reading her tribute at the just ended funeral ceremony of her late husband, Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur

- While some people believe the time and occasion for her outburst was wrong, Dr. Lawrence Tetteh believes she did not err

The founder and president of the Worldwide Miracle Outreach, Dr. Lawrence Tetteh, has defended the outburst of Mrs. Matilda Amissah-Arthur at her late husbands funeral.

The former second lady read an emotional tribute at the funeral service of her late husband in a hard way which has Ghanaians talking.

Taking her turn to read her tribute, the former second lady expressed shock over the number of people who had spoken highly of the former president.

Matilda Amissah-Arthur with her late husband. Photo credit: YEN.com.gh

READ ALSO: How Amissah-Arthur and his wife Matilda met

To her, that was mere hypocricy because those people were those maligning and accusation her late husband when he was alive.

Mrs. Matilda Arthur took exception to the fake love being shown by those people, and she did not fail to address that in her tribute.

Over the last few weeks, I have been amazed at the number of people who have come to show appreciation and I ask myself: Is this Ghana? Are all these people in Ghana because of the maligning, the lies, the treachery, the wickedness, the mischievousness?

I ask myself: Is this Ghana? I ask myself is this my own husband that you have come to say tribute to? And today, I ask the same question: Did people really know my husband? Did they take time to know him? The false accusations, the lies the maligning, did they know him? My dearest, me, your children, we knew you, part of Mrs. Amissah-Arthurs tribute reads.

READ ALSO: Photo of Amissah-Arthur with his grandson breaks hearts of Ghanaians

Her subtle jab appeared to share the sentiments of her family who felt their son Kwesi Amissah-Arthur was disregarded by a section of Ghanaians, especially, politicians despite his decades worth of service to Ghana and the NDC party.

Her tribute has since been met with mix reactions with many describing it as very harsh considering the occasion and the personalities who were in attendance to mourn the selfless statesman.

But Dr. Lawrence Tetteh has said the former second lady did not err in her tribute considering the contradictory attitude Ghanaians exhibit towards the living and the dead.

Justifying her heated posture, he noted that Ghanaians are fond of spewing lies and criticizing one another but in times of mourning the narrative takes a different turn.

In the culture of Ghana, peoples credibility, peoples testimony peoples hard won reputation are undermined because of this day and age of social media and radio but we should also come to that place where we can appreciate people and give them living testimonies while they are still alive.

As a matter of fact, you can see the outburst of his wife this morning, and she was genuine. If you look at all the negatives that have been said about this man and now people are sitting back now giving tributes, its sad. We should learn to give people tribute while they are still alive, Lawrence Tetteh said.

READ ALSO: 5 amazing throwback photos telling Amissah-Arthur's life story

The former Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur, died on 29 June after collapsing during a workout session at the Airforce Gym, at age sixty-seven.

He was laid to rest at the military cemetery in Accra following a memorial service at the Accra International Conference Centre.

Meanwhile, the government of Ghana has decided to re-name Moree Senior High School in the Central Region after the late former Vice-President Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur.

READ ALSO: Fans warn Efia Odo over another video of her chopping love with Revloe

Ghana News: Sulley Muntari Gave $2.200 To Accra Hearts Of Oak Players | Yen.com.gh

READ ALSO: I cant boast of a car or house from my 8-year radio career  Pope Skinny

Have national and human interest issues to discuss?

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Source: Yen
- Former President Mahama has said his wife is the one taking care of him now

- According to him, the government has not fulfilled its mandate of paying him salaries

- Mahamas revelation comes on the heels of reports that the NPP government pays him salary

Former President John Mahama has revealed that his wife Lordina is now the bread winner of his family.

According to the former president, Mrs. Mahama is the one feeding him following the NPP government's inability to pay his monthly salary.

This revelation was reportedly made by the spokesperson of John Mahama, Joyce Mogtari Bawa.

John Mahama. Photo credit: Facebook

READ ALSO: Meet Wan-O; the rapper braving all odds to get his music directly to fans

She was said to be speaking in an interview on Okay FM which was monitored by Pulse.com.gh.

Mrs. Bawa was reacting to a publication that the government was paying John Mahamas salary.

She refuted the claims, explaning that recommendations by the Edu-Buandoh Committee about the payment of salaries and other emolument for former presidents have not been implemented.

Let me put it on record that up to date, everything the Edu-Buandoh Committee recommended which were largely adopted by the Parliament of the Republic of Ghana for implementation, all of the conditions under that particular document; the emolument documents, none of them have been met and none are being met, Joyce Bawa stated.

READ ALSO: Matilda Amissah-Arthur was right with her tribute rant  Lawrence Tetteh

She then revealed that situation has forced Lordina Mahama to take over managing the family since her husband is broke.

The spokeswoman for Mr Mahama, Joyce Mogtari Bawa, said the former first lady is taking of Mr Mahama from the money she makes from her businesses.

"Maa Lordina is a very hard working woman; she is still running and managing her businesses and so I am sure that maybe she is the one taking care of our father [John Mahama] and by Gods grace everything is well but what government should give to them, none has been given," she revealed on Okay FMs "Ade Akye Abia" Morning Show.

READ ALSO: Fans warn Efia Odo over another video of her chopping love with Revloe

Asked if the ex-president borrows Money from his wife, she responded: "I cant tell if he [Mahama] borrows money from her, but I know Maa Lordina is someone who helps her husband a lot."

Meanwhile, former President Mahama has spoken highly of the late former Vice President Paa Kwesi Bekoe Amissah-Arthur.

He said he was an astute statesman whose rich experiences have served the country well in many diverse areas.

The late former vice president was laid to rest on Friday, July 27, 2018.

READ ALSO: Top pastor on the run after leaking adult video with married woman on social media

Ghana News: Sulley Muntari Gave $2.200 To Accra Hearts Of Oak Players | Yen.com.gh

READ ALSO: I cant boast of a car or house from my 8-year radio career  Pope Skinny

Have national and human interest issues to discuss?

Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition?

Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page

Source: Yen
- The minister of fisheries has angered fisher folk over the ban n fishing activities

- Elizabeth Afoley Quaye says fishermen could resort to collecting plastics during the ban

- Fisher folks in Accra say they find the statement by the minister very insulting

From the 1st of August, all fishing activities in the country will be banned following a directive from the ministry of fisheries and aquaculture.

The directive by the fisheries minister has sparked fury among some fisher folk especially those in the coastal belt of the Greater Accra region who say the ban will not only affect the annual Homowo celebration but also increase the cost of fish in the country.

So far, there have been threats of a demonstration across the various fishing harbours as a large section of the fisherfolk have threatened a demonstration over the development.

READ ALSO: Matilda Amissah-Arthur was right with her tribute rant  Lawrence Tetteh

Meanwhile, the sector minister says she still stands by this move. She rather admonished fisherfolk to resort to improving the sanitation situation along the beaches. The minister stated that collecting and selling plastic bags could be the best resort during the ban.

Some fishermen say they feel insulted by a suggestion by the Fisheries Minister for them to collect plastic for sale during the closed fishing season. They say they are not mentally challenged men and women to go about collecting plastic waste.

READ ALSO: Fans warn Efia Odo over another video of her chopping love with Revloe

The Jamestown Fishing Harbour is heavily represented by fishmongers who store the catch of fisherman in refrigerators for sale. This is where to visit should you want to buy and dress your fish. These fish sellers hint the cost of fish risk experiencing a 10 to 20 percent increase should the one-month ban be anything to go by.

Ghana News: Sulley Muntari Gave $2.200 To Accra Hearts Of Oak Players | Yen.com.gh

Do you have national and human interest issues to discuss? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page.

Source: Yen
- Nana Addo has ended his tour of the three northern regions

- The president was lauded by chiefs for his social interventions including the Free SHS

- Schools, roads and hospitals have been commissioned in the president's name

President of the republic has ended his tour of the Upper West Region as part of the entire three-day tour of the three Northern Regions.

Nana Addo, during the tour, took the chance to pay a courtesy call on the Wa Naa, Fuseini Seidu Pelpuo IV and commission the newly constructed Amatrol Laboratory of the Hilla Liman Polytechnic.

Nana Addo ends three-day tour of the Northern regions (Photo: Presidency.gov.gh)

The President also inspected ongoing works on the construction of a multi-purpose youth center in Wa, which is expected to be completed in 9 months time; and also commissioned the new Upper West Regional House of Chiefs building.

Nana Addo ends three-day tour of the Northern regions (Photo: Presidency.gov.gh)

READ ALSO: Matilda Amissah-Arthur was right with her tribute rant  Lawrence Tetteh

The president Akufo-Addo also inspected the 76-kilometer Wa-Han Road, which links thirteen (13) important towns with three (3) big markets at Jang, Bussie and Han.

Nana Addo ends three-day tour of the Northern regions (Photo: Presidency.gov.gh)

The president was also applauded for introducing some social-friendly initiatives such as the Free Senior High School policy, the programme for Planting for Food and Jobs, and the restoration of the nursing and teacher training allowances.

READ ALSO: 5 amazing throwback photos telling Amissah-Arthur's life story

Prior to ending his tour, the President interacted with chiefs and queen mothers from Jirapa, Sissala East, Sissala West, Nadowli/Kaleo, Daffiama-Bussie-Issah and Wa East, at a durbar held in his honour.

Ghana News: Sulley Muntari Gave $2.200 To Accra Hearts Of Oak Players | Yen.com.gh

Have national and human interest issues to discuss? Know someone who is extremely talented and needs recognition? Your stories and photos are always welcome. Get interactive via our Facebook page.

Source: Yen.com.gh
- The grandmother was a leader of gang operated in central Kenya and in Nairobi

- Police gunned her down together with her gang members at her home

- A woman they had kidnapped was rescued during the raid

- Local pastors refused to preside over the burial ceremony

There was drama during the burial of 82-year-old granny gangster and her 26-year-old nephew on Friday, July 27, in Kenyta's Irewa village, Kiharu, Muranga County when pastors refused to preside over the ceremony.

Wangari Muturi Karanja and Sammy Mwangi Kangethe together with another man from Njumbi village in Mathioya constituency were shot dead after heavily armed police stormed the grannys home.

The granny was a member of the local Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK), while her nephew was a Catholic.

The granny was a member of the local Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK), while her nephew was a Catholic. Photo: Mark Wachira.

READ ALSO: Moesha Boduong goes without make-up in latest video and fans are confused

TUKO.co.ke learnt the clergy from evangelical churches who officiated the two burial ceremonies came from Kayole in Nairobi and in Naivasha.

Combined efforts of police officers from Muranga and Nairobi bore fruits following the rescue Margaret Waitherero from Samar village in Maragua who had been kidnapped by the granny and her gang.

An AK 47 assault rifle, a home -made gun and several bullets were recovered from the home.

The criminals were demanding a KSh 5 million ranson from Waithereros family before they could release her, with police sources confirming that the womans husband had sent part of the ransom.

READ ALSO: Midland finally gives house and huge sum to woman assaulted by police

There was a heavy police presence of uniformed police officers and others in plain clothes who maintained surveillance during the burial, with hope that accomplices in crime of the deceased could attend their final farewell.

Mo eulogy was read during the ceremony.

Locals called on the police to beef up security in the village as insecurity levels were on the rise.

Credit: Tuko.co.ke

Ghana News: Sulley Muntari Gave $2.200 To Accra Hearts Of Oak Players | Yen.com.gh

Source: Yen
 Flash

New research by China Tourism Academy and travel service Ctrip research shows that an estimated 300 million people in China are interested in travelling during summer this year, making China the world's largest summer tourism market.

The research, which was reported by thepaper.com, showed that this season's tourism market could be worth as much as 300 billion yuan (44 billion U.S. dollars).

The so-called "furnace cities" in central and western China are home to the largest number of people looking to escape the oppressive summer heat. These include the cities Chongqing, Nanchang, Changsha, Wuhan, Xi'an, and Hefei.

The elderly showed the greatest interest in travelling duing the summer season, with around two-thirds of those surveyed for the research wanting to travel. Around three quarters of students surveyed also expressed a desire to travel.

Kunming and Lijiang in southern China's Yunnan Province were the two most popular destinations named by potential travellers.
 Flash

Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday called on emerging market economies and developing countries to enhance cooperation in addressing common challenges.

Xi made the remarks in a speech to an outreach dialogue grouping leaders from the BRICS, the "BRICS Plus" and African countries at the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg.

The leaders discussed international development and cooperation, as well as the important cause of South-South cooperation, and reached broad consensuses.

The world is undergoing great developments and transformation, during which emerging markets and developing countries are faced with shared opportunities and challenges, Xi said, stressing that it is increasingly important for them to enhance solidarity and cooperation.

First, he said, the BRICS countries and their partners should jointly deepen their mutually beneficial partnership.

We should understand, support, stay forever with and help each other, taking "BRICS Plus" cooperation as an opportunity to build an open, inclusive, cooperative and win-win partnership and create a platform for deepening South-South cooperation, said the Chinese president.

Second, the BRICS countries and their partners should jointly explore new driving forces for development, Xi said.

We should together seize the opportunity of the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution set up at this summit to take the high ground of development, and release our potential in complementarities and coordination, so as to achieve innovative, interconnected and inclusive development, he said.

Third, the Chinese president urged the BRICS partners to jointly create a positive external environment, protect the multilateral trade regime, build an open world economy, continue to promote global economic governance reform, and strengthen the representation and voice of emerging market economies and developing countries.

Fourth, we should build a new type of international relations together, firmly safeguard multilateralism, push the development of international order toward a more just and rational direction and implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Xi said.

We should stick to the international development and cooperation model of regarding North-South cooperation as the main channel, and South-South cooperation as a complement, he said.

President Xi stressed that it is significant that the BRICS summit was once again held in Africa, noting that we should take it as an opportunity to comprehensively deepen the partnership between BRICS and African countries.

China and Africa have been good friends, good partners and good brothers, said Xi, adding that with joint efforts, the China-Africa comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership has developed rapidly, having formed a pattern of all-round, multi-level and wide-ranging cooperation that benefits billions of people.

Regardless of how the international order changes, China will continue to maintain the policy of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith and uphold justice and shared interests to continuously support Africa in achieving prosperity, he said.

China and Africa will jointly hold the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in September.

Xi said he is looking forward to meeting African leaders in the Beijing summit and called for injecting new impetus into the China-Africa comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

He also pointed out that the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, with China still being the world's largest developing country.

China will stay as a developing country no matter how it develops, staunchly support the development of developing countries and be committed to building close partnerships, according to the Chinese president.

We should pull together and work hand in hand to strive ahead advancing greater development for emerging markets and developing countries, he noted.

Leaders invited for the dialogue commended the BRICS leaders for carrying forward the practices from last year's Xiamen Summit by conducting such a dialogue, saying it reflects the inclusiveness of the BRICS cooperation.

They pledged support to institutionalize the dialogue and build extensive development partnerships in a bid to advance South-South cooperation.

Under the current circumstances with the challenges of rising unilateralism and protectionism, all parties believe in the need to strengthen solidarity and cooperation between emerging markets and developing countries, promote development of cooperative partnership between the BRICS countries and Africa, enhance practical cooperation in various fields and jointly oppose unilateralism and protectionism, so as to gain inclusive growth, sustainable development and benefits to all.

Besides Xi, other BRICS leaders, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the leaders or representatives of the leaders from Angola, Argentina, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Gabon, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Tanzania, Togo, Turkey, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Jamaica, as well as heads of regional organizations in Africa attended the dialogue.
 Flash

Five Malawian cabinet ministers called for the resignation of the country's vice president, Saulos Chilima, on Friday after he formed an opposition United Transformation Movement (UTM).

By forming an opposition political movement, Chilima had put himself in a political dilemma and had to choose between serving as vice president or resign and serve as a member of the opposition, the ministers argued while addressing local journalists in the capital city of Lilongwe.

He ought to realize that he cannot practice opposition politics within the government he is part of, they said.

The five cabinet ministers who are also top officials in the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) include Minister of Justice and Constitutional Affairs Sameul Tembenu, Minister of Finance Goodall Gondwe, and Minister of Information and Communications Technology Nicholas Dausi.

Meanwhile, General Secretary for Chilima's UTM Patricia Kaliati, who has held various ministerial positions in the cabinet, has trashed the resignation calls, saying Chilima is legally mandated to serve as vice president until the end of his term. ( Similar calls were made in 2012 when former Malawian President Joyce Banda formed the People's Party while serving as vice president to then President Bingu wa Mutharika.

Banda did not resign until Mutharika died of cardiac arrest in office on April 5, 2012, making Banda his automatic successor as stipulated by the Constitution of the Republic of Malawi.
 Flash

Portuguese, French and Spanish leaders met in Lisbon on Friday to discuss energy interconnectivity.

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa, French President Emmanuel Macron and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez attended the meeting "to strengthen their regional cooperation in the framework of the Energy Union", the European Commission said in a statement.

The aim of the summit is to produce a joint policy on energy interconnection, specifically high tension cables and pipelines that allow electricity and gas to be transported between countries.

"The lack of sufficient interconnection capacity remains an obstacle for the creation of an electricity market in South-West Europe and has prevented Iberian energy companies from fully participating in the EU electricity market," the EU statement said.

With an interconnection capacity of only 6,000 MW, Spain and with it, Portugal remains largely an energy island that does not participate fully in the European electricity market, it said.

The three countries signed an agreement to build an electricity line crossing the Bay of Biscay from northern Spain to south-west France.

The project will receive 578 million euros (674 million U.S. dollars) from the European Commission. It will be the largest investment by the European Commission on an energy infrastructure project.

With 280 kilometers of electricity interconnection, the line will double by 2025 the exchange capacity between France and Spain, and bring Spain's energy interconnection capacity closer to the 15-percent European target from six percent now, according to the EU statement.

Earlier in the day, Costa and Macron met members of the general public for a Q&A session at the Gulbenkian Foundation.

"Europe needs to be solid in moving forward, combining pragmatism and ambition," the Lusa Portuguese News Agency quoted Costa as saying.

"Europe needs to be more sovereign," said Macron, but he also cited a need for accords with Russia and Turkey. "Stabilization with these two countries is essential from a geopolitical point of view."
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More so than ever millennial parents are choosing not to find out the gender of their baby-to-be.

This means when it comes time to preparing the nursery they're choosing neutral colour tones and products so it can house a boy or girl comfortably; think vanilla throws, woven fabrics and rattan furniture.

Nicola Cross, who runs the successful blog Dicolaaa, gave birth to her adorable daughter Rosie Bear last month and shared the details that make up her gender neutral nursery with FEMAIL.

Nicola Cross, who runs the successful blog Dicolaaa , gave birth to her adorable daughter Rosie Bear last month and shared the details that make up her gender neutral nursery with FEMAIL

'Our house is pretty vanilla. Vanilla with natural woods and splish splashes of leafy greens, vanilla is also, coincidentally, my favourite flavour ice-cream,' she explained

To complete the look she purchased the $115 reva changing basket from Oli Ella, the labour of love birth kit of essential oils for $179, sheets from Esmae the label for $70 and a swing from Vim and Vigour

'Our house is pretty vanilla. Vanilla with natural woods and splish splashes of leafy greens, vanilla is also, coincidentally, my favourite flavour ice-cream,' she explained.

'So in the early days of pregnancy we decided there was not much reason to find out the gender as the nursery and clothing would too be, vanilla. And it would be our Vanilla (Ice Ice) Baby.'

To complete the look she purchased the $115 reva changing basket from Oli Ella, the labour of love birth kit of essential oils for $179, sheets from Esmae the label for $70 and a swing from Vim and Vigour.

She even ingeniously used a Kmart dish rack as a book shelf, given it was the same wooden aesthetic she used for Rosie's other timber toys and potted plants.

She even ingeniously used a Kmart dish rack as a book shelf (right), given it was the same wooden aesthetic she had used for Rosie's other timber toys and potted plants

Art has been sprinkled around the room to give some cheerful messages of inspiration to her child, Rosie Bear

Even Nicola's choice in clothes is still neutral for little Rosie, who is pictured here curled up on her mother's chest

Nicola's choice to keep things 'vanilla' highlights a trend in nurseries across Australia - who are similarly forgoing the iconic pink and blue themes for mustard, almond and steel grey tints.

Many of them feature a nursing chair with a quote on the wall and multiple storage compartments for the child's nappies and bathing utensils.

Wood plays a big part in neutralising the colour palette of the room - with many parents opting for a deep brown to match leather lounges or a lighter shade of oak if the room is yellow.

Many of them feature a nursing chair with a quote on the wall and multiple storage compartments for the child's nappies and bathing utensils

Wood plays a big part in neutralising the colour palette of the room - with many parents opting for a deep brown to match leather lounges or a lighter shade of oak if the room is yellow

It's also an ingenious idea if the couple is expecting twins - one of each gender - so as not to prioritise a 'feminine' colour over a 'masculine' one.

You can also use it for your first, second and third baby, and so on, with ease, rather than having to swap the colour scheme every time you give birth.

Websites like Pinterest offer a whole host of unique ideas and make styling the room a bonding experience for both partners.

It's also an ingenious idea if the couple is expecting twins - one of each gender - so as not to prioritise a 'feminine' colour over a 'masculine' one
A skincare brand that is owned by Australians and produced down under has made the strategic move to sell outside the Australian market.

Bondi Goddess products are exclusively available through website DaigouSales.com which connects Australian businesses to the Chinese market.

The bold business strategy meets the Chinese markets demand to source Australian health and beauty products amid a fear that products in China could be fake or cause bodily harm, news.com.au reported.

Bondi Goddess (pictured) is an Australian owned skincare company that is produced in Australia

The products are not available for Australian consumers as they are being sold on DaigouSales.com (pictured) for young Chinese women

DaigouSales.com founder Dr Matthew McDougall explained how they assist this process: 'Daigou is a term meaning buying on behalf of and it refers to Chinese Australians who live here, who are buying products on behalf of people they know and trust in China.'

Erinjayne and Alan Plummer, a married couple from Sydney, created Bondi Goddess and tailored their products toward young Chinese women.

'We found there was a huge gap in the market in that 18-28 age group and we thought it would be fantastic to launch products in China,' Mrs Plummer said.

The company's website boosts a stereotypical Australian appearance with two blonde haired women promoting the products at famous Bondi Beach.

'Inspired by the secret of ocean purity, and caring for the environment, Bondi Goddess beauty products are made from naturally derived ingredients and sourced using ethical and sustainable practices,' the website reads.

The company is owned by Erinjayne and Alan Plummer - a married couple from Sydney - who conducted market research to create the four skincare products (pictured: two products)

The products marketing strategy claims the products create 'a fresh from the ocean glow'

Their marketing strategy addresses the formulation of the skin care in achieving 'a fresh from the ocean glow,' as the skin of Chinese women is impacted by high pollution.

Market research allowed the married co-founders to create the four unique skincare products to meet the concerns of Chinese women.

These include a cleanser ($39.88), an anti-pollution serum ($59.88), a collagen serum ($69.88) and a whitening serum ($69.88).

The pricing of the products have been strategically rounded to 88 cents in consideration of Chinese culture where the number eight has traditional significance as being the luckiest number.

The Plummers intend to introduce Bondi Goddess to the Australian market in their long-term goals for the skincare company.

DaigouSales.com currently has 400 Australian brands selling their products to around 4000 members, Dr McDougall claims.

Emerging brands like Bondi Goddess are not the only companies using the website as companies such as Unilever, Blackmores and Swisse also sell their products on DaigouSales.com.
Visiting a new city usually involves some research into where to stay, what to see, and perhaps most importantly, where to eat and drink.

To narrow things down, Gourmet Traveller magazine recently revealed the 2018 shortlist for their highly anticipated annual Australian Restaurant Awards.

Three finalists have been announced in each of the seven hotly contested categories, including New Restaurant of the Year, Best New Talent, Regional Restaurant of the Year and the coveted Bar of the Year title.

Located in Sydney, Melbourne and Albany in Western Australia, FEMAIL takes a look at the top three bars offering intriguing, eclectic fare from Franco-Vietnamese fusion food and Polynesian cocktails to candied kangaroo loins and 'elixir of life' schooners.

Gourmet Traveller magazine recently revealed the 2018 shortlist for their hotly anticipated annual Australian Restaurant Awards which recognise the Best Bar in Australia

Jacoby's Tiki Bar- Sydney, NSW

Jacoby's is a neighbourhood Tiki bar located in the heart of Sydney's inner west on Enmore Road.

Mixologists at Jacoby's pride themselves on creating balanced Tiki cocktails with 'exotic ingredients and tropical garnishes'.

The design reflects the Polynesian decor of the Tiki scene in America during the 1930's, a colourful oasis where you can 'escape the city and be transported to an island paradise'.

Jacoby's is described as a colourful, Polynesian oasis where you can 'escape the city and be transported to an island paradise'

Jacoby's is located in the heart of Sydney's inner west on Enmore Road; staff pride themselves on making balanced Tiki cocktails with exotic ingredients and tropical garnishes

With cocktails like 'James and the Giant' made with bourbon, peach tea, lemon and absinthe and the 'Fire Walk' filled with white tequila, watermelon coulis, rose, lime and chilli.

The 'Shark Bait' cocktail bowl serves four at a cost of $90, overflowing with premium Jamaican rum, yellow chartreuse, grenadine, absinthe and bitters.

When the weather heats up in summer months and 'the mercury hits 30', Jacoby's offer Pina Coladas for just $15.

Jacoby's is renowned for delectable cocktails, and even offer $15 Pina Colada's during summer months when the temperature reaches 30 degrees

Galah - Melbourne, Victoria

Galah is a bar, restaurant and bottle shop in the Australian food capital of Melbourne.

Galah offers an eclectic range of dishes, from Tempura Cauliflower with Salsa Verde and cheese or charcuterie sharing platters to the restaurant's 'Feed Me' special, a tailored four course meal designed by the Galah's head chef.

Contemporary twists on Australian classics are also available, including kangaroo loin with candied macadamias ($24) and turnip and chilli octopus ($28).

Galah offers an eclectic range of dishes, from Tempura Cauliflower with Salsa Verde to cheese or charcuterie sharing platters (pictured)

The Bushfire (left) is an homage to Australian nature, made with premium peat whiskey, Maidenii sweet vermouth and spiced sugar syrup

The Bushfire, an homage to Australian nature, is a bestseller made with premium peat whiskey, Maidenii sweet vermouth and spiced sugar syrup.

The Botanique fusion is made with Native Gin sours, citrus and aniseed myrtle foam and sprinkled with strawberry gum gust.

If premium mixology isn't your thing, Galah also have a plentiful range of Australian craft beers which they call 'the elixir of life'.

Carefully crafted cocktails are a winning feature of Galah's menu, but the Melbourne bar also have a plentiful range of Australian craft beers which they call 'the elixir of life'

Liberte - Albany, WA

A Parisian-inspired bar inside the London Hotel, Liberte promises 'good booze and fun Vietnamese food' in a historic setting.

Exuding a true Parisian speakeasy vibe, Liberte boast an extensive and intriguing cocktail menu.

Interesting appearances include the Roger Ramjet, a zesty rum concoction made with artichoke bitters, chargrilled pear syrup and Mezcal, and the Smoked Maple Martini which the establishment promises will 'take your espresso martini to the next level'.

Interesting appearances on the menu at Liberte include the Roger Ramjet, a zesty rum concoction made with artichoke bitters, chargrilled pear syrup and Mezcal

The perfect bar snacks: Mouthwatering garlic bread gougeres (left) and deep fried cinnamon bao (right) are popular favourites at the Albany eatery

Liberte offers something for everyone in the food department (vegetarians, vegans and coeliacs included), with dishes like their mushroom sticky rice with toasted hazelnuts, fried shallots and pickled beets.

In keeping with the Franco-Vietnamese fusion, Liberte the menu is filled with delectable nibbles including French fries seasoned with garlic, rice vinegar mayo or pho gravy, fried Brussels sprouts with lime honey and sriracha and roast pumpkin dumplings.

The French eatery mix things up with an ever changing menu of specials, with curious creations like deep fried bao with cinnamon sugar, Nutella, cobber ice cream, peanuts and birthday sprinkles to tickle your sweet tooth.
A growing number of bright young Australian expats are bringing laid back, nutritious and very Instagrammable dishes from Down Under to the booming New York breakfast scene.

With more cafes opening than daffodils in spring, the art of the Australian breakfast has well and truly taken NYC by storm.

From Greenwich to Bushwick, New Yorkers now crowd the sidewalks waiting for a feast of folded eggs with peas and spinach, gluten-free acai bowls or luscious ricotta hotcakes and sandwiches dripping with bacon, tomatoes and chilli relish.

Here, FEMAIL take a look at the successful business ventures that have transplanted winning elements from the Aussie food scene to the streets of the Big Apple.

We also investigate just what makes the 'Aussie brekkie' so appealing.

Ruby's NYC is one of a plethora of Australian transplants in the Big Apple who are opening doors to a whole new world in the American breakfast scene

Manhattan or Melbourne? Soho or Sydney? A satisfied diner at the hugely popular Two Hands New York City, with locations in cool neighbourhoods Nolita and Tribeca

A growing number of bright young Australian expats are bringing laid back, nutritious and oh-so Instagrammable dishes from down under to the booming New York breakfast scene

The healthy, no-nonsense dishes that accompany the Australian brunch scene have great appeal for Americans whose dine-in breakfasts are usually something more greasy and starchy.

The New York Times described the stereotypical Australian breakfast as a 'healthy, natural and luxurious' dish all at once, featuring colourful mixtures of nutritious staples like seasoned poached eggs, salmon, mushrooms, peas and, of course, the holy grail: avocado on toast.

A social media user endorsed Australian themed Greenwich Village haunt Banter NYC by declaring 'Aussies know how to brunch!'.

Keeping it Aussie: The staff at Banter NYC in Greenwich Village contribute to the laid back, slow-paced atmosphere of the Australian-influenced establishment

The humble but delicious avocado smash has proved a massive hit with New York diners, who can't get enough of the healthy classic

The stereotypical Australian breakfast served at Flinders Lane in New York's East Village (pictured) often includes colourful ingredients such as seasoned poached eggs, salmon, mushrooms, peas and avocado

Scores of these cafes have sprung up across New York City over the past decade, including central Manhattan's Little Collins, named after the Melbourne street.

This morning mecca offers cleverly christened brekkie favourites like the Muze (bircher muesli with berries and cinnamon jam), the Convict (the simple Australian classic toast with Vegemite) and the Smash (avocado and feta mash on toast with chilli flakes and pepitas).

Paying tribute to it's roots in the Melbourne food scene, Little Collins created an innovative twist on the traditional avocado using ice cream and caffeine.

Their 'Avogato Smash', a sweet creation served in a coffee cup, contains avocado gelato, mint, chilli flakes, pepitas and espresso for an added kick.

Manhattan based cafe Little Collins paid tribute to their Melbourne roots by creating the 'Avogato Smash', an innovative twist on the generic avocado toast containing avocado gelato, mint, chilli flakes, pepitas and espresso

More-ish ricotta hotcakes and berry-topped acai bowls are specialities at Two Hands, where the owners aim to bring the lengthy, ritualistic style of morning dining to the frenetic streets of New York City

Famous for its 'creamy flat whites and berry-topped acai bowls', Two Hands in New York's Nolita neighbourhood is regarded as the epitome of Australian breakfast.

Two Hands' co-owners Giles Russell and Henry Roberts are both native Sydney-siders, and told Vogue they believe a strong brekkie culture is the foundation of Aussie well-being.

'In America, with both coffee and breakfast, you're shoving something down your throat to get you through the day we spend a little more time taking breakfast on as a meal,' Mr Roberts said, adding he sees the morning dish as 'a bit of a ritual'.

Instagram users praised the menu, writing 'one of my NYC faves, nothing beats an Aussie breakfast!' and explaining how it 'reminded me of home'.

Australian staff at Ruby's focus on breakfast as a ritual as opposed to a necessary meal to be wolfed down in a rush

Famous for its 'creamy flat whites and berry-topped acai bowls', Two Hands in New York's Nolita neighbourhood is regarded as the epitome of Australian breakfast

Reviewer David Siegel branded Little Ruby's serving of vegemite 'too much for Americans!'

So popular is Oceania's morning fare that the Aussie-influenced Bluestone Lane chain of cafes even boast dedicated 'Toast Bars' with a glittering array of condiments like almond butter, citrus jam and classic Vegemite.

One discerning Vegemite toast enthusiast took to Instagram to give an amusing review of Little Ruby's take on the simple Australian classic.

David Siegel aka Vegemite Toast and Surf Blog rated the bread 8/10, while 'toastiness' fell short at just 5/10.

The reviewer also slammed the volume of Vegemite, declaring it 'too much for Americans!'.
There are few subjects I have written about that are more incendiary than breastfeeding. It provokes a constant  and fierce  debate, not only about whether to do it or not and for how long, but also where and when it is appropriate.

As a GP, I ask mothers as part of a standard health check how they feed their baby. If a woman has chosen the bottle, I rarely get a simple answer. I get justifications, reasonings, apologies, and guilt-laden narratives accompanied by tears and defensiveness.

If I was ever under any illusion about just how emotionally charged this is as a topic, it was all brought home to me a few years back when I wrote about how breastfeeding a child over a period that extended for years isnt medically necessary (think Tamara Ecclestone, who last week claimed she would continue nursing her four-year-old daughter Fifi even after she starts school).

A group of breastfeeding activists, whom I half-jokingly dubbed the Breastapo, attempted to have me struck off the medical register while others trolled me on social media, sharing the address details of events I was speaking at and calling me a dumb b***h who needed a kicking.

Kate Quilton feels strongly that women should be coming together to support one another rather than berating each other

Nothing happened, of course.

As the debate has rumbled on, my weekly appointments continue with new mums beside themselves with anxiety that they are somehow doing wrong by their baby for not breastfeeding. For the record, they are not. So I was understandably intrigued when I was offered a preview of Breastfeeding Uncovered, a documentary on TV tomorrow night that examines why UK breastfeeding rates are so low  80 per cent of all British mums want to breastfeed but only 30 per cent are doing so at six months.

According to the programme, our breastfeeding rates after 12 months are the worst in the world  but should we be concerned?

The Channel 4 Dispatches episode is presented by Kate Quilton, host of the Food Unwrapped series and the mother of an 11-week-old son.

I spoke to Kate, 34, who nursed her son throughout our conversation, to find out what she thought.

She is a passionate breastfeeding advocate who believes that the reason many women dont do it is because they dont realise the benefits to their health, and that of their baby.

She also claims a lack of support from health professionals, prudish attitudes and the marketing of formula milk have also contributed to our poor breastfeeding rates.

Kate has been subject to nasty criticism from disapproving onlookers, which is upsetting.

She says: A few weeks ago I was in a park and had just finished feeding my son under a muslin when two women came to me and said it was a funny way to breastfeed, and that women should feed at home and indoors. I was shocked.

For the film, Kate went out and breastfed at numerous locations including on the London Underground, in public parks and on a busy high street in Chelmsford, Essex. The reactions of shoppers in the town were unpleasant, with one person commenting: It isnt a spectator sport.

As a mother who breastfed both my children, Im upset by this although I have to admit, its not the kind of thing I ever encountered.

And, ironically, in my own experience, by far the most prejudice I hear about is towards women who bottle-feed, from other women telling them they are harming their babies. I was recently faced with a teary single mother who was warned by a so-called friend that her child would end up obese as a result of the formula milk she was feeding her child.

Breast milk isn't a miracle cure-all

IN the film, Kate calls formula milk a processed food, while breast milk is a miracle elixir, and Sue Ashmore from the Unicef Baby Friendly Initiative  a charity campaign to support mothers to breastfeed  claims our low breastfeeding is a public health crisis. She also suggests that there are higher rates of cancer and obesity.

I was baffled as to what exactly was meant by this but producers clarified it: she was referring to increased rates of breast cancer in women who do not breastfeed and higher risk of obesity in children who are not breastfed.

Kate Quilton breastfeeding on the London Underground during her documentary

In the film, researchers at Imperial College in London explain that there are thousands of nutrients in breast milk which prime the infants immune system, protecting them against infections and diseases for the rest of their lives.

But is this really the case? Studies do show that five per cent of breast-cancer rates are attributable to not breastfeeding. So there is an effect  but its small and I dont believe it poses enough of a risk to be a worry for my patients who do not breastfeed.

High-quality data from 2013 involving more than 17,000 children found no reduction in childhood obesity at age 11 among breastfed children, and other studies have found no effect on rates of asthma. As a medical professional, I agree breast milk is indeed the best thing to feed a baby: it costs nothing, has the right nutritional ingredients and  as the Imperial researchers say  contains antibodies that fight infections.

However, the protective effect is small. Analysing the data forensically reveals that for every six children breastfed exclusively for six months, one fewer will suffer an ear infection when compared to a group who are formula-fed. Thats great, but hardly a miracle.

If you tried to make these kinds of claims about a product, youd fall foul of the law  there just isnt the evidence to support it.

Is formula milk that bad?

Just because formula is manufactured  yes, processed  it doesnt mean its unhealthy. Processed merely means ingredients have undergone a process (chopping a tomato is a process, as is heating soup).

In fact, formula milk is more than a healthy choice, and recent additions to ingredients means it now contains more essential fatty acids and pre and probiotics  all essential for both infant and long-term health.

One study by paediatric researchers at the University of Brussels found that when a prebiotic is added to formula milk, the health benefits for infants could be almost identical to that provided by human breast milk.

Another study published in the Journal Of Paediatrics showed breast milk that had formula added to it was more effective than exclusive breast milk for increasing the weight of dangerously small babies, and infants who received supplementary formula were less likely to be readmitted to the hospital.

Just as theres no doubt that breast milk is full of health-boosting properties, its indisputable that formula milk is healthy too. Scientific evidence for the health benefits of breastfeeding is poor: when we study the benefits of breastfeeding we observe populations who are breastfed but we are not able to look at equivalent bottlefed people  in the UK, breastfeeding mothers tend to be more educated, higher paid, less likely to smoke, better eaters and more frequent exercisers  factors that strongly influence their offsprings health.

What I want women to know is that, should their child get ill, its not their fault for choosing bottle over breast.

Are breastfeeding support groups the answer?

Kate told me she felt very lucky to live in a part of London where she has access to a breastfeeding support team nurses, midwives and healthcare assistants dedicated to supporting women.

They helped her when she had difficulty with her son, who was born with a common condition called tongue-tie  the strip of skin connecting the babys tongue to the floor of their mouth is shorter than usual, which makes it hard to feed.

The programme calls for more Government funding for these services, in an effort to improve breastfeeding rates in the UK. But a British Medical Journal review published in 2015 showed that such services do little to improve UK breastfeeding rates.

In my clinical experience, women dont breastfeed for a whole host of reasons: some find it difficult, or painful and dont want to plough on like Kate did, others dont produce enough milk, or find it reassuring that with formula you can be sure youre providing the right amount.

Some women want their bodies back after nine months of pregnancy and a birth. Some want to share parental leave with a partner so need to be able to hand over the baby. Some women dont like it. All these are valid reasons.

And as a GP, speaking to new mothers day in day out, Id say there are bigger problems to address. Post-natal mental health is vastly underfunded and a crisis in this area is mounting. Surveys from last year revealed post-natal depression is commonly missed by healthcare professionals  though mandatory health checks are made on babies, their mothers wellbeing may well go unnoticed. It is protocol to ask if a baby is breastfed, but not if a mother is happy.

Its a serious problem affecting half of expectant UK mothers, according to charity NCT. Let us not forget that suicide was the leading cause of death for pregnant and new mums last year. As for infants, studies looking at more that 11,000 children found maternal depression to be more harmful to a childs mental health than poverty. Children of mothers who suffer from post-natal depression are up to ten per cent more likely to develop psychiatric illnesses and are more at risk of speech, learning and attachment problems.

At the end of our chat, Kate told me she felt strongly that women should be coming together to support one another rather than berating each other. I couldnt agree more. But we need to ask why women are made to feel so guilty about bottlefeeding  something I find can have a huge impact on mental health.

I would argue the reason is the rhetoric that simultaneously overstates the benefits of breastfeeding and the negatives of opting for formula milk. Not breastfeeding does not put your child at risk of health problems. The choice to bottle-feed is more expensive, yes, perhaps less convenient also. But its not less healthy  and we have hard evidence to prove it.
Settling into a couch in a house close to his home in Malibu, Jonathan Rhys Meyers is chatting about John Hurt, the co-star of his latest movie, Damascus Cover. It was to be the last movie Hurt made before his death in 2017 from pancreatic cancer, and Rhys Meyers poignantly recalls meeting Hurt when he was 16 after being cast in the 1996 film Michael Collins. Did Hurt give him any advice on coping with the industry? Yeah, laughs Rhys Meyers. He said, Give up drinking.

Were just minutes into our interview and Rhys Meyers has immediately let it be known that he wont be shying away from a difficult conversation. We meet just a few days after he made headlines for being detained by police at Los Angeless LAX airport for using an e-cigarette on a flight. Moreover, onlookers also saw the actor, who has had well-publicised issues in the past with alcohol, getting into a drunken altercation with his wife, Mara.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers speaks candidly to Event about his personal struggles and his battles with booze

Many celebrities in his position would have had a phalanx of publicists at our interview to bat away awkward questions, or simply not shown up, yet Rhys Meyers is sitting here, on his own, trying to explain what happened.

Last week on a plane back from Peru, after eight months of sobriety, I decided to have a few drinks, he says. My wife was upset at me, and I learned my lesson. I got off the aeroplane, went straight back to my meetings and got sober immediately.

He is clearly sorry for what happened. And you know, I can speak all the words, but my actions tell the difference. So my action was to go home, apologise to my wife, call who I needed to call and explain to them exactly what had happened. My responsibility is not to take the first drink... and I failed, but I realised that I failed and I got back up.

Rhys Meyers, known for his electrifying performance as Henry VIII in The Tudors and for films including Bend It Like Beckham and Woody Allens Match Point, has had a very public struggle with alcohol. In 2007, just before his mothers death, he was arrested at Dublin Airport for drunkenness, and in 2011 he received a suspended sentence and was fined 860 for a similar meltdown at Pariss Charles de Gaulle airport. Most worryingly, three years ago he was photographed drinking vodka on the street in London looking, by his own admission, quite dreadful after a three-day relapse.

Rhys Meyers is held at Los Angeles Airport earlier this month. Rhys Meyers has had a very public struggle with alcohol

This latest incident follows a trip to South America, where, ironically, he had been receiving therapy for his issues. He explains that while giving up alcohol is the first stage in recovery, youve got to work on the reasons why you did it in the first place. Sometimes when you go through therapy, it opens up emotions that you havent felt for a few years and you leave yourself vulnerable.

He adds: People who go through this, they look for things in their life that trigger them. And airports are a trigger for me, because they make you sit there for three hours, you cant smoke and youre surrounded by alcohol. That is not an excuse however... Theres never an excuse for me to drink. But sometimes there are triggers that make you more vulnerable. Ive relearnt that vulnerability and its now fresh in my mind again.

Its the first time that Rhys Meyers has been this candid about his alcohol problem, and its clear that hes decided to open up as never before. Ive let myself down by relapsing, and its my responsibility. Nobody else is to blame.

Its the first time that Rhys Meyers has been this candid about his alcohol problem, and its clear that hes decided to open up as never before

Despite his recent travails, today Rhys Meyers is looking healthy and younger than his 41 years. His wife Mara Lane, a co-producer on his latest film, is nearby, along with their 19-month-old son, Wolf  no doubt one of the factors in Rhys Meyers decision to assume responsibility for his actions (Im a father and so when I fall down, I immediately get back up. Im a man. Thats what men do). Far from being guarded, he is engaged and attentive, fixing me with those penetrating blue-green eyes and speaking in a soft Irish accent, his words precise and considered.

Ive been to a lot of rehab centres in my life... I went to three in one year and I talked to my therapist, he says. I would be known as somebody who relapses with problem drinking, not alcoholism. I dont suffer from alcoholism  I suffer from an allergy to alcohol every time I drink it. But once I stop, I never think about it again.

That doesnt mean that the problem is any less, it just means I have a different version of it. But when I drink, the consequences are so devastating that it is a problem. But I never need a drink. Its not something that I crave.

Rhys Meyers says he didnt start drinking until the age of 26, then I stopped at 27 till [I was] 30, and then its just been a few day relapses from then on. But Ive never continuously drunk for any long period of time  I actually dont like the taste of alcohol.

Rhys Meyers with Olivia Thirlby in new film Damascus Cover. Rhys Meyers admits that filming brought up certain things

So why does he do it? To fill a void? No. It never filled an emptiness. It was more about... Im not quite sure what it was about. First of all, Ive never liked drugs, so alcohol was legal. You could go to a bar and have a drink, the same as everybody does.

Was it a confidence-booster?

No, it puts you to sleep. You just have a drink and you go to sleep. You can forget about whatever was bothering you.

Certainly, there have been events in Rhys Meyers life where one can understand his need to blot out painful thoughts, not least last September, when his wife miscarried their baby daughter and he suffered a relapse. Its also an episode that has eerily similar echoes in his new film, Damascus Cover, in which his character, Ari, talks about losing his young son. Watching the film, it feels incredibly close to the bone, and Rhys Meyers admits that filming brought up certain things. But he adds: As an actor you have to take all the experiences you have from life and then transform those experiences into something wonderful, something that people can understand.

The film is an old-school spy thriller by Israeli writer-director Daniel Zelik Berk. Rhys Meyers stars as Ari Ben-Sion, an undercover Israeli spy living under a fake German identity in Eighties Berlin, who fails in his mission to bring a double agent back alive. Keen to make amends, he is given the dangerous assignment of smuggling a chemical-weapons scientist and his family out of Syria by his Mossad boss Miki (John Hurt). While in Damascus, he meets an American photo-journalist (Olivia Thirlby) with whom he shares an immediate chemistry. But, as the mission starts to go wrong, it dawns on Ari that he is a pawn in a much larger game.

The film has already won several awards, including one for Rhys Meyers at last years Boston Film Festival. Its especially moving seeing Hurt in his final on-screen role, and although Rhys Meyers was aware that Hurt was suffering from cancer at the time, if you had sat and talked to him, hed have said: Oh, Ill get over it. He was incredibly strong.

Rhys Meyers won plaudits for his portrayal of the shifty, murderous Chris Wilton opposite Scarlett Johansson in Woody Allens Match Point

Rhys Meyers dazzled in the 1998 movie Velvet Goldmine as bisexual glam rock star Brian Slade

Hurt had his demons too, and while his advice to his friend to stop drinking was sound, Rhys Meyerss upbringing was ragged enough to partially explain his subsequent problems. His father, folk musician John OKeeffe, walked out when Jonathan was three, taking his two youngest sons, Jamie and Paul, and leaving their mother Geraldine to raise Jonathan and his brother Alan in a council house in Cork, Ireland. She, too, had issues with alcohol, and Rhys Meyers has previously said that she would spend her dole money on drink, leaving him at times with no option but to steal food to survive. When asked if he could attribute his drinking problems to hereditary reasons, Rhys Meyers is adamant: I dont believe that. Ive got three brothers and they have no problems, so its not hereditary.

After being expelled from his Catholic school for truancy, he spent most of his time in the local pool hall, where he was spotted by agents casting for the David Puttnam film War Of The Buttons. Though he didnt get the role, he ended up in a Knorr soup commercial and since then has barely stopped working.

He dazzled in the 1998 movie Velvet Goldmine as bisexual glam rock star Brian Slade, starred opposite Keira Knightley in the 2002 smash Bend It Like Beckham and in 2006 out-swaggered Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible III. But it was his lead role in TV drama The Tudors, as the criminally charismatic Henry VIII, that made everyone take note, even though Rhys Meyers initially had his doubts about playing the monarch.

When they first asked me to do it, I said, You must be insane! And they said, We have to make this part of English history palpable to a modern-day audience  and no ones going to watch a 300lb guy run around the screen having sex. Watching Rhys Meyers run around the screen having sex was a different story entirely, however.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII with Natalie Dormer as Anne Boleyn in The Tudors

He won plaudits too for his portrayal of the shifty, murderous Chris Wilton opposite Scarlett Johansson in Woody Allens Match Point (Allen was so taken with his performance that he gave him a first-edition copy of Byrons Poetical Works as a gift). Yet unlike other actors such as Colin Firth and Rebecca Hall, who have rushed to distance themselves from Allen after allegations that he sexually abused his daughter, Rhys Meyers says: I have no opinion, because I was very proud to work with him. But at the same time, I think people should be proud of people like Ronan Farrow [the journalist who broke the Harvey Weinstein scandal and, coincidentally, Allens son] for bringing up all the things that he did and [taking] those risks, because people should never be abused in that way.

Given that Rhys Meyers started in the industry as a teenager, did he ever encounter abuse?

I was a bit tougher than that, he says. You get moments where youll be at a party or an audition and somebody would put their hands in certain places.

And that happened to him?

Of course, because youre a young actor. But it depends on how tough you are, and from the moment you look at somebody, they know who they think they can do it to and who they cant. If anybody had put their hands on me, Id have knocked them out.

Rhys Meyers with his wife Mara Lane in 2016. Rhys Meyerss upbringing was ragged enough to partially explain his problems

On todays evidence Rhys Meyers has nothing if not a fighting spirit. It cant have been easy to discuss the issues hes faced with alcohol, but he does so without complaint. Sometimes you have to stand there and take it, and if you cant, you shouldnt have joined the sport.

Ive been at meetings with politicians, high-court judges, one of the richest men in the world and a homeless man. They are all very different in their walks of life, except for one thing that makes them all the same  they have to deal with whatever they have to deal with.

He knows many who havent survived  Ive been to a lot of funerals  but says he never thought it could happen to him. No. I will not let it be me.

And is he confident that he will succeed?

I am confident. I will always get through. The one thing Ill never do is give up.

Damascus Cover is out on Friday
Jack Farthing refuses to show me his stomach. Stop that! says the Poldark star, laughing. Im very happy that my character keeps all his clothes on  and puts on lots of lovely hats and coats too.

Farthing is a striking young man, with high cheekbones and piercing eyes  and looks as if he probably does have a six-pack under the T-shirt and jeans hes wearing today  but were much more used to seeing him suited and booted in high-18th-century style, as the villainous George Warleggan in the BBCs Sunday night drama. Unlike Georges lifelong rival, the heroic former soldier Ross Poldark, played by Aidan Turner, who is forever whipping off his top.

The show soared in popularity when a toned Poldark stripped to the waist to scythe in the sun, setting social media on fire. Is Farthing jealous of that torso? George definitely is. No doubt about that. There is a huge amount of jealousy between them.

Jack Farthing on George Warleggan: 'Hes a self-made man with new money, a pretend aristocrat'

Farthing makes even the scheming Warleggan attractive, in a dark way, but insists that he doesnt envy Turners heart-throb status. I much prefer thinking about my acting, as opposed to worrying about whether or not a picture of my torsos going to be looked at all over the world.

Isnt there something troubling about his fellow actor being objectified in this way? Yeah, there is, says Farthing. But Aidan seems very sanguine about it, and takes it with a pinch of salt. He is confident enough in his credentials as an actor.

The Poldark producers have been keen to exploit Turners appeal, starting the current series by having him stride out of the surf in nothing but a wet pair of breeches. But if they had asked Farthings friend Eleanor Tomlinson  who plays Poldarks spirited wife Demelza  to do that, she would refuse, surely? Of course. Yeah. He thinks for a moment and tries to defend his employers.

I guess this is a result of a much longer period through which women were objectified, so this has taken off because of the feeling, Right, we need to redress the balance. 

But its a half-hearted defence from an actor who is glad to keep his clothes on  and who is at the centre of the action as the fourth series comes to a climax tonight. We see George at his absolute highest and lowest. Hes tested as a human. Its definitely a huge end for him. It couldnt really get bigger.

Currently, Parliamentarian Poldark is struggling, while Warleggan is thriving as a wealthy landowner. George is as high as he can get in life. Hes right on top of the mountain. I dont know where you can go from there

George and his wife Elizabeths alliance is now strong after a shaky start. But he can no longer ignore the fact that his son, Valentine, looks an awful lot like Ross

Farthing smiles because the answer is obvious: down. The actor reveals that his character is heading for a fall at last. The end of this series really ramps things up. He thought hed put the rivalry with Ross to bed, but its totally crept back in.

George and his wife Elizabeths alliance is now strong after a shaky start. But he can no longer ignore the fact that his son, Valentine, looks an awful lot like Ross. And there is a further bombshell to come regarding Elizabeth that will tear Georges world apart.

People love to hate, dont they? But nobody spits at me or boos me

At the age of 32, Farthing finds himself at the centre of the action in one of the most popular shows on television, playing a character with a massive chip on his shoulder about class. A bag of chips. Hes a self-made man with new money, a pretend aristocrat. His grandfather was a blacksmith, but George now owns a great part of Cornwall and sits in Parliament. Hes hugely driven and ambitious. Machiavellian. Ruthless.

Farthing admits his own early life was one of privilege: Ive been so lucky. Im not blind to it. The son of two doctors, he went to Westminster School then Oxford University to read art history, before studying drama at Lamda. So how does he answer the accusation that acting is only for posh kids these days?

Access to training is where it starts. Becoming an actor is expensive because you dont earn money immediately, you have to work for free and its expensive to train. Thats hard for most people. You just have to find ways to make it possible for people who cant afford theatrical training to be given those opportunities.

Farthings next project is a film with Keira Knightley called Official Secrets, but in the autumn he will return to Bristol and Cornwall for six months to film a fifth series of Poldark. Rumour has it that he and Turner keep away from each other. Thats not true. It would be good if it was. We do speak to each other, and theres a lot of fun to be had with their characters ridiculous rivalry.

The Poldark producers have been keen to exploit Aidan Turners appeal, starting the current series by having him stride out of the surf in nothing but a wet pair of breeches

Now that Poldark is so popular, do people recognise him? Yeah, but they are totally lovely. Really? But hes playing one of the most hated men in Britain.

People love to hate, dont they? I get a lot of people saying, Ooh! You wrong un! But nobody spits at me or boos me.

Farthing smiles to himself, knowing that millions of people are about to be gripped by the Poldark finale. That would sort of be lovely if you had people spitting at you, wouldnt it? It would mean you had really got under their skin.

Poldark is on BBC1 tonight at 9pm
Priestley At Kissing Tree House: A Memoir

Rosalie Batten

Great Northern Books 9.99

Rating:

Rosalie Batten became J B Priestleys secretary in 1968. Aged 74, Priestley had for decades been one of Britains most successful and respected men of letters, the author of countless novels, plays and essays. In those days his fame and reputation were such that he would be invited to No 11 Downing Street to have a chat about tax reform with the then Chancellor of the Exchequer, Roy Jenkins, while next door, the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, would regularly give his wife the latest J B Priestley for Christmas.

Priestley also fostered a reputation as a gruff Northerner, and a bit of a grumbler. This image was helped by his appearance. I have a sagging face, a weighty underlip, a saurian eye and a rumbling voice, he once wrote of himself. Money could not buy a better grumbling outfit.

J B Priestley fostered a reputation as a gruff Northerner, and a bit of a grumbler. This image was helped by his appearance

Small wonder, then, if at first Batten felt nervous. She had been an avid Priestley reader since the age of 15, when she first read his best-selling The Good Companions. Luckily, she failed to mention that joyful early novel at her interview: she later discovered how much he resented the way it overshadowed his other works.

I was soon to learn that he did not like it being brought up first, as though it were the only book worth remembering When, as it so often was, The Good Companions was mentioned, he would sometimes emit a low growl, or a grunt, or a sigh and his lower lip would pout.

From the start, theirs was an old-fashioned master-servant relationship. He called her Mrs Batten and she called him Mr Priestley. Keen to get the job, she reluctantly agreed to work every day from 9.30 to 4.30, with just two weeks holiday a year. Later, she couldnt help noting that he combined a lifelong advocacy of higher wages for the poor with peculiar personal stinginess when it came to those in his own employ. It seemed rather strange to me that his own staff were paid well below the going rate, but then that tends to be the way of things.

Priestley had for decades been one of Britains most successful and respected men of letters, the author of countless novels, plays and essays when Rosalie Batten started working for him

When he dispensed gifts they were invariably items he no longer needed: crusty old tubes of oil paint, or stale chocolates with centres that did not appeal to him. Naturally, he disliked Christmas, a time when he was, in his words, expected to pour out money like water. He preferred to spend the Christmas period working, and was upset when Mrs Batten expected to take a break. After some discussion, He saw me off for my two days of leisure, smiling benignly, well pleased with his own benevolence.

IT'S A FACT J B Priestleys Highgate home was once lived in by Samuel Taylor Coleridge  and bought by Kate Moss in 2011 with her former husband Jamie Hince Advertisement

Yet despite these little failings, over the 16 years Mrs Batten spent working for him, she grew increasingly fond of Mr Priestley. You could not know him without admitting that he had his faults, but then you could not know him and not forgive him for them, she concludes.

She remained his secretary to the end. He died, aged 90, in 1984, still with plays running in the West End, but in many ways a relic from another age, an old man who had been a child when Victoria was on the throne, and who in the Edwardian era had worked as a junior clerk in a wool office in Bradford. He had served in the Army throughout the First World War and was once buried alive.

All his best friends had been killed in that war. In An English Journey (1934) he recalled a reunion of the survivors from his old platoon, 14 years after the war ended. Several of them had chipped in to offer free tickets to the dinner to those who could not afford them, but Priestley noticed that one or two had still not turned up. An old comrade explained that they were so poor, these fellows, that they said they could not attend the dinner even if provided with free tickets because they felt that their clothes were not good enough. They ought to have known that they would have been welcome in the sorriest rags; but their pride would not allow them to come.

Rosalie Batten became J B Priestleys secretary in 1968

Priestley then launched into a powerful attack on the country that had abandoned them. We could drink to the tragedy of the dead; but we could only stare at one another, in pitiful embarrassment over this tragi-comedy of the living, who had fought for a world that did not want them, who had come back to exchange their uniforms for rags.

Over the years she worked for him, Rosalie Batten noticed that, beneath his Northern bluntness, the war had left a great melancholy in him. He referred to it often, grieving for the loss of life feeling the immense tragedy and waste.

It also left him with a sense of the randomness of fate, and the duty on the survivors to relish the gift of life. Asked for a message on his 90th birthday, he said: I would simply say this. Try to enjoy as much as you can.

And despite his grumbling  his bugbears included conifers, people who left the e out of Priestley (I am not an adjective), afternoons (they seem to hang about with no purpose), motorways and dogs (like drunken men, pestering you, pawing you)  the abiding impression he left on his secretary was one of a cheery benevolence. He was, she says, A roly-poly Pickwickian figure of good nature.

Priestley had always encouraged Batten to write a memoir of him. Soon after he died, she embarked on Priestley At Kissing Tree House. Having finished it, she showed it to a single publisher, who turned it down. Sadly, she was discouraged and she never sent it to another. She herself died three years ago, in 2015, leaving the forgotten manuscript behind her. Now, more than 30 years since she first wrote it, an enterprising small publisher, Great Northern Books, has published it, and a very fine piece of writing it is too: quirky, affectionate, unassuming, honest, subtle and, perhaps above all, pin-sharp.

I imagine she kept a diary, as all her day-to-day reminiscences of Priestley seem wonderfully fresh. She notices little things, like how small his feet were, and how he moved light as thistledown as he went from room to room. And she catches his childlike delight in natural wonders. He would call me sometimes to come and watch a hedgehog crossing the lawn, taking as much pleasure in it as a small boy might take in a toy train.

Their relationship remained utterly respectable  Mrs Batten also worked for Priestleys wife, Jacquetta Hawkes  but Priestley liked to flirt, perhaps spurred by Mrs Battens slightly prim reserve. On one occasion he complimented her on her knees  Youve got very nice knees  which made her edge away from him and pull her skirt down.

Priestley with his wife Jacquetta Hawkes in 1977. Rosalie Batten says of Priestley that he was a roly-poly Pickwickian figure of good nature

Her memoir is all very old-fashioned. If we were alone sometimes it gave him a satisfying sense of sin to use my first name.

Ssh! Ssh! When there is nobody about, I shall call you Rosalie. It will be something we keep to ourselves. He waited expectantly, but to me he was by then settled as Mr Priestley.

Much of this evocative book reads like an elegy to a bygone age. Even the names of the celebrities and grandees current at the time  Robert Robinson, Marghanita Laski, Mortimer Wheeler, C P Snow, Professor Joad, Sybil Thorndike  have by now accrued a kind of poetry. And, in this age of fear and bombast, Priestleys values retain an eternal quality. We have to hope, he said on one of his last television interviews, because despair is useless. We have to love So if anybody wants a short guide to a decent life, let me offer this [from Wordsworth]. We live by admiration, hope and love.

From his secretary, he acquired all three. In his company the world was a more secure place, she recalls. And I had a part in it.
Wreckfish

60 Seel Street,

Liverpool L1 4BE

Rating:

There are no fish on the menu at Liverpools Wreckfish. Which shouldnt really come as much of a surprise, as there were never any pachyderms at Londons Blue Elephant, nor corvids in Whitbys Magpie Cafe. Still, Id somehow got it in my head that this was a seafood place, the piscine outpost of Gary Ushers ever-growing empire. Not that it matters a jot.

Usher is a thoroughly modern chef. He opened Sticky Walnut near Chester in 2011, to rapturous acclaim. It went on to win AA Restaurant of The Year in 2014. He then moved on to Burnt Truffle, in Heswall on The Wirral, in 2015, using Kickstarter (the site where the public can invest cash in exchange for all manner of perks) to raise 100,000 towards the final cost of opening. A radical idea at the time.

The dining room at Wreckfish. The room is high-ceilinged, stripped back but comfortable

He did the same with Hispi in Didsbury, where nearly 60,000 was pledged; Wreckfish, which garnered more than 200,000; and finally the upcoming Pinion, which reached its 50,000 total in under an hour. Remarkable, by any standard. But as he pointed out at the time, these sums werent enough to open the restaurants. What it does is it gives us a bit of power for when we do go to the banks to say we have 50,000 backing us. The banks are a lot happier to get behind you when you have a bit of capital at the start.

In a time when restaurants are folding like cheap suits, this Kickstarter model has legs. But in order to invest even 10 (which gets your name on the founders wall), you have to have faith in the restaurateur. And Usher has one hell of a following, who adore his sensibly priced, unpretentiously good food. Albeit with an assuredly modern touch. Just a bistro, he once replied to a national food critic on Twitter, who tweeted her approval. Please dont travel to eat here we are not worth the 400-mile trip. She did, and they were.

Wreckfish is more of the same. The room is high-ceilinged, stripped back but comfortable. A place to settle in for a long lunch, with an open, tiled kitchen, sections of bare brick wall and exposed ventilation ducts. Hardly original, but then Wreckfish doesnt seem concerned with anything other than giving its customers a decent lunch. All life is here, the sign of a proper neighbourhood gaff  smart, older ladies sharing a bottle of wine, young, loved-up couples, family groups, shuffling students, and the slightly awkward tables of the forced office outing.

A simple salad is simply well dressed (left). Warm marmalade sponge with chantilly cream (right)

Joe asks about the specials. No specials, smiles our waitress, its all special. Before telling us that its called Wreckfish because we put it to the vote. And we liked Wreckfish. The spirt of democracy flows thick through its veins. I eat the freshest, most fragrant of green gazpachos, with just the right kick of acidity. Theres a whisper of fresh mint, and a quiet chilli warmth. Good olive oil too. Simple, assured and verdantly satisfying.

Beef heart, that most mighty of bovine cuts, is cooked rare, like steak with supercharged moo. Neat cubes of apple stop things getting overly beefy, while radicchio adds its bitter bite. Its both butch and beautifully balanced.

A main course of braised veal shoulder doesnt quite live up to its older brothers hearty allure. Its a ragu, sat atop a pile of silken fresh linguine. But the sauce is a little bland, and a touch over-seasoned, lacking that rich, redolent, lip-smacking depth of the truly great. Not bad, just veering towards the bland. Still, a lippy splodge of parsley pesto adds welcome punch.

More pasta with the pork osso bucco, this time orzo, studded with red peppers, peas and chervil. A riff on saffron rice, and despite resembling something from the supermarket frozen section, it tastes wonderful. A glorious hunk of slow-cooked pork sits on top, hewn from a superior pig. Although it would take a surgeons skill to extract the marrow from the shin. Still, a dish of comfort and class.

We order hispi cabbage, crisp and buttery, along with new potatoes, with sharp capers and lemon. A simple salad is simply well dressed. Theres toasted porter ice cream for pudding, with salty peanut brittle, and plump, boozy prunes. And a sublimely suety marmalade sponge, light and lovely and drenched in a sticky mess of bittersweet sauce. Better still, these three courses of assured, often excellent cooking cost an incredible 20 per head. Take that, London. Throw in the warmest of service, and a decent, well-priced wine list, and you have local restaurant heaven. Little wonder that Usher is so adored.

If only every town had a Wreckfish. We can but dream. Theres not a single day, Usher wrote recently on Twitter, when Im not fully aware nothing lasts forever. Every single day, I worry about the restaurants not being busy enough and closing. Take it from me, Gary. You build it, and they will come.

20 per person

What Tom ate this week

Monday

Good dinner of salumi, burrata with pepperonata and veal shin tortelli with my mother at Cafe Murano in St Jamess.

Tuesday

Lunch at 45 Jermyn Street, for a change. Vegetables and red Sicilian prawns, then Dover sole.

Wednesday

To Australia, on Cathay Pacific. Chinese beef broth, stir-fried lobster with abalone sauce, and marinated bean curd and wood ear mushrooms.

Thursday

Arrive in Hong Kong for a couple of hours. Congee and dandan noodles at the airport, before flying on to Melbourne.
Actor Sanjeev Bhaskar on laziness, late fatherhood and living within your means.

Actor Sanjeev Bhaskar

Guilty pleasure? Terrible Elvis Presley movies  Im a big Elvis fan  although I dont think you should feel guilty about pleasures.

Where is home? With family. I live in Highgate, North London, but my parents place in Hounslow still feels like home.

Career plan B? This is my career plan B! I spent eight years in marketing before starting to act and write professionally at the age of 34.

Who would play you in a movie of your life? Definitely me  Im available, Im cheap and the likeness is remarkable.

Biggest bugbear? Binary thinking on issues, in which nuance and complexity play no part.

As a child you wanted to be I remember when I was about five telling an uncle I wanted to be an actor and my dad said, Its pronounced doctor.

Secret to a happy relationship? Solving problems together.

Your best quality? I like people and Im not judgmental.

And your worst? I can be very lazy.

Most romantic thing youve ever done? I dont think of myself as romantic, but when my wife [actress and writer Meera Syal] was appearing on Broadway in Bombay Dreams, which she co-wrote, I flew to New York as a surprise.

Last meal on earth? Either a Sunday roast or aloo parathas.

Dream dinner-party guests? All my close friends.

Advice to teenage self? What you do next is who you are  you arent defined by what has happened.

Cat or dog? We have a cat, Lola, but I suspect Im a dog person, although Ive never had one.

Starstruck moment? Stephen Fry introducing me to Roger Moore, who became a friend. The whole family were fans of his in The Saint when I was growing up.

Big break? Goodness Gracious Me, which was on Radio 4 before moving to television in 1998.

Career highlight? Meeting the Pythons when I was playing King Arthur in Spamalot in the West End. I became friends with Terry Jones, Terry Gilliam and Michael Palin.

Favourite tipple? The Crazy Singh Crazy Gin is the best Ive ever tasted.

Top of your bucket list? To play James Bond.

One thing that would make your life better? Being fitter.

Philosophy? Life is a journey, not a series of destinations.

Biggest lesson you have learnt about money? Live within your means and know the difference between what you need and what you want.

Biggest lesson you have learnt about women? I will never understand them, but I do know they are equal with men.

Last film that made you cry? Paddington 2, if that doesnt sound too self-serving as I was in it. Its really moving.

First record you bought? The first album was Moody Blue by Elvis and first single was Contact by Edwin Starr.

Best present you ever received? My son Shaan, who is now 12. I was at an age [42] when Id started to think I might have missed fatherhood, so it was a nice surprise and a huge privilege.

Biggest fear? Suddenly realising that Ive been a terrible parent.

Celebrity crush? Nicola Walker, my co-star in Unforgotten.

Happiness is My family laughing, possibly at me.

Unforgotten continues on ITV, Sundays at 9pm
With the debate on legalising cannabis back in the news, recreational use is increasingly seen as the harmless equivalent of winding down with a glass of wine. But the huge rise in women seeking help for marijuana addiction tells a different story.

On the rise: The number of women seeking help for cannabis addiction has risen by 60 per cent over the past decade

Vicki Hendon* first tried cannabis during a lunch break at school when some classmates were passing it round for a dare. She was 16, scared but curious, and with the others urging her on ('Try it, you'll like it') she took a puff  and immediately felt dizzy and sick. Her mother was called to the school to pick her up but never guessed the reason for her sudden 'tummy bug'.

In spite of that rickety start, it wasn't long before she tried the drug again. 'We started going to pubs, then we'd go back to someone's house and wind down by passing around a joint. We thought we were cool,' she says. 'I learned to smoke it properly and the more I had, the more I liked it.'

I didn't think a drug addict was someone like me with two kids and a nice house

This  essentially social  habit continued for several years. Vicki left school, studied art and joined a design studio, where admitting a liking for the odd joint was seen as no different to fancying a vodka and tonic. It seemed silly still to be relying on someone from school to buy the drug for her 'so I said 'give me the guy's number' and I started scoring for myself'.

That's when it all went downhill. What began as the odd 10 bag of weed slowly morphed into a 100-a-week habit, and continued even after she had two children. 'I never smoked it during the day, but after work I used it to unwind, to switch off  I couldn't wait to get home,' she says. 'If anything bad had happened it took the edge off and calmed me down. I felt it helped me to sleep properly. I wasn't anxious about anything; it was like being in a pink fluffy cloud.'

A surprising number of women are finding themselves on that same slippery slope. Recent research by the University of York has found that the number of women seeking help for cannabis addiction has risen by 60 per cent  from 1,104 to 1,801  over the past decade.

Mum's secret? A glance at the conversation threads on Mumsnet shows that for many women, cannabis is their naughty little secret

In terms of addiction overall these numbers are small: in 2013/14 some 193,198 people were in treatment for addictions including heroin, LSD, crack, cocaine, gambling, shopping and sex. However, the true scale of female cannabis addiction may be much greater than the current figures suggest.

Ian Hamilton, lecturer in mental health at the University of York, who led the new research, says that women are often reluctant to come forward for treatment, partly through embarrassment and partly because the detox programmes on offer are overwhelmingly aimed at men. 'I don't feel comfortable in a drug treatment centre waiting room even as a man. They're not easy places to be,' he says. 'They are not set up for women who have problems with cannabis. I am not sure middle-aged female cannabis users can identify with 20-year-olds using heroin and crack. In terms of how to help them, we don't have a clue.'

Marianne Faithfull may have made sharing a joint (and more) with the Rolling Stones look glamorous, but a generation ago smoking marijuana was essentially a male activity, a kind of macho group bonding forged by passing it around and getting stoned. Women's growing problem with cannabis  the most popular illegal drug in Britain  is part of a wider picture of increasing drug use.

Women won't seek help for fear their children will be taken away

'More women are binge drinking and using club drugs, so there's a rise in addiction of all sorts,' says Paul McLaren, consultant psychiatrist and addiction specialist at the Priory Group. 'Sometimes a woman starts using cannabis because her partner smokes it, but the availability has increased so much it is simply easier for women to get.'

A glance at the conversation threads on Mumsnet shows that for many women, cannabis is their naughty little secret, a way of winding down once the kids are in bed, rather than pouring a glass of wine. One mum says she knows lots of people with children who smoke dope occasionally  including her own parents. According to another contributor, 'If it's being smoked every day then it could be a problem in the same way that someone needing to drink every day could be a problem. Personally, I'd prefer a town centre full of stoned people on a Saturday night than a town full of drunks.'

'I smoke weed. There, I said it. It's my guilty pleasure!' posts a third mum, who started using cannabis aged 17. 'I know I need to stopproblem being I enjoy it. I want to give up because I'm 35 now and have a beautiful little girl. She's one and I shouldn't have started up again after I gave birth but, of course, there was an excuse tothere always is.'

A reassuring mum replies that, 'I know it's bad, but it's relaxing. I like to go outside at night and watch the stars when the little one is in bed.'

So is that addiction or just enjoyment? The line can be confusingly close. 'Having one too many joints becomes a problem when you can't stop, it's as simple as that,' says Eytan Alexander, founder of the UK Addiction Treatment (UKAT) centres. 'Stop and see how you feel, and if you feel as though you need it  not want, need it  it's time to look at what's going on.'

Cannabis that is prevalent on the streets now is said to be three times stronger than in 2005

What feels like simply 'zoning out' from the stresses of the day might be covering up some deep-seated malaise. In that respect, addiction is like an iceberg, he says. 'The little bit sticking out of the top  the addiction  seems to be the problem, but for the addict it's the big bit beneath the water no one else can see. Whether it's cannabis, LSD, gambling, food or sex, it's all about using something to change the way you feel and you have to ask yourself why you need to do that.'

Some women do, genuinely, get hooked by accident. Cannabis that is prevalent on the streets now is estimated to be three times stronger than in 2005, so it is hard to know what you are buying. 'A lot of women will self-titrate [adjust their dose accordingly], just as you would with vodka or gin, but a woman who's less experienced or wants a quick effect might run into trouble,' says Ian Hamilton.

It's my guilty pleasure. I know I need to stopproblem being I enjoy it

Anecdotal evidence seems to show that just as women process alcohol differently to men, they are also more susceptible to cannabis's effects. And the journey from starting cannabis use to developing problems is faster for women. 'There is some scientific speculation around oestrogen but we don't understand why,' says Hamilton.

Eytan Alexander has also observed a marked difference between men and women who come to UKAT for treatment. 'Women are more likely to experience anxiety and dizziness after smoking cannabis than men, and are more likely to become forgetful. We use an abstinence-based programme and women often experience stronger withdrawal symptoms than men.'

Asking for help can be tough. The Mumsnetter with a one-year-old daughter puts it thus: 'I daren't go to the doctor and admit I smoke! I so want it not to be an issue. Maybe I'm making it into an issue by over-thinking? But the only way I seem to stop over-thinking is by rolling a smoke.'

It's a story Vicki Hendon hears all the time. Now in her 40s, she works as an adviser to women seeking help in coming off drugs. They tend to be consumed by neuroses. Will someone pop by unexpectedly and smell what they've been smoking? Where are they going to hide the stuff if the police pull them over? How can they hide their habit from their children?

Addiction or just enjoyment? What feels like simply 'zoning out' from the stresses of the day might be covering up some deep-seated malaise, say experts

'It's very hard to come off it on your own. There's no replacement drug as there is for heroin; you have to go cold turkey and while you don't get the physical symptoms, the mental addiction is quite severe,' she says. 'You're used to having something to relax you and all of a sudden you are full of anxiety and fear. The best thing is a support group such as Marijuana Anonymous, but most mums won't go for fear of people finding out their little secret. They don't go to the doctor because they are scared they'll tell social services and their children will be taken away. So most just continue and don't get the help they need.'

That probably would have been Vicki's story, too, had fate not intervened. 'I didn't think a drug addict was someone like me with two kids, a nice house and a car,' she says. But after more than ten years of smoking dope (and knowing deep down she had become reliant on it) she developed a knee problem and had five operations. She was given tramadol, a commonly prescribed opiate, to help cope with the pain and quickly swapped one addiction for another.

It took the edge off and calmed me down. It was like being in a fluffy cloud

'When I took tramadol I thought, 'This is good, I feel the same as if I'd just had a joint,' she says. 'The thought of using cannabis disappeared because I was able to take a pill  and it was free on the NHS!' She remained on the drug, on repeat prescription, for the next few years, taking codeine on top, until she was 'like a zombie'. Eventually some friends intervened when she slept in and missed a school event. 'They turned up and said, 'Enough.' I was scared and angry that I'd been caught, but in my heart of hearts I was grateful,' she admits.

Vicki completed a recovery programme and has been clean ever since. But she suspects that more women than we realise make the transition from illegal to prescription drugs. 'It just takes one person to say, 'Forget the cannabis, take tramadol instead', or 'You look a bit depressed, why don't you ask the doctor to give you some Xanax, it gives you the same feeling' and it can spiral.' But it is also more acceptable for women to ask for help in coming off prescription drugs than from cannabis. 'They don't have the same stigma,' she says.

One woman in rehab says she thought smoking the odd joint would be more acceptable than drinking. 'I saw how people were out of control when they were drunk, and I had this illusion that with cannabis people were just laidback, not a mess. So I thought I would be able to control how I behaved while using it.' But cannabis ended up controlling her  and it could be controlling the life of a woman near you, too.

*Name has been changed

If you'd like more information or help, contact the free drugs helpline Talk to Frank on 0300 123 6600, talktofrank.com/drug/cannabis or support group Marijuana Anonymous UK on 0300 124 0373, email: helpline@marijuana-anonymous.org.uk
When Barack Obama decided to turn 'British Petroleum' into a political weapon in 2010, after the Deepwater Horizon catastrophe, he neglected to mention the oil major was as much American as British.

A series of takeovers including Sohio and Atlantic Richfield meant that BP was among the biggest inward investors in the US and controlled several of the outfits carved out of John D Rockefeller's Standard Oil.

The targeting of BP eventually ended up costing investors 49billion in penalties and court settlements and drove the company into the arms of Russia through its Rosneft stake.

BP's willingness to return to the country of its humiliation owes more than a little to the world's top bogeyman Donald Trump, says Alex Brummer

The return of softly spoken, tall Texan Bob Dudley to the US must be regarded as a seminal moment. The 9billion purchase of BHP Billiton oil shale deposits across several Southern states is a homecoming.

These things do not just happen. BP's willingness to return to the country of its humiliation owes more than a little to the world's top bogeyman Donald Trump.

Since he arrived at the White House Trump has delivered on his promises to deregulate energy and to defang the Environmental Protection Agency, one of the attack dogs deployed by Obama.

Moreover, the rise in the oil price to $70 a barrel means that shale extraction once again looks a good bet.

BP potentially could send a note of thanks to activist Elliott, which has been hassling BHP to simplify operations and release value. BP has made a good deal, since the fields being acquired in Texas, Louisiana and Arkansas are carried in BHP books at 10.5billion and originally cost 15billion when oil was trading at above $100 a barrel.

The decision by BP to jump into the breach comes after a period of rapid consolidation among shale drillers, which has racked up 87billion of deals this year as regulatory obstacles were vaporised.

BP's return to America is unlikely to endear it to green campaigners in the US or enhance claims among big oil companies to be pioneers in non-fossil fuels.

Still, after the Deepwater Horizon experience, it is highly unlikely that Dudley and his team will be cutting any corners when it comes to safety or restoring Deep South wilderness to pristine condition.

Off the pace

Triathlete TSB chief executive Paul Pester ought to shift to Iron Man.

In spite of a mauling from the Treasury Select Committee, a reprimand from Andrew Bailey at the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and a just-revealed 176million hit from the IT meltdown, he refuses to be shifted from the chief executive suite.

The most remarkable aspect of the worst IT debacle to hit any UK bank is how little difference it has made. Most customers look to have shrugged off the diabolically poor response, frauds and the inconvenience.

'Iron Man': TSB chief executive Paul Pester

Some 26,000 of the bank's 5million customers picked up their marbles and walked in a period when TSB was doing no promotion, but it gained 20,000 people who opened accounts through branches.

Pester says this is all due to the brilliance of his 'partners'  by which he means employees  but one suspects it has far more to do with the stickiness of consumers when it comes to shifting banks.

Truth is, for all of Pester's upbeat bluster about staying on and promoting savings and mortgage offers again, he is far from being out of the woods.

The commissioned probe by Slaughter & May will probably deliver a withering verdict. On top of this one expects the FCA to come down on TSB like a ton of bricks.

Most significantly of all owners Sabadell thought they were buying into safe challenger bank when they bought TSB, far away from the chaotic politics of Catalonia. It has been badly let down, trust between London and Barcelona shattered and Sabadell has been plunged into loss and its valued online expertise plundered.

Pester is not going to win this event.

Brief encounter

That was short-lived. Anne Richards was hailed as the asset management genius who would turn M&G into a great force when she was hired two years ago.

Now with the Prudential doing the splits and her own role in the mini old school Pru looking diminished, she is doing her own split and heading off to be boss of Fidelity International amid claims of jobs done.

How splendid.
Every once in a while, a product comes along and plugs a hole in the market which, in hindsight, was so gaping you think Dash it, why on earth wasnt I in on that?

With Fever-Tree tonic, Charles Rolls and Tim Warrillow hit upon a concept which was so long overdue, so ripe for success, everyone was left wondering why no-one had thought of it yonks ago.

They have coined a brand which is bold, brilliant and, best of all, British. And boy has it made them rich. Warrillow, who remains the firms chief executive, is estimated to be worth 167million. Rolls, now a hands-off non-executive deputy chairman, 209million.

Invincible duo: Charles Rolls and Tim Warrillow came together in 2003

The pair came together in 2003. Warrillow was a fresh-faced, 28-year-old former advertising executive looking for a new career direction. He wanted to launch a premium brand of gin and arranged to meet Rolls, who had successfully grown Plymouth Gin, for a cup of tea and some advice.

The pair hit it off immediately. Within ten minutes, Rolls persuaded his new friend it wasnt yet another pricey gin the market needed. It was some decent tonic.

He was right, of course. For a country where gin and tonic is like mothers milk, the mixers at the time were a national embarrassment. Our legion of gin drinkers was faced with a choice of syrupy Schweppes or, worse, some supermarket own-brand abomination.

It helped that Rolls, a tweedy gent with silver Donald Sutherland locks, had a spare 1million on hand for a new venture after enjoying success relatively late in life.

Having started out as a consultant, he had a crack at entrepreneurship selling exercise cycles. It didnt work. At 35, he was asked to be boss of struggling Plymouth Gin in return for a 25 per cent share of the business. It was a great brand but brewers couldnt shift it.

Rolls sunk his savings into a new recipe and redesigned the bottle. By 2000, he was flogging 80,000 cases. Absolut Vodka pitched up and bought it for 25million.

He bought himself a boat and a plane  he owns a beautiful Piper Seneca V  but soon hankered after another challenge.

In Warrillow, a cheery cove with a toothy smile and Sloane Rangers wardrobe, he discovered a like-minded soul with endearing enthusiasm and a youthful exuberance. Since tonic takes up more than half of your evening sharpener, they agreed they would concoct a mixer to outdo all others.

Tales abound of their Dr Livingstone-style treks over the following 18 months to discover the right ingredients.

Bitter orange oil was found in Tanzania. Green ginger in Ecuador. For the tonics key component quinine (harvested from the bark of the cinchona, the so-called fever tree) they travelled to the Democratic Republic of Congo, wads of money stuffed firmly in their socks. Passing through a checkpoint, Warrillow had the muzzle of an AK-47 poked in his face.

Marketing jibber-jabber? Of course. But having rediscovered our tastebuds in the past 20 years, us Brits, with our new-found Jamie Oliver obsession with ingredients, absolutely lapped it up.

Within six months, Waitrose, who some brands spend years persuading to stock their goods, were the ones chasing them. Almost unheard of.

The business has been on the up and up ever since. Growth has exceeded expectations almost year on year. In 2014, they floated the company at 134p a share. Today they are twenty-seven times that figure.

Both are married with four children apiece. Warrillow lives in Putney with wife Gemma. Rolls is in a waterfront home in Chichester with wife Jan, a cookery writer who is niece of English Patient author Michael Ondaatje.

This week, Fever-Tree announced half-year sales had reached 104.2million, up from 71.9million during the same period in 2017.

Fifteen years since they first met in that Chelsea cafe, Warrillow and Rolls perennial good news story shows no sign of losing its fizz.
Shares in Rightmove didn't follow its 'gravity-defying' results yesterday, as analysts sounded a note of caution over a weakening housing market.

Though the online property portal saw its profit soar by 12 per cent over the first half of the year to 98.2million, shares slipped by 3.1 per cent, or 158p, to 4934p.

Rightmove said it had 1.2million properties advertised on its portal, significantly more than any other, while house-hunters spent a total of 1.1billion minutes per month on the website.

Share price fall: Rightmove fell today despite posting 12% rise in profits

Jefferies analyst Anthony Codling said the results 'defy gravity again', at a time when estate agents are facing challenging markets and tightening their belts.

But Hargreaves Lansdown's Nicholas Hyett warned the company needed to beware of placing too much pressure on the estate agents it relies on.

All adverts on Rightmove's site have to come from an agency, rather than individuals. Rightmove charges those agents on a per-office basis, so Hyett pointed out that office closures could be a particular concern.

He said: 'Rightmove simply is the UK property market. If you're buying a property it's the first place you go.

'It's all very well arguing that estate agents have no choice but to pay, but if conditions don't improve some will find they still can't. Rightmove may have found the goose that lays the golden egg, but it needs to make sure it doesn't squeeze it too hard.'

Despite Rightmove's fall, the FTSE 100 ended up 0.50 per cent, or 38.14 points, at 7701.31, as sizeable gains for Reckitt Benckiser and BT Group propped up the index. At the close of a busy reporting week for blue-chip companies, the index failed to climb back to Tuesday's peak and lost 3.5 per cent of its value over the week.

Fund manager Jupiter continued the disappointing trend for UK investment firms, as it had 3.1 per cent, or 13.5p, shaved off its share price to end the day at 429.3p.

It announced a hefty 2.3billion flowed out in the first half of the year, as investors withdrew cash.

Nearly all of these outflows were from one product, the dynamic bond fund, as a reversal in the popularity of bonds saw customers pull out more than a quarter of its current 7billion value.

Earlier this week, Schroders' shares fell 4 per cent as it reported slower growth and though Rathbones climbed marginally when it reported its half-year results on Wednesday, its shares are now 5.7 per cent lower than last Friday.

Over at housebuilder Bellway, long-serving chief executive Ted Ayres was forced to stand down after a bout of ill health.

The 55-year-old, who had been at the business for 16 years, five as the boss, had been on a leave of absence for almost a year.

Bellway decided to bump up its chief operating officer Jason Honeyman to fill the post. Shares stayed relatively flat as they lost a marginal 0.1 per cent, or 2p, to 2905p.

Posh chocolate shop Hotel Chocolat was enticing investors, as it hinted that its treats were going down well in Scandinavia.

The business said it was selling its three shops in Denmark to franchisee Retail Brands, which would roll out the brand across Denmark, Sweden, Norway and Finland.

Hotel Chocolat retained the option to buy the business back after five years, but the price will be dependent on how well the franchise performs. Shares climbed 5.3 per cent, or 17.5p, to 347.5p.

The largest UK-based musical instrument retailer, Gear4Music, struck a chord with investors as it climbed 2.7 per cent, or 18p, to 676p.

Chief executive Andrew Wass said that 'revenue growth continues to be strong into what is a highly competitive market'.
Oil giant BP is splashing out 8billion on thousands of acres of land containing 4.6billion barrels of oil and gas in the United States.

It is snapping up miner BHP Billiton's shale operations in Texas and Louisiana in its biggest deal in 20 years, with bosses and analysts saying it would transform the business.

The wells in the oil-rich Permian, Eagle Ford and Haynesville basins produce around 190,000 barrels of oil a day.

The deal puts BP at the heart of the boom in production from US shale rock

The deal puts BP at the heart of the boom in production from US shale rock that has upended global markets, putting the US on course to become a net oil exporter by 2025.

Bernard Looney, head of BP upstream, said: 'It's a transformative deal. It gives us access to what we believe are some of the very best acreage and the very best basins. It takes us into the very heart of the most talked about oil play today.'

The deal marks a major turning point for BP after years of retrenchment following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. Some 11 people died when a rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico, costing the company around 49billion.

BP has swooped for 5,500 drilling locations across 470,000 acres of land in a major bet on assets that BHP had to offload under pressure from shareholders after blowing billions.

BHP bought at the peak of the oil boom in 2011 and invested heavily until the oil price collapsed.

Doubts have been raised over whether growth in the Permian basin will slow as the pipes and other equipment aren't being built fast enough.

David Lawler, boss of BP's US Lower 48 onshore oil and gas explorer, said his teams had spent the last four years improving how efficiently they get oil and gas out of the rocks. The oil price has also risen to around $70 per barrel.

He said: 'We have some very talented teams. We have really modernised the organisation so we can compete with the US onshore players. We are ready to take on this challenge.'

Looney added: 'We believe that they are very high quality resources in terms of returns.'

BP is paying for the wells in cash, of which about half will be raised by issuing shares. It will then sell about 4.5billion worth of other assets to buy back shares in return.

Bosses also announced a rise in its quarterly dividend to shareholders, paying out 10.25 cents per share, up by 2.5 per cent, its first increase in 15 quarters.

BP beat rivals including Shell and Chevron to clinch its biggest deal since buying Atlantic Richfield Co in 1999. Chief executive Bob Dudley said: 'This is a major step in delivering our Upstream strategy and a world-class addition to BP's distinctive portfolio.'

BP's profits jumped 71 per cent during the first three months of the year to 1.9billion and it started seven projects during 2017, including gas production in Egypt and Oman.

Shares have climbed nearly 60 per cent since lows of around 322p following Deepwater Horizon.

Maxim Petrov, senior analyst at Wood Mackenzie, said: 'This transforms BP's US business  it will immediately raise its US production by almost a fifth while providing competitive returns and volumes growth.'
Media tycoon Rupert Murdoch

Disney has won shareholder backing for its blockbuster 54.3billion takeover of most of 21st Century Fox.

Foxs own shareholders gave the deal the go-ahead as media tycoon Rupert Murdoch looks to sell the Fox empire.

Assets being bought by Disney in the cash and shares deal include Foxs film studio and some of its best-known TV networks.

Disney will also get Foxs 39.1 per cent stake in UK TV firm Sky.
A southern Missouri sheriff and the subordinate he was having a romantic relationship with have been indicted on multiple felonies following a year in which more than 40 sheriff's office employees were fired or quit.

The grand jury indictment returned Wednesday charged Texas County Sheriff James Sigman and Lt. Deputy Jennifer Tomaszewski with assault, robbery, child endangerment, unlawful use of a weapon, harassment and two misdemeanors.

Sigman, 48, and Tomaszewski, 38, were arrested at the Texas County Justice Center in Houston, Missouri, on July 18, following the indictment.

Missouri's Texas County Sheriff James Sigman, 48, and his lover, Lt. Deputy Jennifer Tomaszewski, 38, were arrested and charged with multiple felony and misdemeanors following an investigation carried out by the Missouri State Highway Patrol

Video courtesy KY3/KSPR

They were arrested following an investigation carried out by the Missouri State Highway Patrol, focusing on the period from late June 2016 to May 2018, when Tomaszewski had been hired as a corrections officer up until she graduated from the Missouri Sheriffs Association Academy and was granted a peace officer license, the Kansas City Star reported.

Tomaszewski was promoted during that time to jail administrator without 'prior experience' and is currently Sigman's chief deputy, the probable cause statement said.

The statement said she went on ride-alongs, acted as an undercover officer during stings and served search warrants during which she would detain suspects, search residences and perform other duties reserved for commissioned officers.

Sometimes she was armed with an AR-15 riffle normally used by Sigman and wore a uniform that was undistinguishable from what deputies wore, the trooper wrote.

While serving one search warrant, she pointed a firearm at several people, including a one-year-old, who lived across the street from the home being searched, placing all of them in 'immediate danger,' the trooper wrote.

Tomaszewski confronted them because she thought they were video recording the officers and taking pictures and mistakenly believed that wasn't allowed.

A grand jury returned an indictment charging Sigman (in 2015) and Tomaszewski with assault, robbery, child endangerment, unlawful use of a weapon, harassment and two misdemeanors

Tomaszewski (in an undated photo) was promoted to jail administrator without 'prior experience' and is currently Sigman's chief deputy, the probable cause statement said

Among the court document's claims were that Sigman and Tomaszewski had brought a child into the jail multiple times, exposing the child to danger. Tomaszewski was also accused of having hit an inmate with the intention of 'trying to bust his eardrum out'

One officer also reported pushing Tomaszewski away when he saw her pointing a firearm in the back of a man who was lying on the ground while trying to handcuff him with her other hand because the officer felt what was doing was 'extremely dangerous,' the trooper said in the statement.

In another incident, which occurred in February, according to the Houston Herald, a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper wrote that Tomaszewski hit an inmate with the mental capacity of a nine-year-old in the face with her elbows after he was rendered unconscious, possibly by a 'choke hold.'

A corrections officer told investigators that Tomaszewski said she was 'trying to bust his eardrum out.' A deputy told investigators, 'If we hadn't been there, they would have killed that boy. He was completely unconscious and his lips were turning blue,' according to the probable cause statement.

The statement said Sigman was present during the incident and that reports about what happened were removed from the mentally disabled inmate's file.

The trooper wrote that Tomaszewski also threatened to put a bullet in the head of another inmate but that the grievance the inmate filed was missing when a search warrant was served this spring at the sheriff's office.

According to the probably cause statement, the trooper noted that dispatchers resigned after Sigman reprimanded them for refusing to give Tomaszewski the results to searches she was conducting through a special law enforcement tool that she wasn't authorized to use.

The statement also said that a child was brought into the jail multiple times, helped serve meals to inmates in the kitchen and ate with two of the inmates, including a sexually violent offender.

Court records alleged that Tomaszewski and Sigman had brought the child to the jail, 'resulting in the jail facility essentially being used as a child care facility by them,' and that Sheriff's office employees told troopers they were worried about the child because she had been in danger, the Kansas City Star reported.

In almost all of the incidents spelled out in the probable cause statement, Sigman was allegedly present and 'did nothing to intervene.'

Sigman was elected in 2012 and remains in office, although the coroner has been leading the department while the special prosecutor filed paperwork to remove Sigman from office, the Houston Herald reported.

Both Sigman and Tomaszewski's bonds were set at $500,000. Tomaszewski has been released on bond the day of her arrest, while Sigman was released on bond the next day.

They appeared at their arraignment on the criminal charges Tuesday morning.

On Friday, the Missouri Department of Public Safety suspended Sigman and Tomaszewski's licenses, although they have the opportunity to petition the decision.
A New Jersey Catholic school has acknowledged decades of abuse after former students spoke out.

Thirteen Benedictine monks and one lay teacher have been accused of sexually abusing boys the Delbarton School, in Morristown, which is run by monks from St. Mary's Abbey.

The alleged assaults date from 1968 to as late as 1999, and victims began coming forward in the late eighties.

A New Jersey Catholic school has acknowledged decades of abuse after former students spoke out. Pictured is the Rev. Timothy Brennan, a former teacher at Delbarton,and the only monk in the order to have ever have been convicted of sexual abuse

Thirteen Benedictine monks and one lay teacher have been accused of sexually abusing boys the Delbarton School, in Morristown, which is run by monks from St. Mary's Abbey

But, while the abbey says it took disciplinary measures against the accused monks and notified Morris County prosecutors, only one was ever charged.

The Rev. Timothy Brennan, a former teacher at Delbarton, was convicted of abusing a teenage student in in 1987 and sentenced to just one year of probation.

He has since admitted to abusing 50 boys, The Associated Press reports. He now lives in a treatment center for priests in Missouri.

The prosecutor's office declined to comment on the investigations to several news outlets.

Last week, the head of St. Mary's Abbey Abbot Richard Cronin and the Delbarton School headmaster Michael Tidd, wrote a joint letter written to the community, acknowledging the abuse. They said the order had settled eight lawsuits with alleged victims, while seven others were pending.

Last week, the head of St. Mary's Abbey Abbot Richard Cronin (left) and the Delbarton School headmaster Michael Tidd (right), wrote a joint letter written to the community, acknowledging the abuse

The majority of abuse allegedly took place at Delbarton School, which is managed by the Order of St. Benedict of New Jersey.

Other reports were made by a parishioner of St. James Church in Basking Ridge and former students of St. Elizabeth of Hungary School in Linden as well as by the sons of a former Delbarton School employee.

The office pressed charges in one of the cases against the Rev. Timothy Brennan. He was convicted of aggravated sexual contact with a 15-year-old Delbarton student three decades ago. According to court documents, Brennan admitted to abusing 50 boys.

They say settlement money has been paid through insurance, not donations, and that the settlements won't prohibit victims from speaking publicly if they want to share their allegations of abuse.

Cronin and Tidd say Delbarton has implemented new safety standards including fingerprint and background checks on monastery candidates, gives abuse prevention training and is regularly audited by a third party that sets up protocols to prevent child abuse.

The abbey (pictured) says it took disciplinary measures against the accused monks and notified Morris County prosecutors, only one was ever charged

Brothers Bill Crane, center, and Tom Crane stand next to Steve Badt during a news conference outside of the Morris County Courthouse, in 2012, in Morristown, after they filed a lawsuit against the Catholic school claiming they were sexually abused

'Above all, we want you to understand that protecting the well-being of the students of Delbarton and all those to whom we minister is our highest and most important priority,' Cronin and Tidd wrote.

They also said that no restrictions had been placed on victims' ability to talk about their experiences, although Bill Wolfe, whose testimony resulted in Brennan's conviction, says otherwise.

He says the school forced him into a nondisclosure agreement for decades and was only able to speak freely in 2014, after he won a court battle over the confidentiality agreement's terms.

He told NJ Advance Media that the school's attempts to silence him made the abuse he suffered even worse.

'They fought me every step of the way. They attacked my family. They attacked my parents and they attacked me. They sued my attorney for representing me,' Wolfe said.

'So the idea they've been open and honest and compassionate, that's not been my experience.'
The sordid text messages between a 'weight-loss playboy' and his jilted girlfriend who accidentally sent a photo of his penis to his secret lover can now be revealed.

Nita Crawford, 50, claims Stephen Smith, 52, was cheating on her with other women while they were together.

He had promised Ms Crawford he would marry her on her 50th birthday, but at the same time he started dating Cathy Spence after meeting her at Weight Watchers in Goulburn, New South Wales.

Text messages between Ms Crawford and Mr Smith provided to Daily Mail Australia reveal he called her 'the best kisser ever and the best sex I've ever had', and sent her a selfie asking if she would 'still do me or has the magic gone?'

Mr Smith also called Ms Crawford the 'best looking sheila in Goulburn town' and said he 'would have loved a child' with her.

Nita Crawford accidentally sent a picture of her ex-boyfriend's penis to his mistress

Nita Crawford, 50, claims Stephen Smith, 52, was cheating on her with other women

Text messages between Ms Crawford and Mr Smith provided to Daily Mail Australia reveal he called her 'the best kisser ever and the best sex I've ever had'

Mr Smith also called Ms Crawford the 'best looking sheila in Goulburn town' and said he 'would have loved a child' with her

'I love you and I'm seriously in love. I never want anybody else xx,' another text message from Mr Smith read.

'For the record, I'm not interested in anybody else, never have, never will. It will take me a long time if at all to get over you. Love you xx.'

Ms Crawford said when she met Mr Smith in 2011 she told him he had broken up with his wife Jenny - the mother of his three children - in 2009.

'He wouldnt let me go to his house for five years, he said his kids were still too upset about the divorce.

'In 2016 I went to Stephens house and there were all his wifes belongings in the bedroom  makeup, jewellery, perfume still in the room.

'He said she had left the stuff there before she left and he just hadnt moved it.'

Although she was suspicious, Ms Crawford chose to believe his explanation.

'I believed him through this all because of what I was going through  I had a newborn baby, my nephew Jai who I have raised like my son, and I was going through a lot at that time.'

Ms Crawford said Jai, now aged four, calls Mr Smith 'dad' and thinks he is his father.

In April 2017, Mr Smith started attending Weight Watchers classes, and Ms Crawford said this is when he met Cathy Spence.

'He did mention he had met a friend at Weight Watchers  he said he liked going out with them because theyre all fat and it made him look good.'

Ms Crawford blamed Mr Smith's weight-loss for his affair, saying after attending Weight Watchers he had new-found confidence

Ms Crawford sent a photo of her tattoo of Mr Smith's name to Ms Spence, but accidentally included his penis in it

Mr Smith sent a message to Ms Crawford calling her the 'best looking sheila in Goulburn'

In April 2017, Mr Smith started attending Weight Watchers classes, and Ms Crawford said this is when he met Cathy Spence (pictured with Mr Smith)

When the couple met, Mr Smith weighed 120kg and 'sometimes looked like Shrek', Ms Crawford said.

'He was always a ladies man but it increased tenfold when he lost weight. He started buying the tight stone-wash jeans, getting manicures and pedicures.'

Ms Crawford said Mr Smith lied about his relationship with Ms Spence, saying her name was 'Michelle' and that she was a police officer.

'He then sent me a photo of a police woman who he said was Michelle and said she wouldnt take any crap. He said she took him for rides in a police car and let him use the siren.

Ms Crawford said Mr Smith lied about his relationship with Ms Spence, saying her name was 'Michelle' and that she was a police officer

Mr Smith said he was in love with Ms Crawford and didn't want to be with anyone else

In a text message, Mr Smith said he was not interested in anyone other than Ms Crawford

'He has got no conscience, no heart. How did he keep up with us all seriously. He kept making elaborate excuses.

'I get physically ill thinking about him having sex with me and then Cathy at the same time.'

Ms Crawford said Mr Smith would use similar tactics with both women - including drawing their names in the sand with a heart around them.

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 got a tattoo of Mr Smith's name on her lower back to show how dedicated he was to her.

'I'm not a rich person and I would buy him gifts when I could. When I got his name tattooed on my back it was to show him how committed I was,' she said.

Mr Smith continued to see Ms Spence behind Ms Crawford's back until his web of lies unravelled (Mr Spence and Ms Crawford pictured)

Mr Smith and Ms Spence are still in a relationship, while Ms Crawford says she is 'broken'

'He loved it it, and he was very proud. He used to show everybody. He said he would get my name tattooed on himself.'

Ms Crawford said Ms Spence was upset about her tattoo and through Mr Smith asked her to remove it - so Ms Crawford sent a photo of it to Ms Spence in September 2017.

'I sent it to her to say it's my body and I'll get it covered up when I'm good and ready.'

She had inadvertently chosen a photo of the tattoo taken by Mr Smith while they were having sex - and it featured the tip of his penis in the corner.

Ms Crawford said Mr Smith would use similar tactics with both women - including drawing their names in the sand with a heart around them

Ms Crawford said Mr Spence begged for her back, until she decided to meet him on June 8, 2018.

'We spoke for one hour and he asked for me back, he kept saying he lived nearby... I walked away then. It was like a huge weight lifted off my shoulders. I just thought you are a full on player.'

Ms Crawford said her relationship with Mr Spence left her 'totally broken'.
Tyrone Jones, 29 (pictured) preyed upon vulnerable addicts like 'a cuckoo who comes along and lays drugs in your nest,' in Surrey

The organiser of a 'county lines drugs' gang has been jailed for 12 years for pushing crack and heroin into the Surrey commuter belt.

Tyrone Jones, 29, preyed upon vulnerable addicts like 'a cuckoo who comes along and lays drugs in your nest.'

Patricia Slater, 27, his girlfriend, Sisco Lukuna, 22, Ian Mulgrew, 39, and Sandra McCowan, 38, were deployed by Jones to smuggle up to two-and-half kilos of class 'A' drug into Merstham, a small village in Surrey.

Judge Nigel Seed, QC, said: 'This case involved a county lines drug supply between London and Surrey. All of the defendants had roles.

'Throughout the conspiracy period, based on call data records and ANPR analysis, it was established that the rail and drug line was active.'

The police were able to pinpoint 45 occasions of drugs moving through county lines and the gang used small amounts to account for losses.

Police intercepted Mulgrew with 35 and McCowan 19 wraps on separate occasions during their investigation.

Ian Mulgrew, 39, (pictured right) and Sandra McCowan, 38 (pictured right) were deployed by Jones to smuggle up to two-and-half kilos of class 'A' drug into Merstham, Surrey

They estimated the total sum of crack and heroin imported into the village was worth 3,500.

Sentencing Jones, who has a history of drugs offences, the judge said: 'I am satisfied that you have a leading role in this conspiracy and you had substantial links to and influence on the others.

'You were very much in charge and you were the main person responsible for this drugs line and you expected financial gain.'

Jones was jailed separately to the others who were all on bail, he was said to have an exemplary reference from HMP Brixton's soup kitchen.

Slater, who delayed proceedings with an outburst of tears in the ladies' toilet, was a drug user, but not a mere stooge.

The judge added:'I accept that you were to some extent vulnerable and were used by Tyrone Jones, but I don't regard you as having been a reluctant participant in this..

'You were largely responsible for driving Tyrone Jones around to various addresses in Surrey, you helped with hiring cars, ferrying class A drugs and collecting money.'

Lukuna, the youngest conspirator, made 'an informed choice' to take part in the dealings which earned him a stab wound on one occasion.

Mulgrew and McCowan were local class A addicts who were used as pawns by Jones.

Jones's girlfriend Patricia Slater, 27 (pictured right) was also involved in the drugs gang, as well as Sisco Lukuna, 22 (pictured left)

The judge described McCowan as 'the victim of the targeting of the vulnerable, exactly what these county lines cases involve - the classic example.'

Jones used her house and put her under pressure, 'something short of legal duress, but nevertheless, you were working in a subordinate capacity.'

The public gallery was packed with friends and relatives who were barked at to sit down as they peered over the balustrade to see into dock.

Jones, of Peckford Place, Lambeth, and Slater, of Major Close, Lambeth, denied but were convicted of conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin.

Jones was jailed for 12 years and Slater for five years.

Lukuna, of North Circular Road, Neasden, Mulgrew of Estate Road, Reigate, and McCowan of Redstock Lane, Merstham, admitted conspiracy to supply crack cocaine and heroin.

Lukuna was sentenced to two years suspended for two years.

Mulgrew to 20 months suspended for 24 months, a 20 day rehabilitation activity requirement and 180 hours of unpaid work.

McCowan to 16 months suspended for 24 months and 180 hours unpaid work.
A nun has told how she no longer goes to confession regularly after an Italian priest forced himself on her while she was recounting her sins to him in a university classroom.

At the time of the incident 20 years ago, the sister said she only told her provincial superior and her spiritual director.

She felt silenced by the Catholic Church's culture of secrecy, her vows of obedience and her own fear, repulsion and shame.

'It opened a great wound inside of me,' she said.

'I pretended it didn't happen.'

Pictured, a nun is silhouetted in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican. Some nuns are now finding their voices, buoyed by the #MeToo movement.

After decades of silence, the nun is one of a handful worldwide to come forward recently on the issue of the sexual abuse of religious sisters by priests and bishops, who have been buoyed by the #Me Too movement

An Associated Press examination has found that cases have emerged in Europe, Africa, South America and Asia, demonstrating that the problem is global and pervasive, thanks to the tradition of sisters' second-class status in the Catholic Church and their ingrained subservience to the men who run it.

Nuns are also finding their voices thanks to the growing recognition that adults can be victims of sexual abuse when there is an imbalance of power in a relationship.

The sisters say they are going public in part because of years of inaction by church leaders, even after major studies on the problem in Africa were reported to the Vatican in the 1990s.

The issue has flared in the wake of scandals over the sexual abuse of children, and recently of adults, including revelations that one of the most prominent American cardinals, Theodore McCarrick, sexually abused and harassed his seminarians.

The extent of the abuse of nuns is unclear, at least outside the Vatican.

Victims are reluctant to report the abuse because of well-founded fears they won't be believed, experts said.

Church leaders are reluctant to acknowledge that some priests and bishops simply ignore their vows of celibacy, knowing that their secrets will be kept.

However, this week, about half a dozen sisters in a small religious congregation in Chile went public on national television with their stories of abuse by priests and other nuns - and how their superiors did nothing to stop it.

A nun in India recently filed a formal police complaint accusing a bishop of rape, something that would have been unthinkable even a year ago.

Cases in Africa have come up periodically; in 2013, for example, a well-known priest in Uganda wrote a letter to his superiors that mentioned 'priests romantically involved with religious sisters' - for which he was promptly suspended from the church until he apologized in May. And the sister in Europe spoke to the AP to help bring the issue to light.

'I am so sad that it took so long for this to come into the open, because there were reports long ago,' Karlijn Demasure, one of the church's leading experts on clergy sexual abuse and abuse of power, told the AP in an interview. 'I hope that now actions will be taken to take care of the victims and put an end to this kind of abuse.'

TAKING VICTIMS SERIOUSLY

The Vatican declined to comment on what measures, if any, it has taken to assess the scope of the problem globally, what it has done to punish offenders and care for the victims.

A Vatican official said it is up to local church leaders to sanction priests who sexually abuse sisters, but that often such crimes go unpunished both in civil and canonical courts.

The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak to the issue, said only some cases arrive at the Holy See for investigation.

It was a reference to the fact that the Catholic Church has no clear measures in place to investigate and punish bishops who themselves abuse or allow abusers to remain in their ranks - a legal loophole that has recently been highlighted by the McCarrick case.

The official said the church has focused much of its attention recently on protecting children, but that vulnerable adults 'deserve the same protection.'

'Consecrated women have to be encouraged to speak up when they are molested,' the official told the AP. 'Bishops have to be encouraged to take them seriously, and make sure the priests are punished if guilty.'

But being taken seriously is often the toughest obstacle for sisters who are sexually abused, said Demasure, until recently executive director of the church's Center for Child Protection at the Pontifical Gregorian University, the church's leading think tank on the issue.

Church leaders are reluctant to acknowledge that some priests and bishops simply ignore their vows of celibacy. Pictured, the Vactican

'They (the priests) can always say 'she wanted it,'' Demasure said. 'It is also difficult to get rid of the opinion that it is always the woman who seduces the man, and not vice versa.'

Demasure said many priests in Africa, for example, struggle with celibacy because of traditional and cultural beliefs in the importance of having children. Novices, who are just entering religious life, are particularly vulnerable because they often need a letter from their parish priest to be accepted into certain religious congregations. 'And sometimes they have to pay for that,' she said.

And when these women become pregnant?

'Mainly she has an abortion. Even more than once. And he pays for that. A religious sister has no money. A priest, yes,' she said.

There can also be a price for blowing the whistle on the problem.

In 2013, the Rev. Anthony Musaala in Kampala, Uganda wrote what he called an open letter to members of the local Catholic establishment about 'numerous cases' of alleged sex liaisons of priests, including with nuns. He charged that it was 'an open secret that many Catholic priests and some bishops, in Uganda and elsewhere, no longer live celibate chastity.'

He was sanctioned, even though Ugandan newspapers regularly report cases of priests caught in sex escapades. The topic is even the subject of a popular novel taught in high schools.

In 2012, a priest sued a bishop in western Uganda who had suspended him and ordered him to stop interacting with at least four nuns. The priest, who denied the allegations, lost the suit, and the sisters later withdrew their own suit against the bishop.

Archbishop John Baptist Odama, leader of the local Ugandan conference of bishops, told the AP that unverified or verified allegations against individual priests should not be used to smear the whole church.

'Individual cases may happen, if they are there,' he said Thursday. 'Individual cases must be treated as individual cases.'

PRIESTLY ABUSE OF NUNS IS NOT A NEW PROBLEM

Long before the most recent incidents, confidential reports into the problem focused on Africa and AIDS were prepared in the 1990s by members of religious orders for top church officials. In 1994, the late Sr. Maura O'Donohue wrote the most comprehensive study about a six-year, 23-nation survey, in which she learned of 29 nuns who had been impregnated in a single congregation.

Nuns, she reported, were considered 'safe' sexual partners for priests who feared they might be infected with HIV if they went to prostitutes or women in the general population.

Four years later, in a report to top religious superiors and Vatican officials, Sr. Marie McDonald said harassment and rape of African sisters by priests is 'allegedly common.' Sometimes, when a nun becomes pregnant, the priest insists on an abortion, the report said.

The problem travelled when the sisters were sent to Rome for studies. They 'frequently turn to seminarians and priests for help in writing essays. Sexual favors are sometimes the payment they have to make for such help,' the report said.

The reports were never meant to be made public. The U.S. National Catholic Reporter put them online in 2001, exposing the depths of a scandal the church had long sought to keep under wraps. To date, the Vatican hasn't said what, if anything, it ever did with the information.

Sister Paola Moggi, a member of the Missionary Combonian Sisters - a religious congregation with a significant presence in 16 African countries - said in her experience the African church 'had made great strides' since the 1990s, when she did missionary work in Kenya, but the problem has not been eliminated.

'I have found in Africa sisters who are absolutely emancipated and who say what they think to a priest they meet who might ask to have sex with them,' she told the AP.

'I have also found sisters who said 'Well, you have to understand their needs, and that while we only have a monthly cycle a man has a continuous cycle of sperm' - verbatim words from the '90s,' she said.

But the fact that in just a few weeks scandals of priests allegedly molesting sisters have erupted publicly on two other continents - Asia and Latin America - suggests that the problem is not confined to Africa, and that some women are now willing to break the taboo to denounce it publicly.

In India, a sister of the Missionaries of Jesus filed a police report last month alleging a bishop raped her in May 2014 during a visit to the heavily Christian state of Kerala, and that he subsequently sexually abused her around a dozen more times over the following two years, Indian media have reported. The bishop denied the accusation and said the woman was retaliating against him for having taken disciplinary action against her for her own sexual misdeeds.

Sisters are going public in part because of years of inaction by church leaders. Pictured, Nuns are silhouetted in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican

In Chile, the scandal of the Sisters of the Good Samaritan, an order dedicated to health care in the diocese of Talca, erupted at the same time the country's entire Catholic hierarchy has been under fire for decades of sex abuse and cover-ups. The scandal got so bad that in May, Francis summoned all Chilean bishops to Rome, where they all offered to resign en masse.

The case, exposed by the Chilean state broadcaster, involves accusations of priests fondling and kissing nuns, including while naked, and some religious sisters sexually abusing younger ones. The victims said they told their mother superior, but that she did nothing. Talca's new temporary bishop has vowed to find justice.

The Vatican is well aware that religious sisters have long been particularly vulnerable to abuse. Perhaps the most sensational account was detailed in the 2013 book 'The Nuns of Sant'Ambrogio,' based on the archives of the Vatican's 1860s Inquisition trial of abuse, embezzlement, murder and 'false holiness' inside a Roman convent. Once word got out, the Vatican poured the full force of its Inquisition to investigate and punish.

It remains to be seen what the Vatican will do now that more sisters are speaking out.

ONE SISTER'S STORY - AND YEARS OF HURT

The sister who spoke to the AP about her assault in 2000 during confession at a Bologna university clasped her rosary as she recounted the details.

She recalled exactly how she and the priest were seated in two armchairs face-to-face in the university classroom, her eyes cast to the floor. At a certain point, she said, the priest got up from his chair and forced himself on her. Petite but not frail, she was so shocked, she said, that she grabbed him by the shoulders and with all her strength, stood up and pushed him back into his chair.

The nun continued with her confession that day. But the assault - and a subsequent advance by a different priest a year later - eventually led her to stop going to confession with any priest other than her spiritual father, who lives in a different country.

'The place of confession should be a place of salvation, freedom and mercy,' she said. 'Because of this experience, confession became a place of sin and abuse of power.'

She recalled at one point a priest in whom she had confided had apologized 'on behalf of the church.' But nobody ever took any action against the offender, who was a prominent university professor.

The woman recounted her story to the AP without knowing that at that very moment, a funeral service was being held for the priest who had assaulted her 18 years earlier.

She later said the combination of his death and her decision to speak out lifted a great weight.

'I see it as two freedoms: freedom of the weight for a victim, and freedom of a lie and a violation by the priest,' she said. 'I hope this helps other sisters free themselves of this weight.'

Muhumuza reported from Kampala, Uganda.
A small plane carrying a pilot and one passenger made an emergency landing in the middle of a busy Chicago thoroughfare right at the start of evening rush hour Friday.

The plane made the unexpected landing on Lake Shore Drive at 3.17pm, halting southbound traffic on the major thoroughfare which hugs Lake Michigan.

Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford said the pilot, who has not been named, reported the engine lost power, which forced him to land on Lake Shore Drive.

The pilot of this single-engine propeller plane was forced to make an emergency landing on a Chicago highway after reporting that his engine lost power mid-flight

Authorities pushed the plane off the highway into the median to allow rush hour traffic to move

In a recording obtained by CBS Chicago, the pilot can be heard saying 'Mayday, mayday, mayday.'

The pilot also calmly tells the air traffic controller, who had asked him to divert to Chicago Midway International Airport, 'Negative sir, unable. We'll be somewhere down here on the shoreline.'

At the direction of authorities, the pilot then flew the aircraft, a blue and yellow Ercoupe 415-D, under a pedestrian bridge before landing south of the McCormick Place convention center.

Authorities said no vehicles were struck when the single-engine, propeller aircraft landed. There were no injuries reported and the plane was undamaged, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The pilot managed to safely fly the plane under a bridge before landing the plane

Authorities said that no vehicles were hit and no people were injured during the incident

The plane's wings were removed before being loaded onto a flatbed truck for its trip home to Ohio. The plane's pilot (in blue) and navigator (in maroon) are said to be licensed pilots

Police and fire personnel pushed the plane onto the parkway more than an hour after it landed, reopening three of four southbound lanes to traffic which had been backed up for miles.

The plane's wings were then removed, it was loaded onto a flatbed truck and driven away.

A city official said the pilot was headed home to Cleveland, Ohio, after having taken part in the 2018 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

There were two people inside the plane at the time of the emergency landing, a male pilot and a female navigator. Both were said to be licensed pilots.
Tour companies are illegally forcing tourists to fork out hundreds of dollars to visit free public attractions in New Zealand.

Chinese tourists have been forced to pay up to $10 in 'admission fees' for each public attraction they want to visit, like parks and beaches, in package deals.





Jenny Xu, whose aunt was scammed, said she paid more than $160 for a one-day tour booked through a Chinese app.

Chinese tour companies are forcing tourists to pay to visit free attractions to the public in New Zealand. Tourists have been forced to pay admission fees to sites like Mission Bay (pictured)

Chinese tourists have paid up to $10 in 'admission fees' for each public attraction they want to visit, like parks and beaches, in package deals (stock image)

The price included 'admission fees' of $10 for sites such as Cornwall Park, Western Springs and Mission Bay in New Zealand's North Island, she told the NZ Herald.

Jenny told her aunt that she shouldn't have to pay admission fees to visit the public attractions but it was too late for her to be reimbursed.

'I found out about it only a few days after the tour and told my aunt those venues are free for everyone, but by then it's too late and we couldn't contact the tour guide,' Jenny said.

Rise in Chinese tourists visiting New Zealand Statistics reveal that Chinese tourists are New Zealand's second largest group of international visitors, after Australians. 449,024 tourists visited New Zealand from July 2017-June 2018 449,024 tourists visited the country in the last 12 months - up 12.8 per cent from the previous year. The Chinese are the second largest group of international visitors in New Zealand Source: Tourism New Zealand Advertisement

A spokesman for the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said tourists should do their research and book through tour companies listed on the Tourism New Zealand website instead of relying on unaccredited Chinese operators.

Tat Tsui, a spokesman for Chinese tourism operators in Auckland, said the practices are illegal but unfortunately Chinese tourists are easy targets.

Chinese tour companies are forcing tourists to pay to visit free attractions to the public in New Zealand (stock image)

Tourists are being forced to pay 'admission fees' of $10 for sites such as Cornwall Park (pictured) , Western Springs and Mission Bay in New Zealand's North Island

'These operators have no registered business, whose vehicles have no certificate of fitness, hold no licence and are answerable to no one,' Mr Tsui told the NZ Herald.

Mr Tsui alleged that most of the deals targetting Chinese tourists were listed on Chinese apps and sites including huangbaoche.com.

Huang Bao Che is an online site for Chinese tourists to book international tours.

Mr Tsui said the scamming operators also use 'cross-selling' tactics where they are charged extra to sell the vulnerable tourists souvenirs like Manuka honey.

Statistics reveal that Chinese tourists are New Zealand's second largest group of international visitors, after Australians. 449,024 tourists visited the country in the last 12 months - up 12.8 per cent from the previous year.
The sister of late actress Natalie Wood has revealed that her first marriage to Robert 'RJ' Wagner ended after she caught him cheating on her with a man.

Lana Wood, 72, offered the bombshell revelation in chapter three of Fatal Voyage: The Mysterious Death of Natalie Wood, saying that her starlet sister caught Wagner in the arms of another man in June of 1961.

The 12-part audio documentary provides a detailed look into Natalie's life via exclusive interviews with Hollywood insiders who watched her blossom as a child star, rocket to full-fledged fame and ultimately meet an untimely death while on a yacht with Wagner and Christopher Walken.

Natalie herself described the end of her first marriage in veiled language in a never-before-seen memoir, obtained by the makers of the podcast.

Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner are seen together in 1960. Natalie's sister claims that their first marriage ended the following year after she caught Wagner in the arms of another man

'My marriage collapsed that weekend. It's too painful for me to recall in print the incidents that led to the final breakup,' Natalie wrote.

'It was more than the final straw. It was reality crushing the fragile web of romantic fantasies with sledgehammer force.'

Lana, in an interview for Fatal Voyage, offered her recollections of the events, which occurred when she was around 15 years old.

'She walked in, holding her hand, having some kind of cloth,' Lana recalled.

'I don't know if it was a napkin from a restaurant or what it was, bleeding and absolutely hysterically crying. A mess! A complete mess that I had not seen.'

'I had never seen her that bad. I was asked to leave the room and that something bad happened and that Natalie was leaving R.J.'

Actress Lana Wood is seen left in February and right with her sister Natalie in 1968

Natalie is seen in a still from the 1962 film gypsy. She died on her husband's yacht in 1981 under circumstances that have remained mysterious

Lana continued: 'It wasn't until later, because I didn't put all the clues and the hysterics together.'

'It was actually extremely upsetting to me as a kid to see someone who I thought was, you know, close to not being real.'

'She was so close to being perfect with everything and to see her that distraught and to see things like that was very difficult for me. So I just kind of  when they said go to your room, I went and tuned it out completely.'

'But it wasn't until later that she said she caught him with someone. And that someone was another man.'

Wagner has never publicly identified as a homosexual. In 2014 the famed actress Debbie Reynolds told the Telegraph that everyone she dated in Hollywood was gay - 'Everyone except Robert Wagner'.

However, there have been reports linking an alleged gay affair to the circumstances of Wood's death.

Natalie and Wagner's divorce in 1962 lasted for ten years, until they remarried in 1972.

Natalie and Wagner are seen together at an airport in London in 1976, after reconciling and remarrying in 1972 following ten years of divorce

Wagner and Natalie are seen in June of 1981, several months before her death on his yacht

In 1981, the couple were on board the Splendor for a weekend boat trip to Santa Catalina Island. Actor Christopher Walken was also on board, as was boat captain Dennis Davern.

Wagner has always told police that it is a mystery how his former wife died. Her body was found in the water the day after she apparently ventured off the yacht in a dingy, angry after an argument.

In February, Wagner was named a person of interest as the case. Detectives decided to reopen the case in 2011 after Dennis Davern, the captain, came forward to say he had lied about his statements decades earlier.

He gave details of the argument Natalie and Wagner had on the boat and while he would not implicate Wagner directly, he suggested that her death was not the innocent accident it appeared to have been.

The group had earlier gone for dinner on the island of Catalina where Davern claimed Wagner became angry at the sight of his wife and Walken getting along at the bar.

Back on the Splendour, the rage grew and eventually resulted in an angry fight between Wagner and Natalie in their room, Davern said. Walken was in his own room at the time, he claimed.

Splendour, the boat owned by Robert Wagner, is seen docked off Catalina Island the day after Natalie Wood drowned on November 29, 1981 near Catalina Island, California

Christopher Walken and Natalie Wood are seen together in a scene filmed shortly before her death, for the posthumously released film Brainstorm

However, there have been reports suggesting that the jealousy may not have been on Wagner's part.

In 2013, the National Enquirer claimed to have uncovered documentation - an official lifeguard log - which suggests that police at one time suspected that Wagner and Walken had engaged in a sexual act, and that Natalie may have walked in on them.

Robert Wagner, 88, is pictured in May

The note, which is torn and illegible in parts, reads 'also known Chris Walken and Robert Wagner were engaged in sexual activity in cab of boat... (illegible)...that Ms Woods found both of them together (illegible)...stated they took her away in a (illegible)...was the last time she was seen alive.'

The Los Angeles County lifeguard, who worked with detectives on the case, told The Enquirer he made the notes on the log after detectives told him that it was a scenario that were considering as a possible motive for any crime that might have been committed on the boat.

Neither Wagner nor Walken has ever been charged in connection with the case, and neither has commented publicly since police said in February that Wagner was a person of interest in Natalie's death.

In one of his few public comments about the case, Walken told People Magazine in 1986: 'I dont know what happened... She slipped and fell in the water. I was in bed then. It was a terrible thing. Look, were in a conversation I wont have. Its a f***ing bore.'

The Fatal Voyage podcast, hosted by investigative journalist Dylan Wood, claims to have found 'new evidence that suggests a larger conspiracy' in Natalie's death.

Nine chapters of the show have yet to be released.
There were fears Australian officers sent to the Ukraine to fetch the bodies of passengers from MH17 after it was gunned down may have been used as 'human shields' by the Russians.

One hundred heavily armed Australian Federal Police personnel were deployed in Europe within the first 48 hours of the tragedy, which killed 298 people, including 38 Australians.

The mission was to retrieve the bodies, which was made near-impossible because of the constant bombing from Ukraine and Russian-backed rebels.

Australian officers sent to the Ukraine to fetch the bodies of passengers from MH17 after it was gunned down were feared to have been used a 'human shields' by the Russians

One hundred heavily armed Australian Federal Police personnel were deployed within the first 48 hours of the tragedy (pictured), which killed 298 people, including 38 Australians

Australian Border Force chief Michael Outram said the officers, who were armed with side arms and long arms, could not get in from the rebel-held Donetsk because of the continual attacks on the airport, according to the Daily Telegraph.

'It was raining mortar fire, attacking the airport. I was worried our guys were going to be held captive in Donetsk as human shields, that didn't happen and we got them out safely of course,' Mr Outram, who was then the AFP assistant commissioner, said.

'There was no book to say how you do a body retrieval and forensic examination in a crash site and in a battlefield with the former Soviet Union 30 miles away.'

Australian Border Force chief Michael Outram (pictured) said the officers, who were armed with side arms and long arms, could not get in from rebel held Donetsk because of the continual attacks on the airport

The Malaysia Airlines aircraft, which was flying from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur, was shot down by a Russian Buk-Telar missile over east Ukraine on July, 17, 2014.

Mr Outram was brought in as the MH17 tragedy operational commander within the first hour of the disaster discovery where discussions began surrounding how Australia would be able to get to the crash site to 'bring our dead back'.

The ABF chief said the biggest difficulty was not being seen as a threat by Russian-backed forces while they tried to perform a criminal investigation in a war zone which has seen at least 10,000 people reportedly killed to date.

The forces were able to gain access unarmed during a hesitant ceasefire after weeks of negotiations took place during the early stages of the Ukraine War.

MH17 went down in Grabovo, Ukraine, near the Russian border which at the time was under control of pro-Russian militias.

The mission was to retrieve the bodies (Ukrainian military pictured) which was made near-impossible because of the constant bombing from Ukraine and Russian backed rebels

'There was no book to say how you do a body retrieval and forensic examination in a crash site (pictured) and in a battlefield with the former Soviet Union 30 miles away,' Mr Outram said

All the passengers and crew, many of them Dutch citizens, were killed in the disaster along with many Australians.

Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop said in a statement in May that Australia was 'pursuing justice for those who lost their lives, including 38 people who called Australia home'.

An international team of investigators were able to link the missile found at the wreckage with a Russian military jet operating over Ukraine at the time of the tragedy four years ago.

'That a sophisticated weapon belonging to the Russian Army was dispatched and used to shoot down a civilian aircraft should be of grave international concern,' Ms Bishop previously said.

MH17 (Malaysian Airlines plane stock image) went down in Grabovo, Ukraine, near the Russian border which at the time was under control of pro-Russian militias in July, 2014

Moscow has denied the allegations despite overwhelming evidence that it has been involved in the fighting and its explicit political support for the rebels.

The Ukraine War began with the Russian annexation of Crimea - a military muscle-flexing exercise by President Vladimir Putin attempting to show off his strength to the West.

This and the anti-government 'revolution' that had shaken the capital Kiev for months, sparked protests by pro-Russian groups in the Donbass region in the east.

This escalated into a full-blown armed conflict between pro-Russian separatists, backed by Moscow, and the Ukrainian government which is still ongoing.
and what is your view on kids that have scholarships to pay for school? Which side of your fence do you put them on?



On the side of those who pay their own way.



I have seen the military make decent productive folks of all kinds of kids who were languishing.



So have I and I'm one who took that route. I joined reserves before I got out of HS. I got a great education in a tech job and had a good chance of employment when I got out.



We need to COMPEL business to do the same.



They already do. They need new recruits just lie the military fr the same reason. They have intern programs and connections to vocational schools etc. They support them by showing that their is a need for the services of people in vocational training. They also provide tuition support for employees who qualify for advanced training. We need to repurpose our educational system to generate acceptable candidates instead of training on how to put condoms on bananas and how to game the welfare system. Germany adds 2 years of training to HS for vocational training.



I am tired of this military socialism having to do all the heavy lifting.



That started in the Clinton admin. Well meaning but a smash flop. The program was started as a mechanism to reduce unemployment among minorities We saw a lot of examples of military who enlisted under that program who refused to go to war after 9-11. most commonly heard was "I didn't sign up for this".

I don't think that's been done since!
One of Britain's biggest charities is being probed after giving 275,000 to an Irish republican group linked to a banned terrorist organisation.

The Charity Commission is demanding the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust 'explain and justify' giving the funding to Teach na Failte, which was founded by the Irish Republican Socialist Party, the political wing of the Irish National Liberation Army.

The INLA was formed in 1974 during The Troubles and has been involved in bombings and shootings in Northern Ireland and London, including the killing of shadow Northern Ireland secretary Airey Neave in Westminster in 1979.

According to The Times, the Rowntree Trust has been giving money to Teach na Failte since 2014 and handed over a grant of 125,000 last year.

The Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust is being probed over 275,000 they gave to a group linked to the Irish National Liberation Army, linked to terror attacks during the Troubles. Pictured: The remains of the car where shadow Northern Ireland secretary Airey Neave was killed in 1979

It also shares its offices with the IRSP in Belfast, which were searched in April by the paramilitary crime force unit, an elite unit in the Northern Ireland police force.

Eight arrests were made in the raids, which were carried out by more than 200 officers.

Of those arrested, Brian Gillan, 60, was charged with extortion and running a brothel alongside two Romanian citizens.

A source close to the Charity Commission told the newspaper the grants were 'astonishing and absolutely appalling'.

Teach na Failte said it supported INLA former prisoners and their families and claimed the raids on the officers were a 'MI5 publicity stunt'.

A Rowntree trustee told the paper the money was supposed to 'build pathways to peace'.

The Charity Commission is demanding the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust 'explain and justify' giving the funding to Teach na Failte, which was founded by the Irish Republican Socialist Party, the political wing of the Irish National Liberation Army (2006 march pictured)

Claire Hanna, an SDLP member of the Northern Ireland Assembly, told The Times that the Rowntree charity's cash awards to Teach na Failte 'grossly undermine' public confidence.

She added: 'When we keep handing out cash on the basis of their paramilitary affiliation, they have no incentive to change. Cases like this are sickening when I think of decent organisations doing meaningful work but with little or no funding.'

The Rowntree trust was set up in 1904 by York-based philanthropist and confectionary maker Joseph Rowntree to deal with 'weakness and evil in the community'.

Last night it said it 'rejected all violence' and supports 'equality, rights and reconciliation', and joined up with Teach na Failte because it was 'committed to non violence'.

The Rowntree trust was set up in 1904 by York-based philanthropist and confectionary maker Joseph Rowntree to deal with 'weakness and evil in the community'

It was also caught up in controversy in 2015, when it was urged by the Charity Commission to stop funding 'Cage', a charity that supports Muslims suspected of terror offences.

It had to stop funding after a senior figure in the orginsation praised Islamic State butcher Mohammed Emwazi, otherwise known as 'Jihadi John'.

Despite the controversy, the charity received the support of celebrities Vanessa Redgrave, Joanna Lumley and Dame Janet Suzman.

The actresses said the trust has made 'vital contributions' to the Northern Ireland peace process and the transition to democracy in South Africa.

They wrote that charities such as the trust frequently work in 'complex and difficult environments' to promote peace, justice and equality.
A Louisiana family are accused of abusing their autistic relative by keeping her in a cage outside their home and forcing her to eat the ashes of her late mother.

Five members of the Knope family were charged in federal court in New Orleans on Thursday for the litany of horrors against the 22-year-old victim.

Prosecutors allege that the woman was kept in a cage outside the Tangipahoa Parish home where the suspects lived. They claim the victim was coerced into manual labor such as bathroom and kitchen cleaning.

The suspects also allegedly subjected the victim to psychological and physical abuses: threats of harm or death if she didn't obey, beatings, being burned with a cigarette lighter and having human waste from a septic tank dumped on her.

Five members of the Knope family, including husband and wife Terry (left) and Raylaine (right) were charged in federal court in New Orleans on Thursday for the litany of horrors against the 22-year-old autistic victim

Terry's daughter Taylor Knope (left) and Raylaine's son, Jody Lambert, (center) and her daughter Bridget Lambert (right) have also been charged

One of the suspects is charged with shooting her with a BB gun.

At one point, according to charging documents, she vomited after being forced to eat the cremation ashes of her late mother as the suspects laughed.

Two of the suspects, husband and wife Terry Knope II, 45, and Raylaine Knope, 42, face a sex trafficking charge after they allegedly planned to force the autistic woman into prostitution.

They also face labor and housing law violations along with Terry Knope's daughter, Taylor Knope, 20, and Raylaine Knope's son, Jody Lambert, 23.

Terry Knope also faces a hate crime count, in which prosecutors say the injuries he caused the victim were motivated by her disability. He also is charged with theft of government funds - more than $8,700 in Social Security benefits meant for the victim.

All four face possible life sentences.

The five members of the Knope family are accused of keeping their 22-year-old relative locked up in a cage (above) outside their home near New Orleans

Terry and Raylaine Knope allegedly subjected the victim to psychological and physical abuses

Another of Raylaine Knope's daughters, Bridget Lambert, was charged separately in a bill of information with forced labor conspiracy. Prosecutors say the charge carries a maximum five-year sentence.

All five are in custody, according to court documents.

The federal charges come two years after they were arrested on state charges in the case.

Tangipahoa Parish Sheriff's Office deputies made the initial arrests in 2016 after the woman was found wandering around the backyard of the home. At the time, Sheriff Daniel Edward said the woman appeared malnourished and was covered with insect bites.

Prosecutors said the victim was a relative of Raylaine Knope. The indictment said the victim and her mother had lived with the defendants until the mother's death in 2015.

When the arrests were made, the victim, identified in documents only by her initials, was placed in the custody of the state Department of Health and Hospitals protective services.
Women are increasingly opting to undergo IVF without a man as they give up on finding 'Mr Right'.

A move away from the negative social stigma around single parenting has influenced the change as some IVF clinics report that one in 10 women visit on their own to access donor sperm.

About 30,000 women use the reproductive technology each year, The Saturday Telegraph reported.

IVF clinics around Australia have reported an increase in single women using the services (stock image)

Michael Chapman, president of the Fertility Society of Australia, said that single people or gay couples using donor sperm services had doubled over the past five years to an estimated 600-800 women.

'Finding Mr Right has also become more difficult  maybe women are becoming more choosy or men are not committing themselves in the way they did in the past,' Mr Chapman said.

The decline in organised religion has also led to greater social acceptance, argues social analyst David Chalke.

'While organised religion has faded in this country, so too have the morals dictated by it and as a consequence we're far more relaxed about anything to do about sex, morality or marriage than we have been in the past,' he said.

Mr Chalke said that a 2001 AustraliaSCAN survey of 2000 adults found that 68 per cent of participants were against single women accessing IVF.

Michael Chapman president of the Fertility Society of Australia said there is less social stigma about single parent families now (stock image)

This flipped in 2018 with new figures showing that 52 per cent of participants were now in favour.

At the Sydney-based clinic Demeter Fertility single women with donor sperm make up 10 per cent of IVF treatment cycles. This number was zero a decade earlier.

At IVF Australia, single women with donor sperm account for 8 per cent of IVF treatment cycles. The clinic, which has 16 locations across NSW, has seen a small increase from 6 per cent in 2014.

At Genea Fertility, records have doubled in the last five years with now 5 per cent of the Sydney-based clients being single women accessing donor sperm.

Monash IVF have recorded that single women using the IVF services were growing 15 per cent each year.

The Victoria-based clinic, which describes itself as 'the country's most established IVF clinic and fertility program,' has also seen an increase in the number of social egg freezing cases due to greater education about long-term fertility options.
A doctor branded the rudest in Britain has been allowed to keep his job despite calling his patients 'fat, lazy benefit scroungers'.

The unnamed male medic was brought before the General Medical Council after bosses found his patients' medical records.

One of them described a soon-to-be-mother as: 'Pregnant... wants to go on benefits forever,' reports The Sun.

He said another patient's mental health struggles were down to 'stupidity, not depression'.

Describing another woman, he wrote: 'Liked me cos I didn't ridicule her for being a fat smoker - even though she is.'

The unnamed male medic was brought before the General Medical Council after records revealed he referred to his patients as 'fat' and 'lazy'. File image used

He was reported to the watchdog after complaints were made about him and fellow colleagues inspected his records.

The GMC decided he was not a risk to patient safety, but his 'record keeping in some cases was inappropriate'.

He was allowed to keep his job, but was disciplined for being 'unprofessional'.

In April last year Dr Khashayar Ghaharian, who ran a doctors surgery in Nottingham, was struck off for calling his patients 'f******' and 'pieces of s***'.

He also referred to the receptionist at the Wollaton Vale Health Centre a 'fat blob'.

A total of 22 allegations were proved against Dr Ghaharian concerning him threatening staff, using rude and offensive language towards his staff and to refer to his patients and asking a nurse to provide a false statement for him.

He was sacked by officials at the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service.
A generation of middle-aged people have been left living on their own because of the decline of marriage, an official analysis showed yesterday.

It found that one in eight people in their fifties and early sixties have never married  twice the level 15 years ago.

And despite the spread of cohabitation, more middle-aged people than ever are living alone.

The breakdown from the Office for National Statistics showed that more than a quarter of 50 to 64-year-olds do not live with a partner, up a fifth on the start of the century.

A generation of middle-aged people have been left living on their own because of the decline of marriage

The change threatens to impose a greater burden on public services because people living on their own cannot rely on a partner to help them in need.

Such worries have led Theresa May to appoint a minister for loneliness.

According to the report from the ONS, which was based on large-scale surveys, 12.9 per cent of people in England and Wales aged between 50 and 64 had never married last year, up from 6.1 per cent in 2002.

The ONS estimates that, in 2002, 21.7 per cent of people in the 50-64 age group were not living with a partner, either because they had never married or because they were divorced, and were not cohabiting.

By 2017 the share living alone had gone up to 25.7 per cent.

The report said: Marital status and living arrangements can have a bearing on demand for health and social care services, including the provision of informal care, and life expectancy.

Patricia Morgan, an academic and author on family issues, said: Each marriage is a mini welfare state. But when people are not providing for each other, they can become a big burden on the taxpayer.

People forget that those who live alone often have to be provided for by public services. There are other high costs to the growing number of people living alone  for example the need for housing  for rising numbers of single households.

The appointment of Tracey Crouch as loneliness minister was made in January

If people marry they not only have someone to support them, they also create relationships in a wider family, so they will have people on both sides ready to help if they need it.

Harry Benson, of the Marriage Foundation think-tank, said: As more and more couples live together without making the formal commitment of marriage, so will the level of family instability increase.

The result is many more adults in their older years living alone today compared with their counterparts in previous generations.

Loneliness is indeed a huge and troubling issue for many people. But as with so many other consequences of family breakdown, it will keep getting worse so long as we keep turning our backs on marriage.

Start valuing marriage again and we have a decent shot at turning the tide of loneliness.

Keep pretending unmarried cohabitation is OK and the tide of loneliness will continue to rise.

The ONS report said that just over half the population of England and Wales over the age of 16 in 2017 were married  51 per cent.

The level has dropped from 54.8 in 2002. A further 10 per cent of the adult population is cohabiting.

The appointment of Tracey Crouch as loneliness minister was made in January.
Former mining minister Ian MacDonald's wife Anita Gylseth (pictured) sent a list of complaints to the New South Wales premier including the hefty visiting bills

The wife of a jailed former Labor minister has sent a list of complaints about her husband's imprisonment to the New South Wales premier.

Ian Macdonald was jailed in June 2017 for a maximum of 10 years for criminal misconduct in the mining industry - something his wife Anita Gylseth believes is an injustice and inconvenience to her family.

Ms Gylseth sent a fuming email to NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian claiming her husband was being held in custody too far from her family home in the Blue Mountains, making the prison visits expensive and timely.

Ian Macdonald (pictured) was jailed in June 2017 for a maximum of 10 years for criminal misconduct in the mining industry

Ms Gylseth told Daily Mail Australia she visited her husband roughly once a fortnight, making it a costly exercise however, she wasn't 'the only one who travels to see their loved ones'.

The former bureaucrat said her family was suffering a 'nightmare' because her husband had been moved to correction centres in Junee and Cooma, both in NSW.

'(Cooma) is a nine-hour round trip or if I stayed overnight the cost of accommodation was added to the hefty fuel bill,' she wrote in an email last month obtained by Sydney Morning Herald.

'My husband is innocent and should not be in jail let alone be trucked all over the state to ensure maximum harm comes to his mental state and mine.'

The business owner confirmed she wrote an email to 'half a dozen' Labor MPs and liberal ministers in June.

'I never read a reply from anyone,' she said.

The former Labor minister's wife also claimed the 'email was leaked by a Labor member'.

Ms Gylseth told Daily Mail Australia she visited her husband (pictured in a blue tie) roughly once a fortnight, making it a costly exercise but she wasn't 'the only one who travels to see their loved ones'

In emails obtained by Fairfax Media, the criminal's wife said her family was suffering a 'nightmare' because Mr Macdonald had been moved to correction centres in Junee and Cooma (pictured), both in NSW

The former mining minister was put behind bars for giving a coal exploration licence to now jailed former boss union John Maitland.

Ms Gylseth said it was a 'mistake' to contact the particular parliament members after the government was 'deceived by a rogue organisation'.

'The bigger picture is what I perceive to be a Corrective Services department under immense pressure from cost cutting measures,' she told Daily Mail Australia.

The disgraced minister's wife wrote in the emails that Mr Macdonald's annual colonoscopy and hernia operation were overdue, according to Fairfax Media.

Ms Berejiklian would not comment on the matter.
A desperate search for a 15-year-old girl is continuing after she went missing almost two weeks ago.

Zoe Phelan was last seen in Hampton Park, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, on July 15.

Police are now seeking the public's help in locating the missing teenager.

Zoe Phelan (pictured) was last seen in Hampton Park, south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, on July 15

The girl's family and police are concerned for her safety due to her young age.

Zoe is described as 165cm tall with a thin build and long, straight hair.

She was last seen in an Adidas branded tracksuit, and may still be wearing it.

The teenager is known to frequently visit the Hampton Park, Narre Warren and Casey areas of Melbourne's south-east.

A photo of Zoe has been released as officers are desperate for information.

Police are hoping that someone recognises the image and can provide information on the teenager's whereabouts.

Police are urging anyone with information on Zoe's whereabouts over the last two weeks to contact Narre Warren Police Station.
The number of people leaving New South Wales and moving to other parts of Australia has reached its highest level in five years.

Figures from the Bureau of Statistics reveal that more people left NSW in 2016-17 than any other state in the country - with a net total of 15,160 people migrating to other states and territories.

While NSW endures its biggest loss of local residents since 2011-12, however, it is also enjoying Australia's largest influx from overseas migration, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The number of people leaving New South Wales and moving to other parts of Australia has reached its highest level in five years, with a net total of 15,160 people migrating to other states and territories

Meanwhile, the NSW population saw an increase of 104,500 from net overseas migration in 2016-17 - more than any other state

The NSW population saw an increase of 104,500 from net overseas migration in 2016-17 - more than any other state.

Next was Victoria, which received a population boost of 90,000.

Of those who left NSW for other parts of Australia, more came from three Sydney districts than any other comparable region.

More people departed from Sydney's inner-south west region (pictured) than anywhere else, with more than 29,000 departing for other areas

More than 29,000 people departed Sydney's inner-south west region; some 18,000 left the eastern suburbs; while Parramatta also suffered significant losses.

NSW's mass exodus meanwhile boosted the populations of other areas around Australia, with the Gold Coast in Queensland taking in more than 7000 new residents as a result of internal migration.

It was Victoria, however, that saw the biggest influx from internal migration, as a net total of 18,200 people moved there in 2016-17.
Selfie sticks are threatening one of the world's rarest penguins as tourists go too far to take the perfect Instagram shot.

The Department of Conservation (DOC) claims that rare yellow-eyed penguins at Katiki Point, New Zealand are being threatened by the tourism industry.

The penguins face stress when tourists enter nesting areas near Moeraki in Otago and exacerbate the problem.

Rare yellow-eyed penguins (pictured) found in New Zealand are dangerously threatened by the tourism industry claims the Department of Conservation (DOC)

Selfie sticks are partly to blame as tourists cause stress to the nesting penguins as they try and take the perfect shot (stock image)

'Poor use of selfie sticks and people entering nesting areas is causing stress to nesting penguins. This may also lead to adults delaying returning to their nests when people are present,' DOC's website reads.

'The presence of tourists can also affect chick survival rates and recruitment of new breeders.'

Bruce McKinlay the DOC technical advisor, species and ecosystems, said that visitors would poke their selfie sticks through a fence to get a photo right close into the nest of the penguins, Stuff reported.

'And that happened repeatedly throughout the breeding season ... for those site managers that was pretty traumatic,' he said.

Mickinlay said that a bad situation is getting worse as tourists share their pictures on the internet encouraging others and suggesting that their choices are acceptable.

Image from the DOC website shows tourists huddling around the endangered penguins (pictured)

'And you then have a real problem to roll back that culture or that expectation that people can actually stand in a photo with a penguin when it's on its way to its nest to feed its chicks or whatever,' he said.

The yellow-eyed penguin/hoiho Conservation status: ThreatenedNationally Endangered

Population: 6,0007,000 mature individuals in 2000

Found in: South-east South Island and on Banks Peninsula, Stewart Island/Rakiura and its outliers, Codfish Island/Whenua Hou, the Auckland Islands and Campbell Island

Threats: Dogs, human disturbance, fisheries interactions, predation, disease, habitat loss SOURCE: Department of Conservation Advertisement

'And everybody says 'Oh it's just me, it's just one person'. But if it happened every day, that's 100 or more interactions over a breeding season which cumulatively, can be quite significant.'

The manager of the charitable trust Penguin Rescue New Zealand, Rosalie Goldsworthy suggested that the selfie craze came from tourists wanting to make their photos more exciting with the penguins.

She said that the birds don't have the same 'fight or flight' mentality as other animals and instead freeze.

This dangerously suggests to tourists that they are happy to be there, encouraging the selfie craze.

Goldsworthy said that New Zealand has issues with international tourists who are enthusiastic to see wildlife like penguins but are often unprepared with how to appropriately engage with the animals.

It's not just selfie-sticks that are endangering the future of the penguins as compounded human behaviour are also impacting the birds.
Tiffany Trump and Lindsay Lohan been spotted partying together a fundraiser for the Greek wildfires on the picturesque Greek island of Mykonos.

The president's youngest daughter, and the actress are old friends and have posted screengrabs of themselves chatting over FaceTime since Lohan's move to Dubai.

Tiffany's best friend Andrew Warren revealed in an Instagram post last month that the trio were planning a trip to Mykonos - where Lohans' second club, the Lohan Beach House Mykonos, opened earlier this year.

On Friday night, the Mean Girls star posted a photo of herself with Tiffany and Warren at Nammos restaurant, with multiple heart emojis, and the hashtags #mykonos #america.

Tiffany Trump and Lindsay Lohan been spotted partying together a fundraiser for the Greek wildfires on the picturesque Greek island of Mykonos

She also tagged Tiffany's father Donald Trump in the caption.

Warren also shared the photo, adding: 'So happy to be @nammosmykonos to support the fires happening, love a good cause with my favorites.'

The photo showed a smiling Tiffany in the center, wearing a black, slinky buttoned up dress which gaped and strained around every button.

Warren, to her left, pouts in a Louis Vuitton headband with his arms wrapped round her waist. Meanwhile, Lohan, on her right, looks uncomfortable, and grimaces at the camera.

On Friday night, the Mean Girls star posted a photo of herself with Tiffany and Warren at Nammos restaurant, with multiple heart emojis, and the hashtags #mykonos #america

Warren also shared the photo, adding: 'So happy to be @nammosmykonos to support the fires happening, love a good cause with my favorites'

Warren also congratulated Lohan on her new Greek club in another post

The actress is wearing a Greco-inspired red dress and big hoops, which she paired with red lipstick.

Lindsay, 31, has spoken about her friendship with Tiffany, who is enjoying a summer overseas after completing her second semester at Georgetown University Law School in D.C., in the past.

'[She's] a really sweet girl,' she said of Tiffany in a New York Times profile. 'Nice person.'

Back in April, Lohan shared a screenshot of herself talking to Tiffany over FaceTime and last month, Warren shared another where she mentioned the pair were planning a trip to Mykonos.

Catching up: The two friends have FaceTimed each other with their mutual friend Andrew Warren, and he captioned a screenshot of their recent call 'Planning mykonos' (left)

Lohan has also expressed her support for Tiffany's father Donald Trump.

'THIS IS our president,' Lohan tweeted. 'Stop #bullying him & start trusting him. Thank you personally for supporting #THEUSA,' she tweeted.

During a Facebook Live Q&A session with the Daily Mail in February 2017 too, Lohan urged Americans to 'join him', adding: 'I think always in the public eye you're going to get scrutinized. He is the president  we have to join him. If you can't beat him, join him.'

While Lohan partied the night away, her father was having a domestic dispute with his wife.

Michael Lohans father called 911 early Friday morning, telling the operator his wife Kate was 'drunk' when she smashed his cellphone and then hurled a glass candle holder at him, causing a laceration to his arm.

Kate Major Lohan, 35, was arrested at her husbands Boca Raton, Florida, home on a charge of battery after the alleged altercation.

On his call to the police placed just minutes after the couple's quarrel, Michael Lohan, 58, declares: my wifes drunk... she just threw a glass candle [holder] and cut my arm.

He then goes on to elaborate that his spouse of nearly four years had been 'drinking in a room' prior to the violent outburst.

Meanwhile, Tiffany has been making the most of her summer break from school, partying in the Hamptons, visiting Trump Winery in Virginia and catching up with her mother Marla Maples during a trip to the UK, where they enjoyed a quiet weekend in the picturesque English countryside before partying in London.

Tiffany has been making the most of her summer break from school, partying in the Hamptons, visiting Trump Winery in Virginia and catching up with her mother Marla Maples during a trip to the UK (pictured)

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

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

She's now enjoying a break on the picturesque Greek island with Lohan and Warren at her club.

Meanwhile, her sister Ivanka has been busy celebrating her friend's engagement to her husband's brother.

First daughter Ivanka Trump wrote on model Karlie Kloss's Instagram post, announcing her engagement to Joshua Kusner, that she was '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.
I grew up on a farm, I own farm land. One thing I can tell you about farmers is that every time they get an opportunity they look to the east toward Washington and ask for money. Right now everyone is all excited about the soybean prices. The President is talking about an aid package. This makes me laugh. Seriously, it is funny. Why has no one not even bothered to look at the historical pricing of soybeans?Soybeans Price History Data (USD cents per bushel, aop)2013 2014 2015 2016 2017Soybeans 1419.78 1250.72 936.31 968.21 944.71Take a note of 2014-2015. That is a 3.14 per bushel drop in a years time.Currently soybeans are at 8.70 a bushelThat is a .74 drop from last year. The largest current drop occured in 2014 to 2015. Where was all the crying then in the msm? Oh, yeah you want sources. Here you goHave a neat chart to go with it
Labour has suspended a councillor over an anti-Semitic online post claiming Jews drink blood and sexually abuse children.

Damien Enticott is said to have posted the video on his Facebook account, referring to 'Talmud Jews' as 'parasites'.

The post also said they were child rapists and called for them to be executed.

A Labour source said he had been suspended pending an investigation.

Damien Enticott is said to have posted the video on his Facebook account, and then wrote a post referring to 'Talmud Jews' as 'parasites'

Mr Enticott, who sits on Bognor Regis town council in West Sussex, denied he had posted the clip, suggesting one of his housemates may have shared it in his name.

The incident comes amid an ongoing row within Labour over its decision not to fully adopt an internationally-recognised definition of anti-Semitism as part of a new code of conduct.

The post emerged as a screengrab shared on Twitter by former Labour councillor Adam Langleben. It showed a video titled 'Jewish ritual: They drink blood' and also included a sickening obscenity.

The comment above read: 'This is done only by Talmud Jews. Talmud Jews are parasites!

Mr Enticott, who sits on Bognor Regis town council in West Sussex, denied he had posted the clip, suggesting one of his housemates may have shared it in his name

'They also believe any child over 3 years old that isn't a Jew should be treated like a parasite, they believe it is ok to even rape that child it's is worthless [sic]. To treat a non Jew decently means that you are as bad as them. All Talmuds need executing!'

The Talmud is the source from which Jewish law is derived.

A Labour spokesman said: 'The Labour Party is committed to challenging and campaigning against [anti-Semitism] in all its forms.

'Complaints about anti-Semitism are fully investigated in line with our rules and procedures and any appropriate disciplinary action is taken.'

Mr Enticott told the Jewish Chronicle he had not posted the video and added that he lived in a shared house and had taken his passwords off the computer.

He said: 'The statement that was made wasn't by myself. I don't share anti-Semitic views at all.'

Jeremy Corbyn was yesterday accused by a leading international Jewish group of being 'unable and unwilling to confront anti-Semitism' in his party.

Cr Enticott was suspended by the Labour Party over the post

The European Jewish Congress said his claim that he is committed to fighting racism 'rings hollow' in light of the ongoing feud over changes to the party's code of conduct on tackling anti-Jewish abuse.

Dr Moshe Kantor, the group's president, voiced fears that 'the possible future Prime Minister of Britain' was failing to properly deal with the issue.

With this latest row emerging on Facebook, the internet giant continues to face accusations of not doing enough to take down anti-Semitic posts.

A newspaper report said posts claiming Jews are 'barbaric and unsanitary' remained on the site despite being flagged. Facebook says that it is committed to removing posts that are reported.
Facebook, Google and Twitter face the threat of new taxes to combat fake news, amid warnings the phenomenon is putting democracy at risk.

Leaked reports suggest MPs will call for a major clampdown on the social media giants to protect the Wests democratic processes.

The culture, media and sport committee, which has conducted a lengthy inquiry into fake news, is expected to call for social media firms to be made legally liable for harmful and illegal content on their platforms.

Facebook, Google and Twitter face the threat of new taxes to combat fake news, amid warnings the phenomenon is putting democracy at risk.

It is also expected to propose a levy on the firms to raise funds for combating fake news, and say social media and data protection lessons should be on the national curriculum.

MPs are expected to accuse the internet giants of acting irresponsibly over what happens to the data collected by their sites. And they will warn that peoples behaviour is being modified and changed by the content on social media sites, in an environment where there is little regulation.

What is expected in the clampdown on social media giants? All online political material should include information on who paid for it

The Electoral Commission should be given powers to impose substantially higher fines for breaches of election law than the current 20,000 limit

Social media firms should be made responsible for the content on their platforms for the first time

Regulators should carry out an audit of all social media advertising to assess its accuracy.

The committee is expected to warn that social media is being used to manipulate peoples views in a wide range of fields, including spreading messages of hate Advertisement

The committee is also expected to criticise social media firms for time and again refusing to co-operate with the authorities, saying they should no longer be allowed to mark their own homework.

But the report is set to spark a major row with Brexit campaigners, whose activities on social media are likely to come under scrutiny. Former Vote Leave chief Dominic Cummings, who is set to be criticised for failing to give evidence on his campaigning techniques, last night launched a pre-emptive strike.

Mr Cummings leaked a draft version of the report on his website and rounded on the MPs behind it, who he described as charlatans. He said the report knowingly or incompetently makes false claims.

MPs are set to warn that the relentless targeting of hyper-partisan views, which play to the fears and prejudices of people in order to influence their voting plans and behaviour pose a serious risk to democracy.

The social media giants are set to face criticism for trying to hide behind claims they have no role in regulating the contents of their sites.

Concern about fake news has spread in recent years. US campaigners have accused Moscow of spreading disinformation on social media in a bid to boost Donald Trumps election campaign, while the United Nations has accused Facebook of being responsible for inciting hatred against the Rohingya minority in Burma.
Can you imagine what Ant McPartlins estranged wife Lisa Armstrong must have been feeling when she saw him pictured out at the weekend with his new girlfriend?

It must have torn her heart out.

Not just because the girlfriend, Anne-Marie Corbett, had been Ants personal assistant  someone she welcomed into their home and described on social media as her homie or mate.

But also because the couple were dining at a restaurant in Wimbledon, where Ant and Lisa used to live as husband and wife.

Can you imagine what Ant McPartlins estranged wife Lisa Armstrong (pictured together) must have been feeling when she saw him pictured out at the weekend with his new girlfriend?

Worse, they were joined by Ants TV partner Declan Donnelly and his pregnant wife Ali Astall  two people Lisa had for years considered her closest friends.

Lisa wouldnt be human if she were not thinking of the countless times she, rather than Anne-Marie, had been in that foursome: two couples, on a night out. She has good reason to feel betrayed by everyone in that dining party.

But its Ant who is the real villain. For 24 years, he and Lisa had been inseparable and shed always stood by him.

Ant McPartlin leaving Wimbledon Magistrates Court after being charged with drink driving

Then came his mid-life crisis and dalliance with drink and prescription drugs and he callously dumped her, took up with Anne-Marie and is now said to be demanding Lisa signs divorce papers so he can get on with his life.

Hes apparently prepared to be generous with his estimated 70 million fortune in any settlement. How very magnanimous! Isnt it their money, not his?

Lisa worked throughout their marriage and is a highly regarded make-up artist on shows such as Strictly Come Dancing.

The truth, I suspect, is that behind Ants carefully cultivated, family-friendly, wholesome, cheeky-chappy image lies an utterly selfish, unpleasant man possessed of a monumental disregard for others.

This, remember, is someone who endangered lives when he crashed into two cars while drunk.

And yet he is still treated as a victim suffering from an illness. Only this week, his boss at ITV, Carolyn McCall, said Ant will not be back on TV until he is well and fit enough.

Theres nothing wrong with Ant other than his appalling self-regard.As for victims, theres only one in this story  his loyal wife Lisa.

A 66-year-old divorcee who loaned her 29-year-old lover 500,000 to buy a flat has taken him to the High Court to retrieve the money.

Christiane Shellard met the young Romanian, Cristian Mihalea, when he was working as a man-with-a-van.

Do they have courts for abject stupidity?

Honour our war heroine

Mary Ellis died this week aged 101.

The farmers daughter flew more than 1,000 aircraft, including Spitfires and Wellington bombers during World War II.

Nearly one in ten of her fellow Air Transport Auxiliary pilots were killed.

In a Kim Kardashian world of feminist gesture politics, how wonderful it would be if this true heroine, who courageously smashed through male barriers driven by duty to her country, could be honoured, say, on our 5 note.

Trouble is todays snowflake feminazis would no doubt denounce Mary as an Imperialist warmonger.

Don't try so hard Meghan

The 3,900 outfit was over the top, the lingering kiss that copied Diana pure Hollywood.

The 3,900 outfit was over the top, the lingering kiss that copied Diana pure Hollywood

And the ostentatious displays of affection  stroking Prince Harrys back and sticking her thumb in his trouser belt?

Well, what can I say apart from observing that this is one hell of a calculating broad.

And those 6 in stilettos were not only inappropriate for walking on grass at a polo match staged for Harrys charity in Africa  they made her skinny legs look like polo mallets.

There was anger after a primary school asked children to walk on the hottest day of the year to show solidarity with refugees.

Next, theyll be asking kids to cling to the underside of camper vans for four days as illegal stowaways.

Im with Tory minister Esther McVey when she says teenagers should get a summer job.

You learn a lot about work, she said. Indeed. In Woolworths, at 14, I learnt how hard it was to stand behind a counter for eight hours.

At 17, I learned I never again wanted to wipe bottoms in an old persons home.

At university I was a cleaner for a posh professors wife and learned how to make the perfect Bechamel sauce.

All of which made me perfectly qualified to be, er, a journalist.

The fleet from Elle

Hold the front page! Elle The Body Macpherson is not perfect.

The woman created in the image of Eve has ugly feet.

Elle Macpherson, aka The Body, enjoying a swim on the beach in Sydney, Australia, this year

Its like discovering a diamond on the Queens Coronation crown is flawed: Elle posted a picture of her feet during her holiday

Its like discovering a diamond on the Queens Coronation crown is flawed.

That said, I could live with Elles kind of imperfection  if I had everything else she did.

Sadiq Khan wants to reduce the speed limit all over London to 20 mph to save pedestrians lives.

Will someone tell this moronic Mayor that tens of thousands die every year from inhaling car exhaust fumes and the most polluting speed for vehicles is 10mph to 20mph  at which speed theyll pump the maximum amount of toxic particles into the lungs of our children.

Launching her new swimwear range, Liz Hurley advises women about to go on holiday to slap on the self-tan and parade around in front of their bathroom mirror in their new bikini to get used to it.

Liz Hurley, who is launching her new swimwear range

Crikey! If I did that, Id never even go to a beach except in a burkini.

A new survey reveals that having children accelerates a womans ageing and death by two years per child.

Which seems unfair, but Id happily have knocked off ten years from my life for the five kids I always dreamed of having... but never could.

Westminster wars

Barely a year since she caused a major upset in the 2017 general election, winning her Peterborough seat by just 607 voters, Labours darling Fiona Onasanya is accused of perverting the course of justice by lying about a speeding ticket.

She claimed a man was at the wheel of the car.

If found guilty, she could indulge her love of reading and take a copy of Prisonomics to clink.

Its by speeding ticket fraudster Chris Huhnes ex-wife, Vicky Pryce.

She won the leadership in a one-horse race, screwed up the election and botched Brexit.

Now Theresa May tells the nation she is taking personal control of the EU negotiations.

Perhaps thats why the latest poll shows, for the first time, that a majority of Brits now want a second referendum on Brexit.

Bowing to pressure, ITV bosses say they may stop breast-enhancing surgery ads during their mega-hit series Love Island.

Wheres the fun in that?

The show without its surgically enhanced females would be flatter than last weeks party balloons.

Nominated for the music industrys Mercury Prize, ditzy, refugee-hugging Lily Allen says people are amazed at how raw and honest her new album No Shame is.

But if you hold it up to Billie Holiday or Ella Fitzgerald, its like no, not very.

Such false modesty! Truth is, shes got no more soul than Lily Savage.

Pippa's keeping mum

Six months pregnant and extolling the virtues of exercise to keep fit, Pippa Middleton says swimming is perfect.

Kicking your legs meaningfully is great to tone the bum.

Thats up there with tips in her book Celebrate, which one critic described as perfect for anyone who needs a recipe for making ice.

Yet give Pippa her due. She has never said anything but lovely things about her sister, Kate  a recipe, perhaps, for family unity that Meghans horrible siblings could learn from.
The Obama administration approved a $200,000 grant to a group affiliated with Al Qaeda, a conservative think tank announced this week.

Although Obama's presidency targeted Al Qaeda and brought the demise of its leader Osama bin Laden, the government still provided a grant in 2014 that provided funds to the Islamic Relief Agency (ISRA), which is based in Sudan and affiliated with the terror group.

Not only did the government provide the grant, it also knew the ISRA was designated as a terror-financing organization a decade earlier in October 2004 for ties to bin Laden.

The grant was exposed by the Middle East Forum as reported by the National Review.

In March 2014 the Obama Administration approved a $200,000 grant to the Islamic Relief Agency (ISRA) based in Sudan with ties to Osama bin Laden

The March 2014 grant was a part of a $723,405 sum awarded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to evangelical charity World Vision - with $200,000 of the funds directed to the Islamic Relief Agency in Sudan's capital Khartoum.

The money was awarded to the charity 'to help provide humanitarian aid, including emergency food, water, sanitation, and hygiene services, to displaced people affected by the ongoing conflict in Sudan'.

Afterwards the USAID told World Vision to 'suspend all activities with ISRA' in November 2014 and the two organizations waited for the Office of Foreign Assets Control (USFAC) to confirm whether ISRA was on the terror list or not.

As World Vision waited for a reply, the senior director announced that the charity intended to continue working with the ISRA if the government didn't reply within a week.

Eventually the Office of Foreign Assets Control replied and said ISRA was a sanctioned entity in February 2015.

But soon afterwords World Vision wrote to the Obama administration asking to pay ISRA 'monies owed for work performed'.

A decade earlier, the ISRA was designated as a terror-financing organization with ties to bin Laden

By May 2015 the Office of Foreign Assets Control authorized the 'one-time transfer of approximately $125,000 to ISRA.'

A World Vision official called the move a 'great relief as ISRA had become restive and had threatened legal action, which would have damaged our reputation and standing in Sudan.'

According to the National Review, the charity and the USAID director in Sudan pressured for the payment to take place as it could have jeopardized the program in the North African country.

'Obama-administration officials knowingly approved the transfer of taxpayer dollars to an al-Qaeda affiliate, and not an obscure one but an enormous international network that was often in the headlines,' the National Review reported.

'More stunningly, government officials specifically authorized the release of at least $115,000 of this grant even after learning that it was a designated terror organization,' the article stated.

Following the bombshell discovery, the USAID says it has since reviewed its policies and that the transaction took place during Obama's time in office.

'As this occurred under the prior administration, the current Secretary of the State, Secretary of Treasury, and USAID Administrator had no involvement in decisions surrounding this award or subsequent license,' State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said to Fox on Friday.
The family of the heavily pregnant woman who was allegedly stabbed multiple times during a violent invasion have spoken about the horrific ordeal.

Pei-Jiun Cheah, a physiotherapist and Pilates instructor, was allegedly stabbed in the chest, stomach and arm - missing the baby by just centimetres, in Sydney's northern suburbs.

The 33-year-old's family released a statement two days after the incident confirming the expectant mother and unborn baby were both in stable condition.

Pei-Jiun Cheah, a physiotherapist and pilates instructor, moved into the home in Mt Colah, northern Sydney, just six months ago - and was home alone when she was stabbed

The alleged intruder was charged with attempted murder on Friday night and refused bail (pictured is the door of the home)

'We can confirm that Pei-Jiun is in a stable condition, including the child she is carrying, and is being monitored by the excellent doctors and health care professionals at Royal North Shore Hospital,' they said in a statement.

The family described the alleged attack as 'senseless, terrible and random act of violence'.

'We would like to once more please request that the family be given the respect and privacy so that they can focus on Pei-Jiun's full recovery,' the family said.

The statement comes as just hours after a 14-year-old teenager was charged with attempted murder by NSW Police. He was arrested shortly after the mother-to-be collapsed in a pool of blood screaming for help.

Detectives took him into custody after arresting him at his family home, which was less than two kilometres from the scene of the stabbing, 7 News reported.

Ms Cheah and her husband moved into the house in Mt Colah, in Sydney's north, just six months ago - and she was home alone when she was attacked.

The teenager was charged with attempted murder, special aggravated break and enter and commit serious indictable offence, and wound person with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

He was refused bail to appear in court on Saturday July 28.

Pictured: The 14-year-old boy who allegedly stabbed a 33-year-old pregnant woman during a horrifying home invasion

A neighbour of the teenager who allegedly committed the brutal crime told Daily Mail Australia police were helped by a tip-off from the boy's parents.

'He went straight home, and was covered in blood,' the neighbour said.

'That's how the police got him so quickly, there is no other way they could have unless his parents called them,' he said.

The neighbour said the family is 'quiet and hardworking, but mostly keep to themselves'.

'I would smile and wave at the family but didn't know them much other than that.'

The man said he has seen the boy on and off, walking home from school, and thought he seemed nice.

He also said the neighbourhood was shocked to hear he was the boy accused of the stabbing.

Ms Cheah, who is 20-weeks' pregnant, was stabbed repeatedly in the chest, stomach and arm about 9pm on Thursday night after interrupting an alleged home invasion.

It's alleged she was able to wrestle the knife from her attacker before he fled the scene.

Ms Cheah then mustered enough strength to make her way to a neighbour's house where she was found at their door in a pool of her own blood.

Ms Cheah's neighbours came to her aid after they heard her screaming.

Joanna Diment said she and her husband Adam held the woman as she bled profusely.

Pei-Jiun Cheah, a physiotherapist and pilates instructor, moved into the home in Mt Colah just six months ago - and was home-alone when she was stabbed

Pei-Jiun Cheah, a physiotherapist and pilates instructor, managed to stumble to her neighbour's front door before collapsing in a pool of her own blood

'She was just slumped in the doorway, I think she was holding her side, they put blankets around her,' Mrs Diment told The Daily Telegraph.

Neighbour Mark Bolger said Ms Cheah was begging for help.

'She was totally distressed, we were trying to ask her questions to find out other information, she was so stressed she couldn't speak,' he said.

'She was saying 'help me, help me'.'

Neighbour Sep Mokhberi told Daily Mail Australia the street was on edge the morning after the attack.

'It scares you, so close to home  it is very out of the ordinary - this is a nice neighbourhood,' he said.

Ms Cheah was stabbed repeatedly in the chest, stomach and arm at about 9pm on Thursday night after interrupting an alleged home invasion

Forensic police are pictured at the northern Sydney home where the 33-year-old woman was stabbed during a violent home invasion

Mr Bolger said he phoned Triple 0 and stayed with the woman until paramedics arrived.

'She was very stressed, very, very, very stressed, which she would be you know, home by herself,' he told Seven News.

The woman was rushed to Royal North Shore Hospital, where she remains in a stable condition.

The condition of her unborn baby is unknown, however Ms Cheah was stabbed in the chest and stomach, missing the baby.

When the 14-year-old boy's father was approached on Friday he said he was disappointed in his son, who he claimed had never been violent.

Police at the scene after a 20-weeks' pregnant woman was stabbed multiple times at a home in Mt Colah

The alleged intruder is under police guard at Hornsby Hospital awaiting surgery for wounds to his hands.

Others appeared to have already deleted the young man off social media, despite his personal details being protected for legal reasons.

Blood stains reportedly remain on the doorstep of the neighbour's home, where the 33-year-old begged for help.
Robert Wheeler (pictured), 24, was arrested after fleeing from the cops earlier in the week

Two additional suspects have been arraigned on charges linked to the discovery of two bodies found under a door floating in the Flint River in eastern Michigan.

WJRT-TV reports that 16-year-old Cheveyo Molina was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and using a firearm to commit a felony.

Melinda Kelly, 47, was charged with felony counts of tampering with evidence and being an accessory after the fact to a felony. They were arrested Sunday.

Twenty-four-year-old Robert Wheeler was arrested at the scene when the bodies were found July 12.

According to WJRT-TV, Kelly is Wheeler's mother and both share the same home address. He faces two counts of first-degree murder, tampering with evidence and using a firearm to commit a felony.

Police say the victims were 32-year-old Rodney Harden Jr. and 19-year-old Tedmundo Meeks, both of Flint. Police haven't said how they died.

Police say that 16-year-old Cheveyo Molina was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and using a firearm to commit a felony

Tedmundo Meeks (pictured), 19, was found in in the Flint River along with 32-year-old Rodney Harden Jr. earlier this week

Kelly's bail was set at $50,000 and remains in custody following her arraignment, according to WJRT, while Molina was not offered bond.

Police say the three suspects are the main targets of their investigation and have no plans to pursue other suspects.

Court records show that one of the bodies was found underneath a door floating in the water by a fisherman sailing around the Flint River near the I-475 overpass.

Fire and rescue units in Flint found the second body underneath the first when it was pulled out of the water.

It remains unclear how the two men died. A coroner's report is expected to be released in the coming days.

Authorities said that they later found a grave-sized hole allegedly dug by the three suspects located in a heavily wooded area about 50 feet from the Flint River Trail, WJRT-TV reported.

Wheller was arrested on July 12 after attempting to avoid capture and flee the scene of the incident.

Molina and Kelly were arrested Sunday when local law enforcement raided a residence on Broadway Boulevard.
New Zealand's acting prime minister has suggested that Australia should change its flag to include a big kangaroo.

Over the past week, Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters has repeatedly claimed that Australia should change the flag they've been using for more than six decades.

Mr Peters decided to offer his creative input on Saturday, suggesting that the flag should showcase the nation's famous fauna.

'I think we've even already got the solution for them, if you like: Probably a big kangaroo, like the maple leaf in Canada,' he told Newshub Nation.

Acting Prime Minister Winston Peters has suggested that Australia should change its flag to include a big kangaroo (stock image)

Over the past week, Peters (pictured) has repeatedly slammed Australia for 'copying' their national flag

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'

Mr Peters, who is filling in for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern while she is on maternity leave, was a fierce opponent of changing New Zealand's flag during their 2016 referendum.

'In 1901, we adopt our flag. In 1954, they adopt a flag that is almost identical to ours. The facts speak for themselves,' Mr Peters said on Saturday.

'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 previously 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.

Mr Peters said that it's very confusing at the Olympic Games or the Commonwealth Games as the flags similarities make it hard to determine which nation won which medal.

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 repeated comments come 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.'
An Aer Lingus pilot has found himself in a crabby exchange with a New York air traffic controller after the two men started arguing about the best flight route to take.

The tense exchange, which was recorded on the radio, started just moments after the Irish pilot took off from JFK airport en route to Dublin on Sunday.

The pilot was made to circle around the airport for an hour by the air traffic controller after opting not to take the flight path because he thought the weather conditions were unsafe.

An Aer Lingus pilot got into a heated exchange with an air traffic controller after he was made to circle around New York's JFK airport for an hour on Sunday after takeoff

In the three minutes of audio, the air traffic controller can be heard radioing the Aer Lingus flight - referred to as Shamrock 104 Heavy - after takeoff.

The pilot was supposed to take off and fly left across the Atlantic, but he spotted a storm in that direction and opted to head straight while he awaited further instructions.

The controller appeared to become agitated as he told the pilot that all other flights had flown through the storm, insisting that it was 'lightest category'.

'Shamrock 104 Heavy, it's light. I have six categories of weather here, that's the lightest category. I've had no adverse ride reports south of the airport by 10 miles,' the controller said.

A flight tracker shows the Aer Lingus flight repeatedly circling the airport as a new route is worked out.

The pilot was made to circle around the airport for an hour by the air traffic controller after opting not to take the flight path because he thought the weather conditions were unsafe

The controller appeared to become agitated as he told the pilot that all other flights had flown through the storm, insisting that it was 'lightest category'

When the pilot questioned why he couldn't fly in one certain direction, the controller said: 'You've got yourself in this position'

After going back and forth, the pilot was finally given the all clear to carry on.

'Before I go, we didn't create any situation, we flew the aircraft in a safe manner and my boss will be in contact with your boss. Good day,' the pilot said.

The controller hit back: 'Everybody on the airport is turning left. I mean, there's not too many options here in New York.'

The audio finishes with the pilot saying: 'It's not my first day in New York, it's not my first day in an aircraft. I did what I had to do. Good day.'
Victorians have recorded a loss of almost $2.7billion on pokie machines in the last financial year, the highest in a decade.

New research from the Victorian Commission for Gambling and Liquor Regulation (VCGLR) shows that the losses on Victoria's 26,384 poker machines is the most since 2008-2009.

It is also an increase of almost $90million from last year.

The record losses comes despite additional funding of more than $11million to the VCGLR, designed to promote the presence of responsible gambling in regional areas.

Victorians have registered a loss of nearly $2.7billion on poker machines in the last financial year, the most in a decade (stock image)

Just over $11million, to be distributed over four years, was given to the VCGLR in the 2017/18 State Budget to increase its presence in regional Victoria.

This resulted in responsible gaming centres being opened in regional towns of Ararat and Sale in March.

The VCGLR says that being locally operated will allow regulators to build a rapport with the community.

Grants of $250,000 have been made available for gambling harm prevention projects in regional Victoria since March by the Victorian Responsible Gambling Foundation.

Despite this, the VCGLR data shows that $80million was lost on electronic gaming machines in regional Victoria in 2017-18, up nearly $3million from the previous year.

Regional areas are being hit harder than before, even though more funding is going into preventative programs

The record losses generated $1.1billion in taxes for the Victorian Government, which doesn't even factor in the 2600 poker machines at Crown Casino (pictured)

The record losses generated $1.1billion in taxes for the Victorian Government, which doesn't even factor in Crown Casino's 2600 poker machines.

The hardest hit area was Brimbank, north-west of Melbourne, which lost $139.5 million to poker machines.

Brimbank includes suburbs like St Albans and Sunshine North, where median incomes are about $230 a week less than the average wage for Victoria.

The Epping Plaza Hotel in Melbourne's north was the only venue to have more than $20million in losses on its 100 machines.

The Epping Plaza Hotel (pictured) recorded losses of $20.8million on their 100 pokie machines

Tim Costello blames a 'dirty deal' between both political parties last year for the spike in losses

WHAT'S IN PLACE TO PREVENT PROBLEM GAMBLING? All gaming venue employees working in gaming machine areas undertake Responsible Service of Gaming training This certifies that an individual can identify the signs of problem gambling and act to prevent them Gambler's help hotlines and counselling must be clearly displayed Venues must have a voluntary self-exclusion program ATMs cannot be within view of poker machines Advertisement

Despite a state government stance that they are committed to regulating and enforcing responsible gambling, Tim Costello, the director of the Alliance for Gambling Reform, blames them for the monumental losses, ABC reports.

'We don't say use ice responsibly. Well, pokies are the ice of gambling.'

Licenses for poker machine venues were extended from 10 to 20 years following a vote from both major parties last year.

The deal means that venues will be fully licensed to own and operate poker machines until 2042.

In a press conference on the steps of Victorian parliament, Mr Costello called for a reform to poker machine legislation.



The VCGLR has been approached for comment.
Telstra customers were left exposed after a 63-year-old man managed to access the personal details of 66,000 users - with a simple search.

Robert Irvine stumbled across the information when he logged into his Telstra account to fix his email he was having issues with.

Irvine searched the term 'email' where he found 66,500 results that included names, addresses, email addresses, phone numbers and even employment information of Telstra customers.

The layman admitted his shock to 9news claiming he's not 'tech-savvy person.'

Robert Irvine (pictured), 63, was shocked to find that he could access the personal details of 66,000 Telstra customers

The first Telstra customer he found worked for the Department of Defence (pictured)

He said he checked the unbelieveable finding a couple of times to make sure he didn't access the information by accident.

Irvine also tested that the easily accessible information was accurate by contacting his first result - a man employed by the Department of Defence.

'I got through to his phone and I got his answering machine. So I didn't speak to him but I checked that this was all real,' he said.

Kimberley Cox, a victim of the privacy breach, said that she was in shock that Irvine could access her details.

'I didn't get contacted by [Telstra] at all or notified that this has happened. How does something like this even happen? Especially in today's world where we have all these great privacy acts,' she said.

Kimberley Cox (pictured) said she was shocked to find out that Irvine could access her details

Telstra are investigating the data breach and pulled down their site 'Your Telstra Tools' after they received alerts about the incident.

'We will keep that site and access to that service down for all of our customers until we are fully satisfied that any and all issues have been resolved,' said Michael Ackland, Telstra Head of Sales and Service.

Telstra admitted that two other people were able to access the details of customers but only 18 files were actually viewed.

The company apologised for the issues and said they were contacting the customers who had been impacted.
We are now at one of those points. With the revelation on CNN Thursday night that, according to the networks sources, Michael Cohen is ready to testify that the *president* knew in advance of the now-legendary meeting in June of 2016 at which individuals connected to the Russian government offered to ratfck Hillary Rodham Clintons campaign for him, we stand as a self-governing republic at a stark, unclouded moment-either you believe the president* of the United States is utterly illegitimate, having conspired with a hostile power to gain the office he now holds, and that every act he has taken in that office, up to an including swearing the oath of office, is equally illegitimate, or you do not.It is now a binary. If Cohen is willing to testify to that effect, then the president* conspired with the regime of Vladimir Putin in order to gain control over the executive branch of government in this country-which includes not only the military, but the law-enforcement and intelligence apparatus as well. We are now at yes-or-no.From CNN:Lawyer up, junior. Theres still room under the bus.Return with us, for a moment, to July 24, 1974. The Supreme Court has just ruled, by an 8-0 majority, that the White House had to surrender certain tape recordings to the Watergate special prosecution force. One of these tapes contained a conversation between President Richard Nixon and his chief of staff, H.R. Haldeman, from June 23, 1972, six days after four burglars in the employ of Nixons re-election campaign had been arrested in the offices of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate office complex. It was the first time the president and his top advisor had met since the botched burglary.It had been Nixons position all along that he had not learned the facts about Watergate until a meeting with White House counsel John Dean in March of 1973.You all know what's coming, right?According to The Final Days, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernsteins account of the Watergate denouement, WH attorney Buzhardt went to then-chief of staff Alexander Haig.Well, weve found the smoking pistol, he began. His voice was calm and emotionless.Are you sure? Haig asked.[Haldeman] told him a lot that day.That was their yes-or-no moment. Two years of ducking and weaving. Two years of legal rope-a-dope. Two years of increasingly implausible alibis as half the White House staff either were convicted or pled themselves into jail. It all came to this. It wasnt easy. (Woodward and Bernstein point out that Buzhardt at first had the devils own time getting anyone to agree with him about the June 23 tape.) But, by August, there was a new president of the United States because, ultimately, people stood at the yes-or-no moment and did what was best for the country.There's more: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/cohen-telling-truth-ought-ballgame-130700955.html
A year's worth of research and collaboration between a chocolatier and a coder has aimed to prove that data really can be tasty.

Chocolatier Jenifer Lo of Bakedown Cakery came together with data visualisation specialists Small Multiples to create a box of chocolates that represents Sydney's culturally diverse suburbs.

The pair aimed to embed Sydney's ancestries into 12 bonbons in the data-driven chocolate box named 'Not a Single Origin'.

The project explored the relationship with ethnicity, population and taste.

A year's worth of research and collaboration between a chocolatier and a coder has aimed to prove that data really can be tasty

Chocolatier Jenifer Lo came together with Small Multiples to create a box of chocolates that represents Sydney's culturally diverse suburbs

Posting to her Instagram, Jenifer said that the project represents the 'ethically diverse nature of Sydney', based on data from the 2016 Australian census.

Along with data visualiser Jack Zhao, they combined data, flavour and 3D printing into each of the box's 'bite sized explosions'.

The concept, originating from data and algorithms, used 3D printing techniques to visualise each suburb on their respective chocolate, 'bringing the streets to your tastebuds'.

After analysing the Australian Bureau of Statistics' data from the 2016 Census, 12 Sydney suburbs were revealed as having the most prevalent cultural saturation.

Each suburb-themed chocolate created by Jenifer highlights flavours from the most dominant ethnic backgrounds in each location.

Suburbs include Rooty Hill and its Filipino influence, Concord and its predominantly Italian influence, and Manly with its mainly Scottish residents.

'We have used taste to help people experience the extraordinary diversity in Australia's most populous city, with the goal of making data delicious and turning this idea into bite-sized pieces for 'Not a Single Origin',' Jack said in a statement.

Each suburb-themed chocolate created by Jenifer highlights flavours from the most dominant ethnic backgrounds in each location

Suburbs include Rooty Hill and its Filipino influence, Concord and its predominantly Italian influence, and Manly with its mainly Scottish residents

Capturing the story of Sydney's five million residents, the diversity of the city is celebrated in the delicious box of chocolates.

'This project has shown us that no matter where you live, from Concord to Cabramatta or Greenacre to Manly, immigrants have helped define places with their cultural traditions exemplified by the flavours they brought to the Australian palate,' Jack said.

Jenifer spent months developing a distinctive flavour profile of each suburb which was based on local ingredients, spices and native delicacies.

The concept, originating from data and algorithms, used 3D printing techniques to visualise each suburb on their respective chocolate, 'bringing the streets to your tastebuds'

'Concord with its large Italian influence sees a chocolate flavoured with strawberry paired with a tart balsamic vinegar caramel, to demonstrate its heritage,' she said.

'Each chocolate is unique to the dominant cultural heritage of the suburb, and while varied, are equally delicious.'

The pair agree that it's a positive thing to acknowledge Australia's diversity, as well as appreciating the tastes and designs each nationality brings to twelve different areas of Sydney.
Prosecutors agreed Wednesday to review a decades-old murder investigation after an attorney said she detected similarities to attacks by a notorious California serial killer and not the man who was convicted in the case.

The Orange County District Attorney's office agreed to review the conviction of William Evins in the killing of a 28-year-old woman in 1979 as part of a longstanding program that looks into old cases upon request.

But the prosecutor's office said it's too soon to tell where the review will lead, and they will have to look at the evidence to determine whether DNA testing is a possibility.

Attorney Annee Della Donna holds a photo of William Evins, now deceased, who was convicted of the murder of a woman in 1979,

Attorney Annee Della Donna, who runs the pro bono Innocence Rights of Orange County, said she made the request after detecting apparent similarities in the now-deceased Evins' case with murders by the so-called Golden State Killer.

Authorities in Northern California arrested 72-year-old former police officer Joseph DeAngelo last April and said they believed he was the killer who had long proved elusive to authorities.

DeAngelo is charged with 12 killings throughout the state in the 1970s and 1980s, including one in Orange County in 1980. He has yet to enter a plea.

Joseph DeAngelo is charged with 12 killings throughout the state in the 1970s and 1980s, including one in Orange County in 1980

As a teen, Della Donna said she was the victim of an abduction attempt and years later saw a sketch of the Golden State Killer suspect that she thought resembled her attacker.

'As an innocence attorney, my little red flags went up,' she said. 'Way too many discrepancies in terms of lack of evidence against him. ... It was just way too suspicious not to look into it.'

She started probing rape and murder cases that had occurred nearby and came across Evins' case, she said.

She said she lived six blocks away from 28-year-old victim Joan Anderson and the way Anderson was killed bears similarities to cases involving the serial killer.

She also said Evins, who died in 2013, pleaded guilty after a jailhouse informant said he had confessed to the crime.

'We believe that this murder was another Golden State Killer case,' she told reporters, adding that she had also contacted Sacramento County sheriff's officials and the FBI.

'It's too early to tell if there's similarities or not,' said Susan Kang Schroeder, the prosecutor office's chief of staff. 'We don't know.'

DeAngelo (pictured), accused of being the so-called Golden State Killer, worked as a police officer in Northern California when Joan Anderson 28, was killed

Prosecutors have agreed to review Evins' (pictured left) case, who was convicted of killing Anderson (R) in 1979

Evins originally had his murder case thrown out in 1985, but was rearrested shortly thereafter when a notorious jailhouse informant named James Dean Cochrum said that Evins confessed to the slaying.

Intelligence analyst Matt Kelly told ABC News that that Cochrum was the 'most notorious of a notorious group of jailhouse informants.'

Evins originally had his murder case thrown out in 1985, but was rearrested shortly thereafter

'He claims to have overheard ... five different people confess to five different murders. Totally unheard of.'

In profiling the Golden State Killer for ABC News, Kelly said what was most striking was the suspect's methodical planning and sheer brazenness.

'He cut blinds from houses and used as ligatures... . Most of the Southern California murders he bound his victims but then take the ligatures with him. That was actually a departure from his MO in Northern California where he would keep people tied up,' said Kelly.

After years of research and interviewing those closest to Anderson, along with Elvin's ex-wife and daughter, Della Donna said she's near certain that police arrested the wrong man.

'It's their responsibility now to find if there is any DNA [from Anderson's case] and test it,' Della Donna said of Orange County law enforcement officials .

'If there is no DNA then we're going to look at this case as filing a posthumously writ of habeas corpus to have Evins declared innocent.'

In an eerily similar case, questions surrounding Oscar Clifton's (L) murder conviction in 1975 of Donna Jo Richmond (R) have been raised

Earlier this week, doubts were raised about another case involving a man convicted of killing a 14-year-old girl in December of 1975.

Oscar Archie Clifton also died in 2013 while serving a life sentence in prison after being convicted of murdering Donna Jo Richmond in Exeter, California.

Clifton was 35 at the time he was arrested for kidnapping after authorities found an invoice book that they believed to belong to the carpenter - based on the name written inside.

Hours after his arrest, the young girl was discovered by another resident. Richmond was stabbed and strangled and was not wearing pants or underwear at the time she was found dead.

There has been speculation about who killed Richmond after the 72-year-old accused Golden State Killer was found to have worked in Exeter as a police officer during the time Richmond's death.

The city is also located in Tulare County - where several of the crimes that DeAngelo is accused of committing took place.
A negotiator involved in attempts to rescue American hostage Otto Warmbier from North Korea has claimed that his proposal to help President Donald Trump secure the student's release before his inauguration went nowhere.

Mickey Bergman, who was involved in backchannel negotiations with North Korea during the Obama administration, told GQ that he approached the Trump transition team but never heard back.

Bergman, a former Israeli paratrooper, said he was inspired by the Iran hostage crisis ending just minutes after Ronald Reagan's inauguration, and felt there was a similar opportunity to bring Warmbier home in a blaze of glory on the Trump plane between the 2016 election and Trump's inauguration.

'The challenge that we had was that we could not get Donald Trump,' Bergman told the magazine. 'We tried to go through Giuliani, Pence, Ivanka. Nothing during the transition. I'm assuming they were in chaos over there. I don't think it ever crossed his desk, because I think he would have actually liked it.'

Otto Warmbier is seen being escorted from his trial in Pyongyang on March 16, 2016, within a day before being hospitalized with brain damage according to a new report

Negotiator Mickey Bergman (left) is seen with Joe Biden. Bergman says he hatched a plan for the Trump transition team to bring Warmbier home but got no response from the team

'We tried to go through Giuliani, Pence, Ivanka,' Bergman said. Pictured left to right in a file photo are Vice President Mike Pence, Ivanka Trump, and Jared Kushner

The White House press office did not immediately respond to a message from DailyMail.com on Friday night seeking comment on Bergman's statements.

If Trump had engaged with North Korea prior to taking office, he may well have been immediately accused by his critics of violating the Logan Act, which prohibits negotiation by unauthorized persons with foreign governments.

It's not clear from Bergman's account whether his proposal ever got through to transition officials, such as Vice President Mike Pence, Rudy Giuliani, and Ivanka Trump.

What is known is that soon after Trump's inauguration, his newly appointed special representative for North Korea, Joseph Yun, took over the negotiations, which had stalled completely under the Obama administration.

Warmbier was released in June 2017 in a vegetative state, and died less than a week after his return to Cincinnati.

Bergman's role was as an unofficial backchannel during a period where Pyongyang had shut off communication with the Obama administration.

An aide to former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who leads a non-profit that specializes in under-the-radar 'fringe diplomacy' to release hostages, Bergman met with North Korea's UN representatives in New York regularly from February 2016 to August 2016.

Warmbier cries at court in an undisclosed location in North Korea on March 16, 2016. Doctors say he was hospitalized unresponsive with massive brain injuries the following day

Richardson said that shortly after Warmbier's trial on March 16, 2016, the North Korean delegation appeared to have their information about the case shut off from Pyongyang.

He now believes that timing coincided with the injury that left Warmbier vegetative, an insight that corresponds with other new information in the GQ report.

Michael Flueckiger, one of the team of doctors who traveled to North Korea to bring Warmbier home, told the magazine that the American was hospitalized on the morning after his trial.

'The staff at Friendship Hospital said they received Otto the morning after the trial and that when he came in he was unresponsive,' Flueckiger said.

'They had to resuscitate him, then give him oxygen and put him on a ventilator, or he would die.'

Trump's negotiators secured Warmbier's release in June 2017, five months into his term. He is seen above meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last month

That information led reporter Doug Bock Clark to theorize that Warmbier had attempted suicide soon after learning that he had been sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for his crime, the removal of a propaganda poster from a Pyongyang hotel.

Though doctors have been unable to determine how Warmbier's brain was damaged, they have said that the damage appeared most consistent with prolonged oxygen deprivation.

If Warmbier did suffer his injuries in March 2016, as the new information suggests, then Bergman's plan to negotiate his release between the 2016 election and Trump's inauguration would not have prevented the brain damage that ultimately killed the American.
A peaceful pro-choice abortion protest in Chile ended in chaos Wednesday night when three women were stabbed.

Kelly Barrera, 31, traveled to Santiago with her sister to accompany their mother to a medical appointment and later decided to attend the rally. But their group was accosted by men representing the Social Patriotic Movement [Movimiento Social Patriota] that wearing hoodies and masks.

Guys approached shoving us and one of them pushes me and I defend myself and I reacted and pushed him, Barrera told Canal 13. He then got near me, and another guy came running and I was stabbed in the stomach.

Kelly Barrera, 31, (pictured) was one of three women stabbed during pro-choice abortion rally in Chile on Wednesday night

Video from Canal 13 in Chile showed vidio which captures the moment one of the victims (inset) was stabbed

Pro-choice abortion supporters clashed with rioters at a rally on Wednesday night in Chile

Chile, just like its Latin American neighboring countries, for decades has placed strict laws and regulations on women wanting the right to choose between giving birth and ending their pregnancies.

The only countries in the region that still prohibit abortions are the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and Suriname.

It wasnt until November 2017 that the Chilean government passed a bill that paved the way for abortions to be carried out only to save a mothers life and in the case of rape or fetal malformation.

A terrified Barrera, who was among around 40,000 people protesting, kept the attack to herself initally because she didnt want to worry her mother. But the pain worsened and she was rushed to hospital.

Women right's supporters marched in solidarity with those supporting the right to have an abortion in Chile

Women marched alongside each other in support of pro-choice abortion rights in Chile

Demonstrators seeking more support for pro-choice abortion rights rallied in Chile

We found ourselves in the hospital, and they (the other two women) were stabbed in the legs and buttocks, said Barrera, the only victim who publicly shared her experience.

The person, to me, was a delinquent,' she added. 'I sincerely believe that it couldnt have been a person that opposed the protest.

'I think it was the outlaws with masks. It had to be a young guy. I couldnt identify what kind of weapon it was.'

A video aired on Canal 13 appears to show one of the thugs stabbing a woman.

A supporter (right) carries a sign that in part says, 'Free abortion right'

Pro-choice abortion demonstrators came out in full force Wednesday night in Chile
A federal judge says he is unlikely to issue a gag order stopping a lawyer for porn actress Stormy Daniels from discussing her lawsuit against President Donald Trump with reporters and the public.

At a hearing in Los Angeles on Friday, US District Judge S. James Otero said he was reluctant to curtail the free speech rights of Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti.

The judge did not immediately issue a decision on the gag order requested on behalf of Michael Cohen, a longtime personal lawyer for Trump.

The motion said Avenatti had been running a 'smear campaign' against Cohen.

At a hearing in Los Angeles on Friday, US District Judge S. James Otero said he was reluctant to curtail the free speech rights of Daniels' attorney Michael Avenatti (left) after Michael Cohen (right), a longtime personal lawyer for Trump, requested a gag order against him

Cohen's lawyer, Brent Blakely, argued that Avenatti's frequent interviews and near-daily tweets about Trump and his former lawyer could taint future jurors.

Avenatti has appeared in more than 100 television interviews since Daniels sued Trump, calling Cohen a 'moron' engaged in criminal conduct, according to a legal motion from Blakely.

'Like a small-town carnival magician who attempts to confuse the audience with smoke and mirrors, Avenatti attempts to somehow justify his conduct by pulling the First Amendment out of his tiny bag of tricks while at the same time pointing his finger at others,' Blakely wrote in requesting the order.

The judge said the constitution is 'neither a trick nor an illusion' and told Blakely that his request was 'serious business.'

Otero added that he had some concerns about statements that Avenatti has made about Cohen, but said the bar for a gag order was high and it didn't seem as though Cohen had met that burden.

He did not immediately issue a decision on issuing the order.

It comes after Avenatti said he now represents three additional women who had relationships with Trump and were paid 'hush money' before the 2016 presidential election

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she had sex with Trump in 2006, when he was married, but Trump has denied it

The judge is also considering whether to continue delaying Daniels' case because Cohen is under federal investigation in New York.

Otero had suspended the case for three months after Cohen's home and office were raided in April as part of an investigation by Manhattan federal prosecutors into his business dealings to avoid any overlap with that probe.

It comes after Avenatti said he now represents three additional women who had relationships with Trump and were paid 'hush money' before the 2016 presidential election.

Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, has said she had sex with Trump in 2006, when he was married, but Trump has denied it.

Days before the 2016 presidential election, she was paid $130,000 to stay silent in a deal handled by Cohen. She is suing to invalidate the nondisclosure agreement.

Daniels also sued Cohen last month, alleging he colluded with her former lawyer to get her to appear on Fox News and falsely deny a sexual tryst with Trump.
A Filipino energy company CEO may face time behind bars for taking his alleged biting fetish too far.

Terence Tang, 37, has been accused of biting his 25-year-old Korean girlfriend despite her complaints that he was hurting her on October 26, 2017.

He appeared in Manhattan Supreme Court on Friday at a sex abuse trial for the incident where he allegedly bit her thigh and hip and when she protested with tears and screamed in pain he strangled her.

Filipino CEO Terence Tang, 37, has been accused of biting his girlfriend so hard he left teeth marks, pictured above in Manhattan Supreme Court on Friday

The Tang International Enterprises CEO allegedly bit her on the arm, thigh, and hip

Tang and his girlfriend met in Vancouver three months prior to the incident and the two flew together to New York for vacation.

On the day of the alleged attack the pair had drinks with friends on the Upper East Side then returned to their Airbnb in Midtown where they began to fight over the non-consensual bite, according to the New York Post.

It started when he reportedly bit her thigh and she stopped him, showing him a bruise he left from his previous gnawing stint on her right arm.

'You do this, I get bruises like this. If you know this, why are you doing this again?' she asked.

But he continued to bite away.

'It hurt so much that I cried. I screamed out while I was crying "Don't do it!"' she said in court appearances Wednesday and Thursday via a Korean interpreter.

After she said that he bit her hip leaving a red circle of teeth imprints. Jurors were shown a photo of the wound.

On October 26, 2017 the two got into a fight about the non-consensual bites resulting in Tang allegedly strangling his girlfriend, he appeared in court this week for the incident

His former girlfriend also testified in court on Wednesday and Thursday, Tang pictured right talking to his lawyers as he left Manhattan court on Friday

Tang reportedly told his girlfriend that if he didn't bite her it meant that he didn't love her, pictured leaving court alongside his lawyers on Friday

In their fight Tang allegedly held his victim down and inserted his fingers inside her.

'I tried to push him away. Then he climbed on top of me and starting strangling me,' she said, shedding tears.

She fled to the bathroom where she messaged a friend 'Save me, please save me!'

Cops arrived on the scene soon after to arrest Tang, the CEO of Tang International Enterprises based in the Philippines.

However Tang told his girlfriend in the past that if he didn't bite her, it would mean he didn't love her, she told the court.

The victim also admitted in court that earlier in her relationship with Tang, he repeatedly sent her messages on WhatsApp fantasizing about biting her.

In one of her replies she said the Korean equivalent of 'LOL'.

Tang has been charged with sex abuse, assault and obstruction of breathing and could face up to seven years in prison if convicted.
Dozens of designer dogs that were rescued from horrible conditions will be given new homes after more than a thousand families applied for adoption.

The 39 puppies and dogs had been locked up in filthy and cramped greyhound trailers in the regional Victorian town of Sale before being rescued on July 12.

The cavoodles, a cross between a miniature poodle and cavalier King Charles spaniel, were taken to an Animal Aid Victoria shelter where they were nursed back to health.

They received veterinary treatment and were given time to heal before their adoption expressions of interest were posted online.

A happy ending for families and puppies after a thousand families applied to adopt the designer dogs (pictured) rescued from horrible conditions at a puppy farm

The 39 puppies and dogs had been locked up in filthy and cramped greyhound trailers in the regional Victorian town of Sale before being rescued on July 12

Animal Aid was forced to close the expressions of interest on Friday after more than 1,600 families applied for adoption.

'While there will be many families who are not successful, we hope that they will have peace of mind in knowing that the puppies will be living out the rest of their lives in wonderful new homes,' a statement read.

Members of the public were excited by the news of adoption after the puppies and dogs had experienced a tough start to life.

'Good luck everyone so happy to see the dogs and puppies going to their forever homes and get the love they need thanks again to animal aid for the wonderful job they do to all the animals in need,' one person wrote on the Animal Aid Facebook Page.

'Fingers crossed but if I miss out I sure they will all go to wonderful homes. Good luck with choosing the right families,' shared another.

The horrific puppy farm was found after a member of the public tipped off the local council.

The dogs were found in poor health as the awful conditions saw them locked in small cages with little food and dirty water bowls.

Most of the adult dogs were pregnant and expected to give birth soon.

The council was alerted to the abhorrent treatment of the dogs by a member of the public

The puppies and dogs received treatment from Animal Aid Victoria before adoption expressions of interest were posted online

Vets that treated the pregnant dogs suspected that the psychological damage suffered at the puppy farm may be too far ingrained for them to ever recover fully.

Wellington Shire General Manager Development John Websdale said council was working to shut down illegal dog-breeding facilities.

'It is important to us that all animals in Wellington Shire are kept ethically and treated with respect,' he said on the Council's website.

Puppy farms that breed 'designer dogs', which are puppies that are a cross between two popular pure breeds, are slowly becoming less common.

New legislation introduced July 1 have removed puppies and kittens from pet shops nationally in an effort to curb illegal breeding.

The number of fertile dogs kept by registered commercial breeders has also be capped at ten.

RSPCA Victoria inspectorate team leader Lisa Calleja said the new laws will help to stop illegal breeders passing their dogs through pet shops.

'Gippsland is not a hotspot for illegal dog breeding,' she told ABC Gippsland.

'It's a problem across Australia.'

The dogs were kept in awful conditions, locked in small cages. They were found in poor health, with little food and dirty water bowls
A dramatic car chase in South Carolina ended when a twenty-four-year woman was thrown from her vehicle after police used a strategic maneuver to flip over her vehicle.

Dash cam footage captured by the Florence County Sheriff's department allegedly shows Brittany Nicole Jeffords ignore demands for her to pull her vehicle to the shoulder of the road after being stopped for a traffic violation.

The incident, which transpired on July 12, shows Jeffords instead hit multiple police cruisers as she desperately attempts to flee from law enforcement in her black SUV.

Dash cam footage captured by the Florence County Sheriff's department allegedly shows Brittany Nicole Jeffords refuse to pull over for cops

The incident, which transpired on July 12, shows Jeffords instead hit multiple police cruisers as she desperately attempts to flee from law enforcement

As the car tumbles wildly out of control, Jeffords is seen being thrown out of the vehicle and miraculously survives

Chief Deputy Glen Kirby told WBTW-13 that Jeffords was involved in a high-speed chase in the area of TV Road and McIver Road.

Throughout the footage, the suspect can be driving erratically through parts of rural South Carolina, periodically smacking into other vehicles and destroying private property.

Jeffords (pictured) is being currently being held at the Florence County Detention Center on $3,650.50 bond

Shortly after cops engaged Jeffords on North Cashua Street, she pulled over into a parking lot where a man exited the car and was arrested by deputies before she sped off, said Major Michael Nunn.

The identity of the person Jeffords allegedly lets out of the vehicle remains unknown.

The chase finally ended when police were led down an empty road and decided to conduct a maneuver by hitting the back of Jeffords' vehicle, causing it to flip over.

But as the car tumbles wildly out of control, Jeffords is seen being thrown out of the vehicle.

Miraculously, the 24-year-old survived the incident and was taken to nearby McLeod hospital for treatment.

Jeffords was charged with two counts of failure to appear, driving under suspension and failure to stop for a (police) blue light.

She is currently being held at the Florence County Detention Center on $3,650.50 bond, according to WBTW-13.

Jeffords reportedly had her license suspended stemming from a previous DUI case.
Paul Manafort (pictured) is currently in jail facing a slew of tax and bank fraud charges stemming from the Robert Mueller investigation

President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, spent nearly $20,000 on karaoke equipment for his home in the Hamptons in 2010.

According to newly submitted court documents, Manafort, who is currently in jail facing a slew of tax and bank fraud charges stemming from the Robert Mueller investigation, spent $500 on a karaoke machine and $950 on the package of songs.

Another $6,000 was spent for it all to be installed, according to online publication Talking Points Memo.

A deposit on the karaoke machine was originally billed to Manaforts wife, Kathleen, for $8,147 in April, which included the audio/video design and installation.

Another $50 was spent on mic two stands along with $600 on a touchscreen remote among the other karaoke accessories.

Records show that the deposit was paid with an $8,500 wire transfer from a Cyprus bank account.

Robert Muellers (pictured) office said Friday it plans to call 35 witnesses in the upcoming trial of the former lobbyist and Republican party operative

A deposit on the karaoke machine was originally billed to Manaforts wife, Kathleen, for $8,147 in April, records show

In July, just four months later, a $10,395 invoice is registered again for a karaoke machine along with audio/video design and installation.

A wire transfer of $17,650 from another Cyprus bank was used to pay for that bill, as well as another $7,574 that Manafort was charged for installation and equipment.

Manafort's team of lawyers did not challenge the submissions to the court on Thursday.

President Donald Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, spent nearly $20,000 on karaoke equipment for his home in the Hamptons in 2010

Muellers office said Friday it plans to call 35 witnesses in the upcoming trial of the former lobbyist and Republican party operative.

The witnesses in the financial crimes case of Manafort include former accountants, assistants and even friends.

Among them is Rick Gates, a former Manafort deputy who pleaded guilty in Muellers investigation earlier this year and agreed to cooperate with investigators.

Prosecutors on Muellers team filed the witness list Friday in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia. Manaforts trial begins there Tuesday with jury selection.

Manafort is accused of routing millions of dollars in proceeds from Ukrainian political consulting work into offshore accounts and using the money to fund a lavish lifestyle.

Other witnesses include Tad Devine, a political consultant and strategist on Bernie Sanders Democratic presidential campaign  but also a participant in Manaforts Ukrainian political work, helping refurbish the image of Ukraines disgraced former president Viktor Yanukovych.

Prosecutors also plan to call Philip Ayliff, a longtime personal accountant for Manafort, and Wayne Holland, a real estate agent in Northern Virginia and a personal friend of Manafort.

The list also includes Max Katzman, the son and business partner of one of Manaforts several high-end tailors.
The ongoing construction of Sydney's light rail network has reportedly cost business owners millions of dollars in losses, as well as causing them depression and prompting suicidal thoughts.

More than 100 businesses around the construction zone have been affected by the disastrous project, with shop owners claiming the disruption is responsible for combined losses of at least $155million.

That includes dozens of businesses in the inner-city suburbs of Surry Hills, Haymarket and Randwick located both on and around the route, The Saturday Telegraph reports, many of which have been forced to close their doors.

The ongoing construction of Sydney's light rail network has reportedly cost business owners millions of dollars in losses, as well as causing depression and prompting suicidal thoughts

More than 100 businesses around the construction zone have been affected by the disastrous project, with shop owners declaring combined losses of at least $155million allegedly occurring as a result of the disruption

Some 900 businesses in close proximity to the route have reported a loss of earnings, as revealed in data collected by Small Business Party founder Angela Vithoulkas.

A staggering 89 per cent of those business owners further declared that they were experiencing physical or mental health issues as a result.

Other business owners told the NSW parliamentary inquiry into light rail that they were experiencing depression and suicidal thoughts, with one telling of 'severe migraines due to constant financial pressure'.

Another blames a near-marital breakdown on 'the financial strain that has been the Sydney light rail project'.

Some 900 businesses in close proximity to the route have reported a loss of earnings, with a staggering 89 per cent of those business owners claiming to be experiencing physical or mental health issues as a result

Pictured: once popular Surry Hills restaurant The Devonshire, which has been forced to close as a result of the ongoing light rail construction

Ms Vithoulkas is now preparing to launch a class action against the government over the calamitous project.

Meanwhile, Transport NSW claims to have doled out $6.95 million in financial support to 69 affected businesses since last August, with Transport Minister Andrew Constance encouraging businesses to reach out for assistance.

Mr Constance also denied the suggestion that the light rail construction had forced a large number of businesses to shut up shop.

'We are not seeing a mass closure of businesses, but we are seeing business owners under enormous strain at both a personal and professional level,' he said.

'This is why we have taken the action we have in relation to making rent relief available  particularly given that the project is late due to the contractor.'

Meanwhile, Transport NSW claims to have doled out $6.95 million in financial support to 69 affected businesses since last August, with Transport Minister Andrew Constance (pictured) encouraging businesses to reach out for assistance

The NSW Government has accused Spanish construction company Acciona of being behind schedule on the $2.1 billion project, which is running a full year late.

Stretching from Circular Quay to Randwick, the government has been told the line - construction of which began in late 2015 - will not be operational until March 2020.

Mr Constance previously noted that the 12km network is over budget and should have already been finished.

Acciona is suing the NSW government for $1.2billion, claiming they misrepresented the risks about dealing with utilities.
A victims of violence awareness campaign created by an award-winning journalist has come under attack for 'not including male victims' and 'making all men look bad.'

Sherele Moody, founder of the Red Heart Campaign, said she has been inundated with vile and abusive messages since she created the interactive online memorial, which she called the Australian Femicide Map.

'Burn in hell you dog b****', 'Die you c***', and 'Someone should kill you. Put you on the f***ing map,' are just some of the messages the journalist says she has received.

A victims of violence awareness campaign (pictured) created by an award-winning journalist has come under attack for 'not including male victims' and 'making all men look bad'

'Burn in hell you dog b****', 'Die you c***', and 'Someone should kill you. Put you on the f***ing map,' are just some of the messages the journalist says she has received

Ms Moody created the map - an ongoing collection of photographs and stories - to pay tribute to the Australian women and children who have died from violence.

Users can search for victims, read their stories and locate where the deaths took place.

'It is a forum that shows where femicides and child killings are occurring while sharing information about the victims' deaths,' she explains.

'The material is sourced from coroner's reports, media stories, police and family and friends of victims'.

Despite the overwhelming success of the map so far, with 100,000 views in little over a week, Ms Moody said the outpouring of vitriol she has received from 'keyboard warriors' has been unprecedented.

Ms Moody created the map (pictured) - an ongoing collection of photographs and stories - to pay tribute to the Australian women and children who have died from violence

'I have been inundated with messages from angry strangers telling me I am wrong for not including male victims,' she told the Sunshine Coast Daily.

'[The messages said] I am unnecessarily highlighting male violence to make all men look bad; and I am using the deaths of women and children to push some sort of agenda that involves milking money from taxpayers.'

'Look at you ... using the deaths of women and children just to promote your own agenda. I don't know who is sicker; you or the perpetrators of those crimes,' one critic wrote.

'She [Sherele Moody] simply doesn't like men,' the Domestic Violence Awareness Australia Facebook page wrote.

'Keep reporting Red Heart as a hate page,' a member of the Australian Brotherhood of Fathers said.

Some messages, which included threats of violence, were shared with police.

But Ms Moody said the map is not designed to paint all men as perpetrators of violence.

'There is just no shying away from the fact that most people who are killed in Australia die at the hands of males. And that means most of the victims will have lost their lives to male violence,' she explained.

'If you take the time to peruse the map, you will find it contains the stories of women and children killed by males or females - regardless of the perpetrator's relationship to the victim'.

Despite the backlash, Ms Moody said the wouldn't be deterred from continuing the project which has so far taken two years of independent research to document the stories of more than 1,100 women and children who were lost to violence.

The project is entirely self-funded and without the help of the government, corporations or charities, she said.

The project has so far taken two years of independent research to document the stories of more than 1,100 women and children who were lost to violence

The map includes victims of a broad range of violence including stranger violence, terrorism, domestic violence and extreme neglect.

Deaths by domestic violence feature highly as most women and children who die a violent death do so in a family abuse situation, Ms Moody explained.

Violent deaths also feature more predominantly in metropolitan and key regional centres; a feature Ms Moody admits does not reflect the high number of indigenous victims in more remote areas as deaths are rarely recorded publicly.

Ms Moody is quick to explain that the map is not based on statistics, but rather a collection of stories highlighting the lives of women and children who 'are more than numbers'.

She aims to add a further 1,000 victims over the coming months and to record all femicides and child deaths from white settlement to now.

The documentation is hoped to inspire those in danger and those who are violent to seek help.

The Australian Femicide Map can be viewed here.



For 24-hour domestic violence support call the national hotline 1800 RESPECT on 1800 737 732.
If youve ever wondered how it felt to be part of the iconic Dambusters squadron, its audacious bombing raid is being brought to life through Virtual Reality, so users can experience the heroic RAF crew's daring Second World War mission.

Heroic Wing Commander Guy Gibson led 617 Squadron of the Royal Air Force on an audacious bombing raid to destroy three dams in the Ruhr valley, the industrial heartland of Germany, on the night of May 16-17 in 1943.

As it secured the surrounding areas water supply, and its reservoir was used to generate electricity, it was thought that destroying the dam and others in the region would cause massive disruption to the Germans.

'Immersive Histories: Dam Busters' is an immersive virtual reality prototype which allows an audience to experience the famous raid. It has been developed by Gloucestershire-based technology studio, All Seeing Eye

Gibson was tasked with hand-picking bomber crews from other Lancaster squadrons to give the mission the greatest chance of success. The 617 Squadron was made up of aircrew from Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

By 1942, a weapon had been developed that was capable of destroying the heavily fortified dams  an innovative bouncing bomb  and the aircraft to deliver it, in Operation Chastise.

Now, an immersive virtual reality prototype allows viewers to experience the Lancaster bomber of Wing Commander Guy Gibson.

Sitting inside an accurate physical set of a Lancaster, audiences are completely immersed and able to reach out to feel the window, fuselage and desk of the bomber, says All Seeing Eye, the Gloucestershire-based technology studio behind the experience.

Participants suit up in a vest integrated into an authentic Mae West life preserver  so-called because those fighting in the Second World War thought they looked like a buxom woman when wearing them

Sitting inside an accurate physical set of a Lancaster, audiences are completely immersed and able to reach out to feel the window, fuselage and desk of the bomber, says All Seeing Eye

Inside the aircraft, you can hear crew speaking, while over the intercom chatter can be heard, and outside, the night time landscape zips by, the firm explains

Then, the aircraft moves over the dam, dodging flak from anti-aircraft guns as it flies towards the water

Participants suit up in a vest integrated into an authentic Mae West life preserver  so-called because those fighting in the Second World War thought they looked like a buxom woman when wearing them.

All Seeing Eye says the vests are worn in the virtual reality experience in order to feel the roar of the Lancasters engines and the booms of the German flak.

Inside the aircraft, you can hear crew speaking, while over the intercom chatter can be heard, and outside, the night time landscape zips by, the firm explains.

The Dambusters squadron was formed by Wing Commander Guy Gibson, centre

The Dambusters in 1943, with Wing Commander Guy Gibson front row (centre ). On the night of May 16/17 1943 they engaged in one of the most legendary air raids of the war, using hydro-statically detonated bombs to devastate German dams

'The Dambuster raid': A Lancaster Bomber during the Second World War. The Avro Lancaster was a British four-engine Second World War heavy bomber made initially by Avro for the Royal Air Force (RAF)

Then, the aircraft moves over the dam, dodging flak from anti-aircraft guns as it flies towards the water.

Flying low, the aircraft approaches the Mohne dam and drops the experimental Upkeep bouncing bomb. The guns of the Lancaster roar as they fire back at the defences.

The bomb detonates successfully, but the dam is not destroyed, the technology studio continues on its website.

A wartime photograph showing the damage inflicted on the German Eder dam by the RAF's 617 Squadron, the 'Dambusters'

Another wartime view of the devastation caused by the 'Dambusters' raid of May 1943. Bouncing bombs were used by the RAF's 617 Squadron to cause breaches in German dams

The ambitious historical project has been done in conjunction with the Imperial War Museums which provided historic consultancy on the wartime experience, ensuring that we portrayed the events of Operation Chastise as realistically and faithfully as possible.

Ollie Lindsey, of All Seeing Eye, told the Times: Weve had the nephews and nieces of Lancaster crews through. Weve had one daughter of a wireless operator. For her, seeing what her dad actually experienced was hugely overwhelming.

It is due to open to the public at the RAF Museum at the former Hendon Aerodrome either later this year or early in 2019.
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Tears streamed down Nyawech Fouch's face as she recalled the day her cousin was killed by two men in a random and racially motivated attack in Melbourne's southeast more than a decade ago.

'The last words they said to (him) were 'let's take our anger out on some n*****' and then they went and attacked my cousin,' she said in front of a crowd of hundreds outside Channel 7 in Melbourne.

Saturday's protest was against perceived unfair media coverage and political commentary against African Australians, particularly accusations that gangs of Sudanese youths are running rampant in Melbourne.

Protesters called for changes to be made in the way the news media on crimes involving African youth.

One of the event organisers described such stories as 'fear mongering'.

Tears streamed down Nyawech Fouch's (pictured) face as she recalled the day her cousin was killed by two men in a random and racially motivated attack in Melbourne's southeast more than a decade ago

Saturday's protest was against perceived unfair media coverage and political commentary against African Australians, particularly accusations that gangs of Sudanese youths are running rampant in Melbourne

'The pain is so much. My whole family is traumatised by what the media has done to our family, our friends, to the people around us,' Ms Fouch said.

Her cousin, Liep Gony, 18, died in hospital in 2007 after suffering head injuries.

He had been left to die on a Noble Park nature strip.

Ms Fouch, 21, said she was sharing her story in the hope of changing the way the media, especially Channel 7, portrayed the Sudanese community and showing that words have an impact.

'He did not ask for his life to be taken away but because he fit the description they decided they want to kill my cousin,' she said.

Ms Fouch, 21, (pictured left) said she was sharing her story in the hope of changing the way the media, especially Channel 7, portrayed the Sudanese community and showing that words have an impact

'All of us live in fear, everyday I am terrorised. The minute that I came to Australia I have lived in fear my whole life,' one protester said during the rally

The protest is in response to ongoing reporting in the media connecting crime and gang violence to people of African descent

'All of us live in fear, everyday I am terrorised. The minute that I came to Australia I have lived in fear my whole life.'

Yet she said she forgave the two white men who killed her cousin, and 'every person who has ever stereotyped a black man', asking people to 'please let us live our lives in peace'.

'Let us show you who we are, what we do, show you our character, we are more than what the media portrays us to be. Give us a chance at life,' she said.

Mr Gony's mother, Martha Ojulo, also broke down in tears telling protesters her son's life was taken 'because he was black'.

Protesters carried signs outside 7 News studios during the rally against what they said was unfair coverage from the news outlet

Protest co-organiser Thon Makuach, a friend of Sudanese-Australian Laa Chol who was killed last week at a party in a Melbourne CBD apartment, said he was a proud Australian who condemned gang violence

People hold signs aloft at the Channel 7 Protest in Melbourne on Saturday

Another young man said: 'Let us show you that we are more than the media portrays us to be.'

'Don't measure us in skin colour. If you are going to talk about crime and you are going to attach our name to it, you can go to any station in Melbourne, go around the corner, and see any nationality is able to commit crime,' the youth told the crowd in Docklands.

Protest co-organiser Thon Makuach, a friend of African-Australian Laa Chol who was killed last week at a party in a Melbourne CBD apartment, said he was a proud Australian who condemned gang violence.

Protest organisers led chants of 'tell Channel 7 enough is enough' and 'we are students and leaders, not African gangs' before marching to A'Beckett Street in Melbourne, where Ms Chol was killed

'We condemn that [gang violence]. We are going to work with these youths, the numbers are going to drop and ... please do not argue with me, please work with me,' he said.

Protest organisers led chants of 'tell Channel 7 enough is enough' and 'we are students and leaders, not African gangs' before marching to A'Beckett Street in Melbourne, where Ms Chol was killed.

According to the Crime Statistics Agency's 'characteristics of of chronic offenders' study, 59.5 per cent of single offences committed in Victoria were by Australian born residents.

'Enough is Enough' protest outside the Channel 7 studio in Melbourne, Saturday, July 28, 2018. Hundreds of people have gathered in Melbourne to protest against perceived unfair media coverage of African Australians.

A placard is seen during the 'Enough is Enough' protest outside the Channel 7 studio in Melbourne

People born from 'all other countries' made up 19.1 per cent while 'unknown' constituted 21.4 per cent of all singe offences.

For incidents greater than 10 per person, Australian born offenders made up 84.3 per cent, 'all other countries' 12.0 per cent and 'unknown' 3.6 per cent.

'Overall, 67.7% of alleged offenders in this study were born in Australia, 17.6% were born overseas and 14.7% had an unknown country of birth,' the study read.

The mother of murdered 18-year-old Liep Gony (white shift and red scarf) is seen during the 'Enough is Enough' protest outside the Channel 7 studio in Melbourne

Protesters also wore blue in memory of 19-year-old Laa Chol, who was killed after a fight broke out in a Melbourne CBD apartment during a party on on Friday 20 July

'The majority of offenders in every offending frequency group were born in Australia, accounting for between 59.5% and 84.3% of each group.

'However, this analysis was limited by the 61,337 offenders with an unknown country of birth. These offenders were not evenly distributed across the offending frequency groups, with a greater number of offenders in the one incident group recorded for unknown country of birth.'

The study outlined that 'a small proportion, 6.3%, of alleged offenders in Victoria were responsible for a large proportion of crime, 43.9%, of offender incidents.'
Five people have been killed in two connected shootings in Texas on Friday, according to police.

Authorities say three people were shot dead in a nursing home in a Corpus Christi suburb and two additional men were found dead at the home of one of the nursing home victims.

The shooter was also among those killed and police say the threat is 'neutralized'.

Robstown City Secretary Herman Rodriguez says officers responded to the Retama Manor nursing home about 7pm Friday and found two men and a woman dead.

Five people have been killed in two separate shootings Friday in Corpus Christi

Video courtesy of KIIITV

He says a phone call from family members prompted police to visit the residence of one of the nursing home victims, where the other two men were found dead.

All victems were dead on arrival, according to a police statement.

Rodriguez said authorities believe the shootings are related but have not identified the victims or established a possible motive.

The nursing home is a medium, for-profit senior care community, with about 94 beds and has been in operation 'for a number of years', according to the police.

'This is a profound incident that doesn't really transpire too often in Robstown,' Mr. Rodriguez said Friday.

'We're a small community and a lot of the families, we know each other.'

Two men were found dead in a nearby home and the police believe the two shootings are connected

'You never think it's going to happen to your family,' Doris Salazar told the Caller Times. Her mother is a resident of the nursing home.

'You think they're safe,' she added.

Authorities say the information will remain 'scarce' as the investigation is ongoing with the help of the Texas Rangers.

'Our hearts go out to the victim's families and the residents, visitors and employees at Retama Manor who experienced this tragedy,' Chief Erasmo Flores said in a statement.
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Hundreds of furry fanatics have descended on Sydney as part of the fascinating 'furry' fan culture's largest annual gathering down under.

The Harbour City Fur Con convention acts as the headline event for the furry community, which sees people splash thousands on custom-made cartoon-inspired animal suits.

However despite their animalistic appearance, while in costume furries retain their ability to speak and walk on two legs while exhibiting human mannerisms and intelligence.

Over the past three decades the craze has gripped thousands of superfans across the globe with Fur Con expected to host 200 cos players from as far afield as the US, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and the Netherlands.

Hundreds of furry fanatics have descended on Sydney as part of the fascinating 'furry' fan culture's largest annual gathering down under

The Harbour City Fur Con convention acts as the headline event for the furry community, which sees people splash thousands on custom-made cartoon-inspired animal suits

Over the past three decades the craze has gripped thousands of superfans across the globe with Fur Con expected to host cos players from as far afield as the US, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Malaysia and the Netherlands

On the agenda for the sold out event is a slew of furry-centric activities which are sure to appease fanatics, including discussion panels, live furry performances a fursuit walk and a 'dedicated hotel room party floor'

On the agenda for the sold out event is a slew of furry-centric activities which are sure to appease fanatics, including discussion panels, live furry performances a fursuit walk and a 'dedicated hotel room party floor'.

For Elrico Cattaneo from Canberra the hobby is a platform for people with a unique interest to congregate and enjoy normal activities.

'Being a furry is really just about a bunch of people who get together to hang out, play video games or have a drink,' he told news.com.au.

But according to his friend James Marshall, the furry community provides a space for a group of individuals he didn't know existed.

'I reckon every furry in Australia thinks the same thing when they realise it. You think you're the only furry in Australia,' he said. 'Then you realise you're not.'

However, despite the seemingly harmless fun, since its inception rumours have continued to swirl about the often secretive world created by the fandom's devotees.

Common accusations include claims of wild orgies where furries engage in sexual acts with one another while donning their flamboyant suits.

And the extent of the rumours are sure to be put to the test this weekend, which will see the year's largest gathering of furries in the Southern Hemisphere.

Despite the seemingly harmless fun, since its inception, rumours have continued to swirl about the often secretive world created by the fandom's devotees

The extent of the rumours are sure to be put to the test this weekend, which will see the year's largest gathering of furries in the Southern Hemisphere

On the convention's official website, attendees are encouraged to stay in a specially reserved section of the conference's hotel for 'easy socialising between hotel rooms'

While many find fulfillment simply from the dress up aspect of the craze, for others its sexual component is an integral part of being a furry



On the convention's official website, attendees are encouraged to stay in a specially reserved section of the conference's hotel for 'easy socialising between hotel rooms.'

While many find fulfillment simply from the dress up aspect of the craze, for others its sexual component is an integral part of being a furry.

Although sexual attraction to furry characters continues to be a polarising issue in the community, one survey found that 96.3 per cent of male participants admitted to viewing furry pornography - compared to 78.3 per cent of females.

Additionally, another US study revealed 33 per cent of respondents answered that they have a 'significant sexual interest in furry', another 46 per cent stated they have a 'minor sexual interest'.

In fact, it's estimated nearly fifty per cent of all furries are in a relationship with someone else who too enjoys the alluring hobby.

But for their $95 ticket price, fanatics are after more than just sex.

Fur Con's 'NEO-TOKYO' theme representing 'future, technology and what it means to be human' is perhaps even more prevalent for the hoards of devotees who have found human connection in a thoroughly animalistic fashion.

Although sexual attraction to furry characters continues to be a polarising issue in the community, one survey found that 96.3 per cent of male participants admitted to viewing furry pornography - compared to 78.3 per cent of females
Civil servants have blocked the release of government files relating to the murder of Belfast human rights lawyer Pat Finucane who was shot dead by loyalist paramilitaries who allegedly were working with MI5

Civil servants have been accused of covering up embarrassing incidents such as official opinions on the marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, the Lockerbie atrocity and the murder of Belfast solicitor Pat Finucane.

Government departments have blocked the release of almost 6,000 documents which have been deposited in the National Archives.

Many of the documents relate to Europe and John Major's time in Downing Street.

Ordinarily, the files would be released under the 20-year rule - but Whitehall mandarins are afraid the contents would cause controversy.

Among the files being held back are those relating to former European Commission president Jacques Delors, who became a hate figure for some sections of the media.

The National Archives last year blocked the release of correspondence between Myra Hindley and Ian Brady citing 'ongoing criminal investigations'.

Belfast human rights lawyer Pat Finucane was murdered by loyalist paramilitaries in February 1989. His family believes he was set up by MI5 so the release of information on his killing would be highly embarrassing for the government.

The Supreme Court is currently considering whether to order a public inquiry into the state's collusion into Mr Finucane's murder.

Under the current rules, Whitehall departments can ask that files remain secret if they will undermine foreign relations or impinge on defence or security.

The Advisory Council on National Records and Archives released their 15th annual report, which revealed they met in May, July and November 2017 and then again in February 2018 to decide on the documents which should be released.

The Council criticised an un-named government department which took more than a year to settle a Freedom of Information request on a historic file.

Other files related to the 1988 Lockerbie bombing which killed 270 people

Officials also blocked the release of files relating to Prince Charles and Lady Diana

As well as deciding on the records to release, the Council met with the Brexit department, once headed by David Davis to determine which files should be kept for later release in 20 years' time.

Last year, of the 74,551 government records transferred to the National Archives, some 87.6 per cent are either open or partially closed and can be inspected by any member of the public with a reader ticket for the National Archives.

However, last year, Whitehall departments blocked the release of 5,974 files - compared with 4,290 in 2016/17.

Civil servants claimed an 'absolute exemption' on 60 per cent of these files so the Committee could not subject them to a public interest test.

Other files, which are being held back from public view, relate to Jacques Delors, pictured, who is a former president of the European Commission

The Committee examined 17 per cent of the exemptions - which resulted in more than half of them being overturned.

According to the report, the Government has been criticised for blocking the release of information: 'The Council has, however, been disappointed by the time it has taken for departments to respond to some of its recommendations, such as the institution of a procedure to ensure that the Council is consulted where FOI requests are made for records retained by departments and where the FOIA exemption claimed by the department gives rise to a public interest test.

'In one case, a recommendation from the review took more than a year to receive a response from your department.'

One major problem relates to funding. The Ministry of Defence wants to transfer military service records from the early part of the last century and digitise them for ease of access. However, the Committee's report suggests the funds are not available to complete the project.

Also, one researcher wrote to the Committee to complain about the release of a certain series of files held by the Ministry of Defence.

According to the 11-page report, which was submitted to Jeremy Wright, Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, the most common reasons to block the release of historic documents are 'international relations' and 'risks to the health or safety of individuals'.
Whether it's delivering 20 hot dogs to an unnamed Hollywood celebrity, tracking down New Zealand licorice for Ozzy Osbourne or reuniting long lost friends, luxury hotel concierges go above and beyond to accommodate guests.

No job is too big or too small for those who work at the front desk at the best five star hotels in Australia and New Zealand.

Three concierges from the InterContinental Hotels Group spilled the beans about the high and lows about their job and shared their secrets on how to get on their good side and score VIP treatment.

Intercontinental Melbourne The Rialto chief concierge James Ridenour (second left) and his team are no strangers to peculiar requests

Being and polite friendly is the best way to scoring an upgrade at the Intercontinental Melbourne The Rialto (pictured)

Intercontinental Melbourne The Rialto chief concierge James Ridenour has seen it all in his 25 years in the hotel industry, he told to News.com.au.

When a guest wanted to drive a Ferrari at high speed in Melbourne, he organised for the guest to be flown by helicopter to Phillip Island, where a rented Ferrari was waiting at the racetrack to do some laps.

He also reunited long lost school friends after being given just a maiden name, the school and the fact she lived in Victoria by a retired guest.

He also once managed organised two Frozen street performers to attend a business conference at two-an-a-half-hours notice, thanks to some help from Victorian College of the Arts.

'For a request like this, you can't just open up the yellow pages  you really have to be imaginative,' Mr Ridenour said.

Intercontinental Adelaide Chef Concierge Siddhartha Kaul (pictured) reveals the city's best kept secrets in YouTube video on his hotel's website

Booking through Intercontinental Adelaide (pictured) directly goes a long way in building a relationship with staff and getting a free upgrade

Siddhartha Kaul, Chef Concierge at Intercontinental Adelaide flew to Perth last month to personally deliver a forgotten passport left behind by a grateful guest due to fly to London the next day.

'Sometimes the concierges are overlooked by hotel guests but we're always here ready and waiting no matter what the request  as long as it's legal and moral to do so,' Mr Kaul said.

Jason Eade, Chief Concierge at Intercontinental Wellington in New Zealand has shaken hands with former First Lady Hillary Clinton and chatted with pop star Ed Sheeran in his 16 years there.

He was named joint top concierge in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific at the Hotel Management Awards in 2015.

Jason Eade (middle) has hunted down New Zealand licorice for Black Sabbath front man Ozzy Osbourne

'One of the best compliments I've ever received was being told 'You're better than Google maps,' Mr Eade said.

The trio also gave the scoop on how to score a upgrade.

The first thing you can do is sign up for hotel rewards club memberships.

Guests with IHG Rewards Club memberships or the Intercontinental Ambassador Program have priority and ambassadors are guaranteed an upgrade when it can be accommodated.

While it often comes down to loyalty and luck, Mr Ridenour's advice was to be polite and friendly.

Mr Kaul said booking through the hotel directly goes a long way in building a relationship with staff.

Meanwhile, Mr Eade sees no harm in guests simply asking and trying their luck.
Slain former bikie boss Mahmoud 'Mick' Hawi was an 'articulate, conceptual and highly intelligent' man according to criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro.

Before being shot dead in February, Hawi was 'charismatic and driven' and proudly boasted about his role as the youngest bikie gang president in the world.

In Dr Watson-Munro's book A Shrink In The Clink, the ex-bikie boss was described as having massive amounts of loyalty for his family - both blood relatives and members of his beloved Comanchero, The Daily Telegraph revealed.

Slain former bikie-boss Mahmoud 'Mick' Hawi (pictured in 2014) was an 'articulate, conceptual and highly intelligent' man according to prison psychologist Tim Watson-Munro

Dr Watson-Munro (pictured) said the Comancheros 'meant a lot' to Hawi

'It meant a lot to him. He was loved by his family and had worked hard both in its refrigeration business and in developing the membership and reach of his beloved club,' Dr Watson-Munro wrote.

'I found him to be articulate, conceptual and highly intelligent. He was extraordinarily devoted to his family, having married his sweetheart from high school days.'

The author detailed Hawi's potential as a businessman had he not been enticed by the world of motorcycles and gang activity.

'In another incarnation, Hawi, like so many others who have chosen the dark path, could have been highly successful in business. While he won't be missed by all, his brutal, very public execution is a tragedy for those he leaves behind,' he said.

The author detailed Hawi's potential as a businessman had he not been enticed by the world of motorcycles and gang activity

Dr Watson-Munro, who has spoken with several underworld figures throughout his career, described a deep sense of misogyny throughout bikie culture.

This extended to forcing female members to work for brothels to contribute to club funds and being expected to 'consent to any sexual advance and desire of one or many club members'.

The women, known either as 'mamas' or 'old ladies' and considered 'playthings', would ride at the back of bikie runs and were banned from bikie meetings.

'Mamas' were considered 'communal sexual prey' for the entire gang, while 'old ladies' were the sole possession of their 'old man' biker partners'.

Any who strayed from the rules could be subject to 'sexual humiliation' including working in the club's bars or being gang raped by every member of the club.

Mr Watson-Munro, who has spoken with several underworld figures throughout his career, described a deep sense of misogyny throughout bikie culture

The psychologist also divulged disturbing details about common initiation practices, including being urinated on, defecated on, or being made to drink urine, beer or vomit.

Once accepted into a gang, Dr Watson-Munro said it was normal that a series of rites-of-passage followed in order for different coloured sets of wings to be earned.

Members were rewarded for crude acts like performing cunnilingus on a menstruating black woman, engaging in anilingus, and performing sexual acts on a sheep.

Such practices were what Dr Watson-Munro said pointed towards 'high levels of sexual aberration and psychological disturbance' among gang culture.

Hawi was gunned down in a dramatic execution while sitting in his car outside a Fitness First gym in Rockdale, in Sydney's south, on February 15.
The body of a teenager has been recovered following a two-day search launched after two boys got into difficulty in water near a pier in Essex.

One boy was rescued on Thursday but emergency services had continued their search around Clacton Pier for the second until the discovery was made shortly before 8am on Saturday.

He has been provisionally identified as 15-year-old Ben Quartermaine.

The teenager went missing in the water close to Clacton Pier after getting into difficulty swimming with a friend on Thursday evening.

Essex Police said the cause of death is still being investigated but that it is not being treated as suspicious.

The body of a teenager has been recovered following a two-day search launched after two boys got into difficulty in water near a pier in Essex. He has been provisionally identified as 15-year-old Ben Quartermaine (pictured)

Essex Police said the cause of death is still being investigated but that it is not being treated as suspicious

A spokesman for Essex Police, said: Officers are no longer looking for a teenager who went missing near to Clacton Pier shortly after 6.30pm on July 26.

We were called following reports that a body had been found near to Clacton Pier shortly before 8am this morning, Saturday, July 28.

Police have provisionally identified him as 15-year-old Ben Quartermaine.

The death is not being treated as suspicious but the cause of death is currently unknown and enquiries are ongoing.

Two pier workers helped keep one of the boys above water until an RNLI lifeboat crew could reach him.

A member of the public raised the alarm after spotting the boys in the water and pier worker Stuart Duff issued an emergency call, with two other staff members rushing to help with a lifebelt.

Przemek Jakiela, 40, who works in the pier's amusement arcade, said he threw a lifebelt to one youngster but was unable to reach him due to the wind and currents.

He threw the belt a number of times before the teenager was able to grab hold of it and Mr Jakiela kept a firm grip on the rope - along with pier bar worker Amy Bayliss - until an RNLI crew managed to pull the boy from the water and take him ashore.

Rescuers had been out for days in Clacton looking for Ben after he got into trouble

He tried to rescue the other boy but was unable to.

'As I got there I just saw his head go under and he disappeared and did not come back up again,' said Mr Jakiela. 'There was just nothing we could do for him.'

Managing director Billy Ball said the pier had recently put in new lifebelts which are each in an enclosed plastic case to stop them from being vandalised.

Friends of the Quartermaine family posted tributes on Facebook after the body was found.

Nikki Marson wrote: I'm so sad that it's not the outcome everyone prayed for. Thinking of you all at this awful time. Please let me know if there is anything I can do.

People enjoy the weather at Clacton-on-Sea in Essex yesterday before the boys went missing

Laura Wallington wrote: I am so sorry for your loss, from one mother to another I cannot comprehend the pain you must be feeling. Your boy has touched the hearts of many and my sincere condolences are with you and your family at this awful time.

And, members of the public from around the world paid their respects to the family.

Emma Robertson, said: No mother or Father should have to endure this pain I am so heartbroken for you and your family.

I have been following this news from Australia and I have been praying and praying for a good outcome! I am so sorry. Love strength and light sent to you and your family at this devastating time "

Sue Jerrold wrote: I am so sorry for this sad news. I don't know you but my thoughts and prayers have been with your family since Thursday. And I'm absolutely devastated for you Vicky.

R.I.P Ben go fly with the Angels and shine bright like a Diamond xxx

Ben's father Mick Smith posted on Facebook, urging his 14-year-old son: 'Just call please'

Yesterday Ben's father Mick Smith posted on Facebook: 'Come on son, be safe. Just call please. I know we never saw each other much. I was here when needed for a chat. Love you, even if you never thought.'

Mr Smith, of St Osyth, Essex, who is believed to be separated from the boy's mother Vicky Knight, only found out that Ben was missing on social media.

He said: 'I just want to find our son wherever he may be and to thank all emergency services for all the time and effort and the general public for how they have all pulled together as a community.'

A file picture of an aerial view of Clacton Pier, where the search for the boy continues today

His cousin Soph, 20, said on Facebook before Ben was found: 'I truly beg that if anyone has any information regarding Ben Quartermaine please, no matter how small, contact someone.'

She later added last night: 'I wish I could thank you all individually but I'm drained. All I have to say right now is the emergency services have done the best that they can.

'The search has been called off until the morning. Thank you all so much and if there are any updates I will let you know.'

And this morning, she told friends: 'Search continues this morning. Scuba team will be out searching at low tide. Everyone thanks you for your support.'

Witness Ben Hughes-Day said: 'We watched helplessly as members of the RNLI, coastguard and others searched for two young lads reported missing at sea.

'A helicopter flying overhead, two boats and several courageous and heroic individuals who were on foot, neck deep in watcher searching the seabed.

'The absolutely heartache that the families must be going through right now is also unimaginable.'

A statement from RNLI Clacton Lifeboat said: 'Yesterday evening at 5.39pm Clacton's Atlantic class lifeboat was launched to a yacht aground near the entrance to the River Colne.

Divers recovered the body of a young man from Jubilee River in Slough, Berkshire, last night

'While further crew members were awaiting their return, the pagers sounded again, this time to a person in the water at Clacton Pier. Due to crew being on station Clacton's D class was launched within two minutes with two crew members aboard.

Seven deaths in a week as heatwave started As the heatwave began at the end of last month, there were seven deaths related to the heat in just a week. One man died after being pulled from the River Derwent in Derbyshire, while the body of another was taken out of Crown Lakes near Peterborough. There were also deaths at Audenshaw Reservoir in Greater Manchester, while the body of Ryan Evans, 13, was recovered from a Stoke-on-Trent lake. The body of a 17-year-old boy was also recovered from the River Aire in Leeds, a man died in a lake in Nutfield, Surrey, and a woman drowned while swimming in the sea off Eastbourne. Advertisement

'On arrival on scene there was a male holding on to a life ring that had been thrown down from the pier. Shouts from the pier indicated there was another male in the water. The D Class made a rapid search of the area indicated, but there were concerns the male that was holding on to the ring was loosing their grip.

'The crew pulled them aboard the lifeboat and landed them on the beach to an awaiting ambulance before returning to the search.

'The Atlantic lifeboat was called back leaving one crew member aboard the grounded vessel to await Mersea's lifeboat to complete the recovery.

'All available shore crew were also requested to help with the search around and under the pier alongside the coastguard mobile units and those of the ambulance service. UK Coastguard's rescue helicopter also joined in the search.

'The crews were stood down at 11pm to restart the search again at 5am this morning making best use of a low tide. Both lifeboats searched alongside shore crew and the coastguard mobile unit until 8am. The search for the missing male continues.'

Rescuers search for a 17-year-old boy near Bishops Itchington in Warwickshire yesterday

In Slough, Thames Valley Police were called at about 7.30pm after the man vanished underwater after swimming with friends, and divers found a body.

His death in the man-made river, which is designed to relieve pressure on the River Thames at times of flooding, was not being treated as suspicious.

It comes three weeks after rescue divers from the same team found the body of 17-year-old Dajarn Daly three weeks ago in the same stretch of river.

Inspector Michelle Kneale said: 'I would like to remind everyone not to swim in the river - there is a weir in this part and the currents are extremely dangerous.

'As tempting as it may be in the warmer weather, rivers contain hazards below the water's surface which sometimes cannot be seen.'

A Severn Area Rescue Association team arrive with a boat in Warwickshire yesterday

Meanwhile in Warwickshire, the 17-year-old boy is believed to have got into difficulty while swimming at the Blue Lagoon, near Bishops Itchington at 6.30pm.

Britain experienced its hottest day of the year so far yesterday with 95.2F (35.1C) temperatures - as railways, roads and the NHS struggled to cope. The Met Office said there is a 70 per cent chance the UK's highest record temperature for July  98.1F (36.7C), set in 2015  could be broken today. Motorists have been warned ahead of lightning, flash flooding and large hailstones that could hit eastern parts on this afternoon, with a thunderstorm warning in place for the afternoon until just before midnight. Temperatures are forecast to be in the 90Fs (mid-30Cs) for much of East and South East England, reaching 99F (37C) in London, and could rise higher still if there is a lot of sunshine. Advertisement

Rescue teams, including police, an air ambulance and firefighters, scrambled to the scene and were seen scouring the 90-acre former lime quarry.

The roads leading into the village were shut as rescue teams tried to find the boy, whose parents were believed to be at the lake.

But the emergency services found a body at 10.50am today after the alarm was first raised at 6.30pm yesterday.

Speaking before the body was found, one local resident said: 'It really looks bad. There was a load of police and ambulance activity at around 7pm.

'Since then I've seen trailers loaded with canoes being taken up to the lakes which I would assume are being used by the rescuers to search for the lad.

'The lake is a known area for kids to swim in but it's dangerous. There are huge reeds under the surface which can easily drag you under.'
Up to 400,000 households could receive compensation for the excess noise they receive after Heathrow's third runway is built.

It is thought the airport is near to identifying homes around west London which could be in line to receive up to 3,000 to pay for noise insulation.

According to The Times, sources said about 400,000 homes, could make a claim.

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Up to 400,000 households could receive compensation for the excess noise they receive after Heathrow's third runway is built

The airport wants to build a two-mile runway northwest of the existing site by 2026. Pictured an artist impression of where the new runway will be built

The figure, which amounts to 920,000 people, represents all people that will be affected by noise from the airport ,which has not yet published details of new flights created as a result of the new runway.

Critics claim the assessment was a 'gross underestimation', and that up to 970,000 homes and 2.2 million people would actually be subjected to extra airport noise.

The airport wants to build a two-mile runway northwest of the existing site by 2026.

This would increase the maximum number of flights in and out of the airport from 480,000 to 740,000 a year, accommodating 130 million passengers.

Heathrow will start a legal consultation in the new year setting out the fine detail of its plans, which will involve demolishing an estimated 783 homes around the airport.

By law, the airport has to write to any property owner who could be entitled to make a compensation claim after being adversely affected by the plan.

The Times has learnt that the airport has identified about 400,000 property owners in west London who fall into this category. They are likely to be concentrated in areas such as Hounslow.

With an average of 2.3 people per home, this adds up to about 920,000 residents. These people may be entitled to up to 3,000 to pay for acoustic insulation, such as new windows or possibly roofing, although any application would be subject to an independent assessment.

Heathrow said yesterday that it was still in the process of assessing how many homes may be affected and did not recognise the figure of 400,000 properties.

Previous studies have estimated that 585,600 people are affected by noise at a two-runway Heathrow.

Critics said that the airport was downplaying the impact of noise.

Figures released by the Civil Aviation Authority after a freedom of information request this year showed that as many as 973,000 households, or roughly 2.2 million people, could experience daytime noise by 2050.

The new runway would increase the maximum number of flights in and out of the airport from 480,000 to 740,000 a year, accommodating 130 million passengers

Robert Barnstone, from the Stop Heathrow Expansion campaign group, called the 400,000 figure a 'gross underestimation'.

A Heathrow spokeswoman told the Times: 'The location of new flight paths around an expanded Heathrow cannot be finalised until we receive feedback from the public, following a formal consultation process.

This is why it is so important for our neighbours to feed into this consultation, and have their say on airspace design around Heathrow.

'These consultation events will also give us further opportunity to inform local residents of the extensive noise mitigation proposals we have in place, including a noise insulation offer worth over 700 million.'

The row over the number of affected by the noise comes as the first official application for a legal challenge against the government's decision to support a third runway had been lodged at the High Court.

The application for a judicial review was made by Neil Spurrier, a lawyer from southwest London.

Mr Spurrier says an additional runway would create 'unwarranted noise and pollution' that infringed his human rights.

What's more five local authorities, supported by the London mayor and Greenpeace, are expected to make its own judicial review application next week.




The self-styled New Zealand Baptist pastor who was charged for verbally abusing worshippers at a mosque has now been deported.

Controversial pastor Logan Robertson filmed himself leaving the airport and from his detention cell, asking: 'How sick is a government who would do something like that because you said you hate a religion?'

The Pillar Baptist Church pastor was accused of shouting racist slander towards a 65-year-old man and 15-year-old boy earlier in the month when he and a group of followers turned up to Kuraby Mosque in Brisbane.

The self-styled New Zealand Baptist pastor (pictured) who was charged for verbally abusing worshippers at a mosque has now been deported

A day later, the 31-year-old pastor (pictured) visited the Darra Mosque in Oxley where he was filmed in a heated exchange with Islamic Council of Queensland spokesman Ali Kadri

Police alleged the group of men told two men 'you don't belong in this country, you bl***y terrorist, and we should burn this place down to the ground'.

It was also alleged Mr Robertson referred to Islam as a cult and asked if the marriage between the prophet Muhammad and his wife Aisha amounted to paedophilia.

A day later, the 31-year-old pastor visited the Darra Mosque in Oxley where he was filmed in a heated exchange with Islamic Council of Queensland spokesman Ali Kadri.

'You want to be violent? You want to be a terrorist?' Mr Kadri allegedly told Mr Robertson during the fiery confrontation.

'You are coming and terrorising 15-year-old kids and 65-year-old women. Is that what you're doing? Dividing our country?'

The pastor was accused of shouting racist slander towards a 65-year-old man and 15-year-old boy when he and a group of followers turned up to Kuraby Mosque (pictured) in Brisbane

Mr Robertson was allegedly filmed by the media in a heated debate with Islamic Council of Queensland spokesperson Ali Kadri at another mosque in Darra

Mr Robertson and two other men aged 28 and 29 were each charged with two counts of public nuisance and one count each of enter premises with intent and trespass.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton cancelled Mr Robertson's Australian visa and he was reportedly arrested by Australian Border Force officers.

'Our country embraces free speech but doesn't tolerate hate speech and we don't tolerate people who are going to harass those people going about their business at a place of worship,' Mr Dutton said.

'Whether you are going to a mosque, whether you are going to a church, people have the right within our country to practice their religious belief and to do it unhindered.'

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton cancelled Mr Robertson's Australian visa and he was issued a $2,626 fee for his removal (pictured)

In the video entitled 'Goodbye Australia' and uploaded to the Pillar Baptist Church Youtube page, Mr Robertson said he was not willing to fight the deportation order.

'I've got better things to do,' he explained.

Mr Robertson said he wasn't sure what his future held but that he was 'sure God has a plan'.

In a recent post, it appears the pastor has travelled to the Philippines to set up another church.
Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont, pictured,

Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont returned to Belgium Saturday to drum up support for Catalonia's separatist movement after Spain's bid to extradite him on rebellion charges from Germany failed.

On arriving to Brussels, Puigdemont shook hands with other former members of his Cabinet who also fled Spain and the current regional president of Catalonia, Quim Torra, who had traveled from Spain to meet his predecessor.

Puigdemont said he will continue to travel around Europe in an attempt to explain the separatist position in wealthy Catalonia, which has so far failed to garner any support from European governments or major political parties.

'I have to continue doing my duty of fighting for fundamental rights denied by Spain,' Puigdemont said, while adding he has yet to plan his next move.

Puigdemont fled Spain in October following an illegal and ineffective declaration of independence by secessionist lawmakers in northeastern Catalonia.

He had been in Germany since March when he was arrested on a Spanish warrant while traveling by car from Finland back to Belgium.

But a Spanish judge withdrew the international warrant for Puigdemont and five other fugitive separatists after a German court refused to extradite him for rebellion.

Mr Puigdemont, left, was greeted by a delegation of Catalonian politicians in Brussels

Mr Puigdemont, left, returned to Brussels after German authorities refused to extradite him to Spain. However, if Mr Puigdemont returns to Spain he faces immediate arrest

Puigdemont can be arrested, however, if he returns to Spain.

He will now return to a residence he established in a house in the town of Waterloo.

Spain has undergone a change in government since the Catalan political crisis exploded last year after conservative leader Mariano Rajoy lost a vote of confidence in June.

Since then, Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has met with Torra in an attempt to relax tensions between Madrid and Barcelona.

'We are all waiting to hear Pedro Sanchez's answer to what he has recognized as a political problem,' Puigdemont said. 'What is his response to the demand of self-determination of Catalonia?'

Puigdemont and Torra used the joint press conference at a Catalan government office in Brussels to demand the release from preventative jail of nine separatist leaders who are awaiting trial for rebellion and other charges in Spain.

Polls and recent elections show that the 7.5 million residents of Catalonia are evenly divided over the question of breaking century-old ties with the rest of Spain.

Spain's Constitution says the nation is indivisible and that its sovereignty resides in its national parliament, not in their regional legislatures.

Catalan separatists hold seats in the Madrid parliament but have failed to make a serious bid to build the support needed to reform the Constitution.
The police are usually unwelcome guests when they gatecrash a birthday party.

But a group of New Zealand officers were greeted with open arms when they unexpectedly turned up a five year-old's party in Auckland on July 21 to give shocked birthday boy Zachary a celebration he'll never forget.

The adorable footage of the police making the little boy's birthday wish come true was shared on Auckland City District Police's Facebook page this week.

Zachary recently called the emergency hotline 111 several times to invite the police to the party, much to the horror of his mum Sarah, who repeatedly apologises when the operator named Jen calls back to check that everything was fine.

Stunned youngster Zachary (pictured) had a birthday bash he'll never forget, which included a fly-over from the police helicopter

'I'm really sorry, I feel a bit embarrassed,' his mum explains to the operator.

'He had just been telling me he wanted a police-themed birthday party and I didn't realise he was going to phone through.'

The pair laughed about the incident before the operator ended the call by saying she'd put the request in but wasn't sure if they would be able to make it.

The video then shows five off-duty officers on their day off, including several in full riot gear, knocking on Zachary's door, much to the shock of the birthday boy, who initially told his unexpected guests they couldn't join his party.

'You can come in now,' he tells the cops after they hand over a police dog toy.

Zachary (pictured) looks unsure whether or not to let his surprise birthday party guests join the fun at his police-themed bash

The heartwarming footage then shows a flock of children playing inside the police car outside with lights blaring and trying on uniforms and handcuffs.

A helicopter flies past above them, much to delight of the large group of guests.

Proudly sporting his new police cap, Zachary is then seen in the video blowing out candles on his police-themed cake before he tells the officers it's also time for jelly.

The police video has since been viewed more than half a million times on Facebook within three days.

The birthday boy and his friends couldn't wait to check out the police car waiting outside for them

'Love this. Brilliant. Thats about 30 kids who will grow up admiring the police and will know to approach and trust when they are at a time of need! Community engagement at its best!' one man commented.

A woman added: 'This is the cutest thing ever. You guys have some crap to deal with, it must be cool to do stuff like this.'

There's bad news for other youngsters who have the police on their list of potential guest list.

'While our off-duty staff were happy to bring Zachary's birthday wish to life, we don't encourage kids calling 111 to invite police to their birthdays,' a disclaimer at the end of the video states.
The Taliban held their first direct contact with a US official in a preliminary discussion about future peace talks on Afghanistan, a senior member of the insurgent group claimed on Saturday.

If correct, it marked one of the most significant developments amid efforts to find a negotiated end to the country's protracted war.

The Taliban source described as 'useful' a meeting with Alice Wells, America's top diplomat for South Asia, earlier this week.

The Taliban claim to have held discussions with the US which, if correct, marks one of the most significant developments amid efforts to find a negotiated end to the country's protracted war. Pictured: Taliban fighters west of Kabul on September 26, 2008

The militant said the meeting was held in the small Middle Eastern country of Qatar, where the Taliban have maintained a political office since 2013.

'The environment was positive and the discussion was useful,' the Taliban official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

US officials neither confirmed nor denied a meeting took place. However, Wells was in Doha, the Qatar capital, this week.

In a statement following her return, the State Department said only that Wells had been in Doha, had met with the ruling family and 'the United States is exploring all avenues to advance a peace process in close consultation with the Afghan government.'

Any talks about a future political setup would be between the Taliban and the Afghan government, the statement said.

The Taliban have long demanded direct talks with Washington, saying they do not want to talk politics with the US but instead meet face to face to discuss Washington's concerns - particularly its security concerns - about the Taliban and Taliban involvement in Afghanistan's future.

They also say they want a time frame for the withdrawal of the roughly 15,000 US and NATO troops still in Afghanistan.

It was not clear when the next meeting would be held or with whom, but the Taliban official who spoke out was certain one would be held.

A former Taliban minister and ex-head of their political committee, Aga Jan Mohtism, who has maintained close contacts with the insurgent group, also confirmed a meeting in Doha took place earlier this week.

'The Taliban want to solve their problems with the Americans to end the invasion,' he said.

The Taliban source described as 'useful' a meeting with Alice Wells, America's top diplomat for South Asia, earlier this week. She is pictured in Jordan on April 6, 2016

The Taliban have argued that the Afghan government cannot act independent of Washington. They also say that unless they can allay U.S. concerns about the group, an agreement with Kabul would be meaningless.

During the Taliban's five-year rule that ended with the 2001 US-led invasion, leader Mullah Mohammed Omar said regardless of whatever concessions they agreed to, including allowing girls to attend school, it would not gain them international recognition as long as the US refused to accept them.

The current leadership, most of whom are Mullah Omar's contemporaries, still believe their future in Afghanistan can be guaranteed only if the United States' concerns are addressed.

Until now, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani's national security team has said it is ready to hold talks with the Taliban at any time and that their allies, including the US, should participate only as observers.

In Kabul on Saturday, Shah Hussain Murtazawi, deputy spokesman for Ghani, repeated the government's oft-stated position that peace talks should be 'Afghan owned and Afghan led, any assistance the allies provide [would be in] a supportive role.'

Murtazawi did not comment directly on the meeting in Doha or say whether Ghani's government was aware that the meeting had been held.

A previous attempt at direct talks between Washington and the Taliban in 2013 also in Doha, was scuttled when then-Afghan President Hamid Karzai objected to the Taliban calling its office the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan - the name of its government - and flying the flag the movement flew when they ruled Afghanistan.

The current Taliban leadership, most of whom are Mullah Omar's contemporaries, still believe their future in Afghanistan can be guaranteed only if the United States' concerns are addressed. Pictured: A file photo of Taliban fighters

At the time the direct talks, which the Taliban also said would be restricted to US concerns about the movement and troop withdrawal, was to be followed by talks between the Taliban and the Afghan government.

There was also a suggestion at the time that the talks would include the freedom of five Taliban held in the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay and the release of captured U.S. soldier Bowe Bergdahl.

His release was eventually secured in May 2014 in exchange for the five Taliban prisoners, who are living in Doha.

The US still has around 14,000 troops in Afghanistan after President Trump decided to increase the US military's presence there by several thousand last year.

Some 3,550 international coalition troops, including 2,413 Americans, have died in Afghanistan since the invasion in 2001.
A sixth man has been charged over a suspected acid attack on a three-year-old boy as he sat in a pushchair during a shopping trip with his mother and is due to appear in court today.

Saied Hussini, 41, faces a charge of conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm following the attack in Worcester a week ago.

Five other men, including the victims father, appeared in court on Wednesday suspected of the same offence.

A sixth man has been charged in connection with the acid attack on a three-year-old boy who was targeted outside the Home Bargains store in Worcester a week ago

They are Slovakians Adam Cech, 27, Jan Dudi, 25, and Norbert Pulko, 22, from East London and Jabar Paktia, 41, from Wolverhampton, West Midlands.

The boys 39-year-old father, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also appeared in the dock.

They have all been remanded in custody.

Hussini from London, who was arrested yesterday, is due before JPs at Kidderminster Magistrates Court later.
A animal charity shop in the Cotswolds has has sparked outrage after putting 'overtly racist' golliwog dolls up for sale.

The Cotswolds Dogs & Cats Home shop in Cirencester, Gloucestershire, was given two of the dolls. The doll's depiction of African people is considered to be racist by many.

The displaying of the dolls in the shop's window has been condemned by the Show Racism the Red Card (SRtRC) charity which said it was saddened to hear that the 'demeaning' toys were on sale.

The Cotswolds Dogs & Cats Home shop sparked outrage after displaying the dolls in its window

After coming under fire, The Cotswolds Dogs & Cats Home, an affiliate of the RSPCA, removed the golliwogs from its stock yesterday and said they should not have been put up for sale.

Graham Waller, 45, had first brought the gollies to public attention after walking past the shop window.

He said he was 'taken aback' to see the golliwogs on sale given their racist connotations.

The instructional designer added: 'I took a double-take while walking past as I was shocked to see golliwogs on sale in this day and age.

'Seeing an outdated and offensive stereotype in a public place, and especially in a charity shop and at the level of passing children, was concerning.'

Golliwogs were created in 1895 by Florence Upton, who described them as a 'horrid sight, the blackest gnome'.

A SRtRC spokesman said: 'The dolls have unfortunately been used as a racist caricature of black people since then.'

Cirencester town councillor Jenny Hincks, who represents Watermoor, said she believes, however, that the dolls are a matter of 'personal preference'.

She said: 'If it does offend someone maybe it would be of benefit for them to go into the shop and ask them to remove it from the window.

'It doesn't mean the shop can't sell it, as that is their prerogative. Personally it doesn't offend me.

'I expect there are people who are scared of them. There are people who have strange phobias.

'I do understand and respect people's point of view that it is offensive. But it's not my right to tell a shop they can't sell something.'

SRtRC says the dolls' large lips, frizzy black hair and traditional minstrel attire are the product of a 'racist sentiment'.

The displaying of the dolls in the shop's window has been condemned by the Show Racism the Red Card

The charity's spokesman added: 'The sale of these dolls perpetuate racism as they hark back to a time when the mockery and stereotyping of black people was considered a social norm.

'SRtRC urges the public to refrain from buying such overtly racist items and we hope the shop selling the dolls would consider taking them out of the store as one cannot profit on the oppression of an entire community.

'In a multicultural and ethnically diverse Britain, such items no longer have a place.'

Mr Waller, of Keynsham, said the dolls do a disservice to the RSPCA's founding member William Wilberforce, who helped bring slavery to an end in Britain.

Kirstin Maycock, who manages the charity shop, said: 'We would never wish to cause offence when selling a donated item.

'But our team are always reluctant to commit to the rubbish bin items that are in good condition.

'However on this occasion the donation should not have been put out for sale and has now been removed from the shop floor and will not be sold.

'We would like to take this opportunity of thanking our community for their continued support. It makes a huge difference to the wonderful animals we care for.'

There are nine Cotswolds Dogs & Cats Home charity shops across Gloucestershire.

The charity runs an animal rehoming centre in Beechmeadow Farm in the village of Cambridge, near Dursley, Gloucestershire.
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These eerie images show the devastation left by wildfires raging through northern California, which have left two firefighters dead and destroyed 500 homes, as officials warned another 5,000 properties are still threatened.

On Friday, the evening sun combined with the smoky air to produce a milky glow, which illuminated the shattered remains of houses and the skeletons of thousands of charred trees.

In the communities scorched by the blaze, the air is thick with the smell of smoke and chemicals, as the so-called Carr Fire continues to move through Shasta County like a freight train.

On Saturday morning, some 3,400 firefighters on the ground and in helicopters continued to battle the 125 miles fire as it ripped through the city of Redding, while blazes continued to rage elsewhere in the state.

In the communities scorched by the blaze, such as Lake Keswick Estates in Redding (pictured), the Friday air was thick with the smell of smoke and chemicals, as the so-called Carr Fire continues to move through Shasta County like a freight train

Two vehicles that endured the Carr Fire, one with minor cosmetic damage and one destroyed, rest among leveled homes in the Lake Keswick Estates area of Redding on Friday evening

California Highway Patrol officer Gavin Graham surveys homes leveled by the Carr Fire in Lake Keswick Estates on Friday. The fire is still only three percent contained after igniting six days ago

The fire, which was just three percent contained after igniting six days ago, has been fed by high temperatures and low humidity, which were expected for at least the next week, said California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Director Ken Pimlott.

'This fire is a long way from done,' he said.

Gusty winds reaching 60mph have fanned the flames creating firenadoes, which are strong enough to flip cars like toys, according to fire service spokesman Scott McLean.

The fire began on Monday with a mechanical failure of a vehicle. It grew completely out of control on Thursday, tearing through two small communities and reaching the city of Redding.

Tens of thousands of people fled the city in fear of their lives from the blaze.

In the small northern California community of Keswick, only a handful of homes remain.

The flames so thoroughly ate up homes that it's difficult to tell how many once stood above the pile of ash and smoking rubble that remains.

Somewhere in there was the home of Shyla and Jason Campbell.

Jason Campbell, a firefighter, was six hours away battling a wildfire burning near Yosemite Valley when the Carr Fire moved in on his home and family.

Shyla Campbell, 32, said it was nearly 2 a.m. Thursday when she got an official alert to evacuate.

'It's huge flames, it's coming up the hill, and everyone's out and we're watching it, then it goes down, and everyone's like, 'Oh it's going out,' ' she said. 'And I'm like, 'No, it's going down the mountain and it's going to come back up the next ridge.' '

She was right.

The family spent the night at a hotel. When Jason Campbell returned from the blaze he was fighting on Friday, he found his own home had gone up in flames, along with an RV and a boat.

Mark Peterson, who lost his home in the Carr Fire, gives water to goats that survived the blaze on Friday in the city of Redding, California

Gusty winds reaching 60mph have fanned the flames creating firenadoes, which are strong enough to flip cars like toys, according to fire service spokesman Scott McLean. Pictured: Leveled homes in the Lake Keswick area on Friday

The flames so thoroughly ate up homes in Keswick that it's difficult to tell how many once stood above the pile of ash and smoking rubble that remains

The fire began on Monday with a mechanical failure of a vehicle. It grew completely out of control on Thursday, tearing through two small communities and reaching the city of Redding, which is pictured on Friday

The Campbells' home of five years is among at least 500 structures that officials say were destroyed by the fire, which also swept through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and hit homes in Redding, a city of 92,000 about 100 miles south of the Oregon border.

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE CREATES ITS OWN WEATHER SYSTEM The wildfire tearing through northern California is so hot it's formed its own weather system, with strong winds creating 'firenados'. The phenomenon occurs when high temperatures drive the air upward, creating gusts of wind in three directions and pushing the smoke vertically. The winds within the firenados are so strong they can flip cars like toys, according to fire service spokesman Scott McLean. At the height of the blaze on Thursday a firenado sent large, fiery chunks of debris into the air, landing on buildings, homes and trees, advancing the spread of the flames. 'The fire created its own wind. It looks an awful lot like a tornado,' UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain told the Sacremento Bee. 'These fire-induced winds were very strong and unpredictable and drove this fire from dry brush and trees into urban areas.' Advertisement

'It's tough,' Shyla Campbell said Friday from the city of Shasta Lake. 'I just have to figure out where we're going to stay. We're just trying to stay away from the fire.'

So are about 37,000 people who remain under evacuation orders Friday. Nearly 5,000 homes in the area were being threatened by the 75-square-mile (194-square-kilometer) blaze, which is just five percent contained.

Thousands of people scrambled to escape before the walls of flames descended from forested hills onto their neighborhoods Thursday.

Residents who gathered their belongings in haste described a chaotic and congested getaway as the embers blew up to a mile ahead of flames and the fire leaped across the wide Sacramento River and torched subdivisions in Redding.

Redding police chief Roger Moore was among those who lost their homes, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Greg and Terri Hill evacuated their Redding home of 18 years Thursday night with little more than their medications, photo albums, clothes and firearms, assuming they'd be back in a few days.

But when they returned Friday, virtually nothing was left of their home but fine particles of ash.

The remains were smoldering so hot, they couldn't get too close to see if anything survived.

'It's pretty emotional,' Terri Hill said. 'I know it's just stuff. A lot of memories. But we'll make new memories and get new stuff. Everybody's safe.'

A partially burned boat floats on Whiskeytown Lake during the Carr fire near Whiskeytown, California, on Friday, near where to more than 100 homes were burned

There are more fires elsewhere in the state. This photo shows a blaze over Apple Canyon caused by the Cranston Fire near Idyllwild, San Bernardino, on Friday

An eagle ornament at the top of a damaged flag pole is seen against the setting sun during the Carr fire in Redding, California, on Friday

The flames moved so fast that firefighters working in oven-like temperatures and bone-dry conditions had to drop efforts to battle the blaze at one point to help people escape. Pictured: The Carr Fire near Redding on Friday

Firefighters gather on a roadside near the Cranston Fire near Idyllwild in San Bernardino County on Friday. The fire has been made worse by strong winds

The Hills fled before they were told to, knowing danger was afoot when the power went out and helicopters suddenly began flying low over their home.

Liz Williams loaded up two kids in her car and then found herself locked in bumper-to-bumper traffic with neighbors trying to retreat from Lake Redding Estates.

She eventually jumped the curb onto the sidewalk and 'booked it.'

'I've never experienced something so terrifying in my life,' she said. 'I didn't know if the fire was just going to jump out behind a bush and grab me and suck me in.'

The flames moved so fast that firefighters working in oven-like temperatures and bone-dry conditions had to drop efforts to battle the blaze at one point to help people escape.

Two firefighters were killed in the blaze, Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke and a bulldozer operator whose name wasn't immediately released. He was the second bulldozer operator killed in a California blaze in less than two weeks.

Elsewhere in the state, large fires continued to burn outside Yosemite National Park and in the San Jacinto Mountains east of Los Angeles near Palm Springs.

Yosemite National Park officials said Friday that the park won't reopen to everyone until the afternoon of August 3.

Keela Brilz (right) holds her dog Zoe who was returned safely to her at her burned home in Redding in Friday. Elsewhere, people have not been able to return

Greg and Terri Hill stand in front of the charred remains of their home in Redding. Elsewhere in the state, large fires continued to burn outside Yosemite National Park and in the San Jacinto Mountains east of Los Angeles near Palm Springs
A motorcyclist has been left shaken after a minor road dispute resulted in him having what appeared to be a shot gun waved in his face by a fellow road-user.

Christoph Hoppen was heading down single-lane Winterfold Road in Hilton, south west of Perth, when he gave a 'two figure salute' to a driver he claimed tried to unsafely overtake him on Thursday afternoon.

Shortly after the brief encounter, as the 39-year-old digital designer was about to make a right turn into Chadwick Street, he saw what looked like the shape of a gun emerge out the driver's window towards him, Seven News reported.

A motorcyclist has been left shaken after a minor road dispute resulted in him having what appeared to be a shot gun waved in his face by a fellow road-user

Christoph Hoppen (pictured) was heading down single-lane Winterfold Road in Hilton, south west of Perth, when he gave a 'two figure salute' to a driver he claimed tried to unsafely overtake him Thursday afternoon

'He drove past me, shouted something and had what looked like a handgun and waved it out the window. [He] said 'what do you want' or something to that effect ... and he kept going,' Mr Hoppen said.

In a last-minute decision, the motorcyclist switched on his helmet camera and captured the white sedan as it was driving away.

While the footage was too blurry to make out the car's registration, the image of the potentially lethal object alone was enough to leave Mr Hoppen 'flabbergasted'.

'We've all seen them on TV, it looked like a Glock, long square barrel and just freaky,' he said.

In a last-minute decision, the motorcyclist switched on his helmet camera and captured the white sedan as it was driving away

While the footage was too blurry to make out the car's registration, the image of the potentially lethal object alone was enough to leave Mr Hoppen (pictured) 'flabbergasted'

'I didn't think anything was going to happen. I was just flabbergasted that somebody pulls out [what looks like] a gun in suburban Hilton. It's not New York or London or whatever, it's Freo.'

The incident has been reported to police, who are currently searching for the driver of a white Ford Falcon sedan.

Mr Hoppen conceded 'people can't drive in Perth' but thought driving with a firearm in the car was completely ridiculous.

Anyone with information on the incident is urged to call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
Hundreds of people gathered for a funeral service honoring five of the 17 lives lost in the tragic sinking of a duck boat on a Missouri lake on July 19.

The funeral was held in Indianapolis on Saturday to remember Indiana family Horace Coleman, 70; his wife, Belinda Coleman, 69; Ervin Coleman, 76; Angela Coleman, 45; and her 2-year-old son, Maxwell.

On Friday another ceremony was held for the four other Coleman family members who also perished in the devastating boat sinking, honoring Glenn Goleman, 40 and his three children: 9-year-old Reece, 7-year-old Evan and 1-year-old Arya.

On Saturday hundreds gathered to remember five members of the Coleman family that died in the sinking of a duck boat on a Missouri lake on July 19, the Indianapolis ceremony pictured

Nearly 1,000 family members and friends gathered at the Saturday ceremony to remember their loved ones who died when a storm passed over a lake they were boating in

Family members sobbed upon reaching the flower adorned caskets at the ceremony Saturday

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb spoke at the funeral to honor Horace Coleman, Belinda Coleman, Irvin Coleman, Angela Coleman and Maxwell Coleman - five of the nine Coleman family members that perished in the tragedy

Bishop William Harris also spoke at the ceremony in Indianapolis on Saturday

Governor Eric Holcomb attended both ceremonies and Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett attended the Saturday ceremony at Eastern Star Church.

In a moving speech Governor Holcomb assured survivors that they are not alone.

'The Coleman family continues to just get bigger, as in 6.6million Hoosiers bigger, as in millions of more Americans bigger. The Coleman family story of faith and love in action has gone global,' Holcomb said at the funeral.

Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter also attended both funerals despite not knowing the Colemans adding 'he felt called to be here', according to the Indy Star.

'Unimaginable pain for these families and this community. I told the family members that they are inspiring a nation. They truly are. It's incredibly humbling to witness,' he said.

In the horrific duck boat accident only Tia Coleman, Glenn Coleman's wife and mother of their children, and her 13-year-old nephew were the only two survivors among the 11 Coleman family members that boarded the ship that fateful day.

At the funeral five caskets were lined up at the front of the church adorned with flowers on top of four of them and a US flag on the other

Guests comforted each other as they walked towards the caskets at the front of the church

Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett also shared his condolences at the funeral ceremony

There were a total of 31 people aboard the duck boat sank after a sudden storm passed over Table Rock Lake in Branson, Missouri on July 19, killing 17.

Nine of those victims were of the Coleman family.

At the Saturday funeral five caskets were lined up at the front of the church adorned with flowers on top of four of them and a US flag on the other.

Pastor A. Thomas Hill said the family will be sustained by its faith.

'How can they deal with such a horrific, traumatic crisis? This family, they got a Jesus connection. It's not the end; rather it's the beginning of a new life. That's the hope of this family. Let God be their comfort today,' Hill told the congregation.

The sunken 'Ride the Ducks' duck boat in Branson, Missouri, is raised from the bed of Table Rock Lake in Missouri on July 23

A bystander captured this shocking video showing the doomed boat being lashed by strong, massive waves for about five minutes before it became entirely submerged on June 19
Former energy minister Mike O'Brien removed his own device because he couldn't keep track of it

The architect of the smart meter roll-out has removed his own device because he can't keep track of it.

Former energy minister Mike O'Brien said then-energy secretary Ed Milliband, during the Gordon Brown Government, made bad assumptions in designing the programme.

They were wrong to think users would monitor their electricity and gas use and consume less as a result, he told the Telegraph.

'I had an early version, after a while I barely looked at it, didn't use it. We got rid of it,' he said.

Mr O'Brien and other former ministers also slammed the decision to let the big six energy companies roll out the programme instead of distribution network operators.

They said this mistake was caused by constant lobbying from power companies that the government caved into.

The programme was also rushed into service by politicians and bureaucrats desperate to meet climate change targets.

Mr O'Brien said: 'Far from opposing us, the Tories were saying we weren't being green enough. These were the days of David Cameron chasing huskies.'

However, according to one expert they 'couldn't tell the difference between a spanner and a banana'.

Meters now stop working when a household changes supplier, and many don't work in mobile phone blackspots as they use technology that relies on the signal.

Energy companies also pressured customers into installing a smart meter even if they didn't want one.

Energy giants can use smart meters to cut the power supply to homes and force customers to pay their bill up front

The Energy Department said more than 11 million smart and advanced meters were installed in Britain and more than 400,000 were being installed every month.

'Smart meters are expected to take 300 million off domestic energy bills in 2020 alone, rising to an annual saving of 1.2 billion by 2030,' it said.

Smart Energy GB's head of policy and communications, Fflur Lawton said: 'For most households, having a smart meter installed could help them save enough energy each year to power their home for a week.

'This is a significant national infrastructure project, modernising equipment in all our homes so naturally there have been a few bumps in the road.

'Whats important to remember is that smart meters will reduce energy bills, help keep the lights on and deliver billions of pounds of savings to our economy.'
A special taskforce has been set up to investigate sexual relationships between inmates and prison officers as more allegations surface of sexual trysts behind bars.

The controversial allegations will be probed by the former head of the state's Counter Terrorism and Special Tactics Command squad, Mark Murdoch.

Corrections Minister David Elliott said 'around 12 staff' had contacted him and he wanted to move to criminalise sex with prisoners and ensure any guards caught would never work in government.

'I want their reputation so badly tarnished they can never work for the state government again,' Mr Elliott said.

Controversial allegations of sexual trysts behind bars will be probed by the former head of the state's Counter Terrorism and Special Tactics Command squad, Mark Murdoch (pictured)

Married prison guard Amy Connors (left) has been suspended from her work after the alleged affair with Sione Penisini (right) when the pair used CCTV-free interview rooms to rendezvous

'Over the last week, a number of officers have contacted me to convey their disgust and disappointment over the allegations,' Mr Elliott told The Daily Telegraph.

'What is also concerning is that many of these officers have told me that they feel uncomfortable raising their concerns with their union due to its culture of favouritism and nepotism.

'I receive information from a number of sources, but not once has the Public Service Association or any other union brought one of these allegations to my attention.'

The investigation will examine how current and past allegations of inappropriate relationships were reported, investigated and punished.

Mr Elliott said he would be meeting with prison officers at Kempsey on Monday.

Prison officer Amy Connors, a married mother-of-two, (pictured) was reported to be pregnant with convicted cop killer Penisini's child

The formal investigation follows claims made by a prison guard that sordid trysts between inmates and staff are 'commonplace' in Australian jails.

The anonymous whistle-blower said she once saw a guard sitting on top of a naked prisoner with her skirt up while having sex with him in a jail cell.

Another one of her former colleagues gave birth to a convicted killer's children after he seduced her in a quiet area of a prison wing, she said.

The guard told 9News: 'It's commonplace for female officers to have sex with inmates.

Former corrections officer, Kerryn Pholi (pictured) insisted that banning women from male prisons is not the answer

'I saw a female prison officer with her skirt up around her waist with no underwear on top of an inmate with no clothes on.'

That incident was in 2009. Asked if she had seen other guards having sex with inmates, she replied: 'Yes, I had seen another female prison officer in a secluded area of a wing in the middle of the day having sex with an inmate as well.'

The guard said these acts were not reported because of a culture of silence.

She also said it was common for guards to have sex with each other inside jail at work.

It comes after two female guards were this week accused of romping with convicted killers.

One former corrections officer, Kerryn Pholi, on Thursday insisted that banning women from male prisons is not the answer because a 'professional and authoritative female presence' is beneficial to the convicts' rehabilitation.

She also said the vast majority of women guards wouldn't dream of having sex with 'a guy who doesn't have a job, doesn't even have his own bedroom, and who needs 24-hour supervision.'

Writing in The Daily Telegraph, she said she was mystified by how sex with an inmate even works.

'Whatever quick grope these people could manage out of view of the cameras, the staff and other prisoners, it would hardly be a quality experience,' she wrote.

Corrective Service Commissioner Peter Severin wants to throw officers who cavort with inmates behind bars and consider forcing inmates to take anti-libido drugs.

It's currently not illegal for corrections staff to have sex with inmates, although it is a breach of their code of conduct.

'If I had my way I would make it an offence punishable by imprisonment,' Mr Severin told The Daily Telegraph.

Hinting at anti-libido drugs, he added: 'I want to do anything that will stop inappropriate behaviour from happening.

'If there are medically based options would I say no? No I wouldn't, no I wouldn't because I want to stop this behaviour from happening.'

Female prison guard Amy Connors (pictured) is alleged to have had sex with cop killer Sione Penisini

Convicted cop killer Sione Pensini (right) and prison guard Amy Connors were under surveillance for more than a month before the alleged sexual liaison was uncovered

Corrective Service Commissioner Peter Severin is pushing for dramatic reforms after two female guards were this week accused of romping with convicted killers

'Incarceration is supposed to take away all those privileges but some of the prisoners are still getting that privilege,' brother-in-law Duncan Miller said.

On his radio show on Wednesday, 2GB host Ryan Hadley called prisons 'hotbeds' for illicit sexual relationships.

It comes after convicted cop killer Sione Penisini was caught having a sexual relationship with a guard in Kempsey maximum-security prison in New South Wales.

In 2015, officer Jody Marson (pictured), 33, was sacked for having an 'improper relationship' with Thomas Kelly's killer

Prison officer Amy Connors, a married mother-of-two, was reported to be pregnant with Penisini's child, but her family has denied those claims, according to radio station 2GB.

Penisini was sentenced to 36 years jail in 2002, after being convicted of murdering police officer Glenn McEnally.

Corrective Services staff reportedly had Connors and Penisini under surveillance for a month before they swooped, suspending the guard from duty, Nine News reported.

Penisini has since been moved to Goulburn Supermax jail, home to Australia's most hardened criminals, after allegedly assaulting a fellow prisoner in recent weeks.

Penisini allegedly 'groomed' Connors by pushing her into weightloss surgery.

Police Association president Tony King slammed Mr Elliot and Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Severin after the allegations were made public.

'If Elliott and Severin were doing their jobs, every cop killer would be rotting away in Supermax, it's a direct slap in the face of every officer, all of us who have worn the blue shirt,' he said on Tuesday.

Connors reportedly attempted to tender her resignation after being suspended on Friday but it was denied because Correction Services wish to complete their investigations first.

In 2015, correctional officer Jody Marson, 33, was sacked for having an 'improper relationship' with Kieran Loveridge, who was convicted of killing Thomas Kelly in an unprovoked attack in Sydney's Kings Cross in 2012.

Loveridge's relationship with Ms Marson took place inside the cell he shared with another prisoner before the 21-year-old was moved to Goulburn Supermax prison back in March 2015 for stomping on a fellow inmate's head.

Kieran Loveridge (left), was convicted of killing Thomas Kelly in an unprovoked attack in Sydney's Kings Cross in 2012
A mother-of-three found dead in her garage had accused her ex-husband of assault months before the murder.

Adrian Basham was questioned by homicide detectives over his ex-wife Samantha Fraser's death on Phillip Island, Victoria, six days ago.

The 41-year-old was charged with nine counts of assault in September 2017, and was due to face Latrobe Valley Magistrates Court on Monday.

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The ex-husband of a mother-of-three found dead in her garage had been charged with NINE counts of assault against her

Adrian Basham's (pictured) behavior has been described as both aggressive and domineering. It is not suggested that Adrian Basham is responsible for the death of Samantha Fraser

Ms Fraser sought protection from Mr Basham after their separation, going to the extent of having her parents move into her Seagrove Way home.

The 38-year-old psychologist feared for her life in the months before her death,The Herald Sun reported.

Ms Fraser changed the locks to her home just a month before the discovery of her body.

At a vigil held on Friday night in her memory white ribbons were displayed, a symbol of the fight against domestic violence.

Ms Fraser's parents, who were living with her at the time of her demise, had travelled to the United States a week prior to visit their son.

A month prior to the discovery of her body in the garage of her home (pictured), she had changed the locks to the property

Police were alerted when Ms Fraser (pictured) didn't arrive to pick up her children from school in the afternoon

'We came home as quick as we could,' he said.

'Thank you for standing up for Samantha. She truly was a remarkable woman, a remarkable mother and a remarkable daughter.

'If anyone can help us in any way, enabling us to bring her justice, the person who created this travesty, then please come forward.'

Ms Fraser's mother is now in Melbourne looking after her three children, Jemima, Rex and April.

Friends have since noted Mr Basham's behavior was often both aggressive and domineering.

They also added he had not coped well since the separation with Ms Fraser about two years prior.

Homicide squad investigators questioned Mr Basham after Ms Fraser's body was found in her garage six days ago

Not only was his ex-wife subjected to his aggression, but neighbour Toni Smith added she had also been verbally abused on one occasion when she refused to give Mr Basham any information regarding Ms Fraser.

Her death came as a shock to the local community, who were notified of the murder investigation four days after her death.

Police were alerted when Ms Fraser didn't arrive to pick up her children from school in the afternoon.

Police conducted a welfare check at her home on Seagrove Way, Phillip Island, only to find her dead.

It is not suggested that Adrian Basham is responsible for the death of Samantha Fraser.
Controversial right-wing activist Lauren Southern was protected by more than 40 police even though no protesters turned up.

Riot police on horses and more than a dozen police four-wheel drives were stationed at Darling Harbour in Sydney on Saturday night.

More than a week after a woman stormed the stage during the Melbourne leg of her Australian tour, the Canadian YouTube activist's organisers left nothing to chance.

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Lauren Southern began her one-hour presentation by having a go at New South Wales police for interrogating her on Friday as she approached the Lakemba mosque in south-west Sydney

Riot police on horses and more than a dozen police four-wheel drives were stationed at Darling Harbour in Sydney on Saturday night

Controversial right-wing YouTube activist Lauren Southern was protected by more than 40 police even though no protesters turned up

In downtown Sydney, however, protesters were absent outside the International Convention Centre at Cockle Bay as more than 750 ticket holders filed in shortly after 7pm

In downtown Sydney, however, extreme-left protesters were absent outside the International Convention Centre as more than 750 ticket holders filed in shortly after 7pm.

In Victoria, Southern's entourage were billed $68,000 by the state police and the tab for her New South Wales leg could be just as high.

The 23-year-old critic of multiculturalism, who describes herself as a nationalist and rejects the term 'alt right', began her one-hour presentation by having a go at NSW Police for interrogating her on Friday as she approached the Lakemba Mosque in south-west Sydney.

Southern, who was banned from Britain in March for handing out flyers which said 'Allah is gay', was told by Inspector Rick Agius to refrain from visiting the Muslim place of worship on Haldon Street.

She accused the state police of tipping the media off about her visit to Lakemba during the start of her presentation in the Pyrmont Theatre of the Convention Centre.

More than a week after a woman stormed the stage during the Melbourne leg of her Australia tour, the Canadian YouTube activist's organisers left nothing to chance

The 23-year-old Canadian YouTube activist accused New South Wales Police of tipping the media off about her visit to the Lakemba mosque

Lauren Southern's audience, which included a supporter of the American National Rifle Association, were told that multiculturalism was incompatible with free speech

'Within 20 minutes, maybe 15, I had not just the media following me around but the police,' she said.

'And they crossed the street, came to speak with me and told me, "Lauren, if you speak to anyone in this neighbourhood, you may be violating the law".

'"If you criticise Islam in this neighbourhood, you will be violating the law."'

Southern, who posted a YouTube video titled 'Thrown Out Of Sydney No Go Zone', claimed that Inspector Agius had even told her she would be held responsible for inciting violence.

'I argued with him. I asked him to explain more and basically I was told, "If you continue your walk through Lakemba to try and understand and discover the culture here, you may offend these people so much that they will get violent, they will attack you and you will cause an issue here" and I will be responsible for it,' she said.

'I will be the one responsible for it if other people incite violence against me for my opinions.'

Southern, who posted a YouTube video titled 'Thrown Out Of Sydney No Go Zone', claimed that Inspector Agius had even told her she would be held responsible for inciting violence

Southern also likened multiculturalism to a religion which didn't allow criticism.

'Multiculturalism and free speech cannot co-exist,' she said.

'The first rule of multiculturalism is you cannot talk about multiculturalism.'

She also compared the multicultural immigration to a poly-amorous marriage.

'Love that belongs to everyone belongs to no one,' she said.

Fellow Canadian podcaster Stefan Molyneux was even more provocative on stage, claiming 30 to 50 per cent of Aboriginal babies in Australia were killed before the arrival of Europeans.

The 51-year Irish-born, right-wing commentator made the extraordinary claim that Aboriginal babies had sand poured down their throats as part of these barbaric acts of infanticide.

Southern also likened multiculturalism to a religion which didn't allow criticism

Fellow Canadian podcaster Stefan Molyneux was even more provocative on stage, claiming 30 to 50 per cent of Aboriginal babies in Australia were killed before the arrival of Europeans

He also asserted that indigenous culture sanctioned the gang rape of women and female genital mutilation with a stone knife.

Asked about the sources of his claims during the question and answer session, he declined to go into detail.

'This came from a whole essay that I'm going to publish. It will include all of the sources for all of the research,' he said.

'We're going to publish that over the next couple of weeks.'

Molyneux also asserted that sub-Saharan African had below-average IQs of 70.

Stefan Molyneux also claimed that sub-Saharan African had low IQs and that children of smart Muslims were more likely to become radicalised because of 'regression to the mean'

After a Brazilian man suggested people should be judged as individuals, Molyneux said the offspring of people from other cultures would be likely to be stupid even if their parents were intelligent.

'No, no, no, no, you can't treat people as individuals,' he said.

'Of course not, because we all have countries of origin.

'And there is also regression to the mean.

'So if you take a really tall Chinese guy, his kids aren't going to be as tall.

'If you take high IQ people from low IQ countries, their kids on the whole are going to be less smart and you can see this.

'Very smart Muslims who wanted to be free of theocracy came to, say, England and their children are more radicalised because of regression to the mean.'

Outside the Pyrmont Theatre Matthew, 25, wore a 'Make Australia Great Again' cap and said he came especially to hear Molyneux.

'I have a lot of respect for him because he's consistent with his beliefs,' he told Daily Mail Australia, requesting that his surname not be published.
Cashed-up immigrants are jumping visa queues in their thousands - and some only need to spend 40 days in Australia every year.

The Federal Government is now reviewing the investment visa scheme that allows foreign millionaires to fast-track their entry into the country.

The review comes more than two years after the Productivity Commission revealed the visas were of little benefit to Australia.

The federal government will review its investment visa scheme (stock image)

However, wealthy immigrants taking advantage of the scheme have pumped $11billion into the economy in recent years, The Sunday Telegraph reported.

A large majority of applicants are Chinese investors.

Hundreds of applicants have been rejected due to being unable to produce the evidence required to prove the source of their wealth.

A migration lawyer claimed a recent client had to provide evidence dating back to 1990.

The Productivity Commission described the case for investment visas as 'not compelling' in its 2016 report.

Since 2012, almost 2000 cashed-up migrants have had their entry into the country fast-tracked through the Significant Investment Visa by forking out $5million to invest in Australian shares or venture capital projects.

They only have to spend 40 days per year in Australia for four years before they can apply for permanent residency.

Another 700 investors were successful under the investor visa by forking out $1.5million and spend two years in Australia before seeking permanent residency.

Almost 2000 cashed-up migrants have had their entry into the country fast-tracked through the Significant Investment Visa in the last six years (stock image)

The Premium Investor Visa, which requires applicants to invest $15million, has had no successful applications to date.

'These visa classes account for a very small proportion of the total migrant intake,' the Productivity Commission report stated.

'The marginal addition to investment in these assets that is induced by the investor visa classes is unlikely to have any impact on the cost of capital for Australian businesses.'

Australia China Entrepreneurs Club chairman Richard Yuan hopes the government will consider making it easier for wealthy investors to apply for visas.

'There is so much potential to benefit Australia from the visa program,' he said.

Liberal MP and chair of the government's Joint Standing Committee on Migration Jason Wood is in favour of fast-tracking visas for those who 'create businesses and jobs for Australians.'

'To me, it's bringing money into the country. If we don't do it, other countries will do it,' Mr Wood said.

Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has come under fire from shadow immigration spokesman Shayne Neumann for taking more than two years to undertake the review since the Productivity Commission report.

The minister's department admitted it was aware of the potential for fraud in the investment visas process in Senate estimates last year.

Citizenship and Multicultural Affairs Minister Alan Tudge said the review aimed to assess whether current visa process allow Australia to attract the best applicants.
The massive block formerly home to 'Perth's biggest eyesore' has been unable to attract a buyer despite its prime location and relatively low price point.

More than 100 potential buyers fronted the Mosman Park 'Taj on the Swan' auction on Friday where just five people were willing to throw their hat in the ring.

Owners, tycoon couple Pankaj and Radhika Oswal, paid $22million for the property 11 years ago, but its seems unlikely they'll be accepting anything close to that in the sale, Nine News reported.

The massive block formerly home to 'Perth's biggest eyesore' (pictured) has been unable to attract a buyer despite its prime location and relatively low price point

More than 100 potential buyers fronted the Mosman Park 'Taj on the Swan' auction on Friday where just five people were willing to throw their hat in the ring (empty block pictured)

Things started out promising with a first bid of $10million, but stopped far shy of $20million when bidding was eventually passed in at $15.6million.

The Indian-inspired palace stood incomplete on the 6600sq m block for six years - making in a target for vandals, trespassers and illegal parties.

Finally in 2016, the derelict building was torn down and the exclusive parcel of land once again became a blank canvas for potential subdivision or development.

Opportunists have the option to divide the huge block into six separate lots, with each likely to be worth a pretty penny on their own given the pristine position.

Things started out promising with a first bid of $10million, but stopped far shy of $20million when bidding was eventually passed in at $15.6million (concept design pictured)

Owners, tycoon couple Pankaj and Radhika Oswal (pictured), paid $22million for the property 11 years ago, but its seems unlikely they'll be accepting anything close to that in the sale

The Indian-inspired palace (pictured being torn down) stood incomplete on the 6600sq m block for six years - making in a target for vandals, trespassers and illegal parties

Agents, however, have their bets on buyers keeping the block whole and making use of the potential allowed by the whopping piece of prime real estate.

'I think most of them would buy it as one super block, Dalkeith Ray White's Vivian Yap said.

Ms Yap is hopeful she will be able to secure $16million for the Oswals.

'I think I can get it done, I think I can seal the deal,' she said.

Finally in 2016, the derelict building was torn down (pictured) and the exclusive parcel of land once again became a blank canvas for potential subdivision or development
Dr Marek Kukula has admitted downloading 407 images of boys

Greenwich Observatory's Public Astronomer has admitted downloading 407 sick sexual images of boys.

Dr Marek Kukula blamed pressure on completing the writing of 'The Scientific Secrets of Doctor Who' after turning to internet child porn.

Police raided his 780,000 flat in London Bridge, seizing 18 devices and finding the disgusting movie clips and still images on an old laptop and two USB sticks.

Clips included boys young as 10 being abused by older men and having sex with other youngsters.

The 49-year-old is the observatory's official spokesman on astronomy and space science, having held senior research positions at UK universities and at NASA's Space Telescope Science Institute.

He pleaded guilty to making 34 Category A indecent images of a child; 107 Category B and 266 Category C indecent images on or before October 5, last year. He received a suspended prison sentence.

'You are a man of exceptional intelligence and academic and professional success,' Inner London Crown Court Judge Freya Newbery told him.

The astronomer (pictured with science writer Stephen Petranek) downloaded images of boys as young as 10

'You have excelled in your own field and you must be more disappointed than anybody to find yourself in this situation, but you have taken steps to put this all behind you to tackle your demons.'

At the Royal Observatory Greenwich he oversees science content and exhibitions and public programmes and is a spokesperson for the landmark institution.

He is also the author of 'The Intimate Universe' and while a project manager and researcher in residence at the University of Edinburgh he managed a national scheme to train young researchers and match them with secondary schools.

Prosecutor Rebecca Folks said officers armed with a search warrant told Kukula they suspected indecent images had been downloaded at the address.

'He said: "I'm gay and I have been chatting to people online."'

They found Kukula, who has a degree in Physics with Astrophysics, had downloaded and deleted the images between 2006 and 2009.

Dr Kukula (pictured with a 3D printer in the first ever Mar show home) blamed his actions on the stress of writing a book

The worst material showed boys aged between 10 and 14 years-old having sex with each other and with adult men.

Kukula admits he clicked on search terms including: 'man boy sex' 'pre-teen boy' and young boy sex.'

'He has been open and honest he used the internet as a stress-reliever from work at the time. He was changing career, he was under financial pressure and was writing two books,' said Mr. Michael McAlinden, defending.

'To escape he started to binge on the net. He became addicted to surfing the internet and became addicted to pornography and unfortunately that addiction was the type of pornography you see.

'He is homosexual and looks at gay pornography. As he found to his cost searches revealed images that were not appropriate.

'He was not purposefully searching for Category A images and when he saw images of this type they were deleted.'

Kukula was sentenced to twenty-one weeks imprisonment, suspended for twelve months, must complete a sixty-day rehabilitation activity requirement and pay 535 costs.

He must obey a seven-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order, which limits his internet use and sign the sex offenders register for the same period.

'You used porn to deal with stress in the past during a difficult time for you,' the judge told him. 'You were looking at a lot of adult pornography, you got bored and got drawn into the underage pornography sites.'
An upset student has begged JetBlue to refund the costs of an airfare after a bride-to-be asked her to 'relinquish' her role as a bridesmaid and return her outfit - a jumpsuit  for a newly appointed replacement to wear.

Courtney Duffy, an MBA student at Ivy League school Dartmouth College, shared an astonishing email on Twitter in which the bride asked her to give up the position because she is too busy with her studies to fulfill all the necessary duties.

The email has divided social media, with many branding the wife-to-be a 'bridezilla', while others defended her view that bridesmaids needed to dedicate a large amount of time to the role.

Courtney Duffy, an MBA student at Ivy League school Dartmouth College, tweeted JetBlue on Friday to say she had been ditched as a bridesmaid and no longer wanted flights to the wedding

Duffy shared an astonishing email, dated Thursday) in which the bride asked her to give up the position because she is too busy with her studies to fulfill all the necessary duties

Duffy tweeted on Friday to tell JetBlue that she had booked cross-country flights for the wedding but now wanted to avoid it 'at all costs'.

'SOS @JetBlue! Booked my X-C flights for a wedding, then was asked "to relinquish" my "duties as a bridesmaid" & mail my bridesmaid outfit X-C so another girl could fill in and wear it (Happy bday to me!) I am laughing & crying & must avoid this wedding at all costs. Pls help?' she wrote.

The budget airline responded with an offer to help by paying for a 'girls' weekend' to patch up the relationship.

'Hey Courtney, weve been thinking. The jumpsuit may have been borrowed, but well bring the (Jet)Blue. When youre ready to patch things up, wed like to help make your old friendship feel like new. A future girls weekend is on us!' they wrote.

Duffy later posted two more tweets thanking Jet Blue and saying she had been surprised by the response to her post.

'Wow, did not expect this response - clearly the situation resonated. Thanks @jetblue for providing the refund I was hoping for, and thanks to everyone for chiming in with well wishes, humor, and even devils advocacy,' she wrote.

The bride, identified only as 'Alex', told Duffy (pictured) she could no longer be a bridesmaid because school was getting in the way of her ability to attend all the events

'Weddings have gotten totally out of control - this is about more than just an email. Im hoping this thread reminds future lovebirds and bridal parties to keep their feet on the ground :)'

The email from the bride, dated Thursday, was shared in Duffy's Twitter post.

The bride, identified only as 'Alex', told Duffy her request was 'one of the hardest things I've ever had to ask anyone'.

Im so glad youve booked flights! [] Ive got a massive favor to ask you, though  and this is one of the hardest things Ive ever had to ask anyone  but I need to ask you to relinquish your duties as a bridesmaid,' Alex writes.

The bride then explains that she had hoped for Duffy to be able to come to all the events, but the nature of her schedule meant that was impossible.

When I asked you, I was really hoping you could be part of this whole thing  the bachelorette trip, at least the weekend, prep and the full night of the event (a Sunday night flight means you wont even be able to be there for the whole wedding)

'The whirlwind nature of what your travel has become just wont work with the duties as a party member. I am so, so sorry!!'

The exchange has divided social media, with many branding the wife-to-be a 'bridezilla', while others defended her view that bridesmaids needed to dedicate a large amount of time to the role. Duffy is pictured in photos posted on Facebook

The budget airline responded with an offer to help by paying for a 'girl's weekend' to patch up the relationship

Duffy later posted two more tweets thanking Jet Blue and saying she had been surprised by the response to her post

Alex then asked Duffy to return her wedding outfit - a jumpsuit.

Please dont feel youre letting me down, I am asking you to do this,' she writes.

And I know this is incredibly awkward, but [is there] a possibility that I might be able to have someone else step into the role and assume your duties.

'Could you please mail the jumpsuit to me? Ill Venmo you the postage and the cost of the jumpsuit  just let me know the total.

Duffy's tweet quickly racked up thousands of likes and prompted hundreds of comments. The bulk of comments were on the jilted bridesmaid's side, but others claimed it was reasonable to expect her to dedicate a lot of time to the role.

Duffy's quickly racked up thousands of likes and prompted hundreds of comments. The bulk of comments were on the jilted bridesmaid's side

'Brides need to stop treating their bridesmaids like unpaid interns. Theyre not here to work for free. They want to celebrate with you and see you happy,' tweeted Esther Rose.

'What's in a name, anyway,' wrote: 'I promise we're totally cool" is slang for "I'm not mad at you, IDGAF if you're mad at me and also if you try to talk to me about this I will unleash the righteous wrath of Bridezilla upon you and yours evermore mmk thnx.'

Meanwhile, Jessica Huseman called on JetBlue to shell out on a luxury holiday for Duffy, writing: 'Please transfer this ticket to a beach location, and send the bride a picture of you swimming in the ocean in the jumpsuit.'

But others backed the bride, with Abby Atilano writing: 'I think the only issue with this is that she shouldve called instead of emailed. But other than that the email was well worded and I honestly agree with what the bride is saying.'

However, others claimed it was reasonable to expect her to dedicate a lot of time to the role, while Jessica Huseman called on JetBlue to treat Duffy to a luxury getaway

And Ricki Spanish said: 'I'm a woman. I don't see how email is bad. At 18 my bff was supposed to room with me in college but changed her mind and wrote me a similar email. I wasn't mad. I didn't take it personal and nobody was being rude or mean.'

Plenty of others just focused on the unusual choice of a jumpsuit as wedding wear.

'Your bridesmaid outfit was a JUMPSUIT? Girl, that is a bullet dodged,' said Andi Zeisler.

Chip Faust tweeted: 'Jumpsuit for a bridesmaid dress? You may be thankful you'll never be photographed wearing it. I think you should plan a big party back here and pointedly don't invite the bride and her unfortunate mate.'

And Andrew Muldoon added: 'The fact that we find out in middle of email that its a jumpsuit takes this to an even higher level.'
The Terminator is back to his destructive ways - but this time using a tank as his weapon of choice.

Arnold Schwarzenegger made an appearance on Jay Leno's Garage Thursday to show off the power of his 1951 M-47 Patton tank.

The two put the tank's Chrysler V12 twin turbo engine to the test by driving over a black stretch limousine and completely demolishing it in the episode.

The actor turned politician explained that this tank is the same one he used while serving in the Austrian Army in 1965 and he even paid $20,000 to ship it to the US in 1991.

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Arnold Schwarzenegger made an appearance on Jay Leno's Garage Thursday to show off his 1951 tank

The actor turned politican said he used the same tank while serving a year in the Austrian Army

The men put the 50-ton tank to the test by crushing a limousine

The former governor of California said he was given the 'great toy' for free in the 90s after spending a year driving it in the Austrian military.

'That's exactly the same tank with the 331 number on it. M-47. It's exactly the tank,' he said.

'Let's just jump in there and anything we find - we crush,' Schwarzenegger tells Leno in the episode.

Besides using the 28-feet-long tank to crush cars, the actor is putting it to good use.

'I bring kids out here from the after-school programs,' he tells Leno. 'When they stay in school their reward is to come out here and drive tanks with me.'

'And the ones who don't stay in school - you crush them?' Leno joked.

The tank is a 1951 M-47 Patton, equipped with a V12 twin turbo engine with 910 horsepowers

The men assessed the damage done to the Limousine that was nearly flattened

Together, the men appear to be having a blast riding around in the 810-horsepower tank.

'I feel like I'm in a video game!' Leno exclaims.

When they come across the limousine in the middle of the way, Schwarzenegger asks: 'Do you want me to do something about it?'

They agree to destroy the limo by driving directly on top of it and flattening it out, seemingly making way for the military tank to easily ride through.
The fifth season of Netflix's popular series The Crown (left, actress Elizabeth Debicki as Diana) will include an entire episode focusing on the royal's controversial sit-down with Bashir in 1995 (right), in which she sensationally said 'there were three of us in the marriage' - a reference to Charles and Camilla. Netflix is understood to have spent millions on the episode, which insiders said will be pivotal to the latest installment. However, the decision to recreate the Panorama interview puts it at odds with William (inset), who called for it never to be shown again. Earlier this year, the Duke of Cambridge hit out at Bashir's shocking tactics to obtain his exclusive with his late mother. The inquiry plunged the Corporation into one of the worst crises in its history, with Diana's two sons William and Harry accusing it of ruining their mother's life with its 'deceitful' interview and helping to bring about the tragic chain of events that led to her death two years later.
Donald Trump Jr is in hot water on social media after posting a picture of his eldest son holding a gun on Thursday.

The 40-year-old is under fire after posting a throwback picture of nine-year-old Donald Trump III holding a double-barreled shotgun while on a duck hunting trip.

'Donnie helping me out in the #duck blind last season,' he said in the post caption, tagging the photo in Texas.

The 40-year-old is under fire after posting a throwback picture of nine-year-old Donald Trump III holding a double-barreled shotgun while on a duck hunting trip

'Definitely the best #hunting buddy out there. Get them outdoors early and often... you won't regret it!!!'

The image has garnered split reactions, with many wondering if it is safe for such a young child to be holding the gun.

'Guns are a dangerous toy for a child,' said one person in the comments.

Another added: 'You truly are disgusting....'

'Please tell me this is for food and not just a sport; and that its being done as painlessly as possible,' a different parent stated.

But a different parent said: 'Kudos to you for teaching him gun safety & the knowledge of hunting. My father did the same for me growing up.'

Trump Jr was under fire just a few weeks ago after he shared a video of six-year-old Tristan playing with a bow and arrow.

Trump Jr was under fire just a few weeks ago after he shared a video of six-year-old Tristan playing with a bow and arrow

Just six months ago, he had posted the original set of photos of his trip in Texas with Donnie.

And just six months ago, he had posted the original set of photos of his trip in Texas with Donnie.

In 2012, Trump Jr and brother Eric were part of a hunting trip to Africa that was met with fierce criticism.

'We are both avid outdoorsmen and were brought up hunting and fishing with our Grandfather who taught us that nothing should ever be taken for granted or wasted,' the brothers said in a statement to E! News at the time.

'We have the utmost respect for nature and have always hunted in accordance with local laws and regulations. In addition, all meat was donated to local villagers who were incredibly grateful. We love traveling and being in the woodsat the end of the day, we are outdoorsmen at heart.'
US Defense Secretary General James Mattis has dismissed as 'fiction' an Australian media report claiming American forces were prepared to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities as early as next month.

A bewildered Mattis was quizzed by US reporters in Washington DC on Friday about the ABC report.

The 'exclusive' report quoted unnamed senior Australian government figures and claimed Australian defence facilities would likely play a role in identifying targets in Iran.

US Defense Secretary General James Mattis (pictured) has dismissed as 'fiction' an Australian media report claiming American forces were prepared to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities as early as next month

'I have no idea where the Australian news people got that information,' Mattis told reporters.

'I'm confident it is not something that's being considered right now, and I think it's a complete - frankly, it's - it's fiction.

'It's the best I can give you.'

Mattis' Friday press conference opened with a question about the Australian news report.

The report came after Mattis and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Australian Defence Minister Marise Payne and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop earlier in the week in California for annual AUSMIN talks

'Can you assure the American people that the US is not preparing military strikes against Iran?' the reporter asked.

The report came after Mattis and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Australian Defence Minister Marise Payne and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop earlier in the week in California for annual AUSMIN talks.

It also followed heated words exchanged on Twitter and in Iranian news reports between US President Donald Trump and Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull also said he had 'no reason' to believe the ABC report was true.
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The wildfire tearing through northern California is so hot it's formed its own weather system, with strong winds creating a phenomenon known as 'firenados'.

Stunning images show smoke from the Carr Fire standing up in a giant column above Shasta County as it rages on for the sixth day in a row, leaving two firefighters dead and destroying 500 homes, as officials warned another 5,000 properties are still threatened.

On top of the blaze itself, people in the area now have to look out for firenados as well, which occur when high temperatures drive the air upward, creating gusts of wind in three directions and advancing the fire's spread.

The firenado winds are so strong they can flip cars like toys, according to fire service spokesman Scott McLean.

(for licensing or usage, contact licensing@viralhog.com) Any revenue from this video will be directed to Carr Fire victims. In case you were wondering what a fire tornado looks like, this is from Rocky Point School off Lake Blvd. yesterday. No audio, but it sounds like a freight train, punctuated with explosions. Never seen anything like it. At the end of this was when I suddenly realized "Run, fool!" We are fine with friends in Cottonwood (Thanks Craig and Colleen!). Not sure about the house. Prayers upon prayers for our community, and our very brave first responders and firefighters. 4K Timelapse shot 1 frame per second 7/26/2018 at 6:27 pm from Rocky Point School in Redding CA looking west, southwest. Full res file available. (for licensing or usage, contact licensing@viralhog.com) Any revenue from this video will be directed to Carr Fire victims. Posted by Skip Murphy on Friday, July 27, 2018

A wildfire tearing through Shasta County in northern California is so hot it's created a phenomenon called 'firenados'

A resident of Redding, California, where the blaze is currently passing through, captured a firenado on video Thursday

The hot air surrounding the fire creates multi-directional wind patterns, driving the smoke tower upward (picture on Friday)

Nearly 3,500 firefighters are working to contain the blaze in northern California as it rages on for the sixth day in a row

The fire began on Monday with a mechanical failure of a vehicle and grew completely out of control on Thursday, tearing through two small communities and reaching the city of Redding.

Tens of thousands of people fled the city in fear of their lives from the blaze.

In the small northern California community of Keswick, only a handful of homes remain.

On Saturday morning, some 3,400 firefighters on the ground and in helicopters continued to battle the 48,300-acre fire as it ripped through the Redding, while blazes continued to rage elsewhere in the state.

At the height of the blaze on Thursday a firenado sent large, fiery chunks of debris into the air, landing on buildings, homes and trees.

'The fire created its own wind. It looks an awful lot like a tornado,' UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain told the Sacremento Bee.

'These fire-induced winds were very strong and unpredictable and drove this fire from dry brush and trees into urban areas.'

Redding resident Skip Murphy captured a video of Thursday's firenado.

'In case you were wondering what a fire tornado looks like,' he wrote on Facebook. 'No audio, but it sounds like a freight train, punctuated with explosions. Never seen anything like it.

'At the end of this was when I suddenly realized "Run, fool!" We are fine with friends. Not sure about the house. Prayers upon prayers for our community, and our very brave first responders and firefighters.'

The flames moved so fast that firefighters working in oven-like temperatures and bone-dry conditions had to drop efforts to battle the blaze at one point to help people escape. Pictured: The Carr Fire near Redding on Friday

In the small northern California community of Keswick, only a handful of homes were left standing after the fire came through

An eagle sits atop a damaged flag pole is seen against the setting sun during the Carr Fire in Redding, California, on Friday

The fire, which was just three percent contained after igniting six days ago, has been fed by high temperatures and low humidity, which were expected for at least the next week, said California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Director Ken Pimlott.

'This fire is a long way from done,' he said.

The flames so thoroughly ate up homes that it's difficult to tell how many once stood above the pile of ash and smoking rubble that remains, but officials said it was at least 500 structures.

About 37,000 people remained under evacuation orders Friday as nearly 5,000 homes in the area were being threatened by the 75-square-mile (194-square-kilometer) blaze, which is just five percent contained.

Thousands of people scrambled to escape before the walls of flames descended from forested hills onto their neighborhoods Thursday.

The flames so thoroughly ate up homes in Keswick that it's difficult to tell how many once stood above the pile of ash and smoking rubble that remains

A partially burned boat floats on Whiskeytown Lake during the Carr fire near Whiskeytown, California, on Friday

In the communities scorched by the blaze, such as Lake Keswick Estates in Redding (pictured), the Friday air was thick with the smell of smoke and chemicals, as the so-called Carr Fire continues to move through Shasta County like a freight train

Two vehicles that endured the Carr Fire, one with minor cosmetic damage and one destroyed, rest among leveled homes in the Lake Keswick Estates area of Redding on Friday evening

Residents who gathered their belongings in haste described a chaotic and congested getaway as the embers blew up to a mile ahead of flames and the fire leaped across the wide Sacramento River and torched subdivisions in Redding.

Two firefighters have been killed in the blaze, Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke and a bulldozer operator whose name wasn't immediately released. He was the second bulldozer operator killed in a California blaze in less than two weeks.

Elsewhere in the state, large fires continued to burn outside Yosemite National Park and in the San Jacinto Mountains east of Los Angeles near Palm Springs.

Yosemite National Park officials said Friday that the park won't reopen to everyone until the afternoon of August 3.

The fire began on Monday with a mechanical failure of a vehicle. It grew completely out of control on Thursday, tearing through two small communities and reaching the city of Redding, which is pictured on Friday

There are more fires elsewhere in the state. This photo shows a blaze over Apple Canyon caused by the Cranston Fire near Idyllwild, San Bernardino, on Friday
A 157-acre flat hilltop sitting above Beverly Hills is hitting the market at a whopping $1 billion.

The undeveloped property is the most expensive listing in the history of Los Angeles with views stretching from the Pacific Ocean, Catalina Island and downtown LA.

The property listing agent, Aaron Kirman, calls it 'the crown jewel of Beverly Hills' for billionaires with a plan to build a private paradise, the LA Times reports.

This massive land comes with its own history of wealthy owners from royals, to Hollywood celebrities and moguls who all had unsuccessful plans to develop the property.

An undeveloped property sitting above Beverly Hills is on the market for $1billion

It is considered a 'crown jewel' with views of downtown LA and the Pacific Ocean

'For that billionaire who wants that privacy on the highest peak of Beverly Hills, it's a great opportunity,' Kirman said.

So far, no one has come close to buying personal properly with that price tag.

The highest price ever paid for a home in the world is thought to be the $300million purchase of a property in France by a Saudi prince.

'There are 2,200 billionaires in the world,' Kirman said with the hopes at least one will be willing to invest and build. 'We realized there are 100 of those that could and would want to buy the property.'

The property is nearly double the size of Disneyland and touts the best views in all of Los Angeles.

The mountaintop was once owned by an Iranian princess and the older sister of the last shah of Iran in the late 1970s, who had plans to build a palace on the land.

It was later bought by talk show host and game show pro host Merv Griffin in 1987.

'We'll have a helipad, a couple of lakes and a palladio-style house, like those you see outside Venice [Italy] but with a variation, because we'll need lots of glass for the views,' Griffin told The Times when he made the purchase.

But when financial troubles hit, Griffin sold the property to Mark Hughes, the founder of Herbalife, for more than $8million in 1997.

Previous owners include royals, Hollywood celebrities and moguls

At the time, the deal was a record high in Southern California.

Real estate agent Jeff Hyland, who handled the sale, said the property is 'one of a kind.'

'There will never be anything else like it,' he said of the massive estate.

Hughes bought the property with plans to develop it, but died in 2000 before he could break ground.

Now the grounds with the famous 90210 Beverly Hills zip code is owned by Secured Capital Property.

The land is divided into 17 parcels with size of them zoned for residential development.

However, Kirman is adamant that a one buyer will development the land for individual use.

'To be impressed by dirt is hard,' Kirman admitted, but says he is looking at royal family from the Middle East, a Chinese billionaire or Russian oligarch as potential buyers.
Four men have been charged with three attempted murders and weapons offences after police were involved in a dramatic gun battle on the streets of east London.

Shots were fired at a Metropolitan Police armed response unit from a BMW in Leytonstone on Thursday night before officers returned fire.

A mile-long chase through the area ended at Bective Road in Forest Gate. No-one was hurt in the exchange and one firearm was recovered from the vehicle.

Photos from the scene show a car with its back windscreen shattered from bullets as three people have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after a police chase on Thursday

Armed police were involved in a dramatic shoot-out with three 'masked men' after a late night car chase through Lascelles Close in Leytonstone, east London on Thursday night

Nathaniel Lewis, 22, Darnell Joseph-Newill, 21, and Troy Ifill, 21, from east London, and Lekan Akinsoji, 20, of no fixed address, have each been charged with three counts of attempted murder, possession of a shotgun, possession of a shotgun with intent to endanger life and possession of an axe and a "zombie knife".

Akinsoji and Lewis have also been charged with possession of a firearm following a suspended sentence, Scotland Yard said.

They are all in custody and are due to appear at Barkingside Magistrates' Court in east London on Monday.

Police and forensic officers on the scene at Bective Road, Forest Gate, on Friday

Photos from the scene show a BMW with its back windscreen shattered from bullets as three people have been arrested on suspicion of attempted murder.

The pursuit occurred after police attended the scene and, a short time later a nearby vehicle failed to stop for the officers.

Armed police then gave chase to the car and 'a number of shots were fired towards officers' during the pursuit, the Scotland Yard said.

Police also fired weapons during the pursuit but there are no reports of injuries.

Fifteen police cars and a helicopter attended the scene, reported the Sun.

A local resident claims that he was told the men were masked during the incident.

A chase followed through the area and ended at Bective Road in Forest Gate, as officers dodged shots being fired from the suspects' car and returned fire

Three people were arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after shots were fired towards police during a dangerous pursuit

Police and forensic officers on the scene at Bective Road, Forest Gate, on Friday

Others took to social media to describe the chaos, as one said: 'Rapid gunshots forest gate, old bill already here so suspect they are the ones who fired.'

Another wrote: 'Something massive kicking off in Forest Gate.

'Gun shots heard and seen around 10-15 police cars rushing to the scene.'

A woman added: 'Helicopters been whirring in the area and now Im hearing theres been an exchange of gunshots between police and masked men a few roads down.

'Honestly I know Forest Gate isnt the safest place but it was never this bad.'

A Metropolitan Police spokesman said the arrested people had been taken to an east London police station and remained in custody.

'The Directorate of Professional Standards has been informed as is routine,' he added.

A mile-long chase followed through the area and ended at Bective Road in Forest Gate, as officers dodged shots being fired from the suspects' car and returned fire
President Donald Trump slammed Democratic lawmakers for failing to back the 'brave and heroic men and women of ICE' in a video posted to Twitter on Saturday.

Trump was referring to 167 Democrats who either abstained or voted against a House resolution praising ICE on July 18. The motion was passed by Congress but blocked by Senate Democrats.

'Without the brave heroes of ICE we would have no enforcement, no laws, no borders, and therefore, no country,' he said.

During the three-minute video, Trump defended the agency against critics who consider its methods of enforcement heavy-handed by calling its officers 'heroes' whose work was vital to stopping another terrorist attack like September 11

Trump defended the agency against critics who consider its methods of enforcement heavy-handed by calling its officers 'heroes' whose work was vital to stopping another terrorist attack like September 11.

'One of the critical lessons of 9/11 is that immigration enforcement saves lives. We must enforce the rules against visa laws illegal overstay, illegal entry, and other immigration violations and crimes,' he said.

The President also quoted statistics that recorded 127,000 arrests of illegal immigrants charged or convicted of crimes within the United States as evidence that the agency was doing vital work.

'These are very serious crimes and too many of them. Yet, leading Democrat politicians have called to abolish ICE, no one even believes it,' he said.

'In other words, they want open borders, and more crime. That's what you are going to get.'

A small number of Democrats have expressed their support for abolishing the agency and creating a new one from scratch, including Senators Elizabeth Warren, Kirsten Gilbrand and Kamala Harris.

ICE has been criticized for what opponents see as heavy-handed tactics, including arresting undocumented migrants while they drop their children at school or deporting them for minor offences. Pictured: A protest against ICE in New York on July 26

Immigration and Customs Enforcement bore the brunt of criticism over its enforcement of the Trump administration's now-reversed policy of separating migrant children from their parents.

It has also been attacked for what opponents consider heavy-handed tactics, including arresting undocumented migrants while they drop their children at school or deporting them for minor offences.

Protests across the US have regularly featured banners calling for the agency to be abolished, and public anger over its actions was thought to have led to the appointment of a new director earlier this month.

On Friday, Philadelphia decided to stop giving ICE access to a real-time arrest database, saying the agency is misusing the information to conduct sweeps in which otherwise law-abiding immigrants are also being caught up. Federal officials said the decision puts U.S. citizens in danger.

ICE officers prepare for morning operations to arrest undocumented immigrants on April 11 in New York City

'We're not going to provide them with information so they can go out and round people up,' Democratic Mayor Jim Kenney said Friday as he announced his decision to let a decade-old contract with ICE expire at the end of next month.

Kenney said immigration officers are wrongly using the database to go to homes and workplaces of people who list foreign countries of origin and arresting other people who are in the country illegally but are otherwise not accused of any crimes.

U.S. Homeland Security spokeswoman Katie Waldman called the decision irresponsible and said the city will end up 'harboring criminal aliens.'

'Sanctuary-city policies make American communities like Philadelphia less safe by putting the rights of criminal aliens over the safety and security of American citizens,' Waldman said.

'Despite the misguided action taken by Philadelphia today, DHS will continue to work to remove illegal aliens and uphold public safety.'
Natasha Stevens was left with life-threatening injuries after being thrown from a quad bike on the Greek party island of Zante

A 17-year-old is fighting for her life in a Greek hospital after falling off a quad bike during a post-exam holiday with her friends.

Natasha Stevens was left with life-threatening injuries and had to have brain surgery after she was thrown from the vehicle on the party island of Zante.

The teenager, who had just graduated from Fleetwood High School in Blackpool, had been celebrating her A-level results when tragedy struck.

She has been in intensive care since July 6 and her family are now appealing for funds to help get her back to the UK for further treatment.

Natasha's sister Amy set up a GoFundMe page aiming to raise 35,000. So far, more than 13,000 has been donated.

She wrote on the site: 'The first few days after the accident were heartbreaking, we were told if she was any older she would have not survived.

'She sustained multiple injuries and was rushed to hospital in Zante where she had surgery on her brain to try and stop bleeding and to correct her fractured skull.

Natasha before the horrific accident three weeks ago. She had just graduated from Fleetwood High School in Blackpool and was celebrating her A-level results when tragedy struck

Natasha with her friends. The photo is believed to be have been taken in Zante before the accident

'In addition to this Natasha also had to have a splenectomy due to abdominal injuries.

'After the surgery she was flown via air ambulance to a hospital in mainland Greece where she has since stayed in intensive care.'

The scene of another quad bike accident in Zante, which hospitalised two British women

Zante, which is a popular party destination for youngsters who want to celebrate the end of exams

She added: 'Natashas family and friends desperately want her home as she has been in hospital in Greece for 3 weeks now.

'To fly her home the cost of the air ambulance is 30,000 which has to be paid upfront.

Natasha (pictured right) with her friends. She has been in intensive care since July 6

Happier days: Natasha's family are appealing for funds to help get her back to the UK for further treatment

'Any donations made will be put towards paying for this cost and for any future equipment, physiotherapy, rehabilitation, a wig, travel and accommodation costs she will likely need in order to give her the best chance of a full recovery.'

Click here to donate to the fundraising page.
A child has been rushed to hospital after being pulled from the sea in a dramatic rescue.

Emergency services were scrambled to the harbour in Margate, Kent this afternoon in a desperate bid to save the youngster.

Witnesses saw police officers run towards the water, as an ambulance drove in the direction of the waves while the tide was out.

The child was pulled from the sea and given CPR by paramedics in front of shocked families. They were rushed to hospital after the incident at 3.15pm.

Emergency services were scrambled to the harbour in Margate, Kent this afternoon in a desperate bid to save a child in the sea. An ambulance was pictured on the beach

The gender and condition of the child are not yet known.

A police spokesman said: 'Kent Police was called at 3.13pm on Saturday to concerns for a child in the sea at Margate Harbour.

Officers and South East Coast Ambulance have attended the scene and the child has been taken to hospital.' The RNLI also attended the rescue effort.
Two white New Orleans police officers have been fired after they were accused of beating a Hispanic man who they allegedly called a 'fake American.'

John Galman, 24, and 26-year-old Spencer Sutton were charged with counts of simple battery after the Tuesday altercation near the Mid-City Yacht Club. They pleaded not guilty on Wednesday.

But NOPD Superintendent Michael Harrison said on Thursday that the investigation 'could very well lead to further charges,' according to the Times-Picayune.

He also added that the case would be looked into for being a hate crime.

Harrison said that evidence showed that the pair were 'clearly' the aggressors in their attack against George Gomez.

John Galman, 24, (left) and 26-year-old Spencer Sutton (right) pleaded not guilty to simple battery charges and were fired from the New Orleans Police Department

Police Superintendent Michael Harrison said that evidence showed that the pair were 'clearly' the aggressors in their attack against 36-year-old George Gomez

'Members of our department are expected to comply with the law and adhere to the highest standards of professional conduct, whether on- or off-duty,' Harrison's statement said, according to The Advocate.

'The swift pace at which the Public Integrity Bureau investigated this incident and the decisive actions taken by the NOPD ... by arresting the officers and starting the termination process clearly demonstrate how seriously our department views their actions.'

Gomez, 36, sustained cuts to his face and severe bruising and swelling as a result of the attack. He was discharged from the hospital on Tuesday.

Recalling the events of the attack, Gomez - who describes himself as a U.S. native who moved to Honduras before returning back to New Orleans - said that neither of the officers identified themselves as NOPD.

He said that the men had issue with the camouflage attire he was wearing while at the bar that the three had frequented

The two assailants, who are white, allegedly told Gomez that they did not like that he was wearing a camouflage shirt and bandana.

'He asked me if I was American. I told him yes, and he got mad because he said I was fake,' said Gomez, who speaks both English and Spanish.

Gomez explained to the two officers that he served in the Louisiana National Guard but asserts that that wasn't enough for the two.

He shared that he had seen them at the same bar before, but they had never had a confrontation before, WWL-TV reports.

The man said that he tried to leave the bar after it closed for the night, but the two officers refused to let him leave.

Gomez, 36, sustained cuts to his face and severe bruising and swelling as a result of the attack

And as he tried to leave the bar in his truck, Sutton and Galman stopped him in the middle of the street at Baudin and South Murat.

'We are gonna kill you,' he said that the pair threatened to him before they began beating him.

Neighbors recalled hearing Gomez screaming for help from down the street.

'They just beat him in the head,' one said. 'The whole neighborhood, I believe, heard it. You had to. He was screaming.'

Gomez had a cane with him and he tried to use it to ward off the attackers.

'I tried to defend myself, but I couldn't,' Gomez added.

An investigation is still underway to determine if Sutton and Galman - who graduated from the NOPD academy in December - will receive any additional charges.

The two were said to have still been on their probationary period since joining the force.
More than a million people with hidden disabilities such as autism will be offered Blue Badges in a massive extension of the free parking scheme.

Ministers said it was only fair that those with less visible disabilities  including mental illness  were offered the lifeline of a permit, which allows holders to park as close as possible to their destination, for free in pay-and-display areas and for up to three hours on yellow lines.

But the plan, which could see the number of Blue Badges in England soar from the current 2.4million to nearly four million, has sparked fears of a shortage of disabled parking bays.

More than a million people with hidden disabilities such as autism will be offered Blue Badges in a massive extension of the free parking scheme

There are also concerns about badge fraud.

Last year, The Mail on Sunday revealed how thousands of motorists caught fraudulently using disabled parking permits were being named and shamed by councils.

But Transport Minister Jesse Norman insisted it was right to make the biggest change to the scheme since it was created in 1970.

He said: Blue badges are a lifeline for disabled people, giving them the freedom and confidence to get to work and visit friends independently.

These changes will ensure this scheme is extended to people with hidden disabilities so that they can enjoy the freedoms that many of us take for granted.
Ben and Susanna were told by a doctor at a private clinic that their daughter Riley (pictured together) had died in the early weeks of pregnancy

Cradled in her mothers arms, she is the very picture of a healthy baby girl.

But little Riley Williams came close to being aborted when her doting parents, Ben and Susanna, were told by a doctor at a private clinic that she had died in the early weeks of her mothers pregnancy.

The couple were given the devastating news that Susanna had suffered a missed miscarriage  when the mothers body fails to recognise the baby has died in the womb  at six weeks.

They left the clinic facing the terrible choice of Susanna having an induced miscarriage (known as a D&C) to remove the apparently dead foetus  or allowing her body more time to miscarry naturally.

But after they spent a week trying to come to terms with the heartbreaking news, an NHS scan revealed that their unborn baby was alive after all.

The couples joy at the miracle was tempered by anger towards the doctor at the private clinic whose error could have had such catastrophic consequences.

Susanna, 32, told The Mail on Sunday: Every time I look at Riley, I cant help think how she might not have made it.

'We could have got rid of her. And I fear other couples might have aborted healthy babies after being given wrong information at private scanning clinics.

Susanna, a sales executive, discovered she was expecting their second child late last summer. She was both excited and nervous.

I had miscarried before in 2014 at eight weeks, so I thought, Lets check it out, and put my mind at ease. 

Susanna, a sales executive, discovered she was expecting their second child late last summer and visited the Window To the Womb clinic in Chessington, South West London

Reluctant to wait for the 12-week ultrasound scan given to all expectant mothers by the NHS, she found the private Window To the Womb clinic in Chessington, South West London, on the internet.

It had decent reviews and did scans from six weeks, she said.

The couple arrived at the clinic with their two-year-old daughter Arabella, excited that she might soon have a new brother or sister.

But the mood changed when the clinics sonographer Dr Ashish Sharma began the scan.

He went quiet and I asked, Cant you see anything?  said Susanna. He said, Dont worry. Well do an internal scan, because we can get more detail that way. 

The couple say Dr Ashish Sharma (pictured entering the clinic) told them their baby had died in the womb and did not suggest they have a second scan to confirm this

According to the couple, after performing the internal scan he turned to them and said: Unfortunately, your baby stopped growing at six weeks. You are actually eight weeks pregnant, not seven as you thought. But there is no foetal heartbeat.

He explained to a tearful Susanna that she had experienced a missed miscarriage and the couple say they had no reason to doubt his diagnosis.

Dr Sharma told them to make an urgent appointment at the nearby Kingston NHS Hospital to discuss whether to let nature take its course or have the D&C.

The couple insist he never suggested having a second scan to confirm the baby had died.

Susanna was inclined towards a D&C, but the next day a nurse at Kingston Hospital advised her to wait a week because the pregnancy was not advanced.

The hospital then decided to do a scan of its own.

On the night before the scan, Susanna told Ben: I dont feel ready to say goodbye to this pregnancy.

I still feel very pregnant but I know Ive got to stop thinking like this.

Hours later, a Kingston Hospital sonographer told them: Ive got some good news for you. Theres your baby  and thats your babys heartbeat.

Overjoyed, the couple were still cautious. I thought it still might go wrong, said Susanna. I only began to relax after the 20-week scan.

Riley was born safe and well in May.

Ben later called Dr Sharma to tell him of the error. But when I talked to him, there was no apology, Ben, 36, said. Instead, he said, Im really happy it worked out for you. 

According to Ben, Dr Sharma said he had advised the couple to get a second opinion. They dispute that and want private clinics performing scans to make clear the results can be misinterpreted or misleading, especially early in pregnancy.

Last night, Window To The Womb said it sincerely apologised to the couple for any distress.

A spokeswoman described the mistake as an isolated incident and noted the firm scanned more than 100,000 pregnant woman a year.

We recognise that we failed on this occasion, she said, adding that additional training had since been introduced.
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Rotterdam exploded into a riot of colour as massive crowds headed out to watch a spectacular street parade celebrating diversity.

More than 2,500 dancers aboard 30 floats entertained spectators as they made their way along the parade route at the Summer Carnival - the culmination of the Rotterdam Unlimited festival.

Dressed in vibrant costumes and huge headpieces, the performers and a Battle of Drums turned Rotterdam into one massive street party.

The five-day event - one of the biggest free street festivals in the Netherlands - attracts more than 900,000 visitors from all over Europe every year.

With a focus on diversity in the field of arts and culture, visitors enjoy live music, dance and a huge market with food from across the globe as well as all the city has to offer.

A woman in a jewelled costume and eye-catching headpiece at the Summer Carnival in Rotterdam on Saturday

More than 2,500 dancers aboard 30 floats entertained spectators as they made their way along the parade route

The Summer Carnival on Saturday was the culmination of the five-day Rotterdam Unlimited festival in the eclectic day

Dressed in vibrant costumes and huge headpieces, the performers and a Battle of Drums turned Rotterdam into one massive street party

The five-day event - one of the biggest free festivals in the Netherlands - attracts more than 900,000 visitors from all over Europe every year

With a focus on diversity in the field of arts and culture, visitors enjoy live music, dance and a huge market with food from across the globe as well as all the city has to offer

Two scantily-clad performers entertain the crowds at the Summer Carnival in Rotterdam on Saturday

Thousands of performers dressed in colourful costumes entertained the crowds at the Summer Carnival in Rotterdam

A topless performer dances at the Summer Carnival on the final day of the five-day Rotterdam Unlimited festival on Saturday

One of thousands of dancers aboard a float during the spectacular street parade during Rotterdam Unlimited festival
Longtime Beach Boys member David Marks was arrested in a domestic dispute with his wife, California police say.

TMZ reports that the guitarist, 69, and Carrieann Marks were both taken into custody earlier this month after the dispute that was reportedly instigated by the wife.

Carrieann told the outlet that the whole thing was a misunderstanding, and 'we are happier than ever'.

She said neither of them is planning to press charges.

Longtime Beach Boys guitarist David Marks, 69, and his wife Carrieann were arrested following a domestic dispute earlier this month in the San Fernando Valley, California police told TMZ

David is best known for being a member of the Beach Boys, having recorded four studio albums with the group. He is pictured far right with the others in the 60s

David was booked for a misdemeanor of resisting, delaying or obstructing an officer.

Carrieann was arrested for domestic violence against a spouse, also a misdemeanor.

The pair look rather unhappy in their mugshots, as would be expected.

David is best known for being a member of the Beach Boys, having recorded four studio albums with the group.

The guitarist was invited to play with longtime friends Brian, Dennis and Carl Wilson after the band's original guitarist Al Jardine left for school.

He appeared on some of The Beach Boys biggest early hits, including Shut Down, Surfer Girl, Be True To Your School and Surfin' USA.

After Jardine came back in 1963, Marks left and went on to be a session musician until being invited to tour with the group in the late 90s.

Years later in 2012 Marks joined other surviving members, Brian, Jardine, Mike Love and Bruce Johnston for the 50th reunion tour and appeared on their album That's Why God Made The Radio.
Police are looking for a missing mother and her 18-month-old son.

Sara Buder, 27, and her son Kuba were last seen in Croydon, south London, at around 6am on Friday.

Officers believe they may have travelled to Southend-on-Sea in Essex.

Sara Buder (right) and her son Kuba (left) were last seen in Croydon, south London, at around 6am on Friday

Ms Buder is described by Scotland Yard as a white female with blonde hair.

The force said her disappearance is out of character and police are very concerned for the welfare of her and her young son.

Anyone with information on their whereabouts is urged to call police on 101 or Missing People on 116000 quoting reference 18MIS030278.
To his colleagues, librarian Gregory Priore was a model employee: unassuming, dutiful, dedicated.

But in one of the biggest heists of its kind, he is alleged to have plundered 6 million of rare books and maps from one of the world's most prestigious libraries.

Over a 20-year period he plucked them from shelves, before tucking them under his arm and walking out of the building. He then passed them to John Schulman, who owned a rare bookshop nearby.

Police say that Schulman was Priore's partner in crime and sold the books, belonging to the Carnegie Library in Pittsburgh, on to unsuspecting dealers.

Now The Mail on Sunday has learned that, among others, the deception ensnared two of London's leading antiquarian bookstores.

Gregory Priore, 61 (left) and John Schulman, 54 (right)  who will face a court hearing next month  are accused of theft, conspiracy, forgery and receiving stolen property in relation to 6million of rare books and maps stolen and sold on to dealers in Pittsburgh, USA

Pom Harrington, of Peter Harrington in Mayfair, bought an early 19th Century copy of Isaac Newton's Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica for 72,500 five years ago and sold it to a private collector for 145,000.

Harrington has now recovered the book, returned it to the library and refunded the customer. Another London bookshop, Maggs Bros, was similarly cheated.

There was no reason to question the books' provenance. Libraries sell thousands of rare books every year to raise funds and Schulman was a respected dealer, a member of the International League of Antiquarian Booksellers who appeared as an expert on the US version of Antiques Roadshow.

It was only when the library carried out an appraisal of its contents last year  its first since 1991  that it discovered hundreds of books were missing.

Priore was the sole archivist of the library's third-floor special collections room, stocked with 30,000 items. In addition to maintaining its contents, he controlled access.

Greedy: Priore examines a book at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in 1999

Visitors were required to deposit their belongings in lockers before perusing tracts and treaties by writers including John Calvin, the French theologian, and Anglo-Irish statesman Edmund Burke.

Priore, 61, and Schulman, 54  who will face a court hearing next month  are accused of theft, conspiracy, forgery and receiving stolen property. In all, some 320 items were stolen.

Together the two men 'cannibalised' the collection, according to documents filed with the district attorney's office.

Priore told detectives that he first approached Schulman in the early Nineties. They 'began working together to surreptitiously remove and sell items'.

Sometimes Priore cut maps from books with a knife and put them in a manila envelope. 'With books he would just carry them out,' say the papers.

Priore dropped the stolen items at Schulman's shop, Caliban, a minute's walk from the library, and was paid up front, usually between 400 and 2,500.

'Occasionally Schulman would text or call Priore at work and make requests for specific items,' the documents say.

Pictured: Isaac Newton's Principia which was sold to a London dealer

'Sometimes Schulman would tell him he needed a specific subject because he was going to a book fair.'

Priore, a father-of-four, is said to have told detectives that he needed the money for school fees and to 'stay afloat'.

He told them: 'I should never have done this. I loved that room, my whole working life, and greed came over me. I did it but Schulman spurred me on.'

Mr Harrington said: 'The police and district attorney came over to London because a number of booksellers inadvertently bought books.

'It's a good news story from a recovery point of view but profoundly sad that it happened and a lot of people will be out of pocket.

'The library needs to look after its books better. An appraisal once every 26 years is not good enough for a rare book library like that.'
With her bright, dark eyes and adorable teddy bear features, she was small enough to be cradled in the palm of her new owners hand. Little Daisy, a miniature Yorkshire terrier with a fluffy black and tan coat, was just a few weeks old when, cosily wrapped in a blanket, she joined the loving home of Elaine Oxley and her husband David.

But within a week, Daisy was dead  a victim of the uncontrolled and rapidly burgeoning market in so-called teacup puppies  dogs so unhealthily small they often weigh no more than a bag of sugar.

From its beginnings in South Korea, the trend has spread across the world thanks to cute pictures of the tiny pups that circulate on social media. And there is now a growing demand for the dogs in the UK.

Hard to resist: Two adorable puppies in a cup

In the highly-stylised social media shots, a succession of fluffy corgis, poodles and French bulldogs, their eyes wide, their fur shiny, perch in teacups, placed there to illustrate their size.

Breeders advertise the tiny pets on websites including Gumtree and Preloved, while one Dorset-based company, Lovepup, boasts on its website of selling tiny dogs with extreme dolly faces to Royal clients and celebrities. Some sell for nearly 6,000  more than the price of many pedigree dogs.

But there is a dark truth behind the trade  one condemned by welfare organisations including the RSPCA and the Kennel Club.

Many of the dogs, they say, are born on unscrupulous and unregulated puppy farms, and suffer devastating ill health because they are created by repeatedly getting runts to breed together, thereby obtaining ever smaller puppies.

Both organisations have expressed serious concern about the exploitative trend, issuing startling warnings about the dogs physical frailties, which include weak bones that break easily, dislocated knees, lung problems and eyeballs that are too large for their sockets.

It is a reality that a horrified Elaine, 64, and David, 70, discovered only too late.

The couple had deliberated for years about getting a puppy and Elaine had admired a so-called teacup Yorkie owned by a family member. The retired shop supervisor was delighted to discover one of the dogs was available for 550 through an online breeder near their home in Blackpool.

Short life: Teacup Yorkie Daisy, who died six days after being bought

First impressions were highly favourable. Daisy was handed over by an immaculately dressed woman in a spotless bungalow in Stockport, which had a Mercedes parked on the drive. Daisy came with official-looking papers from the Kennel Club, along with details about her immunisations.

But within six days Daisy being taken home, she suffered kidney and liver failure, and died. Gradually, the truth about Daisys short and tragic life became clear.

The Oxleys discovered through the police that they had been conned. Daisy had been shipped, along with other tiny dogs, to the UK from an Irish puppy farm.

The immaculate house Elaine visited was, in fact, rented as a front for unsuspecting buyers and the Kennel Club papers were fake.

I was gobsmacked to be told all of this, Elaine, 64, says. They seemed like such nice, dog-loving people. The house appeared to be a family home, very clean, the puppy was in a pen that had clean bedding down when we got there. The woman even gave us a blanket that she said would smell of Daisys mother to comfort her.

They were such good con artists who didnt care about anything apart from making money.

Although the trade is legal, few of those involved are willing to discuss their part in it.

Caroline Kisko, secretary of The Kennel Club, said the dogs are created through a sad and appalling practice of repeatedly breeding the runt of a litter with another runt to guarantee tiny pets.

They just breed the tiniest with the tiniest and so the animals just keep on shrinking, she said.

People who buy these animals are making a wealth of sadness for themselves and that dog. Traditional small dog breeds have come about over more than 100 years, with love and dedication. These teacup dogs are about making money and nothing else.

Why do dogs need to be able to sit in a teacup? You have to ask why.

Lisa Richards, from the RSPCA, added: Breeders should prioritise welfare over appearance. It is very concerning to see people breeding dogs to fit in with the latest trend or fad. Dogs are intelligent, sentient creatures and should not be treated as a fashion accessory.

Lovepup advertise micro-dogs and teacup puppies. They come with a 30-day health guarantee, but common ailments such as knee dislocations and heart murmurs are not covered.

Rolly Teacup Puppies, a company based in the US which ships teacup puppies to Europe  but not directly to the UK  offers a years guarantee, but again excludes common conditions such as a hole in the skull and dislocating kneecaps.

The wide-eyed dogs often struggle

The company has nearly half a million followers on Instagram. A spokesperson said standard dogs cost from 2,900 to 4,500, with premium pups costing up to 5,800. The price does not include delivery from the United States or Korea, which involves a transatlantic flight and customs checks.

The firm also claims British customers are visiting their shops near Atlanta in the USA and in Korea to pick the animals up in person.

The sad result of breeding increasingly delicate pets is already becoming clear, according to the Battersea Dogs and Cats Home.

One teacup poodle, nine-month-old Charlie, was ordered online for a reported 6,500 from South Korea by a wealthy family in Jordan. The dog was flown to the familys dog trainer in Britain but a week later began limping. An X-ray revealed she needed surgery costing 3,000, which led to her being abandoned.

A spokesman for the charity said: Our vets found that Charlie had a fracture on her heel, a large break in a femur and evidence of an older fracture to the same leg that was healed. It was decided that it would be best to amputate the leg. Since having the operation she has been so much happier and lively, and weve been able to rehome her. Whether the leg issues were due to an accident in the home of the dog trainer  he said another dog had sat on her  or she had been treated badly by her breeder, well never know.

One North West-based breeder, who did not wish to be named, said they stopped selling teacup puppies years ago after one of their morkies  a Maltese crossed with a Yorkshire Terrier  was accidentally crushed by its owners son.

Distress: Miniature pups found abandoned and unwell

That was heartbreaking, the breeder said. These dogs are so tiny, its like having a hamster. Owners use them as toys but theyre animals. Thats why we stopped breeding them.

Both Lovepup and Rolly Teacup Puppies said they only worked with reputable breeders and did not support or work with puppy farms.

Preloved said it meets and exceeds the minimum standards set by the UKs Pet Advertising Advisory Group.

A Rolly Teacup Puppies spokesperson said: Our puppies live their life to the fullest. We only work with a selected number of breeders that are ethical and are against inbreeding and are not a part of the puppy mills scheme.
Barbara Carroll, 78, filed a suit last week against Wells Fargo and claimed that she had been racially discriminated against

An elderly black woman is suing Wells Fargo after workers at a Florida branch accused her of forgery and forced her to undergo a three-hour ordeal.

Barbara Carroll, 78, filed a suit last week against Wells Fargo and claimed that she had been racially discriminated against.

In November 2017, Caroll stated that she had gone to a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, location to cash a check for $140.

The woman - who was an assistant bank manager for 17 years - was asked to present two forms of identification by the bank teller, a standard policy for non-customers, spokeswoman Michelle Palomino explained to the Washington Post.

Carroll endorsed the check using a signature and a fingerprint and said that the teller - who was white - turned her back and flipped over both the woman's passport and driver's license.

Thirty minutes pass by, and Carroll could tell that something was up.

Inquiring about the time, Carroll insisted that the teller return her identification and check.

In November 2017, Caroll stated that she had gone to a Fort Lauderdale, Florida, location to cash a check for $140 but instead she was accused for forging her IDs and the check

But the teller refused, grabbing her manager who also refused to hand back the items and told Carroll that they had alerted police.

The legal complaint describes that Carroll then waited another 30 minutes before demanding that she get her passport and ID back - telling the teller that she could keep the check.

The teller refused, again, stating that they would wait for police to arrive.

Carroll called 911 herself - while in front of the teller - and police arrived on the scene in minutes.

'Ultimately, we're hopeful that this isn't just about Wells Fargo, that other corporations take notice and realize that there has to be some kind of change in our culture,' said Carroll's lawyer, Yechezkel Rodal. 'That these things are not OK.'

The woman - who has a doctorate in criminal justice - supplied responding officers with six more forms of identification.

Officers explained to the manager that they found no grievances and the manager placed the $140 in cash and Carroll's identifications on the counter and left.

'That was really insulting to me,' Carroll said, adding that the manager had verified with the source of the check, its validity. 'She did not apologize.'

Carroll, clearly disturbed, filed a formal complaint at the bank's corporate office. She alleges that a representative informed her that the branch was in an affluent white area and had history of treating black customers poorly.

She stated that Wells Fargo apologized and claimed that the two workers were put in 'sensitivity' training.

'I was humiliated,' said Carroll. 'I'm a human being, and I wasn't treated as I should have been.'

The woman is seeking unspecified damages.

'Ultimately, we're hopeful that this isn't just about Wells Fargo, that other corporations take notice and realize that there has to be some kind of change in our culture,' said Carroll's lawyer, Yechezkel Rodal, to the Miami New Times. 'That these things are not OK.'

Wells Fargo would not comment on the nature of the case but did released a statement condemning dicrimination.

'Wells Fargo opposes discrimination of any kind as evidenced by our own non-discrimination policy, our commitment to diversity and inclusion in our work force, and our long-standing history of support for community organizations that embrace diversity,' wrote spokeswoman Rosanna Fiske.
What started as a series of unfortunate upsets is in danger of blowing up into something far more destructive.

Lonely and vulnerable, sitting thousands of miles away from his daughter, Thomas Markle has every reason to fear that his beloved Meghan has now turned her back on him completely.

And while the success of her wedding to Prince Harry earlier this year had seemed to secure a special place for Meghan in the affections of the British public, her decision to leave her father isolated threatens to undo that good work  and leave her with a colder reputation.

Thomas Markle (pictured with a high school Meghan) has given his most incendiary interview yet, saying his daughter might be better off if he were dead. Royal author Ingrid Seward is urging Meghan to ring her father, for both their sakes

Yes, his outbursts on these pages about his daughter, Harry, and the rest of the Royals may sound hostile and insensitive.

But who would not have sympathy with a father of the bride who has not even met his new Royal son-in-law?

Is it not a matter of simple duty that his daughter get in touch?

The emotional legacy of Diana is something that her sons, William and Harry, have been at pains to honour, both in their public statements and in their choice of charity to support.

Yet there is nothing warm, supportive or particularly family minded about the position in which Mr Markle now finds himself.

For Meghans part, some might imagine that her new-found Royal status is to blame  that she now lives in such a straitjacket of demands, conventions and protocols that communication between father and daughter has become difficult, if not impossible.

Yet this is simply not the case.

Thomas Markle has every reason to fear that his beloved Meghan (pictured with him) has now turned her back on him completely, writes Ingrid Seward

No one has been telling Meghan what to do or what not to do when it comes to her personal relationship with her father.

The Queen does not intervene in family matters  although she might wish she had done when it came to the breakdown of her sons marriage to Diana  so it is up to Meghan how she chooses to deal with her relatives.

In other words, the new Duchess of Sussex is free to repair the damage, and I cannot be alone in hoping she will do so.

Both she and her Prince are suffering from the fallout. It is notable how happy she has been to embrace publicly her demure, yoga-teacher mother, yet her heavy-set father has been less fortunate.

Is she embarrassed by Thomas Markle, the man who, at the very least, was a dutiful father and paid for her to attend a private school?

Meghan is not wholly to blame for the situation she finds herself in, but it was a mistake not to visit her father with Harry before their engagement.

Only Meghan (pictured with Harry at the polo in Berkshire) can sort out this escalating problem  and she would be wise to do so

Today, Mr Markle feels that his only outlet is through the media, which is at least prepared to print his true feelings.

Neither media savvy nor particularly sophisticated, he simply wants to be heard.

True, he has worked in Hollywood but his position as a lighting director has in no way prepared him for the extraordinary world in which his daughter is now immersed.

He needs patience and understanding. He does not need to be cut off from all communication with the daughter he loves and who is now one of the most famous people in the world.

His frustration is palpable. His anxiety all too human. And yet his persistence in being heard is embarrassing.

Meghan, like her late mother-in-law, would like to be known as a humanitarian, but she must understand that charity begins at home.

Only she can sort out this escalating problem  and she would be wise to do so.

Most people understand how difficult families can be, but in her public position Meghan has to be seen to care, or else her hard-earned reputation could be tainted for ever and no one would wish that on her.

Ingrid Seward is editor in chief of Majesty Magazine
Jeremy Corbyn faced mounting anger over Labours anti-Semitism row last night as it emerged the dispute has led to a bizarre call to throw him off his allotment.

The threat came as The Mail on Sunday obtained details of another furious clash between a Labour MP and a senior party figure over the anti-Semitism controversy.

The MP, Ian Austin, a former No 10 aide to Gordon Brown, has been warned he could be kicked out of the party after a slanging match with Labour chairman Ian Lavery.

Jeremy Corbyn faced mounting anger over Labours anti-Semitism row last night as it emerged the dispute has led to a bizarre call to throw him off his allotment

Mr Austin, whose grandmother was murdered in the Holocaust, told Corbyn crony Mr Lavery that Labours failure to tackle anti-Semitism was a bloody disgrace and that the party had become a sewer. Mr Lavery angrily denied the claims.

The dust-up was a near carbon-copy of the heated confrontation between former Labour Minister Dame Margaret Hodge and Mr Corbyn. She was reported to have called him a f****** anti-Semite and a racist after Labours National Executive Committee decided against adopting the internationally accepted definition of anti-Semitism in its code of conduct.

Dame Margaret denied swearing but has been told she also faces a disciplinary investigation.

This newspaper has seen a copy of a letter to Mr Austin by Labour General Secretary Jennie Formby threatening to punish him after his row with Mr Lavery  which happened the same day as Dame Margarets clash with Mr Corbyn.

Ms Formby, a close personal friend and political ally of Unite leader Len McCluskey, warned Mr Austin: Allegations that you may have been involved in a breach of Labour Party rules have been brought to our attention.

They relate to abusive conduct in Parliament on 16 July and 17 July 2018, which may be in breach of rule 2.1.8.

It is important that these allegations are properly investigated.

The MP, Ian Austin (pictured) a former No 10 aide to Gordon Brown, has been warned he could be kicked out of the party after a slanging match with Labour chairman Ian Lavery.

You should be aware that any future behaviour of a similar nature to the allegation above could result in further disciplinary action, including suspension.

An Investigating Officer will be appointed to arrange the investigation. Please quote case CN-0217 on all correspondence. It is hoped you will offer your full co-operation.

The extraordinary threat to strip Mr Corbyn of his allotment came from the council in Barnet, which administers the land where the Labour leader has his vegetable patch in East Finchley, four miles from his Islington home.

According to the latest official minutes of Barnet Council, the idea was put forward by Conservative Leader Richard Cornelius in direct response to Mr Corbyns clash with Dame Margaret.

Labours failure to win the borough from the Tories in the May town hall elections was blamed by local Labour leaders on the long-running anti-Semitism controversy in the party. Fifteen per cent of Barnet voters have Jewish roots.

Commenting on Mr Corbyns decision to call off a visit to Barnet after Labours flop, councillor and ex-Tory MP John Marshall asked Mr Cornelius to issue a fresh invitation to the Labour leader to discuss the scourge of anti-Semitism, in the interests of community cohesion and wellbeing.

Mr Cornelius replied: This would be helpful. Margaret Hodge MP has labelled Jeremy Corbyn an anti-Semite. I wonder whether he should still have a Barnet allotment.

Mr Cornelius was backed last night by Barnets deputy Tory leader Daniel Thomas, who said: The council leader is right to question whether Mr Corbyn should have an allotment in Barnet. He doesnt even live here and his inaction on anti-Semitism offends many Barnet residents.

Dame Margaret denied swearing but has been told she also faces a disciplinary investigation

Stephen Pollard, editor of the Jewish Chronicle, said: Given how Jeremy Corbyn has completely lost the plot over anti-Semitism and caused grave offence to so many Jewish people living in Barnet, it would be fitting if he lost his allotment there too.

Mr Pollards newspaper was one of three Jewish papers which last week took the unprecedented step of publishing a joint front page warning the Jewish community faced an existential threat if Mr Corbyn became Prime Minister.

However, it was unclear last night if the local council had the power to strip Mr Corbyn of his plot. Allotments in Barnet are run by the Barnet Allotments Federation. Until recently most were run by the council but most are now leased from the council.

Austin and Hodge both lost grandmothers to the Nazis The two Labour MPs in the latest anti-Semitism row to engulf Jeremy Corbyn both had grandmothers who were murdered by the Nazis. Ian Austins Czech grandmother Rosalie and her sisters Ilse and Trudi were murdered at Treblinka concentration camp on October 5, 1942. Mr Austins father Fred, who was ten, escaped to London from their home in Ostrava. He took the Austin surname of his English guardian, married an English girl and became headteacher of Dudley Grammar School. The couple adopted four children, including Ian, now MP for Dudley. Margaret Hodges grandmother and uncle were also Holocaust victims. Advertisement

The Mail on Sunday has been told that the complaints against both Dame Margaret and Mr Austin were orchestrated by Mr Corbyns own officials  enabling them to trigger formal investigations.

A former Labour Minister said last night: There are deeply sinister goings-on in our party. It says all you need to know about Corbyn that his apparatchiks show such venom in going after people who protest about anti-Semitism and turn a blind eye to those guilty of it. They are trying to crush people for telling the truth.

Some of Mr Corbyns own allies have admitted the scale of anti-Semitism in the party. Jon Lansman, leader of the Left-wing Momentum campaign group, said last week: We have a unique problem. We have to handle far more cases than anybody else.

Labour last night declined to comment on the allotment threat and dismissed as absurd the claim that complaints against Mr Austin and Dame Margaret had been orchestrated by the Leaders office.
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A California family spent days searching for their missing relatives only to learn that they had perished in the Carr Fire, which continues to rip through northern California and also took the lives of two firefighters.

Family members said Melody Bledsoe, 70, and her two great-grandchildren, James Roberts, 5 and Emily Roberts, 4, were home alone when they fire engulfed their home in Shasta County. Melody's husband, Ed Bledsoe, had taken the only working car to get supplies unaware that officials had ordered people in their area to evacuate.

Ed told the Sacramento Bee during an interview on Saturday that he received a call from the home telling him to hurry up and get back because the fire was approaching. Ed said he stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic and contacted the children's aunt, Carla Bledsoe, to go and pick the family up.

Ed said that he stayed on the phone with his wife and two great-grandchildren 'until the fire got them'.

Melody Bledsoe, 70, and her great-grandchildren James Roberts, 5, and Emily Roberts, 4, were killed in the California wildfire

Family members said Melody and the two kids were at the home alone without any transportation when the fire engulfed their home. Pictured is where the home once stood. Police have the area blocked with red tape

Ed Bledsoe, Melody's husband, had taken the only working car to go get supplies unaware that the neighborhood had been ordered to evacuate. Pictured is where the family home once stood

I was trying to get to them. The fire was just, the whole damn place was nothing but fire, he said. Id give my life for them. I just dont know what Ive done wrong. I get two little angels like that and I leave them in the damn fire.

Authorities confirmed on Saturday that Melody and the two kids had died in the fire. The family home, which was reduced to ash and rubble in the wake of the blaze, is now blocked off by red police tape.

Officials said the neighborhood the Bledsoe family lived in experienced a 'flash fire' leaving residents little time to escape.

According to the San Francisco Gate, family members said five-year-old James also called 911 begging for someone to come and help them.

My nephew called, scared, for help, but they said they couldnt make it in time, Carla said.

The devastated family also said they received mixed messages from authorities when searching for their missing loved ones. Carla told the Sacramento Bee that firefighters initially told Ed that his wife and great-grandchildren were safe and had been taken to a shelter, but after searching various shelters in the area they could not find them.

The family was called to the sheriff's department on Saturday to be told that Melody, James and Emily did not make it out of the Carr Fire alive.

Ed said he got a call for him to hurry and come back because the fire was approaching but he was stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic. He said he stayed on the phone 'until the fire got them'

Family members said James called 911 begging for help but was told that rescue workers could not get to them

Sherry Bledsoe (left) confirmed Saturday that her grandmother and two children died in the blaze

Carla Bledsoe, facing camera, hugs her sister Sherry outside of the sheriff's office after hearing news that Sherry's children died in the fire

Several family members, including the children's mother Sherry Bledsoe, were photographed outside the sheriff's office in tears. Relatives said that the children had been living with Ed and Melody since they were babies.

Sherry was in county jail at the time and was released on Saturday so she could be with her family.

My kids are deceased, she said. Thats all I have to say. Theres not much to say.

Ed added: '(Melody) was the best woman I ever seen and them two kids was absolutely angels'.

Nearly 20 people are missing in the fire, but Redding Police Sgt Todd Cogle said he expects them to be safe since their homes survived the Shasta County wildfire. He says some may be having communication issues.

The wildfire that started Monday has displaced at least 37,000 people and destroying 500 homes.

Officials warn another 5,000 properties are still threatened.

On Friday, the evening sun combined with the smoky air to produce a milky glow, which illuminated the shattered remains of houses and the skeletons of thousands of charred trees.

In the communities scorched by the blaze, the air is thick with the smell of smoke and chemicals, as the so-called Carr Fire continues to move through Shasta County like a freight train.

On Saturday morning, some 3,400 firefighters on the ground and in helicopters continued to battle the 48,300-acre fire as it ripped through the city of Redding, while blazes continued to rage elsewhere in the state.

A firefighter hoses down a home in Redding, California on July 27. The neighborhood was engulfed in flames

The charred remains of home in the Lake Redding Estates that was burned down in the Carr Fire on July 27

A woman walks by a destroyed home in Redding, California on july 27. Five people, including two firefighters, were killed in the ravaging Carr Fire

A couple walks by homes leveled during the Carr Fire on July 27. The fire started due to a car's mechanical issue, fire officials said

On Saturday, 3,400 firefighters still battling 48,300-acre Carr Fire which is only three percent contained

The fire, which was just three percent contained after igniting six days ago, has been fed by high temperatures and low humidity, which were expected for at least the next week, said California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection Director Ken Pimlott.

'This fire is a long way from done,' he said.

Gusty winds reaching 60mph have fanned the flames creating firenadoes, which are strong enough to flip cars like toys, according to fire service spokesman Scott McLean.

The fire began on Monday with a mechanical failure of a vehicle. It grew completely out of control on Thursday, tearing through two small communities and reaching the city of Redding.

Tens of thousands of people fled the city in fear of their lives from the blaze.

In the small northern California community of Keswick, only a handful of homes remain.

The flames so thoroughly ate up homes that it's difficult to tell how many once stood above the pile of ash and smoking rubble that remains.

Somewhere in there was the home of Shyla and Jason Campbell.

Jason Campbell, a firefighter, was six hours away battling a wildfire burning near Yosemite Valley when the Carr Fire moved in on his home and family.

Shyla Campbell, 32, said it was nearly 2 a.m. Thursday when she got an official alert to evacuate.

'It's huge flames, it's coming up the hill, and everyone's out and we're watching it, then it goes down, and everyone's like, 'Oh it's going out,' ' she said. 'And I'm like, 'No, it's going down the mountain and it's going to come back up the next ridge.''

She was right.

The family spent the night at a hotel. When Jason Campbell returned from the blaze he was fighting on Friday, he found his own home had gone up in flames, along with an RV and a boat.

A post-apocalyptic scene: A charred pickup truck burned in the Carr Fire sits on property in Redding California on July 27

Wade Brilz looks at his burned home during the Carr fire in Redding, California on July 27. Fire officials are still trying to control the blaze

A man takes a photo of his grandmother's burned home during the Carr fire in Redding, California on July 27, 2018

A house burns during the Carr fire in Redding, California on July 27. Two firefighters and three family members of a family have died in the fire

A Cal Fire firefighter mops up hot spots after the Carr Fire moved through the area on Saturday, July 28

In the communities scorched by the blaze, such as Lake Keswick Estates in Redding (pictured), the Friday air was thick with the smell of smoke and chemicals, as the so-called Carr Fire continues to move through Shasta County like a freight train

Two vehicles that endured the Carr Fire, one with minor cosmetic damage and one destroyed, rest among leveled homes in the Lake Keswick Estates area of Redding on Friday evening

California Highway Patrol officer Gavin Graham surveys homes leveled by the Carr Fire in Lake Keswick Estates on Friday. The fire is still only three percent contained after igniting six days ago

The Campbells' home of five years is among at least 500 structures that officials say were destroyed by the fire, which also swept through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and hit homes in Redding, a city of 92,000 about 100 miles south of the Oregon border.

CALIFORNIA WILDFIRE CREATES ITS OWN WEATHER SYSTEM The wildfire tearing through northern California is so hot it's formed its own weather system, with strong winds creating 'firenados'. The phenomenon occurs when high temperatures drive the air upward, creating gusts of wind in three directions and pushing the smoke vertically. The winds within the firenados are so strong they can flip cars like toys, according to fire service spokesman Scott McLean. At the height of the blaze on Thursday a firenado sent large, fiery chunks of debris into the air, landing on buildings, homes and trees, advancing the spread of the flames. 'The fire created its own wind. It looks an awful lot like a tornado,' UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain told the Sacremento Bee. 'These fire-induced winds were very strong and unpredictable and drove this fire from dry brush and trees into urban areas.' Advertisement

'It's tough,' Shyla Campbell said Friday from the city of Shasta Lake. 'I just have to figure out where we're going to stay. We're just trying to stay away from the fire.'

So are about 37,000 people who remain under evacuation orders Friday. Nearly 5,000 homes in the area were being threatened by the 75-square-mile (194-square-kilometer) blaze, which is just five percent contained.

Thousands of people scrambled to escape before the walls of flames descended from forested hills onto their neighborhoods Thursday.

Residents who gathered their belongings in haste described a chaotic and congested getaway as the embers blew up to a mile ahead of flames and the fire leaped across the wide Sacramento River and torched subdivisions in Redding.

Redding police chief Roger Moore was among those who lost their homes, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Greg and Terri Hill evacuated their Redding home of 18 years Thursday night with little more than their medications, photo albums, clothes and firearms, assuming they'd be back in a few days.

But when they returned Friday, virtually nothing was left of their home but fine particles of ash.

The remains were smoldering so hot, they couldn't get too close to see if anything survived.

'It's pretty emotional,' Terri Hill said. 'I know it's just stuff. A lot of memories. But we'll make new memories and get new stuff. Everybody's safe.'

The fire began on Monday with a mechanical failure of a vehicle. It grew completely out of control on Thursday, tearing through two small communities and reaching the city of Redding, which is pictured on Friday

Mark Peterson, who lost his home in the Carr Fire, gives water to goats that survived the blaze on Friday in the city of Redding, California

Gusty winds reaching 60mph have fanned the flames creating firenadoes, which are strong enough to flip cars like toys, according to fire service spokesman Scott McLean. Pictured: Leveled homes in the Lake Keswick area on Friday

The flames so thoroughly ate up homes in Keswick that it's difficult to tell how many once stood above the pile of ash and smoking rubble that remains

A partially burned boat floats on Whiskeytown Lake during the Carr fire near Whiskeytown, California, on Friday, near where to more than 100 homes were burned

There are more fires elsewhere in the state. This photo shows a blaze over Apple Canyon caused by the Cranston Fire near Idyllwild, San Bernardino, on Friday

The Hills fled before they were told to, knowing danger was afoot when the power went out and helicopters suddenly began flying low over their home.

Liz Williams loaded up two kids in her car and then found herself locked in bumper-to-bumper traffic with neighbors trying to retreat from Lake Redding Estates.

She eventually jumped the curb onto the sidewalk and 'booked it.'

'I've never experienced something so terrifying in my life,' she said. 'I didn't know if the fire was just going to jump out behind a bush and grab me and suck me in.'

The flames moved so fast that firefighters working in oven-like temperatures and bone-dry conditions had to drop efforts to battle the blaze at one point to help people escape.

Two firefighters were killed in the blaze, Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke and bulldozer operator Don Ray Smith, 81. He was the second bulldozer operator killed in a California blaze in less than two weeks.

Elsewhere in the state, large fires continued to burn outside Yosemite National Park and in the San Jacinto Mountains east of Los Angeles near Palm Springs.

Yosemite National Park officials said Friday that the park won't reopen to everyone until the afternoon of August 3.

An eagle ornament at the top of a damaged flag pole is seen against the setting sun during the Carr fire in Redding, California, on Friday

The flames moved so fast that firefighters working in oven-like temperatures and bone-dry conditions had to drop efforts to battle the blaze at one point to help people escape. Pictured: The Carr Fire near Redding on Friday

Keela Brilz (right) holds her dog Zoe who was returned safely to her at her burned home in Redding in Friday. Elsewhere, people have not been able to return

Greg and Terri Hill stand in front of the charred remains of their home in Redding. Elsewhere in the state, large fires continued to burn outside Yosemite National Park and in the San Jacinto Mountains east of Los Angeles near Palm Springs

A large pyrocumulus cloud (or cloud of fire) explodes outward during the Carr fire near Redding on Friday, showing the vast extent of the blaze
Jeremy Hunt has pledged to help the father of a murdered British businessman in a custody battle for his grandchildren who are living in China.

The Foreign Secretary, whose wife was born in China, has promised to raise the case during a four-day visit to the country which begins tomorrow.

Ian Simpson, 69, who persuaded his former boss  an acquaintance of Mr Hunt  to forward an email asking for help, said: 'He did me a favour in getting a note to Jeremy Hunt after I heard he was going to China.

A message came back saying, 'Yes I will do something.' '

Michael Simpson, 34, was stabbed in the neck by his estranged wife Fu Weiwei, 29 (pictured together) last year

Mr Simpson's son Michael, 34, who worked in Shanghai for fashion chain Next, was stabbed to death in March last year by his estranged wife, Fu Weiwei, 29.

Michael's children Jack, seven, and Alice, six, have since been living with their mother's parents in a tiny flat in the remote town of Nanzhang in Hubei province.

The Chinese grandparents are understood not to have told the children their father is dead and their mother is in jail for his murder.

Yesterday, Yu Zhiwen, the lawyer for Weiwei, who was jailed for life earlier this month, said the British grandparents had 'no right' to apply for guardianship of the children.

Asked about Mr Hunt's intervention, he said: 'The question of who should take care of the children is a matter of law, not of foreign affairs.'

The Foreign Office declined to comment on Mr Hunt's engagements, but said: 'We are supporting the British relatives of Michael Simpson at this difficult and trying time.'
Australian Wendy Tuck has become the first woman skipper to win the clipper Round The World Race.

The 53-year-old and her triumphant Sanya Serenity Coast crew were greeted by thousands when they returned to Liverpool yesterday having completed the 40,000-nautical mile yacht race after setting off from the city 11 months ago.

British sailor Nikki Henderson skippered the boat that finished second, Visit Seattle. At 25, Henderson is also the youngest person to lead a crew in the history of the race.

Australian Wendy Tuck has become the first woman skipper to win the clipper Round The World Race

Sanya Serenity Coast arrives in Liverpool

Ms Tuck said she has got to be nothing but positive about the final standings, adding: Especially with Nikki coming second, who is 25, that is just an extraordinary accomplishment for her  it is quite amazing.

After Ms Tuck was thrown into Royal Albert Dock as part of the celebrations, she said she hadnt even thought about becoming the first woman to win the race as a skipper.

She said: When we set out as a team we wanted to finish on the podium or the top four to find out the other result [becoming the first successful female skipper] as well  I didnt even think about that, it wasnt on the radar at the start all.

I am really happy, it still hasnt sunk in just yet, it is pretty amazing.

Sports Minister Tracey Crouch, who was in Liverpool to watch the climax of the race, said: What we have had is two phenomenal women in what has been, in the past, a male-dominated sport, who will hopefully, go on and inspire other women to get involved.
Investigators believe at least two teams of Russian hitmen were behind the Novichok attack on the Skripals in Salisbury, it has been revealed.

Police are working on the theory that one team arrived in Britain to plant the nerve agent weeks before Sergei Skripal, 67, and his daughter Yulia, 33, were poisoned  and another arrived later to use it, The Mirror reports.

Authorities believe the nerve agent was disguised as perfume in order to get it through customs and into the country.

That led to the death of Dawn Sturgess, 44, who died after spraying a bottle of Novichok that was disguised as perfume.

Her boyfriend Charlie Rowley, 45, found the discarded perfume bottle in Amesbury in June and gave it to the mother-of-three as a present.

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Investigators believe at least two teams of Russian hitmen were behind the Novichok attack on Sergei and Yulia Skripal (pictured) in Salisbury, it has been revealed

Ms Sturgess died on July 8, but Mr Rowley was discharged from Salisbury District Hospital last week.

However, since that bottle was sealed, it raises the prospect that a different container was used to smear Novichok on the Skripals' front door in March.

If so, the poison used in the attempted assassination of the former spy and his daughter may still be out there.

A Whitehall source told the Mirror that the assassins hid the Novichok inside a Russian product  and their carelessness in doing that suggests they may have left more of it lying around.

'The net keeps widening  they almost can't predict what's going to turn up next,' the source told the newspaper.

'The bottle they put it in could only have been bought in Russia.'

Dawn Sturgess (pictured) died after spraying a bottle of Novichok that was disguised as perfume

Charlie Rowley (pictured after his release from hospital) said the nerve agent took just 15 minutes to poison Ms Sturgess after she sprayed the 'oily' substance on to her wrists

The source said any suggestion that the nerve agent didn't originate in Russia is 'laughable.'

Mr Rowley said the nerve agent took just 15 minutes to poison Ms Sturgess after she sprayed the 'oily' substance on to her wrists thinking it was perfume.

'I do have a memory of her spraying it on her wrists and rubbing them together,' he told ITV.

'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.'

Mr Rowley said he got some of the substance on his hands but washed it off fairly quickly.

He also fell ill and was hospitalised in critical condition, but has since recovered.

Police believe the Novichok was from the same batch used in the March attack on ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia.

They were found unconscious on a park bench in Salisbury in March.

A forensic tent covers the bench where Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were found in Salisbury in March

Emergency workers in protective suits search around John Baker House Sanctuary Supported Living earlier this month. A cordon around the house has now been lifted

Both were hospitalised for weeks, but eventually were released and are recovering in a secret location.

British officials blame the attack on the Russian government. The Kremlin has denied any involvement.

Home Secretary Sajid Javid accused the Russian state of using Britain as a 'dumping ground for poison', and demanded the Kremlin provide an explanation for the two episodes.

Police are still searching the area for clues and possible indications of more Novichok contamination.

A cordon that had been placed around the house where Ms Sturgess lived in Salisbury is being lifted after weeks of careful searches.

Investigators said no contamination risk had been identified at John Baker House, the supported-living accommodation in Salisbury.

Public Health England's advice is that the wider risk to the public remains low.
A New Jersey mother who was the sole survivor of a horrific car crash that claimed her husband and four daughters earlier this month is speaking out for the first time.

On July 6, Mary Rose Ballocanag, 53, lost her husband Audie Trinidad, 61, and her daughters Kaitlyn, 20, Danna, 17 and 13-year-old twins Allison when a wrong-way truck driver smashed into their minivan on Route 1 in Delaware.

'When Audie, Kaitlyn, Danna, Melissa and Allison died, part of me died,' Ballocanag told The New York Post on Saturday.

On July 6, Mary Rose Ballocanag, 53, lost her husband and four daughters when a truck crossed the medium and smashed right into the family's minivan

'When Audie, Kaitlyn, Danna, Melissa and Allison died, part of me died,' Ballocanag told reporters on Saturday (pictured)

'And I'm dying inside over and over again,' she added.

Ballocanag made the comments while receiving treatment at Kessler Rehabilitation Center in Saddle Brook just days after being released from the hospital.

The devastated widow has undergone six surgeries for her injuries, which included five fractures to her arms and legs, and still needs assistance with simple tasks.

According to the Post, Ballocanag said she plans to sue the driver, Alvin S. Hubbard Jr., whose truck veered across the median and smashed into her family's car.

Authorities have not charged Hubbard citing their ongoing investigation into the incident.

'Justice will not bring them back,' the mom said. 'But we will be in a safer place.'

Friends and extended family have rallied behind Ballocanag and are helping her with funeral arrangements and expenses.

Danna, 17; Allison, 13; Kaitlyn, 20; and Melissa, 13 and were killed in a car crash along with their father Audi Marquez Trinidad (C)

Friends and extended family have rallied behind Ballocanag and are helping her with funeral arrangements and expenses

Her brother-in-law said, however, there would be no service until Mary could attend.

'We don't want to do it without her,' said Daniel Trinidad. 'As long as she can be in a wheelchair, we can have it.'

Trinidad, his mother, brother and sister had been traveling six or seven hours to visit Mary and come back home to Mary's home in Teaneck, New Jersey, where they are all staying.

Her brother-in-law Daniel Trinidad said, however, there would be no service until Mary (pictured) could attend

He told the News Journal there was a lot of heartache to work through as the family processed their massive loss.

'They're all gone,' he said of his brother and nieces. 'Why do you have to take all five of them, leave one, please.

'But I guess God is very short on angels  he needs them now.

The Trinidad family had been coming back from vacation in Ocean City, Maryland, when their lives were cut short.

They were traveling northbound on Route 1 in Delaware just before 4pm on July 6, when a maroon pickup truck travelling southbound crossed the center median into oncoming traffic - slamming into the family's white Toyota Sienna minivan.

Officials said the Ford pickup, driven by Hubbard Jr, 44, first hit the rear driver's side of a 2002 Mercury Sable, which was being driven by Brian Kern, 24, of Bethlehem, PA.

The collision forced the Mercury Sable to spin out of control.

The truck then rammed directly into the Trinidad family's 1998 Toyota Sienna.

Photos from the scene showed the minivan with its roof ripped off and a tarp covering the inside of the vehicle.

The family have launched a GoFundMe to help pay for the Mary's medical expenses and her family's funerals.

The grieving widow says she plans to sue the driver, Alvin S. Hubbard Jr. in the coming weeks
Chloe Smith, Minister for the Constitution, said intimidation in public life is stopping talented people from standing for election

Online political adverts must make clear who has paid for them under a Government crackdown on fake news and social media abuse.

Parties who fail to declare their links to digital campaigns  even comments on Twitter  could be hit with huge fines under the plans, announced in the wake of a highly critical report by MPs into the crisis in our democracy.

In further moves by Downing Street to tame the lawless world of politics on the internet, trolls who threaten candidates will be banned from standing for public office.

And complex election law will be simplified to make it clear when voters are being intimidated.

Chloe Smith, Minister for the Constitution, said last night: This Government recognises that rising intimidation in public life is stopping talented people from standing for election and putting voters off politics. We want to tackle this extremely serious issue.

We are consulting on three new measures that will protect voters, candidates and campaigners so they can make their choice at the ballot box or stand for public service without fear of being victims of misinformation or abuse.

I would encourage everyone to take part in this consultation.

It will look at whether the requirement for election pamphlets to have imprints  showing who produced them  should be extended to digital material.

Downing Street hopes this will help increase transparency and ease fears over fake news and foreign interference, particularly by Russia, in polls worldwide.

The review will also look at creating a new offence of intimidating parliamentary candidates and campaigners, and amending the existing law against having undue influence on voters to make it clear what threats are illegal.

Online political adverts must make clear who has paid for them under a Government crackdown on fake news and social media abuse

It follows a warning from MPs that Britain is facing a crisis in our democracy caused by the abuse of personal data to target voters and the use of social media to spread lies.

A damning report by the Commons Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee accused tech giants of acting irresponsibly with the huge amounts of information they have gathered on users.

Facebook allowed developers to harvest sensitive data and to use it to target adverts at voters, while Russian agencies tried to influence how Britons voted, but the firm tried to frustrate scrutiny during the MPs inquiry.

The committee recommends that technology firms are held responsible for harmful and illegal content posted on their platforms, and that they should pay new taxes to fund Britains data watchdog, the Information Commissioners Office.

It also calls for the Competition and Market Authority to investigate how many fake accounts are active on social media.

Elizabeth Denham, the Information Commissioner, said the committees inquiry is testament to the global challenges facing democracy in the digital age.
The self-styled bad boy of Brexit may have improperly used foreign money to bankroll the Leave campaign, according to MPs.

Businessman Arron Banks gave 8.4million to the campaign, but the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee says it is unclear from where he obtained that amount of money.

The committee adds that Mr Banks failed to satisfy us that his own donations had, in fact, come from sources within the UK.

Businessman Arron Banks gave 8.4million to the Leave campaign (pictured second from left with Donald Trump and Nigel Farage)

Noting that Mr Banks was in close contact with the Russian Embassy, the MPs recommend that the Electoral Commission watchdog should verify that the money was not sourced from abroad and if there is any doubt, the matter should be referred to the National Crime Agency.

Mr Banks is also accused in todays hard-hitting report of wanting to hide the extent of his contacts with Russia.

The MPs say he and his righthand man Andy Wigmore misled the committee on the number of meetings that took place with the Russian Embassy and walked out of the committees evidence session to avoid scrutiny of the content of the discussions with the Russian Embassy.

The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee says it is unclear' where Mr Banks got the money he donated to Leave.EU

In an attempt to limit the influence Mr Banks could have on future polls, the committee urges the Government to put limits on the amount of money an individual can donate.

Separately, the MPs say Mr Banks is facing extremely serious allegations that the Leave.EU campaign obtained customer data from his insurance companies.

Mr Banks has poured scorn on the committees inquiry as well as the Electoral Commission.

He claimed to have annihilated the Remoaner MPs during his evidence session, adding: The Electoral Commission is a body where the accused is investigated, tried and sentenced by the same people.

He warned that the Governments proposed deal with the European Union will provoke an angry reaction, adding: Theresa May ratting on Brexit will release all sorts of genies from the bottle.

You havent seen anything yet.
Katie Couric is one of several women who have spoken out about the toxic work environment at CBS amid allegations that the corporation's CEO Les Moonves not only fostered such behavior, but engaged in inappropriate behavior.

Couric told the New Yorker, which wrote a bombshell story accusing Moonves and other top executives of sexual harassment, that CBS 'felt like a boys' club, where a number of talented women seemed to be marginalized and undervalued'.

Couric worked as an anchor at the network and a contributing correspondent for 60 Minutes from 2006 to 2011.

Katie Couric, a former contributing corespondent for 60 Minutes, said CBS is like a 'boys' club'

Couric wasn't the only former female employee who criticized the network's office environment and their treatment by top executives. One former associate producer told the New Yorker that CBS: 'is an old network. Everything in there feels old; the people, the furniture, the culture, the mores'.

Many of them described the atmosphere as a 'frat house'. '

'I had several producers and editors over the age of sixty who would greet me by kissing me on the mouth,' a former employee said. 'I had people touch my butt a couple times. (60 Minutes producer Jeff) Fager seemed to encourage that climate. It wasn't even that he turned a blind eye toward it.'

Several other women accused Fager of getting 'handsy' after having drinks at company parties. They alleged that Fager was would touch them in ways that made them feel uncomfortable.

'It was always "Let's go say hello to Jeff, 'cause you have to pay homage to him, but let's do it early in the evening, before he starts getting really handsy",' a former 60 Minutes producer said.

Fager denied the allegations, telling the New Yorker: 'It is wrong that our culture can be falsely defined by a few people with an axe to grind who are using an important movement as a weapon to get even, and not by the hundreds of women and men that have thrived, both personally and professionally, at '60 Minutes.'

Couric made the claims as CBS Corporation CEO Les Moonves (pictured above with his wife Julie Chen) is accused of sexual harassment

Six Feet Under actress Illeana Douglas said during a 1997 meeting with Moonves he allegedly kissed her 'violently' and then pulled up her skirt while thrusting his aroused groin into her

He added, 'A majority of our senior staff are women. All of them worked their way up the ranks and are now managers of our broadcast. Half of our producers and a majority of our associate producers are women. It is a challenging place to do well and promotions are earned on merit and are not based on gender.'

The New Yorker also reported that several women have accused Moonves of sexual misconduct. Six Feet Under actress Illeana Douglas said that during a 1997 meeting with Moonves, who was married to Nancy Wiesenfel at the time, he allegedly pinned her down on the couch, kissed her 'violently' and then pulled up her skirt while thrusting his aroused groin into her.

She said that Moonves wanted her to keep what happened between them. Douglas said a week later she was fired and Moonves told her she wouldn't 'get a fking dime' and would 'never work at this network again.'

'What happened to me was a sexual assault, and then I was fired for not participating,' Douglas told writer Ronan Farrow.

Moonves, who is now married to the Talk co-host Julie Chen, issued an apology saying: 'Throughout my time at CBS, we have promoted a culture of respect and opportunity for all employees, and have consistently found success elevating women to top executive positions across our Company.'

He added: 'I recognize that there were times decades ago when I may have made some women uncomfortable by making advances. Those were mistakes, and I regret them immensely. But I always understood and respected  and abided by the principle  that 'no' means 'no,' and I have never misused my position to harm or hinder anyone's career. This is a time when we all are appropriately focused on how we help improve our society, and we at CBS are committed to being part of the solution.'
The allegations against Moonves have added an unwelcome stress on the chairman and CBS, who are currently engaged in a legal battle with its controlling shareholder National Amusements and Shari Redstone, who has assumed the role of CEO for the past two years as her father Sumner's health deteriorates.

Moonves is trying to halt Redstone's push to merge CBS with another company National Amusements is the controlling shareholder in, Viacom.

A rep for National Amusements has disputed the notion that Redstone would ever try to push through an unwelcome merger.

CBS Corporation filed a lawsuit in Delaware Chancery Court back in May accusing chairman emeritus Sumner and his daughter, majority shareholder Shari , of 'breaching their fiduciary duties' to stockholders.

The complaint states that the Redstones and their company National Amusements are planning to use their power as 'controlling stockholder' to approve a merger of Viacom and CBS just days after it was unanimously rejected by members of a Special Committee of the corporation's Board of Directors.

National Amusements has only a 10.3 percent economic stake in CBS, but they control a staggering 79.6 percent of the corporation's voting power.

This is due to the fact that CBS has two classes of stock that are publicly traded, and only those with Class A holdings have voting power while those with Class B have no formal authority.

The complaint also accuses Shari of previously using her power to dissuade one CEO from entering their company into merger talks with CBS, filling open board seats with acolytes and carrying out talks which contributed to the approximately $7billion in market cap that has been lost by Class B stock holders over the past year.

'National Amusements (NAI) is outraged by the action taken by CBS and strongly refutes its characterization of recent events,' a spokesperson for the company said in a statement to DailyMail.com.

'NAI had absolutely no intention of replacing the CBS board or forcing a deal that was not supported by both companies. NAI's conduct throughout supports this, and reflects its commitment to a well-governed process.'

The lawyers also requested a temporary restraining order to keep Shari and her father out of meetings and 'from abusing voting control and further harming CBS and its public stockholders.'

The committee is comprised five individuals who are independent from the company and board: chairman Bruce S Gordon, Gary L Countryman, Charles K Gifford, Linda M Griego, and Martha L Minow.

'The Special Committee believes that the Company and its public stockholders face a serious threat of imminent, irreparable harm in Ms. Redstone's potential response to the Special Committee's unanimous decision yesterday, May 13, 2018, that the proposed Viacom transaction is not in the best interests of CBS stockholders,' states the filing.

Shari Redstone (above this month) and Moonves are at odds over the future of CBS

It then lists a number of ways that Shari has allegedly abused her power to undermine the board and hijack control for herself and National Amusements.

'Ms Redstone interfered with the CBS Board nomination process and installed on the Board the Redstones' personal lawyer, who has sought to implement her directives,' states one.

'Ms Redstone has acted to undermine CBS's highly lauded and successful management team in a series of escalating attacks, including by talking to potential CEO replacements without Board approval and deriding executives,,' declares another.

The filing later states: 'Ms Redstone reportedly expressed her willingness to replace CBS directors to compel a merger with Viacom regardless of the Special Committee's process, deliberations, and conclusion.'

Shari's actions have already cost the company billions according to the filing.

Shari's actions do appear to fly in the face of her father, who very publicly stated his commitment to CBS being an independent corporation when he was at the helm.

'CBS's Special Committee believes that it is only a matter of time before Ms. Redstone will attempt to replace the independent directors at CBS who do not agree with her positions, just as she and NAI did at Viacom two years ago, in order to block the CBS Board from considering appropriate corporate strategies for CBS that would be in the best interests of all CBS shareholders - not just NAI,' reads the complaint.

'Plaintiffs are filing this complaint and accompanying motion for a temporary restraining order to prevent Ms Redstone and NAI from attempting to replace the Board or modify the Company's governance documents before any Board action taken at the Special Board Meeting becomes effective.'

Sumner, 94, is currently the Chairman Emeritus of CBS, a position he was given after stepped down from his role as Executive Chairman back in February 2016.

He is still the CEO and Chairman of the Board for National Amusements, and the complaint does note: 'Mr. Redstone has been named as a defendant to ensure appropriate relief.'

It was Sumner's decision to split his media holdings a little over a decade ago which lead to Viacom and CBS being independent operators.

He then had a change of heart it seems and in 2016, he spent his final weeks trying to find a company or corporation willing to merge with CBS and thus allow them to compete with companies like Amazon and Netlfix.

Shari has made no secret of her desire to join Viacom and CBS since taking over for her ailing father.

It is only Viacom she is interested in however according to the complaint.

'Ms Redstone has also made clear that she will not entertain any third-party offers for control of CBS, even if they offer a high premium to CBS's stock price,' the filing reads.

'CBS's management team, led by Leslie Moonves (CEO and Chairman), is one of the most accomplished and successful in the media business,' the complaint states.

'In a demanding and rapidly changing marketplace, the Moonves-led team articulated a strategic plan, executed on that plan and consistently delivered superior results. Nevertheless, Ms. Redstone has acted to undermine the management team, including, without board authority, talking to potential CEO replacements, deriding the Chief Operating Officer and threatening to change the Board.'

It is then noted that Shari's 'escalating attacks make it difficult for management to perform its duties and threatens continuity of management.'

National Amusements responded with its own countersuit just days later.

This will all play out in court come October.

Redstone and Moonves were together earlier this month in Idaho, where both attended the Allen & Co conference in Sun Valley.
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This year the small Caribbean island of Mustique marks its 60th anniversary.

Although the land is obviously much older in actual years than 60, it was in 1958 that the late Colin Tennant, the 3rd Baron Glenconner, bought the island (which had no fresh water or electricity) for the bargain price of 45,000 and began turning it into the upscale holiday destination it still is today.

Shrewdly, in 1960, Tennant offered a plot of land in prime position on the island to his friend and reported former companion Her Royal Highness The Princess Margaret - although it wasn't until 1968 that she formally accepted it (having slyly pulled up the stakes that marked the plot and replanted them further a field to give her more acreage).

The Queen has Balmoral and Sandringham as her holiday homes - Margaret just had Les Jolies Eaux ('beautiful waters'), pictured, on Mustique

The neo-Georgian Les Jolies Eaux overlooks the majestic Gelliceaux Bay. It's on the only land she ever owned

The turquoise waters of Mustique's stunning Gelliceaux Bay. Les Jolies Eaux was designed by theatre designer Oliver Messel

Princess Margaret swimming in Mustique whilst on holiday with boyfriend Roddy Llewellyn in 1976

But Princess Margaret's first impression of the island, which was much more primitive than it is today, was that it was far from perfect. She said it 'looked like Kenya' and on her first trip her new husband Antony Armstrong-Jones and she got 'burnt to a frazzle and sat in the brush whacking mosquitoes'.

Luckily for Tennant and the island's future, she soon fell in love with the place (alas, not so much Armstrong-Jones) and on the plot of land overlooking the majestic Gelliceaux bay the neo-Georgian Les Jolies Eaux was built.

The Queen has Balmoral and Sandringham as her holiday homes - Margaret just had Les Jolies Eaux ('beautiful waters') - the only land she ever owned.

Princess Margaret was the Meghan Markle of her day. She was the glamorous rebel royal, although unlike Meghan, Margaret clung to a safety blanket of protocol.

The Queen's sister's royal rock-star status gave much needed column inches for Tennant's venture, helping bolster the influx of rich, famous and infamous to the 2.2-square-mile idyll, just south of St Vincent.

William stayed at The Cotton House, which was originally the counting house for merchants to inspect cotton

The Cotton House has 15 'keys', made up of three cottages, five seafront rooms, six suites and one private residence. This is a view from the hotel to Endeavour Bay

Les Jolies Eaux was - like many of the airy dwellings there - designed by theatre designer Oliver Messel (and uncle to Tony Snowdon). The theatricality of the villa helped Margaret cast herself as the leading lady of Mustique, although her taste in furnishings was startling suburban: she had a penchant for the colour peach (the entire bedroom was peach) and homewares from the Ideal Home Exhibition.

The Princess's timetable on Mustique was unvarying. Even at home she was not known for early rising, and on the island 11am was the appointed hour to wake, have a cup of coffee with the lady-in-waiting and then venture to the island's hotel, the Cotton House, for a cigarette and pick-me-up.

She would then mosey to the beach, dip into the sea for a very slow breaststroke, her royal head held as high as it could be, with a member of her staff just behind: a routine I followed unfailingly when visiting recently - although my lady in waiting was my partner, but as he's a quicker swimmer, it was me who tailed.

Princess Margaret (holding handbag) and island residents on Mustique waiting to greet Queen Elizabeth II, during her Silver Jubilee tour of the West Indies in 1977

Princess Margaret, centre, and her friends Lord Colin Tennant and Lady Anne Tennant waiting on a jetty to greet the Queen (left). On the right is the Queen being greeted by Princess Margaret

Originally, The Cotton House was the counting house for the merchants to inspect cotton but in its current incarnation as a hotel, also designed by Oliver Messel, opened in 1970, it has 15 'keys', made up of three cottages, five seafront rooms, six suites and one private residence.

Today a large proportion of people believe that 'luxury' is anything that shines, but nothing physically shines at the Cotton House - except for the effortless service and hospitality offered by the exquisitely professional staff, immaculate accommodation and chef Elio Debae's consistently tasty food.

Sitting enjoying a leisurely breakfast each morning at The Cotton House, staring at the simple charm of Endeavour Bay, we could easily see why Margaret and many others come back to visit once they have quickly fallen in love with both the island's scenery and the hardworking staff who make it even more attractive.

There are lots who would find the calm serenity and ease of living at the hotel less enticing than what some glitzy conglomerate hotel would offer - but these are not the types who come to Mustique.

Since its original incarnation in the 50s, Mustique is still the same Caribbean eden for those who seek the ultimate (intangible) luxuries of unquestioned privacy and uncompromisingly good service, writes William

Observing the demographic of guest that the island attracts at the hotel's weekly Tuesday night drinks party (open to non-hotel guests, too) was a good sport. Most were well-heeled, relaxed westerners from Britain, North America and South Africa. There was little pretence and overt brashness - dare I say that there were tasteful overtones of that old British trait of quiet, unspoken and innocent superiority?

For however happy and at peace the royal princess was on the island, Margaret's last trip to the island ended badly. In early 1999 she went to have her morning shower, but due to a still-unknown issue with the plumbing, scalding hot water shot from the bath taps, crashing in to her feet, and the Princess collapsed, with the lava-like water still flowing.

Found by her cook, who still works on the island today, she soon refused to have the medical treatment she really needed and several weeks later The Queen had to use Concorde to fly her back to convalesce.

Les Jolies Eaux was sold, by her son, the then Viscount Linley, in 1999 for 1.5 million. Since her time on the island the four-bedroom villa has been expanded and now has seven bedrooms. It's available to rent for tens of thousands of dollars.

Mustique today is owned by a different private company from Tennant's original, although still called the Mustique Company. It recently bought the island's most popular bar, Basil's, on Britannia Bay, which has just reopened after an extensive refit.

Princess Margaret would be pleased to know that her great nephew and his wife, Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, have holidayed several times on the island, carrying on the British royal connection - and are believed to be there now, along with their children Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Since its original incarnation in the 50s, Mustique is still the same Caribbean eden for those who seek the ultimate (intangible) luxuries of unquestioned privacy and uncompromisingly good service.

And the water from the bath taps is just the right temperature.
You'll probably instantly recognise them from the big screen.

But how about actually spending a night in some of your favourite movie locations?

Here's our pick of the best hotels around the world that have featured in blockbuster films.

1. HAVE A PRETTY GOOD TIME

Dramatic setting: The Beverly Wilshire where Richard Gere and Julia Roberts filmed Pretty Woman

BEVERLY WILSHIRE, LOS ANGELES

Pretty Woman was filmed here starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and a special VIP Pretty Woman package includes a huge suite, a Rodeo Drive tour with a wardrobe consultant, lunch at The Boulevard, in-room dining and transport in a Mercedes Sedan.

From 452 (Pretty Woman for a Day Experience 11,325-30,860), fourseasons.com, 001 310 275 5200

2. GET LOST IN JAPANESE LUXURY

PARK HYATT, TOKYO

Overlook Tokyo like Bill Murray and Scarlett Johansson did in Lost In Translation (he had the Diplomat Suite), drink cocktails in the New York Bar and swim in the rooftop pool.

From 573, tokyo.park.hyatt.com, 0081 3 5322 1234

3. SHAKEN AND STIRRED IN THE LAKE PALACE

Elegance: The Taj Lake Palace in Udaipur, India, was Octopussy's HQ

TAJ LAKE PALACE, UDAIPUR, INDIA

Cross Lake Pichola and arrive at the 18th Century palace that was HQ to Octopussy (Maud Adams) and her ladies. Visit the lily pond where she first emerged when James Bond (Roger Moore) landed, and dine on the terrace where the couple shared drinks.

From 215, taj.tajhotels.com, 0091 294 242 8800

4. HAVE THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE

MOUNTAIN LAKE LODGE, PEMBROKE, VIRGINIA

Swivel in the steps of Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey at Dirty Dancing Weekends held quarterly in the films Blue Ridge Mountain hotel location. Take dance lessons and tour the movie sites.

From 115 (335 for Dirty Dancing-themed weekend), mtnlakelodge.com, 001 540 626 7121

5. SHIVER YOUR TIMBERS

TIMBERLINE LODGE, MOUNT HOOD, OREGON

It was the Stanley Hotel at Estes Park, Colorado, that Stephen King had in mind when he created the Overlook Hotel in The Shining. Stanley Kubrick then based all the Elstree Studios interiors on the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite Park and shot the exteriors at Timberline Lodge. From 125, timberlinelodge.com, 001 503 272 3311

6. MAKE IT A RIGHT ROYALE OCCASION

THE OCEAN CLUB, PARADISE ISLAND, BAHAMAS

Valet-park your car like Daniel Craig in Casino Royale, check into an ocean-view villa (Bond stayed in 1085), and order a large Mount Gay rum in the library.

From 770, fourseasons.com, 001 242 363 2501

7. RAMSHACKLE ESCAPE IS SO EXOTIC

RAVLA KHEMPUR, KHEMPUR, INDIA

The hotel has been refurbished since starring in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel but its ramshackle nature remains. Accommodation is basic  gloriously authentic for film fans. From 60, ravlakhempur.com, 0091 75682 72852

8. HUNGVOVER IN THAILAND

Dizzy heights: The dazzling Bangkok cityscape pictured above

LEBUA, BANGKOK

You can stay in the three-bedroom Hangover Suite and sample the Hangovertini cocktail before ascending to the Sky Bar on the 63rd floor where, in Hangover 2, Chow met Kingsley.

From 82 (710 for the Hangover Suite that sleeps 11), lebua.com/state-tower, 001 66 2624 9999

9. HEAD FOR THE HEGHTS

HOTEL VERTIGO, SAN FRANCISCO

James Stewart met Kim Novak here in Vertigo. Hitchcock filmed the exterior of Hotel Empire (as it then was) and built a replica of room 401 on set. The hotel staircase inspired the stair sequence in the bell tower.

From 163, haiyi-hotels.com/hotelvertigosf, 001 415 885 6800

10. TAKE A ROOM WITH A VIEW

HOTEL DEGLI ORAFI, FLORENCE

To look out over the Arno as Helena Bonham Carter did in James Ivorys A Room With A View, you need a fourth-floor front room. Ivory picked 414 with a terrace.

From 275 (room 414 from 342), hoteldegliorafi.it, 0039 055 266 22
Down under: Neil in Australia in 1996 (above)

Continuing our series featuring the holiday memories of famous people, this week actor Neil Morrissey, 56, recalls his lifetime of adventures

First holiday I can remember:

Going to Anglesey in Wales. We all piled into a car that my dad must have borrowed as we didnt own one and we went camping, which was, of course, brilliant. I was very young and we ate lots of food cooked on the campfire, including sausages, and as we were four young boys, I am pretty sure we must have annoyed other people!

First time I went abroad:

Not until I was 20, to work on the film The Bounty with Mel Gibson. I was flying to Tahiti but we had to stop in Honolulu as our plane was having engine problems. Once in Tahiti, I thought I was in paradise because it was so incredible.

Top school trip:

Most tended to be to the theatre to places like the Royal Exchange in Manchester and the theatre in Sheffield. But I remember loving trips to Blackpool because it was all so different.

We all used to save up our pocket money for a whole year so we could go on one ride in Blackpool  because that is all we could afford.

My honeymoon:

I went to Italy with my then wife, Amanda. She didnt like flying so we took the train to Rome. We then hired a car but Id never driven in Rome before and, lets put it this way, it isnt that easy. It didnt help that the only words I knew were Wheres the autostrada?

First class treatment: Neil sips on Champagne during a flight in 2001

My most romantic trip with my long-term partner, Emma, was this year in Sri Lanka. We had a beautiful villa and spent our entire time either going to the jungle or lying on the beach. My idea of a perfect break always involves a beach (because I love to have some down time) and great food and wine.

Best holiday:

Gosh, weve had so many good ones, its difficult to choose. Emma and I love Barcelona. Weve stayed in apartments and hotels in the Cathedral quarter and the Olympic Beach areas.

We went to the city with friends as part of my 50th birthday celebrations, dubbed the Festival of Neil because they went on for about a month. I love the city because it is vibrant and every quarter has its fun bit. Ive also had some amazing holidays in the Caribbean. I love the white sand, the beaches and the temperature, and Ive been to pretty much every island in the West Indies now.

Special memories: The coastline of Anglesey in Wales (above) where Neil had his first holiday

Worst holiday:

I cant remember there ever being one. My view is we are the party and regardless of what is going on around us, lets try to have some fun.

But I can remember going on holiday many years ago to Slovakia. We were on a budget and changed our hotel three times because there were cockroaches. I am not bothered about them but the person I was with hated them. Eventually we found a hotel that didnt have them.

Essential holiday item:

I cant travel without a nail kit. I dont go anywhere without one.
A group of Porsche cars in a rainbow of colours pass us as we drive from Inverness. Were used to it, says my taxi driver, with a shrug. This road, the A82, running from Glasgow to Fort William, is famously beautiful and performance cars have become part of the landscape.

Just after the Clansman Hotel, a 1960s pitstop, complete with fibreglass Nessie and souvenir shop, youll come across the entrance to Loch Ness Lodge. With nine rooms and suites, this B&B is a stylish place, a collection of rooms with deep-pile carpets and mattresses you feel you might need to wade into. Everythings superior, from the coffee machines to the rainfall showers and huge baths.

Still in touch with its Scottish roots, though, the water that comes out of the taps has a peaty element that feels almost spa-like.

Great Scot: Loch Ness Lodge is located on the banks of Loch Ness, 20 minutes from Inverness

Downstairs, theres a library and a drawing room, filled with log fires and an outdoor terrace to Nessie-spot from. Theres a spa with sauna and hot tub. Guests come from across the world; most are on driving tours of Scotland but realise that this is a great place to stop to appreciate the views.

The lodges name, inherited from the previous owners when it changed hands a couple of years ago, is slightly confusing for theres a Loch Ness Lodge Hotel a bit further along the road.

The current owners  two families, the Macmasters and the Campbells  also run the Clansman and own the posh Loch Ness Country House Hotel, which has two AA Rosettes. But theyre hands-on at the lodge, making sure guests feel welcome and sorting out practicalities.

Inviting: One of the B&B's comfy communal areas (pictured above)

The place: On the banks of Loch Ness, 20 minutes from Inverness, with all the water and wood vistas you might want. The jetty for the Jacobite cruises of Loch Ness is a short walk away.

The accommodation: It may look venerable, but the comfort levels and lack of draughts betray that it was built recently. The lodge is adults-only in name but there were a couple of well-behaved children during my stay.

The food: Its all about breakfast with scrambled eggs with salmon and kippers, delicious home-made granola, pancakes and smoothies. If youre around at tea time, there are cakes on tap.
Her Instagram feed is littered with sexy snaps.

And on Friday, Blac Chyna shared three new photos of her voluptuous body as she posed nearly nude in a bathtub.

The 30-year-old model was scantily clad in a sheer corset dress and sky-high heels.

Sexy snaps: On Friday, Blac Chyna shared three new photos of her voluptuous body as she posed nearly nude in a bathtub

Blac donned a long pink wig and claw-like nails for her seductive photoshoot.

And she posed with every intention of showing off her large bottom and enhanced breasts.

The D.C. native was wearing lingerie by Mont Boudoir.

Strike a pose: Chyna was scantily clad in a sheer corset dress and sky-high heels

Trendsetter: Blac donned a long pink wig and claw-like nails for her seductive photoshoot

Chyna has recently allowed 18-year-old rapper YBN Almighty Jay back into her life, but she is currently shunning her mother Tokyo Toni.

On Wednesday, Toni reached out to Blac's bestie Amber Rose via social media in the hopes of seeing her grand-kidsKing, five, Chyna's son with rapper Tyga, and Dream, her 20-month-old daughter with Rob Kardashian.

'Can you do me a favor if it's anywhere deep in your heart can you please tell her I said let me see those kids!' she pleaded. 'I have not seen these kids and she's punishing me for nothing!'

Family feud: On Wednesday, Chyna's mom Tokyo Toni reached out to Amber Rose via social media in the hopes of seeing her grand-kidsKing, five, Chyna's son with rapper Tyga , and Dream, her 20-month-old daughter with Rob Kardashian

Two days prior to her plea, Tokyo vocalized her issue with Chyna's rap aspirations.

'This is my last video dealing with my offspring, Blac Chyna,' she said in an Instagram video. 'If I find out that my daughter got into that music industry, y'all mother f**kas out there in California gon have a problem with me.'

She added: 'I never in my life seen her sing a whole note. And if she become a rapper or f**k with that music industry, I'm going to come kick some a** and doors in. Facts.'
He has just announced his shock split from model girlfriend Kate Fowler, whom he shares two children with.

And now it seems it wasn't just Justin Hemmes' personal life that took a bit of a blow recently.

Justin, 45, who is at the helm of the Merivale hospitality group empire, recently snapped up Bondi's Royal Hotel, but revellers threw a wild farewell party that damaged the property before he got the keys.

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Another blow to newly single Justin? Millionaire pub baron Hemmes snapped up Bondi's Royal Hotel for his Merivale empire... but revellers threw a wild farewell party and destroyed the place before he got the keys. Pictured: Justin Hemmes (right), with ex Kate Fowler

The Wentworth Courier on Saturday reported that 'thousands' of revellers headed down to the iconic Sydney venue last month for a weekend-long party to 'drown their sorrows', and punched a hole in the ceiling.

Another partygoer destroyed a security camera, leading the hotel's Facebook page to label the man a 'ratbag' and share footage of the camera being ripped out.

The party was advertised on Facebook, with part of the event invite reading: 'It's the last weekend of the Royal as we know it. Let's not be sad, let's just blow the roof of the joint with one hell of a last party.'

Wild night: The Wentworth Courier reported on Saturday that 'thousands' of revellers headed down to the iconic Sydney venue (pictured) for a weekend-long party to 'drown their sorrows', and punched a hole in the ceiling

Knees up: The party was advertised on Facebook, with part of the event invite reading: 'It's the last weekend of the Royal as we know it. Let's not be sad, let's just blow the roof of the joint with one hell of a last party'

Merivale paid $30 million for the pub, but won't be suing over the damage.

Speaking to the Wentworth Courier, a Merivale spokesperson downplayed the damage and assured locals that the old charm of the hotel would kept intact for the grand re-opening next month.

'We certainly aren't pursuing legal action; there was only some damage to the acoustic ceiling panels which are being replaced,' the spokesperson said.

Cheers to that: Hospitality group Merivale snapped up Bondi's Royal pub for a cool $30 million, but won't be suing for damages after a wild party at the venue

The spokesperson said that while the front bar won't be getting a major overhaul, the restaurant and courtyard will be revamped.

It comes after The Sydney Morning Herald reported that Justin and girlfriend of three years, Kate Fowler, 28, had split.

'Kate and I have the utmost love and respect for each other,' Justin said in a statement on Friday.

'We have the utmost love and respect for each other': The Sydney Morning Herald reported on Friday that Justin (right) and girlfriend of three years, Kate Fowler (left), 28, had split

'At the beginning of 2018, Kate and I decided our friendship and respect for family life would become the focus of our relationship. We love our children dearly and for now continue to live together happily in our family home.'

'Kate is a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful woman. As for what the future holds I am not sure,' he added.

The couple share two daughters together - Alexa, two, and Saachi, one.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Merivale for comment in relation to this story.
Ant McPartlin's girlfriend Anne-Marie Corbett is reportedly planning to jet off on holiday with her estranged husband.

According to The Sun Ant is fully supportive of Anne-Marie's decision to jet off with her former spouse, who she separated from last October.

Sources have previously stated Ant's romance with Anne-Marie started months after her marriage came to an end, and she is embarking on the holiday to stay friendly with her ex for the sake of their two children.

Getting away: Ant McPartlin's girlfriend Anne-Marie Corbett is reportedly planning to jet off on holiday with her estranged husband, as the pair plan to stay friendly for the sake of their kids

According to the publication, Ant gave his blessing for Anne-Marie to jet off on holiday with her ex, as their relationship continues to heat up after it was first revealed last month.

It comes amid reports that Ant has begged his estranged wife Lisa Armstrong to sign divorce papers, seven months after they first announced their split.

The Sun reports that the television presenter, 42, is keen to move on with the legal proceedings since he wants to focus on his new relationship with former PA Anne-Marie.

A source told the publication: 'Ant called her last week and they spoke for the first time since the news about his relationship with Anne Marie came out.

Moving on: Sources told The Sun that Ant is fully supportive of his girlfriend's decision to jet off on holiday, just over a month after their relationship was revealed

Closer than ever: It was also reported that Anne-Marie separated from husband in October last year, months before her romance with Ant began

'He is happy to give her what she wants, including the house, and to be very generous with a settlement

'But Lisa is being very canny, and biding her time.'

MailOnline has contacted Ant's representatives for comment.

Keen for closure: This comes amid reports that Ant has begged his estranged wife Lisa Armstrong to sign divorce papers seven months after their split

Lisa is currently enjoying a break away in LA, after it emerged her estranged husband Ant is now dating Anne-Marie.

And the make-up artist certainly seems to be unwinding as she was spotted at the beach on Friday alongside her parents, following earlier reports she was set to fly them out to the States to join her on her healing trip.

The day before, Lisa wrote about how she's struggling to be apart from the pet dog Hurley, who she shares with Ant.

Healthy break: Lisa is currently enjoying a break away in LA, after it emerged her estranged husband Ant has got a new relationship

Sharing a snap of the chocolate Labrador on Instagram, she wrote: 'My baby boy #misshimsomuch'

The former couple share custody of Hurley following their split, which was announced by Ant back in January.

On Wednesday, Ant was pictured walking Hurley around a London park, alongside two female companions. The star looked healthy, having checked into rehab on numerous occasions to battle his drink and drug addiction.

Ant is now dating PA Anne-Marie Corbett - but Lisa claims she found along with the public and she wasn't given a heads up.

He first sought rehab treatment in June 2017, after becoming addicted to prescription drugs and alcohol following a botched knee surgery in 2015.

He entered rehab for a second time in March after he was involved in a three-car collision in Richmond - and was discovered to be over the limit behind the wheel.

He pleaded guilty to drink-driving in April, and received a record-breaking 86,000 fine, as well as a 20-month ban from driving.
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She's cemented a successful career in modelling following her stint on America's Next Top Model in 2014.

And Winnie Harlow let her hair down as she rang in her 24th birthday on nightlife tycoon David Grutman's $1.7 million VanDutch yacht with pals in Miami on Friday afternoon.

The catwalk queen turned up the heat as she showcased her incredibly toned physique in a tiny sparkling Meshki bikini top.

Living her best life: Winnie Harlow let her hair down as she rang in her 24th birthday on nightlife tycoon David Grutman's $1.7 million VanDutch yacht with pals in Miami on Friday

Taking her sex appeal up a notch, the star slipped her slender figure into a skimpy white thong as she partied with model Shannon and YouTuber Gershona.

The model injected a hint of glamour into her look as she accessorised with twin diamond necklaces.

Accentuating her gorgeous features, Winnie - real name Chantelle Brown-Young - complemented her looks with burnt orange eyeshadow, sultry false lashes and nude lipgloss.

Birthday girl: The catwalk queen turned up the heat as she showcased her incredibly toned physique in a tiny sparkling bikini top

Having fun: Taking her sex appeal up a notch, the star slipped her slender figure into a skimpy white thong as she partied with model Shannon (centre) and YouTuber Gershona (left)

Sizzling! The model injected a hint of glamour into her look as she accessorised with twin diamond necklaces

Hot! Accentuating her gorgeous features, Winnie - real name Chantelle Brown-Young - complemented her looks with burnt orange eyeshadow, sultry false lashes and nude lipgloss

Lively: The statuesque star pulled a series of animated facial expressions as she enjoyed her raucous day on the beach

The brunette beauty framed her stunning visage with deep waves which cascaded down her back.

Winnie's pal Shannon stunned in a similar jewel two-piece, while Gershona set pulses racing in a scanty black bikini with a metallic sarong.

Proving to be having the time of her life, the birthday girl performed a series of dances during her time on the club baron's yacht.

Striking: The brunette beauty framed her stunning visage with deep waves which cascaded down her back

Spritz! Winnie sprayed sunscreen onto her skin during her fun-filled trip

Letting her hair down: Proving to be having the time of her life, the birthday girl performed a series of dances during her time on the club baron's yacht

The watercraft - called The GROOT - has been a favourite among A-list celebrities over the years, including the likes of Ashley Graham, Calvin Harris and Kylie Jenner.

Winnie's celebrations comes shortly after the star - who has skin condition vitiligo - discussed the changes in the modelling industry in an interview with ELLE magazine.

She explained: 'There is a big shift happening in the fashion industry in terms of beauty standards, and I feel Im part of that shift.

Coming off! Winnie removed her see-through shorts to unveil her saucy appearance

'I remember on Americas Next Top Model, Tyra Banks asked me if a photographer told me to cover my skin for a shoot, would I do it? I said no. I dont care who it is, or who thinks I should. Im going to stay true to myself.'

She recently lashed out at being branded 'a sufferer' of pigment disease Vitiligo, as she penned on Instagram: '"I'm not a 'Vitiligo Sufferer" I'm not a 'Vitiligo model.

'I am Winnie. I am a model. And I happen to have Vitiligo. Stop putting these titles on me or anyone else.'

Sultry trio: Winnie's pal Shannon stunned in a similar jewel two-piece, while Gershona set pulses racing in a scanty black bikini with a metallic sarong

The best of the best: The watercraft - called The GROOT - has been a favourite among A-list celebrities over the years, including the likes of Ashley Graham, Calvin Harris and Kylie Jenner

Impressive: She's cemented a successful career in modelling following her stint on America's Next Top Model in 2014

She's free! The model pranced around the boat as she hopped on the comfortable-looking sofas

Winnie found fame on ANTM in 2014, where she was kicked out in the second week of finals, before returning to a comeback series where she finished 6th.

However, the Canadian beauty admitted that the show 'didn't do anything' for her career.

'I really started [my career] after the show,' Winnie told Andy Cohen on Watch What Happens Live in May.

Putting it straight: She recently lashed out at being branded 'a sufferer' of pigment disease Vitiligo, as she penned on Instagram: '"I'm not a 'Vitiligo Sufferer" I'm not a 'Vitiligo model

'Because that really didn't do anything for my career It doesn't do anything for any model's career, realistically.'

Winnie - the first and only Canadian ever cast - reached the second week of the ANTM final, against 14 other girls. She voluntarily returned to the show to compete in the Comeback Series.

She went on to explain how working with fashion photographer Nick Knight - after the programme aired - catapulted her career to new heights.

'A photographer from London hit me up and he was like, "Hey, I've seen your photos online, and I want to do a shoot with you."'

Hard-working: Winnie found fame on ANTM in 2014, where she was kicked out in the second week of finals, before returning to a comeback series where she finished 6th

The only way is up: Since her time on the competition, Winnie has soared to fame in the industry and fronted campaigns for Desigual, Diesel and Swarovski atop a host of magazine covers

Knight emailed Winnie after ANTM aired to offer her a shoot in London and she now considers this her first 'big gig' as a model.

Nevertheless, ANTM host Tyra Banks is regularly credited with first 'discovering' the model on social media.

'The moment I laid eyes on [Winnie], I wanted her on ANTM,' Tyra once said.

'Her beauty is undeniable and her skin breaks down barriers of what is considered beautiful'.

Since then she has soared to fame in the industry and fronted campaigns for Desigual, Diesel and Swarovski atop a host of magazine covers.

Letting loose! The group of friends took to Instagram to share a glimpse of their trip with their followers

Dancing away: Twerking to Drake's chart-topping hit Signs, the star appeared in great spirits as she frolicked around the boat with her pals

The time of her life: Taking to her Instagram account, she penned: 'Supermodel Pose like mi real friend WINNIE (genuinely dnt care who wants to see my wine and JOOOOOOOK for the next 4 days. Im Jamaican, we dance when we celebrate (sic))'

Beaming: The brunette continued: 'Its my birthday, and Im HAPPY...god has blessed me with 24 years of life.... and an unbelievable life at that. Thank you God!!! SO, imma celebrate how i WANT! thank you @davegrutman (sic)'

From all angles: The star ensured her followers got a full view of her slimline figure during her dance session

Kisses: The model seemed thrilled that the cameras were snapping her boat party

Wild: The ANTM alum looked overjoyed as she partied in style

On the Groot: The boat played host to a bevvy of beauties
Ariel Winter was spotted running errands in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon.

The 20-year-old actress, best known for her role on Modern Family, served looks in an army green tube top and distressed denim that she paired with black booties.

She carried her belongings in a small black purse.

Busy bee: Ariel Winter was spotted running errands in Los Angeles on Friday afternoon

Ariel wore her dark locks styled straight and her nails painted a bumble gum pink.

The California native, who flew solo for the outing, hid behind a pair of red-tinted sunglasses.

Just a day prior, Winter took to social media to defend herself after posting a butt-baring pic.

The Modern Family star flaunted her fabulous form in a two-piece thong bikini only to be body shamed.

'So I can't be proud of my body AND be seen as something other than a "piece of a**?" I have to pick one??' she said in response to a hater.

Fashionista: The 20-year-old actress, best known for her role on Modern Family, served looks in an army green tube top and distressed denim that she paired with black booties

Shady-lady: The California native hid behind a pair of red-tinted sunglasses

This isn't the first time that the actress has been shamed for her promiscuous wardrobe.

'I just want to see her have some respect for herself and have some class,' her mom told Access in an interview. 'I feel that Ariel is starving for attention.'

Winter responded to her mother on Twitter: 'Screw always having to look appropriate and fashionable. I wear what I like and no one should fault me for that.'
Robin William's first wife Valerie Velardi has opened up about her marriage for the first time since his death four years ago.

In the new documentary about the tragic comic Come Inside My Mind, she reveals she forced herself to allow his infidelities during their ten-year marriage.

'He loved women. Absolutely loved women. And I got it,' she said.

Unfaithful: Robin William's first wife Valerie Velardi has opened up about her marriage for the first time since his death.

'I understood and I wanted him to have that. But I also wanted him to come home.'

Robin was an unknown actor when they first met in San Francisco in 1976.

'He was bartending. He had a French accent, offered me a drink, chatted me up and was absolutely delightful,' she recalled.

'He asked me for a ride home. He was speaking French and I was teasing him and we had a kiss.

Second: After ten years of marriage Williams divorced from Valerie and married Zak's nanny, Marsha Garces (pictured together in 1999)

'And I just knew I was going to see him again.'

After starring as an alien in a single episode of Happy Days, the character was so popular he was given his own spin off  Mork And Mindy  and a superstar was born.

Williams and Valerie had a son, Zachary 'Zak' Pym; but after ten years of marriage the couple split.

Williams then embarked on a relationship with Zak's nanny, Marsha Garces, in 1986.

They married in 1989 when Marsha was pregnant with their daughter Zelda.

That marriage produced two children  Zelda and Cody  and were together until 2010.

Robin married third wife Susan Schneider the following year, and was still married to her when he took his own life in 2014.

Widowed: Robin married third wife Susan Schneider the following year, and was still married to her when he took his own life in 2014

Williams and Valerie (pictured together in 1979) had a son, Zachary 'Zak' Pym; but after ten years of marriage, Williams left her for their nanny

Williams (top middle) poses for a picture on set of filming for Mork & Mindy
Reese Witherspoon was spotted out for lunch in Los Angeles on Friday.

The 42-year-old actress looked effortlessly chic in a striped dress and denim jacket that she paired with a straw hat.

She was joined on the outing by son Deacon, 14.

Summer in the city: Reese Witherspoon was spotted out for lunch in Los Angeles on Friday

Witherspoon flashed a smile as she left Elephantea rooftop bar in Santa Monica.

The Legally Blonde vet teetered on camel-colored sandals and carried her belongings in a uniquely round purse.

Reese took to Instagram on Friday to wish her husband, Jim Toth, a 'happy birthday.'

'Happy birthday to the best husband, friend, and father in the world!!' she wrote. 'I love you JT. (And you make me laugh EVERYday! Whats better than that?!)'

Summer chic: The 42-year-old actress wore a striped dress and denim jacket that she paired with a straw hat

Witherspoon and Toth, who have been married since 2011, share their son Tennessee, age five.

The Wild star shares her eldest children Ava, 18, and Deacon with ex-husband Ryan Phillippe.

Reese recently resumed filming her hit show Big Little Lies in Monterey, California with Nicole Kidman and Shailene Woodley.

In January HBO announced that it had inked the Academy Award-winning actress to portray Mary Louise Wright, Celeste Wright's (Nicole Kidman) mother-in-law on the Emmy-winning show.

Celebrate! Reese took to Instagram on Friday to wish her husband, Jim Toth, a 'happy birthday.' 'Happy birthday to the best husband, friend, and father in the world!!' she wrote. 'I love you JT. And you make me laugh EVERYday! Whats better than that'
They've just enjoyed a romantic European vacation together, where they celebrated a friend's wedding in idyllic Tuscany.

And it seems Karl Stefanovic, 43, and Jasmine Yarbrough, 34, might be feeling a little bit clucky, with the engaged pair doting over Karl's goddaughter on Friday.

Karl took to Instagram to share a sweet snap of himself and Jasmine with his goddaughter, with Jasmine holding the tot in a baby carrier.

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Maybe baby? Today show host Karl Stefanovic (left) and fiancee Jasmine Yarbrough doted over his one-year-old goddaughter on Saturday (front)... after returning from their romantic European holiday

'Big night in with the goddaughter. Happy 1st birthday beautiful girl,' Karl wrote, tagging Channel Nine journalist Steve Marshall in the post.

In the snap, Jasmine flashes her diamond engagement ring and smiles as the trio stand by a lit fireplace.

'Look out, Karl, Jasmine looks clucky. Do you really dare to do the baby thing again?How brave are you,' one follower remarked underneath the post.

'Look out,, Karl, Jasmine looks clucky. Do you really dare to do the baby thing again? How brave are you,' one follower remarked underneath Karl's god-daughter Instagram post

Romantic ttip: The post comes after the Today star and Jasmine returned from a trip to Italy, where they attended a wedding

Karl shares three children with ex-wife Cassandra Thorburn, 44.

The post comes after the Today star and Jasmine returned from a trip to Italy, where they attended a wedding.

Earlier this week, Jasmine shared a snap of herself and Karl at the wedding, with the blonde shoe designer stunning in a sheer nude gown.

Smitten: Karl confirmed his engagement in February, just over a year after the couple met

In the shot, Jasmine laughs as Karl appears to gawk at her outfit.

'Not the only one obsessed with this dress,' she cheekily captioned the shot.

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 Karl's high-profile split from his wife of 21 years, Cassandra.
She shot to fame telling Dr. Phil, 'Cash me outside, how 'bout that!'

Danielle Bregoli - going as Bhad Bhabie in her rap career - celebrated her musical success at a bash in Los Angeles sponsored by multi-platinum music producer Scott Storch, also in support of The Golden Fly an 11-year-old fashion designer/rapper from London.

Bhad Bhabie, 15, hosted and performed at the venue, which was held at DOPE.

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Surging: Cash Me Outside rapper Bhad Bhabie, 15, celebrated her musical success at a bash in Los Angeles Thursday

As many as 250 fans were in attendance to see the young stars, with high-profile attendees such as Fat Boy SSE, Trinidad James and Eric Bellinger.

Bhad Bhabie in May opened up to Billboard about her experience in being nominated for top rap female artist for the Billboard Music Awards, in which she was pitted against superstars Nicki Minaj and Cardi B, who eventually took home the honors.

She said that she feels like herself and stars she was nominated against are the queens of the genre at this time.

Center of attention: The young artist performed for a crowd estimated at 250

Fashionista: Bhad Barbie wore a black top with black sweatpants onstage

Stylish: The performer had her auburn locks pulled back into a ponytail

Bhad Bhabie said, 'I would say so  because what other rap female artists are really on the Billboard' charts?

The Gucci Flip-Flops artist said that was was contacted by her manager after she 'had just did some really stupid s***.'

'So he was like, "I thought there was nothing that could save you, but congratulations, kid, you were just nominated,"' she said. 'I was like, "Huh? OK."'

Onward and upward: The artist continues to thrive in her musical career

Rising talents: The soiree was in support of The Golden Fly (R), an 11-year-old fashion designer/rapper from London

The These Heaux performer, who has a contract with Atlantic Records, also touched on the Dr. Phil appearance that launched her to fame, telling the publication she's 'changed everything' in her life since the 2016 outing.

She said that while she didn't feel like she was shown in a fair light - 'Not at all,' she said - she would do it differently if she could.

'I also look back and I'm like, I wish I could smack [myself] because something's wrong with me,' she said.

Reaching for the stars: Barbie was nominated for a Billboard award against Cardi B and Nicki Minaj earlier this year
Their relationship has gone from strength-to-strength since they first coupled up with each other at the start of the show.

And despite their romance getting the seal of approval from Dani's parents, Danny Dyer has banned Jack Fincham from sleeping in his daughter's bed when they leave the Love Island villa next week.

The barmaid, 22, and pen salesman, 26, have shared a bed together every night so far but have refrained from having sex on TV during their time on the hit ITV2 dating show.

Eek!: Danny Dyer has banned Jack Fincham from sleeping in his daughter's bed when they leave the Love Island villa next week

While on Thursday's episode of Love Island, Jack even asked Dani to move in with him once they leave the villa, which she said yes.

Talking to The Sun, Dani's mum Joanne Mas, 41, admitted that both she and Danny, 41, love the cheeky penseller.

Although she added: 'Dannys already warned us though, "Jack's not allowed to stay in Dani's bed".'

Seal of approval!: Talking to The Sun , Dani's mum Joanne Mas, 41, admitted that both she and Danny, 41, love the cheeky penseller

Smitten: The barmaid, 22, and pen salesman, 26, have shared a bed together every night so far but have refrained from having sex on TV during their time on the hit ITV2 dating show

Dani and Jack are front runners to win Love Island 2018 on Monday's finale as the strongest couple in the villa.

And it looks as though their romance could go the entire way as Jo thinks he could be 'the one' and their relationship could end in marriage, as long as Justin Bieber doesn't get in the way.

She added: 'I think Jack could be the one because he's older than her.

Protective dad: Jo revealed to the publication: 'Dannys already warned us though, "Jack's not allowed to stay in Dani's bed".'

'Unless Justin Bieber comes along, this could be it.'

Jo's interview comes after Love Island fans were left outraged on Friday's episode after it was revealed that Danny is NOT going into the villa and will instead meet daughter Dani's beau Jack on Skype, as part of the Meet The Parents episode.

In a fleeting preview shown at the end of Friday's show, Danny was seen demanding to meet Jack in a video call alongside wife Joanne, as the Islanders are set to be reunited with their families after eight weeks apart.

Wedding bells?: It looks as though their romance could go the entire way as Jo thinks he could be 'the one' and their relationship could end in marriage

The EastEnders star had sparked speculation that he was heading to Mallorca for the series when he was spotted at an airport earlier this week, but it was later revealed he was instead in Florida with his family.

Dani's mum Joanne had previously said that her husband was keen to enter the villa, and had been struggling without his daughter around.

She said on Love Island Aftersun: 'I think he's a bit jealous, he does cry a lot. Every night. He really misses her.'
Oscar-nominated actress Rachel Griffiths reckons treading the boards on stage is like having 'good sex'.

In an interview with The Australian on Saturday, the 49-year-old, who regularly appears in Broadway productions, made the racy comparison.

'I think it's a bit like sex,' she said, 'if it's good, it's really good!'

'It's like sex... if it's good, it's really good!' Actress Rachel Griffiths, 49, compared doing theatre with sex in an interview on Saturday

The Muriel's Wedding star, who has just finished directing a movie biopic of jockey, Michelle Payne, 32, said that the 'silence before the applause is the most magical gift'.

'It's like something suspended,' she added, 'like a mirage before it fades.'

Married to artist Andrew Taylor, 51, Rachel is probably most known for her big screen roles in Hacksaw Ridge and in television series Brothers and Sisters.

Worth the Payne: The Muriel's Wedding star, who has just finished directing a movie biopic of jockey Michelle Payne, 32, said that the 'silence before the applause is the most magical gift'

And now fans can catch the multi-faceted performer in new SBS show, Dead Lucky.

The mother-of-three stars as Detective Grace Gibbs in the four-part series alongside Yoson An, 26, Xana Tang and Mojean Aria, 25.

Dead Lucky is centred on two feuding detectives who hunt down a cop killer who is leaving a trail of broken lives across Sydney.

Breakout success: After starring in Muriel's Wedding alongside fellow actress Toni Collette (right), Rachel (left) starred in big screen hit Hacksaw Ridge and TV series Brothers and Sisters

And in last week's BW magazine, Rachel revealed just how important it is to include racial diversity and gender diversity on screen.

Referencing multicultural actors Gal Gadot, 33, in Wonder Woman and Chadwick Boseman, 40, in Black Panther, the actress that audiences appreciate a broader cultural palette.

She explained: 'It's just such a lost opportunity. The texture and the stories, the different funnies that come from different cultural backgrounds.'

She added: 'American culture is realising that audiences were getting bored with white Marvel movies, but throw in a girl [Wonder Woman] or an African-American hero [Black Panther] and it's a hit.'
She was barely out of nappies when her family sought refuge in Australia after fleeing war-torn Bosnia.

Former Miss Universe Australia Monika Radulovic, who is a contestant on the new series of Australian Survivor, has revealed how her parents had to rely on donations.

Speaking to BW Magazine on Saturday, the 27-year-old admitted visiting the charity is her 'earliest memory of Australia'.

'When we came to Australia, we got all our things from Salvation Army': Survivor contestant and former Miss Universe Australia Monika Radulovic (above) has revealed how her family lived on charity handouts after fleeing war-torn Bosnia as refugees

'We went to Salvation Army to get all our things,' she said.

'And there was a church close by that would come and give me toys and things like that,' she said, before adding, 'it was like Christmas Day!'

Competing on reality show Australian Survivor: Champions Versus Contenders, which debuts on Wednesday on Network Ten, Monika claims she is keeping 'things in perspective' after her traumatic start in life.

The newlywed, who married artist Alesandro Ljubicic in March, will rely on the 'grit and perseverance' instilled in her by her parents, Vinka and Goran, to endure the harsh conditions on Survivor. Pictured: Monika (left), with her mother Vinka

And the newlywed, who married artist Alesandro Ljubicic in March, will rely on the 'grit and perseverance' instilled in her by her parents, Vinka and Goran, to endure the harsh conditions on the show.

'If I'm stressing out [on Survivor], I just think back to to my parents,' Monika said. 'Having to flee their country with nothing except a baby and having no idea if they were going to survive.'

Join the new show as a Champion, the stunner has previously admitted she is ready for the challenge despite living a self-described 'completely luxurious life'.

'I think people will be surprised that I'm not a princess!' Joining the new show as a Champion, the stunner previously declared that she is ready for the challenge despite living a self-described 'completely luxurious life'

'I think people will be surprised that I'm not a princess and I think my natural state is more like Survivor than Miss Universe. So it doesn't faze me that I can't wash my hair or shave my legs (while on the show),' she told The Herald Sun on Saturday.

The fifth season of Australian Survivor, which pits 'top dogs against underdogs', will debut on Wednesday August 1 and take place in Savusavu, Fiji.

Airing on Channel Ten and WIN, the program will pit 12 everyday 'Contenders' against 12 'Champions' of Australian society.

Blushing bride! The brunette married her artist fiance, Alesandro Ljubicic (left) in March, wearing a flowing Galia Lahav couture gown

The cast will spend up to 55 days in Fiji, with the hopes of taking home the $500,000 cash prize.


They tied the knot at the end of June, after only six weeks of 'courting.'

And it seems like things are still going great for newlyweds Josiah Duggar, 21, and Lauren Swanson, 18, after one month of marriage.

The couple are apparently 'loving every minute' of their union so far, according to reports from Us Weekly.

Happy beginnings: It seems like things are still going great for newly weds Josiah Duggar, 21, and Lauren Swanson, 18, after one month of marriage; seen on Instagram

In the magazine's new issue, the couple revealed 'time has flown by' since their family-filled union nearly one month ago.

Josiah added, 'We now understand why God considers marriage such a beautiful thing.'

Josiah Duggar and then-fiance Lauren Swanson tied the knot on June 30 in a beautiful ceremony at John Brown University Cathedral Of The Ozarks in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.

Strong start: The couple are apparently 'loving every minute' of their union so far according to reports from Us Weekly; seen on Instagram

The Counting On reality persona and his bride were absolutely aglow about their nuptials ahead of the ceremony, telling People:' 'What a joy it is to be husband and wife!'

The couple began 'courting' back in January and were engaged to be wed less than two-months later.

The devout Duggar family do not date, but instead 'court' with eldest brother Josh explaining that 'courtship is a path toward marriage'.

Moving fast: In the magazine's new issue, the couple revealed 'Time has flown by'; seen on Instagram

Josiah and his bride described their special day as 'absolutely perfect' with the reality persona, who is one of 19 siblings, glowing about his wife to the magazine.

'What was even more perfect was to see my beautiful bride walking down the aisle,' he said.

They expressed their utmost gratitude to the man upstairs, telling People: 'We are so thankful the Lord has brought us to this place and we can't wait to begin our journey as husband and wife!'

Happy: Josiah added, 'We now understand why God considers marriage such a beautiful thing'

The duo have been family friends for years with Lauren, who is the eldest of eight, and family even appearing on the Duggar's show 19 Kids And Counting in the past.

Speaking about their courtship back in January, Josiah told People: 'We are overjoyed to begin this new phase of our lives together.'

'Through the years our families' friendship has allowed us to get to know one another as friends. I can definitely say I have found a great friend  even better than I could have hoped for or imagined.'

Counting On returns to TLC Monday, July 30 at 9/8c.
They announced their shock split on Friday, after welcoming two children together during the course of their three-year romance.

And while multimillionaire pub baron Justin Hemmes and model Kate Fowler might now be living in separate bedrooms in a $90 million harbourside mansion in Sydney, they certainly enjoyed some good times together.

From glamorous parties to lavish and romantic trips to Europe, Daily Mail Australia takes a look at the rise and fall of the former power couple.

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The boat that rocked: From glamorous parties and romantic trips to Europe to living in separate rooms in a $90 million harbourside mansion: The rise and fall of newly single Justin Hemmes (right) and Kate Fowler (left)

In late 2015, shortly before the pair welcomed their first child, the duo enjoyed a break in the Mediterranean.

The pair soaked up the sun in Italy, with Kate and millionaire publican Justin - who helms hospitality group Merivale - sharing a number of loved-up snaps together.

The couple were certainly feeling the love on the trip, as they enjoyed their friend's Italian wedding.

In happier times: In late 2015, shortly before the pair welcomed their first child, the former couple enjoyed a break in the Mediterranean

European adventure: The pair soaked up the sun in Italy, with Kate and Justin sharing a number of loved-up snaps together during their trip

Babymoon: One snap from a getaway taken before the couple welcomed their first child shows a pregnant Kate reclining on a lounger against a sunset backdrop

On their break, the duo also spent time in idyllic France.

That November, the couple welcomed daughter Alexa Merivale Hemmes, with Kate describing the birth as 'the most magical moment imaginable'.

In reference to Alexa, Kate wrote on Instagram: 'You continue to enchant us more and more each day.'

Smooth sailing! Carefree Kate enjoyed many romantic holidays abroad (pictured in 2015)

She added: 'We cannot wait to share our lives with you.'

She also said that she and Justin were 'completely besotted' with their newborn.

After adjusting to becoming parents, the lovers enjoyed another trip to Europe in August 2016, this time holidaying in Greece.

Their first child: In November 2015, the pair welcomed daughter Alexa Merivale Hemmes, with the Kate describing the birth as 'the most magical moment imaginable'

In June 2017, Justin and Kate welcomed their second daughter, Saachi Clark Hemmes.

Kate wrote at the time: 'We are all completely enamoured and can't wait to watch you grow up alongside your adoring big sister.'

The pair kept their fans up-to-date with their lives and shared picture-perfect family snaps online as they watched their daughters grow.

New addition: In June 2017, the couple welcomed their second daughter, Saachi Clark Hemmes, with Kate writing at the time: 'We are all completely enamoured and can't wait to watch you grow up alongside your adoring big sister'

Picture-perfect: The pair kept their fans up-to-date with their lives and shared picture-perfect family snaps online, as they watched their daughters grow

A doting dad: Justin is pictured with Alexa, cosy in a space-age jumpsuit

Earlier this duo, the duo attended the annual Merivale staff party in February.

Justin went shirtless in a shaggy multi-coloured vest and Kate rocked a colourful mini dress with balloons and pom poms attached to the back of her outfit.

Justin shared a snap to Instagram from the event, with the jokey caption: 'Fashions on the field.'

'Fashions on the field': Justine and Kate made sure to spend some quality time together, and earlier this year they attended the annual Merivale staff party (pictured)

On Friday, the red carpet regulars shocked fans when they announced their split to The Sydney Morning Herald.

'Kate and I have the utmost love and respect for each other,' Justin wrote in a statement.

'At the beginning of 2018, Kate and I decided our friendship and respect for family life would become the focus of our relationship. We love our children dearly and for now continue to live together happily in our family home.

Over and out: On Friday, the red carpet regulars shocked fans when they announced their split in The Sydney Morning Herald

'Kate is a wonderful, wonderful, wonderful woman. As for what the future holds I am not sure,' he added.

Both Kate and Justin remain at The Hermitage, Justin's heritage-listed harbourfront home, which is said to be worth 'more than $60 million'.

The premises has interconnected wings, allowing the newly single parents lots of their own space to recover from their split.

Stunning: Kate remains at The Hermitage, Justin's heritage-listed harbourfront home which is said to be worth 'more than $60 million' (pictured)

Built in 1831, the home has been in the Hemmes family for more than 40 years, having been bought by Justin's late father John for a mere $500,000.

In 2009, the home was reported to be worth around '$60 million' according to The Daily Telegraph, but at the time Justin said he would not be interested in any offers below '$90 million'.

Heritage: Built in 1831, the mansion has been in the Hemmes family for more than 40 years, having been bought by Justin's late father John for a mere $500,000

Blessed: Kate celebrated her birthday on the lawns of the historic home, with a lavish, long outdoor table set up beneath white umbrellas

THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE HEMMES FAMILY Justin Hemmes is the only son of Merivale Group founder and nightclub mogul John Hemmes. Hemmes Snr left the Netherlands following World War II with $20 in his pocket and started a new life in New Zealand. He then moved to Australia where he met his wife Merivale and built a fashion brand in her name. The pair had two children, Justin and a daughter, Bettina. 'I grew up in a very exciting life. My parents got so much pleasure out of the smallest things,' Justin told Harper's Bazaar Australia. 'They also had a group of really interesting friends. Wherever we went, whatever we did, it was always exciting, colourful and larger than life.' Hemmes Snr grew Merivale into a portfolio of more than 50 restaurants, bars, pubs and hotels in Sydney. When he died in 2015, Justin took over the hospitality giant. He has since changed Sydney's social scene more than any other businessman or woman. Advertisement

The home underwent major renovations, which were completed in 2015, and it was featured in the pages of Vogue Australia.

Kate has in the past expressed immense fondness for the mansion, telling Moda Familia: 'I love its history, in a personal sense especially.'

'Justin's family moved here when he was two, so it's very special to watch our daughter grow up in a place which holds so many memories from his own childhood,' she said.

Justin and Kate had frequently shared snaps from inside the luxurious abode on their Instagram accounts, where exquisite views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge can be savoured from their sprawling backyard.

Fond memories: Kate has expressed immense fondness for the mansion, telling Moda Familia: 'I love its history, in a personal sense especially' (pictured at a David Jones event in 2016)

What a view: Justin and Kate had frequently shared snaps from inside the luxurious abode on their Instagram accounts, where exquisite views of the Sydney Harbour Bridge can be enjoyed from their sprawling backyard

Breathtaking: Justin's historic home recently underwent a major renovation and was featured in the pages of Vogue Australia

Justin was once described as a 'playboy' on Sydney's social scene, and was linked to a several famous beauties including Lara Bingle, 31, and Natalie Imbruglia, 43.

Before dating Kate, he is believed to have broken up with his previous girlfriend, yoga teacher Carla McKinnon, in August 2014.

Their relationship reportedly lasted two years.

Former flame? Justin was once described as a 'playboy' on Sydney's social scene, and was linked to a several famous beauties including Lara Bingle (pictured) and Natalie Imbruglia

Family first: While once notorious on the party circuit, the bar baron claimed that having children settled him down considerably

While once notorious on the party circuit, the bar baron claimed that having children settled him down considerably.

'I'm experiencing a joy I have never experienced before and I'm just a lot calmer,' he told The Sydney Morning Herald in 2016.

He added: 'My sister thinks it's a very good thing I had a girl first, girls are a lot softer. They are calm for someone like myself.'
Kate Fowler looked downcast in North Bondi on Saturday morning, where she was seen in public for the first time since her break-up with Justin Hemmes was revealed.

The 28-year-old model was spotted entering a black Range Rover that was parked a short walk from Bru cafe on Brighton Boulevard, where she'd just stopped for coffee.

Fowler held a takeaway cup in one hand and stopped at the rear of the vehicle to check her phone, before driving off.

Kate Fowler (pictured) looked downcast in North Bondi on Saturday morning, where she was seen in public for the first time since her break-up with Justin Hemmes was revealed

Fowler's appearance comes less than 24 hours after her split from Merivale CEO Hemmes, 45, was announced (the pair are pictured together in 2016)

The older sister of Victoria's Secret 2016 model Georgia spent close to a minute typing away on her phone screen before entering the driver's side door.

She was dressed in a loose turtleneck jumper, skin-tight Alo-branded leggings and a pair of sneakers.

The mother-of-two wore minimal makeup and had a large handbag slung over her shoulder.

Fowler's sighting comes less than 24 hours after her split from Merivale CEO Hemmes, 45, was announced.

The 28-year-old model was spotted entering a black Range Rover that was parked a short walk from Bru cafe on Brighton Boulevard, where she'd just stopped for coffee

The 45-year-old confirmed the news to the Sydney Morning Herald on Friday afternoon.

Hemmes - who is the father of Fowler's two children Alexa, two and Saachi, one - told the publication they now share a 'platonic' relationship.

'Kate and I have the utmost love and respect for each other,' he said in a statement.

Fowler held a takeaway cup in one hand and stopped at the rear of the vehicle to check her phone

The mother-of-two wore minimal makeup and had a large handbag slung over her shoulder

Fowler's appearance comes less than 24 hours after her split from Merivale CEO Hemmes, 45, was announced

'At the beginning of 2018, Kate and I decided our friendship and respect for family life would become the focus of our relationship. We love our children dearly and for now continue to live together happily in our family home.'

The 'family home' Hemmes was referring to is The Hermitage, a heritage-listed Vaucluse mansion, designed and built in the 1870s.

Hemmes and Fowler remain living at the eight-bedroom harbourfront home, which is worth more than '$60 million dollars'.

On Friday, Hemmes - who is the father of Fowler's two children Alexa, two and Saachi, one - confirmed the pair had split at the start of 2018, and said they now share a 'platonic' relationship

'We love our children dearly and for now continue to live together happily in our family home,' he said (Fowler is pictured here with Alexa, 2, and Saachi, 1)

Two women were pictured leaving The Hermitage on Saturday morning - their identities are yet to be confirmed.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to both Hemmes and Fowler for comment.

Despite his reputation as a playboy, Hemmes settled into fatherhood. On November 5, 2015, he delivered firstborn Alexa himself.

Hemmes and Fowler remain living at The Hermitage - their heritage-listed eight-bedroom harbourfront home, which is worth more than '$60 million dollars'

Two women were pictured leaving Hemmes Vaucluse on Saturday. Their identities are yet to be confirmed. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Hemmes and Fowler for comment.

'You can't explain to anyone the love that you have for your child. You can't actually explain it. She's the most beautiful thing,' Hemmes told Fairfax at the time.

'I'm experiencing a joy I have never experienced before and I'm just a lot calmer.

'My sister [Bettina] thinks it's a very good thing I had a girl first, girls are a lot softer. They are calm for someone like myself."

Hemmes was equally thrilled when baby number two, Saachi, came along on June 23, 2017.

His most recent Instagram post is a birthday tribute to Saachi, shared on June 23 this year.

Both Fowler and Saachi are featured in the image, captioned: 'My little darling pudding turned 1 today. HAPPY BDAY Saachi xxxx'
Hilaria Baldwin defended her figure on Instagram after people accused her of photoshopping images of her body on the social media site.

The Majorca, Spain-born beauty, 34, initially posted a shot of herself posed in a black lingerie top and bottom, in an effort to show off the benefits of healthy living.

Hilaria wrote in the Friday afternoon post: '10 weeks, one day...its been a while since I posted an update photo like this. I do it to inspire feeding and exercising your body right.

Summer shape: Hilaria Baldwin, 24, defended her figure on Instagram after people accused her of photoshopping images of her body on the social media site

'If it resonates with you, wonderful! If not, think of it as a bikini and scroll past,' she wrote, adding the hashtag, #wegotthis2018

The mom-of-four - to daughter Carmen, four, and sons Rafael, three, Leonardo, 22 months, and Romeo, 10 weeks - subsequently returned to the site with a clip of herself rotating her figure in the skimpy two-piece ensemble while addressing those who believe she enhanced the image with digital assistance.

'For those who are saying I photoshopped...how about this? If my ribs look funny, I apologize for them,' she said, addressing the fact that she's a new mom less than three months removed from giving birth.

Natural beauty: The Yogi wife of Alec Baldwin posed in a clip to show that she had not digitally altered her image

Fit: Hilaria said that she shares personal items about health because she wants her fans and followers 'to be happy and healthy,' as 'life is both too long and too short to not be'

'I just had a very large baby so maybe they are still expanded,' she said. 'I dont know...or maybe they will be like this forever. Whatever, I got a beautiful baby out of it, so Im fine with them.'

The 5ft4 yogi, who's been married to Alec Baldwin since June of 2012, noted that she's not a Photoshop user, nor would she use it to erase a blemish in the first place.

'Im the worst with technology anyway, so the idea of me altering an image is laughable,' she wrote. 'If you know me, Im totally against all of that and have been an advocate for appearing natural.

Besotted: The proud mother shared this picture on Saturday morning of her son

Always be kissing: Hilaria showed off a shot of herself kissing husband Alec via shadows

Too cute: Hilaria cuddled alongside her 10-week-old son Romeo

'Its a shame that people are so accustomed to fake, that they want to see it everywhere.'

Hilaria said that she shares personal items about health because she wants her fans and followers 'to be happy and healthy,' as 'life is both too long and too short to not be.

'If you would like, take my hand in this quest for feeling good and treating your body well. If not, it is ok too...but dont cheapen my message by saying silly things. Just move on to somewhere else.'
She is the director of the upcoming biopic about champion jockey Michelle Payne.

And after filming wrapped, actress Rachel Griffiths has gushed about the 32 year-old, who became the first woman to win the Melbourne Cup in 2015.

'It was a rare and wondrous moment of breaking another glass ceiling,' she told The Australian on Saturday.

'A wondrous moment of breaking another glass ceiling!' Actress Rachel Griffiths paid tribute to Michelle Payne's earth-shattering Melbourne Cup Win after directing a biopic of the iconic champion jockey

With actress Teresa Palmer playing Michelle in the big screen saga, Ride Like A Girl, Rachel admitted she was drawn to the jockey's inspiring story.

Growing up with nine older siblings in regional Victoria, Michelle's father Paddy raised the family single-handedly after her mother Mary died before she turned one.

'They're a Catholic battler country Ballarat family,' Rachel said, 'and they're funny, they're irreverent.'

'It was such an uplifting story!' Rachel, 49 admitted she was drawn to Michelle's inspirational life. Growing up in the youngest of ten kids in regional Victoria, Michelle's father Paddy raised the family single-handedly after her mother Mary died when she was just six months-old.

She added: 'It was such an uplifting story. You just can't make it up!'

Last month, Teresa celebrated the end of production of Ride Like a Girl with a heartfelt Instagram picture with Michelle.

In the photo both the actress and athlete are smiling triumphantly in front of a movie green screen.

'That's a wrap!'Last month, Teresa Palmer celebrated the end of production of Ride Like a Girl with a heartfelt Instagram pic with Michelle, 32

The Hacksaw Ridge actress captioned her post: 'THATS A WRAP!!! Thank you Michelle for entrusting me with your inspirational story.'

'Im honoured and humbled. Life changing and moving in every way. To the whole Ride like a girl movie team, what a journey its been, Im thankful to all of you,' she wrote.

The actress also thanked Rachel for helming the project, calling her an 'absolute dreamboat.'
She is the Real Housewife of Orange County star who has been open about her various cosmetic surgeries.

And on Friday, Vicki Gunvalson revealed to Us Weekly that she got a facelift and no longer has any fillers.

Last week in an interview with Daily Mail Australia, the 56-year-old revealed that she will 'keep tweaking' when it comes to her health and body.

Going up: Vicki Gunvalson revealed to Us Weekly she got a facelift and no longer has fillers

Not easy: Vicki revealed she had surgery on her face; she is seen recovering in a still from the next season of the show

'I had a lot of fillers in my face and I didn't feel like it was me anymore,' she told the magazine.

'I had too many doctors, too many different times say ''let's do this, let's do that, let's fill here, let's do Voluma, let's do Sculptra,'' and by the time I was done I looked in the mirror and was like ''I don't even look like myself.''

But it was her castmate and friend Tamra Judge who pushed her to the edge, 'Tamra kept telling me 'you need to do another face-lift, your neck is getting old!' explained Gunvalson.

'And I'm like, 'wonderful.' Tamra looks so good. She got hers done about a year ago. I kept asking Tamra and she goes, 'Yes! You need it, you need it!'

So Gunvalson went to Tamara's surgeon, Dr. Milind Ambe, who she had previously done work on her as well.

New look: Last week in an interview with Daily Mail Australia, the 56-year-old revealed that she will 'keep tweaking' when it comes to her health and body

After asking her boyfriend of two years Steve Lodge and daughter Briana Culberson if she needed a facelift and both telling her she did not, the television personality 'went back to Dr. Ambe and said, 'Ok, lets book it.''

She had the surgery on May 5 and told the outlet, 'Now my skin looks baby smooth.'

Adding, 'dont have a wrinkle, I dont have a divot and I have no fillers. I look like was 40 or 35.'

No fillers: 'I had a lot of fillers in my face and I didn't feel like it was me anymore,' she told the magazine

Her way: After asking her boyfriend of two years Steve Lodge and daughter Briana Culberson if she needed a facelift and both telling her she did not, the television personality 'went back to Dr. Ambe and said, 'Ok, lets book it''

'When you get to [age] 56, it's constantly trying to tweak and understand your body,' she told Daily Mail, while promoting the 13th season of the show.

'I just went and got my hormones all re-checked because I've put on, like, six pounds in the last year, which I don't know why,' the TV personality continued.

Vicki however joked that her medico said it's simply down to ageing: 'My doctor said it's called age. Your metabolism and everything starts slowing down.'

'I do my best. I work out an hour a day, but beyond that I can't really do much more,' the businesswoman added.

Fitness aside, Vicki admitted that she will 'keep tweaking' her appearance: 'I will keep tweaking as I try to improve my health and improve my body. But yes, stay tuned for some more tweaking that will be done.'
Her starring role as an abused wife in the TV adaptation of Lianne Moriarty's novel Big Little Lies landed her an Emmy.

So Nicole Kidman has made sure to snap up the film and TV rights for the author's latest novel, Nine Perfect Strangers, which isn't due to hit shelves until September.

Secured with her Blossom Films production company, the 50 year-old Oscar winner will produce the series with Big Little Lies producer, Bruna Papandrea.

Hollywood mogul! Nicole Kidman will star and produce adaptation of Big Little Lies author Lianne Moriarty's latest novel after Oscar-winner secures film and TV rights

It's rumoured Nicole will also be given a lead role in the series as part of the deal.

According to showbiz site Deadline, the new novel 'pairs nine strangers who gather at a remote health resort for ten days, some to lose weight, others to get a break from their lives and maybe a reboot.'

It description continued: 'each is prepared to put in some work to attain those goals, but it becomes a lot harder than they expected.'

Meanwhile, the mother of four suggested last month that filming had wrapped on the hotly-anticipated second season of Big Little Lies.

Big Deal: Secured with Nicole's Blossom Films production company, Lianne Moriarty's (pictured left) new novel 'pairs nine strangers who gather at a remote health resort for ten days

Taking to Instagram, Nicole shared a snap of herself against a scenic backdrop.

She captioned the post: 'It's been an absolute joy to film in #Monterey.

'So sad to leave but thank you for the warmth and hospitality. #BigLittleLies.'

Taking to Instagram last month, the 50 year-old shared a snap of herself against a scenic backdrop. She captioned the post: 'It's been an absolute joy to film in Monterey. 'So sad to leave...'

A tough role: Kidman played a wife suffering domestic abuse at the hands of her husband, played by Alexander Skarsgard

Nicole had been shooting the new season of the HBO smash hit since March, alongside Reese Witherspoon, Laura Dern, Zoe Kravitz and Shailene Woodley.

Centered around a mysterious murder in an affluent seaside town, Meryl Streep will also join the A-list line-up for the new series.

The icon will play Kidman's mother-in-law, who arrived after the death of her son [Alexander Skarsgard] at the end of the first series.

In April, Nicole shared a shot on Instagram of herself and Streep in character.
She was third runner-up on Big Brother Australia in 2014, before turning herself into a bikini model and social media influencer.

But Skye Wheatley looks set to return to TV screens this year, with the busty 24-year-old visiting Channel Ten studios in Sydney.

Taking to her Instagram Story on Saturday, the savvy social media sensation shared footage of herself at the network's headquarters in Pyrmont.

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Back on TV! Skye Wheatley, 24, shared footage of herself at Channel Ten studios on Saturday, prompting speculation she'll appear on new series Trial By Kyle

Skye opted not to speak about the reason for the visit, but it sparked speculation she could be appearing on the new series, Trial By Kyle.

A new series that sees radio shock jock Kyle Sandilands appearing in a Judge Judy style courtroom, mediating conflicts with TV and media personalities.

Confirmed guest on the program, former Married At First Sight groom Nasser Sultan, was spotted at the network's headquarters earlier that day.

Court in is session! Earlier that day, former Married At First Sight groom Nasser Sultan shared a snap of himself outside of the network's headquarters in Sydney

Taking to Instagram, the part Egyptian reality star shared a snap of himself crouching next to Channel Ten signage.

'Coming soon,' he captioned the image, adding the hashtags #networkten, #newtvshow, #seeyouincourt.

The project was confirmed by blog TV Tonight in July, with Nasser going up against celebrity paparazzo Jayden Seyfarth.

Got beef! Both Skye and Nasser have been accused of staging pap photos by Jayden, with each of them offering denials at the time

In April, Jayden accused the personal trainer of staging photos to sell to media outlets, which Nasser has denied.

Last year, Jayden made a similar accusation towards Skye when he took to Instagram to share screengrabs of private conversations between himself and the reality star.

In the messages, he discussed staging a paparazzi shoot in Sydney when Skye would be leaving her breast augmentation appointment.

'I don't understand why he would post that. Like who am I, Kim Kardashian?' When Skye was accused of setting up the shoot, she said cryptically there are 'two sides' to every story

At the time, Skye appeared to deny she was trying to stage shots to sell, instead saying their are 'two sides to a story.'

'I don't understand why he would post that. Like who am I, Kim Kardashian?' She told Daily Mail Australia.

'There's always two sides to a story, don't believe everything you read. I feel sorry for super famous people who have to deal with this but far worse.'

However, Skye has also been vocal about a having a botched boob job she received in 2015, and Kyle Sandilands hinted one dispute on the show could mirror her experience.

'Some 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.

Last month, Skye revealed she's pregnant with her first child with boyfriend of eight months, Lachlan Waugh.

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Skye for comment on this story.
She is delighted to be expecting twins after successful IVF treatment.

And Chris Evans' wife Natasha Shishmanian proved pregnancy suited her down to the ground at Carfest North, at Bolesworth Estate, Tattenhall, Cheshire on Friday.

As her TV presenter husband took their kids Eli and Noah onto the stage, the pregnant beauty looked ecstatic when she showed off her bump in a vest top.

Bumping along: Chris Evans' pregnant wife Natasha Shishmanian showed off her huge bump in a vest top as her husband joins kids Noah, 9, and Eli, 6, on stage at the family festival on Friday

While her growing stomach took centre stage, Natasha put her tanned legs on display when she slipped into tiny shorts with a busy pattern.

The pregnant brunette is believed to be around two to three months away from giving birth to their twins later this year.

Chris juggled his presenting job and his daddy duties when he brought his young sons onto the stage with him at the family festival.

Balancing: Chris juggled his presenting job and his daddy duties when he brought his young sons onto the stage with him at the family festival

Leggy lady: While her growing stomach took centre stage, Natasha put her tanned legs on display when she slipped into tiny shorts with a busy pattern

Recently, he announced his wife's pregnancy on his Radio 2 Breakfast Show in April, after revealing that she was undergoing IVF in a bid to have a 'fourth ankle-biter'.

During a talk with a pregnancy nutritionist Henrietta Norton, the broadcaster mentioned the news as he asked her for advice and she told him to get a bigger car.

Chris said: 'Mrs Evans is... she is now, yeah. Twins. Double trouble. Twin turbo.

Growing: The pregnant brunette is believed to be just two to three months away from giving birth to their twins later this year

Applause: As her TV presenter husband took their kids Eli and Noah onto the stage, the pregnant beauty looked ecstatic when she showed off her bump in a vest top

'We've known for a while, obviously. She's definitely the mother, there's no doubt about that.

'When you begin to be involved in the world of twins, suddenly twins are everywhere, twins are not as rare as you think.'

Chris and Natasha are believed to be expecting their newborns in the Autumn of this year in either September or October.

Doting mum: Pregnant Natasha held hands with her youngest son Eli, aged six, when she walked through the family festival

All love: The mum-of-two was delighted with the news that she is expecting twins after successful IVF treatment

The couple already have two sons and the DJ has a daughter Jade, 30, with his former fiancee Alison Ward.

Chris revealed the couple underwent IVF as they wanted to add to their family unit for 'one last hurrah'.

He said: 'Mrs Evans has gone into hospital this morning at 7am - she is the field and there's a harvest taking place this morning. It's a nice thing, we're having one last hurrah, one last attempt at a fourth ankle biter.

Mum on the move: The brunette beauty looked every inch the affectionate mum when she kept her son close to her

'It's an IVF thing. She'll be being harvested around now, with the radio on. She doesn't mind me talking about it.'

Chris and Natasha tied the knot in a romantic ceremony in Faro, Portugal, in August 2007 and they have been happily together ever since.

The broadcaster was previously married to pop princess turned acclaimed actress Billie Piper, 35, from May 2001 to September 2004.

Cute: Mother-of-two Natasha ditched her heels as she sashayed out in flip flops

Lots of kids: The couple already have two sons and the DJ has a daughter Jade, 30, with his former fiancee Alison Ward

Billie famously popped the question to Chris on his 35th birthday when she was the tender age of 18.

The former flames went onto tie the knot in a ceremony in Las Vegas at the time.

Prior to his union with the Because We Want To hitmaker, Chris was married to TV and radio personality Carol McGiffin, 58, from 1991 to 1994.

Speaking out: The dad-of-three showed his two sons the ropes when they took to the stage

Casually cool: The presenter looked natural as he talked into the microphone when he strolled through the jam-packed crowds
Roxanne Pallett was spotted for the first time without her arm braces after her horror car crash last week.

The actress, 36, looked back to her best as she strolled around London with her boyfriend Lee Walton on Saturday.

Her date comes after Roxanne spoke out about the moment the Formula 2 stock car she was in, hit a wall at 40mph, leaving her feeling numb from the waist down.

Recovering well: Roxanne Pallett was spotted for the first time without her arm braces after her horror car crash last week as she enjoyed a date with her beau Lee Walton on Saturday

The former Emmerdale star, who suffered two badly sprained wrists, bruising and concussion from the collision, flashed a smile as she strolled through a park with her beau.

Dressed for the sunny climes, Roxanne put on a leggy display in a pair of ripped denim shorts, while flashing a hint on her toned stomach in a navy crop top.

The brunette beauty teamed the look with cowboy boots and toted a black leather rucksack.

The former Emmerdale star, who suffered two badly sprained wrists, bruising and concussion from the collision, flashed a smile as she strolled through a park with her beau

She styled her deep chestnut locks in soft waves and finished off her ensemble with a black smoky-eye and ample amounts of bronzer.

The theatre star walked hand-in-hand with Lee, who has been her constant support after the crash.

Earlier this week, Roxanne made an appearance on Good Morning Britain to discuss the ordeal, which saw firefighters cut her from the wreckage of the Formula 2 stock car.

Terrifying ordeal: Earlier this week, Roxanne made an appearance on Good Morning Britain to discuss the ordeal, which saw firefighters cut her from the wreckage of the Formula 2 stock car

Accident: The former Emmerdale actress was lucky to escape with two badly sprained wrists, bruising and concussion

The incident occurred during a race against Ben Fry, her Minster FM breakfast show co-host, at Hunmanby Raceway in York.

She recalled the dramatic moment she woke up in the midst of the wreckage and realised she couldn't feel her legs or her head.

Roxanne said: 'I had this numbed, blocked up feeling in my head, like there was water in my head, like my brain had rattled. I couldnt really hear much, I couldnt feel much either.

Impact: The star is still recovering after crashing into a concrete wall at Hunmanby Raceway

'[My co-host] Ben was relaying messages from [my boyfriend] Lee to try and keep me awake because I just wanted to go to sleep.

'The minute I woke up I knew it wasnt good. I think thats why they airlifted me because I couldnt feel my legs and my neck and my head. Ive never felt pain like it.'

Roxanne was sporting two wrist supports for her TV interview, and the shaken star confessed she was still taking a lot of pain medication.

'Its something you never expect to happen to you. Its just a bit of a blur still to be honest. Im so dosed up on painkillers, Im almost grateful to feel this numb. Im really lucky, Ive been lucky', she declared.
He's been promoting his 28 by Sam Wood fitness program for some time.

But former Bachelor star Sam Wood is banking on turning the fitness app into a true contender, sinking over $1 million dollars into the venture, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.

The 38-year-old also reportedly spent, 'another couple of grand into securing the rights to Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar recipes' according to the paper.

Big plans! Sam Wood is banking on turning his 28 fitness app into a true contender, sinking over $1 million dollars into the venture. Sam is pictured with fiancee Snezana Markoski, the couple's baby daughter Willow, 9 months, and Snezana's daughter Evie, 12, at Apple

The publication also reports that '28 has become one of the first fitness apps in the world to simultaneously sync the iPhone, Apple TV and Apple Watch in one go.'

The online program features 28-minute daily workouts to achieve weight loss, along with nutritional advice.

Sam launched the app version of his popular fitness program with a training session in Sydney last week.

On Saturday, the personal trainer of 17 years took to Instagram to celebrate 28 becoming Apple's 'app of the day'.

Serious: The 38-year-old also reportedly spent, 'another couple of grand into securing the rights to Sarah Wilson's I Quit Sugar recipes' according to the Sydney Morning Herald

Hard worker: Sam launched the app version of his popular fitness program with a training session in Sydney last week

'App of the day!!! What a proud moment. Thank you to my amazing 28 team for your genius creativity and hard work,' he told his fans.

'Thank you to @apple for your support and thank you to my beautiful family for inspiring me and loving me every day. Lets change the world one life at a time,' he added.

Sam also shared several images of his family, including fiancee Snezana Markoski, 38, outside the Apple store in Sydney.

Looks like it works? On Saturday, the personal trainer of 17 years took to Instagram to celebrate 28 becoming Apple's 'app of the day'

Abs-olutely incredible! Sam has worked hard on his ripped torso and bulging biceps and recently showed them off with fiancee Snezana (left)

Family: Sam and Snezana shared their baby daughter Willow, 9 months (pictured)

Sam and Snezana shared their baby daughter Willow, 9 months, and Evie, 12, from a previous marriage.

Sam proposed to Snezana in 2015 with a $50,000 engagement ring and Sam revealed the pair will walk down the aisle at the end of the year.

'We will definitely get married late, late this year. Snez is in full wedding organisation mode and we're looking forward to it,' Sam told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday.
She's never been afraid to showcase her bombshell curves.

And Gemma Collins set pulses racing once again as she slipped into another saucy swimsuit from her Boohoo collection in a saucy Instagram snap shared on Saturday.

The reality TV star, 37, proved to be her own best advert as she put her killer figure on full display in a feisty leopard print one-piece.

Beach babe: Gemma Collins, 37, flaunted her incredible curves in a saucy leopard swimsuit in a sexy poolside snap shared via Instagram on Saturday

Gemma poured her delectable curves into the swimsuit, which also drew attention to her peachy posterior.

Giving off some serious beach babe vibes, the TOWIE star styled her golden blonde locks in glamorous Hollywood curls.

Clearly enjoying her time in the sunshine, Gemma flaunted her sun-kissed glow in the skimpy number as she teased her sultry make-up as she flipped her tresses over her shoulder.

Wow! Gemma showcased her killer curves in a chic swimsuit for throwback snap on Friday... after reuniting with jailbird ex Stephen Mortimer following James Argent split

It's clear Gemma is the best advert for her own swimwear collection as she continued to promote her latest designs with another sexy snap on Friday.

Featuring a plunging neckline, the reality star showed a glimpse of her ample cleavage in the summery number.

Her radiant complexion was enhanced with a light dusting of make-up as she styled her long blonde locks into glamorous curls.

Loving her swimwear, Gemma wrote in the caption: 'KIKI .... do you love me..... rocking my @boohoo costume'.

Changes: Gemma's swimwear snap was clearly a throwback to when she launched her line with Boohoo, as she took a trip to the hairdresser on Thursday

Gemma's swimwear snap was clearly a throwback to when she launched her line with Boohoo, as she now has a drastically different look after taking a trip to the hairdresser on Thursday.

Gemma showed off the results of her new look - a sleek and straight bob - which she debuted in a selfie as she posed with her head to the side whilst wearing a pair of stylish shades.

The GC sported on a natural palette of make-up including a slick of pink lipstick to highlight her pretty features.

Giving a peace sign to the camera, it was clear that she was pleased with her new look as she wrote: 'Going for the chop.'



Romance rumours: This comes after Gemma strongly hinted that she had rekindled her relationship with ex Stephen Mortimer, when he shared a cosy snap of the pair

On Wednesday Gemma strongly hinted that she had rekindled her relationship with ex Stephen, when he shared a cosy snap of the pair.

She beamed as she posed for a sweet selfie in a car with her former beau which he tellingly captioned with a heart-eyes and a couple emoji.

Leaning her head towards her ex boyfriend, the GC looked radiant in a black and gold chain print top, paired with oversized shades.

A delighted Stephen smiled coyly in the background while clad in an all-black ensemble.

MailOnline has contacted Gemma's representative for comment.

Over: This comes days after it was reported Gemma had split from on-off beau James Argent

In photos obtained by The Sun, Gemma and Stephen were seen looking close on a night out, with the reality star linking arms with her on-off beau as they walked.

On Wednesday at around 9.30am, the website reports the pair left Gemma's home, with Stephen wearing the same clothes.

Gemma and Stephen split shortly before he was jailed in October 2016 for stealing jewellery in a home raid.

The bubbly blonde famously dated Stephen before her stint on Celebrity Big Brother in January 2016, but he went back to to prison for 28 days while she was in the house.

Split rumours: According to reports, the TOWIE diva 'dumped' her beau, 30, after she grew tired of 'dealing with his s**t' and he 'delivered nothing' during their relationship

During Gemma's time in the house Stephen - who spent two years in prison for grievous bodily harm (GBH) - handed himself in to police after he breached his licence terms.

During her stint on Celebs Go Dating, the bubbly blonde also admitted to a penchant for 'bad boys' during a dinner.

She said: 'Gangsters. Ive always been interested in gangsters and you know bad boys' as well as expressing her hopes of finding a 'financially secure' man.

The sighting comes days after it was reported that Gemma and James had 'split' just months after rekindling their romance.

According to reports, the diva 'dumped' her beau, 30, after she grew tired of 'dealing with his s**t' and he 'delivered nothing' during their relationship.

'It is over. Gemma dumped him after growing sick of his going out and then just disappearing, not telling her where he was,' a source told The Sun.

'He was regularly going AWOL and quite simply Gemma had enough. Shes got loads of exciting work things coming up and basically doesnt have time to deal with his s**t.'

While another source told the Mirror: 'Gemma decided enough is enough. He didnt keep his word on all the promises.

'Shes become very successful in building her brand and wants to carry that on and become a global household name. Shes frustrated Arg is still very much at a stage of partying hard and having fun.

'The two lifestyles dont match, shes a serious star and businesswoman. He promised a lot and delivered nothing.'
The model rose to fame after winning renovation show The Block last year, and has since been strutting her stuff on the catwalk.

And as reality star Elyse Knowles continues to take the modelling world by storm, the 25-year-old has now been named Myer's newest celebrity ambassador.

Speaking to The Sunday Telegraph, the blonde bombshell said she was happy to be part of the department store family.

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'I've been working for this moment since I was 16': Former star of The Block Elyse Knowles, 25, has been named as Myer's newest ambassador. Pictured here with boyfriend, Josh Barker

'I've been working for this moment since I was 16 when I first worked at Myer,' Elyse told the publication.

'I knew from then I wanted to be part of the family.'

It's unknown if the bikini-loving reality star, who has gone on to a lucrative career in modelling since her appearance on the show, will replace fashion superstar Jennifer Hawkins.

'I knew from then I wanted to be part of the family': Elyse has previously walked the runway for the retailer and was named a face of Myer beauty

The former Miss Universe is tipped to be ending her 12-year association with the upscale department store in December, when her $5 million contract is up.

In addition to Elyse, fellow reality star Josh Gibson has also been named as Myer's newest male ambassador.

Meanwhile, the blonde reality star cemented her relationship with Myer earlier this year when she walked the runway for the retailer.

Replacement! Elyse wouldn't be drawn on whether she would replace the upscale department store's fashion superstar, Jennifer Hawkins (above), whose contract is up in December

Elyse was previously named as a face of Myer beauty, before announcing her latest dream-come-true coup.

The model is currently in the Maldives with lifestyle brand, Active Escapes.

Earlier this week, the bikini model took to Instagram to share an empowering message about her inner beauty to her 888,000 followers.

Posing in a barely-there bikini with her sensational physique on full display, the young swimsuit model wrote: 'To be beautiful means to be yourself.'

The 25-year-old continued: 'You don't need to be accepted by others, you need to accept YOURSELF.'
With her incredible figure, Charlize Theron would look good in any outfit.

And on Friday the mother of two was rocking her mom jeans, as she picked up her kids from ballet class in high waisted denim.

The 42-year-old actress went solo for the mission and looked like she was thoroughly enjoying her day in Los Angeles.

Doting mom: On Friday, Charlize Theron, 42, was seen playing the single mother role well, looking cheerful while rocking casual clothes on her way to pick up her kids at ballet class in Los Angeles

The Monster star went the comfortable route, sporting a slouchy gray long sleeved shirt.

She paired the top with a pair of loosely fitted jeans that had a black belt around the waist.

On Charlize's feet were a pair of dark colored Jesus sandals that showed off a pop of her toes.

The South Africa native hid behind dark Sunday Somewhere sunglasses as she carried a large, black purse on her arm.

Styling: The Monster star went the comfortable route, sporting a slouchy gray long sleeved shirt as she paired the top with a pair of loosely fitted jeans that had a black belt around the waist

Hiding: Charlize went incognito as she left the AQ Nail Spa in Studio City, California wearing a wide brim hat with a scarf over her head

Charlize's signature blonde hair was pulled back as her bangs swooped onto her forehead.

She looked to have minimal makeup and accessories on.

Theron is the mom to five-year-old Jackson, whom she adopted from South Africa back in 2012.

She also has another child, daughter August, who was later adopted in 2015 from a U.S. agency.

She is currently raising her two kids alone.

Family life: Theron is the mom to five-year-old Jackson, whom she adopted from South Africa back in 2012, and daughter August, 2, who was later adopted in 2015 from a U.S. agency




Temperatures in Calabasas are well over 100 degrees during the summer.

And Kylie Jenner says she's battling the Southern California heat with 'max AC at all times.'

The 20-year-old reality star, whose birthday is just around the corner, shared a windswept selfie from her car on Saturday as she cruised around with the air conditioning on blast.

California heat wave: Kylie Jenner shared a windswept selfie from her car on Saturday as she cruised around with the air conditioning on blast. 'Max AC at all times,' she captioned the snap

The makeup mogul also shared a sultry pic from her recent swim shoot for clothing line Kendall + Kylie.

Jenner posed with her head tilted as the camera captured her modeling a camo bikini.

Her glam included a devastatingly bold brow and winged eyeliner.

Marketing tactics: Jenner also shared a sultry pic from her recent swim shoot for clothing line Kendall + Kylie. The makeup mogul posed with her head tilted as the camera captured her modeling a camo bikini

Jenner is gearing up for her 21st birthday on August 10.

And gifts, such as $150 bottles of tequila, are already arriving in the mail.

In honor of the major milestone, the Forbes cover girl announced that she is opening a Kylie Cosmetics pop-up in Century Citysimilar to big sister Kim Karadashian's KKW Beauty pop-up.

Finally legal! Jenner is gearing up for her 21st birthday on August 10. And gifts, such as $150 bottles of tequila, are already arriving in the mail

Celebrate! In honor of the major milestone, the Forbes cover girl announced that she is opening a Kylie Cosmetics pop-up in Century Citysimilar to big sister Kim Karadashian's KKW Beauty pop-up

Kylie's daughter Stormi is also nearing a birthday.

'Stormi will be 6 months in 6 days...how did this happen?' she tweeted on Thursday. 'Moms, do your babies grow as fast as mine?'

Jenner shares her bundle of joy with boyfriend Travis Scott.
The latest episode of his battle with the bottle played out at a Los Angeles airport earlier this month - (the troubled star is pictured here in 2015, during a prior drinking episode)

He has become as famous for his public displays of drunkenness as for his award-winning performances in TV hits such as The Tudors and Elvis.

The latest episode of his battle with the bottle played out at a Los Angeles airport earlier this month where he was photographed surrounded by police after a mid-flight boozy row with his wife.

And today, in a brutally frank admission, Jonathan Rhys Meyers accepts: Ive let myself down by relapsing, and its my responsibility. Nobody else is to blame.

In an exclusive interview with Event magazine, the 41-year-old reveals that he did not drink until the age of 26 and says: I actually dont like the taste of alcohol.

He explains: I would be known as somebody who relapses with problem drinking, not alcoholism. I dont suffer from alcoholism  I suffer from an allergy to alcohol every time I drink it.

When I drink, the consequences are so devastating that it is a problem, he says. But I never need a drink. Its not something I crave.

Airports have become the scene of the actors darkness moments. As well as the incident in LA, he was arrested for drunkenness at terminals in Dublin in 2007 and Paris in 2011. People who go through this look for things in their life that trigger them, he says.

And airports are a trigger for me, because they make you sit there for three hours, you cant smoke and youre surrounded by alcohol. That is not an excuse, theres never an excuse for me to drink.

In an exclusive interview with Event magazine, the 41-year-old reveals that he did not drink until the age of 26 and says: I actually dont like the taste of alcohol'

The Irish actor is now seeking professional help, as he has done many times before. Ive been at meetings with politicians, High Court judges, one of the richest men in the world and a homeless man, he says. The actor hopes public attention will now focus on his new film, Damascus Cover, a political thriller in which he plays an Israeli secret agent tasked with smuggling a chemical-weapons scientist out of Syria.

It features the last big screen performance of Sir John Hurt, who died in January last year. Did Hurt give him any advice? Yeah, says Rhys Meyers. He said, Give up drinking. 

Settling into a couch in a house close to his home in Malibu, Jonathan Rhys Meyers is chatting about John Hurt, the co-star of his latest movie, Damascus Cover. It was to be the last movie Hurt made before his death in 2017 from pancreatic cancer, and Rhys Meyers poignantly recalls meeting Hurt when he was 16 after being cast in the 1996 film Michael Collins. Did Hurt give him any advice on coping with the industry? Yeah, laughs Rhys Meyers. He said, Give up drinking.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers speaks candidly about his personal struggles and his battles with booze

Were just minutes into our interview and Rhys Meyers has immediately let it be known that he wont be shying away from a difficult conversation. We meet just a few days after he made headlines for being detained by police at Los Angeless LAX airport for using an e-cigarette on a flight. Moreover, onlookers also saw the actor, who has had well-publicised issues in the past with alcohol, getting into a drunken altercation with his wife, Mara.

Many celebrities in his position would have had a phalanx of publicists at our interview to bat away awkward questions, or simply not shown up, yet Rhys Meyers is sitting here, on his own, trying to explain what happened.

Last week on a plane back from Peru, after eight months of sobriety, I decided to have a few drinks, he says. My wife was upset at me, and I learned my lesson. I got off the aeroplane, went straight back to my meetings and got sober immediately.

He is clearly sorry for what happened. And you know, I can speak all the words, but my actions tell the difference. So my action was to go home, apologise to my wife, call who I needed to call and explain to them exactly what had happened. My responsibility is not to take the first drink... and I failed, but I realised that I failed and I got back up.

Rhys Meyers, known for his electrifying performance as Henry VIII in The Tudors and for films including Bend It Like Beckham and Woody Allens Match Point, has had a very public struggle with alcohol. In 2007, just before his mothers death, he was arrested at Dublin Airport for drunkenness, and in 2011 he received a suspended sentence and was fined 860 for a similar meltdown at Pariss Charles de Gaulle airport. Most worryingly, three years ago he was photographed drinking vodka on the street in London looking, by his own admission, quite dreadful after a three-day relapse.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Henry VIII) and Natalie Dormer as Anne Boleyn

This latest incident follows a trip to South America, where, ironically, he had been receiving therapy for his issues. He explains that while giving up alcohol is the first stage in recovery, youve got to work on the reasons why you did it in the first place. Sometimes when you go through therapy, it opens up emotions that you havent felt for a few years and you leave yourself vulnerable.

He adds: People who go through this, they look for things in their life that trigger them. And airports are a trigger for me, because they make you sit there for three hours, you cant smoke and youre surrounded by alcohol. That is not an excuse however... Theres never an excuse for me to drink. But sometimes there are triggers that make you more vulnerable. Ive relearnt that vulnerability and its now fresh in my mind again.

Its the first time that Rhys Meyers has been this candid about his alcohol problem, and its clear that hes decided to open up as never before. Ive let myself down by relapsing, and its my responsibility. Nobody else is to blame.

Rhys Meyers is held at Los Angeles Airport earlier this month. Rhys Meyers has had a very public struggle with alcohol

Despite his recent travails, today Rhys Meyers is looking healthy and younger than his 41 years. His wife Mara Lane, a co-producer on his latest film, is nearby, along with their 19-month-old son, Wolf  no doubt one of the factors in Rhys Meyers decision to assume responsibility for his actions (Im a father and so when I fall down, I immediately get back up. Im a man. Thats what men do). Far from being guarded, he is engaged and attentive, fixing me with those penetrating blue-green eyes and speaking in a soft Irish accent, his words precise and considered.

Ive been to a lot of rehab centres in my life... I went to three in one year and I talked to my therapist, he says. I would be known as somebody who relapses with problem drinking, not alcoholism. I dont suffer from alcoholism  I suffer from an allergy to alcohol every time I drink it. But once I stop, I never think about it again.

That doesnt mean that the problem is any less, it just means I have a different version of it. But when I drink, the consequences are so devastating that it is a problem. But I never need a drink. Its not something that I crave.

Rhys Meyers says he didnt start drinking until the age of 26, then I stopped at 27 till [I was] 30, and then its just been a few day relapses from then on. But Ive never continuously drunk for any long period of time  I actually dont like the taste of alcohol.

Rhys Meyers with Olivia Thirlby in new film Damascus Cover. Rhys Meyers admits that filming brought up certain things

So why does he do it? To fill a void? No. It never filled an emptiness. It was more about... Im not quite sure what it was about. First of all, Ive never liked drugs, so alcohol was legal. You could go to a bar and have a drink, the same as everybody does.

Was it a confidence-booster?

No, it puts you to sleep. You just have a drink and you go to sleep. You can forget about whatever was bothering you.

Certainly, there have been events in Rhys Meyers life where one can understand his need to blot out painful thoughts, not least last September, when his wife miscarried their baby daughter and he suffered a relapse. Its also an episode that has eerily similar echoes in his new film, Damascus Cover, in which his character, Ari, talks about losing his young son. Watching the film, it feels incredibly close to the bone, and Rhys Meyers admits that filming brought up certain things. But he adds: As an actor you have to take all the experiences you have from life and then transform those experiences into something wonderful, something that people can understand.

The film is an old-school spy thriller by Israeli writer-director Daniel Zelik Berk. Rhys Meyers stars as Ari Ben-Sion, an undercover Israeli spy living under a fake German identity in Eighties Berlin, who fails in his mission to bring a double agent back alive. Keen to make amends, he is given the dangerous assignment of smuggling a chemical-weapons scientist and his family out of Syria by his Mossad boss Miki (John Hurt). While in Damascus, he meets an American photo-journalist (Olivia Thirlby) with whom he shares an immediate chemistry. But, as the mission starts to go wrong, it dawns on Ari that he is a pawn in a much larger game.

The film has already won several awards, including one for Rhys Meyers at last years Boston Film Festival. Its especially moving seeing Hurt in his final on-screen role, and although Rhys Meyers was aware that Hurt was suffering from cancer at the time, if you had sat and talked to him, hed have said: Oh, Ill get over it. He was incredibly strong.

Rhys Meyers won plaudits for his portrayal of the shifty, murderous Chris Wilton opposite Scarlett Johansson in Woody Allens Match Point

Rhys Meyers dazzled in the 1998 movie Velvet Goldmine as bisexual glam rock star Brian Slade

Hurt had his demons too, and while his advice to his friend to stop drinking was sound, Rhys Meyerss upbringing was ragged enough to partially explain his subsequent problems. His father, folk musician John OKeeffe, walked out when Jonathan was three, taking his two youngest sons, Jamie and Paul, and leaving their mother Geraldine to raise Jonathan and his brother Alan in a council house in Cork, Ireland. She, too, had issues with alcohol, and Rhys Meyers has previously said that she would spend her dole money on drink, leaving him at times with no option but to steal food to survive. When asked if he could attribute his drinking problems to hereditary reasons, Rhys Meyers is adamant: I dont believe that. Ive got three brothers and they have no problems, so its not hereditary.

After being expelled from his Catholic school for truancy, he spent most of his time in the local pool hall, where he was spotted by agents casting for the David Puttnam film War Of The Buttons. Though he didnt get the role, he ended up in a Knorr soup commercial and since then has barely stopped working.

He dazzled in the 1998 movie Velvet Goldmine as bisexual glam rock star Brian Slade, starred opposite Keira Knightley in the 2002 smash Bend It Like Beckham and in 2006 out-swaggered Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible III. But it was his lead role in TV drama The Tudors, as the criminally charismatic Henry VIII, that made everyone take note, even though Rhys Meyers initially had his doubts about playing the monarch.

When they first asked me to do it, I said, You must be insane! And they said, We have to make this part of English history palpable to a modern-day audience  and no ones going to watch a 300lb guy run around the screen having sex. Watching Rhys Meyers run around the screen having sex was a different story entirely, however.

Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Henry VIII with Natalie Dormer as Anne Boleyn in The Tudors

He won plaudits too for his portrayal of the shifty, murderous Chris Wilton opposite Scarlett Johansson in Woody Allens Match Point (Allen was so taken with his performance that he gave him a first-edition copy of Byrons Poetical Works as a gift). Yet unlike other actors such as Colin Firth and Rebecca Hall, who have rushed to distance themselves from Allen after allegations that he sexually abused his daughter, Rhys Meyers says: I have no opinion, because I was very proud to work with him. But at the same time, I think people should be proud of people like Ronan Farrow [the journalist who broke the Harvey Weinstein scandal and, coincidentally, Allens son] for bringing up all the things that he did and [taking] those risks, because people should never be abused in that way.

Given that Rhys Meyers started in the industry as a teenager, did he ever encounter abuse?

I was a bit tougher than that, he says. You get moments where youll be at a party or an audition and somebody would put their hands in certain places.

And that happened to him?

Of course, because youre a young actor. But it depends on how tough you are, and from the moment you look at somebody, they know who they think they can do it to and who they cant. If anybody had put their hands on me, Id have knocked them out.

Rhys Meyers with his wife Mara Lane in 2016. Rhys Meyerss upbringing was ragged enough to partially explain his problems

On todays evidence Rhys Meyers has nothing if not a fighting spirit. It cant have been easy to discuss the issues hes faced with alcohol, but he does so without complaint. Sometimes you have to stand there and take it, and if you cant, you shouldnt have joined the sport.

Ive been at meetings with politicians, high-court judges, one of the richest men in the world and a homeless man. They are all very different in their walks of life, except for one thing that makes them all the same  they have to deal with whatever they have to deal with.

He knows many who havent survived  Ive been to a lot of funerals  but says he never thought it could happen to him. No. I will not let it be me.

And is he confident that he will succeed?

I am confident. I will always get through. The one thing Ill never do is give up.

Damascus Cover is out on Friday
She recently treated herself to a second facelift.

And Real Housewives of Orange County's Vicki Gunvalson was looking radiant as she was seen at a party for the first time since having the surgery.

The 56-year-old reality television star attended Jill Zarin's 6th Annual Luxury Luncheon, in honor of Bobby Zarin, at Topping Rose House on Saturday, in Bridgehampton, New York.

Face lift! Real Housewives of Orange County's Vicki Gunvalson was looking radiant as she was seen at a party for the first time since having the surgery on July 28

Result: The blonde beauty - who had the surgery on May 5 - looked fresh with minimal make-up

The blonde beauty - who had her procedure on May 5 - looked fresh with only minimal make-up.

She chose an asymmetrical floral print dress, which featured a frill hemline.

The star gave a glimpse of her cleavage and flashed her legs, adding strappy nude heels.

She was joined by RHONY cast-member Jill Zarin, who was hosting the event in honor of her late husband Bobby. He lost his battle with cancer on January 13, aged 71.

Gunvalson revealed to Us Weekly on Friday that she got a facelift and no longer has any fillers.

Reality stars: She was joined by RHONY cast-member Jill Zarin, who was hosting the event in honor of her late husband Bobby

Last week in an interview with Daily Mail Australia, the star revealed that she will 'keep tweaking' when it comes to her health and body.

'I had a lot of fillers in my face and I didn't feel like it was me anymore,' she told the magazine.

'I had too many doctors, too many different times say ''let's do this, let's do that, let's fill here, let's do Voluma, let's do Sculptra,'' and by the time I was done I looked in the mirror and was like ''I don't even look like myself.''

Not easy: Vicki revealed she had surgery on her face; she is seen recovering in a still from the next season of the show

Before: 'I had a lot of fillers in my face and I didn't feel like it was me anymore,' she said recently (pictured Sept 2017)

But it was her castmate and friend Tamra Judge who pushed her to the edge, 'Tamra kept telling me 'you need to do another face-lift, your neck is getting old!' explained Gunvalson.

'And I'm like, 'wonderful.' Tamra looks so good. She got hers done about a year ago. I kept asking Tamra and she goes, 'Yes! You need it, you need it!'

So Gunvalson went to Tamara's surgeon, Dr. Milind Ambe, who she had previously done work on her as well.

After asking her boyfriend of two years Steve Lodge and daughter Briana Culberson if she needed a facelift and both telling her she did not, the television personality 'went back to Dr. Ambe and said, 'Ok, lets book it.''

She had the surgery on May 5 and told the outlet, 'Now my skin looks baby smooth.'

Adding, 'dont have a wrinkle, I dont have a divot and I have no fillers. I look like was 40 or 35.'

Her way: After asking her boyfriend of two years Steve Lodge and daughter Briana Culberson if she needed a facelift and both telling her she did not, the television personality 'went back to Dr. Ambe and said, 'Ok, lets book it''

'When you get to [age] 56, it's constantly trying to tweak and understand your body,' she told Daily Mail, while promoting the 13th season of the show.

'I just went and got my hormones all re-checked because I've put on, like, six pounds in the last year, which I don't know why,' the TV personality continued.

Vicki however joked that her medico said it's simply down to ageing: 'My doctor said it's called age. Your metabolism and everything starts slowing down.'

'I do my best. I work out an hour a day, but beyond that I can't really do much more,' the businesswoman added.

She was joined at the party on Saturday by Judith Giuliani and Heather McDonald.

Sneaked out: She was joined at the party on Saturday by Judith Giuliani
Michelle Williams shocked fans by revealing to this month's edition of Vanity Fair that she had tied the knot with musician Phil Elverum.

The 37-year-old actress admitted to the magazine she 'never gave up on love' after the death of Heath Ledger, the father of her 12-year-old daughter Matilda.

And now, Heath's father Kim has weighed in on the news of Michelle's nuptials, telling The Sun-Herald the Ledger family are elated for her.

'We are terribly happy!': Heath Ledger's father Kim has weighed in on Michelle Williams' surprise marriage to Phil Elverum... after the actress admits she 'never gave up on love' after the death of The Dark Knight star (Pictured: Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams at the 2006 Oscars)

'We are terribly happy, it is great,' Kim told the publication on Sunday.

'She's very private and I don't really like to make too many comments about her, but we are very happy (for her).'

Kim also told The Sun-Herald that although he did not attend Michelle's wedding, he expects to meet the actress' new beau soon.

The Blue Valentine actress and Phil exchanged vows in a top secret ceremony witnessed by a handful of friends in the Adirondack Mountains of upstate New York, she told Vanity Fair.

'It is great': Kim (pictured) said he and the Ledger family were elated for Michelle and her new husband

Tying the knot! Michelle (left) admitted to this month's edition of Vanity Fair that she had secretly married musician Phil Elverum (right)

Both their daughters were present; she has 12-year-old daughter Matilda from her relationship with Heath and he has a three-year-old daughter from his first marriage.

Michelle described her her bond with The Microphones musician as 'very sacred and very special' .

She added: 'I never gave up on love. I always say to Matilda, 'Your dad loved me before anybody thought I was talented, or pretty, or had nice clothes.''

Words of wisdom: Michelle told the magazine: 'I never gave up on love. I always say to Matilda, 'Your dad loved me before anybody thought I was talented, or pretty, or had nice clothes.''

Michelle is heavily guarded about her privacy and has rarely spoken about her personal life, including her three-year romance with Heath.

'Obviously I've never once in my life talked about a relationship,' she said. 'But Phil isn't anyone else. And that's worth something.

'Ultimately the way he loves me is the way I want to live my life on the whole. I work to be free inside of the moment. I parent to let Matilda feel free to be herself, and I am finally loved by someone who makes me feel free.'

Phil, of the indie rock groups The Microphones and Mount Eerie, was previously married to Canadian musician Genevieve Castree for 13 years before she died from inoperable pancreatic cancer in 2016.
Romance is all around for Caroline Flack on Love Island  but its not so passionate back in her real life.

The no-nonsense TV host grabbed a flight back to London from filming in Majorca last week to kick her ex-fiance out of her home and give her engagement ring back, I can reveal.

Her former intended, ex-reality star Andrew Brady, below, was seen huffily bundling a TV and his belongings into a rented Transit van on Tuesday.

But what no one noticed at the time was that he was also clutching the 6,500 vintage diamond ring he proposed to Caroline with in April, after just three months of dating.

Caroline Flack (left) grabbed a flight back to London from filming in Majorca last week to kick her ex-fiance Andrew Brady (right) out of her home and give her engagement ring back, I can reveal

A source says Andrew, 27, insisted on taking the ring back, though Caroline had been wearing it, circled above  albeit on her right hand  ever since they split up on July 10.

A source close to the 38-year-old presenter tells me: She came back from the island to get him out. He wouldnt leave the house without the ring.

She had been wearing it because she was quite fond of it and they were still speaking. They had a row and are no longer speaking. She had hoped they would work things out, but they wont now.

The pair are said to have argued over claims he cheated on her on a night out and was merely using her for her money and fame. A spokesman for Andrew declined to comment.

Its lights, camera and almost action on the Downton Abbey movie  which will begin filming on September 10, Im told. The cast will descend upon Highclere Castle just in time for a charity weekend hosted by owner the Countess of Carnarvon, which could see actors mingling with fans in full period costume.

Im encouraging guests to dress as their favourite character, which will be funny because the real actors are arriving that weekend, Lady Carnarvon tells me. The Heroes At Highclere event marks 100 years since the end of the First World War and will raise money for Combat Stress.

Lady Colin Campbells adopted son Dima Ziadie-Campbell, 25, found a clever fix last week for the leaky roof at her Castle Goring home in Sussex  a 5 roll of cellophane which he wrapped round a dribbling dome. Lady C went on Im A Celebrity in 2015 to pay for repairs  her fee clearly didnt quite cover everything.
He has been hobbling around following a scooter crash in Sardinia earlier this month.

And George Clooney proved he had bounced back from the terrifying incident as he joined his wife Amal and friends for dinner at Villa D'Este, in Lake Como, Italy, on Saturday.

The couple appeared in good spirits as they walked hand-in-hand to the luxury hotel as they had animated conversations with their pals, which included Stella McCartney and her husband Alasdhair Willis.

Gorgeous couple: George Clooney proved he had bounced back from the terrifying incident as he joined his wife Amal and friends for dinner at Villa D'Este, in Lake Como, Italy, on Saturday

Amal, 40, put on a very leggy display for the evening out as she showed off her envy-inducing pins in a pair of orange shorts.

She teamed the bold item of clothing with an oversized off-the-shoulder patterned silk shirt with a matching scarf choker.

Adding height to her tall frame, Amal wore a pair of nude heel sandals as she accessorised her look with a sparkly silver clutch bag.

Star-studded: The couple appeared in good spirits as they walked hand-in-hand to the luxury hotel with their pals, which included Stella McCartney and her husband Alasdhair Willis

Yummy mummy: Amal, 40, put on a VERY leggy display for the evening out as she showed off her envy-inducing pins in a pair of orange shorts

The mother-of-two looked every inch the yummy mummy as she styled her raven locks into a voluminous blow-dried hairdo and added a slick of glamorous make-up, which included a subtle purple lipstick.

Meanwhile, George, 57, looked dapper in a grey suit with an unbuttoned white shirt underneath and black dress shoes.

The Clooneys have decamped to Sardinia and Italy for the summer as the actor currently films new TV series Catch 22.

Bold fashion statement: She teamed the bold item of clothing with an oversized off-the-shoulder patterned silk shirt with a matching scarf choker

Lady in red: Stella looked effortlessly chic in a red jumpsuit with a black and white handbag for dinner with the Clooneys

Sky-high: Adding height to her tall frame, Amal wore a pair of nude heel sandals as she accessorised her look with a sparkly silver clutch bag

The Hulu hosted series is based on the story of artful dodger Yossarian - a U.S. Air Force bombardier in World War II who is livid at the fact that thousands are trying to kill him, however, the real problem happens to be his own army.

On July 10, a source told MailOnline that George was on his way to the set of Catch 22 when a man in his sixties hit Clooney's scooter with his Mercedes.

George, who was wearing a helmet, reportedly hit his head on the windshield, which shattered on impact.

Glamorous: The mother-of-two looked every inch the yummy mummy as she styled her raven locks into a voluminous blow-dried hairdo

Handsome: Meanwhile, George, 57, looked dapper in a grey suit with an unbuttoned white shirt underneath and black dress shoes

Clooney was then taken to a nearby hospital, where doctors treated him for injuries to the pelvis, hip, and knees.

'George was treated and released from an Olbia hospital. He is recovering at home and will be fine,' a PR rep told PEOPLE.

Clooney's wife Amal was by his side at the hospital.

'The accident happened in a very tourist area, so at that time there was not much traffic,' MailOnline's source said.

'Those who saw it will have probably thought of a normal accident also because Clooney's scooter is a normal scooter, there are lots of them around.'
US Defense Secretary General James Mattis has dismissed as "fiction" an Australian media report claiming American forces were prepared to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities as early as next month.

A bewildered Mattis was quizzed by US reporters in Washington DC on Friday about the ABC report.

The "exclusive" report quoted unnamed senior Australian government figures and claimed Australian defence facilities would likely play a role in identifying targets in Iran.

"I have no idea where the Australian news people got that information," Mattis told reporters.

"I'm confident it is not something that's being considered right now, and I think it's a complete - frankly, it's - it's fiction.

"It's the best I can give you."

Mattis' Friday press conference opened with a question about the Australian news report.

"Can you assure the American people that the US is not preparing military strikes against Iran?" the reporter asked.

The report came after Mattis and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met with Australian Defence Minister Marise Payne and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop earlier in the week in California for annual AUSMIN talks.

It also followed heated words exchanged on Twitter and in Iranian news reports between US President Donald Trump and Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull also said he had "no reason" to believe the ABC report was true.
An Australian senator has joined Canadian far-right activist Lauren Southern at a rally condemning the South African government's treatment of farmers.

Ms Southern, 23, is a provocateur known for her controversial views on multiculturalism, Islam and feminism.

She teared up while addressing a protest group gathered in Sydney's Hyde Park to voice concerns that South African farmers are victims of targeted hate crimes.

Katter's Australian Party senator Fraser Anning and Canadian far-right podcaster Stefan Molyneux also addressed the group of about 50 people before they marched to Circular Quay.

Senator Anning was originally elected on Pauline Hanson's One Nation ticket and has previously called on Australia to let "white South African refugees come here before black radicals and South African communists finish their plans of genocide".

Protesters at Saturday's rally flew South African flags while others held posters labelling the nation's government racist and pleading for the violence to be stopped.

"Recognise the genocide," one placard said.

Rally organisers have called on the Turnbull government to grant visas to farmers and to publicly condemn the actions of a "corrupt" and "racist" South African government.

"If the country fail (sic) it will also affect Africa," the organisers posted online.

"We need to intervene now before it is too late."

Earlier this year Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton said white South African farmers "deserve special attention" from Australia due to the "horrific circumstances" of land seizures and violence.

A documentary on the issue produced by Ms Southern will air at a secret location in Sydney on Saturday evening ahead of her and Mr Molyneux's live speaking event.
An Australian burns specialist is about to get to work placing sheets of Melbourne-made artificial skin on survivors of Greece's devastating wild fires.

From Sunday Dr John Greenwood will assist surgeons in Athens to treat severely injured patients who suffered full-thickness burns.

He will use an artificial skin graft substitution called NovoSorb that he developed with the CSIRO in the wake of the 2002 Bali bombings.

The former South Australian of the Year carried the skin in his hand luggage to the KAT Hospital in Greece's capital city after flying out on Friday.

The blaze which broke out on Monday near Athens has been described as one of nation's worst disasters in recent memory.

It wiped out all but the resort town of Mati where a group of 26 people died, huddled together, caught by the flames in their attempt to reach the sea.

More than 80 people have died in the fires and up to 200 have been injured.

Australian company PolyNovo makes the product in Port Melbourne and it is sold in huge quantities to the US, where it is is also used in melanoma surgeries and for other large wounds.

"What they don't have is experience first-hand with our product at this point, so what John will be offering them is hands-on support using our product to ensure we get the best outcome for his patients," Polynovo chief executive Paul Brennan said.
Labor's Justine Keay will return to Canberra after a convincing by-election win in the northwestern Tasmanian seat of Braddon.

Predicted to be on a knife-edge, Ms Keay was declared victor over Liberal Brett Whiteley a little over an hour after polls closed on Saturday.

She is expected to finish with more than 52 per cent of the vote after preferences, aided by preferences from independent Craig Garland who polled eleven per cent of the primary vote.

An overjoyed Ms Keay thanked the roaring party faithful at the Ulverstone Surf Lifesaving Club.

The biggest cheer was reserved for a shout-out to the union movement.

Ms Keay vowed to take her fight for better health outcomes to the national level after an 11-week campaign and much door-knocking in a seat that stretches down Tasmania's west coast.

"This has been a grassroots campaign that I had hoped for. One that we will probably never see again," she said.

Ms Keay had shaken hands with Malcolm Turnbull in an awkward moment at a polling booth on Saturday morning but emerged with the last laugh.

Ms Keay, who won the seat from Mr Whiteley in 2016, was forced to stand down in May after it was revealed she held dual British citizenship.
Malcolm Turnbull is under pressure to change tack on some of his key policies and rethink his approach to One Nation, as Labor celebrates wins in four by-elections.

With vote counting continuing on Sunday, Labor's Justine Keay, Susan Lamb and Josh Wilson - who resigned from parliament over their dual citizenship - were set to return to Canberra to represent Braddon, Longman and Fremantle.

Former Kevin Rudd staffer Patrick Gorman will become the MP for Perth, and the Centre Alliance's Rebekha Sharkie regained the South Australian seat of Mayo.

Labor framed the by-elections as a choice between "hospitals and the big banks", taking aim at the government's plan to cut taxes for Australia's biggest businesses.

Uncertainty over school funding and cuts to penalty rates were also factors at the ballot box.

Former Liberal MP Fiona Scott said the government needed to improve its campaigning on key issues such as the cost of living and how cutting business tax improves everyone's lives.

"It will require a sharpening of the messaging," she said.

However, cabinet minister Christopher Pyne said the tax cut would be presented to parliament in coming weeks.

Mr Shorten described the result as "another signpost into the destination that matters for Australians - a Labor government after the next general election".

Mr Turnbull is unlikely to call an election until close to when it is due in May 2019.

The Liberal Party declined to concede in Braddon, but candidate Brett Whiteley was not confident of getting the preferences needed to win.

Ms Lamb's win in the Queensland seat of Longman, with an expected 54.5 per cent of the two-party preferred vote, came on the back of a One Nation drain of LNP votes.

A similar swing at a general election could topple senior government figures such as Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton.

In Braddon, Ms Keay was on 53 per cent of the two party projected vote, having won 37 per cent of the primary vote but receiving a strong flow of preferences from independent candidate Craig Garland.

Labor comfortably won Perth and Fremantle, where the Liberals did not stand candidates.

In Mayo, Ms Sharkie saw off the Liberals' Georgina Downer, who has vowed to contest the next general election.
Four people have been charged after a brawl which left a man in a serious condition in Liverpool Hospital.

Police were called to the intersection of the Hume Highway and Atkinson Street, just before 11.45pm on Friday where they located the victim with injuries to his head and chest.

Two 23-year-old men were charged with affray and granted conditional bail to appear at Liverpool Local Court on August 22 and 29 respectively.

A 19-year-old man was charged with the same offence and is due in court on September 5 while a 23-year-old woman was charged with affray, assaulting police and resisting arrest.

She will appear at Liverpool Local Court on August 29.
President Donald Trump, right, has had a tremendous falling out with his longtime lawyer Michael Cohen

Donald Trump's falling out with longtime lawyer and consigliere Michael Cohen is just the latest in a series of spectacular feuds between the president and close confidants.

- The fixer -

On paper, Michael Cohen's job seemed straight forward: "personal attorney to President Donald J. Trump."

But over the course of 20 years, the former personal injury lawyer's role encompassed a much broader suite of services -- spokesman, cheerleader, foot soldier, enforcer, cleanup guy and -- sometimes -- attorney.

No one could talk up or back up Trump quite like Cohen, who once said Trump was less of a boss and more of a "patriarch" and "mentor."

Their relationship began to turn sour when Cohen was not offered a job in the administration, but collapsed completely when Cohen's legal difficulties were met with studied silence by the world's most powerful man.

Cohen had repeatedly got Trump out of scrapes, but Trump would clearly not return the favor.

So tapes of private conversations were leaked, revelations were made and then the tweets started flying.

"Sounds to me like someone is trying to make up stories in order to get himself out of an unrelated jam (Taxi cabs maybe?)," Trump said, apparently trying to compound Cohen's legal troubles.

- The strategist -

Steve Bannon fashioned a far-right and Republican coalition that delivered Trump to power

Aside from Trump himself, there was perhaps no one who did more to get the businessman elected than Steve Bannon -- fashioning a far-right and Republican coalition that delivered Trump to power.

At the White House, he was Trump's chief strategist, and first among equals when it came to senior aides.

Despite being blamed for the internal feuding and leaks that hobbled the administration in its early days, he left the White House on relatively good terms.

But his participation in Michael Wolff's gossipy and extremely damaging book "Fire and Fury" angered Trump.

The president dubbed him "Sloppy Steve," apparently for his militantly casual dress sense, and suggested he "cried when he got fired and begged for his job."

The pair have since reconciled somewhat.

- The senator -

When then-senator Jeff Sessions endorsed Trump for president in February 2016, it was a shot in the arm for his unlikely candidature

When then-senator Jeff Sessions endorsed Trump for president in February 2016, it was a shot in the arm for his unlikely candidature, conferring establishment legitimacy and boosting his primary chances in the conservative south.

The pair toured the country, campaigned and traded compliments, until Trump tapped him to become attorney general.

But when his friend vowed to recuse himself from any cases linked to the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, Trump exploded, stating that he never should have given him the job, berating him as "VERY weak" for not investigating Hillary Clinton. But he has not been fired, so far.

Yet like many who have feuded with Trump, including his own children, they often come back into the fold.

- The wife -

Years after a very messy divorce with Trump, his first wife Ivana claims that she still speaks with him as much as twice a week, and acts as a "secret adviser"

Trump's first marriage, to Ivana Zelnickova, did not end well.

It was sparked by Trump's affair with Marla Maples -- who became his second wife -- and played out publicly in excruciating detail.

The "billion-dollar blowup" as one tabloid put it, saw demands for property, leaked stories about child neglect, Maples boasting about how good sex was with Trump and rumors that the businessman disapproved of Ivana's breast implants.

Years on, Ivana claims that she still talks to Trump as much as twice a week, and acts as a "secret adviser."
Palestinian Ahed Tamimi (C), 16-year-old prominent campaigner against Israel's occupation, appears at a military court at the Israeli-run Ofer prison in the West Bank village of Betunia on December 28, 2017

A Palestinian teenager jailed by Israel for slapping and kicking Israeli soldiers in the occupied West Bank is to go free on Sunday after eight months behind bars.

Ahed Tamimi was arrested on December 19, days after she was recorded on video with her cousin Nour Tamimi in the yard of their home in Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah, telling two soldiers to leave, then shoving, kicking and slapping them.

She was aged 16 at the time and turned 17 in prison.

She was refused bail throughout her detention and subsequent trial in an Israeli military court on charges including assault, stone-throwing, incitement to violence and making threats.

On March 21 the court agreed a plea bargain giving her an eight-month sentence including time already spent in custody.

The same court hearing freed Nour Tamimi immediately, when she accepted a plea deal.

Ahed comes from a family of prominent activists and has been involved in a series of previous incidents, with pictures of her confronting soldiers widely published.

But the December video went viral and turned her into a symbol of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

For Palestinians she is a hero, jailed for standing up to soldiers occupying her land and intruding upon her family home.

To many Israelis she personifies how Palestinians encourage their children to hate and how they try to manipulate the media.

This week an Italian artist daubed a 14-foot image of her face and curly reddish hair on the Israeli separation wall in the occupied West Bank.

On Sunday she is expected to step back into the spotlight at a scheduled press conference at her home after her release.

- 'Terrorist to hero' -

When the video was originally published, many Israelis saw it as a symbol of the restraint displayed by their army.

As Ahed and Nour pummel the soldiers the two cousins simultaneously film the scene on their phones, apparently seeking to provoke them.

The soldiers do not react, however, backing away instead.

Italian artist Jorit Agoch paints a mural depicting jailed Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi on Israel's controversial separation barrier in the West Bank city of Bethlehem

Yet after the girls -- and Ahed's mother, who also recorded the incident -- were arrested and then hit with a list of charges, there was criticism even within Israel that military prosecutors were overreacting.

Critics compared her eight-month sentence to that of Elor Azaria, an Israeli soldier who served nine months in jail for shooting dead a prone Palestinian attacker.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas met with her family and hailed her courage.

With each court appearance, media attention grew and helped create a Palestinian icon.

"You cannot take a little terrorist girl and make her a hero, and this is what we did," Oren Hazan, an Israeli MP from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party, told AFP.

Yara Hawari, a Palestinian activist and friend of the Tamimi family, said the tough sentence helped build support.

"It was a symbolic image of a child confronting a heavily armed Israeli soldier at her home," she told AFP.

"The fact that what she did got her so long in prison is also something that drew a lot of attention."

- Wider cause -

The Tamimi case also highlighted other aspects of the Israeli military court system including its more than 99 percent conviction rate for Palestinians.

Omar Shakir, head of NGO Human Rights Watch in Israel, said her release on Sunday would be a moment to reflect on what he called the "endemic" ill-treatment of children in the Israeli legal system.

"Ahed Tamimi will soon be free, but hundreds of Palestinian children remain locked up with little attention on their cases," he said.

Many Israelis, however, still believe Tamimi poses a serious risk, accepting a military prosecutor's description of her as a threat to public security.

"The fact is that she is very dangerous," Hazan said, arguing that a slap one day can turn into a shooting or stabbing attack in the future.

"Most Israelis will tell you that they want to see her in jail for 20 years," he said.

How Tamimi will cope with her return to the public eye is unclear, but indications are she will be vocal.

Her father Bassem, who was not jailed in the incident, has been campaigning against Israel's military occupation of the West Bank for decades.

"I don't think any child can be totally ready to become a prominent symbol of the Palestinian struggle, but Ahed is a very strong child," Hawari said.

"We have seen from the interrogation videos, from how she behaves in court, that she is incredibly confident and resilient. So I think she will take this in her stride."
Time for a change? Nelson Chamisa hopes he can ride to victory on a wave of optimism after the Mugabe era

Nelson Chamisa, who turned 40 in February, is old enough by only a few months to be president of Zimbabwe under the constitutional minimum age limit.

But he hopes that his youth will be the force that propels him to election victory on Monday against all the odds.

Chamisa joined the opposition Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) as a student when it was founded in 1999.

He took over as party leader this year after a messy succession battle following the death of hardened veteran Morgan Tsvangirai.

Upbeat and energetic, Chamisa faces the task of unseating a ruling party that has held an iron grip on government since Zimbabwe became independent in 1980.

But Chamisa believes that the shock ousting of longtime ruler Robert Mugabe last November has reshaped national politics, giving him the chance of victory through the ballot box.

The lightly-built Chamisa, a lawyer and church pastor, experienced at first hand the dangers of opposing Mugabe and has been arrested several times for his political activities.

In 2007, he was severely beaten with truncheons and an iron bar and left for dead.

He spent five days in hospital after the attack, which was widely blamed on ruling ZANU-PF party thugs.

In a strange twist, Mugabe hinted Sunday he might vote for the MDC candidate as he rejected his former party.

"I can't vote for ZANU-PF... what is left? I think it is just Chamisa," said the 94-year-old ex-president.

- Fast-track rise -

Despite the risks, Chamisa has continued to challenge the regime and now faces Mugabe's successor President Emmerson Mnangagwa, 75, in a presidential race that has a total of 23 candidates.

Born in Masvingo, south of the capital Harare, Chamisa studied law and political science at the University of Zimbabwe and holds a degree in theology.

Profile of Nelson Chamisa, leading opposition candidate for Zimbabwe's presidential elections on Monday

He credits his career to his parents' insistence that he value education and excel in school.

As head of the Zimbabwe National Students Union in the late 1990s, Chamisa was among organisers of demonstrations against Mugabe's government that resulted in colleges and universities being shut down.

He rose through the MDC party ranks, holding posts including leader of the youth wing and party spokesman.

Over the years, he has earned a reputation for delivering passionate speeches spiced with humour -- a sharp contrast to the sombre Mnangagwa.

In the troubled power-sharing government after the 2008 election, he was the youngest member of cabinet, serving as information and communication technology minister.

Chamisa's mentor was MDC founder Tsvangirai, who died from cancer in February.

The party's internal rivalries sparked a damaging leadership battle that Chamisa has struggled to repair.

On the campaign trail, he led with conviction, speaking at scores of rallies and successfully keeping up his public profile by attacking the electoral authorities and ruling party.

- 'Connecting with young leadership' -

In an interview with AFP, Chamisa said he would ride a wave of youthful optimism to victory, emulating Barack Obama, Emmanuel Macron and Justin Trudeau.

"People are connecting with young leadership," Chamisa, who is married with one child, declared.

"Young people are taking charge, look at France, look at Canada... look at the United States," he said.

Chamisa has alleged the election is riddled with fraud but vowed not to boycott it, saying he will win and that his party will not resort to violence.

"We can't boycott our mandate, winners don't boycott," he said. "Victory is inevitable."
Millions of Zimbabweans tuned in to Mugabe's TV announcement on November 19 -- but he confounded expectations that he would step down

Robert Mugabe has not appeared in public since his once-impregnable regime came crashing down last November as Zimbabweans watched in amazement -- and often delight -- at the fall of the only leader the country had ever known.

So what has happened to the frail 94-year-old who dominated the country's daily life for nearly four decades?

- Last live TV appearance -

After the army briefly took power, Mugabe's exit became inevitable -- but the veteran autocrat dug his heels in with one last, defiant performance.

He appeared on live television on the evening of Sunday November 19, with the world tuning in, expecting his resignation.

Mugabe instead appeared unfazed, slowly reading his speech as he pledged to stay in office -- while the uniformed military generals who had taken power sat fidgeting by his side.

He acknowledged the army's "concerns" but claimed the military intervention did not challenge his authority.

He resigned two days later, by letter.

- Snapped in Singapore -

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On December 15, Mugabe was spotted for the first time since his fall when AFP photographed him at a hospital in Singapore on one of his regular medical visits.

Walking unaided despite his advanced age, Mugabe exited a lift at the Gleneagles Hospital surrounded by an entourage and stepped into a car.

A government spokesman said the trip was part of the retirement package covering overseas travel for former presidents.

Mugabe also returned to Singapore in June for further medical attention, according to Zimbabwe media, with prostate cancer, high blood pressure and eye cataract among his reported health problems.

- 'Blue Roof' birthday -

Mugabe and his wife Grace are thought to spend their days in seclusion at "Blue Roof" -- the sprawling luxury private residence he built in Harare's upmarket suburb of Borrowdale.

He celebrated his 94th birthday on February 21 -- a date that was marked when he was in power with grand ceremonies for thousands of guests and outpourings of praise from fawning loyalists.

This year, it was a private black-tie affair for close family only.

Photographs emerged afterwards of Mugabe wearing a bow tie and Grace in a red dress.

Military and police vehicles are occasionally seen on guard outside the gates of the "Blue Roof".

- Speaking out -

Mugabe has spoken out only once since his humiliating fall.

He described his ousting as a "coup d'etat" and dismissed the generals' claim that they intervened only to target enemies around him.

"We must undo this disgrace which we have imposed on ourselves... Zimbabwe doesn't deserve it," he said in press interviews on March 15, adding he did not want to return to power.

Wearing a light blue suit and appearing mentally sharp but forlorn, he expressed shock that his long-time ally Emmerson Mnangagwa had succeeded him.

"I never thought... he would be the man who turned against me," he said, adding he thought Zimbabwe was now "topsy-turvy".

Grace was on hand to host journalists at "Blue Roof", handing out homemade pizza to guests.

Her own presidential ambitions were widely seen as provoking the military to intervene and install Mnangagwa.

"All that is rubbish," Mugabe said, insisting it was never his plan for her to succeed.

- Election games? -

Changing times: Mugabe's portrait was once ubiquitous. But on Zimbabwe's Independence Day in April, it was the face of his successor, Emmerson Mnangagwa, which dominated

Mugabe appeared in a carefully-staged photograph in March standing next to Ambrose Mutinhiri, a close ally who walked out of the ZANU-PF ruling party.

Mutinhiri, who opposed Mugabe's removal, set up the splinter National Patriotic Front (NPF) party to stand in the election.

The photograph set off speculation that the party could be a plan for Mugabe to retain influence.

But it has made little impact during the campaign and Mugabe is now far removed from politics.

A member of his office declined to comment to AFP whether he would vote on Monday.
Here is an overview of the history of Zimbabwe as it goes to the polls Monday to elect a successor to ousted president Robert Mugabe.

- From Rhodesia to Zimbabwe -

Chronology of Zimbabwe since independence as the country prepares for monday's first post-Mugabe era presidential poll

As Southern Rhodesia, the British colony unilaterally declared independence in 1965 under prime minister Ian Smith.

Britain did not recognise the move, a bid to safeguard white minority rule.

Rhodesia was drawn into a war (1972-1979) between the minority regime and nationalist blacks that left 27,000 people dead.

Negotiations led to elections in 1980, won by the ZANU party of nationalist leader Robert Mugabe who became prime minister.

The country secured internationally recognised independence, taking the name Zimbabwe.

- Matabeleland massacres -

In 1982 Mugabe dismissed cabinet minister Joshua Nkomo, a brother-in-arms during the independence struggle but from the rival ZAPU party, after he was accused of plotting a coup.

There was armed resistance in Nkomo's stronghold of Matabeleland; the government responded with a crackdown in which at least 20,000 people were killed.

In 1987 Mugabe became president after the constitution was changed. Two years later his party merged with ZAPU to form the Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF).

- White farms seized -

Veterans of the independence war and squatters began in 2000 a violent campaign, backed by Mugabe, to seize white-owned farms, taking ownership without compensation.

More than 4,000 of 4,500 white farmers were stripped of their property, the officially stated goal being to reclaim land taken by the white colonialists.

The land seizures plunged Zimbabwe into a deep economic crisis.

- Opposition backs off -

Mugabe was re-elected president in a 2002 poll marred by violence and widely denounced as rigged. Western sanctions were imposed.

In 2008 the ZANU-PF was defeated in parliamentary elections by the Movement for Democratic Change (MDC), whose leader Morgan Tsvangirai won the first round of the presidential vote.

However Tsvangirai withdrew from the second round, citing violence and intimidation, and Mugabe won a new term. He was reelected in 2013.

The EU started normalising relations with Zimbabwe, lifting most of its sanctions.

- Wife promoted, rivals purged -

In 2014 Mugabe appointed his wife, Grace, to head the influential women's wing of the ZANU-PF, propelling her into the party's powerful politburo.

Aged in his 90s, Mugabe purged potential successors including vice president Joice Mujuru, who was replaced by justice minister Emmerson Mnangagwa.

In 2016 the MDC gathered more than 2,000 demonstrators in Harare in the biggest anti-Mugabe march for a decade.

On November 6, 2017 Mugabe also fired Mnangagwa, putting Grace in prime position to succeed him.

- Mugabe forced out -

After a military demand for a stop to the purges, army tanks took up positions in Harare overnight November 14-15 and Mugabe was put under house arrest.

Four days later the ZANU-PF sacked Mugabe as leader and expelled his wife.

On November 21 Mugabe bowed to pressure to quit, ending 37 years in power, with a process to impeach him under way.

- Mnangagwa sworn in -

Three days later Mnangagwa was sworn in as president, promising that elections due in 2018 would go ahead as planned.

Veteran opposition leader Tsvangirai died of cancer in February 2018, leaving the MDC party in tatters ahead of the vote.

In June Mnangagwa survived a blast at a ruling party election rally in the opposition stronghold city of Bulawayo. Two of his bodyguards were killed.

mang/jmy/br/bgs/har
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has framed the polls as a referendum on the government's 'jobs and growth' agenda

Australia's political leaders made last-gasp bids to sway voters Saturday as polls opened in five by-elections that could see the conservative government boost its wafer-thin parliamentary majority.

The seats are being contested following a string of forced resignations in the opposition Labor party after the High Court reaffirmed an obscure provision in the 1901 constitution that bars dual citizens from elected office.

Picking up just one of them will double Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's parliamentary majority to two.

The outcome is also being seen as a barometer on Turnbull's re-election prospects and whether opposition Labor leader Bill Shorten should potentially be replaced ahead of national polls due by May next year.

Half a million people are eligible to vote.

Two of the five seats are considered Labor strongholds while another looks likely to remain with the independent Centre Alliance.

The others -- Longman in Queensland state and Braddon in Tasmania state -- are too close to call, although an opinion poll in Saturday's The Australian newspaper suggested Labor could cling on.

Should Turnbull's Liberal coalition win a seat, it would be the first time a government has clinched one from the opposition at a by-election in 98 years.

Turnbull has framed the polls as a referendum on the government's "jobs and growth" agenda while Labor is campaigning on better health funding.

"All of our candidates are standing for stronger economic growth, lower taxes, more jobs, higher wages, guaranteed funding for essential services that comes from a stronger economy," Turnbull said during a final pitch in Braddon.

"Labor is a threat to all of that."

"We're saying to Australians voting today; don't put your essential services at risk. Don't put your jobs at risk. Don't put stronger economic growth at risk."

While the government continues to trail Labor in opinion polls, the deficit has been narrowing and Shorten's personal popularity has been waning.

"I accept that when these campaigns started, Labor was the underdog in both Braddon and Longman. But Labor never gives up," said Shorten, also campaigning in Braddon.

"The critical question to ask yourself when you cast your vote in these by-elections, is whether or not you want more of the same? Or do you want to see this government do better?

"Do you want to see better for our hospitals and schools? Better for our wages? Or do you just want to see more tax cuts for the top end of town?"
A passenger jet believed to be operated by the Turkish Air Force was grounded at the airport in Ulaanbaatar after a suspected kidnap attempt

A Turkish teacher targeted in a suspected kidnap attempt thwarted by Mongolian authorities Saturday thanked his supporters as he left hospital after a checkup following his ordeal.

When asked who had attempted to abduct him, Veysel Akcay simply said "I don't know."

The drama unfolded Friday as Mongolian authorities grounded a suspected Turkish air force jet after witnesses said assailants snatched a Turkish man associated with a religious group Ankara has branded as terrorists.

In recent weeks, Turkey's intelligence agency has conducted operations abroad against associates of US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen -- who Ankara says was behind a 2016 failed coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

As many as five men grabbed Akcay from outside his home in Mongolia's capital Ulaanbaatar Friday morning and threw him into a minibus, according to friends and eyewitnesses.

The 50-year-old is director of a school in Mongolia that is alleged to be associated with Gulen, although teachers there denied the connection in response to questions by AFP.

When he failed to show up for work, concerned family and friends notified the police.

Meanwhile, Akcay's abductors had taken him to Genghis Khan international airport, where a small passenger jet landed around 1:00 pm (0500 GMT).

The plane -- with call sign TT4010 -- is operated by the Turkish Airforce, according to data on flight tracking site flightradar24.com.

It was the beginning of a more than eight-hour standoff between the captors and Mongolian authorities, who refused to allow the plane to leave the runway.

As authorities summoned Turkish officials from their embassy in Mongolia, parliamentarians and hundreds of protestors clutching signs demanding Akcay's release gathered at the airport.

As the standoff dragged on, Mongolian vice foreign minister Battsetseg Batmunkh warned Turkish embassy officials that any attempt to abduct a person from Mongolia's territory would constitute "a serious violation of Mongolia's independence and sovereignty".

Students hold up banners in support of their teacher, Turkish school director Veysel Akcay, at the airport in Ulaanbaatar

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu denied the accusations during a telephone call to his Mongolian counterpart Tsogtbaatar Damdin, according to the Mongolian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

But officials were not convinced: "We are an independent nation. Do you think anyone can do abductions in our country?" parliamentarian Baasankhuu Oktaybri wrote on Twitter.

The plane took off at 9:25 pm Friday without Akcay, who was taken for questioning by police and later sent to a hospital for medical checks.

"I thank you all," he told his supporters as he left hospital.

- Ankara's relentless hunt -

Sandwiched between China and Russia, Mongolia was once described by former US Secretary of State John Kerry as an "oasis of democracy".

However the incident "might turn into a full diplomatic crisis between Mongolia and Turkey, a relationship that has been active and vibrant for some years," said Julian Dierkes, an expert on Mongolian politics at the University of British Columbia.

The Turkish aid agency "has undertaken many projects in Mongolia, many Mongolian students have studied at Turkish universities", a relationship that could be "damaged," he said.

Since the failed coup in July 2016, Turkey has been relentlessly tracking down those it suspects of being supporters of Gulen, who denies being behind the attempted overthrow of Erdogan.

Gulen's movement built up significant influence in Turkey and overseas, particularly in Central Asia, Africa and the Balkans, especially via its education network.

Ankara has outlawed the movement as a terror organisation but followers insist they promote peace and moderate Islam.

Turkey has carried out a series of overseas operations against suspected members of the movement in places such as Kosovo, Gabon and more recently Ukraine.

Last week a Turkish blogger accused of links to Gulen was deported from Ukraine as part of an operation by MIT while another individual was detained in Azerbaijan recently and sent back to Turkey.

In Turkey more than 77,000 people were arrested over alleged links to the movement during a two-year state of emergency imposed after the coup bid in a crackdown criticised by Ankara's Western allies.
Smoke rises as Afghan security forces arrive at the scene of the attack in Jalalabad

An hours-long militant attack on a midwife training centre in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday killed at least two people and wounded five, police said, as the latest assault in the country was brought to an end by security forces.

Nearly 70 people, including students and teachers, were inside the centre in Jalalabad, the capital of Nangarhar province, at the time of the attack.

Nangarhar police chief Ghulam Sanyee Stanikzai told AFP two people -- a guard and a driver -- were killed and five others wounded.

Provincial governor spokesman Attaullah Khogyani put the casualty toll slightly higher at three dead and eight wounded. Afghan officials often give conflicting tolls in the aftermath of an attack.

Some of the people inside the centre escaped while others were taken hostage by the gunmen.

"They were freed by the police during the operation," Stanikzai said.

One attacker was wearing a suicide vest and blew himself up, while the other was killed by security forces, Khogyani said.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest attack, but most of the recent assaults in the city have been carried out by the Islamic State group, which has a stronghold in Nangarhar.

The Taliban denied involvement in a WhatsApp message sent to reporters.

Provincial health department spokesman Inamullah Miakhil said 48 women from remote districts of the province were enrolled in the two-year midwifery course.

The training facility, which is near the centre of Jalalabad in an area where several international organisations and consulates have offices, is funded by the Ministry of Public Health.

"We don't know why the midwife centre came under attack," Miakhil told AFP, adding all NGOs and government bodies in Jalalabad were at risk.

A witness in a nearby department told AFP he heard several explosions and then saw three gunmen enter the street where the midwife centre is located.

Some of the security forces earlier appeared to dismantle improvised explosive devices apparently planted in the street by the militants, a witness told AFP.

Jalalabad has been the scene of several attacks in recent months that have killed dozens, as US and Afghan forces continue offensive operations against IS and Taliban militants.

- Health workers a target -

Government buildings are a common target for insurgents, including hospitals and medical facilities.

It is not known why the gunmen targeted the midwife training centre. Midwives have been attacked in the past for providing reproductive health services to women, though such attacks appear to be rare.

Islamist groups -- and many ordinary Afghans -- also oppose women working outside the home.

While thousands of women have been trained as midwives since the 2001 US-led invasion, Afghanistan still has one of the highest maternal and child mortality rates in the world.

The last major attack in Jalalabad happened on July 11 when gunmen raided an education department compound in the city, sparking an hours-long battle with security forces.

At least 11 people were killed in the attack. All were employees of the education department branch and included the director.

A suicide bomb attack claimed by IS on a crowd of Afghan Sikhs and Hindus in Jalalabad on July 1 killed at least 19 people and wounded 21.

The Taliban is Afghanistan's largest militant group and IS has a relatively small but potent presence, mainly in the east and north of the country.

It first emerged in Afghanistan in 2014 and quickly established a stronghold in Nangarhar.

Intensified aerial and ground operations against the militants have failed to dislodge them.

An unprecedented three-day ceasefire involving Afghan security forces and the Taliban last month did not include IS.

The first formal nationwide truce since 2001 was marred by two IS suicide attacks in Nangarhar.

While the Afghan government and its foreign backers are seeking to strike a peace deal with the Taliban, US forces have repeatedly said they plan to annihilate IS.
Fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces, trained by the US-led coalition, take part in a graduation ceremony in the suburbs of the eastern city of Deir Ezzor, on May 21, 2018

A US-backed Kurdish-led alliance said on Saturday that it is seeking a roadmap for a decentralised Syria in talks with the government which opened in Damascus this week.

The Syrian Democratic Forces alliance, which controls a swathe of the north and northeast, said it had agreed with the government to form joint committees to discuss the major issues after a first round of talks on Thursday and Friday.

The SDF's political arm, the Syrian Democratic Council, said the aim was to "clear the way for a broader and more comprehensive dialogue" and forge a "roadmap leading to a democratic and decentralised Syria".

Sihanouk Dibo, an adviser to the main Kurdish faction, the leftist Democratic Union Party (PYD), said he expected the negotiations to be tough.

"It is still very early to talk of an agreement but we are working on it," he said.

"The negotiations will be long and arduous because the Damascus regime is very centralised."

Before civil war erupted in 2011, Syria had a highly centralised form of government which provided no constitutional recognition for the rights of the Kurds and other minorities.

But after government forces pulled out of Kurdish-majority areas in 2012, the Kurds seized the opportunity to set up their own administrations and implement longstanding demands such as Kurdish-language education.

The SDF formalised the new administrative arrangements in 2016 with the creation of autonomous cantons in areas under its control that it regards as a model for a federal system nationwide.

The Damascus government has opposed the scope of the self-rule sought by the Kurds but late last year Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said a "form of autonomy" was "negotiable".

In late May, President Bashar al-Assad said the government was prepared to open talks with the SDF but stressed that it remained ready to use force if necessary to ensure the return of government troops and state institutions to SDF-held areas.

The SDF did not give a date for any new round of talks.

Between them, Assad's Russian-backed government and the US-backed SDF control around 90 percent of Syrian territory following major defeats for the rebels as well as the Islamic State group over the past two years.

An umbrella group representing most of the rebels has said it wants to hold talks with the government on reform demands of its own.

But its bargaining power has been greatly reduced by its loss of territory in recent months.
Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth announced his minister for gender equality has resigned after an inquiry on the Indian Ocean island linked politicians, police and lawyers to drug traffickers

The minister for gender equality in Mauritius has stepped down, the prime minister announced, after an inquiry on the Indian Ocean island linked politicians, police, lawyers and prison guards to drug traffickers.

The findings of the commission of inquiry released Friday accused the minister, Roubina Jadoo-Jaunbocus, a lawyer, of meeting jailed drug traffickers who were not her clients.

She was also alleged to have been complicit in money laundering and arranging a money transfer to a drug trafficker.

With deputy speaker in the national assembly Sanjeev Teeluckdharry also resigning after being implicated in the scandal, the commission called for further in-depth investigations to take place.

Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth told a press conference on Friday that the minister and the deputy speaker both disputed the findings and would take legal action over the allegations.

"Roubina Jadoo-Jaunbocus will have the chance to return to her ministerial position if she can clear her name in court," the prime minister said.

In the meantime her portfolio has been handed to deputy prime minister Fazila Jeewa-Daureeawoo.

Chaired by former judge Paul Lam Shang Leen, the commission into drug trafficking opened inquiries on November 15, 2015, and questioned more than 300 people.
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen meeting with foreign election observers on Saturday

A mishmash of populist and far-right party members from Europe and Asia are serving as election observers in Cambodia's controversial vote Sunday while many western governments are keeping their distance after the main opposition was outlawed.

With mainly obscure groups on the ballot the ruling Cambodian People's Party is all but assured of victory, extending prime minister Hun Sen's 33 years in power and solidifying the drift towards a virtual one-party state.

Hun Sen backed a crackdown on the his political opponents last year. Authorities charged one of its leaders with treason while the Supreme Court ordered the dissolution of the main opposition party.

The US and EU have declined to send assistance or monitors.

But officials have drawn on participation from observers with ties to the UK Independence Party, Italy's Fratelli d'Italia, a pro-government party in authoritarian Belarus and India's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, among others.

"We're here for the people, to do this for the people," said Richard Wood, who stood for parliament in 2015 for UKIP.

He dismissed questions about whether their presence might legitimise a poll tainted by the lack of choice for those who supported the opposition.

"It's not my position to say who's who and what's what," he said. "I'm here for one reason only, to make sure that I observe."

The National Election Committee says there are 538 international observers, adding to tens of thousands of domestic monitors, many with links to the ruling party.

A group of 23 election monitoring groups denounced the lack of independent observers in a statement Saturday.

They cited the withdrawal of two prominent local organisations and the participation of some foreign observers in other elections that lacked transparency including in Kazakhstan, Zimbabwe, and Venezuela.

Some observers interviewed by AFP painted a positive picture of the political situation in Cambodia, with little mention of the banned opposition.

"All we see is people dancing on the streets of Cambodia," said Vijay Jolly, a member of India's ruling BJP, on Friday morning on the last day of campaigning.

"I don't think that anyone has to cast aspersions on the decisions of the Cambodian people."

Luca Romagnoli, a member of the populist right-wing Fratelli d'Italia and a former MP in the European Parliament, said he was observing in a "casual" way and not as a representative of his party.

"We were in Azerbaijan a few months ago," he said, referring to an observer mission to that country's election in April, which was also criticised as unfair.

Opposition leaders from the now-banned Cambodia National Rescue Party have called for a boycott of the Sunday vote but election authorities have said urging others to not show up is tantamount to a crime.
A soldier on guard on Lake Albert where Uganda has jailed 35 DRC nationals for up to three years for illegal fishing

Uganda said Saturday it had sentenced 35 people from neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo for up to three years for illegal fishing.

"We got 35 Congolese nationals. Thirty-one of them pleaded guilty and were convicted and sentenced to two years in prison for illegal fishing and entry into Uganda in June," said Deogratius Kato, a fisheries protection officer on Lake Albert, which is divided between the two countries.

"The same court in Kasese (in the west) sentenced and convicted four other Congolese nationals to three years for illegal fishing and entry into Uganda," Kato told AFP.

"We don't discourage our brothers and sisters from DRC to come to Uganda or fish on our waters but they should follow proper procedures" he added.

He said the 35 convicted were found with 26 boats, engines and illegal fishing nets.

Lake Albert, together with Lake Edward to the south, is about 160 kilometres (100 miles) long and an important fishery for local people.

Uganda prisons spokesman Frank Baine said there had been similar cases previously and the numbers had risen sharply "since the deployment of the army (in early 2017) to protect fisheries."

He blamed the influx of illegal fishermen on inadequate patrols on the DR Congo side of the border.

The DRC and Uganda have had sometimes tense relations and repeated clashes between locals and DRC fishermen are part of a wider series of disputes.
The Carr Fire burned properties including these near the Lake Keswick Estates area in Redding, California

The US federal government approved aid Saturday for California as thousands of firefighters battled to contain a series of deadly raging wildfires that have killed six people, including two young children and their great grandmother, and destroyed hundreds of buildings.

The largest of the fires menacing the state has nearly doubled in size, while another pushed thousands of people to flee and a third forced the partial closure of the popular Yosemite National Park.

A huge column of smoke rotated rapidly above the massive Carr Fire with such strength it looked like a tornado in a fire whirl sometimes dubbed a "firenado."

Melody Bledsoe, 70, and her two great-grandchildren James and Emily Roberts -- aged just five and four respectively -- died as the fire consumed their rural trailer home. The blaze also killed two fire workers, Cal Fire said.

Another firefighter died in the Ferguson Fire.

In declaring an emergency in California, President Donald Trump "ordered federal assistance to supplement state, tribal and local response efforts due to the emergency conditions resulting from a wildfire beginning on July 23," the White House said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency "is authorized to identify, mobilize and provide at its discretion, equipment and resources necessary to alleviate the impacts of the emergency," it said.

The Carr Fire in northern California -- which began on July 23 -- has consumed 80,906 acres (32,749 hectares), up from 48,312 on Friday, according to Cal Fire, the state's Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

"Winds, high temperatures and dry vegetation still have the potential to fuel fire growth. Fire spread has been active in all directions and has made significant runs," Cal Fire said.

Governor Jerry Brown on Friday asked for federal assistance "to save lives and to protect property," his office said in a statement.

- Thousands evacuated -

A large cloud of smoke explodes outward during the Carr fire near Redding, California

He asked for help, including military aircraft, shelter supplies and water for 30,000 evacuated residents in Shasta County, in north-central California, where the Carr Fire has grown "uncontrollably," the statement said.

Brown declared a state of emergency in Shasta and ordered National Guard forces to assist the 3,400 fire personnel already trying to contain the Carr Fire, which has destroyed 500 structures.

More than 1,300 firefighters are battling the fast-moving Cranston Fire, which began on Wednesday and forced the evacuation of about 7,000 people, the US Forest Service said.

It added that the hazards created by Cranston and another fire have caused the temporary closure of all US Forest Service lands within the Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument.

A 32-year-old man has been arrested and charged with 15 arson counts, including for the Cranston Fire.

The Ferguson Fire has encroached upon the Yosemite National Park in central California, forcing the partial closure of the popular attraction.

"Firefighters worked through the night extending and strengthening containment lines, while also monitoring a small fire that jumped a line Friday afternoon," according to InciWeb, the Forestry Service's incident information website.

Last year was the worst on record for wildfire devastation in California, with more than 40 deaths and around 9,000 structures destroyed, following fires that ravaged the Napa and Sonoma wine regions.
US Cardinal Theodore McCarrick was removed from ministry in June after a review board found there was "credible" evidence that he had assaulted the teen in the early 1970s

Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of a prominent US cardinal who is accused of sexually abusing a teenager nearly five decades ago, the Vatican said Saturday.

Theodore McCarrick, the former archbishop of Washington, was removed from the ministry in June after a review board found there was "credible" evidence that he had assaulted the teen while working as a priest in New York in the early 1970s.

"Yesterday evening the Holy Father received the letter in which Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, Archbishop Emeritus of Washington (U.S.A.), presented his resignation as a member of the College of Cardinals," the Vatican said in a statement Saturday.

"Pope Francis accepted his resignation from the cardinalate and has ordered his suspension from the exercise of any public ministry, together with the obligation to remain in a house yet to be indicated to him, for a life of prayer and penance until the accusations made against him are examined in a regular canonical trial."

McCarrick, 88, has been one of the most prominent American cardinals active on the international stage and the charges make him one of the most high-profile Catholic leaders to face abuse claims.

Although he has officially retired, McCarrick has continued to travel abroad regularly, including on human rights issues.

McCarrick was ordained a priest in 1958 and rose through the ranks in the Archdiocese of New York before being installed as archbishop of Washington in 2001, a post he held until 2006.

The claims against him were made public in June by Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the current archbishop of New York.

Dolan said an independent forensic agency "thoroughly investigated" the allegation.

A review board that included jurists, law enforcement experts, parents, psychologists, a priest and a religious sister then "found the allegations credible and substantiated" and the Vatican ordered McCarrick to stop exercising his priestly ministry.

At the time, McCarrick released a statement maintaining his innocence but added that he "fully cooperated" in the investigation.

Senior US church officials said they had received three allegations of McCarrick's sexual misconduct with adults decades ago, two of which resulted in settlements.

The US Catholic website Crux quoted a man as accusing him of abusing him in New York's St Patrick's Cathedral when he was a 16-year-old in the 1970s.

- A first since 1927 -

McCarrick remains a priest pending the Vatican investigative process which could see him excluded from the Church.

Yet the loss of his status as cardinal is in itself the rarest of moves. The only previous such case came in 1927, when Pope Pius XI accepted the resignation of French cardinal Lois Billot, who had himself renounced his status for political reasons.

In March 2015, Pope Francis formally accepted the resignation of Keith O'Brien, but allowed him to keep the title of cardinal after the former Bishop of Edinburgh and former leader of the Roman Catholic church in Scotland resigned two years over allegations of inappropriate sexual behaviour towards priests in the 1980s.

Cardinals act as close papal advisors and can attend conclaves to elect new pontiffs if they are aged below 80.

Other cardinals caught up in scandal include Australia's top Catholic George Pell, number three in the Vatican. Pell faces prosecution in Australia for historical child sexual offences. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The Archbishop of Santiago, Cardinal Ricardo Ezzati, was meanwhile summoned by the regional prosecutor's office at Rancagua, central Chile, to respond on August 21 to accusations of being involved in covering up sexual abuse by Chilean priests, 14 of whom were defrocked in May.
Typhoon Jongdari slammed into central Japan in the early hours of Sunday morning

A powerful typhoon slammed into central Japan early Sunday, prompting local authorities to issue evacuation orders, with western areas recently devastated by floods and landslides in the storm's crosshairs.

Typhoon Jongdari, packing winds of up to 180 kilometres (110 miles) an hour, made landfall in Ise in Mie prefecture at around 1:00 am (1600 GMT Saturday), according to the nation's public broadcaster NHK.

The storm, which had already dumped torrential rain over eastern Japan, was moving west maintaining its strength, Japan's Meteorological Agency said.

TV footage showed high waves smashing onto rocks and seawalls on the coastline in Shimoda, southwest of Tokyo, and trees buffeted by strong winds and heavy rain.

One man was reportedly missing in Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo, after several vehicles, including an ambulance, became stuck on a wave-battered ocean road.

Typhoon Jongdari

The storm is expected to barrel towards the western Chugoku region later on Sunday, where record rainfall earlier this month unleashed flooding and landslides, killing around 220 people and leaving more than 4,000 survivors still living in temporary shelters.

The weather agency warned of heavy rain, landslides, strong winds and high waves, and urged people to consider early evacuation.

"We want people especially in the downpour-hit regions to pay close attention to evacuation advisories," meteorological agency official Minako Sakurai told reporters.

The western city of Shobara in Hiroshima prefecture issued an evacuation order to some 36,400 residents, including 991 who urgently needed to move to shelters, officials said.

- 'Seriously worried' -

TV footage showed workers and residents hurriedly piling up sand bags to build temporary barriers against potential floods.

"We strongly urge residents to take action before the typhoon hits the region," Masaharu Kataoka, a city official, told AFP.

More evacuation orders and advisories were issued in western Japan, including Kure in Hiroshima prefecture, where some 6,380 residents were urged to evacuate, news reports said.

In Japan, evacuation orders are not mandatory and people often remain at home, and are later trapped by rapidly rising water or sudden landslides.

"It's going to deal a double punch," a resident in Okayama told public broadcaster NHK, referring to the recent killer downpours and the incoming typhoon.

"We are seriously worried," he said.

More than 410 domestic flights have been cancelled so far because of Typhoon Jongdari, while ferry services connecting Tokyo with nearby islands were also cancelled due to high waves, news reports said.

The flooding in the Chugoku region was Japan's worst weather-related disaster in decades, and many residents of affected areas are still living in shelters or damaged homes.

"We are fully ready 24 hours a day to evacuate residents," Tadahiko Mizushima, an official of Okayama prefecture in Chugoku, told AFP.

"We are paying special attention to the areas where restoration of river banks is under way as it would be the first heavy rain since the disaster."

Officials are particularly cautious after the deadly downpours because many people did not heed evacuation orders and became trapped. Some critics said the orders were issued too late.

"We are afraid that people may not be able to evacuate due to strong wind or floods blocking evacuation routes," Hiroshima governor Hidehiko Yuzaki told reporters.

"I would like people to evacuate in advance so that they can save their lives," Yuzaki said.

Japan is now in typhoon season, and is regularly struck by major storm systems during the summer and autumn.
Protesters in Tel Aviv rally against the controversial legislation on July 14, 2018, before the bill was passed by lawmakers

An Israeli Arab lawmaker resigned on Saturday and branded the parliament "racist" after it passed a controversial new law which declares Israel the nation state of the Jewish people.

The new legislation speaks of Israel as the historic homeland of the Jews and says they have a "unique" right to self-determination there. It also revokes the longstanding status of Arabic as an official language alongside Hebrew.

Zouheir Bahloul, of the opposition Zionist Union party, said he could not face telling his grandson that he remained part of the same chamber which passed the law.

"I am resigning from the Knesset," he said on Reshet TV, in reference to Israel's parliament.

"The nation state law officially, constitutionally, removes the Arab population from the path of equality in Israel," he said in Hebrew.

"Should I sit on the fence? Should I give legitimacy to this destructive, racist, extremist parliament?"

Bahloul said that his resignation would officially take effect when parliament returns from its summer recess in September, but he pledged not to reconsider in the meantime.

"I faithfully promise that I shall not go back," he said.

After the law was approved earlier this month Arab members of parliament branded the legislation "racist" and ripped up copies of the bill in the Knesset chamber.

Arab citizens make up some 17.5 percent of Israel's more than eight million population.

The law makes no mention of equality and Israel's democratic character, implying the country's Jewish identity takes precedence.

Leaders of Israel's 130,000-strong Druze Arab community, which unlike Muslims and Christians is subject to the military draft, has filed a challenge to the law with the country's Supreme Court.

On Friday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held talks with Israeli Druze spiritual leader Sheikh Muafak Tarif and a retired Druze general.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu made no commitment and said that he would continue to hold consultations," the premier's office said in a statement.

Also present at the meeting was Communications Minister Ayoob Kara, a member of Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party.

He voted in favour of the law and has since reportedly received death threats.
US Open champion Ariya Jutanugarn of Thailand shares the lead going into the final round of The Scottish Open with windy conditions set to continue

Thailand's Ariya Jutanugarn and South Korea's Amy Yang go into the final round of the Scottish Open with a one-stroke lead after overnight leader Tiffany Joh shot a nightmare nine- over-par 80 on Saturday.

Joh, who has never won on the LPGA Tour, had the misfortune along with the others who were close to the top after two rounds to go out in increasingly bad weather with gusts of wind as strong as 35 miles per hour.

It looked promising initially for 31-year-old Joh as she extended her overnight lead from three shots to four with a birdie on the second but from there on the American endured a traumatic stretch of dropping seven shots in six holes.

None of the top five were able to break par, Yang and US Open champion Ariya shooting two-over rounds of 73. They are eight-under for the tournament and hold a one-shot advantage over Australian Minjee Lee, who posted an even par 71.

Yang at least kept her game together unlike her playing partner, the unfortunate Joh, whilst Ariya holed a rare eagle on the 16th to move into the joint lead with the Korean.

"When the wind started to blow today I said, 'here is the Scottish Open.' Here is the real one now," said Ariya.

"I really just want to have fun and I have so much fun today. I hit everywhere today," added Ariya, who along with her rivals will face similar conditions on Sunday according to the forecast.

Yang made good on dropping a shot at the 17th with a birdie on the final hole to close out what was a satisfactory round on her 29th birthday.

"I totally forgot it was just my birthday," said Yang.

"I just focused how I'm going to play, but you know, a lot of people wished me a happy birthday today."

Hot on their trail a shot further back are a duo of Yang's compatriots, two-time major winner Ryu So-yeon and Haeji Kang.

The best round of the day belonged to Australian Sarah Kemp, who went out in the milder conditions in the morning and shot a 67 which places her tied for 10th and five shots off the pace.
Opposition supporters demonstrate against the referendum in the streets of Moroni, the Comoran capital

Voters in the Comoros go to the polls on Monday for a politically explosive referendum overshadowed by a clampdown and an attempted assassination just days before the vote.

Burdened by a long history of turbulence, the Indian Ocean archipelago is being asked to vote on changes to the constitution put forward by President Azali Assoumani.

But the plan has run into fierce protests with Assoumani opponents charging it is a ploy for him to retain power beyond 2021, when his currently non-renewable single term would otherwise end.

Opposition lawmakers on Saturday demanded an "unconditional halt without delay to the arbitrary and illegal process" of the referendum.

Ahmed el-Barwane, secretary general of the opposition Juwa party, called for a boycott and accused the president of wanting to "craft a constitution which is tailor made for him to do as he pleases".

But Interior Minister Mohamed Daoudou dismissed the opposition's concerns: "We shall not allow disorder to take root in the country."

Daoudou warned that "those people (who urged a halt to the process) will have to explain themselves -- their punishment will fit their acts".

Under the current constitution adopted in 2001, power rotates every five years between the country's three main islands as a means of balancing power in the coup-prone country.

If the government wins the referendum, this arrangement would be scrapped and replaced by a president who would be elected for a five-year tenure, renewable for one term.

Assoumani would also gain the power to scrap the country's three vice-presidencies, another checks-and-balances feature of the present constitution.

In addition, a constitutional clause on secularism would be scrapped and replaced by text saying "Islam is the religion of state" and "the state draws from this religion the principles and rules of Sunnite observance".

Ninety-nine percent of the Comoran population are Sunni Muslim.

Opposition parties see the referendum as illegal and the process as murky.

"When the law is trampled on, you cannot organise a credible vote... we cannot take part in an election or any kind of referendum which has been branded by illegality," el-Barwane had earlier warned.

In June, one of the country's trio of vice presidents, Ahmed Said Jaffar, urged Comorans to "reject the dangerous abuse" of power. He was later stripped of all but one of his ministerial portfolios.

- Early elections? -

If Assoumani wins the referendum, he is expected to stage early elections next year to try to extend his term in office. If he loses, he will step down, according to his spokesman, Mohamed Ismailla.

A group of three islands between Mozambique and Madagascar and one of the world's poorest countries, the Comoros has endured coups and political turmoil, including intervention by mercenaries, ever since it gained independence from France in 1975.

Azali, a former colonel, has been in power three times -- critics say he wants to extend his time in office by reworking the constitution

Assoumani, a 59-year-old former colonel, was president between 1999 and 2002, coming to power after ousting acting president Tadjidine Ben Said Massonde in a military coup.

He won the country's first multi-party elections in 2002, stepping down in 2006 to hand over power democratically to Ahmed Abdallah Sambi.

In May 2016, he returned again as president after an election marred by violence and allegations of voting irregularities.

- Clampdown -

In April this year, Assoumani suspended the Constitutional Court -- his spokesman said the institution had become "useless, superfluous and incompetent" as the eight-seat panel only had three judges and thus could not constitute a quorum.

The following month, former president Sambi -- reputed to be close to Shiite Muslim Iran -- was placed under house arrest shortly after returning from a six-month absence abroad, and Assoumani outlawed demonstrations.

Last Sunday, one of the vice presidents, Moustoidrane Abdou, who holds the portfolios of production and energy, escaped an assassination attempt.

He was travelling to his home village of Sima in the west of Anjouan island when assailants on a motorcycle raked his car with automatic gunfire near the island's biggest town of Mutsamudu.

The three main islands of the Comoros -- Grande-Comore, the largest, and from which Azali hails, Anjouan and Moheli -- have a population of around 800,000 people. A fourth island in the group, Mayotte, remains part of France.
Dozens of Democratic legislators are demanding that the Trump administration explain why it agreed to let people download plans to make guns at home, a decision that has angered gun control advocates across the country

Dozens of US legislators are demanding that the Trump administration explain a recent agreement to allow the free distribution of plans for using 3D printers to make plastic handguns that will be easy to hide and almost impossible to control.

After a lengthy legal battle, the government reached agreement last month with Cody Wilson, a militant gun rights advocate from Texas. He successfully argued that the US Constitution's Second

Amendment, which guarantees the right to private gun ownership, should extend to a person's right to make guns at home -- uncontrolled by authorities, since they will bear no serial number.

Dozens of Democrats in both the US House of Representatives and the Senate have decried the settlement and are demanding an explanation from the President Donald Trump's administration, which has been extremely supportive of gun-owners' rights.

The agreement between the State Department, which controls the exportation of American arms, and Wilson's Defense Distributed (DD) group was reached on June 29.

But it remained secret until last week, after groups advocating for stronger gun controls demanded its publication.

The consent agreement "permits any United States person, to include DD's customers and SAF's members, to access, discuss, reproduce or otherwise benefit from the technical data that is the subject of the action."

The SAF is the Second Amendment Foundation, which supported Wilson's suit and has called the settlement a "devastating blow to the gun prohibition lobby."

Wilson is due to receive $40,000 in damages and interest.

The DD website invites anyone interested to download the program to make so-called "ghost guns" starting August 1, when "the age of the downloadable gun formally begins."

That means anyone with a 3D printer -- which costs around $2,000 and can be programmed to build objects of almost any shape -- will be able starting next week to make plastic-bodied guns at home for just a few hundred dollars each.

Security experts fear that the guns may be able to evade detection by the metal detectors used in many public buildings and airports. But gun enthusiasts say that without some metal parts, the guns will be unreliable -- and might even explode in a user's face.

- 'Felons and terrorists' -

The settlement offers no justification for the decision in Wilson's favor. Similar software programs have become available in other countries, notably Britain, China and Japan.

But five US senators, all Democrats, have denounced the agreement as "stunning" and "puzzling," and have demanded, in an open letter, that the government provide a written explanation of its thinking.

"The settlement will allow these tutorials to be posted online for unlimited distribution to anyone -- including felons and terrorists -- both here in the United States and abroad," the senators wrote.

Forty-two Democratic members of the House of Representatives shared their own concerns, writing that the administration's decision would only worsen the "epidemic of armed violence" in the US.

"So-called 'ghost guns' do not bear a manufacturer's serial number and may be constructed using plastic materials that are impossible to screen at security checkpoints using metal detectors," they wrote.

"We shouldn't have to wait for someone to kill someone in a House office building after sneaking past security with a plastic 3D printed gun to do something to stop this."
Tunisian Prime Minister Youssef Chahed said his country would take in 40 migrants "for humanitarian reasons"

Tunisia on Saturday said it would take in 40 migrants, including two pregnant women, rescued by a commercial vessel.

The ship, the "Sarost 5" a Tunisian flagged supply boat, has been blocked for two weeks from docking off Zarzis in southern Tunisia.

"For humanitarian reasons, we will accept the 40 migrants," Prime Minister Youssef Chahed said in parliament.

The African migrants, five of whom are women, set off from Libya and were lost at sea for five days before being spotted.

"Despite this delay in making this decision we are happy and relieved," the captain of the Sarost 5, Ali Hajji, told AFP.
Cambodian National Election Committee workers carry election material in Phnom Penh in the run-up to polling day

Cambodians are heading to the polls Sunday in an election that will be easily won by strongman Hun Sen's ruling party after the main opposition was dissolved to global condemnation.

More than eight million voters are registered to cast a ballot in the sixth general election since the United Nations first sponsored hopeful polls in 1993.

Then the Southeast Asian country was emerging from decades of civil war and destruction wrought by the ultra-Maoist Khmer Rouge, whose dreams of an agrarian utopia led to the deaths of a quarter of the population from 1975 to 1979.

Prime minister Hun Sen was a former member but defected and was installed as leader during the Vietnamese occupation of the 1980s.

His Cambodian People's Party (CPP) has won every election since 1998 and the 65-year-old strongman has been in power for 33 years, trumpeting his stable reign and warning of a return to war without it.

But dissatisfaction with corruption and a growing youth population with no memory of the Khmer Rouge helped the Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) win more than 44 percent of the 2013 vote and carve out a similar share in local elections last year.

Cambodia's Prime Minister Hun Sen was a former Khmer Rouge member but defected and was installed as leader during the Vietnamese occupation of the 1980s

Analysts believe the success prompted Hun Sen to launch a crackdown, accusing the opposition CNRP of being involved in a plot to topple the government.

Police arrested and charged one of its leaders with treason and the Supreme Court later banned the party.

In the lead-up to Sunday's vote authorities have also taken an axe to independent media and NGOs while former opposition members have fled the country in fear.

The attack caused the US and EU to pull funding and assistance for the vote, but Cambodia's staunch ally China has provided support.

- 'Sham election' -

The government has pointed to 19 other parties in arguing the election is democratic, but critics counter the groups are obscure or newly created to give the poll a veneer of credibility.

Rights groups have slammed the election as a farce and opposition figures have called for a boycott to send a message to the ruling party.

But election authorities have vowed to take action against anyone who urges others not to vote, creating a climate of fear.

Cambodia's leaders have faced international criticism for helping cement what is virtually a one-party state but only limited travel and financial sanctions have been passed by western governments.

Sam Rainy, an opposition leader who lives in self-exile to avoid court cases he says are politically motivated, commended the US House of Representatives for passing the Cambodia Democracy Act earlier in the week.

The act proposes sanctions for members of Hun Sen's inner circle, a tight-knit group of police, army and other officials who have been key to maintaining his long grip on power.

"The timing comes just a few days before Hun Sen is crowned king in a sham election that will be easy to win after he cracked down on civil society, banned the CNRP, imprisoned its president and exiled its leaders, and destroyed the free press," Rainsy said, urging the Senate to follow suit.
Ton up Tamim: Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal celebrates his century

Bangladesh held off a late charge from the West Indies to claim a series-clinching 18-run win in the decisive third and final match of their one-day international duel at Warner Park in St Kitts on Saturday.

After Tamim Iqbal's second hundred of the series and a quickfire unbeaten half-century by Mahmudullah paced the visitors to a formidable 301 for six, the hosts were restricted to 283 for six in reply despite a rampaging unbeaten 74 off just 41 balls by Rovman Powell.

It was Bangladesh's first series win outside of Asia for nine years, set up by their highest total in an ODI against the West Indies.

With the series all square following the hosts' thrilling three-run win in the second match under lights in Guyana on Wednesday, Bangladesh set the pace in this decider with their top-order batting justifying the decision by captain Mashrafe Mortaza to bat first after he won the toss for the third consecutive time.

Tamim's confident 103 off 124 balls with seven fours and two sixes again provided his team with a solid foundation, his innings lifting his tally in the three matches to 287 runs at an outstanding average of 143.5.

He was the obvious choice as both man of the match and man of the series.

"We put a lot of effort in this series after the disappointments of the Test matches," said Tamim.

"I was required to bat long and was able to do it successfully. Patience is the key to get runs on the pitches we had in this series, especially in Guyana."

As in the first two ODIs, Tamim found a reliable partner in Shakib al Hasan, the pair putting on 81 runs for the second wicket.

They picked up the pace from a stuttering start in the manner of their previous second-wicket partnerships in the series before Shakib eventually departed off the bowling off Ashley Nurse, who together with fellow spinner Devendra Bishoo put a brake on Bangladeshs progress through the middle of the innings.

However they were able to cut loose over the final 20 overs as 150 runs were plundered in that period, thanks in the main to the unbridled aggression of Mahmudullah.

He had come to the crease when Nurse took his second wicket in bowling Mushfiqur Rahim and immediately went into attack mode, his adventurous knock of 67 not out occupying 49 deliveries and embellished with five fours and three sixes.

Tamim eventually reached his 11th ODI hundred in the 38th over but didn't get much further as a miscued sweep off Bishoo offered a catch to Powell at backward square-leg.

Big-hitting Mashrafe promoted himself up the order in a clear statement of intent, his frenetic 36 off 25 balls putting the West Indies under immense pressure during the final ten overs until his opposite number, Holder, dismissed him.

But with Mahmudullah still blazing away Bangladesh were able to cross the 300-run mark in the final over of the innings.

With a rejuvenated Chris Gayle anchoring their reply, the West Indies remained on course for the daunting target until the big left-hander fell for 73 off 66 balls, Mehidy Hasan taking the catch at long-on in Rubel Hossain's first over.

From there the innings stalled fatally as Shai Hope occupied 94 deliveries in getting to 64 and by the time he fell, with the score at 224 for five in the 44th over, the West Indies had left themselves with too much to do notwithstanding Powell's effort.

He struck four sixes and five fours in his hurricane knock but Bangladesh did not buckle under the assault with Rubel and Mustafizur retaining their disciplines in the final two overs to seal a famous match and series triumph.

"I felt 300 runs was a par score because in these conditions because it was probably the best our bowlers could do," a disappointed West Indies captain Jason Holder stated.

"We didn't progress at the rate we should have in the middle overs and left ourselves with too much to do at the end."

Both teams turn their attention to a three-match T20 series beginning in St Kitts on Tuesday and concluding at the weekend in Fort Lauderdale in the United States.
JOHANNESBURG (AP) - Zimbabwe on Monday faces a historic election that is the first without Robert Mugabe, who led the southern African nation since independence from white minority rule in 1980 but stepped down last year under military pressure amid a ruling party feud. Here's a look at milestones in the country's troubled history.

___

March 4, 1980: Mugabe wins the post of prime minister in the independent Zimbabwe's first elections.

Zimbabwe police officers stand next to a campaign poster of Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa at Nelson Chamisa's rally in Chitungwiza about 30 kilometres east of the capital Harare, Thursday, July, 26, 2018. Chamisa addressed his first rally since rejecting the idea of boycotting elections on Monday despite what he calls a biased election commission, in the first election since the November resignation of longtime leader Robert Mugabe. (AP Photo/Tsvangirayi Mukwazhi)

1982: A deadly, years-long military offensive begins in Matabeleland against supporters of Mugabe's former ally Joshua Nkomo, with thousands of civilians killed.

1987: Mugabe becomes president after changes to the constitution.

1998: Zimbabwe's once-prosperous economy spirals into a crisis from which it has never recovered.

2000: Mugabe launches deeply unpopular campaign to seize land from white farmers, leading to international condemnation. The opposition MDC party gains momentum.

2002: Mugabe re-elected as foreign observers call the vote badly flawed. The European Union imposes sanctions.

2003: The United States imposes sanctions for "undermining democratic institutions or processes."

2005: U.S. secretary of state nominee Condoleezza Rice calls Zimbabwe one of the world's six "outposts of tyranny."

2008: MDC opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai claims first-round election win but boycotts the runoff vote as violence against his supporters increases. Mugabe is declared the winner. The two enter a fragile power-sharing deal under which Tsvangirai will become prime minister.

2013: A new constitution that strengthens human rights is approved in a referendum amid skepticism that Mugabe will loosen his grip on the country. He wins another term a few months later as the MDC claims the election was fraudulent.

2016: The influential liberation war veterans turn on Mugabe after years of acting as his enforcers. Social media fuels large anti-government protests. First lady Grace Mugabe's profile continues to rise with a younger-generation following in the ruling party called the G40, while some say she has no experience to succeed her husband, who is now in his 90s.

August 2017: Grace Mugabe is accused of assaulting a young woman at an upscale hotel in neighboring South Africa but is granted diplomatic immunity.

November 2017: Robert Mugabe fires deputy and longtime ally Emmerson Mnangagwa after a growing campaign against him by the first lady. Mnangagwa flees the country. The military moves into the capital and puts Mugabe under house arrest. Tens of thousands rally in the capital for Mugabe to step down. Ruling party support crumbles.

Nov. 21, 2017: Lawmakers begin impeachment proceedings and Mugabe resigns after 37 years in power.

Nov. 24, 2017: The 75-year-old Mnangagwa is inaugurated, urging Zimbabwe to let "bygones be bygones."

Feb. 14: Opposition leader Tsvangirai dies, leading many MDC supporters to rally around 40-year-old lawyer and pastor Nelson Chamisa as their presidential candidate.

June 23: The European Union deploys its first election observers in Zimbabwe in 16 years as Mnangagwa pledges a free and fair election while seeking the lifting of international sanctions - including U.S. sanctions on himself.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) - Eight public hospital doctors in Nicaragua said Friday that they have been fired after violating alleged orders not to treat wounded protesters opposing President Daniel Ortega's government.

The Associated Press saw several of the dismissal letters signed by the director of the Oscar Danilo Rosales Arguello hospital in the western city of Leon, and they did not specify a cause.

But Javier Pastora Membreno, who was head of surgery and endoscopy for the hospital before he was among those let go, said that "our crime is having tended to the wounded from the protests or having supported the marches in some way, asking for justice, freedom and a real democracy."

A graffiti depicting Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega is seen on a wall while demonstrators gather to commemorate the 100 days of anti-government protests demanding the resignation of President Daniel Ortega and the release of all political prisoners, in Managua, Nicaragua, Thursday, July 26, 2018. A rights group on Thursday raised by nearly 100 to 448 the number of dead from more than three months of political upheaval and protests demanding that Ortega leaves office. The text on the wall reads in Spanish "Wanted, Murderer." (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga)

"We are doctors, not terrorists," he said.

There have been complaints for weeks that anti-government protesters were being turned away from public medical facilities, but Ortega and his government insist no such order ever existed.

"It is totally false that anyone has been denied attention in the hospitals," the president said in an interview with Fox News broadcast this week.

Health Minister Sonia Castro also said previously that Nicaragua's health system "has never, at any time, been closed to any treatment." The hospital director declined to be interviewed.

Pastora, who had worked for the Health Ministry for 33 years, spoke Friday at a demonstration outside the hospital to protest the firings. The other fired doctors were there along with a hundred or more demonstrators.

Those sacked worked in diverse fields such as pediatrics, spinal medicine, gastroenterology, oncological surgery and pediatrics. They included the only doctor in the municipality specializing in infectious diseases.

"I do not know if the ministry authorities are clear on what this decision means for the quality of attention to the people and for the training of doctors," Pastora said.

At least 448 people have been killed, most of them protesters, since the protests began in April. Demonstrators were initially upset over proposed social security cuts but are now demanding Ortega leave office after a deadly crackdown by security forces and armed pro-government civilians.

Aaron Delgado said he was performing surgery on a breast cancer patient when he was interrupted and told to report to human resources. There he received his dismissal notice.

"They did not even let me finish the operation," Delgado said. "All this because a month ago outside the hospital we treated the wounded from a massacre perpetrated by the government's paramilitaries against citizens who were at barricades in the neighborhoods of Leon."

Also Friday, police reported the arrest of a 42-year-old man in the killing of Rayneia Lima, a young Brazilian medical student who was shot dead while riding in a vehicle in Managua on Monday night.

A police statement identified the suspect as a security guard and said it seized an M4 rifle from him.

That kind of weapon is not commonly used by private security firms.

The rector of the American University of Managua, where Lima was a student, said earlier this week that she had been attacked by pro-government forces.

Friends and colleagues gather during a vigil in honor of Brazilian medical student Rayneia Lima, who was shot and killed in Managua, Nicaragua, Thursday, July 26, 2018. Brazil's Foreign Ministry expressed its "profound indignation" over the killing and said it was seeking clarification from Nicaragua's government. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga)

A homeless man sits on a sidewalk backdrop by graffiti that reads in Spanish "Polices killers" and "We want freedom" in a street in Masaya, Nicaragua, Thursday, July 26, 2018. A rights group on Thursday raised by nearly 100 to 448 the number of dead from more than three months of political upheaval and protests demanding President Daniel Ortega leave office. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)
DALLAS (AP) - Rising oil prices pushed second-quarter profit at Exxon Mobil Corp. up 18 percent to $3.95 billion, but the results Friday fell short of Wall Street expectations, and the shares fell nearly 3 percent.

The price of benchmark international crude is up more than 50 percent from a year ago. But Exxon's production of oil and natural gas slid 7 percent, so it didn't fully take advantage of the higher prices.

Rival Chevron Corp., by contrast, boosted production 2 percent and more than doubled its second-quarter profit from a year ago.

FILE - In this April 23, 2018, file photo, the logo for ExxonMobil appears above a trading post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. Profit at Exxon Mobil Corp. surged on rising prices, but not enough for investors who are selling off shares in early trading. The Irving, Texas-based company on Friday, July 27, 2018 reported second-quarter profit of $3.95 billion, or 92 cents per share. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)

"The second quarter results were well below market expectations," Neil Hansen, Exxon's vice president of investor relations, acknowledged at the start of a call with analysts. He said the company was making progress with key investments that will pay off in the long term.

Exxon boosted its capital spending sharply - a reversal from the cutting that Exxon and other major oil companies did after the price collapse that started in 2014. It has major projects underway off the coast of South America, in Africa and Papua New Guinea.

Neil Chapman, a senior vice president who oversees Exxon's exploration and production business, said the second quarter was the low point and production will increase over the rest of the year.

Exxon, however, now expects to fall short of a forecast Chapman made in March - that 2018 production would match last year. Exxon predicted Friday that it will produce the equivalent of 3.8 million barrels a day including natural gas, down from 4 million barrels a day in 2017.

Among the reasons Chapman gave for the miss were an earthquake that interrupted operations in Papua New Guinea and the company's retreat on natural gas in the U.S. because of relatively low prices. He said the company would focus on the most profitable production.

Exxon's oil production has fallen three straight quarters and five of the last seven quarters, compared with results from a year earlier. Until mid-2016, the company regularly boosted output.

Exxon's second-quarter profit worked out to 92 cents per share. Analysts were looking for $1.26 per share, according to a survey by Zacks Investment Research. Exxon does not adjust results based on one-time events such as asset sales, which totaled $307 million in the quarter.

Revenue jumped 27 percent to $73.50 billion, despite the decline in oil and gas output. The bright spots in Exxon's portfolio included the Permian Basin of Texas and the Bakken field in North Dakota, where production rose 30 percent.

Capital spending climbed 69 percent to $6.63 billion, with exploration and drilling rising notably in Brazil, the Permian Basin and Indonesia.

The Irving, Texas-based company spent most of its profit on shareholder dividends - $3.5 billion. The value of Exxon shares, however, has gained only a few dollars since a low point in September 2015 even though crude has risen more than 50 percent since then.

Exxon shares dropped $2.32, or 2.8 percent, to $81.92. That left the shares down 2.1 percent so far this year - they began the day up less than 1 percent in 2018.

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This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Papua New Guinea.
BANGKOK (AP) - Cambodians voting in Sunday's general election will have a nominal choice of 20 parties, but in reality, only two serious options: extend Prime Minister Hun Sen's 33 years in power, or do not vote at all.

The key factor virtually ensuring a walkover by Hun Sen's party is the elimination of any credible opposition, accomplished last November when the Supreme Court declared the Cambodian National Rescue Party complicit in trying to overthrow the government in a plot encouraged by the United States. The far-fetched allegation appears unsupported by any evidence.

The court ordered the party dissolved, also banning its leaders from holding office for five years and expelling its members from the elective positions they held. One party leader already was in exile and the other in jail awaiting trial on the treason charge.

FILE - In this Saturday, July 7, 2018, file photo, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen, center, greets supporters as he arrives for his Cambodian People's Party's campaign rally in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Cambodians voting in the general election on Sunday, July 29, will have a nominal choice of 20 parties but in reality, only two serious options: extend Prime Minister Hun Sen's 33 years in power or not vote at all. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)

Along with fracturing the political opposition, Hun Sen's government silenced critical voices in the media, shutting down about 30 radio stations and gutting two English-language newspapers that provided independent reporting. A law was passed putting burdensome restrictions on the country's vibrant civil society organizations.

On Saturday, Cambodian authorities acknowledged ordering the temporary blocking of 17 websites just ahead of the polls, citing regulations prohibiting media from disseminating information that might affect security after Friday's official end of campaigning. The blocked websites included those of U.S. Government-funded Voice of America, as well as local media.

Information Ministry Director General for Broadcasting and Media Phos Sovann said the websites, which he described as biased against the government, would be accessible again on Sunday.

With control of the legislature and the bureaucracy, as well as influence over the judiciary, there are no checks and balances on Hun Sen's administration.

"Cambodia's election is a sham process that is designed to prolong Hun Sen's authoritarian rule and will plunge the country into further misery and repression," said Debbie Stothard, secretary general of the Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights.

The leaders of the now defunct opposition party, most of whom have fled into exile to avoid arbitrary arrest, have called for a boycott of the polls.

"Going to vote on 29 July 2018 means that you play the dirty game of a group of traitors led by Hun Sen who is killing democracy and selling off our country," Sam Rainsy, the popular, self-exiled former leader of the Cambodian National Rescue Party, or CNRP, wrote on his Facebook page earlier this month. "Boycotting that fake and dangerous election means that we uphold our ideals by remaining loyal to our people and determined to rescue to our Motherland."

Ironically, a practice to fight voter fraud - dipping a finger in indelible ink to prevent multiple voting - makes Cambodians who fail to cast their ballots high-profile targets for any officials seeking to spot and punish opposition supporters.

The "Clean Finger" campaign promoted by the opposition is a form of political mobilization, said Mu Sochua, a former lawmaker and CNRP vice president.

According to her, not dipping one's finger in indelible ink is a political gesture: "This little finger that I have, that each of you have, is a symbol of what we stand for, what you want - democracy, freedom, liberty, justice."

Officials, claiming advocacy of the boycott is illegal, have made several arrests, but the opposition has effectively used social media to publicize its call.

Nineteen small parties have registered to challenge Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party, but almost all are vanity affairs or vehicles serving as window-dressing to give the illusion of democratic choice.

Hun Sen has always ruled with a carefully modulated amount of repression, swinging between violence and reconciliation, but the slide into more serious authoritarian rule was triggered by the last general election in 2013, when the opposition CNRP won 55 seats in the National Assembly - a gain of 26 seats - while Hun Sen's party lost 22. The race was close enough for the opposition to claim that it would have won except for manipulation of the voter registration process.

In local elections last year, the CNRP showed a similar dramatic upward trend.

The results were alarming news for Hun Sen, who at 65 insists he will serve two more five-year terms.

Hun Sen can take credit for helping put an end to the long-running threat of the Khmer Rouge, the radical communist group whose 1975-79 genocidal rule left almost 2 million Cambodians dead. A Khmer Rouge officer himself, Hun Sen defected to neighboring Vietnam, with whose army he returned to help oust his former comrades. He became prime minister in a Hanoi-backed regime, and continued to battle Khmer Rouge guerrillas into the 1990s.

More recently, he has presided over a period of impressive economic growth that has helped fund the expansion of infrastructure, his major campaign promise.

But with economic growth came corruption, land-grabbing and cronyism as well as a culture of impunity typical of a broken justice system.

Demographics also appear to work against Hun Sen's party. A younger generation, without firsthand acquaintance of their country's history of war and instability, are less likely to pay heed to his warnings. Economic growth, as well as the expanded horizons that come with a connected, globalized world, fuel rising expectations.

The breadth and depth of Hun Sen's crackdown is a break with his historical behavior, where he teased, taunted, threatened and employed violence against his enemies, but usually paid at least lip service to the norms of democratic rule.

That seems all over now, said Sebastian Strangio, author of a 2014 biography of the prime minister.

Hun Sen was beholden to the Western aid donors who funded the massive peacekeeping and nation-building U.N. mission to rehabilitate Cambodia in 1992 and 1993. Introduction of a liberal democracy to replace the classical communist single-party state Hun Sen had been running was part of the deal.

Further financial assistance was needed to develop Cambodia, so Hun Sen at least maintained enough of a democratic framework to satisfy his benefactors. They tolerated a strongman who may not have been desirable but was capable.

If the 2013 and 2017 election results were the motivation for Hun Sen's smackdown of his opponents, China was the enabler, said Strangio, obviating the need for Western development aid by providing hundreds of millions of dollars of infrastructure loans and other forms of financing with few strings attached.

For its part, Beijing gets a solid political ally in Southeast Asia who can be relied upon in international forums to back up China's position on issues such as territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

"Over the past year, we've seen the government decisively roll back the zones of freedom it once preserved in Cambodia as a sop to Western donor governments," said Strangio.

"Now the government doesn't really have any need for Western support and they're able to make more permanent adjustments to the Cambodian political landscape in line with their long-held resentments and their current political interests," he said.

FILE - In this Saturday, July 7, 2018, file photo, dancers perform during a campaign rally of Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Cambodians voting in the general election on Sunday, July 29, will have a nominal choice of 20 parties but in reality, only two serious options: extend Prime Minister Hun Sen's 33 years in power or not vote at all. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)

FILE - In this Feb. 25, 2018, file photo, a woman casts a ballot for the Senate election at Takhmau polling station in Kandal province, southeast of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Cambodians voting in the general election on Sunday, July 29, will have a nominal choice of 20 parties but in reality, only two serious options: extend Prime Minister Hun Sen's 33 years in power or not vote at all. (AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)

FILE - In this Saturday, July 7, 2018, file photo, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen waves to supporters during his Cambodian People's Party's campaign in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Cambodians voting in the general election on Sunday, July 29, will have a nominal choice of 20 parties but in reality, only two serious options: extend Prime Minister Hun Sen's 33 years in power or not vote at all.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) - A look at key issues in Cambodia's general election on Sunday, with 8.3 million people registered to vote for 125 seats in the National Assembly:

WHO'S RUNNING

Twenty parties registered to contest the polls, but Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party is the only serious contender. With a handful of exceptions, the other parties are seen as doing the government's bidding by running to give the illusion of a free and fair choice.

FILE - In this Saturday, July 7, 2018, file photo, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen waves to supporters during his Cambodian People's Party's campaign in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Cambodians voting in the general election on Sunday, July 29, will have a nominal choice of 20 parties but in reality, only two serious options: extend Prime Minister Hun Sen's 33 years in power or not vote at all.(AP Photo/Heng Sinith, File)

The party that was expected to mount a strong challenge, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, was dissolved last year by court order on a complaint that it conspired to overthrow the government, a decision widely seen as politically motivated. Leaders of the disbanded party, which came close to pulling off a surprise victory in the last general election in 2013, are urging a boycott of the vote.

WHAT'S AT STAKE

Hun Sen insists he intends to stay in his post for two more five-year terms, saying chaos may result if he is blocked. He claims his opponents want to launch a "color revolution," suggesting that their promotion of liberal democracy could lead to the sort of violent turmoil that roiled the former Yugoslavia and Ukraine.

His campaign promises to continue the strong economic growth he has presided over, which he says will be applied to improve infrastructure, especially in the poverty-stricken countryside. He also has promoted higher wages and more benefits for workers in the garment sector, the country's largest earner that traditionally supports the opposition.

Hun Sen's critics, led by the now-disbanded main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, say Cambodia is suffering from years of land grabs, illegal logging, cronyism, corruption and a culture of impunity fostered by a politicized justice system. The suppression of the opposition party and crackdowns on the media suggest a deeper slide into authoritarian rule.

THE COUNTRY

About 16 million people live in the tropical Southeast Asian country slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Once the center of a vast ancient empire - remnants of which survive at the famous Angkor Wat temple complex - the country became a French protectorate in the 19th century, and gained its independence from France in 1953.

By the late 1960s, it was ensnared by the conflict in neighboring Vietnam, leading to political upheaval and a 1970-75 civil war that brought the communist Khmer Rouge into power for almost four years of genocidal rule that ended only in 1979 with a Vietnamese invasion.

Ten years of Vietnamese occupation followed along with a persistent civil war spearheaded from the jungle by the ousted Khmer Rouge. The 1991 Paris Peace Accords started the process leading to a democratic transition from the Vietnamese-backed communist regime under Hun Sen, but the shattered country still struggles to overcome poverty and deep political divisions.
WASHINGTON (AP) - President Donald Trump thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for "fulfilling a promise" to return the remains of U.S. soldiers missing from the Korean War, as a U.S. military plane made a rare trip into North Korea to retrieve 55 cases said to contain remains.

Close to 7,700 U.S. soldiers remain unaccounted for from the 1950-53 Korean War, and about 5,300 of those were lost in North Korea.

North Korea's move signals a positive step in Trump's diplomacy with Pyongyang, and may restart efforts to send U.S. teams into the country to search for additional war dead.

A soldier carries a casket containing a remain of a U.S. soldier who was killed in the Korean War during a ceremony at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Friday, July 27, 2018. The U.N. Command said the 55 cases of war remains retrieved from North Korea will be honored at a ceremony next Wednesday at a base in South Korea. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP)

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis cautioned that the transfer of remains "is separate" from what has so far been troubled efforts to negotiate the complete denuclearization of North Korea. But he said it was a step in the right direction following the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore.

"This is obviously a gesture of carrying forward what they agreed to in Singapore and we take it as such," Mattis told reporters Friday. "We also look at it as a first step of a restarted process. So we do want to explore additional efforts to bring others home."

Despite soaring rhetoric about denuclearization before the Singapore meeting, the summit ended with only a vague aspirational goal for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula without describing when and how that would occur.

Subsequent talks between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and senior North Korean officials got off to a rocky start earlier this month, with the North accusing the Americans of making "unilateral and gangster-like" demands on denuclearization. On Wednesday, Pompeo said a great deal of work remains ahead of a North Korea denuclearization deal, but he declined to provide any timeline.

Trump, addressing reporters on the South Lawn, said Vice President Mike Pence would greet the families and the remains of the soldiers.

"We have many others coming, but I want to thank Chairman Kim in front of the media for fulfilling a promise that he made to me, and I'm sure that he will continue to fulfill that promise as they search and search and search," Trump said.

"These incredible American heroes will soon lay at rest on sacred American soil," he added.

Pence, the son of a Korean War combat veteran, said in a statement that he will participate in the ceremony when the remains arrive in the U.S. United Nations Command said the remains will be flown to Hawaii immediately after a full honors ceremony in Seoul on Wednesday.

"It is deeply humbling to be part of this historic moment," Pence said. "We will never forget the sacrifices these brave service members and their families made for our nation and our freedoms."

Early Friday morning in Korea, a U.S. Air Force C-17 transport plane made a rare trip into North Korea to retrieve 55 cases of what are believed to be remains from the Korean War. The aircraft then flew from Wonsan to Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, near the South Korean capital of Seoul.

At the air base, U.S. servicemen and a military honor guard lined up on the tarmac to receive the remains, which were carried in boxes covered in blue U.N. flags. Officials in North Korea had no comment on the handover, which came on the 65th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.

Once the cases arrive in Hawaii, a series of forensic examinations will be done to determine if the remains are human and if the dead were American or allied troops killed in the conflict.

Mattis underscored that looming question, saying "we don't know who's in those boxes." But he said the gesture is important for families of the fallen, which could include any of the allies that also fought in the war.

"We have families that when they got the telegram, have never had closure," Mattis said. "They've never gone out and had the body returned."

More than 36,000 U.S. troops died in the conflict, including those listed as missing in action.

The repatriation of remains could be followed by stronger North Korean demands for fast-tracked discussions to formally end the war, which was stopped with an armistice and not a peace treaty. South Korea's Defense Ministry also said the North agreed to general-level military talks next week at a border village to discuss reducing tensions across the countries' heavily armed border.

The remains are believed to be some of the more than 200 that North Korea has held in storage for some time, and were likely recovered from land during farming or construction. The vast majority of the war dead, however, have yet to be located and retrieved from cemeteries and battlefields across the countryside.

Efforts to recover American war dead had been stalled for more than a decade because of a standoff over North Korea's nuclear program and a previous U.S. claim that security arrangements for its personnel working in the North were insufficient.

From 1996 to 2005, joint U.S.-North Korea military search teams conducted 33 recovery operations that collected 229 sets of American remains. The last time North Korea turned over remains was in 2007, when Bill Richardson, a former U.N. ambassador and New Mexico governor, secured the return of six sets.

Washington has said Pyongyang wouldn't get sanctions relief and significant security and economic rewards unless it firmly commits to a process of completely and verifiably eliminating its nuclear weapons. There are lingering doubts about whether Kim would ever agree to fully relinquish his nukes, which he may see as a stronger guarantee of survival than whatever security assurance the United States could offer.

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Ahn reported from Pyeongtaek, South Korea. Kim reported from Seoul and Baldor from Washington. AP journalists Eric Talmadge in Pyongyang, North Korea, Kim Yong-ho in Pyeongtaek, Foster Klug in Seoul, and Ken Thomas and Sagar Meghani in Washington contributed to this report.

A U.N. honor guard carries a casket containing remains believed to be from American servicemen killed during the 1950-53 Korean War after arriving from North Korea, at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Friday, July 27, 2018. The U.N. Command says the 55 cases of war remains retrieved from North Korea will be honored at a ceremony next Wednesday at a base in South Korea. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, Pool)

A soldier carries a casket containing a remain of a U.S. soldier who was killed in the Korean War during a ceremony at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Friday, July 27, 2018. The U.N. Command says the 55 cases of war remains retrieved from North Korea will be honored at a ceremony next Wednesday at a base in South Korea. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP)

U.N. honor guard carries boxes containing remains believed to be from American servicemen killed during the 1950-53 Korean War after arriving from North Korea, at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Friday, July 27, 2018. The U.N. Command says the 55 cases of war remains retrieved from North Korea will be honored at a ceremony next Wednesday at a base in South Korea. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon, Pool)

North Korean soldiers visit Fatherland Liberation War Martyrs Cemetery during the commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the ceasefire armistice that ends the fighting in the Korean War, which the country celebrates as the day of "victory in the fatherland liberation war" in Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, July 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

North Korean men bow at the giant bronze statues of late North Korean leaders Kim Il Sung and his son Kim Jong Il during the commemoration of the 65th anniversary of the ceasefire armistice that ended the fighting in the Korean War, which the country celebrates as the day of "victory in the fatherland liberation war" at Mansu Hill Grand Monument in Pyongyang, North Korea, Friday, July 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Dita Alangkara)

Soldiers carry caskets containing remains of U.S. soldiers who were killed in the Korean War during a ceremony at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Friday, July 27, 2018. North Korea on Friday returned the remains of what are believed to be U.S. servicemen killed during the Korean War, the White House said, with a U.S military plane making a rare trip into North Korea to retrieve 55 cases of remains. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP)

A soldier carries a casket containing a remain of a U.S. soldier who was killed in the Korean War during a ceremony at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Friday, July 27, 2018. The U.N. Command said the 55 cases of war remains retrieved from North Korea will be honored at a ceremony next Wednesday at a base in South Korea. (Kim Hong-Ji/Pool Photo via AP)

A U.N. honor guard stands to carry remains believed to be from American servicemen killed during the 1950-53 Korean War after arriving from North Korea, at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Friday, July 27, 2018. The U.N. Command says the 55 cases of war remains retrieved from North Korea will be honored at a ceremony next Wednesday at a base in South Korea. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon. Pool)

U.S. Army soldiers salute as vehicles carry remains believed to be from American servicemen killed during the 1950-53 Korean War after arrived from North Korea, at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Friday, July 27, 2018. The U.N. Command says the 55 cases of war remains retrieved from North Korea will be honored at a ceremony next Wednesday at a base in South Korea. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon. Pool)

A U.N. honor guard moves to carry remains believed to be from American servicemen killed during the 1950-53 Korean War after arriving from North Korea, at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Friday, July 27, 2018. The U.N. Command says the 55 cases of war remains retrieved from North Korea will be honored at a ceremony next Wednesday at a base in South Korea. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon. Pool)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Rarely has an RSVP been so complicated.

President Donald Trump is open to visiting Moscow - if he gets a formal invitation from Vladimir Putin, the White House said. Russian President Putin said he's game for a trip to Washington - but his answer came only after Trump retracted his invitation for a fall sit-down.

The awkward back and forth is the latest round of summit drama flowing from the two leaders' controversial first meeting in Helsinki this month. It underscores Trump's eagerness to forge a warmer relationship with Putin, though the Russian does not appear to share the urgency and Trump's allies in Washington are watching with frustration.

President Donald Trump pauses as he delivers remarks about the economy on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, July 27, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Trump's tentative yes to a Moscow trip comes even as lawmakers are still pushing for details about what he and Putin discussed in Helsinki. The president has been widely criticized for failing to publicly denounce Russia's interference in the 2016 U.S. election and appearing to accept Putin's denials of such activity.

Trump's response to the criticism - an abruptly announced invitation for a second meeting in Washington in the fall - got an ice-cold reception from Republicans in Congress facing tough elections in November. Moscow was lukewarm and did not immediately accept.

Then National Security Adviser John Bolton said Wednesday that plans for a fall visit would be delayed until 2019. He cited special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian election meddling as the reason, using Trump's favorite term for the probe: "witch hunt."

But the possibility of a Trump trip to Moscow emerged Friday after Putin said he was ready to invite Trump - or to visit Washington if conditions are right.

"I understand very well what President Trump said: He has the wish to conduct further meetings," Putin said while traveling in Johannesburg. "I am ready for this. We are ready to invite President Trump to Moscow. By the way, he has such an invitation, I told him of this. I am prepared to go to Washington, but, I repeat, if the appropriate conditions for work are created."

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded that Trump "looks forward to having President Putin to Washington after the first of the year, and he is open to visiting Moscow upon receiving a reciprocal formal invitation."

But it's just talk at this point.

It's part of "a power game between Putin and Trump," said Dr. Alina Polyakova of the Brookings Institution. She said the Kremlin basically drove the entire process in Helsinki, and "we're seeing that again now."

Trump is hardly in a strong position because "the Helsinki summit was such a fiasco," said James Goldgeier of the Council on Foreign Relations.

A Putin visit to Washington between now and January "could have a lot of poor optics," he said, and "it's really hard to see the upside" of a Trump trip to Moscow.

The spectacle of Trump in the Russian capital - the site of unproven salacious allegations in an anti-Trump dossier compiled by a former British spy - was likely to raise eyebrows and alarm on Capitol Hill.

Just two days earlier, lawmakers from both political parties unsuccessfully demanded details of the Helsinki meeting from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who stonewalled nearly all those inquiries at a contentious hearing by maintaining that the president has a right to private conversations.

Since Helsinki, Trump has tried to walk back at least some of his comments. And Pompeo told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that despite Trump's public statements that allegations of Russian interference are "a hoax" he accepts that Russia did meddle in the 2016 election.

Trump met Friday with his national security team to discuss threats to the 2018 congressional midterm elections, the first such session he has convened amid warnings from intelligence officials that Russia is again intent on interfering in the U.S. democratic process.

The White House released a statement saying Trump "made it clear that his Administration will not tolerate foreign interference in our elections from any nation state or other malicious actors."

Republican lawmakers have made it clear they are not eager to see Putin, who intelligence officials say was aware of the 2016 interference, just weeks before Election Day 2018.

Putin "will not be welcome" at the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters.

House Speaker Paul Ryan said such invitations are reserved "for allies."

The Republican leaders appear to be increasingly relying on public signals, rather than private phone calls or Oval Office chats, to catch the White House's attention and communicate with Trump - especially when they are at odds with the president's approach or policies.

Ryan has said he did not speak to the president in the days after the Helsinki summit.

Moscow has portrayed its tensions with Washington as a result of Trump being hobbled by domestic political disputes and a widespread "Russophobia" perpetrated by holdovers from the Obama years - echoing Trump's penchant to blame his predecessor for many problems.

By saying that he's willing to go to Washington if conditions are "appropriate," Putin underlines that stance and effectively puts pressure on Trump to try to stamp out opposition. His invitation for Trump to come to Moscow - whether the invitation has been formally tendered or is only in spirit - also appears to pressure Trump to show whether he is bold and disruptive enough to buck intense criticism at home.

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AP writers Ken Thomas, Jill Colvin and Darlene Superville in Washington and Jim Heintz in Moscow contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump delivers remarks on the economy from the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, July 27, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
SIMBUMBUMBU, Zimbabwe (AP) - Thirty-four years later, Ellis Ndlovu still cannot bear to look at the tree in the schoolyard where Zimbabwean soldiers killed her son.

"They hung him with his legs up and then with his legs down and they were beating him," said Ndlovu, bent over and frail at 91. "They beat him until he died."

Her memories are stronger these days, with the approach of Monday's election in Zimbabwe. The reason: President Emmerson Mnangagwa, the leading candidate, is widely blamed for the army's brutal killings in Matabeleland, which left 10,000 to 20,000 civilians dead.

In this Tuesday, July 24, 2018 photo, the remains of Julius Mvulo Nyathi lie on a table at the Solidarity Peace Trust offices in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Nyathi, who was killed over 30 years ago by Zimbabwean soldiers during the Matabeleland Massacres, was exhumed earlier in 2018 and is scheduled to receive a proper reburial Aug. 4, 2018. Shari Eppel, director of the Solidarity Peace Trust, said many in Matabeleland say the region is haunted by "angry dead." "The angry dead are the people buried in the wrong place and who haven't had the right rituals at the time of their murder and burial." (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

"I fear that they are going to elect somebody who may repeat the same act," said Ndlovu, speaking in the Ndebele language. "I blame the person who sent those people to kill my child."

The trauma of the Matabeleland massacres is still raw for survivors. Many say they cannot vote for Mnangagwa, who was state security minister at the time.

Days before the polls, Zimbabwe's elections look too close to call. The Ndebele people of Matabeleland, representing about 15 percent of registered voters, could be a decisive vote for the opposition.

Of all the scars from former leader Robert Mugabe's 37-year rule of Zimbabwe, the deepest is the Matabeleland killings. The army's Operation Gukurahundi - "the early rains that blow away the chaff," in the local Shona language - ran from 1983 through 1987, when the Fifth Brigade rampaged through the southwestern provinces of Matabeleland.

The residents of villages were rounded up and forced to attend all-night rallies for Zimbabwe's ruling party, ZANU-PF. Community leaders were beaten and sometimes killed in front of the gatherings. Men, young and old, were forced to dig graves, then shot and buried in them. Survivors were forced to dance on top of the fresh graves, sometimes until the blood of the dead seeped through.

Some families were pushed into huts that were set on fire and they either burned to death or were shot dead when they tried to escape.

The Fifth Brigade consisted of 3,000 troops, virtually all ethnic Shona, who make up about 70 percent of Zimbabwe's population. The brigade received counter-insurgency training by North Korean advisers and was known as the elite praetorian guard of Mugabe, directly answerable to his office. Their arms and uniforms were different from the rest of the army, including their distinctive red berets.

With its prolonged, deadly campaign in Matabeleland, the Fifth Brigade was trying to stamp out rural support for anti-government rebels. Gukurahundi also was viewed by many as an attempt by Mugabe to weaken any opposition to his stated aim of a one-party state.

The army's campaign did not succeed in winning the Ndebele vote for Mugabe in the 1985 polls or succeeding elections. As Zimbabwe goes to the polls again, the Ndebele people of Matabeleland are still viewed as a solid vote against ZANU-PF and its presidential candidate, Mnangagwa.

Zimbabwean opposition politician David Coltart said enduring resentment across Matabeleland will be evident in the elections.

"What we need from Mnangagwa is an admission of what happened, an apology and communal reparations for the victims of that time," said Coltart. "I'm not convinced that prosecuting someone like Mnangagwa is going to heal our nation at this time."

Those at the head of the chain of command have not been held to account. Mugabe never accepted responsibility or apologized for the killings, but he did call them a "moment of madness."

Mnangagwa has also refused to accept responsibility and has opposed a new investigation, saying it would re-open old wounds. Perence Shiri, the head of the Fifth Brigade during the killings, rose in power to become the head of Zimbabwe's Air Force and now is the minister of agriculture, appointed by Mnangagwa.

The most authoritative report on the Matabeleland killings is "Breaking the Silence," published in 1997 by Zimbabwe's Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace and the Legal Resources Foundation, drawing on interviews with more than 1,000 people and many documents.

Much remains to be done to heal the scars of the killings, said Shari Eppel, the report's main author, who continues to do forensic research into the killings as director of the Solidarity Peace Trust.

At her office in Bulawayo, Eppel unwrapped canvas to reveal the skull and bones identified as the remains of a Gukurahundi victim, soon to be given a proper burial.

"Julius Mvulo Nyathi died in 1984, which was when the Fifth Brigade was deployed in Matabeleland South," Eppel said. "We heard that his arms and ankles were tied with wire and he was severely beaten by the Fifth Brigade, soldiers who came in uniforms with red berets and they accused him of being a dissident. ... He also had burning plastic dripped onto his legs and he was then dragged away."

"Nobody actually saw his death, but his body was found in the hills and he was buried in a shallow grave above a secondary school in Matopo district."

Eppel said many in Matabeleland say the region is haunted by "angry dead."

"The angry dead are the people buried in the wrong place and who haven't had the right rituals at the time of their murder and burial," said Eppel. She said hundreds of reburials are needed to assuage families: "People say these angry dead are the ones who make bad things happen in the family and the community, to keep reminding them; 'I'm in the wrong place, I need to come home.'"

Isaia Nkomo, 60, remains unsettled by the death of his brother, Simimba, 36 years ago.

"I was at work and my brother was at home. So they came and took him from our homestead and killed him in the bush," said Nkomo. "We still haven't located the place where here is."

His family, he said, is "not feeling well because we keep thinking about him. Other people's remains have been found and we are still looking for him. He might have been eaten by dogs or some other people removed him and put him somewhere else."

Nkomo said he will not vote for Mnangagwa or ZANU-PF.

"Voting for Mnangagwa, I can't do that because my brother was killed at that time by the people who currently want us to vote for them, those that are in power. I'd rather vote for someone in the opposition."

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Meldrum reported from Johannesburg.

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In this Monday, July 23, 2018 photo, Ellis Ndlovu, 91, poses for a portrait in her Simbumbumbu, Zimbabwe home. Ndlovu's son, Edwel, was killed 34 years ago by Zimbabwe army soldiers in what many called the Matabeleland Massacres, or Gukurahundi - "the early rains that blow away the chaff," in the local Shona language. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

In this Monday, July 23, 2018 photo, Ellis Ndlovu, 91, right, is accompanied by a friend as she walks in Simbumbumbu, Zimbabwe, past the grave of her son, Edwel, who was killed 34 years ago by Zimbabwe army soldiers. "They hung him with his legs up and then with his legs down and they were beating him. ... They beat him until he died." (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

In this Tuesday, July 24, 2018 photo, a man walks through the village of Silozwi in the Matobo hills of Zimbabwe. Over 30 years ago, Zimbabwean soldiers based in this village took part in what is known as the Matabeleland Massacres. Human rights lawyer and opposition candidate in the July 30 legislative elections David Coltart says enduring resentment across Matabeleland, for the army's brutal killings which left 10,000 to 20,000 civilians dead, will be evident in the upcoming elections. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

This Monday, July 23, 2018 photo shows a mass grave bearing the names of six victims of the Matabeleland Massacres, near the now-abandoned Sitezi military camp, where army soldiers involved in the Gukurahundi were based. With its prolonged, deadly campaign in Matabeleland, the Fifth Brigade was trying to stamp out rural support for anti-government rebels. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

In this Tuesday, July 24, 2018 photo, the remains of Julius Mvulo Nyathi lie on a table at the Solidarity Peace Trust offices in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Nyathi, who was killed over 30 years ago by Zimbabwean soldiers during the Matabeleland Massacres, was exhumed this year and is scheduled to receive a proper reburial Aug. 4, 2018. With its prolonged, deadly campaign, the Fifth Brigade was trying to stamp out rural support for anti-government rebels. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

This undated photograph provided by the family in 2018 shows Julius Mvulo Nyathi. He was killed over 30 years ago by Zimbabwean soldiers during the Matabeleland Massacres. With its prolonged, deadly campaign, the Fifth Brigade was trying to stamp out rural support for anti-government rebels. (Nyathi family via AP)

This Monday, July 23, 2018 photo shows the entrance of the abandoned Sitezi military camp, where army soldiers involved in what many called the Matabeleland Massacres were based. The army's Operation Gukurahundi _ "the early rains that blow away the chaff," in the local Shona language _ ran from 1983 through 1987, when the Fifth Brigade rampaged through the southwestern provinces of Matabeleland, trying to stamp out rural support for anti-government rebels. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

In this Tuesday, July 24, 2018 photo, men gather in the village of Silozwi in the Matobo hills of Zimbabwe. Over 30 years ago, Zimbabwean soldiers based in this village took part in what is known as the Matabeleland Massacres. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

In this Tuesday, July 24, 2018 photo, the sun sets over the Matobo hills where, over 30 years ago, Zimbabwe army's Operation Gukurahundi ran from 1983 through 1987, when the Fifth Brigade rampaged through the southwestern provinces of Matabeleland. Residents of villages were rounded up and forced to attend all-night rallies for Zimbabwe's ruling party, ZANU-PF. Community leaders were beaten and sometimes killed in front of the gatherings. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

In this Tuesday, July 24, 2018 photo, Shari Eppel, director of the Solidarity Peace Trust, holds bones of Julius Mvulo Nyathi in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Eppel said he died in 1984, "when the Fifth Brigade was deployed in Matabeleland South. ... We heard that his arms and ankles were tied with wire and he was severely beaten by the Fifth Brigade, soldiers who came in uniforms with red berets and they accused him of being a dissident. ... He also had burning plastic dripped onto his legs and he was then dragged away." (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

In this Sunday, July 22, 2018 photo, David Coltart, a human rights lawyer and opposition candidate in the July 30 legislative elections, poses for a portrait in the garden of his residence in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. Coltart says enduring resentment across Matabeleland, for the army's brutal killings which left 10,000 to 20,000 civilians dead, will be evident in the upcoming elections. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

In this Tuesday, July 24, 2018 photo, men ride a bicycle near the village of Silozwi in the Matobo hills of Zimbabwe. Over 30 years ago, Zimbabwean soldiers based in this village took part in what is known as the Matabeleland Massacres. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

In this Tuesday, July 24, 2018 photo, Isaiah Nkomo poses for a portrait in his fields near the village of Whitewater in the Matobo hills of Zimbabwe. At 60, he remains unsettled by the death of his brother, Simimba, 36 years ago. "I was at work and my brother was at home. So they came and took him from our homestead and killed him in the bush," said Nkomo. "We still haven't located the place where here is." (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

This undated photograph provided by his family in 2018 shows Edwel Ndlovu. Killed 34 years ago by Zimbabwe army soldiers, his now 91-year-old mother, Ellis, says, "They hung him with his legs up and then with his legs down and they were beating him. ... They beat him until he died." (Ndlovu family via AP)

In this Sunday, July 22, 2018 photo, a couple walks back from church in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. A grenade attack on President Emmerson Mnangagwa's campaign rally in this opposition stronghold in June highlights the country's political tensions. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

In this Tuesday, July 24, 2018 photo, men ride a bicycle near the village of Silozwi in the Matobo hills of Zimbabwe. Over 30 years ago, Zimbabwean soldiers based in this village took part in what is known as the Matabeleland Massacres. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

In this Monday, July 23, 2018 photo, school children play football in the playground in Simbumbumbu, Zimbabwe, where Edwel Ndlovu was killed 34 years ago by Zimbabwe army soldiers. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

In this Tuesday, July 24, 2018 photo, men gather in the village of Silozwi in the Matobo hills of Zimbabwe. Over 30 years ago, Zimbabwean soldiers based in this village took part in what is known as the Matabeleland Massacres. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

In this Tuesday, July 24, 2018 photo, villagers and their donkeys walk on a forest road near the village of Whitewater in the Matobo hills of Zimbabwe. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

In this Tuesday, July 24, 2018 photo, Isaiah Nkomo poses for a portrait in his fields near the village of Whitewater in the Matobo hills of Zimbabwe. At 60, he remains unsettled by the death of his brother, Simimba, 36 years ago. "I was at work and my brother was at home. So they came and took him from our homestead and killed him in the bush," said Nkomo. "We still haven't located the place where here is." (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)

In this Sunday, July 22, 2018 photo, David Coltart, a human rights lawyer and opposition candidate in the July 30 legislative elections, holds a newspaper clipping about his book critical of former state security minister, President Emmerson Mnangagwa, in his Bulawayo, Zimbabwe residence. "What we need from Mnangagwa is an admission of what happened, an apology and communal reparations for the victims of that time," Coltart says. (AP Photo/Jerome Delay)
Heat waves are setting all-time temperature records across the globe, again. Europe suffered its deadliest fire in more than a century, and one of nearly 90 large fires in the U.S. West burned dozens of homes and forced the evacuation of at least 37,000 people near Redding, California. Flood-inducing downpours have pounded the U.S. East this week.

It's all part of summer - but it's all being made worse by human-caused climate change, scientists say.

"Weirdness abounds," said Rutgers University climate scientist Jennifer Francis.

An historic schoolhouse burns as the Carr Fire tears through Shasta, Calif., Thursday, July 26, 2018. Fueled by high temperatures, wind and low humidity, the blaze destroyed multiple homes and at least one historic building. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Japan hit 106 degrees on Monday, its hottest temperature ever. Records fell in parts of Massachusetts, Maine, Wyoming, Colorado, Oregon, New Mexico and Texas. And then there's crazy heat in Europe, where normally chill Norway, Sweden and Finland all saw temperatures they have never seen before on any date, pushing past 90 degrees. So far this month, at least 118 of these all-time heat records have been set or tied across the globe, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The explanations should sound as familiar as the crash of broken records.

"We now have very strong evidence that global warming has already put a thumb on the scales, upping the odds of extremes like severe heat and heavy rainfall," Stanford University climate scientist Noah Diffenbaugh said. "We find that global warming has increased the odds of record-setting hot events over more than 80 percent of the planet, and has increased the odds of record-setting wet events at around half of the planet."

Climate change is making the world warmer because of the build-up of heat-trapping gases from the burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil and other human activities. And experts say the jet stream - which dictates weather in the Northern Hemisphere - is again behaving strangely.

"An unusually sharply kinked jet stream has been stuck in place for weeks now," said Jeff Masters, director of the private Weather Underground. He says that allows the heat to stay in place over three areas where the kinks are: Europe, Japan and the western United States.

The same jet stream pattern caused the 2003 European heat wave, the 2010 Russian heat wave and fires, the 2011 Texas and Oklahoma drought and the 2016 Canadian wildfires, Pennsylvania State University climate scientist Michael Mann said, pointing to past studies by him and others. He said in an email that these extremes are "becoming more common because of human-caused climate change and in particular, the amplified warming in the Arctic."

Climate scientists have long said they can't directly link single weather events, like a heat wave, to human caused climate change without extensive study. In the past decade they have used observations, statistics and computer simulations to calculate if global warming increases the chances of the events.

A study by European scientists Friday found that the ongoing European heat wave is twice as likely because of human-caused global warming, though those conclusions have not yet been confirmed by outside scientists. The World Weather Attribution team said they compared three-day heat measurements and forecasts for the Netherlands, Denmark and Ireland with historical records going back to the early 1900s.

"The world is becoming warmer and so heat waves like this are becoming more common," said Friederike Otto, a member of the team and deputy director of the Environmental Change Institute at the University of Oxford.

Erich Fischer, an expert on weather extremes at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich who wasn't part of the analysis said the authors used well-established methods to make their conclusions.

Georgia Tech climate scientist Kim Cobb said the link between climate change and fires isn't as strong as it is with heat waves, but it is becoming clearer.

A devastating fire in Greece - with at least 83 fatalities - is the deadliest fire in Europe since 1900, according to the International Disaster Database run by the Centre for the Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters in Brussels, Belgium.

In the United States on Friday, there were 89 active large fires, consuming nearly 900,000 acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. So far this year, fires have burned 4.15 million acres, which is nearly 14 percent higher than average over the past 10 years.

The first major science study to connect greenhouse gases to stronger and longer heat waves was in 2004. It was titled "More intense, more frequent and longer lasting heat waves in the 21st century." Study author Gerald Meehl of the National Center for Atmospheric Research said Friday that now it "reads like a prediction of what has been happening and will continue to happen as long as average temperatures continue to rise with ever-increasing emissions of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels. It's no mystery."

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Borenstein reported from Washington, Jordans from Berlin.

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Follow Seth Borenstein on Twitter: @borenbears . His work can be found here .

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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.

Visitors rest in the shade in the midday heat at Cheonggye stream in downtown Seoul, South Korea, Monday, July 23, 2018. The temperature in a city north of Tokyo reached 41.1 degrees Celsius (106 degrees Fahrenheit) on Monday, the highest ever recorded in Japan, as a deadly heat wave gripped a wide swath of the country and nearby South Korea. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

A man cools off in a water mist along the Las Vegas Strip, Thursday, July 26, 2018, in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas valley is in it's third day of a an excessive heat warning issued by the National Weather Service. (AP Photo/John Locher)

This Wednesday, July 25, 2018 aerial photo shows burnt houses and trees following a wildfire in Mati, east of Athens. Frantic relatives searching for loved ones missing in Greece's deadliest forest fire in decades headed to Athens' morgue on Thursday, July 26, 2018 as rescue crews and volunteers continued searches on land and at sea for potential further victims. (Antonis Nikolopoulos/Eurokinissi via AP)
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AP) - Ethiopia's fast-moving new prime minister has met at the White House with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who congratulated him on "historic reform efforts" that include making peace with longtime rival Eritrea.

Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed also met with the chiefs of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund as he pursues a dramatic opening-up of state-owned enterprises in one of Africa's fastest-growing economies.

World Bank chief Jim Yong Kim says the 42-year-old Abiy "has achieved many great things in just 116 days," and Abiy's chief of staff says Kim told the prime minister his institution is ready to provide "robust support."

Africa's second most populous country has a vibrant diaspora in the U.S. and Abiy is also meeting with communities in Washington, California and Minnesota.
MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) - Another diplomatic thaw was underway Saturday in the restless Horn of Africa region as Somalia's president visited Eritrea for the first time and years of tensions gave way to an embrace.

"Somalia is ready to write a new chapter of its relations with Eritrea," Abdinur Mohamed, a spokesman for President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, announced on Twitter.

The two nations have not had diplomatic ties for nearly 15 years. Eritrea, one of the world's most closed-off nations, remains under United Nations sanctions for allegedly supporting the Somalia-based al-Shabab extremist group. Eritrea denies it.

FILE - In this Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017 file photo, Somalia's President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed speaks at his inauguration ceremony in Mogadishu, Somalia. Somalia's president has begun a visit to Eritrea on Saturday July 28, 2018, in another possible diplomatic thaw in the restless Horn of Africa region. The two nations have not had diplomatic relations for nearly 15 years. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File)

Eritrea's information minister, Yemane Meskel, said the three-day visit came at the invitation of President Isaias Afwerki, who has led since independence in 1993. "Both leaders have already held a summit," the minister said on Twitter, sharing photos of the meeting.

"Wind of change is here to stay in the Horn of Africa," one Eritrean diplomat, the ambassador to Japan Estifanos Afeworki, said on Twitter.

The visit by Somalia's leader follows a stunning diplomatic thaw in recent weeks between Eritrea and neighboring Ethiopia after more than two decades. Ethiopia under reformist new Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed already has asked that the U.N. sanctions on Eritrea be dropped.

The U.N. secretary-general has indicated that the sanctions could be obsolete.

The changing relations in the Horn of Africa region are of interest to the wealthy Gulf states just across the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea. Already they have been jostling for influence in the African nations along one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, including both Somalia and Eritrea. Landlocked Ethiopia also eyes both countries' ports as outlets for its fast-growing economy.

The United Arab Emirates, which set up a military base at Eritrea's post of Assab after a Saudi-led coalition launched its war against Shiite rebels in Yemen in 2015, has played a role in mending relations between Eritrea and Ethiopia, in recent days hosting the leaders of both countries and praising their "bold" gestures.

Somalia remains fragile under the threat of al-Shabab, which holds some rural areas and often carries out high-profile suicide bombings in the capital, Mogadishu. A truck bombing in October killed more than 500 people in the deadliest attack in the country's history.

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BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Taxi drivers in Barcelona are blocking traffic on a major thoroughfare as part of an indefinite strike to protest the use of ride-hailing apps like Uber and Cabify.

Hundreds of taxi drivers parked their back-and-yellow cabs in the middle of Barcelona's Gran Via on Saturday, where some drivers spent the night in their vehicles or tents.

Catalan public television showed taxis from other Spanish cities, including Bilbao some 600 kilometers (372 miles) away, arriving overnight to join the protest.

Taxi drivers in Barcelona started the strike Wednesday to oppose a judge's decision that suspended the need for additional authorization for ride-hailing companies to operate in the popular tourist destination.

Uber and Cabify suspended services Wednesday after taxi supporters assaulted several of their drivers, sending two of them to the hospital.
MASNAA, Lebanon (AP) - Hundreds of Syrian refugees started crossing the border from Lebanon on Saturday, the latest group to return to Syria from its western neighbor.

Three buses carrying scores of people crossed the border into Syria in the early afternoon and more than 30 other buses are in Lebanon to carry more refugees later in the day.

Russia has put forward an initiative to return hundreds of thousands of refugees to Syria, and hundreds have returned from Lebanon over the past weeks.

Syrian refugees prepare to cross into Syria by bus at the Lebanese border crossing point of Masnaa, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Saturday, July 28, 2018. About a thousand Syrian refugees are expected to make the crossing on Saturday, after having requested permission from the Lebanese and Syrian governments. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

The head of Lebanon's General Security Directorate Maj. Gen. Abbas Ibrahim called on Syrian refugees to come to the directorate's offices to register their names to return home. He added that the move will eventually end up returning "hundreds of thousands" to their homes.

He said that some delays were caused by vetting those that are wanted back home. "We are insisting that no Syrian refugee returns home and then is detained," Ibrahim told reporters at the border.

Syrian state TV said up to 1,200 Syrians are expected to end up returning on Saturday, adding that more than 30 Syrian buses crossed into Lebanon to bring them back home.

"I have no words to express my feelings," a Syrian woman told the channel while aboard a bus after she reached the Syrian side of the border. A teenager in the bus carried a poster of President Bashar Assad with a caption that read: "Together on the roads of victory."

Many have returned from the northeastern Lebanese town of Arsal over the past weeks. Most of those heading home Saturday were coming from the southern Lebanese village of Chebaa.

Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Friday that the Russian initiative aims to return some 890,000 Syrians from Lebanon.

Lebanon is home to some 1 million Syrian refugees, a large number for a country of 4.5 million people.

The Russian initiative was proposed following the summit in Helsinki between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, although it was not clear whether the U.S. supported the proposal.

Members of the Lebanese general security oversee Syrian refugees gathered to cross into Syria at the Lebanese border crossing point of Masnaa, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Saturday, July 28, 2018. About a thousand Syrian refugees are expected to make the crossing on Saturday, after having requested permission from the Lebanese and Syrian governments. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

Syrian refugees children wave through a bus window as they prepare to cross into Syria at the Lebanese border crossing point of Masnaa, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Saturday, July 28, 2018. About a thousand Syrian refugees are expected to make the crossing on Saturday, after having requested permission from the Lebanese and Syrian governments. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A convoy of buses carry Syrian refugees cross into Syria at the Lebanese border crossing point of Masnaa, in Bekaa Valley, Lebanon, Saturday, July 28, 2018. About a thousand Syrian refugees are expected to make the crossing on Saturday, after having requested permission from the Lebanese and Syrian governments. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
MADRID (AP) - Spain's maritime rescue service says it has saved nearly 1,000 migrants attempting the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean to Europe from North Africa over the last two days.

The service says it pulled 206 people from 10 different boats Saturday morning, after rescuing 774 migrants traveling in 52 boats on Friday.

As a crackdown by Libyan authorities has made it more difficult for migrants to reach Italy, many are attempting the trip from Algeria and Morocco into Spain, where over 20,000 have already arrived by sea in 2018.

EDS NOTE: SPANISH LAW REQUIRES THAT THE FACES OF MINORS ARE MASKED IN PUBLICATIONS WITHIN SPAIN. In this photo taken on Friday, July 27, 2018, migrant children look at the camera as they travel with others onboard Spain's Concepcion Arenal Maritime Rescue Service boat at the port of Barbate, southern Spain, after being rescued by Spain's Maritime Rescue Service in the Strait of Gibraltar, in Barbate, Spain. Maritime rescue authorities say 751 migrants have been plucked Friday from 52 dinghies trying to reach Spanish shores from northern Africa, this year's most popular route into Europe. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

Human trafficking mafias pack the migrants into small craft unfit for open waters. Over 1,500 people have died so far this year trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea.

Migration into Europe is down sharply from previous years but the topic has become very political.

EDS NOTE: SPANISH LAW REQUIRES THAT THE FACES OF MINORS ARE MASKED IN PUBLICATIONS WITHIN SPAIN. In this photo taken on Friday, July 27, 2018, migrants look at the camera as they play onboard Spain's Concepcion Arenal Maritime Rescue Service boat at the port of Barbate, southern Spain, after being rescued by Spain's Maritime Rescue Service in the Strait of Gibraltar, in Barbate, Spain. Maritime rescue authorities say 751 migrants have been plucked Friday from 52 dinghies trying to reach Spanish shores from northern Africa, this year's most popular route into Europe. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

In this photo taken on Friday, July 27, 2018, migrants rest at the port of Tarifa, southern Spain, after being rescued by Spain's Maritime Rescue Service in the Strait of Gibraltar, in Tarifa, Spain. Maritime rescue authorities say 751 migrants have been plucked Friday from 52 dinghies trying to reach Spanish shores from northern Africa, this year's most popular route into Europe. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

In this photo taken on Friday, July 27, 2018, migrants rest onboard Spain's Arcturus Maritime Rescue Service boat at the port of Tarifa, southern Spain, after being rescued by Spain's Maritime Rescue Service in the Strait of Gibraltar, in Tarifa, Spain. Maritime rescue authorities say 751 migrants have been plucked Friday from 52 dinghies trying to reach Spanish shores from northern Africa, this year's most popular route into Europe. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

In this photo taken on Friday, July 27, 2018, migrants rest at the port of Barbate, southern Spain, after being rescued by Spain's Maritime Rescue Service in the Strait of Gibraltar, in Barbate, Spain. Maritime rescue authorities say 751 migrants have been plucked Friday from 52 dinghies trying to reach Spanish shores from northern Africa, this year's most popular route into Europe. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

In this photo taken on Friday, July 27, 2018, migrants rest at the port of Tarifa, southern Spain, as they wait to be moved after being rescued by Spain's Maritime Rescue Service in the Strait of Gibraltar, in Tarifa, Spain. Maritime rescue authorities say 751 migrants have been plucked Friday from 52 dinghies trying to reach Spanish shores from northern Africa, this year's most popular route into Europe. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

EDS NOTE: SPANISH LAW REQUIRES THAT THE FACES OF MINORS ARE MASKED IN PUBLICATIONS WITHIN SPAIN. In this photo taken on Friday, July 27, 2018, a young migrant rests with others onboard Spain's Concepcion Arenal Maritime Rescue Service boat at the port of Barbate, southern Spain, after being rescued by Spain's Maritime Rescue Service in the Strait of Gibraltar, in Barbate, Spain. Maritime rescue authorities say 751 migrants have been plucked Friday from 52 dinghies trying to reach Spanish shores from northern Africa, this year's most popular route into Europe. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

In this photo taken on Friday, July 27, 2018, a migrant rests with others onboard Spain's Maria Zambrano Maritime Rescue Service boat as the sun rises at the port of Algeciras, southern Spain, after being rescued by Spain's Maritime Rescue Service in the Strait of Gibraltar, in Algeciras, Spain. Maritime rescue authorities say 751 migrants have been plucked Friday from 52 dinghies trying to reach Spanish shores from northern Africa, this year's most popular route into Europe. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

EDS NOTE: SPANISH LAW REQUIRES THAT THE FACES OF MINORS ARE MASKED IN PUBLICATIONS WITHIN SPAIN. In this photo taken on Friday, July 27, 2018, a migrant plays with an inflated glove at the port of Barbate, southern Spain, after being rescued by Spain's Maritime Rescue Service in the Strait of Gibraltar, in Barbate, Spain. Maritime rescue authorities say 751 migrants have been plucked Friday from 52 dinghies trying to reach Spanish shores from northern Africa, this year's most popular route into Europe. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

In this photo taken on Friday, July 27, 2018, a migrant rests with others as the sun rises at the port of Algeciras, southern Spain, after being rescued by Spain's Maritime Rescue Service in the Strait of Gibraltar, in Algeciras, Spain. Maritime rescue authorities say 751 migrants have been plucked Friday from 52 dinghies trying to reach Spanish shores from northern Africa, this year's most popular route into Europe. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

EDS NOTE: SPANISH LAW REQUIRES THAT THE FACES OF MINORS ARE MASKED IN PUBLICATIONS WITHIN SPAIN. In this photo taken on Friday, July 27, 2018, migrants rest onboard Spain's Concepcion Arenal Maritime Rescue Service boat at the port of Barbate, southern Spain, after being rescued by Spain's Maritime Rescue Service in the Strait of Gibraltar, in Barbate, Spain. Maritime rescue authorities say 751 migrants have been plucked Friday from 52 dinghies trying to reach Spanish shores from northern Africa, this year's most popular route into Europe. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

EDS NOTE: SPANISH LAW REQUIRES THAT THE FACES OF MINORS ARE MASKED IN PUBLICATIONS WITHIN SPAIN. In this photo taken on Friday, July 27, 2018, a migrant and a Spanish Civil Guard policeman play with an inflated glove at the port of Barbate, southern Spain, after being rescued by Spain's Maritime Rescue Service in the Strait of Gibraltar, in Barbate, Spain. Maritime rescue authorities say 751 migrants have been plucked Friday from 52 dinghies trying to reach Spanish shores from northern Africa, this year's most popular route into Europe. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

In this photo taken on Friday, July 27, 2018, migrants rest onboard Spain's Arcturus Maritime Rescue Service boat at the port of Tarifa, southern Spain, after being rescued by Spain's Maritime Rescue Service in the Strait of Gibraltar, in Tarifa, Spain. Maritime rescue authorities say 751 migrants have been plucked Friday from 52 dinghies trying to reach Spanish shores from northern Africa, this year's most popular route into Europe. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

In this photo taken on Friday, July 27, 2018, migrants wait at the port of Tarifa, southern Spain, to be moved to another location after being rescued by Spain's Maritime Rescue Service in the Strait of Gibraltar, in Tarifa, Spain. Maritime rescue authorities say 751 migrants have been plucked Friday from 52 dinghies trying to reach Spanish shores from northern Africa, this year's most popular route into Europe. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

EDS NOTE: SPANISH LAW REQUIRES THAT THE FACES OF MINORS ARE MASKED IN PUBLICATIONS WITHIN SPAIN. In this photo taken on Friday, July 27, 2018, migrants rest onboard Spain's Concepcion Arenal Maritime Rescue Service boat at the port of Barbate, southern Spain, after being rescued by Spain's Maritime Rescue Service in the Strait of Gibraltar, in Barbate, Spain. Maritime rescue authorities say 751 migrants have been plucked Friday from 52 dinghies trying to reach Spanish shores from northern Africa, this year's most popular route into Europe. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

In this photo taken late Wednesday, July 25, 2018, a migrant spends the night with others onboard a Spanish Maritime Rescue Service boat docked at the port of Algeciras, southern Spain, after being rescued in the Strait of Gibraltar. Around 800 migrants stormed border fences separating Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco to get into Europe, police said Thursday. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

In this photo taken late Wednesday, July 25, 2018, migrants spend the night onboard a Spanish Maritime Rescue Service boat at the port of Algeciras, southern Spain, after being rescued in the Strait of Gibraltar. Around 800 migrants stormed border fences separating Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco to get into Europe, police said Thursday.(AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

In this photo taken late Wednesday, July 25, 2018, migrants prepare to spend the night onboard a Spanish Maritime Rescue Service boat docked at the port of Algeciras, southern Spain, after being rescued in the Strait of Gibraltar. Around 800 migrants stormed border fences separating Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco to get into Europe, police said Thursday. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

In this photo taken late Wednesday, July 25, 2018, a migrant goes ashore as he spends the night with others onboard a Spanish Maritime Rescue Service boat docked at the port of Algeciras, southern Spain, after being rescued in the Strait of Gibraltar. Around 800 migrants stormed border fences separating Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco to get into Europe, police said Thursday. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

In this photo taken late Wednesday, July 25, 2018, migrants are silhouetted as they prepare to spend the night onboard a Spanish Maritime Rescue Service boat docked at the port of Algeciras, southern Spain, after being rescued in the Strait of Gibraltar. Around 800 migrants stormed border fences separating Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco to get into Europe, police said Thursday. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

In this photo taken late Wednesday, July 25, 2018, migrants spend the night onboard a Spanish Maritime Rescue Service boat at the port of Algeciras, southern Spain, after being rescued in the Strait of Gibraltar. Around 800 migrants stormed border fences separating Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco to get into Europe, police said Thursday.(AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

In this photo taken late Wednesday, July 25, 2018, migrants spend the night onboard a Spanish Maritime Rescue Service boat at the port of Algeciras, southern Spain, after being rescued in the Strait of Gibraltar. Around 800 migrants stormed border fences separating Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco to get into Europe, police said Thursday. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)

In this photo taken late Wednesday, July 25, 2018, migrants spend the night onboard a Spanish Maritime Rescue Service boat docked at the port of Algeciras, southern Spain, after being rescued in the Strait of Gibraltar. Around 800 migrants stormed border fences separating Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta from Morocco to get into Europe, police said Thursday. (AP Photo/Marcos Moreno)
BRICK, N.J. (AP) - Ah, the sounds of summer: waves crashing on the shore, the calls of seagulls, the beep-beep-beep of bulldozers in reverse ...

New Jersey residents love their beaches, one of the state's economic engines and a tourist magnet. What they don't love so much is the process of keeping those beaches nice and wide, particularly when it happens during the summer.

The federal and state governments have long carried out beach replenishment projects here and in other states. After Superstorm Sandy devastated parts of the East Coast in 2012, those efforts accelerated, and New Jersey is in the midst of building or repairing protective sand dunes along most of its 127-mile (200-kilometer) shoreline.

This July 13, 2018 photo shows a bulldozer smoothing sand in a beach replenishment project in Surf City, N.J. Some residents and visitors complain about noise and disruption from the replenishment work and wish it could be prohibited during the summer, even as they acknowledge the need for it. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

Not all of that work can be done in the fall or winter. That inevitably creates temporary disruption for beach residents and visitors, even though most acknowledge the need for the work.

Jerry Ranges owns a house on the beach in Brick Township, where a beach replenishment project was recently carried out directly in front of it. He realizes he will benefit from the added protection of the wider beach, even if it means some noise and vibration.

"It's got to be done," said Ranges, who lives in Honolulu but stays at the Jersey shore in the summer. "You just have to live with it."

Ranges loves the cooling sea breezes that come with living on the beach.

"I hate air conditioning," he said. "I love to leave the windows open. But with this going on, you can't. I had to buy an air conditioner."

He and his wife, Lis Ranges, had to use a beach about a mile (1.6 kilometers) away while the work was in front of their home. The round-the-clock work involves a huge offshore ship pumping torrents of sand and water onto the beaches and bulldozers moving it and smoothing it on the shoreline.

"The house vibrates all night long," she said. "The bed shakes."

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers put in their yard a vibration detection sensor that sends an alarm to supervisors if the shaking exceeds a certain level.

The beach work often is a surprise to visitors who have no idea the work is going on when they book rentals, often months in advance. Annalise Roberts, of Mahwah, was among a group who recently arrived at the Brick beach, only to encounter signs saying it was closed and directing them to one a few blocks away.

She had previously experienced beach replenishment work up close during a stay on Florida's Long Boat Key near Sarasota.

"There were a lot of pipes, and you hear a lot of beeping from the bulldozers," she said. "But then one morning you walk outside and the beach is twice the size it was a few days earlier, and you say, 'This is the greatest thing ever!'"

Sandy wreaked havoc in this part of Brick, destroying homes and sparking gas-fed fires that burned down an entire community of more than 60 bungalows.

Ed Craumer, of Oradell, owns a summer home two blocks from the beach in Long Beach Island's Surf City and said, "They work 24/7, and we hear the machines all night long."

A piece of heavy equipment maybe 20 yards (18 meters) away dropped a large pipe on the sand, shaking his wife's beach chair.

"This is not exactly a quiet day at the beach," said his wife, Lois Craumer.

Army Corps spokesman Steve Rochette said some projects take as long as two years to complete, so it's inevitable that some work will have to take place during the summer months. There are only so many specialized boats available to do the work, and the Corps closes only 1,000 feet (300 meters) of beach at a time to minimize dislocation.

The loudest criticism of summer beach work came last year from Margate, a wealthy beach town just south of Atlantic City, where residents and officials fought for years in an unsuccessful legal battle to block the dune project. They warned that due to the particular topography of their beach, building dunes would trap water between the sand piles and the wooden bulkhead at the edge of the beach.

That's exactly what happened, creating vast ponds that residents initially had to slog through or take long detours around before the Corps pumped the water away and built sand crossovers. A permanent solution involving concrete outfall pipes is nearly halfway done.

"It was mayhem," Mayor Michael Becker said. "It was hell for a while."

The remediation work will be done in the offseason.

"We made a deal saying we don't want them on our beaches this summer," Becker said. "So they'll be back in the spring."

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Follow Wayne Parry at http://twitter.com/WayneParryAC

This July 13, 2018 photo shows a beachgoer on the sand near where a bulldozer is smoothing sand in a beach replenishment project in Surf City, N.J. Some residents and visitors complain about noise and disruption from the replenishment work and wish it could be prohibited during the summer, even as they acknowledge the need for it. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)

This July 11, 2018 photo shows a ship pumping sand from offshore onto the beach in Brick, N.J. where heavy equipment and numerous pipes are on the sand as part of a beach replenishment project. Some residents and visitors complain about noise and disruption from the replenishment work and wish it could be prohibited during the summer, even as they acknowledge the need for it. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)
SILVER SPRING, Md. (AP) - Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh says he recognizes that gun, drug and gang violence "has plagued all of us." Still, he believes the Constitution limits how far government can go to restrict gun use to prevent crime.

As a federal appeals court judge, Kavanaugh made it clear in a 2011 dissent that he thinks Americans can keep most guns, even the AR-15 rifles used in some of the deadliest mass shootings.

Kavanaugh's nomination by President Donald Trump has delighted Second Amendment advocates. Gun law supporters worry that his ascendancy to America's highest court would make it harder to curb the proliferation of guns. Kavanaugh has the support of the National Rifle Association, which posted a photograph of Kavanaugh and Trump across the top of its website.

FILE - In this July 18, 2018, file photo, Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh smiles during a meeting with Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Kavanaugh says he recognizes that gun, drug and gang violence "has plagued all of us." Still, he believes the Constitution limits how far government can go to restrict gun use to prevent violent crime (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

The Supreme Court has basically stayed away from major guns cases since its rulings in 2008 and 2010 declared a right to have a gun, at least in the home for the purpose of self-defense.

Gun rights advocates believe Kavanaugh interprets the Second Amendment right to bear arms more broadly than does Anthony Kennedy, the justice he would replace. As a first step, some legal experts expect Kavanaugh would be more likely to vote for the court to hear a case that could expand the right to gun ownership or curtail a gun control law.

Kavanaugh would be a "big improvement" over Kennedy, said Erich Pratt, executive director of Gun Owners of America. Kennedy sided with the majority in rulings in 2008 and 2010 overturning bans on handgun possession in the District of Columbia and Chicago, respectively, but some gun rights proponents believe he was a moderating influence.

"Kennedy tended to be all over the map" on the Second Amendment, Pratt said.

Former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, the Arizona Democrat who was gravely wounded in a 2011 shooting at a constituent gathering, said in a written statement that Kavanaugh's "dangerous views on the Second Amendment are far outside the mainstream of even conservative thought."

She predicted that Kavanaugh would back the gun lobby's agenda, "putting corporate interests before public safety."

In his 2011 dissent in a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Kavanaugh argued that the district's ban on semi-automatic rifles and its gun registration requirement were unconstitutional.

That case is known as "Heller II" because it followed the Supreme Court's 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller striking down the city's ban on handguns in the home.

Kavanaugh said the Supreme Court held that handguns are constitutionally protected "because they have not traditionally been banned and are in common use by law-abiding citizens."

"Gun bans and gun regulations that are not longstanding or sufficiently rooted in text, history, and tradition are not consistent with the Second Amendment individual right," he wrote in a point rejected by the majority.

Critics contend Kavanaugh's analysis is flawed because AR-15s were not around during the early days of the republic.

In his dissent, Kavanaugh wrote that he had lived and worked in Washington for most of his life and was "acutely aware of the gun, drug, and gang violence that has plagued all of us."

He said few government responsibilities are more significant than fighting violent crime. "That said, the Supreme Court has long made clear that the Constitution disables the government from employing certain means to prevent, deter, or detect violent crime," he wrote.

He said it was unconstitutional to ban the most popular semi-automatic rifle, the AR-15, since it accounted for 5.5 percent of firearms by 2007 and over 14 percent of rifles produced in the U.S. for the domestic market.

He said semi-automatic rifles had been commercially available since at least 1903, "are quite common in the United States" and the Supreme Court said in a 1994 ruling that they "traditionally have been widely accepted as lawful possessions."

Semi-automatic rifles were used in several mass shootings in recent years, including the February killing of 17 people at a Florida high school.

Kavanaugh rejected the majority's reasoning that semi-automatic handguns were sufficient for self-defense, saying: "That's a bit like saying books can be banned because people can always read newspapers."

He belittled the description of the guns as "assault weapons," saying that handguns could be called the "quintessential 'assault weapons' because they are used much more than other guns in violent crimes.

He was equally dismissive of Washington's gun registration protocol, saying it had not been traditionally required in the nation and "remains highly unusual today."

Still, Kavanaugh supported the ban on full automatics or machine guns, reasoning that they "were developed for the battlefield and were never in widespread civilian use."

In 2016, Kavanaugh dissented when two of his colleagues lifted an order blocking the city from enforcing a limit on issuing licenses to carry concealed firearms.

The Giffords Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence said the dissent shows Kavanaugh believes the district's "good reason" requirement for concealed-carry permit applicants is unconstitutional. His views on that subject drew more scrutiny after the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 days ago in a Hawaii case that people have the right to openly carry guns in public for self-defense.

Phil Mendelson, a Democrat and chairman of the D.C. Council, said Kavanaugh's dissent made clear that "his views on gun control are on the extreme side." Councilmember Mary M. Cheh, a Democrat and professor of constitutional law at George Washington University, said she's "worried about the shift to the right, for sure."

Some legal experts believe Kavanaugh's confirmation would make it more likely the court would hear another potentially groundbreaking Second Amendment case. Only four of nine justices need to vote in favor of reviewing a case.

UCLA law school professor Adam Winkler, author of "Gunfight: The Battle Over the Right to Bear Arms in America," said Kavanaugh could become that crucial fourth vote because three justices - Neil Gorsuch, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito Jr. - all have voiced support for the court to take on Second Amendment cases.

Still, it takes five justices to win a case and Chief Justice John Roberts may turn out to be as reluctant as Kennedy to further define the law.

Georgia State University law professor Eric Segall said the court's recent silence on gun laws has fueled speculation that neither the conservative justices nor their liberal colleagues knew how Kennedy would vote. Segall suspects the Supreme Court would be more likely to review a Second Amendment case if Kavanaugh is confirmed because there is less uncertainty about where he stands compared to Kennedy.

"The lower courts are just all over the place, reaching different results on different gun laws. The court has to provide guidance at some point, and it will," Segall said.

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Neumeister reported from New York.

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More reporting on the Supreme Court and Kavanaugh can be found at: http://apne.ws/IHcZXad
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Patrick Murphy was convicted of killing a fellow Muscogee (Creek) Nation man in 1999 and was sentenced to die. Prosecutors say he mutilated George Jacobs and left him to bleed to death on the side of a country road about 80 miles southeast of Tulsa.

In a decision that many believe could radically redefine criminal jurisdiction across a huge swath of Oklahoma, though, a federal appeals court overturned the conviction last year. It determined the case should have been tried in federal court, not state court, because the crime occurred on land assigned to the tribe before Oklahoma became a state and Congress never formally disestablished the tribal borders even though the land long ago stopped being a reservation.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear the state's appeal of the ruling this fall, but other Native American inmates and defendants in Oklahoma have already begun appealing their convictions or asking for their cases to be dismissed on the same jurisdictional grounds. State and federal officials warn, too, that if the ruling stands, it could have far-reaching effects on areas beyond criminal jurisdiction, including tax collection and property rights.

In this photo provided by the Oklahoma Department of Corrections, Patrick Dwyane Murphy is pictured in a photo in McAlester, Okla., dated July 8, 2004. Murphy, a 49-year-old member of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation on death row, had his conviction and death sentence tossed by a federal appeals court.(Oklahoma Department of Corrections via AP)

"If not corrected, the decision ... could result in the largest abrogation of state sovereignty by a federal court in American history," Oklahoma's attorney general, Mike Hunter, wrote in asking the Supreme Court to look at the ruling.

The ruling could have a big effect on tribal members in Oklahoma, but not elsewhere, because of how tribal land was treated as Oklahoma transitioned from territory to state.

Many of the 38 Oklahoma-based tribes were driven from their ancestral homelands and resettled on sweeping tracts of land in what later became the state, including most of what is now eastern Oklahoma. The Creek Nation's territory, alone, encompassed more than 3 million acres, including most of what became the state's second-largest city, Tulsa.

As settlers continued to expand westward, the federal government took back much of that land through forced allotment, a policy aimed at transforming communally owned tribal land to individual parcels owned by tribal members. Lands the government determined to be "excess" were sold on the open market or allowed to be settled by non-Native Americans.

In its ruling last year, the appeals court in Denver determined that because Congress never formally disestablished the Creek Nation's original tribal boundaries, the land in McIntosh County where Jacobs was killed is still under the jurisdiction of tribal or federal authorities for crimes involving tribal members.

Although the ruling is specific to Murphy's case and Creek Nation territory, legal experts say it could be applied to cases involving other members of tribes whose boundaries also weren't formally disestablished by Congress.

If the ruling is allowed to stand, the number of felony indictments based on Oklahoma Indian country jurisdiction could jump from three cases in 2017 to more than 500 per year, the U.S. Department of Justice's solicitor general wrote in a filing supporting the state's appeal.

"The federal government would have exclusive jurisdiction over most crimes by or against Indians in most of eight counties, including the City of Tulsa, with a total population of about 950,000 people," he wrote.

The state's oil and gas industry also submitted a brief in the case, fretting that the ruling threatens to "upend practically every aspect of Oklahoma's legal and regulatory regime."

Many tribal officials and legal scholars, along with Murphy's attorneys, say many of the "sky-is-falling" legal arguments in the case are overblown.

"I would say they're not just a little bit overblown, they're wildly overstated on a lot of fronts," said Lindsay Dowell, first assistant attorney general for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

Dowell said the tribe, like many in Oklahoma, has a fully functional court and law enforcement system that already works closely with state and federal partners.

"So, the Nation has the capacity to function as a government with respect to law enforcement and does that already and has the capacity to handle anything that would result from Murphy," she said.

Oklahoma City University's general counsel, Casey Ross, who is also director of the law school's American Indian Law and Sovereignty Center, said she also believes many of the fears about how the ruling might impact tax policy, environmental regulation and land ownership are overstated. Still, she acknowledged the ruling is momentous, as it stands.

"It's an interesting case. It's an interesting time," she said. "Particularly my law professor colleagues, we all kind of joke with each other about how we might have to change up the way we're teaching (tribal law)."

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Follow Sean Murphy on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apseanmurphy

Casey, Ross, Oklahoma City University's general counsel, professor and director of the law school's American Indian Law and Sovereignty Center, is pictured during an interview in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, July 11, 2018. A grisly 1999 killing in eastern Oklahoma has led through a maze of tribal law to the nation's highest court. Many fear the case could radically redefine criminal jurisdiction across a huge swathe of eastern Oklahoma. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

FILE - In this Wednesday, June 13, 2018 file photo, Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter speaks at a news conference in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, June 13, 2018. A grisly 1999 killing in eastern Oklahoma has led through a maze of tribal law to the nation's highest court. Many fear the case could radically redefine criminal jurisdiction across a huge swathe of eastern Oklahoma. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
VATICAN CITY (AP) - The Latest on the sex abuse allegations surrounding U.S. prelate Theodore McCarrick (all times local):

1:30 p.m.

A Virginia man who says he was sexually abused for decades by Theodore McCarrick said Saturday that he's pleased by news that Pope Francis accepted the cardinal's resignation.

FILE - In this Sept. 23, 2015 file photo, Pope Francis reaches out to hug Cardinal Archbishop emeritus Theodore McCarrick after the Midday Prayer of the Divine with more than 300 U.S. Bishops at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle in Washington. Pope Francis has accepted U.S. prelate Theodore McCarrick's offer to resign from the College of Cardinals following allegations of sexual abuse, including one involving an 11-year-old boy, and ordered him to conduct a "life of prayer and penance" in a home to be designated by the pontiff until a church trial is held, the Vatican said Saturday. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post via AP, Pool, File)

The man, who agreed to be identified only by his first name, James, said the abuse began when he was just 11 years old and continued into adulthood. He tells The Associated Press that he hopes McCarrick's resignation would help other victims "become free."

McCarrick has denied the allegations of abuse. James, who recently filed a police report, said "truth always prevails." The AP generally doesn't identify people who say they've been sexually abused; James asked to be called by his first name only in order to protect his family's privacy.

James says he's thankful that "everybody in today's world is more understanding of the harm done by individual priests, and now we can start to heal."

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5:20 p.m.

The Texas prelate who heads the U.S. bishops' conference is thanking Pope Francis for accepting Cardinal Theodore McCarrick's resignation amid a sex abuse scandal.

Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo said in a statement Saturday: "I thank the Holy Father for his leadership in taking this important step."

The Vatican said Francis had received McCarrick's offer to leave the College of Cardinals on Friday.

DiNardo, archbishop of Galveston-Houston and president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, noted that Francis also ordered the former Washington D.C. archbishop to "observe a life of prayer and penance in seclusion" until a church trial is held.

DiNardo said Francis was prioritizing "the need for protection and care for all our people" and aware of how "failures in this area affect the life of the church in the United States."

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10 a.m.

In a move described as unprecedented, Pope Francis has stripped U.S. prelate Theodore McCarrick of his title of cardinal following allegations of sexual abuse, including one involving an 11-year-old boy.

The Vatican announced on Saturday that Francis ordered McCarrick to conduct a "life of prayer and penance" even before a church trial is held.

Breaking with past practice, Francis decided to act swiftly in the case of the emeritus archbishop of Washington, D.C., even before the accusations can be investigated by church officials. McCarrick was previously one of the highest, most well-known Catholic church officials in the United States and was heavily involved in the church's response there to allegations of priestly abuse.

The pope has ordered McCarrick's "suspension from the exercise of any public ministry ... for a life of prayer and penance until the accusations made against him are examined in a regular canonical trial."

Among the boys McCarrick allegedly abused was a child he had baptized shortly after he was ordained a priest.

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10 a.m.

Pope Francis received Theodore McCarrick's letter of resignation Friday evening, after recent weeks brought a spate of allegations that the 88-year-old prelate had for years sexually abused boys and had sexual misconduct with seminarians. The McCarrick case posed a test of the pontiff's recently declared resolve to battle what he called a "culture of cover-up" of similar abuses in the Catholic church's hierarchy.

The Vatican didn't say where McCarrick would be confined nor when a church trial might begin. The order suspending him from public ministry effectively approved a measure already taken against McCarrick since last month.

A Catholic University canon law expert, Kurt Martens, noted this was the first time an order of penance and prayer had been issued before a church trial takes place.

"The Vatican almost never moves at this speed," said Terence McKiernan, of BishopAccountability.org.Inc., a Massachusetts-based nonprofit group that tracks clergy sexual abuse cases.

The pope appears to "understand the gravity of the situation and further harm to the Catholic church's status," he said in a telephone interview.

FILE - In this Wednesday, March 4, 2015, file photo, Cardinal Theodore Edgar McCarrick speaks during a memorial service in South Bend, Ind. Pope Francis has accepted U.S. prelate Theodore McCarrick's offer to resign from the College of Cardinals following allegations of sexual abuse, including one involving an 11-year-old boy, and ordered him to conduct a "life of prayer and penance" in a home to be designated by the pontiff until a church trial is held, the Vatican said Saturday, July 28, 2018. (Robert Franklin/South Bend Tribune via AP, Pool, File)
REDDING, Calif. (AP) - The Latest on wildfires burning in California (all times local):

8:20 p.m.

Authorities say a deadly wildfire that forced thousands of evacuations in Northern California has grown slightly and containment remained at just 5 percent.

Firefighters hose down hot spots near a residential district Saturday, July 28, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection officials reported Saturday that the number of structures destroyed climbed to 536 from 500. About 5,000 structures remain threatened.

The fire in the Redding area grew to 131 square miles (340 square kilometers) from 127 square miles (327 square kilometers) earlier in the day.

The wildfire has badly damaged the small community of Keswick, swept through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and hit homes in Redding.

About 38,000 people remain under evacuation orders.

Two firefighters were killed and a family of three perished in the fire.

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7 p.m.

Authorities have ordered evacuations due to a fire in a Northern California county known for its wine.

Cal Fire said the fire started Saturday afternoon and about 100 acres have been affected in the Lake Berryessa area of Napa County.

The Napa Valley Register reports three homes may have been destroyed.

Napa County's assistant county executive officer, Mary Booher, told the newspaper the homes are among 15 structures damaged in the fire's early hours.

The newspaper reports about 80 homes are being evacuated.

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5:20 p.m.

Authorities say they have made an arrest related to looting in Northern California neighborhoods evacuated because of a deadly wildfire.

Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko told anxious residents at a community meeting Saturday that authorities had collared a parolee and he was going to jail.

Residents cheered and did so again later when Redding Police Chief Roger Moore said his officers had leads on other suspects.

More than 38,000 people have been displaced since the blaze started Monday. At least three civilians and two firefighters have been killed.

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2:40 p.m.

Authorities say they are investigating reports of looting in Northern California neighborhoods that were evacuated because of a deadly wildfire and that officials have identified several suspects.

Redding Police Chief Roger Moore says his department has been receiving reports of people driving around evacuated areas and shouldering doors of houses still standing.

Moore said Saturday no arrests have been made.

Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko says officials are tightening security in evacuation zones.

He says more than 100 officers and 260 National Guard soldiers are helping with evacuations and providing security in the empty neighborhoods.

Bosenko says more than 38,000 have been displaced since the blaze started Monday. At least three civilians and two firefighters have been killed.

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2 p.m.

A bulldozer operator killed when he was overtaken by a massive blaze in Northern California has been identified.

The Shasta County Sheriff's Office said Saturday the bulldozer operator helping to clear vegetation in the wildfire's path has been identified as 81-year-old Don Smith of Pollock Pines, California.

California fire officials said Smith and his equipment had been hired privately. His body was found late Thursday in Redding.

A Redding firefighter was also killed fighting the blaze that started Monday.

Family members of three people missing said Saturday they have been confirmed dead.

Sherry Bledsoe says that her grandmother, 70-year-old Melody Bledsoe, and her children, 5-year-old James Roberts and 4-year-old Emily Roberts, died in the fire near Redding.

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1:15 p.m.

Family members say three people missing in a Northern California wildfire have been confirmed dead.

Sherry Bledsoe said Saturday that her two children and her grandmother died in the fire near Redding.

The fatalities bring the death toll to five since the massive blaze started burning Monday about 100 miles (161 kilometers) south of the Oregon border.

The dead were identified as 70-year-old Melody Bledsoe and her great-grandchildren, 5-year-old James Roberts and 4-year-old Emily Roberts.

Family members had been desperately looking for them since flames leveled the home where they were stranded on Thursday.

Bledsoe's husband was out getting supplies at the store when the boy called him and said he needed to get home because the fire was approaching.

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12:45 p.m.

Police in a Northern California city say they have been unable to locate 14 people, including a 70-year-old woman and her young great-grandchildren, amid a raging wildfire.

Redding Police Sgt. Todd Cogle said he expects most of the 14 to be safe since their homes survived the Shasta County wildfire. He says some may be having communication issues.

Cogle said he could not comment on Melody Bledsoe and 5-year-old James Roberts and 4-year-old Emily Roberts, who remain missing. He said the Shasta County Sheriff's Office is investigating.

Police have surrounded the Bledsoe property with crime scene tape.

An investigator Saturday wouldn't say if any remains had been found.

The wildfire that started Monday has displaced at least 37,000 people.

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12:20 p.m.

A shelter for people displaced by a massive blaze in Northern California has reached full capacity as fire authorities order more evacuations.

Peter Griggs, a spokesman for Shasta College in Redding, says the evacuation center at the school reached maximum capacity Saturday and is housing 500 people.

The college's gymnasium is filled with cots and American Red Cross volunteers are providing food, water and medical and mental health services.

California fire officials say more mandatory evacuations were ordered Saturday afternoon for communities south of Redding and three other shelters are still taking evacuees.

The raging fire that started Monday has displaced at least 37,000 people.

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11:20 a.m.

Police have surrounded a burned-out property with crime scene tape where two children and their great-grandmother are unaccounted for after a Northern California wildfire destroyed their home.

An investigator Saturday wouldn't say if any remains had been found, but police closed off the road to the house. Family members have been desperately seeking 70-year-old Melody Bledsoe and two of her great-grandchildren who lived with her at the Quartz Hill Road home in Redding.

Jason Decker, a boyfriend of a relative, says that Bledsoe's husband, Ed, was at the store Thursday when his 5-year-old grandson, James Roberts, called to say he needed to come right home because the fire was close.

Decker says that when Ed Bledsoe tried to drive home, police wouldn't let him through a roadblock because the fire was raging.

Decker says Melody, the boy and his 4-year-old sister, Emily Roberts, are all missing.

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11 a.m.

President Donald Trump has issued an emergency declaration for California allowing counties affected by wildfires to receive federal assistance.

A White House statement issued Saturday says the declaration allows the Federal Emergency Management Agency to provide necessary equipment and resources.

The declaration highlights a massive wildfire in Northern California that nearly doubled overnight.

California fire officials say more than 10,000 firefighters are working to stop the progress of 14 large wildfires across the state.

They say the blazes have killed three firefighters and destroyed more than 500 structures.

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9:55 a.m.

Two blazes burning 30 miles (50 kilometers) apart are threatening dozens of buildings and have prompted mandatory evacuations in Northern California's Mendocino County.

The blazes that began Friday are burning about 120 miles (200 kilometers) southwest of Redding, California, which is near a massive wildfire that as thousands of under evacuation orders.

The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office says mandatory evacuations are in place for people living an area north of Highway 175 near Hopland, California.

Officials in neighboring Lake County say residents of Benmore Valley were ordered to evacuate Saturday morning.

They say the blazes are threatening more than 350 buildings.

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This item has been corrected to show blaze is burning near Hopland, not Ukiah, California.

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9 a.m.

Officials say a deadly blaze in Northern California almost doubled in size overnight, but is moving away from populated areas.

Chris Anthony, deputy chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said Saturday the so-called Carr Fire burning in Shasta County has scorched 125 square miles (320 square kilometers). It is 5 percent contained.

The blaze covered 75 square miles (194 square kilometers) Friday night.

Anthony says winds are fueling the fire but also pushing it away from Redding, a city of 90,000, and other populated areas. Thousands of people remain under evacuation orders, including the small towns of Ono and Igo.

The explosive wildfire in Northern California has killed two firefighters and destroyed 500 buildings. Another 5,000 buildings remain under threat.

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7 a.m.

A wildfire in far northern California has destroyed at least 500 structures and remains mostly uncontained. The air chokes with the smell of smoke and chemicals. The smoldering remains are still too hot to sift through. And the weather report promises more hot dry conditions, bad news for firefighters working the so-called Carr Fire.

The wildfire has wiped out the small community of Keswick, swept through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and hit homes in Redding. Nearly 5,000 more homes are threatened, and about 37,000 people remain under evacuation orders.

Two firefighters were killed as the flames roared through. Other large fires are burning outside Yosemite National Park and in the San Jacinto Mountains. The National Interagency Fire Center is tracking 89 active large fires in 14 states.

A home burns on a hilltop along Blarney Lane Saturday, July 28, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

A firefighter hoses down hot spots near a residential district Saturday, July 28, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

A firefighter monitors an advancing wildfire Saturday, July 28, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

A firefighter monitors flames from an advancing wildfire Saturday, July 28, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

A home burns on a hilltop along Blarney Lane Saturday, July 28, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

CORRECTS DATE TO JULY 27 - Mark Peterson, who lost his home in the Carr Fire, gives water to goats that survived the blaze on Friday, July 27, 2018, in Redding, Calif. Peterson. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

CORRECTS DATE TO JULY 27 - Homes leveled by the Carr Fire line the Lake Keswick Estates area of Redding, Calif., on Friday, July 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

CORRECTS DATE TO JULY 27 - California Highway Patrol officer Gavin Graham surveys homes leveled by the Carr Fire in the Lake Keswick Estates area of Redding, Calif., on Friday, July 27, 2018. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A Volkswagen Beetle scorched by a wildfire called the Carr Fire rests at a residence in Redding, Calif., Friday, July 27, 2018. The wildfire roared with little warning into the Northern California city as thousands of people scrambled to escape before the walls of flames descended from forested hills onto their neighborhoods, officials said Friday. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Cars scorched by the Carr Fire rest at a residence in Redding, Calif., on Friday, July 27, 2018. The fire rapidly expanded Thursday when erratic flames swept through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and nearby Keswick, then cast the Sacramento River in an orange glow as they jumped the banks into Redding. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Greg and Terri Hill embrace in front of the charred remains of their home in Redding, Calif., on Friday, July 27, 2018. The couple's home was destroyed by the so-called Carr Fire. (AP Photo/Jonathan Cooper)

The historic Pioneer Baby's Grave rests among trees scorched by the Carr Fire in Shasta, Calif., on Friday, July 27, 2018. The fire rapidly expanded Thursday when erratic flames swept through the historic Gold Rush town of Shasta and nearby Keswick, then cast the Sacramento River in an orange glow as they jumped the banks into Redding. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

This Thursday, June 26, 2018, photo released by Casey Lansdon shows Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke in Redding, Calif. A wildfire roared with little warning into the Northern California city as thousands of people scrambled to escape before the walls of flames descended from forested hills onto their neighborhoods, officials said Friday. Stoke was killed in the blaze. (Casey Lansdon via AP)
Emphasising the great potential for the two countries cooperation, the Government leader hoped that during his tenure, the ambassador will do his utmost to foster the strong and effective development of the bilateral relations, in terms of politics, diplomacy, trade, investment, culture, and people-to-people exchange.

He affirmed that Vietnamese agencies will create every condition for the ambassador to fulfill his tasks, contributing to developing the bilateral ties in a more practical and effective manner.

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc (R) receives new UAE Ambassador to Vietnam Obaid Saeed Bintaresh Al Dhaheri on July 27th (Photo: VNA)



For his part, Obaid Saeed Bintaresh Al Dhaheri spoke highly of Vietnams socio-economic development achievements and stressed that senior UAE leaders always wish to boost all-round relations with Vietnam.

As in the Middle East-Africa region, the UEA boasts the largest trade value with Vietnam, the two countries should deploy numerous measures to improve the efficiency of bilateral trade cooperation in the time to come, he said.

The ambassador proposed the PM instruct relevant agencies in Vietnam to facilitate the grant of visas to UAE citizens, thus encouraging and promoting tourism connection and people-to-people exchange between the two countries.

He asserted, as the UAE Ambassador to Vietnam, he will try his best to continuously boost the collaboration between the two countries governments, businesses and people./.
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Maria Santamaria made sure to follow the U.S. immigration rules.

She obtained a green card through her husband, came to the country on an immigrant visa and became an American citizen. When her sister came on a travel visa fleeing violence and civil war in her native El Salvador, she helped her get a green card to stay in the U.S.

That process took 16 years.

Martha Santamaria poses for photos Friday, July 20, 2018, in Los Angeles. Santamaria made sure to follow the U.S. immigration rules. She obtained a green card through her husband, came to the country on an immigrant visa and became an American citizen. When her sister came on a travel visa fleeing violence and civil war in her native El Salvador, she helped her get a green card to stay in the U.S. That process took 16 years. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

"If we had not been of the middle class, we never could have come here legally," Santamaria said. "They would never give a visa to the poor."

At a time when President Donald Trump and other conservatives are repeatedly calling on people to come here legally, most immigrants have few options to do so under the country's complex immigration system. Visas are hard to come by, especially for immigrants struggling with poverty and joblessness in Central America. The other main option for legal immigration - getting a family member who is an American citizen or green card holder to sponsor them - can take more than a decade.

Trump has again endorsed the legal immigration route in recent weeks amid the furor over his administration's policy of separating children from parents at the border, saying the immigrants should be sent home and they can try to come back with legal papers in hand.

"I have a solution: tell people not to come to our country illegally," Trump said recently. "Don't come to our country illegally. Come like other people do. Come legally."

The realities of legal immigration in the U.S. aren't quite that simple.

Getting a visitor's visa - known as a B-2 visa - requires proving a certain amount of wealth that most in developing countries like El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras don't have. That's because the visa application requires them to show income, properties or other assets to prove they will likely return to their countries. Other visas require specialized skills, a corporate sponsor or an American relative who will sponsor them in a process that can take years due to a complex quota system.

Those fleeing violence or persecution can seek asylum legally at designated points along the country's southwest border or upon arriving at the airport. But tens of thousands of Central Americans are caught trying to enter the country illegally each year, which experts conceded may be their only way to come unless they have a strong asylum claim or money.

"The main way - if they don't have a relative who sponsored them years ago in a family-based category so they may be current now - to come is they are going to have to apply for a B-2 non-immigrant visa, and they're likely to be denied," said Daniel Sharp, legal director for the Central American Resource Center in Los Angeles.

The near impossibility of getting a visa may lead some migrants to head north without one. Edvin Cazun, a 43-year-old Guatemalan immigrant, said he tried to come to the United States legally by paying for a short-term farmworker visa but was ripped off by the people who claimed they could sell him one.

When he tried to get his money back, he said they threatened to kill him.

He then fled with his son to the United States, leaving behind his wife and four other children, and tried to cross the U.S. border illegally. He and his son - who were separated for more than a month - are now staying with relatives in Hamilton, Ohio, and plan to seek asylum.

"The company told us they were legal, but in the end we found out that they were persons who stole money from the people," he said. "It was pure fraud."

More than 160,000 immigrants from the three Central American countries were caught on the U.S.-Mexico border during the 2017 fiscal year, according to the U.S. Border Patrol. Many traveled as family groups and tens of thousands children made the trip on their own.

In the same year, roughly 26,000 people from these same countries were granted visas to move permanently to the United States - the vast majority because a relative had sponsored them. Fewer than 100 were sponsored for a green card by an employer, State Department statistics show.

About 136,000 people were granted so-called B-2 visitor visas to travel to the United States - but on those visas, they are not allowed to stay.

Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, said Central Americans fleeing persecution can come to designated ports of entry to seek asylum or seek protection in Mexico or other countries. But that's not an option for immigrants seeking a better job or to escape poverty, he said.

"For most people in Central America, just as for most people in the world, there is no way to come here," said Krikorian, whose group wants stricter limits on immigration. "To say they should come legally doesn't mean everybody who wants to get in gets in - it means they need to follow the rules, and it might mean they don't get in."

Santamaria said she believes there are many people coming who, like her sister in the 1980s, are fleeing violence. Others have been convinced they can still reach the American dream by heading north and aren't really seeking humanitarian protection.

For some, she said, it's a mix. Gangs prey on children in poor communities and their parents send them north, fearing for their safety and their future. They could never afford to apply for a visa and those who are wealthy enough to do so wouldn't want to move here, she said.

The 62-year-old Santamaria said she came north to follow her husband, a legal resident who was serving in the U.S. army. Otherwise, she said she probably wouldn't have made the trip, recalling how she was headed for a career as a businesswoman in El Salvador and wound up getting work as a hotel maid after arriving here. She is now organizing director for a hotel workers' union in Los Angeles.

"If I had a visa and a good economic situation in my country I wouldn't come to this country," said Santamaria. "Those who are living well in our country do not come to this one."

___

Associated Press writer Roxana Hegeman in Wichita, Kansas contributed to this report.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - Prosecutors have dropped all 28 counts of sex crimes against a police officer in North Carolina because they don't have enough evidence to prove the case.

Authorities charged Matthew Porter in February after a family friend said the Charlotte-Mecklenburg officer fondled her when she was a preteen between 2010 and 2013.

According to court documents obtained by WSOC-TV , the woman said she was touched while sitting under covers on the couch with Porter while his wife and her mother were in the room.

Prosecutors said the woman's testimony was the only evidence they had, so the charges were dropped.

Porter was hired by Charlotte in 1995 and started flying helicopters for the police force two years later.

Charlotte police didn't return a message about Porter's job status.
NABI SALEH, West Bank (AP) - On the eve of Ahed Tamimi's release from prison, the father of the Palestinian protest icon said Saturday that he expects her to take a lead in the struggle against Israeli occupation but that the 17-year-old is also weighing college options.

In Tamimi's village of Nabi Saleh, supporters prepared for Sunday's homecoming, planting Palestinian flags on the roof of her family home and setting up hundreds of chairs for well-wishers in the courtyard.

Ahed and her mother Nariman were arrested in December, after Ahed slapped two Israeli soldiers outside the family home and Nariman filmed the incident and posted it on Facebook. Both are to be released Sunday.

Palestinians hang a poster showing Nariman Tamimi, right and her daughter Ahed, during preparations for their upcoming release from an Israeli prison after serving an eight month sentence, at the family house in the West Bank village of Nebi Saleh, west of Ramallah, Saturday, July 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Nasser Nasser)

To Palestinians and their international supporters, Ahed has become a symbol of resistance to Israel's half-century-old military rule over the Palestinians. She is easily recognizable with her unruly mop of curly hair.

In Israel, she is seen by many as either as a provocateur, an irritation or a threat to the military's deterrence.

Ahed's father Bassem said Saturday that after her release from prison, "we expect her to lead and we will support her to lead" in the fight to end occupation. He did not say what this would entail.

Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in the 1967 Mideast war. Palestinians are increasingly disillusioned about efforts to establish a state in those territories, after more than two decades of failed negotiations with Israel.

Bassem Tamimi said that his daughter completed her high school exams in prison, with the help of other prisoners who taught the required material. He said she initially hoped to attend a West Bank university but has also received scholarship offers abroad.

Ahed was 16 when she was arrested and turned 17 in custody. Her case has trained a spotlight on the detention of Palestinian minors by Israel, a practice that has been criticized by international rights groups. Some 300 minors are currently being held, according to Palestinian figures.

Meanwhile, Israeli troops on Saturday detained two Italian artists who had painted a large mural of Ahed Tamimi on Israel's West Bank separation barrier, according to local activist Munther Amireh and amateur video posted online.

The video shows armed soldiers ordering the two men, along with a Palestinian activist, to get out of a car next to the separation barrier. They are led away through an opening in the barrier. Israel's military had no immediate comment.
DALLAS (AP) - A grand jury has indicted a suburban Dallas teenager who authorities say was planning a mass shooting at a mall inspired by the Islamic State terror group.

Seventeen-year-old Matin Azizi-Yarand was indicted Thursday on charges of making a terroristic threat and soliciting the capital murder of a peace officer. Authorities allege he spent more than $1,400 buying weapons and tactical gear, and had been trying to recruit others to help him in the shooting.

He's been held at the Collin County jail since his arrest in May at a high school in Plano.

His attorney, Mitch Nolte, tells The Dallas Morning News that they look forward to seeing the evidence the state claims, and challenging the case in court.

___

Information from: The Dallas Morning News, http://www.dallasnews.com
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) - News that North Korea is sending home 55 sets of remains is being welcomed by relatives of those missing from the Korean War. But most know they still face long odds at achieving any closure: Thousands of soldiers are still unaccounted for, and identifications could take decades.

Ruth Santella, 84, of St. Paul, Minnesota, doesn't hold much hope of living long enough to discover whether her older brother's bones are among those released by North Korea on Friday. Private 1st Class George D'Amico was killed in action on Sept. 27, 1950, near Taejon, Korea, according to a U.S. Army letter his family received in October 1950.

Her mother died still waiting for news that his remains would be coming home, Santella said Friday.

United Nations Command Chaplain U.S. Army Col. Sam Lee performs a blessing of sacrifice and remembrance on the 55 cases of remains believed to be U.S. servicemen killed during the Korean War and returned by North Korea at Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, South Korea, Friday, July 27, 2018. (Staff Sgt. Quince Lanford/U.S. Army via AP)

"My mother went to her coffin with tears over George," she said. "She kept everything he ever sent her - a suitcase full of letters and things. He sent a typewriter for me. I still have it."

Ted Barker, of Dallas, is a co-founder of the Korean War Project, which helps families of missing Korean War veterans submit their genetic information, among other things. The DNA samples are processed at a military DNA lab at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, and compared to remains stored at a military lab in Hawaii. The process is painstakingly long; some remains returned from North Korea in the early 1990s still haven't been identified, Barker said.

"It typically takes six to seven years, if the remains have been recovered," Barker said. "If the family has already given a DNA sample, it could go quicker, but it's still not an overnight process."

Santella said her family is still waiting since submitting DNA samples about 15 years ago. Their only clue arrived in an Army letter two years after his death, which said D'Amico's remains had been buried in a temporary United Nations cemetery in Korea, and would be removed to Japan as soon as it was deemed safe.

"If they just could have gotten my mother his dog tags, that would have put her mind at ease," she said. "As it was, she always held on to hope that he was still alive somehow, wandering around in that country. That, maybe, somebody had taken him in."

Jan Curran, 70, of Gilbert, Arizona, was 3 when her father, naval aviator Lt. Charles Garrison, died in captivity after he was shot down and captured in May 1951.

Curran has spent decades seeking ways to repatriate her father's remains. Years have passed since she persuaded several family members to provide DNA.

In 2013, she was able to fly over the site where her father was taken captive.

"It was a healing experience for me to see that, and know that he had been there," she said. "It gave me some peace."

Now, the thought that her father's remains might be among those sent stateside has stirred up all those emotions again. It's "too much to hope for," she said.

"It would be wonderful," she said, pausing to stifle sobs. "It's amazing, after all these years, how much it can still hurt not to have him."

United Nations Honor Guard members carry boxes believed to contain the remains of U..S. servicemen killed during the Korean War during return ceremony at Osan Air Base, in Pyeontaek, South Korea, Friday, July 27, 2018. (Staff Sgt. Quince Lanford/U.S. Army via AP)
SAO PAULO (AP) - Police in Brazil say eight public buses have been firebombed with Molotov cocktails in the northeastern state of Ceara.

The buses were torched Friday night in several neighborhoods of the capital city of Fortaleza.

State police said shots were also fired at public buildings. No injuries or deaths were reported.

The Ceara public security department said three suspects were identified, but it was unclear if they had been taken into custody.

The department did not give a possible motive.

Last March, at least 10 buses were torched in what police said at the time may have been retaliation for an effort to block sell phones in prisons.
MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) - Simultaneous marches of supporters and opponents of President Daniel Ortega's government passed through the streets of Nicaragua's capital Saturday without incident.

The larger of the two marches was in support of the Roman Catholic Church and its bishops who are trying to mediate a conflict that has carried on for more than three months and left at least 448 dead, according to a human rights organization.

Marchers chanted on Saturday that the bishops had their support and urged Ortega to step down.

Anti-government demonstrator hold banners of people killed in clashes with police in the past months, during a march supporting the Catholic church, in Managua, Nicaragua, Saturday, July 28, 2018. At least 448 people have been killed, most of them protesters, since the protests began in April. Demonstrators were initially upset over proposed social security cuts but are now demanding President Daniel Ortega leave office after a deadly crackdown by security forces and armed pro-government civilians. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga)

In an anniversary speech for the victory of the Nicaraguan Revolution July 19, Ortega accused the Catholic Church of working with "coup plotters" for his ouster and even of allowing weapons to be stockpiled in their churches. Just days later his tone changed and he said he hoped the bishops would continue mediating a dialogue to end the conflict.

Still, Ortega has refused to consider stepping down before elections scheduled for 2021.

Seventy-year-old Nubia Torres said dialogue is worth a try, but said if Ortega was reasonable he would have already left office.

"Dialogue is believed to be a way out, but not for people like Daniel Ortega," she said, adding that a military intervention similar to the removal of Manuel Noriega in Panama could be necessary.

Most in the opposition fear that taking up arms against the government would be both futile and play into Ortega's hands.

Not far away, Ortega supporters carrying the red and black flag of the Sandinista Front marched behind trucks blaring songs praising the president.

Roger Moncada, a 30-year-old accountant, echoed Ortega in calling the opposition "terrorists" and the three months of unrest a failed coup attempt.

He accused human rights organizations of only blaming the government for the deaths.

"The justice has to be even," he said.

The Nicaraguan Pro-Human Rights Association said this week that 399 of dead had been identified and other evidence had been gathered to document the other cases. The vast majority of the dead have been demonstrators, it said.

Police and paramilitary groups apparently working in coordination with authorities have been blamed for most of the violence.

Moncada says that now that the police have cleared the protesters' roadblocks and are arresting their leaders, "the only way out is dialogue."

Anti-government demonstrators hold a banner featuring a group of clerics, during a march supporting the Catholic church, in Managua, Nicaragua, Saturday, July 28, 2018. At least 448 people have been killed, most of them protesters, since the protests began in April. Demonstrators were initially upset over proposed social security cuts but are now demanding President Daniel Ortega leave office after a deadly crackdown by security forces and armed pro-government civilians. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga)

Anti-government demonstrators hold a banner showing a group photo of clerics, during a march supporting the Catholic church, in Managua, Nicaragua, Saturday, July 28, 2018. At least 448 people have been killed, most of them protesters, since the protests began in April. Demonstrators were initially upset over proposed social security cuts but are now demanding President Daniel Ortega leave office after a deadly crackdown by security forces and armed pro-government civilians. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga)

An anti-government demonstrator balances himself waving a national on a statue honoring Nicaraguan boxer Alexis Arguello demanding the resignation of President Daniel Ortega and the release of all political prisoners, during a march in support of the Catholic church, in Managua, Nicaragua, Saturday, July 28, 2018. At least 448 people have been killed, most of them protesters, since the protests began in April. Demonstrators were initially upset over proposed social security cuts but are now demanding Ortega leave office after a deadly crackdown by security forces and armed pro-government civilians. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga)

A woman wrapped in a Nicaragua national flag stands in front of a mural with an anti-government message during a march in support of the Catholic church, in Managua, Nicaragua, Saturday, July 28, 2018. At least 448 people have been killed, most of them protesters, since the protests began in April. Demonstrators were initially upset over proposed social security cuts but are now demanding Ortega leave office after a deadly crackdown by security forces and armed pro-government civilians. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga)

Anti-government demonstrators march holding religious symbols during a march in support of the Catholic church amid recent attacks by pro-government groups, in Managua, Nicaragua, Saturday, July 28, 2018. At least 448 people have been killed, most of them protesters, since the protests began in April. Demonstrators were initially upset over proposed social security cuts but are now demanding Ortega leave office after a deadly crackdown by security forces and armed pro-government civilians. (AP Photo/Alfredo Zuniga)

An anti-government wears a folkloric "Gueguense" mask, derived from the Nahuatl word for old or wise man, during a march demanding the resignation of President Daniel Ortega, the release of all political prisoners and in support of the Catholic church which has come under the attack of pro-government groups, in Managua, Nicaragua, Saturday, July 28, 2018. At least 448 people have been killed, most of them protesters, since the protests began in April. Demonstrators were initially upset over proposed social security cuts but are now demanding Ortega leave office after a deadly crackdown by security forces and armed pro-government civilians. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

An anti-government demonstrator holds a banner with a message that reads in Spanish: "Justice", demanding the resignation of President Daniel Ortega and the release of all political prisoners during a march in support of the Catholic church amid recent attacks by pro-government groups, in Managua, Nicaragua, Saturday, July 28, 2018. At least 448 people have been killed, most of them protesters, since the protests began in April. Demonstrators were initially upset over proposed social security cuts but are now demanding Ortega leave office after a deadly crackdown by security forces and armed pro-government civilians. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

Nicaraguans hold national and Vatican flags demanding the resignation of President Daniel Ortega and the release of all political prisoners during a march in support of the Catholic church amid recent attacks by pro-government groups, in Managua, Nicaragua, Saturday, July 28, 2018. At least 448 people have been killed, most of them protesters, since the protests began in April. Demonstrators were initially upset over proposed social security cuts but are now demanding Ortega leave office after a deadly crackdown by security forces and armed pro-government civilians. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)

Nicaraguans hold national flags demanding the resignation of President Daniel Ortega and the release of all political prisoners during a march in support of the Catholic church amid recent attacks by pro-government groups, in Managua, Nicaragua, Saturday, July 28, 2018. At least 448 people have been killed, most of them protesters, since the protests began in April. Demonstrators were initially upset over proposed social security cuts but are now demanding Ortega leave office after a deadly crackdown by security forces and armed pro-government civilians. (AP Photo/Arnulfo Franco)
REDDING, Calif. (AP) - The death count from a Northern California wildfire rose to five Saturday after two young children and their great-grandmother who had been unaccounted for were confirmed dead.

"My babies are dead," Sherry Bledsoe said through tears after she and family members met with Shasta County sheriff's deputies.

Bledsoe's two children, James Roberts, 5, and Emily Roberts, 4, were stranded with her grandmother Melody Bledsoe, 70, when walls of flames swept through the family's rural property Thursday on the outskirts of Redding.

CORRECTS SPELLING TO SHERRY, NOT SHERRI - Carla Bledsoe, facing camera, hugs her sister Sherry outside of the sheriff's office after hearing news that Sherri's children James, 4, and Emily 5, and grandmother were killed in a wildfire Saturday, July 28, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

The three were among more than a dozen people reported missing after the furious wind-driven blaze took residents by surprise and leveled several neighborhoods.

Shasta County Sheriff Tom Bosenko said he expects to find several of those people alive and just out of touch with loved ones. Officers have gone to homes of several people reported missing and found cars gone - a strong indication they fled.

The fire sparked Monday by a vehicle in forested hills had scorched 131 square miles (340 square kilometers) by late Saturday, up slightly from 127 square miles (327 square kilometers) in the morning. It pushed southwest of Redding, the largest city in the region, toward the tiny communities of Ono, Igo and Gas Point, where scorching heat, winds and bone-dry conditions complicated firefighting efforts.

It's now the largest fire burning in California.

Two firefighters were killed in the blaze, including a bulldozer operator who was helping clear vegetation in the wildfire's path. He was identified as Don Ray Smith, 81, of Pollock Pines. Redding fire Inspector Jeremy Stoke was also killed, but details of his death were not released.

About 38,000 people were under evacuation orders, 5,000 homes were threatened and the fire was just 5 percent contained.

The latest tally of 536 destroyed structures was up from 500 earlier in the day, and sure to rise. A count by The Associated Press found at least 300 of those structures were homes.

Meanwhile, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) southwest of Redding, two blazes prompted mandatory evacuations in Mendocino County. The two fires, burning 30 miles (50 kilometers) apart, started Friday and were threatening more than 350 buildings.

Cal Fire officials said more than 10,000 firefighters were on the line, making progress on 14 large wildfires across California.

President Donald Trump issued an emergency declaration for the state Saturday, allowing counties affected by wildfires to receive federal assistance.

Big fires also continued to burn outside Yosemite National Park and in the San Jacinto Mountains east of Los Angeles near Palm Springs. As of Saturday afternoon, those fires had burned more nearly 100 square miles (260 square kilometers). Yosemite Valley remained closed to visitors and won't reopen until Friday.

In the Redding area, authorities were investigating reports of looting in evacuated areas.

Police Chief Roger Moore said people were reportedly driving around evacuation zones and busting down doors of houses still standing. Sheriff Bosenko announced at a community meeting that authorities had made their first looting arrest, a parolee. Anxious residents cheered.

About 100 law enforcement officers and 260 National Guard soldiers were helping with evacuations and providing security in empty neighborhoods.

Moore was among the many people who lost homes.

Greg and Terri Hill evacuated their Redding home of 18 years Thursday night with little more than medications, photo albums, clothes and firearms, assuming they'd be back home in a few days.

They returned Friday to find little more than ash.

"It's pretty emotional," Terri Hill said. "But we'll make new memories and get new stuff. Everybody's safe."

The so-called Carr Fire wiped out forest around much of Whiskeytown Lake, burning dozens of boats docked at a marina and then swept through the historic Gold Rush-era town of Shasta and destroyed nearly all of Keswick, a hamlet just west of Redding.

The fire blew across the Sacramento River and burned a path to the property where Melody Bledsoe was living with her great-grandchildren.

Bledsoe's husband, Ed, who had the couple's only car, had gone to buy supplies before any evacuation order was issued, family members said.

His great-grandson phoned him at the store to say the flames were approaching and "we need your help," according to Jason Decker, who is dating one of Bledsoe's granddaughters.

Bledsoe rushed home, but was turned back by police because the fire was raging. He spent Friday searching in vain for the three at shelters while Decker's girlfriend posted desperate messages on social media for any help locating them.

Decker rode his motorcycle up to view the property and found smoldering ruins too hot to enter.

"It looked like a war zone," he said. "I couldn't smell death in the air, which is good."

While he discussed the worst-case scenario of the three staying put as the flames closed in, Decker held out some hope Saturday morning until he got the word they were dreading.

"We got horrible news. I have to go," he said and hung up.

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Melley reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press writers Martha Mendoza in Redding; Olga Rodriguez and Janie Har in San Francisco; Don Thompson in Sacramento; Amanda Lee Myers in Los Angeles also contributed to this report.

A home burns on a hilltop along Blarney Lane Saturday, July 28, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Flames leap above firefighters battling the Carr Fire in Redding, Calif., on Saturday, July 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A home burns on a hilltop along Blarney Lane Saturday, July 28, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

CORRECTS SPELLING TO SHERRY, NOT SHERRI-Sherry Bledsoe, left, cries next to her sister, Carla, outside of the sheriff's office after hearing news that Sherry's children, James and Emily, and grandmother, Melody Bledsoe, were killed in a wildfire Saturday, July 28, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

A firefighter monitors flames from an advancing wildfire Saturday, July 28, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

This Thursday, June 26, 2018, photo released by Casey Lansdon shows Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke in Redding, Calif. A wildfire roared with little warning into the Northern California city as thousands of people scrambled to escape before the walls of flames descended from forested hills onto their neighborhoods, officials said Friday. Stoke was killed in the blaze. (Casey Lansdon via AP)

Firefighters hose down hot spots near a residential district Saturday, July 28, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

A firefighter monitors an advancing wildfire Saturday, July 28, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

CORRECTS TO GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN - Friends of the Bledsoe family embrace outside of the sheriff's office in Redding, Calif., on Saturday, July 28, 2018, after hearing news of the death of Melody Bledsoe and her great-grandchildren James Roberts, 5, and Emily Roberts, 4, who were killed at their home by an advancing wildfire. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Police tape blocks the house where relatives say three people were found dead following a wildfire in Redding, Calif., Saturday, July 28, 2018. The death count from a rapidly growing Northern California wildfire rose to five Saturday after two young children and their great-grandmother who had been unaccounted for were confirmed dead. Bledsoe's two children, James Roberts, 5, and Emily Roberts, 4, were stranded with her grandmother Melody Bledsoe, 70, when fire swept through the rural area where they were staying Thursday. (AP Photo/Jonathan J. Cooper)

Police tape blocks the entrance to the neighborhood where a Melody Bledsoe and her two great-grandchildren James Roberts, 5, and his sister Emily, 4 were killed by an advancing wildfire on Quartz Hill Road Saturday, July 28, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Police tape blocks the house where relatives say three people were found dead following a wildfire in Redding, Calif., Saturday, July 28, 2018. The death count from a rapidly growing Northern California wildfire rose to five Saturday after two young children and their great-grandmother who had been unaccounted for were confirmed dead. Bledsoe's two children, James Roberts, 5, and Emily Roberts, 4, were stranded with her grandmother Melody Bledsoe, 70, when fire swept through the rural area where they were staying Thursday. (AP Photo/Jonathan J. Cooper)

A firefighter battling the Carr Fire observes nearby flames in Redding, Calif., on Saturday, July 28, 2018. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

A deer runs away from the fire towards Placer Rd., near Diggins Way in Redding, Calif., during the Carr Fire Saturday, July 28, 2018. Scorching heat, winds and dry conditions complicated firefighting efforts. (Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee via AP)

Firefighter Vincent Plant of San Diego, Calif., with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service crew walks to his fire engine after helping with a fire line on Placer Rd. near Diggins Way in Redding, Calif., during the Carr Fire Saturday, July 28, 2018. Scorching heat, winds and dry conditions complicated firefighting efforts. (Hector Amezcua/The Sacramento Bee via AP)
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (AP) - The Latest on fatal shootings at a Texas nursing home and family home (all times local):

5:05 p.m.

Police in a Corpus Christi, Texas, suburb say a man fatally shot four relatives - including his father and stepmother in a nursing home - before killing himself.

Robstown, Texas, police Lt. Enrique Paredez said Saturday that 60-year-old Richard Starryson killed himself after fatally shooting 85-year-old Ernest Starry and his wife, Thelma Montalvo, Friday night inside Retama Manor nursing home in Robstown, about 120 miles (193 kilometers) south of San Antonio.

Paredez said a family member later called officer's to the couple's home where their 13-year-old adopted son and a 41-year-old son of Montalvo were found shot to death.

The names of the other two sons and Montalvo's age were not released.

Paredez said a motive for the shootings was not known.

___

4:15 a.m.

Texas authorities say five people have been killed following separate shootings that included a nursing home in a Corpus Christi suburb.

Robstown City Secretary Herman Rodriguez says via Twitter that three people were killed Friday following a shooting at the Retama Manor nursing home. Two additional men were found dead in a home linked to that shooting.

Rodriguez says officers responded to the nursing home about 7 p.m. Friday and found two men and a woman dead. He says a phone call from family members prompted police to visit the residence of one of the nursing home victims, where two more men were found dead. The shooter was among those killed.

Rodriguez said authorities believe the shootings are related but have not identified the victims or established a possible motive.
REDDING, Calif. (AP) - Two young children and their 70-year-old great-grandmother died in the wildfire that swept into the city of Redding with devastating speed, their family said Saturday, and a bulldozer operator who died working to contain the fire was identified as an 81-year-old man from a small community east of Sacramento.

A tearful Sherry Bledsoe confirmed the deaths of her grandmother, Melody Bledsoe, and her children, James Roberts, 5, and Emily Roberts, 4.

The fatalities brought the death toll to five since the so-called Carr Fire started burning Monday. It exploded Thursday, jumped the Sacramento River and entered the Redding city limits.

This Thursday, June 26, 2018, photo released by Casey Lansdon shows Redding fire inspector Jeremy Stoke in Redding, Calif. A wildfire roared with little warning into the Northern California city as thousands of people scrambled to escape before the walls of flames descended from forested hills onto their neighborhoods, officials said Friday. Stoke was killed in the blaze. (Casey Lansdon via AP)

The bulldozer operator was identified by the Shasta County Sheriff's Department as Don Ray Smith of Pollock Pines. He was overtaken by flames while on the job and his body was found Thursday.

Authorities previously identified another firefighter fatality as Redding Fire Department Inspector Jeremy Stoke, who was killed on the job Thursday night. Details have not been released.

Donna Araiza, founder of the Alyssa Araiza "Wings of Angels" organization for seriously ill children, said Stoke regularly donated to her group, as well as the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

"He and his wife, Alyson, were always supporting us," Araiza told the Record Searchlight, Redding's daily newspaper. "He was a generous and a good man."

The Bledsoes lived near the Keswick Estates neighborhood, and their home, like many around it, was reduced to ashes. The tragedy leaves Ed Bledsoe without his wife and the great-grandchildren he doted on.

"He lost everything. Everything. You can't lose more than family. And then you lose everything on top of that?" said Don Kewley, whose girlfriend is one of the Bledsoes' granddaughters. "The man's got the shirt on his back and the pants on his waist. Like that's it."

Ed Bledsoe had headed out for supplies Thursday thinking the flames were far away, but while shopping he received a desperate call from his great-grandson. The boy said he had to come back to the home.

Flames were closing in.

"We need your help," the boy said, according to Jason Decker, who is the boyfriend of another Bledsoe granddaughter.

Kewley said the family believed the area was not in imminent danger and Melody Bledsoe had no car.

Ed Bledsoe rushed home, but was turned back by police. The fire was raging and there were walls of flames.

Decker took the day off work Friday and drove his motorcycle to the home to look for members of the family but only found the smoldering remains of the house.

A day later, what remained of the Bledsoe property was surrounded with crime scene tape.

Decker said his own children played with James and Emily and they had trick-or-treated together.

"I don't even have any more tears to cry," Decker said. "But I keep finding them."

___

Melley reported from Los Angeles.

CORRECTS SPELLING TO SHERRY, NOT SHERRI-Sherry Bledsoe, left, cries next to her sister, Carla, outside of the sheriff's office after hearing news that Sherry's children, James and Emily, and grandmother, Melody Bledsoe, were killed in a wildfire Saturday, July 28, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

CORRECTS SPELLING TO SHERRY, NOT SHERRI - Carla Bledsoe, facing camera, hugs her sister Sherry outside of the sheriff's office after hearing news that Sherri's children James, 4, and Emily 5, and grandmother were killed in a wildfire Saturday, July 28, 2018, in Redding, Calif. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)

Police tape blocks the house where relatives say three people were found dead following a wildfire in Redding, Calif., Saturday, July 28, 2018. The death count from a rapidly growing Northern California wildfire rose to five Saturday after two young children and their great-grandmother who had been unaccounted for were confirmed dead. Bledsoe's two children, James Roberts, 5, and Emily Roberts, 4, were stranded with her grandmother Melody Bledsoe, 70, when fire swept through the rural area where they were staying Thursday. (AP Photo/Jonathan J. Cooper)

CORRECTS TO GREAT-GRANDCHILDREN - Friends of the Bledsoe family embrace outside of the sheriff's office in Redding, Calif., on Saturday, July 28, 2018, after hearing news of the death of Melody Bledsoe and her great-grandchildren James Roberts, 5, and Emily Roberts, 4, who were killed at their home by an advancing wildfire. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
The workshop was co-organised by the Vietnamese Embassy in India and the Centre for Vietnamese Studies in India at the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library, with Indian Minister of Commerce and Industry Shri Suresh Prabhu and Minister of State for External Affairs V. K. Singh in attendance.

Thanh highlighted economic cooperation as one of the five pillars of the Vietnam-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which was set up during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Vietnam in September 2016.

During the visit of President Tran Dai Quang and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to India earlier this year, leaders of both sides called for concerted efforts to boost bilateral economic relations, in particular elevating bilateral trade to 15 billion USD by 2020, the diplomat said.

He expressed his confidence that the goal would be achieved for the three following reasons. Firstly, Vietnam and India boast a strong political foundation, facilitating the expansion of economic ties. Secondly, both Vietnam and India have posted robust economic growth in recent times, creating many opportunities for economic cooperation. Lastly, bilateral economic ties have already progressed well over the past few years and are likely to continue doing so, he explained.

Vietnamese Ambassador to India Ton Sinh Thanh addresses the conference (Photo: VNA)



Last year, bilateral trade amounted to USD7.7 billion, an increase of 42 percent from the previous year. In the first half of 2018, the figure rose by 48 percent year-on-year to USD5.44 billion and, if this trend continues, it can reach USD11 billion by the end of this year, Thanh noted.

From January to June, Indian investors have injected approximately USD876 million into 190 projects in Vietnam, a year-on-year increase of 29 percent.

Tourist arrivals from India to Vietnam have risen an average of 17 percent year-on-year since 2010. Some 150,000 Indian travellers are expected to visit Vietnam and some 70,000 Vietnamese will travel to India this year.

However, the Vietnamese ambassador noted that there are many opportunities for economic cooperation between the two countries that have yet to be tapped. He cited the fact that two-way trade remains modest compared to the USD425 billion in Vietnams total foreign trade and Indias USD781 billion last year. The number accounted for less than 10 percent of trade between India and ASEAN nations.

Of the 22 million Indian people travelling abroad last year, 3.5 million visited Southeast Asia but only 110,000 came to Vietnam. Meanwhile, Indian arrivals to Thailand totalled 1.6 million, he said.

He expected that the conference would provide insight to help Vietnam and India foster their bilateral ties in trade, investment, and tourism in the time ahead.

For his part, Minister of State for External Affairs V. K. Singh said the two nations possess huge potential to expand cooperation in the fields of pharmaceuticals, health care, petroleum, renewable energy, agriculture, tourism, textile and garments, leather, and mining.

Minister of Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu referred to Vietnam as one of the fastest growing economies in ASEAN and as a bridge between India and other member countries of the bloc. The two sides have established strong partnership in oil exploitation, manufacturing, defence, and services.

At the conference, attendees focused their discussion around several topics, including: India-Vietnam Bilateral Trade: Issues and Prospects, Infrastructure and Development Partnership between India and Vietnam, Energy Cooperation between India and Vietnam, Exploring India-Vietnam Economic Realities and Business Culture, Improvement in India-Vietnam Regional Value Chain, Made-in-India Scheme and Opportunities for Vietnam, and India-Vietnam Economic Cooperation in the Context of Trade Agreements and Partnerships./.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) - Some of Brazil's most popular musicians called for jailed former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva to be freed in a concert Saturday in Rio de Janeiro attended by tens of thousands of people.

Da Silva, a leftist ex-president universally known as Lula, was convicted of corruption and money laundering, but his supporters say the sentence was politically motivated.

Saturday's festival in front of Rio's iconic Lapa Arch featured household names in Brazil like Chico Buarque and other Latin American musicians.

People hold up masks depicting the Brazilian former president Luiz Inacio da Silva during the Lula Free festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, July 28, 2018. Popular Brazilian musicians and social movements organized a concert to call for the release of da Silva, who has been in prison since April, but continues to lead the preferences on the polls ahead of October's election. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

Da Silva's image could be seen everywhere: On shirts, bandanas and masks, while his animated image danced on screens next to the stage. In between sets, supporters broke out into chants of "Free Lula!" as organizers urged them to scream loud enough for da Silva to hear them from the southern city of Curitiba.

The former president was jailed there after his corruption conviction was upheld on appeal. He is one of many top politicians and business leaders to get brought down in the so-called "Car Wash" investigation. Launched in 2014, investigators uncovered a colossal corruption scheme in which construction companies used inflated state contracts to kick back millions of dollars to politicians and other officials.

Da Silva's 12-year sentence divided people in Latin America's largest nation, with his critics celebrating a victory against endemic corruption while supporters argue it amounts to a witch hunt against left-leaning parties and politicians.

Despite it all, da Silva remains one of Brazil's most popular politicians. He is currently leading polls for October's presidential race.

"Lula is the voice of the people," said Tayna Sena, a 22-year-old law-student who attended the concert. "The elites are scared because even when he's in jail, he can get more support than any other politician."

It's unlikely that he gets on the ballot, though that hasn't stopped him and supporters from campaigning. Brazil's Clean Slate law prohibits a convict whose appeal has been upheld from running for office.

Earlier this month, it briefly looked like da Silva might be freed when a lower court judge repeatedly ordered his release - only to be overruled each time.

"An election without Lula would be fraudulent," said 56-year-old doorman Adelson Pereira.

Da Silva's supporters, including big names in the Brazilian art scene, remain determined to get his name on the ballot. Nostalgic for the social programs and booming economy of his presidency, they stage protests, sign petitions or organize concerts.

"In Brazil, there is a tradition of many famous artists supporting left-leaning causes," said Ricardo Cravo Albin, one of Brazil's most important musicologists.

The researcher believes Chico Buarque plays a crucial role in getting the support da Silva receives in the artistic community.

"Chico Buarque's leadership is undeniable. He's one of the most respected artists in the country," Cravo Albin explained. "So if he urges other musicians to show their support for Lula, they're more likely to join in."

A woman wears a crown with a message that reads in Portuguese: "Lula Free" during the Lula Free festival, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, July 28, 2018. Popular Brazilian musicians and social movements organized a concert to call for the release of Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been in prison since April, but continues to lead the preferences on the polls ahead of October's election. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A supporter holds up a sign with a message that reads in Portuguese: "Lula Free" during the Lula Free festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, July 28, 2018. Popular Brazilian musicians and social movements organized a concert to call for the release of Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been in prison since April, but continues to lead the preferences on the polls ahead of October's election. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

People gather for the Lula Free festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, July 28, 2018. Popular Brazilian musicians and social movements organized a concert to call for the release of Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been in prison since April, but continues to lead the preferences on the polls ahead of October's election. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A supporter wears a mask depicting former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio da Silva during the Lula Free festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, July 28, 2018. Popular Brazilian musicians and social movements organized a concert to call for the release of da Silva, who has been in prison since April, but continues to lead the preferences on the polls ahead of October's election. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

People place a banner with a message that reads in Portuguese: "Artists with Lula" over the Carioca Aqueduct, also know as Arcos da Lapa, during the Lula Free festival, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, July 28, 2018. Popular Brazilian musicians and social movements organized a concert to call for the release of Brazil's former president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has been in prison since April, but continues to lead the preferences on the polls ahead of October's election. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)

A woman holds up a mask depicting the former Brazilian President Luiz Inacio da Silva during the Lula Free festival, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, July 28, 2018. Popular Brazilian musicians and social movements organized a concert to call for the release of da Silva, who has been in prison since April, but continues to lead the preferences on the polls ahead of October's election. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)
BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) - Serbian police say that a prominent lawyer who was on the defense team of former strongman Slobodan Milosevic at the Yugoslav war crimes tribunal has been shot and killed.

A police statement says Dragoslav Ognjanovic was killed late Saturday outside his home in the new part of Belgrade, the Serbian capital. The statement said Ognjanovic's 26-year-old son was wounded in his right arm.

Ognjanovic was part of the legal team that defended Milosevic at the U.N. tribunal in The Hague, Netherlands, where he was tried for war crimes of the Balkan wars of the 1990s. Milosevic died of a heart attack in 2006 before the end of the proceedings.

Ognjanovic also defended well-known underworld figures in Serbia.

Serbian police say they are searching for the attacker.
A man is in hospital with serious injuries following a suspected kidnapping in Merseyside.

Police were called to a house in Woodhurst Close, Huyton, at about 6.30pm on Friday to reports a man had been kidnapped and assaulted.

Officers found a man in his 30s with multiple injuries. He was taken to hospital where his condition is described as serious but stable.

Crime stock

We are currently in Woodhurst Close, #Huyton following reports of a kidnap. Six males have been arrested and one male has been taken to hospital in a serious but stable condition. Please contact @MerPolCC, 101 or @CrimestoppersUK with info. Full details: https://t.co/mk00mwqAW9 pic.twitter.com/bPEqn8u8U6  Merseyside Police (@MerseyPolice) July 27, 2018

Merseyside Police said six men were arrested in connection with the incident.

Two teenagers aged 17 and 18, men aged 23 and 40 and two aged 28 were detained on suspicion of various offences including kidnap.

Officers remain at the scene as inquiries continue.

Anyone with information is asked to contact @MerPolCC, call 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Donald Trump has thanked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un for fulfilling a promise to return the remains of US soldiers missing from the Korean War.

The US presidents remarks came as a US military plane made a rare trip into North Korea to retrieve 55 cases said to contain remains.

Close to 7,700 US soldiers remain unaccounted for from the 1950-53 Korean War, and about 5,300 of those were lost in North Korea.

North Koreas move signals a positive step in Mr Trumps diplomacy with Pyongyang, and may restart efforts to send US teams into the country to search for additional war dead.

Defence Secretary Jim Mattis cautioned that the transfer of remains is separate from what have so far been troubled efforts to negotiate the complete denuclearisation of North Korea.

However, he said it was a step in the right direction following the Trump-Kim summit in Singapore.

This is obviously a gesture of carrying forward what they agreed to in Singapore and we take it as such, Mr Mattis told reporters.

We also look at it as a first step of a restarted process. So we do want to explore additional efforts to bring others home.

Despite soaring rhetoric about denuclearisation before the Singapore meeting, the summit ended with only a vague aspirational goal for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula without describing when and how that would occur.

Subsequent talks between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and senior North Korean officials got off to a rocky start earlier this month, with the North accusing the Americans of making unilateral and gangster-like demands on denuclearisation.

United Nations Honour Guard members carry boxes believed to contain the remains of US servicemen killed during the Korean War during a return ceremony at Osan Air Base, in Pyeontaek, South Korea (Staff Sgt Quince Lanford/US Army via AP)

On Wednesday, Mr Pompeo said a great deal of work remains ahead of a North Korea denuclearisation deal, but he declined to provide any timeline.

Mr Trump, addressing reporters on the South Lawn, said Vice President Mike Pence would greet the families and the remains of the soldiers.

We have many others coming, but I want to thank Chairman Kim in front of the media for fulfilling a promise that he made to me, and Im sure that he will continue to fulfil that promise as they search and search and search, he said.

These incredible American heroes will soon lay at rest on sacred American soil.

Mr Pence, the son of a Korean War combat veteran, said in a statement that he will participate in the ceremony when the remains arrive in the US.

United Nations Command said the remains will be flown to Hawaii immediately after a full honours ceremony in Seoul on Wednesday.

The remains of American troops are on their way home from North Korea. I hope this brings peace and comfort to the families whose loved ones never returned from the Korean War. We must continue the search until every service member is brought home.  Senator Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein) July 27, 2018

It is deeply humbling to be part of this historic moment, Mr Pence said.

We will never forget the sacrifices these brave service members and their families made for our nation and our freedoms.

Early on Friday morning in Korea, a US Air Force C-17 transport plane made a rare trip into North Korea to retrieve 55 cases of what are believed to be remains from the Korean War.

The aircraft then flew from Wonsan to Osan Air Base in Pyeongtaek, near the South Korean capital of Seoul.

At the air base, US servicemen and a military honour guard lined up on the tarmac to receive the remains, which were carried in boxes covered in blue UN flags.

Officials in North Korea had no comment on the handover, which came on the 65th anniversary of the end of the Korean War.

Once the cases arrive in Hawaii, a series of forensic examinations will be done to determine if the remains are human and if the dead were American or allied troops killed in the conflict.

Mr Mattis underscored that looming question, saying we dont know whos in those boxes.

However, he said the gesture is important for families of the fallen, which could include any of the allies that also fought in the war.

We have families that when they got the telegram, have never had closure, Mr Mattis said.

Theyve never gone out and had the body returned.

More than 36,000 US troops died in the conflict, including those listed as missing in action.
US President Donald Trump is open to visiting Moscow  if he gets a formal invitation from Vladimir Putin, the White House has said.

The Russian leader has said he is game for a trip to Washington  but his answer came only after Mr Trump retracted his invitation for a meeting in the autumn.

The awkward back and forth is the latest round of summit drama flowing from the two leaders controversial first meeting in Helsinki this month.

It underlines Mr Trumps eagerness to forge a warmer relationship with Mr Putin, though the Russian president does not appear to share the urgency and Nr Trumps allies in Washington are watching with frustration.

Mr Trumps tentative yes to a Moscow trip comes as US politicians are still pushing for details about what he and Mr Putin discussed in Helsinki.

The president has been widely criticised for failing to publicly denounce Russias interference in the 2016 US election and appearing to accept Mr Putins denials of such activity.

Mr Trumps response to the criticism  an abruptly announced invitation for a second meeting in Washington in the autumn  got a frosty reception from Republicans in Congress facing tough elections in November. Moscow was lukewarm and did not immediately accept.

Trump

Then, National Security Adviser John Bolton said on Wednesday that plans for an autumn visit would be delayed until 2019.

He cited special counsel Robert Muellers investigation into Russian election meddling as the reason, using Mr Trumps favourite term for the probe: witch hunt.

But the possibility of a Trump trip to Moscow emerged on Friday after Mr Putin said he was ready to invite the US president  or to visit Washington if conditions are right.

I understand very well what President Trump said: He has the wish to conduct further meetings, Mr Putin said while travelling in Johannesburg.

I am ready for this. We are ready to invite President Trump to Moscow. By the way, he has such an invitation, I told him of this. I am prepared to go to Washington, but, I repeat, if the appropriate conditions for work are created.

White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders responded that Mr Trump looks forward to having President Putin to Washington after the first of the year, and he is open to visiting Moscow upon receiving a reciprocal formal invitation.

But it is just talk at the moment.

It is part of a power game between Putin and Trump, said Dr Alina Polyakova, of the Brookings Institution. She said the Kremlin basically drove the entire process in Helsinki, and were seeing that again now.

Mr Trump is hardly in a strong position because the Helsinki summit was such a fiasco, said James Goldgeier, of the Council on Foreign Relations.

A Putin visit to Washington between now and January could have a lot of poor optics, he said, and its really hard to see the upside of a Trump trip to Moscow.

The spectacle of Mr Trump in the Russian capital  the site of unproven salacious allegations in an anti-Trump dossier compiled by a former British spy  is likely to raise eyebrows and alarm on Capitol Hill.

Trump Pompeo

Just two days earlier, politicians from both sides unsuccessfully demanded details of the Helsinki meeting from Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who stonewalled nearly all those inquiries at a contentious hearing by maintaining that the president has a right to private conversations.

Since Helsinki, Mr Trump has tried to back-pedal on at least some of his comments.

And Mr Pompeo told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee that, despite Mr Trumps public statements that allegations of Russian interference are a hoax, he accepts that Russia did meddle in the 2016 election.

On Friday, Mr Trump met his national security team to discuss threats to the 2018 congressional midterm elections, the first such session he has convened amid warnings from intelligence officials that Russia is again intent on interfering in the US democratic process.

The White House released a statement saying Mr Trump made it clear that his administration will not tolerate foreign interference in our elections from any nation state or other malicious actors.

Republican politicians have made it clear they are not eager to see Mr Putin, who intelligence officials say was aware of the 2016 interference, just weeks before Election Day 2018.

Mr Putin will not be welcome at the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters.

Trump Russia Probe Rosenstein

House Speaker Paul Ryan said such invitations are reserved for allies.

The Republican leaders appear to be increasingly relying on public signals, rather than private phone calls or Oval Office chats, to catch the White Houses attention and communicate with Mr Trump  especially when they are at odds with the presidents approach or policies.

Mr Ryan has said he did not speak to the president in the days after the Helsinki summit.

Moscow has portrayed its tensions with Washington as a result of Mr Trump being handicapped by domestic political disputes and a widespread Russophobia perpetrated by holdovers from the Obama years  echoing Mr Trumps penchant for blaming his predecessor for many problems.

By saying that he is willing to go to Washington if conditions are appropriate, Mr Putin underlines that stance and effectively puts pressure on Mr Trump to try to stamp out opposition.

His invitation for Mr Trump to come to Moscow  whether the invitation has been formally tendered or is only in spirit  also appears to pressure the US president to show whether he is bold and disruptive enough to buck intense criticism at home.
The opulent, exuberant nudes of Peter Paul Rubens have been evoking both shock and delight for four centuries and now, in 2018, his Baroque paintings are causing controversy on the internet.

Museums in Belgium are uniting in protest against Facebook because they cannot promote Flemish Masters including Rubens as they fall foul of the social media sites adult content rules and automatic censorship.

The bare breasts and buttocks painted by our artist are considered by you to be inappropriate. We have noticed that Facebook consistently rejects works of art by our beloved Peter Paul Rubens, more than a dozen top Belgian art officials wrote to Facebook chief executive Mark Zuckerberg.

Belgium Art Nudity

The Visit Flanders tourist board has even produced a mock news video where security officials prevent visitors from seeing nudity in the Rubens House museum.

In one scene an official spreads his arms in front of the Adam And Eve painting, in which the biblical figures are covered only by the proverbial fig leaf, instead diverting them to other paintings where everyone is properly dressed.

Point made, they hope.

Twenty percent of the (Facebook) posts that we dedicated to the Flemish Masters couldnt be shown to our audience, our cultural audience worldwide, said Visit Flanders spokeswoman Tama dHaen.

Its really embarrassing for Visit Flanders that we cannot show one of our main assets to the world. Thats why we came up with the idea of a video, she added.

Belgium Art Nudity

Facebook said it understands the issues.

Even if it allows paintings like those from Rubens to be posted, it has more restrictive rules when it comes to advertising which must not contain adult content. This includes nudity, depictions of people in explicit or suggestive positions, or activities that are overly suggestive or sexually provocative.

The rules go on to say that it includes nudity or implied nudity, even if artistic or educational in nature.

And that is where Rubens and other Masters get caught in the act.

Ms DHaen said they want Facebook to make a difference between nudity in general, pornographic nudity, which is of course not allowed on their platform, and the nudity which is part of many paintings hanging in Flanders and worldwide.

She said museum visitors never complain about feeling shocked at coming face to face with the nudity.

She said both sides have already agreed to a meeting to discuss it more in detail.

Belgium Art Nudity

Facebook wrote in a statement to the Associated Press on Friday that as part of a longer-running and continuous review process, we want to make sure that museums and other institutions are able to share some of their most iconic paintings.

We are thus currently reviewing our approach to nudity in paintings in ads on Facebook, the statement said.

The censorship would not be unfamiliar to Rubens. When he was painting, the Roman Catholic church asked him to paint loincloths over body parts of his Venus figures, although he preferred the natural concourse of muscle, skin, and fat.

Belgium Art Nudity

It was always thus, said Paolo Grossi, director and area co-ordinator of the Italian Cultural Institute in Brussels.

Everyone knows the story of Il Braghettone, the famous Daniele da Volterra who was asked to paint loincloths over Michelangelos nudes in the Last Judgment, in the papal Sistine Chapel at the Vatican, Mr Grossi said.

If that was prompted by moral concerns, Mr Grossi wondered if Facebook was now driven by the need to deliver a politically correct message  and comply with Facebooks ad and business model to avoid any ripples.
Former Catalan leader Carles Puigdemont has returned to Belgium to rally support for Catalonias separatist movement after Spains bid to extradite him from Germany on rebellion charges failed.

Mr Puigdemont arrived in Brussels on Saturday morning and shook hands with the current regional president of Catalonia, Quim Torra, who had travelled from Spain to meet his predecessor.

Belgium Spain Catalonia

Mr Puigdemont fled Spain in October following an illegal and ineffective declaration of independence by secessionist politicians in north-eastern Catalonia.

He had been in Germany since March when he was arrested on a Spanish warrant while travelling by car from Finland back to Belgium.

But a Spanish judge withdrew the international warrant for Mr Puigdemont after a German court refused to extradite him for rebellion.

Mr Puigdemont can be arrested, however, if he returns to Spain.
A female skipper at the helm of a Clipper Round The World yacht has sailed into the history books after becoming the first woman to win the race.

More than 11 months after leaving Liverpools Albert Dock, a fleet of 11 Clipper Race vessels returned to the North West city having completed their full circumnavigation.

It was Australian sailor and skipper Wendy Tuck who clinched overall victory on board Sanya Serenity Coast, followed closely by female British skipper Nikki Henderson on Visit Seattle.

Round the World Yatch Race

Co-founder of the Clipper Race and the first person to sail solo and non-stop around the world, Sir Robin Knox Johnston, said it was a brilliant finish to the Clipper 2017-2018 race.

Asked how momentous the win by a woman is, he told the Press Association: It is not just this race, it is any around-the-world race  it is the first time ever a female has won.

It is bigger than people think. The fact we have first and second with both lady skippers is quite remarkable.

Round the World Yatch Race

Asked what message it sends, he said it shows that it is a level playing field, adding: They got no favours because they were ladies.

They had battles with extremely capable male sailors and they beat them. I think it says to any lady, any girl, you can do it if you want to.

The 70ft Clipper yachts were raced across the planet by 712 amateur sailors  led by professional skippers  in what is the 11th edition of the biennial race.

Celebrations underway at @theAlbertDock. Next up is 11:15 parade of sail and @CultureLPool festivities all afternoon! Head down! #clipper Race @VisitLiverpool pic.twitter.com/k9YiMDVXNY  The Clipper Race (@ClipperRace) July 28, 2018

Split into eight legs, the first was from the UK to Punta del Este, Uruguay, which was the longest opening leg in the 21-year history of the race, at more than 6,400 nautical miles.

Across the total 40,000 nautical miles, the race also visited other cities around the world, including Seattle, Cape Town, Sanya and Qingdao.

The race officially ended on Saturday with a sprint finish up the River Mersey to the Royal Albert Dock, with throngs of spectators lining the waterside to welcome the fleet home.

Round the World Yatch Race

With 53-year-old skipper Tuck finishing on 143 overall points, 25-year-old skipper Henderson, the daughter of Conservative MP Anne Milton, was hot on her heels with 139 points overall.

Henderson, the youngest ever skipper in the Clipper Race, said beforehand that she felt very privileged to have been given the opportunity to lead a crew around the world.

Of her appointment she added: I hope to encourage more young people to do things out of the normal, defined career path that society sets out for us.

How amazing does our #Liverpool2018 Yacht look against the backdrop of our city!



Congratulations to all @ClipperRace teams, what an achievement! pic.twitter.com/0qC7CJ6kvI  Mayoral Club (@Mayoral_Club) July 28, 2018

Based in Portsmouth, her selection meant she stole the youngest skipper title from Alex Thomson, who at the age of 26 led a team to win the Clipper Round The World race in 1998.

Thomson finished second in the gruelling solo round-the-world Vendee Globe race in January last year  in what is known as single-handed offshore racings ultimate test.

As the crews finished the race for the sprint up the River Mersey, which was won by Garmin, Sir Robin said the teams were still battling it out right until the last moment.

All these people, so many of them have just been around the world, and they are still fighting it out at the end  just great to see, he said.

Not long now until the #ClipperRace fleet sprints into @CultureLPool and while we wait here's what @VisitSanya Skipper Wendy Tuck thinks of her overall win. And don't forget you can watch the finish live https://t.co/gudPus4RVI #raceofyourlife pic.twitter.com/fRdpowJpbo  The Clipper Race (@ClipperRace) July 28, 2018

Sir Robin praised the way the crews had handled a particularly difficult storm in the Pacific Ocean during the race, and said he is very, very proud of all the participants.

But this edition of the race was not without incident.

In November the Greenings yacht, one of 12 which originally left Liverpool, ran aground off the coast of South Africa forcing the vessel to be withdrawn due to damage.

And in the same month 60-year-old retired solicitor Simon Speirs from Bristol was killed on the leg from South Africa to Australia while racing on board the GREAT Britain yacht.

He had been on the foredeck of the vessel to help change a sail when the incident happened.

Speirs became separated from the boat which was in the Southern Ocean, in what were rough seas with 20 knots of wind and gusts at 40.

An investigation into why his tether failed to keep him attached to the boat is currently under way.
Italian officials in the north-east of Scotland have sent their deepest sympathy to those affected by the A96 crash which claimed five lives.

The countrys Honorary Consulate in Aberdeen said it is supporting the families of the Italian citizens caught up in the tragedy.

Two Italians  a woman and a four-year-old boy  were among the five people killed in the collision between a minibus and a car on the major route in Moray on Thursday night.

Police at the scene on the A96 between Huntly and Keith in Moray

The two were part of a group of Italian tourists on board the white Fiat minibus.

Three passengers from the local area in the Nissan X-Trail car, two women aged 69 and 70 and a 63-year-old man, also lost their lives.

Five other people, including a three-year-old Italian boy, were taken to hospital for treatment following the collision between Huntly and Keith shortly before midnight that day.

Robert Foietta, the Italian Honorary Consul for Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire, said: The Honorary Consul of Italy for Aberdeen, extends its deepest sympathy to all those affected by the tragic accident on the A96 on Thursday.

We will be supporting the families of the Italian citizens involved in any way we can and ask that their privacy is respected at this very sad time.

Carlo Perrotta, Italian Consul General for Scotland, told the BBC earlier that some relatives of the tourists involved were to arrive in Scotland on Saturday.

Police Scotland is expected to confirm the identities of those who died early next week.

Superintendent Louise Blakelock making a statement about the accident on the A96

The 39-year-old female driver of the Nissan suffered serious injuries and is being treated at Dr Grays hospital in Elgin.

Police said the driver of the minibus, two adult passengers  a man and a woman  and a three-year-old boy were also taken to hospital with a variety of injuries.

The woman is said to be in a critical condition at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary while the three-year-old suffered minor injuries.

Officers investigating the cause of the crash have appealed for any witnesses to come forward and for dashcam footage to be submitted to them.

Road Policing Superintendent Louise Blakelock said: The dreadful scene faced by emergency responders was both distressing and extremely challenging for everyone involved.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who made valiant attempts to save the casualties lives  their efforts cannot be underestimated.
Theresa May has reportedly been warned by the chairman of her local Conservative association not to make any further concessions on her Brexit White Paper.

Richard Kellaway said that if the plan agreed at Chequers were to be diluted it would ultimately not be acceptable, according to the Sunday Telegraph.

He is one of seven chairmen of associations in constituencies held by Cabinet ministers who, the paper claims, either oppose the plan or would withdraw their backing for the Prime Minister if she ceded any more ground.

Brexit

It adds more pressure to the Prime Minister as she starts her summer holiday apparently stuck between a rock and a hard place over the attempt to strike a Brexit deal with the EU.

Today PM @theresa_may met Austrian Chancellor @sebastiankurz and Czech PM Andrej Babis in Salzburg. pic.twitter.com/5xGC7M97Ej  UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) July 27, 2018

Mrs May was dealt a blow by Brussels on Thursday as its chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier, rejected the customs proposals that form a key plank of her White Paper.

She had received a boost on Friday after Austria agreed that Brexit would be among topics for discussion at an informal meeting of EU leaders.

Downing Street said Chancellor Sebastian Kurz agreed that Britains departure from the EU would be on the agenda for the European Council being hosted by his country  which currently holds the EU presidency  on September 20.

It means that the Prime Minister has an extra gathering of leaders of the EU 27 in which to convince them to support her Brexit plan after a week in which ministers have been deployed to various capitals to woo senior politicians.

The next meeting is a gathering of EU leaders in Brussels in October by which time it has been hoped a Brexit deal will be hammered out.

In Sundays paper, Mr Kellaway, the Maidenhead Tory chief and local councillor, said he backed Mrs May and that a Downing Street briefing on the White Paper went down very well.

He told the paper: At some stage weve got to do a deal, and a deal by definition is a compromise.

But he added: I think we have reached the stage that if we dont get a deal around these terms, then well have to break away.

A leading Brexit-backing lawyer has also questioned the White Paper, saying it meant UK courts will continue to be ruled by the EU.

Martin Howe QC, chairman of Lawyers for Britain, said the Prime Ministers claim that Brexit would end the European Court of Justices jurisdiction in the UK was sophistry at best.

He said: It is clear that the Prime Minister has now broken the pledges she made in the manifesto and in the Lancaster House speech.

Within the common rulebook areas at least, it is quite clear that the interpretation of the laws applying within the UK will continue to be carried out by judges in Luxembourg, with judges in the UK having only a subservient role.

On Saturday the head of a pan-European dairy co-operative warned that a no-deal Brexit would risk soaring prices and supply problems getting products to consumers.

Ash Amirahmardi, UK managing director of Arla Foods, spoke after ministers last week raised the spectre of foods and medicines being stockpiled as part of contingency planning in case the UK leaves the EU without a deal in place on customs.

He told BBC Radio 4s Today programme that 16% of UK dairy products are imported, and of those 98% were from Europe, saying: If we have barriers at our ports then that is what is going to lead to increased prices and potentially supply issues.
Credit: Andreas RamirezSublime with Rome has released a new song called "Wicked Heart." The track, which has a dramatic backstory, is available now via digital outlets.

"My girl and I were talking one night...then boom! Things got heated, and all of the sudden this nice, fancy dinner turned into the Cold War," frontman Rome Ramirez says of the song's origins. "What started as something so nice and beautiful took such a wicked twist."

"Wicked Heart" is the first single from Sublime with Rome's upcoming third studio album, due out in spring 2019. It'll be the follow-up to the group's 2015 sophomore effort Sirens, which features the single "Where You Go."

Sublime with Rome, which features original Sublime bassist Eric Wilson, is currently touring the U.S.

Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
He wrote in the message, On behalf of the Royal Government and people of Cambodia, I would like to extend to you, and through you to the Government and people of Vietnam, victims and their families, the heartfelt condolences over the great losses.

Cambodias Senior Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn also sent a message of condolences to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh.

Incessant rain and flood have caused landslide in Tan Thinh ward of Hoa Binh province (Photo: VNA)



Typhoon Son Tinh, the third of its kind hit Vietnam this year, brought downpours that triggered flash floods and landslides in the northern mountainous and north central provinces.

Statistics provided by the affected provinces showed that by July 24th, torrential rains, floods, and landslides left 29 people dead, five others missing, and 26 injured.

Of the dead, 15 were in the northern mountainous province of Yen Bai, six in the northern mountainous province of Son La, three in the northern midland province of Phu Tho, three in the central province of Thanh Hoa, and the others in the northern mountainous provinces of Lao Cai and Hoa Binh.

Meanwhile, two of the missing people were from Yen Bai, two from Thanh Hoa, another from Phu Tho.

The natural disasters also destroyed and flooded 12,383 houses, killed and swept away 121,389 heads of livestock, and affected 6,208 ha of aquaculture.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Developments Department of Crop Production and the localities, many areas of rice and other food crops were still inundated, including 42,606 ha of rice in the Red River Delta region./.
By Mark Hosenball

LONDON, July 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump's former political strategist Steve Bannon has been in contact with three potential rivals to British Prime Minister Theresa May and will make another trip to Europe in August, he told Reuters in an interview.

Bannon, a former chairman of the right-wing Breitbart.com website and an architect of Trump's 2016 election win, has launched a project to coordinate and bolster the anti-EU vote across the European Union.

He held a series of meetings in London this month after launching a Brussels-based political organization he says is intended to undermine, and ultimately paralyse, the EU.

In an interview on Thursday, Bannon said he would travel to Europe again soon and would use his organization to campaign aggressively to install a large, anti-European Union faction in the European Parliament in elections next May.

He said he was already raising funds from unspecified European sources and that his foundation would help nationalist movements around Europe to build up their polling, messaging and political "analytics" capabilities.

Bannon said Britain's departure from the European Union was "fundamentally going to change" European politics and forecast it would fuel a substantial anti-EU result in the European Parliament elections.

Prime Minister May's plans to leave the EU, which include Britain keeping a close trading relationship with the bloc on goods, have left her politically vulnerable.

A poll this week showed the plans are overwhelmingly opposed by the British public and more than a third of voters would support a new right-wing party committed to quitting the bloc. The survey also found voters would prefer Boris Johnson, who quit as foreign minister this month, to negotiate with the EU and lead the Conservative Party into the next election.

Bannon said he had been in direct contact with Johnson and two other potential challengers to May: Michael Gove, who is still a member of May's cabinet, and Jacob Rees-Mogg, a leader of an anti-EU Conservative Party faction.

The three are among the most prominent members of a section of the party which campaigned forcefully to leave the EU.

"Boris Johnson is one of the most important persons on the world stage today," Bannon said. He described Johnson as "his own guy" and said he had "texted a lot" with him and spoken by phone with him during this month's London trip.

Bannon said he had been in contact some time ago with Gove and had also been in touch with Rees-Mogg. The three represented a "deep talent bench" of potential anti-EU leaders for the Conservative Party, Bannon said.

Johnson and Rees-Mogg did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment on their contacts with Bannon. A spokesman for Gove said the British politician had once briefly encountered Bannon and that two meetings to discuss U.S. politics had been explored but never took place.

"Michael has never had a meeting with Mr Bannon or discussed these issues with him," Gove's spokesman said in an emailed response to a Reuters question on whether the two men had discussed anti-EU politics.

Bannon said he was already engaging pollsters and "working on messaging" for next May's European Parliament campaign.

Eurosceptic parties could expand their strength by over 60 percent at the elections next May, according to a survey by Reuters this week of national opinion polls. (Reporting By Mark Hosenball in London Editing by Nick Tattersall)
PARIS, July 27 (Reuters) - French insurer CNP Assurances , which has been at the centre of merger speculation, appointed an interim chief executive on Friday to replace Frederic Lavenir who unexpectedly quit earlier this month.

CNP Assurances's board appointed deputy CEO Antoine Lissowski to replace Lavenir, who has said he would leave the company on Aug. 31 citing personal reasons. Lissowski will take over on Sept. 1.

"Antoine Lissowski will remain in his temporary position until a new CEO is appointed," the company said, adding it hired a head hunting firm to help find the new CEO.

French state-owned financial firm Caisse des Depots et Consignations is considering selling its 41 percent stake in CNP Assurances to state-owned La Poste, a source close to La Poste said earlier this month.

La Poste would then merge its bank, La Banque Postale, with CNP Assurances to expand the range of services it provides.

The French government, which owns both CDC and La Poste, wants to build up a state-owned company that would provide both banking and insurance services in the country's rural areas which are often neglected by private companies. (Reporting by Inti Landauro Editing by Bate Felix and Jane Merriman)
The Kuwaiti couple who were arrested by the Airport Police for allegedly assaulting five customs officials has been granted bail by the court.

The couple was produced before the Negombo Magistrate Court by the police for allegedly assaulting the Customs officials. Later they were released on two surety bails of Rs. 100,000 each. They were asked to appear before the Court on Monday.

Five officials of the Customs Department including a woman were hospitalized on Friday after they were allegedly assaulted by the Kuwaiti couple at the Bandaranaike International Airport (BIA) when they were requested to quarantine their pet dog.



The couple who arrived in Sri Lanka from Kuwait were not willing to proceed with the animal quarantine regulation and they had attempted to forcibly exit the BIA Arrival Lounge along with their pet dog.
Sri Lanka remains committed to advance and uphold the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion including the freedom to change ones religion or belief, Foreign Affairs Ministry Secretary Prasad Kariyawasam said.

He made these remarks at the first Conference to Advance Religious Freedom which was hosted by the US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo from July 24-26 in Washington DC, the Foreign Affairs Ministry said.

Mr. Kariyawasam has said that Sri Lanka upholds the right to change ones religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest ones religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance.

He acknowledged challenges to inter-religious understanding and harmony in Sri Lanka, and outlined steps being taken to overcome challenges and advance religious freedom.

Sri Lanka will join the international community to foster what the world needs most today to progress  peace, compassion, mindfulness, and justice, and recognition of our common humanity, he said.

Inaugurating the Conference, US Secretary of State Pompeo remarked that the US advances religious freedom in its foreign policy, as it is a universal right of all mankind.

The Ministry said Sri Lanka was among a number of countries that endorsed thematic statements issued at the Conference focusing on Blasphemy/Apostasy Laws, Religious Freedom Repression by Non-State Actors, including Terrorist Groups, and on Counterterrorism as a False Pretext for Religious Freedom Repression.
Thanh highlighted economic cooperation as one of the five pillars of the Vietnam-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, which was set up during the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Vietnam in September 2016.

During the visit of President Tran Dai Quang and Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc to India earlier this year, leaders of both sides called for concerted efforts to boost bilateral economic relations, in particular elevating bilateral trade to US$15 billion by 2020, the diplomat said.

He expressed his confidence that the goal would be achieved for the three following reasons. Firstly, Vietnam and India boast a strong political foundation, facilitating the expansion of economic ties. Secondly, both Vietnam and India have posted robust economic growth in recent times, creating many opportunities for economic cooperation. Lastly, bilateral economic ties have already progressed well over the past few years and are likely to continue doing so, he explained.

Last year, bilateral trade amounted to US$7.7 billion, an increase of 42% from the previous year. In the first half of 2018, the figure rose by 48% year-on-year to US$5.44 billion and, if this trend continues, it can reach US$11 billion by the end of this year, Thanh noted.

However, the Vietnamese ambassador noted that there are many opportunities for economic cooperation between the two countries that have yet to be tapped. He cited the fact that two-way trade remains modest compared to the US$425 billion in Vietnams total foreign trade and Indias US$781 billion last year. The number accounted for less than 10% of trade between India and ASEAN nations.

Minister of State for External Affairs V. K. Singh said the two nations possess huge potential to expand cooperation in the fields of pharmaceuticals, health care, petroleum, renewable energy, agriculture, tourism, textile and garments, leather, and mining.

Minister of Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu referred to Vietnam as one of the fastest growing economies in ASEAN and as a bridge between India and other member countries of the bloc. The two sides have established strong partnership in oil exploitation, manufacturing, defence, and services.
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Dear @IlhanMN,



I hear you plan to go on a fact-finding tour of Israel. In fact, Israel is doing pretty well. Its, Somalia, your native country, that could truly use your formidable skills. Maybe you could use your frequent flyer miles and swing by.
For the second time this season, Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly will enjoy a top-ten start after an impressive performance in Saturday's Hungarian Grand Prix qualifying session.

Gasly side-stepped the difficult weather-induced conditions, skillfully navigating his way through the various qualifying segments.

The Frenchman praised however his Toro Rosso crew for its timely calls in a 60-minute session in which all of Pirelli's weather compounds were used.

"What a crazy qualifying, we had the slick tyres, inters, wets," enthused Gasly.

"Just a fantastic day for the team, we had difficult weekends and that P6 today is just unbelievable!"

The 22-year-old admitted however that conditions were treacherous.

"It was really tricky because the conditions were changing every two laps," he said.

"Honestly they did the right call, I was trying to give clear feedback but they did the right call, putting the slick tyres on at the right time, inters and wet so a really good job by the team.

"In the dry the car felt really good since the beginning of the weekend, and it's a track that I love and I knew that would be an opportunity for this weekend.

"So far everything went well but the most important day is tomorrow so hopefully it ca keep going like this.

The last time Gasly found himself in such an advantageous position on the grid was in Bahrain, where he delivered an impressive fourth-place finish.

Sunday's run may however prove more challenging given Hungary's limiting overtaking opportunities.

"You've got Max [Verstappen] right behind us, you've got Daniel as well with mega pace," added the Gas-man.

"It's going to be difficult to keep these guys behind, even if the car feels great.

"It's going to be tough but we'll keep pushing, we have both cars in the top-ten so a really good performance by Toro Rosso, and hopefully we can score a couple of points tomorrow."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers
Max Verstappen will start Sunday's Hungarian Grand Prix from seventh place on the grid, the position he finished qualifying in.

The Red Bull driver had been summoned to see the race stewards following an incident at the end of Q3.

He had appeared to get in the way of the Romain Grosjean when the Haas was on a flying lap, an alleged breach of Article 31.5 of the FIA Formula One Sporting Regulations. That could have seen him handed a three palce grid drop for the race.

Verstappen had been told the Haas was closing on him by the Red Bull pit wall, but still got in the way of the French driver.

"F**k, f**k, f**k, the Red Bull completely f**ked me," Grosjean had fumed over the Haas team radio. "That is not on. I was on a push lap, then I had massive spray on the next lap."

But the race stewards decided to take no action as the stewards due to the conditions and because Verstappen had himself been held up by Toro Rosso's Pierre Gasly.

"Verstappen was on a fast lap but then caught Gasly early in the lap," the official FIA statement described. "He then aborted the lap.

"Grosjean, who was on a fast lap, was catching Verstappen. He was six seconds behind at turn 11 and four seconds behind at turn 13. Verstappen was close to Gasly going into turn 13.

"At this point Gasly set up for his flying lap and Verstappen in turn slowed to get a gap. Grosjean caught Verstappen between turn 13 and turn 14 which impeded Grosjean.

"While Verstappen was given reasonable, if slightly delayed information by his team, the stewards took into account that with the very wet conditions. There was limited visibility ahead, and no visibility behind the drivers.

"The gaps between Gasly, Verstappen and Grosjean changed over a very short section of the track, and under the conditions the Stewards determined that the impeding was not, as the rule states, 'unnecessary impeding' and therefore take no further action."

Despite keeping his grid position, Verstappen was unhappy with how the day had gone and with the performance of the RB14 in the wet.

"It just did not go well", said an unhappy Verstappen. "Due to the rain, we have missed an opportunity to have a really strong qualifying so that is a bit frustrating.

"We werent happy this morning in the dry but we made some setup changes that I think would have made it better for qualifying, had it not rained.

"Starting from P7 here does not make it easy," he admitted. "We didnt expect this today so lets wait and see what we get tomorrow.

My main issue today was a lack of grip, especially in Q3," he continued. "The feeling on the intermediate tyre wasnt that bad, but when we put the wets on it was really tricky

"No grip and then in the rain theres not much you can do," he grumbled. "The whole year it doesnt go very well in the rain.

"It seems at the moment that this years car struggles a bit in the wet and we need to look into why it is different to last year."

Verstappen explained that one problem Red Bull are struggling with is getting the tyres up to temperature in time.

"We have already experienced that we struggle to get heat into the tyres and today that really showed.

"Usually I feel comfortable enough to lay down a lap in these conditions but I just was not able to today.

"Compared to last year where we would go on track and set three purple sectors it is different now. The car just does not work and I do not know what it is."

Gallery: The beautiful wives and girlfriends of F1 drivers
Pham Minh Chinh, who is also a Politburo member and Chairman of the Communist Party of Vietnam Central Committees Organisation Commission, welcomed the working visit by the delegation of Japanese lawmakers, considering it a practical activity in a series of exchanges in 2018, especially as the two countries mark 45 years in their diplomatic ties.

He highly valued the sound cooperation between the two legislatures, noting that the relationship between the Vietnam-Japan Parliamentary Friendship Group and the Japan-Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Alliance has been growing well.

The Vietnamese National Assembly supports the extensive strategic partnership between the two countries which is developing strongly, comprehensively, and substantively. Additionally, the 45th founding anniversary of the diplomatic ties this year marks an important stage in bilateral relations with numerous achievements obtained in all fields, from politics, economy, and culture, to education and people-to-people exchange, he affirmed.

The official proposed that both countries continue promoting exchanges, especially between their people, young parliamentarians, and female lawmakers. He hopes to receive support from Japanese parliamentarians for a training project for Vietnamese officials, as well as with administrative reforms and apparatus streamlining.

In terms of the Mekong-Japan Summit, Politburo member Chinh said since its foundation 11 years ago, the Mekong-Japan cooperation has become more and more effective, proving its important role in the region and bringing practical benefits to its people.

For his part, Shionoya highlighted how, in recent years, countries in the Mekong region have carried out projects in the East-West Economic Corridor and Northeastern Economic Corridor programmes, along with making efforts to develop the regional economy. Vietnam is considered an influential nation in the Mekong region, contributing significantly to the latters ongoing development.

He asked Vietnam to pay greater attention to training caregivers who will be sent to work in Japan, adding that his country is ready to share experience with Vietnam in training officials, reforming administrative procedures, and streamlining apparatus.
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Julie Chen is standing by her husband, Les Moonves, after he was accused of sexual harassment in a report published by The New Yorker on Friday.

I have known my husband, Leslie Moonves, since the late 90s, and I have been married to him for almost 14 years, Chen wrote in a statement on Twitter.

She continued: Leslie is a good man and a loving father, devoted husband and inspiring corporate leader. He has always been a kind, decent and moral human being. I fully support my husband and stand behind him and his statement.

Six women have accused CBS Chairman and CEO Les Moonves of sexual harassment, according to Ronan Farrow's latest report, published by The New Yorker.

Additionally, more than two dozen company employees, past and present, detailed incidents of harassment, gender discrimination or retaliation at CBS, the report said.

Chen and Moonves began their romance in 2003, when he was still married to wife Nancy Wiesenfeld Moonves.

When Chens relationship with the CBS executive became public, she was the host of The Early Show on the network. She has since nabbed the roles of host on The Talk and Big Brother, both, of course, on CBS.

Moonves and Chen share one child, a young son named Charlie.

His estranged wife at the time was seething when Moonves left her for Chen and hardly kept her complaints to herself.

She told the New York Daily News in 2004, "I knew our marriage would end eventually. But the way it happened was not correct, it was not moral.

Nancy added of CBS, "Neither I nor our children have watched it in years. I don't want to see [Chen]. It's not healthy for me or my kids.

She told the publication she stayed in Los Angeles during the final years of her marriage to Moonves.

"I was uncomfortable coming to New York," she said. "I felt that everybody knew about what was going on [between Moonves and Chen]. And everybody did know. Except me.

Chen told Buzzfeed in 2015 she has a tough time with public scrutiny. She said she experienced a lot of backlash when Big Brother first hit the air, and it was tough to handle.

I read what was written about me and  surprise, surprise  the majority wasnt kind. It's a scary, dark, lonely place. Part of me thought there would always be haters, but sometimes you read a comment and realize there's a grain of truth to it: I could see why they think that of me.

Rumors have swirled since 2011 that Chen isnt particularly well-liked by her co-hosts on The Talk. The New York Post reported at the time that Chen told her castmates, My husband can fire your asses any day, causing understandable tensions on the set.

Moonves spoke out about the rumors after the buzz failed to die down on its own.

Anybody that knows my wife knows she would never say that, he told Newsweek that same year.

In 2015 he sang her praises.

She's unbelievably accessible, very smart, and delivers a great deal of trust, yet you feel like she could be your friend, Moonves told Buzzfeed. She's someone you want to hang out with.

Chen gushed about her home life with her exec in the interview, explaining she put her dreams of being a foreign correspondent aside to be with Moonves and her son.

"I look at my life outside of [work] and my family is so important," she said. "I could never see having the life I have now at home with my son and my husband and being a foreign correspondent... I couldn't do both things well.
Norman Lear continues to defy convention about career longevity and age. The TV icon, who today celebrates his 96th birthday,and his Act III production company have signed a two-year first look deal with Sony Pictures TV.The pact includes the option to re-imagine titles from Lears extensive library including "All In The Family," "The Jeffersons," "Good Times," "Maude" and Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman, among others.

I couldnt be prouder and more excited about joining Sony Pictures Television, who has the guts to go with a kid, Lear quipped.

Sony Pictures TV, which owns the Norman Lear library, has been his partner for the past few years. The studio produces the reboot of Lears classic series "One Day At A Time" on Netflix.Executive produced by Lear, the comedy is currently filming its third season. And it was Sony TV that last year took in Lears passion project,"Guess Who Died," a retirement home comedy script he had unsuccessfully tried to sell for more than seven years. Partnering him with Peter Tolan, the studio sold the project to NBC where it went to pilot. When the pilot did not make the cut to series, the studio tried actively to find another home for it.

We couldnt be more thrilled to be expanding our relationship with Brent and Norman. Norman is an icon in our industry and its a dream come true to be working with him. Were excited to create more magic with Norman and Brent, said SPT President Jeff Frost and Co-Presidents, Chris Parnell and Jason Clodfelter.

"One Day At A Time" was inspired by Lears series of the same name which aired on CBS from 1975-1984. Developed and executive produced by Gloria Calderon Kellet and Mike Royce, the reboot is praised for tackling important issues. It follows the life of Penelope (Justina Machado), a newly single Army veteran, and her Cuban-American family, as they navigate the ups and downs of life.

Over Lears vast career, the World War II veteran and Kennedy Center honoree haswon four Emmy Awards and two Peabody Awards. As the founder of People For the American Way, he has been recognized for his passion in politics and has been a force behind social change, climate change, womens rights and overall humanitarian efforts.

This story originally appeared in Deadline.
In his message, PM Hun Sen said on behalf of the Royal Government and people of Cambodia, he would like to extend to PM Nguyen Xuan Phuc, the Government and people of Vietnam, victims and their families, the heartfelt condolences over the great losses.

On this occasion, Cambodias Senior Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Prak Sokhonn also sent a message of condolences to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh.
When Rita Moreno won an Oscar in 1962 for "Best Supporting Actress" as Anita in West Side Story, she thought her career would continue to quickly flourish in Hollywood  she was wrong.

Who could imagine that even after I won the Oscar, those who could employ me would continue to cast me as a Spanish spitfire, the 86-year-old told AARP the Magazine for their cover story.

RITA MORENO: MARLON BRANDO WAS 'THE LUST OF MY LIFE'

West Side Story, based on the popular Broadway musical, told the story of two youngsters from rival New York City gangs who fall in love. However, tensions between their friends would lead to tragedy. It starred Natalie Wood, George Chakiris and Richard Beymer, among others.

The Puerto Rico-born Moreno was a natural fit for the Puerto Rican immigrant role. However, she initially thought the film would result in more work playing various kinds of characters from different backgrounds  it didnt.

I was still only offered those dusty maiden roles, she recalled. I decided that I would never do one of those roles again: Ha, ha, Ill show them! But they showed me  I didnt do a film for seven years after West Side Story. It broke my heart. I couldnt understand it. I still dont understand. And there you have it, Hollywoods mindset at the time.

RITA MORENO WEARS SAME DRESS SHE WORE TO 1962 OSCARS

However, this setback didnt stop Moreno from pursuing acting in Hollywood. She is now one of just 12 people to hold an EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony).

And shes still keeping busy. Moreno is currently filming the third season of Netflixs comedy, One Day at a Time, a reboot based on Norman Lears original sitcom.

But the big screen star insisted the battle to achieve compelling roles is still on.

We [Latinos] are vastly underrepresented, she explained. Not only us; when was the last time you saw an Asian in a major role? Im grateful for the example of the black community, whove learned to better navigate the system and make it more inclusive.

Still, Moreno is grateful for her time on West Side Story, a film that still resonates with fans.

Wherever I go, people still call out to me in a Puerto Rican accent, I like to be in America, she said.

Back in 2016, Moreno also told Fox News the aftermath of the film broke her heart.

I didnt do another film after that for seven years, she stressed. Not because I wasnt offered some, but because I was offered the same roles on a much lower scale. You know, gang movies and stuff like that. No, no, no. Thats it. Im not doing something like that again anymore, or you know, the stereotypical lady with the thick accent. Except for this role in One Day at a Time because its so wonderfully written.

Acting in Hollywood, even with the awards and accolades, is a very tough profession. Especially for women of color. We, the Hispanic community, now have a pretty good presence on television, but that doesnt give us the roles. And I am not for one second diminishing the importance of having a presence. But now its time for us to get the roles, the writers and the directors. And thats going to take longer.

Moreno continues to be grateful for her beloved Oscar, as well as her relationship with co-star Chakiris, now 83. She said the pair have remained close over the years.

Chakiris played Morenos boyfriend in the film.

Hes one of my dearest friends! she exclaimed. Hes my daughters godfather. I have a picture of George holding this beautiful baby girl. Hes still so damn handsome, its disgusting. He still goes to ballet class, that son of a b----. I cant do that. My knees are too shot. But we do have good genes, thats for sure.
A homeless man in Florida who was trying to get a job has been hired by McDonalds thanks to the help of a local police officer.

Officer Carlson of the Tallahassee Police Department went viral earlier this week after he was spotted outside a gas station helping Phil shave.

After asking the officer for assistance because he was having trouble with the razor, Phil mentioned he had the opportunity to get a job at McDonalds if he showed up the next day with a clean shave.

5 GLAMPING DESTINATIONS IN THE US FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO ENJOY NATURE IN COMPLETE COMFORT

Officer Carlson realized Phil was struggling to do so without a mirror, so he took the razor and started doing it for him.

He seemed excited about [the job]if hes wanting to help himself, I need to help him out the best I can, Officer Carlson said in a video posted to the police departments Facebook page.

After showing up for his interview Monday, Phil was told the job would be his as long as he could complete the ID process, TODAY reports.

Raphael Vasquez, who owns and operates the fast food chain where Phil applied, told TODAY that he did everything great, but everyone who becomes and employee must provide some form of government identification and a social security card, neither of which Phil had.

On Tuesday night, Officer Carlson was heading to dinner with his family when they spotted Phil. He picked up a few McDonalds cheeseburgers to take to him and give him some good news: Senator Marco Rubio had heard Phils story and contacted Officer Carlson offering to help out, according to an update posted on the police departments Facebook page.

By Friday afternoon, Phil and Officer Carlson had visited the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles where Phil had been able to get a Florida ID card, qualifying him to work at McDonalds doing janitorial work with room for growth, Vasquez told TODAY.

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If somebody else sees this when they can help somebody out, hopefully theyll think of this, Officer Carlson said about the experience.
News of Chick-fil-A's expansion into Toronto is being slammed online by some LGBTQ supporters, who have declared a boycott of the chicken-centric chain's future Canadian locations via Twitter.

On July 25, Chick-fil-A President and COO Tim Tassopoulos announced that the chain will open its first international location in the city in 2019, with plans to open 15 more restaurants through the next five years in the greater Toronto area.

Toronto is a great city  with diverse and caring people, a vibrant restaurant culture and a deep talent pool, he said in an open letter. These characteristics align perfectly with Chick-fil-As focus on community giving, delivering a premium restaurant experience and working with passionate people who can grow with our company.

HOMELESS MAN APPLYING FOR MCDONALD'S JOB LANDS POSITION WITH COP'S HELP

He added that the Atlanta-based chain spent "years researching cities around the world" before selecting Toronto.

Some LGBTQ supporters, meanwhile, are furious with the news, declaring that Chick-fil-As historically antigay policies will clash with the culture of the Ontario city, which has previously been named the third most LGBT-friendly city in the world.

Just a friendly Canadian reminder that we are a progressive country and have morals and fight for equal rights for all. We don't want your bigoted and discriminatory business opening anywhere north of the border. #BoycottChickFilA one critic tweeted.

There are many local, Canadian-owned restaurants that make better chicken - and without the homophobia, bigotry and hatred that Chick-Fil-A promotes. Buy Canadian, support Canadian businesses, uphold Canadian rights, freedoms & tolerance! #BoycottChickFilA another clapped.

Please, leave your corporate homophobic beliefs at the border. Not welcome here! another agreed.

Some Chick-fil-A enthusiasts, however, described the expansion news as amazing and magical.

Founded in 1967, the biblical values of Chick-fil-As management strategy have long stirred controversy. The chain's CEO Dan Cathy is famed for his opposition to same-sex marriage, telling the Baptist Press in a much-cited 2012 interview:

"We are very much supportive of the family  the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that, Casey said. We operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that."

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In the past, Chick-fil-A has donated millions through its WinShape Foundation to organizations that oppose gay marriage, though the chain has mostly distanced itself from the practice in recent years, Business Insider reports.

In 2017, the chain asked its franchisees to not make public statements on political issues.

According to the news release regarding the Toronoto expansion, the chain reported over $9 billion in revenue in 2017.

Fox News Kaitlyn Schallhorn contributed to this report.
A Missouri restaurant manager has reportedly been fired after telling a black female patron to get out of the establishment after video footage of an argument regarding her payment for the meal went viral on Facebook.

Shelly Bloom, co-owner of Tomfooleries of Kansas City, confirmed the news to the Kansas City Star that the employment of the male manager, identified only as Preston, was indeed terminated on July 22, though she declined to specify exactly why.

WARNING: Video contains graphic language.

On the evening of July 19, Xzaviera Vaqua ordered a meal at Tomfooleries, and asked the waitress if she could pay for her order upfront, as she did not feel comfortable giving away her credit card to start a tab. The server said she was new on the job and unsure of the policy, prompting Vaqua to ask to speak to the manager, according to her Facebook post, before the video footage begins.

MCDONALD'S EMPLOYEE SAYS CUSTOMER WAS 'TALKING A LOT OF SMACK' BEFORE BRUTAL FIGHT

In the five minute clip, which has since been viewed over 92,000 times, Preston the manager tells the 37-year-old woman she must secure a tab before dining, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

I cant just pay for my food? Vaqua asked.

You can pay for it after you eat. We dont have to use the credit card but we have to secure the tab, the manager says.

Ill pay for my food, cash, up front. I dont feel comfortable with nobody walking around with my card all night, she replied.

All night? the manager asks. You gonna be here all night?

Vaqua responds that she may be, to which the manager replies that the bar at Tomfooleries will have its last call at 2:30 a.m.

OK, thats what I asked. What time do you close Vaqua begins, before Preston fires back, You know what, were done. Go ahead and go, later adding that she should get out and says, I dont need to explain s--- to you.

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Though the video footage ends soon after, Vaqua claims on Facebook that Preston followed her outside the restaurant and continued harassing her, acting super aggressive. She further divulged that the owners of Tomfooleries did not immediately return her subsequent complaint about the encounter.

Days later, the Star reported that Vaquas viral video prompted about 10 people to stage a protest outside the restaurant on July 21.

I honestly feel like I was discriminated against and racially profiled, Vaqua told the outlet of the encounter.

Representatives for Tomfooleries did not immediately return Fox News request for additional comment on the story.
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President Trump didnt start a trade war with China  hes trying to end and win the trade war that China launched against the U.S. As the president has frequently pointed out, the Chinese have been undermining the world trade system for years, and no country has been hurt more by Chinas unfair actions than America.

Americas trade deficit with China is so large it almost defies comprehension. Since 2012, our yearly deficit in the trade of goods with China has consistently topped $300 billion. Last year, it was over $375.5 billion. In the first five months of this year it topped $150 billion.

A primary reason for this imbalance is that the Chinese have been blocking American manufacturers and food producers for years through discriminatory trade rules and prohibitively expensive import tariffs designed to keep U.S. products out of its domestic markets.

Its not that American firms are unable to compete with Chinese companies. Rather, its because China systematically takes measures to protect its industries and businesses from having to compete with American companies on a level playing field.

The Chinese government gives huge subsidies to its own firms and excludes foreign companies from doing business in China. It regulates foreign firms unfairly, blocks imports through dishonest health and safety rules, and creates China-specific standards to prevent market entry.

In addition, China forces foreign firms to transfer their technology to Chinese companies and comprehensively loots commercial secrets, especially from American firms.

No one (outside of Chinese officials) denies any of this. In March, the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission  a bipartisan congressional advisory body  published a list of 10 ways China cheats on trade called Chinas Technonationalism Toolbox.

This list includes Chinas continued pervasive industrial espionage against U.S. companies, universities, and the government as well as Chinas direct efforts to circumvent U.S. export controls to gain access to cutting-edge technologies and intellectual property in strategic sectors.

Chinas subversion of world trading norms isnt a bug in the nations economic system. Its a feature.

Even Democrats recognize the importance of President Trumps trade sanctions on China.

We're now told that this is Trump's trade war, Rep. Brad Sherman, D-Calif., said during a Foreign Affairs subcommittee hearing earlier this month. No, China declared (a) trade war on the United States 18 years ago, he continued, referring to the decision to normalize trade relations with China in 2000.

Both Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York and Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, two of President Trumps most vocal Democratic critics, are broadly supportive of the presidents measures to combat Chinese cheating.

I have to say, when President Trump says he's putting tariffs on the table, I think tariffs are one part of reworking our trade policy overall," Warren told CNN in March.

China takes total advantage of the United States. They steal our intellectual property using cyber theft, Schumer noted in June. Not only do they steal our intellectual property, they keep our good companies out, and say the only way youre going to be able to sell your American products in China  is if you come to China.

Because presidents before him avoided doing what was necessary to balance our trade relations with China, President Trump has to fight a trade war not of his own making. Fortunately for American workers, manufacturers and exporters, the president is fighting back against China and other nations that have been ripping off America for decades.

This will be a difficult struggle, because other nations are unwilling to give up the benefits of unfair trade. They will test President Trumps resolve, particularly as we approach the midterm elections in November. But thanks to President Trumps leadership, we are beginning to see that this is a war we can win.

In May, China agreed to slash car tariffs and import more American-made products due to President Trumps tough negotiating skills.

Free trade requires fair trade, based on a common set of mutually beneficial rules. We finally have a president willing to take the actions necessary to put a stop to Chinese cheating and to protect Americas national interests.

President Trump isnt just fighting to stop Chinese market manipulation. Hes fighting to secure a bright economic future for America and the American people.
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In the last century, socialism and communism proved to be bankrupt ideologies that crippled economies, impoverished millions, destroyed personal freedom, brought dictators to power, sparked wars and turned millions of people into refugees fleeing their home countries to seek freedom in the U.S. and elsewhere.

Nations in Eastern Europe abandoned the failed ideologies. The Soviet Union broke up. And even Russia and China were forced to adopt some free market practices to improve their economies and the lives of their people.

But today, the hottest trend among some far-left Democrats is to embrace socialism  calling it Democratic socialism to make it sound more appealing.

Going off the deep end like this is a sure-fire losing strategy for Democrats, because the farther left they go the more Americans get left behind. Its a safe bet that voters are more likely to support the party of Lincoln than the party of Lenin.

Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont  a self-described Democratic Socialist who nearly captured the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016  now touts Denmark and Sweden as his models of socialism. But it wasnt too long ago that he and others praised Venezuela as a beacon of the socialist dream.

Today Democrats are loath to mention Venezuela, where the economy is in freefall and almost 90 percent of the people are living in poverty. But many nevertheless loudly praise the socialist ideology that is responsible for much of Venezuelas troubles.

Following in the footsteps of Venezuela would be the quickest way to turn the American Dream into the American Nightmare.

Sanders is far from the only Democratic Socialist around. Look no further than Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 28-year-old U.S. House candidate strongly supported by the Democratic Socialists of America. She defeated fourth-ranking Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley of New York City in a primary victory that took the nation by surprise.

Ocasio-Cortez recently said: Right now, we have this hyper-capitalism. ... What that means is profit at any cost. Capitalism has not always existed in the world, and it will not always exist in the world.

Sounds an awful lot like a recent graduates way of summing up this principle from Karl Marxs Communist Manifesto: What the bourgeoisie therefore produces, above all, are its own grave diggers. Its fall and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable.

Maybe next Ocasio-Cortez can adopt Marxs famous call to action as her campaign slogan: Workers of the world unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains!

Stunningly, despite Ocasio-Cortezs embrace of socialism, she has been welcomed into a Democratic Party that has at least rhetorically tried to distance itself from socialism. Democratic National Committee Chairman Tom Perez says that Ocasio-Cortez represents the future of our party.

Meanwhile, a Morning Consult/Politico poll revealed that a shockingly high 35 percent of Democrats say its somewhat or very important to replace House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., with a socialist.

According to The Associated Press: There are 42 people running for offices at the federal state and local levels this year with the formal endorsements of the Democratic Socialists of America. The number of formal, dues-paying members of the Democratic Socialists has skyrocketed from 6,000 to 45,000.

The Associated Press story went on to say of the Democratic Socialists: Members during public meetings often refer to each other comrades, wear clothing featuring socialist symbols like the rose and promote authors such as Karl Marx. The common association with the failed Soviet Union has made it difficult for sympathetic liberals to explain their connection.

Indeed, the lurch of Democrats toward socialism has been well underway for some time. Consider the following list put together by my colleague, Rapid Response Director for the Republican National Committee Michael Ahrens:

Single-Payer Health-Care

When Bernie Sanders first offered a single-payer health-care bill in 2013, he didnt have a single co-sponsor in the Senate. Today one-third of Senate Democrats and two-thirds of House Democrats have endorsed the radical plan.

Democrats endorse government-run health-care despite the empirical evidence of its failure. In Canadas government-run system, wait times are now more than double what they were 25 years ago, with the average Canadian waiting to see a specialist for approximately five months.

According to one study: 63,090 Canadian women may have died as a result of increased wait times (in Canada) between 1993 and 2009.

The story of the United Kingdoms socialized medicine system is no different. The National Health Service in Britain recently reported its worst accident and emergency wait times on record. According to the BBC: It is estimated there are up to 9,000 deaths in hospitals each year caused by failings in NHS care.

And yet, single-payer health-care is the rallying cry of Democrats.

Free College

Though Bernie Sanders had zero co-sponsors for his free-college plan in the past, today he has seven co-sponsors of his legislation, along with several potential 2020 Democratic presidential contenders.

Democrats ignore the failed free-college experiment in the United Kingdom, which increased inequality and depleted student resources, therefore leading the British to reintroduce tuition. Democrats likewise ignore that college-attainment rates were higher in G-7 countries that charged tuition than in those that did not.

Government-Mandated Wage

Once again, Sanders five co-sponsors of a government-mandated wage from 2015 ballooned into 30 co-sponsors.

Democrats who sign on to this plan do so at the behest of low-income workers. As the Washington Post noted, a very credible study on Seattles $15 minimum wage law revealed that the average low-wage worker in the city lost $125 a month because of the hike in the minimum and the resulting number of employers who cut payroll, stopped hiring, or let employees go.

Universal Basic Income

Once relegated to the far-left fringe, universal basic income (where the government gives cash payouts to its citizens) recently received its biggest endorsement yet, this time from President Obama.

Obamas suggestion that we consider new ways of thinking  like a universal income came on the heels of Finlands basic income program failure, with the country announcing it would not be continuing its two-year experiment.

Experts note that a universal basic income would come with a $3.6 trillion price tag each year, requiring a doubling of the federal budget at a time when our country holds $21 trillion in debt.

Single-payer health-care, free college, a government-mandated wage, universal basic income, government-guaranteed jobs (another recent proposal) and the increasing acceptance of these radical ideas among Democrats signify a slow and troubling creep toward socialism.

What the Democrats neglect to mention is that paying for all these free goodies would require massive tax increases. And there arent enough rich people to pay for all the freebies without raising taxes on the rest of us.

As the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher so wisely said: The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples money.
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When President Trump announced his plan to pull the United States out of the Paris Climate Accords in June 2017, the howling cries from left-wing environmentalists could be heard across the globe.

From Canada to China and throughout Europe, the world denounced the presidents decision as reckless and in contradiction to settled science. Without the Paris Climate Accords, they argued, Earth would soon find itself cascading off the global warming cliff.

One year later, Earth is still here, as you may have noticed.

And the U.S. economy  due in large part to the Trump administrations commitment to deregulation and energy dominance  has continued to grow at breakneck speed. On Friday the federal government announced our nations gross domestic product grew at an annualized rate of 4.1 percent in the second quarter of this year  the highest growth rate in four years.

On top of this good news, despite the warnings of gloom and doom from President Trumps opponents, America is now the world leader in cutting carbon dioxide emissions. Yes, you read that right.

According to a June report by BP  measuring global carbon dioxide emissions from the use of oil, gas and coal  the United States reduced its carbon dioxide emissions by 41.8 million tons from 2016 to 2017, marking the third consecutive year Americans carbon dioxide emissions fell.

The United States carbon dioxide reduction is more than double the next closest nation included in the study, Ukraine. And the U.S. reductions are part of a larger, decade-long trend. From 2006 to 2016, BP reports the United States slashed its carbon dioxide emissions by about 12 percent.

The recent drop in U.S. carbon dioxide emissions is the result of increased consumption of natural gas relative to other forms of energy production, renewable energy and a more efficient use of electricity.

In the wake of Americas declining carbon dioxide emissions, the dire warnings issued by global warming alarmists have proven to be yet another example of environmentalists fear-mongering.

One of those alarmists was Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., who called President Trumps decision to exit the Paris Accords a devastating failure of historic proportions.

After world leaders from countries big and small also harshly criticized President Trump for choosing not to make Americans beholden to the United Nations, the leaders spent the rest of 2017 presiding over countries that emitted millions of tons of additional carbon dioxide  illustrating clearly the utter worthlessness of the Paris Accords.

China, for example, increased its carbon dioxide emissions by 119 million tons from 2016 to 2017  more than any other country in the world  despite its alleged commitment to the Paris Accords. Spain added more than 18.7 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions. Frances carbon dioxide emissions increased by 5.5 million tons.

But its the Canadian government that might deserve the award for being the worlds biggest carbon dioxide hypocrite. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was critical of the Trump administration for its decision to leave the Paris Accords, saying in a statement that he was deeply disappointed by the disheartening decision.

Canada is unwavering in our commitment to fight climate change and support clean economic growth, Trudeau said. Canadians know we need to take decisive and collective action to tackle the many harsh realities of our changing climate.

So, after those bold words Canada cut its carbon dioxide emissions dramatically, right? Well, not exactly. In 2017 Canada emitted 17 million additional tons of carbon dioxide compared to its emissions in 2016.

Perhaps the reason Canada, China, France, Spain and dozens of other Paris signatories added carbon dioxide emissions  while at the same time chastising America for working toward energy independence  is because the leaders of those countries know what skeptics of global warming alarmism have known for decades: The world is much better off with affordable energy than it is trying to combat a problem many scientists say doesnt exist.

Of course, Prime Minister Trudeau and the rest of the Paris cabal will never publicly admit it. Its much easier to spend time in office boasting of their own virtue and lamenting the tragic individualism of the American way.

H. Sterling Burnett, Ph.D., is senior fellow for climate and environment issues at The Heartland Institute.
A Republican lawmaker is demanding some answers from the FBI after he says the bureau admitted to working with the controversial Southern Poverty Law Center.



In a letter obtained by Fox News Tucker Carlson Tonight, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., says the FBI has admitted to working with the SPLC, in a development he describes as surprising and worrisome.



This is surprising and worrisome, as the SPLC is known to use its platform in order to denigrate and disparage certain groups by labeling them hate groups, he said.



He said that groups such as the Christian Family Research Council (FRC) have been labeled a hate group, while members of Antifa -- a broad collaboration of left-leaning, anti-fascist activists -- have not been given such a label. He added that Floyd Corkins, who shot an FRC employee, later said he targeted the group as the SPLC had labeled it an antigay group.



The SPLCs conflation of mainstream political advocacy groups with legitimate hate groups and domestic terror groups is absurd, frequently indiscriminate and dangerous, he said.



While details on the alleged relationship were not clear, Tucker Carlson Tonight reported that the FBI had described the group as a well-known, established and credible organization in 2009, and that the agency has briefed the FBI on alleged domestic terror threats in the U.S.



Gaetzs letter requests more information on the FBIs alleged ties to the group, including how much weight the FBI gives to SPLC designations of hate groups and what information, if any, the bureau provides to the group.

The FBI confirmed to Tucker Carlson Tonight in June that it continues to have a relationship with the SPLC.

This week, when pressed on that relationship, the FBI had this to say: For many years, the FBI has engaged with various organizations, both formally and informally. Such outreach is a critical component of the FBIs mission, and we welcome information from these organizations on any possible violations of civil rights, hate crimes or other potential crimes or threats. We do, however, evaluate our relationships with these groups as necessary to ensure the appropriateness of any interaction.

A Department of Justice spokesman said that Attorney General Jeff Sessions had ordered that any such relationships be re-evaluated.



"The attorney general has directed the FBI to re-evaluate their relationships with groups like this to ensure the FBI does not partner with any group that discriminates," a spokesperson said in a statement.

The center recently apologized and issued a $3.3 million settlement to Maajid Nawaz and his organization, the Quilliam Foundation, for including them in a list of anti-Muslim extremists.



Although we may have our differences with some of the positions that Mr. Nawaz and Quilliam have taken, we recognize that they have made important contributions to efforts to promote pluralism and that they are most certainly not anti-Muslim extremists, the group said in a statement.



Fox News Alex Pfeiffer contributed to this report.
Parkland tragedy survivor Kyle Kashuv has emerged as a role model for young conservatives across the country -- and it was never more evident than this week, when he helped plan the largest-ever high school conservative conference.

Kashuv -- a staunch defender of the Second Amendment -- played a key role in the Turning Point USA High School Leadership Summit, which was held in Washington, D.C., and attracted more than 800 students from at least 40 states.

Its great to see these kids here because these are the leaders in their high school campuses. These are the kids who are going to energize and motivate other kids to come out to vote and to volunteer and to push conservative values, Kashuv told Fox News.

Kashuv  who will enter his senior year at Stoneman Douglas High School in the fall -- booked many of the speakers directly and played a role in everything from the attendees having dormitory accommodations to contacting media members so the event got coverage. He also served as the master of ceremonies, introducing nearly every speaker over a jammed-packed, four-day span at George Washington University.

Kyle is a total stud, Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk told Fox News. Hes a phenomenal person, driven and mature beyond his years. He works his ass off.

U.S. Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, House Majority Whip Steve Scalise, Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, Sen. Orrin Hatch and former White House press secretary Sean Spicer all addressed the students. So did Donald Trump Jr. and a variety of media stars.

Despite all the conservative star power, the attendees seemed to be as excited for Kashuv as they were for anyone.

Abigail Addi, a high school student from Queens, New York, traveled to the Washington, D.C., event because she is a supporter of Kashuv and his political views. She decided she couldnt pass up the opportunity once Kashuv began promoting the event on social media.

I met him last night. I was shaking, it was surreal, Addi told Fox News. Hes definitely a role model for me, and Im sure for many other young conservatives.

When Kashuv took the stage to answer a few questions from the audience on Wednesday, chants of USA! USA! USA! erupted. The crowd went into a frenzy anytime he appeared to hand out t-shirts, and teenagers shouted his name anytime he was spotted around campus. He received another enormous ovation when Kirk called him out on stage Thursday.

While he was essentially treated as a rockstar among the summits attendees, Kashuv considers the students his friends.

I treat them like bros, like friends from school. Im the exact same thing as them. I meme, I play Fortnite, I procrastinate to do my homework. Im the exact same thing as them, he said. They can impact the world even more than I can.

Speakers continuously praised Kashuv for organizing the event, but he returned the admiration by thanking the conservative leaders for simply giving him the time of day.

People disregard high school kids all the time, but they understand the importance of these kids as the next generation of leaders, Kashuv said.

Kashuv became nationally known following the Feb. 14, 2018 tragedy in Parkland, Fla. when 17 of his classmates were killed by a school shooter. While many survivors emerged as anti-gun advocates, Kashuv defended the Second Amendment at every turn.

As Americans we all have different point of views, and its important to represent them all equally, Kashuv said on Face the Nation in March.

Kashuv first linked up with Turning Point when he was approached directly by the 24-year-old Kirk following the Parkland tragedy. The young conservatives hit if off immediately and Kashuv was offered a chance to help TPUSA on the spot.

He brought this to the next level. We had 150 kids last year, now we have well over 800, Kirk said. He deserves all the credit. Its his thing and were proud to advertise it as such. Putting together these kinds of speakers is unbelievable.

Still not used to the spotlight, he looked to friends backstage for reassurance that he properly introduced speakers throughout the event. Kashuv even joked that he had to use his own money to purchase a suit for the event.

Last April, Kashuv even escorted an adoring Nebraska high school student to her prom after she approached him on social media  but only after she collected the 5,000 retweets he required to be her date for the evening.

Kashuv was emerging as a conservative darling well before the successful event, meeting with President Trump and even discussing the Second Amendment with Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas  but the TPUSA summit gave him a chance to mingle with his peers.

Being a hero of the right isnt easy. Especially for a 16-year-old who opposes the majority of his classmates' calls for more restrictive gun laws. Kashuv said he has received death threats, is bullied at school, has been mistreated by teachers and receives endless criticism on social media  simply for coming out as a conservative.

I couldnt care less. The reason why Im doing what I am today is not because I wanted to. It is because there was a necessity for someone to do it, he said.
Ambassador Cuong noted with satisfaction the recent progress in relations between the two countries as well as between the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) and the KKE. He said the two sides have increased mutual visits at all levels and bilateral cooperation across multiple fields.

He added that Vo Van Thuong, Politburo member and Chairman of the CPV Central Committees Commission for Information and Education, thanked Koutsoumpas and other KKE leaders for their warm welcome for his working visit to Greece last May.

The diplomat also briefed his host about the successful outcomes from the official visit to Greece by Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh in early July.

General Secretary Koutsoumpas said he hopes the two sides will enhance cooperation and regularly exchange contextual information regarding their respective countries, regions, and the world.

From now through to November, the KKE will organise a series of activities to mark its centenary. It will also host the 20th International Meeting of Communist and Workers Parties in November, and is looking forward to the CPVs participation in these events.
Republicans gearing up for the upcoming midterms were handed a powerful weapon on Friday as they start to head home to begin the campaign for re-elections -- a booming economy.

The Commerce Department announced Friday that the economy grew by 4.1 percent in the second quarter of 2018, making it the fastest economic expansion in almost four years.

GDP REPORT SHOWS BOOMING 4.1 PERCENT GROWTH, AS TRUMP TOUTS 'AMAZING' NUMBERS

The White House hailed the numbers as an indication that tax cuts, deregulation and tough trade practices have paid off.

Weve accomplished an economic turnaround of historic proportions, President Trump declared. Once again, we are the economic envy of the entire world.

The numbers come at a crucial time for Republicans. Lawmakers in the House, which is seen as most likely to flip in November, broke for recess this week, and are heading home to an electoral outlook that suggests a blue wave could be in the offing for Democrats.

Sabatos Crystal Ball, part of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, is now predicting that the race for the House tilts toward the Democrats and that they are now a little better than 50-50 to win the House -- the first time it has made such a prediction. It also made 17 House ratings changes -- all in favor of the Democrats.

Additionally, a Quinnipiac University Poll found that Democrats have opened a 12-point lead on the generic House ballot -- a gap that Republicans had almost closed just a few months ago.

In Washington, President Trump has been dogged by revelations about former attorney Michael Cohens payments to women who claimed they had affairs with Trump, as well as a troubled European trip in which he was widely criticized for appearing to accept Russian President Vladimir Putins claims that Russia did not meddle in the 2016 election. Trump later walked back some of his comments

The economic numbers give Republicans a chance to refocus attention away from the Russia investigation and back onto claims that they are delivering on bread-and-butter issues. They will be hoping that the old addage from former Clinton strategist James Carville -- its the economy, stupid -- will still be true in 2018.

Republicans quickly took advantage of the numbers on Friday, hailing them as proof that Republican policies on tax and regulations are working.

This is yet another indication that our economy is surging, and Americans are better off now, House Speaker Paul Ryans, R-Wis., office said in a press release, a nod to the House GOP slogan: Better Off Now.

The voters will have a choice this November, do you want more jobs and higher wages or would you rather have more government and higher taxes, which is what the Democrats are selling? Rep. Keith Rothfus, R-Pa., said on Fox News @ Night.

It also complicates matters for Democrats, who under the banner of For the People, are looking to pivot to a message focused more on economics rather than a strictly anti-Trump platform.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, took a stab at a more populist economic pushback on the economy numbers Friday, arguing in a thread on Twitter that it only benefited the rich and big corporations.

The GOP promised their tax bill would be rocket fuel for the economy. Instead, it blew up the deficit by a trillion dollars & sparked a surge in stock buybacks, benefiting the biggest corps, their execs & wealthy shareholders while leaving middle-class families largely behind, he tweeted, before asking: So. Wheres your raise?

But such a platform is fraught with dangers. With a booming economy resulting just months after the Trump tax cuts, a platform of rolling back those tax cuts could be dangerous for Democrats.

Republicans were delighted in May when House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., suggested Democrats would roll back the Trump tax cuts if they took control of the House.

PELOSI SAYS DEMS WILL WORK TO ROLL BACK TRUMP TAX CUTS IF THEY RETAKE CONGRESS

"I do think we should revisit the tax legislation in a way that we always have, in a bipartisan, transparent way that the result is unifying for the country, she said.

National Republican Congressional Committee spokesman Matt Gorman jumped on Pelosi's comment, tweeting: "I promise you that will be in almost every GOP ad this fall."

Fox News' Gregg Re contributed to this report.
A Baltimore man has been charged by a federal grand jury with sexually assaulting his seatmate on an airplane in late May. It remains unclear at this time which airline the attack occurred on.

On July 27, the U.S. Attorney's Office of Maryland confirmed the indictment charging Deo Mugabe with fourth-degree sexual abuse on an aircraft, abusive sexual contact, and simple assault during the May 29 flight. The 26-year-old man and the victim were reportedly strangers, seated next to one another on a flight from Houston to Baltimore.

FLIGHT ATTENDANTS' 'GUT FEELING' ABOUT PASSENGERS SPARKS HUMAN TRAFFICKING INVESTIGATION: REPORTS

The indictment alleges that Mugabe engaged in sexual contact with the victim during the flight, knowing that the victim was incapable of declining participation or communicating unwillingness to engage in that sexual contact, the release states.

The U.S. attorneys office did not elaborate. It was not clear whether Mugabe has an attorney.

If convicted, Mugabe faces up to five years in prison for fourth-degree sexual abuse on an aircraft, a maximum of three years for abusive sexual contact and up to one year in prison for simple assault.

A mugshot of Mugabe has not yet been released.

FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK FOR MORE FOX LIFESTYLE NEWS

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A grand jury's refusal to indict a former Las Vegas police officer for using an unapproved chokehold in the death of an unarmed man last year drew anguished tears Friday from the dead man's mother and complaints from civil rights groups.

Trinita Farmer said she blames the former officer, Kenneth Christopher Lopera, for the death of her 40-year-old son, Tashii Farmer Brown.

"I want justice for my baby," the mother sobbed. "They say he had an enlarged heart. I don't know anything about that. My baby had a good heart."

Farmer referred to Clark County coroner's findings last year that Brown's death was a homicide resulting from "asphyxia due to police restraint," but that an enlarged heart and methamphetamine in Brown's system were "significant contributing conditions" to his death.

Lopera's legal and union representatives gave the grand jury the results of a defense investigation, including testimony from medical and police use-of-force experts, and a former mixed martial arts fighter.

The goal was to convince grand jurors that cardiac arrest killed Brown, not a chokehold, said Steve Grammas, the union's executive director.

Lopera himself did not testify, said David Roger, attorney for the former officer and the Las Vegas Police Protective Association.

Lopera was dismissed from the police department last September after police said he violated department use-of-force policies.

The officer chased Brown through restricted employee hallways and outside the Venetian resort, where video from the officer's body camera and casino security views showed Lopera using a stun gun on Brown seven times, punching him more than 10 times and putting him in what police supervisors called an unapproved chokehold for 73 seconds.

Brown's death spawned protests and a federal excessive force and wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of Brown's children.

Sheriff Joe Lombardo, elected head of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, changed policies to stop routine use of neck holds.

The grand jury decision still leaves the prosecutor with several options in a state that moves felony cases from local to state courts either through grand jury action or by a judge's decision after a preliminary hearing.

Clark County District Attorney Steve Wolfson's office could ask for a local judge to hold a preliminary hearing or he could drop the criminal charges. That would let him air the case in a public forum used after police-involved deaths.

Wolfson could refile charges if new information emerges in that non-court venue.

Wolfson has not said how he will proceed.

"I would like for the public to eventually learn all the information and all the evidence," he told The Associated Press.

He plans to meet with Trinita Farmer's lawyer, Andre Lagomarsino, who said he wants a judge to hold a preliminary hearing, or he'll ask the FBI to take over the case.

"We believe it's a civil rights violation," the attorney said. "Trinita Farmer wants Kenneth Lopera prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law."

Roxann McCoy, president of the NAACP in Las Vegas, said the public is entitled to see the evidence that led the grand jury to reject criminal charges.

"I'm very, very curious as to what they saw that we didn't," McCoy said. "I don't know why, when it's a black man, there's always a reason  no matter what we see  that there's something he did to cause his own death."
Two Massachusetts police officers were shot on Friday while investigating a disturbance, authorities said.

Officers Ryan Moore and Donald DeMiranda of the Falmouth Police Department are expected to recover from their injuries, according to a Facebook post from state police. The suspect in the incident was also shot, authorities said.

MISSISSIPPI OFFICER FIRED AFTER DASHCAM FOOTAGE APPEARS TO SHOW HIM USING STUN GUN ON HANDCUFFED MAN

One of the officers was struck twice -- once in the vest and a second time above the vest  and is currently awake and in the hospital, District Attorney Michael OKeefe told reporters at the scene.

The second officer was struck in the head, which OKeefe described as a grazing wound. That officer received treatment and was released from medical care.

The incident occurred around 5:30 p.m. after the officers responded to a disturbance call, the Cape Cod Times reported.

According to the towns police, the officers and the suspect were all shot and injured. All three were taken to receive medical care.

The suspect was later identified by the Times as Malik Antonio Koval, 21.

MILWAUKEE POLICE OFFICER SHOT DEAD AFTER SUSPECT ALLEGEDLY YELLS IM NOT GOING BACK TO JAIL

After police were "fired upon," OKeefe said they "returned fire" and the suspect was hit multiple times.
An incident initially thought to be an active shooter situation was subsequently described by authorities as a robbery attempt at a jewelry store at the La Plaza Mall in McAllen, Texas.

The city of McAllen tweeted a statement from Police Chief Victor Rodriguez stating: "We are investigating a robbery attempt at a jewelry store at La Plaza Mall. All known suspects are in custody. No injuries involved. Reports of shots fired are attributed to to smashing glass cases."

Per an update from police, the city later tweeted that seven individuals were in custody and "no shots were fired."

Earlier, the Hidalgo County Constable Precinct's office wrote on Facebook: "Active shooter at the McAllen Plaza Mall. Stay away from the area! Several law enforcement agencies heading to the scene."

The office later wrote that police said the incident "was a robbery attempt."

Fox News' Madeleine Rivera was on the scene and reported people leaving the mall with many shoppers outside wandering in the parking lot. There were no confirmation of shots fired.

The mall is one of the primary shopping centers in the Rio Grande Valley.

Rep. Vicente Gonzalez on Twitter thanked the city's police department and it's chief "for their rapid response" to the incident, which he added had "no fatalities" and "no injuries."

Fox News' Elizabeth Zwirz contributed to this report.
Five Louisiana residents face federal charges for allegedly caging and abusing an autistic woman, two years after they were arrested on state charges in the case.

A federal grand jury indictment detailed the alleged litany of horrors against the 22-year-old victim, who was identified only by her initials. The indictment was made public on Thursday evening.

The woman was allegedly kept in a cage outside the Tangipahoa Parish home where the five suspects lived. Prosecutors said the victim was coerced into manual labor such as bathroom and kitchen cleaning and subjected to psychological and physical abuses: threats of harm or death if she didnt obey; beatings; being burned with a cigarette lighter; and having human waste from a septic tank dumped on her. The victim was fed only after she finished her cleaning and work.

MASSIVE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FIRE DOUBLES IN SIZE OVERNIGHT; STATE OF EMERGENCY DECLARED

One of the suspects is charged with shooting her with a BB gun. At one point, according to charging documents, she vomited after being forced to eat the cremated remains of her late mother as the defendants laughed. She was allegedly forced to live in a cage made of chicken wire and covered with a tarp. A bucket was put in the cage where the woman was told to use as a toilet.

She was allegedly not allowed a phone or a computer and was forced to take painkillers and methamphetamine.

Two of the suspects, husband and wife Terry Knope II, 45, and Raylaine Knope, 42, face a sex trafficking charge. Prosecutors said they planned to force the victim into prostitution. They also face labor and housing law violations along with Terry Knope's daughter, Taylor Knope, 20, and Raylaine Knope's son, Jody Lambert, 23.

Terry Knope also faces a hate crime count, in which prosecutors say the injuries he caused the victim were motivated by her disability. He also is charged with theft of government funds  more than $8,700 in Social Security benefits meant for the victim.

All four face possible life sentences.

Another of Raylaine Knope's daughters, Bridget Lambert, was charged separately in a bill of information with forced labor conspiracy. Prosecutors say the charge carries a maximum five-year sentence.

MAN ACCUSED IN NURSES GRISLY MURDER MAKES DISTURBING CONFESSION: POLICE

All five are in custody, according to court documents. Defense attorneys declined to comment or didn't immediately respond Friday.

Prosecutors said the victim was a relative of Raylaine Knope. The victim was found by Tangipahoa Parish Sheriffs Office deputies following a call of a complaint in 2016. The indictment said the victim and her mother had lived with the defendants until the mother's death in 2015.

When the arrests were made, the victim, identified in documents only by her initials, was placed in the custody of the state Department of Health and Hospitals protective services.

The degree of trauma that someone like this goes through is probably indescribable, Tangipahoa Sheriff Daniel Edwards said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The so-called Carr Fire in Northern California has destroyed more than 80,000 acres and doubled in size overnight, officials said.

The fire's growth prompted President Trump on Saturday to declare a state of emergency. Federal assistance will now supplement state and local efforts to fight the flames.

"The President's action authorizes the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), to coordinate all disaster relief efforts which have the purpose of alleviating the hardship and suffering caused by the emergency on the local population, and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures, authorized under title V of the Stafford Act, to save lives and to protect property and public health and safety, and to lessen or avert the threat of a catastrophe in Shasta County," the news release said.

While firefighters successfully prevented the fire from further damaging the city of Redding, it grew by roughly 35 percent overnight and headed toward the communities of Ono, Igo and Gas Point.

"We're not getting a break with the weather," Chris Anthony, a spokesman for Cal Fire, the state agency responsible for fighting wildfires, told the Associated Press. "It just continues to be really hot, really dry and we continue to get those winds.

2 YOUNG CHILDREN, GREAT-GRANDMOTHER UNACCOUNTED FOR AS CARR FIRE DEVASTATES NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

This fire's getting so big and there are so many different parts to it, he added.

As the flames began to threaten the three smaller communities, residents began to pack up and leave.

"It's tough," Shyla Campbell said. Her and her husband's home, RV and boat were all destroyed when the fire demolished most of Keswick, a village west of Redding.

"I just have to figure out where we're going to stay. We're just trying to stay away from the fire."

The Carr Fire ignited Monday by a vehicle and exploded Thursday night, jumped the Sacramento River and pushed into Redding, about 250 miles north of San Francisco and the largest city in the region with about 92,000 residents. Two firefighters were killed and the latest tally of 500 destroyed structures was sure to rise. About 37,000 people are under evacuation orders, 5,000 homes are threatened.

Three other people were also killed in the blaze: a 70-year-old woman and her two great-grandchildren, the family confirmed, according to the Associated Press.

Sherry Bledsoe on Saturday said that her two children -- James, 5, and Emily Roberts, 4 -- were killed in the fire alongside Bledsoe's grandmother, Melody Bledsoe.

The fire is just 5 percent contained, according to Cal Fire.

BULLDOZER OPERATOR KILLED, FIREFIGHTERS INJURED BATTLING FIERCE NORTHERN CALIFORNIA FIRE

Elsewhere in California, large fires continued to burn outside Yosemite National Park and in the San Jacinto Mountains east of Los Angeles near Palm Springs. Nationally, 89 active large fires have consumed nearly 930,000 acres in 14 states, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.

So far this year, nearly 37,000 wildfires have burned more than 4.25 million acres.

Fox News' Elizabeth Zwirz and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
A former Florida police officer pleaded guilty on Thursday to arresting two black men despite knowing neither man was connected to the crimes involved.

Guillermo Ravelo, 37, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to deprive a person of his civil rights and deprivation of civil rights under color of law. His sentencing is scheduled for October 4.

While Ravelo worked as a cop in Biscayne Park, a Miami suburb, prosecutors said the officer falsely arrested one person for two residential burglaries and another person for five vehicle burglaries despite knowing no evidence connected them to the crimes. The charges against the two men, who were both black, were dropped.

MAN ACCUSED OF MURDERING NEW YORK CITY NURSE MAY BE CONNECTED TO SIX OTHER SLAYINGS: OFFICIALS

Ravelo also pleaded guilty to using excessive force when he struck and handcuffed a suspect during a traffic stop, the Miami Herald reported. Ravelo was fired from his job earlier this year.

Following Ravelos admission, the probe into the departments false arrest statistics has been put in the spotlight. Former Biscayne Park Police Chief Raimundo Atesiano and two other former officers, Raul Fernandez and Charlie Dayoub were charged last month with framing a teen for several burglaries to improve their arrest statistics.

Atesiano, Dayoub and Fernandez were each charged with conspiracy to violate civil rights under color of law and deprivation of the 16-year-olds civil rights.

They could face up to 11 years in prison if convicted.

In 2013, when Atesiano was the chief, the department had a 100 percent clearance rate of reported burglaries, but it was "fictitious the Herald reported.

BRAWL BREAKS OUT AT TRUMPS NEW WALK OF FAME STAR

Dayoub and Fernandez planned to change their pleas to guilty at their hearing slated for Aug. 3 hinting that they were cooperating in the case against the former police chief.

Atesiano has denied the allegations and pleaded not guilty. He resigned in 2014 from the force and a month later an investigation was launched to see if he used public funds to pay back a personal loan.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
A southern Missouri sheriff and a deputy with whom he had an affair were both indicted last week on felonies -- including assault, robbery and harassment -- in a scenario that the interim sheriff described as wheels (falling) off.

Former Texas County Sheriff James Sigman, 48, and Lt. Deputy Jennifer Tomaszewski, 38, also were indicted on child endangerment and unlawful use of a weapon.

Sigman hired Tomaszewski as a jailer in December 2016, which was around the time they began a romance, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported, citing court records. She was then promoted to administrator of the 72-bed jail seven months later, the report said.

The probable cause statement said she did not have prior experience when she was promoted.

Under Sigman and Tomaszewskis leadership, 40 sheriff's office employees were fired or quit.

Our reaction is not necessarily shock, but disappointment  extreme disappointment because the first term that Sheriff Sigman had served, Ive said this over and over, it was textbook, Presiding County Commissioner Fred Stenger said. It was one that everyone could be very proud of.

Tomaszewski declined to comment through a friend, but Sigman spoke with the newspaper and used an expletive to describe the official story.



Itll all come out in the end, thats all I can tell you, Sigman said as he shut the door.

Itll all come out in the end, thats all I can tell you."  James Sigman, former Texas County Sheriff

Sigman and Tomaszewski have both been released on bond, KRBK Fox 5 of Missouri reported.

Tomaszewski hit an inmate with the mental capacity of a 9-year-old in the face with her elbows after he was rendered unconscious, possibly by a "choke hold," a Missouri State Highway Patrol trooper wrote in a report.

A corrections officer told investigators that Tomaszewski said she was "trying to bust his (the inmates) eardrum out."

"If we hadn't been there, they would have killed that boy. He was completely unconscious and his lips were turning blue," a deputy told investigators, according to the probable cause statement.

"If we hadn't been there, they would have killed that boy. He was completely unconscious and his lips were turning blue."  a deputy told investigators

The statement said Sigman was present during the incident and that reports about what happened were removed from the mentally disabled inmate's file.

The trooper wrote that Tomaszewski also threatened to put a bullet in the head of another inmate but that the grievance the inmate filed was missing when a search warrant was served this spring at the sheriff's office.

The statement said she went on ride-alongs, acted as an undercover officer during stings and served search warrants during which she would detain suspects, search residences and perform other duties reserved for commissioned officers.

Sometimes she was armed with an AR-15 rifle normally used by Sigman and wore a uniform that was indistinguishable from what deputies wore, the trooper wrote.

While serving one search warrant, she pointed a firearm at several people, including a 1-year-old, who lived across the street from the home being searched, placing all of them in "immediate danger," the trooper wrote.

Tomaszewski confronted them because she thought they were video recording the officers and taking photos -- and mistakenly believed that wasn't allowed.

The statement also said that a child was brought into the jail multiple times, helped serve meals to inmates and ate with two of the inmates, including a sexually violent offender.

Sigman is essentially accused of not doing anything to stop his girlfriend (Tomaszweski) from misrepresenting herself as a peace officer, abusing inmates and putting residents at risk, the Post-Dispatch reported.

Rowdy Douglas, 33, told the newspaper that he had quit the sheriffs department in early 2018 because of the atmosphere.

Everything seemed like it was running smooth. Then it was like the wheels fell off.  Rowdy Douglas, interim Texas County Sheriff

Everything seemed like it was running smooth, said Douglas, who was sworn in as interim sheriff. Then it was like the wheels fell off.

Douglas said he is trying to rebuild the department.

Weve lost some trust with the community, I mean thats a given, Douglas said. Well get it back. We just gotta get our stuff squared away and get back out there and put people in jail again.

Sigmans wife, who worked in child advocacy down the hall at the Texas County Justice Center, filed for divorce, according to the report.

Texas County is about a 3-hour drive southwest of St. Louis.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
They say that if you want to play, you have to pay.

This week a Superior Court judge in North Carolina ordered a Texas man to pay $8.8 million to the jilted husband of a North Carolina woman with whom the Texas man had been having an affair.

The award represented $2.2 million in compensatory damages and three times that in punitive damages, the Herald Sun of Durham reported.

In an April 2017 civil complaint, Keith King of Durham accused Francisco Huizar III of San Antonio of criminal conversation, alienation of affection, intentional infliction of emotional distress, negligent infliction of emotional distress and assault and battery, the newspaper reported.

In court testimony, Danielle King  who is 15 years younger than her husband -- said she pursued the relationship with Huizar in 2015 and that her marriage to Keith King had been unhappy nearly from the outset, according to the Herald Sun.

The Kings married in 2010 and have a 5-year-old daughter, according to court records.

North Carolina is one of a few states where jilted spouses can sue affair partners.

Attorney Joanne Foil said the affair and an alleged assault by Huizar cost King's company, BMX Stunt Shows, revenue and an employee, as his wife worked for the company.

Huizar's attorney, Cheri Patrick, says the Kings' marriage was damaged before Huizar met the wife at a BMX show. Patrick says King was controlling and manipulative.

Huizar plans to appeal.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Delegates in attendance reviewed the historical meaning of the event that took place on July 26, 1953.

Nancy Coro Aguitar, deputy Cuban ambassador to Vietnam, said that although the attack on the Moncada army garrison was not a decisive victory for the Cuban revolution at the time, it helped to set out a path and map out a credo for national liberation, and opened up the door to socialism for Cuba.

She affirmed that many generations of Cuban people have grown up with a special admiration and affection for the Vietnamese people.

Vietnam and Cuba have built a solid relationship that has developed far beyond the level of diplomatic relations, Nancy Coro Aguitar said, hailing the bilateral ties as being of an impartial, exemplary, faithful, trustworthy, comprehensively cooperative, and brotherly relationship.

The diplomat stated that the two countries have cooperated and shared multiple experiences in socio-economic development and national construction.
The man accused of murdering a New York City nurse last week may be connected to multiple slayings, law enforcement officials said.

Danueal Drayton, 27, of New Haven, Conn., was accused of murdering Samantha Stewart last week. Stewart, a nurse, was found dead on July 17 inside her Queens home.

Stewarts brother discovered her unconscious with injuries to her neck and head. She was naked and wrapped in a white sheet on the floor of her bedroom.

Her teeth were knocked out and she had injuries to her neck. Authorities pronounced her dead at the scene.

Officials believe Drayton and Stewart met on Tinder. Her family said surveillance footage from a Brooklyn restaurant the two went to before her death helped identify the suspected killer.

Investigators believe Drayton may have used the online dating site and other social media sites to prey on his victims. He allegedly confessed to six other killings, police sources told the Daily News.

Drayton admitted to a pair of killings in Connecticut as well as single slayings in Long Islands Suffolk County and the Bronx, the Daily News reported. He also claimed he murdered a person in Long Islands Nassau County or Queens. It was not immediately clear if he committed the killings.

TWO MASSACHUSETTS POLICE OFFICERS SHOT WHILE INVESTIGATING DISTURBANCE, AUTHORITIES SAY

I believe that there will be more victims, New York City Police Department Chief of Detectives Dermot Shea said.

Drayton has a lengthy arrest record and was known to law enforcement. He was arrested in Nassau County in June.

This week, Drayton was arrested in North Hollywood, Calif., after he held a woman captive in an apartment - he is believed to have flown to California following Stewarts death.

He allegedly sexually assaulted and choked the woman, and refused to let her leave her apartment on July 22 and 23. Shea said Drayton was arrested on Tuesday prior to possibly taking another life.

Drayton was charged with attempted murder, forcible rape, sexual penetration by foreign object and false imprisonment, the Los Angeles County Court said. He is being held on $1.25 million bail and is set to make a court appearance on Monday. He could face up to life in prison if convicted, the Daily News reported.

Our priority was to get a very dangerous person off the street, Shea said. The pressing need was to get this guy off the street before someone else gets hurts.

POPE ACCEPTS BISHOP MCCARRICKS RESIGNATION AMID CHILD ABUSE ALLEGATIONS

The nurses father, Kenneth Stewart, said his daughter was tortured," NBC 4 New York reported.

"She was tortured," he said. "Tied up and tortured for hours. I just imagine the pain she endured in the last moments of her life."

Fox News Lucia I. Suarez Sang and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Authorities in Georgia on Wednesday said theyd found roughly $12 million worth of marijuana on an abandoned chicken farm.

Deputies from the Madison County Sheriffs Office had gone to a farm earlier in July, the department said on Facebook, and what they discovered prompted them to request a search warrant. Authorities described finding a large scale marijuana grow at the site.

ARMED SCARECROW NO MATCH FOR POLICE IN MARIJUANA BUST, COPS SAY

Authorities said they seized roughly 3,500 plants and 250 pounds "of finished product, believed to be worth around $12 million.

The sheriffs office shared photos from the seizure, showing several rows of plant containers and officials at the scene.

Authorities are still investigating the find and said arrests are pending.
A massive fire at a motel in Michigan early Saturday has killed one woman and five children from the same family, police said.

Police identified the victims as: Kiarre Samuel, 26, Marquise Thompson, 10, Gerome Randolph, 7, Samuel Curtis, 5, Savod Curtis, 4 and Avery Curtis, 2. A 2-year-old child is being treated at a hospital for injuries, WSBT 22 reported. Four other people and four first responders were also transported to the hospital but have been released.

The fire destroyed about 90 percent of the Cosmo Extended Stay in Benton Harbor in the southwestern portion of the state, on the shores of Lake Michigan. At the time, 27 rooms were occupied.

Leroy Johnson, who lives in the motel, told the station that the fire might have ignited inside his room.

As I woke up my bed was on fire. I said Oh my God. I got my sheets and wet them and I tried to throw them on the bed and as I throw it on the bed it didn't work. So I asked the person above me for some salt, Johnson said.

Officials said at least one other child was being treated at a local hospital, WBND-TV of South Bend, Ind., reported.

The call for the fire, in Berrien County, Mich., came in at 1:45 a.m. local time, the report said.

The motel, about a two-hour drive southwest of Lansing, has been completely evacuated, officials said.

It was not immediately clear how many other people were injured.

The cause of the fire was also not immediately clear, but authorities are investigating.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
A Pennsylvania grand jurys landmark report, linking more than 300 predator priests to clergy child sexual abuse, will be made public, the states Supreme Court said Friday.

The report details cases going back decades in six of Pennsylvanias Roman Catholic dioceses and includes allegations of cover-up efforts, the court said.

But the public version of the report will not include names or individual specific information of priests and others who have challenged the findings, at least in the initial version of the release.

Still, the courts decision was hailed Friday by state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, who called the ruling a victory for victims of abuse.

Our fear throughout this process has been that the entire grand jury report would be shelved and victims' truth would be silenced," Shapiro said. Today's order ensures that will not be the case.

Earlier this week, Shapiro wrote to Pope Francis, asking the Roman Catholic leader to help bring cases of clergy child sexual abuse out into the open, PennLive.com reported.

That action drew a sharp retort from advocacy group the Catholic League, the report said.

"For the record, there has been no attempt to silence alleged victims, but there certainly has been a well-orchestrated attempt, led by Shapiro, to silence his critics," the league wrote on its website. "In fact, that is what his letter is designed to do. Does he really think the Holy Father is going to accept his unsubstantiated criticisms of Pennsylvania priests and bishops?

The court wants the redaction process to be completed by Aug. 8, when the 900-page report is expected to be made public. If there are disputes about what a court-appointed special master should black out, the report will go out the following week.

The Supreme Court said it will consider the challenges by some priests and others who say their constitutional rights to their reputations and to due process of law are being violated, based on not being able to address the grand jury.

We believe that the risk that the grand jury's pronouncements will be seen as carrying the weight of governmental and judicial authority  and as themselves embodying the voice of the community relative to particular findings  is substantial," Chief Justice Thomas Saylor wrote.

We believe that the risk that the grand jury's pronouncements will be seen as carrying the weight of governmental and judicial authority  and as themselves embodying the voice of the community relative to particular findings  is substantial."  Chief Justice Thomas Saylor, Pennsylvania Supreme Court

Giving the report's subjects the right to file written responses, Saylor wrote, is "not sufficiently effective." He said there are divisions within the court about what can be done to provide the required due process of law. The court will hold oral argument on the subject in Philadelphia in September.

Saylor said the court wants to release the bulk of the report, warning the priests they can't assert objections to generalized content of the report simply because it might pertain to them.

Several lawyers for priests who have challenged the report declined to comment or did not return messages seeking comment.

The report is the result of a two-year investigation, described by the judge who supervised the grand jury as addressing allegations of child sexual abuse, failure to report it, endangering the welfare of children and obstruction of justice by people "associated with the Roman Catholic Church, local public officials and community leaders."

The judge has said the probe involved dozens of witnesses and more than half a million pages of internal church documents.

The investigation pertains to the Allentown, Erie, Greensburg, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Scranton dioceses, which together consist of 1.7 million people.

Previous investigations found widespread sexual abuse by priests in the state's two other dioceses, Philadelphia and Altoona-Johnstown.

The attorney general's office argued vigorously for the release, calling it a matter of exceptional public interest.

Criminal charges can only be brought under the statute of limitations in effect at the time of the crime. For some people alleging abuse in the 1970s, that means two years from when the crime happened. For others, it means two years after they turned 18.

Current state law allows prosecutors to file criminal charges before the one-time child victim turns 50 and for victims to seek civil damages in court before they turn 30.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.
Three people were shot dead at a nursing home in south Texas, authorities said, before two more bodies were found at a nearby home.

The two incidents are likely related, officials with the Robstown Police Department said.

Around 7 p.m. on Friday night, authorities responded to an apparent active shooting at the Retama Manor Nursing Center in Robstown, Texas. Robstown is a small town thats roughly 20 miles from Corpus Christi and two hours south of San Antonio.

MAN ACCUSED OF MURDERING NEW YORK CITY NURSE MAY BE CONNECTED TO SIX OTHER SLAYINGS: OFFICIALS

Upon arrival, police found three people -- two males and a female who have not yet been identified -- dead at the scene, according to a news release from the police department.

Police Chief Erasmo added that the threat was neutralized when officials arrived, according to the statement, adding that current information will remain scarce because we are looking at a murder investigation and not compromising anything that might impede that investigation.

Two additional men were found dead in a home linked to that shooting, Robstown City Secretary Herman Rodriguez said via Twitter.

EX-FLORIDA COP ADMITS TO FRAMING 2 BLACK MEN AS FALSE ARREST PROBE EXPANDS

Rodriguez added that a phone call from family members prompted police to visit the residence of one of the nursing home victims, where two more men were found dead. The shooter was among those killed.

Rodriguez said authorities believe the shootings are related but have not identified the victims or established a possible motive.

This is a profound incident that doesnt really transpire too often in Robstown, Rodriguez told KIII-TV. Were a small community and a lot of the families, we know each other.

Retama Manor Nursing Center is a medium-sized for-profit nursing home with 94 beds, according to the police department.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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A look at key issues in Cambodia's general election on Sunday, with 8.3 million people registered to vote for 125 seats in the National Assembly:

WHO'S RUNNING

Twenty parties registered to contest the polls, but Prime Minister Hun Sen's Cambodian People's Party is the only serious contender. With a handful of exceptions, the other parties are seen as doing the government's bidding by running to give the illusion of a free and fair choice.

The party that was expected to mount a strong challenge, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, was dissolved last year by court order on a complaint that it conspired to overthrow the government, a decision widely seen as politically motivated. Leaders of the disbanded party, which came close to pulling off a surprise victory in the last general election in 2013, are urging a boycott of the vote.

WHAT'S AT STAKE

Hun Sen insists he intends to stay in his post for two more five-year terms, saying chaos may result if he is blocked. He claims his opponents want to launch a "color revolution," suggesting that their promotion of liberal democracy could lead to the sort of violent turmoil that roiled the former Yugoslavia and Ukraine.

His campaign promises to continue the strong economic growth he has presided over, which he says will be applied to improve infrastructure, especially in the poverty-stricken countryside. He also has promoted higher wages and more benefits for workers in the garment sector, the country's largest earner that traditionally supports the opposition.

Hun Sen's critics, led by the now-disbanded main opposition party, the Cambodia National Rescue Party, say Cambodia is suffering from years of land grabs, illegal logging, cronyism, corruption and a culture of impunity fostered by a politicized justice system. The suppression of the opposition party and crackdowns on the media suggest a deeper slide into authoritarian rule.

THE COUNTRY

About 16 million people live in the tropical Southeast Asian country slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Once the center of a vast ancient empire  remnants of which survive at the famous Angkor Wat temple complex  the country became a French protectorate in the 19th century, and gained its independence from France in 1953.

By the late 1960s, it was ensnared by the conflict in neighboring Vietnam, leading to political upheaval and a 1970-75 civil war that brought the communist Khmer Rouge into power for almost four years of genocidal rule that ended only in 1979 with a Vietnamese invasion.

Ten years of Vietnamese occupation followed along with a persistent civil war spearheaded from the jungle by the ousted Khmer Rouge. The 1991 Paris Peace Accords started the process leading to a democratic transition from the Vietnamese-backed communist regime under Hun Sen, but the shattered country still struggles to overcome poverty and deep political divisions.
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Fresh from acquittal of war crimes at the International Criminal Court, former Congolese Vice President Jean-Pierre Bemba is returning to his country on Wednesday to take part in a long-delayed, long-divisive presidential election.

In an interview with The Associated Press on Saturday, Bemba said "it will be a disaster for Congo" if President Joseph Kabila stays on past the election that is now set for December. Kabila's mandate ran out in late 2016 but his government has repeatedly put off the vote, blaming complications in organizing it.

While the international community's patience frays  the United States on Thursday warned Kabila that "the time for posturing is over"  Congo's president has remained quiet on his role in the upcoming election and declared that his country is rejecting foreign meddling and funding the vote itself.

Bemba's return will shake up Congo's political landscape as the opposition tries to settle on a challenger who can win the presidency of one of Africa's most turbulent nations. Demonstrations over the election delay have turned deadly, and Pope Francis and others appealed for calm after police in January used tear gas to disperse ambassadors and others at a mass at Kinshasa's Catholic cathedral to honor protesters killed.

Just weeks ago, few had suspected Bemba would be in a position to compete with Kabila.

In a surprising ruling in June, appeals judges with the ICC overturned Bemba's convictions for murder, rape and pillaging committed by his forces, known as the Movement for the Liberation of Congo, in neighboring Central African Republic in 2002 and 2003.

It was a serious setback to ICC prosecutors in the global court's first trial to focus largely on sexual violence and on command responsibility  the legal principle that a commanding officer can be held responsible for crimes committed by his or her troops.

Bemba, who was sentenced in 2016 to 18 years in prison, has maintained his innocence. He still awaits a final sentencing at the ICC in another case in which he was convicted of interfering with witnesses.

When asked by the AP whether he felt he should dive into Congo's politics while still involved in the case, Bemba replied: "Why not? There are no restrictions." He said he could not discuss the pending case.

He said Congo's government has issued him a diplomatic passport as he remains a senator, and upon arrival in Kinshasa he will register as a candidate. "There will be no provocation," he said, expecting a quiet reception.

Bemba said he wants Congo's opposition to rally around a single challenger to Kabila and will "give all my support" if that challenger isn't him.

He used the language of a candidate, however, as he spoke passionately of his vision for a country that is blessed with trillions of dollars of mineral wealth but ravaged by dozens of armed groups fighting over control of it.

"People deserve to have part of this wealth," Bemba said, adding that he soon would present a 200-page program proposing a badly needed upgrade to the vast nation's infrastructure including roads, hospitals, airports and schools.

He warned that security must come first to enable such investment, saying the situation is worse than it was a decade ago: "I really regret what's happening. ... We cannot abandon the country."

Despite rumblings from Congo's ruling party about his abrupt plunge into domestic politics after years entangled in a war crimes case, Bemba projected optimism for his return: "We will live in peace tomorrow if I am there."

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Follow Africa news at https://twitter.com/AP_Africa
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Simultaneous marches of supporters and opponents of President Daniel Ortega's government passed through the streets of Nicaragua's capital Saturday without incident.

The larger of the two marches was in support of the Roman Catholic Church and its bishops who are trying to mediate a conflict that has carried on for more than three months and left at least 448 dead, according to a human rights organization.

Marchers chanted on Saturday that the bishops had their support and urged Ortega to step down.

In an anniversary speech for the victory of the Nicaraguan Revolution July 19, Ortega accused the Catholic Church of working with "coup plotters" for his ouster and even of allowing weapons to be stockpiled in their churches. Just days later his tone changed and he said he hoped the bishops would continue mediating a dialogue to end the conflict.

Still, Ortega has refused to consider stepping down before elections scheduled for 2021.

Seventy-year-old Nubia Torres said dialogue is worth a try, but said if Ortega was reasonable he would have already left office.

"Dialogue is believed to be a way out, but not for people like Daniel Ortega," she said, adding that a military intervention similar to the removal of Manuel Noriega in Panama could be necessary.

Most in the opposition fear that taking up arms against the government would be both futile and play into Ortega's hands.

Not far away, Ortega supporters carrying the red and black flag of the Sandinista Front marched behind trucks blaring songs praising the president.

Roger Moncada, a 30-year-old accountant, echoed Ortega in calling the opposition "terrorists" and the three months of unrest a failed coup attempt.

He accused human rights organizations of only blaming the government for the deaths.

"The justice has to be even," he said.

The Nicaraguan Pro-Human Rights Association said this week that 399 of dead had been identified and other evidence had been gathered to document the other cases. The vast majority of the dead have been demonstrators, it said.

Police and paramilitary groups apparently working in coordination with authorities have been blamed for most of the violence.

Moncada says that now that the police have cleared the protesters' roadblocks and are arresting their leaders, "the only way out is dialogue."
The Vatican announced on Saturday that Pope Francis has accepted the resignation of Cardinal Theodore McCarrick, the former Archbishop Emeritus of Washington, D.C., from the College of Cardinals.

A statement from the Vatican said the pontiff received the letter of resignation a day earlier by the former archbishop.

Besides agreeing to McCarrick's stepping down as a cardinal, Francis ordered him to conduct "a life of prayer and penance" until sex abuse accusations against him are examined in a Catholic church trial.

Cardinal McCarrick, 88, was removed from his post on June 20 over a series of allegations of child abuse. He was accused of fondling a teenager over 40 years ago in New York City.

A man, who was 11 at the time of the first alleged instance of abuse, said a sexually abusive relationship continued for two more decades. McCarrick has denied the initial allegation.

The dioceses of Newark and Metuchen, New Jersey, simultaneously revealed that they had received three complaints of misconduct by McCarrick against adults and had settled two of them.

While most of the scandals involving pedophile clergy have involved rank-and-file priests, some cases involved bishops, and there are a few involving cardinals, including a current case in Australia of one of Pope Francis' closest advisers, Cardinal George Pell, who now faces a criminal trial in his homeland.

Bishops have been implicated in the sexual abuse scandals that have stained the Catholic church's reputation worldwide for decades now, but often for their roles in covering up for pedophile priests by shuffling them from parish to parish and keeping the faithful in the dark about the allegations about clergy whose pastoral duties often bring them into contact with minors.

Earlier this month, an Australia bishop became the most senior Roman Catholic cleric to be convicted of covering up child sex abuse. Adelaide Archbishop Philip Wilson was sentenced to 12 months in detention by an Australian court in a landmark case welcomed by some abuse survivors as a strong warning to institutions that fail to protect children.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The PM told his guest that the USs exports to Vietnam have kept increasing, up 19% year-on-year in the first half of this year. Vietnamese airlines also bought a large number of aircraft from the US in a short time, he said.

He stressed that Vietnam considers the US one of the most important partners and wants to continue promoting practical and effective development of the bilateral comprehensive partnership for the benefit of the two countries people, thus contributing to peace, stability, cooperation and development in the Asia-Pacific region.

Speaking highly of Garcettis visit, the PM said Vietnam regards California as one of its top local partners.

He hailed the upcoming launch of Vietnam-Los Angeles direct air route, saying that transportation is also a promising field in bilateral cooperative ties.

PM Phuc urged US firms, including those owned by Vietnamese-American to push the US government to soon recognise Vietnam as a market economy, open the door for more Vietnamese goods and reduce trade and non-trade barriers.

The leader reiterated Vietnams consistent policy of considering overseas Vietnamese an inseparable part and one of the important resources for national construction and development.

As California state, Los Angeles and Orange County are home to large number of people of Vietnamese origin, he asked them to create favourable conditions for them to study and work there.

Vietnam wants US investors to continue increasing investments in the Southeast Asian country to bring benefits to the two nations people, he said, pledging all possible support for US firms.

He wished that the Mayor would encourage exchanges and visits to share information and raise mutual understanding between residents in Los Angeles and Vietnamese localities.

Garcetti, for his part, said he has loved Vietnam and its people since his first visit over 25 years ago.

He told the PM that ties between Los Angeles and Vietnamese localities and businesses have kept growing over the past years with increasingly rising trade.

The Mayor said he had held working sessions with the Vietnamese Ministry of Transport and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to facilitate the launching of the direct air service and a Vietnamese Trade Office in the city, which he said, will create favourable conditions for Vietnamese tourists to Los Angeles and vice versa.

Introducing seaports as a strength of Los Angeles, where 40% of exports-imports to and from the US are handled, he suggested that Vietnam should partner with the city in the field to raise two-way trade.
A senior Taliban official says the insurgent group has held the first direct talks with a U.S. official in a preliminary discussion about future plans for a negotiated peace in Afghanistan.

This week's meeting with Alice Wells, the U.S.'s top diplomat for South Asia, was an attempt to jump-start talks on ending Washington's longest military engagement, a senior Taliban official told The Associated Press early Saturday.

U.S. officials neither confirmed nor denied a meeting took place.

The Taliban have long demanded direct talks with Washington.

"The discussion was preliminary, initial and both discussed a future meeting and contacts," said the official on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

It wasn't clear when the next meeting would be held or with whom, but he was certain one would be held.
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Geraint Thomas effectively sealed his first Tour de France title on Saturday by protecting the yellow jersey in the penultimate stage time trial.

Thomas, a Welsh rider with Team Sky, takes a lead of 1 minute, 51 seconds over Tom Dumoulin into the mostly ceremonial finish on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on Sunday.

Dumoulin won the stage by one second ahead of four-time champion Chris Froome, who leapfrogged Primoz Roglic into third place overall.

"After a difficult day yesterday I did not think it was possible," Froome said. "I'm very, very happy. Being on the podium with Geraint is a dream."

Thomas finished third in the 20th stage, 14 seconds behind, but that was more than enough to protect the lead of more than two minutes he had at the start of the day.

Wearing an all-yellow skin suit while riding a bike in the red, white and blue colors of the British flag, the 32-year-old Thomas was the last rider to start.

With a few drops of rain falling, Thomas was quick to regain control when his wheel appeared to lock up coming around a tricky, tight corner early in the route.

At the finish, Thomas let out a loud scream and held his arms out wide in celebration. He then embraced his wife, Sara Elen, as soon as he got off his bike.

Thomas is poised to become the third British rider  and first Welshman  to win the Tour after Bradley Wiggins and Froome. Also, he can make it Sky's sixth victory in the last seven years.

Thomas claimed the yellow jersey by winning Stage 11 in the Alps, followed that up with another victory atop Alpe d'Huez a day later and then defended his advantage through the Pyrenees.

Thomas was a support rider during Froome's title rides but he became Sky's undisputed leader when Froome cracked in the grueling 17th stage through the Pyrenees.

An all-around rider who began his career on the track, Thomas helped Britain to gold medals in team pursuit at both the 2008 and 2012 Olympics before turning his full attention to road racing.

Dumoulin clocked 40 minutes, 52 seconds over the hilly and technical 31-kilometer (19-mile) route.

It marked the first time in 12 years that the Tour passed through the Basque Country and fans waving the region's red, green and white flags lined the entire route in front of the area's traditional half-timbered houses.

It was Dumoulin's second career stage win in the Tour, having also won a time trial in 2016. The Dutchman has now won six TT's overall at the three Grand Tours  the Tour, the Giro d'Italia and the Spanish Vuelta  and he is also the time trial world champion.

"It's amazing to finish second in the Tour de France," Dumoulin said. "I'm 27 years old and hopefully I'll get stronger, especially in the mountains, and hopefully one day I will be able to win."

___

Associated Press writers Ciaran Fahey and Samuel Petrequin contributed.

___

More Tour de France coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/TourdeFrance

___

Andrew Dampf on Twitter: www.twitter.com/asdampf
Road redevelopment : Bonn International School wants to share in the costs

The streets around Bonn International School in Plittersdorf should be made safer. Foto: Barbara Frommann

Bonn-Plittersdorf The city proposes a redevelopment of Martin-Luther-King-Strae in the American settlement.

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Dangerous situations repeatedly occur around Bonn International School, for example due to cars turning, a confusing right of way regulation and an incorrectly located zebra crossing. The city of Bonn wants to remedy the situation by redeveloping the Martin-Luther-King-Strae and will present its proposals to the Bad Godesberg district council for consultation on 5 September.

73,000 euros for road redevelopment, 37,000 euros for cycle racks

Following consultation with the school, the city council proposes the following changes: The access road to the car park will be rebuilt and the pavement will be extended to make it continuous. The whole thing is to be designed in such a way that the car park exit no longer looks like a regular street and therefore the right of way is clearly regulated.

The pedestrian crossing will be moved to the level of the footpath to Steubenring, so that in future it leads directly to the main entrance of the school. The roadway is to be narrowed in this area and bordered with edging stones to calm the traffic. In the last section of Martin-Luther-King-Strasse, the temporarily narrowed road is to be re-widened so that cars no longer have to turn in front of the school. Currently, the road is so narrow that vehicles cannot pass. At a meeting on site it became clear that vehicles often block each other when entering and leaving.

In its presentation, the city council reported that "the proposed measures to improve road safety are estimated to cost around 73,000 euros." The redevelopment is only selective. According to the city, only temporary structures are being dismantled in some cases. For this reason, local residents will not share in the costs. Bonn International School would contribute 10,000 euros for the reconstruction of the access road to the car park because this is partly on the school grounds.

During the road reconstruction, the council also proposes to replace the old bike racks, so-called front-wheel holders, with proper bike stands to improve the quality of the storage system. This will cost an estimated 37,000 euros. The school wants to contribute 10,000 euros here too, because the bike stands are often used by the pupils. One of the reasons behind the planned changes was a citizens' motion last year calling for improvements for pedestrians and cyclists. The city also discussed the traffic situation with representatives of the international school.
BRICS delegates listen to South African Trade and Industry Minister on the first day of the 10th BRICS summit at Sandton Convention Center, in Sandton district of Johannesburg on July 25, 2018. (Photo: VCG)

BRICS not about forming a clique against US trade policy

The 10th BRICS Summit, which opened on Wednesday, is expected to inject new momentum for African countries in their move toward a development path that is more diverse and independent, said Chinese analysts on Wednesday.

The summit was scheduled to run from Wednesday to Friday at the Sandton Convention Center in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Globalization, inclusive development and shared prosperity will top the summit's agenda amid escalating trade tensions, protectionism and unilateralism, He Wenping, a research fellow at the Institute of West Asian and African Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

BRICS' five member states - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa - share a firm determination to promote multilateralism, and the bloc's cooperation with the African countries is a strong counter to the trend toward unilateralism, she noted.

South African government officials on Tuesday reiterated their opposition to isolationist policies and anti-globalization, saying they harm global trade, the Xinhua News Agency reported.

During a high-level panel discussion prior to the BRICS Summit, South African Minister of Finance Nhlanhla Nene said there is a consensus among many countries that the correct path to development is the rules-based open market system.

However, the summit is not about "forming a clique" against the US, as all five members have been adversely impacted by trade protectionism and need open and free trade, Wang Youming, director of the Institute of Developing Countries under the China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Shared development

Leaders of nine African countries have also been invited to attend a dialogue under the BRICS framework on external cooperation.

"BRICS Plus" will see leaders from Rwanda, Uganda, Togo, Zambia, Namibia, Senegal, Gabon, Ethiopia and Angola take part in the dialogue.

Enhanced cooperation among BRICS nations and African countries could help the latter create a more diverse and independent approach to development, Liu Haifang, executive director of the Center for African Studies at Peking University, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

"In order to maintain sustainable development and minimize the risks inherent in the policy uncertainties of traditional powers, African countries must abandon the twisted development mode of colonial times," said Liu, adding that the BRICS summit serves as a practical step in reaching that goal.

China and Brazil could offer expertise in modern agriculture suitable to the needs of African countries, while India has sufficient experience in human resources, medicine, health, and the software industry, said Liu.

BRICS gathers the world's five major emerging economies which represent about 40 percent of the global population and one-quarter of the world economy.

Multilateral mechanisms that enable emerging markets to better cope with risks are likely on the summit agenda, said experts. These might include China's yuan payments and rating systems, they said.

Another example of shared development is the New Development Bank, BRICS' financial arm headquartered in Shanghai. It has approved 21 projects worth $5.1 billion since its launch in July 2015.

Over the years, BRICS has also focused on increasing people-to-people ties, through museum exhibitions, film festivals and educational programs. These events are designed to boost understanding and trust between the peoples of member states and consolidate a foundation for closer partnerships.

BRICS Plus

The BRICS Plus model, which highlights inclusive development that benefits all parties involved, is a significant effort to better engage developing countries in global governance, which remains dominated by traditional powers, said Liu.

Assistance and investment from Western countries is often tied to their standard of political and human rights, which are not always suitable or may be even wrong, considering the cultural differences among African nations, said Liu.

"The G20, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and BRICS are moving global governance toward a fairer, more reasonable and inclusive path," said Wang.
damyti at 27-07-2018 06:36 AM (3 years ago) (m)

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday hailed the enormous contributions of the Armed Forces to his administrations determination to restore peace in the country.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday hailed the enormous contributions of the Armed Forces to his administrations determination to restore peace in the country.



He pledged that the Federal Government would continue to raise the combat readiness of the military for effective and efficient security operations across the country.



The President made the remarks during the graduation of 182 Senior Course 40 at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji in Kaduna State.



Incidentally, our Tri-service training institutions, especially the Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji, have been playing critical roles in this regard. These institutions as well as the single service training institutions must continue to be provided with the requisite support to enable them to discharge their obligations, he said.



Buhari said the Federal Government will continue to give priority to the training and welfare of officers and men of the Armed Forces.



This is not only because we salute their courage and sacrifice for the safety and stability of our country but because the Armed Forces of Nigeria have continued to be the bastion of our unity.



Read: Nigerian Troops Repel Another Boko Haram Attack on Borno Town



He said over the years, the Armed Forces have provided appropriate response to the numerous security challenges facing the country.



Their response to Boko Haram insurgency, militancy, kidnapping, activities of separatists and armed militias amongst others have been very commendable. He commended



According to him, the Armed Forces have also committed huge resources towards stability of the West African sub-region and world peace in general.



Our efforts in Liberia and Sierra Leone which stabilized the West African sub-region readily come to mind, more recently, our Armed Forces have also contributed to the peace in The Gambia, Mali and South Sudan.



Buhari said the significance and importance of joint training of members of the armed forces of friendly and allied countries cannot be over-emphasized, adding that the Senior Course 40 is not an exception.



The Course would have afforded you the chance to break barriers and build bridges of friendship amongst yourselves as individuals. It would have also afforded you the rare opportunity of appreciating each others lifestyle, culture and doctrines



This unique understanding and bond is expected to come handy in forging closer co-operation when occasions demand that you are deployed together in multinational operations.



As the world shrinks into a global village with advancement in technology, nations cannot afford but work closely with each other in pursuit of their national interests.



Even at the level of individuals or groups, the barriers have been broken. This has also brought in its wake an increase in international trade, commerce as well as security cooperation. 



President Buhari further reiterated that the numerous security challenges facing the world today are trans-border in nature, involving actors in different sub-regions and regions.



 The West African sub-region and indeed the African continent are not immune to the negative impacts of globalization.



To effectively combat the prevalent security threats demands that African countries continue to work together at all levels including operational and tactical levels.



I am sure you are aware of the collaboration of the armed forces of Nigeria, Cameroun, Niger Republic and Chad in a multinational operation to combat Boko Haram in the Lake Chad Basin region.



Buhari also assured of his administrations effort to return the country on the path of peace and prosperity.



At the inception of this administration, I made three key promises to Nigerians. First is to address the various security challenges facing our country, second, to reposition our economy and third to fight the serious challenge of corruption which had eaten so deep into the very fabric that sustain our nation.



He assured that the security challenges in the country would be effectively contained soon.



I am certain, with the consistent efforts of our security agencies, these challenges shall be considerably mitigated and minimised.



He called on the graduating officers to realize that the nation has made a lot of investment in their training, the nation is expecting the best from you in terms of commitment to your duties and fatherland. The highest standards of competence and professionalism are expected of you considering the level of training you have received through this course.



Go out there and make your honest contributions to the discharge of the constitutional responsibilities of the Armed Forces of Nigeria and be good ambassadors of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College. The President said. He pledged that the Federal Government would continue to raise the combat readiness of the military for effective and efficient security operations across the country.The President made the remarks during the graduation of 182 Senior Course 40 at the Armed Forces Command and Staff College Jaji in Kaduna State.he said.Buhari said the Federal Government will continue to give priority to the training and welfare of officers and men of the Armed Forces.Read: Nigerian Troops Repel Another Boko Haram Attack on Borno TownHe said over the years, the Armed Forces have provided appropriate response to the numerous security challenges facing the country.He commendedAccording to him, the Armed Forces have also committed huge resources towards stability of the West African sub-region and world peace in general.Buhari said the significance and importance of joint training of members of the armed forces of friendly and allied countries cannot be over-emphasized, adding that the Senior Course 40 is not an exception.President Buhari further reiterated that the numerous security challenges facing the world today are trans-border in nature, involving actors in different sub-regions and regions.Buhari also assured of his administrations effort to return the country on the path of peace and prosperity.He assured that the security challenges in the country would be effectively contained soon.He called on the graduating officers to realize that the nation has made a lot of investment in their training,The President said.

Post Reply Posted: at 27-07-2018 06:36 AM (3 years ago) | Upcoming
felicilin at 27-07-2018 12:38 PM (3 years ago) (f)

A Nigerian man has protested against the state of the nation with his daughters in Australia.

A Nigerian man has protested against the state of the nation with his daughters in Australia. The Nigerian man, simply identified as Fugeeboi, shared a picture showing him and his daughters protesting against the killings perpetrated by Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria.

Nigerian man protests alone in Australia with his daughters lailasnews

Share

They took their plight to the Nigerian high commission in Canberra, as they also advised Nigerians not to sell their vote. SHaring the photos, he wrote;

My experience renewing my passport. MUST READ!!!

Got my international passport in the mail today na why i fit post this experience be this o.

The Nigerian high commission across the world is full of sheet just like the country herself.

Imagine, every Nigerian citizen living in Australia, New Zealand, Vanuatu, Fiji Islands & Papua New Guinea has to physically appear at the Nigerian high commission, Canberra, Australia just to snap photo and thumbprint

within 20 minutes you don finish then you can walk, run, fly or swim back to wherever you came from, they dont give a fvck.

As a typical 9ja kid i went there with the lowest expectation possible and i was not disappointed.

As soon as we walked into their highly secured building an arrogant Yoruba lady welcomed us with a smirk on her face, sounding all rude and threatening to not attend to each one of us (10 applicants only o) if we fail to present the slightest document, looking for the slightest excuse to not do her job, between these same documents are the ones you email to them before they can even give you an appointment to come over thereSmh

Well, sadly i already anticipated this type of attitude, remember JAMB office, WAEC office, Passport office, Ikoyi e.t.c

So i made these placards to stage a quick protest with my daughters since theyre Nigerians besides it was a waste of time travelling all the way there in the first place. Every other high commission including India, Bangladesh, Pakistan & Afghanistan sef will only tell their citizens to get their thumbprint done and photo taken at the nearest post office.

Mummy, Daddy & the Youths abeg lets wake up.

Please! Please!! Please!!! DO NOT SELL YOUR VOTE O

STOP VOTING FOR THE SAME OLD CROOKS.

Fela Kuti has warned us all about these same old politicians, why then do we get fooled easily only by their change of cloths from Kaki to Agbada

They said we are the leaders of tomorrow and tomorrow is today but THEY LIED.

#OURMUMUDONDO

#DONOTSELLYOURVOTE

Abeg feel free to share & repost

Power to the people

See photos from the protest below;



The Nigerian man, simply identified as Fugeeboi, shared a picture showing him and his daughters protesting against the killings perpetrated by Fulani herdsmen in Nigeria.Nigerian man protests alone in Australia with his daughters lailasnewsShareThey took their plight to the Nigerian high commission in Canberra, as they also advised Nigerians not to sell their vote. SHaring the photos, he wrote;My experience renewing my passport. MUST READ!!!See photos from the protest below;

Post Reply Posted: at 27-07-2018 12:38 PM (3 years ago) | Hero
felicilin at 27-07-2018 01:13 PM (3 years ago) (f)

A Nigerian prince from the ancient city of Benin and his accomplice have been accused of bamboozling hundreds of job seekers out of thousands of dollars by promising them high-paying gigs in New York.

A Nigerian prince from the ancient city of Benin and his accomplice have been accused of bamboozling hundreds of job seekers out of thousands of dollars by promising them high-paying gigs in New York. The Manhattan District Attorneys Office said Osmond Eweka, 31, a prince from the Royal Family of Ogiesoba Eweka of the Great Benin Kingdom and his friend Kamel McKay, 27, pretended to run two consulting firms in Manhattan telling clients that if they paid a fee they would be placed at various jobs across New York City.

Prosecutors said some of the jobs Eweka and McKay promised their victims were for hotel housekeeping and front desk receptionists. The men used the popular job-seeking website Indeed.com to find their victims.

Eweka, 31, appeared in a Manhattan court on Thursday where he pleaded guiltyto charges of larceny and scheme to defraud.

Prosecutors said they would invite their victims to their office for an interview and then have them pay a fee, ranging between $300 and $700, the Post reports.

But in reality, there was no such job, she said at Ewekas arraignment on Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court.

After collecting the money, the men would send the job seekers to different businesses, where they were turned away by employers who werent expecting them.

The victims then found that they could no longer get in contact with the alleged fraudsters or the consulting firm. According to authorities, Eweka and McKay duped 250 people. .

They ran the alleged scam from January to June 2018. Both men were indicted on charges of larceny and scheme to defraud. McKay was arraigned last week and released on $200,000 bail, theNew York Times reports.

In 2016, Prince Eweka married attorney Imade Igbinedion in an elaborate wedding ceremony in Nigeria.



The Manhattan District Attorneys Office said Osmond Eweka, 31, a prince from the Royal Family of Ogiesoba Eweka of the Great Benin Kingdom and his friend Kamel McKay, 27, pretended to run two consulting firms in Manhattan telling clients that if they paid a fee they would be placed at various jobs across New York City.Prosecutors said some of the jobs Eweka and McKay promised their victims were for hotel housekeeping and front desk receptionists. The men used the popular job-seeking website Indeed.com to find their victims.Eweka, 31, appeared in a Manhattan court on Thursday where he pleaded guiltyto charges of larceny and scheme to defraud.Prosecutors said they would invite their victims to their office for an interview and then have them pay a fee, ranging between $300 and $700, the Post reports.But in reality, there was no such job, she said at Ewekas arraignment on Thursday in Manhattan Supreme Court.After collecting the money, the men would send the job seekers to different businesses, where they were turned away by employers who werent expecting them.The victims then found that they could no longer get in contact with the alleged fraudsters or the consulting firm. According to authorities, Eweka and McKay duped 250 people. .They ran the alleged scam from January to June 2018. Both men were indicted on charges of larceny and scheme to defraud. McKay was arraigned last week and released on $200,000 bail, theNew York Times reports.In 2016, Prince Eweka married attorney Imade Igbinedion in an elaborate wedding ceremony in Nigeria.

Post Reply Posted: at 27-07-2018 01:13 PM (3 years ago) | Hero
felicilin at 27-07-2018 01:38 PM (3 years ago) (f)

A lady has accused a man from Anambra state of killing her brother in Senegal after which he escaped.

A lady has accused a man from Anambra state of killing her brother in Senegal after which he escaped. Joy Alueze Bassey, alleged that Chimaobi, aka One Billion Chimaobi, stabbed her brother Nnamdi Booley Bassey, from Afikpo, to death in Senegal and escaped. She added that his whereabouts remain unknown.



She wrote on Facebook:

I can't keep calm

Chimaobi(one billion chimaobi) from Anambra state

I must tell the whole world who you are

You stabbed my brother Nnamdi booley bassey from afikpo to death in Senegal

And you ran away...no where to be found.

You can't continue hiding,your hands are stained

My brothers blood will hunt you

You kept my family especially my aged mother in a bitter,ill condition.

Let me remained you

It actually rains everywhere

It will be better you come out from your hiding,bury him and also comfort my family.

KARMA is waiting for you,your offspring and the whole of your generation.

With tears in my eyes and that of my family.

I curse you today,if you continue hiding

Death is a respecter of no man.

Joy Alueze Bassey, alleged that Chimaobi, aka One Billion Chimaobi, stabbed her brother Nnamdi Booley Bassey, from Afikpo, to death in Senegal and escaped. She added that his whereabouts remain unknown.She wrote on Facebook:

Post Reply Posted: at 27-07-2018 01:38 PM (3 years ago) | Hero
(TNS)  U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey is calling for federal oversight over facial recognition technology after a watchdogs test of Amazons commercially available software mistakenly identified Markey and other congressmen as suspected criminals in an arrest database.The failure of the futuristic technology, Amazon Rekognition, could lead to innocent people being accused of crimes or winding up in a hostile encounter with law enforcement, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, which conducted the test.The ACLU said it ran photos of every single member of Congress through a database of mugshots and got more than two dozen false positives  on Markey and 27 other lawmakers.Congress must take these threats seriously, hit the brakes, and enact a moratorium on law enforcement use of face recognition, the ACLU said. This technology shouldnt be used until the harms are fully considered and all necessary steps are taken to prevent them from harming vulnerable communities.Markey said in a statement, Congress needs to enact comprehensive privacy legislation that enshrines the right that consumers own their personal data, and this law should also apply to facial recognition technology. We need rules that ensure consumers have knowledge about how their personal information may be used and the ability to say no to its collection and retention.In a letter to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Markey and U.S. Reps. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) and Mark DeSaulnier (D-Calif.), who also were misidentified, posed a number of questions about the technology, including how the company ensures accuracy and privacy. They also requested information about which law enforcement agencies Amazon has spoken to about using its technology.While facial recognition services might provide a valuable law enforcement tool, the efficacy and impact of the technology are not yet fully understood, the letter states. In particular, serious concerns have been raised about the dangers facial recognition can pose to privacy and civil rights, especially when it is used as a tool of government surveillance, as well as the accuracy of the technology and its disproportionate impact on communities of color.The ACLU said the false positives were disproportionately people of color, and said a false positive could cause a police officer to approach a person with inaccurate assumptions that could have significant ramifications.An identification  whether accurate or not  could cost people their freedom or even their lives, the ACLU said.Amazon has taken heat in recent months for its facial recognition products from employees, investors and the Congressional Black Caucus.In a statement, Amazon disputed the results, claiming the ACLU had not used proper settings on their searches, and that facial recognition has been used successfully in the past.We have seen customers use the image and video analysis capabilities of Amazon Rekognition in ways that materially benefit both society (e.g. preventing human trafficking, inhibiting child exploitation, reuniting missing children with their families and building educational apps for children). A spokesperson for Amazon Web Services said in a statement. With regard to this recent test of Amazon Rekognition by the ACLU, we think that the results could probably be improved by following best practices around setting the confidence thresholds.The ACLU said it used Amazons default settings.2018 the Boston HeraldVisit the Boston Herald at www.bostonherald.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
(TNS)  After raising prices at the gas pump last year, Gov. Jerry Brown wants to increase taxes on Californians again to overhaul the 911 emergency services system.The Brown administration is asking the state Legislature to erase an existing tax on in-state phone calls in exchange for a flat fee on cell phone lines, landlines and other connected devices capable of contacting 911. The tax, estimated to start at a monthly rate of 34 cents per line, is expected to generate $175.4 million in the first calendar year  more than double the current tax  with the possibility of ballooning to over $400 million based on need in later years.It is an increase in an existing surcharge to modernize an antiquated system that is critical to be able to provide timely emergency information to Californians, said H.D. Palmer, a spokesman for the California Department of Finance. This falls into a fundamental purpose of government, which is protecting public safety.Theres little disagreement that 911 technology desperately needs an upgrade in California. The system dates back to the 1960s and the state admits its failed in times of crisis. Five years ago, the California Technology Agency reported that many of the networks radio parts had been discontinued by the manufacturer.The new digital system would allow 911 dispatchers to accept calls, texts and video. The Brown administration says it would be more reliable than the existing network, deliver calls faster and allow dispatchers to more accurately pinpoint the location of wireless callers, among other safety benefits.But Browns proposal, wrapped up in Senate Bill 870 and Assembly Bill 1836, would require the support of two-thirds of the members of the state Legislature. Some lawmakers are hesitant to support even modest tax increases in an election year, fearing negative campaign attacks.The recall of former Sen. Josh Newman, who GOP operatives tied to the gas tax, is fresh in the minds of Republicans and Democrats.Someone just got recalled for raising a tax, said Sen. John Moorlach, R-Costa Mesa. I will tell you that were getting pressure as Republicans to not vote for the tax increase. Thats legitimate.Moorlach, like some other Republican lawmakers, questions why the state refuses to dip into its existing treasury to fund a system that Brown argues is critical to public safety. The administration expects a $9 billion budget surplus in the fiscal year that began July 1, and anticipates total reserves to hit $16 billion next year.911 services are in jeopardy because their funding hasnt been made a priority in the budget, said Sen. Joel Anderson, R-Alpine, in a letter opposing the tax to constituents. With a $9 billion surplus, I believe the state has plenty of money to fund these important services. The Legislature doesnt need to take even more money out of our pockets.The Brown administration said a fee on lines provides a permanent and more reliable funding stream than the budget, which is susceptible to ups and downs in the economy.The 911 system needs to continue operating flawlessly, said Patrick Mallon, assistant director of public safety communications at the Governors Office of Emergency Services. There is a significant danger in tying the future of the 911 system to a budget surplus we have in 2018-2019. This legislation will last for another 25 years. What if were flush this year and not next year?Mallon and other supporters say both the 911 system and the model to fund it are outdated.Several 911 dispatch centers were evacuated last year after the main spillway cracked at the Oroville Dam and high water threatened to flood Butte, Sutter and Yuba counties. Under the existing 911 system, there was no way to automatically reroute emergency calls to other centers.For 24 hours, if you lived in that area, you were held incommunicado, Mallon said. If you needed to evacuate and needed some help, you called somewhere where there was nobody there.A new Next Gen 911 system would be able to automatically send calls to the nearest operable center. The changes would include transitioning the California Public Safety Microwave Network from analog to digital and offer more paths for calls to reach 911 operators if cables are damaged by fires or earthquakes. The new system would also enable live monitoring of outages.The State Emergency Telephone Number Account, the funding pool for the 911 system, currently relies on a less than one percent tax on the cost of in-state phone calls.As more cell phone users opt to text instead of call, revenue has dropped an average of 6 percent a year since 2011. The existing tax generated about $80.6 million in revenue for the 911 system last year. Now consumers pay about 14 cents per month, according to OES.The new tax rate would be determined every October and range from 20 to 80 cents per line per month. The change would not kick in until Jan. 1.The money would be used to continue the existing 911 system, cover administrative charges and begin the multi-year development of the Next Gen 911 call system and the analog-to-digital conversion of the California Public Safety Microwave Network. With half of the current fiscal year funded from the new tax, the state expects to receive $133.5 million in revenue for the 911 system in 2018-19 and cover an additional $10.3 million in expenditures with leftover money from last year.Senate President Pro Tem Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, said upgrading and modernizing Californias 911 system is an urgent public-safety priority and long overdue. Legislative leaders and Brown are actively discussing the proposal with their GOP colleagues and may need several of their votes to pass the bill after lawmakers return to the Capitol next month.Rob Stutzman, a Sacramento-based Republican consultant, said of all the two-thirds bills in the current legislative session, the 911 tax is the most defensible for what it provides.Despite targeting Newman over a tax increase last year, he said some Republicans could get away with voting for this one. Opposing it may pose a problem, he said.I could see some Republicans feeling the pressure to vote for it because they could be vulnerable to an attack that they didnt update the 911 system, Stutzman said. Assemblyman so-and-so voted to let your kids sit on the side of the road without the cops being able to find them  thats how it would manifest itself in a campaign.Mallon and others said OES has been working on the proposal for some time, but it wasnt a legislative priority until this year. The California State Sheriffs Association, California Fire Chiefs Association, California Chapter of the National Emergency Number Association and others support Browns plan.This bill is about saving lives, said Brian Ferguson, a spokesman for Brown in an email. Enacting this legislation now is critical to sustaining and modernizing our 911 system which Californians expect to work without fail during emergencies. 
Esteban Ocon says he is getting on with his job even though Force India is clinging to survival.

Sergio Perez arrived in Hungary saying the Silverstone based team's financial situation is "critical".

"I don't know what Checo meant by that, but hopefully it will be solved soon and we'll get back to operating in the normal manner that we are used to," said sporting boss Otmar Szafnauer.

It appears as though creditors including Mercedes, Perez and his manager, and main sponsor BWT are behind an action to have Force India put into administration for the August break.

The move has angered Rich Energy, a British company that was looking to become a team sponsor and buyer.

"Disgraceful," Rich Energy said on its official Twitter channel.

So with all that happening, French driver Ocon might be forgiven for feeling distracted in Hungary.

"Honestly, there is still a good atmosphere -- the same as before," he insisted.

"For me, everything is clear. We are preparing new parts and a few races ago I got a new steering wheel.

"I have everything I need -- overalls, underwear," Ocon laughed. "I don't see any problems.

"Of course you hear a lot and it's a difficult situation, but the team is focused on its work so in that respect nothing has changed."

(GMM)
Trump thanks Kim for returning remains of U.S. soldiers who died in Korean War

WASHINGTON, July 26 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday thanked the top leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), Kim Jong Un, for returning the remains of U.S. soldiers who died in the Korean War.

"After so many years, this will be a great moment for so many families. Thank you to Kim Jong Un," Trump tweeted late at night.

Earlier on Thursday, the White House said a military aircraft carrying the remains of U.S. soldiers had left the DPRK and was transferring the remains to the U.S. Osan Air Base in South Korea, where a formal repatriation ceremony is scheduled on Aug. 1.

The move showed that Pyongyang was fulfilling part of its commitment to recovering the remains of the U.S. war dead made during the Trump-Kim Singapore meeting on June 12, and Washington was encouraged by the move and "the momentum for positive change," the White House said.

Washington and Pyongyang also agreed to restart field operations in the DPRK to search for the estimated 5,300 soldiers unaccounted for during the 1950-1953 Korean War.
Hungarian GP 2018

By Dan Knutson in Budapest

Qualifying well up the grid is crucial at the Hungaroring.

"I think this might be the second hardest circuit (after Monaco) to overtake and it's the second tightest maybe," Lewis Hamilton said on Friday. "I imagine in the race it's going to be train race. There's not going to be any cars overtaking in this race. That's just how it is."

But rain on Saturday mixed up the grid for Sunday's train race. As a result, while Hamilton took the pole in the final seconds in his Mercedes, there were some unusual suspects in the top 10 on the grid, and out of the top 10 as well.

The line-up for the weekend was: Mercedes  Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas; Ferrari  Sebastian Vettel and Kimi Raikkonen; Red Bull TAG Heuer  Daniel Ricciardo and Max Verstappen; Force India Mercedes  Sergio Perez and Esteban Ocon; Williams Mercedes Lance Stroll and Sergey Sirotkin; Renault  Nico Hulkenberg and Carlos Sainz; Toro Rosso Honda  Brendon Hartley and Pierre Gasly; Haas Ferrari  Romain Grosjean and Kevin Magnussen; McLaren Renault  Fernando Alonso and Stoffel Vandoorne; Sauber Ferrari  Marcus Ericsson and Charles Leclerc.

Vettel went quickest in FP3 with a lap of 1:16.170 on Pirelli's ultra soft tires. The other two compounds available were the soft and medium.

QUALIFYING 1

The first of the three sessions lasted 18 minutes.

The ambient temperature at the start of qualifying was 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Centigrade) and the track temperature was 88 degrees Fahrenheit (31 degrees Centigrade).

A rain shower before Q1 left the track damp, and there was an 80 percent chance of rain as the drivers took to the track on Pirelli's intermediate rain tires. More rain was coming, so it was essential to get in a fairly fast lap time beforehand.

Therefore, there wasn't the usual wait about in the pits at the start of the session. All 20 drivers were soon on track.

The drivers reported that some parts of the track were dry and some wet. Thunder and lightning were in the area.

Was the track dry enough for slicks? Some drivers pitted for the tires with about 10 minutes remaining in Q1. Vettel, Raikkonen and Ricciardo were out front at the time.

But the slicks were indeed now the better tire, as Magnussen proved by leaping to the front. The order of the drivers changed constantly in the final minutes.

"I think it is raining now, so the track will not get better," Magnussen, now 15th, radioed with six minutes remaining.

Everybody stayed out, desperate to get in a final quick lap. No more rain was expected in the final minutes.

When the bedlam was finally over, the five drivers who were eliminated at the end of Q1 were: Vandoorne, Leclerc, Ocon, Perez and Sirotkin.

The fastest 15 drivers who moved on to Q2 were: Vettel, Verstappen, Bottas, Hamilton, Raikkonen, Sainz, Grosjean, Hulkenberg, Alonso, Magnussen, Hartley, Ricciardo, Stroll, Gasly and Ericsson.

QUALIFYING 2

Thunder continued to rumble as Q2 began, but some of the drivers were on slicks and others on inters as they headed out.

The slick runners pitted after just one lap for intermediates.

"Expect conditions to worsen, Max," the team told Verstappen.

Indeed, the rain got heavier. Vettel took the lead while Stroll spun into a barrier.

"Keep pushing," Hamilton was told.

The drivers stayed on the inters. And Raikkonen spun at Turn 6. And now some drivers were stopping for extreme wet weather tires with six minutes to go.

As the rain increased so too did the lap times.

The five drivers who were eliminated at the end of bedlam Q2 were: Alonso, Ricciardo, Hulkenberg, Ericsson and Stroll.

The fastest 10 drivers who moved on to Q3 were: Vettel, Sainz, Verstappen, Hamilton, Gasly, Bottas, Hartley, Raikkonen, Magnussen and Grosjean.

QUALIFYING 3

The rain continued as the 12-minute Q3 session began, and the drivers were on the extreme wet tires.

Verstappen, out front, had a spray-free view of the track. But he did not stay out front on the timing screens where Hamilton took the lead ahead of Bottas. Vettel and Raikkonen moved into third and fourthuntil Raikkonen jumped to second.

Gasly was a fine fifth and Verstappen sixth with four minutes to go. Then the Finnish fans roared as Raikkonen grabbed the provisional pole.

All 10 drivers were on track with two minutes remaining.

In the final seconds Bottas took the pole, and then Hamilton took it away.

The top 10 qualifiers at the end of bedlam Q3 were: Hamilton, Bottas, Raikkonen, Vettel, Sainz, Gasly, Verstappen, Hartley, Magnussen and Grosjean.
Researchers from Nanjing University have developed a new method for the extraction of lithium metal from seawater using solar-powered electrolysis with a NASICON solid-state electrolyte as the selective membrane.

In a paper in the journal Joule, they report that their electrolysis method made the lithium extraction process faster and more controllable than in adsorption- and dialysis-based methods and that it could overcome the limit of the concentration difference that is present in the dialysis method.

Additionally, with an aprotic electrolyte in the cathode side, they were able directly to obtain metallic lithium during the lithium extraction process.

The team also said that their method is extensible by using different types of ion-selective membranes or anodes to recover other elements in seawater.





Shortage of future lithium supply and the uneven distribution of current lithium resources. Yang et al.

Currently all commercial lithium is sourced from ores and brines on land, which contains a total lithium reserve of 14 million tons according to the latest survey conducted this year.  the geographic distribution of land-based lithium resources is uneven, with more than 98% of the total reserves concentrated in Chile, Argentina, China, and Australia. In addition, lithium extraction from ores and brines has a significant environmental impact, including water pollution and depletion, soil damage, and air contamination.  In contrast, the ocean contains 230 billion tons of lithium, an amount four orders of magnitude larger than the lithium reserves on land. Since the amount of lithium in this massive reserve is far higher than the amount consumed annually by human activity, the impact of lithium extraction from seawater on the lithium concentration in the ocean would be negligible. In other words, the omnipresent seawater can act as a nearly infinite global lithium resource, making it a promising source for the future lithium supply. Even though the lithium reserves in the ocean are immense, its concentration in seawater is very low (0.10.2 ppm). Researchers have proposed several strategies for extracting lithium compounds from seawater, such as adsorption- and dialysis-based methods.  the lithium extraction rates of the current techniques are relatively slow. Yang et al.

In their study, the Nanjing researchers used a lithium superionic conductor (NASICON)-type solid-state electrolyte as the lithium-ion selective membrane, with an aprotic electrolyte instead of an aqueous solution being employed in the anode side of the electrolysis cell to create a proton-free compartment.

The prototype device can be powered by a solar panel and metallic lithium can be directly generated during the lithium extraction process.





Schematic Diagram of the Solar-Powered Lithium Extraction Device. (A) Mechanism of the lithium extraction device; (B) Single unit; (C) Scale-up device array on the sea. Yang et al.

The electrolyte of the electrolysis cell is divided into two parts by the solid-state electrolyte. A LiClO 4 -propylene carbonate solution is on the cathode side and seawater is on the anode side. During electrolysis in the study, the cell was charged under constant current by a solar panel. Driven by the electric field, cations in seawater (Na+, Li+ ) move from the anode toward the lithium-ion-selective membrane. Only lithium ions transported to the cathode side; the other cations were blocked and remained in the anode compartment.

On the cathode side, lithium ions are reduced to metallic lithium on a copper foil. Cl- or OH- is oxidized to Cl 2 or O 2 on the anode side, and part of the Cl 2 may further react with water to form hypochlorite.

Further study is required to clarify the impact of the current density on the lithium production rate (or energy efficiency) of the lithium extraction device. Yang et al.

Resources




Haiti - Politic : End of consultations, Moise will reveal the name of the next PM





During consultations at the National Palace, which continued during the 3 weeks following the resignation of Prime Minister Jack Guy Lafontant https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-24957-haiti-flash-resignation-of-the-prime-minister-lafontant.html , the Head of State in search of consensus, met with politicians, personalities and organized groups of Civil Society, around the profile of the next Prime Minister and the formation of the new Government.



According to a source close to the Presidency, the consultations are now over, a short list of names has been established and checks are currently under way to ensure that each candidate meets the criteria of the Constitution, believing that the Head of the State could announce at the beginning of the week the name of the Prime Minister.



However, Guichard Dore, the Special Adviser to the Head of State, did not want to confirm a date, other than to assert that it is "soon", recalling that President Moise must again consult the Presidents of both Houses of Parliament before the announcement.



See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-25055-haiti-flash-heavy-balance-of-riots.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-24958-haiti-flash-message-to-the-nation-of-president-jovenel-moise.html

https://www.icihaiti.com/en/news-24940-icihaiti-security-the-riots-made-several-dozen-injured-by-bullets.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-24897-haiti-flash-3rd-day-of-riots-in-haiti.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-24892-haiti-flash-demonstrations-violence-balance-of-2-days-of-chaos.html

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-24887-haiti-flash-rising-fuels-at-least-two-deaths-and-many-damage-in-the-capital.html



S/ HaitiLibre


















Chinese President Xi Jinping makes a speech to an outreach dialogue grouping leaders from the BRICS, the "BRICS Plus" and African countries at the 10th BRICS summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, July 27, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

JOHANNESBURG, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday called on emerging market economies and developing countries to enhance cooperation in addressing common challenges.

Xi made the remarks in a speech to an outreach dialogue grouping leaders from the BRICS, the "BRICS Plus" and African countries at the 10th BRICS summit here.

The leaders discussed international development and cooperation, as well as the important cause of South-South cooperation, and reached broad consensuses.

The world is undergoing great developments and transformation, during which emerging markets and developing countries are faced with shared opportunities and challenges, Xi said, stressing that it is increasingly important for them to enhance solidarity and cooperation.

First, he said, the BRICS countries and their partners should jointly deepen their mutually beneficial partnership.

We should understand, support, stay forever with and help each other, taking "BRICS Plus" cooperation as an opportunity to build an open, inclusive, cooperative and win-win partnership and create a platform for deepening South-South cooperation, said the Chinese president.

Second, the BRICS countries and their partners should jointly explore new driving forces for development, Xi said.

The BRICS leaders pose for a group photo with leaders or representatives of the leaders from invited countries, and heads of regional organizations in Africa in Johannesburg, South Africa, July 27, 2018. Chinese President Xi Jinping made a speech to an outreach dialogue grouping leaders from the BRICS, the "BRICS Plus" and African countries at the 10th BRICS summit here on Friday. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

We should together seize the opportunity of the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution set up at this summit to take the high ground of development, and release our potential in complementarities and coordination, so as to achieve innovative, interconnected and inclusive development, he said.

Third, the Chinese president urged the BRICS partners to jointly create a positive external environment, protect the multilateral trade regime, build an open world economy, continue to promote global economic governance reform, and strengthen the representation and voice of emerging market economies and developing countries.

Fourth, we should build a new type of international relations together, firmly safeguard multilateralism, push the development of international order toward a more just and rational direction and implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Xi said.

We should stick to the international development and cooperation model of regarding North-South cooperation as the main channel, and South-South cooperation as a complement, he said.

President Xi stressed that it is significant that the BRICS summit was once again held in Africa, noting that we should take it as an opportunity to comprehensively deepen the partnership between BRICS and African countries.

China and Africa have been good friends, good partners and good brothers, said Xi, adding that with joint efforts, the China-Africa comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership has developed rapidly, having formed a pattern of all-round, multi-level and wide-ranging cooperation that benefits billions of people.

Regardless of how the international order changes, China will continue to maintain the policy of sincerity, real results, affinity and good faith and uphold justice and shared interests to continuously support Africa in achieving prosperity, he said.

China and Africa will jointly hold the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation in September.

Xi said he is looking forward to meeting African leaders in the Beijing summit and called for injecting new impetus into the China-Africa comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership.

He also pointed out that the development of socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, with China still being the world's largest developing country.

China will stay as a developing country no matter how it develops, staunchly support the development of developing countries and be committed to building close partnerships, according to the Chinese president.

We should pull together and work hand in hand to strive ahead advancing greater development for emerging markets and developing countries, he noted.

Leaders invited for the dialogue commended the BRICS leaders for carrying forward the practices from last year's Xiamen Summit by conducting such a dialogue, saying it reflects the inclusiveness of the BRICS cooperation.

They pledged support to institutionalize the dialogue and build extensive development partnerships in a bid to advance South-South cooperation.

Under the current circumstances with the challenges of rising unilateralism and protectionism, all parties believe in the need to strengthen solidarity and cooperation between emerging markets and developing countries, promote development of cooperative partnership between the BRICS countries and Africa, enhance practical cooperation in various fields and jointly oppose unilateralism and protectionism, so as to gain inclusive growth, sustainable development and benefits to all.

Besides Xi, other BRICS leaders, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and the leaders or representatives of the leaders from Angola, Argentina, Botswana, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Gabon, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Senegal, Seychelles, Tanzania, Togo, Turkey, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Jamaica, as well as heads of regional organizations in Africa attended the dialogue.
The state has a whole section of its website dedicated to coyotes.

North Adams Police Warn Residents of Coyote Sightings

NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  North Adams Police advise residents to be aware of intruding coyotes in their neighborhoods.

The North Adams Police reported that they are aware of recent coyote sightings in the city and urge residents to secure their garbage and refrain from feeding them.

iBerkshires.com received an email from a resident reporting two coyote sightings in the Franklin Court and Bridge Street area. He wrote that a coyote attacked his cat. He was able to drive the wild animals off with a loud noise but wanted to spread caution for other residents on the dangers they can pose.

He added that he saw the coyotes around sunrise. He noted that they did seem aggressive and were rather large.

Coyotes will prey on small animals attracted by the bird seed from bird feeders. Those who own a bird feeder should clean up spilled seed daily and get rid of the feeder immediately if coyotes are seen around their yard.

Contrary to popular belief, coyotes are not animals that exclusively live off of areas that are uninhabited by humans, such as forests and mountains. They can dwell in suburban and urban areas and have been known to rummage through garbage, attack pets and even attack humans.

The state has a whole section of its website dedicated to coyotes here.
July 27, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - In addition to padding the bottom lines of America's largest corporations by cutting their taxes and eliminating scores of longstanding regulations, President Donald Trump is also protecting major companies' profits by refusing to punish them for ripping off consumers and trampling federal rules that safeguard the planet.

That is the central conclusion of a new Public Citizen analysis out Wednesday, which finds that corporate America has largely been exempt from Trump's so-called "law-and-order" agenda. Titled Corporate Impunity (pdf), the report shows that enforcement actions carried out by major government agencies declined drastically during Trump's first year in the White House.

"When it comes to large corporations, the supposedly 'tough-on-crime' Trump administration is undertaking an epic retreat from law enforcementslashing fines, declining to bring cases against corporate wrongdoers, and cutting enforcement programs," Public Citizen president Robert Weissman said in a statement on Wednesday.

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"The message to big business couldn't be more clear," Weissman added. "Feel free to run roughshod over rules that protect the air we breathe, the water we drink, and the food we eat, as well as ensure the safety of the cars we drive and protect us against bank rip-offs and consumer fraud."

According to Public Citizen, the largest drop in enforcement actions came at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which is currently headed by former coal lobbyist Andrew Wheeler after previous agency chief Scott Pruitt resigned amid an ever-growing mountain of scandals.

The consumer group's new analysis shows that EPA penalties against corporate criminals has dropped a staggering 94 percent since Trump took office last year.

In Trumps first year, EPA penalties dropped 94 percent  the most of any federal agency. Under Scott Pruitt, the EPA decreased penalty sums against polluters from $23 billion in Obamas last year to $1.4 billion in Trumps first. pic.twitter.com/LTeVCtkZwa  Public Citizen (@Public_Citizen) July 25, 2018

The decline in penalties leveled by other White House agencies has been similarly striking.

Trump's Department of Justice (DOJ), for instance, imposed $4.9 billion in penalties against major corporations for violating the law. In contrast, during the last year of the Obama administrationwhich could hardly be described as tough on corporate crimethe DOJ imposed $51.5 billion in fines against businesses.

"The greedy leader sets the pace," noted legal scholar Jennifer Taub in response to Public Citizen's figures. "Under the Trump doctrine, it's corruption without accountability all the way down."

Correction: K's in graphic should be M's. All percentages are still accurate. pic.twitter.com/oMyPD3ogNP  Public Citizen (@Public_Citizen) July 25, 2018

Because the Trump administration has demonstrated that it is not interested in holding corporations accountable for defrauding consumers and wrecking the environment, Public Citizen argues in its report that we can expect an even larger wave of corporate crime in the near future.

"If the chances of being prosecuted for lawbreaking drop and the penalties when caught are slight, we should expect a surge in corporate wrongdoing," the analysis notes. "That means more workers needlessly injured and killed on the job. It means more consumers ripped off by predatory lenders... It also means a greatly increased chance of corporate catastrophes, on the scale of the BP Gulf oil disaster and the 2008 financial crash, both of which can be traced directly to regulatory enforcement failures."

Succinctly summarizing America's two-tiered justice systemwhich Trump has tilted even further in favor of the rich by letting corporations run "roughshod"Public Citizen's Rick Claypool wrote, "While poverty is criminalized, wealth is immunized."

This article was originally published by " Common Dreams " -

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.






By Kevin Zeese

Note: Before the update on Nicaragua, I an providing two recent interviews that provide a context for what is happening in Nicaragua.

July 27, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - First, is an interview I did with Lee Camp, the lead writer, and host of Redacted Tonight, US Pushing for Regime Change in Nicaragua, where we discuss the economic and political situation in Nicaragua as well as who is behind the coup and the government response. This interview discusses the issues raised in an article by me and Nils McCune, Correcting The Record: What Is Really Happening In Nicaragua.

On Clearing The FOG radio and podcast, Margaret Flowers and I interviewed Stephen Sefton, who lives in Nicaragua and is a founder of Tortilla con Sal. He names the names behind the violence and describes what is happening in Nicaragua.

Lessons Learned from the Failed Violent Coup in Nicaragua and Next Steps

The violent coup in Nicaragua has failed. This does not mean the United States and oligarchs are giving up, but this phase of their effort to remove the government did not succeed. The coup exposed the alliances who are working with the United States to put in place a neoliberal government that is controlled by the United States and serves the interests of the wealthy. People celebrated the failure of the coup but realize work needs to be done to protect the gains of the Sandinista revolution.

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People Celebrate Revolution, Call For Peace, Show Support for Government

The people of Nicaragua showed their support for the democratically-elected government of Daniel Ortega with a massive outpouring in Managua in a celebration of the 39th anniversary of the Sandinista Revolution. In addition to the mass protest in Managua, various cities had their own, in some cases very sizeable ones.

People have wanted peace to return to Nicaragua. They have also wanted the roadblocks removed, which have resulted in closed businesses, job loss and loss of mobility. Roadblocks have been removed, even in the opposition stronghold of Masaya. There were two opposition deaths and one police officer killed in the removal. There was also an earlier death of a policeman in Masaya, captured when he was off-duty, tortured and burnt to death. This brings the total of police killed since April up to at least 21 with hundreds injured. With the opening of the main road on the east side of Masaya, all Nicaraguas main routes are open to traffic and buses etc are operating normally.

At the rally, President Ortega called on the people of Nicaragua to defend peace and reinstate the unity that existed in the nation before the violent opposition protests. He described how the violent coup attempted to destabilize the country and ended the peace that has existed through the eleven years of his time in office. He said, Peace must be defended every day to avoid situations like these being repeated.

He also criticized the Catholic Bishops for their role in the failed violent coup. Ortega described the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua as coup leaders for collaborating with the opposition during the protests. Not only did the Catholic leadership side with the opposition during the national dialogue, but priests were involved in kidnapping and torture. Pope Francis has a lot of work to do to rein in the Catholic Church in Nicaragua. If their role in these violent protests and opposition to an economy for the people is not stopped, this will become a scandal for the Catholic Church.

Other Latin American leaders spoke out against involvement in the coup. Bolivian President Evo Morales condemned US interference in Nicaragua, denouncing the criminal strategies used against the government of Daniel Ortega. Morales accused the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), and the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) of openly supporting violence in Nicaragua. Also at the celebration were the foreign ministers of Cuba and Venezuela, Bruno Rodriguez Parrilla, and Jorge Arreza, all supporting Nicaragua over the violent coup of the United States and oligarchs.

The United States is Escalating Economic War and Support for Opposition

The United States is not giving up. Also on the anniversary of the revolution, the NICA Act, designed to escalate the economic war against Nicaragua, was introduced in the Senate. It has already been passed by the US House of Representatives. The Senate bill, called the Nicaragua Human Rights and Anti-corruption Act of 2018, imposes sanctions, calls for early elections and escalates US intelligence involvement in Nicaragua. It is a law that ensures continued US efforts to remove the democratically-elected government.

At the same time, USAID announced an additional $1.5 million for Nicaragua to build opposition to the government. This will fund the NGOs that participated in the protests, human rights groups that falsely reported the situation, media to produce the regime change narrative and other support for the opposition.

The coordination between Nicaraguan opposition and the United States was shown by Max Blumenthals attempted visit to an organization that funnels USAID and NED money to the opposition. He visited the Managua offices of the Institute of Strategic Studies and Public Policies (IEEPP in Spanish), but it was closed because its director, Felix Maradiaga, who was at the heart of the violent unrest, was in Washington, DC seeking more funding from USAID.

Tried to visit the Managua offices of IEEPP, a main channel for US National Endowment for Democracy/USAID money to the opposition. It was closed bc its director, Felix Maradiaga, who was at the heart of the violent unrest, was back in Washington to ask USAID for more money. pic.twitter.com/kLeIzsMoNc  Max Blumenthal (@MaxBlumenthal) July 20, 2018

On July 18, the US-dominated OAS passed a resolution concerning The Situation in Nicaragua. An earlier effort to endorse a report of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) was so biased that it failed. The report ignored the oppositions widespread violence or inaccurately attributed it to the government. It also failed to recognize government actions in self-defense. The resolution approving the IACHR report was supported by only ten out of 34 countries.

The resolution, which was finally passed by the OAS, condemned violence on all sides and urged Nicaragua to pursue all options including the national dialogue to seek peace begun by Ortega. On the issue of elections, the resolution urged Nicaragua to support an electoral calendar jointly agreed to in the context of the National Dialogue process. Only this mainly symbolic resolution could pass muster in the OAS, despite US domination.

What Happened and What Was Learned

In our article Correcting the Record: What Is Really Happening In Nicaragua, Nils McCune and I describe what was behind the violent coup attempt. We reported that there was a lot of misinformation on what was occurring in Nicaragua, indeed the false narrative of regime change was part of the tactics of the failed coup. Perhaps most importantly we described the alignment of forces behind the coup.

The coup was a class war turned upside down. The Ortega government includes none of the oligarchic families, a first in the history of Nicaragua. He has put in place a bottom-up economy that has lifted people out of poverty, provided access to health care and education, given micro-loans to entrepreneurs and small businesses and created an economy energized by public spending. Ortega expanded coverage of the social security system; as a result, a new formula was required to ensure fiscal stability.

Ortega made a counter-proposal to the IMF/business proposal, which would cut social security and raise the retirement age. He proposed no cuts to social security and increasing employer contributions by 3.5% to pension and health funds, while only slightly increasing worker contributions by 0.75% and shifting 5% of pensioners cash transfer into their healthcare fund. These reforms were the trigger as it was the business lobby who called for the protests.

The forces aligned with the violent coup included the oligarchs, big business interests, foreign investors (e.g. Colombian financiers), the US-funded NGOs and the Catholic Church, a long-term ally of the wealthy. Also involved was the Movement for Renovation of Sandinismo (MRS), a tiny Sandinista offshoot party, of former Sandanistas who left the party when Ortega lost an election in 1990 who are aligned with the US State Department.

Regarding students, there were already student protests around university elections, and these were redirected by the violent coup effort and supported by a small minority of students from private universities, the April 19th Movement. Some of these students had been brought to the US by the Freedom House, which has long ties to the CIA and met with far-right interventionist members of the US Congress, including Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Sen. Marco Rubio, and Sen. Ted Cruz.

These groups acted in opposition to the bulk of Nicaraguan society and showed their true colors. This includes:

Being tied to and subservient to the US government.

Being led by oligarchs and big business interests that are out of power and cannot win elections.

Using violence as a strategy of creating chaos and trapping the government into responding with violence to restore order.

Spreading false propaganda through oligarch-controlled media, often funded by NED, as well as highly-manipulated social media echoed by western media, especially The New York Times, The Guardian, Washington Post and cable TV news outlets.

No doubt more will come out about this in the future as the coup is researched and analyzed. As the facts become clear, the opposition will lose more political power and be even less likely to win elections. The blockades of roads with violence undermined the economy and had a negative impact on the poor and working class. If it becomes evident that this was a strategy of the opposition, they will lose power. NGOs that are funded by the US and run by members of the MRS will be noted for their dishonest narrative and will be seen as an arm of the United States and not trusted by the people of Nicaragua. Media outside of Nicaragua will come to understand that human rights groups and NGOs are not reliable sources of information but need to be questioned. They need to be pushed to break their ties with the United States.

This does not mean all is well on the Sandinista side of the alliance of forces. The coup is an opportunity for self-reflection and self-criticism that is already happening, as seen in this list of 20 results from the coup, which begins with A more consolidated and United FSLN. In addition, the Action Group of the Solidarity with Nicaragua Campaign put forward seven propositions to unify around. The protest took advantage of challenges the Nicaraguan government faces in continuing to lift up the poor and economically insecure. It shows their need to build their capacity to quickly let the public know their side of the story. And, it shows the need for planning for a post-Ortega Sandinista government, as the president is in his third term.

The anniversary of the revolution was a good beginning at strengthening the unity of the Sandinista movement and celebration of the defeat of the coup, but there will be challenges ahead. Nicaragua is a poor country that needs foreign investment. If the United States escalates the economic war, which seems to be the intent, it will make it challenging to continue the social and economic programs that are lifting up the poor. Nicaragua had relied on investment from Venezuela, but it is also in the midst of an economic war, which along with the low oil prices has created economic challenges for them. Nicaragua has begun to build economic relationships with China, Russia, Iran and other countries; these will likely need to expand.

The misinformation was deep and widespread. Inside Nicaragua, there were stories of students being killed that never happened but that escalated the protests. The opposition claimed to be nonviolent when their strategy was to use violence to force regime change while the government quartered the National Police. False news and videos of attacks on neighborhoods and universities never stopped being manufactured. One example, students calling for help and claiming they were under attack, was later exposed in a video showing the students practicing the false social media narrative.

Peace and justice activists in the United States and western nations have learned they need to be much more careful believing reports on what is occurring in Nicaragua. The US-funding of NGOs involved in womens issues, environmental protection and human rights in Nicaragua make them questionable sources of information for justice advocates. In addition, US-funded regime change efforts are getting more sophisticated at social media; and thus, care must be taken as social media has it is abused by regime change advocates. We must look to other sources that have shown the ability to report accurately e.g., Tortilla con Sal, Telesur, Redvolucion. Peace and justice advocates must be grounded in anti-imperialism and nonintervention by the United States.

This article was originally published by "Popular Resistance " -

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
July 27, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - There is a power outage in the US alright, but its got nothing to do with Russian hackers. The outage is due to the American political class evidently losing its power-of-influence on public opinion.

That would explain why this week US media reported a sensationalist story alleging that Russian state hackers had the capability to crash the American power grid.

It seemed to be a blatant attempt at whipping up public fears and anti-Russia sentiment. That base motive would have been all the more impelled because the public were evidently not responsive to the post-Helsinki Traitor Trump hysteria.

In the aftermath of Donald Trumps summit with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Helsinki last week, the US media went hysterical in denouncing the American president as a traitor and stooge. That rabid reaction was because Trump held a cordial meeting with Putin and because he appeared to play down long-running, and tenuous, claims about Russian interference in the 2016 elections for the White House.

Trumps summit with Putin  the first that the two leaders have held since Trump took office nearly eighteen months ago  sent Congressional Democrats and Republicans, as well as intelligence and media pundits, into a collective delirium of condemnation.

Apparently, the idea of the US-Russia normalizing bilateral relations and avoiding spiraling tensions between the two nuclear superpowers was anathema to the political establishment and the media chattering-class.

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However, the telling thing was that most ordinary American citizens were not provoked into sharing this hysteria over Trump and Putin. Several polls showed that the US public remained supportive of Trump or neutral about his engagement with the Russian president. That was in spite of saturated corporate media coverage decrying Trump for betraying America and colluding with an enemy state.

Thats where the story comes in about Russian agents allegedly hacking into the US electric grid. More than a week after the Helsinki summit, media headlines like this appeared: Russian hackers have gained capability to cause US blackouts.

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials on July 23 started briefing US media and power industry companies that Russian state hackers had gained access to the nations electric grid and were capable of throwing switches to cause widespread blackouts.

The DHS stated that the alleged cyber attacks claimed hundreds of victims in an ongoing subversive campaign. But, as US government-owned Radio Free Europe reported, the DHS officials did not provide names of alleged victims.

One former Pentagon official is quoted as saying: Theyve [Russia] been intruding into our networks and are positioning themselves for a limited or widespread attack. They are waging a covert war on the West.

The reports this week contain lots of technical jargon about how would-be hackers could have gained access to the power networks. But in all the reportage there is the typical lack of verifiable evidence that we have seen in countless other Western media claims of Russian malign activity  from US election interference, to nerve agent attacks in Britain.

This is not the first time that the scare story concerning alleged Russia cyber attacks on civilian infrastructure has emerged.

Recall that back in 2016, the Washington Post published a false story that Russian hackers had targeted the US power grid via an electric company in Vermont. It quickly transpired that Burlington Electric had not been hacked at all, but that didnt stop US politicians foaming at the mouth about Putin the thug and Russia committing acts of war.

Similarly, the British government has made outlandish, sensationalist claims that Russian hackers are targeting the countrys infrastructure. UK Defense Secretary Gavin Williamson earlier this year issued the outrageous warning that thousands and thousands of Britons would die from Russia allegedly disrupting essential public utilities.

Williamson said Russia was targeting Britain to, Damage its economy, rip its infrastructure apart, actually cause thousands and thousands and thousands of deaths creating total chaos within the country.

British military chiefs have also made reckless public alerts that Russia is trying to cut undersea communication cables around Britain. Again, despite the lack of evidence and largely based on pejorative speculation, this has led to US Treasury sanctions being imposed on Russian companies involved in submarine and diving technology.

Russia has categorically denied any intention of targeting civilian infrastructure. As with Moscows repeated denials of hacking into US and Western elections, the relentless fact-free anti-Russia narrative continues unabated.

Nonetheless, the sinister story this week in US media about Russia hacking vital public infrastructure is particularly insidious. It can be easily distorted and politicized into an act of war. If that perception takes hold more widely, then we have a scenario where Russia is liable for counter-attacks by America and its NATO allies, which could escalate dangerously into a military war.

Another insidious aspect is that due to years of chronic underinvestment by Western governments in their national infrastructures, it could be all-too easy to portray outages in electric and water services as being caused by Russian sabotage when the truth is that the outages are simply due to lack of maintenance by cost-cutting Western governments. Add to that, too, problems of extreme weather events due to climate change causing havoc in public infrastructure, which can also be misattributed to Russia by the anti-Russia political establishment in the West.

But one positive thing to emerge after the Trump-Putin summit is that the US public seem to have become inured to fear-mongering by the anti-Russia brigade among the political establishment.

There was a time when US and Western public opinion could be more easily manipulated and misled by Red Scares. Not any more, it seems.

Nevertheless, that evident loss of influence-power by elite elements within the US ruling structure and their media may tempt them in their desperation to unleash even more outrageous stories and false flag provocations in order to incriminate Russia.

Finian Cunningham has written extensively on international affairs, with articles published in several languages. He is a Masters graduate in Agricultural Chemistry and worked as a scientific editor for the Royal Society of Chemistry, Cambridge, England, before pursuing a career in newspaper journalism. He is also a musician and songwriter. For nearly 20 years, he worked as an editor and writer in major news media organisations, including The Mirror, Irish Times and Independent.

This article was originally published by " Strategic Culture Foundation " -

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
By James Petras

July 27, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Political leaders, media moguls and journalists have saturated the public throughout the world with claims and accusations that President Trump is destroying the World Order, undermining historic alliances, western values, the world trade organizations and violating national and international constitutions and institutions.

In the United States, legislators, judges and leaders from both parties have accused President Trump of being a traitor for fraternizing and serving as a tool of Russian President Putin.

This paper will analyze and discuss these claims and accusations. We will begin by comparing and discussing the actions and reactions of President Trumps predecessors to determine whether there has been a break with the past. This requires an examination of his inheritance  what actions preceded his Presidency.

Secondly, we will evaluate what President Trump has said and what he has done and their significance.

We will conclude by examining whether the conflicts are of world historical significant or a tempest in a teapot and whether President Trump has acted against the current World Order in search of a new world order.

President Trumps Inheritance: What World what Order?

To speak of a World is an abstraction  our life is built around many micro, local, regional and macro worlds which are connected and disconnected. The world of President Trump is the imperial world, centered in US supremacy; the regional world is centered in its allies and satellites. In so far as Trump has forced divisions with the European Union, and threatened China he has called into question the existing world order. However, he has failed to construct a new world order.

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Trump inherited a world disorder driven by prolonged regional wars in Africa, the Middle East and South Asia. Under the previous four presidents imperial values replaced democratic ideals as witnessed by the millions slaughtered in Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, Somalia and Palestine over the past two decades.

President Trump is attempting to reconfigure a world order based on economic pressure, military threats and political bluster.

In the process of remaking a US centered world order Trump generates chaos and disorder in order to strengthen his hand in future negotiations and settlements. Trumps so-called craziness is a tactic to secure a better deal, as is the case today in the agreement with the EU . An approach with short term gains unforeseen middle term consequences.

In fact Trump has done little to unmake the existing order. The US militarily surrounded China under ex-President Obama a policy Trump follows to the letter. Washington remains in NATO and trades with the EU. The Pentagon continues wars in the Middle East. Treasury finances Israeli ethnic cleansing.

In other words, Trump has been un willing and unable to extricate the US from the political mess of his predecessors.

He has increased the military budget but has not been able to project power. Trump has threatened trade wars across the globe but in fact trade has increased and deficits remain in place.

Despite Trumps claims of a great transformation and his enemies charges of systematic destruction, the question remains what has really changed?

Rhetoric is Reality under Trump and Anti-Trump

Few signposts changes have taken place despite the bluster and the rhetoric in the political playpen.

Despite changes in personalities the underlying political structures remain in place and promise to continue, despite elections and unending investigations and revelations.

The so-called trade war has failed to reduce world trade; employment remains unchanged; inequalities persist and deepen.Policies threatening war alternate with peace overtures.Increases in military budgets are spent by and for armchair generals.

Democrats and Republicans denounce each other ,and share coctails and dinner, believing they have done an honest days work

Immigrants are seized, interned and expelled to nations run by death squads funded by elected US politicians from both parties.

Trump threatens a catastrophic war against Iran while sanctions fail to deter Teheran from developing ties with Europe and Asia.

Domestic agendas promising transformations come and go, while trillion dollar infrastructure promises disappear down the memory hole.

Rousing denunciations echo in the legislative chambers but are suspended, to secure bi-partisans approval, so that multi billion dollars can be added to the military budget.

Tax giveaways to the very rich provoke inconsequential debates.

Armchair assassins pretend to be journalists and direct the Pentagon to disobey the traitor President and launch a war, evoking a response by the President threatening new wars. Neither of whom will risk their own skin!

Employers claim there is a shortage of skilled workers, forgetting to fund vocational education or raise wages and salaries.

Candidates for office spend millions but the more they spend, the fewer the voters.

Abstention is the majoritarian response to phony trade wars, fake Russian meddling, bipartisan charades, porn politics, and tweets as hand shaped turds.

Conclusion

The overwhelming reality is that chaos is like foam on a stale beer: very few, if any, changes have taken place.

The World Order remains in place, unmoved by inconsequential trade tiffs between Europe, and North America .

Washingtons angry voices are hollow farts compared to Chinas multi- billion dollar infrastructure expansion of the Belt and Road across West Africa.

In the ongoing world order, Washington increases its Israeli handouts to 38 billion for the next decade and budgets 4% of its GNP to robotize the military-industrial complex.

The President alternates tweets commands on war and peace, to his trusted and disloyal cabinet members,and honest and dishonest intelligence operative.

Under the same tent, investigators investigate each other.

All of which is not a bad thing  because nothing changes for the worst at least up to now: no treason or impeachment trials; no peace or new wars in the Middle East, no trade or nuclear wars!

But there is no reason to believe that threats could not become a reality.

Netanyahu can lead Trump by the nose to a catastrophic war against Iran.

Trump can provoke a trade war with China.

Climate change can lead to the seven plagues of Biblical proportions.

Economic bubbles can burst and central banks may be unable to bail out the banks too big to fail.

Every disaster that has been promised and not happened can become reality.

In the meantime, prophets of doom and gloom cash their weekly checks and tick off the list of inequities of their chosen adversaries. The ten percent who defend or opposes the world order still determine who rules the rest of the ninety percent. No wonder there is bipartisan support to increase police powers!

James Petras is a Bartle Professor (Emeritus) of Sociology at Binghamton University, New York. https://petras.lahaine.org/

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
By Nozomi Hayase

Note: #Unity4J , a platform to create social media movement in support of Julian Assange is now launched. Follow @Unity4J to join the campaign and updates. You can also support WikiLeaks by donating to their defense fund at http://iamwikileaks.org/donate

July 27, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Over 50 years ago, in his letter from the Birmingham Jail, addressing a struggle of the civil right era, Martin Luther King Jr. wrote , We will have to repent in this generation not merely for the hateful words and actions of the bad people but for the appalling silence of the good people. His message is now more prevalent than ever in the current political climate surrounding WikiLeaks and its founder Julian Assange.

WikiLeaks stepped onto a global stage with release of a huge trove of classified documents revealing government secrecy. After the publication of war logs that revealed the atrocities committed by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, the reaction of the Pentagon quickly escalated into a war against the First Amendment. WikiLeaks was subjected to unlawful financial blockades and there has been an ongoing secret grand jury against the organization and its associates since 2010.

The efforts to destroy WikiLeaks broughta long dreadful prosecution of Assange. He has been detained for 8 years, first in prison, then under house arrest and now as a refugee living in the Ecuadorian embassy in London. In 2012 he was granted political asylum against the threat of extradition to the U.S., relating to his publishing activities with WikiLeaks. The UK government, in violation of UN rulings that indicated the situation of Assange as arbitrary detention, kept him in confinement, depriving him of medical care and sunlight.

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In late March, this already untenable situation got worse. Pressured by the U.S., Ecuadors new President Lenin Moreno put Assange in isolation by cutting off his access to the Internet, denying him phone calls and visitors, including Human Rights Watch. The latest news about him indicates that the Ecuadorian government is close to finalizing an agreement with British officials to evict Assange from the embassy. How did this all happen? Here we have a Western journalist, who has not been charged with any crime, being punished for providing information that shed light on the crimes and corruption of governments. This plight of Assange has been largely ignored by American mainstream press and there has been an appalling silence on this issue even among political activists.

Villain, hero or useful idiot?

WikiLeaks has been consistently vilified by U.S. officials across two major political parties. After the publication of U.S. diplomatic cables, Rep. Peter King, a New York Republican, designated the whistleblowing site as a terrorist organization, calling for aggressive prosecution. Similar reactions were made by Democrats. Former Vice President Joe Biden compared Assange to a high-tech terrorist, while senator and chairman of the Intelligence Committee Dianne Feinstein urged him to be prosecuted for espionage.

As officials jumped to condemn this new media organization, the public responded differently. WikiLeaks, with the release of the collateral murder video in 2010, that provided an everyday scenery of War on Terror in the Middle East instantly became a hero among liberals. This was contrasted with Republicans who tended to view the release of U.S. Diplomatic Cables as harmful, with conservative leaders calling Assange a traitor.

This attitude toward WikiLeaks flipped during the election season in 2016. WikiLeaks publication of damaging information from the Hilary Clinton campaign during the final weeks leading up to the election was met with Democrats hostile criticism. In their minds, WikiLeaks has changed. It no longer represented a champion of free speech that they once saw. To them, WikiLeaks appeared to have been taken over, being weaponized for the agenda of their political opponent.

As mainstream media hype of Russiagate came full on, demonization of WikiLeaks increased, depicting the transparency group as Putins puppet for meddling with the U.S. election. Contrary to progressives suspicion and animosity toward the organization, support for WikiLeaks grew among conservatives during the most recent presidential race. Right wing commentators on Fox News and politicians like Sarah Palin cheered WikiLeaks. Trump repeatedly praised the organization during his campaign. Ever since it attained public notoriety, WikiLeaks has become many things for different people. Assange has been called a villain, a hero or a useful idiot.But what is WikiLeaks, who is Assange and what is his agenda?

Watchdog of power

Julian Paul Assange is a computer programmer and journalist with an independent mind and a deep knowledge of the workings of hidden forces of control. Raffi Khatchadourian, a staff writer at The New Yorker, who profiled Assange in his article in 2010, described how this Australian native, who recently attained citizenship in Ecuador came to understand the defining human struggle not as left versus right, or faith versus reason, but as individual versus institution.

In his 2006 seminal writing Conspiracy as Governance, Assange identified authoritarian regimes as patronage networks of political elites. He analyzed how this network maintains its power through the use of secrecy, restriction, and the control of national and global communication and information. Assange conceived WikiLeaks upon this understanding of the structure of power. With its innovative technical infrastructure and the method of transparency, the organization revolutionized the function of the press.

As a transnational journalistic entity that is entirely funded by public donations, WikiLeaks places no allegiance to any nations, corporations or political ideology. Its sole loyalty lies in the principle of democracy, using a leak as a tool for information warfare to perform a function of watchdog, restricting the power of institutions and protecting the rights of individuals. This fidelity to checks and balances is demonstrated in Assanges ability to speak truth, no matter who is in power.

In Obamas second term of presidency, while many who voted for him were still mesmerized under the spell of hope and change, Assange was able to penetrate the deception and see lies and hypocrisies of this president who received a Nobel Peace Prize, while being simultaneously engaged in multiple wars. In the statement after one year in the embassy where he called for global support for the NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, who was charged with espionage, Assange fiercely denounced Obamas war on whistleblowers.

During the 2016 presidential campaign, with publication of the DNC emails, WikiLeaks brought vital information that could help American people scrutinize whoever succeeds in the throne of this global imperial power. If the organization had documents concerning Trump, WikiLeaks indicated that they would have published it. In responding to accusations of WikiLeaks favoring the Trump campaign with the DNC leaks, Assange made it clear that the role of the organization is to publish whatever is given to them, and they will not censor their publications for any political reasons.

The recent article written by an Italian journalist Stefania Maurizi, who worked with WikiLeaks for nine years, backs this claim. In sharing her insider view of the organization, she described how the decision of the timing of Podesta leaks was made and how Assange and his team were preparing to release material on Trump, which didnt materialize, as it was already published before.

In defense of American ideals

This revolutionary journalism that Assange created through WikiLeaks resonates with the ideals that founded the United States. In fact, Assange pointed out how WikiLeaks derives its inspiration from the American revolutionary ideas and that it aligns its mission with these ideals.

Similar to the faith in the wisdom of ordinary people to govern themselves, expressed in the preamble of the Constitution with its first words We the People, Assange believed in the significance of ordinary people and their ability to engage in history. Thomas Jefferson recognized how, Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press. Just as founders of this country did not trust their own government and created a safeguard for individual liberty, Assange believed in the importance of an informed public in the functioning of democracy.

From its inception in 2006, WikiLeaks has been working to defend these American values. When the corporate consolidation of media led to the restriction of free speech and the laws that protect whistleblowers were gutted, it is through Assange and WikiLeaks staffs adamant commitment to the principle of free press that made it possible for former U.S. Army intelligence analyst and whistleblower Chelsea Manning to exercise an uncompromising free speech. Also, it is because of WikiLeaks journalist Sarah Harrison, with her courage in demonstrating extraordinary source protection that Snowden is now able to enjoy his rights that are denied by his own country.

WikiLeaks, as the worlds first global Fourth Estate, extended the freedom of speech, not only for Americans, but for people all around the world. As of late 2016, it published 10 million documents with a pristine record of authentication. The organization, by making full archives available in a searchable format, brought back information that belongs to the public directly in their hands. From the election in Kenya to the Icelandic revolution, WikiLeaks publications empowered people in many countries, creating greater social change and sparks for global uprisings. Information made available has been used to bring justice in courts and address numerous human rights abuses.

Until the moment he was cut out from the outside world, this editor in chief of the worlds most prosecuted publisher defended ordinary peoples right to self-determination. From a tiny sanctum in the Ecuadorian Embassy of London, Assange followed Catalans struggle for independence and continuously spoke out against Spanish Central governments abuse of their democratic rights.

Self-righteous betrayal of democracy

So, did WikiLeaks change? Has this organization that once cracked our heart open with uncensored images of modern war lost its ideals? WikiLeaks illuminated our minds with a large cache of documents detailing dirty secrets of powerful figures, including over 650,000 critical documents concerning Putins Russia. Are they now really compromised?

It is so easy to point fingers outside and criticize others. Yet, by doing so, we fail to look at ourselves honestly and take responsibility for our actions. WikiLeaks has not changed. It has not abandoned American ideals that have fueled the engine for this organization. WikiLeaks has continued to accept information that is of public interest. It verifies and publishes authentic documents that fit the criteria of having diplomatic, political, ethical, or historical significance, which has not been published before, and which is being suppressed. It does this, no matter who is in office and which nation-state rises to global dominance, and even if doing so makes it a target of massive political retaliation.

In 2016, with the controversial publication of documents that concern one of the major candidates, WikiLeaks intervened in U.S. politics. This event can be likened to the efforts of consumer advocate Ralph Nader in the electoral arena. Nader, through his third party presidential run aimed to awaken in American people a fire in the belly that can crash this corporate two party duopoly. By revealing the corruption of the political system and providing an alternative, Nader helped voters to take back their democracy that has long been stolen. Similarly, WikiLeaks provided American voters information that could be used as a weapon to crush bastards that attacked and undermined our democracy.

The publication of Podesta files exposed WikiLeaks to the same bigotry and bullying that Nader had faced back then, where the Democratic Party with their ardent middle class devotees blamed him for George W. Bushs presidency and called him a spoiler. Now, the Democratic establishment, with MSNBC cable news stations and commentators, recycles the old tactics of defamation. By branding Assange as a Trump supporter and Russias intelligence asset without any solid evidence to back it up, even going to the extent of filing a lawsuit against the organization, they worked to bring progressives on their side to direct their vengeance and hatred toward WikiLeaks.

Yet, just as Naders third party presidential efforts could not spoil the election that was already so rotted, WikiLeaks could not ruin the political campaign that was already so corrupted to the core. It is not WikiLeaks, but Americans who have been compromised. It is not Assange who became a pawn for elite agendas. It is we who have fallen for a manufactured national politics that is designed to divide and conquer us every four years with new packaged candidates of the same product. We have lost the revolutionary spirit that founded this nation, its vigilance toward government and have settled for the lesser of two evils. By engaging in our self-righteous crusade for defending our allegiance to leaders, parties and to the flag we plead to, we have betrayed our own interests and ideals.

Claiming our sacred heart

With the publication of Vault 7, a series of leaks on the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency, fury against WikiLeaks now intensifies. The Trump cabinet continues the war on the First Amendment that was declared under the Obama administration. In recent months, Trumps Justice Department Jeff Sessions stated that Assanges arrest is a priority. Mike Pompeo, former CIA Director and the current US Secretary of State, referred to the whistleblowing site as a non-state hostile intelligence service and indicated WikiLeaks as a force that subverts the U.S. constitution.

From a traitor and a Kremlin puppet to a spoiler of American democracy, words are thrown around to create distortion. Bombarded by loud media sound bites, in this illusion of democracy, many have lost connection to a voice of conscience that knows what is right. As Ecuador now prepares to hand over Assange to British authorities for a financial reward, by breaking its own Constitution of the Republic, our democracys last line of defense is about to be severed. Cruel treatment of Assange is no longer a character assassination and imprisonment of one innocent man. What is at stake is a death of the sacred heart of democracy that remembers our inherent obligation to one another. In his earlier blog, Assange wrote about the moral courage required in our age:

Every time we witness an injustice and do not act, we train our character to be passive in its presence and thereby eventually lose all ability to defend ourselves and those we love.

He reminded us that what drives our will to crush bastards is a gentle love that inspires us to nurture the vulnerable. In a world where there is WikiLeaks, the veil of secrecy can no longer be maintained. The released information revealed the abuse of the powerful on the most vulnerable amongst usthose that are voiceless, ailing and impoverished. Calamity happening in Knightsbridge under the heightened security at the heart of London represents the injustice of the world that this fearless journalist and his courageous sources brought to us all to bear witness. It is now laid out for those who are willing and ready to see the truth.

Prosecution of Julian Assange is the imprisonment of our own conscience. Criminalizing the act of publishing through the Espionage Act destroys the First Amendment as the guardian of democracy. This not only sets a dangerous precedent for press freedom, but it could unravel the beginning of a new totalitarianism. We must not remain silent, passively participating in the destruction of our countrys own ideals. Defending Assanges freedom is the most patriotic thing that Americans can do right now. It is time for us all to put aside our ideological difference and unite in solidarity with people around the world who are engaging in non-violent resistance against the assault on WikiLeaks and its right to free speech.

Only through our sincere efforts to keep our eyes open to the truth before us, can we have a chance to end the tyranny of the past forever, that casts its shadow ever more into the present. If our silence has led to this greatest tragedy that we face now, the victory of democracy can be brought through each of us claiming the center of our heart to stand up for this fellow man who sacrificed his liberty, so that all can be free.
moodboard/Thinkstock(FALMOUTH, Mass.) -- Two police officers have been shot in Cape Cod, according to Massachusetts State Police.



Patrol, tactical investigative and forensic units are responding to Falmouth, Massachusetts, to assist local police in the response to the shooting, a state police spokesperson told ABC News.



The officers who were shot are with the Falmouth Police Department and were transported to local hospitals, the spokesperson said. The suspect was also shot and taken to the hospital. Their conditions are unknown.



A heavy police presence could be seen on Route 28 in Falmouth, and two medical helicopters were called to the scene, ABC Boston affiliate WCVB reported.



The officers who were shot were responding to a disorderly call at the Seacoast Shores development in East Falmouth, according to the local station.



Residents in the area were told to shelter in place, WCVB reported.



Additional details were not immediately available.



Copyright  2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Chinese President Xi Jinping attends an informal meeting to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the BRICS mechanism in Johannesburg, South Africa, July 27, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

JOHANNESBURG, July 27 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday called on BRICS members to expand cooperation both within the emerging-market group itself and with other developing countries in the next decade to make BRICS continue to shine.

Speaking at an informal meeting to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the BRICS mechanism in Johannesburg, South Africa, Xi said that BRICS cooperation has developed from a mere economic concept into an influential international cooperation mechanism in just 10 years, demonstrating great vitality and bright prospect.

He pointed out that the next decade will be a crucial one in which the BRICS countries will face major opportunities and challenges.

Xi urged the BRICS countries to center on peace and development -- the two dominant themes of the times, grasp the opportunities presented by a new round of revolution in science, technology and industry, and conform to the trend of world multi-polarization and economic globalization, so as to open up a second "Golden Decade" for BRICS cooperation.

To this end, the Chinese president proposed that the BRICS countries uphold the BRICS spirit, deepen BRICS strategic partnership, strengthen communication and coordination, promote an open world economy, and safeguard their common interests and development space.

The BRICS countries should also consolidate their cooperation framework underpinned by economic, political and security cooperation and people-to-people exchanges, enrich the meaning of BRICS practical cooperation, continue to strive for building a big market of trade and investment, promoting smooth flow of currency and finance, improving connectivity of infrastructure and building close bond between the peoples, create more cooperation highlights, and strengthen coordination and guidance, so as to ensure that the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution can achieve tangible results, Xi said.

In addition, "BRICS countries should expand 'BRICS Plus' cooperation and build an extensive network of partnerships, so that other emerging markets and developing countries can participate in BRICS cooperation to form a strong force safeguarding common interests and boosting shared development," Xi said.

Chinese President Xi Jinping, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend an informal meeting to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the BRICS mechanism in Johannesburg, South Africa, July 27, 2018. (Xinhua/Li Tao)

"The basic driving force for BRICS cooperation to flourish and shine forever comes from our common pursuit of greater development and improvement of people's well-being, and from our common aspiration to build an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity," Xi said.

He called on the member countries to work together to let BRICS cooperation benefit their peoples as well as peoples of other countries, and let it continue to shine in its second "Golden Decade."

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, Brazilian President Michel Temer, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the meeting and spoke highly of the BRICS cooperation in the past decade, saying that it has improved the people's well-being in the five countries, and also played an important and positive role in boosting world economic growth and improving global governance.

They agreed to work together in upholding multilateralism, opposing unilateralism, demonstrating BRICS value, developing BRICS idea, deepening mutually beneficial cooperation in economy and trade, politics and security, enriching people-to-people exchanges, and constantly strengthening BRICS strategic partnership, so as to make BRICS cooperation more fruitful in its second decade.
July 27, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Speaking in Madrid on Friday, Ecuadorian President Lenin Moreno told an audience that WikiLeaks founder and editor-in-chief Julian Assange would need to leave Ecuadors London embassy eventually. Moreno offered no time-table for Assanges possible exit, which several sources just last week asserted could take place within weeks or even days. Assange has spent over six years in the embassy after being granted political asylum by Ecuador in 2012.

However, Moreno asserted that Assanges departure [from the embassy] should come about through dialogue. He went on to state that for a person to stay confined like that for so long is tantamount to a human rights violation and affirmed his commitment to reach a resolution to Assanges situation that did not pose a danger to the journalists life.

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Morenos sincerity in his concern for Assanges human rights is dubious at best, given that on March 27, Moreno cut off Assanges access to the internet and all visitors  aside from his legal team. Former Ecuadorian president Rafael Correa  who originally granted Assanges request for asylum in 2012  denounced the restriction on Assanges visitors as basically torture and a clear violation of his rights, adding that without communications to the outside world and visits from anyone, the [Ecuadorian] government is basically attacking Julians mental health. The official reason for Assanges isolation, given by the Moreno-led government at the time, was to prevent Assange from interfering in the affairs of other sovereign states.

Thus, Morenos concern for the WikiLeaks editors human rights might easily be mistaken for an attempt to deflect recent criticism that has accused him of acquiescing to U.S. demands that Ecuador revoke Assanges asylum and evict him from the embassy. Indeed, the U.S. has sought Assanges extradition from the U.K. to the United States to face charges of espionage and treason for years, and this very effort was the impetus behind Assanges receipt of asylum in Ecuadors London embassy.

Morenos recent statements continue to add to the speculation that Ecuador will soon give in to those U.S. demands, particularly given the increasing pressure the Trump administration has placed on Ecuador regarding Assanges situation. According to some reports, the U.S. has threatened to block an International Monetary Fund loan to Ecuador over the Assange case. In addition, over the last two weeks, the U.S. has imported a record amount of Ecuadorian oil, leading to speculation that a deal or pay-off may have been made to ensure Morenos cooperation with Washingtons long-standing efforts to have Assange arrested and extradited.

If Moreno does give in to U.S. demands, he will be rejecting not only his nations sovereignty but also the rights of all Ecuadorian citizens, given that Assange became a citizen of Ecuador this past January. Were Assange anyone else, the Ecuadorian government would be forced to act to remedy his situation and protect him from extradition in order to, at the very least, maintain appearances. However, Assange is no normal individual in this sense: his arrest is a priority to the U.S. government, which is now seeking to maximize pressure to extradite Assange while his protected status is at its weakest.

Whitney Webb

This article was originally published by "MPN " -

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
By Craig Murray

July 27, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - The mainstream media are making almost no effort today to fit Charlie Rowleys account of his poisoning into the already ludicrous conspiracy theory being peddled by the government and intelligence agencies.

ITV News gamely inserted the phrase poisoned by a Russian nerve agent into their exclusive interview with Charlie Rowley, an interview in which they managed to ask no penetrating questions whatsoever, and of which they only broadcast heavily edited parts. Their own website contains this comment by their journalist Rupert Evelyn:

He said it was unopened, the box it was in was sealed, and that they had to use a knife in order to cut through it. That raises the question: if it wasnt used, is this the only Novichok that exists in this city? And was it the same Novichok used to attack Sergei and Yulia Skripal?

But the information about opening the packet with a knife is not in the linked interview. What Rowley does say in the interview is that the box was still sealed in its cellophane. Presumably it was the cellophane he slit open with a knife.

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So how can this fit in to the official government account? Presumably the claim is that Russian agents secretly visited the Skripal house, sprayed novichok on the door handle from this perfume bottle, and then, at an unknown location, disassembled the nozzle from the bottle (Mr Rowley said he had to insert it), then repackaged and re-cellophaned the bottle prior to simply leaving it to be discovered somewhere  presumably somewhere indoors as it still looked new  by Mr Rowley four months later. However it had not been found by anyone else in the interim four months of police, military and security service search.

Frankly, the case for this being the bottle allegedly used to coat the Skripals door handle looks wildly improbable. But then the entire government story already looked wildly improbable anyway  to the extent that I literally do not know a single person, even among my more right wing family and friends, who believes it. The reaction of the media, who had shamelessly been promoting the entirely evidence free the Russians did it narrative, to Mr Rowleys extremely awkward piece of news has been to shove it as far as possible down the news agenda and make no real effort to reconcile it.

By his own account, Mr Rowley is not a reliable witness, his memory affected by the Novichok. It is not unreasonable to conjecture there may also be other reasons why he is vague about where and how he came into possession of this package of perfume.

The perfume bottle is now in the hands of the Police. Is it not rather strange that they have not published photos of it, to see if it jogs the memory of a member of the public who saw it somewhere in the last four months, or saw somebody with it? The perpetrators know what it looks like and already know the police have it, so that would not give away any dangerous information. You might believe the lockdown of the story and control of the narrative is more important to the authorities than solving the crime, which we should not forget is now murder

Craig Murray is an author, broadcaster and human rights activist. He was British Ambassador to Uzbekistan from August 2002 to October 2004 and Rector of the University of Dundee from 2007 to 2010. https://www.craigmurray.org.uk

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
By Paul Craig Roberts:

American Herald Tribune: You believe that no agreement with Washington can ever be trusted; what does history teaches us in this regard?

July 27, 2018 " Information Clearing House " - Paul Craig Roberts: There is a t-shirt that says: Sure you can trust the government  just ask an Indian." Some governments are more trustworthy than others. Reagan, for example, said he would end stagflation and we did. Reagan said that he wanted to end the Cold War, and we did. Eisenhower warned us about the danger to democracy presented by the military/industrial complex, and we ignored it.

It seems that when there are chances for big gains in power and the government is in the hands of those with undeclared agendas, the agendas are imposed by deceiving the people. For example, The War on Terror is really a war on Muslim countries with foreign policies independent of Washington and Israel; it is a war on US civil liberty, and a war on Middle Eastern countries in the way of Israeli territorial expansion. But Washington pretends that it is a war for democracy, a war for freedom from terrorism, etc.

The Russians have learned, or should have, that no agreement with Washington means anything. When Russia agreed to the reunification of Germany, Russia was promised that NATO would not move one inch to the East, but the Clinton regime placed NATO on Russias borders. The Bush regime flushed down the toilet the Anti-ABM treaty, and Russia is now threatened with ABM missile sites on its borders.

You dont have to look very hard to see that Washingtons word is in most instances worthless.

Why do you call EU states, US vassals? What are the costs for Europeans?

All of Europe, Canada, the UK, Australia, Japan, and South Korea are Washingtons vassals. They are not permitted independent foreign or economic policies. Europe, for example, has no interest whatsoever in conflict with Russia, but they are forced into conflict by Washington. NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which since the disappearance of the Soviet Union no longer has any purpose, serves as cover for Washingtons war crimes in the Middle East, Serbia, and North Africa. European leaders, with the exception of Charles deGaulle, serve Washington, not their own peoples. None of Washingtons vassals are sovereign states. If France, for example, was a sovereign state, it would be Frances decision whether a French bank lent to companies doing business with Iran. But France is not sovereign, and the large French bank was forced to pay billions of dollars to Washington for financing companies doing business with Iran. Another example is the French ship building company that built under contract with Russia military ships that Washington prevented the French shipbuilder from delivering. A week or so ago the government of Germany was informed by Washington that if it participated in the construction of the Nord 2 gas pipeline from Russia, Germany would be sanctioned.

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The examples are endless.

You have repeatedly criticized Russia for trying to appease Washington; why do you believe Russia is compromising?

I have not criticized Russia for turning the other cheek in an attempt to reach agreement with Washington. I respect Russias effort to avoid war. What I have done is to raise the question whether this effort avoids war or leads to war. I have expressed concern that Putins high tolerance for insults and provocations encourages more of the same until Russia has no alternative other than war. I have suggested that perhaps putting down a firm Russian foot would send a message that would alarm Europe over Washingtons aggression and cause Europe to adopt an independent policy toward Russia that would reduce the likelihood of war.

Can Russia walk a fine line between Iran and Israel in Syria?

If the Russian government does not understand that Washingtons policy in the Middle East is determined by Israel, the Russian government is out to lunch. Israel wants Syria and Iran destabilized, because these two countries are the suppliers of Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia that has twice frustrated Israels attempted occupation of southern Lebanon. Israel wants the water resources that are there. If Israel can use the US military to clear her foes out of the way, Israel can go about her business unimpeded.

The Russian government surely understands that a destabilized Iran is even more of a threat to Russia than a destabilized Syria.

There is this famous quote of you saying: Russia can be part of the West only if Russia surrenders to Washington's hegemony. Can you elaborate on this?

The United States is an empire that like Rome has scant toleration of independent countries. The basis of 21st century US foreign policy was promulgated in 1991 by top Pentagon official Paul Wolfowitz. Known as the Wolfowitz doctrine (available online), it defines the principle goal of US policy to be the prevention of the rise of any other state, with Russia specifically named, that could serve as a check on Washingtons unilateralism. The Wolfowitz Doctrine is fully in force and is the reason that Russia and its president have been demonized with the most outrageous lies and false accusations ever since Russia blocked Obamas intended invasion of Syria and bombing of Iran. The neoconservatives are incensed that Russia (and also China) rose to sufficient power that allows them, alone among all countries in the world, to be noncompliant with Washingtons will.

What is the best way to deal with the US?

The best way for Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea to deal with Washington is to ignore Washington and go about their own business. They should fully disengage from the Western systems that are used to control themsuch as the SWIFT clearing mechanism, the US based Internet, the use of the US dollar for transactions, financial balances in Western banks, acceptance of Western financed non-governmental organizations in their countries, acceptance of foreign ownership of media in their countries, acceptance of Western capital and Western banks in their economies. Most of this applies to Russia and China. North Korea is closed, but Iran is partially open as evidenced by the attempted US-financed Green Revolution a few years ago.

If truth be known, American propaganda has been the most successful force in the world since World War II. There are people and even politicians in every country, excepting perhaps North Korea, who believe the American propaganda. They all want to be like the success that American propaganda presents.

As you have written before: Washingtons issue with Iran has never been Irans nuclear energy program; what is then?

Washington has two issues with Iran. One is that Iran is a sovereign country at odds with US policy. The other issue is that Iran is in Israels way. Iran supports Hezbollah, and Hezbollah prevents Israel from annexing southern Lebanon.

A week before signing the Iran nuclear deal you wrote: The contrived nuclear issue serves as a cloak for Washingtons intention to overthrow the independence of Iran; yet the Iranian government and Iranian media have followed the lead of Washington and its presstitutes in accepting this contrived issue as the real issue. If Iran survives, it will be a miracle. Do you still believe Iran made a mistake by signing the deal? Has anything changed since that time?

I did not say that Iran made a mistake in signing the agreement. Indeed, Iran had no choice. If Iran had not signed the agreement, Iran would have sacrificed the protection that Russia gave it. I simply warned Iran that Washington would not keep the agreement and would get out of it as fast as it could. Clearly, I was correct. Among the first things that President Trump did was to withdraw from the multi-nation signed Iran nuclear agreement and threaten the other signers of the agreement with sanctions if they also did not renounce the agreement.

For Trump Iran is about Israel in whose hands Trump resides. Every informed person on earth knows that Iran does not have a nuclear weapons project and, according to the CIA, gave up pursuit of such a weapons program years ago. Iran has kept the nuclear agreement that it signed. It is the US that refuses to keep the agreement. The question is whether the UK, France, and Germany will keep the agreement or be ordered off by Washington. Clearly Russia and China, unless the two governments are struck with insanity, will keep the agreement.

What practical measures do you suggest Iranians to counter the US withdrawal from the deal?

My answer to this question is essentially the same as my answer to question 6. Iran should disengage entirely from the West.

Iran should seek security agreements with the Russian-Chinese alliance. Iran should use its oil wealth for a basic support system for its citizens and for investment in Russia, China, and in conjunction with China in other Asian economies. Iran should realize that its religious beliefs are internal and not for export and should focus on making Iran a successful country. Under attack as Iran is from Washington and Israel, Iran needs the support of its people, this means that Iran cannot be governed as America is and cannot afford policy that benefits only the rich and well-positioned.

Iran, like Russia, is trying to have a moral population immune to the debauchery of the West.

The question is whether the Russians and Iranians can resist the Wests debauchery and lead the way to the future.

Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the Wall Street Journal. He was columnist for Business Week, Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate. He has had many university appointments. His internet columns have attracted a worldwide following. Roberts' latest books are The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the West , How America Was Lost , and The Neoconservative Threat to World Order .

This article was originally published by "American Herald Tribune " -

The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Information Clearing House.
Contrary to those claims, Melayes relatives and many senators have told SaharaReporters that he was never kidnapped but only staged a walk into a bush to avoid being charged before a Kogi High Court.

Although Dino Melaye, the senator representing Kogi West, resurfaced on Friday to claim he spent 11 hours in the wilderness, SaharaReporters can confirm that he was never kidnapped.

Melaye was scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday before the Magistrate court in Abuja for alleged gunrunning, but the trial could not hold due to the claims by Senator Ben Bruce, quoting Melayes brother, that he had been abducted by unknown gunmen.

On Friday, he wrote on Twitter: I thank God once again for escaping another dangerous attack. I also thank Nigerians for their prayers and show of Love. Spent 11 hours in the wilderness traumatized but God preserved me. God is the best and in whom ONLY I trust. They will continue to try. WE SHALL OVERCOME!!!

Contrary to those claims, Melayes relatives and many senators have told SaharaReporters that he was never kidnapped but only staged a walk into a bush to avoid being charged to court.

CULLED FROM:- SaharaReporters
Yesterday, a young lady identified as Njoku Uchechi, was killed during a robbery operation near Diamond Bank at Suru-Alaba area in Lagos.

The deceased was shot in the head after being attacked by two armed robbers after stepping out of the bank before they stole the money she withdrew which was reported to be about N150,000.

One of the armed robbers was caught by passersby as the other manged to escape. The apprehended suspect was beaten mercilessly before he was set ablaze.

The body of the deceased lady has been deposited in the morgue.

A bereaved friend wrote on Facebook; Uchechi so is you armed robbers killed in my own very eyes yesterday in front of diamond bank coker branch Lagos. ..God of mercy I cant believe disJesus Christ !!! Chai.. O my God..Njoku uchechi RIP.may God accept ur soul in his kingdom ..what ur mom n siblings going to bear this..God..

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A Nigerian Lady has narrated how her contact lens almost blinded her after she was smoking shisha at a club.

Please every girl on my snap, list to this: No matter what you do, please dont wear contact lens and smoke shisha unless youre going to be extra careful. About a week ago, my contact lens almost melted inside my eyes

It was just God that saved me, it took me like 30 minutes to remove the contact lens from my eye when I got home Little did I know that it was almost melting inside my eyes, But I later removed it though, but the contact lens spoilt In other news, lets all be very careful please when wearing lens. Dont be in close contact with smoke or fire a word they say is enough for the wise.

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A Nigerian man living in South Africa has met his untimely death for reportedly harassing a female worker.

Chibuzo Nwankwo, the deceased was a patron of a local bar in Johannesburg, South Africa from Enugu. He was on Friday killed after allegedly harassing a female worker.

The Nigerian community in South Africa, who confirmed Nwankwos death said this brings the number of Nigerians killed in South Africa to 121, since January 2016.

Habib Miller, publicity secretary of the Nigerian union in South Africa, said a yet to be identified person opened fire on Nwankwo at the bar in Kempton Park, Johannesburg.

He added that the South African police later intervened and arrested the murder suspect.

The deceased, a patron of the bar, got drunk and started harassing a female worker, he said.

Information available to the union said that Nwankwo was chased out by security personnel, but he kept on coming back, became very aggressive and rude before the ugly incident occurred.

A murder case has been opened and an investigation has started. We call on Nigerians to be calm and allow the law to take its course.

The union publicity secretary said the union would monitor the case to ensure that justice prevailed.
A Nigerian man on Twitter revealed that he flew his mom, to the United States, and she just couldnt stop crying and praying for him.

According to Twitter user @IamEtubo, his Nigerian mom cried all night and wouldnt stop praying because she thought it was dream. His tweets reads;

Guys!! Yesterday was the happiest day of my life! I brought my mom to UNITED states!! She cried all night and wouldnt stop praying. She couldnt sleep as she thought it was a dream!!! See ehn! My mom suffered, I told her its just the beginning. Update!!!! Mum playing candy crush on her iPhone

Guys!! Yesterday was the happiest day of my life! I brought my mom to UNITED states!! She cried all night and wouldnt stop praying. She couldnt sleep as she thought it was a dream!!! See ehn! My mom suffered, I told her its just the beginning. pic.twitter.com/U8L32xBUco  Legendary Soul (@IamEtubo) July 27, 2018

Update!!!! Mum playing candy crush on her iPhone pic.twitter.com/qUzVpqAKX0  Legendary Soul (@IamEtubo) July 27, 2018

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The Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, on Friday claimed that the governors of Sokoto and Kwara states, Aminu Tambuwal and Abdulfatah Ahmed respectively, would leave the All Progressives Congress.

Im speaking out because today Nigeria is bleeding and wobbling.

Governor Abdullahi Umar Ganduje has said that the recent defection of a former governor of Kano State, senator Rabiu musa Kwankwaso, and lawmakers from the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) will not any way affect the partys chances and as such lost relevance politically in the state.

Guardian

Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu returned to the warm embrace of his supporters in Enugu, yesterday, insisting that using security operatives against him would not stop him from exercising the responsibilities of his election.

Daily Trust

Senator Ademola Nurudeen Adeleke, Osun state PDP gubernatorial candidate, does not have the West African School Certificate and he did not graduate from Jacksonville State University (JSU) in the United States, as he claimed.

DailyTimes

The All Progressives Congress (APC) Senator, Shehu Sani says some of the APC Senators are revolting because they are being unjustly and politically suffocated by the party.

Tribune

THE police have arrested the owner of the truck that allegedly caused the multiple accident on the Otedola Bridge along the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway.

Vanguard

Presidency on Saturday warned those supporting President Muhammadu Buhari to stop campaigning for him and urged them to follow the political rules and regulations as enshrined in the Independent National Electoral Commissions, (INEC) act.
A fatal mix-up in the Nigerian Police has led to the death of an officer of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, in Anambra after he was shot dead by policemen having being mistaken for a kidnapper.

The errant policemen were reportedly guarding a private residence in Alor, Idemili South Local Government Area of Anambra State.

Punch reports that the unfortunate SARS operative had accompanied one of his colleagues to effect an arrest at about 4.30 am in the neighbourhood when he met his demise.

A police source who spoke on condition of anonymity, said: He (the deceased) accompanied one of his colleagues to somebodys residence to effect an arrest at about 4.30 am.

They were handcuffing their suspect when somebody who did not know that they were SARS operatives alerted some policemen on guard in a private residence in the neighbourhood.

The neighbour had told the policemen that kidnappers were trying to abduct someone.

As soon as the policemen arrived the scene and saw the SARS operatives, they opened fire at them and gunned down the deceased, thinking they were kidnappers.

It was minutes after that his colleagues identified him as a SARS operative on special duty, the source said.

The Special Anti-Robbery Squad has reportedly confirmed the incident, which comes at a time of intense scrutiny of the police squad.

For months now Nigerians, particularly on social media have called for the scrapping of SARS following mounting allegations of blatant rights violations.

The unit may yet remain as the Inspector-general of Police Ibrahim idris recently gave his nod to them saying Nigerians complaining are criminally minded.

Meanwhile, the killing of the hapless SARS operative has triggered reactions from Nigerians, and many couldnt be less sympathetic

https://twitter.com/tickin_clocks/status/1022843751801270277

They shot the right guy  C M CHIKAMNELE (@chikamnelecm) July 27, 2018

It's totally difficult to differentiate a SARS operative from an armed robber in everything  in looks, dressing, character, commonalities etc. I thought police are to be different?  Ajibola Rotimi (@AjibolaRotimi4) July 27, 2018

Why won't they shoot them when they go around on mufti killing and harassing innocent Nigerians. I just saw one controlling traffic at costain without anything to identify him but he was carrying a gun..  AGUDA MAKHENA (@JudeMakhena) July 27, 2018

https://twitter.com/wickedstepmami/status/1022846005602070529

https://twitter.com/FaruqBashar/status/1022865219557711872

Thank God.

One down, and many to go

Na one by one una go they gun down una self.. Imagine a NGPolice officer not recognizing a fellow NGPolice officer in another unit because SARs officers dress like KIDNAPPERS, ROBBERS, CULTIST and every EVIL form one could think of. pic.twitter.com/HApaYKO9Nt  AYANLOLA ABDULJELIL (@owolabitaiwo) July 27, 2018

https://twitter.com/tickin_clocks/status/1022844668130873344

This is hilarious,see what we have been saying.even sars is not safe from police!God is awesome  capi oloye (@akin_xxo) July 27, 2018
CHANGCHUN, July 27 (Xinhua) -- An investigation of Chinese vaccine maker Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Limited found evidence that the company had illegally produced rabies vaccines for human use.

The State Council's investigation team seized 1,138 pages of documents as evidence, and recovered actual and forged production records via seized computers.

Criminal suspects discarded and intended to destroy 60 computer hard drives. But the police have recovered them, according to the investigation team.

The company was found to have violated the approved production process to reduce costs and improve the success rate of rabies vaccine production.

Violations included blending different batches of vaccine fluid for product packaging, using expired fluid to produce some batches of products, falsifying dates of production, and conducting certain product testing before the entire production process was completed.

To cover up such violations, the company "systematically" fabricated production and inspection records and issued invoices with false dates to meet inspection requirements.

The company was ordered to immediately stop production after drug regulatory authorities found illegal production behavior during an unannounced inspection from July 6 to July 8.

Soon after the inspection, the company replaced internal surveillance video storage cards and some computer hard drives to cover up and destroy potentially incriminating evidence.

On July 15, the State Drug Administration conducted an on-site investigation of the company.

The public security organs have initiated investigations into the case. As of July 25, the police have detained 16 suspected criminals, including the chairperson of the company, and have frozen relevant corporate and personal accounts. Further investigation is in progress.

According to data from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the incidence of adverse reactions caused by the rabies vaccine produced by Changchun Changsheng Life Sciences Limited was about 2 per 100,000 cases, and no serious adverse reactions were observed.

In 2017, there were 516 rabies cases in China. The incidence rate has been gradually decreasing in recent years.
A Peoples Democratic Party, PDP lawmaker, Rafiu Ibrahim (PDP, Kwara) has revealed why the Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai is angry at the Senate President, Bukola Saraki.

The Federal lawmaker from Karate state said El-Rufais anger with the Senate president started when the Senates refusal to approve $350 million loan sought by the Kaduna State Government from funders.

The lawmaker said this why reacting to an alleged statement by Mr El-Rufai on a Hausa radio programme where he allegedly described the present Senate under the leadership of Mr Saraki as the worst, Mr Ibrahim described the Kaduna governor as a loose cannon and a liar who is one of the people that got the All Progresives Congress (APC) into the current mess it found itself now.

A while ago, Gov El-rufai had requested a loan for Development Policy Operation from the World Bank.

However, the request was turned down by the Senate after a committee headed by Shehu Sani (APC-Kaduna) advised against it on the ground that the state is the second most indebted in the country.
Governor of Benue state, Samuel Ortom has accused the National Chairman of the All Progrsessives Congress, APC, Adams Oshiomhole of knowing more than he claims to know about the killings in Benue.

Ortom said this while reacting to a statement by Oshiomhole, that he hasnt performed well as governor and has aggravated the sufferings of his people.

Oshiomhole in his response to Ortoms defection, while speaking with journalists in Abuja, said the governors exit from the party was good riddance. He said:

Governor Ortom has complicated, by his own actions and poor judgement, the security situation in the state, he said , citing reports by APC leaders in Benue State.

They drew our attention to the fact that some of those that have been arrested as a result of the killings are people who have been associated with him, including people in his employment, especially a guy known to have been involved with Boko Haram, whom he recruited to manage what they called forest guards.

These people have been arrested and are in police custody. If an appointee of a governor is involved in a heinous crime, including killing, that will be enough for a governor to worry about.

Ortom, who dumped the APC on Wednesday, in his response also threatened to sue the APC chairman for disparaging him.
National Disaster Risk Management Fund NDRMF Islamabad Jobs

Latest National Disaster Risk Management Fund NDRMF Management Posts Islamabad 2021 National Disaster Risk Management Fund NDRMF Islamabad, Government of Pakistan required candidates for the posts of Assistant Manager Internal Audit, Deputy Manager M&E, Assistant Manager M&E, Assistant Manager MIS, Assistant Manager Disaster Risk Reduction and Deputy Manager Legal and Contracts.

How to Apply on National Disaster Risk Management Fund NDRMF Job Advertisement

Apply as per details in job advertisement. In some cases, you may apply online at vacancies after registering at https://www.jobz.pk online.



Telephone: 051-9030856

Official Website: http://www.ndrmf.gov.pk/

Note: Beware of Fraudulent Recruiting Activities. If the employer asks you to pay money for any purpose including processing to shortlisting, do not pay at all and report us using our contact us form. Apply as per instuctions & dates mentioned in official job ad. Govt jobs cannot be applied online here. Error & omissions excepted.
OGDCL Islamabad Jobs 2018 for Instructors & Engineers

Latest Oil and Gas Development Company Limited OGDCL Engineering Posts Islamabad 2021 Oil and Gas Development Company Limited OGDCL Islamabad, Government of Pakistan required candidates for the posts of Senior Instructor, Junior Engineer and Communication Officer.

How to Apply on Oil and Gas Development Company Limited OGDCL Job Advertisement

Apply as per details in job advertisement. In some cases, you may apply online at vacancies after registering at https://www.jobz.pk online.



Telephone: 051-920023544

Official Website: www.ogdcl.com

Note: Beware of Fraudulent Recruiting Activities. If the employer asks you to pay money for any purpose including processing to shortlisting, do not pay at all and report us using our contact us form. Apply as per instuctions & dates mentioned in official job ad. Govt jobs cannot be applied online here. Error & omissions excepted.
For those who love wine, nirvana is a long weekend in the most stunning of wine regions surrounded by rolling hills of grapevine trellises as far as the eyes can see. We love to be immersed in the wine land staying at a boutique inn where we can walk out of our villa into the rows of our favorite grape variety and feel the terroir beneath our feet. Such a place exists in the rolling majestic hills of Oregons Willamette Valley. This beautiful hamlet is where youll find Oregons premier wine country estate which has been recognized by Wine Spectator as one of their favorite locations in the world. For the lover of the grape, nirvana is found at the 50-acre country estate of Youngberg Hill Vineyards and Inn.

Glenn Harris Glenn Harris is an accomplished journalist focusing on international travel, fine dining, and luxury lifestyle events. His wanderlust has taken him to over 105 countries where he is constantly straying off the beaten path uncovering new and exotic finds. He particularly enjoys seeking out lesser known travel gems and places to stay, dine, or experiences to capture. ...(Read More)
China is expected to maintain robust growth momentum this year while making progress in reform and opening-up, despite escalating trade tensions that might create some unexpected downturn pressure, a senior official of the International Monetary Fund said on Friday.

Analysts said the effect of the China-US trade frictions on China's macroeconomic fundamentals would be mild, although attention should be paid to the potential impact of an expanded scale of the disputes.

The country's annual GDP growth rate is projected by the IMF to be 6.6 percent for the year, which remains unchanged from its May projection.

Adding to bullish signs that the Chinese economy is set to meet its high-quality development goals, the profit growth of the country's major industrial companies picked up in the first half of the year.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday that profits at industrial companies grew by 17.2 percent from January to June, quickening from the 16.5 percent expansion for the January-May period.

"The Chinese economy is performing well, and reforms are making good progress, in particular in the financial sector. De-risking has advanced further. Credit growth slowed. Overcapacity reduction has progressed. Anti-pollution efforts intensified, and opening-up has continued," said James Daniel, assistant director of the IMF's Asia and Pacific Department.

The IMF suggested that China should stick to economic rebalancing moves, staying the course on strengthening macro-financial settings and improving credit efficiency.

Earlier this month, the government rolled out a slew of measures to boost financial support for small and medium-sized companies, while pledging to keep overall credit expansion appropriate.

Li Yang, head of the National Institution for Finance and Development, said: "Accumulation of risks in the past several years and recent trade frictions are imposing challenges on our ongoing efforts to implement reforms. It is quite crucial for China to stabilize turbulence amid reforms."

The latest data show industrial companies have registered high profit growth amid the government's ongoing campaign to contain debt risks.

China's major industrial companies gained 658.29 billion yuan ($96 billion) of profits in June, up by 20 percent year-on-year, compared with 21.1 percent growth in May, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday.

He Ping, chief statistician with the bureau, attributed profit gains to companies' improved production capacity and producer prices that accelerated to the highest levels so far this year in June.

Efforts to implement supply-side structural reform have gained fruitful results, according to He, who cited a declining trend of corporate debt level.

In June, the asset-to-liability ratio of large-scale industrial enterprises was 56.6 percent, down by 0.4 percentage point year-on-year, data showed.

The asset-to-liability ratio of State-owned enterprises went down by 1.2 percentage points year-on-year to 59.6 percent, adding to signs of the structural improvement of State-owned enterprises as deleveraging efforts continued, according to He.

Dong Leshuo in Washington contributed to this story.
Community members are shown working together at Sobeys grocery store to provide food for the firefighters in Parry Sound, Ont., on Saturday July 28, 2018. Ontario firefighters have been fighting the blaze known as Parry Sound 33 with the help of their counterparts from other provinces, as well as the United States and Mexico. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO-Matthew Derouin *MANDATORY CREDIT*
EUGENE, Ore. -- City Club of Eugene held their last meeting of the summer Friday and the topic up for discussion was Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, which provides protection from deportation to undocumented immigrants brought into the country as children.

Several members of City Club gathered in the downtown Baker Center, eager to hear from a DACA recipient and immigration lawyer.

Hugo Nicolas said he was born in Mexico and was brought to Oregon as a child where he grew up and eventually graduated from the University of Oregon.

Nicolas said he has worked hard to earn everything in his life. He said DACA is an essential program which allows himself and millions of others to feel like they belong in this country.

"I came to this country. I had nothing. I just had hope for a better life, Nicolas said. Obviously I have been trying to serve my country and being able to fit in as much as I can. Working for a bank, helping small businesses, being involved in my church and being involved in my community, so I want to show that I fit in."

Raquel Hecht, an immigration lawyer in Eugene, also spoke during the meeting. She believes we need to give DACA recipients legal status and work on how to regulate the flow of immigrants.

The City Club of Eugenes next meeting is Sept. 7.
The village is dispersed throughout the gingko forest

The ancient Ginkgo Park is located in the quaint Tuole Village, Shiqiao Town of Panzhou City. The trees date back one thousand years and aside from being a beautiful sight to behold, they have also been fruitful for local residents.

The area covers less than three kilometers squared but is home to over a thousand thousand-year-old trees. Tuole natives have lived and worked in the ginkgo forests for generations, and as you walk among the villages and trees, you get a sense of how both are intertwined.

Tuole has been visited by a group of significant guests in November every year since 2016. These guests discuss fields such as global production capacity, tourism and modern agriculture, and has constructed the friendly cooperation among Belt and Road countries and ASEAN countries.

Locals put on a show for visitors

Since 2016, Panzhou has set up cooperation with countries such as Malaysia, Laos, Thailand and Cambodia, through which 12 contracts have been signed in industries such as construction and tourism culture worth a total value of around 7.5 million yuan.

Thanks to these new links, the park has been officially approved as a national AAAA tourist attraction and a provincial tourist resort. A hotel has been built on the outskirts of the park which offers employment in the local area.

In addition to developing tourism, ginkgo products have appeared in various forms. Since the first Tuole Forum in 2016, processing bases of ginkgo products such as ginkgo powder, ginkgo tea, ginkgo noodles and ginkgo liquor have been built and the integration of production, processing and sales have taken shape.

There are many places to explore in the ginkgo forest

Now the ginkgo products are sold domestically and abroad. In the local area, villagers sell their products to tourists enjoying the natural scenery. For Panzhou city and the surrounding areas, their circle of friends is getting bigger.

Together with more tourism and a better development environment, the area and the locals living here are sure of a bright future.
CHARLES CITY, Iowa  A second man has been arrested for some stolen vehicles in Floyd County.

Jason Duane Burnett, 20 of Rudd, is charged with ongoing criminal conduct, two counts of 1st degree theft, 2nd degree theft, and 4th degree theft. Authorities say Burnett and Colten Lee Lindley, 22 of Rockford, stole two Dodge Ram Trucks and an International Harvester tractor.



Colten Lindley Colten Lindley

One of the trucks was found torn apart and on fire on a rural Floyd County Road.

In addition, Burnett is being charged with possession of a stolen Mitchell County welcome sign and a stolen Suicidal Deer sign.

Burnett was arrested on Thursday. Lindley was arrested on Tuesday and is charged with ongoing criminal conduct, two counts of 1st degree theft, arson, two counts of 2nd degree theft, and 3rd degree theft.
FERTILE, Iowa  A Forest City man is facing multiple charges after authorities say he was caught stealing fishing poles.

Steven Duane Strand, 68, is accused of 1st degree burglary, assault, assault on a peace officer, and driving while revoked. The Worth County Sheriffs Office says it arrested Strand on June 29 after being called to a home in the 100 block of E Main Street in Fertile.

A resident says he saw Strand stealing his fishing poles and when he asked why Strand was taking his stuff, Strand punched him in the face. The resident got his phone and called 911, then says he went back to Strand and got punched again. Law enforcement says the resident then forced Strand to the ground and took his car keys so he couldnt leave.

Deputies say when they arrived, Strand refused to obey commands and resisted arrest.

According to court documents, Strand told deputies he was trying to take his fishing poles back.
MASON CITY, Iowa  A North Iowa man pleads guilty to sex abuse and drug possession.

Marlin Nagel, 60 of Mason City, was arrested on March 4. Law enforcement says he grabbed a woman at his Mason City home and pushed her down on the couch, pulling his genitals out of his boxer shorts and telling the victim you want some.

Police said the victim had visible bruising on her arm and leg.

Nagel pleaded guilty to assault with intent to commit sexual abuse and possession of marijuana-3rd offense, both aggravated misdemeanors. Hes been sentenced to two years in prison, must pay $700 in restitution to his victim, and will have to register as a sex offender after being released.
Trade deal must follow WTO rules, nondiscrimination principles, says MOFCOM

China on Thursday voiced support for an agreement reached by the US and the EU to put new tariffs on hold while officials negotiate a potential trade deal, but urged the US and the EU to adhere to WTO rules and nondiscrimination principles in any bilateral deal.

However, pointing to the lack of concrete details in the truce deal, Chinese experts raised doubts that the US and the EU could reach a permanent deal in the near future and join hands against China, given fundamental differences between US President Donald Trump and European leaders on trade.

Following a meeting between Trump and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker at the White House on Wednesday, the US and the EU agreed to work together toward zero tariffs and zero subsidies on industrial goods and resolve trade differences through talks, according to a statement on the White House website.

Asked about the US-EU deal at a press briefing on Thursday, Gao Feng, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Commerce, said that China maintains a "positive attitude" toward any constructive, transparent bilateral deal as long as it is in line with WTO rules.

But in a more direct comment on the same day, Geng Shuang, a spokesperson for China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said, "We also hope that relevant efforts and measures by the US and the EU would adhere to multilateral trade principles such as nondiscrimination principles."

As part of the truce deal, the US and the EU also agreed to work together to reform the WTO and address unfair trading practices, including intellectual property theft and forced technology transfer, which Trump and some European officials have accused China of engaging in.

Shaky deal

"The EU has long sided with the US over these issues at the WTO. There is nothing new here," He Weiwen, a former economic and commercial counselor at the Chinese consulates in San Francisco and New York, told the Global Times on Thursday.

He said that if the EU and the US address their differences and join hands against China, "then Trump could no doubt focus more on China, but this is a deal on making a deal later, there are so many uncertainties."

Mei Xinyu, a research fellow with the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, said that the EU and the US are unlikely to reach any permanent deal under Trump because "they have some fundamental differences" over trade.

"This looks like a temporary move for Trump to shut down rising domestic criticism of his unilateral actions," Mei told the Global Times, pointing to a lack of details in key areas such as automobile tariffs.

He said that the deal could be described as a win for Trump because he did not give up anything, while the EU offered to buy soybeans and liquefied natural gas from the US, potentially helping ease pains Chinese tariffs caused US farmers.

"But that is just an offer. It would take a long time, possibly years, for the EU to actually buy these things," he said.

Experts also noted that the deal between the EU and the US does not exclude cooperation between the EU and the China. At a summit in Beijing in July, Chinese and European leaders agreed to expand bilateral trade and investment and oppose unilateralism and protectionism.

US and European media, including the Guardian, Washington Post, USA Today, and Deutsche Welle, also doubt the credibility of the deal reached by the US and the EU so far, said that the deal has no concrete detail and any timetable, and nothing real was announced.




By Jung Hae-myoung





A young mom jailed for online fraud is lucky to be able to keep her baby with her while she serves her sentence, thanks to facilities at the Seoul East Regional Correctional Headquarters (SERCH).







SERCH, in Songpa, southern Seoul, has a place where they can live together  a "cell" decorated with Pororo cartoon character wallpaper. It also provides baby toys and seats.







The woman, 22, considered giving her baby up for adoption before finding a way to keep her beloved little one. The baby can stay with its mom until it is 18 months old.







Another inmate will be separated from her child when it is 18 months old next year.


By Lee Sun-ho





My recent visit to Eastern Canada was full of excitement. Since it had been 37 years since my last visit there, it was intriguing for me to note some peculiar aspects of the 21st century Canada from a different angle.



This time I noticed that both Ontario and Quebec are the two most influential of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada, and represent eastern Canada comprising the six provinces east of Manitoba. Canada is a distinct society where bilingualism has become a requirement, because both English and French are official languages. The English majority is largely indifferent to Quebec's self-sufficient enclave, while the French minority focuses on its own affairs within Quebec. Native peoples and Quebecers have become more assertive about their rights.



The flag of Ontario, officially adopted in 1965, recalls and preserves the original Canadian Red Ensign, one featuring a bright red field and the Union Jack. However, the Ontario shield is the first flag design in Canada to feature a maple leaf. In contrast, the province of Quebec is represented by a flag bearing the fleur-de-lis, a symbol of purity, officially introduced in January 1948, replacing the Union Jack. The fleur-de-lis takes its white cross from the royal family of France.



Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada, while the Greater Toronto Area is Canada's most populous metropolitan area.



Quebec City is the official capital of Quebec. The city has a population of 807,200, making it the second-largest city in Quebec, after Montreal, and the seventh-largest metropolitan area in Canada.



Canada, as I understand, maintains two long-distance borders with the United States, a 6,621-km horizontal one in the south from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and a 1,210-km vertical one between the Yukon and Alaska in the northwest. Mutually beneficial neighboring relations between the two giant countries have been of utmost importance.



It is enviable for me to be reminded that Canada itself, in which Ontario and Quebec take vital roles for the nation, is a very big country (9.98 million square kilometers) with a relatively small population (36.6 million), having an enormous and blessed potential to grow more prosperous in the decades and centuries to come.





Lee Sun-ho (kexim2@unitel.co.kr) is an ombudsman columnist for The Korea Times in Seoul.


(St.Joseph,MO) Its one of the largest races on the August ballot, four local politicians are vying to fill Representative Delus Johnson 9th district seat. Republicans Mik Chester,Tina Goodrick, Sheila Solon and Christopher Evans are busy with last minute campaign engagements as they move towards the primary election.

Mik Chester

Mik Chester moved to St. Joseph in 1992 to continue his ministry, now the soon to be retiree is looking to make a push for conservative values.

Ive served in many different capacities here in St.Joe. Im just not ready to quit serving, and this would be an opportunity to continue serving the folks here, Chester said. "I have a solid, well-known conservative record of service here in the area. In general this is a fairly conservative area and our district certainly is," Chester said.

Chester said while he is not originally from St. Joseph, this is the community he raised his family in and considers it home.

"I think to represent a district you really need to be involved in that district. Not just living there, you need to be involved in different aspects of the community and you need to have a history of leadership."

Chester said his top priorities are to stimulate workforce development, and help promote agriculture and Ag education.

Im a local guy, Im a regular guy. Im not a politician, Im just a servant and Im here to serve, Chester said.

Chester has been endorsed by the Missouri Cattlemen's Association, Missouri Right to Life and the Concerned Women for America.

Tina Goodrick

Tina Goodrick tossed her name into the election only a few short months ago. Goodrick is a former stay at home mom that said she decided to run for office to make a difference in her community.

"I decided to run, because I want to protect our freedom and I want to get government bureaucracy out of our lives as much as possible," Goodrick said.

Tina Goodrick said she is centering her campaign around supporting small business.

"I strongly support 'Right to Work' which is something that gives workers freedom and it protects small business owners," Goodrick said.

Goodrick is a recent graduate of Missouri Western State Universitys nursing program, and said education is important to her.

Goodrick said she has been endorsed by Missouri Right to Life, Missouri Firearms Coalition, US Senate candidate Austin Petersen and State Auditor candidate Saundra McDowell.

Goodrick also says she is VP of MwSU chapter of Young Americans for Liberty and president of the MWSU Running Club.

Some PACs (Political Action Committees) are good, some PACs are bad, but you need to know what they stand for. I wouldnt take money from a PAC unless I knew what it stood for and it stood for the same values that I stand for, Goodrick said.

Sheila Solon

Sheila Solon is hoping to return to Jefferson City, after having served as the state representative for Missouris 31st district from 2011 to 2017.

"I am the risk free choice, because I actually have been voting conservatively and would continue doing that," Solon said. I have represented northwest Missouris values and beliefs and I hope to continue to be able to do that.

After serving a six year term in the Missouri House of Representatives, Solon said her voting record should speak for itself.

"I am pro-life, I am pro-second amendment. I believe in less government intervention in our lives and personal freedom and liberty and lower taxes," Solon said.

She plans to put her focus on immigration and and education.

We voted for a bill that banned sanctuary cities. Something I would plan to do if I was fortunate enough to go back would be to put some teeth in that legislation. We really need to withhold state funding from municipalities that are in violation of breaking the law, Solon said.

Solon has been endorsed by Missouri Right to Life, the National Rifle Association (NRA), and Missouri AFL-CIO.

Christopher Evans

St. Joseph native Christopher Evans said being an elected officials is all about staying loyal to voters.

I am the only candidate who is not completing special interest surveys. I have not completed surveys with anyone, because I dont think my allegiance should go to any special interest groups, Evans said. My allegiance, as someone running for representative, should only be for the people in the 9th district.

Evans recently retired after spending over 30 years working for various state departments including the Department of Mental Health, Department of Elementary and Secondary Education and the Department of Corrections.

"When you're there that long you get to looking around and notice things like waste and those type of things drive me wild, and those are the type of things I want to stop with the state of Missouri," Evans said.

Evans said he plans to make Missouri function more smoothly by making a push for less restrictive legislation.

I find that the government has become just a bit intrusive in our lives and I would like to see less legislation that does interfere with our life, Evans said.

Evans has been endorsed by Missouri Right to Life.

The winner of the primary election will face off against unopposed democratic candidate Robert Bergland during the general election on November 6.
The IMFs annual Article IV consultative report issued on Thursday highlight Chinas economic performance and efforts to change financial regulation, reduce overcapacity and combat pollution.

According to the report, IMF saw Chinese GDP growth accelerated to 6.9 percent in 2017, driven by a cyclical rebound in global trade. It predict this years growth is projected to weaken slightly to 6.6 percent in 2018 owing to the lagged effect of financial regulatory tightening and the softening of external demand.

IMF also offers positive views on reforms progressed in several key areas, such as a wide range of regulatory reforms reduced financial sector risks, overcapacity reduction progressed, anti-pollution efforts intensified and opening-up accelerated recently.

IMF welcomed Chinas strong commitment to free trade and multilateralism. They saw the recently announced package of opening-up policies as being in the right direction and urged the authorities to accelerate reforms in this area. They underscored that trade tensions should be resolved in ways that support and strengthen the international trading system and the global economy.

But IMF also indicated the potential risk of Chinese economy, like tightening global financial market conditions and rising trade tensions. They hope China to put forward plans to increase social spending and reform pensions.

As to the tariffs imposed by the Trump administration on Chinese imports, IMF official see limited direct impact on Chinas economy. Sonali Jain-Chandra, deputy chief of the IMFs China team, said its too early to say at this point in time exactly how damaging [the tariffs] could be, at a press briefing. She said the second-round repercussions could include increased uncertainty, disruptions in supply chains, as well as increased undermining consumer sentiment. This could weigh on both consumption as well as investment and have a more significant macroeconomic impact.
BRUSSELS, July 27 (Xinhua) -- China has faithfully fulfilled its accession commitments, substantially opened its market to the world, and firmly upheld the multilateral trading system since its entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001, a Chinese envoy wrote in an article published on EUobserver Thursday.

Ambassador Zhang Ming, head of the Chinese mission to the European Union, in the article titled "China Firmly Supports and Upholds The Multilateral Trading System", gave a rundown on what China has done to this end.

ACCESSION COMMITMENTS FULFILLED

After its accession to the WTO, China significantly lowered import tariff rates and non-tariff barriers, liberalized the right to trade, boosted the services sector and reduced restrictions on foreign investment, he wrote.

Citing official data, he noted that China has reviewed and revised 2,300 laws, regulations and departmental rules at the central government level, and 190,000 policies and regulations at sub-central government levels

By 2010, China had fulfilled all of its tariff reduction commitments, reducing the average tariff level from 15.3 percent in 2001 to 9.8 percent, he underlined.

Meanwhile, China has built an Intellectual Property Right (IPR) legal system that conforms to WTO rules and suits its national conditions.

Since 2001, intellectual property royalties paid by China to foreign right holders has registered an annual growth of 17 percent, reaching 28.6 billion U.S. dollars in 2017, he wrote.

FREE TRADE UPHOLDER

Since joining the WTO, China has played an active role in liberalizing and facilitating trade and investment and firmly upheld the authority and efficacy of the multilateral trading system, he wrote.

China explicitly opposes unilateralism and trade protectionism, he underscored, adding that China supports the independent and impartial role of the WTO Appellate Body.

With a view to better safeguarding free trade and adapting to the changing tides of global economy and trade, China and the EU are actively engaged in communication and coordination on the modernization of the WTO, he wrote.

LIVING UP TO RESPONSIBILITY

As a major power, China is willing to provide more public goods to the international community, he wrote.

Since the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed in 2013, more than 80 countries and international organizations have signed cooperation agreements with China, he noted.

From 2013 to 2017, the total value of China's trade with other Belt and Road countries exceeded 5 trillion U.S. dollars, and total investment by Chinese enterprises in these countries exceeded 70 billion U.S.dollars, he wrote.

By the end of 2017, Chinese enterprises had set up 75 overseas economic and trade cooperation zones in relevant countries, and created 220,000 local jobs, he added.

FIRM STEPS TO EXPAND OPENING-UP

Fulfilling China's WTO commitments has never been the end point of its opening-up, he wrote, underlining that China commits itself to opening up even wider and deeper.

In recent years, China has self-initiated significant reductions to import tariffs for multiple times, he noted.

According to the WTO, China's trade-weighted average import tariff rate had fallen to 4.4 percent in 2015, only 1.5 to 2 percentage points higher than those of developed economies such as the United States and the EU.

In the meantime, China has witnessed an impressive improvement in terms of trade facilitation. The average time for customs clearance has been reduced to less than 20 hours for imports, he wrote.

By March 2018, all items for non-administrative license approval had been canceled. In the first half of 2018, revision of the negative list for foreign investment was completed, substantially widening market access for foreign investment in the financial sector, among others, he added,

"China, as it opens wider to the world among efforts to pursue high-quality growth, is bound to contribute significantly to the stability of the world economy and the wellbeing of people of all countries in the world," he wrote.
July 21st, people were working outside the Sandton Convention Center, which would hold the 10th BRICS summit on July 25, 2018. (Photo: VCG)

With a privileged geographical position as a gateway connecting the continents of Africa and Asia, Egypt perceives that the BRICS Plus model provides an opportunity for open and diversified integration in the global economy.

During the ninth BRICS Summit held in Xiamen, southeast China's Fujian Province, in September 2017, China prompted the bloc to build an open and diversified network with its partners, named the BRICS Plus.

BRICS stands for Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

The concept is to open a gateway to other countries and regions that are willing to connect with the bloc, promoting exchanges of good practices and economic integration to protect the interests of developing countries.

Under the BRICS Plus model, dialogue and cooperation among the BRICS members and non-BRICS countries should be on an equal footing. The model will be the starting point to bring the current members - as well as different continents - together.

The BRICS Plus model will not curtail the importance of BRICS bloc. Quite the contrary, some other countries like Egypt needed to join the BRICS bloc eventually. Their formal membership will bring a new momentum to the bloc.

The BRICS Plus model is likely to go beyond the boundaries of the current BRICS framework, creating a new platform for cooperation among countries across different continents. Cooperation among the BRICS' new circle of friends can extend the use of national currencies to overseas investments and bilateral and multilateral trade, thus reducing dependency on the US dollar.

The new platform is also expected to strengthen coordination among developing countries in international affairs. For instance, as more countries get on board, the consolidated voting share of those countries in the IMF will increase. This will enable the bloc to have a greater voice in key IMF decisions.

The BRICS bloc is one of the most important groupings of emerging countries, as it includes the largest developing economies in the world. The BRICS Plus initiative, through these regional leading entities, can connect other countries in each region despite their differences. It will allow the BRICS bloc to listen to and try to answer the needs and requests of other countries, in a bid to increase the representation of developing nations.

Egypt has good reason to advance further cooperation with the BRICS bloc. Egypt is a focal point for both African and Asian countries. Most of the goods and services produced in Egypt are exempt from customs and duties upon entering the European markets, as well as Arab and African countries. It has a natural advantage, being a transshipment port.

Egypt has a superb relationship with all the BRICS members. According to Egyptian news site Ahram Online, the Egyptian Ministry of Housing, Utilities and Urban Development signed in May a memorandum of understanding with China's State-owned construction company CGCOC Group to plan and develop an industrial zone in new Alamein city. The cooperation is a step forward for the economic relationship between China and Egypt.

Egypt has longstanding economic relations with India as well, with the latter seeking to strengthen its bilateral cooperation with Egypt, focusing on trade and investment. Egypt also has close relations with Brazil and Russia, and of course strong relations with South Africa.

China invited Egypt to attend the BRICS summit in Xiamen under the BRICS Plus framework, which helped firm up Egypt's cooperation with the BRICS members. The invitation expressed the bloc's appreciation of Egypt and its desire to listen to Egypt's voice.

Egypt showed a great interest in joining the BRICS bloc very early on. Due to political considerations at that time, Egypt couldn't join the bloc. But it's a fact that an organization like the BRICS is needed to unite and represent developing countries amid a resurgence of protectionism.

As the influence of the BRICS bloc expands, other countries like Egypt will be motivated to advance cooperation with the BRICS members. The BRICS Plus model can create a mutually beneficial mechanism for all parties.

He Wenping is a senior research fellow at the Charhar Institute in China, and Hisham Abu Bakr Metwally is the first economist researcher at the Central Department for Export & Import Policy under the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Trade and Industry.
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Updated 7/30/18: Added new details on the officers

Los Angeles police have identified the officers who fired eight shots toward a crowded Trader Joe's in Silver Lake last Saturday. The brief shootout between the patrol officers and the gunman took place after a short chase through city streets as they pursued the man, suspected of attempted murder.

A Trader Joe's employee was killed at the scene.

The two officers involved in the shooting were identified as Sinlen Tse and Sarah Winans of Hollywood Patrol Division. Tse is a six-year veteran of the force and has attended at least 18 hours of trainings on use of force, according to state records.

Winans has been a member of the LAPD for one year and eight months.

Officials have said it was a police bullet that killed 27-year-old store manager Melyda Corado. LAPD Chief Michael Moore called the death a "tragic loss." Police have not indicated which officer's bullet fatally struck Corado, whose public funeral was held Sunday at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Hollywood Hills.

The department previously released body cam footage from two officers. In the video, the officers can be seen exiting their vehicles and firing toward the suspect, Gene Atkins, who had run toward the store after crashing his car into a utility pole. The officers then duck behind a short wall at the edge of the parking lot.

The incident had started in South L.A. a couple hours earlier, when police allege Atkins shot his grandmother, kidnapped his girlfriend and fled in his grandmother's car.

Police said he fired shots at officers during the pursuit that followed, a chase also captured by the patrol car's dashcam. Following the crash, the suspect took hostages inside the Trader Joe's, leading to an hours-long standoff with police that finally ended with his surrender.

The investigation into the police shooting will be reviewed by the police chief, the civilian Board of Police Commissioners and representatives from the district attorney's office to determine whether the officers' decision to use deadly force was reasonable and in compliance with LAPD policies.

LAPD data from its 2017 use of force report shows that officers of all experience levels open fire in police shootings. In recent years, the biggest group of shooters are those who have between six and 10 years on the force.

However, the agency's records show one way in which the shooting was unusual: it happened in the LAPD's Northeast Division, which stretches from Highland Park to Los Feliz. LAPD records show that last year not a single person was struck by police gunfire in the area.

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For years now, local bibliophile David Kipen has shared his knowledge on all things books in the region, whether it's a new release or a significant work from one of California's most famous authors.

Kipen said he built his passion project around books, opening Libros Schmibros Lending Library in 2010 when the public library branch down the street closed. He's quick to point out that anyone who comes through the door can get a book for free, because it's not a bookstore.

"We're just putting books into people's hands on Mariachi Plaza," Kipen told KPCC's Take Two.

The neighborhood locale recently moved from that popular destination at Boyle Heights Mariachi Plaza, but luckily for patrons, it didn't move far.

"We are moving right across the street from our shoebox," Kipen said.

Libros Schmibros's new storefront. (Courtesy of David Kipen)

Located at the corner of Boyle Avenue and East First Street, it is now one of just two storefronts (the other being La Monarca Bakery) in the historic Boyle Hotel building, a Los Angeles landmark with deep ties to the development of Boyle Heights and reportedly one of the oldest commercial structures in the city.

The building was designed in 1889 by architect W. R. Norton for community leader George Cummings and his wife, according to the L.A. Conservancy. In its early years, it served as a social and political hub that pushed for the development of the neighborhood. A streetcar line connecting Boyle Heights to downtown started the same year the hotel was completed.

The Boyle Hotel on the northwest corner of Boyle Avenue and First Street as it was in 1942. (Courtesy of LA Public Library/Security Pacific National Bank Collection)

In the 20th century, it earned the nickname "Mariachi Hotel" because of the local mariachis who would stay there while working the plaza for customers, according to the conservancy.

Kipen said the hotel once even hosted a public reading room for the community.

The building eventually fell into disrepair, but in 2007 it was declared a Los Angeles historic-cultural monument. The hotel was then renovated and reopened with 51 units of affordable housing and ground floor commercial space in 2012, according to the conservancy.

The intersection of Boyle Avenue and First Street, showing the historic Boyle Hotel on the Cummings Block as it appeared in 1972, when it contained Boyle Drugs and a dentist's office. (William Reagh/Courtesy of LA Public Library/William Reagh Collection Los Angeles Photographers Collection)

When one of those commercial spaces became available, the landlord, East Los Angeles Community Corporation, held a competitive application process for the new tenant, Kipen said.

"It was an essay contest! And I wrote a love song to the Boyle which was totally heartfelt and promised to give books to everybody who walked in the door, young or old -- although we skew young because we have schools right in the neighborhood -- and they went for it!" Kipen said.

Whether you are English-speaking or Spanish-speaking, the large bilingual collection at Libros Schmibros accommodates everyone. The new space also boasts a projector and screen, and Kipen said the library will start showing movies in the fall. The space also features a classroom and rolling ladders with bookshelves that extend all the way to the ceiling.

"The programming possibilities are endless. We're doing writing workshops. It's the home we've always dreamt of all these eight years, and now it's finally happening," he said.

David Kipen organizes his large collection of books. (Courtesy of David Kipen)

You can check out the library's new digs at a public housewarming party from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at 103 N. Boyle Ave.

With contributions from Brian Frank

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Capsule reviews are by Philip Brandes (P.B.), F. Kathleen Foley (F.K.F.), Margaret Gray (M.G.), Charles McNulty (C.M.) and Daryl H. Miller (D.H.M.).

Openings

Bucket List Cabaret An evening of comedic songs and show tunes. Theatre 40, Reuben Cordova Theatre, 241 S. Moreno Drive, Beverly Hills. Sun., 7 p.m. $25. (310) 364-0535.

The MisMatch Game Host Dennis Hensleys campy, off-color parody of the 1970s-era game show returns. L.A. Gay & Lesbian Centers Renberg Theatre, 1125 N. McCadden Place, Hollywood. Sat., 8 p.m.; next Sun., 7 p.m.; ends July 29. $15. (323) 860-7300.

Nom, Nom, Nom Lucky Diaz and the Family Jam Band present a kid-friendly show to highlight the importance of healthy eating. Grand Performances, 300 S. Grand Ave., L.A. Sun., 3 and 4:30 p.m. Free. www.grandperformances.org

Shakespeare by the Sea Locally touring productions of the Bards The Merry Wives of Windsor and The Winters Tale in repertory. Various venues, days and times; through Aug. 18. Free. www.shakespearebythesea.org

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Summer Playwrights Festival 9 Ninth weeklong showcase at two venues features readings of 30 new works. The Road on Lankershim, 5108 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. (818) 761-8838. And the Road on Magnolia, 10747 Magnolia Blvd., North Hollywood. (818) 761-8838. Opens Sun.; ends Aug. 5. $15 suggested donation. www.roadtheatre.org

Their Finest Hour: Churchill and Morrow Return engagement of Willard Manus historical drama about British prime minister Winston Churchill and journalist Edward R. Murrow during the early days of WWII. Write Act Repertory @ the Brickhouse Theatre, 10950 Peach Grove St., North Hollywood. Sun., next Sun., 2 and 6 p.m.; Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 4 and 8 p.m.; ends Aug. 5. $20. (800) 838-3006.

edge of world party Immersive, interactive site-specific work; part of the inaugural Sea-Saw series. Santa Monica Pier, 200 Santa Monica Pier, West End, Santa Monica. Tue.-Wed., 6 p.m. Free; reservations at www.eventbrite.com.

Barefoot in the Park Newlyweds in a rundown Greenwich Village apartment try to adjust to married life in Neil Simons classic comedy. The Old Globe, 1363 Old Globe Way, San Diego. Thu.-Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 and 8 p.m.; next Sun., 2 and 7 p.m.; ends Sept. 2. $30 and up. (619) 234-5623.

New Original Works Festival 2018 15th three-weekend showcase for L.A.-based theater, dance and multimedia artists concludes; details at www.redcat.org. REDCAT, 631 W. 2nd St., L.A. Thu.-Sat., 8:30 p.m. $16, $20. (213) 237-2800.

Outlaw Former Hells Angel leader George Christie talks about his days with the notorious biker gang in writer-director Richard La Plantes solo drama. Whitefire Theatre, 13500 Ventura Blvd., Sherman Oaks. Thu., 8 p.m.; next Sun., 2 p.m.; ends Aug. 24. $25. (213) 713-9149.

Extremities Dynamo Studios stages William Mastrosimones off-Broadway drama about a woman who turns the tables on a would-be rapist. The New Collective Theatre, 6440 Santa Monica Blvd., L.A. Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 7:30 p.m.; next Sun., 2 and 7 p.m.; ends Aug. 19. $25; opening night only, $50. www.dynamo-studio.com

Mamma Mia! 3-D Theatricals stages the hit musical, featuring the songs of the Swedish pop group ABBA, about a destination wedding on a Greek island. Redondo Beach Performing Arts Center, 1935 E. Manhattan Beach Blvd., Redondo Beach. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; next Sun., 2 p.m.; ends Aug. 12. $25-$105. (714) 589-2770. (Also at Cerritos Center, Aug. 17-26)

Plaza Suite A famed Manhattan hotel serves as the setting for Neil Simons trio of comedic tales about love and relationships. Little Fish Theatre, 777 Centre St., San Pedro. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; ends Sept. 2. $23-$27. (310) 512-6030.

Together Again A casino-night party for doctors and others involved in medical research takes a dark turn in this interactive theatrical experience; for ages 15 and up. Zombie Joes Underground Theatre Group, 4850 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Fri.-Sat., 8:30 p.m.; ends Aug. 25. $15. (818) 202-4120.

Two by Two Revival of Richard Rodgers musical comedy based on the biblical tale of Noahs ark. West Valley Playhouse, 7242 Owensmouth Ave., Canoga Park. Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; next Sun., 2:30 p.m.; ends Aug. 26. $28, $30. (818) 884-1907.

Waitress Musical adaptation, with songs by Sara Bareilles, of writer-director Adrienne Shellys 2007 comedy-drama about an unhappily married small-town waitress and pie maker who yearns for a better life. Hollywood Pantages, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Fri., 8 p.m.; Sat., 2 and 8 p.m.; next Sun., 1 and 6:30 p.m.; ends Aug. 26. $49 and up; children under 5 not admitted. (800) 982-2787. (Also at Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa, Nov. 13-25).

A Moon for the Misbegotten A tenant farmer in 1923 Connecticut enlists his daughter in a scheme against their landlord in Emerald Isle Productions staging of Eugene ONeills sequel to his classic drama Long Days Journey into Night. 24th Street Theatre, 1117 W. 24th St., L.A. Sat., 7 p.m.; next Sun., 2 p.m.; ends Aug. 12. $25. www.emeraldis.org.

Much Ado About Avengers The Actors Gang presents this family-friendly mash-up of Shakespeares rom-com and Marvels superhero franchise. Media Park at the Ivy Substation, 9070 Venice Blvd., Culver City. Sat., next Sun., 11 a.m.; ends Aug. 26. Free; reservations recommended. (310) 838-4264.

Shining City A Dublin man starts seeing a therapist following his wifes tragic death in Conor McPhersons drama. The Hudson Guild Theatre, 6539 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood. Sat., 8 p.m.; next Sun., 7 p.m.; ends Aug. 26. $20. (323) 960-7780.

Titus Andronicus Independent Shakespeare Companys annual Griffith Park Free Shakespeare Festival continues with the Bards dark, violent tragedy about a Roman general who earns the enmity of Tamora, queen of the Goths. The Old Zoo at Griffith Park, 4730 Crystal Springs Drive, L.A. Sat.-next Sun., 7 p.m.; ends Sept. 2. Free. (818) 710-6306.

Longing Pinocchio Dark re-imagining of the fairy tale about a wooden puppet who becomes a real boy; for ages 13 and up. Zombie Joes Underground Theatre Group, 4850 Lankershim Blvd., North Hollywood. Next Sun., 8:30 p.m.; ends Aug. 28. $15. (818) 202-4120.

Ojai Playwrights Conference New Works Festival The conferences public events begin with a cabaret of stories and scenes by conference writers including Jon Robin Baitz, Bill Cain and Ruby Rae Spiegel. Other events include workshops of works in progress by Alice Tuan, Stephen Belber, Charlayne Woodard and others. Details at www.ojaiplays.org. Zalk Theater, 8585 Ojai-Santa Paula Road, and Matilija Auditorium, 703 El Paseo Road, Ojai. Next Sun. Ends Aug. 12. (805) 640-0400.

Critics Choices

Arrival & Departure Noel Cowards 1945 screenplay for Brief Encounter inspires playwright Stephen Sachs tale of two present-day Manhattan commuters, a hard-of-hearing woman and Deaf man, who meet by chance and begin to fall in love. Problem is, they are already married to others. Moral and emotional conundrums add twist after twist to this sadly beautiful yet hopeful romance, which is gracefully directed by Sachs and gorgeously performed by Deanne Bray and Troy Kotsur. (D.H.M.) The Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave. L.A. Sun., next Sun., 2 p.m.; Mon., Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; ends Sept. 30. $20-$40; Mondays, pay what you want (subject to availability). (323) 663-1525.

Cabaret The world is ending? What good is sitting alone in your room, where youll merely brood? Come see what director Michael Matthews has cooked up in an especially dark take on this ever-relevant musical. The dancing is sexy, the emcee is a bit magical, and everyones partying like theres no tomorrow. (D.H.M.) Celebration Theatre, 6760 Lexington Ave., L.A. Sun., next Sun., 2 p.m.; Thu.-Sat., 8 p.m.; ends Aug. 19. $25-$65. (323) 957-1884.

On Your Feet! As all-American tales of self-made success go, you would be hard-pressed to name a better one than Gloria and Emilio Estefans. Actually, their story charts a double rise: their path to all-but-unheard-of crossover success with Miami Sound Machine, then Glorias determined return to wholeness after back injuries sustained in a 1990 accident in their tour bus. Driven by such songs as Conga and Turn the Beat Around, this musical explodes off the stage. (D.H.M.) Hollywood Pantages Theatre, 6233 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. Ends Sun., 1 and 6:30 p.m. $39 and up. (800) 982-2787. Also at Segerstrom Center in Costa Mesa, Aug. 21-Sept. 2.

Three Days in the Country Antaeus Theatre Companys newest revival is an adaptation of Turgenevs A Month in the Country by Patrick Marber, who adds a refreshingly contemporary flavor and pace to this romantic comedy without displacing it from its 19th century Russian setting. Turgenevs tale of unrequited love among aristocrats on a country estate is said to have inspired Chekhov to write plays and uncannily prefigures his work in both tone and action. There are two alternating casts, packed with Antaeus favorites, who have a contagiously good time with the silly, poignant melodrama. (M.G.) Kiki & David Gindler Performing Arts Center, 110 E. Broadway. Sun., next Sun., 2 p.m.; Mon., Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; ends Aug. 26. $30, $34. (818) 506-1983.
Warning: This story contains plot spoilers about Mission: Impossible  Fallout.

Christopher McQuarrie wasnt getting much sleep. Every night, like clockwork, the Mission: Impossible  Fallout director would wake up in the middle of the night, his mind racing with worries about the films climactic helicopter chase.

Youre stuck in a loop where your mind is constantly thinking about all the things that could go wrong, McQuarrie says. That keeps you up until around 6 in the morning.

Shot over six weeks over mountainous terrain on the South Island of New Zealand, the high-speed aerial chase  with Tom Cruise, as superspy Ethan Hunt, in pursuit of Henry Cavills villainous August Walker  was perhaps the most ambitious and dangerous action sequence ever attempted in a Mission film. And given the number of death-defying stunts that Cruise had personally performed over the course of the franchises history  including scaling the worlds tallest building and clinging to the side of a plane during takeoff  thats saying something.

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It was so big and so overwhelming, says McQuarrie, who also scripted the sixth installment in the action franchise, which opened this weekend. We didnt know how big a bite we were biting off before we did it. Its a very scary way to make a film. Its also intensely invigorating.

Though its all seamless on screen, that chase and the films final cliff-side slugfest were shot in three separate countries under extreme conditions including subfreezing temperatures and an injured leading man. Here, McQuarrie, stunt coordinator Wade Eastwood and Cavill break down what went into the grand climax.

Director Christopher McQuarrie, at left, and Tom Cruise behind the scenes on the set of Mission: Impossible - Fallout (David James / Paramount Pictures)

1. The long line stunt

The sequence begins with Cruises Hunt attempting to get onto a helicopter as its taking off by grabbing onto the long line that carries its payload. As the helicopter soars into the air, Hunt climbs up the rope, only to slip and fall backward 40 feet and slam into the cargo.

While it would have been easy enough (and needless to say, far safer) to shoot the stunt on a studio backlot against a green screen, thats not how Cruise rolls. True to form, the 56-year-old actor wanted to do it for real.

Eastwood and his team rigged up a complicated pulley system and safety line so that Cruise could perform the stunt with some degree of control. But given the speed at which he needed to plummet  and the fact that he was doing it backward  there were still tremendous risks.

The only thing the safety line was ensuring was that if Tom was killed during the stunt, we wouldnt be looking for his body in the bushes, McQuarrie says dryly. Because if he made the fall at the wrong angle, its picture wrap on Mr. Cruise. If he hits the payload headfirst as opposed to back first or legs first, hell break his neck and just be a rag doll.

Watching from the ground, Cruises costars didnt realize at first that the fall was intentional and feared that the actor  who had already broken his ankle jumping from one building to another in an earlier stunt, forcing the production to shut down  may have hurt himself again.

When he first dropped, they all screamed because they thought hed actually fallen off the helicopter, Eastwood says, laughing. They were almost booking holidays and packing up their bags.

Everyone always asks me if this is Tom Cruise just going mad and wanting to do all this stuff, but its really not that, he continues. He approaches everything in a calculating fashion. He would have been a great stunt man if he wasnt a great actor.

McQuarrie, in window reflection, and Cruise on the New Zealand set of Mission: Impossible - Fallout (David James / Paramount Pictures)

2. The chase

Cruise has been a licensed pilot for many years and flown helicopters before, but in order to be able to pull off the difficult maneuvers involved in the chase on his own  including a perilous downward spiral  he underwent intensive training, spending 16 hours a day for more than a month honing his skills.

Having Cruise fly the helicopter himself wasnt just a way for the actor to get his thrill-seeking kicks. The aim was to create the most immersive white-knuckle experience possible for the audience. To that end, special camera mounts were fixed to Cruises helicopter so the audience could see that he was flying solo.

Its hard to do a helicopter sequence thats interesting, Eastwood says. We thought, how do we stay with the characters so its not just two helicopters in this massive canyon and its boring? Its all Tom flying, 100% of it. Theres a lot of jeopardy  were flying in close proximity to other helicopters, in close proximity to the sides of the mountain  but the way we shot it, we keep it with Tom and keep it subjective.

Though his own helicopter was being flown by a professional pilot, Cavill still keenly felt the dangers (not to mention the bone-chilling, minus-22-degrees cold).

All it takes is one person to make a mistake for everyone to go down, Cavill says. Even if Tom is flying perfectly, if my pilot has one little error in judgment trying to anticipate a gust or something, we all turn into a giant fiery ball of fun. Thats what made it so spectacular. It kind of stops being a stunt and becomes something else entirely.

3. The crash

McQuarrie knew he needed to eventually get the characters onto the ground for their final mano-a-mano fight and decided to do it in the most violent way possible, with their choppers crashing down after a mid-air collision.

The crew staged the crash on a backlot of Leavesden Studios in England, putting Cruises helicopter on winches and slamming it onto a snow-covered slope at high speed. Special rigs were then constructed so that both helicopters could slide and roll down the slope with the actors bouncing around inside.

Its kind of like being in a theme park ride but really dangerous because your limbs are flying everywhere and all you need to do is catch your wrist in the wrong place and thats a permanent injury, Cavill says. We got away with it, fortunately.

Eventually the two downed helicopters fall into a crevasse (also constructed at Leavesden), where  in a moment of absurdist near-slapstick  they hang inverted and crash into each other.

When Tom and I talk about a Mission: Impossible movie, the first conversation we have is about Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd and Charlie Chaplin, explains McQuarrie. Whats great about these characters is they do not want to be in this situation that theyre in. Theyre not heroes. They are victims of a set of horrible, horrible circumstances.

Cruise as Ethan Hunt hangs from a cliff in a scene from Mission: Impossible - Fallout. (Paramount Pictures)

4. The fight

The sequence climaxes with Hunt and Walker, each seriously injured from the crash (and Cruise in reality still recovering from his shattered ankle), fighting on the side of a steep cliff.

Looking for a suitably forbidding-looking location, McQuarrie settled on Norways Preikestolen, or Pulpit Rock, a cliff with a flat top that rises 2000 feet above a fjord. With the exception of a few moments of Hunt and Walker hanging from the side of the cliff that were filmed on a 70-foot-high set at Leavesden, the entire fight was shot over three days on location.

The texture of everything, the depth of that fjord  you could never replicate that on a stage, Eastwood says. It was such a threatening location that it brought out a certain difference to the fight.

Youre standing on the edge and looking down and thinking, What would it feel like if I fell?  Cavill says. You imagine the rig failing and plummeting to your death. But at the same time, it was absolutely stunning.

Having pulled off this intensely complicated and dangerous sequence  which, in its entirety, took as long to shoot as many feature films  McQuarrie and Cruise have already started kicking around ideas for how they could possibly top it next time.

Tom and I saw the movie together the first time at the premiere in Paris, McQuarrie says. At the end of the movie, it cuts to the title right before the credits and the final note had not finished ringing out before Tom turned to me, nudged me with his elbow and said, Yeah, we can do better. 

josh.rottenberg@latimes.com

Twitter: @joshrottenberg
Amazon Studios is stocking its programming shelves with new series from Nicole Kidman and Lena Waithe, among others.

The announcements were made Saturday during the Television Critics Assn. press tour in Beverly Hills. The day marked Jennifer Salkes press tour debut as head of Amazon Studios since departing NBC earlier this year.

The new projects include The Expatriates from Kidmans production company, Blossom Films. Based on the bestselling novel by Janice Y.K. Lee, the series will explore the lives of a close-knit group of women expatriates living in Hong Kong.

The drama is the first to come out of Amazon Studios first-look film and TV deal with Kidmans company, and is just the latest TV project Kidman has been attached to since starring in and executive producing HBOs Big Little Lies.

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Im so thrilled about the Blossom-Amazon collaboration, Kidman said in a statement. The Expatriates is just the beginning of our shared goal in making delicious stories with something meaningful to say about the world.

Salke also announced a two-season order for a horror anthology from the rising writer and producer Waithe (The Chi, Dear White People). Written by Little Marvin, the first season, titled Them: Covenant, is set in the early 1950s and revolves around a black couple, Alfred and Lucky Emory, who move their family from North Carolina to an all-white Los Angeles neighborhood. Then things get intense. Waithe will executive produce.

Little Marvins script stayed with me for weeks after I read it, Waithe said in a statement. Hes written something thats provocative and terrifying. The first season will speak to how frightening it was to be black in 1953. It will also remind us that being black in 2018 is just as horrifying. This anthology series will examine the cultural divides among all of us and explore us vs. THEM in a way weve never seen before.

Also getting the green light is a sci-fi romantic series, Upload, from The Office producer Greg Daniels. The comedy, which has received a 10-episode order, takes place in 2033, when people who are close to death can upload into a virtual afterlife of their choosing.

Daniels created the series and will serve as showrunner. Upload was one of the last pilots ordered by former Amazon Studios chief Roy Price before he stepped down following sexual harassment allegations.

Amazon is the perfect place to make Upload, because of their strong creative team, and because its a company that could actually one day host a digital afterlife, Daniels said in a statement. If I get in good with them, Im hoping for a big discount on my first thousand years.

Each will stream on Amazon Prime. Launch dates for the series will be announced at a later time.

yvonne.villarreal@latimes.com

Twitter: @villarrealy
Good morning. Im Paul Thornton, and it is Saturday, July 28, 2018. Apologies to anyone who didnt catch Fridays epic lunar eclipse  which should be almost everyone reading this, since it put on a show only over the Eastern Hemisphere. Oh well. Lets take a look back at the week in Opinion.

Setting aside dishonesty, graft, indecency and a host of other ills, the one consistent theme of the Trump presidency has been its crisis management of problems created solely by the administration. Examples abound: a government shutdown rooted in the administrations cancellation of DACA; desperate trade talks with the European Union because of tariffs threatened by the president; and of course, Trump clarifying, then re-clarifying his comments on Russian election meddling.

By far the most damaging example is the destruction of countless immigrant families thanks to Trumps zero-tolerance policy aimed at asylum seekers and undocumented border crossers. For weeks, the administration has been scrambling to reunite thousands of children it detained with their parents to comply with Thursdays court-ordered deadline to do. Of course, the White House was not able to meet that deadline, but it wasnt because of incompetence. Rather, suggests Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) in an op-ed article, this was by the administrations design:

The separation of children from their parents at the Southwest border is not simply a policy that has resulted in immeasurable harm, but a policy designed to inflict it. The government blew its Thursday deadline to reunite these families because it never intended to do so. How else can we explain what has happened to these families? Some 14 million checked bags are managed by the Transportation Security Administration  and thats just during Thanksgiving weekend. Even high school students can manage a coat check for an evening without losing everyones coats. They match each coat and owner with corresponding tickets, and do not store the coats outside the building, or even thousands of miles away from the event. The administration did not take even these basic measures when it began to separate children  not coats!  from their parents. It did not use corresponding numbers for the files of parents and children, or take photos of families together, or hand out hospital-style bracelets. It did not house families near one another, choosing instead to hold mothers in California and daughters in Chicago, fathers in Texas and sons in New York City. In fact, the administration seems to have taken a comprehensive inventory of confiscated items  sneakers, toothpaste, rosaries  everything except which child belongs to which parent. These are the actions of a government that intended to separate families but did not intend to reunite them. It meant to inflict so much suffering that other families wouldnt make the dangerous trek. No matter how bad the violence might be in Central America, surely these families would choose to stay united rather than come and be separated. >> Click here to read more

Obamas economy hit Trumps high numbers  three times. Give the president all the credit he deserves for the 4.1% growth rate of the U.S. economy last quarter (and its debatable how much credit any president should get). But for all Trumps bluster about the economy surging like it never has before, the president should keep in mind the GDP numbers 4.6%, 4.9% and 5.1%. Those are quarterly growth rates hit under President Obama, notes Jon Healey. L.A. Times

Not in my front beach. Anyone whos spent years in California understands that maintaining access to the states beaches  which the public owns, by the way  is a constant battle. Still, it helps to have an outside newspaper bring the the rest of the country up to speed, if only to remind Californians of where they once were on beach access, and how adept wealthy landowners have become at keeping us off our property. New York Times

A heartbreaking account of life at Gitmo for a forever prisoner: Ahmed Rabbani, a Pakistani taxi driver, was wrongly detained in his home country 14 years ago and handed over to the CIA. He was tortured (he writes that his shackling was so painful, he tried to free himself by attempting to cut off his hand), and now a prisoner at Guantanamo Bay, he weighs 95 pounds thanks to an illness that makes eating food almost impossible. Theres no hope for him, other than a government that rediscovers its humanity and finally closes Gitmo. L.A. Times

Give me shelter, but not at double the cost. The first pop-up shelter in downtown Los Angeles was supposed to cost about $1.3 million to build  but when it opens in September, it will have cost the city $2.7 million. The cost overrun is not completely unreasonable, says The Times Editorial Board, but the citys focus should be on permanent supportive housing, not well-appointed transitional shelters. L.A. Times
A federal judge in Los Angeles will appoint an independent auditor to oversee the treatment of children in immigrant detention facilities.

The Friday ruling came a day after the court-imposed deadline for the Trump administration to reunite families separated at the border under its zero-tolerance policy. As of Friday, hundreds of children remained isolated from their parents.

A monitor is expected to be appointed within a few weeks.

Peter Schey, lead counsel and director of the Los Angeles-based Center for Human Rights and Constitutional Law, said the monitor will oversee all three family detention centers run by Immigration and Customs Enforcement  two in Texas and one in Pennsylvania  as well as Border Patrol facilities in the Rio Grande sector along the Texas border.

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Scheys group filed a motion seeking an independent monitor for the Rio Grande sector after lawyers observed inhumane conditions there. He said his team will discuss in the coming weeks whether to file another motion asking that the monitor also oversee all other Border Patrol facilities along the border.

The group filed a scathing report last week including testimony from more than 200 parents and children held in California, Texas and other states who described cramped cells without enough bedding to sleep, cold or frozen food and a lack of basic hygiene products.

A Mexican woman said her daughter had wet herself on their first night because there were so many people sleeping in the room that she couldnt get to the toilet. A Guatemalan boy told attorneys that he had no soap, towels or a toothbrush.

These are problems that appear to be pervasive, Schey said Friday. Were hoping that that has a salutary effect on Border Patrol operations throughout the southern border. Hopefully they wont wait until we bring a new motion to expand the special monitor before they will learn from this and correct their ways.

The interviews were done through a 1997 court settlement called the Flores agreement that governs how long migrant children may be held in custody and under what conditions. The settlement allows attorneys to periodically inspect detention facilities that children are held in.

This month, U.S. District Judge Dolly Gee rejected the federal governments request to renegotiate the terms of the Flores agreement to hold children for longer than 20 days.

She ruled in 2015 that the government had breached the agreement by allowing rooms that were cold and overcrowded as well as inadequate nutrition and hygiene.

Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Katie Waldman said the agency maintains the highest standards of care for people in its custody.

DHS facilities undergo constant unannounced inspections by outside groups, the Departments Inspector General and court ordered monitors, she said. DHS take our responsibilities extremely seriously and perform them professionally and humanely.

andrea.castillo@latimes.com

@andreamcastillo
As firefighters continue to battle the destructive Carr fire, some captured on video the tornado-like flaming vortexes that have swept through the area.

The fire  which has destroyed at least 500 structures, burned more than 48,000 acres and is only 5% contained  has carved a dangerous path through Shasta County. On social media, some have referred to the extreme fire behavior as fire tornado and firenado.

Literally almost what can be described as a tornado occurred over this fire yesterday, Ken Pimlott, director of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, said at a Friday briefing. This fire was whipped up into a whirlwind of activity  uprooting trees, moving vehicles, moving parts of roadways.

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The Peardale Chicago Park Fire Protection District captured one spinning vortex in a video posted to YouTube  describing it as a fire whirl.

Fire whirls have been documented for more than 100 years, according to research reviewed in a 2012 article in the Journal of Combustion.

A fire whirl during the Great Chicago Fire of 1871 threw burning planks of wood more than 600 yards ahead of the main blaze, aiding the fires spread. In Wisconsin, two people were killed when a fire whirl lifted their home off its foundation and dropped it 50 yards away, according an article published in the journal.

RELATED: Everything you need to know about Californias catastrophic year of wildfires 

A fire whirl can occur when trees, a hillside or even a wall of flames forces air to shift or rotate among competing air temperatures and speeds  and eventually it tilts the rotating air from a horizontal position to a vertical one, giving it the tornado-like appearance.

Some fire whirls dissipate moments after starting because the heat and air flow that maintained them ventilate out. But others can travel and sustain themselves as the heat is lifted on buoyant air, and gas surrounding the whirl pushes it tighter into itself, making it more intense. The air inside the funnel can then act as a compressed, rotating column of gas, according to the study.

Scientists estimate fire whirls burn fuel three to seven times faster than an open flame.

brittny.mejia@latimes.com

Twitter: @Brittny_Mejia

joseph.serna@latimes.com

Twitter: @JosephSerna
In the latest episode of Cairos Maspero triangle saga, The residents and shop owners of Buildings at 26 July street of Boulaq Abu Ela are trying to fight a demolition order.

When a customer visited S. Hinhayat Watches to fix his watch one morning, Essam Solomon told him that he should take his business elsewhere.

The shop's workers had left, and technically Solomon was off work for at least two weeks until he finds out whether Egypts oldest watch shop would be demolished.

S. Hinhayat Watches has been operating since 1907, and is situated at the bottom of building 54, a four-storey building on 26 July Street in the famous Boulaq Abul-Ela area.

This is the oldest watch shop in Egypt, and maybe the entire Arab world, said Essam Abdullah, or Essam Solomon as he calls himself after the shop's founder Solomon Hinhayat, whose image hangs in the shop and serves as a time capsule to the 1940s.

Abdullah recounts to Ahram Online the story of the Jewish Bulgarian khawaja (Arabic for foreigner) and the history of his shop.

Hinhayat opened the shop in 1907; one year after the building was constructed, Abdullah said.

Soon after the shop was opened, the creme de la creme of Egyptian society became patrons, including members of the Royal House of Mohamed Ali and British high commissioners in Egypt.

The shop employed mostly Bulgarian nationals, with the exception of a few Egyptians, including a skilled young man named Ahmed Sayed Mostafa, Abdullah's grandfather, who caught the attention of the Egyptian royal palace when he fixed King Fouads watches.

Hinhayat had planned to open a clock and watch factory under the name Nomolas Watches, but he left Egypt after the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 and Egypt's subsequent war with the new country.

Abdullah does not know what became of Hinhayat, only that his grandfather acquired the shop and kept the name of his mentor as a sign of appreciation.

Abdullah continues to honour Solomon today by adopting his name as his own.

Over the decades, S. Hinhayat Watches was patronised by kings, princes, ministers, diplomats, pashas, landlords as well as ordinary Egyptians hailing from villages to visit the shrine of Sufi icon Sultan Abul-Ela a couple of blocks away.

While most other shops in the area have shifted their business to selling cheap imported second-hand clothes, S. Hinhayat Watches has for over a century maintained its identity as a watchmaker.

According to the owner, the shop's building is now in danger of being demolished within days, and municipal workers have already started dismantling the top floors of the building. Abdullah has emptied the store of all its valuables and old photos and documents with the help of his wife Aya.

Over the past few months, government workers have been demolishing buildings in the Maspero Triangle area, on the edge of which the S. Hinhayat Watches building is situated.

The Maspero Triangle development project is an ambitious plan to turn the slum area in the heart of Cairo into a modern financial and residential hub attracting local and foreign investments.

After years of negotiating with the residents of Maspero, the government has managed to evacuate them in exchange for compensation and alternative residences.

However, some buildings in the area are excluded from the demolition orders, including the headquarters of Egypts state TV and radio building, the Hilton Ramses hotel, the old Italian consulate, the headquarters of Egypts foreign ministry, the Mosque of Sultan Abul-Ela, and the Royal Carts Museum, which is undergoing restoration.

According to public statements by government officials, the old Parisian and Italian-style buildings on 26 July Street will not be among the building demolished and will be renovated.

Despite this, however, uncertainty still looms about the fate of building 54.

On 22 July, municipal workers started to demolish the upper floors of the building.

The workers came suddenly and rudely told us that they were going to demolish the whole building over our heads, Abdullah said, adding that he and other residents and shop owners then called the police for help.

Abdullah said that the demolition was temporarily stopped, but resumed the next day.

According to Abdullah and his wife, after the deadly earthquake of 1992, an official order was issued to remove two floors from the building and to renovate it.

This order was ignored by the building's owner, who is currently out of town, and was shelved by district officials for two decades.

The order was then renewed on 23 January 2018.

The workers did not come to demolish just two floors, they came to demolish the whole building, Abdullah said.

Abdullah and other shop owners in the building say that the workers deliberately broke the buildings water pipes to damage the infrastructure, forcing the shop owners to turn off the water.

They also throw the debris and rubble from other demolished buildings in Maspero on the building 54s back lot, destroying one of the workshops there, Abullah's wife told Ahram Online.

The workshop belonged to Hajj Hosni, one of the oldest mannequin manufacturers in the country.

Hajj Hosni, who is in his late 80s, said his workshop was destroyed on 22 July.

I had an order of mannequins to finish for a company in Spain, and now everything is gone, the fragile elderly man, who can barely stand, said while he and his workers inspected the damage at his old workshop.

Starting as an assistant to Egypts top sculptors, Hajj Hosni opened his shop to make mannequins from scratch instead of importing them. Almost all the mannequin makers in the country learned their craft from him.

Everything is gone now, I do not have a pension, the old man said angrily while his workers helped him navigate around the debris in the back lot.

Hajj Hosni's anger is shared by Dr Hany Makram, the owner of a pharmacy that has been operating in the building since 1950. The pharmacys warehouse and laboratory have also been destroyed.

The building's residents, all of whom are all old pensioners, have left the building and moved in with their offspring.

The fight to preserve the building is now headed by the shop owners, who say they cannot reach the building's owner or their parliamentary representative.

They have also gained the support of people in neighbouring buildings, who also fear demolition.

The residents of the old buildings in the area have set up a Facebook page called 'The Residents of 26 July,' demanding that they be left alone.

You cannot compare our situation to that of the people who lived in Maspero Triangles shanty town, said Ahmed Abdel-Fattah, the administrator of the Facebook page, who lives in a building on 26 July Street.

The head of Boulaq Abul-Ela district Ibrahim Abdel-Hady told Ahram Online that all the buildings in the Maspero Triangle from the Corniche to Galaa Street to 26 July Street would be demolished, with the exception of buildings with a unique architectural style.

In statements to Mantiqiti local news website a week ago, the head of the Informal Houses Development Fund Khaled Sadik said that no official decision has been made yet regarding the buildings on 26 July Street.

According to media reports, officials have said that 13 of the buildings in the area will not be demolished given their unique architectural style. Some of these buildings currently stand alone in a vast area where the Maspero slum area once stood.

Local residents say that the buildings in the Maspero Triangleare divided into three categories: A, B and C.

The C category comprises buildings that will not be demolished and will undergo renovation.

The residents of the 26 July Street say that building 54 is in the C category like other buildings on the street, and that it is registered with the culture ministrys National Organisation for Urban Harmony.

The National Organisation for Urban Harmys mission is to maintain to the exterior of heritage buildings in the country, especially in Cairo.

The National Organisation for Urban Harmony told Ahram Online that the status of these buildings has not been determined.

Essam Solomon has filed a legal case with administrative court to prevent the demolition of his shop based on the earlier decisions ordering that the building be restored.

Other residents have also filed legal cases of their own, but they fear that time is not on their side.

A group of residents in Maspero had won a suit filed with the administrative court revoking an eviction and demolition order for their building; however, their building was demolished regardless, said Ahmed Abdel-Fattah, who lives on 26 July Street.

Abdullah now prays that he can win this race against time and preserve his 111-year-old business and pass it on to his children, just like his father and grandfather had done.

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San Diego City Council will keep moving forward with its plan to require contractors to disclose whether they work on President Trumps border wall.

At a budget committee meeting this week, council members voted 3 to 1 to have city officials draft an ordinance that would require contractors competing for city projects to disclose any past, present or planned bids, or actual work on parts of the presidents promised border wall.

It was not clear from the decision whether that disclosure might affect a contractors ability to get city work or whether the city might publish a list of contractors who have connections to the wall.

Trumps border wall does nothing to promote San Diegos robust economy and our positive international ties with Mexico, said Council President Pro Tem Barbara Bry. Our region is stronger because of our cross-border exchange with our neighbors to the south.

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Councilman Chris Ward said he knows of at least one company that made a bid on border wall construction that may end up working on a major construction project for the city.

A spokesman for Councilwoman Georgette Gomez, who has led the citys push against the proposed border wall, said she is happy to see the city moving forward.

Councilman Chris Cate was the lone vote against the move. He called the idea a bad precedent meant to shame employers and employees.

These folks rely on jobs to provide for their families, Cate said.

During the meeting, the committee reviewed approaches that other cities have taken to show opposition to the promised wall along the Southwest border. The report, presented by Jeff Kawar of the Office of the Independent Budget Analyst, was the result of a resolution that the council passed in September.

Kawar said of the six cities with similar resolutions that his office studied, Oakland had the most aggressive rules. That city requires contractors to file a statement that they have not and will not seek work on the border wall.

Los Angeles, he said, requires contractors to explain any affiliation with the wall and keeps those filings as public record.

Other cities are still debating how they will enact such ordinances and whether they should include only work on actual border wall projects, such as the prototypes at Otay Mesa, or also include other fencing replacement work.

Benjamin Prado of the American Friends Service Committee, the only member of the public to address the committee over the border wall issue, urged the city to publish a list of contractors who have border wall affiliations.

Paige Folkman, a deputy city attorney, cautioned the committee that asking companies to disclose information about border wall participation might open the city up to litigation risks. She said the city attorneys office would have to work closely with other departments to review ordinance plans for legal concerns.

This is not a slam dunk, Folkman said.

kate.morrissey@sduniontribune.com

Morrissey writes for the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Good morning. Today would have been our late restaurant critic Jonathan Golds 58th birthday, so not only are we mourning his passing, a week ago from pancreatic cancer, but also celebrating his life and the food he so loved. At sundown tonight, many buildings and landmarks around Los Angeles will be illuminated in gold, making this town an actual city of gold, the name of Laura Gabberts 2015 documentary about him.

In the last week, many people have written about Jonathans profound influence, including Ruth Reichl, Gustavo Arellano and Mark Gold, the critics brother. We remembered his reviews and his music writing and his advocacy of once-struggling restaurants.

For everyone who wrote in, messaged and called, remembering Jonathan and asking how to show support, there is a public tribute event being planned for Aug. 26 in downtown Los Angeles. His family asks that in lieu of flowers, contributions can be made to the nonprofit organizations L.A. Regional Food Bank, Hirshberg Foundation for Pancreatic Cancer Research, Heal the Bay or Al Otro Lado. And a GoFundMe campaign to help the Gold-Ochoa family with expenses and their two kids education has been launched.

Happy birthday, Jonathan. Well be touring your city, from tasting menu restaurant to dumpling house to San Gabriel Valley banquet hall to taco truck. We miss you.

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 Amy Scattergood

CRITIC AND COOK

The late restaurant critic Jonathan Gold, seen at home in his Pasadena kitchen, loved cooking for holiday celebrations. (Anne Fishbein)

While Jonathan was best known for the food he critiqued, he also spent a lot of time at home, cooking. He was a gifted cook, as his family, friends and colleagues knew well. Test Kitchen Director Noelle Carter had the pleasure of testing a number of recipes that he cooked and championed, and so were reprinting them this week, in his honor: waffles from a favored Oakland breakfast spot, his version of Paula Wolferts creamed leeks, and the stuffing, hoppin John and latke recipes he made for holiday parties.

YOUR SUMMER BEER LIST

Refresh yourself with these summer-time beers. (Witthaya Prasongsin / Getty Images)

To state the painfully obvious: Its hot outside. Thus the need for a cold bottle or pint or glass of beer is even more acute (although to again state the obvious, drink a lot of water too). Beer writer John Verive has a list of local summer beer recommendations. From a Torrance Pilsener to a juiced up (literally) IPA from El Segundo to a beer called the Sunbather from a downtown L.A. brewer, there are some fresh options for your table or picnic blanket.

PLUM TIME FOR PLUMS

Plums at the Santa Monica farmers market. (Noelle Carter / Los Angeles Times)

In her weekly Market Report, Noelle catalogs the myriad varieties of plums now loading farmers market stands and grocery aisles, including Santa Rosas, for which many of us wait all year long. Gorgeous in color and wildly fragrant, your best bet is to eat these standing next to the farmer who grew them. (Pro tip: Make granita.)

WHERE THE BUTCHER KNOWS YOUR NAME

Felipe Corrado Jr. fills a display case with sausages at Catalinas Market, his familys Argentine butcher shop and grocery store in Hollywood. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

The neighborhood butcher shop  and bakery, cheese shop and fishmonger  used to be the norm rather than the exception. Although supermarkets are far easier to find these days, there are still some local, family-run butchers around. Food writer Sara Cagle tracks down four of them that have been operated by families for generations. You can find Argentine sausages, marinated carne asada ranchera, zabihah halal meat, and organic chicken, as well as grocery and deli items, sandwiches and wine.

MORE THAN A COFFEE SHOP

Students on a field trip order drinks and snacks at Southern Californias worker-owned coffee house, Collective Avenue Coffee. (Gabriel S. Scarlett / Los Angeles Times)

Coffee shops have long been gathering places, from the European coffee houses that were focal points during the Enlightenment to the barista-run joints where half the screenplays in this town seem to be written. The worker-owned cooperative cafe Collective Avenue Coffee is a hub for an even younger crowd, as it occupies the concession window at the Lucy Avalos Community Center at Yvonne Burke-John D. Ham Park in Lynwood. Thus, writes Ben Mesirow, there is excellent coffee, other drinks and snacks  and salsa classes and guitar lessons.

Check us out on Instagram at @latimesfood.

And dont forget the thousands of recipes in our California Cookbook recipe database.

Feedback? Wed love to hear from you. Email us at food@latimes.com.
Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, the front-runner in Californias gubernatorial race, has agreed to just one debate leading up to the November election and doesnt intend to do any more. His rival, GOP businessman John Cox, is hoping to debate Newsom at least five times, up and down the state.

This disparity is not uncommon. Typically, candidates trailing in the polls have more to gain by sparring with the leading candidate than the other way around, just as challengers need the exposure more than incumbents. Cox has never run for public office in California; Newsom is well known from his days as a high-profile mayor of San Francisco.

But voters have a lot to gain too. In the era of multimillion-dollar campaigns and slick political messaging, nothing beats the potential of old-school debates to reveal and humanize the men and women behind the glossy ads and focus-group-approved slogans.

Nothing beats the potential of old-school debates to reveal and humanize the men and women behind the glossy ads and focus-group-approved slogans.

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Admittedly, debates can often seem like well-rehearsed exercises in reciting talking points and staying on message. Still, it can be tremendously informative when two candidates vying for the same important job stand (or sit) next to each other in front of an audience to answer questions, describe their policy differences and, well, debate. Unscripted forums offer a rare glimpse into candidates foundational character traits and temperament. They can also indicate how well a person might handle the unexpected challenges that arise once he or she is in office. Candidate Donald Trumps bullying, blustering and bluffing during his debates turned out to be an accurate representation of the president he would become.

While theres no universally accepted right number of debates for political races, it does seem that this years gubernatorial campaign in particular would benefit from more than one. California is a big state, and being its governor is a big job.

Newsoms campaign says that the Democrat participated in nine debates leading up to the June primary and is now focusing on public forums where he can have deeper policy discussions than the typical debate format will allow. Thats fine, but controlled speaking engagements are no substitute for a good rough-and-tumble debate.

Besides, why not? If the polls are any indication, unless the top of his head pops off and a lizard-like alien from the planet Draco jumps out, Newsom will be the next governor of California.

Newsom isnt the only front-running candidate in this years election who seems averse to debating. Although U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said after the primary she would debate her challenger, state Sen. Kevin de Leon, she has yet to commit to one.

Feinsteins campaign cites scheduling conflicts, complicated by the Senates shortened August recess and the upcoming confirmation hearing for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. That excuse rings hollow. Somehow other incumbent senators are finding the time to debate. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) met for the first debate with his Republican challenger on July 21. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) proposed five debates with his Democratic challenger.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion 

In this case, a debate may well be in the incumbents best interest. The state Democratic Partys endorsement of De Leon earlier this month may have left voters wondering if party leaders know something they dont about the candidates. Much has been made (unfairly so) of Feinsteins age, and refusing to face her younger rival may sow concern that the senator is not on top of her game. We believe Feinstein is still very much a political and policy force, and a debate would demonstrate as much.

Granted, there are risks in debating. A candidates carefully crafted message may go off the rails during an unscripted moment. The main takeaway may be an off-the-cuff remark (Ronald Reagans There you go again) or physical tic (vice presidential candidate Sarah Palins debate winks) rather than policy points. Or a debate performance can turn into a joke, as happened to Rick Perry. During a GOP presidential primary debate in 2011, the former Texas governor forgot the name of one of the three agencies he wanted to abolish, and concluded with a sheepish oops. That single word dogged him through the rest of his failed campaign.

Thats just too bad. Those seeking higher office or reelection have a responsibility to show the public they are up to the challenge of the coming years. That means showing up to debate even if they cant predict the outcome.

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We need to talk about a forbidden subject: the legitimacy of the current president.

Theres been a code of silence around President Donald Trumps shady victory in 2016. Its one of those tiptoe-around-it things that the American family just doesnt talk about. And with good reason. Whatever your politics, its perilous to question the soundness of an American election.

Raising the question of Trumps legitimacy risks detonating a full-blown crisis of faith  kindling distrust not just in Trump, but also in the system that installed him.

But fear of facing the legitimacy question has not stopped Americans from harboring profound doubts, if only deep down in places you dont talk about at parties, in Aaron Sorkins phrasing from A Few Good Men.

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As more and more facts about Trumps incongruous victory emerge, the doubts gnaw harder  and grow harder to ignore.

A nation devoted to majority rule has a minority president. Who squeaked into office on an electoral college technicality. Against most data projections. Using dark money. Using voter suppression. Using Russian disinformation.

As more and more facts about Trumps incongruous victory emerges, the doubts gnaw harder  and grow harder to ignore.

And, most chilling of all, with a massive assist from the Russian military, which not only hacked the Democrats, but also hacked voting software and a voting-system manufacturer.

Some people were motivated to vote for Trump because they believed Russian lies about Hillary Clintons health or email. But at least they got to cast their votes, and have them counted.

Others, many who planned to vote against Trump, were kept from the ballot entirely. In Wisconsin, as Mother Jones has reported, discriminatory ID laws prevented 45,000 eligible voters from participating in the election, including 23,000 in two heavily Democratic counties. Trump won Wisconsin by 22,000 votes.

The attorney general of Wisconsin, Brad Schimel, even boasted recently that Trump won Wisconsin chiefly because tens of thousands of eligible voters were turned away.

Weve long known that Russian hackers attempted to break into the nations voter databases. But NBC reported this year that they succeeded. Senior intelligence officials said that Russia compromised seven states, including California, Florida, Illinois and Texas.

There are other good reasons to ask questions about the election. In Florida, exit polls on election day had Clinton winning by 1.3 % of the vote. When the votes were tallied, Trump beat her by 1.2%.

None of this data is conclusive. But it absolutely does not suggest that American citizens should shut up, forget it, and will away all the evidence that somethings rotten in our electoral system. If it didnt hurt your candidate this time, next time it might.

When, in 1974, President Gerald Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon, he sounded noble. He claimed that to put Nixon on trial would cost the nation its newfound tranquility. Why rock the boat by bringing Nixon, whod already been subject to so much degradation, to trial?

Why indeed. Ford was arguing for repression, when oh, say, maybe justice might have been the surer route to real tranquility.

He was telling the nation what abuser apologists tell victims. Dont press charges. Think of all your abuser has suffered. Its classier to move on.

Likewise, for years, Justice Antonin Scalia insisted that Americans must move on from Bush vs. Gore, the highly unusual 2000 Supreme Court decision that gave the presidency to George W. Bush. Scalia would get testy when asked questions, snapping at audiences: Come on, get over it.

Bush vs. Gore became the case that must not be named. Dont interrupt Scalias tranquility.

Those who kept asking were also called bad sports, still sulking about the election. A protester around the time of the Supreme Court decision mocked those whod voted the Gore-Lieberman ticket using Gores campaign logo. It read: Sore Loserman.

Enter the Fray: First takes on the news of the minute from L.A. Times Opinion 

Sound familiar? Trump has been desperately trying to get voters to move on from the 2016 presidential election and to get special counsel Robert S. Mueller III to move on from the Russia investigation.

Hes also shouted into the wind that, against all evidence, the Russia investigation is a plot by sore-loser Democrats.

Aw. Hasnt Trump suffered enough?

No. Its the American people  of every stripe  who have suffered, seeing our democracy in such devastating disarray. And the remedy for that suffering is not to suck it up, pretend everythings fine, and let criminals hold on to ill-gotten power and money.

The remedy is to keep speaking up, work for electoral reform to restore free and fair elections, and of course let justice run its course in the form of the investigations into Russian interference and Trumpland complicity.

In the meantime, typesetters, cue up your asterisks. You might need them.

1919 World Series*

2016 presidential election*

Twitter: @page88

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion or Facebook
To the editor: Harold Meyerson seems almost gleeful that socialism is back thanks to the 2008 crash and the economic insecurity of millennials.

Not accidentally, the socialist tradition Meyerson invokes is conveniently dissociated from the international Marxist tradition to which socialism is indebted. If President Trump is constantly subject to speculation of ties to an international alt-right movement bordering on fascism, then surely we owe the Democratic Socialists of America, another heretofore outlier in American politics, a broader look.

How can we guarantee that a democratic socialist takeover of the Democratic Party will not descend into the same chaos we see currently in socialist countries like Venezuela and Nicaragua? How can we be sure that the rhetoric of class antagonism will not devolve into outright class hatred? Or that Medicare For All wont result, as it has in Venezuela, in hospitals that cant even provide bedsheets? How can we be so sure that the saturnine display of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, a former Marxist rebel, turning his governments guns on leftist democracy advocates will not be the fate of an America that bites off more utopian socialism than it can chew?

If Trump must account for the alt-right, the Democratic Socialists of America must be taken to task for why they are not, and how they plan to avoid becoming, part of the capitalism-eschewing alt-left that still immiserates people around the world.

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Kurt Hofer, Los Angeles

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To the editor: Meyerson provides promising evidence of socialists gaining influence in the Democratic Party, which for many of us progressives is good news. But what does socialism mean in todays global economy when modified by democratic?

Meyersons otherwise well-argued piece overdraws the contrast between socialism and capitalism. Socialism is back not because capitalism has failed, but because todays capitalism represents unfettered corporate consolidation, or what Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) called a hostile takeover by Americas billionaires.

The new left should articulate a democratic socialism that builds a healthy market economy to guarantee basic human rights and expands the middle class. We need campaign finance reform, single-payer healthcare, a progressive income tax and accountability for corporations that pollute the environment. The list goes on.

Without free, quality education and healthcare, you might as well scrap the word equality from the American lexicon. Michele Castagnetti, Los Angeles

Right now, two things are clear: First, the Republican lite version of the Democratic Party will never prevail because the Republicans have more dark money and ideological fervor; and second, the new left is not about socialism versus capitalism, but a system that embraces the efficiency and not the tyranny of the market.

Andrew Apter, Santa Monica

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To the editor: We hear the word socialism thrown around, but what does it mean? I feel it means something different for everyone.

The right uses it in a McCarthyist way. Some religious groups say Jesus was a socialist. The center says that a little socialism in the U.S. cannot be bad. The left has to defend the word going back to its etymology and pushes for free quality education and healthcare.

Free education and healthcare are equality, because how can we be equal if we cannot afford an education or make ourselves healthy?

The American Constitution misses the most basic elements that constitute equality in a nation. And it has been kept this way by a political group dedicated to preserving its own supremacy and that of its wealthy sons and daughters.

Without free, quality education and healthcare, you might as well scrap the word equality from the American lexicon, and that is whether you own a gun or not.

Michele Castagnetti, Los Angeles

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
To the editor: Jonah Goldberg states that one of the reasons Republicans are sticking by President Trump is because of the increasing partisanship of the media.

The mainstream media are not biased against Trump; they are simply reacting to the constant barrage of material that he provides. This is a president who has made more than 3,000 documented untrue or misleading statements since he has been in office. Because he does this on nearly a daily basis, the press reacts, as it should, on a daily basis.

To a staunch Trump supporter, the constant reporting of negative information comes across as an attack on Trump  when it is really just good journalism.

Shari OConnell, Santa Monica

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To the editor: As Goldberg notes, the only way Trumps voters felt they could express their dissatisfaction with the status quo was by selecting the candidate who stuck out the middle finger to the ruling elite. The gesture is a sign of frustration over their powerlessness.

Trumps people dont trust the affluent, educated, secular leaders who watched as jobs fled the nation and wages stagnated. They view those decades of increasing helplessness as betrayals. Helsinki, the Russia investigation, trade wars  none of these matters. Only Trump does, and his enemies are their enemies.

A Democratic election strategy based on anti-Trump rhetoric is no path to victory. Candidates should show that they are not the enemy by recognizing the grievances of all voting groups and proposing honest remedies.

Zoltan Lucas, Carlsbad

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To the editor: Goldberg got it right: The latest polls greatly overstate Trumps actual popularity among Republicans.

Pollsters should conduct a survey once Trump has filled the vacant U.S. Supreme Court seat with an ultra-conservative justice. Then, Trump will have accommodated the GOPs two highest priority objectives: huge tax cuts for the wealthy and a high court dominated by conservatives.

Thus Trump will become politically expendable; even his most outwardly loyal supporters may seek a replacement for 2020. One of his last tweets as president might be, Et tu, Mike Pence?

Aaron Mills, Solana Beach

Follow the Opinion section on Twitter @latimesopinion and Facebook
The Burbank Hospitality Assn. has been cleared of misusing funds by the Los Angeles County district attorneys office but was fined by the California Fair Political Practices Commission, or FPPC, for not appropriately filing its contribution paperwork on time.

The public integrity division of the district attorneys office determined that the association did not misuse public resources when the marketing organization made a $50,000 contribution to the Committee for Yes on Measure B.

Measure B was an initiative on the November 2016 ballot that asked Burbank voters whether the Burbank-Glendale-Pasadena Airport Authority should be allowed to build a 14-gate replacement terminal at Hollywood Burbank Airport.

In a letter from Bjorn Dodd, deputy district attorney for Los Angeles County, to Burbank City Atty. Amy Albano dated June 20, the county agency concluded that the Burbank Hospitality Assn., known as Visit Burbank, did not violate the government code regarding unlawful expenditures because the [monies] contributed did not constitute public resources as defined by the statute, Dodd wrote.

Visit Burbank generates funds by a 1% assessment on hotel stays in the city and uses those funds to promote Burbank to tourists and businesses.

He continued by saying the group did not violate criminal statutes because the funds donated were not classified as public money, nor did Visit Burbank act with fraudulent intent.

The decision comes more than a year after the public integrity division determined that the Burbank Hospitality Assn. violated the Brown Act for not properly placing the donation on its agenda.

In September 2016, a member of the Committee for Yes on Measure B asked Visit Burbank for $50,000 to educate Burbank residents on the importance of voting yes on Measure B, according to a city memo dated Sept. 20, 2016.

The ballot measure was approved by voters, with about 69.7% supporting the new terminal.

David Spell, one of the Burbank residents who filed complaints with the D.A.s office and FPPC alleging the group misused public funds, wrote in an email Friday that he does not think the public integrity division examined this as closely as was warranted.

Although the D.A.s office formally closed its investigation on the matter, officials with the FPPC are not done with theirs.

During a meeting on June 21, a day after county officials closed their investigation, the FPPC approved issuing a $5,000 fine to the Burbank Hospitality Assn. for not properly filing a major-donor campaign statement and a 24-hour contribution report in a timely manner.

According to a stipulation from the state agency, Visit Burbank qualified itself as a major-donor committee by making a contribution larger than $10,000 in a calendar year.

Because the donation was made in Sept. 23, 2016, the group had until Jan. 31, 2017 to file a major-donor campaign statement with the FPPC.

Additionally, because the contribution was made within 90 days of the November 2016 election, the Burbank Hospitality Assn. had until Sept. 26, 2016 to file a 24-hour contribution report.

The group did not file the reports by the deadlines but instead submitted the missing documents in June 2017.

Though the FPPC fined the Burbank Hospitality Assn. for not filing its paperwork on time, Spell wrote that the state agency is still investigating whether the campaign materials created by the Committee for Yes on Measure B were appropriately created and labeled.

anthonyclark.carpio@latimes.com

Twitter: @acocarpio
Burbank Unified English learners enjoyed their best effort in three years as more kindergarten through 12th-grade students mastered English and classified as fluent.

The districts English Learner Advisory Committee released results for the recently concluded school year that showed 18.4% of English-learning students reclassified from learner to fluent.

Last year when I talked  about reclassification, we were actually below the county and the state [levels] ever so slightly, just slightly off the state and definitely below the county, which we never are, said Jennifer Goldenberg, the districts coordinator of English language services.

During the 2016-17 school year, the districts 13.2% rate of reclassification fell below the state and county levels, which were 13.3% and 15%, respectively. Goldenberg chalked up to a switch in standards from the California English Language Development test to the new English Language Proficiency Assessment for California exam.

This year, the district bounced back as its 18.4% topped county (16.9%) and state (14.60%) averages and was the best for Burbank Unified since 2014, when it was 22.3%.

Students are placed into three groups: English learners, initially fluent and reclassified fluent.

The committee identified 1,637 English learners in the district, with Miller Middle Schools tally of 271 being the highest of any local public school.

While there are more Spanish speakers than Armenian (15% to 13%), the predominant language spoken by English learners is Armenian, which beat Spanish, 42% to 36%. Roughly 6% of English learners speak Arabic, which is ahead of 4% for Russian, 2% for Tagalog and 1% for Korean. About 9% of English learners speak another language not listed.

Maybe the most eclectic campus in Burbank Unified is Washington Elementary, where the 130 English learners are nearly evenly split between Armenian, Spanish and Arabic.

Of those total students, 489 count as Title III eligible immigrants, hailing from several countries, with the top three being Armenia, India and Iran.

Goldenberg identified some of the steps in determining a students English skill level, which begins with a questionnaire.

On the home-language survey, if the parent says that the child learned to first speak another language, we have to access them, she said. Its part of [national and state] education code.

On top of reporting results, the committee also relays parent feedback and gives recommendations.

What mattered most for English-learner parents, according to the committee, was an emphasis on literacy and math, language acquisition and help with homework, along with an understanding of high school graduation requirements, college entrance requirements and financial aid.

Parents also asked for help with after-school math classes, basic books explaining math to parents, parent training (such as math or science), more online resources and additional parental hands-on activities.

There was also a theme of equality.

What is taught in some schools in regards to parent training should be held at all the schools, Nuria Lundberg, committee president, said. For example, if some schools are holding science nights or math nights, parents want to make it even at all the sites so it can be standardized and that all parents receive the same training.

andrew.campa@latimes.com

Twitter @campadresports
Those on both sides of a debate over whether the Burbank Youth Vocal Arts Foundation should detach itself from Burbank Unified to ease fundraising restrictions and oversight agreed at a meeting Wednesday to work together to keep the program affiliated with the district.

After more than an hour and a half of at times tearful testimony, students, parents and Burbank Unified school officials began to sound hopeful they could find a way to raise the money necessary to support the foundation, including its costly, nationally competitive show choir, while staying within Californias public education policy  a position that seemed untenable just days ago.

Its amazing what a difference six days can make, said Armond Aghakhanian, the school boards vice president. We went from accusations to lets work together.

Roberta Reynolds, board president, did not once have to use her gavel, she happily pointed out at the meetings end.

The special meeting was called by school officials after the issue was raised during a board meeting on July 19.

For Lorri Hubert, the vocal foundations president, the turning point came a day before the meeting on Wednesday when an attorney for the district told her that they could keep track of accounting under students individual names, something she said she was previously barred from doing.

In addition to the show choir, called In Sync, the foundation also includes an all-female choir, an all-male choir and a younger mixed-choir.

Board of Education members from left, Steve Frintner, and Charlene Tabet listen as Supt. Matt Hill, right, as he discusses the future of the Burbank High Youth Vocal Arts Foundation with the audience during a special meeting on Wednesday. (Dan Watson / Burbank Leader)

As a result, money collected and raised went into a general pool, Hubert said. If there wasnt enough to send all of the students in a particular program to a national competition, no one could go, she said.

We want to not charge students, but say these items cost money, Hubert said after the meeting. Who wants to separate from the school district? Nobody does. But we do want to make sure that the students still have the type of experience and program that they have.

Calls to split came after the foundation fell $50,000 short of its $700,000 funding goals, board member Charlene Tabet said last week.

According to Hubert, the show choir needs the money to hire a live band for performances, travel to competitions and support the high-quality production value for which the program is known.

While there was broad consensus to return to the negotiating table, issues remain.

Board members Steve Frintner and Steve Ferguson both said that asking families to pay what could be thousands of dollars or openly admit they dont have the financial means ran contrary to the spirit of public education.

By establishing fees and fighting so hard to enforce on those fees, it precludes many families that do not have access to the same resources from even attempting to participate in this program, and that is where my concern comes from, Ferguson said.

Scholarships are available to students, and the program fully and partially subsidizes some of the programs participants every year, according to Will Woods, the foundations former president.

A large number of parents did not pay last year because they were sickened by the lack of transparency from the year before, claimed parent Lucia Applebaum, who said she waited until the end of the year to pay to make a point.

Applebaum accused the foundation of refusing to provide updated financials demonstrating the need for contributions. Foundation treasurer Charles Rodriguez said no parent had ever asked him for the documentation Applebaum referenced, but that hed readily provide it.

Caught in the middle of the contentious back-and-forth were high school students in the dance and choir programs. Many told the board about the positive impact the program has had on them and that they did not want to see it altered in any way.

In Sync dance captain Christopher Aguirre, 16, and Burbank High School choir members fill out speaking cards. (Dan Watson / Burbank Leader)

They kicked off the meeting singing a hopeful tune: Greater than the strain, greater than the shame, deeper than the pain, is the light of love shining here.

The vocal foundation allows participants to do what we love every single day and be in a family environment where everyone supports one another with love and positivity, student Paul Yi said.

Nicolas Armenta, former president of the show choir In Sync, tentatively advocated for the program splitting from the district because he felt there were too many fundraising restrictions. After the meeting, he said he just wanted to figure out the best solution by the time school starts up in the fall.

I know a lot of students feel a sense of uncertainty, and I know they feel worried about where its going to go, said Armenta, who graduated this past spring.

Should the foundation choose to leave, there will inevitably be changes to the program, board member Frintner said. For one, students will likely have to lose the bulldog on their shirts, Supt. Matt Hill said.

Frintner also said there seemed to be a misunderstanding permeating during the meeting that the board somehow did not understand the value of the choir or wanted it out of the district.

That couldnt be further from the truth, Finter said. Its part of the fabric of the school, and thats the way we want it to remain.

Lila Seidman is an occasional freelance writer for Times Community News.

Lila Seidman is an occasional freelance writer for Times Community News.
Egyptian security sources have confirmed the death of the Sinai Province commander Mohamed Abdel-Latif Abu Jazr, aka Abu Jafar Al-Maqdisi, during a raid launched by the military in Sheikh Zuweid. The army had not issued an official statement on the raid by the time Al-Ahram Weekly went to print.

A Palestinian source appeared to confirm the news: Mohamed Abu Jazr was a member of Hamas Ezzeddin Qassam brigades before he joined a group run by Abdel-Latif Moussa which opposes Hamas and is closer to the jihadist Salafist trend.

He then infiltrated Sinai where he moved in the circles of jihadist Salafist groups until eventually joining Islamic State [IS].

IS was the first to report Abu Jazrs death via its account on the messaging application Telegram.

This is the second high-level assassination in IS ranks in Sinai in the last three months. On 18 April Nasser Abu Zaqoul was killed in Central Sinai.

Sinai Province divides the peninsula into six sectors which overlap with the Egyptian governments administrative divisions though in practice it only ever operated in three locations, between Rafah, Arish and Sheikh Zuweid, before being driven back by Comprehensive Operation Sinai (COS) 2018.

The policy of cutting the heads of the terrorist organisation is a sign of how well counter-terrorist operations in Sinai are progressing, says security expert Brigadier General Khaled Okasha.

Ali Bakr, an expert in extremist organisations, says the strategy will have a significant long-term impact on terror structures in Sinai.

While in the short term it undermines morale as terrorists see the battle shifting in favour of the government and the army, in the longer-term the organisations ranks are depleted of individuals with command and leadership skills, reducing its capabilities.

In recent months command positions in Sinai Province have been filled by operatives from Gaza who have defected from Palestinian factions such as Hamas and Islamic Jihad.

According to Mohamed Abu Shaar, a Palestinian researcher from Gaza, these operatives either fled Hamas wrath, as was the case with the breakaway Moussa group, or they emerged surreptitiously within the ranks of Hamas or Islamic Jihad, stealthily taking advantage of these organisations infrastructure to grow, network and infiltrate Sinai.

There has been little visible organisational presence of IS-affiliates in Gaza, perhaps for fear of a repetition of the Ibn Taimiya Mosque incident of 2009 when Hamas attacked members of the takfiri Jund Ansar Allah group.

Interestingly, the Ibn Taimiya Mosque is one of the most frequently used mosques for the funeral ceremonies of Gaza extremists killed in Sinai.

Bakr picked up on the irony that many of those extremists use the nom de guerre Al-Maqdisi (referring to Quds  Jerusalem).

Here we have an organisation that claims to be dedicated to the defence of Jerusalem. Yet instead of fighting the occupation in Israel they direct their weapons against the Egyptian army. If, on a rare occasion, they hurl a missile into Israel it is only smokescreen, a means to win support among radicals in Gaza and to lure recruits.

According to Bakr, IS terrorists in Sinai whose funeral services were held at Ibn Taimiya include Mohamed Abu Dalal, aka Abu Khaled Al-Maqdisi, killed in an aerial raid in September; Ahmed Mahmoud Zaqout, aka Abu Omeir Al-Maqdisi, an IS affiliate from Al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza; Mahmoud Nimr Zaghra, aka Abu Bilal Al-Maqdisi from Sheikh Radwan in central Gaza and Mohamed Adel Al-Zamili, aka Abu Khatab Al-Maqdisi, from the Gaza side of Rafah.

The irony noted by Bakr brings to mind another, which is that IS infiltrators into Sinai from Gaza were initially rejected and attacked by their jihadist counterparts when they first appeared.

The organisation in Sinai was at the time closely linked to Hamas by virtue of interrelated interests, and resisted the encroachment of the IS operatives from Gaza where it also worked to undermine them, as was revealed in a communication intercepted by Mossad in 2015.

It appears the decline and eventual defeat of IS in Raqqa and Mosul has been mirrored in the structures of IS franchises elsewhere, most notably in Sinai Province.

IS may have trumpeted Abu Hajer Al-Hashemis assumption of command of its Sinai branch but as an Iraqi he proved unable to generate the qualitative shift that would have boosted the local organisations profile regionally for the simple reason the central model had collapsed in its own stronghold.

That collapse created an opening for Palestinian operatives who attempted to resuscitate Sinai Province.

Gaza fighters infiltrated Sinai, especially returnees from IS battlefields in Syria and Iraq. They had crucial technical and operational field experience in terrain similar to that in Sinai. It is this transfer of expertise to the Sinai theatre, says Okasha, which makes the infiltrators such a threat.

Meanwhile, Cairo has resumed its mediating efforts to promote Palestinian reconciliation. Hamas, in recent days, has given the impression that it welcomes Cairos endeavours.

Media connected with Hamas report that it has responded positively to Cairos initiative and taken measures to tighten border security. However, a number of Egyptian sources remain sceptical.

I believe that, contrary to the commonly held opinion that Hamas sees it in its interests to eliminate those [terrorist] groups, there is a current in Hamas that is utilising them to further its interests, Okasha told the Weekly.

Bakr agrees: One should not be taken in by the Hamas political bureaus political claims. Ultimately there is a military wing to Hamas that has a strategy which it is implementing. That wing saw Sinai as an open field which it could easily penetrate for the purposes of storing and procuring arms, and for smuggling operatives. This wing continues to entertain the desire to take advantage of the situation in Sinai in ways that conflict with Egyptian national security.

What appears clear is that Gaza constantly exports threats to Egypt while Egypt is searching for solutions to Gazas humanitarian and political crises.

As security and political experts say, the two sides often seem to be working at cross purposes.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 26 July 2018 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly under the headline: Decapitating terror

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A Costa Mesa man was sentenced Friday to life in state prison without possibility of parole for murdering his ex-girlfriends father and trying to murder her brother in 2009, according to the Orange County district attorneys office.

Alwyn Gibson II, 33, was convicted in November of murder and attempted murder. The same month, a jury also found him legally sane.

The convictions stemmed from the evening of Feb. 20, 2009, when Gibson entered the Irvine home of his former girlfriends family while they were having dinner, prosecutors said. His ex-girlfriend no longer lived there and wasnt present.

Prosecutors said Gibson demanded money from the family and placed a large piece of fruit over the barrel of a gun he was carrying to stifle the sound of shots.

Gibson forced the former girlfriends father  De Ngoc Le, 60  and one of her brothers, Michael Le, into an upstairs bedroom and ordered them to lie on the floor.

He then fatally shot De Ngoc Le in the back of the head and wounded Michael Le in the back of the neck. The younger Le was hospitalized for days, according to authorities.

Prosecutors said Gibson also shot his ex-girlfriends mother once in an arm.

Michael Les brother escaped and ran to a neighbors house to call 911, according to prosecutors.

An Irvine police SWAT team responded to the house, and Gibson surrendered early the next morning after an hours-long standoff.

luke.money@latimes.com

Twitter @LukeMMoney
Newport Beach lifeguards will be permanent fixtures at the Lido Bridge through the beginning of September in response to a surge of reports of bridge jumping, according to city officials.

The city began stepping up enforcement near the bridge, which connects Lido Isle to the Balboa Peninsula, on Thursday after two people aboard a Duffy boat suffered minor injuries two days earlier when a man jumped and landed on the vessel.

After landing on the boat, the jumper swam away from the area. The Orange County Sheriffs Department Harbor Patrol is investigating the incident and trying to find the person, said spokesman Ray Grangoff.

A video of the incident was posted on YouTube and had been viewed more than 18,000 times as of Friday afternoon.

Jumping off bridges and piers in Newport Beach has been against city law since 1954, but it doesnt stop people from taking the plunge.

Despite signs warning against it, recreational jumping is common as the weather heats up and makes the cool harbor water extra enticing, residents say. However, those caught jumping off the bridge could be at risk of something more severe than an adrenaline rush. They could be smacked with a misdemeanor charge, according to city municipal code.

Weve known this has been going on for years, Mary Locey, a city spokeswoman, said of bridge jumping. But this is the first time theres been an incident with someone landing on a boat. Its a safety issue for the people jumping and its a safety issue for boaters passing underneath.

In response to the incident  and what city officials call increased activity in the area  city lifeguards will be posted on the bridge and the adjacent beach area daily through Labor Day. Lifeguards also will use their patrol boat to monitor the area from the water.

Lifeguards spoke with 120 passers-by Thursday about the surge in enforcement. About half had traveled to the bridge to leap into the water, said acting Battalion Chief Jon Mitchell.

Mitchell said lifeguards spoke to about 10 people at the bridge Friday.

Were trying to see if we can get the word out and let people know this activity is not going to happen anymore, he said.

hannah.fry@latimes.com

Twitter: @HannahFryTCN
An incoming seventh-grader at Corona del Mar Middle School lobbied the Newport-Mesa Unified School District to stop offering plastic straws with student lunches this fall. And thats what the district is going to do.

Chloe Mei Espinosas passion for diving at tropical reefs and her desire to reduce pollution from plastic in the ocean inspired her in April to design and launch skiptheplasticstraw.com. Since then, 622 people have pledged on her website to stop using straws.

To expand her campaigns reach, Chloe Mei emailed Dale Ellis, nutrition services director for Newport-Mesa Unified, about eliminating plastic straws from the districts 32 campuses. Her cause immediately struck a chord with Ellis, who agreed to replace plastic coffee stirrers with wood stirrers in employee break rooms and make paper straws available throughout the school district.

When I heard the good news, I felt like the ocean was giving me a huge hug saying, Thank you, thank you, thank you for helping me, Chloe Mei said.

She now feels stronger than ever about her campaign and that anything is possible.

I love the passion she has for this initiative, Ellis said. It is truly rewarding to see our students make a positive difference in our world, and we are thrilled to be a part of the change with her.

After her summer break, Chloe Mei plans to approach neighboring school districts about following Newport-Mesas lead.

Daniel Langhorne is a contributor to Times Community News.
Actor Nike Doukas was praised by an audience member for her chemistry with actor Leo Marks in the play, Three Days in the Country, which is receiving its West Coast premiere at the Antaeus Theatre in Glendale.

That chemistry comes from the two actors having been married for eight years.

Its really a lot of fun to pretend. It keeps our marriage playful and fun. We met doing a play together, she said. I feel like Im working with my favorite actor.

A complicated love story is at the heart of the comedy, which is an update of Ivan Turgenevs classic A Month in the Country, with multiple people falling in love with one another, potentially ruining other personal and professional relationships.

Director Andrew Paul has chosen partner casting for the production, meaning there are two casts who rehearse together and perform in alternate performances. The character Natalya is played by both Doukas and Anna Khaja, and the role of Natalyas best friend, Rakitin, is played by Marks and Corey Brill.

Normally, if you have an understudy, they are the B team. This isnt that, Marks said. We all are rehearsing equally, and we are both performing it. Weve watched each other. Weve shared ideas.

Doukas and Marks are members of the Blunderers cast, while Brill and Khaja are in the Assassins cast. The casts names are in reference to the play.

Doukas said partner casting encourages teamwork among the actors.

For me, that helps me understand the play better. If you can keep your ego out of the way, you can really collaborate with the other actors, Doukas said.

Partner casting gives the actors the freedom to rehearse a play while also being flexible enough to do film or television work.

It also gives the audience the best actors available, Marks said.

We dont want an audience to get an understudy. If someone gets cast to do something else, we have two casts who are equally strong, rehearsed and ready to go, Marks said.

Partner casts also are the closest thing to objectivity for actors, Marks said.

A painter can step back from his or her canvas. If youre a writer, you can step back and critique your work. As an actor, you cant, Marks said.

Doukas said the electricity seen in the play comes from the acting as well as the script.

One of the things people keep saying to me is this story affected me personally. There seems to be something here that strikes a chord with people, Doukas said.

There was a woman who was a filmmaker there the other night. She said, Can you send me the script? Marks said.

Three Days in the Country is playing at the Antaeus Theatre Co., 110 E. Broadway, Glendale, through Aug. 26.

For more information, visit antaeus.org.

michael.livingston@latimes.com

@MLivingston06
Speculation, planning and debate gave way to a possible property exchange agreement between Glendale Unified and Carmel Partners along with a new plan for a park, though plans for the districts headquarters were not discussed.

The district is now waiting for Glendale officials to consider the swap and possibly work together to design the green space.

Well get together with the mayor and City Council, and were waiting for the next step, said Greg Krikorian, school board president, who noted that property exchange talks have been taking place for at least five years. We, as a board and as a district are excited about the opportunity and benefits to the district and the community that this exchange brings. We are hopeful this process will move smoothly and [will work] for the school district, community and the greater good of the operation.

Krikorian was hopeful the city would act on the swap sometime in September.

At the last board meeting on July 17, the board agreed on a series of action items highlighted by the exchange of properties with Santa Monica-based Carmel Partners.

If the City Council agrees, Glendale Unified will give up its current 38,000-square-foot, four-story headquarters located on 223 N. Jackson St., along with almost all of the parking lot on the site, and two apartment complexes owned by the city  one on Palmer Avenue and another on Jackson Street  would be refurbished by Carmel, which was a concern raised by the residents who currently rent there.

In return, Glendale Unified would take possession of a 116,000-square foot building and parking structure located at 425 E. Colorado St.

The property exchange will give us a 21st-century building, board member Shant Sahakian said. Its going to help us meet the needs of our 26,000 students and 2,600 employees.

The new building alleviates several problems for the district, not the least of which is parking.

Currently, the district provides 155 parking spots on its lot and through various agreements with areas businesses, including a nearby Ralphs parking lot.

The new venue has a parking structure with 355 spots.

In addition to parking, the buildings additional size would allow for the creation of a parent center and professional development facility.

The districts would-be headquarters was built in 1984, which makes it 12 years newer than the current building.

That age difference is also pivotal in terms of renovations, according to school officials.

If the district were to stay at its current location on Jackson Street, district chief business and financial officer Stephen Dickinson estimated the district would have to spend at least $40 million on renovations.

Those costs include at least $9 million toward construction of a multi-tier parking lot, $6.5 million for heating, ventilation and air-conditioning upgrades, along with electrical, plumbing and elevator needs, $5 million for fire-safety improvements and another $5 million for seismic retrofitting.

If we make the decision to stay in this building permanently, we are up against some substantial costs, Dickinson said.

On the flip side, Dickinson estimated the Colorado Street building would need only $3 million to $5 million in refurbishments.

The cherry on top of Carmels exchange may be two parcels on the Jackson Street property, which the district did not swap.

The district voted to seek a joint-use agreement with the city of Glendale to turn Lots 5 and 7, where portable classrooms are currently located near Daily High School, into a park.

The city knows that were serious about this public space and that were willing to work with them so that part of our  what is GUSDs property now  can benefit the community as a public space and green space, said board member Nayiri Nahabedian, who congratulated Sahakian, who initially proposed the park. Its been a long road in trying to figure out all the details. Its a new addition and positive addition.

Along with the swap, the district will also pay Carmel $6.95 million as a cash payment at the close of escrow.

andrew.campa@latimes.com

Twitter @campadresports
The face of a former sex slave stares at visitors when they enter an exhibit on the first floor of the Glendale Downtown Central Library.

The woman was one of many Korean women who were enslaved by the Japanese Imperial Army during World War II. The librarys arts and culture department has finished its Do the Right Thing: Comfort Women Resist art showcase, an exhibit highlighting nine international artists and documentarians who focused on the narratives of comfort women.

The exhibit opens at 5 p.m Saturday, and features pieces by artists Jan Banning, Dokuyama Bontaro, Hwa Hong, Hyunji Kwon, Yu Kyung Kim, Ara Oshagan, Jea Hyung Lee, Jung Min Park, and Rose Camastro Pritchett.

What was done to the Korean women was state-sponsored sexual slavery, according to the exhibits co-curator Ara Oshagan.

This issue [was] not known to the United States during World War II, Oshagan said. Japan occupied a lot of countries, including Korea, during the war. They took women from those countries and made them into sex slaves.

In addition to co-curating the exhibit, Oshagan traveled to Korea in May and spent two weeks photographing the last surviving comfort women for the showcase. His photographs of comfort women and activists are displayed near the librarys entrance.

Oshagan also created a replica of a room where comfort women were forced to have sex. He enlarged pictures of comfort women for inside the room, with enlarged photos of activists outside it.

It was pretty intense, knowing what theyve been through and that theyve came out of that alive, Oshagan said of his visits with comfort women in Korea.

While in Korea, Oshagan attended weekly protests by activists who want the state to issue an apology to comfort women.

Every Wednesday, there is a protest by Koreans in front of the Japanese embassy in Seoul. Every Wednesday, for 10 years straight, Oshagan said. These comfort women, if theyre able to, show up. They sit down, typically. They dont do too much.

Seeing the way activists cared and fought for comfort women inspired him to include them in his art.

The comfort women are almost gone, Oshagan said. These young generation activists are continuing the fight for recognition.

The Glendale Downtown Central Library is located at 222 E. Harvard St.

michael.livingston@latimes.com

@MLivingston06
Rick Lemmo, president of the Downtown Glendale Assn., said Friday a potential city sales tax increase was a love-hate situation for him.

From a practical side, this makes sense in keeping tax dollars here at home, Lemmo said. From a standpoint of representing the businesses in our district, it always makes things tighter and more competitive when our sales tax may be more expensive than a neighboring community.

Earlier this month, the Glendale City Council voted to add a proposed 0.75% sales tax increase on the Nov. 6 ballot.

In his presentation to the council, the citys finance director Bob Elliot proposed the hike, which would up the citys sales tax from 9.5% to 10.25%.

If approved, it could potentially generate an additional $30 million in revenue annually.

Council members felt the sales tax increase was necessary before Los Angeles County or the state of California implements sales tax increases, which local officials fear would lead to money leaving Glendale.

The Burbank City Council recently placed a 0.75% sales tax proposal on the Nov. 6 ballot. The city currently has no sales tax.

The Pasadena City Council also recently adopted a proposed sales tax increase to its November ballot, which, like Glendale, would raise the sales tax from 9.5% to 10.25%.

In a letter to the Glendale City Council obtained by the Glendale News-Press, Ken Grayson, owner of Graysons Tune Town in Montrose, expressed his disappointment in council members adding the measure to the Nov. 6 ballot.

This proposed sales tax increase will create hardships on the businesses that have been the backbone of our society. With due diligence, you are responsible to help sustain these community businesses, not weaken them through added competitive disadvantages, Graysons letter stated.

His letter further stated that taxing Glendale residents would not resolve the citys financial issues.

As elected officials, you are responsible to find solutions to the cost of governing. We all know the root of the problem  unfundable retirement costs. This problem will not go away no matter how much you tax the citizens of Glendale, according to Graysons letter.

At a Glendale council meeting earlier this month, resident Mike Mohill expressed strong concerns about the proposed sales tax hike.

You are proposing to increase Glendales sales tax an additional 0.75%, which is in addition to the new annual fire brush fee of $15 and sewer-operating fee increases among other fees and taxes you already approved for this current fiscal year budget, Mohill said.

Mohill said he thinks the money generated will go toward city employees pensions and contracts, and not problems such as affordable housing, street maintenance and public transportation.

Its a benefit for the city employees, not the people, Mohill said in a phone interview Friday. They dont have to impose this. Its preemptive. They say, Well, the county will come tax us first. If the county wanted to tax us, they would.

Lemmo said he understands the reason a sales tax increase is needed and the councils rationale behind it but hopes the money remains in the city.

I prefer to have [the money] stay in Glendale to help our city, our initiatives and our businesses, Lemmo said.

michael.livingston@latimes.com

@MLivingston06
At one point, he was 5-1 and no Angels pitcher had more victories.

Since then, he is 0-6 and now eight weeks removed from his most recent win.

Its worth remembering that Jaime Barria just turned 22.

Unless your name is Fernando Valenzuela, manager Mike Scioscia said, youre probably going to have some of those bumps in the road and youre going to have to make some adjustments.

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Valenzuela, as a 20-year-old rookie for the Dodgers, began the 1981 season 8-0 with a 0.50 ERA.

Barria was never that spectacular, but he was very good after injuries forced the Angels to insert him into the rotation.

In his first seven starts, he gave up 10 earned runs in 36 1/3 innings for a 2.48 ERA. In his next seven starts, hes surrendered 20 earned runs in 34 2/3 innings for a 5.19 ERA.

Some of it is commanding counts, Scioscia said. Some of it is making mistakes youre not going to get away with. But hes competing very well. Some of those games when it hasnt gone as smooth, hes still given us opportunities to win.

Barrias strikeouts are down and his walks are up, though neither trend has been drastic. He hasnt completed six innings since beating Texas for his fifth victory on June 1.

On Saturday, Barria will make his fourth start against Seattle, a team he hasnt beaten yet. In the three previous games, the Mariners scored seven earned runs off him in 15 1/3 innings, while the Angels produced only four runs total.

Jaime will continue to grow, Scioscia said. Hes a young pitcher. His experience is going to make him better from start to start. Hes holding his own, for sure.

Kinsler on a roll

He started so slowly that Ian Kinsler was still hitting below .200 on May 29. Entering Friday, however, he was batting .303 for the month, lifting his average to .234, as high as it has been in nearly three months.

Ian Kinsler is looking like the Ian Kinsler who played against us for all those years, Scioscia said. Hes swinging the bat well.

And perhaps just in time. With the non-waiver trade deadline coming Tuesday, Kinsler could be an option for a contender looking for a veteran second baseman and solid defender.

Short hops

Eric Young Jr. rejoined the Angels on Friday as they continue to search for a productive fourth outfielder.

He appeared in 47 games last year, hitting .264 with a .754 on-base-plus-slugging-percentage in 110 at-bats. Young had spent all season at triple-A Salt Lake.

Jabari Blash was optioned down, Scioscia explaining that Young offers more versatility by being able to play center and also can provide speed off the bench.

jeff.miller@latimes.com
The 10-minute video shows Yevgeny Makarov writhing and screaming in pain as a group of uniformed prison guards takes turns beating his legs and the soles of his feet with a rubber truncheon. Four minutes into the video, his torturers complain that beating Makarov is hard work.

Even my hands are going numb! one man in a blue camouflage uniform says to another in the video. They then drag Makarov to the floor and push him to his knees. They punch his face repeatedly. Makarov begs for mercy.

The video, recorded at a prison in Yaroslavl about 170 miles northeast of Moscow, was leaked to Makarovs lawyer and then published online by an independent Russian newspaper on June 20, sparking public outrage against what human rights activists say is systemic abuse in Russian prisons.

What followed was a nationwide crackdown by authorities on prison guards accused of torture and abuse of power.

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Russias Federal Penitentiary Service announced on Tuesday that it would set up commissions across the country to investigate all complaints from the past year of violence by prison authorities, an unusual move for a government that has previously remained silent on issues of prisoner abuse.

This week, a court in Yaroslavl arrested six of the prison guards in Makarovs case. Three of the guards pleaded guilty, and 17 other officials at the prison were dismissed.

In Russian prisons, beatings, torture and humiliation are an ordinary state of affairs, said Olga Romanova, the head of Russia Behind Bars, a nongovernmental organization that advocates for prisoners rights. Yet before the Yaroslavl case, prison authorities were rarely found guilty in court.

But the convictions this week show that Russian authorities may finally be forced to address the issue of torture and abuse in prisons.

We can say it is a victory, even a big victory, Romanova said. For the civil society it is already a victory and a very important issue.

The extent of that victory remains to be seen, she said.

Makarovs beating was recorded a year ago in Yaroslavl Prison Colony No. 1 by a prison employee outfitted with a body cam, a uniform requirement. The video shows at least 17 other men present in the room during the abuse of Makarov.

The recording was leaked to Makarovs lawyer, Irina Biryukova, who passed it to the newspaper Novaya Gazeta, which posted it online with a warning that its contents were only for those with strong nerves.

Within days, the video went viral, and an outpouring of more accusations of torture in Russias notorious penal colonies and prisons emerged. In some cases, they have already been followed by investigations or court action.

In Bryansk, a city 235 miles southwest of Moscow, a prisoner died of suffocation after allegedly being tortured by prison staff on July 22, 2018. A prison employee was charged with murder and abuse of power on July 25, according to officials.

In Voronezh, an industrial city about 330 miles south of Moscow, police launched an internal investigation into two police officers accused of torturing students who were suspected of stealing a mobile phone at a party. According to the students complaints, on May 26, an officer put a plastic bag filled with ammonia over the head of one of the suspects, while the other officer stepped on the chain attached to the suspects hand cuffs. The students screams could be heard throughout the building, but apparently no other employees paid attention.

Other arrests and prosecutions of police and prison officers followed in other cities this week. Seven police officers were convicted of torturing 13 suspects at a police station in the North Caucasus region of Ingushetia. Two police officers were convicted in Siberia of using electric shock to torture three suspects during an interrogation.

Meanwhile, Biryukova, Markovs lawyer with the nonprofit legal assistance group Public Verdict Foundation, has fled Russia amid death threats and fears that the government would not protect her and her family.

Biryukova told Novaya Gazeta that she was investigating at least 50 claims of abuse at the Yaroslavl prison, including a previous incident in which prison guards beat Makarov and two other prisoners in April 2017, two months before the beating in the video.

Biryukova said she filed complaints with Russian authorities and the European Court of Human Rights. Russian law enforcement said there was not enough evidence to open an investigation. The European court asked the Russian authorities for more information.

Some prison reform advocates said Russian authorities willingness to launch an investigation into the Yaroslavl incident and the emergence of other prison abuse accusations may prove to be a turning point, and perhaps a small victory for human rights defenders in Russia fighting prison abuse and torture.

So far, what the politicians are saying  talking about setting up a civil penitentiary institution, which is what has been done in Europe, that is very good, Romanova said. If we manage to pull it off, it will be Russias greatest victory in the 21st century.

Jens Modvig, head of the United Nations Committee Against Torture, told a hearing on June 25 in Geneva that torture is practiced widely in Russia. The country had one of the highest rates of prisoner deaths from torture among countries belonging to the Council of Europe, Reuters quoted Modvig as saying. Modvig demanded that the Russian representative share how Moscow planned to deal with those accused of torture.

The conclusion here is that the Russian Federation is unable to explain how it prosecutes torture, he said in the hearing, news agencies reported.

Amnesty International, which monitors human rights globally, said it welcomed Russias promise to investigate alleged abuse cases, but also cautioned that it must be followed by more substantial changes in Russias penal system.

In the absence of a national mechanism which systematically works to prevent torture, the criminal case against Makarovs torturers will be an exception to the rule, the group said in a statement this week.

Makarov has since been moved to another prison. But even as the arrests and prosecutions mounted, reports emerged that there was an ongoing internal hunt for the torture videos leaker.

We remain extremely concerned for the safety of Yevgeny Makarov and the thousands of others detained in Russian pretrial detention centers, and police stations where allegations of torture and other ill treatment are rife and investigations are rare, said Marie Struthers, Amnesty Internationals director for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, in a statement.

sabra.ayres@latimes.com

Twitter: @sabraayres

Ayres is a special correspondent.
In a move described as unprecedented, Pope Francis has effectively stripped U.S. prelate Theodore McCarrick of his cardinals title following allegations of sexual abuse, including one involving an 11-year-old boy. The Vatican announced Saturday that Francis ordered McCarrick to conduct a life of prayer and penance even before a church trial is held.

Breaking with past practice, Francis decided to act swiftly on the resignation offered by the emeritus archbishop of Washington, D.C., even before the accusations are investigated by church officials. McCarrick was previously one of the highest, most visible Roman Catholic church officials in the United States and was heavily involved in the churchs response to allegations of priestly abuse.

The pope has ordered McCarricks suspension from the exercise of any public ministry, together with the obligation to remain in a house yet to be indicated to him, for a life of prayer and penance until the accusations made against him are examined in a regular canonical trial, the Vatican said.

Among his alleged victims is a man who has told reporters that he was 11 when McCarrick first exposed himself to him. Identified as James in news reports, the alleged victim expressed hope that McCarricks resignation would help other victims become free and foster healing.

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Basically, truth always prevails, James, who lives in Virginia, told the Associated Press on Saturday. Thankfully, everybody in todays world is more understanding of the harm done by individual priests, and now we can start to heal.

Francis received McCarricks letter offering to resign from the College of Cardinals on Friday evening, after a spate of allegations that the 88-year-old prelate had for years sexually abused boys and engaged in sexual misconduct with adult seminarians.

The McCarrick case posed a test of the pontiffs recently declared resolve to battle what he called a culture of cover-up of similar abuses in the Catholic churchs hierarchy.

The alleged sexual misconduct with adults were reportedly brought to the Vaticans attention years ago, including before McCarrick was appointed to the prestigious archbishops post in the U.S. capital in 2000 by the then-pontiff John Paul II.

Two dioceses in New Jersey  Newark and Metuchen  say they have settled two of three complaints of misconduct by McCarrick toward adults.

The Vatican didnt say where McCarrick would be confined nor when a church trial might begin, and its brief statement did not even allude to the grave accusations against the prelate.

A Catholic University canon law expert, Kurt Martens, noted this was the first time an order of penance and prayer had been issued before a church trial.

U.S. Catholics who have followed sexual abuse scandals hailed the stripping McCarrick of his cardinals rank as an unprecedented shift in how the Vatican has dealt with allegations against top churchmen.

The Vatican almost never moves at this speed, said Terence McKiernan of BishopAccountability.org.Inc., a Massachusetts-based group that tracks clergy sexual abuse cases.

The pope appears to understand the gravity of the situation and further harm to the Catholic churchs status, he told the Associated Press.

He also wondered if the church investigation has revealed who among its hierarchy knew about the sex allegations against McCarrick and whether the Vatican would move to punish those clerics as well.

In the case of Scottish Cardinal Keith OBrien, accused by former seminarians in 2013 of sexual misconduct, Francis only accepted his resignation after the Vaticans top abuse prosecutor conducted a full investigation, two years after the first revelations, and after the prelate relinquished the rights and privileges that come with a cardinals rank.

However, OBrien, who died earlier this year, remained a cardinal. He had recused himself from voting in the 2013 conclave that elected Francis.

McCarrick had already been removed from public ministry since June 20, pending a full investigation into allegations that he fondled a teenager over 40 years ago in New York City.

McCarrick denied the initial allegation.

McCarrick rose steadily and swiftly up the U.S. churchs ranks, from auxiliary bishop in New York City, to bishop in Metuchen, to archbishop of Newark, and then to Archbishop of Washington.

Critics of the Vaticans handling of abuse cases point out that, despite recommendations from its advisory panel, the Holy See still hasnt set up a tribunal or other system to deal with accused bishops or cardinals.

It was thus unclear just what church tribunal would decide McCarricks case.

That system is going to [have to] be created exactly for this most embarrassing and prominent case, McKiernan said.